Black Holes - The Mors Mortis Trilogy Book 3

Chapter Fifty

The motorbike screeched to a stop and the person jumped off. The curtains shading the windows of Jared's house twitched, the creature's interest piqued. But that wasn't Leah's greatest concern yet.

She pulled her gun from her holster and pointed it at the new arrival, frustration flooding her. Because she knew the way this person moved. She recognised that flash of blonde hair.

The person pulled their helmet off and Arelie stared at the three of them, her eyes bloodshot and wild. It wasn't an expression Leah had seen Arelie wear before. She was used to Arelie's anger and bitterness, but the edge of desperation was unprecedented.

"What are you doing here?" Leah asked, her voice hard.

Jared pulled Alice behind him, and just from the way he held his gun, Leah knew he wanted to use it, that Arelie's arrival had stirred up something dark and angry in him too.

Arelie held her hands up, palms facing out.

"What are you doing here?" she asked back. "Where's Maud?"

Leah's finger tightened on the trigger, fury spasming through her.

There was only one reason Arelie would know Maud had been here. She was Maud's accomplice. And of course she was. Arelie had always been destructive and psychotic, and worst of all, bored. She was always looking for things to break. Leah never thought she'd set her sights on the entire universe though.

"Maud ran," Leah said coldly and Arelie's face twitched, her hands shaking.

There was something so familiar in that expression, something ancient and tired and hopeless, and Leah felt her heart drop, the truth of it all suddenly hitting her like an 18-wheeler.

"Oh my god."

Her mind flashed between Arelie's face and the drawings they'd taken from Maud, to the younger girl who'd been tied to that table, the one with longer hair.

Suddenly it all made sense — why Arelie had befriended Leah and pushed her to do such dangerous things; why she was bitter and angry all the time; why she'd chased Leah back to the live world.

Arelie had known what Leah was. And she'd known what Leah would be capable of once she was back with her family — the destruction she'd cause.

"It's you," Leah said. "You're the other immortal one."

Arelie's face twisted, anguish filling it, and Leah blinked at her, shocked.

"Please," Arelie said eventually, the word pained, clearly unfamiliar in her mouth. "Please don't try to fix this. I don't want to be here anymore."

Leah stared at her. If she didn't know her better, she would've thought Arelie was about to cry.

"You were part of the tribe that was searching for immortality," Leah said, needing the words out there, needing Arelie to confirm it. "You're the girl they experimented on."

Arelie swallowed, her hands trembling.

"Yes," she said. "It was a mistake. It was all a mistake, even your family. None of us should exist."

"But the worlds should," Jared said. He still stood beside Leah, his gun trained on Arelie and his face as expressionless as ever. Leah knew he was as shocked as she was though, that he was trying to catch up to the situation. "They were here before you. You don't get to punish everyone for the mistakes you made."

"But I didn't even make them!" Arelie erupted.

Her eyes swung to Leah, crazed.

"I was only fifteen. I wasn't given a choice! The elders decided who to sacrifice, not me. Do you have any idea what its like being stuck in a fifteen year olds brain for eternity? I've watched everyone I love disappear, I've watched the entire world move on without me."