Eternally Forsaken: An Eternal Universe Book (The Eternal Series Vol. 4) Read online

  Eternally Forsaken

  The Eternal Series Vol. 4

  Candy Crum

  Chapter 1

  Darkness engulfed me, swallowing me down. Opening my eyes did nothing as I stared into the vast emptiness. My body felt cold, and I could feel the brush of all four elements caressing my mind. The last time I’d felt like this, I’d been dead. But that was impossible; I was just asleep.

  Focusing on the heat that tingled against my skin, I pulled from its energy and fire quickly surrounded my hand, lighting the area. Had I been able to feel my heart, I was certain that it would have tried to stop as I looked into the black, hollow abyss of Death’s chest. My gaze lifted, and the smoky black slits that served as his eyes narrowed.

  “You’re pathetic.” His voice was guttural, but clear and calm.

  I paused as I stared at him, realizing that I could understand him perfectly. “I’m dead again, aren’t I?” I asked in a rather bored tone. For whatever reason, it didn’t surprise me as much as it annoyed me.

  A deep grinding noise escaped his chest in short huffs as he laughed at me. “Pathetic. I suppose that you expect me to fix this for you once again?”

  I looked at him incredulously. “Yes!” I snapped. I was confused by my level of disrespect in talking to him. It more than likely had a little to do with the fact that I was a bit salty about being dead… again. “You are the one that keeps popping up and helping me. Clearly, you need me alive. Which—I must say—that I do not take for granted. However, you make it sound like I keep going out of my way to risk my life just to ask you for help again. That isn’t the case.”

  Death’s head slowly moved from side to side. “You mistake me for one of your pets.”

  “Aren’t you here to help? Isn’t that why you show up all the time?”

  A low, exasperated groan escaped him. “I save you because you are valuable to me. You are my pet. However, no one wants a guard dog that must consistently rely on his or her master. You must learn to defend the yard, even when I’m gone. If you are not strong enough to save yourself, then I have no use for you.”

  His words hung in the air and seemed to stun me to silence. If Death didn’t plan on saving me from this, then what would I do?

  “I don’t even know what happened to me! How am I supposed to bounce back from this when I don’t even know how I died?”

  “Because the world needs you, and you feel responsible for the lives of seven billion people. Whether you live or die, I still collect souls and transport them to their destination. I don’t care. I am neutral by nature, which is why I am one of the original Reapers. However, you do interest me, and I get bored easily. I’m curious to see what you’re capable of. You are currently in purgatory. Purgatory is what you make it. It can be your own personal heaven or hell, but you always remain on the earth plain.”

  “Okay, so if you won’t lead me out, what do I have to do?”

  If Death had actual eyes, I’m sure they would have rolled at that point. I could physically feel the irritation radiating from him. He may have been a neutral creature, but he could still be annoyed—and sarcastic as all hell.

  “Clearly, child, I have spoiled you.” I opened my mouth to protest, but he cut me off. “Like an ignorant dog, your spirit has found its way off its chain and has wandered away. You made the mistake of not being strong enough—even after everything you have been through—to defend yourself against some deplorable abomination. Find your own way home.”

  “You really like dog references, don’t you?” I asked. He didn’t answer. Again, I opened my mouth to speak, but he disappeared, leaving me alone in the blackness.

  My impatience for that deviant spirit attempted to rise, but I shoved it back down. He was right. If I couldn’t save myself, to hell with Death. It was the world that had no use for me. I had to be strong for them. As I came to this enlightening realization, the area around me began to brighten. The sun was rising over what I now recognized as the pasture where my great-great grandparents, Taima and Sayen, met over a century ago.

  A light breeze brushed against my skin, and I shivered. Something bad was about to happen, and I could feel it. It wasn’t at all like the other times. The wind carried no peace, no solace. It held a chill, and I gathered the warning loud and clear.

