There was only darkness. Jade found herself standing amid that darkness. Her eyes were open and yet she cannot see anything. She could only hear a gentle whisper out of that darkness,
"Pure Blood, wake up…" it said.
'Am I dreaming?' Jade asked herself. She tried to hear her surroundings, trying to hear noisy thoughts from any possible person around but there was nothing but the whisper.
"Wake up, Pure Blood." It said once again.
Then she felt something that nudged her forehead. At that time, she realized she was indeed dreaming. When she opened her eyes, though she was incredibly surprised, she did not scream nor did she defend herself, for lo and behold a large white, glowing deer with pinewood horns stood before her.
Jade was confused because the magnificence of this night creature should intimidate her, but she felt no ill-will from the creature at all.
The deer nuzzled her face and sniffed her. Jade looked at the deer's eyes.
'I have been waiting for you Pure Blood' Jade heard it say.
Again she was surprised, " I…How can this be? You can talk?"
"All creatures talk. We just have a different tongue than your kind. But some of you, like you, a Pure Blood who reads thoughts of both the dead and the living can communicate with us through the mind."
Awed by the creature, Jade almost forgot her companions. They were also asleep, deeply sleep.
The deer nudged her once again, "Don't mind them. In Takang, living souls tend to slumber into a deep sleep. Sometimes for eternity."
Jade panicked, "No. That can't be..!"
Strangely Jade heard a chuckle from the deer. "Do not fret Pure Blood. The people from the other side are near to open the void. By nightfall on your realm, this void will open. Now come, you must do something before you leave, Pure Blood."
The large deer bit her clothes gently and dragged her outside the make-shift shelter. They walked towards the edge of the cliff's rocky wall.
"I am terribly confused." Jade said.
"Are you?" The deer responded.
"Why is it that as if you expected me to be here? Why am I not scared of you? You even called me a Pure Blood. I heard that first from the Kaleshing in the cabin, it called me a true pure blood too. What does that mean? What am I?"
The deer stopped and licked Jade's cheeks. "You have much to learn. In time you will understand everything. Take one step at a time to learn the truth. Listen to your instincts and trust those it says you can trust. Learn. For example, the one that you met in the cabin is not a Kaleshing."
"How come you know about that? I was sure it was one. My grandfather and the elders think so too."
Again, the deer laughed. "When a powerful being comes out of the underworld, everyone here will know. Oh, how misled the mortals are in this era. Pure Blood, Kaleshing is the soul of the dead. That being is not just a dead soul. He is mightier than a Kaleshing and we creatures of the night and the Ampasit are protected by his kind. A being from the underworld. Your ancient people call them Ikalutaan. beings that abode in the sky world and the underworld."
Learning this, Jade felt a shiver in her nape. Her thoughts wondered to the man who summoned that being. If that being, an Ikalutaan is powerful than a Kaleshing, and was able to be summoned by Dmitry, that means that the young man was more dangerous more than what she thought at first.
Seeing that the night creature stopped, Jade did as well. They stopped at the edge of the wall, in front of a narrow space, between two cliffs. Jade peeked, and she cannot see anything for it was pitch-black.
Suddenly she heard wailing from the deep part of that ravine. A man's hoarse voice echoed within.
"That, Pure Blood, is a Kaleshing" the deer pointed out.
Jade confused stated the obvious, "His crying."
"He is not at peace you see."
"Why?"
"Human emotions hinder him to start the journey of the dead. Maybe you can help him."
"Me? How can I?"
"You're a Pure Blood." The deer adamantly said.
"But—I don't know how to."
The deer nudged Jade towards the ravine. "Pure Bloods are able speak to the souls of the dead and the living. Now go. Don't you want to know the truth?"
The confused Jade sighed and looked back at the creature behind her who comforted the anxious her, "I will not send you there if I knew you would not be safe, little one."
Trusting blindly, Jade walked further into the ravine. She felt colder and colder and the wailing became louder and louder.
The cry was so loud and ominous, that at times Jade felt scared but she would be reminded by what the deer told her, 'Don't you want to know the truth?'
Finally, she reached the edge of the ravine and saw the 'Kaleshing'. It did not look like the beast in the cabin. It had no limbs and its head; its whole body was hidden under a cloak of darkness. It had eyes and for this Kaleshing tears were pouring out from it. It had also a mouth, extremely wider than the usual.
Jade threaded carefully, but the slight sound of her tiny steps did not come unnoticed to the Kaleshing.
Scared, Jade hid behind a large rock,
"Who goes there?!" the Kaleshing aggravatingly exclaimed.
"Come out! If you do not, once I find you, I will eat you!!!" it exclaimed still his eyes filled with tears.
'That does not sound re-assuring at all.' Jade thought to herself. Even though the Kaleshing did not have a nose, it lifted its head and sniffed the air.
"A living human! Human where are you?!"
The Kaleshing roamed the ravine trying to look where the scent was coming from until it found the girl hiding behind the rock. It opened its mouth widely than before and tried to catch Jade by it. Jade ran away just in time and the Kaleshing's mouth engulfed the rock instead.
"Human!!" it exclaimed and wailed at the same time. "I need that body of yours!!!"
The Kaleshing again opened its wide mouth and rushed towards Jade who now just kept still. Strangely, Jade did not feel scared this time. She understood how desperate the Kaleshing was as Jade read its, no HIS inner thoughts.
In his mind he screamed with a pleading voice, 'I need that body! I need to know who killed me!'
Just before the Kaleshing reached her, Jade commanded, "Dantes, ejeng."
