Amora
Images fly past in my mind as I lay asleep. Blurs of color pass by. The images are not through my own eyes. I see luscious rays of a setting sun dancing over the serene waves of Monaco Bay. A voice booms through my head "oh, hello Amora. I've been watching you. I was wondering when you'd drop by." His voice purrs. I try to ask, "Who are you?" but my voice does not come. I don't have a voice, I don't have a body, I don't even have my own eyes. I look again out at those waves, so...familiar. I search through broken pieces of memories that I'm not sure belong to me as I try and find what painful truth is hiding in this place. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. I'm disappointed. Digging through my shattered mind is not the way to find the answers you seek." The voice purrs once more. "If you want to find me," he begins, "I'll find you first, my dear." Even without a body, his words linger. Leaving me shivering at his cruel intent. "And if you don't want to find me, well," he says with a chuckle, "It's a little late for that, princess."
I gasp myself awake, filling my lungs with the stuffy air of a car. "Daddy?" I whisper. Tears blooming in my eyes. "No." I have to tell myself. Raven places her hand on top of mine. "Amora?" I look at her and throw on a fake smile, just as my mother taught me. "Just a bad dream" I say lightly, wiping back a tear that had threatened to spill. I feel my father's loss as if it happened seconds ago. It traps the air in my chest. That man, in my…dream? Was sinister, purely. No love rested in his tone when he called me princess. And why was I dreaming of such a specific place? it makes no sense. I look around, just now remembering where I was. I feel AJ's thoughts flow into mine, our bond snapping back into place as soon as my mind clears. Loss still reverberating through me, I hear AJ. "What the hell was that?" I look at his broken, bruised, bloodied form in the driver's seat. I throw up a wall to keep him out. I don't mean to be so harsh but I need to keep my thoughts to myself as I try to understand what had just happened. AJ takes it the wrong way, "I understand. But if it counts for anything. I'm sorry." I continue to ignore him, but the words settle on me uncomfortably. I'm sorry? What does he think he has to apologize for? I always understood enough about what happened to know that it wasn't really his choice. I look at the man in the passenger seat. He looks familiar. I can't help but think of him negatively. Although there's a warm afterthought of love. I don't think it belongs to me. I don't even know the man. I can tell that he's in charge, and I know that I know his scent. Other than that, who he may be is lost on me.
"He's our director. His name is Darren Delmonico. He was a guest speaker at school the day AJ and I disappeared. It will all make more sense soon but that is all I have the authority to tell either of you at this time."
Ren speaks up beside me. He seems so regal, mature, thoughtful, cautious, cunning... dangerous, the realization hits me with a panic. Ren seems dangerous, I knew he was a psychopath, but it had never really occurred to me with so much alarm before. He seems unstable and volatile. I can feel his tension, probably through AJ. Unfortunately AJ is an empath. Though if I remember him as cocky and arrogant as he actually pretends to be, he acts like he doesn't feel a thing for anyone. I not only feel his emotions, but the emotions he feels that he sees reflected in the people he loves. "Ren." I say simply, as an acknowledgement. Remembering the familiarity of his name on my tongue. "Amora." He says with a nod.
My concern eases slightly. For now, I don't think he's a threat.
"It is good to see you again. Both of you." He nods to Raven, she rolls her eyes. A smile twitches at the corner of his mouth. He must like her. I've never seen Ren even sort of smile. I turn away from him and look out the window. I try to shake the feeling of violation that man in my dream left me with. His words are still troubling. "I'll find you first." I don't want to find out what he means.