Immortal Memory (Book One) (2 page)

He stepped closer with a deep
seriousness in his eyes. “Someone caused the Alzheimer's. I can
keep you away from Azazel. He's a threat to your life.”

Simra kept her gaze toward him with her
stomach twisting in knots. “How do you know us? Who are you? Are
you really a doctor?”

Lucinda stepped between them and turned
to her granddaughter. Her grandmother's gaze remained fixed on the
floor. “Listen to truth. Demon follow you.”

Gasping in amazement at Lucinda, Simra
looked past her at the new doctor. His eyes remained void of
surprise as he nodded at her grandmother's response. Lucinda hadn't
talked in so long…until today.

Dr. Hanley stepped closer. “Yes. Trust
me. I know what’s about to happen. He's stalking you, and it's only
going to get worse. You're in danger. The cops can't keep you safe,
but I know how his mind works. I know a safe place for you to hide
from him.”

Simra’s wild heart thudded when Lucinda
turned to him with a tender smile. Dr. Hanley stalked Simra too.
There was a connection between him and Tristan. Were they brothers?
Tristan never mentioned a brother. Then again, their last names
were very different.

Simra reached for Lucinda and took the
woman’s hands in her own. “Grandmother, what did you
mean?”

Lucinda glanced down at the floor again
and mumbled. Her grandmother behaved much differently since Dr.
Hanley's arrival. The uneasiness of sensing Tristan around earlier
still rattled Simra’s emotions. Seeing Dr. Hanley made matters much
worse.

Simra squeezed her grandmother’s hand
before turning to the young doctor. “Dr. Hanley, please leave. I'd
appreciate it if you and Tristan stayed out of our lives. I’m
taking her to bed now.”

Zach observed them until they got to
Lucinda's room. “Azazel is evil, Miss Simra, and you'll require my
help very soon. Your stunning beauty's just like that of your
grandmother's. However, your obstinacy like hers could later get
you in much trouble with Azazel.”

A hot blush burned Simra’s cheeks as
she escorted her grandmother toward the room. How did he know so
much about them? They couldn’t escape him fast enough. The doctor
reminded her of Tristan too much. Dr. Hanley seemed to believe he
was much too clever.

Helping Lucinda sit on her bed, Simra
took a seat beside the woman. She placed an arm around her grandma.
“Grandmother, I don’t understand what you meant. I’m not so fond of
that doctor, but I’m glad you’re having a good day. You actually
spoke to me. This brightened my day.”

Giving the woman a kiss on her soft
cheek, Simra gave Lucinda a warm smile before leaving. She never
imagined her grandma would have this horrible illness. Returning
where she left Dr. Hanley, Simra scanned everywhere for the doctor.
The man disappeared.

She continued searching the entire home
and found him nowhere. Someone couldn’t vanish that fast. She
didn’t stay with her grandmother but a few seconds. Simra tried to
shrug off the disturbing events of the morning.

She took a quick look at her employees
to see everyone doing their jobs. There was still no sign of Dr.
Hanley. Simra tried to resist remembering his and her grandmother’s
words. What did they mean?

Eager to know how her grandmother
managed over the night, she stepped up to one of the nurses. A
smile widened across Simra’s lips. “Hi, Bonnie. Did any of the
night nurses mention changes in Grandmother over the past few
hours? Her behavior’s been a little strange. You
noticed?”

The older nurse returned her boss’s
smile. “Hi, Miss Reece. Yes, I know, she’s been behaving in an odd
way since the early hours of this morning. I was about to tell you.
She became combative earlier and tried hitting another nurse. Ms.
Reece tried running away from the building. She’s never done
anything like that before today. Then, she began smiling a lot and
mumbling to some sort of imaginary friend. Ms. Lucinda’s illness is
progressing faster than anyone we’ve ever seen. It worries
us.”

Searching Bonnie’s gaze for more
answers, Simra fought the tears misting her eyes. Was all this
because of the doctor and Tristan? “I don’t understand why it’s
getting to her so fast. Did anything trigger her to become
combative or try to run away from the home?”

