Everything felt like a nightmare, the truth wouldn't sink in.
Alex was dead. Gabriel was dead. Knowing that little fact didn't make it any better, it didn't bring her Alex back.
The funeral was arranged and Alex was buried in the kishargal (1) clan crypt, she was the first human to be buried there.
Ishtar, jade and Asha were present at the funeral, not many others were. Only a few employees that the blonde had worked closely with over the years.
Ishtar never spoke, her eyes never met Asha's. In her mind she'd done worse than Gabriel. Ishtar had given Alex her blood hoping to save her, she didn't know that Gabriel had been reckless enough to...to what? To bite her? To inject their lethal poison? To choose that specific blonde?
Ishtar couldn't meet Asha's gaze. Not because she didn't want to, but because she couldn't bring herself to face the agony that was surely painted across the other vampire's features.
It was days before anyone saw Asha. She had secluded herself in her bedroom as soon as they'd gotten back to the compound. Days went by without the redhead emerging from her self-imposed isolation, she had not fed nor trained nor attended to her duties as a club owner and Vampire Elder. Though all of it was to be expected, many thought the vampire was punishing herself for something she couldn't have changed.
Everyone expected Asha to behave this way, but what worried to collective was the fact that the original immortal had also sequestered himself away in the archives with strict orders not to be disturbed.
Alexandra turned out to be one of his offspring. A direct descendant of his bloodline but he still did not know to what extent. The adverse reaction the girl suffered was unlike anything he had ever seen. No human had ever reacted that way before, regardless of the circumstances.
Bashaa has gone through every archive, every scroll, every journal and every record he possessed about his interactions with the humans. Yet every lead he found, every era and every line proved to be futile. The original immortal knee that the girl's father was a human descendant of his. He knew the family quite well but when it came to the girl's mother, there was nothing to be found. Neither human records not otherwise provided a hint at whom she'd been.
Alex's mother had been a ghost. The proof of her existence solidified by the girl herself but every other mention was ereased.
Bashaa couldn't find a birth certificate for the mother, nor school records, not even a hospital bill or social security number. No obituary...nothing.
It baffled Bashaa beyond measures, as he let himself fall into the armchair after another unsuccessful night of searching. Even in their chaotic world, everything was documented. From the fall of Ulqu Ãlu, the immortal city, to the rise of the vampire clans, the first great war, the downfall of the Roman empire and the dawn of the 21st century. Everything was there and yet, they couldn't find the ancestry of one human girl's mother.
Human...they knew Alexandra's father was human and naturally they would assume....that her mother was human.
A thought sprang to the forefront of Bashaa's mind; what if her mother wasn't human. What if Alex wasn't human...What if she was something else? Something....rare and powerful and one of the most guarded secret of their civilization.
This possibility hadn't occurred to the immortal because of Alex had known then she would have fought off Gabriel. She would have known about Asha beforehand. Nothing fit into place anymore, one question answered and a thousand more elude him.
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Darkness everywhere. No ups and downs just darkness and pain. The throbs resounding through limbs like flashes of lightning. Each more painful than its predecessor but no sound could be uttered.
Seconds seemed to span into hours, drowning in a sea of nothingness, Floating like an errant thought in the void. There was nothing that could be done but hang onto the sliver of hope that remained lit within.
Was this death? The afterlife? Purgatory? Or was it just a limbo in between alive and dead, a threshold every being should cross eventually.
The eeriness of this quiet was too disgruntling to be Heaven, but it certainly was not Hell.
Limbo between life and death.
The thought seemed to occur once again, yet would one be conscious of bodily pain if in fact they were in Limbo? The soul should have been severed, any physical ties to the material world abolished.
It was not limbo. Not was it Hell. Not was it heaven...so what exactly was this darkness?
The numbness began to wilt away, leaving fingers to flex and blood to flow, flailing arms colliding with hard wood. Claws extending to rip their way through their confines into freedom, splinters and shattered wood collided with the floor as the first rays of light streamed into the darkness.
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Fifteen days. It had been fifteen days since Alex had died; fifteen days since Asha had spoken to anyone; fifteen days she'd locked herself away and cried, mourning the loss of her mate.
What was the point of clairvoyance if you couldn't prevent the bad things? What was the point of this gift, of immortality, if Asha couldn't have her mate beside her?
She couldn't take this any longer, this agony that's gnawing at her insides. She couldn't watch Gabriel die, she didn't get to see him suffer like she's suffering, like Alex had suffered. She didn't get to see the fear and pain grow within his eyes, she couldn't feel the dread emanate from him like it had from Alex. Asha didn't get to hear him whimper like he'd made Alexandra whimper. She couldn't help but feel that Gabriel was taunting her from beyond the Grace, as if life wasn't unfair enough to take away her mate, it had also taken away the possibility of vengeance.
The council has decided to exclude the woman from the execution because they felt she was too close to the fact. That it would show the trial, and consequently the council itself, as unbiased and just.
