Chapter Ten.
Poseidon/Jase
“Y ou promised to tell me everything,” Willow hissed as Poseidon dragged her towards the surface. She’d fought him all the way, and in the end, he’d stuck Willow in a water bubble and was hauling her behind him.
“I did! And I will. But I never said I’d tell you in Atlantis. Both Atlanteans and Sea Dragons need to heal, Willow. You’ll see Marcina again one day,” he promised.
Willow’s mouth closed as Poseidon rightly guessed her problem. She had been loathe to leave Marcina and wanted to help Rychill set up a new government and laws in Atlantis. But Poseidon knew those two races needed time to recover from their wounds. Willow’s presence would be detrimental to that process. Despite her intentions, Willow would hamper the process.
“This better not be another of your sneaky tricks,” Willow warned, and Poseidon rolled his eyes.
“Will you shut up for ten minutes?” Poseidon asked.
“Rude!” Willow exclaimed.
Poseidon raised a hand and pinched the bridge of his nose. He’d learned that Willow loved to have the last word in an argument, and she’d thrown down on any perceived insult.
“I’m trying to gather my thoughts on how to tell you who and what I am,” Poseidon said, and a look behind him showed Willow clamping her lips together.
Poseidon heaved a silent sigh of relief and then passed through the portal. Willow’s court had been banned from following them, but he knew they still did. However, they had a long way to swim before they caught up with them. Poseidon hoped he and Willow would have resolved some matters by then.
“Is the water warmer?” Willow demanded.
Poseidon sighed. She’d only managed to go five minutes. “Yes.”
“Okay,” she replied and fell silent.
After a few moments, Poseidon looked suspiciously over his shoulder. Had Willow escaped? No… she was still there.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“You wanted silence to formulate your story; I’m giving you it,” Willow said huffily, rolling her eyes.
“Wow.”
His reply further irritated Willow, so Poseidon took the time she was allowing him. He’d decided to tell her everything and judge his next steps by her reaction. Poseidon saw sunlight beginning to break the surface and pushed upwards and broke the water. Poseidon checked around for any intruders before bringing Willow up.
Willow’s eyes widened as she noticed the small island. Poseidon released her from the bubble, and Willow dropped back into the ocean. Her scowl when she surfaced should have killed him, but she turned and headed for the beach.
“This isn’t the Pacific. It’s too warm,” Willow said as she reached the shoreline and padded out.
She quickly discarded the pants and tunic Atlantis had provided without hesitation. She wore a swimming suit underneath and happily lay in the sun, soaking up the rays. For long moments, Poseidon explored her figure with his eyes and felt stirrings of desire. Willow was shapely, with a flat stomach, more than a handful of breasts, long legs, and a firm ass.
As he watched, Willow shoved herself onto her elbows and stared.
“Well? Not the Pacific?” she asked.
“No, we’re in the Indian Ocean.”
“Why?”
“Because I thought you might want somewhere relaxing and warm while we talked,” Poseidon said. He needed to shift to Jase but wasn’t sure if he’d change with a hard-on. Silently praying, Poseidon remained waist-deep and shifted.
Willow came bolt upright, her jaw-dropping.
“I knew you were Poseidon!” she accused.
“No, I’m called Jase. Poseidon is my merman and Uber merman form,” Jase explained, waiting a few moments because he was aroused.
“I don’t understand,” Willow replied.
“You will. However, in this shape, know that I am Jase.”
“Okay. So start talking,” Willow urged.
Finally having his cock under control, Jase emerged from the water, wearing jean cut-offs and nothing else. He caught Willow checking him out but refused to consider her attention. Jase’s focus was on telling Willow the truth.
“My name, many thousands of years ago, was Or’lan DiMitra. I was a leader under Captain Mir’ald Ula. My people were born as God’s Warriors, and our titles were Protectors of the Jar of Fate. We were once the beloved of God,” Jase began and fell silent.
Willow was sitting cross-legged on the sand, her attention completely focused on him. “Go on,” she urged quietly as Jase sought words.
“The Jar is now known as Pandora’s Box. It contained all the evils, Sins, that humankind had created. God stripped them away from mankind, leaving humans to live in a kind of utopia. Our duty was to protect the Jar from attack, and we did so daily. We and two other teams defended for eight-hour shifts. Until another of God’s beloved betrayed us.”
“Pandora,” Willow breathed, her eyes widened.
