Foretold Memories

Chapter Twenty One

***

Blaine

It cannot be, it cannot. For weeks I have seen apparitions of her ethereal figure walking through the halls of this realm. I'd feel the tickle of her breath against my skin, her spirited laugh echoing in the wind, the twinkle of her eyes in the night's stars. Faded memories and moments tearing my body at the seams, ripping me away from what little sanity I have left. The ghost of her smile haunts me when I close my eyes during the day leaving an agonising pressure at the base of my throat. Tossed sheets and a sweat filled brow in a fitful sleep keeps me tied to an image of a knife slicing through her flesh with a gory precision. Her fragile face, silently screaming, freezes in time for me to reach out to a false idea of hope. Of hope to save her, of a chance to regain what has been lost for so long. I failed her the day she was taken. I refuse to buy into the hope that I sell to the people before me, my second chance now forsaken. It cannot be her, it cannot.

***

Some Time Ago

The sinewy thread of Aissa's mind dangles at the forefront of my own, as I am once again reminded of the happiness the trio of angels she lives with give her.

Grumbling to myself, I begin to pace across the marble floor thinking back to the last report, from Ambrose, about Heavens plans. To hell with the consequences of breaking Aissa's cover, she needs to be here in a realm where Heaven isn't welcome. June, heavens guardian isn't an entity to mess around with. She is as practical and stoic as they come. A woman who has no qualms with how things are done, as long as they are done.

Harnessing the energy that surrounds my body, I embody the power that creates this world and use it to send an echo, an aural message that only the receiver can perceive, to Ambrose. Ambrose' echo sounds back, confirming that the Vanges will find and bring Aissa home.

Minutes tick by as I begin to pace again, almost sure that I've worn a path into the cold stone. Aissa's bond calls to me in fury, the happiness I vicariously felt earlier was now sapped dry and replaced with a snowballing sphere of anger and frustration. Her mental slap was replaced with a physical one as I notice Aissa is now fuming in front of me. Make no mistake, her seemingly placid and pleasant demeanour is all for show. Her fiery and sassy attitude permanently has me suspecting she has an Irish relative somewhere.

Aissa's booming voice pierces the air as she begins her rant, "How bloody obvious did you want to make that?" Aissa's cheekbones move and twist as she grinds her teeth in seething frustration, planting me in my spot with a glare so wicked I am forced to remain silent, killing the smirk lifting the corners of my lips. "Evie killed Anthony! Anthony of all them! He's the least harmful of the regiment and she kills him. Melanie is going to have a field day when she finds out Anthony is going to miss their anniversary again!" I wince at the memory from last year when I accidentally ordered Anthony out with his squad the day before his anniversary. Melanie, our rambunctious head of kitchen, was to say at the least, irate. Ambrose ordered a team of food testers to stand by my side until Anthony returned to settle his missus down.

"You know it will only take a few hours for Anthony to be reformed, he will have to make up for the lack of a breakfast in bed with a romantic dinner. It's simple. I'll even redesign one of the marble rooms so he can take her for a walk in Venice or Nice." Aissa's glare only deepens as she huffs. "You know that's not the point! What was so damn important that you needed to send a squad to me in plain sight. Evie will have told Loren and Dauson by now that I have disappeared." She sighs, "They'll think you kidnapped me." Her fury begins to wane and she steps into my open arms with a silent apology at the forefront of her mind. "This complicates everything Blaine. I'm not ready to tell them." I brush a strand of hair, that had escaped her hightail, behind her ear as her head dips in sorrow.