He answers after the second ring. “Marabella?” he says.
“How did you know it was me?” I ask.
Eziah chuckles. “Inkling I had, what’s up?”
“Don’t suppose you could help me with something?” I ask him, remembering to keep my voice low, not wanting to wake Jonah and have him overhear.
I feel a little awkward talking to my brother after everything that has happened lately. But quite frankly, I’m glad he isn’t making this conversation uncomfortable. If anything, Eziah is acting like… well, Eziah. Thank the gods nothing has changed between us.
He groans and I can’t help but smile. “If it’s buying you pads again, the answer is no, get one of your boy toys to do it,” he says.
Alright, he’s definitely acting like he always does. I roll my eyes at his assumption. “No, but it is important.”
Eziah sighs. “Fine, where are you?”
“The casino.”
“You want me to come to the city!” he groans. “That’s hours in the car. When you said you wanted help, I thought you asked because you were at Uncle Andrei’s or in town!” he whines.
“Please?” I whisper and drag the word to emphasize that I need him. Pleading with Eziah has always been somewhat easy, he is true to his word – always doing everything for his sister.
“Ah fine, I will be there in a few hours,” he says.
“Can’t you just use the portal to get here?” I ask him.
“Ah, I can’t. Do you think I can just portal whenever I want? I can only do that by leaving the Moon Goddess realm,” he mutters.
Yeah, because I am supposed to know all of those things while I’m the one who can’t stay in that realm for long enough before I’m sucked back to reality.
“Then go to the Moon Goddess realm,” I tell him.
“And what do you want me to tell mom? Ah, can you drop me into the realms so I can take a shortcut to the city?” Eziah laughs.
“Yep, besides, I need you to go there anyway to look for something,” I tell him.
“You’re lucky you’re my twin, or I would disown you for making me your little bitch all the time,” he growls, and I laugh.
“So, is that a yes?” A grin spreads across my lips as I ask the question. Today, I feel unusually giddy and too happy for my own good. It’s weird to feel like this, not depressed and down, but honestly, I like the feeling. I really do.
“Yes, Marabella. Now, what am I looking for in the realm?” he asks, pulling me out of my thoughts.
“Celeste’s Grimoires and I need that dagger,” I announce without any hesitation.
“You want me to steal Mom’s dagger and an old book?” Eziah asks in surprise.
“It’s not stealing. We are borrowing.” If he were here, I would make sure to bat my eyelashes at him, just to pursue Eziah.
“Did you ask mom?” he groans.
“No, but you can,” I chuckle.
“Of course you didn’t. Fine, where am I meeting you?” I bite the inside of my lip, knowing this will definitely raise questions.
“City graveyard,” I tell him, cringing as I speak those words out loud. He falls silent on the other end of the phone.
“We are not raising the dead, Marabella! I ain’t kissing no dusty old corpse!” I laugh at him.
“No, we are just digging up a grave,” I tell him.
“So I suppose I gotta bring a damn shovel, too?” Eziah mutters something under his breath that I can’t understand. All I know is that he’s clearly unhappy about this new development.
“If you don’t mind, it may look funny if I carry one through the main street,” he growls.
“Anything else? Do you need a bodily organ, maybe an alibi?”
“I will let you know about the organ and Alibi is already sorted. I told Jonah we are having lunch together.” I laugh at how funny it sounds in my mind. Lunch among the corpses.
“Great, I am bringing a picnic basket too,” Eziah says, and I chuckle.
“Thank you. I love you,” I tell him, and he growls at me.
“Love you too. I’ll see you in an hour,” he says, and I hang up. I place the phone down before turning on the shower. Now, to just dig up my father-in-law’s grave and hope to god we can break this curse before the madness comes for me.
Eziah
Ah, Marabella and her odd requests, I think as I force myself out of bed. Malachi stirs angrily, not wanting to wake from his slumber. He growls in my head; he has become a temperamental bastard lately. Last night, he tried to take on Maddox, but mom was able to control both of us.
We have been clashing about anything and everything, something shocking. So it is no surprise that my wolf growls when I open the door and spot my father walking past my room.
Malachi is good at holding grudges, and when Maddox and he clashed, it was like a war of Gods.
“Fucking stop it,” I snarl at my wolf, and my father stops in his tracks. His back tenses as he looks at me over his shoulder, stopping at the landing by the stairs.
“Are you good, son?” He asks, raising an eyebrow at me with a cross look on his face. Clearly, he is still angered over last night, too.
“Sorry, we just woke up. Have you seen Mom?” I ask him.
“If this is about yesterday Eziah…”
“No, something else. I need her to take me to the Moon Goddess realm,” I admit. Maddox presses forward as I approach my father. His warning is clear as I stop beside my father. We are now the same height and same build, and as each day passes, I can see the similarities between my father and me.
Looks-wise, Marabella looks more like my mom and my father, Ezra. While I look more like my other father yet, I am undoubtedly built like the monster of a man I stand before.