by Devon Ashley
She crossed her arms and leaned against the door frame. “I’ve made my decision.”
“May I inquire as to why?”
The ‘why not’ list would be far shorter. “You betrayed me. Plain and simple. You sent me off to die. Did you even care or were you too busy training my replacement?” His silence spoke louder than words. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.”
She had turned to leave before he spoke, “We have been trained not to become attached to our subjects.” He actually sounded sorry about that. Still, she had no remorse left to give.
“Lesson learned,” she said sadly. “Your duty here is done. Noel will be advising me from now on, not the Order.”
Emily had never seen him jump so fast. “You can’t be serious!” he bellowed. “He’s proven to be deficient with the care of a huntress! Abigail may be an incredible fighter, but she is completely out of control!”
Emily huffed in surprise. “You can kid yourself all you want about Abby and the way the Order raised her. Noel not only tamed the nightmare you created but he kept her alive for more than two hundred years.” She added coolly, “And I trust him with my life. Which is far more than I can say about you.”
Chapter Forty-Four
Abby burst through the antique wooden doors and slammed them back against the wall. Noel caught them on the rebound and stood guard behind Abby. Long, tired faces sat quietly around the table. The new advisor, Carmichael Flores, was startled by her action, but the rest of the Order had gotten used to Abby’s loud and unexpected behaviors. Her presence still frightened them though; she felt the twinge down her spine and couldn’t contain the smirk within.
Ethan had been addressing the Order, most likely discussing Emily’s new replacement. He sat down as she approached the end of the table, right where Jayden used to sit. Staring down the Chancellor, she said forcefully, “You’ve taken something from me that wasn’t yours to take. I want it back. Now.”
“I’m afraid I don’t know what you’re talking about,” the Chancellor replied convincingly.
Abby placed her hands on the table and released a long, drawn out sigh. Boldly, she said with a dark, even tone, “Sometime during the past few days, one of you removed Valerie’s amulet from our room. Either you return the amulet to me or every one of you will leave this room by body bag.”
Several members of the Order fidgeted uncomfortably in their seats. As they mulled over her request, she visually scanned the walls of the conference room. “Odd,” she said. “I don’t see any weapons in this room, seeing how they’re on every other wall in this place. I figured they were there for your protection in case of emergency.”
A few of the advisors beseeched Chancellor Moore with their troubled expressions, their eyes practically bulging from their sockets in terror. No doubt the past murders were flashing in his mind.
Abby looked to her hands and watched as they slowly turned the bright, illuminating shades of red, orange and yellow. Smoke began to smolder as hand-shaped molds in the table slowly sank into the wood. Several advisors jumped. They had never witnessed anything magical from her before. For all they knew, her abilities were endless.
“Has she refreshed your memory yet?” Noel asked impatiently.
Hesitant, the Chancellor replied, “Roger, would you kindly return the amulet to Abigail?”
Roger slowly got up and hugged the wall to pass Abby.
“Noel, please go with him to prevent any further memory lapses.”
Noel followed him out. Abby removed her hands from the table and the handprints forever left behind. No way they wouldn’t replace it.
The blistering colors faded. It still amazed her that she felt no pain from that. “Let’s end this clearly, shall we? Don’t ever call for us again. Should I see any one of the bodies in this room within city limits of the three of us, I will snap you in half without hesitation. I won’t ask questions first. Got it?”
Her senses once again spiked. Their wide-eyes didn’t even blink as she left the room.
That evening the three of them made one last stop at the cemetery. The sun was about to set across the horizon. Abby kneeled next to Valerie’s grave and left a handful of daisies. Emily did the same for Constance and Calley.
“Three more huntresses down in their prime. Are we all destined to die young?”
“Maybe it’ll end here.” As she rose, Valerie’s amulet fell out of her shirt.
“Are you still getting visions?”
“No, thank God. They’re too deceptive for my taste. What you see isn’t always what you get. I’d rather just not know.”
“Can I borrow that for a second?”
As soon as Emily latched the amulet in place, she stared into nothing and blurted, “Ooh! Vision! I see it. Yes, I’m sure of it. You’re healin’ my arm!” With a large grin, she held out her broken arm in anticipation.
Abby was exuberant. Like a childish goof-ball, she jumped up and down and clapped her hands. “Yeah, I had that vision too!” Her face soured and she mockingly added, “But in my vision, Alcatraz was in the background.”
“Seriously?” she moped.
“Sorry.” Abby wrapped her arm around Emily and led her out of the cemetery. “That’s always the last power to return. It’ll be a few more weeks before I can help you out with that.”
Whining, Emily replied, “In a few weeks I won’t need you to heal it.”
Abby shrugged. “Que sera, sera.”
“It’s alright,” Emily moaned, “I’ll live.”
They approached the car down the lane. Noel opened the front passenger door for Abby and the back door for Emily. With one last scowl at the manor, Abby climbed into the car and they drove down to Twindel’s, for they had one last package to pick up.
Metamorphosis
The Immortal Archives
Book Two
She inhaled deeply and held it, knowing full well the next breath would involve excruciating pain.
One…Two…
She pinched her eyes tight and flinched as the sharp prick pierced the skin on the inside of her right arm. Her heart beat faster, anticipating the discomfort she knew was coming. She tensed more; first at the neck, then down her spine.
Three…
She bit down hard and scrunched every muscle in her face.
It came quick – a rushing, burning sensation. First light and bearable, then strong and absolutely unbearable.
Fo-ur!
The intense burn traveled quickly up her arm to her heart. She gasped and threw her left hand to her chest. Her lungs strained for air – a heavy suffocation set in. From there the burn shot out in each direction.
Tears escaped her eyes, but she kept the internal screams to grunts. It felt like being stabbed with blistering spikes on every inch of her body – repeatedly. She could literally feel the cells within her body as they fired, screaming out as they were each poisoned with the tainted blood now flowing through her system.
Then the screaming started.
FIVE!!!
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank the following people for offering a fresh perspective when my eyes could no longer see. Much thanks!
James L. Warnix
April Warnix
Constance Sharper
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Devon Ashley resides in Texas with her son Riley. She has a Master of Science degree in Biological Sciences with an emphasis in Microbiology. In her free time she loves to write, design, knit and read an eclectic range of books.
Ordained is the first novel in the series The Immortal Archives. Look for Metamorphosis Winter 2011
See more of Devon Ashley’s books at http://devonashleywrites.blogspot.com
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