Realm Wraith

by T. R. Briar

  “You want me to play the babysitter.”

  “Something like that.”

  “I see,” Darrigan laughed. “And what is it you plan to do? Are you going to seek an alliance with an Abyss Lord?”

  “Oh God, no.”

  “I see. I think I understand.”

  “You do?”

  Darrigan smirked. “You think you can learn to do that at will don’t you? Shifting between the realms like we do? You did it when you sought that woman. You’ve done it other times by accident.”

  “You’ve found me out. I want to get better at that, but I can’t if it means staying with the group.”

  “Isn’t that a little selfish? Even if you do master it, all it’ll let you do is run away when danger presents itself. You’d be abandoning the others to save yourself.”

  “No! It’s not like that. It’s hard to explain. I can’t walk anymore, you’ve seen that. But I can walk in Hell. I can run in Hell. Yet I still feel trapped. Knowing I can just whim myself anywhere is amazing, and I want to learn to do it when I please. I think maybe if I do, I can understand that world better.”

  “That’s a foolish ambition. The Abyss can’t be known, not by a human.”

  “I suppose not. But I still want to try.”

  “All right, I’ll humor you. I’ll watch the others, and I’ll leave you alone when you’re awake. But, you will owe me. And there is one important thing I must stress.”

  “Which is?”

  He felt Darrigan’s clawed hand grasping his chin, forcing him to make eye contact. The burning white orbs before glowed, reminding Rayne once more of his companion’s otherworldly nature, sending a slight chill through him.

  “Whatever you do,” the reaper warned, “do not go to Tomordred’s realm. You like swimming, I noticed that. But if you go there, your existence is forfeit. In the same manner, if you should find yourself in Azaznir’s domain, I want you to get out of there, as fast as you can.”

  “I understand Tomordred, but why Azaznir?”

  “Do I really have to spell it out? I’m sure you felt it while you were there. The heat and flames caused you intense suffering. And you don’t want to know what would happen if Azaznir himself should find you.”

  “So avoid those two places, got it.”

  “There is no safe place for you within the Abyss. They are all equally dangerous, but I feel those two places are the worst for a Realm Wraith like yourself. You must avoid them at all costs. Promise me this.”

  “All right, I promise.”

  Darrigan dug his bony fingertips deeper into Rayne’s chin. “This isn’t just a flippant agreement. Swear to me you will avoid those places!”

  Rayne’s eyes continued to meet his. “Fine. I swear I will not actively seek out Tomordred and Azaznir’s domains.”

  “Very good. Then I shall play the part of babysitter while you come to learn you cannot understand the Abyss.”

  “Brilliant. Now how about you put me back in my body?”

  Darrigan forced his hand down, still holding on to Rayne’s face, and shoved him straight through the roof. He fell through the roof and several floors until he found himself in his own flat. What followed was brief, yet still terrifying, his own body reaching out and sucking him in, that feeling of being trapped, struggling to escape in vain, before snapping back to reality as he woke up on his sofa.

  There was no sign of Darrigan. He had probably returned to the Abyss, keeping his promise to leave him alone. Rayne felt a weight lifted off his back. It wasn’t that his presence was a horrible reminder of the life he was leading now, as much as he was beginning to feel smothered by the reaper’s persistence.

  He could hear David walking around in another room, and glanced at a nearby clock. It was getting late; his little adventure had taken most of the day. He wondered if the passage of time was more disjointed in the Abyss. He had no way of gauging how much time passed while he was there, but it had still been morning when Darrigan brought him to that house, and he had only slipped into the Abyss for a matter of seconds, yet when the demon had rescued him, it was late afternoon, and they had been so far away from where they started. He mused over this, thinking about how he traveled within that world. Time and space did not follow normal laws. He knew he had to be aware of this if he really wanted to move freely.

  “Oh, you’re awake,” David had come out from the study into the kitchen, noticing Rayne sitting there on the sofa. “You were sleeping so peacefully earlier, I was afraid to wake you. Did you have a nice nap?”

