LOWELL VON EIKEN
It was like watching a movie but instead of your favorite actor, you were the main character.
I saw a baby sleeping soundly on a crib adorned with beautiful cloths and baby stuff. He was small and cute and absolutely adorable. Below his lower lip, there was a mole barely visible.
“He’s me.” I realized because I also have the same mole on the same spot.
Tinier me started crying and a woman quickly came over and carried me on her arms. She was very beautiful. Her blonde hair was being blown by the wind like those women in the movies who were standing on a cliff or somewhere high.
A few seconds later, a man came over and gave her a chaste kiss on the lips before kissing tinier me on the forehead. He looked like a movie star with his chiselled good looks and fit body. He was also blonde and his hair was kept cleanly.
“Mom and dad,” I whispered to myself. It’s been years since I’ve seen their faces. After that fateful incident took their lives, I haven’t visited their graves ever since.
Cyrus was the one who took care of me after their death. He became my confidante, not my father. He told me that no one could replace Lancer Von Eiken in my heart.
Looking at their faces, I felt the sudden urge to embrace them and let all my worries slip away. They look so peaceful ... so contented ... so happy.
Then the scenery changed and an older tinier me was looking down on our parents’ gravestones. That day, Cyrus was the only one with me. The rain was pouring hard and the sky was mourning with me.
Tinier me just stood there, staring at our parents’ graves. Cyrus didn’t say anything. He just stood there and supported me in his own way. At that moment I l realized that I wasn’t alone. Cyrus was with me and he won’t let anything happen to me.
The next scenery was the next year after my parents’ death.
Tinier me was on the balcony of the Von Eiken manor looking down on our land. That was the day when Cyrus came over and told me about his son named Vyronn. Vyronn piqued my curiosity because of the way Cyrus was talking about him.
Cyrus told me that one day, he will die and when that happens, he would need someone to protect his son – his legacy.
“I promise I’ll protect him, Cyrus.”
Tinier me promised and the next month, we were sent to New York to watch over Vyronn’s budding powers. Seeing Cyrus’s son for the first time was kinda unnerving. The similarity was just overwhelming.
Then I saw his ability to materialize anything he says. It was the same ability as Cyrus’s. I stalked him and watched his every move. I even saw that platypus incident and overheard their conversation about going to the park. That was when I decided that it was finally time to meet them.
The next scenery was kinda different.
Tinier me weren’t so tiny anymore. He was bigger, older, and cooler. He was wearing the same clothes as Oz on that movie Oz the Great and Powerful - with the hat too of course. He was kneeling in front of someone – Vyronn.
Vyronn also looked more mature. He was wearing white long sleeves, topped with a black vest and a long coat that reached his feet. His face showed no hint of any kinds of emotion and he was looking blankly at the horizon.
“Will you leave me too Lowell?” Future Vyronn asked the future me.
“Never,” Future me replied. “The world may crumble and fall apart but my loyalty to you will never falter.”
Then future me stood up and did something totally unexpected – he bent over and kissed future Vyronn on the lips. Okay, not totally unexpected but that was so uncalled for with me watching them!
When their lips parted, future Vyronn looked up at future me’s eyes and they kinda had that moment of silence where they totally understood each other without even talking to one another. Okay, that was totally creepy and cute at the same time.
I admit I kinda have this crush on Vyronn. To us Forbearers, same sex relationships aren’t a big deal. Cyrus also told me himself that he would rather see his own son together with me than with some cheap woman who can’t even protect herself from a weak demon.
When the scenery changed again, I was back to the manor and everyone was still missing. With the thick fog covering the entire area, it seemed almost impossible to see anything.
“Enjoyed your little tour, Forbearer?”
I turned around and saw Zachary Siphon slowly making his way towards me. There was something different about him though, something that I couldn’t quite point out.
“I asked you a question Forbearer, I require an answer.”
“You want an answer? Here’s my answer!” I quickly raised both my hands and blasted him with powerful flames that could even melt titanium. The ground where he stood started to melt and the heat started to remove the fog.
