CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
I was sure I had swallowed the last of my nerves before I left the house, but they came back up along with what little I had for dinner last night and tried to talk me out of my decision.
We stood in the driveway of a large mansion as the valet took away the car we came in, the large white columns making the house seem more like a mausoleum than a luxurious palace. Guests were piling in, human and Creature alike, donning flowing gowns and tailored suits, accompanied by their less dolled-up plus-ones who didn't know they were being brought to their deaths.
Sairen's hand slipped around my waist as we waited for security to confirm Caspian's identity before we were allowed to enter. I breathed calmly out my nose, maintaining the soft smile I had on my face as the guard studied Cas' invitation and finally signaled for us to walk through the doors. Live music poured down the hall from the large room ahead, surrounding us with hauntingly beautiful notes as we drew closer to the other guests. The area was decorated tastefully in gold and white, the large space dwarfing the generous crowd as they conversed.
A striking woman with streaming golden hair and violet skin walked past us, sashaying in her gold dress as she pulled at something attached to a thick long chain. A man trudged slowly behind her in a fog-eyed daze, seemingly unaware of his surroundings. She handed him over to a tall man with grey skin who unhooked the chain and placed him in the room he stood guarding, and the woman walked off towards one of the many waiters and took a glass of champagne from the tray. She started swaying her narrow hips to the music, not caring about the life she just left for slaughter.
"Disgusting." I had uttered the words for only me to hear, but Sai did as well since he was right behind me. His hand squeezed my waist slightly in reassurance.
"Let's find Alessia first and get her to safety," He whispered. "K.O.A.C will deal with everything after."
"We still have to find Rae too, before the chaos starts."
" I know, I didn't forget about him. Cas is already on it. "
I hadn't even realized that Caspian had disappeared from our side. It seemed unlikely that a person who stood out so much could camouflage just as easily. "Thank you."
He simply nodded before turning his attention to Matt and Aunt-Drea. "When you find Alessia, text me, alright?"
Matt nodded. "Alright."
Matt turned to leave, Aunt-Drea draped on his arm, but I held on to his hand. "If it all turns to shit you both just head straight to Eçalis."
The brown eyes that Matt wore tonight softened in apology. "Soli, I can't. It's my job."
"I don't care that it's your job, Matthias, I care that you're alive to see your kid. You'll head straight home. Promise me."
His other hand slipped out of Aunt-Drea's and covered the one I had still attached to his arm. "Okay, I promise."
I squeezed slightly, pleading with my grip. "Bind it by the Goddess."
He sighed but did it anyway. "I swear by the Goddess."
"In Eçalian."
"Pir ila De'assami."
The shrill sound of metal hitting glass interrupted our temporary goodbye, and all eyes in the room turned toward the platform where the band had previously occupied. Now, a woman stood in their place, a glass of red wine in her pale, slender hand and a butter knife in the other. White satin enveloped her slim figure, hugging her body like a jealous lover, the color bleaching her already light skin that stood out against the deep black of her hair.
A spotlight came on above her as she smiled, illuminating her alluring face even more and revealing the bluish-purple undertones of her raven hair.
My hand instinctively reached for Sairen's and I squeezed for him to open his palm. 'It's her.' I wrote on his skin.
"Welcome my Creatures and allies!" Her voice was velvet, smooth, a perfect poison. "Thank you all for joining us for today's festivities. I see you've all brought our main events with you and we thank each and every one of you for contributing to our cause."
A series of applause rose and she took a few seconds to soak it in before raising her hand to silence the noise. "But," the crowd quieted further. " We have some even more special guests here with us this evening. "
Whispers and murmurs erupted, eager to know who was these special guests more important than the sacrifices, and I did too— until her eyes met mine.
My blood instantly ran cold as she stared at me with cool, calculating eyes before she turned back to the crowd with a bright smile that exposed teeth almost as white as her skin. "Please, everyone, kindly carry your accessories to the room on your left, there they will be taken from your hands and you'll be escorted to the viewing room. Today we bare witness to history!"
The applause was drowned out as the band resumed their music, and she descended the platform in slow, purposeful strides as everyone filtered out of the room with excited whispers, dragging the poor unfortunate souls with them. She stopped briefly to speak with the woman with violet skin and I took the opportunity when her eyes were not on us to signal for Matt and Aunt-Drea to blend with the dispersing crowd.
