The Pentagram Child: Part 1 (Afterlife Saga Book 5)

by Stephanie Hudson

  I decided it was smarter to walk under the balcony than being out in the open, so I started heading left without really looking where I was going.

  “Look out!” I heard being yelled but as I turned I knew it would be too late as I saw what looked like giant mechanical demonic horses charging my way. In the split second before they would have ploughed straight into me, no doubt killing me instantly, I thought about Draven and him finding me this way. It was a morbid thought but one driven solely by guilt for running. But more so for realising that my last act on this earth would in fact be my broken promise to the man I loved.

  I closed my eyes tight and waited for the impact but holding on to the image of Draven when we danced together.

  “My salvation” I said then felt myself being held tight by what felt like many arms and I started to float away. It seemed like time was slowing down and I wondered if this was what really happened when you died? Was this the other side’s way of giving you that last shred of time before taking everything you have ever known from you. Was it like the last supper for a man on death row before going to Hell or like relishing the last touch from a loved one before reaching Heaven?

  “Lille øjesten?” I frowned when I heard this thinking it an odd thing to hear when first making it to the other side. Was my mind playing tricks on me? Well there was only one way to find out for sure and that was to brave opening my eyes.

  “Ragnar?” I said looking down and screamed when I saw what looked like a smoky serpent wrapped tight around my body, wound round and round until its face was just in front of my own.

  “Uh! And that’s the thanks I get!” I heard that gruff pissed off voice and the sound filled me which pure bliss.

  “Sigurd!” I shouted no longer frightened of his manifested powers and I spun round to throw myself at his huge bulk as his serpent evaporated. I then hugged him and gripped onto his hooded jacket as my arms wouldn’t meet in the middle of his back. I felt him hold me back and I took a moment to bask in the knowledge of feeling safe for the first time since I ran from Draven.

  I heard him breathe me in as if it was a secret he needed to feed with just the scent of me. I held on and silently let him keep his secret for instead he gave me something else in return.

  And this particular something was the meaning to a name that touched my heart and made me family…

  “Hello, my little Apple.”

  Chapter 34

  Running from the Truth.

  It was the first time I had heard him call me what Lille øjesten actually meant and it warmed my heart.

  “You saved me.” I said telling him something he obviously knew already and I heard him huff in response.

  “Yeah it seems like it’s a requirement when being your friend.” I rolled my eyes to myself before pulling back to look up at his shadowed face.

  “So where were you running off to before the entertainment almost killed you?” I turned to look back at what in fact was the start of a new act making its way through the now parting crowd. I could just make out the giant steam horses that were made from crudely hammered metal sheets riveted together. These four horses that no doubt represented the four on the Cathedral were pulling along a gothic chariot that was like a hellish prison combined. Twisted black lava stalagmites rose from the base of the chariot until all the tips met at the top. Inside of this enclosed rock cage were people dressed as demonic Spartans who looked as though they had each been dipped in a live volcano. The costumes they wore were equally incredible as they were horrifying.

  “What are they?” I found myself quietly asking.

  “They represent the Titans.” Sigurd said and the disgusted way he said it made me look back up at him.

  “As in the imprisoned Greek Gods?” I asked and for a moment he just seemed transfixed by the sight of them.

  “Sigurd?” I said his name to try and prompt him into responding, which eventually worked after the second time.

  “I gather the only reason you’re out here alone is because you did a runner?” I felt myself blush but he just rolled his eyes at my silent answer.

  “Come on, I know a place.” He took my hand in his, engulfing it and pulled me across to the opposite side. I noticed that for some reason people got out of the way for us now a lot quicker than when I was flying solo. It was also a reason I didn’t think was just down to his colossal size and the clues were the whispers and stares from everyone he passed. Some even cowered backwards as if trying to get away unnoticed.

  “Uh…everyone seems pretty scared of you?” I said as a question to which my only answer was a frown I could only barely see from under his hood. One could only see as I had to look up so far he was that tall.

  It didn’t take us long to come to the huge red brick bell tower that stood what must have been hundreds of feet tall. I stopped dead and just let my head fall back to look up and up and up.

  “Yeah, yeah, big fucking tower, I get it…but sometime before another one of these bullshit shindigs, øjesten.” Sigurd said marching back from the black double doors he had been stood at to then grip the top of my arm and pull me back with him. It was surprising how gentle such an enormous guy could be I thought as I was calmingly manhandled up some steps. Of course the poor doors ahead of us didn’t receive such a luxury, when he suddenly reared back his foot and crashed it through the panels.

  “Uh…I hate to point this out but isn’t someone gonna like notice this, say some poor mortals that have to deal with why their tower was broken into?”

  “Yeah do I look like I give a shit, besides what do you think the level of damage that all them lot are gonna cause by the end of the night?” He said retaking my hand and pulling me into the dark space.

  “Oh…well I guess I didn’t think of it that way.” I admitted now wondering what did happen at the end of the night. Thankfully after an eye roll from my giant friend, he was kind enough to inform me.

