"Lilith, please don't cry..." Jacob pulled Lilith in to comfort her, but she just felt like she was a doll with her soul floating somewhere that she couldn't find.
Ann burst into laughter.
Lilith didn't feel the anger when she run into them. She didn't feel the anger when Jacob was still going on about "explaining" when there was no room for misunderstanding.
But Ann's laughter did it. It was what lit everything up.
Lilith suddenly remembered all.
All the innocent lines he said, now sounded like lies; all the time that they weren't together, were now filled with images of their kissing; and all times when he yelled at her for some silly, small stuff became this fuel that drove Lilith to turn and run towards Emma's car.
Borrowing Emma's car was the best decision she made that night.
"Lilith! Lilith, please! I have never cheated on you before! This was just a misunderstanding!"
Jacob followed Lilith impatiently as Lilith ran for the car, and then she understood why he didn't run --
She couldn't open the door.
Taking a deep breath, Lilith turned around to face Jacob with the first word out of her that night: "Misunderstanding?!"
Shouting felt so good.
She could see the shock on his face. After all, She had always been this mild, sweet girlfriend that never talk back.
"Y-yes..." Jacob managed a word out, "I swear, I really DO love you. Why else do you think I would stay in a relationship with a human for four years?!"
"Because I was stupid!" Her yelling sounded so unreal to her, but the shaking of her hand was real as hell, "Unlock my car and let me go!"
"Lilith!" Jacob bellowed as he grabbed her arms, "What about tonight's meeting?! We have been waiting for this for so long! We are so close! Please!"
"We are not close! Not anymore! We, are, over!" Lilith pushed him on the chest and he allowed her to push him away.
Silence filled the air and he finally snapped his finger.
Lilith got into the car as soon as she heard the click of the door unlocked, and drove away as tears blurred the road.
When she came, she came with shaking hands for excitement, she came with love filling her heart and a sweet future planned with the man she thought was her whole life.
And now, all that she had left, was her shaking hands.
"What was that all about?!"
Jacob stormed back to his room, shouting at Ann who had settled herself comfortably into the sofa.
"A favor." She curved her lips and Jacob lost the fire in him to yell.
"Your mom asked me to, and I quote," Ann hooked her fingers in the air to make a quote gesture, "solve your problem."
"She's NOT my problem!" Jacob grunted, rolling his eyes, "The high priest already allowed my request to turn her tonight!"
"She won't have too much power even if you make her a witch." Ann shrugged at Jacob with an indifferent tone, "There is no way for it to work out for you two."
"Not everyone is a power freak." Jacob said viciously but Ann just chuckled:
"So what's your plan? To live like the laughingstock of the coven for being the weakest couple? Come on..."
"You don't get it, do you?" Jacob grabbed his coat from the sofa, "I, LOVE, her! I don't care about the rest, alright?!"
"Ohh really?" Smiled Ann as her scarlet lips curved into a perfect angle, "Then why didn't you push me away when I leaned in?"
Jacob bit his lips in silence.
"The truth is," Ann played a shred of her hair, "You have always had feelings for me, so the second you get a chance, you went for it."
"That's not true." Grunted Jacob, but it sounded like more of a mumble to himself.
"Ohh, please... You think I don't know how you stare at me ever since you were a little boy?" Ann chuckled, "It's okay. You are still my best friend, despite your little secret."
"She is the one who I love, and we have been together for years." Eyes fixed on Ann, Jacob sounded like he desperately needed Ann to believe him.
"Sure, whatever put you to sleep at night." Ann waved her had indifferently, apparently bored at this topic, "But please don't tell me you are going after her."
"Of course I'm going after her!" Jacob glared at Ann, "YOU, kissed, ME! Okay? She will believe me and we will put this behind us."
"What about the prophecy convention tonight?" Ann said it casually as if it was just a family dinner plan, but her words worked magic on Jacob.
He stopped with his hand on the doorknob.
"That's what I thought." Ann nodded as she stood up, "The most powerful Mage of our time would appear tonight. Everyone has to be there."
"And I WILL." Said Jacob slowly with his teeth clenched, "WITH, my girlfriend."
"How are you gonna find her and make her go through the process now?!" Ann shook her head.
"It's just a stupid kiss. She will understand."
"Tonight decides the fate of all Mage. You don't want to cross the coven on this one." Said Ann with a shred of danger in her tone.
Jacob hesitated but in the end, he just threw himself on the sofa defeatedly: "So the most powerful Mage will appear tonight, so what? There's always a No.1 all the time, that's how numbers work, okay?!"
"You don't know?!" Ann exclaimed with a little chuckle, "It's not just A powerful Mage, silly! This prophecy is about, The Shadow."
