@chicohwang continues to be awesome with the fanedits – Executive Secretary Seo with her green eyes :)

“I-I don’t understand.”

“Of course, you don’t.” Ms Pink paces up the lush carpet of pink, looks at me, then paces down.

“Do you think anyone else knows what she could be?” asks Seo.

Ms Pink halts. “That might explain the latest vanguard attack. Four is overkill, even if they are desperate to kill Taeyeon.”

“Overkill?” I can’t help asking.

Seo turns to me. “Vanguards are very expensive to own. Four vanguards dispensed in an attempt to kill you, not to mention the sabotage of Ms Pink’s helicopter will chalk up immense costs that few can afford.”

“Expensive? Sabotage?”

Seo nods. “But the vanguards you’ve encountered so far are unregistered so we do not know where they came from. We do not know if they were willing vanguards. And Ms Pink’s helicopter is difficult to meddle with. Whoever did it must have called on advanced magic to get it done. Everything reeks of desperation.”

“So somebody wants to kill me and is desperate enough to get unregistered vanguards from somewhere to get rid of me. And this is all because I’m an E-Erika? What does it mean? Why do they want to kill me? What have I done to be targeted like this?”

“Nothing.” Ms Pink bends to run her finger down my cheek and jaw. She pinches my chin and holds me still, our faces almost touching. “You are a target because you are not only a bait that can kill vampires and dark beasts. You, the Erika, will eventually possess the eternal energy of the earth. You will be able to wipe out the entire dark side of the federation with this energy. The Sovereign. The royal rulers. The avants.”

“But how? I’m just human. I don’t know how to do any of the things you said I can do. How am I going to possess the energy? Where am I gonna get the energy from?”

Carmine pink eyes glare deep into my soul before releasing me from their prison. Letting go of my chin, Ms Pink sits beside me on the couch again. I await her explanation but instead, she leans back and closes her eyes. I look to Seo but she doesn’t speak. Somebody say something?

“Eternal energy is all around us. It cannot be created or destroyed but it can be converted. You should have learnt that much in school,” says Ms Pink, with her eyes closed.

“That still doesn’t explain how I’m gonna get this energy? And how am I supposed to use it? I don’t know how this is going to work.”

“This book,” Ms Pink points at the book in Seo’s hand, then waves her hand as if to dismiss her thought, “Seo, explain it to her.”

Seo nods and takes a deep breath. “Shubbenyiddi.” She raises the book in her hand. “This book is as old as recorded time. It is written in one of the oldest languages this world has ever known. There are many old, ancient powers that are recorded in this book so Ms Pink got it from Helene to find out what you could possibly be.” She pauses and opens the book to a page featuring a silhouette of a feminine figure. “It talks of a time when creatures more evil than any unregistered vanguard or vampire roamed the Earth. It also speaks of a great blast of energy that swept through the population and killed them all in one night.”

“The Erika killed everything in one night?” I ask, horror seeping from the pit of my stomach to the furthest corners of my body. “But I—”

“That may not be how it happened. We know that the book’s description of this event is dubious, since it took place before any human or being could figure out whether the Earth is flat or round.”

“But you just said—”

“We’ve heard of the Erika before. The last one appeared a few hundred years ago and isn’t as destructive as what the book describes.” Seo looks at Ms Pink. “But the thought that you could be the next Erika never crossed my mind, until I read about the signs.”

“Signs? What signs.”

“High immunity to powerful energies. Power to contain dark energies. These can be confused with powerful baits at times but your ability to read Ms Pink’s memories before she claimed you is telling.”

“But I can’t kill anything. I couldn’t even save Ms Pink from the vanguards. She had to save me.”

“You are only just beginning to manifest the signs of the Erika. This is only the tip of the iceberg. Your real power is yet to come.”

“But how will I know how to use them? It will be useless, or even dangerous if I don’t know how to control the energy?”

Ms Pink takes my hand and interlaces our fingers. Immediately, I am swamped by images of dark shadows, sounds of terror and a cold, clammy sensation. She lets my hand go and everything clears from my mind. “What was that?” I ask, my heart beating in double time.

“You are able to delve into my mind without anyone teaching you how to. When it is time, your knowledge will come. It will be as natural to you as breathing is to a new born baby.”

I see hope in Ms Pink’s explanation. “So I will have control over what I use my powers for. I will have a choice.”

Ms Pink almost smiles as her eyes flash crimson pink. “Of course you will have a choice. That’s why they are coming after you. I don’t know how you ended up with me like this and I don’t believe in fate but you happen to be exactly what I need.”

“You need me?”

“Just like you need me. For now.”

X

I can hardly believe m