by King Ellie
SOULESS
THE GOD SERIES (BOOK 2)
A Novel By,
KING ELLIE
©2019 Published by After Hours Publications, Inc. www.afterhourspublications.com
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Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage without express permission by the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Contains explicit language & adult themes suitable for ages 17+
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“I knew that something would always rule me.”
-Hozier: Arsonist’s lullaby
PROLOGUE
The 12-year old girl was anxious as she peeked out into the audience. Her palms were sweating; she didn’t want to mess up her parts. She let the curtains fall back, shielding her from the growing crowd once again. She smoothly touched her bun, making sure it was perfect and in place. She clasped her hands together as she fidgeted, nervousness rearing its ugly head. She looked up just in time to hear her dance teacher, Madame Caroline yell,
“Places, my little ones! Places!”
Madame Caroline stopped in front of Scarlett and tucked a finger under her chin to make her look up. She smiled brightly at Scarlett.
“My shining Swan Scarlett…You’ve been practicing this for so long. Don’t be nervous. You’ve got this little lady.”
“Yes, Madame Caroline.” Wide-eyed Scarlett answered.
“Give me that killer smile that’ll blow the audience away.”
Scarlett smiled for Madame Caroline, and her nervousness seemed to decrease as Madame Caroline’s smile got brighter, and her eyes lit up with joy. Scarlett took a deep breath and knew that this was her chance to show her parents, and it was now time for her to be the swan. She came out with confidence, not caring about the way her father or her mother looked at her. Their looks were a complete contrast to each other. While he looked at her and adored her, her mother was a different one. She was scowling knowing that she didn’t want to be there. The music cued her in, and she began to dance. She put on her performance, and then she made the mistake of looking past her mother’s shoulder. She saw the way that demon whispered in her mother’s ear and she watched as her mother smiled wickedly.
She had suspected that her mother was also one of them, but now it confirmed it. She watched as the demon snapped his fingers and everyone else but the music, her mother, and she froze. Scarlett stopped, and her mother spoke up,
“Dance Scarlett dance.”
Scarlett’s body moved on instinct as she continued to dance, not able to stop herself. She continued like this for hours until her little toes were bleeding, and she was exhausted. She wanted to pass out, but her body couldn’t drop. She noticed a figure as he left the theatre, the only other moving person as he left the dark room and walked into the light.
“Help me.” She whispered, knowing he would hear her; he was her friend. She knew that he would help her, so she asked for it. He turned around and looked her in the eye. He looked bewildered as if he thought she couldn’t see him, but she had. She smiled up at him as he returned everything back to normal watching as the smile faded from her eyes, and she fainted on the spot, causing people in the room to look after her. He disappeared into thin air, knowing that this wasn’t the first of many times she had seen him, and he helped her instead of claiming her soul. Soon he thought as his essence disappeared right along with him.
****
Scarlett frowned as she was jolted back to a reality she didn’t enjoy being in. She tilted her head as she saw the psychiatrist speaking, but nothing was coming from her mouth. Scarlett shook her head.
“Huh?”
“I said, what makes you think you can see those who don’t exist in this world, Miss McQueen?” Doctor Lana Pearce asked her.
“Scarlett.” She corrected her doctor for the umpteenth time. She preferred to just be called Scarlett.
Dr. Lana nodded in understanding then waited for her question to be answered.
“Just because you don’t see them doesn’t mean they don’t exist.” Scarlett turned and looked outside the window wishing she could be free.
“Do you want to be free, Scarlett?” Lana asked.
“More than you’ll ever know.”
“You will be free soon. You have two more years of being in this facility, and then you can be free.”
Scarlett bitterly chuckled,
“I will never be free.” She says as she looks back at Lana.
Lana knew that this was a very sensitive subject that she was approaching, but she knew it was for the better.
“Let’s discuss Tristan.” Lana watched as Scarlett’s eyes went wide.
Scarlett shook her head repeatedly. She tried to swallow the lump that formed in her throat, but she couldn’t. She looked as her palms got sweaty and she saw Tristan’s blood all over her clothes. She couldn’t breathe anymore. She couldn’t see straight as the tears blurred her vision.
“Scarlett...calm down. Scarlett, it’s okay. You’re not there.”
Scarlett frowned deeper,
“But I am. I’m right there, and Tristan’s blood is everywhere. He’s bleeding, but I can’t stop it. Tristan didn’t deserve that, he was an angel when he didn’t know it himself. Oh, how beautiful his wings were. Oh my, Tristan. You should’ve watched as he flew in the open sky.” Scarlett smiled.
Lana sighed, she knew that Scarlett said she saw angels, demons and even on rare occasions the gods from the Greek mythology. She didn’t want to outright say that Scarlett was delusional, but she had to watch her more attentively. Dr. Lana noticed the moment Scarlett slipped away as she went back to the world that she preferred.
