Page 2 of The Bell’s Toll (Wanderlust Emporium Presents, Season One)

The apartment is silent. Romeo left for home hours ago.

I sit cross-legged in the middle of my bedroom floor.

A candle in front of me and the bell by my side.

Staring at the clock on my nightstand, I wait.

The moment the digital clock strikes twelve.

I take a deep breath and light the candle.

The flame flickers, giving off a dull warmth.

Sitting up straight, I grab the bell. Shutting my eyes, I ring it once, twice, and then three times. The thing makes a cracking sound, causing me to open my eyes. There is a large split in the bell that goes from the bottom to the head. Did I do something wrong?

Suddenly, the flame on the candle flickers as if it’s going to blow out. However, the orange flame roars up as if it’s about to touch the ceiling before it dies down and turns a bluish-purple color. I gasp at the sight.

Quickly climbing to my feet, not feeling as confident about my actions as before, I back away from the candle.

“Who the fuck are you?” a deep voice calls out behind me.

I nearly leap out of my skin as I turn around.

Yet, I’m not brought any solace when I face the intruder in my room.

One would think the man in front of me was attractive.

He’s tall, towering over my 5’3” height, with golden tan skin that stretches over a lean build.

He has a chiseled jaw that matches his square-shaped face.

Everything about him screamed sex appeal. However, his eyes are what makes the breath catch in my throat. They aren’t just dark; they are pitch black. His irises nearly bleeds into his pupils. Dark bushy brows sit low, giving him a menacing appearance.

When those sharp eyes cut down to the broken bell in my hand, a slow menacing smile lifts the corners of his lips.

He chuckles; the deep sound causes goose pimples to cover my arms. “I guess I am at your service, little human.”

Alarm bells ring out. The fact he just called me human lets me know this is not a man. I don’t know what the hell he is, but he isn’t human.

“What….” I swallow past the dryness in my throat. “What are you?”

He grins the most terrifying smile. His incisors look too long. Not as long as a vampire, but much longer than any normal person.

“I’m the angel of life,” he says, holding out his arms as if he’s some heavenly being.

Pressure lifts off my shoulders, and hope wraps me in its arms. “Are you really?”

He chuckles low and deadly. “Fuck no. I’m Raziel, and you summoned me.” He points to the broken bell still clutched in my hands. “I don’t know how you got that bell, but I don’t care. You caught me in a good mood, human. What can I do for you?”

I gulp. That part of me, the part embedded in me from my black ass ancestors, tells me to rebuke this demon and go pray. But my heart reminds me what’s at stake.

“My baby,” I whisper, glancing down before looking up at him. “The doctors say she’s not going to live. She’s all I have.”

His gaze narrows as he watches me silently.

“You’re lying,” he sneers.

“No….” I plead, holding up my hands. “It’s the truth. She’s in the hospital—”

My words die out as he stands in front of me.

He was once on the other side of the room and within a second, he was in front of me.

He grabs me by the neck, yanking me toward him.

His body feels like a furnace up against mine.

Those dark irises spill out like smoke, turning the whites into obsidian black.

“You lie, human. Your desire to save your child is bullshit. Tell me what you really want.”

Staring up into his black eyes, fear washes over me like a downpour. My body shakes.

“Him,” I cry. “I want him.”

The creature watches me. A frightening smile lifts his face into a sneer. Dark smoke fills my room. With it, comes a chill so cold it feels as if my body may freeze in place. The more I breathe in the colder my body gets. I fear my lungs may ice over.

When it seems I may not live another second, the smoke fades, and the cold goes with it. I take a deep breath. The beeping of multiple machines fills my ears.

Opening my eyes, I’m no longer in the bedroom of my apartment. I’m now standing in the neonatal unit of the hospital. The creature lets go of my neck and steps away from me.

“Where is she?” he demands.

I turn away from him and walk over to the glass box that contains my baby girl.

She’s surrounded by a rolled-up blanket. Tubes are coming from every direction; you can’t even tell where they begin and end. Her pamper swallows her tiny body, and her chest nearly caves with each fighting breath she takes. My baby girl.

I don’t turn to look at him as he approaches me.

“They say she’s dying.”

“Yes,” he replies curtly, causing me to look over at him. His gaze remains on my daughter. “She’s been marked.”

Turning back to the incubator, I gasp, covering my mouth. Black pulsing veins run up and down Nasiah’s small body like webs. They weren’t there seconds before.

“Her lungs will give out first,” he goes on to say. “And then her heart.”

I turn away from the sight before me as tears fill my eyes. “How long?”

“She’ll be dead by the time the sun comes up.”

His lack of emotion should upset me, but something tells me he wouldn’t care if it did.

“Can you save her?” This is all I cared about. I needed my baby to survive.

As if she can sense me, my little angel opens her eyes.

It’s the first time I’ve seen them open since she was born.

However, it isn’t me she’s staring at. The creature beside me seems to freeze in place as my daughter watches him.

It’s almost unnerving the way he stares down at her.

His eyes are back to normal and not pitch black like they were before.

When I look back at my baby, her eyes are closed again, and she looks like she is sleeping.

“Saving her will not get you what you want. At least not how you want it.”

His deep voice causes me to face him once again.

I take a moment to contemplate what he’s saying. My heart wants Romeo to belong to me and only me. However, if the only way I can keep him in my life is as his mistress, then I’ll take that. I’ll do anything to have him.

“I don’t care,” I say assuredly.

He smirks again, showing off those sharp incisors. “Then let’s make a deal.”

Icy dread runs down my spine, causing me to shiver. Gooseflesh rises on my skin. All warning signs I shouldn’t be doing what I’m about to do. However, I ignore the signs.

“What would you give to get what you want?”

I look him in the eyes as I reply. “Anything.”

The warning from the old woman at the store rings in my head. “Pay attention to the price of your desire. Nothing is given without a cost.” Is there too high a cost for what I want? I answer the question in my head quickly. No.

This time he chuckles. “We have a deal.”

He holds out a hand. I stare down at it for a second. That feeling intensifies. The one that warns me against whatever I’m about to do. Taking a deep breath, I place my hand in his.

He tosses his head back and laughs. “It is done.”

The smoke surrounds me again. This time it happens a lot faster than the last time. When it clears, I’m back in my bedroom…alone.

“Wait,” I call out to the empty space. “What do you want?”

I never get my answer. My phone rings. I quickly grab the cordless device off its holder.

“Hello?”

“Is this Ms. Reynolds?”

“Yes. Who is this?”

“Ms. Reynolds, this is nurse Denise from Corner Memorial.”

Nasiah’s hospital. Did the creature not fulfill his part of the deal?

“Ms. Reynolds, you’re never going to believe this. All her vitals have improved. The doctor checked multiple times. It’s like a miracle has occurred. We’re watching her for any changes, but I think your baby girl is going to be fine.”

I choke on the tears that come crashing down my cheeks. My baby will live, and I get to keep my man. Hanging up the phone, I feel higher than I’ve felt in the last few days. I couldn’t wait to tell Romeo in the morning.

I take a seat on my bed. Something catches my eye. Sitting on my nightstand is a folded piece of paper. It looks old and out of place. I pick it up and open it.

It’s a contract. It says that I owe a debt and it will be collected at random. My heart sinks when I see my signature at the bottom of the page along with the name Raziel. Right beside it is the title, Dominus, along with a symbol of a circle and the Greek Xi symbol.

I close the contract and stick it in my top drawer. I wouldn’t worry about the debt or what that creature will want from me. Right now, I’ve gotten what I wanted. I get to keep my man.