Immortal Memory (Book One) (26 page)

Lucinda mumbled in response to the
detective. She wrenched away from him and continued her slow steps
up the staircase. The floor boards creaked beneath their
feet.

Jeff gave Mandy a puzzled glance.
Lucinda ignored them with her gaze intent on the steps below. Sim
inherited her strength, determination, and independence from
Lucinda.

They stepped onto the second floor, and
Jeff turned to Mandy. “We can’t burn the body if she leads us to
it. Sim’s the only one who can destroy Tristan. But we'll tell Sim
where it is when we find her.”

Mandy pressed her lips together and
eyed her grandma. The body's rotgut stench burned the back of
Mandy’s throat. “We’ll find Tristan’s corpse and keep trying to
find Sim. I hope and pray she’s still alive,” she glanced at
Lucinda, “I don’t believe our family can handle much more
death.”

Lucinda froze at the top of the
staircase. The woman tilted her head and focused on the ceiling
down the hall. Fury burned in her grandma’s eyes.

Mandy studied where Lucinda held her
gaze. Dust and chipped white paint covered the surface. But there
was no opening for an attic. Lucinda kept staring at the bare spot.
Jeff and Mandy searched every hall and room for an attic but found
nothing.

“Is his body there,
Grandma?”

Lucinda's eyes widened with a cold and
bitter fright. Her mumbling voice cried louder. Mandy stepped in
front of her grandma and faced the descending staircase. The front
door slammed from downstairs and vibrated the old walls. Mandy’s
bones quivered with the violent tremor of the house.

Heavy footsteps pounded through the
place like thunder. Mandy gripped her grandma’s arm tighter. The
mad stomps came closer toward them up the stairs. Jeff drew his
pistol and prepared for what approached.

Mandy placed her lips against Lucinda’s
ear and cried a soft whisper. She blocked Lucinda from view.
“Grandma, stay behind me.”

Ragged, frigid whispers pricked Mandy’s
neck like sharp icicles. Mandy jerked around and screamed when the
invisible creature picked up a pallet. The demon placed it on top
of her to trap Mandy. Silence filled the house, and Jeff aimed the
gun in different directions.

The detective cried out Mandy’s name
when the creature grabbed his ankles and dragged him down the
stairs. “Mandy!”

Mandy winced at the loud thud on the
bottom of the staircase. “Jeff! You all right?”

Mandy’s heart hammered against her
chest when the detective didn’t respond. The creature’s footsteps
pounded up the stairs toward Lucinda. “Grandma, don’t let him hurt
you! Where’s Sim, you monster?”

Although Mandy couldn’t hear or see the
vile demon, the frigid caress of his laugh seemed to crawl down her
spine. A painful ache devoured Mandy’s stomach at the thought of
losing everyone. Lucinda stood frozen in place with her eyes
widening. Fog floated from her grandma’s lips. Mandy’s constant
struggles to escape were pointless.

A numb weakness spread through her
veins at the thought of losing her entire family in this house. The
enemy caused Mandy to question her faith. Nothing or no one but a
miraculous act of God could save those she loved. Fright devoured
her heart for their lives so much that trusting God seemed
impossible. Mandy’s tears and perspiration burned through her.
Never did she believe this kind of day would come!

Chapter 31

"Greater love has no one
than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends. -John
15:13

Simra removed the island's curse with
holy prayers that Zach taught her. They chased away all evil on the
piece of land. A warm breeze embraced her body after completing the
prayers. God had answered Simra in an instant. The Lord’s powerful
grace filled her heart with tenderness.

Surely He would save her family again
too. She realized how much she did not trust God since she lost her
parents. So much had changed recently. The angel followed her
toward the center of the island. His eyes sparked into a raging
fire. He studied the drugs planted in the center of the
island.

She slid into his arms after they
walked back to the shore. “I dreamed of this place many times. It’s
strange how the repeating vision became reality.”

Zach brushed a soft kiss across her
lips. “Azazel could’ve caused the dream. Then again, God probably
sent you a warning about the future. We’ll stop my
brother.”

