PROLOGUE
Death comes for everyone eventually. There was hope in the young man’s eyes when he saw me. He had been in and out of consciousness, already bleeding heavily by the time I arrived. Fear and despair perfumed the air around him, almost as thick as the smoke from the accident. Through the shattered glass of his windshield, he saw me, and believed I was there to help him. In a way, he was right.
I reached into the wreckage and placed my hand above his struggling heart. It sped up, began to race with fear, as knowledge lit his eyes and he finally realized who I really was: the Angel of Death. I was there to release him from the damaged thing his body had become. Fear turned to panic and the whites of his eyes showed, like a frightened horse. “Be calm, friend. Be easy.” Death does not have to be a terrifying experience. It is a rebirth, of sorts.
At my words, he did calm himself. He even smiled slightly as a look of confusion crossed his face. I wondered who he saw when he looked at me. An old friend, perhaps? His grandfather? His mother? Everyone sees something different at the time of their passing. I do not take it personally. Whatever makes the transition easier. I take their pain away. I am not there to judge.
I waited for him to relax, and at the moment of his greatest happiness I stopped his heart and drew his soul from his body. It hung above the wreck for a moment, a misty, light green shadow. A kind soul, he should have little trouble with his transition. The soul wavered slightly before it disappeared. My job for the evening was done. Or so I thought.
There was another car off the road, not far from the first wreck. It drew me, but not for the same reason. I had no more collections to make at that moment. I felt no pull of the Summons. The divine urge to Harvest was simply missing, and yet I found myself staring into another broken window, at another badly damaged body.
The girl was injured, but not completely beyond repair. Blood softly scented the air around her and plastered her dark hair against her cheek. She moaned, as if she sensed me. For but a moment, her eyelashes fluttered and jewel-green eyes flashed at me. She sighed as if she were about to release a great burden.
I did not lay a hand on her, and yet her soul floated free above her body. It hung there, a beautiful shade of shimmering rose gold, an old soul in a young body. I shook my head, as if she could see me. Her name came to me when I touched her. Isabel. An old-fashioned name for one so young. “Do not be afraid. This is not your time, Isabel. Soon enough, but not now. Be a good girl and get back into your body.” No reaction. Stubborn, stubborn girl.
I placed my hand above her heart, not to harvest this time, but just the opposite. It was not her time. I could have left her, but without my consent, where would she go? Another lost soul wandering about? How utterly tedious.
The girl’s heartbeat was thin and weak. One cannot expect much without a soul attached, I supposed. Her soul clung to my hand, fine as spun silk and as fragile as a spider’s web. A tiny push of my Will and she was back in place, as she should be.
I stepped back, ready to wish her well and be on my way. I had places to be and things to do. It would not be long before some kind stranger saw the wreck and called emergency services. The girl would heal, live her life, and in a few decades we would most likely meet again.
Except, she would not cooperate. Stubborn girl. Her soul floated free once more, almost daring me this time to do something about it. I felt just the smallest sense of irritation, which surprised me. After millennia as Death I had grown numb to such things.
Fine. If she refused to be sensible about it, I had other ways of getting her to stay put. I reached into her car and removed her seatbelt. She moaned as I pulled her from the wreck, even though I tried to be gentle with her. Humans are such fragile creatures.
That beautiful soul played around me, almost taunting me. A binding would have to take place if I wanted to put her back together again.
I reached for the broken window, and dragged my hand across the sharp glass. It stung, but my flesh started the healing process almost before I finished making the cut. Blood welled up, thick and dark, so unlike the thin human blood all around us. I forced her mouth open and squeezed a few drops of my ancient blood onto her tongue.
Blood magic is always powerful, but to be honest I did not know what effect it would have on the girl in the long-term. Humans tend to cling to life, in spite of their pain or misery. A binding had never been necessary before. Not to my knowledge.
Again I placed my hand against her heart and pushed my Will into her. This time her soul flew back into place and her heart gave a great leap before it started to beat steady, and strong. She was bound, and though I did not know it at the time, so was I.
