Darkness, for as far and as wide as her eyes knew exited was the reality. A place so void and quiet almost to the point of driving her mad was her punishment, but her resolve was yet to crumble. Adira, sat there with her feet tucked beneath her, her thumbs incessantly twirling around each other, she contemplated. She knew many things about the place she was trapped in because she'd been in the vicinity for the longest while and she tried walking, for a long time only to not go anywhere. She didn't panic at this notion and that was simply because she knew she was dead and in death, everything was obscure and unusual.
The queen knew she was dead, she knew the moment she'd been struck by that spear that she would succumb to the euphoria of it, it was just a matter of how fast. She had been around dead people, millions of times, she'd guided many back from the dead, assisting others to die, so when her turn had finally come, the woman was prepared. It was painful, the dying that is but death was sweet. It was cold for a moment, then it began to tingle and the best feelings erupted throughout her body. Death smelled of something similar to alcohol, but alcohol made from a beautifully scented flower. Fear wasn't a thing because unlike many others she knew what resided beyond death, she'd seen it but for her in that reality, purgatory wasn't the place she expected to be in. Hell was home to her, so in her final moments it was where she expected to lift her eyes, but even hell eloped. It was as if she was no longer wanted or so she felt as she sat there in utter darkness. For the first time in her life, she didn't know what was the next step. The devil hadn't visited her, nor any of the creators and that was a very troubling thought. So in that desolate, quiet place, the woman tried to distract her raging thoughts with things other than her dilemma. Colette, she thought.
Colette must've been so devastated by her demise. The poor girl probably cried her eyes out as she existed in this prison and she wondered who was there to console her. She knew not to get her hopes up too high, but Adira imagined Petra would've taken the role. It was crazy to even entertain in her thoughts but she knew Petra more than anyone else; she was prideful, stubborn and unpredictable but she had a heart despite what many had to say. Sure, Colette's family would've been there for her but Petra knew everything about their relationship and her life and if anyone could've been there for her love it was the older woman, so in her little corner, Adira prayed for these things, she hoped.
She prayed for her girl to live a happy and long life even though she didn't want that. She knew it was selfish to say or entertain but she did not want her love to replace her, but she did want her to be happy in other aspects of life. She wished her revenants well, and she blessed them and whatever endeavours they chased. Adira wished that even in death, Mclean and Isaac were not tormented as much and she hoped that she served them well. She wished Petra and her love would find happiness in each other, for they deserved such things. She wished Samuel would find purpose in life and possibly consider taking up a position among his peers. Adira wished nothing but wonderful experiences and kindness for the people she had in her circle, but lastly, she wished they would forgive her for not keeping them safe enough during the war.
Amid her thoughts of lamentation and allotting courtesies, the woman was thrown off by the sound of footsteps. They were soft at first, and they came from all around but they became heavier the closer they got. They became so loud and booming, Adira needed to cover her ears to drown some of the noise. She shrieked feeling pain surge deep inside of her head due to these heavy steps.
Almost immediately the sounds dissipate, causing Adira to retrieve her palms from her ears, her gaze flickering around in the dark, but she could feel tears in her eyes. Truly she expected visitors in the afterlife, perhaps Mclean, Satan, or even William. She knew at some point someone was going to intervene in her peace and she was right. Unexpectedly, eyes, burning bright like embers flashed from above, and she gazed up, recognizing them. They burned until the space between her and them illuminated due to this being conjuring fire within their palms. The fire lingered as they glared down, so disappointed, yet so relieved to have found her.
Tossing this burning element in several directions of the vicinity, the fire clung to the ground, lighting up the square and quickly Adira realized that she was inside of a massive cell, but this prison had no bars, just an endless void made of smooth ground. Casting her gaze back to the glowing embers, formidable horns and tribal tattoos greeted her and she accepted that this was it.
"I'm sure, I was not who you were expecting," said the familiar, strident voice and at the sound of it along with their presence, Adira turned her gaze away when she noticed the smile on their face.
"I've run out of dramatic responses, councilwoman," replied Adira and at her tone, Isabella scoffed.
