Rebirth (Tattooed Angels Trilogy 1)

Chapter One

His eyes struggled to adjust to the searing heat and blinding light. The intense white horizon was all he could make out; the desert landscape swallowed him. Silvery sand, bright skies, and waves of heat obscured everything that lay beyond where he stood.

Hotan's ears pounded; his heartbeat deafened him. His chest ached as panic filled him.

It's the dream again.

Frantic, he searched all around.

Where was he? He always comes for me. I never-

"HOTAN!"

His nerves felt as though they were unraveling in his joints. Turning, his gaze fell on a disrupted blackened figure approaching him. It vibrated and wiggled as it advanced, as if this single element of his dream had poor reception. He could never make out who this man or demon was, yet he knew him instinctively.

Not again... That voice and the aura... I know him. I know that I know him, but... why do I feel as if I have never met him either?

"Hotan! I shall take my revenge." The animosity in the voice gripped Hotan's soul.

"Revenge?" His mind flooded with questions as it attempted to decipher the familiar voice. "Who are you? Why do I feel like I should know you?"

"You know what blood runs in our hearts! This will be the last time you hide from me. The last time you will hide from what you have done!" A long sword appeared out of the wavering blackness. Unlike the man who held it, this element of the dream was clear as it reflected the blinding sun down upon him like a spotlight shining on its kill. "I wish to thank you for my tortured life for all these centuries! I'll send you to a lonely darkness equal to the one you gave me!"

Hotan felt his heels scrape against something hard and fell backwards. No matter how many times he changed his direction, he always fell back into the emptiness of this place. The blade rose high, racing at him with astonishing speed. Its edge ripped across his arms, and once more, he released a blood-curdling scream. The fuzzy black shadow laughed the same maddening laugh he'd heard a million times. Wild eyes and a wide grin became clear on the shadow's vibrating face which was covered with splatters of Hotan's blood. Wet crimson astounded him as he felt the coldness of his oncoming death. Darkness hid the blinding landscape and all he could feel was the thud-

"Hotan!" Pushing her glasses back on her nose, the haughty teacher snorted in his direction. He jerked his head up off his desk, breathing hard after his nightmare. Sweat covered his face.

"I would appreciate it if you stayed awake during my class." Scoffing, she turned back to the blackboard to continue the math lesson on sine versus cosine.

"Feh." Rubbing the sweat off his forehead, he ignored the warning.

Of all places to fall asleep...

"Psst. Are you okay?" Wide-eyed, the light-haired girl in the desk next to him leaned closer. "You're looking rather pale today. Are you sick?"

"I'm fine." Annoyed that she had noticed how distraught he was, he cracked his neck before glaring out the window.

Great, now everyone thinks there is something else wrong with me.

Seeing that he was not in the mood to talk, the girl returned to her notes. It was not uncommon for him to be unsociable to his classmates. He spent most of his time in class looking out windows, waiting for the bell to ring. Despite the lack of focus, he was passing his courses without any difficulties.

Hotan watched a gym class finish its last round of a basketball game. The view from the second-story window was nice and the perfect escape from his math teacher's monotonous lecture. As the last of the kids disappeared from sight, he shifted his focus to a pair of mourning doves sitting on the tennis court fence. A few more landed next to them, joining the line as the morning sun rose higher in the sky. The sun warmed his face as it pushed through the glass, a comforting sensation compared to the echoes of cold that still rattled him.