Cassandra Cassandra Farrelli: Scarlet Women Book 1

I stared at myself in the glass, Luc had told me it was called a mirror, it showed me my reflection much like the stillness of a lake could, but in more clarity and without disturbance of the wind or wildlife. I’d been dead for six thousand years, but when I blinked the girl in the mirror blinked. Was it really me? This body was young, and hadn’t aged a day— how was this possible? I should be bones or dust or whatever happened to bodies after their life was extinguished, and unless time had been frozen for a few thousand years, which I highly doubted— I’d been brought back from beyond the grave.

“Well, Cassandra,” I whispered to my reflection. “Six thousand years looks as good on you as nine hundred did on Enoch.” And I should know, I’d often watched him walk and talk with God. It had stung that I had been cursed— that I had been rejected because of my love for Lucifer or Lucas as he was now calling himself. Rejection was my biggest struggle. My first husband had been killed by my secret vampire lover— who had been my first flirtation with the dark, that was when I’d begun to walk away from how I had been raised.

We’d run away for a very long time, as I pretended to grieve for my husband and left my children in the care of his family. We wandered the Pangea, sleeping in caves, on rocks— under the stars. I would have come back sooner but I was pregnant with his children— however, I fell asleep one day and when I awoke the heartbeats and bump, where I knew they once lay, was flat, empty. I was distraught. My babies had been stolen from me. My mother had only lost one child— and that was because my brother Cain had killed him. I had been so full of remorse— at the thought, I’d lost precious cargo, that I told him I needed to be at my home— in my garden with my people. We had fought, I said things that I knew would hurt him, and he left. His father came to see me soon afterwards and told me how I had broken his heart, and how he was dead. Killed in some accident, along with his sister. I was so distraught— now two of my husbands lay dead. My children from my first husband being raised by another and the children of my true love being stolen from my womb. I ran to my parents, to the garden— but we were locked out of the garden by then.

Luc was my angel of light in the sea of pain and loss, he had fluttered into my life while I was dancing in the moonlight by the shores of the sea—contemplating taking my own life. I was not a mother, I was not a wife and I needed to feel wanted, loved— desired. He had looked at my form and taken me into his arms wrapping his white wings around me, whispering I was too beautiful, had too much to live for to cast it all away. I had let him into my garden and let him take me to new heights. It had been brief, our romance, we promised our bodies, our souls to one another and that had been the beginning of my end. If I had known what was to follow, the heartache, the blood, violence, and war I would have run and hidden, as my mother and father had when they disobeyed God. But— he had been my bright and shining star, and I had been ripe for the plucking.

There were many details that I did not yet understand, things which I was not allowed to know as the battle raged. I’d been very pregnant then with Luc’s seed, and the children sent me pictures of how I was to die. Two boys, twins— who I would never live to meet, for the children burst forth from my womb, clawing their way out of my very body, wings and all— as my mortal self expired. I put my hands over my abdomen— thinking of the many children I’d carried, lost, and loved— but there was nothing there, for this body had not yet carried a child, which raised all sorts of questions in my mind.

As I lay dying in a cave, my newborn Nephilim screaming, fluttering their black wings I heard God’s quiet voice. I was to be punished for consorting with the devil— I’d been cursed. There in the dark, He told me that my children would always be at war— the vampires and the Nephilim. I did not understand, I had lost my vampire twins, they had never been born, they hadn’t been given a chance to live. I had died with that question in my mind— what did it mean? My human children, whom I had barely spent any time with at all, were also cursed, that until I learned not to love the devil— they would carry the consequences of my actions and that death and violence would always follow them, until ‘that’ day— whatever that meant. Darkness had descended and I had been held captive in a dark tower above a cliff of burning lava ever since, left alone with my thoughts, left to rot, in hell.

In six thousand years, I’d had a lot of time to think. I’d been mourning, yes, mourning. I had loved so deeply and lost so much. For while I had loved Luc last, I had not loved him most— a fact I had never told him. I was in love with my vampire mate, and the what if’s of our life, had I chosen to stay with him, despite losing our children. It was he, Marcus, who had set me free from my dull human husband and brought me adventure and excitement— Luc had in the beginning but in the end, I was led into flame, trapped by what my passions had brought upon me. It would never have been so with my love, now I carried his memory around like an ardent bloom. I sensed him, somewhere quite close, which should have surprised me, but if I was alive, then why shouldn’t he be? I was tempted to find him— to forget about Luc and run to my lover’s arms. I could feel his broken heart, he held it wrapped around him like one might dive into a pond and try to stay under as the water caressed each part of you— killing himself slowly.

