Cult of the Hexad (Afterlife saga Book 6)

by Stephanie Hudson

  “And if I win you’ll tell me all you know regarding Keira?” He nodded smirking.

  “But if you lose then the next thing I ask of you is a favour owed.”

  “What kind of favour?”

  “Now that you will only find out when the day comes for me to ask it.” I didn’t like the sound of that but I had lost too much already not to take the risk for Keira.

  “Alright, let’s get this over with.” I said putting my beloved car on the line when placing the key fob on the table. Then I reached out to take the cards when he stopped me.

  “Before we start this, you should know that if you lose a third time there are no more chances.”

  “Why not?” I asked wondering why he wouldn’t want to fleece me for all he could get.

  “Because there are only three things I want from you and I ain’t used to kicking a man when he’s down.”

  “Then I should probably ask, what’s the third thing?” Again he smiled.

  “That would be a mighty fine idea and I will tell ya it’s as simple as the game itself.”

  “Which is?”

  “I want a promise.” Now this wasn’t something I could easily give but then again what wouldn’t I give when presented with the possibility of knowledge that could potentially save her life when facing the Prophecy.

  “Done.” I said sealing the deal by cutting the pack. He did the same and said,

  “High number wins.”

  “And Aces?”

  “In my world Aces are always high.” He replied. We turned them over together and I had the four of spades. He naturally had the Jack of diamonds. I wasn’t happy about losing the car, especially one that held those memories of being with Keira but I had already made the decision to let those memories go anyway, so maybe it was for that reason I lost. Either way I slid the keys over to him.

  The next turn was left to Bill to cut the pack and I took another taste of my drink before doing the same…

  Again I lost but this time I lost to a Queen of Hearts.

  The pressure started to get to me just knowing all the things he could know and putting things on the line without any reassurances that even if I won, that it would be any use to me. My thoughts were interrupted when Bill took out a piece of paper from the inside of his jacket. He was dressed smarter than I had ever seen him before and his grey suit, although still in keeping with his old western style, gave him an air of authority I had never recognised before.

  The small piece of paper was folded and he put it down on the table and slid it across with one finger until I reached for it. On it was written a single name that I had never heard before and meant nothing to me personally.

  “And what would you like me to do with this?” I asked placing it in my pocket to look into later.

  “When the time comes you will need it for what I just won.” So he did have some idea on the favour he would ask of me. I could only hope it wasn’t another person I would end up letting out of Hell.

  “Time for the last chance.”

  “I think this time I would prefer a flip of a coin.” Bill raised his eyes at my request and started playing with the double coin attached to the cord around his neck. I knew that the bullet that held them together was the one that was loaded that day with the sole purpose to kill him.

  “I don’t ever bet on coins as to me they demand more respect, considering what they can do.” I understood what he meant as coins in our world meant much more than just basic currency. So I came up with a different idea after hearing Keira calling it out in her sleep, the night she woke up from that bad dream. So I produced a black carved wooden dice and asked him,

  “Six or One?”

  “I only ever need one.” He replied confidently.

  “Very well. The closer to one you win, the closer to six I win.” I held it out to him to throw but he shook his head,

  “This is your game to win, so you do the honours.” He told me and I almost wished for a second I was playing against another human so they wouldn’t be able to detect my powers but sat opposite a being as strong as Wild Bill, then I knew honour was another thing we played for in this game and it meant everything to a man like Bill. Don’t get me wrong I like to think of myself as an honourable man but at times like these with the woman I loved whose life might be on the line, then cheating wasn’t something I would have lost sleep over. But it was by the by considering the option wasn’t on the cards, no pun intended. So just needing to get it over with, I kissed the dice, threw it on the table and closed my eyes, waiting for the sound of silence to tell me it had stopped moving.

  I opened my eyes and the sight of two little dots nearly devastated me.

  “My promise is owed.”

  “And what is your damn promise?” I asked feeling my anger rise slowly.

  “I want you to promise that when the time comes you will look the other way.”

  “Of course it is.” I said dryly and before I could mention there were things beyond my power to be able to do that he added,

  “It will be in your power to do this, trust me…you may even thank me for it in time.” I gave him a look but it wasn’t enough to get him to explain more, however his words did at least ease my mind in what I had unwittingly been forced to give up and all for nothing.

  “Well I best be getting’ a wiggle on.” He said before draining his drink and getting up from the chair.

  “Now you go and take good care of the little bean, she’s a catch that one.” I gave him a head tilt in acknowledgement then he started walking out of the door but stopped abruptly.

  “I almost forgot but a man always pays his debts and I said I would buy you a drink.” Then he yanked the coin from around his neck and flipped me the one he removed from the bullet. It landed on the table and started spinning dead centre.

  “I’m a’reckonin’ you show that to your little woman, she took a mighty fancy to it on the way through Hell.” Then he winked at me and walked out the door whistling a song I knew, all about making it home. I couldn’t take my eyes off the coin as my heart began to race. Then as the heavy front door to the club slammed shut the coin stopped spinning and I reached for it.

