Holding the lantern, I walk through the dark forest with my feet making scrunching sounds against the fallen leaves.
I have left Agatha with Beth so that they can talk with each other. For the past few days, she has been worried about Beth, so I don’t hesitate to let her speak with Beth and resolve any issues they are having.
Meanwhile, I’m going deep inside the forest where Geryon called me to come to the usual spot.
Few minutes later I reach the graveyard side of Merry Heights where the dead bodies of several women that Geryon has sacrificed in the ritual are buried.
Using various tree branches I made cross signs over the dead bodies to keep the marks. And among those lines of crosses, I find Geryon at the corner side, digging a hole with a shovel.
When I get closer to him his grunts get louder before he stops his motion and looks over his shoulder.
“Took you long enough,” he mutters, nodding towards another shovel, gesturing to me to join him. A pile of rotten bodies and heads are located near the grave Geryon is digging. They are mostly covered in mud and few worms with a pungent smell filling my nostrils, but I’m used to the sight and smell.
Taking the shovel, I plunge it into the ground and scope out the few grasses along with the soil before throwing it behind me.
“It’s been more than a month now, but I don’t see the effects on Agatha that you promised to do,” Geryon murmurs while continuing digging.
I control my hesitation and avoid looking at him.
“It will take time.”
“How much longer? I have to answer to Tristen. Just because you tortured him doesn’t mean we won’t finish the work he paid us for.”
I remain silent and start moving to the other side to dig. Geryon doesn’t speak for a while as we dig a deep hole until we are below the ground.
“I will get the bodies,” he mutters before leaving me to finish digging.
I hear the dragging sound of the bodies and after a few more shoves I’m done. I turn to leave the hole, putting my hands on the ground and raising myself up when suddenly Geryon hits me with the shovel, pushing me inside the empty grave.
“Fuck,” I grunt from the pain buzzing in my head and cheek.
“What the fuck is your problem?” I sneer at him, holding onto my aching skin as I lie on the soil.
Geryon stands tall on the other side rooting the shovel on the ground. “You are becoming my problem. I gave you one fucking thing to do and suddenly you are hesitating to do it all because of a cunt.”
My jaw clenches as rage starts to darken my soul. I balance on my elbows while he continues to speak.
He kneels, resting his hands on his knees. “You have done this thousands of times, so, why are you changing your actions for a random girl?”
“I don’t owe you any explanation and-”
He tsks, interrupting my words. “I own your ass, you asshole. Don’t forget what I’ve got against you and I won’t hesitate to-”
“I fucking know!” I yell with vexation setting my blood on fire. I stand up giving him a death glare.
“Your mere presence reminds me that you’ve got my own brother hidden in some place. Every fucking time I look at you, I remember how because of you I can’t fucking see him!” I seethe through my clenched teeth, pointing a finger at him.
“You don’t have to remind me every fucking day that you have turned my life into a living hell the day you found us in jail and to get us bailed you got me to agree to your fucked up arrangement. The same arrangement we both were escaping from!”
I snicker. “I curse your wretched life every fucking day but God must hate me for still keeping you alive.”
He lets out a dark laugh, throwing his head back as if my words were hysterical for him.
“There is a God and he saves me because of the angels I have sent to Him. They protect me because of what I have given them.”
I shake my head in disappointment. “Only if you could see the reality then you would feel nothing but disgust about yourself.”
“Not me, brother. You are not seeing reality. This dark world is trying to blind you from it and the barrier is that fucking bitch,” he spits out his words.
“Don’t you fucking dare say a word about her. Keep her out of this or else I’ll cut your tongue out.”
“She is using you and you know it but you are a fucking pussy to see through it. But you have to finish your work. We need the money for our supplies and other necessities. You have to prove by next week that she is mentally unstable with proof. If you fail then I will kill your brother.”
Ferocity and rage blinds my heart and soul as I feel the deepest urge to bury Geryon in this very graveyard alive.
“When will you stop with your sins, Geryon? When will all this end?” I ask.
“This is a never-ending chain, Eryx. And even if you kill me this will still continue. Cut off one tree to clear the field but the roots will still remain in the soil to bloom out more of them. It’s the law of nature, brother.”
“Just let her go. She doesn’t deserve to be part of your fucked up plans. If you need money then we can get it from any other rich fucker. Vailburg has many of those assholes.”
He raises his eyebrows, faking a surprised expression. “Who knew Eryx was capable of feeling so connected to a girl?”
