PART VII

An Ominous Plan, Wavering Dreams, and a Destined Meeting

The dark figure drew in a sharp breath as he saw the figure that appeared in his Mirror. What was He doing in the Human World? He was dangerous and the One who could thwart all his plans. That One must be eliminated if his plans were to come to pass. The figure turned to the Shadow Rings on his fingers then touched one of them.

"Come forth my Servant of Darkness and do my bidding!"

A figure shrouded in Dark Mist appeared before him.

"Master, what is thy command?"

"Eliminate him. You know what to do."

The figure turned toward the Mirror then smiled cruelly.

"Yes, Master."

"Do not fail me Wrath."

"I wilt not. He shalt be eliminated."

Then with a flicker, he was gone.

He stood there, piercing green eyes looking at something or someone with intense pain, her own heart breaking at his pain. The wind ruffled his messy blonde hair as he stood by the ocean. Suddenly Darkness surrounded him and he disappeared within that Darkness. Panic ate at her, she must save him…With a gasp, Kagura jerked awake and sat up sharply. She was on her bed, and looking out her window, she saw that it was late afternoon. What was that strange dream? Who was he? She had felt a strange connection to the man. There was also a sense of familiarity, trust, and love toward him. How is that possible? She had never met him in her life. A strange thought suddenly occurred to her, could he be part of the memories she had lost? Kagura closed her eyes and tried to remember, but nothing came to her. Then she remembered the chilling part of the dream. What was that Darkness? The Darkness had chilled her to the bone. It felt evil, ancient. It had taken the man. Could that have been an omen? It felt like one. Kagura had wanted to save the man with all her heart, but she didn't know why nor did she know how.

Opening her eyes, she sighed and saw the strange cell phone she had put on her bedside desk. Kagura went still. Maybe this could help trigger her memories of that man. The demon names had chilled her, but that didn't mean the cell phone was demonic in nature. It looked like any ordinary cell phone. Unlocking it again, Kagura noticed that besides taking calls, she could also type messages with it. She had also noticed the Chat app. There was a message icon for messages and a chat icon for Chat. In addition, if she looked closely at one of the apps, it looked like the Instagram app despite its strange design.

Looking at the message icon, Kagura tapped on it and saw a history of text messages. Kagura was curious about the text messages but she'll return to them later. Closing the message icon, she tapped the Chat app. Once it opened, she noticed many active chats. One of the active chats read "RAD Newspaper Club" while another active chat was called "Devildom Prince". The name sounded ominous and made Kagura shudder because "Devildom" sounded like another name for Hell. She quickly closed the Chat app then tapped on the Instagram-like app. After opening it, she saw twelve photo album icons. Eleven of the album icons were of very good looking men while one of them looked to be of a child. None of the faces were familiar to Kagura until her eyes fell on the icon of the strange, blonde-haired man in her dreams. She tapped on it and the photos of the man appeared before her eyes. She froze as she read the name, "Satan". It was one of the demon names listed in the telephone book.

With wariness, she scrolled through the photos before coming upon photos of her with him. As Kagura looked through the photos, feelings of love swirled within her while shadowed memories and a figure encased in shadow flickered in her mind. There were other feelings as well and they were as clear as day. She felt strength and encouragement, warmth, trust, and protectiveness. All these emotions filled Kagura's heart as she looked at the photos. She also felt a strong bond with the mysterious man and a strange sense of longing, but she did not know why she felt all these emotions. Kagura instinctively traced the silhouette of the man's face with her fingers before whispering, "Satan, who are you? Why do I long for you so? Why do I have these feelings for you?" No answers came to her, and with a sigh, Kagura reluctantly closed the app and the cell phone before leaving her room.

Satan had finally arrived at St. Erth and entered the transfer Station to buy a ticket to St. Ives. Walking toward the ticket window, he saw the booking clerk currently helping another passenger, so he waited. A few minutes later, it was his turn. The booking clerk gave a polite smile then asked, "How may I help you, sir?"

"I would like to buy a ticket to St. Ives."

"Of course, would you like an Economy cabin or a Private compartment?"

"Private compartment, please."

"Okay. Can you give me your ID?"

"Will this do?" asked Satan as he pulled out his Scotland Yard ID.

The man nodded and opened it then typed the ID number into his computer.

"I need to input your name as well."

"Nasat," replied Satan, creating a random name on the spot.

"Can you spell it for me?"

Satan spelled it for him, "N-A-S-A-T."

"Okay, thank you. That would be £5 for a Private compartment."

Satan gave the booking clerk his money then put his ID back into his pockets.

After he bought the ticket, Satan made his way to the lobby and waited for his train. The wait wasn't long. The intercom broadcasted his train number and told all passengers to come to Platform 3 to board. Satan stood up, exited, and then went to the train platform and boarded. Once on the train, he settled into his compartment and waited for the train to depart. The train departed on time and within 10 minutes, he was at St. Ives Station. Stepping off the train, he made his way into town which was a surprising five minute walk.

As Satan entered town, he pulled on his connections to Kagura and found that the next place Kagura went to was an Edwardian style Bed and Breakfast. Opening his eyes, he walked further into town and found the Bed and Breakfast. Kagura's scent was everywhere as Satan stepped into the guest lobby. Her scent surrounded and embraced him, making him long for her so. With a sigh, he opened his eyes. Now was not the time to think of that, instead he looked around him. The lobby was cozy and quaint with wonderful shades of blue and beige, creating a soothing and relaxing environment.

