Oooh. I read when you have pre-written. Happy with it? I'm interested.
Slight warning which contains a spoiler, read this part at your own risk, there's a scene in this chapter that I was seriously hesitant about including because of the situation. I ended up doing it anyway despite the fact that it made me uncomfortable. There's a single scene where, while visiting Leah as a child, her and Collin kiss. It's just a kiss but considering the situation I figured I owed a warning.
The two of them sat in front of the bonfire, staring into the burnt out logs quietly. There was only one shapeshifter corpse in this area and Collin had moved it away when they'd arrived there. It was lethally silent there. Collin knew what was coming, what he'd have to do. Those powers were bubbling beneath the surface of him, calling out with their own causes. Collin was almost certain that the shapeshifter power was trying to destroy him from the inside.
Anything was better than letting himself dwell on that, with unease in his words he spoke quietly, breaking the silence of the forest.
"You're really Leah?"
She snorted, a grin crossing her face as she turned on her log so she was facing him. Collin followed the action by turning on his own log and staring into those brown eyes, memorizing every tiny detail he could. "You're asking me that after the make out session in Vegas? I was posing as Emmett, Collin. I don't know much about your family but I know enough about Bella to expect that Rosalie was probably an aunt to you. Which says all sorts of fucked up things about-"
"That isn't what I meant!" Collin defended earning a laugh from Leah. "I just meant…I needed to be certain."
Her laughter died down, a smile never leaving her face as she took one of his hands and squeezed it. "I know what you meant, Collin. I swear that I am Leah. From now until forever I will be yours." She looked down, staring at their hands for a moment. "I don't ever want to let you go. I have to but I don't want to."
"I could-"
"No. Don't offer that." Leah trembled slightly and Collin regretted mentioning it, no matter how bad he wanted to never let her go it was cruel to ask. He had no right to. "If you do…I don't know if I can say no…even if I don't want to."
So Collin didn't offer to turn her into a vampire or any of the other species currently riding around under his skin. Instead he just talked. They talked. About everything and nothing at all. He told her stories about his early childhood, talked about Daula and in return she told him stories about her life with Emmett. They sat for a while like that, just talking.
While they talked Collin did something that his family could hate him for at a later date. If he came back from this in-tact.
His infiltration of both Dol and Ak's memories had given him a vague understanding of the functionality of the power he was now holding. It wasn't hard for him to reach out and rip away the Essence of each animal Brady, Lila, and all of the other members of their bloodline. Daula's humanity made things a lot easier. While he was ripping away Lila's essence he noted that Ayla was still with them. The poor girl had been kidnapped by Mary, the least he could do was let her survive the destruction that was to come, so he pulled her Essence as well.
All of these actions were done in the back of his mind. Leah probably didn't even notice he was focusing part of his attention on those actions.
Nahuel. Part of his mind whispered to him.
Collin couldn't save everyone. As much as his mom had adored Nahuel and despite how much he'd helped them Collin couldn't waste time going all the way to the island to save him. Not with those powers boiling beneath the surface and trying to get him to do different things. Pushing at him with each of their own individual intentions.
"Collin." He blinked, at some point during their conversation Leah had climbed into his lap and he was holding her against his chest. "It has to happen."
"After I travel into the memories, I want you to do something for me, Leah."
"What do you need?" She asked, leaning back so she could meet his eyes.
"Call Brady after I've tuned out and have him come get you. If I'm in the memories long enough…"
"It might be a long time before you wake up." She finished.
Nodding, he continued his explanation, "This place isn't stocked well for humans or ex-humans alone. It's made for shapeshifters and humans. There should be enough phone reception out here that you can call him and have him come get you all. When I'm back…I'll come find you."
That was a lie and the hurt in her expression told him he'd failed at pretending otherwise. It wasn't fair for him to stay by her side. Not when he was trapped forever in the body of a child. If she moved on…it was possible that she could live a mostly normal human life.
It was all he could hope for her to have.
Honestly, Collin had expected a protest from her. He'd expected her to call him out on his bullshit.
What he had expected was her hands going onto his chest and shoving him back.
Collin was a vampire; he was the most solid material in existence. Except at that moment he was carrying around the powers of the first vampire, werewolf, and shapeshifter.