1 IZZY
I woke to pain. The nasty, all-over kind of pain which only comes from serious injury. A constant annoying beep played directly behind my bed. I twitched my hand across the blanket covering me…scratchy and thin. There was a sharp antiseptic scent in the air, and something else, something spicy-smelling…leather, maybe? I cracked an eye open. Boring, beige wallpaper, and a tiny television mounted half-way up the wall. I was definitely in the hospital.
My dad slept in the chair next to the bed, long legs stretched out in front of him, taking up most of the space between the bed and window. He looked rough, and sort of used up. At least three days of beard covered his cheeks, and his hair was messed up, too. It was black like mine, only his lacked the brilliant purple highlights which dusted the ends of mine.
“Dad?” My voice sounded rusted and unused, like an old hinge in need of oil. No wonder… I tasted metal in my mouth, like copper pennies. I cleared my throat and tried again. He came up with a startled snort. Blood-shot blue eyes met mine, panic clearly written in the tense lines of his mouth.
“Isabel?” I must be in bad shape. I’ve been ‘Izzy’ for as long as I can remember. “Isabel,” only gets busted out under the direst of circumstances, usually when I’m in serious trouble. “You’re awake!” He grabbed the call button on the side of my bed and hit it before he even made it to his feet. Not satisfied with that, apparently, he practically ran to the door and yelled for a nurse to come quickly. That surprised me. My dad is usually so quiet, and never wants to make a fuss about anything.
I tried to call him back, but my throat was on fire and my voice wasn’t working very well, just yet. When he came back to the side of my bed, tears were in his eyes. Never in my life have I seen my dad cry. Edmund Maitland just doesn’t cry. Ever. Maybe he did when he lost my mom, but I was a newborn and had no memory of it, if he did. Those tears scared me more than words can say.
“What…happened?” Ugh, I desperately needed some mouth wash.
“Honey, there was a wreck. Try not to talk till the doctor comes in, ok?” I nodded obediently. No problem, there. My throat was killing me.
Two obviously overworked nurses came in to check on me. Well, he couldn’t fault their timing. They shoved my dad back towards the open door and drew the curtain around my bed with a sharp metallic screech which set my teeth on edge. After much poking and prodding, a lady doctor came in to read my chart and to order a whole lot of painful sounding tests. Apparently, I’d suffered from a few broken ribs and a ruptured spleen. I couldn’t remember, off the top of my head, what a spleen was even good for, but it seemed to be something important. Along with all of my other ailments, I’d suffered multiple cuts and bruises.
I couldn’t seem to get comfortable, no matter which way I moved. The older of the two nurses gave me a shot of something through my I.V. which took most of the pain away, but I was still incredibly uncomfortable. Curiously, instead of the horrible pain I’d woken up with, I now suffered from a deep, annoying itch around the area of my broken ribs.
“Alright, Miss Maitland, I’m going to speak with your father before I send him back in here.” The doctor tucked her stethoscope back around her neck and hung my chart back on the end of my bed. “Do you have any questions for me, before I go?”
I cleared my throat before
I tried to speak. “How long until I can go home?”
She smiled at me. “We want to keep you for a few days to monitor your spleen. Once we’ve determined whether the damage is healing properly on its own, you will be released. You’re lucky. I hear the cafeteria is serving its famous green Jell-O today. You will be on a clear liquids diet for a little while, I’m afraid.” She turned and left. A light breeze of expensive perfume followed her out of the room. Green Jell-O. Oh, joy.
I groaned and looked around my room. Flowers and balloons lined the window sill. Even a couple of teddy bears. Lots of cheerful “Get well” cards were propped up against the window. I almost laughed. I didn’t think so many people would care. I’m not exactly a social butterfly.
My dad came back in a few minutes after the doctor left. He was fidgety, fluffing my pillows more than once, straightening a stack of magazines on the roll-out table. He’s not usually so full of nervous energy. “Dad, sit down and talk to me.”
He dropped an empty soda can into the trash. “Ok, honey, but you need to rest.”
I snorted. “Looks like I’ve been resting. Why don’t you go home and get some sleep? That chair can’t be as comfortable as your bed. How long have I been here, anyway?”
