Eternal

We had spent the entire afternoon up in the little tower. I had taken to calling it Lily’s Citadel. It was all for her.

The woman was healing quite well. I suppose I should be happy for her. She’s feeling better, isn’t in anymore pain, and has finally been sleeping through the night.

Then why was I so sad and worried?

As soon as she had healed, I knew I would have two options. I would be back at those old crossroads. The thing was, as much as I loved and trusted her, I don’t know if I could just let her go. She could still go back to the Witchers, still go back to the other side.

So I had each side to weigh: I could force her to stay here.

Or I could kill her.

The thing was, she was as wild as that falcon! I chuckle every time I see one of them. They were so alike! I can’t just keep her cooped up here-she had a life to get back to! But if I let her go, we could all die.

I didn’t want to die. Not just yet.

As I sat on the top of the spire with the girl soaking up the rays of glorious light, I stared at her still form. She seemed to love it here.

“So, Lily, how have you been feeling?” I asked her. She smiled to me. I brushed back a few of my ginger locks to better see her smile.

“Great! I’m not feeling so bruised. I think being close to the sea really helped. Before, I was always stuck in the forest or inside. The open air really helps.” I could feel the way she danced around the subject of where she used to really be. It made my nerves stand on end.

“Well, that’s good to hear. I have to talk to you about…”

“Going back?” She told me sadly. Lily sat back up, crossing her legs under her and a frown settling on her face. “I know.” She murmured. I turned my stare back out towards the sea.

“Yeah.” I could only say that one word. It was like my whole speech was tossed by the waves. Even the clouds darkened in dismay. We sat in silence for a while before she decided to shatter it with words as heavy as a boulder.

“I think I need to go back. This is the one time I honestly hate that I’ve gained a high ranking position in my sect.” She laughed humorlessly at that.

“Why?” I questioned in confusion. A sad crease appeared in her forehead.

“They’ll never believe I’m dead. They’ll think I’m too tough for that. Oli will send out search parties.” She put her head into her hands. I perked up at the name.

“Oli? As in, Oliver Sykes?”

“Yeah…” She gave me an odd look. I blushed.

“We may or may not have turned him when he came to raid our castle.” I gritted my teeth against her response. It wasn’t as bad as I thought. She just rolled her eyes and exhaled in exasperation.

“No wonder! I was sent out on a scouting mission at the same time he was, but I guess we both found our way here.” She closed her eyes as if I large weight was thrown on her shoulders. We both faced the tumult sea.

“This is really bad?” I asked her. She nodded stiffly.

“Not only will they look for me, but they’ll look for him as well. The first place they’ll check is here since this is the area Oli was going to check.” She drew her legs against her chest. Lily looked both sad and weary. I was about to wrap my arm around her shoulders, but decided that wasn’t the best choice.

“I guess that is bad.” I bit my lip hard. This whole Oli business was much more of a headache than first thought.

“I have to go back, Alan. I really do appreciate the company you’ve provided me and the care you’ve given, but I have to get back.” She told me, her emerald eyes flooded.

“Please, if you tell the other Witchers, then they’ll come here and kill the others. They’ve been like brothers to me. I can’t let the Witchers slay them.” I begged to her. It was a life or death choice.

If I let her go, she could tell the Witchers. The Witchers come here. They kill everyone else. And it’s All. My. Fault.

If I keep her here, she’ll be found eventually. The others will kill her because she’s a Witcher. They’ll slaughter her without second thought. The Witchers will still come, looking for Oli and Lily. There’s a chance they won’t, but it’s still a possibility.

“Please, Alan, I won’t tell.” She took my hand in hers.

“What?” I asked, a little dazed.

“I won’t tell, I promise! It’s the least I could do for you saving me.” She gave me a half smile. Could I really trust her? Should I?

“But the Witchers would still wonder…” I side stepped the fact that I still didn’t trust Witchers. If this was to work, I couldn’t really insult her.

“No, I’ll give them a false trail. I’ll tell them Oli was killed by Worgs. They’ll believe that. We’ve been having a Worg problem recently. It would be staged as an ambush. I can give them a false sense and they wouldn’t come looking for you!” She rushed, out of breath by the end. I paused for a moment, trying to weigh my options.

“If you stay here, the others will find you and kill you. They’ll know you’re a Witcher. They’ll rip you to shreds.” I begged back to her for her life. She returned a mournful stare.

“Alan, I want to stay with you.” She whispered. I was taken back at that.

“What?” I repeated the word.

“Alan, I would rather stay with you than be with the Witchers. The elite group is tough, dedicated, and all that, but I would rather be with you. I don’t have much left on the mainland. I have death at a young age, that’s all. I thought all vampires were bad. They killed my parents, and that’s why I joined the Witchers. No, you showed me a completely different side to them. I would rather be a vampire than a Witcher that’s hunting possibly innocent vampires and people.” She squeezed my hand. I was speechless.

This was my Jasey Rae all over again.

She would rather be a vampire than a human, just like Jasey. She wanted to be with me. I could tell she was trying to find some way to be with me.

But look how Jasey Rae ended up: Dead after a year.

“You can’t stay without them finding you.” I mumbled, pleading over and over. Sadness shown in her eyes.

“Then turn me.”

“What?” I spit out again. It seemed to be my go to word in times of this important stuff.

“Turn me so they won’t kill me. I’ll be one of you. I’ll join the Vulcan and I can be with you.” She told me. I gasped, feeling my breaths coming out in ragged jolts.

“B-but you might die! Only half of the humans will survive a turning!” I explained. I couldn’t lose Lily, no, not again.

Before I had a chance to argue my point further, I saw figures stalking down the path. There was Chris, Austin, Balz, and Oli. They looked steamed and their gaze….

Was directed at Lily.

“Alan Ashby!” Chris Motionless growled.

Looks like they had found our little secret.

Notes

Ooh! So Chris and the other have found out about Alan and Lily's little secret hideaway! What will happen next? Will she stay, die, or go? What will Alan do? It's all heating up as we start to near the end of Part Two! I know, it's a bit of a short part, but I have Part Three almost ready to put up! It's going to involve Toltek this time!

Oh, and we're only 12 votes away from starting the contest! I've got a great idea for the theme of the contest and it's going to test your creativity! I'm really anxious to start it, but we need to get to 45 votes! Please get every reader to vote on this so we can get started!

Love you all, my wolves! Stay beautiful!