Apotheosis of the Immortal Read Free

muscles, but his mind was weak with anguish.
    Hearing him approach, the elderly woman came out to meet him.
    “What in God’s name has happened, child?”
    Elijah silently kneeled at his mother’s side and dropped forward, pressing his forehead into her shoulder.
    “Is this Esmeralda?” The old lady’s body was strong and her senses were sharp, but any fool could see Elijah was wracked with grief.
    “There, there, child, everything’s gonna be all right. Some wounds never fully heal, and some losses will always be near to us, but it does get a little easier with time—you learn how to deal with it, how to move on.”
    The old woman had suffered much loss of her own and Elijah knew it, but that knowledge didn’t help him right now.
    “What happened, son? Where’s the rest—where are your brothers, I mean?” As she asked, the old lady gently touched Elijah on the shoulder.
    He remained silent; he had no idea what to say or where to begin. The entire night seemed surreal.
    “Well, bring her on in. I’ll put a blanket on the hearth and light some candles. You can lay her down and take whatever time you need to mourn your loss.” Her tone was inviting; she was a kind and gentle soul.
    Although he still couldn’t bring himself to speak, he was a bit comforted by Lilith’s kindness and warmth. He was grateful not to be alone. Picking up his mother’s body, Elijah followed the old woman through the open doorway and waited while she retrieved a thick woolen blanket from a small cupboard and carefully covered the hearth. He laid his mother’s corpse on the blanket while Lilith lit a few candles and placed them around her. The strong smell of incense filled the small room as she waved the smoke across Esmeralda’s body.
    “Sit down for a moment.” Both her voice and hands were shaky as she pulled over a small wooden stool and shoved it towards Elijah. He dropped hard onto the stool and, putting his head into his hands, he rubbed his eyes vigorously.
    “Oh! Are you hurt son?” Lilith quickly wet a rag and began rubbing vigorously at Elijah’s neck. “There’s no wound, so it must have been your mother’s blood.”
    What? Elijah rubbed his fingers across his neck where he had jabbed the thin blade. Lilith was right, there was no wound. How is this possible? But his thoughts were quickly buried by the stench of his mother’s corpse that penetrated his nostrils and swamped his mind.
    “It was my father, and Solomon.” Elijah finally offered hoarsely, after a long silence.
    “What do you mean? Are they okay?” Lilith didn’t understand.
    “They killed her, and Malaki.” Elijah declared while staring blankly at the floor.
    “Your father, William, and Solomon did this?” Her voice rose sharply with shock. “How? Why? Are you sure?” She was staring at Elijah in disbelief.
    “I don’t know. Father just showed up last night, after I had gone to bed. I must have somehow slept through it when they killed Mother. Malaki’s screams woke me up. A large man was carrying him tossed over his shoulder and was running down the stairwell. I tried to rush down to help him, but the stairwell was covered with Mother’s blood. Before I could make it to the bottom step, I hit the banister and tumbled down the steps, ending up next to Mother’s mutilated corpse.” He paused for a moment, overcome.
    “I stood up just in time to see Father break Malaki’s neck with his bare hands, like it was nothing, like he was nothing.” Elijah’s voice was steady now. Tears were streaming down his face, but he didn’t notice. “I tried to get to Father. I wanted to kill him for what he had done, but Solomon cracked me on the head with a log and I must have been unconscious before I hit the floor.” Elijah spoke while gently rubbing his neck in disbelief.
    “Your father and Solomon… well, I just can’t believe that. Your father is such a gentle man. And Solomon, well he’s just as fine a boy as I’ve ever met.” Her