by Ammar Habib
Countless beautiful murals decorated the church’s walls and depicted scenes involving saints and angels. The lights were knocked out by the storm. The only illumination came from the light of a hundred lit candles. The dim flickers reflected off of the church’s benches, cylindrical pillars, pulpit, and raised stage.
Sitting on the front row was the only man in attendance: Ivan. And as he watched the ceremony progress, he could not help but smile with joy.
A man dressed in a black suit stood at the center of the raised stage with Ethan and Katrina standing on either side of him, facing each other. As the ceremony concluded, Ethan and Katrina simply stood, holding each other’s hands and lovingly gazing into each other’s eyes.
All along, they had believed that they would find each other. They had believed that their story would make it here. They did not know how or when. They just chose to believe in a hope.
But now that it was here, it felt like a dream. A beautiful dream that neither one wanted to wake up from.
Chapter 26
Rebirth
In a place of fire, Daken looked over his servant. Kneeling before the monster, the servant did not say a word. The scarred man waited for Daken to speak above the crackling flames. He waited for his master to say what he knew he would.
“My two soldiers have failed.”
The scarred man did not look up. “Yes. Will you bring them back?”
“Only the one I need.”
“They may have succeeded had they not toyed with their prey. Why did you trust Tony with command of them?”
“Do you question me?”
“As your oldest soldier, I only humbly ask.”
“He did with them exactly what I knew he would do.”
“You knew he would fail?”
“No. But I wanted to test Ethan. Test if he could best two warriors far beyond his caliber. And now he has.”
“Why?” the scarred man pressed.
“You will see soon enough.”
“Their arrogance was their downfall. It appears the stronger you create them, the more arrogant your soldiers become.”
“Except for Ethan. He never was arrogant in his powers.”
“He was of a special breed.”
“A very special breed. Which is why I’ve taken such an interest in him.”
“He is now back with the one he loves. Just like you wanted.”
“Everything is as I wanted. Ethan is stronger than I ever could have imagined. He is my best creation. His resilience and willpower raises his powers to levels that I could never have dreamed of. His true power does not come from what I made him, but from his heart.”
“When our forces move in, will you tell them not to harm him?”
“No. They will have their objective and it is certain that he will interfere. I want to see if he is ready. Maybe he already is…maybe not…maybe he will never be ready. And if he cannot stand up to them and win, then they can slaughter him.”
“Ready for what?”
“His destiny. The experiment has all but worked. His love for the girl and his family makes him so powerful. We shall soon see if this love is enough to protect the one closest to him.”
“And what is the next part of your experiment, master?”
“Death…much more death…”
***
It was late morning when Katrina awoke. Rays of sunlight were penetrating through the pink curtains and into the eggshell-colored master bedroom. Slowly opening her eyes, she found herself lying on the comfortable white sheets of the four-poster bed. The white curtains of the bed had been drawn back and tied to the bed posts, allowing a few rays of the sunlight to shine on her face.
For the first time in a long time, she awoke with a peaceful spirit. Katrina could feel the warm bed as she lay under the thick, white blanket. Resting on her side, she took a deep breath. After several moments, she reached over onto the other side of the bed, but found it to be empty. Slowly, Katrina sat up, revealing her silk, emerald nightgown.
Looking over at the other side of the bed, she saw that it was now vacant. But she felt somebody standing in the doorway: her husband.
Ethan was only wearing his long pajama bottoms, allowing his well-toned muscles to show. He grinned at her as he held a silver tray in his hands. Smiling at him, she ran her hand through her hair as he walked across the carpeted floor. “Good morning, Mrs. Daniels. Certainly is a beautiful day today.”
“And what makes you say that?”
“Seeing your pretty face.”
“You’re still the same old sweet-talker, aren’t you?” she asked, hiding a blush.
“Would you want me any other way?”
“You know I wouldn’t.” Katrina glanced down and saw what was on the tray: a couple of tall glasses, a pitcher full of orange juice, two plates loaded with fresh eggs, warm hash browns, and crispy biscuits. A couple of napkins had been wrapped around silver utensils. She looked back up at his handsome face as he sat on the bed. “Seems you woke up early today.”
“Just thought I would start this marriage off on the right foot.” He set the tray down on the bedside table before reaching over taking her soft hand in his. “You were out like a light when I got up.”
“I haven’t woken up this well rested for as long as I can remember.” Katrina looked back at the tray. “Did you make that all by yourself?”
“I think that your cook was rather impressed.”
“I certainly am.”
“Well, I hope it tastes as good as it looks.”
“It’s probably better than anything I could’ve made.”
“Katrina, I’ve seen your cooking skills…and cooking better than you is hardly a compliment.”
She playfully hit him on the chest.
Ethan chuckled as he looked over at the pink curtains.
Katrina followed his gaze. “Thinking about changing the color?”
“The thought did cross my mind.”
“In your dreams. Those are here to stay.”
“We are married, you know. I think I have some say in the decorating.”
