Ezjei
Jerastus 6, 2196
__________________

LUCIFUGE
Lucifuge Rofocale Gwydion

Jax knows something.

Nahuli kong nagpalitan ng tingin ang batang lalaki at si Jax. Sa tingin ko'y napansin din 'yon ni Georgia, at dahil do'n, lakas-loob siyang sumama. Hindi ko naman napigilan ang pagsalabuong ng aking kilay habang bumababa sa punong kinatayuan ko.

I summoned dark shadows around Jax Damien which caught him frozen. He scowled at me, and I returned him the same expression. Hindi siya makakagamit ng kapangyarihan sa ganitong paraan. Jax has the ability to steal someone's power if he makes physical contact. Maaaring mayroon siyang kapangyarihang kinopya kanina lamg, pero hindi rin 'yon magtatagal.

"Why are you trapping Jax, Lucifuge?" Tanong sa'kin ni Aeryn. Napatingin ako sa kaniyang kamay at napansing nanginginig 'yon. Is she afraid I might trap her too? That's odd. She's the type of person to be calm at all times.

"It's best to hold him captive for now. I don't trust someone who's suddenly ambushed my fiancé," pag-rason ko.

"Yet you trust someone who's the reason Aeryn might die," malakas na saad ng palaisipan ni Jax. Napailing nalang ako't binaling ang atensyon sa mga nakapaligid sa'ming Knights of Adrius.

They're still surrounding us, and I don't actually what they're trying to do. Ano'ng kinalaman ni Georgia sa House Adrius, at bakit siya lang ang tinawag sa loob doon?

Hindi ko naman maaaring atakihin ang mga kabalyero't mapapamahak lalo ang mga kasamahan ko. So I turned to Jax Damien, and asked, "Bakit nila kinuha si Ge- Heidi?" Napamura ako sa loob ng aking isipan nang muntik mabanggit ang pangalang 'Georgia.'

Pinanlakihan ako ng mata ng lalaking Calafiore, marahil ay pinapaalalahan akong mag-ingat. After all, it's just the three of us who knows her true identity. A thought suddenly entered my mind, what if I call her by something else... like an endearment so that I wouldn't be confused?

Those thoughts faded when Jax finally answered. "It's not like I know. Surely House Adrius wouldn't hurt someone from House Calafiore- especially the crown prince's fiancé," sagot niya nang may diin sa salitang 'fiancé.' Malamang ay inaasar niya ako't gustong makaganti sa ginawa kong pangbitag ko sa kaniya sa pwesto na 'yan.

"Was the blue-haired boy the heir of Adrius?" Lowell asked while staring at where they disappeared. "If I'm correct, he's Ezjei Adrius," dagdag niya.

Surprisingly, one of the knights near us nodded. He suddenly stumbled backward, probably because he thought he made a mistake. Ngumisi ako't nilapitan siya lalo.

Pilit kong tinanggal ang emosyon sa'king mukha, at dahil mas maliit siya'y mukhang minamata ko siya. "Hindi niyo ba papapasukin ang isang Gwydion?" I'm not sure how that sounded, but I hoped it was enough to scare him.

Nanginginig namang sumagot ang kabalyero't tinungo ang kaniyang ulo. Nagsimula nang bumaling ang atensiyon ng ibang kabalyero sa'min nang marinig na nanginginig at putol-putol na sumagot ang lalaki sa harap ko.

Actually, his voice was too quavery that I understood no words at all. Isang malakas na buntonghininga ang aking ginawa bago hinawakan ang balikat ng kabalyero. Pinigilan ko naman ang tawa ko nang bigla siyang mapaluhod sa lupa. Instead, my eyebrow shot up and looked at the others.

"Did anyone from the Adrius order you to stop the crown prince from visiting the House?" Malakas kong pahayag.

Seeing as no one answered means no one ordered. Wala akong pasabing sumunod sa direksyong tinahak nila mi amore. Nang silipin ko pabalik sina Calafiore, mapang-asar akong ngumisi. The Gwydions could enter, as we are on a higher level than Adrius; however, they couldn't for Adrius, Surize, and Morrison are equal in power.

Wala rin namang nakapagpigil sa'kin kaya't tumuloy ako. Bumungad sa'kin ang mansyon, ngunit natigilan ako nang mapansin ang lalaki na nakaabang sa may kahoy na pintuan. Tila ba inaasahan niya na akong sumunod dito... but where's mi amore?

"Crown Prince Lucifuge, I wonder what brings you here in House Adrius," he greeted and slightly bowed his head. Tinungo ko rin ang ulo ko nang bahagya bago mas lalong naglakad palapit.

"Before that, I wonder where mi amore is," sagot ko at pinasadahan ng tingin ang paligid. It seems like she's not here, so she must be inside. Ano'ng balak ng Adrius sa kaniya?

"Mi amore? Are you pertaining to Lady Heidi Laquisha?"

Tumango naman ako't bahagyang tumawa. "It's quite offensive how you took mi amore," saad ko't nang makarating ako sa harap niya'y minata ko rin siya. "Seeing that she's not with you makes me more pissed, Ezjei Adrius. Where did you take her?"

Napapikit ako nang halos mataasan ko siya ng boses. It's unlikely of me to do this. I should compose myself and calm down.

