"Rise and shine you horny rabbits! Today is a life-changing day!"
I startled awake at the abrupt way too cheery feminine voice who interrupted my precious sleep. I scowled at the female ghost who hovered above our heads with an impish grin as her powder blue eyes lit up with a wicked light.
Even after a decade, Luna is still the alarm clock I never wanted.
"Fuck off." I grumbled, snuggling back into Lucian's side as he still snored obliviously.
"Nuh-uh. No can do. I'm under strict orders from a certain bitchy someone to get this lazy cow's ass from bed two hours before the Assembly. I'm a loyal servant so I must follow whatever my chain of command demands." Luna said and I cracked open an eye to glare at her.
Luna cackled, unaffected by the mental daggers I was throwing at her from my eyeball. She floated away as I released an irritated sigh, exiting my warm comfy bed and hot as fuck bedmate to immediately hit the shower to clean up. Lucian was awake and dressed when I emerged from my connected bathroom, his hair still damp from his own shower as he waited for me.
"Morning." I muttered to him before ducking into my closet, anxiety crawling beneath my skin as I struggled to find an appropriate attire to possibly die in.
Lucien joined me a couple of moments later, laying his hands on my shoulders to still my frantic movements as I discarded at least three potential outfits.
"It will be alright Ana." He told me, massaging my shoulders.
I shrugged off his touch, picking out a lacy black cocktail dress and frowning at it in rejection before haphazardly tossing it over my shoulder. This went on for a couple of time-wasting minutes before I admitted in defeat and summoned Luna to my side. She appeared with a shit-eating grin, scanning my wardrobe with a styled eye before picking out a dress that had my mouth opening in denial before I could even pluck it off the hangar. She lifted a finger to shush me before I could utter a word.
"This is the one. Don't even bother denying it." She said.
I huffed, muttering a foul string of words towards her as I stripped down to try on the blood-red, silk dress that practically molded to my body in all the best ways. A spark of feminine satisfaction bloomed in my chest as Lucien's mouth dropped an inch as I zipped the dress into place. I still wasn't going to admit that Luna was right though.
But damn the ghost had a expert eye for fashion. I looked stunning in the off the shoulder, floor-length gown. My olive skin tone and black hair popping from the color. The clinging fabric revealed both my physical beauty and my strength, leaving nothing to hide as the low-cut neckline gave peeks of my cleavage and my eclectic array of tattoos. The top of my mural of the dark angel, gravestones, roses showed on my right arm. My Roman numeral date stamped into my left wrist was covered by the long sleeves of the dress. However, a spinal tattoo of Ancient Greek lettering is also revealed by the deep v-cut in the back of the dress. No one but Luna and I knew what the words said, which in reality were the names of the men who I have lost. The men who had always had my back until the end. Another secret I kept from Lucien.
I opted to keep my hair down, snagging a pair of subtle but fashionable black sandals to put on my feet as I headed over to my vanity to begin the task of straightening and primping the nearly unmanageable mane. My vanity was still filled with clutter as always; numerous daggers, knives, jewelry, and makeup littered upon the surface. It took about an hour, but I was satisfied with my work before I painted on a mask of makeup to hide just how tired and scared I felt on the inside. I lathered foundation on top of my eye bags after I finished up with my smoky eyes, making my crimson irises appear to glow. I topped off the look with hooker red lipstick, eyeliner, and mascara before I twisted around to acknowledge Lucien as I clipped in a multitude of small silver hoops and diamonds into my ears.
He stood behind me with an awed expression, silently holding out my favorite ruby encrusted silver dagger necklace. I took it with a small smile of appreciation, slipping it over my head and sighing in relief on the inside at the feeling over comfort it gave me as it settled over my heart. This necklace and I have been through a lot of fucked up shit together so it had deep sentimental value to me. When I'm finally burned at the pyre, I wanted to be wearing this fucking necklace.
"You look gorgeous." Lucien complimented.
"Damn straight she does." Luna blurted out cockily before I could respond. "I'm the one who picked it out after all."
I shrugged nonchalantly at him.
"Figured if I died today, I'll at least go out in style." I said to him sarcastically.
Lucien sighed in exasperation, shaking his head at my antics. He didn't look half bad himself in a stark white polo and tan khakis. He looked like he belonged at a golf course instead of going to a fucking dark as shit Assembly.
I rose to my feet, approaching him to run a hand over his slicked back hair with a smirk of amusement.
"How much gel did it take to tame this beast?" I teased him.
Lucien smacked away my hand with a chuckle, taking a half step away from me.
"More than you could know so hands off woman." He told me.
"Believe me, I would be all hands on deck if you would allow me to skip this shit." I grumbled, my mood turning back to the dreary side.
Lucien reached out to hold one of my hands, his thumb brushing back and forth across the top of my hand in comfort. His expression was one of unwavering confidence in me, sending my anxiety skyrocketing as he smiled charmingly. I knew he wasn't oblivious to my turmoil, but he didn't acknowledge it as he turned his head in the direction he thought Luna was in. Though Lucien was more gifted as an Empath, he still had Death's blood in his veins which granted him the ability to hear the dead. That's right, I was finally with someone else who could hear the crazy bullshit that spills out of Luna's mouth on the daily.
"How much time do we have left before we have to leave for the Assembly Luna?" He asked her politely.
Luna siphoned beside him, tapping her chin in thought before she snapped her fingers with an 'ah-hah' expression.
"Thirty-eight minutes and forty-five seconds and counting down." She informed us unhelpfully in my personal opinion.
I grimaced at the reminder of the time, my life about to take a fucking fantastic turn into hell when that timer hits zero. Lucien squeezed my hand gently, giving me a swift peck on the forehead before tugging me towards the door.
