

### Forgive Their Sins:

### A Journey to the Truth Series (Book 1)

2nd Edition

### By

### A'Sian Starr Dotson-Carter

Forgive Their Sins: A Journey to the Truth Series Book 1 2nd Editon

By A'Sian Starr Carter

Copyright ©2015 by A'Sian Starr Dotson. All rights reserved.

Copyright ©2019 Revised 2nd Edition by A'Sian Starr Dotson-Carter

Smashwords Edition

Writeitgurl Publications, Greenwood SC

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

Thank you for downloading this free ebook. Although this is a free book, it remains the copyrighted property of the author, and may not be reproduced, copied and distributed for commercial or non-commercial purposes. If you enjoyed this book, please encourage your friends to download their own copy at Smashwords.com, where they can also discover other works by this author. Thank you for your support.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living, dead (or in any other form), business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Disclaimer: This book contains some violence.

Cover Design: SelfPubBookCovers.com/Shardel
Table of Contents

Acknowledgement

Dedications

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Afterword

#

#  Acknowledgement

Thank you to all the Fans of Forgive Their Sins without you believing in me and being patient in this process this revised edition would not be possible.

### Thank you to my wonderful husband, Michael Carter, for believing in my dream.

### Thank you to my son, Kalil Warren, for not being afraid to go after your dreams.

### Thank you to my Big Brother, Terry Stancil, for always having your sister's back.

### I Love You All!!

# Dedications

To my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ

To all my family here on earth and in heaven

To all my friends that have supported me

To all the people that doubted me

To my son, dreams really do come true

### To All My Fans, Thank You!

For nothing is hidden that will not become evident, nor anything secret that will not be known and come to light.

Luke 8:17

# Chapter 1

Thursday, September 13, 2012

The crowd gathered around and began to sing, "Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday, Dear Madasin... Happy Birthday to you!"

Everyone applauded as the waiters wheeled out the biggest birthday cake one had ever seen at a teenager's birthday party. The cake was seven-tiers high, decorated in zebra print striped, with edible pink ribbons all around the base. There were candles lit on every tier, and on top of the cake was the number 16.

Madasin Lake stood in front of the crowd of teenagers with pure astonishment on her face. She imagined having the best sweet sixteen birthday party, but her parents outdone themselves.

The party was a black-tie event, and by invitation only. All the guest was dressed to impress, with the boys in their tuxedos, and the girls in their lovely gowns. For this special celebration, Madasin's parents booked the largest venue in town to have her sweet sixteen birthday party, The Moss Creek Banquet Hall. The hall could hold eight hundred people inside especially with many of the tables removed for dancing. The remaining tables in the hall were all decorated with hot pink tablecloths with zebra striped trim running along the hem. All the chairs were covered in a solid black suede material with a hot pink bow-tied to the back of each of them. On every table was a picture of Madasin as the centerpiece with custom-made plates and napkins that read, "Happy 16th Birthday, Madasin".

The event planners paid attention to every detail, down to the crystal champagne glasses for the sparkling pink punch that ran off the swan ice sculpture placed elegantly in the middle of the room. They even hired a local valet service to handle the parking, along with professional greeters at the main entrance doors to take the guest invitations. The upscale decor in the hall made the teenagers feel as if they were amongst the elite, and for most of them, it was like the prom had come early.

The food was catered by the most popular upscale restaurant in town, Geolie's Fine Cuisine. The Lakes paid Geolie's owners to close their business for that day to use their staff to service the party. The wait staff dressed for the event in their white shirts, black slacks, pink bow ties, and matching cummerbunds. Geolie's provided enough food to feed the whole school of Moss Creek High since the entire student body was invited, which was all Madasin's idea. She just couldn't make out a simple guest list because she wanted everybody to be a part of her special day.

The Lakes' didn't object to their daughter's request and was prepared to do whatever it took to make their daughter's special day one she would remember forever. Madasin is the Lake's only child, and for her, there was no limit to the amount of love they gave her. She was their pride and joy, their entire reason for living.

Nathaniel and Alexandria Lake had done exceptionally well for themselves over the past eleven years, and money was not an object for them. They owned a prestigious financial consulting firm in their town of Moss Creek, Georgia.

Moss Creek was a small town approximately thirty miles away from Atlanta, Georgia right off I-85, with a population of about fourteen thousand residents. Many of the town's people were affluent retirees and the rest mainly lived there to escape the hustle and bustle of Atlanta.

The Lakes moved their business to Georgia after leaving Louisiana before Madasin was born in 1996. In the beginning, their firm started out at a snail's pace for the first few years, but after doing some profitable business ventures with some town residents, word spread around like wildfire. By the time Madasin was five, almost everybody that had money to invest within a fifty-mile radius was using them for their expertise in the investment market.

Madasin was out on the floor dancing with her classmates before the waiters wheeled her cake out. Her mother was scared she was going to rip the three-thousand-dollar tailor made dress from dancing so hard with her friends. The way Madasin was moving her body in it, one would have thought it came from a second-hand thrift store.

Madasin adorned a hot pink sequin gown, with zebra print Christian Louboutin stiletto heels. Her long beautiful midnight black hair was pulled up in a bun, with a real diamond tiara placed elegantly upon her head. Her makeup flawlessly applied, and the soft natural blends only served to enhance the gray color of her eyes that she inherited from her handsome father.

Madasin stood staring at the enormous birthday cake in front of her.

"Make a wish Madasin!" Her best friend Dakota yelled out into the cordless microphone that she had gotten from the DJ as the crowd cheered.

Dakota Hensley had been Madasin's best friend since kindergarten. Dakota and Madasin were thick as thieves and acted more like sisters than friends. Dakota was an only child too, and Alexandria and Nathaniel treated Dakota like another daughter. Dakota spent most of her time at the Lake's house to escape the dysfunctional reality of her own home life.

Madasin took the microphone from Dakota after giving her a big hug and a kiss on the jaw. The crowd became hushed in anticipation of what she was about to say.

"I don't know what to wish for; I have everything a girl could ever want right now. I have the best parents and friends in the whole world right here in this room. Seeing all of you here today to celebrate with me means everything to me," Madasin said, holding back tears.

"I guess I will take my gift back to the store!" shouted out one of the guys from the crowd.

Everybody laughed including Madasin. The laughter helped her regain her composure.

She then took Dakota by the hand, and on the count of three they both blew out her candles as their classmates cheered them on.

"Thank you all for coming out tonight. It has been unbelievable." She then held her head back, and from the pit of her gut she bellowed out, "NOW LET'S PARTY!"

Madasin handed the mic to the DJ as he cranked the music up.

Madasin stood for a moment watching all of her friends clapping and shouting out her name. Dakota hugged her again, but this time it was longer than before. Madasin felt the stinging in her eyes as fresh tears were still fighting to be released. She didn't fight it; she allowed her happiness to flow for all to see.

Madasin's parents began to walk over to them as they dropped their embrace.

Nathaniel took his handkerchief out of the pocket of his tuxedo and wiped the tears from Madasin's eyes.

"We are very proud of you, Madasin. Who can say they have a whole school of friends that loves them? You have turned out to be an exceptional young lady," her father said. Nathaniel hugged the apple of his eye very tightly like it would be his last time doing so.

Alexandria watched both of them along with Dakota.

"Here is the big question," Alexandria chimed in and broke up the father-daughter moment. "Other than this party, you haven't told us what you want for your special day. You only get to have one sweet sixteen birthday and it has to be over the top!"

"Are you kidding me? This party has been present enough. I know I asked for a sweet sixteen party, but I never expected it to be this huge." Madasin stretched her arms out wide to show emphasis.

"I can't think of anything else that could top what you both have already done tonight."

"Well the party planning was all your mother's doing so I won't take the credit for that. My gift is waiting for you outside," Nathaniel said, very smugly with a smile.

Madasin's cheeks blushed with excitement, as she felt a knot forming in the pit of her stomach. She looked at him, but she still hadn't moved. She wondered, " _what could my father possibly have for me outside"_

Nathaniel, unable to control his excitement, blurted out, "So what are you waiting on? Go get your present!"

Without a second thought, Madasin bolted for the entrance doors with Dakota fast on her heels. When she stepped outside, she almost fainted. Parked at the curb in front of the hall was a brand-new custom painted hot pink, M2 Coupe Convertible BMW, with a big zebra print bow on top of it.

"Happy Birthday, Baby," both her parents spoke in unison.

Nathaniel pulled the keys to the brand-new car out of his tuxedo pocket and was dangling them in the air.

"But... but... I don't even have my license yet!" Madasin said, with a bewildered look on her face.

"I got mine," Dakota happily interjected, "and since you have a beginner permit license, you can still drive with me in the car!" Dakota squealed, in a very high-pitched voice.

"Exactly, and you can try for your license next week if you want to," Alexandria added.

Madasin stood frozen looking at the car; her legs felt heavy and feet stuck to the pavement.

Dakota seemed more excited about the new car than Madasin. She walked out to the car and began peeking in the windows.

"It's got leather seats and everything, Maddy! Come on let's take this baby for a spin around the block." Dakota was already standing by the passenger side door waiting anxiously.

"Are you ok?" Madasin's father said, looking concerned.

"Yeah dad, I'm fine. I'm just so grateful for having you both as my parents. I love you both so much that words cannot express it!"

"You deserve everything. We wanted this day to be a special day that you will always remember. We love you more than you will ever know." Her father's gray eyes sparkled in the moonlight as he looked at his baby girl.

Her parents gathered around her, and they shared a group embrace.

"So, what are we waiting for, Madasin? Are we going for a spin or not?" Dakota said, impatiently standing by the car.

The Lakes all laughed at Dakota.

"Yes, you girls go on. We will keep the party alive until you get back," Alexandria said, with both of her arms fanning her daughter off.

Nathaniel gave Madasin the keys to her new ride with a warm smile.

Madasin stared at the keys in her hands still trying to process the fact that her parents just bought her a brand-new BMW.

"Come on, Maddy!" Dakota was practically jumping up in down in her gown with excitement.

Madasin smiled at her parents.

"Okay, well let's go for a ride!" Madasin said while unlocking the doors with the keyless remote.

Dakota had already taken the liberty of removing the ribbon off the BMW and handed it to one of the valet attendants standing at the curb.

"Don't forget to fasten those seatbelts," Alexandria pointed out.

Madasin sat in the driver seat and put the keys in the ignition; the radio came on blaring, Bruno Mars's song, _Locked Out of Heaven_.

Dakota hit the button to let the convertible top back while Madasin let down all the windows.

After putting their seatbelts on, Madasin carefully pressed her foot on the brake, shifted the car's gear in drive, and cautiously pulled away from the curb knowing her parents were watching.

"This is the best day ever!" Madasin screamed.

"It sure is!" Dakota agreed.

"Where do you want to go, my sister?" Madasin said, looking over at Dakota smiling.

"Let's just drive until we run out of gas," Dakota said, grinning back.

"We got a full tank, so the world is ahead!" Madasin yelled over Bruno.

"Look out world, cause here we come!" Dakota shouted out into the breeze that was blowing her curly hair around in her face.

Madasin took the tiara off her head and tossed it in the backseat. In one swift motion, she snatched the pin out of her hair allowing it to fall to her shoulders to let the early fall night wind flow through it freely.

She drove out onto the street from the parking lot and hit the gas. They both were silent with only Bruno and the wind in their ears providing noise as they cruised down the highway.

Madasin turned the radio down, "Dakota, do you think this is how it feels to be in heaven? To feel free from it all with the wind in your hair and not a care in the world?"

"Yeah, I would think so if I had to guess what heaven would be like, but with angels. Why do you ask about heaven?"

"No reason, I was just listening to that song, and it made me think about it. I just wonder if it could ever be better than this moment right now. I have the best parents and friends. I have you as my sister forever, and life right now to me feels like heaven. Feel it with me, Dakota."

Dakota imagined her life being the way she wanted it, with loving parents just like Madasin's and a life without pain.

At that moment, they both felt freedom for the first time, and with Dakota by her side, Madasin never wanted that feeling to end. They were both in heaven.

# Chapter 2

Beep...beep...beep. The alarm clock had been going off for five extra minutes, and Madasin hadn't stirred an inch.

"Madasin darling, get up! You are going to be late for school!" Alexandria yelled from outside her door.

She too had been calling for her to get up along with the alarm clock.

Alexandria stood there for half another minute, and decided to go into Madasin's room since she still couldn't hear Madasin moving.

"Madasin baby, get up it's time for school," Alexandria sat on the queen-size bed and began stroking her hair.

Madasin had a frown on her face as if she was having a nightmare about something. Madasin still lying there began to start jerking as if she was being shocked by high-voltage electricity. Then all of a sudden, her body clenched up tight as if someone was holding her down.

Seeing all of this, Alexandria panicked and yelled for her husband to come in the room.

Nathaniel rushed into the room to see his baby girl acting as if she was having a seizure.

"Madasin, wake up!" Her father said, frantically while checking under her eyelids.

Her eyes had rolled into the back of her head, and her breathing was heavy.

"Call an ambulance!" Nathaniel yelled out to Alexandria.

Just as her mother picked up the phone to dial, Madasin started screaming at the top of her lungs. "NO!" and then she woke up.

Dazed and confused, she looked around the room sweating profusely. Her heart was beating so fast that it felt like it would jump out of her chest. She sat up in the bed but hadn't made another sound. She was scared to speak until she knew where she was.

Her father, who had been sitting on the bed, slowly stood up.

Her mother held onto the phone not knowing whether to call for the EMS at that point.

"Darling it's us. Are you okay?" Nathaniel said, scared to touch her.

Madasin looked at her parents, and relief came over her face as she slowly realized that she was still in her room.

"It was just a dream; it was just a dream!" Madasin repeated as she leaped for her mother's embrace.

"Are you okay, sweetie?" Alexandria said, holding her daughter tight but still holding the phone receiver.

"I am now. I had the most terrible dream ever. It felt so real; it was as if I was there. I could feel everything!" Madasin said, with terror in her voice.

"You were just having a bad nightmare. It probably came from all the food you ate last night at your party," Nathaniel smiled. "I'm glad you are okay now. You gave us both a scare, baby girl," Nathaniel said, as he rubbed the sweat from Madasin's face with his handkerchief.

Alexandria placed the phone receiver back on the base.

"What was the dream about that caused you to be in the state you were just in?" Alexandria quizzed.

"I dreamed that I was at the lake with some friends from school hanging out, listening to music, and being silly. You know, teenager stuff. When Dakota all of a sudden decides she wants to jump in the lake, we all knew that she couldn't swim, but it was like she was compelled to do it. We tried to save her, but the current was so strong that it swept her downstream before we could get there to pull her out. We ran down the bank after her, but it was no hope. It was like this strong force was preventing us from saving her. I watched my best friend drown right in front me!" Madasin was now crying her eyes out.

"There, there, darling, it was only a dream. Dakota will be waiting for you at the school fountain just as she always has. No need to worry, everything is ok. I promise." Her mother hugged her tight.

"But it felt so real, Mom, I just don't feel right. I got to call Dakota," Madasin said, still crying on her shoulders.

"Don't worry about it, because it is not real. It was just a terrible dream. Now you get ready for school; I will fix you something to eat, and you can call Dakota on our way there. Okay?" Her mother took some tissue from the box on the nightstand and wiped Madasin's tears away and then stood up.

Nathaniel gave Madasin a kiss on her forehead. "Everything is okay just like your mother said. You will see, sweetheart." Nathaniel smiled at her.

Her parents walked out the room.

Madasin got up and reached for her purse to get her cell phone out to call Dakota. She dialed her number and waited, but it went straight to her voicemail.

" _This is Kota, you know what to do next."_ Beep.

Madasin took a deep breath before talking to the voicemail. "Hey girl this is Maddy. I just wanted to hear your voice; I guess you are at school already, so I will see you in a lil' bit. I love you, bye."

Madasin ended the call but still felt like something wasn't right in the pit of her stomach. Madasin stared at the home screen of her cell phone. On the screen was a picture of Dakota, and her they had taken earlier that year at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina during spring break. She laid the phone down on the nightstand. Her thoughts still went back to the dream. After a few seconds, she got up and headed towards the bathroom to get ready for school.

"Snap out of it, it's only a stupid dream," Madasin thought out loud as she was undressing to get in the shower.

"It's just a silly dream."

# Chapter 3

Madasin was a senior at Moss Creek High School. Next to Dakota, she did have one other childhood friend that she was relatively close to, Macie Glover. Macie didn't get to make it to the birthday party last night because her parents were very strict and wouldn't allow it on a school night. Even though the party started at five and ended at nine, they still wouldn't let her go. But it came as no surprise to anyone because, Macie's family didn't mingle with anyone in their town; they pretty much kept to themselves and was overly secretive for whatever reason. Neither Madasin nor Dakota had ever been to their house, and Macie wasn't allowed to sleep over at theirs. Macie blamed it on their strict religious beliefs.

Madasin arrived at school ten minutes after the bell sounded for first-period, and that meant she wouldn't get to see Dakota until after lunch. Macie sat next to Madasin in first-period, and she couldn't wait to ask her if she had seen Dakota at the fountain.

Madasin stood outside the classroom anxiously hoping that she might see Dakota in the halls when Mr. Jim Haggler, their first-period math teacher, walked passed her with a sour look on his face as if he had just sucked on a lemon. It seemed this man only existence in life was to do algebra problems; he even talked to everyone like he was solving for some unknown variable, and anything fun related was out of the question.

Madasin cursed under her breath realizing that Mr. Haggler would count her as being tardy. She tried to go to her desk after him and pretend as if she was already in her seat before he got there, but he had a look on his face that said he was definitely not in the mood for any high school antics of any sort that morning.

"Miss Lake, do you have an excuse from the front office as to why you are late for my class this morning?" Mr. Haggler looked at her over the rim of his reading glasses as he turned to face her.

Mr. Haggler knew about the party last night and was sure the whole school was going to be late all day because of it.

"No, I don't, Mr. Haggler, but my mom wrote a note." Madasin walked up to the front of the class to give it to him, and then returned to her seat.

One of the guys in the class whispered, "Awesome party last night Madasin," as she walked by his desk.

Mr. Haggler looked over his reading glasses at the guy, cleared his throat, and began to read the note carefully for a few seconds.

"Okay, seems like all is in order here, but I will still have to mark you as being tardy because you were in the hall when I walked up, and the first bell had already sounded."

He put the note in one of the trays he had on his desk.

"Now, I know many of you attended Miss Lake's birthday party last night, but now is not the time to discuss it. Now is the time to learn advanced algebra."

He looked at the guy that spoke to Madasin.

"If everyone is ready, shall we begin?"

Mr. Haggler stood to write a math problem on the dry-erase board.

While Mr. Haggler had his back turned, Madasin quickly wrote a note and carefully passed it to Macie.

Macie put the paper in her lap with her eyes fixed on Mr. Haggler's back because note passing was a definite no-no in his class, and if caught, that meant a full day of detention.

Seeing that he was writing a long problem on the board, Macie looked down to read it.

"Hey. Did you see Dakota this morning?"

Macie looked at Madasin and shook her head no.

Panic started to set over Madasin instantly. It wasn't like Dakota to miss school, especially without her knowing about it. Something had to be wrong with her. The dream began to play back in her head again scene by scene.

"Are you going to answer the question or not Miss Lake?"

Mr. Haggler was almost standing in front of her desk when she heard his voice.

Madasin was so caught up in the dream and hadn't heard a word he said to her, "Excuse me, I'm sorry. What was the question?"

"You show up for my class late, and now you are ignoring me!" Mr. Haggler was livid.

"No Mr. Haggler, I'm just a little tired that's all."

"Well, nobody told your parents to have a party for you on a school night. Don't let me call you out again without an answer, or you will have two weeks detention. Am I understood?"

"Yes Mr. Haggler," Madasin responded.

"And that goes for everybody!" Mr. Haggler scanned the class over the rim of his reading glasses before walking back to the front.

After what seemed like a million algebra problems the bell finally sounded.

Everybody rushed out of the class before Mr. Haggler could get to the door yelling, "Don't forget to do pages 110-115 due on Monday! No Excuses!"

Standing outside of Mr. Haggler's class was Chance Bailey, waiting on Madasin since they had second-period together. He waited every day for her in the same spot without fail.

"Hi Mr. Haggler," Chance spoke as he leaned against the wall beside his door.

"Mr. Bailey, right on schedule to pickup Miss. Madasin, I suppose?"

"Yes, Sir," Chance grinned.

Mr. Haggler smirked in went back inside his classroom.

Chance was a little rough around the edges and had the bad boy swag about him that all the girls at school found attractive. He stood at 6 feet tall with long dark hair that appeared purposely unkempt with matching sideburns and goatee. His crystal blue eyes made him look as if he could see right through you. He was dark and mysterious and loved to wear black clothing, but he didn't consider himself to be gothic. He always felt like the black sheep of his family, so his style of dress was appropriate for the title.

Chance had had a few brushes with the law and had gotten caught smoking pot more than a few times by his parents and was on the verge of being kicked out of school when the previous school term ended. His father gave him an ultimatum to get on the right track by the end of the new school term or be sent to live with his uncle in the Great Plains of Nebraska, smack dead in the middle of no-wheres-ville.

Chance knew his parents was at their wit's end with his rebellious behavior, so reluctantly he started to change. Through a friend, he found out that Madasin's parents started a mentoring group for troubled teenagers. The group would meet once a week at different workshops locations throughout the town. He started going, and that's when he had his first real conversation with Madasin.

Chance has known Madasin since they were in elementary school, but they never spoke to each other before the mentoring group, and it wasn't long before they became fast friends at the workshops. Madasin helped him get caught up with his schoolwork and provided a support system to help him stay off drugs and out of trouble. Before talking to Madasin at the mentoring group, he didn't feel the need to want to change his life other than the threat to be sent to another state, but that was by force. But with Madasin, he saw something in her that made him want to be a better person not for his parents but for himself.

Things between them changed dramatically when they worked together at that year's 4th of July town picnic that the mentoring group sponsored, and they started seeing each other outside of the meetings and workshops. Spending so much time drew them closer together, and they were secretly falling for each other. Something deep was brewing on the surface of their hearts, and neither of them could ignore it. His life had found purpose in Madasin; he loved her for that, but for now, they had to keep it a secret. Chance was nowhere near the prince charming the Lakes had wanted their daughter to one day fall in love with, and they didn't want her parents to forbid her from ever seeing him again if they found out.

"Hey party animal," Chance said, standing in his usual spot by the door as Madasin walked out the classroom. He gladly took her books from her hand.

Madasin never knew how he was able to get to her class before she walked out every day, but somehow, he did. She always looked forward to seeing him waiting there; it was the little things he did that made her feel special.

"Hey yourself," Madasin gave him a playful nudge.

"Babe, your party was off the hook last night. Everybody has been talking about it," Chance said, as they began to walk down the hall to their class.

"It was unbelievable, and I'm glad everybody had an excellent time," Madasin smiled.

"You were looking like one of those princesses that you read about in those fairy tale books like Snow White, and all the guys were checking you out hoping to be your Prince Charming."

Madasin blushed a little at his comment.

Chance didn't particularly like that part of the night. He wanted to be her Prince Charming, but he didn't want to cause a scene, so he stayed in the back of the hall the entire night. He hated he couldn't play the real boyfriend role with her like he wanted too.

"You were looking exceptionally handsome in your tux last night too. I'm sure the girls were checking you out as well." Madasin playfully winked at Chance.

"I only have eyes for you, and they know it." Chance winked back at Madasin, and it slightly caused her heart to skip a beat. Looking into his crystal blue eyes made her melt.

"I'm still wondering why you didn't ask me to dance with you the entire night," Madasin said pouting.

"And risk getting beat-up by your father in front of the whole student body!" Chance smirked, "I had to pass."

"That wouldn't have happened. It was a party, everybody was dancing."

"As bad as I wanted to be right up there with you, I decided to hold the wall up with the other dweebs that didn't have a date. It was safer for me back there," Chance laughed.

Madasin playfully slapped him on the arm.

"My parent's will find out about us sooner or later anyways. I'm surprised they haven't asked me already. We've been around each other quite a bit lately."

"I'm pretty sure your dad knows, but just hasn't said anything to you yet."

"Why you say that?"

"I can tell by the way he looks at me when we are working together at the workshops. It's obvious that you give me more attention than the others."

"That's nothing. Don't worry my father won't hurt you; he is like a teddy bear when it comes to me." Madasin waved it off.

"Well, I am not trying to get mauled by your teddy bear."

They both laughed.

"Anyways, what happened to you this morning? I didn't see you at the fountain." Chance looked concerned.

"I overslept. That reminds me. Did you see Dakota this morning?"

"No, I haven't seen her. I was scared you both had ditched since neither one of you was out front this morning by the fountain with Macie."

"Macie said she hadn't seen her either. I tried to call her earlier because I had this terrible dream about her this morning, but so far, I haven't heard from her. That dream still has me shook. It felt like I was in another world, like somewhere dark and evil."

"For real?"

"Yeah, and I apparently was having a hard time waking up from it, because my parents were in my room shaking me like I was dying or something. Since then, I've been feeling really weird about it, like my stomach is in knots over it and it keeps replaying in my head."

"Maybe she overslept too. I am sure there is nothing to worry about."

"I hope you are right."

"I'm sorry, but I have to change the subject back to last night. I saw your new ride before I left. That baby is all that and some curly fries. It's mad sick. How much do you think your parents paid for that BMW?"

"Too much I'm sure."

"You're so lucky. All my parents give me is hell every day," Chance frowned.

"It will get better; they just have to regain their trust in you. You have been doing really well so far, and I'm proud of you." Madasin smiled at him.

He shifted her books to his left arm, and then put his right arm around her neck. As they continued to walk, he leaned in and kissed the top of her head.

They were approaching the classroom door when suddenly the school's loudspeaker came on.

"Attention all students and faculty, please report to your destination for an important school announcement. Again, all students and faculty, please report to your destination for an important school announcement." The loudspeaker went silent.

"I wonder what's that about?" Chance said while holding the door open for Madasin to walk in the class.

"God, I hope my party didn't cause some school-wide drama. I had enough of that in Mr. Haggler's class to last me the rest of the semester. He was such a jerk about it. He even threatened me with detention."

"Wow, your party must've really got under his skin."

"I know right! It's crazy."

"Don't sweat it; he's always a jerk to me, but I'm used to it," Chance grinned as they walked inside their second-period class.

"Please get in your seats before the announcement comes on," Mrs. Barr yelled.

Madasin and Chance, along with the rest of the class, were hurrying to get to their seats.

Five minutes later, the loudspeaker came on again. You could hear some people in the background talking in a hushed tone.

Then the principal's voice came on, "Good morning students, faculty, and staff of Moss Creek High School. It is with great sadness that I have to announce to you today that we have lost one of our fellow Tigers. Dakota Hensley was found deceased in her home this morning by her parents. There is no apparent cause at this time. Dakota Hensley will be missed dearly, and our sincere condolences goes out to her family. We ask everybody at this time to please take a moment of silence in memory of, Dakota Hensley."

After a moment had passed, the principal's voice came back on, "There will be a candlelight vigil this evening on the football field before the game for anyone that wants to attend at 7 p.m. for Dakota. Thank you." The loudspeaker went silent.

