Change had a price, and it was her who had to bear it all, silently, but happily, knowing that she sacrificed herself for the people she loved.
Number Twenty-Four
Cecilia held her sister’s hand, giving it a tight squeeze as they watched the madness that surrounded them. The two of them were safe, untouchable on top of the Command, the twins that held the strings of destiny. As she Saw the future, it was Ophelia who knew the past, and together, they were invincible.
Their faces, exquisite in every way, matured with wisdom and knowledge, were framed with soft brown hair braided on a single side – Ophelia on her left, Cecilia on her right.
“It's unfair,” Cecilia spoke as tears of blood streamed down her cheek, “I can no longer stay with them.”
If it was up to her, things would be different. But there was only so much she could hold in her hands. She was but a human being. No matter how amazing her Gift was, she had a limit, and now the ending was coming too fast. It was cruel.
I’m sorry, Ophelia whispered. I left you all by yourself.
“I’ve changed the future too much. I can only afford to pay the price one last time… I guess I have to cherish whatever I have left.”
Even without looking, she knew that her older sister understood. Powerful Gifts especially require more than simple energy from their owners. Ophelia gradually lost her empathy the more she sees the past, and for her, sanity.
It was rare times like these when she was able to break free from the grips of her delusions, brief but necessary. In her world of distorted reality, escape was difficult. The past haunts her, all those branched paths of 'what ifs' and 'what should have beens'.
“I’m sure you regret not seeing your girl.”
Ophelia shook her head. It’s enough that I died loving her.
She knew that back then, her sister was on the brink of losing herself. Maybe dying that day was a choice she made not only to save her loved ones, but also herself.
“Are you sad that Krad became what you feared the most?”
I don’t know.
Cecilia chuckled without humor. “This is ridiculous, right? You’re dead, yet I’m talking to you again… but you left so suddenly and I’m lonely... You're selfish, leaving us to fend for ourselves without your guidance. Papa was as strict as ever, Kreuz became impossible, Abcidee had no mother figure and Gneiss grew up to become a headache. Are you watching us, Ophee? Are you watching us with Trisha and Angelo and Dylan? Is Brandon with you too?”
It seemed like eons ago, but in truth, it had only been two decades since Cecilia and her friends thought that they finally achieved their happily ever after. The Syndicate was the most feared underground network back then, and at its head was the Italian-Hongkong mafia family, Cie.
Under Cie’s regime, Rare Kinds were considered merchandise, tools, to be used, oddities that were collected and trained like pets. Back then, Rare Kinds were hunted and sold to the highest bidders.
Kreuz was an orphaned thug when Vladimir Creed and his eleven-year old daughters, Ophelia and Cecilia, found him in Spain. They were traveling Europe that time, and eventually, they found Meric Underwood, Trisha Gǔ and the rest of the pioneers of what the world soon recognized as the Devil’s Creed.
Together, they managed to create a new world for the Rare Kinds, and eventually, replaced the throne of Cie in the underground society. All was well, until Vladimir had a stroke.
He was bedridden for more than a month, and as Ophelia’s husband and Creed’s top Equation, Kreuz was elected to be the new Master. Inexperienced, full of himself and abrasive, Kreuz made a mistake too expensive to pay – and Cie took advantage of it.
It was that fateful battle nineteen years ago that changed Creed.
Meric was sent away for a mission overseas, and as one of Creed’s best fighters, there was little choice but for him to go. Cie and its supporters were crushed to the core. When he came back after his successful assignment, instead of being welcomed as a champion, he was greeted with a scene he had never imagined before.
His students…
His closest friends…
His wife and children…
…dead.
And there was only one person to blame.
He fled the island, promising to exact vengeance on Creed. He was hurt beyond repair, feeling betrayed by the person he loved like a brother.
Three years later, he came back with an army of Rare Kinds, unaware that Gneiss lived, and made sure that Kreuz, his sworn enemy, would feel the agony of losing everything.
Could he blame Meric? Cecilia couldn't. She knew how much Meric cherished Trisha. She had seen how much he doted on his three children. And she had loved him on the sidelines for years.
No, she was not capable of hating Meric Underwood.
However, today, he was back to wreak havoc, and he would make sure that this time he finished what he started. It would be a difficult fight, friends among friends, family against family, but in the end, one would succeed. The balance had to be tipped; the waiting game had gone too long.
