Jumping out of the way, she was once again clinging to a rock face. She almost felt disappointed when nothing shot out or slammed.
Through her gasps for breath, she heard the slate move back into place and another rumbling of rock.
"Oh." The stairs must be closing.
She quickly left the hallway just in case and entered the other room. As she was still watching the stair move into place, she didn't see the pit that was placed in the middle of the chamber, and she nearly tumbled into it. Barely catching herself on the edge, her hand slipped and fell into something cold and wet. She pulled it out and brought it closer to her face, hoping to recognize the scent. It smelled of petroleum and was so strong it caused her stomach to convulse and she couldn't stop her lunch from being thrown up.
After a short period, she pulled off her bag and dug out the matches. Since it was her right hand that went into the pit, she would have to use her other one to strike the match. She pulled one out and struck it on the lighting pad. After a few attempts, she finally got one to light and threw it into the basin.
After a loud 'woooof' the room lit up. The apartment was about twenty feet wide and twenty-five feet in length. She could see a long basin that stretched itself around the entire room. She walked over and threw in another match. The room was filled with bright light and strong heat. Since she was so far down in the earth, the coldness of the chamber had started to seep into her skin, so the warmth that came from the fire was comfortable.
Knowing she needed to keep the air moving, she walked over to the slate and stepped on it again. The stairs opened with another loud commotion and instantly she felt a wind blow by her face, twisting her hair all around and cooling off her neck.
She looked around and saw what looked like two other doors that could be opened. In the middle of the room sat the well, which held a giant eagle with its wings spread, standing in the puddle of petroleum. She wasn't sure what it was made of, with the yellowing of the firelight, but it looked marble.
In the right corner of the room was a smaller bowl hanging on the wall, which held a large flame. Above it was a giant python that had petroleum dripping from the fangs, alighting little blazes as they fell. By the entrance to the stairs hung a torch that could be lit if dipped in one of the pits. She reached up and grabbed it, putting a rather large splinter in her thumb. She gave a small thanks to the Universe that it wasn't the thumb that had gone into the petroleum. Now sucking on the tender digit, she walked over to the pit in the middle and dipped in the torch. It lit instantly. She walked around the room examining everything she could. There wasn't much to it, just the pit and some Petra-glyph all over the walls and floors. She circled the hole and came to the middle of the two rooms. Placed on the wall in between them was a painting set in glass.
It was about three feet wide and stood from floor to ceiling. It was of Melisa, Gairett, and the other man from her vision. Melisa was sitting on the floor with her legs set to the left, much like the older woman on the sarcophagi. She was wearing the same leather outfit as before and her hair was down, blowing in the wind. Standing behind her to her right was Gairett. He was wearing a similar outfit to Melisa, only his was a loincloth and he was wearing moccasins. His hair was much longer than it was now and somewhat pulled back into a tie. He was even tanner than he had been in her bedroom. With a small sigh, she thought, Yes please!
Standing beside him was a man with much, much longer silvery-white hair who was wearing black leather and had unbelievably white skin. He had no moccasins but wore a knife guarder on his left thigh, and an anklet band on the left ankle. His arms were crossed, and he had one wing coming out of his back that was resting around Gairett's shoulders. They were all smiling and standing in front of the village where she had seen them all walking before. It was greener then, and there was a small river running behind them.
For some reason, she couldn't take her sight off of the strange man's eyes. It felt as if he was looking straight at her, straight through her. His eyes were almost as silver as his hair and the most beautiful eyes she had ever seen. She looked at the painting long enough to reach out and touch the crystal-clear glass. Her gaze went past the reflection of the fire, to the strange handsome man. She felt unbelievably pulled towards him.
Finally, she was able to pull her eyes away and walked to the door that was on the left of the painting. She glanced back once more, feeling again as if the strange man was watching her.
Steadying herself, she attempted to find a mechanism in the door but couldn't. It was clear that it was a door; you could tell where it would slide open. As she pressed hard at it, a small slate under her right foot slid into the floor and the door opened up, nearly taking off her fingers. After the first slate, she silently berated herself for not looking for another one.
This room was smaller than the main one and was around eight by nine. On one side, there was a huge dresser that had perfume, hairpins, small hand mirrors, and jewelry. On the opposite wall, sat a wardrobe that held much to the same as the dresser; clothing made for men, weapons of all kinds, many leather loincloth, and more shoes that sat on the wardrobe floor.
