The Unshadowed | Book 1 |

Chapter 13 ~ The Second Cole

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~ The Rose complex

Mondlicht, Germany ~

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Another nightmare plagued Demian as he slept, lasting until the last few hours of the night. He saw Eamon's cruel, gleeful eyes as he killed the curvy woman with a careless twist of her neck. Her screams frequently haunted Demian; it had been her screams that had led him to his fate, and it had been her screams that filled his heart with a deep pang of sorrow for her death.

Demian emerged from the bed, his face covered in tears as he leaned over the side of the bed and wept heavily. The woman's innocent death was forever engraved in his memory. It reappeared in flashbacks and nightmares, stemming from a form of PTSD he suffered, resulting from the horror of being unable to save her.

It had been a major driving factor in saving other peoples' lives. He had failed in trying to save the woman's life, so he made sure not to fail in saving over peoples' lives. Demian gained great satisfaction from the knowledge he saved a person's life and completely changed it for the better.

Demian heard Valerie turn around in bed, the sheets moving as she said in a clear and alert voice, "Demian, you ok?"

Demian felt her arms wrap around his shoulders from behind him as he continued to cry. Realizing he had to decide whether to tell her about the events of the past, Demian said to Valerie, "Don't tell anyone except Civic what I'm about to show you. It's about time you knew the truth about our kind."

He knew he was able to trust her from the start, having read her like a book the moment he met her. Their connection only further proved Valerie was a very private person and never told any secrets. He knew he could tell her anything he wanted; he just had been afraid of Civic finding out, but he was relieved he could fully trust Civic.

Knowing Demian was about to show her something very super important, Valerie bristled. When Demian finished crying, he turned and looked directly into Valerie's eyes, his face stained with tears.

"I'll show Civic after I show you. Both of you need to know this." Demian sighed heavily, knowing this would cause him to relive the past, not once but twice. Perhaps this is my atonement, Demian privately thought. He closed his eyes, placing his hands on Valerie's shoulders.

The mental connection commenced. Demian began to show Valerie everything, starting from the day he walked into Wachstyen Forest and accidentally discovered the glass building. The woman's screams made him wince, but Demian pressed on, continuing to show Valerie how he got into the building, his conversation with Justin and Cole, how it felt being forced into a cylinder and turned into an irangel against his will. His awakening, him getting used to his new Iredescent senses, him comforting the woman and protecting her from Eamon.

Eamon killing her, Demian massacring all the original irangels except Cole, Demian discovering his abilities for the first time, Demian and Cole remodeling the glass building and making it their own, all the times they've saved suicidally depressed humans and turned them into irangels.

Including the time Demian turned Valerie into an irangel.

I was the one who stole you away in the Mahazin parking lot, Demian told Valerie as she watched her own transformation through his eyes. I was the one who turned you.

Stopping the memory train at the night they slept together, Demian broke away from the mental connection, removing his hands from Valerie's shoulders and opening his eyes.