It made him a bit more pliable, which he hadn't known, until he was falling back off the log and landing on the ground with a light thud.
None of it hurt, the werewolf power was a bit annoyed. That second mentality growled and clawed and tore at his mind, trying to take over. The power of Ak just continued its relentless tearing at him, trying to escape, then, just as he was, Mary's power was a bit baffled.
Leah glared down at him, having barely caught herself from tumbling on top of him. "If you think you can just abandon me, Collin! Have you been listening to a single damned word I've said! You can't just get rid of me! That isn't how this works! I fucking love you! No. We can't ever be a thing because your cursed to be your mother's child. That doesn't mean you can just abandon me. From now until forever, I am yours. You aren't going to abandon me. When you wake up you will find me or I will rip apart the planet until I find you." Tears were streaming down her cheeks as she threatened him.
Collin blinked, staring up at Leah with a bit of awe. Collin hadn't expected that. Not from her. Even with her being human, she still showed the vague signs. That actions from any other being on the planet was easy to expect. For her to do it… by all technicalities, he was her Imprintee. From what he knew Imprinters would never lay a hand on their Imprintee like that. Granted she couldn't actually harm him but it was the concept. The action had its meaning.
"Okay." One word. That was all he could muster. That word with all the emotion he could bring forward and push into it. Despite his better judgement, he would do it, he would go back to her when he woke up. Not because it was the right thing to do. It was the last thing he should've done. They would both be tortured by what they wanted and could never have.
Leah searched his expression for what seemed like years before she offered her hand to him, he took it despite the fact he didn't need to and let her pull him to his feet.
"I'm sorry." He shook his head at her words, not speaking as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, savoring the moment for a moment.
"If I don't do it now I never will."
"I know." She muttered softly and let go. "Mary has a phone, right?" He nodded and she looked down at the ground for a long moment before lifting her head and meeting his eyes. "Remember everything I've told you. The things you have to tell me."
Something told him it didn't matter if he remembered those things or not. He'd said and done a lot of things in those memories out of impulse, things that had triggered events in the memories without him realizing he was doing it. Things he had to do.
"I love you." He muttered softly.
"From now until forever." She said softly before turning away from him.
What he did next was hard. The most difficult thing he had done in a very long time.
He sat down on that log and shut his eyes. Knowing what was coming made it all worse. The last time he'd spent an expansive time in a memory he'd been checked out for two months. Now he was going to spend God knows how long going on some epic journey to turn the powers over to the young versions of Ak, Mary, and Vasilii. He knew Leah would meet him here and that fact made it all worse.
.-~**~-.
When he allowed his ability to suck him into a memory he hadn't known what to expect. Not really. It could've been any of the potential memories. Any memory at all. Just because he was supposed to be delivering the powers didn't necessarily mean that would happen.
When his eyes flicked open he was in an unfamiliar scene.
A moving memory.
They were in a forest; it was significantly different than the forests Collin was used to. The grounds were greener, the moon almost seemed larger. That wasn't what he focused on.
A young boy no older than four with deep brown eyes was lying on the ground limp and unconscious with blood gushing from the side of his head. A girl about the age of sixteen was standing next to him with a bloody rock discarded to the side. She had a spear about half the length of her body in her left hand pointed straight at the unconscious boy's heart, resting against the skin.
Mer stood less than three feet away, frozen in fear. This was Mer. The girl she was before any of them knew her. The first vampire. Mer was looking between the girl that was no doubt Ak and Bur. They looked like each other. The oldest family in the world.
They didn't speak.
No words were spoken between them.
Somehow that made it worse.
Ak flicked her wrist, motioning to Mer, then flicked it to her son, her grip tightening visibly on the spear.
Mer made a strangled sound, motioning the symbol for family between herself and Ak. Her eyes were filled with a thousand different unshielded unnamable emotions.
Ak made a sound that was almost a laugh before she repeated the motion, jerking her hand across the place where the circle had been before stabbing downward with the spear.
Collin cried out in shock in the same moment Mer let out an unearthly shriek, launching herself through the air and landing next to Bur, baring her sharp teeth at the shapeshifter.
