BOOK TWO (2)
(JOURNEY TO THE MAGICAL REALM)
The bright light carried the trio to a garden that glowed with beauty and grace. The garden was wide and peaceful, with stunning creatures such as cupids and fairies flying around, playing in the bright morning sun.
Lamia, Damian, and Catherine were confused. Wasn't this supposed to be their past lives? But what they were seeing was a magnificent, colorful environment with stunning views.
"Damian, what's going on? I don't get this. Is this supposed to be in our memory or what?" Lamia asked, because what he was seeing felt angelic—the aura was nature-like and breathtaking, but it wasn't supposed to be so.
Damian looked confused too. He stared at the trees, which seemed a bit familiar. He walked to one of the trees and touched it, but a powerful, resentful voice yelled at him.
"Watch where you are putting those hands, you scoundrel." Damian shifted back in dismay. He looked at Lamia and Cathy, who both stood rooted to the spot. Nobody expected to see a speaking tree, and definitely not a rude one. Catherine, who was amazed and a little uncomfortable, looked to her side and saw a figure walking majestically in the grand corridor of a tall, majestic tower.
Cathy blinked her eyes repeatedly to be sure it wasn't her imagination playing tricks on her, but there it was—Damian's figure walking down the glowing hallway with a bewitching beauty, whose long flowing hair reached her waist.
"Guys, are you seeing what I'm seeing?" Cathy called out to her stunned companions, but unaware of the figure Catherine was trying to tell them about, Lamia replied absentmindedly.
"Of course, we are seeing it. How is it possible for a tree to be talking?" Lamia's reply made Cathy turn sharply.
"Not that, morons. Look at that—isn't that Damian with that strange lady?" Damian and Lamia turned to the corridor and saw that it was indeed Damian, but something seemed off. It was his hair—it wasn't raven-like, but silver-colored, and this made the onlookers gasp even more. What was going on?
After some minutes, they walked to an empty place, deserted and abandoned for what seemed like years, and realizing they were alone, Cathy spoke.
"Hmm, I think I know where we are. This is Mount Olympus, land of the gods, and with what I am seeing, it seems it has something to do with us. That's why we were brought here." Damian listened to Cathy's words with fascination. Mount Olympus—it was the story of where magic began, and the tale was beautiful, but what he was seeing seemed to be a lie to cover some dark aspects of the truth.
"Something isn't right. These people seem to be seeing us, and that's not supposed to happen. With the magic I used, we were not meant to be seen." Damian's words cut deep. With the way things were going, they were in danger if caught, but they needed information, and coming here would give them that information.
Lamia suddenly yelled, and Damian and Catherine turned around abruptly. Lo and behold, pale-looking creatures surrounded them, looking at them viciously with contempt and animosity.
"Great, a few minutes after coming here, we are already in trouble, and these people look pissed." Lamia voiced out, but on closer look, he realized they were contemplating what to do with them.
"Does anyone know who these people are?" Lamia asked, but Damian had no idea. This wasn't what he bargained for.
"I think they are the protectors of this realm, and this is their way of saying we are not welcomed." Catherine explained. Damian looked at the creatures, and one of them signaled them to be captured, and a bolt of lightning struck, transporting them to a huge, dreadful dungeon.
"Haa, we are doomed. What was I expecting from the land of the gods?" Lamia hissed in irritation, realizing something, he asked further,
"Can you use your powers, Damian? Check if you can teleport us out of here." Damian nodded, stood up, closed his eyes, and began chanting in Latin.
The dungeon began to glow, and as he increased his pace, a red glow began to emanate from his body, and it shattered the entire dungeon.
Then the trio ran as fast as their legs could carry them, but Damian then stopped.
"I think I know what we have to do. I have a powerful spell that can make us invisible so that we can know what really happened in this place. We can't possibly leave without having the slightest idea of what happened." Damian's words were true, and Lamia agreed. Cathy, seeing that her ally had sided with Damian, had no choice but to agree.
"Okay then, let me do a spell." Damian closed his eyes, rubbed his two fingers, and muttered some words, which made his eyes start glowing red, and Lamia and Cathy's skin became translucent and blue, almost like that of a ghost.
Lamia looked at his body in wonder. Damian was more powerful than he imagined. Him muttering spells could only mean he was either a witch, warlock, or sorcerer. But didn't these supernatural beings have limits to their magic usage? He had to make sure Damian did not indulge in deadly spells that could consume him.
Seeing his spell was a success, Damian led the way, and they walked to what seemed like a throne room but stopped instantly on spotting his lookalike.