Bonnie lifted her spectacles higher on
the bridge of her nose. “Nothing happened to cause it. She was
alone in her room. Ms. Lucinda just got up and rushed to get out of
the home. No one upset her. She has all the symptoms of
Alzheimer’s. I’ve never seen the disease take over someone so
quickly in all my years working with these patients.”

Dr. Zach Hanley’s words repeated in
Simra’s shredding mind. Impossible. A person couldn’t have done
this to her grandmother.

Simra nodded at Bonnie and still wanted
to dig for a rational explanation. “Yeah. Maybe she’s only more
sensitive to this disease than others. It’s probably working on her
faster.”

Bonnie dipped her head in agreement.
“Perhaps you’re right.”

“Thanks for telling me this, Bonnie.
I’m going to check on her again.”

The nurse gave her boss a warm smile
and went back to work. Walking into her grandmother’s room, Simra
ached for answers. Lucinda rocked back and forth on the edge of her
bed with her troubled hazel eyes shifting. Facing the mirror in the
room, Simra’s eyes matched Lucinda’s.

Reaching for her grandma’s hand, Simra
squeezed it with affection. She died a slow death inside to see
Lucinda’s pain. “Grandmother, what is it?”

Both of their lips trembled when the
temperature dropped several degrees in seconds. Muddled words
stammered from Lucinda’s lips. Simra wrapped a flannel blanket
around her grandmother to keep her warm. She almost stumbled
backwards when her grandmother bolted up with clenched fists.
Lucinda's gaze turned into a glare of fire.

Her grandmother clasped her fragile
hands on Simra’s shoulders and tried giving her a rough shake.
Lucinda's screams pierced her ear drums. “Break up! Break up! Leave
him!”

Stepping away from Lucinda, Simra
allowed the nurses to rush in and calm her grandmother. With her
hand covering her own mouth, Simra rushed down the hall into her
office. She needed time to think and sort out
everything.

The new doctor must have triggered this
reaction from Lucinda. Something horrible was happening, and Simra
needed answers. Lucinda never behaved this way until that new
doctor arrived.

Her grandmother warned her about
Tristan when they began dating, but Simra refused to listen. The
same painful regret drove Simra more onto the edge of insanity each
day. She never got the chance to make it up to Lucinda. Now was too
late for Lucinda to realize.

Tears flowed down her cheeks. She
relished the silence of her office. Simra placed her head in her
hands and sobbed. Never did the guilt devour her like it did today.
Her grandmother might die soon if Simra didn’t do something. Simra
needed to do something fast!

God stuck the needle in
Simra’s weak body and twisted with great strength. Why’d He take so
much away from her throughout her life? What did she ever do to
Him?
Oh I must get myself together here
and stay strong for Grandmother. She needs me.

Simra dried her tears and applied a
fresh coat of makeup. A soft knock tapped at the door. Raking her
lean fingers through her blonde tresses of hair, she stood up to
answer. “Yeah, come in.”

Her hands clenched by her sides when
Dr. Hanley came into the room. “I heard what happened to
Lucinda.”

Not you again.
“I told you to leave, Dr. Hanley.”

He closed the door behind him, stepped
closer, and placed his hand on her shoulder. “Please call me Zach.
I realize how difficult it is for you, but God's here to help you.
There are other evil forces, like Azazel, who have caused you
pain.”

She pulled away from him. Memories of
Tristan and who he seemed to be in the beginning flooded her raging
senses. The doctor’s ways of reading her thoughts mystified her. “I
don't need your sympathy.”

He gave her a solemn stare.
"Maybe you don't need
my
help, but God’s always here for you. It’s not your
fault why this happened, and Lucinda isn't upset with you. I know
what your grandmother told you. Believe me about her. The
Alzheimer's is getting to her a bit fast, don't you think? Azazel
placed a dark curse on her long ago. He's dangerous and evil. I
know him well, and you should take precaution. He's coming after
you. God wants to protect you because He loves you.”

Feeling her face burning hot with rage,
Simra pointed to the door. “Leave!”