It was Scarlett’s 9th birthday, and she smiled happily as she jumped on the trampoline with Tristan. Tristan was her older brother by 7 years, although she questioned her parents on how Tristan didn’t look like her. Tanned skin and standing at 6 feet, Tristan had a head full of curly blonde hair, dimples that sunk deep into his cheeks making him even more strikingly beautiful and green eyes that bored into your soul once you looked into his eyes. He loved her, and she loved him. They protected each other from whatever came their way. Tristan used to teach Scarlett cool and neat tricks every chance they got. He told her each time that she would need it in the future if ever he wasn’t there.
“Wanna see something cool, Scar?” Tristan asked her as he jumped higher and higher each time.
Scarlett giggled and tried to match her big brother as he jumped higher. She didn’t care that her parents weren’t here for her birthday. She knew they were busy, and all she cared about was that Tristan was there. She didn’t know what she would do without him.
Nodding, she yelled.
“Yes!” She flopped hard landing on her butt and then looked up at Tristan who had jumped really high. So high that she couldn’t properly see him.
Scarlett panicked as she stood up and frantically looked everywhere for him and then shrieked as he appeared in front of her.
“Scar...” Tristan said to her as she backed up.
Scarlett was freaked out at Tristan’s appearance. Her eyes grew larger as she saw what she could only register as wings. They were bigger than him, and as they flapped, it caused the wind to blow her hair back. Scarlett blinked rapidly not really sure if she was seeing things again or what? Her breathing became h
eavier by the second.
“Scarlett, I won’t hurt you. You know I won’t hurt you. I’m your big brother. I just wanted you to see me for who I was. Breathe in and breathe out then look at me again.”
Scarlett hesitated, but she finally looked up at her big brother. This was the only person besides her father, who she trusted with her life. Her small feet made the first steps then the next until she stood right in front of him. One of his wingtips brushed against her skin, and she shut her eyes. The wings felt so soft like silk whispering on your skin, and any fear she had left escaped her body. She opened her eyes, and she smiled again.
“Can I have some wings too, Tristan?” Scarlett asked.
Tristan looked away and shook his head.
“No Scar, you can’t.” He said.
For some reason, that made her angry, and instead of voicing it, Scarlett rushed off the trampoline and ran in the direction of the woods in the back of their house instead of going into the house. Tristan made his wings return inside his body and ran after Scarlett. Scarlett ran and ran until her little legs grew tired. She stopped and wiped her tears. She wanted to be like Tristan more than anything else. Not because of the wings but because it was Tristan.
He was her brother, and she wanted to be just like him. She sniffled and didn’t hear as someone walked up behind her.
“Little girls shouldn’t be in the woods by themselves, you know?” The deep timbre of his voice jolted her out of her thoughts, and she spun around. She looked up at the man who was taller than she had ever seen before. She liked his long black hair that seemed endless and wished he could let her play salon so she could do his hair.
“Little girl…” He enticed.
“Yes?” Scarlett answered.
“Why are you here all alone?” He asked. “don’t you know there are animals in here that eat little girls?” He said, spooking her.
Surprisingly, Scarlett ran to him and hid behind his leg. He cocked an eyebrow wondering what the hell she was doing.
“What the hell are you doing?” He asked.
Scarlett gasped,
“Ooo, that’s a bad word. You’re not supposed to say the H-word.”
He snickered.
“What’s your name?” She asked him.
He removed her from his leg and faced her. He knelt down on one knee and smirked,
“Aides, my dear. You must be Scarlett.”
Scarlett’s eyes beamed.
“How did you know? Are you a mind reader?” She curiously asked.
He chuckled,
“Something like that. Now, run along. Your brother is calling for you.”
“How do you know? I don’t want to go to him. He said I can’t have wings like he does.” She spoke with sadness filled in her voice.
“You don’t need wings, dear little Scarlett. You’re not meant for that. You’re meant for more than that.”
“Am I?” She beamed once again, not registering the smirk he had on his face.
“Yes, but it’s not time. When it’s time, I will come give you that gift.” He said, standing up to his full height. “Now, your brother will be in that direction, go that way.” He pointed to the right indicating for her to go.
“Can we play Salon?” She asked.
“Next time, now run along.” He said, shooing her away.
“Okay!” Scarlett said, skipping towards the direction of where her brother was.
Aides watched as she disappeared from his sight. He bent down and picked up the yellow ribbon that dropped from her hair, holding it in his hand. He smirked, knowing that soon…Soon she would be his.
“When you’re of age Scarlett, your entire soul shall be mine.” His smirk turned into a smile as he disappeared into thin air.
****
A sound jolted Scarlett back to the present, and when she looked up, she saw why. Scarlett stood up abruptly from her chair and backed up. She looked horrified as she focused on something behind Lana. Before Lana could say anything else, Scarlett’s piercing scream rang throughout the facility. She dropped to the floor and kept backing up, not stopping for anything else. Lana tried to scream her name, but Scarlett couldn’t hear her. A couple of orderlies came busting in her office and grabbed a screaming Scarlett.
