Page 68 of Cursed Lifeline

“In this life,” Caelum chuckles, stepping to my side. “Come with us tomorrow, and we’ll tell you stories that will make your head spin.”

“It’s already spinning,” I mock.

Rolling my eyes, my mind wars with conflicting thoughts. Mostly due to the tug-a-war of emotions the man with the violet eyes inflicted on my soul just before he angrily strode off.

“Evil always wins,” I bristle as the words fall from Alfred’s lips. He takes a step closer, glances down at me, and frowns. “That is if you don’t learn how to protect yourself against it. Let us teach you, Esme. Let us train you. And this time, I solemnly promise we won’t fail you.”

This time?

My mind struggles with the words, but somehow, my heart knows, understands, and wholeheartedly believes everything they’re saying.

Play with me...

The voice from my dream urges me to choose a decision I never thought I’d make.

One. More. Time.

As I stare into the hopeful eyes of my cousins, it becomes apparent that if I want to win over the nightmares that plague me daily and nightly, I won’t stand a chance if I stay here and continue to play it safe. Perhaps the only way I’ll be victorious is if I go with them. If I don’t, my soul warns I’ll inevitably lose due to choosing to stay behind because I’m too scared to take the risk.

Ultimately, I know, the biggest risk is not taking any risks at all.

Twenty Four

Esme

SONG: Sing Sing Sing | Beeny Goodman

The clipped rhythmof my feet hitting the pavement melds with the beating of my suspicious heart, causing an edge of panic to slither across my damp skin as I pick up my pace.

“Wait,” I scream, “Stop the train.”

I know the odds of them doing so are not in my favor, but still, I can’t help but try as I glance down at my watch and notice it’s now six o’five. Rain pelts down relentlessly, threatening to soak me straight through to the bone if I don’t get shelter soon. I slip in my heels and curse under my breath, thankfully catching and righting myself before I hit the concrete. Glancing down, I study the ground beneath my feet and dodge a few large puddles and potholes as I hurry along my way.

Flanking the locomotive, I push myself as fast as my feet will carry me. With one arm slung over my small bag, I keep it pulled tight to my side as I reach out and grab ahold of the handle to hoist myself up onto the train’s platform. My sweaty palm slips and I almost stumble to my knees and drop my bag. Cringing at the idea of all my unmentionables getting plowed below on the tracks, and grunting from exertion, I force myself faster and try again. Finally, my hand makes purchase, I smile, but the feeling of relief is short-lived as my bag slips. Worry gets the better of me, and I start to let go of the handle.

A firm grip tightens around my wrist a second later and pulls me closer to the platform. With wide eyes, I jump just in time and miss tumbling to my death below under the relentless beating of the train's wheels against the steel railroad. My feet hit the platform as I am hoisted to safety, and the strong hands that helped me quickly take my bag from under my arm. Out of breath, I remove my hat with a weary sigh.

“Didn’t think you were going to make it, petit,” Alfred shouts with a smile in the dim light of sunrise that’s poking out from the clouds overhead. The clickety-clack of the train against the track is muffled momentarily by the loud whistle from the steam dome on the locomotive.

“Make it? Or show at all?” I sass, shaking the rain from my hat once the shrill sound fizzles into the morning dew.

His grin deepens. “Both.”

A figure emerges from the doorway behind us and pulls me into the nearest car, “I told him he worries too much, but he wouldn’t listen,” Caelum grins. “I knew you’d come just by the look in your eyes last night.”

“My eyes?” I question with a raise of my brow.

I shrug out of my coat and shake some of the rain off. Caelum takes my frock and folds it over his forearm before possessively taking me by the elbow and ushering me further into the packed dining car.

“You shouldn’t trust everything you see in someone’s eyes?” I warn playfully.

As the words leave my lips, my gaze lifts and firmly catches hold of a pair of mesmerizing violet ones across the room. As the two men at my side start to usher me towards a small table, my stare stays locked on the strangers, and a slight headache begins to simmer between my eyes. Time seems to pause, and the clatter of dishes and sounds of morning chatter over steaming cups of coffee in the dining car fade away. The stranger confidently starts to stride my way and my knees wobble and threaten to go out as he comes closer.

“Felix,” Alfred greets the man before studying my reaction to the mention of his name.

Felix.

Staring into the stranger’s eyes, a comforting caress brushes against my memory, and my soul whispers it's found the one it's endlessly been searching for as his unwavering stare holds mine.

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