Tearful Reign

by V L Friends

  Tearful

  REIGN

  Book 1

  V. L. Friend

  Copyright © 2019

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  ISBN:

  ISBN- 9781792848001 (Independently published by: V.L Friends)

  DEDICATION

  To my husband, Mark, who spent countless hours editing and listening to my crazy wonderful made up stories, always with enthusiasm and joy. You are always my favorite person to dream with.

  Also to my kids, Marica, Robert, Aaron and Rhiannon. Thank you for your words of encouragement on this journey. I am so fortunate to have the four of you in my life.

  CONTENTS

  Tearful

  DEDICATION

  Prologue

  Chapter 1 - It Begins

  Chapter 2 – Supernatural Family

  Chapter 3 - Tiger Brothers

  Chapter 4 - Julian Speaking

  Chapter 5 – Cousin Lucian

  Chapter 6 - The Monster

  Chapter 7 - Flirting with Danger

  Chapter 8 - The Land Cries Out

  Chapter 9 - The Ball

  Chapter 10 - Return of My Guardian

  Chapter 11 – Suspicion Builds to Crescendo

  Chapter 12 - Truth and Consequences

  Chapter 13 - Friends with the Devil

  Chapter 14 - Leland’s Voice

  Chapter 15 – Joy for Mourning

  Chapter 16 – Things Revealed

  Chapter 17 - Prodigal Son Returned

  Chapter 18 - Julian Again

  Chapter 19 - Boiling Point

  Chapter 20 - The Meeting

  Epilogue: My Very Own Coffin

  Prologue

  Shane buried his head in his hands.

  He sat there for a spell at the church steps, trying to gather his thoughts. Tears dripped from his eyes as he reached for a handkerchief from his back pocket and wiped at his face.

  “For someone who is not human, I seem to act enough like them now,” he said to himself as he caught a teardrop between his thumb and index finger thoughtfully.

  Many of the other angels in his battalion, to their credit, said nothing but they did not agree with the way he conducted his assignment. Perhaps it was because of his ranking as a general that caused their silence, but nevertheless he knew many did not agree with how he had kept things from Anaya and sheltered her so much from the life her mother knew all too well. Now she resented him and was gone. His heart ached, as he felt deep regret. He would not be able to prepare her for what she was about to discover.

  For hundreds of years there had been a war going on between darkness and light. Evil not only produced spirit beings, called demons, but it also managed to create more carbon beings, called walkers, that walk the earth with enhanced abilities. Half human, half demon, some evolved to shape shifters that shifted between the spirit and earth realms into whatever form they deemed useful. They were not necessarily immortal but very hard to kill and could live many hundreds of years. Some walkers had magical giftings and even became mages, and some were even a combination of both. The abilities of walkers were superhuman already, but when they made the transformation into shifters or mages they became even harder to kill. It rarely happened, but when they lost most all their traces of humanity they became vampires. These monsters were the worst. Walkers were roaming the earth in greater numbers but angels still outnumbered them. Most humans were oblivious because walkers could blend in and some could even wipe a human’s memory and, much to Shane’s disdain, could compel a human into serving them. Many humans were lost to darkness. For this reason, the angel armies seemed to be losing battles, so God started sending select angels to earth in the form of humans to both train up and protect humans and partner with the heavenly beings to defeat the darkness. Anaya’s mother was one of those who walked with the angels. It was unfortunate, however, that Anaya’s mother had fallen in love with a general in one of the walker armies and they had produced something unexpected. It was near impossible for a child to be born of a walker and human but it happened. The union produced a beautiful, sweet, auburn-haired creature, her mother named Anaya, meaning “God answers.” She was the center of Shane’s universe and now she was gone, running from him.

  Shane was her guardian angel, created to dwell both in spirit form and to walk on earth in human form. Anaya knew nothing of his angelic existence, nor of his great ability, and was kept from knowing anything about her father or the war between light and darkness for that matter. The condition of her mother’s untimely death caused her to question everything she had been told since she was little. Anaya had seen the demon plunge his jagged blade into her mother and then, before she could catch Sarah, the demon laughed sadistically as he dropped her over the cliff. Shane and everyone else claimed it was an unfortunate accident and that Sarah had lost her footing and had fallen to her death. Anaya knew why Shane had said this. It was to protect the humans from the demons and to avoid panic but still she resented him for not telling the truth. She had felt it an insult to her mother and, not only that, she had no idea how to process what she had seen. Anaya had never seen a demon but now she could not even talk to Shane about it.

  Feeling betrayed and angry, Anaya packed her things immediately after her mother’s funeral. No one had noticed the day they planned the funeral, it happened to be the same day as her birth and Anaya was too grief stricken to care. Anaya knew, after what she had witnessed, her world would never be the same. The place she called home would never be the same. That’s why she was all too anxious to leave that same day, after the funeral, which happened to be on the same day as her 18th birthday. Without hesitation, she mounted her horse and rode off in a hurry without even saying goodbye.

