Afterlife (Afterlife Saga) (50 page)

“Do you need to call your sister to explain why you won’t be home?” His voice felt close to my face as he finished wrapping up my hand the same as he had done
with my side.

“No, there's no one home tonight, they won't be back until tomorrow...but wait, what do you mean by won't be home?”

“You need rest before you go anywhere.” He said and I could hear him doing something else on the table. 

“I feel fine, I don't need rest,” I disputed.

“You say that a lot don't you?  Keira, you were just stabbed and nearly bled to death, I think the least you can do is sleep for a few hours.” His voice had a hint of humour mixed with disbelief.

“But I …” He cut me off saying,

“I'm just going to give you a shot and it will help…”

“NO don't” I said putting my hand out to stop him. My hand had found his shoulder and I could feel his soft skin over solid muscle. Where was his shirt? I moved my hand slowly up toward his neck and could feel some material from what must have been a vest. This was the first time my skin had found his and I bit my lip at the feel of his strong frame under my fingertips as I traced them up to his jaw line.

His body had gone ridged under the feel of my touch but then after what seemed like minutes of us both being still his hand grabbed mine pulling me closer to him. I could feel his face so close to mine and like so many times before I stopped breathing.  He finally spoke blowing more of his scent in my face that sent me nearly over the edge. I was now destroying my bottom lip and I swallowed hard.

“Why are you so nervous Keira?” His soft voice invaded my mind and I couldn't answer at first. I just loved the sound of my name from his lips and right then wished he had said another name, one that was long forgotten. I finally shook my head slowly and said,

“I'm not nervous.” But my voice proved otherwise.

“Then tell me Keira, why are biting your lip again?” He said in a smouldering voice that contradicted the sharp pain that shot in my arm. I knew then it had all been a ploy to inject me all along when I wasn't paying enough attention.

“Ouch, that wasn't fair!” I said rubbing my arm. 

“Would you have let me do it any other way?” He sounded amused and I didn't answer. The effects of the drugs were already making my head feel heavy and I tried to fight it by pulling my scarf off. What my eyes saw in front of me must have been from the drugs in my system as there was no other way to explain it.

Draven was glowing and had what looked like...

Wings.

Chapter 27 – The frightening truth.

I woke up, surprised to find I wasn't in my own bed and it took me a minute to remember what had happened. My head ached as I sat up in what was the biggest bed I had ever seen. I was covered
in black
and gold silk covers and I seemed very high up as though the bed was on a higher platform. I looked around and there were curtains all around with a tiny amount of light coming through the cracks. I realised that I was sat in a four-poster bed and the curtains were drawn.

I sat there afraid to move as the drugs had now worn off and I was fully awake. But then I felt down to my side that was still bandaged and there was no pain. I decided that I was going to get up, as I was stupid being scared. What was I scared of? Draven had clearly saved my life.

I moved back the curtains expecting someone to be behind them. I was faced with semi-darkness that was lit only by a few candles and the moonlight that poured through glass doors opposite the bed where I lay. My eyes had already adapted to the light and I noticed that the bed was indeed on a higher section of the floor. It reminded me of the way Draven's table was in the club. It had three steps around the platform and I swung my legs over the side ready to get down. I stopped, checking I was alone before moving. The room was in shadows showing furniture but not allowing the details to be seen.

There was a candle lit on a small table that was closest to the bed. The candle illuminated a small space around it but stopped me from seeing further into the room. I stepped down off the bed and held on to the frame to steady myself. My legs felt like jelly and my muscles ached as though I had recently run a marathon.

I turned to look back at the bed where I had just been sleeping and was amazed to see it looked even bigger. It was a huge wooden four-poster but the four posts looked more like tree trunks, being massive carved spindles holding a wooden roof that looked as if it had been carved by Da Vinci himself! From there hung luxurious fabric that matched the bedding. I pulled them back revealing more of the bed, which could in its own right, have been a state.

I turned to the table and noticed a glass filled with the same liquid that Draven had made me drink and there were two pills next to it. I picked up the paper that was next to them both and read the words that looked as though they had been written in calligraphy.

Keira, Take these, if you wake
   
D.

And that was all it said. I decided that wouldn't be a good idea so I left them there and walked further into the room. The room was long and from what I could see, it was split into two sections. Further down was the part that I had been first brought to, which was like a living room/office and the other part was a bedroom. From what I remember about it, it had been very grand, with old antique furniture. But my memory of what had happened was vague. I had only really remembered the way I felt being so close to Draven.

I took the clip out of my hair, letting it fall down in a mass of waves. It was still slightly damp and smelt of forest fruits thanks to Libby's expensive shampoo. I rubbed my head where it ached from being slept on. I looked down remembering I was still only wearing blood stained trousers and my now ripped vest.  Thankfully I still had my gloves on but I still looked a bit too exposed.

