[ - ]
Table of Contents [Report This]
Printer Chapter or Story Microsoft Word Chapter or Story
- Text Size +
Chapter 30 – The Avenger of Her Own Betrayal


“Please let her be safe, Lord,” Howie prayed with a heavy heart as he fell to the curb of the street. Sobs choked against his throat as he stared up at the black sky, wondering where his angel was. He had spent hours in the police station, trying to explain why he was so emotional. He had been shot in the shoulder. Blood poured from his arm, absorbing against his white t-shirt. He held his arm, feeling it go numb. He didn’t care anymore about his injury. There were far worse things happening in his life. The one person in his life had been taken hostage by the cruelest creatures in the galaxy. He prayed that they hadn’t killed her yet. He prayed for her safety, because he would kill himself without her.

“Howie?” AJ’s voice called into the midnight air. Howie’s back stiffened as he felt Jamelet’s hand lay upon his shoulder. He immediately rose to his feet. He looked dignified despite the raging emotions swelling against his tender heart. His regal tone overtook the emotions plaguing him. Jamelet offered a soft smile as AJ beckoned her to his side. “The police are going out to look for her as we speak.”

“Don’t get my hopes up, AJ,” Howie answered, holding his hand up to silence the man. He could hear the doubts radiating from Jamelet’s mind. He could sense the presence of danger around them as the hours passed. “The police told me that they have no evidence of the kidnapping, so they really can’t go about searching for her. They don’t believe me at all, because no one else verified it—”

“Howie, we told them what we saw,” Jamelet insisted.

“Three people against an entire crowd?” Howie asked incredulously.

“Howie, think objectively,” AJ encouraged.

“I am thinking objectively,” Howie retorted with a cruel sigh. He ran his hands through his short unruly curls. He looked to be at his wit’s end. His eyes began to fill with unshed tears of anguish. Jamelet could sense his pain. Howie had just lost his best friend and only companion. Jamelet felt as if her own heart had suffered a tremendous blow. Ana had been a key part of their discovery, and Jamelet felt as if she had lost her best friend. Howie leaned against the wall, taking a shaky breath. “Where do you think they took her?”

“You’re not thinking of searching for her, are you?” AJ asked with horror.

“I can’t just let her suffer there!” Howie protested.

“Those men are dangerous!” Jamelet exclaimed as Howie started to walk down the street. He held his injured arm as the winds blew against him. His bones chilled as the tears raced down his cheeks. He needed to find his angel. He needed Ana. “HOWIE!” Jamelet cried, catching up to him. She made him turn to face her. She searched his eyes. “Don’t do anything hasty, okay? We don’t know where she is. We don’t know what they’re doing. You just have to keep it together for a little bit longer.”

“I need to go find her,” Howie stressed.

“You need to think of her safety,” AJ suggested.

“I am thinking of her safety! What do you think they’re doing to her as we speak! I can’t live with myself if I know that something terrible is happening that I could have prevented! I never should have made her come out with us. It was stupid to even think of meeting up with those twins! I never should have pushed her. God took her away from me, because I was being foolish! Damnit! I was supposed to take care of her,” Howie screamed out, his voice echoing in the dark night. His eyes sparked with the fire of menacing hate against himself. His soul cried for revenge.

“Howie—”

“Don’t,” Howie advised.

“Howie, don’t be mad at us,” AJ answered calmly, stepping between Howie and Jamelet. He placed a comforting hand upon Howie’s shoulder, talking softly. The moon cast a soft glow upon Howie’s skin, revealing the silver lining in the tattoo on his shoulder. AJ tried to ignore the symbol as he spoke. “We didn’t know that they would take Ana away, but we do need to find out why it happened. She’s very important to all of us. We know that you love her, and you just want her back. We can understand that fully. But you need to come with us, first. We’d like you to at least meet the others. Maybe they can help sort this problem out. But we really need you to come with us. Please?”

Howie sighed heavily, muttering a string of foreign curses. Jamelet felt mournful as the moon glistened against the tears on Howie’s tan cheeks. He was tormented over Ana’s kidnapping. She couldn’t imagine what she would do if she were to part with AJ. Howie gave a weak nod. He seemed too lost to care at that moment. “I think it would do me good to see her siblings. Please, let’s go now before I do change my mind.”

*~*~*

Ana screamed in a violent rage while she was thrown across a black marble floor. Several men armed with the high-tech guns nodded with approval at their capture, then exited the room. Her arm throbbed with intense pain when her back was slammed against the crimson red walls. Her head bounced against the wall, increasing the throbbing agony of her mind. Her eyes connected with the small minion that was pressed against the wall. Her blue-green eyes lit with an intense fire as she scrambled off the slick tiles. She cared nothing for her safety. Her thick crimson blood spilled against the floor from her open wound, but she didn’t care. Her foreign accent echoed against cynical room. “YOU BLASTED MAN! I AM GOING TO TEAR YOU APART WITH MY HANDS! TO TAKE ME AWAY FROM THE PERSON I CARE DEEPLY FOR! WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?! YOU BETTER PRAY THAT GOD STRIKE YOU DEAD BEFORE I MAKE YOU SUFFER!”

