Sample of
Angels
&
Arrows
REYNA HAWK
Copyright © Reyna Hawk 2014
Cover Illustration Copyright © 2014 by Ravenswood Publishing
Published by Libertine Press
(An Imprint of Ravenswood Publishing)
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means whatsoever, including photocopying, recording or by any information
storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher and/or author.
GMTA Publishing Group, LLC
6296 Philippi Church Rd.
Raeford, NC 28376
http://www.gmtapublishing.com
Printed in the U.S.A.
ISBN-13: 978-0692304563
ISBN-10: 0692304568
A Note From the Author
This book contains actual paranormal events, whether derived from personal experiences or eyewitness accounts. To protect the identity and
privacy of those involved, the author changed the names of the people and locations.
Dedication
Dedicated to all those that believe and have shared their frightening experiences.
&
To L.K. Russ for all of your contribution & help in giving this book life.
Prologue
“My skin is cold and pale but I’m not a vampire. I am referred to as part of the “undead” though I am not a zombie. I can speak, hear, and touch; and I can protect the ones I love, but most of them cannot hear or see me.”
“My name is Arrow. I was born in 1832 and I died at the age of 30 in 1862. I have been gifted the opportunity to leave the world I know in the angel realm and return to earth into the arms of my soul mate. My reincarnated soul mate, Maria Ridge, is in ominous danger. This tale begins as Maria loses faith in life, God, and humanity and I enlist the help of one of the few earth bound souls that can see and hear me, Riley, Maria’s niece.”
Chapter One
Running, But Not Hiding
“Wake up!” the faint female voice screamed frantically causing Allie to stir in her slumber as she tried to reposition herself in the beige rocker recliner; the voice had barely penetrated into her brain.
“Wake up! He’s killing her!” This time the voice echoed through the two-story country home jolting Allie awake. “That was weird.” Allie thought to herself as she sat up and gazed at the television as the DVD’s screen saver started the movie’s intro music again.
“Damn, we missed the ass end of the movie.” Allie chuckled, turning the table lamp on shifting her attention toward me. For a fleeting moment, Allie wasn’t sure if she was asleep or possibly hallucinating, for what she saw made her heart stop and fear race through her veins.
Allie’s eyes had directed their focus at the ugliest most inhuman being she had ever seen crouched on top of me. The beast appeared to be choking me while whispering inaudible words in my ear. The monster slowly turned its gaze to meet Allie’s and let out a deep throttle of a laugh licking its grey lips as thick greenish mucous oozed from the side of its mouth.
“You’re next.” It growled as it leapt toward Allie. However, when the beast caught its reflection in a sconce mirror it screeched out in terror and instantly evaporated into thin air leaving behind black speckles of matter that disintegrated as they floated to the ground.
“Maria!” Allie gasped at the sight of my pale pasty face and bluish lips. Allie jumped to her feet rushing to the couch where I lay motionless.
“Maria!” she yelled, grabbing my shoulders and shaking me violently. Every light in the house had begun to flash and flicker; Allie prayed the electrical issues were due to the powerful summer storm passing through the area.
“Maria! Wake up!” Allie screamed out in panic; slapping me across the face causing my eyes to snap open wide as I gasped out in desperation for air.
“Oh God he’s here and he’s pissed!” I choked and heaved trying to catch my breath; my clothes reeked of the beast’s foul stench. I sat on the edge of the couch trying to gain my senses, leaving a clump of hair on the pillow.
“Jesus!” Allie gasped picking up the hair and inspecting it.
“Jesus had nothing to do with that.” I added fighting the inevitable tears.
Thunder and lightning from the late summer storm rumbled through the town. The rain seemed to come down in bucketful’s as it beat against the roof and sides of the house. The lights flickered with every crack of lightning and crash of thunder. Within a split second, it was as if a cyclone let loose inside the house. Pictures ripped off the walls; furniture tossed about like paper in the wind; every electrical appliance and device repeatedly came on and off by themselves; books flew off the bookcase; and silverware flung about the house became like weapons. Allie and I screamed out in terror at the knick-knacks, books, and other items hurled in our direction causing us both to run for cover.
“Oh my God, is it a torna…” Allie began, but the creature interrupted her with his horrifyingly deep laughter that was so thunderous we had to cover our ears from the sheer volume of it. Allie and I shrilled with fright as we bolted toward the front door. We both knew very well that this was not a tornado.
