Mother of Darkwaters: Book one of the Vessel series (83 page)

   “Yep.”

   “So my brother’s in hell?”

   Julianna confirms with a nod.

   Jennifer pauses within her thoughts before responding.

   “That sucks a big one.”

   “Yeah, you kinda get used to that sort of thing when you realize how screwed up
He
is.”

   Jennifer notices Julianna look upward whenever she uses the term
He
.

   “You mean
God
?”

   “That’s what I mean – ruthless. No mercy. No kindness. No love. None of that stuff those Christians pound into people’s minds. I should know. I’ve seen the Place of the Dead. And He’s the One who created it. Don’t bow down? Suffer. That’s His mentality and He doesn’t give a rat’s ass about anything else. Do you honestly believe that Danny deserves to be there?”  

   Jennifer walks over without a word. She sits to the left of Julianna.

   “Damn,” Jennifer finally responds with a trailing voice.

   “Tell me about it,” Julianna says, “My heart was broken when I saw your brother. I was sorta hoping that He would have given an exception and let Danny go to Heaven. But He didn’t – just like I thought. There’s no mercy, Jennifer. It’s His way or the highway; rather, it’s the Place of the Dead – hell.”

   “This is some really jacked up stuff, Julianna. My brain is totally frying out right now. I don’t even know how to process any of this.”

   “I made my choice,” Julianna says while staring at the silent stereo across the room, “But you haven’t. You can go to heaven, Jennifer. But your brother can
never
go. And you’ll have to decide if you can live with the fact that you’re serving the very One who has sentenced him to such an awful place.”

   Julianna looks to her left. Jennifer is watching with confused eyes.

   “It
is
awful. I wouldn’t dress it up to something it’s not. It really sucks.”

   Jennifer looks away and glances down to the table – an SB7 Spirit Box adorns its surface.

   “You’re asking me to burn forever. Is that what you’re getting at – to serve you?”

   “No,” Julianna quickly answers, “I don’t need servants. I need friends. You can do whatever you want, Jennifer. I will not judge you. You want to serve something so evil and twisted as that, then by all means – live in eternal bless within
His
heaven. All I care about is that you have all of the facts and you make your own decision. I want a friend. That is all. Someone I can trust. Loyalty Jen, that’s why I’m here.”

    The two girls sit in silence for a while before Jennifer reaches down to her coffee table and retrieve’s her stereo’s remote. She turns it on, cycles away from the playlist she made for Danny, and initiates a song from Amy Lee.

   Jennifer sits back, “So Amy Lee is on her way to hell then?”

   Julianna chuckles.

   “What’s so funny? I don’t find any of this funny. You have me so freaked out I can’t even think straight.”  

   “Relax, Jennifer. You’ve made enough life-altering decisions for one day. As for Amy Lee, I have no idea. She’s a big girl. We have a don’t ask don’t tell policy. If she wants to be a part of that side of me, then she will ask. But she doesn’t. I respect her enough to leave it alone.”

   “But you don’t respect me enough to leave me alone?”

   “Um - I can if you want me to.”

   Jennifer looks at Julianna after hearing the slight hurt within her voice. The cheerleader rolls her eyes, “Gawd, you can be such a pain in the ass. No wonder Tamara likes smacking you around so much.”

   Jennifer’s eyes widen, “OMG – she is going to smash you like a little bug whenever she finds out you lied to her about everything. And Rebecca? Geezus! Caroline might freak out, too. She hates liars. I mean – really,
really
hates them. I might have to stuff you into my trunk to keep you safe.”

   Julianna’s head retreats questioningly, “What is it with you and the back of your car trunk?”

   Jennifer shakes her head, “Nothing – it’s just something I say sometimes.”

   Julianna’s expression reflects the doubt cycling within her mind, “I’ll leave that be…for now.”

   “Pfft,” Jennifer reacts by looking at her stereo, “There’s nothing to it. It’s just a saying.”

   “I’m leaving it alone. There’s no need in defending.”

   Jennifer looks back at the guest on her couch – her right brow lifts slightly, “So… you supposed to get down with the devil?”

   “What do you mean?”

   “Sex.”

