Soul Bringer

Chapter 5

My mom pulled open the car door and whisked me out of the car. For a long moment, she just stared at me with tears in her eyes.

"My baby girl." She finally said, her voice quivering. "Can I hug you?" I nodded my head and without a second to spare she wrapped her delicate arms around me. And in that hug I felt all the years that had been lost to us pressing between us. My eyes swelled with tears as I returned her embrace.

"Mom?" I asked her, even though the question felt somewhat ridiculous coming from my mouth.

"Yes, my sweet girl, it's me. I've been searching for you for such a long time. I cannot imagine the horrible things Denrick made you do."

It had been the only life I had known, reaping for my father. I pushed down the images that came to mind, the people I had killed for him. I wasn't ready to linger in my graveyard of reaped souls ever again.

Mom reached out to grab Kai's arm. She squeezed it tight. "Thank you for finding her for me."

"Why didn't you come to find me?" I asked her. She gave me a sad, contemplative look as her eyebrows furrowed.

"I wanted to. But your father surely would recognize me if I headed your way. I had felt your presence at Hayden Lake and sent my best to get you. It helps that Kai can be invisible. Even your father on the other side of the Echo cannot see Kai when he disappears. A helpful tool in retrieving you."

"Why didn't he make us invisible at the hospital?" I asked confused.

"For whatever reason, that particular ability of mine would not work on you. Believe me, it was the first thing I tried before killing one of your father's Vorkens." Kai said. I could tell by the expression on his face that he wasn't thrilled about that set back.

My mom led me inside the farm house. The house was two stories high with a porch that framed the outside. It was huge and elegant, but it felt well lived in. I could easily find myself being comfortable here, living with a family I never thought I could have.

We sat at the kitchen table, Kai handed us warm mugs of lemon tea. My mom took a sip as she smiled at me.

"Where to begin?" She asked.

"The beginning." I replied. I took a sip of the tea, relishing the taste. Father had rarely given me such luxuries as tea. Only if I caught him in a rather pleasant mood, which was once in a blood moon.

"Nessa, I'll check on the wards and speak with the others." Kai said to my mother. She nodded her head.

"Thank you, Kai." She responded. Kai gave me a smile and a quick wink of his eye before he vanished from sight.

"I'm a Mal'ak." My mom said to me as she set her mug on the smooth ebony countertop. "You are too. But you are different than me, my girl. You are special to our race, but I'll get to that in a second."

Special, she said. I knew for certain I wasn't anything special. My father had turned me into one of his own dark creatures.

But that wasn't what I wanted to be.

Who was I?

I wanted to know now more than ever.

"I was born on October 12, 1850. I had met Denrick in London fifty years later. Back then, he had been a kind man, a human. Denrick had insisted on finding a way to extend his life so that he could live with me forever. I was blinded by love then, and he was driven by an overwhelming need to be with me. I knew it was a futile attempt, but still I let him search for a way to keep us together." She took another sip from her tea as if preparing herself for the next part of the story. I sipped on my tea as I felt an anxious flutter in my chest. I suddenly wanted to tap my hands against my leg. This story she was sharing with me, it was my beginning.