The Quarter Moon (Afterlife saga)

by Stephanie Hudson

  “Are you alright?” I heard the driver ask and I looked from the window where I had subconsciously been watching the world whiz by but not taking any of it in. The guy had a strong Italian accent but his English was better than I first thought.

  “Yeah…I’m fine.” I said this as if the words were glue, thick and sticky lies that didn’t want to be said. I saw him motion in his mirror to my face and said,

  “Are you sure, you really look like you need a hospital?” On hearing that very word I closed my eyes and sighed.

  “Look, I don’t want to seem rude and mean this in the nicest way possible…but please… just drive…alright?” I didn’t want the guy to think I was mean or anything, but I couldn’t have this guy taking me to the hospital or worse, the police. I was happy when I saw him just nod and look back at the road.

  “So if not a hospital, where to?” He asked again making me frown. Hadn’t he heard me the first time?

  “Eh…like I said before, just the airport will be fine…thank you.” I said leaning forward closer to the circle of holes through the Plexiglas so that he could hear me properly. He nodded to show he heard and once again I settled back against the worn black leather. You could see in the distance the sun had just begun to rise as the guy took the motorway out of the main part of the city.

  He was a kind looking man who had laughter lines around the eyes and a streaking of grey peppered in jet black hair near his ears. He was what I would class as typically Italian with sun-kissed skin, dark soft eyes and a face that spoke of a world of knowledge. I just bet that nice looking family of his was back at home, all tucked up in bed like they should be.

  God only knew what he thought of me, dressed like a lost little Goth, half beaten and found half collapsed by the side of the road…I was just thankful the guy had given up trying to convince me to go to the hospital, but it did beg the question, why didn’t he then insist I go to the cops? Maybe he just didn’t want to be caught up with my drama any more than he needed to be. Get me from A to B and we would both be happy.

  I lifted my bag up and plonked it down next to me, thinking it might be a good idea to do some first aid. I rummaged through my bag, noticing that the looks from the driver were a mixture of concern and frustration. I decided to ignore it as I lifted up my top, hissing as the blood stuck to the raw sliced skin. Thankfully it looked much worse than it was, as now the bleeding had stopped. I knew the cut hadn’t been that deep but bloody Hell it was enough to sting like a vinegar and salt shower to a thousand paper cuts!

  I jumped slightly when the light above me turned on so that I could see it better and I nodded my thanks to the driver, wondering how he’d done that?

  Still looking down, I dug my hand in my bag until I felt one of the little bottles of spirits, feeling for the one with the little red hat. Once that beauty was in my hand I pulled it out and flipped off the hat, unscrewed it and broke the seal.

  “Is that wise?” The driver asked me, obviously keeping a close eye on me.

  “Probably not.” I replied before downing my first swig of tequila. I felt the burn of liquid and welcomed it, unlike what I was about to do next. I then poured some across my stomach washing the slice, making the dried blood run down in little bloody rivulets.

  “Arrrh!” I cried at the bite of pain and tried to shut out the tears that sprang to my eyes. I took a few deep breaths and did it once more just to be sure I had cleaned it well enough. After all I remembered seeing that dirty blade and Hell only knew what he had done with it before me!

  Once I thought I had been through enough self inflicting torture, I opened up the first aid bag that was no bigger than both my hands put together.

  “Bloody Hell, Pip.” I moaned as the first thing I saw was a bag of jelly beans sat on top. Everything had been labelled and the first one read ‘For the pain of missing a colourful friend’. Alright that was the very last time I was putting Pip in charge of the important stuff!

  I moved these to one side and found a lipstick saying ‘For when you’re ready to kiss again’ and also a hand warmer in the shape of cupid that heated when something inside is clicked. This one said ‘To warm a damaged heart’ and this was when I realised what Pip had done. This wasn’t a kit to help heal the body, but to heal the mind…she had known.