The buzzing of her cell
phone caused her bones to twitch. Tristan’s number blinked across
the screen, and her heart dropped. He hadn’t called her in a long
time. He probably
was
at her house earlier. Now she would have the answer she sought
with such desperation.

Fire reflected in Zach’s eyes when he
turned to leave. “Always a nuisance.”

Simra picked up the phone with her hand
trembling. “Yes?”

A strange man’s blunt voice on the
other end caused her body to stiffen with dread. “Hello, Miss. Dis
Quint. Your man, Tristan, killed himself dis morning. He owed me
money. I found your number in his phone. You are to give tha’ money
to me. If you tell tha’ cops ‘bout dis, you and your grandmamma
will join him.”

Suddenly, Simra saw all the precious
memories she had with Lucinda flash before her eyes. Her
grandmother's life was in her hands. Simra's body quaked. Lucinda
needed protection more than anything right now!

Chapter 2

“For I know the thoughts
that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not
of evil, to give you an expected end.” -Jeremiah 29:11

Slamming the front door shut upon
arriving home, Simra turned the deadbolt. She pressed her back
against it and closed her eyes. The entire day caused her to feel
sick. All the chaos never stopped.

She needed to find more information on
Zach and if Tristan was really dead. Quint could be lying, and her
ex could have asked him to call her for a scare. Then, what about
the strange occurrences this morning? What about Dr. Hanley and
Lucinda’s odd behavior? Tristan’s ghost seemed to lurk around all
day.

Something about Tristan
Azazel
was
evil or
from another world. Shivering from the thought of being haunted by
him, Simra reached for her cell phone. Her cousin didn’t come to
work for the past few days. The cops couldn’t be of any assistance,
or Quint might come after her. Mandy should know what to
do.

Mandy answered Simra’s call with a
hoarse voice. “Yeah?”

“Mandy, I’m caught in a horrible
incident, and I’m not sure what to do.”

Simra described everything that
happened from the time she awoke. “Don’t you find all of this a
little odd?”

Silence settled between them before
Mandy spoke. “Cousin, you should call the cops. I haven't been
informed of that neurologist. No one told me, but I haven’t been at
work for a while because of my pneumonia. You really believe
Tristan’s ghost is after you? I know the man’s insane and
possessive of you, but come on, Simra. A ghost? Well, I guess I
shouldn’t put anything past Tristan Azazel.”

Simra’s head pounded with
racing emotions.
“I know this sounds crazy,
but what else could it be? There’s no other explanation. I can’t
call the cops. Quint will know. I believe he’s watching me.
Remember the love letters Tristan sent me a month ago? I trashed
them as soon as I got them.”

“
Well, the letters just reappeared in my house recently. I
never gave him a copy of my house key. So how else did he get
inside the place? He swore I’d be his…always and forever.” She
shuddered at recalling his last words.

“Sim, you know Jeff Theron, our best
friend from college came into town today, right? Well, he's a
brilliant private detective now. Jeff's been living in Dallas but
is considering returning to Longview. We should contact him about
this, you think? Tristan and Quint won’t know. Jeff could find out
if your ex’s really dead, discover the body, and catch Quint.
You’re so stressed right now that you might be imagining things.
Stress can do it to people sometimes.”

Excitement flushed through Simra to
know the three best friends would be reunited. It had been too
long! “He's in town? Oh that's fantastic! We should all get
together. Call him, and call me right back. If possible, I’d like
to meet him about this tonight. I don’t want to end up dead like
Mom, Dad, and Grandpa. You and Grandmother need me.”

“You won’t, Cousin. I’ll never
understand how that strange and fatal car accident killed Uncle
Steven and Aunt Adrienne. You were too young to lose your parents.
And I still don’t understand how Grandpa died from a heart attack.
He was so healthy. I promise to keep you safe. Hang in there.”
Mandy gave Simra her word before they disconnected.

Tears misted Simra’s eyes when her
greatest pain drowned her senses. What about Lucinda? Her
grandmother’s precious life mattered more to Simra than her own.
Stifling a deep sob, she removed the high heels from her throbbing
feet. No, Simra refused allowing God to take anyone else from
her!