by Kay, Jenna
“Clarity?” a female voice called.
Astonishment seared through my senses.
No. Way.
Is that who I think it is?
Really?
“Mama?” I called out.
“Here she is, Eloise,” a male voice said.
No way!
“Daddy!” I cried, confused. “What...Where am I? Where are ya'll?'
Suddenly two bodies emerged from the whiteness. The bodies belonged to my parents. My Mama and Daddy. My deceased mama and daddy.
I threw my arms around them, tears of joy pouring down my face.
“There, there, Clare-Angel,” Daddy whispered, patting my back. “Everything's going to be OK.”
I leaned back to take in this unreal moment. Mama, with her deep brown eyes, contagious smile, and her long brown hair, and Daddy with his wavy black hair and twinkling blue eyes, were embracing me. Me.
Was this real? If it was, then did that mean...
“Wait. Am I...dead?”
“No, sweetie,” Mama answered.
“Just unconscious,” Daddy added.
“Oh.”
“Listen, hon, we do not have much time,” Mama said abruptly. “You are about to wake.”
“What is it?”
“Please don't turn a blind eye on your God-given gift. You are needed in the world.” Mama's voice was filled with acute urgency.
“But I don't want it!” I cried. “I'm not strong enough.”
“Yes you are,” Daddy stated simply. “Sometimes you need to slow down and listen to the voice of God.”
“But I...” I stopped as I felt myself slowly floating away from them.
“NO!” I yelled, reaching out for them. “Please, I want to stay.”
They became hazy and then altogether vanished. Once again I was floating in the white world full of nothingness.
“We love you, baby,” I heard Daddy say, his voice echoing all around me.
“You're never alone,” added Mama.
Then, like a rope tied around my waist, I was pulled from behind really hard until...
My eyes popped open and I let out a gasp. I coughed up water and mud and whatever else was in my mouth, a dirty taste coating my tongue. When I tried to move I screamed, my right arm a huge pile of agony. My head throbbed and I felt something warm oozing down my face. Reaching with my good arm I touched my face and saw blood all over my fingers. My blood.
The rain had stopped but lightening was flashing all around me. I shook my head, still dazed from seeing and talking to my dead parents. One thought crossed my mind—I had to get the heck out of there. Using my left arm I pulled the rest of me out of the water and attempted to stand until my eyes caught an eerie sight.
Nick, standing in the shallowest part of the creek, holding the gun at his temple. Surrounding him were three inhuman beings that only could be described as diabolical monsters.
Demons, to be more precise.
Two of them appeared to be exactly alike. They were hairy wolf-like beast with short wings on their backs, wings that resembled bat wings. Their eyes glowed green and they were as big as full-grown horses. Their canine mouths opened and closed as they chanted in an unknown language. I couldn't see much of the third demon since his back was to me, but what I could see was that he was human in shape, about ten feet tall, bald, and had bright red skin that reminded me of a really bad sunburn. Just like the other two he had wings like a bat, only his were huge, the bottoms of them hovering just a couple of inches from the ground.
I sat there in quiet awe, not knowing what to do. My hands felt on fire but I didn't dare look at them—my fear had frozen every brave bone in my body. Abruptly, all the chanting stopped as a deep baritone voice boomed through the air, overtaking the loud rush of the creek water.
“Are you ready for your prize, Nick Reece?” the demonic voice spoke.
“Yes,” Nick answered in a toneless, robotic voice.
“Good,” the demon said. “Then pull the trigger to receive your prize.”
Before I could shout for Nick to stop, he pulled the trigger.
Nick Reece had shot himself in the head, dead before he hit the ground. Sadly, he would soon be finding out what his prize was going to be, and boy, was he going to be ticked!
If I had thought for one minute that everything was over and the demons were done, I had another thing coming, because while I was sitting there completely unguarded I watched as the demons slowly turned their eyes on me. Then, in a split second, with a rush of flapping wings, they had me surrounded, trapping me in their heinous circle.
