Wake of the Immortal....Prologue

Prologue

I felt numb...almost transfixed with fear that this was it - this was the defining moment of my life, the moment that this incredible and beautiful creature could walk out of my life forever.

Would he walk away, never to project his overwhelming darkness – my light - over my dreams, never touch my hand with the electricity and fire that I had felt many times before, never to appear in front of me again?

The incredible draw I felt in his presence and the feeling of helplessness in what could come to pass in these few moments both terrified me and captivated me whilst I waited for the most pivotal outcome of my life so far. I was deep in his power, mesmerized and bound to him in ways I had never dreamed possible. Every limb, every muscle in my fragile mortal body screamed at me to run far away but I was frozen to the spot.

I knew that the fight in me was over. It was futile to resist because any such resistance would be met with a brutal promise of pain and suffering. Here he was – perfect, both in body and mind. He was my life and I already knew that any existence without him would be tortuous at best, but inevitably would be the very death that I would so crave if he was gone.

I tried to breath but the air that passed into my lungs stung and burnt my chest from the inside out. I had never looked at breathing as such an integral part of existing. I struggled with the concept so much because we take the air that we breathe for granted. We sub-consciously breathe in and out without any thought process. Without thinking, without moving, it’s there. In and out, in and out.

It had only been a short time since he’d spoken, words of which I had no understanding of, shared no meaning, held no significance to me but had frightened me to my very core.

“I can’t do this anymore” his honey smoothed voice had echoed with an edge that I could neither comprehend nor did I wanted to.

I had since stood facing him, not moving an inch for fear that it would prompt him to speak again to clarify his elusive thoughts, thoughts that I did not know if I wanted to hear or could stand to.
I knew that this silence could not go on forever and sucked in a deep breath to prepare for what would be the shattering of my universe and every detail within.

It wasn’t until I felt a deep cold encroach upon the back of my neck that I realised in my terror to ignore what was going on I had failed miserably with the breathing issue. One of his hands held my waist tightly, possessively, whilst the other was gently cradling the back of my neck as his eyes sought mine. This hardly helped the matter. His eyes were one of the traps that I had always tried to avoid in order to keep my breath paced and even.

“Breathe, will you please breathe Grace?” He ordered tersely. I could not yet tell whether his tone was anxious for my own protection, or rather from his irritation.

I gathered my thoughts intent on not looking into his eyes and focused on the few wisps of air that I could draw from the warm humid night. Little by little, air flowed into my lungs and filled me with the life force that I needed to re-gain composure. His hand slipped from my neck and was now making its way gently down my arm to my elbow as if to steady me further. The hairs stood up on my skin with the electric pulsing through me from his feathery light touch.

I heard him sigh softly, barely audible and knew that this was far from over. The ordeal had not even begun for either of us. There was I, not having contemplated that my lack of oxygen had only stalled the moment. It was inevitable, coming rapid and steadfast as if nothing could slow it, nothing could hinder it.

He waited for what seemed like a lifetime, though it probably would not feel that way to him having been around for a great deal longer than I, to continue.

“Please don’t make this any harder than it has to be” he issued softly with a hint of defeat to his voice.

I felt my pulse race and the second wave of paralysis kicked in. I knew I had to do it. I had to assess him and the only way I would be able to do that was to look at him, his face, those eyes. I needed to see if he was seeing me through the ice cold glare of a killer, a vampire, stony and indifferent or through the unfathomable deep emotional eyes of the immortal angel I had come to recognise within him.

I lifted my head with my eyes shut tight until I felt able and then opened them. My face was within inches of his which took me by surprise. I think it was a visible shock as within a split second his face had recoiled slightly from mine but he didn’t dare motion too far from me. I could still feel the remnants of his cool temperature in the space between us.

His face as pale as the glow from a full moon and his eyes that, even in the dimly lit night sparked of emerald green made my uneven breath catch. To coin a much used phrase that is all too often said but I think rarely ever used in the right context, I could have died and gone to heaven in that short moment. If indeed I had believed in such a place, for there was no such place unless he was living within it.

My eyes could not leave his face. I was transfixed, held there without any knowledge of time passing and almost forgot the reason why I had needed to look there in the first place. Then it came to me as I looked more closely. His expression hadn’t changed this whole time. He was trying to be careful but it was not without its peril for him for I was able, as usual, to decipher every muscle that formed in his perfect face.

He was trying for collected, perhaps detached, or even indifferent or perhaps all three but his eyes gave him away. They held a deep sadness. Even through the near perfect shades of emerald greens that formed around his pupil, the very depths of his soul were laid out for me to see. I felt like an intruder in that moment, searching his very soul through those perfect windows. Every emotion expressed within them was plain and visible and the emotion of the moment was that of pure sadness and loss.

Without warning he suddenly jerked back, his face turned so that I could no longer see him, see his soul. His back straightened as if to clarify and obtain purpose. And here it was. Fright overtook me in the shadows of the night and it was then that I realised a strange truth. Even though I feared his words, I did not fear him. I never had been fearful of him, not even when I had found out what he was. It seemed like a lifetime ago now.

