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| Jackson |
A voice murmured to Jackson.
"Salvator..." it drawled, sounding like a snake. "You're...the one."
Jackson didn't know where he was, and he couldn't find whoever was speaking. There was darkness in every direction, and he felt almost as if he was floating around...maybe he was sinking in an ocean, but as the voice called to him, a horrible sense of unease grasped him.
"Salvator..." it called again, closer this time.
He looked around, searching for them.
The darkness suddenly shifted.
As the pitch black twisted around and lit up with purple and red, Jackson was tugged down so fast that he didn't have a chance to try and find something to hang onto. It pulled him down, further and further and further—
He hit the floor with a grunt, and as he scrambled to his feet, the world formed around him; dark shadows spewed down from above like ink dripping in water and morphed into four black walls, old oak furniture, and closed, draping curtains. The gloomy place smelled damp and dusty, and several loud bells rang in the distance. Church bells?
"Salvator," the voice said once more, but this time, it was much clearer...and right behind him.
Jackson swung around and set his eyes on the man standing behind an altar, upon which lay candles, animal skulls, dried herbs, and bottles of glowing liquids. The man's vestments were purple and harrowingly familiar, as was the silver rosary around his neck. Deep violet eyes glowed behind his silver mask, which, along with his hood, shrouded his entire face. And the stench of wolfsbane grew stronger the longer Jackson stood there staring at him.
This man was of the Holy Grail; he looked just like the ones Jackson saw in his memory of the night his father died.
Fear struck him so hard that he stifled a breath and stumbled as he backed off. He tried to work out where and when he was, but this didn't feel like a memory. He couldn't smell the air when he remembered things, and he couldn't freely walk around, either—he couldn't back off...which he kept doing when the man raised a hand and lit another black candle with a wave of his palm.
"I've been searching for you for a long time," the masked man said as he crossed his arms, hiding his hands in his long sleeves.
Jackson's heart raced in his chest. His instincts were telling him that he needed to get as far away from this place as possible, but when he looked around, there wasn't a single door in sight, and that made him panic.
"There's no way out this time," the man taunted him. "No one to protect you, no mercenary to hide you."
He was talking about his parents and Eric, wasn't he? Jackson scowled at the masked man, and when his back hit the wall and he realized that he couldn't back off anymore, his panic was accompanied by desperation. Was he going to have to fight?
The man started creeping out from behind the altar. "You belong to us—to me," he claimed, reaching his hand towards Jackson as he approached him. "No one will stop us this time, not now that we know where you are—"
"Who the hell are you?!" Jackson blurted, unsure whether he should act upon his fear or his desperation.
With a snide laugh, the man stopped ten feet in front of him and extended a bony finger, pointing at Jackson. "You know."
He didn't know. He'd never seen this man before...unless....
"I could have had you," he said as he buried his hand in his robes again. "I could have...grabbed you."
Jackson tensed up and stifled another breath. Was this the man who was calling 'Salvator' out of the darkness by the cadejo pit? "W-what do you want?" he asked shakily.
The man laughed. "You, creature. I want you." He burst forward and snatched Jackson's collar, and he glared into his soul with his bright purple eyes as Jackson panicked and tried to escape, but the man was so much stronger than he was. "You're the key to everything!" he growled, lifting Jackson up off his feet. "And we won't lose you again—"
"Jackson!" came Damon's panicked voice.
Jackson opened his eyes, finding himself in the bedroom in Reiner Manor surrounded by everyone.
And standing over him was Lord Caedis. He took his clawed hand off Jackson's head and stepped back to where Raphael and Sebastien were standing.
The pack looked horrified, and Damon pulled Jackson into a tight hug before he had a chance to ask what the hell was going on. A flurry of concerned questions came from his packmates, but it was what Lord Caedis, Sebastien, and Raphael were mumbling which had Jackson's attention.
"Is it bad?" Raphael asked.
"Zhey vere trying to pull 'im into a soul prison. Zhey knew 'is zemon name, vhich gives zhem a lot more power over 'im," Caedis replied.
"How did they find his demon name?" Sebastien questioned.
"I zon't know," Caedis replied. "But ve can't visk zhem getting 'im like zhat again."
"Jackson?" Damon asked worriedly.
Jackson shook his head and pulled out of Damon's hug so that he could see his mate's face.
The Alpha frowned. "Are you okay?"
He exhaled deeply and nodded.
"What the hell was that?" Julian asked as if they and nobody else had understood what Caedis was just talking to Raphael and Sebastien about.
Before anyone could answer, though, Jackson set his eyes on Caedis and asked him, "What's a demon name?"
"Every demon has one," Raphael answered.
"Demon names are our true names," Sebastien added. "And our other names—mine, for example: Sebastien—are the names we go by in this world, names that other Caeleste use for us."
"Like Alucard," Cyrus said, nodding at Lord Caedis. "Caedis is his demon name."
Sebastien continued, "Our demon names are only used in official cases...say you were going to Daevor or something...or addressing someone of higher ranking, like Lord Caedis."
"So...Lucian's demon name is Lucian?" Julian muttered.
Raphael scoffed. "No, he just prefers to be difficult. It makes him feel special."
Jackson was still confused and horrified. "What the hell was going on? Where was I?"
