AIDAN

I took a deep breath as the blood-like substance stopped circling around us, and hovered in front of Lana and me. The moment we could clearly see our surroundings, screams erupted from our mouths. The black expanse of space stretched out before us, while stars glittered in the darkness. While still screaming at the top of our lungs, the red liquid moved toward us.

The blood-like substance rippled as it spoke. “My apologies.” It convulsed and morphed into a humanoid shape, taking the appearance of a regular person.

My eyebrows shot up at its new look. “Lana, do you have any idea who that is?” I asked, noting the older man’s iconic sunglasses, along with his salt and pepper hair. “Tha-that's Stan Lee!”

The man let out a boisterous laugh and nodded. “If you say so, my boy. I was going for someone you’d be happy to meet.”

I started to hover towards him, but Lana stopped me by keeping a firm hold on my shirt. “I'm so happy you get to sort of but not really meet one of your idols, but if you haven't noticed, we’re in space,” Lana screamed, clutching me closer.

As I looked down at her, something occurred to me and I scanned the area. “Wait. Where are Nadia and Mr. Serious?”

“Ah.” Stan placed his hands behind his back. “I gave those two a minute to cool off.” He snapped his fingers and the next thing I knew; Nadia and Mr. Serious were floating next to us.

“You guys good?” I asked Nadia, moving Lana and me over to her.

Nadia’s scowl cut into Mr. Serious. “I guess. This impromptu trip to space kind of snuffed out my anger.” Nadia shrugged and looked at Stan. “Why do you look so familiar?”

Stan chuckled while adjusting his sunglasses. “According to Aidan, I have the guise of a man named ‘Stan Lee.’ I suppose it's better than being called the Blood.”

Mr. Serious was wide-eyed as he approached Stan. “Sanguinem Creationis?”

“Sangria what now?” A confused Nadia asked everyone.

“It's Latin for--hold on.” Lana raised her index finger and contemplated. “Uh, it means like blood and something. Blood of Creation?”

Stan gave Lana a thumbs up. “I can see someone is going to ace the MCATS. Blood of Creation was the first name I was given after making humans. Well, one of the first, anyway.” There was dead silence around us, but Stan smiled at our shocked expressions. “Here. Let me show you something.”

As a collective, we moved at the speed of light through space and stopped just above the moon. Oh, my stomach did not like that.

With Earth hovering in the distance, Stan gave the planet a smile and turned to the disoriented four of us. “I’ve been watching you, kids, from inside the Nexus Stone.” Stan moved towards me for a hug. I looked to Nadia and Lana while embracing him, but they shared my confused look. Although, no one seemed as flabbergasted as Mr. Serious.

I slowly removed my arms from around Stan. “You'll have to forgive me. My mind is still catching up from moving at light speed. Did you just say you were inside the necklace?”

Stan clapped my shoulders and smiled. “It's about time you knew the whole story.” He slowly dropped to the moon’s surface and raised his hand before an invisible force pulled us down with him. “Take a good look, everyone.” Stan gestured to the vastness of space. “Tell me the three things you see.”

“Uh.” Lana sounded nervous. “Planets?”

I barely heard her from staring out into the endless black when a light bulb lit up in my brain. “Darkness.” The word fell flat, and everyone went silent.

Stan’s smile grew even larger. “Very good, Aidan.” He stepped closer to whisper. “But what else do you see?”

I was still locked onto the blackness of space, but numerous small glints caught my attention. “I see lights.” My words resonated with the surprise I felt. “There are billions of lights in the darkness.”

Stan clapped his hands together. “And that, kids, is the universe in a nutshell. You got your Light, your Dark, and Creation in between.” Stan returned his hands to his back and stepped to my side.

“Blood of Creation.” Mr. Serious’ mouth fell open. “The Light, the Dark and the Blood.”

Nadia threw her hands up in the air. “So, that really was blood on the moon—this moon here.” Nadia stomped her foot against the white, rocky surface. “The night of the Blood Moon?”

Mr. Serious’ tone was, per usual, calm with a slight edge to it. “What did you presume made the Blood Moon such a powerful celestial event?”

Stan cut Mr. Serious off and turned to Earth. “Alright, alright. You see, kids, your world was my greatest creation. Sure, I've built others in other galaxies, and most turned out alright. But a lot of them are overrun with some pretty nasty entities, courtesy of the Dark.” Stan groaned and cracked his neck. “Back in the beginning of things, it was just me, the Dark and the Light. Three individual and formless forces in the universe.” Stan turned to wiggle his eyebrows at me. “Only problem was, the Light and the Dark were forever at each other's throats. Their eternal warring with one another ravaged almost every world I created. I needed something of my own, you know? So, I came to this corner of the universe with plenty of space to start anew.”

