Inside the Fire Book One in the Warden's Series (30 page)

The only thing that he wanted to do was hurt
her. You could see it on his face feel it in the way he hissed at
her. He assaulted her in that alley way in a manner similar to
mine. He tore from her the innocence she had tried so hard to
protect, the entire time ignoring her pleas for him to stop. When
her screams fell on deaf ears she pled for death to come rapidly,
but it wouldn’t come. She willed her wings to form to take flight.
Miraculously from her back sprouted two beautiful white wings. The
event was so painful and she was too weak, her body would not take
to the sky. This seemed to anger him as her brilliance hung limply
from her shoulder blades.

He hit her, screamed at her, and told her
that she had betrayed him. That the voices had been right. After
what felt like years he cut her loose and put her limp body into
the trunk of his car. The vision went dark again. She was scared
and with her last ounce of strength willed her wings to disappear
hiding the beauty that was supposed to save her.

We were in the dark, we were scared, we were
crying. The rest of the final vision was blurred together as if I
was watching it through teary eyes.

He would pull her screaming from the dark
hiding space to assault her again and again until finally after a
week of experiencing the same pain and betrayal by the hands of the
boy that she loved her wish came true. At first it seemed distant,
an image fading slowly into focus. Finally, we saw an angel in
front of us with his arms outstretched his eyes were sad but his
smile was sincere. Her soul parted from her body and we took our
last breath. I felt peace at last as she was set free from this
horrible nightmare.

****

“Dawn?” The voice was sweet yet demanding as
cold hands clasped my cheeks.

I jumped upright and found myself staring
into the black eyes of Mara. My emotions were erratic, and I threw
myself into Mara’s arms. She seemed confused as she wrapped her
arms around me and rocked. I realized I was no longer in the castle
I was in my own room my mother and father sitting at the end of my
bed with their hands twined together just staring at me.

“It was horrible!” I screamed, confused.
“How the Hell did I get home?” I demanded looking at the three of
them.

“He brought you.” Mara said softly then
stood up and moved away from me.

“What?” I said searching for answers in
their faces but saw nothing.

“Ramiel, he brought you home.” Mara said
looking at my parents like she wanted them to tell her she could
leave. She wasn’t comfortable being there I could feel it.

“Of course he did.” I said to myself before
standing up, the sun was up. I looked at Mara and then back at the
window. “I don’t even know what time it is.”

“It’s Sunday, eleven in the morning,” My
mother said softly her eyes were puffy from crying. I wondered if
she had touched me while I was in the vision and seen the horrible
things that I had seen.

I felt fire surging in me, anger radiating
at my core as all of it started to make sense. Every last ounce of
it sinking in and giving me insight to what was happening to me. I
was on the same path as her. I looked at my mother and father
frowning.

“I’m going to kill her.” I hissed.

My father looked at me and shook his
head.

“You are strong but I don't know if you are
that strong yet. You have a lot to learn. She's had centuries of
growing and training. You honey, have had only eighteen years.
Where she possesses the ability to maximize her strength. You still
set your bed sheets on fire during a bad dream.” He glanced at Mara
his eyes sympathetic. “You were always a good friend to me. Thank
you for taking care of her.”

Mara nodded and looked at my mother.

“You have raised her well Angel. She is
definitely a strong one in both arts. When the battle breaks above
I hope to be below.” She gave me a candid wink. “Now if you do not
mind I need to return home before they start asking to many
questions. Lucifer himself will come looking for me if he deems it
necessary and I would hate for you to meet him under these
circumstance.” My father smiled at her again and she disappeared in
a cloud of smoke. I blinked a few times as the sulfuric odor burned
the inside of my nose and my eyes began to water.

“Do all demons smell like that?” I asked
standing up and fumbling around my room. I had a lunch date that I
had no intentions of breaking. With everything that was going on I
could really go for a little normalcy.

