Chapter 7
"Why does it shocked you?" Zheira's duplicate or whoever she was, crossed her legs and gave them a bored look. "I've been changing over time. Haven't you noticed?" She simpered. "Of course. You're way too busy keeping secrets from me."
"It—it wasn't our intention—"
She raised her hand. "You don't need to explain," she paused, "Unlike your adopted daughter, I understand. If she's in control of this body right now, she might freak out. Worst case, she'll end up killing both of you. You know how she hates liars. So, consider yourself lucky."
Robert cleared his throat. "Excuse me. I still don't understand. How can you refer to our Zheira as though she's someone other than yourself?"
"Oh, I forgot! I haven't explained yet. Pardon me for not doing so." She blew some air on her nails before rolling her eyes. "I don't want to talk a lot, so I'll make it short. I'm Zheira's soul. I existed through her red eyes. At some point, we are connected and that's the most crucial thing you should know. The end." Her laughter echoed in the room. "Quite simple right?"
"Please," Melinda plead, "Can we at least talk to our daughter?"
"You mean, your adopted daughter," Zheira's soul snapped, "Don't call her your daughter. Your filthy kind doesn't deserve such a wonderful child."
Pain crossed Melinda's eyes, but she shut it in the back of her mind. "Please! I beg of you! Let us talk to her for once." She tried kneeling but Robert did not allow her.
"Forgive me," Zheira's soul said, though, her face didn't show any sympathy. "She's not feeling well. She needs rest. Her body almost died with the impact of our fall, which leads both of you to another reason why you should be grateful that I'm in control of her body."
"And what is that?" Robert asked, his fist was clenched so hard.
Zheira's soul gave her sweetest smile. "Because I'm stronger, wiser, older, and gorgeous." She counted all her attributes with her fingers.
Melinda snorted. "You're lying, don't you?"
"About the gorgeous thing?" Without waiting for their response, she said defensively, "Of course not."
Melinda suppressed a chuckle. "No, what I mean is, you're lying about Zheira not feeling well."
"Well!" Zheira's soul looked at them pointedly and saw the desperation dancing in their eyes. She breathed heavily. "Partly. But, it's true that she couldn't talk to you, yet."
"Why?" Robert urged, clenching his fist.
Frowning, she said, "Here we go again."
For the sake of Zheira's adoptive parents, Zheira's soul stood and turned against them. She raised the piece of cloth concealing her back to show them the long thread that had been used to st.i.tch her wound.
Melinda buried her face to Robert's chest and shed tears. The sight horrified her. Never in her wildest dream did she expect her daughter to be st.i.tched. As much as possible, they're taking care of her skin, because of Zheira's dream to be an actress. Seeing that wound ruined what they cherished pained her more than ever.
After a while, Zheira's soul grinned and sat once more. She crossed her legs and looked at them with satisfaction. "Now that we've agreed that Zheira's weak, I'll tell you why you can't see her for a while." When she knew
Robert was suddenly struck with a brilliant idea. "You said that this body is mortal. Why don't you find another body? There are other humans that are far stronger than her. Don't use our Zheira, please!"
Zheira's soul sn.i.g.g.e.red. "That offer is tempting but the answer is no. I'm meant to be in this body. If I can't use it then no one can."
"What do you mean?" Robert rubbed Melinda's back when she started sobbing.
"It's clear, isn't it? If I choose another body, both of us will cease to exist."
"You mean our Zheira will die?" Melinda whimpered. An unwanted s.h.i.+ver ran down her spine as she imagined her daughter lying in a coffin.
"Exactly." Zheira's soul snapped. "Now we're getting it."
Melinda collapsed and started breaking down. Zheira's soul breathed heavily before trying to heighten her senses. She felt as if a chunk of her energy had been removed ever since she tried shutting her senses down.
There was a moment when she head a lot of voices coming from everywhere, smelling their various fragrance that made her nauseous, feeling their breath and most especially the pump of their healthy heart. She could almost taste their blood at the tip of her tongue. Her stomach groaned until a spark shot from her head down to her feet. Her senses tumbled back to normal, and all she could hear now was Melinda's sobs and Robert's constant shh-ing.
Zheira's soul rested on the bed, letting the soft foam embrace her body. She couldn't understand why she's not capable of using her sensitive senses nor her abilities, but she's determined to find out. This restriction was making her weak.
To her pursuit of answers, she closed her eyes and found herself listening to a faint voice. It came from the void itself, constantly begging to be heard. As she tried putting faces to the voice, she realized that it was the former owner of the body, Zheira. An overwhelming joy lingered in her heart. Now she understood. The restrictions came from the body itself. It's not allowing her to use it, because it's former owner was fighting.
She was cackling as she opened her eyes. The fact that Zheira was intent to get her body back appealed to her too much. She's excited to see what Zheira would do to retrieve a body that had never been hers.
"Let's see what you'll do if I do this," she whispered.
When she stood, the faint voice started panicking. It made her laugh. "Don't worry too much, I will handle it for you."
Robert and Melinda noticed her. Somehow, her poise changed. It's as if she's ready to pounce them any minute now. An evil grin curved her lips as she drew near. Without thinking, Robert pushed Melinda to his back, stretching his hand to protect her.
Zheira's soul raised her brow. "So be it." She dived from the bed and landed over Robert's stomach. Melinda shrieked and tried pus.h.i.+ng her away from her husband, but she didn't budge. Instead, she let her nails crawled to Robert's cheeks.
She bit her lips when Melinda grabbed her hair. "Get away from my husband!" she wailed, pulling her hair as hard as she could.
Before Zheira's soul could try hitting her, Robert grabbed her wrist. "Stop this, please!" he pleads.
"Never," she hissed. Her eyes dimmed darker before she smashed her head to Robert's. His screams filled the room as the impact made his head ready to explode. Melinda stopped pulling her hair and collapsed to the ground with sobs she couldn't suppress.
Zheira's soul stroked the golden strands of her hair gently, agonizing with the little pain caused by Melinda's relentless pulling. She watched Robert hold his head, trying to stop the pain from crawling in his nerves.
"Weaklings," she whispered. Her mouth dripped with saliva as she opened it, showing off her white pointed teeth. In a blink, she bit his neck. His perfume was overwhelming, but she focused on the fresh blood in his neck. The moment his blood touched her tongue, a sensation like no other caressed her every nerve. It tickled her system as the blood traveled down to her throat. Such taste.
The taste of blood stained her golden iris with a tint of deep crimson. It was giving her strength and she couldn't stop now even if she wished to.
Melinda hugged her knees and grieve to her dying husband. She couldn't do anything. She could only watch the monster she treated as her child murdered the love of her life. Maybe, this was the consequence of harboring a monster. If she listened to Theodore, would this thing happen? If they did not adopt Zheira, would they be okay? The answer was no. Without Zheira, Melinda might have been staying in the mental hospital now. She was the one who st.i.tched her soul, but now it seemed that she's the one who's going to break it.
All of a sudden, Zheira's soul stopped moving. The faint whisper became a solid voice that ordered her to stop. Her laughter echoed as Zheira trashed to get away from the bindings, desperate to save her dying father. Zheira's soul grimaced and bit him for the last time, teasing her purposefully. That's where something inside her snapped. Her eye-color was back to red, and a tear trailed down to her cheeks.
"I'll never let you hurt my family," she whispered while wiping the blood in her lips. Her soul's laughter echoed in her head.