Her tongue flicked out of her mouth, caressing her lips. My eyes focused on the slow motion. It was as if she was inviting me. I blinked and the image was gone. My eyes couldn't stay open anymore.
‘I'll be fine,' I muttered as I drifted into unconsciousness.
*
‘I've been waiting for you.'
It was Nick. His eyes were hard, the grey shining from out of the darkness.
‘He told me that they would send you to stop me.'
I stretched my back, putting my hands on my coccyx and leaning forward.
‘Who are you?' I asked as a yawn overtook me.
His eyes blazed at my indifference.
‘I'm the man that will always stop those in love from being together.'
I laughed. I couldn't help it. What was he talking about?
‘Nothing can stop love.'
I had never encountered anyone quite so … dark. When we were asked if we wanted to help the planet to become a better place, we had agreed. A soul contract was signed before we even incarnated into a body.
‘You're one of the warriors, aren't you?'
I smiled. He was clever. He was powerful. I looked down at my sword. My hand was wrapped around the cool handle. He would never stop us.
‘I've heard about a new threat. Is that you, I wonder? What is your name?'
His laugh echoed around the shadows. The back streets of London smelt like a pisshole. I had never experienced the disgusting aroma in all of the countries I had travelled.
‘My name is Nicklaus.'
He stepped out of the shadows. Music from an inn up the road floated to us. He had startled me as I pushed the prostitute against the wall. She had run, screaming from fright. Stupid woman.
‘That didn't look like a woman you loved,' he said, interrupting my thoughts.
My smile returned. ‘No. I may have come here to promote love, but there's nothing wrong with having some fun along the way.'
He clicked his tongue, so I sheathed my sword. We would not fight tonight. I could tell.
‘How do you know you've come here to promote love?'
His question was odd. Did he not know who I was? We went by different names every time we came to earth, but our mission was always the same. Love as hard as we could. Show others that love exists so that they could experience it themselves. Since the moment my soul was created, I had known that I would fight this battle for eternity. A love warrior wasn't something to be taken lightly.
‘I was created with one battle in mind. Win the war on good versus evil. It's a long, drawn out battle. The balance on the planet is hardly … balanced, right now.'
His eyes narrowed as he took a step closer. The confusion on his face gave me entertainment. It had been a while since I had encountered a true non believer. A man that had been so overtaken by negativity and jealousy that he proclaimed to have his own mission.
‘What are you here for?' I asked.
‘To stop people like you.'
My head tilted to the side. It was quite a broad statement.
‘And what type of person am I?'
He had no idea.
There was a presence at my back. I tensed, annoyed at the interruption. All of them were there. The energy had changed too dramatically. The man's eyes widened as my warrior brothers and sisters came into view. Twelve men and women with one goal in mind. Show the world that true love existed.
‘Who are you?'
He held his sword high as the others flanked my sides. We wore the same outfits. Leather hides fashioned into trousers and sleeveless tops for the men, and dresses for the women. The girls' hair was braided and the men's was sawn off short.
‘We are the people that are here to stop you.'
‘No! Evil will prevail. You will not win.'
The chuckle that fell from my mouth was echoed by my siblings. The man fell to his knees, grasping his chest. The skin on his arms was paper thin. The hair on his head was sparse and white. It was his time.
‘I promise you that I will come back and haunt you until you no longer exist. Evil will always run through me so I can come back and stop you from achieving your goals. I will never allow you to love another.'
We froze as he choked and fell to the ground. His words echoed through our minds. The battle had been going on for years, but the war had just begun. His evil intent meant that he would come back. He would know us, as we would know him. The man Nicklaus had become our soul enemy.
*
Kerry's soft singing filtered to me as I woke up. The world spun in my head as I tried to wrench open my eyes.
///
‘Water.' I gasped as my tongue got stuck to the roof of my mouth.
The shuffle of movement alerted me that she moved closer. She cradled my head, pressing a cool glass to my lips.
