The Quarter Moon (Afterlife saga)

by Hudson, Stephanie

  By the time I ran up the stairs, I had orchestrated this whole scenario that Draven had come back and was sending me instructions on where to find him… maybe he needed my help or maybe it was from Vincent who knew a way for us to get him back. It pretty much went on like this until I reached the secret lair that had become a messy version of my room.

  I jumped on the bed and placed the letter in my lap, all the while shaking, which was no doubt going to hurt my hand later but right then, no other sensation could penetrate my small bubble of hope. I turned it round and saw that it must have been delivered by hand as it had no stamp or postal mark. I traced my finger around the wax seal and over the indents of the Draven family crest. It was the same crest that was carved into the doors of Afterlife and that of the chair in which he sat in the VIP. That thought tore through me like a jagged piece of metal that made up some of the art work in the club.

  The last time I had seen that chair, Draven’s body had filled it. I bit down on my lip, remembering how sometimes he would reach out and pluck me from my own chair to rest me on his lap, like a pet he could stroke. Most of the time that happened he would simply ignore everyone around him and spend the night just focused on smoothing his hand down my hair and whispering endearments in my ear that had me blushing like a nun in a BDSM club!

  I swallowed down a sob and finally took a big enough breath to enable me to rip into the letter and somehow breaking the seal felt wrong. But I ignored the pang of pain and pulled out the thick paper that had been folded neatly twice. I opened it up and gasped as I automatically saw who it was from…

  It was a letter from the grave, a letter from…

  My Dominic Draven.

  Chapter 2

  My Mr Goodbye

  I looked down at the elegant handwriting of my lost soul mate and I had to concentrate how to breathe. I felt the momentum of shakes travel through my body and I closed my eyes, squeezing out the tears that had already formed. I needed to control myself enough to at least read what were no doubt, Draven’s very last words to me.

  Over the days since all my nightmares came to a head, I had read and re-read every text message from not only Draven but anyone that I once called family, just to try and make any sense of what was happening to me now. But nothing ever made any sense. In fact, there was not one shred of evidence to suggest this was even coming.

  No, ‘It’s getting dangerous’ or ‘It’s worse than I thought’…nothing like that. If anything, it had been the opposite, with messages that suggested he would be seeing me soon and couldn’t wait to hold me again. There wasn’t one single thread of worry in my mind thanks to these texts from him, so the blow of things to come was like an A bomb given to me to hold tightly to my chest, by the grim reaper himself.

  And looking down at the black inked calligraphy of more words for me to take in, was going to be like setting a match to any body parts I had left. So what did I do....?

  I lit the flame.

  Dear Keira,

  I fear that this letter will ever reach you for I know what it must mean. I sit here now, as I have never done before, to write a letter to the only love of my very long life, one that at this time, has no doubt come to an end. I wish for nothing more than to hold you my darling. To keep you so close that I can literally burn the memory of your soul to mine for all time but the troubles and truth I have encountered today means that my time by your side is at an end.

  I know with absolute certainly that without you, Heaven will never be enough.

  It pains me to say the words I know I need to say in letting you go, words I never thought I would have to say, but the fact remains, my Love, that this is my Goodbye.

  With my last orders as the King I once was, I have ordered for all ties to my life, this supernatural life that had been thrust upon you, to be severed. Please do not be angry with those on my side whom you love, for they are only following my orders. Vincent and Sophia will always love you and were less than pleased with my decision, but it is mine to make. I never wanted this pain for you and I know that there is no way to go back, so if this is the last final good thing I can do for you, then I will.

  My wish for you, dearest Keira, is for you to live.

  To live in your world as you once did, without the stains that Heaven and Hell could blemish the world’s most beautiful of minds, for yours was my saviour in all ways possible and even having you in my life for a short time showed me the greatest happiness I have ever known. So here they are, my last words to you my Love,

  Live for me, live a full life, with that laughter I love so much, use that mighty heart of yours that has become fused to my very own and live in the knowledge that I will be watching you from my very own Heaven, that just witnessing your life has created for me.

  So live Keira, live for me, live for your wonderful family and those you care deeply for but most importantly, live because,

  I Love You.

  Know that I am thinking of you,

  Wherever I am in this world or the next.

  Always Your

  Dominic Draven.

  As I read the very last words, my tears joined those already stained in parts from eyes I would never see again. Draven had shed his tears just as I did so now and that very thought broke me. But even in my devastation I knew I couldn’t do damage to the most precious thing I would ever own, so I lay my letter down and gathered my sobbing self from the bed to run from the room.

  I flew down the stairs with tears streaming from my eyes and ran from the house, just as Libby was coming through the door.

  “Whoa, where’s the fire....? Keira....? Keira, what is it, what’s happened?” Libby asked me in a panic and I just had enough mental strength in me to turn and take a deep shuddering breath to say,

  “Dra…Draven… wrote…wrote me a…a letter,” I said with more tears overflowing the confines of my stormy eyes. Upon hearing this, Libby’s face relaxed into a sadder version of the look she already gave me, but now with the worry gone from her beautiful eyes. I continued to run back out of the front door and across the gravel drive.