Ak smiled cruelly before she vanished. Collin didn't think before he acted, kneeling next to Bur and touching his arm, feeding a tiny sliver of the shapeshifter power into him. The faintest piece. The boy might've cried, he might've screamed, a spear through the heart couldn't have not hurt. Not in the least.
However, Bur was silent, shaking, his eyes fluttering open to meet Mary's as she pulled him into her arms. That shapeshifter power wasn't enough to save him. Just dull the pain and…
"Bur." She croaked out, cradling the young boy against her chest.
"Mer." He choked out, his words gurgling a bit around a mouthful of blood that he struggled to spit out.
That power would be what was used to bring Bur back as Brady in the future. It had to be. That had to be why he was here.
He was on the track then. He didn't want to be. None of this was fair or right. He wanted to stop but knew he couldn't.
Mary held him close and searched his expression, clearly whatever she found there broke her a bit because she deflated, holding him and watching as Bur choked on blood until finally he ceased all movement.
"This isn't the end. Mer, I swear to you that it isn't over. You have to keep moving. You have to keep going. Avenge his death. Kill Ak. For you, Bur. One day you will need to know this. The power that fuels your mom is pure raw energy. That raw energy will give her a lot of power. It will let her nearly wipe out the planet. When you're reborn, do anything you can to protect her." Another thing he did without realizing he was doing it or why. He was feeding them information. Information that they wouldn't have otherwise. He remembered clearly when Bur had explained that power to him.
"…What your mother didn't know, for good reason, was when she bound herself to Dol's essence, what she did was bind herself to every incarnation of her. Dol didn't have an animal soul running through her as other shapeshifters do. The power that fueled her transformation was something else entirely. It was raw energy. That raw energy is the same energy that allowed her to steal every animal on the planet from every shapeshifter…"
At the time he'd explained it he'd had no idea why and now Collin knew the truth. He'd told him.
Mer made a small sound as she gently closed his eyelids, holding him to her chest and crying without any tears. Collin knew Mer killed Ak for this, he'd always thought it was an immediate thing but based off what he was seeing now, it wasn't.
It also made so much more sense as to why her killing Ak after this hadn't worked. At the time, the sisters hadn't seen each other as family. There had been fresh wounds, they wouldn't be able to truly kill each other at this moment. In this span of time, the girls were truly immortal.
Collin had to leave now. He couldn't do this. He couldn't watch his sister be destroyed by the death of Bur.
Except this isn't the end. When Mary had told the stories she had never mentioned Vasilii.
He would have to see that memory too. Watch his sister murder her son.
Clenching his hand into a fist he watched as she mourned the loss of Bur until finally the memory melted away and he was in a new room.
This place was familiar. Vividly familiar. Vividly familiar because he'd been here recently. In the last year. Taking a breath, he knelt next to the cage that held Leah's dead body. The room was in panic and Zafrina had already escaped. Collin touched Leah's arm and allowed the smallest fragment of Ak's power he could muster to slip into her, knowing this was what he had to do to make sure she was reborn. He didn't question it because, despite everything, it was what he wanted. He had to meet Leah. It wasn't a question, he had to do it. He wanted to do it.
"I love you, Leah. From now until forever." The words were whispered softly and for a brief moment Collin felt a brush of something he could only describe as Leah before the scene melted away again.
This time he was in the middle of a field of golden grass, he was very alone and at first he was conflicted. Why would he be alone? It didn't…
Until it did make sense.
"I was buried twenty feet below the surface of the earth when I woke up…" Vasilii's words rang through his head and he took a breath, looking down at the ground beneath his feet to see that it had been disturbed. This was where Mary had buried him.
Collin knelt to the ground, touching the disturbed earth and feeling at the power beneath his skin. The werewolf one was there, at the front, prepared to join up with its new host.
After a short internal struggle of whether he should do this or not, whether he could do it, he allowed that power to flow out of him and into the ground, down into Vasilii.
The change in the earth was almost instantaneous, even from twenty feet below the ground shifted beneath Collin as something pushed. That wasn't the only thing that happened.
Once the power left him, Collin felt lighter, more awake, and yet, the lack of the power left him feeling drained on a completely different level. It was confusing and complicated and it left him worried. Worried for the first time about what this would do to him.
