He carried me out to the car, where mum already sat, and he buckled me into my seat. When we arrived at the hospital, a face that was all too familiar to me greeted us. Nathan’s dad stood there, and I began shaking. My nana took my hand and said, “It’s all going to be okay.”
My nana allowed my dad and mum to go into the hospital. While we were in the waiting area, I fell asleep and when I awoke, I was back in the present with the demon nurse sitting beside me. I opened my eyes and looked around the room, unable to believe that I had just remembered that I had a brother and a sister. The demon asked me, “Where is Nathan?” I just looked at her and she growled at me, and again asked, “Where is Nathan?”
In that moment, I couldn’t even think of who Nathan was. My head was too stuck in the past, when suddenly her hand swiped across my face. I felt the sting and my eyes began to tear up. I just shrugged at her.
Closing my eyes, she yelled at me in frustration, but it was too late. I managed to fall asleep once again. I was a lot more cautious as I awoke and let my other senses roam before I opened my eyes. I felt tension and heard a person pacing around. I could hear the voice of my nana talking to someone. I opened my eyes and crawled into her lap. She told me not to worry and to go back to sleep. I looked around the room and saw a sight I had completely forgotten about. My whole family were there. My uncles and aunts were all present and the pain hit again that not one of them wanted me.
My dad came out and I awoke with him carrying me while talking to someone I couldn’t see. The person my dad spoke to was Mr Stevenson. As he passed through the double door, he turned back and looked at me with an undisguised hunger.
My dad had stopped walking and turned left into a single room. Looking around the room, I saw my mum, who pulled me towards her and gave me a tight hug. “What’s the matter, Jasmine?” I just looked at her and shook my head. Suddenly the door opened and a nurse that was oddly familiar to me, walked in wheeling in a cot.
My mum lifted one of the babies out of the crib and helped me to hold her. She told me her name was Abbie and I was a big sister. I started crying again, unable to believe that I had forgotten a moment as beautiful as this was. My dad snapped a picture of us and then he asked the nurse who was still in the room, to take a picture of our family. “Of course, I will,” and when I looked at her again, I realised that this nurse was beside my bed in the present.
I smiled as I was handed the other baby, Aiden, and he was my little brother. I smiled down on them both and swore at that moment that I would find them; no matter what had happened to them, I would find them. I noticed a newspaper on my mum’s bed dated the twelfth of April nineteen ninety-seven.
Now I had a date to work from. The accident happened three days after this and I was alone. I knew I had to go back and find my brother and sister. As I stared down at them, both babies gripped my fingers and I knew why Nathan had sent me back. He knew about Aiden and Abbie, and he knew I needed to know about them as well.
After a while, my dad took me home and as he tucked me into bed with my favourite stuffed animal, I made a promise that I would find my siblings. No matter what, Aiden and Abbie would be back with me soon enough. Anyone that had hid them from me had better watch out. I was out for blood.
The next few days passed without any more visits to my past. Nathan never returned but the demon nurse stayed three of the days. Eventually, I was discharged and Nate’s dad had come in at nine a.m. to pick me up. I was terrified. I didn’t want to go back with them. It was mid-February and freezing cold. I could see the snow from the hospital room window, in the few minutes I was on my own.
I worried about how Nathan would react when I was back in the bedroom across the hall from him, as even Mr Stevenson admitted I wasn’t strong enough to go back into the barn yet. As he came back into the room, he banged the door off the wall, making me jump and spin around so fast I had to hold onto the chair for support. He wasn’t alone either; my doctor stood beside him, with a look of confusion on his face as he took in my face.
He walked over to me, handed me a prescription. “You take care now. Take one of your tablets three times a day, or when you are in pain, but no more than four a day, maximum.”
He smiled at me and left. I didn’t look at Mr Stevenson, but picked up my bag and walked towards the door. He held the door open for me and placed his hand on my arm, leading me to the lifts and finally out of the hospital, giving me no chance to run away like I wanted to, not that I would or could in this moment.
