by Holly Martin
I sat up in confusion as I realised Seth wasn’t lying next to me.
The door was open and I noticed the rain had finally stopped. The red glow of late evening seeped in through the doorway.
I stretched and stood up. Seth wouldn’t be far. He had probably woken up and was outside somewhere.
I walked out and looked round the clearing. It was peaceful, quiet.
Then I saw him and the bottom dropped out of my world.
Seth was lying on the floor in a pool of his own blood.
Chapter 10
I was at Seth’s side without even knowing how I had got there, I shook him hard, but he was cold, and the blood was thick, congealed. He remained unresponsive.
I lifted his T-shirt with shaking hands and gasped when I saw the giant gash across his stomach. It stretched from one side to the other. There was so much blood, it was everywhere.
‘No,’ I sobbed. ‘Please no.’
My healing powers exploded from me, I pulled everything I had and poured it in to Seth. He was still alive, I could feel that, but he was so weak now, he was barely breathing at all.
I was vaguely aware of the laughter behind me, but I ignored it. The Putarians or whoever it was could kill me after, they could tear me apart and torture me, as long as Seth was alive, I didn’t care.
I focussed on his heart, making it beat louder, harder. I moved my attention to his lungs, forcing him to breathe.
‘Oh Eve, you should have heard him scream. He yelled for you to run, to get away, but you didn’t hear him. Poor Seth was in so much pain. And you did nothing, you were too busy sleeping. It was brilliant,’ said a cold voice I recognised as Adam.
I ignored him, focussing everything I had on healing Seth. I saw his wound close but he was still struggling to breathe. He had lost so much blood, that what I was doing wasn’t enough.
He was dying.
I could feel his life slipping through my fingers. I was too late, I couldn’t save him.
‘I was going to kill you, but I thought this would be much more fun and it was, it so was,’ Adam laughed.
‘Seth, come on, look at me, please look at me,’ I begged, I pulled so hard on my healing powers that beneath me the earth cracked.
‘Hey, what are you doing?’ Adam said, suddenly angry. I heard footsteps behind me and then my hair was grabbed and he dragged me away from the corpse of my husband.
I screamed as I fought against him, kicking and punching wildly. I grabbed his ankle and bit down hard on it. Adam leapt back in pain and I scrabbled to Seth’s side again, my healing powers exploding out of me in a furious rage.
I heard shouts, close by, but I ignored it, as I poured every last ounce of strength from me into Seth, my heart beat furiously with the exertion, and my vision turned red.
‘No,’ growled Adam, yanking me away again. I fought against him and the shouts got louder, I managed to get away and I quickly crawled to Seth’s side, but before I got there Adam pulled me back, holding my hair he smashed my head against the ground. I kicked him, punched him in the face, scratched him, bit him. He smashed my head against the ground again and everything went black.
*
Lying on the cool smooth floor, I was aware of the pain in my head. I forced my eyes open and for a moment could only see black. But the black was shiny, sparkly almost. I blinked against it, trying to focus on it. As I lifted my head I could see myself in the blackness. Had I projected perhaps?
But slowly, as I became more conscious, I realised I could see my reflection in the black marble floor. A black marble floor? That was familiar. I hadn’t seen it at such close range before, but it was familiar.
I pushed myself up further from the ground, and out the corner of my eye I could see the flaming torches in gold brackets around the room.
I was in the Oraculum’s castle, the great chamber with the nine plinths, though as I looked blearily around, I realised the plinths had been removed. In their place was a gold throne.
My eyesight was blurry and I tried to focus, tried to remember what had happened before I blacked out.
I sat up, shaking my head, wearily.
I focussed on the gold throne as something moved in that direction, though I had no idea what it was.
Then slowly my eyesight cleared and I saw Adam, sitting on the throne.
My heart leapt as I remembered.
‘Seth? Where’s Seth?’ I said, the sobs escaping my throat.
