A few hours earlier...
Leon was running as fast as he could back to the mall's restroom. He was trying his best not to drop the little wrapped box in his hand. I almost forgot today is her birthday... His eyes widened as he bumped into someone.
He turned to apologize. "Sorry, I was in a hurry-" Leon froze.
Cold emerald green eyes stared into his own, enough to send chills down his spine. This woman appeared much older than Katie or Isabella. White short hair, few wrinkles for an older woman. A long dark coat, all black clothing. He instantly understood who he'd walked into. "Just walking out in the open now? So much for subtlety," he said coldly, taking a step back.
Their silhouettes reflected in the fountain beside them, the crowd of people passing them without a care in the world. Lilith eyed him carefully, her palm outstretched. The shadows around them shifted ever so slightly. He heard two others approach from behind. Leon could only presume it was Isabella and the oldest Katie had mentioned, Cynthia. He couldn't run without starting a fight. "Where is Katie? What have you done with her?" Lilith asked, narrowing her eyes.
It took every ounce of will for him not to attack them there and then. Understanding that the tormentor of Katie's entire life was standing right in front of him. His blood boiled hotter than he could've ever imagined. He refused to allow this day to be ruined. "I'm surprised you give a shit. Every second of pain she's ever experienced has been because of you."
"If she dies, all of my work will have been for nothing. I don't expect or care for a pitiful child like you to understand. Answer me."
"...She's safe. I understand it's been your entire life's mission to fight and kill me, right?"
"If you know that much, why do you hesitate?"
Leon scoffed. "I could ask the same... Do you even know what day it is?"
She gave a cold laugh. "You're about to die. Does that even matter?"
"It's Katie's birthday," Cynthia said, behind him.
Both she and Isabella had their hands on the guns within their coats, ready to turn on Leon the moment he showed any sign of hostile intent. The three of them looked like a family of fancy burglars with their dark clothing, gloves and steel toed boots. It was strange that being faced with this gave him just a tinge of excitement. Perhaps this is the sort of thing Iris had been training him to face all along. He grinned.
Lilith growled. Her eyes never left him once, despite the prying eyes that passed them. He silently prayed Katie didn't come searching for him. Lilith snapped, "Again, what does that matter to you?"
He sighed. Just as cold as she mentioned... I expected nothing less. "Leave us be and I will seek you out myself. No humans will need to know of our fight. It will be us and no one else," Leon said, maintaining their locked gaze. Neither of them blinked.
It was a whim. A childish wish. He expected this to become a bloody battleground. Apparently there were limitations to how she could go about this, because she stepped back. "Very well, boy. You have until midnight. Where will you meet us?"
Leon's eyes widened. He hadn't expected her to accept. "One moment." He pulled out his phone and pointed out the closest hotel from the map. "Meet me there. Try to stay out of sight until then."
"You do not order us. Be thankful I don't spill your blood this instant. Have your pitiful last hours while you can..." With that, she stepped aside enough to let him pass.
"Wait!" Cynthia yelled, making him pause. "Just what do you plan to do? You're only giving her false hope, you know that right?"
Leon looked back at her, narrowing his eyes. "I plan on giving her a good birthday. More than I can say for any of you." He felt a tinge of satisfaction at how much those words dug into her, Cynthia's eyes lowering. "Just stay out of my damn way."
They watched him run along cautiously. Isabella grimaced as Cynthia looked back and met her gaze. "Can we really trust him? We're leaving her with a demon that can cut loose any time he wants!" Cynthia hissed, looking at Lilith.
Lilith typed away quickly on her watch's keyboard, sending a message to the Luna Base. "It matters little. To fight him here invites problems beyond today. As much as I detest it, we must avoid the world learning of what we are. ...He hasn't developed his powers yet. Even from a glance I can see he is little more than a novice. If your sister is overwhelmed by something of that caliber, she isn't worth saving. One way or another he will be dead before tomorrow's dawn, and you all will be free of your burdens. That's what I created you for. Stay focused and forget about your trivial concerns."
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The present...
Even with all of their moments, all of their happiness, that conversation never left Leon's mind. His eyes wandered to the clock. It was 9pm. They laid on the bed panting. Covered in sweat. As Katie stroked and kissed his neck, he asked, "How do you hide the wings anyway? Aren't they a part of your body?"
Her eyes widened. She giggled. "My mother taught me a spell so that they'd only come out when I want them to. It makes wearing clothes much less inconvenient... When I don't extend them, they look like a... What do you call it? Body art? A tattoo?"
Katie closed her eyes. In a flash of light, her wings sank into her skin like ink, taking the shape along her back. Having been flashbanged by the light, Leon rubbed his eyes. "That was awesome... but a little warning before I'm blinded would be nice," he said, grinning.