  Chapter 1 - It Begins

  My heart was heavy as I watched the beautiful dark faces fade from sight as the barely functioning bus carried me away. As it barreled down the dirty, dusty road away from the place I had called home for the last year, I considered how I would miss this place. This tribe had been my home for the last year. Marcus and Ruth had taken me with them on this mission into the wilds of Africa from my home in Dover, England. Had they known that I was only leaving to run away from facing the pain of my life in England, they would never have agreed to it. Having just turned 18, I needed no adult permission at the time of my departure, but they had no inclination that I had forged the signature of my pastor, who also happened to be my guardian, only to escape and disappear. It had taken the better part of the year for this information to get to them. I figured it had been Shane who finally got ahold of them and told them the truth.

  I turned away from the still-waving friends as they continued to fade into the distance and set my mind on what lay ahead. Why had it taken Shane this long to find me? Maybe he really didn’t want to find me. My heart sank at the amount of pain I knew I put him through and a single tear trailed down my cheek as I quickly captured it and brushed it away.

  “Will he ever forgive me?” I whispered to myself. I would have to wait to find out, for I was not going home to England yet. I was destined for America.

  It was quite a journey of busses, jeeps, small planes, and a commercial airline out of Africa that would take me to the States, so I had plenty of time to think. Memories began to flood back in, memories I had spent the better part of the year trying to push from my mind.

  “It is time for you to stop running and face things! Your heart will not heal if you push away the grieving process, Anaya.” I remembered Ruth’s words to me.

  Ruth w
as one of the missionaries at the camp I called home. She was a good friend and always so full of wisdom. She was like a second mother to me. I would miss her.

  I had promised I would try. The memory of my own mother’s death came back to me in a flood. They said it was an accident and that she had fallen off a mountain while hiking. Shane was my mother’s best friend. The three of us had been inseparable. My mother and Shane had no romantic relationship though, as he was a priest, but their friendship had caused many whispers among the townspeople. In the small town of Dover, I ignored the whispers but secretly had wished he was my father, for I had never met a more loving, gentle, attentive person in my life. Now the guilt of what I had done to him started to cause my stomach to ache. It was on the day of the funeral that I decided to run and disappear. I left him in the dust to grieve and never even turned back with a glimmer of remorse. I swallowed back my tears once again.

  “I am a terrible person!” I said to myself, catching the attention of the fellow sitting next to me on the plane.

  “What’s that, Miss?” he said.

  “Nothing,” I murmured.

  The commercial airliner was about to take off, bound for America, and there was no changing my mind now. I had a plan. I was going to find my family. More guilt seemed to envelope me as I thought of what Shane would think of this. He would not like it one bit. He and my mother had told me stories of my biological father. They warned me to steer clear of him at all costs.

  I had always felt like a big piece of myself was missing and I just knew without a doubt that this was what I had to do now.

  So, 48 hours later, there I stood in front of this restaurant called Farinas, in a small town in Colorado. My hotel room was above this place that was now crowded with people enjoying their indoor and outdoor dining experiences. It took me two bus rides, a terrifying jeep ride, a small airplane ride, two more large cramped airplanes, and a taxi cab to get here but at last I reached my destination. This was where the private investigator I had hired to find my uncle had led me. It took me a year to save up that money I paid him, so I was hoping this was not a false lead. I borrowed money to get here and only had a little left, so I prayed this was it. According to the private detective, my uncle, Caleb Alexander, had been a resident of this town for the last ten years.

  My attention was drawn to a figure in the picture window and I noted that she looked as horrible as I felt. I was still wearing my wraparound skirt and sandals that were perfect footwear in Africa, along with a once-white crisp blouse, which now looked dusty from travel. I cracked a smile as I passed by some of the townspeople coming from the restaurant as they cringed and plugged their noses. I must have smelled pretty rank.

  “I will need a room for the week, please.” My eyes met those of the lady behind the counter inside the restaurant.

  “Whew, what is that smell?” the lady replied, holding her nose.

  “Sorry, I have been traveling a long way and am in desperate need of a shower.” I was not even embarrassed but rather amused.

  “You smell like horse dung!” The woman threw the keys across the desk at me. “Here, now go!”

  I dragged my two bags up the one flight of stairs and threw everything down, stripped, and immediately turned on the bath water. The hot water was soothing to my sore and tired muscles but my mind could not find peace.

  My stomach was still doing flip-flops an hour later while I was getting dressed, and I was taking special time and care to how I looked. Most of my clothes in Africa were plain but I did have a few nice things, like the long, smooth, form-fitting khaki skirt I put on and sleeveless V-neck blouse with beautiful embroidery. The single jeweled barrette that I used to pin my hair out of my face was a nice touch. I examined myself in the mirror with approval. My long wavy auburn locks fell to my waist in perfect curls. As I studied the woman in the mirror, I barely recognized the blue eyes looking back at me. I snickered at the thought of how many times I had looked in a mirror in the last few months, which had maybe been a dozen at the most. When did my skin get this dark? I was used to seeing pale skin. I also looked tired, like I had been carrying the weight of the world on my shoulders for far too long.

