Grey Dawn

by K L Rymer

  It was true heaven. Just the two of us.

  Eli may have been a demon, but he was my saving grace. An angel in disguise, and I caress his handsome face, engraving every detail into my brain.

  I wish I could see those piercing greys for just one more time, but instead I’ll settle for his lips.

  Slowly, I lean across, placing my lips gently against his. If I close my eyes hard enough, I can just pretend he’s sleeping.

  His mouth still feels so warm. It’s not fair.

  A buzz shoots up my spine next, and I bolt upright, my eyes wide.

  Eli’s lips... they’re aglow. The light spreads across his face like luminous water, and my heart thuds through my ears.

  It can’t be...

  Magic?

  The light flows to the rest of his body, reaching the tips of his fingers and toes, and then he gasps awake, snapping his eyes wide open.

  His chest heaves as he darts his eyes around the crypt. Sweat sheens his face as his body starts to shake, going into shock.

  Quickly, I place my hands around his cheeks, forcing him to look at me. Recognition dawns in his eyes, and then he reaches a trembling hand up, closing it around my cheek. A tear slips from his eye.

  “Crystal... I... I found you...”

  His mouth sounds dry and cracked, but I still lean forward, planting a kiss on his lips.

  My demon has returned to me.

  It truly is a miracle.

  IT TAKES US A GOOD few hours before we return to our full strength, and I’ve never felt so useless.

  We need to stop my father as soon as possible.

  The more time we leave, the more time he has to enact his twisted plans.

  Leticia informed us that my father had already left for London with Misaki and Ashley, and it can’t be a good thing.

  But we stay inside the crypt. At the moment it’s the best place for us. My father’s followers are still inside the compound, ones who believe us to be dead. We need to think carefully before we show our faces.

  We resurrected from the dead. A pretty big deal.

  Leticia and Leila bring us food and water, and we eat like there’s no tomorrow.

  Who knew being dead could give you such an appetite?

  I’d missed food. It was something I hadn’t thought much about whilst dead, but now that I have it once again, I realise I’d missed it.

  As beautiful as the afterworld was, nothing beats being alive.

  We sit along a stone bench, the spooky shadows of the crypt dancing around us. The sisters went to fetch us clothes an hour ago.

  I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to stay in the clothes I’d died in. Plus, Eli’s half-naked, and I’m not too comfortable with the sisters around.

  Also, Leila’s fourteen, and looking more rebellious than ever in her black bands and charcoal eyeliner.

  They both do.

  Most likely Misaki’s doing. They’ve been following her in my absence, deciding to forsake my father and follow the Blacks instead.

  Though they still follow me, a White, and I laugh, picturing them in black and white robes like a pair of dairy cows. They’re best just wearing grey, and meeting in the middle. It would be easier for us all.

  Hold on... black and white makes grey.

  Of course.

  Though it’s not like Eli and I could just change our names to Grey. No. We’d still be Black and White, respectively, but the world will never be.

  People are not evil like my father seems to believe. You can be good and still harbour bad traits, or be bad and still have morals.

  It’s how it’s always been.

  A grey world. Run by black and white forces.

  “What are you thinking about?” Eli asks, peering up from his empty bowl of soup.

  I’ve just finished mine as I put it to one side.

  We’re silent, the only sound the flickering flames in the sconces. They create eerie shadows across Eli’s face.

  I release a sigh, meeting his anxious grey eyes. We’re both still a little put out. After all, we were dead three hours ago.

  “I don’t even know where to start...”

  Eli gives a nervous titter, the sound so strange coming from his lips. “Same here. I’m still feeling a little foggy. What the fuck happened to us, Crystal? Where did we go?”

  His words echo through the room, and my heart beats faster.

  If I had to be honest, I never really felt like I’d died at all. Just visited a strange country of which I have no recollection. The only time I truly felt the weight of my death was when I first woke in the oblivion, but after that everything’s a blur, like trying to remember a dream.

  “Do you remember it? Life after death?” I ask.

  Eli turns my way, and his eyes give a strange shimmer. A crease forms between his brows, and I know he’s trying to remember.

  “No. Though I do remember meeting my mother.”

  A lump forms in my throat, and I place my hand on his thigh. “You... you found your mother again? How... how was she?”

  “The same as the day I last saw her. She hadn’t aged. Though I think I became a child at one point. My dead cat was there too.”

  I think back to my meeting with my grandparents. I don’t remember the specific details, but they were standing before a bright light, and they, too, looked the same as the day I remember them. However, I do recall them becoming teenagers again before they bid me farewell, and I smile, looking up at Eli.

  “I saw my grandparents again. They were teenagers, just like when they first met.”

  A small smile tugs at his lips. “Well, that’s sweet. At least you know they’re happy.”

  “Yes.” I sigh, hearing their youthful laughter echoing in my mind again.

  Death truly wasn’t the end, as Eli and I had witnessed first-hand.

  We will be with our loved ones again.

  “Did they at least tell you where you could find your mother? You still know nothing about her.”

  I look down into my empty bowl.

  No. They hadn’t. And truth be told, I’d rather it stayed that way. My mother obviously never wanted me in her life to begin with, hence why she gave me up.

