I watched emotionless as Samael fell to his knees.
I coldly observed the dagger sticking out of his chest glowing bright red, like a hot iron of righteousness, oozing all the life out of his evil essence.
Forever.
I watched as the many different faces that Samael had used flashed before my eyes before engulfing his entire body into an inferno of fire. All those years of lies, charm, and deceit of tricking innocent women, trapping their souls had literally evaporated.
When the smoke cleared the only thing remaining in space was the dagger.
Then, the dagger lit up again and the flames wrapped around the knife until the weapon itself combusted into another small cloud of smoke, simultaneously emanating an outpouring of yellow light, setting free all the entrapped souls as they made their way into the heavens above.
Strangely enough it reminded me of the classic movie, A Nightmare on Elm Street, after Freddy’s demise and all of the souls he had taken spilled out of his chest.
Funny, I thought Adrian was my Gatsby but he turned out to be my ghoul.
My mother ran over to me and we embraced in a long, desperate hug that was twenty years overdue.
“How did you know I was telling the truth?” she asked, wiping away her tears
“It was when he called me Eve. The truth was in the last words he spoke when he said he would do anything for Eve and not Sidney, not me.”
He never loved me. It was always her.
My mother filled in the details. “He was collecting the souls so that he could be reunited with her. He made a deal with the devil long ago; 1,000 souls for Eve’s return.”
“So was Eve just as evil as he was?”
My mother walked across the room and touched a small plaque that was nailed to one of the old coffins. It was the same plaque I saw in my dream but was unable to read the name. I wiped away the years of dust and was astonished to read the name “Eve” on the marker.
“I don’t think so, Sidney. I believe in the beginning they were both good. Samael would go to great lengths to be reunited with her and in the process he was overcome by his obsessive love for her which led to his evil.”
She turned and looked at me with sadness in her eyes. “You would have been the thousandth one. He came so close to being reunited with her, that’s why he hated me so much. If I had done what he wanted twenty years ago, he already would have been reunited with Eve. He blamed me for his plan failing and promised to pay me back by claiming you. But I could never let him take you, Sidney. I gave my life to protect you.”
She broke down and sobbed.
I clutched my mother’s waist as I buried my face in her chest and wept with her. “Oh Mama, all this time I thought you had abandoned me. I’m so sorry for the hatred I felt for you growing up. I was just so hurt.”
She wrapped her arms around me, stroking my hair. “There, there, Sidney. You can smile again. You know the truth now, and most importantly, you’re free. Go now, and live the life you were meant to have.”
I looked up at her smiling face and felt lost. “Mama, I’m so afraid…”
My mother leaned forward and showered me with all of the kisses that had been stolen from my life as a child. “Close your eyes, Sidney, I’ll sing you the song I used to sing you as a baby before putting you down for your nap,” she consoled.
I placed my head against her shoulder and was not surprised by my mother’s song choice of “Jewel.” I closed my eyes and listed to the soft melody coming from my mother’s enchanting voice. I had been sung to sleep many times growing up but the voice had always been Granny’s. I’d always enjoyed my grandmother singing to me as a child, but the voice now was something entirely different. I finally had my mother singing me her soft lullaby while cradling me in her arms. As my eyelids got heavier, I slowly drifted into that peaceful state of mind until her dulcet tones faded out and I was unconscious.
Chapter 21
Vortex
It seemed even with divine intervention, I was still plagued with the dreams. I stood in front of the gates of Eden as I watched a horrific scene unfold before my eyes.
Something must have gone terribly wrong because Samael was kneeling on the ground clutching Eve’s limp body in his arms as Samjaza stood over them without any emotion.
“Oh god, what have I done?” Samael shouted in agony. Screaming at his love’s lifeless body, he desperately pleaded for her to wake up. His efforts were in vain.
Eve was gone.
Samjaza twisted his snakelike lips into a smile as he answered Samael’s calls for help. “She’s dead. Do not be saddened though, she died in the name of love.”
As he held Eve close to his chest, Samael shouted to the serpent, “I should have known better than to trust your sorcery and listen to a snake like you!”
Samjaza laughed at the man’s dramatics as he waved him off. “Calm down, you fool. You truly didn’t believe I would give her to you prior to paying your debt, did you?”
Wiping his eyes and attempting to catch his breath, Samael responded, “I told you, I have gold. I’ll pay you ten times over if you bring her back to me.”
“And I told you it was not gold that I sought.”
“Name your price,” Samael growled.
