'Til Fear Do Us Part (A Grim Awakening Book 1)

by Michelle Gross

  “This has to stop. Nobody else is getting hurt because of me.”

  I turned my head back around and stepped into the portal.

  Chapter Fifteen

  I bounced through some sort of never ending tunnel, rays of colors raced against the oval shaped darkness alongside me. Lights that made me think of stars filtered through before I was falling hard onto the ground. The hardened rock below pinched my cheek and scraped alongside my face from the impact. I forced myself to rise slowly, easing myself into a sitting position so that I could see where I was. The first thing I thought was this was some sort of cavern. The caved walls, massive and tall, stretched out above and around me. The granite rock beneath me felt cool to the touch, but everything else seemed to charge with heat. The rock of the walls was gray with black specks through them making the whole place look dark and spooky.

  Lanterns that looked as if they had been melted into the cave walls gave a small cast of light. The ceiling felt so far away from where I sat on the ground, making me feel little and afraid of what came next. That's when I noticed the luscious red carpet being rolled out before me. I watched as the carpet rolled and rolled itself until it ended where I sat. I followed the carpet with my eyes to where a huge throne sat empty. I couldn't help but snort. Really? Everything about this place was making me think of some medieval time.

  I jumped, standing to my feet when two fountains started spouting out water at the same time. They stood apart from one another, the same as the other, just on opposite sides of the cave. The fountains were made to look like dragons. Both dragon's mouths were tipped upward as if they were spitting fire, only water was what came out. It was lovely, I admit, something mysterious and wary about it. Their wings thrust out from their sides as if they were racing toward the sky. I was admiring them longer than I realized when that admiration turned to horror as the water turned red, as if it were blood.

  My whole body chilled and I was reminded of why I was here. Where I was and what I was doing. I shuddered. I couldn't be afraid. I eyed the throne for a minute then began walking across the red carpet. The throne no doubt belonged to Fear. A demon that treated himself as a king, craving more power. It made sense, I felt my mind darken. I felt the fear try to shake me up, cause me to cower, but I couldn't let it. I made a choice. And for me, that choice was the right one. I managed to protect the people I cared about. And I hadn't decided to give up. No, even now as I walked toward the empty throne with no plans or no advantages against such a monster... I wanted to live. But if dying meant protecting the ones I loved then so be it.

  I noticed a figure lurking behind the throne. The throne was tall. It looked as if it was made of bones, as I got closer I realized it was bones, forged together to make a giant seat. A gold cloth draped over the seat. I stopped, waiting for the figure to show itself. A little afraid of seeing the thing I've been terrified of for so long. I've imagined so many things in my head of what it would look like. The classroom had been dark, but I knew I felt horns on its head.

  “Melanie,” a surprisingly pleasant voice called my name behind the throne. I leaned slightly, wanting to see him, also thrown off by the sweet male voice. Then I heard his footsteps as they echoed around the cave, and I watched him move out of the darkness. I couldn't hide my startled face or the gasped that escaped my lips. He was gorgeous. No, he was magnificent. His hair was long and blond, descending his shoulders and back. Crystal blue eyes stared back at me. His features were soft and angelic, nothing like the harsh and rugged beauty of Killian. I shook my head when I realized I was thinking of Killian.

  “Who are you?” I asked in disbelief, unable to believe this man could be evil. “You're Fear?” I asked.

  His head tilted slightly, his smile overly sweet. Something about it caused goosebumps to run up my flesh. “Are you disappointed?”

  The more I learned of demons, the more I realized they were never as they seemed. I sneered at him. “I remember the day you attacked me. I never imagined you to look so normal.”

  He flung his hair off his shoulder, making it all fall against his back as he moved to the throne and sat down. He circled his wrist around and around before his facade finally dropped. His angelic features hardening, still beautiful but terrifying. “Are you trying to ask if this is what I really look like?” He tilted his chin up. “It is. But I have another form, much like Killian does… Must we start off on the wrong foot?” he asked nicely.

