Protector (Daray Hall #2) Read online

  The Protector

  A Daray Hall Novel

  Published by Samantha Hoffman at Smashwords

  © 2012 by Samantha Hoffman.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior permissions of the author.

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  Part One: The Return

  Chapter One

  The chapel is brightly lit, and all of the long, wooden pews are occupied by the fledgling residents of Daray Hall. Some of them look genuinely sorry for what’s happened over the past couple of weeks, but most just look indifferent, like they’re being forced to attend my funeral service.

  Which they are…I remind myself. Nobody but Tara, Austin, Morgan, Chloe, and Jillian are probably going to miss me. Everybody else was happy trying to make my life miserable. If anything, some of them might miss their verbal punching bag.

  Kaven stumbles in through the chapel doorway, and I can’t help but notice the haunted look in his eyes as he stares at the single white rose on the front table. It’s bathed in beautiful, soothing moonlight, and it’s supposed to represent my soul. He stares at it, unable to look away, almost as if he’s in a trance of some kind.

  Will Kaven miss me? It was always so hard to read him. I was never sure how much he liked me, or if he was ever being serious. For all I know, he could have been using me like he used Tricia. I force myself not to think about that as Jillian enters the nearly silent chapel.

  Jillian steps up to the table and raises her arms above her head. She’s wearing a flowing black dress with long sleeves, and nothing else. Her face is empty of makeup, and her arms are devoid of any bracelets or watches. Her eyes are red-rimmed and slightly puffy. She’s in mourning right now, and she doesn’t care if everyone knows that she’s going to miss me.

  “My fledglings, many horrible things have transpired over the course of the last few days. I know that some of you are very confused about what’s happened, and for that I am sorry. But tonight the real story will be revealed, and you will all hopefully understand the truly wondrous person we have lost this past night.”

  Twenty four hours. That’s all it’s been since I died. Already it feels like a lifetime without Tara. If I have to wait centuries for her to join me in Selene’s Eternal Gardens, I’ll never make it…

  “My fledglings, we all know that someone was targeting residents of Daray. That person was not Kylie, as many of you thought at one point in time or another. It was a disturbed young woman named Andrea McLean,” she stops and lets everyone whisper to one another for a minute. “She stopped praying to our goddess, and allowed herself to be negatively influenced by another.

  “That goddess promised to reward her beyond her wildest dreams in exchange for her service, and Andrea accepted. She became the right hand of this goddess, and performed two sacrificial murders in preparation of the final ceremony. She planned to use Tara Irwin to complete this heinous ritual,” she saying, looking at Tara, who looks away. “And Kylie arrived in time to stop her.”

  Jillian pauses for a second and I think it might be to allow this news to all sink in, but she looks dangerously close to tears, and she might need a break. But I’m not watching her anymore; I’m watching the other fledglings as they take in the news that I wasn’t an evil, homicidal bitch. Some of them look honestly surprised, and that infuriates me to my very core.

  Jillian starts up again. “However, a graveyard attendant stumbled into the fight, and he became the third sacrifice. Andrea then summoned Achlys, the personification of the Eternal Night, who then immediately turned on Andrea, and slaughtered her for being in the way of what this evil goddess wanted.”

  Tara grabs Austin’s hand, and I notice that Chloe’s doing the same. It looks like Austin’s taking the news about Andrea very hard, which is expected, and he looks like he hasn’t eaten or showered since yesterday. But he came to the chapel tonight, braving the stares of disgust that are meant for his dead twin, out of respect for me.

  I wish I’d gotten a chance to know Austin and the others better than I did. Tara was right about them for the most part. They were nice, caring, trustworthy people, and I didn’t get a chance to really see that.

  Chloe’s beside him, and I notice the tears that are streaming down her cheeks. She has to wipe her face with the back of her hand repeatedly to clear them away and, when she does, she draws in a shaky, ragged breath that causes her whole body to shudder. She then bites her lip to keep from crying even more, though it doesn’t appear to be helping.

  “Kylie was then offered a chance to walk from the graveyard unharmed, and she refused, unable to leave Tara to suffer. She then engaged in battle with an ancient Greek goddess. Her only goal was to hold her off long enough for help to arrive. During the fight, she sustained severe life-threatening wounds.

  “Selene appeared in the graveyard, and was able to force Achlys back to the Immortal Realms– where the gods reside–for the time being. She then helped Kylie’s passing be as peaceful and painless as possible, and ferried her soul to the goddess’ Eternal Garden, where she will rest in peace for the rest of eternity.”

  The other residents are all whispering to one another again, and some of them even look slightly impressed. Apparently all it took for them to like me was dying in battle against an ancient Greek goddess. Being a nice, honorable, trustworthy person wasn’t enough for them! I wish I could haunt these people for the rest of time.