The salty breeze caressed her lips, and
the waves crashed onto the brilliant white shore. Simra’s head spun
with worry about her family. Her stomach twisted into knots. She
gazed at Zach with a sob catching in her throat. Reaching around
his waist, Simra clung to him.

Simra buried her face into the angel’s
black shirt and inhaled his strong cedar aroma. “I’m so
afraid.”

Simra thought about Zach’s big plan
again and got ready to face evil. She’d risk anything to save
Lucinda and the rest of her family! “Let’s go.”

Zach breathed warm kisses against her
brow. Gathering Simra into his arms, he began carrying her back to
Longview. “Place the note inside Jeff’s car before you walk into
the house. If Mandy and Jeff know about our plan while Azazel’s
there and not distracted, he’s won. Remember how to shield my
brother from reading your mind. Only you can destroy him. The rest
of us have our parts.”

Zach carried her quicker than usual.
Simra rubbed her eyes when they arrived at the old house. Her head
reeled with dizziness. A churning ache knotted her stomach when she
noticed Jeff’s brown car parked in front of the home. Someone had
kicked open the house’s front door.

Zach reached for Simra’s arm and
stopped her from running inside the place. “Regardless of what
happens, shield your thoughts.”

Simra reached into her pocket and
squeezed the note between her fingers. She opened Jeff’s car door
and placed the note on the driver’s seat. “He’ll regret ever
knowing me if he’s hurt them.”

Zach lifted her chin with a finger
after Simra closed the door without making a sound. “Don’t allow
your anger to interfere. Remember, this chaos will end if
everything goes as planned. Focus. Focus.”

Her shoulders squared in determination.
Running toward the house, Simra repeated the angel’s words under
her breath. “Focus. Focus.”

Her gaze stopped on Jeff groaning in
pain at the bottom of the stairs. “Jeff! You all right? Where is
he?”

He assisted Simra by lifting the heavy
board off him. The detective replied in a hushed whisper. “There’s
no time to explain. I’m fine. Mandy and your grandmother are
upstairs with him. Hurry!”

Limping up the stairs, Jeff followed
Simra toward the demon. Simra gasped when Tristan grabbed Lucinda
by her shirt collar. Rushing into Tristan’s arms, Simra stopped him
immediately from harming her grandmother. Happy memories with
Tristan shielded her angry and fearful thoughts.

Jeff lifted the heavy board off Mandy’s
body. Gasping in disapproval, her loved ones studied Simra clinging
to him. Tristan had a vital reason for coming all this way. The
corpse was here, and her family must have found the disgusting
thing. Its rotten stench stung her throat when she entered the
house.

Simra tightened her arms
around the demon as tremors crawled down her back. Refusing to look
into his wicked blue eyes, she hid her bitterness. Simra
concentrated on shielding her thoughts.
Focus. Focus.
Keeping her loved ones
safe remained her top priority.

“Tristan, I love you. Let’s return to
the island and stay forever. I apologize for everything. I became
so concerned about you that I tricked Zach into bringing me here.
Let’s go home.”

Mandy stomped across the wooden planks
with her black high-heeled boots. Her cousin’s lips stayed parted
in bewilderment. “Are you insane? Where’d he take you? You can’t go
back with him! You love this disgusting creature? How could
you?”

The demon bolted from Simra’s arms and
reached for her cousin. Simra caught his powerful arms and stopped
him from harming Mandy. Her insides coiled. Simra brushed a soft
kiss across Tristan’s lips and hid her anger. Jeff reached for
Mandy and prevented her from interfering with Simra.

Mandy placed a strand of burgundy hair
behind her ear and shot Simra a harsh look. Simra’s heart pumped
with restlessness. Her emotions ripped to shreds when she looked at
their grandmother. Lucinda’s eyes blazed with a consuming fire
while Simra clung to the demon.

Simra resisted the tormenting ache to
hold and comfort Lucinda. Why did they bring Lucinda here? Their
grandmother shouldn’t be in this place!