  “I really looked that peaceful?”

  “Yes, very serene. Like you didn’t have a care in the world.”

  “Wish I’d been here to see it.”

  “It’s good that you’re getting your rest. I was starting to worry; you only go to bed when I make you, and now’s not the best time for you to be losing sleep.”

  “Since I had a nap now, are you still going to make me go to bed tonight?”

  “You’re damn right I am.”

  Chapter 8

  When night fell, and Rayne fell asleep once more, he found himself again on a neutral wasteland, barren, empty save for rocks and piles of bones. Nobody else walked these plains, only himself. He hoped Darrigan had kept his promise to watch over the others in his absence. Gabriel would be unhappy. Apolleta would probably be frightened, but she seemed very willful, and wouldn’t overreact. As for that other woman, he wondered about her, if she’d be with the group, or if she’d be lost again.

  He found the neutral zones quite bland. Less chaotic and confusing, certainly, but it didn’t make them a better alternative. He decided now was as good a time as any to initiate his plans.

  He remembered Darrigan’s words about each of the seven realms. They all sounded thoroughly unpleasant, and of course he’d promised to avoid two of them completely. Of those that remained, he felt the forest the demon had described seemed the least awful, ruled by a god who didn’t give a rot if people encroached her lands. He closed his eyes, feeling the stillness in the black air around him. He tried to picture in his mind a forest, the sort of forest one would expect in the Abyss. Something dead, with leafless trees. A dark haunted wood written out of a horror story. But he felt nothing, no numb feeling, no sense of passing. When he opened his eyes, he was still on the empty plain.

  Maybe it only works if I’ve been there before? he wondered. But in the past, he’d never been to any of the places before warping himself there. Maybe I need to connect with someone. He realized now, both times he had been taken to Azaznir’s realm, and both times he’d been drawn to Apolleta. It dawned on him how foolish he was to think this would be simple. He couldn’t just leap between worlds; it took other Realm Wraiths like himself to draw his presence to them.

  Sitting down on the rocky dry earth, he tried to make himself more comfortable, crossing his legs and gazing up at the blackness above him. He closed his eyes, though it made no difference visually, staring at the sky or not seeing anything at all. He tried again to picture the forest, imagining what sort of creatures could dwell in such a place. He felt a little morbid, trying to imagine the most horrible things he could think of, and he had to tell himself it was necessary. But the harder he tried to think, the harder it became to picture anything.

  “Maybe I’m going about this all wrong,” he sighed. This time he tried to clear his mind, leaving it a complete blank, just letting stray unconscious thoughts enter. He felt a sense of haziness, the same fog in his mind when he tried to remember his childhood.

  “This place,” he murmured, his voice soft, almost monotonous. “It’s connected to the gods. It’s a part of them, so if I want to travel, I need to connect to them as well?” The thought was rather horrifying. In his mind he saw something, a deep cavern, devoid of all light save a tiny cobalt glow from an unknown source. Within the deep darkness he saw a form, bent over itself, thin and gangly. From its pale, blue flesh grew roots, many roots, seeping into the stone walls of the cavern, eac
h root covered in black colored moss that hung like tarry cobwebs. The figure stirred, turning what could only be described as a head covered in thick matted hair made of even more moss. Its face was obscured in shadow save for one circular white orb, rimmed with red light that flashed and pulsed. A mouth opened, creaking like a door that had not been used for quite some time, opening unnaturally wide, as it weren’t even attached, and it hung there, open, a lower lip that barely held its grip, almost skeletal.

  You are—? The voice lacked sound, possessing the sensation of a stale breeze, yet he heard it inside his mind, quiet, like the wind whispering through tree branches. It tore through his head, an inconceivable force that shredded the inside of his skull. Rayne screamed, but the numbing feeling already gripped him, and something dragged him far, far away.

