Part 56 (1/2)

And I fear seeing you will only cloud my judgement.

I will come to you when I am ready.

Wait for me.

Dominic.

This was why he hadn't wanted to see me this morning....

He didn't want to see me at all.

Chapter 57.

Someone's Soul is on Fire.

It felt as though I had a dagger protruding from my chest and Draven had been the one who put it there. I picked up the phone three times before admitting defeat and slamming it back down on the receiver before it even had chance to ring. I wanted to speak to him, to hear the words for myself but I was also afraid. What if this was the end? What if this time there was no going back. Could I really let this go, just go on without looking behind me? NO! I couldn't do that and I wouldn't!

I was in the kitchen with a large gla.s.s of some spirit I found in the cupboard. It tasted like paint thinner as it burned down my throat but that was a good thing. I wanted that burn, I wanted to feel anything just so as long as it wasn't nothing. I could deal with anything but numbness. I heard a voice being cleared and turned my head to see Libby with a worried frown top her features.

”I don't understand, why doesn't he want to see me?” I asked her facing back to the sink and swirling the liquid around in my gla.s.s.

”I think when he said to give him time, I think he really meant you.” She answered sympathetically.

”I don't want b.l.o.o.d.y time! What I want, is to go over there and demand him to speak to me!”

”Then why don't you?” It sounded simple enough but Libby didn't know the consequences of that action.

”Because last night I asked him to do something very hard...I asked him to let me go and he did. And now he asks the same of me, how can I say no, how can I do anything but wait?” Libby had been nodding in agreement, which hadn't been the response I had wanted. I wanted her to tell me something, anything that would have made the excuse to go over there acceptable.

”He really scared you last night didn't he?” Of course Frank had told her, there was nothing he wouldn't have, so I wasn't surprised or angry.

”Yes he did, but after talking to Frank last night, I kind of understood it better. I don't condone what he did, not at all, but if the situation was reversed then I can't imagine I would have taken it well either.”

”Men, eh?” This was her answer for everything and we both laughed at how barbaric and caveman they could act. Of course for Draven this was multiplied by about a thousand because not only was he half Angel, half Demon, he was also King of the hidden world of the supernatural. So granted, he had a lot of pressure to deal with, so I gathered having to deal with a hysterical human girlfriend was something of a pain in the a.r.s.e. Maybe that's why he didn't want to see me tonight, maybe he just wanted me to take time to cool down before having to deal with it again. Some Demon /Angel quiet time...surely I could give him that, right? Ok, so it didn't have to mean that he wanted to split up with me, I could just be feeling a little paranoid.

Ok, so after a few more gla.s.ses of some alcohol, which I still don't know the name of I felt better. I mean for all I knew it could have been cooking sherry but it did the job so that was all I cared for. I was feeling quite merry and looking on the brighter side of life. I had made up with my cousin after a sixteen year feud. I was friends with Jack again and me and Frank had one of the best heart to hearts that I would never forget. So life was looking good, all I needed now was to be allowed to see Draven and have wild, mad pa.s.sionate makeup s.e.x and all would be good in the world. Not too much to ask for...right?

It wasn't surprising when I looked at the clock and saw it was close to midnight. I had been moping about ever since Jack left and when Libby had started bringing me up cups of tea around ten, I knew she was worried about me being in my room, drunk, crying and listening to Celine Dion's ”All by myself”. She found, thankfully I hadn't been doing any of those things, apart from the drinking but thanks to four mugs of tea in a row I was pretty well past the drunk stage. I had been painting, something I hadn't done in a while.

It was of a pulsating heart, like the ones you find in hallmark cards, not the blood pumping muscle. The background was of the dark forest and the heart was amongst the shadowed trees looming around it. It glowed out in the night and I added light reflecting off the surfaces around it. The most significant part was the huge, jagged lightning bolt that came from above and struck the heart's core, splitting it in two. One side gaped more than the other and I thought that this was the side that symbolised me more than Draven's side, as he was clearly the stronger of us both. I knew I was being overly dramatic by painting this but mixed with alcohol and feeling sorry for myself this is what my mind had wanted to paint.

