The Original's Legacy (GxG)

Forty-one

My hands dropped as a wave of sadness, anger, and everything rushed over me. I sighed heavily, frustratingly sliding my hands over my face. I saw that Lizzie had joined Josie at her side, and Finch had stood up from Josie’s bed, and the four of them watched me and waited for me to say something.

With one last sigh, I collected myself, pushing all the bad feelings aside, and saving them for later. Looking at the other girls, I held my head high, now genuinely ready to solve the mystery of how to kill Malivore.

“Let’s get to work,” I said before turning to walk back to Hope and I’s bedroom.

We found Mark still there, scrolling through something on his phone while awaiting our return. He hasn’t even touched the box with our parents’ journals and things. Stuff we were never aware of and was somewhere safe before our village burned. I appreciated his patience waiting for me, but now I’m just itching to find answers regarding our current mission.

I welcomed the Saltzman twins in, as well as Finch, before closing the door. I didn’t expect her to want to partake in this stuff. After all, it’s not her fight. At least in the sense that she’s new to this stuff, and it’s scary enough to learn truths about magic, let alone dangerous spells against an ancient, sentient mud golem. And though I didn’t want someone I barely knew looking through my dead parents’ things, I’m willing to let it go for the sake of the extra pair of eyes.

Mark swung his legs over the edge of my bed and stood from where he lay. I went over to my nightstand, pulled it closer to the closet, and then moved my bed near it. That created more floor space for us to rummage through this box of books and things together. I grabbed the stuff I had with me in my apartment years ago, Mark held the new package, and we both dragged them to the middle of the space I created. I motioned for the others to join.

“This stuff,” I patted the boxes as I spoke, “belonged to our parents. When we found their murderer– the leader of the massacres, Zane– he basically said that Dad was either working on some way to kill Malivore or he had already finished it.” I shrugged, shaking my head. “I don’t know how he knew about Malivore or even how that wench Alice knew that he knew, but that’s why she sent those vampires to the bayou; to find what he had so she could use it.”

“Who, uh… who’s Alice?” Finch asked.

Hope turned to her. “Malivore’s first creation, aka his firstborn, aka Landon’s big sister.”

“Also a mud freak,” Lizzie added.

“God, there’s another one?” Finch scoffed.

“Unfortunately,” Josie sighed. She turned her attention back to my brother and me. “So you’re saying everything that’s happened to you guys… is her fault? Malivore’s?”

“Everything,” Mark nodded. “Though our parents’ deaths– maybe even mine and our brother’s deaths– was some play against Marcel’s rules for the vampire faction of New Orleans.”

“The raids were her doing,” I said, “to get something in either one of these boxes. A grimoire. But anything in here can be useful against Malivore. Some way to free Landon of Malivore’s control as well as some way to kill him and his evil spawn.”

“How will we know what we’re looking for?” Josie asked.

I shook my head, shrugging helplessly. Mark answered. “I suppose we’ll know when we see it.”

“I don’t plan on stopping until I get answers. It’s already night out. If anyone wants to tap out early, I welcome you to do so now.” Neither of them said anything or got up to leave, so I took that as a sign they’d stay to help uncover the secrets of my family. Without further delay, my brother and I began distributing books from the top of both boxes. For now, we started with two books each, either thoroughly reading them or skimming through them.