Her steely eyes found us again and her long legs ate up the distance between us. "Solaure, Sairen," her gaze lingered on him for a few seconds longer than I liked. "You've both grown... beautifully."
"Lilauae."
Her head tilted to the side with amusement that lit familiar grey eyes which shifted down to our drawn weapons. "Ah, so it was you sneaking in on my conversations. I didn't know you had the ability. I'm impressed.''
Her finger touched the tip of my sword and lowered it slowly. " No need for violence as yet. We're all adults, we can converse civilly for now. "
Lilauae waved her hand and three chairs appeared, one for each of us. "Have a seat, would you? "
We made no move to do so and she frowned slightly. "I insist. Really. You have questions and I'm offering answers while we have a bit of time. There's still half an hour until the sun is completely covered; consider this Achar's way of persuading you."
We took our seats slowly, and she followed, sitting in front of us. A little chat should give the others enough time to find mom and Rae.
"You shouldn't have wasted your time changing such beautiful faces; I see through every spell that enters this house and they fall away soon, anyway.''
" Who are you? "
Her eyes were stuck on Sairen even though it was me who asked the question, they still were when she spoke; " The real question is; who aren't I? "
Her features shifted, changing the build of her body and face. Her hair lightened, turning dyed auburn, her eyes brown and her frame fuller. She pushed her glasses up on her nose and she smiled at me.
"I'm anyone I want." She said with my psychologist's soothing voice. "Should we catch up on our sessions now, Soli? We missed a few and I still need that assignment you owe me.''
A sliver of panic rose as I watched the new woman. "What did you do with Lilian?"
''Lilian, Lilauae—There never was a Lilian. Do you honestly believe that it was a coincidence that your mother sought out therapy for you? We have been implanting the idea in her head for months; ads, billboards, flyers, until she finally came around, thinking that it was her idea. The only coincidence in this whole thing is you two," Her polished finger gestured to Sai and I. "... meeting each other. ''
I didn't understand where the conversation was going. I didn't like that I was lost. ''What do you mean?''
She changed again, shedding the skin of my psychologist and into a beautiful woman with hair the color of straw. She looked at Sai with pale green eyes, he shared the same one. " It's been quite a while since we last saw each other hasn't it?"
Sairen's face was hard as he took in the woman sitting before him as he pieced together a puzzle I didn't quite get. She saw the look on his face and hers softened before she spoke." I didn't know that your fates would intertwine when I came to your mother, Sairen. She asked for help, I answered."
His face was neutral when he spoke, only his eyes held a hidden storm of emotion. ''Why? I don't believe it was out of the goodness of your heart.''
'' You don't know me so well as to make such assumptions as to why I did what I did... but you're right," she nodded. "it was completely selfish."
"We were looking for pawns in high places and I believe that it was fate that the person who summoned me pleading for a child was married to the heir of a high lord of Eçalis. Achar already had countless spawn," She threw the word out with distaste. "so he saw no need for another, and her weak body was throwing away a gift I couldn't have so I made her better... for a while. She may have carried you Sairen, birthed you, but it was my essence that saved you from her poisoned womb, gave you life. That's why you're better than the rest; you're my son.''
''I'm not your son. My mother was Deylaina Arçenault ." His words were steady, but I sensed the doubt in them.
''She was, but so am I, and you would have grown to know us both as 'mother', but Deylaina, sweet soul that she was, went back on our deal. You see, she promised that we'd be a family, that you'd be mine as well, but she wanted nothing to do with me once you were born.'' Her face contorted into a scowl that made her mask slip away and Lilauae was in front of us again. "I came to visit that first night you entered the world and she shunned me away. Imagine my hurt, that betrayal of—"
"She died in childbirth." Sai's voice was clipped, tight.
"'No, she died a few hours after. After I visited.''
The meaning of her words sank in and I had to resist shying away from the anger radiating off of Sairen in powerful waves but he somehow managed to keep his composure even with his mother's killer facing him.
" I didn't want to kill her, really. I considered us friends before she betrayed me, but I don't take kindly to betrayal. And after what happened with Vael, I see you get that from me."
"My mother was Deylaina Arçenault ." He grated out.
