Stacey's dream was vivid, like a movie playing in her mind. She saw a handsome being, tall and imposing, with piercing eyes that seemed to see right through her. He was walking towards her, his strides long and purposeful. As he approached, the mark on her arm began to glow with an intense light, like a beacon calling out to him.
"Who are you?" Stacey asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
"I am Azrael," he replied, his voice low, powerful, husky. "And I am coming for you."
As he touched the mark on her arm, Stacey felt a jolt of electricity run through her body. The dream began to feel ominous, the atmosphere thickening with an eerie sense of foreboding.
"Azrael," she repeated, trying to commit the name to memory. But as she looked into his eyes, she felt herself getting lost in their depths. They were like furnaces, burning with an inner fire that seemed to consume her.
The dream shifted, becoming more distorted and frightening. Stacey tried to run, but her legs felt heavy, as if rooted to the spot. Azrael's eyes never left hers, his gaze piercing through her like a sword.
When she woke up, Stacey was drenched in sweat, her heart racing like a jackrabbit. The mark on her arm was glowing with an intense light, like a reminder of the dream she had just had. She tried to remember the name Azrael had given her, but it was elusive, slipping through her mind like sand between her fingers.
As she got out of bed, Stacey felt a sense of unease settle over her. She tried to shake off the feeling, telling herself it was just a dream. But the memory of Azrael's eyes lingered, haunting her like a ghost. And it didn't help that the mark on her arm was glowing again, and this time, with an otherworldly light.
The digital clock by her bedside glowed 3:33am. There was still a couple of hours before dawn. She doubted she could get herself to sleep again. So instead, she decided to do some more research on the mark she now bore.
She typed the Latin words that were now engraved on her mind - Sigillum Ignis. But the search results weren't any more helpful today than they were in the last three days. She hit a dead end every single time she tried to find out more.
Stacey tossed her phone aside in frustration and put on a robe over her night dress. Her father had gotten her a pistol after the incidence. She had learned how to shoot a long time ago, so it was only practical that she had something she could protect herself with.
She grabbed the pistol from her night stand and tiptoed out of the house. Since the incidence of the assault, James and Susan had not let Stacey out of their sight. They practically had her on close supervision round the clock, Stacey felt suffocated all day, every day.
Her father still spoke of the marriage option, and only slightly piped it down after she labeled him as being scrupulous. But with the kind of dream she just had, she wondered if maybe she was the one who refused to believe in what was slowly becoming her reality.
Stacey managed to slip out of the main building unnoticed, her heart racing with excitement and a hint of fear. She made her way to a secluded part of the villa, far from prying eyes, where she could be alone with her thoughts. The moon was full and bright, illuminating the woods like a silver glow. She remembered running through these woods as a child, escaping from the walls of her home. The memories flooded her mind as she walked deeper into the forest, the only sound being the crunch of leaves beneath her feet.
As she stood there, lost in thought, she noticed a movement in the bushes nearby. Her instincts kicked in, and she reached for her gun, ready to defend herself. But before she could even aim, a figure tackled her to the ground, pinning her down. Stacey struggled to free herself, but the person was too strong. He wrestled the gun out of her hand, and Stacey was left helpless.
As she looked up, she saw one of her bodyguards, his face stern and concerned. "Miss Stacey, what are you doing out here alone?" he asked, his voice firm but gentle.
Stacey's face flushed with anger and embarrassment. "I can take care of myself," she protested, trying to wriggle free.
But the guard held her firm, his grip unyielding. "Your father would have my head if anything happened to you," he said, his eyes unyielding.
"If you do not get off of me this instance, your sorry ass will be rotting in a jail cell for sexual assault before my father can decide what to do with your head." She barked
The guard got up, and took his stance a few feet beside her. "Please, let's get back inside."
Stacey wanted to argue again about taking care of herself, but she knew she would have been dead if this man wanted to kill her. He held her down in seconds, and she was completely at his mercy. As they walked back to the main building, her father was waiting by the porch, and her mother just behind him. She could feel his eyes on her.
"What in the world were you thinking, Stacey?" he thundered, his voice echoing through the living room the second they stepped in. "You know the risks, and yet you sneak out alone? Do you want to get yourself killed?"
Stacey stood her ground, her eyes flashing with defiance. "I can take care of myself, Father. I don't need your guards or your permission to go for a walk."
James's face turned red with anger.
"Honey, she's back and safe. Could we please leave this conversation for later?" Susan pleaded.
James turned to the guard that brought her back. "You are not to leave the door to her room unattended to. The next time she as much as crosses that door without you, you're fired." With that, he matched back up to his room.
Stacey barley held back the tears in her eyes. She knew she was being reckless, but she couldn't help it. She felt trapped and suffocated by the villa's walls, and she needed to escape, even if only for a moment.
