Prologue

A man and woman were sitting together in a pasture filled with blossoming flowers of every colour. The shade of the tree offered them shelter, its branches spreading wide through the air to provide seclusion. Beneath the canopy of leaves the couple embraced, enjoying themselves without shame of discovery or a care in the world. They gazed at each other wordlessly, smiling.

Laughter filled the air at something the man had said and he smiled at the sound. Her reply was that of a soft kiss on his lips. The corners of his mouth quirked up then he snaked his arms around her waist to pull her closer against him and returned the kiss passionately. Her hand came up to his cheek, separating their mouths. She rose, her gaze locked with his curious one. Without uttering any words, the man followed her action and let himself be led away through a set of trees towards a clearing.

A smile broke out over his face as he saw where she'd led him to. The glade was small and private, set against a wall of trees. Lush bushes grew against the massive rock in the corner, where a small spring steaming hot water was situated. Surrounding them in abundance were flowers of purple, red and white, small and large, simple and exotic. They lined the ground, peeked out from under rocks and grew flourishingly wherever they found room. He felt something tug at his heart when he thought of what they had shared here, what this place had ultimately come to mean, and he squeezed her hand as their eyes met. Never breaking eye-contact, he brought her hand up to his lips to kiss her palm. It was obvious to anyone who should come upon them that it was a sight of true love and happiness.

The dark cloaked figure, perched high on the branch of a tree on the border of the forest, watched. Without producing even a single sound, the figure shifted its weight and drew the hood tighter around its face, making it impossible to catch even a glimpse of its features. Then, the figure removed its bow and notched a single arrow.

The arrow, drawn back and aimed at the man, was released. Time slowed. It seemed as if everything was happening in suspension. The woman, who had been sharing and intimate moment with her partner in the dell, turned unexpectedly to embrace the man.

And then, suddenly, her expression contorted into one of pain. The hidden figure swore silently when it saw that the arrow had imbedded itself into the woman's back. Her knees buckled, no longer able to support her weight.

In one swift movement the man caught her just before she fell, scooping her gently into his arms. "Melamin!" he cried. Seeing her bloodstained dress realisation struck him, and his eyes shot up to the trees, scanning them urgently for the offender. His attention was quickly drawn away when he heard her gasp out in pain.

He looked at her face, paling with every fraction of a second, and saw how rapidly the life was being drained from her. "Áva antami, Melamin," he told her in a whisper. "Ná thalion. Colin le ana már ar envinyatantë le. Le manië."

The woman was slowly shaking her head, watching him sadly, but he did not seem to see it.

"It will be all right," he persisted and started to gather her in his arms when she cried out in pain. Immediately, he let go, terrified of causing her any more hurt. "Fainu nin, Melamin." Realising that she was not going to be fine, he let the agonising truth slowly reach his conscious. "Áva antami, kyerin le, áva antami. Le nar cuilë, le vá fírië. Le vá oantë nin, le va. Kyerin le," he pleaded, tears slipping from his eyes and onto her face.

The pain showing in the dark blue eyes before her was almost too much to bear. Gently, she wiped a tear away. "Amin mela lle," she whispered softly. "Amin mela lle."

"Áva hehta nin." His eyes pleaded with her in despair, despite the knowledge that she would leave him, and both were painfully aware of it. "Amin mela lle." He buried his face in her neck and breathed in her scent, trying with all his might to ignore the growing coldness of her skin.

He raised his head at her laboured gasps, wishing he could do something to ease her pain, but knowing he could not. "Amin mela lle, Melamin. Ten'oio, amin mela lle."

With those last words and the sight of his eyes, full of grief and pain, full of the knowledge that she was leaving him and there was nothing he could do to prevent it, her eyes closed and she fell limp against him.

Nadine awoke with a start. She was back in the car. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she glanced over at her brother. From the look he spared her from behind the wheel Nadine concluded she must have talked in her sleep again. It was an annoying habit she had thought she had outgrown. She offered him a lopsided grin in return and he turned his attention back to the road.

Resting her head against the car window, Nadine listened to the calming sound of water drops hitting the window glass as they drove on. It had been a weird dream, she thought, although she couldn't really remember much of it. Something about a man and a woman and someone dying. A shudder crawled over her skin and Nadine pulled her coat tighter around her. She could swear the temperature in the car had dropped a good ten degrees during the last fifteen minutes.

