Still

There’s a still, sweet silence in the darkness. It draws me in. It wants me and I want nothing more than to be wrapped up in it forever. It gives me so much peace even though I know I should fear it. This dark, heavy presence; it weighs on me. I go to it every once in a while just to feel my distorted version of normalcy. It was different this time. Things changed in my world that I had no control over and my new normal was anything but. ****** I could feel a burning on the left side of my neck and it seemed to be more than skin deep. It felt as though someone stabbed me with a white-hot poker and left it there. It reminded me of a fresh tattoo and I’ve had enough tattoos to notice the similarity. I couldn’t begin to guess at what it was, though. My hands were, as always, cold but that did nothing to ease the burn. I went to the mirror mounted above my dresser, pulled my twists back and inspected my neck. There were two small bumps where previously unblemished skin was. Even more odd was that I couldn’t make out a point where I could have been bitten. There were no holes. I had a fleeting, disappointed thought that I might be carrying a spider’s eggs when I wasn’t even using my own. Not that I was interested in that level of intimacy with my boyfriend, but still. I had an inexplicable desire to save myself for marriage and I was proud of that. I shook my head at my ridiculous reverie and went about getting ready for my day. It wasn’t until I left my apartment that I realized something was very wrong. I could hear my heart racing. It was beating so fast it made me feel lightheaded. I had to sit down on the hot steps outside the apartment building and tried to focus on my breathing. It took a moment but I finally managed to calm myself. I knew we were in the midst of a heat wave, but I had been living with this extreme heat for a few days now and never felt this way. I was almost certain that I could hear my skin sizzling, it hurt, but how could that be? This was far too strange to ignore so I went back up to my apartment and got my umbrella. I had never had an experience like that but there was a first time for everything I suppose. I hated my boss and I could never hide it. She was a manipulative nimrod who loved to use her position over people to be a b***h. She seemed to have a gift for it. Like it was her calling, her life’s mission, to make our lives a living hell. I was perfectly fine with that. I gave as much hell as I got and my mother could attest to that. As I sat behind my desk, I could hear her coming. That gait was well known as she walked like she weighed a ton in those impractical 5” heels. She always looked like she was going to topple over but she still wore them despite her ankles protesting. I turned around in my chair, ready for the onslaught of demands and ridicule for being audacious enough to exist, but she wasn’t there. Weird. This day was too odd. Today was my 25th birthday. A milestone birthday, yet I was at work instead of having an all day celebration. “Cassandra Morgan? I’m looking for Miss Cassandra Morgan!” A man’s voice bellowed from behind me. Startled, I acknowledged him. Him and a small group of actual men in black. “Can I help you?” I asked. “I’m gonna need you to come with us, Miss Morgan.” He demanded this as he grabbed my arm. I was now scared and annoyed and quickly snatched my arm away, massaging where his fingernails dug into my skin. Gross. “I’m not going anywhere with you. I don’t know who the hell you think you are but you can’t just barge in at my job demanding things and assaulting me!” “I don’t mind using force on a little demon like you, Miss Morgan. Now, you either come quietly or we drag you out kicking and screaming. Your choice. Whatever your decision is, you will be leaving this office with us.” He threatened in a low voice. I looked around, conscious of the fact that this madness was happening in front of my friends and coworkers. I was suddenly very afraid of what these men might do to them. Against my better judgement, I grabbed my handbag and angrily brushed past the mysterious men. I moved with more confidence than I felt as everyone’s eyes followed me. I took note of the fact that my boss was just stepping out of the elevator with her purse and car keys in hand. She looked quizzically at me before the look on her face shifted to curiosity. As I walked through the parking structure, something that man said struck a nerve with me. Why was he calling me a demon? I was no angel but I certainly wasn’t a demon. The men guided me towards the most sleek limousine I had ever seen and motioned for me to get in. Huh. It had to have been the fanciest vehicle ever used for an abduction. I gasped upon entering the car. There was so much space. It didn’t seem that big from the outside, but damn it if this wasn’t the most luxurious limo ever. There was soft blue lighting, a mini bar stocked with the best liquors and a bottle of wine that was worth two months’ rent was chilling in an ice bucket. Then there was the 30” flat screen TV mounted to the roof of the car so it could be out of the way and maneuvered to suit. It was also so frigid, I wouldn’t have minded just a little bit of the heat wave getting inside. Minutes had passed in silence since the chauffeur started the limo and drove onto the road to God knows where. “Where are you taking me?” I demanded. No answer. “Who are you? What’s your name? You somehow know mine.” No answer. I huffed. So rude. “Can you at least tell me what’s going on? Why did you come to my workplace screaming my name?” A smirk graced the lips of the lead goon sitting opposite me. “You’re going to help us flush out your monster of a father.” I felt instant tears burn my eyes. “Is this some kind of sick joke? My father has been dead for four months. You wanna find him? Go look in the Spry Wood Cemetery.” I bit out. “Don’t screw with me, little demon. Alessandro Morgan is as alive as a monster like him can get. In the same vein, we need to locate your mother as well.” I was so confused. Why did he keep calling my father a monster and speaking about him like he was still alive? What did he want with my mother? “I don’t know what to tell you. I don’t know what you’re going on about. As far as I know, my father is dead. And would you please stop calling me a demon? You don’t even know me.” “I apparently know more than you do, little demon. Daughter of Alessandro Morgan, a vampire prince and Mercy Grimwold, a very powerful witch from the Sisters of the Crescent coven. They’re known to be one of the most dangerous covens on the planet.” I felt the tears spill over my cheeks as what he said about my parents sank in. Was it true? Was my entire life a lie?