"I think we should follow him, maybe perhaps get what is going on here, because I don't get why my lookalike is in the land of the gods." They all stopped and waited for the guy to pass by.
"Azriel, Azriel..." An angelic voice came from the throne room, revealing that beautiful lady Cathy had seen earlier.
Damian's lookalike, who was Azriel, stopped and smiled at the lady coming towards him.
"Irene, you shouldn't be here. Remember our plan—we can't risk people finding out about our love. Your father will have my head, remember." Irene couldn't take it, and she began shedding tears.
"I missed you so badly, Azriel. I can't live a day without seeing your face." Azriel came closer and claimed her lips, and this silenced Irene, who responded fiercely. In haste, she pushed him over the wall, making him flinch, but Irene was so engrossed in his body, savoring his taste and the wondrous scent of masculinity.
"I could do this all day, Azriel. Your smell is so intoxicating." Irene was all over Azriel.
One thing about Mount Olympus was the scandalous dressing. The males dressed half-naked, covering only their private parts with a shroud of clothing, and their necks contained different ornaments of gold and precious stones. The gods were rich people; they loved material things, and this was nothing compared to their females. The females wore sleeveless gowns that left half of their breasts exposed, and their private parts were covered with nothing but thongs. This was the normal way of life for them, and they didn't see it as anything.
So apparently, Azriel didn't let Irene kiss him futher and Irene's face turned serious.
"Azriel, I have something to tell you. I want you to marry me, love. Let us do it at the Temple of Asheron. I am sure Father will come along after our wedding, and about Elysian, I don't mind sharing you with him. Please, let us just be together forever." Azriel's face turned pale. Wedding? He didn't want a wedding. In fact, he wasn't interested in marrying her, and pissing off a family of gods was something he didn't want, especially one from the line of royalty.
"That sounds like a marvelous idea. I think we should finally become one, love." Azriel feigned happiness and hugged Irene, and in the process, he became distressed. What had he gotten himself into? He needed his plan to work out perfectly so that he could escape. He couldn't continue staying here.
Meanwhile, Lamia was stunned. It seemed it was more than they thought. They had to follow through with what was going on, and going after Azriel wasn't the smart move. Lamia turned to Damian.
"I have a perfect idea. Instead of following them like lost puppies, why don't we use magic to trace our way to the past without involving ourselves in the drama?" Lamia spoke, eyes gleaming with expectation.
Catherine nodded, impressed with the idea. "That was a smart move. Following them will lead to them finding out about us, and we can't let that happen, so why don't you, Dammy, make a powerful spell that can allow us to continue this journey without actually endangering ourselves?" Saying this, both Cathy and Lamia looked at Damian, expecting some reaction.
Damian was so fixated on Azriel, and he too came up with an idea. He turned to the two and saw the side glare directed at him.
"Don't fret. I have found the perfect solution. We can actually watch all this from a mirror, but since the deed was done here, we have to stay in Mount Olympus, and in doing such, we'll need a strong power source, and I alone can't generate it." Damian looked and saw Cathy staring at the mysterious tree they encountered recently.
"We should use the tree. I could feel the pumping energy seeping out from that oak tree," Cathy spoke nonchalantly.
Lamia almost freaked out. "No! That tree seems alive, and doing such could alert the guardians. Why don't you use my necklace? I've been feeling a weird, distorted energy since we came here, and I don't know why." Damian seemed hesitant. That was his gift to his beloved, not some kind of toy.
"Okay, let me see for myself." Damian stretched forth his hand, and Lamia handed him the necklace. Placing his hands on it, a powerful force emanated from the necklace, and a powerful glow enveloped them all. The energy was mystical, more powerful than anything Damian had ever imagined. He remembered telling Lamia not to remove the necklace—why did he say such?
But it wasn't over. The blinding light overtook them, and they were forcefully transported to a realm filled with different sizes of mirrors. Right before them stood a majestic one, and within its reflection, Damian and Lamia saw a scene playing out—a reflection not of their lives, but of the man they just saw, Azriel, holding the strange beauty.
"What is going on?" Lamia asked, obviously confused, as the glow in the mirror came alive and images began to show—revealing the secrets of how it all began, how magic was born, and how it ended over 500 years ago.
Azriel's figure in the mirror appeared troubled. His silver hair shimmered in the light as he paced in what seemed like a throne room. The beauty from earlier, Irene, was with him, but her expression was solemn, unlike the fiery passion they'd just witnessed. The vision in the mirror unfolded before their eyes, pulling them deeper into the past.