Rise of Aen (50 page)

There was no time here; no cold wind and no lonesome moon which he was stranded upon. Here, he was warm and comfortable as he lay in bed with the blue-haired beauty from his vision. He felt a sense of calm and peace; he was where he wanted to be and with who he wanted to be with. Here he was king and she was his queen! Her skin was soft as silk as he ran his hand up the side of her leg and continued up her side. She shuddered as his movement tickled her slightly, but she didn’t move or complain as her lover let his hands explore her body. He leaned in to kiss her cheek, but she turned to meet him and their lips locked in a kiss that sent a dizzying feeling rushing through his very being. After a long and passionate kiss, she moved away and stared deep into his eyes as hers sparkled in the moonlit bedroom. He was lost in her; a feeling unlike anything he had ever felt before. His heart, as broken as it had been in the past few years, was whole and full of love once more. He was happy
here.

The two lovers kissed once more before settling into an embrace as they rested. Their bodies naked and entangled with arms wrapped around each other; two lovers locked in a slumbering embrace. He felt her heart beating as she slept; the steady beat of the heart that loved him so was soothing but not enough to help him rest. He worried that if he closed his eyes he would open them back in that frozen hell he knew was waiting for him. Here in her arms was his heaven, and he never wanted to leave his blue-haired
angel.

But trying to hold on to heaven when he wasn’t truly there proved to be beyond his capabilities as the vision began to fade into blackness before his very eyes. Within moments, he was alone in the darkness, neither in reality or a dream world. His body was too weak to awaken to where he had fallen, destined to become one with the snow and ice lodged in a heap in the snow bank at the base of the mangled ship. His world was now the darkness, and there was little to do but accept this
reality.

It was in this darkness that he began to feel a presence with him, but here his eyes were of no use, along with the rest of his senses. Yet, he could feel this presence as if he could truly reach out and touch it! It was there with him, keeping its distance the whole while as he felt it watch him closely. It was a unique sensation and he was unsure of what he could do if anything as this wasn’t the physical world anymore. For all the vaunted power he had in the real world, all of it was useless if he was assaulted here. He waited, as he felt the presence circle him; at first it was a wide berth as it was unsure of him, like a predator sizing up its prey. Time passed as it did little but keep its distance, so he began to ignore it, as if it was no longer there, because he wished to drift off into nothingness. He was weary, and all he wished to do was sleep. When he felt himself begin to drift away, that was when he heard the voice in a songful charm that he remembered but couldn’t place. At first, it whispered the words, but he couldn’t quite hear them. Then after a pause, it spoke again—this time clear as day. He felt the words strike him physically, and when they were spoken, they began to rouse
him.

“It isn’t over yet,
so why are you still lying there?”

Copyright

Copyright © 2014 by Damian Shishkin
First Edition – February 2014
Author photo by Nicole Logan
ISBN
978-1-4602-3860-8 (Hardcover)
978-1-4602-3861-5(Paperback)
978-1-4602-3862-2 (eBook)
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

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.

Author photo by Nicole Logan
Produced by:
FriesenPress
Suite 300 – 852 Fort Street
Victoria, BC, Canada V8W 1H8
www.friesenpress.com
Distributed to the trade by The Ingram Book Company