Crushed Crown

Crushed Crown 5

Crushedcrown5

Zeke

The doorway to Eden was just that. A doorway. Beyond that doorway there was a tunnel of light.

"Welcome to the eternal city."

I've never seen anything like it. Justice thought I was Gideon. On the way here he explained why they needed Gideon. Supposedly Gideon was a witchdoctor and the King needed him to solve a mystery. I'd dated Gideon for a long time and he never did any magic. But then Justice explains to me what kind he is. Divination, Justice says. Divination is the ability to see the future.

Then I remember things.

Times when Gideon would know it's raining without watching the forecast.

Times when Gideon would have dreams that came true.

Times when Gideon would be able to read my energy even when I tried to hide it.

Could Gideon really have been a witchdoctor? And did he have any idea that he was one of these...monsters like Justice. Is that what drew him to this place? Is that why he needed to find this sanctuary for monsters so badly?

When I walk through it I'm expecting something else from Eden, as Justice calls it. I find it funny they would name it something like that. Eden? Really? Immediately entering this place, I go from bright light to another world. I realize how important my arrival is. There are these men standing there by a carriage. This is an escort. A bigger escort than I've expected. I count at least 2 dozen men. They are far bigger than Justice. They look far stronger. Justice looks over at me. He smiles.

"It's...disgusting."

"You're joking right?" he asks.

I'm not joking. The sky is a black with a putrid yellow mixed in. There is nothing calm or appropriate about it. It looks chaotic. It almost makes me sick to look up at it. Eden trees look molded. They look like they all lack oxygen. Each one of the trees seems ready to decay and rot away. The leaves in the forest have gotten dull, turned yellow and the soil looks distressed.

I am confused on how anyone can be comfortable in a place. I feel heavy. This heaviness on my soul. I turn to the side at that moment. I throw up. There is a smell all over this forest. The rotting smell that I can't escape.

Justice looks confused.

"Are you OK, Gideon?"

I'm so sick that I almost forget that I'm posing as him.

"Just don't feel well," I state.

"We should get you to the palace. We have witches on the staff who can cure this."

I get in the carriage. I still feel sick from the rotting smell of this place. The carriage begins to move at that moment. The only thing that looks beautiful in this hell hole was him. Justice. He looks amazing.

"Most don't throw up when they arrive to Eden," he states, "Most are obsessed with its beauty. Have you ever seen anything so green?"

I look out of the window.

I could argue with him. I could confront him about this mythology of what he really thinks Eden is against what I'm experiencing, but I don't want to put any false images in my mind. So I stay quiet. I've never seen anything so devastating. I've never seen anything so sick.

"How did this...place...come to be?" I ask, "How did you come here?"

"People like me..."

"Monsters?" I ask.

He looks at me weird. He raises an eyebrow. He seems confused about what I'm saying at first but then he smiles a little bit.

"Vampires," he explains at that moment, "We arrived first. It was a while ago. We called it the Blood Holocaust. The mother of all vampires was angry. Her name is Lilith. Lilith believed that vampires should be like you say. Monsters. But because we didn't kill as she wanted to kill, she decided to rid the world of us. Eden was our only escape."

"Lilith?"

"The first wife of Adam."

"I'm not following you."

"Adam from the bible had a first wife. The story goes she was disobedient. She was kicked out of Eden because of it. She was replaced with Eve. Out of anger she left Eden and laid with demons. These demons were the first monsters."

Lilith.

The name seems so innocent but brings a shiver into my body.

"This Eden. It's the same as..."

"Yes."

I swallow my spit. This was the Eden from the bible. The beautiful garden that the first humans lived in. The immortal garden. This was it? I look at this place and I'm in disbelief. I would think it would be something so much more beautiful. I believed it would be something so much nicer than what it is.

There are dark figures moving around in the dark trees. I am already not feeling well and these figures aren't making me feel any better. We are surrounded by large men on horseback. Men who seem capable but somehow I don't feel safe. Somehow I see those shadows and I'm scared.

