by Urania Sarri
I cupped Jerome’s head with my hands and pressed my lips to his. His skin was ice-cold, and his mouth was barely open. I pressed his chin downwards so that his mouth would open, and blew two long breaths in it. Our lips locked as Jerome sucked in my breath lustily. And then I felt as if I’d done this hundreds of times. I knew exactly what I had to do, what Jerome needed. I breathed in through my nose and sent him another wave of my energy, this time feeling a strange numbness taking over my body, making me drowsy. I took another breath, but before sending it inside him, he pushed me away.
“That will do Madison. You need to save your strength. You have another battle to give,” he whispered against my lips.
He was up at an amazing speed and gave me his hand to help me up too. His lips had got their color back, and the dark circles around his eyes had vanished. I staggered a little, feeling a familiar dizziness.
“Are you okay?” Jerome asked with concern.
Was I okay? Moments ago, I was terrified that I’d lost him. Looking at his adorable face, his obsidian eyes that watched me intently, glistening like two scorching coals, was all that mattered. Nothing else. Not even the fact that I could not find my voice; that my knees felt too weak to support my body; that the world around me unfurled in a tormenting, slow motion; that the voices reaching my ears from distant places came through distorted in volume and speed.
“Where does she think she’s going?” Samuel said through the sound vortex.
“Let me carry you to the car,” I heard Jerome say.
“IT’S NOT HER ANYMORE. YOU SHOULD STAY AWAY, JEROME. LET ME DEAL WITH HER.” Samuel’s voice sounded almost terrified, feeding something inside me with ineffable pleasure.
“YOU CAN FIGHT THIS MADISON! COME BACK!” Jerome sounded desperate.
The pleasure was giving way to rage. It felt like a lump of darkness that rapidly inflated in my chest. I only had seconds before it exploded. I could not let it happen. Because I knew what it wanted, why it chose that moment to awaken. Driven by vengeance, it meant to inflict punishment in retaliation for the offense I had allowed to take place. No other punishment but the death of the of the Fallen who had earned the Guardian’s wrath would be enough.
But I was still here.
I focused hard on the two scorching coals in front of me, letting their warmth reach my heart to put out the swelling darkness that threatened to overwhelm me.
It felt like more than losing a battle; I was losing my life. Someone else was taking over.
“You can stop it, Madison. It chose you because you’re strong,” I heard Jerome say.
I had to stop it. At least, for now. If I didn’t, it would kill him.
I gathered whatever last drops of power were left inside me in order to resist.
IGNORANT HUMAN! The voice in my head bellowed. YOU CAN’T BE IN THIS WORLD WITHOUT ME!
“Do me a favor,” my voice a faint whisper.
“Anything.”
“Don’t take me home.”
“What? Why?” Jerome asked.
“Because… when I wake up, I’m gonna have to kill you.”
When my knees bent, three things crossed my mind; first, that my head was going to hit hard on the pavement; second, if I didn’t die tonight, I had to find a way to be in this world without the evil creature that nested inside me; third, if I wanted Jerome to be safe, I should disappear from his life.
END OF BOOK 1
OTHER BOOKS BY URANIA
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GATE DEADLOCK
The Deadlock Series.
Book 1
When Emma meets Christopher, it isn't long before the handsome, hunky young man manages to sweep her completely off her feet. Seeing him as her "guardian angel," Emma can't help falling head over heels for the magnificent specimen she sees as the perfect man; however, as time goes on, Emma eventually learns disturbing truths about her father's tragic death - truths that, surprisingly to her, actually involve Christopher - forcing her to reconsider the depths of her feelings once his true identity is finally revealed...
Gate Deadlock, a paranormal, time-travel romance, will share with you the secrets of the future and of forbidden love.
Available in ebook and paperback.
Free ebook on all marketplaces!
BEGUILED
The Deadlock Series #2
The war between the present and the future has started. Compelled to cooperate with the forces of the future in order to gain Christopher back, Emma has taken on a new mission. The portal that connects the two worlds must be relocated otherwise there is no hope for humanity. But there are so many obstacles she has to overcome; Christopher has given up on their love, her best friend has been kidnapped and the life-changing truth about her family is revealed. Worst of all, a new, unexpected menace under the name Frederick, Christopher’s evil double, threatens their lives.
Will she be able to secure the future of mankind and claim the love she has fought so hard for? What if Christopher has decided to sacrifice himself again in order to save her?
In “Beguiled”, the second book of the “Gate Deadlock” series, love knows no deadlocks.
Available in ebook and paperback.
A Song Of The Sea
Short Story.
The Swords Of An Angel Prequel.
