“I have to get back. I have to get back to them.”
Adley’s face haunted her as she felt herself soar, cradled in the angel’s arms. He screamed her name, and the cry rang out loud, shattering the eerie stillness that cloaked the angel like the soft down on a baby bird. Eve wanted out of that entrapping velvet, but her hands and feet refused to obey her commands to. All she could do was stare into Adley’s ever-smaller, stricken eyes.
The angel caught her gaze as they drifted higher. “I am sorry. You were truly born to be together.”
The world darkened as the beautiful creature rose higher and higher and the day became night. Stars sparkled in an endless, jeweled blanket. Any other time, she might’ve acknowledged their beauty. But the night inside her had no stars. It had no moon—just like she knew her days would have no sun.
In her heart, Eve understood what had happened. Where she was and what would happen now. None of what came next mattered to her. Eve felt as though the vampire had reached into her chest to squeeze her heart until it burst.
They stopped moving. The angel set her on her feet in the center of the sky.
“I thank you for giving us Azrael, and for your strength and determination to keep him safe. I am truly sorry this has happened to you.”
“Please, wait. Who are you?”
“My name is Rashda, and I am from a group called the Family. We live in an immortal mountain that is part of and yet apart from the mortal world. We fight against the half-breed vampire and his kind. Adley will make a good addition to our fight. I promise you, we will take good care of them both.”
Rashda pointed. But Eve wasn’t ready to let go of the one being who knew she loved Adley. She grasped her robes, refusing to turn in the direction the angel pointed. Rashda’s smile seemed sad and her beautiful violet eyes glittered with unshed tears. “Wait here, Eve, and the Master or Mistress will summon you. Do not be afraid of them. But do not move until you are told to. Do you understand, child?”
Eve closed her eyes as the soft touch feathered against her cheek. The feel of Rashda’s hand was so smooth and so light, Eve’s tears disappeared with the stroke. She felt the angel’s love for her transferred through this simple act before the touch disappeared. Eve opened her eyes.
She was alone.
The two she’d been warned about strode back and forward between the stars and seemed to be arguing. She tried to block the couple out, but the sound of the female’s anger wouldn’t let her look away. They glided closer. The woman’s hair and clothes looked dark and wild against her pale skin. The glossy strands of her hair seemed polished by the sparkle of the stars and drifted out around her.
She argued with him, throwing her hands into the air while she paced. He stood motionless. His long blonde hair reflected a light Eve couldn’t see, as though the radiance came from each strand that draped across his shoulders and over his bare chest.
Eve couldn’t understand what they were saying. Fists and open palms gestured in a way that told Eve neither of them was backing down from their disagreement. She might’ve stood there for days, or minutes, she had no heartbeat to mark the passing time that Eve stood there, watching, waiting until the woman stalked forward, pointed to Eve and then disappeared.
The man turned to Eve, His gaze poured light over her, like the beam of a torch in the night, stinging her eyes and making her breath catch in her throat. She cried out and shielded her eyes with torn fingers… fingers that ceased to hurt. The light faded, as though he had ceased to exist and she dropped her hand and blinked. He strode across the night sky toward her. The closer he came, the more he began to resemble someone familiar, or someone she felt should be familiar. His long blonde hair disappeared, and was replaced by short, black hair. His eyes, which had seconds ago burned bright like fire, now glistened blue like ice. Eve couldn’t think, she couldn’t breathe. A memory returned, glossy black hair and crystal-clear eyes that shone under the moon… in the twinkle of a star, Eve was back in that same alley as though the event that changed her life happened yesterday. Eve. That... is... a beautiful name. The name of the woman who begat the fall of man if I remember correctly. How... fitting….
Her breath caught as he drifted toward her. She couldn’t speak. She couldn’t do anything but re-live fragments of her son’s conception. In her mind, this man was braced himself above her, the muscles of his shoulders and arms rippling as he rode her. Eve felt that moment now, skin to skin, slick with sweat and desire, she felt the moment their bodies joined and the rush of her orgasm as he shuddered inside her.
“I must admit, you have amazed me, Eve.” He moved close enough that she could feel the heat of his breath on her cheeks. “For such a fragile human, you’ve shown more courage and determination than I have seen for thousands of years. You’ve succeeded where others failed, time and time again. It was… impressive really.”
His appraisal of her fight to survive felt demeaning, as though the last months of her life had been nothing more than a game. A game played through blood, pain, and the tears of others, but not his.
“I don’t really understand what’s happening here. But I need to wake up. I need to get back to Adley and my son.”
“Our son,” he corrected. “The angel Azrael is our son, Eve, and I’m afraid there is no going back.”
Eve breathed deep and steadied herself, as her mind reeled with his words. She couldn’t be side-tracked by what he said. Not ‘angel Azrael’ or anything else. His words weren’t important. The only thing that mattered was getting back to them.