  The next items helped slightly more as I found a packet of Aspirin labelled ‘for the heartbroken hangover’, which I swallowed down chased by the tequila, much to the disapproval I saw in the driver. I looked through the rest of the items, finding a business card advertising a gay club with the ladies night circled in red marker. The other side held the note ‘Just in case the Royal bastard made you wanna play for the other team…they would be lucky to have you hot stuff ;o)’

  The driver shot me a look when I laughed.

  “Oh Pip.” I whispered before continuing on, finding the last piece to be a chocolate heart lollypop that she had obviously made herself as the icing simply said, ‘To help in forgiving me’. I bit down on my lip to hold in my emotions and nodded to myself when I knew what needed to be done.

  I first pulled off one of my gloves and used it to clean around the wounded area the best I could and then folded it to cover the cut, in case it started weeping again. Then I felt inside my bag for my phone. I scrolled through the contacts, knowing the very first person I needed to speak to. She answered on first ring but I didn’t allow her to say anything other than,

  “Toots?”

  “I forgive you.” I said and then hung up knowing she would know that’s all I had to say right now. She didn’t call back as I didn’t expect she would, so I scrolled to the next name on my list.

  “Jack.” I said his name on a whisper, feeling the tears form.

  “Keira?!” He asked half in disbelief, half in hope.

  “Yeah, it’s me.” I said trying not to break down. I also tried to ignore the funny looks I was getting from the driver, so turned my body sideways in the seat to face the side window.

  “Kaz, where have you been?!” Jack sounded worried and I wondered why he asked this question. See, after I had gone missing and Jack had got Lucius on the case, they had decided the best course of action was crowd control. Or in this case, ‘family and friends control’ as the last thing they needed was the police being dragged into the disappearance of one Keira Johnson/ Williams…again!

  So to keep this from happening, Pip had made the rounds and rang not only Jack and RJ but also my mum and sister, pretending to be me, exact voice over and everything. So other than thinking I was going through a weird spell, the next time I actually spoke to them they were none the wiser. So I had to remind myself this was only the second time I was calling Jack, having no clue what Pip had said to him as me, but just praying she had kept the crazy flirting to a minimum.

  “Why?” I asked confused by his question, as it was only a few days before that I had rung him from Pip’s apartment.

  “Because I have had your ex-boyfriend half crazed on the phone demanding from me if I had heard from you or know where you are.”

  “And what did you tell him?” I asked already knowing the answer to this one.

  “I told him about the last time I heard from you and that you were in Germany staying with the friends you had there…I also…” I almost groaned knowing this was the start of how Draven knew about the hotel I was staying at.

  “It’s alright Jack, you can tell me.” I encouraged knowing the damage was already done.

  “Well, when he asked if I knew what you were doing there, I kind of let it slip that you were there looking for him.” And yep there it was, the final catalyst in contacting Lucius, no doubt to demand answers.

  “It’s fine Jack, I found him so there’s no need to worry.” I heard him exhale a big sigh before asking,

  “How did it go?” Now it was my turn to sigh. Then I answered truthfully,

  “It was Hell on earth.” Strangely I heard both Jack and the driver curse at the same time, but only one of them I could
understand. I looked up to see him quickly flip the bird at another driver, so I put it down to a ‘Co winky dink’ which was Pip’s way of explaining a coincidence.

  “That bad huh?”

  “You have no idea.”

  “So what now?” He asked making me look to the rising sun and lift up my wrist to check out what colour the very last stone had turned. I was amazed to see it had now become a beautiful rainbow moonstone and I couldn’t help but wonder what this one had meant. I looked back at the orange glow that was the clear signs to another day and I said the only thing on my mind,

  “Now, I come home.”

  “You ready for that?” He asked and this was where I really hit him with the lies Draven had now warped into a truth.

  “Jack honestly...? Remember what you said to me, about how some things are better left?” I asked him knowing he would.

  “Yeah Keira, I do…so this means…?”

