His Concubine (Book 2 of the Vanessa Solomon Series)

Chapter 24

"What happened to you?" I asked, wiping the tears from my face.

"You know I died in the car accident."

I gave a nod, and suddenly remembered Damarius. How could I have forgotten about him?

"Where is he?" I started looking around, trying to remember what was happening before I got to this room. Olive gently squeezed my arms. "Don't try to remember just yet."

"Am I dead?"

"Not completely."

"Explain to me what's going on. How are you here and what the hell am I doing here?"

"I am here to help you." She said with a demonic hiss as her lips curved into this creepy demented smile. She may have looked like my best friend but this definitely wasn't her.

I took a step back. "Who are you?"

"I told you. I'm your best friend." She said it as a matter of fact and tilted her head to the side to look at me. Her black eyes and white pupil only made me more uncomfortable.

"Who was the girl before you changed into Olive?"

She smiled. "Do you prefer that body over this one?"

"I prefer the one that is real. Not whatever the fuck this is."

She kept a smile on her face and gave a single nod. Her body changed back to the pale woman with long black hair. She was naked again, and a few strands of black hair fell in front of her face as those white pupils stared back at me.

"What the fuck are you?" I asked, unable to hide the fear in my voice.

"You don't need to be afraid. I am here to make you better."

She stepped closer to me as I tried to take a step back but I was greeted with a cold wall behind me. She grabbed my hand and held it up to hers; every freckle and crease mirrored mine.

"We look like twins," I said in shock.

She nodded. "We are one now, Vanessa. And everyone that has wronged you is fated to die. You are stronger than you know. But you must allow me in first to accept this power."

"What do you mean, allow you in?"

"Just a simple yes for me to help you become stronger and make sure no one else harms you again." She smiled up at me as she continued to hold my hand in hers.

"I don't know what-"

"Shh. Do this for me... I want you to remember where you were before you got here. Can you do that for me?" Her voice sounded calm and less demonic which relieved some of the tension I was feeling. I stood there as she held both of my hands in hers and it was like recalling a dream hours after you've woken up.

"I remember fire and the smell of smoke."

"What else?" She inched closer to me as if she was going to caress my body but she just stood there looking up at me.

I closed my eyes and tried to concentrate. "Someone screamed... a man? No... maybe a woman. I can't think!" I was becoming frustrated as I had trouble recalling.

"Shh," she gently wrapped her arms around me and rubbed my back to soothe me. "Keep trying. You can do it. What else did you see?" She laid her head against my chest as she relaxed her arms around my waist. I tried again.

"Eyes... black and red eyes."

"Keep going." I could hear her smiling.

I started to hear a demonic scream come from the distance, and the smell of burning flesh was stuck in my nose. The voices and smell was getting stronger and louder. I didn't know if I wanted to remember anymore.

"Keep going," she ordered in that demonic voice, immediately taking away any comfort she was trying to provide. My lips were trembling as I kept my eyes closed. "Someone's burning... the smell of... burning flesh..."

"Who is burning, Vanessa?"

Her nails began to dig into my hips and I was surprised when I didn't feel any pain. But then I felt a body on top of me and heard a familiar male voice. I knew this man. I looked down and noticed that my body was burning between my legs and the heat had spread to my stomach.

I replied in shock. "I'm burning... I'm the one burning," I repeated as the panic entered my throat.

"Do you want my help now?"

"Yes. Oh God. Help me."

             I opened my eyes and the girl leaned back so she could look up at me with those unnerving white pupils. Her nails dug into the center of my torso and began ripping me in two. I screamed at the sight of it, but noticed that I didn't feel any pain. She tore my skin apart until the opening was large enough for her to step inside. Her legs went in first and then she turned around to match my stance. She looked up at me one last time with those creepy eyes before closing my body back up.

      I frantically scanned my body for wounds trying to make sense of what just happened. But as I looked down at my stomach, I was completely healed as if it never happened. I searched the dark room for the girl but all that was left was the white couch she had sat on. I slowly stepped towards it as I tried to catch my breath. The room was beginning to fade as if I was going somewhere else, and the last thing I hear is a voice inside my head...

They will all burn. Every last one of them.