Sinner Reborn

by Morgan Kelley

  She was hidden even then too.

  “I’m coming for you, Avalon, my sweet. Together, you’ll either make me very happy, or very angry. The choice will be yours.”

  Dropping the cheap frame to the ground, he took the snapshots to add to his collection. He couldn’t wait to get his hands on the real thing. He wondered if she’d be as sweet in person as she was in all the photos.

  For now, he’d save them in a special place in his office. There, he could imagine what she was going to be like. Would he be able to love her?

  He’d have to wait and see.

  As he was lost in his thoughts, he heard the footsteps behind him. The barely audible approach meant one thing.

  The men were done with the old woman.

  “Sir, we’re ready.”

  “That’s very good. I’m getting bored here. Let’s get out of here. I’ve had about enough of this place. It smells like bitter old hag.”

  The men didn't say a word. They weren’t paid to have an opinion. They were paid to make things happen. As long as this man was paying the tab, he could talk all he wanted.

  Even if they knew he was bat shit insane.

  They headed out, leaving the old woman to die in a tub full of her broken limbs and blood. It was time to move on to the next one, and he couldn’t wait.

  Frank Miller was going to hate their little meeting. He could practically guarantee that it was going to leave him a broken, shell of a human being.

  He started laughing. With his long manicured fingers, he wiped the tears of humor from his pale blue eyes.

  Yes, it was going to be fun.

  He loved a game, especially one where there was a really great reward at the end. When he won, he was going to finally have the ultimate gift.

  Oracle.

  He wanted to love and kill her.

  He longed to punish and avenge her.

  He needed… her.

  The war between righteous saint and sinning man was raging, and he ultimately had a choice to make.

  End her life.

  Or…

  End her life.

  * * * C a r t e r - G a i n e s * * *

  Two Weeks Later

  As the ex-soldiers beside him did the ultimate damage to the man’s body, he simply watched. While he wasn’t the richest man in the world, he had earned enough money to buy people to do his dirty work, and this was exactly that.

  This was one hell of a vile mess, and he knew it.

  Even he wanted to cringe when they kicked the man repeatedly in the balls. Someone’s body was going to be well beyond repair.

  He laughed.

  This was what happened when he was pissed off. If this man had only been a little more forthcoming, then maybe he wouldn’t have to break him.

  Nah…

  He loved making him cry and bleed. Who was he kidding? Frank Miller deserved this and so much more. If he was going to withhold information, anything was game.

  “Where is she?” he asked again. It had to be the twentieth time, and each garbled reply only irritated him more and more.

  “I don’t know where she is. I haven’t seen her since we were kids.”

  He didn't care.

  He had to find her.

  It was like a madness growing in him. If he couldn’t find the abomination, he’d fail. Everything in him knew what he needed to do. If she was genuinely a monster, he’d end her. It was his deepest wish that she was faking it. With all the stories he’d heard, it made his skin crawl.

  She was evil.

  The more he learned about Avalon Miller, the more it upset him. He prayed they were lies, and not the truth. If they weren’t…she wasn’t salvageable.

  Growing up, he’d learned what happened to evil, and there was only one thing to do.

  Punish her.

  Punish him.

  Punish them all.

  Still, deep down, he prayed there was a mistake. There was still a chance that his source was messing with him. The more he tightened the screws, the higher the likelihood it was bullshit.

  Someone might be saving their own ass.

  He prayed it was all wrong.

  Then, maybe she could live.

  “Who will know where to find her?” he asked, knowing the man was close to the end of his rope. The blood, the piss, and the vomit were clear signs that he would roll on anyone—including his own mother.

  He gave them a name.

  For a brief minute, the punishment stopped.

  Frank curled into the fetal position on the floor, begging for his life. He rocked himself, trying to get past some of the pain. His pleading was desperate.

  Well, it was too late for mercy.

  “I didn't see you,” he whispered over and over with the pillowcase covering his head. “Just go. I won’t say a word.”

  There was laughter.

  “Wait! Please,” he begged, curling up like a shrimp on the carpet when he heard them approach. “I won’t tell. I won’t say a word. Your secret is safe with me!”

  That pissed him off.

  It’s what started all of this.

  His secret.

  Her secret.

  And the creation of the abomination.

  In that second, his mind was made up.

  “You know what to do. Make it fast. I want to get out of here. I can’t be seen here. I’ve worked too hard to lose it all.”

  The men did what he asked, slicing Frank Miller’s jugular, so he could bleed out on the floor. When it was over, he prodded him with the toe of his boot, trying to decide if he was done or not.

  Apparently, he was gone.

  “Let’s get out of here.”

  “How many more?” asked the one man.

  He didn't have an answer for that, and honestly, it didn't matter. This mission in life was paramount. When you made an omelet, you broke some eggs. Well, in the search for Avalon, you were going to have to break some Millers.

  Such was life…

  “As many as it takes to find her. The FBI will move her soon, and when they do, I’ll find out where she’s going. Then you’ll bring her to me. Am I clear?”

