International Legends

Chapter 41 - Jasper

It was a shock to everyone as Leo crashed on the floor, passing out in the middle of everyone. David, who had been rushing to get him out of the area, had found him after Naomi let out her horrific scream. He felt his pulse, and there was nothing there. He beat his fists in frustrations near Leo, and I imagined what he was feeling was some kind of memory from his time in Afghanistan.

I hurried to feel if his energetic body was still attached to his body but I quickly was able to see him standing outside of himself, desperate in any way for him to get back .It was something I had seen many times but I had never felt as sympathetic for them before. I always thought it was the way things had to be but not now. I desperately wanted to help him because he was my friend. Death angel or not.

Get me back in Jasper, said Leo, frantic in his new form. I can't let Naomi down again. I cannot die. You gotta do something buddy.

I'm trying, I thought, but I saw Lucifer shake his head, laughing all the while.

That's what happens when you try to escape me Jasper. People die.

A flash of a woman laughing appears before my mind. At first, it's Lilith - the Queen of the Underworld, then the mother of Carmen, then finally transforming herself into Mama Earth itself. Her smile is familiar though.

Narcissa - my grandmother.

Genesis snarls at the woman, but that only makes Narcissa smile the more wider.

"Yes," murmurs Narcissa. "It turns out your Uncle was a little more vengeful than had previously been thought of. He didn't want Hell to go down into the history books as a lone loser against the Time Guardian. He wanted to make sure that there were fool-proof protections against a loss of power. That's why he made sure that I signed my soul away to the Devil. The true hero - Prince Lucifer himself."

"You're Carmen's mom?" I asked, incredulous.

"Insignificant grandson," chastised Narcissa, "You know we can change our forms. It didn't take much to find the Alabama woman and to convince her that I would be a friend to her. She was so lonely after her husband left her for that other woman, she practically begged me to eat her!"

"All of this, it was all about you?" asked Genesis.

"Of course it was," admitted Narcissa. "It started with employing some of your little friends. Prince Damien was all too easy when Arkethia left him. Then there was Sol, the vengeful twin brother, Naomi dealing with the grief of her lost husband, the Vampire Queen who was willing to work with me no matter the costs!"

"You could have been good!" says Genesis. "Did you ever love me at all, or was it your plan all along to use everyone to go ahead and fulfill your purposes?"

"I never loved you," said Narcissa. "How could I? The spineless, squirmy thing that demanded my attention, wanting so badly to be loved? I pitied you. That's why I used others instead, like that Ozara. Now she's going to destroy the universe, and it's all thanks to me."

I attempt to tie her up with the golden rope, but she spins away from my hands, disappearing into what appears to be a cloud of smoke.

Meanwhile, Naomi throws himself at the cherubim, but instantly she is thrown into the air, her tree powers being activated. I watched in horror as her eyes turned green, and the roots extended out of her body - digging themselves into the realms below.

It's as if I could hear the screams of those in the realms below, and I did not want to imagine what kind of horrors they faced.

A storm was brewing on the Vortex Sea, rising the waves high above the boat, in preparation for a solid attack as the skies opened, light from the heavens seeming to flare the sky.