by Nancy Glynn
“You must know I love you by now. I think I have since our first meeting. Do you remember?”
She shook her head. “I don’t. My aunt told me about it, but I just don’t." Her head still reeled at his words. He loved her. Her skin grew hot.
“Well, I do. Even when I was with Tara, as much as I cared for her...your face, your hair, it was always with me, haunting me,” he paused, looking at the statue. “My mother would speak of a Daisy and how one day I would understand it all. She would say ‘an angel named Daisy,’ and I just thought she was nuts because she never met you.
“But then Dane would speak of you in ways he shouldn’t have, and this part of me would change, would turn black,” he said, balling his fists and clenching his jaw.
“Then after my mother died, my father began to tell me of these plans and what was expected of me to fill this role. I didn’t want to drag you into any of this horror of a life. I turned myself against you before you came. You were everything I remembered from when we were kids. I wanted to warn you to get out now and go back home, but I knew that was useless because your father would send you back. There was nowhere to go. I loathed my father at that moment.”
“I’m so sorry, Christian. This must be really hard for you, to know your own father...,” she paused, then remembered her father was doing the same thing. “I probably understand more than anyone.”
“Right,” he concurred, looking her in the eye. “Do you love me, Daisy? I mean, I know we haven’t really known each other that long, but –,”
Her eyes fluttered to his, tears burning them. “I do love you, Christian. As much as I don’t want to, I do,” she said, cupping his face. “I feel I was born to love you, as silly as that sounds.”
“It’s not silly at all but very true. Do you love me enough to risk it all? To give your old life up and come be by my side?”
“Christian, what you’re asking of me is to give up my...my faith and to believe in something else,” she responded, her voice quivering. “I can’t believe in...that,” she admitted, shaking her head.
“You don’t have to in your heart, just pretend." His sad smile touched something deep in her.
She cleared her throat. “Won’t he know? What if I’m asked to perform certain rituals I can’t." Tears stung her eyes, refusing to release. She blinked them and allowed them to fall. He wiped them away for her.
“You’re right. I didn’t think this through. Being selfish again. Damn it!" He slapped his thigh and sat back against the bench, running his hands through his hair. “There’s got to be a way, Daisy. I don’t want to lose you!" He pulled her to him, cradling her head to his chest.
She spoke against his shirt. “It would be for eternity with you?”
“Yes, but to be honest, I’m scared of how I’ll change after the anointment, how you’d change. So an eternity with a demon doesn’t sound all that great now, does it.”
“Your love wouldn’t allow that...I know it.”
“What’re you saying then?" He pulled her head away and looked into her eyes.
“I don’t know anymore. I just know I can’t go back home and live without you. It would kill me, so I might as well be dead.”
“You do understand what would happen at the ball, right? What Jack would do to you? I don’t know if I could stand that, seeing him rip you apart!” he stated, shaking his head. “And if he discovers you’re not a virgin...”
“So, Jack really can’t hear us out here?” she asked, sitting up.
He glanced at the fountain spraying water as the wind whipped through. “No. She’s with God now, and Jack hates that, doesn’t come near this area,” he chuckled, shaking his head.
She laid her head back on his chest and chewed her nail, feeling the warm breeze blow her hair. She fiddled with her cross and wondered if she could ever let God go, all for love. But isn’t that what God was about, love? Could He forgive her and understand?
And then she remembered what her cross had done to her skin. She sat up and lifted it, revealing perfect skin. “I swear there was a mark from my cross!”
“That happened when he took it off you,” he said in a dry voice.
“But where is it now?" She searched his eyes for an answer, still feeling the smooth area where her cross lay.
“That’s one little thing I might have left out,” he added, eying her cross.
“What? Tell me!”
“The reason you were chosen, Daisy. There’s a power in you probably stronger than any of us have, and the closer you are to me, the greater it grows. It’s protecting you, my love,” he said, caressing her face. “Together, you and I can make one helluva team, so to speak." He gave a crooked smile.
