Torment (2 page)

“Well, no point putting it off,” I told myself. I walked back into the house and sat down again in the living room. I looked at the clock; it was now 2a.m. and I was starting to get tired.

“Keira, are you OK?” Lily asked, sitting next to me again.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I yawned.

“Do you want to go to bed; we can talk in the morning?” Lucian asked.

“Yeah, if you don't mind.”

I said goodnight to them all and went to my room. I ran my hand over the frame of my bed, it was going to feel really strange falling asleep and waking up in there. I opened my drawers hoping my clothes hadn't been thrown out; luckily Lily hadn't touched anything in here either. I got changed into an old T-shirt and a pair of shorts, before sliding under my quilt. I lay there in the darkness staring up at my ceiling. I heard Jake and Lily going to bed and talking among themselves.

“It feels amazing knowing that she’s in there,” Lily was saying. “When we wake up tomorrow, she will be here with us all.”

“I know. I can’t believe it. It’s nice to see you with a smile on your face,” Jake told her. “I’ve missed it.”

I heard the bedroom door close along with others on the floor below us. Everyone else must have decided to call it a night. It was nice to know they had missed me; I had missed them a lot too, but I felt so different now, almost like I didn’t belong here. I lay there for hours but I couldn’t get to sleep. At 5a.m. I gave up and got dressed; I went downstairs and into the kitchen quietly, closing the door behind me. I was getting hungry and thirsty, and I didn’t want the noise of the kettle or me cooking to wake any of them; they’d all had a hard night and needed to get some sleep. I made myself a coffee and a few pieces of cheese on toast and sat at the breakfast bar.

When I’d finished my toast I went into the chill-out room, I sat on the biggest sofa and stared into space, my mind completely blank.

“Why aren’t you sleeping?” Eligos asked.

I turned around quickly to see him standing against the wall next to one of the windows.

“Well?” he quizzed.

“I just can’t,” I told him. “Why are you here? I thought you had to get back.”

“Yeah well, I can come and go as I please, can’t I? I’m not doing anyone any harm.”

“You’re lucky.”

“No,
you
are. You have people here who love you very much; they are so happy to have you back.”

“I know, and I love them, I just…” I trailed off.

“You just what?”

“It doesn’t matter,” I sighed, walking to the window at the other end of the room.

“Keira, don't throw your chance at happiness away,” he told me. “Being alone isn’t fun.”

“Haven’t you ever been with someone?”

“I’m not answering that tonight.”

“Why not?”

“Because I’ve answered enough questions for one night,” he said as he walked over to me. He turned me around so I was facing him, then quickly let go of me again. “Try and get some rest; they’ll be expecting you to talk a lot tomorrow.”

I didn’t say anything. I just nodded and lay down on the sofa.

“Eligos,” I said.

“Yeah.”

“Why did you come here? You didn’t answer me properly before.”

“Because I wanted to.”

“Why?”

He didn’t answer and when I looked up he had gone, I lay back again and stared at the sofa facing me.

I didn’t get a wink of sleep but I didn’t tell the guys that; I didn’t want them to worry about me. I told them I’d woken up early and hadn't wanted to wake them. Lily cooked us all a late breakfast and then we all went to sit in the living room again.

“OK where do you want me to start, do you want to ask me questions or do you want me to tell you a story?” I asked.

“Just start from the beginning,” Lucian said, “and take your time.”

“OK,” I said, taking a deep breath. “When I saw how upset everyone was over Tyler, I knew I had to do something. I knew I could bring him back, and I knew what the price was for doing it. I was scared, I didn’t know what death felt like, I’d never died before. Anyway, it felt strange, I felt a little light-headed at first and then numb. I saw Tyler sit up, and I managed to smile…Then there was nothing.”

“But you woke up, didn’t you?” Lily smiled.

“That's where the story begins,” I said, getting more comfortable.

Chapter Two

My Time Away (Part 1)

“Keira, hey, come on wake up,” I heard Eligos saying to me.

When I finally managed to open my eyes, I was in a big room lying on a bed of black satin. I looked to the side of me and saw Eligos sitting on the edge of the bed.