There was a hush over the entire class.

Chance rushed out of his seat as Madasin fainted onto the floor.

# Chapter 4

Nathaniel had paced up and down the corridor of the Moss Creek Memorial Hospital Emergency Room, waiting for the doctor to tell them Madasin's condition. The school had called the ambulance to pick Madasin up after she had fainted in class. The Lakes got the call at their investment firm shortly after as they had just received the news of Dakota's untimely death.

Apparently, the hospital must've been short staffed, because the Lakes had been waiting over an hour to see Madasin. Alexandria didn't care she just wanted to see her daughter. Alexandria had grown tired of waiting and was at the break of hysteria. She went back to the nurse's station for the third time.

"What could be taking so long? The school said she fainted in class. When will we be able to see our daughter? It's been over an hour since we got here!" Alexandria shouted, as tears of rage and fear ran down her face.

The security guard heard the commotion and began to walk towards where they were.

Before the nurse could answer a doctor walked up with a file in his hand.

"I need to speak with the parents of Madasin Lake," The tall doctor said, to the nurse that Alexandria had been grilling.

"We are the Lakes." Nathaniel stood to greet the doctor as Alexandria walked away from the nurse's station to stand beside her husband.

The security guard walked back to his original location.

"Mr. and Mrs. Lake, Hello, I am Dr. Daniel McCoy, and I am the attending physician today in the emergency room. I apologize for your wait."

"Thank you, Dr. McCoy. How is she?" Alexandria asked.

The doctor opened the file and began flipping through the papers in it.

"Well, it seems your daughter hit her head pretty hard when she fainted earlier, and gave herself a concussion. She will be fine, but we are going to keep her overnight for observation. She does have some swelling and bruising around her eyes that were also caused by the fall. She might experience some confusion, and temporary vision impairment. That is all normal symptoms with a concussion. I am pretty confident that she will be fine with some rest over the next few days. Until she is feeling like herself again, I don't want her to be under any duress. Also, try to keep conversations limited for the time being. You can see her once we get her moved into her room for the night. Are there any questions?" the doctor looked at them both.

"Is she still unconscious, Dr. McCoy?" Nathaniel seemed to have aged since being at the hospital. Worry lines creased his brow, and those gray eyes were now dull and lifeless.

"No, she is awake, but she is very upset. She keeps referring to a dream that came true. I figured it was just from the concussion causing her to hallucinate. I ordered her a mild sedative to help her relax. If you need anything, please let our nursing staff know, and we will try our best to make your stay here as pleasant as possible."

The doctor smiled and walked off down the hall to his next waiting family.

Nathaniel and Alexandria went back into the waiting area of the emergency room, holding each other in silence.

Moments later, a nurse motioned for the Lakes to come to her desk.

"Your daughter is in her room now. Her room is located on the fourth-floor number 415. You can take those elevators over there. Sometimes the other ones are too crowded," The nurse motioned to the elevators that read, **Staff Only**. "You can go up to see her now," the petite red-haired lady tried to show some compassion in her eyes.

The Lakes thanked her kindly and went for the elevators.

The ride on the elevator was just as silent. Alexandria and Nathaniel just held hands and prayed their daughter would be able to cope with the death of her best friend. In a way, they also felt like they had lost a daughter as well. Dakota has been in their life for a long time too. It was going to be hard for everybody to adjust to life without her around.

On the fourth floor of the hospital it was eerie quiet compared to the emergency room. Even the lighting was darker on that floor. For a moment, they didn't think anyone was working up there, but a nurse's station was tucked away at the end of the hall. Madasin's room was a short distance from the nurse's station, and the Lakes were grateful for that.

As they approached the room, they both stood there for a second staring at the room number; neither of them knowing what state they would find their only child in. Nathaniel grabbed his wife's hand, took a deep breath as he pushed the wood door open.

The room felt cold and desolate. There were two old reclining chairs by a window that looked out to the parking lot. The TV that hung on the wall was old and dusty. There was one dress cabinet and a long dresser. A food stand with a pitcher of ice water and a plastic cup was on a tray beside Madasin's bed. The clothes she wore to school that day were lying on top of the long dresser torn to shreds with her shoes beside them.

Madasin was lying quietly with her back to the door as to appear to be sleeping, but upon further inspection she was silently sobbing in her pillow. Her long black hair was in disarray, and she looked so frail lying in the hospital bed. There was an IV drip coming from her small right arm along with a heart monitor attached to her chest, and a blood pressure cup wrapped around the other arm. She must have felt her parent's presence in her room, because soon as they got closer to the bed, she turned over to face them.

Nothing but pure horror came across the face of her parents as they saw their beautiful daughter with two black eyes almost swollen completely shut. Her lips were dry like she had been out in the wilderness for days and all the color had drained from her skin. She looked nothing like the lively teenage girl that was celebrating her sweet sixteen birthday just the previous night.

Her voice was very low almost muted when she spoke to them, "Mom, Dad is that you?"

"Oh, my poor baby," Alexandria ran to her daughter's side now sobbing more uncontrollably then she was previously in the emergency waiting room. Nathaniel took to the other side of the bed where he began to weep as well.

The moment was so surreal for all three of them that nobody knew where to begin to talk. They just sat there in a group embrace for what seemed like eternity in silent sobs.

Finally, Madasin broke the silence and in a very hushed voice said, "Something about me has changed, but I don't know what it is. I haven't felt the same since I woke up this morning. All I can do is think about Dakota. Somehow I feel like her death is my fault."

"No baby, you absolutely have nothing to do with Dakota dying. At this point nobody knows. She was found in her bed this morning by Elizabeth. Elizabeth said she appeared to be asleep when she entered her room. Her mother attested to the detectives that her daughter appeared to be fine when she came home from the party last night. Nobody will know for sure about what happened to her until the autopsy comes back, and that could take weeks," her father said, trying to be as reassuring as possible.

"What about the dream I had? It felt so real. Even when I got to school, I couldn't shake it off. I just wanted to see Dakota, and when the principal announced that my best friend was dead, I immediately felt guilty and I still do." Madasin's eyelids were so swollen that you could barely make out her father's gray eyes.

"Baby," her mother took her hand in hers, "All of this is pure coincidence and nothing more. I can't have you blaming yourself for this. Your father and I both love Dakota dearly and her untimely passing is very tragic, but we can't have you carrying the burden of guilt on your shoulders. The doctor said you are not to be under any duress because of your concussion. I know it's difficult right now, but I need for you to try and get some rest. It will be a hard road, but we will all get through this together, okay?" Alexandria was nodding her head for Madasin's agreement.

Madasin didn't have the strength to protest any longer. The sedative the doctor had ordered for her was now taking its effect. "Okay, I will try my best to get some rest. I love you both. Are you staying with me tonight? I don't want to be here alone especially if that dream comes back."

"Of course, sweetheart, we will be right here when you awake in the morning. Now you get some rest," her parents on both sides tucking the covers up to her neck as they did when she was little. They both gently kissed each side of her forehead. Then they walked to the far side of the room by the window to the reclining chairs that would have to be their bed for that night.

The Lakes had to agree with their daughter that something about this whole situation didn't seem right, but there was nothing they could do. Hopefully, when the autopsy report comes back this whole matter will be straightened out and life will resume its normalcy. They could only hope so.

Madasin lay silent as the medicine was threatening to put her to sleep. She whispered, "Dear God, I just know something isn't right with me. Something has changed, but I don't know what it is. I don't want to go back to that evil place in my dream. Please God, send one of your guardian angels to protect my family and me. And please allow my sister, Dakota, to be with you in heaven. Please hear my prayer. Amen."

# Chapter 5

It had been three weeks since Dakota was found dead in her room, and the autopsy report had yet to come from the medical examiner's office in Atlanta. Madasin's condition over those few weeks had not improved much. She had become severely withdrawn and had lost a significant amount of weight. She said, all her favorite foods reminded her of Dakota since they liked the same meals. She even moved out of her room into one of the spare bedrooms. Her room was filled with memories of the times Dakota, and her shared over the past eleven years. There were pictures of them that covered almost every inch of the walls. Dakota had always loved to take pictures; it was sort of a hobby of hers. Her Nikon camera was still in the BMW with all the pictures she had taken at the birthday party the night of her death. Madasin hadn't driven the car since that night; her father put a cover over it and parked it in the garage.

The Lakes had a psychiatrist to make a few home visits with Madasin to help her cope with the grieving process that she was going through. She was even prescribed an antidepressant, but Madasin refused to take any kind of mind-altering medications. So, she faked taking it to keep her parents from being any more worried than they already were. Truth is, there wasn't a medicine invented that could take away the hurt she felt in her heart. She wanted her best friend back, and no antidepressant was capable of doing that.

Chance tried to visit her several times, but she refused to have any company since the funeral. He left many voicemails and sent several text messages just for them to go to a cell phone that battery died three weeks ago. Alexandria told him just to give her some time, so he stopped trying. He decided to just wait on her, because in his heart she was well worth the wait.

Alexandria walked up the stairs to the spare bedroom in hopes of getting Madasin to eat that morning. Alexandria decided it would be best that she stayed at home with Madasin until she got better, and Nathaniel agreed. Fortunately for her, she was still able to run her side of the firm from their home office if they needed her to.

Alexandria approached the spare room door and sighed deeply before knocking on it. She didn't want to rush Madasin, but it was really breaking her heart seeing her that way every day.

"Madasin darling, I brought you something to eat. May I come in?" Alexandria was holding a tray of fruit and other healthy foods she hoped her daughter would eat.

"I'm not hungry mom," Madasin replied dryly.

"I know honey, but you have to eat something. I'm worried about you staying locked up in that room all the time. May I come in please?" Warm tears were beginning to sting Alexandria eyes as she stood outside the door feeling hopeless.

Madasin knew her mom would continue to stand there holding the tray of food outside the door until she heard her move around. They both knew the food would probably still be on the tray when she tried again for dinner, just like it had been now for weeks. She reluctantly got up to answer the door knowing her mother would feel better just to see her. Madasin dragged herself slowly out of bed to open the door.

Alexandria tried to put on a happy face when she saw her daughter, but it was hard. The Lakes knew it was going to be a tough road for her to deal with the loss of Dakota, but they had no clue it would take such a toll on her physically too. Madasin's stormy gray eyes had lost their sparkle, and the dark bruises from having those black eyes were still faintly evident. Sleep deprivation also contributed to the puffiness around her eyes, because Madasin was scared to sleep more than a few minutes at a time since she left the hospital. She moved about the room as if she was in a zombie like state and her body looked very frail. Her hair looked as if it hadn't been combed in weeks and had lost its shine. It was pitch-dark in the room even though the sun was shining bright outside. A few of her items that she moved into the spare room was thrown about the floor and chairs. Nothing in the room said Madasin Lake other than her presence, and even she was a former shell of how she was just three weeks prior.

Alexandria walked in the room with the tray as Madasin sat back down on the bed.

"I brought you some fruit and things I hope you might like." Her mother sat the serving tray down on a mahogany wood nightstand beside the bed.

Madasin didn't give the tray a second glance. She just rested back down on the bed.

"Maybe you would feel better darling if we let some sunlight in here." Alexandria went to both of the windows and started pulling the heavy curtains back.

Madasin rolled over and shielded her face with the covers from the sun rays that now eliminated the dirty room.

Alexandria looked at Madasin's silhouette from under the covers and shook her head.

"Madasin, I know you are hurting right now, but you know Dakota wouldn't want you to be like this. She loved you, and she wanted you to be happy. You have to believe that sweetheart, "Alexandria said waiting on a response but there was none. "Now, I know you are going to fight me tooth and nail on this, but I have us a whole day planned to get you out of this house."

"But mom, I don't feel like going anywhere! If I eat the fruit will you leave me alone?" Madasin still had her head under the covers.

"Not a chance and I still need you to try to eat the fruit. We got to get some color back in those beautiful cheeks of yours. If it wasn't for you drinking some fluids, you would probably be in the hospital with dehydration. I can't continue to let you starve yourself to death in this room!"

Madasin groaned a hard sigh.

"I'm not doing this to torture you. It's for your own good. Please get out that bed! I am not going to sit by silently any longer while you continue to torture yourself young lady!" Alexandria was not taking no for an answer; she was done compromising.

"Now, eat some fruit and then get ready because we have an appointment at the day spa on the town square at 1:15 on the dot," Alexandria's face was stern. "It's going to be a mother-daughter day of nothing but head-to-toe pampering. I'm talking hair, nails, make-up the whole nine yards. Okay, sweetheart? Now come out from under those covers," Her mother said, while standing there waiting on Madasin to respond.

Madasin was still groaning under the covers, but she knew her mother wasn't about to give up. She had been trying so hard to get Madasin out of that room, but today was different. She had an itinerary planned out, and she could tell by the tone of her mother's voice that she wasn't playing with her anymore.

"I have all morning for you to decide," Alexandria crossed her arms over her chest and patted her right foot against the hardwood floor.

After a few agonizing minutes Madasin helplessly gave in.

"Okay, Okay, Okay, I will go. "Madasin finally took her head from under the covers, but her eyes were immediately blinded from the sunlight.

"Great! I promise you will feel so much better. I will straighten up a little bit in here while you get yourself together."

Alexandria was so happy her daughter agreed to go with her.

"I don't want to take you too fast, but you really need to call Macie and Chance. They are worried sick about you too. They have called every day, several times a day checking on you. I'm sure your voicemail on your cell phone is at its limit by now."

"I will call them after we get back home," Madasin said, but she didn't sound enthused at all. She really did miss Chance, and she thought about him often, but she was scared. She had already lost her best friend and couldn't bear to lose another person that she loves. She really wanted to be like her old self, but it was hard to do that without Dakota.

Since the first day she met her in kindergarten, when Dakota shared her sleeping mat, they had been friends. She didn't want to picture her life without her best friend there, but reality is fact, Dakota was dead, and life had gone on without her. The world and everything in it continued to go on, but Madasin felt stuck in that dream.

The house phone started to ring and it broke Madasin out of her trance. Madasin decided to answer the phone since her mother was in the bathroom humming while she was cleaning it up; something that she hadn't heard her mother do in a long time.

"I got it, Ma." Madasin picked up the receiver, "Hello," Madasin waited for the voice to come on the line but instead there was silence. "Hello," Madasin repeated.

"Hi Madasin, I didn't expect for you to answer the phone."

Madasin recognized the voice instantly. It was Elizabeth Hensley, Dakota's mother. Her heart plunged deep into her stomach; she hadn't spoken to her since the funeral. Madasin was at a loss for words, and immediately knew that it was a bad idea answering the phone. But it was too late at that point, and it was time to face reality.

"Hi Mrs. Hensley, how are you?" Madasin tried to sound somewhat in a normal tone, but she was nervous, and it radiated out into the receiver by her trembling voice.

"I'm dealing the best I can under the circumstances. Are you feeling better, sweetheart? I've been worried about you. Your mother told me how all this has taken a toll on your health. It's been a shock to us all, but Dakota wouldn't want us to be like this. You know?"

Madasin sat there on the side of the bed feeling her eyes starting to sting as more fresh tears were trying to come. She didn't understand how that was possible since she had been crying since she was in the hospital. Madasin had to fight to pull herself together. Although Dakota was her best friend, she didn't want to imagine the pain Mrs. Hensley was going through. That poor lady had been to hell and back with her husband, and now her only reason for living was gone forever. Madasin felt really bad for her in comparison.

"You are right, Mrs. Hensley. She wouldn't want us to be sad, she loved life. And although she felt like she had a crappy hand sometimes, she played it out and she didn't let anything get her down." The tears were falling down her face, but she managed somehow to keep her voice even and the trembling had stopped. She remembered the joyful times they shared to help her pull through the conversation.

All of a sudden, Madasin felt a warm sensation all around her. It felt like someone had placed an electric blanket around her shoulders. The feeling felt familiar to her, and then she realized what was going on. She could feel her presence; Dakota was in the room with her. She could feel her presence around her at that very moment. Even the bedroom seemed to get brighter from the ray of sunshine beaming in the window. She wasn't scared of the feeling; it was the most comforting feeling she had since her birthday. Madasin smiled and wrapped her arms around herself as if to hug Dakota back. Mrs. Hensley was still talking, but she hadn't heard a word. She was smiling and enjoying the moment with her friend.

"Madasin, are you still there?" Elizabeth sat there waiting for Madasin to respond. She hoped her calling wasn't a bad idea, but she really needed to talk to Alexandria.

Madasin almost forgot that she was on the phone.

"Yes ma'am, I'm sorry. I think I heard my mother saying something to me, Mrs. Hensley. I hate to rush off, but my mom has planned a whole day for me to get out the house, and I got to get dressed. It was really nice talking to you."

"Oh okay. It was nice talking to you too, Madasin. If you feel up to it, please call me sometimes," Elizabeth said. Her conversation with Madasin, for just that brief moment, made her yearn for Dakota even more. Her life was empty and lonely without her.

"Mrs. Hensley I will. I've missed you too." Those last words flew out of her mouth without her even thinking about it. It seemed like Dakota was speaking to her mom through her, and the feeling was getting stronger.

"I've missed you too, sweetheart." Elizabeth smiled. "Oh, before I go, could you tell your mother to call me when you guys get back in later?"

"Sure thing Mrs. Hensley, I will let her know."

"Thank you. Enjoy your day, Maddy."

Then the phone line went dead.

Madasin hung-up the receiver hoping to spend more time in Dakota's presence, but she could no longer feel her. Sadly, Madasin stood up and walked to the window. She looked out at the beautiful morning sky, as a single warm tear fell from her left eye. She lifted her right hand up to the window and allowed the sun's rays to hit her palm. For a brief moment, it felt like Dakota had come back to her and placed her palm against hers. It was a gesture they used to do when they were little through the glass doors of Madasin's old house whenever Dakota had to go back home to her parents. It made Madasin feel better knowing that she was still there.

"I know you will be with me forever Dakota. I love you always."

*********

Elizabeth sat back in her chair with the envelope that contained the autopsy report for her daughter. She had received the report the previous day but didn't know what to make of it. The results didn't make sense at all. She had seen her daughter come in the house that night of the party and she was fine. Dakota was so excited about the party that she had stayed up an extra thirty minutes telling her about it.

Elizabeth took the autopsy report, and her eyes immediately zoomed to the cause of death portion of the report.

Cause of Death: Asphyxiation caused by drowning

As always before bed, Dakota would get a small cup of water to sit on her nightstand. It was a habit she started when she was a little girl, but that particular night Elizabeth had gotten the water for Dakota while she was in the shower.

As the paramedics tried to revive her, Elizabeth remembered looking at the glass of water on the nightstand. The glass of water hadn't been touched since she had sat it there.

Elizabeth's mind began to race as she replayed all the events of that night in her head. Questions began to flood her mind, _"Surely Lester was a horrible person to me, but would he hurt or daughter? Had his rage for me trickled over to Dakota?"_

Guilt started to run over Elizabeth's body as the thought of Lester harming Dakota, and if he was the cause of her death, then she would have to live with that forever.

"NO, he is a monster, but he wouldn't harm her," Elizabeth spoke aloud to the empty bedroom that held Dakota's memory.

Her mind wandered back three weeks ago on the day of the funeral. Madasin had told Elizabeth about the dream she had about Dakota drowning. Elizabeth told her that it was impossible, and for her not to worry about that dream.

Now she wondered could dreams really come true.

# Chapter 6

Nathaniel Lake pulled into the driveway of their Victorian style home and noticed that his wife's car was not parked in the garage. It was well after nine p.m., and it wasn't like Alexandria to be out that late. He knew she wouldn't be gone too far especially if Madasin was still locking herself up inside the spare bedroom. The whole ordeal of Dakota's death had been so tragic for his family, and he felt so helpless to save his daughter.

As Nathaniel walked into the garage, he couldn't help but notice the covered hot pink BMW they had purchased for their daughter's birthday. She still hadn't driven it since her party when Dakota, and her took it for a drive that night. Nathaniel touched the car and released a heavy sigh before entering the house.

Upon entering, the house was unusually quiet and dark. Nathaniel turned the light on in the kitchen. The kitchen was clean, and everything was in its proper place. He looked inside of the oven to see if Alexandria prepared dinner, but it was empty. He walked towards the sitting room because normally when he got in after work the TV or a light would be on in there. He checked in there, but everything was as it was when he left that morning.

Nathaniel pulled his cell phone out of his jacket pocket to make sure he hadn't missed a call from his wife but there was none. He put the phone back in his pocket.

Standing in the foyer of the house, he turned on the lights and he yelled up the stairs, "Alexandria, Madasin, is anyone home?" There was no response.

He sat his briefcase down on the bottom steps before proceeding to check out the rest of the house. Nathaniel slowly walked up the winding stairs, as panic was starting to set in his body. This whole scene was all wrong to him. There was always somebody in the house this time of the night.

He looked left and right once he got to the top of the landing and each side was dark. He went to the left to check the spare bedroom first to see if Madasin was asleep, and just didn't hear him calling her name. He pressed his head to the door to see if he could hear any signs of life from the other side and there was none. He knocked on the door before slowly opening it. He reached to turn on the light switch, but he got nothing. He got out his cell phone again and held it up in the air to illuminate the room with its backlighting. Madasin wasn't in the bed, and the room was neat and clean. Which was a far cry from what he had seen earlier when he checked on her before he went to work. He could see the bright full moon shining from outside the window. He sat on the bed and cut the lamp on.

The house phone began to ring, and it startled him.

Without thinking to say hello Nathaniel blurted out his wife's name, "Alexandria, is that you?" Nathaniel said, with panic in his voice.

"No, this is Elizabeth Hensley. Is everything okay, Nathaniel?'

"I don't know. I can't seem to find my wife and daughter."

"Well, I spoke to Madasin earlier today, and she said that Alexandria was taking her out. They must be having a lot of fun if they still hadn't gotten back yet."

Then it dawned on him, and the fear left his body.

"Now that you say that, I remember my wife saying something about a spa last night when I got home. I've just been so tired lately running the business without her that I'm not surprised it slipped my mind. How are you and Lester doing?"

"I've seen better days believe it or not," Elizabeth lightly chuckled.

"Oh, I am sure. Do you need anything? You know Dakota was like a daughter to us too. "

"No. I am fine, I guess. The reason I called tonight, and this morning is because I got the autopsy report back yesterday. I was going to tell your wife this morning, but Madasin answered the phone. She sounded happy and I didn't want to spoil her day."

"What do you mean? Why would the autopsy report spoil her day? We all have been waiting to hear the results," Nathaniel was feeling confused.

"Well the autopsy reads that the cause of death was by asphyxiation."

"Okay, well why did you feel that information would spoil anything?"

"It says asphyxiation caused by drowning?"

Nathaniel sat there for a moment holding the phone. He wanted to speak but he was at a loss for words. His brain was still trying to process what he had just heard.

"Are you still there Nathaniel?"

"I am here; I'm just trying to figure out how could that be?"

"Basically, it says that she must have drunken some water in the middle of the night while sleeping, and didn't swallow it properly, and it must have blocked her airways. It doesn't really make any sense to Lester and me at all. Dakota did keep a glass of water by her bed at night as you all know, but that morning I checked the glass and she hadn't touched it all that night."

"So how do you think the water got in her lungs if she didn't drink any of it?"

"The only thing that does make sense, but still doesn't make sense is Madasin's dream. Dakota did drown in it."

"What? Now Elizabeth, you can't possibly think this is all connected. It was just a dream. A dream that I am quite frankly tired of hearing about."

Nathaniel was beginning to feel agitated by the conversation at that point.

"You know my daughter; she would never do anything to hurt Dakota. I surely hope you really don't think this is connected somehow. It's just a crazy coincidence at best."

"How can you be so sure about that, Nathaniel? When Madasin told me about the dream after the funeral she really felt like the dream had something to do with it."

"Do you know how crazy that sounds, Elizabeth?"

Nathaniel was fighting hard not to raise his voice because she was talking about her daughter's death, but she was also talking like Madasin had something to do with it.

"Okay, say if all this was true. How are we supposed to tell the authorities without all of us getting tossed into the nuthouse?"

"I know it sounds crazy Nathaniel, but we have to be opened minded to this," Elizabeth sounded like she was at the break of tears, "I just need some answers to why my sixteen-year-old daughter is dead from drowning!"

They both sat in silence for a moment.

Nathaniel didn't mean for her to get upset but the whole notion was absurd to him. Nathaniel took a deep breath before talking again in a softer tone, "Elizabeth, I am sorry if I'm upsetting you. Please forgive me but let's be really clear for a second. Yes, my daughter claimed to have had a dream of Dakota drowning in a lake, but when we brought Dakota home that night, she was fine—"

"I know that, but—"

"But," Nathaniel continued on, "we are talking about a dream. I am not trying to be harsh, but that is all it is to me, a stupid dream. I can't allow this conversation to go on any further with the notion that Madasin had anything to do with the tragic loss of Dakota."

"Have you even considered it to be true?"

"NO! Why would I? It's preposterous to think that this is all connected, and I can't entertain this any longer. Elizabeth, if you need us we are here for you, but I don't want to hear another word about that dream. That dream has been a real nightmare so far for me, and I am ready to wake up from it. Now, I really hate to be rude, but I need to call my wife and daughter and check on their whereabouts."

Elizabeth was fuming. She calmed herself and replied, "Okay, Nathaniel but I will be in touch. I am not going to rest until I get some answers. Goodnight."

"Good—"

The line went silent.

Nathaniel sat there still holding the phone receiver and thinking aloud, "Has Elizabeth gone mad?"

Nathaniel continued to think about the conversation that had just took place when he heard the garage door opening. He put the phone receiver back on the base and raced for the stairs. He could hear his wife and daughter laughing as they came into the house. What a relief it was to finally hear his daughter laughing and enjoying herself again.

"Nate, honey we're home." Alexandria still had laughter in her voice.

Nathaniel had just made it to the bottom of the stairs when they came into the foyer. Madasin looked so beautiful; she almost looked like the vibrant daughter that he knew before everything happened. He stood there in the moment watching them joke about something that happened while they were out. He couldn't make any sense of the conversation, but it didn't matter. He was just happy to see them both enjoying themselves if only for that very moment.

"Daddy, you should've been there," Madasin had tears running down her face, but this time it was from hard laughter.

"What happened?" Nathaniel was eager to find out what had them both in stitches.

"Do you want me to tell him what happened at the spa?" Alexandria asked, between her laughter.

"No, I will," Madasin held her stomach trying to get her composure to tell the story, "Okay, this little old lady was at the spa, and she requested to get her eyebrows arched. Well the girl must have misunderstood what she wanted, because when she came back to the front where we were, she didn't have any. The girl waxed all of her eyebrows off. The lady was cursing up-a-storm, and all the attendant could say was, 'You said get rid of them all,' so to fix it, they took an eyebrow pencil and made her some new ones. Well, they weren't even, and she looked like the Rock giving everybody the People's Eyebrow. Every time I think about it, I can't stop laughing." Madasin was leaning on the kitchen counter holding her stomach from the laughter pains.

