The Goddess’ Gift

Chapter 8

Jasper Pov

*Trigger warning, small amount of torture around end of chapter*

    “Jasper? Why are you video calling me?” I glared at her through the small screen on the phone, feeling frustrated. “It’s not like you to want to see me. Did you miss me?” She asked, batting her eyelashes at me. She let out a laugh, making me cringe as she shifted around on her bed, showing off more of her body than I’d ever want to see. 

    I rolled my eyes, tapping my foot impatiently as I sighed. “Put some clothes on, mother, so I can talk to you,” I growled, before putting the phone down. I could hear her giggling as she got out of her bed, and the twinkle of another laughter set my teeth on edge. She was just laying in bed rolling around with that damn werewolf woman she stole from the Rogues, like she had nothing to do with. Like she’s not lying to me about kidnapping Kalia. 

    I felt so stupid, it was making my blood boil. The more I thought about it, the more I realized how stupid it was. Dani looked sad when she was in the shop that day. I assumed it was because I asked her why she didn’t kill Colette, and she felt the need to pour her heart out to me about it, but maybe it was to mask her fear. Fear of me finding out that the reason I didn’t have a spy wasn’t because they killed her, but because she did, in fact, succeed in rescuing Kalia and the two of them were off together somewhere, hiding away. I wouldn't even be upset with Kalia if she was. The fact that she didn’t contact me to tell me she was fine, I wasn’t upset about it. She was probably scared, and ran off with Teresa so they could be free together. I wasn’t upset with either of them if this was the case, I was just glad they were safe. Hopefully once the last battle was over, and father’s blood was laying at my feet with the daughter’s, they’d come back. Then we could be a family, a true family. I didn’t even want to kill my mom, that kill was for Kalia. “Jasper?” I frowned, hearing her voice, and tried to take a deep breath. I couldn’t show her how angry I was, she’d just treat me like a child. Which was ridiculous, since her appearance was that of a sixteen-year-old, while I looked my eternal age of nineteen, but it didn’t matter to her. I picked up the phone, gripping the ring tightly in my free hand as I looked at her. She was sitting on the edge of her bed, that werewolf, Victoria, was lounging casually against the pillows as she sighed, only a blanket covering her body. Mother had taken time to pull on another cursed ball gown, as if she needed to dress up for me. Unnecessary, truly unnecessary. “Why did you call me when you could just mind-link me?” She asked, her voice sounding slightly more childish than usual through the phone. 

    I tried to calm myself, but the feel of the ring in my hand was frustrating me. Did she simply slide it off of Kalia’s finger and put someone else’s finger in it? Using pig's blood to pretend? To try and make me think she still had Kalia captive, when she lost her a long time ago. “Mother. Let’s stop pretending, shall we?” I asked, hearing the venom in my ears as I sighed. She immediately straightened up, her body snapping up as her spine straightened, a glare on her face as she raised her eyebrow at me. “I believe we can be very mature about this. I just have one question. Why have you been lying to me?” I asked her sharply. 

    Amari took a moment to set her phone down on something, maybe a desk, who knows with the number of things she had stored in her room, adjusted it so she could see me better, before sitting back down again. Returning to her straight postured position, she crossed her arms over her chest. The look would have absolutely terrified me if I was still a young child, but now it did nothing more than annoy me. How dare she look at me like that, when she’s been lying to me this whole time? “What, exactly, do you believe I’ve been lying to you about?” She asked, her voice filled with unspoken anger. 

    I sighed, wishing she’d have just made this easy for me. “If you have to ask, I do believe there’s been too many.” I countered. She simply started to tap her nails against her elbow, a clear look of bemusement on her face. “Kalia, mother. Why are you lying to me about having her captive when you and I both know she’s gone?” I asked, sighing. 

    She blinked at me, a shocked look covering her face, before she started to laugh. I frowned, unsure what the hell she was laughing about, and she seemed to notice. She tried to stifle her laughter, and honestly, all it did was make me even angrier. Was this all a joke to her? How dare she? Not only did she keep up this farce, but she’s laughing at me when I figure it out? I crossed my arms over my own chest, propping the phone on the side of the couch since I broke the coffee table earlier, and gripped the ring tightly in my hand. “Oh, Jasper, I needed a good laugh, thank you,” She said, laughing again. 

