Grand Father
Monday, the 2nd of May.
12:05pm.
New York had always been boasted to be the best place in the world to spend your spring break at, and so far it has lived up to the expectations and maybe even surpassed it by a whole lot. From flower festivals to the food fest, art fairs to relaxing boat rides, one could choose to enjoy the New York spring and engage in many exhilarating outdoor activities.
And as the flowers bloom in the New York spring season, so does the business world,. And although only a few businesses need the help of the different seasons on New York to boom and bloom as they work with the weathers, like businesses in the clothing line and occasionally tourism, a lot of other businesses boomed no matter what season flowed through New York.
As spring time was a time to enjoy the outdoor activities, and the night time coming alive more with longer days and relatively shorter nights, people had fun in as many ways as they possibly could. And one of such ways was clubbing.
New York was a rich city, no doubt and a lot of people just love to flaunt their wealth but many choose to do so by how they spend and what they eat, what they wear and the houses they lived in, the hotels they go to and the clubs they visited. One of such expensive places was the Skyline hotels and clubs.
Skyline travelling agency was owned and managed by Mr. Colin Hunt, known strictly as Mr. Hunt by his business partners and business associates, his acquaintances and to the outside world, but to the members of his family, he was known as Grand father.
Mr. Colin Hunt was a seventy seven year old business tycoon, his oddly still youthful and never smiling face would give one the impression that he was wicked perhaps, and strict and it was not entirely made up as Mr. Hunt was very strict. Strict to the core. His aura was one of such that if he entered a room, there would be immediate silence and in as much as Mr. Hunt took pride in the fact that people feared him, he had always admired the ones that would speak to him boldly and without any sort of tremble in their voices, one of such reason why he valued his right hand man, Daniel Noel Arnott.
Skyline travel agency took a lot of years to start up and took even longer to get to the position it was in today, the fame and popularity having grown so far and wide that Mr. Hunt had thought it wise to expand his line of business.
The rich loved to spend, they loved to go on tours and if they choose to find to New York, then they should enjoy their stay in New York. He established the Skyline hotels and clubs, and despite how expensive they were, people still flocked in. Skyline was a gem and grandfather Colin Hunt could not have been more proud of his accomplishments.
Mr. Colin Hunt was not one to be seen with women, except maybe his secretary but in public, that was on rare occasions. His total lack of interest in women caused a few people to raise the suspicious that he could be gay but that was far from the truth, Colin was just indifferent towards them and although the rumors had gotten to his ears, he could only care less. But the rumours died down any way because no body knew so much about Mr. Colin Hunt, his life was basically a secret even though he was such a huge business tycoon.
The Hunt mansion was usually empty as the place had turn cold, so asides from the very few servants they had, no body was ever home, and although Mr Hunt came home occasionally, he spent most of his nights at the Skyline hotel, having a secluded section of the hotel to himself. It was off limits to many and only few even knew about this secluded place. These selected few consisted of just eight men and they were Mr. Hunt's personal business partners and they had all gathered there today.
12:34pm
Mr. Hunt sat at the head of the table, his face straight and his expression unreadable, Daniel stood loyally behind him, he too had learned how to keep a neutral facial expression. The room was dimly lit, with the only source of light being the small chandelier which hung above the large oval, polished oak table. The tension in the room was stretched and Mr. Hunt remained quiet.
"Over the years, we have been rotating this responsibility..." A muscular man in his late fifties spoke, despite his age, he still managed to look absolutely stunning in the three piece navy blue suit he had on. He leaned closer on the table so that the light illuminated his face barely and continued. "...and now, we need to know that he is on our side."
"Is he in or out?" Another chipped in a question.
Mr. Hunt plopped his elbow on the chair arm and gently massage his index finger with his thumb. "He is in." He replied.
"He is in?"
"Did he say that or are you speaking for him right now?"
Mr. Hunt shot him an angry look but the man did not even flinch, rather he looked back at Mr. Hunt, waiting for an answer. "Well...?"
"I said he is in." Being a man of a few words, he did not bother trying to explain more. He leaned back on the chair, away from the light.
"We all know that he is in from what you have been telling us over the past few meetings." Another healthier looking man spoke up, leaning away from the table and away from the light.
"And so?" Mr. Hunt asked, he was already getting frustrated. Every time the meeting turned out like this, he always ended up with a head ache.
"We all want to see that he is in."
"Yes Colin, no more excuses for the boy." Another braved up.
Mr. Hunt leaned in on the table towards the direction of the person who had spoken last, he had called him Colin. He had dared to call him Colin. "Excuse me?"
"Well, he is not wrong. We want him present in the meetings from now going on." Another chipped in but Mr. Hunt was still very much focused on the man that had called him Colin.
"Colin?" He asked the man.
The man, as if just realizing what he had said gave a sigh and leaned in on the table. "Mr. Hunt..."
But Mr. Hunt had shot up from his chair, the back of his knees pushing the chair backwards, its wooden legs scraped against the rules flooring of the room. At the same time, be had already pulled out a gun and was pointing it towards the man, aiming the Glock 19 Gen14 at his bald and shiny head.
"Colin?" He asked again.
The whole room froze for a second. The man whom Mr. Hunt was pointing the gun at focused his eyes on the barrel and then at the man behind the gun. He did not look afraid, no, not in the least bit, what showed in his eyes was pure anger. Underneath the table, he placed a hand on the steel weapon tucked half way into his trousers, he wound his fingers around the handle, feeling the coolness of the steel.
Mr. Hunt noticed the movement of his hands and pulled back the safety of the gun.
"Stop this foolishness now and let us get back to what we were!" The first man yelled but Mr. Hunt did not flinch. Both men bored death glares into one another. Their stares carried threats but every one else in the room knew whose stare was just a threat, empty none the less, and whose stare sent devastating warnings. He was not placed at the head of this group for nothing.
Daniel placed a hand on Mr. Hunt shoulders and slowly, the man calmed down. He tossed the gun over to Daniel who caught the weapon effortlessly and he straightened up, adjusted his suit and tie.
"Chester would be here present for the next meeting." He announced.
"Al-right, that is good, so..."
"For now...!" Mr. Hunt's voice thundered, interrupting the man who had just started to speak. Then he lowered his voice again. "...this meeting is adjourned."
He pushed back the chair and made for the door, the soles of his shoe tapping loudly on the tiled floors. Daniel got to the door first and opened it for Mr. Hunt who walked out of the room, head held up high and without for once glancing back. Daniel followed suit and shut the doors quietly.
02:35pm
Within the secluded part of the hotel was an office, Mr. Hunt's office and only three people were ever allowed in; Mr. Hunt himself, Daniel; his right hand man and his son, Michael. Chester would have been allowed into the office too but the boy had left home a long time ago. Mr. Hunt had not bothered to stop him then when he was leaving because he felt like there would come a time when every boy would need to grow up to become a man. Chester had left the house eight years ago and had left the city.
In as much as Mr. Hunt had not shown any emotions at the time Chester was leaving, he still had him tracked and monitored because he actually loved him. From the time Chester left the house and moved out of the city, Mr. Hunt was aware of his every movement. When he had come back to New York, he had also known about that but since the time that Chester returned, he never for once came back home.
But still Mr Hunt was proud of his son, he had managed to achieve so much in such a short time. He was just to proud of him and it was this competence of his that made his personal business partners want Chester in on the business. But knowing the kind of person Chester was, Mr. Hunt knew that he would open decline immediately but at least he needed to bring him in first.
Mr. Hunt sighed and reclined back on the soft leather chair, he closed his eyes and brought a finger to his temple, slowly massaging his head.
"Daniel." He called.
"Yes, Grand father." Daniel stood up from his during position and came to his side.
"I need to contact Chester." He spoke slowly and without opening his eyes.
"Yes Grand father." Daniel bowed slightly. "I will get that arranged right away."
"You do that." He said and waved Daniel away. Just as he got to the door, Mr. Hunt added. "And tell Stacey to get in here, I am beginning to have a terrible head ache."
"Yes Grand father." He replied and left the office, shutting the door behind him as quietly as he possible could.
Mr. Hunt spun the chair to face back, when he was in this kind of mood, he enjoyed looking out of his office on the seventh floor, through the ceiling to floor windows that lined the whole wall on this side, looking out onto the busy Street of Tribeca, Manhattan. The spring season brought with it the bloom of flowers and the greens of the leaves on the multiple trees. This was his calm. He released a breath that was on his chest heavily as he allowed his mind go back to when The Hunt was still a family. They had lived so short a life and till now, thirty years later, their deaths still ached him.
There was a rapt knock on the door and a female voice followed. "Mr. Hunt?"
"Come in." He called and closed his eyes.
He heard the door click open and clicked shut a second later, followed by the tap tap tapping of shoes on tiles getting closer then a pause.
"You asked for me to come up Mr. Hunt." She spoke. Her voice was calm and soft and it soothed him.
"We are the only ones in here Stacey." He said, still with this eyes closed.
Stacey made her way around the large table and came to stop in front of him. She bent down and touched her fingers to his face, stroking gently.
"What is it Colin?" She asked.
He opened his eyes now and watched her watch him with so much admiration. He smiled. Stacey was the only woman who had warmed her way into his stone cold heart and although he could not say that he loved her, he did like her a whole lot. She made him feel warm. "I have a head ache."
Stacey chuckled and kissed him on the cheek. "Such a big baby."
https://m.goodnovel.com/book_info/31000096787/Mystery-Thriller/Undercover
Getting On Board
Monday, the 2nd of May.
08:13am.
The New York police department on 16, Ericsson place, Tribeca, was her dream work place and it had been so even before she had started working there, and so far she had been living that dream and loving it. It excited her to carry out her official duties, it excited her every time she had on that shield, every time she flashed that metal power in someone's face and every time she said, "Tia Sparrow, NYPD detective", it all excited her.
The shield was her ticket to barge in to any where, screaming at the top of her voice, "NYPD! Freeze!", guns out and pointing, fingers on the trigger, but she does not get to do that often since she was a detective. The shield was her power to silence criminals, to tell them to speak less or face the court with what ever words they decide to use at that time. The shield was her power to ask questions and demand answers but you never could use force with someone whose house you're in, but put them in cuffs and bring them to the station, to the interrogation room and she would slam her badge down on the table where you would be able to see it clearly and she would ask questions, she would demand answers.
Tia did not believe in the "good cop, bad cop" method of interrogation, but when her colleagues decide to play that, she was always the bad cop. It really excited her, but Tia was not harsh in reality, she was the softest person you could ever come across but in situations where being tough was necessary, Tia would give the extra.
The cab came to stop right in front of the building and Tia alighted, she pulled out a dollar note from her pockets and stretched it to the man from the passenger side window, thanking him before turning and running into the building.
The Manhattan New York police department was usually a busy place when ever you walked into the building but today it was less busy, Tia checked the time on her brown leather strap wrist watch, it read 08:16am. It was a Monday, and Mondays were usually the busiest with a handful of people coming in to lay some kind of complaints, from the least important to the most absurd, once an elderly woman had come in here to make a complaint that the plants in her back garden were changing colour from its natural green colour to a kind of wine, brown. She had said that the growth chemical that had been sold to her were defective and poisonous to the plants.
The police man on duty attending to her had been left speechless.
"Ma'am, these kind of complaints should be made to the company that sold the item to you." He had tried to calmly explain but she would hear none of it.
"This is a crime officer. My plants are being poisoned and slowly being murdered. This is a crime against the plants and myself."
"Yes I understand ma'am but..."
"What if I had drank it? Huh?" She suddenly asked and the officer froze, he looked around at the other officers who had heard her and they had paused what ever they were doing to look at the granny. Who in their right senses would drink a plant growth chemical?
Never the less, they took the case. "Okay ma'am, here is what I will do. I will have an officer assigned to you and you will take him to your plants and then file a complaint against the company, how does that sound?"
"Much better officer." She smiled and the officer smiled too then he called a rookie for her.
Surely they did help her out and it turned out that the plant she had in her garden was not actually a green plant but one that changed colour and the wine colour of it was natural. She did apologize to the officer and they laughed about it. That event had taken half a day.
"Hey Tia!" Some one called her out of her thinking and Tia looked up to Mark who was waving a hand in the air, a coffee cup in the other hand. She walked up to him.
"Hey Mark. Less work than usually I can see."
Mark chuckled. "Well, what can I say?" He took a sip of the coffee. "Life should be easier." The both laughed.
"Where is Aiden?" She asked.
"Yes!" Mark replied, rushing the liquid in his mouth down his throat when he remembered why he had called her in the first place. He struggled to cough.
"Sorry. Take it easy Mark." Tia said.
He waved a hand in the air, telling her that he was alright but he did not quite seem so. "Aiden said to direct you to the office immediately you step in." He coughed some more. The dark liquid coming out from his nose.
"Are you al-right, Mark?" She asked, reaching over to pat his back.
Mark exhaled hard, his eyes reddened from the coughing fit and he calmed down, placing the cup gently back on the table.
"I am fine now." He assured her, taking in a deep breath.
"You should not talk and eat." She looked at the cup. "Or drink."
"Well, forgive me for trying to pass out some important information." He teased and Tia laughed. "Tia, there is some big work for you though." He whispered.
Tia leaned in closer and whispered back. "What work?"
"I do not know." He shrugged and leaned back on the chair, Tia straightened up. "You know how Aiden gets when he is excited, he never just tells until you know about it."
"Ohh..." Tia said disappointed but still very eager to know.
"But it is some what of a cold case I think. It is a murder case." He winked.
Tia eyes widened. "Ohhh..." She said, more enthusiastically. "I better get going then."
"Yea you should." Mark waved her away and went back to his work as Tia made for the stairs, going up to the second floor.
• • • • • •
Aiden spun around on his seat, a pen in his mouth and his eyes fixed to the file in his hands intensely. He shook the file like he wanted something to drop out of it before he turned and slammed the bundle of paper down on the table, hissing out his frustration. The door suddenly opened and Tia stepped in.
"Tia! Oh my God, Tia!" Aiden said and stood up, running forward to embrace her. He lifted her up effortlessly and spun around once with her wedged in his arms.
Tia was taken aback by his actions and laughed, his hug had her hands pinned to the side of her body.
"Aiden, what..." She began to speak but Aiden broke away from the hug and dragged her by her hand to the seat he had been in, pushing her into it and then slamming a palm on the file which laid on the table.
"Miss Tia Sparrow," he grinned. "Get ready for the busiest case of your life!" Then he handed over the file to Tia.
Tia held the file in her hands and looked up to Aiden. "What is this?" She asked, her fingers already working on the transparent blue plastic covering.
"Do not ask me, just you open it first." He grinned and plopped himself down on another seat, wheeling it closer to Tia.
Tia went over the first page and her eyes popped, her senses tingled and the corner of her lips twitched in a small smile, now she could understand the excitement that Aiden had felt, cases like this always had their adrenaline rushing through their blood streams faster than usual.
"A homicide murder case!" The last time she had to handle a case like this was almost over a year ago. Cases like these always had her on high alert.
"It was assigned to us?" She asked Aiden, the wide grin on his face told her his answer.
"Yes darling, but..!" He leaned in closer a placed a hand on one side of his mouth and whispered. "Not after some convincing." He beamed and relaxed back on the chair.
"Aiden you sneaky..." She made to slap him with the file.
Aiden laughed. "The chief is not that bad of a man, although I had to slander some names, still... It was worth it!"
Tia laughed and opened the file again, placing it on the desk and going over the information.
• • • • • •
VICTIM'S NAME: Pamela Neil.
CASE NO: 17-2345
AGED: 26.
ADDRESS: 52, stone street, Tribeca, Manhattan. New York.
SEX: Female.
DESCRIPTION: White.
HEIGHT:
WEUGHT:
OCCUPATION: waitress at Skyline club.
NEAREST RELATIVE: Miss Trisha Neil - victim's sister. Mrs. Moira Neil - victim's mother.
LOCATION OF OCCURRENCE: South cove park.
TIME AND DATE OF OCCURRENCE: Tuesday, 19th of April.
TIME AND DATE REPORTED: Monday, 2nd of May. 04:23am
• • • • • •
Tia paused here and looked at Aiden in surprise. "She has been dead for three weeks?!"
"According to the forensic team, yes she has. Sad is it not?"
Tia nodded her head and went back to reading more information from the file. "This was reported this morning. Very early this morning, by who?"
Aiden wheeled the chair closer. "It is recorded there, along with his signed statement."
Tia found it.
• • • • • •
SOURCE OF CALL: 911 incident call reported by Benjamin Brown. South cove grounds keeper.
AGED: 52.
Body was found in a shallow grave, covered by dirt and dried leaves, located in a secluded part of the park.
• • • • • •
Tia flipped the pages. "All the information needed on this file has not been fully documented here."
"No."
"Why is that?" She asked him, closing the file.
"Well, it is still a new case that had come in only this morning. More tests and investigations would still have to be carried out to determine all that, but this..." He picked up the file and waved it in the air. "Is for us to know what we are doing."
"And the family? Has any one been contacted? I see here that she has a mother and a sister." She faced Aiden
Aiden grinned at her. Tia's face fell. "They have not been contacted, have they?" She sighed, and although she knew the answers, she asked any way. "Who is going to have to do that?"
Again, Aiden replied her with an even wider grin. Tia tilted her head back and let out a long breath. "This is always the hardest part of tangling yourself up in a homicide case. Can we not get someone else to break the news to them?"
Aiden chuckled. "Relax Tia. I will handle that part."
The door suddenly burst open and detective Bernard waltzed in, holding several cups of coffee and a bag they all knew would be containing doughnuts.
"Well," Aiden started. "Someone seems cheerful on a Monday morning."
Bernard shot him a wide grin and walked over, setting two cups of coffee on Tia's desk. He caught a glimpse of the file and half laughed. "Looks like you two love birds would be busy for a really long time."
Tia picked up a cup. "Yeah, looks like. I wonder if it is already on the news though."
"Naaaaah.." Aiden said and picked up the TV remote to turn it on. "I doubt that. It happened waaaaay too early for the news crew to get there and the information has not been given out to the public yet."
Aiden was right, there was nothing about a homicide on the news, just business talks about some major group of companies leading in the fore front in the New York business world.
"Now just look at that." Bernard said, pointing to the TV with a doughnut in his hand. "These are the businesses taking all the money, and how do they do that? By luring victims to their dooms."
Tia and Aiden laughed hard. "Now now Bernard, when you say it like that..."
"But it is true! Take a look at that! How could you be charged that much for a room in a hotel?! Skyline hotels and clubs are really sucking on a lot of deep pockets."
"Let who so ever can afford it..." Aiden took a bite out of a doughnut. "...afford it."
https://m.goodnovel.com/book_info/31000096787/Mystery-Thriller/Undercover
Tia Sparrow
This is the first chapter of a book I'm working on currently, it is a murder mystery kind of book.
Titled - UNDERCOVER
Monday, the 2nd of May.
07:00am
The sound was too loud, she could hear it but was too lazy to reach out for it. "It will stop on its own", she thought, but she knew that it would not. She groaned in frustration, her groaning was muffled by the position in which she slept in, her face plastered on the bed and the pillow on her head. Her body was wrapped tightly in the soft bed sheets and she absent mindedly tried to count how many times she must have turned in bed. It must have been cold last night, she sighed.
The ringing continued loudly and it felt like the alarm clock was jumping on the bed side table, causing it to vibrate and shake. She lifted her head lazily and turned her sleepy eye to the annoying piece of thing, smiled lightly and whispered a "thank you" before wrestling a hand away from the sheets and slamming that on the clock. It went silent immediately.
07:01am.
She slapped her face back down on the beds and took a deep breath in and exhaled sharply, right! It was another day. Surely she could manage a few more minutes of sleep just to energize herself and... just a few... more minutes...
The alarm clock sprang back to life with a ringing and the sudden sound jerked her up forcefully and she spun once, falling out of the bed and landing back first hard on the wooden floor.
"I'm up! I'm up!" She yelled, kicking the sheets away from her and getting to her feet, she must have hit the snooze button by accident. She leaned in closer to the alarm clock and this time, she pressed the dismiss button and the clock quietened to its normal tick - tock - tick.
Without bothering to grab a robe, she strolled out of her room in only her panties and singlet, going for her daughter's room which was next to hers. Opening the door wide, she spoke.
"Rise and shine baby." But the room was empty and arranged, the bed had already been made. She cranked her head deeper into the room before walking in, she stopped at the bathroom door and knocked, her daughter had always been keen on bathroom privacy.
"Baby?" No response. "Zara?" Still no response. She opened the door, the bathroom was empty. She closed the door and stepped out of the room and that was when she smell of waffles reached her nostrils. She smiled and walked towards the kitchen.
"Morning mum." She greeted her mum who was bent over by the sink, the woman turned and smiled at her daughter briefly then frowned.
"Tia?"
She sighed and tilted her head back. "Mum, it is just three of us in the house."
"Uh huh." Her mum turned back to the sink. "And that gives you the freedom to walk nude around the house, Zara is here too."
Tia smirked, shaking her head at her mother and looked at Zara who had her face in the waffles. She had always loved grandma's cooking.
"Hey baby." She said and walked closer to her daughter, stroking her head softly. "You got up earlier than mummy."
Zara swallowed and smiled up at her mother. "Grandma's waffles woke me up." She beamed.