"So prideful and cordial, this one. Anyway, a simple thank you or at least a Hello mother would've sufficed,"
Queen Adira, in her vulnerable, spiritual propensity, refused to respond to the woman. What was her mother doing there in the first place? To gloat? Accuse her of being an idiot? Torment her? Maybe that was her version of hell thought the woman. Maybe that was her punishment, her mother swinging her whip into her back while she told her how useless and disappointing she was over and over.
"What is it that you need, Isabella? Why are you here?" She finally decided to give the woman the attention she so desperately craved.
"Even in death, you are a rude girl,"
"And even in death you torment me," retorted Adira and the devil who stood before her laughed. Her voice echoed, leaving her daughter irritated by the sounds.
"You think my presence here is me tormenting you?" Questioned Isabella. She chuckled once more, and as she did it echoed again. Her eyes also lit up and so did the fire around them. It blazed brighter, harsher.
"Is it not obvious why I am here, Adira?" She asked, clasping her large hands behind her back. Her tattoed face studied her daughter's celestial body, there wasn't much difference but she was somewhat weak and her face held a sullen expression the woman knew was the result of death and this prison of a place.
"I don't know your intentions, never have,"
"I've come here on behalf of my idiot brother, William," explained the older devil.
"Why?"
"To make you a deal of course and not just any bargain but the deal,"
"You must think this is a moment to be humourous, Isabella and I find such a thing even for you to be a low blow."
"That is not my fault you think so low of me. Sometimes you can give me the benefit of the doubt, even in death."
"Leave me be, please," mumbled her majesty. "You've done nothing but terrorize me, I bet this isn't anything different,"
Conjuring the book that held the words of the bargain that was coined specifically for her, Isabella turned through the archaic book and when she found what she was looking for within the pages, she flung the item in front of her child. It plopped heavily, dust stirred because of this.
"It has come to my attention that William did a piss-poor job educating you of the function and purpose of this deal and by his inability, or more so incompetence of doing so, it cost you your life and you, my dear child was never supposed to die." The devil glared at her child with solemnity. "I am here, howbeit, to rectify that awful experience by offering that deal to you and with a much deeper explanation if needed,"
Studying the massive book laid out in from of her written entirely in Latin, Adira saw the drawing of the two elements: fire and water at the top of the page and below it was the terms of the deal, the words of what it pertained to. She noted the parts for her signature and that of the being making the deal and at the sight of it, she grimaced.
"Why should I believe you are here to help me?" Adira stood up now, but due to her mother being in her innate body, she was shorter, smaller in comparison to the woman.
"Why should I trust you when for all these centuries you've always depicted how much you wanted me gone? You even told me so yourself, how much you wished I'd die, did you suddenly forget that? Did you forget how you left me in the world, poor, confused, orphaned? Didn't that gratify you, my struggles? But now you expect me to believe you've come here to offer me this deal?"
Tears had wielded up in the woman's eyes as she remembered her life. How dare her mother come to her with that shit now, just how dare she? Was it more suffering she was looking to inflict? Was she that sadistic and mentally unwell that she wanted to subject her to that again questioned the woman? Well, she wasn't a fool, she wasn't a child unaware of the struggles of life, she wasn't desperate for anything anymore, not her mother's attention and love, not wealth and comfort.
"Yet here you are," Adira continued her monologue. "You've come before me with this awful bargain you expect me to accept. Nothing about life on earth was ever fun for me, nothing about that experience is a temptation. I was abused as a child, taken advantage of in that orphanage. I was beaten and starved, left for dead until I escaped. I travelled as a young teen, I stole and I begged for food. Life was awful until I met Mclean and he took me in. He saved me, he gave me a home and he didn't need to but he did. Yet you stand here, proud and tainted by my tears only to offer me a second chance at that awful experience simply because of some fucking deal you and your shitty family coined and not even for me directly?"
"Don't be obstinate, Adira, you've lived and most of the years you weren't subjected to these traumatic experiences you speak of. Those were just a few short years,"
"Shut up!" The queen barked at her mother, but the more she became heated and angry, the more she realized the amusement on the woman's visage.
"You're such a pig. You're such a wicked, evil, sinful bitch!"
