F I F T E E N
Take Me To Church

Though the methods of reincarnation had not been proven to be effective, rigorous testings upon subjects had deduced that there is a high chance of success. Practitioners must be mindful of the type of blood and water used in the golden chalice to ensure that there are no disastrous outcomes. The blood of an angel of light must be fresh, kept in liquid form until consumption.

However, one should be mindful when performing this ritual. The mixture must not touch the lips of any living being, no matter their origin or bloodline. When consumed by those alive, the immediate effects of death will be upon them. Proceed with utmost caution.

"Well, that was an interesting read," Calvin commented with wide eyes and a raised eyebrow that almost touched his hairline. "So the potion that could revive Addison would also be the one to kill us if we accidentally drink it."

"At least the devil was thoughtful enough to write a disclaimer in the book." Snapping the book shut, Wilhelm allowed the object to land on the coffee table with a soft thud, my eyes trailing after the leather-bound journal, heart caught in my throat.

"I never thought I would hear that in the same sentence." Fabian scoffed.

"The ingredients of the mixture are not easy to obtain, Dimitri." Wilhelm was frowning, his red eyes shining with clear disappointment and worry. "A golden chalice of sacred ground? That alone is a mystery as to what it is. There are tons of sacred grounds in the world and Lucifer could've meant any one of them."

"Oh don't be silly, Wilhelm. If Lucifer had been detailed enough to mention the items required, surely he must also have written down what golden chalice he was talking about?" I piped up, walking over towards the book.Taking it into my hands, I tested the weight of the journal before flipping it open, skimming through the yellowing pages as I scouted for anything that could relate to the golden chalice that Lucifer wrote about.

As I furiously scanned through the contents of each page, I could feel my heart getting heavier and heavier with each passing second in which I could not find what I was looking for. So far, there was nothing written in the book about a golden chalice, or even just a simple cup. Most of the contents of the book contained recipes for potions and spells for what seemed like unnatural dark magic. Dejected, I began to slow down as I neared the end of the book, my hands starting to get clammy with nervousness.

"Did you find anything?" Calvin asked, sitting at the edge of his seat as he leaned in closer towards me though that act helped him not one bit since we were quite a distance away.

The beginnings of a sigh were already on the tip of my tongue, my chest pain with sorrow and regret when a flash of an illustration in black ink caught my attention. Gently flipping over to that page, heart in my throat, a smile began to curve my lips as my fingers trailed after the handwritten title.

"The Golden Chalice of Sepulchre," I whispered under my breath, placing the book onto the coffee table in the middle of the sitting room before gesturing the boys over. When I realized that none of the boys had budged from their seats, my eyebrows began to furrow. "Come on, I found it."

"Take a seat, princess. Will's got it." Dimitri laughed, patting the spot beside him as Wilhelm waved a single hand in the air.

As I retreated to Dimitri's side, I watched in awe and amazement as the book began to fly into the air once more, gliding in thin air before halting, its pages wide open. One by one, the letters began to tear themselves right off the yellow parchment, hovering high above the book as they began to form the words so that we could all see the writing clearly.

"Right," I murmured under my breath, "I forgot that you guys could do that."

I did not bother to turn and face him but I could hear Dimitri chuckling, his shoulders quaking slightly from the laughter as he took my hand in his absentmindedly. Almost as if he didn't even notice his own actions, he started to draw mindless circles on the back of my hand with his thumb, probably tickling my skin if I could feel it properly.

"Sometimes we forget too."

I had almost missed the whisper of his words. Had it not been for the fact that I was seated so close to him, I might not have noticed the words slipping out from Dimitri's lips. It was poised with longing and a hint of something else in which I could not place my finger on. It was, after all, for a fact that Dimitri was old as time and had felt things in which I could not possibly even dream of in comparison.