He bites his lip and takes the shovel in his hands. “When was the last time you felt emotional for a woman? Your mother when she made you fuck her? Or your father when he made you suck his-”
“Shut the fuck up before I bury you in this grave instead of those bodies!” I threaten him, not wanting to recall those moments when my own parents raped me and my brother.
One of their another fucked up part of the ritual that we were bound to do to protect each other. Our childhood was the most terrible stage of our lives that no child should ever go through.
Just listening to Geryon mentioning those moments makes my blood boil that I wish I could kill my parents all over again.
Geryon laughs at my outburst and stands up.
“You have always been a target, Eryx. First by your parents then by me and now by that whore. But if you don’t do what I’ve told you then don’t forget what will happen to your brother. Don’t lose him for your stupid love for a nobody.”
He roots the shovel on the ground to give me a leverage to climb with before he starts to walk away.
“Put the dead bodies in the grave and come back to my chamber. And stop protecting Agatha when you know well you can’t do it. Otherwise, you will be in that grave.”
His scrunched footsteps echo away when I get off the hole and dust away the dirt from my clothes.
Every time I try to go against him, he uses my brother as a weapon to lower my ambition, turning me into his slave again.
Every time he mentions what he holds against me, I remember the moment Geryon came into my life whom I expected to be my savior but he was like a fucking fox in a sheep’s skin, waiting for the right time to make me his prey.
My gaze returns to the piled up, half cut rotten bodies and I start to put them inside the grave. He always made me do this, indirectly making me part of his fucked-up ritual where I cover his sins.
After putting all the bodies in place, I start to cover it with the soil by using the shovel. And with each fill the memories of Geryon’s first step in my life comes alive.
“You have a visitor,” the guard says, opening the cell. I frown in confusion as I stand up and follow him outside to the visitor’s room.
Few of the booths were already filled with the prisoners talking with the innocent ones on the other side.
“Booth seven,” the guard mutters, nodding towards the right corner of the booth.
I take a seat where a man is already sitting with the phone held against his ear.
He looked a few years older than me with his dark hair pushed back. Five o’clock shadows filled around his sharp jawline. His pale skin being illuminated by the ceiling light falling upon him. He was dressed in a priest’s clothes with a cross chain around his neck. But there was something about him that made me feel like I knew him…like he knows me as well.
He grins when I take a seat and follow suit, holding the phone on my side against my ear with the mirror separating us.
“Finally glad to meet you, brother,” his deep, vibrant voice speaks from the phone while I watch his lips moving.
“Who are you?” I ask.
He leans forward, remaining silent for a few seconds before he looks at me with his eyes raking up and down like he was analyzing me.
“Years of being part of a royal life, getting all the privileges and opportunities…going to the best medical college Vailburg could offer, and all lead to what? Living a rotten life behind bars.”
I snicker darkly. “It’s way better than the prison I was in since the day I was born. Don’t act like you know shit about me.”
“I know a lot more about you than you do. After all, you are my step-brother.”
Confusion and shock overwhelm me as my mind races with questions after questions. But as if he can read my mind, he resolves my curiosity by giving me answers.
“Your parents were part of the Magdalene before they were even married. In that group our father met my mother and they fucked.” He didn’t flinch while revealing the secret about his mother being fucked by my father.
“When she got pregnant our father refused to support her because she wasn’t part of a rich family. Even after giving birth to me, he refused and told her to die if she can’t carry the burden of my responsibility. Like a weak soul, she killed herself and I was sent to an orphanage.”
Despite knowing my father was the reason his mother died, he still sounded like he was in favor of my father’s side.
“But I soon got to know about all this a few years ago. And I was going to come to meet you and your family. But when I arrived in Vailburg last week, I found through the news that you and your brother killed them.”
I grin. “If you want me to apologize for ruining your plans for a family reunion then you are wasting your time. I have got no remorse for killing them after what they did.”
“I know what they did and you two killed them for ruining your life. But if you work with me, continuing on the path that you left, then I can help you with something.”
His words caught my attention, making my body still alert. “What do you mean?”
“I want to resume the rituals of the Magdalene. You will be joining me in that journey and never return here. In exchange I will give you something precious.”
“Take your deal and shove it up your ass you fuck face. I am never returning to that fucked up world and no amount of money will make me agree to it.” I was ready to get up and leave without a second thought, when his offer caught me off guard.
“I will help you and your brother be free from here. Even the death sentence will be lifted off.”
I remain still, unable to think or speak for several seconds while he continues.
“He won’t get involved in the Magdalene, that I guarantee you. It’s you that I need because your parents started with you first. You are the first thorn of the blooming flower. All you have to do is agree to my deal and you both will be free.”
