My young eyes flutter open again to see Mother gasping for air as I try to get her out of bed and to a doctor. Father stops my hand and drags me from my mother’s bedside. “The woman needs to die, boy! It has been long enough for you to neglect what you owe me. Leave her!”
I am fighting against him until he has me pinned to the floor and is repeatedly striking my cheek. The beating is so thorough that I fall, unconscious from the constant blows. When I awake again, my father has gone to town and left me on the wooden floor slats. I find Mother in her bed, motionless. I crawl to her, nearly devoid of all strength. I touch her cold cheek and weep for the only person in life to ever show me kindness and love.
I hear Father approach outside the house. With furious anger rising in my chest, I muster up adrenaline-filled energy, pulled from deep inside of me. I leave behind my waistcoat and shoes and trudge down the muddy road after my mother’s murderer. I jump onto my father’s wagon where he sits with new grain by his feet. He yells at me, “Get off! Do you not know respect for your own father?”
“I am not made of a monster like you! You murdered my mother, and I am here to avenge her death!” I grab him by his throat and push him over the large wheel and onto the ground. The horses whinny loudly behind my back as I sit on top of my father and hold his neck in my hands. He soon stops moving, and his eyes are lifeless. No other words are exchanged between a father and his son.
I stand next to the body of my first kill and find my breath hard to catch. Many people gather round me to see what I have done on the cold, dirt road. They shout many things at me, such as “murderer” and “father killer”. The people grab at me and tie my hands behind my back with rope from my own father’s wagon.
Within the very same day, my execution by hanging is announced to the public. With my mind fogged and palms sweating, I can only see Mother’s face and hope that she visits my soul wherever it lands in the afterlife. Murder is my sin, and it is the largest sin in the eyes of many. As the plank below my feet is pulled away, I am shook with the realization that my mother will never see me from her place in heaven.
In my dream, I can see from my old eyes, and before those human eyes shut forever, a vision of Aella Ganis is watching me, invading my subconscious as I have invaded hers. She covers her mouth and cries as she watches me die.
***
I awaken from my dark and past hell, to my current one. I curse myself for sharing that dream with the Seer girl. It happens when I dream- walk into another’s subconscious. Afterward, a connection of sorts is formed, and I can throw my own dreams into their sleeping minds. It is a very useful gift when I dream of the nightmares of hell and can torture the minds of my enemies. It should not happen without my trying, and if I weren’t so distracted as of late, accidents like this would not occur.
I am grateful, though, to leave the images of the life that created me over two hundred years ago. It is not often that I feel gratitude, or any feelings at all for that matter. Being long dead and mostly surviving in a dark hole beneath the earth has caused any humanity to dissipate from me.
The last time I remember feeling humane was nearly a hundred years ago, when the only woman who controlled my shriveled heart was ruthlessly killed by a Seer. I did not often get to enjoy the company of others, as I worked for the higher-up demons in hell that were meant to teach me their ways. I hadn’t a single interest in stealing souls and playing with gullible humans.
My transition to demon from the poor, abused boy was painful and for lack of other words, it sucked. The beatings were constant and unlike any my father had delivered to me as a human child. I only hoped that he was experiencing my pain one thousand-fold as he rotted in hell along with me. My soul could only experience constant ache and loneliness until the day I met Adelaide.
On that day, I found that my humanity had not entirely dissipated as I had thought. She was the “pet” of a higher demon, so fresh that she still shed tears when he abused her. I felt remorse over being unable to protect her in the same way that I couldn’t for my own mother. I was a constant viewer of her abuse and after a very short time, my anger began to rise. I felt for this demon as I had for my father in the past, though I was not that boy anymore. I was powerful and strong now. After the fifth time watching tears fall from Adelaide’s eyes, my fists swung out toward the demon who kept her.
I threw him to the ashen floor in the same way I did to my father. I held him there until his soul was dust. To this day, I do not know for certain where a demon goes after he is killed in hell. Some say it is a void of nothingness and you are simply gone forever. I did not care, though.