Lucinda latched onto Simra’s arm, and
the woman’s tired eyes pleaded with her granddaughter’s. Taking the
biggest risk of all, Simra released Tristan. She gave her
grandmother an affectionate squeeze, and Mandy pulled Lucinda away
from Simra. Resisting to think about the plan again, Simra kept her
mind guarded.

The demon’s eyes flickered into raging
sparks, and he took a step toward them. Tristan grabbed Lucinda by
the collar of her shirt. His voice lowered into a hideous growl.
“Stay away from her and stop intervening. I’ll make your memory
loss worse if you don’t. She belongs to me!”

An itch stung Simra to slap Tristan,
and she drew away from her grandmother. Simra framed the demon’s
face in her trembling hands and clenched her teeth. She fought each
impulsive desire of killing him now. Simra rekindled the flame
within her that she felt for the demon so long ago.

“Tristan, please don’t touch-don’t hurt
Grandmother. She doesn’t understand how much I love you. It isn’t
right to harm her. Yes, I belong to you, but Grandmother’s only
worried about me. Please try to understand….for me. You love me,
right? I love you.”

The demon’s eyes softened and changed
back to blue. “Yeah, baby. I love you, but everyone else needs to
leave us alone. They don’t understand a love like ours because
they’ve never experienced it. Your family and Jeff must leave and
never return.”

He paused and added, “They’ll be
destroyed if I sense they’re here again. We’ll return to the island
after I’m certain they’ve left. Tell them to go now.”

Chill bumps spread across Simra’s
clammy flesh. She turned to her family and concealed the panic in
her voice. “Tristan doesn’t want any of you coming back here.
Promise you won’t return.”

Jeff nodded, grabbed Lucinda by the
waist, and carried her downstairs. “We won’t come back as long as
Tristan doesn’t hurt you and leaves us alone.”

“He has my word,” Tristan
growled.

Simra repeated the demon’s reply to
Jeff. “I love you, Grandmother. I love all of you.”

Lucinda cried in agony when they took
her down the stairs. Mandy’s stare pierced into her cousin when
they turned to leave. Simra switched her thoughts again when new
fears wanted to arise. Tears misted Simra’s eyes, and a sob caught
in her throat. She restrained her rampant emotions.

Nothing could ever return to normal for
her again. Guilt ripped apart her tormented soul. Her loved ones
endured too much. The curse on Lucinda needed to be broken. She
refused giving up on her! Simra would blame herself forever if the
curse claimed her grandmother’s life.

“Baby, you all right? I’m sorry about
what I said.” Tristan soothed away her tears with his
thumb.

“It’s not just that. I’m
scared.”

Tristan framed her face in his hands
and placed his brow against hers. “I promise everything will be all
right if your family and Jeff keeps their word. They must keep
their promise, and you should trust me.”

Not really listening to him, Simra gave
Tristan a slight nod. Keeping her loved ones safe mattered most. If
she had to risk her own life to save them, then it must be
done.

Tristan gathered her into his arms
without Simra’s resistance. “I’ll take you back to the island where
we’ll be safe from my brother.”

Simra tried not to focus on how her
grandmother cried and reached out for her. However, the despair in
Lucinda’s tormented eyes shot through her body like hot needles.
Anguish bled Simra’s heart to numbness. She must find a way to
break Lucinda’s curse before it became too late.

Simra needed to see Lucinda
one last time. Zach or Tristan were
not
allowed to claim her
grandmother’s soul. She would make certain of Lucinda’s safety.
Never did she fear more for her family’s lives than now! If Simra
had to die to save all of them, so be it.
Focus. Focus.

Chapter 32

"The angel of the Lord
encamps around those who fear Him, and delivers them. Oh, taste and
see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in
Him! Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints, for those who fear Him have
no lack!" -Psalm 34:7-9

A dark void filled Zach as he awaited
Simra and Azazel’s return on the island. The angel and Simra
removed the curse on the place. But Christ also shielded Azazel
from sensing anyone near the abandoned house again. All this was
done through sacred and holy prayers.