CHAPTER TWO
"Corpses."
That was what the ink blotch my psychologist held looked like. The one before resembled death, and the one before that; a rotting meadow I knew all too well.
"Okay." She exchanged cards. " What about...this one? "
I shifted my eyes away from the olive coloured walls that made me feel like I was in solitary confinement, even though the room was supposed to remind me of outside; small plants lined the shelves and taller ones decorated the corners. Little sunlight streamed in through the floor-to-ceiling window , the storm clouds darkening instead of lighting the room and doing nothing for my dreary mood.
I had to hold my hand down to keep it from shaking when I saw the card she held up, at the image that had been plaguing my sleep these past few months. There– the black against the white– I saw a jagged, haunting throne of bone. Ink pooled at the base, but I saw blood.
"I just see black." The lie tasted bitter on my tongue. She watched me silently, analyzing my answer and body language in a way only professionals do. She seemed pleased with whatever she found and placed the cards aside, her perfectly manicured hand picked up a little green book and started writing.
I started therapy about six months ago, about the time my nightmares started getting worse. I already knew what was causing the nightmares— it was the reason we were in hiding— but I figured if I knew how to control them, I could stop them.
My first episode came right before my sixth birthday. Imagine the horror on my family's face when they walked in on me screaming at the top of my lungs, bleeding from head to toe from the gashes I caused trying to wake myself up. Things slowly began to go downhill from there; soon after I developed a great fear of the dark– of what laid in the dark. It wasn't the pitch black that scared me, but it was that I knew once I stepped into the shadows he would hold onto me and never let go, and I would drown in his darkness.
"Solaure?" Lillian's voice brought me out of my mind and I looked at the older woman who could have been my mother– if my mom aged like humans did.
Her auburn hair was pinned up, showing off a tanned round face and dark eyes. I liked Lillian, her kind personality had drew me in the first time we met, though I rarely lowered my guard around strangers. It had taken almost a year for me to be comfortable enough around Raegan, and even now I still felt a distance with him. But I had always been able to speak my mind with Lillian, without the fear of being taken as a madwoman— until now, I guess.
"Are you okay?" She asked, setting her book aside. " You look troubled, how has it been lately? " She was referring to my episodes; the days when I just shut down, like today.
Rae and I had stayed up late talking last night even though he knew he would be dog-tired for work in the morning. I guess having me as company made up for it. We had bundled up on the couch and talked about our plans for our future but I left out the part about my future being much shorter than his if I didn't get my power under control. I stayed up even after he had fallen asleep, scared of waking him with my screams, but I had drifted off anyways and woke to a tornado of books and miscellaneous items in my room. Thankfully Rae had already left earlier in the morning, or I would've had to explain why everything in my room was floating .
Rae knew nothing about my life, about who I really was— or wasn't. He knew I was in hiding, he had sort of put two and two together and thought I was running from the mafia, and I'd let him believe that because it was far better than the alternative. He also didn't know I saw a psychologist, I kept that one to myself; my only friend didn't need to think I was a raging lunatic.
"It comes and goes; I was fine yesterday but now I just wanna...close my eyes for a while." I ran my thumb over the raised scar on the inside of my wrist. It was the shape of a sun in partial shadow; an eclipse and a reminder that he was still alive, and I would never be safe as long as he were.
Lillian gave me a small, sweet smile. "I hope that has nothing to do with me boring you,"
"No," I smiled back and hoped she didn't see how practiced it was. "That's how it is every day. "
"And what of your nightmares?" She tapped her pen on her rosy cheek. "Any progress with those?"
" None at all."
She smiled again, flashing perfect white teeth and picked back up her book. "I see. Well how about we cut this session short? "
"Really? " I glanced at the large golden clock that hung on the wall. "I've only been here for forty minutes, it's only three 'o clock. "
"Yeah, you head home and take that rest. Your nightmares will just get worse if you're exhausted, which I know you are." She ripped off a piece of her page and handed it to me, her elegant script marked two lines on the paper. "I want you to do this for me; write down everything in your head, or paint, it doesn't matter just once you get it all out. You need to express yourself, Solaure, let loose. Or you'll break."
"I'll try. " I folded the paper and placed it in my purse, standing up from my spot on the chair.
She stood too, to walk me to the door, her heels echoing mine on the white tiles. " And sleep, Solaure. It's what's best for you. "
Even if I slept I wouldn't get any rest. "Okay, thank you again Lillian."
