Endeca (The Escapism Series) (21 page)

~

Beep, beep, beep. Clank, clank, clank. Oh dear God what kind of hell was I in?

“Xenia,” I heard his soft, warm voice. “Can you hear me?”

Definitely not hell.

I slowly opened my eyes and there sat Nicholas, by my bed…hospital bed. “I told you, I’d protect you,” he grinned devilishly.

“What?!” I felt like shouting but all I could muster was a raspy whisper. “Why did you do that?”

“I told you…to save you. The Lifter didn’t take all your light, surprisingly. Your fragment hung on and for a reason, Xenia. It wasn’t your time.”
He had said this once before to Nyxta. What did he mean by it?

“My time isn’t for you to decide.”

“It isn’t but the fates know. I never told you this but when I had gone back to Styx to regain immortality, one of the trials was to endure the fates.”

“What does that even mean?”

“You endured Styx, did you not?” he clarified.

I grimaced at the thought. “How long did the fates possess your source?”

“Long enough. Any celestial extraction gives them power to do what they do best—see the fate of our kind; and in the process, I came across your fate. I searched for it for what felt like decades, and then there it was. You were older…much older when you took the oath to join Endeca.”

“A loophole?” I asked with high hopes. I didn’t think such a thing existed.

“Yes,” he said, before my eyes shut involuntarily. “God damn tranquilizers,” I whispered.

“They’re herbs,” he said, snickering. “Our bodies don’t rely on conventional medicine. We rely on the purest concentrations from the earth’s botanical gardens and energy healing. Our bodies heal themselves quicker as our immunity is stronger.”

I looked down at my abdomen, touching it where it was most painful. “Are you absolutely sure about this?”

“Yes,” he snickered. “We’re in a hospital that strictly cares for our kind,” he said, removing the gauze and bandages around my stomach. “You were operated on just a week ago, look.” I did as he suggested. As I flexed my trunk forward, I gasped in pain. There wasn’t even a trace of a stitch on my abdomen.

“Why does it hurt?”

“It’s your fragment that remembers the pain. The negative energy will pass with treatment.” Just as he said that, a doctor came in the room.

“Time for your therapy, Xenia,” she said, holding her hand over my abdomen, and placing another hand on my forehead. Her eyes swirled from brown to a solid bright yellow. My fragment centered where her hands rested, circulating the pain sensation until it subsided. “You’re coming along well. Please stick to your recovery plan.” She handed me a card with appointments.

“Are you hungry? We could go grab some dinner in the cafeteria.”

“I’m famished, but I have to be back for yoga and then a treatment at six,” I said, referencing the appointment card.

“Okay then we better hurry. Up you go,” he said, lending a hand.

“How does this place even exist? What if a human were to stroll in?”

“It’s a very private hospital and you can only be referred to it.”

“Is it expensive?”

“Immensely, but don’t worry about that. I’ve taken care of it.”

“I’ll—”

“Xenia.”

“How’s Marla? Has she come to visit me?”

“Yes, she has. She’s back to her old self.”

“Great. I can’t wait to see her. Can you call her over?”

“She’s actually here in the waiting room. I’ll message her.” He texted and shortly thereafter, she came through the doors.

“Xenia, I never thought I’d see you again.” She hugged me tightly and my almost healed stomach was starting to hurt less and less. I squeezed her tight and smiled.

“I’m glad you’re better. Do you remember what happened?”

“You mean, about you being different?”

I bit my lower lip and sighed deeply. “Yes, that part. Can you maybe not mention that to anyone else, especially Cal?”

Marla looked at me with unease. “But only if you promise, in due time, that you’ll tell Cal yourself.”

I yielded to the inevitable—my friends and family knowing the real me. However, the follow through would need time...
lots
of time.

Once upon a time
…

Daisy.

So what if I wasn’t a part of a ternio. I was linked to a 17
th
century immorta. It couldn’t get any cooler than that. I was like a kid in a candy store, about to implode. Even though Daisy decided upon staying with Orion, it didn’t mean I couldn’t do the things I’d planned on doing like sharing memories, particularly hers; extracting what I could about my lineage and our special faculties. If anything good came out of this debacle of Orion’s, it was Edric. He was beyond thrilled upon hearing the news. I was starting to think that Edric was a homebody and dead set on planting roots in my home. I guessed it made sense, after all, who’d willingly consider living with Orion after knowing the things he’d done. Daisy’s
hiatus
from either world shielded her from Orion’s trail of travesties but at any moment, it would all come barrelling down on her. Every last single deception of his…
at any moment.

“What’s this?” I asked, taking the half-filled mug.

“Merlot,” he smirked, pouring himself a cup. “A little birdy advised me it’s your favorite.”

“Yes, but not at ten in the morning. Using a coffee mug doesn’t make it okay, so you and your little birdy can—”

“Why does he bother you so?” Daisy asked, puzzled. Her eyes shot from Orion to me.

“I can show you,” I said, offering my hand.