We walked out into the cold February air, headed towards the car park, and finally reached the car. Mr Stevenson then helped me in, even though I didn’t require it. I knew why he did this; he didn’t want to leave me alone for a second, just in case I bolted.
I didn’t pay that much attention to him. I was busy thinking about my brother and sister, wondering where they were and how I would get them back to me. I sat in the car all the way back to the house, not speaking. As we went into the house, he stopped me, “Are you okay? You seem very quiet.”
As he asked that, I knew I could go off on him, but Nathan’s voice appeared. “Tell him your head hurts; do not tell him you know.”
I cleared my throat and spoke, “My head is hurting.”
He scrutinised me and then said, “Go to your room. Do not leave it; food will be brought to you.”
The wind blew my hair around, causing the dull ache in my temple to get worse. As I walked up the stairs, my head felt as though someone had tied weights onto my ears. I tried four times to open my door before stumbling into what had been my room and collapsed onto the bed.
The next few weeks passed very quickly and before I knew it, April arrived and we were studying for our exams. I couldn’t believe how quickly time passed between school, researching my family, plotting revenge, seeing Nathan at school, and studying. As the first exam hit in May, I was ready and felt that I had done very well. English was always easy for me and although I struggled with the exams, Nathan studied with me and as he had applied and been accepted to Oxford University, he took it all very seriously.
One day we were sitting in the library studying and I watched him under my lashes while I was supposed to be studying. His face was set as he sat across from me, his hair curling around his ears and his green eyes staring at his textbook. He was there, but only in person and I missed him. I hadn’t thought about my feelings for Nate in so long, after everything that had happened between us, I wasn’t sure how I felt about him anymore. I was bored, lonely and just wanted some interaction with him.
I passed him a note.
I miss you
I miss you too, but we need to study.
Why don’t you speak to me anymore?
You know why. They were so close to guessing about us. We needed to cool things off.
Yeah, but it’s May. Why can’t we talk?
Because they will kill us. Now quit bugging me and study.
I pouted and went back to work, with one hand sitting on my knee, reading about the Russian Revolution for my history exam. He reached under the table and squeezed my hand, running his finger over my palm. I glanced around and saw everyone else with their heads buried in books in the dark library, but the librarian looked right at me. Nate noticed me tensing and glanced up, moving his hand away just as she walked over. As she got closer, the most disgusting smell reached my nostrils, like putrefying flesh. Her face changed, from kind and homely to sharp, with a beak for a mouth, and murky, mud-coloured eyes. She had a clawed hand that she slammed down on the table and as she breathed on me, I felt as though I would pass out. My head spun as she asked me in a high-pitched squeal, “What are you looking for Jasmine?”
My head swam as her voice caused my head to feel as though it was ringing. Nathan nudged me with his leg and I asked in as strong a voice as I could muster, “Are there any more books on the Russian Revolution?”
Suddenly the smell vanished and she spoke in her normal tones as she answered me, “Of course,
deary. Why don’t you come with me? Nathan can watch over your stuff and we can find other books for you.”
I shuddered but got up and followed her. As we reached the bottom of the library, I glanced back and saw Nathan watching with a concerned look on his face. Turning the corner, I walked forwards and leafed through different texts as a clawed hand swiped over my back, cutting the skin and tearing off some flesh.
“Now to taste you, little warrior. We shall see, we shall see!”
I gasped aloud in pain and fell forwards, paralysed. I couldn’t move but saw something in my peripheral vision. Nathan stood a little away, watching in shock and horror as she raised my skin to her lips and sucked on it.
“Mmmm, very juicy. How tasty, I need more.”
She moved to stand over me again and I could see her face, smell the awful stench from her. As her hand came down again to peal more skin off, I booted out and kicked her so hard she bounced off a bookcase.
I scooted backwards and sat up shaking. Looking over at Nathan, he now looked astonished but still didn’t make any move towards me. He seemed frozen and as I stood for the fourth attempt, I managed to stay upright. As I stood, I saw Nathan turn and walk away from me. Following him from a distance, he gathered all of our belongings and walked out the door.
