Lizzie’s Diary – Entry 54

Questions answered, happily ever after.

By Natasha Penn in Chapter, Lizzie's Diary, series on October 21, 2022October 21, 2022

CONTENT WARNING

This entry contains discussions, mentions, and descriptions of dark and triggering topics such as child abuse, sexual abuse, firearm usage, violence, and death.

Reader discretion advised.

??? – 2:44

Burn.

That one word echoed in my mind, reverberated throughout my being and shot out to blast the bandit, carrying my will in the wind. As soon as my energy collided with his deep, murky brown aura, the catalysts for a chain of events only I could foresee.

The clear flames took on a violet sheen, and the pain my twisted uncle was hallucinating had become a reality.

He screamed at the top of his lungs and fell to his knees, smacking at the flames in desperation. The purple fire danced around him, burning away his clothes. Singing his hair. Searing his flesh.

Devouring his soul.

Just as he had devoured Lori’s.

My sister’s face flashed before my eyes, fueling the enmity within. As the inferno within grew, so did that which I had unleashed upon the man kneeling before me.

“HELP ME!” he howled through the torment. His body was rigid, his muscles too tense from the heat and pain to move beyond the occasional involuntary jerk. “PLEA–”

His pleading words dissolved into a coughing fit. He gasped for air, but to no avail.

You don’t deserve to be saved, I told him, forcing myself into his mind. My mental presence shocked his mortal mind; he gasped, choking on heat and dust and dry air. This is what you deserve. To pay for all that you’ve do–

POW!

Clyde barely shuddered as the bullet entered his head. I felt the swift burn of the bullet piercing his brain as if it were happening to me; I stumbled and cradled my throbbing temple, floored by the sensation I just experienced. One second, Clyde’s presence was inside his body, and the next… Gone.

All of my effort was wasted.

Seething, I turned toward the pit and glared down at the man whose pistol was still raised. Clyde’s body slumped over, still ablaze. “Who the hell gave you the right–?!”

“Stand down!” he shouted, lowering his weapon. His eyes darkened until they were entirely black, sclera out of sight. The force of his words wasn’t enough to grab my attention, but the influence behind them brought me to my knees as I, squinting through the pain in my chest, realized what was going on.

My chief had given me an order, and I could only obey.

“We’re coming up,” Dane informed me. It was then that I noticed Kent and Lori on the ground behind him; the others he had with him had run out of the suite as soon as I dropped at my leader’s behest. “Don’t move. Understand?”

I nodded, suddenly aware of how dry my throat was. Between the heat, and all the gas I inhaled…

Wait, no. I reminded myself. I never have to worry about noxious gas again.

I wasn’t sure how I knew that, as a demon from Semes, I would come out of this with my lungs relatively unscathed. It was as if I had access to a wealth of knowledge that was just out of reach, that I could only tap into when the situation arose.

LIZZIE!

I heard his thoughts before he even burst through the suite’s open door. His black hair was disheveled from all the running, clumps of it sticking to his brow and face, moistened by the surrounding heat. His green eyes were wide, eager to reach me as he assessed the wall of flames surrounding me before locking onto mine.

“Any chance you can turn off the fire?” he asked, one side of his mouth cocked in a smirk that didn’t reach his eyes. Matteo joined him in the hallway, his hand on Monty’s chest to prevent his son from performing any daring stunts.

I focused on the surrounding flames, and did my best–I really did–but the only fire I could snuff out was the violet blaze that had taken to consuming my uncle’s corpse. My body felt heavy as exhaustion passed over me.

“I-I’m sorry…” I shook my head from side to side, but the motion made the room spin. All I could manage after that was a small grunt as the vibrant light coming off the dancing embers dimmed, and the world faded to black.

Warm. I felt warm.

I let out a whimper as I stirred, willing my eyelids to pry open. I needed to know where I was, to see what was going on.

I needed to know that in spite of our losses–in spite of the casualties–we won the battle.

“Take it easy, kid.”

