You are oxygen
on a late night drive
To clear my head when hope has passed me by  

Everything Good, Ashes Remain

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Unceremoniously, the guys led the way to the Jeeps. 

Alex and Amyr went for the black one, Alex remembering to toss the keys to Vincent before hopping into the shotgun seat. Amyr rolled the driver's window and winked at me before leaving.

Vincent waited until we were both strapped in. He didn't start the engine though. Just gripped the wheel tight.

"A soul offering," he started slowly, evenly. "Is basically an ancient ritual of trying to get Eldest on our side. It'd been millennia since an offering was last done. You can say we'd been self-reliant for a while. Casting out Legion would need a tremendous amount of power and at the state we're in, it's downright impossible. As humiliating as it is, we're gonna need a higher power. Alex said it'd be the only way."

"So, how do we do it?"

He took his time staring at the steering wheel before answering, "We need you to reap a soul and offer it. If Eldest is satisfied, you'll be granted a Blessing."

I nodded. "Let's go find me a soul then."

Sucking in a sharp breath, he turned to me. "That soul you're going to offer... belongs to someone close to you."

I had a spasm trying to process that.

"That's why it had to be you," he said, his voice barely a whisper. "Me and the others, we don't have anyone left who's still mortal."

I gazed blankly at the windshield. "We don't have to kill anyone, do we? Or else, how could it be a sacred offering?"

"I guess, we better hope someone you know's scheduled for expiration soon. It has to be someone you care about, or else, it won't be a sacrifice. We only have three days before the full moon; remember that. And if we're really out of options..." He closed his eyes, clenching his teeth as if he was in pain. "I'll do it."

"What?"

"It's not like I've never done it before, A. You, on the other hand..." He opened his eyes, trailing into silence as he glared at his hands.

It was as if I could feel him hurt. Like daggers plunging and twisting into my chest. If someone knew the hurt of having to end the life of a loved one, it would be him.

Gripping the edge of my seat, I swallowed and erased any trace of emotion from my face. Had this happened before my resurrection, I would have made a big fuss out of it. But now, all I could see was the job at hand. All else, I would just have to cry over at night when no one was looking.

"We'll know when we get there," I told Vincent. "For now, drive."

I gave him directions and he just followed without uttering another word for the rest of the trip. Only when I told him to park a block away from our destination did I muster the courage to speak.

"You're quiet," I noted. "It's either you're upset or you're really upset."

"S'nothing," he replied, killing the engine. "Just that... you're too calm for someone who's about to make a soul offering."

"Oh..."

"Oh?" He grimaced. "Can't you be more stoic?"

I leaned closer to him, enough to make him cringe. "My facial muscles are in a state of shock. That's why my face is like this. I'm actually having a dirge play repeatedly in my head while I weep inwardly."

With that, I got out of the Jeep and began walking.

"Hey Aramis! I'm sorry, okay?" Vincent caught up with me. "It's just... I'm not used to this Alessandra mash-up thing."

"Nothing to be sorry for." I kept my pace while looking around, momentarily gazing at him before taking his hand and dragging him across the street. "I bet you were one of those immortals who called me something that translates into... 'Stone-Faced Witch' at least once in my previous life. But of course, back then, it was in Latin."

I stopped in my tracks, a thought boring its way from the back of my mind. I felt like it was something important. I just couldn't pinpoint why.

"I was a witch..." I muttered.

Vincent whipped his head behind him. "Car... Car!"

Quickly, he pulled me to side of the road.

I turned to him for unnecessary confirmation, tugging his wrist. "Before I was a familiar, I was a witch first."

"Right," he huffed, his eyes shifting between my face and his hand.

"I'm not going to taint you. Alex said—"

"I did call you Stone-Faced Witch once, if it makes you any happier. So did your dear Alex," he said, averting his gaze. He didn't pull away nonetheless. "Where are we going, exactly?"

"There's someone I know here," I answered sparingly.

He didn't say more as we began to walk again. I only stopped when I saw a small flower shop along the way. I let go of his hand and went to look.

"What now?" he asked.

"You never gave me flowers," I said.

"Man," he grumbled. "What's up with you today?"

I kept staring at the pink carnations. From the corner of my eye, I saw him run a hand over his hair.

Vincent ran inside the flower shop. When he came back, an older lady accompanied him. He pointed at the pink carnations and the lady arranged a small bouquet for him.

After paying for the bouquet, he offered it to me looking like he wanted to be anywhere else than here. "There. Take it."

I smiled at him as I took the flowers from his hand. Wordlessly, I walked ahead.

"So... you like carnations?" he asked, matching my pace so that he was now walking beside me.

"No," I replied. "I hate cut flowers. They just wither and die."

He paused and begun kicking angrily at nothing. If I was the old Aramis, he wouldn't miss the chance to yell at me to his heart's content. But I had earned some kind of implicit seniority.  The perks of reincarnation.

Vincent only stopped fuming when we reached Old Saint Joseph's. He let me lead the way as I searched the place for that familiar slab of stone I had last seen as a kid. It took me a few minutes to find it—weathered, old, forgotten, lodged in an overrun mound of soil.

I knelt on the ground, brushing away the vines that covered the slab to reveal a name so familiar it made my heart ache just reading it.

Melissa Anna McCarthy-Rayne

Clearing the lump in my throat, I leaned the bouquet on the tombstone. The sound grass crunching under hiking boots told me Vincent had followed.

He let out a deep sigh.

"I do realize this is pointless," I said before he could talk. "That I can't reap a dead person's soul. That her soul's not even here. That it's probably in Centralia being worn by Legion like a jumpsuit. And that it's weird because she was my sister first, before she was my mother. But seeing as this is maybe my last three days on earth, I might as well say goodbye."

"Actually, I was going to say you should've just told me this is where we're heading."

"Last time I was here, it was Mom's funeral," I told him. "I swore I would come back when I finally have my own family to show off to her. She had always wanted a lot of grandkids. Too bad there's no chance that's going to happen now."

He sat on the ground beside me, resting his hand over mine. Leaning head back, he raised his free hand as if trying to grab the sun.

"You have a family, A," he answered, squinting when the light passed through the gap between his fingers. "You have your Dad. You have Vlad, Amyr and Alex and Flynn, Mei, Archie... You have me."

My lips curled up involuntarily. I gazed at him for the longest time like it would be my last. When he tore his eyes from the sky to meet my gaze, I didn't turn away.

"Let's show you off to Mom then." With my smile still in place, I faced Mom's tombstone, tugging Vincent's arm forward as I did. "Mom, this is Vincent. Vincent, Mom."

Hesitantly, his face twitched into a smile. "N-nice to finally meet you, Ma'am."

"You don't have to worry about me anymore, Mom. Even if it's a little unconventional, I think I found a family of my own now." I inserted as much enthusiasm in my voice, raving on. "I'm sorry I can't be a doctor like you wanted, Mom. But if you're seeing me now, I know you would be happy for me. My job is a bit odd and the pay is crappy. My boss is always cranky—"

Vincent interrupted me with one yank on my arm. It was kind of funny because he was frantically telling me to stop from the corner of his mouth, his face a mask of candid humiliation.

I couldn't help but laugh.

He propped his arms behind him, sighing. "Now your Mom's going to think I'm terrible."

"You are terrible," I answered, pushing myself up, patting the dried leaves that clung on my jeans. "Doesn't make me love you less, though."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Love is in the air, indeed! Happy Hearts' Day, peeps! Speaking of Vday, I've just posted a shorty called This Girl . It's really short and has all these media and music so please check it out!

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