“They’re done talking,” The Eternal gestured to Kaulder and Andy. “Now, we eat something, use the bathroom, and buy weapons before we leave.”

  Sam thought Xavier was joking about the ‘use the bathroom’ part of the statement but he met The Eternal’s eyes and noted the solemnity within them.

  Xavier tried to convey a deadly battle’s regret with his eyes… it was during his time in the army – a time and event he would prefer to forget.

  Still, the memory haunted him.

  The Eternal distracted himself by patting Sam on the back, noting the higher-than-usual temperature of The Shapeshifter.

  He knew it was no coincidence.

  Shapeshifters tended to retain an incredible amount of heat in their human forms due to the necessary blood flow quickly transitioning into their Wolf counterpart.

  Still, even compared to the healthy heat for Shapeshifters, Sam was radiating with fshes of hot and hotter.

  Droplets of dark sweat were forming on Sam’s forehead and it took Xavier stealthily absorbing some of the heat to stop the Shapeshifter from noticing the air around him subtly twisting.

  Kaulder and Andy noticed but they chose not to comment.

  Perhaps, The Immortals thought it was natural for Shapeshifters to radiate such intense heat but Xavier knew that wasn’t the case… actually, he knew what was the problem.

  But he could do nothing to stop it.

  And he had an inkling that the problem would only grow as more variant vampire species were encountered.

  The Eternal whispered words of comfort to a panicking Sam, and he ignored the signs of an impending change as much as he could.

  He was trying not to allow the feelings of guilt to cloud his mind at this critical moment – he couldn’t afford such impediments before a rge battle.

  ‘I hope you survive…’ The Eternal whispered in the depths of his guilty heart.

  Still, Xavier bmed Alcides more than anything – after all, it was the vampire who first put the suggestion into his mind.

  “Join the others,” Xavier gestured to the pair of chatting pair of Immortals and silent Nun. “They are probably gonna start the serious conversation any time now. It may help ease your nervousness.”

  Sam nodded and slid his seat across the table and back into the supernatural social atmosphere.

  There were two Immortals and a slightly tipsy Nun – Xavier knew there was a joke in there somewhere but he couldn’t find it.

  The Eternal scanned the pub.

  His mind was unsteady and his eyes burned with the stressed ocur overexertion of Cosmic Beams; though, he knew that he could manage to push himself a bit further.

  Thus far, he had learned to limit the beams and with a bit more practice and maturing, Xavier was sure he would master the ability.

  ‘All the abilities are here,’ He reminded himself. ‘I just have to learn them in my own way.’

  “But something feels missing,” The Eternal voice aloud, clenching his fist over and over again.

  There was no way to know what was missing, but Xavier trusted his instincts above all else – something was definitely missing, and without it, he sensed that he would never be a True Eternal.

  It didn’t help that all indications pointed to him being the st of his kind… for some reason that ached his heart.

  Not his heart, but Ikaris’s heart – all his mind could think about was where is Sersi?

  “UGH!”

  The pain was bearable.

  The headaches had become more subdued but the emptiness in his heart echoed with each re-remembered memory.

  It was as if a death from a thousand years prior had only now found an outlet… Xavier wasn’t sure if he was mourning for the Eternal’s body or his own mind.

  Xavier knew he needed calm.

  The Eternal crossed the floor and stopped in front of the only man with a phone to his ear.

  “Can I borrow your phone?” Xavier inquired.

  “Get your own,” The Man replied feistily.

  “Please…” Xavier insisted, staring into the man’s eyes as his own pulsed with a golden brilliance of promised destruction.

  The Eternal was in no mood to do things the right way.

  The man flinched as he pced the phone in Xavier’s hand and departed the pub with a haste that would qualify him for status as a speedster.

  The interaction left a bitter taste in The Eternal’s mouth – abusing his power for such a thing – but right now, his mental state took precedence.

  Xavier stared at the phone in his hand for a couple of seconds, mapping the exact conversation that was about to happen – this was something he often did.

  “But why have the conversation if I can already picture it in my head?” The Eternal questioned.

  And he would find an answer… just not at that moment.

  What he needed at the moment was not control over a superficial conversation that would help nothing, but a meaningful conversation with the woman he loves.

  Xavier entered the number, considered ending the call for a couple of seconds, then decided against it and waited until the third right.

  RING

  RING

  RING

  Just as The Eternal was about to hang up, a voice came from the other side.

  Hello…

  ???

  XAVIER’S HOUSE

  Ange sat in the Hummer, fumblingly rolling small grains into a rolling paper, but no matter how she tried, it was impossible to create the perfect roll.