"Really now?" Tia asked wide eyed, stealing a glance at her mother who smiled at she did the dishes.
"Then she made me bathe and make the bed before I could have them." She took another big bite, stuffing her mouth.
Tia laughed out loud and stood up. "I guess that was a good enough strategy."
"Good enough to make you go get ready for work?" Her mother spoke. "You will also have to take Zara to school."
"Yes mother." Tia sighed and started making her way away from the kitchen. Yes she had to go get ready for work.
Being in the New York police department was much of a big deal for her mum and she could not be any prouder than to have a senior detective for a daughter.
Tia Sparrow was an experienced senior detective in the special investigation crimes unit, having signed up when she was only twenty four, she had built up her progress and achievements over the course of eight years, the shield and medals which lined the walls of the hall gave testament to that. She had started off as a patrol officer and now she was a detective, a senior detective at that and in the special investigation crimes unit.
She remembered her first case, it was the murder case of a middle aged man who had been found dead in his apartment, placed neatly and tucked into the bed like he was still sleeping. It had taken her only three weeks to gather fingerprints and DNA samples, evidences and suspects, sieving them out to find the actual culprit and wrapping everything up neatly and quickly. She had gotten a special medal for that and the whole office had cheered her. She had loved the feeling and had gone on to earn even more achievements.
Now she wore her shield proudly, her office was proud, her mother was proud, her daughter too. Probably the only person who had not been all excited for her had been her husband. Her ex husband.
Tia had met and gotten married to Eric in one year and that same year, she had gotten pregnant, it had been a dream come true. She was twenty two at that time and she had Zara when she was twenty-three, she was their little bundle of joy. Eric had said that he did not want another child, that Zara was enough for him and Tia had felt the same way too. She loved her husband and she loved her daughter with all her heart.
The following year, when she had joined the police force, Eric had not been the most supportive of husbands when she had told him on what she wanted to do and although he had wanted her to be a full house wife, he had not stopped her either. Tia never did like the idea of being idle at home and waiting on her husband, she wanted to work and she did. For four years, Eric had not had a problem with her job but with each promotion she got, she got more time added to her working hours.
Maybe it was her fault that her marriage crumbled, maybe it was her fault that she could not be home early but she never did spend one night outside of her home but Eric did.
It had started with just one night, then two, then three and then sometimes, he would be gone for days. When he would come back, here would not have a decent explanation as to where he had been. Tia began to suspect something, she was a police officer after all and she had come to trust her instincts. She had wished and hoped they were not true but they had turned out to be true, he had another woman outside whom he had been seeing, turns out they had been seeing each other for a year. Now, five years into their marriage, they divorced, with Tia having full custody of Zara.
It had broken her no doubt and she had taken time off work because she could not work and concentrate without breaking down at some point. It was not easy but she tried to quickly get over him. That took her two years and she was partially grateful that he had moved out and into another town, never for once had he come to see Zara since their divorce.
Tia stood in front of her bathroom mirror and smiled at herself. She was a beautiful, brown skin thirty two year old, strong woman and she was proud of how far she had come and where she was right now. She inhaled and exhaled with a proud smile, pointing to her image in the mirror, she said.
"Time to get ready."
• • • • • •
"Mummy come on!" Zara urged as she pulled her mummy from the porch, down the walk way and onto the street. She was very excited to get to school. Tia smiled.
"Why are you so excited and eager to get to school today?"
"I just want to." Zara replied. "Come on! We have to get to the bus stop so we do not miss the bus!" She pulled her mother who laughed at her daughter's eagerness.
Their house on Howard street was similar in structure and painting to most of the other houses, what differed it from the rest were the bright red and white roses her mother had planted in the front garden. Their neighbour hood was a friendly one because most of the neighbors interacted well with each other and somebody knew somebody else here.
"Hi Zara!" The neighbor's kid yelled out to Zara who waved back excitedly and yelled back her response, still pulling Tia.
"Calm down Zara, the bus stop is not far from here. I am sure we will get there on time." Tia assured her daughter, and they did get to the bus stop on time.
They boarded it and Zara dragged her mother to her favourite seat on the bus, all the way to the back. Tia held on to her daughter's hand and looked out the window as more people boarded and when it was full, the doors shut with a 'puff' and the bus jerked forward slowly.
Tia had been born, raised and did most of her schooling in Bronx, New York, only moving to Manhattan after she had gotten married and after the marriage hard ended, she had chosen to stay back in Manhattan because her work was also here so she had called her mother to come live with them and the woman for once did not utter a word in protest but came down almost immediately.
Tribeca, Manhattan was the best place to live in in New York so far according to Tia, the neighbour hood was friendly and things here were kind of easy too, plus it was a safe place, much safer than Staten island but for one thing or the other, her work had recently been about serious crimes. And not the hit and run, drink and drive, armed robbery, stolen vehicle kind of crimes, I mean after all, she was a senior detective in the special victims crime unit, so her recent cases had to do with murder and killings.
Tia's pocket vibrated as soon as they both came down from the bus and she reached in to pull out her phone as she walked on with her daughter, her school was already in view but Tia wanted to walk her to the school gate. She glanced at her phone screen before sliding on the receiver button and brought the phone to her ear.
"Hi Aiden." She greeted cheerfully.
"Tia, where are you?" He asked in a whisper.
"School. Why?"
"Well, something hot just hit your desk in the office." He sounded a bit excited but still whispered.
Zara pulled on her mother's hand and came to a stop. She looked up and smiled. "I will get going now. Bye mum!" She waved and skipped away. Tia waved and turned back, walking away and walking fast.
"Tell me..." She said to Aiden on the phone.
"No, you will have to come here for this. It is much too hot to talk about over the phone." He spoke casually now and not in a whisper, Tia could imagine him turning in his seat with his head tilted back and his legs crossed, a big grin on his face. Not many cases excited Aiden so Tia was very eager to know this one.
"I will be there in minutes."
"See ya!" He said and ended the call.
Tia flagged down a cab and got in. "NYPD, Ericsson place." She said.
The driver glanced at her through the mirror briefly with a raised eye brow before stepping on the accelerator. "Yes ma'am."
https://m.goodnovel.com/book_info/31000096787/Mystery-Thriller/Undercover
Wrong Start
"When I said hunting..." Leticia had continued, putting down the cloak before she fixed her eyes on the demon girl. "...I mean demon hunting. I hunt demons for sport. Demons like you."
The demon girl fisted her hands by her side. "I would love to see you try!"
"You would not sell much in the market because you are a bit skinny." Leticia went on, weighing the sword in her hand and throwing it from one palm to the other without taking her eyes off the demon girl. "But I might be in need of a runner. You will be my errand demon."
The demon girl snapped and charged at her. Leticia brought her sword up and smiled, taking careful steps backwards as adrenaline burned through out her veins. She knew for sure she was going to love this exercise, the last time she had to train was two days ago but it seemed like eternity. She was not used to staying a long while without exercising her arms and see could not train herself by fighting the trees, no, that was a waste. She saw the demon girl run for her, arms and claws extended she knew she needed it and she was ready for her.
The demon came at her, pulling out two small knives from God knows where when she was close enough to Leticia and aimed for her neck. Leticia's eye sight was quick, her reflexes were quicker. She immediately spun away, using her sword to block the attack, she heard the demon girl grumble in frustration.
"Did you really think it would be that easy to get to me?" Leticia mocked. "You must be so proud and vain in your thinking. But I must say, that was tricky."
"I am just getting started with you!" The demon girl spat.
Leticia laughed. "And so am I demon. So am I." This time, she attacked first. She kept her sword low as she ran towards the demon girl who also ran for her, when they were close, Leticia twirled, dodging the demon girl's attack she allowing her side step her. She brought up her sword and it sliced into the back of the demon who cried out in pain.
Leticia turned to face the demon girl who still had her back to her. She smiled at the long tiny red line which went across the demon girl's back. She had not planned on going deeper, no, she did not want to really injure the demon girl just yet.
"You!" The demon girl snapped round to face Leticia, she breathed with anger and her eyes were red. So very red.
"That is how you plan on attack demon so that your opponent does not see it coming." She smirked and took a defensive stance. "Take that as lesson one. Now shall we go again?"
"I will rip you to shreads!" The demon girl spat and attacked again.
"Yes! That is the spirit!" She was really beginning to enjoy this.
Back at the fortress, they could only train with wooden swords and when they did use real swords, they were always blunt and their strikes had to be limited so that they would not injure the other human they were training with. The only time they could use as much force as they wanted was when they were up against wooden dummies, it was usually boring because these dummies could not fight back. But now, here in this forest she was up against a real demon and she could strike and attack without fear of injuring the other person. Fighting with this demon, it was very much okay to injure and draw blood.
The demon girl fought with annoyance and anger, she just wanted to rip the flesh off her body and that would give her the ultimate satisfaction right now. She was pained and she was vexed. But Leticia fought easily, all she did mostly was to block the demon girl's attack and edge her on, she really was not attacking like she usually would if she was faced with actual danger, and as their fight went on, the demon managed to tear into Leticia's clothing several times but the blade did not tear into her flesh.
The sound of her blade clanking on the demon girl's small knives echoed slightly in the forest, the demon girl's attack were becoming more and more fierce and her blows were coming in faster and harder but Leticia still was not fazed and neither was she short of breath, her own attacks were more successful than the demon girl's, she had been able to stab the demon girl twice but it was only slightly, but still it had earned Leticia a shrill cry from the demon girl but however, her injures did not last for long.
"Are you not tired?" Leticia asked the demon girl who was spinning her knives in Leticia's face. Leticia blocked them with her own sword, spinning it too and pushing the demon away.
"If you are tired just say so, and do not use me as an excuse!" The demon girl came for Leticia again relentlessly.
"Oh, I am not tired. As you can see, I have no injury or cut on my body." Leticia smirked and switched the sword to her left hand, she was just as good of a fighter wielding the sword in her left hand as she was when she was holding it in her right hand.
The demon girl, obviously frustrated, threw the knives away and leaped for Leticia baring her extended claws and brought them both tumbling to the ground, Leticia kicked her off her body but not before the demon girl had exerted her small revenge.
Leticia let out a small scream when the demon girl's claw tore into the flesh on her left forearm, the wound was barely just a scratch but she had felt the pain, it was such an immense pain that for a moment she doubted if it had been just her claws that had tore into her flesh. She took a quick glance at her forearm where the demon girl had injured her and looked back to the demon, a frown forming on her face looking at the smirk plastered on the demon girl's face.
"Oh I am so very sorry, did that hurt you?" The demon girl mocked, waking to circle Leticia. It did not occur to her so the time that her claw should not be able to tear into the flesh of an Angel, what was more on her mind was the satisfaction of hurting her.
"Not as much as my next blow will hurt you! Consider that as your first luck. I will let you have that but nothing more."
"Let your sword do the talking."
"Oh and it will do more than that!" Leticia spoke and immediately went for the demon girl.
It was no surprise that the demon girl was strong but Leticia too had held her ground, managing to sink her sword into the demon girl's thigh and sliced her back just slightly twice but she healed up pretty fast and it did not make her weaker than she already was not instead she fumed and became more violent with each time that Leticia's sword broke through her skin. Leticia considered that as cheating.
"If you did not possess the ability to heal, you would have been crawling on this forest floor and drenched in your own blood a long time ago." Leticia's voice was high, she was upset by the speed at which the demon girl healed. None of her blows were effective for long.
"Awwww, does someone sound angry and jealous at my ability to heal up so fast?" The demon girl laughed. Taking her own knife, she brought it to her arm and with the sharp tip, she pierced her skin and drew it down the length of her arm to the wrist. Blood flowed but not for long, as both she and Leticia watched, the wound began to seal up on its own, leaving behind a very thin red line which would eventually fade off.
The demon girl smirked as she looked Leticia in the eyes, enjoying the pissed off look on her face. "You said you wanted me drenched in blood. But in whose blood, Little one? Yours? Awww, how so generous of you."
"I am not little! Now, let us see whose blood will flow and who will be drenched in whose blood!" Leticia ran for the demon who leaped away from the strike of her sword, but the demon did not attack with the opportunity because she did not see it as an opportunity to strike back but to move away from danger and feel good about it, she smirked. But instead Leticia saw that very open and very available opportunity and kicked the demon in the side. She hissed and stumbled away before charging back at Leticia who was also coming for her, her sword high up in the air.
Leticia took note that the demon fought like a newbie, leaving her sides and back vulnerable to an attack, and she took more time in savoring the pleasure she got from one small victory, so Leticia guessed that she was not fully comfortable in the human body or she was not that good of a fighter or maybe she had rarely been in fights like this, either way it was an advantage for Leticia. If the demon girl's ability to heal up pretty fast was a cheat, then Leticia considered her fighting skills, which was more effective than the demon girl's, as her own cheat. It somehow balanced.
"What bad manners you have," Leticia backed away when the demon leaped onto a tree trunk, ready to pounce. She decided to play a bit, to throw in a little bit of humour. "You did not even let me introduce myself to you." She twirled and sliced her blade in the air, dodging the demon girl's attack.
"Why? So I can scrabble it on your tomb stone?" The demon girl crouched down and barred her fangs at Leticia who was circling her and enjoying this little play.
"The guts!" Leticia smiled, gripping her sword in a better position. "Then what is your name demon? Tell me what you are called."
She snarled and stood. "Come closer and I will be sure to engrave it in your chest so you will never be able to forget it!" She ran for Leticia.
Enough play, she was going to end this.
She saw Leticia lift her sword and position herself to strike or dodge an attack. She barred her fangs and her claws protruded, she stretched her hand back and leaped, ready to rip her neck wide open. Then, there was a sudden 'woosh' and her claws came in contact with something. Something hard. She dropped to the ground on one knee and looked up.
Leticia had brought her sword up when the demon girl came for her. She calculated the demon girl's strides and watched her extended claws, first she would cut off the hand and go for her abdomen. She knew there was no way the demon would be able to regenerate those limbs, it was still a human body.
She saw the demon leap in the air and then there was a sudden 'woosh' of air and she could not see the demon anymore. All she saw were two mighty wings which shone powerfully and the dust which had risen up in the air. She shut her eyes tightly, feeling the immense heat that came from the extremely bright wings, she staggered back and fell to the floor while still shielding her eyes.
"Phidian." She heard the deep baritone voice which sent shivers through her entire being.
The voice registered power and dominance and somehow still, calmness. She opened her eyes and saw the Angel whom she had stumbled upon earlier, who had been passed out on the first floor and reeked of alcohol. She watched as he helped the demon girl to her feet. She immediately sprang up in a defensive mode.
https://m.goodnovel.com/book_info/31000039026/Paranormal/Hunter's-Chorus?shareuser=22216334&ch=apps
Sheila
Liam dropped down noisyly to the ground, his huge wings flapped once before folding up behind him. He had skipped going to the lake and rather chosen to go to the waterfall instead, standing under the falling water was much better than dunking yourself in a lake. He was already shirtless and he did not bother taking off his pants before stepping into the water. The water here was really shallow, reaching only up to his knees, he walked under the water fall, welcoming the cascading coolness that washed over him, it felt refreshing on his skin.
Closing his eyes he tried to drown out his thoughts but he could not, the dark image of Renard constantly played in his subconscious, this corruption had spread faster than anything he had imagined and he did not know why he was feeling pity towards him, he had after all, chosen the path he was on now and he would face it himself. But what had made him change? He knew one of the reasons was power. Renard had always been an Angel who enjoyed receiving attention and what else was better than receiving attention other than power and worship. He had wanted that for a long time now. So somehow, Liam was not totally surprised when Renard had switched but the way he had and the situation around it was not something Liam had foreseen.
Bringing his hands to wash his hair, he tried to remember how the war had broken out, Angels were supposed to be guardians to the humans and for an exceedingly long time, they were. At first, they had been fighting against the demons and for the humans but over the years, the things had changed. And although, he could not entirely place the blame on the Angels because the humans could be super annoying, he sometimes wondered what kind of a creature were they any way?
They would by their own will, summon a demon thinking they could put it under control, and then when things got out of hands and they needed help, the Angels would swoop in and protect them, binding the demon away but these same humans would only get the motivation to summon another demon to try to control it again. It really frustrated some Angels to the point where they switched sides. There was only so much so Angel could take and it seemed the once heavenly beings got tired of being just guards. They also wanted to be worshipped.
He got out from under the water fall and walked out of the water, stretching and flapping his wings in the process to get the water out, continuing in his thoughts. Humans had brought this up on themselves, the Angels were only sent to help maintain the balance and honestly they almost did but these same humans made things even more difficult, some Angels ran out of patience. Liam chuckled, even he himself almost did but his human had been only but a child, she could not summon demons. His heart melted, but still they had come for her and taken her away from him. It had all been Renard's fault.
"Liam!" He heard his name and turned. On the other side of the stream was an Angel riding a wagon. Sheila. He flapped twice and was off the ground, coming down to settle beside the wagon on the other side. Sheila got down.
"Been a while renegade." She laughed. Like most renegade Angels, she also had a cloak on but that did little to concealed her wings. Liam beamed as he approached her, she was one Angel he so much admired because she was running the same course as he was.
Sheila was younger than he was, although their ages were unknown but he knew she was younger than was, but her thinking, her mentality and her ways were far matured, maybe even more than his but he did not like to think that.
Sheila did daring things, like stealing into a demon's place to rescue their human captives and so far she had been successful in every one of her missions. So much so that the demons had come to know her and in as much as her doing was to rescue the humans, it kind of put them in more danger than she had expected.
For one, the demons would usually keep their human captives locked up until they needed to use them but knowing that the renegade Angel Sheila might show up any time and without warning to take away their captives, the demons now made sure that whatever humans they had in their captivity did not stay alive for long.
It made it harder for Sheila because she could not be every where all the time but then there demon's choice also limited the number of humans they got. Why pay to get a dozen humans when you were not going to kill them all at once? Getting a dozen humans would mean that more than half of them would be rescued before they were used. It was a loss for the demons.
But at least she was doing something, and it was worth doing well.
When she got closer to Liam who was grinning from ear to ear, she gave him a playful punch in the tummy and he ruffled her already disheveled hair in return.
"As far as I know, there would only be one reason to find you around these parts." Liam said, crossing arms across his chest.
Sheila laughed, bouncing up and down. "Ohh yes."
"Ok, calm down." He chuckled. "How many this time?"
"Three. All boys."
"Just three? That is rather low." He was worried.
"I know right?!" She laughed.
"You are happy?" He raised his brows at her. Why would she be happy that she could only get three. Usually it was always more. "Does this not mean that most of them have been killed or used or something?"
Sheila sighed. "No Liam. Demons do not purchase so many humans now for the sake of recurring a loss any time I attack." She punched his arm.
"Oh, is that so?" He said, rubbing the spot on his arm where she had punched him. Not like it hurt or anything but Sheila could throw a powerful punch if she really meant to, she was one of the best fighters he had ever come across. She could definitely take care of herself and she had done so all these years.
"You want to see them?" She asked Liam, walking back towards the wagon.
"Errr...." Liam was shaking his head slightly with both his shoulders raised up. He was not in the mood to see a human now, he still had one he had left back in the forest, but Sheila was not looking at him, she reached for the covering and lifted the black tarp that covered the wagon to reveal three human boys sleeping, they were all still very young.
"You drugged them?" His eyes widened and he faced her.
"What can I say?" She returned the covering and shrugged her shoulders. "Human teenagers or humans in general, do not know who is for them and who is against them, they almost blew my cover! This one was a narrow escape."
Liam laughed and walked closer to the wagon, using his finger to shift the tarp away so he could see them again, he asked because he was curious. "Where did you find them though? The forest? The bar?"
Sheila grinned and raised an eyebrow at him. Liam knew that look and he shook his head. "Ohh no you did not. Again?!"
"What? I had to do it! It was either that or those demons would use these humans for their potions or something else. I had to do what I had to do. I had to rescue them."
"Rescue? You mean steal Sheila. You stole them away." He cocked his head to the side and smiled at her.
"Rescued Liam. I rescued them." She corrected, rolling her eyes at him. "Shy way, they are out now and not in so much danger as they were when they were in that demon's house. Do you know he has an Imp?!"
"And you had to go to Master Krane's place. Honestly, I am not surprised that he has an Imp, he is always experimenting with one thing or the other That demon is... is...."
"Mean?"
"Yes! And he is..."
"Obnoxious?"
"Yes! That and.... more!"
"Liam..." She took hold of his hand. "I know very well how to take care of myself and I have been doing that besides..." She smirked. "... I have you to call on if I am ever faced with more trouble than I can handle."
"I worry about you Sheila. What you are doing, I must say is very commendable but still risky. You are gathering enemies for yourself." He softened.
Sheila laughed. "And when did you become scared of demons Liam?"
"I am in no way scared of demons and they know that." He placed both hands on her shoulder and squeezed gently. "I am scared for you Sheila. There are no more Angels out there who would do what you are doing now. That is, without a price attached to it."
"I know that. That is the reason I have always wanted you to join me Liam. You still can."
He sighed and released her, looking away. "You know very well that I can not. And you also know the reason why I have refused to join you."
"You can not or you will not?" She frowned.
"Sheila please..."
"Are you still sulking because of what happened then? Liam it has been years! Over ten years if I am not mistaken since her human self was taken away from you. You have her now as Phidian. Can you not let it go? It was in no way your fault."
