The Protector of Memories (The Veil of Death Book 1)

by D. K. Manning

  “All charges dropped.” The police officer said. Something to do with the mention of CCTV and the fact that wasting police time is actually an offence.” He pointed a finger between the three women. “The next time you have a falling out might I strongly suggest that you do it in your own time. If this happens again…” he stared at Sam and then Hope. “You will be arrested and charged.” He turned and walked back through the door.

  Sam felt so embarrassed. “None of this is our fault?” she said and added, “I need a cigarette.”

  Faith was distracted by the state of how Hope looked.

  “What happened to your eye?” Faith asked and frowned at the speckles of blood on the cotton wadding.

  “The roof of my home collapsed when I went to retrieve the money. I am lucky to have escaped with but a splinter.”

  Faith scratched at her head. “Did you manage to say a farewell to your friends?”

  “I did. They reside now within the park. I left them the gift of money.” And feeling the fiery pains within her body Hope added, “I need some wine.”

  She walked out of the police station, looked up at the sky and breathed in its fresh, crisp, cold air. She turned to Faith and Sam. “My body was imprisoned within a cell. I am imprisoned within a body that was imprisoned in a cell.”

  Sam lit up a cigarette and thought about needing a drink herself.

  Faith hailed a black cab. “I must get back to the library. I have an appointment with the mortals and their ghosts.”

  Sam drew deep onto her cigarette – felt the smoke hit her lungs. Yep. I could definitely do with a drink.

  Faith got into the cab and explained to Hope. “There is a drinking house near the library. You can have your drink and I can attend my appointment…” she pulled down the cab’s seat and explained to Sam about the medium sessions that she holds. “You are most welcome to come along.”

  Sam nodded a ‘yes’ and as Hope got into the cab, she drew more drags on her cigarette, flicked the butt across the pavement and clambered in and sat next to Hope.

  As the driver of the black cab navigated through the streets of London, Sam recalled what her friends had said to her back at the police station. She looked out of the window and became aware at how fed up and annoyed she felt toward the three of them. What with Nigel and Sarah constantly banging on to her about the importance of friendship but when the chips are really down what do they do? Throw it back at me. They all know how deep my feelings run with Hope but they’ve turned it into something sordid. Why did I go and trust them with my feelings?

  She turned to look at Hope and blushed when she realised that Hope was staring back at her.

  “Thank you Sam.” Hope said and took her friend’s hand.

  “What for…” Sam’s voice broke with emotion.

  Hope kissed Sam’s hand. “I understand why you would doubt me. But you are here Sam wanting still to be with me.” She squeezed her friend’s hand and thought back to the sadness that had begun to seep into her bones and instantly join the coldness from past tenants that had resided within the cell.

  “Sam,” she said. “You are right to question the truth of my words. I am grateful that you have not walked away from me. That is what is important.” Hope kissed Sam’s hand again before taking one of the books out of the carrier bag.

  She turned to Faith. “Our mother has etched our story.” Hope passed the book over to her sister. “You need to read this. Hera incidentally is more powerful now then she ever was. Sadly, that was of our parents doing.”

  Faith looked at the book’s cover and read the title: The Claiming of the Children.

  Sam stared at the book in amazement because the moment Faith had read the title, the words floated up and into her head.

  “Does the book list all who were claimed?” Faith asked Hope.

  “No.” Hope replied, shaking her head in sadness.

  Sam joined into the conversation and asked about the fifteen books that are out with the general public. “Will those words disappear?”

  Faith turned around and looked at Sam before explaining, “If they were once an immortal being then yes the words will disappear. Otherwise, the book will be just a story.”

  “The books were only taken because they were free. I doubt it would be because of what has been written.” Sam rubbed her hands through her hair and quickly added. “That came out all wrong… I didn’t mean it to sound the way it did.”

  Hope laughed and nudged Sam gently.

  Sam looked between Hope and Faith. “Come on admit it. You both wrote that book and delivered twenty copies to my bookshop. April fool’s day.” She continued to look between the two sisters.