‘He’s dead,’ Adam said, coldly. ‘I made sure of that before I brought you here. I chopped his head off, there’s no coming back from that. Though you would know that, wouldn’t you, wasn’t that how one of your personal guard died, when his head fell off?’
My heart stopped beating and I nearly vomited. ‘He’s dead, Seth’s dead?’ I sobbed.
‘Yes.’
The chamber span horribly, the floor, walls and ceiling twisting out of control. I couldn’t breathe. When I tried to suck in air, nothing happened, my throat was blocked. I could hear my heart hammering in my ears, so fast it sounded like a train was approaching.
I was vaguely aware of being lifted. A Deus, one dressed in the green of Adam’s personal guard carried me out the room. But I still couldn’t breathe. I didn’t want to.
I wanted death to take me too.
I hung limp in the arms of the Guardian, struggling to breathe. I felt like I was drowning, that the grief was a tangible thing, pouring down my throat, into my lungs, consuming me.
I realised, distantly, that I was in a cell, that the Guardian was strapping me to a table. But I couldn’t even find it in me to care. Seth was dead, my reason for living had just been snatched from me. And then, my body still not getting the oxygen it needed, I was consumed by a welcome unconsciousness again.
*
I woke later, the blissful ignorance I had experienced last time I woke, was not present this time. As soon as I was conscious agonizing pain seared through my heart, the grief making it difficult to breathe.
I cried. I don’t know how long for, it could have been hours, days or weeks.
Adam’s Guardians and Adam came and went, they talked to me, talked to each other, but I heard none of it.
Eventually the tears stopped. My eyes were sore, my throat raw. It wasn’t a conscious decision to stop crying and I wasn’t sure when I had stopped, I was just aware of lying on the table, numb, and realising I wasn’t crying anymore.
The numbness was worse. The crying was at least doing something, my body reacting to the grief, tears falling, sobs shaking through my body, trying to breathe. But now lying, staring at the ceiling, there was nothing to focus on other than the grief. The pain, deep, immeasurable agony rode through me in constant waves.
I slowly became aware of other things around me. I was aware that I had been put on a drip, though I had no recollection of it being inserted. I was aware that I was hooked up to lots of cables and wires. The room hummed and I was reminded of when the Reapers had me, Adam had my powers blocked in the same way, with some kind of electric field. But I also slowly became aware of what was being said, though it didn’t make any sense.
Adam came frequently. When he came with the Deus dressed in black, the Guardians that were not his personal guard, he was kind, worried about me. He talked about bringing me food, keeping the drip topped up. He talked about the Putarians killing Seth, how I had come here and tried to kill him. He hoped I would get better so we could work together, but whilst I was unhinged like this, it was safer for both of us to keep me like this.
But when he came with his personal guard, the Deus dressed in the smart green uniform, with the black shiny peaked caps, he looked at me with distaste, spoke of how pathetic I was, how he was stronger, more powerful. It was a complete transformation, an entirely different Adam, the cruel Adam that I knew.
And often he would come alone. He would stand over me with a horrible sneer on his face. Though in those moments he never said anything, just grinned manically.
As he stood over me now, I could see something held his attention, something near my elbow was making him ridiculously happy. I looked down to see what he was doing and realised he was burning me. He was using some kind of prong that was attached to the machines that created the electric field. The prong glowed with a white hot heat and he was dragging it across my skin. The acrid smell of burning flesh hit my nose. My skin buckled and bubbled underneath the prong but I felt none of it. As I looked down I could see old scars too, on my arms, legs, he’d done this before, and I’d had no idea. And the fact that he was doing this when he was alone, showed that he didn’t want his Guardians to know.
But I couldn’t even care that he was trying to torture me. That was happening on the outside of my body. The pain on the inside was horrific. It burned with every breath.
Adam finally got bored and left, leaving me alone to my grief.
I closed my eyes and could see my beautiful husband. I could feel hot tears falling in rivers of pain down my cheeks.
The deep depression was exhausting, I had no energy for anything so my dreams quickly took me.