“Where am I?” I asked him in a groggy voice; my throat was so dry.

“Welcome to my world.”

“What?”

“There’s no easy way to say this, so I’ll just come straight out with it – you’re in Hell.”

“WHAT!” I yelled, sitting up so quickly that I made myself dizzy.

“Just relax; you’ve been out cold for a while,” he said, pushing me down again.

“How long?”

“Thirty-six hours, well…just over.”

“How did I get here?”

“I brought you. It was either this or let you rot in a box in your back garden,” he teased. “Why? Do you want me to put you back?”

“No,” I said loudly and quickly.

“I didn’t think so,” he grinned, getting up off the bed. “Can I get you anything?”

“Yeah a tea or coffee would be nice.”

“Sorry, we don't have that here.”

“Water?”

“
That
I can do; back in a moment,” he said as he walked out of the room.

I climbed off the bed and slowly made my way towards one of the large windows. I was so stiff it hurt me to walk; I felt as though I’d pulled every muscle in my body. When I finally got to the window I held on to the slate window ledge for support and looked outside. Everything was so different. Whatever building I was in, it was big; I looked down and saw I was a few hundred feet above the ground. When I looked out, it was as though I could see the air; it wasn’t transparent like it was back home, where you knew it was there but couldn’t see it. It looked hazy and had a very slight reddish tint to it; it caused everything else to look hazy too. I could see a high wall surrounding the building, but the edges of it were blurry. I could see other buildings in the distance but they weren’t very clear; they were blurred shadows. When I looked up I saw the sky was a swirling mass of colors –reds, purples and blues. In the distance I could see lightning, but not like the lightning I was used to seeing or creating; this was extreme – the forks that came down were thick, not the thin lines of electricity I’d seen back home.

“Different, isn’t it?” Eligos commented as he walked back into the room.

“It’s crazy, everything is so…”

“Blurry? You get used to it. When you go outside and get closer to the other buildings you will be able to see them clearly. Here, drink this,” he said, passing me the water.

“Thanks.”

I carried on looking out of the window as I drank the water. When I turned around Eligos was sitting on one of the sofas on the other side of the room, watching me.

“So they buried me then?” I enquired.

“Yeah, they had too.”

“How did you get me out? Surely they’ll notice that I’ve been dug up?”

“I didn’t
dig
you out of your grave, Keira.”

“How then?”

“How do you think?” he frowned, before raising one eyebrow. “Magic.”

I didn’t say anything; I just stood there looking at him.

“What, did you think that because I fight with a sword that I didn’t have power? I healed you remember, that takes power.”

“I knew you had some power
because
you healed me, but as for other power, I didn’t know what to think; you never told me anything,” I answered.

“I’m not as powerful as you, but I’m not too far off,” he told me.

“Oh.”

I started making my way over to him. When he saw how painful it was for me to move, he came over and picked me up, as though he was about to carry me over a threshold, and took me over to the sofa.

“So what now then, is this where I spend eternity?” I asked.

“I doubt it; you’re needed on Earth.”

“Where exactly is Hell? I mean we know it’s not in the center of the Earth and…”

“It’s another realm,” he told me. “There are lots of realms – your world, Heaven and Hell are just three of them.”

“I sacrificed myself for someone so why aren’t I in Heaven?”

“You can’t go there.”

“Why?”

“Keira, you’re part demon.”

“I know, but what if I don't want to be,” I snapped.

He couldn’t answer me; I knew it was because the answer was “tough”.

“I’m sorry, I don't mean to be nasty with you,” I said sincerely, “this is just a lot to take in.”

“I understand.”

“So is this your home?” I asked.

“No, this is the Palace.”

“The Palace?”

“Yeah, home of the King and Queen.”

“Lilith!” I gasped.

“Yeah, she wants to see you; she wanted to be here when you woke up but she knew you would need to see a face you recognized first; she didn’t want you to panic too much.”

“Where is she?”

“I’ll go and get her if you want,” he offered.

“Yes, please.”

