Ella Awakened

by S. E. Duncan

  “Okay, Hutsool. Be safe.”

  Ella watched as Burke drove away, then went upstairs to make a grocery list.

  ~~

  Burke noticed that Carl’s car wasn’t in the lot when he arrived at the M.E. office. Huh, that’s weird. They were supposed to get this autopsy done. Burke got out of his car and was about to head into the building just as the transport van pulled up followed by Carl. Burke turned and headed over while Carl parked in his usual spot.

  “Hey man, what’s going on?” Burke asked as Carl got out of his vehicle.

  “Got a call this morning. Looks like a suicide. Brady identified the girl as Julie Swanson, girlfriend of the guy you brought in last night.” Carl kicked at a pebble and pursed his lips. “Sad, she was a student here at the university – had her whole life ahead of her. It’s hard to lose someone you care about, but it’s so tragic that she took her own life.”

  Burke watched the men pull the transport table from the back of the van.

  “Room two,” Carl called.

  “So what happened? Where was she?” Burke asked.

  “She was found in the same location Daniel Parker died. Some of the college students went there this morning to put out flowers and what-not and there she was in the gully. They called it in. She’d cut her wrists and bled out.”

  “Damn,” Burke said, wondering if that was what really happened. “I guess we’d better get started.”

  “The girl’s parents will be here in about an hour. I don’t think they’ll want an autopsy. Cause of death is apparent. I’ll write up the death certificate and help you with the other autopsy. I’m gonna run and grab something to eat first, if you don’t mind. The call interrupted my breakfast.”

  “Of course, take your time. I’ll get started.” Carl headed towards his car, and Burke went inside.

  Burke signed the paperwork accepting delivery of the unfortunate young girl, and then headed down the hall to the second autopsy room. It was Julie all right. Man! Was she an obsessive girlfriend who felt she couldn’t live without someone? A man who she doubted even loved her in return - or was there more to this then met the eye?

  Burke walked to the head of the table and laid his hands on her head. He closed his eyes and waited. A few minutes later he was stumbling backward, eyes wild. He spun in a circle and reached for a cabinet to steady himself, but fell to his knees anyway. He took a deep breath. “Oh no,” he said out loud to the empty room.

  He took his cell phone out of his pocket and called Ella.

  “Hey!” she answered Burke’s call. “I just got back from the market. I decided on chicken alfredo and a garden salad. How does that sound?”

  “That sounds great love. Listen, something’s come up and I need you to come to the office.”

  “I was just going to go for a run. Can I meet you in about an hour?”

  “No Hutsool, I need you to come now.”

  Ella suddenly registered the anxiety in Burke’s voice. Her stomach clenched in fear. “What’s happened? Are you all right?”

  “Yes, I’m all right. Just come to the office.”

  Ella hung up her phone and grabbed her keys and purse. She didn’t even bother to change. She was dressed in fitted calf length running pants and a cut off sports top. Something was wrong and it was hard to suppress her panic.

  Ella made it to the Office of the Medical Examiners in less than twenty minutes. She jumped out of her car, not even bothering to take the keys out of the ignition, and ran inside. Burke must have heard her because he poked his head out of the second autopsy room and said, “I’m in here”.

  Ella stopped short just inside the door. She immediately recognized the girl on the table as Julie from the previous night. “Oh my gosh! What happened, Burke?”

  “Carl’s ruling it a suicide, but that’s not what happened.” Burke took both of Ella’s hands in his.

  “It was the Demon, wasn’t it.” It was more of a statement than a question. Why else would he call her?

  “Yes, it was the Demon. He didn’t even take her energy; he took most of it, but not all of it. He slit her wrists and left her alive enough to bleed out.”

  “Why?” Obviously Burke was upset or worried. Ella couldn’t help it; she was starting to get annoyed. She hated suspenseful crap. She felt like there should be eerie music playing in the background. Burke was just staring at her. “Oh for crying out loud! Just show me.”

  Ella pulled her hands away from Burke, walked around to the head of the table, and laid her hands on Julie’s head with her fingers spread.

  Burke grabbed her shoulders and spun her around. “Wait just a minute. I need to prepare you for this. The Demon did this to send a message. He knows about the visions and he tells me to tell you to back off.”

  Ella’s jaw fell open. “Are you telling me this girl was senselessly murdered to send me a message?”

