Chapter 35 #2
He grins devilishly. “I’m not laughing.” He kisses me again before turning to the guards. “Trelor killed the two daemons that were guarding Westery, so I am hoping no more have been sent in their place. Once we get there, we scout, and then I will claim it.”
I frown. “How do you claim it?”
He turns to face me. “With blood, Ari, our blood.”
My face pales. “What?”
“The land is already yours, my Rose. We just need to remind the wards of that. I’m not sure how long we can hold it for, but my hope is we’ll find the book before Macy comes for us.”
I nod slowly. The edge of this jacket scrapes my skin like sandpaper against the wall, making me growl out in frustration. I rip the coat open, shrug it off, and throw it on the ground.
“Much better.” I straighten my arms and roll my shoulders. Gaelan opens his mouth to speak, but I lift my hand to stop him. “Don’t even. You will never see me naked again if you say anything.”
Leah bursts out laughing, making me smile. She walks over to me and hands me a dagger. “Much better, my lady, I will be by your side, don’t worry.”
I take the dagger, smile at Gaelan, who now looks pissed. Rex comes over to me, stands by my side, and growls low at Gaelan. I pat his head, “Good boy.”
“Fine. But you do not leave my or Leah’s side, understand?”
Nodding, I walk over to him and salute. “Understand, sir.”
Gaelan growls, leaning down to whisper in my ear. “Careful, my Rose, you are not ready for that tease just yet.” With a kiss to my cheek, he shimmers us to Westery.
As soon as my feet hit the sand, my shoes sink into the tiny grains.
The familiar heat hits my face, making it hard for me to breathe.
I take a step back from Gaelan; I almost turn and run as the memories of the two daemons and what they did to me come rushing back, nearly knocking me over.
I take a deep breath to squash the panic.
I refuse to let them control any of my thoughts. I can be strong. I have to be strong.
Feel Gaelan’s hand on my arm; I look up at him.
“This is why I didn’t want you to come, I can take you back—” he assures me. But going back is not what I want.
I shake my head. “No, I’m fine.”
I say that again in my head, even if deep down I don’t feel it.
Closing my eyes and letting the scent of lemon and earth soothe me.
The tightness in my chest starts to ease, and the panic in my stomach begins to dissolve.
Turning, I slowly peel my eyes open and walk toward the row of houses again.
Leah is next to me with Rex on the other side.
Gaelan is behind me, and the rest of the guards fan out.
I see them moving into the empty houses, looking for other daemons.
Part of me hopes they find someone to kill.
The other not. Because that means Macy knows someone was here, it also means she could come back at any time.
Leah turns to Gaelan and nods toward the cage that was left.
The cage that I was in. Gaelan nods, and Leah goes over, placing her hand in it; it dissolves into dust. I haven't seen her use her powers yet. I also don’t spend a great deal of time with her to know what she can do.
From the looks of it, she has a deadly touch.
Gaelan takes my hand and leads me forward.
“What are we looking for?” I ask him
“Any sign someone has been back?”
I nod.
“Come closer, little one.”
“Almost.”
“We are bound but not forever.”
“So strong.”
“Come.”
“Come.”
The voices in my head reverberate around my skull, stronger than before. With these cuffs on, I didn’t think I would hear them like this.
“Gaelan?”
I lift my hands to my head and bow forward in pain. It feels like nails are being hammered into my head, trying to smash my skull open.
“Rose? What is it?” He reaches out to touch me, but I shrink away; the voices have gotten so loud.
“Find us.”
“Our lands.”
“The voices.”
“It’s ours.”
Shaking, I fall to my knees, and my stomach turns as the consuming voices threaten to choke me. The sand shifts under my hands, and the ground under me gives way. I frantically grab the air, trying to stop myself from falling, but it’s too late. I’m sucked into the hole.
Gaelan yells my name as I fall through the darkness, but I am falling too fast. Before I have time to catch my breath, I start to spin and flashes of light flicker across my vision. I clamp my eyes shut, afraid I’m going to throw up and scared because I don’t know where I’m falling to.