"And please tell your mom to give me a call, I can't seem to get a hold of her. "
I halted; Mama always answered her phone. I tried to reassure myself as best as I could with my anxiety already creeping up. Mom wasn't home when I woke up this morning so I assumed she took another double shift at the hospital, or left before I woke up, but I should've known she always told me of her whereabouts. "She's probably on call, it's hectic there."
"Alright. But if you happen to get through to her, have her call me, okay?"
My fingers were already chipping away at the black polish, destroying my new manicure. "Okay."
The wind rose as I exited the building and so did the hair on my arms and neck. The eyes were back again and they seemed to be coming from all around me, observing, waiting. The sky darkened by the second as thick, grey clouds floated overhead, swallowing the last bit of sun.
I flagged down a taxi and quickly got inside, locking the doors and winding up the windows. Something was off and it wasn't just the feeling I got from my usual paranoia. I felt it. In my bones and under my skin, I felt the wrongness of it all and I knew that it wasn't anything like those times where my overactive mind created unease to entertain itself.
I was jumpy the entire cab ride home but I kept my eyes forward, ignoring the flashes of black I saw in the windows and the knot in my stomach as I went in the direction opposite to where Rae would be waiting. I wiped my hands on the dress I bought this morning, and unclasped the heels I borrowed from my mother in case I had to run. We were supposed to meet at four, now I didn't know if we'd get to meet at all.
I was being followed; I felt it when I exited the building and when I was in the cab and I felt it as I rushed into my house. Yet whenever I risked the chance to look back, no one was there. I was shaking by the time I stepped through the door, and not because of the fear I felt throughout my body, but because of the sudden chill that was in the air which coated my skin like sweat. Everything around me seemed agitated; every noise seemed louder even with the roar of my thumping heart, the trees moaned loudly almost as if they were crying out to me, warning me. Even the schadeux scattered around the house, their voices rising from the inaudible whispers they usually communicated in.
I took my phone out of my purse and quickly dialed my mother, but was met with her voicemail. I swallowed the slight panic that rose in my chest and dialed Aunt-Drea— no response, so I focused my breathing and tried to recall the protocol that was taught to me since I was ten, if ever there were times like this;
'Don't waste time barricading the door, chances are if they're coming for you they aren't human .' I remembered my mother telling me this as she unarmed me with her glaive. 'And arm yourself.'
I rushed to my room and threw open my closet doors, removing the false back that hid my arsenal. I slipped on my leather gloves, attaching a few throwing knives to a belt I hung on my hips and pulled out the duffel bag that was stashed under my bed for quick escapes and slung it across my shoulder.
'If neither of us are with you, go to the tunnels and we'll find you there.'
I slid headfirst under the bed and pressed down on the false flooring to open the hatch that led to the basement, and further down to the tunnels. My feet had just hit the cool floor when I heard the front door crash open and I knew that this time it wasn't Aunt-Drea barging in with coffee and pastries.
I walked quickly down the dark tunnels, my heart clenching in my chest as the darkness surrounded me, reaching out its hands to brush my skin, waiting to drag me in, but my Schadeux followed me, keeping it at bay. My feet were shaking with every step, but still I pushed forward and counted the steps until I could draw light.
98.... a breath on my neck.
99....Something tugged at my dress.
100.
My hands warmed as a flame ignited on my palm, casting white light on the walls, and the darkness scattered. I leaned against the wall and slid down, the dirt staining my red dress. I took my dagger from the holster on my thigh and my fingers brushed its surface as I tried to drown out the voices that rose again.
The blade itself was made of Enaidium, the black iridescent material that was only found in the mountains of Eçalis. I had never been, but I heard the stories; of the roaring green hills, and it's clean crisps cities and villages. Of the great waterfall that rushed down the Great Mount Seeres that was home to the Goddess and her saints, and its beaches of black iridescent sand from the Enaidium in its mountains— mama told me of it all as soon as I was old enough to comprehend.
The light danced off its surface, casting little colourful squares across the tunnels. It was always the hilt of the dagger that had me in awe, even after years of it being in my possession. It was made of polished black jade, and whereas the blade itself seemed to give off light, the hilt absorbed it, but it was the golden carvings that drew me in; a winged being whose wings were outstretched to form part of the blade held a woman in his embrace, a baby held closely between them. My fingers brushed the grooves of the only family portrait I had.
