Sweet Sleep (The Children of Ankh Book 1) Read online

  To my wonderful children, Jenna and Cameron. Thank you for giving me strength in the moments when I felt like I had none left. You are the reason I get up every morning and push myself forward. May you always believe in magic, and never stop fighting life’s dragons. Always believe in the impossible.

  Dear Reader,

  This series started out as a nightmare and quite literally turned into a dream. It kept me moving forward at a time when it would have been so easy to give up. Thank you for joining me on my own personal journey towards enlightenment.

  Love

  Kim Cormack

  In every lifetime, there is a moment. A moment so clear, so profoundly unique that it stands out against billions of other moments. When you find a moment such as this one, pay extra close attention to it. It will contain something that defines you in the future.

  Prologue

  “Are you certain she’s the one?” Lily whispered.

  Frost replied softly, “Pretty sure, she even looks a little like Freja. How old do you think she is? Four … maybe five years old?”

  From the playground, came something remarkable. A little duplicate of the child lying in the grass. The other little angel plopped herself ungracefully onto the grassy bed next to her sister. They were mirror images of each other.

  Grey said, “This is quite the unexpected little glitch … isn't it? What does this mean? How is this even possible?”

  Frost replied, “It's not possible.”

  Lily glanced at Frost and said, “It definitely complicates things.”

  One of the freckled little girls noticed the three Ankhs watching. She sprang to her feet and raced over to the fence and stood on her tippy toes. With a giant grin, she stuck her chubby little fingers through the rungs of the fence.

  “Do you want to come in and play?” She squeaked.

  Lily whispered, “Aren’t you the most adorable little thing in the whole wide world.”

  “What’s your name? You delightful little creature,” Grey said with his thick Aussie accent.

  “I’m not a thing or a creature. I’m a kid. My name is Kayn, that’s my sister Chloe,” she pointed a little finger adorned with messy sparkle nail polish at her sister.

  The little girl had sand on her lovely white frilly dress and grass in her hair. She had a sticker of a frog on her cheek, and she radiated joy. Chloe sat up. She was now glaring at them. Chloe was clearly not going to be the one out of the two abducted by a random stranger.

  Frost appeared to be so captivated by the scrappy child that stood in front of them he couldn’t even manage to speak. He just stood there beaming like a fool.

  “You guys look like movie stars.” Kayn gushed, and then turned her attention to her own hand, “I have nail polish on … see?” she said, her beautiful eyes gleamed with pride as she displayed her wiggling fingers for the rest to see.

  “Very lovely,” Lily appraised. Just as a little boy with a mess of dark curls came running up to the fence and grabbed Kayn’s arm.

  He glared at the group, then leaned over and whispered in her ear assertively, “Chloe says you’re not supposed to talk to strangers.”

  The little girl stated, “Chloe’s not the boss of me.” She then grasped the fence firmly and stuck her face right against it with her little upturned nose sticking right through to the other side.

  Frost, quite obviously blown away by the feisty, spirited child, touched one of the little girl’s dainty fingers through the fence. He met her gaze, marveling at the innocence and vibrant intensity that shone back through the chain link barrier.

  His expression changed briefly as he whispered to her under his breath. “It’s very important that you become strong.” He touched the tip of her nose with his finger gently.

  Chapter 1

  The Moments Before She Sleeps

  The humming of Kayn’s blood as it coursed through her veins seemed to sing along to the steady, almost tribal, beat of her feet as they pounded rhythmically into the dirt. A veil of earth flowed behind her. She resembled a flaxen-haired angel attempting to outrun a cloud of dust that seemed to follow her for a moment or two longer than it should with not one whisper of wind in the afternoon air. The smile that spread over Kayn’s lips while she trained showed that her heart was overflowing with so much joy that it could not be contained beneath her serious competitive demeanor. Kayn noticed in a moment of clarity that Kevin was not sitting in the grass watching her run. She could picture Kevin as he rushed to his locker, and fumbled with the lock in an attempt to keep the facade going. She wasn't stupid. She didn't actually believe that he enjoyed watching her run in circles around a track. She knew there was a method to his madness. Her best friend was madly in love with her twin sister. He had been addicted to the mere sight of her since kindergarten. To anyone else this would make no sense, but Kayn understood. She was Kevin’s friend, and Chloe was his fantasy.