  “The Demon is pure evil, Ella. Nothing he does is anyone’s fault but his own. Don’t you dare blame yourself for anything. Just help me figure out how to put a stop to it.”

  Ella turned and placed her hands on Julie’s head again. “I know Burke. Just show me...please.”

  Burke wrapped his arms around Ella and placed his hands over hers.

  Ella was standing next to the gully where Daniel had died... been killed... she didn’t know what had happened. She had loved him so much. Three years they had been dating and everything had been perfect for over two and a half of them. The police had questioned her last night but then let her go. She looked at the daisies in her hand. Daniel had brought her daises on several different occasions. She could feel the sting of tears behind her eyes – it was a wonder she had any tears left. She’d cried non-stop since she’d gone after Daniel last night.

  “Are you okay?”

  Julie looked up and saw a young man with an unopened beer in his hand. He saw Julie glance at the drink. “Just bringing my pal one last brew,” he said and jumped into the gully. He put the drink on the ground next to the rock that was still stained with Daniel’s blood. “Let me help you.” He reached his hand up. She took it and slid down the rocky hill on her heels.

  Once at the bottom, she laid the flowers next to the beer. “How did you know him?” she asked.

  “We’ve had a couple of classes together and studied over a beer or two.” He sat down and leaned against the rocky bank. Julie sat beside him. As she turned to look at him, he grabbed her face. She couldn’t even scream; she was absolutely transfixed as his eyes turned red and his mouth stretched wide displaying rows of sharp spikey teeth. He began to inhale over her face. Just before she lost consciousness, he stopped and looked directly into her eyes. His voice slithered around rows of teeth. “Healer, I have a message for the warrior. Tell her if she pursues me I will kill her aunt, uncle, cousin and her pretty little curly haired friend. Then I will happily kill the warrior herself.” Healer, Julie thought, what? The monster took a knife wrapped in cloth and slit both of her wrists before pressing the weapon into her own hand. This was more than her mind could manage, and she passed out.

  Ella fell back against Burke. She recovered faster than she had last night. There was fury in her eyes as she took the bottle of water Burke held out to her. “I’ve gotta go,” she said and was instantly on her feet.

  “Wait a minute,” Burke grabbed her hand. “We need to talk about this Ella.”

  The door to the autopsy room opened and Detective Brady walked in. What have we here? Ella the hot intern looked even hotter in her workout clothes. She and Burke were staring intently at each other. “The girl’s parents are here. They obviously didn’t regard the speed limit,” Brady said.

  Please don’t leave, Burke silently beseeched Ella.

  I need to think, Burke. I’ll be at your house when you get home tonight. She turned and walked away. Burke couldn’t follow her. Brady was here and so were the girl’s parents.

  ~~

  Ella went to the city park. She ran as fast as possible without dr
awing attention to herself. Three people had died here. What was it about this park that made the Demon keep coming back? Now he had threatened her family, her friend and herself. She was livid. She was going to find him, and she was going to kill him. She still couldn’t help but feel like she was missing something. If he had sent the message through Burke, why had Burke been left out of the threats? Did the Demon not know what she and Burke were to each other, or did he not care?

  Ella stopped running and paced back and forth across the path. Finally, unable to divine the answers on her own, she knelt down and bowed her head. Mother of All, give me strength to fulfill my destiny. You allowed me to awaken, you brought my soul mate across the universe. Guide me and show me what to do. Then she said out loud, “Demon, I hope you are watching me. I hope you can hear me now. I will not rest until I have crushed the very life from you. I will eradicate you from this world. I will stop at nothing, and I will look into your eyes and smile as I cut your head from your body.”

  The Demon watched Ella from the shadows and grinned as he listened to her warning. Good, the warrior had quite a bit to occupy her mind now. Let her worry about her family. He cared nothing about them. He cared nothing about the warrior. She was a nuisance at best. She was not the one he feared, and she was not the one he needed.

  About the Author:

  S. E. Duncan is a graduate of Old Dominion University. She lives in Virginia with her husband, two children, and a variety of critters. Between working, hanging out with a den of cub scouts, and taxiing her beautiful children around; she somehow managed to fulfill her dream of becoming an author. Ella Awakened is her first book.

  The sequel to Ella Awakened – Ella Provoked – will be available by late fall 2013.

