by Abbi Glines
“Axe her Dankmar,” Father cackled as he grabbed Pagan and shoved her toward Death.
I took a step toward her. What was Father thinking? Dankmar could reach out and take her.
“I want—”
“I didn’t ask you anything just yet, Pagan. Hold onto that thought just a moment more,” Dankmar instructed lifting his gaze from Pagan to focus on Father. “You’ve messed with the wrong guy this time Ghede. You like your entertainment but I was never one to entertain.”
The transporters began to move away from Dankmar. Were they all getting ready to leave? Was this finally over? Then the warriors began to descend. I’d never seen one of the Creator’s warriors before. I’d heard of them. Feared them. But never had I seen them. The massive swords that hung on their side would simply wipe out our world with a single swipe. A human’s freewill was the only power we held. The warriors however were given their power from the actual Creator. We had no chance against them.
“You brought de warriors for a gurl?” Father asked in astonishment.
“Yes,” Dankmar replied then took a step forward holding his hand out to Pagan.
“I can’t,” she sobbed.
“Trust me,” he replied. I waited knowing that this was it. If she went to him I would let her go. I would give up. If Pagan chose him one more time then I would let her go.
As if in slow motion, Pagan stepped forward and placed her hand in his. Dankmar pulled her up against his side tightly. The relief on his face was mirrored in her eyes as she gazed up at him. He was where she wanted to be. I couldn’t fight this anymore. All I was doing was making her hate me more every passing day. I’d loved Pagan for the majority of my life but I couldn’t force her to love me. I finally understood that.
“Bad choice leetle gurl,” Father hissed. He hadn’t expected her to go. Deep down, I’d known she would.
“No, Ghede. You’re the only one who made the bad choice. You don’t take what’s mine.” Dankmar challenged. Then he paused and bent down to whisper in Pagan’s ear before handing her to the blonde transporter that had so fiercely protected Pagan before.
“You took a soul that was too young to defend itself. A soul that belonged to the Creator. You changed fate and then decided to play with a world that is not yours. You stepped out of your realm and took another soul not under your rule. Now I give you a choice Ghede. We close this portal today as well as the ones found in Africa and Haiti where the warriors are now standing guard and we seal them for all eternity. Voodoo power will end right here. Right now. You crossed a line.” The gauntlet had been thrown. Dankmar held the power.
“Or you let Pagan’s soul go. Free of any restitution. You stay clear of her and her family for all eternity and remain as you are. But I warn you, if I see your son, you or any of your spirits again remotely close to Pagan I will end this religion. There will be no second chances. It’s your choice.”
Father turned and stared back at me. I could feel his eyes boring into me as I studied Pagan. This was it. I would have to let her go now. It was the only way. She was never meant to be mine. Even though in my heart, she always would be.
“Let her go.” I replied. Then I dropped my eyes from her gaze and turned to walk away. Back into the castle, where my future would never be complete. I’d lost the key to my happiness.
14. “I’m nothing like my father” – Leif
A mix of emotions churned violently inside me. I couldn’t decide if despair, anger, loss, or hate was the most powerful. How had I failed so easily? Why hadn’t I moved in sooner and won her heart?
“Um, hey you… uh Leif, I think,” a familiar voice broke into my inner turmoil and I jerked my head around to glare at the intruder when I met the startled expression of Sabine. I’d forgotten about her. Shit. I wasn’t in the frame of mind to help anyone right now. Someone needed to help me.
“Oh my. Um, I take it things didn’t go so well with the girl,” she said softly.
“Obvious, is it?” I snapped.
Her big brown eyes widened. “I’m sorry.”
The sincerity in her voice was my undoing. The emotions inside me all stepped back to let sorrow take the leading role as tears filled my eyes.
“She didn’t choose me,” I managed to say without chocking up.
“Oh. Wow. Well, uh, maybe that is for the… best?”
I wanted to roar that it wasn’t for the best. It would never be for the best. How could the fact I’d lost everything important to me ever be for the best? Stalking toward my bedroom without replying I stopped and touched the cold doorknob then paused. Her scent would be in there. Her clothes. My pillow would smell of her. I’d see her there on my bed. I wasn’t that strong yet. Instead, I turned and walked back to the room I’d been sleeping in since Pagan had been here.
Sabine still stood in the hallway watching me anxiously. I knew she wanted my help, but right now, I couldn’t bring myself to care.
“You could come in and talk about it. If that would help,” Sabine paused and wrung her hands, “It always helps me to talk about things and I’m a really good listener.”