Her dramatic tone didn't work--
Jacob shook his head in confusion: "Where do I know that name from?"
"You are unbelievable..." Ann sighed as she fell back onto the sofa, rolling her eyes, "Really? Born in a Mage family, and you don't know THE legend of our time?"
"Just tell me!"
"There was once this legendary couple, the most powerful Mages of all time, and with all their power they created this sacred wand and named it, The Shadow."
"Okay." Jacob shrugged, still with that indifferent face, "So if this wand is so powerful, then how come no one is using it to rule the world already?"
"Because no one can wake it up, silly." Ann rolled her eyes, "Where have you been when we were having history classes? Jesus!"
Jacob sneered sarcastically, ignoring her bragging about history, "So the most powerful Mage will appear tonight and wake up the most powerful weapon. What does that have anything to do with us?"
"Well, how about the fact that The Shadow is going to save us from our doom?" Sneered Ann coldly, "Sounds important enough to you now?"
"What doom?"
"Ugh...where have you been your whole life?!" Ann let out a frustrated groan.
"Well, the doom doesn't matter anyway, right?" Jacob fell back into the sofa in distress, "Because the prophecy promised that The Shadow WILL be wakened tonight. Problem solved."
Ann rolled her eyes: "It doesn't work like that. Prophecy is only one possibility of the future. It has to be fulfilled to happen, and that's exactly why we need to be there, to be TESTED by The Shadow."
"To do what? To save the world?" Jacob sneered, "No thanks. Sounds like a lot of work to me."
"It's not work, it's power!" A frantic smile appeared on Ann's face, "Because whoever wakes the wand, gets it!"
Jacob started at Ann with first confusion, and then it came to him --
"You think it's you, don't you? Oh my God!" Jacob's sneer soon turned into a loud laugh, "That's ridiculous, even for you."
All laugh disappeared from Ann's face.
"What did you say?" Said Ann with a cold voice that could freeze the air.
Still laughing, Jacob rose both his hands to surrender: "You ARE a powerful witch, I admit, but not legendary powerful, yet."
The last words saved his life.
Ann snorted as she stood up with her coat coldly: "It's not about how much magic you possess now! Stupid. The weapon recognizes its owner when the one who's worthy appears."
"Does it ever occur to you that you just might not be the chosen one tonight?" Taunted Jacob, knowing how much this hypothesis would scare Ann.
Ann frowned.
"I'm sorry, but do you know ANYONE who's more powerful than me at my age in our town?" Said Ann annoyed.
"Prophesies is only a glimpse into the future." Jacob followed Ann to her car, "And future can change. Isn't that why the high priest stares at his precious crystal ball all the time?"
"He's never wrong!" Ann growled frustratedly, "And he said the vision was clear and stable for years now! It WILL happen tonight!"
"Tonight we gather here, for this night is to be the most important night of our time!" The high priest announced with his low yet vigorous voice on the high stage, and the whole square fell into silence even though it was filled with people. "Where are you going?! Jacob!" Ann yelled but Jacob already sprang out of the car even before she could fully stop it. "But first, we have a little sweet announcement," The high priest curved his lips and his long, white beard jumped a little with his smile, "From the boy of the Family Algood, Jacob Alg--" "High Priest!" Jacob stopped his dashing just by the edge of the stage, staring at the high priest with begging eyes as he shook his head like crazy. "Ohh..." The high priest got his hint and murmured, "Well, pity... guess we have to move on then." Confused whispers spread the crowd, and Jacob could swear he heard one or two laughter as well. Damn them! "What's wrong?" An old, sl
No one before she and Jacob made the wand glow, and that was all the Mages in the town. No one else would and could appear now, it was HERS! Ann stepped up there like a glowing queen, and of course she was in her finest suit -- she even wore a pair of white leather gloves, as a little touch of her elegancy. She put her hand over the wand, and a shadow was cast over The Shadow, making the light reflected on the wand even dimmer. She grabbed the wand and rose her arm over her head! She heard the crowd gasped in sync, and she looked up-- The wand was not glowing. No one spoke. No one even moved. All eyes were on her, and unlike Jacob's little incident, this one they WILL remember. The smile was off Ann's face now. "Wait!" She glanced at the crowd in panic as she tried ripping the gloves off her hand, "It's my gloves... give me a second." The second glove just won't come off. Ann threw the glove she managed