  A thunderous clap sounded out behind me, causing the steady ground beneath me to tremble terribly. As I turned to see the cause of the noise, instinct overtook me. I tried to run in the opposite direction as the ground began splitting open, a great fissure chasing me and attempting to swallow me whole. Droplets of water began kicking up with my every step, my breath catching in my throat as I saw water rising from the ground.

  Another thunder clap sounded out as the earth in front of me burst open and began breaking apart toward me. The shaking ground forced me to still in order to gain back my balance and reevaluate my plan of escape. My freedom was quickly taken from me as the water around my ankles froze, holding me in place. The coldness of it stung my mind. It felt so real. It reminded me of something, but it left me too quickly to decipher.

  I looked down in time to see the ground completely disappear from beneath me, and in a flash, I was sucked down and surrounded by an ocean of water. It seemed that for miles above, below, and all around, I was enveloped in it. This place was new, no land in sight. My lungs instantly burned, even though I had no real need for oxygen in the deathly dream world. Gathering that thought, I calmed my mind and focused. Oxygen surrounded me in the water, and I could feel its energy.

  Using the power that I’d been gifted with upon death, I pulled a large ball of oxygen from the ocean and placed it against my face, inhaling deeply. I concentrated on my connection with water, and I used it to propel me upward as I searched for the surface. Something told me that if I could find the surface, I’d find me. I was in a metaphorical situation, drowning in an ocean.

  It was a cruel joke that my mind played on me, but I had to stay calm and play along. Finally, in the distance, I saw ripples, and I knew it was the surface. I focused the water to push harder as I drew closer, my oxygen running low again. My chest began to ache, and I felt a gentle pull that grew stronger the closer to the surface I came. As soon as my head emerged, I inhaled deeply, feeling as though my chest wanted to explode from the foreign sensation of being filled with oxygen.

  My lungs burned and my head felt like splitting open as the air came rushing back into my chest. The raw flesh of my ankles, wrists, and throat stung unmercifully as I clutched at my heaving chest. As the breaths came easier and the hazy veil finally lifted from my wide eyes, I saw glistening, emerald green eyes staring into mine. My mind began to focus, and I felt his hands on each side of my face. His mouth had been moving, but I hadn’t heard any words until then.

  “Kailah! Kailah! What happened?” Aeric asked.

  What had happened? My brows furrowed, physically showing the strain of my mind as it tried to process something it wasn’t nearly capable of at that moment.

  “I-I don’t know,” I said quietly.

  Aeric quickly began looking me over, studying me as his gentle hands caressed the painfully sensitive flesh of my body. The tips of his fingers came to rest on my throat, and I saw the slender lump of his Adam’s apple glide upward and then fall as he swallowed.

  “You have frostbite.” Anger dominated his face just before calling for Sayen.

  “What happened to her?” Sayen asked as she quickly entered the room. She sat next to me and softly guided my chin up so she could see the damage. “This is the work of an Immortal. K
ailah, do you remember seeing a face?”

  As I opened my mouth to tell her that I didn’t remember anything, a flash rang loud and clear through my mind. Analynn. It was Analynn who had done that to me. I quickly closed my mouth, attempting to keep that name from spurting forth. There was no way I could say anything. Not yet. I couldn’t risk telling anyone before I knew what was going on. If I said something, there was no doubt that she would come, and I had no idea what kind of powers she possessed.

  “I was asleep and woke up to chains of ice wrapping around me. I didn’t sense anyone as powerful as an Immortal. It didn’t feel like an Immortal, as hard as that is to believe.”

  Setting them on a warpath for Khia, who for once in her life was innocent, seemed wrong. So, agreeing to the Immortal theory was out, but I didn’t want to give them too much.

  “Kailah, that’s impossible. No other creature has this kind of power. Demons can sometimes use elements, but never water. Demons can only use fire or earth; elements that either take life or conceal it once it’s been taken.”

  Damn it all. There is no tricking a woman over a millennium and a half old.

  “Then, I have no idea, Grandma. I’m sorry, but I don’t.”

