Bitter Fruits (13 page)

“What is that?” Caleb asks.

“Henry was being kept by a group of revenants. However, they were easy, as always, to bypass. It was their leader that presented the challenge. I’m not sure what she is, but she’s definitely not a revenant. You may recognize her as a matter of fact.”

“Teresa,” I say.

Alec turns to me, surprised. “You know about Teresa?”

I sigh. “I know what I’ve been told although I suspect there is some new revelation on its way. No one ever feels the need to tell me everything.”

“Lilith is forming an army to fight her,” Caleb says. “We may have to-”

“No. I know what you’re thinking, but Henry seems to have ideas about stopping them both. He was, unfortunately, incoherent when I found him. They’d been torturing him. Luckily, the man is either too scatterbrained or too stupid to be able to explain himself effectively.”

I laugh, a strange sound given the moodiness of the room and the situation, but it is funny. Henry loves his mythology; he was probably so excited to be a part of it that he couldn’t even reveal what Teresa wanted to know.

Alec looks at me. “He’s resting. We reached Scarlet and she
’s with him.”

“See how much easier life is with cell phones? You wouldn’t even need blood rituals-” I stop, realizing what I’ve said. Alec’s eyes burn and he turns to Caleb.

“You-”

“It was the only way,” Caleb insists. “This has grown bigger than you and me.”

“Again? Didn’t you learn-?”

“Wait,” I interrupt. “What does he mean ‘
again
?’”

“I want you to leave,” Alec says to Caleb, his flat tone concealing the emotional storm brewing inside of him. “Let me talk to Nora. Alone.”

“Fine. But tomorrow, the three of us, along with Henry and Scarlet... We need a plan.” Caleb hops off the bed and walks to the door, which Alec holds open for him. There is nothing but hate between them right now.

“We’ll be there,” I reply, attempting to diffuse it. Caleb looks at me, sadness emanating from him, and leaves.

The door is barely shut when Alec rushes me on the bed. “Nora, do you still love me?”

“Yes, of course. You know I want to save you. I promised...” The problem is I seem to have promised
a lot of things and now I don’t know which ones trump the others. I don’t really even understand how my promises affect the other ones I’ve made.

“You swore your life to Caleb. You know that means that you can’t save me,” he says.

“I didn’t know. I mean, I guess I should have figured that out, but...”

He holds me and caresses my hair.
“Shhh. It’s okay. I told you I loved you and that nothing would change that. I knew that there was a chance. After the last time, things changed. I wanted to believe that it would not end the same way, but-”

“It isn’t going to end the same way,” I say.

“No. It isn’t. Because she never chose my brother. You, however, did. This is fate. This is the natural evolution of the cycle. I thought it might be, but I had hoped.... When I touched you...” He can’t finish his thought, but I understand. The problem is that his hope was not in vain.

“Alec, I don’t know much about cycles or curses or fate.
But us? It was real. It still is real.”

“And Caleb?”

“I don’t know. I care for him, too. That doesn’t mean it lessens what I feel for you.”

“Imagine. My brother and I are immortal and yet you have more love to give than the two of us. You’re amazing, Nora.”

“No,” I say. “I’m just a girl. A girl who loves you very, very much.”

“I’m probably going to die this time,” he says. “But, as I told Teresa fifty years ago, there’s always a chance. We can fix this - if you want to fix it.”

“I know what happened with her and you need to talk to Caleb. There are reasons for… Alec, if we can’t prevent this cycle, I know what comes next. She didn’t. When you wake, I’m not going anywhere.”

He doesn’t respond, just pulls my shirt off and I fall back onto the bed, helping him to undress. I don’t know what my role will be in all this. I do know, however, that I will let Alec love me because he may die any day now. I don’t have the right to deny him because I’m confused. I still want to be with him, despite everything I’ve sworn to Caleb. It’s impossible, but
it’s the only truth I have.

Alec’s fingers enter me but he strokes me slowly. His eyes are not sad, but full of life, full of fire. The emerald casts my own reflection back at me and I wonder what I’ve done to bring me here, to this place. I don’t deserve either of them, and yet I am greedy for them both. Alec reads my mind and smiles.