The Kaleshing suddenly stopped wailing and as it was commanded, it kept still.
"You…how do you know my name?! Why can't I move?! What did you do to me?!" The Kaleshing named Dantes shouted.
Jade felt relieved. But even more than feeling relieved, she became more confused than she already was. How was she confident that the single word command will work to halt the Kaleshing. Before her thoughts might fly elsewhere, she returned to the issue at hand.
"I—I was sent here by someone who is concerned about you, I guess. I came here to help you rather than harm you." Jade calmly explained while she nervously walked towards Dantes.
Sensing the sincerity on the girl's words, Dantes started wailing again. "Are you here to lend me that body? With your body I can return to the realm of the living, see my family and then—and then avenge my death!"
Jade who was now a meter away from the Kaleshing that towered over her contemplated for a minute. "That I will not do, it is forbidden to do so, as I was told by my Elders."
Dantes wailed even louder. "Then what can you do for me?! Nothing! Leave me be!!!"
As if Jade felt the dead soul's suffering, she pleadingly said, "Dantes, joktot."
Involuntary, the Kaleshing's body shrunk just like that of the man, and he bowed his head forward as he was commanded. Jade reached for Dantes' head and looked into his eyes. Then as always, she was transported inside the thoughts of the person's mind that she is peeking.
She saw herself standing on the same ravine without the Kaleshing this time. It was nighttime. The only source of light in the dark cold ravine was the light from the full moon above. She walked around a wrecked truck. Then she found a body of a man in his thirties. His rugged and tattered jeans and plain white shirt soaked with mud and dirt. His arms and one of his legs were obviously dislocated. Blood from his head still oozing.
This is Dantes. It was his last memory before his demise. He is still alive at the moment but his breathing was slowly fading. His eyes consciously looking above. Jade followed the direction of his sight. At the edge of the cliff where Jade presumed Dantes fell from, a man was looking down, staring at him without mercy and with disdain.
She wanted to see who the man was. Jade had a strong feeling that this man was the assailant. Just as she imagined how would it be, her body was lifted. She was floating midair. Then she saw the face of the man standing at the edge of the cliff. His eyes were green and a large serpent slithering behind him. Jade knows this large serpent and who can summon it. The serpent was Shagem, Ziron's Kowadja. The man staring down the ravine, was no other than a young Ziron.
Dismayed and in disbelief Jade snapped out of the memory. She felt her palms were wet as Dantes was yet again crying incessantly; his tears caught on Jade's hands that were touching his face.
Jade stumbled backward, her heart thumping. Her grandfather had murdered someone!
"Selena!!! My Selena" Dantes shouted continuously. "Wait for me!!!"
Jade understood now. This is Dantes, her grandaunt Selena's husband. Dmitry's grandfather. Jade's mind was full of questions. Does Dmitry know that Ziron killed Dantes? Does he want revenge? In the first place, why would Ziron kill his sister's husband? Did not Ziron love his only sister?
As she though all of these, Dantes came towards her.
"You have seen him, haven't you? You know him, don't you? Who is the man who killed me? I need to know, human."
"If I tell you, what good will it do?" Jade asked back.
"Knowing who caused my death will give me some sort of peace."
Jade sighed. She stood up and brushed the dust from her clothes. "I will tell you and I will do everything to seek the reason of your death in your stead. In return, can you start your journey that your soul may be at peace?"
Dantes wails stopped. He nodded.
A lonely smile plastered on Jade's lips as she said, "His name is Ziron. Ziron Kandas and I am his granddaughter."
Knowing that she was a descendant of the man's murderer, she expected rage from the Kaleshing. But, unexpectedly, merely a lonely smile could be seen on his wide mouth.
"I never met my wife's older brother. Selena never told me anything about her family. I only am familiar with the name. Is that so, maybe my death is my retribution from taking his precious sister from him."
Tears started welling up in Jade's eyes. "But it is not a valid reason to commit murder."
Dantes chuckled, "You will honor your promise, will you not little girl?"
Jade nodded.
"Good." Dantes said.
As the words escaped his mouth, bright light surrounded them, and the dark cloaked figure of the Kaleshing little by little was engulfed by the light. Before Dantes completely vanished within the light, Jade was able to see him in his true form, a man in his thirties and with a content smile. As the light vanished, the darkness of the ravine came back.
Jade felt ambiguous. She was happy to somehow know that she can do something other than read minds and see thoughts, but at the same time she felt sad and mostly disappointed, as the grandfather she respected might be a murderer of an innocent man. She also hated the thought that now she sympathizes with Dmitry who might be out for revenge for the murder of his grandfather. Dantes' death was the beginning of his family's misfortunes after all.
Her thoughts and the silence of her surrounding was interrupted by a familiar voice calling out to her.
"Jade! Jade!" Hannah desperately called.
Because it was dark, Hannah and Ivan who was running towards her could not see her.
"I—I am here. I'm okay!" Jade shouted in reply as she also walked towards their direction.
She met up with Hannah and Ivan who have relieved faces after finally finding her.
"What have you been doing here?" Hannah asked while patting her head.
Jade was about to explain, but Ivan grabbed both hers and Hannah's hand, "Tell us later miss, we have to be on our way. The Elders were able to open a hole in the void. We cannot miss this chance."
Realizing how rare and hard this chance must be Jade and Hannah let Ivan drag them out. If Jade will be able to return to her realm, then she will make sure that she'll fulfill her promise to Dantes and find out the dark secrets Ziron has kept hidden.