As the inky black words finally finished arranging themselves properly as they should, Fabian immediately stood to his feet, walking slightly closer so that he could examine the words as clearly as humanly possible. His lips began to move, most likely muttering the words of the text under his breath before he clenched his jaw and shook his head in annoyance.

"You are not going to like this, brother." Fabian turned to Dimitri and I could see the muscle in his jaw tick. "The chalice is located near the Church of Holy Sepulchre. Beneath it, to be exact. It's the catacombs that the angels carved out a few thousand years ago to store charms of protection for the people that lay their prayers there."

At the sound of that, the expressions of all four brothers darkened significantly as I looked at them curiously. "And why is that bad?"

"The catacombs and the church itself are blessed with the magic and protection of angels. Only Fabian and Calvin will be able to enter. Just like how Dimitri and I cannot go near Heaven, the church works in the same way." Wilhelm frowned, folding his arms across his chest in clear irritation.

"Huh," I mused. Turning over to Dimitri, a small smile teased the corners of my lips as I shook my head in mocking pity. "I guess you're not going to be the one to take me to church after all."

"Haha, very funny." With a playful roll of his eyes, Dimitri shook his head as the vexation from before melted away from his handsome features. The silver light in his eyes glinted with hilarity as he returned my playful gaze.

"Fret not, brother. Fabian and I will take good care of Addison and return her in one piece." Calvin assured, bearing a toothy sparkly white grin as he walked over in a jolly manner. As Calvin passed Wilhelm, the former shut the book, laying it back down onto the table as he, too, stood to his feet.

"You best be off, Addison." Wilhelm, though obviously relieved by the sudden good news of Calvin's agreement to help me out in our quest to find the golden chalice, still seemed a little worried. "Nightfall is upon us. The sun had already set and the days to your deadline are slowly dwindling."

I opened my mouth, lips parted and ready to speak when all of a sudden, a sudden jolt ran through my body. It felt as though someone had kicked me from the back of my knees, causing me to fall forward due to the loss of balance. Dimitri's arms had barely even wrapped themselves around me when the feeling in my legs melted away into nothingness.

"Addison!" I could hear Minnie's panicked cry somewhere in the background.

However, where my ears had allowed me a great connection to the world through this sense, my eyes failed to do the same. Darkness began to swirl into my line of vision, air clogging in my throat almost painfully as I gasped profusely for air but nothing came into my lungs. My body was exhausted of energy and just like that, the world of sleep drew me in once more as a reminder that the second day had already gone up in flames.

-----

My lips parted just the slightest, eyes still closed when I felt a hand gently running through my hair. Without opening my eyes to look, I allowed myself to smile when I noticed that the hand was one of a man's. Expecting to meet silver-gray eyes that resembled the molten metals, I blinked them open, turning over to the side of the bed that was dipped in to signify occupancy.

When my line of gaze was met with eyes of a warm honey brown that was as rich as the fertile grounds of a field, I jolted backward, rapidly pushing myself up into a seated position. He wasn't sleeping but rather examining me as I slept. I could feel his gaze follow me, pink lips that bore a smile melting into a frown as he lifted his platinum blond head off the feathery pillows he just laid open. Just as how I remember him to be, Lucius's hazelnut eyes were filled with confusion and worry, much more human emotions that belonged to the days of our past rather so than our present.

"Is there something wrong, Addy?" He asked, his eyebrows furrowed as I pulled the blanket towards me.

"Why are you here?" I asked, looking profusely around the room before I realized that we were back at his house, a room in which I had found myself in for many nights during my younger years. "Why am I here?" I corrected.

"You were upset over a failed test, remember? You said you needed some company. Bella and Minnie are in the guest rooms. Is something wrong?" Lucius's pale yet warm hands trailed down my arm in what was once perhaps a soothing gesture. Now, it only caused goose bumps to pop through my skin, making me scramble as far away from him as humanly possible.

