The Pentagram Child: Part 2 (Afterlife Saga Book 5) (16 page)

“That you will find out when we get there.” And that was my cue to shut up if ever I saw one. I gave a humph sound and noticed she picked up a newspaper that was folded on the table between us, but not before I caught her satisfied smile, one she tried to hide.

If it wouldn’t have looked blaringly obvious in such a small space I would have got up, walked away somewhere I could go and screamed in frustration at having to deal with her!

I hated her and not just because she was Draven’s ex, but mainly because she was a massive bitch face that just loved trying to make a fool out of me! But I wouldn’t stoop to her level….ok, so maybe I had already stooped a bit by rising to her haughty and rude comments but the best thing I could do now was just ignore her.

She was a means to an end and that end was my only goal now…

That end meant having Draven back.

Chapter 59 –

Back To Afterlife.

Thankfully Aurora and I both learned quickly that there was little point to us actually speaking seeing as we both couldn’t stand each other, which meant that I spent the rest of the flight torturing myself with beautiful memories of my time with Draven. It had taken me a bit of time to realise that this was the exact plane we had travelled back in when we stayed at my parent’s house for Christmas.

I remembered my shock when hearing him say he was flying the plane. I mentally shook my head at thinking back to when I had heard his voice coming over the speakers asking me to join him in the cockpit. I still remember what he had said like it was yesterday,

‘You don’t want me to come back there do you, Keira?’ I had laughed knowing that he would have as well if I hadn’t chickened out and lost the battle before it even began. There was never any point as Draven always won with me. He would give me that sexy commanding voice and I would be a goner, powerless to say no. For a start he knew all my weak spots and I was ashamed to say there were many.

I remember freaking out when he talked about me being his co-pilot and laughing at my reaction to it. In truth all he had wanted to do was show me one of the most perfect skies I had ever seen. There had been something about being in the front of that plane with all that vast blue space in front of you. There weren’t many places in the world where you could look out and not see anything living in front of you as far as the eyes could see.

No plants, no wildlife, and not a single person that could invade our moment, just a blue ocean with not a drop of water in sight. It was the closest to heaven any living creature would ever get until their dying breath. Nothing manmade for your eyes to see but the plane we sat in and down there it could have been any time in history and we wouldn’t have ever known.

Because up here nothing ruled.

There was nothing owned to fight over. There was no religion to forbid or curse. And the power of the sky could destroy the mightiest of armies or destroy nations with just one storm. If we were nothing but targets for the Gods above and below, then we were nothing but grains of sand to the sky.

And looking down at the world slowly coming into view, I had never felt this be as true as it did now. The different shades of green patches were getting closer and closer until the roads looked filled with toy cars. Was that what we were to the higher beings…toys to powerful children, keeping them entertained with the choices we made? Sometimes it felt like that and now I had to wonder how entertaining the choice I was about to make was going to play out for them?

We landed with a bump and as I usually did I closed my eyes just when I felt the wheels hit the runway.

“I never liked flying in one of these things.” Aurora said and I had to laugh at that.

“An Angel who doesn’t like flying?” I asked and I was expecting a scowl not the little smile I received.

“It is a funny notion I guess, considering if this plane had crashed I would have been the only one to survive.” Ah, so that’s what made her smile, the thought of my death. Well that was reassuring for the hours to come…
not!

I gave her a fake smile and then rolled my eyes when she looked away. Oh yeah, this was going to be a riot, I thought sarcastically. The plane cruised slowly away from the rest of the planes and I saw a black car waiting for us. I yawned not being to help myself as the lack of sleep was catching up on me. I was surprised I was still going but when I queried it with Pip and Sophia they had both explained that was due to the blood from Draven. Well I knew one thing, I was definitely not looking forward to the jetlag once it caught up with me as I might end up sleeping for a week.

