Sergio held his breath, waiting for the words that were going to destroy his life. “There is no way to say this that isn’t going to rip your heart out.” The Master began, and Sergio felt his focus slip away as his heart shattered. He couldn’t accept this; no, he wouldn’t hear this. “Detective Dorsey made the discovery.” The Master turned towards the Detective, who stepped forward, looking just as pained as everyone else when he glanced up and held Sergio’s dark gaze.
“The body of a young man was brought to the hospital morgue this afternoon. He was the victim of an assault. His body was found in an alley off main covered in newspaper and cardboard boxes.” He paused, and Sergio took a deep breath, knowing that from this moment on, his life would never be the same.
“He carried a wallet, and inside was a driver’s license. It belonged to Keagan Hahn.” He paused again, having difficulty as the news became progressively worse. “He had dark hair, and his perceived age, height and build were similar to that of Keagan Hahn. His facial features are not identifiable due to the condition of the body.
“How long has he been dead?” Sergio asked, and his voice sounded as if it didn’t come from him but rather somewhere else in the room. A disconnect was growing. He felt Kash come to stand beside him and placed his arm across his shoulders.
“Approximately five days, maybe a week. We will know more after the coroner completes his report.”
“How did he die?” Sergio needed to know for some reason he needed to know.
“Blunt force trauma.” Sergio vaguely heard the Master tell the Detective he could leave. The room was turning dark, and his emotions began to bubble to the surface in the form of anguish blind, agonizing grief tore through him, and he lost himself.
The sound that came forth was loss and brutality, anger and frustration, unthinkable, unimaginable heartache, and pain. It wrenched and ripped, destroyed, and shredded everything inside of him, everything he knew. This was the insanity of loss and a destitute soul. The dream, the gift, the hope of every paranormal was now lost to him, and he was to walk the earth for centuries alone and isolated within himself, knowing that his beloved had survived for so long only to die at the threshold of their coming together.
The sounds and sights surrounding him died away, and he felt himself submerged into a darkness that was both comforting and tormenting in equal measures. This was the abyss they spoke of when vampires lost their way or suffered unimaginable hardship. This was his insanity taking him.
All feelings and thoughts began to bleed away as he fell to his knees. Nothing was registering only the loss and the knowledge that Keagan had been out there struggling and trying to survive for months while Sergio ignored him and lived a blessed life.
“Hear me.” The voice pierced through his downward spiral and pulled on him. “Hold on, Sergio. Hear my voice.” The sound soothed and supported, and the touch was powerful. The energy surging through him brought him back to the surface of his awareness.
Opening his eyes, he saw Master Hadden holding him with a hand on either side of his head, and he was speaking, forcing his strength through their connection to pull Sergio back from the abyss. Kash was behind him, holding him up with firm arms around him. Master Hadden was channeling the supernatural connection that existed between members and their Master.
Sergio felt himself lifted and placed on a soft cushion, one of the chairs and Kash stayed beside him. Master Hadden slowly let his hands slip down the strain evident in his expression. A glass of water was pressed into Sergio’s hand, and he drank. He took one breath after another, in and out, feeling the environment and grounding himself with the solids around him.
“Oh, Sergio, that was so close my friend.” Kash blurted, sounding out of breath and on the edge of panic himself.
“He’ll be okay now.” It was Master Hadden, and those words gave Sergio the energy to look up and meet the man’s gaze.
“Thank you, sir.” He whispered, still shaken and unfocused. The Master smiled and nodded while patting Sergio firmly on the shoulder. He stepped back and turned around, giving Sergio his back and ran a hand through his hair, betraying a little of the stress he was feeling. He grabbed what looked to be a glass of whiskey, and he drank it down and, with a deep breath, turned back to regard Sergio.
“Stay with me, Sergio.” He commanded, and Sergio sat up, straighter in his seat and nodded. “Resist it, do not lose yourself to your grief.” He moved closer and looked down where Sergio sat.
“Yes, sir, I will.” Sergio fought to stay present and aware, even as the darkness continued to pull on his mind.
“There is more going on here than any of us are aware of. Fate would not present you with your beloved only to let him die days before you knew he existed. Whatever this is, you are not at fault for any of it. Do you hear me, Sergio?” The Master’s voice was like a dagger cutting through all the confusion and fog.
“Yes, sir. I hear you, sir.”
“Good.”
“May I see him?” Sergio knew it probably was a mistake, but his heart ached to see him in the flesh, even if it was to just give him a proper burial. He
