LEUKAS
A harpy. Aleks is part harpy.
Rationally I knew that it was possible that her harpy genes were entirely dormant since she was only part harpy and she had implied that she never knew about that part of herself when we were together and she hadn’t ever embraced that part of her nature, but I still felt so blind for not seeing it.
The supernatural world, like the human world and I imagine any other world, was divided into two cliques,; the acceptable races who were considered normal and had actual cities, good governance and the acceptance of all other races and the less liked race which belonged in the underworld and away from ‘civilized’ eyes; the unnatural immortal outcasts who would forever be condemned in most people's eyes, no matter how many laws were passed, and existed away from the rest of immortal civilization, their existence only told to children as horror stories, cautionary tales and myths.
The pure vampires, the elementals, the shape changers, the fell creatures like the dragons and the basilisk, the fey folk, the land monsters, the water monsters, the flying monsters and the giants, all fell under the acceptable and more natural creatures who had actually embraced technology and the changing of times and lived freely in Azzuire.
The underground races like the dwarves, the gnolls, the goblins the Halflings, the orcs, the hobgoblins, the kobolds and the troglodytes, were less civilized and social than the other races, but were also accepted as Azzurian.
Even the more unusual and mostly hidden races of centaurs, Neanderthals, gratar, cherubim, sharkmen, canines, garks and mermen were somewhat accepted and given a place in Azzuire.
The less accepted creatures like all the undead creatures besides vampires; the ghosts, liches, mummies, the skullbars, the specters, the shadows and the wraiths, all kinds of demons, and all the entities from unknown planes; like the djinn, the dreadwig and the hoards, all reside in the immortal phenomenon that is the underworld. The harpies were said to exist at the very center of hell where evil power had saturated the very air and ground.
Very little was known about the underworld and the creatures in general, most immortals preferring to stay in ignorant bliss of our less accepted counterparts, but I had been a curious teenager and I had taken delight in listening to my mother talk of her travels and adventures as a Supreme being for all immortals and all the unwritten and unsaid things that existed beyond my privileged lives. She'd tell me stories of wars and hidden places and unique creatures so powerful they had to be secured in separate realms. And when she couldn't regale me with such tales frequently, she let me read her century old texts on her travels and all the creatures that she came across. Ev3n though I had blocked out the part of my mind that was passionate about all things supernatural, as soon as Aleks had mentioned being a harpy, I remembered everything I’d ever read in those texts.
Contrary to what we had been told in school history lessons and in campfire stories, according to Lanthe's texts; harpies where not the vile and twisted beings with hatred-tightened; pale asymmetrical faces, they were always depicted to be. Lanthe claimed they were gorgeous women with voluptuous bodies, long and silky, blood-red-sometimes pale-hair, eyes which gleamed with an entrancing kind of hatred and a gorgeous face that glowed with pure beauty while they ate your heart out. Their voices weren't apparently as ugly and deadly as they were portrayed; they are actually said to be sweet and lovely; drawing in their enemies so that when they struck, one was not expecting it. The harpy was known to slay the father of her young and feed his carcass to their young; such is their love for their children, and only ever for their children. They are also supernaturally adept with learning new ways with random weapons they may have picked up from previous prey.
They were also known to consort with both the demonic and the undead, so I could see how whatever summoning Ludwig had done may have ended up with him a harpy spawn. Even though naturally the father's gene usually prevailed no matter how dominant the mother may be, from everything I knew and all Aleks had told me, I could see her being one. The way she spoke of killing and violence; like it was something she had been taught was wrong later on but was in her nature so much that she would take it in any way, the hatred that transformed her eyes when she spoke of Ludwig and her mother, the love she had for our kids, her strange hair and her careless disregard of her body and her beauty. I had also read the files and all the ‘evidence’ that Ashley left for me. I was no idiot, I knew that everything with Ashley looking so much like Aleks and her sudden disappearance coupled with her convenient stack of evidence against Aleks, evidence which she had no way of innocently having, was some kind of game but I hadn't known or cared about the motive. I suspect now that Ludwig had wanted to cover up Aleks' disappearance since he'd obviously have heard of our close relationship, and in a way it worked. After I read that file and saw all that evidence, I had little desire to search for or hear Aleks out, something I was growing to regret now.
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The file had contained all sorts of information about her time as an agent, her missions and her methods, and it had made me out to be one of her targets because I was a suspect of some kind of drug ring. I hadn't cared that much about that part, hell I would have understood and forgiven that part, but then there were tapes. Tapes of Aleks, the girl who before that was my simple, hot friend who didn't like to talk about her abusive parents, killing and torturing different men and women alike. Her eyes which had always seemed so pretty and forest-green to me were gleaming with hatred, raw power and an unsatisfied hunger for violence against the victims, and it shook me to the core. It completely shattered my image of her and I was frankly a bit scared by her and that side of her I was seeing. It was so soon after my encounter with a crazy murderous woman who had changed my life for good and finding out that a girl I had wanted so much and was exactly the kind of person I had grown to fear and be weary of, was a blow. I had searched for her for a while after that, hoping for some kind of explanation or excuse but my efforts were minimal at best.
Growing up in a world filled with mostly love, companionship, friendship and extreme privilege, I hadn't really known life as many people knew it, and I didn't really believe in excuses or reasons for doing what I thought to be bad things. Despite what Jason thought though, I had grown up eventually and realized that the real world was so much more different. Even though I was still averse to violence as a whole, I understood that sometimes it was the only answer. As a wealthy man who manufactured drugs and took over businesses for a living, I had learnt, sometimes the hard way, that some things which I had thought of as unjustifiable, could actually be justified. And I had done such things as well; for my acquaintances, my partners and my friends. And I’d learnt a little more about different upbringings and their impact on the victims. My fear and loathing of her had then turned into anger and hurt over her dismissal of our relationship. I knew better now, and with all that she had been through, I understood her better. I understood why she'd be so hesitant to trust me and why she was so protective of our kids. When I found out about the tapes and all the other gory details of her other life, I hadn't been very understanding or accepting. And yes, I had looked at her with disdain and disgust and maybe a little hatred, so I guess, in theory, I could understand why she couldn't and wouldn’t trust me after that. And after what she had said about her betrothed being a vampire, that too an undead one; one borne of demon magic and not by natural means.
I couldn't help but shiver at the implication, my mind running through all the possibilities of a demon-gifted vampire who had actually embraced that gene of his. A made vampire was bad news, no doubt, and I reckon the only thing that had saved Aleks from his natural crazed bloodlust, was the fact that the guy apparently thought she was his mate and her harpy genes may have made her pretty irresistible to him. And I was glad that Aleks hadn't embraced her harpy nature as well. It was too dangerous for her sanity and for everyone around her. Even though she had some of the harpy's natural instincts and inclinations, she hadn't fully bonded to that part of herself and I was glad. I was so glad.
And such creatures aren't meant to be among humans and immortals. Such creatures are wrong and belong in the depths of hell.
I shook off the stray thoughts as I climbed onto the bed and closed my eyes, my mind immediately going through all I’d heard and all the implications of it. Now all that was left was the climax of the story and I felt a little better now. Less bitter and angry. I didn't fully understand but I really wanted to. I deserved some closure from that part of my life, and I wanted to move on. For our kids. For me.
‘I put you on an impossibly high pedestal and made you out to be this perfect individual who would always be on my side no matter what.’, For some reason, I fell asleep with those particular words of hers running through my mind and unknowingly steering the beast within.