Cult of the Hexad (Afterlife saga Book 6)

by Stephanie Hudson

  “The Rogues” She hissed as if it was a dirty word and then she was gone and all she left behind was me sat in an empty void. It was a massive space filled with miles and miles of nothingness. I slowly got to my feet and looked around for anything but it was like standing on the edge of the world and expecting to fall off at any moment.

  “Oh great! Just great!” I said feeling the anger instead of the panic that I knew was lurking just around the corner.

  “And she didn’t even have a crystal ball!” I said sarcastically but then I heard a voice in my head say,

  “Do you want one? Here…is this one to your liking?” And then just as if she had clicked her fingers a strange glowing orb appeared from behind me. I turned slowly and as I did I noticed that the nothingness around me became a dark and looming forest. The sound of a bird calling out to me made me jump in fright. Looking back at the orb I could see a figure standing on the other side of it. What was that?

  I sidestepped the orb but like a mirror the image on the other side only moved with me.

  “I want to go home” I heard a girl whisper in fear and I suddenly wanted to reach out to her. As if absorbing my emotions, the purple orb started to glow brighter and pulsate as if trying to grow bigger. Then only on the girl’s side I saw demons start to crowd around her before I screamed at them,

  “GET AWAY FROM HER!” I never expected for one second they would listen to me but that’s what they did. It was as if I had commanded them and they had listened. As soon as the last one was out of sight and crawled back to the hellish night they had come from the figure got up off the floor. She started to come closer and her blurred figure got closer to the light between us.

  “Come to me.” I said trying to coax her nearer but as soon as she heard me she stopped. I wanted to try again but was scared I would frighten her but in the end it was me that froze in fear. I felt first the breath hit the back of my neck and then the large presence of someone big standing behind me.

  “Yes, come to me…you belong to me.” He said humming the words like chanting a spell and it worked. She started to come closer again only this time reaching out with her fingers. She was so close I had to warn her.

  “N…” Before I could get it out I felt a hand clamp over my mouth preventing me from warning her. I could feel the tingle of my blood beneath the hand that covered my lips and she too could feel it on her skin.

  “Yes…be mine… Electus..... The chosen girl… My Chosen One,” Said my demon before he lunged forward and reaching around me he grabbed the girl’s hand. As soon as he touched her and pulled her forward the last thing I saw was her falling into the orb before everything changed. The mirror image was destroyed and I became the girl on the other side falling into his arms.

  I passed through the bright light emerging from a purple mist and felt a secure embrace hold me tight.

  “It’s time to wake up, My Chosen One.” I looked up at him in wonder and couldn’t stop myself from reaching up to try and become level with his face. Just one kiss. That was all I wished for. All I could hope for and crave. I needed just that one and I was sure I would wake.

  One lover’s kiss.

  “Time.” He said again and I felt my thoughts pull at me from another direction.

  “To.” I frowned and started to look around to see this nothing world crumble away showing me what really lay beneath.

  “Be.” Another word and another piece shattered showing colour behind in large chunks like pieces of a jigsaw. Then my chin was grabbed and my face turned to face his as he growled the last word down at me.

  “Mine!” On hearing this, the last of the void fell away just as my legs crumbled beneath me. I fell to the ground and just as I opened my eyes to see the full picture, a voice pulled me back.

  “Time to wake up, my Keira.”

  “Time to wake up, my Keira girl.”

  “Time to wake up… Katie?”

  “Time to wake up.”

  “Wake up…Katie.”

  And suddenly I woke up. I shot up and was panting as if I had been running.

  “Hey, there she is…she’s okay…everyone get back, that’s it, give us some room now.” I recognised Dex’s voice speaking to people around me.

  “Oh Katie! Katie...? Is she alright? Get a doctor!” I could hear Lucy’s panicked voice and I rubbed my eyes as the flashing lights were blurred into one.

  “Easy now, don’t get up too fast. Whoa, I’ve got you.”

  “Where am I?” I asked getting confused with the lights and seeing the glowing orb again.

  “You’re still at the fair. Do you remember what happened?” I took a moment before answering this to focus on my surroundings. The last thing I wanted was to sound like a crazy person and start talking about Gypsies and Voids. Looking up first, all I saw was the night sky filled with stars, this at least told me that I had been gone a while. Then after finding myself in just an open field with little else, I decided against talking about the gypsy tent that led me here in the first place.

  “I don’t know. One minute I was walking and the next…well, I guess I must have passed out or something.” I said thinking this was the most believable reason I could give. As soon as I said it the next thing I knew I was in Dex’s arms being carried off down the field, with people following behind.

  “It’s okay, I can walk.” Once again it felt like I had said this before, only it definitely wasn’t Dex’s arms that were around me. This Déjà vu stuff was getting more intense by the minute and pretty soon I wasn’t going to know which world I was living in!

  Dex was a fit guy, that was obvious but even I could tell he was glad when he could put me down in the back of his patrol car.

  “How come all those people were out there?” I asked feeling utterly embarrassed by the whole thing.

