Book 1 of the Ana Martin series Night of the Fae Lyneal Jenkins
Prologue
I turned and sprinted towards the car. My heart beat furiously in my ears, yet the sound of his pounding steps was louder, banishing any hope that I was over reacting. How could this happen? It was a rural part of Durham, not a city centre. Even with minimal lighting to ward off the darkness, I could never have known that the day would end with me running for my life.
I tucked my arms into my side and pumped my legs as fast as I could, but when I glanced behind, I could see that he had gained on me. He gripped the bat firmly and waved it out before him as if it was leading the way, bringing the promise of pain. There wasn’t going to be time to make it.
All I could think was stupid, stupid, stupid. I should have listened to my first instincts. I should have gone back to the car as soon as I saw him moving towards me. I should have headed towards the care home instead of running away. The thoughts were useless as I hadn’t done any of that, yet I couldn’t stop tormenting myself.
I slipped my hand into my bag and thanked God when I felt the cool touch of metal, only to nearly cry when the house key caught on the lining. I pulled on it hard. My half read book and lipstick fell out, but still, the key wouldn’t budge. I was taking too long. The car was nearly in range and I tugged even harder, ripping the flimsy material.
The key finally came free and I pressed the button for the immobiliser. The beep was piercing, and the echo eerie, as if it was tight whispers travelling through the car park, chanting the words, you are all alone.
I wheezed with relief as my fingers touched the handle and pulled on the stiff door. It resisted, adding to the time I was taking, before it squealed in protest and gave way.
He reached me before it was even half way open. His feet skidded, and his body crashed into mine, propelling me into the door. His grunt was quickly drowned out by my scream as the door smashed onto my hand, trapping it between the crushing metal. An army of a thousand soldiers armed with swords, invaded my hand before charging all the way up to my head, slicing at the bone as they went.
The man flailed against me, preventing me from withdrawing my hand. I pulled anyway and the army began a second assault, causing my head to swim. My legs threatened to give way and it was only through pure willpower that I managed to stop from sinking to my knees.
Finally the pressure released. My attacker was up, but all I could think about was getting my hand out of the door. Thankfully it didn’t give any resistance and I fell to my knees, cradling my arm to my chest as tears rolled down my cheeks.
He hit me from behind.
The contact of the bat to my side was so forceful that I rolled across the ground several times. Crippling pain travelled through my body, and I cried, the sound no more than a whimpered whisper that blended in with the night sounds.
I tried to roll away from the man who stood above me. He jerked as if he was receiving constant electrical shocks, and even in the poor light I could see his sickly pallor and that his eyes were wild, not able to settle on one spot. He scratched at his elbow while waving the bat around as if he had no control over it.
Being no misguided hero, I had no wish to lose my life over three pound fifty and stick of chewing gum, especially to a junkie who couldn’t think past his next fix.
‘Take my bag,’ I told him with difficulty. I wondered how much damage the bat had done as when I spoke, it was if my whole body was going to shatter into a thousand pieces.
He wildly scanned the surrounding area before bending down to tug on the strap, only to squeal when he couldn’t release it from across my chest. Before I had a chance to say anything, he lifted the bat and hit me hard under my raised arm.
As the blow made contact, the sound of my ribs breaking echoed loudly before my chest filled with a deep pressure, and a sharp pain shot straight through to my back. My breathing became more difficult, as if my lungs were filled with water and as I coughed weakly, moisture sprayed out onto my lips.
The crazed addict lifted the bat once more.
There was no way to fight him. He had blindsided me and now I was too broken to even raise my arms in defence. The weapon made contact again and I rolled onto my side. He muttered to himself, but either the words were too garbled, or my senses were going, because his words were disjointed as if the sentence had been scattered into the air, randomly coming together to form a malformed mess.
The way my body had fallen left me facing the wheels of my car and I realised that I didn’t have to worry about changing the tyres anymore. People said that when you were going to die your life flashed before your eyes, but all I could think about was the stupid tyres and how I had been worrying about how I was going to pay for them. The blows continued to rain down, but the damage barely registered; the pain was already too great.
My thoughts drifted to Nora, the reason I was arriving at work so late. The end was finally coming for her. I was meant to be with her right now, holding her hand and hearing her final words, not staring at my bald tyres. After everything that I had survived in the past, to die like this seemed so wrong and pointless.
A scream of pain, so shrill it hurt my ears, echoed out into the still night. Maybe in his crazed state the addict had hit himself with the bat. That would at least be something.
The darkness crept in and I lost all hope.
My eyes flickered open and I blinked several times. I had moved. Even though the pain was consuming my body, I almost smiled at the image of the stars above. Staring at the night sky was something that had always given me pleasure. I was glad that it was going to be the last thing I saw. I didn’t need a doctor to tell me that my body was broken beyond repair.
A face came into view, blocking my vision, only their outline and the dull glint of their eyes discernible in the shadows. I frowned with irritation for my spoiled view before I realised that in the big scheme of things, it didn’t really matter.
‘It’s alright,’ a male voice told me. It was nice, soft and flowing like the gentle rhythm of music. ‘You will be fine.’