The ground beneath him shifted again and out of instinct Collin stepped back, watching as something pushed and fought from beneath the ground. Collin could almost feel the power in the first werewolf crying out in victory as it was unleashed. Collin stood back and watched the slow process until finally a furry hand emerged from the ground.
It would've almost been comical, something out of a cheesy movie. Except Collin knew better. Collin knew what it was. This was the creature that would wipe out all of the unnatural.
Finally, after what seemed like decades, it surfaced. The creature shook its fur out and threw its head back in a victorious howl. It was free.
"Vasilii, as with your mother and aunt, you can only die to family. Only family can kill you. Only those you see as family can kill you. I'm sorry. I'm truly sorry. Nothing can change that." The beast paused in his howling for a brief moment and in that brief moment the terrible sound of breaking bones filled the air.
Collin intended on watching the scene unfold, to watch Vasilii transform, however the scene melted away and he stumbled onto a smaller scene. The next memories passed with discomfort and no real understanding. Different points in different lives. He was forced to visit some of Ak's incarnations and said things he wasn't completely sure the relevance of.
Though he hated to admit it he wasn't surprised to find out some of Ak's darker incarnations. Apparently Ak hadn't only been incarnated as women, she'd had her fair share of male incarnations. Historical events Collin wouldn't have ever wanted to see firsthand passed and he buried those memories to the best of his abilities as quickly as he could. The only good thing about these memories was the fact that he was hinting subtle concepts. Things he knew from his limited history lessons that had led some of these terrible people to their deaths. Others he suspected had the same results.
After a while of visiting those memories he slumped to the ground of a new memory, one of a place he recognized. This was taking a toll on him. He could feel his powers protesting against it. He'd been exploring memories for too long. It wasn't hitting him painfully yet but Collin knew it was a matter of time until it happened.
This time he was in a very familiar room. A room he recognized from his mother and Leah's memories.
Part of him had wished this would be the last memory. That this would be his farewell. Of course he never got what he wanted, why would that change now?
His gaze skimmed across Emmett's room until he saw the ten-year-old Leah sitting on the foot of the bed gawking at him with confusion.
The second their eyes met Collin went rigid, his entire being protesting against what he was experiencing. It was wrong. The Imprint that had been missing since the moment he'd met her connected and Collin let out a startled cry of shock as a warmth flooded all of his memories of Leah. Everything…it all made sense in that moment, the draw, the longing, the idiotic crush that had turned to love.
It made it all hurt so much more. The girl climbed off her bed and inched towards him, tilting her head and eying him with such innocent curious eyes that he just wanted to hold her and never let her go. Her fate was tragic, unfair, she didn't deserve what would happen.
"Leah?" He breathed her name and she blinked, smiling at him and offering her hand.
Then he was flooded with her words. Words she could never speak. It's just like they said. It's so great and amazing and I can't even ask his name.
"I can hear you, Leah. Talk to me."
She blinked, staring at him dumbfounded for a moment before she made an excited sound and launched herself into his arms, Collin barely had a moment to think before she was wrapped around him and giggling. I Imprinted. I've Imprinted. Emmett said maybe I'd be lucky one day and here I am! I've got my Imprint; and he can hear me! No one can hear me. Did you know that, Imprint?
Collin's heart broke in that one terrible moment.
He was going to have to break her heart.
He was going to have to tell her the terrible truth that she was dead and had been dead for a very long time.
"Leah-"
What's your name! I need to know. I've gotta know my Imprint's name.
He felt tears burning in his eyes as he whispered, "Collin. My name's Collin."
Don't be sad, Imprint. Everything will be okay. Her words were so comforting and he held her closer, shaking slightly as he tried to keep from breaking down. He would stay strong. He would do this.
"Leah, we've got to talk and you've got to listen. You won't like what I say but you have to listen."
The girl pulled out of his arms, smiling broadly at him. Anything you want, Collin. Let's sit on the bed. Emmett got me a real comfy bed.
Nodding he allowed her to pull him to his feet and lead him to the bed, she laid down on it and stared at the ceiling. Uneasily he joined her side, not protesting when she took his hand and squeezed it.