  “Keira! Keira, please wait!” She shouted.

  “I’m sorry…Just…please, just give me some time…just some time… just some time….just…time.” I whispered out a strangled cry when I realised I was far from the house and had repeated the same words over and over. I ran from my home, from the brutal reality and from the letter that was like the last nail to the coffin that buried my heart.

  I just kept going, kept running until I couldn’t breathe and even then I would just fold my body over until my breath returned and then I would do the same thing again….the same, until it hurt. It seemed that the pain was all I understood. It was all I controlled and when I finally ran until my legs gave out, I hit the ground with an angry scream,

  “WHY!!!!....WHY, WHY, WHY? IT’S NOT FAIR! GODDAMN YOU! IT’S NOT FAIR...!It’s not… fair…it’s…it’s…” I finally lost all my steam, as my head followed my weak limbs and hit the ground. I sobbed the last of my emotions out into the earth, hoping in some way they would not only be heard by the Gods, but felt as well. Damn them and their rules and damn them for their fates. Fates that had ripped Draven away from me and for reasons I didn’t know. Would I ever know? Would anyone ever be able to tell me what happened or was what Draven told me going to remain so forever?

  He spoke of his orders, orders I didn’t agree with in the slightest, but yet I had to live with them! It wasn’t fair. Hell, it was so beyond fair it was convoluted and tortuous! These people had become my family and now, along with Draven, I had lost them. What had Draven been thinking? Did he really believe this was the best thing for me? To just turn my back on all that had happened and continue my life like some good little mortal?

  NO! I couldn’t do it and more importantly, I wouldn’t do it! It was like walking away from my own body while watching it burn. I sat up as my inner battle raged on and the two sides of me continued the struggle between what I wanted and what D
raven wanted. He had asked this of me and ordered it from everyone else. Could I really follow through with his last wishes upon this earth, the very last thing he asked of me, which just so happened to be one of the hardest? How did he ever think that being torn from this world I had followed him into, would be better for me? It was insanity!

  I don’t know how long I sat there, but by the time I tried to move I had to shake my legs out to try and get rid of the pins and needles. I also needed to get some ice on my hand at some point because it was throbbing so much it brought tears to my eyes. I looked down at it and yelped when I tried to move my fingers. I decided not to do that again for a while.

  It was only when I was picking myself off the ground and patting myself free from dry mud and dead leaves that I heard a noise. My head snapped up and around in a heartbeat, but as my eyes scanned the forest they found nothing.

  “Who’s there?” I said feeling as foolish saying it as it sounded. I mean really, did anyone ever just pipe up and say, ‘Oh I’m sorry, it was me, did I frighten you, I am awfully sorry’.

  “Stupid, Jesus, Keira what’s next, running topless in the wrong direction screaming....? Dumb ass…” I was still grumbling when I heard it again, only this time it sounded like a short grunt of laughter.

  “Shit!” I said whipping around until coming full circle, but still not finding anything. Ok, now I was definitely freaked!

  “I know you’re there!” I shouted, putting on my bravest voice and hoping it wasn’t being affected by the hours of raw crying I had put it through. I flinched as I heard another deep grunt and decided I had outstayed my welcome. I started walking backwards, but being surrounded by a vast forest with too many hiding spots to think about, I didn’t know where to look for danger.

  “Man, what I wouldn’t give for a big Ragnar right about now,” I whispered to myself, but received a heavier grunt of laughter in return. This time I spun too quickly in response and caught my foot in a creeping arched root, acting like a very effective Keira trap. I was about to go down when strong hands grabbed me from behind, making me scream.

  “Hush now.” A deep voice said in my ear and it was a voice I didn’t recognise. I could feel a very tall presence behind me and when I tried to turn, long fingers bit into my shoulders preventing me from doing so.

  “Let go of me!” I shouted looking down for a foot to stamp on. My eyes found two heavy booted feet that looked a bit like you would expect to see from the military. I let out a frustrated sigh on seeing that they were steel toe-capped for sure and I just knew my size four Nike trainers weren’t going to cut it.

  “What do you want?!” I demanded trying to wriggle my way free to face the guy.

  “Time to go home, lille øjesten” Said one of the deepest voice I had ever heard. At that, fingers left me and I turned quickly ready to face him but he was gone.

  “What the Hell?” I looked around in a mad panic thinking any minute he would take me off guard and then I would find myself at an even greater disadvantage.

  “Where did you go?!” I shouted in frustration, which even in my heated state, sounded lame.

  “Run home, lille øjesten, run home now.” The voice purred in my ear and I screamed at it being so close yet nowhere to be seen.

  “STOP DOING THAT!” I screamed walking backwards and alternating my eyes ahead, where the voice had been and down on the ground so that I wouldn’t fall again. Then it happened. The wind picked up and rolled towards me as though it was being controlled. I could even see it forcing its way through the trees like an invisible wave before it crashed into me. The sound that echoed told me it hadn’t been wind at all; it had been a shouted order consisting of only one word,

  “GO!” I fell backwards and scrambled back like a frightened little crab until I turned and found the same black boots. I was just looking up at black leather covered legs that reminded me of the most solid tree trunks before I was picked up like I was a quivering leaf in the midst of a storm. I tried to see what was happening and follow the actions that were spinning me around but all I caught was a blurred black shadow.

