Cult of the Hexad (Afterlife saga Book 6) (13 page)

“Hi…I’m…”

“This is Katie.” Jennifer jumped in and said before I had chance to finish. Dex rolled his eyes and mouthed the word ‘sorry’ before turning to his mother and holding her by the shoulders.

“I think we got this Mom…wait, isn’t that Mrs Peterson waving you over?” I turned my face down and to the side to hide my smile at his tactics.

“Oh so it is…” She said turning to look and Lucy quickly took in the situation and decided to intervene.

“Let’s go and say hi Jen, I think her son is getting out of Juvie this month.” And like
a
meerkat, her head was up at the sound of gossip and she was off.

“I’m Dex and that there was the only woman in this town who doesn’t ever listen to the sheriff.” I smiled and took note of the star pinned to his shirt.

“I’m Katie, the very law abiding newbie to this town.” I said not knowing where this new me was coming from. Where was my usual shy response to anyone with authority?

“That’s good to know, Katie.” He said and the smile he gave me made cute little creases appear around his eyes. He had a kind face with a ruggedness to him that screamed he was in charge and answered to no one…well apart from his mother maybe.

“So how are you finding our little town?” He asked turning and holding out his arm in a silent request that we walk around the fair together. I thought about that question for a moment and found that from the conclusion I made earlier there was only one word to answer that question.

“Enchanting.”

“Enchanting…um, I like that. Come on Beautiful, let’s see the big bright lights of our small town.” He said walking ahead but I had stopped dead. Where had I heard that from before? It was like some crazy version of déjà vu I was experiencing. Had someone from the Colony said this to me before? It only took less than a second to realise how ridiculous that question was in itself but when I saw the face that went with those words it didn’t belong to the sheriff who stood looking at me now. An easy going smile, a mischievous wink and kind eyes were the vision I was assaulted with and suddenly I wished to see that face more than ever before.

But who was he?

“Hey, space cadet, you good?” Dex said and after another lip bite I was back by his side and trying to ignore what just happened. Why did that keep happening? It was as though there was something at every turn trying to make me remember something that had never actually happened. Were they visions of what was to come? Was I becoming a bit psychic?

“So what do you say?” Dex asked and I realised I hadn’t heard a word he had said.

“Sorry I…”

“Hey Sheriff.” A woman in a tight dress thankfully interrupted me and I watched as she first gave me the once over and then flicked her hair back before smiling at Dex.

“Hello Shelly, how’s Henry?” At this she laughed and smacked him on the arm saying,

“Oh you know him, probably asleep watching the game but forget about him, when are you going to take me up on that dinner, you have yet to taste my fried chicken, its finger lickin’…”

“Yeah you said. But you know I’ve been pretty busy lately.” He said and even for me who didn’t really know the ways of the world, I could tell it was him blowing her off.

“Babysitting the new locals I see.” She said faking a smile my way and Dex rolled his eyes before she saw.

“Actually I am babysitting him, you wouldn’t believe how many married woman just throw themselves at him…
or so his mother tells me.”
  I couldn’t believe the words had come from my mouth until seeing Shelly’s mouth drop open in shock confirmed it. Dex burst out laughing before the obvious cheating wife stormed off in a huff.

“I am so sorry. I don’t know what came over me.” I said apologising.

“Oh don’t be, that was the funniest thing I’ve seen this month! The truth is she had it coming to her, trust me. Her husband Henry is a good guy and hell, half my precinct go drinking at his house on Game day!”

“A good day to rob a bank then.” I joked and seriously, once again I don’t know where it came from. Dex started laughing again and nudged me on the shoulder and said,

“You know, you’re pretty funny.”  

“Thanks.” I said blushing at the look he was giving me. He had warm brown eyes that lit up when he smiled that were undeniably infectious. He was tall or seemed so next to me, which wasn’t hard. He was obviously fit given his profession and looked smart, being clean shaven with short crew cut hair. Actually if I was to venture a guess I would say he walked straight out of the military into this job.

“So back to my question before we were rudely interrupted.”

“Oh…OH.” I said finally getting what he was asking when he thumbed the big wheel ride behind him. My eyes widened once again making him laugh before he grabbed my hand and said,

“Come on, you’ll be fine giggles.” I wasn’t so sure about that but I let myself be led anyway. If it had been Ari then she would have been the one dragging him on there. In fact, I couldn’t understand it when it seemed I had quickly developed a fear of heights in a matter of seconds.