"Sounds like you two had a great time today," Nathaniel said. He walked over to Madasin and began to stroke her long glossy black hair that was freshly done. Even though she was still horribly emaciated, he could see the life coming back into those beautiful gray eyes and that made him happy.

"We had an awesome time today, Daddy," Madasin said.

"Well, I am glad you did." Nathaniel kissed her on the top of her head.

"We have been gone all day since noon. I need to check the answering machine." Alexandria walked towards her study.

"I already have, and there wasn't any," Nathaniel abruptly said, in fear that Elizabeth may have left a message about the autopsy report.

"Oh mom, I almost forgot. Dakota's mom called you earlier before we left to go to the spa. She wanted you to call her back when we got in."

"Okay, I can call her now before I go to bed," Alexandria again started to walk to her study.

Nathaniel quickly stopped her. "No need Alex, I have already spoken to her when I got home," Nathaniel was beginning to sweat under his arms.

"Oh... what did she say?"

Both Alexandria and Madasin had his full attention.

"Not much. She said that she was glad that Madasin had gotten out of the house. You know small talk, nothing serious," Nathaniel flashed a nervous grin at them.

"Daddy, did she say anything about receiving the autopsy report? I mean it has been three weeks since the funeral and all."

Madasin and Alexandria both looked very eager to know the answer.

"No, she didn't. I guess it hasn't since she didn't mention a word about it. Sometimes those reports can take several weeks before they come back. I am sure she will call us whenever she gets it," Nathaniel was trying with all his might not to show signs of anxiety from their line of questioning. He hated lying to them both, but he wasn't going to allow Elizabeth to spoil their evening.

"Okay. Well are you hungry? Madasin and I stopped and got a fat burger and fries from, Try Me Again, after we left the spa. It was delicious; I haven't had one of those in ages."

"Did you eat a fat burger too, Madasin?" Nathaniel asked, eagerly wanting to stay off the subject of the autopsy report.

"I sure did, Daddy, and a chocolate milkshake," Madasin added.

"Yeah, I was shocked that she ate all that too, considering I couldn't get her to eat some fruit this morning without threatening her," Alexandria winked at Madasin.

"That's wonderful. It seems like you two did quite a bit of shopping as well!" Nathaniel was scanning the shopping bags.

"All of those bags are not for us. I took the liberty of doing some early Christmas shopping too," Alexandria said, matter-of-factly.

"We will see just how many of those items make it under the Christmas tree this year," Nathaniel smirked at his wife, "I will let you guys put your things away. I can fix myself a turkey sandwich. I am not really that hungry anyways," Nathaniel winked at his daughter, "You may go on upstairs, and get ready for bed," Nathaniel said, to Madasin.

"Okay, Daddy," Madasin put her foot on the first step and then turned around, "Thank you so much for everything you have done for me these past few weeks since Dakota died. It has meant the world to me. I am not all the way at peace about it, but I promise to try. It is so good to know that I have parents that have my back through everything, and I am so grateful."

Nathaniel walked a few steps forward to hug his daughter.

"Honey, you take all the time you need to get better. That is our main concern. I love you and remember this, the both of you," Nathaniel turned to grab his wife's hand, "I will do anything to protect you both. I swore to do that before you were born, and the day I married you, Alexandria. That is a promise that I intend to keep until the Lord feels that my time is up on this earth." Warm tears began to form in Nathaniel eyes because he really meant every word.

"We love you too, Daddy," Madasin said, while pulling her parents in. They all stood at the bottom of the stairs in their normal group embrace.

"Okay, I am going to my room now before I start crying again. I would hate to ruin my fabulous makeup," Madasin laughed, turned on her hills and ran up the stairs.

Alexandria and Nathaniel watched their daughter go to the right towards her bedroom.

Nathaniel looked at his wife in astonishment. He took Alexandria by the hand and pulled her into the study since it was the closest to the stairs. Nathaniel didn't say a word until he eased the door shut. In a hushed voice, "She seems like she is getting back to normal. Did you see her go towards her bedroom?"

"Yes, I saw it."

"I don't know what you did today but keep it up," Nathaniel took his wife's hand that he was still holding, and brought it up to his lips, and planted a gentle kiss on it. Those gray eyes of his also began to sparkle again like they always have done when he talked about his little girl.

"I think the little old lady's drawn in eyebrows is what did it. I have never seen her laugh so hard," Alexandria paused. "But when I think about it, it probably wasn't the little old lady at all. All of a sudden, she just lit up, like she was sharing an inside joke with somebody, and she has been happy ever since. I caught her laughing while we were shopping, and I didn't see anything that was funny." Alexandria shrugged her shoulders.

"Do you think she is having some sort of psychotic episode?" Nathaniel said.

"I'm not sure what to think. She said she was going to call Macie and Chance tomorrow after they get out of school and see if they wanted to catch a movie or something since tomorrow is Friday. She even said she wouldn't mind going back to school next week."

"Now wait a minute, this is a very sudden change of events. What brought that on? And are you considering it? The therapist thought it would be best to give her the time she needed to grieve before she gets back into school, and she is taking those antidepressants. One day at the spa is not enough to say she is ready to go back to school. I don't want her moving too fast," worry lines began to crease Nathaniel's brow.

"I know but this is all her idea. I told her the same thing, but she insisted on it. I'm telling you something changed in her at the spa. So, what do we do? We both want her life to get back to normal, and it seems like that is what she wants too. She was even talking about attending the Halloween dance," Alexandria sat down on the burgundy leather sofa that was right beside the doors entrance.

"Well, I guess if she is ready then I don't want to hold her back. I will call the principal in the morning to see what they recommend. And I will call the therapist too. It just seems so odd, but stranger things have happened lately," Nathaniel sighed.

"I think she will be fine. Like the therapist said she could experience extreme highs and lows while going through this grieving process. Just try not to read more into it and let's just see how it goes." Alexandria sighed.

"Okay, I will try not to worry about it. It has been a long three weeks and I am just ready for things to get back to normal around here, but right now, I am going to take a shower and make that sandwich. I got an idea," Nathaniel walked to the sofa leaned down on one knee in front of his wife. "How about we take a shower together?"

Alexandria stood up and walked out the door without an answer and headed up the stairs. She turned around and Nathaniel was standing at the bottom with the look of rejection on his face.

"Well are you coming or not?"

Nathaniel took to the stairs two at a time after his wife.

#

#   
Chapter 7

Madasin had thrown the bags on the floor and was standing with her hands on her hips.

"Okay, out with you."

There was nothing.

"Don't you be coy with me Dakota Hensley, show yourself right now!"

Still nothing happened.

"Okay, two can play that game."

Madasin walked over to the far wall and started removing some pictures off the wall of them from when they were in middle school. Madasin knew how much time Dakota had spent making a collage of the photos, and if she was still alive, she would kill her for even thinking about taking them down.

"What are you doing?" Dakota had startled Madasin.

Dakota instantly appeared and was sitting on the bed that the Lakes had bought for her a couple of years ago when they redecorated Madasin's room.

Dakota was dressed in an all-white dress, with white sandals. Her naturally curly brown hair was pulled up into a bun and rested neatly on the top of her head. Her skin tone was a glowing a golden shade of bronze, and her brown eyes sparkled without her trying. She had a heavenly aura around her that could not be denied. She was an angel.

Madasin stood there for a moment with a bewildered look on her face and rubbing her temple as she looked at her friend. "How can this be? How can I see you now? Is this real or have I completely lost my mind?" Madasin asked.

"If I tell you how this happened, you probably wouldn't believe me. And yes, this is real, and no, you haven't lost your mind. Yet."

Dakota was still sitting on the bed looking at Madasin.

Madasin started to walk towards her with her hand stretched out to touch her, but her hand went straight through Dakota.

"You can't feel me to the touch, but you can feel my presence even when you can't see me. Like earlier in the spare bedroom when you were talking to my mom," Dakota was smiling at Madasin.

"Okay let me get this right. I can see you and hear you but can't touch you. I can feel your presence even when I can't see you. So, are you a ghost now?"

"Not quite. It's way cooler than that. I'm an angel now," Dakota said, proudly.

"You are an angel?" Madasin looked confused.

"Yes, isn't that great!" Dakota started clapping.

"Don't do that. My parents aren't that far away. They might hear you."

"Oh, they can't hear me. Anyways, they are in the shower together."

"Gross!"

Dakota started laughing. "But they couldn't hear me even if they weren't in the shower. Only you can hear and see me."

"Not even your mother can see you?"

"Nope, it makes no sense to me either. I am just doing what I was told."

"What you were told? What do you mean by that? And if I'm the only one you can communicate with, then who are you referring too?"

"Oh boy, I think I said too much already. You would think being an angel and all it would've helped my blabbermouth issues, but it hasn't. This is going to be hard to explain but I got to tell you. Maddy, please keep an open mind about this because this is real, and I don't have much time to help you."

"Help me do what, Dakota? None of this makes sense right now to me, so you need to spill it before I lose it!" Madasin said through her clenched teeth.

"Okay, here goes nothing. Please sit down, you're making me nervous."

"Really, Dakota, are you serious?" Madasin placed her hands on her hips.

"Yes! I told you, I pretty much feel like the same person, other than-you know. I'm an angel and all." Dakota looked down.

"Ok, I'm sorry. I'm listening to you," Madasin sat down beside her on her bed.

Dakota took a deep breath, "Okay, here it goes. Your guardian angel sent me back here to help you. He wants me to help you find out what's going on before somebody else dies."

"A guardian angel sent you back here to help me?"

"Yes, before somebody else dies."

"What does that mean, Dakota?" Madasin still looked confused.

Dakota took a deep breath again, "My death wasn't an accident. I drowned in that lake just like you dreamed it."

Dakota watched her best friend's demeanor change as she came to the realization of what she just heard.

"How did you know about the dream?"

"I was in it when it happened. I was forced to walk in that lake and kill myself, Maddy. That's why Zarlus sent me back here to help you before this happens again."

"Who is Zarlus?"

"Your Guardian angel, he said he needed a _'Floater Angel'_ such as me to do the job."

"What is a _'Floater Angel'_?"

"A _Floater Angel_ can still travel between earth and heaven and is capable of being seen by the people that need them. Well it's like I haven't officially became a heavenly angel, and I haven't got my wings yet. I hope after I help you, I get my wings and my guardian assignment. Zarlus thinks I would make an excellent guardian," Dakota said proudly.

"Why did Zarlus send you to help me? Couldn't he just help me by himself?"

"Yes and no. It's complicated. He can watch over you and be that little knot that you feel in your gut that lets you know when something isn't right. You can't see him, and he can't technically have a one-on-one conversation with you. He is more in your head and he make you feel when something is wrong, but he can't prevent it. Angels aren't allowed to impose on anyone's "free will" on earth. So that is where we floaters come into play because we can actually tell you things, but it is still your choice if you take the advice. I am acting as Zarlus's middle man, well more like middle angel girl, and he can tell me if he feels anything, and then I can tell you, and maybe we can figure this whole thing out."

Madasin just sat there.

"I know it is a lot to take in at once. Trust me; I have seen more than I thought I would ever see in a non-angel-lifetime," Dakota started to laugh at her little joke, but she stopped herself once she saw Madasin's facial expression.

"I don't understand, and I am really trying here, Dakota."

"None of it makes any sense. Zarlus says that there is an evil spirit that he feels around you and it started the day of your birthday. Unfortunately, I can't feel it because I am not powerful enough as of yet. There is like this whole angel training thing that you have to go through before you get all of that power."

Madasin looked at her like she had a giant pimple on her face.

"What kind of evil spirit? And why is all this happening to me. I have never hurt another person in my life," Madasin protested.

"I know it's weird. Zarlus said he never felt it before your birthday came. He thinks it is somehow linked."

"Okay, so how are you supposed to help me rid myself of this evil spirit or whatever?"

"Zarlus don't know as of yet. He just said that he was going to see if he could find out what it is, but he needs me to be his voice to relate to you the information."

"This is so crazy! Zarrus, Zarlus or whatever his name is, sent you to help me, but he doesn't know what the evil spirit is! This is stupid!" Madasin stood up and walked to the other side of the room.

"Please don't talk like that, Maddy. Zarlus will find out what it is, it's his job to protect you."

Madasin sighed heavily and said, "Dakota, you are telling me about evil spirits around me, and a guardian angel that is trying to help me. You got the job as Zarlus's interpreter. This Zarlus angel is some great protector, since he stood by and let my best friend die without warning me!"

Dakota dropped her head as Madasin continued to rant.

Madasin noticed her demeanor and looked around the room.

"What's wrong? Is he here?" Madasin asked.

"Yes, he is," Dakota looked down at the ground as if to hide her face in shame for her friend.

Madasin was looking on her shoulders like they do in the cartoons for the angel to be there.

"I told you Maddy, he is your guardian angel. He is with you all the time."

"This is crazy. Well if he is around like you say he is, then tell me...how does he look?"

"He looks to be our age. He is tall like Chance. He has golden blonde hair, and hazel green eyes. He has these giant pretty white wings, and he has on a white suit, with incredibly shiny white shoes. He is very cute, too bad he is an angel."

Zarlus looked at Dakota with a warning glare.

"Sorry Zarlus, I am still new at this, and I have blabbermouth issues, but you should already know this about me being around Madasin her whole life."

"This is insanity! My guardian angel is a teenager! No wonder he can't help me." Madasin thru her hands up in the air.

"This is how it works; whatever age you are when you die on earth, is the same age you will be in heaven. But Zarlus, is very wise to be in a teenager's body so you don't have to worry about that."

"I guess that gives me some relief." Madasin rubbed the back of her hand across her forehead sarcastically.

"Maddy, it's going to be fine, Zarlus has this all under control. Anyway, the best part about this whole dying thing is, I will never get older, isn't that cool?"

"NO, it's not cool! You are only sixteen; you are not supposed to be dead yet!"

"I'm sorry, Maddy. I didn't mean it that way. I am just trying to see a brighter side out to all this."

"I know you didn't mean it in a bad way. So, what am I supposed to do in the meantime to help myself? I don't want to hurt anyone else."

Dakota took another deep breath and then replied, "Try not to dream."

"What! Do you know how impossible that is? That's like saying try not to think or worry. It happens without trying, Dakota!"

"I know, but Zarlus thinks that this evil spirit is attached to your dreams somehow since that is the way I died. He said it is hard to figure out how evil spirits work if you are not one yourself. I promise Maddy, Zarlus and I are going to help you figure this whole thing out."

"That's not helping me right now."

A knock came on the door.

"Madasin are you talking to someone in there? I heard shouting, are you okay?" Alexandria asked, through the door.

"Yeah Ma, I was talking to Macie on Skype. We just disconnected," Madasin fibbed.

"Can I come in for a second?"

"Sure, hold on."

"Dakota, I got to let my mom in, but don't leave. And not a word from you either." Madasin said in a hushed tone.

"She can't hear me anyways, dang!"

"Shut up!" Madasin spat through clenched teeth.

Madasin looked in the mirror to make sure she didn't look stressed from the conversation she was having with Dakota. She forced a smile on her face before opening the door.

"Mom, I am okay. I was just about to go to bed."

Alexandria peeped around her daughter into the room. She noticed that her laptop wasn't open. She saw the bags had gone untouched from their little shopping spree earlier.

"You haven't taken your things out of the bags that we bought today," Alexandria walked into the room, and started taking the shoe boxes out of the Macy's bags.

"I was waiting to do that in the morning. I'm a little too tired to do it know." Madasin faked yawned.

"Oh, I talked to your father, and he said that he would speak to the principal at school in the morning if you really wanted to go back next week."

"That's great, because I really need to get back to school if I want to graduate with my class."

"Okay, well I am glad you are trying to get back on track. You know Dakota wouldn't want you to be sad all the time. I bet if she could tell you that now, she would."

Dakota smiled at Alexandria.

"I know she would. Well, I am getting ready to hit the sack now, Mom."

"Are you sleeping in here tonight?"

"Yes, I feel better."

"Okay, goodnight sweetheart, and I will see you in the morning. I love you."

"I love you more. Tell Daddy, I said goodnight too."

"Okay." Alexandria shut the door behind her.

Dakota was about to start talking again, but Madasin held her finger up to her lips to gesture the quiet sign. Madasin laid her head gently on the door to hear her mother's steps against the hardwood floors going back down the hall. She waited for her parent's door to shut first, and then she opened her door and looked down the hall and over the balcony to make sure they both were inside their room. The house was dark other than the lamp that was still on downstairs in the foyer.

Madasin went back in the room and closed the door behind her. She continued, "You know my parent's like to snoop from time-to-time."

"Oh, do I ever know, but like I said they can't hear me."

"Must you keep reminding me of that every five minutes?"

"Okay, I won't tell you again. Are you really thinking about going back to school?"

"I don't think it's possible now with everything you just told me," Madasin yawned and stretched and that time it was real. She walked over to her all white dresser and pulled out her pajamas from the middle drawer.

"I want you to get some rest because Zarlus don't want you to get too tired and you fall into a deep sleep that could cause you to have a dream," Dakota said, watching her best friend.

Madasin laughed, "That is so contradictory that it is ridiculous. Rest, but don't sleep. Sleep a little, but don't dream. I am going to be a walking zombie. Well if you must know, I haven't been sleeping well since you passed away and I'm exhausted. But deep down ever since I was in the hospital, I felt like something had changed about me. I've felt it this entire time. I've been so lost and empty without you being here with me."

"I know, and I am sorry. I have checked on you the whole time, but up until today I didn't have the power for you to see me or feel me. Zarlus said that I don't have a lot of time before you won't be able to see me. We are racing against time on my end, and yours, but I will be with you until I can't be. I got to go now, but I will be back to check in on you in the morning unless Zarlus needs me to come back to you sooner."

"Where are you going?"

"My mom is hurting really bad right now, and I need to be with her. My death hasn't changed my father's abusive ways. I wish there was something that I could do to help her leave him," Dakota looked gloomy and depressed just like she did before she died whenever she spoke about her father.

"Okay, I understand. I love you Kota."

"I love you too, and everything will be fine."

Dakota hugged Madasin and she could feel the same warm feeling that she felt earlier that day.

"I need to call Chance."

"Yeah, you should. He loves you, Maddy."

Dakota looked in her eyes and vanished.

Madasin grabbed her cell phone off the nightstand to see if it was fully charged and she turned it on. She noticed all the missed calls she had received, and text messages were coming through. She scrolled down the list and stopped at Chance's number and she pressed the green talk button on the touchscreen.

# Chapter 8

Chance didn't know what to make of the call he received from Madasin late last night. He hadn't seen or talked to her since the funeral, but she sounded pretty desperate for them to meet up after he got out of school that day. He wasn't sure of their relationship status at that point. He couldn't understand why Madasin would shut him out during the time she would probably need him the most. She had been there for him, and he felt it was only fair to do the same for her.

Those past few weeks of not even hearing her voice was complete torture for him, and he contemplated using drugs again. He needed to be around her to continue to stay on the straight and narrow. The only thing that kept him from losing his mind was looking at the picture that they had taken at the 4th of July picnic that he always kept it in his wallet.

Today felt like the longest day of his life at school, and his anxiety level was at its peak. He really could use a cigarette to take the edge off, but he had promised Madasin that he wouldn't smoke those either.

Soon as the final bell sounded, Chance made a mad dash to the school parking lot area. Madasin said she wanted him to meet her at the Spot at 4 p.m. It was already a quarter 'til, and Chance didn't have another minute to lose. It would take him ten minutes to get to the Spot doing the speed limit if the traffic cooperated, but that was wishful thinking on a Friday evening. He really couldn't afford to get another speeding ticket in his 1999 Dodge Ram. He desperately wanted his parents to help him get another truck, but they wouldn't hear of it if he got into any more trouble with the law.

Chance got to the Spot ten minutes late but luckily for him Madasin drove up after him and was none the wiser. Chance let the liftgate down to his truck and laid out a quilt that he kept in the cab for him and Madasin to sit on whenever they came out there to be alone.

Madasin walked up to the truck, and before he could say anything, she gave him a long warm embrace that seemed to have lasted for eternity.

Chance could finally exhale all the anxiety that had been building up for the past few weeks of not talking to her. He took in the scent from her hair, and her touch was like a drug to his system. He could stay like that forever with her and never complain.

Madasin broke their embrace and looked into his eyes in silence. His crystal blue eyes were like the deepest ocean. She missed being around him and didn't know what to expect from him. It had been three long weeks since she talked to him, but she prayed everything was still the same between them. She didn't want to think about losing him too.

Madasin sat on the liftgate staring out into the wooded area. This was her first time at the Spot since the last time Dakota and she had come together a few months before her birthday. It didn't bother her too bad to be there without her since she could feel Dakota's presence with her at that very moment on the back of Chance's truck.

This used to be Dakota's favorite hiding spot whenever her parents would fight when she was little. To most people it looked like some creepy wooded area right outside of town, but to Dakota it was peace. The first time Dakota went out there, she was six and she stayed overnight. The Hensley's thought someone had abducted her from outside their home, and the town was on a full-scale manhunt looking for her. After twelve hours of searching the whole town, that's where they found her. Dakota and Madasin frequented the area whenever they just wanted to be alone from everything and everybody. Breathing the fresh air and watching Mother Nature at work was cleansing to the mind. Dakota gave it the code name, the Spot.

Madasin contemplated telling Chance what Dakota had told her because it was too much for anyone to take in. She wasn't all the way right about it herself, but she might be able to use his help if she was going to find where this evil spirit came from that is ruining her life.

The silence was eating away at Chance, and he needed to know where he stood in Madasin's life.

Chance looked at her, "So how have you been doing?"

"Not so good," Madasin replied, looking down at the ground.

"It would've been nice to have been able to come see about you or at least talk to you these past few weeks. I feel like you didn't give me any time to be there for you," Chance said, also looking at the ground.

"I know. I haven't talked to anyone other than my parents. Macie has called me too, and I still haven't talked to her either."

"I just felt like I meant a little more to you than just one of your friends. I understand that Dakota was like a sister to you, and I couldn't imagine the pain you are feeling. But I'm not going to lie and act like it didn't hurt my feelings to be shut out from you. I care a lot about you too, Madasin."

"I'm sorry. I have never lost anyone close to me before Dakota. I didn't know how to respond. My life it not the same as it was before I turned sixteen. The first time I ate a real meal was yesterday."

Chance noticed that she had really lost a lot of weight when she got out of her car, but to him she was still beautiful.

"And I haven't been able to sleep since I left the hospital. The psychiatrist my parents hired to make house visits says that I am severely depressed, and she prescribed me an antidepressant."

"Are you taking them?" Chance said, with grave concern in his voice.

"No. I am depressed because I lost my best friend, but to me that is normal. I am not taking some magic cure in a bottle to deal with that, but they don't know I'm not taking them."

"Okay. I just want you to know that I am here for you no matter what."

Chance wanted to tell her so bad that he loved her, but he didn't want to scare her off. She had been through enough. One day, he hoped to really tell her how he feels.

"I do need to tell you something very important, but I don't know how."

Chance's stomach dropped. The last thing he wanted to hear was that Madasin didn't want to see him again. He would die too if that happened. He just stood in silence and braced himself for whatever she had to say next.

"Before I tell you what it is, I need you to promise me that you won't tell anybody. Not even Macie," Madasin looked Chance straight in the eyes as he was standing in the grass in front of her.

"It must be pretty serious if you haven't told Macie."

"Like I said, I haven't talked to her, but even if I had, I still don't think she could handle this information."

"Okay, I promise. So, what's going on?"

Chance stood there looking at Madasin with grave concern on his face. He was anxious, but still afraid at what she was about to say. By the look on her face, and the tone in her voice, it couldn't be good news.

"The best way to tell you is to just tell you straight out. Let me explain everything before you ask me any questions. And please keep an opened mind about everything I am about to say," Madasin was looking for Chance to respond but he just stood there staring at her.

Madasin took in a deep breath, "I can see Dakota and I can talk to her."

Madasin paused to watch how Chance was going to react to that information before she went on.

He still stood there frozen.

"She is what they call a _'Floater Angel'_. She can travel between earth and heaven for now until she becomes a guardian angel,"

Madasin still looking for Chance to show some sign of something, life would be good but still nothing.

She continued, "Dakota was sent back to earth by my guardian angel, Zarlus, to find out about an evil spirit, before somebody else dies," Madasin was about to cry but she felt Dakota and continued on, "Zarlus told Dakota that there is an evil spirit around me that has shown up since my birthday. He can't tell her what it is or how to get rid of it, but we need to find out what it is. He thinks it is attached to my dreams somehow. I can't sleep for long periods, until we find out or somebody else could die."

Madasin felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She needed to say it out loud in order for it to feel real to her.

Chance walked beside her and sat on the liftgate and took out his cell phone and started searching the contacts.

"What are you doing, Chance? I told you not to tell anybody!" Madasin was getting angry.

"I am not, I am calling my pot man to get some because this is some weird stuff, and I got to be high to deal with it."

"Chance that was not the reaction I was expecting from you!"

"Well, what do you want me to do, Maddy? Call you crazy and tell your parents to have you admitted in a psychiatric hospital! You told me to keep an open mind, and I am trying, but this is some heavy information you just laid on me!"

Chance continued scrolling through his contacts. "Damn it!" Chance thru the phone down on the ground.

"Chance please! You said, you would be there for me, and now is the time!" Madasin could feel the fresh tears starting to sting her eyes as she looked at Chance.

"Madasin, I haven't heard from you in weeks, and this is what you tell me. How do you think I should react?"

"I don't know really, but I don't want you back using drugs, I really need you right now. That's why I called you last night right after Dakota left."

Chance started to laugh.

"Are you serious right now, Chance? You are laughing at me after I am baring my soul to you!"

Madasin hopped off the truck gate and began to walk to her car.

Chance grabbed her by her hand, and twirled her around to face him, and then he kissed her passionately.

Madasin broke free, "How dare you kiss me after you sat there and laughed at me to my face!"

"I was not laughing at you, Madasin! I would never do anything to hurt you ever! But I am at a loss for words right now!"

Chance picked a rock up off the ground and thru it into the woods with all his might.

Madasin watched Chance go through the motions and said, "I just need to know one thing. Do you believe me?"

Chance turned around to face her, "I really want to. Like I said before, it is some heavy information for anyone to take in, Maddy. Especially for someone that is trying to stay on the straight path, but I trust you. I know you wouldn't make something like this up. So there has to be some truth to all this, and I will help you as much as I can. I promise."

"Thank you, Chance. You just don't know how much this means to me. I promise everything that I am telling you will come to the light, but I need for you to be straight with me through all of this. So, no drug use, right?" Madasin held out her right pinky finger.

Chance interlocked his left pinky with hers and replied, "No drugs."

"Everything will be okay. It has to be, or I am going to lose my marbles for real."

They were laughing, and it felt good to the both of them.

Chance took his hand and very gently tilted Madasin's head up toward him and gave her a kiss on the lips. The passion flowed out within them as their lips locked to explore more of each other in a warm embrace.

For the first time since this whole ordeal began, Madasin felt safe in Chance's arms. She could live in that moment forever, but would she be able to with this evil spirit haunting her.

" _Who would die next?"_ was her only thought. She held onto Chance and prayed to God that it wouldn't be him. She felt so powerless to prevent it, and don't dream was the only solution. That was a hard task, because she was already feeling herself getting tired again.