  I glared at him. “Oh, I didn't know I was supposed to forget all the times you tried to kill me. Ryan's in the hospital because of you. And you threatened the life of my mom to get me here.”

  He held up his hand at me, daring to laugh as my anger continued to fizzle. “Oh, dear. I've made you upset.” His laughter died, and once again his facade dropped, showing his lack of emotions. “But you should learn to die the first time,” he hissed and I stumbled back. The ground dropped behind me when I did. I jumped forward awkwardly trying to get away from the broken granite below me. I stared down the opened hole and saw the molten lava—I gulped. The heat from the lava blasted me in the face, my hair flew back and I backed away. He sighed and my attention went back to him. “No matter, the power has already awakened thanks to Grim. I should thank him; it makes things easier.”

  “What are you talking about?” I kept my focus on both him and the lava behind me.

  “Ah,” he said dramatically. “You don't know.”

  “If I knew what you were talking about, would I be asking?” I said, irritated.

  “Your feelings toward Grim, what are they?” His question caught me off guard. Without meaning to, I found myself thinking of my feelings.

  Then I realized my mistake, I spent too much time thinking of my answer confirming his suspicion. “What are you talking about?” I said hurriedly.

  “You know very well what I'm talking about.” I looked away. Molly appeared next to me, staggering until she fell to her knees. She looked horrible. Well, more than usual. She was still dead after all. I wondered if Killian had something to do with her injuries?

  “My mom?” I asked, not caring to bother that she was badly hurt.

  “She's alive,” she replied, voice hoarse and small. I was reminded at that moment that Molly was only a mere child. Well, that wasn't true. She died a child. Who knows how many years she had already spent like this after dying.

  “Grim?” Fear tapped his throne's armrest impatiently.

  Molly lifted her head to glare at him. “What do you think? He's on a rampage. I barely made it through the portal,” she hissed, closing her eyes as she jerked her limping arm and twisted it. I cringed at the popping sound. She moved her arm around, testing to see if she had snapped it back in place. It looked painful, but she stood up and shrugged her tiny shoulders like it was nothing.

  “I'm sure he will be paying a visit soon,” Fear muttered as his gaze left Molly and went back to me. He moved his hand over his chin and I couldn't believe I was just noticing how long his nails were. They were horrifying, pointed and yellow. Completely unmatched to the rest of his beauty. “While we're waiting, what should we do in the meantime?” I noticed he was talking to me again as his eyes raked over my entire body. I felt sick. “I will be needing that Vessel from you, Melanie, before he arrives.”

  I felt my whole body burn with anger. “Yes, you've went through a lot of trouble to get it,” I added sarcastically.

  “Now, how do we go about taking it out?” He pondered on his throne and my stomach churned. Oh, yeah. How did that happen? Did I really have to die in order for him to take it? I looked at him nervously.

  “How about we just leave it where it's at?” I tried rather lamely. He tilted his head.

  “Molly, show her to the bedroom.” Fear's eyes never left mine as he spoke to Molly.

  I looked toward Molly, trying to hide my fear. Calm yourself. I came here knowing that I would probably die. But why did I need to go to a bedroom? All these horrible thoughts kept filtering through my mind.
I suddenly felt light-headed and shaky. Not good, I was psyching myself out. I couldn't move, but Molly shoved me to the left. That got my feet moving, but didn't help that she dragged me toward the wooden door embedded into the cave wall. She brought me straight into a bedroom. A wooden bed was at the center of the room. Red silk spilled over the side. But that was where the pretty part ended, creatures hung on the walls, ones I had never seen before or thought to exist. Their eyes felt like they followed me as we entered the room. One giant, black beast’s mouth was stretched open as if it was about to attack. I could still smell their evil stench as if they were still alive. A desk sat toward the back of the room, wooden and piled with papers. Molly led me to the bed and forced me to sit.

  I clamped my hands and legs together. “What's he going to do to me?” I found the nerve to ask her.

