Immortal Memory (Book One)

IMMORTAL MEMORY

BOOK ONE

Sylvia Frances

This is a work of fiction. Names,
characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the
author's imagination or are used fictiously, and any resemblence to
actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events, or
locales, is entirely coincidental.

Immortal Memory

COPYRIGHT 2014 by Sylvia
Frances

All rights reserved. No part of this
book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without
written permission of the author except in the case of brief
quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

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Contact Information:
[email protected]

All scripture quotations, unless
otherwise indicated are taken from the Holy Bible, ESV, Copyright
2001 by Crossway Bibles. Used by permission of Sylvia Frances. All
rights reserved worldwide.

This book is dedicated to my wonderful
and loving grandparents, Ronnie and Frances. Thank you for always
being there for me to give all your love and support through all
the good and bad. To my caring and supportive parents, John and
Robin, who I can never repay for all their kindness.

In loving memory of my
great-grandmother, "Mother" Dorothy, who inspired me to write this
book. For all my beautiful and handsome cousins on Mother's side of
the family. I'd also like to dedicate this book to my Aunt Carol,
who I couldn't have written this book without. Thank you for
helping me with my research.

And most importantly, I
dedicate this book to Christ, who has been there for me always. And
to my loving and supportive husband, Donny, who is
my
angel God sent to
me.

Immortal Memory

Trapped in the snares of
your twisted lies,

The darkness of our years
will never be forgotten and I will always despise,

Should I dare trust Death,
the one who looks so much like you?

How can I not trust and
love him when he is saving me from you and with so much
truth?

You led me astray from the
Light in my soul,

I was alone and buried
beneath your lies in the cold,

My heart bled as the
shadows you left in my heart painted it black,

As your haunting presence
stalked my soul, there was One Whom inside my heart I
lacked,

Only by His Grace am I safe
from your evil curse,

Falling into the arms of
His salvation carried me away from a life with you when I was at my
worst,

By the Father’s undying
Love, from your possessive grip of deceit I am safe,

As long as my trust in Him
remains and I hold on to my faith,

Although your sins will
forever haunt me,

I forgive you, foul one, as
He wishes of me so my soul will be filled with the splendor of His
peace,

Forever, He will dwell
inside my heart since I sent you back to the fiery sea,

As He engraves in my heart
an Immortal Memory!

Prologue

“The Lord will fulfill His
purpose for me; your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever. Do
not forsake the work of your hands." -Psalm 138:8

The angel failed God again!
The archangels snatched him from humanity. He'd made the same
mistake several years ago. The angel of death would never be the
same. Many innocent mortals died because of him.

He awoke against an
evergreen tree in the snowy mountains. The angel closed his eyes to
forget his pain. He groaned when the wound in his heart still hurt.
An angel’s wings fluttered and startled him.

Gabriel, God’s messenger,
gazed at the angel with knowing eyes. The archangel clasped his
hands. “Your mission's not finished. You're not the reason those
innocent mortals died. Azazel is the reason. You've been more than
faithful to the Lord in your mission, and great is your reward. The
Lord's pleased with you, Zachriel. Forgive yourself to receive it,
and hope in Christ to overcome death. Remember, the Lord raised the
Lamb from the grave."

Forgiving himself would be
more than difficult. If the angel hadn't been distracted both times
by his feelings, they'd be alive. Azazel would have been finished
long ago. Did Gabriel mean that their resurrection would be
soon?

So many questions stirred.
Gabriel placed a hand on the angel’s brow before he could ask.
Drifting into a deep sleep, the angel of death allowed the serene
waves to flow through him.

Chapter 1

“Be strong and courageous.
Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your
God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you." –
Deuteronomy 31:6

-Longview, Texas

Today's newspaper article on robberies
seemed too familiar after Simra Reece brought it inside the house.
She’d read the same story before today, and it had been on today's
date. The kid peddling down the road on his bike and almost getting
hit by a car didn’t happen once either.

Today
was
February thirteenth, but history
seemed to repeat itself.

Maybe she dreamed of these future
events last night, but most dreams did not predict reality. Simra
shook her head at such irrational nonsense. The strong smell of
coffee drifted through the doorway and drew her back inside to pour
a cup. She savored the hot, creamy liquid.

The hour grew near for work at the
Alzheimer's facility that she and her cousin owned. She treasured
giving so many a comfortable place to stay. An ominous chill swept
past Simra and caused her to shiver.

Her nose twitched at the faint aroma of
smoke. Was something burning? Simra checked all the rooms but found
nothing on fire. Maybe she imagined it. People were known to smell
things that weren’t there.

Cringing at a familiar feeling haunting
her, she shuddered. A more frigid chill swept past her again and
caused her teeth to chatter. Something hard crashed onto the floor
and made her gasp. The empty coffee cup slipped from her grasp and
shattered to pieces. Her trembling hands reached for a butcher
knife to approach the object.