“OK, stay there. Do not move! You’re too weak to be walking around on your own.”

I started to get really nervous; I had wanted to meet her since I learned she was part of me, but now that I was here and had the chance, part of me didn’t want to. What if she was disappointed in me or didn’t like me for some reason? I guess there was only one way to find out.

A few minutes later the door opened, Eligos walked in first, followed by Lilith. She was beautiful, her long straight black hair running down her back; her skin was perfect, pale, but without a blemish. She had the same figure as I did, and chiseled facial features, also the same as me. When she got closer to me I noticed her eyes; they were green, exactly the same shade as mine. She was wearing a beautiful long black dress; so long you couldn’t see her feet. She sat on the sofa next to me and then Eligos left the room. I couldn’t talk; all I could do was stare at her.

“I’ve been waiting for this moment since the day you were born,” she said softly. “I was so excited when Eligos told me he’d brought you here.”

She held her arms out and I moved closer to her, laying my head on her chest and wrapping my arms around her and at the same time she wrapped hers around me. I don’t know why, but I started crying.

“I’m so sorry it’s taken so long for me to see you,” she said.

“Why did you wait all these years?” I asked, moving so I could see her.

“I can’t come to Earth for long…”

“I know, Eligos told me.”

“I wouldn’t have been able to spend time with you, and I didn’t want to simply tell you who I was and then have to leave.”

“I understand,” I nodded, trying to smile.

“You’re more like me than I thought; I’ve been watching you all your life but to see you in person, well, you look slightly different.”

“Eligos said I reminded him of you.”

“He told me that too, how are you two getting along?”

“OK.”

“Just OK?”

“I like him, he says it as it is and I prefer people to be like that.”

“I’m glad you like him, I didn’t want anyone else getting close to you. I would trust Eligos with my life, so I knew I could trust him with yours. He will always look after you.”

“Because you tell him too.”

“I asked him if he would watch over you, yes. But I didn’t tell him he
had
to,” she told me, “and I never told him to go and see you; he wanted to meet you himself. It was nice to see him take an interest in someone; he’s never done that before.”

“He saved my life; well, he’s done it twice now.”

“I know!” She cupped my face and looked at me for a moment before running her fingers through my hair.

“Who am I Lilith?” I asked. “I know I have your blood in me, I know about Elizabeth…”

“You’re not like Elizabeth.”

“She came to see me and…”

“Keira, what she told you, well, some of it was true; she did drink my blood, but you’re not the same as her. You…you are my daughter!”

Chapter Three

Questions

I sat on the sofa looking at the guys; all of them were staring at me wide-eyed.

“What did she mean?” Tyler finally asked.

“She meant exactly that. You see, my mom, Carla, couldn’t have children. She knew and she never told my father; of course she didn’t know about his power then and how he needed a child to pass it down too. Carla had always wanted a family and so when she found out she couldn’t she was devastated. Lilith knew my dad needed a child and Lilith wanted him to have a girl, so she worked her magic, and one night while my dad thought they were trying for a baby, she intervened.”

“And hey presto Carla was pregnant with you,” Danny said.

“Yeah, but it was Lilith’s egg that was fertilized. I don't fully understand it, but that's how it was. She kept her eye on Carla all the way through the pregnancy.”

“So, basically, Carla was a surrogate mother” Lily confirmed.

“Yes,” I told her.

“Does Carla know?”

“No, although she thought it was very strange how she suddenly became pregnant and, when she found out about my dad’s power, she became suspicious.”

“But of course your dad didn’t know anything about it either, did he?” Jake said.

“No.”

All of them sat there in amazement.

“Can we take a break now, please,” I pleaded. “I’m sick of the sound of my own voice.”

“Course we can,” Lily said.

I walked out of the living room and into the back garden. I wanted to sit on my swing, but before I got there I saw my gravestone. I walked over to it and stared at it, it read:

Keira Jameson

Aged 22

Forever In Our Hearts

And Loved Always

Our Guardian Angel

“I bet that feels strange,” Tyler said as he came and stood next to me.