  She could picture him shoving his way past a herd of students and prying his body through the single doorway that led to the gym. In her vision of why he was late for their daily routine, he was shoved up against the wall and his books fell out of his backpack. She found herself laughing aloud as she ran for thoughts of him always brought a smile to her face. His organizational skills had always left something to be desired. After taking a moment to collect his papers, he would zip up his bag and continue on his quest for his moment in the presence of her twin sister. The always unattainable, Chloe Brighton.

  She noticed him out of the corner of her eye. He ran up the hill and unceremoniously plopped himself down in the grass beside her school bag, and things were now as they should be. She rounded the corner and kicked up dust like a champ. She saw him fiddling with his cell phone. He was going to time her next lap. She flashed by her best friend in a cloud of dust. Kevin smiled at her through the haze.

  Her body, lean and freckled from exposure to the sun, glinted with sparkles. Kayn loved coconut sparkle tanning spray. She could see it on her clenched fists each time they flashed by her line of sight. She was a girl with a list of strange little rituals on her daily to do list. At the beginning of her run, she imagined that she did look magical, glittering in the sun, but not by the end of her run. By the end of her training, the glitter tanning spray would cause the track’s dust to stick to her whole body in a comical way. She would end up looking as though she had spent her whole afternoon rolling in dirt, not running on it.

  Kayn allowed herself to appreciate the sun’s rays gently whispering across her skin. She experienced the transcendent feeling of pure joy as she ran. Kayn kicked up another cloud to outrun as she rounded the corner. Then came that pleasurable jolt of electricity that surged through her brain, ignited her soul, and set her afire with insurmountable joy. This moment in her run had always left her with the sense that she’d been given the gift of physical power as adrenaline rippled a winding path of pleasure underneath her skin.

  She hit the straight stretch feeling such unimaginable, euphoric, physical ecstasy that she felt baptized by the sweat trickling down her forehead to the sides of her face. Kayn Brighton was alive in that moment in a way only a runner could comprehend. She was thankful for that moment, and every single time the experience overwhelmed her; her soul felt stronger.

  Every nerve ending was humming, “Faster, Kayn, go faster.” Kayn was an athlete born to push the limits of her body, programmed to be a powerhouse. Don’t Call Me Baby, by Madison Avenue was cranked in Kayn’s ears. She kept pace to the beat, feeling powerful and strong. Kayn grinned and made eye contact as she ran past her best friend Kevin, signaling her acknowledgement of his presence.

  Kevin sat listening to his own musi
c, plucking the long, green strands of grass out of the ground by their roots. Kevin glanced up from his grass picking duties as she approached, and over zealously waved at her as he displayed a giant, charming, toothy-grin. It was a funny thing he’d done since kindergarten. It never failed to induce laughter. She acknowledged that she had seen him sitting there being a goof by shaking her head and smiling.

  Kayn started walking to cool down her overheated body. Her heart began to thump and pound in her chest as an act of defiance to her now walking feet. Kayn licked the sweat from her upper lip, tasting its salty, pleasurable reward. She took her track dust covered hand and wiped her forehead to keep the stinging sweat from her eyes. Kayn wiped the sweat on her shorts noticing the streaks of dirt and wondered if she had a streak of dust across her forehead.

  Kayn turned in one fluid movement to greet Kevin, whose grassy scent signaled his arrival at her side. His giant grin told her that her face was most certainly covered in dirt, but he didn’t mention it to her. He always cheered for her as if she had just won the Olympics or something equally spectacular. She smiled. The sight of him cheering was more than a little bit adorable. Kayn yanked one of her earbuds out.

  “Holy crap,” Kevin yelled in her face. “That’s your best time this year. You are going to kick serious butt at the finals next month.”

  “You know my earbuds are out, Kevin. I can hear you,” Kayn spoke quietly.

