Night of the Fae (Ana Martin series)

by Lyneal Jenkins

I stumbled backwards and bumped into an overweight man, with fine hair brushed over his bald head. His beady eyes glanced up from where he was cleaning his thick glasses with the bottom of his shirt. ‘Watch it,’ he grumbled as I pushed past him.

  I ran towards the exit of the graveyard trying to banish the memory of the open pit, so deep and dark, making it all too final. Lexi had dreamed of being married with kids, and of having a long life filled with laughter. It wasn’t fair that the future she had planned had been ended so abruptly and with so much pain. Why? I silently demanded of God. Why would you take her? There were so many nasty people in the world, how could it be that someone so innocent, with so much love to give, could be taken so early.

  Half way down the path, Gabriel grabbed my arm, pulling me to a stop.

  ‘Get off me,’ I shouted, yanking my arm from his grip. The numbness spread across my thoughts once more and I pushed hard against his chest. ‘Stop doing that,’ I screamed. ‘Stop trying to make everything better.’

  He stood back and raised his arms in surrender. ‘I only want to help.’

  ‘Well you’re not,’ I barked. ‘I just want to grieve without you manipulating me.’

  I turned from him and continued on my way at a march. He followed behind, matching my pace.

  When I reached the heavy iron gates, decorated with metal leaves and topped with dark angel figureheads, I turned to him.

  ‘Just leave me alone Gabriel.’ His face remained passive, yet I knew that I had hurt him. ‘Look,’ I said in a softer tone. ‘Just go to work. I’m just going to go for a walk and I’ll see you at home later.’ He held out his hand towards me and the compulsion to be in his arms was so great that I nearly relented. ‘Go,’ I told him before I could give in to the unnatural desires that governed me. He hesitated for a moment, before dropping his hand down.

  ‘Phone the site if you want me to come home,’ he called after me as I walked away from him. He didn’t move as I left the church grounds and his gaze stayed heavy on me until, with relief, I turned the corner.

  There was no specific destination in mind as I wandered the streets, ignoring the drizzle that covered my face in a light sheen. Every time I tried to remember Lexi laughing, the memories were replaced by the image of her lifeless eyes. When I remembered how her face had lit up when we had visited the city, it was ruined by the sight of her hand hanging limply in Eris’ arms. Now that I was away from Gabriel, the pain in my chest increased. So much so, that I thought I might choke on it at times. But the tears didn’t come.

  It wasn’t until the discomfort from my new shoes broke through my haze that I realised that I was heading home.

  About half way there I felt something touch me, like a cloud of red hot rage and something else I couldn’t put my finger on. I opened myself up to my new ability and followed the scent as such, to a rundown apartment just off the main road.

  My hands shook with adrenalin as I cautiously opened the door, making it possible for me to hear shouting from a man, the fury evident in his voice and emotions. I also sensed the presence of the other person. I followed the voice up the dirty stairs which made me want to put bags on my feet and halted in front of the first door I come across.

  Somehow I knew the other person was a woman, but there was something strange about the feeling I got from her. I hesitated outside the door, not sure how to proceed. Did I call the police? Maybe Gabriel?

  My decision was made for me when the man shouted, ‘I am going to kill you!’ It was obvious that he had all intention of doing just that.

  Taking a deep breath to steady my nerves, I knocked on the door, with no idea of what I was going to say. Gabriel was probably going to kill me for putting myself in potential danger, but I couldn’t hide safely outside knowing what was about to happen.

  The flat fell silent and I had to knock again before the door was thrown open, so hard, it rebounded off the wall before being stopped by the huge body stood before me. He looked like a bull. Although he wasn’t much taller than me, every part of him was large. I couldn’t drag my eyes away from the bulging muscles in his neck and arms, and the swollen purple veins that spread like the roads on a map across his skin. I gulped loudly.

  ‘What?’ he roared.

  ‘Hi,’ I whispered weakly, still with no idea what to say.