A water tomb in the Aegean Sea…
A fishing boat sailing on the path of the rising sun…
A life that must be saved…
A boy who will never grow to be a man, on the first and the last day of his real life.
Stavros has always known that he is no ordinary boy. It was an undisclosed mission that brought him to the human world. His life has been nothing more than a preparation for this day. The moment of illumination has come, but at what cost?
In the Song of the Sea miracles do happen, but not without reason.
Available in ebook format on Amazon.
FREE for my newsletter subscribers!
GATE DEADLOCK
The Deadlock Series.
Book 1
Excerpt
‘Our heirs, whatever or whoever they maybe, will
explore space and time to degrees we cannot
currently fathom. They will create new melodies in
the music of time. There are infinite harmonies to
be explored.’
Clifford Pickover
Preface
The heat of the summer night did not get to me at all. I felt chills and I was trembling like a leaf, shattered by the news that had struck me like a bolt out of the blue.
Susan, the delirious female Crusader and emissary of the future world, was trying to rationalize Christopher’s decision, searching desperately for comforting words. But I was not listening to her anymore. I opened the drawer of the desk next to me and took my car keys with a fast move before Susan had time to react. It had to be one of the League’s tricks, I thought, although deep down I knew Susan would never lie to me.
I was frantic. I thought of his house. I had to go there, see with my own eyes, his clothes, his books, sense his smell… Maybe it was not too late. Maybe I could still make him change hi
s mind.
I rushed outside and Susan followed me, shouting my name. But I was faster. Despair had been my motive power. I started the car, wasting no time to fasten my seatbelt.
‘It can’t be true… It can’t be happening! Please God, no! Don’t let it be too late. Oh, Christopher, what have you done?’ I repeated to myself, speeding off, my face soaked from the tears.
He could not have gone back, hundreds of years away from me, leaving me here. Even worse, he could not have returned to the life that had consumed all his humanity in the past, to the crimes he was desperately trying to redeem his soul from. It would sooner or later destroy him. I should not let him sacrifice himself to save me. I could not allow that. There had to be another way out of that deadlock.
I remembered the words he had whispered to me that night, when I had told him I was determined to fight for us.
‘When you get to a deadlock, will you please remember that I love you… That you are my life… My heart and my soul…belong to you… Wherever I am… Whatever I do… Promise me…you won’t hate me.’ he had pleaded. Their meaning was so clear to me now.
Tears were blocking my view as I clenched the wheel, but that did not keep me from stepping on the gas.
I only caught a glimpse of the car that appeared out of nowhere, ignoring the stop sign. My Beetle swerved dangerously in a last effort to avoid the collision and I found myself heading towards a cluster of trees, having lost control of the wheel.
The awful sound of the crash sounded as a blast to my ears. Then, the darkness of the night surrounded me, swallowing me into the blessed oblivion of nothingness.
Chapter 1
Darkness
I knew I had met him before. He’d come to me from somewhere outside of this world, some other dimension, some other life, some other time. He was mine as much as I was his, at least in this life. He had told me that although the first time I’d met him he had come to kill me, now he was here to protect me. My life had been spared once but not without cost. Still, there were so many secrets that he wouldn’t share with me which kept us apart and I knew we were racing against the odds, till they beat us down. Could a man have changed so much and yet remain the same? I wanted to believe him. I was desperately in love with him and although the voice inside me kept warning me to keep away, for the first time in my life I felt complete, as if all the pieces of the puzzle were now in place.
Until that dreadful night.
The first memories after the crash were like brief, incoherent snapshots of a wrongly preset camera. Tangled images, meaningless words and dazzling lights. I remember becoming aware of the fact that I was sinking into an enticing sense of relinquishment, tired of fighting, exhausted by the unequal encounter with time.
I couldn’t know for how long I had remained in this state, bordering the bailiwick of death. Where I was, time did not matter anymore. For once in my life, time was completely meaningless to me. I was the one to mock its evil, ruthless face now.
Gradually, I began to make sense of what the people around me were saying, totally overriding their entreaties to open my eyes, to go back to them, to fight. Because I had nothing to fight for. My life had vanished that night when the last letter of his name had disappeared in the dark background of the computer screen, fluttered away, my heart and soul together, irretrievably lost.
In a vague way, my mind refused to recall the reason for my devastation; the deprivation of his voice, the feeling of his touch, of his kiss. All I could feel was an intolerable pain, the cause of which was buried deeply into my subconscious. It was probably a physical defense mechanism, as my mind was trying to protect what was left. I only saw the same dream, the nightmare I had that morning in Christopher’s house that had made me wake up in the empty bed. I kept searching his house, shouting his name desperately, but he had vanished. The same torturing nightmare, over and over again.