“Well…” My father laughed. “Yeah. You know
the whole Hell fire and brimstone bit.”

My mother pulled away from him and was
standing next to me fighting the urge to touch me.

“What he did to her was horrendous honey,
but what he did to you was just as bad.” She said softly putting
her arms around me. “He took something that you can never get
back.”

Why was she comforting me, I was fine damn
it!

I choked. “You know what’s worse than all of
this?” There was a tightness in my chest as my mother pulled away.
“I went through all of that, felt everything that she felt and I
still do not know her name. How can I be so in tune with a body
that I do not know?”

“Krista, her name was Krista.” My mother
said her voice shaking. “I do not know who her biological mother
was nor do I know her father. She was adopted by the family that I
knew. A little miracle of Heaven is what her mother called her. She
came into their lives not long after she found out she couldn’t
have children of her own.”

Knowing her name didn’t help any, in fact,
it just made the tightness more unbearable and I felt hot tears
forming in my eyes. I had to get my mind off of this or I would
start obsessing.

“Jonathan was a victim too, you know.” I
looked away from her and rubbed my eyes. “I learned a lot in that
vision that made quite a few things here seem a little more
possible. He was played, nothing more than a pawn in the whole
mess.”

“I figured there were connections between
the two beings. Usually one doesn’t show without another in tow.”
My mother frowned.

“She caught him talking to himself. Then she
found him drawing strange pictures. Finally, he would disappear at
night. She started to see physical changes. Like looking tired and
sick pale features. On the night he attacked her he was constantly
telling her she had betrayed him. It was as if something was
whispering in his ear making him do all these horrible things." My
mother looked flabbergasted. "Mom, he had the same things done to
him that are being done to Wesley. What I don't understand is how
he is here if dad killed him."

"Well honey, your father didn't kill him per
say. He was still alive when the paramedics got to the station.
What happened after the ambulance ride is unknown. It was all over
the news that the boy had died in transit. There was never a
funeral. His parents were so ashamed of him that they just put his
body in the ground." My mom was shaking.

“Seriously this story gets more and more
elaborate. Is there anything else that I need to know about what
happened that day?” I asked.

I was becoming increasingly tired of the
lack of information that was being provided about this story. My
mother and father both shook their heads, so I only had one option.
I had to believe everything had been told to me about that night
eighteen years ago.

"What do you know about a Lilliana?" I asked
quietly twining my fingers together.

My father put his head in his hands and
sighed.

“Lilliana is the product of a low level
demon having a tryst with a high level vampire in the mid sixteen
hundreds. Since demon blood runs hot we tend to have children at an
accelerated rate. Also, vampires very rarely procreate, the demon
nature of course took priority. Lilliana’s mother gave birth four
months after conception to a half demon half vampire child." He
looked up at me his eyes were turning black.

“She grew up rapidly but stopped ageing
around eighteen or nineteen years old. I’m not sure of that
exactly. It was shortly after that her mother was found drained in
an alley way.” He shrugged and continued. “Lilliana enjoyed feeding
on the emotions of her suitors before she dipped her fangs into
their blood. It gave her a high so to speak. She wanted to have
some form of connection to their feelings. This made it easier to
bend them to her will when she needed them. There was a time when
she went on a murderous rampage. Killed quite a few women in a
small town in Italy at the turn of the 19th century." He let out a
chuckle, "That was a mess to clean up let me tell you." He looked
up at me and frowned.

“She’s created few companions and none have
stayed by her side. Many of them finding death not long after their
creation. Yet she still tries to find that perfect mate. She's a
typical woman. Only difference is she has eternity to brood while
most only have a lifetime. She’s known to be vicious and incredibly
strong. She has the ability to infiltrate dreams, like Mara, and
manipulate images also known as hallucinations. She often portrays
herself as the victim in dreams to get sympathy from the desired
prey.” My father looked at me like I had lost my mind when I put my
hand up motioning for him to stop.

