The Grasp of Nighttide (29 page)

He ran faster than he had ever run before. He felt angry flames lapping against his body. His clothes were on fire. In seconds he was out of the magical circle. He threw away his jacket and did a quick roll on the muddy ground- thanks to the rain earlier. The flames disappeared like there weren’t there in the first place. Lance quickly dusted himself off. It was a miracle to have escaped with minor burns. Then he got up and ran to Cloud.

“Rave, I am coming,” he said as he drove at full speed.

He drove for five minutes with no sign of her. With no way of knowing which direction she’d gone, he got out of Cloud to try and think of a plan. It was then that he caught a glimpse of her. He would lose her if tried to go ahead and find a way to turn Cloud around. Instead, he hunkered down and jumped over the divider on the road.

Rave appeared in view again. She looked in no way like Rave, but still Lance had to get to her. The figure smiled and receded back slowly in the darkness. Lance had to make a move now. He had to cross the road. He looked around, not a single person or vehicle in sight.

“For Rave,” he said, taking a step forward. Nothing happened.

When he took another step, again, nothing happened.

Certain that Rave wasn’t nearby, he quickly thought to run across the street. Even if she wasn’t human anymore, he didn’t care. For he loved Rave deeply, he was willing to accept who she was.

But he felt it right that instant. He was stuck. Rave again came into view, red inhuman eyes, with a demonic laugh.

Rave’s sight zoomed in and out involuntarily. It was like someone was toying around with her eyes. For a moment, the tree in front of her looked like tiny broccoli and next it became huge, hovering over her. With that vision, Rave could hardly move. She couldn’t judge the distance between the objects and her body. Everything looked as if they were expanding and contracting at the same time. Her body felt like a feather that she was sure that she was defying gravity and she could hear something- laughter- but she couldn't be sure whether it was her. 

Her vision got better and she could see a man, standing on the road. She had no idea what he was doing there or why he was there.

She could hear words like- ‘I will always be with you no matter what.’ ‘Even death can’t separate us.’ ‘I love you.’ 

I love you? Lance?
 

Her thoughts broke, not letting her be sure of what to do. She couldn’t move, think or even blink. What she could only do was stare at Lance. The scene in front of her was like a half remembered dream. Rave’s vision grew dark and a flashback surfaced from a forgotten memory. There had been a night as dark as this before…… 

Rave had been standing on the road one night, with her arms wide- ready for death to knock her life out and Grim Reaper to take her away. As she was waiting for the very moment, Veronica’s words echoed in her mind. She was incapable of love; she could never be with Lance. She was destined to be alone. Loving Lance also meant risking his life. In life, she had accepted everything as her fate, and yet staying away from Lance wasn’t possible for her now. All Rave had ever wished for was to be free. Free from her past, free to experience the world as a normal human and most important, free to be loved- but that was just impossible.

A bright light beamed at her eyes. Finally, the call to afterlife had arrived.

It’s time to be free. 
Rave had thought.

She wanted to just die. Her legs were getting clammy and her body was showing signs that she wasn’t ready for the impact. However, her heart remained strong. She deserved it for all murders she was responsible for. Rave needed to be rammed to death.

I am a killing machine who serves no purpose to this world. I should just die and let everyone be safe and happy. Even Lance will be saved from the fate of marrying a beast!
Trying to make herself more determined to die, she had filled her mind with more negative thoughts. 

Although Rave thought she was ready to die then, she found herself shivering and crying. Her cheeks were wet and her hands were cold. Deep inside, she still had the feeling of fear. What was she afraid of? A demon like her shouldn’t be scared of anything!

She tightened her fists and shut her eyes. She had involuntarily braced herself for the impact that would end it all, but a person came from the side and pushed her, and she went sprawling to the side of the road. 

As she had hit her head, she saw Lance fallen and bleeding profusely. His was a desperate look given by people who were about to face their death and it took her breath away. She tried to reach him but her head hurt bad, letting her lose balance and fall off the slope. The last thing she had seen was Lance looking at her, trying to reach out before closing his eyes
. Please save Lance. Let this wish come true
, Rave had prayed
. This once, please
….. 

“Lance!” a shout boomed in her head, dragging her back into the present. She was back in the present, but the memory had taken her breath away. 

A new voice began to close in on her.
 That’s it Rave. Make the stitch in time. Make the stitch in time.
 

Rave? Stitch? Lance!
 

“No!” Rave eye’s widened in recognition of what was about to happen and she reached out her hand. 

A moment before he could be killed by the impact of the car, Lance was pushed away backwards with an invisible wave. He was thrown in the air before finally smashing onto a tree. The car screeched to a halt, its tires squealing on the asphalt, headlights pointing to nowhere.

