Authors: Janice Hadden
Suddenly,
a tug of familiarity began to surface vaguely in my memory. A
flashback was resurfacing.
“
I
still don’t understand the vision. I have seen you. I saw the
sword. I saw you?” I couldn’t suppress the shaking in my
voice. I still felt too crippled by the visions that played in my
head.
“
The
dephils are deceivers. The sword were aimed at the dephils. You saw
your mother got killed—but not by me. The memory he showed you
had been altered. He used my guilt that I felt for your mother’s
death and played it for you. The reason I eventually hid your
memories was to protect you. If the dephils found out that you also
possessed the ability to see the fallen angels, they would have come
after you too. You were also just a child. You would have never
understood the war that was not supposed to be a part of your
world...and that is why, even now, I couldn't tell you.”
My
mind was suddenly in chaos. The truth seemed to float in the air as I
try to catch all the familiar, missing memories. But I have no way of
knowing the real
truth
.
Tristan pulled me up, holding both my hands, he held me tight and
spread his wings, clasping them around me in an embrace.
Suddenly
a vision appeared in my mind—the visions of the past…then
the visions of my past that had seen the future. The truth was that,
all
of
my darkest nightmares were my reality. They were not nightmares at
all. Memories hidden for so long, that they embedded themselves into
my subconscious, always threatening to be freed.
All
the dreams that were memories and how in all of them, Tristan had
been a part of. They all wrapped with the visions Maxiel showed me,
except the part where I saw my mother’s death—a new
vision appeared connecting everything from the beginning. I was in
the playground…the animal…Tristan trying to kill me as
a child…the car accident when my mother and I almost fell off
a cliff and Tristan carried me to safety. My mother holding my hand
as we tried to escape the wrath of the fallen angels—the light,
gray and dark shadows. She dragged me from the stairs while fallen
angels and the dephils fought—the colliding metals and gnarling
sounds. Tristan shielding me when my mother died. The wounded angel.
It was all him. Everything came back in perfect clarity.
The
visions were so vivid that I finally understood; I felt all his
emotions, I felt his guilt, his fears, his comfort, his love, and the
agony of it all, and all the secrets that bound him—of
everything that kept us together and tore us apart, and all the
distance of time that separated us since the moment we first knew
each other.
T
he
curtain of darkness parted, rumbling, roaring but it was all but a
threat. The mystery and power it held that kept me a prisoner of my
fears began to vanish. Though, I knew we were only safe for a little
while; knowing that I had began to live the life that was my own, the
true mystery behind our attraction, gave way to the new strength that
I now possessed.
Legion
A
t
dusk they gathered. They climbed up to the moss stricken rocks. Their
faces, the most beautiful alluring creatures. Thick hair longer than
their bodies sparkled with differing highlights and colors as they
came out of the deepest of the ocean waters. Their youthful faces
were angelic, covered in pure sheen. Their eyes magnetic. They had
lips that utter temptation that
men
could never resist. Shoulders were bare and glistened without a
single kiss of the sun. The lines on their neck all the way to their
chest was pure seduction. Mounds like the most beautiful of mountains
perfectly perked, dripped desire. Tiny waist extended down to their
animal like torsos. Scales throughout covered their long Legs, and
fins covered their feet. Their voices so angelic and hypnotic echoed
throughout the ocean. They were there to meet, to tempt, to conspire.
Thousands of dark shadows descended down to meet the creatures of the
dark sea.
Breathless
T
he
doorbell rang. Steve opened the door and a delivery man was standing
with a large, striped black and beige box, dressed in the most
beautiful red, satin ribbon. “Delivery for Miss Katheryna
West!”
“
I’ll
sign for it.” Steve took the electronic clipboard and wrote his
initials.
“
Have
a good day sir.” The delivery man nodded as soon as he got the
signature he needed. A knock on my door startled me. I was deep in
thought reminiscing about everything that happened the night before;
how I almost died and how Tristan once again saved my life. I opened
the door and found Steve clutching the large box on his chest.