  She turned away from me and headed toward the door. She wasn't going to answer me. “Fear will find a way to take the Vessel from you.” She stopped walking and sighed as she looked to the ground. I couldn't see her face, but I wondered for a moment what she could be thinking. “Then you are gonna wish he'd just kill you because death is sure to be merciful compared to what he will do to you.” She started walking again, slipping out the door. It shut behind her.

  Molly's words alone fueled me with an urgency to do something. I tried to leave the room the moment she left but I couldn't. The door must be locked from the other side. I banged and twisted on the door grunting as I did so, but it never budged.

  I started searching around the room, avoiding the mounts on the wall as best I could. The nasty glint of the beast’s teeth seemed to look bigger every time I looked back at it. One looked slimy and gross, like it might be some sort of water dweller. Like the rest of the cave, the walls were stone even in the room. I slid my hands along the walls hoping for some sort of secret passage. I even looked under the bed and when I spotted a mirror I hadn't noticed before I ran to it, pressing my palm against the glass hoping by some miracle I could walk through. Of course, I couldn't.

  “This isn't a movie, what am I expecting?” I grumbled to myself, panic causing my heart to pound and roar into my ears. I could do nothing. I was stuck here until someone came and got me. I grabbed my forehead and tried to even out my breathing.

  I stared at my reflection. My jaw was skinned up and red from falling out of the portal. I looked hopeless, really. I could even see the doom in my eyes. It made me think of Mom and Alex and letting myself think of them made me want to cry. I hated to think that they would never even know what happened to me. How long would it take before she realized I was missing? I got on my knees and twirled around on my butt until my back was pressed against the mirror. Mom would be devastated. Ryan and Tess also. I wouldn't even get to be there when he woke up. He was going to wake up knowing everything. He was going to be worried. No, he would be the only person that knew the truth. It would haunt him.

  I didn't have time to worry about them, though. I was in real danger. I was pretty sure Killian said something about Fear being unable to take the Vessel from me by killing me now that it had awakened. But he would find a way. I hated to think of what will happen to me once he did.

  My thoughts lingered to Killian. He would most likely come to my rescue, but it wouldn't be me that he was coming for, right? It was the Vessel. He was no different than the others. No matter how I might had felt about him it didn't matter when I was only being tricked. When I thought of his betrayal, it hurt so much that I had to grab my chest. Maybe I still didn't want to believe that he betrayed me. Maybe I wanted him to care for me.

  Just me.

  But I could never forgive him for knowing that Ryan was in danger and doing nothing. Saying nothing.

  The wooden door opened and I stood quickly. A strange looking creature walked in. Tiny and odd, I found myself tilting my head trying to figure out what the heck it could be. Three more walked in, all four of them barely came up to my knees. Even though they were small, they were ugly and gross looking. The one in front beckoned the others with its hand to come toward me. I found myself stepping backwards. That one seemed to be in charge as he hissed at the others as if he were hurrying them. Their teeth were white and block-shaped instead of pointy like so many other demons were. They were hairless and shiny looking as they bounced and waddled toward me—their legs were too small to walk normally. “What in the world are you? Stay away!” I shooed them away with my hands. They continued and I found myself standing on the bed to get away from them. I stared at them below me. Two snickered and pointed at me. Obviously I was hilarious.

  “They're goblins. Nasty little creatures.” I followed Molly's voice to where she stood in the doorway. She looked at the goblins in disgust.

  “What do they want with me?” I asked. One tried to climb the bed and I kicked him in the head with my shoe. He flew back a couple feet. The others gathered around their friends checking on him. Once they knew he was okay, they all turned and hissed at me.

  “Easy there,” Molly warned me. “You don't want to upset them. They are only here to do their job.” She flicked a part of her dark hair off her shoulder.

  “Job?” I didn't like the sound of that.

  She nodded, leaving the doorway and walking into the room. It was always weird dealing with Molly. She looked like a young—although dead, girl yet the way she spoke and carried herself told me she was a lot older. “They are Dreamkeepers. They can see your dreams as well as create them.” And they were going to do something to me? I swallowed nervously. “Lie down and relax Melanie. You are going to be dreaming soon.”