My dreams were not restful and when I woke up one of the personal guard, the green clad Guardians was with me in the cell. He had changed my drip and was now bathing my wounds.
I looked at him, my eyes hurting so much I could barely keep them open. My head felt like it had been cleaved apart.
It was a Guardian I knew. Austin. He had been one of the many Guardians that had protected me in the fort. Austin had been one of the Guardians that had come to get me from the Reapers, I remembered he had carried Izri home. He had also been one of the Guardians that had fought for me in the woods after I had been kidnapped by the Putarians all those months before. But he was one of the Oraculum’s Guardians though. He had fought against us on the roof of the fort. And now he was here.
‘Austin?’ I croaked, the first time I had spoken since Seth died.
Austin stopped what he was doing and looked at me, then gave a dry laugh. ‘The one I was sent to kill knows my name, but the one I’m now pledged to protect has no idea who I am.’
I blinked, trying to focus. Anything to focus on rather than my grief was a good thing. ‘Adam doesn’t know your name?’
Austin shook his head. ‘It’s not important I suppose, I’m just a Guardian. Well a member of the Royal Guard now.’
‘The Royal Guard?’ I asked.
‘The equivalent of your personal guard, we are the ones directly responsible for the protection of our King.’
I let out a hollow laugh at this. ‘King eh?’
Austin nodded, wryly.
‘Well it’s hard to know everyone’s names, I tried to know most of your names, but there was so many of you.’
‘Eve, why are you trying to defend him, after what he’s done, after what he’s still doing,’ Austin said with disgust.
‘You don’t sound like you approve.’
‘Of course I don’t. Aside from the fact that you are the saviour of the world, I wouldn’t wish what you’re going through on my worst enemy. He killed Seth and then brought you here to torture you, to kill you, it’s sick.’
‘Then why are you here, working for him?’
‘I have no choice, Eve, I’m pledged to do whatever the Oraculum tell me to do.’
I thought about Mason, about how he had broken his pledge to the Oraculum. But he had been connected to me through my bond with my personal guard, he had grown to care for me, love me even. In the end his desire to protect me was stronger than the pledge. I couldn’t expect that from Austin.
‘I released my Guardians from their pledge, I couldn’t bear to have people forced to protect me against their will. It came back to bite me though, they all left. I was left with my personal guard, a handful of others and forty five Guardlings.’
Austin shook his head. ‘It was never supposed to be that way. The Oraculum have cocked it up spectacularly. Adam would never do what you did, I think all his Guardians would leave if he released them, and he knows that. The Royal Guard especially are not happy with what he is doing to you.’
Austin continued to bathe my wounds. There was a lot of blood on the cloths he was using, it was surprising how I couldn’t feel any of it.
‘Does Adam know you are here doing this?’
Austin nodded. ‘He wants to prolong your agony for as long as possible. If we keep repairing you, keep you fed, keep you alive, then he can torture you again the next day.’
I shook my head, though it hurt to do so. ‘Well as you are here to repair me, any chance the next time you come, you could rustle up some pain killers.’
Austin smiled wryly. ‘I’m sure I can do that.’
He turned to go, but then turned back. ‘Keep fighting Eve, don’t let him win. Don’t forget you have a job to do.’
He left me alone in the cell.
Yes my little job, what the Oraculum had created me for, and then they ultimately turned against me. But up until a few days ago, I had still been prepared to fulfil my destiny, whether they wanted me to or not. But now Seth had been cruelly taken from me. It was hard, near impossible to find the energy to fight for a world without him in.
Austin came back with a glass of water and two tablets. ‘This should help with the pain, and they’ll help you to sleep a bit as well.’
He released the strap around my chest and helped me to sit up so I could take the tablets. It wasn’t until after I’d swallowed them that I realised how stupid it had been to take something given to me by Adam’s Guardians. But as he redid the strap, I couldn’t find it in me to care. Death would be a welcome relief from the pain tearing through my heart.