I couldn’t take anymore of her biography,
the more he spoke the more I wanted to wrap my fingers around her
throat and squeeze till her head popped off.

“What did Lilliana look like?” I asked
impatiently.

“I never had the chance to meet her really.
I spent more time cleaning up after her. She spent more time on
Earth than I did, prior to this sentence.” He looked at my mother
who was pale a ghost. “However, they said she was beautiful with
red hair and wild green eyes.” He looked back at me. “Why is she
looking at me like that?” He asked pointing at my mother.

I rolled my eyes and took my mother’s
hand.

“Dad, Mom's already figured out that
Lilliana is Miranda. From what I understand she takes on a new name
every so often, this means what Wesley knows her as isn't what John
knows her as. If I hadn't seen the vision that I did I would have
assumed them to be two separate women.”

“You have got to be shitting me!” He
exclaimed his eyes lighting up.

“I wish I was dad.” I looked at my mother.
“So you know what this means?”

“History is repeating itself.” I thought my
mother would pass out as she stumbled her way to my bed and sat
down. “There is far too much to this honey, this is quite the
pickle we have here.”

"Well if it makes things any easier, at
least we have now simplified the whole John and Wesley thing." I
said softly sitting down next to her.

"There are still so many more things that
have to come into play here honey. This isn't a TV show where in a
half hours’ time the heroine saves the world. This is real life. We
have two hybrids out to get you. Both of which have had more time
to prepare for a situation like this. This is a tangled web you
have managed to get yourself into. I have half a mind to pack up
everything and leave this house." She paused, she was so
flustered.

"But he's Greg's boy, and Greg has been a
good friend to us." She looked at my father. "We need a plan, we
need to sit down and figure out what we are going to do. We cannot
be with her every second of every day and I'm not going to confine
her to her room. We already know that doesn't stop him." She was
still shaking.

I felt like my head would explode, there was
far too much information buzzing through the crevices of my brain
that I needed to escape. I needed to just forget, to have a moment
of normalcy.

“I’m going to take a few hours and just
pretend to be normal. I think that is something all of us should
do. I have a lot to think on, so do you. I do believe that I have
earned one hot lunch with one best friend.” I said slowly.

“I think that is a great idea, get out of
the house but don't be alone for long we have no idea what John has
up his sleeves right now.” She smiled weakly and looked at my
father. “We need to discuss how we are going to do this. Obviously
you have to go home some time your wife is going to start worrying.
However, in light of the new issues at hand I do not think it would
be in Dawn's best interest if you went now.”

“We can discuss this when Dawn is gone.” My
father said then glanced at me. “You go and have fun sweetie just
come home at a reasonable hour. Preferably before the sun goes
down.” He gave me a playful hug as the two exited my room
discussing my step-mother.

I felt exhausted like my whole world had
been intruded. When I blinked, I could see the two of them and the
similarities between them. I could honestly see why Miranda, or
Lilliana, or whatever her name is would hold on so tightly to
Wesley.

I showered quickly and got dressed, settling
on a simple black sweater dress and my combat boots. Tying my hair
up in a loop on the top of my head and modestly putting on makeup I
looked the best I was probably going to all things considered. I
had managed to cover the black bags under my eyes. They were dark
brown right now due to the amount of anger I was carrying around
with me. I pulled out my phone and sent Adam a text.

Me: We still on for lunch?

After a moment my phone buzzed. I smoothed
out my dress one more time and looked at the flashing object on my
dresser.

Adam: Yeah, just got out of church. Meet you
at my house?

Me: OK

And just like that I was ready to go. I left
my room in a whirl taking notice that my parents were nowhere to be
seen. I gave a little shrug and left the house. Getting behind the
wheel and pulling out of my driveway felt as if I was forgetting
something vital from last night’s visions. Yet I knew that it would
still be there once I returned home, right now I was a normal girl
with a normal life.