  A tear spilled onto my cheek, and I realized that my vision had begun clouding with the salty fluid without my knowledge. It had completely escaped me as I silently feared what the future would bring with Analynn returning in a human form. Sayen lightly brushed away the tear with the back of her soft hand as she gave a sad smile. A quiet flush of warmth crossed my body with the contact. As soon as it came, it disappeared as all pain left me.

  “Thank you,” I said. Her healing skills never ceased to amaze me.

  “It was the least that I could do. Kailah, we went out for food. We never imagined that you would be awake so soon after all you’ve been through. Please forgive us for not being here for you.”

  Her expression was one of obvious regret, and I couldn’t help but feel sorry for her. How could she have known that Analynn was enough of a vindictive bitch to pilfer a human body and try to kill me? Not even I saw that coming, and I seemed to be the only one who thought of her that way.

  “Whoever it was is gone now,” Khanae said as she made her appearance in the room. “The scent confuses me, though.”

  A chill ran down my spine as I inadvertently cleared my throat. Obvious nervousness much?

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  Her lovely, dark complexioned face turned thoughtful for a moment. “The scent is incredibly familiar, but as soon as I start to pinpoint it, other scents block me. The familiar scent is mixing with something new, and it’s throwing me off.”

  “I thought the same thing,” Aeric said.

  I visibly shook as another chill took hold. Dying, having my energy drained by a terrible spirit, and then dying again wasn’t panning out well for my emotion control.

  One of Aeric’s hands lightly brushed my shoulder. “Are you alright?” he asked.

  I nodded. “Yeah. I’m just really tired is all. Maybe I should just go back to sleep.”

  “Actually, I think that is a fantastic idea,” Khanae said.

  Aeric looked at me for a moment, waiting for any kind of protest to him leaving, before giving my hand a quick squeeze and standing to make his way out.

  “Goodnight, Kailah,” Sayen said as she placed a single kiss on my forehead.

  I laid back in bed, pulled the covers over my head like a child hiding from the boogey man, and passed out. The entire thing needed to be well thought out, but tonight wasn’t the night to do it. Khanae was right; I needed my rest. It was time for sleep. The following day? Well, that was reserved for summoning Death. I wasn’t sure how to do it yet—but like everything else, I’d figure it out.

  Chapter 2

  As I awoke, I found my eyes opening without any real effort. It had been a while since I’d felt so good. Swinging my feet over and onto the floor proved to be easier than I’d imagined, and when I stood, I realized my earlier feelings of better health had not been a lie. My legs held strong beneath me as I made my way across the room to the closet, and it brought a well-earned smile to my face.

  Making my way to the bathroom at casa Vampir, I grabbed my things and prepared for a very welcome, solitary, hot shower. As usual, the water wrapped around me like a long-lost friend and kneaded my muscles back into relaxation and readiness. Once I was dressed, I grabbed a few things.

  In my very few lucid moments, I’d decided that I should learn how to summon my new, creepy best friend. Death had already taken a liking to me in one way or another; whatever the reason behind it may be. Unfortunately for me, he only showed when he saw fit. So, I took it upon myself to learn how to summon a Reaper.

  He was right. He wasn’t my pet, and he wasn’t my friend. But he was my ally. We were two beings working for a common goal. I’d imagine Analynn body-jacking another living human being would rank pretty high on Death’s no-no list, though, he wasn’t very helpful in my deadened state. Regardless, I did what he wanted. I found my way back. So, I thought maybe he would have some information for me.

  Death can’t interfere in the lives of mortals because of neutrality, but that didn’t mean that he wouldn’t have the information that I sought. After grabbing a candle, lighter, a sharp knife, and some salt, I made my way back to my room. I pulled the satin sheet off my bed and laid it on the floor before placing a large circle of salt on top. This room was carpeted and I didn’t feel like fumbling with the mess.