I stared at the ceiling again as a thought occurred to me. Where was Quinn? He had gone with Adam, surely he would be here in the castle with him. But even if by some remote chance that Quinn was loyal to Adam now, which I knew would never happen, there was no way that Quinn would allow me to be tortured if he knew. Maybe he wasn’t here. Maybe Quinn was in Adam’s castle. I had to find out. I would speak to Austin next time I saw him.
But after a while, my eyes started to close. I pictured Seth in my mind. I could smell him, his glorious woody smell, could feel his warm skin on mine. I could see his eyes, dark, beautiful and kind. His hand that fitted perfectly in mine. He had been made for me, my perfect fit, and now he was gone. I remembered kissing him, our last kiss, how he had smiled as he had kissed me when he knew how much I loved him.
And slowly I gave myself up to my dreams again.
Chapter 11
I felt a pulling. A strange sucking feeling as if I was being yanked through a tunnel and the bright lights of the other side came hurtling towards me.
I suddenly found myself amidst the trees, the sun dappling the forest ground, as I crunched over the leaves.
Something heavy stirred, moving towards me with such speed. I froze not sure what it was. The trees parted and Seth was standing before me. I nearly wept with relief, with a deep aching grief coursing through every stuttering heartbeat. His face filled with joy but turned quickly to stone as I ran towards him, sobs escaping from my throat. He held out a hand to stop me getting close to him, pushing me firmly away.
‘I won’t play your sick games Adam, you can’t torment me anymore.’
He barged past me and I felt a wave of confusion and rejection wash over me. I watched him disappear into the trees and I stumbled in his wake, keen not to lose sight of my love. With renewed determination, I sped up, easily catching up with him. I caught his arm and swung him round to face me. As I did I saw the fist, the punch flying through the air, his face angry, livid. Instinctively, I blocked his punch which caught him by surprise.
His lip curled in disgust as he pulled his hand away from mine.
‘I might not be able to hurt you here in my dreams but when I find you, and I will find you, I will rip you apart for what you’ve done to Eve. If she’s dead I will burn you and torture you and watch you die.’
&nb
sp; Seth stalked away and I watched him in confusion. My dreams, as this was clearly what this was, had preserved my dead husband for me perfectly, his smell, his voice, his face, but instead of kissing me, touching me like the perfect dream should be, he was angry, somehow convinced I was Adam.
I wasn’t going to stand for this, if I was going to wake up shortly, if this was the only time I would ever get to see and smell and touch him again, I was damned sure it was going to be a good dream.
I caught up with Seth again and pulled him round to face me, his eyes flashed furiously with hatred and venom.
I knelt before him. Adam would never do that. Seth towered over me, his face a mixture of confusion and anger.
‘Seth…’ tears filled my eyes. How could I tell him how much I loved him, how much I missed him, how I would miss him every day until I could be with him again, how I ached for him. I reached out for his hand, his fist clenched angrily, but he didn’t pull away this time. I touched the tiny silvery scars across the back of his hand, the scars to show that he had never left me, the scars I would never see again now that he finally had. I brought his hand up to my mouth and kissed each scar gently. I looked up into his eyes, expecting him to lash out at any moment, but they were soft now, almost tender as he sank to his knees in front of me.
‘Eve?’ he reached out for my face, tentatively.
I nodded, tears falling down my cheeks.
His lips were on mine so quick I didn’t even see him move, kissing me fervently, urgently, fiercely. His hand tight round the back of my neck, his other arm pulling me firmly against him. I kissed him back, stroking his face, his hair, sobs escaping from my throat.
‘Seth,’ I whispered. ‘I can’t believe you’re dead, I can’t believe I’m never going to kiss you or hold you like this again, Seth I miss you so much…’
His mouth on mine, fierce, hard, silenced me as I found myself reaching for him, my hands under his T-shirt, feeling his hot skin. A low growl, a moan came from his throat. I found myself on the floor, needing the hard ground to support me in my heady grief and Seth lay down next to me, still kissing me, holding me so tight, afraid to let me go, as I clung to him with equal desperation.
