Chapter 11 | The Last Word
Luca
I ’ve made a point of avoiding a church if I can, but today, there is no way around it. When my mother and I arrive, we immediately walk towards the gathering of funeral guests at the edge of the church grounds. The mood is somber, and no one bothers with greetings as the mournful music echoes throughout the grounds. Walking towards the church, with our heads bowed in respect, I keep my arm hooked through Mom’s as we follow the Hart’s in front of us.
The muffled sound of tears occasionally reaches me as we pass the angel statues on the ground. I ignore her because it feels like the bitch is judging me for not coming here enough, but I spare a moment of appreciation for the gargoyles that guard the entrance of the church.
Entering the church in a single file with the Rhodes’ family leading us, we’re greeted with the choir’s roster of songs as we all find our seats. A resounding thud echoes throughout the church as we all sit, and it's an effort to hide my disgust at being back in this place. It's not that I’m against religion or spirituality; I just struggle to accept this holier than thou attitude the church exhibits. We all sleep, eat, and fuck the same way. So why should we pretend we’re better than others just because of a deity some decided to believe in? And to top it off, the church has shown me nothing but contempt, so I’m just returning the favor.
Church people always have this whole poverty act going on for them, but judging the state of this place, they’re definitely doing more than okay. It makes me wonder what they get up to behind closed doors to achieve all this wealth. The fresco on the roof depicts a Holy War, and while stunning, I know something like that is expensive to maintain. The stained glass windows are exceptional and look freshly hand painted. There is a gold statue of Mary and Jesus in front, which I’m pretty sure is real, and the wooden pews gleam in the sun coming through the windows. And that’s without my assessment of the priest's robes.
Excuse me, minister.
Double checking the program for the ceremony, I see the terminology has changed, and I’m clearly a bit out of touch with the latest church terminology. But who cares? They’re all still judgy pricks, the lot of them. But whatever helps them sleep at night.
Turning my gaze to the minister in the front of the church, I wonder what he would say if he knew what I was. The myths were wrong. I can step foot in a church, and I would love to show him just how comfortable my unholy ass is, right under his nose.
We snagged a seat somewhere in the middle of the church. A few seats ahead of me, I can see Jude with the rest of the Rhodes family, with Sebastian sandwiched between them. Eric…looks unwell. He seems unkempt, less self assured. Granted, he’s burying his daughter today. I just don’t think I’ve ever seen him like this .
It makes me wonder why he wants to have the funeral in a church. Druids have their own ceremonies, which they have to hide from the public. It's probably to maintain appearances. Even if the families have never pretended to be good people, they still play the game. If money is the route of all evil, it's something we’ve profited off heavily, and we’re not complaining about it.
There is a part of me that wishes the myths got it right, and that I could use it as an excuse not to be here because it smells like death. Similar to most things relating to the senses, it all depends on the perception of the person smelling it. To me, Amelia smells like passion fruit, but to another Undead, she could smell like something else. To me, death in a church smells like blood that’s been sitting baking in the sun for days…It’s not a pleasant smell to someone with my gifts. But Jude needs me and so do the Undead. That's what being an heir means. I can put aside my strong feelings on this subject for a few hours if I need to.
I block out whatever biblical thing the minister is saying about souls being commended to heaven. Did he know what a bitch Lexie was? Trying not to snort, I wonder what the minister would do if he knew I drank blood, and I’m hiding my fangs from sight? Reflecting on my first experience with a church, the priest told me I was going to burn in hell for liking girls, and I should repent for my sins. While I was young at the time, I remember clearly wanting to rip his throat out for saying that to me. Jude never knew that she saved a priest’s life that day.
I was petrified to tell my mom what happened. I got it into my head that she was going to think I did something wrong, and I’ve seen her mad plenty of times. But not this time. She promised me I never had to go back to church if I didn’t want to, and for years, I didn’t. Until Dad died .
Being Undead, Mom and I weren’t phased by a church service, and we also have different beliefs. But Dad was human, and a public service was expected from a family like ours, so we did it. Between the asshole priest and Dad's funeral, this was an experience I never wanted to repeat.
Now it's Lexie’s turn. It doesn’t help that I never liked her. She was pretentious and self-obsessed, but Jude loved her, so I kept my mouth shut when I needed to, unless her sister treated her like shit. That's where I drew the line. I think the competition that Eric and Edie encouraged amongst the sisters made it worse. They said it made for stronger Druids, when all it did was fracture their family.
If I was going to make a move against another family, the Druids wouldn’t have been my first choice. But if they were? I would have dismantled their family differently by taking out Edie first. Without her, Eric can’t have more heirs, and it would take him too long to find a new wife, even with the Human Faction in the equation. Then, I would have picked his heirs off one by one. That's why I’m baffled as to who would want Lexie dead. No matter which way I look at it, she would never be the first target. It makes no sense to me, strategically or politically. That’s why I wonder if it was a hate crime.