  He forced his eyes open. The wasteland was gone. Above him towered trees, many of them, white and bone-like. Their branches stretched far, splitting into a myriad of smaller branches that wove together tightly, forming a ceiling of some sort above the path he now walked. Through the gaps in the branches shone a blinding white light, devoid of warmth, that scattered the shadows of the trees and branches in such a way that made everything appear far darker than it should be.

  He stood on a wide path that cut through the forest in an odd manner, formed of a dark grey soil tinted blue in the light. On either side of the path the dirt rose up in steep hills taller than he was, with trees growing on top of these ledges. Every so often along these twin dirt walls, a tree root jutted out, extending itself into the ground of the pathway.

  The forest was filled with a multitude of creaking sounds, like the bending and twisting of joints, and the musical clanking of bones shifting. Within the white trees, there were many skeletons, some partially merged into the bark and branches, moving and shuffling on their own, as there was no sign of any wind or any outside force that could cause them to move. Many of them turned to look at Rayne with empty eye sockets, but made no other changes in their motion. There were some skeletons that still had flesh on them, but it appeared as though the skin and muscle had been picked apart, torn by something sharp. He could hear the rustling of wings, the cackling of birds, off in the distance.

  “This was a bad idea,” he whispered. Glancing up and down both directions of the path, he saw no end in sight to the forest in either direction. And here out in the open, nothing could hide him, or shield him should a hungry predator set its sights upon him. He shuffled to the side of the path, pressing himself up against the wall of dirt. He glanced over at the root near to him. White and skeletal, it twitched, coated in that same sticky-looking ebony moss. Now that he was here, he had no clue as to how he’d escape. Trying to sense the ruler of this world brought him here and that thought terrified him, as she knew he was in her domain now. What’s more, he had no real way to escape back to neutral territory, which had no gods. He couldn’t try the same trick again if he wanted to escape, not without ending up someplace worse. He tried to reassure himself with what Darrigan had told him, that the god of the forest hid herself, and nobody ever saw her.

  The sound of creaking came from close by, yet Rayne couldn’t determine a clear direction. Almost as if it came from everywhere, and yet very near. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the root near him begin to move, and he scooted away. Its silky, smooth movements resembled a graceful white arm. It pulled itself up from the earth, waving up and down. Smaller branches grew from its surface, extending themselves toward him.

  A rustling sound shook right behind Rayne, and through the dirt wall another root plunged its way out of the soil, ensnaring him before he could so much as blink. Once again he heard that voice tearing through his mind, a little less quiet this time, but it had a deceptively gentle tone to it, as if it mocked his precarious situation.

  Were you thinking of leaving so soon? the voice asked him.

  “I-I—” Even Rayne’s voice was strangled now.

  There is no need to speak. Your thoughts are known to me.

  Rayne could feel a smaller branch extending from the root holding him, pressing up against the side of his skull, boring into it. He felt no pain, but there was an unholy feeling that came with it, one that threatened to shatter his sanity as he felt his thoughts being twisted and jostled around, and he began to thrash about.

  Don’t be so dramatic, the mellow voice continued. This is what you want, isn’t it? To remember? Isn’t that why you came here?

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” gasped Rayne, trying to pull his head away from this thing.

  I told you, there is no reason to speak, Rayne. So you are a soul who drifts between worlds, calling yourself a Realm Wraith? And you wish to understand this place? Delightful.

  “Can you get out of my head? Please? This isn’t the proper way to talk to people.”

  I like to feel connected to all the souls in my forest. And you were the one that first reached out to me through the great void. It is rare for a ‘Realm Wraith’ to come here, though. The white branch stirred itself inside Rayne’s head, and he could feel the clear presence of another being inside him, sifting through his thoughts and memories. I see. So that’s what happened.

  The notion drifted in Rayne’s mind, the idea that she could help him uncover his lost memories, but he knew it would come at a price.