Chance broke the embrace and asked, "So what is the game plan? Did Dakota say anything that was helpful?"

"Right now, it seems like she is dependent on Zarlus to help her since she doesn't have any powers beyond being a floater. I wish I had a clue of what type of evil spirit that was around me. Maybe I could research it or something. I am scared somebody else is going to die that I love, and it would be my fault!"

"Let's not think about that now. Hey, I got an idea. Let's go to a movie or something to take our mind off of this situation. Worrying isn't going to solve anything right now. We will just have to wait until you see Dakota again, and hopefully she has come up with some new information from what's his name—"

"Zarlus," Madasin interjected.

"Yes, Zarlus—"

Madasin interrupted him in mid-sentence, "She is here now. She has been here the entire time we have been talking."

"Seriously, Madasin? You got to be joking right now!" Chance didn't want Madasin to know it, but he was creeped out by ghost and stuff.

"Yes! You know this was her favorite place to be."

"Has she said anything to you since we been out here?"

Chance was trying not to look scared.

"No, she actually has been sitting over there on that rock," Madasin pointed to the huge boulder that was a few feet away from where they were standing.

"Man, this is crazy, but I trust you Maddy."

"Thank you, I really need that. Now let's go catch that movie, and I'm starving."

"Okay, let's go. I am right behind you."

Madasin walked to her car but she looked over at Dakota before she got in it.

"Have a good time!" Dakota yelled to her knowing that Chance couldn't hear her.

Madasin gave her the okay signal and got in her car.

*********

Dakota was still sitting on the boulder watching her best friend and Chance drive away from the Spot.

"Zarlus, there has to be something that we can do. I hate seeing her like this. Maddy is a really good person, she doesn't deserve any of this."

"Dakota, I don't think this has anything to do with something that Madasin has done. She is not reaping a bad seed that she has sown, but possibly somebody else and they are using her as their revenge."

"Who would want to seek revenge by using Madasin as the pawn?"

"That is what we are going to have to figure out. Somebody close to her is hiding something that is so wrong that an evil spirit has attached itself to Madasin. Until that wrong is brought to the light, she may never be able to break this spirit from her."

Dakota sat there thinking and it dawned on her, "Zarlus, it has to be her parent's or someone in her family."

"I don't know. Since I have been with her they haven't done anything to harm anybody. I've been with Madasin since her birth, and there has been nothing that her parents or anyone has done that I am aware of."

"This is some wild stuff."

"I got a feeling that it will get even wilder before it's over."

"I think you are right, Zarlus."

"Let's go catch up to Madasin."

They both disappeared.

# Chapter 9

It was almost eleven, and the Lakes had not been able to get in contact with Madasin. They tried reaching her by cell phone just to discover she had left it in her room on the nightstand. Alexandria called Macie's parents, but they hadn't seen her either since they all were attending a church function that evening.

"This is just not like Madasin to stay out this late, and not call home!"

Alexandria was pacing the floor back and forth in the kitchen hoping she would soon here the garage door open.

"I can't believe she took that car out, and don't have anything but a permit to drive it. She hadn't given that car as much as a second glance since Dakota died, and now today she decides to take it out for a spin without even telling us she was going anywhere!" Nathaniel was furious at that point.

"Do you think she is with Chance?"

Alexandria didn't really want to ask her husband that. He was already upset, and to mention Madasin being with Chance was not going to help the matters any. He had already discussed with her that he thought something was going on between them the last time they had a mentoring workshop together.

Without a second thought, Nathaniel said, "I'm calling Chance's parents."

Nathaniel reached for Madasin's cell phone to call them.

Madasin and Chance were having a great night together, it was something they both needed to take the edge off. After the movie, they decided to go for burgers and ice cream. They sat around laughing and talking about anything other than the current situation that was at hand. She never knew how rewarding escaping reality could be until then. Who knew turning sixteen would be such a life changing event.

"Oh crap, I got to go!" Madasin said as she saw the time on the clock at the café.

She gathered her things, while Chance motioned for a tall skinny blond-haired waitress to bring their check.

"My parents are going to kill me. I should've been home an hour ago!"

"You didn't tell your parents you were going to the movies?"

"Yeah, I told my mother yesterday, but I didn't mean to keep the car out so late. I only have my permit."

"It will be okay," Chance said nonchalantly.

"No, it won't be okay. My father is going to hit the roof!" Madasin was getting nervous.

"Don't make such a big deal out of it. It will be fine."

"Easy for you to say, you are used to getting in trouble with your parents," Madasin blurted out.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Chance looked Madasin in the eyes from across the booth where they were sitting at.

"I didn't mean anything by it. I'm sorry Chance, but I just got to go." Madasin grabbed her things and ran out the café.

Chance just sat there as he watched Madasin run across the parking lot to her car. His feelings were hurt, and he wasn't sure anymore if Madasin was the same girl that he knew before her birthday. The girl he knew would never make him feel bad about his past wrong-doing.

He paid the check and stormed out of the café to his truck.

As Madasin drove into the garage, to her surprise, her parents were standing in the garage waiting for her to park. Her mother had the look of _"Thank God she is home",_ and her father did too. But by the look on his face, she knew she was in hot water for sure. Up until that moment, she hadn't realized that her cell phone was still in her room.

Madasin parked the pretty hot pink BMW and said a little prayer that they wouldn't kill her. But she thought under her current circumstance it might not be such a bad idea.

Out of nowhere Dakota appeared in the seat beside her, "Hey Maddy!"

"Jesus! You can't just be appearing out of nowhere like that! You almost gave me a heart attack!" Madasin was holding her chest. Luckily, she had just put the car in park, or it might've been sitting in the pantry.

Her parents were staring at her waiting for her to get out of the car.

"I'm sorry, but I just wanted to tell you that you can't tell your parents about any of this."

"Are you serious? I wouldn't dare tell them. They would probably put me in some private nuthouse for sure. Speaking of which, if they think I'm in here talking to myself that is where you will find me at!"

"Ok, I will be in your room. I got something to ask you."

"Okay, I'll see you after the lecture I have coming."

Dakota disappeared.

Madasin had to think quickly about what she would tell them. Her parents didn't mind her being out with Chance in a group, but probably not one-on-one. They would freak if they knew she was out with him all that time alone. She hated lying, mostly because she wasn't good at it, but tonight might be the night she practiced the art.

Her father started tapping on the window.

"Are you going to get out of the car anytime soon?" Nathaniel was about to blow a gasket.

Madasin couldn't remember a time in her life that her father looked so furious at her.

Nervously, she opened the car door.

"Hey, what are you guys doing up?" Madasin said with a nervous smile. Her right hand began to shake uncontrollably. She put it behind her back before they noticed it.

"Really Madasin? Is that really how you are going to come at us at this time of night? You had us worried sick about you!" Alexandria was now fuming waiting on a response.

"Young lady, where have you been?" Nathaniel didn't give her time to answer her mother before he also went straight in on her.

Madasin looked at them both with wide eyes before answering. They hadn't given her anytime to think of anything to say before they started hammering out questions.

"I went to the movies. Remember, I told you yesterday after we left the spa, Mama," Madasin said, hoping that her mother wouldn't continue to freak-out since they had talked about it.

"Yes, you did mention it, but we never talked about it again. Also, you said, you were going with Macie and Chance, but Macie was at a church event with her parents. So, who did you go with?"

Both her parents were tuned in, and eager to hear the answer.

"I'm not going to lie to either of you. I went with Chance." Madasin dropped her head.

"Okay, that's not the problem. I'm glad you are trying to get back to normal, even if it was with Chance," Alexandria said, trying not to sound hypercritical.

Nathaniel slyly rolled his eyes as he vaguely remembered his wife mentioning it to him too last night in the study. Nathaniel added, "My main problem is that you took this car out with only a driving permit, and it is well past the legal time that you can drive it," the worry lines had smoothed a little on Nathaniel forehead, but he still had that defensive stance in his posture.

Madasin couldn't believe her parents didn't completely freak-out over her being with Chance. "I'm sorry about that. Chance was scared to pick me up here, so I met him, and he got in the car with me. I was just so anxious to get out again, that I wasn't thinking straight," at least it wasn't a complete lie Madasin thought.

"Also, it's not doing you or us any good for you to have a cell phone if you are not going to take it with you," Alexandria pointed out.

"I'm sorry about that too. Up until now, I honestly haven't thought much about it since you know, Dakota died. I used to talk to her the most, and I just hadn't needed it. I honestly didn't mean to make you both worry about me. When I was with Chance tonight, I felt like everything was good again..." Madasin's words trailed off into silence.

Alexandria looked at Madasin and she felt the pain for her daughter's loss pulling at her heart. Nathaniel could feel it too. It was impossible for them to stay mad at her after everything she had been through.

"Okay, sweetheart," Nathaniel pulled her in for a hug, "With everything going on lately, maybe your mom and I might be a little on edge. All of this has been very stressful, but we trust that you will do the right thing."

"Thank you for trusting me. If it's okay, I would like to go upstairs and go to bed now. I am exhausted."

"Oh sure, go get you some rest. We love you, Madasin," Alexandria gave her a hug as she went past her towards the kitchen steps.

"I love you both too."

Alexandria took a deep breath, "I guess we need to go up to bed too, it has been a long day."

Nathaniel nodded and followed her into the house.

*********

Madasin walked into her room and Dakota was sitting on her bed.

"I didn't scare you this time, did I?" Dakota didn't want to get yelled at again.

"No, I could feel your presence from outside the door."

"Maybe I am getting stronger or something," Dakota shrugged her shoulders, "You look really exhausted, Maddy," Dakota watched her friend take her shoes off.

"I am! I can't sleep because I don't want anything to happen to anyone else that I love. I feel so hopeless. I was rude to Chance tonight, and that isn't like me. My life really sucks right now," Madasin looked at Dakota with desperation.

"I know. Maybe you could take a nap, and I can stay here with you."

"What good is that going to do? I can't feel your touch, so you can't wake me up."

"Well, if I see you acting like you are in a dream, I can try to wake you up."

"It won't work, Dakota!"

"Zarlus is here too."

"I know, he is supposed to be here! Didn't you say he was my gut feeling?" Madasin rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, I told you that."

"Well, my gut says that it is a bad idea," Madasin rolled her eyes.

Dakota looked over to the other side of the room by the closet.

"Do you think it will be okay, Zarlus?

Madasin flopped down on her bed face first into the comforter. She still couldn't wrap her mind around the events that had taken place in her life since her sixteenth birthday. She really did wish this all was just a terrible dream, and she could wakeup and everything be back to how it was in the car when she felt like she was in heaven.

"Zarlus is skeptical too." Dakota was talking to the back of Madasin's head.

"I told you that already!" Madasin snapped.

"My bad, you don't have to be so grouchy. I'm just trying to help you," Dakota walked over to the window and stared out into the night.

"I know, and I am sorry. I'm just overwhelmed and exhausted. Can we just be in silence for a little while?" Madasin still had her head buried in the zebra printed comforter.

"Okay. I will give you few minutes to be alone. We won't be far. I need to ask you something when I come back."

Madasin waved her hand in the air.

Dakota knew that time was running out, and they had to act fast before she fell asleep. The only one she could turn to was Zarlus for answers, and now had really came the time to get some.

# Chapter 10

Dakota looked at Zarlus as they stood outside of the house, and out of ears reach of Madasin.

"I am really worried about her. She can't go much longer without any sleep."

Dakota stared at the handsome angel that stood before her. She could tell that he was also concerned.

"She is still awake right now, but she will eventually fall asleep. I can feel it!" Zarlus was looking up into the heavens.

Dakota hoped he was asking God for strength for her friend.

"You said earlier that you felt like she was being used for a revengeful purpose of sort. I still couldn't imagine it being her parents doing anything to anyone that they would want to seek revenge, and especially by using Madasin to do it."

"I can see why you would feel that way. They have been great parents to Madasin."

"So, have you found out anything since earlier today? You said you were meeting with someone."

Zarlus had to leave Madasin during the movie. He told Dakota to stay with her while he met with someone that might be able to help them.

"Yes, I think I did get some valuable information from who I hope is a reliable source. I had to go straight to evils front door to get it."

"You went to Satan for help?" Dakota's eyes were big as marbles.

"Well, not exactly Satan himself, but I had to use one of his dark angels to get the information."

"Satan has angels?"

"Yes! He was once an angel himself!" Zarlus looked at her with the, _"I can't believe you just asked me that"_ face _._

"How do you know any of them?"

"The guy on earth that killed me is one of them now. I was able to contact him. Well, more like he found me with the information."

If Dakota still had human flesh it would be crawling.

"Why are you so surprised? You know everybody doesn't go to heaven."

"I know that, but I didn't know that you were murdered too."

"It really wasn't essential to tell you up until now. It's not a big deal anymore, and I have since found peace and moved on as you can see." Zarlus's wings came out from behind him, and then went back. "I wouldn't even consider talking to a dark angel if we weren't so pressed for time. We have to figure this out soon, and what better way to find out evil than by someone that is evil."

"I hate to pry, but may I ask you a few questions about your life? I mean if we are going to be partners and all, I would like to know a little bit about you." Dakota shyly grinned.

"Okay, go for it. What do you want to know?" Zarlus stood with his arms folded across his chest.

"My first question is... how is it that you went to heaven, and he went down there?" Dakota was pointing downward.

"Because he committed the sin of murder, and that's against God's law."

"Okay, but what made him kill you?"

"I guess I better tell you the story because it seems that you will keep asking questions until you piece it together anyways."

Dakota nodded her head to agree.

"Take my hand," Zarlus reached out his right hand to Dakota.

Dakota stood there looking at Zarlus's hand like he had a disease.

"I can show you just as well as I can tell you."

Dakota hesitantly took his right hand, and in an instant there was a brightening flash of light. It was like somebody had just taken a picture with one of those old cameras with the big flash bulbs.

Dakota closed her eyes from the flash blinding her sight. When she opened them, she was in another town that she had never been to before. Judging by the cars on the street they must have went back in time at least 20 years; a time before she was even born.

"What year is it here?"

"It's actually June 25th, 1992 to be exact. I had just graduated high school approximately a month before."

"Where are we?"

"We are in Greenwood, South Carolina. This is the part we call Uptown Greenwood. This is the main heart of the city."

Zarlus looked up and down the road. He felt homesick as he stood in front of the store front businesses that were lined in a row on both sides of the street.

Dakota stood and watched as the people walked by total strangers and spoke to them with a warm greeting. The town seemed very quiet but friendly.

"This is where you are from?" Dakota said, still observing the area they were at. She thought Moss Creek was little; this town was micro in comparison.

"Yes, born and raised. My birth name was William Lee Johnson, but everybody called me Will for short. I was named after my grandfather."

Zarlus took Dakota's hand without even asking that time, and there was another flash of bright light.

This time they stood in the living room of a big white house. The air was stuffy from the June heat pouring into the windows. There was a fan sitting on a table at the end of a blue couch that was trying it's best to keep the large room cool, but it was losing the battle miserably.

An old man was sitting in front of the fan, while looking at the floor model television that had at least twenty picture frames on top of it. He was watching a game show while drinking a beer.

Dakota could hear the music coming from an upstairs bedroom overhead as she observed the old house that Zarlus used to live in.

The old man would look up at the ceiling every now and then obviously annoyed by the sound. He finally broke his silence, "Pauline, if you don't tell Will to turn down that racket in that room of his, I'm gonna throw that damn stereo in the yard, and smash it to pieces with my sledge hammer! I can't never get no peace around here!" The old man snapped at the little woman that came from the back of the house with a yellow apron tied around her waist.

"Willie Lee, I told them boys to have that music off before you got home from work, but I think it went in one ear and out the other. I've been tending to my babies all day. They are seventeen, outta school, and they all need a summer job while they wait to start college. You need to get them to clean out the old shed outback that I've been asking you to do for months!" She had an annoyed look on her face too.

"I am going to come home one day and be able to relax if it kills me trying!"

The old man got up, gathered his beer and cigar pipe, and went outside and sat down on the porch swing.

Pauline Johnson looked to be in her early sixties. Her reddish gray hair hung down her back almost to her buttocks, and it was bone straight. She had on an old yellow sundress and torn brown sandals. She looked like a woman that had been raising children all her life.

Dakota could hear children playing in the adjacent room.

"Is that your mom and dad?" Dakota asked Zarlus who was watching what used to be his life.

"No, they are my grandparents. My mother's folks, they raised me, and a whole lot of other kids that didn't have a home. It was kind of like an orphanage, but they called it a foster home. Needless to say, I had plenty other kids to talk to growing up," Zarlus smiled.

"What happen to your parents? If you don't mind me asking you."

Dakota had a concerned look on her face for the angel that no longer looked like an angel, but like a teenager just like her. Only that was twenty years ago for him instead of a few weeks ago like her.

"I never really knew my parents. My dad was in prison for life for robbing a convenience store at gunpoint out in California, and my mother just up and left one day and never returned. I was three when it happened."

"Is she dead?"

"No, I would know if she was. She is doing her own thing out there in the world."

"Do you know where she is?"

"Yes, that's one of the perks of being a guardian angel or any angel for that matter. You can still visit the family and friends you left behind if you really need too."

Dakota thought about her parents. Even though her father was a jerk most of time; she at least knew who he was. She continued to look at the movie in front of her of Zarlus's earthly family. Zarlus could sense her pain.

"Unfortunately, there are a lot of us that have crappy lives growing up, I just hate that I never got the chance to see how the rest of my life would've turned out. We all have a purpose in God's plan, and I was meant to be Madasin's guardian angel."

Zarlus smiled at Dakota and it made her feel a different connection to him than she had felt in the past few weeks. She understood where he was going with that statement and she smiled back.

"Come on let's go upstairs to my old room."

Zarlus started to walk passed his grandmother and went towards the stairs. Dakota followed behind him like a puppy that was afraid their master would leave them. As they approached the upstairs landing the music became clearer and louder. Zarlus walked down the hallway a few steps, and then stopped in front of a bedroom door that had an **Exit Only** sign nailed to it. Zarlus looked at Dakota and the pain were very evident on his angelic face.

"This is my room."

"Okay, I gathered that much from the noise."

Zarlus ignored her remark.

"The conversation that is being discussed on the other side of this door will be the one that will change my life forever," Zarlus sighed heavily. He went through the door and Dakota followed.

The room was the typical teenage boy room. Musician posters were hung on every inch of the walls, and there were two sets of twin bunk beds and a dresser.

Dakota immediately spotted Zarlus lying on his bed reading a comic book, and there were two other guys in the room. The other two guys were also lying on a bed, listening to the music that was so loud that they would probably go deaf eventually. Dakota was checking the obvious twin brothers out. They were tall with dark brown shoulder length hair, with the same color dark brown eyes. You could tell they were rough around the edges, especially the one in the Nirvana shirt. He had a homemade tattoo of a skull on his left forearm.

"Who are those guys in the room with you?" Dakota was intrigued to know.

"See the guy in the red t-shirt? That is Brad. The guy in the Nirvana t-shirt is Matt. They are the Duncan brothers. They came to live here after their parents got burned to death in a house fire. Everybody around town thought they did it, because of all the trouble they got into with the law. To me, they were just some misunderstood guys that cried for their parent's attention, be it good or bad. Their parents worked so much that they pretty much were raising their selves from what I overheard my grandparents saying. Trouble just always seemed to follow them."

"Like what kind of trouble?"

"Drinking, drugs, and getting in trouble with the law; you know that kind of stuff. I tried to be on the straight and narrow for my grandparent's sake because they really had their hands full with those two."

"I don't know why but they look familiar to me." Dakota couldn't place it, but she knew she had seen at least one of them before somewhere.

"I don't see how that is possible since you weren't even born, and they aren't from your hometown."

Suddenly you could hear a knock coming from the floor followed by a muffled sound. Brad jumped up off the bed and turned the music down.

A muffled "Thank you" came through the floor from Pauline.

"We'd better keep it down if we don't want my folks to come busting up the stereo, and you know Pops will do it too," Will said, to his roommates from behind his comic book.

"Sometimes it is like being in prison here, Bro. What's wrong with having a little fun?" Matt sat up on his bed. "Will, you'll be eighteen soon, and us too. I feel it's time we started thinking about getting our own place."

"And how are we going to do that? We don't have any money. Anyways, I'm going to college in August, so I will be living on campus." Will had his comic book lying on his chest while looking up at the bottom wood slacks of the bed above his.

"You really are going to go through with that college business, aren't you?"

Matt was looking at Will like he was disgusted at the thought of it.

"Yeah! It sure as hell beats being stuck here all the time. Dealing with all these kids, and my folks are becoming a pain in the butt. Like you said, I will be eighteen soon, and I have to leave the nest eventually, and college is my ticket out of here. You guys need to be doing the same thing."

"I think I am going to talk to the people at that technical college we got here. I hear you can get accepted into that school with a G.E.D. Then after that, maybe I can transfer to some big fancy college like you and watch all the pretty women on campus." Brad was laying back on the bed with his fingers crossed behind his head, while he gazed into the ceiling caught up in his fantasy.

"Well you guys can have that college mess. I think I will get me a job working at one of those mills just like your pops. I hated high school that's why I dropped out. I'm just not cut out for it." Matt picked up a tennis ball from off the floor and started tossing it in the air.

"That's still a plan Bro, because one thing is for sure you can't stay here all your life. Mama' Lean isn't going to stop bringing in more foster kids. It has always been a revolving door of kids coming here ever since I can remember. As they grow up and leave some more will come to take their spot."

Will put the comic book down, got up off the bed, and went over to the window.

Dakota looked at Zarlus.

"Who is Mama' Lean?"

"That is what everybody calls my granny around town; the young and the old. She was everybody's mother that needed one. But only the kids that lived in the house called granddad, Pops. Everyone else around town knew him as Willie Lee. Pops really didn't like the idea of having all those kids around, but he dare not argue with my granny about it. My granny only had my mother and after her she wasn't able to have any more kids of her own. Being a foster mom helped her get over that. It helped fill the void sort of speak. Anyways, Pops didn't complain when the government assistant checks rolled in to help take care of the house. That was all the fuel he needed for acceptance. His paychecks from the mill weren't enough to get by on."

As Zarlus spoke, Dakota could hear the southern accent in his voice. She never noticed it until then.

"Hey guys, I was talking to this girl that I knew from school the other night at the store, and she said that there was going to be this party tonight at the lake. She said there would be a bonfire, booze, and all. We should go check it out." Matt had stopped playing catch with the tennis ball to see their reaction.

"I am there, Bro," Brad said excited.

"Are you going too, Will?" The twins said, in unison.

Dakota was still checking the twins out. It was bothering her trying to figure out where she knew their face from.

"They look so much alike; how did you guys tell them apart?" Dakota said.

"A lot of people couldn't tell them apart, but I could. Their personalities were totally different from each other. Matt was pushy and overbearing most of the time. Maybe that came with being the oldest twin. Brad was more like me. He was the laid-back twin that really only wanted to have a little fun. Matt was the dominant twin, and pretty much what he said, Brad did. A lot of times, Brad didn't want to do some of the bad things Matt would do, but Matt always thru a guilt speech on him about them having to stick together since they were all they had left in the world. Matt definitely had some demons that he had to deal with."

"Come on Will, you have to go. Mama' Lean and Pops aren't going to let us go without you. They always think I am up to no good!" Matt was frowning hard and those thick brown eyebrows of his were meeting at the center.

"That's because most of the time you are."

Will and Brad started to laugh.

"Hey man, that's not fair!" Matt was getting angry.

"I'm sorry, Matt."

Will was still smiling which was making Matt fume even more.

"Okay, seriously I will go but under one condition. We have to be back before midnight because I promised Pops that I would help him work on the old pickup early in the morning."

"Oh, that's cool. We can help you guys out too," Brad said eagerly.

"You don't know anything about cars other than how to steal them!" Matt was laughing on his bed uncontrollably.

"I can learn Matt!" Brad hated when his brother put him down and he did it often.

Matt threw the tennis ball at his twin playfully, but Brad didn't find it amusing one bit. Brad was the younger one of the two, but he made that up in strength. Brad could take his brother down in the blink of an eye if he needed to, and Matt knew it all too well.

"Okay, whatever, Dude," Matt still was grinning over his insult. "This party is supposed to start at 8 and it is," Matt checked his watch, "Almost 7 so we need to get a move on it."

"Okay, let's do this." They got up and started getting ready.

"Well Dakota, are you ready to see what happened at the party?"

"I've come this far; might as well," Dakota sighed.

Zarlus grabbed Dakota by the hand again, and there was the now familiar blinding flash of light that would take them to their next destination in time.

# Chapter 11

When Dakota opened her eyes, she was standing close to a huge bonfire that was surrounded by a group of teenager's horse playing around. The fire glowed off of the lake that looked like a wavy black silk sheet in front of them. Most of the girls had on bathing suits and some of the guys had on swim trunks, but so far nobody had dared go into the dark waters before them. They were too busy getting drunk. There were beer kegs and barrels full of beer all over the place. Judging by the decorations, it looked like someone's birthday party.

"Where are we now?"

"We are at Greenwood Lake. It's about 212 miles long. I miss going out there. Many days Pops and I would bring out the old boat and come here to fish early in the morning before all the other fishermen would show up. Fishing and working on the truck was his way of spending time with me. I miss that the most."

"Seems to me like you guys should've had a great time out there, so what happened?"

Dakota was checking out all the wild teenagers gyrating around with beers and some were even smoking pot. It made her sad a little to think how quickly her life was cut short before even getting to go to wild parties with her friends even if she didn't drink or do drugs.

"Just watch," Zarlus said. He stood there watching his former life flash before his eyes.

They had only been there thirty minutes when Matt began to start feeling the effects of the alcohol kicking in. "Are you guys just going to stand there, and watch all these chicks dance up on these other guys, or are we going to get in on this action?" Matt was getting frustrated. He didn't care for not being the center of attention. Everything was a competition to him.

"You guys can go on. I'm just going to sit here, watch the scenery, and drink my beverage of choice." Will held up his soda to his friends in a toasting motion.

"We should've left you at home, Will! You are so boring! They got all this beer and you drinking a soda! What is your deal, Bro?" Matt stood there waiting on a response.

Brad was quiet the whole time, he really didn't want any part of the conversation that he knew was about to turn ugly.

"This is my deal, Bro," You could hear the heavy sarcasm in Will's voice as he continued the conversation, "You wouldn't even be out here if it wasn't for me driving you guys here in my pops truck. The key phrase is I drove us here, and therefore someone has to drive us back, so I'm not drinking."

"All I am saying is just live a little for Christ sake! One beer isn't going to kill you! Why you always have to do the right thing all the time? It makes me, and Brad look bad at home!"

"You just don't get it, Matt."

Will stood up and started to walk away. He knew Matt had already had too many drinks. He had been downing them like water since they had gotten out of the truck.

"Oh, I get it plenty. You think you are better than us, don't you?"

"Come on, Matt! Why would you say something like that? Will has always treated us like family." Brad was standing in Matt's face staring at the almost mirror image of himself.

