Page 71 of A Velvet Kiss After Dark

The queen continued voicelessly. "A runaway airplane crashing into the sea. None the wiser, he couldn't have foreseen his death. A private excursion at a high expense. He never meant to leave you alone. He simply meant to take his money and fancy belongings and flee to another country. All to escape humanity's simplest problem: greed. Now you understand how he died."

The relic had shown her exactly that.

Tabitha swallowed over a lump that had formed in her throat. "Yes," she said as tears filled her eyes. "He's gone forever."

The woman came closer and gently clasped Tabitha's cheeks in two soft hands that were warm to the touch. "He coveted you, his only child, dearest one. Regret not, for he is at peace now, and so too shall you be. The relic has chosen you as its master."

"I had no idea where he went. I had no idea why he wouldn't contact me," Tabitha said through tears.

"He loved you, dearest one. He just met his end. Death happens to us all." The queen hovered an elegant, bejeweled hand above the relic cradled in Tabitha's grasp. "It chooses you, Tabitha. That is why the diseased one wished for you to uncover it. He brings vile and filth wherever he goes, do you understand this?"

"Les? The revenant?" Tabitha asked. "I suppose he does. I don't know anything about his origins. No one knows who or what he is. It's like he's a little bit of everything: vampire, werewolf, human, even demon. I don't know."

"Indeed," the queen nodded wordlessly. "He, by his very nature seeks that which you least desire—death. It is in his very name and his very nature. Do you know what a revenant is, Tabitha?"

Tabitha shrugged. "I do not, no."

"A revenant is a re-animated corpse. A dead being who comes back to life. This is not the dark lord's first visitation to earth, you see."

But what was he?

Tabitha asked the queen, who merely looked back at her with a frightening intensity.

"He is as he states himself to be. How he got there is not for me to know or for you. Why he sent you for this sacred object though," the queen spoke wordlessly as she stalked around Tabitha and the glowing relic.

"The Revenant covets something far darker and more mysterious than bears mentioning within these golden palace walls. But he is not of this realm, nor of yours, but another place entirely. But I have seen a piece of the Revenant's future. Do you want to know what I saw?"

Tabitha made a sour face but braced herself. "No, I don't, but if you must tell me, I can handle it."

The queen smiled and Tabitha felt a ripple of unease slither down her spine like a wet eel.

"He will open a gateway that, once opened, cannot be undone, and he will be champion of the nocturnal creatures that will sway to his allegiance the moment the gateway is commenced. Like servant to master. These creatures are horrible monstrosities that would eat the flesh off the living and cavort across the earth plane feasting upon all in sight with decadence and glee. The world will turn to sorrow, to suffering, and into complete devastation."

"What would he stand to gain by doing such a thing?" Tabitha said.

The queen's smile grew brittle. "Perhaps a key to his home realm? Perhaps leadership over an entire ant colony of so-called humans and supernaturals? Perhaps…something else entirely I couldn't predict with all the magic of this verse."

Tabitha thanked God the relic hadn't gotten into Les the Revenant's hands. She felt a sense of gratitude toward the relic for helping her to absolve the demon from her mind and body.

The queen came closer again. "The relic chose you…do you understand why?"

Tabitha shook her head no.

"It chose you, because you are innocent."

Tabitha could have laughed at the notion. Her, innocent? Never! She'd lied, sinned, and fought to get to her station in life. She'd tricked others just to get the gab on elite politicians for slanderous gossip; she'd illegally crafted or purchased false IDs, driver's license, and even birth certificates just to get an invite to a high-end party. She'd never been afraid to publish a an unconfirmed rumor if it meant getting a hot story on the press and a few extra dollars in her pocket.

The queen nodded having heard all of Tabitha's thoughts. "Those are but the crimes of an innocent who remains pure at heart. Whereas with the others who've joined you on your journey, what of them? The werewolves and vampires you journey with have long ago surrendered their soul to vengeance, gore, and hatred. Murder undoes the soul, Tabitha. You have no malicious bone in your body, especially now that the relic has purged the Revenant's vile fingers from your mind."

"Who are you?" Tabitha asked, her mind filled with wonder at this extraordinary encounter.

"I am Queen of this realm. My name is Elma. And my King, Illius, is my cherished partner. We live in this castle which we allowed you to find. It is created from our manifestations."

"What do you mean?"

The queen walked around the stone pedestal where the relic had just sat and brushed her hand across the top of it. "It means that we devise this kingdom using our mental imaginings and some of our inherit gifts. And thus, those around us see only that which we allow them to see. It is a power we have."

Tabitha glanced over her shoulder to the doorway as her gut niggled at her to get out of here. To leave now. "So, am I allowed to just walk out of here with the relic then?"

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