The Quarter Moon (Afterlife saga) (68 page)

“I give you my cock
, Bitch.” He snarled and just as his hand dipped down to touch me in my open jeans, I made my move.

“Yeah…well this Bitch gives great head!” I said as I slammed my head back as hard as I could just at the right moment, feeling his nose crack on the back of my head. In his shock and agony at having his nose broken he let me go. I wasted no time in bolting up and running away from the car.

I must have made it all of five feet when I felt myself being tackled to the ground. I felt the body on top of me try to turn me and just before I let him I grabbed a fistful of gravel. As soon as he got me round I threw the stony handful in his face and took his surprise to twist his body off mine. I scrambled up and delivered two kicks to his ribcage before turning to face the other two that had left their bleeding friend to get me. Their lustful faces were now a thing of the past as only revenge entered their minds when they saw me.

“COME ON YOU BASTARDS!” I yelled out knowing the only thing left for me was to fight till the bitter end. I saw that the one with the broken nose had clearly had enough of me as he had slumped down by the car. The other one cradled his ribs and a nasty
scratch across his forehead running into his eye. Looking at him I think I could also count him out of the fight, which just left these two who had been the ones to hold me down at the car.

I kept backing up so as to prolong the time they got to me
, hoping for a plan to formulate but when I saw one of them produce a small blade from their jacket, I knew I was screwed! I tried not to let him see the panic on my face but from his smile I had failed. I retreated so far that I knew I would soon feel the warehouse wall at my back but with that dirty looking knife coming closer I was all out of options…or was I?

Just as they both ran at me
, I gave it my last shot at survival. I not only dropped all my mental barriers but I pushed on them so hard I hoped it would have the opposite effect on keeping Draven out.

“DRAVEN!!!!!”
I screamed out at the heavens, smashing my walls and feeling the pulse of power that I released along with it. That’s when I felt the first slice of the blade that cut along my belly as the guy had slashed out at me before fully reaching me. My hand went to the hurt but then right back up again blocking the first hit. I even repeated what I had been taught by Draven, saying ‘High Parry’ in my mind. The other guy tried once again with his knife but this time in a stab motion, telling me this wasn’t just an attack on an innocent woman anymore, this had now quickly switched to murder.

I was thankful for my quick reactions as I dodged the damaging blow and the momentum of his actions took him forward into the side of the warehouse. Meanwhile
, I foolishly took my eyes off the other guy and felt a stomach punch that hit closer to the side. It hurt but at least didn’t hit its mark in winding me. I was then pushed until I landed side on into the warehouse wall putting me at a dead end I couldn’t afford to be in.

Before I had a second to get out of it they were both on me and the fight ended with the blade held under my neck. I knew this was it, as one wrong move from me and it was all over. The guy smiled at me and I could
smell the stale taste of whisky he had been drinking all night. His eyes were red rimmed and erratic as the drugs coursed through his veins, pumping him full of falsehoods that told him he was doing the right thing.

“Dead Bitch!” He said and I knew this was it. I sent out that last of the love not broken to those I cared for and waited for the pain to come.

“Che cosa è stato?” (Means ‘What was that?”)  I heard the guy next to me say something I couldn’t understand and looked to see something rumbling over our heads. The early pre-dawn was thundering as I saw the darker shadow descending at a speed only I had witnessed before, giving way to the landing of a demon I would know anywhere.

“Oh
, you are all so dead.” I informed him just before the screaming erupted, this time though, it didn’t come from me. The guy next to me, who had been aiding his friend in holding me to the wall, found his body ripped from the spot in a blur of shadows. My eyes weren’t powerful enough to see the actions clear enough, but all I knew was that one minute he was next to me and then he was on the ground with a broken neck. I almost gagged as I saw his head facing the wrong way, staring at me with dead eyes, that put a whole new meaning to the saying ‘eyes in the back of your head’.

The two I had left injured on the floor were screaming at the sight of what true
murder looked like. The guy who still had me pinned by the throat looked around frantically and just before the pressure became deadly, the blade crumbled into metal dust. I looked past the face of pure terror and right into one that truly created it.

Draven stood behind my attacker with not a single ounce o
f Angel in sight. It looked as if he had shot right out of Hell itself with the flames still engulfing his body. Eyes swimming red like the blood he would soon find covering his hands, burned into mine. I couldn’t believe this was to be our first moment together after all this time. This was to be the first face of Draven I was to see as we reunited once again. As heartbreaking as seeing him for the first time in Aurora’s arms was, I couldn’t tell which was more so…now or then.