"S-sorry. Guess I'm just a little excited," she responded, looking at him closely.
Leon raised an eyebrow. "Only a little?"
"Don't tease me."
"But it's fun though."
9:30 pm.
She laid against him, her eyes widening as she watched the TV. He did her the courtesy of reminding her that anyone dying on screen was only acting. Not being told that before watching a few of his mother's favorite slasher films when he was younger gave him haunting memories. It was everyone's favorite part of the movie Titanic, when Rose let Jack go into the water. "H-how could she just-? Jack, nooo...." Katie whined, burying her head into Leon's neck. She was trying not to cry. "I can't believe she just did that."
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
"I don't think she had a choice. It looked like he stopped her from doing that a moment there," Leon said, suppressing a smirk.
As the credits played with them meeting in the afterlife, Katie was a bawling mess. He was rubbing her back, mistakenly telling her that the door wouldn't have supported them both in that water anyway. That made things worse, so he distracted her with other means. 10 pm. Next movie was Maze Runner. He conveniently forgot that this movie had a sad ending as well. 11:30 pm.
"You're doing this on purpose, aren't you!" Katie cried, pounding her fists into his chest. A mountain of tissues was piled up next to their bed.
Leon could hardly contain his evil laughter. "Noo... of course not."
She didn't like thinking about it, so she distracted herself by kissing him. It was comforting. Warm. It made his heart clench, wishing he could just stay in bed with her. The clock was ticking and he needed to make a move soon. He avoided thinking about it in any way possible. He didn't want to worry her. Nothing would be more embarrassing than being busted into a final showdown while they were both laying down naked either. He gave her one last deep kiss, and then sat up.
"I'm kind of hungry... Thinking about grabbing something from the vending machine. Do you want anything?" Leon asked, putting his clothes on.
Katie raised an eyebrow at the suddenness of this, but shrugged. "Surprise me. I'm not even sure what my favorites are yet. I never would've thought I could have such a sweet tooth..." She leaned back, smiling at him.
He chuckled. "Hard to tell when you're stuck having pills your whole life. I might have to be careful, or you'll get addicted."
Leon's expression hardened as soon as Katie couldn't see his expression anymore. He walked out into the hall, making sure the door closed quickly, but silently. Immediately on both sides of him was Isabella and Cynthia, having waited for him to come out.
Cynthia opened her mouth when he placed a finger on his mouth, signaling to stay quiet. "I don't want her involved in our fight..." he whispered, and they both nodded. At first, he expected them to fight over it and not care for a second about Katie's well being. He noted that Lilith wasn't among them, most likely waiting somewhere out of sight.
Once they were out of earshot of the door, Leon said, "It's good to finally meet you, Cynthia. I wish it was under better circumstances. And it's good to see you again." He turned to Isabella when he said this who avoided his gaze.
Noticing her silence as they entered the elevator, he added, "I would've never taken you for the shy type, Isabella. You were all too eager to get me into the closest bedroom you could find the last time we met. Did our evenings sharing a meal leave you speechless?"
Cynthia raised an eyebrow at that. "Shut your filthy mouth! Is that your game? To bounce from sister to sister?" Isabella snapped, her face burning at having said anything.
Leon and Cynthia looked at her stunned and then chuckled. "So you're the mystery boyfriend that has Katie's head in the clouds... I was expecting someone taller."
At that, Leon turned to her. "...I'm taller than you."
"...Details, details. You're awfully calm for a man walking to his death sentence. You are Diablos's host, right?" Cynthia asked, crossing her arms.
It was a question that he already knew the answer to. It still felt bitter to say, "Yes." His reflection stared back at himself when he turned to look at the elevator doors. He expected them to have weapons on him. To try to restrain him in some way. They did nothing. He wanted to believe they trusted him enough not to attack them until their mother instructed them to. Leon was more than aware that trust wasn't something they believed in with the lives they'd led.
"You confirmed it? Or have you always known?" Isabella inquired, narrowing her eyes.
He sighed. "I had a suspicion with what you and Katie told me. We were attacked by sirens and... Yeah. Whatever I am is definitely not human. No other creature shares a mind from across space, right?"
There was a moment of silence. A repeated answer of confirmation whenever the subject is brought up. Isabella seemed to tense up around him, but Cynthia was calm. "Aren't you afraid? You understand we aren't here for a nice little evening walk, don't you?" she asked.
"I knew what I was getting into the very day I met Katie. Confirming our dreams were real solidified how much of a threat your mother is. I'm going to put an end to her suffering, once and for all."
"So that's it? You just plan to lay down and die? What was the point of giving Katie a good birthday if her next morning is crying over your corpse?" Cynthia hissed, grabbing his collar.
