“To begin with something to drink…” Draven said opening the list and scanning the pages for what he was looking for.
“Ah yes that will do, a bottle of the Krug, Clos d'Ambonnay 1995.” As soon as the wine was mentioned the waiter’s eyes bulged, which told me all I needed to know…the wine was going to be ridiculously expensive.
“Oh that’s alright I can just…uh…” I stopped mid flow when I saw Draven’s pointed look and quickly shifted gears to his preferred speed,
“…What he’s having” I finished dejectedly.
“Uh sir, please excuse me for saying so but it’s part of my job to warn you it’s six thousand dollars a bottle.”
“That’s fine I will let you know if we need another and we should be ready to order by the time you return.” Draven said with an authoritative air that only came from people who had an extortionate amount of money.
“Of course.” The waiter replied and promptly left the table to no doubt start hyperventilating.
“What were you laughing at before he came over?” I asked dying to know.
“He was thanking God that we were ready to order.” I couldn’t help but find the funny side too, considering who Draven really was. Draven seemed slightly transfixed as he watched me throw my head back and start laughing. I only noticed he was still staring at me or more like my neck, when I had finished with my outburst.
“What is it?”
“It’s just, it’s still strange seeing you without it…that’s all.” I gave him a confused look and my hand automatically reached up to touch my neck but before I could ask he said,
“Your necklace…the one I gave you.” He said this last part into his menu and I knew then he didn’t want to say anymore on the matter, which I was more than happy with. The whole comment had floored me and I decided to follow his lead and hide behind my menu. I mouthed the words ‘Oh my God’ and shook my head in vain but it did nothing to help my racing emotions. I had to wonder, like I had shamefully done many times before, if he still had it.
“So what would you like?” Draven’s voice sounded slightly strained and he had to clear his throat after asking me that question.
“Umm…to be honest I haven’t a clue what most of this stuff is.” I said on a laugh making him smile at me.
“I am sorry I never brought you to places like this.” I was a little taken back by Draven’s confession and I dropped my menu to look at him.
“Why...? I mean you shouldn’t be as they’re not exactly my thing.” I watched him take a deep breath and lower his own menu.
“Honestly…?” I nodded and couldn’t help but bite my lip as I waited.
“Because I always wanted to keep you to myself.” He said shrugging his shoulders like the weight of his words hadn’t just added to the rest of the conflicting emotions raging within me.
“Draven I can’t…” I started to say but was cut off when he raised his menu once again and I knew this was his way of telling me not to finish that sentence.
“Do you want me to order what I know you will like?” He asked after a few hopeless minutes of silence.
“I think that would be safer.” I said trying to lighten the mood when really all I wanted to do was excuse myself, lock myself away in the safety of a cubicle and cry like a little girl. I wasn’t exactly sure why he was doing this to me and I wanted…no, almost needed to find some anger in the cruelty of it all, but the simple fact was that I couldn’t. Because it suddenly occurred to me that although what Draven had done was in fact very cruel and very wrong, it didn’t mean he had done any of it with the sole purpose to hurt me.
Like now, he wasn’t sat there saying these things to rub it in my face, he was simply saying them because he needed to. Don’t get me wrong, it didn’t stop the pain but it just meant absorbing it wasn’t quite as…
Painful.
Chapter 15
I See Fire in Your Scars
Thankfully the rest of the evening took a turn for the better and soon we both relaxed enough to fool ourselves into believing nothing had changed. It is amazing how you allow your mind to do this and find a comfortable balance when hiding the truth. I wondered half way through my meal if this was how people lived their turbulent lives, through a window of fogged glass. Did they just think if they thought hard enough then their problems would just go away or was it a case of if you couldn’t see them, then they couldn’t see you? And then blissfully you don’t have to acknowledge what you don’t see hidden in that part of your mind you call hope.
But I wasn’t naïve enough anymore to place things hidden there. That hope was no longer a blooming flower I watered daily. Because no matter what Draven did or said now, he had crushed that hope to its roots. And yet despite all this it still didn’t mean that I wasn’t going to take anything I could get and right now I wanted to pretend for just one night.
So that’s exactly what we did. We ordered our food and chatted the night away as if we were the only two people in the room. He asked about the minute details of my life, making me laugh when he asked if I’d still tried on all my Christmas presents this year, like I had done the year before. I told him how disappointed my grandmother had been not to have any ‘beef candy’ to prey on and he had threw his head back and roared with laughter when I added,
“Her words, not mine.”
All in all it was shaping up to be a lovely evening, minus the hiccups at the beginning. But now it was coming to an end and I found myself wishing I liked coffee just as an excuse to have that extra time.
“Shall we?” Draven said standing after paying a small fortune for the meal. I nodded and stood, reaching down to where I had stowed my purse. When I straightened again I almost cried out as I looked up to find Draven stood right next to me.
“You look truly magnificent tonight.” He said in a voice so deep I had to wonder how many levels to this man there really were. I started to smile up at him but was stopped abruptly when I saw that same mix of fire in his eyes as before. It was like looking into a different Draven and it scared me.