“Draven
.”
I whispered his name like a prayer that had come true. This was when he snarled and his hand shot out around the guy’s neck. My eyes quickly left Draven’s demon form and found my attacker’s eyes that were now bulging from the pressure. They haemorrhaged, turning frightened white into blood red making me once again want to be sick.

Draven moved his arm out to the side taking the body he held wit
h it so that soon the guy was dangling by his neck in Draven’s grasp. He tried pointlessly to claw at his hand, but it was no use. This move left Draven and me face to face without anything between us. I saw the flicker of emotion, one other than rage, flash across his face and for a single moment the eyes that were staring back at me went purple.

I was too frighten
ed to move, as it was like looking in the eyes of a rampant beast you knew could erupt into killer at any moment…and I was right. His gaze dipped down to do a scan of my body and I quickly knew what he would find. A bruised cheek and a bloody lip was one thing but a bloody slash across my stomach and jeans that were still undone from my rape attempt was another.

His eyes took in my state and within seconds knew what it all meant and so did I. These men were not leaving this world without being punished. Draven’s eyes told me as much when they exploded back into his demon side and he roared his head back, bellowing his fury with his wings bursting backwards.

“Which one?”
  His demon asked me making me shake with a fear deeper than one I’d known. I had seen Draven’s demon many times before but never like this… never before so out of control that the very flames around him hummed and vibrated with power. It even looked as though he was growing. Like Hell’s trapped energy inside him couldn’t be contained to the body it had been given.

“Draven I…”

“WHICH ONE?” He thundered back at me cutting me off. I knew I had no choice, as these men’s actions had already condemned themselves to death, but the one I nodded at now would no doubt receive whatever horrors he could conjure up in his nightmares…that and more.

So I did the only thing I could do, which was nod at t
he guy with the broken nose who was trying to get in the car to make his getaway. Draven looked behind to see for himself, all the while still holding his arm out straight with a human dangling from it. He nodded and then the engine suddenly blew up, knocking the guy back just as he opened the driver’s door.

Draven seemed satisfied enough that he wasn’t going anywhere for now, so looked back at me one last time. Then he gave
me my last order speaking the only word needed,

“Go
!”
I didn’t need to be told twice as I held on to the bag at my side and ran out of there as fast as my frightened legs could carry me. Draven had looked truly possessed by the Devil himself and his version of payback wasn’t one I wanted to stick around and lay witness to. So I did as I was told and got the Hell out of there!

I ended up running and running until my lungs were close to giving up…but still I ran. I ran until everything in me burned and demanded things of my body it just wasn’t willing to give anymore. I just wanted to stop, crumble into a helpless heap to allow the shock to sink in, letting the shakes that wanted to be released rack my body. But I couldn’t. I was a survivor and survivors didn’t quit. They
didn’t just sit down and say die. So I kept running until my body gave up before my mind did.

I didn’t know how far I had come
, but bent over panting trying to kill the stitch that cut into my side along with the actual slash I had there. I soon found I could no longer stand either as first my knee landed, quickly followed by the other.

So
there I sat, knelt on one of Italy’s cobbled streets, lost, alone, hurt and head hanging down, staring at the wet stone, praying for the last of the storm that mirrored my life.

And what did praying to the
Gods give me…

A taxi.          

Chapter 60

A World of Hurt.

As the taxi pulled up I sent up a whispered thank you to whoever had heard my silent prayers. A middle aged man got out and came to me
, speaking first in Italian, words I couldn’t understand.

“I’m alright
.” I said as he started to help me up.

“English
sì?” I nodded to him and let him help me into the back of the car as my legs didn’t yet feel like they were strong enough to support me.

“
Stupidi giovani prendere farmaci!” (Means ‘Stupid young people taking drugs’) He got me in the back muttering something in Italian.

“
Ospedale?”

“Uh…?” I dumbly responded as I didn’t understand the word.

“Hospital, sì?” He asked just as he flipped up the sun visor giving me a quick glimpse of a family photo he had stashed there.

“Oh…no, no not hos
pital, airport… Milano Malpens Airport.” He frowned but then lifted his shoulders in a shrug before pulling away. I was just thankful that this early in the morning a taxi happened to come across me and hoped I could take this as a sign for no more incidents in getting me home. I knew the likelihood of me catching that flight was slim to none, but at least I would be there where I could wait. Hell, I would bloody live there for a whole week if it would eventually mean me getting a flight home!

I let m
y head fall back on to the headrest and closed my eyes for a few seconds as the night’s events tried to creep their way in. I then snapped my eyes open as I refused to let them. I couldn’t allow myself to think back to what had almost happened, both if I had not decided to fight or if I had not called out for Draven and he had answered that call.