"Were you among the first to enter Eden?"

"No. Not by far. They are much older than me. King Arie was the first. My grandfather."

"You some sort of Prince?"

He stops smiling. I must have touched some sort of nerve or something. I can tell by how his facial expression changes. Justice is handsome. He's more handsome than anyone I've ever known in my life. Not a flaw on his skin. I'd seen vampires in movies. I'd always thought they were the kind with grey skin who slept in coffins. I always thought they were some sort of undead zombie-like creatures. This wasn't Justice.

No. He was the opposite of death.

I've never seen anyone that looked so alive.

"Not any longer. Werewolves and witches came to Eden looking for Sanctuary as well. A werewolf shares the throne with a witch now."

That was the source of the pain. Here I was sitting next to a prince who didn't have his crown. I wonder how he feels. I wonder if there is any true pain there or just something resembling pain. Maybe disappointment, maybe annoyance, maybe even just a lingering memory that won't go away. Right at that moment I feel for Justice.

"Are we in danger here?"

"You're in werewolf territory right now," he explains to me, "They wouldn't dare attack a witch, not with King Genesis sitting on the throne and the Alpha of Alphas protecting him. You're completely safe."

"What if I were a human?"

"Humans don't enter Eden."

I look at him. He says this as a fact. Here was I though. I was a human.

"Or what?"

"Why are you asking?"

I felt sick to my stomach. I felt uneasy. I wasn't experiencing the same thing that he was experiencing. Everything felt wrong here. Everything felt horribly wrong. There is this conquering feeling that is paralyzing me and telling me that something bad is about to happen here. I was making a mistake posing at Gideon.

"Please just tell me? What happens if a human enters Eden?"

"I don't know. I suppose they die."

"How?"

Justice looks confused by my questioning. All of a sudden I realize my curiosity and need to find Gideon isn't worth my own life. I want to turn back. I want to head back. I've never felt so sick before.

"You don't look well," Justice explains to me.

All of a sudden there is a scream.

The carriage stops.

The scream is coming from outside. There is a loud rally at that moment. It's the guards who are leading us to the palace. Something is definitely happening. Something has definitely gone wrong. There is a growl. There is a sound of animals fighting at that moment. Fucking animals.

I remember the sound of the beast. The beast at the restaurant.

The beast made the same sound.

"You said I was safe."

"Stay here," he explains.

I grab Justice. I stop him from leaving the carriage to investigate. He said that humans die in Eden. I didn't want to die. I wanted to live. There is a panic that takes over me. I shouldn't be here.

"I...I...I...I can't stay here. I'm not him."

"What?"

"I'm not Gideon," I respond.

Justice looks over at me. He grabs me by the throat. He begins to squeeze. All of a sudden the handsome boy turns into the monster he truly is. All I see are fangs. They protrude from a jaw that looks normal just a minute ago. They are several inches of pincers aiming towards me, ready to bite into me and rip me to pieces.

"Who are you?"

"I'm his boyfriend," I admit, "I'm a human. I'm a human. OK? I admit it."

"WHO SENT YOU?"

I'm confused by his question. It sounds so heavy. It sounds so full of intent. I assume he means something political. Something that I wasn't aware of. Truth is I didn't know anything about Eden. I didn't know anything about what Gideon could truly do or why he was called here.

"No one. I'm just looking for my boyfriend. That's all."

Justice looks like he wants to snap my neck in half. He looks like he doesn't believe me. He looks like he's about to kill me but then I hear more screaming outside. It distracts him.

"I'll deal with this later. We're under attack. Stay close."

~

We go outside to a blood bath. There were beasts everywhere. Large beasts. My heart sinks in my chest at that moment when I see them. It was the thing from the restaurant. Except there were more of them. Many more of them. The beasts fight men and the men fight beasts. I'm not sure who is who.

"Stay close to me."

I don't move. I'm traumatized.