I had tried to sleep on the plane a few times but my mind had been too jittery to relax enough. I couldn’t really blame it all things considered. I was starting to lose count of the people who had tried to kill me, so now being sat across from someone who was smiling at the thought of me dying in a plane crash wasn’t giving me the BFF vibe.

Before I knew it we were off the plane and I was once again stood on English soil, smelling the English air that seemed to always threaten rain. I smiled at the thought of English summers and how unpredictable they were but I had to smile at the bright sunshine we were getting now. Well I could only be optimistic and take it as a good sign because it was that or people saying, ‘well at least it was sunny the day she died’.

We both folded ourselves into the car, one of us more graceful than the other but at least I could say I received a smile from our chauffeur. Aurora didn’t strike me as the type of person who was nice to what she considered the hired help and her attitude wasn’t only reserved for people she wanted to maim, like yours truly.

Not a word was spoken to the driver and I gathered he had already been given his orders, so I let myself sink into the expensive leather seat I knew belonged to a Mercedes, thanks to the badge I recognised and looked out of yet another window.

I watched the busy world getting on with their lives and whether it was stuck in traffic on that long commute or arguing in the car with a loved one, it was still a simple life I envied right now. None of them knew how close they had come to the end and I was thankful for that. I really was but the smallest part of me, the selfish part, wished I didn’t feel so alone and out of my depth sometimes.

You would think by now that I would have been used to things like this happening and in a way I was but it always made you face each day wondering if today would be your last.

It made you create a list in your head of things you needed to do. The people you loved in this life and what it would mean to you just to hear their voices for the last time. To tell them what it has meant to you having them in your life and loving them the way you knew they loved you back. It was breathing deep, looking down at yourself one last time and whispering the last words you wanted to die saying.

Yes, it felt like I had prepared for this day and done these things far too many times in my short life… and honestly,

I was tired.

I must have nodded off not long after we hit the M5 as the next thing I knew the sound of wheels crunching over gravel was jarring me awake. The creepy part was waking to have Aurora looking at you like she wanted to peel my face off and use it as a victory flag. This look didn’t last long before she graced me with one even creepier and with a fake smile plastered on her face she said,

“We are here.”

I would have said, ‘No shit Sherlock’ but words fled me because one look out of the window and the breathtaking Witley Court stood there in all its broken glory.

Aurora waited for the driver to open the door for her and I watched as he handed her a fancy, old fashioned umbrella. I leant closer to the window and looked up to see the unusual sight of a clear blue English sky with the sun beaming down at us. So I could only surmise that she knew something that I didn’t,

“Big shocker there, Keira.”
I muttered to myself as I opened the door and got out of the fancy car.

“Please Miss allow me to do that for you.” The driver came rushing over and I don’t know what he was going to help me with bless him as I was already out of the car. I thought he was going to leap at me when I started to close the door myself, so I left it making him smile at me. 

“Thank you.” I said and he tipped his chauffeur’s hat at me and one look to Aurora and I knew he hadn’t received the same gratitude from that giant cow bag! I had nicked ‘Cow bag’ from Pip when I heard her call Aurora it the last time we spoke, so I thought it was quite fitting.

This was proven even more so as she walked up to the small gate and nodded to it expectantly. There was a woman sat next to a little hut off to the left and after saying something I couldn’t hear into her radio, she stood up. I just made it to Aurora in time to hear her saying,

“I am very sorry Madame, but the house is closed today due to unforeseen circumstances.”

“We are the unforeseen circumstances, now open the gate.” Aurora snapped and the poor woman fumbled enough she dropped her radio before scrambling to pick it up and open the gate.

“Uh…I am sorry I was told the owner was coming, a Mr…”

“A Mr Draven yes, we are here in his stead.” Aurora snapped out as she walked past without sparing a glance at the poor woman.

“Oh…oh, right ok, can I give you a tour or would you like two of our audio guides?” the lady asked having to shout the last bit up at Aurora as she walked ahead. I stopped by the nice woman who wore a pale grey shirt with a logo I couldn’t make out and a pair of dark grey trousers.