  Downstairs I sat alone in the restaurant, wondering if my uncle ever came in this place. I looked around the room at the people dining and an eerie feeling came to me. He could be here right now and I wouldn’t even know it.

  “Excuse me, Miss,” I called out to a waitress.

  “Yes?”

  “Do you know anyone in this town by the name of Caleb Alexander?” I asked.

  Several people stopped their conversation and looked my direction.

  “Um, well, yes …” She shuffled her feet, seeming uncomfortable with my question.

  “I am looking for him. He is a relative, so if you could please point me in the direction of where I might find him, I would be most grateful.” As soon as I said it I regretted telling her my personal business. I felt the eyes of most of the people in the room on me.

  “Well, he and his brother live about a mile out of town. Just follow Main Street out of town and you will see the entrance to a road on to their property on the left.” She scribbled down an address. I looked at her with a question in my eyes and she seemed to know. “The Alexander brothers are well known around here. The Alexander family owns most of the town.” She leaned in close before saying, “If you want some free advice, Miss, be very careful.”

  Another man turned around to address me. “If I may also give you some advice, it will be getting dark soon and I advise you not to go there calling at night.”

  My head was spinning. Did she just say brothers?

  Ignoring the stranger’s advice, I got into the cab that the waitress had been so kind to call for me and I began my journey. There was this feeling I had in the pit of my stomach that never seemed to leave, even as the driver pulled onto the road leading to the Alexander estate.

  The cab driver stopped the car and turned to face me with a stern look.

  “I am willing to take you there since you are a relative and all, but I am just warning you that the Alexander brothers don’t take too kindly to people showing up unannounced. Strange things happen to cars that show up unexpected on this road. For no reason, they just quit working past a certain point. Other cabbies and I found that if we push the car back a few feet it starts up, and if we turn back around to leave we have no more problems. You will likely have a little less than a mile to walk. I am just giving you a heads up, Miss. If this happens, I am letting you out and high tailing it out of there, is that clear?” The cabbie’s eyes looked determined, so I just nodded.

  This was just getting weirder and weirder.

  “Jeez, what’s wrong with everyone? You would think that these two were a couple of monsters,” I said, but I could feel my own struggle in my head. When I heard the waitress mention my uncle Caleb’s brother, the thought that my worst fears may be true came to my mind. Was my father here too? Shane and my mother had warned me about him.

  “He is dangerous and you should stay away from him at all costs,” they would say. I felt a panic rising from my insides. I silently hoped my uncle would be alone.

  Sure enough, the car sputtered to a halt on the dirt road about a half mile after we turned off the main road. The sign next to the mailbox which had the name Alexander displayed on it said Enter at Your Own Risk.

  “This is where I leave you, Miss,” said the driver as he slammed his fist on the steering wheel in frustration.

  “What happened? Did it stall? Are you out of gas?” I asked, not believing what I was witnessing.

  He nodded as if he expected it then put the car in neutral and got out to push it backwards.

  “This is as far as I can go.” He pointed down the road ahead. “You should see the estate in a half mile or so. Proceed with caution, Miss.”

  Night was closing in but I turned a corner on this dirt road, feeling my knees buckle when the estate appeared in the distance. I reached
into my shoulder bag, groping for my inhaler. Good, it was still there. I might need it. I could feel a panic attack coming on. I had to remind myself to breathe. For some reason I had panic attacks that often triggered my asthma attacks.

  “Get it together, Anaya!” I whispered as I gulped in air and tried to steady myself.

  The circular driveway at the end of this long dirt road seemed a bit out of place but then again, so did this giant stone house with tinted windows. It seemed like a mix of modern-day glass and metal structure with a mix of stone from the Middle Ages. The door knocker was some sort of creepy gargoyle. I reached over to knock, wincing as I touched the thing, but the giant heavy door creaked open by itself. Inside the dimly lit foyer was a stunning display of artifacts of every kind, probably from all over the world. I stood inside and called out to this dark, quiet abyss as I marveled at the structures before me. I was so focused I did not see nor hear the man standing just a couple of inches behind me until I turned.

  I let out a muffled scream but quickly caught my breath. He towered over me, arching one brow with curiosity, and when I let out a startled wince he seemed even more amused as he cocked his head slightly to one side as an animal would.

  “I am terribly sorry for the intrusion. The door was wide open,” I said, gasping, trying to slow my racing heart.

  “It’s quite all right, my dear. I take it you are not the pizza delivery man, then?” He smiled down at me, still not moving from his position.

  He was a tall young man, probably in his early twenties with golden blond shoulder-length wavy hair and the most hypnotizing blue eyes. I stood there looking into them before I realized it wasn’t polite to stare into a man’s eyes. It was awkward, but he just stayed there like a statue with his arms folded behind him, still just a few inches away, continuing to look at me. He reminded me of some stuffy aristocrat. Wait, was that a French accent I detected?