“Well I don’t want to keep you from your duty now.” At this he laughed, shook his head and lifted the bar on the carriage that came down for us to sit in.

“Not at all, like you said, you are babysitting me against all the married women that continually throw themselves at me, you’re not going back out of your duty are you?”

“Ha, I see what you did there.” He gave me a wink in answer, a little push and then took the seat next to me before securing the bar. We were just about to swing up when a ruckus on one of the stalls started and it seemed a fight was about to kick off. Dex quickly turned professional and lifted the bar.

“Save me this one for later Sweetheart, I will be right back.” He said after helping me off the chair. I stepped aside gladly letting another couple take my place and I moved away from the queue. I watched as Dex pushed his way through the crowd that had gathered to watch and he reached for his radio as he went, obviously calling for backup. I decided to stand way back on the side lines and wait to make sure he was okay when something caught my eye. 

My eyes focused in just as another pair of eyes was doing the same back. It was like have an ocean of people all busy enjoying themselves so no one noticed the two people that stood frozen, opposite each other from across the fair. It was a woman, that much I was sure but the who or why was lost on me. Abruptly she turned and started walking the other way so I decided to follow her.

I know it was stupid and I am sure that if I had stopped and thought about it sensibly then I wouldn’t have moved. But this wasn’t the case and I wasn’t being sensible. Making my way through the crowd was a lot harder when a large group of people were all getting off one of the big rides at the same time.

“Excuse me, pardon me…Ooops, sorry.” I pushed my way through the mass of excited teens all talking about the loops and speed and I didn’t understand how you could get excited about almost throwing up but either way, I left them to it and pushed on. I had just excused myself for the millionth time when I almost fell into the empty space where it was clear the fair ended.

I walked on, looking left and right trying to find the woman that I had been following. It was creepy out here away from the crowds and suddenly I wasn’t feeling so brave about this decision. I was just about to turn back, thinking the daylight wasn’t going to last much longer and being out here in the dark would be a stupid idea, when I caught a flash of colour. There off to one side was a small maroon coloured tent that looked as if it had been piled high with rug after rug thrown over the frame. It became like a beacon, drawing me in and I found myself stood outside it before I knew I had moved.

“You may enter.” A voice from within spoke and after an unsure breath, I ducked my head and walked inside, where the same voice welcomed me…

“We meet again, young Electus.”

Chapter 11

Gypsies and Voids

Hearing that voice again was like bringing back a pain that had haunted me for eighteen years. I couldn’t understand why it evoked feelings like this as I had never seen this woman in my life.

“Welcome to my home, I recall we never got this far last time.” I frowned at the woman who was sat in the shadows cross-legged on the floor.

“What do you mean…I don’t know you.” I stated as firmly as I could which merely caused her to start laughing. It was more of an old woman’s cackle you would have expected from someone who smoked their body weight in cigarettes a day.

“Oh the fools have you masked to yourself, that is to be sure, but the real you would have remembered me, of that I have no doubt. Now come here and let me see what I am working with.” She ordered but instead I took a step back.

“What are you saying? I…I am me…you must have me mixed up with someone else.” I said walking backwards and trying to escaped from the tent.

“You will find no exit there, my dear.” I sucked in a sharp breath when looking round to find she was right. The opening had gone and when I frantically started searching for the opening all I found was a brick wall.

“But that’s impossible!” I shouted making her laugh once more and it was an evil sound.

“Coming from you Electus, that is highly entertaining.”

“I don’t understand what you’re saying and stop calling me that, I don’t even know what it means!”

“Sit down, Keira before you do yourself damage.” She said now sounding unimpressed. I turned slowly to face her as I felt the icy chill invade my senses.

“Wait…how…how do you know that name?” I said only ever hearing it being said in my dreams before.

“How do you think…we have met before, you and I.”

“But…no, you lie, I have never met you before…I would remember.” I said all this in a panic, only half believing in what I was telling her.

“It doesn’t sound like it’s me you’re trying to convince.” I shook my head but it felt as if it was the rest of the world that was spinning out of control. I stumbled over to where she was sat knowing this was my one and only opportunity to get the answers I needed.

“Finally you start making the right choices.” She said cryptically and I frowned down at her before lowering myself into sitting opposite her.

“It’s not like I have any other option, you turned the exit into a brick wall.” I informed her dryly making her fully aware of my feelings about being trapped.