“You deserve everything you could dream of,” he says and his lips brush mine but do not connect. The spark ignites and I remember his touch, so different than Caleb’s but just as exquisite. I feel his fingers start to explore my depths and I give in to the sensation. I am wet and he slides in and out with precision, touching me in just the right spots. My body is engulfed in desire and I reach for him. His cock is hard and he lets out a groan as I begin to stroke him, my hand tightening around the swollen shaft. Neither of us can deny ourselves much longer; it’s been too long. He moves between my legs. Our hands stop and we let our bodies take over. His entrance is quick and probing, but within seconds, he is thrusting with everything he has. I let my pussy tell him how much I’ve missed him; he rides me as I let my mistakes and my doubts dissipate.

“Alec, I love you. I want you.” I cry out.

“You’re mine,” he says and he begins to grow rough. It is not painful, but it is a clear marking of his property. He shows me that I cannot deny him and I don’t want to deny him even if I could. I don’t know what this means for Caleb, but I will not let Alec go. He brought me into this world and I have stayed for him. He hands are starved as he rediscovers my body. I come, a total overwhelming need for him washing me clean of my insecurity. He pulls my ass against him and buries himself deep in my cunt, short thrusts digging for the rapture he has been missing. As the last throes of delirium leave me, he grows stiff and then releases himself. Despite everything, nothing between us has changed.

14.

We sleep for a good part of the next day, Alec especially. When I wake up and he’s still asleep, I read. I still have exams coming up somewhere during the whole apocalypse thing and the Brontes aren’t going to read themselves. I text Scarlet; she says she and Henry will meet us at Caleb’s cabin after night falls. I then settle in to discover the mystery of Thornfield Hall. Alec stirs just as it starts to grow dark, but doesn’t say much; I suppose the past few days have caught up with him and he just wants a shower before joining the world.

He comes back to my room clean and ready. “Shall we then?” Night has fallen and the cold has driven most students indoors. I take my coat and gloves and we walk. Alec and I say nothing on our walk through the woods. In the distance, an animal howls and I remember the first night we met; I was driven into the church thinking I was escaping danger only to be led right to it. The wind knocks any remaining leaves off the mostly bare branches. Winter - and death
- is coming.

As we get close to the cabin, Alec grabs me and holds me tight. “I need to know you’re mine,” he says. His gentleness is gone and he is in control.

“I’m yours, for whatever that’s worth,” I tell him. There I go - promising things again. By the time we knock on the door of the cabin, Alec is in total possession mode. His arm is wrapped tight around my waist and he breathes close to my ear. I don’t look at Caleb’s face when he invites us in. They stand together and Alec releases his hold on me, so I move to the couch. In low tones, they speak of what we’re facing and my irritation gnaws at me. This is still my life and I have a right to know. When I look in their direction, though, they disappear into the kitchen. Seeing Scarlet and Henry together when they arrive does little to ease my nerves and frustration. She is twitchy and he looks like he’s aged a hundred years. They join me on the couch. Alec calls out that he and Caleb will be right with us.

“Nora, why didn’t you tell me?” Scarlet asks. “Henry filled me in, but I thought we were friends.”

“We are friends,” I reply. “I just... I mean, it’s-”

“Yeah,” she says. Because how does one start that conversation?
So, hey, you know how your boyfriend is missing? It’s probably because he was researching this ancient demon and also that demon is the “mother” of my boyfriend and his brother, whom I have also been fucking.
Right. You just don’t say anything.

“You’re the only one,” Henry starts, but then a heaving cough cuts him off. He falls forward, trying to catch his breath. Scarlet comforts him and tries to ease him through the fit. It’s cute. Scarlet has never been the nursing type; she’s an economics major, for God’s sake. Usually her relationships are short-lived and I’ve never seen her sacrifice any part of herself for a guy. For the most part, I don’t blame her, but she can be
fairly selfish. With Henry, though, he is her world.

“He’s been trying to tell me something since he got back.
Something about you. But he can’t seem to say much,” Scarlet explains.

“It’s fine,” I tell her. “I’m sure it can wait.” This gets another spasm from Henry, but then Alec and Caleb join us and my attention turns elsewhere.

“So, turns out Lilith has been less than forthcoming,” Alec says.

“Damn demons.
Can’t trust ‘em,” I reply.