  All four of them were climbing the bed. I looked to her. “I don't understand. I thought he was taking the Vessel. Why do I need to dream?” I asked unsure.

  Molly grinned. “Don't play coy with me. When your power first awakened, what were you doing? More like, what were you dreaming?” She batted her eyes at me knowingly. I blushed. How did she know that? Images from the dream filtered through my mind of Killian between my legs.

  Oh, dear Lord.

  I didn't understand how that was important. Did he plan to embarrass me to death before taking the Vessel out?

  “What does that have to do with the Vessel?” I asked.

  “Because the dream is what woke the Vessel. In order for the Vessel to leave your body we need to bring it closer to the surface.” Two of the goblins latched onto both my legs, flipping them out from underneath me. They were stronger than they looked. I fell against the silk material on the mattress. When I tried to raise up, the other two were already at my arms. They pinned me down. Molly stood next to the bed. “Honestly, I'm not sure what Fear is thinking,” Molly muttered, unsure if she was talking to me or herself I didn't reply.

  “Are you going to tell me what the dream was about?” She tilted her head over mine. I looked away which caused her to laugh. “No matter, the goblins will figure it out.” She turned to the goblins and gave them a quick nod before walking away. One of the goblins jumped on my chest.

  It startled me and I tried to move away. The goblin walked up my chest and bent over in my face. His slimy green hands ran across my face.

  I drifted asleep.

  There's a knock on the door as I was getting a glass of water in the kitchen. I looked to the clock on the stove, it's two in the morning, who in the world would be at the door this late? I set the glass down and walked into the hallway. There was a knock again before I got a chance to open it. Ryan gave me a lopsided grin when I opened the door. I gave him a look of worry, thinking something must be wrong for him to be here so late. “Ryan? What's wrong? What are you doing here so late?”

  He shrugged his shoulders, still smiling. “I just needed to see you.”

  I just gave him a dumbfounded look. “Okay,” I said slowly.

  He looked like he was waiting on me to say something else before he finally asked, “Are you going to let me in?”

  I nodded my head. “Yeah, of course.” I moved to the side and he slipped
by me, I noticed how he lingered next to me several seconds too long before walking the rest of the way through the door. Mom was working tonight and Alex was sound asleep in his room.

  “Are you sure everything's okay?” I asked again.

  He turned around and smiled. “Just wanted to see you.” I looked down, the way he was acting had me feeling shy. It was becoming clear that he was telling the truth. He just wanted to see me. My stomach fluttered. It was two in the morning, just how bold was Ryan getting? I knew he cared about me, but this was different.

  “You should come over during the day, Ryan. It's two in the morning,” I clarified.

  He ignored me, I followed him into the living room where he sat down on the couch. He propped his left shoulder back and used his right hand to pat the cushion next to him. “Come over here.”

  I did as he asked, nerves in my throat. I couldn't bring myself to look at him, afraid of what I might see. I turned on the TV. The light of the TV was bright and it took a few seconds for my eyes to adjust. A random movie played on the screen. His hand found my leg where he slowly ran his fingers over my flesh. I finally looked at him, his face was full of want, something I'd never seen on him before. He was normally a gentleman. Although I didn't mind this either...

  I sucked in air when he surprised me by grabbing my legs and placing them over his. His arm that rested on the couch grabbed my shoulders and pulled me close. I closed my eyes and breathed in the smell of him.

  “I don't want to be friends anymore. We've been wanting more from each other for a long time now, Melanie. Let's not fight it,” he whispered in my ear, I nodded feeling high on our truth. I couldn't remember how many times I imagined kissing his lips, him holding me like he was now. I always longed for this, but everything was wrong in my life. That didn't matter right now, though. Ghosts and all my troubles didn't exist right now. For some reason, I couldn't find myself to care at all. I finally had what I wanted.