Chapter 8-Revelations
Dinner seemed to last forever. Maybe it was because I wanted to read that stolen piece of paper so bad or maybe it was because I was still reeling from my revelation. I spent the whole time contemplating everything I saw down in that basement. There was a very good reason they didn’t want me down there and that was because they were hiding things. What was that chair for? It looked like something you’d put someone in if you were going to torture them. I scrutinized my parents out of the corner of my eye. They didn’t look like the type of people to do that kind of stuff. I shuddered at the thought.
Either way, I was upstairs and pacing before 7:30 p.m. even rolled around. I knew I had plenty of time to read the letter, but I wanted to do it somewhere with fresh air and away from prying eyes. I slipped my hand underneath the pillow and gently pulled out the paper. Tucking it safely into my shirt, I headed out to the patio that led up to the widow’s walk. I climbed the steps up to the top and sat down on the wicker couch, pulling the musty gray blanket around me for warmth as a breeze started to pick up. I let myself relax for a moment before pulling the note out again. It felt thick and crinkly to the touch so I unfolded it tenderly and began to read.
Dear Diary,
This entry shall constitute my confession. For some time I have kept my transgressions quiet, but certain recent events have forced me to disclose them. Long ago I met and married my first love Kaine. After his tragic death I lashed out at anyone and everyone who got in my way. A man named Thanatos found me shortly after and recruited me into his group. Thanatos became obsessed with me and after I had proven my loyalty to him. He branded me with a triple spiral tattoo, granting me the power of projection so that I might visit him in his Kingdom. I lived with him for years doing his bidding and I could feel his advances becoming stronger yet I continuously denied him.
I stared at the paper with my mouth hanging open. What does that even mean? Where could the rest of this mysterious diary page be? I have to get back down into that room and see if I can find the other half. A light bulb in my brain clicked on. Thanatos, that’s the name that Draven had given me before. That’s the name of the immortal Lord who had sent people after me. There were so many questions spinning around in my head and none of them would be able to be answered because I didn’t have the other half of this paper and there wasn’t anyone I could ask about it. Draven was the only likely person to grill because he at least knew who Thanatos was, but he had pretty much disappeared for good, giving me the cold shoulder. This piece of paper wouldn’t make a bit of difference to him. Or would it? I was so lost in thought that I didn’t even realize when he appeared next to me on the couch. He scared me so bad I actually tried to smack him and when my hand connected knocking him sideways, we both froze. He cocked his eyebrows and said, “How did you do that?”
“Do what?” I asked confused.
“You know what,” he said shakily.
I squirmed under his scrutiny. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t even know what was supposed to happen just now. All I know is that you scared me and I swung at you. Pretty good reflexes if you ask me.” He remained silent which made me increasingly uncomfortable. “What was supposed to happen anyway?” I asked on the off chance he would have a good explanation.
“You know what was supposed to happen,” he said eyeing me carefully.
“You mean that because you’re a ghost or whatever that I shouldn’t have been able to actually touch you, right?” I said trying to sound casual when in actuality this conversation was starting to freak me out.
“Unforgiven, not ghost, but that’s exactly what should have happened,” he said smirking. “So, how did you do it?”
“I really don’t know,” I said frustrated. “And just where have you been anyway? You said you were going to come back and you’ve been gone for a really long time.” I covered my eyes and sat quietly for a little while hoping he’d let me change the subject.
“Touch me again,” he said much to my dismay. I took a peek at him between my fingers and saw so much longing and hope etched on his face that it made my heart flutter.
“Why?” I tried asking nonchalantly. I had an idea, but I wanted to hear him say it.
“You don’t know how long it’s been,” he said shaking his head.
“I don’t,” I said quietly, “but I want to.” For reasons beyond my imagination I wanted to know more about him. Anything I could get my hands on. It might have just been that he was different and unknown to me or it might have been something else, I couldn’t say.
He groaned, “If I tell you will you promise to touch me again?”
I wanted so badly to say yes, but I didn’t want to disappoint him. What if I tried and nothing happened? I shook my head no. Regardless of how much I wanted to know more about him, I couldn’t let him down when his eyes were regarding me with so much anticipation. He scooted closer. “Please Callie,” he begged. “Just one little touch and I promise I won’t ask you again.”
“I can’t,” I said trying to sound resigned. “I don’t want to upset you if it doesn’t work the second time around.”
“I can handle it,” he said sounding sure of himself, “I won’t be disappointed, I swear it.”
I thought about it for a minute longer. I guess if he was willing to risk it the least I could do was try. “Alright, but you have to tell me everything I need to know and not just about Thanatos, I want to hear about you too.”
“Okay,” he said smiling.
