Chapter 21
Original
LANIAS
Lanais couldn’t say what woke her up, but one minute she was curled up next to Alek and the next she was up, looking out the window. Her eyes narrowed on the mist that covered the land beyond the glass. Its wispy traces seemed to call to her.
She rose from the bed, stopping when she remembered she was completely naked. She bent down and grabbed her torn shirt, using a small amount of Magic she changed it into a loose jump suit. Pulling it on, she brushed a hand over her hair, the short mass turning pin straight once more.
She worked her mouth, using magic to clean her teeth.
She couldn’t deny her preference of using the human way because it felt cleaner.
Still, she didn’t have time, something out there was reaching out to her.
Although she had given up a lot of her old ways.
She wasn’t ever going to be caught dead looking a mess.
Walking around the bed she paused by the door to glance back at Alek. He was laying there with arms and legs wide. The man’s body was a work of art, she thought back to the things she’d said in the throes of their passionate love making. Her stomach flopped as she remembered her promise.
“Shit, Lanias,” she mentally groaned. She’d always coached her workers not to catch feelings for their clients.
Don’t mix up good sex, with a good heart.
Turning her back on the sleeping temptation, she stepped outside.
“I wasn’t sure you’d be able to sense me,” Roni greeted when she stepped into the hallway.
Dressed differently from the day before he now wore a simple clean white T-shirt and grey sweats. His hair was loose, and he wore some bracelets that she immediately noticed had magic stones embedded in their weaving. They were common stones that were mined by Werewolves.
“I’m not accustomed to having someone invade my mind,” she said, letting her displeasure show. “Next time, just knock.”
He offered her a smile, but no promise and glanced at the door behind her. “Are you not going to bring your Vampire?”
“I don’t think he needs to come.”
“Are you sure? Isn’t it because you don’t want him to know who your father really is?” Roni challenged a knowing look in his eyes.
Stiffening, she exhaled, purposely taking on a nonchalant pose. She wasn’t new to this tactic of questioning. It was her favorite game. “You should watch how you ask questions. It’s almost like you’re implying I have secrets.”
“A half-breed always has secrets,” Roni rebutted.
“Well, this half-breed isn’t afraid of them. That’s the difference between you and I,” she said, her voice cool. “I may lose a few people, but that’s it.”
He pushed off the wall and half-turned. “But isn’t that what you fear the most?”
“Let me worry about that,” she snapped.
He stared her down, but Lanias wasn’t the type to wilt under a stern gaze.
“Are you staring at me with those eyes because you want me to take them or,” she smirked striding to his side. “Are you wanting a taste of what I gave my Vampire in there. A warning, I’m not cheap.”
Roni ignored her words, choosing to continue forward. “Come, I will show you your mothers’ memorial tablet.”
“Yay,” Lanias said with mock excitement. Truthfully, she felt nervous. The days of being unsure about who she was, and her existence were about to come to an end. But at that thought she felt a sudden emptiness.
Once she learned the truth about herself, what would she do after?
As she followed Roni, she found herself taking in the place she was staying in. The inside colors schemes were soft pink and rose gold. There were portraits that decorated the walls and as she started paying attention she frowned as they reached the top of the steps. “These pictures.”
Roni stopped on the second step and glanced up at her.
“Are these the same person?” she asked, lowering her gaze to the first portrait again — a woman wrapped in layered robes, her head covered, long ropes of pearls spilling down around her face.
Lanias shifted to the next painting of the same woman. In this one she wore a Victorian gown and held a Mona Lisa smile, carrying more humor than mystery.
“Yes, it’s the very woman you’re interested to see,” Roni said before continuing his descent down the steps.
“Wha—wait,” she called after him, as she picked up speed to catch up with him. “You’re saying that woman is my mother?”
Roni nodded once more, “It was one of the reasons, she and Eris saw eye-to-eye they both suffered under the hand of time.”
“But she died.” Lanias exclaimed, only to lift a hand to her lips at the look Roni cast her. “I’m just accustomed to immortals being a bit more resilient.”
He scoffed, “You’ve met Zaharis right?”
“Yes, and hopefully sent him straight to Hell too.” She couldn’t stop the satisfaction that filled her voice. “But yes, his level of power was something different.”
“Yes, and your mother wasn’t in any place to fight him.”