“SIRE! SIRE! SIRE!” the minion screamed, clawing at the walls as the doors were shut and locked. The darkness of the room seemed to perpetuate the brightness of Ana’s threatening glare. The minion turned deathly pale as he slammed his hands against the door. Ana’s hands clenched at her sides as she advanced on the man, preparing to strangle him to death. “SIRE! I DID AS YOU ASKED! PLEASE!”

Ana was about to leap at the man, but a force grabbed her roughly by the arm. The winds whipped through the room, chilling Ana’s body. Ana felt herself pulled toward the force and stopped. She admired the shadow of a man, who released her arm. She stood there in shock. The minion fell to the floor, kissing the dark leather boots. “Thank you ever so much, Sire!” the minion cried.

“Silence,” the man ordered, holding his hand up. The minion backed away. Ana stared cynically at the man as the candles around the room cast dark shadows against the man’s face. Suddenly, the room began to brighten. Ana held her trembling arm, somewhat nauseous from the loss of blood, and took in every feature of this man. He was taller than her, reaching nearly six feet in height. His thick blonde curls lay in a loose black ribbon at the base of his neck. He wore a leather coat over a white silk shirt. The coat grazed the floor as it billowed behind him. A thick silver sword lay attached to his hip as a threatening reminder. Thick leather pants clung to his bottom half, defining the powerful muscles of his body. He was almost as pale as Ana, if not paler. She felt overwhelmed by his presence. His dark black eyes admired Ana’s existence. “Your name?” he asked politely.

Ana frowned, not sure if she should answer the man. Something about him made her wary. She watched him tilt his head, laying his hand against his sword. These threatening gestures made Ana decide quickly. She spoke quietly, “Ana.”

“Full name, child,” he ordered.

“Anastacia Lord,” she repeated.

The man’s eyes grew bright in awareness as the minion clapped his hands in approval. She had passed the first test. The man immediately crossed the length of the room, standing directly before her. He took a small blade from his pocket and pressed it against the back of Ana’s blue tank top. She winced as the fabric shredded instantly underneath the sharp tool. The man placed his hand against the curve of Ana’s right shoulder blade. She could feel him tracing the ink in her skin. The tattoo was a black bleeding heart with a sword piercing down. Ancient lettering crossed the sword’s handle while a dark moon rose slightly above the bleeding heart.

“She is our Princess,” the man murmured in transfixed state. Ana immediately jerked away from the light caress of the man’s hand. Her eyes blazed with fury. She had been exposed to this man, because he needed to look at her tattoo. The man, nonetheless, drew her back to him. He gave an approving smile to the minion as the weepy minion scurried near them. “You did well to bring her back to us.”

“Get the HELL off me!” Ana screeched immediately, pushing the man away from her. The man looked utterly shocked as she winced from her sudden jerk. She brought her hand up to hold her aching arm. She brought her hand away for a moment, noticing the heavy amount of crimson liquid being spilled out of her body. She cursed in agony.

The man’s attitude immediately shifted to a look of vengeance. She crossed the length of the room, staring evilly at the minion. “Did I tell you to harm her?” the man shouted, his voice thundering against the walls of the castle. Ana watched in curiosity as the minion shrieked and scrambled to get away from the man’s loud voice. The man advanced rapidly, drawing Ana to his side as he used his other arm to yank the minion to his feet. “I tell you that she is my wife and my love and all you can do is disturb her peacefulness and HARM her?! You think you have the right to mar her beautiful skin with a bullet? How dare you approach her with a gun to harm her! I should have your head taken clean off your neck!”

“NO SIRE!” the minion shrieked.

“Better yet,” the man anticipated with a cruel smile. He held his hand out toward Ana. “Anastacia, my love, come here.” Ana felt drawn to the man, although immune to his speech, and took a step to his side. He placed his hand upon her wound, healing it instantly with a warm fire. Ana sighed happily as the pain diminished from her arm, he then placed his hand around her shoulders. Everything seemed to happen within a moment’s passing. “My Love, look deep into this man’s eyes.”

“I have no idea who you are—”

“Anastacia, do not question. Just look into this man’s eyes.”

Ana obliged the man’s order. She caught the minion’s large gray eyes within her own. The man beside her grinned with pleasure as the green rings of her eyes turned dark emerald, sparkling with the heat of her gift. Things seemed to radiate out of proportion without her knowledge. Her mind absorbed every detail of the minion as he trembled in fear. Her mind began to fill with premonitions. The minion’s fears radiated against her skull with brilliant colors. She pictured the minion’s paranoia – which was the minion cowering as his neck was bared to her. He feared her murdering him!

“You see what he fears, don’t you?” the man asked softly.

Ana nodded as the blue-green coloring of her eyes grew more intense than before. The man withdrew his sword from his holster, offering it to Ana. She grasped the sword tightly in her hands, letting her mind guide her. Ana took a deep breath, enhancing the subtle tones of her low voice. Her premonitions guided her like the bloody nights at the camp. “Bow to me, minion. Bow to receive your gift,” she beckoned in a soft alluring voice. The beauty of her voice compelled the minion to drop to his knees. “Reveal your neck, so I might touch it with a sword of power, minion,” she continued, her voice purring at him.

“SIRE!” the minion exclaimed, throwing himself on the floor. He trembled at the realization of what he was doing. The man laughed as the minion craned his neck for Ana’s benefits. She was far too powerful to resist. The temptation of her voice would allure any man to the depths of Hell, just to hear one more song of beauty. “SIRE!” the minion screamed again.

“Do what is in your heart, Princess,” the man encouraged.

Ana raised the sword high above her head with ease. The weight of the sword was nothing in her powerful arms. She mumbled some ancient language as she took a deep breath. Her blood boiled for the release of this minion’s head. Her heart told her to kill this minion for the wrongs he had done to her. She smiled happily as she slammed the sword against the back of the minion’s neck. Blood spurted from the arteries of the minion’s neck, exploding against the light coloring of Ana’s clothing. She smiled with relief at the warm liquid enveloping her cold body. She dropped the sword to the ground as the minion’s body twitched. On instincts, she turned toward the man who guided her through the process. Their lips briefly connected and the minion’s blood was transferred from Ana’s lips to the man’s lips.

“You already know this within your heart, my Love. I can see the knowledge in your eyes. Your name is Anastacia Grace Lord, you are the Empress of the Darker Elitions. The symbol upon your shoulder binds you to this kingdom. You are the only true-blooded heir to the throne. I am your husband, Lord Ashton. You and I were betrothed the moment that you were placed into your mother’s arms. We are bound together by a strong force. I have searched years with your father to find you.

“You see, the last name that many think you bear: Carter – is false. You are not a true Carter of Venus, merely a stolen identity. You are born of true Elition blood. The man you once called father on Venus – King Carter – STOLE you from this court the second week of your life. He raised you to be a killer of your own people. He had hoped that you would come back to our courts to slay your father and myself. He wanted to rule over our world with greed and animosity. Thankfully, we have found you in time. Your soul cried out to us that night you took to killing our troops. Your presence was calling us from that exact moment!

“With Carter dead, you can know your true destiny. You will rule all the worlds with the power I bring to you. The training and skill are naturally developed in your brain because of your Elition blood. You are a fighting warrior, capable of massive destruction. With this training, now, we can rightfully restore you to the throne, and I can have you as my wife. Dear Anastacia, so much turmoil has occurred since your parting. Your gift of Suspicion has been wasted. I can teach you how to use that power to its full advantage. Everyone will bow down to you, as they rightfully should. Please, accept the love that I am sending to you and accept your right to this throne.”

Ana looked around the majestic room. She heard the footsteps of running soldiers. The smoky lines of the battlefield lit the sky through the veranda. The smell of gunpowder enticed Ana’s soul. All her memories came rushing back like a waterfall. She gasped in surprise, bringing her hands up to rest against Ashton’s cheeks. For that moment, Howie was totally obliterated from her mind. Anger consumed her raging soul. She recalled the hours of torturous training in the deadly arts. The constant badgering of King Carter that she would kill those who threatened her family the most. Ana smiled cruelly, she had been taken away from her true family in a plan of domination. The betrayal of the Carters spurred her heart into decay.

“Anastacia? Do you remember?” Ashton murmured hopefully.

“I am the heir of the Darker-Elition Throne,” she spoke.

“Thank the Lord that you have been restored! I truly have missed your presence in my life. Your father will delight in hearing of your return, darling!” Ashton praised as he hurried to a large chest sitting in the middle of the room. He retrieved a black box from the chest and returned to her side. Ana watched as Ashton retrieved the Crown of the Elitions throne from the chest and returned to her. The silver tiara glittered with the dark rubies and sapphire embedded within the silver mold. He placed the crown overtop Ana’s thick honey curls and the charm of the crown fell against her middle of her forehead. The charm was a bleeding sapphire heart pierced with silver sword, fitting Ana’s place in her new world perfectly — For she was the true Avenger of her own Betrayal.