Angel Breath

Chapter 1

“Sooner or later, when the time is right, you know that I’ll be waiting here, and I’m sure you’ll find your way to me.” Little Angel – Bad Company

Five years later

Darkness; No light just complete, terrifying darkness. Emptiness; Isabelle could feel her heartbeat smashing against her rib cage – She could hear the desperate pounding of her pulse. Stumbling, Falling, Falling down and down into nothing but damp and musty darkness. She had never felt more alone. Earth; coating her hands, seeping into her fingernails. Blood; The bitter taste of blood in her mouth; an acidic taste. Her stomach lurched. She could hear ragged breathing behind her. Spinning, She could see nothing but a never ending veil of darkness. She could see her tomb. A hand reaches out, cold and filthy. She can’t scream – She opens her mouth but nothing comes out. The grasp is hard, tight. There is no face to this person, just hands, filthy and terrible upon my bare shoulders. She can’t see his face and yet she knows by the feel of him that she doesn’t want. She starts to scream but no sound comes out there’s no sound but his haunting laughter; A laugh that chills her to the core.

 

“There’s no escape, your mine.” A voice breathes in her ear, the voice rattling as it speaks and yet even though it haunts her, makes her feel her imminent death closing in, she knows the words of her freedom.

 

“I will never be yours Grim; nor your masters.” And with those words spoken from her free lips she feel his grip lesson; a blind light explodes around her and in it she can feel her freedom approaching.

 

Isabelle sat up quickly in her bed, looking around her at the obvious light of morning. She releases at breath that she had been holding as she’s realizes that it had been just a dream. She had had the same dream ever since that night. It had been five years and her father had protected her in that time without her learning of anything that had to do with that night, that had to do with her father’s past but now her father was gone, he had died a few weeks ago, in a car crash and it was his funeral today, she could feel the tears brimming in her eyes, threatening to fall over but with a sniffle she pulled herself out of her bed and made her way to the bathroom, hoping that a good bath with a ton of bubbles would help her feel at least a little better about the whole situation.

As she soaked in the bath a singular memory curled around her mind. It was one from when she was five years old. Her father had been helping her take a bath until her mother had called him away from her.

“Jonathan, why do you keep these things a secret from me? It’s like I don’t even know who you are anymore.” Her mother screeched and Isabelle flinched from the onslaught her father was taking.

 

“Why would I keep secrets from you? You’re my wife!” Jonathan replied but Isabelle could sense that he was telling the entire truth.

 

“Than what is this! This, this top secret document. Another thing from your ‘top secret’ job! I wish you would just tell me these things, I wish you would just communicate with me.” Her mother continued her voice reaching higher levels, Isabelle couldn’t understand the complexity of what was going on but she knew that this was a fight to top all of their fights; which happened quite occasionally.

 

“Look, just forget it. I’m sick and tired of you and all of your secrets. Don’t come looking for me Jonathan, I don’t want you to find me,” and with those final words leaving her mother’s thin lips. She could hear the slaps of her mother’s footsteps as she walked away from her father; and in adjunction herself. Isabelle could feel the frown forming on her five-year-old brow; No, she couldn’t understand the complexity of what their fight was over but Isabelle realized that the mother that didn’t love her completely had just walked out of the house’s front door, not even stopping to look back.