The Goddess’ Gift

Chapter 5

Jasper Pov

    Jade had been gone a good long while, and while she was gone Lexi and Jaiden had left. They were hiding something from me, but I realized long ago there was no point trying to get anything out of them. I didn’t really care enough to try and use mind-control on them, to be honest. If it ended up being something stupid like they were experimenting in bed I didn’t want to know any of that. Besides, they weren’t really my…friends, right? Why would they tell me something big? They were all just pitying me, helping me with Kalia, because they were the good guys. Right? That’s what good guys did, after all, bloody helped. Even if it ended up meaning they were helping the bad guys. Absently I twirled the ring around and around, staring at it. It really was Kalia’s ring, I could tell by how it was made and the many times she got it fixed. I’d have to find a jeweler soon to repair it again, Jade burned it somewhat earlier getting the blood off of it. All of her stuff was gone, Lexi had taken it with her when she left, leaving just me all alone, as usual. ‘Jasper, report.’ My father’s voice cut out of nowhere, making me grit my teeth. 

    I shivered, disgusted to hear his voice in my mind. I hadn’t heard from him in a while, to be honest. Mother’s been the one running everything lately. ‘Mother said I wasn’t supposed to talk to you right now. She’s mad at you.’ I reminded him. For being weak, I wanted to add, but who was I to say that? Was he weak because he let the protectors get the better of him more than once now? Wasn’t I…wasn’t I doing the same exact thing? I was letting them in, being nice to them. Most of the protectors I’ve vowed to protect even. I wasn’t doing anything better than he was, the only difference was I had all my limbs. 

    I could hear him grumbling in my mind, cursing at me or mother, one of the two. ‘Your mother filled me in on everything. Honestly, I’m appalled you have become such a disappointment, Jasper. But not only that, your mother failed as well, and she knows that we have to work together to overcome the last war. What she knows, mixed with what I know, make us very formidable.’ He said to me, his voice slithering around my mind like a snake coiling around me. I snorted, knowing he couldn’t hear me. He didn’t know anything she didn’t already know. He added nothing to the mix, just absorbing all of the information she had gathered recently. 

    ‘Yes, well that’s brilliant, father. I don’t need to know about what goes on with you and mother. Cheers,’ I said, hoping he’d stop talking to me. 

    Of course, he wasn’t finished yet. ‘To think you’re friends with the protectors, after everything…really, Jasper. What was her name? The Earth Elemental. The one who you killed.’ He said with a chuckle. I grit my teeth as her image filled my mind. ‘Miri, that was it. The lovely gypsy. Yes, her death was such a shame. You could have lived forever with her, loved her forever.’ He spat at me. 

    I shivered, running my fingers through my hair. “No, not without her humanity. She was nothing…once she lost her humanity.” I said out loud, knowing he couldn’t hear me. It had been centuries since then, since Miri. I know now, that what I felt back then for her wasn’t love. Not really. It was admiration to how wild and free she was, before she gave it all up. 

    ‘And the boy, the one you had a crush on. Though he didn’t love you, I believe, not like how you loved him. He was straight. Though that didn’t matter, in the end. You still killed him too, I believe.’ He said with a laugh, making me cringe once more. 

    Eli. The Jaguar shifter. He was right. I had a deep attraction to Eli, it was the reason I started to open myself up to him after so long, after what happened with Miri. He knew I was attracted to him, but he didn’t hate me, simply stayed by myself, as my best friend. Maybe eventually we would have been more. I could remember how he’d stop and stare at me sometimes, a look in his eyes that mirrored my own when I looked at him, if even for a moment. But it never got that far, we were still new, so unsure. But in the end, it didn’t matter. I…killed him all the same. ‘Father, what is the point of the memory lane?’ I asked him, doing my best to keep my voice uncaring and calm. I didn’t want to think about this. I never wanted to think about any of this again. Even still, I lifted my hand to my neck, gently tracing my finger around the sharp claw that was underneath my shirt. Eli’s jaguar claw. I had a lock of Miri’s hair for the longest time too, but I got past her death, eventually. Eli’s was still fairly new, even though it was over a few centuries passed. I went days without wearing the necklace now, but eventually, I always put it back on, keeping it close to me. I was getting past it, slowly but surely. Though even now, I didn’t really think the necklace was only about Eli. No, it also served as a reminder of my conviction to never drink human blood again. Grayson…that was forced. Otherwise, I hadn’t drunk from a human, and I wasn’t ever planning on doing it ever again. This time, if I was forced into a cell once more…this time I’d rip my head off of my own shoulders before drinking from another, especially someone I cared for. 