My breathing turns ragged with my throat turning dry as words vanish from my mind.
My brother never should have been part of my parent’s dark world that they sincerely believed in. After killing them we didn’t hesitate to accept our fate that will be set by the law of Vailburg.
We are no longer the heirs of one of the richest families in Vailburg. We are nothing but murderers who killed their own parents…we are psychotic and mentally ill for committing such a crime.
Some are calling us the devil’s spawn.
But none of it bothered us…though I didn’t want my brother to suffer death at such a young age when he is getting the chance for a better life.
It required me to sacrifice myself again for him…but if I had to walk down the path of fire again, then so be it. Because I wanted him to have a second chance in life where he will be miles away from the shadow of the Magdalene. I was unable to protect him then, but I won’t let this chance go away.
“But if he won’t be part of the Magdalene then where will he stay with me?” I ask.
He shakes his head. “He won’t be staying with you. When he is set free then he is the controller of his own fate, wherever he wants to go, it’s all up to him.”
My brows furrow together. “Then how will I meet him?”
“You won’t ever meet him again. He has already been through so much by staying with you, don’t you think for once if you let him go then he can finally have a chance towards a better life?”
He leans back with a sigh. “Afterall what did he do with you?”
His question reminded me of the times he was forced along with me into those rituals…killing those innocent women…sometimes getting touched and fucked by strangers…even our own parents.
He was right. What did my brother get with me?
Misery. Darkness. Pain.
I still remember how lost and lonely he looked every night after a random man or woman would touch him or take him to a room. He never shared his agony with me, suppressing every ounce of horrific moment he faced.
He was better off without me…he will be alright without me…
Swallowing the lump in my throat I looked back at the stranger who was going to be our savior and destroyer. His eyes reflected his thoughts like he knew what my answer was going to be but he remained silent to hear it himself.
“I agree with your deal.”
I let out a soft grunt when the final dirt is thrown, covering the entire grave. Sweat droplets form on my forehead that I wipe away with the back of my hand. Going to a nearby tree, I take off two branches and use the dangling vines, tying it into a cross. Going back to the grave I stab the ground with the cross and say my prayers for the innocent souls to be free from the shadow of sins and darkness.
I let out a shaky breath and made my way back to the Magdalene where now I had someone worth waiting for.
Agatha.
There is no way Geryon is going to give up his motives for Agatha, so the only way I can save her is through Julius. All I have to do is contact him with the help of the radio and she should be free from here.
And me?
I will stay behind to pay for my acts of going against Geryon and for Agatha I’m willing to accept those with open arms.
Geryon told me to come to his chamber after I’m done with my task but I have no interest in seeing his face, so I make my way back to my chamber. I open the door, expecting to see the soft, angelic smile of Agatha while she greets me with a kiss like she did nowadays. But instead, I find Agath lying on the ground, unconscious, and Beth right beside her with blood pooling around her head. And the sight made my blood turn cold and my heart pang instantly.
I quickly check on Agatha, feeling her body being suddenly so warm like she has high fever. I hold her, resting it against my chest as I check her pulse. It’s normal but her suddenly pale skin told a different story.
“Agatha,” I mutter her name, lightly tapping her cheek, but she is unresponsive. Even her lips are turning into an ash shade like she is dehydrated.
Her temperature needs to cool down first. I put her to bed first and quickly rush to the bathroom, turning on the tap at high speed as it fills with cold water.
I return back to check on Beth as well. I kneel beside her, carefully lifting her head and checking her pulse but unfortunately there is none. She lost too much blood and she was already physically weak for the past few days.
Thinking of dealing with her later, I place her head down and pick up Agatha in my arms and I carry her to the bathroom, slowly descending her onto the cold water. The bathtub is half full but I keep it running until it reaches up-to her chin.
I tap her cheeks again but she remains still which only made my hidden fear come out in light, along with agitation setting my nerves on fire.
But she suddenly jolts awake with her eyes wide open and inhaling a deep breath. She looks frantically around like a scared child, gripping tightly onto the sides of the bathtub.
“Hey, look at me,” I cup her face, noticing her teeth clattering like she is no longer feeling warm, but I can still feel her skin being boiling hot, “it’s okay. I’m here. I’m here.”
She swats away my hands and I notice the redness forming in her eyes.
“No! You can’t be here! Leave!” she screams and starts to push me away, splashing the cold water at me as she keeps hitting after hits against my chest.
“Agatha, stop! It’s me.”