I looked down at the bandaged area expecting to find blood but there wasn't any and neither was there on my bandaged hand. Come to think of it, what had Draven actually done to it? I only remembered him placing his hand across it but there had been no cleaning of the wound, no anaesthetic and certainly no stitches. So how had he sealed the wound? And then I remembered something...What Draven had looked like when I had removed my blindfold.  Draven had told me that I would see things, but I had never expected anything like that. It was strange to have seen Draven as anything but his usual perfection, so I had to keep telling myself it had to have been the drugs.

It was still and silent in the room with only the flicker of the candlelight. Someone had removed my shoes before putting me in bed and only my socks remained. My heart started to beat faster at the thought that it might have been Draven to once again carry me to a bed. My feet were soundless as I moved over the stone floor making my way to the glass doors. There was no handle and when my hand went out to push them, as soon as my fingertips touched the glass they
disappeared into the stone wall just like the ones in the VIP. I hesitated and
they slowly crept their way back concealing the entrance once again.  Now I knew what to expect, I touched the glass again and walked through on to another huge balcony.

The balcony was
also
very similar to the one outside the VIP, only on a grander scale. It held the same marble pillars but the difference was it didn't hold a marble wall in between, instead it held wrought iron railings that were covered in a black and gold design. This was of a gold thorn vine that was intertwined through the railings, as though they had been attacked. These held huge black roses and deadly black claws like thorns.

There were also two large trees up both sides of the doors in massive Japanese pots. My eyes followed around the railing and I noticed a staircase to one side. It looked as though it went up to the roof as it spiralled round a stone turret. This place was definitely more like a castle or a monastery than a house. I walked a few steps closer to the edge and the full moon lit up the surrounding view of the forest. But as I stepped even closer I noticed that we were higher up than I had first thought and the closer I got the more I realised that we were on a cliff face. The valley opened up like
a crater below, as though the land had been struck by God himself. As soon as I realised the immense drop below I stepped back, as I wasn't the best when it came to heights.

I heard a noise behind me and automatically hid behind the one of the trees. The noise came from the room and I was about to step out but I stopped when I heard a voice I didn't recognised. I could barely see as I peeked around through the foliage, but I could hear a man's voice and it wasn't Draven's.

“Where's the girl?” The man's voice said.

“She was here a moment ago, I can still feel her, she couldn't have gone far.” Sophia's voice said but it was different to how she normally sounded. Her voice was strained as though angry or upset. I couldn't help but peek my head around to take a look but as soon as I did, I wished more than anything that I hadn't. What I saw was terrifying!

Sophia's face had
changed into a monstrous sight.
Her
skin was cracked as though made from hard desert sand under the hot blazing sun. It was grey and lifeless as though she was a living corpse. Her eyes were all milky white, like they had been burnt and she was now blind, but there was a black substance oozing from cracks in her eyelids. Her mouth looked
like a pair of knives had slit
it on either side, making it wider and more of the black liquid was holding it together. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. My body was shaking and I held my hands over my mouth locking the scream tightly inside my body. My eyes filled with tears as the fear overtook my mind.

I pulled my head back out of sight, hiding from this horror. How could something so beautiful have turned into something that nightmares were made from? I tried to stay quiet as I could still hear them in the room.

“My brother must be informed....GO!” She said and I heard the two separate doors close. I waited for any more sounds but the room was now empty. I peeked around again to confirm this and my breath calmed slightly when it was clear. I was still clutching onto the tree like it was a lifeline. This could not be happening. It just couldn't! Not Sophia, I just couldn't grasp onto reality. Maybe it was still the drugs in my system, as Draven had said it would have strange side effects. But I knew deep down the truth, I had after all seen this type of thing most of my life and what I had seen in Sophia was purely demonic!

I was just trying to compose myself when another fear threw me. I was missing in their eyes and they were trying to find me. The last thing Sophia had
commanded in true Draven style
…“My b
rother must be informed,
” Which meant something more terrifying than the sight I had just seen.

Draven would soon find me and what if the last thing I had seen in him hadn't been down to the drugs?

Still behind the tree my mind raced to how I would escape. This must be a massive misunderstanding. Surely I wasn't a prisoner? This whole thing had just been a huge mistake. Once again a dreamlike experience with Draven had turned drastically into my own personal terror. I was about to go back in the room when something very dangerous caught my eye. The Bird was back and flying past, gliding in the moon lit air as though it owned the night. And it too had changed just like
Sophia had.

The birds feathers had turned to solid black rock and the ends of them looked like daggers. Its body was producing a flaming red energy that was moving like lava throughout its veins. I ducked as it flew over my head missing me by inches and I couldn't stop the scream that erupted. I watched as it swooped down landing on a smaller lower balcony and it made its usual ear-shattering screech into the night. I couldn't take my eyes off the bird as if it was drawing me in, which meant I saw what it wanted me to see. The cry was intended to alert its Master who had now come into clear view.

Draven came out onto the balcony and approached the bird as though it was a pet of his. I hid yet again and I watched as Draven extended his hand out to the bird and stroked its hard body.  But the bird no longer held my gaze, as it wasn't the only one that had changed.