The Two Kings (Afterlife Saga) (124 page)

“SPEAK!” Draven barked out the order as his last thread of patience had snapped...I knew it wouldn’t be long until it would be too late and I would never look at Draven the same way
ever
again.

“Draven stop this! He can’t speak for God’s sake!” I yelled at him with floods of tears streaming down my face. At the mention of God everyone gasped and Draven’s eye
s
flashed round to seek mine once more. They looked like the pits of Hell lived there, like a portal straight to the gates were right past those eyes.

“I AM GOD’S RULING HERE!” He said first to me and then to the rest of the room that were witnessing this side of th
eir
master. I held my head in my hands and let out sobs mixed with words like “Please” and “Let go” making something in my actions enough to get through to
my
Draven. I heard a thud before me and when I lifted my head, I was now faced with the broken man in a pile at my feet. I couldn’t help but flinch back.

“BEG
!
” One command came past his lips that I could not imagine kissing again. Would I ever make it past this point... far past the point of no return? I responded by shaking my head but the words wouldn’t surface through my shaky tears.

“BEG the ‘Chosen one’
for your life!” Draven’s voice cut through me like I was being split in two. I didn’t think I would ever be pieced back to
gether after this. At the name ‘Chosen one’ e
veryone took a step back from me like I held some horrible disease. They all sucked in air that wasn’t needed and their eyes all turned Demonic like someone had just flipped a switch...of course that someone was Draven. Most looked terrified of me, one girl even dropped the glass she had been holding. I jumped at the sound of it smashing into tiny pieces on this cold stone floor that I just wanted to swallow me whole. Demonic and Angelic eyes all burned into me, bright and unwavering. I thought about them in the night, in this darkness my mind was swimming in and their eyes were all I could see. 

“No...no, no, no
,
” I repeated over and over but it was like no one was hearing me, I wondered if I was even saying the words or just screaming them in my head.

“Pl...please...for..for...forgive mmme
.
” The man was crawling towards me, hands out stretched as though trying to touch me, to hang on to me like his last shred of hope at survival. I cried for him and stepped back. Then he yelped in pain as Draven placed his foot on his back to stop him moving. I could hear the sickening sound of bones cracking as he applied greater pressure.

“Don’t touch her!” He warned and instantly the man’s hands retracted to cradle his body.

“Pleas
e STOP THIS!” I shouted at him
, wondering if my words could penetrate such a Demonic soul that consumed him.

“He does not deserve to live after such an insult to his Master. However I will let him breath but be warned, this is through the mercy of MY Chosen One not through my rule and wrath. You owe your life to this human Gastian but you have my word, you will not go unpunished!” I closed my eyes at the sound of his judgement and another overflow of salty tears followed their brothers and sisters.

The man had now collap
sed, a new stream of blood flo
wing freely from his mouth, that was the only indication he gave that he was still alive...you don’t pump blood when you die, I told myself.

“Take him away! As I have been his judge, I will be his punishment, it will be by my hands only.” He was addressing the room now and turning around so that every eye was in his view, making many flinch back and I didn’t blame them.

“Let this be a warning to you all and let it travel to unattended ears.
If a
nyone
is
to touch this girl, to look at her wrong or even breath
e
too hard in her direction,
they
will st
and before me and be judged. An
injunction with
my
law, your judge will be your executioner! Heed my words, the girl belongs to ME!” He had his arms straight out at his sides at 90 degree angles, as if he was challenging anyone to step forward and test his authority as their
King. This was all I could bear
. I felt like a ghost of myself looking in on the craziness of my life and shaking my head at how this had happened. How had I grown to accept this? When did I learn how to live half a life?!

I let out one last cry and while Draven’s back was to me, as he addressed
his
people...

I turned and ran.

I somehow made my legs work, even though they didn’t want to, I made them. I used every ounce of mental strength I had left and poured it all into moving. Moving as far away from Draven as I could get. I managed to push past the people in my way and thanks to Draven’s new law no one dared to try and stop me. I reached the staircase and launched down it with a speed that shocked me. It was like running in a dream, one moment you don’t think you
’
r
e
even moving but the next you feel as though flying, bending time to your will.

As soon as I was sure that my feet were at the bottom I ran for the only exit I was sure wouldn’t stop me. Getting through the empty club was like running on an empty play
ing
field. In my crazed state I could even smell wet, dew covered grass.

I cornered the bar, taking in briefly its cold d
ark state now that it wasn’t inf
ested with warm bodies...warm
human
bodies! That was why I was running, it was such a need to be with my own kind it felt like I would self combust if I didn’t breath
e
Afterlife free air and speak to another human soul. I felt like I was drowning in there and all I needed was to be free and breath
e
. Like that man being held by Draven’s hand, had also been squeezing the life out of me. The
me
out of me.