As soon as I reached the door, I broke into a run and caught up with him. He just kept walking, not speaking. He looked at me a few times, opened his mouth, and closed it again.
Walking with my clothes open, the sunshine stung my back like crazy, but I kept pace with him, until we reached the woods. He reached over and grabbed my hand, pulling me into the shade of the trees. For a few minutes, the only sound was the snapping of leaves under foot. When he suddenly stopped, he pushed me into a circle and stared at me as though I intimidated him. He looked terrified and again opened his mouth a few times to speak, but closed it without saying anything.
After watching him for a few minutes, I felt sick and dizzy again. As I sat, my foot slipped and I fell sideways, but before I hit the ground, he was there and I landed on him. He oomphed and pulled me in tight to his chest.
“There is still venom in you…” was all he said to me, before I blacked out for a few seconds.
“Jasmine, wake up,” he shouted at me. As I became more aware, I realised why he shouted. My breath came in short, sharp gasps. I felt as though I could barely breathe, as though a steel band tightened over my chest.
“Jas, speak to me. What’s going on?” He reached behind me and as soon as his hand touched my back, I bolted across the clearing, feeling his skin burn like nothing I had ever felt before. It was ice on my skin.
I wondered why I made a noise like a wounded gazelle, but when I tried to calm down, “What… wh…” I tried again, sucking in a breath, “what is… is happening… to me?”
“I don’t know, baby. Please let me look at you.”
“I can’t move. I feel…”
As I fell forwards, Nathan caught me and lay me down softly, as he looked at my back, “Oh no, we need help with this. I can’t heal this…”
I floated along beside Nathan and he walked while talking on his mobile. I almost blacked out again, and closed my eyes as I heard him say, “I have no idea… yeah, she just kicked out at it… I think it was a Gorgon… Yeah, I know, but she’s lucky to be alive… Yes, she’s still breathing, but it’s faint… We’re on our way… Okay…”
I drifted off again and awoke as we arrived back at the house. Walking down the garden, Nathan kept to the trees and had me floating beside him until we went through the back door into the kitchen.
His mother stood there, staring down at me open-mouthed. “How did she fight off a Gorgon?”
“I have no idea how she was strong enough, but I just hope no more come along. If any of the others appear, she’s going to be in trouble and by extension, so are we…”
The next few hours passed with me drifting in and out of consciousness, hearing disjointed voices talking overhead and smelling antiseptic and bleach that made my nose burn, my stomach flip, and head ache.
Nathan still sat beside me, idly playing with his sleeve, saying nothing. As soon as his mother left the kitchen, he leaned over and whispered in my ear, “Jas baby, wake up please. I can’t do this without you. I didn’t know how dark my soul was until you walked into my life in a burst of colour. You lit up the darkest parts of me, bringing me into the light and guiding my way while I adjust to the brightness.”
I fought to open my eyes, wanting him to know that I was gonna be ok. I managed to move my hand, and a breath in my ear tickled me, as Nate continued,
“You claim every part of my heart, mind, and soul, and I can’t and won’t go back into the darkness…” His voice broke off and he sniffed, shuffling back on his seat and scrubbing his eyes.
“Nathan, has she awakened yet?” his mother’s voice asked from the hallway.
“Not yet, Mother,” he called back, standing and walking away. The sound of the tap running made me realise I needed to go to the toilet.
“Nathan…” I croaked out softly, my voice crackling over the word. He didn’t hear me over the running of the tap so I tried again, jumping slightly as a terrifying sound battered against the windows.
A rattling sound followed by a screech made the hair on my arms and neck stand. My heart froze and dropped like a stone as I lay there trying to get my muscles to react and move.
“Stay still…” Nathan bit out at me as I tried to push myself up from the table again. I heard an ungodly laugh and my heart began thudding in my ears as some voices called in voices that were so high pitched, they made my ears bleed.