  “Ah, that. Well when Lucy knew I couldn’t find you she kind of rallied together a search party and had pretty much the whole fair looking for you.”

  “Oh God.” I muttered covering my face in shame. Dex laughed and pulled my hands away from my face.

  “Hey, don’t worry about it. That’s what happens when you have people that care for you…panic comes with the territory.” He winked and then stood up just in time to say,

  “And speaking of the panic queen.”

  “How is she…does she need to go to the ER?” Lucy said talking to Dex but coming round him to see me. She started feeling my forehead and added,

  “I knew you hadn’t eaten enough today…she never eats enough you know.” This last part was directed at Dex who frowned.

  “Lucy, it’s okay, it just happens sometimes.” If I thought this was supposed to help the situation I was wrong.

  “What! This has happened before?!” Lucy shrieked in despair. Now what was I going to tell her, not to worry as it was because I had been worked to exhaustion without being given food as punishment for my supposed sins? Nope, I don’t think this would have helped matters at the moment.

  “Dex, can you drive her to the hospital?” Lucy asked and this was when I knew I had to intervene further.

  “Please Lucy, it’s okay and probably like you said, I just need something to eat and then some rest.” Thankfully Dex seeing how uncomfortable I was at the thought of going to a hospital came to my aid.

  “Right, drive through and then home. You guys go on ahead and I will make sure she gets back after she has been fed.” He then nodded for me to get in the front of his car and I did but not until after I gave Lucy a big hug. Because no matter how much I didn’t want to go to hospital her concern had meant the world to me and I wanted her to know it.

  “Thank you for caring Lucy.” At first she seemed shocked by my response to her fussing but after I said this she understood it. Other than Ari, there had been no motherly caring before and it was moments like this that hit you the hardest at what we were denied. Lucy was a good person and I would never forget that as long I remained on this earth and if the Hexad had their way, it wouldn’t b
e for much longer.

  Dex gave me a look I couldn’t decipher, I only knew it was soft and with feeling. He held open the door for me and shut it after I was in the seat. Being in a car again was strange after so long without it and considering one of the last times was the most terrifying experience I had ever known, it had been hard the first time when Lucy was driving. Of course she understood after she knew what I had been through and I had felt better for it. But now I was in the car with Dex and he didn’t know my past or why I would seem so nervous in the car.

  “Hey, my driving’s not that bad is it?” He asked laughing when I jumped again after we pulled away from a stop sign.

  “I’m sorry Dex, I’m just not good in cars.” I said feeling embarrassed about having to tell him.

  “Ah, I see.”

  “So whereabouts in England are you from?” He asked changing the subject and for one a lot more confusing.

  “England?” I asked, shaking my head but then the bright lights of a fast food restaurant came into view and his attention shifted elsewhere.

  “I hope you like burgers.” He said as he pulled the car into a spot so we could read the glowing menu.

  “I did, I mean, I do…well, let’s just say it’s been a long time.” When he frowned at me I guess he got the wrong impression as he must have thought I had been on an extensive diet most of my life…if only he knew I thought dryly.

  “So what’s good?” I asked trying to change the subject…again.

  Eating a fast food burger again was like being transported into junk food heaven after being in boring food hell for over a decade! Dex laughed at me when I couldn’t stop moaning in taste bud bliss. So much so that he had to try and compose himself as he ordered me another one from the lady in the window. Even the fries and coke had me making shameful noises.

  “If you think that’s good then I will have to take you to get some cherry pie and ice cream from the diner in town.” I blushed when he said this outside Lucy’s house as I didn’t know if he was asking me out on a date or something. I had never been asked out before and couldn’t tell if he was just being friendly or if he liked me. I actually felt like I was falling back into my missed teenage years by asking myself this question.

  “Thanks for tonight, Dex.” I said pushing a strand of loose hair behind my ear nervously.

  “You’re welcome Katie.” I gave him a smile and was just about to open the door when I stopped as a question from before was still playing on my mind.

  “Can I ask you something?”

  “Yeah, go for it.” He said seeming happy that I was still in the car.

  “Why did you think I was from England?” His reaction looked shocked and he jerked his head back as if he couldn’t tell if I was joking or not.

  “Are you serious?” He asked and this time it was my turn to frown.

  “Yeah.”

  “Because you have an English accent.” At hearing this I was shocked.

  “No I don’t!” I said getting defensive.

  “Look honey, I may not be some big city detective but I think I can at least detect an English accent like yours when I hear one.”

  “But…but…” I didn’t know what to say other than,

  “But I’m from Minnesota!” At this he laughed and then shrugged his shoulders.

  “Well Honey, I don’t know what to tell ya. I only call ‘em as I see ‘em.”

  After this I said goodnight and walked back into Lucy’s house even more confused than when I walked out of it this afternoon. I didn’t know what to think, especially after I asked Lucy where in the world she thought I was from and she gave me the same answer as Dex had.