  “Well lucky for all those simple mortals…”

  “Hey!” I said interrupting him and not surprisingly getting ignored.

  “…the square the next day will be like this night never even happened, which I am sure will include this door.”

  “Oh… I guess that’s ok then.”

  “Great, well now that I have eased your conscience enough to live with yourself for another day, can we get on.” He said trying to keep the teasing smirk from his lips.

  “That’s a lot of steps.” I said looking up.

  “Yeah but we aint takin em.” He said and before I could say anything he grabbed me around the waist and my Hell ride really began. I briefly had time to blink and in that split second all I could see was his shadows reaching out its long tentacles and we were off. I suddenly knew how poor Mary Jane had felt when dating Spiderman and I will tell you now, that web shooting ride looks way more fun on telly!

  It didn’t take long to get to the top and that was my one consolation. By the time my feet touched the floor I felt like my stomach had been for a bungee jump without the rest of me!

  “Jesus are you insane!? A warning might have been nice, not even a bloody, ‘Don’t look down’!” I said mimicking his voice in a ridiculously deep way making him cross his arms.

  “I do not sound like that.” He said and I threw my hands up saying to myself,

  “And of course that’s the bit he focuses on!”

  “And besides, if you’d had this warning would you have still let me do it…um?”

  “Oh, Hell no! I would have taken the stairs and met you up here in say an hour…” I paused and looked down the stairs and added,

  “…maybe two…but that is beside the point, I would have done it without the chance of a heart attack or feeling like a bloody pebble in a slingshot!”

  “I dunno, you don’t look as fit to me as the last time I saw you.” He said and then laughed when I hit him on the arm.

  “Yeah, just what I thought, turned into a weakling.” He said pretending to flick some lint off the arm I hit.
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  “Don’t make me push you off this bell tower and wave at you all the way down!” To which he laughed.

  “Yeah let’s see how far you get with that one, Honey.” He said walking over to the lattice of bars across each rounded arch. Then he waved his hand out and I watched fascinated as the tattooed skin on his hands started to spin. The Ouroboros almost looked like they were vibrating just beneath the surface and the quicker they moved the closer together they got until his hand was consumed by black ink.

  I sucked in a quick breath as the shadows seeped out of him and broke off into streams of smoke that each wrapped themselves around the bars. This all happened in less than a minute and I don’t know how they did it but when the smoke started to disappear there were bars no more.

  “It makes a better view.” Sigurd said nodding for me to step closer to see for myself.

  “Wow, that’s amazing.” I said taking in not only the sight of the party below but mainly the incredible view of Venice’s lights twinkling like fallen stars against the night.

  “So you gonna tell me why you were running like that dog Cerberus was yapping at your heels?” Sigurd said coming over to stand next to me and leaning his forearms on the ledge.

  “You do know me and him are kind of friends…right?” At this he laughed and pushed his hood from his face. The sight had me instantly biting my lip just so I wouldn’t gasp at how beautiful he was. You would have expected such a hard and gigantic man to be rough and rugged in all his features and I suppose some aspects of him were. But it was also combined with a classical sculpted look that artists would weep at the chance to paint. The high cheek bones and the square jaw that was always speckled with tawny stubble. But really it was all down to his eyes.

  They were the eyes any girl could get lost in after making love and finding themselves almost drunk with delight but they were also the eyes that could burn like the sun, telling you he could destroy you with little effort.

  “So no mask for you then?” I said looking sideways at his perfect profile.

  “Yeah, fuck no! I don’t go in for all that dramatic bollocks…no offense.” He said with a smirk.

  “So talk to me øjesten.” He said softly after we silently looked out at a supernatural world he obviously didn’t want to accept. In that way we weren’t so very different. Two people struggling with something we always considered a curse. So did that mean all he needed was to find his girl and take that last step as I had done? I often thought about that young girl on the plane I met that day. I wondered what the Fates had in store for her and what the man next to me would one day mean to her.

  “I must say, I’m not bitchin’ here but I don’t think I have ever heard you this quiet…shit girl but I remember you saying more when I had to save your ass in that alleyway.” I had to smile at this and I shook my head as he grinned at me.

  “Yeah well I wasn’t a weakling back then and still held my bad ass badge.” I said dryly making him throw his head back and laugh.

  “Ok I will give you that, you did know how to kick ass back then…for a chick that is.” He added with a wink making me groan and him laugh again.

  “Right, now spill it.” He said turning a hip to the side and looking at me head on. I looked out at the party knowing Draven was down there somewhere looking for me and knowing him, probably going frantic. I tried not to feel guilty and knowing the reason I ran it helped in some sense but it was that damn promise I had made!

  “Let’s just say I saw and heard something I didn’t like.” I said bringing my head forward on a sigh and resting it on my gloved hands. I knew he was looking at me with that raised eyebrow of his.