  I peeked into the house behind him to see a small, sparsely furnished lounge. There were a couple of lumpy old sofas, the colour of burnt orange and an even older looking coffee table with magazines strewn across it. One wall was half filled with stacked moving boxes; some of them with the flaps open as if they had been emptied as the items were needed. Stood behind the far sofa was a petite brunette, her hair short and spikey, beaming as if she was unaware of the situation around her. The angry bull turned to follow my gaze.

  ‘Hiya Ana, glad you could come,’ she said chirpily, whilst prancing towards me. ‘Is Gabe on his way over now?’

  I could only stare at her, wondering who the hell she was and how she knew me and Gabriel. Completely aware that the bull was staring at me, I nodded enthusiastically, wishing with all my heart that I was telling the truth.

  ‘You had better get out of here Ron. Gabe is a cop and he won’t think twice about slinging your ass back into jail.’

  The bull, who was Ron, just stood there for a moment clenching his fists. I could feel the indecisiveness coming off him, probably wondering if he could kill us both before Gabriel turned up.

  With his teeth audibly grinding, he hissed at the petite woman now stood before him, ‘Mark my words bitch, I’ll be back to finish this.’ With that he stormed past, slamming me into the door frame.

  ‘Come on in, Ana. Excuse the mess,’ she beckoned, her eyes bright with excitement, before disappearing into what I thought was the kitchen. Mess was an understatement. There were clothes thrown over the sofa, several dishes and cups scattered on the floor, and half burnt candles on every available surface. Unsure of what to do, I stood awkwardly by the still open door. A few minutes passed before she returned, carrying a tray with the makings of tea on it. After pushing the magazines onto the floor, she laid the tray down and turned towards me.

  ‘Were you born in a barn?’ she asked. I looked at her dimly, aware that although there had been many occasions in my life that confused me, this was probably the most mystifying experience I had ever had. ‘Close the door silly.’

  As I pushed the door closed, I considered the idea that I was really in bed, and that this was some mad dream that my mind had conjured up in order to try and cope with all the craziness in my life.

  ‘Do I know you?’ I asked as she pushed the unfolded clothes to the end of the sofa.

  ‘Now you do.’ She laughed excitedly as she patted the sofa, indicating me to be seated there.

  ‘I’m sorry, but who are you?’ I enquired, choosing to ignore her plea for me to be seated. She was like a whirlwind, with energy flying off her in all directions in a way that reminded me of sparklers.

  ‘I’m being rude aren’t I,’ she admonished herself. ‘I’m Maria. Come sit down we have so much to talk about. I can tell you, we will be the best of friends.’

  Reserving the right to make that judgement for myself, I perched on the edge of the cushion, watching her carefully as she poured out the tea.

  ‘Sugar?’ she asked.

  Indicating no, I waited her to finish before talking again. ‘How do you know me and Gabriel?’

  ‘Oh I don’t really,’ she said, settling herself back into the sofa. ‘But I knew you were coming.’

  ‘How?’ I was feeling uncomfortable with the idea that I was expected, especially as I hadn’t known I would be coming this way.

  ‘My spirit guide told me.’

  I had heard of spirit guides from Lexi. Although open minded, I wasn’t sure how much stock to put in such things. I may well have scoffed at the idea if it wasn’t for the fact she obviously knew me from somewhere.

  ‘And did this spirit warn you that you were
going to get killed today?’

  She laughed at my irritation. ‘Nah, she just said you would come when I needed you and look, here you are.’

  Everything about the whole situation was extremely surreal, not only that she knew me, but also the fact that she didn’t seemed at all concerned that she had nearly been killed or at the very least beaten to within an inch of her life.

  ‘And what about Gabriel? He isn’t here today, so how could you have known his name?’

  ‘I was told it. Like I said, you and me are going to be great friends.’

  My throat closed up at the thought of what she could possibly know about Gabriel. Even though I did believe in spirits, I was having a hard time believing what she was telling me, leaving me to speculate whether she was even human. My mind reached out and I tried to get a sense of what she was. There were definitely no signs of her being a Siis or Fae, but there was a weird humming within her that made me feel jittery.

  ‘What do you know?’ I asked tightly.

