Chapter one, part one
Declan Kilean knew he was dreaming, he felt the weight of sleep paralyze his body and could feel the cool air that kept him comfy, but the dream was so bazaar, so unbelievable, so real that he felt like he was wide awake.
He’s never had a dream such like the one he was having, the colors were brighter, the energy was electric and alive. It had started with Declan himself, running through the forest, chasing a girl.
He had never seen the girl before in his entire eighteen years of life, she was a beauty of such degree that he didn’t think anything could be quite as beautiful. Her black hair was long and swayed back and fourth with every running leap, her skin the color of coffee with cream, and her eyes, her eyes were the greenest eyes he’d ever seen. They were electric, the color of cold mint and every time she looked back at Declan, he could see their power, even through the night sky. She wore a long black robe which draped down to her bare feet, and Declan realized in his dream that they must be in a different time period, because he wore nothing but old black trousers and a robe of his own.
Leaves crackled and rustled under their feet as they ran carelessly through the woods. Moonlight streamed down catching the glimmer of the riverbank which reflected the starry sky. Declan was so happy, he felt like his heart was going to explode in his chest, and he’d take of flying any second.
“Catch me!” The girl called to him, giggling.
Declan laughed and sped up, her voice was music to his ears.
The girl darted and hid behind a tree so Declan could no longer see her. It scared him, why did it scare him so much? Was it the silence that followed, it seemed like the wind even hid with her.
“Cara?” He called out and ran forward to were he saw Cara last.
Declan heard Cara giggle and then she pounce on him from behind, they both tumbled to the ground in a heap. As Declan’s back hits the ground, Cara falls upon him, and her head lands on his chest.
Declan looked up at Cara with a smile on his face, “You looked beautiful at dinner, I’m surprised you parents would let you look so if they don’t want you to marry.”
Cara screwed up her face, “They don’t want me to marry until that wretched Noir is found and punished for his crimes,” Cara smiled, “I can still fall in love though.”
Declan exhaled and smiled, “Are you… in love with anyone?”
Cara bit down on her bottom lip and a blush burned through her cheeks, “Very much in love.”
“I hope not with Helmut?”
Cara laughed and put a strand of her midnight hair behind her ear, “No, not with Helmut.”
Declan sighed in relief, he knew that Helmut has been bugging her parents for her hand for almost a year now, ever since she turned seventeen.
A cool burst of wind blew, making the dead leaves around them dance. Declan started up at Cara with such a gleam of admiration that he didn’t notice that pain that whispered on his back, he was to busy looking at her…
Cara, who was straddling Declan with both legs leaned in, her pink plush lips coming closer and closer until they reached Declan’s. Declan was stunned for a moment, then he reached up and felt for her face. His hands cupped her blushed cheeks and he kissed back.
Declan melted, in that moment he had lost his place in the world, he wanted to stay here with her until the sun burnt out and the stars rained down and the moon burst into moon petals. He had never loved anyone so much before this.
Cara moaned and her lips trembled with a wanting that she knew she’d eventually feel. Cara pulled Declan closer and he felt her warmth through her closed robe, he reached into her hair and ran his hand through her locks. She tasted like vanilla twilight, such a sweet, cool taste.
Cara pulled away, her eyes still closed, “I’ve got something to show you, before we go any further.”
Declan nodded, “You can show me anything”
“You can’t tell anyone!” Her voice was full of anxiety, it scared Declan, “If Noir found out, he’d surly come for me.”
“I’d never let him hurt you!” Declan vowed.
Cara smiled and sighed then she started to unbutton her robe. Declan began to marvel at her naked chest, the curves, the slender surface, her perfect round breasts. His body began to harden until he saw it. Two, pale, pink wings were at Cara’s side. They were taped up around her sides so they could be concealed easy.
Declan’s mouth hung open, “They came early?”
“Yes, when I turned sixteen,” Cara said sadly, “Mama said hers came early too, but we were hoping they’d wait until at least eighteen, the longer we can hide it from Noir the safer I am.”
Declan laughed and reached up to trace the pale pink wing through his finger. It felt like a newborn leaf in the spring time, strong and smooth, “I wont let anything happen to you Cara.”
Cara beamed down at him as she pulled the robe back over her naked torso, “I know that. And you’re almost nineteen aren’t you? You’ll be getting your wings shortly as well. Then, we can get married because Mama and Papa will trust you.”
Declan was at a lose of words, did she really want to marry him? He almost slurred his words, “I’ve never heard of a girl proposing to a boy before.”
“Well,” Cara bit down on her bottom lip once again, then smiled, “I’m a princess aren’t I? I can do whatever I please. And I want to marry you.”
Declan pulled her close and started to kiss her but a burning pain raged inside his back making him stop. It hurt so bad, almost like someone was slightly cutting into his back with a tiny needle.
Stabbing and slicing, stabbing and slicing. Declan’s vision started to blur, and Cara began to disappear into the darkness and all he felt, was the pain.
Declan woke with a jump, his sheets sticky with sweat, and blood. He felt for his lamp with his right hand and switched it on. The sight before him, scared him out of his wits.
Blood, there was so much blood. His pale green sheets smeared with blood, his hands covered in blood. He leaped up out of bed and almost fainted at the bloody sight. Declan ran to the bathroom he shared with his foster brother and locked the door.
Declan tore of his bloody shirt and looked at his body for the wound, but there was nothing. His back was the bloodiest and his hair was matted with it. He put his bloody shirt in the bath and turned on the cold water, then continued his search for the mysterious wound. When he couldn’t find it he began to wonder where all the blood had came from. Did he murder someone in the middle of the night? No, he couldn’t have, he was having that bazaar dream.
Declan calmed himself, telling himself it was probably a monster nose bleed, or something like that. He walked back into his bedroom and tore of the sheets, and peaked at his clock, 5:45. That meant his foster mother, Julie would be home soon from work, so he rushed around trying to clean up the bloody mess before she could see it.
Declan knew the red stains would never come out of the sheets, but he could hide them until he got paid next week so he could buy new ones, so he rinsed them out with cold water and dandruff shampoo and stuck them under his bed. He had just snuck out new sheets from the hall closet when he heard the front door close. Julie’s heels clicked against the stone tiles in the kitchen.
Julie had been Declan’s foster mom for almost a year now and she worked at the casino as a waitress. Declan wasn’t sure but he had a feeling that waitressing wasn’t her only job, he had believed that she was also a hooker, but then again he didn’t really like her. Julie also had another foster son named Mark, who was almost ten and was the worst kid Declan had ever met.
Declan listened until he heard Julie go into her room, then went back into the bathroom and got a hot shower. He watched the water turn pink as the blood washed of his back, his hair and his hands. When he was done, instead of going back to bed he got dressed and left the house, deciding to go to work early.
As he rode his bike through the early summer dew, he couldn’t help but get the feeling he was being watched