  “He said that you were stubborn! Go home, run now and you will be in time!” He said again, only this time the depth of the voice had a new rippled edge of power.

  “Who did?! Who are you, who sent you?!” I fired out the questions quickly and I moaned when his hold shook me.

  “Time lille øjesten, time is what she doesn’t have, neither of them…run home, fast as you can now and don’t stop. I will do what I can to guide you, but you must be quick…your sister calls for you.” On hearing this I froze in utter terror.

  “What do you mean, what has happened to Libby?! Tell me!” I heard him groan in frustration and he said one last thing before I took off running like the blazes of Hell were on my heels,

  “A new life comes forth this day and Death is watching in wait to take them both.”

  “NO!” I screamed as I ran like I had never run before and I did as the voice told me, I didn’t look back. It was amazing to watch as the forest opened up for me like I was a poisonous force touching the earth and everything around me retreated in fear of being infected. Tree branches folded back just before I would have hit into them, snapping the bark off in chunks and roots dug further underground to hear my pounding feet overhead. Not one branch, not even one rock stood in my way, nothing touched me… even the wind seemed to spur me on faster than I would have ever been able to move.

  I had only one focus in my life right then and that was keeping the two heartbeats on this earth, one whom I loved with every fibre of my being and the other whom I would soon be welcoming to this world with the very same love. They were all I had left. Nothing meant more to me at that moment than getting home and doing everything in my power to save them both.

  As soon as I got closer, the sound of my sister screaming seeped into my bones like liquid ice. My smooth skin was no more and was covered in bumps that spoke of only the chilling sound of a loved one in serious pain.

  “LIBBY! HOLD ON, I’M COMING!” I screamed and devoured the remaining space between me and the open door with a new energy. It was an impossible speed and I knew, without anyone explaining it to me, what I was doing. I was using up the very last power Draven’s body passed on to me as supernatural fuel. I could literally feel the last remains of his essence leave my body like it was leaking out of every pore. The more I was driven forward, the more of Draven I was saying goodbye to, but for the only time in my life…

  I didn’t care.

  I leapt up the steps with the last power surge and came to a halting stop when I first took in the scene.

  “Libby!” I shouted and her crying eyes whipped round to me. Her skin was almost the colour of her hair and she was sat sprawled up the stairs with her legs open and panting.

  “Oh, thank you God! The baby! The baby is coming, oh shit…oh shit, here it comes again…oh…ARRRRHH!” She screamed through what I could only assume was a contraction.

  The baby was coming and there was no time, the guy in the woods had been right about that. Only when I looked away from Libby, I saw that wasn’t the only thing he had been right about, for there in the corner stood…

  Death.

  Chapter 3

  Not a Great Time for a Reunion

  “Carrick!” I shouted at the very man responsible for my kidnapping and one scary mother at that!

  “One and the very same my dear.” He responded with a respectful head nod.

  “GET OUT!” I screamed making both him and my panting sister jump.

  “Kaz, who the Hell are you talking to?” Libby asked me with rising panic. I nodded over to the corner, but from where she was positioned she couldn’t see…well, that or he had shielded himself from her.

  “Now that is hardly a greeting.” He said actually having the audacity to look hurt.

  “Well, that’s the only one you are gonna get ‘cause if you think you are going anywhere near those I love, then you will have to take me
along as well, kicking, screaming and trying to rip you to pieces!” I said feeling the rage build and build until the pressure of it was starting to pound inside me like a pneumatic drill.

  “Then you will be pleased to know that I think you made it in time.” He reached into his suit jacket, which was once again beige and pulled out a little book the size of his palm. As he flipped it open I saw in disgust that the book’s binding was made from sewn human skin held together like a crude jigsaw by thick black cord. He ran his finger down a few lines and then made a humming noise like he was looking for something.

  “Jesus, Keira who are you talking too? Don’t just stand there for God….Oh Ahh, here comes another one….AHHHHH..AHH!” Libby started screaming again and I rushed to the bottom of the stairs she was leaning against and did the only thing I knew to do.

  “Just breathe through it, just breathe…come on Libs…that’s it breathe….deep breaths.” I repeated over and over trying to get her twisted face of pain to co-operate.

  “I am BREATHING!” She screamed just as the pain hit harder. Meanwhile Carrick was still checking his book, as though there wasn’t a screaming woman in the room trying to push a person out! Finally his humming stopped and he snapped the book closed.

  “Exactly as I thought, the names are back in the assessment stage, but they are not out of the dark yet, so I will wait and see I think.” He said calmly, about to take a seat.

  “The Hell you will, get your bony ass over here!” I shouted at him and he scoffed at my insult.

  “NOW!” I screamed this time making him change his mind. He came over to us both and raised an eyebrow at the scene in front of him.