"I have been the only mother you have ever known. I kept you fed and changed when your broken father couldn't stand to look at you, comforted you all those nights after he abandoned you and your grandfather neglected you. I thought you to control your power, and become as great as you are and I told the wolves to keep you safe that night. I did. It was all me. The one who you're looking at with that fury in your eyes was the only one who cared for you while they were so far up their own asses to give a fuck about the baby that was left in their care. And you'll sit there and tell me that I'm not your mother?'' She was breathless and flustered when she finished, her cheeks flushed red— the brightest I'd seen her face.
''Then why did you stop?" She seemed taken aback by Sai's words, and honestly so was I. " I needed you, but you disappeared. Why?"
"Achar decided it would be best to not show up as Deylaina while you were around your aunt— and her." She glanced at me. "I didn't want to leave you and it was one of the hardest things I had to do, but it was necessary. She would have seen through the glamour and ruin everything, but I'm here now and that's all that matters."
"You're right," Lilauae's smile lit up her face at Sairen's words— until he continued. "You are the only mother I had, and she was wrong for going back on the word she gave you, but you cannot act righteous while you're killing thousands of innocents."
She opened her mouth to speak but Sairen cut her off. "You said you'd answer our questions; here's mine. Why destroy this world? "
She sat up straighter in her chair, calming the disappointment on her face. "Simply because he can. And he's not destroying anything, he's making it better, and not just this world. Eçalis will follow and so will countless others, and when he's gained the power he needs to take Ilairk he will. Maybe then he'd claim the Seven Heavenly Realms as well. Who knows?"
"I didn't ask about him, I asked about you."
Lilauae shrugged and her strap slipped down, revealing similar dark swirls on her chest as Sairen's. '' I love him. I'd follow him into every one of the Seven Hells if he wanted me to."
"But does he love you?" It was I who spoke this time and she turned to me as if she forgot I was even there.
''Of course he loves me."
"Yet he has my mother captive so they can spend their lives together when he's free."
She snickered but her face had lost the last of its softness. ''He loves me. He does not love her. He's obsessed with her. Much like how he's obsessed with you; your power, the mystery of you. You are a singularity Solaure; you are not supposed to be alive." Her eyes flickered over to Sairen. "Neither of you. Maybe that's why fate tied you together; you're stray souls."
"And do you really love Sairen?" I pressed. "Or are you obsessed with him too?"
"Let me make myself clear: I risked Achar's wrath just so I could see my son; That's love. Achar only wants you and your mother because Daemyn had you first. If there's one thing he's obsessed with more than you two or power, it's his little brother." Lilauae rolled her eyes and folded her hands, hostility rolling off of her in waves. "I'm afraid the time for questions is up, now it's time for the reason I approached you in the first place; your final answer is no, yes?"
"It is." I said.
"I told him as much." Screams came from a room further down and she rose from her chair, straightening out her dress. " It seems we have some more uninvited guests."
We rose to our feet as well, our weapons at the ready. A door opened to our left and dozens of the mouthless creatures piled out, armed with weapons bigger than I was.
"My Djuen will entertain you. I have more important matters to attend to. " She faced Sairen again, holding out a hand to him. "Come with me. She made her choice, it doesn't have to be yours ."
Sairen made no move to follow, instead, he gripped his swords tighter. " I don't think so."
"You have to, you'll die." Her eyes pleaded with him to listen to her and it was the purest emotion I'd seen from her within the entirety of our encounter.
"The only thing I have to do is die, and even then I plan on debating with Death itself."
She seemed as if she wanted to protest against him more, but a cloaked figure scurried out through the door towards her, whispering something in her ear when they approached. Lilauae gave Sai one last look of longing before she turned, disappearing into the room the hostages were being stored and the Djuen—as she called them—took her absence as a sign to advance.
"Their heads Sai," I swung my sword, readying it for battle. "That's the only way to kill them."
The giant wolf tore through enemies as we fought, staining the white marble floors black. The wet floor should have made it difficult to find proper footing, but instead, I glided, throwing my shadow whips like a chain–my sword long forgotten– slicing through bodies and bones. We made haste in getting rid of our company, their torn and broken limbs decorated the room as the last of them fell and we made our way to the room Lilauae disappeared into, my dress leaving wet, black trails behind me.