But my words go unheard as she screams and writhes like I’m a monster from her nightmare she is trying to get rid of. “I won’t let you take me away! I’m not leaving! Don’t fucking touch me,” she threatens.
“Agatha, get a hold of yourself.”
“No! No! She is fading away…no! Let me go!” she screeches at the top of her lungs that I can see her veins popping out on her throat and forehead.
“It’s me, Agatha. Come back. Focus on my voice,” I mutter, begging her to find her way back to me. “Follow my voice.”
I hold her hands tightly, bringing her closer so she has no way of escaping. Suddenly, she blinks rapidly as if my sound is her anchor and is returning back to reality. Her body starts to calm down as she meets my gaze.
“Eryx?” she asks.
I nod, both our breathing turns harsh and ragged. “It’s me. I’m here, Agatha. I’m here for you.”
She frowns, shutting her eyes close for a moment before she reopens them and this time it turns blank like all those previous rage and madness vanished into thin air. I loosen my grasp on her and she leans back, facing away from me.
She is silent for a long time, looking down at the water surrounding her and seeming to be pondering deeply about something. Her breathing is ragged but soon it evens out.
“What happened, Agatha?” I ask her, running my hand along her hair to her back as a gesture of comfort.
“I want to be alone…” Her words fade away.
“But-”
“Please, Eryx. I need a moment to myself.” The desperation in her tone is crystal clear and I don’t argue furthermore as I leave the bathroom.
I look at Beth’s lifeless body and decide to take care of the situation. Picking up her body, I carry her to the checkup room, laying her body into the bed before I go back to my room and quickly clean the blood.
When returning back to the checkup room again, Agnes crosses my path.
“Agnes, go to the checkup room and clean a dead body. Make sure there is not a spot of blood left.”
She frowns in confusion. “Whose dead body?”
“Bethany’s.”
“But how did she-”
I raise my hand, halting her question. “That’s not the issue. Do as you are told and I will take care of the rest later.”
I don’t let her argue and leave her to deal with it as I head back to the bathroom.
Agatha is still in the same position I left her in and the stillness of her body says she hasn’t moved for a second after I left.
I kneel beside her again and touch her arm lightly which is covered with goosebumps because of the cold water. “Agatha, you have to tell me what happened, otherwise I can’t help you. Please tell me. The worry and fear is eating me alive.”
Her bottom lip wobbles while her eyes are fixated on the water. “I was with Beth…asking if something was bothering her and she was ignorant at first. But she then started to speak about being…an angel.”
I immediately understand where this is leading to and who is behind it.
Geryon.
Agatha told me later that Beth was with her that night and perhaps Geryon knew about Beth’s presence, taking advantage of the situation he must have manipulated her into thinking she is an angel. He must have fed her the green pills too in order to control the strings of her mind more. No wonder she was suddenly weak and acting off.
“We both started to argue and she said…” her voice trails away.
“She said what?” I ask, leaning closer.
“She wanted to show me that angels exist and she forced me to have a pill.”
I feel my heart stop.
“We fought against each other and while defending myself I hit her with the candelabra.”
“Did you take the pill?” Please say no. Please say no.
She nods, making my worst fear come to reality.
“I saw her…”
“Saw who?”
“Helena…I saw Helena. She was with me and I was her angel.”
I cup her face, urging her to look at me but when I notice the loss of emotions in her eyes, the dread of losing her started to shadow upon me.
“Agatha, it wasn’t real. You didn’t see Helena. She is dead and what you saw was a hallucination. The pill-”
“No. It was real.” Determination and an unknown insanity are oozing in her tone. “I could feel her and she forgave me. She said she forgives me because I saved her. I was able to repent for my sin, Eryx. I was finally free from the guilt.”
Fuck. This is already getting out of control. I’m well aware how strong the pill is, that only one is enough to ruin anyone’s mind.
I shake my head. “Agatha, I’m begging you. Please listen to me. None of it was real-”
She abruptly stands up, sloshing the water on the ground before she gets off the bathtub and pushes away from my touch. “Stop saying that! You don’t know what I saw!”
She leaves the bathroom, making me follow her but as she is about to leave the room, I pull her back by her arm feeling a sudden rage coursing through me like lava.
“Where are you going?”
She squirms against my hold like she suddenly loathed my touch. “Away from you! It’s pointless to tell you what I saw.”
I snicker under my breath unsarcastically. “I know what it is like, Agatha. Don’t forget how my parents forced me into the ritual of the Magdalene. So, I know what you saw and felt. Everything would feel real but in reality, those are nothing but hallucinations.”
She shakes her head frantically with a familiar wildness taking over her. The pill is still in her system and fucking up with her mind.
