Immortali: The Rising

Chapter 9-Getting Even

There was no obvious sign that the atrocities of three months ago had even happened.

A knot tightened in her chest.

She felt as though she could just walk right out of the house—as she'd done on many an afternoon—and walk home, into her own house, where she'd find her parents making dinner, her brother studying, and her sister trying to annoy him as much as she possibly could.

But she knew.

She knew they were gone. The memories of their deaths were burned into her mind. She could never forget, and she would never forgive.

She hadn't forgotten Samael. She hadn't forgotten that it was his fault they were dead. And even though she'd improved, she'd never forget that. It was a fire within her body. A constant reminder of what she was training for. Because one day, she was going to get another chance to kill him, and when she did, she was going to take it with both hands.

She was going to make sure that no one would have to suffer at Samael's hands ever again.

She began the quiet walk, hands in pockets. Before leaving, she'd changed from her black fighting clothes, opting for jeans, converse and a green shirt.

It felt strange to walk to the place she was going. She'd always known where it was. Everyone did, but it wasn't a place people usually went.

Rounding a corner, she came upon the cemetery.

It wasn't spooky, or dark, or even remotely as imposing as the ones from movies.

Generally speaking, cemeteries weren't scary. Certainly, there was a hush about them, an atmosphere that demanded one's respect, but it wasn't creepy, it was peaceful.

She walked to the end, where four new gravestones poked out of the ground. Nothing had grown on them. No moss or lichen. No weeds. In fact, there was even a fresh bunch of flowers leaning against them. Raina had a pretty good idea of who'd put them there, but she didn't want to think about them. They were a whole other form of grief on their own.

Instead, she sat down.

"Hey Mum, hey Dad. Hey Tay, hey James. It's uh... it's me... Raina. I just uh... I just came to say hi, and I, uh... I wanted to wish Tay a happy birthday, you know, for tomorrow. She would've been ten."

A tear dripped down her cheek.

"And, I guess I also wanted to say that I'm sorry, you know, for everything. It's my fault, isn't it? If I'd told you, or if I'd done something about it, maybe you'd still be here, right?"

Another tear.

She didn't feel stupid. She felt as though she really was talking to them, as though they could hear her, as though she really was making up for her mistakes.

"I hope that you guys can find it in yourself to forgive me. Maybe then, maybe one day, I can learn to forgive myself, but trust me, I'm a long way off that. I just don't know what to do anymore. Most days, I just try and get through it as best I can. I'm better than I was, but, the truth is... I don't know who I am anymore without you."

She put her head in her hands and sobbed. If they really were there, if they really were listening, she hoped they realised just how sorry she was. Well, at least, until, she was interrupted.

"So this is the tinder boyfriend. Well, I gotta say, he isn't much of a talker."

Raina turned around. Lo and behold, there was Pyra, staring at her, hands on hips.

Raina rolled her eyes. "Seriously, you followed me?"

Pyra nodded. "Yep, wasn't anything better to do, was there?"