‘Are you okay?' she whispered, stepping back once I'd had enough.
I nodded but the movement made me nauseous. I had never felt this dodgy coming out of the visions. It wasn't over.
‘I think I got an answer.'
The memory was so vivid in my mind, it had to be real. It was as if I had just been standing in the alley with Nick, but it had been many, many, years ago.
Kerry smiled down at me. Her hair fell forward as she leant and stroked the stubble on my jaw. ‘You're still high.'
I smiled. ‘You're still pretty.'
She rolled her eyes and moved away when I went to take her hand. The dark pulled at me before I could say anything. I watched her as she looked down at me. Her face morphed into someone different but her eyes stayed the same.
‘I can't believe we get to spend the rest of our lives together,' she said.
I blinked. Her face moved, changing shape. Again, her eyes kept the same colour and intensity.
‘Father said we cannot marry,' she sobbed, wiping her cheeks.
I tried to open my mouth. It was stuck shut. She changed again. Her hair grew out and turned black.
‘I love you so much! I can't wait until our baby is born.'
A blast of love burst through me as she leant down and kissed my cheek. Her heavy stomach pressed against my side. I grinned as the pressure reminded me that I was going to be a father. A father!
‘Why do you have to leave?' Her scream was loud in my ear as she changed yet again.
The baby bump left and another woman stood in her place. But those eyes … they remained the same.
‘Wait!' I called, shaking my head to stop the vision from turning.
She froze as her eyes met mine.
‘Who are you?'
Her face crumpled even more. Sorrow filled my own heart and squeezed a tear from me.
‘I think I love you,' I whispered as she reached for my hand and covered it in little kisses.
‘Of course you do! I should hope so, too,' she said letting me go. ‘Plus, you don't really have a choice. We agreed to do this. Now you have your answer.'
My body started to shudder. Bile surged up my throat as heat descended on me.
‘Don't forget, will you?' Her voice faded as I leant to the side and emptied my stomach.
Hands pulled my legs to the side, too.
‘Are you okay?'
Kerry's voice was high pitched. My muscles had taken over. Shaking of their own accord. I was hot, then cold. Sweat popped out on my skin, covering my whole body.
‘I'm cold,' I muttered.
Kerry put a cover over me. An arm wrapped around me from behind. I turned towards her, pressing my head against her forehead.
‘You were there, I think. No … maybe it was … '
‘Don't talk. Shall I call an ambulance?' She was rubbing my back in slow round movements.
‘No. I'm okay. She said that I couldn't forget, but I can't remember.' I laughed.
My eyes closed again. I didn't want to go back. I had no choice.
‘Taurus?'
The voice was different to the other girl.
‘Over here.'
I turned. Sophie was sitting on Gemini's bed. Her eyes were different from the girl in my previous dream, but she was similar.
‘It's good to see you,' I said, wiping my eyes and sitting up.
My head thumped. The weird sensation had gone. My skin itched. I scratched at it as I watched her. She put her head to the side and smiled at me.
‘I hope you don't go back on your promise,' she said.
My eyebrows lowered as she ran a hand through her hair. How did she know about my promise? She was dead. I was dreaming about her.
‘Are you my soulmate?' I hadn't even thought of the question before it came out of my mouth.
She sighed as she climbed off the bed. Her body was whole, with no blood on her top. Her eyes were alive, not vacant. It was good to see her looking well. Even if it was only in my dream.
‘One of them, but not your twin flame.'
‘Don't start all that. Hang on, how do you know about that?' I shuffled off the bed and stood.
Sophie held out her hand. The skin on her arm was riddled with bruises and pin marks.
‘If you keep doing what you're doing, you'll end up like this.'
I shuddered as she ran a hand down her arm and the bruises disappeared.
‘I know everything, Taurus. Don't let life ruin you. You're the only one that can change it.'
She stood and put a hand on my chest. I looked down into her eyes. They were so alive, I had to swallow. I covered her hand with mine, squeezing gently.