"It is different and.... difficult. It might as well have been my fault." He turned away from her.
"You are allowing this guilt to eat you up Liam and you have been allowing it to do so for years. It is weakening you a whole lot." She climbed back on the wagon and took hold of the reins.
"Where to?" He turned up face her.
"A place. Up in the mountains. It is secluded and demons do not come there often, it is too cold for them. These humans should be safe for a while." She snapped at the reins and the lone horse trotted forward.
"And then what?" Liam walked to keep up.
"And then Liam, we pray for the next move. See you later renegade."
"Wait!" Liam called, thinking of the human he had left in the forest, he could not be burdened by her but at least Sheila could help take her off his hands.
"What is it?" She pulled on the reins to stop the horses.
"I have a human with me. I found her in the forest."
Sheila's eyes widened. "You did?! Where is she now?"
"She is still.... in the... forest."
"Liam!" She shrieked. "In the forest?! Alone?!"
"She is not dead." He rolled his eyes and almost regretted because Sheila shot daggers at him with her gaze. "I will bring her to you."
"No, I am coming with you to where she is." She jumped down from the wagon.
"And them?" He pointed to the tarp covered wagon. "The humans?"
She shrugged. "I will bring them with me."
"To the forest? Back to the forest?" Sheila paused and thought about that for a while, taking them back to the forest was a terrible idea and she could not leave them out here to go with Liam to find this human girl whom he had so irresponsibly left in the forest either. She narrowed her eyes at him.
"You will bring her to me?"
"I will.. Promise. Up in the mountains." He laughed.
"Ok renegade, you had better." She got back on and slapped the reins, the horse moved forward.
Liam stood a while, watching the wagon bobble up and down, rocking as its wooden wheels made its way along the uneven ground. As he watched them face away into the distance, he thought of the human girl he had left lying vulnerable on the forest floors. She would still be alive right? He groaned in frustration and took to the skies, heading back to the forest. He would have to get her to Sheila and out of his hands.
https://m.goodnovel.com/book_info/31000039026/Paranormal/Hunter's-Chorus?shareuser=22216334&ch=apps
Phidian
Leticia was startled awake by the sudden 'swoosh' of air caused by the Angel flying away and the cloak which he had placed over her to cover her was partially blown off her body and along with it, the debris of broken sticks and dead leaves which littered the forest floor. She laid still and unmoving on the ground for a while, with her eyes open and staring straight to the sky and to the tree tops. What had just happened? Had she seen right? For the first time ever, she had come so very close to a creature which she had only heard of from people and which she had only read in books, she had seen an Angel. She almost could not believe it.
She had seen an Angel!
She sprang up to a sitting position and that was when she noticed the cloak on her, it must have belonged to him, the Angel, she was convinced of this because the stench of alcohol was very strong on it. He must have been drinking the night before and had wandered aimlessly into this forest before passing out here in the open. But why would he have been drinking? She wondered. Do Angels actually drink? Are they supposed to? What kind of Angel was he any way?
In as much as she was thrilled about having seen an Angel for the very first time in her life, she was also some what disappointed. Disappointed because her expectations of what an Angel would actually look like had been way high up and above a lot of standards, it had been way high up and despite what the other humans who had survived the war had told them about Angels being bad now and against the humans, still she had painted a perfect picture in her mind of a powerful creature with majestic shiny wings, adorned in the whitest of linen cloth and yielding a very awesome and magnificent, glittering sword but yet the first Angel she had seen was a drunk, passed out on the forest floor and reeking of alcohol.
But she had to admit that this Angel was stunning. He was definitely a very beautiful creature. She had been able to study his face, those chisel sculpted face, his sharp features, his golden hair which she had really wanted to touch and to feel in her hands, his prefect body.
Ugh! She groaned.
Should she be thinking like this? She thought about that for a little while and shrugged her shoulders. It was not like she was sinning or anything, she was just simply stating her observations and praising a very well done creation. Were all the Angels this captivating? Was she already liking him?
She laughed inwardly. Of course she had taken a liking to him, he was after all the one creature she had always wanted to see so naturally she would be taken by him even by a single glance, but no, she was not liking him like that. She rolled her eyes and shook her head. She tried to imagine him as she had always imagined any Angel, radiant and daring, with fire burning in their eyes, excellently dressed in shining linen and wielding the most magnificent sword that could cut through any thing very easily. Even though this Angel was not what she had imagined, his wings had been glowing just like she had imagined so, it counted but she had not noticed a sword on him.
Speaking of swords, where had she placed hers? She looked around for it and found it lying beside her, the two pouches half full with coins and the bottle of asphax were still on her but the sandwiches were gone. She frowned when she saw the wrappers she had used to wrap them on the ground and opened, the sandwiches were gone and only a few crumbs were left. She grumbled and stood up, grabbing her sword and the Angel's cloak as she did. She knew who had eaten them.
She would wait for him to return back so she could give him a piece of her mind and advice him against eating the food belonging to strangers. At the least, he would have left her one sandwich, but no, he had to eat up the two, he just had to eat them all up.
Holding on to the feather, she lifted it up and against the sun's rays to admire the still glowing treasure. Part of her mind still grumbling over her sandwiches and part of her was so mesmerized in the glistering feather she had held up that she did not hear the sound of footsteps slowly approaching her until the person spoke, startling her out of her thoughts.
"What is a female Angel doing alone in this forest and so early?" She spoke. "Are you perhaps with Sheila?"
She spun round, her sword up in her arms and in defense. Leticia studied the woman who had just spoke, only that this was not just a woman, she was not even human. Her long tail hung steadily in the air behind her and her forked tongue slithered in and out at intervals, tasting the air. Leticia noticed that this... creature had no horns so she must have been a demonic spirit resurrected in a human's body. She looked on in awe, some how, it made Leticia cringe and feel pity to think that this creature standing before her was once a human being. And once a beautiful human being too, she could not deny the fact that this demon girl was absolutely stunning in beauty.
Then a thought hit her, the demon girl had called her an Angel, which meant that the Asphax had hidden her human scent pretty well.
Ha! It worked!
She was so relieved that she almost jumped up in total happiness.
"How long have you been here?" The demon girl asked Leticia.
For a moment she froze, not exactly knowing what she should reply the demon girl. "Errr....a while now?"
The demon girl cocked her head. "Only a while?"
Leticia sighed. "A long while actually."
"You have been here with Liam?" The demon girl asked again, walking up and getting closer to Leticia whose sword was still up and pointed to her, trying to keep the distance between them. The demon girl smiled, this Angel was cautious of her.
"Who?" Leticia replied. Was she asking after the drunken Angel? And why? How did she even know that he was here?
"Liam...? The Angel that was here?" The demon girl raised an eyebrow and pointed to the cloak Leticia held in her hand, she looked at the cloak.
Liam? So that was his name.
"Where is he now?" She questioned again after not getting an answer. "Where has he gone to so early?"
Leticia faced the demon and decided to play along.
"Err.... He went away, not quite long ago, he left before I woke up."
The demon girl cocked her head at Leticia with a frown on her face. "Before you woke up? You also slept here?"
With him? The demon girl thought.
"Yes I did, we were together." Leticia answered without thinking, she lowered her sword slowly but still kept a distance from her.
"And you have been here with him also though out the night?"
Leticia raised an eye brow at the demon girl who was asking just to many questions. What exactly does she have to do with the Angel? She decided to ask.
"Why are you looking for him?" Leticia replied her with her own question.
"I brought him here." The demon girl leaned against a tree and eyed Leticia. She could not get the thought of Liam being with her throughout the night out of her head. It annoyed her but she managed to keep a cool head.
"Ohh..." Leticia muttered while nodding her head. "I actually thought he might have just wandered in here on his own during the night, seeing that he was drunk and reeked of alcohol. He almost startled me."
"Drunk? He was not drunk, Angels do not get drunk on alcohol. You are an Angel and you do not you know that?" The demon girl fired at her.
Leticia's eyes widened, Angels do not get drunk on alcohol? No, she did not know that but now that she did... "I know that." She composed herself and defended. "I am an angel afterall." That almost made her laugh but she held herself. Well she did smell like an Angel so she was not exactly far from being one. She smirked.
The demon girl scoffed. "If you know that then why did you say that he was drunk?"
"Because he looked to be, but I never said that he was drunk on alcohol, or did I?" Leticia tried to twist around it.
"Do not try to play smart with me." The demon girl frowned.
"I do not try to play what I already am." Leticia did not know why but she found it amusing to her that she was pissing this demon girl off.
The demon girl moved from her position of leaning on the tree and took an offensive stance against Leticia. "What did you do here with him any way and how did you end up with his cloak?"
It was getting obvious that the demon girl really did not like Leticia and frankly, Leticia knew that she did not like her too. Her questions were becoming a little bit too much.
Leticia perceived that this demon was getting jealous of her by just thinking that she had spent the night with the Angel but why? Because of the Angel, Liam? She thought they had been together? Does she perhaps have a crush on him? She almost laughed out but instead she chuckled.
"Do you have something going on with Liam? Because you are making it way too obvious." Leticia decided to pick on her.
"And what if I do? What is it to you?" The demon girl half smiled.
Leticia laughed lightly. "Nothing actually, but I can understand why you are behaving like I just stole your boyfriend."
"What?!" The demon girl sparked. "Liam is not..." She paused.
Leticia smirked and hugged the cloak closer to herself and inhaled the scent with her eyes briefly closed, she tried hard not to choke on the alcoholic stretch. The demon girl hissed.
"He gave this cloak to me." Leticia spoke but seeing the jealousy evident on the demon girl's face, she decided to take it up a notch. "And as for what we did, I think it is best I do not tell. You know, it was pretty cold last night out here in the forest for me to remember anything."
Ok, maybe she took it too up.
The demon girl rolled her eyes at Leticia, her anger was beginning to build and it was rising fast. "And how come you two ended up together then?"
Leticia thought on that for a short while and replied. "Ohhh... hunting. I was out hunting."
"Hunting? Human hunting? You are an Angel and yet you are hunting humans?" The demon girl laughed out loud. "You do not look like the type of Angel to do that."
"Why?" Leticia questioned. "You do not think that I can? Do you think of me as small and unable?"
"I do not think any thing of you." The demon girl spat. "And besides, if at all you do hunt humans in this forest, then you would not stand a chance with Liam. He hates such sport as he calls it as being inhumane."
Oh does he now, so he's against human hunting, Leticia thought and smiled to herself. He might be a keeper.
"I do not stand a chance with him?" It was her turn to laugh. "I am not in need of a chance with him but if I do not stand a chance with him then you do?" Leticia scoffed, it riled the demon and Leticia was enjoying every bit of it.
"That is because you hunt. You hunt humans and then sell them off for money, isn't that what you have tied to your waist?" The demon girl said, her eyes on the pouches tied to Leticia's waist.
"Yes, it is money but not money from hunting and selling humans. When I said hunting..." Leticia continued and put down the cloak before fixing her eyes on the demon girl. "...I mean demon hunting. I hunt demons for sport. Demons like you."
"I would love to see you try!"
"You would not sell much in the market because you are a bit skinny but I am in need of a runner. You will be my errand demon."
The demon girl snapped and charged at her. Leticia brought her sword up and smiled, adrenaline burned through out her veins and she knew for sure she was going to love this exercise. She knew she needed it and she was ready.
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Human In The Forest 2
He made to sit up and he saw her move, at first he thought she was probably just stumbling backwards out of fright, but when her eyes rolled back into her head and he saw her head fall back, on impulse one of his hands went out behind her head to catch her from falling. He looked at the female lying still in his arms with her eyes closed and he smirked, he must have spooked her into fainting.
But why would she faint? And why would she faint so easily too? If she was an Angel then she should not have fainted, Angels do not get spooked so easily, most especially not into fainting. He let his other free hand run along the length of her back over the thick cloak she had on, her back was smooth, no wings. One of his brows came up in utter astonishment. She was a human. A human in this forest? What was she doing in here and wandering alone, most especially by this time of the day. It was still early.
He knew that humans usually had to leave the safety of their fortress to come out and hunt for food but they would be sure to return back to their safety before the first crack of dawn, so what was she doing still outside and quite far away too. Was she lost or had she been forgotten by the rest of the group? He sighed, wondering why he was all of a sudden worrying about her but somehow he could not help but to feel worried over her, she was a human after all, he studied her, she was small, quite tiny rather and in her right hand she clutched on to a feather, a feather from him no doubt.
He laid her down comfortably on the forest floor and that was when he noticed the two pouches tied to her waist, he shook them. They jingled and he knew that was the sound of coins, he did not bother to check if they were gold coins or silver coins in them. He also noticed the container tied to her waist too and he opened it, bringing it to his nose and he took a whiff. He knew the smell of Angels and this was it. This was asphax, the Angel disguise, and that was how she was able to partially disguise her scent but she had not disguised the scent of the cloak as well and that had given her away.
He wondered how she had managed to get her hands on this substance, he knew there was only one method of making asphax and it was not a method that favoured his kind. He continued searching her and found two sandwiches, he decided to help himself to it since he had not eaten anything in a while, he could not even remember when last he had something decent to eat. He would take this as only part payment of losing a feather to her. That single feather was worth more than two sandwiches.
Resting his back on a tree stump, he munched on the sandwiches, savouring the taste of something nice other than just wild fruits in his mouth and very grateful for it while his eyes remained on her. The sword beside her looked very familiar, much too familiar, like the smaller make of his own, then it hit him, he thought about it. Where was his sword? He remembered entering Smokes bar with it strapped to his waist but he could not remember if he ever left with it. Heck, he could not even remember leaving the bar at all but yet somehow, here he was, passed out in the middle of the forest only to be awaken by a human plucking at his feather.
When he was done eating, he stood up and stretched, his wings grew wide and his arms stretched out and the joints in his elbows and shoulder came loose with a 'pop' sound in the elbows and that was when the stench reached his nose. He reeked of alcohol and needed a desperate shower, and fast too. He glanced at the human still out on the forest floor, should he leave her alone in this forest? Could he actually leave her in the forest sooner like this? Like this she would be an easy pick for demons if they came this way. He was almost sure they would come this way.
He raked his fingers through his long blond hair, weighing his options; fly her to the lake with him or leave her here till he returned. Ugh! The stress! He did not need this so early in the morning, he did not need this ever. He did not ponder long over the matter, grabbing his own coat he laid it over her, covering her whole body with it, he pulled the hood of her cloak over her head so she was mostly covered and laid on the forest floor like a blackened log of wood.
Satisfied with his quick thinking and with the fact that she was okay this way and somehow safe enough, he took to the skies, beating his very powerful wings to lift his body, heading towards the lake for a quick and hygienic dip. He was not ready to be responsible for a human again.
He was still hurting, it had been over ten long years since the last time he was bonded to a human to take responsibility for and after that last incident, he really did not feel that confidence to be responsible again, he was not sure if he would ever be ready again, but for now he would rather not take the chances and he would continue to live his life as a free renegade Angel.
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Human In The Forest 1
The wind blowing in though the windows whistled lightly, the curtains swayed gently in the soft breeze and all seemed calm and peaceful and cold and quiet. It was much too quiet to be normal, he reasoned, even the crickets remained quiet. True that every other night had been like this, it had always been like this during the past nights but he did not know why he was feeling so uneasy this night, it was a rather strange feeling which he did not welcome and he wanted it to go away. If his instincts were right, something unpleasant was being cooked up and he was sure it would be happening very soon, and very close by too. He straightened up from his leaning position against the door and sharpened up his senses, his instincts were always never wrong.
The room in which he stood in was small - for him, that is - but it was just the right size of cute for the human child whom he was watching over as she slept calmly and peacefully in her princess modelled pink bed. Pasted all around the room where stickers of Disney's princesses and even the wall paper used in the room was a princess theme wallpaper. He smiled when he remembered how super excited the human girl had been when this room had been redesigned for her. He remembered the feeling he had felt with her because of the bond they shared and he chuckled.
His human was a rather simple child and she took utmost pleasures in the simplest of things, plus she was easy to please. He enjoyed her company greatly even though she was not able to see him as he was not human and he did not show himself physically. He was her guardian Angel and it was his duty to keep her safe and protect her at all times, most especially from forces she could not see with her physical eyes. He took his duty to heart and successfully kept her safe.
Now he watched the girl child breathe softly and calmly in her sleep. Liam loved to watch her, seeing her calm face brought him so much joy, and peace radiated in him. The moon light casted a soft bright light on her sleeping figure through the half opened windows and for a moment he was calm, for a moment, he relaxed. Then almost immediately again, the uneasy feeling he had been feeling before returned to him. He frowned, but then realized that this was not just a feeling any more, because he could see them now, he could see them through the window, slithering in the shadows and heading straight for the house.
He buckled and gritted his teeth in annoyance, he walked forward away from the door and went for the still sleeping girl, he lifted her from the bed and placed her calmly and slowly into her closet, she stirred a little in her sleep but still did not wake up, he smiled and shut the doors quietly. By the time he turned round, the first slithering shadow was already in the room. He unsheathed his sword and he went for the shadow. Slithering shadows were difficult to get because they could easily blend in and hide away in the shadow of another object around them but for Liam, it was not a difficult task.
He sliced the first one quickly as another came in. And then another. And then another. They pooled in quickly and he took them down just as fast but they were just pouring in and the danger was beginning to build up, it frustrated him. He kept at it with a fast pace, equalling their numbers with each slice of his sword until he heard the closet door creak open. He made to turn, to find his human and be assured of her safety but he was unable to turn around no matter how much he tried.
"Liam?" He heard his human whisper his name softly and in a question before he felt a powerful sting behind him and then a wicked laugh erupted. It started slowly from a cute giggle and then it evolved into a monstrous and sinister laugh.
Slowly, very slowly he blacked out.
Liam was pulled out of his dream state and awoken from his sleep when he felt a powerful sting shoot from his wings to his spine and throughout his entire body but he did not react but rather remained perfectly still like he had not felt a thing and he immediately knew that one of his feathers had been plucked. But who would be so bold, so courageous and so daring to pluck the feathers off of a sleeping Angel?
When he opened his eyes to take a look, he had expected to see an animal or a demon or maybe if possibly, another Angel, renegade or not, but what he had not expected was to see her, he narrowed his eyes as he watched her watch him with so much admiration in her own eyes. She was quite small and looked very fragile and she had crouched down really close to him and was stroking his fine white feathers which aligned his wings. She was close enough for him to catch a whiff of her scent. The female was small and her scent was mixed, he could smell both Angel and human. It confused him a little.
A human and Angel scent from her? Was she an Angel hunting for humans in the forest to sell off for a few pieces of gold? If so, then she was not a renegade like him and he hated such Angels because they practiced such inhumane sport of hunting humans, he hated such things with an extreme amount of passion and he frowned deeply. He just might have to teach this small looking Angel a lesson or two on humanity.
She turned her gaze to him suddenly and froze when their eyes locked. He fixed his eyes on hers, those hazel eyes were heavy with so many emotions running wild within them, he could easily tell and asides from evident fear from his sudden gaze, there was also something else in them which he noticed. Was it hurt? He could not exactly place it but he knew that he was close enough, there was definitely more emotions in those heavy, captivating eyes.
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Hunter's Chorus: Leticia 2
Her brother had gone missing few days ago, it was easy to know because they were not that many in the fortress. She had been the first to find out that he was missing and she had informed the elders, they had spent a day searching for him within the fortress and after they had turned up without him, Leticia was already convinced that he was not in the fortress but outside in the world. But the question every one asked was how? And why?
She had asked to be granted the permission to go out and search for her brother.
"Leticia Moore! You are forbidden to go on this volatile quest in search of your brother!"
She remembered the elders warning clearly, they would not give her any form of permission, neither would they give her support. But then she did not entirely need their support, just what they had in supply, so she had stolen into the storage facility, where they had kept their supply of weapons and taken exactly just what she needed to leave.
Asphax, the Angel disguise was one thing she needed. It was a liquid in a bottle, a scent of some sort to cover the human smell as demons and Angels could smell a human when one came a little close, Asphax on her would hide that. She would have that unique Angel scent. They had more than one bottle any way, they probably would not notice this missing one, or would they?
The sword she had taken was beneath the cloak, it was the only sword known to have pierced through the skin of an Angel during the great war so it was a priceless gem to the elders, plus it was they only one that they had, if they found it missing and her missing it would not take long to put two and two together, she would eventually be termed a traitor or worse. She would not mind that title, she would face the consequences after returning with her brother and she would only return when she had her brother.
She paused when she heard screeching from above and she looked up. Demons, they had come to hunt. Scavengers was what they called them, scavenging for human to pick. She laid on the ground in a ball and covered herself with the cloak, blending into the rocks, she was not ready to face a demon. They had all been trained in the fine art of war, all the able humans, male and female alike, right from a very tender age, her sixteen year old brother was a warrior himself but none of them had fought an actual demon. She had faith in her skills but just was not ready to prove it yet. She laid there a while until the screeching was over.
By the time she got to the edge of the forest, the sun was just coming up, she sighed out of relief that she had not been spotted and picked out by a demon yet, luck was definitely on her side, now it was time to face the forest, she knew this would be much more tasking than just crossing the empty land. She poured a little of the Asphax from it's container onto her palm and applied it to her skin, it burned a little but she endured it, it would be well worth it.