"My, my, so many adjectives," replied the devil. "All of which are accurate, I am wicked and sinful and evil; I am a deal devil. I am the one who ruined both our lives, I am my creators' first mistake, I am their spoiled child, their disappointment. You know these things yet you still hold me to such high esteem, why?" She asked and Adira studied her with scorn and pity.
"Is it because you expect me to be different to you simply because you are my child?"
"Yes!"
"How sad, even after all these years you're still pathetic." uttered the woman. "If you must know, I could've never been different towards you, it was impossible, given the way you were conceived. It was impossible for me to love you in the first quarters of your life because you reminded me of my mistake, my sins,"
There was silence as the queen observed her mother. Her amusement, her ostentatious resolve crumbled for a bit and she was able to see a woman who had regrets and fears and concerns. Such a moment was so rare, Adira thought it might have been a hallucination.
"I hated you because of what I did. I ruined this place because of my inability to accept things." She said, taking her hands from behind her back.
"I loved someone before I conceived you before I met Aksel,"
"That goddess disguised as the dragon, I know,"
"No, I don't truly think you understand. I loved her but she treated me like a business deal: I was hers, I catered to her, I did things for her, I worshipped her but she couldn't accept the fact that I wanted more than to be subjected to her in those ways, I wanted to be her equal. So I fled when that was not given to me.
I took sides with the other gods just to spite her but she never cared. And then I heard about Aksel, the human with god-like abilities and I formulated a plan. I knew that if the word had reached back to her that I was fooling around with a human, she possibly would've cared and would then reach me halfway with my plea, but no." The woman paused, glaring down into her daughter's eyes.
"Why are you telling me this?"
"Because you must understand. I've lied to you your entire life, I've sabotaged our relationship and I've hurt you and I want you to know why,"
Adira frowned even harder but truly she was hurt. "I don't care,"
"Yes you do, you've always cared. You may try to suppress and disguise your emotions as other things but you've always cared. And I'm here to tell you. I befriended the human, Aksel as a way to spite my love. I bargained with him even when told against it, we were not supposed to mingle with the humans, although countless of my siblings did just not the way I did, it was far worse. I slept with him several times and then I conceived a child,"
"This child was unlike any child the world and even the gods would've ever seen. I was ashamed of you, ashamed of myself for being so daft. Then I felt abject confusion because I knew you'd grow up to be a lost soul, a soul unsure of her existence especially when no one planned for you to be there, so I tried to get rid of you. I took things, I visited many of the gods and goddesses, my siblings even but they were all so afraid to do that thing for me, they refused to help me until Scarlett learned of my inequities and she shunned me. I didn't know what else to do but disappear, so I did after giving birth. I left you in the world, hoping you'd die. I severed all connections with you, but you didn't die. You didn't succumb to the horrors of this world and when you made that first contact with the spiritual world I was livid until I met you and I realized you were so expectant and strong unlike what I expected you to be,"
"But I couldn't stay connected to you, I couldn't love you when you reminded me of my wrongdoings. I know it was and still is harsh of me to blame this on you, but it was you. You did not want to die. You never wanted to die even when I tried to kill you multiple times,"
Adira swallowed the bulk in her throat, the tears she'd held back for years bubbled and bubbled. God, Isabella was such a monster she thought.
"You became something of interest to the creators, you were recognized by both my creators and their foes and because of that, they fought over you. They recognized your potential and that is why we are here having this conversation. To the humans, you are a god, to the creators you are a god. You are a bridge between life and death, between humans and the spiritual world and you recognized that even when they couldn't. What you did for your revenants was unprecedented, even if you only did it with Satan. You took souls out of hell by trading their servitude and yours to the devil. You took people out of purgatory and that is a god-like thing that none of the multums whether it be pact angels or deal devils had done."
"I still do not want to go back, I don't want to hurt, I don't want to live knowing I am here because you couldn't handle not being loved,"
"What about the girl then? What about Colette?" Isabella dropped a bomb and as she did, the devil descried the glint in Adira's eyes. She remembered the girl, she remembered the love she had for her and the love she received even when it wasn't vocalized.
"Is she not worth going back to?" The devil asked. "Do you not care about her and her wellbeing? Was life not better with her by your side?"