  “Damn it!” She cursed.

  Two days without Xavier had found Ange becoming a very inexperienced stoner.

  Though, she didn’t particurly mind wasting the precious greens since they belonged to Xavier’s various stashes around the school – Ange thought of it as a little punishment from a neglected girlfriend.

  Her mind drifted…

  ‘Should I burn his clothes too?’

  RING

  ‘Donate all the food in the fridge to charity?’

  RING

  ‘Maybe… sell his Hummer?’

  Her thoughts spiraled into darker and darker territories.

  RING

  The third ring finally snapped Ange out of a revengeful daze.

  Without any concern in the world, she raised the phone to her ear and sensing the motion, the phone automatically picked up the call.

  “Hello…” She voiced.

  [Babe…]

  Ange froze for a couple of seconds as several complex expressions fshed across her face.

  It was as if a television glitched between channels.

  Then, the channel settled on…

  Vulnerability… absolute vulnerability and melting negativity.

  “I missed you…” were the only words out of Ange’s mouth – all the resentments she had been harboring for days were gone with just the sound of Xavier’s voice.

  And she soon realized it was the right call since, even more than herself, Xavier’s voice sounded vulnerable.

  It sent a shock rippling through her body.

  [I am… I… I might be breaking apart at the seams…]

  Ange took a deep breath away from the phone as her heart started to beat wildly – she couldn’t tell if it was out of fear or excitement.

  A vulnerable Xavier meant something had gone terribly wrong, but, per Emily’s advice, Ange knew this was her time to make herself invaluable to her boyfriend.

  Xavier trusted no one…

  Smiled truly for no one…

  Shed tears truly for no one…

  And even Ange – living in his home – had pces she could not access with her level of authority… all of this meant one thing, The Eternal always left himself a way out.

  Ange knew she would never be able to change that, but what she could change was his need to bring her along whenever he backed out of the door.

  This was her chance…

  “I have been broken before,” Ange mustered her deepest, depths of honesty – portraying the dark emotions swirling in her chest from their first breakup. “Take it from someone who has been there, it’s better to die fighting than live with a simmering regret that will take your life on autopilot… next thing you know, you’re going to be seventy and thinking about the guy who broke your heart when you were fifteen.”

  [……………………..]

  There was no response for a while… then.

  [Not the conventional advice.]

  Ange smiled, half-broken-hearted and half-victorious since she could tell the appreciation and realization from Xavier’s voice.

  “You would never come to me for conventional advice,” She stated matter-of-factly. “You only come to me to confess sins. You know I am the only one who can rationalize it for you.”

  [You’re right… I need a priest…]

  “Or a Nun,” Ange joked.

  [Funny you should say that…]

  Ange sighed when the tension in the conversation had mostly dissipated, but she knew this was exactly the time to force her point in Xavier’s head.

  That was the way he ticked.

  She had started with a vague point, direct a bit of advice to the extreme, and ended with the real advice that would force his morality back onto the right course.

  “And I want you to know,” Ange hesitated.

  [Know what…]

  “That I don’t want to see a monster when you come home,” Ange gritted her teeth as she lied… but it wasn’t really a lie – she would never want to see a monster version of Xavier. “So, if you have to change to come home, then don’t come home. Stay there and fight no matter how dangerous.”

  By the end of her rant, Ange’s lips were bleeding – she had to bite herself to keep from recanting her earlier statement… to keep from telling Xavier that everything was okay as long as he survived.

  [Thank you…]

  Xavier’s tone was thankful and sweet.

  CLICK

  The call ended…

  Not knowing when, Ange noticed the roll had slipped from between her fingers, and she had no intention of trying to become a stoner anymore.

  ‘I should go check on Bel… she has been spending time with Edward recently…’

  ???

  Xavier crushed the phone in his hand and swiftly made his way to the bathroom, kicking open the door with haste, and disposing of the smashed pieces in the toilet paper bin.

  HAH – HEW

  HAH - HEW

  HAH - HEW

  Tears threatened to gush from The Eternal’s eyes but somehow, he controlled the boiling emotions and hammered them down into something positive – determination.

  “I can’t survive and become a monster!” He reminded himself.

  Ange’s advice had struck home, giving Xavier exactly what he needed to get through the upcoming battle.

  Xavier knew he could always rely on Ikaris’s experiences floating around in his head to combat whatever came his way, but he knew that would slowly lead to him becoming an Eternal that would sacrifice friends to achieve his goal.

  Actually, he was already doing that by bringing Sam along.

  “FUCK!”

