Death Read online

Page 15

 

  I look at Sam and start to cry, "No. No. I'm not okay. I'm never going to be okay. "

  He drops to his knees in front of me and hugs me. His warmth and smell are more than I can bear. My hands spark. He shoves me suddenly and I'm across the beach on my back. I groan.

  "You can't do that to me. I could die. "

  I moan and sit up. The pain is fading fast. He walks to me and offers me a hand. "This was why they locked you up in the room last time. "

  "Why?"

  "You couldn’t control your powers. Let's go back. "

  I take his hand and instantly we are back at the old house. The dark haired guy is there. The one with the black eyes and dirty smile. He makes me think things I shouldn’t.

  "Thanks for fetching her, Sam. I'll take over from here. " He walks over like he owns the world and offers his arm. I take it. A spark hits my hands when he touches me and then we're in a dark room. I gag from the way we start and stop.

  He slides a hand up into my hair. "You owe me something, Aimee. "

  I pull back, "I don’t know you. "

  He grabs me and crashes his lips on mine. My body erupts. My hands slide up into him. Sparks fly. He grabs my wrists, laughing in my mouth. "Tsk, tsk, tsk, you naughty thing. If I didn’t know any better I'd think you remembered more than you’re letting on. "

  I jerk my hands out of his, "Why? Did I hate you? Did I want you dead?"

  He steps into my face, "You wanted me as much as I wanted you. You were just stubborn. "

  I cross my arms, "I'm not stupid. I can feel your effect on me. You all have it. " My stomach aches.

  He grins, "You haven’t been eating. "

  I shake my head, "I have. I've eaten a sandwich and some eggs and some cereal and a bowl of pasta. I've never eat so much in my life but I'm starved still. " Sweat trickles down my face.

  He sighs and grabs my hand. Warm thick air crashes into me like a brick wall. I pull my hands away, "Okay enough. I'm done with the flashing here and there and everywhere. Jesus. Stop. "

  He puts a hand out, "Pick. "

  I look around at the seedy alleyway and dirty concrete. I step closer to him. He chuckles and puts an arm around me.

  "I'll keep you safe. "

  The warmth of his body is comforting. My nose catches something. A smell. It makes my belly rumble. The dark seedy alley moves with something I never noticed before. I notice a figure staggering towards us. He trips. My nostrils flare. A guttural sound rolls through me. I step away from the dark haired guy and immediately notice the sparks in my hands. I snap my fingers making flashes of light flicker in the dark alley. As the staggering man gets near enough, my hand lashes out at his throat. I pull hard and fast. I cry out as the intense heat and seductive warmth fills me in a rush. I drop to my knees next to the dead man who has dropped to the ground in a heap.

  "Oh my god. " I moan.

  Chuckles fill the alley behind me, "You really are an animal, Aimee. "

  I glance back, "What have you done to me?" My heart is aching but the glorious feeling inside of me is too much. It wins out over my guilt and pain.

  "Made you something so strong, even time can't change you back apparently. " He sounds like he is in awe of the horror show in front of him.

  "Where is Shane?" I ask, terrified he has shared the fate of the man on the ground.

  "He's in Portland. He's safe. Stop worrying about him. You have work to do. Did Lydia tell you the entire story? About the things we need to accomplish in the next few months?"

  I nod and look at the ground, "It can't be real. This can't be real. I must have some kind of tumor. I need an MRI and blood work done. "

  His fingers bite into my arm and we are standing on the porch of the old mansion. The redhead is standing on the porch, as if waiting for us. "It might be easier to give her back her memories. "

  The redhead stands, "Do you remember me?"

  I nod, "Somehow. I know you but not in a memory. "

  She shrugs, "Good enough for me. This way is better. No more mopey Aimee. "

  I frown, "Hurtful. "

  She shrugs, "It's the truth. You were god awful to be around. One minute it was Shane then it was Aleks and then it was Shane and then it was none of them and you were kissing Dorian here in secret and thinking no one knew. " She rolls her eyes and storms into the house.

  I glance back, "Dorian. I know you. I know you all. "

  He grins, "Not quite as well as I would have you know me. "

  I blush and turn to walk back into the house. He grabs my arm and spins me. His lips meet mine. The intensity is there but the hunger isn’t. His kiss is passion and darkness. I know I shouldn’t kiss him, but I want to.