Confusion filled her face. “Protect me from what...Jack?”
“Yes…and me.”
“You? But I’m safe with you! I can feel it!”
“What did you see in my eyes last night, Daisy?” he reminded her.
She shook her head, denying what he tried to tell her. “I love you, Christian. That’s all I care about. I’m not afraid of you and never will be." She kissed him then, proving her love.
“Oh, Daisy...my Daisy,” he murmured against her lips, letting his tongue slide into her mouth. He leaned his body against her, her hands sliding down his side and to his back, up through his hair, tugging at it.
She broke from his mouth and licked down his neck, over his Adam’s apple and into the crevice below that.
He groaned and pulled away. “We can’t here, too early in the day, too many eyes in the house.”
Trying to catch her breath and come back to reality, she understood, nodding in response.
“Listen, Jack wants me to bring you to his church tonight, to sort of start teaching you the ways. Your dress has been ordered and is in your room. I know you don’t know what you want right now, but this is expected,” he said, standing and pulling her to her feet.
Fear paralyzed her. “I don’t know if I can go through with that, Christian! I mean…”
He softly rubbed her face to calm her. “Just until we figure all this out. He can’t suspect anything. There’s something I need to take care of today, so go relax. We have an indoor pool you’ll love.”
“What do you have to do?”
“Nothing for you to worry about, but it might help,” he added, kissing her lips once more. “Oh, and leave your cross at home tonight. I’m sure you understand.”
Chapter Nine
Daisy used the pool for about an hour before retreating to her room to start preparing. Under the water while swimming, she had thought she heard voices calling out to her, whispering her name, especially a female voice.
She had stuck her head out to look around, but of course no one was there. As soon as she would go back under, they came, taunting her. At one point, when she emerged from the water, a figure in the shape of a woman wearing a long gown appeared next to the pool, looking down at her, smiling. After wiping the water out of her eyes to see her better, she was gone like a mirage.
Pulling her towel robe on, she ran up the stairway, still dripping water, and past all those creepy paintings. Each one seemed to mock her, making low murmuring sounds, some laughing, and some crying. She turned to try to catch them moving, but nothing. All appeared normal.
Upon entering her room, the dress sat in a box on her bed as promised, wrapped in a big red bow. She opened it and pulled it out, amazed at the sheer exquisiteness. The dress was black and red velvet mixed with satin, too nice for just going to church.
She stepped out of her robe, slid out of her wet suit, and walked to the bathroom sink to remove her necklace. Clasping the back of the chain, she caught her reflection and gazed at her cross dangling. She chewed her bottom lip and continued to let it drop.
It slid down into her palm, shining in all its splendor, kissed it and put it in a pouch to protect it. She did the sign of the cross, wiped a tear away, and asked God to forgive her. “I’m only pretending,” she whispered.
>
After taking a bubble bath in the whirlpool tub, she rubbed White Citrus lotion into her hot pink skin and powdered her body down, preparing for...what?
She sat at the vanity mirror lined in lights, with all her makeup spread out and hairbrushes, wondering who had owned this prior. Was it Lana’s, Christian’s mother?
Patting her shoulders and neck with the big soft powder puff, her hair pulled up with hanging tendrils, her eyes glazed over. A draft of cool air blew around her, swirling, circulating her body. She felt dizzy and lightheaded, a sensuality exploding from her head to her toes. The powder puff felt good, fluffing across her skin, tickling her with a mind of its own.
A sensation enveloped her, wanting to feed a hunger she didn’t understand, her lips slightly parted, her eyes hooded, her breathing becoming clipped. What was wrong with her? Dizzy, so dizzy. She clenched her thigh muscles to some unknown rhythm.
The powder puff roamed her breasts, her belly, her thighs. She caught sight of herself in the mirror when she opened her eyes, her mouth slightly open, her eyes glassy, and before she allowed anything more, she threw the puff to the floor.
