Follow the Ashes: Book 1 of the Executioner Trilogy

by Kindra Sowder

On the inside I was smiling, but on the outside I had my eyes tightly closed so he wouldn’t see my tears. They would surely escape if I didn’t squeeze tight enough. I wasn’t entirely sure if the tears were from the news of my imminent death, his complete outpour of his love for me, or a mixture of both. To be one hundred percent honest, I didn’t want to die and lose this. He was the best thing in my life, demon or not. I didn’t care in the least. Yes, we were technically supposed to be on opposite sides of the tracks, but he clearly wasn’t the type of person that took joy in such evil acts that had most demons laughing in joy and happiness.

  He touched my forehead with the most gentle of kisses and said, “I love you.” This made the tears come flowing from my eyes no matter how hard I tried to hold them in. I wrapped my arms around him and held him with all I had. There was no way I was letting this go, no matter what plans Lilith had for me in the near future. Not even death would separate us, and that I was sure of.

  He had opened the flood gates and there was no closing them as the emotions from the day were pouring out of me. I wasn’t even going to try. A mixture of shock, sadness, and pure unadulterated joy was pouring out of me with no end in sight. At this point, letting all of the stress of the past few days go was the best I could hope for. Maybe I would actually be able to have a restful night’s sleep.

  I leaned into his shoulder and let everything flow out of me and into the atmosphere. All of my anger and all of my exhaustion and all of my fear. There was nothing I was holding back at this very moment, but I was still screaming on the inside. There were some wounds he could see, but so many more I was hiding. There were so many of them I didn’t want him to see. Some not even Beth or my father knew existed.

  I pulled away from him and apologized for the splotch of tears that now stained the chest of his tank top. He was still wearing the exact same clothes I had spotted on him this morning. He caressed my cheek and reassured me the shirt wasn’t what mattered to him as long as I was alright, emotionally and physically. After what I was sure was my terrifying display of my range of emotions, I expected him to run away screaming, but he didn’t. He stood right there and didn’t dare back away. He was nothing like any other man I had come to know in my lifetime, but being a demon had to have something to do with that, right?

  No matter the obstacles that were in my path, I knew I could make it through them. I could win any battle set before me, and I knew I wouldn’t be alone because Gordon would always be there to catch me when I fell, and he would hold my hand through the darkness as we made our way to the light.

  Chapter 16: White and Crimson Covered Dreams

  I was again in the field of bright yellow poppies, surrounded by a jasmine covered trellis that perfumed the air. The last time I had this dream, it was a vision of pure happiness. Not a single cloud in the cornflower sky. All I could do was hope that this would result in the same feelings of bliss that I had experienced before darkness started to descend on our lives in the guise of a beautiful woman with crimson eyes. But now the poppies were a troubling sight. I had come to learn what these poppies in this dream represented. Lilith had been in my mind long before I realized it. The thought brought chills up my spine and goose bumps covered every inch of my flesh. This realization also had every hair on my body standing at attention.

  My gown was just as flowing and beautiful as before, but now there was an air of sinister intent in all of the beauty surrounding me. It was almost suffocating me. I walked out from underneath the trellis and let the sun shine down on me in waves of warmth and brilliant light. It bathed me in its perfect glow.

  I took a deep breath in and let the subtle fragrance of the jasmine fill my lungs. A gently content sigh escaped from between my parted lips. I would soak up as much of this pure happiness as I could before anything else evil and demented could fall onto my shoulders and weigh me down. In this moment I had no weaknesses, only strength. Lilith wasn’t an overpowering presence watching over my shoulder. She was merely an ant, and I would crush her with just a press of my thumb. I would never be bothered by her or her horde of worshippers again.