“Souls,” Samjaza said tersely as he stretched his bony finger out toward Eve’s body, “From women who love you just as fiercely as this one did.”
The Snake handed him the bloody dagger that had been used moments before to kill Eve.
“You must get them to plunge this same blade into their body in the same way Eve had done, in the name of love. On the thousandth one, just as your victim takes her last breath, the life will leave her, enter into Eve, and you will have your lover back forever.”
Another wave of the boney hand as the Snake commanded, “Take her now. The gates have been opened and are now blanketed in a spell. If you pass through them quickly you will be allowed to retain your memories. Take Eve and place her body somewhere safe. You have a lot of work to do, boy.”
Samael slowly swept up his lifeless love and began heading toward the gates feeling alone and defeated. He was meant only for Eve, how could he encourage one thousand women to fall in love with him and repeat her fate?
Eve and his circumstances were unique.
With each step he took, he began to understand just how hopeless of a task this would be for him. Eve had perished for no reason. He was never going to be able to bring her back.
“Oh, boy?” the Evil One called out.
Samael stopped, too heartbroken to look back. Knowing that he had his ear, the Snake said, “Do not forget to remove her necklace before laying her to rest. It contains all of her memories. Whoever wears the pendant will become spellbound. They will be consumed with Eve’s memories of you. If Eve’s love is as true as she claimed it to be, then the one who wears the necklace will desire only you, making your task a little easier.”
I lay in bed processing my latest dream.
The dream validated everything my mother had told me. I was nothing more than a soul for Samael. A stepping stone to get to his one true love. I took a deep breath and exhaled as I glanced around the bright room.
Then I realized that I was not in my bed.
I was still incredibly drained and disoriented.
Where was I and how did I get here?
In the distance, I heard the soft sounds of mourning doves cooing outside of the bedroom window. The risen sun was blazing as it welcomed me to a new day. Groggy with sleep, I quickly scanned my surroundings, rearranging them into an order that made sense.
The white walls contrasted boldly with the deep mahogany woodwork of the room. The richly hued brown beams going across the vaulted ceilings gave it an illusion of a church cathedral.
I murmured to myself, “I’ve been in this house before.”
The old wooden window was framed with the same mahogany wood and it was covered with a sheer, white curtain that was blowing against the breez
e of the summer air. I arose from my bed and tip-toed across the room, peering curiously out the window. The backyard was beautifully landscaped with orange trees which framed the picturesque San Rafael hills.
Mount Washington!
I knew this place was familiar. This was the home in Los Angeles that Ray and I had planned to live in someday.
Just as the pieces of the puzzle began to fall into place I heard the keys of a piano being played from outside of the bedroom. I ran across the room, following the familiar sound of the song that only had one singer.
Could it really be true? Could Ray really be here with me?
My bare feet flew swiftly across the wood floor as my heart began to pound against my chest and the heavy brass pendant and its telltale emerald swung back and forth. I skidded to a stop and removed the cursed piece of jewelry from around my neck and held it like the tail of a dead rat. I noticed the decorative wall grille in the hallway. Quickly, I removed the cover and tossed the necklace inside the dark air vent.
It was exhilarating to finally be rid of it.
As I entered the living room, I was greeted by several familiar faces. I was so happy to see them all and feel their collective warmth. But my eyes only focused on one individual.
He sat on the piano bench pounding away at the keys, humming the beginnings of a song that would eventually become his number one single on the Billboard music chart as he sang the lyric, “Not kissing you goodbye.”
I stared at him, not wanting to dwell on anyone or anything else in the universe.
His blond hair splashed golden as the sun shone brightly through the large living room window. His blue eyes looked into mine and he flashed me his bright smile.
“Morning, sunshine,” Ray greeted as he patted the bench, inviting me to join him.
I glided across the floor and perched myself next to him, still unable to believe that he was really here. He wrapped his arms around me and excitedly began to tell me about the new song he had been working on.
“I mean, it’s still a work in progress. Finn’s gonna eventually add some guitar riffs to it to make it a little more rock and roll, but overall I think it’s gonna stay a love song,” he explained, just as passionately as he always did when he spoke of his music.
“I love it,” I said, addressing the entire room, resting my eyes on Ray’s guitar player. “Finn, you definitely need to add your guitar and get that working in there.”
Finn, sitting on the maroon couch next to Chrissy, smiled and I noticed the two were sitting thigh to thigh. I nodded at her silently, letting her know through the raise of my eyebrows that we needed to talk later. Chrissy returned the smile and for the first time in a long while I saw that she truly looked happy.