  “So…The relationship I had with Dominic Draven is now well and truly dead …so yeah I would say I was more than ready for that.” I had to wipe the single tear that fell on saying such painful words. The car swerved into the next lane and started speeding past the other cars, making me wonder was this guy all of a sudden desperate to get rid of me. I was close to telling him to slow it down but considering the small amount of traffic around, I decided if he got me there sooner it wouldn’t be a bad thing.

  “Well I can’t say that I’m not glad, the guy was no good for you and I said that from the start.”

  “I know you did Jack and if I could go back in time and take your advice I would, just to kill the pain I feel now but I can’t.” I think I made my point enough with that confession so that would be the last comment I would get like that one.

  “Point made.” I nodded and ran a hand through my hair, gripping a fistful near the base for a second. The frustration I felt was more with myself than it was with Jack.

  “Thanks Jack, you’re a true friend, you know that right?”

  “Yeah Keira, right back at ya.” I gave him a half smile he couldn’t see and then said,

  “I gotta go.”

  “Alright, but ring me whenever you manage to get a flight. I’m cool with picking you up when you need it, just give me a call…alright honey?” I put my head back and closed my eyes before saying,

  “Yeah, will do Jack, see ya soon.” And then I hung up, knowing any longer and I would have cried.

  I was quickly feeling the last of my reserved energy being zapped out of me and all I wanted to do now was curl up and fall into a deep dreamless sleep. I turned my head and rested it on the back seat to watch the countryside whizzing past me, when something suddenly clicked…

  We were not only heading far from the city but also in the wrong direction. And it was as we passed one sign that said Como on it that it finally clicked into place. All those little reactions to the things that had been said, all those things I myself had said. I turned back round to face the driver and couldn’t help myself when I asked,

  “Do you have a family back in the city?” For a minute the ‘Driver’ looked surprised by my question and then looked around before saying a sharp,

  “No.” I wanted to laugh out loud for the first time in a day.

  “Right” I said knowing there was no end to this man’s lies.

  “Did you steal this car then?” I asked making him do a double take at me in the mirror. Before he could answer I said,

  “Pull down the visor.” He did as I asked and when he saw the man’s family staring back at him he knew I had caught him in the lie.

  “So I don’t suppose this is the part where you pull over the car and let me go…is it?” I asked looking back out of the window, knowing the answer when I heard the locks click.

  “No, that part is long gone.” I sucked in my bottom lip and nodded my frustration, to hold back the yelling that I felt soon in coming.

  “That’s what I thought. So what now, you take me back to that fortress by the lake and force your answers from me?” I asked, injecting a bite of vindictiveness into the part at the end, so that he would know I heard him when he said this to Vincent. I saw him grip the steering wheel in a crushing hold, only to fix the damage again…if only the damage done to me was that fixable.

  “I would suggest silence right now, Keira.” He warned and my anger wound up even tighter, getting ready to strike.

  “And I would suggest if you want that fucking silence then you pull over and let me out of this fucking car, but I doubt that is going to happen now is it?” I snapped back adding to the very few times I had actually said the F word in front of Draven.

  “Careful, Keira.”

  “Careful, Dominic.” I mimicked back, knowing how much he hated to hear his first name coming from me in anger. When I heard his growl I knew I had gotten to him.

  “Well, I gather we have enough time for confessions Draven, so here’s an idea, you first!” I said after a time and yet another sign for Lake Como.

  “Not now, Keira.” This made me snap and my reactions couldn’t be helped as I leant forward and punched the plastic divider between us and shouted,

  “No NOW, Draven!” At this his head snapped round and he growled at me.

  “Do that again and you will regret it.”

  “I regret many things when it comes to you Draven, but right now, not one of them is showing you how fucking angry I am!” I said trying my best to inflict even the tiniest amount of pain he had done to me.

  “I know you are hurt…”

  “You think?” I snapped, interrupting him, knowing how much he hated this as well if the look I received was anything to go by.