  Please connect with the author and check for updates on Facebook:

  http://www.facebook.com/EllaAwakened

  Read on for a preview of Ella Provoked.

  Preview: Ella Provoked

  Burke breathed a sigh of relief when he pulled up in front of his house and saw Ella’s car in the driveway. He’d been a nervous wreck all afternoon. After leaving the seventh message on her cell phone, he had finally given up on trying to reach her that way. She’d told him she’d be at his house when he got home. He had left the office as soon as possible, wondering the whole way home what he’d do if she wasn’t there.

  Burke ran into the house and called her name. She wasn’t here - he’d know it if she was.

  I’m in the greenhouse. She spoke in his head.

  Burke hurried through the house, out the back door, and down the slate path. She sat in the lone chair in the middle of the room. “Ella!” he said. “I’ve been worried sick. Why didn’t you answer your cell phone?”

  “I don’t even know where it is to be honest with you - maybe in the car. I went for a run, then came out here to sit and think.”

  Burke went and knelt on the floor in front of her. He put his hands on her knees. “Are you okay, Hutsool?”

  “Yes... no... I don’t know. I’m pissed off and frustrated. I just keep running it all over in my mind – the incident at the popcorn machine and both visions. The only consistency I can come up with as far as his appearance goes is his eyes.” Ella leaned her head back and ran her hands through her hair.

  “What about his eyes?”

  “They don’t change – I mean before they turn red. They’re always the same shade of green. Also there’s no limbal ring. You know, the dark outline around the iris. There aren’t any specks of color on the iris like most people have either. His eyes are just that flat moss green throughout. I’d think he was wearing colored contacts, but when he takes his victims he’s close enough that you’d definitely be able to see the outline of the contact, and it’s not there. Not to mention if he had on contacts his eyes probably wouldn’t turn red the way they do.”

  “Well that’s something, Ella. It gives us something to look for.” She hadn’t mentioned the threats – the message – yet. Should he bring it up? She was upset, distraught, and frustrated. He could feel the tension when he touched her. This woman was his whole world and he was very in tune with her emotions. There was something else bristling under the surface. Determination.

  Ella finally raised her head and looked at him. Her hands were resting on the arms of the chair. He was right there in front of her and though she was desperate to, she made no move to touch him. She had a feeling he wasn’t going to like what she was about to say. “I’m going to tell Jeremy,” she finally whispered.

  Burke’s face fell. “You can’t tell him, Hutsool.”

  She remained still, her only movement was to flex her hands and grip the arms of the chair a little tighter. “I’m sorry you feel that way, but I’m telling him anyway.”

  Burke pursed his lips. He stood up and paced around the room. “He won’t believe you,” he said at last.

  “Then I’ll show him. He won’t be able to argue with my new abilities.”

  Burke turned to face Ella. What could he say to make her understand that sharing this kind of secret with one person was one person too many? He walked back over to her and knelt in front of her again. “What if Jeremy slips and tells someone else? Where is this going to stop? Will you want to tell your aunt and uncle about all of this, not to mention Sarah? You never know how someone’s going to take that kind of information or what they’ll do with it.”

  “I completely trust him Burke, and no I’m not going to tell anyone else. I’m not worried about Aunt Rachel and Uncle Ben right now. They won’t be home from Alaska for over two weeks and hopefully by then it won’t be an issue anyway. Jeremy has the right to know his life is in danger, and he’ll be better able to protect Sarah if he knows. Besides, they’re all gonna figure out eventually that something’s going on when I don’t age like everyone around me.”

  “Okay, let’s say you do tell him. Then what? It’s not really going to make him any less vulnerable is it?”

  Ella finally let go of the chair arms. She studied her hands in her lap for a moment before reaching up with one of them and touching Burke’s face. “I don’t know. I’m still working on it; I was hoping we could figure the rest out together. Burke, he’s more than my cousin. He’s my brother. We were raised together. I can’t let anything happen to him. I love him as much as you loved Willow. You can’t tell me that you wouldn’t have done anything to keep her safe.”

  Burke took her hand from his cheek and kissed it. “We’ll tell him, Hutsool. But we’ll tell him together, and if he freaks out he’s not leaving this house until I figure out what to do about it. Now come inside and eat something. Jeremy and Sarah will be back tomorrow, and we need to decide how we’re going to go about this.”