She stood up and stretched as I observed her pink tank top and matching pajama bottoms. I realized that she must have stayed over last night. Then I looked at Finn and noticed that he was still in his pajamas too.
I gave Chrissy a look that said, “Where exactly did you sleep last night?”
Again, she flashed me that sneaky, yet satisfied smile, and skipped over to me, grabbing my hands. “Well, our soon-to-be Mrs. Ryker.” She held up my left hand and for the first time I beheld the beautiful white gold wedding band crafted in a pattern of diamonds and blue sapphires which met one large diamond in the middle.
“We have a very busy day ahead of us. First your baptism that is if you still want to have that grand Catholic Church wedding you’ve always dreamed of, and then off to eat some cake samples with your bestie.”
She said this as she rubbed her stomach and closed her eyes. We both envisioned all the different cakes we would soon be eating. Chrissy always had a major sweet tooth, in both men and desserts.
I laughed at the combined craziness and familiarity of my friends as I remembered my mother’s final words to me, “Go now, and live the life that you were meant to have.”
Then I remembered one of the most important people in my life. Almost too scared to ask, I meekly asked, “Has Granny woken up?”
Chrissy gave me a strange look as if not fully comprehending my question and then answered, “Emmy has been waking up at seven o’clock in the morning like clockwork ever since I’ve known her. In fact, she’s on a plane headed down here now.”
As the tears spilled down my cheeks, Ray took my hand in his and asked me, “You’re not getting cold feet, are you?”
I smiled and shook my head. “Never. Marrying you is my dream come true.”
“Me too,” Ray answered.
Then I added, “Just don’t die on me like last time.”
He gave me the strangest look.
I laughed and said, “Never mind. You’d never believe the crazy dream I had last night!”
As we embraced each other he began to sing the familiar song that I had heard before.
The one that had always made me smile.
Acknowledgments
Thank you to the readers who have enjoyed Sidney’s journey. I hope you are satisfied with the conclusion. Adrian is pretty resilient and perhaps he may return, but for now Sidney and Ray deserve some time for themselves.
Thank you to all of my friends and family. I know that many of you are not into reading yet you all took a crack at Sidney’s tale and that means the world to me! I would like to give a gigantic thank you all of the social media groups out there who have helped spread the word about this book. Mia and Nichole at Indie Sage PR have been so helpful in marketing the book.
Thank you Mom, Dad, and my crazy siblings. I honestly never expected any of you to read the book but I am so glad that you did. Your support means the world to me.
Many thanks to my editors, Pat Hurley and Toni Rakestraw for tackling the not so glamorous part of the writing process. Getting a story out of one’s head seems to almost be an impossible task. Without the help of these two wordsmiths, I am sure I would have given up long ago. Behind every good author, is a GREAT editor.
Thank you to my Beta Reader and good friend, Margaret Potter. You are one of my biggest supporters and I love you for that!
Thank you to my husband, Robby, my amazing stepdaughter Maddie, my boys, and my crazy nieces. Even the demon child, Samantha, who called me every day asking when this book will be available.
Last, a big thank you to the team at Limitless Publishing for seeing the potential in my story and taking a chance on me! Thank you so much Dixie Matthews, Jessica Gunhammer and Jennifer O’Neill. You all have guided me well and shown me so much of the publishing world. This is an experience of a lifetime. Thank you to Ashley Byland at Redbird Designs for the amazing cover she designed for the series.
A very big thank you to anyone who has taken the time to read and enjoy this story. If you would care to take the time, I would be appreciative for any reviews posted to Amazon, Goodreads or Barnes & Nobles.
Until next time.
About the Author
Cynthia Austin lives in Northern California with her husband, two boys, and Olde English Bulldogge named Count Dogula. They love all things horror, gothic, and Victorian which prompts her friends to dub them as “The Adams Family.”
She is an avid reader who may be slightly obsessed with music. She hears music in a way that she believes the artist intended it to be heard: visually, with a storyline that follows. Listening to the songs by her favorite artists, she was inspired to write her first series titled “The Pendant.”
Cynthia has been published twice in The Writer’s Monthly Magazine as well as the online news site, Yahoo! Voices. She currently attends Diablo Valley College, in Pleasant Hill, California, where she is working to achieve her degree in English.
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/cynthiaaustinwriter
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/CynaMarie
Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/38467459-cynthia-austin
eries Book 3)
Between Worlds (Pendant Series Book 3) Page 14