I often reminisce those nightmares, especially one that had a different ending. I found myself in an empty street, a familiar neighbourhood around me. At the bus stop on my right, I saw my dad. I had not dreamt of him for many years after his death. He was smiling to me with his arms stretched in a wide embrace, waiting for me. I was ten years old again. He seemed so real; I could feel his warm body, I could smell him, the smell of my childhood. Next minute, I was holding him tight, crying.
‘Where have you been dad? Why did you leave me?’ I asked him.
He looked into my eyes, smiling. ‘I never left you Emma. My beautiful Emma.’
‘I’ve missed you so much. I need you, dad. Please take me with you.’
‘Where I’m going, you can’t come Emma. You must finish what you’ve started.’ he said with the same sweet smile that used to brighten my childhood years.
‘Don’t go yet. Come home with me dad.’
I took his hand and walked him to our house. I opened the door shouting ‘Mum, daddy is here, look!’
But when I turned to him, he had vanished. I was all alone again in front of the big house.
Kate’s voice had been the hardest to ignore. And then of course, there was my mum. I was not sure if she had been there only once or if she had never left my side, but I kept hearing her voice saying,
‘Wake up, Emma. Please, come back to us.’
I wanted to talk to her, comfort her that I was where I wanted, and all I needed her to do, was to let me move on. I needed her and Kate, my only friend, to release me, because I could feel their love holding me back. I was afraid that the slightest effort to respond to their plea would take me back to an empty world, back to the pain and the suffering.
To a world without Christopher.
I could not live in such a world. It was much worse than death.
Death. Eventually, it turned out to be the only way out of the deadlock.
I had made my choice. Every day, every moment was taking me closer to the end.
Forlornness.
Emptiness.
Nothingness.
Oblivion.
Chapter 2
Deep Blue
(Two months before)
I have always thought of the first time I met Christopher, as the first day of my real life. Nevertheless, I’ve never regretted letting him into my life, in full consciousness of the outcome and, were I given another chance, I would do exactly the same. Of course, I would have to change a few things. Because I have my share of blame in this story. This I cannot deny.
Every single detail of that evening will be forever engraved in my memory.
The first thing I vividly remember is the smothering heat and my total dependence upon the air-conditioner.
It must have been one of the hottest summers in Greece. My body had not become adjusted yet to the waves of heat coming from the south, making me spend my first two days in this vacation spot on the outskirts of the city of Corinth, going back and forth between the beach and the air-conditioned studio apartment I was sharing with Kate. Usually, it would take me a week to get used to the hot temperature, having spent the most of my life in the cool and gloomy suburbs of London. This summer I felt I would need even more time, as the overwhelming brightness and the blue of the sky did not match my mood at all. I had been masochist enough to be missing the cloudy, gloomy sky of London, even from the first day.
I was having summer holidays in Greece for the third year as a university student. Brantel University offered students the opportunity of spending eight weeks here every year, in cooperation with the University of Athens. It had been a long tradition for the schools of Archeology, History and Social Sciences ever since my dad had been working as a professor and researcher in Brantel. It goes without saying that for all of us, not only the students but also the tutors, summer school here was considered more as holiday time. But the school was not the only reason for my coming to Greece as other, personal reasons called for my presence here.
The second thing that comes to my mind about that first day of my new life is the awful headache I’d been sufferi
ng from, or should I say the hangover symptoms.
The previous night, Kate and Tony had persuaded me to follow them to the beach party that was traditionally organized by the Greek students to welcome us.
‘No way I’m coming. You know I’m in no mood for parties.’ I had stubbornly insisted.
‘If you’re not going, I’m not going either.’ was Kate’s, who was no less stubborn than me, last argument. She always knew how to have it her way.
‘Please Emma?’ Tony had pleaded, making me give up, while at the same time Kate was smiling, enjoying her little triumph.
How excited I had been about this party the previous summer, when Colin and I were still together! This time, I felt like it was the wrong place to be. There were so many memories of Colin there and I had hated myself for not being able to stop thinking about him. He did not deserve it. Not since last spring, when I discovered that my suspicion that he was having another affair turned out to be utterly true.
The beach party was not over until the first light of day. Greeks were used to crazy nights but it had been too much for me. I had come home at the ungodly hour of 4.00 a.m. and, although I had spent most of the day in bed, I had not been able to make up for the lost hours of sleep. I had been suffering from serious hangover all day, which had made me take down a considerable dose of painkillers to be able to leave my bed and help my friend with her cooking adventure. Which brings me to the third memory of that day: the dangerous blending of smells coming from the kitchen, as a very special dinner lay ahead for my friend Kate and her boyfriend.