‘I am going to kill you!’ she shouts, pressing the knife to my throat again. I want to become a human!’
‘Please stop, I am just an ordinary human…’ I mumble, unable to move.
Suddenly, there is another movement by the door. Someone screams and I am being shoved across the floor. There is a scuffle and when I open my eyes again the dark-haired Sprite is on the floor, her face ashen and eyes closed; she looks like she’s dead.
Loud gasps spread through the room. I can't move as I look at a red-haired man who is staring at me, while the panic spreads. He is the man from my dream, Maurice, who switched the infants in the hospital.
‘I have been trying all year to end this, but you are still alive,’ he snaps, coming towards me. I panic and look around with desperation; my heart is in my throat. ‘The first time you survived while I was certain that you were dead, then I could never reach you; the second time I killed someone that I shouldn't have, but now to prevent more blood from spilling, I must complete what I started.’
‘You were trying to kill me? Why?’ I ask, stepping backwards, trying to distract him.
‘To save you from her. She will come for you!’ he shouts, rushing towards me.
I fall down, unable to see where I am going. I want to laugh when I see something sharp in the air; it is the fifth time that someone has tried to kill me using this knife. I can't react because he is fast and I am moving helplessly on the floor, trying to escape. My whole life slowly flashes in front of me and I think that he will finally succeed in killing me.
I open my eyes; Gabriel is on top of me, his eyes are shut. A loud scream spreads through the room but I can't see what is happening. Gabriel is heavy and I know that something is wrong, I push him aside and my body tenses when I spot the knife is buried in Gabriel's back.
‘Gabriel, oh my God!’ I cry.
The other Sprites are coming towards us. I am searching for Maurice, but he isn't in the room any more. I stand up and crawl by Gabriel caressing his face.
‘Leave, the knife is made with iron. It went to close to his heart. He is dying.’ says a tall light haired Sprite standing in front of me.
‘No, he cannot die!’ I shout, trying to push him away.
‘There isn't much time; he saved your life and now I have to try to save him. I will take him with me to the old lantern by the port. It’s the iron that kills. Come there, we will be waiting for you,’ he says releasing my arm, ‘If this doesn’t work he will die, but the next few hours will depend on your faith. If you believe that he can live then he might have a chance.’
My mind is blank and my body freezes, unable to move. The tears are running down my cheeks; Gabriel looks pale, his lips are grey his eyes shut, limps lifeless.
A few Sprites surround him and then they disappear one by one, leaving me alone with Richard, who seems to have no idea how he got here. I don't dare to look at the Sprite woman that pretended to be my grandmother; I know she is dead.
‘Ania, what's happened, what I am doing here?’ asks Richard, staring at me. I step away from him, feeling the adrenaline pumping in my body.
‘You don't remember?’
‘No… I don't.’
‘I haven't got the time to explain anything right now, I have to go,’ I say. ‘Just go home, Richard. I will explain later.’
He seems lost, but I leave the building and leave him behind. I know where I need to go next; there is only one lantern in Swansea. I begin to run toward Mumbles, assessing how long it will take me to get there. I am not sure whether Gabriel will be still alive. I stop after a few minutes, realising that my car is in the car park. I check my pockets and find the keys. The roads are empty and I manage to get to the end of Mumble Road in minutes. I have to abandon the car and run to get to my destination. I pass the hill and a few buildings; I am sweating and gasping for air while I climb the hill, finally getting to the old lantern that is located on one of the cliffs.
The sea is calm today and the tide is in, the navy sky is staggered with stars. When I get to the entrance, I see two Sprites staring at me without any kind of emotion on their faces. They seem to understand that I am supposed to be there so they let me in. I have to stop to catch my breath, my throat is burning and my clothes are covered with sand and dirt. As I enter the small space, I see a few more Sprites staring at Gabriel, who is on the ground.
‘Come,’ says the Sprite that I recognise from the Guildhall. Rose is by Gabriel sobbing. When I approach she moves to the side.
‘I’m not sure what you want me to do,’ I say, disoriented.
The older Sprite steps closer to me in and puts his arms on mine. His eyes are incredible, calm and dark.
‘He was supposed to die today; the old law states that we must let him live. The iron was supposed to kill him, but he is still with us.’
‘I understand, but what do you expect me to do?’
‘Remove the knife from his wound,’ he says.