Leon smiled coldly and the look in his eyes made her flinch. "Who said anything about dying?"
—--------------------------------------------------------------------------
image [https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczPs4mE3qf586FSTo6i8E1ts59xMO7k15Wh6E2S9NcJWTMpNuaQhR1N_MbSr2ykLMv6HEHPU7bAQyxEvQaNMB3iXByZQRtICRQr9TTvEU4x8O9E38ecp27BAOZXOqbLWWUX_TtAI0S_Bhq_O4p_bRwsoop7a-fNGHB0SquwbEq0XNr17K8VY1ql-VlePJEyuYeoRhaq7G1FVMyCxYdAglYiztiQy65UQWNN-b9BzqCSN6aSWxQe84yakRs_82q0NJvGKVDj_38zjnvxmiWbRaTSZForSYzJtZny6TxPmjM2Ft-vjB2XGDehobmjhPS2TcuNE_JKooQX0P-lkY7F7wuOz_21a0WcZ1c0aLx2osFqYYhFuiz9B2HVSANz2kvfjIy3twPJ_kOf9-1FA-yDfll9NVpwh5W_jHVZcVwF4McXN7W6ZIPd0tKunHBaL-QiGWZNp9YBiOL2v5i0hOLOgKEpuy6yzuDB8Y6v3PB_PeY2biCWgN52wTiBhuObs9aDQE2EyJNHJBtvEXsCPdK-EZZsg8KQPkH6xRJRRzEhh79x7fgibB6YW6EBzJBhNsbKvqMgalaJlcZNoFQS4N0bS2y2qR_-6sOv_cYrWQ5YMT3kwQIhZVo5AZIexdwXfs1XIsXFLWMYYlotS2pL9Rn5a7vQf7evJWDsNJoXTHpXlnviX8AfPUC-pus0-36nHI3U4DUomijKEOVaGHYOpYOgE7NTaphinCbQOmLtGoY_zXa4M4jeG_7zOYXxUM_xm73gzgo8mvCeSk6Arsygl6sNMdmNvpzscP4hJMqriry99Bc7rTsaQ6LsY2GQ3BRleZ6LWyw4F7Vo_qFno8ydRSn2yRkpmLs5wg3_hfGYU5x5fEGrdYf46dqjkFmO-NraGd0BkXMTgX0XxwHfYu5V-EgMT2NRg2V899PRWk71Ew6CYeJw31pCLFnPrGeCNjzJPNHJj=s357-no?authuser=1](Concept of Lilith)
It was a long and awkward walk back to the cruise ship. All of the tourists were happily asleep in their hotels scattered amongst Honolulu. Walking onto it while the docks were dark and the ship was empty was nothing short of eerie. Standing at the back end of the ship, Lilith awaited them. It was the same place he'd been pushed overboard. She looked like a tall shadow, her features barely visible. She stepped out into the moonlight, narrowing her eyes.
"Coming alone, are we? Aren't you brave?" Lilith mocked, turning to face him. "So you were serious when you said you didn't want Katie involved. How do we know she's even still alive?"
"I don't give a shit what you believe," Leon snapped, causing the sister's eyes to widen.
They'd never heard anyone have the guts to snap at their mother like that. The last time Cynthia tried she ended up with broken teeth for a week before they grew back. If they didn't have to kill him, they may have even respected him. Given time. Together, they walked past him to stand by Lilith.
"No matter. Perhaps your screams will be enough to draw her out of hiding," Lilith hissed, snapping her fingers.
Every mooring line holding the ship to the docks broke apart. They began to drift away from the island, giving no room for escape. Lilith looked at Cynthia and Isabella. "You two, take him down. Use your blades. I don't want his suffering to end quickly."
Leon chuckled. "Standing back while your daughters do all the work? I'd expected more from a cold blooded killer, but this is just sad."
Her eyes widened, but then Lilith let out a cold laugh. It made them all freeze. Cold hands grasped Leon's body, the shadows around him taking shape. "What's the matter? Lost your nerve?" Lilith said, opening the book clutched in her right hand.
The hands were freezing. Slicing. Tearing. Just like the fog in his mind. He felt a searing cut against his chest and let out a cry of rage. Flames erupted from every inch of him, eradicating the shadows. He was beginning to understand what summoned this. Anger. Fury. The desire to destroy was what made his inner flame burn. The Rose family took a step back, watching him rise in shock. His smile never left his face as he locked eyes with Lilith. "Now you've got my attention."
------------------------ [https://img.wattpad.com/f75b881b48b86103d2a42e89ca3a19fd05cb0867/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f72423237544b69796b6e315a4e413d3d2d3830323035353036392e313761623337376265383962336637303133373739393137383337302e706e67?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]