  I look around the chapel, refusing to look at the rose that symbolizes me, and spot Kita, one of Tricia’s old friends. She’s staring at the rose almost as intently as Kaven was, and her eyes are glossy with unshed tears. She looks ashamed, of herself or how her friends treated me I don’t know, but she looks upset over something. Maybe she’s regretting never taking the time to really get to know me. Of Tricia’s friends, she was the nicest. Maybe it was because she never really belonged with them. The only reason they invited her to be part of their group is because she’s gorgeous.

  Jillian takes a moment to wipe her eyes, and I wonder just how much she really liked me.

  “Kylie Redding will be dearly missed by those who knew her. However, we cannot spend our lives mourning her loss. Have faith that our wise and loving goddess will reunite us with her someday in the future,” she looks directly at Tara. “Until then, we’ll have to try and battle our grief as best as we can. We’ll all band together and help each other through this dark time.”

  Everyone bows their head to pray, all except for Tara. I know she’s angry at Selene for taking me from her, but she shouldn’t be. I was doing my duty and, if given the chance, I would have done everything over again. This is how everything was meant to work out. Selene has other plans for Tara that don’t involve me, and she’ll just have to learn to accept that.

  Tara wraps her arms tightly around herself, almost like she’s trying to hold herself together and in one piece, and my heart clenches painfully. I’ve known Tara long enough to know that she’s worried about bursting into tears and being unable to stop. She won’t want people to think she’s crazy and unfixable.

  Jillian clears her throat when everyone is done. “Now, normally in a funeral
service I would ask all of you to come up here and offer your condolences. However, I’m going to offer you the choice. If you are not going to truly miss Kylie, I don’t want you to come up here and bother those that will. Thank you fledglings, that will end our funeral service.”

  Tara clenches her hands tightly against her side as most of the residents file out of the chapel without so much as a second glance at the flower, at me. A few choose to stay, and they get in line behind Tara, Chloe, Austin, and Morgan. Jillian doesn’t look surprised to see so few people, and she just nods her head sadly. She does smile at Kita, who is one of the only others to stay.

  Tara reaches the front table with the rose, and bows her head. She takes a deep breath and begins to pray. Since I’m at peace in the Eternal Gardens, I hear every heart-broken word she speaks in her mind, and I wish I couldn’t.

  Kylie, if you can hear this, I just want you to know that I love you and miss you so much!

  I wish I could answer her, but I can’t. Selene told me that not answering directly is part of having faith. The residents need to know that we’re always here, listening, even if we don’t answer them. If they lose that, they lose their faith, and they become like Andrea.

  When everyone is done praying, Tara takes Austin’s hand, and Chloe takes the other. Morgan walks just behind them, and she has a sad, hesitant smile on her face. Of the four of them, Morgan is the most convinced that everything will get better, and I’m grateful for that. Hopefully she can convince the others that life will eventually go on.

  Hand in hand, they walk from the chapel, leaving me behind.

  “They’ll be fine, Kylie,” Selene says, joining me. I jump guiltily. Selene left me alone in her Gardens a while ago, and I’ve been watching Tara since then. I don’t know if I’m not allowed to do this but, judging by her sad smile, she doesn’t seem to mind. “I gave you my word that she would be alright, even if I had to return to Earth myself.”

  I’ve been thinking about something since she left, and I have to know the answer. “How come Andrea had to sacrifice people to summon Achlys to Earth, but you just arrived. You didn’t have to be a part of some horrific ritual or anything. Can you travel freely back and forth?”

  “Not always,” she says. “Normally I’m not strong enough to just cross over–most goddesses and gods aren’t–but your strength and faith called me to you, and I was able to come to your aid. I just wish I could have arrived sooner.”

  I shrug. “It would have been nice to be able to stay with Tara, but it wasn’t meant to be. She was meant to keep going, and I was meant to reside here with you,” I say, looking at her. “Selene, I’m not angry at the way things turned out. I did my job; Tara is still alive, and free to live her life. You have no idea how incredibly happy that makes me.”

  She smiles, and this time it isn’t a sad one. “And you have no idea how incredibly proud of you I am, Kylie. You surpassed all of my expectations for you. The first female Protector in many, many years.”

  “I wasn’t a Protector.”

  “Yes, you were. You did what any Protector would do were they in your place. You stayed, knowing that it meant your death, and you fought for the person you swore to protect, the person you swore to love. You’ve made not only me proud, but Jillian and Carlos too. I have a feeling that very soon there will be more girls like you, girls that are willing to brave the odds to do what you did.”

  That makes me feel happy. “You really think others will try? I mean, the first chance I had to protect Tara, I didn’t do so well. I died, and if you hadn’t shown up when you did, she’d be dead too. I doubt others will want the risk of that happening to them.”

  “I think you’d be surprised. My young children need somebody to look up to, and you’ve given them that. You’re a hero, Kylie Redding, and I think many young girls will look up to you in the future. I’m sure that in the next few years, there will be an increase in women like you, women that want to prove they have what it takes to do what you did.”

  We lapse into silence, and the two of us just appreciate the beauty of her Eternal Gardens. There’s a waterfall about fifty yards to our left, and the water whooshes by, filling a beautiful, crystal clear pond below. Cattails grow along the edge of the pond, and I can hear the croaking of frogs and the quacking of ducks.

