Semiramis Reborn

  Semiramis Reborn

  Maya Daniels

  semiramis.Copyright © 2019 by Maya Daniels. All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Cover design by Anika Willmanns, Ravenborn - Book Cover Designs

  Interior design by Maya Daniels

  Edited by Angela Haworth and AJ Kohler

  If you are unable to order this book from your local bookseller, you may contact the author at authormayadaniels@gmail.com

  www.authormayadaniels.com

  Arps, this book is for you, in gratitude, for holding my hand when the ground opened under my feet but you never let go.

  Contents

  Untitled

  Chapter 1

  2. Three months later……

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  9. Lucifer…

  10. Alexia…

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  15. Lucifer…

  16. Alexia…

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  29. Lucifer…

  30. Alexia…

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Also by Maya Daniels

  “Because I could not stop for Death,

  He kindly stopped for me,

  The Carriage held but just ourselves

  And Immortality”

  -Emily Dickinson

  1

  “Again!” I say as I take my stance and get ready to attack.

  “No! That is enough, Alexia! We shall continue tomorrow.”

  I’m looking at the damn angel in front of me through the sweat dripping on my face. We have been at this for hours, practicing my magick and close combat. My yoga pants and my sports bra have been stuck to my body for hours now, and little rivulets of sweat are going down my spine and sides. My muscles are screaming, but it’s not enough. I need to prepare more. I need to be stronger, faster. Through it all, in my mind, I constantly hear the screams of the people I love, see flashes of their bodies crumbling down like a house of cards. The louder I hear it, the angrier I get. If I don’t practice harder, it feels like it’ll consume me again, and this time there will be nothing left of me to come out of the ashes. I look at Lucifer. His dark eyes are staring at me with anger and pity, which pisses me off even more.

  “What’s your problem? You can’t keep up with a witch, angel??” I taunt.

  “It will not work anymore, Alexia. You should know that by now,” he says with a sigh. “This is not healthy for you. It has been a long time and you haven’t stopped unless you pass out from exhaustion and I carry you to your chambers, or I make sure I knock you out just so you rest. No more!”

  “First of all, it’s called a ‘room,’ not ‘chambers’, Milord,” I sneer just to get him to fight. “And what do you mean long time?? It’s only been a few weeks,” I snap.

  “Don’t I know it! Your realm is horrible, I cannot believe I agreed to stay here. I still think we should go do this in my realm. It would be much easier to teach you and I have other options available there that would not alarm the humans.”

  He is talking so longingly that I almost feel bad for making him stay in the cottage. Almost!

  “Well, we can’t go there, because by the time we’re done, it’ll be two lifetimes later in this realm, so we just need to try harder here!”

  I don’t know how to stop being angry, and it’s not from the lack of trying, I swear. I know I need to be calm and focused, but the harder I try, the more elusive that state of being is for me. I’ve changed. I can’t recognize myself anymore. Do you remember me from not long ago, all love, light and unicorns pooping rainbows? Yup, neither do I. Is it anger I feel or guilt? That’s what I can’t decide. Whatever it is, it makes me hate myself, and with it, I hate everything and everyone around me. It’s not that I want to. I just don’t know how to leave this dark place that I find myself in. Crawling, dragging, walking…everything I’ve tried to get out of this darkness has failed. I can hear my soul crying somewhere deep inside for me to hear it and get back to it, but the sound drowns in the screams of the people I lost.

  Lucifer is watching me, waiting patiently while I’m stuck in my own head. It pisses me off that he is so patient and kind with me. I want him to hate me, to yell at me, anything but be how he is. Like he read my mind, he straightens up and starts walking away.

  “Where are you going? Hello!!! Earth to Lucifer!!!” I yell after him.

  He is slowly walking away from the clearing in the woods like he can’t hear me. I run after him and as I get nearer, I jump and try to kick him in the back. He turns around, grabs my foot and instead of blocking the kick as always, he flings me towards the trees and I slam shoulder-first into one of the trunks. I can’t stop the cry that comes out and it makes me hate myself even more. I see Remi’s body being flung around in my mind, Jezzinta’s eyes before her body crumbles to the ground, Meda dropping like a doll, Philip’s body not far from Remi, his arm outstretched like even in death he is trying to reach her, and Derik’s unseeing eyes. I bite my lower lip until I taste blood in my mouth.

  “Is this what you want me to do, Alexia?! You cannot do it yourself, so you want me to hurt you instead? Wake up, woman!!” His voice thunders all around us and lightning strikes somewhere above.

  “Wake up and you get yourself under control. I don’t have any more time for this stupidity and self-consumed, spoiled attitude. I’m sorry to tell you, but the universe or life does not evolve around you! We all have things happen to us that are out of our control, angels, gods and humans alike. What we do after that is a choice we make. That choice will make you or break you. From where I’m standing, I see a broken human!” He spits the word ‘human,’ his power crackling in the air, stinging my skin like someone rubbing poison ivy all over my body. He turns around and starts walking away again. He hurt me as I asked, all right, but not as I wanted. I wanted lasting physical pain, something to take my mind off the emotional anguish I feel. Well, I didn’t get what I wanted, but I did get what I asked for, didn’t I? Now I’m angry for a different reason.

