Sharnet saw the dark man from her fantasy grabbing Carl’s arm. Carl grimaced as the man’s hand squeezed it, making his hand go limp and shake. He pulled Carl back then turned him around to look at him. His eyes glowed a deep red.
“Enough.” His voice almost echoed in the room. “This ends now.”
Carl staggered back, grabbing his arm as if some fierce pain shot through the muscle where the dark man had grabbed it. He swung his arm, hitting a solid wall of muscle.
The dark man didn’t strike him back but stood between Carl and Sharnet.
“You’ll never hurt her again.” The man grabbed Carl by the shoulder and clamped down on it.
Carl winced from the splintering pain shooting through his shoulder. He squirmed away then turned and ran down the hallway outside the bedroom.
The man turned and walked toward Sharnet. “Are you all right? I couldn’t let him beat you again. You don’t deserve that, no woman does.”
She swallowed and sat back on the end of the bed. Her lip was swollen and blood was still trickling from her nose. She looked up, her eyes widened and she gasped. “No—Carl—”
The shot rang through the room as the gun fired. The bullet passed through the dark man and hit Sharnet, knocking her from the bed. Her body sprawled onto the floor.
The dark man turned and a heat rose from his body as raging anger coursed through his blood. He quickly leapt toward Carl. More shots rang out as he fired at the dark man over and over but hit—nothing.
The dark man grabbed Carl by the throat and pulled him so their faces almost met. He glared into Carl’s eyes. “It ends now.”
With a sharp sound, the dark man closed his hand around Carl’s neck as Carl struggled to get free. With a loud roar he threw him against the wall like a rag doll.
Carl gasped for air and fell against a large glass curio cabinet. His weight made it wobble and start to fall. He fell against the front as it toppled, his weight shattering and breaking the glass.
The dark man looked at Carl and saw shards of glass covered in blood poking up through him. His neck had been sliced open and a steady flow of blood pulsed from his still body.
He rushed over to Sharnet, only to find her lying in a pool of her own blood. The bullet meant for him had hit her in the chest. She held his hand as it rested against the ugly wound. Her heart slowly stopped beating while he watched her.
Lowering his head into his bloody hand, all the meaning of mortality was shown to him in a flash. For all the powers he possessed, he couldn’t stop the events of this night from happening.
Another flash lit the room, this one followed by a rumble of thunder. A sudden chill filled the air. He stood, turning toward the windows.
There was a loud crash—a bolt of lightning shattered the windows and hit the dark man in the chest. He staggered back.
The room became colder still and as the flash of light blinded the room, he felt another bolt of lightning strike him, ripping his body away from Sharnet and Carl and their tragic deaths.
Chapter Six
When he let go of her hand, Alyson began to shake. Cold crept through her body. He
r horror at what happened chilled her soul.
“I remember hearing about that night. That was almost five years ago. The police said it was an unsolved murder. They couldn’t find anything to prove who had done it. Oh Christ, I can’t believe this. It wasn’t your fault. You did right by protecting her. You didn’t mean for any of that to happen.”
Alyson sensed his shame in revealing this side of his persona. A side that showed compassion instead of the lust that seemed to direct his actions.
“It’s in the past. It can’t be undone but I’m now more careful in what I do. Because of that night, my views will be forever different.”
She paused, thinking for a moment. “Views on what?”
“That night, I was stripped of all my powers and the immortal shield that protected me. The elders had warned of the punishment for taking or causing death after I had left the confines of the tribe. I was ignorant and arrogant, disbelieving what they had said. You get a feeling of invincibility when you take for granted the gifts you have. The lightning ripped my powers from me and when I came back, I was dropped into the reality of life—broken, scarred and disoriented. I was shown the reality of life and the pain all mortals feel. My punishment was a year of mortality with no guidance or powers.”
“So you were just like a normal person?”
“Well, yes. You people have many things that you don’t appreciate. You are wrapped in this cocoon—the media telling you what to think, to eat, to wear. Life is full of choices. To gain a respect for what you have, you must lose it to understand the grander picture. Because of that night, I was taught a great lesson. I learned the joy and pain of a pure love. I now have a greater appreciation for women and personal needs and my lifelong quest is in focus.”
She adjusted herself in the chair. Pulling her knees to her chest, Alyson was now captive to him and his story, no longer trying to get something from him for herself. She didn’t need to write anything else. These memories were being etched into her forever. “What quest are you talking about?”