  My fingertips made contact and the full force of what the coin held slammed into me like a gift from Heaven. I grabbed the coin tighter in my grasp, shot out of my chair and started running as fast as I could.

  I needed to get to her, nothing else mattered!

  So I ran to my girl now with all my hope resting in the palm of my hand. Because this was it! This was my time…

  To fulfil my promise.

  Draven

  Chapter 48

  Oceans Apart

  I ran through the halls suddenly cursing my home for being so big. I would have used my wings if they would have gotten me there any quicker but right now that wasn’t an option. Could this really be happening, could it be as I hoped?! Well there was only one way to find out and that thought only drove me faster. I could see the door getting closer and it was as Bill had said, when you want through that door you only wish for time to speed up.

  When I finally reached for it I nearly tore the damn thing off its hinges as I wrenched it open. Sophia jumped at my sudden entrance and ignoring her panicked questions that I couldn’t hear for the erratic beating of my heart, I went straight to Keira still sleeping soundly.

  “Keira, wake up.” I said trying to keep my voice steady and calm.

  “Dom what are you…?”

  “Keira, wake up for me now.” I asked her once more, interrupting my sister’s concerns again. I saw a fluttering of her eyes before she reached up to rub them. Licking her lips, she yawned and stretched her arms before speaking my name in that sleepy voice of hers only reserved for when I know she really didn’t want to wake.

  “Draven?”

  “It’s me, can you sit up for me.” I asked not really giving her much chance as I lifted her up against the back of the bed.

  “Sophia, forgive me but I need to ask y
ou to leave.” I said after hearing my sister muttering her annoyance behind me.

  “Not until you tell me what this is about.” I turned to look at her and it only took a single second before what she found in my eyes told her she needed to leave. It wasn’t anger she saw, or frustration or even irritation. It was pure raw emotion and hope all mixed into one and I could feel the tears ready to fall, both if this worked and if it didn’t.

  “Call me if you need me.” Sophia said after placing a small hand at my shoulder and giving it a squeeze. I nodded and by the time the door closed my girl was more awake.

  “Draven what is this about? Has something happened…? Oh, God tell me it’s not Ari!?” I shook my head and she instantly sighed in relief.

  “I have to ask you something.” She gave me that confused little look of hers that made her nose scrunch up, which often made me smile secretly.

  “Okay.” I took a deep breath and prayed like never before that she gave me the answer I most wanted to hear when I asked her,

  “If there was a way of getting your memories back…would you take it?” She sucked in a sharp breath and bit her bottom lip. The wait felt like an eternity and I was sure you could see the pain of every second play out on my face. If I cared little for the fact it was wrong, then I would have grabbed her hand and forced the coin into it…but this decision was hers and hers alone. I had forced a decision upon her life once before by hurting her more than what any normal heart could mend from. But Keira wasn’t normal and I rejoiced in that fact daily.

  “So there’s a way?” She asked in a small voice and once more that thread on my heart was pulled.

  “Yes, I found a way…” I had to pause before my voice broke completely before carrying on,

  “…A way to keep my promise to you.”

  Keira

  I thought about what he was telling me after being woken up so suddenly. I had been dreaming of us being together and in it we had a family of our own. It had been wonderful and I hadn’t wanted it to end but now being faced with this I was scared. I knew who I really was but I was scared for what I might lose. Would I be the same person? Or would I wake as someone else? It may have been an irrational thought but what would happen to the Katie part of me…

  Would she be gone forever?

  “I…I…” I didn’t know what to say.

  “How?” I ended up asking instead of giving him my answer. I looked down to see him open up his hand and there nestled protectively was a single gold coin with a hole in the middle. So this was it, this was the key? Wait...the key…a centreless key…what were the girl’s words in the dream…

  ‘I will be here waiting for the Electus to come home. Find the centreless key to unlock the door to your mind, as bartering for souls is what he must bind. In blood and in tears and flames will be the price but that will be nothing but a roll of the dice…so as one saved you from the depth of ice, the other will have to save you, not once but twice.’

  So that was it. That was what she was trying to tell me. All this time the fates knew this moment would come but did that mean they knew what I would choose? In the end it wasn’t hearing her words play back in my mind that made my decision. No, it was the love in Draven’s eyes and that was a love I wasn’t ever willing to risk losing.

  So I lowered my head, let my tears fall and told him that I was…

  “Sorry. I’m so sorry Draven.” His head fell forward and it was almost like I could hear the moment his heart broke. Tears fell from his closed eyes and I whispered,

  “Always remember that I love you, no matter who I am but…” I took a deep breath and said,

  “I’m sorry if this doesn’t work!” Then I reached out and grabbed the coin from his hand and the second I did, I lifted. I sucked in a needed breath as everything inside my mind changed and shifted like it was being overpowered. Then I cried out to the Heavens in a silent plea to let me stay. Then something started to feel safe and secure. Like a warmth taking away my fear and doubt as my inner soul felt like it rose up from my body. I reached out for the glimmer above me, like I was calling for it back. But then every memory I had lost came crashing back to me like a wave battering the shore over and over and over again. This was until it covered the sands enough to breach the part of my mind it needed to in order to embed itself there, digging deep enough to stay with me forever.