“We want her little demons, so send her out to us now and you may live. Refuse and you will all die; we can assure you, there will be pain as we strip flesh and muscle from your bones.”
I opened my eyes and looked up at Nathan in terror, as his mother ran into the kitchen, “Use the emergency escape. We’ll hold them off. Go on; hurry. She can regenerate us. We can’t die, but she can…” She turned to me, “Up. Get up, girl. Come on; hurry up.” Her impatience was palpable as there was more cackling laughter and scratching sounds on the windows. Suddenly all the lights went out.
Nathan grabbed me over his shoulder and turned, running into the utility room. He ran along to the wall between the washing machine and dryer. He placed his palm flat on the wall, muttered the words aperio and pateo. He drew a shape on the door, but with the battering on the windows and the cackling, I couldn’t concentrate on what he was doing. Blood ran from my ears, dripping steadily onto the floor.
His mother came running in. “Hurry, Nathan,” she whispered, grabbing the mop and bleach, to clean the blood from the floor.
Nathan moved forwards into a dark, damp tunnel and I saw a wall close behind us. Just before it closed, I could see his mother scrubbing the floor and heard the screaming get louder before cutting of altogether as the wall closed.
Nathan stopped a little ways along the path, huffing out a breath as he pressed his lips to my own. My heart was thundering in my chest and I leaned into him, breathing in the smell of him to try and calm me down, but every time I almost succeeded I remembered the evil laughter and wondered about what would happen if Nathan’s family couldn’t hold them off.
It was dark, dank, and the blackness was suffocating. Nate didn’t stop walking again for around ten minutes, looking side to side occasionally, with me still perched over his shoulder. I gasped for breath as we walked in silence and he stopped, put me down, and took my face into his hands.
“Jasmine, listen to me. Just breathe!”
My breathing still came in short, sharp gasps, and I saw lights popping in front of my eyes. He held my face tighter and came close enough that his breath tickled my face. He leaned his head down and touched his forehead to mine, his breath speeding as our skin touched.
He pulled me into his arms, and then just as quickly, pushed me back. “We have to move. Come on now. Hurry up.”
He grabbed my hand, squeezing tightly, and pulled me alongside him, eventually breaking into a run uphill. Darkness surrounded us. How he knew where we were going was beyond me.
“What’s a Gorgon, Nathan?” I asked, panting along beside him.
“Not here, wait. I’ll explain soon.”
We kept moving for what felt like an eternity, but eventually we saw a light and as we got closer, it became blindingly bright and all encompassing. I couldn’t see anything beyond this light and I couldn’t think about anything but the light, as it burned my eyes, skin, and made me feel like my blood boiled under my skin.
I panted and Nathan held on tight to my hand, urging me forwards. As we walked further into the light, shapes appeared — an old fireplace, marble and stone, a large set of patio doors, and an old-fashioned wicker chair. As the light receded, more of the room became clear and I was stunned to see Nathan and his parents in a photo on the fireplace. The photograph looked much older, with outfits that made me laugh. Nathan looked at me as I giggled and followed my gaze to the picture.
Shaking his head, he walked deeper into the room and sat on an old couch. He patted the seat beside him and I felt nervous. My legs shook again as he walked over, grabbed my hand, and pulled me over to sit by him on the couch.
As I sat, a cloud of dust puffed around me. Nathan looked nervously at me and as I opened my mouth to speak, he shook his head. “Not here,” his voice sounded in my head, clear as day. “My family will be here soon.”
“Where is here?” I whispered softly and he pressed his finger against my lips.
“The safe house. My family comes here from time to time when we are under threat.”
He stood and walked away from me, stopping at the window and looking out the glass into the trees beyond. As I followed his eyes, the building shook. Light coming through the floorboards crackled under what sounded like electricity. A strong smell like singed hair and burnt skin filled the room and made me gag.
Ignition (Escaping Demons Saga Book 2) Page 12