“Ah yes, but of course…you have felt locked up against your will on many occasions throughout your life…even the one stolen from you.”

“I don’t understand anything you say, so seeing as you are keeping me here then I suggest you start making sense.” I threatened making her laugh again.

“Or what? Who would you call for help this time because according to you
, there is no-one.”
She whispered this last part at the same time leaning forward making me jump.

“I…but…?”

“What’s the matter young Electus, do you recognise me?” Her voice was so smooth and alluring that it started to drag me under into an unconscious world of remembering.

“There was a little girl, I can see her. She’s crying…she’s crying for her sister.” I said seeing it playing out in front of me.

“That’s right little girl. Now what else can you see?” I listened to her words as if floating in a trance and the sound of her voice was only reaching me over the waves she created. I felt my body swaying and I couldn’t stop it. I squinted trying to focus on bringing back the vision.

“You’re there! You…you start walking closer, oh God don’t hurt her!” I shouted fearing for the little girl.

“Are you lost, young lady?” I nod my head at the question at the same time hearing the little girl say,

“Yes, I can't find my sister, she was taking me for some sweets.” This was when the vision suddenly changed. And adult version of myself felt trapped again, in a dark room but I wasn’t alone not when a voice told me so.

“You shouldn't be
here.”
A deep voice growled from the shadows and I jumped at the words. It was
him.

“I...I’m lost” I stammered for what felt like the second time.

“Oh no, you’re not lost...you've been found.” He growled at my neck before yanking my head to one side and biting down. I screamed out at the pain I felt but soon realised that the pain I was experiencing wasn’t coming from my neck but my hand. Eyes that I didn’t even realise were shut snapped open and the sight they met made me scream again.

A pair of cloudy white eyes stared back at me before blood seeped into them filling them from the corners. They started to flicker back and to as if reading some hidden page as quickly as she could. I looked down to where the pain came from to see a small silver dragon from the end of her finger, biting down into my flesh as if needing to taste my blood.

“Did I not say to you child… ‘
until next time’?”
Those same words spoken were heard for a second time and I was sure the first had been when I was but a child. I looked up to find her back to herself and looking at me with her head slightly tilted. It was the first time she wasn’t hiding herself in shadows and I could now see a small red star close to her right eye. I wondered what it meant.

“It is you, yet it is not. I guess in order to hide you they must first hide you from yourself…very clever indeed.”

“What do you mean?”

“What is it you believe your name to be I wonder.” I laughed once without humour and said,

“Shouldn’t you know, after all I thought you were the mystic.” This made her mad and she snarled at me like a raging dog would. I fell backwards as she stood to loom over me. The shadows behind her started to grow taller and come alive behind her as though she had a small army at her back. I scrambled backwards even more in hopes of getting away from her.

“Yes and this mystic once gave you a gift! I wonder if you would like it back again seeing as you obviously lost it!” I started shaking my head frantically, saying over and over,

“No, no, please don’t.” I had no idea what she was planning on doing or what gift she spoke about but I definitely didn’t want to find out any time soon.

“No, you didn’t lose it…it was taken from you! My gift was stolen. AND I WANT IT BACK!” She suddenly screamed looking up to the highest point in her tent and her shadows all did the same. Then she opened her mouth and an almighty screeching sound came from deep within her followed then by a demonic voice of the likes I had never known. I screamed putting my hands over the sides of my head as the pain shot through my ears.

“The Rogues”
She hissed as if it was a dirty word and then she was gone and all she left behind was me sat in an empty void. It was a massive space filled with miles and miles of nothingness. I slowly got to my feet and looked around for anything but it was like standing on the edge of the world and expecting to fall off at any moment.

“Oh great! Just great!” I said feeling the anger instead of the panic that I knew was lurking just around the corner.

“And she didn’t even have a crystal ball!” I said sarcastically but then I heard a voice in my head say,

“Do you want one? Here…is this one to your liking?” And then just as if she had clicked her fingers a strange glowing orb appeared from behind me. I turned slowly and as I did I noticed that the nothingness around me became a dark and looming forest. The sound of a bird calling out to me made me jump in fright. Looking back at the orb I could see a figure standing on the other side of it. What was that?

I sidestepped the orb but like a mirror the image on the other side only moved with me.