  Suddenly there I was. Walking through the now calmer seas towards the shore. I looked around seeing a world of bridges heading off in every direction imaginable. Sparks of lightening ignited the sunny sky above, and white perfect clouds lit up high above me. I looked left to see a darker, rougher sea and on the right a perfectly calm, serene ocean all with their own bridges to walk. Was this what Heaven looked like? Was that where I was now? I had to ask myself until I looked straight forward and saw a door.

  “Keira?” I heard Draven’s voice away in the distance calling my name but then I heard another voice also calling my name. This time it came from right behind me and I turned round to face myself. At first I thought it was a mirror I looked into but this time, it was her. It was the girl I had been trying to reach all this time and finally she was right there.

  “It’s you.” I told her and she gave me a small smile.

  “He’s calling for you.” She told me nodding to the door that looked exactly like the mirror had, only now instead of glass it had wooden slats and iron rivets.

  “Does this mean…?” I let that question trail off as she nodded her head.

  “He found a way.” She looked so sad and I wanted to comfort her but the more Draven called my name the more I found myself yearning to go to him.

  “Go…go to him.” She knew this was what I needed but I had to ask,

  “But what about you…what happens now?” She looked around the cosmic space and sighed.

  “I have nowhere else to go, so I guess I will be here waiting for when you need me.”

  “KEIRA! COME BACK TO ME!” My head shot round as the first crack appeared in the word with the sound of his panic.

  “Go! Go to him! He needs you!” My other self shouted and I nodded. I took my first steps to the door and she called me one last time so I looked back over my shoulder and she said,

  “He loves you, so very much.”

  “I know. Thank you.” I told her and then ran towards the door not being able to listen to the sound of his heartbreak any longer. I pulled on the door but it wouldn’t budge but that’s when I felt something in my hand. I opened my palm to find a single gold coin that I remembered well. I smiled knowing exactly how Draven had saved me and I shouted back to him,

  “Draven, I’m coming, I’m coming home!” And then I bent down, slid the coin under the door and my heart soared when I heard the lock click. Then I pushed down on the door handle, opened the door and stepped through into the darkness…

  And I was…

  Home.

  Chapter 49

  I Made It Home

  I opened my eyes in what felt like the first time in nine months and the first thing that registered was that I was being held in someone’s arms…no, not someone but his.

  Draven.

  I heard him whispering softly that he was sorry and my heart broke at the agony in his voice. I felt his tears hit my skin as he cried into my shoulder. His hand was at the back of my head, holding me to him and it was only when I took a deep breath that I felt him freeze before he quickly pulled me back so he could look at me.

  “Is it…can it be…?” He couldn’t find his words and I had never seen him so emotional before. I gave him a smile and said,

  “Hello again, Handsome.” Then I cried out as I hugged him back and sobbed against him as the same emotions became too much for me also.

  “By the Gods!” I heard him say as he held me to him so tight I could only just breathe but I didn’t care because I was here now. I was back in his arms as I once was and how I should always be.

  “Draven I love you, God I love you so much!” I coul
d barely contain myself and so I jumped on him knocking us both to the floor. I started kissing him just to be sure he was real and when I could taste his tears on his skin I finally knew it was real. I had made it home…

  I had really made it home.

  “Let me look at you.” He held my hair back from my face as I looked down where I was still sat on top of him and his smile told me everything.

  “It worked, it really worked.” He was in awe and so was I just looking at him knowing I was whole again.

  “Gods but I missed you, my wife.” I grinned just hearing the word, one I hadn’t had the chance to hear often enough since we said our vows.

  “I missed you too, my husband.” I told him back and I thought that in this moment I couldn’t get any happier as it just wasn’t possible. So I got up, hearing his umpf as I pushed against him for aid and I giggled as I got to my feet, trying in vain to pull him to his. He got up staring at me like I was his whole world and I danced around, pulling him with me as I laughed and twirled like I used to when I was a kid. Libby! Oh my God Frank, Libby, Ella! Mum and Dad, everyone! I still had everyone, people I hadn’t seen in so long.

  “Draven everyone I missed, my family, your family…our family, I missed them all!” I told him looking around the room as if they were all to be found there.

  “I know Love, I know but let’s take this one step at a time.” He said taking my face in his hands and in that moment I knew which step I wanted to take first. So I reached up and kissed him deeply for the first time in far too long and it felt…

  Like he fed my soul with light.

  It was perfect. So perfect I found my tears once more falling but this time I wasn’t the only one and it was one of the most magical experiences of my entire life. This was when I knew now was the time. So I pulled away from him and his confused expression was one I smiled at before I winked telling him everything was okay. Then I took a deep breath, got down on one knee and said,