UNHOLY (GxG)

Chapter Thirty-Eight: White Lies

I broke away, and clamped my hand over her mouth.

"Swallow it. You better damn swallow it, or we'll both be dead."

Her eyes were wide, as if, for once, I had finally gotten the best of her. Her pale, spindly fingers clawed desperately at my hand, but in her weakened state, I was able to easily overpower her.

"Have you swallowed it?" I asked. "If I move my hand, and you haven't, I swear to the goddess Marié that I will stake you through the heart and finish you off myself."

She nodded vigorously.

"You swear it?" I asked.

Her nodding became somehow even more vigorous, and I released my hold on her.

"Judith, wha— why. What have you done?" She gasped.

"The flower." I said. "You're going to be okay, Greta."

Finally, my legs gave in and I found myself collapsing on the ground. 

"Judith!"

She scrambled out of the bed and down to my side. Somehow, she managed to pull me up into her lap and cradle me there, her back resting against the side of the bed.

"Judith, let me turn you. Get my knife—"

"No. It's too late, Greta." I said. "And you're too weak to give me that much blood anyway. We can't both die that would be foolish."

"Judith, you're one of the few good things that's ever happened to me." She said. "I'm not going to let you go like this. I swear I'll never forgive you if you die in my arms, I swear it."

"I'm sorry." I said. "I guess this was kind of a low blow for me but I had to be selfish one more time."

"Judith, I can't just let you die." She said, "I love you."

"I love you too." I said, squeezing her hand. "You know, we really made an impressive mess of each other's lives, I think."

"Stop saying stupid things." She said, tears starting to fall down her cheeks. 

My head pounded, and I watched as she desperately slashed open her arm with her teeth. Specks of blood spattered on my face, and she pressed it against my mouth.

"Greta, stop it." I said. "Don't hurt yourself."

"I have to try. What kind of person am I if I don't at least try?" She begged through quiet sobs. "Please, Judith."

I tried to give her a smile, but it felt like my heart was beating so fast...

"Alright."

I wrapped my lips around the pale skin of her lips, and sucked gently on her arm. Her blood was thick, and metallic, but not at all as bad as I thought it would have been. In fact, for a moment, I almost thought I liked it.

Or maybe I just like the sight of her face above me, though the edges of it were dark and fuzzy...

As my vision began to fade I wondered...

I wondered what it would be like to be no more.

White.

Everything was white.

It was a clean white, a cool white.

It wasn't like the sun, warm against my skin.

It was light and it was cool. It was everything and nothing, all at once.

Suddenly, I felt aware of myself, of my body. I was on my side, naked and curled to the side. I pulled myself up to my knees, but it was as if there was no ground beneath me and no sky above me.

There was just white.

What was this? Was this death? Was I just going to be stuck in this nothingness forever? Alone?

I took a step back and ran into something solid. I turned around, and found myself face to face with the goddess. The sight of her alone seemed to suck all of the air from my chest.

I fell back to my knees, gasping for breath.

"My goddess." I said, "I'm sorry— I—"

"Speak no more."

I did as she told and my limbs began to tremble, as if my entire being threatened to fall apart at the seams.

"Be not afraid, my daughter." She said, "But instead stand, and look upon me."

I did as she asked, but found that I couldn't see anything when I looked directly at her. It was too bright, and it made stars dance around my vision, a giddy array of colors, some of which I had never seen before.

"What do you want from me?" I asked.

"I have a task for you."

"How can I do anything for you? I'm— I'm dead."

"I'm sending you back."

My hands began to shake.

"Sending me back?"

"Death has no power over me but instead, I have dominion over her. I created Death."

She leaned forward, and placed her lips on the dark purple web of veins on my chest. They slowly faded away to a dark blue, then into nothing, my skin quickly returning to its original state.

Finally, the impression of Greta's teeth vanished without even leaving a scar, gone as if it was never there.

"You called out for my help, and I have answered your call." She said, "Now will you accept mine?"

"Yes, of course. Thank you." I said.

Again, she leaned forward, this time pressing her mouth onto my forehead. At the touch of it, the world around me exploded into a wild array of colors and sounds, but when she pulled away they vanished in an instant, leaving only a painful burning sensation on my skin where they had been. I gasped and fell back to my knees.

In turn, she offered me her hand. I took it, and pulled myself back up.

"You are a blessed one now. A Saint. You will let the world know of my name and my will. You will love to serve me."

"Yes my goddess."

"I have seen that the servants of the moon and of darkness seek to oppress my children once more. I have heard their cries. Starting today, the land of the Vampires will know my name and they will know my anger. You will bring to them divine retribution."

I didn't know what to say, so I only stared up at her. Was this a message she wanted me to deliver?

"Yes. You will bring this message to them." She answered me. "And with that message you will bring my vengeance and an army."

"An army?" I stuttered out. "I know nothing of war. What could someone like me possibly do with an army?"

"Do you doubt my judgment? Am I not the ruler of justice? Did I not place the sun in the sky and the grass upon the earth?"

"No. Of course not. I only doubt my own abilities-"

"Do you not wish to return to your friends?"

"No, I do." I said.

"I will give you guidance when you require it."

"Yes, of course."

"Go now, back into the world, so that my will may be done."

She took my face in her hands, the palms that touched my skin burning me like ice when touched with bare hands. She leaned forward, and I felt her lips touch my forehead again, making my vision explode into a prism of colors and shapes once more.

And then, the blank whiteness returned.

Only to be replaced with black.  

Sorry for taking so long to update. I've had a stressful week but hopefully I can get some more stuff posted this weekend. <3