Enlightenment (Children of Ankh series Book 2)

by Kim Cormack

  “Well... I was avoiding you but of course, here you are,” he mumbled while staring at the road ahead without even looking at her. It was dark outside and there were no streetlights so she stared at the yellow line on the seemingly endless highway that lay before them. It was a symbol of their life. It was a long line. There would be twists and turns but no dead ends for either of them. She couldn’t stop the selfish words from slipping from her lips, “I still need you as my friend. Please stop acting like you hate me.”

  Frost’s eyes softened as he whispered, “I don’t hate you.” He kept his eyes directly on the road ahead.

  She whispered, “You once told me, all I had to do was tell you how I felt and that would be enough for you.”

  He didn’t answer her right away. There was a long pause in the conversation before he repeated part of his earlier speech “You need to learn to stand on your own.” He kept staring at the road but she could tell she’d gotten to him.

  As she stood up to leave, she felt his eyes on her as she attempted to balance in the moving vehicle, valiantly trying to get back to her bunk with her ego somewhat intact after being blown off by him. The flash of a big rig’s lights flickered through the motorhome. She glanced back at Frost. In front of them was a giant moose with wide terrified eyes. Frost swerved to avoid it. He hit the soft shoulder of the road. They crashed into the ditch and rolled down the embankment. Kayn hadn’t had the time to dive back into her bunk for cover. As she was flung against the beds, she felt something crack in her back and chest. She slammed against the bunks and then into the ceiling. Her arm snapped and her ears rang as her head smoked the roof as they flipped again. They came to an abrupt stop upside down at the bottom. The others were flung from their bunks in their sleep.

  “What in the bloody hell!” Grey bellowed from the back on the ceiling where he’d come to rest. His leg was broken and his body bruised.

  “It was a moose! You never hit a damn moose!” Frost yelled back. “It would have totaled the vehicle! Is everyone alive?” He hollered. They all answered except for Zach who remained silent.

  Grey began to rant, “How in the hell do I drive the damn vehicle for forty fricking years and never get into an accident! I avoid every damn animal crossing the highway but not you Frost... Not you! You hit bloody everything!”

  “You know what? Kiss my ass Grey!” Frost shouted back but Grey had already started to laugh.

  Kayn heard the approaching sirens. She glanced down at her broken arm and fought off the panic. She’d had multiple broken limbs in the last six months of her life or death depending on how you looked at it but it never stopped her from freaking out a bit when it happened. They’d never been in this situation before. It sounded like the paramedics were already here.

  Frost started to bark out orders, “Melody! Heal Zach! He’s dead! Everyone with broken bones, you’ll have to go through the motions with the paramedics! They’re already here!”

  Kayn was staring at her severely mangled arm as Frost knelt and whispered, “I’m sorry, I’ve been dealing with this situation badly.” He shoved open the window.

  Melody was positioning herself to heal Zach when Frost stopped her and urged, “There’s no time Mel, your legs are broken. Take the energy you need to heal yourself. You’ll be healed before you’re even casted, it’ll be too obvious.”

  With Zach already deceased, Kayn offered Mel her hand, she felt the warmth of her life force as it travelled up her arms and into Melody.

  The first responders were already at the window. A voice called out, “Is everyone all right in there?”

  “We need help,” Frost answered even though they didn’t. There were too many civilians. Their vehicle had to be fixed. They would have to let it all play out.

  Kayn awoke in the hospital with the strangest feeling of déjà vu. She saw Kevin’s face as she attempted to focus on where she was through the blinding white. She recalled the first time she had woken up in a gown like this surrounded in white. This time it was Frost beside her bed. He got up as her eyes opened. Kayn chuckled when she felt how heavy her one arm and leg were. The cast went right up to her waist. She could feel the bandages on her stomach. Did she have surgery? She was as high as a kite.

  Frost kissed her cheek and lovingly whispered, “Sorry, you’re going to have to play along. Enjoy the Jell-O. You’re staying here until we fix the motorhome.”

  “How’s everyone else?” Kayn whispered back, still groggy from the sedation.