Damn she was nice. I didn’t need to be around nice right now. I was anything but nice at the moment. “No thanks. I need to be alone,” I replied as politely as I could manage before opening the door to my temporary room.
“If you go in that room, I will find my sister alone. I’m sorry that you’re upset but I’m not standing around and waiting on you any longer. I need to find Rosella. She’s been gone too long already. I’m in a hurry.”
Telling Sabine to go ahead and try was so tempting. The only thing that kept me from walking away from her was the fact she would never make it out of here alive. I was the only chance she had. Those damn big innocent eyes of hers were pulling on my human side. The part of me that felt compassion and remorse, the part that had been molded by my love for Pagan.
“Fine, I’ll help you. But I’m not in the mood for a hassle. Listen to me. Do what I say and we will get along just fine. Understood?
“Yeah, captain, I got it.” She drawled in a sexy southern accent I hadn’t paid much attention to earlier.
Nodding, my thoughts went back to Pagan. Was she happy now? What was she doing? Would she miss me at all?
I needed to see her one last time. Could I get away with going to check on her or would Dankmar make good on his threat? Forcing thoughts of Pagan aside I focused on the girl standing in front of me. The one who needed me.
“I’ll go find your sister now. You stay here in your room.”
Sabine began shaking her head.
“That part isn’t up for argument. I will bring your sister back to you. But if you go with me, it will mess up everything. Ghede isn’t going to just let you walk away from here if he sees you.”
She swallowed nervously, “You mean your father?”
So, she had heard a lot more of mine and Pagan’s conversation than I’d realized. “Yeah, my father.”
Finally she stepped back into her room and started to close the door. I watched as she studied me a moment. “But you didn’t make the girl stay with you. She wanted to leave and you let her.”
“I’m not my father. I’m nothing like my father. That’s the problem.”
“Closer” by Dank Walker - Ceaseless (Existence #3) coming September 18, 2012
Daylight fades away as I watch you from a distance
Darkness claims the sky and I wish you could only know
We’re supposed to be miles away but something draws me closer
We’re supposed to be far away but gravity brings us closer
Closer than your skin, rebellion deep within, you’ve taken over me and I can’t seem to swim. To the top of myself, I’m under your control. I’m wondering how we got here I’m wondering how we got here to the place we should go.
Ooooh oooh oooooh
The place we should go
Ooooh oooooh ooooh
Souls aren’t meant for things like this
; Our worlds were never meant to collide
You’re better off leaving while you have something to leave behind
We’re supposed to be miles away but something draws me closer
We’re supposed to be far away but gravity beings us closer
Closer than your skin, rebellion deep within, you’ve taken over me and I can’t seem to swim. To the top of myself, I’m under your control. I’m wondering how we got here I’m wondering how we got here to the place we should go.
We’re supposed to be miles away but something draws me closer”
Click here for a free download of CLOSER or visit this private site http://snd.sc/MJI9ok to download your free track of Closer.
excerpt from
Existence
by Abbi Glines
Chapter One
Don’t look at him and he’ll go away. I chanted in my head, as I walked toward my locker. It took an extreme amount of willpower not to glance back over my shoulder. Not only would alerting him I could see him be pointless but it would also be stupid. The halls were already full of students. Although, if he’d followed me inside the school I would have seen him easily enough through the throngs of people. He would stand out just like they always did, unmoving and watching.
“GAH! Have you seen Leif? I mean honestly can he get any hotter? Oh, yes he can.” Miranda Wouters, my best friend since elementary school, squealed as she grabbed my arm.
“No, I haven’t seen him. Football camp must’ve agreed with him,” I replied, forcing a smile. I couldn’t care less how hot Leif Montgomery looked. Miranda rolled her eyes and opened the locker beside mine.
“Honestly, Pagan, I don’t get how you can be so immune to such intense hotness.”
I managed a genuine laugh and slipped my bag over my shoulder. “Hotness? You didn’t just say hotness.”
Miranda shrugged, “I’m not an endless well of descriptive words, like you are.”
I chanced a peek over my shoulder. The halls were full of normal people, living people. They were talking, laughing, and reading over their schedules. It was all very real. I let out a sigh of relief. This was the first day of my senior year. I wanted to enjoy it.
“So, what class do you have first?” I asked, relaxing for the first time since I’d spotted the dead guy lounging outside on the picnic table staring directly at me.
“I have Algebra II, blah! I so enjoyed Geometry last year. I hated Algebra my freshman year and I can already feel the negative vibes coming from my textbook.” Miranda’s dramatic flair for life never failed to make me smile.