She unsheathed her sword and held it gingerly in her right hand as she proceeded into the forest. She heard more screeching and fear registered in her body at first, she could not believe she was outside the fortress and in the forest already! She placed a hand on the bottle of Asphax which was tied to her waist, contemplating whether to apply more to her skin or not but she shook her head. It would be best to use only as little as she could, it lasts on the body for only forty eight hours and she could not afford to waste it without knowing how long she would be out here. She continued into the forest.
She had only walked a little distance when she saw something glistering deeper in the forest. It was huge and seemed to be moving. She approached it carefully and only when she had gotten close enough did she realize what it was. Here, in the midst of the forest was a sleeping Angel and he was huge.
Leticia thought on what to do; she should run, she should hide, she should try to kill him, the sword in her possession was known to have pierced through Angel's skin, she could try that out. She stepped closer to his face and got down, he reeked of alcohol. Drunk? Angels drink? She had not known this. Reaching out, she moved his hair away from his face, my God he was beautiful, but then all Angels were beautiful but she had never seen one up so close before. She decided to take her time in admiring this excellent heavenly creature.
She watched him sleep, his wings brightening and dimming with each breath he took. She brushed her hand over the feathers and marveled at them, she giggled, momentarily lost, then she thought to pluck a feather. Why? She did not know but she did pluck one, with one powerful yank and it came off. She froze when she felt him stop breathing, then he resumed.
The feather in her hand was huge and still shone, her eyes widened at the treasure, mesmerised in it for a while then she looked back at his face and her heart seized to beat when she saw his eyes watching her with his brows furrowed. His golden brown eyes burned through hers and she swallowed hard, now she was definitely in trouble and she had not even spent up to an hour in this forest. When he shifted to sit up, she felt her head spin and darkness clouded her vision, her head tilted back and she fainted.
Hunter's Chorus: Leticia 1
To see a human outside in the open was not something one would see every now and then as the humans had long gone into hiding and they hid perfectly well, so well that no other creature knew of their hiding place. But they did not always stay in their hiding place, they could not always stay. Surviving meant staying alive, and staying alive meant eating, to eat you need to have food, and to have food you will need to hunt, hunting always brought them out of hiding but not all of the humans came out during the hunting time.
They had scouts, they had groups, made of the finest and well trained fighters that they had, the quietest and stealthiest of them because coming out meant you were in danger of being spotted by the scavenging demons which roamed the forest and flew above the empty lands, their very sharp eye sight could easily spot any thing moving down below and that could easily put the hiding place of the humans in danger of being discovered. Night time was the only time these scouts came out, once in every two weeks, to hunt, but coming out was not the dangerous part, it was the hunting itself.
Between the human's hideout and the forest was a vast land of nothingness, dry and bare and empty, void of all life forms even of plants and trees and shrubs, stretching out so wide that it would take a full ten minutes to sprint across from the mountains to the edge of the forest on the other side. Ten minutes was more than enough needed time for any thing moving across the empty land to be spotted by a demon flying over head.
There was a lot o cases of that happening, so the men who risked their lives to come out already knew that they may not be returning back. They knew this and they acknowledged it as it was part of life now. This was the new way of living
Sprinting arcoss the vast and empty land alone and on your own was quite easy, much more easier than sprinting back, holding on to and trying to drag a dead animal with you. Not only did it take longer but it was riskier too. And although some of the men made it across the board land, back and forth, others were not so lucky.
This time around it was not the time to hunt but a human had left the hideout and she had done so against the knowledge of the others. If she were to be caught or found out by the humans, her punishment would be just - she had reasoned that many times over - but now, she had something far more important on her mind which she had to do at all cost and that was to find her brother who had suddenly gone missing. Besides, being caught and taken back to the fortress was a rather much more appealing situation to happen than to be caught by a demon.
Leticia tugged on through the rough terrain, up ahead she could see the vast forest that served as a border between the two worlds - of demons and a few loose Angels and where she was, the vast wasteland of nothingness where the war had been fought. The blood spilled and shed on that day had soaked right into the ground, turning the once fruitful land into emptiness where nothing could survive, nothing could grow here anymore and it was now a toxic place but creatures still flew above the place so a "thing" like her, covered entirely in the huge black cloak she had on would be an easy pick for them.
The black cloak she had on stood out sharply in contrast to the brown and empty land, from up in the sky, she would easily be seen, like a black dog racing across this brown land, that was the least of things she wanted to happen, reasons why she only moved at night when it was dark. At this pace, she would get to the edge of the forest before the first light of dawn.
She had left the hideout much later than she has wanted to, that was because she wanted every where to be dark and quiet before she moved and then the stupid guard had been patrolling quite dutifully and without much of a wink of sleep in his eyes, or tiredness in his body. She had waited for almost an hour before she found the opportunity to sneak past him and that was only when he had gone for a quick bathroom break. By that time it was already morning but the atmosphere was still very dark. She chose not to abort instead.
She travelled light, beneath the cloak were two pouches, one half full of gold coins and the other with silver coins. Spending gold coins, she knew, would attract a lot of unwanted attention which was something she couldn't afford to deal with right now. She was a lone human deliberately treading in the world of demons and Angels and spending gold coins? She would not last as long as she had hoped she would if the attention got to her. With Angels, she had a sure chance of being useful and kept alive, with demons she would also be useful but more useful dead. Human blood was like gold to them and they mined a lot of it whenever it was possible.
She should not be out in the open, she should be cowered in the hidden fortress where the rest of the living human population hid; somewhere underneath the mountains. Their total number could not be counted in billions, neither could they also be counted in millions, they were in thousands, less than five thousand people to be precise, living just below the mountains. Reproduction was monitored, food was scarce and so was space but then three years after the great war and they still had managed to remain hidden and alive. Well, the most of them.
Hunter's Chorus: Liam 2
But tonight, Ben wasn't here, tonight wasn't going to be about Ben, tonight was about the only person who didn't fear Renard, the only person who would willingly and so often, stomp on Ben's protection and pride. Tonight was about the renegade Angel, Liam and his sad sad stories.
The demons gathered round Liam, enjoying his sorry story, buying him more drinks and laughing at his predicament. In all, Liam had downed five bottles and was on his sixth. He laughed and hiccuped and could not be stable, the stool he sat on wobbled everytime he laughed and hiccuped but Liam was not drunk on the alcohol, he could not get drunk on alcohol but he was drunk on his emotions, it made him high, lifting him up and then crashing down on him with every memory. It made him ache terribly and he hated feeling this way but still he could not help it.
The waitress who passed by made eye contact with him and winked, her forked tongue slithered out of her mouth to lick her lips seductively. The dangerous colour of red on her lips glimmered in the dull light when her saliva rubbed on it and she giggled, the most seductive voice you would ever hear rolling right out of her mouth.
Liam narrowed his eyes and smiled too, he stretched out a hand to grab a hold of her. She giggled more and whipped out a tail, caressing him from his cheek down to his neck and bare chest with it before blowing him a kiss and cat walking away, her pronounced hips swinging with the music. Liam groaned.
"I think I'm in love." He clutched at his chest and laid his head on the bar table, smiling.
"Haha, Liam Reid." A demon sitting close to him spoke, tapping him on the shoulder. "That is a rather strong word."
"And a stronger confesssion." Another chipped in.
"Who are you in love with? Found yourself an angel now? In here?" They roared with laughter.
Liam lifted his head and brought a finger to the disfigured lips of the demon who had spoken but without touching his fingers to it, and shushed him. He shook his head and grinned.
"You have no sense of reasoning." Liam said and turned his head to the waitress who now stood at the far end of the bar, her attention was away from him and she was attending to the others. Liam turned back to the demon, bringing his finger down, he pressed his finger to the demon's lips now and slid his finger down, wiping the sticky slime off on his own cloak.
"No sense of reasoning what so ever." He repeated.
The demon traced his gaze to the waitress and then back at Liam. "Her? You are in love with her?" He questioned in utter disbelief and laughed out.
"You cannot be in love, not with Phidian at least." The other demons joined in the laughter.
Liam rose his body from the table, still seated on the bar stool and frowned. "And why not? Why can't I?" He hiccuped.
"Because she is a demon Liam." The bartender replied him, slamming another bottle on the counter in front of him.
"Demon? Yeah." He snatched the bottle and took a gulp, he swallowed. "And what am I?" He smirked.
"What are you, Liam Reid?"
"What do you think I am?" He beamed.
"Why don't you tell us yourself. What exactly are you liam Reid?"
"What am I?" He repeated getting up. He staggered a bit before standing still. Taking a hold of the thick brown cloak he had on, he unfastened it.
"I am...." He pulled off the cloak, letting it fall to the ground. On his back were two mighty wings which spread out wide and shone with such powerful light that it immediately incinerated the two demons standing close behind him. Liam smiled, unaware of the two demons he had just burnt. He placed his arms on either side of his hip, his toned muscles, washed in alcohol, stood out powerfully and intimidatingly. He stood a good seven feet and eleven inches tall, taller than any other person in the bar.
"I am an Angel." He smiled widely.
A roar of laughter rose from the bar and someone threw a bottle at Liam shouting, "sit down Liam!", which caught him in the temple. He staggered and fell to the ground and his once vibrant wings folded back, loosing their brightness and heat. He folded up on the floor and laughed with them, then slowly, his laugher turned into sobs. He stayed on the cold floor and wrapped himself up in his cloak, his past life came rushing to him, cascading over him like a waterfall over a small rock. He laid on the floor and little by little, drifted into unconsciousness as the demons emptied drinks all over him.
The bartender laughed, tonight had been rewarding and sales had gone up thanks to the fallen angel who now laid on the bar floor, Liam was always a welcomed guest at Smokes, he made the business boom on nights he was in. He laughed continuously as he sold more bottles, nothing would make a demon feel more powerful than stepping over an Angel and Liam, when drunk with emotions, made that an easy thing.
Liam had accepted his fate, that he would never be able to rise to the pinnacle of power which he once held. Liam Reid, the lost Arch Angel, defeated and humiliated and now laid wasted as the only Angel in this bar full of demons. He slid away slowly into sleep, the laughter, chants and hoots of the demons registered in his brain as the last noise he heard but before he totally passed out, he saw her yet again, he saw her lips part open and he saw her breathe in through those lips and her eyes shot open as his consciousness totally faded away. He slept now.
Hunter's Chorus: Liam 1
Smokes was a noisy place, it was always so noisy and always so full, most especially during the evening times and all through the night. It was such a place for demons and night creatures, a place where they came to unwind and sort of relax but then there was almost nothing relaxing about Smokes. The over crowded and noisy place brought in the heat which contrasted sharply with the cool weather just outside the doors but the heat was welcoming for the demons, to them it was relaxing, even the awful smell emanating from the scaly and hideous bodies of these demons, they considered that relaxing too.
Situated by the edge of the southern forest, Smokes was a place which welcomed all creatures into its overly warm abode, but it was not a place which all the creatures welcomed and asides from the demons who trooped in every night for the ironically relaxing atmosphere, no other creature came here to relax, it was either for business or... actually only for business. It was so for all the other creatures, all other creatures except for one.
Of all creatures to come here - or not - Angels were the least expected. Those heavenly creatures had more pride in them than the beach had sands in them. Even if it was for business, they still would not show up but rather have their demon allies come in for them or send their human slaves in here but sending humans in here was like putting a fresh bloody kill into a shark infested water. It almost never went well.
But one Angel broke that unspoken rule and frequented Smokes. Heck, he broke all the rules as was his desire. He was the one Angel who was bold enough to make himself a force to be reckoned with in both worlds, the other Angels knew him and the demons respected him enough to know when to stay away, but this night like many other nights passed, the renegade Angel was washed in guilt and misery as the memories of his past and once glorious life and position visited him again.
Liam slurred in his speech as he tried to narrate his sad sad story to the bartender who was in no way pitiful towards him but kind of liked the way he kept the other listeners, his ever loyal customers, laughing and eager to buy more drinks for both the renegade and for themselves as well, as long as money was leaving their pockets and entering into his, drinks were being bought and his customers enjoyed free entertainment, then Liam was very much welcomed. He smiled as he took more orders and watched as the door opened and shut, more and more demons pooled in, the bar was full tonight and it looked like it would soon be over crowded. He grinned.
The place was called Smokes and it was a place where one would come to seek demons to do dirty jobs or where the demons would come to narrate and brag about the dirty jobs they had done or they would just come to relax and have fun. It was like a not so hidden, mini black market of a sort in an open bar and it was welcomed to all dark things and creatures. It was also opened to angels too but because the proud and pompous beings of higher intellect, power and all their fancy status would never be caught in this place, it was kind of an unspoken and an unwritten rule that no Angels came in here. But no one could ever tell Liam how to behave. It was just his thing.
Angels also did dirty jobs. Ohh yes, in every good, there had to be a bad egg to spoil the crate but even the bad Angels never came here. Instead they sent their slaves - humans - or better still, if they had demon allies, they sent them to do their dirty works for them, because sending a human in here was only asking for death, their blood was intoxicating and they could be easily identified, demons and Angels could easily smell out a human.
Humans were now believed to be going extinct or totally extinct by now so any human found was as good as a mountain heap of gold. The demons needed them, their bodies served as a good vessel to transfer or summon another demonic spirits into. If not that, then the bloods of humans could be used to conjure a pretty powerful potion, or their flesh could be on the food menu for a ridiculously higher price. But they were better off used than eaten, but anyhow you looked at it, having humans in the hands of a demon could only mean one thing and one thing alone - death was the only thing sure for them.
The only human who could walk in here quite freely was Ben, a man servant to Renard, the most powerful Arch Angel who ruled the world as it was, or at least, he ruled his part of the world. Renard was a bad egg, a rotten egg, you could say the baddest egg. He dealt with powerful demons but never had one for a friend, Angels and demons could never be friends because demons were once Angels too who betrayed their master. Renard was shrewd, but wise enough to know that demons were never faithful, reasons why he settled for the human servant, fear had been his tool of control and it worked extremely well in his favor. Who would dare to refuse the powerful Arch Angel like Renard.
Ben couldn't be killed by a demon or by any other Angel loyal to Renard, his service to the ruling Angel provided him with much needed protection, it would mean war on the demon who would hurt him or try to and they knew they didn't stand a chance against the Arch angel. That piece of information rested heavily on Ben's shoulder like an extra shoulder pad and puffed up his pride. In this bar, he was a mini god of some sort and he flaunted his power proudly at any given chance except when Liam was also in the bar.
Hunter's Chorus: How It All Began
According to the all scriptures ever written and ever found, and according to our wide and still growing knowledge, even those passed down from generations of old and according to how we had come to be, it was a very well known and clearly stated fact that the Earth belonged to us, it and everything in it. It was ours, humans, we alone ruled over the Earth and possessed everything in it and we had done so for as long as time could permit us to remember existing. We had taken full control and exercised our dominance proudly over every area of the Earth.
We were smart, we were powerful, we were wise and we were becoming too much so we wanted more and in our arrogance, we thought we could have it all and truly we almost did and yes that was how and why the world which we had then, the world which we had asserted our full control over became like this; the world which we know as of now. The world we no longer owned.
It was now a broken world ruled by a few corrupted Angels, managed by the renegade Angels and subordinated by sick demons, it was now a world where humans were overthrown and placed at the bottom of the food chain, but this terrible fault was caused by the humans, it was their own doing, now they were being hunted and they were being baited and almost nearly wiped clean off the Earth, so much so that soon they became rare commodities, almost going extinct like the wildlife animals they once poached and sent into extinction. Humans became rare commodities and rare commodities attracted fine money.
Humans were hunted down, and if captured, they were sold to the highest bidder for a lot of money, a handsome and fair enough price just to own a human, either as a pet or as a slave for the Angels or just for their blood, flesh or soul or their bodies to house an entity for the demons, the human's survival in captivity all depended on who bought and who owned them, but either way, it was much safer to be owned by an Angel than to be bought and owned by a demon.
Chances are that one becomes a slave to the Angel and treated only as such, but with the demons, there was never such chances because demons never took human slaves, no, not when their bodies could house another demonic soul or when their blood could be used to conjure a powerful potion or spell. But some might still ask out of curiosity as is natural to human knowledge; how did we get here?
We knew the war was coming, it had been inevitable since demons and demonic spirits were becoming bolder and bolder. The shadows were no longer enough hiding place for them, having to blend into the darkness and staying out of sight was getting to be a little bit too much to ask of them and they did not want to hide anymore and why should they, if they could move from being just a myth, if they could move from being just a folktale told to scare people, to proving their actual existence, taking it one step at a time, moving slowly but steadily, then possessing a human was the next step. A step they took speedily.
Demons were solids, meaning they had flesh and bones and blood and what not's so they could not possess a human body as they could not be combined but the demonic spirits, the inhumane shadowy forms which only once upon a time, lurked in the wickedness of the dark could and were able to possess a human, and in time they too roamed freely, possessing the vulnerable and one could almost not be able to tell who was an actual human being still in his or her right senses from who was a possessed one except when the demonic spirits in them manifested which they often did and oh, how they loved to show off.
But soon, even that grew boring for them as the demons did not want to just stay cooped up in the dark awaiting only be summoned by humans who had taken interest in the dark and evil arts, no they did not have the patience for that and so they began stealing souls and taking full possession of the bodies which they had previously rendered empty. This went on and on as most people would suddenly just slump down and literally "die" only for the body to rise again but with a demonic soul now in control, but there was no way in which the demon's souls in the human bodies could be hidden for so long as it was nature's way of exposing them.
The human body was not built to house such ravaging and restless souls and eventually, the body would evolve to the growing of horns and or tails, fangs, or having odd scaly skin. You would think this would deter them but no, they only got bolder and even bolder. It was at that time that the Angels showed up. Nature was being affected badly.
Having to fight off so many demons who revealed themselves so openly to the humans also put these Angels in danger of getting exposed as most of these demons had to be fought physically. They carried out the operations in the dead of night when the demons were mostly active and for a couple of years the Angels remained hidden until technology exposed them. It had started with a picture but then it was nothing new, fake news was the norm, then videos dropped in, witnesses followed up on the story until a broken angel was "found". Soon then it was no myth; demons and Angels were as real as humans.
At first the government, in their bid to salvage the whole thing, announced it as Earth being under alien attack, and truth be told, in a way they really were not far from the truth, these creatures were indeed some sort of aliens to us. They were supposed to remain hidden, unseen, and untouched but the balance in nature had been tampered with dangerously and the tilt was way off the scale. It only took a couple of years but it still happened, nature totally flipped over.
Soon every human knew, every human claimed to have seen and encountered one of these mythical creatures and most of these humans were just as dumb as they could have been smart. Books began to pop up everywhere; "The art of demonology". "Summoning your inner demon". "To control a Spiritual being."
You would think that after this end-time exposure they would turn to the safe place, turn to the light, but no, instead they capitalized on it, humans were curious, and curiosity always killed the cat. In this case, curiosity killed the humans, nearly eliminating them.
Daredevil teenagers summoned demons to possess them, summoning the Charlie demon to ask questions and some tried to bind themselves with a demon in their bid to "own" one but no one ever makes a clean deal with the devil. The guy would never just play fair. Scientists tried to catch a demon and an Angel to study them, their anatomy, what made them tick, what made them special, what made them super, their mechanisms, and all that.
One time they did succeed in capturing one of each creature and to celebrate the victory, they had several experiments conducted; merging human and demon DNA, demon and Angel, Angel and human, but then everything fun always had to come to an end. If you think the exposure of demons and Angels was like strapping a time bomb to the Earth, then consider the work of the scientist merging and tampering with their DNAs as speeding up the timer. The results were far more catastrophic than insightful.
Now every human had a guardian Angel to watch over them, and so with each human that summoned a demon, an angel was most likely to be exposed but most times there was little or nothing the guardian angels could do to stop their human from summoning a demon, I mean it is not like Angel Raphael could knock out his human with a bat, tie him up and then stuff him into his closet. It was the gift of free will.
Demons operated on a simple and straight principle; knock, invite and enter. Demons do not just possess a person without there being an open channel for possession so they either had to be invited, invoked, or betrothed sometimes they worked on the principle of the mind; corrupt a person long enough to gain easy entrance. But mostly they didn't need this principle to steal a soul and only high-ranking demons could do that.
Demons became bolder and the fight became fiercer. By the time the humans realized what they had brought upon themselves, it was late. The war had broken out and somehow it was more of the hatred Angels had for demons and returning them to the shadows and below than just protecting their humans. And it was during this war that the corruption was infused, it started.
Some Angels switched sides, those ones who became the devil's angels but then they could not exactly be called or still remained "angels" so they underwent a transformation. From the earliest times, these transformations were not or rather, could not be fully carried out perfectly so the transformed Angels turned out to be weird creatures that we had only heard about in stories and as myths.
Some other angels who switched did not support the demons but they did not protect the humans either. They thirsted for power and what greater power was there than to be worshipped, feared, and revered by humans. Other Angels wanted to be like a god, leaving only a handful of Angels still loyal and faithful to their actual purpose but some were sent to earth to protect and prevent the abominable from happening but then if a man's heart could be corrupted then so could an Angel's.