"...uruh.."
My head snapped up from against the wall and I held my breath. The voices were never comprehensible, only whispers I assumed were in another language, but now the pieces of sentences I caught were spoken clearly. I listened again, waiting for indication that it was not all in my head.
"...run."
The air seemed to ripple a few feet ahead as space-time folded in on itself, revealing shifting images on the other side. I pushed the bag off my shoulder and clicked the bottom of my dagger twice and it rearranged itself into a double ended sword. I rose steadily to my feet that was dirtied and bruised from running barefoot on the sharp ground and waited for whatever stepped through the portal.
A familiar shade of blue hair flew to the floor as Aunt-Drea threw wisps of light from her outstretched hands into the hole she jumped out of.
"Close it!" She shouted and I reached for that part of myself that scared me the most. I visualized the air stitching itself together and a severed hand dropped to the floor as the portal closed. She sat there for a moment, staring at the spot where the portal was a few seconds ago, something akin to fear in her eyes. She seemed to be catching her breath, though I knew she didn't need to.
"Aunty?" I whispered, placing a shaking hand on her tense shoulder. She whirled around and locked me in a tight embrace, placing kisses allover my face and I was too relieved to complain.
" Are you okay? " I've never seen her so deshelved; her eyes were wild, her clothes torn and her body was patterned with already healing wounds—She looked nothing like herself.
"Is it him?" My voice broke with the words, "Did he come for me? "
I didn't have to elaborate. She knew who I spoke of, he was the one who inhabited my dreams these past twelve years; the one who seemed to lurk in the darkness and who promised a child things they should never hear— horrible things whispered in my ear that burned itself into my memory.
Yet I didn't know his name, 'What cannot be named, cannot be known and what cannot be known cannot be harm.' That's what my mother always said.
She nodded and cold dread coated my skin. " I don't know for sure, Soli — these things, they somehow broke the wards on my apartment. They're strong and fast—I've never seen anything like it before. Never. "
Our heads snapped towards a crash above. " We should get going. "
I picked up my bag and we started down the tunnel, our feet eating up the distance in silence. "Where's mom?"
She turned to me and I didn't like the look on her face. " I couldn't get through to her, but I'm sure she's fine, Soli. I sent her the alert and we'll tell her where to meet us. "
I didn't like this. I didn't like this at all.
It seemed like eternity until we finally saw the hatch, but in reality it was no longer than ten minutes. It opened with a soft thud as grass muffled the sound of the metal. The woods were dark when we crawled out, the moon scarcely shone through the tall trees that seemed like they, too, were holding their breath— We were no longer in Toronto. The location of the exit changed everyday, as far as I knew we could've been in Japan.
I grasped Aunt-Drea's hand and ran, the harsh ground biting into my bare feet. Sharp branches cut into my skin and tore my already ruined dress but the pain was irrelevant at the moment. We needed to get as far away from the hatch as possible; we didn't have enough time to cast a spell so they wouldn't be able to trace the portal– if they even had the ability. Like Aunt-Drea said, we had no idea what we were dealing with.
In the distance the hatch exploded and Aunt-Drea came to a halt. The sudden stop caused me to falter but she grabbed me tightly, steadying me. Her arms came up in a wide arc, the way they did when she created her magic and light danced around her fingers, the air shimmered in front of us— and something pierced through her arm. Her cry echoed throughout the forest and birds flew from their branches, startled like I was.
Things emerged from behind the trees, forming a wide circle around us. There was no way they could have reached us that quickly— they weren't vampires, or werewolves, they weren't any Creature I knew.
There were at least a dozen of them, each tall and sickly looking, and though they had the appearance of men they were anything but. Their skin resembled the sickening grey of rotting corpses and seemed almost like grease paper in the moonlight, indecipherable black markings ran up and down their skin, seeming to gather in their eyes in a pool of black. They stepped forward, into what little light we were given, and I realized they had no mouth, instead pale skin covered the area where it should have been. Twigs crunched under their feet and the sound oddly reminded me of breaking bones .