"I didn't know you hold Lady Heidi too dearly," aniya't tumawa.

Nakakunot-noo akong sumabat sa kaniya. "Bakit ka tumatawa, mukha ba akong nakikipagbiruan?"

Mas lalo siyang bumingisngis habang umiiling- that is until he suddenly coughed blood. Sa pagkataranta ko, napaluhod ako't tiningnan siya. Hinawakan ko pa ang kaniyang mga balikat, as I was checking if something had happened to him besides the blood cough.

Nagpumiglas siya mula sa'king mga kamay, at mabilis na nagtungo sa loob ng mansyon. Nagdalawang-isip naman akong pumasok dahil hindi ko alam ang gagawin... ngunit bigla nalang din akong nakaramdam ng kirot sa'king puso.

"Lucifuge." Mi amore's voice! I could hear it in my mind... It was trembling, and I think it came from inside. Muli, hinanap siya ng mga mata ko. Ezjei was also gone from my sight, but I could definitely feel their presence.

Wechuge, in the form of smokes, moved around the greenhouse-like mansion. This way, mas lalong madali ang paghahanap ko sa kanila. When Wechuge has already gone all around the are, he stopped by a circular mosaic tile in the middle.

Lumapit ako roon, at sa isang pitik ng aking mga daliri, nasira ang marmol at ibinunyag ang hagdanan patungo sa pababa. Madilim ang daan kaya't kumuha muna ako ng kandila bago magpatuloy.

Katulad ng hitsura sa labas at loob ng mansyon, mayroon ding mga baging at ilang bulaklak na nakapulupot kung saan-saan. For some reason, it feels so suffocating to the point I could barely recognize the sight around me. Wechuge, now in a form of a butterfly, led the way for me. Yeah, I'm fine as long as I have him.

Some kind of ringing bell resonated and echoed in my ears so suddenly. 'Saka ko napagtantong nakarating na pala ako sa'king paroroonan. When I opened the wooden door in front of me, nothing- no one was there.

"Mi amore?" I called out.

"Lucifuge," someone called from behind. Nang lumingon naman ako'y nagulat ako nang magbago ang hitsura ng paligid. I was inside a room, and mi amore was entering from a bookshelf-like door.

Am I dreaming?

"What brings you here, Georgia?" I asked, acting out of my consciousness... as if everything that's happening now is out of my control.

"Are you feeling weak again?" Pahabol kong tanong.

Her red eyes pierced me, and like lightning, she pushed me back against the wall. I'm reminded of when she saw the memories of her past life- wait... is this a memory too? But why am I seeing this now? Hindi ko naman hinawakan ang aklat ng mga memorya.

Napansin ko ring nawala si Wechuge, maski ang mga presensyang kanina kong nararamdaman. I might have drifted to sleep, and what I'm seeing now are mere illusions.

Napatigil ako sa pag-iisip nang manlambot ang aking tuhod. Naramdaman ko ang pagdila niya sa leeg ko. Ngayo'y hindi ko na alam kung nasa kamalayan ko ba itong mga nararamdaman ko. Heck, I know this isn't real, but what's happening?

My left hand instinctively caressed her hair, and when her tongue separated from my neck, I held her chin with the hand caressing her earlier and made her daring red eyes meet mine. I noticed the gleam like a blood moon in it, and she instead looked alluring- too alluring that my suffocation worsened. Pakiramdam ko'y nag-iinit ang katawan ko sa pagtingin palang niya.

"I'm hungry," pagmamakaawa niya sa'kin. Napansin ko rin ang mga pangil niyang nakalabas sa bahagyang pagbukas ng kaniyang bibig. That's when I realized that the woman in front of me was hungry for my blood.

If this was a memory from our past, and we really knew each other... then what kind of relationship did we have? Witnessing this kind of intimacy, we might have been lovers- or I might have been her vampire's prey.

Napangisi ako't dinala ang aking hinlalaki sa ibaba ng kaniyang labi. Gamit 'yon, binuksan ko ang kaniyang bibig upang mas lalong makita ang kaniyang mga pangil. Right now, I don't know if I'm doing this willingy or not... or both.

"You can always have my blood anytime, Georgia," I muttered, almost out of breath, before bringing her lips to mine. She squirmed in my arms but later on tiptoed to reach me more. I became more ravenous, forgetting that I was the prey and not the other way around.

Napamura nalang ako sa'king isipan nang humawak siya sa dibdib ko't dinala ang kaniyang dila papasok sa labi ko. I drew back from the kiss. Any further move, I don't think I- or even this Lucifuge in the memory- could handle. I might be devour her.

She hungrily followed my lips when I drew back as if wanting for more. Soon, our bodies were moving and pressing together as the fire burned out of control. The pleasure was so intense, and my breath was caught in my throat.

"Lucifuge," she whispered sweetly. "There's no turning back now."

At 'yon ang huli niyang sinabi bago niya tuluyang ibaon ang kaniyang mga pangil sa leeg ko... bago ko rin tuluyang gantihan ang mga ginawa niya— at higitan pa.

I just knew that when I woke up in this memory, I wouldn't be able to look at mi amore as before.

Discovering Summerland
By lostmortals
Plagiarism is a crime.

Kalmahan muna natin ngayon, mga mahal ko 👁👄👁

Thank you for reading!