  She sighed. ‘Not really anything. I was just told that you would both come into my life.’ She paused to stare at me before continuing, ‘They didn’t think to share with me that you would be different.’

  ‘What do you mean?’ I frowned.

  ‘I can read auras,’ she told me chirpily. I raised my eyebrows in question. ‘You know. I can see your energy field.’

  As she looked at me expectantly, it hit me what she was referring to. The blood drained from my face as I realised she could see Gabriel’s Shi within me.

  Seeing my distress, she quickly tried to reassure me, ‘Don’t worry. I won’t say anything to anyone.’

  While staring at her numbly, I wondered how it was that my life just kept getting more and more complicated. I had no idea how to handle Maria. Gabriel had never warned me about anything like this. How could I keep a secret when the cat was already poking its head out of the bag?

  ‘I’m not sure what you mean,’ I said too late.

  ‘I get it.’ She leaned towards me and her voice became a dramatic whisper, ‘It’s a secret.’

  I picked up my tea in the hope of having a moment to clear my mind, and took a sip before speaking. ‘Can I ask what you did to make him so angry?’

  ‘Ron?’ She laughed. ‘Why, I made him think his penis was rotten and told him I gave it to him.’

  Unfortunately I was in the process of taking another sip at that moment and I snorted with surprise, causing hot tea to spray everywhere. ‘What?’ I choked.

  ‘I just put a little spell on him to make him believe it was rotten.’

  ‘Spell?’

  ‘Oh did I not say? I’m a witch.’

  Her chest puffed out with pride and she grinned. Now I knew I was dreaming. People just didn’t have lives like mine.

  ‘Unfortunately I didn’t actually turn it gangrene; that would probably have been wrong.’ Her tone was heavy with regret. ‘But I sure would like to be a fly on the wall when he goes to the doctor.’

  Laughter burst out of me before I even had a thought to rein it in. All I could see was Ron with his trousers around his ankles, arguing with the doctor that his penis was rotten and how could he not see it. As I laughed a little hysterically, tears started falling and my jaw began to ache. It was minutes before I could control myself enough to talk.

  ‘Will he always believe it?’

  ‘No it will probably wear off as soon as he believes what people are saying, but how much fun would it be if it didn’t?’

  I burst into another fit of giggles, in which more tears flowed from my eyes. Whoever the strange woman was, she had managed to lift my spirits higher than they had been in a long time. When I calmed enough, I took another sip of my remaining tea, most of it having spilt on to my lap during my fit.

  ‘You look like you needed that,’ she said gently.

  ‘I did,’ I replied, wiping my tears away. ‘Why did you do it?’

  ‘He cheated on me with the tramp downstairs.’

  ‘Oh my God, what did you do to her?’

  ‘Let’s just say she will be sat next to him in the clinic.’ A wicked gleam came into her eyes, causing me to start cackling again. It was at that moment I realised that we would become friends. I would have to keep her away from Gabriel, but it would be worth it just to be able to laugh in such a carefree manner.

  The afternoon flew passed with lots of giggling and some more hysterics. She told me how she came from a long line of witches dating back many hundreds of years, but unfortunately most had passed on now leaving only a few distant relatives in America that she had never met.

  When I asked about the stacked boxes, she laughed, saying, ‘I only just moved three months ago.’ She smiled at me in a way that a sister might, easily and without restraint, and I relaxed further in her presence.

  Eventually I had to leave, and after swapping numbers she hugged me goodbye at the door. It felt natural, even though we had only just met; it was as if we had been friends for years.

  The pavement was wet as it had rained heavily whilst I had been inside, though had now died back down to a drizzle. A blue car raced down the road, causing the water from a puddle to splash my legs. I didn’t care. Somehow the darkness had left me and I was feeling brighter than I had in over a week. During the walk home I couldn’t stop smiling.

  Whilst fishing for my keys, I realised that I had left my purse at Maria’s. I decided to dry off before going to retrieve it, and pushed open the door while trying to pull the keys out of the stiff lock.

  I sensed him too late as I was pushed violently from behind. I fell into the kitchen with a yelp as the air was knocked out of me, only managing to turn once I landed heavily on my knees.