“But my name is on this house, so I guess you don’t.”
“One day into the marriage and you’re already wearing the pants?”
“Exactly.”
Ethan smiled for a few moments. “So, I was thinking that it might be time to go on a honeymoon.”
“Where to?”
“As many places as we can sail to in three months.”
“Three months? That’s an awful long time.”
“I don’t think we’ll be too missed. It’s not like either of us can get fired.”
Katrina lightly laughed. “Three months of endlessly sailing around? I guess after everything that happened, the idea doesn’t sound like such a bad idea.”
***
In a quick move, Adam blocked Jonathan’s strike. In the next move, he ducked to avoid Jonathan’s forearm. Under the dim lights of the warehouse’s lamps, Jonathan sent a fury of blows down at the younger man. Adam ducked, sidestepped, and blocked every single blow as he slowly backed up.
Adam was nearly out of breath now. One blow and he would be on the ropes. Sweat covered Adam’s face as he kept his eyes focused on his sparring partner. Jonathan sent his fist one more time for Adam, but this time, Adam did not dodge it. In a quick move, he grabbed his opponent’s wrist before the strike could make contact. But before Adam could counterattack, Jonathan powerfully struck Adam in the chest while swiping his leg out from under him.
With a grunt, Adam’s back roughly hit the hard floor. The entire building suddenly fell silent. Adam lay there for several seconds, soaking in what had just happened. Slowly, he looked up at Jonathan, a slight smile on his face. “Nice move.”
“Thanks.” Jonathan helped his friend back onto his feet. “You did pretty well yourself.”
Coming back up, Adam took a few moments to catch his breath. “Not good enough though.”
“You sure you never had
any training? You seem to have most of the basics down.”
“Only the kind you get in street brawls.”
“Well, that must’ve been some good brawls.”
“I’ve given my fair share of good licks…and I’ve taken plenty too.”
Jonathan laughed as they began to make their way to the towels.
Adam picked one up and wiped his face. “Did Ethan call you after he left?”
Jonathan shook his head. “I wouldn’t expect him to.”
“Yeah…I guess not.” Adam was silent for a quick moment. “Where exactly is he?”
“Bafra.”
“What’s he doing there?”
Jonathan paused for a moment. “You know who Katrina Weaving is?”
“Yeah, I know. She’s the new head of Boris Technologies.”
“And she’ll also be changing her last name to Daniels pretty soon. That is, if it hasn’t happened already.”
Adam’s eyes widened. “Oh.”
“And after the wedding, Ethan is going to take her someplace safe until his mission is done.”
“To keep her out of danger?”
Jonathan nodded.
“Is Ethan’s mission what killed your father?” As soon as those words left Adam’s mouth, he regretted saying them.
A distance came into Jonathan’s eyes at the mention of his father. “…yes.”
“Sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”
“It’s okay. Sometimes, it’s been so long that you’ve seen somebody that you forget how much they meant to you until you think of them.” There was a long silence. “Do you have anybody close to you, Adam?”
Adam thought for a moment. “Honestly, I don’t think anybody will miss me if something happened to me.”
“What about your brother?”
“Haven’t seen him since I moved out.”
“You should go visit him one day.”
“There’s not much for him and I to talk about. I don’t know how welcome I’d be.”
“In the line of work you’re in, you never know how long you have. The last few months before my father died, Ethan repaired his relationship with him. It wasn’t easy, but he did it. And I know that Ethan would have never forgiven himself if he had not done that before dad died.”
Adam slowly nodded. “…I guess you’re right. You think Ethan will ever come back?”
Jonathan nodded. “After he’s finished what he needs to do.”
“And what’s that?”
“Kill a devil.”
Adam took a deep breath as he wiped his face again. After several moments, he looked back at him. “Who is it that Ethan hates so much?”
Jonathan opened his mouth to speak, but he never had the chance. From the shadows, a new voice came. A voice that Jonathan had not heard in a long time. “His name is Daken.”
Jonathan and Adam whipped their heads in the direction the voice came from. From the shadows, a man emerged. And as Jonathan stared at the man in the shadows, he thought that he was looking right at a ghost.
“And Ethan’s fight will be coming sooner than he thinks.”
***
The park was almost empty today. Many trees were nearly bare and the lake was cold. The air was still chilly, but not nearly as cold as it had been only days prior.
But neither of them was surprised at the absence of people. After all, it was around noon on a workday. Under the clear skies, their only companion today was the bright yellow sun.
The newlywed couple walked hand-in-hand and made their way to the tall tree at the top of the hill overlooking the empty park.
Wearing her auburn trench coat, Katrina’s long black hair hung freely. As they kept going up the hill, her gaze stayed on him as she smiled. Ethan wore a black long coat, looking at the ground in front of him. A slight smirk was on his face. But in reality, his mind was thinking on what he was going to have to tell her.
Coming to the tree, the two of them stopped. Still holding her hand, Ethan turned to finally look at her face. They had so much love in them, and he felt completely unworthy. He smiled and looked around the empty park. “Looks like we have the whole place to ourselves.”