  “So therefore, I will take that into account for the things you say.” On hearing this I became furious!

  “I couldn’t give a shit about how you take what I say Draven, but if I could choose, it would to be taken very seriously as I never took you for a disbelieving fool!” Oh this hit its mark alright but instead of reacting to his rage I was almost stunned by it. I mean why did he even care what I said to him? So without responding to him swearing in another language, saying God knows what about me in the process I just sat back in the seat and stared out of the window silently.

  I mean what else could I do, or what else was I left to go on? It wasn’t like Draven was giving me any answers or excuses or anything for that matter. No, instead I was getting a big fat nothing with shit loads of heartbreak on the side!

  Once I gathered Draven had regained his control through a series of deep breaths and muttered words in whatever language sounded good at the time, he had calmed enough to ask,

  “Are you in any pain?” I rolled my eyes through my growing misery and said,

  “None you should be concerned about.”

  “And the parts that shouldn’t concern me…what of them?” He asked and I quickly made him regret it.

  “The none physical pain...? Well, that I am drowning in.” I added looking back to the window once more, finding his own look of pain too much to bear. He had no right to it, no right at all given what he had put me through!

  The rest of the drive neither of us spoke and I was thankful for it given that whatever he said was going to either put me tears or have me lashing out in a fit of rage. I could see us coming closer to the same place I had foolishly found yesterday, that was barely even a nightmare away. I knew I only had one last chance to do what I wanted to do, that was before I had discovered Draven was the one driving, taking over the poor guy’s vessel and using it as a tool to play puppet master.

  I reached for my phone and scrolled to one last number, making Draven growl when he heard who answered the phone.

  “Keira girl, are you alright, are you hurt?” Lucius asked me sounding truly worried.

  “I’m alright, Draven found me.” I heard his sigh of relief and it was one I wanted to be angry with but found I couldn’t.

  “He wouldn’t allow me to contact you.”

  “I thought as much.” I re
plied quietly.

  “And now?” He asked obviously referring to Draven and the fact that he had not yet destroyed my phone in protest.

  “Well, now I gather he has learnt that adding to my pissed off hurt state wouldn’t be the best of ideas right now.” I said looking at Draven’s glowing purple ring in another man’s eyes.

  “I can imagine not. So the question remains, what can I do for you, Pet? Because if it is to ask me to aid you in getting away from Draven, then I am afraid that would have to be a no.” I had to smile a little at the sound of Lucius being diplomatic.

  “It’s not that Luc, but I did want to ask you something.”

  “Go ahead my little…” He trailed off knowing that calling me my nickname right now was probably not the best of ideas with the level of shit he was already in with Draven.

  “I just wanted to confirm what I think I already know.” I took a deep breath and then asked,

  “Did you know before you saved me…did you always know he was alive?” I saw Draven flinch and I closed my eyes readying myself for the ache to come.

  “Yes, I did.” I swallowed down the hard lump of rock solid reality and said,

  “Then I want to thank you and tell you that you were right in the last thing you said to me when I left.” I heard Lucius sigh before saying,

  “Alright Keira girl, I understand.”

  “Goodbye, Lucius.” I said and then hung up just as Draven was pulling the taxi up to gates that were opening for us. He turned his head and looked straight at me to softly ask,

  “I have to know, what was the last thing he said to you?”

  “He told me of the only thing I would find here.” I said finding it painful looking at the purple I saw there.

  “And that was?” I looked away from him and said in a voice that held no more emotion, but just proved how much there really was hidden there…

  “A world of hurt.”

  Chapter 61

  Levels of Betrayal

  Draven pulled the taxi through the open gates and I watched as they closed behind us, knowing I had come right back to where it all started. Till then I had been set firm on a mission to find and free the man I loved…but now that mission was over. In fact, with my first sight of Draven it was enough to tell me that mission had never even really started. I was like a soldier still fighting a war long ago lost and not knowing how to let go of failure.