WARNING: contains violence that may not be suitable for some viewers.
DEATH OF A PRINCESS
“Wait for me here,” Sebastian commanded. Four young men bowed as they knelt on the floor in front of their master. Blood red candles flickered around the room, creating ghosts of the occupants that danced across bleak walls. Behind Sebastian stood a bust of a dark angel, bat-like wings spread wide and a globe held menacingly in clawed fingers.
Sebastian turned his back on the young men and exited the room through a thick, black curtain. This new room vaguely resembled the other. It too was dark with only sparse candlelight to illuminate the way. Here, a full statue of the same angel stood tall, gazing longingly at the world perched in its hands. Sebastian kneeled before the statue and closed his eyes.
Waves of purple smoke rolled through his vision like a shroud of purple silk, then dissipated quickly. He looked up to see a black mist forming near the ceiling and flowing to the floor. The mist quickly took the shape of a man. As Sebastian watched, Daoi stepped from the smoke, a thick black cloak draped around the Evil One’s shoulders, nearly reaching to his knees. Thick black hair draped around handsome features that took shape before his eyes.
“Why is the princess still living upon my earth?”
“My Lord, the deed will be completed before the sun rises.” Sebastian was dismayed to hear his voice crack slightly as he answered his master.
“What of the other?” The voice was cold and low, sending shivers through the kneeling man, who lowered his face to the floor.
“It’s in the works, my Lord.”
“In the works?” There was no mistaking the disappointment in the voice that resonated throughout the room. “I commanded you over a month ago to get rid of him. What has delayed you this time? My patience runs very thin, Sebastian. Perhaps you’re not up to the task? Perhaps I should replace you with someone who is capable of following my orders.”
Sebastian squirmed and briefly considered returning through the shroud of smoke. He knew what a grievous mistake that would be. There was no such thing as running from Daoi. Wherever he may have thought to run, he would be found, and once found, he would be tortured mercilessly. His entire existence had been to reach this position of authority and power. He knew he couldn’t shrink from the responsibility that comes with it.
“No, my Lord. I am more than capable. The other will be finished very soon. I have my soldiers ready and waiting. I will send them immediately to do your bidding.”
“Do not disappoint me, Sebastian. Forgiveness is not in my nature.” To make his point clear, his cloak unfolded into enormous, black wings that looked like they belonged on a dragon. Icy black eyes stared through Sebastian, then in a swirl of smoke, he was gone.
Sebastian faded back through the purple smoke, watching it swirl quickly around him and disappearing as fast as it had formed. He opened his eyes and stood, giving a quick bow to the statue before returning to the boys in the other room.
“You, take care of the woman and her family tonight.” He pointed at the boy on the far left who bowed again. “You, take care of our friend, Mr. McLaurin.” He pointed at the next one in line. “You other two, wait for my orders. There will be others. Do not fail me. Forgiveness is not in my nature.”
****
Angela Dealrach placed her family’s dishes in the sink, wiped her hands on a towel, and made her way back to the living room. It had been a long day and she was looking forward to a nice quiet evening with her two children. Evenings were never really quiet with a four year old and a six year old, but such were the joys of life. Tonight was movie night in the cozy Dealrach household. For two solid hours she would get to relax with her children. She called her kids into the room and told them to pick out a movie to watch from their substantial DVD library. She knew well ahead of time that it would likely be one of the same three movies they watched every week. That’s just the way it is with young kids. Movies are like favorite toys; they’ll watch them again and again until everyone in the entire neighborhood can quote the movie line for line. It was a very small price to pay for the time spent with her boy and girl.
The two children came running from their bedroom into the living room, and practically dove to the cabinet in the bottom of the entertainment center where their movies were stored. While the two children argued over which movie to play, Angela made her way back into the kitchen. She pulled the box of popcorn out of the cupboard and threw a bag into the microwave. She hollered toward the other room, telling her children to stop fighting and pick a movie. The corn had already started to pop, so Angela had to watch it closely. The problem with microwave popcorn is that you have to take it out at just the right moment. If you take it out too soon, you only get half a bag while the rest stays unpopped in the bottom of the bag. If you take it out too late, the corn is burnt. It took three more minutes, but she pulled the bag out just at the right time, and dumped a bag full of hot, buttery corn into a large bowl for her family to share.
Angela returned to the living room, helped her children decide on a movie, and placed it in the DVD player. The children jumped up on the couch and Angela positioned herself between them. This was her heaven. She felt the touch of her children’s skin on hers as they reached to her lap for handfuls of popcorn. Their laughter rang in her ears like angels singing. She found herself watching the expressions on the kids’ faces more than the movie.
