The Two Kings (Afterlife Saga)

by Hudson, Stephanie

  “Libs!” I said bring her back around. Oh yes, she was definitely seeing Draven as Darcy.

  “Oh well, Frank got a call that there had been an accident with some of his Uncle’s old property, so he has to meet with the insurance guys early tomorrow morning”

  “What happened? I didn't know his uncle had more property.” But from the way Draven stiffened in his chair, I was the only one in the room that didn't. It was only a very slight movement but I seemed to notice everything about him, no matter how small and insignificant.

  “Oh yeah, he owned a cabin in the woods but lightening struck it would you believe?” My heart nearly stopped. Now I knew why Draven was stiff in his chair. She was turning to look at me because I still hadn't given a response, so I asked the only thing that came to mind.

  “When did lightening hit it?” I asked and she continued pouring the tea, but Draven looked at me and shook his head, telling me not to ask questions but it was too late for that.

  “Kaz.... come on did you not see the storm on Wednesday night? It was awesome!” Oh yeah I saw it alright, I was there seeing Draven create it! My head was swimming around in a pool of much needed answers.

  “Oh yeah, I must have forgotten,” I said through my teeth at Draven but he just shrugged.

  “So that was Frank's uncle’s place?”

  “Yeah but Frank never really wanted it, it was almost a ruin. Frank’s uncle lived there the year before he died. It was strange that he moved out there and no one in the family understands why.” She placed the tea in front of me and I blew on the hot liquid. When Libby's back was turned Draven grabbed my mug quicker than my eyes could register, then he blew on it and put it back in front of me in another blink of an eye. I put it to my lips and it was now the perfect temperature. Bless him. I mouthed the words ‘thank you’ but I think he was happier with the smile it brought to my face.

  I went to open my mouth to ask something more but Draven placed his hand on my arm and gave me a little squeeze so I stopped myself. Libby called Frank to tell him his coffee was ready and she took one of the other empty seats and smiled at both of us.

  “Well Kaz, it is nice to see you looking so....happy,” she said and then nodded to my bare arm that Draven was still holding. Oh no, I had completely forgotten to put gloves on. To tell the truth I had been getting used to the feeling without them thanks to Draven. I never thought it would be possible to forget my idea of a security blanket like my gloves but now I felt bad for Libby.

  “Oh god Libs... I'm so sorry.” I got up suddenly and Draven looked shocked at my reaction. I held my arms behind my back and excused myself to get some gloves. Libby and Draven both had the same facial expression....pity and I hated pity!

  “Kaz, that's not what I meant!” She started to explain but I was out of the room like it was on fire. I didn't mind Draven seeing my scars but anyone else seeing them had me in knots. I was hit with an overwhelming guilt. I never wanted these reminders but mainly I never wanted anyone else to be reminded of what we all went through. Frank met me on the stairs and I still had my arms behind my back. He was about to say something but saw why I was in a hurry and moved out of my way without the pity face. Good old Frank.

  I was soon making my way back downstairs, armed with my security blanket when I could hear them talking about it, so I remained quiet the rest of the way down.

  “I gather she has told you what happened to her?” Lib's voice sounded like controlled anger and it was the first time in a long time I had heard anyone talking about it. When it first happened I would hear my family discussing it numerous times while they thought I was out of ear shot. My Dad would be the worst, getting angry at everything and my Mum's tears would be the only sound to soften his attitude. This upset me more than the actual event.

  Draven must have nodded because I didn't hear his response.

  “Well she must really trust you for her to have spoken about it. She doesn't talk to anyone about it....ever! I have to thank you, I have been worried about her for so long now, so to see her this happy...well let’s just say it has been a long time.” I had tears in my eyes and I couldn't help them. I loved my sister so much but I thought that I had put on a good enough show to make them all think I was happy. Now I knew it had all been for nothing.

  “She is an extraordinary brave girl but also selfless. I believe these are the reasons for her silence. She thinks that she can deal with everything on her own but she needs to realise that she has people around her that love her and want to help her.” This was Draven’s account of my reasoning behind why I was the way I am. He was spot on about the last part.

  “Well I am just happy that now she has you. I can tell you love her and have for some time now...am I right?” Libby was asking him and I wanted to go down and stop the conversation but with tears still streaming down my face, I couldn't move.

  “You are undoubtedly right. I love her very much and you have no need to worry anymore, I would never let anything like that happen to her again.”

  “Then I wish she could have met you years ago.” She said and I could tell she was getting emotional about it. I heard her blow her nose. I felt a hole grow wider in my chest at the memories that I just wanted to be wiped clean. I hated that it still affected the people that I loved. I just wanted to be the one that had to deal with it, no one else!

  I got up not caring about the noise and ran up the stairs with soaked cheeks. When I got into my room I sat at the window seat and cried. I thought about the contrast of feelings this window seat had endured in the past twelve hours. I heard the door open and cringed as for the first time since being with Draven I just wanted to be left alone. I hated people feeling sorry for me and this was too much to handle. Draven had said I was brave, well this wasn't brave...this was pathetic! Crying like a frightened child.