  BANG

  Xavier hammered his fist onto the bathroom sink, and the thick ceramic bowl shattered with ease.

  “You okay in there?” A voice questioned from outside.

  “Fine!” The Eternal replied, pushing the door until it was fully shut.

  There may have been a small indent in the metal handle of the door – it just showed just how tense Xavier’s nerves truly were.

  Xavier took a couple of steps to the right and stared at himself in the mirror, trying to recognize the face beneath the face – thankfully, it was still there.

  “My name is Xavier Ikaris Aionios,” He whispered.

  Deep breaths brought calmness, repeating the phrase brought mental stability, and the isoted environment brought a greater sense of self.

  He exited the bathroom.

  ………………………

  By the time Xavier exited the bathroom, a full thirty minutes had passed, but Mother Superion, Kaulder, Andy, and Sam still chatted joyfully around the table.

  The pub was noticeably less buoyant but their group seemed to be a step out of time.

  Kaulder was the first to move, embracing Xavier with a hug he knew The Eternal desperately needed.

  Andy moved next, and though she wasn’t a hugger, a simple pat on the shoulder told Xavier that she was also aware of the thoughts running through his head.

  Mother Superion simply gave a nod of approval.

  “I appreciate the support,” Xavier was both thankful and mocking. “I honestly thought you guys would be betting whether I was coming back or not.”

  “Oh, we did…” Kaulder shrugged his shoulders, sliding a fifty-dolr bill over to Sam. “Sam was the only one who thought you’d come back.”

  Andy and Mother Superion also slid their respective fifty-dolr bills into Sam’s hands, and The Shapeshifter stared at the money with confusion.

  “I wasn’t aware it was a bet,” Sam pocketed the money with a shrug and simply expined. “I just told them you would be back after you finished using the bathroom.”

  Xavier stared at Sam incredulously. “You do know what we are going to do next, right?” The Eternal inquired.

  “Fight vampires – the new kind?” Sam replied, interlocking his fingers with a serious expression on his face. “I have prepared myself mentally for that. Forks is protected by the pact, but this city has no protectors. Someone has to do something.”

  Andy’s, Mother Superion’s, and Kaulder’s eyes widened simultaneously – they were only now realizing that Sam wasn’t really up-to-date with what was happening.

  Xavier was unsurprised on the surface, but his heart was beating a thousand times a second – he wasn’t sure how to tell Sam that the upcoming battle would involve horrors unimaginable.

  Maybe the appearance of some myth or two.

  Everyone there could detect the supernatural threat lingering thickly in the air like miasma being forced down their throats but Sam… Sam seemed unaware.

  ‘I fucked up!’ The Eternal admitted internally what he would never admit to aloud. ‘I know the plot so I know what La Magra is and who else might be coming, allies and enemies, but… Sam doesn’t know. Andy and Kaulder know what to expect as Immortals who have seen many battles, and Mother Superion fights demons so she will be fine, but… Sam…’

  “Xavier…” Kaulder’s voice broke the silence.

  “It’s too te,” Xavier spoke with a bitter expression, staring at Sam semi-pitifully. “If we leave him behind, something will show up to look for him. I know how this works – he is safer with the rest of us.”

  “What are you guys talking about?” Sam furrowed his brows.

  “Stay close to me,” Mother Superion offered in a rare moment of sympathy. “My Halo can shield multiple sisters so it should be able to protect you from the worse of it.”

  “And in a critical moment,” Andy added, walking over to the bar to retrieve a wrapped Labrys from behind the counter. “Remember to trust your instinct no matter what it says.”

  Xavier withheld whatever advice he could offer since there was no way he could know better than eight-hundred-year-old and six-thousand-year-old Immortals.

  But there was something he knew that they didn’t.

  “And if you start feeling sick,” The Eternal chose his words carefully, no small amount of guilt in his heart. “Don’t fight the sickness, it might prove beneficial to you.”

  Andy secured her weapon to her back.

  Kaulder, likewise, secured Hexenbane, in its sheath, onto his back.

  Mother Superion cracked her fingers and neck, subtly expelling a pulse of cosmic-like energy from her Halo.

  Xavier closed his eyes and sensed the Cosmic Energy flowing through his body, rousing the flowing energy in a more rapid circution.

  Sam stood and subtly expanded his body to test the integrity of his suit, and when the suit expanded a couple of inches with his body, The Shapeshifter was assured.

  The five Supernatural Beings exited the pub, naturally drifting in the direction of the freshest air and most eerie silence.

  They all walked toward danger with confidence no mortal man could ever possess.