  "Stop kissing her and go get Aleks. He won't leave until we kill Jon. "

  He lets me go and looks over me at the redhead, "Lorri, it can wait one more day. "

  "No. Do it now, and stop messing with the plan. " Her tone is sharp.

  He steps away from her and then is gone.

  I look back at her, "How do you know him?"

  Her eyes glass over, "He's my best friend. "

  "He's a good kisser. Weird and kinda creepy but, wow. "

  She rolls her eyes and takes my hand, "Come on. I want to show you something. "

  She pulls me inside and down the dark hallway. Her hands are hot. Uncomfortably hot.

  "What are you?"

  "Angel. Didn’t Lydia explain?"

  I nod, "She did. I just don’t get it. I don’t believe in God. I believe in science. "

  She stops and looks at me, "He believes in you. Why do you think he asked me to fall?"

  I shake my head, "I can't see it. It doesn’t feel real. "

  She snorts sarcastically, "Well it is. It felt real on my end. Let me tell you. "

  "Can you show me?"

  She looks uncomfortable and then puts her hand up, "Lace you fingers through. "

  I do it and instantly I am somewhere else. Her voice narrates in my mind. It's soft and distant.

  "The mountaintop was a vantage point I didn’t get to appreciate often. I sat on the stones of the ruins, where once a long time ago Adam met Eve and the world fell apart.

  The darkness was chasing the sun across a plain in front of me. It felt like the battles going on in the cities below. Good was chased to every corner and snuffed out by the dark that somehow always felt stronger. I wanted to be indifferent to it all. I wanted to watch them kill each other and not get involved, but I knew my turn was coming. I could feel it in the electrically charged air all around me. Even there on the mountaintop, the sparks of the changing winds reached for me. He was calling me.

  "Daughter. "

  I glanced up into the shifting skies, where his voice beckoned me to the meeting place. I had ignored the call as long as I could. I closed my eyes and when I opened them I was there, at the meeting place.

  I stood amongst the columns of the old world. The world where we could see his light and feel his presence. The old world where many of us were no longer welcome. None of the fallen could ever enter. It was the last haven for my kind.

  I watched as light slithered silently along the cold stone columns and floor. It found me, even in the small corner where I stood in the shadows.

  A voice, a soft whisper that blew through the drafty stone columns spoke to me. "You must save them, you must save my creations. You will select four to go with you and you will fight for them. Only from the ground may you defend them. Only from the earth will you find success. "

  I couldn't breathe or gasp. The air sat stuck in my windpipe. I remained silent as I processed the request.

  Finally, I was able to speak. "You wish me to fall as others have?"

  A snake filled with doubt and fear slid through my insides, wriggling and twisting.

  "I wish for you to help them fight fire with fire. "

  I ignored the sin
gle teardrop that slipped down my cheek and filled the silent darkness with its splatter as it hit the cold stone floor.

  "As you wish. " My voice was strong, as was my instant resolve to succeed in my mission. It was a problem with my kind. We couldn’t turn away from him while we were loyal. We would follow his desires and commands, no matter what. I dreaded the fact that soon that wouldn't be an issue for me. Soon I would be free of him. For the good and the bad, I would be free.

  "Thank you Lucifer. I can trust no one but you, The Light Bearer, The Morning Star. You are my constant and you have my heart. "

  My lower lip trembled, but my eyes steeled against the pain desperately trying to spread across my face.

  I gave a single nod. I spoke nothing to the light.

  I watched as the light left the room silently. It left me in the shadow I had been hidden in before he came. I touched the column and knew I would never be back.

  I thought of my best friend and instantly stood before him.

  He smiled at me, "You look like Michael has been taking a piss again. " He could see there was a difference in my eyes and the way they saw the world.

  I shook my head slowly, wondering what expression my face held. No matter what it was, it would never be close to the feelings that roamed my insides.

  "I have been asked to do something and I need your help. "

  His smile faded. He tilted his head to the side, "Whatever it is I'm out. "

  I grinned bitterly, "You're in. "

  "What is it?"

  The grin that has claimed my face had taken hold of my heart, "We fall tomorrow. "

  The reality of my words slipped across his face slowly. Watching it was like watching the clouds move across the sky.

  I raised an eyebrow, "Dorian I need you. "

  He licked his lips, as if stealing one more precious second before answering me. "Of course love. This place was just getting boring anyway. "

  "We must get the others and prepare. We fall at dawn. "

  Her words fade out and the picture leaves my mind but her fingers still burn my skin. I pull back. I feel sick for her.