  All things have a price. I could speak so much of your memories, but would you really want me to? Are you truly ready to know? And would you even believe me if I told you?

  “I don’t know,” he whispered, wondering about his own gullibility. Be he also felt doubt, a looming threat that he had done something regretful, and that the memory of it would be too much for him to handle. This creature’s mind mingled with his, and it frightened him to feel that his thoughts weren’t his own anymore. A being beyond measure held him in her claws. This was a deity, a god among demons.

  Kaledris? the voice tore through his mind again. Some mortals know me by that. I have many names.

  Through his mind Rayne felt many more epithets rushing into his thoughts. Some were familiar, the titles of creatures and gods he’d heard in legends and myths. Others were stranger, unknown terms in languages beyond his understanding. And there was a sense that there was one name that none dared to speak, a name he could not hear as it was veiled from him by the entity whose thoughts mixed with his.

  Yes, my true name cannot be spoken or fathomed by any mortal being. To even hear it would bring immense suffering and madness, and to speak it, that would nullify one’s existence entirely. Kaledris will do, if you wish to address me.

  It surprised Rayne to think that something as simple as a word could be so destructive.

  The words of our kind are more than any language. It is something primal, woven into the very fabric of the universe. The true names of all demons are spoken in such a way; it binds them as a part of their existence. To know a demon’s true name is to control them. But for the primordial creators of the Abyss, our names cannot be spoken or perceived by any but our kin. The weak cannot use our names against us.

  “Why are you telling me—”

  I can feel it in your mind. You want to understand the Abyss, do you not?

  “But I don’t—”

  Your mind contradicts your words. That is why I told you not to speak.

  His eyes narrowed; he really didn’t like her deciding what he felt.

  So wary. Do you not trust me? You seem to think I’m merely giving you hints of information to lure you in. Come now, you should know better than that. Our minds are one. Just as I sense your thoughts, you can feel the faintest hints of mine as well, can you not? Look deeper, Rayne. You seek understanding, and I am offering it to you.

  He never imagined the invitation would tempt him the way it did. He tried to tell himself he wasn’t curious, yet he found it harder and harder to deny it. He felt a sick sense of foreboding, that this demon was feeding off of his thoughts, telling him what he wished to hear, stalling to
make him stay as she tore his mind apart. But he couldn’t help himself anymore. He sensed this other being’s self as if it were a part of him, luring him closer despite every logical thought telling him it was a trap. Haunting, uncountable whispers grew in his head, dripping with a dark, velvety tone, and he witnessed strange things, stranger than anything within the Abyss.

  Entire universes appeared and died in the space of an instant. It was as if he were witness to the birth of all creation, watching stars form from dust, growing in magnitude until they either died in a grand spectacle, or winked away without a sound. Life, souls, all forms of energy flowed in the emptiness, a cosmic river that did not drift randomly, but connected the universe like pathways inside a vast mind. The visions were like an ancient memory, only half-understood by a diseased brain, as they had no reason to them, only raw emotion. Everything Rayne knew was swallowed, and one by one the lights winked out. A black hole dragged away his own thoughts. He was nothing—an insignificant speck in the grand scheme of things, like a gnat that could be snuffed out by a single finger. A toy to greater forces. This being, this goddess, was tearing apart his mind with just a thought, grinding his emotions into dust and replacing them with her own. This was knowledge he was not meant to know, feelings mortals were not able to process. He couldn’t handle the insane rush of emotional energy that raped his brain and threatened to leave him a mindless shell.

  “Stop it!” he screamed. He struggled to find some lingering thread of his own existence, something to separate him from the all-consuming entity lulling him into a universe of pain. His emotions finally peaked, and he mustered the strength to grab and pull the roots from his body. The sensation faded, and Kaledris’s mind drew away from him, though the roots remained firmly planted.

  You see? she whispered. Disappointment tinged her voice. Did you really think I was going to eat your mind? You’re fine, aren’t you?