Simra picked up her old wooden heart
with the words “Forever Mine” engraved deep into it. An old
Valentine's Day gift. She placed it onto the table. Impossible.
Simra threw the gift in the trash several months ago. The guy
couldn’t be inside her house.

The alarm system would have sounded,
and all the doors were bolted. The windows stayed locked. He had no
key. Taking slow, quiet steps around the house, she checked
everywhere. No one was inside the house except her. She even
checked the doors to be sure they were still locked.

Returning to where the heart dropped
onto the hard floor, she spotted a letter beside it. It dated back
to the last one he sent, which she refused to read. She threw the
majority of them in the trash. This letter was out of the envelope
and tempted her to read it. Simra unfolded it and read all the
words.

“
My princess, I know
you're upset with me, but I intend on spending forever with you.
You're the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I promise
everything will get better. I'm coming home to you as soon as I
can. We'll have a fresh new start. I love you. Tristan
Azazel.”

More shivers of dread raked over her
stiff body. She tried to control her voice from quivering.
“Tristan?”

Several knocks tapped against the front
door. Simra rushed to the bedroom and pulled out her grandmother’s
old pistol. She dared placing her hand on the cold brass door
handle. Gazing out the side window, she saw no one. Jerking the
door open with the gun behind her, she found nothing.

Although the weather grew warmer
lately, a coldness bit into her flesh like icy needles. Something
evil lurked around her home. It was almost like a ghost following
her. She threw on her work clothes with an overwhelming need to
leave. After getting in the car, she reached for her cell
phone.

Simra dialed the police station. An
officer answered the phone, and she explained her reason for
calling. “My ex fiancé has been missing for a year. His name’s
Tristan Azazel, and he's been stalking me.” She described the
strange incidents and letters he resent. Simra gave the cop her
information.

“Thank you, Ma’am. We’ll check on it
and will call you back if we find anything,” the cop
replied.

“Thank you.” Simra hung up the phone
with some relief washing through her. If they didn’t find anything,
she would still search for answers. She couldn’t continue living
like this.

Perhaps only her reckless imagination
teased her. Surely he wouldn’t disturb her after so long. Maybe her
troubled memories played tricks on her mind. Trying to forget about
it, Simra walked into Reece Alzheimer’s Care Facility. She couldn’t
wait to see her grandmother, who lived at the home.

Nodding a silent hello to the
employees, she smiled at the patients before stepping into her
office. She grabbed some paperwork, walked out, and clashed
into….Tristan! The documents scattered across the floor along with
her emotions. “Tristan? No. Wait. You’re not Tristan.”

This man could pass for ex-fiancé's
twin! Was she imagining things again? His spiked up dark hair was a
little lighter than Tristan’s. The man’s oceanic eyes reflected
concern rather than a hint of possessiveness.

He towered over her and caused Simra’s
knees to weaken. This man stood much taller than Tristan. He also
wore a long white coat and blue scrubs.

“Are you a new doctor here?” She asked.
Her throat went dry from the similarities.

Simra blinked several times to be
certain her eyes weren’t playing tricks on her. There were already
too many strange occurrences today, and they didn’t need to happen
at work. She had to focus on her job.

The doctor offered his hand as his
eyebrow lifted. “Hi. Dr. Zach Hanley. Yes, I'm a specialist in
neurology. I'm from the hospital. Your name?” His studious gaze
reached deep into her eyes.

She helped him pick up the scattered
paperwork. Simra thanked him when he placed them together for her.
“Simra Reece. Nice making your acquaintance. I’m one of the owners
here. How are the patients today?”

He gave her a familiar smile, one that
sent shivers of fear and delicious warmth down her spine. “They’re
doing well. I’m more particularly concerned about Lucinda Reece;
however.”

Simra felt the blood rush from her
face. Her grandmother was her entire world, and she would die to
protect her. “She’s my grandmother. What’s wrong?”

“The Alzheimer's is getting to her
fast. It was caused by someone - something terrible. I'd like to
discuss many things with you about her lengthy illness as soon as
possible. I'm afraid we don't have much time.”

Simra's heart dropped. "What are you
talking about?" She controlled a tear from falling. Simra caught a
glimpse of her grandma coming out of her room.

Dr. Hanley spoke of
someone
or
something
causing
Lucinda's illness. How was that possible and who was this guy? Her
grandmother no longer remembered her granddaughter. However, Simra
would risk her life to protect her.

She would make certain Lucinda stayed
alive as long as she could. She’d never allow God to snatch away
the only parent she had left! Hadn’t He taken enough away from her?
Simra fought back tears at the thought. Her grandmother took baby
steps toward her granddaughter and the doctor.

The doctor placed his hand on Simra’s
shoulder. “You're in danger. I can protect you.”

Pulling away from him, she hovered over
her grandma to keep her safe. “Who are you? What do you
want?”