He spoke softly, his deep timbre soothing my anxious thoughts. Fingers brushed aside locks of my hair that had fallen over my face, obstructing my eyes. His touch sent tingles loose within me, as if tiny bolts of electricity coursed through our contact. Connecting us.

My eyelids fluttered open as I blinked through the sunlight that poured through a nearby window. I was covered in a heavy blanket, and my torn and bloodied clothes had been swapped for a soft shirt that I had undoubtedly slept in before. I could smell him on the fabric, the blend of mint and citrus causing me to smile as my eyes found his face hovering over mine.

“Hi,” I sighed.

“Hi,” he whispered. His emerald eyes shone with relief and adoration as they gazed into mine, but I could tell they carried a hint of a more somber emotion. “How’re you feeling?”

I flexed my limbs gently, testing out every muscle for any sign of distress. “A little sore, but otherwise good, I think. You?”

“Better now,” Monty exhaled, lowering his face until his forehead rested against mine. “I was really scared for a moment there, babe.”

I swallowed over the lump in my throat. “Yeah… Me, too.”

Instinctively, I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him down to me. With a smirk, he closed the distance between our lips in a sweet, lingering kiss. We remained that way for a spell, looking into each others’ eyes.

I was only a little puzzled by the tangerine sheen in his jewel-like irises.

“I love you,” he breathed against my lips.

The mysterious orange grew, glowing bright. Blinding me to all around us.

All I saw was him.

“I love you, too.”

There was a flash of the citrus shade, and I was suddenly thrust into a series of memories from another time and place.

My name was Aponi, and I lived on the star at the center of our system, swimming through plasma. Farming metals, hunting for salamanders and crimson vipers for their skin and leviathans for their hide. Gathering phoenix feathers and rainbow scales. Growing oranges, peaches, and plums on flaming trees, plucking grapes from their stellar vines…

Surfing solar winds. Diving toward the core.

Battling our greatest threat–the Cherufe.

An enormous, titan-like beast consisting of crystalized plasma from the inner regions. A spiked frill framed his head like the crown of a death deity. His fingers and toes were webbed, allowing him to delve into the unexplored core. The molten magma he spewed was nearly beyond our immunity threshold, and any outsiders would surely lose their life should they cross his path.

The Cherufe roared in the distance. I gathered with the other warriors, ready to defend my people–

And then I heard him scream, and my body moved of its own volition. I swam toward the sounds of a battle, and what I found astounded me.

A man whose coal black waves fell haphazardly over his right eye in a fringe, the rest of his hair shaved in an undercut. Eyes as bright and green as the jewels imported by otherworldly traders, staring daggers at the horrific monster before him. His clothing, a knee-length tunic made from some sort of thin material, and trousers fashioned from animal hide, were clawed at, revealing rippling muscles underneath. His spacecraft was slowly sinking into the surrounding lava beneath his feet, and by his side stood a slender canine creature with jet black fur no taller than his waist. He wielded a melting double-edged sword and was tossing aside the remains of a shield when I burst from the flames and sliced at the giant with my own blade.

I managed to hold the Cherufe off long enough for my comrades to join in, and we drove the beast away just as another craft arrived to take the man away. He thanked us graciously and introduced himself as Hrafn before speeding off into the void.

I remember thinking him brave yet foolish. What imbecile would come to our world unprepared, let alone challenge the titan that made its home at the core of a star?

Hrafn returned on several other occasions, bringing gifts and seeking the company of my friends and I. He asked about my Qaslian blade and learned about our wildlife. I asked about the moving images on his skin and learned he fancied himself a talented artist. We grew closer over the next few years, visiting one another’s homeland more and more…

Three days after my twenty-fifth birthday, he asked for my hand in marriage, and the rest was history.

The glow faded, easing us back to reality. Without warning, Monty’s lips crashed onto mine, trapping me in another delicious kiss. I returned the favor, pulling him closer, urging him to join me where I lay.

My soul mate… I whispered into his mind, causing him to chuckle and pull away. His eyes sparkled with renewed delight.

I’ve waited so long for this day.

I cocked an eyebrow at him. How long have you known?

He shrugged. Aunt Desi may have hinted at it back when I first brought you home.

