Cult of the Hexad (Afterlife saga Book 6) (48 page)

Chapter 45

Troubled Skies

  “I will tell ya something Tootie pop, and that is you don’t make life boring, that’s for damnerdy cricket!” I smiled at Pip from across where she was sat stuffing cheese balls in her mouth and washing it down with some toxic looking soda.

We were all travelling back in one of Draven’s private jets after getting back to the hotel and saying goodbye to Jared and his men and also Lucius and his. Cryptically during this farewell Draven added,

“Until you receive word.” I would have asked him what he meant by it but Draven had a way of distracting you with a simple caress or in this case a mind blowing kiss as soon as I started to speak.

It had been two days since the battle and the end of the Hexad’s destructive reign on humanity. But even though we had won the battle we were yet to win the war as Aurora had escaped and no-one really knew the outcome to the forging of souls.

But if there was one thing I had learnt through the short time I had been with Draven and that was, face it when it comes and only worry about it when it does, not before. I had said goodbye to Ari, but it was only the next day that she was ringing me from Vincent’s phone telling me about all she had seen. I had asked her about Vincent and she murmured that he was right there and did I know that they had super powered hearing?

I laughed and told her I felt her pain, making her laugh. I think she had rung me not long after our goodbye just to let me know she was thinking about me and that even though we weren’t together, we were never really that far apart. Draven was just happy to see the smile it put on my face and before hanging up with Vincent he said,

“If you could make this a regular thing I would appreciate it.” This then made my smile grow to cheek aching proportions.

Now we were on our way home and I was laughing and joking with Pip and Adam, who had decided to come back with us, for reasons I still didn’t know. Not that I was complaining as when you had Pip and I in the same room I found myself snorting with laughter and time simply ran away with us. So I was looking forward to that and simply getting back to start my new life with Draven. I think after our turbulent night back at the hotel he finally understood what it was I was asking of him because he started opening up more and we had a long chat about my family. I knew it wouldn’t be long before I was meeting them for the first time and I was nervous about it, even after Draven tried to reassure me. Because the problem remained that I still felt like some kind of imposter.

“You know what you need…a game of angry birds Star Wars edition!”

“Uh…come again?” I said in confusion and I saw Adam grinning from behind his newspaper.

“I can feel you grinning, honey bumpkins…he’s only smiling because he has more levels cleared than me but it’s those stupid little pigs fault, they just don’t do what they’re told and you would think that by giving them their own Lightsabers they would take the responsibility more seriously and do as they are friggin’ told!” She raged bouncing all over her seat with her back to Adam.

“Breathe little plum and remember, it’s participating that counts sweetheart, not the winning.” I had to giggle as when Adam said this Pip mimicked him, word for word. 

“Yeah well he would say that seeing as he doesn’t lose at any game we play…he’s such a nerd, I even bought him nerd of the week underpants.” Pip told me and I looked to Draven who had one eyebrow raised at Adam.

“They’re very comfy, my Lord.” He responded and I chuckled.

“I think I will stick to commando.” Draven commented dryly which just made me laugh even harder. Then I snuggled over to him and whispered in his ear,

“I’m glad, easy access.”
Then I winked at him and now he was the one chuckling but there was one thing I was forgetting and that was damn supernatural hearing!

“Oh they don’t take long to get into at allin fact there was this one time i
n
Shanghai where there was this particularly huge…”

“Pipper.”
Adam said her name in warning and she folded her arms and slumped back in her seat.

“You know he won’t let me tell any of the good stories!” She complained and I had to try to keep a straight face but I was still curious,

“What makes them nerd of the week pants?”

“Oh fairy gods they are epic! Like Mondays have a picture of Dr Who with his Sonic Screwdriver over where Adam’s pe…”

“Yep, got it! So they’re all like that.” I said thinking this might not be the best conversation to be having with the poor man sitting right there, although I dare say being married to Pip he was probably used to it!

I quickly found out that her other favourites included, ‘Release the Wookie’ from Star Wars, The Periodic Table with the symbol for Iron ‘Fe’ over a certain area, that then in smaller letters said underneath, With the Power to ‘Fuck Everywhere’. But she told me her personal all time fav…her words…were Thursdays, ‘You can Klingon to my Photon Torpedo any day of the week!’ Which she explained was from Star Trek, and if I wasn’t a fan, then this was something that needed to be rectified immediately.

After this and a load more giggling, we started playing this game she was telling me about and I completely agreed with her, those fat little Sci fi pigs just wouldn’t go the way I wanted them to! It was at this point when Draven was laughing at me getting so worked up that something unexpected happened.

“It’s okay, he would totally be the same if he was playing it!” Pip said then she patted my bare forearm and everything changed. I couldn’t understand it but the whole inside of the jet folded in on itself as though the walls had started peeling away to nothing. Underneath the smooth, curved white lines and strip lights were bare block walls and suddenly it looked as if I was sat in a prison cell!

“What…what’s happening?” I turned to Draven to see him turn to stone and start crumbling away like he was made of ash. I screamed at the sight as one by one they all blew away with the rest of the remains of the plane.

“Stop this! Stop this! STOP THIS!” I screamed again and again holding my head in my hands and shaking it like I needed to empty my mind.

“Have you forgotten all about me…
My Catherine?”
  Came a voice and I looked up to see I was back in my Uncle’s basement. A dread filled thought crashed through me that I was back there and this had all been a dream. But then I really started to look and noticed the differences. The bed in the corner had been the same one in my vision that day, the last time I was locked down there. The day that kicked started events that changed our lives completely.