“I’ve got English Lit.”
“Well, we all know you’re loving that. OH, look, look, look, there he is,” Miranda managed to squeal in a hushed tone while nodding her head toward where Leif stood talking to other football players.
“Hate that I can’t hang around and bask in the presence of greatness with you, but this is my stop.” Miranda glanced back at me, rolled her big brown eyes, and gave me a wave before making her way over to Leif.
Empty rooms were places I usually avoided at all cost. Given the fact the bell wouldn’t ring for five more minutes, this room would no doubt remain empty for the next four minutes. If I’d stayed out in the hall, I would have been dragged by Miranda over to where Leif stood surrounded by his chosen few. I knew without a doubt he wasn’t interested in talking to Miranda. We’d been going to school with Leif since we were eleven. Since his move from somewhere up north to the coastal town of Breeze, Florida, never had he acknowledged either of us. Not that I minded. He wasn’t my type. I walked over to the desk closest to the window and put my bag down.
A movement, out of the corner of my eye, caused the hairs on my arms to prickle. I’d
I’d known better than to stay in this empty room. But I was here now and running would make it worse. I turned to face the same soul from outside sitting in a chair at the back of the classroom with his feet propped up on the desk in front of him and his arms crossed casually over his chest. How had he known I could see him? I’d given no indication outside. Normally ghosts needed a little clue from me to realize I wasn’t as blind as the rest of the world. Something was different with this one. I dropped my gaze and started to turn around. Maybe I should go join Miranda and the jock squad out in the hall. If I acted like I didn’t see him and casually made my way back into the hallway then he might think he’d made a mistake and float away or walk through a wall or something.
“You don’t really want to subject yourself to such pointless company do you?” a cold, smooth voice broke the silence.
I gripped the hard plastic chair beside me so hard that my knuckles turned white. I fought down a startled little cry—almost a scream—in the back of my throat. Should I ignore him? Should I respond? Alerting him that his hunch was right might not end well. But ignoring this was going to be impossible. He could speak. Souls never talked to me. From the time I realized that the strangers who frequently watched me or appeared in my home and wandered the halls were not visible to anyone but me, I’d started ignoring them. Seeing dead people wasn’t a new thing for me but having them talk to me was definitely a new twist.
“I pegged you with more guts. Are you going to let me down too?” His tone softened. There was a familiar drawl in his voice now.
“You can speak,” I said looking directly at him, I needed him to know I wasn’t afraid. I’d been dealing with wandering souls, which is what I like to think of them as, all my life. They didn’t frighten me but I liked to ignore them so they would go away. If they ever thought I could see them, they followed me. He continued to watch me with an amused expression on his face. I noticed his crooked grin produced a single dimple. The dimple didn’t seem to fit with his cold, arrogant demeanor. As much as his presence annoyed me, I couldn’t help but admit this soul could only be labeled as ridiculously gorgeous.
“Yes, I speak. Were you expecting me to be mute?”
I leaned my hip against the desk. “Yes, as a matter of fact, I was. You’re the first one who has ever spoken to me.”
A frown creased his forehead. “The first one?” He appeared genuinely surprised he wasn’t the first dead person I could see. He was definitely the most unique soul I’d ever seen. Ignoring a soul who could talk was going to be hard. However, I needed to get over his ability and get rid of him. Talking to invisible friends could hinder my social life. I’d end up looking like some crazy chick who talked to herself.
“Pagan Moore, this must be my lucky day.” At the sound of my name, I spun around to see Wyatt Tucker sauntering into the room.
I forced a smile as if I hadn’t been speaking to an empty room. “I guess it is.” I tilted my head back to meet his eyes. “You just keep growing, don’t you?”
“Can’t seem to stop it.” He winked and then slung a long leg over the chair across from mine before sitting down. “What have you been up to this summer? I haven’t seen much of you.”
I chanced a peek back toward the soul to find an empty chair. A mixture of relief and disappointment washed over me. Wanting to ask him more questions wasn’t exactly a good idea, but I couldn’t help it. I'd asked other souls questions before like, "Why are you following me?" or, "Why can I see you?" and they always remained mute. Often times they disappeared when I began asking them questions.
Turning my attention back to Wyatt, I forced a smile before replying, “I stayed up in North Carolina all summer at my Aunt’s horse ranch.”
Wyatt leaned back in his chair and shook his head. “I just don’t get why people would want to leave all summer when we live on one of the most beautiful beaches in the world.”