Bringing her closer to me, I press her back against the wall and cup her cheeks, urging her to look at me…to guide her way back to reality.
“Agatha, please. I beg you to listen to me. I know everything is like a haze of confusion in your head,” I mutter in a calm, soft voice, caressing her skin with my thumb, “I know you can barely see anything clearly. But give it some time, take control over it. The Agatha I know is way stronger than the darkness she is going through. Please.”
I rest my forehead against her, feeling her body shivering. But she isn’t getting away from my hold either.
“Find your way back to reality…find your will, Agatha. Come back to me…please,” I plead in a hoarse tone, looking into her eyes.
Her eyelids close gradually like she is taking my advice and finding her way back. She is stronger than the trap Geryon laid on her and I know she will come back.
She is Agatha.
My Agatha.
“Take deep breaths with me,” I guide her, as we start to synchronize our breathing, inhaling and exhaling deeply. Eventually I sense her body relaxing against mine as her hands curl around mine.
“That’s it…deep breaths,” I whisper.
I lose track of time as we remain in that position for a long time. But it is worth the wait, seeing that innocence and purity returning back in her eyes followed by the glimmers of her tears.
“It’s okay. I got you,” I mutter, lightly kissing her lips, tasting her addictive sweetness.
I see the goosebumps on her body that are still wet from the cold water. I help her change clothes, dry up her skin and let her have my T-shirt and pants. She remains silent when I guide her to the bed and make her lie down to rest. But a look of realization crosses her face as she looks on the ground and then back at me with a frown.
“Beth? Where is she?” she asks in a croaked voice.
My throat tightens as I know this will affect her in a bad way but none of it was her fault.
“She lost a lot of blood…” my voice trails off as I’m unable to put it in the right words that will reveal the truth but at the same time won’t hurt her.
But Agatha understands the hesitation behind my words and closes her eyes in remorse.
I hold her hand immediately for comfort, leaning closer to her. “It was not your fault-”
“I hit her with the candelabra. Of course, it’s my fault that she died-”
“You acted on defense. If you didn’t try to save yourself then she might have killed you. It is not your fault. She was already physically weak and seems like she even took the pill that made her mentally weak as well.”
But she still cries silently with her nose sniffling, letting sorrow control over her emotions.
“Don’t let yourself drown in guilt, Agatha. It has already made your life very miserable. But I will save you from it very soon. All I ask is for you to give me some time and have faith in me,” I mutter, tucking a loose strand behind her ear.
“I don’t know what else to do, Eryx. I see things that I haven’t in real life…things that have existed in my nightmares but now…all of it feels real. I swear I saw Helena and she forgave me.” The desperation in her voice made my heart shatter for her.
She feels so lost…so alone, despite my presence. I have rooted the seed of despair in her life the day she got here, but Geryon poisoned her more with the green pill. I’m sure he even convinced Bethany to force Agatha to have the pill when he realized I might not be able to do his task.
But now things are getting out of hand. The only way to save Agatha is to get her the fuck out of here.
“It was all a hallucination. None of that exists…” my voice trails off.
She rubs her eyes before dragging her hands along her face. “I don’t know what’s real and what’s hallucination.”
She pauses looking at me with a suspicious look.
“A-are you real?” she asks, leaning away from me like she was afraid I would turn into one of the monsters she has nightmares of.
I cup her cheek, feeling myself on the verge of shedding tears for her. “No, Agatha. I’m real. The pill is just messing with your mind. But it will all be okay. Trust me.”
I press my forehead against hers.
“Please have faith in me, Agatha. I have already lost so much in life…I’m not willing to lose you because of my darkness. I won’t let it happen.”
I lightly kiss her lips as she returns the favor like she is aching for a gentle touch.
“This is real, Agatha,” I whisper against her lips.
She nods slowly but I can still sense the cloud of hesitation looming over her.
“This is real,” she whispers.
I bring some water for her to drink along with some medicine for her aching head and it will help her sleep. I quickly changed out of my wet clothes before joining her again. Few moments later, her eyes gradually close as she falls asleep while my eyes never leave her face.
Even when sleeping she looks so beautiful and innocent that it hurts. I have never felt something like this before for a girl and I never expected to feel this protectiveness for Agatha.
She is starting to make me feel those dead emotions that I buried in the depths of my dark heart.
Calmness. Passion. Love.
I have given up on happiness and love ages ago. Letting it die like a dead flower without being nurtured by light. But something about Agatha, brings that hope alive, making a part of me think there could be happiness…there could be love.