  “I’m not human,” I whisper through clenched teeth, still holding my shoulder as I lie at the roots of the tree. Looking up at it, it feels like even the tree is accusing me of the same things the angel is. He keeps walking, getting farther away.

  “I said! I’m not human!” I yell louder.

  “Huh? What?” He stops and looks over his shoulder at me.

  “I’m not human!”

  I start getting up. I hold my right arm close to my body. I think my shoulder is dislocated, so I turn around and slam it into the trunk of the tree and I cry out again. Hey! I said I changed. I never said I got smarter, so don’t judge.

  “What does that mean, you’re not human?” He is watching me with narrowed eyes.

  “It means I’m not human. Obviously I forgot that for a bit. Just because I like to pretend I’m normal and don’t possess magick doesn’t make it true, now, does it?”

  I look at my feet. His words are ringing in my head. I lift my head and look him straight in the eyes. “And I’m not broken!”


  I lift my chin up, feeling my spirit rejoicing at someone finally getting through to me. What can I say? I’m as stubborn as any other woman, you know. Sue me! I turn around and slam my shoulder into the tree again, grinding my teeth so I don’t make a sound.

  “What are you doing, Alexia?” Lucifer is walking back towards me and as he reaches me, he tries to touch my shoulder.

  “No!” I step away from him. “It’s dislocated. I’ll fix it myself.” I stare into his eyes, daring him to stop me.

  We have a staring match for a few seconds, and as though I have just proven something to him, he nods his head, crosses his arms on his chest and just waits. It takes a few more painful tries, but finally I feel it slide back in place. I can tell there’s going to be a nasty bruise. It’s okay, it’ll be a reminder—for a while, at least—of the lesson the angel gave me. His words take over my entire thought process. The screams are still there but much, much quieter. The anger is there, too, but now it’s aimed, and the thought of being broken…helpless…useless…I am none of those things, yet here I’m acting just like he said, like a spoiled brat. The pain will not go away until I find the people I lost. Somehow I lost the goal while pitying myself, I guess.

  We walk quietly towards the house. The chirping of the birds is soothing, and the cool breeze passing through the trees caresses my hot skin. As we exit the tree line, I lift my face towards the sun and breathe in the smell of the sprinkled flowers blooming every which way around the front of the house. I have walked this path with my sisters many times and the thought hits me like a ton of bricks. It feels like I just got back from the dead. What a strange feeling, like I had been absent from my body ever since that awful night. There, but not really there. I couldn’t smell anything or feel anything, apart from anger. I couldn’t taste the food I had to eat. I couldn’t hear the lectures from Lucifer. Now it all comes back, and at this moment, I’m a little overwhelmed. As we near the porch of the house, I start feeling heavier by the second, like suddenly I weigh a ton. I can barely move my legs, so I start dragging them slowly. In a split second, like a switch has been flipped, the dam breaks and I drop to my knees and start sobbing. The sobs turn to anguished cries that are being wrenched from my core. At some point, I feel arms wrap around me, they pick me up and hold me in a tight embrace. I don’t know how long I cried, but when I finally stopped, I have no more tears left and darkness greets me. The automatic light on the porch gives off a golden hue to everything around me, like even the world is stopping to mourn with me and witness my pain. I lift my head and look up at Lucifer, who has been sitting like a statue for hours, holding me in his embrace like I’m a little child.

  “I don’t know where that came from,” I say to him as a way of apology. I feel stupid. A weakling.

  “I will take a wild guess on this and say from your soul.” He is looking at me with sad eyes and I give him the biggest hug I’ve given anyone.

  “You needed this! You were fighting not to face the loss and pain, thinking it would go away, but it only made you lose yourself. I was starting to really worry that I wouldn’t be able bring you back,” he finishes with a relieved sigh, rubbing my back with his hand. I’m ashamed of my behavior.

  “Thank you.” I know it’s not enough. There are no words to express how grateful I am for him being here for me when I have nothing and no one left.

  “For what, exactly?” he asks as he lifts an eyebrow.

  “For everything. Mostly for dealing with my stupid ass. I would’ve given up long time ago if I were you,” I tell him honestly. He smiles at me and kisses my forehead.

  “You are welcome, Alexia. Now, let’s get inside. I am starving!” He rounds his eyes, trying to act dramatic and I can’t help but smile at him. “That’s much better, witch. Let’s go.”

