Chapter Seven
“What do you mean, ‘her body was found’? What happened to her?” I ask, flabbergasted. I instantly regret my spiteful musings.
“It means that she’s dead. More specifically murdered,” Cole says dryly. She leans forward and rests her elbows on her knees, for dramatic effect, I’m guessing. “Now being that you admit to assaulting her, all fingers point to you. Tell me, Gabriella, why did you want Ms. Carlisle dead?”
Is this woman for real? Someone has obviously been watching too many episodes of Law & Order. Simmer down, Detective Dramatic.
“What? Look, there’s no way I killed Summer. I had no reason to. She got out of hand at the bar. Yes, I pushed her, but that’s it,” I retort, fervently.
“No one’s accusing you of murder, Gabriella.” Perkins gives his partner an irritated glance. “But I do need to ask of your whereabouts last night approximately between 1 and 3 A.M. About what time did you leave the bar?”
“Well, after I got into it with Summer, I left and waited outside with my friend. Then we headed to Denny’s around midnight, I guess, maybe a little later. I got home after 2 or so,” I recall.
“And can anyone vouch for that?” Perkins asks.
“Yes, Jared Johnson, of course. And my friends Morgan, James, and Miguel. Wait!” I jump up and sprint to my room, returning just seconds later with a small slip of paper. “Here’s my receipt from Denny’s. I paid with my debit card.” I shove the piece of paper in Perkins’ face, pointing at the time stamp. It reads 1:52 A.M.
“This should check out.” Perkins nods, noting the time. He picks up his notepad. “And your friends? I’m going to need their names.”
“Sure. Jared and James Johnson. Morgan Pierre. And Miguel Espinoza.”
“And we’ll need to know where to find them,” Cole snaps.
I look at Cole squarely. “At their homes,” I say with a cynical smirk.
“Their addresses,” she adds, brusquely. She’s shooting daggers at me with her hard, muddy brown eyes.
“You’re the detective. Investigate!” I say incredulously. “Hell, you found me easily enough.” I give Cole a cold stare of my own. I hear my mom gasp in disbelief at my outburst and I turn back to my parents and mouth ‘What?’ with shrugged shoulders. I return my attention to a now furious Cole, and Perkins, a smile playing on his full lips as he scribbles down the names of my friends.
“Thank you for your time,” Perkins says, rising. He shakes each of our hands. Cole jumps up and makes a beeline for the front door without a word. Rude ass. “Here’s my card. Call me if you hear anything and we’ll be in touch if we have further questions.”
“No problem, Detective. Oh, Detective Perkins? Can I ask how she died?” I add, wondering if my suspicions are true.
Perkins looks back at his partner who is rolling her eyes, waiting impatiently with her hands on her hips. He hesitates for a beat. “Puncture wounds to the jugular, it seems, but we’re still waiting on the autopsy report.”
Chris shakes his head grimly and Donna grasps her chest with horror. I’m frozen in my seat, unable to process this horrible revelation. Finally, I meet Perkins’ eyes and nod my understanding. He looks solemn and exhausted as he walks to the door, as if he’s been working to catch the killer day and night. Little does he know that the assailant he’s searching for cannot be confined by handcuffs and a jail cell.
“Why don’t we go ahead and have breakfast,” my mom says after the police leave. She tries to usher me to the kitchen but I stop in my tracks.
“No. I’m going back to bed.” I turn on my heel and head back to my bedroom. I have no intention of sleeping but I definitely can’t eat after what has just transpired. I think to call my friends to warn them about the police but decide against it. I don’t want it to seem like we were plotting anything just in case they check our phone records. I really want to talk to Dorian, but I’m not sure if he’s on a plane or if he’s even awake. I decide to try a text message.
To Dorian, 8:31 A.M.
-Hey, sorry I didn’t call you back. Hope you have a safe trip. I’m looking forward to Friday, too ;)
No need to alarm him with my troubles. What would he do about it anyway? And would he even care?
Ding! Ding!
-I’ll be thinking of you until then.
It’s amazing what that man can do with a simple text message. I just wish it were enough to make me forget all that’s troubling me. Whoever is out there longing to kill me is getting closer. Could they have been at the bar too? I scan the familiar faces in my head, wondering if anything was suspicious or out of place. Nothing sticks out to me. Even if the Dark were there, what could I have done to save myself? Or save my friends? I’m powerless against any supernatural adversaries at least until I turn 21. Then what? Do I wave around a twig and say ‘Abracadabra’? Will I trade in my little Honda for a broomstick?
I look over at my mom’s book, sitting on my nightstand. So many unanswered questions and it seems to be the only thing, other than Chris and Donna, that sheds some light on my newfound destiny. I reach over to pick it up, and then recline comfortably on a mound of pillows. After flipping through the pages for a few moments, I come to the part where I left off. Oh right, my mother, the great Dark Hunter, comes face to face with the sadistic Shadow, and instead of slaying them, she decides to procreate with one. Way to stay strong, Mom!
I read on for the next hour or so about Natalia’s confusion at her choice to let the Shadow live. It was the first time she had ever been so close to one of them without it ending in bloodshed. She was curious. For nights, she had dreams about the mysterious Warlock; his cold, blue eyes burning into hers, his unfathomable, tortured expression, his compliant stance. She didn’t understand why he lied to his partner about seeing her. Did he think she couldn’t take them and took pity on her? It angered her to think that they saw her as a weaker adversary. She didn’t need rescuing. And for her choice to let them live, she was angry at herself. She was trained to fight her enemies and was exceptionally efficient at it. What was so different about him? It baffled her how she could allow herself to become influenced by the Dark One. He surely must’ve used powerful hypnotism to persuade her to let him live.
