Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Shadows of Dream ❯ A Death in the Family ( Chapter 2 )

The sound of glass breaking and the muffled swearing that followed dragged Ava out of a deep, dreamless sleep. Ava wasn't alarmed by the sound, she already knew who it was and with a heavy heart, she crawled out of bed and shuffled out into the hallway.

Ava stood in the shadows of the doorway and watched as a dark haired woman stumbled around the kitchen. Elaine Saluo was well and truly drunk.

Ava felt her eyes burn with tears begging to be shed. This wasn't what she had dreamed about as a little girl. Everything was supposed to have been perfect. If her father hadn't had died, her dream would have been a reality. But Ava knew now that happy endings only occurred in fairy tales.

“Mother.”

Elaine swung around and was greeted with the sight of her daughter standing barefoot in the entrance to the kitchen. If she took another step into the kitchen, the shards of glass would cut into her feet. Elaine smirked at the thought. Her little fantasy was interrupted when Ava spoke up in a soft voice.

“Are you alright?”

“I'm fine. What the hell are you doing up?” Elaine was boiling for a fight and Ava could tell.

“I heard you stumbling around here, thought I'd better check to make sure you were alright and not passed out on the floor. I can see that you're alright though so I'll be going back to bed.” Ava turned her back toward her mother and walked back into the hallway.

The ground under Elaine swirled. She stumbled over to a chair. Her head felt like lead and she needed to put it down, just for a moment. Just a moment.

The bottle she was holding slid out of her grasp as she fell into darkness.

 

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The day was dark and bleak, a perfect day for a funeral. The mourners were silent as the casket was lowered into the ground. They had nothing but nice things to say about the deceased while in the presence of her daughter.

One of the mourners looked away from the sad scene toward the young girl who stood alone. There were no tears. None at all.

Ava had none to shed. The only tears she had for her mother had been used after she had found her in the kitchen. By the time the paramedics had arrived the evidence of her break down had been hidden.

Ava had known that one day this would happen; she just wished she hadn't been the one who found her. She had walked across the kitchen floor, mindful of the broken glass and intent on waking her mother up and at least getting her into her own room.

Ava clenched her hands. She had touched her, her cold, clammy skin. It had taken her a moment to realize what was wrong with her mother after she had tried several times to wake her. Ava had broken down then, sobbing. Ava wasn't aware of how long she sat by her mother's body but she did knew she would have sat there still if it hadn't been for Orpheus.

Ava smiled slightly, oblivious to the fact that the group of mourners were leaving. Orpheus. Her fluffy black kitten had sat with her while she cried. He had been the one to decide when enough was enough and caused such a racket that she couldn't help but get up grab him.

The paramedics had arrived quickly enough and contacted the police. She was asked a few questions and they left.

Ava rubbed her hand over her face as she remembered something one of the officer's had said while talking to the paramedics. She sat on the couch, Orpheus in her lap as the coroner and the officers spoke.

“Its not a death related to alcohol.”

“Don't be so sure. I haven't done the autopsy yet.”

“It's too much like the other ones.”

Others. He had said others. Had her mother been murdered?

Impossible. Elaine had been annoying and many people didn't like her but that dislike didn't stretch as far as murder. It was utterly impossible, but…

Ava shook her head and turned from the fresh grave. Thinking about these things wouldn't help her. She'd go home, read a book and try to put all of this out her mind.

 

Amongst the trees, he watched her go. Her strides were hurried, and he couldn't help but wonder if she was trying to get away form something.

Stepping out he crossed over to the grave, leaves crunching under his feet.

The numbers were rising. Every once in a while, something went astray and led to someone's death but this was too many and to fast. It had to be stopped but with the war…. They were losing. No one could be spared to stop these events from unfolding.

He sighed deeply. They would have to bring her back. How they would convince her to help was another problem that would have to be dealt with later.

Glancing once more at the grave, he turned and walked back into the trees, slowly fading away.

 

 

Breathing hard, Ava raced amongst the trees. She wasn't positive if it was still behind her or not and she wasn't about to risk a look back. The only sure thing was that whatever was chasing her didn't want to chat and make friends.

