Smoldered Flames: Part I of the Edonia Series
Chapter 25

Valeri

I was tumbling… deep into the abyss.

I am bodiless and filled with void.

A tug, a pull, brings me to solidity and my form slams to physical ground. I groan in pain when I roll over. Dark storm clouds surround me in an empty ovoid room. A small fluorescent light shines a scant glow and a figure stands a few feet before me.

The bottom half of its body takes on the form of a black cat. The legs are hairless with leathery-esque skin as dark as the midnight sky. The tone of the creature’s skin travels to the rest of its body. A whip-like tail slowly flicks around like a striking snake is attached to its backside. When it turned towards me, I realized it’s a female.

What stunned me more was the fact that she looked exactly like me. Only… her face held more cat features than me. Her eyes were angular, with one empty eye socket and the other a fiery pit from hell. Her ears appeared atop of her head with curved, protruding ram horns. She appeared taller than my five-foot-three and she seemed stiff with anger.

“Are you done staring?” the female demanded.

I got to my feet. “Where am I?”

She rolled her eyes. “In your mind.”

I scoffed. “Seriously? And who are you?”

She chuckles darkly and walks closer. “Why, I’m you of course. Just the better half.”

“Is that so?”

“If only you knew.”

“What are we doing here?” I asked.

“I came to warn you. Your pod left hours ago and are searching for you.”

Panic seized hold of my throat. If they weren’t suspicious of me then, this would give them all the more reason to. “What do you mean hours ago?”

Then my mind floods me with memories from before.

********

My body begins to spasm. I let out a guttural scream as something from the inside threatens for release. I feel my ribs crack and my legs break all at once. My hands lengthen and my canines thicken slightly. The pain is unbearable when I feel my scarred eye lift on its own accord.

A being inside me awakens. It turns me back to the mirror and my mouth opens on its own accord.

“It’s my turn now, love.”

********

“I demand to know what the hell is going on here! What the fuck are you? What the hell am I?”

She stares calmly back at me. “All will be told soon. But to put it simply: We are angels fallen from grace. We are the shadows that snuff out the light. We are the balance of life. No one wants to do the jobs we are given. Someone must do it, that’s what we are here for.”

“That made worse sense than before.”

“The answer is right in front of your face. Go to your local library. I don’t have time to guide you every step of the way. Once you are all caught up, we’ll talk.”

Ouch. “Very well then. Tell me what I need to do in order to escape Kamau’s wrath.” because he sure as shit would be very hard to avoid.

“The plan is already set in motion. All you have to do is follow suit. Take that wretched creature with you and get rid of him. He will hinder us going forward.”

“Do you mean, Stanley?”

“Yes, the vile creature. Get rid of him.” she hissed.

“But why? Surely what you’ve done was enough to punish what was done to you?”

She begins to fade away, but her last words were:

“His punishment was more than generous. He deserves more…”

*************

I came to with a severe migraine. It felt as if I’d been hit by a freight train twice over. My body was much less achy, as if I’d taken a tumble down a hill. I get up with a groan and replace myself back in the dark bedroom. I also notice something different with my vision. My right eye takes in the view in normal definition… That wasn’t the problem. What had me suddenly on edge was my left eye. I wasn’t supposed to see this one. Everything was in black and white, with gray hues every now and again. A figure comes from my left and I instinctively jump back, my fists raised in a fighting stance.

“Mistress you’ve awakened!” a voice says with joy in my mind.

“Yes, yes I have. Maybe you can fill me in on what happened.” I suggested.

“Yes. Might I suggest a change of clothing?” he asked, holding my clothes.

I look down and notice I’m covered in blood. I rush to the bathroom and nearly scream. The left scarred -and closed- eye was open with darkness. Not an eye in sight. My right eye seemed to witness the fiery pits of hell. What the fuck? I’m just getting weirder and weirder.