After Libby had come to say goodnight along with Hilary, which was still hard to get used to but nice, I decided to call it a night and hope for better things to come tomorrow. I even smiled at the thought of waking up to Draven by my bedside. It was a long shot, I grant you, but not an impossible dream. I plaited my hair so it hung like a rope down my back and got dressed into some light, grey pyjama bottoms and a vest top to match. After brus.h.i.+ng my teeth and was.h.i.+ng my face, I put my painting against the wall to dry after laying down an old towel so as not to get paint on the carpeted floor.

Once in bed, my mind started to drift quickly into a world of Draven Dreams. I found myself in the past looking in on the Draven of a different time. He wasn't wearing clothes as such, more like layers of cloth draped over his impressive shoulders, with a solid bra.s.s coloured, breast plate covering his chest. This then tied at the waist with leather wound round and round, all of which held symbols in some kind of metal. There, by his thigh, hung a huge sword almost the length of his leg and his wrists were cuffed with thick, studded leather, one arm bound in strapping right up and over his bicep. His hair was longer but tied back with black cord giving him a harsher appearance. He looked like a brutal warrior stood upon the base of a throne made of carved stone. He had his arms crossed over his chest making his muscles bulge and the leather stretch further to accommodate them. d.a.m.n, he looked so powerful I almost cowered away.

I looked about the room and saw I was in some sort of throne room. It reminded me of the Temple but it was longer, like a great hall. Stone pillars the width of thousand year old trees, spread evenly down the room. The ornate ceiling loomed miles above me making me feel like an insect fallen into a pit of snakes. My eyes scanned my situation and thankfully I realised no one could see me. I was cloaked head to toe and hidden in a dark alcove away from all the people in the room, which were centred around Draven. He had never looked more like a King than at this moment.

”Let him come forth!” Draven's deep voice boomed out the command making everyone in the room twitch with fear.

”Yes my Lord,” said a servant that bowed deeply before him. I arched my neck to see around the people that hid my view of the great doors at the end. They were the size of a two storey building and were made from dark mahogany. Great golden bars crossed over each other that looked to be a locking mechanism. The servant walked back towards them and slowly they began to open flooding the room with a blinding light. I was the only one now squinting my eyes which made me wonder if I was the only human here. At some point I was losing the knowledge of this being an actual dream. It felt too real. I could even smell the sandstone floor, feel the sweat beading down my forehead and taste the salt in the air. It felt like I was near the sea and I had the greatest urge to run for the doors and find out. But then a dark, tall figure emerged in the opening, casting the longest shadow along the floor and that urge quickly turned into finding out who this man was. The light was too bright behind him to make out any features yet, so like everyone else I had to wait.

He walked head held high as though he was on the same level as Draven and when the King spoke I knew he was likely so.

”My friend, I welcome you. I was told of your coming and hope our alliance will fortify through the centuries.” Draven said looking pleased at the sight coming closer to his throne.

”That is a likely prospect indeed, my King. You have my loyalty as I am sure I will gain yours,” said a voice that I was surely mistaking. It couldn't be...could it? He got closer now and his long, hooded cloak floated around him like black liquid. I had started to move through the crowd and gave up all chances at being unseen. I, and the figure before Draven, were the only ones who had their hoods concealing their ident.i.ties and I wondered who would be the first to reveal themselves. I just didn't care now, as I pushed past bodies in my way getting to the front of the crowd. Murmurs and frowns left behind me in my wake as finally I came to the front and saw just how close I was to both the men that stood facing each other. I made it there just in time to see the hooded figure raise the cloth from over his head. The man's face was now in full view and I couldn't help the scream that erupted from deep inside of me. It was a noise of sheer terror that echoed off the great walls and amplified it tenfold.

”NO!” I screamed out as I saw both Draven and Lucius turn to source the outburst in the crowd. I was very aware of the people around me moving back so as not to be a.s.sociated with me. Draven looked furious as he stormed over to me shouting a command I didn't understand. It didn't take long to guess what it had been when I was seized by both arms. I looked to my sides and found two huge guards dressed in thick armour holding me secure.