“Who are you?” I asked the shadows looking desperately around for a figure hiding there. I didn’t recognise the voice, so knew it wasn’t my Uncle coming back to haunt me.

“We were meant to be together, you and I.” He told me and I looked all around in a desperate attempt to make any sort of sense out of all of this. Had I fallen asleep?

“I don’t know you and my name is Katie.” I said for some reason not giving him my real name.

“So many names…so many lives…but still
, not enough deaths.”
  His voice took on a malicious edge in this last bit.

“Look, I told you I don’t know who you are!” I shouted getting angry and looking round for anywhere I could run to.

“No but you will…you will again…
soon.”
  This was finally when I knew where to look. I walked a few steps round further into the room and looked up at the staircase. There at the very top stood a black figure looming there like death waiting to take me.

“You will be happy here once again. We were so happy together, until you went and spoiled it with all your blood!” He said getting angry and I couldn’t help but ask,

“What blood?”

“Pick up the glass and look for yourself.” He told me and at that moment a ray of light shone in my eyes from the floor. I looked down and saw a broken piece of mirror just lying there. I bent to pick it up and somewhere inside the room a music box started to play.

“You asked for death, listening to the sound of sugarplum fairies.” I frowned knowing that the sound chilled me to the bone but I couldn’t understand why. So I slowly lifted the mirror as this would have my answers and looked into the shard.

“No…no, it’s not me! It can’t be me! STOP IT! DON’T DO IT!” I screamed as I watched myself slashing over and over at my own wrists and with each cut I made blood dripped from the shard I held, pouring down my arm and landing in a pool on the floor by my feet.

“STOP THIS! IT NEVER HAPPENED!” I screamed again knowing that it had. Knowing this was what really happened to my arms. Because if I actually died that day in the car crash, if Katie was no more, then what else could explain my scars?

“It can’t be…I would never…” I sobbed and then suddenly the world started to tip and it sounded like a jet engine was right outside the windows. The room shook and slowly the basement was falling into the ground, nose diving.

I fell forward only for the shadowed man to catch me as he was no longer at the top of the stairs but right in front of me. The face of someone I knew was suddenly there and I screamed out his name, for it was one I now remembered. 

“Morgan!” He smiled his evil grin and said,

“Let him know…

I’m coming for you.”
 

I jerked back and then fell to my side, quickly realising I was still in the plane but it was out of control. I pushed myself to my feet and looked around to see everyone on the plane was unconscious!

“WAKE UP!” I shouted pushing Pip, who just flopped over and then Adam. Alarms were going off and I looked out the window to see we were going down!

“Oh God!” I didn’t know what to do but I needed to think of something and quick or we were all dead! I turned right around and found Draven slumped in his seat completely out of it. I used the seats to stay on my feet as the plane started shaking. When I made it to him I jumped on him and slapped his face once, twice even a third time but there was nothing.

“DRAVEN WE ARE GOING TO DIE!” I screamed down in his face but still nothing. I would have thought he was dead if I couldn’t see his chest rising and falling.

“Draven please! Save us!” I sobbed knowing somehow this was all my fault. I had done this! This stupid power I didn’t understand could end up killing everyone! Come on think, think! Fuck! THINK! Power…that was it…if my powers did this then they could undo it.

“Come on you have to work…come on!” I thought about the energy I had flowing inside of me and I pulled it to my hands, I only needed a little bit, not much or I might destroy the damn plane. I felt it starting to tingle and looked at my fingers to see it emitting little sparks.

“Okay here goes everything!”

“WAKE UP!” I screamed and hit Draven in the chest with my palm out flat. I pushed with everything I had so my power would shoot in to him and he suddenly arched his back as he shouted out, dragging air through his lungs.

“What happen…”

“Draven the plane! We are going down!” I told him quickly and half a second later I was on my feet and Draven was stumbling to the cockpit.

“Strap in!” He shouted back to me and the door flapped open, banging against the wall to show me glimpses of Draven in the captain’s seat, with the captain also unconscious on the floor where Draven had put him.

“Fuck! Hold on Keira!” He said, and I felt the plane start to go up and I felt sick to my stomach as the pressure hit my body. I saw Pip flopping around and I wished I had strapped her in first before doing as I was told by Draven. I heard another alarm going off and Draven started saying,

“Come on baby! Just hold it together for me…COME ON!” He yelled out and soon it lifted enough that he could level it out. I completely refused to look out of the window, in fact by this point I had my eyes closed and I think even a little wee came out!

But he had done it! Draven had saved everyone on board and I could breathe once more. I let my head fall back against the headrest and had to hold back the urge to burst into tears.

“Keira are you alright?” I couldn’t answer him as reality of what I had done sank in further.

“Keira!”

“Yes.”
I told him but he could tell that was a lie by the emotional way I had said it.

“Wh…what happened?” I heard a man ask and I looked round to see the Pilot waking up. 

“Everything is fine Carter, you passed out so I took over.” Draven told him and I then heard a long string of apologises that were only really mine to say, coming from the pilot. Draven assured him everything was fine and then I heard the door close before he came back through the plane. As he passed he touched Adam and Pip, waking them up from their forced slumber.

“Hey I napped! Honey I finally napped!” Pip said sounding excited and Adam took one look at the situation and read it for what it was immediately.

“Let’s go check on the others, little Plum.” Pip took one look at him and said,

“Oh, you want to give them space…well why didn’t you just say that.” She then jumped up and said,

“Remember kids, no nookie is bad nookie!” Then winked and skipped down the aisle off to see Takeshi, Ragnar and Rue who I had completely forgot about. I was just glad that Sophia and Zagan weren’t on here as they stayed behind for some reason Draven wouldn’t say.