“Yes. Pandora opened the Jar, and the Sins escaped. When they realised they couldn’t flee the room they were trapped in, they burrowed deep into our bodies, taking up residence. Using us, the Sins unlocked the portal to Earth and fled, stealing the one thing that could trap them. Nobody knows where the Jar is, although we’ve searched for thousands of years.
“But the Sins became a part of us, and we couldn’t tear them out. We were unaware of their need to eat until it was too late. So, every human we encountered became infected, and then those victims affected others. Soon, mankind had reabsorbed the Sins. It happened so quickly nobody could have stopped the pandemonium. Finally, the Sins began to feed; we were killing machines back then. My original invader was Devastation. When I stumbled upon someone else committing a crime using Devastation, my Sin attacked and killed them. Then Devastation absorbed its… offspring, I suppose you could call them.”
“Jesus,” Willow murmured, enraptured in his tale.
“Over time, we learned to manage the Sins, but not at once, and thousands died needlessly. We trained the Sins to hunt only evil-doers to ease their hunger, and finally, we had some measure of control. When we were attacked and invaded, our natural God bless bodies changed, and we turned nightmares to gaze upon. The Uber merman was never my shape. I had my Warrior side, which is what humankind is based upon, and my Poseidon form.” “Wait, all humans are based on you alone?” Willow asked.
“No, the shape God’s Warriors took. Two arms and legs, etcetera.”
“Okay,” Willow said and wrapped her arms around her knees.
“We could not change from the monster shape; we were locked into it and, therefore, easily discoverable. As time passed, we learned to communicate telepathically as we spread out, not wishing to stay together. Some small groups remained, but our once united battalion was gone. Some of us found hiding places, and some became Gods and were worshipped.”
“You were a God,” Willow guessed.
“Yes, even though I had lost my God Warrior body, Poseidon’s shape stayed. I’d always had an infinity to control water. How or why, I don’t know? There were a few of us with abilities others didn’t have. Those like me, Lilith, and Pandora could live in the real world. Then there were Yeti, Big Foot, and Quasimodo, whose shapes had been so twisted they became easy targets. And that is what happened.
“Around the time of Atlantis sinking, Hunters appeared. Because we were so scattered, it was easy for them to begin picking us off. There is only one way to kill a Legendary Shifter, which is what we are called now. And that’s by beheading, cutting out the heart and burning all three parts. Leave even a fraction of a millimetre of skin left attaching the head and neck, and we will heal, although in great pain. So, when Hunters thought they’d killed us, they were wrong. But they soon learned. The human race is very adaptable.
“What Hunters did not realise was the Sin driving the Legendary Shifter was freed with our deaths. Even now, they don’t care. Unfortunately, it didn’t dissipate. The Sins realised they needed a Legend to survive, so many of us found ourselves with multiple Sins. On top of Devastation, I also hold Vice and Megalomania. Which means I have three Sins to please. Luckily, as humankind grew, so did the shadows of the sins they carried. I don’t need to feed my Sins nightly now, maybe once a week or a fortnight.” “Holy crap,” Willow gasped, her eyes wide, and Jase saw the hundreds of questions that she was holding back. He appreciated her fortitude.
“We’ve been hunted, tortured, and murdered and for what? These were human Sins we carry. Your kind made them, yet we, the innocents, were punished with carrying them. I’ve seen too many of my brothers and sisters die horribly. And killed by those who called us monsters. How can we be beasts if these Sins are human traits? These are your creations, your sin, your monsters humans created that were shoved into an innocent race. And for that, your people hunt us down.” Jase could not keep the bitterness from his voice.
“No wonder you hate humankind. And then we pollute your oceans,” Willow said softly.
“Exactly! Humans ruin everything. They were given this beautiful world to live and play in. And look what they’ve done to it. Huge swathes of deforestation, pollution of the seas, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, wildfires caused by lazy hikers, contamination of the land, and landfills. Take a look, Willow, and tell me why I shouldn’t hate humankind,” Jase exclaimed.
“Oh, I don’t disagree. I watched my best mate die from being poisoned with toxins. Her death probably means nothing to you, but it destroyed me as a teenager. It made me bitter against those who used their power and money to hide their illegal activities,” Willow said with bitterness.
“I very much doubt your friend died like Basilisk or Harpy,” Jase spat, and his anger was all too apparent.
“Tell me,” Willow urged.
“Basilisk was a good and loyal brother. Hunters caught him and trapped him in an Iron Bull. Do you know what that is? A bull made of iron in which you could insert a prisoner. Hunters built an extremely large one and entrapped Basilisk inside. Then, every day for twenty years, they set a fire under him and cooked him alive. And daily, for two decades, Basilisk called out to his brethren.