"No, this happened years ago. It cannot be happening again." Climbing to my feet, I was relieved to realize that I was still fully clothed, dressed in a large oversized t-shirt and a pair of shorts which were my go-to pajamas set. "I am supposed to be in Hell, with Dimitri and the others. How am I back here?" The words were more of questions to myself rather than directed to Lucius. Either way, I could see his eyebrows crumple in confusion as he stared at my hysterical self.

"I'm in my head again. The last I remember was that day two had ended. It must be one of my past lives pulling another trick on me. Yeah, that's right."

"How very smart of you, Addison." A familiar child's voice sounded from across the room. When I raised my head to meet the speaker, the surroundings faded away into a dark and empty void with the exception of a familiar looking little girl that smiled brilliantly at me. She was a spitting image of myself back in my childhood days for I could definitely recognize my own features. However, the expression in which she wore was one that I had never seen in my reflections before. "You are getting good at this."

"Lola." I greeted, tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ears. "What are you doing here? Why am I here?"

"You are here because I have a proposition for you." Lola bore a cunning smirk, the corners of her lips tilted sinisterly and I knew she was a girl on a mission. And bless anyone that dared to be in her way. "Welcome back to the old world, Addy."

"I can't really say that it is good to be back," I admitted. "Get me out of here."

"Adults are always so impatient." Lola shook her head in disappointment, clicking her tongue lightly. "I told you, I had a proposition and the least you could do was actually listen to it."

"Fine. Although I am sure that nothing you can say will make me want to stay here. This is a void in my own mind."

"As long as you are willing to listen." Lola offered me a toothy grin. "How was your memory? That last flashback with darling Lucius. Was it nice?"

Like a disc, my mind began to replay the events of what happened in the last five minutes, causing me to swallow the bile in my throat uncomfortably. The air was suddenly notably filled with more tension, causing me to shuffle in my position uneasily.

"You miss it, don't you? Your home, your friends all reunited again. Don't you want to be back with the people you love?" Lola took a step closer, her expression melting into one that was filled with honest curiosity. "I can make it happen, Addison."

"How? You are nothing but my past life. You are trapped in my subconsciousness. Even you, even the gods have no way to turn back time for anyone. That is a constant undeniable fact."

"You are forgetful, Addy." I cringed a little at the nickname as it slipped past Lola's lips. If she had noticed, she showed no sign of it. "As each day passes and your death looms closer, we, the past lives, we grow stronger. The castle is built on top of the Heart of Hell which only fuels our strength. For these fleeting moments where a day bleeds into the other, I have a magic that Death can only dream of."

"You were a human in your living days, Lola. Just like me. You don't own any sort of magic."

"A mind is a powerful place and in more ways than one." Lightly she tapped her temple three times, the same mischievous smile back onto her lips. "You just need to know how to use it. I can change it all for you. I can bring back those days where you and Lucius were so in love and he is not an angel. I can cancel everything, carve out a new path for the both of you in a land where demons and angels did not exist. Where Death is nothing but a common unfortunate inevitability. He will no longer be a person, no longer be a personification, along with his brothers. Best of all, if you're worried that you will, for some deluded part of you, miss him, I can make you forget his existence. You will not remember Lucius's betrayal, Porsha will still be alive and a faithful friend, and you will be on Earth with Bella and Minnie. This world of fantasy will no longer exist for you. I just need your spoken agreement."

I wanted to rebut, I wanted to scream at Lola and tell her that she was insane. But there was a part of me deep down that wanted to know the outcomes of all the 'what if's I've had in my life so far. What if Lucius had never betrayed me? What if I had never gone to the party? What if I had never met Death and continued to live my ordinary human life. There were so many questions that needed to be answered.

When I looked back up at Lola, I could see her smile widen just the slightest. "So, Addison," she said, "what will your choice be?"

Happy Friday the 13th! For this spooktacular event, be sure to catch the three new updates here on Wattpad for [Courting Death] as well as the release of Chapter 21, 22 & 23 on Radish Fiction. Hope you liked this chapter.

xx aurora