“Are you…okay?” I asked quietly trying to pull him from whatever emotions had him locked in place. I tentatively placed my hand on his forearm and it was like my touch was enough to douse the crimson flames that were battling against him. He flinched and looked down at my hand on his as though he too was trying to figure out what just happened. I slowly pulled back and tried to take a step away, suddenly needing that space between us but Draven had other ideas. His arm came around me and pulled me from my escape and up against him.
“Don’t!” His warning rang clear and I knew this wasn’t the time to push him. Something was going on with Draven and it seemed by his facial expression that he was just as much in the dark about it as I was. So I let myself be led from the restaurant with his arm draped possessively around me and I had the feeling if he could have got away with carrying me in his arms he would have.
We walked past the hostess and I had to supress a wicked grin at seeing that perfect façade drop at the sight of a man like Draven walking away from her without so much as a glance. She looked him up and down like a shopaholic at a summer sale. It made me want to cosy up to him and take a possessive claim but that was until I reminded myself. Draven wasn’t mine and I had in fact walked through these doors with another man at my arm. The thought made me want to pull myself from Draven but he must have felt me tense at his side.
“I wouldn’t, Keira…remember the knife you hold.” I looked up at him, frowned at his warning and was just about to ask when it dawned on me what he meant. I held the knife to the edge of his thread. I was almost tempted to slice forward and watch as it broke. What would happen exactly? Was that the line we just couldn’t cross? But more importantly…what would happen if we ever did?
I didn’t answer him but instead let him lead me outside to a parked black Rolls Royce with the back door already being held open. I had the sudden urge not to get into the car, fearing this new mood of Draven’s. I fe
lt once again out of my depth and it was a feeling I was no longer used to.
“Just get in the car, Keira...you have nothing to fear.” He said obviously being able to read some of my emotions. I mentally pulled up my big girl pants and with Draven holding my hand was helped into the car. I was quickly followed by Draven folding his large frame in next to me and without a word the car pulled away.
Most of the journey was spent in silence as I watched the world go past without really seeing it at all. My mind was awash with all that had happened over the last few days and it almost seemed like some cosmic joke as to where I now sat. I looked over to Draven and saw he too looked out of his window. I wondered what he thought about right now…was he thinking the same as I? I couldn’t help but notice how he had one hand over his forearm…the one I had touched and one he still kept hidden from me. It took me back to that day once more at the villa when I saw those ugly burns that looked so raw and fresh. I was just about to ask him about them when he suddenly turned to look at me.
“We’re here.”
“Oh…that was quick.” I said lying but not knowing what else to say. I looked away from Draven and saw the mighty and imposing Afterlife come into view. I couldn’t help but smile at the sight.
“Why do you always do that?” Draven’s question startled me.
“Do what?”
“Smile in sight of my home…you always did that and I always wanted to know.” I gave him a small grin and hoped my response would mean he would drop the subject without me having to answer him.
“It’s not like you to wait so long till finding out something you wish to know.”
“Consider it me choosing the priorities of importance to me.” I gave him a little shake of my head and a raised eyebrow, silently asking him to explain the cryptic statement.
“My enjoyment at seeing your happiness outweighed my curiosity.” He said making me turn my head away so he couldn’t see how much his words affected me.
“So are you going to tell me?”
“Not today.” I replied softly to the night at my window.
“Why not?” He asked pushing the subject like I knew he would. So I turned my body to face him and nodded to his arms before arguing my point.
“Are you gonna tell me about them and why you’re obviously hiding them from me?” For the first moment he looked taken aback and even shifted his body further back in his seat as if he was afraid I was going to reach out and touch them.
“That’s what I thought.” I said when I got no reply but a frown.
“Some things are meant to be left in the past.”
“Including us?” I asked quickly making him wince at the power of my question.
“I…Keira, you must understand...this…”
“Oh I understand, Draven, you want all the answers but with no questions asked. Well I am afraid it doesn’t work like that, it might have done at one time but let’s just say I learnt my lesson. You can’t go through life without ever explaining yourself, not to the people you’re supposed to care about…well, maybe that’s your lesson to learn for next time.” I added this part looking back out to the night in a whisper I knew he would still hear.
“Next time?” He asked as I reached for the handle of the door now the car had just come to a stop. I didn’t turn to face him, I couldn’t with what I was about to say…
“Yeah, the next time…” I took a deep shuddering breath, released it and pushed open the door…
“…you fall in love.”
I shifted on the bed but then stopped abruptly as the sensation that I was on a float stopped me. The rocking my motions caused felt like I was bobbing along the water in little waves lapping at the shore. I wanted to bolt upright but remained frozen in fear. It even took all my mental strength to brave opening my eyes slowly to what new horrors now faced me.
But what I was expecting exactly I couldn’t say but the misty dull grey sky wasn’t it. It was like no other sky I had ever seen, being void of all variants of colour. There were no clouds, no differences in space and distance. There was no sun and no life discovering its vast space. It was…empty.
