Now everything you own is falling from the sky in pieces
So watch them fall with you, in slow motion
I pray that you'll find peace of mind
And I'll find you another time
I'll love you, another time  

Explosions, Ellie Goulding

To Katrina Tanjay,

        I wish you happiness and more stories to unfold where ever you may be...

Cairo joined his hands in front of him, regarding me like an old friend would, which was, in a sense, correct.

"So it is true. You've been reincarnated, Alessandra," he said.

Just the sound of him mentioning my old name brought back an ache I couldn't comprehend. Dropping my gaze, I clenched my hands into fists until my fingernails dug into my palms.

"I don't go by that name anymore," I said through my teeth, guilt gnawing slowly on my insides. "Don't misunderstand. The only reason why I'm not hacking you to pieces right now is because I need something from you."

"I know," he answered. "I'm not here for a reunion. But as you might have already guessed, I'm here not to fight as well."

My face felt numb. "Really? Last time you said that, you tried to kill me."

"I chose you to show myself to you, didn't I?" He gave me a stern look. "If it was Vincent standing in your place now, we'd have spent the last minute trying to stab each other in the throat and I'd have failed to do what I came here for."

"Then, are going to be an angel and give us the Grimoire willingly?"

He didn't move a facial muscle, but I could tell he was growing impatient. "No."

"Didn't think so. You better get lost because it's not just Vincent. There's a line of people dying to stab you in the throat and I'm not taking a knife for you."

He let out a sharp breath. I couldn't tell if that was a sigh or a scoff.

"I'm not expecting you to," he answered. "Anyhow, the Grimoire is not and never was in my possession. I can lead you to its bearer. However, I will need you to answer one question in exchange."

I rolled my eyes. "The chicken came before the egg. Happy now?"

The corners of his lips pulled up very slightly, but his eyes stayed austere, seeming to condemn me for faults I couldn't quite remember now.

"I believe you already know what I'm about to ask. Nevertheless, I will still say it," he replied patiently. He closed the gap between us; so close the memories of the past started rushing back to me as if it was just yesterday. "Back then, why didn't you tell me you'd been tasked to murder my mother?"

His words hit me like daggers. Still, I managed to smirk, reaching for the Bind mark on the side of my neck as I did. I knew I should be scared. Angry. But I wasn't. If anything, I felt distraught.

"You're in no position to negotiate." My voice sounded grim, cruel. As if an armor to hide my pain.

He didn't move. Didn't even blink.

"I never thought I'd miss that tone until now," Cairo murmured, slowly backing away. "If you ever change your mind, I'll be waiting."

My whole body was shaking as I watched him go. He didn't even run. He just walked away as though the thought of stabbing him in the back wouldn't cross my mind. He was right, though. I just couldn't do it. Not again.

His question seemed to linger in the air. In my head, a hundred different answers came up but none was enough to justify what Alessandra did. What I did. How could I have lived with myself after murdering the mother of my former master?

It occurred to me that maybe, unconsciously, I didn't hate Cairo because I believed he was evil. Maybe I hated him so much because he kept reminding me how evil I was.

Clutching my chest, I cleared the lump in my throat and looked up at the orange sky. For what seemed like a long time, I let the glare burn my eyes. It was almost dark when Vincent Linked to me.

"Where are you?" he asked. "I'll come pick you up."

"No need. I'm... going to meet Carter."

He must have understood what that meant because it took a while before he could answer, "Okay. Where?"

I stared at my hands and felt a twinge of pain. Somehow, Vincent thought I was innocent. He was so willing to kill for me. What he failed to realize was that I was a murderer. The blood on my hands could fill an ocean that if I began to count the lives I had taken in my previous life, I would drown.

"I'll tell you when I get there," I answered.

"Wait for me, a'right?"

"Always."

I started draughting, not bothering with stealth anymore. The wind brushed against my cheeks, whipping my hair, giving me a false sense of freedom. Every step I took was sure, calculated, it was hard to believe I sucked at it before.

When I arrived at this bar a few blocks away from the main road, Carter hadn't yet arrived. I secretly wished he wouldn't come.