Her heart pounded until she could slow it down, her erratic breathing catching up, and her chest and abdomen heaving in and out. “No!” she yelled to the air. “This is my body!” she yelled at some unseen force.
Fatigue took over her, and she lay face down on the cushiony four-poster bed, feeling the ruffled lace scratch her naked belly.
She woke up about an hour later, but felt like it was ten hours, feeling drugged and out of it.
The clock showed five o’clock. Christian would be here soon, so she pulled herself up, her hair tumbling out of its pins. She applied her makeup and fixed her hair to cascade down her back in loose, layered curls, and slid her dress over her head.
If she didn’t know better with seeing her image in the mirror, she would think she was in the Renaissance era. Her hand flew to cover her revealing cleavage. Her taste was more conservative, not this.
Someone knocked on the door. “I’ll be right there!" She said one more prayer before she moved toward the door.
She pulled the door open, and he stood there looking so distinguished in his black suit. “Hello, handsome.”
“Wow,” he said back. He took her hand and twirled her around. “Daisy,” he whispered.
“Remind me why we’re so dressed up again? I feel too fancy for...church,” she squeezed the last word out.
“Everyone formally meets you on my arm before my birthday, sort of an initiation. It’s new, so I’m not even sure what will happen." He pulled her to him and kissed her.
She pulled away, laughing. “You’ll mess up my makeup, mister!”
“There’s no messing anything up on you,” he murmured, his eyes drifting down her dress.
She blushed. “Are you sure you’re really only turning twenty-one? I swear sometimes there’s a wise old man hidden in there.”
“Why do you ask?” he asked, drawing his brows together in a smirk.
“There’s just something in your eyes that looks like it’s a thousand years old, not a college kid, but a man of the world!" She grabbed her black satin clutch and took his offered arm.
“Believe me, I’m no kid,” he stated, his voice dropping. “I’ve been groomed well." He walked her out to his gold Mercedes-Benz.
“Where’s your truck?” she asked with incredulity.
“I thought we’d take this car tonight. You like?" He asked, as the door lifted up.
“It’s gorgeous, Christian!" She sat, pulling her dress inside around her ankles, and watched the door come back down.
He got in on his side and laughed at her shocked expression. “Welcome to my life.”
She watched his strong hands taking the steering wheel and pull out of the long circular driveway, just gazing at his profile. A face she could stare at forever. Her fingers entwined in his other hand and realized this was her life, too. Anywhere Christian was, she would be, that she felt for certain. The smell of his cologne and aftershave intoxicated her, smelling of leather and spice.
He pulled up to the gates and waited for them to open, inclining over to give her a sweet kiss, a kiss she wanted to turn into something more and tried.
“Why do you have to kiss me like that now?” he groaned. He returned to driving, shaking his head.
“Sorry, you do that to me." She smiled, leaning her head back to the seat.
He smiled back and squeezed her hand.
The outside world whizzed past her window…trees, houses, and other sporty cars. She remembered where they were going, and acid gnawed at her stomach. She rubbed it to take the ache away, but it remained. Her neck felt naked without her cross. Tears coated her eyes.
“You okay, Daze?" Concern wrinkled his face.
She forced a smile. “Yeah, just a little nervous.”
“I’ll be right there with you, don’t you worry. I love you, Daisy. Please remember that.”
“I know and I do. I love you too, Christian.”
“Good. You had me worried there.”
They drove for what seemed like an hour, but was really only ten minutes. The church, painted in black, was nestled in the back of the forest, a familiar place from her dream of Bessie.
Extravagant cars filled the lot, some cars from the 1920s, and people dressed in black cloaks with hoods, stepping out, carrying an excitement with them, laughing at some unheard jokes.
And all to meet her.
They appeared like normal, happy people except for one thing; they worshipped something darker.
The full moon glowed in the dark, starless space of sky, as a witness to a new beginning in this ancient town of immortal life.
