Soul Bringer

Chapter 2

I must have closed my eyes, for I knew I must be dreaming.

I could see her face, soft, with slight laughing crinkles at the corner of her blue eyes. Her hair was long, brown, and flowing. There seemed to be a glow around her, a soft hue, giving her an almost angelic quality. But of all her features, it was the smile I yearned for the most. In her smile, I saw all the love and warmth as she bent down to place a kiss upon my head.

For years, I pretended that woman didn't exist, always insisting that I had never seen her face. My father said I was too young to remember her when she had died. But sometimes when I closed my eyes I caught her smiling at me and I would pretend I was that little girl again and that she was here to keep me safe.

But then I opened my eyes, and the woman vanished, leaving me with the stark reality that I was nothing more than a creature from a shadow world that reaped souls for a horrendous man.

If she were alive now, what would she think of me?

There was no denying it, evil ran in my veins, a trait passed on by my father. Because in any reality that I pictured my mother, she was nothing but the goodness I had always craved for. A quality I was certain I lacked.

If she were alive, would she still want me?

I blinked away the tiredness that lingered as I pushed the woman's face far from my mind, harboring her image close to my heart but far from sight. I must have fallen asleep sometime after the police officers left. I had stayed here long enough.

He was coming.

I could feel it in the energy crackling around me.

I glanced at the nurse as she checked my vitals. Seeming satisfied she unwrapped the bandages on my arms, applied new ointment to them, and rewrapped them in clean bandages.

I found I didn't mind being fussed over.

The woman left without another word and I counted one hundred of my heartbeats as I waited.

Despite the comfort I felt here and the treatment I was receiving, I knew I didn't have time to waste. I was my father's favorite creature. I knew he would go to great lengths to hunt me down. Fear gripped me as I pulled the IV from my arm and hurried to find clothes. Part of me longed to remain here, but if I did, everyone at this hospital would die as punishment for how I slighted him.

I found hospital clothes in one of the drawers, but my ruined clothes from the other night were nowhere to be found. I threw on the pants and shirt. I found a pair of socks and a pair of too large rubbery shoes as well. It wasn't much, but it would have to do.

I stepped out into the corridor and smacked into a person. I looked up, ready to tell the man excuse me, but I paused in my tracks as I studied the man before me. There was a brilliant white glow radiating around him. In a flash the light suddenly shifted until the glow was barely there. I blinked rapidly at the sight, wondering if my eyes had deceived me. I had never seen a person glow like that before, almost as if they had an aura around them.

"Meleena Ragar. My name is Kai Turner. I'm a friend of your moms."

I felt as if my world just took a tumble from the very stars.

"Excuse me?" I said harshly. "My mom?"

I wouldn't dare to hope... but... could it really be her? My father had always told me she had died. I wouldn't be surprised in the least if he had been lying to me all this time. My father probably did anything he could to keep me on his tight leash.

"Yes. She couldn't find you while you were beyond the Echo, but when you emerged she felt your presence. I'm here to take you to her." I studied him for a moment as uncertainty swelled within me. He had blonde hair, curling just on the edges, and dark green eyes. He was beautiful as he stood before me like an avenging angel.

I took a step back from him, unsure if I could trust him. He reached out and gripped my shoulders. His eyes begging me to believe him. I wanted to believe him. I so desperately wanted to trust the words he spoke of. If she were alive... it would mean everything to me.

Suddenly Kai turned his head, as if he was listening to something.

"They are here." He said as he pulled out a long sword as if he grabbed it from beyond the Echo itself.

I strained to listen, but I couldn't hear anything. It didn't matter though, I knew what my father would have sent after me.

The Vorkens.

Kai slashed his sword forward, blood lined the walls, a yelp from the creature rang in my ears. They were using the thin fabrics of the Echo to chase me. They knew I was blind to them if they followed me along the barrier.

Why couldn't father just let me go?

Kai reached for my hand, pulling me along with him. I didn't have time to decide if this was a bad idea as we started running for our lives. We raced down the long, narrowing hallway, dodging hospital workers and doctors as we fled.

"Can you hear them?" I asked, ignoring the pain that traveled through my body at each impact from my feet hitting the floor.

"Yes, hurry." He said as he pulled me after him. I glanced back, noticing with alarm slight traces of ripples as they attempted to claw their way through the Echo.

"Kai!" I called out to him. He eyed the shimmering veil as he sliced his blade towards them. More blood spilled on the ground without so much as a trace of the creature he had slaughtered.

Several nurses screamed at the sight of blood. A receptionist called for security as chaos erupted around us.

We rounded a corner and no one bothered to stop us as we fled the gory scene.

"Are they still after us?" I gasped through the pain as it trailed up my body.

"No, I think they gave up." Kai said.

"Gave up?" I asked as we entered an elevator and Kai selected the first floor. "Those creatures never give up."

"They do when you're around me."

"And what exactly are you?" I asked him, unsure if I should trust this boy or not.

"I'm a Mal'ak." He told me with a charming smile that caused a warmth to spread within me. "Part angel. Our mission is to protect the humans. The same as your mother. She's been hunting for you for over a hundred years Meleena. She's been trying to find a way through the Echo, but the only way is with the blade of realms. A blade your father created."

My heart thumped wildly in my chest.

Could she really be alive? I had to see her for myself.

"Take me to her." The words were a demand, and I knew he felt the power in those words. Even in my human form, I could feel the command reverberating within me. It was as if my voice caused the very ground we were walking on to tremble.

"Follow me." He said as the elevator door opened on the first floor. I hurried after him, though part of me feared this could be a trap. But then I rationalized that Kai had just saved my life. If he was working for my father, he would have let the Vorkens have me.

Besides, if there was even a glimmer of a chance that my mother was alive I had to know. I had to believe there was a future brighter than the darkness of which I clawed my way out of. Perhaps one with a mother I had always longed for.