“I didn’t know then, but her actions would lead to my destruction," the woman said as she released her hair and grabbed her rod. She jabbed it fiercely into the fire once more, her movement strong and direct. Shadows danced violently across the walls in response.
“She claimed I could trade my heart for all the knowledge in the world and then rushed out of the room. She came back with an old book. It was written in an ancient language that’s no longer used, but my mother deciphered enough of it to learn about Aeternam Scientia, the trade for Eternal Knowledge.”
"Eternal Knowledge?" Is that why Lyle had traded his heart to Schism? He, too, enjoyed learning about everything. Was there some knowledge about our parents that he wanted?
"Yes," the woman snapped, causing me to, once again, lace my fingers and squeeze. She eyed the reaction but said nothing. "Aeternam Scientia, or Eternal Knowledge, is an ancient magic that was thought to have disappeared. It’s a strong-willed power that is deadly to those who are too weak to contain it. Those who possess Eternal Knowledge are able to influence and control the will of anyone who crosses their path."
I swallowed the knot building in my throat as the hair on my neck stood on end. I prayed it wasn't true, but I feared that was exactly what Lyle had traded his heart for.
“A man who was tall and handsome to the average eye stood on the page she had shown me. He was facing another man who was kneeling before him, offering his heart toward the Heavens. I remember my mother pointing excitedly at the page, saying how I could learn all the secrets about our realm and the realms around us.” Pulling the rod out of the fire, she tightened her grip on it. “I almost agreed with her until I turned to the next page.”
The woman drifted away from the fire toward the bowls, her shoulders sagging slightly as she let out a heavy sigh. She rummaged through them until she found a bright lavender one, a beautiful color I hadn't seen in years.
Taking a rusted kettle from an adjacent table, she poured a brown liquid into the lavender bowl before squaring her shoulders and striding back to the broken chair. “Remember how I said the siti were once human?” she asked before sitting.
I nodded.
“Well,” she murmured, her eyes distant. “Once you give up your heart for Eternal Knowledge, you become a monster worse than the siti. Your mind is unable to handle the knowledge around you, and you continuously thirst for any source of life to give you more knowledge. You go mad. You don’t eat. You don’t sleep You’re unable to live in any world except the one of the monster who gave you the knowledge. And that's only because your heart is just like his: black.”
A chill of horror ran through my heart as I remembered the nightmare that had haunted me for the past seven years, confirming my earlier suspicions that it was true.
The woman sipped from her bowl again, examining the liquid after she swallowed. “My father grabbed the book out of my mother’s hands and cast it into the fire, yelling she was insane. He tried to reconcile with her, but it was too late.” She sipped more of the brown liquid. “Her eyes began to blacken, and her voice sounded as if many people were speaking through her."
"What did they say?" I asked, wrapping my arms around my waist as I leaned forward, engrossed and terrified at the woman's tale.
“‘A trade has been made. We will have the heart, or you will perish.’”
Another chill shot through me, and I unwrapped my arms, squeezing my fingers together, which drew a frown from the woman as she looked back into her bowl, swirling the contents once more.
“I thank the Heavens for my father in that moment, because I was frozen where I stood. He grabbed his favorite walking rod from the wall and battered my mother, whatever she was, out of the way without hesitation. Grabbing my hand, we ran out of our home toward the market.
“When we got to his office, he began taking off his clothes, telling me to change into them. I never questioned him.” She looked up from her bowl and stared at the curved, stone wall to my side, clutching one of the buttons on her vest. “He then performed my Extraction in a matter of moments.” She placed her hand on her chest where her heart should have been. “I’ll never forget how it felt to be ripped in two.”
Opening my mouth, the beginning of a question was on the tip of my tongue, but I stopped, watching the woman stare at the far wall, lost in the past.