Orion stiffened, grimacing in return. “Fine, I’ll leave you to your
bonding
.”

“Thank you, Orion,” she said. Once Orion had left, she continued, “I know every last thing he has done. How he’s wronged you and our kind.
I know
.”

Then why the hell was she living with him? Maybe she’d planned on suffocating him in his sleep, although that would negatively impact Endeca. Frankly, all that was left was torture. Maybe that was our thing?
Yes, torture
.

A hesitant Orion left the room amidst deciphering my grin. He squirmed as he left and I had Daisy to thank for that. Orion kept his enemies close for a reason but he had no say over Edric, his own brother turned bargaining chip way back when. Mostly because Edric would’ve beaten Orion to a pulp had they resided in the same house.

“Xenia? You okay?” Daisy asked concerned. She reeled me from my daze.

“Sure, sure. Was just wondering about you. Would you mind sharing your past? You know, a little of this, a little of that. Like when you first died…when you were anointed?”

“Come, sit,” she ordered. I jumped to her command, resting an eager hand on my lap. She shook her head, pointing to her eyes.

“Look here.”

I braced for the unknown and just as soon as the searing began, I quickly realized it wasn’t of the same calibre as Viola’s ternio. It was surprisingly more pleasant.

Images rapidly entered my consciousness, too many to decipher at once. After a few seconds, I began to feel the drowning wealth of data unravel into a semblance of chronological order.

“Daisy, come back here!” Maggie barked, growing impatient.

“Mother, please. I want to play.” Daisy briefly paused from interacting with her doll. Her mother rushed to her side, curtly pulling the doll from her grasp.

“I’m sorry but we need to rid you of this evil. Your soul will thank me for it.”

“I’m not evil, mama. She doesn’t appear to me anymore, I promise.” Daisy’s futile attempt to dissuade her mother only stirred the pot further.

“The things you see…it’s the devils work. Dear Lord, please show us the way,” she prayed fanatically.

Daisy stood by her mother’s side, clutching her retrieved doll in one hand and holding her mother’s hand in the other. She felt conflicted—if her mother thought there was something evil in her, then maybe there was.

“We’ll cleanse your soul however many times it takes. Mark my words,” Maggie exclaimed. Daisy had seen a baptism before when she was five. Lots of water and splashing—it seemed pretty harmless, she thought. She vaguely recalled her own baptism…

They rushed and rushed until they’d reached the town square where swarms of people had gathered in an uproar. ‘Why were there so many people?’ Daisy pondered. ‘Had they come to see me?’ There were people at her baptism from what she could recall but not this many.

“Good people, pray along with us. Evil has possessed my daughter. We must cleanse her soul and with your prayers we might be able to save her,” she shouted, waving her hand around. The crowd stirred in support, some even hollered, “Witch” while the general undertone was “purge the evil” even “burn her”. That’s when fear had settled in. Daisy reached for her mother, but she brushed her arm aside. Was this the shame word she had heard of before?

After numerous attempts to rid her of this evil thing, first with water being plashed on her face and then a funny looking man in a cape read from an old book—he held a cross and placed it on her forehead. It felt rather cold. ‘What else would they try?’

Daisy was starting to feel tired. She’d normally nap around this time…she’d also have played with her doll before falling asleep in the most magical of ways. First with flickers of light before the beautiful rainbow colored swirls and an image of herself. She rather liked talking to herself. It was comforting, soothing and different. None of the other little kids had similar dreams like her…she regretted telling her mother this one day. That’s when it all started…the evil talk and this need to sprinkle water on her face and even in her eyes at times. Her mother complained about her eyes a lot. She shouted a lot and prayed to Deus that the holy one would save her daughter. Her eyes felt just the same as they’d felt at a younger age—around three. Memories weren’t as vivid then but still, she could remember. That was also something that distressed her mother. Daisy decided to keep quiet from then on but her mother already got it through her head that Daisy was a witch...or some kind of demon.

“There’s nothing we can do, it won’t release her,” said the caped man. His hold was becoming painful around her arms. She pushed him off forcefully…too forceful for a girl of that size and stature.

“Stop! Let me go,” she yelled while a few men grabbed hold of her.

“Daisy, this is the only way to release your soul,” she cried fanatically. “We can’t let this evil force overtake you.”

The men tied her to a post and her doll was pulled from her grasp, falling to the ground shattering a porcelain eye. They’d lit a fire beneath her feet and she looked all around for her doll only to find it in the dirt inches from the fire. And that was the turning point…

Heat emitted from her body and from beneath her. She screamed at the top of her lungs, and before she knew it, she had changed. The force…this presence embodied her through her eyes. A bright white light flashed through her eyes, except it was soothing. It was just as magical as the times she’d witnessed playing with her imaginary friends, only her mother denounced them as evil. Her friend also had an imaginary friend, except hers wasn’t an exact replica of herself.