I wanted to ask how he could possibly believe that, but when I tried to speak, liquid bubbled up in my throat, making it impossible to breathe, let alone talk.
Every inch of me was alive with pain, yet I felt the oddest sensation, a tingling that flowed through my entire body taking some of the agony with it, as if it was cleansing me. It was nice and calming, as if every cell in my body was alive for the first time. I thought of when we got the first summer sun, how I would sit out on the porch and my skin would almost sigh with relief as it drank in the strong rays after the dullness of winter. My whole body sighed with that relief and I felt as if I could float with the vitality it gave me.
‘Am I dying?’ I whispered. The blood in my lungs no longer hindered me in talking.
‘Not today.’ The strange man smiled broadly, revealing the most perfect teeth I had ever seen.
‘That means I have to change the tyres now,’ I murmured, causing my saviour to chuckle.
I opened my mouth to ask him who he was, but before the words left my lips, he touched his fingers to my head.
‘Sleep now,’ he said.
Even though I tried to fight it, darkness claimed my thoughts and pulled me away.
‘Ana, wake up,’ a familiar voice called, forcing my eyes to reluctantly open. The attack came rushing back to me and I sat up so fast my head span, only to see Lexi peering at me. My lungs were clear and I pressed along my body, unable to feel any pain. I had been so sure that I was dying.
It crossed my mind that I was in fact dead, but Lexi stood beside me, who as far as I was aware was very much alive, and the l
ingering scent of cleaning products banished the thought. As much as I loved the place I worked in, I didn’t think for one minute that it would be starring in my afterlife.
‘What happened?’ I asked. When I tried to remember the attack in detail it was as if I was looking at it through a hazy film. I knew that it had really happened, but at the same time I was now free of injury, though there was a deep ache in all my muscles as if I had done an arduous work out the day before.
‘You fainted in the car park,’ she said with a relieved smile.
‘No I didn’t.’ I blinked furiously, trying to clear my thoughts. ‘I was attacked.’
It was as if I had been taken out of one reality and dumped into another. I still had the coppery taste of blood in my mouth to prove what had happened, but when I pulled up my top in order to study my skin, I could find no evidence to confirm it.
Lexi frowned at me. ‘What? But the man who carried you in said he saw you pass out.’
The image of a man leaning over me flashed into my mind, the memory as fuzzy as the rest.
‘Where is he?’ I asked standing up.
‘He left a couple of minutes ago,’ she said as I ran to the main doors.
Ignoring her call after me, I scanned the darkened green in front of the building and tried to peer over to the car park in the hope of seeing his shape. There was no sign of him, or of the man who had attacked me. But as I stood in the darkness I shivered, not because of the gentle breeze that stirred my hair, but because I couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was watching me.
‘Ana?’
I jumped. I had been so focused on trying to see into the darkness I hadn’t been aware that Lexi had followed me.
‘Was it him that attacked you?’
I shook my head. ‘My mistake.’ It felt wrong to lie, but there was no way to explain it without looking insane. ‘I must have banged my head when I fell.’ I scoured the night one last time before turning with frustration, and heading back in to the well-lit care home.
My bag lay on the floor by the comfortable chairs situated in the lobby, and I opened the zip, only to find that the contents were all there, even my lipstick which I was sure had rolled away. Even the lining was intact. After staring at it for several seconds, I pulled the zip closed and headed to Nora’s room. There was a lot to try and make sense of, but tonight my dying friend was my priority.
Chapter 1
‘Are you coming in?’ Lexi asked as I brought the car to a halt. The street was empty as the hour was early, everyone having left for work. It would only be thirty minutes before it was filled with mothers returning from the school run, but for now, I managed to get a spot outside the flat.
‘I wish I could,’ I replied. ‘But I’m already late for Uni.’
She turned in her seat and ran her hands through her long hair, untangling the red curls as she went. ‘How’s it going?’
‘Okay, I think. Every time it starts getting on top of me I just remind myself that I don’t want to be a care assistant forever.’
Lexi laughed and grabbed her overnight bag off the back seat. ‘Yeah, because nurses get it so much better.’
I shrugged. ‘The pay is better and I get to help people more. Anyway, it gives me something to do since I went part time.’
She laughed. ‘And that’s always a good thing. Did you come up with an idea for valentine’s day?’
I groaned. ‘Not yet, what do you get someone when you’ve only been dating a couple of weeks?’
‘Richie asked me to make him a sex tape, as if I would.’
I frowned for a moment, contemplating the idea of watching myself naked and then grinned.
‘Oh God,’ she said quickly. ‘I wasn’t saying you should.’
‘I do have that new editing package on the computer. And it could be fun.’
Lexi sighed. ‘I’ve done it again, haven’t I?’
‘Before you say it, the idea isn’t crazy. It’s something I haven’t done before and I’m ready for a new challenge. Uni isn’t quite cutting it at the moment.’ I pursed my lips and frowned lightly. ‘I will need to borrow your camera though.’
‘When will I learn to keep my mouth shut?’ Lexi said with a shake of her head.
I laughed loudly. ‘Don’t ever do that, my life would be too normal.’