“Not a demon,” Caleb corrects.

“Fine. Damn immortal creatures spawned from the Garden of Eden who are kind of evil and like demons, but not demons, because they don’t come from Hell, and are also not vampires, because you use that word sparingly, even though you drink blood and are basically vampires. Can’t trust ‘em.”

Both Alec and Caleb laugh, but when they see the other laughing, each stops abruptly.
Boys. A joke is still funny even if you are raging about the fact that the teller, who is kind of your girlfriend, is also sleeping with your brother. I mean, people today have no sense of etiquette.

“I was told that all remnants of my life must be wiped
away each time I die,” Alec continues. “Yet the last time-”

“Teresa was allowed to live,” I finish.

“Yes. So, clearly there are exceptions. I believed that if they were not eradicated that it would mean the end of mankind. That everyone would be punished for us not fulfilling our duties. As they have when we’ve attempted to break the curse in the past.”

“Maybe Lilith’s calendar was off?” I suggest.

Henry coughs and Scarlet glares at me. I know. People are dying, the world is coming to an end, and I’m caught in the middle. But, the thing is, I don’t really know what to do about all that. So I make stupid comments. It’s all I know how to do.

“The problem is that, between Teresa and Chloe, something is connecting this back to us,” Caleb says.

“Chloe?” Scarlet squeaks.

“After the party, Teresa found her,” Alec explains. “Together they are raising the revenants.”

“Wait. Teresa isn’t a revenant?” I ask.

“Not exactly.
I suppose theoretically, yes, but she isn’t a mindless, flesh-eating-”

“Zombie,” I finish.

Caleb sighs and looks at Scarlet. “Please take away her TV and books.”

I roll my eyes. “Fine, what are they then?”

“Something else,” Alec replies. “Which means we have no idea how to stop them since we don’t actually know what they are.”

“And we want to stop them? We don’t want to let Teresa and Lilith
fight it out?” I ask. It seems to me that we could all just sit back and let the two evil monsters kill each other. That would actually be the ideal plan.

“Assuming you like the world as it is, yes, we want to stop them. Lilith demands nothing less than subservience; I don’t know yet
what Teresa is demanding but she raised revenants. Whatever she wants, it isn’t good. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but it may be preferable to help Lilith win; we could always destroy her the next time,” Caleb says.

“No, we break the curse now,” I say.
“For Alec.”

Alec doesn’t look at me, but speaks up. “We need to be ready to fight.”

“All right. So how do we fight them? And who are we fighting first?”

“We fight whichever comes for us first. As for how, I was hoping Henry had some ideas,” Alec says. Henry nods, but again with the coughing, so we aren’t strategizing tonight. Scarlet leads him to the kitchen for water and I
’m left alone with my two lovers.

“There’s also the small thing about my murder,” Alec adds when it is just the three of us.

I look at Caleb but he looks away. We sit in silence, me wondering why they won’t address me, them doing who knows what, and Scarlet and Henry trying to heal his wounds.
This really sucks
, I think.

Caleb must have some kind of magic water in the kitchen, because Henry has regained
much of his color when he and Scarlet return. She winks at me, though, so I think she may have had something else to do with his quick recovery. He’s not in full form, but he already looks more like the Henry I know than the shell that he’s been since he arrived. He takes a sip of water and starts to speak.

“Lilith can be defeated. You already have the means, but now she has amassed an army, so you cannot do it unless you destroy them first. As for Teresa, she isn’t a vampire, because neither of you were able to turn her. She is also not a revenant exactly, because she retains some of her humanity.”

“So what is she?” I ask.

“I’m not sure. What I do know is that she has the blood of an immortal racing through her veins and she was able to turn Chloe as well,” Henry says.

“Before or after the party?” Scarlet asks.

“After.
By several days.”

“So when I went to you about her-”

“She was still just a creepy girl wandering campus in her nightgown,” Alec says.

“Okay. Who turned Teresa then?” I’m full of questions, but I’m starting to get answers.
Finally.

I look between Caleb and Alec. They look at one another. I expect Alec to say something, to confess that he got scared before he died, that he wanted to be with Teresa. It’s Caleb, though, who finally breaks the silence.

“It was almost thirty years after Oxford. I’d been keeping watch over her since I escaped from my jail cell.”

“Also something you should explain,” I point out.

“I broke him out,” Alec says.

“Why? You were angry…”

“Right, but we weren’t breaking the cycle with him rotting in prison.”

“Go on,” I sigh.

“When she got sick, I couldn’t bear it. She had no memory of me, of my brother, but I had the means...”

“What do you mean she was sick?” Alec asks.

“It was sudden and when she left the doctor’s office, I heard her tell her husband that they didn’t think it could be treated. I knew what it meant, but I couldn’t watch her die – at least not like that. I know - she’s never been mine, but I knew a way to heal her, to make it go away.”

“So you gave her your blood?” I ask. “But didn’t she die anyway?”

“Yes. She would have died eventually anyway, but my blood could have healed the disease. It doesn’t matter, though, because I didn’t do it. Lilith came to me and talked me out of it. She said it was unnatural, that I was only extending her suffering. She reminded me of my own weariness, my agony at watching Teresa live her life without me. Teresa had a family. Lilith asked if she would be happy watching them grow up without their mother, grow old, and eventually die - all while she was bound to me because of my accursed blood. And the truth is, she was right. I could not have saved Teresa, only extended her life – while also forcing her to leave behind what made it worth living.”

“You could have stopped Lilith then-” Alec
is focused on the mistakes Caleb made, not why he made them. It is the compassion, however, that sticks with me.

“I just wanted her to be okay. It was all I cared
about. Forgive me,” Caleb says.

“But then how-” Scarlet asks.

“I don’t know exactly, but Lilith did something. Something she’s never done,” Caleb says.

Alec clears his throat. “We can’t turn anyone. You know that. Why would you-”

“I wasn’t thinking about turning her; I just wanted to ease her pain.” Tears fall from Caleb’s eyes onto the carpet. We all pretend not to notice, allowing him the dignity of private grief.

“Okay, but you didn’t even do that,” I point out. “Lilith talked you out of it.”

“She made me believe... But it doesn’t matter. Because you’re right - I didn’t do it. Somehow, though… Unless you-” He turns to his brother.

Alec shakes his head, his own grief rising to the surface. “I only found out she’d been alive all those years a few days ago. I lived for five decades thinking I was the cause of death of the only woman I had ever loved.” He turns to me.
“
Had
ever loved. Although-”

“It’s why you didn’t want to get involved with me.”

He nods. The animosity between Alec and Caleb is palpable and I can sympathize with both of them. It disturbs me that the whole situation is not far off from where we stand now, although the difference is that I’ve already bound myself to Caleb. And yet, last night, I made even more promises to his brother.

Caleb speaks, breaking me from my reverie. “I think I know what happened, although something is still missing. When we read the notes left behind by a professor Nora tracked down-”

“Jeremiah,” interrupts Henry. “What do you mean ‘left behind?’”

Caleb turns. “The revenants were kinder to you than to your friend. I’m sorry.”

“I see,” Henry says. He takes it well, though. Or it’s the heavy drugs Scarlet got him for the pain. Either one.

“Anyway,” Caleb continues. “I recognized something in his research. When I realized that the revenants were raised
in the same town where Teresa had lived, I looked deeper.”

“And?”
Alec asks.

“Somehow, Lilith
did something to Teresa before her death. When she was reborn, she was different because she began the process prior to dying. I don’t know how nor do I understand why, but there was a note. Something about recompense for the strength of a woman.”

Henry drinks again. “I think we all need to rest, but there is much we need to discuss of Lilith’s tale. I fear that even you two, the tools with which she used to hammer this story into being,
have been blinded by lies over the years. This goes far back, all the way to the beginning, to the Garden and the fruit.”

“Are we seriously getting a lecture instead of fighting a war?” Scarlet asks.

Henry laughs, but it causes him to cough again. The fit passes and he takes Scarlet’s hand. “You know, my dear, knowledge is a greater weapon than-”

“No,” she says. “I’ll listen to your little history lesson, but I best be getting a big ass sword.” I can’t argue with Scarlet. I appreciate Henry’s sentiment, but I would prefer to face Lilith with more than a lengthy list of archetypes. A big ass sword sounds
just about perfect.