The sweetest of scents hits my face, and I suddenly freeze. Peeling my eyes open, I see that I am floating midair, a few feet from a grassy lawn. Fighting in the hold, I let out a scream as I’m dropped to the ground with a hard thud.
Green grass covers the ground, and flowers of vibrant colors—different shapes and sizes—are scattered all over. A waterfall up ahead flows into a vast lake, and the water looks like it’s made of diamonds when the sunlight catches the surface, making it sparkle. It’s stunning.
Something about this place feels like home. But something else makes a shiver run down my spine. It makes me want to run away. I look up to where I fell from and see no black hole; the sky is just the most perfect shade of blue. The same color blue of a hot summer’s day.
“Gaelan?” I shout, hoping that somehow he has fallen into this place with me. I know I’m not that lucky, “Gaelan!” I shout again, this time walking a few steps, though I’m still met with nothing.
I turn in a small circle to see if I can see an exit of any kind or a way out. It’s almost like I’m stuck in some sort of dream world. A golden glow up ahead snatches my attention. A woman stares at me.
“This is my dream,” I whisper to myself. A sense of Deja Vu washes over me, comforting me. Whoever this woman is, I don’t think she means me any harm. She lifts her hand and ushers me forward.
“Home.”
“Welcome.”
“Protected.”
“Missed us.”
“The power.”
“The key.”
The voices in my head start up again—a rush of babbling that is hard to make out. They are all trying to tell me something in a mix of words, sentences, and sounds. The cuffs are still on, I’m wondering why they are louder now.
“Come,” a voice whispers, making me frown.
The voices pause as if sensing something big is about to happen.
In my dreams, there were caves as high as you could see; here, there is just one cave with a gold glow emanating from it.
The woman disappears into the cave. As I follow her, I know this could be a bad idea, but something is urging me to do so.
The feeling of home and safety pierces my heart, making me want—need—to follow her.
The inside of the cave is pale pink. The walls have carvings and symbols, resembling something from ancient runes on the History Channel—markings of a lost world.
For a second, when I look at them, I can’t understand what they mean, but just like the book in Gaelan’s library, they start to shake and glow gold before turning into words I can read.
Stepping closer, I run my hand over them, the ridges bumpy under my touch.
I can feel the love and care that was etched into each one; they seem so familiar to me, as if these are my own words.
My skin tingles, a gold glow shoots out of the wall and wraps around my wrists.
A click echoes from my wrists, and the cuff snaps open, falling to the ground with a loud bang.
“I should never have made those stupid things.”
The voice startles me. Turning, a woman with eerie similarities to me stares back at me.
She has the same amber eyes and facial structure, but what I can see of her body is covered in small paragraphs, scroll writing, and symbols in gold, glowing in the dark.
She smiles. “Odd isn’t it, that they made us look so alike, the first and the last.”
“Who are you?”
She takes a step closer. “I am you, just an ancient version, although I’m not really here, the spells on the walls—our spells—made me possible.”
I frown and step back, unable to believe her. “I must be dreaming again,” I say more to myself than her.
She laughs. “No, I am not a dream. I am more of… a vision. We created me to make this next part a little easier.” She turns and walks farther into the cave. “Follow me”
Staring after her as she walks away, I finally see that she is dressed in a loose, white, backless robe. The attire makes the gold markings more visible—they cover her completely.
Will I look like her when I get my book back?
The deeper we move into the cave, the more I’m left gasping in awe.
It’s a dome-shaped rock cavern, carved from the same pink stone as the entrance; the roof glitters with what appears to be tiny diamonds, and the walls are adorned with spells and symbols in gold.
The power of each spell pulses over my skin, like it’s charging me.
In the center is a massive chest on a rock podium with steps leading up to it.
It’s made of gold and covered in words, these ones I can read—spells and incantations from a past that is clouded in darkness.
“It’s stunning, isn’t it?” She speaks.
“I’ve never seen anything like it.” I move closer and run my hand along the edge of the chest; it feels like it's vibrating with energy, my fingers tingling from the touch. “What do these symbols mean?” Symbols cover the chest: waves, fire, a rock, and swirls.
