Falling Awake (Unbreakable #2)

The lovely rays of the setting sun, warm and tender, were slowly losing their strength, handing over the rule to dusk. I could feel them tickle my face.

The tall wall made of ancient stones, marked by the teeth of time, yet still so strong and solid. Nothing had managed to destroy it. It was covered in the embrace of wild ivy and roses, surrounding me on all sides, demarcating the borders of that beautiful place.

The thick branches of the huge trees proudly showed off their age – the marks left on them by time. They looked so tall and impressive and yet the soft breeze made them sway. As if they’d never forgotten how to play.

And then there were the statues.

I was being observed by the sad eyes of desperate angels.

A long forgotten place. Lost. Condemned by both God and man.

I was standing in the middle of a garden.

I could hear birds somewhere in the distance, singing farewell to the day. As if they didn’t dare to enter that place. As if no one dared. I was there all alone.

The soft grass carpet tickled my bare feet. It was covered with hundreds of flowers, although none of them had been planted by the hand of man. Beautiful and in full bloom, living the best part of their lives, ready to wilt soon.

They were growing out of graves.

That sight sent chills down my spine. As I realized this, a strange feeling overwhelmed me.

It wasn’t a garden. It was a cemetery.

Each lost life was being watched over by an angel, the setting sun illuminating their hopeless faces with its last rays. As if it was all that was left. Despair over the wasted lives.

“Lara?”

I was startled by the intensity of the chills that ran down my spine. It was caused by the bewitching voice that I heard.

And it continued to speak.

“Will you come to me?”

At that moment, I knew that I hadn’t come there by accident.

“Eric,” I said, a wave of relief flooding my insides. “Where are you?”

“Follow my voice,” he replied. “Come to me.”

I stepped among the graves, my feet crushing the flowers. I headed in the direction of his voice. I wished nothing more than to be with him again.

“Eric?” I called helplessly, as suddenly there were only thick thorn bushes in front of me.

“Trust me,” he said from behind the bushes. “Follow my voice.”

At that instant, I realized that I’d never trusted anyone as much as I trusted him. And I obeyed.

The white dress that I was wearing was completely ruined. The skirt was torn all the way up to my thigh, the left shoulder strap was ripped away. It was all muddy, with a stain on the bodice that looked like dried blood.

And the thick thorns tore my dress even more.

A strange feeling overtook me, squeezing my chest, forcing me to look around. I shook it off.

Stone arches and vaults appeared in front of me, looking like the remnants of a ruined castle. I didn’t care. Not when they led me up the stairs. Suddenly, I was sure that they would take me exactly where I wanted to be.

I could feel every single stone and grain of sand under my bare feet, as I slowly proceeded up the steps. But I didn’t care – I didn’t stop. He was calling me and I had to find him.

I wanted to be with him.

With my demon. And never to part from him again.

I found myself in a small courtyard. There were only cobbles and fallen leaves all around. And also ten statues, impossible to ignore. Ten majestic black statues standing in a circle. Figures with their faces covered under hoods.

I would’ve frozen and gasped for air if I had the time to look around, take in the atmosphere. The sun was setting and the landscape was cloaked in shadows. The birds stopped singing, the leaves ceased to rustle and the wind died down as well. All of a sudden, there was a dreadful silence. I couldn’t enjoy the view, as suddenly I felt a strong urge to turn around. I could sense that somebody was standing behind me.

“You’ve come,” he smiled.

However, it wasn’t the smile that he always had for me. He was smiling only with his lips. His eyes were creepy, black as hell, making me shiver.

And as much as I’d longed to be with him, I wanted to run away at that moment.

“Why did you bring me here?” I immediately asked.

The intense unease that filled every cell of my body – I would’ve given anything in the world only to escape from that place.

“Because I wanted to be with you,” he captured me with his stare. With those eyes that had the power to deprive me of my free will.

And my heart started to race like crazy.

“How did I get here? And why is my dress torn?” my voice began to shake.

I began to shake.

“You were running,” he told me, raising his hand to stroke my cheek with his fingertips, “through thorns.”

His touch charged my body with an electric tingle, alerting every hair on my body, sending chills down my spine. This wasn’t something I knew. Or wanted to know.

I felt fear now.

“Running?” I swallowed heavily. “From what?”

“You wanted to escape,” his black eyes flashed, as he gave me a hungry look.

I’d never felt so scared in my life. All my nightmares merged into one, being presented to me in the form of the demon standing in front of me.

“What I was escaping from?” I asked quietly, as I needed to know.

He cupped my face with one hand and I let him. My heart almost jumped out of my chest when he put his other arm around my waist, pulling me closer. He pressed his face against mine and I could sense his breath on my neck when he whispered.

“From me …”

And it struck me.

I knew it, I knew it all along. He had my heart, he had my soul, I belonged to him with all of me. As if everything we’d been through led to this moment. As if it was my destiny to be here right now, to stand in front of him.

“Why did I come back to you then?”

I asked, I spoke out the question aloud only automatically. Because suddenly, it all fit together, it made sense to me. And I…, I was no longer afraid. Now I just came to terms with it. He didn’t have to say anything, I already knew his answer.

“You always come back,” he repeated, perhaps for a thousand time. “Whenever you try to escape, I don’t even have to look for you. You always come back to me.”

Yes.

He was my demon and I was his.

“What do you want from me?”

I shivered as the smile faded from his face. All that was left was coldness and callousness. They dominated his expression; they dominated his eyes as he pressed his hand to my chest.

“Your heart,” he uttered quietly, “is mine.”

And then that unbearable pain paralyzed me.

***