Chapter Twenty Three
In the dream, Marie was walking in the desert. The sun was high in the sky and it was scorching hot. She was running low on energy and strength. She wiped her brow and kept going. She had no idea where she was headed, but a heavy aura pulled her forward. Something in her mind said she was almost there. But where?
In the distance she spotted one lonely tree in the middle of nowhere. She thought it was probably a mirage, but she headed for it anyway. She got closer and saw a small patch of grass surrounding the tree. She fell to the ground and rubbed it to see if it was real. She scooted under the tree for shade and wished her power was to summon water instead of fire.
Right before her eyes, a fern began to grow out of the ground. Small white bulbs formed on the underside of the leaf then dropped off. The bulbs that fell began to produce new ferns. This went on for a few minutes until there was a plethora of ferns all around her.
She noticed one in particular that was yellowish green, with a dark green base. It didn't have the bulbs underneath it, but it still grew then withered to ash. Marie leaned forward to touch the ground where the fern was and the area was soft. She pushed down on it with both hands and fell through a hole.
It seemed like she was falling for forever. When she finally landed on solid ground, she looked up to watch the hole close up above her. It was completely dark in the cave. She wanted to retract her previous thought as she produce fire in her hand to have some light.
Long, creeping stems covered the rock and the space around her. She looked further into the distance and there was nothing but rock as far as she could see. It smelled dank and musty in the enclosed space and the air was stale.
She heard a low squeaking sound coming from somewhere in the cave. She walked further in trying to find another way out.
There was a soft flapping sound that gradually got louder as she moved forward. She lifted her flame higher in the air and saw gray bats coming toward her. She lit her other hand on fire and put it in front of her. The bats immediately flew upward and disappeared into a space above.
She continued on for a few minutes and found herself at a dead end. She pushed on the wall with one hand, feeling the space for any grooves. Nothing was there; she was stuck in the desolate hole. She sat down on the floor of the cave to take a minute and gather her thoughts. She controlled her breathing and waited.
She saw movement coming from the bank of the dark grotto. She held the fire up to get a better view. It looked like a spider web, but it was unlike anything she had ever seen. It was a thin layer of thread and the tube-shaped burrow was lined with silk and made to look like a four inch wide woven door of some kind. Stepping closer to it, she realized the entrance was sealed with a disguised web trapdoor.
She saw a black leg, the size of her thumb, peek from inside the burrowed hole. It felt around then the leg went back inside. A cricket crawled across one of the lines that extended out of the entrance, the door sprang open and the spider leaped out to capture the prey. The spider was huge.
Marie watched the spider, not able to tear her eyes away. Why would her mind conjure up the one phobia she had in the whole world? She fueled the flame in her hand. If the spider jumped at her, she would torch it.
She thought too soon. Her flame went out and she was once again immersed into darkness. She tried to produce another ball of light, but nothing happened. She started to panic.
She fumbled around in the dark, hoping she was walking in the right direction back to the entrance of the cave. She had to get as far away from the spider as she could.
As she walked in complete darkness, she could hear chains. She stopped walking to pinpoint where the sound was coming from, only the chains stopped moving, too. She started again and the chains did also. She tried to produce fire once more, still nothing.
She was lost in a cave with no resources and no sense of direction. She started to lose all hope. She was suddenly overwhelmed with grief and sadness. She leaned on the wall of the cave and began to cry.
A light flashed in front of her. She thought she was losing her mind, but the light began to grow. She had to turn her head as it was too bright to look at head on.
Finally the light dimmed and she saw a man slumped down in the dirt. His hands, and what she thought were feet, were bound by golden chains and his eyes were blindfolded.
He looked half human, half goat. His hair was long, dark and dirty with two small horns on his head. He had two stumps coming out of his back; she somehow knew they were once wings, which had been burned off. Where his legs and feet should have been were hooves, covered with black, dingy fur.
He raised his head up and smiled. His teeth were so white. He looked young, maybe twenty five years old, but she couldn't be sure. The aura around him was so wrong. Marie could feel that. He was stronger than her. He radiated power and it was intimidating. She looked around once more, thinking she should run, but the man laughed loudly and invaded her thoughts.
“ You can't leave until I let you go, ” he said in her head.
“Who are you?” she asked, trembling.
“You'll find out soon enough,” he said and stood up. He was almost seven feet tall, four hooves extending and scratching the ground. He crouched over to avoid hitting the roof of the cave and walked forward. He couldn't get far, the chains pulled him back to his spot.
“Why am I here?” Marie whispered in fear.
“I wanted you to endure my prison. Someone should know how it feels to be locked up here. Humph, you've only been here for a mere two hours. Me, I've been here for thousands of years. But my time is almost up. That's where you come in, my precious Marie.”
“What do you want from me?”
“You are the only one who can free me. I have been waiting on you for a long time, you see. You have the blood I seek; the blood that will free me from these chains. Once you do this for me, you will have a seat next to me when I rule the world.”
“And if I don't do this?”
The mans face turned evil, his expression grim. He scratched his chin before speaking again. “If you require incentive, I can give you that.”
He turned his head and Marie followed his gaze. A light shimmered on the other side of the cave. She stepped closer to see what it was. Two people lie in the dirt, chained as well. The woman had long, black hair that was covering her face. Her white dress was tattered and she had no shoes on.
The guy was unconscious, his head facing the back of the cave. His shirt was ripped in the back, showing a long cut down his spine, he was bleeding profusely. Marie gasped as she scanned them both closely. The woman had a dark circle, with three squiggly lines coming from it, on her ankle. Just like the one her mom showed her. It was her brand.
“Mom! Dad!” she yelled and ran toward them. The image faded and the cave went dark again. She still couldn't make any fire and it was frustrating her.
“What did you do to them?” she yelled into the dark.
The man appeared again. “Oh no, that wasn't me. My children did that. But it will be worse if you don't do what I want. I mean, you have so much to lose, but even more to gain; it's one of life's cruel jokes, I guess. I'm going to rise with or without you, but this way it won't take me another millennia. And you get to have your parents back and a nice seat next to me as my queen. I'm giving you the world on a silver platter.”
“But at what cost? People will get hurt and I know it.”
“Yes, that is a possibility, but its people you don't even know. And those angel friends of yours, what do you owe them? You haven't been an angel for long. Your world is amongst the humans. If you want, I'll spare Brenton, too. He can be our little pet.”
“If you think I'm going to help you escape, you're sadly mistaken,” she yelled.
“Awe Marie, I really wish you would reconsider,” he said and the image flashed in front of her again.
Her mom was looking around in a daze. She struggled against the restraints and the chains glowed every time, sending a seizure through her body.
“Mom,” Marie yelled out again.
Her mom heard her and searched around until she spotted Marie. Marie was crying uncontrollably.
“Baby don't listen to him. You don't have to do...” the image faded again.
“What's it going to be Marie?”
Marie paced the cave enraged.
“I know, you need time to think about it. I understand. I'm graciously giving you a week to come find me or I will come and get you. The answer is in your surroundings. After that, I will scalp mommy and daddy and still have plenty of time to come up with a way to torture you,” he smiled again and it sent chills up Marie's spine. “Now, it's time to wake up my dear.”
Marie woke up to a dark room, drenched in sweat. She made fire in one hand and looked around the room.
She mentally tried to reach out to her mom, but there was a block. She got up and found her cell phone. She tried calling her mom and dad's phone, but they both kept going straight to voicemail. It was real.
There was a knock on the door and Brenton walked in followed by her uncle. Both of them had a look of concern on their faces. They probably already knew. She burst out crying and Brenton was there to comfort her.