  “I’ll give you a quick rundown. Melody is healed. Lily and Lexy are fine, they were in the truck. Grey had a broken arm and Zach is in the morgue, which complicates things a touch. The accident was caused by a moose so there’ll be no charges for the Aries group to deal with. I do need to leave because we have to stop Zach’s autopsy and steal his body.” He squeezed her sheet covered leg and added, “Avoid another X-ray, you’ll probably be healed by tomorrow and it freaks the mortals out.”

  She couldn’t help but grin as Frost left, knowing he was going to steal Zach’s body from the morgue. She giggled until a nurse stuck her head into the room and scolded her.

  It would take them little to no time to steal Zach’s body from the morgue. They had done this more times than any of them could count. They all had their usual body theft duties. Frost and Lily were the distraction. Lexy would take care of the cameras while Grey prepared to set off the fire alarms if shit went south.

  Grey nudged Mel and instructed, “Come with me, we’ll follow Frost and Lily. One of them will distract the coroner, while the other one clears the exit. Watch and learn.”

  They took the stairs to the basement. Frost shoved the door open, glanced back at Melody and asked, “Have you ever done this before?”

  Mel grinned at the immortal as she replied, “Yes… When I was with Trinity.”

  Lily remarked, “Well, it’s good to know we’re not the only clan with the Aries Group on speed dial.”

  Their steps echoed down the deserted dimly lit basement hallway. The four immortals peeked through the foggy glass on the door labeled morgue. It was a man and he was just about to start Zach’s autopsy. Lily was up to bat. She tried the door but it was locked. Lily was just about to knock on the little window when she had to cover her mouth to stifle her own giggles. Zach was awake! He’d opened his eyes but the coroner was too busy preparing his work area to notice.

  Zach saw Lily through the glass and mouthed the words, “What in the hell?”

  Ready to start the procedure, the coroner stated the date, time and description of Zach as he turned around, holding a scalpel. The man's eyes met with Zach’s alarmed stare.

  Zach comically declared, “I sure as hell hope you’re not planning to use that on me.”

  The terrified doctor dropped his instrument. He slowly backed away from the table.

  Their still pale and deceased looking friend sat up and said, “Calm down...I can explain.”

  The man began yelling, “Help! Don’t eat me! Help!” He paused dramatically, clutched his chest mid-sentence and collapsed.

  “Oh well, this royally screws up a perfectly good plan,” Grey sighed. He backed up, preparing to take a run at the locked door.

  Melody cleared her throat and said what should have been obvious, “Let’s just ask Zach to open it.” She winked at Grey as she rapped loudly on the door.

  A confused Zach slipped off the metal gurney and strolled over to the door. He unlocked it and said, “I think the doctor died.”

  “He was the coroner,” Lily stated as she knelt and checked his pulse.

  “Well, that explains his reaction to me waking up, now doesn’t it?” He chuckled and questioned. “If I was dead how did I wake up?”

  Lexy strolled out of the bathroom and said, “Am I bad? It took me like five seconds to deal with the cameras. I was going to play musical toe tags to confuse the paperwork until the Aries group had the time to erase the evidence but I only had time to switch Zach’s toe tag with someone else�
�s. I thought I’d have plenty of time to wake him up and walk him out of here but the coroner showed up so I had to improvise.”

  “Which drawer did you take it from?” Frost questioned.

  “This one.” Lexy answered as she opened the drawer and pulled out the body of a damn near Albino white guy with flaming red hair.

  Zach slowly shook his head and exclaimed, “I'm brown.”

  “Oh, come on. It’ll be weeks before anyone looks at the paperwork. The coroner’s dead on the floor. He had a heart attack. Someone’s going to come in and say, oh no...” she bent down to look at his name tag. “Phil had a heart attack.”

  “He does look like a Phil, doesn’t he?” Melody comically observed.

  Lexy smiled and said, “Wait a minute.” They always record the autopsy.” Lexy patted Phil down and found the device. She took it out of his pocket. It was still recording. After she’d erased everything on it she placed the device back in his pocket.

