by Leah Cook
As my breath evened out, I was able to pick up my pace again to a jog. I felt exposed, my breasts bouncing on my naked chest. I continued to slow as I needed and speed up when I was able until I saw the first rays of dawn peeking over the horizon.
It was then I saw it. A road. I ran towards it, keeping to the tree line and desperately hoping I was going towards a town, any town and away from hell.
CHAPTER 28
Dawn had come and gone and I guessed it was around nine in the morning by now. The chill of dawn had lifted although I still shook with cold. I heard the sound of an approaching car and had to decide whether or not to stop it. It was going towards where I had run from so it could either mean the occupant had nothing to do with what was happening or was part of it. Taking a deep breath, I knew I couldn’t keep going, I was barely conscious and so dehydrated and exhausted I would probably collapse before another car finally came along the country road. I stepped naked into the middle of the road and fell to my knees my arms outstretched hoping they would either stop or run me over. I closed my eyes and prayed, hearing the screech as tyres gripped the road as the driver tried desperately to brake the car without rolling it. As the sound came closer and closer I could smell the rubber burning on the road, until it stopped.
The door creaked open and I looked up to see Julie standing over me, her hand over her mouth in shock.
“Oh my God, Ruby! I thought I would never find you.” She wrapped her arms around my shoulder and hauled me to my feet. Opening the back door she laid me down and covered me with a coat that had been hanging on the back of the passenger chair. I said nothing as she ran back to the driver’s side, turned the car around and sped off. Once we were moving she took a bottle of water from the seat next to her and passed it to me. I sipped at it gratefully.
“Are you okay? I’m so sorry honey, I thought I would be able to find you, I’m sorry.” She tilted the rear vision mirror to look at me and I met her eyes and swallowed.
“I’m okay, I think.” My voice was hoarse, my tongue felt like sandpaper in my mouth. “How did you find me?”
“I had a tracker in my car, it was in case Krystal got lost, but I guess it was always meant for you.” She stopped talking, and concentrated on her driving for a while. I was grateful for the silence and the soft bumping of the car had me drifting into sleep within minutes.
“Ruby…wake up, Ruby?” I felt Julie’s hand on my face and instinctively pulled away and pushing myself away, jumping into a sitting position against the far door. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. I tried calling to you, but it didn’t work.”
My heart thumped in my chest as I drew the coat up in front of me to cover myself, my eyes were wide with fear. Julie drew back out of the car and squatted so she was level with me.
“It’s okay Ruby, you’re safe. It’s okay! Ruby?” She cocked her head to the side.
“Julie, no offence but are you really Julie?” I asked.
She smiled a little before answering. “I promise on the memory of my daughter that I am not one of those demons, I am not going to hurt you.”
I took a deep breath as she offered me her hand to take, I took it and climbed out of the car and let Julie wrap me in the coat, grateful for its size and warmth. I was finally covered up.
She held me by the shoulders and looked into my eyes. “I know you’ve got a lot of questions but I don’t have the answers you need. You need to go in there and look for Father Michael, he said he would be expecting you.” She pointed behind me at the old church where Krystal’s funeral had been. The stained glass doors were inviting and terrifying all at once. “Did your mother find you, is she okay? She couldn’t sit around anymore; she knew something had happened when you wouldn’t answer your phone.”
“She’s dead. They killed her. He killed her.” I managed to rasp out and, once again, I felt the warmth of my tears run down my face.
“I did, didn’t I, Ruby.” I heard Julie take a sharp breath and I turned to find Lucifer behind me, standing in Robert’s form. “And I enjoyed every single second of her death as I did her rape.” He grinned at us and cocked his head to the side. “I’m not surprised to see you here Julie, after all you are the reason your daughter is dead. Helping this one, won’t change your guilt, it won’t bring her back you know.”
He was trying to tear us apart with his words, what he didn’t realise is that I had already been so utterly destroyed on the inside, like my body, that he couldn’t say anything more to hurt me.
“It might not bring her back, but it will stop you from getting what you want, won’t it?” Julie stepped around me and whispered something in my ear as she threw herself at him, clawing at his face.
My eyes widened with shock before I took off at a run towards the church, knowing that I was leaving her to die, but also knowing that she was ready for that death. She had simply told me to run, that God would show me the way. She needed to be with her daughter.
I heard her scream silenced as I reached the door and turned to see her crumple to the ground. She had sacrificed her own life for mine. Even if she said she was ready, I had left her without even trying to stop her. Another death on my head, for what? My soul, my destiny? I didn’t feel that important that people needed to die for me at the hands of Lucifer.
He looked at me and waved as he walked away, knowing he couldn’t enter.
I fell through the double doors of the church desperate for help and for the answers to so many questions I had yet to figure out. I stumbled to the front and fell to my knees in front of the altar. On the back wall a large cross with Jesus nailed to it dominated the room. I wondered if I had served him well. I wondered if I had carried my own cross as well as he had. I wondered if I was at the end of my journey or if it was just the beginning.
I felt His presence surround me, I felt the love of someone I had neither believed in or had even wanted to. But nothing else could explain it, I felt Him in me, soothing my soul, calming my racing heart and flowing through me, easing my pain and my grief.
“Ruby?” Father Michael, stood over me, “Are you okay?”
He put his hand on my shoulder and I sighed, not even knowing if he would believe me, if I told him why I was there.
“I’m bleeding and naked and Lucifer is my father...does that sound okay to you?” I snapped before apologising. “I’m sorry, it’s been a rough day.” I looked up into his beautiful hazel eyes. “You’re not who you say you are, are you?” I had felt something in him when we had first met, I just didn’t know what it was. It had felt like the light that came from me. It felt like hope, love and acceptance all rolled into one.
“No, I have deceived you and I apologise. It was a necessity, but I meant only to protect you. After all…you are one of us.” His voice came nearer but I still didn’t open my eyes or turn my head to look at him. “The one piece of the puzzle you can’t seem to work out, I guess.” His voice was close now, and I could smell him near me. It was an odd smell, like rain on hot concrete after a summer’s day. “I’m not a priest Ruby. I’m an angel…and so are you.”
I didn’t speak, couldn’t speak, I didn’t move either, keeping my eyes closed and my head bowed, even when I felt him sink to his knees beside me. He reached for my hand holding it tightly within his. A surge of love overwhelmed me as tears poured freely and silently down my face. Strangely I felt at peace. Safe, like I belonged. I was finally where I was meant to be.
At this moment, for now at least, I was home.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Seriously, who do you thank first?! This part is almost harder than writing the actual book! Well, here it goes...
To my husband. You are my rock, my soul mate and I can't thank you enough for the times when you wanted my attention and I was too busy buried in a characters head to notice.
To my children, Charlie, Alex and Jaxon, never give up on your dreams. If you work hard enough good things will happen. Mummy loves you!
To the girls, Andrea and Kate, for your editing skills and red pen! This book wouldn't be what it is today without your amazing input and hard work! Thank you!
To Leah, the most beautiful best friend I could have ever asked for. You've been on this journey with me and I couldn't have asked for a better companion. Just keep swimming, just keep swimming.
To everyone who has supported me thankyou from the bottom of my heart.
To those of you who have supported an unknown author by purchasing this book, thankyou!!! I hope you have enjoyed this book, if you have time please leave a review or pop by my Facebook page!
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