    I growled in frustration, making her stop as she looked at me. “I’m not playing with you, mother. I know Teresa managed to sneak Kalia past you. Did you not want me to know that you were bested? Or maybe Teresa did die after all, but Kalia still managed to leave? Or maybe you’ve lost Kalia beforehand, and Teresa simply went to be with her, abandoning her post.” I muttered, thinking of all of the possibilities. 

    Mother stood, picked up the phone, and started to walk. I didn’t recognize the place she was in, the bedroom or the walls, it looked tiny, to be honest, but the way she was moving the phone as she walked made it impossible for me to really see anything anyway. Finally she lifted the phone again, letting me see her face as she glared at me. “Where on earth did you hear any of this nonsense from?” She asked, glaring at me. 

    I shrugged, lifting the ring up for her to look at. “The blood, mother. A witch traced it. Do you know where it led her?” I asked, glaring at her. She blinked, clearly thrown for a moment. “It led her to a meat market. To a pig, a dead pig strung up on a meat hook. The blood was never Kalia’s mother. Is this ring even hers? Or did you manage to get a good copy of it?” I asked her. 

    She stared at me, clearly thrown for a moment. I thought she’d start crying, begging me to forgive her, something…but what I didn’t expect…was her laughter. “Oh Jasper, so serious,” She muttered, trying to hold back her laughter. “You get that from your father, you know. But your ability to make up grand stories…I wonder where that comes from?” She asked, laughing again. I growled at her through the phone, clearly not amused by her laughter. “Tell me, my dear boy, who this might be?” She asked, before turning the phone around. I gasped, my eyes going wide as I stared through the phone. Kalia was on the other side of the cells, and I could see them moving as mother walked into the cell, walking closer to Kalia. She was chained to a stone wall, with chains I knew only a witch could craft to hold a vampire in place. She was sitting on the ground, defeat in her eyes as she lifted her face, slowly looking up at me. 

    She blinked, staring at me through the phone, before tears started to fall from her eyes. “Jasper? Jasper, please! I don’t want to be here anymore,” She muttered. She was clutching a necklace tightly in her hand, a necklace I hadn’t seen before. She was rocking back and forth, like a child. “They killed her, right in front of me,” She mumbled, sobbing. I did notice, however, that I could see all of her fingers, on both of her hands. 

    Mother took the phone away from her, aiming it towards herself again. She snickered, shrugging. “I do believe that’s Kalia, Jasper. Do you believe me now?” She asked, before tapping her finger on her chin. 

    I shuddered, feeling anger and frustration racing through me. “Why the pig’s blood? Why the finger? Whose finger was that?” I asked, glaring at her. 

    She sighed, leaning against the cell bars. I could hear Kalia softly crying in the background. “Honestly, I had thoughts that you’d trace the finger. It belonged to a random human, and their body was being watched by some of my vampires. It was a dead body, the blood already clotted, and I had the others add some blood to it to make it look more realistic. I didn’t even know it was pig’s blood. I hoped you’d get your witch protector to try and track the finger, where we could capture her. But the blood? Why the blood and not the finger?” She asked, looking fairly annoyed. 

    I glared at her, frustrated that once again she tricked me. “I didn’t keep the finger, mother. That’s disgusting, I thought it was Kalia’s.” I said, glaring at her. “You never trusted me from the start, did you?” I asked her. 

    She tsked, shrugging. “And should I have? Look what you did? You got one of your precious protectors to help you. Surely you know I’m not stupid, Jasper? I’ve been alive for so long, longer than you, longer than most. Do you really think I’d be so stupid as to give you a piece of her? It was all a test, from the beginning. And guess what, Jasper? You failed.” 

    She grinned at me, and I shuddered, hearing the cell door open once more, as Kalia started to scream. “No,” I whimpered, falling to the ground. My hands were shaking as I  dropped the phone onto the couch. It was angled where I could still see it, the way the chains were pulled so Kalia was standing. She was screaming as mother held her wrist, the only one there who’d be strong enough to hold her steady. “Mother, stop! I’m…I’m sorry!” I yelled, feeling the tears burning in my eyes as Kalia screamed. 