“Oh my God!” Rave gasped and dashed towards Lance. Her heart pounded as she approached Lance. Pictures of Lance being covered in blood and being broken into half were in her mind. However, Lance looked fine except with a few bruises and burns. Rave moved closer to him, looking for signs of life. He was definitely breathing but just unconscious. She heaved a sigh of relief.

Alice smiled, tears rolling down her cheeks as she hugged Lance. She began to recall every moment she spent with him. Her memories came flooding back in a wave. Alice? Rave? Both were inside her head now, each with different meanings, different emotions attached, but the one constant in both set of memories was this man. The smile, the rush of love towards him was the same from Rave as it was from Alice. He was her constant, and she knew that she loved him no matter who she was. 

“Holy shit! I’m really sorry!!” A stout man with a beard came out of the car, panicking. “I don’t remember what just happened. I wasn’t even supposed to be here.” he grabbed his head, completely being unable to remember anything. Sensing it wasn’t the perfect time to wander about his memories, he quickly shifted his attention to the two. “Hey, are you okay?” 

Alice glared at his feet. He was on the road, but nothing happened. It looked like something more happened than just her memory coming back. After a moment where she tensed, wondering if she was going to rip this man to pieces, then she realized that nothing of that sort was going to happen. She was free. Free from the demon’s grasp. After fifteen long and painful years she was finally free. 

“Is he okay?” The man bet down to examine Lance. “I think we better get him to the hospital.”

Rave nodded as she wrapped her arm around Lance’s waist and put his slump arm around her shoulders. The man- Jarred, kept most of the weight on him as they slowly walked towards his car. Rave was grateful for that. She was all drained at the moment and even if she wasn’t, she couldn’t handle Lance’s weight. She was thin and weak because of the frustration all these months, and she admitted she hardly ate enough. But everything was about to get better now.

She looked at Lance and her heart ached. He was hurt because of her.

The worse is over,
she thought
. I will never hurt you and never leave you again, I promise.

Jarred got into the driver’s seat as Rave and Lance sat at the back, with Lance’s head resting on Rave’s shoulder.

“Sorry about that. I swear I don’t know what was wrong with me.” Jarred apologized again. “It was a long day at work, but I’m always alert behind the wheel.”

“It’s alright. It was really dark anyway, plus he will be alright.”

Rave could see Jarred relax from the mirror. She knew it wasn’t his fault, and she didn’t want to put any blame on him.

At the hospital Rave sat impatiently near Lance, waiting for him to awake. Jarred left apologizing once more and saying that he’d drop by to check on Lance in the morning. The doctors assured that it was nothing serious and that he would be discharged the next day. She glanced at her watch for what felt like the thousandth time. It was exactly twenty-three minutes before he slowly opened his eyes.

“Rave? Are you there?” Lance spoke. His voice made her extremely happy.

She rushed towards him, her head hovering above his. “Lance! You scared me.” she hugged him, landing a kiss on his lips. 

Lance grinned. He caressed her hair and wiped the tears at the corner of her eyes. “My love for you has proved to be stronger than anything. I had told you we are destined to be together, my lady.” he joked, causing him to earn a punch from Rave. “Ouch.” 

“I remember everything now. Everything!” Rave declared excitedly. “The demon threat is gone. I made the stitch in time!” 

Lance gaped. He quickly sat up and stared at her. “Are you serious? You mean…you are free? And you…you remember?” 

Rave nodded. Lance grabbed her and pulled her to a hug. “This is so amazing.”

Lance paused and looked at his arm. “And….” he continued but ended up leaving his words hanging. 

Rave raised her eyebrow, wondering whether it might be the injuries bothering him. She tried to check his arm. 

“I need a stitch too,” Lance winced. He looked slightly disoriented, and pain made him wince. 

“Where? Show me.” Rave asked alarmed, bending over. 

“Here” Lance moved forward and his longing eyes met hers. He cupped her chin and grabbed her to a kiss. Their hands interlocked as the kiss went longer. It was not only a kiss full of passion and love but it was also the very kiss that Rave had desperately craved for a long time. It was a kiss of freedom, a prince’s kiss given to the princess in the happy ending of all fairy tales. They had finally found their happy ending.

The sudden vibration in her pocket startled her. Diane Lara cautiously looked at the screen of the phone and heaved a sigh of relief when she managed to identify the caller. It wasn’t the queen. She quickly pressed the button to answer the call. “We lost the demon.” she sighed and paused for a deep breath. “The whole scene was freaking unbelievable. I mean... Can you believe that Rave could suppress it? I still can’t believe my eyes! It should have never taken place. The strong magic that assured us since years has vanished…gone! We were so dependent on her. And now... everything is gone!” Diane exclaimed. 

Diane felt wrecked. No assignment had ever suppressed a Grasp demon before. It was a long fifteen years looking after the demon and tonight everything was gone. Diane tried to bring the demon under her control again- after Rave saved Lance- but she couldn’t reach for it, though it was still inside Rave. Not even powerful Summoners like Andy or the queen herself could do it now.