Keeping her eyes on him, she thought for a long moment before saying what she had wanted to say all day to him. “Ethan, I’m sorry…about William.”
He looked back at her. “Yeah…me too.”
“He sacrificed his life like a true hero.”
“I know. It’s the way he wanted to go out.”
“Did you…did you find the one responsible?”
Ethan slightly nodded.
“Who was it?”
“More of Daken’s soldiers. People like me…except better. The one who killed William could move things with her mind. She could…kill people with her mind.”
“With her mind?”
Again, Ethan nodded. “Her name was Vixen. The other was stronger and faster than even me.”
“Did you kill them?”
“With some help, yes.” Ethan paused for a short second before looking back at his wife. He almost opened his mouth to say what he came here to say, but the words would not leave his heart.
“I know why you want to do it.”
It took a long moment before Katrina’s words registered with Ethan. “Do what?”
“Have us leave. So soon, I mean.”
“What gave me away?” Ethan asked.
“Nothing. It’s just that…I’ve seen them too. The nightmares. The ones with the monster.”
Hearing her say that brought a heavy burden onto his heart. “What did you see in them?”
“Death. Sometimes mine…and sometimes yours. But one of us always died at the hands of…Daken.” She said the monster’s name so quietly, that it was almost impossible to hear.
“How long have these dreams been haunting you?”
“As long as they have been haunting you, Ethan.”
A knot formed in Ethan’s stomach. Knowing that he put her through those nightmares, he hated himself even more for being gone for so long. Ethan glanced down at his feet again as he shook his head. “Then you know why we need to go.”
“You’re afraid I’m going die.”
His eyes came back onto her. “I can’t protect you, Katrina. Not from him. I couldn’t protect Naira, my father…or William.”
“None of their deaths were your fault, Ethan.”
“They were, Katrina. I can’t lie to myself. Each of them died because I put them in the line of fire. And I won’t do that with you.”
“So you want to put me into hiding?”
“I can’t fight Daken knowing that you’re in danger. I have to fight him with both feet in. Until this is all over and until I finish him, I need to make sure that you are somewhere safe.” He paused for a brief second. “I’ve already spoken to Ivan about this. He agrees.”
“Ivan? When did you speak to him?”
“This morning when you were asleep.”
After a long moment, Katrina looked down. She took a deep breath. “I always thought this would happen. Right after you won one war, you charge into the next one. Just when fate brings us back together, it tears us apart once again. This is what always happens between us.”
Ethan was silent.
Katrina’s gaze slowly came back him. “It feels like we’ve been here before, Ethan. When we stood on that bridge and I made the vow to wait for you. It feels like we’re back there again.”
“A day will come when we will never have to wait for anything, Katrina. We’ll never have to put something or someone before ourselves.”
She slightly nodded. “When do we need to leave?”
“Tomorrow night. I have everything arranged. There will be a boat waiting for you, me, and Ivan at the shipyard.”
“How long will we have to be gone?”
“Until I can finally kill Daken and stop whatever plans he has.”
“And how long will you be able to stay before you leave?”
�
��Days. Maybe a couple of weeks at most…I’m so sorry, Katrina.”
She slowly shook her head. There was no anger in her eyes. No ill feelings towards him or anybody else for what was bound to happen. “There’s nothing to be sorry about. This thing. Stopping Daken. It’s more important than us.”
He could hardly believe his ears. Once again, the girl of his dreams surprised him. “If everyone had a heart like yours, the world wouldn’t need these kinds of sacrifices.”
A slight smile slowly returned to her face. Reaching out, she took his hand again. “Then we need to do what we can to make it that way.”
But unbeknownst to them, they were watched from afar. Had it been a normal person, Ethan would have been able to detect her. And had it been a normal person, she would have been too far to watch the couple in such detail. But this woman was far from normal.
Every action they made, every word they said was seen and heard by the distant figure. Dressed in her dark clothing, the woman silently watched the couple embrace one another. Her emerald green eyes stayed on them.
And her long, red locks hung freely.
Chapter 27
The Brave
Long after Katrina fell asleep that night, Ethan was restless. The entire manor was slumbering and not a soul could be heard, but he was unable to sleep for more than minutes at a time.
But tonight, it was not nightmares that kept him awake. It was not visions of a monster that he feared deep inside. Instead, it was the uncertain future that was keeping sleep distant.
And when the clock struck 3 a.m., Ethan found himself in the study next door to the master bedroom. With the table lamp dimly lit, he sat on the black leather seat right behind the desk. His elbows rested on the table and his head was in his hands as a million thoughts raced through his mind.
He was not contemplating his decision to leave tomorrow. There was no other option. What consumed his mind now was that he did not know if he possessed the strength to keep Katrina safe from Daken. He did not know if his best would be enough.
Hearing a light knock on the door, Ethan looked up to see Ivan standing in the doorway. Seeing Ethan look his way, the bodyguard took a step into the room.