My cheeks burned with embarrassment. You’re joking! Well, actually, that makes sense–she is a prophet. Does that mean the rest of the court knew, too?

Monty nodded. Yeah… And apparently your new tribe.

I grimaced at that. So Gavin knew…

Why’s it matter if Gavin knew with everyone else? He frowned.

With a sigh, I explained the conversation that occurred before my friends and I stormed the hotel, peppering his face with kisses in hopes of softening the discomfort that came with knowing another person had feelings for your partner. When all was said and done, it was my other half’s turn to sigh.

Yeah, I can see how that’d be difficult. Poor kid.

I shot him an impressed look. My, my. Aren’t we mature all of a sudden.

He cocked a grin my way. What can I say? Finding you has made me a wise old man.

My expression was dripping with exaggerated doubt as I narrowed my eyes. Wise? I don’t know…

His only response was to dig his fingers into my sides, tickling me mercilessly. My shrieks and cackles rang out as I tried to fight him off–and, much to my surprise, I had managed to pry his fingers away from me.

Monty scoffed and pulled his hands back, rubbing his fingers. “Damn. You been eating your Wheaties?”

I sat up and rolled my eyes. “Wow. How many antiquated, pre-apocalyptic references are you going to use now that I have an idea what you’re talking about?”

He waggled his eyebrows playfully. “More than you can count. Just you wait, Liz.”

I tensed at the sound of my name–or rather, the name I had been given in this life by my primary abuser. While the remembrance of my past lives had taken all but three seconds, I had sifted through over a hundred lifetimes in that instant. I knew every name I had ever taken, and I had honestly expected to hear one of them by this point.

Anything would have been better than the name I was given by Jebediah Peters.

Sensing my distress, my boyfriend took my hands in his and nodded in my direction. “What’s wrong?”

I squeezed his hands gently, careful not to overexert my newly acquired demon strength. “I…”

After a moment’s hesitation, I began, “I hate my name. It doesn’t feel like me, or like a gift or blessing from someone who gave me life. Jeb was the one who named me, not Mama–and hearing my name, even my nicknames, reminds me of him. Of everything that happened, everything he did…”

Monty said nothing. He simply held onto my hands and trained his eyes on my face, patiently listening to my lamenting.

“Before L-Lori died, we talked about me changing my name, and I guess…” My mouth felt dry–I swallowed hard, hoping to force an ounce of moisture to hydrate me. “I want to go through with it, but not if it’s something that will confuse or upset others.”

Monty frowned and leaned forward at a snail’s pace. “How many lifetimes have we spent on Gaea?”

Instantly recognizing the spirit word for Earth, I cleared my throat. “Um… At least one hundred, I think.”

He was less than a foot away. “And in those hundred lifetimes, how many different names have you had?”

It was my turn to scoff. “Uh–I don’t know, maybe about a hundred?”

Monty was inches from my face, his nose nearly brushing against mine. His gem-like eyes were locked on mine, conveying the same loving and earnest nature depicted by his soft pink and royal blue aura.

“Baby, I have met you over a hundred times in over a hundred lifetimes, and I have known you by over a hundred different names–and I have loved you in each and every one. If I have to, I’ll do this a hundred more times. I will find you, learn your name, and love you a hundred times over. Your name is whatever you say it is, and I’ll call you by whatever name you’d like… So long as I can call you mine.”

His eyes flitted down to our joined hands, prompting me to follow his gaze–and my breath caught in my throat. He had inconspicuously slipped a ring onto the fourth finger of my left hand; its white gold band was a perfect fit around my slender digit, and its singular adornment was a chunk of an iridescent quartz that had been smoothed into an almost perfect sphere.

Tears brimmed my eyes, but I glanced back at Monty questioningly. I thought a question was supposed to be asked? I internally debated, gauging his next move.

His smile was warm and somewhat embarrassed as he ran his fingers back through his hair. “This is the part where I propose, but… I kind of need to know who I’m proposing to.”

Fueled by the love in my heart and soul for the man before me, I spoke my new name into fruition.

“Karia. Karia Peters.”