“So, you created Earth for a fresh start?” I asked staring at the blue planet.

“The universe needed new life. Humans, though. After I created them, they did something that blew my mind.” Stan touched the spot over his heart. “My own creation created something I suppose I was trying to do myself but hadn’t quite figured out. Love. It was incredible, the things humans would do out of love. So, I told the Dark and the Light to keep their paws off Earth.”

Lana stepped up to Stan and me. “I'm gonna guess that the Dark really didn't like that?"

Stan snorted. “Actually, the Dark was fine with it, at first. But when the Light saw love for the first time, we both agreed it was only a matter of time before the Dark would try to mess with Earth. Humans needed to be watched over. The Light and I created the benevolent beings you have heard of in myth and lore, such as nymphs and valkyries.” Stan gestured to Lana and Nadia. “And housed them in parallel worlds to act as guides and healers and such.” Stan Lee shook his head and for the first time, sounded grave. “Well, the Dark did not like that one bit. He was like a petulant child, feeling left out and jealous. That sneaky son of a gun found a loophole onto Earth.”

“Surely you possessed the power to, at the very least, banish the Dark,” Mr. Serious said, no longer standing by like a statue.

“Oh, I could've. And I would've. But the Dark knew how to get to me. It possessed a man, impregnated his wife, and took the name Amon.” Stan sighed and looked down. “Amon anchored himself to Earth with the conception of his son, Zagon.”

Mr. Serious turned his back to everyone and stared out into space.

“Y’all just heard what he said, right?” Nadia asked Lana and me. My answer came in the form of a shocked face.

“So, you're saying.” Lana scanned me up and down. “That Aidan is Amon’s grandson? The Dark’s grandson?”

My head was spinning and even though I didn't need to breathe, my lungs were tight.

Stan chuckled at Lana. “Oh, he's a lot more than that. You see, Amon didn’t just want to destroy humanity. He wanted to corrupt it. Create individuals like himself. It was his forte. That’s why he created ‘The Curse of Darkness.’ After Amon anchored himself to Earth, I considered placing the human race into the parallel worlds, but Amon broke into them.” Stan walked over to Nadia. “After Amon ravaged The Fae Kingdom, there was hysteria among the parallel worlds. A few warriors and whatnot managed to escape before Amon sealed the dimensions. So, the Light and I forged a plan. I gave it a body molded with a great deal of my own essence in order to house the Light’s cosmic energy. She became to me what humans would call a daughter.”

“She?” Nadia asked.

“Yes, she,” Stan said with a sad smile. “My Lucy. Enoch's mother.”

Nadia grabbed my arm, most likely out of shock. I let out a yelp at her fingernails digging into my skin. “Ow, ow, ow, ow!” I pried her hands off and turned to Stan. “So, you're saying my—or rather, Enoch's parents were Zagon, son of the Dark, and Lucy, who was actually the Light. And because you used so much of yourself to build her body, Lucy was your daughter—the Bloods daughter. Making you and the Dark Enoch’s grandfathers. That about right?” I asked looking Stan right in his sunglasses.

“You're gonna pass out, aren't you?” Stan sounded more disturbed than joking.

I gave him a thumbs-up before the galaxy around me faded away.

***

I opened my eyes to the living room ceiling fan spinning above me. If I had leapt any harder from the couch, I would have flown right into a wall. “What's going on?” I yelled and spun around. Nadia and Stan sat on the love seat while Lana poured herself a drink in the dining room. Mr. Serious looked detached from everything around him, sitting on the stairs, and staring down at the floor.

“Remember that thing we talked about?” Nadia asked from the love seat behind me, to which I whipped around.

Stan gave Nadia a smile and turned to me. “I sure do.” Upon standing, his body became liquid again and changed into another person. The Blood morphed itself to look like Samuel L. Jackson. “Aidan, it's gonna be okay. Everything is just fine.” The sound of his voice was as calming as it always was when I watched his movies.

Nadia cackled from the love seat while clapping her hands and pointing at Samuel L. Jackson. “I told y'all that would calm him down.” Her eyes teared from how hard she was laughing. “His mama used to pop on Shaft just to put him down for a nap.” By then, Nadia was gasping for air to breathe between her laughter.