  A glistening fog started to spread over the grass and poppy-laden landscape. The sun was then covered by a sheet of gray and green clouds, turning everything from bright warmth to cold obscurity. The scent of jasmine was replaced by the smell of death. A sequence of coughs threatening to spill over with bile racked my body. The fog was creeping around my feet like it could reach out and grab me any minute and drag me down through the shattered earth to a Hell crafted specifically for me. One where all of my worst fears would come true and I would burn for an eternity. There was no place it couldn’t reach me, no matter how far I tried to back away from its reaching fingers. I knew it would surely grab me and take me to a dark place where I would be covered in a fire that would eat me alive.

  The warmth that once made my skin glow was now drained from my body. I was left with a cold disparity that I could feel all the way down to my bones. It left my soul screaming for the warmth again. My skin had taken on a sickly hue. There wasn’t even a moon shining in the sky anymore. There was only a brilliant sun covered by dense clouds that turned everything into an unkind and murky place. As I looked around me, I was filled with panic. I had my arms wrapped around my torso to guard myself as best I could from the teeth chattering chill. I could see my breath coming out in a warm mist and the chill was turning my insides into icicles.

  The poppies surrounding me started to spew out this golden light. It was more of a glow, and not very threatening to look at. I knew better than that. It was just a soft glow that released itself softly and slowly from the center of the yellow flower. It spilled out onto the ground and cut its way through the dense fog. I could see it twisting its way towards me, slithering like a snake. I turned back to the jasmine-covered lattice. I had to force my legs to move forward as if someone was holding them in place.

  It was like they were stuck in quicksand, making it more of a struggle to move even just an inch. I desperately wanted to be able to move. I fell to the ground and tried to crawl back to my jasmine infused seclusion. Safety would surely envelope me and protect me from what would certainly be my demise.

  I crawled towards the jasmine, the fog licking at my arms and legs. It seemed like it was trying to climb upwards to trap me until the light could claim me. I was clawing at the earthen ground that refused to help me. With gritted teeth I was able to make my way through it at a slow pace. It was within my sight. I froze in place as my sanctuary turned from a beautiful, flower covered frame work to a bleeding, rotting, and withering structure with a stench that was so overpowering I could almost vomit. The slight flowers turned brown and withered, blood pouring out of their centers, and I knew my refuge was gone. There was no more safety for me.

  The fog took hold of my arms and my legs, keeping me as frozen as a marble statue. I was starting to become just as cold as it pulled the warmth from my bones second by second. All I was able to do was watch in absolute horror as this seemingly gentle light pushed through the fog and in my direction as if it was seeking me out. What was it about this light that had me shaking with fear? I wasn’t exactly sure. All I knew was that I had to stay as far away from it as possible. I had to make sure it didn’t touch me, but I was frozen and there was no way out.

  The light reached my feet and began to make its way around me. It was taking every curve with grace as it made its way up towards me. Once it reached my hand it stopped like it had a decision to make, but then began to meander its way up my arm. I hadn’t noticed how much more of it was surrounding me as I had paid the most attention to the rope of light that was the closest. It was threatening to take me over like it was conquering an existing civilization.

  I tried to choke down my fear as it got even closer to my face, but couldn’t any longer, and I had been so strong for so long already. As I let a scream of absolute terror escape from my throat, the light made its way in. As I felt it slither down my throat, I couldn’t he
lp but feel that all hope was lost and there was no regaining it.

  Chapter 17: A Visit from Darkness

  I woke up when darkness was still over Los Angeles to find my father sitting uncomfortably in my bedside chair. It was the same color that had taken over my jasmine sanctuary. He had fallen asleep with a book in his hands and it was about to hit the floor. I didn’t want to remove it for fear I would wake him from his deep slumber. I wasn’t sure when he had come to sit beside me and watch to make sure I was safe. I glanced at my alarm clock to see those green neon numbers. It was almost three in the morning. I sighed with irritation.