Daisy started to laugh at the townspeople, mostly because she knew they’d be in trouble—something softly whispered it to her. It was the same voice that whispered, “you shall be the first my child.” Ironically, she was harmless to everyone…except after the attempted burning. That she couldn’t forgive.

“Witch! I knew it,” shouted the caped man.

She broke free of the rope that burned her skin, and walked over the burning wood chips. The townspeople watched in awe. Her skin healed quickly and she hovered over to the caped man in a flash, swiftly decapitating him. The townspeople fled and Maggie couldn’t run. She approached her daughter.

“Evil one. Look at what you’ve done!”

“Mama,” she cried. She looked down at her bloodied hands and blood streamed from her face. Confusion swept over her. The force dissipated from within and the streaming tears extinguished the light in her eyes. Maybe everything her mother had said was true—maybe she was truly evil. “Help me.”

The trickle of light faded and I could feel the warm air circulating to my dry eyes once again. I’d realized I hadn’t blinked the entire time she seared me. Blinking wasn’t an option.

“I’m sorry you went through that all. Must’ve been hard to have your own mother turn on you.”

“That’s another thing we share in common,” she said spitefully.

Yet another reminder of my bio-mom, except she didn’t attempt to have me killed—big difference. “Anyhow, thanks for sharing…I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.
We
have more to be sorry for.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s what you’ve been waiting for, Xenia,” she whispered, “Our gift.”

I paused with mixed feelings. A part of me was dying to know and another part warned me against it.

“You’ve already triggered the first stage I’m afraid.”

“Huh? First stage of what?”

“The time whereby you killed yourself—attempted to—you disrupted the energy field and triggered the stage of transitioning. With your death comes the ascension. You’ve enlightened the prime ones.”

“What is the second stage?” I hastened to ask.

“Slaughter,” she mused, “And with the λ-vaccine, stage two isn’t too farfetched.”

I quivered at the image of a ravenous Betsy before she became a Diplo. The way she tore through the humans flesh in the dome and carried on in the merriest of ways. Without the antidote, slaughter was imminent in the offline world. Fortunately, the E-SOM were exclusive to that world and not online…the one I’d grown to know as the one and only for up to nineteen years of my life.

I wasn’t about to let the chips fall where they may. It was time to take action against the E-SOM and destroy the plants carrying the supply of
λ
-vaccine. To wage a war against the E-SOM without trying to reason with them first seemed extreme. Although the immorta of Endeca were divided on the subject, I decided to take the reins on the matter.
Show them the way, if you would.

“Where are you going?” hollered Daisy.

“To do something that I should’ve done long ago.” I stormed off and Orion trailed from behind.

“Xenia, you’ve escaped them…don’t go back,” he cautioned solemnly. His warm eyes melted his icy expression.

“Don’t you see? I know what they’ve been looking for all this time. Why they even made this stupid vaccine in the first place.”

“What do you mean?”

The more time I dwelled on the E-SOM and the testing in the dome, Corlissa’s (actually the Creator’s) words became crystal clear.
The shooter’s transformation…our special abilities…I’d be the end of them all
…

“They want me. If I go there, maybe they’d stop circulating the vaccine.”

“They wouldn’t, trust me. After all, I’ve worked for them.”

“The vaccine is to prevent diplo’s of the future, is it not? Instead it’s backfired on them and prime diplos are becoming undead.”

“For them, it’s a minor side effect. They’ll take care of them before the public notices a thing.”

“Not if there are many undead. What would they do then? It would be pure chaos.”

“That could be their fall back plan. The public will be scared and they’d enforce the vaccine as a means to protect the public from becoming one of the undead. But still, you in exchange for the vaccine isn’t likely.”

Daisy joined us on the balcony. “You need to see this for yourself,” she whispered to Orion. “Come.”

We trailed Daisy through the streets at night, turning down an alleyway. A homeless, drunken man approached Corlissa.

“He’ll do,” she said, grabbing him by the hand. He screamed in pain as her little hand flickered red hot electricity, rendering him immobile. “Xenia, make him one.”

“Make him one what?” Orion sneered.

“A diplo, what else?” she scowled.

“No, I won’t.” I knew what was about to happen and it wouldn’t be pretty.

“Fine,” she said, pulling out a dagger and swiftly pointing it to his chest.

“Wait! Okay, I’ll try.” I stalled, buying time. It was one thing killing a killer but to harm an innocent, I couldn’t do it. Then a loud crashing sound radiated by the dumpster. A scathing cat pounced before us and the homeless man broke free of Daisy’s grasp.

“I’ll get him,” she sighed annoyed.

“Wait, I have an idea.” I looked over at the cat and in a swift second, Daisy brought the cat before me. It hissed in her grasp and once she handed him over, it purred on a different wavelength. It was calmer and quieter. It’s big eyes looked into mine, searching for something…just like the killers.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered, before unleashing my fragment’s power into the eyes of the feline. Its eyes didn’t bleed; its pelt only darkened and the color of its eyes swirled magically into an aqua, yellow black. It licked my arm and jumped from my grasp.