Adelaide kissed me that day, and we kept one another for ourselves after that. It was love, at least, whatever kind of love it is that a demon can experience. Most days were hard and tiring, as any would expect from spending eternity in the afterlife. Adelaide and I spent each day together, rising in the ranks. We destroyed each demon and human in our path, growing more ruthless by the decade.
Eventually, she and I had only lust for one another. I guess you could call it an unhealthy attachment. Many times, we worked together to ruin the lives of human beings and rip the souls from them, enjoying every second as much as we could.
The Ganis family began stalking my Adelaide in early 1912. Emory Ganis, a Seer, was my nemesis at the time. Adelaide had her empty heart set on the pure soul of a young man that worked in tending to the homeless in southern Oregon, and that boy was so easily manipulated by her radiating charms.
One evening, that irritating Seer, Emory, interrupted when Adelaide had already gotten the little human pinned to the ground, his heart barely beating. Emory grabbed her from behind and stabbed her straight through the chest before Adelaide could see it coming. She was having her fun and became too distracted. I wasn’t there in time to protect her.
Emory Ganis didn’t survive for more than ten minutes after he ended my love. I knelt by his dying body and promised him that I would watch as every member of his family came to know happiness and love as I had, before I cut them down and caused them to fear for eternity. He begged me to spare his family, but I could not take his plea to my dead heart. My anger would not easily be sated.
I murdered his entire family that night, except for his smallest child. I watched the little child grow and fall in love. He had a baby boy of his own. I gave them five years of happiness, before I swept through and made him wish he would’ve died along with his father years before.
This has been my mission, through three generations of Ganis children. Orphaned at a young age and hunted for years, until Selene and her weak husband Joseph ruined my plans. I was told that their child died at birth, and they were unable to have another. That was the end of my mission. I was done. I needed to stop waiting around and just finish what I started. Waiting and obsessing were the things that drove my mind more and more wild. I killed Selene, the last Ganis child, and moved on with my long life after death.
Last night, I visited that child whom I was told had died all those years ago. I saw her in her own dream as an eighteen-year-old practicing Seer. I had been deceived by her parents and my mission is still not finished. This nightmare we just shared, though unintended, will only show her what I have always been capable of. I will complete what I promised her great, great-grandfather a hundred years ago. Aella Ganis will die before she reaches her next birthday.
Chapter 2
Aella
“Seriously, El, that looked like it was going to fall off just three weeks ago. Do you have like superhuman healing powers or something?” Liam examines my unwrapped foot resting on the coffee table in front of us. I finally got the cast removed today and my ankle healed way faster than it would’ve if I were a regular human. If only Liam knew how close to the truth his question was.
“The doctors were awesome. They said it looked way worse than it actually was underneath, and my foot is completely healed. You know, the worst injuries are the ones that you can’t see anyways.” Lying, lying, and more lying
. My ankle was honestly mangled.
He scoffs at me. “Well, if that’s how it works, then your injury must’ve been one of the really good ones, cause it looked disgusting.”
Kassy punches him softly in the arm. “Quit teasing her! She has been through a lot and it’s finally starting to get better.” She pulls me into a tight hug. “Now you can get back to the physical training with your boyfriend,” she whispers in my ear and gives me a wink as she pulls away.
I shake my head at her. “I’m hoping to just forget about the…uh, wreck and get back to normal. I feel so fresh and ready for the future.”
Liam stands, his tall and lanky frame towering over me. He points a lecturing finger in my direction. “Just no driving to San Francisco alone anymore, okay? You could’ve had way worse than some bruises and a busted ankle. I know you miss your mom, but I wish you’d have brought one of us with you. At least then you could’ve gotten some rest instead of falling asleep at the wheel.”