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I had no explanation for how the Dark One escaped with his head. I had trained and planned for their arrival, leaving a trail of clues that would lead them straight to me. Then once they were separated, searching for me, I would pluck them off with ease. But seeing that man, the Dark One, startled me. He had awoken something inside me that I didn’t even know existed. I hated to admit that it was desire. I wanted the Dark One. And I hated myself for feeling that way because I knew that we could never be. He despised me and would surely suck the life right out of me if given the chance. I buried myself in training for our next encounter. They would not escape me again.
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My poor mother, tortured by her carnal desires. Guess we share that trait. I read on about Natalia’s growing affections for the Dark One, and her self-loathing for not being able to shake the foreign feelings. She wanted to hate him, just like the rest of them. But in her dreams, she never killed him. He never killed her. Her dreams were full of passion. Lust. Love.
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I tracked the Shadow for thousands of miles, more determined than ever to bring them to their demise. Maybe even a bit reckless. I felt that if he was dead, my irrational feelings would die with him. Plus if anyone from the Light ever found out how I felt…. No good could come from it. He had to die.
On one particularly cold night, I catch their scent towards an old abandoned factory site. I stealthily approach the area, making virtually no noise in my pursuit. The scent grows stronger. They’re here. I can feel them. Everything inside me is telling me to turn back, it’s surely a trap. It’s just too easy. Something isn’t right. But I have to do this; I have to get it over with. It’s the only way I can get him out of my system and retain my sanity.
As if they could hear my internal struggle, the two from the Shadow ambush me, materializing out of thin air. They have paralyzed me with their magic, no doubt for easier slaughtering. They are both there, both viciously beautiful. I struggle unsuccessfully against their strong combined currents. They step into my line of vision, giving me a clear view of the object of my desire. I give up the hopeless fight as I lock eyes with him. I will die with his magnificent face being the last thing I see.
His partner murmurs something in their native language. He’s telling him to ‘Do It.’ I close my eyes and wait for my demise peacefully. Minutes pass but death never comes. My eyes flicker open and I see that he has dropped his hold on me, releasing me from my temporary paralysis. His partner stands in disbelief, shouting at him but he’s talking too fast for me to understand. They begin to argue and I have to ask myself why I haven’t taken this opportunity to kill them both while they’re distracted. But I know I can’t. I won’t. He spared my life once again. I have to find out why.
His name is Alexander. I eventually know him affectionately as Alex. He is the most gorgeous man I have ever seen. But beyond that, he is different from anything I have ever learned about the Dark. He is kind, decent, and compassionate. And he has the ability to LOVE, something we, the Light, have been taught is impossible for them. We are told that they are nothing more than cold, hard shells. Devoid of humanity. But Alex is so full of life and passion. This caused me to question everything I was ever taught.
I know Alex has killed many times. His conscience had grown weary with the constant carnage. He wanted it all to end. The day in the woods, he had been hoping I would kill him. Put him out of his misery. For hundreds of years, he led a contrived life. He wanted to settle down, have a family one day. That is virtually unheard of for the elite Shadow. They have their pick of throngs of women, both supernatural and human. Alex had quenched his thirst for lustful flesh decades ago. He wanted something more. And he thought that I could help him.
The first time Alex appeared to me, I nearly killed him. He was not defensive. He let me attack him until I realized he had not come to harm me. He wanted to learn about love and family. He was interested as to what we, the Light, thought about the Dark. Of course, he suspected that we view them all as murderous, unfeeling villains. We met in secret for many nights like this, talking about our lives, and how we wanted more. I only knew how to be a Dark Hunter, to track and kill the enemies of the Light without mercy. Alex had been recruited into the Shadow when he was very young. His exceptional tracking and fighting skills had served him well and he easily moved up through the ranks. Plus he was known for being dreadfully brutal and torturous. Possessing those qualities will eventually weigh you down with guilt and regret.
Soon the time we spent together grew from sheer curiosity to something more. Much more. We would find ourselves longing for the other’s company, sneaking away from responsibilities, lying to our own loved ones so we could be together. We tried to fight the overwhelming emotions. We even walked away from our relationship several times, concluding that it could never work between us. We would surely be put to death for our association. In the end, love won out over our fear. We could not simply turn away from what we had.
But as you may know, nothing worth fighting for comes easy. Alex’s partner had grown suspicious of his constant disappearances and odd behavior. One night, he followed him and found us together. He was outraged; they had been like brothers for over a century and Alex had kept a staggering secret from him. At first, his instinct was to kill us. He would have been doing us a kindness, to say the least. If he told what he had found, we would have been ripped apart, limb from limb. But Alex pleaded with him, explaining his feelings for me…. And the child that grew within my womb. Your father’s partner was utterly disgusted, and turned away from Alex. We thought for sure he had gone to alert the Dark of our transgressions. We waited for death together, cherishing our last moments in this life. But his partner returned alone. He vowed to help us and protect us. He did not fully understand but his devotion to Alex was unshakable. So he concealed our secret the best he could.
As the saying goes, everything done in the Dark must come to Light. As my belly grew, rumors began to fly amongst our kind. It wasn’t hard for them to find that I had consorted with a Dark One. Word traveled back to the Dark and Alex was immediately taken from me. I was beyond devastated. I knew that he would not survive this. The Dark are merciless and his death was imminent. His friend was also punished harshly for his treason. I will be forever thankful for his allegiance.
As for me, the Light felt they would show me a bit of mercy by giving me a choice. I could live but my unborn baby would be killed as soon as I gave birth. Should I choose to keep you alive, I would pay the ultimate price. Death.
I chose the latter.
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I close the journal gently and set it on my nightstand. Then I allow myself to do something that I’ve tried to avoid at every cost. Something any normal person would've done days ago.
I cry.