It didn’t take the kids long to get through the entire bowl. Her son begged for more, but Angela was no pushover. She was very conscious about what she allowed her children to eat, and how much of it. She let the movie play while she got up and took the bowl to the kitchen. When she returned, she could see her four year old daughter laying her head on the couch where Angela had been sitting. She smiled as she nudged the little girl and crawled beneath her. She stroked her hair with one hand, while the other found its way around her son’s shoulders. She couldn’t imagine being more content. As cartoon characters danced across her television screen, Angela was oblivious to everything but her children sitting next to her.
Something moved in front of her eyes, but she had no time to see what it was. Next, there was a blinding flash of light as something pulled tight around her neck and yanked her backward. The last breath she had taken in tranquility was trapped in her lungs as she was dragged over the back of the couch, tipping it over. She heard her daughter scream and her son cry, “Mommy!” Her hands went instinctively to her throat in an effort to free it from its bindings. Her fingers dug into the flesh of her neck, trying to get a grip under the thin piece of wire that was threatening to take her life. Her feet thrashed out, hoping to find a hold that might give her some leverage to fight back, but they found nothing.
She looked up at her attacker and saw a man in his late twenties, dressed smartly in black. He had short black hair spiked in a modern style. Cold, dark eyes looked down at her with no emotion. Pearly white teeth peeked out in a half smile, gritting with the struggle of the fight. She could barely make out the tip of a tattoo on the man’s neck. His clean shaven face would have been attractive if the person it belonged to wasn’t trying to kill her.
She was pulled backward farther, almost to the doorway of the kitchen. Just a thin wire wrapped around her neck was pulling her entire weight. It caused the garrote to cut into her skin. Her lungs burned as they yearned for oxygen. She continued to struggle, to fight back, knocking over a lamp that her mother had handed down to her. It shattered when it hit the floor. She wanted to holler to her daughter not to touch the broken glass. Her mouth moved, but no sound came out. Her vision began to get cloudy and objects started to fall out of focus and little ‘floaters’ crossed in front of her vision. She felt her tongue swell and protrude from her mouth as if it could snatch oxygen from the air and sustain her. Though her ears were ringing, Angela could hear her children’s cries. Her daughter screamed at the top of her lungs and cried, “No, Mommy, no”. She had to protect her babies. This man could not harm her babies. In a panic, she thrashed even harder and punched over her head, hoping she would hit her assailant and maybe break his grip. Her punches bounced harmlessly off his shoulders or hit only air.
Her son admonished the ‘bad man’, and tried to kick him several times to no effect. Using the only other weapon the young child had at his disposal, he bit the attacker as hard as he could on the arm. She heard him yell, but it sounded as though it were coming to her through a tunnel. She had to hang on. Angela’s vision reduced to a narrow tunnel that remained remotely in focus. Everything else was a total blur. She could only make out vague colors moving around.
Angela put everything she could into one last effort to free herself. Her fingers only lightly brushed across her neck now as the garrote dug so deeply that blood trickled down the front of her shirt. Desperately, her diaphragm convulsed in spasms, trying to draw air that wouldn’t come. Her feet gave a couple more kicks at the floor. Everything faded to black and Angela could barely feel the floor below her.
A bright light suddenly shined out of the darkness. It was brilliant, as though every color in the entire spectrum blended together with an intensity of the sun. Surrounding the light was a swirl of purple smoke. Angela felt as though she needed to move into the light. Everything would be fine if she just moved into the light. She heard voices in the purple smoke. They beckoned to her. A soft voice told her to keep with the light. As Angela moved through the tunnel of smoke, she no longer felt her body. There were no more struggles, no more fear, and no more pain. It was all over now; all behind her.
As Angela crossed into the light, she wondered about her children, and for a moment she began to fight her way back. The gentle voice spoke to her again, telling her she would be with them again very soon and they would be fine. She went on into the light and felt the warmth of love. She turned around, looking through the tunnel for her children. They came to her, vibrant, beautiful and smiling. The tunnel opened wide for them. Whatever was beckoning to her through the smoke couldn’t get close enough for them to hear their calls. They were perfectly protected as they moved swiftly to her and embraced her. Though she didn’t understand what had happened, or why, she sensed she would as soon as they went together into this new world waiting for them. Even if she didn’t, it didn’t matter. She felt warm and safe and her children were with her. It was pure joy, and she was glad she hadn’t fought to return.
Davin sat up with a start. Sweat poured from his brow into his eyes. He brushed it aside with trembling hands, breathing heavily.
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