The familiarity of the place hit me as we walked in; I often saw this hallway in my dreams as I walked down the brightly lit stretch with the large door at the end, but only this time I was clothed and I wasn't alone. The door opened silently as I pushed, revealing blinding darkness on the other side. Our steps were careful and quiet when we entered, our own darkness cloaking our sounds as we made our way to the faint light further down which grew as we drew closer. The ceiling opened up above us, the growing red moon giving the room its reddish tint as the eclipse darkened the sky. The new light illuminated the floor and I looked down to see myself staring back at me, no disguise like earlier, only my very own bloodied, stained face.
"Look." Sai's voice was barely audible as he pointed up towards the balconies that ran along the walls, where the spectators would have been observing the ritual if K.O.A.C hadn't intervened.
Lilauae stood in the dead center of the room, her reflection following her every movement on the mirrored floors as she danced hypnotically in the middle of a pentagram formed out of bodies. Dozen of those figures cloaked in red formed a wide circle around her, their heads bent, palms raised as they each held out a long knife for her. As her dance came to an end she chose one, holding the weapon to the fabric of her dress. It came apart by her thighs, a trail of blood sliding down her legs and onto the floor, and she knelt gracefully, the knife high above her head as a chant started to leave her lips.
The weapon soared out of her hands, embedding itself into the throat of one of her followers. She looked at my handiwork— at the dead figure beside her— then her eyes met mine. Her face twisted into a frown. "Restrain them."
She took another weapon from one of their hands and began the chant again.
We were on them before they made a move to get us but they were more skilled than I thought. Even with the cumbersome cloaks, they were agile, but I had been training so so was I. I fought with my sword and my magic simultaneously, slashing while the chords of black pulled bodies apart. Sairen was on the other side of the room, his twin swords coming down in murderous arcs as he decapitated heads from their cloaks, revealing faces for the first time. Some were Creatures , some D'Agame, some human, but Sairen's blades didn't discriminate.
"I'll take them on!" Sairen shouted as he brought a wall of shadow over the figures, their screams echoing throughout the room as they were torn apart by his hungry wolves. "You stop her!"
My chords flew in her direction, anxious to take her down, but they never made contact. Lilauae's hand shot up and a dark, shadowy mass collided with my tendrils. The force of the collision had me struggling to keep my footing but I held firm. She looked up at the open sky above, at the sun being steadily swallowed, then at the pentagram at her feet and the incomplete ritual. She groaned loudly before charging at me.
At first, I didn't see it coming, the way the darkness oozed out of her, coating and running along the floor towards me- it had all happened too fast, but my Schadeux called to me, and I became aware of how the shadows in the room were no longer stagnant, how they seemed hungry. All at once, they rushed to me, following the direction of Lilauae's outstretched hand, their voices harsh with anticipation. A wave of white flame burst from my fingers and onto her Schadeux, up their bodies, and they burned away. The fire crawled towards the pentagram, licking away at the bodies that laid there until the unnatural heat turned the dead to dust.
Lilauae screamed, the anger filling the room as her gaze steadied on me. She didn't look beautiful now, she looked haunting as the shadows bled from her, taking the rest of pigment from her skin and leaving her ghostly. Her shadows seemed to solidify until they formed sharp spikes that spewed in my direction. I somehow managed to evade every attack, and counteracted with similar ones that she deflected as well. We may have shared the same power, the one Sairen got a dose of, but I had more.
My arms came up in a wide arc, like how I saw Aunt-Drea do countless times before, and I felt a buildup of energy that wanted a release, so I let go. The shadows poured out of me like a tsunami, its waves rushing towards her, leaving only darkness in its wake. I moved like a demon, suddenly hyper-aware of every atom around me as I moved, aware of Sairen on the floor above, disposing of the remaining people in red cloaks, aware of the roar of the fire as it ran up the curtains, aware of every footstep Lilauae made as she tried to escape the flood of darkness, and I was aware of the very moment she opened the inbetween, hoping to escape.
I slipped into the darkness and resurfaced a few feet from her. She turned as if she sensed me behind her, and evaded the ball of fire I sent her way. I expected it, but she didn't expect the tendril that pierced her stomach. She staggered backward upon impact, hot blood poured out of the gaping hole, staining the white of her dress blue and my shadows slid back to me.