When I was pretty sure that Siphon was already toasted, I stopped blasting him and waited for the smoke to disperse. The ground where he stood melted but there was no sign of Siphon’s body.
“Did you think your flames could possibly defeat me? I gave Pyrrho his ability and Pyrrho gave yours. Your power was technically mine!”
To prove his point, Siphon aimed his staff at me and blasted me with powerful flames. I stood on my ground and waited for the fire to hit me, remembering Cyrus’s words of wisdom.
“Dance with the flames, Lowell! Let the fire embrace you!”
At first I took his advice a little factually and literally danced with the flames. Now that I was fighting with Siphon, I finally understood what he meant.
When the fire hit me, I took a deep breath and let it consume me. From afar, I could hear Siphon’s crazy laughter of victory. I calmed myself and let the flames dance around me.
Siphon’s expression was priceless when he saw me still alive. He blasted me with more flames but just like the first one, my body absorbed them and turned them into energy.
When Siphon finally stopped his fruitless assault, it was my turn to counter-attack. I snapped my fingers and burned Siphon from the inside. That was another lesson Cyrus taught me. He said not only could I summon flames on my hands, but also anywhere I want.
Siphon screamed and dropped to the ground, yelling curses and insults. He raised his staff and aimed it at me, shooting green lightning that sent me flying to a nearby tree.
I was pretty sure I heard a bone snapped or something as soon as my back hit the tree. Siphon stood up and blasted me with another green lightning. I created a wall of fire to block the attack but Siphon’s magic just passed through it and hit me straight on the chest.
“Lowell Von Eiken! You will die a very painful death! I will kill you the same way I killed your parents!”
That was when I kinda lost it. Gone was the cool and reserved Lowell. Using the tree to support my body weight, I stood up on my two feet and let the anger flow within me. I closed my eyes.
Yesterday, Cyrus told me something that I wasn’t totally expecting.
“You were blessed by two paranormal, Lowell. One was the Burning Kaiser. He gave you your ability to control flames.”
“Who’s the other one?”
“The brother of the one who blessed me. Raziel, Castiel’s brother.”
“An angel?”
“Yes. He gave you the ability to Exorcise. Use that to your advantage.”
Now that I was facing the demon that killed my parents, I was totally planning to use everything to my advantage and kill the son-of-a-bitch.
Feeling the power surging within me, I opened my eyes and let it all out. Beneath Siphon’s feet, a trail of blue flames circled him, trapping him inside a burning cage. Siphon’s eyes widened and he blasted me with another green lightning. This time, the blue flames absorbed his lightning and completely melted his staff.
“You bastard ... how can you use Holy Fire?! Only the angels have this ability!”
“Maybe because ... I’m an angel.”
I snapped my fingers and the wall of blue flames circling Siphon turned into a giant bonfire. Siphon’s cries of pain were resonating throughout the entire manor as the flames slowly engulfed him and turned him into dust.
A few moments later, the fire finally subsided and Siphon’s body was charred to the bone. I slowly walked towards his bones and crushed his skull with my foot. That was when I heard the familiar laughter.
“You think you killed me? Foolish boy! You only killed a part of me! As long as one part of me is alive, I won’t die! HAHAHAHA!”
I turned around and started walking away from Siphon’s bones. However, it seemed like Siphon was still up to something. His bones started moving and even without a head and a lower body, it was crawling desperately, trying to reach me.
When its hand finally reached my leg, Siphon’s voice one again filled the air.
“Bloodied by an Angel and a Demon ... What do you think will happen if the council of the Forbearers discover that? You, Lowell Von Eiken are a monster far worse than I am! HAHAHA!”
I kicked off the skeleton below me and blasted it with another blue flame, finally disintegrating it.
“I won’t let a weak warlock like you ruin my plans, Siphon. I don’t care how many part of you is out there, I’ll kill every single one of them if that means keeping my secret safe.”