“He told me to run far away, and he would follow as soon as he could." She paused before looking back at me, a slight glimmer of tears in her eyes. "I was so scared. I turned to leave but was thrust back by a . . . force. When I sat back up, the man from the book stood in front of me." She shuddered. "I'll never forget the first time I saw those yellow snake eyes."
She looked down at the liquid again, rotating the bowl in silence.
I placed my hand on my beating heart in my pocket. Heat flowed through my palm. "What happened?"
Sighing, she shrugged off her earlier emotions. "My dad ran away, the Beast took me captive, and here we are."
I stared, wide-eyed in disbelief. Was she really unmoved or just acting like it? It was obvious she could still feel, despite having an Extraction, but that story was horrendous.
I watched the woman continue to sip from her bowl before she poked at the plaster around my leg.
"Sorry about the long ramble. I haven't talked to anyone in a while."
I looked away briefly, fidgeting with Lyle’s sweater. "What happened to your heart?”
“Don’t know.” She shook her head and shrugged again. “But I know it’s still out there.”
“How?” My fingers clutched the fabric as I looked at her.
She shot me a wide grin. “Because I haven’t given up. Though these years have been torture, I know I won’t stay in this cursed realm forever. The Beast can try to take my heart, but he’ll never take my hope.” All too soon, the grin faded. "If I don't hold onto that, what else do I have to live for?"
My heart reached out to the woman, knowing the same feeling.
“You see,” the woman said, looking at me, her smirk returning. “You and I are the same. We’re both damned because of the choice of someone else.”
I stared at her, trying to hide my surprise. “How do you know I’m here for someone else?”
The woman shook her head, letting out a soft chuckle. “Don’t be stupid, girl. No one with a pure heart would plunge into Ophidian’s Realm for themself.” She stood up, leaning her weight on her black rod. “I’m here because my possessed mother tried to trade my heart to the Beast. The question is, who are you here for?”
I swallowed the lump building in my throat. Though I hadn't wanted to be a worthless burden in Barracks, I knew I wouldn't survive here alone. But I didn’t know anything about this woman. Could I trust her not to attack me like the siti had? And what if this was all a trick to lure me to Ophidian?
I looked down at my leg. The plaster had begun to dissolve, revealing the smooth contours of my skin, perfectly healed as if nothing had happened. This woman had healed me. She had saved my life without knowing who I was. The least I could do was trust her.
Taking a readied breath, I attempted to bend my knee and stretch my leg. The rush of warm blood gushed through my veins as the feeling returned. When I looked back to the woman, she gave a confident smile, as if knowing and understanding why I had doubted her.
“I’m here for my brother,” I said, swinging my legs over the side of the bed. “He chose to trade his heart and walk through one of Schism’s doors seven years ago. I haven’t seen him since.”
The woman nodded, her face hard. “What’s his name?”
“Lyle.”
Her eyes bulged as her shoulders tensed, straightening her body as stiff as the rod she held.
Fear struck my heart as I watched the transformation. The beating in my pocket rapidly thumped against my leg.
“Do you know him?" I asked anxiously.
The woman nodded slowly, her face changing once more from horror to grief. “I know all who walk th
rough the doors. It’s my job to see them through the Seven Choices.”
“The what?”
Before she could answer, a loud moaning came from a short distance away. My blood turned cold as I recognized the call of the siti.
The woman looked at me, her eyes hard. “No time to explain.” She ran to the back room. In seconds, she was back with a bundle in her hands.
“Here,” she said, shoving a shirt and pair of black pants at me. “You’re like a signal calling them with your heart so exposed and wearing that awful dress." She crinkled her nose. "Change quickly if you want to survive.”
I stripped off Lyle’s sweater and the dress and changed into the black pants and shirt, pulling Lyle’s sweater over it. Reaching into the pocket of the dress, I removed my heart, noticing it wasn't as bright and red as before.
“Whoa,” the woman exclaimed, staring at my heart.
“Do you have something I can carry it in?” I asked, trying to hide it from her gawking eyes.
