Shadows Of Sin

Chapter Five

"What did you fucking do Hendrickson?!" I yelled out, to which he laughed. I looked through the red mist and saw the female's golden eyes.

The eyes I thought I'd never see again.

"Anra." I whispered.

_

Her eyes looked up to meet mine and an angelic smile appeared on her small face. She looked exactly the same; her perfect face looked exactly as it did when I last saw her over three thousand years ago.

She even had the small scar under her eye from a fight with her older siblings (who'd all died thanks to a civil war in the Shadow Realm) that hadn't healed properly.

"How...?" I whispered again.

"You still look exactly the same as you did all those years ago. Apart from your eyes; they're filled with so much more pain than before. What happened?"

All of a sudden we were no longer in Liones- or at least that's what it felt like.

It was a meadow much like the one we'd been in when she told me to take her life. It made no sense considering any gates to the Shadow Realm had been sealed.

"How are we here?" I asked the person who was supposedly Anra. I couldn't allow myself to acknowledge her as Anra because even if it was her, she was dead- I'd killed and buried her- which meant she'd leave me again.

I couldn't do that to myself.

"Just go with it Ashe." She said, as she sat on top of a hill and pat the spot next to her. It was all so similar to that day.

Slowly, I went forward and sat opposite her instead of next to her so I could keep an eye on her. That's what I was telling myself when in actuality it was so I could absorb the image of her in front of me one more time before the inevitable goodbye.

A white butterfly flew towards her and settled on the wisteria flower that had been styled into her short hair.

"Now answer my question, what happened?" She looked so sincere, her golden eyes just as innocent as always and her expression as delicate. No imposter could replicate that look that Anra had practically created.

So as I stared into the swirling pools of molten gold, I found myself telling her everything. The pain, the love, the struggle and the strength.

By the end of it, I had unshed tears in my eyes that probably made the darkened blue and magenta seem even brighter.

As Anra placed my head on her lap and stroked my thick mess of inky hair, she murmured soft words of encouragement, comforting me in the way only she knew how.

A sob broke through my body as I let go of the built up emotions I'd kept compressed for so long. I needed her back in my life and I'd do anything to get her back.

Just like Ban would do anything to get Elaine back, I'd do anything to get my sister back. Sure we weren't really sisters but she was everything to me.

Just like Ban. If a human could use the Horn of Cernunnos, why couldn't I? My race was considered neutral (until the alliance with the Demon race but the marriage didn't happen so know one knew the alliance hadn't been dissolved) so maybe I could ask for a favour...

Maybe I'd misjudged the goddesses? Maybe they'd help me? Maybe I'd have a chance to bring Anra back like Ban had a chance to bring Elaine back. Maybe...

Who was I kidding. If the bitch in the seashell told Ban to kill me for Elaine what were the chances they'd help me?

"Don't think about that Ashe. As much as I hate to say it, the goddesses hate you more than they hate your brother. And I don't want to be brought back. I'm so close to finding peace, I just need you to be happy first." She smiled as she continued running her soft fingers through my hair.