"Brad you need to wake-up, his family doesn't love us! We ain't nothing but a monthly check for them, and now that we are about to turn eighteen, they gonna kick us out on the streets. You heard what Will said, the house ain't nothing but a revolving door of foster kids!"

"That's not true, Matt! Mama 'Lean and Mr. Willie wouldn't do us like that. Tell him Will, he doesn't know what he is talking about, does he?"

"Brad you are so freaking naïve that it is unbelievable that we are even twins!"

"You need to take that back, Matt!"

"I'm not taking anything back! You are naïve and stupid! But at least you aren't a faggot like Will is!" Matt was laughing so hard that beer started coming out of his nose as he tried to drink and laugh at the same time.

"Matt, you're going too far! You need to take that back!" Brad pushed his brother back.

"No, you are going too damn far! I am your brother, your blood, and you are going to stick up for this dude? I see now where your loyalty lies, brother."

"Matt, you are drunk and acting really stupid now. I think we should go home so you can sleep it off. We can talk about all this tomorrow while you are sober."

Will was boiling mad but stooping to Matt's level wouldn't solve anything. So, he calmed his voice down.

"That's so like you, Will, always trying to be the good guy in everything. Why don't you be a freaking man for once instead of a faggot mama's boy!" Matt was still laughing hysterically.

"Just because I haven't been in, and out of juvé all my life doesn't make me a faggot. Jailbird!" Will was having a hard time holding his composure.

"Will, please don't egg him on. We need to go before this gets any uglier than it already has. Come on, Matt!" Brad started to grab his arm and Matt jerked it away from him.

"I'm not going anywhere with that faggot! And if you leave with him, then you are no longer my family."

"Come on Brad let's go! Ain't no use in trying to talk any sense into him."

Will started to walk towards where the truck was parked, while Brad just stood there looking at his drunk twin ruin their life again.

"I am leaving with Will. It's time I start making decisions for myself. I've lived in your shadow long enough. I'm not living my life; I'm living yours, Matthew!" Brad was crying.

"I knew it! I knew that faggot stuff that Will be preaching was going to rub off on you sooner or later. I'm disappointed in you, Bradley!" Matt made sure he put emphasis in his tone when he called his brother by his name.

Will came rushing back up to where Matt and Brad were standing.

"Look Matt, you said what you had to say about me, and I don't care! But you are going too far talking about Brad that way. Now, for the last time let's all go home. Please!" Will's demeanor had changed from being furious with Matt to really seeing how pathetic his friend really was.

Brad had seen him do and say some evil things to people, but nothing would ever prepare him for what his brother was about to say next.

Matt just stood there staring at Brad, and Will with a sinister smirk on his face. "Well, since I am always the bad guy anyways. I think it is time I got something off my chest, Bro. Are you listening to me, Bradley?"

"You are crazy, Dude. I'm out of here. Let's go, Will." Brad turned and started to walk towards the truck.

"I should've killed you too when I killed our parents in that fire! They never loved me, so I killed them! And if I would've known that you were going to turn your back on me too, then you would've been burned to a crispy nothing just like them!" Matt yelled out to his twin.

Brad stopped dead in his tracks, and in an instinct, he was back in Matt's face, and punched him in his stomach with enough force to make him vomit most of the beer he had just consumed. Matt hit the ground like a ton of bricks as his brother climbed on top of him and delivered blow after vicious blow to his face and ribs.

The three of them was far enough away from the crowd of teenagers, that nobody noticed the fight that was turning deadly by the second.

"No, Brad!"

Will came running back and trying to get Brad off of Matt before he killed him, but Will was no match for all the fury that Brad had built-up in him for years against his brother.

Brad thought about everything that he had gone through because of Matt, and the pain was finally being unleashed.

Matt's face was almost unrecognizable from all the blood gushing from his broken nose, but with every punch that his brother delivered he began to laugh all the while spitting blood from his mouth. He didn't even try to fight him back.

Will was still trying to get Brad off of him. "Get off of him please, Brad! He is not worth you going to jail for, Man. Your brother is sick in the head, and he needs help! Come on, please before you kill him!" Will was crying and pleading for his friend to stop.

Brad was in a trance. He looked at Will.

"Come on man, we have to get him some help! He could bleed to death out here. There is a store a few miles up the road; I'm going to get some help," Will said.

Brad still hadn't got off his brother, and Matt was still laughing like a mad man.

"Do you hear me? I got to go get help!" Will shook Brad trying to get him out of his trance of rage.

Brad finally came around and stood up slowly. He backed away from Matt as he realized what he just did to his brother. He was looking at the blood that was on his hands and clothes. If it wasn't for his brother's insane laughter while he lay on the ground; he would've thought, he was dead.

Will couldn't wait any longer and began heading to the truck. He couldn't think about the party, and all the underage drinking that was going on, he needed to save Matt's life. He couldn't let him bleed to death. Panic was starting to set in when he felt a burning force hit him from behind, then he felt another burning force that knocked him to his knees. His hearing was fading but he could still hear Brad cursing at his brother. He felt himself falling to the ground as his legs were giving away underneath him. He fell flat on his face, and he no longer had the upper body strength to turn himself over. Will started to feel his warm blood pouring from his chest onto the earth beneath him. He could hear screaming from a distance, and as a voice got closer to him. Will then felt somebody turn him over into their arms and it was Brad. He could feel the burning hot metal in his body, and that's when he realized he had been shot twice in the back.

"Help! Somebody please help!" Brad was shouting from the top of his lungs as he held Will in his arms. He rocked back and forth holding Will tightly as he felt the life slowly leaving his friends body. "You are going to be okay, Bro. Just hang on for me please! Help somebody! I can't believe Matt did this!"

"Oh, no! Please God don't let this be happening to me again! I can't lose Will too!" Brad was crying up to heaven.

Will looked up at Brad and said, "Don't let him continue to ruin your life; you can be somebody, Bro." Will closed his eyes and was no longer responsive.

"No, no, no! You can't die! You can't, I will be back with some help, Bro! I promise!"

Matt gained the strength to shoot Will and then vanished from sight into the dark woods, and then there was the sound of another loud shot.

Brad gently laid Will down on the ground and stood up. Brad was now covered with the blood from his twin brother, and from Will. He wanted to just leave that place, but he had to stop Matt from anymore destruction. In his heart, he felt Will was dead, and there was nothing anyone could do to bring him back.

Brad knew he heard another shot and hoped that nobody at the party had met the same fate as Will had. He ran into the woods after his brother. "Matt, come on man! Will is really hurt bad man! You got to stop this!" Brad shouted out into the woods.

Brad didn't get an answer but could see the lake coming into view from the moon shining above. The closer he got to the shore he could make out a body laying half on the bank and half in the water. He could not see his head, but he could see the Nirvana blood stained t-shirt, and the skull tattoo on his brother's arm. He sat down beside him and cried.

Matt had shot Will twice in the back. Matt didn't want to go to prison for life, and he couldn't live with the guilt of killing the only person that really was his friend. So, he ran into the woods, and turned the gun on himself.

All the events that had just taken place were now known to everybody at the party on that side of the lake. The teenagers were running around trying to take cover not knowing that the person responsible for all of it was already dead.

Zarlus stood around watching the scene like a 3D movie, the only difference was that it was real, and it had happened to him.

Dakota stood next him, speechless.

"Well, needless to say I didn't survive and neither did Matt."

"Oh my, that was horrible Zarlus. Where did Matt get that gun?"

"Matt stole one of Pop's pistols from his gun cabinet. It took missing about a month prior to all of this. My Pops looked all over for that gun, but nobody had seen it. He eventually gave up searching for it, and just thought he must've misplaced it somewhere in the shed. I don't know what Matt was planning to do with it prior to the fight we all had."

"What happened to your grandparents after they found out?" Dakota felt bad for the guardian angel.

"My folks ended up closing the foster care home after that. Mama'Lean's health had taken a turn for the worse, and Pops had to stay home, and take care of her. She died shortly after, and my Pops died a few years after her. They both live in heaven too, but I haven't seen them since they first arrived."

"Wow, Zarlus. I am so sorry all of that happened to you and your family. I am a little scared to ask, but what happened to Bradley after all of this?"

"Despite all the tragedy that he experienced he turned out to be fine. It was rough on him for a while. I would go back to check on him every now and then over the years. He did everything he said he was going to do. He got his education, got a great job, and started a family in North Carolina."

"Well that's great!" Dakota cheered but then it hit her.

"So are you saying that your help that you got from one of Satan's dark angels is..."

Zarlus finished her sentence, "Matthew. Well he is now known as, Garnone."

Dakota looked as if she had seen a ghost when Matthew appeared behind Zarlus, but this time he wasn't a teenager at all. He was a dark angel from hell.

# Chapter 12

"Did somebody call my name?"

Garnone stood before them looking like an action figure. His skin was very dark and oily. You could see the enormous veins popping from under his tight black skin. His wings, if you could call them that, were barely noticeable on his back. They didn't expand to the width of Zarlus's. He wore no shirt, black pants, and boots.

"I see you was giving your little angel friend here a tour of the last days of your pathetic little boring life, Zarlus," Garnone laughed a deep hearty laugh from the pit of his evil stomach. His teeth were razor sharp, and his tongue was red and long like a snake. His yellow eyes glowed in the darkness as he looked at them both.

"Well, it's not a pleasure to see you either my one-time friend. How is life these days in the bowels of hell treating you?"

Garnone took another hearty laugh at Zarlus before responding. "Every day is a smoking hot party, Bro. The best part about it is you never know who is going to show up next to join us. You should visit with us sometimes. I'm sure it's way more fun than where you reside these days."

Garnone crossed his massive arms across his chest waiting on Zarlus to respond.

"Thank you for the warm invitation, but I will definitely have to pass on the offer."

"That's your loss, Bro," Garnone shrugged his shoulders and then looked at Dakota.

"What about you, my little angel? I'm sure your chaperone here wouldn't mind if you hung out with me for a little while. I promise to bring you back in one piece."

Garnone licked his lips with his long tongue against his razor-sharp teeth.

"Leave her alone, Garnone!" Zarlus's wings began to expand out from his body.

"I was just kidding, Bro. No need to get your halo in a bunch," Garnone winked at Dakota. "You know I like to have fun, Will," Garnone was still grinning, and taking enormous pride in getting under Zarlus's skin.

Zarlus figured he was trying to rouse him, and quickly regained his composure, while bringing Dakota closer to him.

Garnone was observant to his every move, but still smirking at him all the while.

"You always had a mother hen type of syndrome, Will. I also see that you haven't lightened up either, and that's a shame. What's the point of living in heaven if you are still a killjoy?"

Garnone played with his pointed claws as a gesture to show he was bored in the guardian angel's presence.

"Can you be serious for once? You know I wouldn't even be having this conversation with you if it wasn't really important, and as much as it pains me, I do need your help to save her friend," Zarlus rolled his eyes.

"I never thought I would see the day that you would need me for anything."

Zarlus was really trying hard to deal with Garnone. "Do you remember the conversation we had?"

Garnone could sense the agitation for Zarlus and decided to move on.

"Yeah, I remember our earlier conversation, but what do I get out of all of this? You know I'm treading on dangerous ground fooling with the likes of you and all. I am an officer, and I'm breaking major rules dealing with you."

"And I as well, but maybe if you do something nice for a change to help somebody else maybe God will have mercy on you."

Garnone yawned and waved his hand. "Not good enough."

"I don't have anything to give you that you can't get for yourself but salvation! So, I guess you won't be helping us after all."

Zarlus turned his back on Garnone.

"It's time we got back to Madasin."

"Hold on Zarlus, we haven't spoken in twenty years until the other day when you asked for my help and now you just going to rush off! I thought we could be friends again; what happen to that stuff you heavenly creatures talk about," Garnone looked up at the sky as he was thinking, "turn the other cheek. That's it. Why you can't turn the other cheek, Zarlus?" Garnone was blocking his path.

"You don't have a clue as to what being a friend is Matthew. You hurt everybody you could while you were living, and why should it be any different now that you are dead! You came to me with the information furthermore. It was a mistake thinking you could help us."

"Ouch, that hurt, William. Your words really hurt my heart, Zarlus," Garnone grabbed at his chest.

"As if you really had one that could be hurt, I don't have time for this!" Zarlus took Dakota's hand again.

"Ouch, you did it again. You are on a roll tonight my one-time brother, I must say. I want to help you, I really do, but it's like you said, I don't have a heart. So, I'm going to need another incentive to push me to do that."

Zarlus released Dakota's hand once again.

"What if I told you it could help your brother too?"

Garnone looked at him, and the grin that had adorned his face since he arrived there was now gone, and a very grave look replaced it.

"What are you talking about, Zarlus?" Garnone's voice had deepened so much that it could've been mistaken for thunder.

"Just like I said, helping her friend could also potentially help Bradley."

"You have my attention. Now by all means Zarlus, tell me how this could have anything to do with my brother. This ought to be good!" Garnone looked over at Dakota.

Dakota stood in silence as she watched Zarlus look up at the heavens before speaking.

"Well, I was hoping that it wouldn't come to this, but this curse that is on Madasin can affect anyone that she is close with."

"Okay, I don't know this Madasin person, and how is she connected to Bradley for it to matter to me what happens to her?"

"Yeah Zarlus, I am confused on this one too," Dakota observed Zarlus in anticipation of what his next words would be.

"Does the name, Amanda Callaham-Duncan ring a bell to either of you?"

"That's my brother's wife."

"So, you have checked on your brother!" Zarlus was surprised at the revelation.

"Yes, I have. Despite everything I did to ruin my brother's life, I did love him. I just didn't know how to show it. That's my only regret that I didn't show him. So yes, I've checked on him periodically just to see how his life was going. I'm no guardian angel such as you, but I can still watch!"

Garnone for that moment no longer appeared to be a dark angel from hell but as a remorseful older brother. Garnone didn't want to succumb to his emotions especially in front of Zarlus so he quickly got back to the point.

"Now, how does he have a connection to her friend?" Garnone continued to appear sincere despite his hellish appearance portraying otherwise.

Dakota looked as if a light bulb had just gone off in her head, and before Zarlus could answer she blurted out, "I know now! Brad is Madasin's Uncle and Amanda is her Aunt. I knew their faces were familiar. Zarlus, I have been around the Duncan's several times over the years at the Lake's house on holidays."

"I don't recall having a family member named Madasin, so how is that Brad's niece?"

"Amanda is Madasin's mother's baby sister." Zarlus said matter-of-factly.

"That's Madasin's favorite Aunt, and she hadn't too long had a baby. Madasin was so excited about having a little cousin."

Dakota was smiling at the memory when Madasin had first shared the news of having a little cousin. Then reality had sat in and horror ran through her body.

"That means they can all meet the same fate as I did because they are close to her too. Up until now, I didn't realize how broad a scope we are actually dealing with here; It hadn't' dawned on me about her other relatives. We have to do something, Thanksgiving is next month, and they are planning to spend it at the Lakes! Madasin told me of their plans to come to their house for them to meet the baby!"

"Garnone do you see how important this is, it has the potential of ruining many people's lives that are innocent. Please tell me you will help us. If not for us, then do it for Bradley."

Zarlus didn't like the idea of having to plead with one of the devil's angels, but he had innocent lives to save.

Garnone stood there looking to be taking in all the information he just heard. He didn't look so evil at that point, he appeared to have a heart even if it was less than an ounce worth of it.

"Okay, I will do what I can, but we have to do this as quietly as possible. You know, and I know that our Gods will not be pleased with us working together even for the good. Our kind does not coexist, and we are really treading on dangerous territory!" Garnone looked at Zarlus with his glowing yellow eyes very sternly.

"I understand completely. We don't have a minute to spare. Now, the last time we spoke to each other you said you overheard one of your fellow dark angels talking about how one of his earthly witch's sixteen-year-old curse had finally started."

"That's right I did. The woman he speaks of is very powerful from what I have been told. She is not just some witch practicing a few little harmless spells every now and then. She is the Queen of the Dark Witches. They worship her like a God. She has people with all sorts of nasty problems lining up at her door hoping that she will help them seek revenge. She is very good at what she does, I must say."

Zarlus looked at him as to be not fazed by his comment.

Garnone must've sensed it because he felt the need to elaborate his point further.

"She is as evil as they come. She made a deal with the God of Darkness for eternal life, and in exchange she will do his will on earth, and was granted it. She does whatever our master requires of her, and she is also a savior to the people that can't seem to help themselves fix the mess they create."

Zarlus rubbed his temple. "The God of Darkness? So, in other words, she made a deal with the devil?"

"Yes, in your terms that is exactly what she did. But if we are going to work together please refrain from using that term when you refer to my master." Garnone rolled his yellow eyes at Zarlus.

"How old is this witch you speak of since she was granted eternal life?" Dakota chimed in.

"Over a thousand-years-old, but she doesn't look a day over 40 in human age. Not one gray hair or wrinkle. She is immortal."

"So, you're saying, she can't be killed by anyone?" Dakota stood there with dismay on her angelic face.

"No, she can't be killed by a human. Our master has protected her because she has kept her end of the deal. Once she breaks that promise, that's the only time she will die, but only at the hands of the God of Darkness."

"This is crazy. There is a curse on my best friend from a thousand-year-old witch that is invincible! You got to be freaking kidding me!" Dakota started to walk off but Zarlus caught her by the hand.

"Don't get discouraged, everything is going to be fine," Zarlus looked into her eyes, and they held a gaze that seemed to go on forever. At that moment, something between them had changed and a heavenly bond was forming.

Garnone cleared his throat to break the silent trance that was going on between the guardian angel and his floater.

"If I didn't know any better, I would say that you guys were sharing an unholy moment there," Garnone started to laugh again with the same sinister laugh from earlier.

"You would think that wouldn't you!" Zarlus snarled at Garnone.

"Hey, I'm just calling it as I see it, Bro." Garnone had his hands in the air as to show he surrendered.

"What else do you know?" Zarlus was growing very irritated by the second with him.

"Is he always this hateful? Cause if he is, than maybe he is playing for the wrong team," Garnone looked at Dakota but she just turned her head to face Zarlus.

Garnone shrugged his shoulders as Zarlus looked at him with growing fury in his eyes. Garnone gave up and continued the conversation in a more serious tone.

"I told you all I know for now. I will have to do some more prying to get more information on how to stop the curse."

"I am going to need for you to get it as soon as possible, time is running out fast!" Zarlus said.

"As sickening as this is to everything I stand for, I will do my best to help you. I figure I owe Brad and you that much. I will contact you when I do get more information, but we have to do this on my terms. You know how important this has to remain between us three." Garnone was mostly looking at Dakota.

Zarlus interrupted where he knew Garnone was going, "She understands, and she is not going to jeopardize helping her friend by getting us caught. She has a lot at stake here too, Garnone!"

Garnone stood there breathing heavily. "Okay, just so we are clear. I got to get back. I will be in touch."

Garnone disappeared into the darkness.

# Chapter 13

When Zarlus and Dakota made it back to Madasin's room she had fallen asleep still lying in the same position she was in when they went on their journey back in time.

Dakota ran to the bed to wake Madasin, but she couldn't and there was a frown on her face.

"Oh, no! I think she is dreaming Zarlus! We got to do something now!"

"You continue to try to wake her, and I will see if I can enter her dream."

"Can you do that?"

"I have never tried, but I know it can be done."

"How do you know you can if you have never tried?"

"All things are possible if you believe! Dakota, that is why you are here now able to help your friend. See, you are touching her and haven't even realized it!"

Dakota was no longer passing through her, but actually touching her flesh. She was able to feel her best friend again. The tears were rolling down her face and she could feel that too. "I can feel her Zarlus! It's a miracle!"

"No time to celebrate right now, Dakota!"

Before she could respond Zarlus had disappeared.

Dakota refocus her attention and yelled out to Madasin. She was violently shaking her, but she couldn't get her to wake up. Madasin was in a coma. "Please God, help me help my friend. I love her. She isn't a bad person and she doesn't want to hurt anyone else. Please God hear me," Dakota prayed.

She was startled out of her prayer to help Madasin when she heard The Lakes coming down the hall towards the room. Dakota didn't bother to hide being that they couldn't see her. She could hear them right outside and then the door flung open.

"Madasin..." Alexandria's voice trailed off into silence as they both stared at a young lady that appeared to be Dakota Hensley. "Oh My God!" Alexandria was fainting down to the floor holding her chest as if to be having a heart attack.

"This cannot be real; there is no way that you are still alive!" Nathaniel was unable to comfort his fainting wife out of fear that if he moved, he would do the same.

"You can see me?" Dakota asked, Nathaniel.

Nathaniel nodded with his mouth open in astonishment. "I can see you and hear you! Is this a dream? How is this possible?"

Dakota didn't wait another second as she stretched out her right hand to Nathaniel to see if he could feel her too. Nathaniel took a step back afraid of what would happen next if he allowed her to touch him.

"Mr. Lake, will you touch me? I won't harm you if you can," Dakota said, as she held out her hand.

Nathaniel slowly reached out his hand to meet Dakota's, and to both of their disbelief they felt the warmth from each other's touch.

Alexandria was still on the floor unable to believe what was taking place right in front of her.

"This is even more serious than I thought," Dakota spoke out loud.

"How is it that you are here, Dakota? Are you still alive?" Nathaniel was still holding her hand.

"I promise I will explain everything to both of you as soon as we wake Madasin. We have to get her up now before it's too late!"

"Too late for what, Dakota! What are you talking about?" Nathaniel had dropped her hand. The fear had left his face and was now replaced with concern.

"Right now, there is no time to explain it, but I promise I will. You have to trust me on this one!" Dakota was back beside Madasin before Nathaniel had the chance to respond.

"I don't understand why you won't let her sleep! She hasn't rested well since you died!" Nathaniel protested.

"You don't understand she can't sleep!"

"I need you to try to help me understand, because right now none of this is making any sense!" Nathaniel snapped.

"Mr. Lake, if we don't wake her up somebody else might die just like me!"

The tears had begun to pour down Dakota's face. Being able to feel her best friend again was something she had never thought would be possible, but it was not because of their loving friendship. She was only granted that power to help save another life from the evil curse.

"Please help me get her up!"

Nathaniel stood looking at Dakota unable to come up with a rebuttal to what she just told him.

Alexandria finally got up on her feet still looking confused. "So, your death wasn't an accident?" Alexandria asked the question without any facial expression or life in her words.

"No, it wasn't. I died because Madasin dreamed it, and if we don't wake her up somebody else might be facing the exact same fate right now! I am an angel now sent back here to help her."

Nathaniel rushed out of the room and came back with a glass of cold water. He splashed it in Madasin's face, but to no avail did the tactic work. Madasin was in a deep coma like sleep that seemed impossible to break her from. She was acting in the same manner that they had found her in the day after her birthday.

"We need to call for an ambulance to come help her or something! We can't just leave her in this coma like state! Maybe they have something that can bring her out of it!" Alexandria could feel the hopelessness creeping into her body.

Madasin's body began to jerk uncontrollably as she yelled out Chance's name in a terrifying scream.

"Oh no! Something must be about to happen to Chance. Mr. Lake you have to call over to Chance's house and see if his parents can wake him up!"

Nathaniel didn't waste any time getting Madasin's cell phone off the end table and went through her contacts to find Chance Bailey's home number. When he found it, he dialed the number straight from her phone. The phone rung several times before a lady picked up the receiver.

"Hello."

"Hello, Mrs. Bailey?"

"Yes, this is Mrs. Bailey." Pamela Bailey still sounded half sleep as she spoke into the receiver.

"Mrs. Bailey, I am so sorry to bother you at this hour. I am Nathaniel Lake, Madasin's father. Is Chance at home?"

"He was when I went to bed. Is there some sort of problem, Mr. Lake?"

"I know this is going to sound extremely crazy to you, but I need you to go to his room and try to wake him up."

"Have you been drinking, Mr. Lake? Who calls a person's house at this time of the morning telling them to wake up their sleeping child? And anyways, what time is it!" Pamela sat-up in the bed and looked over at the alarm clock to see that it was 2:33 a.m.

"I haven't been drinking; I can assure you of that. My wife is here too. I could take five minutes to tell you what's going on, but we don't have that kind of time to spare. Please go wake your son!" Nathaniel pleaded.

Her husband began to stir in the bed. He turned over.

In a very hushed voice Pamela replied, "I am going to entertain this for a minute, but what happens next once I wake him up?"

"We will worry about that once he is awake, but now it's very important that he is woken up."

"Ok I'm going to lay the phone down." Pamela sighed heavily into the receiver as she slid her feet into her black slippers and grabbed her robe from off the chair that was beside the night stand.

Pamela, careful not to wake her husband, walked out of their room. She looked down the hall to make sure her other son wasn't up before exiting the room. Slowly, she tipped her way down the hall and knocked on the door to Chance's room. She wasn't surprised when she didn't get an answer being that Chance was a very sound sleeper. She proceeded to open the door, but it was locked. That was strange since the door no longer had a lock to it. The Baileys had taken the lock off the door over a year ago. They took it off when Chance was caught smoking pot in his room. Since then, they never replaced the lock.

Pamela proceeded to bang on the door as hard as she could trying to awake Chance, but there was no sign of life on the other side of the door. Panic had started to set in her body as she ran back to her bedroom to get the phone and to awake her husband to help her. Pamela very nervously picked the phone back up, "Mr. Lake, I am going to have to wake my husband. I can't get the door to open!" Panic was evident in her voice at that point.

"Do whatever you have to do to get in that room, Mrs. Bailey!" Nathaniel couldn't control the tone of his voice.

Pamela didn't know what was going on, but her son's door being mysteriously locked wasn't a good sign. She laid the phone down again.

Pamela knew her husband would really be upset with her for waking him up, and he only had two hours before the alarm would be blaring for him to get out of bed.

"Donald, honey, I need you to wake up."

Pamela stood over her husband gently rubbing his arm being very carefully to not startle him.

Donald Bailey was a huge man that stood 6'5 and 260 pounds of rock-hard muscle. Donald Bailey wasn't the easiest person to get along with especially when he was tired. His company had a major construction contract with the city that they had been working on for weeks, and they were working hard to finish it before the fall weather would come in.

The Baileys had been married twenty-five years and owned a successful construction company in Moss Creek for the past twenty years. Other than Chance they had one other son, Chad Bailey, who is two years younger than Chance. The two brothers couldn't be any more opposite of each other in every way. They were literally oil and water, night and day.

Donald, half woke, looked at his wife standing over him and said, "What is it this time of the morning? You know I got to get up soon!" He looked at the alarm clock to see the time, and he turned over away from her.

"I know, and I am sorry to bother you but its Chance."

"What has that ingrate done now?" Donald sat up in the bed at the mention of his son's name and was instantly awake.

"He hasn't done anything that I know of, but I need you to go to his room and try to wake him up. I've tried myself already, but the door is locked."

"How can there be a lock on the door when we removed the lock two years ago?" Donald flung the bed linen off of him as he got up and rushed out the bedroom door towards Chance's room. He didn't bother about not waking Chad. He began pounding on the door like the police. "Chance Bailey, you open this door right now, or I am going to break it down!"

The sound of his dad's voice had awakened their son, but it was Chad that came out of his room instead.

Chad looked at his parents, as his father was thrusting his body against his brother's door with all his might to get in the room.

