The Truth Behind Those Eyes

Chapter Forty-Six

With Ezekius by her side Nikki spent the night in a dreamless, restful sleep. She had sighed with intoxicated reprieve as the demon touched her skin and relieved her of the mass of thoughts swarming around her head.

When she awoke she was relaxed and recharged but the second Ezekius removed his touch she would be plunged back into the swirling nightmare of her troubled mind. For that reason she begged him to stay close.

She'd gone over everything David, Sam and Josh had told her, time and time again, without any of it becoming any clearer. She was in the centre of her own private hell without any idea how to resolve it.

In her grand room she had slept on an ornate four-poster bed that matched the decor of the rest of the furniture. Just like the room downstairs, everything was gratuitous and overly expensive. Nikki smirked, just because something was expensive did not make it tasteful. This room epitomised that thought.

But one thing that David has said about the room had stuck with her. He had called it her room and that's exactly what was. The walk in closet was stuffed full of clothes but not just any clothes, they were her clothes. It seemed that every outfit she'd owned over the past five years was in there.

The en-suite bathroom was stocked with her usual brand of toiletries; even down to the toothbrush she had left sat in the holder back in her house. They really had been keeping tabs on her.

As she decided what to wear, Ezekius flashed her an image causing her mouth to water. She nodded to him as he retreated to the door and left.

In the shower the rising pressure of her headache pressed against the back of her eyes. Thoughts collided painfully in to one another in the cramped enclosure of her active mind. She knew she was not evil, per say. She had no desire to rule over any world let alone wipe out existence, as she knew it. So, if what David had said was to be believed then surely the only conclusion was that Unus wasn't as Josh and Sam believed them to be. If she was part of Unus then how could it be evil?

That left her with the idea Josh and Sam had lied to her. Ridiculous. She trusted them, they wouldn't purposefully mislead her. Consequently she had to believe that their version of history was fallible, that maybe they had been lied to. If that was the case then the lines of 'good' and 'evil' were well and truly blurred.

And what if David had spoken to her first? If she'd been told his story first would she have viewed Josh as her enemy? Would they have been the 'demons'? The Guardians and Powers, from what she could tell, had broken a treaty with Latébris, they had initiated an unprovoked attack, why was it so unreasonable for Latébris to have fought back?

The past was littered with wars - religious, civil and world. They were bloody and hellish and each side had fought for what they had believed to be right.

Right. That depended on your outlook, your position, your opinion.

She shut off the shower and grabbed a large soft towel. What was her opinion? Where did she stand?

She stared deeply into her reflected eyes in the large gold mirror hung over the marble sink, questioning her very soul. She smiled acrimoniously; she knew exactly where she was. Slap bang in the centre.

The corners of her lips dropped - the time to choose a side was almost upon her. Very soon she was going to have to decide where her loyalties lay.

Josh's smiling face filtered through her mind. The way his eyes sparkled mischievously, the curve of his soft lips as he smirked cheekily, his strong nose and perfectly arched eyebrows. She felt the knife in her heart twisting.

If she chose to stay with Ezekius, David and Unus she would become his enemy. Would he fight her the way he did demons? Would she have to use her gift? She squeezed her eyes shut. No. Regardless of what happened she would never be able to use her flame against him.