I nod as I stare down at the ground, not wanting to add anymore lies to my previous one. “Okay, you got it S tretch .” I half smile and shake his hand, ready to put an end to the constant lecturing that has gone on for weeks now.
Kassy wraps her arms around Liam’s waist and pulls him toward the back of Gavin’s house. “Come on, babe, let’s go play some b-ball in the gym. I’m bored sitting around here with no cable.”
Liam laughs. “Man, it is going to be a blast slaughtering you on the court for the tenth time. It never gets old, either.”
She shoves him away from her and starts running. “First one there gets five free points!” She yells behind her as she disappears through the back door. Liam runs after her and I’m sure his long legs will get him there first either way.
I snuggle into Gavin’s luxurious leather couch next to the roaring fireplace and pull my favorite of his fuzzy blankets higher over my shoulders. It feels so wonderful having that itchy cast off of me. I can finally tuck my foot under me now, which adds to my perfect comfort. I space out, lost in thought as I stare into the orange flames and think back over the past few weeks.
The day I was taken by Thrane, it turns out that Kassy and Alexa decided to tell Liam a little lie about my adventure. They said I was actually homesick, so I borrowed one of Gavin’s cars and took a last-minute trip down to California to see my adoptive mom, Aunt Mags. After Gavin brought me back home all beaten up, they had to tell him that I got really tired halfway back, ended up falling asleep on the road causing me to wreck into a tree.
I absolutely hate lying to him, because he is one of my best friends, but it felt right for the time being to keep him out of it all. Kassy hates lying to him even more than I do, but she doesn’t want to include him in this world just yet. She has the same fears I did when I was faced with the choice of telling her. She’s afraid he won’t want to be a part of this life if he knows what is really going on. She told me that if it came down to it and he couldn’t handle being around us, then he didn’t deserve to be with her. Although, she isn’t totally ready to take that risk.
Gavin and Alexa’s grandmother, Gram, has been giving me her Cole Cream mixture to help with any pain that I’ve been having due to my broken ankle. Turns out that Uncle Hagan’s wife, Danielle, is an actual doctor so she was able to cast my foot and keep up with my healing without arousing suspicion at the local hospital.
She is way sweeter than I first assumed, thanks to her grumpy husband. She has been very kind to me, and it helps that I don’t have to try and explain why I’m healing so much faster than I should. Danielle told me that my healing is about half the speed as it will be when I am fully developed as a Seer, but already double the speed of a normal human.
I’m extremely grateful for this new Seer ability, because the first week was miserable while I tried to hobble around on one foot. Any accidental bump into corners of tables or chairs felt like needles stabbing into me.
Alexa and Gavin have officially teamed up as my trainers, now that I’m not avoiding my Intended anymore. Alexa has tried helping me with my earth and air manipulating abilities, but so far, they have been completely dormant without my life or Gavin’s on the line. I haven’t been able to run or spar with Gavin since the injury, so I can tell I’m getting soft and am going to have a hard time getting back into it.
Since the day that we first kissed, Gavin and I haven’t hardly had any time together. There have been some lingering stares and small kisses on the cheek, but not much has happened between us. The day after our long trek through the woods, Gavin got a call saying that another human needed his help. Thankfully, there have been no more visions of Kassy in danger, though his new visions are all he is able to focus on.
Hagan has played a big part in the distance Gavin is giving me. I wasn’t a part of the discussion, but Alexa told me that Gavin was lectured pretty hard about shirking his responsibilities and getting too distracted in his first assignment. I’m still learning about this Seer hierarchy, but it turns out that not listening to the eldest male in the family is a pretty big no-no.
All I want is time with Gavin again, so I can tell him that my feelings haven’t changed since that day in the woods. I’m just hoping I haven’t ruined his chances at personal freedoms.
Alexa busts into my quiet thoughts and plops down next to me. “I am so excited for you! Jed just called and said he and Gavin got the big baddie and will be home tonight! He needs to update the counsel and run through the details with Hagan, but then he’ll be free.” She squeals next to me in excitement and flips her wild red curls over her left shoulder..