"What's going on?"

Pamela went over to Chad, "We need to wake your brother up? You can go back to bed honey."

"Who can sleep with all this racket going on?" Chad was still looking at his father who was obviously hurting his arm, and shoulder trying to break into the room.

"This damn door won't budge! I'm going to get the axe and chop it down!" Donald tore down the stairs in full speed to get the axe out of the garage.

"Has everybody gone mad? What is going on?" Chad was looking at his mom with pure confusion on his face.

"Baby, I don't know right now. We are just trying to get in your brother's room." Pamela began to kick at the door that her oldest son was mysteriously locked in.

"I am starting to think that I am the only one in this house that hasn't completely lost their mind." Chad watched his mother kick his brother's door.

Madasin was still crying out to Chance as her body was shaking violently. The sweat was pouring from her body as if she was running at top speed.

Alexandria and Dakota were working frantically trying to get her awake, but all their efforts were in vain. "Zarlus we need your help!" Dakota screamed for the guardian angel to appear.

Zarlus appeared to Dakota as himself, but to Madasin's parents they could only see a bright light formation of where a human should be.

"What is going on, Zarlus?" Dakota was talking towards the beam of light.

Zarlus looked as if he had been in a battle since Dakota saw him only five minutes earlier.

"Chance is in great danger. Madasin has pulled him into her dream. Chance is being jumped on by some guys. This curse is extremely powerful. I can't wake her from inside the dream. She still can't see me!"

"Mr. Lake, have they got in Chance's room?" Dakota was frantic.

"Mrs. Bailey, have you gotten in Chance's room?" Nathaniel asked.

There was no answer to the question. All Nathaniel could hear was a loud chopping sound in the background.

"Dakota, I don't know, she must've laid the phone back down. It sounds like they are still trying."

"Zarlus, can you go back to help Madasin?" Dakota asked the beam of light.

"The whole time I was in her dream my powers were disabled, and Madasin was only able to watch. I am not sure if we have enough power to stop this thing!"

"Then you need to get Garnone, maybe he can help us with that!" Dakota shouted.

"We need to do everything we can to help ourselves before we go calling on him. I know he agreed to help us, but we must still consider the source too!"

Dakota knew Zarlus was right. Garnone might be on their side or he might be playing them too.

Alexandria and Nathaniel stood there watching as Dakota talked to the beam of light that was shining so beautifully in their daughter's room.

Pamela came back on the line, "Nathaniel you still there?"

"Yes Pamela, is Chance awake?"

"No, my husband had to get the axe to chop a big enough hole for him to climb in the door. Nathaniel, I need you to tell me what is going on?"

Donald Bailey was able to make a whole big enough for Chad to fit through. He helped his younger son through the opening careful not to hurt him from the sharp wood splits.

Chad yelled back into the hall, "Call the ambulance, Chance is bleeding very heavily from his nose and mouth! He doesn't have a pulse! I'm going to perform CPR!"

Donald continued to hack the door down until he was able to fit his body through it.

"I got to go Nathaniel my son doesn't have a pulse!" She hung up the phone.

"Dakota, Chance doesn't have a pulse!" Nathaniel yelled out as he slammed the cell phone down onto the nightstand.

"Zarlus what are we going to do? Chance is dying! We have to stop this!" Dakota was frantic.

Nathaniel saw something different in his daughter's best friend. Dakota was not the same silly teenager she was just weeks ago she was now an angel determined to save her friends.

"I am going back in the dream now!" The bright glow of light disappeared.

Dakota looked over at Nathaniel and said, "It might be too late for Chance too! Just like me!"

"What in heaven's name is going on here, Dakota?"

"It's a curse, an evil curse that's causing all of this!"

Madasins' body was still violently jerking as she continued to yell for Chance in her sleep.

Alexandria began to pray. "Please God, I don't know what is going on, but please help my daughter and her friend to come out of this. Please help us!" The tears ran down onto her daughter's face as she desperately tried to hold her daughter as best she could from the wild spasms.

"Dakota you must tell us what you know! And don't sugar coat it, we need to know the whole truth if we are going to have to deal with this!" Nathaniel looked the angel in her eyes as he took her hand. "We are all in this together, we are family!"

Madasin woke up and saw her parents and Dakota in her room.

"Madasin you are awake!" Dakota screamed.

"It's happening again! I got to get to Chance right now!" Madasin wrestled to get up off the bed.

"Why didn't you tell us that this dream stuff was all true, Madasin?" Alexandria said, as she watched her daughter put her jeans on over her pajamas bottoms.

"What are you talking about?"

"We know everything! Dakota told us that the dream was real, and that there is a curse on you! So why didn't you tell us?" Nathaniel was furious.

"Dakota is dead; she couldn't have told you anything!" Madasin was putting on her tennis shoes.

"Dakota is standing right there!" Nathaniel pointed at Dakota.

"We can see her too! Just like you, Madasin!" Alexandria shouted.

"It's true Madasin. They can see me, and I had to tell them. They know that Chance is in trouble too. We've already called over to his house to try to save him. We heard you screaming his name in your dream. We don't know if he is still alive; he didn't have a pulse when Mrs. Bailey hung up to call the ambulance."

Madasin continued to dress. She put her hair in a ponytail. "Good, I am glad it is all out in the open!" Madasin turned to face them. "Chance got jumped on by a group of guys trying to save me from them in my dream. I need to get to him!" Madasin grabbed her keys to the hot pink BMW off the nightstand.

"NO, we will drive you over there. You are not alone in this fight. Whatever this curse is, we will beat it!" Nathaniel reassured everyone.

Without another word, they all rushed out of the room.

# Chapter 14

Garnone stood before the throne of the God of Darkness waiting for the meeting to start. Furgal had requested the meeting with their master to make sure that Garnone was not trying any underhanded business with Zarlus while caring out the mission.

Furgal was a ruthless dark angel that showed no mercy to anyone that was disloyal to his master. Furgal didn't trust Garnone and wouldn't hesitate to recommend Garnone to be banished from his current position as the First Commander Officer of the Dark Angels. Garnone was Furgals only stepping stone to being First in Command over the Dark Angels and catching Garnone in any type of disloyalty to the kingdom would be grand for him. He felt like he deserved the highest rank, since he was the most ruthless of the two.

Garnone didn't have any problems fooling Zarlus into thinking that he was on his side originally when he came to him with the information about the curse, but now that he knows the curse could directly involve his twin brother, he could no longer go along with the original plan. He had given too much information when he told Zarlus about the witch, but it would be up to them to find out her true identity. Garnone knew that he had to play this one cool, or it could mean eternal damnation handed down straight from the God of Darkness himself.

Garnone watched in silence as Furgal made his way into the meeting with a woman that looked as if she had no business in hell. She was dressed in a black gown with a long train that followed her. She wore a black veil over her face and matching lace gloves on her hands. She appeared as a bride waiting for her groom to arrive. Furgal escorted her to the front and stood beside her.

A group of young dark angels began to play their horns as the God of Darkness walked into the meeting along with a group of six men adorned in red robes behind him. They were the councilmen. They helped serve as the government body over the dark angels. The councilmen had the hood of their robes covering their heads and faces, for it was against the law for any of the dark angels to look upon their faces. They performed extreme measures to keep their identity sacred, so no angel could ever overthrow the government. Nobody other than the God of Darkness knew who they were.

Every dark angel in the meeting bowed their heads as their master made his way to his throne made if magma. The councilmen stood at a massive table in order by their rank.

The God of Darkness nodded his head at the councilmen to bring the meeting to order. They all sat down.

A tall dark angel with a long red and black cloak walked from off the side and stood in front of the God of Darkness. He first bowed to the throne, and then he turned to bow to the councilmen. He walked over to another angel dressed like himself and was handed a scroll.

He opened it up and began to read, "God of Darkness, today we bring before you Garnone, First Commanding Officer of the Dark Angels, and Furgal, Second Commanding Officer of the Dark Angels. Also, in attendance today, is the Queen of the Dark Witches appointed from your hand the gift of immortality, and your loyal earthly servant of over a thousand years, Queen Isabelle Offray."

All three bowed before the Throne of their master and to the councilmen.

The tall dark angel continued reading from his scroll. "This meeting was deemed necessary by, Furgal. He believes that there may be some treachery on behalf of Garnone dealing with a matter that involves a Guardian Angel by the name of, Zarlus. Furgal wishes for you and the councilmen to hear the case that will be presented before you."

The tall dark angel bowed before the God of Darkness and handed him the scroll. He then walked off to the right side of the massive throne where he stood in position by the other angels dressed like him.

The God of Darkness read the scroll for a few seconds and passed it along to the six councilmen who also read it. The councilmen nodded their heads in unison to the God of Darkness.

"His wish has been granted. Please Furgal, state your matter to the council and to myself."

Furgal stepped forward to the Throne and stood in the position that the last angel stood. "Our Father, I ask forgiveness for having to ask for such a meeting today, but I deemed it necessary due to all that is involved in this curse that was put forth into motion by your earthly servant, Queen Isabelle Offray, sixteen years ago."

The God of Darkness waived his scepter made of pure fire while he spoke, "Forgiveness is granted, please go on."

"I have reason to believe that Garnone is no longer helping our side to gain valuable information to keep this curse alive but is instead trying to help them stop it."

"And when you say _Them_ , who are you referring too?"

"Zarlus, the appointed Guardian Angel of the child of which the curse was brought upon as an unborn. Also, her friend, of whom was the first sacrifice. I learned that she was granted permission to return to earth to help her as well."

The God of Darkness observed Garnone.

Garnone didn't flinch at Furgal's words but stood only focusing on his master's reaction to what was being said.

Furgal continued, "Zarlus was the earthly brethren of Garnone, and in which I am not so sure that they aren't still brethren in nature."

Garnone couldn't believe how low his fellow dark brother would stoop to try to take his position so daringly in front of everyone.

"Excuse me Father, but I killed Zarlus while on earth. I can assure you and the councilmen that he is not my brethren. And furthermore, if you don't mind me asking Furgal this question, Master."

"Go on, Garnone," The God of Darkness waived the scepter once again.

Garnone continued, "Furgal, why would you ask me to speak with Zarlus about the curse if you didn't trust me with such a task?" Garnone didn't allow Furgal to respond. "Master, I feel like this whole mission might be a setup on the behalf of Furgal, to take my position as First Commanding Officer. I have evidence of Furgal saying that he wanted my position to other fellow officers."

"Is that so, Garnone?" The God of Darkness asked.

"Yes Master. Those officer's names I will not mention at this time unless you, my Master, deem it necessary."

"I don't feel that it is. You may continue to state your position."

"I have not given Furgal any reason to believe that there has been any treason committed on my behalf. I must say that I am quite offended by these accusations."

The God of Darkness looked at Garnone and Furgal before speaking as he crossed his enormous arms in front of him. The massive flames coming from behind the throne made it possible to see his every move.

"I do find that Garnone has a point. Why would you entrust such a mission to him if you don't trust he would be able to carry it out? After all, Garnone is the First Commanding Officer and he could've easily requested that you give the task to another, but he decided to take the mission instead."

"Master, I did so being that Zarlus knows Garnone, and would possibly trust him."

The God of Darkness laughed a hearty chuckle from the bottom of his gut that caused a sound of thunder all throughout hell.

"You believe the man that Garnone killed while on earth would trust him, but yet, you don't trust your own brethren, Furgal! I must say that this meeting has me wondering who is really committing treason. I will not tolerate my children going against one another. We are not enemies here in my kingdom. The real enemies are above this ground, and we must stay united for the real battle between our worlds that is immanent. This meeting is immaterial to my council and I. Garnone is First Commanding Officer for reasons that the council and myself deemed him worthy of, and you, my son, will also hold this title in the future with your continued loyalty and passion that you have for your master and for my kingdom. I wish to not have this matter brought before me again. Is that agreed?"

The God of Darkness voice rolled like thunder throughout hell and every dark angel and tortured serpent had to bow down.

"Yes, father it is understood. Please forgive me," Furgal dropped his head in shame.

"You are forgiven." The God of Darkness turned his attention to Isabella. "It is always wonderful to have you here, Queen Isabella Offray. I rarely see you in my presence these days. But as always, I know you are constantly busy tending to your earthly duties for my kingdom."

The lady lifted her veil over her head and exposed a beautiful face of caramel complexion with the most hypnotizing hazel green eyes one had ever seen. Her lips were full and adorned a natural red hue. Her hair was as black as the veil she had covering it. She spoke with an accent that had to be from down in the bayou of Louisiana.

Until that moment Garnone had never seen the powerful witch; he had only heard of her from Furgal and the other officers. She was stunningly beautiful to him.

Isabella stepped forward and bowed before the throne before she spoke, "Master, I thank you for allowing me to continue to serve you after all these years. My days have never been more fulfilled, and I wish to only serve this kingdom until the day that I am no longer needed in your service." She bowed her head to the throne.

The God of Darkness allowed his scepter of fire to touch her left and right shoulder. Isabella raised her head and her once hazel green eyes were now the evil yellow as the other dark angels.

"Do you hear, Queen Isabella?" The God of Darkness began to laugh. "This is the kind of love for this kingdom that I want you all to have. We must stand united!"

The God of Darkness stood up and the councilmen formed a line as he stretched the scepter over the gathering.

"I wish you all go forth and be brethren and protect this kingdom from its enemies outside of these walls. This meeting is adjourned."

The God of Darkness stepped down off his throne as the party disassembled. "Furgal I need a word with you."

Furgal was already shamed, but he turned to face his Master.

"Furgal, I remember when you came here you were just barely a man. You didn't deserve to be here, but you made it your home. You've shown me over the years that you love me. I don't know what you have against Garnone, but I ask of you to free it from your mind. I need you both, you are my strongest angels."

"I won't let you down, Master."

"I am sure you will not."

The God of Darkness walked away with the other councilmen.

Furgal stayed back and thought about what his master had said to him.

# Chapter 15

Furgal's mind had wondered back in time, and only until then had he ever thought about his past life. In order to live in hell, one has to let his earthly emotions leave his heart, but for that brief moment his mind drifted to another time before he became a dark angel.

David Snow, Jr. was growing up to be a decent young man. He was already considered to be all American at his high school at the age of sixteen. He loved all sports, and he attributed his athletic abilities to his father, David Snow, Sr. His father gave him the nickname, Davey, and everyone called him that with the exception of his mother. Davey admired his father and wanted nothing more than to grow up in his father's footsteps. He kept a scrapbook of newspaper clippings from games his father won, and a box of old trophies that his father earned during his years in school.

Unfortunately, those items were the only memories his father left behind when he moved out of their home. Davey was eight at the time when his mother, Kathy Snow, was diagnosed as having bipolar disorder and severe depression. Two years later, his father left his mother after no longer being able to deal with her verbal and mental abuse. But most of all, his father was tired of her promiscuous behavior.

The year he left was the same year Davey's baby sister was born, Emily Snow. Davey's world was crushed when his father left their home, and Kathy made it next to impossible for his dad to come around to visit with him. For a little while, during the divorce, David Sr., would sneak to see Davey after school during his games, but Kathy threatened to have him arrested if he ever came around them again. Davey's father eventually stopped trying and moved on with his life.

Since Kathy no longer had his father to belittle, she began to mentally and physically abuse Davey. It only made it worse the older David Jr. became, because he greatly resembled his father, and that made his mother hate him even more. David Jr. became the target of her rage and anger, because to her she wasn't looking at her son but her ex-husband that had abandoned her after giving birth to his daughter.

The morning of Davey's last day on earth he was up doing his regular routine. Since his father left, he was forced to be the mother and the father of the house. Every morning he got his sister ready for school and made sure she had a good breakfast. Their schools were in walking distance of the house, and that made it easy for Davey to get Emily and himself to school on time.

Kathy had not seen Davey or Emily off to school since Emily's very first day of kindergarten. She stayed in bed and slept most days confined to her room until late at night when her demons would come out and her illness would show its ugly head.

Davey was so happy all day at school knowing that his mother would not get a chance to come into his room that weekend to hurt him. Davey was hoping to spend the night at his friend's house, Justin Hill, since it was the weekend. He would stay at Justin's house as much as he could to get away from her illness.

Justin had a great family, and Davey often wondered what his life would be like if his father hadn't left his mother. Maybe his father would come back one day after he could forgive his mother for what she done to him, but that was far-fetched since his father had since remarried and moved out of their state.

After school had ended for the weekend, Davey was rushing home to get his little sister ready for her grandmother to pick her up, and then he was off to Justin's house before his mother would notice they were gone. He would leave a note on the counter as he had done in the past. They both would be back in time for school on Monday. Kathy normally didn't put up a fight about them being gone all weekend, because that was mostly her time to entertain her male friends.

On that particular day, everything had changed. Kathy was not in her room sleeping, but she was standing looking out the side door with a crazed expression on her face as her son and daughter approached the house.

Davey could feel something wasn't right when he saw his mother standing there watching him. By the look in her eyes, it was evident that demon which was her illness was loose and ready to attack.

Davey was oblivious to know that a social worker, sent from the school's guidance counselor, had come by to pay his mother a visit earlier that day. The guidance counselor was very concerned with the bruises that he saw on Davey's arms that he tried to conceal with long sleeves in ninety-degree weather. Davey had run out of excuses over the past four years to give to his teachers that inquired about his bruises. The guidance counselor just wanted a social worker to do a house check to make sure that everything was okay in the home.

Davey nervously walked up the driveway wondering why his mother was even awake that time of day; he hoped that his mother wouldn't do anything to him in front of his baby sister. He tried his best to protect her from the way he was treated over the years. Davey tried not to make eye contact with his mother and was talking to Emily about her day at school.

As they walked up the driveway Kathy opened the screen door wide for them to enter the house. Emily ran up the stairs happy to see her mother waiting on them.

"Hey Momma, are you feeling better today?"

Emily gave her mother a big hug around her waist.

Kathy hugged her daughter back, while giving off a revolting stare at Davey, who was still standing at the bottom of the stairs.

"Hey Momma, how are you doing?" Davey said, nervously as he tried to walk in pass her, but before he could, she sent a crushing blow to the back of his head with all her might with a steel mallet. Davey fell into the house and on to the tile kitchen floor.

Emily watched as his books, and papers flew out of his arms, and was now scattered all over the kitchen floor. Emily ran over to help her brother while crying.

"Momma, why did you hit Davey, he didn't do anything!"

Davey looked up at his sister with tears in his eyes, and at that point he knew he could no longer live in that house another day.

"Emily go upstairs, I am ok. Granny will be here soon to pick you up for the weekend," Davey said, as he got up off the floor and started to pick up his books and papers.

"There is no need for her to do that, because neither one of you are going anywhere this weekend!" Kathy shouted back at the both of them.

"Why can't I go, Momma?"

Emily was still crying and trying to help her brother.

Davey shot Emily a warning glare for her to shut up, he didn't know what he would do if his mother laid a finger on his little sister.

"Since I am such a bad parent, I thought I would spend some quality time with my children this weekend," Kathy was still looking over at Davey.

Davey didn't want to egg her on further, but he had to know what was going on. "What are you talking about?"

"You know damn well what I'm talking about! You went blabbing your mouth to those guidance counselors at that school, and they sent a social worker over here talking about they may need to investigate me for possible child abuse because of you!"

"I haven't told them anything, Momma! My teachers wanted to know why I wore long sleeves and jeans to school every day, and it's almost a hundred degrees outside! They see me sweating hard, and damn near about to pass out at P.E. because I couldn't change my clothes. They must've talked to my guidance counselor. It wasn't me!"

"I told your ass to stay out of those counselor's office, and if you would listen to me, I wouldn't have to beat you!"

"That's a lie and you know it, Momma!"

Davey placed his books, and papers that Emily helped him pick up on the kitchen counter. Davey stood up straight and looked his mother in the eyes. He had never back talked to his mother before, but he had had it with her abuse.

"You have been beating on me since my father left this house four years ago, and I am tired of trying to hide my bruises from everyone. I'm tired of being afraid to go to sleep at night because, I never know if you are going to come in my room and beat me out of my sleep for nothing. Why do you hate me so much? I'm your son!"

"That's where you are wrong about me, Junior. I don't hate you, I despise you! I curse the day you were ever born! You are the reason your father stopped loving me in the first place!"

"That's not true, my father left here because you are crazy!"

"How in the hell do you think I got this way?"

"I don't know!"

"You did this to me!"

Kathy now had tears streaming down her face as she remembered the time her marriage was like a fairy tale.

Kathy continued, "Before I got pregnant with you, my life was great with your father. We used to do everything together, and everybody thought we were the perfect couple. What more could make our life happier than having a child, but we were so wrong. The day I found out I was pregnant; I was so sick that I threw up blood. I was in and out of the hospital the whole time I was pregnant with you. I wanted to terminate the pregnancy..." Kathy paused to wipe the tears from her eyes and continued, "but your father wouldn't let me do that. He was so patient with me back then. He reassured me that once you were here that everything would go back to normal, but it didn't. Everything only got worse. From the moment you were born my life changed. I got very depressed. Then I started hearing voices telling me to kill you and myself all the time. Your father had to stop working to take care of you after the doctors had diagnosed me with postpartum depression. You cried all the freaking time, and nothing I did worked! Amazingly, you were always good for your father. So much so, that he spent more time with you than he did with me. We no longer could be that happy couple because you took him away from me! I blame you for everything that ruined my life!"

Davey and Emily were both speechless as they watched their mother weep like a child against the kitchen counter. She looked exhausted with her box blonde hair unkempt, and her old blue night gown that was worn from many washes. There was no more existence in her light-brown eyes, just rage and fury.

Davey picked up his books from off the counter as Emily stood by his side scared to move. He walked off towards the stairs to his bedroom with Emily fast on his heels.

"Where do you think you are going, David?

Kathy yelled from the kitchen, but Davey didn't answer. He didn't see any use of auguring with her any further, and the best thing for him was to leave.

Emily watched her brother pack his clothes in an old pillowcase that he got out of his closet.

"Where are you going, Davey? You can't leave me here; she is crazy. Who will take care of me?"

"Granny is coming to get you, and I will explain everything to her then. I can't stay here with somebody that hates me even if it is my mother. I am going to Justin's house, and call dad from there, and see if I can stay with him."

"Can I come too, Davey? I don't want to stay with Granny if you aren't going to live there too," Emily said.

"Look Emily, I need you to be a big girl for me. Unlike me, you got a whole other family that loves you. Your father can still come see you and can get you anytime he wants. Anyways, your granny isn't really my grandmother. She only accepted me because I am your brother, but I know she wouldn't let me stay there. I got to take care of myself now, Emily."

"Will I ever see you again?" Emily looked down at the floor as she wiped her runny nose with the sleeve of her pink shirt.

Emily's words pulled at his heart, but he couldn't allow it to change his mind. He knew what had to be done; he had known it for a while now. "It's time for me to leave, but one day I will come for you Em, I promise. I love you, and I always will."

Davey bent down on one knee to wipe the tears from his little sister's brown eyes. He tucked her long curly brown hair behind her ears to see her pretty face one more time before he left for good. Emily wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tight. He held on to her as tightly as he could, and they both let the tears fall. Deep down Emily knew she probably wouldn't see her brother again, and deep down he knew it too.

"Oh, isn't that sweet." Kathy stood in the doorway of Davey's room.

Neither one of them heard her come up the stairs.

"Didn't you hear me talking to you David? I said that you are not leaving this house!" Kathy spoke to her son through clenched teeth.

"Why does it matter Kathy if I stay? You just said, you don't love me, and you have hated me my entire life. So why would I stay here, and continue to live in hell with you? I am going to see if I can live with my dad, at least I know he loves me!"

"Oh, sure he does. He loved you so much that he moved to another state five hundred miles away from here. Not to mention that he has another family too. He doesn't want you either!" Kathy shouted.

Davey's anger had rose up in him with such force that he could no longer contain his emotions in front of Emily. He was done, and it was time for the truth to come out.

"That's where you are wrong, Kathy. My dad loves me! He doesn't want or love you! That's why he left because he couldn't deal with you anymore, and all of your cheating. Tell the truth for once in your life. He left mainly because you had an affair and got pregnant by another man! My dad talks to me all the time, and he told me the whole story. I know all about the one-night stands, and you partying all night with different men. Was that my fault too? My dad moved five hundred miles away to get as far away as he could from you! I can see why, because you are a lunatic that thinks that I did something to you, when I was only being a child!"

Davey was standing tall at his mother and he looked her dead in the eyes without flinching.

Kathy felt the words coming from her son's mouth pierce her heart. She couldn't believe that David Jr. knew all about the affair that created Emily.

Davey picked the pillowcase up off the bed and slung it over his back.

"Come on Emily, I think I heard granny outside."

"You are not going to leave me like your father did! I will kill you first!"

Kathy pulled out a large kitchen knife from under her gown.

"Like I said, nobody is leaving this house today unless it's in a body bag!"

Kathy stood holding the knife tightly with both hands while pointing it at her children.

Davey pushed Emily behind him and stood there watching the woman that brought him into the world holding a butcher's knife in her hand ready to kill him and his sister.

"You need help, Kathy." Davey said, in a calm voice.

"You don't tell me what I need! I am still your mother and you will address me as such while you are still able to breathe! Do you understand me?"

Kathy was now waving the knife straight at her son.

"Okay Momma, but you are scaring Emily. You need to put that knife down before somebody really gets hurt."

"She doesn't have anything to worry about. I wouldn't hurt my darling baby girl. Come over here to me, Emily. I won't hurt you."

"No Emily, you stay behind me! Momma, this isn't right for you to be acting like this in front of her!"

"Look, I got the knife, so I am calling the shots! Emily, get over here right now!"

The dark circles around Kathy's red bloodshot eyes made her look even more like a mad woman.

Emily reluctantly came from behind Davey and walked over to her mother.

Kathy changed hands with the knife. She took Emily by the hand; she really did love her daughter. Kathy looked at her beautiful daughter that was created by an affair with a man she'd only met a few times at the local bar. As bad as she didn't want to admit it, she knew that Emily was the nail in the coffin that sealed the fate of her marriage. It was just easier to take it out on Davey, but she couldn't do that forever.

A car horn could be heard from outside of the house.

"That's probably Emily's grandma out there! Why don't you stop all this foolish crap?" Davey said, hoping Kathy would stop all the madness from further occurring in front of Emily.

Kathy thought about it.

"Okay, I will let Emily go, but me and you aren't finished yet."

Kathy backed out of the room first not taking her eyes off her son. Then she ushered her daughter down the hall while walking backwards towards the stairs still watching the room.

Davey was thinking fast. He slowly backed up to the window beside his bed hoping to get Emily's grandmothers attention, but he could see her looking down at her cell phone. She was probably trying to call into the house since the house phone was ringing too. Davey could hear the front door open. He decided the easiest way out was to run down the stairs to the kitchen door hoping that his mother wouldn't have the chance to catch him. Davey realized the fewer items he had to tote would give him more speed to run so he put all his things down on the bed. He slowly walked to his bedroom entrance and looked both ways before creeping to the top landing of the stairs. He could hear his mother telling Emily's grandmother a lie as to why Emily had been crying.