“Delivery for you…looks real fancy.” Steve’s
brow lifted. I knew he’d figured it was from Tristan. If he
only knew it was also from an angel. I smiled silently at the
thought. He shook the box before handing it to me, the contents slid.
“
Thanks,
Dad,” I said before closing the door with my right foot and
placed the box on top of my bed, feeling excited.
It
felt like after Christmas and I was a little girl who was getting
another present. The best present had already come. There was nothing
more I wanted.
I
briefly admired the bow ribbon with lace, so elaborate and grand. A
small shiny envelope was tucked in next to the large bow. I pulled it
from it’s tape and smelled the envelope. It smelled like
nothing I’ve ever smelled before. It was a combination of many
different scents of flowers that harmoniously blended together. I
Smiled in excitement. I opened the small card inside.
Dear
Katheryna,
I
hope you would wear it tonight.
Love,
Tristan
I
t
was dusk. The tint of the sky was wavering. Darkness was about to
swallow the sky. Gentle footsteps gave her away. The melody in the
background didn’t seem to block any of his senses. He knew her
even from afar. Behind him she stood to meet him. As she came closer,
he slowly turned around. His eyes brimmed with excitement. “I
see you wore my favorite color.” he whispered. She blushed—her
cheeks became more rosy. He kissed the side of her face softly and
pressed his cheeks against hers.
“
Do
you like the dress?” He took in all of her; she was captivating
under the pale lit sky.
“
It’s
the dress in your sketch…I love the way you see me in it.”
They
were both silent for a moment before she placed her hands around his
neck, stroking his hair from behind. He held her waist with both arms
and the music had taken over while they stared at each other’s
eyes, gliding in the melody of their reunion.
“
Have
you ever thought that maybe we were meant to be?” His eyes were
puzzled but kind, as he carefully considered her words that seemed
foreign to him.
“
You’re
meant for a fallen?”
“
No,
there’s no fallen or human…just you and I, Tristan and
Katheryna.”
“
You
make it sound so easy, simple.”
“
It
is…if you allow it to…we are nothing more than our
choices that we make now…whether fallen or human.” She
leaned closer. She touched his face and gently stroked her hand all
the way to his chin, marveling at his angelic face.
“
You
are really beautiful.” she whispered softly.
“
You
know a guy never wants to hear how beautiful he is,” he
grinned.
“
You’re
not just a guy though, you’re an angel, my fallen angel.”
He
held her face close to his and pressed his lips against hers. She
entangled both her hands on his dark, messy hair, pulling him closer,
deeper toward her. He gently but eagerly pulled her waist against
his. Finally, there were no longer any distance between them. She
breathed his heavenly scent. Their passion burned and consumed them
and left them both breathless.
How
he longed to be with her.
How
he fought the desire for her to be in his life and know him and the
things he couldn’t tell her.
How
she yearned for his comfort when she didn’t know she needed
him.
How
she loved him before she knew who he was.
How
despite the many times he protected her, she was the one who loved
him enough to save him first.
He
held her face once again and whispered. “Katheryna,”
there is something I must do.” His eyes were in agony, like a
blazing fire had burned it, but his voice was firm. “I must
leave. You cannot come with me.”
To
my Amazing Readers:
Thank
You for reading my debut novel. If you have enjoyed Tristan and
Katheryna's story and the rest of the characters in this book,
please write a review on Amazon, Goodreads (which I recently joined)
and other review sites—I would really appreciate it. As you
know, suggestions from readers, such as yourself is what spreads the
word, so hopefully you will recommend my book to others.
The
second book,
Daggers at Midnight
, is currently in the works
and will be out by 2013. The third book,
Frozen Fire
do
not have an estimated time of publishing.
In the meantime, if
you would like to throw in ideas, comments and whatever you like,
feel free to visit me on the sites below. Thank you in advance and
happy reading!
http://janicehadden.blogspot.com/
http://www.shelfari.com/books/31574095/Cast-Fall?amatc=kdp-c