I slid behind the counter, my eyes roaming the tables. Business was slow. A few people in corporate attires. A group of friends by the billiard tables. The Scientist played softly, unable to mask the light banter that filled the air. The barkeep—a blond in her late twenties—was looking at me funny. Finally, she approached me, tapping her nails on the counter to get my attention.

"What can I get you?" she asked, scrutinizing my face.

"No, thanks. I'm waiting for someone," I answered, glancing at my watch. It was still early. "On second thoughts, I'll have a beer."

"You have an ID?"

With an irritated grunt, I pulled out ten bucks from my satchel and slammed it on the counter. "I'm twenty-six."

"Sure you are," the barkeep sneered, sliding a bottle to me.

On my fourth bottle, Carter sat next to me. He got himself a shot of vodka and stared at it.

"I just got here and you're already drunk."

A laugh burst out of me, empty and loud. "Actually, I was trying to get so drunk that I would pass out..."

"And why's that?"

I looked at him and leaned my forehead on his shoulder. "I... I'm about to do something really bad, Carter. Really bad. Maybe, if I'm too drunk to do my job, he'll let me off easy."

"Who? Vincent?"

"Yeah." I pushed myself off of his shoulder. "You better go home, Carter. If you see Vincent, run."

He gulped the vodka in one go, his face contorting afterwards. "Here you are again with your cryptic talk."

"Go home and lock yourself in for three days. Just three days. Whatever you do, don't invite him in." I grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and pulled. "I know it sounds crazy—"

"It does, Aramis!" he hissed. "Every time I think I'm getting through to you, you always pull off some wild excuse to disappear!"

I couldn't answer.

He shook his head. "Why do I even bother?"

I forced myself not to look at him as he left. Just as I was about to finish my bottle, someone grabbed my wrist.

"That's enough," Vincent said, his voice low but dangerous.

Trying to blink the wooziness off, I focused my eyes on him. "You're here."

Running his fingers through his hair, he caught his breath. "You didn't Link to me. I'd been looking for you all over town!"

I shrugged, staring at my bottle.

"Where's Carter?"

"Gone."

Vincent looked at me long and hard, letting out a deep breath as he did.

"Stay here," said he.

Next thing I knew, he had already went out through the backdoor. I gritted my teeth and followed him to a narrow dark alley at the back of the bar. Steam rose from an uncovered manhole, obscuring my view as I staggered after Vincent.

The path swayed as I hastened my pace. Stumbling, I grabbed his arm.

"Don't," I told him. "Don't do it."

He pulled up short, but kept his back turned on me, his silence unbearable.

"I thought I could do it on my own, Vincent. I thought this was the one thing I could take out from the long list of troubles I had brought upon you. I said I'll bear your pain and never let you suffer alone." My voice shook as it scraped out of my throat. "In the end, I still couldn't do it."

No trace of anger marred his face as he faced me. Instead, I saw deep sadness in his eyes.

"We can't afford to worry about one person while the whole world's starting to go down, Aramis. I said I'll take care of it."

The way he said that was so calm, so heartbreaking I couldn't stop the mist forming on the edges of my eyes. Gently, he removed my hand from his arm and began to walk away.

"When I said I wanted to do the reaping together; I think I... I wanted to be there not to help you, but to stop you."

He froze.

"And again, it's a choice between Carter and the world," he scoffed, his voice small. "We've been through this, Aramis. You want your father back. That's why I have to do this. Can't you see that?"

"You don't have to, Vincent."

"But I do!" His voice resounded against the brick walls. "Fighting and killing are the only things I'm good at, Aramis. So let me do this for you in return..."

"In return for what? For what, Vincent?" The tears I had been trying so desperately to hold back finally fell. "Because you can't love me back, you're going to pile bodies at my feet instead?"

His face was inscrutable, but his silence told me I had read him perfectly well.

I clutched the hem of my jacket to keep my hands from trembling. Sobs escaped my mouth. It felt like my heart was trying to rip its way out of my chest. Right then, I learned how painful love can be.

"At first, I thought I would be content as long as I'm with you, even just as your familiar. But now, I know I'll always want you to love me back. I know I'll always be waiting for that day to come even if it takes forever... But that's okay too. I'm not expecting you to do anything for me, Vincent. Except, just please, let me stay by your side."

