Chapter 7

It's been a month since I last saw Brandon and Yves. Things have been quiet so far. I drowned myself in work to get them off my mind. Amihan contacted me not long after I met with them. She somehow found out about my "meeting" and now I'm in lockdown. Well, not exactly lockdown. There is a Dark Oath Soldier watching me every day for three weeks now. I have about another week until I'm free of this "bodyguard."

Amihan came into the room holding a bouquet of roses. She seemed cheery than usual. I assume she got the promotion she wanted. 

"You got the job?" I asked, folding my arms over my chest. "That gives you power, then. Can you get rid of this soldier now?"

She put the roses down and sat across from me. With a cheery grin, she announced, "I did! I am a senior investigator now. And no, you aren't getting rid of that soldier. He has a name, by the way. His name is Hiroki."

"I don't care about his name. I want him gone!" I whined like a child. "I don't need someone watching my every move. I'm not going to see them again."

"Hiroki is for your protection, Aubrey; he's not your jailer," she states, "Now please suck it up. He'll make sure that no one attacks you."

"Why do I need protecting, Amihan?" I asked, "You said we can't be killed."

"So you'd be happy to rot in a jail cell then?" she raised her voice in anger, "Aubrey, don't make me triple your guards. You can't ever be caught!"

"Why?" I asked, "Why am I so important?"

"Because our line started the Dark Oaths," she replied, silencing me. "Because the blood that flows in our veins came from the fallen angel himself. You're an important person whether you accept it or not, and you're going to pledge an oath to our cause."

"What?" I gasped. 

Did I hear her right? The blood in our veins is Lucifer's blood? It can't be. No way. But what reason could she have to lie to me; none. So that's the fucked up truth my family failed to inform me. That's the reason why I could do what I did back when I was just human… 

"You're a Morningstar, Aubrey," she declares, "And you will take your place in the Dark Oaths sooner or later. You and I and the other Morningstars aren't like the other immortals; their blood came from Lucifer's followers; we got ours from the king himself. That's the reason why you're so valuable. I let you have your fun the past seven years, but now it's time for you to join us."

"What if I don't want to?" I asked, "What if I refuse?"

"Then you'll be under close watch for as long as a century and you won't ever get to see or contact your biological family," she replied, "You don't have to worry, Aubrey. We're not bad people. The Dark Oaths' legacy is to protect people like us. We don't wage unnecessary wars. We don't start fights, but we do fight for peace and justice."

"What if I don't want to fight the Siemens?" I asked, "Amihan, Brandon is my friend—close enough to be family. You can't force me to fight him."

"Tell that to the council when we get to the Hidden City," she says, pulling me up from my seat. "Get up."

"Get off me!" I growled, pushing her off me. At this point, I don't care how much older she is. She can't push me around to do whatever. I didn't sign up for this. 

Hiroki ran towards us, unsheathing his sword. He pressed the blade against my neck enough for a few drops of blood to spill out. Who even uses swords in this day and age? 

"Go ahead," I dared him, "Kill me. I'll wake up eventually." I swiped the sword from his grasp, my hand bleeding from the blade's sharpness. Without hesitation, I stabbed him in the chest—close enough to injure a part of his heart. "And here I thought you were here to protect me," I mocked emotionlessly, "You can't even protect yourself from me." 

He fell to his knees while my hand still gripped on the sword that was close to piercing his heart. Blood spilled everywhere, ruining his perfectly pressed suit. I wonder if they'll reject me if I kill this one. 

"Aubrey!" Amihan yelled, trying to stop me. She was put to a halt when I took the gun hidden beneath Hiroki's jacket. "Stop this madness now, Aubrey. This isn't the way of our people; you know that."

"If I kill him, will the council change their mind about recruiting me?" I asked, pushing the sword deeper into him. "You know, it would be a shame to spill this innocent man's blood. I wouldn't like to do that, but a girl's got to do what a girl's got to do. Who am I kidding? This man annoyed me for weeks. It would bring me pleasure to end him here and now, Amihan." I wasn't sure if I was just full of rage or if I meant every word. Am I willing to spill his blood to save myself from joining them?

"Aubrey," she warned, pulling out her own gun. "Don't make me do this?" Her eyes shifted from calm to murderous. I kind of like this version of her—the real her. This one doesn't hide beneath a mask of "nobility" and "righteousness." This one is showing her rage.

"Do it, Grandma," I dared, "Go right ahead. You're forcing me to join you just because I'm a "legacy." That's just as bad as what the White Veil is doing to their own bloodline. You're no different from the very people you call monsters."

A moment of hesitation—that's all I needed. 

"Boom!" I fired one directly at her heart. "Boom!" Another shot at her head. I watched as her body betrayed her, falling to the ground. She looked like a corpse. She is one. She's been a corpse for more than eight hundred years. 

I then shifted my gaze to the vampire at my mercy. He looked helpless—nothing like the vampires I fancied watching on Netflix as a teenager. This one's a huge disappointment. I thought he'd be more fun to play with. He's just on the floor refusing to move in fear that I might actually kill him. 

"Are you even a Morningstar?" he taunts, coughing out blood. "A Morningstar would've never done what you're doing."

"Are you kidding?" I questioned, feeling a darkness consuming me. "You want to compare me to the Morningstars who came before me?" I knelt down to meet his eyes, whispering, "They put shame to the name Morningstar. Lucifer is the devil—the opposite of light and God. Lucifer would never protect his demons or monsters; he'd use them. And when they're of no use, he'd get rid of them." I smirked at him, finding the horror in his eyes. "You know, you might be right," I agreed, "I might not be like them at all, Hiroki." I pulled the sword out from his chest and pierced my hand through it, grabbing hold of his still-beating heart. "You are of no use to me. You know what that means, Hiroki? It means that I'm about to end your life. Any last words?"

And everything went dark. Suddenly, I was in the middle of nothingness. I couldn't see anything nor could I feel anything. Did I just die?