In the distance this huge black wolf charges forward. He springs into the air and collapses on one of my escorts. It rips my escorts head clean off at that moment. I've never seen anything like that. It must be a werewolf. The werewolf figure can easily distinguish from regular wolves by their shorter snout, more human-like eyes, the tufted tail, and the mindless savagery that happens as they charge through my escorts.

The grey wolf turns to me. He has two others with him. They are ferocious. Each about the size of horses.

The signs of aggression are immediate.

There is staring; excessive low-range barking; snarling; growling and snapping; standing tall; holding ears erect; and each of them are carrying tail high and moving it stiffly from side to side as they approach. The biggest one...the grey one, pounces. The black one snarls and the black and white one follows closely behind.

I cover my eyes until I hear a loud gaping whimper.

It's Justice.

"I said stay with me," Justice says to me.

His arm his bloody. He's literally just punches a fucking werewolf. It's at that moment I truly realize just how strong Justice is. The werewolf is flattened into the ground. His teeth broken into the dirt. The two other werewolves stand wearily by, realizing the same thing that I'm realizing. Justice may not have changed completely into a beast that didn't make him any less of a threat.

They come at Justice. The two encircling him amongst the madness of other fighting. Justice kicks at one as the other bites into his leg. He offers a bite back sinking his own teeth into the wolf's neck causing the wolf to howl in pain. The wolf's partner attempts to get at Justice landing another bite, scratching at tearing at Justice.

Justice releases his bite and wrestles the wolf.

The wolf overcomes him!

The wolf pins Justice to the ground.

My heart drops at that moment as I see the wolf snarling over at Justice. I see the wolf jerking its head from side to side. Its huge body covers Justice to the point that I can't even tell what's going on. I'm helpless to do anything but watch. It isn't I hear another whimper that I realize why the wolf's head was jerking from side to side. He wasn't ripping Justice apart.

Justice was strangling the wolf with his bare hands!

He rips the wolf apart, completely apart. Nothing but blood splatters everywhere, including on my cheek.

Justice walks over to me. He reaches his hand out, "Come with me...now."

This was the same person who was threatening to kill me not too long ago. He was offering to help me now. I look at his hand and hesitate. Truth is I don't know whether I should trust him or not. Truth is I don't know whether it is worth it.

I saw what Justice could do and I'm scared.

"You know what I am. I'm human. I'm not Gideon. My name is Zeke. I'm normal."

Justice smiles, "You have some balls Zeke. A human coming into a city of monsters. That takes something special. I have to admit. There's nothing normal about that."

We were his food source but Justice seems so much more interested all of a sudden.

"So will you kill me?" I ask, "Don't humans die in Eden? Who is in charge of killing them?"

"If I wanted you dead I would have killed you already. Come with me now or they'll kill you. I guarantee you that they DO want you dead."

I don't have a choice. I grab onto Justice and realize that he isn't attempting to lead me away. He sweeps me into his arms and carries me like a newborn child.

~

I've never moved so fast in my life. It seems like Justice is faster than the fastest human as he makes his way through the forest. We run deep into the forest away from the fighting when no one is looking. For a moment I think we are safe. Maybe he thinks the same as well. It seems like we almost run four miles straight into the forest before he finally stops to rest.

His stamina is fucking inhuman.

He looks down at me, "You OK?"

"Me? You're the one hurt."

He's also the one that ran a marathon through the forest at record speeds. He is only barely panting for air when he drops me. I can see the blood rushing from him at that moment. He leans me up against a tree and puts his hands on his hips. He has several cuts but the bites are what seems to be causing him to lose blood. There is one on his leg, one on his abdomen and one on his shoulder. The wolves definitely did a number on him.

"Fucking wolves. One on one, a normal vampire can take down a normal wolf. The problem is they fucking hunt in packs. Cowards."

"You said I was safe."

He doesn't even skip a beat, "I was wrong. You picked the wrong person to impersonate. Someone wants Gideon Bradley dead. Badly."

He is shirtless in a moment. He has very fair skin but features that lead me to believe he is biracial. His eyes are so striking as he searches the trees like a predator for a moment before leaning up on a tree.