  It was Faith who answered her. “Sam that is not what we did. The fact that it exists holds more value than you will ever realise.”

  Sam’s cheeks flushed with embarrassment and she turned away from Faith’s stare, caught the eye contact of the driver in the mirror and realised that she had her eyebrow raised. She smiled half-heartedly, pushed her hands through her hair and was relieved when the cab finally pulled up outside the library.

  She leapt out of the car and lit up a cigarette.

  “The drinking house is over there.” Faith said, pointing toward a corner pub. The mortals start arriving at the library when the sun is positioned there…” and she pointed toward the sky.

  Sam looked up and saw nothing but grey clouds.

  “Okay.” she said. “I’ll just nip into the library and ask somebody.” She ran up the steps, whizzed through the revolving door and within minutes was back explaining to Faith. “People are due to start arriving just before four…” she stopped to catch her breath before continuing, “I told the woman… tall, hair the colour of copper - behind the counter that you were outside.” Sam looked at her watch. “It’s a little before a quarter to three.”

  Faith nodded to Sam. “Thank you. It is good that you have met Linda.” She turned to Hope and asked. “Can you take your fill of wine quickly then join me by my side?”

  “Faith, as soon as I have numbed the pain caused from the emotions that weigh the heaviness I will join you by your side.”

  Faith squeezed her sister’s hand. “Be quick.” she said and walked up the steps and into the library.

  ∞

  Sam was feeling foolish at the way she had spoken to Faith; as if she hadn’t known what was going on?

  “Come Sam.” Hope said and linking her arm into Sam’s they walked toward the pub.

  Hope ordered a bottle of wine, poured them each a glass and went off to the toilets to wash her face and hands.

  Sam stared absentmindedly at the toilet’s wooden door. She ate a packet of cheese and onion crisps and focussed on the sound of the crunch that each crisp made. She was struggling to believe Faith and Hope.

  Sam had read that book and well... to claim it to be their life story? But there was the issue with the words disappearing? Vanishing ink… a trick? But then the words had actually risen off of the page and into Faith’s head. If the story is true then so too is the existence of immortal beings.

  With this thought in her mind, she instinctively looked up toward the ceiling but remembering the story she realised that they were not up there anymore. Hang on? Mount Olympus doesn’t exist? Zeus and Eurn_

  Sam watched as Hope sat down opposite; nothing adds up. She now felt the pangs of doubt; this sort of thing is exciting in films. But this isn’t a film. This is my life.

  But now she felt guilty for not believing Hope.

  Then frustration, anger and humiliation flooded into her and she felt overwhelmed by all that she was feeling.

  Sam thought about what Hope had said in the cab; ‘you have not walked away’. But that is what she wanted to do right now. She gulped down her wine, pushed her fingers through her hair and decided to talk about what her friends had done. “I’m sorry,” she blurted out. “I’m so sorry for what my friends did to you. They blamed you…” she paused and added, “They blame
you because Nigel got arrested so they lied to get you arrested.”

  Hope smiled at Sam. “You have nothing to be sorry for Sam. Truth showed her Self and she will continue to do so. My main concern at this moment in time…” she kissed Sam’s hand, “… has to be focussed upon my sister, Faith.”

  She stood up and made her way over to the bar and when she got there, she said to the man, “It saddens me to know the flavour that Dionysus created to try and stop the party is the very medicine that numbs our inner-turmoil.”

  The man shrugged, but liked the way the woman spoke.

  Matching her floweriness, he asked. “Will that be the grape of the red or the white?”

  “The red if you please.” Hope replied and laughed gently with the man as he replenished her hip-flask.

  When he handed it back to her she asked him, “You knew of whom I speak of?”

  “Of course I know the God of Wine. I don’t just work here you know. I do own the place.” He held out the palm of his hand and added. “That’ll be twenty quid to you for the purchase of Dionysus’s finest, your refill and…” he nodded over toward the short dumpy woman standing over by the main entrance, “the cheese and onion crisps.”

