M Sellars - The End Of Desire

The day was pleasant with the temperature resting in the upper fifties. With the sun shining there had been no reason for anything more than the light jacket I had donned when I left the motel. However, a slight chill ran up the length of my spine causing me to shiver involuntarily. It lasted only a moment and was then followed by soothing warmth that flowed over my entire body. My anxiety was instantly replaced by comfort.

Just as Velvet had said, I knew in that moment that I was welcome.

“Put the coins over here,” Velvet told me, stepping forward and placing her own in a receptacle just past the gate.

I followed suit, and though she hadn’t verbally instructed me to do so, I mimicked her overt motion that made the coins clatter noisily. Still, I glanced over at her with a raised eyebrow.

She recognized the question in my face and immediately explained. “You want them to hear it. They need to know you are actually leaving the gift you promised.”

I simply nodded.

Apparently, she felt at home in the cemetery as it seemed to be loosening her staunch expression more than a little.

“Rowan,” she said with a slight smile. “You can talk here. It’s okay. Just keep your voice low.”

“Okay,” I answered with a nod. “I just wasn’t sure.”

“Well, you can. Oh, and in case I forget, don’t just walk out the gates. When we leave, we’ll say goodbye, thank them, and then back out.”

“Back out? Like walk backwards?”

“Yes.”

“Okay. You’re the expert.”

Velvet looked up and to the right, pointing as she mumbled something to herself. A second later she took hold of my arm and pulled gently to guide me.

“The tomb should be this way, near the back.”

With a nod I followed along, letting her lead the way down the narrow paths. We hadn’t been picking our way through for more than a minute or so when the pain in my head made a sudden leap in intensity. I stumbled but managed to catch myself as a hard stab of agony drove deep into the base of my skull.

“Are you all right?” Velvet asked, concern in her voice.

“Something’s wrong,” I told her, reaching up to rub the back of my head.

“We’re almost there. Are you going to be able to handle this?”

I nodded carefully, the pain still clawing at my grey matter. “I have to.”

We started forward again, rounding the corner of a large family tomb. Velvet was in the lead, and she suddenly halted then looked back at me.

“Someone’s here,” she whispered.

I stepped forward then looked up and past Velvet. Standing thirty or so yards down the narrow row was a petite woman with fiery red hair cascading down the center of her back. She had her forehead pressed against the stone face of the tomb in front of her.

I stopped dead in my tracks and stared.

As if the woman could sense she was being watched, she pushed back from the tomb and slowly turned toward us.

There was the distance to consider, not to mention that there were oblique shadows falling across her from the closely spaced stone mausoleums. But, the resemblance was as beyond uncanny as it had been in the vision.

I had spoken to Felicity less than two hours ago, and I knew for a fact that she was still resting comfortably in Saint Louis, Missouri, under Helen Storm’s care. But, if I hadn’t known that, I would have sworn she was standing here now, staring directly at me.

A faint look of recognition flickered across the woman’s face, but was quickly obscured by the creased lines of abject fear.

“Is that…?” Velvet asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

“Annalise,” I replied, my own coming out as a dry croak.

I’m not sure how many heartbeats it took before the two of us were no longer frozen in place, but Annalise was the first to thaw. She turned and bolted down the alley, taking off like a sprinter from a starting line.

She had a healthy head start, but I was already in motion and closing the gap.

“Call the police!” I yelled over my shoulder to Velvet as I darted forward.

Annalise had everything on her side at the moment. Not only did she have a lead of several yards, but she had youth as well. She was also in better shape, which was obvious just by looking at her. Rounding out the advantages, it was a sure bet she was more familiar with this maze of tombs than I could ever hope to be, which was something that could play against me at any moment. All she had to do was duck between a stand of the structures or turn down an alley, and I could be lost.

However, I had something I was hoping would trump everything she had stacked in her hand. Determination.

I didn’t take time to look back and see if Velvet was doing as I asked. She knew the whole story about why I was here, and I had filled her in on Annalise when we had met for lunch earlier. She was well aware of how serious this was for all concerned, so I had to hope she was on top of it.

To my surprise, my quarry didn’t run very far, and she was now slowing suddenly as she veered left toward the outer wall of the cemetery. I was still too distant to understand why, but I pushed myself harder, intent on seizing the opportunity that had been presented. Another ten steps and her reasoning became clear. I could see an opening in the wall leading out to a side street. I hadn’t realized there were multiple entrances to the cemetery, but as I suspected, she knew her way around.

Or, so I thought.

Her own footsteps came to an abrupt halt as she literally slammed her body into the iron gate blocking the side entrance. I heard a creak combined with the heavy metallic rattle of a chain. As I continued running, I saw her push hard against the unyielding barrier then heard her shriek at the top of her lungs.

She threw her petite body against the gates yet again, making them bow outward. Wedging her shoulder into the newly formed gap, she tried to force her way through the small opening. The delay this caused gave me the break I needed, and I pumped my legs even harder, quickly covering the remaining fifteen or so yards.

I didn’t put on my own brakes until the last minute. Instead, I grabbed at the first thing I could reach which was the gate itself. I wrapped my hand around one of the upright bars and used my momentum to yank it back, narrowing the already slim gap with her still in it. The frame pivoted inward with a rusted groan, pinning her in place less than halfway through. She let out a pained yelp as the bars compressed across her forearm and wrist, driving in against her chest and shoulder.

Catching her breath, she glared at me then spit in my face before screaming, “Bastard! Va te faire, vous fils d’une chienne! ”

I wiped my cheek with the back of my hand then glared back. Her voice was the same as I’d heard in the vision, however, there was no sweetness in her drawl this go around.

Now that I was so close to her in the flesh, I was even more taken aback by how much she resembled Felicity. There were definite differences, but they were far from glaring. I had assumed the vision had been filling in blanks using my conscious memory as a pattern, but I apparently hadn’t given the ethereal enough credit for its accuracy.

Unfortunately, that preciseness was about to become my downfall. Her appearance was literally so disconcerting that I not only hesitated, but also unconsciously eased up on the gate, which in effect allowed her freedom of movement. That was a mistake that cost me dearly.

I knew I was probably already too close to her, but as usual I hadn’t thought far enough ahead to even consider her response to being cornered. The moment the pressure against her forearm backed off, she jerked it free and twisted toward me. In a flash her hand was up to my face, and her nails were latched on, digging into my flesh with extreme prejudice. I let out my own yelp of pain as I could feel my skin starting to tear. I reached up to grab her wrist but was a half second behind. She ripped the sharp claws downward, taking a good hunk of the skin from my right cheek with them.