Satan looked toward the marble counter to see if the owner was in and saw a dark-haired man with hints of gray in his hair bending over some account books. Walking toward the counter, Satan patiently waited for him to finish what he was doing. It wasn't long before the man noticed that there was a guest. He looked up and with a polite and apologetic smile said, "I'm sorry for the wait sir, how may I help you?"

"It's all right. I assume you're the owner?"

"Yes."

Satan nodded, "I'm here to ask you about someone I know. She is a close friend of mine. I'm looking for her. The last place she was at was this Bed and Breakfast."

The man said, "Many guests have stayed here. If I'm to help you, I need specific information like a name."

Satan nodded, "Her name's Kagura."

The man stilled as he looked at the visitor. "You know Kagura? How do you know her? She has never mentioned any close friends before."

Now it was Satan's turn to go still. He had to tread carefully here. "She and I met a few years ago while I was visiting London. I wanted to go to Westminster but didn't know the way so she acted as my guide. While on the train to Westminster, we accidentally found ourselves involved in a murder mystery. Learning that she loves to solve mysteries as much as I did, we decided to work together to solve it. After the culprit was found, we reported to Scotland Yard and they took care of the rest. That was when we became friends. Since then, every time I'm in London, we would hang out together."

The man nodded and smiled, "I see. So that's how you two met. Kagura has always loved mysteries so what she did wasn't surprising. She got it from her father who currently works as a crime consultant for Scotland Yard. He and the Commissioner are friends. So you love mysteries too?"

Satan nodded, "I've loved them for a very long time too. I also know the Commissioner. He and I are old acquaintances. I have also aided in consulting though not formally."

The man looked impressed. "I'm glad Kagura found a friend like you who share the same interests and passions as her. She has always been a loner and doesn't have many close friends. I've always been worried about that."

Satan couldn't believe it. Kagura was a loner and didn't have many close friends? He was a loner too. True, he had many acquaintance and friends, but had never had any close friends. He and Kagura were so similar. Now, Satan was more determined than ever to find her and have her by his side again.

"You seem to know a lot about Kagura, sir."

The man nodded, "Because I'm her uncle."

Satan blinked in surprise, "You're her uncle?"

The man smiled, "Yes. Her father is my brother."

Satan couldn't believe it. He had found someone who can answer most of his questions to what had happened to Kagura.

"It is a pleasure to meet you sir."

"Likewise," he replied with a smile.

After a few minutes, Kagura's uncle asked Satan, "So, why are you looking for Kagura?"

Satan thought for a minute before replying, "Are you aware of the missing trains along with its passengers and staff that had disappeared into the wilds of Cornwall?"

Kagura's uncle nodded, "Yes, I'm aware. I've read about the disappearances in the paper. Kagura's father is investigating it along with Scotland Yard. How is this related to why you're searching for Kagura?"

"One of the missing trains was the train Kagura was on. During my investigation, I learned that Kagura was one of the passengers that had gone missing from the train so I started to track her, only to find out that she had hit her head while falling from the train she was on. When she woke up, she had left the train and had made her way to St. Ives by hitching a ride, arriving at your place. That's why I'm here, hoping to find her."

Kagura's uncle drew in a sharp breath as he remembered what Kagura had told him when she unexpectedly showed up at his place. "Did you say she had hit her head after falling from one of the missing trains she was on?"

Satan stilled and stared at Kagura's uncle. "Are you saying you know about it too?"

"Not about the train she fell off from. All she told me when she unexpectedly showed up was that she fell off a train and hit her head."

Satan felt a chill as a suspicion came to him. "Kagura should've known which train she fell from. Why did she say a train?"

Kagura's uncle closed his eyes, "After Kagura hit her head she became amnesiac. When she arrived here, she didn't know who I was nor did she know who her parents were. All she remembered was that she fell off a train and hit her head."

Satan closed his eyes in pain. His voice barely above a whisper, "Are you saying that she has amnesia?"

Kagura's uncle went still as he recognized that tone. Kagura's friend cared for her deeply, maybe even more. The news had hit him hard.

"I'm sorry for breaking the news this way."

Satan slowly opened his eyes and shook his head, "No, don't be. I would've found out sooner or later. After learning that Kagura has amnesia, it's even more urgent for me to find her. Can you tell me where she is?"

Kagura's uncle nodded, "She is at her family's summer retreat in Lands End. It's 30 minutes away from here by taxi. Let me give you the directions to get there."

Kagura's uncle took out a piece of paper then wrote down the directions before handing it to Satan.

"Here it is. The summer retreat is an ocean villa sitting atop a cliff overlooking the ocean. You need to take a boat from the village harbor in Lands End to get there because it's all wild country out there. The boat that Kagura often takes is the Land n' Sea."

"Thank you, sir. You've been a great help."

"It was my pleasure."

After a few minutes, Kagura's uncle said, "Please help get all my niece's memories back when you see her. I haven't told her parents of her condition yet because it would break their hearts."

"I will," Satan promised before leaving the Bed and Breakfast. A few minutes later, he hailed a taxi to take him to Lands End. As he rode in the taxi looking out toward the distant ocean, he sent a single thought over that vastness, my beloved, I'm coming.