I rolled my eyes and focused on Samuel. “Every part of me is tingling with excitement at the moment, but I'm just curious about how long we’ve been home.”

“We're not home.” Lana walked into the living room with a martini, keeping her dress and hair straight while sitting down on the couch. “This is all a construct. Except for the vodka.” She used her free hand to wave around. “We’re still on the moon.”

Samuel L. Jackson touched my shoulder and led me over to the couch to sit, but he remained standing. “I thought it might help ease things a bit.”

My eyes moved from Lana to Nadia and stopped on Samuel. “I don't understand. Why don't we just go back to Earth?”

“Oh, remember the last one I mentioned you should do?” Nadia asked Samuel. “For explaining the craziness?”

I gave her a questioning glance before Samuel answered. “Alright, but this is the last one. If I were a cell phone, I'd be on three percent.” His body became the crimson liquid and changed form, again. “Okay. This one feels like a keeper.” The Blood, in the guise of Christopher Walken, clapped his hands together. “So, the thing is." The Blood was even expressive with his hands like Christopher Walken. "I can't go back down to Earth for a little while. I have to, more or less, go home and rest.” He raised his hands to stop me from responding. “Hear me out first. Your mom and I, we had a plan. She went down to Earth and gathered the strongest warriors from the parallel worlds, while I sent a prophecy about some great power in a dark dimension as bait to Amon’s wife, Amara. To get her out of the way. You see, Amon assumed I didn't know he was looking for a way to bring over those malevolent beings from other galaxies. Titan-sized monsters of savagery and mercilessness."

Nadia was not wrong to suggest Christopher Walken for the Blood's face. I didn't want to blink, fearing I would miss an expression.

"Amon fashioned the Nexus Stone from the part of me that was inside his human host. The part of me that lives in every human on Earth.” Christopher paused to breathe deeply. “Anyway, Lucy crossed paths with Zagon, and boy was he due for some light in his life. The poor guy was riddled with demons; his own and the ones created by his parents.”

“How could Amara do that?” I asked in disgust, remembering the out-of-body experience of my past life. “I get that Amon was the Dark, but Amara was human. How could she treat her son like that?”

Mr. Serious walked into the living room and leaned up against the post. "It wasn't her anymore. Not after Amon impregnated her. No human could stay intact after having that much darkness forced into them."

“Exactly.” Christopher nodded at Mr. Serious. “Giving birth to Zagon—the Dark’s spawn--the malevolent force not only destroyed her soul but inhabited her body. The Amara you saw, Aidan, was just a shell.”

“What about Zagon?” Nadia asked fixing her dress after standing. “Did the apple fall far from the tree?”

Christopher wouldn't meet anyone's eyes and turned away. “From the boy’s birth, Amon made sure no one knew Zagon was his heir. He was ashamed that his son didn’t share his dark ideals. When Lucy crossed paths with Zagon, it was that very mindset that brought Zagon over to our plan to imprison his father. With him on the inside, our bases were covered. Lucy connected the warrior’s souls with the Nexus Stone using my presence on the moon to power the link. All Lucy needed to do was use that connection to reverse Amon’s plan to bring hell on Earth, and Zagon would be right by his father's side, making sure he, the Nexus Stone, and Amon were locked away, forever.”

Nadia let out a loud snort at Christopher and turned to me. “Girl, you was the monkey wrench.” She looked sympathetic at my shocked face. “Don’t you get what he’s saying? If Zagon was gonna be locked away for eternity with his daddy and the necklace, he probably wanted to have a memorable goodbye with his bad mama-jama, Lucy.”

Lana nearly spilled her martini from Christopher Walken laughing right next to her. “I like her.” He pointed to Nadia. “And she is right. Apparently, Lucy and Zagon’s goodbye resulted in Enoch’s conception the night of the Blood Moon. Apart from Lucy, Enoch possessed, by far, the strongest connection to my essence than any other being. Add to the fact that he shared blood ties to Amon, the one responsible for creating the stone, and you have yourself one massive connection to the Nexus Stone that no one was prepared for.” Christopher wiped his forehead with a handkerchief from his shirt pocket. "Things were going fine until the end. When the Nexus Stone was pulled from the world, away from Enoch’s barely conceived essence, it required an immense amount of energy nobody anticipated. The stone trapped me inside of it and used all of my power to imprison Amon and Zagon. I couldn't do anything but wait, never able to escape. Over the last couple of centuries, the stone has drained me of all my cosmic energy. I have to recharge, so to speak, because if I go, all of my creations will follow me to the void.”

I stood up, grabbed Lana’s drink for a big sip, and handed it back before turning to Christopher. “Please don't go. Can't you stay at the house? It's guarded now.” There was a deep yearning within me to not part with him. Whether it was just the concentration of his essence in me, or because I didn’t have any grandparents, I felt safe near him. And safety had become something of a precious commodity to me since my world imploded.

Christopher stepped up to me. “I wish I could, my boy. But I'm afraid I need to return to what you might call a primordial rehab. Where this universe ends and connects with the others.” His eyes moved to the red jewel hanging from my neck. “More importantly, the Nexus Stone is one of the most powerful artifacts in the universe right now. It has been bound to you since your birth as Enoch and is still entirely and irrevocably yours.”

“All the visits to the past.” Lana stood up from the couch to pour herself another martini. “Every time something massive happened, it was the necklace, wasn't it?”

Christopher gave me a smile. “The stone reacted to Aidan’s needs, and I helped out when I could. I used Aidan’s desire for help to finally escape. Now that I'm not inside the Nexus Stone to help steer the rudder, you're gonna have to be extra careful. It enhances your already potent abilities, like when you froze time or sent yourself to the past. It hasn’t yet, but the Nexus Stone could amplify your dark side.”

My brows furrowed in confusion. “You're saying things could actually get worse if I don't keep my demon side in check?”

Christopher gave me a wink and continued to smile. “Oh, my beautiful boy. You’re no demon.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “Well, that’s nice of you to say.”

Christopher looked confused for a moment. “No, I mean literally, you’re no demon. You are something unique. I know you don’t know much about your past life but having spent all that time hanging from your neck, I was able to do a little digging into your soul’s history. Aidan, in your previous life, you became the greatest guardian the world has ever seen. There are statues of you all over the world.”

Everyone in the room looked as confused as I. “I don’t understand. Statues of me? Where?”

A mischievous smile spread across his face. “I can see none of you are the church-going types. Have any of y’all ever been to a cathedral?”

Nadia immediately let out a scoff and crossed her arms. “Not since that blonde bitch and her bastard brother tried to murder me.”

From the dining room, Lana caught our attention while shaking the drink mixer while making herself another martini. “Statues at a cathedral? The only ones I’ve ever seen are those winged monster things that are supposed to protect—oh, my god!” She exclaimed with wide eyes.

Christopher clapped his hands together again. “Bingo! You, Aidan, are no demon. Sure, you’re scary as hell, but that’s only so you can scare the real monsters.”

My mind was going back over each time I’d experienced my monster mode, including the time I saw it in my reflection in the bathroom at the bar. “I’m a-a-a--.”

Christopher nodded his head. “Gargoyle. Dark on the outside. Light on the inside. A perfect balance.” He took a deep breath, uncertainty in his eyes. “I hope that helps in some way. Right now, though, you kids need to figure out how the Nexus Stone was released and why all the warriors reincarnated.”

“Wait.” My words came out loud and sharp. “You don't know?”

“Pause yourself for a moment, Aidan.” Mr. Serious stepped up to Christopher. “What do you mean all the warriors reincarnated?”

“Just that,” Christopher said expectantly. “Because of Lucy's spell to bind the warriors to the Nexus Stone, when each one died, their soul went to the stone. Then, one day, every soul contained within the stone split in half. One part stayed in the stone and the other went somewhere else. When the stone was released, the remaining half-souls left to find their other half. Except for Herja’s soul.” He turned to Lana. “There was only ever just a half of your soul. I'm not sure what happened because Herja died in battle the night of the Blood Moon, and her half-soul was already in the stone when I was trapped.”

Lana guzzled her drink and tossed her head back to sigh. “So, that's why I don't have any powers.”

“You're still a valkyrie. Nothing could change that. And you kids are smart. The four of you can handle this.” Christopher turned to me. “There's a reason you look the same as in your past life. Maybe start by finding your mom, Aidan.”

“Was she reincarnated too?”

“No, Lucy's essence never came to the stone. She's probably in hiding.” Christopher laughed a little. “Hopefully she didn't suffer the same ironic fate I did by getting herself imprisoned.”

I kept my tone soft. “So, what happens now?”

“I'm gonna send you kids home because your city needs you. Amon’s generals are going to enact the ritual, ‘Egestas a Tenebris’ tomorrow. The whole world needs you. And it especially needs Nadia.” Christopher kept his eyes on me but pointed directly at Nadia.

“Yes, it does," Nadia said with gusto but still paused. "Just so we're all on the same page though, why is that?”

“You're Melinoe, Queen of The Fae Kingdom and the living embodiment of Mother Earth. What you've done with your powers so far, are barely crumbs compared to what you are capable of.” Christopher smiled mischievously at Nadia.

Nadia lightly patted Christopher's shoulder and they shared a laugh. “Just between you and me, I could've told you that about myself, regardless of being Mother Earth.”

“Oh, man. I'm really going to miss watching over you kids. Your souls have made you the warriors you once were, but your love for each other is your true strength.” He pulled everyone in for a hug, including a very rigid Mr. Serious. “I’ll see you, kids, real soon.”

The blood-like substance encircled us once more. I shut my eyes and squeezed Christopher a little tighter. “We’ll miss you too, grandpa.” A feeling of weightlessness came over me followed by him no longer being in my arms. I opened my eyes and saw the sun setting through a window in the living room. We were home.

Mr. Serious was the first to break the calm silence. “I realize these revelations have to weigh heavily on your mind, Aidan, but I must implore we proceed with preparations for tomorrow.”

I breathed deeply and nodded. “You're right.” I grabbed the Nexus Stone around my neck. “With the Blood in recovery, the Light in hiding, and the dimensions sealed, we’re literally the world's only line of defense right now.”

Nadia stepped up to my side and rested her head on my shoulder. “Lana and I aren't going to the party tonight, are we?” Nadia sounded like she already knew the answer.

“You and Lana are absolutely going to the party.” I gave them both a commanding look. “The world may implode tomorrow, and that is exactly why we are going to live tonight like there's no tomorrow.” I pulled Lana over to Nadia and me. “So, you two go. Mr. Serious and I will prepare, and when y’all come back, we’ll go out to The Quarter.”

Nadia was wide-eyed and staring at me. “Well, look who's finally stepping up as team leader.” She reached out to slap my shoulder but stopped when I raised my eyebrows at her.

Lana’s eyes were slightly wet. “Are you sure? Because we don’t have to go.”

“Do you hear me complaining? Go already. Get out of here!” I fake yelled with a smile.

Lana grabbed her purse and downed the rest of her drink. “Make sure you come back in one piece.” She walked over to me and gave me a hug.

Nadia’s hug seemed much longer until she finally let go and turned to Lana. “Alright chick, let's do this.”

When they were halfway through the door, I called out. “You guys have fun. Drink a couple of shots for me.”

Lana yelled back with utter seriousness. “I’ll be too drunk to remember that.”

Nadia poked her head back inside. “You want us to bring you back some food from the party?”

“Yeah, and grab me some of that weird-smelling cheese.” My eyes lit up at the possible dairy goodness.

“You like that stinky stuff?” Nadia asked in disgust.

“Oh, god, yeah. The stinkier, the better.” I couldn’t stop myself from saying it with a little too much enthusiasm.

Nadia nodded before turning to Mr. Serious. “Oh, if anything—and I mean anything--happens to Aidan, I’ll electrocute you, tie you up, then slowly roast you limb by limb before eating you for Sunday dinner, okay?” A second later, Nadia and Lana were gone. It wasn't but a few seconds before I heard Lana’s car pull out with a roar.

I turned to face Mr. Serious only to find him with a disturbed look on his face. “What’s the matter?”

“She wouldn't act--.” Mr. Serious looked genuinely concerned.

I raised my eyebrows in a warning. “Yes, she would. She’s been starving herself this week to get ready for that stupid party. Now, where is this location for the ritual you mentioned earlier?”

Mr. Serious pulled out his phone and scrolled through it. “Ironically, our location is set at the St. Louis Cathedral. You are familiar with it, I presume?”

I threw my hands up and shook my head. “Why does that not surprise me?” I locked up the house and followed Mr. Serious to his shiny black Maserati. Once in, I realized the car had everything you could put in one, except heat. The a/c felt like it was cranked below zero.

Mr. Serious sped off down the street, going zero to sixty without hesitation. I quickly buckled my seat belt and held onto the garment handle. Oh, my god! He's worse than Lana. “Um, I don’t know if you know this, but cops pretty much swarm this particular area of Claiborne Avenue.” My eyes were ready to pop out of my skull from terror.

“Not a concern for me. I would detect any police much sooner than they would detect me.”

I gripped the garment handle as hard as I could. “Not as comforting as you think!” I screamed out the last word as we turned and drifted across the lanes.