“You came in Saturday night, after you left Gwen’s house. She’s been here every day, by the way. She’s worried crazy about you. We both are.”
“What day is it?” I winced as I shifted on my pillows. There were still many, many sore spots.
“Tuesday.” He glanced at his watch. “Well, technically it’s Wednesday. We’re after midnight, now.”
“Go get some sleep, Dad. I’m ok. I think they gave me something to make me sleep. I’m getting really tired, again. I promise I won’t get out of bed or do anything stupid.”
He grinned at me, and the dimple peeked out in his cheek. “The doctor says you’re doing well. Much better than expected. I might make a quick trip home for some clothes.” He needed sleep more than anything, by the looks of him, but pestering him wouldn’t work. He was far too hard-headed to be nagged into submission.
“Good idea. Would you bring me something to drink before you go? Pretty please.” He poured some water from a small pitcher into a cup and stuck in a bendy straw. I took a grateful sip. Normally I would have preferred a soda, but the lukewarm water was the best thing I’d ever tasted in my entire life. I drained the tiny cup and handed it back to him. “Thanks. You wouldn’t have any mouthwash, would you? I’m tasting metal. It feels like I licked the bottom of an old tin can, or something.”
“It’s probably blood you’re tasting. The doctor said when your spleen ruptured it started dumping blood into your stomach. It’s healing on its own, thank God. They didn’t need to do surgery. That’s something to be thankful for.” He gave me a weak grin. “You came close, honey. Too close.” He turned away and got busy picking up my room suddenly, but not before I saw the tears welling up, again.
Wow. I really had almost died. It’s a freaky thought when you’re only seventeen. I had always assumed I would live forever, or at least get really old, and die in my sleep. That was the plan, anyway.
“I’m good, Dad. Promise. Go home for a while. Take a nap and get a shower. Oh, and feed Jazzy for me. And can you call Gwen, so she stops worrying? Also, please bring me some toothpaste and mouthwash.” I grinned as he brushed my hair back from my face and kissed my forehead. “Oh, and maybe a hairbrush?”
“I’m glad you’re feeling better, Izzy. I will be back in less than two hours. I’d sneak you breakfast, but the doc said clear liquids for a few days.”
“Yum-my.”
“Just be glad I’m not cruel enough to eat in front of you,” he said, as he started towards the door.
I waved him out of the room and leaned back into my pillows. I closed my eyes and tried my best to remember what had happened to me, but it was still kind of patchy.
I’d gone over to Gwen’s house to hang out. I glanced down at my electric purple nail polish. I’d painted my nails that night to match the highlights I’d had Gwen put in my hair the week before. It had looked really cool at the time, with the purple just dusting the tips of my long, curly, almost-black hair. After several days in bed, the nails were still good, but the hair was just a funky, matted mess. I needed a shower in a bad way. There probably wasn’t a hope of getting one, though.
Ok, focus… so Gwen and I watched a movie, did our nails, and talked about her latest crush for a few hours. I’d gone home around nine. Then what? I felt myself drifting off. Maybe the nurse really did shoot something into my I.V. I had a warm, floating feeling like I was caught between sleep and waking. It wasn’t a bad feeling, so I drifted along and dreamed a little.
Headlights flashed in my memory. They’d crossed the center line and were coming straight at me. My heart dropped into my stomach. I laid on the horn, but the car didn’t move. A split second before the car would’ve hit me, I jerked the wheel. The car clipped my front end but I’d avoided a head-on collision. I just hadn’t counted on the embankment I’d gone sailing over. Time slowed down while I took the world’s longest ride. Within seconds the air bag exploded and whiteness took over my vision. I couldn’t see outside, but I felt the car flip a couple of times. It was a tooth-rattling experience, for sure. The world turned upside down and all around before everything went black.
I came to smelling bitter smoke and what I guessed was burning rubber. The engine was still running. Visions of a fiery death filled my head, thanks to last summer’s drivers’ education class. I tried to reach the ignition, to stop the motor, but my arms weren’t working properly. Nothing hurt yet, exactly, but I was pretty sure it would soon. There was too much pressure when I tried to take deep breaths, like someone was sitting on my chest squeezing the air out. I couldn’t find my cell phone to call for help. It was lost somewhere in the broken glass and old fast food wrappers I’d meant to clean out of my car last weekend. So much for having the stupid phone in case of emergency.