  Hope handed over a note of blue from the roll of money she had kept back and watched the vast amount of energies that weighed the heaviness within this man’s auras. “If you were to shake off your defensiveness you would be amazed at how much brighter your inner world would be. Alas I cannot_”

  “You wanting anything else?” The man interrupted her.

  “No.” Hope said and turned away from him.

  She made her way toward Sam and within those few footsteps she was mortified at what she saw.

  Whilst Hope had been trying to lighten all that weighed the heaviest in mortal beings, she had failed to see the inner turmoil that Sam was in.

  It was not until they had reached the entrance of the library that Hope spoke to Sam. “Sam,” she said and put her hand onto her arm.

  Sam turned and looked up at Hope. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing is wrong.” Hope replied and brushed her finger along the length of Sam’s face, tilted her chin upward and kissed her gently on the lips. She then whispered, “So there is no doubt within your mind how it is that I feel about you.” And putting her finger against Sam’s lips, she quickly added. “I am sorry for not kissing you before now. I am sorry for not telling you how I feel. I should have told you the moment I met you.” Hope pulled Sam closer and kissed her again… gently, slowly… passionately. A couple of moments later, she pulled away and said breathlessly. “That is how I feel about you.”

  Sam’s body felt as if it were on fire and by god she’s heard people saying; ‘the first kiss casts all those doubts away; is this the one? Does the heart and Soul join with another… is love forever? But she’d never believed it to be true… not until now.

  “You okay?” Hope asked.

  “Am I okay?” Sam laughed. “Apart from my body being on fire and discovering that the love of my life feels the same way as I do. Yep I’m okay.”

  Hope laughed gently. “If you could see our life-forces right now it is truly a sight to be seen. It is as if I gaze upon a firework of colours and energies – threads woven together. You, Sam, a part of the Earth and me, a part of the Universe are fused together; ‘Soul mates’. Oh to think that I who have the sight of the auras missed the fact that I should have spoken to you… shown you_”

  Sam pulled Hope gently toward her and kissed her.

  When they eventually released their embrace, Sam said. “My head told me to walk away. My heart told me to stay.”

  “Thank the stars,” Hope whispered, “that you know when to listen to one and not the other.”

  Brushing her fingertips along Sam’s mouth, she added. “Come we must join my sister.”

  Chapter 16

  Faith, Hope and Sam were in the library’s café eating a round of sandwiches.

  Sam was still lost in the memory of being kissed by Hope. She touched her mouth and smiled. Our first kiss, she then began to fantasise about their first touch… first caress but then desire swept throughout her entire body and she could feel her face heating up. Putting her hands to her face to try and hide the blushes that betrayed what she was thinking, she coughed and turned her thoughts on what Hope had said; life-forces fused together – Soul mates. She looked at Hope and realised that there were so many things she wanted to know about this beautiful, gentle and kind hearted woman. So many conversations… shared moments, experiences.

  Her heart soared with excitement while her stomach felt the butterflies of trepidation… expectations. She put her hands over her stomach to try and calm the vast amount of emotions that she was feeling. “Strueth,” she mumbled as she felt them wash over her like a tidal wave.

  Hope leant her body into Sam.

  Sam glanced at Hope and again her body felt as if it were on fire, her head spun and her hearing dulled due to the rush of adrenaline that coursed through her mind and body. Taking some deep breaths, she pushed her fingers through her short spiky hair, twiddled with the ends of the strands and again focussed on what Linda was saying.

  “… A reporter from ‘The London Local’ – Alan Bowling has just telephoned. He intends to sit in on the medium session today. Afterwards he would like to interview you…” Linda paused to look at Faith. “He asked if he could interview you about the allegations that Charity has made against you and Hope.”

  Linda placed her digital tablet in the middle of the table and continued to explain. “Mr Herringbone made a statement about Charity’s injuries but what caught the media’s attention is Charity’s disclosure about the two of you.”