  “No, and it’s best it stays that way. If she wants to come and find me, then let her. But it’s been eighteen years. I’ve lived this long now without ever needing her.”

  Eli gives me a pained look, and I turn away, trying to hide my misty eyes.

  It hurts, I’ll admit. Having a mother who doesn’t want you. At least Eli’s loved him, even till the very end of her life.

  Next, he puts his bowl aside and wraps his arms around me. “She’s a fool for not wanting you in her life, Crystal. A real fool.”

  I close my eyes, melting into his chest. His heart beats like a drum, and I could just fall asleep to the sound.

  His hand caresses my hair, and I breathe him in, wondering why he smells so great. He’d been a corpse.

  Though Leticia and Leila told us our bodies had been well-preserved, our powers protecting us somehow. Eli’s lips had been warm when I kissed him back to life.

  I smile. Does that make Eli the princess now?

  Eli looks down at me. “What are you grinning about?”

  I peer up, smirking. “Nothing, princess...”

  He stares at me confused, and I laugh at his reaction.

  Yeah, I don’t think he gets it.

  Eli rolls his eyes, then fixes me with those smouldering greys, and my laugh dies in my throat.

  This crypt just got really hot.

  “I don’t know about you,” he purrs, playing with a strand of my hair. “But I seem to remember one little detail of our afterlife...”

  I swallow, my palms sweating. “And... wh-what’s that?”

  Eli chuckles then leans closer, his nose inches from mine. His tantalising breath tickles my lips, and I shudder, breaking out in sweat.

  Lord, give me strength.

  “Four steamy mirrored walls, our
naked, sweaty bodies pressed up close... I know you remember it too, Crystal.”

  My panties are oozing now. Great, but he’s right. I do remember. I remember how I let him take me from behind, how we screwed like animals. And that I didn’t give the slightest hoot who watched us too.

  No wonder they didn’t let me into heaven.

  This beautiful demon has twisted me up in so many ways. I barely recognise myself anymore, sweet little Crystal a thing of the past.

  His horns sprout from his forehead, and then I gaze into those black crimson eyes once again. “Care for round one thousand and one?”

  My breath catches in my throat. How can I be turned on by something so terrifying? Most women would go running for miles from this predator, but I’m not like other girls.

  I’m darn bloody angel.

  Eli leans forward, and I open my mouth, inviting him inside.

  I just want to feel those sharp teeth on my tongue again.

  “Uh-hum.”

  My heart leaps and we spin around, meeting the angry face of Leticia. She’s covering her fourteen-year-old sister’s eyes, and my cheeks burn with shame.

  Eli returns to his human form, and brushes back his hair, blowing his cheeks. His pants protrude, and I cringe, praying to God they don’t see.

  If only I couldn’t care in this world. I’m literally dying with embarrassment, and we barely reached first base.

  I notice Leila still gazes at me wide-eyed, and I know it’s pointless asking them for the millionth time how Eli and I came back.

  Both girls have no idea. Leticia informed me, however, that she and Leila had continued to cleanse me per Misaki’s instructions, so she thinks my ‘awakening’ had something to do with that. But I know it was something more, and it had to do with mine and Eli’s reunion.

  My grandparents had told me I needed to find Eli after all. So that way we could both return and defeat my father.

  But then what? Would we die all over again and go straight back? There was a good chance we wouldn’t survive going up against my father. But if we had each other, we at least stood a chance.

  Only time will tell why the powers that be had decided to grant us life again.

  Eli and I change into our new clothes. The girls had grabbed me a long white robe, but Eli’s was blacker than night.

  He doesn’t look too pleased, staring down in disappointment. “Well, it’s no Italian suit.”

  “It will do for now. My father doesn’t have much else in the compound.”

  I peer at the girls. They still wear white robes with black bands around their hands and wrists.

  “Leticia... Leila... I was wondering... why don’t you wear grey robes instead? That way you can combine both of our families’ colours.”

  Eli looks around at me, cocking a brow. The girls, however, look intrigued.

  “I... have grey dye?” Leila says. “I could get to work on them as soon as possible.”

  “Excellent. Have forty others made too. Our guests will be needing them.”

  Leila smirks rebelliously and moves out the crypt. Leticia rolls her eyes and follows out after her. Before she leaves, she turns back. “I hope you know what you’re doing, Lady White.”

  They disappear, and Eli turns to me. ”I hope you really do.”

  I grab the pearl beads the girls brought down for me, and tie them around my head to make a crown. They’re made to represent a halo. When they glow, they shine an array of beautiful colours.

  Next, I close my eyes, envisioning my wings, and they soon grow from my back, their shadows stretching the width of the crypt.

  “I sure do, Eli.”

  20. Misaki

  London’s as grey and dismal as I remember.

  People hustle and bustle in the streets as usual, and traffic’s a pain in the arse, but it’s my second home. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

  And I won’t let White destroy the lives of many innocent people.

  Who knew Misaki Black would become the hero in the end. With the main girl and boy dead and gone, it’s up to the tritagonist to save the day now.

  Hopefully, I can finally be the daughter mummy and daddy are proud of.

