Piercing Silver

Copyright © 2020 by Karima Usman All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without the written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. For permission requests, write to the author at karimasaadusman@g*******m with the subject line: Attention: Permissions Coordinator. This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. For updates on my stories, please follow me on Instagram: @karimasaadusman Facebook page: @KarimaSaadUsman Thank you and Enjoy. *This book is ongoing. You might encounter some typographic errors; please bear with us. My editor and I are working hard to make sure the final edit is error-free. Thank you for your patience, understanding and support.* Prologue The arrow pierced her heart while she stared at him in disbelief. The pain was sharp. How could she have hoped he'd miss? She knew he was a great shot and never missed a target. It was one of her godly gifts to him, and he had used it against her. Slowly her legs gave way, and she fell to her side. The pain was blinding. It was times like this that made her wish she was human. Her nature made instant death impossible. Instead, she would have to wait till her life slipped away completely. Somehow she knew, though she could heal from any wound, this silver head arrow in her heart would bring her death. The curse of silver was real, and it was her only weakness. If only she had awakened on time, maybe things would have gone differently, and maybe they could have broken the cycle, but the universe had plans for them, and escaping their punishment wasn't part of it. Soon he, too, would die because his soul was tethered to hers, and they would relive this nightmare of love again. Present Day Alison walked down the street that morning filled with hopes and dreams. She was finally free of her aunt Margaret, whom she had lived with all her life. She would not need to keep begging her to let her back into her house. Margaret not having a child of her own would make you think she would cherish her only living relative, her sister's daughter, Alison, but that was far from the truth. Margaret, although she loved her sister, hated her niece. She regarded Alison as an abomination, a blight in a perfect world. Her sister had died due to complications having Alison, and Margaret had never forgiven the poor girl for her death. She only cared for Alison out of obligation and never failed to let the girl know. She hated Alison so much that she made sure she never got educated enough to make something of herself. Alison and her aunt had a terrible fight, and she kicked her out. Since then, Alison had slept out in the cold, on the streets, but her spirit wasn't down. Every morning she would freshen up at Beth's diner and go in search of a job. The owner of the diner did not know Alison personally. Apart from the fact that she was homeless and needed a place to freshen up, they were strangers, but he was kind enough to let her use the diner's bathroom to freshen up so she could look presentable at job interviews. After weeks of hardship, hunger, and cold, Alison had finally landed a job at Willard's farm as a maid. People never went there as it was a privately owned settlement. A lot of scary stories were told about the place, and people never applied for job openings there. It was no surprise that Mr Robert, the farm manager, hired her without an interview or resume. Alison was expected to start immediately. She would live on the farm, and they would pay for her work. The pay was quite good as it was way above the minimum wage. For someone like her, that was so good a fortune, that she secretly believed the other shoe would drop soon, but she would enjoy things while they lasted, thinking of it as taking a break from all the stress. Her perfect job came with some restrictions. The job required that, before resigning, she would be resident there for ten years, without the option of living elsewhere, and above all, whatever happened in the farm settlement stayed there. The rules seemed easy for her as she had no friends or relatives to keep in touch with. Her life never afforded her any of those. Therefore, she knew it would be easy to keep the rules. Alison had told the diner manager, Steve, about her new job. He had tried to persuade her not to accept the offer, but he knew her lack of choices would make it impossible for her to listen. He wished her well and told her she could come to visit anytime. The farm was like a mini village. Alison wondered why people stayed away. The air was clean, the grass was greener, and the people seemed friendly towards each other. The people shot curious glances at her, which made her uncomfortable, but she smiled back at them. "Welcome, Miss Alison," a woman greeted her at the grey mansion door. The woman commanded respect, making Alison believe she might be the lady of the house. "Hi, I am Edna Marsh, your supervisor and your boss," the woman said with a half-grin. She was tall, about six feet. Her skin was properly tanned, and it glowed. Her forest-green eyes looked mysterious, and her brownish blonde hair completed her look, which screamed money, old money. "Mr Robert was going to supervise you, but I decided I would do it myself," she began. "Come," she said, gesturing for Alison to follow her. They walked past the garden towards the back of the mansion. There was a small paved path at the back that led somewhere. Alison followed Edna quietly as they walked along the paved road until they got to a modestly built cottage. "Here are your quarters," Edna said, opening the front door. Alison noticed the area was isolated and was closest to the forest. "This is the farthest we could keep you from the settlement occupants." She explained, letting herself in and gesturing Alison to follow. The cottage was modestly furnished. The kitchen and living area were in the same space. There was a door that Alison assumed was the bedroom. There was something odd about the cottage and the decor, but Alison wasn't the type to ask many questions; therefore, she remained silent. "You are to resume work by eight in the morning, sharp and ready to work. Your duties include going into town for groceries and running mundane errands," the woman said. "You are not to mingle with the people within and outside the settlement. I believe you have no friends or family; therefore, the rules should be easy to keep. Judging by the fact that you haven't spoken since we met, it indicates you are perfect for the job. Do not question anything you see; it is simply none of your business, and you are likely to offend people if you do so. Your job is not clearly defined because we have not hired outside help in a long time, but rest assured you will be informed of your duties as they come up." She said and paused to observe Alison. "Well," she finally said after a moment of silent observation, "this is now your new home," she continued. "Feel at home. You may come to me or Robert if you are ever in need. Questions?" She asked, and Alison shook her head, "well, that will be all then," she said, turning to leave. "See you eight in the morning," she finished and left. Alison took a deep breath, observing her environment and trying to process the rules. She hadn't signed anything yet. Should she just walk away? Ten years without friendship was a long time, and she didn't think she could endure that. Not being allowed to mingle with the locals was worse. How would she survive? Then again, she thought of her life with her aunt; she couldn't make friends then. What made her think she could now? Alison slowly began to believe she was destined to be alone. The cottage was better than her aunt's apartment, and the pay was more than great. She decided she would damn the consequences and take the job. 'What was the worst that could happen?' she thought to herself.