To make matters worse, she had absolutely no idea where she was. They trees were different than the ones in the woods behind her house. The ones around the small community were coniferous with the odd deciduous mixed in. The trees she was hurriedly weaving around were deciduous and extremely tall. Ava wasn't sure whether it was night or day as the limbs of the trees blocked the sky from view and let in no light.

Snagging her foot on a protruding root, Ava fell forward landing amongst the bushes. She lay still, listening for anything that would give sign that it still followed her. The only sound she heard was her harsh breathing as she tried to catch her breath. Emerging from the bushes, she gave a quiet sigh of relief.

“It's gone. Thank God it's gone.”

Bending over slightly, she placed her hand over her raging heart.

That was how he found her. It hadn't been difficult to guess what had happened. The woods were full of them, had been for over a decade now. He was slightly surprised though, once an Afrit targeted someone they didn't leave them alone.

A sound began to vibrate through the air, much like the dying flames of a fire.

“I spoke to soon apparently.” Shifting his eyes to the girl he noticed that she to heard the sound. He pursed his lips in annoyance when he saw her tense, ready to run once again. That wouldn't do seeing as he had just found her.

Waving his hand in the air, a pale green mist began to form and the sound stopped.

“That's better. I truly can't stand those things. They are really quite rude.”

Ava jolted and shifted to look at the speaker, still tense and ready to run if need be.

“Oh for goodness sakes, relax. I don't intend to harm you.”

She watched, still leery as the man moved gracefully down the incline of the hill. Taking a moment she studied him carefully. Long blonde hair was pulled back into an elegant twist, a few wisps left out to frame a square face. He was dressed oddly. Black knee high boots gave way to black leggings and then to a white shirt. A short black vest completed the ensemble

“Well then. You've had a bit of excitement haven't you? I strongly suggest that you leave the Afrit alone, their very touchy.”

“The Afrit?” Ava scowled as she heard the tone of her voice. It was far too quiet and it trembled.”

“Mhmm. The Afrit are a very close cousin of the Djinn and you have no idea what I'm talking about do you?” Chuckling, he grasped her hand, bending down slightly so he could look into her eyes. “There is no need to be frightened of me. I'm here to help.”

Pulling her hand back, Ava took a step away from the man. “Help? You're here to help? Just who the hell are you?”

“Oh, beg my pardon. I completely forgot about introductions. So much on the mind, I'm sure you'd understand with you being such a busy lady and all. I'm known as Amon. I work for his majesty at the Palace in Blodwen.”

Ava stared wide-eyed at the man. “You must be joking.”

“I would not joke about a matter so serious. Now if we may leave the area. The mist won't keep the Afrit away for long and once they regain their wits, they shall be livid. For all their animalistic traits, they are clever creatures. They don't like to be tricked and will resort to a few nasty tricks of their own. I don't want to risk a confrontation.” He grabbed her wrist and pulled her in the opposite direction of where they'd been facing.

“Hey! Don't I have any say in this?” Ava pulled at the hand wrapped round her wrist, feeling her pulse speed up when it wouldn't budge. “This could be called kidnapping.”

Amon ignored her cries of outrage. The faster they left the area, the faster he could explain the situation to her. He would also have to mention to his majesty that the Afrit were growing restless and expanding their territory.

“Will you let me go! This is outrageous, I can walk for myself.” Ava glared at the man's back as he continued to ignore her, his grip on her wrist never weakening. After several more protests, Ava gave up and stayed silent. She had no idea where he was taking her but he seemed to know where he was going and although it irked her, he was right. If she had continued to run aimlessly around the forest as she had been, the Afrit or whatever they were would have eventually caught her.

After several long silent minutes of being dragged, Ava began to notice that the trees where thinning out and light was shining down upon the forest floor. She also noticed that they weren't walking as quickly as they had been and his grip on her wrist loosened enough for her to pull free.

“We've only a bit more walking to do before we reach Blodwen. I'll explain things once we get there.”

“Mhmm, Blodwen.” Ava rolled her eyes and muttered to herself. “Stuck in the forest with a crazy man. I can see the headlines now, Crazed convict escapes, girl found in pieces.”

Amon chuckled. He had evidently heard her.

“Ahh, here we are. Ava, welcome to Blodwen.”

“How do you know….Dear God.”