I almost jumped over the bar just to make it all happen quicker. The door was in view and the exit sign glowed above me and in my state of mind I was reading it as
something different...It said ‘Home’
. I pushed on the bar that would release me from this supernatural torment. For the first time since stepping foot in Afterlife, I couldn’t help but cry as I said goodbye. For now I knew that I never wanted to set foot in there ever again. But would I? Would I
,
if the man I loved came back. The first thought that entered my mind about my Draven made my legs want to cave. I was outside by this time and the fresh snow covered the ground like a comforting blanket had been laid to protect the earth from the harsh elements. Of course
,
sensibly the snow was classed as one of those harsh elements but right now, I just wanted to fall and let it cover me too.

So that is what I did. One minute I was running
,
the next I was falling blissfully to my knees that impacted with soft and fuzzy snow. It spray
ed
upwards arou
nd me and I let out an almight
y cry as I had reached my limit. I lowered my head and sobbed uncontrollably until I was gasping for air to fill my lungs. The cold sharp pains of the icy air actually helped soothe the pain in my heart. The dull ache of when my heart beat so feverous only an hour ago for
my
Draven. Was this it...was this the end of all my happiness? The answer came behind me...

“No, it isn’t
!
”

Draven’s voice broke into the night like some thief that could steal the stars.

Chapter 55

Cold Hard Fear.

“Keira
,
please get up
.
” His voice was back to the way I remembered it which seemed an age since I had last heard it. It wasn’t a command, it was him pleading. I started to shake my head. I still couldn’t speak yet
,
as I knew one word and the
dam
would crack, opening the floodgates for me to drown in my misery. I had my back to him, hunched over in the snow with my head still cradled in my arms. My hair
was
still loose and hanging past my waist, the ends getting wet in the snow and curling up like they hated the cold.

“Why not? Please, it’s cold, yo
u’ll freeze!” He sounded desperate
, hurting and in pain. I looked down at my hands and saw how white they were. My skin was almost translucent, reflecting off the white sheet beneath me. I felt like part of it, like it was sucking me in to become captured. God knows at that point I wanted too. At least freezing was better than feeling!

“I can’t
,
” I whispered but I knew he would hear me. Then I felt him, like the sun rising behind me. It almost burned.

“DON’T TOUCH ME!” I screamed. The sound of a bird or some other animal moving through the surrounding forest made me realise how loud my scream had been. His hands left me like I had stabbed him with my invisible sharp edges.

“Keira...
?
” His voice was pleading...begging. That word...that terrible word that now had new meaning for me. It added to a pain that had stayed with me from the very first day that Morgan had taken me. This made me very, very...angry! I got up quicker than I thought possible for my unsteady legs. I spun round to face him and my foot sunk deeper in the snow
’
s layers.

“NO! How dare you! How could you,
HOW COULD YOU!?” I screamed
at him and pushed him so hard I felt pain in my arms. It didn’t matter, would anything hurt this man! He didn’t put up any attempt to stop me, he just stood there and took it with a deep hurt c
oating
his eyes. Thankfully he was back to being Draven or I don’t think even in my rage I would have had the courage to do this to the flaming Demon Draven that had sizzled out for now. It was starting to feel like this was a daily routine. Get up, see friends, argue with Draven and scream at him. Get ready for work, see friends, beat up my cousin, get thrown to the ground by a
n
ignorant
Demon and watch as Draven tried
to kill him. Then yell at Draven some more. Even by my standards, that was one hell of a day!

“Fight back! What’s wrong with you! Scream at me, command
me, order me to stop oh mighty K
ing! Aren’
t you afraid of anything Draven?
” I was seething to a point I could only see him through a misted red blur.

“Are you finished?” He asked calmly which broke me down to a level I didn’t think there
was
. I pulled my hand back and slapped him on the face
so hard it did finally leave it
s mark. His cheek blazed red which helped me ignore the stinging whip his
face left across my palm. His
head was still held down to one side and his eyes didn’t look at me. A deep pain scarred them from their beauty and they had never looked more black and cold as they did at this point. His hair had fallen forward and covered his forehead and the side of his face I had slapped. The contrast of his red skin and his jet black hair was startling. 

I was waiting for a reaction but I was left disappointed because he gave me nothing. He straightened his face and looked down at me in waiting for the next round of crazy I had to deliver.

“Fine, I guess if that does nothing to your frozen heart then let’s see if this will...Good bye Dominic
!
” I said
,
with tears streaming down my cheeks. I turned and started to walk the other way not waiting to see if it had affected him the way I wanted it too. I didn’t get far.

“NO! You will not leave me
! You cannot, do you understand?
” He was standing in front of me again now and I didn’t even see his body move. It was like he had transported.

“Watch me!” I snapped back. At this he restrained me. He held the tops of my arms in two solid vices.

“Stop this!” He shouted.  Those were my words! The very words I had begged for that life he care
d
nothing for. And I had been the one hurt by it!

“BEG!” I said almost spitting the word at him. At this it seemed to sink in.

“Come on Draven! What wrong, when it’s on the other foot it isn’t as gratifying is it!”