The woman nodded and sprinted to the back room. When she returned, she held a leather satchel and opened the front flap. Carefully, I wrapped my heart in the tatters of the dress and placed it in the satchel before taking it from the woman and slinging the strap across my body.
“Excellent.” She smiled widely, placing the strap of another bag over her shoulder. “So, your brother. You want to find him?”
I nodded, though I was unsure of what finding Lyle entailed.
“Very good." The woman smiled again, then placed her hand on her chest where her heart should be. “Well, strange girl, I swear on the empty cavity in my chest that I will help you find your brother at any cost.”
I blinked a few times at the strange promise. “Thank you.”
With a satisfied look, she turned and began to walk toward the front door.
“Wait! I don’t even know your name.”
Pausing, the woman looked over her shoulder. “Claire Magnum.”
Chapter 12
As we raced through the void, Claire yelled, "There are Seven Choices within Ophidian's Realm that every person who trades must go through." The scratching and moaning had faded into the distance, but not far enough for my liking. "At the end, if you survive, Ophidian will give you what you seek. If you're not stupid, you just might be able to have Lyle returned to you and escape this place alive."
Claire shoved the lantern at me to hold as she gripped her rod. As we ran, the fog began to clear, revealing a door with the same rounded arch as Schism's doors. My muscles tensed, straining my heartbeats. Another door? Wasn't the first one enough?
Yet, instead of it being painted blood-red, the door was blue like the sky in Barracks used to be. Panting hard, we stopped in front of the door.
"What do you mean by 'Choices?’" I asked, placing my hand on the satchel to make sure my heart was still there. The steady thrumming eased my anxiety as I looked up to see Claire holding a set of keys, each one worn and rusted.
Claire let out an irritated sigh as she flipped through them, her creased brow resembling Doctor Magnum’s, until she found the one she was looking for. She held it out to me. The light reflected off what little metal could be seen beneath the rust as I shined the lantern over her gloved palm. Studying the key quickly, I could barely make out the head of a goat molded into the top. Before I could ask what it meant, Claire spoke again. This time, though, her voice was not her own.
A silky voice came from Claire’s mouth, dancing with pompous undertones. "Welcome to my realm, Adelaide. I knew you would find your way here one day."
I gripped the strap on the satchel with both hands, squeezing it as terror flooded through my heart. Claire's eyes hadn't turned black like the siti, but a thick, white fog clouded her gaze. Though the voice was speaking through Claire's mouth, I had a good idea who and what I was talking to.
"Where's my brother?" I demanded, attempting to sound brave.
Claire laughed a deep chuckle, making the hairs on my neck stand on edge as I squeezed the satchel strap harder.
"Quick to the point," the voice muttered. "I always liked that about you, Adelaide. Your brother has been keeping me company for quite some time now. I must say, he's quite the ambitious young man."
I unclasped my hands from the strap, balling them into fists. "What have you done with him?"
"Nothing he didn't choose." A wicked smile contorted Claire's face. "The only way you will reach him is if you choose the same as he did."
Claire wrapped her fingers around the goat key and walked toward the light blue door. She began to put the key in the lock when her arm paused, shaking.
"No," Claire's normal voice pled, straining against the other voice. "This isn't right. She didn't trade . . ." She began to pull her arm away. It stopped mid-air as she tried to fight the being controlling her.
She wrestled with the invisible force. One hand gripped the other, fighting to keep the key away from the lock, pulling and straining. I wanted to help, but I had no idea what to do.
Claire's arm wavered. In that small moment, her hand shot forward, shoving the key into the lock. While she sunk to the ground, her eyes shifted from white to hazel for just a moment. "I'm sorry," she whispered before her eyes glazed over once more.
Quickly standing, she twisted the key in the lock, causing the door to fly open. A rush of warm air blew through the doorway, wrapping around me. I crossed my arms in front of my face, shielding it from whatever may appear. But it wasn't what was coming out that was the problem. The air reversed and, as quickly as it had rushed out, it rushed back in, sucking me—and only me—into its depths.