They stepped outside and the mist she’d seen from her window was still there in the pockets of the rolling hills in the distance. They followed the path toward what she realized to be an annex building.
She heard some voices and spotted two girls walking from what looked like the forest at the edge of the land. “Are they like Fabian?”
Roni saw who she was looking at. “Only one of them, the other is the daughter of the family who manages the land.”
“Oh, does she want to live in the Human world or with Beings?” Lanias asked, her curiosity increasing at the thought.
“For now, she just hopes for a normal existence.” Roni answered, as they finally reached the double doors to the building. This was completely different from the rest on the estate.
Stepping to the side, he gave a short nod of his head. “Enter, and do not fear what happens after.”
“Oh, fear toward the unknown is for the weak,” she retorted. With that she grabbed the handle of the door and opened it. A bright light slipped out and covered her entire body; she was immediately sucked inside.
Stepping forward, Roni shut the door and walked away.
Lanias lifted a hand to cover her eyes from the bright light that surrounded her. She hadn’t expected such a strong transportation magic spell. Her skin pebbled with goosebumps as the white light slid from her skin, until she was able to make out a shape of someone standing opposite of her.
When she fully lowered her hand, and her eyes adjusted she found herself finally able to make sense of what she was seeing. A young woman, or what appeared to be a young woman, stood near an opened window. Her hand was placed on the windowsill, and her eyes on something below.
Her hair was a thick mass of coiled curls, pulled back in a low ponytail. She wore a loose-fitting dress; her feet were bare, and her other hand was lightly pressed on her rounded stomach. Her chestnut skin was interrupted by freckles that were dashed across her nose, and arms.
“Eris tells me, I should stop worrying about the future,” she said, almost absentmindedly.
Lanias stood motionless, once the other woman turned to face her, she saw that their eyes were a similar color of midnight.
“I’ve been dreaming so many things, from your first steps to your first words. Yet, in each dream it’s as if you’re just out of reach and distant.” Her lips curved up. “I’m not watching you physically. I’m watching you from above.”
Lanias didn’t think of herself as a sentimental person, but she felt her chest constrict as a wealth of bittersweet emotion overwhelmed her. “You’re not.”
That was the only thing she could squeeze out past the tightness in her throat.
“Ah, I thought so,” she said, pulling her hand from the window, turning around to fully face her. “From your expression, you probably just recently found out about me.”
Again, Lanias was only able to nod. The woman who was looking at her with gaze full of love was her true mother.
“My name, do you know it?”
“No.”
“It’s Anais, long ago I was a priestess and that name was bestowed upon me,” she said, closing the space between them. She stopped an arms distance from Lanias, who was trying to keep her emotions from showing on her face. “You, what were you named?”
Lanias averted her eyes, feeling them begin to burn. Her chest was so full of words she’d wanted to say but couldn’t.
Not yet.
She’d found what she’d been looking for, but it was too much.
“Lanias,” she barely managed to squeeze out.
“Lanias,” Anais repeated softly before a motherly smile came to her lips. “I like it.”
Seeing this, Lanias swallowed. “I-I’ve been looking for my past. For why I exist.” She finally regained some composure to meet Anais’ gaze once more. “I’m no longer young, but I always wanted to know why I…” She hesitated. “Lived.”
“Do you know the reason I met Eris?” Anais chuckled, glancing toward the window.
Lanias followed her line of sight. “He’s a being who most humans would consider a god, or maybe an angel.
The Surrem are mysterious creatures who’ve been banished to our plane for millions of years.
Some claimed the title of gods; others choose to remain hidden.
I’ve seen them come and go, along with the rise and fall of kingdoms. When he came to me, I was searching for my own reason of existence.
As the last human of my kind, I wanted an answer as to why I still lived. ”
“A human of your kind?”
Anais returned her gaze to hers. “They really haven’t told you anything about your heritage, have they?”
Lanias didn’t know why she felt embarrassed. “I was raised by my grandmother. I thought my mother was someone completely different. It wasn’t until I got my uncle’s journal that I learned the truth. All this time I believed myself to be a Witch, a numb Witch.”
“Hmm, but that made you strong,” Anais concluded; she gave Lanias a once over. “Yes, you, my daughter, are strong,” she repeated.
“How do you know that?”