“Please, I’m asking you to help me. Just let me wake up.” She was unable to bear the pity in his gaze… because to accept his sorrow meant she couldn’t get back. No, no! Her mind screamed, but she feared letting the sound escape. Eve searched for strength in the stars.
“I can’t help you wake up Eve, because you’re not asleep. Your soul has moved on to the next phase of your life. You are no longer part of the mortal world.”
No! Her body trembled. His words were cruel. She wanted to lash out and hurt him as she was hurting. And yet, somehow she knew what he said was true. In the moment when the angel, Rashda, carried her upwards, she saw something she didn’t understand, something too terrifying to comprehend. But she understood now. When he spoke, the image came back to her.
“Your body was broken Eve. Your neck was snapped, ceasing the flow of blood to your brain. There’s no coming back from that.” He stepped closer. “So fragile… so very fragile, and yet at the same time, so strong and determined.”
No sun, no moon, no stars… forever...
Eve screamed. She clenched her fists and lashed out at the father of her son. “Adley!”
He took her blows. His arms held her gently until she had nothing left. She sagged, feeling as though all the dreams she’d dared to have weighed her down as though she were nothing more than an empty vessel, filled with sharp shards of rock.
“Your sacrifice hasn’t gone unnoticed Eve. On this plane, you’ll be considered the harbinger of the greatest era the mortal world has ever seen. Because of this, there are certain luxuries.”
He pointed to a crack in the darkness, a sliver of light, which brightened as a door opened. Eve ducked, hiding her eyes against his chest until they adjusted. Then she saw them. Adley, cradling her son in his arms.
She lunged forward, running as fast as she could but still, the movement felt too slow. Adley looked happier than she’d ever seen him, like he was different somehow. Like this was too good to be true…
Her steps faltered, and she stopped as her doubts took hold. Adley and her son stood just out of reach, waiting. Yet she was unwilling to travel those last few steps. The sight of them was so real, so perfect. Her heart urged her forward, screaming for her to move. Instead she forced herself to look back over her shoulder to the father of her son. “Are they really here?”
He nodded. “They are real enough. You can be happy there Eve, truly happy for all of eternity. Don’t you t
hink you deserve that… to be happy?”
As much as her heart demanded for her to take that last step and fall into their arms, she couldn’t. If she was dead and they were really here, that could only mean one thing. Edric Hasting had won and the two people she loved in this world were dead.
She didn’t hear him move, but the father of her son touched her arm. The caress was gentle and comforting. “They’re an image of those you love and you can be happy here with them. Until the time comes that they join you for real.”
They were an image? They were only a mirror? Without a soul to comfort her? While on Earth, the real people she loved fought in her name and for her love? No, this isn’t happening… I won’t have it. “Send me back.”
He shook his head. His smile faded. Eve glanced back to the imposters. The temptation to go to them was not as alluring as it’d been moments ago.
Her resolve hardened and Eve stepped back from the shimmering doorway. She turned her back to them, though the act was the most difficult of her life, even knowing they weren’t real. She focused on the father of her child, who Rashda had called the Master—the one who’d started this all. “Send. Me. Back.”
His eyes narrowed and his top lip drew back. His expression had been compassionate only moments before, but now morphed into one of rage. “It can't be done, Eve. Your life is here, waiting for you. Go and be a mother and a wife. You can know joy for the rest of eternity!”
Eve gritted her teeth. She didn’t think, she just acted, taking a step toward him, forcing him to step back. “I don't care. I want the man I love and the son I gave birth to!”
“You want to go back to pain and misery? To the fleeting moments humans have left in this world? Because if I send you back, that's all you will have!” The veins in his neck bulged.
His anger was like a bucket of cold water to hers. She searched his eyes, trying to find some connection, so she could make him understand.
“If it means I have a chance to get back to them, then yes, that’s what I want. If it means I’ll die a thousand times, then that’s what I’ll do.”
He searched the darkened sky, as though the answer was out there somewhere. Never in her life had the night felt so cold and lonely as it did in that moment. Eve crumbled to her knees.
“Very well,” he said quietly. Eve thought at first she imagined he spoke. She lifted her head and searched his face, praying her ears hadn’t betrayed her. “But there’re some things even I can’t control. One, if I send you back, I can’t guarantee what form you’ll take, or where you will be. You may go back as a man for all I know.”
Eve swallowed and nodded, “I understand.”
“No. Eve. I don’t think you do, not yet anyway. If I send you back, there’s no guarantee you’ll have any memories of your former life at all. You may live another complete life. Love another. Have children to another, never knowing what you’ve given up. Are you still willing to sacrifice everything for this one chance?”
She opened her mouth to speak. For her there was no option.
“Before you answer, I want you to do something. Come and stand by my side.”