“They represent the elements, earth, air, fire, and water, all of which we can control without using the book. The spell book is an added extra, an extension of us and our power.”
“What do you mean?” My hands almost caress the chest again, unable to stop touching it; the allure makes me want to open it and see what’s inside.
The woman comes over to me and takes my hand, leading me to one side of the cave where there is a carving of some mountains.
“At the beginning, the devil created a power so strong, he knew his task for controlling. Hell would be too much for just him, so out of Hell, the Blood Bringer was born. With her power so great that at a young age, she was wanted by another.” She moves her hand over the carving, almost stroking it.
The scrapings in the rock resemble a black devil with horns and a tail; he has a spear protruding from his chest. “Tate came to Evilie and manipulated the Blood Bringer into killing the devil. He then stole her.”
The next carving depicts a young girl surrounded by gold and light. I find myself entranced by the care and detail that went into each one; it’s as if whoever created this wanted to ensure they were perfect, that the message was clear, and no detail was left out.
“The powers that be knew they would need someone to fight for all, they needed a power to fight for both good and evil—for heaven, Hell, and all the universes—to keep the balance. So, they made us,” she gives me a knowing glance.
“They made you.” She ushers me closer. Her words weigh on me, and my breath rushes in and out of my chest, as if I’m seconds away from a panic attack.
She continues unaware of my turmoil and fear.
“The Blood Bringer and The Book Reader. Both powerful, both deadly.” Her fingers toy with a carving of a book.
“Life has been cruel to us, with our power comes evil that wants to control it, to possess the Book Reader, to give them the ultimate power of everything…” My chest tightens; my stomach starts to flutter as if hundreds of butterflies have taken flight.
What if I let everyone down? What if I can’t be the power they need?
She comes to stand by my side, her hand reaches for me.
Her touch is meant to soothe me, but it doesn’t.
It burns with the weight of her words. “When you fully learn and accept the powers of the book, you will be unstoppable.”
What she is telling me is a lot to take in. I knew the book was going to be something huge. Now I’m wondering if I am truly strong enough to take on this power… to be the warrior everyone needs.
My eyes lock on the chest, the power from it pulsing along my skin, making me tingle with awareness. “Am I meant to kill them all?” I want to walk over to the chest; part of me wants to wrap my arms around it—keep it safe and hide whatever is inside. The rest of me is scared shitless.
She purses her lips. “We do what we must. The Blood Bringer will come for you, just as Tate and everyone else. Our power is like a beacon; we smell sweet in the air; they designed us that way.” Her voice softens as tears well up in her eyes.
“The powers that be wanted to make sure we could find any part of the world that needed balance.”
“They made us a target?” I ask, confused.
All the daemons that have been close to me have always said how sweet I smell.
The powers that be made us this way. This is why.
They find me so I can kill them. Great. “You must learn the powers, Ari. You must learn our powers—master them and become what has always been in our destiny. For this is our last.”
I frown. “What do you mean by last?”
She smiles softly. “We will not be reborn again after this. I am the first and you are the last.”
“Does that mean I am going to die again?”
She smiles and nods toward the chest. “Open it, Ari, all of the answers you need are inside. Do not fear the power, Arianna, it is what we were born to do, embrace it and let our birthright do what it needs to do.”
I laugh lightly at her use of words; it’s easy for her to say, ‘don’t fear it.
’ How can I not, when everything in my life seems to have been ripped from me because of this book?
My eyes close for a second to try to calm the storm that is raging in my stomach.
I’m either going to throw up or run away.
“What is your name?” I whisper, realizing she never told me.
“When I was born, they did not give me a name of my own; they called me the Book reader only. Gaelan named me Rose.”
I slowly peel my eyes open and smile. “He calls me that, too.”
“Because we smell like roses.” We say in unison and giggle.
She leads me over to the chest and places my hand on top of it. The chest vibrates under my touch, like it knows I am about to open it. “You have the key.”
I reach for my necklace and rip it off. It shakes in my hands before flying out and landing on top of the chest, a golden glow shoots up into the sky as it begins to melt and blend in with the gold key. The chest flies open, and everything goes black.