Journee's POV:
"I am still here. Am I dead? Did Ma'oz kill me?!" I paced the room, slapping my face repeatedly, hoping I am just in very deep sleep.
"Shit! Shit! SHIT! SHITTT!" Abruptly I turned and sat on the cold, hard floor.
Massaging my temples, I breathed in and out through my mouth. "Calm down. I'm sure there is a logical explanation. Ma'oz can't kill the human he is bounded to, I'm sure. Good kings don't take risks. He wouldn't do anything without confirmation."
A weird thought then crept into my mind. What if Ma'oz isn't a good king? Or worse, what if he has found out he doesn't need me alive!
My head reeled. I tried to regulate my breathing. "No. Definitely not. If he was sure, Damon wouldn't be here searching. It is only logical."
Like usual, the little voice on my shoulder just has to be the devil's advocate. "Perhaps it doesn't matter if my physical body is alive or not? Maybe that is why I am here. Stuck here in his realm!"
I can't believe I am behaving like a headless chicken. My mind is in pieces. In all the gloom and doom circling within me, a bright light shines. Like a lone Bioluminescent Beetle or its common name, the Firefly, it lights the night sky with illumination. Enough to but not to disperse it completely.
HELP! That was all I could do. Whisper into the very depths of my soul, hoping someone, anyone would hear me.
Mist swept through the library. Like a thick fog in the Himalayan Mountain trails, it cloaked me snugly. A comfort baby blanket is the first thing that comes to mind.
"Hush my little one. As long as I am with you, no power in the heavens, earth or hell can touch you." The voice come from the mist itself.
"Who are you? Or rather…what are you?" I know it is supernatural but what? What kind of being comes in the form of mist? I racked my head to remember all the folktales and legends I have read throughout my 19 years. "Are you a goddess?" That was the only thing that came to mind for her voice is pure joy. Flowing like rich molten gold, it rolls towards me with a strong fire of passion and yet it embodies the calm gentleness of the willow tree, with its leaves swaying in the wind.
I am neither God nor Goddess,
But a spirit, free, and formless;
I am the beginning and the end,
Though your free will I cannot bend;
Forgotten in this world of greed,
Lust and jealousy, a foul deed;
Love me and you will love yourself,
Forgive this mother's love, expelled.
What a beautiful poem. But that doesn't answer my question! "Could you be more direct? What did people call you before you were forgotten, spirit who is free and formless?"
"Wise, my child to be cautious. Wise it is to be respectful. I am the Spirit of Chance and Blessing. The pair to Karma, the trio to Mother Earth. We are but forms that holds the universe together."
"OH!" If she is that powerful, she can help me. "Can you please get me out of here? I will do anything you ask." I begged her.
"You need not ask, I need not tell. I am what I am. I come when it is time for a chance to be given and blessings to be imparted."
I blinked and behold, I am back in my room. "Wha…t…" I see Ma'oz in meditation on my bed, me tucked in the corner, almost falling off.
Thank you, Spirit of Chance and Blessing! I am eternally grateful and deep in my heart; I have promised to love and remember her for all my life. She came when I needed someone, and she brought me out of my hellish trap.
"You didn't have to do that!" I snapped at Ma'oz and shoved him off my bed.
"No need to thank me. You had a good rest I see." Ma'oz straightened his jacket and stood at the edge of my bed.
"Oh, so it wasn't your plan to trap me? To make me suffer? My my, what active imagination I have, that I MUST BE GOING MAD!!" I unleased all my frustrations and anger upon him. How else could I have been trapped if not for him?
"You humans get worked up over such small matters."
"Is it a small matter to lock someone's soul up in your palace? What plans did you have? Keep me there forever while you roam freely around Earth?" I no longer fear this demon. I will take matters up to a higher chain of command if I have to. Maybe the Spirit of Chance and Blessing would help.
"Are you out of your mind? I merely made you pass out. Whatever wild dreams you had is on you. Nothing to do with me." Ma'oz's eyes blazed like a raging tornado that had snatched up multiple volcanos. "Damon has relayed his finding. We will set off now and say no more of this matter. Once we untangle our souls, we will be done with each other!"
I can't believe he has the audacity to call me a liar!
