Augur of Shadows
Page 24
Henri and Siméon arrived at the corner of his block when Siméon noticed a change in the air. Henri noticed Siméon’s demeanor changed and could feel that he was on high alert. It wasn’t until they were approaching Henri’s house that they both noticed that the trip wasn’t going to be a happy one. Henri saw that his house was posted like a crime scene. Henri saw the yellow crime scene tape all over his small block.
“Henri, be careful,” Siméon warned.
“What’s going on?” Henri had a million ideas racing through his mind.
“Allow me.” Siméon placed his hand on the ground to see if he could get an image of what happened. He connected with the spirits in the area, and he chanted a Haitian prayer his mother always taught him as a child.
The wind instantly picked up, notifying Henri that Siméon was communing with the spirits. The surrounding spirits shared the past events of the area to Siméon. The expression on his face told Henri that something horrible happened.
“Siméon, what happened?” Henri was worried.
“Henri, we have to get inside. Now!” Siméon demanded. He grabbed Henri by the hand, and they broke through the crime scene tape to ascend up the stairs.
Henri immediately ran inside, “Mom! Where are you?” He ran into every room to see any signs of his mother. His worst nightmare had come to pass, and he sobbed uncontrollably.
“Henri…Henri, please calm down.”
Siméon knew that Henri had lost both his parents, and there wasn’t anything that he could do.
Every negative thought ran through Henri’s mind. He hated that he was just thinking about all the happiness in the world despite what he had to do, but presently, he hated that he didn’t know the whereabouts of his mother.
“Henri, look,” Siméon pointed to his mind’s eye, suggesting that Henri needed to see what happened to his mother. Henri looked at Siméon with terror in his eyes, dreading what he already knew.
“Just tell me, Siméon,” Henri demanded.
“Ma chèri, I can’t,” Siméon, unfortunately, admitted to Henri.
Henri hesitantly closed his eyes in order to receive a vision. He saw the memory of Kali and himself, having the discussion about giving something up in order to open the gateway. Henri gasped at the thought. Tears flowed down his cheeks uncontrollability, and Henri screamed, “No!”
“I am sorry, Henri. I know that it is painful, but you must keep seeing,” Siméon said to him. He saw himself agreeing to pay the price and opening the gateway. His mind’s eye took him to his house. His mother saw the same golden sigil in the sky. She admired the beautiful symbols associated with the spinning mystery.
The sigil exploded into a million pieces, and at the same moment, his mother’s soul left the physical plane, and her lifeless body fell to the ground. Henri saw his mother’s once lively body lay on the ground without a soul.
Henri fell to his knees, sobbing uncontrollably at the loss of his mother.
“Henri, come here. I am so sorry.” Siméon pulled Henri into his arms. Henri was hysterical and couldn’t stop the tears from falling down his cheeks. “I killed my mother!”
“Henri, you did not kill your mother.” Siméon’s heart sank for Henri. He wished that he had the right thing to say to him, but he also understood that Henri had to work through his feelings.
“I have no one, Siméon. My dad is gone, and now, my mom.”
“Henri, I am so sorry.” Siméon was lost for the right words to console him.
“I never got to apologize to her. She died thinking that she did something wrong.” Henri wiped the tears away, and he headed to his mother’s room. The instant he knew that she was dead was the moment when his attachment to the house no longer existed.
He searched his mom’s room for an heirloom of hers. Henri looked through all of her belongings, and he almost gave up. As he was walking out of the room, he saw the chain of her favorite necklace. He grabbed it off the dresser. It was the locket with a picture of his parents and him months before his dad passed away.
“Let’s get back to Etlina, Henri. Okay?”
Henri agreed as his emotions were unstable.
“Okay, let’s go. We have work to do,” Henri mumbled. Siméon walked outside, leaving Henri inside for a moment. When Henri reached the door, he took one last glance at his former life. He replayed the few memories that he and his mother made in the home, “Mom…Dad…I will make the both of you proud. I love you both so much.” Henri walked outside, and he closed the door, “Let’s go, Siméon.” They both walked back towards the subway, realizing that the stakes of the game were real, and how no one was completely safe from the decisions of their fate.
EPILOGUE
GERMANY
The moon was full and bright, and the majestic entity played its siren song with its rings of light and harmony. The rays of the moon hit the surface of the nearby lake, displaying a blurred image of its reflection. The game that the moon and its reflection played was Hans’ favorite part of the night.
“I can’t go back to sleep. I keep seeing this woman with blue skin and a sword. She is fighting something with red skin. Who is this woman? And who is the thing with red skin?” Hans spoke out loud as he stared at the starry sky.
He was heading back to his bed when he heard a rhythmic, reciprocating tone coming from outside. He covered his ears, but the sound still pierced through into his mind. He looked up into the sky, and he saw a brilliant bright blue light in the sky.
Hans tried to focus to see what the light was, but the light was too bright for him to get a good look at it. “What is that? It is… so… beautiful.” He couldn’t take his eyes off the light and listened to the rhythmic tone. The light exploded, releasing a wave of mysterious energy. The wave coursed through the nearby forest, instantly destroying every plant and animal. The energy struck Hans, levitating him off the ground. The energy pulsated throughout his body, allowing Hans to receive an image.
A hot, deserted mountainous place, with miles of skulls scattered all throughout, containing pillars that reached through the heavens. There were inscriptions all along the pillars, containing images of the past, present and future.
In the center of the deserted place, stood a platform with a golden throne at its helm. The woman in blue was battling the beast with red skin and black horns. She was as fast as the wind and moved as a true warrior queen. The beast had thousands of minions at his disposal.
And, then there was a boy who had fallen to the ground. He looked exhausted and beaten. He fought to get up so that he could help the woman in blue, but at last, he was unsuccessful. The boy continued to look between the battle happening in front of him and the giant sigil in the sky. Finally, the sigil exploded due to the amount of energy built up.
Hans’ attention was adverted by voices in his head, “Hans, don’t you worry. We will take care of you. You must set us free. We need to be free. We can explain to you what you saw, and we can help you understand your purpose. You are special, young one. Just you wait and see how important you are,” the group of voices stated without showing Hans their identities.
“Purpose… I have a purpose?” Hans saw a blip of hope in his life. He hated his home life. His father passed out after his nightly drunken games of torturing him.
“Oh…yes… you are important to the grand design. And, you are very, very important to us,” the voices uttered in unison.
“Okay, what do I need to do?” Hans asked the voices inside his head.
“First off, you must travel to Haiti. Once you get to a city called Port-au-Prince, we will explain the rest to you. You must listen to us. And you must go now,” the group explained to Hans.
Hans leaped from his bed so that he could pack. He stopped for a moment. He glanced into his mirror, and he noticed that his eyes had a red tint to them and a darkened shadow surrounded his body.
He realized that the light in the sky must have done something to him, and he liked how he felt. He felt more alive, and he
finally knew that he had a purpose despite his father’s opinion. Hans was ready to handle anything that came his way. He packed a bag of clothes, and he left his house in the dark of night, not knowing what he was going to do, but he knew that the voices wouldn’t lead him astray.
Until Next Time…
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jacob John Rundle was born in Galesburg, IL. He attended Knox College and earned a degree in Russian Language and Literature. After graduating college, he joined the Navy where he served eight years, as a Nuclear Engineer. After his time in the Navy, he moved to New Orleans to pursue his passion for writing.
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