I could only imagine
that I would have just ended up another dumped body joining the mile long list of other victims killed for being stupid enough for walking anywhere in the world alone. It being Italy, had nothing to do with it, as every country in the world had its dark side of beauty that was invisibly labelled ‘no woman’s land’.

“Are you alright?” I heard the driver ask and I looked from the window where I had subconsciously been watching the world w
hiz by but not taking any of it in. The guy had a strong Italian accent but his English was better than I first thought.

“Yeah…I’m fine
.” I said this as if the words were glue, thick and sticky lies that didn’t want to be said. I saw him motion in his mirror to my face and said,

“Are you sure, you really look like you need a hospital
?” On hearing that very word I closed my eyes and sighed.

“Look
, I don’t want to seem rude and mean this in the nicest way possible…but please… just drive…alright?” I didn’t want the guy to think I was mean or anything, but I couldn’t have this guy taking me to the hospital or worse, the police. I was happy when I saw him just nod and look back at the road.

“So if not a hospital, where to?” He asked again making me frown. Hadn’t he heard me the first time?

“Eh…like I said before, just the airport will be fine…thank you.” I said leaning forward closer to the circle of holes through the Plexiglas so that he could hear me properly. He nodded to show he heard and once again I settled back against the worn black leather. You could see in the distance the sun had just begun to rise as the guy took the motorway out of the main part of the city.

He was a kind looking man who
had laughter lines around the eyes and a streaking of grey peppered in jet black hair near his ears. He was what I would class as typically Italian with sun-kissed skin, dark soft eyes and a face that spoke of a world of knowledge. I just bet that nice looking family of his was back at home, all tucked up in bed like they should be.

God
only knew what he thought of me, dressed like a lost little Goth, half beaten and found half collapsed by the side of the road…I was just thankful the guy had given up trying to convince me to go to the hospital, but it did beg the question, why didn’t he then insist I go to the cops? Maybe he just didn’t want to be caught up with my drama any more than he needed to be. Get me from A to B and we would both be happy.

I lifted my bag up and plonked it down next to me, thinking it might be a good idea to do some first aid. I rummaged through my bag, noticing
that the looks from the driver were a mixture of concern and frustration. I decided to ignore it as I lifted up my top, hissing as the blood stuck to the raw sliced skin. Thankfully it looked much worse than it was, as now the bleeding had stopped. I knew the cut hadn’t been that deep but bloody Hell it was enough to sting like a vinegar and salt shower to a thousand paper cuts!

I jumped slightly when th
e light above me turned on so that I could see it better and I nodded my thanks to the driver, wondering how he’d done that?

Still looking down
, I dug my hand in my bag until I felt one of the little bottles of spirits, feeling for the one with the little red hat. Once that beauty was in my hand I pulled it out and flipped off the hat, unscrewed it and broke the seal.

“Is that wise?” The driver asked me, obviously keeping a close eye on me.

“Probably not.” I replied before downing my first swig of tequila. I felt the burn of liquid and welcomed it, unlike what I was about to do next. I then poured some across my stomach washing the slice, making the dried blood run down in little bloody rivulets.

“
Arrrh!” I cried at the bite of pain and tried to shut out the tears that sprang to my eyes. I took a few deep breaths and did it once more just to be sure I had cleaned it well enough. After all I remembered seeing that dirty blade and Hell only knew what he had done with it before me!

Once I thought I had been through enough self inflicting torture
, I opened up the first aid bag that was no bigger than both my hands put together.

“Bloody
Hell, Pip.” I moaned as the first thing I saw was a bag of jelly beans sat on top. Everything had been labelled and the first one read
‘For the pain of missing a colourful friend’
. Alright that was the very last time I was putting Pip in charge of the important stuff!

I moved th
ese to one side and found a lipstick saying
‘For when you’re ready to kiss again’
and also a hand warmer in the shape of cupid that heated when something inside is clicked. This one said
‘To warm a damaged heart’
and this was when I realised what Pip had done. This wasn’t a kit to help heal the body, but to heal the mind…she had known.

The next items helped slightly more as I found a packet of Aspirin labelled
‘for the heartbroken hangover’
, which I swallowed down chased by the tequila, much to the disapproval I saw in the driver. I looked through the rest of the items, finding a business card advertising a gay club with the ladies night circled in red marker. The other side held the note
‘Just in case the Royal bastard made you wanna play for the other team…they would be lucky to have you hot stuff ;o)’

The driver shot me a look when I laughed.

“Oh Pip.” I whispered before continuing on, finding the last piece to be a chocolate heart lollypop that she had obviously made herself as the icing simply said,
‘To help in forgiving me’
. I bit down on my lip to hold in my emotions and nodded to myself when I knew what needed to be done.