Her cry bounced off the walls as she clutched her abdomen, trying to keep the blood from flowing but to no avail. The doors swung open as Djuen poured out and I was surrounded before I could comprehend the vastness of their numbers— the number of lives lost. I felt Sairen appear beside me and in the second I took to take in his appearance, to see that he was unhurt, she was gone, disappeared into the crowd. The Djuen charged at us, keeping us from going after our target and we fought as fast as we could to keep her from escaping us completely.
The fire raged as we fought, brightening the room. I wish it didn't.
I wish I still fought in the dim light so I wouldn't see what I did.
One of the monsters struck at me and I don't know what made me look and not just kill it, but I did. All of its other features were marred, merged into the face they all shared— the same black, soulless eyes and greyed skin stained with black markings— but somehow I still recognized that face, that silver hair.
"Rae?" The name fell from my lips in a whisper, hoping to the Goddess that I was wrong but knowing that I wasn't.
He stilled, staring blankly at my face, and for a moment I thought that he recognized me too, but then he lunged at me, swinging his sword viciously. Rae didn't know how to use a sword. He was born and raised among the Blinded, pretending to be human so long that he adapted to their lifestyle. My friend was not a warrior, yet he stood before me, weapon in hand and murder in his eyes.
I ducked as his sword sliced the air above me, and slapped him. Hard. His face whipped to the side as my palm collided with his cheek, his jaw working to ease the force of the impact. "Raegan! "
His eyes narrowed and he lunged. I pivoted on my heels as his sword came too close to my neck and my own blade came down to counteract his blows, to block and subdue him–not to kill– but I was on autopilot after doing this a hundred times before.
Even with all the noise surrounding us, I heard it, that wet, crunching sound as my Enaidium blade kissed his neck and severed it from his shoulders. I felt a spray of blood on my face, dripping into my eyes, into my mouth, but I made no move to wipe the toxic liquid away. I just stood there, watching as his head rolled away from his body, and as he fell to the floor. I watched as his blood pooled out of him and at my feet. I watched as my friend died again.
"Sol?" Sai grasped my shoulder and I flinched. I didn't see him coming even though I was staring down at the mirrored floors, was still staring at Rae, and at my eyes that were flashing that unsteady violet. ''Are you okay, baby?''
I didn't get a chance to answer, to tell him that I was far from, as two figures burst through the doors. I recognized Aunt-Drea first as she ran towards us, her dress soaked with what I could only assume was blood, then Levi who trailed behind her. She tackled us both into a hug when she approached us.
''We found Lesa."
The words sent a wave of relief and shock throughout my body and I released a breath I didn't realize I was holding. The thought that she would be dead like Rae had been haunting me. "H-how is she?"
''She's fine. She's with Matty in one of the tents K.O.A.C set up." She paused, "I'm sorry Soli, but we couldn't find Rae."
At the very mention of his name, I felt sick to my stomach. "I did... He's right here.''
Their gazes followed mine as I looked down and Aunt-Drea's hand came up to her mouth, shaking as she saw what I'd done.
"No...'' She looked up at me with tear-ridden eyes filled with remorse. I looked away.
''Levi, how are things upstairs?" Everyone had the same look of confusion on their faces; perplexed with my demeanor, with my sudden change in subject; They didn't understand that I was feeling more than I could have handled at the moment.
He acknowledged me with a nod before starting. "Upstairs is cleared, hostages freed, benefactors are taken care of. I think that's everything. The Doves are handling the corpses.''
"Good. No one escaped?"
Levi shook his head, his locks shifting with the action. "K.O.A.C has the entire perimeter warded. No one could even if they tried."
Sai worded what I was thinking; ''Then Lilauae's still here.''
''I'm going to find her—''
''No,'' Sairen's grip was firm on my elbow. ''we'll go, you take a minute.''
I tried to shrug him off but he held steady. ''I don't need a minute, I need that bitch dead.''
''I know, Sol, I know. But take the minute anyway, yes?''
I agreed, albeit reluctantly, and he let me go.
''What does she look like?'' Levi pulled out his phone. "I'll have them be on the lookout.''
I let Sai describe her to him while I slid down onto the floor. My dress was soaked on impact.
''Soli, sweetheart?'' Aunt-Drea crouched down beside me and tucked a stray strand behind my ear. ''We have to go, the fire is spreading.''
''I know... just— you guys go, I'll be out soon. Sai's right; I do need a minute. Please.''