   Julianna’s nose crinkles, “Why would I do that? I’m rather sure it isn’t possible. Isn’t there some sort of DNA factor?”

   “Heh – virgin.”

   Julianna looks away.

   “Damn girl. You’ve got quite the dilemma. A virgin who needs to have the devil’s child, but she’s a lesbo through and through.”

   “Ha-ha-ha,” Jennifer laughs, “That’s some funny shit. I would have never thought of something like that as long as I live. But yet, here you are – in all of your lesbo virgin style. Ha-ha-ha-ha.”

   Julianna looks guiltily at the girl on her left, “I never really thought about it.”

   Jennifer realizes that Julianna feels self-conscious about her status as a virgin – let alone the concepts of lesbianism. She imagines that her so-called royal bloodline wouldn’t be too keen on the whole idea either.

   “Listen,” Jennifer calms her tone, “If you can be the mother of the antichrist while a virgin lesbian, then I
have
to be your friend. There’s no way I’m not going to watch this insanity play itself out.”

   Julianna forces out a small grin, “Friends?”

   “If you can answer
why
you want me as a friend. What’s the point? Don’t they have friends in Louisiana?”

   “Because you speak your mind, call it like you see it, are upfront, loyal to those you love, strong enough to throw a needle down in exchange for a helping hand, and your love runs deep – not shallow with selfish intentions. Yes, I could choose to have friends in Louisiana, and I have them. But right now, I’m in California. I was here to give my cousin an opportunity, but then I met the rest of you. I met you. And you’re a great person to be around.”

   Jennifer’s lips are partially open, “Damn girl, you
are
good. I’m willing to give it a shot if you are. But now you must explain this stuff about a cousin. Who’s your cousin? Do I know ‘em?”

   “Caroline.”

   “Get outta here. I’ve known her forever. There’s no way she could have kept you a secret from me; especially, from Becca.”

   “You talking about that blood oath?”

   “And how do you know about that? Tamara told you.”

   “No, I told her just like I told you.”

   Jennifer holds up her right hand, “Wait a minute. Who knows about you?”

   “Tamara knows I’m from royalty, but that’s it. She still believes my name is Mandie.”

   “Yeah – squished like a bug.”

   “Anyway,” Julianna attempts to avoid that thought altogether, “Caroline just found out about me and has been asked to keep my secret. The car was a gift from me. But she hasn’t decided to become part of my inner-circle yet.”

   “Ha - I knew it!”, Jennifer says victoriously, “There’s no way to get that car without some serious pull.”  The cheerleader pauses as she contemplates Julianna’s claims as of late. Maybe there is some credence to her words after all.

  “You said inner-circle.”

   Julianna nods, “If you choose, you can be part of my family. I don’t make this offer lightly. This is the
real
reason we are sitting here right now. I am very selective. I have to be really careful about who knows and who doesn’t know. The enemies I spoke of are crazy. They have it in their head that I’m supposed to bring about the end of the freakin’ world.”

   Julianna pauses as she looks down at the space between herself and Jennifer. The cheerleader is patient while she regains her confidence.

   Julianna looks up – her eyes meeting a watchful Jennifer, “I’m just a girl, Jen. I just want to live my life around people who care about
me
. I’m tired of everyone around me always looking at me like I’m either their savior or the harbinger of death itself. This is why I am making this offer to you. No matter what, I know you’ll not judge me on what ifs.”

   Jennifer glances downward in thought.

   “And I doubt very seriously that you’ll be quick to bow down and worship me.”

   “Pfft,” Jennifer looks up, “You got that right. And if you ever expect it of me, then you can kiss our friendship good-bye. See ya sister.”

   Julianna grins, “So that’s a yes?”

   “Yes.”

   Julianna screams and hugs Jennifer with her burned hands. Jennifer, uncomfortably, pats her on the shoulders.

   “Okay - okay. That’s enough,” Jennifer says while gently pushing Julianna in order to reestablish her comfort zone.

   “Sorry.”

   “Don’t sweat it,” Jennifer says, “I’m just not a touchy feely person.”

   “Noted.”

   “Does Becca know anything?”

   “Clueless.”

   “And I am to remain silent until instructed otherwise?”

   “You are. Anything about my personal life must remain on me to reveal. This is what I trust you with. In return, you will become part of my inner-circle – power beyond your current understanding. Those little tricks with that blood oath pale in comparison. But we’ll go over that stuff at another time. Right now, I’d like to call Caroline over here so we can all get to know each a little bit better. If that’s alright with you?”

   “I don’t have a problem with it,” Jennifer says, “But I’m jonsing out right now.”

   “Think you can drink without turning into an alcoholic?”

   “Pfft. I’m pretty sure I can handle it.”

   “You like Crown Royal?”

   “Love it,” Jennifer replies eagerly. In truth,
any
type of alcohol would do at the moment. This call of the cocaine sucks. Jonsing sucks.

   “I’ll give Caroline a call and have my security team pick up some supplies.”

   “Security team?”

   “Later,” Julianna answers, “But soon you’ll have one, too. You can even help me pick them out.”

   Jennifer stands up from the couch, “It’s about time. Treated like the awesome woman I am.”

   Julianna laughs.

   After Caroline gets to Jennifer’s house, the meeting seems a little awkward between the three. They counter the ill-feeling with a few rounds of double-shot Crown Royal via a game of quarters. It doesn’t take long for the girls to loosen up and begin socializing on a much more intimate level.

   Jennifer gives Caroline a rundown of her newest understanding of Julianna and goes on to mention everything involving her brother and the SB7 Spirit Box. After which, the three of them contact Danny, but he is still too weak to talk for any real length of time.   

   With the silent support of Julianna, Jennifer reveals her addiction to cocaine. Caroline gives Jennifer a hug and tells her how proud she is of her. The scene causes Julianna to enjoy the moment. It seems with the seriousness of her birth rite, these moments seem to be happening with less and less frequency.

   Caroline takes her turn at explaining what she knows concerning her cousin. Jennifer puts back quite a few more shots as Caroline gives all the details involving her dream guy, the hospital, and what she saw after her possession. Jennifer is all too eager; whenever, Caroline changes the subject in order to describe her new car.

   Together, Jennifer and Caroline go over sub-prophecy material. On occasion, Julianna steps in to help clear things up while they work to understand the confusing subject matter. Caroline takes the opportunity to mention the aunt she was robbed of ever knowing. Julianna offers to look for her in the Place of the Dead, but Caroline decides to let things be; at least, for now.

   “Speaking of which,” Jennifer says.

   Caroline and Julianna look at the tall cheerleader.

   Jennifer glances from Caroline to Julianna, “I
really
need to understand what I’m getting myself into. The blood ritual was one mistake too many. I didn’t even believe it would work. The rest of us did it because Becca wanted to – seemed harmless at the time. I don’t want to end up like goofy here.”

   “What’s your question, Jen,” Julianna pushes for the girl’s point.

   “You mentioned vows a few minutes ago,” Jennifer says, “But before Caroline got here, I thought we had an understanding – friends, not servants. So what’s the deal?”

   Julianna pauses as she contemplates the best approach in explaining things in the way she believes would be easiest for Jennifer to understand. She looks at Caroline.

   “You ever heard of the mark of the beast that the Christians are always talking about?”

   Caroline shakes her head.

   “You mean the number six-six-six?”

   Julianna moves her attention towards Jennifer, “You’re familiar with the story?”

   “Not really,” Jennifer confesses, “I think I seen it in a movie.”

   “It’s the number of a man,” Julianna explains, “Its value equals the name of my future son.”

   “Huh?”

   Julianna looks at Caroline, “In prophecy, every person’s name has an equal mathematical value. The number six-hundred and sixty-six has multiple meanings. One meaning is the value of the name itself. Another value is the spirit-realm value. And then there’s the physical-realm value. There are more, but that’s not important right now.”

   Julianna shifts her attention back to Jennifer. The tall cheerleader stands behind her bar while Julianna and Caroline sit on bar stools opposite of her.

   “When the time comes, the world will be given an opportunity to show their loyalty by accepting the mark of my son.”

   Jennifer looks at Julianna with confused eyes.

   “The mark is the value,” Julianna clarifies.

   “Oh,” Jennifer nods her understanding. “But what does that have to do with us making vows to you?”

   “Your verbal vows are the same thing.”