  Bees hover around patches of honeysuckle and jasmine, and I inhale deeply. This place is so peaceful and beautiful that it makes me feel completely at ease, but unfortunately, I’m not sure what to do now. “How am I supposed to spend my time here if I’m not creepily watching Tara and my friends? It’s not like there’s a movie theater, or a mall, or even a bookstore to visit. What do I do for all of eternity?”

  “The more you get used to the idea of being here, the quicker time will pass. After a while, you won’t even miss Tara. Then, before you know it, she’ll be here with you, and the two of you can spend the rest of eternity together.”

  “You make it sound like we’re…” I trail off, slightly embarrassed to be thinking about something like this around her.

  “Kylie, I know you and Tara are not lovers. You are friends that happen to have a bond closer than most people, and that is nothing to be ashamed about. It’s made you the wonderful person that you are, and you should never be ashamed of who you are as a person, or what you feel.”

  I think about this for a minute. I’ve recently come to terms with who I am, and what I feel, but I didn’t have a lot of time to really sit down and think about it. I just kind of accepted it and moved on, because there was so much more going on at the time. But now I have eternity to think about it. All the time in the world, and nobody to bounce ideas off of, at least, not anybody but Selene.

  I’d feel kind of weird talking to Selene about something so personal. I know that she loves me kind of as a daughter, like she does all her other chosen children, but it would be too weird. The only two people I would consider talking to about this would be Tara or Chloe and, thankfully, neither of them is here with me right now.

  Selene smiles. “I understand if you don’t wish to talk to me about this. There are plenty of other resting souls here for you to talk with. However, should you change your mind, I’d be glad to listen,” she says, putting her hand on my shoulder. “I must go now; I have things to see to. Will you be alright here for now?”

  I force myself to nod. “Yeah, I’ll be fine.”

  Truthfully, I don’t want her to go, because the thought of being here alone scares me. I know there are probably millions of other souls resting here in her Gardens, but I don’t feel like being very sociable right now. But then again, I don’t feel like sitting alone, waiting for Tara to join me someday.

  Selene nods. “Very well. I should return in a few hours. Until then, make yourself at home in my Gardens. I would suggest going for a swim, or perhaps sunbathing in one of my many fields of wildflowers.”

  “A swim sounds great,” I say sadly, thinking about the last time I went swimming. Tara and I were with a few classmates that would sometimes casually hang out with us, but weren’t really friends, and someone pushed me face-first into the water, and when I came back up, I realized it was Tara. She laughed, gave me her hand, and I pulled her into the water with me.

  “Kylie? Are you sure you’re going to be alright here alone? I can stay for a while longer if you’d like.”

  “I’m fine. I’m just thinking about Tara.”

  “It’ll get easier with time,” she says again. She then steps away from me, begins to glow, and vanishes in a burst of silver light. I’m alone near the waterfall, but I’m close enough now that I can feel the spray from the water crashing down. It’s cool, clean, and it does look nice for a swim.

  I quickly look around and, deeming myself to be alone, I strip down to my camisole and underwear. There’s a rock by the edge of the water, and I pile my clothes, and then dive in head-first. The water is cold and rejuvenating, and I can’t believe how much I’ve missed swimming.

  It’s not j
ust the swimming I miss. It’s the great memories I made with Tara while in the water…

  I swim for a while and, just before I start to prune, I climb out, surprised by the sudden chill. The Gardens are warm and sunny, but the air quickly cools me off. So, I sprawl out in the grass to dry off and warm up.

  I take deep, even breaths, until finally I drift off amidst the calls of frogs and the gentle breeze.

  Chapter Two

  Two whole days pass by, and Selene doesn’t return. I spend my time down by the water, or curled up under a large willow tree at night. It seems strange that I still need to sleep, seeing as I’m dead, but I do. In the morning, I chase butterflies or frogs, swim, sunbathe, or climb trees.

  I try not to worry. About an hour ago my wrist began to itch, but it didn’t burn, and there was no silver crescent, so I didn’t check in on Tara. I assumed that Selene was there and managed to help her. Even though I really wanted to make sure Tara was right, I didn’t think she’d appreciate me spying on her while she was probably mourning.

  I reach the top of a tree easily, and I can see for more than a mile in every direction. As far as the eye can see, there are trees, flowers, and rivers, with a background of mountains in the distance. They’re gray, capped in snow, and shrouded in clouds. I wonder how long it would take to walk there and back.

  When I climb down the tree, Selene is standing at the bottom waiting for me. She’s slightly pale and her eyes are intense with worry. Something is wrong, and I know it. I run to her side. “What’s wrong? You’ve been gone for two days. I knew something was wrong to keep you gone so long.”

  She puts her hands up to stop me from rambling. “Kylie, just calm down, and take a deep breath.”

  I can’t. Something is obviously wrong, and my first thought is of Tara. I haven’t checked in on her since she left the chapel after my funeral service, and I knew I should have. “Well?”