  What was I to think? I had never been told that before and was sure I sounded exactly like the rest of the Colony had. Was it all a trick? I just couldn’t understand any of it and thinking back to what had happened in the gypsy’s tent had my head reeling even more. I lay back on the bed fully clothed and I curled myself up into a ball trying not to cry. I needed to focus on everything I knew so far if I was ever going to find this place…

  “Place…place! That’s it!” I suddenly shot up as the answer came to me. I thought back to the dream and focused in on the last thing I saw before I woke. It wasn’t a person. It was a building! A very old building from the looks of it.

  I grabbed the laptop and flipped it open before I had even sat back down. Then I impatiently drummed my fingers next to the mouse pad as I waited for it to boot up. As soon as it was up and running I did the single most important thing yet in trying to find any answers.

  I typed in Google search…

  ‘Places called Afterlife.’

  Chapter 12

  Remembering the Monsters

  I didn’t even remember falling asleep but when a noise heard from the ensuite bathroom woke me up, I knew I must have hit my limit. I had been researching for hours but found nothing. It was disheartening to say the least but I knew I couldn’t give up, not when Ari was counting on me.

  “What was that?” I asked myself when I heard the noise again. The bathroom door was slightly ajar and I couldn’t remember if I had left it like that earlier. The noise started again as a scratching sound and then a tapping as if there was a pair of long nails clicking against the old enamel sink. I sat up further and I couldn’t stop myself from asking,

  “Who’s there?” There was no answer but the tapping sound stopped at the sound of my voice. The room was too dark to see much but at least the moonlight was filtering through the window where I had forgotten to close the curtains. This created shadows that played on my mind and all I could hope for was that it had been a branch hitting the bathroom window in the wind.

  After a few more moments of silence I took a premature breath in relief that it had been nothing.

  But nothing it was not.

  I sucked in a sharp breath in fright this time as I first saw a long black hand fold its fingers around the door from behind…Someone was in my room. This time I found myself holding my breath and too scared to move. The fingers seemed elongated and stretched as well as its nails that were more like talons belonging to a bird of prey. I winced as its razor tipped fingers scraped back grooves in the wood that curled and landed on the floor in ribbons.

  I was frozen and completely dominated by my fear. I wanted to move. To bolt up from the bed and dive for the door into the hallway. This feeling increased tenfold when the door started to open and more and more of a shadowed figure emerged from within.

  “You fear me…I can feel it.” The croaky voice said once the open door revealed all of the shadow of a person. I didn’t answer as I didn’t need to. It knew the truth. It knew the power of fear it held over me but then what it said next shocked me.

  “Which is surprising in my world...” I didn’t understand so this promoted me to speak as my curious nature got the better of me.

  “Why?”

  “Because most in my world fear you.”

  “What?!” I hissed finding this impossible.

  “It is true young Electus, after all, our fate is in your mortal hands.” Hearing this had me ignoring the cryptic part and focusing on where I had heard that name before.

  “Who are you and why are you here?” I asked trying to sound stern and playing on the fact they told me most of their kind feared me.

  “What child, have you forgotten our chance meeting so soon?” Just as the words were spoken the figure stepped out into what little light the moon did offer and I jolted back at the sight.

  “The Gypsy!”

  “But of course. You say that like I have a reputation.” She said sounding affronted by the thought and walked over to the window to take a seat as if getting settled.

  “Like I said, what are you doing here?” I asked sternly then folding my arms for good measure. This was in vain because with a flick of her wrist the fireplace erupted into a roaring fire and candles appeared out of nowhere.

  “Ah, that’s better, less dreary…don’t you think?�
� I didn’t answer her but merely found myself staring. She was no longer the old crone I had seen before full of wrinkles and weathered skin. She was now a striking beauty no older than twenty, with thick ebony hair that looked like liquid gloss. Her clothes were no longer big and baggy garments worn by a larger lady trying to cover the body beneath. She now wore a tight corset over a white frilly shirt and the top part of her reminded me of a pirate costume. But then she wore layers upon layers of red material all wrapped up around her and pinned up in various places giving it body around her slim waist.

  I looked down at her hands and saw even they were normal feminine hands…but if this was the case, where did those scary black clawed hands go?

  “But you…you…?”

  “Yes, less dreary also I think. Besides I feel it is time we both show each other our real sides. So let me introduce myself, my name is Nesteemia, but as I told you once before, call me Ness.” I shook my head knowing that this ‘being’ was one I would have remembered and I was quickly back to wondering what she wanted with me. Again she answered me without hearing my question.

  “I felt that our earlier meeting was far too brief and if I am to report back to my master, then I would rather not anger him with wasteful snippets of pointless information.” Hearing this scared me, exactly which side was she on?

  “Ah, fear not Electus, if I were ever to meet the ones that stole my gift to you then all they would receive is my wrath, not my compliance. I am loyal to but one Being this Earth plays host to.” She said reading my mind again, which seemed to be the theme of the night. But the important question to ask was if she wasn’t working for the Hexad, then who was she working for?

  Who was this master she spoke of?

  “What gift? Are you sure you have the right girl? After all I think I would remember meeting you before…both of you” This made her laugh.

  “Child you don’t even remember your own name or birthright! I doubt very much you would remember the day I changed your life and gave you the ‘sight’.”