‘My point exactly.’ She rolled her eyes and got out of the car. ‘Now go to Uni and please, drive carefully.’
‘I will,’ I said with a grin. ‘I’ll pop over later for the camera.’
‘Hopefully something else will grab your attention before then. If not, I’ll have it ready.’
As soon as the door closed, Lexi had gone from my mind and I was planning how I was going to make myself look good for my video debut. It wouldn’t do just to tape it and hand it to him; that would be amateurish. I would need to make it look professional, maybe with some music in the background, though none of that cheesy stuff. Then again, that could be hilarious.
Before I knew it, I was parked up near the Uni with no idea how I got there. As I took the ten minute walk to the grounds, I tried to think of how it would look, but for the life of me, I couldn’t remember very much about what happened when we were in bed. I must get completely swept away in the moment as everything was fuzzy as if I was reaching through a cloud to draw on the memory. And then there was the dream I always had afterwards. Even now it tugged at my mind.
‘Did you get your essay done,’ Cheryl said joining me. She shifted the strap of her heavy bag and pulled her long black hair out from under it.
‘I finished it last week,’ I said, causing her to groan.
‘That’s not fair; I was up till three this morning.’ Her eyes were puffy and the dark smudges badly concealed. For once, I didn’t think she was exaggerating.
‘You should be more organised,’ I said.
‘It’s alright for you,’ she grumbled. ‘You have your own house. I have to live with four girls who like to have parties.’
I raised my eyebrows and she grinned sheepishly.
‘Okay, I have them too. That reminds me, you still haven’t come to one yet.’
I laughed loudly. ‘No offense, but I can’t think of anything worse than a group of youngsters, drunk and drugged up to the eyeballs.’
‘You’re only seven years older than me,’ she said. ‘And we get on fine here.’
‘Of course we do,’ I said. ‘Still, I have to say no, but thanks for the offer.’
We entered the auditorium, with high ceilings and hundreds of chairs, each one raised higher than the one before so that we could all see the front. Cheryl headed for the back and I followed. My mind was off on a tangent, racing behind the scenes and I didn’t want to be caught day dreaming. It wasn’t long before the lecturer, Professor Wright, a young woman wearing ripped jeans and doc martin boots, hushed us and began the lecture.
‘Stop tapping your pen,’ Cheryl whispered after a few minutes. ‘It’s driving me up the wall.’
I glanced at her in surprise before dropping the yellow highlighter to the desk.
‘Sorry,’ I whispered far too loudly; speaking would have echoed less around the large hall. A few people turned to stare at me and I barely smothered a giggle. ‘Sorry,’ I whispered a little lower this time. It was going to be one of those days in which I had no control over my actions; I was already tapping my nails on the wood, creating the light sound of a drum roll.
Thankfully the time flew by, though it helped that I spent a lot of it in my own head. By the time I stepped out into the daylight, I decided that I wouldn’t mention the tape to Gabriel until it was finished. He would only want to see the raw copy and that wouldn’t do until all the bad bits were cut out. After all, they said the camera added ten pounds.
By the time I got to Lexi’s, I was excited about getting it done so declined her offer of a drink. As soon as I saw the small case in her hands I tried to take it from her, but she kept a grip on it.
‘Is there any chance
I can talk you out of this?’
I laughed. ‘Not today.’
‘I didn’t think so,’ she said, still gripping the small case. ‘I’m warning you, you will regret it in a week.’
‘Who cares about in a week,’ I said, tugging it from her fingers. ‘It will be too late then.’
She held her hands up in surrender. ‘I’ve done my bit.’
I gave her a quick hug, hard enough that she groaned a little and drove home a bit faster than I should. There was an hour before Gabriel was meant to come, which gave me enough time to set it up in the bedroom. After much silent debate and a few trials and errors, I hid it under a towel on the windowsill, making sure that the lens was free to record.
Once I finished, I entered the kitchen at the front of the house. Only weak rays of sun ever found their way through the windows, yet the pale yellow walls reflected them throughout the large kitchen creating a dazzling haze that made it homely.
I smiled, recalling how my sister and I would stand on stools at the side, helping my mother bake every Saturday morning. Even now, the memory of freshly baked cookies teased my nostrils, warming my chest with contentment.
A pan of potatoes was boiling on the strove by the time Gabriel knocked on the door. I had time to take in his tall muscular frame before he slipped his arms around my waist and nuzzled my neck. My response was without restraint and it was only when my lungs cried for air that I finally released my grip.
‘Are you hungry?’ I panted, turning the stove down to stop the water bubbling over.
‘For you I am.’ He quickly turned the stove off, swept his arms under my legs and scooped me up.
‘Wait,’ I cried as he carried me up the stairs. ‘You need to give me a minute in the bedroom alone. I have a surprise.’
‘Sounds intriguing,’ he murmured, nibbling on my ear.
He settled me down, though I had to hold onto him for a moment longer as my legs were like jelly and I almost forgot why I wanted him to wait.
‘Don’t be long,’ he said as I rushed into the bedroom, slamming the door behind me.
Night of the Fae (Ana Martin series) Page 1
