I awoke to the feeling of my skin throbbing as though someone had attempted to unsuccessfully flay me alive, my throat was so dry and inflamed that it hurt to simply breathe. As I stirred, my eyelids fluttered, yet felt weighted along with the rest of my body. A tender rawness was chased by a feverish chill that made my thoughts cloudy and unfocused.
Death may have been preferable.
The overall heaviness seemed determined to drag me under once again, but I refused to tire so easily. I continued to struggle until finally my eyes opened to a blurry dimness, as I emerged from the darkness. Blinking slowly, my vision gradually sharpened until everything came into focus.
The tops of tall golden candlesticks, with their ivory candles, stood like narrow sentinels to either side of me. The air in the room was heavy with a scent similar to that of bitter autumn leaves, and a blend of enticing musk. After a moment of looking around, I realised that I was laid out across a stone table, the cold chill seeping through the thin cushions that I rested on.
The ceiling was decorated with a beautiful mural of the mythical creature, Pegasus. The detailing on their white feathered wings, along with the expression of calm interest in their eye, almost dream-like. As I continued to look around, movement caught my eye, and then I heard his voice.
“Our girl of a rare beauty.” His green-eyed gaze appeared above me, far too closely.
I swallowed before trying to speak, but winced as the motion itself was agonising. Suddenly, his face disappeared before returning. Standing to the side, he gently, almost cautiously, helped me to raise my head as he brought a shallow bowl to my lips. A smell of bitterness grew stronger, as I narrowed my eyes in suspicion.
He laughed, “Relax, it’ll help to ease the pain and to hydrate you. Besides, poisoning you while you’re still weak wouldn’t be any fun.”
With the little strength that I had, a blank look with the barest hint of irony was all that I could manage, but his mischievous smirk simply brushed it aside.
Returning to the small bowl, I attempted a first sip, the concoction thick, almost soup-like. Tensing my jaw, I fought not to let my revulsion show, but soon the bitter remedy was soothing my burning throat with every sip.
Exhausted, I closed my eyes, unable to fully support my own weight, as I allowed him to carefully lay me back down.
“Thank you,” I half whispered, my voice hoarse as though from disuse. He caught my gaze as he winked, setting the bowl aside.
Looking around more closely, I saw his friend standing in the shadows. The candlelight only partially revealing his face.
“How do you feel?” he asked, as he met my gaze, his voice as lovely as before.
I raised an eyebrow. “Far worse than you can imagine.”
He laughed, a soft melody, but a harsh expression crossed his features. “The price of saving another.”
Gently tilting my head, I felt another flash of pain. “The consequences of choices, or the price of survival.” I swallowed awkwardly. “Who’s to say...”
He stared at me intently for a moment, before he asked. “Why do you continue to fight?”
As he watched me, I could see that his curiosity seemed less genuine than his intent to know the answer. Almost as though there were more to it.
“Because what's life without a challenge?”
He smirked. “You tell me.”
“In a word... Boring.”
He laughed again, a soft richness ringing through the air. “Eventually you’ll lose.”
“True, but when I’ve given everything that I have to give, there's nothing left but peace.”
And I’ll finally be able to get some fucking sleep.
His eyes narrowed. “And what if your time simply never comes, only an endless path lays ahead.” His gaze deepened, as though searching the hidden depths of my soul.
I looked away, before looking back. “Then I would find a loophole to soften the harshness of time.”
This time they both laughed, as green-eyes came to rest against the same wall as his friend. I had almost forgotten that he was still there. I met his friend’s eyes once more, but this time his harsh expression had mellowed, touched by amusement.
As we’d been talking, it took me a few moments to realise that the pain had died down to a more manageable threshold. My body felt lighter, as I pushed myself to sit up. Although it still wasn’t easy. My breathing deepened as pain pierced my joints, and I trembled.
“You shouldn’t move,” he said, as he reached past green-eyes to steady me with a graceful movement.
I nodded my thanks and closed my eyes, as dizziness turned my vision black before slowly returning.
“I’m Cain,” he said, as he turned to look at green-eyes.
“And I’m Abel, it’s lovely to meet you, Lilith.”
They both smiled, but it held no small amount of slyness.
“And before you ask, no, not like in the Bible stories. The true tales are rather different,” Abel remarked with laughter.
I narrowed my eyes, thinking back on our meeting at Bluebird. My hazy thoughts, slowly piecing things together.
