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"What do you mean when you were reincarnated?" I asked meekly.
"I mean all of us monsters were once human before we became what you see now."
"You were a human?" I gaped at him.
"Correct." Helios held up a hand right as I was about to ask what his life was like back then, if he could recall his previous life that is. "And before you bombard me with questions, let me save you the trouble by saying I have no recollection of my life as a human. None of us do."
"You don't remember anything?"
Helios shook his head. "No. Not what I used to look like, if I looked differently. I don't know if I had a family, if I had a wife or kids, what my job was, or what my own name was. Whatever I was, or rather whoever I was, is long gone. I'm a different person now. Heh, I'm a different species now."
I sat there speechless, feeling sympathy for Helios. It must've sucked knowing that he used to be someone else, but not being able to remember any of it. I didn't believe in reincarnation, but I guess it was possible we all had past lives we couldn't recall. Myself included. This was the first time I ever met someone who knew they were reincarnated.
"Do you ever wonder about it?" I asked.
One corner of Helios' lips turned up in a grin. "Sometimes. It never hurts to wonder what your life was like. I know one thing; I must not have been a good citizen in my human life."
"What makes you say that?"
"Look where we are." Helios held up his hands to signal our surroundings. To signal that we were in Hell. "There's a lot of things about your human Christianity that aren't true, but one thing that is true is the fact that only the most dark and evil of souls wind up in Hell. Or those that have been influenced by Satan. If my soul ended up here and was reincarnated as a monster, that meant I was either the worst kind of man, or I was under the influence of Satan. I think it was the ladder."
"Why?"
"Because I can do magic."
I tilt my head in confusion, to which Helios elaborated. "Not all of us are capable of magic. Not unless Satan or Lord Deimos grants us the ability to cast spells. The fact that I was reborn as a hellhound and could already cast spells meant that either I sold my soul to Satan in exchange for magic, or someone in my family did so, and it was passed onto me at birth. That's why Lord Deimos appointed me as your instructor, because unlike everyone else in his court with the exception of the council, I'm the only one with magic."
We hadn't even started our magic lesson yet, and already I was learning about magic simply from listening to Helios' explanations. Magic could be genetic if someone in your ancestry sold their soul to Satan to practice witchcraft. That must've been why I was capable of practicing magic. But why? Why did my ancestor risk damnation for her and her offspring to perform witchcraft? Helios already explained you didn't need to offer your soul if it was medicinal purposes, so that meant my ancestor purposefully wanted to learn spells and incantations.
My mind wandered deep into my thoughts but was pulled back when I felt something pressed against my hands. I looked down to see that it was Helios' hand resting on top of mine.
"I know you didn't ask to be here, Antonia. I know you never asked to learn magic, and I get that it isn't fair that this is where you are in life. But if you'll trust me, I will do everything in my power to protect you and help you through this as quick and as painless as possible, so you can get your old life back."
He sounded so sincere when he said that, it was hard not to believe him. He seemed genuine to help me. To get me back to my old life.
My old life—the one where I was a housewife who was bullied, manipulated, made to feel unwanted and desired. It wasn't hard to see the truth now that I felt it was over. All of this because of my bloodline. I knew one thing; I would never go back to being the meek little pushover I was when I was Bal's wife. Like I told Helios, I would never let a man control me again. There would definitely be some changes when I obtained my freedom.
"I don't want my old life back," I admitted truthfully. "I want a new life. A better life."
"If that's the case…" Helios stood from his seat and gestured to the spellbook, the Necronomicon, that sat on the podium. A forbidden fruit that was tempting me to take a bite, and I was wave to devour everything it had to offer me. "Let's begin building you a new life."
Chapter10
Antonia
Itook deep breaths while watching as Helios undid the spell that contained the Necronomicon within the glass box. He opened the backside, reaching inside for the book and pulling it out. Now that it was no longer sealed away, my whole body shuddered with an icy chill running across my flesh. The sensation I was feeling had to have been the magic inside the book. If that was accurate, then the amount of power that was hidden inside these pages were insane.
Helios gently set the book down on the table then took a step back. "Go on. Open it up. Let the book feel your presence."
I looked from the book to Helios with a raised brow. "Is it alive or something?"
"Yes and no. It's not alive in a way you are, but it is sentient. It'll know who you are by sensing the magic inside you."
Well, that's not creepy at all, I wanted to say but kept it to myself. I sure hope it wasn't a mind reader too.
Like an animal that could snap its teeth on my hand if I wasn't prepared, I slowly drew my hand towards the book. I never expected to be afraid of a foreign object before, but I never came across one that had a sense of awareness. My hand was only an inch away from the book when I felt a wave of warm against the soft flesh of my palm. My jaw slacking slightly, I looked up at Helios who nodded encouragingly. Gulping, I decided to get it over with and hastily pressed my palm against the worn leather cover of the spellbook.
Instantly, the book flashed with crimson light strong enough that I had to squeeze my eyes shut so I wouldn't be blinded. My mind swam as it felt like the world was spinning around me. Images began blinking in my head. An old village filled with people in old-timey clothes. A cellar full of woman looking ragged and caked with dirt, their cheeks stained with tears. There was one of a woman with a rope tied to her neck, presented to the townspeople who were chanting and cursing her. Some were also praying. A moment later, she was pushed off the ledge and was left there hanging, the rope tight around her neck as she suffocated and died.