  I didn't look at the door but I knew it was Draven, I could feel him, like I was connected to his pulse. When I felt him getting closer I turned away to hide my face and my sore watery eyes found the view outside my window but for once the sight didn’t make me smile.

  “Keira look at me.” His voice was so soft it came out in almost a purr. When I didn't, he intervened by putting his hand under my chin and gently turned me to face him. I hated people seeing me cry, like showing them my weaknesses but with Draven it was different. I was torn between wanting him to comfort me and not wanting him to see me this way.

  When I turned, he was knelt down by the seat but he was still taller than me. His hand wiped away my tears and he held my cheek in his palm. His eyes were deep like the midnight ocean and I bit my lip to try and stop the tears that continued but just in time he pulled me into him and rested my face into his shoulder for me to sob. It was like he felt my pain because without saying a word he made me feel what I needed the most....He made me feel safe.

  “I'm sorry, I just hate hearing my sister getting upset and I didn't know she still worried about me...not in that way,” I said once I had finished crying and Draven just continued to smooth back my hair.

  “Keira please don't EVER apologise for your emotions!” He kissed my now salty cheeks and I smiled.

  “Can I ask you something?” Draven's asked me cautiously, so I nodded.

  “Why have you never spoken about this to anyone but me?”

  “I don't like pity and I don't like feeling like he has won,” I said honestly but Draven shook his head at me.

  “Keira you are amazing, firstly you survived what that monster put you through but because of it's aftermath you still torture yourself with unnecessary guilt. You don't want to talk about it because you don't want pity but with your refusal to discuss it, what are those that love you left to think. I know that you have dealt with it on your own and in your own way but it is never healthy to carry so much emotional weight by yourself....you understand that one day the weight will get too much for one pair of shoulders to cope with.” I understood what he was saying. If I never spoke about it, how was anyone to know that I
was coping. Maybe everyone thought that I just wasn't and then no matter what I did, I would still get pity.

  “You’re right, I need to face the truth instead of running from it. I wish someone had said it like that to me sooner.” I said trying to match his smile. I hugged him and kissed him on the cheek for being so sweet.

  “Right, now I am over my little meltdown.” At this he frowned, but I continued anyway “You need to tell me what happened to Frank's Uncle.”

  He continued to frown....

  Chapter 8

  Ego Vereor Demons

  I sat there and listened as Draven told me the horrors that infected Frank’s Uncle.

  His name was George Miller and he was Frank’s mother’s, oldest brother. From what I heard from Libby, he had been a well liked man that always helped out with the community. He had been a fireman most of his life but took early retirement when his wife past way with cancer. The death of his wife hit him hard, as it would with most but it looked like his family were kept in the dark about his true depression, because one day a hiker found his hanging corpse in his log cabin.

  He hadn't spoken to his family in nine months. They put his suicide down to his desperation to be back with his wife. Frank had been the last person he had seen, two months prior to his death. He was also the last person he spoke to, when he rang a week before he was found. He told Frank that he had left him everything but his only wish is that the cabin and the land was never sold. He didn't care about the house, which Frank had found the strangest thing of all, as it had been in Frank’s family for generations and his wife had adored the place.

  Frank didn't understand at the time but just put it down to him sorting out his affairs. Libby told me that Frank had felt guilty ever since, thinking he could have maybe talked him out of it or got him some help. But when Frank spoke to him on the phone, he thought he sounded fine and like his usual self. Of course he had been wrong. The last time Frank saw him he had been with a woman that worked in the library but he never introduced her and she never spoke a word to him. At the time Frank and Libby had been living with Frank’s parents while they were house hunting for somewhere near by. They had very nearly signed for a house when Frank got the call about his uncle George.

  Of course this wasn't Draven's account of the events, no this was all told to me by Libby not long after I first moved here. Draven knew Frank's uncle for very different reasons. George had started to actually get his life back together unbeknown to his family. He had an evening poker night with some of his old buddies from the fire department and he had finished restoring his cabin which he used for hunting. But one other passion of George's was to result in his death. See, he loved the written word but when he worked he had very little time for it and with a house full of his late wife's romance novels he started taking weekly trips to the library. This is where he met the Ego Vereor Demon.

  She was working as a Librarian and was instantly attracted to George because she could detect his grief. They soon became friends and starting spending more time together. Draven suspects they also became intimate, which is another big offence in the Demon/Angel world. The only reason Draven was allowed to be with me is because I was different. I was classed as the “Chosen one,” but I was still in the dark to the details on that one. All I knew is that I was sort of born for Draven but this was still too much of a large pill to swallow and Draven wasn’t giving me any water to help knock it down with.

  Her name was Yvonne Dubeck and Draven told me that she was called an Ego Vereor Everto, meaning “Self Fear Demon” in Latin. She liked to feed from the negative emotions caused by Paranoia. She would gradually gain the trust of these poor unsuspecting humans by dating them and then little by little she would implant delusions of what people feared the most. In George's case it was Alien abductions.

