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Chapter 4

Clary

I shook my head as I walked away from the alley. Of course, no one was there. It was dark, dank, and … dark like something was hiding.

No No No! Nothing was hiding in those shadows. I’m just being paranoid.

I sighed deeply and let my head fall onto the side of my car when I reached it. I had felt so certain that if I just walked around that corner, that something would have been there. Something I’ve been looking for… what a weird feeling.

Now I just sounded like a loon. Yap total loon.

I nodded at myself and climbed back into my car. I was a little behind on my studies and it was my shift to work tomorrow. I had to get home and prepare for the next day.

As I drove down the roads again, I had that feeling of being watched, but it wasn’t the same as it was on my way to the shop. It felt like something or someone was literally staring daggers into the back of my head. I shivered, not being able to shake the feeling. For some reason, the feeling of dread just kept getting worse as I kept driving.

I looked at every possible angle, every blind spot, trying to see what it might be that made me feel this way. Clearly, my instincts were screaming at me to be careful or to run, but there was absolutely nothing to be afraid of that I could see. It was a completely ordinary day! In fact, the roads were abnormally quiet, so I couldn’t get into an accident, even if I wanted to.

I was about halfway home when that ominous feeling suddenly skyrocketed. I knew without a doubt something bad was going to happen. And no sooner did I think that than it actually did, in fact, happen.

Out of the blue, a big tree that had been growing on the sidewalk since before I was a baby, came crashing down just as I was about to pass it. I didn’t have time to even try to scream. All I knew was the sound of the tree snapping and groaning as it came crashing down and the sight of it looming over my head while knowing that my car and I were about to become pancakes.

There was a flash of white in front of me and something dark to my right. The car jerked and my head got thrown forward as the car got roughly jerked backwards. The sudden change in momentum felt like hell on my neck. A sudden jolting stop had me groaning at the pain, and my breath heaved as adrenaline crashed through my veins.

Suddenly my door was flung open and someone with a black head of hair reached in, expertly undid the safety belt and had me in his arms and on the sidewalk faster than I had time to make sense of anything. I frantically looked around and saw that my car was unharmed and idling. I also found the source of the bright glow and saw the guy from last night standing between my car and the fallen tree. Only this time, he had wings…

Wings!!!

Bright pearl-like wings that brushed the floor as he walked, yet never seemed to pick up dust or dirt. I stared wide eyed for a minute, then remembered that I was outside my car. On the sidewalk. With strong arms cradling me against a solid chest, who’s heart was slamming against its ribcage a mile a minute. I looked up and froze.

I’ve seen this guy before… it was the guy I thought I kept seeing. The guy that every time I turned around, was gone from sight. His hair was black, even darker than the night sky. It reminded me of obsidian. His dark chocolate brown eyes, almost as black as his hair, were focused on me, and frantic with fear. The sense of him, the feel of him, the smell of him, made something inside me seem to click. I was both frightened and relieved by this, but right now I was too stunned by the suddenness of everything to formulate any kind of rational thoughts.

He brushed my hair out of my face. The skin on his hand was rough and about two or three shades darker than my own, as it should be. Should be?

I blinked as he frantically looked me over, touching my face and arms to make sure I was fine.

“Are you alright?” He asked, not looking like he intended to let go of me at all.

I just numbly nodded my head, still unable to speak or do anything. His voice… was so sweet, so pure, and so familiar…

My head gave a throb, not necessarily painful but definitely uncomfortable. Something was wrong, something didn’t make sense. I looked back at the guy with the glowing wings. He was looking at the guy that held me, not with jealousy, but with worry. The guy from last night, the guy from my … dream…

“Hezerial…” I breathed in a whisper. My guardian, my friend.

Hezerial stiffened, his eyes going wide in either fear or hope. He walked slowly towards me and the man holding me. The man that seemed just a few years older than me. The man that I seemed to feel a deep-seated connection with. It was crazy. We literally just met, didn’t we? I looked back into his dark eyes, that seemed to want to swallow me whole. Didn’t we?

His eyes seemed terrified now as he looked at me. I didn’t want him to be afraid. I didn’t want him to worry.

I lifted my hand and cupped the side of his face. A bit of stubble had started to grow on his cheeks. He also had faint circles under his eyes, like he hadn’t been sleeping well for a while. I ran my thumb over his cheek, looking at him, examining him. If this was a dream, I’d want to remember it when I woke up, woke back up to my uninteresting life.

The whole while I cupped his cheek, he sat frozen with me in his arms, not daring to make a move or utter sound. Barely even breathing.

Something was nagging at me. Like a memory wanting to surface but not quite getting there. I frowned. “You’ve been watching me.” I said, not really asking, but knowing that it was true. I probably should have felt like he broke some sort of law or felt like I was violated for being stalked. I didn’t feel those feelings at all. All I felt was safe. Safe in his arms, safe with my guardian next to us. His eyes went wide and I couldn’t read his expression.

I turned back to look at Hezerial who was kneeling at my other side. “You remember me?” he asked hesitantly, like he was afraid that he might break a spell.

I frowned at him, remembering the dream I had. “I had a dream…” I said simply. “I remember you, from it.” I didn’t think I was making sense to either them or myself.

Hezerial looked almost radiant as he smiled, seeming to be very happy that I remembered him, no matter how, where, or when. I felt the other guy’s arms tighten around me and he heaved a heavy sigh, almost as if seeming to be defeated.

I looked up at him, and my head throbbed again. I could feel the pain in my head almost swelling, becoming more painful the more I looked at him, and the more that feeling of knowing him grew.

“I’m so sorry.” He whispered as he hugged me closer to him. His forehead touched mine, his eyes closed. I could feel a tickling sensation from my nose. Something smelled like copper, which probably meant my nose was bleeding…

And I could smell him. He smelled like spices, and earth, a faint smell of wood smoke too, and a sweet smell I couldn’t place, almost like berries, but dark berries. I gritted my teeth as my head started to pound. I lifted one hand to my head, trying to quell the pain.

I saw images of grassy lands, flowers dancing in the wind, his back to me. Him reaching his hand out to me… I groaned in pain as my head snapped back, trying to get away from the agony, making my already sore neck scream in protest.

“I’m so sorry.” I heard him say again through the ringing in my ears.

Suddenly, a lull fell over me. My head went quiet and my limbs felt heavy. I opened my eyes and saw his expression. He was so sad. I didn’t want him to be sad. I reached my hand back to his face, his name scratching towards the surface of my mind. “Thyrion…” I breathed, but before my fingers could touch his face, blackness filled my vision and my limbs simply stopped working.

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