Chapter Seven~Hauntings of the Past

    An unyielding force pulled Branna away from the forest toward her small flat at the edge of Ashton Square. Her inner voice guided her through the dark streets to her front door but instinct made her pause, a pressure built within her warning of an unseen danger close by. The force once again pulled but this time away from the flat in the direction of Ashton Park Train Depo. Sprinting through the cobbled country lanes in blind panic Branna arrived heaving from the effort at the platform. After purchasing a one way ticket to London Branna slumped down in a stiff backed plastic chair slowly reviewing in her mind the night's events. Nothing made sense, including how she had known to buy a ticket to London. Her body screamed of danger, until the train arrived Branna remained vigilant of all those who ventured into the depo at such an odd time of night. To London she would go but where she would head once she got there had yet to be revealed.

 

    The train pulled out of the station at half past two, few people had braved the late hour leaving her fairly alone on the long ride to London. Branna sought a cabin near the back of the train where she could avoid the curious stares of other passengers and the darkness seemed undisturbed by the artificial illumination. The night and the darkness that accompanied it remained her sanctuary despite the power she could feel looming closer.

    When Branna was a child she had not feared the darkness like other children but instead sought solace in the quiet hours of the night. The shadows offered her protection from a world that scorned her. Living in a dangerous home with a heroine induced coma of a foster mother and a violent drunken foster father the shadows concealed her from the brutal beatings and beratings she usually receieved. At a young age Branna learned of the jealousy in man's heart.

    In the beginning school was an escape from a terrifying home life but she soon learned there is no acceptance among others when there is no common ground. In her younger years the other students tormented her for her quiet demeanor, often mistaking it for shyness or in worse cases rudeness. As time progressed Branna became alienated by the other girls because of her exotic beauty. As a target for the 'popular' girls and a sex object to the boys, with no one to guide her, or love her the darkness became her ally, her only friend where she could allow her true identity to emerge.

    All her life plagued with dreams of ancient lands and horrible battles that became all too vivid in the wee hours of the morning Branna prayed for a mother who would love her unconditionally. In the early dawn of her thirteenth birthday Branna awoke to find a woman of such profound beauty and power standing before her. The woman spoke, telling Branna of her true name and the truth of her being. The woman spoke of the necessity of darkness and how her power was connected to that darkness. When the sun rose the woman disappeared but never again did Branna feel alone, wherever she went she felt the woman's presence with her, guiding her and protecting her from the evil's in the world. From that day forth Branna had slowly discovered her power over the night and her power to control the actions of others. A need for justice dwelled deep within her and unlike so many others she understood the need for darkness in a world so dependent on light.

 

    The screeching halt of the train brought Branna back from the land of her memories. Elongated shadows spread across the cabin and a light breeze filtered through the open window. Tiny stars speckled the clear night sky but an unnatural blackness coated the sky. Branna squinted into the night, her eyes cutting through the impenatrable darkness. A heaviness laced the air, not the natural humidity of early autumn but something undescribable, with the distinct taste of evil. The train jerked coming to a quick halt for no discernable reason, no station or call of alarm had been announced yet an eerie silence swept down the hall. The voice inside her remained quiet but her instincts buzzed with alarm, electricity hummed through her veins. Branna called the shadows forth, cloaking herself in the invisibility of the night. Any enemy lurking would be blind to her essence and form unless she wished to reveal herself.

    The door to Branna's compartment slid open. No shadow cast from the figure behind the door, frozen in fear the air stood still as the dark mass of power gathered just within the cabin, sucking all the oxygen from Branna's lungs and filling her mind with its evil energy. Whisperes of longing and promises of true power slithered through her mind and into the waiting night. Attempting to sense Branna the mass glided around the cabin but Branna kept her essence concealed, hidden deep within the core of her being. She had dreampt of such a power many times, the dreams revealing its vileness and lust for power beneath its seductive allure. She and her sisters were created to fight such followers of The Prince of Night but on the night of the Dark Moon not even Branna had the power to battle it for that was the balance of the universe, created by Hecate herself. Defenseless against the being of power the only choice was to remain cloaked in the shadows until it either gave up searching for her or the sun rose high in the morning sky draining it of its power.