If anything good has come out of this experience, it's my plea to my mom for help. I’m seeing snippets of the old Gabriela De Greer emerge, and today she looks like the bad ass head of the Undead empire that she once was. It's been challenging keeping her meltdown away from the public eye, but I did it. More than that, though, I’ve just missed my mom.
Folding one leg over the other, bringing my skirt scandalously high, I catch Dom’s eye from the opposite pew, and I wink at him before turning my attention back to the minister. My attempt at paying attention is short-lived as he urges us to repent for our sins, but I refocus my effort as I hear him closing the service.
The Rhodes’ family stands at the minister's request, and the rest of us are directed to the reception hall while the family go say their final goodbyes in the family crypt. Thank the Undead. How many times can you say goodbye to a dead person? We didn’t even go this over the top for Dad. Trying not to roll my eyes, Mom gives me a sharp look as if she knows what I’m thinking, and I withhold my smirk. I love seeing this side of her again.
When I asked Jude what they get up to at the family crypt, she vaguely told me about some Druid traditions where they pray to their ancestors and will commend Lexie’s body to them and pray for her safe passage. If there is another thing all the families have in common, it's that we don’t really believe in heaven or hell, but we believe more in the people that came before us.
In single file, we leave the church and make our way towards the reception area. But before I leave, I pause to light a candle for my father. I think he would have liked that. As I enter the reception area, I have to work to keep the disgust off my face. You would think with all the wealth I just saw, they would put a bit more effort into this area of the church, too. It's just cheap tables, peonies, and beige tablecloths. Either someone fucked up with this part of the planning, or it really is just that boring.
Helping myself to some cake and coffee that the tables are laden with, I spend a few moments networking. It feels odd, like business is going back to normal, and Lexie has already become a distant memory.
Trying to remain respectful, I make polite conversation with Autumn, Jude’s cousin. Of course, all she can tell me is it was at her wedding where they found out about Lexie. Like I didn’t already know that. Autumn bored me back then, and it seems marriage or a funeral didn’t change that.
That's why I’ve planned a little welcome home party for Jude at Tao this evening. She deserves a little fun after coming back to this shit show. It’s not much longer until I can get out of here and set everything up, and Mom will stay behind to represent the Undead.
Thankfully, the rest of the family returns, giving me a reason to end my conversation with Autumn, but my thoughts immediately turn to defense because Jude looks like she wants to murder someone. She storms over to where Sebastian and Alyssa are having a heated exchange, and I see Jude’s eyes flash gold and her arm shift into something furry with claws. Grabbing Alyssa by the throat, Jude lifts her from the floor without much effort until her feet are dangling in the air.
The shocked gasps echo throughout the reception area, and I am pretty sure I hear china breaking from their surprise. Hearing the sinister growl coming from my friend, she practically roars at Alyssa, “If you ever try to come for my family, or even so much as look at them wrong, I will rip your fucking head off. Is that understood?”
You could hear a pin drop in the hall. Jude, taking on Alyssa so publically, is practically a declaration of war. As heir to the Undead, I should stay out of it, but Jude is my friend, and I know she would have my back if the roles were reversed.
Alyssa struggles to get free, but she can’t shake Jude. That’s another secret being carelessly revealed. Jude has worked so hard to hide her strength over the years and now, she’s just publically flaunting it and putting a target on her back. What changed between our conversation about playing it cool and this? Damn it .
I’m pushing towards them as fast as I can without making more of a scene, but Sebastian beats me to it. He approaches Jude slowly like she’s a rabid animal and tries to keep his voice low, “Jude, please let go of my mom.” Jude’s arm doesn’t move as her head whips to look at Sebastian. “I heard her! She was threatening you again. Today of all days!?”
Jude’s eyes have dilated, and if she doesn’t get hold of her temper soon, she’s going to shift. Snapping my fingers at Dom, he jumps into action with his sisters to wipe the humans’ memories. Jude’s making it worse, having apparently turned her anger on Sebastian, voice rising, “I don’t care if she’s your mom, Sebastian. She’s disrespecting you and my family, and I won’t fucking stand for it. She needs to know her place.”
Finally, I’m there, putting my hand over her still shifted arm, “Jude, my friend, I need you to take it down a notch. I think Alyssa got the message, didn’t she?”
Alyssa nods meekly, which is unheard of for her, and Jude lets go after a few more seconds of squeezing, as if to make her point. Ignoring Alyssa’s coughs, I take Jude by the shoulders and say, “Let's go get you ready for tonight’s party while I see to the rest of your guests.”