CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE

He couldn’t understand his father would want his mother out of the way. He felt a hand on his shoulder

“Are you ready?” His sister asked him
“Well, I have to do it either ways” he said as he headed out to the crowd.

He looked at them and he could see fear in their eyes. Having to tag his father as a terrorist and in his killer was not something he ever thought he would do in his entire life but he was left with no choice. He wasn’t even his biological father.

“Good day. This past few days have been very sad for everyone of us. We have lost a mother, a friend, a ruler and our queen. I know things are looking and feeling really dark for us now but I want to ask us to be strong. By now, some us already know who the killer is. He was given an opportunity to make some good of himself. He was lived, cared for and even catered for. He was offered the best things of life and still, he turned on his own helper, biting the hand that fed him. The person I am talking about is Phillip, my father. He is therefore declared as a fugitive. If he is found, he should be brought in alive” Damian said
“And if he refuses to come?” someone in the crowd yelled
“Then call someone in the palace. Give us the necessary information and we found go after him ourselves. We can’t kill him. No, that was a mistake. You can’t kill him. He had my girlfriend and the Luna of this pack, maybe the next queen of Cordina. I can’t let any harm come to her! Besides, I have a personal score to settle with my father” Damian said

In a few minutes, he dispersed the crowd and they headed home. He headed back into the house when he felt a sharp pain in his chest, like a knife went through his chest, a hot knife. He fell and screamed in pain. Alex sped to him.

“Hey, what’s wrong? Talk to me” he said

Damian couldn’t. He kept tugging at his shirt and Alex ripped it apart. He saw a knife wound and the spot was bright red. Justin walked up to him and looked at it

“Call me crazy but someone just ran a knife into your chest” Justin said
“Not his chest. He is linked to Annabelle. Whatever this is, it is as a result of what is happening to Anna. My father is doing his possible best to hurt her and not kill her” Sally said
“If it is this painful for him, how painful is what is doing to her?” Arielle asked
“Extremely painful. We have to find Anna, fast!” Justin said
“How do we stopped Damian from feeling this pain? It is killing him!” Sally said to them
“I don’t know if it is possible to stop the pain without killing him temporarily” Alex said
“Don’t! Don’t kill me. Let me feel it” he said as he screamed in pain
“We can’t let you feel this pain. We have to find a way to unlink you from Anna temporarily” Alex said
“No! Don’t do that. This is the only way I can know that she is alive and it is the only way I can find her. Don’t break the bond we have!” Damian said pleadingly
His skin started to grow grey gradually. He could feel his nerves deaden with every passing second. He looked at his hands and his fingers were completely dead.
“It is Anna, she is temporarily dead” Alex said

Damian noticed that the pain of the burning knife in his chest had stopped. He got up, still trying to catch his breath as the effect of his dead partner started to wear off. He got up and tears filled his eyes. He tried to talk but his voice had suddenly disappeared.

“What’s wrong?” Alex asked him
“I can’t feel her. I can’t feel Annabelle any more. There is no connection, there is no bond. It is gone!” Damian said
“That is impossible, even for your father!” Justin said
“Except she is…” Sally was about to say
“Don’t! Don’t say that word. She is not dead. I wouldn’t have that from you or from anybody. She is alive” Damian argued
“I am sorry but it is the only explanation I have!” Sally said
“Them find another one! Anything else but that. I can’t lose her now, I can’t lose her ever!” Damian said

He felt his wrist slice open and he pulled up the arm of his shirt. He took a deep breath even though it stung as hell. At least, he knew that she was still out there, somewhere, waiting for him to come and get her. He knew that she was still hanging on to the hope that her family wouldn’t stop until she was found and brought back home safely. He knew that she was fighting for him and he wasn’t going to give up.

“She is still out there” Alex said
“Yeah, she is and we have to find her!” Damian said
“And we will but right now, finding your father is the only way we can have access to Annabelle. Your father is trying to drain all of us and the only way he can drain you is to hurt her just so you are aware of the pain that she feels” Justin said
“I need to find her. I don’t care if my question go unanswered. I just want her back” Damian said to his best friend
“And we will get her back but right now, if anybody can find your father, it’s you!” Alex said
“I need some space, I need to clear my head. I need to think” he said as he sped off to his room and locked the door

He broke down immediately and for the first time in a long time, he cried his eyes out. For the first time in a very long time, he was scared of losing somebody. He knew that if he lost Annabelle, that was the end. He was going to kill himself. There was no living without Annabelle and he knew that. He walked into his mother’s room. He grabbed her diary. He needed to read it, all of it. He went into Annabelle’s room but he couldn’t stay there because her scent wasn’t even there. She was barely there. She used his room more than she used her own room.
He sat in his room and read the diary. At the end, he saw a note. He unfolded the note and read it

“One day, you would understand all of it, Damian. You would understand why you had to go through all of this. All your questions would be answered but now is not the time. Your father tried to turn you against me and it was going to work but I am glad that I died before then because your father didn’t break my heart, you did but I understand. I should have told you the truth right from the time you turned eighteen but I don’t care who’s child you are. You are always going to be my boy, my beautiful boy”

Tears dropped from his eyes as he read the note. He had to pause to catch himself and pull his emotions together. He wiped his tears away and dropped the diary on the bed. He stood up and opened the window. He was starting to feel like he was in a tight corner. Suddenly, he was that killed that was locked in the closet when he got on his father’s nerves. He felt like that little kid that was scared of the darkness of the night. He looked back at his mother’s diary and the note that laid on it. He felt like it was calling to him. He had to know the truth. He had to know everything. He has so many questions and now, the answers sat right in front of him so why was he hesitant to find out the truth? He had traded his mother’s life for it and he was maybe, about to trade his girlfriend’s life for the truth too do why was he hesitating? He has paid the price in full and now, he didn’t want to know? He let out a little laugh and laughed at himself. He had been so curious and it was ruining him. What was that popular saying again?

“Curiosity kills the cat”

Well, that did kill his mother. He walked back to the note and picked it up again. There was no use to read it half way and leave it. He had already started reading it. He might as well finish it up, he though to himself. He only wished it was that easy. He couldn’t make out what was in the note with his blurry vision. His eyes were full with tears and he couldn’t hold it in. They flowed freely like a fountain with water. He sniffed quietly. The last thing he needed was his crew knowing about his break down. He grabbed the box of tissues from his bathroom and wiped his face. He picked up the note again. His vision was clearer this time.