“RUN, MARIA, RUN!” The woman’s voice yelled out again.
“Who the hell is that?” Allie asked looking about as she frantically tried to open the front door, but it was as if it had been nailed shut. All the while, that same deep growling laughter jarred the house.
“We’ll discuss that later just open the damn door!” I yelled as I saw the middle-aged ghostly shadow of the woman urging me to leave this house quickly.
“I’m trying!” Allie screamed as the forceful booms of heavy footsteps bounced off the floors of the house, causing bits and pieces of plaster to fall from the ceiling while chandeliers and ceiling fans swayed under the intensity.
“Break the window and run!” the woman yelled. With that order, I didn’t think twice as I grabbed the small coat tree from the entryway and smashed it through the large pane of glass on the front door.
“Go!” I screamed as I shoved Allie through the opening of broken glass. My sudden ear-piercing scream made Allie jerk to attention to see what had happened to cause such a heart-stopping outcry. Before I had the chance to climb through the smashed door to escape along with Allie, the creature had grabbed hold of my ankle to knock me off my feet so he could drag me up the interior staircase. My body slammed against each step with a painful thud ricocheting through me as the beast attempted to pull me to his hideout. There was no doubt that if he got me to the attic, I was dead. He would violate me more horrendously than he ever had before and then he would kill me. There was no way I was going to let this thing have his way. I grabbed and clutched onto the railings of the steps, screaming in sheer fright as I held on for dear life. Allie was on the front porch frozen in terror.
“This can’t be happening! This isn’t real!” Allie screamed, tears streaming down her face.
As I disappeared around the corner of the second floor landing screaming, crying, and clawing at the floor, something came alive in Allie; that bastard of a beast wasn’t going to get away with this. She sprang up the porch steps, leaping through the smashed door to climb the stairs to rescue me. However, Allie’s body suddenly lifted nearly four feet in the air and thrust back through the front door onto the lawn. She lay motionless heaving to catch the breath forced from her lungs while I clung to the doorframe of the attic as this beast heaved at my body, scratching my legs with his sharp dagger claws. The doorframe weakened and pulled away from the wall with every tug and jerk of the beast’s efforts to get me into the attic.
“GOD, HELP ME PLEASE!” I screamed out in desperation causing the beast to shriek out in terror as it threw my trembling body out the attic doorway onto the hallway floor. I wasn’t about to wait around to see what this creature’s next move would be. I couldn’t think of the pain radiating from the blood riddled claw marks on my legs. My only thoughts were to escape that house before this horrid creature had the chance to attack me again. As quick as I could, I rose to my feet bolting down the hallway and hurdling down nearly all twelve steps at once to the front door. I’ve always heard of people doing super human feats due to adrenalin rushes in frightening or stressful times, that swift move of mine just proved it.
“RUN FASTER!” the woman hollered as the beastly man came streaming down the staircase after me. By this time Allie was on her feet headed toward the door again, when I came busting out nearly knocking her off her feet.
When I turned to see just how close this thing was to me, all I could see was an enormous angry grotesque head of something definitely not human coming right toward me. His face yellowish gray with sunken cheeks, hollowed eyes with a hint of glowing emerald green, and jagged caramel colored teeth. His laughter rocking the house with his deep haunting screams at me.
“COME BACK HERE YOU WHORE!” With those words echoing through the mountains I screamed like a banshee as I darted to the SUV, fighting the wind and rain to get to the passenger side door of the Land Rover nearly sliding under it as I skidded to a halt tugging and jerking to open the vehicle door. Allie was already in the driver side trying to find the ignition as she fumbled with the keys, her hands shaking from the terror of this frightful night.
“Start the car! Start the car!” I yelled in a panic, as I spotted this creature lurking in front of the SUV.
“I’m trying damn it!” Allie yelled back as I directed her attention to the enormous man making his way closer to the Land Rover. He stood over seven feet tall with shoulders nearly as broad as the front of the SUV. His long wet black hair blowing wildly in the wind and rain, his glowing eyes locked on me.
“HOLY SHIT!” Allie screamed as the engine finally started and she was able to shift into reverse. The ghostly woman stood in the doorway screaming for us not to return as the two spirits of children beat on my bedroom window with their little fists begging us to leave this place and never come back.
