Page 1 of Vexed
PROLOGUE
I never gave death a second thought, honestly. Life was just happening, and I was too busy living it to dwell on what came after, or even the possibility of it all ending. But then, the world shifted.
Losing someone close cracked open a door in my mind, letting in the chilling draft of mortality. And then, like a beacon cutting through the darkness, I methim.
Someone so unique, so unlike anyone I’d ever encountered, that he made me question everything I thought I knew. We’re all just stumbling through life, right? Trying to make sense of it all.
Just human.
But what happens when you meet someone who makes you wonder if maybe, just maybe, there’s something more? Something beyond the limits of our beliefs?
Suddenly, ‘human’ felt like a very small box to be contained in.
CHAPTER ONE
Lily
* Aged 8 *
“Remember to be back before dark!” Mommy’s voice echoes behind me as I skip out the front door and down the porch steps. “I know mommy.”
Skipping along the sidewalk, I make my way to the park next to our house. There’s a big playground with swings, slides, seesaws, and rope climbing. I always come and play for a few hours after school, heading home just before dinner.
A smile pulls at my lips as I realize I’m the only one at the playground. I don’t have friends, not even at school. Everyone thinks I’m weird and doesn’t want to play with me.
But I’ve gotten used to it by now.I have always been the odd one out, but Mommy told me I’m a special girl and the right people will come into my life and never leave, so I have made peace with being alone.
I make my way to the swings, on my tippy toes, I try to get myself on the swing without falling face first on the ground. I’m still a little short, like my mommy.
Swinging back and forth in silence, with only a light breeze in the air and the sun casting pretty yellow and orange colors across the sky as it sets, I take a deep breath of fresh air.
I have seen other kids playing at the playground with their friends or their mommies and daddies, but I always wait until they’re gone before I come and play. I don’t know how to make new friends, so I keep my distance until I can play alone.
The silence is suddenly disturbed when the deep voice of a man speaks from behind me causing the hair on the back of my neck to rise.
“Hello there.”
I whip around startled and see a tall man, dressed in all black standing there with his hands behind his back, a slight smile on his face.
I slowly get off the swing and take a few steps back. Mommy warned me about strangers. She always tells me there are bad people in the world who would hurt me. I'm considering running home as fast as my little legs can carry me.
“I—I’m not allowed to talk to strangers,” I say in a fragile voice, glancing towards the house and he nods.
“Smart girl, well then, my name is Vexlorn.” He introduces himself with a genuine smile, showing off his shiny teeth, andI can’t help but stare at the two sharp teeth. I think it’s called canine teeth. Like what doggies have. And cats.
I know better, I know that I should just run home, but for some odd reason—I don’t feel scared. His presence has a comforting feeling.
“M—my name is Lily.”
“Now we aren’t strangers, are we, Lily?” He says, kneeling on one knee to meet my height. His eyes soften as he stares at me. His silver eyes. I have never seen anyone with silver eyes before, well, not a real person, only characters in some of the cartoons I watch. I like it. It’s different. Pretty.
“I guess not,” I say with a slight smile.
“You look a little young to be here by yourself, Lily. Where are your parents?”
“I’m eight—actually,” I say placing my hands on my hips as I stare at him with a frown. My response pulls a chuckle out of him. His voice is deep. Deeper than my daddy’s. He is also a lot taller than my daddy too, “And my mommy is busy with dinner, so I should probably go now.”
He rises, standing straight and fixing the sleeves of his fancy suit jacket, “You don’t want to keep her waiting, off you go.” He says, waving me off, and flashing me a bright smile.