"You don't look good."

"I need blood."

He looks over at me at that moment. He doesn't look strong, not like the men from the caravan. He's slim, with a toned body. He looks like a Prince whether he had the title or not. He looks like the kind of guy who never struggled a day in his life. But looks can be deceiving from his fighting ability. His beautiful eyes cast on me in such a way that my dick jumps. I wonder if this vampire had the ability to enchant people like in the movies. Maybe I'm just being enchanted by how elegantly strong he is.

"Don't look at me."

"I saved your life," he asks me.

It's as though I owe him.

"Will I turn, into one of you?" I ask.

"It's not that simple. If I bite you for a short period you'll be fine," he explains, "As long as I don't kill you during the bite."

"Will you kill me?"

"Do you want me to?" he asks, "You'll probably be safer in Eden as a vampire than a human. I can assure you that much."

"I don't want to be you," I tell him.

Truth is I wanted to go home. Truth is I didn't want to be here in the first place. I blamed myself for what happened to Gideon but if Gideon was some sort of witch then he was probably better off than I was.

Some time passes with us sitting there and him still bleeding out. The more he bleeds the more I realize that I am going to have to let him drink me even if I don't want to. I look around. The dark forest is scaring the shit out of me. Any moment someone can come out and hurt us. They can kill us. What was I going to do then?

"We need to get to the city," he tells me, "We'll be safe there. It's the Wild fucking West outside of the city walls. I won't be able to get us there unless I drink. Werewolves want you dead. They attacked the caravan. Vampires don't have much of a smell to the werewolves. Witches smell like humans, but the problem is there aren't many witches in the forest. They'll be able to smell you. They are probably tracking us right now. We might now have that much time."

I pause.

My heart skips a beat.

"Fine."

He gets over to me faster than I would like. He's aggressive in the way he does it. His eyes light up with an excitement that makes me uncomfortable. I stop him but then he looks over at me. He seems to calm down a little bit, letting me fix myself. I lower my shirt, exposing the vein in my neck.

"I'll go slow," he promises.

I don't have a choice on how fast or slow he goes when he bites into me. At first I think it's going to be painful but that's now what I feel. It's...pleasure. His lips pressed up against my skin causes my dick to harden. My ass gets wet when I feel his hands lean my head back slightly. He begins to suck, drinking out of me and there is this intimacy that follows.

I've never felt anything like it.

When he's done drinking he licks slowly, my neck swabbing up the area with his wet tongue. I can feel my entire body pulsate.

It isn't until he's done that I realize why.

"Oh fuck," I state.

I look down. There is a wet spot in my pants. I've never been so embarrassed in my life when I realize that it's a cum stain. I've orgasmed on myself when he did it.

"Don't worry," he stated, "I've heard it happens from time to time. I guess I have that special touch after all. Ha. I've never really experienced it. Drinking from humans is illegal."

He's proud of himself. He puts on this handsome royal smile on his face. He's more proud of himself then when he single-handedly defeated three werewolves back at the caravans.

"Vampires bites cause people to orgasm. I'm learning something new about Eden every day."

He smiles at me and laughs.

"This vampire has a real special way of making people orgasm in different ways."

He gets back on my neck. He's not biting. This time he's just licking up the remainder of blood that is trickling off. It feels so fucking good. I have to admit that I let him do it for way too long. It isn't until I feel Justice's hands slowly grabbing at my ass and squeezing it that I snap back into reality at that moment.

"I have a boyfriend."

He laughs at the thought, "Really? Where's he at? Where is the real Gideon?"

That was a good question.

"I don't know," I admit, "I went to go see him...at the restaurant. And I saw one of those things. The werewolves. They killed everyone there. Gideon was gone. No trace of him. I barely got away myself."

"They must have killed him."

"Then why not leave his body there?"

He thinks about it, "You're right. They probably just took him to kill him later."

Justice is blunt. He's not skipping a beat. It all just seemed so savage. Was this what Eden was like? This complete disregard for life? Justice didn't even seem to realize that he was talking about someone that I loved. He just shrugs his arms as though this is an everyday thing and I should just move on as well.