"Oh my God, what happened to you?!" With no answer, Lilith buried her face into Emma's shoulder, knowing her tear-makeup-mixed face would totally ruin Emma's favorite sweater. "Come and sit, you poor thing!" The sweater was no longer Emma's priority now, "Tell me what happened?" "I don't want to..." Lilith mumbled and tears burst out of her at the first sound she made. The water tap won't even spill water like her eyes spilling tears. "What did he do now!" Asked Emma with her teeth clenched, "HE did this to you, didn't he?!" "It was me..." Lilith shook her head, couldn't complete too long sentences, "It was my doing..." "How on earth was that YOUR doing?!" Emma couldn't keep her voice down, "All this because you missed his call?! Are you fucking kidding me--" "No..." Lilith shook her head, sobbing, "It w*-w*sn't like that..." "Then what happened!" Emma let out a frustrated plaint, "Please, Lilith, you are scarin
"Get back here and take care of her!" Hank shouted at Jacob. His rare temper shut Jacob up effectively. "Ann would face a much more severe punishment if this one dies." Hank added in a lower voice. "What do I do!" Jacob turned back to Emma quickly hearing that. "Tell me where Lilith went, please." Hank turned to Emma, who was in a lot of pain and was at the edge of losing her consciousness. "I know you care about Lilith, and I'm the only one who can save her now." Hank fixed his eyes on Emma, "You don't want Ann to hurt her, right?" "Sh-she is leaving town," Emma said with great hardship, "Hig-highway 18, she's bound to take that one..." "She owns you her life." Hank nodded before he put her finger on Emma's forehead and she fell into a deep sleep. "I have stopped the bleeding for now," Hank told Jacob briefly, "Take her back to your house and your mom will know what to do. Do NOT take her to a hospital, do you understa
"What--?!" Ann took a step back in shock, "What are you talking about?!" "Well," The man shrugged, "I just thought it's a wand you have there in your hand, is it not?" "Ohh..." Ann looked down at her own hand with a relieved exhale, "Sorry...It's just...from a gift shop..." "I see." The man nodded with a polite smile, "A very exquisite souvenir, it seems." "It IS beautiful, isn't it?" Ann mumbled. All she could think of was how she told Jacob not too long ago about how love doesn't matter, yet she felt so powerless in front of this mysterious man smiling in front of her. "Please, we need your help." Said the man with not even a shred of hasty in his voice, "Could you call an ambulance? The girl is badly hurt." "Hmm, yes of course!" Ann pulled out her phone from her jacket and started dialing, only to see the man curve his lips at her. Damn it! Now he knew she was lying about the light from her palm because she J
"High priest!" Ann gasped as she looked down to her own hand, which was what took away Hank's breath. Because in Ann's hand, The Shadow was now glowing. Dimly, but the glow was still there. "How?! I mean... how did it happen?" Hank stammered as he started walking towards Ann. His attention was no longer on the crashing scene. "By the time I got here, she already crashed the car..." Ann started with an improvised lie. There was no one to expose her anyways. "What?! You mean Lilith?" Hank took a gasp as he blinked in confusion, "Where is she?" "She was taken to the hospital." Ann said, "I called the ambulance right away as I got here." "That's good." Hank nodded, still in shock, "So what happened to The Shadow? How was it wakened?!" "I don't know..." Ann handed The Shadow back to Hank, "I was so worried about Lilith when I saw all these, and before I knew, The Shadow was already in my hand with its whole b
"Feeling better?" A deep, rough voice rose beside Lilith, but she couldn't seem to understand it. She felt as if the whole world was twirling around her when she finally managed to move a little, and she could barely feel her own eyelids. "Don't move, you hit your head pretty hard." The man covered his palm softly on Lilith's forehead so she won't rip her wound open. "Who are you..." Lilith opened her mouth but her throat was so dry that even she could barely hear herself. "No rush on talking." The man moistened his finger with water and stroked her lips as soft as possible, "You will feel better after you drink some water." There was little struggle Lilith could put up before her world went dark again. The man pushed the button by the side of the bed: "Nurse, get Dr. Sarla, please." "Yes, Mr. Gaumond." Edmund gazed at Lilith for long before he finally closed his bloodshot eyes. He barely slept in the pa
"What's going on?!" "Shhhhhhh!" "It's boss's first mate! I want to--" "A werewolf only gets ONE mate, stupid! What do you mean by 'first'?!" "Well, I MEAN, he can reject it!" "That would hurt her!" "So?!" "Just shut up! Boss will hear you!" Edmund DID hear them. He wasn't sure whether Lilith could hear them though, or if she cared to-- Cause she was crying, quietly but with tears falling down her cheeks nonstop as if there was a snow mountain inside her head melting. How could one cry so much without drinking water...? Edmund sighed in his mind as he handed over another tissue, seeing the last one was soon soaked wet. Whispers rose like bee buzz right outside of the ward door as if someone stole their queen bee. Edmund frowned at himself when he landed on that metaphor. "So..." Lilith finally managed to slow down her tears a bit, "Are you a doctor?" "Hmm?" Edmund blinked as he tri