“We could feel and hear Basilisk’s pain and screams, but the iron dulled his location, and we could not find him. When finally, Vampire did, but Basilisk had gone mad. However, Vampire freed him and set him free in the Hunter village. They both feasted well that day, and the Vampire had the task of killing our brother. Basilisk couldn’t live trapped in his own mind. As Basilisk passed, Vampire claimed he died with gratitude in his eyes. Our mistake was not eliminating the children. We left them alive. They grew up to be Hunters, and so did their children. Had we killed them, Harpy might still be living today,” Jase said brokenly.
Willow waited for Jase to regain his composure, and when he spoke, it was with great sorrow.
“Harpy was the gentlest of us. She was kind, loving, and funny. And she was my little sister…” Jase’s voice softened even further as he talked about Harpy. “Then Hunters captured her. They scaled a cliff and managed to subdue her and carried her away. These Hunters were descendants of those who’d tortured Basilisk. Have you seen a real picture of a Harpy, Willow?”
Jase pulled at a necklace she’d not noticed around his neck and dropped a locket in her hands. He watched as Willow opened it and studied the two miniatures inside.
The first image was of a smiling, gorgeous woman, the second a nightmare-inducing monster. The creature had a woman’s face with long blonde hair, but its body was a combination of a bird of prey’s tail, legs, and claws. Harpy also had no separate arms, but her wings ended with claws.
“Harpy could use her wings as arms and her claws as hands. She was one who adjusted quickly. As you can see, there was no hiding her form amongst the humans. When Harpy was taken, she didn’t even put up a fight; she had no desire to harm anyone. Hunters tortured her for several years, learning from their ancestors’ vile methods, such as trapping her in an iron room to hide her location.
“They inserted hot rods through Harpy’s beak, which was sensitive. They pulled her feathers one by one, causing intense pain as each feather linked to a nerve. Her feathers allowed her to sense things in the wind and turn at the drop of a hat. They scorched her feet, poked her eyes out, and did much more. When I found Harpy, she was nearly as crazy as Basilisk. Picture your eyes being burned out daily, only to regenerate each night. Or your feet to be cut off, only to regrow painfully during the nighttime. That’s what humans put Harpy through. After Harpy’s loss, we ensured we put up a fight, so they never took us alive.”
“Oh God,” Willow exclaimed, glued to the locket.
“I found her. Harpy was crazed and babbling nonsense and begged me to end it. Harpy claimed her life would be an endless reminder of the torture. As I was escaping with her, she shoved me to one side. Hunters had baited a trap to capture another. They knew we’d come.
“A scythe dropped from the ceiling and beheaded her. I destroyed that village, men, women, and children, and no lie, I bathed in their blood and tortured them like they’d done my sister. Nobody escaped. Not even the little blood-thirsty bastards who yanked her feathers out and burned the nerve endings with hot irons. I made sure they felt her pain,” Jase said vengefully.
Willow swallowed, and Jase wondered if she was now afraid of him. It would be no less than he deserved. Willow held the locket gently in her hands.
“Anything else?” she asked.
“There’s more,” Jase admitted.
“You’ve hunted the Hunters, haven’t you?” she murmured.
“Yes. I have taken out nests of them. With my powers, I can flood an entire village and drown them. Then I can make the water disappear and the mystery remains that they drowned, but how?”
“I’ve heard stories of things like that,” Willow drawled.
“Probably me behind them,” Jase admitted.
“And what of this mate thing?” she asked.
“That’s new. We’ve been alone for thousands of years. And then, recently, Vampire found his mate. Nobody expected it, and we were all stunned by it. But they formed a real bond, and his wife developed a shifter side. She can change her human appearance to look like someone else so she and Vampire can go out and not worry about Hunters.”
“And you think we’ve got that?”
“I know we have. Willow, I feel the bond forming. It’s fragile but there. Plus, you are gaining more of my powers every day. That is a shifter thing that you would share my abilities. The sea creatures sense who you are and have accepted you.”
“But you don’t want me,” Willow stated. Her tone hinted at something, but Jase couldn’t quite grasp what yet.
“Would you want your mate to be of a race that had destroyed and tortured your brothers and sisters? No. Would you wish to live with someone whose kind is destroying your world like they are mine? I’ve seen too much death and destruction, Willow, caused by your people. Did you think you were the only intelligent race on this planet?