  He soon became obsessed that he had been abducted numerous times and was living in fear until his next abduction. He became a recluse and lived in the woods like a hermit. The only person he would see was Yvonne as he never got abducted when she was around. She would get stronger every second she was around him but because he was a strong character he would get better. But, of course, she would not allow this to happen for long. In the end she got the ultimate high when his paranoia got too much one day and he took his own life, this happened before Draven could intervene.

  Draven had been too late to save George and Yvonne disappeared before her punishment could be inflicted. She is now on the wanted list or as Draven put it she is now ‘Marked.’ Which I gathered was the equivalent to being on the America's top most wanted list. By the time Draven had finished, I felt slightly sick at the thought. My heart ached for Frank's uncle and I shed a few tears during the story. It was just so sad, to have first lost the women you love, to then be tricked by the next. Trust really was a deadly thing!

  Draven assured me though that George's soul would be reunited with his wife's, a bit like a safe passage to be favoured by his faith. As a rule the Gods give those that have been wronged by their kind special treatment. I tried to find out more but Draven made a face like this was something I wouldn’t want to know, so this inevitably had me more confused than ever.

  My phone vibrated as a message flashed up on my phone but Draven was not happy about its sender.

  “I do not understand why you can't just ring the boy and explain that your situation has changed.” Draven was now sulking like a spoilt child.

  “Because Jack is a friend and I would like to keep it that way. Besides, it would be rude to do it any other way and you need to get used to me seeing my friends.” I said before reading his text message, informing me that we were now meeting at two o'clock.

  “Fine, but you know I don't share.” He said but he couldn't keep the half smile from his lips for long, only it was short lived as he ruined it by saying,

  “Well in that case I will go and let you get ready for your date.”

  “Come on! It's not a date, I am just meeting a friend and besides you have your ex girlfriend sat at your table every night!” This made him frown and then roll his eyes at me.

  “Keira, I have explained about Aurora. She means nothing.” He had me looking up into his eyes, when he came close enough to kiss me.

  “And I have explained about Jack. And besides you didn't tell me about Aurora, Sophia did.” I reminded him but once again he just rolled his eyes.

  “Anyway you don't have to go yet, it's not even twelve and I'm not meeting him until two.”

  “Where are you meeting him?” He said as sourly as anyone could.

  “At a diner on fifth, why?” I asked cautiously.

  “Because I need to know where to send Ragnar.”

  “Oh no, Draven please you really don't…” He cut me off by kissing me again and no will on earth could have me resisting.

  “Keira do not fret, no one will see him but you.” Now I was the one frowning.

  “And how is that going to work because I am pretty sure his stealth skills are limited thanks to his gigantic size?” He was laughing again and this was probably due to the idea of Ragnar hiding away in bushes or behind trees.

  “He has been given a power that will encase the minds of humans around him to simply pass him as if he was not there. He will not be seen… I can promise you.” He nodded slightly at this promise and I found it an endearing quality to add to many others.

  “You did that for me?”

  “But of course, why not? You didn't exactly hide your displeasure in having a bodyguard.” I gave him a huge grin and hugged him but my small arms wouldn't go all the way around so I gripped onto his T shirt. He liked this and held the back of my neck, which always sent tingly sparks down my spine.

  “Thank you but how will I see him?”

  “The power he has won't work on you, like most of my talents.” He said as though he was both annoyed and proud that his powers hardly ever worked on my diverse mind.

  “Ah well, that's good to know. So you don't have to go now.
” I said but by the look on his face, he had other commitments today and had to go anyway, and I couldn't help thinking it was a kind of punishment because I was seeing Jack.

  “I am afraid I do still have to go but I will have Ragnar bring you back to me once you have finished with the bo.......Jack.” He refrained from calling him ‘Boy’ as he saw my disproving look. I hated it when he called him this, it was degrading but I think that was reason enough.

  “It's alright, I will see you after work later,” I said turning knowing this caused another conflict between us. Draven didn't want me working at the club anymore but I wasn't having any of it.

  He let out a short laugh that sounded like a “Hell No.”

  “Keira, we have discussed this, you know my feelings on the matter.” He was putting on his smooth velvet voice to try and bring me round and normally it would work, making me do anything he asked but this time I remained strong. I sat down on my bed and folded my arms across my chest.

  “Actually we haven't. But this is not up for discussion Draven. I am working at the club and downstairs, not the VIP. Don't look at me like that! Would you prefer I find another place to work, one you won't be able to keep an eye on me?”

  “I would prefer you didn't work...period!” He was stood above me moving my top off my shoulder so he could feel my skin there. I shuddered under his warm hands, making me feel like he was creating sparks. This was a tactic to get what he wanted. He had learnt other ways to infiltrate my mind instead of using his powers.

  “That isn't going to happen. So tell me now, do I still have a job at your club or should I start looking elsewhere?” He looked shocked that his power of persuasion wasn't working like he hoped. So he up'd his game. His hand moved up from my shoulder to my neck (A major weak spot of mine).

  He gripped the back of my neck with his full palm under my hair. He pulled upwards making me stand to face him and my heart rate doubled. He leant down to my ear but before he spoke, he kissed my neck, making me bite my bottom lip.