Out of the Originals, only four of them lived to tell the tale.
Soon, there would be just three left.
What Abcidee saw, it was beyond comprehension. Never in her wildest dreams had she seen anything this savage, this outlandish, this… cruel. It was late in the afternoon, and despite the presence of the sun, the sky was dark with alien things. Bombs were dropped by what appeared to be fighter jets, and deafening explosions filled the nightmarish scene before her. Men ran about with grim, almost cold determination, as smoke and debris scattered around the area. There were flashes of light, solid impacts of sounds, hisses of fire and blasts of wind, not to mention the incessant exchange of bullets from all directions. Buildings collapsed; boulders floated, and inhuman shrieks were heard – those, among many otherworldly things completed the atrocious picture of pandemonium.
Everywhere she looked, there was blood and lifeless bodies, and it was taking a toll on her. She was shaking. Nauseous. Terrified of her wits.
She had never seen so many dead people.
Never witnessed a person dying in front of her.
To kill or be killed.
This was the insanity of war.
Whatever contents her stomach had, they all left her, leaving nothing but the disgusting bitter-sour taste of bile in her mouth. She couldn’t join the fray. She barely had enough strength to keep herself on her feet.
What was she even doing here?
“Mama! Mama!”
There was a little girl sobbing a distance from her, half-hidden in the space created between fallen buildings. Without clearly thinking, she wove her way towards the scared child. It must be the adrenaline, she mused, when she realized that she was running without tripping or anything of the sort. A bullet grazed her left arm, but she barely felt it. All she could think was that she had to get the girl out of danger.
“Mama!” the girl wailed louder when Abcidee reached out to her. The girl scrambled away, trembling, with fat tears marking her dirty face. “I want my mama back!”
“Ssh,” Abcidee cooed gently, pulling her firmly into her arms. “You’re safe with me. Let’s bring you back to your mama.”
It was too late for her to realize that she couldn’t be more wrong. Behind the girl was a corpse of a woman bathed in blood, who had one arm slung protectively around the girl. By the hair color alone, the relationship between them was apparent.
“I don’t wanna leave my mama!”
What could she do? What should she do?
“I’m sorry.”
She quickly picked up the girl and ran away, ignoring the protests and the punches the girl threw her way. The girl wasn’t cooperating. Abcidee refused to leave her – at least, she had to save someone. Just this girl and that’s enough for her. When a stray bullet nicked her shoulder, she had no choice but to stop and hide inside one of the buildings. It so damn hurt! And the girl wasn’t making their escape easier. She was thrashing about, wailing, and if luck didn’t abandon them, they would be in the mercy of the enemy troops right now.
“Sorry.” She kissed the girl’s forehead. “We’ll go back to your mama once this is over, okay?”
There must be something she could do to stop this, to lessen the grief of these people. To stop this brutality. To prevent these deaths.
She had to find her father.
“I know you’ll be here,” a feminine voice said behind her, and she whirled, arms automatically wrapped around the young girl. A woman with long, braided coppery hair and the brightest hazel eyes stared back at her, arms offered in front of her, an attempt to show that she was harmless.
“Who are you?” she said through gritted teeth.
Instead of an answer, the woman knelt in front of her and touched the young girl’s small hand. The girl’s eyes popped wide and glazed over for a couple of seconds before she withdrew.
“Go,” the woman smiled, and the young girl swiftly jumped off Abcidee’s arms and left.
“Wait – “
“She’ll be safe,” the mysterious woman assured. “I showed her the safest path she could take.”
“What?”
The woman shook her head. “Just know that I’m an ally. We must go before he finds us.”
He? The woman’s words made no sense. “I don’t trust you.”
“But you have to. Kreuz is in great danger, and I need you to save him.”
She immediately went to her feet, suspicion put aside for the sake of her father. “Okay. Point taken. To where… uhm?”
“Cecilia.”
“Where are we going Cecilia?”
Cecilia simply smiled before pulling her niece away, finding strength in the fact that she had her back. However misplaced, she admired her niece’s bravery.
“Ophee would be so proud.”
A/N
Anything confusing so far? As you've probably noticed, this book is nearing its end. I hope to be able to answer any of your questions within the next few chapters.
Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it.