Beyond The Veil (A Paranormal Romance)

Chapter 28

"You want me to go with you?" Raphael stared at the lovely, tear-stained face of the woman who had come to his rescue.

She took his hand and looked deeply into the dark depths of his eyes. "It is entirely up to you."

He let out a sigh of discouragement as his gaze fell on their entwined fingers. He squeezed them gently when he said, "How can I possibly make a decision like that? It's either die for love or live for love."

Jenna nodded in understanding. "I know." She stretched up to him standing on tiptoes, and tenderly kissed his lips. "Just follow you heart."

That wasn't helpful at all. Her kiss stirred up all the emotions, all the loneliness he had felt throughout the years they were separated by death; all the love his lost soul had fed on to keep him going. Until ... Well, until Emily.

Emily. Sweet, beautiful Emily.

He closed his eyes, reveling in thoughts of her; how he had found her when she most needed him; how she had enchanted him with her big, sad eyes; how she had kissed him, soft yet longingly; how she had sought his presence, his closeness.

She needed him, and he had promised to be there for her. He had told her that he would be the one to always take care of her, to protect her. He could not break this promise. But hadn't he also promised Jenna that she was the one he would spend his life and ultimately his eternity with?

What was he supposed to do? Whatever he was going to decide, one thing was certain. He had to break a vow.

He pinched his nose as he suddenly felt dizzy.

"What's wrong?" Jenna asked with concern.

"I'm not sure," he mumbled, his voice unclear and strangely distorted.

"Raphael," she breathed, drawing his attention to his hand that was still embracing hers. "What's happening?"

Bit by bit, the outlines of his fingers were becoming blurry and faint. Raphael watched in bewilderment as they completely disappeared, leaving Jenna's tight hold.

What was going on? He couldn't fixate on anything anymore, everything was swallowed by thick grey fog.

"Raphael!" Jenna's panicked voice reached his senses from far, far away, but he couldn't stop the strange force that was pulling him away from her, away from the love that had bound him to her, away from his cell.

"Raphael!" Another voice hummed in his mind, seductively and sweet, yet it sounded so forlorn and hopeless.

"Please!" it cried out in despair, closer now, as he was dragged through swirling misty haze. He had to find its source, no matter the cost. It tempted him, it took possession of his entire existence, he could not fight the power with which it controlled him.

As suddenly as it had sucked him in, the fog lifted, and he found himself, utterly confused and disoriented, standing in the middle of a dark, open field.

As his vision slowly returned, and with it his body's solid form, realization struck him, and it struck him hard. Emily's field!

"Raphael!" Her agitated, high-pitched scream filled the air right before her arms fell around his waist, hugging him so fiercely from behind that he couldn't help chuckling softly as he turned to face her.

"I thought I'd never see you again," she sobbed, burying her head in his chest. "I thought they would kill you."

"Shhh." He pulled her even closer, holding her as tightly as possible. "It is okay. I'm here now. Everything will be alright."

Emily cried even harder now at his words. "No," she managed to whimper against his body. "It won't."

Appalled by her completely distraught state, he released her and stepped back to examine her closely. "What do you mean, Emily? What's wrong?"

With trembling fingers she wiped away a few tears, yet she didn't dare look at him, for it only took one single word to make the otherwise gentle man boil with rage.

"Daniel."

"What did he do?" Raphael's expression was so dark and threatening that Emily cringed when she finally met his furious glare. "What did he do to you, Emily? What did that son of a ..."

"I don't know." Her weak response cut him off and he furrowed his brows.

"I'm not sure I understand," Raphael said slowly, regarding her with deep concern.

"He helped me find you," she blubbered out, her hands holding on to the fabric of his shirt. "He helped me get here, but before I left, I could hear his thoughts. Raphael ..." Doe-eyed, she stared up into his black irises that reflected confusion. "He knew my mother."

"What?" Actually, Raphael didn't know what he had expected. To be honest, it wouldn't have surprised him much if Emily had told him that Daniel had tried to seduce her or lure her into those twisted games he so thoroughly enjoyed playing. But this? He definitely was at a loss for words.

Emily leaned against his body as if looking to borrow some of his strength, for she did not seem to have any of her own.

"I don't know what to do," she stammered helplessly. "I need to find out what he knows. Maybe he has the answer my dad wouldn't give me. But I'm a little afraid of him, he can be quite scary. How do I talk to him about my mom?"

"My darling," he murmured, his lips softly touching the top of her head. "It is not wise to confront him. Trust me, he is dangerous."

Heavy silence fell over the barren land and wrapped the couple in thick layers of numbing hopelessness, before Emily spoke again.

"Please, tell me," she whispered pleadingly. "What is he?"

Raphael sighed in resignation, raising his eyes up to the bleak firmament, as if the answer was lying within its impenetrable darkness.

"I can't tell you," he eventually replied.

"But he is your mentor," Emily insisted, not satisfied at all with his copout. "You have to be able to tell me at least a few things about him, about what he is."

"That's the point," he nodded absent-mindedly. "He is my mentor. Not only that, but he is, in a way, my creator. I'm not sure how much he told you, but, you see, he gave me the life, or rather existence, I'm leading now. He gave me my body back, Emily, and if he sees fit, he can take it away again at any time. Under other circumstances, I wouldn't mind it as much, but now ..." He gave her a tender smile. "Now I have you, and this body is the only way I can connect with you. If he takes it, he will also take the only link I have to you. I can't let that happen. Ever. We need to be careful. If he hasn't revealed himself to you yet, then he has a reason for it. What reason, I don't know, but if I tell you now about his true nature, then I will very likely draw his rage upon me and he will certainly punish me for it. Do you understand?"

She nodded quietly. "But what can we do, Raphael? There has to be something."

Yes, there was indeed something. He could make her his. He could give in to his awfully persistent and intense urge to kiss her, which would, without a doubt, end her life right then, and enter the realm that lay beyond the veil with the girl he loved. That way, they would not only escape Daniel, but they would be together for eternity. However, he did not have the slightest intention of sharing that solution with her, let alone make it a reality. Instead, he asked, "What did he want in return for helping you?" He knew that man too well to assume he did anything for free.

"He hasn't told me yet."

"Excuse me?" Raphael pushed her away more roughly than he had meant to. "You made a deal with him without knowing what he expects in return?"

Emily bit her lip, feeling a wave of shame and guilt wash over her. "It was the only way," she apologized. "How else was I supposed to help you?"

"Emily!" he hissed, angry sparks flashing in his black eyes. "What have you done? What the hell have you done?"