He sat for a moment staring off into nothing, his eyes taking on a glossy grey color before he said, “I was born and mostly raised on a planet called Moonweald.”
“What do you mean planet?” I blurted out. “So you’re like an alien or something?”
“Something like that,” he said laughing, although it didn’t quite reach his eyes.
You see that kind of stuff on T.V. and they talk about the possibility of life on other planets, but it just never registered with me. The idea that a life force other than our own existing was more than a little bit frightening. “What was it like?” I asked curiously.
He pondered for a moment and said, “More exquisite and magical than anything you’ve probably ever laid eyes on.”
“Tell me more,” I said relaxing into the soft cushiness of the couch.
“Well, I lived on the outskirts of our capital city called Ligunaie.”
“Li-goo-ni,” I said turning the words over in my mouth. My pronunciation felt sloppy and rought. “What’s it mean?”
“In the language of Asclepia, the definition simply means stars.”
“It sounds pretty,” I said enraptured. “What’s Asclepia?”
“Asclepia is a who, not a what,” he said laughing. “She’s a legend where I’m from. Growing up, I heard all sorts of stories about her. Everything from her being a mermaid who enslaved anyone she met to her being a witch that tricked people into thinking she had powers. But the most prominent consensus is that she is an Angel who fell from the heavens. When she found she could not return home, her parents gave her the gift of healing as a token of their sorrow and undying love. She wandered our land spreading her knowledge and gift. She even taught us her ways, including the language she spoke. In the end, only bits and pieces of her language remain. I think there is a dictionary with everything in it somewhere in Moonweald. But besides that, the translation of Ligunaie is literal, not figurative.”
“Meaning what?” I asked not sure where he was headed with his vague answers.
“As in the city is made up of stars. They illuminate every inch of Ligunaie, from the worn down shacks to the very tip of the castle peaks. You could literally reach out and touch them. They’re that close.”
“So it’s like living in space?”
“Mostly, except without the planets. My favorite part though is the entrance to the cities. Just to get in, you have to pas
s through a veil of nebula. It resembles luminous mist, but is actually a cloud of interstellar dust and gas. When it catches the light, it looks like an aurora. And when you step through it absorbs into your body, easing your troubles and making your skin glow.”
I stifled a laugh and he gave me a weird look. “Sorry, it’s just that anything able to magically erase someone’s problems and make their skin sparkly usually comes with a warning label. Like avoid direct sunlight or take with a full glass of water.”
“Are you implying that the barrier contains a narcotic?” he asked incredulous.
“How could I? I’ve never been there before,” I said hoping to ease the tension growing between us. “You would know better than I would. Enough of that though, tell me more.”
His brows stayed knitted together as he continued. “The biggest part of the city is on the top of a massive hill we call Crimsonmyst. An enormous castle made of genuine stone sits up there. Next to it is a waterfall that cascades all the way down to the outskirts of the city and empties out into an enormous lake. I’m probably not doing it justice,” he said frowning. “Maybe one day I can take you there to show you what I mean.”
“Take me there?” I asked puzzled. There’s no way that was possible and if it was, how many other planets were there like this one.
“Yes, it’s possible for you to visit, as long as someone who has been there before goes with you, but I can’t go back yet,” he sighed.
“Why not?”
“When I was 8 years old, Thanatos and his army invaded my homeland. They didn’t destroy the city, but he gathered everyone up and separated us into two groups, women/girls on one side and men/boys on the other. My father and I fought desperately to get back to my mother and sister, but there were just too many guards, and we knew it was impossible. Thanatos told everyone that he would be taking us to his Kingdom so he could use us as new recruits for his army, something about conquering the rest of Moonweald. He said that if we tried to escape, he would come after the ones we hold dearest. We both wanted to protect our family so we cooperated and left our homes, though it’s not like we had a choice in the matter. Late into the night, after everyone was weak and weary from the long day, we had stopped to camp out in Iceveil Forest.”
“Is it cold there?” I asked curiously.
He laughed, “No, it’s just a name. It’s not really cold there.”
I blushed and he continued. “My father and I had a plan to make a break for it so I could rush home and look after my family until he could return to us. He tried to create a diversion by letting some of the horses loose. I took off as fast I could through the undergrowth, ducking as much as possible behind trees and bushes. I didn’t get very far though before Thanatos himself grabbed me by the neck and dragged me back. Instead of going after our families, my father was tortured in front of me until he was barely conscious. I thought that he would stop there, but Thanatos decided to make an example out of me as well. So he chained me to a Tigressa and declared that after we returned to the Kingdom he would decide the rest of my punishment.”
“What’s a Tigressa?” I interjected.