**https://m.goodnovel.com/book_info/31000039026/Paranormal/Hunter**'s-Chorus?shareuser=22216334&ch=apps
Hunter's Chorus: Prologue
Susan stumbled over the front steps as she approached the ancient wooden door of the lone house which sat at the end of the road, completely surrounded by nothing but over grown grasses and darkness, wrapped entirely in the shrewd mystery of made up stories and haunting myths. She gasped and caught the steps with one hand to keep herself from completely falling over and she quickly regained her composure, glancing over her shoulder, she could see the flash lights, she could see the dark outlines of the people chasing after her and calling out her name, they weren't far behind now, she needed to get away from them.
She hugged the small bundle she carried on her chest and frantically pulled at the thick vines which had wrapped around the door, serving as a barricade, they snapped easily like weather-aged ropes and as she pushed the door open, one of the hinges gave way and the door on the left tipped and landed upright on the wooden floor with a loud bang, raising the dust but it didn't fall away as it was still held by the second hinge. Susan cared less about that and rushed into the house, the hinges squeaked louder and the door wobbled like it would suddenly drop but it held, swinging back slowly, the door on the left scraped across the floor utill it closed.
The darkness slowed her down, she stood still for a second as her pupils dilated and eyes adjusted to the darkness, and with her hand outstretched, she moved gingerly and searched desperately for the stairs. She had never been into the house before, no one she knew had ever been in the house before because for years it had been abandoned and left to the care of mother nature.
The house had once stood by the end of a busy road and used to be an elegant beauty, but for the years following it's abandonment, the forest had slowly crept up on it and it now sat not so deep into the forest, just by the edge and it sat alone in the middle of the over grown grasses which looked to be once a beautiful lawn. The vines had crept up the sides of the house and had wrapped around it like veins and in the light of a perfect moon like the one which hovered above the city this percular night, it seemed to pulse.
Stories had been made up and passed down from parents to children, stories of the last owners of the house having been in cahoots with a demon, of how they would lure children into the house and feast on their empty bodies after offering their souls to the demon that they had been rumoured to worship. Of course that had been falsified by parents to keep their children away from the house but then the family and the house had been strange, the children had started disappearing one after the other, all eight of them, they died actually but not of natural causes according to investigators and the media and then the woman died first before the man. It had been said that on the night the man had died, there had been a shrill cry from the house that had sounded inhumane and after that, a terrible storm had ravaged the city.
Nobody successful bought the house after that and all who tried faced one tragedy or the other, then people began spreading the wild stories and it rumoured away from the borders of the city - the house was haunted by the still hungry demon bound to the house. It sparked up a chain of investigations, paranormal investigators trooped in and soon, both the house and the city were swimming in the media frenzy.
Authorities did nothing about the frenzy at first because they enjoyed the popularity, but that was not until strange things actually started showing, and they showed very clearly and it was also about that time that stories of demons started to surface and to assure the public of their safety - for those who had filed a ton of complaints - the authorities eventually put the house up for demolition after the paranormal investigator teams had condemned the house, siting that it was a hideout for demons and spirits and what nots but then nothing could explain the inability of the authorities to tear down the house, some thing always seemed to go wrong so they had left the house to crumble on its own time. The house had since been standing for seventy five years.
But none of those rumors mattered to Susan, in fact, none of those stories entered her head as she didn't think of that as all she wanted to do was to get away to a place where she would be alone, desperation had its own way of pushing people. She had fought her way through thick cobwebs and creaky floor boards till she reached the last floor of the house and from the safety of the attic, she could see the people down below; two policemen, one hospital security guard and two nurses, who had been chasing after her and we're now at the front door trying to get in but the door was locked. They banged and kicked and pushed but it was of no use, the door was rigid and tightly shut, standing firmly like new oak wood, it wouldn't budge. It was the same door which she had just come in through that was just barely hanging on its hinges, but now it stood rigid and was locked securely.
Susan didn't ponder on that too much, she just wanted to be away from them for now, she placed her back against the wall and slowly slid down to sit on the wooden floor, she put the bundle she had been carrying gently on the floor and unwrapped it. It was a child, her child and she was dead. She had given birth to twins, the boy who had come out first was healthy and alive and still in the hospital but the doctors had said that her second child was a still born and that there was nothing that could be done to bring her back to life, but this was her child non the less so she had stolen her away from the hospital and ran, and now she sat in this house, weeping and hugging her icy cold baby.
"I would give anything to have you come back to me." She wept silently. "Anything please."
Eyes shut, she wept more, rocking herself back and forth, back and forth and humming a tune with an emotion ladened voice. A metal object clattered in the dark and she bolted upright, squeezing her child to her chest. She looked around and the realization of where she was dawned on her like cool water on parched ground. Stiffening her resolve, she wiped her tears and dared the myths to come alive, she shivered, if truly there was a demon in this house as was rumoured she would summon him and she would ask for its help. She knew that it would turn out to be a very terrible idea if it was true a demon was indeed living in this abandoned house but she was a mother and she would do anything to have her child come back to her. Yes, she was that desperate.
"If at all there is a presence here," She swallowed. "If the rumors are true and you are here, make yourself known to me now."
Eyes wide opened and all senses on high alert, she listened for what seemed like an eternity for a sign, anything, a whisper, a touch, a scream, a giggle, a laugh, a chuckle, anything at all. She looked left and right, up and down for the slightest hint but nothing came. She said it again, this time with more determination and a louder voice in case the spirit here was still in ghostly hibernation. She would wake it up and damn the consequences!
"If there is a presence here, a demon, a spirit, a.... whatever, still living in here like the rumors say, make yourself known to me now!"
But still, nothing came. Feeling defeated, she broke down and continued crying, planting kisses all over her child's face like that was the antidote for death.
Then it came, it came suddenly like the wind, rushing past her from the open windows, it circled the room, spreading the darkness and twirling it like a concoction mixed with the voices of the ones lost and forgotten in death, and as it settled, she heard a voice loud and clear and authoritative, but still gentle enough not to scare her.
"Anything?" It questioned.
Susan buckled against the wall, colour drained from her face and she pulled her knees up so that it pressed her dead child against her chest then she wrapped her hand around her knees, protecting her child. She would not be offering her child to anything as a meal. Scanning the room, she tried to find who had just spoken, it frightened her to know that she was alone but not exactly alone, she was hearing voices but then she had called for it.
"Who... who is there?" Her voice cracked and she swallowed hard. "Sh... show yourself to me."
"You said anything?" The voice questioned again. It swam around her and the room so she couldn't tell where it was coming from but she knew she heard it this time. She knew she did.
"Who are you and where exactly are you?!" She yelled as she cried, she was afraid and she knew it, she had woken up something that had been dormant for over seventy years and yes she knew it would be hungry or angry or both. What had she done?
"Do you want your child back...?" The voice came from her right, she turned. "...or not...?" It came from the far left now, she turned again. The voice was terrifyingly calm, seeming to come from every corner of the room.
Susan looked at her still and unmoving baby, she smiled softly and she kissed her cold blue lips, yes she would surely do anything to have her baby back. A tear fell from her eyes and landed on the baby's cheek, she stroked the child's face and whispered.
"Yes..." She sniffed.
"Yes what?" It demanded.
"Yes I do want him back."
"I can help..." The voice floated above her, forming a dark mist, then it moved to the darkest corner of the room and took form.
Susan slowly stood up from the floor and hugged her child even tighter to her chest, pressing her back against the wall so much so that she wanted to blend into it, her cautious gaze was towards the darkness. Her heart beat accelerated and she wished it would not show it self to her but then again, she was curious.
"...but only on one condition." She heard it growl in a low voice.
"What do you want from me?" Susan was cautious and she shook like a leaf caught in a hurricane.
"You would have to do something for me in return."
"What is it that you want from me? You'll have to tell me first." She blinked rapidly. The air in the attic was getting cooler and cooler.
"No..." The voice laughed, the sound made Susan's ears bleed.
"No?"
"This is not a bargain you see, as you have no choice here. You want your dead child back and I want something in return and all you have to say is yes to my demands."
"Well then, what are your demands?"
"You will first of all agree to it so there is no going back then I will reveal to you whatever it is that I want."
Susan knew this gamble was a risky one. Deathly risky but just how desperate was she willing to be? She knew she could not leave the house, no, not after awakening this thing who's voice she could only hear, frankly she saw no other option than to agree to it's choice. She swallowed hard and wiped her tears.
"I agree to whatever you want."
It chuckled and stepped out of the shadows, into the dim light of the moon. Susan shrieked in absolute horror.
@Ozzyy @Hanzell @Ghostwriter
I will be dropping only a few chapters here as it is not yet complete on the website, but I'd tag the link with it. ❣️❣️❣️
https://m.goodnovel.com/book_info/31000039026/Paranormal/Hunter's-Chorus?shareuser=22216334&ch=apps
Scorched: The Meeting
Omar had been to the palace on several occasions and mostly in the company of his father but this was just the second time he would be seeing the King. He sat on the soft cushioned sofa, leaning on an elbow which dug into the arm rest and with his legs crossed. Khalid sat upright with his back straight, his focus towards the stair way which the King with emerge from.
"Omar, sit properly!" Khalid cautioned.
"I am sitting comfortably."
Khalid turned to his son. "I've gone this far for you, it's up to you to..."
"I do not know why you bother when the marriage has already been finalized, or hasn't it?" Omar cut him off.
Khalid frowned and he glared at Omar. This boy. "Omar, you will need the..."
"Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, His Royal Highness King Jaan bin Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, of Saudi Arabia." The messenger's announcement interrupted Khalid's talk. The two men rose to greet the King.
"Assalaam 'alaikum your highness." Khalid and Omar greeted simultaneously.
"Wa'alaikum assalaam Sheikh. Marhaba! (welcome!)" The king replied giddily. He laughed when he shook Khalid's hand. "Khalid bin Aaban, it has been a while. Please sit."
"Your highness is kind." Khaild bowed with a smile. "This is Omar, my own son. Your highness."
"As-salamu alaikom." Omar bowed. The King placed both his hands on Omar's shoulder and rose him to stand straight. He smiled.
"The rumors are true indeed. You are quite a dashing young man Omar bin Khalid. Your father couldn't have raised you any better."
"His highness flatters me. A man's worth isn't placed on his looks and neither are they weighed by it but by his achievements and intelligence, your highness."
King Jaaa laughed heartily. "Omar bin Khalid! Truly I can see why your father boasts non stop of you and why you have gained so much fame in so little a time."
"Your highness."
"I am impressed. Please, sit."
The gifts they had come with occupied a side of the Court yard, the Sheikh had gone the extra mile to impress The King and truly he was impressed, not just by the volume of gifts but also by Omar's intelligence. He approved of him.
Omar remained calm and spoke less, only speaking when he was spoken to. King Jaan seemed to admire that because he praised Khalid for raising such a well behaved young man.
"He is my very own blood after all." Khalid boasted while laughing. "Who else would he take after?"
Omar smirked inwardly, he just needed to see the woman he was to marry, he didn't even know what she looked like but he had reasoned to talk to her, to know if she wanted this union also. If she didn't, it would make it a bit easier for him but then if she did tell him that she didn't want the union, how would he go about it?
He cleared the thought, deciding to take it one step at a time. He sat, not really paying attention to the discussion between the two older men, anticipating when Mariam would be ushered in.
As if on cue, three women descended the stairs, the two women on either side holding the one in the middle whom Omar guessed to be Mariam. She was young and looked quite small, he began to imagine himself with a twenty year old bride and shrugged, he thought her to still be immature. He knew it was custom for young girls to be married off to much older men but he hadn't for once thought he would find himself in the same situation.
The abaaya she had on was purple, trimmed with a gold finishing and flowed all the way down to her ankles. He liked the fact that she had not worn the regular black abaaya, as it was just too common. He noticed that she kept her head lowered and her eyes down, her long and dark lashes fanned her cheek and he admired them, he took a fancy to women's lashes, he didn't know why but he just did.
She must have been made up with extra care for him. He scoffed inwardly and sighed sadly for the heart he was about to break, she looked too vulnerable and fragile, still he had to do what he had to do. He looked away, he would talk to her in private.
"My princess." King Jaan spoke when Mariam was brought closer to them, dismissing the two women who accompanied her. They left with a bow.
"Assalaam 'alaikum Father." Mariam greeted her father first, then bowed to the Sheikh and then to Omar, greeting them.
"Wa'alaikum asalaam princess Mariam." Sheikh greeted in return, Omar only bowed slightly. Her father and the Sheikh laughed as they talked on but Omar was quiet and looked away.
Mariam remained standing with her head down and she chose to study the man she was set to get married to. Indeed he was beautiful as Saadiya had described him. His hair, which was left open without a ghutra covering it, was jet black and combed all the way back with a few strands coming forward to fall just above his eye, his lips were set in a thin line, his muscles were taunt, the suit he wore was left open, revealing the shirt he wore and giving subtle outlines to the muscles that lay beneath.
Mariam mentally whacked herself in the head for thinking such thoughts but then she couldn't deny that the man was drop dead handsome, probably carved on the day God took his rest, spending more time on creating this tempting man. She lowered her eyes, refusing to be swayed by lustful temptations. She was the one to drown him in the sea of lustful desires with a single glance and it was not to be the other way round.
She would never agree to marry him. She wished she could talk to him alone so she could voice out her heart.
"May I have a chat with my bride?"
Mariam's heart skipped a beat when he spoke, especially at the way he had mentioned 'bride'. It was the first time she heard his voice and there was something striking about it, the deep baritone cut through her body like sharp daggers and she involuntarily shivered.
With her eyes closed and her thoughts swimming wildly in her head, she didn't hear when her father give consent so she hadn't anticipated his touch on her shoulder. Gentle but firm. She shuddered and looked up, he smiled down at her, leading her away from the group and into a nearby room, closing the door behind them.
"Just to make this crystal clear," Mariam spoke out immediately they were alone. "I am not in agreement with this proposed marriage and I will not want to marry you."
Omar turned and stared at the girl, she took the words straight out of his mouth! Did this just get easier for him? Normally, he would agree with her decision straight up and tell her his mind as well, that they shared the same opinion but he decided to tease this brave woman.
"And why not? Am I not handsome enough?"
"You are," she said in a hurry and bit her tongue, she had spoken too soon which made his lips curve up into a slow smile. She frowned. "You are, but I still would not want to marry you. Your looks do not move me."
"My looks have moved a lot of women. More than can be counted." He tilted his head with a smirk. "So why won't you be moved?"
Mariam rolled her eyes. "I knew you could not be any different. I have met men like you, too proud and arrogant for your own good."
"Proud and arrogant you say?" Omar laughed. "And you are not?"
Mariam turned her head away.
"If I may ask without intruding, is there any reason to your decision of refusing the marriage?"
"There is....." She paused and swallowed. "There is someone I liked."
"Someone you liked?"
"Yes, liked."
"What happened? You do not like him anymore?" He asked.
She looked down with sad eyes and he decided not to probe further, he shoved a hand into his pocket and combed his hair back with the other hand.
"I see. Well there's someone I like too..."
She looked at him. "So you do not want this marriage?"
"I don't." He confirmed.
If he didn't want to marry her also, why go ahead with this?. She wanted to ask but he beat her to it with his next sentence.
"But we are at a disadvantage right now. She is held prisoner somewhere by my father and might be kill harmed if I don't marry you. And I can't afford to lose her."
"Held prisoner by your own father? The Sheikh?"
"Hmm.." He nodded.
Her mind went back to Aadil, she had been afraid to loose him to and they had both succeeded in keeping their affair secret for as long as they could but noting could be hidden under the sun. She knew her father had spared her for the love he had for her but he had also broken her heart. Omar was now in the same situation she had been in and her heart went out to him and his prisoned lover.
"So for her sake, you are willing to marry me?" He nodded. "Then what happens next? You marry her and abandon me?"
He shrugged his shoulders. "I don't really think before I act, it's kind of my charm."
"You don't think and that's a charm?" Was he being serious right now? For a moment she had felt for him and now she suddenly began to wonder if this was the same Omar whose intelligence was being praised round Saudi Arabia. She wanted to stab his pride badly. She gritted her teeth in frustration and opened her mouth to speak but his next words left her speechless.
"Take off your abaaya, I want to see what you look like."
Hunter's Chorus!!!
Yes!!!
Hunter's Chorus is ready to be devoured by reading eyes!!
😂😂
Finally! I'm super excited to be able to finally have this book on the way...! I've been on this book for like almost four years now,lol... Finally letting go!
Check it out, read, add to library, and most importantly pleeeeeaaasssseeeee leave a review 🙏❤️
https://m.goodnovel.com/book_info/31000039026/Paranormal/Hunter's-Chorus?shareuser=22216334&ch=apps
Book cover designed by yours truly, me 😋😁
@Ozzyy @Hanzell @Gwenie @Ghostwriter
Scorched: Refusal
Mariam was dressed exceptionally heavy in anticipation of her would be groom and father in law. She knew nothing about them asides from the fact that the man she was to marry was Omar bin Khalid, the only son of the Sheikh, his father Khalid bin Aaban. Omar, as she was told by Parvina who had gathered information from the rumors circulating, had lived most of his life abroad, getting his Masters degree, bachelor's degree and Ph.D, but the rumors that went round boasted more of his fine looks and physique than of his intelligence.
She scoffed, such people were bound to be proud and arrogant. She knew that because he would not be the first of his kind to come for her hand in marriage, each one was prouder than the last man before him and absolutely none of them had impressed the King. Absolutely none of them had impressed her.
Being the only Saudi princess to His Highness King Jaan, it was of utmost importance that the man impressed the King and not just by the amount of wealth and affluence he controlled. Many had failed in such feat, bragging mostly of how much they owned and how many women they controlled. Mariam had felt disgusted at that, none of the men had the brains to impress, but if the rumors of Omar being as intelligent as he was handsome was true, she saw him excelling in that aspect. Then she would have to marry him. She cringed inwardly at the thought.
Despite the beautiful ornaments and make up she had on, she still had to put on the purple abaaya when coming into the presence of the men and she wondered what was the essence of the extra work, she felt they were just over doing it. After all, Omar and his father were not the one to be impressed, the King was. Her father was just as proud of her as she was proud of herself, her beauty came in second to her wits.
She eyed the purple abaaya which hung by the dressing mirror, the cloth would cover her head and the most part of her face, leaving only her eyes open. Saadiya had told her that she had charming eyes, one that would drown any man into a sea of lustful desires. She smirked at the thought of drowning this so called Omar in the largest sea of lustful desires with a single seductive glance, oh it would swell her pride. Thinking so, applied more kajal to the bottom of her eye lid.
"He's here Mariam! He's here!" Parvina ran into her room, too excited to slow down. Mariam and Saadiya turned to her direction, watching her race non stop all the way to the window.
"Who is here?" Saadiya asked, seemingly uninterested at first.
Parvina leaped over the dresses which laid scattered on the floor due to Mariam's multiple selection and lack of choice and made for the window to look at the tall handsome man who had just stepped out of the sleek black Mercedes with an older man who stepped out from the other side.
"Come see Saadiya! It's the groom, it's Omar!" Parvina called and made room by the window so Saadiya could join her. Saadiya ran excitedly to the window to take a look at the man set to marry her friend and whose looks had sparked off a train of rumors.
"I see three cars in the compound but they both stepped out from just one." Saadiya pointed out.
"Why did they choose to both ride in one though?" Parvina asked no one in particular still looking out the window.
"Where is he? Omar, where is he?" Saadiya asked.
"There. Lean out more, the handsome one wearing the dark suit. Isn't he sparkling Saadiya?"
Saadiya leaned out more to get a better look at Omar and immediately she squealed and started praising Omar's facial looks and body features.
"Mariam! What a lucky child you are!"
Mariam turned her full attention to Saadiya, eyes wide open. "What? What is it? What?!"
"The man! The Sheikh's son, Omar!"
"Omar?" Mariam scoffed and turned back to the mirror. "What about him?"
Saadiya continued.
"The rumors are not entirely false but they did no justice in perfectly describing him. The man is handsome! No, not that. The Man is a beauty to behold, oh Mariam he would give you a run for your money!" She giggled. "Or a run for your beauty."
To Saadiya, describing Omar as being beautiful was an understatement. Her wild description made Mariam want to stand up and rush to the window to see the person who had both her friends fixed to the spot but she held herself and her brows knitted into a frown.
"Maybe they have gifts in the other cars, what do you think Saadiya?" Parvina chipped in.
"It has to be, he is the Sheikh's son after all, the only son and Mariam is a princess. Who would come visiting her empty handed? And this isn't just any random visit. This is a wedding preparation."
"Ohh gifts! Imagine what would be in it!" Parvina grabbed Saadiya's hand.
"Lots of jewelries of course! With dresses and makeup maybe. Something for the King too but more jewelries!"
"Before the wedding, you would be sure to receive a room full of gifts!" Parvina squealed, her focus still on Omar who was just entering the palace with his father after being received by a messenger who would usher them into the King's presence.
"You should prepare Mariam." Saadiya said, stepping away from the window.
"Prepare? Why? I'm already prepared." Mariam said pointing to her face. "What is the use anyway, they still won't behold this untainted beauty." She replied sarcastically grabbing her cheek with both hands and rolling her eyes.
"Again with the attitude. Mariam be positive and calm this time, please." Saadiya bent to pick up the dresses and threw them on the bed. The servants would arrange and put them in their rightful positions later.
"Oh, and after this wedding you would be every woman's envy. Just look, you should have seen how handsome he is!" Parvina held on to Mariam's hand, jumping up and down.