  The private car weaves through the busy roads. It’s an eco-friendly automatic, and better for the environment, but darn White’s driver is slow.

  I’m jittering with nerves in the back seat. Stupid White decided to sit sandwiched between Ashley and me, creating a sexy young sandwich with an old filling.

  Nice...

  But I wished he’d sat at the front instead. I’d have thought he’d been the first to call shotgun, being the self-entitled prick that he is, but no. He sits next to me. Probably just finding some excuse to be next to me. The pervert.

  It’s the skin-tight cat suit. Did you really think I was going to wear those hemp robes any longer? Hemp’s only good for one thing, and that’s getting stoned. For clothes? Yuck.

  The windows are blackened, so thankfully we won’t be recognised as we make our way to the Black Tower. Unfortunately, White’s driver is a pussy, letting other drivers overtake him and whatnot (it already took us the best part of seven hours to get here).

  Hit the accelerator, slowpoke, and screw everyone else.

  Okay, maybe that’s not the best attitude to have. I am supposed to be the hero now, so the last thing I want to do is cause an RTA.

  White gazes out the window with a smile on his face, and I’ve never seen anything so twisted. He plans to kill these people, yet he looks at them so fondly. Sick.

  Probably making a mental note of who he’s going to kill. That shoddy looking street dealer— dead. That group of tourists. Definitely dead (what a bad time to visit the capital, hey), and that sweet old lady taking her time at the crossing. Dead times one thousand!

  I won’t let that happen.

  Finally, we end up outside the Black Tower, cutting down a side street so not to draw attention to ourselves. Ashley especially. White and I are pretty low-key celebrities, but Ashley probably gets recognised anywhere in the world.

  The alleyway is a shithole, and at one point we pass a community of homeless people, and I shake my head.

  White’s going to kill these too. He doesn’t care. Rich, poor, what difference does it make? They’re all evil in his eyes.

  A shame he doesn’t kill himself with his own mentality. He’s the evilest son of a Bitch I’ve met, and I’m demon born. And I can’t wait to end his life and give him what he deserves.

  I’d called my friends as soon as we left the compound, and told them to take a trip on my behalf. Thank god they took my offer. They may be bitches, but they’re my bitches, and I won’t have their lives on my hand.

  There’s nobody else I really care about in London. My parents aren’t even in the country, living on separate continents, but if White succeeds today, they’ll surely be next.

  Over my dead body; he already took the two other people I love most.

  London’s his first test run. If it’s a success, he’ll fly around the rest of the world on his evil black wings, and put an end to the human race for good.

  The car stops outside, and we get out and head towards the fire escape at the back of the building.

  They’re expecting me inside: I’d called several hours ago. That’s why a sombre security guard waits outside.

  He ushers us down an ugly corridor with bright fluorescent lights, and I cringe.

  The lower quarters. They could at least refurbish. It’s vile, and I feel for the poor sods who have to work down here.

  The building’s currently empty though. I’d given all my new employees the day off.

  I’m a kind CEO.

  We enter a tiny lift with a dodgy smell and go all the way to the top, the location of my new office. But I know White has plans to go even higher.

  The roof is where he plans to send his first blast. We have less than seventeen hours, and I’d be shitting bricks if I didn’t have such good bowel movements (yeah, I’m th
at perfect).

  Finally, we reach the top floor and make our way across to my new office. White looks around in admiration, nodding his head in approval. Ashley gazes around uncomfortably; he wears his sexy bad boy leather again and ripped jeans, but he looks mousey, and I don’t blame him.

  This office, after all, did belong to a devil. It’s all shiny black onyx. Grim gargoyles stand aside the creepy fireplace, and paintings depict haunting faces. Yet White seems to like it, his bushy blonde beard pulling up with a smile.

  “Well, my arch nemesis obviously had impeccable taste. So much black. Dark, sinister. I like it.”

  Yeah, like your fucking new wings, blondie.

  “Did you say something, Misaki?”Lord White looks my way. He stops at the window, the one that overlooks the London skyline.

  Shit. Is he reading minds now? I look over at Ashley, and I see the sweat on his forehead. I feel the heat too and curse my tight cat-suit. The room was frozen when we entered. But we made it hell once again.

  “No, Your Holiness,” I reply, and he nods, showing me his perfect white teeth.

  “Good. I’m just so glad we’re here. Just one step away until our plan takes fruition.”

  He slumps into the black leather chair, gazing out over the city he intends to destroy.

  My blood boils with rage. That was my chair. Handed down to me from my late cousin, the one he killed. He has no right.

  In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if he had plans to take over my company and kill me off.

  After all, he’s most likely using me. I’m not stupid, and I know he’s not either. We both have ulterior motives here.

  White looks ridiculous in his pristine white suit and tie, but he’s not fooling anyone. He’s far from angelic. Sooner or later the world will truly see him for what he is.

  I’m starting to sound like Eli, but it’s no surprise. White’s taken someone we both love now.

  “Ashley, leave us,” White announces next, and poor little Ashley has never looked more confused.

  He was White’s second-hand man. He should be involved in every meeting here on out, but for the first time White was excluding him, and I see the fear in the heartthrob’s eyes.