Ma'oz snapped his fingers and I instinctively clung on to his arm. "What the hell?!" We are riding on a cloud, soaring above cities and oceans. "Where are we going?"
"To uncover the place where it all began." Ma'oz answered me without removing his arm from my clutches.
"Where what began?" I am too worried about falling from such great height, than to focus on what he is saying.
"The place where a demon was first bound to a human." We flew to a large grassland filled with hay rattle, meadow vetchling and dropwort. In a distance, I hear the noisy chirping of baby Jackdaws. Colourful Kestrels swoop down, as they attempt to intimidate their more aggressive black neighbour attempting to protect its nest and newly claimed territory.
I laughed at the sight of this war of nature as it reminds me of Ma'oz and myself. But who is the Jackdaw and which between us the Kestrel, I am uncertain.
"Ma'oz...we just disappeared from my house. Do you have a phone on you? I need to at least inform my father that I am gone." I put a hand out expecting him to place his phone or some magical object in my hand.
"He thinks you never went home." Odd enough, I am starting to get used to Ma'oz's flippant behaviour.
"But he was cooking dinner! Can you make half the dinner disappear?" I am curious. With all the things he has done, I wouldn't put it past him.
"I can wipe the mind, but not physical traces. He just thinks he is getting old and cooked for you instinctively." He shrugged his shoulders and starts to scout the area.
"OH! Isn't that worse? He will think that he is slowly becoming senile!" I chased after the large man. No, demon.
"It happens all the time. Humans don't go senile. Parts of their memory is just erased by other beings who don't wish them to remember certain...inconveniences."
OMG! Just how many people out there have come in contact with other beings?! That must be thousands upon millions!
"What about your... I mean Montgomery's family?" I am deeply concerned that I will be blamed for their sudden gaps of memory.
"They think we've gone on honeymoon to UK."
"UK... And where are we exactly?" I looked around for the clue. But all I see is wilderness.
"Kilbrittain. Ireland."
"We're in a village?! County Cork..." I thought back to my Geography lessons in school. Where is it again? Was it in the southwest or somewhere inland at Munster...? I don't remember.
What does it matter? I am not sitting for an exam. "Why are we here?" I asked. Careful with my tone this time because if he chooses to leave me here, I will get into a lot of trouble. And I mean a massive amount of trouble. With no identification or passport on me, I would be lucky if I just get deported.
We hiked uphill until we came across a beautifully manicured clearing. There, a friendly family welcomes us with open arms. "Glad tidings, Mr. and Mrs. Remigius.
I coughed. Why are they greeting us by Ma'oz family name? Are they not human too?
"We were quite surprised to receive the sudden booking from your PA, Damon." The kind looking man said, glancing at me.
"No matter. We have room enough." The woman, his wife I presume smiled warmly at us.
"Thank you for your hospitality. Journee and I got lost exploring. So, our day trip now brings us to stay over at your lovely home." Ma'oz plays the perfect gentleman as he reaches to hold my hand.
I plaster on a smile, unsure how I should truly act. To recoil from Ma'oz's sudden tenderness or to bask in it completely and risk losing my soul to him in the end?
"Did Damon tell you what we came to see?" Ma'oz directed his question towards the woman.
"Why yes. The grave of La Dame Eden Tapachula. That is an excursion for tomorrow. We have prepared a lovely Irish dinner and a warm bath to soak your bones."
The couple ushered us up the stairs of the grand castle. The architecture enthusiast in me is screaming like a little girl half buried in candy.
"How old are all these?" I gasped breathlessly.
"Oh, I don't know dear. It's all a mix of different centuries come together. If you're interested, I'll give you a full account of all the Lords who have come and gone, including every war, and…"
"Matilda. Don't bore the poor girl. I'm sure all she wants is to spend a lovely evening with her new husband." Her husband looked at me kindly.
We were shown to a beautiful room with paired lancet windows and a slightly elevated space which housed the four-poster double bed.
Opening the door to the en suite, I am pleasantly surprised to find a full bathtub steaming in warm and rose petals. I quickly locked the door and soaked in total bliss.
There must be something magical in the water, or the day's excursion was simply too trying. Every muscle