The two hairy ones with green eyes looked the same as they did from afar, except now I was able to see them up close and personal. They bared their teeth, thick saliva dripping from their extra long and extra sharp teeth, their growled and rumbled in my ears. I knew for a definite fact that they were Markus and Stone, only because now I could get a good look at the ten-foot tall red demon—it looked almost identical to Lukus' human face. Of course the red glowing eyes and the two horns protruding from his forehead proved how very nonhuman he was.
Oh, and the smell? Whew! It smelled like sewage overload mixed with a heavy amount of dragon breath. The odor burned up my nose and I thought at any moment I was going to puke up my dinner.
Had it been just a couple of hours ago that Brenton had picked me up and surprised me by fixing up our old hideout? Had it been just a couple of hours ago that he had given me the best news of my life? That he was going to accompany me to New York so we could start our lives together? How could an evening full of happiness and promise turn into such a hellish nightmare?
With three demons breathing their rancid breath so close to me, I could feel my plans for a perfect life unraveling at a tremendous pace. I had been so stupid to think that me, Clarity Miller, was worthy enough to be happy, to start a normal life, but no! I was blessed with the gift of being a Seer, something I didn't ask for, something I would never ask for in a billion years! If I knew that I wasn't about to die, I'd rant and rave, scream at the top of my lungs about how unfair my life, my entire existence, plain sucked. Then my Mama's voice replayed in my head: You are needed in the world. Needed. Imagine that. Me.
“Oh look. The Seer is broken,” said one of the hairy wolf demons. I could not tell if it was Markus or Stone speaking. Since they'd changed into their real skins it was hard to tell them apart.
“Not only that,” Lukus smirked, “but that dress needs some repair, and your make-up? A little trashy.”
I glared at them nastily.
“Oh yeah? Have ya'll looked in a mirror lately?”
Lukus hissed, flicking his black forked tongue.
I sneered. “What about the little present I gave you on your arm? I bet your buddies in hell are gonna have a lot to say about that.” I paused, grinning. “They'll all know that a Seer marked you! I bet your reputation gonna go down the drain.”
“You despicable little human, such a small insignificant speck. I never understood how He could love you humans more than us. I still do not understand His fascination with your kind.” He tilted his head to the side. “Whatever His reasons, I'm still going to enjoy sucking the soul out of you.”
“Tasty Ra'ah, tasty soul!” The other hairy wolf demon expressed.
“Sam won't let you,” I said a little unsure, my mouth suddenly dry. “God won't let you.”
Lukus snorted. “Have you spoken to Him? Have you forgiven Him for taking your parents from you?”
Ouch. They sure knew how to hit me where it hurt most. Lucky for me I had been able to speak with my parents just a few minutes before, and I saw that they were OK. Also my mind was made up—I needed to change.
“It was their time,” I shot at him, adding, “And yeah, I forgive Him.” Gazing up at the sky I shouted, “God I forgive you! Please forgive me! Help me—”
Quickly Lukus knelt down, clamping his massive hand to my mouth. Markus and Stone took their paws and held me down, their fer
al growling growing louder. Cold swam through my body, poking my heart with icicles. Staring into Lukus' blood red eyes and grotesque face, I realized I was being forced to breathe in their smell of rotted meat and throw-up. I felt my energy slowly being pulled from my body piece by piece—I didn't know how much longer I would last.
“It's too late, Seer,” Lukus sneered. “Your God and your angel have both given up on you. If they cared they'd be here right—”
As if on some kind of celestial cue, a bright light illuminated the woods, the strong force of the light so strong it knocked the demons backwards, flying them through the air.
Sam dropped in front of me, his wings unfolded, his body fixed in a defensive crouch. His strong presence had the demons growling and snarling. They turned around to retreat but were halted when four more Heavenly beings manifested, surrounding them.