  Rolling over, I realized Gordon wasn’t in bed. He had pulled a comfortable chair from the living room up the stairs and had also fallen asleep in it. Book in hand as well, but it was firmly in his grasp. He was slouched in a position that seemed to be very uncomfortable, but I wouldn’t dare move him. It looked like he had been up for a while and waking him up to ask him to get into bed would’ve been a mistake. He had also changed his shirt, and was now wearing what I could assume was a navy blue V-neck t-shirt. It was so dark, it was like all of the color besides the numbers on my clock had been drained.

  I was startled by my father’s sudden snoring and had to try very hard to calm my heart. It was beating like I had run a marathon and was in no way prepared for it. I was able to slow it down with the help of a few deep and calming breaths. I slowly and quietly got out of bed, and made my way to the kitchen. Some chamomile tea would surely calm my nerves.

  They were completely on edge and my mind would continue to race unless I tried to find a way to calm its incessant noise of thoughts that were all jumbling together. I ran my fingers over the smooth marble of the countertop as I made my way through. It was so cool I could’ve climbed up onto it and laid there for a while, letting it drain away all of my tension.

  I opened the cabinet right above the stove and pulled down the tea kettle and the box of chamomile tea. I was trying to make sure I didn’t make too much noise. I didn’t want the evil stares once they all realized I had woken them up. It had been a long night and the next few were bound to be just as long, if not longer. Plenty of rest would be essential. As I filled the tea kettle with water I couldn’t help but think about the closeness that I and my father had gained in the last twenty four hours.

  This was a completely alien feeling since I had never had a close relationship with the man. I had to admit I was completely unprepared for it. And to think the only reason for his visit today was to tell me that I would soon die. Somehow that had him more scared than anything that could possibly happen to him. It seemed like he was trying to make amends for all the years of alienation and isolation I had suffered. My mother had tried so hard to hide it from those who were barely ever around to see it firsthand. Who could really blame her? Who would want their family to be proven so dysfunctional?

  The kettle made a soft thump as I set it on the stove. The water sloshed around just enough so I could hear its liquid slither across the metal on the inside. It reminded me of that slithering light and I fought to suppress a shiver. I turned the knob and turned the gas up on full blast, lighting it quickly with a match that you would normally use to light a fire in the hearth. I preferred these matches to their shorter counterparts. I wasn’t a huge fan of getting burned by the sudden flames when the lit match hit the gas.

  I kept reliving the moment of my death not only from my father’s dream, but from my own ghastly visions of my death in a past life. My head had been smashed to a bloody pulp in my past life, and apparently I would be torn apart, limb from limb, in this life. What kind of fresh torture and how creative of a death could Lilith dream up for me in the next? There was no telling. From all the deaths of Executioners past I had seen, she was very imaginative in the art of demise, and there was no one greater than she. I truly didn’t want to become one of her victims. Not again.

  I stood there and watched the kettle heat up as steam rose from its spout. Unsettling quiet had fallen over the entire house. Beth was sound asleep, as were my father and Gordon. As I should be. I had too much nervous energy coursing through my body to go back to sleep. Hence, the chamomile tea. This kind of quietness was unnatural. In this house, there was no such thing as quiet, even as we slept. The house was older and made its own assortment of creaks and groans, all of which were oddly silent tonight.

  The kettle began to whistle its high pitched shrill, and I reached down to turn the heat off. A pair of arms wrapped themselves around me, and one of those hands quickly made its way to my mouth, trying to stifle the screams that escaped it. Panic set in quickly, and my heart began to race like it had been trying to make its way up through my throat and out of my mouth. I writhed and thrashed, trying to separate myself from this stranger.

  As I did, I knocked the kettle from the stove top. It hit the floor with a loud crash, and the boiling water quickly spread over the tile floor in a hot river. I put my feet on the edge of the stove and could feel the heat from the burner that was still lit on my toes. Pushing backward, I knew my assailant’s back would hit the edge of the counter behind us as we struggled. It did just that, sending screams ripping from his mouth and causing his hands to release me. He dropped me to the floor and into the sweltering puddle that I was sure would leave blisters on my legs and feet. The burning sensation made me wince, and I had to stifle groans of pain.