He turned back to me his eyes closed tightly as if he was trying to find something, anything that would make this moment drift by without any consequence to his actions. Quietly he spoke, his words filled with gentleness even though the subject matter did little to appease his furrowed brow.

“I can’t see that this is the right thing for you” he offered. His eyes opened as he continued “I’m nothing that is good in the world and everything that is bad. I’m not who you think and even if I were, what could I offer to you that would be nearly enough of what you deserve from the world? You deserve happiness and light, not darkness and despair. It would be selfish of me to ask you to live that way for me when there are so many other possibilities stretched out in front of you. I can’t and won’t make you miserable” he paused just for a moment and then added with reluctance “and that’s exactly why I need to leave”.

And there it was. The punch line. The heart of the matter. Although I had tried to mentally prepare for the moment, it surprised me how hard it had struck my gut despite the way it had been so gently administered. It was like a wave had pulled my feet from under me knocking me into the swell of the blackest ocean, unaccommodating and obstructive as it watched me thrash hopelessly for buoyancy.
“No!” I shouted hopelessly “You can’t...I need...Are you serious?..No please!” I implored.
I suddenly felt a need to grip onto something for fear of losing my balance. My breathing had become erratic yet again and my head was swimming. I stumbled near to the ground as I tried to make sense of what was happening. My legs were trying so desperately not to give up on me but were doing little to aid me physically as they collapsed onto the warm grass.

Once again I felt a cold grip pulling me up from the earth beneath me. One arm held strong around my waist whilst the other scooped my feet from under me pulling me into his arms and tight against his chest.

I could hear the low growl emanate from his chest and felt his torment therein but could not respond as he flew through the park, his legs carrying us both faster than a speeding car along a deserted highway. It felt like a dream state, only barely knowing and comprehending that some part of this night had been real. I closed my eyes as the wind rushed past my face, tangling through my hair and cooling my body temperature which had increased through the hyperventilation.

We began to slow as we neared the alleyway to the back of my home, and motionless as it always felt, he leapt gracefully without difficulty to the veranda which was at least 4 or 5 meters up. As was customary, I had left a key on top of one of the beams above the door. He had always grimaced at the thought, advising me that this was the first place any criminals would look as an easy access into my home. It felt strange that a vampire, an immortal with all the strength of a freight train would think consciously of using a key when he could just as easily break the door from its hinges to enter. And of course, I had invited him so there was no going back, no recourse to uninvited a vampire into my home.

Without any hesitation, he carried me straight to the bedroom and gently laid me down, resting my head on the soft feather pillow. He was out of sight for only a second before he re-appeared with a large blanket. He covered me gently tucking the sides underneath me with due care and concern. Although my eyes had opened they were still not focused properly on my surroundings. I felt the softness of the pillow against my face and began to relax into it. I did not realise that I was still pleading with him until my ears stopped ringing and I could hear the sound of my own voice. “You can’t leave me, you can’t go...Please!”.

I felt his wonderfully cold soft fingers pull my hair from my face and then they stroked softly down my cheek. In this moment I was contented and happy for in that one motion I knew that he must feel something for me. Although his heart did not beat, I knew I was the only one his heart would belong to. I managed to steal a quick glance up at him. His eyes were wild with so many emotions – sadness, pain, anger but most of all deep regret. I knew now as I looked into his eyes that this would be the last I saw of him. I wanted to talk him round, wanted to grab hold of him and coax him to stay but the tiredness had won and my pleading voice ceased.

As I watched his eyes in those last few seconds of consciousness, I understood what it was to be completely consumed by someone. How it felt to know that nothing would ever be the same again without them in your life.

“Stay...” I managed to whisper before sinking deeper and deeper into sleep.
I felt cold lips softly graze mine, intensified by his hand gently cupping my jaw and a whisper in my ear “I’ll always be near”. That was the last I remember of my beautiful dark angel...

My name is Grace Webber and this is my story. Don’t be fooled by thinking that I’m anything but ordinary and my story whilst completely extraordinary, is something that would not happen to most. I am the epitome of average and though it may seem completely preposterous that I would be chalking down the events of the past few years so matter of factly, I wanted to collate the information put down in these pages so that I might stare down the realisation of what has transpired.

I am 25 years old and have led a fairly safe sheltered life without mishap or anything remarkable ever having happened that might have shaped my life in anything other than a run of the mill fashion. I live a typical life, not one of much excitement or merit and most certainly as common as any other regular girl of my age.

Living has always been easy for me as I have never been surrounded by much death and certainly no destruction of any kind, and always just existed without questioning how it all works, you know – life, love and the universe. The ideas surrounding existence have never entered my head – Why would they? When you live a life so mediocre it’s not something that you even think to question.

So the story I am about to recall to you will not seem real to you. It will seem farcical and over the top that someone like me would have the good fortune to have made the extraordinary discoveries that have changed my life and the ways in which I view it. But as a warning to those of you who are sceptical, please bare with me as this is a life lesson that you too should learn...