"It was. She is worth it but I don't want to suffer in that place,"
"You're not going to suffer, not when she is by your side, as your love, not when you would be ruler over the people of both the human and supernatural world,"
"What?"
"That is the deal, the entire time, that was the deal. In exchange, for life and preeminence and total sovereignty you needed to stay connected to Colette, for the two of you were the ordained rulers, the ones to lead the people in this new era. William had mentioned that some of the people he came on behalf of foresaw the future, this was the future they foresaw, this is why the creators and their foes fought over you. This is why William and the others made sure that you and Colette came to learn of each other, you two are the winning side. It is why you could have no longer reached the devil to save Mclean or any of the others, it's because he recognized that too and he no longer wanted to be affiliated with you. Colette was the reason he started to accept you weren't going to side with them. Your love and admiration for her made the envious celestial beings mad and that's why they tried to kill you and the girl, and also plunge the world into chaos."
"So how will I be able to keep reaching the souls of the people I want to save? I will no longer be the revenant queen, is that what you're saying to me?"
"What I am saying is that you will no longer need to work with the devil, you can intercept souls before they enter either realm, that is where your indubitable power will come from,"
"And the union with Colette, why do we need to get married?"
"As much as saying this leaves a bad taste in my mouth, it is because you will be recognized by the water people, as their queen as well. Not only will you rule over the revenants, and the other supernatural species of the land, but also the sea, and vice versa for the girl. She will be a queen to your revenants and all those who survive. You need each other, you need to coexist together and that is why the union is pertinent,"
"Why couldn't William have said so?"
"Because," shrugged Isabella. "He's an idiot,"
"Why are you here helping me now? What do you gain?"
"I gain nothing from this. By making the deal with me, you don't need to reward me for granting this again. Also, I came here because I wanted you to know that your death, for a moment did make me question things. I was unaware of the plans for you, I was unaware about what was so special about the girl, albeit, I had my suspicions but after I went to her at the end of the battle at the estate, she told me. Scarlett told me everything but before she did, the thought of losing you to death did do something to me. I felt something."
Isabella, clearing her throat, shifted in her stance, she didn't want Adira to see that she was hiding other emotions so she shifted the focus from her. Surfacing a fancy pen, she extended it to her daughter who studied it.
"Colette has already made her deal, now, she needs you, your revenants need you, the world needs you and the quicker you agree to the deal, the faster you get back to them and you continue from where you left off,"
"What about the revenants that have died? What about Mclean, will I ever be able to gain their souls again?"
"Some things cannot be undone, Adira and I am sorry to say that but it is the truth. When you arise you will be able to save almost anyone from this era,"
A few seconds went by and at the time wasted, the older woman checked her wrist as if there was a watch sitting there.
"I have other things to do, child,"
"Like what, secretly cry over my demise?" Questioned her daughter and the woman frowned.
Taking the pen from her grasp, Adira bent to the ground and took up the contract. She'd read it before so there was no need to do it again, all that was left to do was her to place her signature which she did. And as soon as she scribbled onto the thick paper, the book was snatched from her hand and closed harshly.
"What now?" She inquired glaring at her mother.
"Get the union out of the way, acquire allies and instil order in this place, I'm tired of having to clean up the mess you should've been doing," said Isabella. She started to back away from her daughter but stopped.
"Oh, and another thing," she incited Adira to glance her way. "Do not summon or try to involve me in these tedious things, do not try to remember any of what I mentioned to you about Scarlett or share any of the things I said to you, ever, or I will kill you myself," threatened Isabella.
With those words, Adira started to lose consciousness. Her stomach felt queasy, her chest pained, and she groaned, stumbling to her knees. It was like death all over again, except it didn't last as long. In a matter of seconds, she flashed from her prison in purgatory, dropping into her body and she jumped up.
Everything that sat around her cracked and shattered and she slipped from the table, tumbling to her side.
Beth and two of the female staff who were there fixing her for the final services were startled by the things that occurred. The two revenants weren't as scared, but Beth gasped stepping back after seeing the dead lady crawl to her feet.
Amber eyes glared at them and they were far from friendly. Slowly Adira started to shift simply because she did not recognize any of the people in her view and she was threatened by them for, in her daze, they looked just as unfriendly.