I decided I needed to move if I was ever going to try and understand this lost place. I slowly moved my hands to my sides and pushed myself up. It was as though I feared any sudden movements were going to send me off into a never ending ocean or floating off into an eternal abyss.
“What is this place?” I whispered to no one as I took in my strange surroundings. I looked around and the first thing I noticed was the strange black mattress I was sat upon that floated calmly on top of the deadly still lake. The water had that unnatural quality to it, almost like a liquid mirror that was smoky grey like the sky it reflected. There was no distinction between water and atmosphere creating an eerie vast space that could have gone on forever. It was almost like being placed in a box of fog and the only things you can see are the things that are immediately around you.
The black mattress crept along at a snail’s pace almost as though it knew where it was going, as there was certainly no current aiding our progress. I placed my hand down and felt the strange looking black material that almost looked like thick webbing. Like some giant demonic spider had covered the bed like a cocoon with miles of the rubbery cord the same thickness as my finger.
But what was even more startling about the sight was the blinding contrast my white dressed body looked against it. Even the difference in materials screamed out as the soft delicate folds of the skirt folded in ribbons and fell against the harsh unbreakable shell. The dress looked as though it had enough material to cover ten bodies as it overflowed the sides of the bed and floated majestically in the murky water. My hand went to my stomach and pulled at the thick, satin ribbon that was the exact colour of blood. It had been wrapped around my torso, crisscrossed over and over in tight constricting bands, almost as though someone had wanted to keep me restrained.
Even now I noticed the same ribbon binding my arms to the very top and across my shoulders ending with a bow to one side of my neck. I tried twisting my upper body and felt a tugging sensation straining against my skin from every point.
“What the …” I said but stopped as something caught my eye to my left. I left trying to tug myself free for the moment and watched as a shadow started to emerge from the mist. At first I thought it was a long thin bridge to nowhere but then I squinted my eyes and could make out it was a small rickety dock that looked ready to fall at any moment. The thin planks ran width ways, held up by thin bent poles that looked as though any weight would make them snap like twigs.
The entire dock looked black and I couldn’t tell if it was because it was burnt or just appeared that dark against the foggy backdrop. My unlikely little boat still bobbed closer to it and soon the very end of the dock came into view. I sucked in a sharp breath as I quickly realised I was not alone anymore.
The new body was only but a glimpse of limbs that could be seen sat there, facing out into the grim nothingness. I didn’t know what to do…did I call out, did I remain silent or did I try and pull myself up against the dock when I got close enough? Was this all a dream, like so many others or was this the other world’s way of trying to warn me of something? These were all great questions but all just as pointless as the energy put into thinking them.
I don’t know how long I took wondering what the next step to take was but when the time came I reached out and grabbed for it in the form of the dock. I stood on the shaky mattress and only just managed to heave myself up and over onto the dock before the mattress continued on past. The massive weight of my dress dragged out of the water with its ridiculous length and I slapped it behind me as I stood. I felt the old wood groan beneath me and looked down through the gaps with trepidation. Well I had made my decision now and I had to follow through with it.
The body on the chair didn’t even stir as my footsteps grew closer and with it the noise that the person was obviously now no longer alone. I didn’t know whether to take thi
s as a good sign or not but still I continued on. If only the fog would lift just enough to make out some features so I had some clue as to what I was dealing with and then maybe I wouldn’t have to go as far. I looked down at the dock and saw my bare feet after having to grab handfuls of useless fabric so that I wouldn’t trip. I shuffled along trying not to step on the large gaps big enough to get my foot stuck sideways. In fact I was making good progress considering I was terrified but when I looked up to see, I had to clamp my hands around my mouth to lock away the scream.
The body was now stood and it was clear it was the strong powerful body of a man. He only wore black trousers that were frayed in patches like they were hundreds of years old. His bare top showed square shoulders and muscled lines down his back twhich then tapered down into a V-shape. But all these factors were insignificant. They were cast back into the shadows of my mind as my eyes homed in on the many black chains that wrapped around the forearms of the man. There should have been too much weight for him to even hold his arms up but this was precisely what he did.
My eyes travelled the length of the chains that bound him so crudely and followed them to the chair that stood suspended on its back two legs. It only took a few more steps on my part to see the chair itself was actually made up of the same lengths of chain. Twisted and coiled around to form the shape until it got to the bottom of the feet, where it then spread out like roots of a tree. Whoever he was, he was well and truly trapped to the end of that soulless sight with no means of escape.
I couldn’t help but feel for the prisoner, for to be cast into this place to suffer the emptiness for any length of time was a cruel punishment indeed. I wasn’t really sure though how long I stood, stock still, watching his silent torment in sick fascination but eventually it came to an end in the most brutal of ways. It was when I couldn’t wait any longer and I took my last and final step, coming within touching distance of the man. I then reached out my hand before I even knew what I was doing. It was in that exact moment my fingertips came into contact with the first link of metal in his chains that everything changed.
The Pentagram Child: Part 1 (Afterlife Saga Book 5) Page 18