Alias: The Doyen Series book 1

(7) A WHOLE NEW WORLD

PICTURE: Antoine's Restaurant in the French Quarter. It's actually a famous restaurant in New Orleans!

It is now Saturday evening and we are sitting around Antoine's Restaurant for lunch.

Kayde is sitting beside me sporting another blue t-shirt, this one lighter than before, and he looks dashing.

But I think my opinion may be bias. I think he looks dashing in everything.

I chose to go with a pair of white shorts and my favorite red off-the-shoulder blouse today. Yet, I still feel unequal next to Mr. Perfect.

I feel Kayde lean over to whisper in my ear. "Stop it," he says, sending chills down my arms.

"Stop what?" I whisper back.

He turns my head to look him in the eyes. "Feeling insecure. You bite your lip every time and you start fiddling with your hair," he smiles at me.

I instantly release the strand of hair I have wrapped around my finger and gawk at him. He pays attention. Before I can comment, he makes me blush by placing a kiss on my forehead.

"Get a room," Kameron interrupts jokingly. We look up to find the 3 of them staring at us with awestruck eyes.

I stick my tongue out at her as we all stand up from the table. We paid the waiter about 10 minutes ago. Well, Kayde paid the waiter because he refused to let us pay.

He is either really rich or really stupid.

I'm not sure yet.

We make it to the festival in the nick of time before the opener begins strumming his guitar. I notice that people are looking at me a lot today as well, but I have started to wave it off. They did that to everyone, right? Heck, they are probably looking at Kayde and not even me.

He is beautiful.

But a few hours later after Kayde and I have danced to the music and sang along to the ones we knew, I learn that my theory is inaccurate.

Kayde is staring at me like he is seeing me for the first time. Except this time, he isn't happy.

He seems angry, shocked, even irritated.

But, above all, scared for his life.

"Kayde? What's wrong with you? Are you alright?" I frantically search for any problem but find none.

More people than before are staring at me now. This time, their expressions are close to Kayde's and I do not want to stick around to find out why.

He looks into my eyes and I can see that he is fretful about something. "Kayde!"

He snaps out of it, but doesn't return to normal. "Aisling. I'm sorry but I have to go," he mutters and walks away before I can ask him why.

So, being the stupid girl I am, I follow after him.

I call Mallory and must yell over the crowd that I am going to find Kayde, he had come down with something.

Something alright.

She doesn't seem worried and tells me to text her whenever I find him.

I end up a block away from Ursuline's on Dauphine Street but still don't see Kayde.

I am alone trying to find someone who just ran off without reason. The street is unusually empty. The only other people are 3 figures walking towards me.

I step onto the street to cross to the other side of the sidewalk because they don't look friendly, but I am stopped dead in my tracks. I am unable move any further to the left. It is like a force field is preventing me from walking across the street.

Huffing, I turn to walk straight.

The figures are closer now, mumbling something incoherent in another language. I pick up some French that they are speaking.

Most specifically the word 'mourir'.

D E A T H .

It is only human beings that have to worry about non-existence—about death.

Matter is indestructible. It will never cease to exist. It will never go away. It's alternative to death is to simply switch into different phases and forms.

Living, breathing things cannot do this. We are forced to fight for our lives.

Everything we do is a matter of life or death; existence or non-existence.

I start to back up as quickly as I can, turning around and walking frantically in the way that I had come. But it is to no avail.

Something whams into my shoulder, making me fall onto my face.

I quickly turn away to defend myself when I feel a fire burning down the left side of my arm. When I look, however, there isn't a fire, only insurmountable pain.

I scream out for help but no one is around.

They are getting closer by the second. The left 1—a man—has his hand straightened out in front of me. He too is murmuring a chant and I only assume that it isn't good.

Everything happens at once.

Instinctively, I raise my palm up and point it at the man. I see a blue fireball being thrown straight at me and I flinch. Turning my face away, my palm is still raised and I scream. I feel a burning sensation on my hand and the next thing I know, I hear screams coming from him.

He is thrashing on the ground, his face covered in 3rd degree burns.

But the other 2 are still coming for me. And whatever I just did, if I even did that, I have no idea how to do it again.

Before I raise my hands up again, I notice a blur out of the corner of my eye. It rams 1 of the demons into the wall and I hear bones breaking.

Thump.

The body is dropped to the ground as if it is made of papier-mâché.

The other man is still coming for me, un-phased by the torment coming from his partners.

Until the blurred figure attacks him too.

This time, he bites into his neck and the body slumps to the ground;

d e a d .

Death puts us at an odd stalemate, I think silently to myself. In death, we are no longer considered human, but do not fit the criterion to be classified as animal.

I cannot tell if I am screaming or not. I know that my mouth is wide open. I have to touch them to feel vibration.

Yes.

I am shrieking like a teenage girl in a horror movie.

Through my hysteria, I can make out what the blur is wearing: a blue shirt and jeans.

I begin to feel dizzy and know that I am about to faint. I reach around for my phone but see it across the road. I look into the eyes of the killer.

No.

No, no, no.

NO.

I must be dreaming.

This is a dream.

Please let this be a dream.

His shirt and mouth is covered in blood; his veins are bulging out of his cheeks and his eyes are glowing like a beacon in the night.

My savior isn't a savior at all.

Kayde, is all I can think before I pass out.