  Even more panic set in when I heard Beth’s screams slash through the still air. A struggle ensued from above me, and I could hear it through the floor boards. This distracted me long enough for the man to grab me around the waist and move me in the direction of the door. I wasn’t going to let him get me out into the cool night air without a fight. If I went down, he was coming down with me.

  I knew once that coolness touched my skin it would all be over. I used the water that covered the floor to my advantage in moving him back towards the direction of the lit stove. I let the heat pour into the palm of my hand, and gripped one of his arms that were around me. I could hear his skin sizzle and bubble. The smell of cooking flesh flooding my nostrils with its sickly aroma. He yelled out in agony, letting me go as soon as the pain was too much for him to bear. As soon as I made it to the large puddle of water, I used it to slide directly to the stove with my bare feet, where the man caught up to me after only a second of agonizing over the pain I had inflicted on him.

  As he came toward me, I was able to see his face. I wished it was something I could unsee, but it had already been burned into my retinas. It was clear in the moonlight, and every detail was so sharp it was frightening. His hair was buzzed so close to his head, all you could see was a light covering of black peach fuzz. There was a menacing scar that ran from his hair line, over his left eye, and down to his jaw line, leaving his face a distorted expression of hatred and anger. The scar brought the corner of his lips down just a little bit so it formed a constant frown. He had bright red eyes that could reach your soul with no effort and tear it to pieces with an animal frenzy.

  His strong jaw was set in determination, and his lips were curled into a snarl that bared his fangs. Those fangs, I knew, could easily end my life in that moment. I wasn’t going to let that happen. As soon as he was in reach I grabbed the back of his head and forced it to the eye of the stove that, by some miracle, was still lit. This would make a new scar for his right eye to match his left. He forced himself away from the stove, and an open palm came into contact with my cheek. Tears sprung into my eyes. I even saw stars. The red hot pain seared my cheek but didn’t stop me in my pursuit for life.

  My feet made a beeline to the living room where I kept a chest full of weapons I only used when we were attacked at home. This didn’t happen often. When I made it halfway between the chest and the start of the living room, another vampire came out of nowhere, his arm outstretched to catch me mid run and to take me as his prisoner. I used my momentum and sank to my knees, sliding right under his arm and closing the rest of the distance to the chest. I was sure
there would be wood burns on my knees after this was over.

  With furious speed, I pushed open the heavy lid and fished out my wooden bow and an arrow. It would kill these two in succession since one was standing right behind the other. A perfect kill. I cocked my arrow and had it aimed at the first of the two’s heart in a matter of seconds. I was ready to let it fly when both vampires put their hands in the air in surrender as if that would help them. One yelled out something I couldn’t quite make out, but it sounded like he said to wait. Was he asking me to wait? I wasn’t entirely sure, but I could swear that was what he said.

  I knew better than to let my guard down, and I continued to hold my bow in the prime position to kill them in an instant if they did anything I didn’t approve of. I heard footsteps coming down the stairs and some down the hallway, but I didn’t take my aim and attention from the two in front of me. I wouldn’t no matter who came around the corner. They were more deadly than any who could be coming down into the room since they were the ones directly sent after me.

  Beth was the first to enter the room, followed very closely by a small female vampire. I could tell she was holding a knife to Beth’s back, which would be my best guess as to why she hadn’t tried to get away. I think they underestimated Beth’s abilities, since she was the most powerful witch I had ever encountered.

  The female vampire had blonde hair that was tied tightly back into a ponytail, and her strong features were set in a look of resolve. A true authoritarian. Gordon and my father quickly followed, and were being led in by two male vampires that looked like they could have easily come from the cover of a Men’s Health magazine. No matter how they threatened to kill them, I would still stand my ground. No matter what they did, I knew we would win this fight. I would fight to keep my friends and family alive, even if it meant I lost my life in the process.