  “You just left fingerprints on everything Einstein,” Zach quipped.

  “I don’t have fingerprints Zach,” Lexy sparred as she grabbed the deceased coroner’s can of soda off the counter and popped the lid.

  Zach looked down at his hands and said, “Holy crap, I don’t think I have any fingerprints either.”

  They all laughed as Lily piped in, “We should get out of here.”

  Zach was beside Lexy as they strolled down the dimly lit hallway away from the morgue. He whispered, “I bet he thought I was a zombie?”

  “When you wake up during your autopsy, they always think you're a zombie,” Lexy chuckled.

  As they approached the stairs Zach asked, “Can’t we heal him before we leave?”

  “He has to die. If he’s remotely observant, he knows you’re not a red-headed albino and he’ll have zombie tales to tell. When a mortal’s time is up… It’s up. We’re not allowed to heal mortals. You know this…If you mess with the grand scheme of things and get caught, there’s big bad medieval punishment.”

  Melody piped into the conversation, “I healed a person and a horse.”

  “They allow you a mistake or two before you know what’s going on. Look up the person you healed… I guarantee you, he’s dead. Any alterations we make in a mortal’s life path are Corrected. Life lesson number one hundred and four, you can’t change the road. You can make it easier or harder by the choices that you make. That’s all you can do. The end result is always the same.”

  That night a highly sedated Kayn vaguely recalled being cradled in Frost’s arms while leaving the hospital. By midnight they were on the road heading towards their next adventure.

  Diabolically Evil fish

  The jobs became increasingly disturbing as the days went by. Kayn suspected it was in preparation for the infamous Testing. Tonight, they’d be waltzing with the devil while attempting to come out unscathed. This was the first job involving the death of a serial murderer. She had of course read stories and watched movies about them but the idea that she’d be running into one on purpose this evening had her tingling with nervous energy. She was almost looking forward to this one. She was both frightened and excited. It was like watching a scary movie that might suck you into the screen. This night they would be correcting the most horrific kind of human being and there would be nothing to feel guilty about in the aftermath. Each one of fate’s prior attempts at this maniac’s life had been thwarted by the Legion of Abaddon. The Ankh were now being sent in to set things right. Tonight, Kayn would feel proud to be a part of a just Correction.

  The glare of the bathroom’s florescent lighting made her squint. Lexy scolded her and ordered her to keep her eyes open so she could finish applying her eyeliner. So, she opened her eyes as wide as a black moor fish. Her crimson-haired makeup artist rolled her eyes. There was this extremely distracting buzzing sound coming from the lights above the mirror and it was irritating her way more than it should. She’d learned to tune things like this out but tonight, she couldn’t. Lily was straightening her hair and Kayn had allowed her to do it without thinking about the emotions it might pull to the surface. Chloe had always taken the time to straighten her curly blonde hair but she’d never bothered. Lexy carefully applied brilliant red lipstick to her lips and Kayn glanced in the mirror at the finished product. Her hair had been straightened to a silky sheen. It was quite the contrast to her daily messy ponytail. Her reflection was disturbing to say the least…It could have easily been Chloe. Lily tried to pass her a bottle of gin. Kayn was tempted to take it but decided to be smart instead of emotional, “No... I don’t want to be sick later.”

  Lily smiled at her and prodded, “Humor me for a second.” She dabbed a little bit of gin on Kayn’s neck, just like it was expensive perfume as she whispered, “You need to appear to be an easy target.”

  They had all been given the back story this time because tonight they’d be correcting someone who would undoubtedly fight back, someone so undeniably evil that the word ‘dark’ was a grave understatement. There was a twenty-five percent chance that it would be her, coming face to face with a mortal more heinous than the one responsible for her own brutal Correction that night in the forest. They were the bait, the lure on the line that the others would use to reel the darkness in. Kayn filled her plastic glass with water from the tap and inhaled the scent of the musky room before drinking it. This was a sketchy smelly motel room. Maybe it was all in her head? It was then that she noticed the green shag carpeting. Kevin’s parent’s living room had the same carpet. Kayn squeezed her eyes shut, attempting to turn off the thoughts of the past. Sentimentality served no purpose tonight. She’d lose what little edge she had. She opened her eyes and Lexy was standing beside her, extremely proud of her makeover. Lily adjusted her blouse, opening the top buttons to reveal just a subtle hint of skin. Lexy on the other hand was wearing an outfit that screamed, take me now! This giving merit to the quote, you can’t judge a book by its cover. Lexy dressed the part but didn’t act it…Not in the least.

