forty
“Amara.”
The voice sounds like a whisper, but it’s loud in my mind. I spin around, expecting to see Jeremy standing behind me, but the carriage is empty.
“Amara.”
The voice again, leading me forward. I follow it intently, clutching my blade tightly and readying to save the man I love.
I step into the next carriage, only to find it empty as well. My brow furrows.
Where is he? I… I can hear him. I know he’s here. I can hear him. Where is he?
Something clashes behind me and I turn around, swinging my blade. I’m met with silence, emptiness.
I’m going insane.
“Breathe, Amara,”
I whisper to myself.
“Amara.”
My head snaps towards the last carriage, the one I hoped would be empty. The driver’s carriage.
With each step my body screams at me to turn around, to find the archangel. This has to be a trap. But I am so sure that I can hear him. That I’ve found him.
“Amara, help me.”
Another whisper sends me into a sprint. I rush to the doors, stopping in the space between carriages. Through the glass I see a shadowy figure hunched over.
Jeremy.
Ice fills my veins. Shadows curl around my feet, pushing me forward.
I should wait for the archangel. But this time I don’t press the button; the doors simply open.
I step inside the carriage slowly, hoping not to spook him. As if he’ll disappear again within an instant. “Jeremy?”
I murmur as the door closes behind me.
The figure doesn’t move an inch. He doesn’t even look like he’s breathing. He’s bathed in shadows that dance around his features, distorting them.
I stop behind him, wary of the shadows, and slowly raise my hand to touch his shoulder. “Jeremy?”
My hand grows ice cold as it grips the figure’s flesh. Its head begins to turn while its body stays completely still.
Shit. Trap. The hold on me disappears, the hope that I’d found Jeremy along with it.
The daemon’s jaw unhinges to unleash an unearthly screech as soon as it sees me. Shit, shit, shit. I take quick steps backward, but I stumble. My blade feels clumsy in my hands while the daemon moves with inhuman speed towards me. It lunges forward, and I swerve around it, avoiding its claws. I kick it in the back, and when it stumbles, I cut through its neck until it turns to ash.
The carriage doors open again and another shadowed figure stands in the doorway.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I growl.
I put my hands back up in defensive position, waiting for the figure to attack. It stays still, its features covered in writhing shadows.
“Come on.”
I open and close my hand, signalling it to approach me, but it doesn’t move an inch. “Come on!”
I shout, frustration and adrenalin taking over.
It takes a step forward, shadows falling away slowly. It’s not a daemon. It’s calm, and… human.
“Jeremy?”
I whisper, holding my breath as my heart beats out of my chest.
A woman steps into the light in front of me. Her golden hair is matted, as if it hasn’t been brushed in weeks. Her clothes are covered in stains, and dark circles sit under glassed-over eyes. Shadows curl around her feet, up to her fingers. Dark veins coat her skin.
“Who are you?”
The woman whispers softly, “My name is Maria.”
Her voice is even, though it sounds deeper than it should. The white film that covers her eyes is thick, a faint green beneath it.
I take a wary step towards her, lowering my weapon only slightly. “Are you okay?”
Her eyes meet mine now. There’s an emptiness to them that I’ve seen before. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
She tilts her head to the side as if genuinely curious.
My stomach drops. Everything inside of me tells me to run, to find the archangel, but the invisible rope that pulled me here holds me in place.
The woman lets out a low chuckle before her eyes turn into black orbs. An empty abyss, occupied by someone other than herself. The remnants of her dissipate in an instant.
The woman’s smile turns sinister and I flinch. “Mother Lilith has saved us all.”
The shadows creep towards me slowly. I hesitate before returning the smile and nodding. “Yes. She has.”
She chuckles deeply, the sound akin to that of a daemon’s growl. “You have not been saved, Amara Jones. Not yet.”
She steps towards me, lifting her arms, the shadows following her command.
“I know where your allegiance lies, dear girl. For now.”
Her voice is stained by possession. She continues to move towards me, and with each step she takes, I take one backward until I’m leaning against the controller’s empty chair.
“There is still time for you to join our side. The archangel will not protect you. He will only lie to you.”
Her deep, melodic voice is the sound of nightmares. “I will protect you. My pets will protect you.”
My instinct is to kill her, to end this by taking my blade to her throat. I hate that my mind is clouded by such violence.
“Sorry, but my loyalties don’t lie with the archangel,”
I say. “I have other priorities. I am not concerned about the pissing contest between the worlds. What you do in your time is your business.”
“Ah yes, the boyfriend,”
Lilith says, just as I’m about to lunge for the woman with my blade in hand.
I stop in place, my hands dropping from their offensive position. “What did you just say?”
Lilith chuckles, the sound so rich that it only makes it all the more horrifying. “I know all about your little boyfriend. In fact, he’s with Cain right now. Waiting for you.”
A lump forms in my throat and I hold my breath. “Is he… Is he okay?”
The woman tilts her head. “Who do you think was calling your name before?”
My breath is sharp, shallow, my eyes wide. I’m not crazy. I could hear him.
The woman’s mouth widens into a wicked grin, nothing but mischief in her black eyes. She opens her mouth to respond, but within an instant she’s torn away.
Her body stands still for a moment before dropping to the ground in a lifeless heap. Her head remains where it was, held in the archangel’s hands.
Maria’s eyes look normal now: no glassy overcoat, no darkness to them, just a woman who looks relieved to be set free of the devil.
“No!”
I shout as he tosses the head aside.
The archangel frowns, taking a step towards me with his hand outstretched. I move away from his touch, my eyes focused on the headless body on the ground.
“Amara…”
he says softly.
I kneel down on front of the woman, no traces of Lilith left. “She was with him. I heard him,”
I whisper.
The archangel sighs, muttering a curse and kneeling beside me. He places his hand on my shoulder, and I flinch at the touch, but I don’t move away.
“Amara…”
He squeezes my shoulder. “You can’t trust her. We already know where he is. She wants to get to you because you’re with me.”
My head hangs low, heartache taking over. I look up at him, tears welling in my eyes. “Where were you?”
The archangel takes a sharp breath, an emotion clouding his face that I’ve never seen before. “I’m sorry,”
he says simply. “You disappeared so quickly. There were daemons. A lot of them.”
I nod softly, too numb to care.
He brings his thumb up to wipe a tear from my cheek. “I’m sorry that I wasn’t here to protect you from her.”
The warmth of his touch provides me with little comfort. “I don’t need you to protect me. I don’t need you at all, archangel.”
His eyes are full of emotion: regret, anger, empathy, but mostly hurt. Regret claws at me too, the words haunting my lips. If I didn’t need him to protect me, I’d never have made this deal in the first place.
The sound of the train slowing to a halt makes me pull away from his hand. “We should go. There’ll be more of them,”
I say, and stand again, stepping over the lifeless body and the pool of blood that surrounds it.