"Listen closely to everything I say. You won't like it. Not in the least, it's the truth and I am so sorry."
Don't be sorry. She told him very seriously and he might've smiled if it wasn't for the situation.
"First I have to explain something important. No one else will know I'm here. No one else can see me. Only you can."
Like, Nes's mom? She didn't sound worried so Collin suspected they'd changed the truth a bit for her.
Collin flinched, realizing he'd worded that poorly. Leah wasn't like Renesmee. She wasn't like his mom. She was sane.
"No. I'm…I'm from the future." Collin hated saying that, it sounded so damned corny and stupid. "I only exist on a certain plane of existence and…" God she was only ten. Real ten. Even if she was a shapeshifter it was obvious by her behavior she was only as old as she looked. Maybe mentally stunted by the situation. "Your mind exists on that plane. It's why no one else can hear you."
Leah stayed quiet, listening to him and Collin could almost feel her trying to piece it together. To understand.
"After this conversation, I have to go and it'll be a while before you see me again. I promise you that you will see me again. But I'll have to leave."
But you can't go! Leah jerked up in her seat, staring down at him in fear, You're my Imprint! I have to protect you!
Her hand tightened on him and he closed his eyes so he wouldn't have to see the emotions flooding the girl's expression. "You will. Leah, you will do that and so much more. I promise that as long as you live I'll be safe."
When she laid back down she curled into his side, laying her head on his shoulder. You're mine.
"I'm yours. I will always be yours." He flicked his eyes open and tilted his head to see her staring at him.
How long will you stay?
"I don't know." He admitted, not wanting to ever leave her side again.
You said you needed to tell me somethin'. Was that it?
No. There was so much more. So much he had to say and so little he wanted to say of it. "There's more." He admitted finally, "The first time I meet you will be the day you die. Every single time you see me from now until then will be after I've met you but the first time I meet you will be the day you die."
But-
"I know. I know that it's confusing. I wish I could explain it but I really don't understand it. Just…"
Okay. The girl finally said, not sounding happy about it.
"After you die. You will be reborn. It will be a long while but you will be reborn. When you are, you won't wake up as you until after we meet. When this day comes. No matter how much you'll want to. No matter how much I push for it, you cannot tell me who you are. I'll threaten your life and I'll try to kill you. That doesn't change the fact that you can't tell me who you are. I cannot know. You can tell others but I can't know. Nobody can tell me. Not until we are in Vegas together"
Why? The question gnawed at him and he had to think for a moment as he tried to figure out the answer.
Collin took a shaky breath, closing his eyes as she nuzzled closer to him. "If I know I won't be able to let you go when it's time." He told her, rather than explaining the cycle. When she didn't respond he returned to the story, "After a while you'll be kidnapped by a werewolf. He'll ask you a lot of questions, I don't know what they are, but you have to be completely honest with him. Tell him everything. You will stay with him until a day in Vegas. I don't know what you're doing before it but when you finally join us you explain this to us. I realize who you are and you explain everything. You can feel the power radiating in me now, right?" She nodded against him and he let a breath out, "We will be in that room with two of the originals of the species. They will be discussing giving their power over to me. Vasilii, the werewolf will give it over willingly. Mary has to make the choice on her own. I'll have to rob my aunt's grave that day of the power of the first shapeshifter. I will take the power from each of them and it will make both Vasilii and Mary human. Then I will visit each of their deaths and deliver the power there. I've already delivered Vasilii's."
She made a pained sound and he wasn't ready to tell her the next part. He had to but he didn't want to. "I'll be trapped in a vampire body following this. I had to stay a vampire to do this. The only way I'll be able to die is if I kill myself. I'll never be able to be yours in the way we'll want because I'll be forever trapped in this body."
Leah was too young to have a full grasp on what that meant, what they would both want and the reason why she couldn't join him as a vampire. Collin could tell at this moment Leah hadn't developed her loathing of vampires. Kachiri hadn't destroyed her yet. It doesn't make sense. She finally admitted, her silent words a whisper.
"It will. When you're older you'll understand." He didn't tell her about the Imprint. He didn't tell her to not tell him about it. He wished he'd known the truth from the start. Obviously Leah made that choice on her own. Which he was grateful for. It was something in this god forsaken situation that was good.