“I’m assuming that’s why your abilities are beyond unique, and there’s no record of them even in the oldest of the archives.”
“Not just a pretty face, and yes, our history is closely guarded because of it. We’ll tell you more about it later.” Abel said, as he came forward to join Cain.
Cain leaned in towards me. “I’ll tell you what happened, but don’t speak, unless you wish to go without food for several days, or enjoy the agony that arises from it.”
His almost threatening expression was complimented by a serious intensity in his eyes, as he ran a barely there fingertip down over my throat. I tensed as a scolding heat flared, burning my skin. The pain from such a fleeting touch was unbearable, as I realised that he'd done it deliberately to make a point.
I gave Abel an ironic look, but he just laughed as he sauntered away, throwing words over his shoulder as he left. “Don’t worry, he’s no longer able to corrupt your memories. You’ll find out why that is in a moment.”
After watching Abel leave through an archway, I turned back to Cain. We simply stared at one another as I waited for him to begin. I didn’t enjoy having restrictions placed on me, but I could still feel the subtle ache of my throat.
He relaxed, stepping back slightly. “From what you said earlier, you must remember saving the girl from those strangers?” he looked at me.
I nodded, feeling irritated at the jarring pain that followed the movement.
“I’m sure you’ve guessed, but they, and many more like them, are the ones responsible for the dead and the missing. They’ve been corrupted by a divine energy known as heavenly fire, although the source is still relatively unknown. The divine flames are potent and deadly.” He raised an eyebrow, at, I assume, the irony. “The energy drives them into madness whenever they choose to wield it, slowly eating away their life-force until they are consumed, and nothing but death awaits them.”
As I listened, I felt a spine-chilling cold tip-toe down the nape of my neck. When I looked up, I met his gaze head on, and we both knew what he was going to tell me.
I unconsciously took a deep breath in.
His eyebrows lowered and his jaw tensed. “You were attacked by those wielding heavenly fire, and now the energy resides within you. When you passed out, your skin lit up with a soft golden glow. The flames healed your wounds, but condemned you to excruciating pain as a consequence.” His voice had softened to a velvety tone, but his words ruined the beauty of its allure.
My breathing quickened as I looked down, my shallow breaths sending a fiery ache screaming through my chest. Yet, just as my vision blurred, his roughened fingertip lifted my chin. I blinked, trying to clear my vision as I narrowed my eyes, before closing them to retain a measure of control. My breathing exercises helping.
Who would’ve thought, that narcissistic arse and his love of whale music, actually taught me at least one useful technique. Although I’ll die before ever admitting it aloud.
The next thing I knew, Cain’s thumb had joined his index finger on my chin, pressing down with a subtle pressure. The moment I opened my eyes, an eerie calmness seemed to pour over me as our gazes locked.
“It’s not over,” he said. An intensity flooding his eyes, as I felt myself falling into a familiar, unfeeling state. Empty and closed off.
“Don’t.” He tipped my head back. “Stay with me.”
“It’s not like I’ve anywhere else to be right now..., except to maybe fall into the bottom of a bottle.” I yanked my chin from his loose grasp, instantly regretting the sharp pain that lanced through me, as I almost lost my balance.
“Take this...,” he opened a small ornate flask. “Seen as you’ve ignored my warning.”
As I accepted the flask, a pleasantly sweet aroma rose, a softly floral scent reaching me.
Without looking at him, I knocked it straight back. At that moment, I couldn’t have cared less about what it was. He raised an eyebrow at me, his smile humourless. I shuddered at the tart kick of the aftertaste as I handed it back to him, our fingertips brushing.
“I don’t know for how long your pain and fever will last, as there's only ancient rumour and legends regarding heavenly fire.”
He raised his chin as his pale grey eyes glinted in the half light. “How do you feel about stories of old?”
At his seriousness, I merely narrowed my eyes. It was more than enough for him.
His eyes briefly flickered closed, as he began. “There’s always been a legend of those who have been touched by heavenly fire gaining immortality, and being able to miraculously heal, along with the ability to produce deadly white flames.” He smirked, running a hand over the nape of his neck, his silky ponytail sliding over one shoulder. “Although to gain such a gift, the vessel touched by the divine flames must not wield the power for thirty days and thirty nights. There's always a catch, and by not wielding the flames, the vessel experiences excruciating pain and recurring fevers - which is why those we witnessed the other day were wielding the energy. As a consequence, they lose their sanity and their lives.” As he finished, he looked me dead in the eyes.