"He's alive."

Justice shrugs, "Suit yourself. That was some good blood. I think I'm ready to get going now. I think..."

He stops.

"What is it?"

"Wolves. I didn't expect them to track us so soon."

Fuck.

My heart races at that moment. Justice had literally run for miles away from the caravan. How was it possible that they were able to get to us so soon? This was more than supernatural. I feel my heart skipping a beat at that moment when Justice looks like he is getting ready to be in fighting stance.

In the distance two wolves appear. One is big. The other one is smaller. They approach us slowly. They don't have their heads bowed like the werewolves we saw before. They don't seem to be as fierce or as aggressive. They stop away from us in a non-threatening manner.

They begin to change.

Seeing the transformation was remarkable. My eyes get big as I watch the hair slowly shift into skin and the bones crackle to form the shape of a human. It only takes a minute but I'm mesmerized by every second of it. It's one of the most beautiful things I've seen.

"We don't mean any harm."

Two people stand in front of us. One was tall, serious looking man with a hairy body and this dominating features. The other one was much softer, feminine almost. He's clearly a gay guy, two skips away from possibly being a drag queen.

"I know you," Justice states.

"I'm Yuma. Ambassador Yas's brother," he states, "This is my Alpha."

The smaller one talks instead of the bigger one. Justice seems to recognize them both.

"You've helped me before," Justice states.

"And we're here to help you again," Yuma responds, "A group of werewolves have turned. They've joined a rebellion against the crown."

"We've figured that much."

"A wolf named Rhinegold is leading them. We overheard them at camp talking about the attack. We came to warn you. Looks like we're too late."

For a moment I feel a relief that not everyone in this god-forsaken place wanted to kill me. Seeing a friendly face like Yuma in this forest offering us help and assistance definitely seems like a breath of fresh air. For once someone wasn't trying to kill me.

"We have to get to the city," Justice tells the friendly wolf.

"Rhinegold is hot on your trail. We'll hold them off for as long as we can," Yuma explains.

"Thank you," Justice responds, "I owe you."

"You can repay us sooner than later," Yuma states, "Warn my brother. Let him know that there are traitors among the wolves. Let him know Rhinegold is a threat."

Justice nods.

He turns around. I think he hears something. I watch as Yuma and his alpha begins to change back into wolves as well. They seem alerted. They must hear something or smell something or know something is approaching. By the looks in their faces it looks like it is something that they don't want to approach. The two wolves don't say a word when they dart wildly and aggressively towards the area we just left from.

Justice grabs me.

He scoops me up into his arms.

"Come on human. We don't have much time."

~

The downcast city of Eden is cursed. The dark sky above it seems ominous as best. Something was so scary about this place. Something so horrible, but nothing was as horrible as when we finally make it to the palace.

Justice doesn't let me out of his arms even as we walk through the gate. I can tell we are expected when I see the place turn alive.

Guards rally through the room. I've never seen so many guards in my life. I feel like I've stumbled on some supernatural army base. There seems to be hundreds. Hundreds of guards. All large like the ones we seen before.

He keeps waking until we get to two large doors. When he pushes open the doors it's clear that our presence was expected by the group of people gathered in a large hall with doming ceilings. This place was haunting to say the least. The palace was grander than anything I've seen in the human world.

"Justice, are you ok?" a boy asks.

"I'm fine Santos,' he responds.

"We were worried. We heard you were attacked on the road."

"I was able to save our witch. Ambassadors. This is Gideon."

I look over at Justice. Why was he lying for me? He knew I wasn't Gideon.

"It's nice to meet you all," I state.

Three men are looking at me. They are all different in their own way but all wear the same uniform. These Ambassadors seem important. I can tell by how the guards only allow them to talk. I don't know whether to bow or reach out my hand to shake so I just stand there.

"He smells odd," one of them with long curly hair states.

