Fallen

By Erika Knudsen

Their earliest memories were of each other. For three decades, Davis and Wilhelmina rendezvoused in their dreams, grew together and shared intimate moments. They never realized that the other was real.
When tragedy strikes Davis, he’s spurred on to practice magick once again. His actions set them on a course that will change not only his life, but also that of the woman of his dreams.
The spell awakens a long hidden truth within Wilhelmina and she is summoned to Davis’ side. The moment they are finally brought together again, the evil that has been lurking in Wilhelmina’s life threatens their very existence.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Erika Knudsen
• Release date: Apr 4, 2016
• ISBN: 9781310580635

Erika Knudsen

Daring to walk in the shadows, Erika Knudsen never came back. At an early age, she was intrigued and mesmerized by suspense, horror, and drama. The idea of “creatures” coming to life at night was a scary and thrilling idea. After years of being a fan of horror and the supernatural, she took her fandom of the genre to the next level. Erika resides in a quaint hamlet northwest of Edmonton, Alberta with her husband and daughter where the dark country nights add to her nightmarish and twisting plots.

Book preview

This book is a work of fiction.  Names, characters and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.  Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2016 by Erika Knudsen

Published by Eris Publishing at Smashwords

Discover other titles by Erika Knudsen at http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/erikaknudsen

All rights reserved.  No part of this book covered by the copyright hereon may be reproduced in any form or by any means—graphic, electronic or mechanical without the prior written permission of the publisher, except for reviewers who may quote brief passages.  Any request for photocopying, recording, taping or storage in any information retrieval system of any part of this book shall be directed in writing to the publisher.

Cover design by Geek Girl Productions

www.erispublishing.com

* * * * *

Dedicated to Jess and Christine; may our ship sail forever.

* * * * *

Fallen

Erika Knudsen

Chapter 1

The screaming sirens of first response vehicles filled the humid summer night air. Trapped in the driver’s seat, Davis turned to look at his wife. A thick line of blood oozed from her ear and nose. His voice was thick with desperation as he called out to her repeatedly, but Lydia only lay still. Davis then instinctually turned, ignoring the pain, to check on his daughter, Emma. The air was punched from his lungs when he saw her slumped forward in the booster seat. The side window was cracked and smeared with blood where her tiny skull impacted.

Davis could barely say her name.

It had been raining earlier that evening when he took his family out for dinner at a burger joint then to a movie afterward—How To Train Your Dragon 2—Emma’s choice. There was no way he was going to win against his four-year-old daughter; besides, Davis couldn’t find it in him say no to her either. So he sat through the nearly two-hour animated movie. Even though he did enjoy it, he would never let anyone know.

Emma had fallen asleep in her booster seat as he and Lydia talked about trivial stuff as they headed home. It wasn’t really late, only nearing nine p.m., when out of nowhere, someone ran a red light and t-boned their SUV on the passenger side.

Sir... Sir! Can you hear me? What’s your name? a male voice woke him but he hadn’t escaped the nightmare. Davis turned to look at who was yelling at him. To his utter shock and amazement, the driver side door had been opened already. So rather than looking out the window, he just looked up with ease to see the fireman who stood there.

Davis nodded. After a moment he responded, Davis Wesson.

"We need to use the Jaws of Life to get your wife and child out. You need to come with me."

Davis nodded his dazed compliance.

The fireman turned and nodded to one of his colleagues. The paramedic approached, pushing a stretcher. The two men collected Davis from the mangled SUV and placed him carefully onto the it. All the while, the medic braced his head from any major movement. Once lying down, a neck brace was put around his neck and his body was strapped to the gurney and they started to wheel him away.

Wait! he yelled out. My wife, my daughter... Where are you taking me? I can’t leave! He started to squirm under the restraints. The gurney paused and the EMT looked down at him, the look of sympathy on the man’s face broke his heart. It spoke volumes.

Davis, the paramedic said firmly, yet gentle in his tone. The fire department will get your family out of the car soon. They will be at Memorial Hospital. That is where we are taking you. Your injuries are more significant than you may think. So please, stay still and let me and my team take care of you.

Davis went still, and as the man’s words sunk in, the tears that had been building fell. Not that the EMT actually said it; the man’s tone only confirmed what his instincts already told him. Before they closed the ambulance doors, the whir of machinery and screeching of bending metal and breaking glass resounded in the night air. Not long after the vehicle began to roll forward, Davis fell unconscious.

Chapter 2

Wilhelmina looked at the glowing blue numbers of her alarm clock: 4:17am. A long sigh passed her lips as she lay in bed. She pressed a cool hand against her fevered, sweaty forehead and attempted to calm her rapid breathing. Most nights she dreamed of the man with short cropped sandy brown hair, the man who had been blessed with a soft spray of freckles across his nose and cheeks, and moss-green eyes that sparkled with a sensuous burn. She wished that the sweat was from a hot dream but alas, her brain was playing horrible tricks on her. Instead, Wilhelmina dreamt of her coveted companion in a deadly car accident. Wilhelmina didn’t like it at all.

Over the years, Wilhelmina had tried to tell herself that the man wasn’t real, but the fact that she had been dreaming of him for most of her life made tricky for her. This green-eyed boy, who grew to be a teen, and was now a full-fledged man had aged at roughly the same rate as herself. She had interacted with this person in her dreams all the way from childhood. She’d grown so close to him. Now she feared that this nightmare was her mind telling her blatantly to give up on the idea of finding that perfect someone in her life. That she had to suck it up and accept the love that she was receiving from the man who lay beside her now.

Another sigh escaped her when guilt twisted her gut as she looked over at her lover of the past five years. Bennett had always been good to her. He put up with Wilhelmina’s multiple idiosyncrasies, didn’t ask questions—well, many questions. She felt such guilt that she couldn’t love Bennett the way that Bennett loved her. Wilhelmina knew that, despite her efforts at masking it, her lover could never understand what it was that held Wilhelmina back from loving him back wholly. Whenever Bennett tried to bring it up, Wilhelmina would become furious and instantly deflect to something else, which was usually something stupid, and would eventually storm off. She was never good with her feelings, let alone telling her lover that she wished to be with someone who lived in her dreams.

Wilhelmina sat up, swinging her legs over the edge of the bed, trying her best not to wake Bennett. However, she could hear the man stir as he woke. Hey babe... You getting up already? It’s still dark out. Wilhelmina looked over her shoulder at him, a fond smile spreading across her face. She knew Bennett wasn’t truly awake and his dazed state was cute.

Don’t worry. Go back to sleep, it’s okay. Just can’t sleep is all. Bennett grumbled an unrecognizable response, which made Wilhelmina chortle as she rose from bed. Bennett rolled over and was out again in an instant.

Methodically, Wilhelmina smeared a thin layer of butter onto six graham wafers and poured herself a glass of milk. With only the light from the range hood, the kitchen was dimly lit as she sat at the small table to eat. She knew that it was too early to be up, but there would be no way she’d be able to get back to sleep before she’d have to get up at seven for work. She’d be a zombie if she did that. The thought of having to get up for work made her laugh a little. It wasn’t like she was a doctor, lawyer, or even a labourer. She didn’t even have set hours. She was a writer. Other than having to meet deadlines or take calls from the publishing house or her agent Liam, she was pretty much free to do whatever she desired with the hours of the day. She liked it that way and was grateful to live as she pleased.

However, there was that guilt again. It was all because of Davis, this green-eyed man, that she was even successful. In high school Wilhelmina had begun writing stories about him. Feeling