Davey started to inch his way slowly down the stairs praying his traction wouldn't make a sound on the hardwood steps. As he carefully approached the bottom of the stairs, he could see his mother standing in the doorway with the knife tucked away behind her back from Emily's grandmother.

Emily's grandmother was looking at Kathy with eyes that wasn't buying the words that she was hearing, but she allowed her to finish telling her story.

Davey could see the kitchen's back door from the stairs but would have to go behind his mother to get to it.

Emily looked back in the house and saw Davey at the same time as her grandmother did.

The gray-haired woman looked past Kathy.

"Hi Davey, I thought you said that he wasn't here, Kathy?"

Emily's grandmother looked at Kathy knowing that something just didn't seem right to her. It was already strange that Emily didn't have a weekend bag packed, and Kathy was trying to rush her along without one.

Kathy half turned around being careful not to reveal the knife that was still behind her back.

Kathy forced a fake smile.

"Hi David, when did you get in?"

She shot Davey a warning look as she wiggled the knife at him just enough that he knew not to try anything.

"Yes David, where have you been? I thought you always walked with Emily home for school. Kathy was telling me about some bullies teasing her on the way home."

Emily's grandmother still wasn't buying the story, especially after looking at Davey's demeanor.

Kathy was still concealing the knife, as Emily's grandmother made her way in the door wanting to get a better look at Davey. He wasn't her biological grandson, but she still loved him because he took good care of Emily.

Emily stayed outside on the porch looking into the glass storm door.

Davey didn't want anything to happen to Emily's grandmother, so he decided he needed to play along with the crazy charade to keep her safe from his mother and get Emily into safety.

"Oh, I am sorry, Granny."

He walked to the fair skinned lady and gave her a big hug.

"Some friends wanted me to go by their house after school and check out this new game they got. I guess the time just got away from me." Davey tried to be as convincing as possible.

"You should've called me, and I would've picked up Em from school. How long have bullies been picking on her? This is my first-time hearing about this nonsense. Why would anyone want to pick on my sweet baby?"

The old woman stood with her hands on her hips.

Davey really didn't have an explanation for that considering he always walked her home.

Emily looked at her brother through the glass door from the porch and shook her head at him.

Davey didn't want anyone to get hurt so he began to rack his brain with a believable explanation that would make Emily's grandmother leave the house.

Kathy saw Davey struggling for a response and quickly interjected, "I guess they decided to do it today since David wasn't around. You know how these kids are nowadays. I don't think it is nothing to worry about, Ms. Turner. David will be grounded for the rest of the weekend for this happening to her."

Margaret Turner stood in the living room still looking at Davey. Normally she would just pick Emily up and leave, but something was definitely keeping her there. It was no secret that Margaret didn't like Kathy from the first day she laid eyes on her, when her son brought her to their home stating that she was pregnant with his child. It was only after the child was born that she discovered that Kathy was married with a son.

David Sr. had shown up at her doorstep demanding to meet the man that had fathered the child that he thought was his.

When Emily was born there was no mistaking that she was biracial. The Turner's are African American, and Emily distinctively adorned their light caramel complexion from day one of her birth.

"I need to visit the parents of the bullies and see why this occurred today. Kathy, do you know where these bullies stay at?"

Margaret was not about to let the matter go especially watching the way they all were behaving.

"Ms. Turner there is no need for that I can assure you. I've already spoken with their parents and the matter is handled. I think you are making a fuss over nothing."

Kathy was growing really annoyed with the old lady.

"That is my grandchild and I will make as big of a fuss as I please!" Margaret snapped at Kathy.

Margaret observed Kathy and it dawned on her that Kathy wasn't even dressed to go meet with anybody.

"Kathy, how did you meet with the parents of the bullies if you are still in your bed clothes, and it looks like you haven't combed your hair all week?"

"I just put this on Ms. Turner; I am not planning on going anywhere else for the evening. Why don't you just take Emily on, and stop worrying over nothing."

Kathy was holding the knife so tightly behind her back that is was causing the palm of her hand to pulsate in a dull pain.

Margaret looked at Davey and he dropped his head. She looked outside at Emily who was still crying on the porch looking through the glass storm door.

Emily's grandmother turned to Kathy.

"Well, you didn't pack any clothes for her to stay with us. She can't wear what she has on all weekend," Margaret said very annoyed.

Kathy sneered under her breath and then looked at Davey.

"David, would you go upstairs and fix your sisters bag for the weekend?" Kathy forced a smile.

Davey looked at Margaret as he walked up the stairs, and at that very moment her suspicions was confirmed. She could see the bump forming on the back of his head from the blow he had taken only moments earlier.

"And yours too," Margaret added, "I want him to go with me also."

"David will not be leaving this house this weekend, Ms. Turner. He is on restriction because of what happened today to Emily."

"I can promise you that it will not be a vacation. I could use him to help with some things around the house. Since my husband has been ill, some chores around the house have gone unattended to, and I am in no shape to do it myself."

"I don't think so Ms. Turner, maybe next weekend."

Kathy was getting even more aggravated with the old woman.

"You can punish him when he gets back, but this weekend he is going to help me and that's final!"

Margaret turned to walk towards the steps when she felt a sharp piercing pain in her back, and then she could feel something warm soaking her shirt. Emily was screaming on the porch as she watched her mother repeatedly stab her grandmother in the back.

Margaret never saw it coming as she lay in a pool of her on blood on the living room floor.

"See what you made me do! If you just had left well enough alone, then you would still be alive, but you just had to go sticking your nose in my damn business! Good riddance, I never liked you anyway!" Kathy said to Ms. Turner's lifeless body on the floor.

She looked outside to see that Emily had taken off somewhere. She had to kill Davey before the cops would arrive. After all he was the reason her life had turned that way. Kathy didn't know where Emily had ran to, and decided it was best if she went looking for her daughter instead. She went out the door after Emily after she cleaned the blood off her hands.

Davey heard his mother killing Ms. Turner downstairs and decided that while he had a chance, he would load the shotgun that Emily's grandfather had given him a while ago as a gift. Ben Turner was planning for them to go hunting together during the fall, but that day would never come. Davey knew it was only a matter of time before she came for him. Davey sat on his bed and aimed the shotgun at the closed door. He suddenly could hear footsteps coming up the stairs fast, and he cocked the gun. He was aimed to shoot Kathy whenever she entered the room. The door went flying open so fast that Davey didn't have time to see who it was before he had fired the gun. By the time he saw who it was, it was already too late.

Emily was dead in the doorway of his bedroom with a gunshot wound that tore through her tiny chest where her heart should have been.

Davey rushed to her side. "Oh no, what have I done? I didn't mean it, Em! Please, God, I swear I didn't mean it!" Davey sobbed as he held his sister.

Emily knew Kathy would come looking for her after witnessing her kill her grandmother. So, she hid behind the shrubs in the front yard until her mother came out of the house. She watched her mother go to the next-door neighbor's house, and she decided that was her chance to help get her brother out of there before she came back and killed them both.

Emily sneaked into the house, and was about to call out to her brother, but decided against it being she was unaware if her mother could hear her yell his name. She ran upstairs to get her brother instead.

He picked Emily's body up off the floor and laid her down on his bed.

As the tears ran down his face he took the handmade quilt that his father had given him, that his fraternal grandmother made when he was a baby, and he pulled it up under her chin. He tucked his sister in bed for the last time. He moved her curly brown hair out of her eyes and closed them. He bent down and kissed her forehead gently as his tears showered her tiny face.

"Maybe I will see you again one day in heaven little sister. I love you, Em."

Davey picked the shotgun up off the floor with the last round in the chamber, and he left out his bedroom closing the door behind him. As if he were in a daze, he slowly walked down the stairs to the living room to see his mother coming back towards the front yard. He looked down at Emily's grandmother's lifeless body in the floor.

"At least Em will know somebody in heaven. Take good care of her for me, Granny. I probably won't be joining you two in heaven, because I am about to put an end to this madness right now!"

Kathy walked up on the porch and she pulled open the door and stepped in the house, Davey looked at her with the shotgun aimed at her head. "Because of you Em is dead! I shot her thinking it was you coming for me! I killed my sister because of you! I hate you!" David screamed.

Kathy was about to speak but before she could say a single word the last bullet in the shotgun fired and entered into her mouth. Her body dropped instantly at the front door. David walked over to where his mother was and looked down on her.

"Guess I will see you in hell, Momma!"

Davey had lost his mind, and everything was moving in slow motion. He walked in the kitchen and took the dish cloth off the counter and laid it over his mother's face. He sat down on the couch. Still in a daze, Davey didn't hear the police sirens approaching the house. The neighbors were now standing in their yards watching as the police took position with their guns aimed at the front door.

The police yelled out to him to come out with his hands up.

Davey didn't know that when his mother went looking for Emily at the neighbor's house, she told them that Davey had gone mad, and had just killed his grandmother, and that Emily was next in line. The neighbors pleaded for her to stay while they called the police, but she put on the show of her life pretending to be concerned of the whereabouts of Emily.

"Davey, this is Sheriff Branson, please son come out here, so we can get you into safety. I've known you since you were a little boy, and I don't want to see you get hurt. I can help you, but you have to let me help you." Sheriff Branson held his hand up for the other officers to hold their positions as he walked closer to the house. "I know you didn't mean to kill your grandmother. We can get you some help son, but I need for you to come out with your hands in the air!

Davey finally realizing what was going on decided that he didn't want to spend the rest of his life in another prison. His mother had pinned everything on him. Davey walked to the door with the rifle still in his hand about to aim.

"Put the weapon down now!" The Sheriff pleaded with Davey.

The Sheriff stepped back as he saw Davey was not lowering his weapon.

Davey took a step towards the screen door to open it and with the empty rifle in his hand; he aimed it at Sheriff Branson as if to pull the trigger. The Sheriff took cover, as a barrage of bullets from the waiting police officers tore through his teenage body.

Davey's body dropped onto the porch.

Sheriff Branson ran over to Davey's body and kneeled down beside him.

"I am sorry, Sheriff. I didn't do it, my mother did, and this gun is empty."

Davey took his last breath and Furgal was created.

********

Furgal accompanied Queen Isabelle Offray as she made it back to her earthly home. Furgal still couldn't believe how that meeting had gone so terribly wrong in an instant. He knew Garnone would take the bait and meet up with Zarlus, but he hadn't counted on the mission backfiring in his face in front of his master and the councilmen.

The Queen could tell it was still bothering him and tried to offer him some comfort.

"Don't worry yourself Furgal; they are no closer to breaking this curse than they were when it started. Garnone doesn't have the power to help them with that. I am the one that started the curse; therefore, I'm the only one that can break it. There isn't another more powerful witch on this earth than I, my powers are infinite to do as I please."

"The curse is not my main concern. I want Garnone's position. I deserve it more than he does!" Furgal was mad with fury.

"I am fully aware of your agenda, but do not go getting yourself into trouble trying to discredit Garnone so early on to the Master. We have plenty of time, and whatever it is that Garnone may try to do will be exposed sooner or later. So, go on and let him help Zarlus; in the meantime, you and I will sit back and watch the show. You will be the First Commanding Officer sooner than you think. Then together we will form our own army and rule over everything!"

The Queen laughed a hardy chuckle from the pit of her stomach.

Furgal took in everything the Queen had said.

"You are right my Queen."

Furgal took her hand and kissed it.

"I know I am darling. I didn't get to be over a thousand years old being foolish."

She smiled a sinister grin at him. Her hypnotizing hazel green eyes sparkled at the dark angel.

"I got to go, but you will let me know when they meet again?" Frugal quizzed.

"Don't you fret any about that business. I told you, I got this all under control," Queen Isabella stated as she poured herself a cup of tea made with her own special herbs.

"I will be in touch; until we meet again, my Queen." Furgal bowed before the dark witch.

The queen touched the top of the dark angels head lovingly as he disappeared before her.

# Chapter 16

As the Lakes and Dakota pulled up in front of the Bailey's home, the ambulance was already loading Chance into the back of the vehicle.

Pamela and Donald Bailey were both inside of the ambulance with their son. Each one of them was sitting off to one side of the gurney that Chance was lying on as the paramedics worked hard to revive him.

Madasin didn't wait for the car to completely stop before hopping out of it to make her way to the ambulance. Madasin proceeded to get into the ambulance with the Baileys.

"Ma'am, I'm sorry but we can't let you back there," one of the paramedics said to Madasin as he was closing the door.

"That's my boyfriend that's in there!"

Madasin just realized what she had said, but by that time it was already too late, and everyone had heard her remark as they looked at her.

"Well he is, and I love him!"

She turned to announce the news to her parents mostly. Madasin was no longer able to keep up with appearances for her parent's sake. It was time for everything to be out in the open.

"You can't let him die, you got to save him!" She turned back to the paramedics.

"Ma'am we understand, and we are doing everything in our power to help him, but we really need to get him to the hospital. Please, get back into your vehicle, and you all can meet us there."

The paramedic closed the door and tapped the back of the vehicle. He then ran to the front and hopped in the passenger side. The sirens started to blare loudly and then the vehicle pulled away from the house.

Madasin backed away from the ambulance and noticed Chad standing on the grass looking on. She walked over to him and gave him a big hug.

"I'm sorry, Chad."

Madasin was crying profusely on Chad's shoulder.

"He will be okay, Chance is tough. I need a ride to the hospital."

"Come on, you can ride with us."

Chad and Madasin ran over to her parent's car and got in.

Nathaniel and Alexandria were worried that Chad would see Dakota, but their fears were put to rest once he got in the car and didn't mention anything about her. They followed behind the ambulance as fast as they could with the hazard lights on.

Upon arriving at the hospital, the paramedics wasted no time getting Chance into the trauma unit as the Baileys ran after them.

One of the nurses stopped them from entering the unit. "I am sorry, but this is as far as you can go. There is a waiting area across the hall. A doctor will come out shortly, and let you know of any changes in your son's condition." The nurse forced a smile and then walked back to her station.

Pamela and Donald were too stunned to respond.

The Lakes, Dakota, and Chad had just caught up to them.

"How is Chance?" Madasin didn't waste any time asking.

"I don't know. They were trying to revive him in the ambulance but..." Pamela's words trailed off into hysterical crying.

"I need to know what the hell is going on here! You called my wife and I in the middle of the night to wake up our son. And we find him all bloody, and not breathing! I need some answers and I need them now!"

Donald Bailey was beyond furious at that point. He had veins popping out his neck and forehead as he stood with balled fists at his side as he looked at Nathaniel.

"I know all this is crazy, and I don't know what's going on either, but trust me it gets a whole lot crazier than this. Let's go over here into this waiting area and I will let my daughter explain it all the best she can." Alexandria was trying to calm the situation down until they could be in private.

Donald was trying his best to lower his blood pressure, but he could feel the blood rushing up to his head faster than a flash flood. Pamela grabbed him by the hand as they all went over to the waiting area the nurse had pointed out to them.

There were two other families waiting in that first waiting area, so they searched for another area to find some privacy. Once they found an empty one, they all took a seat as Nathaniel closed the door behind them and locked it.

Nathaniel then walked and stood in the center of the waiting room floor. "I am going to let my daughter explain everything she knows about what is going on to us. I want everybody to have an open mind about all of this because it is real. Is everybody clear?" Nathaniel looked at the Baileys and at his wife.

Everybody nodded in unison.

"Okay Madasin, you got the floor. Now, tell us what's going on." Nathaniel backed away to allow Madasin to talk.

Even though the Baileys couldn't see Dakota, she walked up with Madasin to the middle of the floor where Nathaniel had just stood.

Dakota whispered in her ear, "Don't be afraid, I am here, and Zarlus is too. We found out while you were sleeping that it is an evil curse and they all need to know, because everyone is at risk at this point."

Madasin cleared her throat as she looked over at her parents and the Baileys. "I really don't know how to explain it to you all, because I am still trying to process it myself."

"It's okay, baby; just do your best," Alexandria chimed in.

Madasin took a deep breath. "Okay. Over the past few days, I've learned that my best friend, Dakota Hensley, didn't die by accident." Madasin looked down at the ground.

"You're doing fine go on." Dakota whispered in her ear.

"I had a dream Dakota drowned in the lake, and it happened in real life. The dream somehow came true. If I dream of anyone close to me, and if they die in my dream, then they die in real life. I found out that there is an evil curse around me of some sort, and it all started on the night of my sixteenth birthday."

"Are you serious? My son is fighting for his life in there, and this is what you come up with as being the reason why!" Donald Bailey was almost out of his chair, but Pamela held him back with her arm.

"Let's just hear her out, Donnie." Pamela looked at Madasin for her to continue.

"I know none of this makes any sense, but tonight I fell asleep, and I dreamed that Chance, and I were at a party. Some guy that I had never seen before started flirting with me in a bad way. I told him to back off, but he wouldn't. He started to touch me in ways that made me very uncomfortable. Chance saw what was happening, and came over to where I was, and pushed the guy away from me. Out of the blue, a group of guys rushed over to Chance, and started beating him up. Everybody at the party was trying to stop the fight, but nobody could. It was like there was some sort of shield around them that no one could penetrate through. It was so strange because I could hear my parents and Dakota trying to wake me up, but I was frozen. All I could do was yell out his name, and just hope that my parents could hear me."

"That's why you yelled his name out in your sleep, for us to save him," Nathaniel said.

"Yes, because there wasn't anything that I could do in the dream to help him. Finally, I woke up, but when I did, I didn't know if Chance survived the attack."

"That would explain the blood coming from his nose and mouth," Pamela explained.

"Now, don't tell me you are feeding into this nonsense too?" Donald looked at his wife and then at the Lakes. "You need to get your daughter some professional help if she has you all believing that hocus pocus nonsense! I am out of here!"

Donald stormed out of the waiting area back down the corridor to the trauma unit.

Pamela sat there not knowing whether to follow him or sit and listen to the rest of the story.

"It's true," Chad spoke up.

"What? How do you know this?" Pamela questioned.

"Yes, how do you know this?" Nathaniel asked.

"Chance told me earlier that something strange was going on with Madasin, and he had to be there for her. He wouldn't go into detail, but I could tell by the look on his face that it was serious. He does love her. He told me before he went to bed that you had left the café abruptly where you guys were eating. He was upset about a conversation you two had right before you left," Chad looked at Madasin.

"I know, I said something awful to him, but I didn't mean it, and now I don't know if I will ever get to tell him completely how I feel about him too."

Madasin sobbed heavily still standing in the middle of the waiting room floor. She felt like she was being prosecuted and everyone in the room was her jury.

"Why didn't you tell us this sooner than now, Madasin?" Nathaniel asked her.

"I didn't want you to think that I was losing my mind! I needed more proof about this thing before I brought it to you. I just ran out of time before I could get it."

Donald came rushing back into the waiting area.

"He is still alive! The doctor just told me. I met him searching for us in the hall. They were able to get a pulse, but they had to put him on a ventilator. The doctor thinks he has a 50/50 chance of recovering. One of his ribs punctured his right lung slightly, and he suffered some internal bleeding. The doctor seems very hopeful that he would be okay, but these next hours will be crucial."

"When can we see him?" Pamela breathed a short sigh of relief to know he was breathing, but he still wasn't out of the woods.

"It might be a day or two he said. The doctor asked me a lot of questions about what happened to Chance that I couldn't answer for him. His injuries are consistent with being in a terrible fight," Donald took a deep breath, and "I don't know what to tell them if the cops get involved! They are going to think one of us did it by the look of his door to his room. His bed is full of blood! What the hell are we going to do?" Donald hadn't thought about the seriousness of it all until he spoke the words.

"If this is indeed a curse, I know someone that can help us," Pamela stated calmly.

"What do you mean you know someone that can help us?" Donald looked at his wife not believing what he just heard.

"I have a friend that lives in Louisiana that knows all about this stuff. We attended college together. She was all into magical spells and stuff when we shared a dorm. She said that practicing witchcraft was a family tradition where she was from and they all knew about it. I am going to give her a call. I just pray that her number hasn't changed since I last saw her."

Pamela took out her cell phone from her purse.

"Wait a second. You mean to tell me that you have witchcraft practicing friends on speed dial?" Donald was dumbfounded.

"I told you we went to college together, and over the years we just stayed in touch. I probably talk to her once in a blue moon, but if there is anything to this evil curse business, she can help us. I am almost sure of it."

"Mrs. Bailey, it is worth a try. I just want all this to go away. If you think she can really help us, please call your friend."

Madasin walked over to Pamela and sat down in the empty chair beside her.

Pamela scrolled through the contacts in her cell phone until she came to the name of, Imani Lou Val, and she dialed the number.

Imani picked up on the second ring.

Pamela proceeded to explain what was going on over the phone as everybody listened to her talk to her friend.

They waited for some reaction from Pamela assuring them that her friend could help them when she abruptly ended the call.

"What did she say?" Madasin asked.

"She will try to get here sometime today. She is booking the next flight to Atlanta."

"She thinks it's that serious?" Donald asked.

"From what Imani says we are in great danger and time is ticking very fast!"

"We know that much, but did she say anything else that is of help to us right now?" Nathaniel was getting frustrated.

"Nothing other than she needs to meet with Madasin and try to keep her wake."

Madasin walked out of the room and Alexandria followed after her. She ran into the bathroom that was across the hall from the waiting room with her mother fast on her heels.

"Maddy wait honey, everything is going to be alright."

"How can you say that? When all of my loved ones including you and dad are in danger of this stupid curse! Why would anyone do this to me? I have always tried to be a good person! Who could hate me that much?"

"You are an excellent person, Maddy. I can't explain why bad things happen to good people, but one thing I do know is that we have each other, and we are going to make it through this. We have to have faith in God. There are a lot of people in your corner right now. So, we can't give up." Alexandria held her daughter as tight as she could.

"I know, but it's just so hard. Dakota is here, but I know once all this is over with she will be gone on to heaven. I know this is selfish, but I don't want to lose her again. Chance might not make it either!"

"Dakota will always be with you, Maddy." Alexandria continued to hold her daughter.

"Yes, I will always be with you, Maddy. I love you. You are still my sister." Dakota didn't want to eavesdrop on their conversation, but she had to be there for her friend. "You see Maddy, miracles are happening all around us. God sent me back here to help you, and that is what I plan to do. Chance is going to make it. He is a fighter just like you." Dakota gave her a playful nudge on the arm.

"Do you know that Chance is going to make it for sure, Dakota?"

Dakota wished she knew for sure, but she didn't, that was beyond her power to know.

"I am sorry, but I don't know that for sure, Maddy. But what I do know is that Chance is a fighter just like you are, and I know we will get through this together. You just have to have faith and trust in God that he will see us through all of this."

Madasin held on to her mother as tight as she could. For all she knew at that point, anyone of her parents could be next if she fell asleep again.

"Are you going to be strong, so we can get through this?' Alexandria asked, while looking into her daughter's eyes.

Madasin took in a deep breath of air from the bathroom and nodded.

"Okay. Let's go back to the waiting area before your dad comes knocking on doors looking for us. It is going to be okay, it has to be." Alexandria smiled at her daughter hoping that she could lift her spirits as they walked out the bathroom.

Madasin walked back into the waiting room first with Alexandria, and Dakota right behind her.

"Are you okay?" Nathaniel got up to hug his daughter.

"No, but I got to be okay in order to get through this." Madasin looked over at Pamela Bailey.

Both families sat for a couple hours praying and talking. They all learned something new about each other. Their children had somehow fallen in love right under their noses, and their love brought the two families together. In their tragedy, they found a common bond and a new purpose.

"We need to go home to freshen up, but we will be back." Alexandria stood and gathered her purse and jacket.

"Yes, we do," Nathaniel agreed.

"Will you call me if there is any change with Chance? I would like to go home too before your friend gets here to talk to me," Madasin said, to Pamela.

"I will, sweetheart. I didn't realize the sun had already come up. I will call you as soon as Imani gets here."

"Thank you." Madasin gave Pamela a hug along with Donald.

Chad had walked down to the cafeteria to find something to eat.

"Tell Chad that I will see him later too."

The Baileys and the Lakes exchanged hugs then they left the hospital.

# Chapter 17

As they pulled into the driveway of their Victorian style home there was a familiar car parked in the entrance.

"That's my mom's car. What is she doing here?" Dakota asked.

"I don't know. Have you guys talked to Mrs. Hensley since the other day when dad spoke to her?" Madasin asked her parents from the backseat.

"No, I haven't. Have you Nate?" Everybody was waiting on his response.

"No, I haven't the slightest idea why she would be here this early in the morning, but I guess we will find out sooner than later."

Nathaniel could feel the beads of sweat trying to form on his forehead as he pulled into their garage. He completely forgot about their conversation until he saw her face.

Elizabeth Hensley was already standing outside of the car with a legal-size envelope tucked under her arm.

"Do you think your mom can see you, Dakota?" Madasin asked.

"I don't know, but to be on the safe side I will disappear from sight." Dakota vanished.

The Lakes exited the car to see what the matter was.

"Hi Elizabeth, what brings you to our home this early in the morning? Is everything okay?" Alexandria asked.

"NO, everything is not okay! You haven't returned my phone call, and it has been almost two days since I spoke to your husband on the phone!" Elizabeth was very annoyed.

"Well let's go in the house and talk. I am sure there has to be some misunderstanding. I hate to see you this upset, Elizabeth." Alexandria took her by the arm as she led the way into the garage and into the kitchen.

"Please have a seat in our den while I put on some coffee. Please make yourself at home while I get this going. I will be in there shortly."

Madasin walked into the kitchen.

"Madasin, please take Mrs. Hensley to our den. Thank you, sweetheart."

"Come this way, Mrs. Hensley. It's good to see you again." Madasin was trying to make conversation, but Elizabeth didn't respond.

Elizabeth followed Madasin through the house. That was the first time she had been inside of the Lake's home in all the years that their daughters had been friends. No wonder Dakota spent so much time there, it was absolutely gorgeous. You could really feel the love upon entering the home. It was something that Lester and she never shared in their home, and by the looks of it, the two families had absolutely nothing in common.

Dakota's mother, Elizabeth Hensley, wasn't a wealthy businesswoman like Alexandria Lake. She dropped out of high school to run the streets with her friends at the age of fifteen. But by the time she turned eighteen, Elizabeth had grown tired of living on the streets, and was in search of a better life when she met Lester Hensley in a gentlemen's club in Atlanta. She was very smitten with his good looks and charm from the start. They spent the first night they met dancing in each other's arms like no one else was around them. Elizabeth felt like she finally met the man of her dreams, and after only six months of engagement, they married at the courthouse in Moss Creek. It didn't matter to her that he was 20 years older than she was, their marriage would provide the stability that she always wanted in her life. Lester wasn't rich, but he had a higher than average paying job and a four-bedroom home that he owned all alone.

Elizabeth quickly settled into being a wife, and since he didn't want her to work, Lester expected her to take care of all the household chores and have his dinner ready when he got off of work every day. She felt like that was the least she could do since she didn't want to work outside the home. She figured that no one would hire her anyway other than the gentlemen's club with only a 10th-grade education so that arrangement would work out fine.