Now these new angels were such a sight...I rubbed my eyes to make sure I was still awake. They did not look like Sam or the other angels I'd seen in the gym earlier that night. No, these angels were fifteen feet tall, clad full in golden armor, huge bulging muscles, and simply...I simply had no words on how to describe these powerful angels.
I was so grateful when Sam picked me up and held me to his chest, because to tell the truth, I had absolutely no energy left. It was like all my vitality had been sipped out through a straw.
Watching the giant angels I saw their circle around the demons grow tighter, confining them in their holy prison. The demons tried to jump over them, trying to escape, but it was like there was an invisible barrier that they ran into, knocking them back into the circle. Seeing they had no way to evade their Heavenly enemies, they tried to intimidate by spitting and cursing at them. The demons’ new tactic was not working. The angels stood firm as bright lights began to emanate from them.
“I'm getting you out of here,” Sam murmured into my ear.
“No,” I protested weakly, trying to look over his broad shoulders and feathery wings. “I want to watch—”
“No, you don't,” he interposed firmly. He then took flight, holding me tightly to him.
The night was chilly but Sam's body heat was enough to keep me comfortable. I closed my eyes, listening to the rhythmic beating of his strong wings. There was so much I wanted to say, so much I wanted to question, but Sam's lavender smell and calming concoction already had me gripped in its soothing bliss. I did not want to admit it, but I knew God was the one who had saved me, giving me a second chance in life. I knew, deep down in my heart, that He loved me and had huge plans for me. The real question was this: Was I ready for His plans for me?
“Sam?” I whispered, my eyes still closed.
“Yes?”
“I'm sorry.”
“Shhh,” he whispered. “No need for apologies. Relax and I'll take care of you.”
“I don't want to go to sleep.”
“Why?”
“Because I'm afraid you won't be there when I wake.”
He grinned. “I'll never leave you, Clarity.”
“And I'll never tell ya to get lost again.”
He laughed.
“Even if you did, it wouldn't do any good,” he said adding, “Because I am always where you are.”
Remembering the words my Mama had said, I managed a smile.
“I know,” I said, sleepily. “I'm never alone.”
Giving up on staying awake, I closed my eyes and melted even deeper into his warm embrace. I wondered what was happening to the demons, not that I cared—just curious. Sam would tell me tomorrow. Right now I was just content with being in his arms. Even after the nights deadly event my mind cleared itself, and I quietly slipped into a deep unawareness.
Just what I needed.
Chapter Twenty-two
A very clean, very antiseptic smell hit me right up my nose. Opening my eyes, I found myself lying in a hospital bed, an I.V. stuck in my left arm. My right arm had a cast attached to it. One of my ankles was wrapped in an adhesive bandage, along with my midsection, which was wrapped so tightly it was hard to take a deep breath. Trying to sit up I was stopped by an agonizing pain that surged through my whole body.
Sighing, I looked around the overly sterile hospital room thinking that Garlandton Medical had to be the saddest, most depressing hospital in the world. It was just like the rest of the town—old and decrepit. What made the room a little brighter was the vase of sunflowers sitting on the table next to the window. I tried to sit up once again, just to fall back onto the flat pillows in defeat, my body one big throb of hurt.
“Ohhhh!”
“Don't move!” A.C. exclaimed severely, quickly walking into the room.
I glared at her.
“Hey, A.C., how's it goin'?” I asked sardonically.
She caught on to my rude sarcasm. “I'm sorry for bein' so harsh, but you've got a broken arm, a badly sprained ankle, and a few bruised ribs.” She gently sat down on the edge of the bed, careful not to jostle me. “You're beaten up pretty bad.”
I closed my eyes and responded with, “Sounds like.” I felt her brush a strand of hair from my face.
“It's gonna take everyone awhile to get back to normal,” she said softly.
My eyes popped open. “Where's Kora and Brenton?” I asked in a rush, the memory of the night before flashing through my brain.