I grappled for anything to hold onto. “Claire!" I screamed over the rushing wind. "Claire!"
But Claire stood quietly, watching with her fogged eyes as I slipped further away.
The door immediately shut, fading from sight, leaving the lantern as my only light. Cautiously, I took a step, praying to the Heavens that this wasn't a lair filled with siti. As my foot hit the ground, nothing happened. No gray path appeared. No light to show the way. I was once again alone.
Thankful for the lantern, I gripped the handle, listening to the darkness. The only sound that filled the void was the soft thumping of my frightened heart.
Clutching the strap of the satchel, I took a few hesitant steps as I held the lantern in front of me to light the way. Each step I took led me farther into the darkness, with no known exit ahead.
As I traveled deeper into the void, a green haze began to flow toward me, surrounding the ground around my ankles. Gasping, I took a few steps back, only to be met by something hard. I turned, expecting to see the light blue door again, but was greeted by a stone wall. I placed my hand on the cold stone. The wall wasn't there a moment ago. I pushed my hands against it, thinking it would move. It didn’t. I was trapped.
The green fog swirled up around my knees. The air thickened with heat and humidity. Beads of sweat formed on my neck as I frantically held up the satchel, trying to keep my heart as far away from the haze as I could. My knees trembled with fear. I wasn't sure what the haze was, but nothing in Ophidian's Realm could be good.
The haze moved faster, rising to my chest. The spirals thickened, spinning faster as they circled me. It seemed alive and eager for a fresh meal.
I stood on my tiptoes, trying to hold my heart as high as I could above my head. The haze reached my chin, its earthy scent trying to tickle its way up my nose, tempting me to breathe it in. Knowing there was only one way this could end, I took a deep breath before the haze reached my mouth, ready to hold it for as long as I could.
The fog felt thicker, spinning around me like a violent hurricane. The haze smothered the lantern, extinguishing the last source of light I had left. My heart cried out with fear as darkness surrounded it. My lungs weakened, begging for air, but I knew if I took a breath, it would be my last.
The haze enclosed me, bathing my body in its intoxicating scent. I tried to hold on, but I couldn’t much longer. The deep gr
een fog had engulfed me, squeezing and constricting my body. Tears ran from my eyes as I held in my breath, but I couldn't hold it any longer. I gasped for air, allowing the green haze to plunge down my throat.
Chapter 13
The haze continued to pour into my mouth, filling my throat with an awful burnt taste. Straining, I tried to close my lips, but couldn’t. More and more haze filled my lungs. I coughed, trying to rid it from my throat, but only more haze entered until—
It didn't taste so bad.
The haze felt smooth, like a soothing syrup sliding down my throat.
All at once, my arms slumped to my sides, allowing the satchel to hit against my leg. I looked down. Why did I have this satchel again? I drew in another deep breath and sighed with delight. Whatever was in the air was delicious. I tried to take a step and stumbled to the ground, barking out a loud laugh.
"Hey, there, honey," an enticing voice said from the hazy shadows.
Struggling to stand, I smiled at the stranger. The green haze around him illuminated his high cheekbones and lush pink lips. His sun-kissed skin sparkled as the haze swirled through his wavy, brown locks. I let out a small gasp. He was the most handsome man I had ever seen.
"Hey, there." I waved, wriggling my fingers childishly. I looked down and saw a bag hanging from my arm. The haze cleared from my mind. There was a reason why I had come here.
I took in a deep breath, and my muscles relaxed once more.
The man wobbled forward and slinked a lanky arm around me, placing his full weight on my shoulders. "Come on, honey."
Who was this guy? He didn't feel familiar. He didn't feel like . . . I took in a breath. What was I thinking about? I breathed in again and looked over at him. We were going somewhere. I wrapped my arm around his thin waist as we helped each other walk to our destination.
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