  They nodded.

  He pulled a book from a shelf and flipped through it. Inside, he found many photos. Ripping out certain ones, he rushed through, hoping he got them all. When he was satisfied, he dropped the album in the spilled blood.

  These were now his.

  They’d be respected and cherished in his office.

  “Let’s go. Thanks to Frank and his confessions, we have another link in the chain. When I get to her too, I’ll be one step closer to Avalon.”

  They followed him out, leaving death and ruin behind in their sick and twisted wake.

  They didn't flinch at killing for him. In fact, death didn't faze them at all. This was all about the money, and making him happy.

  It was obvious that madness had the man by the throat, it’s vicious fangs were squeezing the life from him. There was hardly a doubt between them that he was going to stop at nothing until he found her.

  The two killers almost felt bad for the next name on the list. With each kill, he was getting more and more insane.

  He was on a mission.

  A bloody one.

  * * * C a r t e r - G a i n e s * * *

  She saw it coming.

  The dreams were alerting her to what fate had in store for her. There would be no escaping it.

  She was trapped.

  Sitting up in bed, Avalon had a fine sheen of sweat covering her body. The dreams of her mystery man were back, and that meant only one thing.

  It was time.

  He was coming.

  When she closed her eyes to focus on reaching for him, Avalon could sense his close proximity. He was getting closer and closer to her, and that meant the game was in the final stages.

  It was time.

  All these months of nothing but dreams where they kissed and touched, and finally, she was about to be reunited with him.

 
Fate was playing it out the exact way she’d seen it all happening. For a while, Avalon hoped it wouldn’t come to pass, but life was seldom what she wanted.

  This was meant to be.

  It thrilled her.

  It crushed her.

  With the good would come the bad, and so much would be gained and then lost.

  Avalon instinctively knew that she wouldn’t win this one, and in the end, the ultimate cost would be her life. Death was coming, and there was no bargaining with the reaper.

  There was no saving her.

  Her path was predestined, and it would take one hell of a miracle to save her.

  Frankly, the odds weren’t in her favor. In fact, every card in the deck was stacked against her. The only solace Avalon had was that he would be arriving soon.

  At least she’d be able to feel for the first time in her life. With his arrival, she’d gain so much.

  His touch.

  Love.

  Maybe that would be enough to ease her soul as she prepared to leave this world. Just the few days with him would be enough to give her peace. Finding him would mean she could willingly let go.

  She’d be free.

  In the flames, she’d find her release.

  Her visons were rarely wrong.

  Oracle was making her final prediction, and this time it was about her demise. There’d be nothing won and no innocent lives saved. In the end, she’d walk the path to her death—all by herself.

  After all, it was written in fate’s book.

  It was marked in red—scribbled in her blood—and something that couldn’t be easily erased.

  Fate was fate.

  Avalon couldn’t escape it, so there was no point in fighting it. Instead, she’d focus on what Nathaniel Carter would give to her. That was all she had left and while it seemed like very little, it was more than enough.

  He was a gift and she knew it.

  Getting out of bed, she moved silently through the safe house, her feet barely making a sound as she walked around in the darkness.

  She loved this time of the night best. It was when she could reconnect with herself. In the darkness, she was able to forget she was blind.

  Avalon could forget that she was a freak, and that no one loved her.

  She could let go that she was all alone in the world.

  In the darkness, ultimately everyone was alone. It was just how it was.

  While she liked sleeping, so she could visit with the man destined to own her heart, she was haunted by what was coming. She hated that he would hurt. All she had were those scattered moments with him, and the thought that his heart would break was more than she could take.

  It broke her.

  It made her sad.

  It made Avalon want to weep.

  She focused on their time together, and thankfully in her dreams, she wasn’t blind. There she could see his handsome face, and the dark black hair slightly curling as it grew out. His icy blue eyes were filled with mystery, and his strong lean body called to her. Nathaniel Carter was a stunning man, and she couldn’t believe that once they met, he’d want her.

  It seemed impossible. A sexy man who worked for the FBI would want some mousy, uneducated woman who saw the future. Fate may be cruel, but she obviously had a sense of humor.

  This all had to be a joke.

  There were the whispers in her mind, and Avalon focused on them.

  He was coming.

  They were going to be reunited.

  And she couldn’t wait.

  As she entered the one room, she was grateful that her guardians weren’t there to keep her company. Sitting on the couch, her hand brushed a book. Avalon picked it up, wishing that she knew how to read. It must be a wonderful thing to be able to escape into the words.

  Avalon wondered if the book contained love, or if it held a pain like the one that lived in her heart. For all her life, she’d longed to feel what love was like. As a child, she’d never been cherished.

  No one read to her.

  No one cared for her heart.

  When her mother left her, she’d gone to a worse place—her grandmother’s home.

  There the older woman would shout the bible at her, as if trying to vanquish some sin she didn't understand.

  What had she done?

