Forever Mine

Part Fifteen

"I'm not going to kill her." I growl.
She's Andria's best friend. There has to be another way.
"It's okay, Matt. I've know what I am for quite some time now. I knew this would happen eventually." Marne tries to smile.
I shake my head fiercely. "There's another way."
"There is no other way. If you don't kill her, she'll die anyway. If she dies not by your hand, the key will be lost until Andria's next reincarnation." Shianne snaps.
I clench my fists.
"Please, Matt. I'm just so tired." Marne's eyelids droop.
"No."
Shianne narrows her eyes at me. "So what do you suggest we do? We can fight her, but we won't win."
"Shut up, Shianne!"
"Why because I'm right? We'll all die including Marne and Andria because you're too stubborn to do what needs to be done. What's wrong? You've grown a conscious now? I thought you enjoyed the kill of innocent people."
"Shut your mouth, Shianne. I'm warning you." My voice is low and leveled.
"No! I'm willing to give you the thing you need to defeat my sister to get Andria back. To break this stupid curse and yet you sit here and pretend like you're above it? Kill her, Matthew. Put her out of her misery!"
Before I can even think twice, my hand is wrapped around her throat. She clutches my wrist and glares. How dare she challenge me when her life is in my hands? I squeeze slightly to see if I'd get a reaction. Her gaze never wavers. Even her hold on my hand doesn't change.
"If you live as long as I have, you welcome death. If you're going to kill me, do it. I don't have anything left. But if you're not, get your hands off me and be a man."
Surprisingly, I'm the one to break.
"Don't make me do it."
Shy's eyes soften. "She's helped you get some of your humanity back. I get it, but this isn't the time to use it."
I look back at Marne. She's on the floor leaning her back against the table. It's almost as if standing is just too much for her. With a sigh, I let Shianne go. She rubs her neck.
"You've got a death wish." I shake my head.
"Don't we all? You need to hurry. She doesn't have long. I'll give you some time alone." She walks to the door.
"Shy?"
She looks back at me.
"If I don't come back from this, you tell Andria that I never wanted to do this."
"She'll know. She knows you better than anyone else here, she just needs to remember that's all."
Turning my back on her, I kneel down next to Marne.
"Hi."
"Hey." I still don't want to do this.
"I promise this is ok. Once it's down, no one else will have to be the key. No one will have to suffer anymore. Once I'm gone, Andria will remember everything."
"How do you know so much?"
"My soul never dies either. I've known you for a long time."
"I'm sorry you were dragged into this."
She closes her eyes. "I'm ready."
I pull her into my arms and squeeze her. "I'm sorry."
Placing my hand over her nose and mouth, I start suffocating her. She doesn't even fight it. Her heart beats wilding against me until it slowly stops. When I'm sure she's dead, I lay her down on the floor and cross her arms on her chest. I'm a monster. I've been a monster for way too long. Shianne was right. Marne and Andria helped give me back a little bit of my humanity. It's only a little, but sometimes a little goes a long way. I wait for something to happen. Being around Jez, I half expect something magical to happen, but nothing does. Silence echoes around the room.
"Why isn't anything happening?" I frown.
Grabbing Marne's wrist, I check for a pulse. There isn't one. She's dead. I killed her and yet I don't feel powerful. If anything, I feel the damn disgusting guilty weighing down on my shoulders.
"Shianne!" I yell.
Why did I let her convince me of this? Why did I let any of them convince me to do this? They've lied and kept things for me. Who's to say this is another thing they've manipulated me into doing? I start doing chest compressions and breathing into Marne's mouth.
"Come on, Marne. Shianne!" I keep working to bring her back.
I've never worked to bring someone back to life. I'm so used to taking life. Am I even doing it right? My eyebrows wrinkle as I work harder.
"Come back, Marne. Shianne, where are you?" I snarl.
The door bursts open.
"What's going on?"
"Nothing happened. She's dead and nothing happened! Why did you lie to me?"
Water falls onto Marne's clothes. I stop and touch my face. It's wet. What the hell? Touching my other cheek, I realize I'm crying. I haven't cried in centuries. Scrambling away from Marne, I nearly trip over myself trying to stand up.
"What's happening to me?" My hands shake.
Shianne looks just as confused. Looking up from my hands, I look at her with wild eyes.
"What the hell is happening to me?"
***
Andria's POV
Groaning, I start gaining consciousness. Jezebel. My eyes snap open at the memory of her taking over my body. Searching my surroundings, I look for her. She's sitting across from me in a wooden chair. Her body is encased in a tight, black dress that splits on the side. Her arms crossed as she watches me.
"Jezebel." I storm towards her.
When I'm almost close to her, my ankle trips me. Looking down, there's a metal clamp with chain connected to the cement floor.
"What's wrong, Jezebel? Afraid of little old me?" I stand back up.
She changed my clothes. My jeans and shirt have been switched for a cream colored dress. I hate to admit it, it's quite stunning, but there has to be a reason that she dressed me up. She scoffs.
"I'm not afraid of trashy sluts. It's when you lose them, they start to stink up the house after a while."
"What do you want?"
"Don't worry your pretty little head about it. I don't want you."
"You want Matthew?"
She looks down at the floor beside her. My eyes do as well. It's his bible. She used me to steal it.
"I want to burn it, but first I want to read it..."
"So read it."
She laughs cruelly. "The stupid little brotherhood put a spell on it."
She sounds like she's actually surprised that they could out smart her.
"Guess you're not as all powerful as you thought."
She glares at me. "Don't forget that not too long ago you didn't remember who you were."
I shrug. "So what?"
"You're just as irritating as you were before." She sighs. "I'm bored. I wonder what I can do to entertain myself." She smirks at me.
Clearing my face of any fear, I stare at her. This is something I knew would happen.
"How predictable of you."
She stands up and comes toward me. Lucky for her, she remembers to keep her distance from me.
"You've always thought you were better than me."
"That's because I am. I don't have to use magic to have a man to want me, Jez. You do."
She smacks across my face. I laugh.
"Someone is a little testy."
"He's mine!" She screams.
"Yet he looks for me over the centuries not you."
She raises her hand toward me. Even though she's not touching me, my throat feels the pressure. I clench my jaw, trying not to show weakness. Slowly, I'm rise off the ground.
"He was mine before he met you. He'll always me mine."
"That's the thing, Jez. He met me and so I will forever be his and he'll be forever mine. There's nothing you can do about it." My voice is strained.
She releases me. I collapse to the floor trying to get as much air as I possibly can. My head spins at the rush.
"When he gets here, I won't hesitate to slit your throat. Then we'll see who belongs to whom."
"You'd think you'd learn by now." I flip my hair out of my face. "He will always love me."
"Maybe so, but he'll have to remember you first." She smiles.
"What?"
"Matty, got the key. It won't be long before it takes over him."
"Marne..." I whisper.
"Yeah, he killed your little best friend. Makes you wonder, has he really changed? I made him into what he is. He is mine."
"One day, I'm going to stand over your dying body and that is when I will pity you." I shakily stand to my feet. "You went through life having no one love because no one wants you. Time after time, men used you and loved someone else over you."
She grits her teeth. "They love me. They'll always love me. Once the key takes over Matthew, he'll love me even more."
"I won't let happen!" I snap.
"Too bad you won't be around to have much of a say about it." She sits back down in her chair and looks over at me.
Going to the wall closest to the floor my chain is bounded to, I sit against it and watch her. She smiles.
"If the Matthew I know will be gone, what makes you think he'll want to be with you?"
"Like he has a choice."
"But what if?"
Her smile falters. She never thought about what if she loses him too? I remember when I first met him.