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It was late that night, around eight or nine when Carmen and Iris had retreated to the loft. It was peculiar really, the mercenaries had drawn some of Sekhemet's blood, the elder surely had to have felt the bond breaking but she hasn't approached Iris yet. Even though the onyx haired vampire had made her return known to everyone.
The thought was fleeting and hurriedly interrupted when there was a definitive knock at the door. It wasn't the forceful kind but It was more than assertive.
Iris and Carmen shared a look and the detective slowly withdrew her gun from its holster and hurrying silently toward the door. Iris had followed calmly, they were vampires, It wasn't like a burglar could just overpower them both.
Iris pulled the door open ready for anyone to be in the other side but she was momentarily stunned.
Standing at her door were Ishtar and Sekhemet. Carmen peaked over Iris's shoulder and furrowed her brows, guess this confrontation happens now.
Ishtar and Sekhemet had barely made it inside the loft when another figure had shown up at the door. Iris had smiled immediately and hurried to pull the new arrival into her arms, the kiss that they shared had radiated a fierceness that has the two elders sharing a side glance.
As the minutes ticked by, an uncomfortable silence had settled among the four vampires, uninterrupted except by the glances that the women shared among each other.
Sekhemet finally broke the silence "Iris, we need to talk privately" the elder glanced over at Carmen and the woman that was introduced as Anna Lee.
Iris shook her head "they already know everything so it's no use hiding anything"
Sekhemet nodded " a few weeks ago while you were gone, there was an attack on the compound, now the demon that attacked was powerful enough to subdue most of the vampires around but once he got to me, well it turns out he's the son of a close friend of mine" Sekhemet arches a brow at Iris then continued "he asked for my blood, told me someone had paid him to get it and it would cause him a lot of trouble to go back without it" the elder had continued calmly
"Sekhemet I can explain..." Iris began but the elder cut her off
"I know you broke your sire bond, what I need to know is why. Clearly you're no longer 'mated' to Gabriel" Sekhemet had nodded towards the protective way Anna Lee had her arm wrapped around Iris
"not that you ever were" Ishtar had interjected briefely which only make Iris furrow her brows.
Sekhemet chuckled "Circe had called me once you left her home the first time, we provided your hireed hands with everything they needed" Sekhemet explained with a soft smile and a mischievous twinkle in her eyes, it only served to confuse Iris even more.
"Why though?"
"There comes a time in every vampire's life where they need to break away from their sires and figure out where to go next" Sekhemet explained slowly "even if you had done it under the misguided guise of rescuing whom you'd assumed to be your mate at the time. You took the initiative to figure it out on your own, there was a less painful way of course but it only served to show me you were ready to handle your own affairs"
The elder knew that Iris was going to attempt to rescue Gabriel courtesy of Asha, which was another reason to move the execution up, not that she would ever tell Iris.
Iris frowned deeply, squeezing Anna Lee's hand "I...Sekhemet, with Gabriel dead and me mated to Anna Lee, I don't know where I might end up. I can't ask Anna to uproot and come here to sit at home while I resume my duties at the club or the compound"
Ishtar was the one to reply not at all surprised at the declaration that Iris and Anna were mated "take the time to think about it, both of you, the offer still stands"
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With a resolute frown, Asha decided she needed to confront the man that's been causing her so much misery, if not for Alexandra then for herself.
It didn't take long for the redheaded vampire to get to the Etlu Crypt. The mahogany and gold finish in the room did strike Asha as very grand and regal but it was warmer than their own crypt.
It was a warm and homey feeling and it annoyed the vampire beyond reason, even if only because the vampire she'd come to see was nothing less than a monster.
Apparently it was not the first time that Gabriel had transgressed and Bashaa was getting fed up with cleaning up the mess.
The further into the crypt she went the more something felt oddly off. Splinters of wood littered the ground, pieces of broken wood sprawled everywhere.
A few feet away lay a coffin, nurting open from the inside, the silk that lines the innards torn to shreds and a putrid smell resembling rotting flesh hung in the air.
Asha let out a sigh "just fucking great. He won't even stay dead for fucking god's sake" the redhead growled kicking the already shattered coffin into the opposing wall.
Just as she was about to lash out again, her phone began to ring. With a more than aggressive greeting, Asha answered at the last ring
"WHAT?!"
"Nice to hear from you as well Asha" the original immortal's calm voice resonated on the other end of the line "would you be a dear and come see me at the Kishargal Crypt? I have important news about your beloved Alex, it's of the utmost importance"
At the mention of her deceased mate, Asha froze and furrowed her brows, what could Bashaa possibly have to tell her about Alex? The girl was dead. What else mattered...
Author's Notes : to celebrate 19k reads and 1k votes as well as being #19 in Paranormal as of April 20th, 2016 my pm will be open until May 10th to any and all questions you guys want to ask Asha, Alex, Iris or even Gabriel.
Hope you're enjoying the read!
Much love
Reddy
(P.S: don't forget to vote and comment! )