    My father laughed out loud in my mind, making me roll my eyes in annoyance. Hasn't he finished talking to me yet? ‘I just like to remind you of your failures, son. We might be immortal, but we’re not saints. Far from it. The number of people you’ve killed could fill a drained lake, you know.’ He reminded me. I gripped my hands tightly, trying to block it all out. The faces, so many faces. The screams, the pain, the fear…every time I blocked it out, they always dragged me back down to it, all over again. I wasn’t sure if I could ever escape it. ‘I have to go for now, Jasper. Your mother and I haven’t gotten a spy for you yet, but we will soon. But we have our ways, of course. Don’t forget about Kalia.’ He purred, making me grip the ring tightly in my hand in frustration. He laughed once more, before breaking the connection. 

    The moment he did I stood, a fast swift motion as my hand grabbed the bottom of the coffee table, and threw it across the room into the wall. I took deep breaths, feeling the anger racing through me, moments before Jade appeared out of nowhere. She only needed a second to see how angry I was as she took a collective step back, her hands in the air. For the most part, I was kind of impressed with her. She’s a queen, but I was the prince, centuries old. I was probably still stronger than her,  but she didn’t even try to defend herself against my anger. She didn’t grab a pouch, simply c****d her hip to the side and twirled her hair, a slightly nervous look on her face as she tried to look unconcerned. It calmed me, just a little bit, to know even Jade was able to be scared. The calm settled me, a little bit, but not for long. Not once she started to talk, that is. “Isn’t it a little early to be angry? You haven’t even heard what I have to say yet.” She said, taking a deep breath. 

    Bloody Hell, I already could tell this would be bad. “Just tell me now, I’m not going to go off on you,” I said, clenching my hands tightly at my side.

    Even still she remained in the corner of the room,  far away from me and my tantrum, afraid of how I’ll react. I tried to steel myself for whatever she was going to say, knowing by her expression and the beat of sweat falling from her brow that it was bad. She gripped the strap of her bag tightly, and I could see her absently messing around with the pouch in her hand. Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was an energy blast spell to try and kill me, but no, it was just a teleportation spell. Even afraid of me, she had no thought to kill me, and it settled the anger I was feeling just a little bit more, knowing I wasn’t needing to be wary of her. Friend…no. I can’t keep seeing these people as friends. Acquaintances in a war, that’s it. I needed to see them like that. Like in basketball when you’re going against a very good team, you can’t help but slap the other team on the back whether they beat you or not, because you admire their strength and perseverance. Yes, like that. I had to see them like that. The other side, the other team. The team that I admired. The team that I will never be part of. 

    Jade took a few deep breaths, closing her eyes for a moment, as if she was recalling what she saw, before opening them again. I could see the resolve settling in her light blue eyes as she stared at me, and I wondered once again how it came to be her helping me. Colette was one thing, but Jade…why was everyone getting involved in my business? When was I going to stop needing their help? The pity…it was starting to feel humiliating. “I don’t know how to tell you this,” She muttered, taking another breath. I felt my knees grow weak but I refused to need to sit down, despite the fear instantly washing through me at her words. It was like someone poured a bucket of ice-cold water on me, chilling me to the core instantaneously. “She…she wasn’t there.” She muttered. 