She got to her feet, feeling small and insignificant. He gestured to the night sky, as though the stars were His peasants, lighting candles for His pleasure. “Find the brightest star you can… please.”
Eve turned and scanned the myriad of diamonds which studded the velvet sky until a star caught her eye, its sparkle radiant, and she pointed to it. “That one,”
“It is beautiful, isn't it? But, what about this one,” Eve followed his finger to a star and when she focused she realized it sparkled as bright as the star she picked. “Or, that one... or that one.”
Each star now shone like the one she chosen only seconds ago, each vibrant sparkle pulled her away until her star faded inside her mind.
“You see, there are an infinite number of stars out there, each which shines as bright as the rest of them. Just like there are infinite numbers of possibilities on how this will turn out. You have achieved something magical in your life, something others could never have dreamed of. You have transformed yourself from this shy, fragile being, into someone of tremendous worth.”
“I don't want to be anyone of tremendous worth. I want to be a mother, a wife to my son and Adley, and I’m willing to take this chance.”
He stood silent for a long time until he answered. “Very well, Eve. I’d hoped I could change your mind, but I can see now that you’re set on this foolishness.”
He moved close to her and leaned over. She felt the same hypnotic stare that subdued her in the alley all those months ago. He brushed his lips across hers. The kiss was light and tender. She panicked for a split second before he pressed his mouth down hard and gripped her tight against him.
“Good luck Eve,” he said inside her mind. “You're going to need it.” The kiss deepened. Her body trembled, and the shudders grew in intensity until she thrashed in his arms.
Adley, I’m coming….
Her eyes flew open and she drank in the ocean blue of his gaze as her soul shattered.
The world around her was dark. It stank of death and blood. She inhaled sharply, fighting off blackness inside her mind. Her stomach rolled—the stench was overwhelming.
She opened her eyes slowly. The fog bled into the light. Muffled voices that hovered on the edge of a dream sharpened, their tone demanding and cold. “Hose them down. They stink, and I won't have our blood smelling like shit.”
She lay on her side, her knees drawn to her chest. The coldness licked at places air shouldn't touch. Metal bars dug into her thighs and shoulders. The cries and whimpers of others filled the air. Their pain and suffering touched her heart.
Where was she? She tried to remember, but everything was one big blur. Pain cut through her, splitting her head in two. Her lips trembled and she whimpered. She touched the sides of her head and winced. Her flesh was torn. There was something wrong, something missing, something… important… she tried to recall.
The thought danced around the edges of her memory, taunting her, until the realization stepped closer. Hair, that's what's missing, my hair. Long blonde hair echoed through a memory. A memory she tried to grasp.
A hand gripped her leg and she cried out, pulling her knees in tighter against her.
“It’s okay, honey. It’s just me. I thought you were a goner when they dragged you back in, girl. You stopped breathing for a loooong time. I thought for sure you was dead.”
She focused on the hand. At the center of her vision, the image sharpened. She followed the hand to an arm and then upwards to where a woman stared at her. The woman’s naked, ebony skin tricked her into believing the blindness had returned, until the ebony scarecrow smiled, and her white teeth gleamed in the dimness.
“Yes, sir. I have never seen a wild cat in action, but I sure seen one in you tonight. You gave it your best shot honey, we are thankful. But, you best be careful now, ‘cause they’ll be watchin’ you.”
She swallowed, trying to work her throat to speak. A croak was all she could manage. “Where are we?”
“They must’a given you a good knock for you to forget this piece of paradise,” the woman patted her leg softly. “We’re in a blood farm, honey. The vampires drain us and fuck us till we almost dead. Then they throw us in these cages until the next time. Yes sir, a real piece of paradise. You sure you don’t remember nothin’?”
Her bottom lip trembled. But she pinned it down with her teeth and shook her head carefully. The pain bit back. Shouldn't she remember something, anything? My name, what's my name... Rachel, Veronica, Sally, Lucy, Katherine... They were names she could recall, but somehow they didn't connect, somehow they didn't feel real. “Please. Can you tell me my name?”
Eve, whispered through her mind. My name is Eve, at the same time the woman beside her answered. “Why, it’s Tracy, honey. Your name is Tracy.”
* * *
If you enjoyed this story and want to find out more
, you can find me here at Haunting Fiction:
http://www.hauntingfiction.com
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About Kim Faulks
I'm a Aussie girl who loves stories about the underdogs and the things they've done to survive. Nothing is off limits in my books. I love writing bad guys just as much as the heroes and finding that point of no return. My books are usually hot, action-packed, and always... always dark.
Read at your own risk.
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Kim, xx
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Paranormal After Dark: 20 Paranormal Tales of Demons, Shifters, Werewolves, Vampires, Fae, Witches, Magics, Ghosts and More Page 51