  Once I erected a light water barrier, dulling the hearing of the Vampires outside of the room, I grabbed the lighter from my pocket. The candle lit before the flame even touched the wick, and I assumed that was a bit of added help from the random fire spirit that I felt in the room. Whenever mischief was being had, fire spirits were always close by. They weren’t malevolent, they just enjoyed the chaos.

  Quietly, I said a few words as I attempted to summon Death. Once I placed a small cut across the pad of my index finger, I allowed the blood to drip down onto the flame, extinguishing it. Instead of the usual thin, white puff of smoke that I expected, a thick, nearly-black puff billowed into the air, the immediate area almost instantly going cold. A deep, bone rattling sigh erupted, and slowly, I dared to look up toward its owner. Though it did no good while next to his massive form, I stood, attempting to make myself seem not quite so small or weak.

  “I see you made it back to the world of the living,” he said flatly.

  My eyes involuntarily narrowed. “Yes, no thanks to you. However, I appreciate the lesson. If I’m not powerful enough to revive myself, I won’t be powerful enough to save or revive others. Wait, why can I hear you?”

  He sighed again. “You’ve trapped me in this little barrier of yours. You summoned me, so you’re able to communicate with me.” His voice was unimpressed, almost annoyed.

  I decided to keep this short. “How is Analynn able to take over a human body so completely? How can I get rid of her without killing the woman?”

  “You can’t. You’re not powerful enough. The only way you can remove Analynn is to kill the vessel.”

  “Ah, well, aren’t you just made of sunshine and farts…” Death’s thin, smoky eyes narrowed as he looked down at me, in no mood for my sarcasm and witty retorts. I rolled my eyes. “So, if I were more powerful—and please, humor me here—how would I go about sending that bitch to the fiery pits of hell where she belongs?”

  “You would have to reach inside her using your spiritual powers and separate both souls. If you pull too hard, or if that hell spawn fights, it will break down the vessel from the inside out. True exorcisms rarely end in the victim living through it, which is why you have to be incredibly powerful to succeed. I should also mention that the longer this goes on, the weaker the human soul will become as it tries to fight the trespasser off. When this happens, the trespasser will overpower the human soul and devour it as it dies. It becomes harder and harder to differentiate the two f
rom one another.”

  The room was deadly quiet as he studied me while I was lost in my mind. With him trapped next to me in such an enclosed area, his power overwhelmed me. It was difficult, but I attempted to force myself to stay on the task at hand.

  “Thank you, Death,” I said softly. He grumbled in response. “I’ll talk to Wendy about this. I don’t want the family knowing about her yet. I’m not sure how they will handle it, or if they will even believe the terrible things I’ve seen from her.”

  “I cannot interfere. You may ask questions, and I will answer them if and when I see fit. However, I cannot seek to complete any action in order to fix any of these issues. It is not in my nature, and I lack even the most basic desire to do so.”

  His comment seemed a bit random, but I completely understood the meaning. Though Death was the spirit responsible for the souls of the dead, he could not interfere with them once they had entered into the world of the living, and were meddling with the waking world. Death would do nothing to stop Analynn. However, I was fully confident that once I delivered her to his awaiting hands, she would meet a most fitting end.

  “Now that you have the answers that you seek, release me. If you ever summon me this way again, you’ll find me to be less than forthcoming with information from then on. Knowing what I know, and what you don’t, that could be very detrimental to your health.”

  I involuntarily swallowed. He’d wanted to scare me, and he did. Instead of speaking, I only nodded, making a gap in the circle of salt with my foot. Death nodded once and disappeared from my eyesight. I couldn’t help but wonder what he meant by “knowing what I know and what you don’t.” That couldn’t possibly be a good thing.

  Putting that aside for the moment, I quickly gathered the sheet by the corners, took it to the window, and shook it out. Grabbing my phone, I quickly sent a text Wendy.

  I need to talk to you, but not here.

  Within only seconds passing, she responded. What a coincidence, I need to talk to you, too. Everyone needs to know, but I’ll come get you. Tell them I’m taking you shopping to celebrate the fact that you’re not dead.