Glancing down, my eyes caught sight of the beautiful gem necklace. My left eye witnesses a firestorm rolling within the caged jewel and the silver chain held its own source of energy. White bolts like lightning charged around and around within the metal. There was a source of… power bouncing off of the jewelry, a calling, really. Before I could delve deeper into the feeling, a shuffling sound came from my left side and Stanley waited nervously at the door for me.

“The back of your head needs cleaning, Mistress.”

“Leave it be. It’ll be more convincing when we leave this place.”

“We… I am to go with you?” Stanley asks hopefully.

“Yes. You are my pet after all. I assume that’s the way of a vampire.”

He nods silently.

I give him a long look. “When we leave, I won’t be able to contact you until we are in the safety of my dorm. There, you will tell me what happened, understood?”

He nods again, his hands fidgeting nonstop.

“Fetch me, my clothes.”

“Yes, Mistress.”

I found an eye patch deep in the closet of the loft. The empty eye socket never closed after putting the necklace back on, and the black-and-white vision was becoming a nuisance. Soon after, we exit the tranquil loft and enter the main floor of Sinful Maestra. The night was still young, but everyone left. Broken shards of glass litter the floor and a cleanup crew clears it up.

The flirty bartender stops cleaning a glass cup and waves his hand at me. “Over here, love.”

I sigh. I felt nothing for him, and didn’t have time to interact. “Yes?”

“What are you doing with that scoundrel?” he inquired.

“Taking him home with me, of course.”

He arches one eyebrow. “I think you can do better than that, sweetheart. Not a good lay, that one.”

I laughed. “And who said I was going to fuck him?” I give Stanley’s collar a good yank. “Tell me, dog. Do you deserve to be fucked?”

Stanley shakes his head hard.

The bartender chuckles lightly. “I see you’ve had a taste of Cherry Pie, yes?”

I tilt my head to the side in confusion.

The bartender shakes his head lightly. “Nevermind, love. If you want, you can slip through the back.”

“Sure!”

He leads to a rather spacious kitchen. Here, cooks were prepping for tomorrow night’s adventures. A Sous chef shouts out commands and the kitchen staff follows them. They worked like a well oiled machine. The bartender leads us to a black door and opens it for us.

“Thank you. You didn’t have to do this.”

He gives a wink. “Yes I did. If you ever need anything, I’m your guy.”

“What is your name?”

“Jacques.”

“Pleased to meet you. I’m Valeri.”

“Pleasure’s all mine.”

He closes the door and I’m left alone with Stanley in a rather dark and dank alley. We traspe in silence and slowly make our way to the others. I was a little nervous about running into them. How was I going to explain my absence? Let alone Stanley? A plan starts to formulate in the back of my mind. There were a few loopholes, but it should do.

We soon crested a hill and the bright verdant portal still stood. It looks as if everyone else is back at SU, because only Adeyemi and Gisele stood with the portal. Adeyemi pulls out a wicked looking machine gun and points it at me, while the witch raises a few fingers menacingly.

“Give me one reason why I shouldn’t blow your brains out right now!” Adeyemi shouts.

“Someone hit me over the head when I went looking for a bathroom.”

“And who is this mangy mutt? Your lover?” Gisele sneered. It seems to be the only thing she was good at.

“This mangy mutt saved me from a potential predator while I was out cold. Better than I can say for you all. Y’all just left me!” I beseeched.

Adeyemi scoffed. “We searched everywhere for you. Your body never turned up.”

My body? He hoped to replace me dead, eh? Well think again buddy.

“Why is he on a leash?” Gisele asked.

“I’ve decided to make him a pet. It isn’t against any laws if a willing participant wishes for this.”

They look at one another, silently communicating. Gisele shrugs her shoulders and Adeyemi growls softly.

“Fine. He is your responsibility.” he barked.

I mentally give myself a high five. That was a little too easy.

“As long as he can pass the mental exams conducted by Gisele, he can stay.”

Ugh. Stanley’s eyes give nothing away in this whole exchange. He reminded me of a doe-eyed child soaking in adult conversations, not quite understanding what’s to come.