  She was merely a child.

  Instead of playing and running, she was kept locked away, forced to listen to her cousins and siblings have fun. From her locked room, she could hear them playing in the yard, and it sounded like…heaven.

  Yet, she wasn’t allowed to play.

  She wasn’t allowed to love.

  She wasn’t human in their eyes.

  Somehow, Avalon knew now that she was a secret then too. Only, she didn't understand why. If her time was coming to an end, she deserved to know.

  She always wondered why she was hated from the second she was born. It always plagued her to know how everyone who was supposed to love her didn't.

  What was it about her that scared everyone away?

  Yet, that was coming to an end.

  When he came, that would change. Avalon could already feel his touch, smell his scent, and it gave her peace.

  No longer would her heart be locked in a cage. She wouldn’t be trapped like some horrible animal, abused by everyone around her like she didn't have feelings.

  Finally, she could be a woman.

  While in her twenties, Avalon had ‘seen’ too much, but inside, her heart was that of a small child.

  Innocent.

  Pure.

  The wave of uneasiness swept through her, and Avalon recalled the promise she’d made. When she felt like this, it was time to reach out and keep her vow.

  Heading toward the table to where her guardian kept the cell phone, she took a chance. Avalon had memorized the numbers at the woman’s request.

  Cautiously she hit them, hoping they were right. Then, she waited.

  “Director Whitefox-Blackhawk.”

  “Elizabeth?”

  There was a pause.

  “Avalon, are you okay?”

  She could hear the worry in the woman’s voice. Avalon genuinely liked Elizabeth because she didn't pretend she wasn’t unusual. She was straight forward and honest with her.

  “Yes and no.”

  “We can move you.”

  She stopped her. “That’s not why I’m calling. You told me to contact you if I felt like something bad was coming, and I just woke up from a dream.”

  Elizabeth knew they were running out of time. Oracle was a ticking time bomb, and when she went off, there would be casualties. It didn't take a psychic to see it coming.

  Elizabeth wanted to mother her.

  “Okay. Where’s Maura? Why are you calling and not her? Do you need me to get to you?”

  “No, I’m safe with them. Maura’s asleep. Jagger is outside on patrol. I’m calling because I need you to know something. In the dream, I was told to give you information.”

  She waited.

  “If you follow my past, you’ll discover my future.”

  Elizabeth was confused. “What?”

  “In order to end this, you’re going to need to know who I am. Can you find out why I’m being hunted like this?”

  Her heart broke for the woman. “Avalon.”

  She could hear Elizabeth’s men in the background. “Please. It’s the key to it all. I know it is.”

  There was a pause.

  “Start at my past and move through my life. It’s there. I can feel it. That’s going to be the only way to find him.”

  Yeah, and kick start the beginning of the end of her life.

  Elizabeth was torn.

  “We’re moving you soon. You’re being handed off to Director Carter. Then everything will be okay.”

  Avalon needed more.

  “I need you to promise me you’ll do what I ask. Please, Elizabeth. I need this.”

  She sighed. “Okay, Avalon. After we move you, I’ll have a team start diggin
g into your past, okay?”

  Avalon was satisfied because she knew the woman would keep her word. If anything, this was the one honorable person she could trust. “Thank you, Elizabeth.”

  “Now, are you sure you’re okay?”

  Avalon knew what was coming. Her death was on the horizon. She’d have to make the sacrifice, and it didn't matter anymore. She was sick of being a prisoner.

  “I’m perfectly safe for now. I just need to meet Nathaniel Carter. He’s important in this, and so is my history.”

  “Okay, I get it. We’ll do what you ask and dig into your past.”

  “It all started in Fredricksville. It’s this small town.”

  Elizabeth made notes, all the while listening to the woman on the other end. She let her tell her as much as possible, not missing a single name.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes. I have to know. It’s going to be the key. I can feel it. I need you to believe me.”

  “Oh, I absolutely do. Only, we don’t always get what we want when we chase a rabbit down the hole, Alice. There are usually scary things in the dark.”

  She laughed at the reference. It was the one story she’d heard, and only because it had once been on TV as a child. “I’m willing to take that chance.”

  Elizabeth weighed her options. “I’ll find someone.”

  “Can I ask you a question?”

  Honestly, Elizabeth hated when Oracle did that, but what choice did she have?

  “Sure. Shoot.”

  “Who is Callista?” she asked. “I keep hearing her name.”

  That caught Elizabeth off guard. “Why?”

  “She needs to do this. It’s part of her story too. I’m part of all of it. Please send her.”

  “Avalon.”

  “Please, Elizabeth. I need this.”

  She sighed. “Alice, you’re going to make me bat shit insane. I’m going to be the one smoking the mushrooms and talking to drunken mice.”

  Avalon laughed. “Just let me navigate Wonderland. Trust me. I’m never wrong.”

  Elizabeth had no choice.

  When Oracle spoke… you listened.

  That was a lesson they were all learning.