  “Oh, you think you’re pretty cool because you’re fast. Well, young lady, plenty of people are fast, but how many people can do this?” Kevin retorted. He did a peculiar dance that involved a twirl and some kind of running man move as he laughed at her mortification.

  “Please, stop,” Kayn said as she surveyed the track and surrounding area for witnesses.

  Kevin had often told her that she resembled an Amazonian sized forest nymph. She had never been sure, if his observation was meant as a compliment, or not. She knew her face was speckled with freckles from exposure to the sun, and her nose was probably once again streaked with mud. Kevin was jogging beside her now in an attempt to keep up. She walked with long, athletic strides.

  Her best friend used to be the most adorable little boy on the planet, but there was a point where she sensed he had stopped feeling adorable. That was when she had surpassed him in height. It was around the end of seventh grade. As a joke, their mothers had been plotting their nuptials since the second grade, so that was a complication that they had not anticipated. Kevin had been in a painfully awkward, acne covered stage for at least three years now. He was still adorable, although possibly only to Kayn. However, she did notice that Kevin’s skin was looking pretty clear today. Kayn smiled at him as he valiantly attempted to run as fast as she was walking. Kayn’s affliction was very different. Kayn was invisible. To her this was a good thing. It was her preference to blend into the crowd. She knew she was an attractive girl, but she had never known the perfection of her twin sister Chloe. It did stand to reason that she could quite easily alter her appearance, to match her identical twin, but she didn't care about superficial things. She was the socially awkward version, and she was fine with that on most days. Her naturally curly, wheat colored hair was damp with perspiration and in a messy ponytail.

  “You are awesome. I mean that, and I’m totally not saying that to butter you up so you’ll put a good word in with your sister,” Kevin said with a grin that spread from ear to ear.

  She loved him to death, but she had been letting him down easy for ten years now. She gave him a pat on the shoulder and then flung her arm around him. She slowed down to a casual stroll and sweetly said, “There’s just this one problem, muffin. My sister is way too advanced for you.”

  “Right … That’s what you say to all the guys stalking your twin sister,” he countered with a grin at the cleverly creative way of calling her sister slutty.

  Kayn choked on a laugh and said, “Yes, as a matter of fact it is exactly what I say to every single one of them. I was forced to come up with one token line that I use with everyone. It just saves time, darling.”

  Kevin’s face crinkled into a dimpled grin and he shook his head feigning his distaste. He responded in a flirtatious voice, “I can’t believe after all these years, I am merely a number to you.”

  She displayed a giant smile at his attempt at innuendo. Maybe she would have even been a little flattered if the conversation had been directed towards her. Kayn gave Kevin a friendly pat on the shoulder and said, “Just do yourself a favor; take a hint. She is not the right girl for you.” She slapped him on the butt and teased, “At least have the decency to warn me, if you ever find yourself wanting to wear my sister as a skin coat. I can try to get you some help.”

  Kevin let out a small yelp, and jumped from the sting of her hand. He shot a dirty look back in her direction.

  Kayn took on a fake serious tone and said, “How hard can it be to arrange an intervention, or a creepy exorcism, or something, in your honor. I would hate to have to visit my best friend in a padded cell somewhere.” She sent him a sweet, innocent look and waited for his inevitable comeback.

  “You’re really very clever, Candy Kayn. You should have a comedy show or something,” he shot back at her.

  “It would be hilarious, if it wasn't the truth,” Kayn challenged.

  Kayn’s twin sister, Chloe Brighton, was the perfected version of her. She was stylish and always the picture of popularity and perfection. Her twin was described with words like captivating, stunning, and provocative. Kayn, on the other hand, was blandly characterized as cute, funny, and a good runner. It didn’t seem very fair; however, she loved her sister with blind acceptance. They had always been extremely close but definitely did not hang out in the same crowd. To be honest, Kayn had no crowd at all. It was really just her and Kevin.

