Attracts beauty

— Holy water," it howled and stepped away.

I ran and started to move to my body, in time to see the police coming down the road to the scene.

Chapter 9. Salvation

Upon reaching the source I saw my body lying on the ground. Nearby, Michael was performing CPR. The creature kept up, it loomed over my body and blocked my path.

I watched as Michael fought desperately for my life. He was doing everything right, but he couldn't see that I wasn't being allowed to "get back into my body". One more minute and it would be over for me. At times I felt like I was going to live forever, that I had everything ahead of me. I never thought that life could be cut short in an instant. How many mistakes I would have made then, knowing that. I looked at him and regretted that I couldn't touch him, be in his arms, kiss him. For now I could still see him, but soon that would be out of my reach too. I tried to memorize his image, every feature of his face, every cell of his body. Underworld and the torments of hell awaited me, but my mind with my memories will stay there with me. And whatever happens next, I will remember you forever, my love!

Michael raised his eyes to the place where my soul was now and said:

— Lina, I want to live together with you all my life. And the Lord is my witness, if you come back now, I will marry you and never let you go again and will not give you to anyone!

At the word "Lord" the entity disappeared and I was able to return to my still body. I was hurt and cold, but I opened my eyes and said:

— I agree.

Michael kissed me and I saw two tears run down his face. I hugged him and I wanted to become one with him and I didn't waste any more precious time.

Chapter 10. Retaliation

I woke up the next morning in Michael's arms, and as I felt the presence of a new soul in my field, I realized we were having a baby. Which meant we needed a ritual. I got up and went into the woods.

Having made protection for the child, I went to Michael tired, but satisfied. Now no one could harm the child. I accelerated my steps, I wanted to be in the arms of my beloved. But suddenly I fell. I wanted to howl in pain. I realized Michael was gone. I smelled death, the smell of my fiancé. So he'd gotten to us after all. Tears rolled from my eyes, sobs shook my body, and I covered my mouth with my hands to keep from screaming.

Okay, Lina, pull yourself together, my inner voice told me. He won't spare you or your baby. Part of Michael is in you now, and will you let that be destroyed? I slowly got to my feet and cleaned myself up. I took a few deep breaths and went to Anton. He'll pay, Michael, I promise you.

I came closer. In my short life, I'd seen a lot of violence. It was in that moment that I realized why it was sent to me. Not to faint now, not to lose my temper, not to make a mistake. Cold analysis and calculation are now my allies. I "froze" all my feelings, distanced myself. So Anton put Michael in a sleep paralysis, absorbed my energy from him, and then used the knife, letting out his anger. Michael's whole body was stabbed and turned into a bloody mess.

Anton, covered in blood, turned to me, satisfied and satisfied that his energy had increased in times, smiled:

— Hello, Angelina! I decided to give you a surprise! I even summoned a creature to bring me here, I was in such a hurry to see you, my love. And what do I see? Not only did you cheat on me, but you got knocked up. But nothing, as soon as you get an abortion, we'll get married. In the meantime, get in his car and wait for me. I'll clean up. And don't try to run away. I'll catch you and put you in a cage on a chain. Do you understand, darling?

— Of course, darling! I slowly walked to the car, got in and watched Anton in the mirror. I knew what was about to happen, I had seen it once before, and I was ready for it. Anton gathered all his energy into a fist and threw it towards Michael. The charge was so powerful that my amulet, which had been created to protect Michael from such a spell, didn't save his body, but it mirrored part of the charge. It was enough to kill Anton and turn his body into ashes.

I gathered Michael's ashes and scattered them over the water of the spring, crying and saying goodbye. When my time comes, I will find you in the other world and we will be together again, I promise, but for now I have to give birth and raise our child. It's going to be a hard time, and I'm going to need help and protection. And I knew where to find it. I was going home to my parents. I was going back.

Chapter 11. The Temple

I walked into the church and sat down against the wall on a bench. My tortured soul was looking for solace, but I couldn't find it. More than a year ago I had given birth to a child and named him Nikita, but the happiness of motherhood had passed me by. I felt only fear. The constant fear for his life was slowly destroying me. Besides, I never got over the murder of my beloved. How can I stop seeing him in every person I meet, turning around at the similar familiar voice, seeing him in my dreams? Right now I wanted to howl in pain, roll on the floor, cry and scream, but my mouth was closed and my eyes were dry. Did I realize I was possessed?