    “Sorries are for sissies,” Dani giggled. I couldn’t see Dani from the angle of the phone, but I could see the bright purple light, the yellow glow mixed in…an energy blast. The sizzle made me close my eyes tightly, the screams were horrifying, and all I could feel was sickness billowing through my stomach. “This little piggy went to the market,” Dani sang, giggling. “This little piggy stayed home,” 

“Please! I’m sorry! Mother!” I screamed, banging my hands down on the ground in frustration. Even still, she continued. 

I could hear Dani and my mother laughing together as Kalia screamed once more. “This little piggy had roast beef,” Dani sang. 

“I believe all the piggies should suffice, Danielle,” Mother muttered. I curled into a little ball on the ground, the phone still propped up on the couch where I couldn’t see it, but I could hear it. I didn’t need to see it to know she was actually hurting her. It wasn’t pretend, not this time. This wasn’t a game to her. Despite her giggles, she was serious. 

“This little piggy had none,” Dani whispered. She paused, and I could feel it. The blood I had earlier was rolling around and around in my stomach, threatening to spill. Kalia was panting, and I squeezed my eyes tighter together as I curled into a smaller ball, trying to block it out. Block all of it out. “And this little piggy cried ‘Wee Wee Wee’ All the way home.” Dani finished, with one last excruciating scream from Kalia. 

Suddenly the line went dead and I shuddered, her screams still echoing through my mind as I leaned over and threw up everything I had in my stomach. I knew that just because she hung up, it wasn’t the end. Not even half an hour later I felt it, the magic-infused in the air, the eerie whisper of fabric suddenly appearing, the robes of the witch coven that Dani traveled with. I simply rolled away from my throw-up, not caring to move or get up, even as I felt a hand on my shoulder. “Jasper, come.” Mother’s voice called. I shuddered, slowly rising. I felt weak, drained, and all I wanted to do was go to sleep, and never wake up. “Get this cleaned up,” Mother ordered someone, before shoving me up the stairs. Honestly, she probably was strong enough to carry me, but there was no point resisting. She was leading me to my room, after all. All I wanted to do was go to sleep. 

Absently I sat on the bed as she pulled my throwup-soaked shirt over my body, throwing it into the hamper, before getting me a new one. Motherly, she was being motherly. How funny that is, considering she just butchered the mother of my soul. “Did you kill her?” I whispered as she pulled the shirt over my head. 

She sighed as I slid my hands inside. I noticed she had changed from the outfit she wore earlier on the video call, probably making sure she didn’t accidentally leave any of Kalia’s blood behind. Stupid. I was so…stupid. And now, because of me, Kalia is in pain. “Of course not. She doesn’t have any fingers on her left hand anymore though, Jasper. You know it’s your fault, right? You did this to her. By telling your little protectors what was going on, trying to find her. You did this.” I nodded absently, sighing. She was right. I knew it could get Kalia hurt…but I did it anyway. All I wanted to do was save her, but all I ended up doing was hurting her. It was my fault. I remembered Dani’s words earlier. A monster, she called me. I felt like a monster. “You know what you need to do, right?” She whispered in my ear. 

I nodded again, laying down on the bed as she lifted my feet onto the bed, tucking the blanket over my body. She laid my phone down on the nightstand, brushing her fingertips over it. I didn’t want it, I didn’t want anything. I just wanted to sleep. “Yes, Mother,” I said, staring at the wall behind her. 

She nodded, a bright grin on her face. “Starting tonight, Jasper. Go back to the pack, watch them. The last protector was found, after all. The daughter could come any day now, in any way. Today, tomorrow, next week, next year. It’s usually a good year after the last protector is found, but I’m not chancing it. I can feel it, Jasper, can’t you?” She whispered, letting out a soft giggle. “The end of the world, it feels so good. I can feel it in the grasp of my hand.” She said, holding her hand in front of her, before curling her fingers into a ball. “It’s ours, Jasper. And once it’s all over, and the battle is done…you can have Kalia back. I’ll let her go, just for you. How’s that sound?” She asked. I nodded, closing my eyes, wishing she’d just leave. “It depends on you, and how you cooperate, how many limbs she’ll have when you do finally have her.” She finished, a soft giggle in her voice as she brushed her fingers through my hair. 

I cringed, moving away from her touch as she sighed, before getting up and walking out the door. As soon as I heard it shut behind her I felt the trickle of tears sliding slowly down my cheeks as I pressed the blanket against my mouth to stifle the sobs.