  Melody was sprawled out on the bed angrily flicking through the channels, scowling at her choice of fuzzy shows. “How is it that we never end up in a hotel with a TV that works?” she murmured. Mel tossed the remote on the bed’s seventies mustard-colored sheets as she mumbled, “I’ve been in two different clans and not once in two years have I managed to watch one damn episode of the shows I used to watch. You’d think there would be working cable in one of these shitty hotel rooms… But no. Not on the days that I want to watch something!”

  Lexy reached into her purse and tossed a chocolate bar at Mel. Kayn couldn’t help but think that Lexy had just acted like a man whose wife had a nasty case of P.M.S. Mel said nothing. She just smiled happily and ate the candy bar. Lexy wandered over to the sink. Mel followed, as she passed Kayn she held up the treat, offering her some. Kayn leaned forward and took a bite while noting the personal evolution it had taken for her to be able to do that. She would have never even shared a pop with her own twin. She’d always been excessively germ phobic. Even though she was the hand sanitizer queen, she had no problem whatsoever with dirt on her face but heaven forbid she touch her food with unwashed hands after using a bank machine. She checked her teeth for remnants of the chocolate bar in the mirror and caught herself staring at Lily as she applied the finishing touches to her makeup. It was hard not to. She was inhumanly beautiful. Kayn knew she looked cute tonight with her sleek straightened blond hair and freckles but felt like she was way out of her league standing next to these three. It was enough to give her a complex. Maybe, her ability to blend into the background would work in her favor? Perhaps, she wouldn’t be the one that caught the serial murderer’s attention?

  When they were all finally ready, Mel draped her arm around Kayn as they strolled out of the hotel room and she announced, “Let’s get this show on the road!”

  While appearing to be normal girls ready to go clubbing, they knocked on the boys’ door.

  Frost opened the door shirtless with his perf
ectly chiseled chest and abs. His mouth dropped open feigning shock. He smirked, you just knew that something extremely naughty was about to roll out of his sexy lips. “I had a dream just like this. Come in ladies. Hop in my bed.”

  Lily shook her head, touched his cheek softly and whispered seductively, “I’d rather pull my own teeth out with rusty pliers.”

  Lexy strolled right past him, playfully socked him on the arm and chimed in, “Not likely.”

  The naughty immortal chuckled, “It’s not a solid no then?”

  Lexy didn’t bother hitting him again. There was no point because almost every word that came out of his mouth was thinly veiled innuendo. If Lexy hit him every time he said something inappropriate, she’d end up with nothing but a permanently sore wrist. Lexy rolled her eyes as she wandered into the adjoining bedroom. The bass of the club’s music was vibrating the floor. Kayn was still standing outside concentrating on the vibration beneath her feet when she felt his eyes on her. She peered up and followed his gaze as it travelled up her legs to her abdomen. She’d recently pierced her belly button. A choice made solely by her.

  He stepped closer and reached out his hand, enjoying her reaction as he brushed a finger seductively across the skin by her piercing. “I like the piercing, it suits you. Maybe you should just go with the whole naughty girl thing for a while, have a little fun?”

  She felt herself blush as she wracked her mind for something intelligent to say. So… He was going to start flirting with her again? Silence was the best move. She had to keep her mouth closed. What was wrong with him? Why couldn’t he ever just wear a damn shirt?

  Lexy reappeared, she sighed, “Let me guess, Grey had to dance?”

  “I was going to tell you they were downstairs at the club waiting for you high maintenance ladies but you just barged in. I volunteered to stay behind,” he teased. He tried to ruffle Lexy’s hair.