JESSIE
It's the next day, and I'm so happy I didn't have any weird dreams about Sebby last night. I was literally afraid to sleep. This isn't the first time he's given me sleepless nights. I remember when I was so in love with him that I wouldn't be able to sleep at night. Every love song reminded me of him, every heartbreak song reminded me of him.
I remember when he would date girls or make up with random girls, and I would be in my room, irreligious as hell, on my knees asking God to make him gay or bi or something. But after that prayer, I would literally ask myself, "Doesn't God hate gay people?"
Apparently not, because Sebby turned out to be bi, and he also had feelings for me. He still does, which is strange because he should be over me by now.
I'm in the woods with Pilar and Sebby again.
"Do you know why we keep coming to the woods?" Pilar asks me.
"Uh, you guys are obsessed with acting like you're characters from Twilight."
"I hate that movie," Sebby says in a grimace. I look at him with a smirk on my face.
"I know." he hates Bella more than any Bella hater in the world. God, I don't blame him. That girl is annoying.
"No, we come outside to train as nytheris so that our body will be able to connect with nature. Our strength comes from nature itself. The wind, the trees, the leaves, the flowers, the sand. They fuel us. That's why there's no such thing as an introverted Nytheri," she says, and it all makes sense now. I used to be introverted, and now I find myself constantly going outside and randomly talking to my neighbours whom I used to avoid in the past.
"So, before we teach you the necessary skills on how to fight a demon. You have to learn the basics, our history, our strengths and weaknesses. Are you ready?" She asks, and I nod. It feels like I was born ready.
Sebby would say that I was born to be a nytheri.
That's because you are.
Stay out of my head!!!
Okay, so a nytheri is created by the Egyptian Goddess Bastet to protect humans from demons because they roam about destroying and causing a commotion. Nytheris were born to protect.
They're Demi-Gods who have the following abilities:
Super strength
Super speed
Flexibility
The sight: seeing in the dark, seeing people's auras.
Fast healing
If someone's aura is golden, then they're cool; if someone's aura is dark, it probably means they're possessed by demons, tormented by demons, or they are demons. We also have super sharp claws that can easily hurt demons.
We can shape-shift into our inner wildcat.
Sebby's inner wild cat is a tiger, Pilar's is a cheetah.
We don't know what mine is yet.
But it's there, I just have to tap into it, but Pilar says there's no pressure. And it will be unleashed soon. I'm not worried about that just yet.
Nytheris can also hear things from afar, and we have spidey senses; we can sense danger from a mile away, especially if it's targeted toward an individual.
A Nytheri should always protect humans; it doesn't matter what career path you're in. You could be a Hollywood superstar for all sake, but you will always have the instinct to protect humans.
There are strict rules in the Nytheri community that can have one beheaded, which is the quickest way to kill a Nytheri; decapitation ends a Nytheri's life entirely.
If you kill a human, you will be executed; it doesn't matter if they were good or bad. Killing humans is a no. That's not in a nytheris field. Protecting humans is the only thing we're supposed to be doing, not killing them, so if you're caught, you're a goner.
And there are a lot of Nytheris who have been executed for killing humans in the past.
Another crime that could lead to punishment would be bringing a human back to life. Because by doing that, you have endangered the whole human race, because that Nytheri will go rogue and start harming people.
Of course, Sebby is an exception because I'm currently under watch and they're studying me. I don't know what that means, really. Are they just going to be following my every move? Will they be outside watching me like they're Joe Goldberg? It's kinda creepy being followed.
But I'd rather they be around in case I do go rogue. I wouldn't want to hurt my mom. I hope that if I do try to hurt her, then they charge into the house and kill me without hesitation.
I'm not telling my mom about all this because she's been through enough already, and she might still be grieving.
Leonard was a terrible husband, but she did fall in love with him once. Back when he wasn't a loser. I still wonder what the fuck happened to him. Why did he suddenly switch personalities?
Funny, I used to ask this question while crying on my bed, but then I just stopped asking, and I acknowledged the fact that he was just an abusive fuck.
"I hope you've started learning about the demons from the demonology book I gave you," Pilar asks.
"Yep, I read it to scare myself at night so I wouldn't fall asleep."
Pilar furrows her brows in confusion. "Why didn't you want to fall asleep?"
"I-Uh." I didn't think this through. I look at Sebby, and the mother fucker has his head bowed and he's smiling.
Fucking hell.
"Oh, nothing, I just wanted to stay up at night." I lie, I don't bother looking at Sebby, fuck him.
And by the way, I was a bit scared because of the demonic content being shown in that book.
There were nasty images of demonic creatures. The nocturnes who need blood to survive. The dybbuks who feed on people's souls. Succubi and incubi, demon spiders, and so much more.
"So wait a minute, this cat demon thing isn't in the book of shadows?" I ask.
"No." Pilar shakes his head. "If it were, we would have known what that thing was by now and what he wants."
"There's never been a serial killer killing Nytheris before?" I ask.
"Oh well-" Sebby says, but then he keeps quiet, and he looks at his sister. Pilar looks at the ground, and she looks up at me. My eyes move back and forth, wondering what is happening right now.
"Not a serial killer, just monster hunters. Humans who get rid of monsters."
I'm confused. "But you guys aren't monsters. Nytheris aren't monsters; they protect humans."
"Those fuckers don't care. As long as you're not human, they're going to kill you."
"They're just acting out of fear." Says Pilar.
"A very stupid fear," Sebby says. "Because of their fear, we lost…" Sebby doesn't move forward; he stays stuck. And I know why, they lost someone because of these humans, but who?
Why do I have a feeling I know who they're talking about?
"Who did you guys lose?" I ask in a low tone.
"Our father," Pilar says, her eyes all glassy. "They killed our father without any mercy," she says.
"Oh my God, but Seb-" I stop because I was about to tell him that he told me his father was stabbed because he was in the midst of robbers who were robbing a store. I guess he only told me that because he didn't want to reveal that people killed him simply for being different.
"I'm so sorry," I say, and they stay quiet. I don't blame them; it must suck revisiting old wounds. "Did they behead him or something?" I ask.
"No." Pilar sniffs, wiping some tears away from her eyes. "He was stabbed by a gold sword. Gold is a nytheri weakness alongside mountain ash. But the difference is that mountain ash can only weaken a nytheri, gold can weaken and kill.
Oh God. This is so fucking sad.
I shake my head at the tragedy.
"Don't they know that the Nytheri have been doing good for the community?"
"Like I said, they don't care. Can we please drop this topic?" Sebby says angrily.
"Sure," I say.
Sebby isn't an angry person. He's cheerful, optimistic, and always fun to hang out with. So when I see him angry, I know that there is a valid reason for that.
And right now is a valid reason for him to be sad and angry. He lost a good father because of dumb people who do things out of fear. Good people should not go out like that.
I'm sorry.
It's okay, now you know the truth.