"We should go and brief our people." He said.
I trailed behind him silently, my mind whirling and my stomach twisting in dread as he lead me through the maze of my mansion to the main foyer where our entourage waited. At least twenty people mingled about, all I various states of formal dress as they chattered amicably amongst each other. But I could feel the stress and fear in the air as the noticed our arrival. Immediately, all eyes were on me as they stared at me in both hope and desperation. I felt sick to my stomach at the thought that all of these peoples lives rested in my hands. That my actions alone could mean the deaths or the beginning of a new way of life for them all. All of their hopes and dreams rested on me, and I could barely bare the burden of carrying that. Holy Satan balls, can I really go through with this?
I opened my mouth but no words came out as I tried to address them. During my struggle, an old black woman with greyed dreadlocks came forward. To my utter shock, she bowed her wizened body into a position of respect, her fingers gently touching her brow while her other hand fisted over her heart.
"Guild Leader." She greeted with a raspy voice.
She had been one of the first who joined me after I reached out to recruit, and I vaguely remembered her story about how her voice was ruined after the local Coven made her breathe in fire when they came after her tiny Guild in Louisiana. I think her name was Yasmina?
The others quickly followed suit after Yasmina, and I gaped at them like an idiot. They've never done this before in my presence so I was at a loss on what to fucking do.
"Um, I think this the part where you do some badass leadership mojo or something?" Luna mumbled in my ear.
Right, and how the fuck was I supposed to do that!?
A rustle of clothing to my right caught my attention, and I swear I caught a fly in my mouth as Lucien also bowed. An expression of reverence covered his face, his eyes shining proudly as he gazed upon me. Chills ran up my spine, my stress levels ramping up a notch at all the attention and emotion I was receiving. For over half my life it had always been just Luna and I against the world. I wasn't a people person, so I had not a fucking clue as to why I built up a dream on thinking I could be a leader? How these people rely on a person who's only ever relied on herself?
I cleared my throat uncomfortably, shifting on my feet in a moment of weakness as my resolve wavered.
"There's no need to do this..." I announced quietly.
My attention was brought back to Yasmina as she straightened, her milky white eyes piercing through me even though she couldn't physically see me. Yasmina was a Seer, a powerful one at that though she has yet to give me any prophecies or meaningful insights. I chalked that all up to her trying to deal with the trauma of all that's happened to her because of her powers. But at the knowing expression on her face, now I wasn't so sure about my opinion...
"You are at a cross-roads my dear. The ultimate cross-road between Life and Death itself. A cross-road only you can bear."
My blood went cold, turning into sludge as her features took on a thousand lifetimes. Wrinkles deepened, her shoulders slouched, and her eyes became dark as she continued.
"There are decisions you must make that you have no choice in. Decisions that will both pave and alter your course."
I stiffened as she shuffled towards me, her plain wooden cane thunking against the oak floor of my home harshly in my ears. I couldn't blink, holding my breath as one of her gnarled hands reached up to hover centimeters away from my skin. A feeling of otherworldliness crackled in the slim space between us, setting me on edge as countless lifetimes spiraled through those blind eyes of hers. I did not envy what she could see. To me, her power was just a curse in the form of a woman.
Yasmina swallowed dryly, her tongue clicking automatically to counteract the effects of her ravaged throat. I gritted my teeth to stem the urge to take a step away from her. I wanted to plug my ears like a child to hide from her words. Despite all the opportunities and fortunes I could gain, I never wanted to learn my future. It's why I never made an effort to contact Yasmina after she joined my Guild. I already knew in my heart what I would face, and I did not look forward to it one fucking bit.
"Though dark times have been brought to us all, there is yet still more for us ahead. But...I see one shard of light amidst all of this darkness, and that is you my child. Though still young, your strength shines bright and it will be the guide we all need to bear through the darkness. However, should that light be tainted, that strength shattered, we all will fall. Always fear the darkness my child, but never succumb to it. For it is in the darkness that we can find light."
A tense silence fell over the room at Yasmina's words. I sucked in a deep breath as her hand fell away, the power that filled the air dispersing as she blinked her eyes. I barely regarded the white-knuckled grip she had on her cane or how her wizened form seemed slimmer underneath the voodoo dress she was wearing. A multitude of beaded necklaces hung around her neck, small bones of various animals or probably human threaded through the heavy jewelry. Her dress was black to represent her everlasting mourning, strapless to bear her heavily tattooed wrinkled skin with a colorful beaded rope wrapped around her waist with a few odd potions tied into it. A black scarf was tied around her head to hold back the knee-length dreadlocks. I ignored all the bits of bones, feathers, and beads woven into those gunmetal grey dreads. Too distracted by the words that had come out of her mouth to focus on anything else.
I was at a complete and utter loss on how to respond now. For fucksake, I couldn't even remember the plan I had formed in my head with the intention to explain to these people. My head was just that scrambled.
"Well...that was...deep." Luna muttered, causing me to startle. I had forgotten that she was still here.
"She's a damn Seer. What do you expect?" I replied without thought. I grimaced immediately at my disrespect.
"My apologies Yasmina. Your words have kind of struck me through a loop." I apologized half-assedly.
A surprising laugh bursted out of Yasmina, making everyone including me shifted warily as she waved away my lame apology.
"I may be blind but I am not deaf my child. I am well aware of the effect my power has upon the soul. It's why I even bother to speak at all now." She said.
My insides trembled as her gaze once again rooted me on the spot.
"However, it is up to you whether or not you have the strength to listen to it."
A strange feeling of determination welled up within me at the blatant challenge she tossed towards me. Her unspoken question hovering between us. Was I strong enough to handle this? Would I be strong enough to handle what is to come? Well, I guess we were just going to have to find out right?
How fucking great.