  She pressed ‘play’ and they listened to Mr Herringbone’s voice.

  When the broadcast finished, Linda pressed ‘pause’ and stepped away from the table.

  Minutes of silence lived and died.

  Sam frowned and looked between Hope and Faith. “Extorting money…” she hesitated before adding, “threatened to kill her. Why is Charity saying such things?”

  “Our sister mocks us,” Faith said sadly. “Charity has adapted to this world, whilst Hope and I have not. She mocks us and in doing so she has sealed our fate.”

  Hope stared at the stilled image of Mr Herringbone’s face; frozen and distorted. “We cannot dispute these claims looking as we do…” she paused and thought to the reasoning to why Charity behaves the way she does. “Abandonment and betrayal,” Hope said and then thought to the book. “Faith… when you read the book etched by our mother it is to feel the presence of all immortals within her echoes. Charity needs to read it. She will then realise we have not been abandoned. These energies that she imprisons her Self within will surely evaporate.”

  Faith frowned in disagreement. “Charity is beyond saving.”

  “How can you say that?” Hope exclaimed. “She needs to see the path she treads upon before it is too late_.”

  “No Hope,” Faith interjected. “If Charity reads that book, so will the empty ghosts who reside within her mind. That is why I say what I say.”

  “Yes…” Hope whispered.

  “Could this day get any worse?” Sam asked more to herself than anybody else.

  Linda was wondering about the book they were talking about and glancing between the two sisters she wished she could be of more use to them. Sighing aloud she explained that that was not the only video being played on all social sites. “Alan Bowling sent me this link as well.” She pressed ‘play’ and they watched the video clipping that showed Faith’s face rapidly ageing. It had been altered to be played in slow motion while the female singer, Lana Del Rey sang; ‘will you still love me when I’m not young and beautiful.”

  Linda pressed, ‘stop’ and sat down next to Faith.

  Sam looked at Faith’s face. “I didn’t realise that that had happened to you as well.”

  “As well?” Linda repeated.

  Faith
said. “Hope aged yesterday as did I. Charity also aged… rapidly - but she has a lot more to lose than we do.”

  Linda took a deep breath, looked between Hope, Faith and Sam.

  She eventually settled her gaze onto Faith and said. “Faith, at the moment, your ageing is seen as a gimmick. The wizardry of technology but what is going to happen when you still look older… weeks from now?”

  “It is a good thing.” Faith said.

  “What is?” Linda asked and frowned.

  “That the media is to be present this day.”

  “Yes.” Hope added, “Thank the stars for the continued creation of scribes.”

  Linda stared between Faith and Hope; have they not heard what I have just said? She looked at the shoddy, blood-stained patch that was covering Hope’s eye. The press are going to have a field day with you, she thought but said instead. “You look worse than your sister.”

  “Which one?” Hope asked.

  “Pardon?” Linda asked.

  Sam interjected with. “Faith? Charity?”

  “Oh for goodness sake!” Linda exclaimed and stood up. “I feel as if I am a spinning-top.” She placed her hands together. “We need to stay focussed.”

  “I see the emotion of fear within you.” Hope said and asked. “What is it that you fear Linda?”

  “The media. I fear the media…” she sighed, put the palms of her hands together. “The way I see it is that Charity’s lies will be believed over your truths.”

  Faith nodded. “Yes. I understand.”

  “Okay…” Linda said. “I cannot stop Alan Bowling from entering the library but I can at least shield you from him, if the situation turns somewhat nasty. I would feel a lot more comfortable if I could act as a mediator between you and them… them of course being the media.”

  Faith glanced over toward Linda’s owl perched upon her left shoulder. “Then that is what you must do.” She said.

  Linda let out a breath of air. “Okay,” she whispered in relief, collected the tablet off of the table and made her way back toward the counter. “People will be arriving any moment now. It might be better if you all waited inside the conference room.”