  We both stand up, go inside and head for the kitchen. We pull out whatever we can find from the pantry and we start eating in pleasant silence. It feels like I can finally breathe. While munching on a celery stick, out of the corner of my eye, I observe the angel. His dark hair is shining in the lights and brushing the collar of his shirt, dark long eyelashes making crescent shadows on his high cheekbones, his full lips under a perfectly shaped nose. His strong jaw moving gently as he is chewing his food slowly, like he is savoring every bite. His presence feels like a safety blanket for me and I’m starting to wonder how he became such an important part of my life in such a short time. Well, that and it pisses me off that he is so perfect. It doesn’t feel natural…come to think of it, I suppose there is nothing “natural” in being an angel.

  “So, did you figure me out?” His voice is soft, but echoes and I jump a little. I wasn’t expecting it.

  “What?!” I ask, holding my hand to my chest, where my heart is trying to escape my ribcage, and he starts laughing, flashing white teeth that sparkle like pearls in the light. I stare. You can’t help but stare when such perfection sits next to you laughing. It makes you feel like the entire universe stops and the sun is shining just for you.

  “I asked if you figured me out, since you are staring at me instead of eating.”

  He looks pointedly at my plate still full of everything I placed on it and there is amusement dancing in his ancient eyes. With a sigh, I push the plate away and stand up. It seems eating is a fruitless task at the moment. Pacing back and forth in front of the table, I start explaining what’s been going on in my head.

  “I was wondering how you became such an important part of my life, to be honest. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful you are, but it scares me to death, too.” I tell him waving the half-eaten celery stick like I’m directing an orchestra. He just sits quietly watching me, his lips quirking at one corner, suppressing a smile.

  “Every time I feel grateful and happy that someone is in my life, they get hurt or die.”

  Aaannddd…I start crying again. What’s wrong with you, woman? Get it together! I scream at myself in my mind, but I can’t control it. Lucifer sits still like a statue at the table, only the blinking of his eyes, with those eyelashes a woman would kill for, a sign that he is a living being, or entity, however you want to call it. To me, he became just Lucifer. After a few minutes, I manage to calm down and I hold on to the kitchen bench, taking deep breaths.

  It feels like I can’t get enough air in my lungs.

  “It will take a few days until all that you held back comes out. It is okay, Alexia, let it all out. Sooner you do that, the faster we can actually start getting you ready to go and get your family back where they belong. However, while I’m at it…you have to understand that no one, not you, and not even I, can go against the web of life.” He says that last part quietly and cryptically. I narrow my eyes at him.

  “What does that mean exactly? That we can’t go against it. I’m not going against anything if it’s not trying to keep them from me. I just want the people I love, back where they belong,” I say it through clenched teeth.

  “Do not trouble yourself with that nonsense now witch, there is enough time for that later.” He shakes his head and I have a feeling he does it more to himself than me. I’m not in the mood for more talking after the day I have had and all the emotional turmoil I have been through. I’m starting to feel very tired; to a point that I’m swaying on my feet.

  “We will talk tomorrow about this web of yours. I think I’ll call it a night. I feel very tired.”

  Just as I say this, my body starts shaking so hard it feels my bone structure is falling apart. I start sinking down to the floor like a magnet is pulling me and I can’t do anything to stop it. I’m holding the bench tight in a white-knuckled grip, hoping it’ll pass. In slow motion, I see Lucifer jump up, the table flips and goes flying along with the chair hitting the wall behind him and in one step, he is in front of me. With concern etched on his handsome face, he scoops me up before I hit the floor. He is talking but I only see his lips moving. I can’t hear a word he is saying.

  “I can’t hear you,” I’m trying to
tell him, but I feel the words slurring judging by the thickness of my tongue. He is trying to shake me, but nothing helps.

  ‘I’m just tired,’ I tell myself to calm my heart that is beating wildly in my chest like I just ran a marathon, but I know something is wrong. I can tell because I’ve never seen the angel that worried. I’ve never seen that many emotions play in his eyes, switching from one to another so fast it makes me dizzy. Who knew angels felt so much? He touches my face with one hand, and as he pulls it away, there is blood on it, lots of blood. After seeing it, I acknowledge the warm trickle from my nose and on my cheeks, but that’s not what makes me panic. As he holds me to his chest, I feel warmth between my thighs and down my legs, so I move my head to look down only to make myself feel worse from the sight of the pool of blood at my feet. I feel faint, and with one last look at Lucifer’s face, seeing him chanting something, I can’t fight it anymore, so I let the abyss take me in its embrace.

  2

  Three months later……

  “She’s still not waking up. You said she would wake up at the end of three months, woman, and that time is now. Do whatever you think is needed and make sure her eyes are open when I come back…which will be in exactly ten minutes or you will know my wrath!”

  Lucifer’s angry voice is echoing in my head. Why is he yelling so loudly? I think. More importantly, I want to see who he is yelling at. I already feel bad for the person because the angel is very intimidating when he’s trying to be friendly, so imagine when he’s not. A shiver passes through my body. I’m trying to open my eyes, but I realize I can’t. They feel like they’re glued shut and no matter what I do, they stay closed.