    I watched in shocked silence for a moment as I processed her words, the nervous tap of the tip of her toes thumping repeatedly on the floor as she watched me. “What?” I asked, mentally kicking myself in the face. “I mean, what do you mean?” I asked, cringing. How was that much better? 

    She looked like she was counting to ten, and I could hear her heartbeat speeding through her chest, the fear almost tangible. Was she…afraid of me? I wasn’t going to hurt her. But then again…Why wouldn’t I? She was the enemy…right? My enemy. The other side of the war. The good side. “I traced the blood to a meat shop. In the back, I was led into a freezer. There was nothing there, Jasper. Just a bunch of…dead pigs. They were all hanging from hooks. I was afraid at first that I’d find Kalia on a hook. I know vampires don’t feel the cold, I was freaking out she’d just be hanging there…waving at me…” She muttered, shivering over the dark and horrified thought. “But no. I was led to a particular pig and when I opened it, there wasn’t a Kalia inside. There wasn’t anything there.” She said softly. 

    I started to pace, my thoughts swirling around. She…tricked me. Was that even Kalia’s finger? What if Teresa had managed to free Kalia after all? What if this was all nothing, just a lie from the start? Did they even cut off Kalia’s finger? I took the ring from my pocket, looking at it. “This is definitely her ring. The finger, I don’t know if it was hers, but this is definitely her ring. I know this ring.” I said, confused, before slipping it back into my pocket. 

    She shrugged. “It might be her ring, Jasper, or it might be a very good copy. You vampires are rich, it’s not hard to mind-control someone to make a copy. There are certainly skilled enough people out there to do it.” She said with a shrug. I nodded, though I was certain it was her ring. “What now?” She asked, staring at me. 

    I…I wasn’t sure. I stared at the door that led to the shop, knowing very well that the lights were still on. I’d have to turn them off eventually, but it wasn’t really my priority right now. ‘Kalia?’ I whispered through the mind-link, hoping to get ahold of her. I tried it multiple times before, but to no avail. I knew before it was because mother had a block on her, keeping her mind locked for only her to talk to. But what if Teresa did free her? 

    “I know Kalia was kidnapped,” I said absently after a while, not waiting for Kalia to reply. “I saw her through a video call. She was in a cell. But I…I haven’t seen her since. Dani told me Kalia’s lover tried to free her, and mother killed her. But what if Teresa didn’t…fail? What if she managed to get her out, and everything since then was just…a hoax? What if she’s free?” I asked softly, running my fingers through my hair. 

    “What if…she is free?” Jade repeated, making me turn to look at her. Despite the fact that she had repeated what I had said, I knew her intent. What would I do, if I didn’t have Kalia locked up? What would I choose, if I wasn't my mother's puppet? In the end…I’d still be on the opposite side. Father’s death, the daughter’s death…That would always be the end result to me. I couldn’t be on the side of good, wanting to kill the daughter. 

    Without answering her, I rolled my shoulder, cracking my neck, before nodding at her. “I’d suggest you leave. I need to call my mother, have a talk with her. There’s a chance she’d have some witches come here to let her talk to me face to face. Unless you’re wanting to go against my mother and Dani and whoever else comes.” I said to her, sighing. 

    I was worried, honestly. What would I even say to her? But Jade shook her head, sighing. “It’s tempting, the idea of killing Dani, but there’s…other things going on right now and I’d like to get back.” She said, frowning. “I’ll talk to Colette. Maybe there’s another way. We’ll research it.” She said, before nodding at me. “Good luck. Let Jaiden know what’s going on.” She said, before waving at me. 

    Without another word, she was gone, and I shuddered, repeating her words in my mind. Good luck, she had said. I was…the bad guy. Why was she wishing me luck? I shook my head, sighing. Once I was sure the magic residue of her was gone, I sat down on the couch, pulling out my phone, and video calling my mother. A video call would be best. Once and for all, I’d know. This way, I’d be able to see if it was real or not.