I only saw myself when they left, even though I was looking at Rae, I saw me in the mirror beneath him, how inhuman I looked at the moment. The blood had already stopped flowing when I took his head onto my lap, it already growing cold.
My screams came out in choked sobs as I cried, partly because of the sharp pain that buried itself in the back of my head, but mostly because of Rae, the only friend I'd allowed myself the privilege of having after Mimi. The flames responded to my cries and raged on, engulfing everything but a circle around me and him, keeping us untouched.
My hair had somehow come undone from the dozens of gold pins, cascading wildly around my shoulders and swaying in the breeze that entered from above. My eyes were alight, somehow even brighter than the fire surrounding us, and as I cried I saw my fangs come alive as I lost hold of my control. The pain resurfaced and I clawed at the back of my head, surprised when I felt two identical stumps protruding from my scalp. I pulled the hair away and a whimper left my lips as I saw the gold-ish horns that were growing there.
I finally knew what was happening to me; my hair whitening, my eyes flashing violet, the horns forming— I was becoming my father...
A drop of blood fell from my nose and splattered onto Rae's cheek before slipping into his mouth, and it gave me an idea. I placed his head as close to his body as I could, reassembling him like I used to do with my dolls whose heads Matt had torn off after playing too wild. He didn't look perfect, but it would have to do. I didn't need candles this time, I had a storm of fire around me.
The words were already forming on my lips, my hand raised in preparation for incantation, but someone took hold of my wrist, cutting off the spell before it began.
''Don't.'' Sairen's eyes flashed with warning, ''You know better than to wake the dead. We have to go, the place is crumbling down.''
He dropped my hand gently and I brushed the matted strands away from Rae's face. He needed a haircut. ''Why not? They're doing it."
He sighed and squatted down next to me, wiping the blood from my nose. ''Because they're selfish.''
''I want to be selfish too. I want Rae back."
''But is that really Rae, Sol? Look at him.''
I looked. He didn't have his blue skin or his bright eyes, my Rae was turned to this. His hair was the only thing that remained of him so I held onto that, stroking the strands that were soiled black ."I'm going to kill them all."
Sai's reflection shook his head as he too stared down at the decapitated body in my hands. ''Let's make them suffer first.''
He helped me carry Rae out of the burning room, holding his body while I held his head, and the shadows consumed us, spitting us out in the open field where little white tents littered the area, serving as infirmaries and aids. The sky had lost most of its redness now that the eclipse was fading, leaving only pinkish light. The fresh air filled my lungs and I coughed out the smoke that I hadn't realized had been choking me inside.
''Sol!'' The voice came from behind and I turned quickly, already knowing who it belonged to.
My mother weaved through the tents and people between us and crashed into me, her arms wrapping around me in a vice-like grip and I breathed her in, her scent was marred with smoke and blood but I welcomed it after I had been deprived of her for the last couple of weeks.
''Mommy.'' My voice broke on the word, thick with tears that were rapidly falling.
Her hands caressed my face as she took me in, searching every inch of it. ''Are you okay? Unhurt?''
''Just a few scratches but they're healing already," I choked out. " I'm okay."
''Thank the Goddess. I was worried sick when I came to and I didn't know where you were, but I'm so happy that you were safe. I thought—'' her eyes finally drifted down to where I held Rae and she froze. ''Who...?"'
I tilted his head in her direction, giving her a better look. "Rae. He was missing too...''
''By the Goddess.'' She wrapped her arms around her torso to comfort herself and her eyes wandered, widening at the person who had been standing quietly to the side, giving us a moment.
''S-Sairen?'' He nodded and she took the few steps towards him, cupping his face like she did mine before and pulling him into a hug. ''Oh, Greats. Look at you. You and Matthias have gotten so big that I barely recognized you.''
Sai smiled a little and a soft chuckle left his lips. ''Hi, aunt Lesa. You haven't aged at all.''
A wet cough disrupted the conversation and their attention turned to me. I staggered as I tried to wipe away the blood from my lips and they reached out to me simultaneously but it was too late; I felt the cold pricking every pore in my body as my vision dimmed and the world tilted. I was already on the floor, convulsing, dyeing the grass silver as blood spewed from my lungs and choked me. I was turned to my side and a finger was shoved down my throat, pulling out the clots that were stifling me.
I had only time to inhale before everything went black.