The ink was barely dry on the marriage certificate before the first occurrence of physical abuse began. On the eighth day of their union, Elizabeth had been feeling sick for the better part of that day and had fallen asleep on the couch. When Lester arrived at their home from work, she had failed to have his dinner prepared. Elizabeth was awakened by repeated smacks to her face. Before she could respond, Lester dragged her by the hair off the couch into the kitchen where he forced her to make his dinner. She cried all night long as he demanded her to sleep on the bedroom floor as a punishment for not cooking.

The next day she discovered she was pregnant with Dakota and her life was a continuous cycle of physical abuse and ridicule from the man that vowed to love her and cherish her. Dakota was her only reason for living over the years and now with her gone, she no longer had the will.

Madasin sat down in the den while Elizabeth was taking in the house.

Elizabeth looked at the different souvenirs that Madasin's mom had saved from various vacations that they had taken. The walls were covered in family photos. Some even had Dakota in them. There was one photo that caught her eye. It was a picture of the Lakes and Dakota on the beach. Dakota looked so happy when she was with them. It made Elizabeth really sad. She looked more like a part of their family than their own. Elizabeth felt the sting of fresh tears trying to surface, so she went in the den with Madasin to wait on Alexandria.

Nathaniel went upstairs to the bedroom to gather his thoughts. With everything going on, it hadn't dawned on him anymore about the conversation that he had with Elizabeth about the autopsy report. He knew that was the reason she was there when he saw the envelope under her arm. He would just have to deal with his wife and daughter when the time came, and that time was very close.

Alexandria entered the den carrying a serving tray that had a pot of coffee, and cups for everyone. She carefully sat the tray down on the glass coffee table in front of where Elizabeth was sitting.

She then sat down beside her and said, "Let me first say, that I am sorry for everything. Elizabeth, I know I haven't been there for you lately, but there has been so much going on and—"

"—Yes, it has been a lot going on. That's why I am here this morning," Elizabeth said, very annoyed.

"Okay, well tell me what's wrong." Alexandria began pouring the coffee for the three of them.

"Well, other than the fact that my daughter is dead, and I haven't heard a thing from you since the funeral. I guess nothing should be wrong," Elizabeth replied, sarcastically.

"I am very sorry. As I've already stated, we have just been extremely busy and—"

"—Did your husband even tell you that I had called?"

"Yes, he did. I was about to call you back, but Nathaniel told me he had already spoken with you, and everything was fine."

"Well everything isn't fine! Did he tell you that I got the autopsy results back?"

"No, he didn't. He said that you hadn't mentioned it actually."

Alexandria didn't like the way the conversation was going, and it wasn't like her husband to lie to her about something so important.

"Well I did. I told him exactly what the autopsy said!"

"Let me get Nathaniel down here so he can defend himself since the conversation took place amongst you two."

Alexandria got up and walked to the stairs and yelled for her husband.

"Nate, do you mind coming down here for a minute please?

"Sure, Sweetheart," Nathaniel replied nervously but with anticipation.

"Thank you."

Alexandria walked back into the den and sat back down beside Elizabeth. The tension was very thick in the air and they all remained in silence while waiting on Nathaniel to enter the room.

Nathaniel took a deep breath as he walked down the stairs to what was going to be the lion's den after his wife and daughter find out the truth from his own mouth of what he had done.

Nathaniel entered the room, and hesitantly sat in the gray recliner that was his favorite chair, but that morning it felt more like the electric chair.

"Nate, Elizabeth said that she spoke with you about the autopsy report, but I remember you telling Madasin and I that she hadn't mention it. So please clear this up for me."

Alexandria was still maintaining her cool, but she knew her husband had lied to her and their daughter by the look on his face.

"She did speak to me about it, but before you all go flying off the radar, please give me a chance to explain. I watched my daughter being stuck in the spare bedroom for three weeks, without eating or sleeping. So, when you two came home that evening, and I saw the life coming back into my daughter's eyes, I just couldn't take that away from her. I love you both very much, and as the man of this family it is my job to protect you from everything that I can. I was going to tell you, but just not at that moment. Please forgive me; it was not done with bad intention. I swear to the both of you."

You could see the sincerity that was evident all over his face and in his posture as he leaned in to them, still begging for forgiveness in his body language.

"I understand that you love us, but you know that Madasin had been waiting to get those results!"

Alexandria was trying not to get upset.

"I know that, but I just couldn't at that time. I am sorry." Nathaniel looked at his daughter.

Alexandria crossed her arms over her chest.

"It's okay; I know why you did it, Daddy."

"Mrs. Hensley, what did the autopsy report say?"

Alexandria refocus her attention back to Elizabeth. Even though they knew about the curse, she was just hoping the autopsy report would read the cause of death was by something else other than drowning as it occurred in Madasin's dream.

"Here it is; I will let you read it. I have read it over and over again to the point that I don't' wish to see it anymore." Elizabeth handed over the report to Alexandria.

Alexandria took the envelope from Elizabeth's hand and took the letter out of it as Madasin moved in closer for them to read it together. They both scanned down to the middle of the paper where it read:

Cause of Death: Asphyxiation Caused By Drowning

As Madasin saw the words on the paper it made her sad, but at least she already knew it. So, her father saved her after all because she wouldn't have taken that news so easily that night when Elizabeth called, and Dakota hadn't had the chance to explain everything to her.

Alexandria put the report back into the envelope and handed it back to Elizabeth.

"Why do you both look like you are not shocked by the report?"

Elizabeth looked at them totally confused by their reaction to the news of the cause of her daughter's death.

Alexandria was about to speak when Madasin cut her off, "Mrs. Hensley there has been some weird things that have taken place since the other day when you called here. You will not understand these things because we don't, but they are real. Please keep an open mind about all of this."

Madasin looked at Elizabeth and then to her parents before going on. She was going to have to explain it again.

"Mrs. Hensley, Dakota's death was not an accident. I have an evil curse on me that started on my sixteenth birthday, and I don't know who put this curse on me. I can't go to sleep until we find out what is going on because this curse is somehow linked to my dreams. Basically, if I dream that a love one of mine dies, then they do in real life. I just found this information out the same day you called, but since then another one of my friends is in the hospital. I fell asleep last night, and it happened again."

"I told your father the dream you told me about at my daughter's funeral was somehow connected, but he dismissed me like I was some type of lunatic!" Elizabeth yelled in Nathaniel direction.

"In my husband's defense, you have to admit that it does sound crazy," Alexandria added. "And it was before everything that we know now."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes as she looked at Madasin and continued, "So if you knew this could happen as of yesterday, why did you go to sleep the same night?"

"I didn't mean too, but I've been so tired. I haven't slept well since Dakota died, Mrs. Hensley."

"You know the risk that you are taking on innocent people's lives, and yet you decide to be selfish and take a nap. Then that makes you a murderer in my book!"

"I will not allow you to call my daughter a murderer in our home! She is not a murderer! I don't know why this is happening to her, but we intend to find out! Furthermore, you owe my daughter an apology or you can get the hell out of our home!" Alexandria was furious and so was Nathaniel.

Madasin sat on the couch crying with her head buried in one of the sofa pillows as her father stroked her hair. She never thought of herself as a murderer, maybe that title is fitting for what she knows now.

"I will not apologize for speaking the truth!" Elizabeth shouted, back at Alexandria.

"Well Elizabeth, do you want to know what the truth is?"

Both women were right in each other's face.

"Yes, tell me! What is the truth, Alexandria?"

"The truth is, Dakota—"

"No, Momma, don't tell her about, Dakota!" Madasin yelled.

"No, she needs to hear this! The truth is, Dakota came to Madasin and told her what happened to her. Your daughter was sent back to earth from heaven to help Madasin! She is an angel of God!"

"You are a cruel woman, Alexandria Lake! Why would you say that to me knowing that it is not possible for my daughter to come back to life? She is not here because she is dead and buried in a cold cemetery!"

"Yes, your daughter is dead, but she is an angel now sent from God to help us. We have seen her!"

"You all are a bunch of liars! I hope that God will have mercy on your soul for what you have done to me and everybody else that is innocent in your sick little game!"

Madasin looked up at the two women as Dakota entered the room.

"Tell her again, Madasin. Tell her that I am here now," Dakota said, very sadly.

It pained Dakota so deeply to see her mother suffering. She never wanted to be the cause of her suffering.

"It is true, Mrs. Hensley! She is here right now!"

"That is impossible! I don't see her!" Elizabeth shouted, as she looked around the room.

Dakota whispered something into Madasin's ear.

"Dakota told me to ask you, if you remember the time that she fell and scraped her knee in the driveway while trying to ride her new bike that she had gotten for Christmas when she was seven?"

Elizabeth looked at Madasin and the tears began to fall from her eyes.

"Yes," she said, in a soft voice as her defenses was starting to come down.

"Dakota said that it had snowed, and you had warned her about going out there, but she begged you to let her go out. After the fall, you bandaged her up good, and gave her some ice-cream that you made from the snow. Dakota told you that she would never ride that stupid bike again, and you told her, ""Yes you will honey. Sometimes life will push you down, but you have to get back up and try again.""

"How did you know that? There is no way you could've known that!"

Elizabeth looked at Madasin with confusion.

"She knows it because your daughter just told her, Elizabeth," Nathaniel replied.

Madasin continued with the message, "Dakota said the only reason that you can't see her is because she is not here for you. She was only granted the time to help me, and then she will go on and be someone's guardian angel. She wants you to know that she loves you dearly, and she will always be with you in spirit."

Dakota walked over to her mother and embraced her tightly.

Elizabeth remained silent as she felt a warmth surround her like a blanket. She could smell the strawberry shampoo that her daughter loved so much in her nostrils.

"I can feel her holding me!"

Elizabeth was finally shedding tears of joy knowing that her baby had made it to the other side. The same glow of sunlight that shined in the spare bedroom with Madasin now shined on Elizabeth from the den's windows.

The Lakes sat in silence as they allowed Elizabeth to enjoy the moment, she was sharing with her baby girl. They all cried as they watched the loving connection between them unfold in front of them. It was beautiful.

Dakota held on to her mother.

"I am so sorry that I called you a murderer, Madasin. I just miss my little girl so much. Please forgive me. I really didn't mean it."

Elizabeth pulled her blond hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear.

"It's okay, Mrs. Hensley," Madasin hugged her along with Dakota still holding her.

Nathaniel passed Elizabeth a box of Kleenex from off the table.

Alexandria could see the bruising under her left eye now that the makeup had started to run from Elizabeth's tears.

"Elizabeth, I know it's not any of my business, but whenever you are ready to get out of that situation at your home; I want you to know that you can always stay here with us. You are family too," Alexandria stated.

Elizabeth bowed her head down. She had almost forgotten about the black eye her husband gave her a few days earlier. She wiped her eyes with Kleenex and looked at Alexandria and said, "Thank you, but I'm fine. So, how can I help you get rid of this curse?" Elizabeth quickly changed the subject.

"Well, right now there isn't anything that any of us can do. We have a person that might be able to help us coming in from Louisiana today. We hope she will be able to give us some answers," Madasin replied.

"Will it be okay if I stay here a little while longer with my daughter?" Elizabeth asked.

"Take as much time as you need. We all have got to get prepared for our guest's arrival," Alexandria replied, with a warm smile.

Dakota thanked the Lakes as they all left out of the room.

Dakota continued to sit with her mom on the couch as she hugged her tightly. She wanted so desperately to be able to tell her mother that she wanted her to leave her father, but Dakota knew she wouldn't.

"I know you can't hear me, Momma," Dakota wiped tears from her eyes with her white dress sleeve, "but I promise before I have to leave again for my next angel assignment, I will see that all the pain that my father has caused you will be gone for good. I love you."

Dakota kissed her mother on the forehead.

"I love you too, my darling Kota."

Elizabeth was able to hear every word her daughter said.

# Chapter 18

The Baileys had fallen asleep in the waiting room at Moss Creek Memorial when Pamela's cell phone began to ring.

The phone startled her awake. She took the phone out of her purse to look at the caller ID, and it was Imani.

"Hello." Pamela stretched her neck that was getting a crook in it from sleeping in the hard waiting room chair.

"I am here, Pamela," Imani said.

"Oh, my goodness, what time is it?" Pamela took her phone down from her ear to check the time. It was almost two in the afternoon. "Are you still at the airport?"

"Yes."

"Okay, I am on my way. I will call you when I am close. Thank you again for coming."

"No problem, see you soon." Imani ended the call.

Donald and Chad were both sound asleep in their chairs.

"Donald...Chad... I have to go to Atlanta and pick up Imani. She is already at the airport," Pamela said, while shaking her husband and son awake.

"What time is it?" Donald asked as he yawned and stretched.

"It's almost two."

"Oh crap, I got to check on the job site. I totally forgot to check on the crew!" Donald scrambled to get himself together.

"Come with me Chad, I will drop you off at your grandmother's house."

"No, I want to stay here with Chance, if that's okay with you two?" Chad asked.

Pamela and Donald stared at each other a brief second before Donald replied, "Sure thing kiddo, you think you will be okay here by yourself until I can get back?" Donald placed his hand on his son's shoulder as he waited for his response.

"Yes, I will be fine. I just want to stay here just in case there is any change with Chance while you both are gone."

Donald could see that even though his sons were complete opposites, they still loved one another, and it touched his heart. It's funny how tragedy can bring a family closer together.

"Do you have your cell phone?" Pamela asked.

"Yes, I turned it off before we got here, so the battery wouldn't drain dead."

"Okay, here is some money for you to get something to eat from the cafeteria. I need to check on the crew and then I will be right back." Donald gave his son a hug as did Pamela.

"I will call you in about an hour to check on you. I will probably send your grandmother up here too. Imani sounded really anxious earlier to meet with Madasin. I have a feeling we will be leaving the airport and headed straight to her house."

"Okay, don't worry I will be fine. I love you," Chad said, and surprised his parents.

The Baileys smiled at their fifteen-year-old son that was growing up to be a man right before their eyes.

"We love you too." The Bailey's walked out of the waiting room.

Pamela stopped at the nurse's station. "Excuse me, my son is in the trauma unit waiting area and his name is, Chad Bailey. Could you keep an eye out for him? His brother is, Chance Bailey, he is in trauma unit 10."

The pale faced male nurse checked the computer, and then looked back at the Baileys.

"We will notify you if there is any change in your son, but it has been a busy morning so far. I seriously doubt if there will be anyone available to keep an out for your other son," The male nurse replied, very dryly.

One of the other nurses overheard the conversation. "Excuse me Mrs. Bailey, we will try our best to make sure that your other son is checked on."

That was the same nurse that had stopped the Baileys from entering the trauma unit when they first arrived. Maybe she felt sorry for them after seeing the serious condition that Chance was in when he was taken back to trauma.

"Thank you, we really appreciate it. We won't be gone long." Donald nodded at both the nurses as he grabbed his wife's hand and headed out of the hospital's entrance.

Donald whistled for a taxi cab and waited for the car to stop in front of them. As Donald held the door open for his wife to get in, he looked up at the sun and breathed a heavy sigh before entering the car after her.

"Hello, where can I take you?" The taxi driver asked.

"2012 Oakwood Circle, please," Pamela replied.

"Okay."

The taxi driver picked up his radio and repeated the address into it. The dispatcher confirmed the address, and then the driver pulled away from the hospital.

"I got a feeling it is going to be a long day," Donald stated.

"I got a feeling that you are right." Pamela replied while looking out of the back window of the taxi at the hospital.

# Chapter 19

Pamela picked up Imani from the airport and they were now headed to the Lake's house. She called Madasin and got directions, and they arrived there around a quarter past five o'clock.

Imani got out of the car first as she gathered the only bag that she brought with her on the plane and a satchel of items that she purchased from an herb store in Atlanta that Imani had Googled the directions to.

Pamela and she walked to the front door of the house and ring the doorbell.

The Lakes were gathered in the living area of the house awaiting their arrival. They all got up to greet their guest at the door and Dakota followed.

Elizabeth decided not to go back to her home and was upstairs resting in the spare bedroom.

Nathaniel opened the door to see Pamela standing facing the door and the lady that had to be Imani looking the opposite way.

"Hi Pamela, I'm glad you made your way out here without getting lost. Most people have a hard time finding our house if they have never been out here before." Nathaniel was talking to Pamela but was more intrigued for Imani to turn around to face him.

"I didn't have a clue where I was going. I just put the address that Madasin gave me into the navigational thingy and it guided me here," Pamela chuckled, a nervous laughter as she waited for Imani to turn around and greet Nathaniel.

"Please come in." Nathaniel moved back from the entrance to allow them in.

Pamela could then see Alexandria and Madasin standing in the foyer also waiting to see Imani.

Imani was still looking out into the distance.

Pamela cleared her throat, "Imani, are you ready?"

Imani bowed her head to whatever it was she was looking at, and then turned around to greet the Lakes, "Hi, I am Imani Lou Val." She said, with her deep Louisiana accent.

The Lakes were instantly astounded by her beauty. She wore no makeup on her face, but she didn't need to. Her chocolate complexion was smooth as silk and flawless. Her reddish-brown locks hung to her bottom. Her black eyes were very intense and could immediately put you under a spell. She wore a long brown dress with a gold belt wrapped around her waist; an ivy shawl covered her arms, and brown sandals on her feet. She wore no earrings, only gold cuff bracelets on her arms.

"You have such beautiful scenery out here. I was taking a minute to take it in. I always meditate for a brief moment to God before I enter a strange dwelling. Please forgive me if I appeared to be insolent to you."

"No not at all. Please do come in and have a seat in our living area." Alexandria took Imani by the hand to lead the way, and she immediately felt a jolt of electricity from her touch.

"Oh my," Alexandria felt lightheaded for a second as the current went through her body.

"I am sorry. I don't normally touch hands much and you can see why. Are you okay, Mrs. Lake?" Imani offered a sincere concern.

"Yes, I am. I think," Alexandria said, trying to hold her balance.

"I should've warned you about that too," Pamela added.

"Are you sure you are okay?" Imani asked deeply concerned but didn't touch her again.

"I'm fine really. Let's just go in the living room and sit down."

Alexandria was still feeling a little tingly.

They all sat on the beautiful Victorian furniture as they prepared to get more acquainted.

"Would you care for anything to eat or drink Ms. Lou Val and Mrs. Bailey?" Madasin asked, nervously.

"I am fine, thank you," Imani replied.

"I am too," Pamela replied, and smiled.

Imani removed her bags from her shoulders, stood up and began to walk around the room. She seemed to be admiring all of the artwork and artifacts that was in that space of the Lake's home.

They all watched her in silence; nobody knowing what to say or do next.

Imani could sense the nervousness in the air and walked to the middle of the room.

"Pamela was telling me in more detail in the car on the drive here about what has been going on with our dear Madasin. I have never dealt with this kind of curse before in my practices. However, I am sure that I will be able to get to the root of the problem. You see, all spells have an origin, and in order to break a spell one must find why it exists. In order for me to get a better understanding of what type of spell we are dealing with, I will need everybody's full cooperation."

"We give our full cooperation to you Ms. Lou Val," Nathaniel was the first to consent.

"Absolutely," Alexandria added.

"Good, let us begin. Shall we?" Imani nodded her head and got her bag off the couch where she sat it down. "Do you have a round table that we can sit at?"

"Yes, in the kitchen. Please come this way." Alexandria began walking out of the living area with Imani behind her and everyone else formed a line after them.

They all entered the kitchen waiting on Imani's instructions on what to do next.

Imani put her bags down on the counter and started taking a few items out of them. She walked over to the round table pulled out a chair and sat down. She put the items on the table. The items were a substance that looked like salt, some herbs of some sort, and an ashtray. She then placed the herbs in the ashtray, and with the touch of her fingertip she lit them. She then placed the ashtray in the middle of the table.

"Mr. Lake I request that you sit to the left of me. Mrs. Lake please sit here to my right, and my dear Madasin please sit in front of me."

The Lakes did as they were told.

"Pamela, I need you to take this salt and spread it in front of both door seals. Start with this back door here, and then walk backwards and do the kitchen entrance with you standing on the outside of the door. I only wish to have the Lakes inside the kitchen with me at this time."

Pamela quickly did as she was told and stood on the outside of the kitchen entrance in the hall.

"Dakota, your presence is also needed in the hall at this time. Thank you," Imani said, as she looked at the Lakes.

Dakota couldn't believe that she could see her.

The Lakes were also astonished and amazed.

"What I am going to do will not hurt any of you. This is just a visualization spell. It will allow me to see into your hearts and minds. It will also help me to find the origin of the spell that is placed upon our dear Madasin. Anyone within the boundaries of the salt, I will be able to read. Are there any questions before I begin," Imani looked at the Lakes before moving on.

All three shook their heads no.

"Great, we can now begin. At this time, I wish for all minds to be clear at this table. I will now take your hand Mrs. Lake and yours Mr. Lake. I will then have you both to take our dear Madasin's hand. You will feel a jolt as Mrs. Lake felt earlier, but it will only last a short while as I enter your mind and heart. Once all of our hands are connected, I need you all to close your eyes. Okay?" Imani offered a warm smile.

All three nodded in unison.

"Superb, if all minds are clear let's begin."

Imani took Nathaniel's hand and he jumped from her touch. She then took Alexandria's hand and once again she felt the sensation of electricity surge her body. Then they both took Madasin's hand, and she was able to feel the current from both her parents. Their eyes closed automatically as they could no longer feel the weight of their eyelids.

Imani began chanting three words repetitively.

" _Incumbus, diesoul, albri. Incumbus, diesoul, albri. Incumbus, diesoul, albri. Incumbus, diesoul, albri."_

Imani continued to chant, as her eyes rolled into the back of her head. She began to look into the mind of Nathaniel and Alexandria. She could see when they first met, and their happiness to be together. Imani suddenly could see another woman that was extremely upset. This woman was weeping like a child as she held a pregnancy test that had a negative result. This other woman had the same skin complexion as her own. Her hair was black and neatly cut into a short Afro style. She could see the lady walking to the house of someone weeping as she held her stomach. There was a dark presence that opened the door for the lady. She fell into the evil being's arms and continued to weep as a child. The evil being then promised to take the pain away from the lady as they walked into the house and closed the door. The evil being shielded her identity from Imani.

Imani stopped chanting and opened her eyes. She dropped the Lake's hands and they too opened their eyes. Imani got up and with her hand she magically removed the salt barriers from the door seals and allowed Pamela and Dakota to come back inside the kitchen.

She blew the fire from the herbs and sat back down at the table.

The Lakes were still regaining their composure from the spell.

"I was able to see something, but I am not quite sure what it was that I saw," Imani said, with a sober voice.

"Ms. Lou Val, if you tell us what it was you saw, maybe we can figure it out," Nathaniel replied.

"You will have too because only you two would know who the lady is that I saw in your minds. My dear Madasin's heart is pure and has no evil, but you two, on the other hand, may have some skeleton bones in your closet," Imani's eyes grew narrow as she looked at the Lakes.

"With all due respect, what woman do you speak of?" Nathaniel questioned Imani.

"She is of the same complexion as me; her hair was black and cut short in a natural Afro style at that period in time. She seemed to be extremely upset while holding a pregnancy test. Tell me now, who is the lady that I speak of?" Imani asked.

Neither Nathaniel nor Alexandria spoke up to answer Imani.

"I told you in order for me to help I will need full cooperation from all of you!" Imani was becoming very upset with the Lakes.

"Daddy, who is this woman that Ms. Imani is seeing?"

"Do you want my help for dear Madasin or not? Imani firmly asked.

Alexandria dropped her head.

Nathaniel looked at his beautiful daughter before speaking.

"Yes, I need your help," Nathaniel started to cry.

"Very well, then tell me and dear Madasin who is this lady in my vision at this moment!" Imani's eyes were fixated on Nathaniel.

Alexandria began to weep as she kept her head bowed so low that her forehead almost reached the tabletop.

"I love you Madasin, and I would never do anything to hurt you. I know who she speaks of all too well," Nathaniel wiped the tear that ran down his cheek with the back of his hands.

"Who is it, Daddy?" Madasin looked at her mother who still had her head bowed in the laps of her shoulders. She was now crying uncontrollably.

Pamela stood behind Alexandria and rubbed her shoulders for comfort.

Nathaniel cleared his voice.

Imani looked at him and motioned with her hand for him to go on.

"The lady you see in your vision is... Henrietta Lake," Nathaniel cried as he spoke her name.

"Who is that? I never heard of her before," Madasin replied, looking confused.

Dakota walked over and stood behind Madasin's chair.

"What's going on? Why are the both of you crying at the mention of this lady? Who is she to you?" Madasin demanded.

"You don't know her, Madasin. You weren't even born yet to know her," Nathaniel said, through his tears. "She is no importance to you."

"Just tell me so I can know!" Madasin looked over at her mother but she still kept her head down.

Imani got up from the table and began to pack her items back into her bags. "Pamela, take me away from this place. They do not seek the truth."

"NO, please don't leave! We need your help!" Madasin pleaded.

"It is not you my dear Madasin that is hiding secrets. It is your parents!" Imani continued, "They are harboring the truth from you, and until they are ready to reveal their secrets then my dear Madasin, this curse will continue to be upon you. I am sorry." Imani touched Madasin's face and suddenly a vision came to her.

Madasin could feel the electricity in her body from her touch directly.

Imani could see the mysterious dark complexion lady handing over a picture of Nathaniel and her in a wedding photo over to the evil dark being. Imani's eyes rolled into her head as she continued to watch the lady hand over a photo of Alexandria to the evil dark being as well. As she was about to see the face of the evil one, her vision faded again shielding its identity.

Imani dropped her hand down to her side as she processed what she had just witnessed in her vision.

The Lakes, Pamela, and Dakota watched Imani closely as she sat back down at the table.

"Tell her now, or I will tell her who the lady is myself!" Imani said, with an eerie tone.

"Tell her, Nate. It was bound to come out eventually. We have kept this secret from her for far too long," Alexandria continued, to weep.

Pamela and Dakota stayed in silence.

Nathaniel cleared his throat and said, "Henrietta Lake was my first wife, Madasin."

"WHAT! This is a joke. Tell me this is a joke, Momma," Madasin looked over at her mother who was even more pitiful than she was before. "So, you both lied to me all my life. I don't know either of you!"

"Madasin, please give me a chance to explain," Nathaniel pleaded.

"Just leave me alone, I have nothing to say to either of you. Imani, what did this lady do to me?" Madasin asked.

"It appears that she was the one that ordered the curse, my dear Madasin because of whatever your parents done to her."

Madasin looked at her parents, "I thought you loved me! Daddy... Momma... I can't believe this! Your ex killed my best friend and my boyfriend is dying because of whatever you did to her!"

"Maddy, Baby, that was a long time ago, and we had no clue that she would do this to you or anybody. You have to believe me!" Nathaniel pleaded.

Madasin felt a spirit inside of her that she had never felt before, it was dark, and in that moment, she changed.

###

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# Afterword

Thank you for reading "Forgive Their Sins: A Journey to the Truth Series Book 1 Second Edition". I hope you fell in love with Madasin Lake's character as I did. Please continue to read this series to see what journey Madasin and her family will have to embark on to free herself from the curse.

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Check the next page for other books coming soon!

### Other titles to look for from A'Sian

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### Christian Fiction:

Forgive Their Sins Book 2 Available Now

Forgive Their Sins Book 3 Coming 2019

A Long Road Home Coming 2019