One had a needle ready in hand as if this was routine for Scarlett. Scarlett didn’t feel the piercing of the needle, but soon after, her screaming died down, and she was led out of the room. They partly dragged her body because her limbs became like Jell-O. When they dropped her on the bed, she turned on to her back and looked up. Her eyes stared at the ceiling, but she saw nothing. She was out of it and then she heard music playing. She didn’t even think twice as she got up and got on her tiptoes as she twirled. She used to be a ballet dancer before life changed for her, and she twirled, doing all the moves that she could remember.
****
Scarlett was jolted out of her memory and back to the present where she found herself staring out of her window with her palms plastered flat on the glass. She watched as the same figure she saw walked away with his raven waist-length hair flowing in the wind. She gasped when she saw him light up in flames, but the flames didn’t consume him.
“Aides.” She whispered to herself.
At the whisper of that name, the figure stopped and turned his fiery being on her. He stared right at her, and she froze. He looked the same as he had when she was a kid. She didn’t know what caused her to call out his name. She knew his other names, Pluto, Orcus, Aidoneus and the most famous one Hades, but she liked Aides the most. It was such a beautiful name, and he was worthy of that name, as he was just as beautiful.
She watched as he made a move to come near her, but she shook her head which puzzled him because he stopped instinctively. Scarlett shut her eyes at the intensity of her gaze and rested her head on the window as she whispered,
“Please go.” She exhaled waiting a moment before she opened them and when she did, he was gone. She shook her head and looked again, but nothing was there, just the parking lot with the cars that could leave this prison she was in. She wanted to be free. Scarlett moved away from the window and laid on her bed, pulling her legs into the fetal position. Her eyelids became heavier the more she stared at the gray molding wall,
“24 months, 730 days, 17520 hours, 1051200 minutes, and 63072000 seconds to be free.” She whispered to herself, and as she closed her eyes, she said his name again, “Aides.” falling asleep right after.
CHAPTER 1
Arabella looked down at her Rose gold cushion cut engagement ring. She couldn’t help but smile as Aides, driving in Alcide’s car, sat in the passenger seat. She couldn’t wait to go back and show Bernice this ring. She never even dreamt of a ring, thinking she would never get married. She looked up and saw Aides’ curious eyes wander towards hers in the rear-view mirror.
“You look just like her.” He spoke for the first time since they landed in San Francisco.
“Yeah… I miss her.” Was all Arabella could think to say. She really did miss her sister. She prayed that they would find her in one piece.
She looked out the window watching the scenery. She wondered why she never came to San Francisco when she lived in L.A. It wasn’t that far, but now, she wondered about her mother who only lived 6 hours away from them. Her stomach turned into knots, and she felt her daughter kick. She rubbed her hand over her belly as she continued to look at the scenery.
So many questions were in her mind. What was she going to say to her mother? Was Scarlett okay? Would they get there in time?
****
Scarlett screamed, wanting to be let out from the prison that she was placed in once more. She knew she shouldn’t have come back here to figure out what really happened. She should’ve stayed with her sister and just loved her. She should’ve tried being happy, but she knew she couldn’t be happy without finding out what happened to her brother Tristan. She thrusted her body left and right, but nothing happened.
Her body was met wit
h soft, cushioned walls as she was in a straitjacket. She profusely sweated, and her mouth tasted metallic as she sat on the cushioned floor looking insane to everyone that passed by her. She knew she wasn’t at a normal asylum, this was somewhere else. It was secret, and how was she going to get out. She tried calling for every god’s name but nothing. She saw an employee pass by, and she screamed again trying to get someone’s attention, but they ignored her instead.
Scarlett stopped screaming when the door was immediately opened, and she pressed her back to the cushioned wall behind her and managed to pull herself up. She tried to make a run for it as she saw the needle that was in one of the orderly’s hand, but she was tackled to the ground by the other one. She screamed,
“LET ME GO!” But no one came to her aide.
She tried to move her body, but she was held still as the prick of a needle entered her tender flesh around her neck, and as she was lulled to sleep, she whispered.
“Aides, save me…” It was a whisper that no one in the facility heard.
****
Those whispers traveled like the wind. They were picked up by the wind as they traveled for miles and miles, finally entering the car through Arabella’s open window and landing in Aides’ ear.
“Aides, save me…”
A shudder ran through Aides’ body, and he pulled over. He shut his eyes, getting the attention of Alcide and Arabella.
“What is it?” Alcide asked.
“It’s her… She’s alive.” He simply said.
“How do you know?” Arabella asked.
“She called for me. She wanted me to save her.” He shuddered again.
Alcide looked at Arabella and then back at his uncle,
“Do you know where she is?”
Aides shook his head,
“Something is blocking her from me. I can’t reach her or see where she is.”
“We need to find her,” Arabella said.
Alcide turned and took Arabella’s hand into his.