“It’s sort of like a tiger, but with massive wings, a long spikey tail and a dragon’s head. It can breathe fire and swim underwater, among other things. They are very rare in Moonweald and dreadfully poisonous, just one scratch could kill you within seconds.”
“I see,” I said trying to sound like I understood when I really couldn’t even picture it.
“I was chained to the Tigressa for three days and by the end, so much poison had seeped into my body that I was one or two heartbeats away from ceasing to exist. I don’t even know how I had managed to survive as long as I did, but at that point I would have welcomed death. If I had known just how ruthless Thanatos was, I probably would have tried to end myself right then and there. But I had no clue and assumed he would let me die with the poison.”
“What happened next?” I asked urging him to continue.
“When we reached the Kingdom of Sheol he had a witch heal me. I thought that would be the end of my punishment, but then she began chanting something in a strange language. When she pointed my direction, I felt the wrongness settle deep within my bones. The next thing I knew, I was like this. Hexed, one of the Unforgiven, destined to a restless life in the between. Until I can find some way to break the spell, I can’t return home and I will remain like this forever. Cursed to watch as my family and friends grow old and die while I stay the same, barred from the touch and comfort of the ones I love. That’s why when you touched me it came as such a shock. Only people who belong to the Kingdom of Sheol have permission to do that.”
Then how was my hand able to make contact with his skin? I couldn’t possibly belong to this Kingdom he spoke of. I decided not to broach this subject yet and proceeded with another that had me equally as curious. “How do you watch everyone, if you can’t actually go there?” I asked.
“A saphreal orb,” he said sounding distant.
“What’s that?”
“Have you ever been to a fortuneteller?” he asked.
I looked at him cock-eyed. “You’re joking right?”
“No, I’m serious.”
“I don’t believe in that stuff, so to answer your question, no.”
He laughed. “You accept all the other strange things going on around you and yet you refuse to believe in something as insignificant as a fortuneteller?”
“Well, I suppose I never looked at it that way,” I stammered. “Regardless, how is that relevant to the saphreal orb?”
“The saphreal orb has the same qualities as the ones the fortuneteller’s here use, except that we can control where it goes with our minds and they can’t. It also has the ability to show us current stuff, not the future. The only problem is that you need to have a very clear image of the who, what or where you want to view. Other than that, it’s pretty basic.”
“Interesting,” I said nodding my head. If I could get my hands on one of these balls then maybe I could find out what was up with my parents lately. “Definitely something I would like to see for myself. If you don’t mind my asking, just what exactly led you here to me anyway?” I asked hesitantly.
“Oh, right, forgot about that part. Well, I was gathering water for Thanatos when I overheard him talking about you to someone. The things he said made my blood curdle and I knew deep down that I had to get here and help in any way I possibly could, even if it was just to warn you. So I Google searched your name and found out where you lived. It wasn’t as difficult as I originally imagined it would be.”
“Well that’s reassuring,” I said trying to contain my fear.
“Listen Callie, I don’t know why he has chosen you to go after, but he means to change you,” he said weakly.
“What do you mean change me?” That did not sound like something I ever wanted to get involved in.
“The Asema he sent after you was not to kill you as I originally thought, but to turn you into a vampire, an immortal of the darkness. I believe his ultimate goal might be to have you reign by his side in Sheol.”
This revelation was more than a tad alarming as I literally felt warning bells going off in my head and screaming at me to hit the deck. I wondered if going into hiding, like say being confined to my basement would deter them. Maybe I could go into the witness protection program and high-tail it out of here? Would my parents go with me? Would they even believe the severity of the situation if I told them? Probably not. I felt hopeless and tried to hold back the tears I knew were sure to follow. I would never marry someone as cruel as this Thanatos, I’d rather die first. “I don’t get it. Why me? I don’t want to be a vampire or the wife of someone evil.”
“I don’t know,” he sighed. “But I’m going to be here every step of the way to keep you safe.”
I looked up into his eyes, trying to decipher the many sets of emotions swirling around him. Vulnerabi
lity, that’s what I saw when I reached out and slowly took his hand in mine. We both shuddered in response. I hadn’t actually thought it would work and I could tell he felt the same. “Thank you,” I said, “for helping me with all of this, with everything, even though it never should have been your responsibility.”
He smiled. “And thank you for this,” he said gesturing to our entwined hands. “You never know how much you miss something until it’s gone.” I squeezed tighter in response. Our eyes stayed locked on each other and I fought the sudden urge to kiss him. “You should probably get some sleep,” he said interrupting my thoughts.
“You’re right,” I said nodding and getting up to head back down to my room. “I’m exhausted, but don’t leave okay? I feel safer knowing you’re here.”
“As you wish,” he replied.
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