"I would be every woman's envy?!" Mariam rolled her eyes and yanked her hand free. "He would be the envy of every man! He is the one getting married to me, the princess Mariam of Saudi Arabia."
"Yes, you spoilt little princess. Yes you are, now wear the abaaya and wear it properly!" Saadiya joined.
"I will not marry him!"
"Do you think you have a say in such matters princess?" Saadiya asked.
"If you won't marry him, I will!" Parvina twirled to which Saadiya shot her a sharp glance.
"And I would gladly give him to you Parvina. I don't want to get married! Especially not to him!"
"And why not?" Saadiya returned to her seat beside Mariam.
"Well..." Mariam searched for the right words. "He is.... proud and arrogant and..."
"And how do you know all these things about him? You just jump into conclusions Mariam."
"He is not the first of his kind, they all are!"
"Stop it!" Saadiya scolded. They were all of the same age but sometimes she felt she was older, especially when the two girl behaved like spoilt children.
"I will never love him I promise you!" Mariam half yelled. "I will never!"
"Ohh Mariam." Saadiya cooed and Drew her seat closer beside her, patting her back and rubbing her head in her attempt to calm her down.
"Saadiya, I don't want to..." Mariam grumbled, tears pooling up in her eyes.
"Shhhh, don't cry now or you will ruin the make up, it took hours to perfect." She winked, tilting Mariam's head backwards a bit so the tears wouldn't roll down.
Mariam frowned and crossed her hands. "You are only worried about the make up?!"
Saadiya laughed. "Ok Mariam, let us do this. You will go down stairs when you are called for and meet him, get to see him and actually know what he is like. Then you can make your judgement about him. How is that?"
Mariam reasoned what Saadiya said and thought it wasn't a bad idea but...
"I will meet with him and tell him what I feel about this marriage."
"You will tell him of your lack of interest?"
"Indeed I will." She had made up her mind and had to get this over with.
"What if..." Saadiya started.
"I support you fully Mariam!" Parvina interrupted.
"Shut it Parvina. You just want him for yourself." Saadiya cautioned.
She giggled. "I won't deny that fact." Mariam laughed and tapped her lightly on the head.
"Silly."
"Listen." Saadiya turned to Mariam. "What if you fall for him?"
"Fall for him? I would never! I do not love him, I would not." She looked away, her frown deepened.
Saadiya smiled and took a hold of Mariam's hand. "You will Mariam, I can promise you that."
The BCH goal
The 1BCH goal
Sometime around last year, I had set a goal to get one BCH in my wallet to HODL. Did I reach that goal?
Hmmmm... Almost. Not just not quite there.
Why did I set that goal?
My aim of getting one BCH at that time was not just for hodling, no, it was to save for school this year and I had gotten pretty close to that goal. How did I do that?
Read.cash
I am not so versatile when it comes to the knowledge of crypto and lol, I do not know much about trading either but what I do know well is how to craft up and write intriguing fictional stories and that was exactly what I did and read.cash rewarded me for that too. I saved up 80% of my rewards in my luno wallet.
PublishOx
This is another platform much like read.cash that reward authors for their write ups but this platform did not reward me as much as read.cash did but I still kept at it. All my earnings here went into my trust wallet which I eventually sent into my binance wallet.
Binance
Ok, this platform is just awesome. I'm not a trader, I do not know how to do that as I am a self taught crypto youngling 🤣 but I saved my crypto here, PublishOx paid in the -not so popular coins- so when I sent those to binance, I converted then to the BNB coin and staked it. I jotted every increase and decrease and rewards. Binance actually rewarded me with 13 other tokens! Ha!
Crypto faucets
I was crazy about free crypto faucets and I made use of the most that I could all the time.
So as of last year, I was "rich in the crypto ways" 🤣
Early this year, my sister and I gained admission into the University and Lord were we happy! And to lessen the burden of school fees, I had resigned to use my crypto money to sponsor myself in school while allowing my dad sponsor my sister. It was all good right?
But things did not go as planned, I had to decline my admission as her fees were much higher than expected. Used up my hodlings but she got in. Yay!
I'm still on that goal to get 1 BCH and I will get it before the end of the year. How? The same way I did last year 😂 and more...😏
The ban on crypto in Nigeria had come as a bad omen and really it was but then the demand for crypto in Nigeria had only gone higher and this is in fact good news. $1 to the naira is about 475naira but on luno it is about one thousand naira!
The price of crypto varies depending on which platform you’re on. It will also change depending on the country you’re in. In Nigeria, for example, bitcoin is currently trading at a premium of almost 20%. While the bitcoin price recently surged up to $60K across most of the world, in Nigeria it super-surged to $86K.
Because demand is higher than supply.
Why is this good? Because it brings my 1Bch goal much much closer.
Yay!
Recently, I decided to start loaning out BCH for a limited time and receiving it back with interest. Now this is not a very wise thing as one as myself could easily be scammed of crypto and that is why I have only been able to loan to only two people whom I trust. Frankly speaking, I do not think I will be able to loan out to any one else but since I started, t which was just about one month ago, I have gotten about $8 in interest so... Good right? But I would not advice this.
But right now, my Major source of crypto income is still read.cash and it sort of is a good thing that I can not withdraw directly to my bank account due to the ban or else I might be tempted to do so... Lol
But after my recent loan out, I'm left with less but... I'll be getting it back in about two weeks with interest.
I know it's still a long way to go but patience is a virtue and I will remain positivelyAny way, wish me luck as I keep this going.
Cheers to BCH...! Cheers to crypto enthusiasts...! Cheers to our supporters...! And cheers to @Read.Cash cheers to all the generous donors...!!!
Scorched: Greed For Power
The day came too fast and Omar was up and ready even before his father was but he remained in his room. Today he would be going to the palace with his father, to be introduced to his bride to be. He was to behave sensibly and maturely to get the approval of the king to be his daughter's groom. He could not help but feel like a ram being led into the market to be sold, and honestly that was what it was. He was literally being sold off and this marriage was the payment.
The only person gaining from this was his father, the Sheikh and Omar couldn't help but feel that there was more to this. He knew that his father was a greedy person and his greed had always been for power and he was hard to satisfy. The man always craved for more and his marriage to the princess was that more that the Sheikh had been yearning for.
Omar wondered for how long his father had nursed this in his heart, for how long he had planned for him to get married to the princess. The plan was strategic and his father had been patient. If he had planned and waited for this long then Omar was afraid that he would under no circumstances, not let anything get in his way.
A knock came on his door twice before it was pushed open and Taheem stepped in. Omar lifted his head from the bed and glanced at the man before relaxing back.
"I don't remember saying you could come in."
"I'm here to get you. The Sheikh is waiting downstairs for you."
Omar sat up and eyed Taheem. "How would you like to be married off against your will?"
"The marriage between you and the princess Mariam should be taken as a rare opportunity. Your father wanted this, I do not think you should make it any more difficult Omar."
"But you..." Omar paused, wondering why he was asking Taheem such questions. The man was just as adamant and would follow the Sheikh's orders down to the last, his mind worked just like his father's own so it was pointless trying to make him see from his point of view. He got up and follow Taheem downstairs to the waiting car.
Sheikh Khalid stood patiently beside the car, today was the day his long wait would finally pay off. Today, the King would meet with and approve of his son Omar for his daughter. Daughters were easier to handle, Mariam would agree to her father's wishes. Khalid smiled a bit when he saw Omar following closely behind Taheem, he was dressed formally in suit and Khalid couldn't help but feel proud of the man his son had grown up to become.
They left the house that afternoon driving through the city and heading towards the south of Jeddah, to His Royal Highness King Jaan's palace which lay just beyond the pool of Al Lith. The ride was long due to the tension in the car and the silence that circulated was thick.
Khalid, having no intention of breaking the silence, kept his eyes fixed to his phone and quietly scrolled through it. Omar watched his father for a while before turning his head to look out the window, letting his mind wander back home, in the room where Megan was being held prisoner.
Her room was in the East wing of the mansion and his was on the West wing, leaving his father's room somewhere in between. Her window over looked the court yard which was almost never empty even at night so he couldn't take her out through the window, moreover it was on the third floor.
He moved that aside.
The vents. They were all connected on each floor, so his vent would connect to hers meaning it also connected to his father's. If he would be using the vents it had to be when his father wasn't in the room, better still when his father wasn't at home but crawling through the vents? He couldn't stress that much, no that wouldn't do at all.
If he was to escape Megan from the house it would have to be when his father was out, but then what would make him leave the house. It seemed getting her out of the city was the easy part, getting her out of the house was more challenging. He sighed. He had to come up with a plan C. Seven days from now he would be getting married to Mariam if he couldn't do anything to change it.
"Father." Omar breathed, bringing his mind back to his body.
"Hmm.." Khalid answered without looking at him.
"Why do you want me to marry Mariam so much?"
"She's a princess, she wields power she cannot control. Having her would be a much better asset." He answered quickly.
"That's what all this is to you? Power?"
"Power makes the world go round Omar, even at your age and diversity, you are still inexperienced." He looked at his son.
"Power for me or power for you?" Omar asked despite knowing the answer. His father was always in need of more. But the Sheikh didn't answer him directly.
"What I do, I do it to secure your future."
"And that is all you always say but my future is mine and I should at least decide how I want it to be. You're not helping me, you're using me for your greedy gain. Myself and the princess, you are just using us!"
"I'm time you will understand my reasons." Khalid smiled and said no more but continued scrolling through his phone and stroking his chin.
Mariam was a powerful personality, she was the princess, the only princess to His Royal Highness King Jaan. He knew of how many suitors had come, even non Arabs but the King had been firm, his daughter would not get married until after she had turned twenty.
Getting the King's consent for the union of the princess with his son hadn't been much of a dilemma. The Sheikh was powerful and rich and had royal blood flowing through his veins, moreover he was the child of the fifth daughter of the Rais, the doors were already opened for him. Now he just needed his son to not ruin the chances.
"I can't believe you would do anything for power, even going as far as selling me! Your own son!" Omar continued.
"Selling you say?"
"That's what you're doing, causing me to marry someone I don't love."
"Love will come when it will come. For now you don't need love, you need the power."
Omar was speechless, this marriage wasn't in his interest at all, it was in his father's interest. His greed for power was overwhelming. Omar, furious as he was, tried to calm down the only way he could right now, so he looked out the window thinking of Megan.
The palace was Grand and befitting of a powerful royalty like His Royal Highness King Jaan. Everything spoke of his immerse wealth, from the expensive finishings to the fleet of classic cars which lined one side of the compound.
The structure stood gigantic and powerful and of all the palaces he owned, this was the grandest. It was where he chose to live, mostly because it was almost secluded, it was here he had his meetings and important gatherings and the only other royal family with him was his daughter whom he doted on extravagantly.
She was his only daughter and he had grown quite attached to her, letting her have anything and everything money could possibly buy but the girl was not much of a spender and he sometimes had to bribe her into going shopping with her friends, the few friends he allowed full access into the palace at any time.
Today they would make her up for her groom to be, His Highness King Jaan had not left anything out. His daughter was beautiful he knew, exceptionally, he had received praises and proposals for her hand in marriage but he would never let his daughter get married at an age too young. He knew what they faced, he had married his third wife when she was fifteen and she and died at childbirth, after giving birth to the only girl child he had. Mariam, he had named her after her mother.
Now the girl was turning twenty in a few days and he couldn't have been more proud of the way he raised her. Except for the incident with Aadil and their secret love affair, he felt she was perfect.
Scorched: Prisoner
The car she was in felt tight and stuffy because she had to ride with Taheem. His presence made her feel vulnerable, made her feel like a prey caught by a hunter's trap and left out in the open for the predators picking, so when the car continued driving past the car Omar was in, heading to the back of the mansion, she panicked.
"Get down." Taheem had said when the car came to a stop as he himself got down, but Megan who had been thinking up the different ways they could butcher and hide her body, hadn't heard him at first.
They would let me live for Omar's sake. I can't...no, can't be killed. The Sheikh had promised. I'm not.... where is Omar!
Her mind swam wildly and her heart beat was so loud she felt she would have a heart attack. She panicked, she needed to breathe and there was no air in the car, her hand came to the window as she struggled to find the handle.
Taheem, who had stepped out since and was already heading for the back door, stopped when he noticed the American wasn't following him. He turned back to the car and from the windscreen, he could see her still seated in the car. He gritted his teeth, wishing he could drag her by her hair and out the car. He rounded the car and came to the other side, throwing the door open.
"Out!" She heard him this time because his hand was squeezing her arm and pulling her out of the car. She obeyed in a rush, bumping her head as she tried to get out. She rubbed on the spot.
When Taheem had yanked her from the car and into the house from the back door, she had expected to be shoved into a dark cell, with damp cold floors and mice and lizards and crawling insects for companion. She had expected to be locked up with no blanket for warmth and given stale bread to eat and water to drink. So when he had led her upstairs and into this room, she had stood rooted and scared, wrapping her arms around her body and eyeing him from the corner of her eyes. What was he going to do?
"The Sheikh wants you here, the doors won't be locked but you are not allowed to step out. Consider the Sheikh's kindness as something rare to come by and do not expend it." He began to walk out the room.
"Ermm.. excuse me." She called.
Taheem paused and fixed his eyes on the girl, he wasn't supposed to engage her in talks but he wanted to know what she had to say.
"I am sorry but am I to ermm... To stay in here? In this room as a prisoner?"
Taheem narrowed his eyes on the American, was she deaf? Did she not hear what he had taken his time to explain? And as much as he understood her concerns about bring kept in this lavish room despite being a prisoner, he did not see any reason why he should have to explain any more to her.
Megan shuddered under his gaze and bowed her head in apology. She had heard what he had said but she was a bit confused and fully grateful that she wasn't locked up in a cell.
"I'm sorry, but..." But the room was too large and quite too fine for a prisoner to be kept in.
And now that she thought of it, she couldn't believe she was now a prisoner in another man's house and in a foreign land. She half expected the strict looking man to maybe caution her but he only walked out and shut the door behind him.
Megan stood a while without moving, afraid that he might return soon but the only person who came back was a servant who walked in to bring her dinner.
"Excuse me, but could I get a change of clothes?" Her clothes clung to her body, wet from all the sweating caused by the desert's heat and she desperately needed to bathe and change into something else.
"There are clothes you can change into in that wardrobe over there." The servant pointed to the large wardrobe that stood in the corner which Megan hadn't taken notice of. She thanked the servant and watched her leave the room.
Megan took her time to shower and change, she stepped out of the bathroom refreshed and into the room. She walked to a corner of the room and looked out the window, surely things hadn't gone as she had planned and she felt like she should have known. This wasn't America after all where freedom of choice was as common as the air one breathed.
Studying her new surrounding, she came to sit on the bed which was king sized and rubbed a hand over the fine soft covering. She smiled, if she was to be a prisoner here, then at least she was sure to be having sound sleeps and waking up without cramps. Her eyes landed on the food which she had left untouched in the middle of the table, she had decided not to eat for fear of poisoning, but her grumbling stomach and the rich aroma that constantly assaulted her nostrils was just about enough temptation.
She groaned and sat down at the table, picking at the food with the fork and turning it around in the plate.
"You're overthinking this Megan It's not poisoned, it couldn't possibly be poisoned." She repeatedly told herself but still she just could not bring the food to her mouth.
"Megan..." She cautioned again but she still couldn't. Her tummy grumbled again, loudly this time.
The door was suddenly thrown open and she flinched, moving her gaze towards the door. Omar stood at the door for a second as his gaze scanned the room briefly before they landed on her, she stood up when he walked in and he rushed to grab her in his arms. She sprang forward from her seating position, running into his open arms and melting into his hug. She began to cry.
"Hush now." He patted her head.
"Omar, I am so scared."
"I'm here now, am I not? Nothing to be scared of."
"You are here now but for how long? You will not be here forever, you are going to marry her! What am I to do?"
"Hey, you do not have to do anything."
"I don't have to do anything? Nothing?" She pushed him away, her eyes stung and her anger built. "What can I do anyway? I stay here and watch you get married to the goddamn princess and then what next?? Huh?"
"Megan..." Omar called, stretching his hand towards her. She swatted it away.
"No!"
"Just listen, please."
"Listen to what?!"
"Do you regret coming to Saudi Arabia with me?"
"I..." No, she didn't. She couldn't possibly regret it but this was a bit too much. "No, I don't."
He reached out and pulled her gently to him. "I need you to trust me, do you trust me Megan?"
"I..." She shook her head and looked down.
"Megan, look at me. Do you?"
"Omar," she looked into his eyes, darting from one eye ball to the other and then back. "I love you, I trust you, but this... It's not something I'm used to, not something I want to get used to."
"Me neither." He held her close and lowered his voice. "Father has set the engagement and marriage eight days from now."
"Oh Omar..." She wept into his chest.
"Shhh... I promise you I won't let that happen."
"What will you do? What can you do? He is using me as bait. I can't help but feel helpless, I've made you helpless."
"No Megan, you haven't. Just trust me. I love you."
"I love you too."
She hugged him tighter, never wanting to let go and Omar held her in that position till she calmed down.
"You haven't touched the food yet?" He asked.
She shook her head negatively.
"Why?"
"I'm afraid that it might be poisoned." She sniffed.
Omar broke out into a laugh and disengaged from the hug, holding his stomach. Megan looked away in embarrassment.
"Ohh my, you're so cute! Come on, we will eat it together, I'm starving as it is."
He sat her down and pulled up another chair for himself opposite her and they ate together with Megan telling him of how she had twirled the food around in the plate, thinking it was poisoned. Omar laughed at her silliness, assuring her of her safety. He stayed a while before he left and Megan went to sleep with the hope of an something changing. She prayed for Omar, prayed strength for him, she prayed for herself patience and she prayed that the Sheikh would have a change of heart or a heart attack.
Scorched: Back home
Omar stared out the window of the black Mercedes as it made its way through the streets of Jeddah, heading to the Sheikh's mansion. Frustration was evident on his face and anger was boiling in him towards his father who happened to be riding in the same car and chose to remain silent throughout the journey. Omar did the same, not uttering a single word, his mind went to Megan who rode in the car behind theirs along side Taheem.
The fact that she was in the same car with Taheem made him uneasy and he wondered what was going on in there. What conversation were they having if at all they were having any. He was sure they weren't, Taheem wasn't one to indulge freely in conversations, most especially if it happened to be with a stranger, much less someone he was to hate.
Omar had agreed to marry Mariam in exchange for Megan's safety and now he wasn't sure he should blindly trust his father, the man was unpredictable and had so many secrets surrounding him. Although the tinted windows made it a bit hard to see out the car, most especially with the sun gone from the sky, Omar still glanced back every now and then to ensure that the car was still behind and following them.
The car he rode in with his father was the first to pull up into the compound and stopped for them to get down. Omar, whose mind had been on Megan all through the journey, opened the door by his side to get down, he needed to make sure she hadn't been tortured on the way here.
"Omar," his father called as soon as he had one foot on the ground. Omar paused but didn't turn to him. "We will go visit the king and the princess tomorrow so you should go now and rest. You should get your mind prepared."
"I am not doing this for your sake."
"For who so ever sake you are doing this is not any concern of mine, as long as you will go through with it and without falter."
"Yes." Omar smirked. "All you want is for me to just go through with it, isn't it?"
"It is not so difficult Omar, you just need to calm down and see things the way that I do."
"I may be your son but we are different and I can not see things the way that you do. We do not look from the same perspective."
"You would have to look from mine."
"You really don't care, do you Sheikh Khalid?"
Khalid looked at his son closely. "I care for the choices you make. Your choices affect not just you. Your choices..."
"My choices..!" Omar raised his voice, interrupting him. "That is it exactly, they are my choices! So I should be the one to decide what is good for me and what is not!"
Sheikh Khalid sighed, it would be pointless for him to continue engaging Omar like this. "You should rest. Tomorrow we will go see the King and princess, get your mind prepared. That is all."
Omar shut his eyes tight and fisted his palm, sitting still to calm down. He heard the door to other side of the car click open and felt the weight lift off the car before the door clicked shut again and he released a deep sigh to calm himself. Yes, he needed to get his mind prepared and that rest was much needed.
The car Megan was in continued to drive past, heading towards the back of the mansion. Omar stood up from the car, watching it as it disappeared around the corner and in anger and frustration, he kicked the car's tyre before storming into the house, making his way upstairs to his room.
The door held when Omar slammed it shut but the force caused the chandelier to vibrate. He paced the large room, raking one hand through his hair as scattered thoughts flew through his mind. In eight days he was set to get married to his father's choice so he had less than eight days to come up with a counter plan.
He had to get Megan out of this mess and then he would sort himself, but then here wasn't like the desert that was open and less secured, the mansion was crawling with guards, men on every post. He yelled, upturning the center table and shattering the glass, he had no clue as to where Megan was being kept and he knew he had to find out soon. A guard ran in after hearing the noise caused by the shattered glass, afraid that something must have happened to his master's son. It made Omar furious.
"What is it?"
"I heard the shattering glass and ran in here to check on you. Are you alright?" He kept his head lowered.
"Fine. Get out."
"But my..."
"Get out! Now!" Okay boiled.
The guard hesitated a bit before turning and walked out, shutting the door quietly behind him.