They spoke in unison, their voices scraping at the back of my mind like the sound of millions of nails being dragged down a chalkboard. "The girl comes with us. Resist and die, surrender her and you live. "
My voice sounded small and frail compared to theirs and it didn't hold the note of cruelty I wished it did. "Did he send you? "
Their black eyes all shifted to me and their heads cocked to the side simultaneously before turning back to Aunt-Drea, who had pushed me behind her. They seemed like they didn't understand what I said, or simply didn't care. "Resist and die, surrender her and you live. "
Aunt-Drea stepped forward and her hands moved in incantation as her magic came alive, giving us more light, and I saw clearly just how unnatural these things seemed. "No. "
The sound of a dozen weapons leaving their holsters echoed throughout the woods. "Then die. "
The woods had turned into a battle field in the span of minutes. Black, foul smelling liquid soaked my clothes as I severed my opponent's head from his body and I watched as he fell to the ground amongst the growing pile of corpses. They seemed to appear out of nowhere because for each one we slayed, three more appeared in their place.
They fought like demons but were far from; demons crumpled when impaled with Enaidium blades, but severed limbs did nothing to slow these things down. Their arms and legs still remained where they laid and didn't turn to ash like they did with demons, only damage to their heads seemed to be the only thing that kept them down permanently.
They were fast, really fast. I only saw flashes of black before their heavy weapons connected with mine, but I matched their speed and diverted their attacks with ones of my own. I ducked as it swung above my hair and I plunged my sword through its throat and out its head. I pulled harshly at the weapon but the blade was stuck in its skull and I twisted my body just as I felt the whoosh of a blade near my rib. My eyes followed the ribbon of red fabric that fluttered to the ground and landed at my feet. That could have been my skin.
I reached for one of my throwing knives from my belt but came up empty. A quick scan of my surroundings revealed that they were all wedged into skulls and pinning heads to trees and I growled in frustration, knowing I had no other choice. With a flick of my wrists I un-sheathed my claws, the metal-like nails gleamed gold in whatever light given to us by the canopy of trees, and I pounced.
I maneuvered myself around his advantages and came up behind him. Without the extra reach granted to me by my sword, it should've been been a challenge to reach his head, but I climbed him and wrapped my legs around his neck, clenching my muscles to suffocate the bastard. I sank my claws into his inky eyes and pulled sideways, his scream echoed throughout the woods as flesh and bone was ripped away, and I crushed his brain between my fingers, jumping off before he crumbled to the ground with a satisfying thud. I wiped the black liquid that ran down my hands on my barely red dress and I moved through them like a tornado, leaving death and severed limbs in my wake. I rolled, grabbing one of my knives from a nearby body and plunged it into one of their throats, dragging it upwards.
Aunt-Drea stood over her own pile of corpses, her hands alight as she fought, decapitating the enemy in groups at a time. Her hair was wild as magic radiated off her in powerful waves, sending static throughout the battlefield. Barely had I managed to take a breath when they regrouped and I sighed through shaky breaths. They came at us in waves, and it was a constant blur of metallic flashes and magic. I couldn't fight forever, I already felt myself slipping closer to the edge of control, and no matter how powerful Aunt-Drea was, neither could she. We were outnumbered and overwhelmed, and soon we would be dead.
As if she heard what I was thinking, her eyes darted towards me and our eyes locked despite the large distance between us. I mouthed one word, one simple word that made her go crazy. Her eyes went wild and she shook her head in fury as she tried to fight her way towards me, to stop me, but realization hit her halfway and I saw the fight leave her body. She released a large blast of energy that crashed into the surrounding enemy, pushing them back and diminishing their numbers for a few seconds more. Her arms came down and a portal appeared before her. I was too far to make it. She gave me one last look before she stepped through and suddenly I was alone, surrounded by the enemy.
It happened in a split second; I felt the heat beneath my skin and the burning sensation that travelled up my body, leaving raised pores and heightened senses in its wake. Suddenly I was hyper aware of everything before me as every cell in my body hummed with barely contained energy. It played out in slow motion— every haunting step, every snarl, every breath they took— I saw and heard it all clearly. There was a moment of silence where all I heard was my body pleading for release, and then there was the roar of fire .
It rushed out of me like a caged animal starved for freedom and it feasted, devouring everything in its path. I saw their bodies; black silhouettes in the white fire as they shriveled and fell. Their screams were short but filled with agony as white-hot flames danced up their bodies, turning flesh to bone, and bone turned to ash until what was left were roaring flames that consumed even the night. The trees were torches that burned the night into day as the flames turned the woods into a clearing.
I felt the earth sway beneath me, and for a second I thought I was melting through the ground, but it was only my consciousness fading. And even when my head hit the floor and my mind failed me, the word remained in my tongue—
Inferno.