This time, Lord Caedis answered, "Zhe 'oly Grail vere trying to lure you into a soul prison; zhey vould trap your aura and later recover your body, vhich is much easier zhan capturing you vhile you're conscious. Zhey vere using a very dark ethos vhich vequires zhem to know your zemon name—Salvator. I zon't know vhere zhey vound out, but now zhat zhey know, ve're going to 'ave to take even 'igher precautions to ensure zhis mission is a success and zhat zhe 'oly Grail zon't get zheir 'ands on you."
"Why do they want him?" Tokala asked before Jackson or Damon could.
"Why would any of our enemies want him?" Raphael scoffed. "He's a created hybrid; he might be the key to curing and stopping the cadejo virus altogether. Can you imagine what the Diabolus or Lyca Corp. could do if they had him?"
Caedis sighed deeply. "I broke zhe link in time, but I can't babysit you in case zhis 'appens again." He looked at Raphael. "You're going vith zhem to zhe lab. You're zhe only ozzer available person who can counter zhat sort of ethos."
Raphael looked like he was going to complain, but he held his tongue and crossed his arms. "Yeah, fine."
Jackson shuffled around uncomfortably, and when Damon held and squeezed his hand, he glanced and smiled at the Alpha as best he could. But he was still anxious. The Holy Grail were trying to get a hold of him, too? What if they were who that prowler was talking about? "Could the Holy Grail be the Master the prowler was referring to?"
"We haven't made any connections between the cadejo and the Holy Grail," Cyrus answered.
"Vor now, ve 'ave to treat zhis like a separate vhreat," Caedis mumbled and reached into his pocket. He pulled out his phone and then glanced at Raphael before he turned around and walked out of the room, presumably to answer whoever was calling.
Raphael huffed and set his eyes on Jackson. "What did you see? Who was there with you?"
Jackson shrugged and looked down at his lap. "I don't know...I think maybe it was an old church or something. And there was just one man. I didn't see his face or anything, but his hands kinda looked like...well, bones."
"Is he going to be okay?" Damon asked, looking over his shoulder at Raphael.
"I don't know," the orange-haired man answered.
"This would have to happen now," Cyrus said with a long exhale. "We're all strapped for both people and resources, and the Holy Grail decide to make their move now; it's a little too coincidental."
Jackson had heard this kind of talk before—it was common among the people he chose to interview and investigate. Cyrus was suggesting that there was an informant among them, wasn't he? That made Jackson feel even worse. Was it someone in the house? Someone back at the Venaticus?
Raphael seemed to understand what his uncle was saying. "Yeah, well, it's not like I can do shit about it. I'm on babysitting duty...as per usual."
Sebastien smirked amusedly. "Seems to be your best quality."
"Fuck off."
Damon then snarled irritably. "Is Jackson going to be safe?" he demanded.
"Look, he'll be fine," Cyrus answered as he placed his hand on Raphael's shoulder just as the guy was about to snap back. "Alucard pulled him out of that place, and Raphael can do the same if it happens again."
The Alpha huffed and moved his arm around Jackson; he pulled him closer and nuzzled his head.
Jackson didn't know how to feel. The very people who killed his parents were after him, and they knew his demon name. Salvator? He hadn't even known it until now.
"Look, I don't mean to dismiss all of this freaky demon shit, but we're ready to plan our attack. We've got Kane's location," Cyrus said.
As confused and unsettled as he was about the Holy Grail, Jackson was glad to hear that. The sooner they dealt with Kane, the sooner they could get to the lab...and maybe all of this would be over.
"Are we just...going to ignore that Jackson was almost like...fucking soul snatched or whatever the hell Alucard just said?!" Julian panicked.
Dustu then spoke up, "I-I for one don't really want to get messed up in demon stuff."
"We're technically already messed up in it," Wesley mumbled. "We were caught up in it the day we all accepted Jackson. I mean...look around. We're standing in a demon lord's house."
"He's right," Brando said. "It's not new. Yeah, it's scary, but the cadejo came from demon blood, right? This whole situation revolves around demons."
Damon looked at Raphael. "Are you certain that Jackson's going to be okay? I'm not willing to leave this place and Alucard if he's the only one who can guarantee Jackson's safety."
Raphael almost looked offended. "How many times do we need to say it? Strămoş Luca wouldn't have put me on babysitting duty if I wasn't capable of breaking someone out of a curse."
"Then why didn't you just do it?" the Alpha questioned. "Why go and get Alucard?"
"Because I didn't know what we were dealing with at first. I can break curses, but I can't tell which is which."
"He knows now, though," Sebastien assured Damon. "Everything will be fine."
Although he didn't look entirely convinced, Damon sighed and looked at Jackson. "Are you okay to walk?"
Jackson nodded. "Yeah, I'm okay."
Damon stood up and said, "All right, let's go and get this Kane shit dealt with."
"This way," Cyrus said as he, Raphael, and Sebastien headed for the door.
Once Damon nodded, letting everyone know that it was okay to follow them out, the pack walked towards the door, too.
Damon waited for Jackson to get up and walked beside him.
Jackson felt...weird, for the lack of a better word. So much was going on that he was starting to feel overwhelmed. The lab, Kane, Wilson, and now the Holy Grail. He did feel a little better knowing that Raphael would be able to help him if he was pulled into another...dream? Vision? He didn't know what to call it. All he knew was that he had yet another thing to deal with. Would this ever be over? Would he ever get a break from all the people who seemed to want him?
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