She was looking very dejected by Aurora’s rude behaviour, so I patted her on the back and said,

“Feel sorry for me, I have had to deal with the Bitch all day.” Then I gave her a wink and walked on, leaving her smiling again.

I walked up the sand coloured gravel forecourt in utter awe.

“Draven owns this?” I asked myself and instead of Aurora answering me she just turned her head and snapped,

“Are you coming?” I ignored her and didn’t even have it in me to growl under my breath, because nothing the cow bag said would spoil this moment for me.

Witley court was a shell of the stunning show of wealth and riches dating back from hundreds of years ago. What welcomed you was the impressive sight of a stone building now lacking a roof and the glass in what were too many windows to count. The building was in a U shape with the two wings of the house either side of an impressive entrance, which was made even more so by the twin towers situated either side of the grand steps.

These steps led up to the imposing front that was made up of six massive, classic Grecian style columns that curled like rams horns at the top. The whole building looked to be made from the iconic Bath stone that was pale but seemed to age beautifully. The roof was long gone and all that remained was the stone balustrades that stood along only one wing, the tops of the towers and the entrance.

I saw Aurora’s behind sway up the steps, taking each one like a lady just helped out of a carriage and for a second I was assaulted with images from the past; tall hats and suit jackets with tails, lavish dresses sweeping along the floor and the butlers and footmen hurrying to assist the wealthy guests.

Horses getting impatient to be freed from the burdens they pulled, and the whole place being lit up from open windows, filling the summer night with the sounds of the party in full swing. But curiously amongst these strange flashbacks were the sight of two huge bronze lion sculptures standing guard on either side of the entrance door.

And then it was gone with the disappearing sight of Aurora. I shook my head and followed her footsteps feeling myself being drawn to the place. It was easy to see this place in history being one of splendour and luxury but more importantly a status symbol of the wealth you had acquired through business or if you were lucky enough, through inheritance. But either way this was the place you threw the grand parties.

This was the place you invited royalty. 

Or this would have been the case if I didn’t now know who its real owner was. For now all I wondered about was what they could have used this place for and more importantly, why did it look like it had all but the stone burnt down?

These questions bombarded me with every step I took up to the entrance. I passed through the columns and turned to look back, taking in the breathtaking view of the grounds and the stunning countryside of Worcester beyond it. There was a massive lake surround by woodland and trees that looked older than the building itself.

I heard a cough of impatience behind me and it broke the moment of appreciation for this part of the country I now found myself in. So I turned, looked up at the arched main doorway that was decorated with an almost Celtic design carved into the stone. But instead of Celtic knots found in the borders they were in fact Tudor roses, carved with very skilled workmanship as most still looked perfect even to this day.

I looked both left and right before walking through to see the two towers either side and exposed part of the red brick from where you could see the roof to the entrance would have been attached to the towers. So this building must have once been red brick but at some point changed during no doubt one of its many alterations.

“Would you like a tour or would you like to save Dom’s life?!” Aurora shouted back to me as I could just see her stood on the other side waiting for me. I wanted to shout some clever and sarcastic comment back but to be honest she had a point. So I swallowed the insult and hurried my ass up trying not to lose focus.

The rest of the inside that I could see was like the outside only less preserved. It was still a shell of its former glory, but one made even more so by the obvious fact that it had at one time been stripped of everything. The walls were bare brick with a few sections still with what was once elaborate plaster work attached to them. There were a few exposed beams and the ones not weathered through years of exposure to the elements, had so much fire damage they were black strips sandwiched between red brick.

It just seemed to be room after room of open space and you were left with only your imagination to connect the dots. I knew these grand houses were filled with salons, drawing rooms, saloons and sitting rooms although in most of them I wasn’t actually sure what the difference was, other than in the ballrooms and dining rooms of course.