“Humans weren’t; there were others before them. Those who fled and hid behind magic because of the human threat. Humankind has no tolerance for people of different coloured skin of their own race. What would they do when confronted by vampires or werewolves?” Jase asked.
“They exist?” Willow gasped. “No, I don’t believe it.”
“You just swam with Sea Dragons,” Jase pointed out, and Willow’s mouth dropped open and then closed.
“Damn, what am I missing?” Willow wondered.
“A lot,” Jase chuckled.
“Apparently so. You really hate humans,” Willow said.
“Yes. Without humans, other races would reclaim and share the world again. Humans were created by God in our image, irrelevant of who already lived here. I suppose someone could call it ego, but God believed humans would be the balance between the races. Initially, they were fine until the Sins arose. Then God removed the Sins and locked them up.
“And the Utopia he’d imagined took shape. Humans did become what he had envisioned. Until he was betrayed by one. Pandora. And then the Sins turned the humans back to their original personalities. The main thing to remember is these Sins weren’t born of God or his people. They were born of humans, and envy was the first and oldest sin. From that, the other Sins emerged.”
“We lack so much knowledge,” Willow confessed.
“Humankind doesn’t want to. How would your governments react to the truth? They war upon their own race easily enough. Give them a common target? The Vampires or someone else? They’d blow this world to smithereens.”
“Considering the individuals in power in influential nations, it’s highly likely they would. It is a scary idea. You think we’ll kill ourselves,” Willow stated.
“No, I know humans would commit genocide. Because the Sins are so far out of control, it’s unbelievable. The other races are helping each other, shoring up their magical walls and their boundaries. Once a nuclear war happens, they’ll make their move. Surviving humans will be gathered and confined to an island as we restore the world. Humankind will do it itself in because they don’t listen to the wise amongst them. It is a tragic and sad fact,” Jase said.
“Will your people survive?”
“Yes, and our mates, because we would have shared DNA. We can only be killed one way.”
“Head cut off and heart cut out, and all three parts burned,” Willow murmured. “What happens if the head is severed but not burned? And why would you tell me that?”
“Because you have the right to know. You’re my mate. In time, you’ll only be able to be murdered the same way. And should we be only beheaded, we can re-attach our head, but it is a rather nasty process,” Jase explained as he finally sat next to her.
Willow shifted in the sand and faced him.
“But you don’t want me as your mate, and I don’t want you. What happens next?” Willow questioned, and Jase noted the tremble in her tone.
“It’s not that I don’t want you, Willow. I desperately want a mate. I just didn’t want a human.”
“Because you despise us,” Willow murmured in a tiny voice.
“Wouldn’t you?” Jase asked gently.
“No. I probably would not forgive or help them out. However, I understand people differ. Like your people, I could judge them all as monsters, but I understand they aren’t. Now I know the truth, I can see what they have suffered. So no, Jase, I wouldn’t hate your entire race for the sins of a few,” Willow argued.
“And what if I told you Hunters murdered your great-great-grandmother? She gave birth to your great-grandmother and was hunted and killed by Hunters. And why? Because your family was what we call Saviours. Friends to Legendary Shifters. You are a threat to Hunters, just like us. Because you’re pure-hearted, the Sins might touch you briefly, but they roll off you like water off a duck’s back. The Sins can’t get a grip on a Saviour, so in the humans they inhabit, they drive them to find and kill Saviours. Because an untainted heart is a true danger to them,” Jase said. He didn’t bother to couch it gently. Willow needed to understand what she was up against.
“I can’t deal with that. That’s an information overload. I can only handle one thing at once. What do you want to do? At first, you wanted to break the bond, but now you’re saying keep it. Which is it, Jase?” Willow demanded. She leaned away from him as if bracing for a blow.
“I’ll never harm you. You will always be safe around me,” Jase said, reaching for her hand.
Willow yanked it back as she eyed him suspiciously.
“I want my mate, Willow.”
“How do we mate; does it involve sex?” Willow asked.
Jase sighed loudly. It was the one question he hadn’t wanted Willow to ask.
“Yes. From what we learned from Vampire, not only do you have to have intercourse with this form but our monster shape too,” he said, not wanting to frighten her.
“What the hell?” Willow exclaimed, springing to her feet.
“Vampire took his mate in his human-shifted side. But to actually bond with her, he had to be inside his mate for a few seconds as Vampire.”
“Hold on. Why do you have human shifter shapes? You’ve not explained that!”
“Let me tell you another story,” Jase said and patted the sand.
Willow offered a suspicious look but sat down. Jase had her full attention as he described what had happened two hundred years ago.