Chapter 1
Ilyana:
“Well Sasha, this is it.” my voice breaks while I choke back the tears I refuse to let fall. I scratch behind Sasha’s ear and coo at her like a child. For as long as I can remember she has been my only friend in the world and she is the only family I have left. I pulled up to the Port, only to discover it was raided already. At first glance, you would think a Tsunami hit. But I know better than that now, they were here already. As I walk past the docks I find dirty foot prints, the bodies of innocent life’s they claimed ahead of me, dead animals and smears of blood on the ground. I am surrounded by death and darkness. The boats reek of death. A part of me feels like crying, but a sicker part of me that I wish didn’t exist – that didn’t exist until a week ago, is relieved. I am relieved because I know their search has moved on. They did not find me here and they are not the type to patiently wait for my arrival. In a very sick way, my luck has turned for now.
Sasha and I continue to walk down the rows of boats, I pass yachts, cargo ships and even a few speed boats – eventually I will find the right one, but I have no clue how I will know it when I do. As we approach the last row of boats I see it. The head of one of the Alien figures, I know he can’t be alive but it is as startling in death as it is in life. The mouth is gnarled into a growl and the eyes are open and unmoving. That is when it comes over me, this is the moment my body chooses to betray me. I feel the cold sweat and my stomach lurches as I begin to lose the granola bars and water I have been living on for the last two days. I sit back and feel tears stinging at my eyes.
“Are you done having your moment, or should I come back later?” my heart stops as I hear the harsh voice behind me, I had grown accustomed to the silence that fell as my world ended two days ago. I slowly turn around and I see him. He must be over a full foot taller than me. His face is surrounded by a mess of loose black curls and his eyes are the darkest chocolate brown I have ever seen, when I look at him I see pain. His shirt is off and his toned body is covered with white scars. There is dirt under his fingernails and he looks like he has not slept in days. Even with his disheveled appearance, he is absolutely beautiful, he is something ethereal. I don’t know how to react, I haven’t showered in days and I am covered in the blood of I don’t know who – or what and the dirt and sweat that seems to pop up when I exit reality and wake up surrounded by death and now I have added my own vomit to the mix.
“Did you do that?” I awkwardly ask him as I gesture to the head. He stares at me for a moment before nodding yes. “Are you the one that is supposed to save me?” he looks at me and a smile curls at the side of his mouth “I can do many things, Oksana. But saving you is not among them.” I can feel my jaw go slack, his words sound like a threat but his awkward smile and extended hand says otherwise. I push it to the back of my mind for now. “How do you know my name? Call me Ilyana, I don’t even know who Oksana is.” the smile falls from his face “The same way you knew to come here, I was told what to do and I did it. You are not one of them, so I assumed you are Oksana, Ilyana.” My name rolls off his tongue like honey, a little too sweet for him, but perfect nonetheless, I think I detect a slight accent but I can’t quite place it. Now I have even more questions but I refuse to give into my curiosity and look even weaker than I already do “Well then, what is your name?” once more he reaches his hand down to pull me up “You can call me Ephraim.” As I take his hand, I choose to ignore the immediate spark his touch ignites, it is almost palpable and I am sure it is directly linked to my desperate need for human touch, the pressure of the last few days has left me so on edge. I ask him the one question that seems most pertinent “Are you going to kill me, Ephraim?” He shakes his head and lets out a small laugh before he resumes dragging me towards the end of the dock to a small boat that looks like it hasn’t been used in years “How have you made it this far? If I was going to kill you I would have done it by now or I would lie. If you want to save yourself, don’t trust anyone, Ilyana, not even me.”
His words sting, after this past week I am desperate for someone I can trust, I am desperate for an ally in the midst of all this darkness. I continue to follow him, I know I have no other choice but I just want a break. I don’t understand anything that is happening and now the first person that I have found alive in days is guiding me to a small, dirty boat with him and telling me I can’t trust him. “Okay, I get that I can’t trust you but you killed one of them, for now that is enough. Are we safe here? Where are we going? Is that boat even safe? Are you like me?” he sighs and we board the small boat, he leads me down stairs and I quickly discover the boat is much bigger and nicer than I initially suspected, he hands me a pair of sweat pants and a tank top and points in the direction of the bathroom “Fair enough. No matter where we go, we are not safe, but here is as good as anywhere. We are going to a small island West of Spain. The boat is fine, you can’t drown. And no, I am not like you, you are good and I am not. Now go shower and stop asking questions. Alya should be here any minute, she is going to steer this death trap and we should arrive to the coven soon. Now is your time to rest. All your questions will be answered once we get there.” Then in the abrupt way that so perfectly suits him, he walks out of the cabin and slams the door.
