Blue at Midnight Read Free Page A

with her headphones in, so forgive
me if I’m losing patience doctor!” It was obvious my dad was trying to indicate
that the distance between us was due to there being a problem with my mental
state. According to him, I couldn’t cope with the daily stresses of life and
losing my mother threw me over the edge. I was shocked that he would use my
mother’s death as an excuse. She passed away due to ill health three years ago.
Even though it was the hardest time of my life it made me realise how short,
unexpected and fragile life could be.   My
blood was boiling from listening to my dad’s ridiculous comments and what made
it even worse was that it was behind my back, to a stranger, after I’d nearly
died.  
    Suddenly their
voices started to get louder which indicated that they were making their way to
the hospital room I was in. Like a mad woman I ripped my coat off my back and
flung it across the room. It bounced off the hideous pea-coloured wall and
landed perfectly on the orange, wooden chair. As they entered they saw me
leaning casually on the bed, half sitting, with a tissue over my face,
pretending to wipe my nose.
    “Hello Isabelle,
I’m Dr Bennet.” He smiled and looked straight through me as if he knew exactly
what type of patient I was. Quietly, like nothing had happened, my dad walked
in, followed by Naomi.
    “So when do you
think I’ll be discharged?” I was sick of waiting.
    “Well that
depends on how you’re feeling. Have you eaten something?”
    I explained that
I was feeling fine and that being in hospital was a bit extreme as I could
easily recover at home. After answering a few questions about what I was doing
at the beach and how I felt about being rescued, the doctor decided to
discharge me. Thankfully, after a chest X-ray and a disgusting hospital lunch I
was free. Throughout the past two hours my dad barely spoke. I suppose he said
all he had to say outside, behind my back. This explained his annoying,
hovering, fly-like behaviour; he couldn’t wait to leave as this visit was not
on his priority list.

Chapter 5

 
    “What happened to you? Have you suddenly remembered that the elders have
set us a task which we must complete?”
    Christian tried
to avoid eye contact; he couldn’t find the courage to look at his brother after
what he’d just done. All he kept thinking about was whether someone had seen
him. His actions would be seen as an insult to their world. Saving a human was
forbidden.
         Trying to block the guilt, he
started to shift large rocks on the sea-bed, to create the pathway to the Room
of Rituals. Maybe if he kept himself busy this whole episode would just be
forgotten, leaving him to focus on his task. Little did he know that Cale had
been observing him since he’d returned and sensed that he was different.  
    Occasionally,
Christian would redo what he had done. Something was distracting him. Cale had
hoped that Sebastian’s visit would have encouraged his brother to pull himself
together. However, he seemed more unlike himself and that was dangerous in
Orsa, as being distracted was a sign of weakness for a Rourke (soldier of
Orsa). Under no circumstances was Cale going to let his brother affect the
completion of this task. This was Cale’s chance to show the elders that he was
stronger, which would convince them to grant him permission to enter onto the
land and redeem his soul.

 
    Not all Children of Orsa chose this path, however redeeming your soul was risky as you would need a human to fall in love
with you. This was the soul you would sacrifice, so under no circumstances
should you fall in love with this human otherwise you would be taken back to
the waters by an elder and punished.   You
would be destroyed, killed during the ritual of forgiveness, which would be
performed by the elders, also known as the first ones: Estran, Sebastian and
August.
    Once the human
life had been sacrificed, the empty shell of a body would be left somewhere on
the land.