Groaning, Omar threw himself on the bed, still in his clothes and shoes. He resigned to sleep this night, to gather strength and plan for both his and Megan's escape but when his body touched the soft rich foam, sleep left him. He wondered if Megan was also on a soft rich bed or on a cold dungeon floor, he sprung up and rushed out of the room, he had to find his father and know about the welfare of Megan.
His father's room was down the hallway, left of his room and it didn't take long for him to reach the doors. He didn't bother knocking but pushed the door in. Khaild glanced at him once and continued on the phone.
"...ahh yes, it has been planed as per your wishes, down to the very last detail. The girl would be twenty and at the marriageable age......"
"His Highness King Jaan's wishes for her to get married at that age...."
"Yes, he is also going to go through with it....."
"Hahaha, he's my son after all. Or what do you think....?"
"We will speak more about this tomorrow...."
"Peace be with you too."
The Sheikh flipped the phone down on the bed and turned to face his son who had just rudely barged in. He smiled and walked over to the portrait of Aabish, his late wife and Omar's mother, who looked splendid in the colourful cloth which adorned her as befitting the fifth daughter of the Rais.
"It's all coming together..." He whispered.
"Father."
"Not even a knock?"
"I am sorry, I couldn't wait."
"What is it that you want?"
"I have agreed to marry the woman you chose, Princess Mariam on the condition of Megan's safety..."
Khalid turned to him now. "...And I assure you that she is safe."
"Then you wouldn't mind me confirming that, or would you?"
"Confirming?" Khalid focused on his son and tilted his head. "You have lost the trust you had in your father? I never thought I'd see the day."
"I just want to confirm and see her, that is all I ask."
He turned away from him and sat at the edge of the over sized bed.
"What do you want to confirm?"
"I want to know that she is being properly taken care of and not that she is safely kept away in a dungeon." Omar was firm. He would have to confirm it himself.
Khalid sighed. "You brought this upon yourself Omar Why would you bring her in the first place? Have I given you so much freedom that you can do as you please?"
"I have the freedom to choose with whom I want to be with, freedom to choose whom I love."
"You are to marry the princess Mariam. She will..."
"But I don't love her!"
"Love," he scoffed. "You might not need to eventually."
"I cannot see myself getting married to someone with whom I have no feelings for. You have to understand. How would we live together?"
"And I cannot see you get tangled up in a worthless affair."
"It is not worthless and it is not an affair!"
"You dare raise your voice?!"
Omar breathed out, he was tired of the back to back banter. He had come here for one thing only. "Where are you keeping Megan?"
Khalid studied his son, the man was too grown so for now he would allow it, for today he would let them, he needed Omar in a good mood for tomorrow's visit. It was important.
"She is in the last room on this floor, I forbid you to do anything more than to confirm. You may leave."
Immediately, hope riled in his heart and he turned, out of the room to find her.
"Keep this in mind Omar." Khalid spoke, stopping Omar at the door. "You will get married to the princess Mariam."
Scorched: Mariam
The room was tidy, much too tidy. It was supposed to be this way, she was supposed to be used to it and she was, this was her room after all but today she didn't like how tidy the room was kept. This was how her life was right now, like how it was supposed to be; neat, arranged and perfect as expected of the only daughter to the King of Saudi Arabia.
Things were to be placed in accordance, to the taste of the beautician, to be arranged and coloured to perfection, that was how spotless her room was and that was the exact way she felt her life had become, she being the room and her father the beautician. She had been set up and arranged, ready for someone to come and move into her life, continuing from where her father had stopped as her husband, to rule and control and order her about, but Mariam was not used to being ordered about.
She knew that being a girl, being a woman meant you had little or no freedom, you couldn't wear whatever you wanted to wear whenever you wanted to wear it, you couldn't just go anywhere on your own and even your friends were selected and it was much worse when you were born into the family of a high status. There were things expected of you and you had no room for flip ups. You couldn't let anyone down.
She was grateful that she had friends, Saadiya and Parvina. She used to have more but they were married of and married women had no time for friends or social gathering except during wedding ceremonies or when they accompanied their husbands to events. But even so, you couldn't just wander off on your own.
Mariam sat in front of the open window after the wreckage she had caused in her room, staring out into nothingness. She had flung out all her dresses from the wardrobe onto the floor and scattered the bed, ripping off the bed sheet and tearing open the pillows. The tiny feathers littered the top of the bed and every where around it. She didn't cry, she was not sure that she had any tears left to cry and she had taken out her frustration on the pillows.
The evening sun glowed a dull orange, blending into the blue sky and causing a layer of pink to stretch across. She watched the birds fly off into the evening, most of them in pairs and she couldn't help the sigh that escaped her lips.
She had received the news of her engagement to the Sheikh's son and she took it well - at least that was what her father saw so yes she took it very well indeed. Nodding and agreeing while looking extra dolled up in front of him.
She couldn't dare meet his eyes, she wasn't supposed to. Not like he would mind because he usually encouraged her to do so, saying it showed how confident she was but she had felt uneasy at that time so staring down at the floor and listening to him was the only thing she could do.
"His name is Omar bin Khalid and he is the Sheikh's only son. Have you heard of him before?"
"Yes father." She had, the man was the rumor amongst the girls and Parvina had been her source.
"You have? He is quite a popular person isn't he?"
"The rumors carry a lot about him father. I have heard what they carry."
"So you've seen him?"
"No father, I do not leave the palace so often and I have no business to take me there."
"Hmm... Well, I think he would make a good husband for you. What do you say?" He had asked.
She knew he only asked out of courtesy but what could she say? She couldn't refuse anyway, not like she had a say in matters concerning her own future.
"I believe you will make only the best selection for me father. I have no objections."
Her father had been pleased by her reply, like he was expecting her to say any thing different and in contrary to what he had said.
Most girls didn't have the privilege of talking with their fathers concerning their marriage or who they were to get married to. All they were to know were his name and the wedding date but Mariam had a cry close relationship with her father but even at that, the man didn't take insubordination lightly, not even from her.
She sighed again and kept staring out the window, a lone tear fell from her eye but she didn't bother to wipe it, right now all she wanted to do was to cry. She had practically spent her entire life being groomed up for an unknown man that would come and move her from this grand cell and into another and the only person who could cure her aching heart had been gruesomely killed in her presence.
As much as she didn't want to think about it, she couldn't help the memories that flooded in, for the first time in her life she had witnessed the death of a human and it sent all kinds of fears through her body.
For someone to be alive and breathing this minute and in the next, his head was rolling on the ground, totally detached from the rest of his body while the blood spilled continually from the neck.
Father had ordered the beheading after finding out of their secret love affair, she fainted immediately the deed had been done and had woken up in her room. She had never seen this ruthless side of her father before and it scared her to the bone.
After that he didn't talk to her for weeks and no one was allowed to visit her. She had cried, pools of tears, endless streams and for days she had been locked up in her room, only servants were allowed in to deliver to her food and water.
Yes, she had been in love with a "mere man" as father had put it, incapable of acquiring the finer things in life to be able to keep her in comfort, but she found true comfort in his heart and she rested her head on the soft pillows of his love, until she had cause him to be killed. She would forever blame herself.
Omar, the Sheikh's only son, she knew of the man but had never seen him, rumors say he was as handsome as the setting sun over the pools of Al Lith, graceful and diversely educated and had never lived a full year in Saudi without traveling. His age she didn't know but she would be turning twenty in six days and her engagement would be two days after.
She was grateful that father had let her stay till she turned twenty before getting her married off, most girls she knew were married at the age of sixteen and some at a lesser age. Some like Zayna.
Zayna had been married off at thirteen, much to the protest of her mother but like the girl, she also didn't have a say in her father's decision and in the end, Zayna was given away to a seventy three year old merchant as his sixth wife. Zayna didn't get to Fourteen, she didn't even stay a week because the third day into her marriage she died, apparently her husband had forced his way into her and she practically bled to death.
Mariam cringed at the remembrance, her body vibrated when she thought of herself being in that situation, causing her to develop a fear of getting married. She had lived her sixteenth year in dread that her father would one day speak to her of her marriage, but it never happened. Then she turned eighteen, many of her friends had gotten married at that age but she wasn't, so it some how didn't come as a total surprise when her father made mention of her marriage now that she was turning twenty. She knew it had to come, sooner or later.
She thought of Aadil, her lover and the gruesome way he was killed and she wept, vowing never to love Omar bin Khalid. She would hate him.
Scorched: Compromise
Omar grabbed Megan to himself as soon as he heard his name and raised his head. It wasn't his father who had called, it was him, Taheem, the head of the Sheikh's guards. He stood menacingly, one hand on the hilt of the sword that hung on his waist and the other hand by his side in a fist. His gurtha flapped wildly around his head, disturbed by the desert harsh winds. Omar eyed him, his presence was never a good sign, nothing about him was a good sign.
"What is it?" Omar asked, clearly disturbed by his unwelcomed presence.
Taheem had been around for as long as Omar could remember. The man was strict and never smiled, carrying out the Sheikh's orders without questioning and without falter even if it meant to take a life. He was as loyal as he was scary and he was the only one bold enough to look Omar in the eye and give orders like he was about to do now.
"The Sheikh orders..." Taheem began but Omar interrupted him with a hand.
"Tell my father that I won't be returning right away."
"I'm afraid that isn't an option." He whistled and more men came into view fully armed. "We were told to use any means necessary to make sure the two of you are brought back to the tent."
"The two of us? Why?"
"The Sheikh has his own reasons, who am I to say?" Taheem replied.
Omar frowned, holding Megan's head to his chest and cursing at his luck. He hadn't been careful enough and it didn't cross his mind that they could follow him here and they had, he had led them straight here without him knowing and now they had her.
"You followed me?"
"We have to bring you and the American back as per the wishes of the Sheikh."
"And you come to me fully armed?"
"We are trained to always be armed Omar. A guard is always armed and ready."
Omar knew what he said was true but he hated the guts of the man, he had dared to call Megan "the American".
"The American has a name Taheem." But Taheem didn't respond, instead he stood still, never for once tearing his gaze away from the two of them.
The man's eyes bore holes into them and Omar felt Megan shiver, he knew she was afraid and he understood why she should be, especially of Taheem. The man was a human robot, loyal and devoted only to the Sheikh and the only person whose presence made Omar uneasy like it did now."
Taheem would willingly use 'any means necessary' to carry out the Sheikh's orders, Omar wasn't afraid of the man but he feared for what they might do to Megan is either of them resisted, they would not dare harm him. His father didn't have her best interest at heart and Taheem was obviously no different.
He smiled at Megan and kept her close to his side, deciding not to fight back for fear of Megan's life and like sheep to the slaughter house, they were led back to his father.
"Omar." Megan called, still cuddled in his arms as they walked back.
"My father wants to see us. Let's just go for now." He smiled at her.
"Hai howa aamen? (Is it safe)?" She couldn't help but ask. The stiff man frightened her.
"Look at you! Your Arab speaking is getting better!" Omar smiled widely and ruffled her hair, earning a frown from her. "You are safe with me. Be rest assured." He kissed her forehead.
The emotions in his eyes denied the smile on his lips and he looked away from her to Taheem who walked ahead of them. He absent mindedly rubbed Megan's arm while he thought of how he would face his father. He would have to keep her safe no matter what.
Khalid paced in the tent, he could not let his son go astray so easily, no not at this point. Now that he thought about it, he now understood his wife's fears for sending him abroad to school but he had dealt the woman a hard slap for questioning his decision. If she were here, she would have started her nagging, talking about how right she had been and how she had seen this happening and tried to avoid it. But she wasn't here, Allah bless her soul, she had died five years back in a plane crash.
As much as he bullied her, he liked her the most; of his four wives she was the boldest, never one to shy away from speaking up which she did on a regular. At first, her unnecessary boldness got on his nerves but in time he adjusted and came to admire that part of her. Now he had to deal with her son - their son. The stubbornness he had gotten from his mother and his attitude was his father's blessing. Khalid smiled. He would marry his son to Mariam. Timid little Mariam of royal lineage.
People craved for many things, some impossible things and some realistic and most would do whatever to get that which they wanted. For Khalid, it was power, he couldn't be satisfied. Getting his son to marry Mariam would bring him to his goal, a bit closer. The only princess to the King of Saudi Arabia getting married to the Sheikh's son. He breathed in contempt.
Taheem walked into the tent, breaking Sheikh's Khalid's train of thoughts and bowed in greeting. Khalid smirked when Omar walked in, holding the American to his side. He watched the girl, her disheveled look as a result of the harsh desert winds and the fear which registered in her eyes he recognized as her fear of him. She looked away.
Khalid looked at Taheem without speaking a word and he understood, the man reached out and grabbed Megan's other arm, yanking her free from Omar and pulled her to himself tightly.
"Omar!" Megan screamed, the grip on her arm was firm and painful, the man's other arm crossed her shoulder, keeping her in place.
"Father!" Omar seethed. He couldn't wrestle Megan from Taheem without hurting her so he turned his anger to the Sheikh.
"I have a proposition for you Omar bin Khalid." Khalid spoke, ignoring his son's anger and walked towards his supposedly claimed bride, rubbing a thumb across her cheek which felt like dried pasta and fought the urge to just slap her hard across the face.
"She remains alive and well as long as you fulfill a simple wish of mine."
"A wish..?" Omar knew his father. The Sheikh was not a man of many words but each one he spoke, he kept them. A 'wish' as he called it, would be a compromise. He knew it.
"You wishes are forever always against mine." Omar spat.
"As true as that may be Omar, you will have to do as I say." Khalid was relatively calm and he smiled to his son.
"And what are your wishes?"
"To get married."
"Married? But I have..."
"You will marry the princess Mariam, the bride I have ordained for you."
"Never!"
"Or..." He glanced at Taheem who grabbed Megan's hair, tightly pulling back so that her neck was exposed and he placed a knife there. "....or you watch..."
Taheem dragged the knife ever so slightly, tearing the top of her skin and drawing blood, she yelped in pain, careful not to move too much. Her eyes stung from all the dust and crying and she looked to Omar for help.
"Tawaqaf! (Stop!) What are you doing?!" Omar desperately wanted to put a thousand bullets into Taheem's robotic head. He was so angry that he felt his eyes begin to tear up.
"Taheem is only holding back, doesn't mean he wouldn't. You've seen what he can do, haven't you?"
Omar knew, he had seen the man kill without emotions and without remorse. One word of approval from the Sheikh and Taheem would not hesitate.
"Why are you doing this?" Omar kept his voice low but his father didn't reply. He looked away in defeat and anger. He just had to be born as this man's son. "I will do as you have said."
"Good. We will return home tomorrow, you should get some rest."
The Sheikh smiled, then sat back on the cushion, folded his legs and closed his eyes. His plan was falling into place.
My editor emailed me yesterday about my new book 😁 so I'll be expecting to sign it before the week runs out 😋🙏
Scorched: Desert Cave
Megan only left the tent when Omar had asked her to and that was when he had been called by his father.
"I'll need you to wait a few minutes first before you head out." He had said.
"Head out, but why? Is there anything wrong? Why am I to leave?"
"You're not leaving dummy." He laughed and caressed the back of her hand. "I want to take you out!"
"Take me out? Out where?"
"Shhhh..." He hushed her. "It is a surprise."
"You don't tell me you want to take me out and say it's a surprise Omar." She laughed.
"Ok, then it's a secret place."
She had been confused. "There is nothing but sand out here."
"Remember the small cave I had showed you yesterday? You still know how to get there?"
She nodded.
"Head to that place, after I must have finished with my father, I'll come meet you there then we can go sight seeing, how about that?"
She smiled and closed her hand together in excitement. "Really? I would definitely love that Omar!"
"But don't let anyone see you ok? Shhh..." He giggled and winked.
But Megan knew why he wanted her out of the place and it wasn't so he could take her sight seeing, she knew his father was not in support of their relationship and Omar was just trying to keep her safe. For a moment, her heart had melted in fear but when Omar held her close, she felt safe. Soon after he went to his tent where his father was, she sneaked out.
She knew where she needed to go to, there were no roads, no trees, no nothing save for the scorching sun that burned brightly above her head. She had been to Saudi Arabia once before, on one of her many expeditions. She had come here to make a story on the lives of the people living in this extreme heat and from here she had gone on into Africa.
She liked Africa, although she had only been in three African countries but she had had a wonderful experience, in the end the stories she had carved out of her experiences had won her an award. She smiled.
The heat here reminded her of her summer in Johannesburg, she thought of the cool water at the beaches she had visited and suddenly became thirsty. She ran her wet tongue over her parched lips and wished it would suddenly rain but then she groaned at the thought, it never rained in the desert. She rolled her head and jumped in frustration, upsetting the sand beneath her feet, sending dust particles up in the air.
She looked down to her shadow and stretched her hands out on either side of her, studying it and finding out in which direction was east and which was west. She was to head north, north was straight ahead. She looked up and smiled briefly, grateful that she had taken geography class seriously when she was in high school then.
Holding on to her neck, she tried to clear her throat, the cough was dry and her throat ached, she licked her tongue round the insides of her mouth and swallowing her saliva, she pressed on. Omar had spoken to her of his father's temperament before they had gotten on the plane to Saudi Arabia, he had also promised to stand by her in all but now she was alone and felt like a lone butterfly in this jungle of soft sand.
When Omar had shown her the tiny cave-like structure hidden in the sand, she had admired the well crafted hand work by who ever had done it, she didn't think she would be heading back to the place barely a day after. She knew in what direction to go, what she didn't remember was how long it would take. Omar would find her.
He just had to.
Omar tried to hurry, he knew where Megan was, or at least where he hoped she would be. He only prayed that she remembered the way to the little cave he had shown her. If she was there, he would find her and get her back to America then he would deal with his father knowing that she was out of danger. Danger, something he had bought her directly into without meaning to.
He knew the kind of man his father was, he had watched him raise his sisters in his strict and brutal ways. One thing he didn't do was to beat them so hard because he knew that a woman's skin was to be kept untouched, unscaved and as smooth as possible so he never beat them with the whip but there was a time he broke that rule. It was for A'shadieeyan.
Omar had never seen his father so angry as he had seen him that day and he hadn't stopped his discipline until his mother threw herself upon his sister to protect her. Omar didn't know what had caused his father to act in that manner because A'shadieeyan left the next day, back to her husband's house and he had never seen her again after that.
He knew his father could never treat Megan in such a manner, she was neither his daughter nor was she an Arabian or someone he knew closely but still he couldn't exactly predict his father's actions. She was an American and he knew how America worked and how much they valued their citizens, her death would bring a huge catastrophe on not just his father alone but to Saudi Arabia when an investigation would be carried out following her death.
The records would show that she had left American to Saudi Arabia in the company of a man, Omar bin Khalid, a first class graduate of the Cambridge University and only son of the Sheikh Khalid bin Aaban.
The trace was easy because Omar was also an American citizen by naturalization. His father wasn't just an ordinary man, he was the Sheikh and the Sheikh wielded just enough Saudi power, killing her would be welcoming trouble to his door step and he knew his father was smarter than that. She wouldn't be killed. But that didn't guarantee her total safety. He shrugged.
The sun blared down on him and to prevent the sands from assaulting his face, he pulled the ghutra over his face and looked down to his shadow, he remembered the little trick Megan had taught him about using your shadow to discern the East from the West, it brought a smile to his lips but he didn't need that, this was his territory, he knew the area like the back of his palm. He edged on, praying that Megan still be safe.
And she was, safe in the little cave only big enough to squeeze in two people. She crawled out of the cave and jumped into his waiting arms when she saw him, squeezing his neck in her hug.
"You look like a mess." He teased.
"The hottest mess you've seen so far." She smiled and he pulled her up so she stood on her toes before planting a kiss on her parched lips, running his tongue over them and into her mouth. She gave him entrance as they locked in a passionate kiss, momentarily forgetting that they were in the hot open desert. She giggled into his mouth when he squeezed her waist and they disengaged.
"I'm sorry." Omar apologized, his eyes were fixed on hers, cupping her face in the palm of his hands. She smiled and shook her head.
"Well you told me of your father's temperament. I chose to come with you."
"But now you can not stay longer and you will have to go back."
"I knew that was the reason you wanted me out here." She smiled.
"Megan... I wanted this to go smoothly and perfectly." He smiled sadly, tearing the ghutra from his head as he looked away. He was clearly frustrated. "This is not how I had imagined the introduction would go, I mean I knew he would not have approved of us immediately but..."
Megan hushed him with a finger to his lips, she held on to his shoulder and lifted herself up to plant a light kiss on his lips and he smiled at her, how much he loved this woman. He held her steady in that position with an arm wrapped around her waist and kissed her passionately. When they broke the kiss, his eyes lingered on her lips for a while before he ruffled her hair and she slapped his hand away in protest.
"Hey!" She stepped away and tried fruitlessly to arrange her hair back. Hopeless, it was a complete mess.
"Omar! Look what you've done! Oh my hair is a total mess!"
"You are a total mess, not just your hair."
"Oh, like you are any cleaner mister. You should take a look at yourself in the mirror first."
"You are just too cute." He laughed and pulled her to him.
They stood in each other's arms until a loud voice yelled.
"Omar bin Khalid!"
Hunter's Chorus is taking a bit longer to get approval and I soooooooooooooo want to share it with you guys 🥺
Scorched: I Love Her
The wind which blew across the middle eastern desert slapped sand particles painfully against the skin and blew ferociously hot, but somewhere in the vast Arabian desert not far from the city, in the tent of Omar bin Khalid bin Aaban, the wind outside was like a cool winter breeze compared to the tension that stretched thin within and fanned a burning heat which was slowly developing. He stood tall a little distance away from his father who sat on a soft cushioned pillow, legs crossed and eyes closed, anger evident on his old wrinkled face. Omar was being impossible.
Again.
"I called you to come home and you bring to me an American?" Sheikh Khalid spoke to his son with calmness although he could not deny the fact that he was greatly disappointed.
"I am sorry if it upsets you father, but I am going to marry her and I will!" Omar voiced out, his back to his father and his palms in a fist.
"Marry her?!" Khalid fumed and his eyes shot open. "Have you forgotten so soon? You are my son! The only son of Sheikh Khalid bin Aaban! You are Omar bin Khalid bin Aaban, did you forget that you are of a royal lineage and as such can not be tangled up in such... union. I forbid it!"
"You cannot forbid it! She is my choice!"
Megan Walker was his choice, she had always been, right from the moment he first saw her in the large American mall in New Orleans. The small woman had been standing rooted to a spot, her mind had been somewhere else, somewhere painful he could tell that much because she cried. He chose to first watch her from a distance, wondering how someone could be so lost in thoughts, despite the sea of people bustling around her and even with the noise he was sure she could not hear.
He watched her from his position inside the Brit café, sitting at his favorite spot which was by the window. He leaned back on the chair and blew on his coffee, the rich aroma went into his nostrils with every breath he breathed in. He took a sip and fixed his eyes on her, not for once looking away.
She stood facing the glass walls and clutching the camera which hung on her neck by the strap. Her brown hair was tied up in a cute messy bun, exposing her slender and spotless neck which he had found tempting to bite. He coughed and looked away briefly, blinking away the thoughts before bringing his eyes to look back at her.
She sighed and shifted her weight away from one leg to the other, tilting her head slightly to the right. She wore loose fitting clothes but one could easily tell that the big leopard printed shirt couldn't hide the comfortable swell of her breasts. The shirt was tucked into matching brown pleated pants that outlined her curvy hips and reached down to her ankles where the brown boots finished her outfit.
Omar studied her face, studied her expression. Her eyes were sad and teary and her lips were slightly apart, so pink and just full enough, she was not on any makeup and yet she could capture his attention while looking so natural. She was indeed beautiful. He noticed a tear glistering in the sun light, it inched its way down her cheek from her left eye and clung to her jaw without her knowing it and she sniffled.
He knew he had fallen in love with her then and he had loved her till the moment she had accepted his proposal and even now that his father vehemently discouraged their union, she was still his choice.
What? A thirty four year old Arabian man couldn't make choices for himself? Why, because he was the Sheikh's son? His only son?
Sheikh Khalid bin Aaban was silent and his eyes now remained closed. Being the Sheikh, there was nothing more to say, Omar was his son by blood and he had to do accordingly to the words of his father's mouth, it didn't matter by hook or by crook, he would have to. He breathed in and out to calm himself because he needed to be calm or he would have blood on his hands. The blood of an American. The blood of a simple American.
When he had called for Omar to return to Saudi Arabia, the reason was to prepare him for the marriage he had arranged, he hadn't told Omar the reason because he felt he didn't need to but he surely hadn't anticipated that Omar would bring a woman with him, a woman he claimed he wanted to marry. And she had greeted him nicely in the Arabian manner, something he was sure Omar had taught her to in order to impress him but the Sheikh had been somewhat disgusted.
He had ignored her and allowed them for that day. Now he had told Omar his mind, not for his son to approve but to do as was told.
Khalid waited, a message was supposed to have reached him by now. His frown deepened, he clenched his fist taking much deep breaths. He remembered how easy his daughters had been, how willing, how obedient. He had married them off at the ripe age, all at nineteen.
He could have married them off when they had turned sixteen but for some reason which he wasn't quite sure of himself, he had decided to wait and he had been pleased with his decision. Not one of them had voiced out in rebellion, they knew the kind of man their father was and he would not have thought twice before punishing them.
But Omar...
Omar being the only son he had, had been allowed much more freedom than the girls. He had felt it deserving because Omar was his only successor so he had spoilt the boy silly and he had also sent him abroad to school, it was like another jewel added to his crown. But now this jewel was rusting, the boy had adopted the Western life and forgotten his duties. No worries, he would teach his son so over again. He breathed deeply.
The curtain to the tent was suddenly thrown wide open and a messenger rushed in, stopping in front of the Sheikh and bowing his head to the ground.
"As-salamu alaikom." The messenger greeted the Sheikh. Khalid smiled, the work was done. The family's blood had never in history been tainted by any bond with a non Islam worshiper, not by outsiders, much less not by a simple American. He was saving his family the disgrace and he would never regret his actions.
"Is it done?" He spoke calmly but with a stern voice and without opening his eyes.
"The lady was not found in her tent Sheikh, she's escaped." He opened his eyes now. Omar spun to face his father and the messenger, baffled at what he had just heard.
"Find her and send her back to where ever she came from...." He grabbed the messenger's arm forcefully, "...if she or anyone resists my orders, send her back in pieces if need be. Go."
Omar watched in horror as the messenger nodded and left the tent in a hurry then he faced his father, slowly approaching where he sat.
"You would...?"
"You have been hypnotised by the simple American whom you claim to be in love with." Khalid cut him off, speaking calmly and without remorse. "What I do now, I do for the greater good, to preserve the untainted blood of the family. You! will not ruin that. I spit on your unholy relationship!"
"Unholy relationship? She is a human being! What is unholy about that?"
"She is not..." Khalid paused. "You are not allowed!"
"I am a grown up man for crying out loud let me make my choices!"
"A grown up man who knows nothing of tradition! Your choices... are not in accordance with mine."
"They don't have to be! It is my choice to love her and want to be with her. I love her father! Why can you not see that?"
"Love is pointless in the long run. In two hundred years would you remember the youth in her eyes? Or the way she smiled? Or probably the way her touch makes you feel. What you thought is love is nothing but a fling and it's time to end this nonsense charade. You have a marriage to prepare for."
"Two hundred what...?" Omar was frustrated. "Yes father! Yes, maybe I will! I will remember everything, because I know that what we feel for each other is not a fling. I love her, I am in love with her. You will not touch my bride!" He raced out of the tent, he had to find Megan.
Scorched has hit 1k views on Goodnovel!!! 💃
Plus I have finally begun the story I've been on for almost four years now - Hunter's Chorus - and after it gets reviewed, approved and signed, I'll drop a few chapters and the link here.
I'm so excited! Yay to me! 💃😂😋
@Ozzyy @Hanzell @Ghostwriter
Your Mr. Right
Let me be your Mr. Right when we are together again.
I will act like everything is ok if you say everything is ok.
Tell me you love me, you don't need to show.
Just act like you know what loving feels like.
Allow me love you better than before.
Allow me to claim you, even if it's for show.
Because letting you go is something so scary.
And getting over you is so hard, I'm lazy at that.
Let me be your puppet as long as you'll stay.
My heart is hurting and I'm broken beyond repair.
My emotions drain me and I crave your support.
But you love the game because you're an excellent player.
And you let me hang on like a medal on your neck.
The pride in your eyes when I wrap around your finger.
Proves to me that I'm not totally useless afterall.
For my melting heart creates a pool for you to dive in.
I can't hide my pain, each step I take away is a battle for me.
I know I am dying, I know I am a fool.
But to die in your arms would be a compensation enough for me.
And your stone cold heart would mark my tomb stone.
But before I die from this one sided painful love.
Allow me ask you one more time.
Let me be your Mr. Right when we are together again.
Bitcoin or Bitcoin cash?
What you should go for.
Bitcoin is fast rising like crazy, if you are a crypto enthusiast you would have been seeing that everywhere, it is rising and rising fast so of you had bought one Bitcoin last year as it had been struggling in between $10,000 to $15,000, now that would be worth over $40,000.
Amazing right?
Much like Bitcoin, Bitcoin cash is a crypto currency and it came as a result of Bitcoin being forked, but why was it forked? It was because the developers wanted a lot of changes that they could not settle on so the option left was to split. A few tweaks here and a few tweaks there and viola! We have the Bitcoin cash.
Since Bitcoin cash was created a few years after Bitcoin, it is much younger and you know what they say about the young; the young shall grow which is exactly what Bitcoin cash is doing. Bitcoin cash is now doing what Bitcoin was created to do.
Bitcoin Cash has amazing cheaper transfer fees that would not tear your pocket and will save you more money than using Bitcoin which costs around $1 but it seems like that fee is rising with the crypto! Ha! Imagine it rising like the ETH gas fee! Making a transfer of $100 and paying a fee of 20 to 30%.
Bitcoin cash has faster transfer times. So, you don’t have to wait the extra long minutes it takes to verify a Bitcoin transaction! Annnnnndddd..... (drum roll please) Bitcoin cash can handle more transactions per second, this means that more people can use Bitcoin cash at the same time than they can with Bitcoin.
So weighing the two cryptos, Bitcoin cash is more cheaper, scalable and faster than Bitcoin, making more and more people adopt the Bitcoin cash. Wouldn't you want to be part of this rising star?? Just like @MarcDeMesel
So we a know that cryptocurrencies derive their value from how much they are adopted, used and demanded, Bitcoin being the first and oldest is currently sitting at that top but then the more people delve into the Bitcoin cash club, oh la la, the higher Bitcoin cash gets!
Today, Bitcoin is the undoubtedly the most valuable cryptocurrency currently on the market and other currencies are struggling in vain to outrank Bitcoin but the struggle is real, lol, and might as well be unnecessary but Bitcoin Cash just may be an exception to that.
Bitcoin cash is not a fake Bitcoin, but a better one.
Leticia's Angel 11
**eticias-angel-1** **-** **leticias-angel-2** **-** **leticias-angel-3** **-** **leticias-angel-4** **-** **leticias-angel-5** **-** **leticias-angel-6** **-** **leticias-angel-7** **-** **leticias-angel-8** **-** **leticias-angel-9** **-** leticias-angel-10 https://read.cash/@Leo_kitti/leticias-angel-1-cba2fe35 https://read.cash/@Leo_kitti/leticias-angel-2-4b2881ca https://read.cash/@Leo_kitti/leticias-angel-3-c64d4f3e https://read.cash/@Leo_kitti/leticias-angel-4-694ca3e3 https://read.cash/@Leo_kitti/leticias-angel-5-230af189 https://read.cash/@Leo_kitti/leticias-angel-6-fabd0728 https://read.cash/@Leo_kitti/leticias-angel-7-157c1dbd https://read.cash/@Leo_kitti/leticias-angel-8-20c0063b https://read.cash/@Leo_kitti/leticias-angel-9-7d05c7d8 https://read.cash/@Leo_kitti/leticias-angel-10-7cc46fec
"Now there are rules you will have to abide by if you are to stay here with me." Liam spoke to Leticia while he sat with his legs crossed and placed on the table.
"I have been used to living alone and without a company, most especially without a female company as you can see..."
Yes, she could clearly see. The house was a mess and reeked of alcohol and sweat amd something else which she couldn't quite place. How could he stay in this dump, there was no other word qualified to describe the place, if she was going to stay here then some things would have to change, like the litters in the room.
The house was decent enough if you overlooked the fact that it had been unkempt. It was one of those houses that wasn't affected by the war and still stood, but the houses surrounding it were all leveled, it kinda made it odd like they were all purposely pulled down so this one would be secluded. The house was the last one on this lonely street.
Leticia stood in the middle of the room, her eyes wandering here and there trying to take in the as much of the new place as she could. Leaving the safety of the mountains against the judgement of the elders where the rest of mankind had hidden, she probably hadn't thought this thoroughly, about a place she would have to stay in. Thankfully Liam had grudgingly allowed her into his space, it wasn't much but it was better than none and much better than staying at Smokes, she didn't want to have to see that demon's face every single day. She giggled when she remembered her facial expression when Liam had talked about her coming to stay with him.
Liam suddenly slammed his fist on the table causing Leticia to jump a bit and she focused on him, shifting back slightly when she saw that he now leaned closer to the table and his legs were on the floor, his eyes were fixed on her.
"Did I say anything funny Leticia?"
"Hmm...?" She looked at him wide eyed.
"You laughed."
She couldn't say anything more than, "ohh" and "sorry".
Liam got up and walked to her, Leticia swallowed and fear settled in her heart she bent her head slightly so that her gaze was to his feet, watching his every step. When he was closer to her, she took a step back but Liam didn't stop, with each step he took towards her she took one back. Liam looked down on the girl who had practically invaded his life and he just wanted to scream at God that he didn't need this burden. Not now at least. They had bonded, meaning she was now his responsibility and responsibility was something Liam hated.
Leticia took one more step and felt her back hit the wall, she hiccuped and swallowed hard, her heart beat accelerated, why was she afraid all of a sudden? She asked herself.
"You..." Liam started.
"I wasn't laughing at you I swear it, I wasn't laughing at you. I just remembered something funny, I'm sorry." She rushed out her words and shut her eyes tightly, hoping that he wouldn't just pick her up and fly to the skies, she feared she might just die of heart attack.
Liam looked down at the girl, she amused him. Sometimes she was the brave and fearless human girl who had fought a demon in the woods and sometimes like now, she was meek and humble, like she was fragile and had not a single strong bone in her body.
"You..." Liam continued when he felt her heart beat accelerate and he knew he was scaring her. He smirked. "You are never to leave this house on your own, got it?"
Leticia nodded her head so hard that Liam thought it would soon pop out of the sockets and dropped. He smiled and turned to walk back to his seat. Leticia, as if suddenly remembering something opened her eyes and took a hold of his arm with both her hand, stopping him. He turned back to face her.
"What is it?"
"I..." She cleared her throat. "I can't stay here forever."
"Who says it's for ever? You'll leave when it's time."
"I mean, my brother. I had come out here just to find him and I have to find him."
Liam faced her fully now, his folded wins behind him added to his domineering appearance and Leticia let go of his arm. Liam looked into her hazel brown eyes and his heart softened at her humanity, they shook with emotions and longing.
"He's the only family I have left, I really have to find him then I promise you I'll go away and I won't trouble you any longer. Just help me find him. Please."
He had already promised to help her on the day they bonded but he wouldn't tell her that, he was still dealing with having responsibility over her. He already missed his ten years of being irresponsible and he sighed.
"It's just like I said, you'll leave but only when it's time."
"Liam..."
"You're human and your asphax wouldn't hide you for long so just trust in what I say and don't go out on your own."
"But..." She began to tear up and Liam turned his face away, he couldn't see her cry, it was one thing that came with being bonded, her tears would eventually melt him. "... he might not be doing well where he is, what if..."
"I'll find him." Liam said and that shut her up. He watched as a tear dropped from her left eye and he took hold of her hand, looking away from her eyes. "That's my promise."
Leticia smiled and out of excitement she hugged him.
And guys, just a reminder, the story I was writing - Scorched - has now been made into a novel on the Goodnovel website. Do check it out; rate, review, read and enjoy. ❤️
**https://m.goodnovel.com/book_info/31000008175/Romance/Scorched?shareuser=22216334&ch=apps**
@Ozzyy@Hanzell I might soon make this into a book too 😋❤️
Leticia's Angel 10
**leticias-angel-1** **-** **leticias-angel-2** **-** **leticias-angel-3** **-** **leticias-angel-4** **-** **leticias-angel-5** **-** **leticias-angel-6** **-** **leticias-angel-7** **-** **leticias-angel-8** **-** leticias-angel-9 https://read.cash/@Leo_kitti/leticias-angel-1-cba2fe35 https://read.cash/@Leo_kitti/leticias-angel-2-4b2881ca https://read.cash/@Leo_kitti/leticias-angel-3-c64d4f3e https://read.cash/@Leo_kitti/leticias-angel-4-694ca3e3 https://read.cash/@Leo_kitti/leticias-angel-5-230af189 https://read.cash/@Leo_kitti/leticias-angel-6-fabd0728 https://read.cash/@Leo_kitti/leticias-angel-7-157c1dbd https://read.cash/@Leo_kitti/leticias-angel-8-20c0063b https://read.cash/@Leo_kitti/leticias-angel-9-7d05c7d8
Leo opened his eyes to a dark sky sprinkled with so many tiny stars that shone and glimmered, he welcomed the cool breath of fresh air that sipped though this nostrils and into his lungs, his chest heaved in a lengthy sigh and dropped back down as he breathed out, the air out here was cold, he could feel it despite the think cloak that wrapped him from his shoulders to his feet, he wiggled them beneath the cloak, no shoes. Yes that was right, he had lost his shoes after his capture and the cloak did nothing to stop the chills from engulfing his feet but to the left of him he could feel some warmth. He turned.
Though the fire was small, it managed to warm him a bit despite the small distance placed between them, taking a palm to his left cheek he felt the warmth there and wanted more, he stood up to move closer and that was when he noticed the person poking a stick into the fire.
"Oh, you're finally awake." She said sparing him just a quick glance then returned back to poking the fire, the winds in the mountains encouraged the glowing flame but it burned out the wood quickly. The small cave would be warm enough to keep them alive till the morning when the sun's heat would meet them.
"Hmm... Yes." He replied with a horse voice, his mouth was dry and his lips charped, his throat ached and he wished for nothing more right now than some water.
"Here." Sheila stretched out her hand, offering him a water bottle. "Fresh water from the stream."
"Thanks." He collected the bottle and sat closer to the fire with Sheila on his left side.
Sheila watched him gulp down the liquid in a rush, emptying the bottle and she smiled. "Someone seems really thirsty."
He swallowed the last and licked his lips. "I'm sorry, I couldn't stop."
"Nah," She waved a hand at him. "That's alright, we could always get more, the stream isn't exactly far away, plus," She produced two more water bottles from her side. "We still have these."
Leo smiled and focused his attention on the fire, bringing his exposed feet right to the base and wiggled his toes. His feet were dirty and he tried to remember when last he had taken a bath, suddenly feeling very self conscious, he secretly took a sniff of himself and concluded that he was long over due for a serious bath, maybe soak up for like an hour to get rid of the stink. He imagined being immersed in a hot bath tub with rose water and scented soaps.
"Hungry?" Sheila broke his train of thoughts.
Leo blinked and saw that she was holding out a sizeable piece of dried meat in front of him. When last did he properly eat too? He took the meat and tilted his head in appreciation then brought it to his mouth. The meat tasted fine, not exactly mom's home cooking but good, at least it is edible. He watched her cut another slab off the animal which he hadn't noticed at first that lay beside her, it was an antelope, a young foal and beside the carcass was her bow and some hand carved arrows. She dipped the meat in a bowl of water to rinse off the blood and then smeared a dark purple liquid on both sides, securing it into a thin metal rod before roasting it over the fire.
"You went hunting, when did you have time for that?"
"When you were out and unconscious."
"How long was I out?" It chilled him to know that at some point he had been left alone in this cave, what if something had happened like a wild animal coming in here and devouring him or those demons had found him?
Sheila laughed, she could hear his thoughts and she wandered if he knew that she could. She looked at him, probably not. "A couple of hours."
"Ohh.." Was all he could say and then he went back to eating the rather tasty meat.
"What happened?" He suddenly asked. The last he could remember was watching her fight off some demons while he could only watch from the other side of the shallow river.
"We were attacked."
"Yes I remember that, I mean what happened afterwards."
"They also attacked you." She looked at him now.
"They did?" He didn't remember.
"You don't remember?" She brought a hand up to brush away the strands of hair by his temple, running a finger along the cut he had sustained when they had bashed his head.
His eyes followed her movement and he winced when her fingers touched the injury. He moved his head back.
"Still hurts?" She asked to which he nodded.
"I thought you said that they couldn't cross the river."
"They couldn't, well the ones I was fighting off couldn't. But the ones that attacked you didn't need to enter the water."
Leo reasoned what she had said a little. "They flew." It wasn't a question but a statement of fact but Sheila answered anyway.
"Yes."
"But why can't they cross? What stops them? I know they arent afraid of water."
She laughed. "No they are not. That water flows from the river Euphrates so it's like holy water. They hate it."
"If so then why bother trying to fight them off? Why not just cross knowing that they couldn't follow?" He threw the last piece of meat into his mouth feeling a bit satisfied.
"They could keep track on us, and besides it's good exercise to get rid of them. One less demon to deal with."
Leo nodded, she was right. "What of the others?"
She sighed and continued poking at the fire after handing him another piece of meat. "I'll have to get them back."
"They took them? So you're going back there?"
She looked him in the eyes, flashed a smile and nodded. "More adventure for me."
And guys, just a reminder, the story I was writing - Scorched - has now been made into a novel on the Goodnovel website. Do check it out; rate, review, read and enjoy. ❤️
https://m.goodnovel.com/book_info/31000008175/Romance/Scorched?shareuser=22216334&ch=apps
@Ozzyy @Hanzell I have missed you guys and missed this also. 😭❤️
Hey guys!!
The book is ready for your eyes to feast upon! Lol.
Check it out, rate it, leave a review and must importantly, enjoy 😋
https://m.goodnovel.com/book_info/31000008175/Romance/Scorched?shareuser=22216334&ch=apps
@Leo_kitti