"Gideon this is Ambassador Yas of the Werewolves. I'd also like to introduce you to Ambassador Micko of the witches and my father in law, Ambassador Santos of the Vampires. They are charged with keeping Eden safe."

"Father in law?"

I look at Santos. He looks like he could be the youngest of the Ambassadors. He looks like he is a teenager at most.

"You'll learn the ways of Eden soon enough," Santos states with a smile.

Honestly I didn't plan on sticking around long enough to learn anything. I wanted to find Gideon and get the hell out of this place as soon as possible.

"You run Eden?" I ask.

"We protect it," Ambassador Yas responds.

"Well it'll be up to you to protect it once again," Justice explains, "Yas, your brother warns you that there is a wolf named Rhinegold who is a major part of the rebels. There were wolves that attacked Gideon in the human world."

Yas nods.

"I'll deal with it immediately."

Yas seems in a rush to get away. I turn to the other two ambassadors.

"You're a witch?" Ambassador Micko asks at that moment.

He looks at me suspiciously. I'm not sure why. I didn't know witches had a certain look. Gideon sure as hell didn't. The way he looks at me though is just weird. He doesn't trust me. Luckily the vampire Ambassador puts an arm over my shoulder.

"King Genesis wanted to see you as soon as you got in," he states, "There was an imposter. Someone who claimed to be Gideon to frame Lord Exodus."

Someone pretended to be Gideon? I think about it? Could it have been the real Gideon? That was impossible. Gideon was a man full of wonder. He didn't know anything about whatever was going on here. So if it wasn't the real Gideon then who was it?

"Santos," Justice stops him, "Maybe that's not a good idea."

No. It definitely wasn't. I was just trying to stay as far away from authority as possible. Someone had kidnapped Gideon in an attempt to pose as him. What no one expected was that I was also going to pose as Gideon like a fucking idiot.

What happens when they find out I am not a witch?

What happens when I can't perform what they need me to perform?

Ambassador Santos of the witchdoctors isn't taking no for an answer. He puts his arm around me and starts to guide me away. He seems gentle but there is something powerful about him. I can't put my finger on it but I know there's something about him. I turn back towards Ambassador Micko. He's looking at me suspiciously. I feel good about it. I'm hoping he doesn't suspect me as not being one of whatever he is. If anyone knew another witch I'd think a witch would be able to identify them.

Justice luckily doesn't leave me alone for too long.

"Santos. We should give Gideon some time. Those wolves knew just where to find us. There has to be a traitor in the palace. Someone in authority..."

"Even better reason to get him to the King as soon as possible," Santos states, "Justice go and see if Ambassador Yas needs assistance in squashing this rebellion before it starts."

I look at Justice. He looks like he doesn't want to go but he seems to respect his father-in-law. That makes him turn around slowly and walk the other way, leaving me.

~

I am taken up these endless stairs. The whole time Santos warns me of things.

"Genesis is a difficult creature to master. Don't stare at him too long. Some say he can control your mind. Don't be rude. He'll kill you possibly. Don't be too nice. He'll kill you then as well. Don't talk too much. That may be too suspicious. Don't talk too little. That might also be suspicious. Don't be too confident, he'll challenge you. But if you are too submissive, he won't respect you."

Jesus Christ. The list goes on and on.

"Is there anything else I should know?"

"Don't sleep with him."

"What?"

I don't get the chance to get an answer before I'm pushed into a dark room. A single light illuminates when I get into the room. A man is there. He's sitting in a chair and I almost gasp when I see something that I don't expect.

A belly.

Not like a belly from fat. No. He was slim.

This man.

"You're pregnant."

I'm too forward. I forget he's a king. I bow. I look at him. He's intimidating, even more so than the large werewolves I'd seen before. He's dressed all in red. He has on a night gown that sweeps the floor and spreads out around him like some sort of tent. On his head is a crown broken in certain places that sits aloft his head and seems to weigh it down. He's handsome in his own way, but not in the way that Justice is. He's handsome in the way that you would like to take a picture of him, capture him in a moment and wonder what it looks like on film.