  “Okay, so this something you didn’t like, were his reasons for it not something you could trust in?”

  “Uh…”

  “You ran before giving him chance to explain didn’t you?” He asked sounding exasperated and started rubbing his forehead and closing his eyes.

  “Yeah, I did but you don’t understand.”

  “And now neither do you.” He said on a huffed breath.

  “Look honey, I get it, I do but don’t you think you have had enough of running when shit gets serious? So he fucked up, then you stand your ground and demand your answers. You scream at him and prove I’m wrong and that you’ve not gone soft, whatever but you stand there and face it like the bad ass I know is still inside you…” He paused and then stepped closer to me to softly run a finger over my bare shoulder brushing a long escaping curl back. Then he got close to my ear and whispered,

  “And, sweetheart, don’t ever be the type of girl to run from the truth because of fear.” He finished his advice by giving my shoulder an affectionate squeeze and then took a step away from me. Then we found ourselves both leaning against the ledge and finding that comfortable silence you only ever really find with great friends.

  “You’re not really friends with that prick Cerberus are you?” He said after a time and I burst out laughing before saying,

  “What can I say other than I must have a soft spot of difficult, hard headed bad ass men.” And then I nudged him making him smile down at me.

  “Well I am taking that as a compliment.” And just like that I knew he was right and more importantly, I also knew the right thing to do.

  But first I gave my friend my honesty by saying,

  “And so you should because I love my hard headed, bad ass friends.”

  Draven

  “Did you find her?!” I said storming down the corridor of my Venice home wanting nothing more than to spend my time tearing it down by its watery foundations!

  “No my Lord but…”

  “And why not? Am I not right in saying she ran into a crowd full of our kind? Are you telling me that no one, not ONE OF MY KINGDOM SAW HER!?” I let my Demon take over in my rage as he needed the small release I would allow him. Having her finally in my arms these last few days was the calmest I had felt him for a while and if I didn’t get her back soon I didn’t know if I could contain his rage and mine combined for long.

  “But…but…”

  “Spit it out!” I snapped at one of my generals who was in charge of the security at events like this one. I opened the door at the end and tried to take care in not ripping it off its hinges. I walked into my office and slammed the door behind my nervous subject.

  “My Lord, other than some strange occurrence that no one can explain she has gone unnoticed since…”

  “What occurrence?!”

  “There was a crowd of people that felt a strange presence of power but could see no one. They say it got stronger and stronger until…” He paused and my patience snapped. I grabbed him by his costume instead of giving in to the urge to grab his neck and brought him closer to me.

  “Until what exactly?” I said letting my eyes change with my voice.

  “Until the power exploded enough to force everyone back.” He said trying not to show fear and the instant I got my answer I let him go as shock registered.

  “Go!” I said turning to hide the pain of the news from being witnessed.

  “My Lord.” He said respectfully and then he followed my order. As soon as the door closed I picked up the nearest thing to hand.

  “AHHH!” I roared and threw the object at the door, making a palm sized hole due to the paperweight that I heard smashing at the other end of the hallway. I then let my body fall back a step and put my unsteady hand out on the side of my desk as my body leant against it in defeat. I had looked everywhere for her but those damn shields of hers were growing. Hell, not just growing but literally exploding into new levels of power. I always knew she would eventually develop the gifts into which she had been born but I had no clue to the strength I would find myself facing.

  “Damn foolish girl!” I said angrily looking at the floor shaking my head. Did she not know of the dangers that surrounded her, despite being able to hide herself to my kind? Anything could happen! The worry and guilt of being forced into yet another position like this was al
most crippling.

  “Ah, I gather our little bird has not yet returned?” Lucius said after picking a shard of wood from the hole in the door and flicking it to the side.

  “I want her found!” I commanded slamming my other hand down on the desk making it crack under my palm.

  “As do I which is why I have my council doing the same as you but you do realise the level of power in which we’re dealing with here?” I frowned at my once right hand man and growled,

  “You think I don’t!”

  “You left her so no, I don’t.” He snarled back and for a moment losing that famous control of his.

  “Careful old friend, you tread on broken skin this night.” I warned pushing away from the desk.

  “Your love for the girl blinds you and you know it does. What I say is merely a truth you don’t wish to face.”

  “Oh make no mistake, I fucking face it! Every damn day I was faced with it and meanwhile what is she doing but being kidnapped and being auctioned off like damn cattle by my enemies! So don’t you talk to me about love making you blind when I was the one to rip out my own fucking eyes in the Gods be damned first place!” I said letting my rage lose enough to flip my desk and make it crash into the wall hard enough to shatter like glass. Lucius didn’t even flinch but instead just crossed his arms and gave me a look I would have liked nothing better than to tear from his skull.

  “You are forgetting one very important fact my friend.”

  “And what’s that!?” I forced out whilst trying to calm my breathing enough to keep my wings from erupting.

  “She came back to you.”

  “She ran from me!” I reminded him making him laugh once without humour.