I didn't have time to think about it before, or I would have lost my mind by now, but it's time for me to admit it. I want to be with you, Michael, and yes, I'm obsessed with you. How am I gonna live without you? God help me. My thoughts were interrupted by sobs:

— Son, who did you leave me for? — On the opposite side of the temple, a woman in black was kneeling in front of the icon.

Everyone has his own misfortune and his own pain. And I'm not an exception, but a proof of it. And my child is still alive, not because of it, but in spite of it.

Chapter 12. A Friend

At the entrance to my parents' house, Dmitry was waiting for me with a huge backpack behind his back, the older brother of my childhood friend. I hadn't seen him in six months, since he'd gone to war on the Coast. He didn't waste any time, so he offered his services as a bodyguard in exchange for a roof over his head. He couldn't live in his apartment, because during his absence his neighbor had flooded it, and now it had to be repaired.

— I don't need a bodyguard," I was dumbfounded by his offer. And I didn't want to live in the same house with a man, even though we had a good relationship.

— I think that after the accident that almost killed you, it is required. There's talk that it was an assassination attempt by your father's rival. So your parents and Nikitka secretly went abroad, and you stayed behind to distract them. You succeeded, but do you really think they're gonna leave you alone?

— They don't need me.

— But you know where the ones they want are. They'll make you talk.

— I don't know where they are.

— You don't know yet, which is why they're not touching you yet, just watching you. Once your people contact you, you'll be doomed.

— I hope to disappear before then, but in the meantime, I'll take you up on your offer. Make yourself comfortable in the guest room, I'll go make dinner.

Chapter 13. Hope

It had been a week since Dmitri had moved in. During the day I was getting ready to leave, and at night I dreamed about Michael. I dreamed of him alive and as if he had come back to me after a long separation. In the dream I was happy with him, but then I started to realize that he was gone and I started to cry.

— Lina, why do you cry every night? — I heard Dimka's voice and woke up. He was crumpling in the doorway, hesitating to come in.

— Are you watching me?

— No, I have a sensitive sleep, I hear every rustle. Case in point, your sobbing in the night.

— Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you. I cry in my sleep, so I can't control it.

— Nightmares?

— Nick's dad. I miss him.

— I heard he died. I'm sorry. I wasn't gonna tell you this, but maybe it'll help you. There's a pill that can take you to the afterlife for up to three days. They give them to officers in war in case of capture and torture. If you take a pill, it will seem to everyone that you are dead, your soul flies away from the body, and when the danger passes, it comes back, the person comes back to life. They are produced and stored in a laboratory on Ilyinka, where interns are needed now.

I wanted to go there myself, but you don't need the military in a scientific environment.

— Why'd you want to do that?

— I miss my brother sometimes. I guess he's dead, even though his body was never found, and I want to know when it happened, where, and why.

Chapter 14. Encounter

I walked over to the mirror to see how the morlock looked. I now looked like a slender eighteen-year-old blonde with waist-length hair, aquamarine eyes, and golden tan skin. Today was my first day in the lab.

When I went down the stairs, I caught my heel and lost my balance, flew down a few steps, and fell into the arms of a blond guy. It was Miron Yasterzhemsky, the only son of the head of the laboratory and an enviable groom for all the girls in the neighborhood, who did not give him a pass. Once I was in his strong arms, I looked into his eyes, and his turquoise eyes sparkled. His touch sent a wave of sensuality through my body, a first for me. Must be the effects of abstinence, I thought, and hurried to pull away.

— Seductive predators play more and more professionally every day. How natural you faked a fall and pretended to be unattractive, I give you a standing ovation. Why? Do you want to be mine, sensitive girl?

— No, I don't. I'm not interested in the big, show-offy types. Go look elsewhere for predators, seducers, hotties and sensitive girls," I continued on my way without turning around.

I knew the guy was standing there, staring at me with his eyes open. He wasn't used to rejection from the opposite sex.