If you're from the future. Can't you change things? Can't you make things not happen?
Collin grimaced, understanding dawning on him. It was his own words she would spend the rest of her life convincing him of. "I can't change anything. No matter how much I wish I could. I can't change anything."
They laid there together for a while, mostly silent, occasionally he would tell her something she had to know that he'd missed in his story but for the most part he'd covered everything. Finally, he felt the change and knew it was time. "I have to go, Leah. I'm sorry."
You can't… She protested, tightening her hold on him. He looked down at her pleading eyes and wanted to give her the world in that moment. Instead he settled for pulling her closer and kissing her.
This kiss was just as awkward as the first but for a different reason. Leah had no experience. He was the experienced one, however limited that was. He used what Leah had done in Vegas as a basis for the kiss and quickly realized that she'd learned to kiss from this. That information put him to ease, she hadn't been violated in some terrible way. The kiss was wrong in more ways than one. He was well aware of it. When taking the true age gap into account it really crossed a line. In that brief moment he didn't care. It was a single kiss. Possibly one of their only kisses.
When they separated she smiled sleepily at him and he pressed another single kiss to her forehead. "I love you, Leah. From now until forever I will be yours."
The scene melted away before she could respond. Collin landed in a different forest this time, it was overgrown more than Collin had ever seen anything and so very green. He felt that sharp jerking in him and buried the agonized cry of pain that tried to escape him. He wouldn't break down. He had to sit through this. He had to witness this. A memory he never once had experienced and hadn't ever wanted to experience. He was there now. He'd be damned if he missed it. No matter how much it would hurt.
A bit off into the trees Collin saw the faint outline of one of those old huts that he'd seen in Mary's memory. There was even the faintest light of fire. That wasn't the important thing. A young girl about the same age as Mer stumbled out of the trees. She was a younger version of the girl he'd seen when Bur was killed. Ak. The girl was wearing nothing and dragging a body with her, when Collin moved closer he understood what had happened. The man was covered in blood and had a small jagged -what had to be their form of- dagger, a sharp stone bound tightly to a piece of wood with a vine, protruding from the side of his neck along with several wounds in his chest from where she had no doubt stabbed him many times. His eyes were open and vacant.
Ak had murdered him. She was covered in his blood and a dark look was in her eyes, something Collin could only call evil.
Collin swallowed as he watched her drag the man away from the encampment, he imagined it was probably to leave him for an animal.
As Ak struggled to drag the body through the overgrowth another girl he recognized instantly came pushing through the branches. This one was fully clothed in animal skin dress type thing with a single one of those daggers tied into the waist of it.
"Ak!" The girl cried in shock, doubling back at the sight before her. From Mary's stories of this event he was a bit conflicted by that. She'd said she'd known. But Mer was acting clueless. Like she didn't know.
The blood covered sister dropped the man, turning around so that she was facing her sister. Ak reached down with her left hand and ripped the blade from the man's neck, her gaze never leaving her sister. Mer took a step back, staring at her sister with fear.
In that moment Collin realized why Mary had lied. It was to make her sister seem like a better person. Mary had always said she'd tried to convince Ak that she was wrong. Had always said it was partially her fault.
That wasn't the truth. Mer hadn't known. Mer hadn't had a clue what was happening. Hadn't had a chance to try to help. She'd gone into this night blind and suffered the consequences.
Behind the dark look in Ak's eyes Collin saw something else. Guilt. If there'd been a word to describe it, the word would've been guilt.
Ak held the knife up, blade in her hand. Offering the hilt to the other girl. Mer's gaze flicked between her sister and the corpse. The fear was still there. Fear and a hundred other things Collin would never be able to pinpoint. Ak used her free hand to symbolize family, trying to get her meaning across. Collin understood. Collin knew what she wanted. His more advanced mind allowed him to understand what was happening. This was Ak's way of saying, "sister, join me."
The problem wasn't that the meaning was bypassing Mer's notice. The problem was Mer wouldn't do that. Collin knew Mary well enough to know Mer wouldn't take part in killing her tribe members.
Mer took a single step back and her hand slowly moved toward the blade on her waist, in that moment Ak let out an enraged cry and threw the blade she had in hand.
Collin wasn't sure if knife throwing had existed in the time they lived but that was exactly what Ak had done. She'd thrown the dagger from the blade so that it landed in her sister's right shoulder. The second the blade left her hand she'd begun running towards where her sister was falling back onto the ground by the shock of the dagger landing in her shoulder.
Mary screamed and fought her clothing to get her dagger, tears streaming down her cheeks as she struggled against the pain. The adrenaline kicking in probably being the only reason she wasn't completely out of it.
Collin didn't see it happen. Not exactly. He watched as Ak threw herself on top of her sister and missed. Instead of catching herself like Collin knew she'd planned she'd face planted straight onto Mer.
Ak made a choked sound and Collin knew without a doubt where Mer's blade had ended up, even before he moved to their sides to see Ak struggling to sit up. Despite the fact that Mer's blade was protruding from her stomach, Ak made sure she finished her job. She took that same blade, grabbing and pulling it from her own stomach.
"Ak…" Mer managed in the same moment Ak shoved that blade into her sister's neck. She slumped down on top of Mer after that, tears falling down her face as she bled out. Collin watched them, waiting.
Collin now knew the truth. Mary had lied about the events that had led to their first death.
Mary had defended Ak by lying about it. Something told him that he would've done the same for her. He knew without a doubt Bella would've done it for Dol.
It was terrible. Watching Ak bleed out. Despite what had just transpired, Ak hadn't done it out of cruelty, not really. She'd tried to get her sister to join her. Mer had been the first to go for her weapon. But Ak had made a point of killing her. Made sure that her sister died for killing her.
When Ak finally died Collin could tell because the shapeshifter power began fighting him again. This time, rather than trying to tear him apart from inside, it was trying to break free from him. Trying to join Ak.
He knelt down next to the girls and touched his aunt's shoulder, letting that power leave him in one movement. Ak jerked and rolled off the top of Mer, gasping and choking once the power went to work healing her and returning her to life.
He sat next to his sister for a long moment, the feeling of Ak's power being gone was unsettling. It was freeing and yet… something he couldn't quite place felt off.
Finally, he touched his sister and shut his eyes, pushing the power into her with a bit of effort.
Then he was free, the powers were gone, all of them gone.
It was then he understood.
Without those powers he was draining completely on himself. All of the weight of exploring those memories was on him.
He gritted his teeth and watched as Mer's eyes snapped open, blood red as they always were.
He didn't have much time.
Fighting himself, he forced the words out. "Mer, Ak, you are the first of your kinds. You will be the two most powerful beings on the planet. Two beings that can only be killed by those that are their family. One of these days, one of you will kill the other. You will be forced to kill each other." He said the words and watched for a bit longer as Ak convulsed on the ground until she relaxed.
Collin knew what would happen the moment Mer jumped up, her head snapping towards their village. This wasn't something she'd ever told them. It was easy to suspect and Collin couldn't and wouldn't stay to see it happen, instead he allowed himself to sink back into reality.
That was what he tried to do.
However, the second the scene around him began to melt away he felt something was wrong. Very wrong.
Something deep inside him told him what was happening, even then he didn't want to believe it.
He couldn't die.
Not when he'd told Leah he would come back for her.
He panicked as something began dragging him down. Pulling and yanking at him.
No. He couldn't die. Not like this. Not yet.
He cried out as something changed and he was submerged.
Let's talk about these flashbacks. But- Nope. Talking about the flashbacks. I've been dying to do the night that Ak and Mer killed each other since I originally wrote her in. If I hadn't written this story, I would've done an extra just to do that night. Ak and Mer's relationship may very well be my favorite of the series, despite everything. Bur's death scene was a bit more difficult. I remember very well that I had Mary say that Bur wouldn't let her turn him but I couldn't for the life of me come up with a way to do that without dialogue and in that particular scenario. If I ever get around to writing shorts I'll do a conversation with her and Bur and her offering to turn him. That sounds difficult. Considering the lack of dialogue. Any of the scenes revolving around Ak, Bur, and Mer in the early days is a pain. So we moving on? Yes.