I am shaking when I get to Gabriel. The knife is in his back but there is no blood, and I don't believe that I will be able to change anything right now. I take a deep breath. Each Sprite is following my every move and I can hear Rose weeping behind me. As I touch the knife, my hands are shaking so much that I think that I will harm him more than help him. I look at the older Sprite who nods, and I pull the knife out of Gabriel's body. I am staring at his face, expecting that he will suddenly wake up, but nothing happens.
‘Now you have to take the knife to the sea.’ I stare at Gabriel and a tear runs down my cheek.
‘He is dead; I didn’t save him,’ I say, staring at Gabriel, unable to move.
‘He is still alive,’ says the Sprite.
At this point, I don't believe him anymore. I go outside, and a few Sprites walk with me. I can see that Gabriel isn't breathing, and it’s my entire fault. The love of my life is dead because of me.
The wind blows heavily, and in the middle of the night, in front of a group of Sprites that no one else could see, I take off my clothes. The water is freezing but I carry on. My mind seems to be disconnected from my body. I am naked and I am holding the knife in my hand. The waves are calm; the sea knows that I am suffering. I take a deep breath and dive in and drop the knife. I want to open my mouth and drown but I am a coward, unable to end my life.
***
I know that I am dreaming, but I don't want to wake up. In my dream, Gabriel is a human; the dream is perfect. I open my eyes, and everything comes back to me. Mother is beside my bed and I am in my room, the pain in my heart reminds that I wasn’t dreaming. The bright light pours into my bedroom. It’s a nice a sunny day.
‘How are you feeling?’ asks Natasha carefully.
I stare at her for a long moment, I don't care how I’m feeling, I don't even care that she is here with me. I lost him forever.
‘I am fine.’
I don't look at her. My body is aching, and I just want to go back to sleep and dream once again about the happiness that I could have had.
‘I am taking you back to London; I have packed your bag already. I don't care if you hate me, I love you and I want to be your mother,’ she says, but I am not listening, I just nod. My movements are mechanical. For about a minute she stares at me, but I still look away, unable to meet her eyes.
‘I have to get to the bathroom,’ I say.
‘I will be waiting downstairs,’ she says, leaving me alone in the room.
I put trousers on and a T-shirt and look outside the window at the clear blue sky. I notice Rose standing in the garden looking up at me. My mind is blank as I walk downstairs. I pass the kitchen and step outside, taking the fresh air into my lungs and enjoying the sun on my skin.
‘Why are you here?’ I ask, staring at her perfect posture. Rose’s expression reveals that she doesn’t want to even look at me; her face is pale and tense. Her shiny blonde hair is embracing around her shoulders, and her olive eyes are red. She is silent. I clearly disgust her.
‘His love for you
isn't real,’ she almost chuckles; it seems she can’t believe that she is telling me this. Her chest rises and falls.
‘I am tired, Rose. What do you want?’ I snap, staring at her, wondering what she is trying to achieve. She steps closer to me sucking the corner of her lips.
‘I just want you to know that Gabriel will never choose you over his own people. Sooner or later, I will find a way to bring him back.’
I start laughing
‘Is that a threat?’
‘He may love you but he will never be yours because you created these new emotions. You are just a human and Sprites will always go back to their kind.’
‘I think you should let him decide that.’
Rose doesn't let me finish; she turns around and she is gone, leaving me standing alone in the garden. My body is in pain, but it isn't a physical pain. My heart won’t stop bleeding. I don't want to see Gabriel, his life is lost.
The cold bitter wind ruffles my hair. After a moment I get back inside. I am unable to cry. Natasha is standing in the kitchen. She is staring at me like she is expecting me to tell her what’s happened. The flicker of uncertainty flashes through her brown eyes.
‘Are you ready?’ she asks.
‘Ready?’
‘I am taking you to London for heaven sake, you are not staying here,’ she presses in a high-pitched tone.
I just nod because I am unable to fight with here right now. My world has fallen to pieces. She doesn’t understand what is going on with me. She doesn’t get that my soul has been crushed.
‘Your suitcase is in the car, is there anything else you want to take?’
I shake my head. She gives me a sharp look but she doesn’t say anything else. I follow her; before I lock the door I take one more look at the house.
Memories; everything began here and it seems that everything will end here. This part of my life is over. I am going back home, Gabriel is staying here; I am probably never going to see him again. I finally realise that we never meant to be together. I have never admitted to myself that my feelings for him were pure and irrepressible. I will never stop remembering him.
If you enjoyed this book, keep an eye out for the follow-up
‘The Dark Night Whispers’
To learn more about the author, please visit:
http://joannamazurkiewiczco.ipage.com or
Follow the author on Twitter @joannamaz
The Whispers of the Sprite Page 22