Hanging on the wall were more weapons, and what looked like walking sticks that were carved beautifully and made of all kinds of wood. In the very middle of the room sat a statue of a man and an older woman who were holding each other. It was made of some kind of stone, silver, copper, and gold. All were being used for the hair, clothing, weapons, and eyes. It was just as beautiful as the sarcophagi had been and stood about six and a half feet tall. There were more Petra-glyphs in here and they surrounded the room.
She turned and walked out of the room stepping on the slate as she went, closing the door behind her. She stopped to admire the painting once more, trying her hardest to take in those piercing eyes. It was magnificent, as if he seemed to stop time for her.
Speaking of the time, she glanced at her watch and it was now 8:45. She would have to hurry if she didn't want to stay the night there. Although, thinking on it now, sleeping in this magical place sounded like a good idea. She wouldn't be bothered and there'd be no one near to hurt her.
She decided to put the thought away and think on it later when she was done looking in the other room.
She took another look at her watch and started towards the other room when a small noise that sounded like footsteps caught her attention and she glanced back at the entrance. She waited and listened to the pounding of her heart in her chest. It must have been her imagination because there was no one there now. With apprehension, she turned again and walked to the front of the other sliding door.
That's when a firm arm curved around her torso and her head was pulled sideways. The torch fell to the floor and she felt a sharp pain in her neck as her muscles began to weaken. She heard voices, chanting, singing, talking, and a movement of some kind, like warm honey, seeping through her mind. She could see flashes of pictures, like a flash slide show. She saw Melisa and the two men again.
A sudden bright picture came up and held in her mind's eye. It was beautiful. A man with shimmering hair down past his buttocks was holding Melisa's face with one hand and kissing her. She was naked and he was wearing a cloak that hid most of his body. Her hair was longer here and seemed wavier. The wind must have been blowing because their hair was entangled together and flying in every direction. The cloak he was wearing was flowing around both of them and Melisa was caressing his face in the same manner that he was holding hers. They were standing in water that came up to their knees and it was dark out. The trees surrounding them were a blackish, kind of green, and the sky was even darker.
She could feel something in her stomach and all around her. She was warm and happy, like being surrounded by a heated blanket. It was as if nothing else could feel this perfect. Then just as suddenly, whatever was keeping her up, dropped her to her knees and she fell on the slate, slamming open the door.
She felt as if something had been ripped away from her. From within. There were no more feelings, no more sounds, or music, no more pictures. There was nothing, and she wanted to cry because of it. She wanted to feel what she had just felt and she wanted it to last forever.
"Stupid 'uman! Who the fuck do you think you are? You... you 'ave no . . . Wait. You, you taste like. . ." He wanted to laugh in frustration but only paused a moment before going on. "Wench, you're 'er aren't you." He did laugh then, and even though she could hear the madness in his voice, she was happy he was laughing. "Well, we can deal with that."
She was once again pulled back up and the man was at her neck. "Yes". She whispered, as once again the voices, chanting, and movement came back, in a flood of noise. The pictures were flashing through her mind again, and so were the feelings. So overwhelmed with the ecstasy within his embrace, she couldn't feel anything else.
She opened her eyes and could see a mirror in the other room, and it was facing her. The torch lying on the floor was trying its hardest to blind her vision with its brightness, making it nearly impossible to make out much of anything. Whoever was restraining her, jerked away from her neck again and shimmered in and out of view. It looked as if it was a ghost holding her, while it too gazed into the mirror.
Why? Why can't I see him. . . She was getting dizzier and couldn't fight the faint anymore. Her head lolled down as she fell unconscious.
At the same time, Hale pulled back to stare at their reflections. "Melisa. . ? There's no way. It's impossible!"
Hale still had her in his arms when Gairett picked up the torch and bashed him across the back with it. The force pushed Velori into the side of the doorframe, ricocheting her sideways, where she fell headfirst into a dresser corner.
"What were you trying to do? Kill her? Why? WHY?" Gairett took one look at Velori and ran towards her. "NO, no, no, no, no, no! Come on, come on." He picked her up and started to examine her mouth and neck area. "Oh, thank the Gods, she is still breathing."
"She's... she was Melisa." These were the only words whispered out of Hale's mouth. He was shaking his head as he turned and ran up the stairs. "No, no she's dead, she's DEAD!"
Nearly a second after Hale, Gairett rushed out over the slate, up the stairs, and into the air.