  A cold dread filled me as I stared up at the huge form filling the door frame, it was the bull; Ron. The rage rolled off him in waves of sickly darkness, and I almost gagged on the intensity of it. His eyes burned with a craziness that was worse than the Fae’s and I could feel the murder in his heart.

  Chapter 15

  ‘You interfering little bitch!’ he snarled.

  He followed me as I scurried across the floor, whilst attempting to stand. Making it only I half way to the lounge, I screamed as he grabbed my hair from behind, pulling me up to face him.

  ‘I’m gonna kill you!’ He grabbed my throat and threw me against the wall with enough force that my frame rattled.

  I kicked and clawed and he slammed me into the wall before releasing my hair to reach behind him. The sight of the gun as he pulled it from his waist band froze me. I could only stare at the dull glint of the barrel as he pointed it in my direction, the hole of the shaft so deep and dark as if it was the entrance to hell. As he looked me over I could feel the shift in his emotions, the lust that crept in was even more terrifying than the rage.

  ‘Maybe I’ll have me some fun first!’ His voice was full of excitement as he ran the cold barrel of the gun up my thigh, pushing with it the black skirt I had brought for the funeral.

  The panic bubbled over, breaking my paralysis. I fought with every ounce of strength I had, but my blows were ineffective against the solid slab of his body and he pushed the gun into me, tearing me from the inside. The pressure on my throat only allowed harsh grunts instead of a scream to escape, while my panic and fight only caused him to become more aroused.

  The door swayed slightly in the breeze, allowing a sliver of sunlight to enter. If I could just hurt him enough to free myself, I could run into the safety of the road. But he was stronger and just laughed coldly at my attempts.

  ‘Ana, you left your purse…’ Maria’s voice faded off as she stepped into the house.

  The pressure released as he withdrew the gun and he swung it in her direction. Everything was so clear. I could see my driving license clutched in her hand telling me that’s how she had found me, the drops of dew scattered across her shoulders and hair sparkling in the remaining sun, and her friendly smile as it slowly turned to shock and then recognition, followed by
eventual fear.

  ‘What the fuck did you do to me witch?’ With a wave of the gun he directed her into the house. ‘Get the fuck in and close the door.’

  As she cautiously moved further into the house the grip on my neck increased. He didn’t need to play with me anymore as the object of his wrath was within reach. Unable to scream as there wasn’t any air to breath, I bucked and clawed, trying to force myself away from the cool wall behind me. His body was unmoveable.

  Suddenly, he was gone. In his place was somebody else, somebody from years before who still haunted my dreams on occasions. Ron’s murky brown eyes had been replaced by the speckled green I knew so well and when he turned towards me, I knew that I was going to die, for this was my punishment for escaping him the first time. Then the image was gone. It wasn’t Nathan. This wasn’t then. But the situation was just as dire and I needed to fight.

  Maria was shouting and pleading, but my brain could only focus on one thing; air. I kept thinking, that’s enough now, stop, I need to breathe, as if my mind wouldn’t accept that it was real, that the idea he would kill me was too absurd to comprehend.

  The scream of my chest as it begged for air, overrode the agony of my neck and the blood rushed to my head, pounding in my ears, drowning out all other sounds. My head swelled with heat and pressure and I distantly wondered how nice it would be to place my face against the cool wall.

  My vision closed in, the edges of the picture first becoming red with flashes of light, before changing into a grey then black nothingness. I could see down a dark tunnel with such clarity that I could observe the build-up of wax within his ear and each individual poker scar across his cheek. How she had ever come to be with him?

  My mind screamed at me to fight, not to give in. It was only then that I became aware that I wasn’t actually struggling anymore. I tried to lift my arm, but it just hung dead and without feeling. The tunnel became smaller and the pain became more distant. Maria was shouting, though it was as if I was underwater and her words kept escaping me, only audible as a muffled echo. I wanted to tell her it was okay. I didn’t hurt anymore. Even the voice in my head shouting at me to focus was losing the battle and fading into the background. It was alright, there was no pain or worry, I was drifting off into a peaceful sleep.