Till Death Do Us Kill

Chapter 8 - Kieran

“What…what do you mean, the war is us…? That doesn’t make any sense, and why can’t I fight alongside humanity? Your mother may have made me immortal but I was still a human once!” The entire time I spoke Verona…Lorelai shook her head, as if disputing every word out of my mouth. Her words were making me angry, why couldn’t I fight in the war if it was what I desired? Not that I did of course, but for my own child to tell me I couldn’t, when it should have been me telling her to stay out of it, it made no sense… My gaze drifted slowly to Eleanora, still kneeling in front of her, and my heart ached. She looked exquisite in her gown, making my heart shatter at the idea of what she had planned to do wearing it. Shaking my head, I looked back to my daughter, a realization that still felt surreal to say the least, watching and waiting in the prolonged silence as she began to speak.

“Mother is the first in all of creation, all witches and humans alike are derived from her, but she created witches before she created mortal humans, therefore she was meant to lead the witches in the war… every war. You were the first immortal that mother created, and because of your original human status, it put you as the head of humanities war. At least, that’s what the prophecy states…” She begins to recite the prophecy word for word, as if it had been ingrained in her head. “If The Firsts child lives, chaos will reign and the world will burn, should The Firsts child fall by her own hand then chaos shall be thwarted and the world will still turn.” She finishes reciting the prophecy, taking a deep breath before continuing. “Father…the marriage between you and mother was never meant to last. The two of you were fated to part, fated to fight one another in a war that would destroy us all. The fact that you two have survived as long as you have together is surprising, and should not be the case, but you have. Something has happened between the two of you that caused both sides to reawaken, the witches are watching, waiting for their time to strike the humans, and the humans…well…the humans are not stupid, they can sense that something is wrong, but they’re being led by a false leader, some man who claims that he is the true first created immortal.”

A quiet gasp is heard as I look back to Eleanora, her form shivering slightly at our daughter's words. I can’t help but look at her, confused at her response. There has been very little that made her act this way, and usually whatever it was that gave her this response…was usually bad, very, very bad. I knew she felt my gaze on her, but she refused to meet my eyes, practically whispering as she spoke.

“He’s…he’s telling the truth…Kieran…your father…is not the first immortal to ever be created. There was another before him…long before he ever came into the picture.” Verona stared at her shocked, as if this was something that she was just now learning. My eyes, however, more than likely betrayed the hurt and heartbreak that I felt…she loved someone else enough to keep them with her forever? I thought that I was the only one she had ever loved enough to make that decision, to want at her side like that. Minutes stretched by in silence, and as the time went on, the hurt, was slowly replaced with anger. I had given myself to her willingly, loved her wholly, and in return I discovered that I had been nothing more than a toy for her to play with after she got bored of the first one. I opened my mouth to speak, only to be cut off as Eleanora finally met my gaze, standing as tears fell slowly down her cheeks.

“Kieran I know you’re angry but I swear I can explain…” She walks to me slowly, raising her arms, her palms resting lightly on my cheeks. “I thought what I had with him was love, but I was wrong…very, very wrong. He used me for what he thought he could get from me, it was never love. But I was young, and I was naive. I…I thought he cared for me, and after him I was alone…until I met you. By the time I met you I had hardened my heart to the idea of anyone else, but you were just as savage as I was, and I fell in love…real, true love. For the first time in a very long time those walls that I had worked so hard to put up? I wanted them to come down, but I wanted to know that you would make the effort to do so, and you did.” She steps closer, her forehead pressed to mine, our lips nearly touching. “The one who has always had my heart is you Kieran, through every death, every birth, every kill and every escapade…it is you that I have come home to, you that I have returned for, killed for. What I had with him will never touch what you and I had.” Her lips pressed lightly against mine, trying to reassure me. I couldn’t help but pull away, for once, repulsed by her touch. Verona looked back and forth between us, saying nothing, her silence allowing me to forget for a moment that she had even been in the room. It wasn’t long before she asked what we had both been wondering.

“What is his name, mother?” For a moment I thought she would ignore us, her silence deafening, but I noticed that her face had gone incredibly pale. As we waited for an answer, I tried to hold her close to me, hoping my presence would reassure her. Instead, she stepped back, not looking at either of us, instead staring down at the floor as she spoke, her response filling me with dread, making Verona gasp.

“His name…was Cain…the first murderer.”