The SUV spun out of the driveway onto the rain soaked pavement skidding and jumping as Allie slammed on the brakes to shift into drive. The man was no longer walking but more like flying; his long wet slimy hands and fingernails as long as daggers reaching out for me as Allie white knuckled the steering wheel pounding her foot onto the gas pedal. The SUV fishtailed and swerved sideways on two tires until finally righting itself under Allie’s control. The rain came down in waves so heavy visibility wasn’t even three feet; lightning and thunder popped all around the SUV; tree limbs and debris flew in front of and around the area; traffic lights swung violently on their wires threatening to fall from the gale force winds. Allie and I were soaked to the bone as we zoomed down the road breaking nearly every traffic law out there. It wasn’t until nearly fifteen miles of fighting winds and rains that either one of us were able to speak.
“Did that really just happen?” Allie heaved shaking with fear from head to toe.
“Yes it did. But I’m not sure exactly what that was.” I realized at that instance just how badly my body felt from the abuse I had just received. “Where are we going?” I asked after a juncture of awkward silence; turning the heat on in the SUV to help dry us. It may have been the summer time but the cool night air and rain made it feel like early November.
“I’m not sure yet… I just need to think.” Allie sighed heavily. A safe place totally escaped her mind. Where could they possibly go to be safe from something like that, other than a church?
“Ok I’ve just got to say… you need to fess up right now, what the hell is going on?” Allie eyed me suspiciously.
“Why are you getting mad at me?”
“I’m not! But, I’ve lived in that house most my life and never had anything like that chase me out. Do you know what that is?”
“Possibly.” I couldn’t hide my secret any longer. I had hoped this situation wouldn’t have gotten to this point. Now it was time for me to admit that my weirdness went much farther than hearing ghosts and angels. There was much more to me than I had ever admitted to Allie.
“Possibly? Spill it, Maria. What the hell is that thing?” Allie demanded.
“I think its Scarecrow.” I sighed heavily.
“Who or what the hell is Scarecrow?” Allie had a stabbing feeling in the pit of her stomach that things were about to get a lot worse.
“I think it’s time I told you everything there is to know about me.”
“You think?” Allie gasped shaking her head.
“Just please don’t throw me out.” I begged. If Allie threw me out I’d be back to living on the street. I’d also lose my job, because certainly Allie wouldn’t want me to be a business partner. Before I had a chance to begin my tale, my cell phone ringing changed my train of thought when I noticed I had twenty-two missed calls, all of them from my sister Josie.
“Josie? What’s wrong?” I said a prayer to myself that this thing hadn’t reached across the country to affect her or Riley. Josie and I had a rocky unstable relationship for a long time, but she was my blood sister. I couldn’t keep blaming her for the decisions our parents had made all those years ago. Riley, her seven-year-old daughter, my niece, was the sweetest and most precious gift given to us all.
“You tell me. Riley wakes up screaming and crying that you’re in danger… pleading for me to call and check on you.”
“Seriously? Well Josie something is definitely wrong…” before I could finish Josie interrupted me to tell me that Riley said the safest place for us was in Cherokee.
“She said Arrow told her… for whatever reason this thing can’t touch you there.” Josie sounded exhausted and frazzled. I could hear Riley talking to her in the background.
“Yeah, well ask her where the hell Arrow was when this thing was dragging me up the steps.” I huffed. I was more than a little irritated that Arrow hadn’t been there to protect me.
“The monster didn’t get you did he?” Josie chuckled, “Those were Riley’s very sarcastic words not mine.”
“Go to Cherokee. Arrow told Riley we’d be safe there.” I told Allie.
“And you truly believe this?” Josie asked, not sure what to make of all this. She still had her doubts about this entirely weird situation.
“I have no choice.” I then explained to Josie I’d have to call her back because I was about to lose my cell signal.
“Look I know this has all gotten ten times weirder… but I will explain it all. Just please listen to me and don’t throw me out of the house…” I sighed at Allie.
With those last words of pleading, I began telling Allie the long story of what had led me to the position I found myself in currently. Allie sat in silence constantly steering the Land Rover toward Cherokee as she listened to my tales of sadness and misunderstandings. I had led a hard life in such a short time; it was no wonder I had a difficult time meeting new people. Whom could I trust if I couldn’t
trust those closest to me?