  The only boys who had shown an interest in Kayn were usually after her sister Chloe. Kayn, being less sophisticated, would always fall for their games. She would think, maybe this time the guy liked her. She would talk to them on the phone for a while, and then inevitably they would ask to come over to hang out or maybe do some homework together. Kayn would invite them over and right when her heart would begin to flutter with the romantic possibilities of a goodnight kiss or how incredible it would be to have an actual boyfriend, it would happen. They would make their intentions obvious by saying something like; because we are such good friends could you introduce me to your sister Chloe?

  Friends … an uncomplicated word, but it was also a word that Kayn had begun to hate at a very young age because of her sister Chloe. That one single word had felt like the wind from a breath that would blow out every single candle she had kept lit inside of her heart, her whole life to date. Kayn would be blatantly lying, if she said that the constantly repeating scenario didn’t breed some resentment toward her sister. Still, she would never let it show. Not once had she ever freaked out at her sister for stealing her imaginary boyfriends or simply for being completely morally bankrupt.

  She’d learned at a very young age that Chloe didn’t follow the same ethical or moral codes that most people followed. Kayn had this thing called a conscience which included guilt and a little voice in her ear that repeated until she chose to listen to it, don’t do it, Kayn. She was pretty sure the voice talking to Chloe said, Do it, every single time and there was really no need for sentiment or morality in Chloe’s universe.

  The giant self-contained universe that seemed to revolve completely around Chloe was simply amazing. One could stand with mouth agape for hours listening to the stories of horrific events that Chloe had caused during a 24-hour period of time. Once in a while someone stirred up her water, but it simply revolved around her like everything else did, never really touching her or causing her to lose a second of control. Chloe was completely unaffected by the world around her and stood unwavering through life’s currents. It was as though her sister were protected in her own little snow globe completely by herself and life surrounded her.

  K
ayn couldn’t really get mad at the boys who fell for Chloe because she truly believed her sister had the mythical powers of a siren. Chloe was alluring, enticing, and seemed to have catnip for men on her somewhere. She wondered how all of this game had ended up in one of the babies and not the other. They were in the same womb after all, and it didn’t really seem fair. Kevin was one person whose opinion she valued. She could vent to him, and he understood the power that her sister held. They would joke about it on a regular basis, but as soon as Chloe was in a ten-foot radius of him, he wasn't able to tell you his own name. It infuriated her to no end. She stopped walking, and looked behind her. The track was empty, but she couldn't shake the feeling that she was being watched. She shivered as a cold gust of wind seemed to run a trail down the track behind her stirring the dust up into the air. I need a rest. I overworked myself today, she thought. She shook her head as she looked up at the trees that surrounded the span of the track. They were completely still. It was smoking hot outside. She knew a random cold spot in the middle of a sweltering hot track was more than a little bit strange. Kayn turned her attention back to her friend in an attempt to hush the nagging voice in the back of her mind that was repeating the words, Something’s wrong.

  “Did someone walk over your grave?” Kevin whispered in Kayn’s ear, breaking the silence between them.

  She smiled at his quote from Grandma Winnie. She always said that when someone shivered in her presence.

  The retort was always, “But I’m not dead, Granny.”

  Granny would answer with, “If only you knew, how irrelevant the word dead actually is in the grand scheme of things.”

  A sneeze was a ghost walking through you. Kevin’s grandmother seemed to have a direct line to the spirit world. Nearly all of her random thoughts were more than a little creepy. Sometimes his grandmother would spend hours just chatting with Kayn about her dreams. Granny Winnie was a quirky, warm, witty woman that had treasured Kayn from day one. And she was a faithful member of Team Granny because she, unlike the rest of the planet, seemed to despise her sister, Chloe. Granny Winnie couldn’t even breathe when Chloe was in the same room. Granny would pretend to gasp for oxygen or make some kind of foul stench related declaration referring to Chloe. She was believable enough to cause a perfect in her own mind, Chloe, to smell her own armpits. Chloe, being completely void of respect for her elders or pretty much anybody else, would refer to her as a crazy old bat or a witch. Often Granny Winnie would call Chloe out on an evil deed or two, as if she could read her mind.