Susan had the domestic staff replace Stacey's sheets with fluffier new ones that morning. They equally took out the flowers in the vase, exchanging them with fresh Anthuriums and Calatheas- they were Stacey's favorites. The atmosphere in the house was still tensesd, so Susan was doing her best to get both Stacey and her father to lighten up.
Stacey was sitting by her balcony, scanning through the pages of a magazine, as the workers went about their duties. A lot was on her mind, and this was the only distraction she could think of.
"Enjoying the view?" Susan beamed as she reclined into the rocking chair, opposite Stacey.
She lifted her eyes for a second and returned them to her magazine, "Are you here to make sure I don't choke on my juice? Or perhaps, decide to jump off the balcony?"
Susan motioned for one of the staff, cleaning the room to get her a glass.
"Stacey, you don't know how worried your dad got when he woke up from a nightmare and couldn't find you."
"Night mare?" Stacey asked, looking up.
"Yes. He had a dream about you in a pool of blood, and ran to your room immediately. He almost passed out when we met your door ajar."
Stacey felt a pang of guilt hit her. "I'm sorry mum. I didn't mean to cause any more worry. I just want to have my life back."
"I know. But right now, staying alive should be priority. Then we can talk about trying to get things back to normal."
"Okay, Mum."
Susan got up and pecked her on both cheeks. "Go talk to your father when you feel up to it. I will leave you to your magazines."
"Okay mum."
Stacey was all alone once again, and her thoughts came haunting her again. Then an idea hit her - Adelaide!
She quickly put a call through to her friend. She picked immediately. Surprisingly so. It was typical of Adelaide to miss like a call or two before taking her calls.
"Brown!" Adelaide giggled.
"Little Benedict."
The duo usually addressed each other by their surnames when they wanted to play around. And they found ways to always to come up with funny tags for it.
"What's good?"
"There's something urgent I'd like to talk to you about, in person. Could you drop by the house after work?"
"Okay… but is everything okay? I don't like how you sound."
"I'll tell you when you get here."
Adelaide had been out of the country on one of her research expeditions. She had just returned the previous day. Stacey didn't want to bother her but she really needed someone to talk to.
A few hours later, Adelaide arrived. Stacey rose to hug her as she stepped into the room. They stayed in that position for a while swaying from side to side, like carefree toddlers.
"I missed you."
"Same here, my love."
Stacey pulled her to the bed. "I have a lot to tell you."
Stacey spared no detail. She told Adelaide all that transpired in the last couple of days. Adelaide listened with rapt attention; not interrupting
When Stacey was done baring her heart, she let out a sigh.
"This is really a lot. If this wasn't coming from you, I would have dismissed it as a story from a movie."
"That's not even the highlight of the incident." She lifted the sleeve of her dress to expose the mark. "This is it."
Adelaide was horrified. Her eyes widened in utter disbelief,
"This is way past being a fat joke. So, what's the plan?"
"This is where you come in. Help me dig deeper into this organization, the bloodline thingy and the mark on my arm. Just do what you know how to do best."
Adelaide laid back on the bed, staring at the overhead ceiling, racking her head on how to go about what Stacey requested of her.
"It's definitely not going to be a walk in the park, but It's sure I can dig up something. Any other detail you might want to add?"
Stacey thought about mentioning the dream, but decided against it. She still wasn't sure what any of it meant, or if it even meant anything. It could have just been her mind playing with her.
"No, that's all." She said with a forced smile.
***
Adelaide wasn't making any significant progress in her quest. She went to institutes and consulted archives that dated back to over two centuries ago. But her findings only made it hard for things to make sense. It seemed like the deeper she dug, the more bewildered she got.
She stumbled on texts about blood rituals, dark magic, mystic powers and even immortality. They just gave hints, but nothing to hold on to. Each lead she tried to follow to unravel the mystery only led to a dead end.
After five days of going in circles, she decided to report back to Stacey.
Stacey picked on the first ring. "Hey, I've been waiting to hear from you. What's up?"
Stacey could hear her friend let out a heavy breath. "In truth, I've never been this clueless and confused in my entire life. Not even when I chose a career in history."
"Dead end?" Stacey asked, expecting the worst.
"It was one dead end after the other. I think I'll need much more time than I anticipated." She announced.
"So, nothing at all?" Stacey pressed.
"I found something, though. I don't know how it connects to everything, but a name kept popping up in my research, Azrael."
Stacey's heart skipped a beat as she heard the name. It was the same one from her dream, the one she couldn't remember. She felt a shiver run down her spine as she struggled to keep her fingers wrapped around her phone.
"AZRAEL…"
What did it mean? And why did she feel like her world was about to change forever?