As Christian parked, she did the sign of the cross and prayed for forgiveness. A howling song of sorrow, as if in response to her prayer, radiated from the blowing trees.
“Are those coyotes or wolves?” she asked.
“Jackals.”
“Oh,” she said, glancing out to the forest of hidden golden eyes.
“I have a cloak for you to wear until we get inside, just for dramatic purposes. I’ll wear one, too. Okay?”
She shrugged. “We’re just pretending for tonight, right?”
He nodded. “Just pretending. It could be a preview of our life together here if we go that way,” he said, smiling into her eyes.
She sighed. “I’ll wear it for you.”
He got out and grabbed something from the back, carrying it to her side after the door lifted up. He pulled his satin black cloak on and handed a satin sapphire one to her. She pulled it on and with his help pulled her hood up to hide her face, her hair hanging out in waves.
“You look mysterious as well as beautiful, and you’re mine." He dipped his face inside the hood and kissed her, this time giving her what she wanted earlier. Her legs weakened under her weight. They were hidden in the shadows of an Oak tree that stood by his car. The lot emptied out and looked eerie. Too quiet.
“I love you, Daisy,” he whispered against her lips.
She nodded in agreement against his lips. Just meeting some people, no big deal she told herself.
Then a soft voice spoke in her mind, a voice not hers. “Daisy, there’s a power in you that feeds them fear, so don’t be scared. I also wore that cloak once. You’re the strong one, not them." Mom? She only saw videos of her mother, but never actually heard her voice.
“Ready?” he asked, wrapping her arm through his with that breathtaking smile of his.
Looking at the double steel doors, not knowing exactly what was behind them, she paused before answering. “Yes. Let’s go in.”
Chapter Ten
At first it felt like she was stepping into an abyss, but then it expanded into dimmed lights and hushed voices. Black pews were separated by an aisle leading up to an altar with a podium in the center.
Everyone’s black cloaks were in contrast to her blue one, their hoods shadowing their faces. Torches adorn
ed the altar, flames licking the dead air, and faces outlined by the candles in their grips.
The one thing that really caught her attention as she walked closer was the upside down cross hanging from the raft over the altar. Her knees buckled, and Christian steadied her. They walked down the aisle, everyone bowing as they passed them, some with smiles, some with dead eyes.
“Hail Christian!” they chanted.
When they got to the front of the church, Christian bowed to the altar. He stood back and directed her to do the same, his eyes pleading. She looked at the altar dressed in black, averting her eyes from that thing hanging upside, an organ playing somewhere, and she bowed, swallowing the vomit rising in her throat.
After erecting herself, she saw him there as if he appeared after her bow. Jack Red wore a black suit, a top hat, and a cane. “Hello, Daisy. Thank you for honoring me. And now allow us to honor you." He nodded to Christian to take their seats.
Christian held her hand in reassurance of what was to come. She was positive her heart could be heard by all, sounding like a fast, hard knock on a wooden plank. The organ sounded and hooded heads bowed in prayer. She followed along and closed her eyes, not wanting to see what was happening. She peeked when she heard his voice.
“We welcome you, Daisy, into our world,” Jack spoke in a thunderous tone, booming throughout the church, rattling the walls.
Fire erupted on each side of him in response, the heat of the flames kissing her face. A low chant surrounded her, feeling like hands clawing at her from behind. But when she turned around, only hooded stares from their seats.
“Christian, bring Daisy up here to introduce her to her new family, her new way of life,” he instructed.
She looked at him, but something flickered in his eyes, that same look he had last night. Did she lose him again? Was this her Christian she loved or something else?
Christian allowed her to go before him, up the three steps to the platform, and stood by the altar. He ripped her cloak off, bringing a small cry from her. “I would like you all to welcome Daisy, my birthday present from my father,” he said, bowing to William Stone in the congregation. “And also to Daisy’s father, Richard. If it weren’t for him, there’d be no Daisy." He bowed to another section of pews.