I am alone downstairs, for the first time in days I am left with nothing to do but think. I begin to look around the cabin, it has a cold and sterile feeling. There are no pictures, no books, nothing. It looks almost as inviting as a hospital. I go into the bathroom and for the first time in days get a look at myself in the mirror. I am shocked at the person I see, I am not just dirty but I look like death. My eyes are dark and sunken in, my cheeks are stained with tears, my lips are dry and my skin is covered in blood and dirt from the last few days. I look like hell. I step into the shower and begin to weep as I think about the journal my mother led me to on her deathbed. I struggle to wash away the marks the last few days have left on me.
Ilyana, if you are reading this now, I know it means we were too late, we wanted you to have a shot at being a normal girl. I wanted you to make friends, love a boy, go to prom, even have your heart-broken – these are all normal things, that normal girls get to experience as teenagers. But you Ilyana, you are far too wonderful for normal. You are greater and more powerful than you know. Your father and I were chosen for you, to train you and instruct you. To design you into the instrument you were created to be. But the moment I first held you in my arms, you became so much more than that. I loved your father from the moments I first met him, but it was in a selfish way. Loving you was different, you taught me about sacrificial love. I was so honored to be chose to love you and raise you and so terrified of the day coming where I would have to give you back. Everything in me wanted to protect you, to keep you from harm. After your fifth birthday, your father and I bartered with the counsel for more time, and much to our surprise they gave it. We knew all along that we were living on borrowed time, that the day would come that we needed you more than you needed us. If you are reading this Ilyana, it means that day has come and we won’t be there to share it with you. Just know that we love you with all of our hearts and trust you with whatever lies ahead of you. You are stronger than you know baby-girl.
As I emerge from the shower and catch site of myself in the mirror, my skin is perfectly clear. Where there were scratches and dried scars, there is now smooth, clear skin. I shake my head realizing it is more proof that I am not human, just one more reminder that my entire life up to this point has been a lie. I step out on the deck and realize we have begun our trip. I hear the warm sound of laughter and feel at peace for the first time in days. I head to the front of the boat and hear the chattering. Ephraim is the first to notice me he stops laughing and looks at me, he stares at me with so much intensity - I have never seen that in a man before and it makes me feel small and self-conscious. When our eyes finally meet he quickly looks away in the disengaged manner that I have
begun to expect from him. He clears his throat.
“Oh Hi! You must be Oksana!” says the woman, presumably Alya. He clears his throat and she quickly corrects “Oh I am sorry, I hear you prefer to be called Ilyana. Pretty name, it suits you. My name is Alya and I am your captain.” She says with a mischievous wink, it is clear her sense of humor could use some work but I like her instantly. She has such graceful ease about her, it is like she is in a different universe from Ephraim and I. She has light hair and tan skin, her eyes are a soft shade of blue. What throws me off is her mouth, I have seen it somewhere before, then it hits me. “You are Ephraim’s sister?” she smiles. “See Ephraim, you can’t deny me! I told you it is obvious. No matter what you see when you look at yourself, people can tell you are my baby brother!” He smiles curtly and gets up from his seat, he kisses her on the cheek “And you are my loud, irritating and also small, big sister. I am going to go clean up. You should wait to answer any questions she has, I would hate for you to confuse her more with your theories.” She nods as he walks down the stairs.
After he leaves I realize I was holding my breath. It is impossible to function around him. He is beautiful, terrifying and heart breaking all at once. I can tell he is no stranger to pain and I want to know more but it is obvious he is not the kind of man to readily come undone and let down his guard for a woman, I find myself doubting that he has ever let his guard down at all. Alya catches me staring the direction he walked off in and clears her throat. “You will get used to Ephraim, he can be a little hard to take at first, but you will never meet a better man. He holds his cards close.” I nod and say with a smile that is completely unnatural “I am sure. There is just something about him that seems… off. He is the first person I have met since, well, since my world ended…. He helped me and has answers to questions I haven’t even though of yet, but he told me not to trust him and chastised me for asking questions. I feel lost and… I don’t know what to think of anyone anymore, especially him.” I have no clue what came over me, I never talk to anyone like that, but she just smiles a knowing smile and simply says “Ephraim is… difficult. Oh, and he is not a person, darling.” I wait for further explanation but it just doesn’t come, I realize now that this is going to be a long ride.