He's handsome like a raven. Yes. That's how I'd describe him. He's a dark raven who perches taking all these preconceived notions of what a pretty bird should look like and throwing them out with his darkness. He looks at me, intrigued but somehow not fully interested like someone would stare at some unexpected weather outside.

"Is it that obvious?"

"What?"

I lose my train of thought staring at him. You would think I'd lose it staring at someone like Justice with all his handsomeness. Justice next to his man was no comparison. I'd prefer Justice any day of the week compared to him, but that didn't make the attraction any less with Genesis.

"I'm pregnant," he explains, "A metaphysical problem that shouldn't be the case. Men shouldn't have children. Unless when they do. It's an issue, you see. That's why you're here. Someone killed my last fortune teller."

"You want me to find out who?"

"No," he responds, "All things come to light in time. Almost all things. Except this thing in my stomach. It's all darkness."

He speaks oddly. It doesn't make sense off the bat. It's almost like he's trying to fool me with the things he's saying or speaking in some eloquent poem or some shit.

I was confused.

"Are you saying your baby is...darkness?" I ask, confused at the thought, "Like...evil?"

"Oh surely, I know," he responds, shaking his head, "A fucking curse. I've never been so sure of it. I've tried every spell imaginable to kill it. It won't die. I'm no match for it. No matter what spell that I create. So I need to make myself immortal."

"You'll become a vampire?"

"No. She wants that. She'd like nothing more for me to be bitten. Sometimes I hear her at night whispering for me to get bitten."

"Your baby talks to you?" I ask.

What the fuck?

"Yes. The vampire venom will go straight to her bloodstream. It'll only make her stronger. No. This thing inside me. This blood sucking parasite that disguising itself as a child wants that dark curse. It'll only make it stronger. I need to fight it in my own turf. I will become an immortal through my brother's sacrifice and I'm sure I'll have the power to end this thing."

He sounds so sure that he's figured it out. For some reason I think I believe him. Looking at Genesis I think he's had a lot of time to think long and hard about how to kill it.

He sounded desperate and that desperation scared the fuck out of me. This man wasn't right in the head.

"Are you sure you want to kill it?" I ask.

I'm struggling not to look him in the eyes. I'm struggling not to challenge him but it's hard. What the fuck was he thinking? The baby looked like it was ready to come out any minute now. It was too late for an abortion.

What the fuck was wrong with him?

He's a lunatic. It's the only thing that I can think.

That's when he walks over to me.

"That's why you're here."

"Why?"

"I feel it. I feel it growing but I need you to let me know who she will become."

"She?"

He assumed the sex of the child already.

"Yes."

"The spirits whisper that this is going to be the reincarnation of something dark. The Darkest. I need you to confirm before I make my brother kill himself so that I can have the strength to end it. I don't want Exodus to die. I love my brother. But I need you to confirm who she is."

There is a pause.

He's going to ask his own brother to sacrifice himself in hopes of gaining power to kill his own child. These witches were sick. Looking at the stomach though I wonder what he's so afraid of. I'm not Gideon.

"Who is my baby?" he asks me, "Please Gideon. The future of the world depends on your answer."

It's at that moment that I realize I was really among monsters.

That's what Genesis is. To kill a baby so far along was monstrous. To sacrifice his own brother was monstrous. Whatever this Genesis man had planned I didn't want to be a part of it. I didn't want to help him.

Maybe I was sent here for a reason.

Maybe the Universe had a way of correcting itself. There was no beauty in this city. It was covered in rot, mold and decay. The king was a lunatic and death meant nothing to its residents. These people didn't deserve Eden.

I can see the desperation. He was a psycho. If I said yes, he'd kill his own brother and kill his unborn baby. Did he really think some baby was a threat to him?

This man was mad.

So I put my hands on his belly. I close my eyes.

And I tell him, "No. The child is innocent."

He exhales. It seems as though a burden he's been carrying for quite some time is released from him completely.

He pauses, "Thank God. I thought for a moment the child will be Lilith."

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