55. Hope
55
Hope
S he was dead, yet she was alive. She was conscious, but she wasn’t.
She was in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by red sparks and red feathers. She didn’t feel her heart beating. She didn’t feel her daggers. Did she have any daggers? She had a body and yet she hadn’t, so it was pointless to look down.
She felt something far, far away. As if it came from another world or another life.
A female flew towards her from the undefined whiteness above, landing next to her in the solid whiteness she was standing on. Her wings were red, massive, and the pale skin of her unnaturally perfect face dissolved with the dress made of red feathers that marked her body. Her hair was long and red, waving around her as if they were wild strands of crackling fire.
“My dearest. We can talk at last.” The voice of the winged female was ancient and young, grave and friendly.
Hope blinked. “Who are you? Am I dead or am I dying?” her voice was soft. She didn’t feel the air coming through her throat. Maybe they were speaking mind to mind. Maybe she was imagining it all.
“You are neither dead nor dying. We have met many times before, but never in this form. I am the Core Cardinal.” Her smile was gentle, caring.
“What is this place?” Hope looked around, but the complete whiteness surrounding her was blinding. She would rather fix her stare on the red Cardinal in front of her.
“It’s nowhere, and it’s everywhere. The world is waiting for you when you are ready. You will do many great things in your life, Hope Nevada. Your life is barely starting now. I hope that you enjoy your magic as much as my sisters and me did.”
“The other Cardinals were your sisters?” she asked, blinking again.
“The North, West, South and East Cardinals are my sisters.”
Hope smiled. It would be nice to not be completely alone in the world, to have someone else to rely upon.
She felt something touch her head, but when she lifted a hand, there was nothing other than her hair. She felt a familiar voice wanting to enter the whiteness, but somehow the message didn’t reach her.
The whiteness had a few dancing sparks floating around, and Hope followed them with her eyes. They were beautiful.
She lifted a hand in front of her and wished for sparks to appear. A shoot of red sparks floated through the whiteness, whirling around and interacting with the dark green ones. Hope grinned. Beautiful indeed.
“I came to greet you, now that you can use their four magics. I came to warn you, too.” Her voice was so peaceful, even if the Cardinal’s face was grave.
Hope tilted her head. She couldn’t think about anything that could worry such a being.
The Core Cardinal continued, “She who remains in the deep sleep we forced her to is awaking. She who should be contained for many more years might rise before it’s time.”
“You are worried,” Hope said, blinking.
“You should be too, my dearest. She was strong enough to try to possess the snow child and to take him to the last place he belonged.”
“Is the child harmed?” Hope said, frowning. She didn’t wish harm to any infant.
“The child lives because she couldn’t invade him. When she wakes, she will find you.”
“Who is she?” Hope asked.
“The Cardinal Queen.”
Hope nodded, silently. She wasn’t sure if she was ever going to wake up. But if she did, and she remembered this conversation, then maybe she would worry about said queen.
“You were born for this, Hope Nevada. We have been waiting for you for a long, long time,” the Core Cardinal smiled, emotion filling her red eyes as she swallowed proudly. “There is no such thing as limits. Everything you wish, you can accomplish.”
Another voice, an angry one, seemed to bounce against the whiteness, but she wasn’t worried. She was safe here. Protected by the Core Cardinal herself.
The Core Cardinal that was nowhere to be seen.
Another voice seemed to come from afar, but this time, she heard it. It sounded like home. Like the pine woods of her home.
“You made your mother a promise, Hope. Vitam tradere . Please, open your eyes. You must come back.”
She felt something on her lips, even if there was nothing in front of her.
Vitam tradere . A life for a life. She remembered, now.
Her mother had traded her life, and her father would have to pay with his.
So Hope walked towards the path of dark green sparks and opened her eyes.