Chapter 15. I see the goal, I believe in myself

A month flew by unnoticed. Beautiful appearance, charm and impeccable appearance brought me closer to my goal. I found out that the pills were in a vault in a safe with a code and I had official access to it. I found out that the code was changed every three days and that Professor Nerman had access to each new code. So after a while she was already working on his project, watching him. Every morning I ran in the park to get rid of the thoughts that were eating me up inside. Myron and other guys started running around nearby. The interest of the opposite sex in me increased, I did not have time to fight off the male attention, which annoyed not only me, but all the women in the neighborhood. That's why I never made any friends. Stupid chickens were constantly building intrigues and complicate life. They didn't know that there was only one man for me, and that was Michael. Sometimes Miron stirred up strange feelings in me, but I wrote it all off to my youth, hormones and need for love. One day Miron snuck into the yard of my parents' house, was caught by Dmitri and brought to me. That's how he saw me for the first time without a morocco and fell in love even harder, he tried to kiss me, but after getting a turn away, he started to keep his distance.

Chapter 16. Disappointment

Today, when Nerman is speaking at an event, I decided to visit his office and look for the code. I already knew he has a bad memory. He writes everything down so he doesn't forget.

When I entered the office, I looked around. "Pretended I was Nerman," and after a minute I found the code written on a sheet under the desk. I memorized it and hurried to the vault, where I met Miron.

— Hello, fallen angel! What are you doing here?

— I ran out of water in the cooler. I'm looking for someone to change the bottle.

— Everyone's at the event, why'd you leave?

— I was thirsty, so I went out for a minute.

— Okay, I'll get you some water. Wait here and don't let anyone in.

— Thank you!

I went to the safe, lucky it wasn't sealed, typed in the code, but I was disappointed. There was only one pill in the safe. I quickly put it in a baggie in a secret pocket. As soon as I closed the safe, Miron appeared with a bottle of water.

I took the bottle and hurried home.

Chapter 17. The End

I entered the house, immediately lay down on the bed and took a pill. I'd had enough of seeing Michael. A sharp pain pierced my heart. It was so intense that I couldn't stand it, and I kept waiting for it to end, trying not to scream. When the pain was gone, I saw my body lying on the couch in the room, and I started to climb up. I got an unpleasant premonition of doom. I heard howls, screams, the inhuman whispering of the dark ones, "Gotcha! You've taken the pill. There's no turning back now." I saw them.

Then I saw a light and an Angel in the midst of it:

— Leave the house, the enemy is coming. If you survive, go to your son.

When I woke up, I was shaking, cold, my head was splitting. I felt like a different person. It was like something in me had broken, and now it was rebuilt. And this new thing was scaring me. All the feelings and memories of Michael were gone, only a slight sadness remained. I'd forgotten him, but that wasn't what I wanted.

Dimitri's here.

— Dim, we have to leave. There's gonna be an attack soon.

— We'll make it! He who is destined to drown will not burn.

As he drew his weapon, there was a bang on the door and a voice:

— The house is surrounded, you'd better open up.

— Yeah, we're running," Dimka said.

We took the defense, the door was broken, Dmitri shot first, hit, there was a firefight, and I blacked out.

— Lina, can you hear me? — Miron was squatting next to me, checking my pulse.

— Dimka! — I wanted to get up, but I couldn't.

— Lie still, he's dead, they're all dead. The police and ambulance are on their way. I know it's a bad time, but you took the pill, you have to give it back.

I was too shocked by Dimitri's death to lie:

— I took it.

— I don't think so.

— Because I'd be dead right now? How can you deceive your protectors and condemn them to certain death?

— It's a mercy. Do you have any idea what they're going through? And the bottom line is the same.

— They have to figure it out for themselves.

— The pills make them fearless. That's how we win.

— We will win, but we won't save the Earth out there. It's soaked in blood and won't bear fruit for a century until it's cleansed. What will happen to me?

— You'll owe me. I've got an unaccounted-for pill I put in the safe. Let's pretend that pill you took never existed.

Chapter 18. The Wave

Three years had passed.

I stood on the stage of an oceanfront bar and sang in the local language, but in my head I was still translating from my native tongue to a foreign language: