CHAPTER THREE
I laid in a field of wildflowers that brushed my bare skin as I bathed in the sun's warm, golden light.
The breeze blew lightly, ruffling the curls on my head, making them wilder than I knew they already were. I inhaled deeply, taking in the cool spring air that filled me with a sense of happiness I knew wouldn't last.
A hand grasped mine and I found the clear eyes of a young boy staring back at me, a smile on his beautiful never-changing face. I soaked him in, trying to burn every feature into memory and hoping it wouldn't fade with the night. He spoke, but sound didn't leave his mouth; my memory couldn't conjure up his voice, but I listened to him anyway, playing out a conversation we already had in my head and laughing at the jokes I knew he was telling by the way his eyes squinted in amusement.
The air went still and his grip on my hand loosened and I watched as his flesh pealed away. His clear eyes melted into his skull and I held on to the bones that remained until they crumbled one by one, leaving a pile of ashes where he laid not a minute before.
On the horizon, heavy red clouds rolled my way, darkening the meadow as they came. The wind howled viciously as it nipped at my skin, ripping grass and chunks of soil from the earth. I tried to stand, but the wind kept pushing me down until I was forced on my back. Vines crawled up my arms and legs, restraining my body until I was wrapped tightly in them and there wasn't enough room for me to even breathe.
Thick red droplets soaked my face as the clouds bled, and it seared my skin as it touched me. I tried to cry out in pain but the vines were too tight for me to get a sound out so I whimpered as it rained, and the flowers wilted as the rain touched their petals, leaving the meadow a field of scarlet.
The soil turned to mush beneath me and swallowed me whole.
I stood in a city on fire, her buildings crumbling as they burned to the ground. Demons crowded her skies, throwing the remnants of their last meal into the rushing flood of crimson. Bodies floated in the water, piling together by a platform that rose from the flood. A man made of darkness sat on a throne that stood atop the platform, staring down at the lifeless bodies that were strewn across the alter before him, his face a mere shadow of failing memory.
Their blood mixed with the rising tide, adding streams of silver to the red. A flicker of gold caught my eye within the heap of limbs; her hair was strewn around her, forming a broken halo around her naked body, her chest carved open like the others. She had my mother's face.
He stood from his throne, descending the steps that led to the alter and stopped before my mother. He held her in his arms and ran his fingers through her matted hair. I felt him smile at me through that mask of a face, and the current flowing at my feet strengthened.
"Soon, little light." The shadow said, his voice clear even with the distance and the chaos surrounding us. "We'll all be together soon. Daddy's coming. "
I was pulled down by shadowy hands that each grasped for a piece of my misery and I drowned in the sea of blood.
I woke to the sound of my beating heart and a ringing in my ears. Tears soaked my face but my mind wouldn't allow me to wipe them away as I stared unmoving at unfamiliar cream walls, paralyzed on a bed that wasn't mine . Thick cream curtains covered large windows, obscuring my view of outside. The only other furniture in the room were two small sofas under the window and a large white wardrobe to my right.
I willed myself to move, one finger at a time, slowly unfreezing my body from paralysis. My gaze shifted to the left where a lamp sat on a wooden nightstand, illuminating my dagger that sat by its base. My movements were slow and my hands still heavy when I wrapped my fingers around its hilt, but relief filled me from the feel of familiarity.
I took a deep breath and sent the weapon flying in the direction of the presence in the room, and in seconds I was on my feet, my palms already alight.
My dagger had embedded itself a few inches away from the stranger's head.
He seemed to disappear within the shadow casted by the large white wardrobe as if it was cloaking him in its darkness, and he was unfazed as he pulled the blade from the wall beside him and placed it between the pages of his book. Then he looked up, and my blood ran cold, the fire dying instantly in my hands; the boy with the clear eyes stared back at me.
Only this time I wasn't asleep and he wasn't a boy. His long dark hair fell in loose waves that covered his eyes— the left a clear grey and the right the palest green I'd ever seen– eyes that would never have faded from my memory even if a thousand lifetimes had passed between us. He had always been tall, even as a kid, but he would tower over me now; I saw his height even while he sat. He had been a pretty boy with those thick eyelashes that framed his alluring eyes and his soft features, but now, his face became sculpted with age and masculinity; his nose straighter, his jaw sharper —like every other feature of his face.
Suddenly I was moving across the large room, my feet taking me faster than my mind could register. We met halfway, soaking each other in like it was our first time meeting, or maybe our last. His body crashed into mine and the lights went out, flickering maniacally and agitating the Schadeux. Their voices rose in my head, but I paid them no mind at that moment, not when he held me again. Not when we were together again.
I don't know how long we stood like that; our arms wrapped tightly around each other and holding on for dear life, but it would never be long enough. I prayed to the Goddess that it wasn't my imagination; that in seconds he wouldn't disappear like he always did, but I felt his warm chest against my cheek and the slightest skip in the rhythm of his beating heart, and I knew it was real; he was real. He drew back and the lights flickered on again and the voices quieted as the Shadeux watched silently from the shadows.
My throat was dry when I spoke, my eyes stealing all of the moisture. "Sairen? How–? I don't understand." His large hand came to my face, drying the tears running down my cheek and I leaned into his touch, my eyes closing momentarily at the familiarity that I wasn't sure I would have felt again.
"Andrea brought you here a few days ago. " His words were coated with the tongue of Eçalis, his English slightly altered by his accent . "You were two steps to Ourie. You had us worried."
" We? " The hope in my voice was so strong it gained me a small smile from him. "Aunt Jules, and–?"
" Yes. "
" I can't believe it. I hoped daily but I wasn't sure I'd see you guys again. " Yes, I had planned on leaving and looking for them after I turned eighteen, but I had no idea if I'd actually find them. Chances were they weren't at the same place when we left. If we had moved constantly so could they. I was going on a hunt with pure hope as my only resource.
I wrapped my arms around my chest, suddenly aware of the silence that descended and the slight tension that buried itself in it. Eight years away from someone was too long, especially if you were no longer the person you once were.
And that was the truth; Sairen had changed physically and I was sure time changed him mentally as well, away from the boy I met when I was seven, and I? Well I didn't even know who I was anymore. I met his eyes which seemed to be studying my face, committing it to memory like I did to his every night since I was ten.
"I missed you like crazy," My voice sounded small in the quiet room.
" I know. You were mumbling my name in your sleep. " A small smile played on his lips, though it was more filled with worry than playfulness.
" Like I said, I missed you."
His light expression flickered a bit, giving me a glance at the tension buried beneath. "I missed you like crazy too, princess."
My heart warmed at the familiarity, it was something I needed, especially with all the chaos that had happened lately. Flashes of images I didn't want to remember flickered in my mind; her lifeless body covered in blood, his hands touching her face and my heart sank.
" Is my mom here? " She wasn't with us when we escaped, but Aunt-Drea would have met up with her after. That was the plan we went over countless times; if we were ever separated like this, Aunt-Drea would have met her at a confirmed location and they would've came back. That was the plan.
The look on his eyes confirmed otherwise and my heart somehow managed to shatter and race simultaneously. He ran a hand through his dark hair, revealing the familiar little crescent in the middle of his forehead. "Why don't we head downstairs? We'll talk about it over breakfast. You haven't eaten anything in three days,"
I felt lightheaded but I needed to hear him say it. I needed confirmation so I'd have the right to panic. "She's not here, is she? "
His clear eyes were now clouded as he stared down at me. "No."
I sank down on the bed, running my hand through my tangled hair that had come undone somewhere during the fight. It would be hell to comb later on. "Do you know where she is? Or might be?" My mother was in danger. I felt it in my heart, and in my bones, and in my soul.
" We're still looking, " Sairen sat beside me, hesitantly taking my hand in his and he absentmindedly started tracing words on my skin with his thumb; like he used to do to calm me when we were kids. The hair on my arms stood and the voices rose again but I shut them out. His hand dwarfed mine as he wrote the word 'breathe' continuously on my skin. "We're going out today to search again. We'll find her. "
I wanted to argue– to say that if he really was behind the attack then the chances of me seeing my mother again were slim, that she was probably already on that alter, but I just nodded, tasting bile in my throat.
" Yeah. Yeah, okay ." I cleared my throat in an attempt to mask the heavy sound of tears building up. " Can you please give me a minute?"
" I'll be right outside. "
My hands tightened on the rim of the porcelain sink as I stared at myself in the bathroom mirror and tried to catch my breath. I looked sick– exactly like how I felt. The shadows under my eyes stood out against my skin that seemed to have lost some of its pigment within the last few days, my hair was streaked with white from the roots and my face looked sunken— all drained from the large burst of energy I used to escape. I would be back to normal within the week, after I regained my energy, but for now I looked haunted.
Silver liquid trickled from my nose, and I wiped the blood with a shaking hand. The water was cold on my skin as I washed my face and mouth, but the cold eased my surfacing migraine, and the water drowned out my sobs. I took in shallow breaths, hoping to get rid of the nausea and calm my breathing but it didn't help.
I slid down the wall, grasping desperately for some sort of control and tugged at a loose thread at the hem of my pants, winding and unwinding it around my finger until something akin to calmness settled in my chest as I stared at the pattern of the cloth. Someone had changed me into a pair of pale pink pajamas that had little red cherries on them.
Ma loved cherries.
Sairen was right outside the door like he said, leaning on the frame with one shoulder . He looked at me but didn't comment on the redness of my eyes and for that I was grateful.
We walked in silence down the halls as Sairen allowed me to soak in everything once again. Rayne manor had always seemed like a castle to me as a child; all the large rooms , the antiques that had so much history in them that uncle Tomas took hours just speaking on one piece, the grand staircase that I used to walk down in fancy dresses, playing princess. They all seemed larger somehow; magnified by my absence.
Tall windows illuminated the fairly large room, casting warm yellow rays across the faces of the people I had longed to see desperately for all these years. I always imagined the day I'd see my family again and I wished that it would've been under better circumstances; not because my nightmares were chasing me and my mother was missing, but me finding them myself, like I had planned to do when I turned eighteen.
The chatter seized as we entered the dining room as their gazes locked on us. Two people sat at a table designed for ten, food spread out in front of them and I released a sob that I couldn't catch in time.
The woman's fork fell out of her hand, splattering pieces of her breakfast across the table and she was in in front of me in seconds, her soft hands cupping my face. She looked just as I remembered; her strawberry blonde hair still fell to her shoulders in pretty ringlets that I used to play with, and her deep blue eyes still shone with youth.
" Look at you, " She was sobbing as well, fat tears rolling down her cheeks. "All grown up." She wrapped her arms around me, and I felt like a child again.
Matthias peeled his mother's arms from around me and hugged me instead. He had been my big brother and my first friend before Sairen came, he had sneaked me ice-cream pass my bedtime and put on little dresses for my tea parties when everyone else was busy. He took Sairen and I into the woods to spy on the pixies, and taught us how to skate on the lake in winter, and now he had me tightly in his embrace again, casually blinking back his tears.
" I missed you, minion. "
"I missed you guys too, " I sniffled against his chest, soaking wet splotches onto his white shirt. "You got old dude, " Words were hard to get out when he was squeezing the air out of me, but I wouldn't trade the slight discomfort at all.
" You're the one with the greys." Matty shared the same blonde hair with his mother, but he had the lighter blue eyes of his father with whom he shared the rest of his features. I sniffled, drying my eyes on the sleeve of his shirt and turned back to aunt Jules to wrap my arm around her waist.
" The girls must've gotten so big, where are they— and uncle Tomas..... And Aunt-Drea?" The mood shifted with the mention of her name and suddenly our reunion was put on pause.
"Tomas had some business at the academy so he'll bring the girls when he's coming back. Andrea...left early this morning to look for your mom, she hasn't returned yet. She's been running herself down, leaving before dawn and returning late at night. Soli, " Jules placed her hand on my shoulder and I looked up at her, now noticing the darkness beneath her eyes. " We really need to talk. "
I sat quietly at the table, staring down at the food on my plate that I was yet to touch. A million thoughts swam through my head as I listened to what Jules was saying.
"...didn't clock in to work on Friday but her car's still parked at the hospital."
" They would have gotten to her as she stepped out of the car," Matt's voice sounded distant, even though he sat in front of me. " It must've been planned.... Are you hearing what I'm saying? Minion. "
The fog cleared from my mind and I looked up. All eyes were on me, studying my face and reactions; hoping I didn't explode because everyone knew I was really close to doing just that.
"I-" I cleared my throat, " Are there any leads? Anything at all?"
Matt stirred his coffee but made no move to drink it. He only stared down at the black liquid as though it held all the answers we were looking for. "Did Drea tell you about the Creatures that have been going missing within the last few months?"
"She did."
"Yeah, well at first it was mostly strays and loners, persons you wouldn't notice were gone, but they've been slipping up and people are starting to notice the disappearances and it's causing quite the stir in the mirrorworld. Some are saying it's a cult, some trafficking, but K.O.A.C picked up strong traces of what we think is demonic energy. We're still running tests to be sure."
The mirrorworld; what Creatures called being able to live amongst the mortals without them knowing; cloaked so that they saw themselves and not what laid beneath. I have existed in the mirror world since birth, the Blinded didn't notice the point to my ears, or the color of my blood when I scraped my knee at school, and they didn't notice the way my eyes lit up when I was angry, or stressed, or overwhelmed— like it did now.
Jules sighed and dropped her fork. " I just came from the lab this morning Soli, its a mess down there. We have no idea what we're dealing with. "
" That's why they called me in." Sairen's voice came from my left, " If K.O.A.C is right and it is demonic energy, then that's one powerful son of a bitch and it would be out of their jurisdiction."
"You think it's connected." I didn't mean it as a question, but Jules tried to reassure me anyway.
"It makes sense; Alessia is a Creature. We just have to figure out why her, and what they're doing with all those missing people."
" It's not a cult—or trafficking, " My nails were digging crescents into my palms and it took a lot of willpower to stop my talons from sprouting out and puncturing my flesh. "The things that came after us, they were warriors, not a bunch of idiots dealing in magics they don't understand. They said they came for me, they wanted me, but didn't hesitate in trying to kill Aunt-Drea. I think deep down you all know that it's him. "
Jules' eyes widened with worry. "Andrea said she didn't know for sure–"
" It's okay aunt Jules, we were all preparing for this since I was born and now it's time. He would've shown up sooner or later anyway. He just happened to choose now..."
Sairen nodded. "If it really is... him, it would explain the large amount of energy. He's more than powerful enough."
" Then what about the missing people? " Jules asked as she rubbed circles into her temple, the veins on her forehead now clearly visible.
"That's what we'll need to find out. For now, Matt and I will go back to your place, see if we can pick up on energy like K.O.A.C found. " Sairen looked me in the eye as he spoke. He had no intention of bringing me along.
" I'm coming too. "
"No." Matt spoke up first, though I knew they all had the same answer. "If he's really looking for you, it wouldn't be wise for you to be parading around for his eyes to see. And you're still hurt, Soli."
" I understand that, but I'm not sitting still while you all search for her. It's my mother out there. I don't know if she's okay or not and I'm not waiting around to find out. And I'm fine." The last part was a partial lie. I was okay but I was too far from being fine.
Matt stared at me in silence and Sairen shook his head when he began to say something else. "We leave after breakfast. You should eat."
The halls were quite as I walked through them, retracing my way back to the room. I barely managed to swallow a few bites of toast and some sips of juice before I started feeling nauseous and excused myself . I heard Matt arguing with Jules after I left the room about me coming along, and I understood him but I wasn't changing my mind; I was going to find my mother.
The cold water ran down my curves, cooling my overheated body and I let it soak through my hair as I ran my fingers through the knots with some conditioner I found in the cabinets. I lifted my head, letting the water fall on my face, and suddenly the room felt like it was spinning.
I grasped blindly for the wall, trying to steady myself, but my hands came up empty. Images flashed behind my eyes, twisting in my mind until nausea took hold. I wanted to vomit but only what little I had for breakfast and bile came out.
A series of coughs racked my chest, splattering blood along the white tiles of the bathroom, then the spinning stopped abruptly and I lurched backwards. The cold tile bit into my back and I slid down, burying my head in my arms as I tried to ease the splitting pain at the back of my head.
The silence made me look up; I was sure I left the shower on.
The light was blinding, illuminating the white walls and making the hall seemed larger and longer than it already was. I rose unsteadily to my feet, the draft chilling my naked body as I walked slowly down the never-ending hall until a large wooden door appeared before me and I placed a hand on its cool surface. It opened with a loud groan and a dimly lit corridor greeted me.
A long white dress stitched itself into existence on my body as I stepped into the room, it's hem stained black as I walked through the dark liquid coating the floor. Candles lit the way as I moved further in and the liquid became thicker with every step.
The large doors slammed open behind me, letting in a grand square of light. Two towering figures entered the room, dragging a struggling fae boy between them and I watched as they walked past me, familiar black markings covering their greyed skin. I followed them further until the corridor opened up into a large cavern, and then into the room where they were taking their hostage. They dragged the boy into a pentagram drawn with the the same liquid that coated the bottom of my dress and restrained him with thick leather straps that he tried to claw his way out of. Figures emerged from the back, circling the pentagram.
Their voices rose with an incantation and so did the flames of the candles, the new fire heating the otherwise cold cavern. One of the figures stepped into the diagram and knelt, pulling a knife from the folds of their robe. They raised the narrow weapon above their head and plunged the blade into the fae's neck, jerking across horizontally.
The figure undid the lifeless Creature's restraints and stood, merging back into the circle with their cloaked brethren, and their voices rose until the fae's blue blood turned black.
The liquid ran along the lines of the pentagram, crawling up his body and leaving those black markings on his skin, sealing his mouth shut. I watched in horror as he opened his eyes which were now an inky black and rose, walking robotically to a corner in the room where hundreds of things like him stood, immobile.
All their eyes turned on me simultaneously, and the liquid rose at my feet, melting my dress and burning the skin off my bones. I screamed in agony, clawing at my skin, and I watched as it came off in ribbons in my hands. Steely fingers grasped my shoulders, pulling me down into the pool of ink.
I screamed, my hands clawing at the air, hoping to find something to hold onto. A hand grabbed mine and I screamed again, pushing with what was left of my strength.
"Hey. Hey!" Sairen's voice cleared the haze of my mind and I realized I was in the bathroom of Rayne Manor again and not wherever the hell that was, and I broke, crashing myself into his chest and sobbing. I didn't care that I was naked or that I was soaking through his shirt, I just needed to feel like I wasn't dying for a few seconds. I only rose long enough for him to wrap a towel around me then he held me close again.
"What happened? We heard you screaming from downstairs." Sairen rubbed circles on my back, easing the shaking bit by bit and the sound of his heart calmed me.
My throat was sore when I spoke. " I... I think I saw the missing people . "