“I want to go home”
I heard a girl whisper in fear and I suddenly wanted to reach out to her. As if absorbing my emotions, the purple orb started to glow brighter and pulsate as if trying to grow bigger. Then only on the girl’s side I saw demons start to crowd around her before I screamed at them,

“GET AWAY FROM HER!” I never expected for one second they would listen to me but that’s what they did. It was as if I had commanded them and they had listened. As soon as the last one was out of sight and crawled back to the hellish night they had come from the figure got up off the floor. She started to come closer and her blurred figure got closer to the light between us.

“Come to me.” I said trying to coax her nearer but as soon as she heard me she stopped. I wanted to try again but was scared I would frighten her but in the end it was me that froze in fear. I felt first the breath hit the back of my neck and then the large presence of someone big standing behind me.

“Yes, come to me…you belong to me.” He said humming the words like chanting a spell and it worked. She started to come closer again only this time reaching out with her fingers. She was so close I had to warn her.

“N…” Before I could get it out I felt a hand clamp over my mouth preventing me from warning her
.
I could feel the tingle of my blood beneath the hand that covered my lips and she too could feel it on her skin.

“Yes…be mine… Electus..... The chosen girl… My Chosen One,” Said my demon before he lunged forward and reaching around me he grabbed the girl’s hand. As soon as he touched her and pulled her forward the last thing I saw was her falling into the orb before everything changed. The mirror image was destroyed and I became the girl on the other side falling into his arms.

I passed through the bright light emerging from a purple mist and felt a secure embrace hold me tight.

“It’s time to wake up, My Chosen One.” I looked up at him in wonder and couldn’t stop myself from reaching up to try and become level with his face. Just one kiss. That was all I wished for. All I could hope for and crave. I needed just that one and I was sure I would wake.

One lover’s kiss.

“Time.” He said again and I felt my thoughts pull at me from another direction.

“To.” I frowned and started to look around to see this nothing world crumble away showing me what really lay beneath.

“Be.” Another word and another piece shattered showing colour behind in large chunks like pieces of a jigsaw. Then my chin was grabbed and my face turned to face his as he growled the last word down at me.

“Mine!”
On hearing this, the last of the void fell away just as my legs crumbled beneath me. I fell to the ground and just as I opened my eyes to see the full picture, a voice pulled me back.

“Time to wake up, my Keira.”

“Time to wake up, my Keira girl.”

“Time to wake up…
Katie?”

“Time to wake up.”

“Wake up…Katie.”

And suddenly I woke up. I shot up and was panting as if I had been running.

“Hey, there she is…she’s okay…everyone get back, that’s it, give us some room now.” I recognised Dex’s voice speaking to people around me.

“Oh Katie! Katie...? Is she alright? Get a doctor!” I could hear Lucy’s panicked voice and I rubbed my eyes as the flashing lights were blurred into one.

“Easy now, don’t get up too fast. Whoa, I’ve got you.”

“Where am I?” I asked getting confused with the lights and seeing the glowing orb again.

“You’re still at the fair. Do you remember what happened?” I took a moment before answering this to focus on my surroundings. The last thing I wanted was to sound like a crazy person and start talking about Gypsies and Voids. Looking up first, all I saw was the night sky filled with stars, this at least told me that I had been gone a while. Then after finding myself in just an open field with little else, I decided against talking about the gypsy tent that led me here in the first place.

“I don’t know. One minute I was walking and the next…well, I guess I must have passed out or something.” I said thinking this was the most believable reason I could give. As soon as I said it the next thing I knew I was in Dex’s arms being carried off down the field, with people following behind.

“It’s okay, I can walk.” Once again it felt like I had said this before, only it definitely wasn’t Dex’s arms that were around me. This Déjà vu stuff was getting more intense by the minute and pretty soon I wasn’t going to know which world I was living in!

Dex was a fit guy, that was obvious but even I could tell he was glad when he could put me down in the back of his patrol car.

“How come all those people were out there?” I asked feeling utterly embarrassed by the whole thing.

“Ah, that. Well when Lucy knew I couldn’t find you she kind of rallied together a search party and had pretty much the whole fair looking for you.”

“Oh God.” I muttered covering my face in shame. Dex laughed and pulled my hands away from my face.

“Hey, don’t worry about it. That’s what happens when you have people that care for you…panic comes with the territory.” He winked and then stood up just in time to say,

“And speaking of the panic queen.”

“How is she…does she need to go to the ER?” Lucy said talking to Dex but coming round him to see me. She started feeling my forehead and added,