”How dare anyone display such insolence in my presence!” He shouted in my direction and at that moment I wondered if the theory was true, if you die in your dream do you really die in real life? Was this the end, was I going to die at the hands of the man I loved before he even knew me? My heart beat wildly in my chest, I thought it might hit the floor before he reached me. I started to struggle in a feeble attempt to free myself but the pain that shot through my arms quickly put a stop to that motion.

Draven was at me in seconds and now looking down at me as an enemy not as a lover, his size seemed twice as big. He looked ready to crush me and one of his hands was at the hilt of his sword ready to unleash it. By this I was shaking with fear. His face was more tanned than I was used to and he wore a lot more facial hair covering his flexing jaw and tight mouth with a black shadow. His deep set eyes were onyx black, edged with their powerful purple ring. His eyebrows knitted together in a frown I was very used to, making him look as hard as granite. I gulped down a hard lump when he spoke again.

”Show yourself!” I jumped slightly when his face shot forward only inches from mine. He was trying to see underneath my hood that covered my face down to my lips but got frustrated, so without a further thought my hood was ripped back and my ident.i.ty was revealed. This time it was Draven's turn to jump slightly and he took a few steps back.

”It can't be! Impossible!” He said, almost panicked. I looked up slowly watching my own eyelashes lift as I met his eyes. He looked like I had struck his heart with a knife and took a step forward to plunge it in further.

”What matter of power is this?” He demanded to the room as if waiting for someone to own up to the prank. I tried to move once more, hoping to run away and wake up with my neck still in one piece, while Draven was turning to scan the room for answers. The guards gripped my arms tighter and when I let out a yelp in protest, Draven turned back his attention to me shouting once more.

”Let her go and don't ever touch her again!” He ordered his guards, who didn't need telling twice. They dropped their hold and stepped back like the others in the room.

”Do you speak?” His question was abrupt and rude but I wasn't about to argue on etiquette. I didn't know what to say or if to say anything at all. Maybe playing dumb was the best course of action, although I'm not sure Draven was going to accept this.

”Let me put it another way for you little one, if you refuse to speak then there are other means to loosen one's tongue, so I will ask only once more...Do you speak?” He had lent his head down so his words only entered my ears and it was enough to make me respond. I nodded five times in quick succession which brought a scary amus.e.m.e.nt to his lips.

”Good, now you will answer my questions. Who are you?”

”I...I am...” I was just about to say my name when Lucius interrupted us.

”My Lord, might you let me deal with this one, I believe she has been spying in on a time which is not her own.” The sight of him made me move backwards. He now stood next to Draven and the differences in the two were like Yin and Yang. Draven was the bigger out of the two but not by much. Lucius looked as I would have imagined him to look as the person he was first known as...He looked like Judas. His hair was much longer with a full beard that was the colour of straw blonde, highlighted streaks made by the sun. His eyes knew me and I shuddered as they burned into me.

”You know of this girl?” Draven asked as he ignored my moving slowly further back.

”I have foreseen this one and she will cause you great pain my Lord, you must have her destroyed.” His words penetrated me like electricity. I came alive with hate filling my veins and flooding my senses.

”He Lies! You cannot trust him, he will betray you Draven! He wants me to hurt you and he will kill me in order to achieve it!” I shouted out making Lucius hiss and Draven growl.

”And how exactly will killing you hurt me...unless Lucius, you know something I do not?” He turned to look Lucius in the face and was met by a dark grin. I decided then to risk everything and say the only words I knew he might listen too.

”If you kill me like he wants you too, you will be killing someone, whom you yourself has named to be Electus.” I said the word meaning ”Chosen” in Latin hoping it would still have meaning in this time. Draven's gaze left Lucius to stare at me like I had said the words he longed for.

”Then it is true, my time is now and I shall finally have her!” Draven reached out to grab me but the arm he touched started to simply fade away. The most painful sight was watching the horror on Draven's desperate face as he realised what was happening. Lucius placed a hand on Draven's outstretched arm and spoke too softly for a Demon from the pits of h.e.l.l.

”No my friend, I am afraid the time is not now. The time has come to put an end to this historical play of mine and claim her for myself.”