Finally, Vincent gazed at me without uttering a single word. As he was about to approach me, the wails of an ambulance siren caught our attention. It seemed to be coming from a few blocks away.

Next thing I knew, Vincent was towing me out of the alley. As we took the bend to the bar entrance, I saw people get out the door. One of them was tall blond woman in a pencil skirt and knitted cardigan. Tears glistened beneath her thick glasses while she was in the middle of a phone conversation.

"Is he okay?" she cried. "Oh god! I'll be right there."

Clutching her leather handbag, she took off, her low-heeled pumps clacking against the pavement.

"Is that..." Vincent started to say.

I nodded. "Lindsay."

We followed her into the street.

Three minutes and four blocks later, we found ourselves staring at a car that was upside-down, smoking in the middle of the road. Not too far from it, a motorcycle and its rider lay on the ground.

Medics and rescuers ran to and fro. Bystanders gathered around, spouting all kinds of theories on which hit what first.

I spotted Lindsay sitting on her heels in front of a stretcher, face in her hands. Her shoulders shook while she whimpered.

For a minute, I gaped at her, my feet turning into stone. Dread washed over me like a bucket of ice when at last, she leaned over the stretcher and pulled back the blanket covering the face of whoever was lying there.

Then I saw Carter—ashen face, scrapes and bruises, eyes closed as if he was just asleep. My knees buckled.

Luckily, Vincent quickly caught me by the arms. He sat me on the sidewalk.

It was hard to process everything. For minutes, I just watched Lindsay cry. Even as I stared at Carter, it was as if I could still hear his laugh.

Squeezing my hand, Vincent kneeled in front of me and met my eyes. "They're taking Carter away, Aramis. Can you do it?"

Letting out a sharp breath, I nodded. I got up, summoning my scythe as I did.

Vincent closed his eyes and muttered maybe two sentences of enchantment under his breath. In a matter of seconds, dots of blue light appeared and began to spin around us until they had all clung together into a clump of pulsing light.

The light died, revealing Carter's soul: a little white ball of flame floating before me. Gently, I tapped the soul with the tip of my scythe.

A mute explosion engulfed us before it got sucked into the triangular insignia on my left hand.

"Do you want to see Lindsay before we go?" Vincent asked.

"No."

Was this fate working its webs through us? Or was it just me screwing things up as usual? What was the point of immortality if everyone you know would just die one after the other? That, and a thousand other thoughts ran on my mind, numbing the pain that attempted to weigh me down.

It's part of the job, I told myself. A worthy sacrifice.

"Aramis?" It was Alexis Linking to me. "I just thought I should let you know. Carter Applegate expires today."

"I know."

Collectedly, I walked away from my old friends.

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

YOU TOTES DON'T HAVE TO PROCEED READING. I SWEAR.

Hi, you guys!

So sorry for the late updates. Been having trouble writing lately what with work and this manuscript deadline I had to catch. Who knew it'd be like squeezing unripe lemons tryna come up with ideas and write within a limited period of time? That's why wattpad's so great. No pressure. Except when the readers are flooding your inbox with hate mails and messages telling you to update. No offense ya'pipz. Just tellin. teehee.

Oh, and btw, some people are askin if there's gunna be a book 4. Well that depends if this one's gunna do better than the second, 'cause that one's not looking so hot stat-wise. Meaning there's little chance it's gunna hit the bookstores soon. Y'know. Not to be all 'materialistic' and suchlike, but I'd be a liar if I said IDC if my stories turn into books. Bad enough a writer doesn't get paid much unless she gets that deal with one of the big 5 publishers or get her story turned into a movie. Maybe it's not so much to wish to hold the actual book in my hand one day, right?

So yeah. I'm just ranting. Sorry you had to read this. Just had to let that out. I know. I don't have a life. I don't have friends. Well I do. But not the type that'll listen to things such as stories and writing and stuff. I say two words about this and they'll give me funny looks. Hmp. Okay... Ranting again. Can't blame me. You've been warned. :P

xxx