A chuckle mixed with sigh could be heard from the phone. The caller, Andy Frost seemed unsurprised to hear the news. “So that’s the deal.. Oh darling, I know you did your best.” Andy said, trying to comfort the horrified Diane. "And it's not the end of the Grasp or something. I know it's bad for us. But not our end."

“
She
didn’t say a word.” Diane nervously curled her long raven hair with her finger. She informed the queen an hour ago, immediately after the demon was lost, and the queen cut the call without saying anything.

“Didn’t you get her mail?” Andy asked, surprised. “I’ve checked it for you and you got nothing to worry about. I was wondering why she sent that.” 

“What mail? Are you trying to pull my leg, Andy? She doesn’t know how to 
e-mail
,” Diane snapped, disapprovingly. However, when there was no usual laughter heard from Andy, Diane’s face turned pale.

“
Oh God, Andy must be telling the truth! Crap!” Diane cursed under her breath as she quickly killed the call and checked her mailbox. Upon seeing the notification, Diane face fell. Yes, the queen had sent her a mail. Maybe the queen had included all her anger in it. “I’m dead.” Diane opened the mail which had no subject to it. Unlike what she had expected, the Queen seemed to be not blaming everything on her.

It read ‘Do not panic. We did lose the biggest asset that could add to our years forever. But there is still hope that things will be promising. And until then we shall push with our normal lives.’ 

Things will be promising? 
Diane thought. 
How is she not mad? Why isn’t she simply blaming me? Unless is she thinking about the possibility of the miracle…
 

Just then, a message came in. It was from Andy. 
Don’t panic, darling. Got it? It’s the Queen’s order. Keep calm, Diane. Love you. XXX. 
Andy ended the sentence, with a heart emoticon. Even it was just a short message, Diane was glad Andy sent it to her. His words had totally helped her to calm down.

Diane heaved a sigh of relief and smiled as she replied.
I love you too Andy.
 

So Austin and Shiori have announced they are going to have a baby eh?
 

Diane clicked on the unread message on their private Grasp group chat. 
Looks like it.
 She typed.

Diane’s thoughts swam back in time where she wrote letters to announce the birth of her first child- many of the Grasp received it only months later. It was a tough job, she couldn’t imagine living in that time now. In this modern age, a simple text could reach any part of the globe in the blink of an eye. Science had never failed to marvel Diane.

We are young too mate. Let’s have a kid. It has been so long
. Andy said with a cheeky emoticon at the end of the sentence.

A kid sounded farfetched, they’d been trying for one since twenty six years already. Though both of them never expressed it in words until Andy did this time, they had hoped for one by now. They should’ve tried harder but with work always in the way, they only met when either of them had breaks from their assignments- that was no more than twice a year. Now with even their granddaughter Stephanie gone, Diane wanted a kid more than ever. She had a shot now, and perhaps some company would do her good as she was feeling depressed over the failure.

Can you come here?
 Diane asked hopefully.

I would love to but you know my assignment is active. The boy may get us a few lives more. Also I can’t fly there with two weeks to my wedding. Susie won’t let me. She bought me such expensive stuff. I’m floating in dough. She agreed for a court marriage and a small ceremony for her little family and two of her friends.
 Andy sent.

Diane guffawed. 
Next time, then. 
She replied. Just as she thought the conversation had ended, a message sprung out on her phone. “You never fail to surprise me, Andy” Diane grinned as she checked the message.

No! Why don’t you drop by? It has been almost a year since we last met. I couldn’t even come for summoning that Rave’s demon for you last week. I miss you.

It’s okay. Marco was there. We’ll meet sometime soon. Miss you too.
Diane went back to her phone’s home screen to look at the picture of her and Andy. She missed him beyond words.

You don’t have that girl’s assignment now, right? Tell the queen about the trip and she will have no problem. I guarantee you on that. Oh yeah, I’ll make sure Susie doesn’t doubt on us, I can even introduce you as my cousin. You can stay for the wedding. I will buy something special for you…
Diane had somehow felt Andy was beyond human or Grasp with his ability to type at a superfast speed. It had only been about yen seconds since his last message and here he was, with a long text.

I’m sixteen and you are thirty. I’m not sleeping with you, old man.
Diane teased.

Andy had maintained his age for his wedding with Susie, just as Diane had kept hers steady until a few days ago to be with the old man Paul. It wouldn’t take more than maybe two days for her to reach her thirties too, but it felt lovely to be young again, and she didn’t want to be older yet.

You will when you get here
.

You have already thought it through huh?
 Diane chuckled.

I wouldn’t be called Andy Frost if I didn’t have a plan, you know. I have thought of everything love, just waiting to be with you again
. With that, Andy ended the chat with his favorite emoticon, Pusheen the Cat.