They were on their way to pick up a friend from the airport. Not just a friend, but Guy's new girlfriend and her brother. Speculations were making their rounds about their relationship, but so far neither of them had admitted to being anything more than just friends. Seeing as no one had ever caught them in a provocative position, there was no actual proof other than the hunch everyone felt.

Their curious relationship had begun with Nadine's mother and granny, who, after the passing of their husbands, seemed to become restless and as a means of distraction they often fell to playing matchmaker for the younger, single people around them. Single people, meaning Nadine and Guy in particular.

The odd pair had been rather quiet as of late, though, and Nadine wondered what the two had up their sleeves this time. Personally, she couldn't have care less whom Guy was exercising his charms on this time, but nothing could sway those two. Since Guy's 'friend' was visiting Kingston they should have been more active than usual, but they weren't. The reason for that hit Nadine quickly. She realised Guy's female friend was not visiting alone. Her brother was coming along. With an inward sigh, she forced her thoughts to less exasperating matters.

It was a few minutes later, when Nadine was just dozing off, that Guy slammed on the brakes. The car made a dangerous swerve, causing Nadine to jerk from her seat and bump her head roughly against the windowpane. Her hand rubbed at the sore spot. "What the hell –"

She never finished the sentence as the air was knocked out of her lungs. In the momentary daze that followed she managed to gasp in a bit of oxygen. Then the sound of shattering glass, accompanied by horrible screeching noises and twisting metal pervaded the quiet midnight air. Not even a minute later the sickening smell of burnt rubber filled her nostrils.

That was the last thing she perceived before complete darkness overtook her.

The lights were so bright. Too bright.

Nadine tried to register what was going on. She heard voices, many voices around her. They sounded frantic, urgent, yelling things she couldn't make out. She tried to concentrate on what they were saying, but the voices that echoed in the deep cervices of her mind were distorted, too far to reach, yet too near to shut out.

Something was strapped around her, holding her in place and making it hard for her to breathe, suffocating her. Why was it so hard to breathe? A wave of panic swept over her, but then something was placed on her face and she felt slightly better.

Pain. It started out with a dull ache which in a matter of seconds increased to a pain she had never felt before. A pain that seeped through muscle and bone, like daggers cutting right into the marrow and beyond, so sharp it blinded all other senses.

Then they were moving her outside. Nadine could feel the cold. The air around her changed again. It was warm. The sounds of people yelling around her became louder. What were they talking about? Where was she? What was happening? Her silent questions were interrupted when she felt something cold being pressed against her chest.

A woman was speaking. "Unidentified female, late teens. Had a car accident… suffers from head trauma, internal bleeding, fractured ribs and pelvis and possibly a punctured lung. BP is sixty over thirty."

Who were they talking about? Nadine tried to recall what had happened. One moment they were driving to the airport, and the next... That was it. She couldn't remember a thing; nothing except for screeching noises and the sudden and overpowering feeling of sleep afterwards. Had it been a car accident? Was it her that they were talking about?

"…get four units of o-neg…"

"…pulse is hundred ten and threading…"

Nadine tried to open her eyes. All that she saw was light, flashes of bright colours, blurs, shadows passing by. She realised she was being wheeled through some sort of corridor. The ceiling was a plain old white. Now would be a good time to ask what had happened, she thought, and opened her mouth to speak, tried to move her lips. But nothing happened and no sound came out. She could only hear herself thinking. It was as if she was trapped within her own body with no means to escape.

"…Set me up for a central line. Clear the neck for x-rays and call maintenance for a hacksaw! On my count. One. Two. Three…"

"…Drop an NG tube. Neck is clear. Bag her and set her up for intubation…"

"…Sats are eighty-two and falling…"

"…Call for a vent. Decreased breath sounds to the right. She's slipping!"

That was when she panicked. All of a sudden, alarms were going off and people swarmed in around her. She felt sudden exhaustion take over. The urge to close her eyes and sleep was overwhelming, and she wasn't exactly sure why she was fighting it in the first place. Finally, she felt her body surrender on its own volition. She would close her eyes for just a second, just to rest. Then she would see.

"…B-fib…"

"…Charge. Clear…"

"…Raise to three hundred. Clear…"

"…Asystole. Time of death; two fifty-seven…"