The world had been so young when I’d been alive then, and I was so carefree, and so much more innocent than I was now. Angels had walked on earth alongside humans, and there had been no need for these silly clothes like I was wearing now. Children were given supernatural powers and lives that went into the thousands or years, even my own father had been six hundred when I had been born, and I was not by far the last of his children. The world was now covered in the descendants of my parents, the angels had left, besides the fallen, Luc and his many followers and children— and only a few were gifted with the supernatural. Vampires hid from the world, the Fae and shapeshifters, the seers… it was so different now. The world had changed, it had grown cold— while I longed for what once was or could have been— frozen in time.

Luc tells me there was a flood? An ice age? There had been wars, famine, disease… That the Pangea separated into what they call continents… that the reptiles I once trained to fly me into the heights had died, that the sky had burst open and endless water, rain, had fallen, destroying almost every living thing. There were hundreds if not thousands of languages, where once we all spoke the same language. The temperature of the planet once warm, humid, tropical had been destroyed— cold now existed, ice, snow… it was a savage world I was brought back to, and yet I could still not figure out why. Why had I been brought back now? Why had I been brought back at all? The last thing I heard when I died was the curse on my family, there had never been mention of me coming back— had there?

Now a stranger was living in my body— MY BODY. It made me feel violated. Last night I watched her hold my beloved’s hand as she spoke kind words to a woman who also looked like me, and a man who was her husband. I was there but not there— able to see and not able to speak, although I did try. Oh, I know the stranger, the pretender heard me, she told me to shut up. What a rude child. Does she not know I am the daughter of Eve? They’d eaten and drunk and broke bread, their chit chat had been idle and meaningless— with only one exception. Luc portrayed a man who was in love, in love with the pretender— my copy. We would have words about that soon, there wasn’t time last night when he brought me to the surface to tell me about this world he’d brought me back to. I mean how dare he think that honoring my memory was to get involved with pretenders who looked like me and carried my name and-

“Ah, hello?”

Oh, great— here is the pretender now, waking up from her giant nap. “What do you want?”

“There was a reason I brought you back.”

“Excuse me? You didn’t bring me back. My love, Luc did.”

There was a knock on the door, and the pretender’s mother, my other copy, poked her head into the girl’s room. “You okay Cass?”

“Of course!”

“Just thought I’d make sure— I mean wow, you have a boyfriend!”

Is that what it was called these days? “Yes.”

“And were you just talking to him there? I mean I thought I heard you say something— but you wouldn’t be talking to yourself… right?”

I laughed. “Of course, why would I be talking to myself?” You crazy woman.

“Right, just checking. Ray and I are heading out to the movies— you want to come? I mean I know you’re all big and grown up now— Miss, ‘I have a boyfriend’… but it is nice to hang out with you. I feel like we haven’t spent a lot of time together this summer.”

“Mom, I actually have some studying to do.”

What? That wasn’t my voice! It was the pretender! “STOP IT!”

“YOU STOP IT! You’re the one in my body and ps. You’ve been dead for six thousand years.”

“See you later.” I managed to keep a smile on my face as the woman left the room. “Do not be absurd. I am the original— you are a pretender, a copy and nothing more. As for the six thousand years, I do think I’m taking it all in stride, do you not think?”

“Cassandra!”

I heard the door to this strange house close. “If I am just in your head, why am I the one who is speaking and not you? And what’s with all this?” I ran my hand down the fabric of what was called clothes.

“Uhhh… it’s a dress?”

“I don’t like it.”

“Look, you’re in my world now, and we wear clothes. Weirdo.”

“They’re constricting. And hello— have you seen this body?”

“Cassandra— don’t you dare try to walk around my house naked!”

“And why not— no one’s home.” I pulled the dress from my body and dropped it on the floor.

“Seriously, STOP.”

I stood there in the white under clothing, pouting. At least this felt less restrictive. I stretched— “Finally.”

From somewhere I heard a knocking sound.

“Are you going to get that?”

“Do I have to?”

“Well, I guess not… but if you do, please put on some clothes.”

I grinned at my reflection. “I don’t think so. I think I will get that door after all.” I heard her screaming at me, the pretender, but I didn’t care. I skipped through the house in these white things and threw open the door, it was Luc.

“Hello, my love!”

I watched his jaw drop in horror. “Cassandra— what in heaven are you trying to do? Where are your clothes?” He grabbed my arm and dragged me into the house, slamming the door behind him.

“I told you so.”

“SHUT UP.” I felt irritation begin to stir in my heart.

“What were you thinking?”

“You have changed my love.” I hissed as I followed him to my pretenders room. “You aren’t at all like you used to be. You used to love the sight of me standing before you— and in less than this if I might add!”

Luc tossed the dress at me. “Put this on. Now.”

“But-”

“No buts. The world has changed Cassandra. I told you that already. If you try to go about as you once did— people will not only stare and take notice, they will put you in a place where there are sick people, disturbed people— and I can’t let that happen.”

“Why did you bring me back?” My voice reached a pitch that was so high it might have been a squeal. “Oh, take me now like you used to.”

“EWWW… GROSS.”

“SHUT UP!” I shouted as I threw the dress, which hit Luc in the face and put my hands over my head squeezing my eyes closed. “SHUT UP YOU STUPID PRETENDER! SHUT UP!”

There was a flutter and I was once again surrounded by wings and cool arms like I once had been so long ago. “Oh, my dearest Cassandra.”

I opened my eyes and looked up, searching for those blue eyes that once knew my soul— and white feathery wings only to see eyes rimmed in red, and instead of white wings, black— dark wings, and I knew the truth, he was pure evil.

“I told you so?” My pretender muttered, reading my thoughts.

I wanted to jerk away, but he would know something was wrong, and that would be very bad instead, I let him pull me close to his pale white skin and rub his hand down my back.

“I never wanted you to see me this way.”

His hands were all over me and I wanted to scream. “Tell me why you’ve brought me back.” I gritted out through my closed teeth.

“This Cassandra, well, she is the last of your line, my love. The last version of you for me to cherish, but alas-” he moaned and buried his disfigured face in my hair. “She doesn’t love me as you did.”

The scream was so close in my throat, if he didn’t let go of me soon I would let it out. “Why did you bring me back?”

“She is the chosen— she will be mine, and you will make it so. You of all my loves are the gentlest, mildest at heart— you can make her choose to be my mate or I will take from her what is mine— but it will not bring me any joy.”

“HELP ME.”

“Can’t you just take her as you once did me?”

“There are laws now.” Luc’s hands dropped and he stepped away from me and began to pace the room, I felt the scream retreating now that I was no longer locked in his arms. “Laws that once never were, I have to marry her, you, I mean.”

I did not understand— but I did not have to. “What will you do for me if I help you?”

“NO Cassandra, Don’t help HIM! Help me get out of this.”

“She is the last in your line. When she dies you will be free to finally rest.”

“Will I be freed from the curse?” At last, I would be able to ascend to heaven, to rest in peace… it was too good of an offer to pass up.

“Yes.”

“Please don’t…”

“Very well. I will help you, on one condition.”

“Whatever you ask for, my love.”

“When you take her, I mean me— I want to see you as I once did, wings of white— eyes of blue… I never want to see this image ever again.” I waved my arm up and down at Lucifer’s demonic form. “Ever.”

“Whatever you wish.” Luc’s form trembled and shifted until he looked like himself, but without the wings. “I agree to your terms.”

“Now leave me. I am tired— and must prepare this one,” I tapped my head. “For what is to come.”

“Of course. I will locate the priest, then I will come for you.”

I nodded, then he was gone. I didn’t know he possessed such powers.

“How DARE you promise to marry me to that demon.”

“Stop whining. He promised me that the curse would end.”

“I don’t want to die!”

“Well, neither did I, but that didn’t stop it from happening did it?” My head hurt, I just wanted to cry.

“And I’m in school. I want to finish.”

“What is school?”

“OMG.”

“What’s that?”

“It’s where you go to learn?!”

“Ah, you mean life.”

The pretender sighed.

I picked up the dress and put it back on, my mind still drawn to my vampire love. He was alive— six thousand years later? How was that possible? His father said he had died… I knew vampires had everlasting life— they had stolen the fruit from the Tree of Everlasting Life right before we’d been kicked out of the garden and the Seraphim with flaming swords had been put up to keep us all out. Yes, they had been human once— until they’d eaten of the fruit and been cursed, their curse was worse than mine. They would only be able to survive on blood— and God had forbidden his people to drink blood. They had been cast out, cursed to live and never die but what sort of life was that? I mean— “I have an idea, I think I know how to save you, and end the curse, but first you’re going to have to die.” This time, Lucifer, or Lucas— whatever he wanted to call me? He wasn’t getting exactly what he wanted, oh— I’d be the meek, mild submissive lamb, right up to the time I was slaughtered, but first, “it’s time to make a plan.” Yes, this time, I— Cassandra, would win. I grinned at myself in the mirror. This-this was why I had been brought back.