I first pulled off one of my gloves and used it to clean around the wounded area the best I could and th
en folded it to cover the cut, in case it started weeping again. Then I felt inside my bag for my phone. I scrolled through the contacts, knowing the very first person I needed to speak to. She answered on first ring but I didn’t allow her to say anything other than,

“Toots?”

“I forgive you.” I said and then hung up knowing she would know that’s all I had to say right now. She didn’t call back as I didn’t expect she would, so I scrolled to the next name on my list.

“Jack
.” I said his name on a whisper, feeling the tears form.

“Keira?!” He asked half in disbelief, half in hope.

“Yeah, it’s me.” I said trying not to break down. I also tried to ignore the funny looks I was getting from the driver, so turned my body sideways in the seat to face the side window.

“Kaz
, where have you been?!” Jack sounded worried and I wondered why he asked this question. See, after I had gone missing and Jack had got Lucius on the case, they had decided the best course of action was crowd control. Or in this case, ‘family and friends control’ as the last thing they needed was the police being dragged into the disappearance of one Keira Johnson/ Williams…again!

So to keep this from happening
, Pip had made the rounds and rang not only Jack and RJ but also my mum and sister, pretending to be me, exact voice over and everything. So other than thinking I was going through a weird spell, the next time I actually spoke to them they were none the wiser. So I had to remind myself this was only the second time I was calling Jack, having no clue what Pip had said to him as me, but just praying she had kept the crazy flirting to a minimum.    

“Why?” I asked confused by his question,
as it was only a few days before that I had rung him from Pip’s apartment.

“Because I have had your ex-boyfriend half crazed on the phone demanding from me if I had heard from you or know where you are
.”

“And what did you tell him?” I asked already knowing the answer to this one.

“I told him about the last time I heard from you and that you were in Germany staying with the friends you had there…I also…” I almost groaned knowing this was the start of how Draven knew about the hotel I was staying at.

“It’s alright Jack, you can tell me
.” I encouraged knowing the damage was already done.

“Well
, when he asked if I knew what you were doing there, I kind of let it slip that you were there looking for him.” And yep there it was, the final catalyst in contacting Lucius, no doubt to demand answers.

“It’s fine Jack, I found him so there’s no need to worry
.” I heard him exhale a big sigh before asking,

“How did it go?” Now it was my turn to sigh. Then I answered truthfully,

“It was Hell on earth.” Strangely I heard both Jack and the driver curse at the same time, but only one of them I could understand. I looked up to see him quickly flip the bird at another driver, so I put it down to a ‘Co winky dink’ which was Pip’s way of explaining a coincidence.

“That bad
huh?”

“You have no idea
.”

“So what now?” He asked making me look to the rising sun and lift up my
wrist to check out what colour the very last stone had turned. I was amazed to see it had now become a beautiful rainbow moonstone and I couldn’t help but wonder what this one had meant. I looked back at the orange glow that was the clear signs to another day and I said the only thing on my mind,

“Now
, I come home.”

“You read
y for that?” He asked and this was where I really hit him with the lies Draven had now warped into a truth.

“Jack honestly
...? Remember what you said to me, about how some things are better left?” I asked him knowing he would.

“Yeah Keira, I do…so this means…?”

“So…
The relationship I had with Dominic Draven is now well and truly
dead
…so yeah I would say I was more than ready for that.” I had to wipe the single tear that fell on saying such painful words. The car swerved into the next lane and started speeding past the other cars, making me wonder was this guy all of a sudden desperate to get rid of me. I was close to telling him to slow it down but considering the small amount of traffic around, I decided if he got me there sooner it wouldn’t be a bad thing.

“Well I can’t say that I’m not glad, the guy was no good for you and I said that from the start
.”

“I know you did Jack and if I could go back in time and take your advice I would
, just to kill the pain I feel now but I can’t.” I think I made my point enough with that confession so that would be the last comment I would get like that one.

“Point made
.” I nodded and ran a hand through my hair, gripping a fistful near the base for a second. The frustration I felt was more with myself than it was with Jack.

“Thanks Jack, you’re a true friend, you know that right?”

“Yeah Keira, right back at ya.” I gave him a half smile he couldn’t see and then said,

“I
gotta go.”

“Alright, but ring me whenever you manage to
get a flight. I’m cool with picking you up when you need it, just give me a call…alright honey?” I put my head back and closed my eyes before saying,

“Yeah, will do Jack, see ya soon
.” And then I hung up, knowing any longer and I would have cried.

I was quickly feeling the last of my reserved energy being zapped out of me and all I wanted to do now was curl up and fall into a deep dreamless sleep. I turned my head and rested it on the back seat to watch
the countryside whizzing past me, when something suddenly clicked…