Surprisingly I didn’t panic. Not much, anyway. Ok, a little, but I was entitled to panic. My phone was lost, my car was smoking, and I was in some seriously deep shit. The only thing I had going for me was the fact that I had been on a fairly busy road when I’d wrecked. Surely, someone would see my car and call 911.
I passed out again, only to come to as I was pulled out of the broken windshield of my car. Someone spoke to me, brushed my hair off my face. I remembered a soothing voice and strong arms. “Do not be afraid. It is not your time, Isabel.” Hunh? Must’ve really hit my head hard. Good Samaritan shouldn’t have known my name. Maybe he found my wallet? I couldn’t see his face. I floated in and out of consciousness, but I caught a glimpse of blonde hair and a whiff of something spicy. He smelled nice.
Overhead lights flared above my head, startling me fully awake. “Good morning, Sunshine!” A grinning Gwen came bouncing into my room, long, blonde ponytail swinging. She started to bounce on the end of my hospital bed but swung around at the last possible second into the chair next to it. Gwen is not normally what you might call the bouncy sort. She looks like she would be, but usually she’s the sarcastic, kick your ass and ask questions later, sort. “You look like shit, Iz.”
I laughed at her. I couldn’t help it. Gwen always made me happy. “Thanks for sugar coating it for me. You look fabulous, as always.”
We’d been best friends most of our lives. Her dad, Timothy Rose, was a medieval literature professor. To his only daughter he’d given the unfortunate name of Gwenevere, after King Arthur’s adulterous queen. Gwenevere Rose. A beautiful and perfectly fine name, really. Gwen, of course, hated it. I’d always thought it suited her. She kind of reminded me of a medieval queen— if, said queen, had a potty mouth and a chip on her shoulder. She was all long limbs and golden hair. Physically we were complete opposites. In all other ways, she was the sister I never had.
“What are you doing here this early? It’s a week day, isn’t it? Shouldn’t you be in school?”
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“We are on fall break, remember? You’re wasting a perfectly good school break in this hospital bed.” Well crap. I’d forgotten about break in the midst of all the excitement of almost dying. She looked through the assortment of flowers and stuffed toys sitting on my windowsill. “You’ve got quite an assortment of goodies over here. Someone must like you.” She wiggled her eyebrows at me.
I laughed. “Yeah, you and my dad. Everybody else just tolerates me.”
“Nope. What have we, here?” She pulled a stuffed turtle off the sill. “Get well fast.” She flipped the gift tag over and her eyes widened, along with her smile. “From Alex Winters.”
“Let me see that.” She handed the turtle over. It was cute, with a multi-colored shell and a dopey smile. “Why would Alex Winters send me anything?”
She snorted. “He probably did it because he’s been pining after you since seventh grade, not that you’d notice.”
I gave her stink eye, which really did hurt me more than it did her. My face was probably a little bruised from the wreck. “Alex hasn’t been pining over me. He has plenty of girls chasing after him. He doesn’t need me added to his harem.” I held the turtle out for her to put back on the windowsill. “It’s a cute turtle, though.”
“Yeah, very considerate, too. Since you’ve got a collection of turtles. What a nice thing for Alex to do.” Oh, man, she wasn’t going to let this go. Gwen had a black belt in subtle sarcasm. I had to get her off the subject of Alex Winters. Fast. The turtle sat smiling in a little patch of sunlight, mocking me.
“You wouldn’t happen to have a cheeseburger on you, would you? No? How about a mirror?” While she dug through her purse I did a mental inventory of my injuries. I’d woken up in the middle of the night hurting, but I felt pretty fine only a few hours later, all things considered. Whatever they’d shot into my I.V. was awesome stuff. They should leave it out in candy dishes in the lobby.
A Glimpse into Darkness: Prequel of The Immortal Sorrows series Page 3