“They're fine,” she answered in her calm nurses voice. “Kora suffered from a head concussion and was released from the hospital this morning. Brenton will be released later tonight. They were able to get the bullet out him and fix him up. Luckily the bullet didn't hit anything major.”
I blew a sigh of relief. “Thank God. So, Kora only spent a few hours in this horrible place and soon Brenton will be able to escape.” I grinned, trying to lighten the mood. “When do I get out, Nurse Caroline?”
Concern filled her brown eyes.
“Clarity, what's the last thing you remember?” she asked cautiously.
Oh, lets see, A.C., I guess that would be flying through the air with my guardian angel.
Yeah. I'm sure that would go over just swell. Instead of the truth (she wouldn't believe me anyway), I chose to play the 'Duh' card.
“I, uh...don't know...” I scratched my head, placing a dumb and thoughtful expression on my face.
She, as always, bought it. Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly she regarded me with attentive eyes.
“OK, I thought you may not remember. Before I tell ya how you got here, let me first tell you this—you've been here three days, unconscious. The I.V. in your arm is supplying the fluids you need so you won't succumb to dehydration.”
When she told me this, every ounce of blood in my body froze. My heart rate sped up tremendously and I felt I was on the verge of a panic attack. Taking a few deep breaths, I was able to settle my heart down, keeping the attack at bay. Still, that knocked down, floored feeling hung around, keeping a firm grip on my mind.
Clearing my throat I whispered, “T-Three days?”
She nodded. “Yep, and there's more.” I listened as she told me about Kevin being shot by Nick, and about how the paramedics found Nick's body deep in the woods where it seemed he killed himself. Of course I already knew all this. I'd had front row seat to this deadly drama, seeing the whole show with my very eyes, but I couldn't let her know that. There would be too many questions from there and I was definitely in no mood for any of that. Rather I listened and pretended to be shocked, inwardly praying that she wouldn't see through my ruse.
“This is all so weird,” I expressed when she was done talking.
“It gets weirder,” she said, leaning in and narrowing her eyes, “and it revolves around you.”
“Me?” Oh no! What does she know?
“Just try to remember,” she continued. “When the shooting started where did ya go?”
Flustered I reacted with, “What do ya mean 'Where did I go'? I just said I don't remember!”
She took my hand. “Clare, please—I can't figure this
out by myself. When they brought you in you were soaked, had mud caked all in your hair, and your dress was all torn up.”
I pulled my hand from hers and touched my neck.
“Where's my necklace?”
A.C. sighed. “You must have lost it because it wasn't on ya when you came in.”
“Oh,” I responded with a frown. I really liked that necklace.
“Try to remember something, anything, Clarity.”
I clucked my tongue, pretending to rack my brain. “Let's see . .I remember freakin' out and running. I ran into the woods and fell—that's all that comes to mind.”
She nodded. “That explains the broken arm. Do you remember anything about the guy who found you?”
“No,” I answered quickly. “I told ya all I remember.”
“Well, dang. No one else knows him, either,” she informed me. “The paramedics said he walked over to them, carrying you, and handed you over to them. He also told them where they could find Nick's body.”
A few quiet moments went by and I said, “Wow, that's crazy.”
“Yeah, I really wish we knew who that dude was because,” she paused dramatically, adding, “one of the female paramedics said he was totally hawt!”
I smiled, already knowing that Sam (the dude) was hot. I almost had a heart attack when he appeared next to A.C., sporting a goofy grin.
“Uh, hey,” I said to her. “Can you see if Brenton can come see me?”
Jumping up, seemingly eager to help she replied, “Sure! Do ya need anything? A coke, food...”
I grinned. “Water would be nice.”
“OK,” she said, walking to the door. Then turning back to me she said, “Oh, I almost forgot. You know your friend Janey?”
“Yeah?” My stomach filled with dread, and I really didn't want to hear anymore bad news.