Not sure what to say, I simply stared back at him. The weight of everything pressing down on me.
From bad to worse, to fucking impossible.
If what he said was true, then I’d suffer from bouts of pain and fever, yet afterwards I may live to find myself in possession of another gift, immortality.
I snorted. As if, the world is a beautiful mystery but not a fairy tale.
I didn’t believe for a moment that I would survive, but maybe I would be able to prolong my time just long enough to find the culprit and kill them.
My thoughts continued to spiral, drifting in and out of reality. I couldn’t afford to lose either my control or my life just yet.
Bringing me back to him, Cain leaned closer, his hand resting on my forehead.
“You need to rest, you’re burning.” Turning away, he surprised me when he turned back with two cool cloths. One, he folded beneath my nape as I lay back, and the other he pressed to my forehead.
I looked at him, and in a moment of normally cold aloofness I found a feeling of irritable curiosity, the latter of the two feelings finally winning.
“When did you slip into my memories that day at Bluebird?” I asked.
His calculated gaze pierced mine, yet I held it with growing interest.
“When you stepped away from the train, and approached the door beneath the stairs.” He chuckled. “I’m sure you’ll be pleased to know that you managed to pin me to the wall using telekinesis. You were so rough that it left a slight indentation in the wall.”
I hadn’t noticed that.
“You wouldn’t have seen it when you left without purposely looking for it.”
He met my gaze as I looked up sharply.
“Your thoughts were clear across your face, which is unusual for you.” He stepped back, still watching me with dark humour. “After you pinned me to the wall, you made the mistake of meeting my eye. From there, I was able to force you to release me and manipulate your memory.”
“And where was Abel, while you were pinned to the wall by me?”
“Enjoying a moment of entertainment. It’s not often that another manages to gain the upper hand with me, even for mere moments... But you did. To Abel, that was the funniest thing he’d seen in quite a while.” He smiled slightly, as though he too had enjoyed the unpredictable moment.
Speaking of Abel.
“I’m assuming that when Abel hinted earlier that you could no longer influence my memories, that it has to do with the energy or heavenly fire flowing through my veins?”
He nodded. “Nothing can touch or influence heavenly fire, for it's pure, burning away all concealments and shrouds of shadow. It most likely originates from an ancient religious relic. That’s the legend, anyway.”
Swallowing, I tensed my jaw, the pain helping to keep me focused. “Heavenly fire has almost always been spoken of in biblical references. Many thought it to be nothing more than old stories of morals and lessons, and yet...”
I lifted my hand above me, and caught the subtle golden glow beneath my skin. I could feel him watching me, closely.
He picked up on my thoughts. “There’s no mutation or virus of telekinesis that would spread in such a way. The corruption is coming from a very powerful and specific energy source.”
He had clearly heard both the doubt and the grudging belief in my voice.
Softly but shakily, I lowered my arm, returning my attention to him while choosing to ignore my temporary weakness.
I’d once walked through hell in training as a child, as an adult it should be second nature.
My eyes narrowed. “Cain and Abel...” I mused as their names slipped off my tongue, my voice bearly a whisper.
I remembered reading the fable of the two brothers, Cain left to wander in loneliness never settling, and Abel murdered by his own brother after Cain gave into his Jealousy.
When my eyes found Cain again, he was half hidden in the shadows. The darkness pooling around him, careful to avoid the hints of light that brought a touch of alluring sharpness to his almost cruel beauty.
A huff of laughter left me. I’m clearly sicker than I realised.
A slow smirk curled his lips. “You’ve read the tale that bears our names... I’m surprised. Most religion is of no real interest any more.”
“I like to spend my spare time reading. That particular story stayed with me.”
“And what did you think of it?”
“I thought that god was cruel to Cain, but that Abel was the one to suffer the consequences.”
“A sad reflection of life,” he said, as his eyes took on a distant gaze.
“At times, yes.”
The silence stretched between us, not uncomfortable but thoughtful, until he gently broke it.
“Rest, we’ll speak later on.”
If I had the energy I may have argued, but the pain was beginning to stir deep in my bones once more, and I could feel the dampness of my skin. A chill plaguing me in a slow crawl. My eyes slowly slid shut, after just a few moments I was dragged back under and into the darkness.
Thank you for reading ❤️
(Word count 2,686)