“Okay, okay, calm down, Lex! You don’t need to get so excited.”
She scrunches her nose up causing her freckles to all form one big blob. “Come on! You have been the mopiest moper ever lately and I just want you and my brother to be happy!”
I laugh at her as she bounces up and down next to me. “I’m sorry, I know I should be elated, but I think I’m freaking out a little.”
She shakes her head. “Don’t do that, El. You know how he feels about you, and he’s not changing his mind, so quit the pouting. You just need to break the ice and finally figure out what you are to each other.”
“Yeah, I’ve just never been in this kind of situation before. How am I supposed to define the relationship with the man that I am Intended to ‘bond’ to and be with for the next hundred or so years of my life?” I release a big ball of air from my lungs. “I feel like I’m proposing.”
Alexa is the one laughing this time, her eyes squinting and strawberry hair swaying on her head. “Cool it, sweetie. Just kiss him and tell him you love him.”
“Sure, kiss him and tell him I love him, the two easiest things in the world. It’s not like the first time I tried to kiss him he rejected me, and I ran off into the woods and nearly died…” My sarcastic reply gets me an eye roll.
“I just hope I can find my Intended soon so that I can see what all the hype is about. I’m definitely going to continue kissing him after the first one though, instead of waiting weeks in between,” she giggles.
I shove her playfully. “Thanks for that. I come from a different world than you people, so cut me some slack. Just wait until you do find the guy and I’ll be right there to judge you the whole time.”
“And I’ll take it like a woman.” She flicks her hand toward me and freezing cold air brushes across my face. I gasp and pull the covers higher. “That was supposed to wake you up and get you off this couch. Do you want me to make it even colder?”
I jump from my seat. “Nope, I’m up!”
She stands with me and places her hands on her hips in triumph. “Finally!” she says.
In an instant, Alexa is at the back of the house yelling through the backyard door. “Kass, we’ve got work to do! Ditch the boyfriend!”
She runs back to me in a flash. “Let’s get you ready for the big moment, and no sweatshirt.”
I pout and follow her up the stairs to get ready for my Intended.
Chapter 3
My eyes feel heavy and I try to force them open. I immediately realize something is wrong when my eyelids stay shut. I try to think back to how I got here and remember sitting on Gavin’s couch near the fire, waiting for him to get home.
I had to have fallen asleep, but why can’t I wake up? I feel warmth in the air and can hear crackling wood. The scent of Gavin is all around me from his sofa. I groan and reach for my face to try and pry my eyes open.
“That’s not going to make a difference, little girl.” A man’s deep voice breaks me from my current panic, only to incite new fear.
I turn toward the voice. “Barron?”
“Yes, Ganis. It seems you are still fighting my dream visits.” I hear Barron’s footsteps move closer to wherever I am.
“I saw your dream, you know. About your life before.” I speak to where I think he must be standing. “I’m sorry that you had to endure that childhood. It’s understandable why you did what you did.”
He scoffs. “It’s understandable to you w hy I became a murderer and killed my own father?”
“Yes. I think I would probably do the same thing if he had treated me that way.”
“You do not know me!” Barron shouts near my face and I jump from the sound. “Do not feel pity for the human I once was. I have killed many fathers and mothers since that day.”
I get chills down my back and press myself farther into the couch. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you. I figured since you’re so keen on invading my sleep time that I should get to know you a little bit.” I don’t want to anger the man that has killed my family members and plans to do the same to me. Seeing him as a poor defenseless child made me feel almost sympathetic, but I force myself to remember who I’m dealing with.
The couch sinks next to me as Barron sits. His hand reaches to lightly touch my shoulder, and my eyelids open up to see the blurry, dark blob sitting next to me in Gavin’s living room. “I still can’t see you. I guess being broken has held me back from becoming a stronger Seer.”
Intended Series Collection: Books 1-6 Page 19
