by Matthew Fish
“I have heard that they have, though it is naught much more than rumor,” Cain conceded.
“Well…just make sure you handle it the right way,” Mark added.
“How are you taking to the idea of what you are now?”
“That I’m a Perpetual? Pretty good…considering the alternative, Emily is happy. She said she was always kinda worried about the idea of saggy wrinkled balls and excessive ear hair—that she would have stayed to the end…but this does make things a bit easier.” Mark said with a laugh.
“You’ll get used to it,” Cain said as he let a small smile grow across his stern face. “I’ll be seeing you.”
“Of course,” Mark said as he nodded. “I’ll be expecting you.”
That night, we stopped Bradley from leaving. After all, if Cain could be redeemed…then surely Bradley could be forgiven….After all, he didn’t kill anyone. That section of the second floor hall was becoming quite full, we now had five rooms occupied out of the six on the left side…there were another six on the right…I figured those would eventually be filled as Conductors or whoever decided to come to us. Perhaps Cain would send people our way. Emily even made these little gold embroidered signs for each of our new tenants. They weren’t the gold leaf work that Caesar had done, but they were quite nice. That night, after making love to Emily more than a few times, I feel asleep. I was awoken to a familiar hissing voice.
“Maaaaarrrkk...” Caesar whispered in his raspy old tone as he nudged my shoulder.
“Caesar…?” Mark said as he shot up from bed and looked down to make sure that his cock was not out. Confident that he was dressed, he turned his attention to Caesar who appeared in the same strange form that the girl from the other night had. “You’re dead.”
“And you are dreaming, my dear Mr. Argent,” Caesar said as he sat down beside Mark. “One of us, after all—how peculiar life is, would you not agree?”
“You saw?” Mark asked, though he felt a bit stupid for asking a character in a dream a question.
“I see a lot of things from the Otherworld,” Caesar said as he shot Mark and amused look. “Quite a thing you did with that old ring I gave you. I wonder, why has no one thought of such a thing before? Perhaps, no one has been in your circumstances…”
“What is the…Otherworld?” Mark asked, having heard it mentioned once before by Maddie regarding the white stag.
“That is where I reside now,” Caesar said as a wide grin grew across his face. “It is a beautiful chain of emerald isles. Warm beaches…a place of constant happiness. A place where there is wont for nothing.”
“Is that where you are talking to me from now?”
“In a sense,” Caesar said as he considered the situation. “This is the world of dreams; it is connected—but very loosely. This area falls more under the realm of the Children of Cernunnos. Consider it a borrowed pathway, if you will.”
“Well, I’m glad you came to tell me you were happy,” Mark said as he nodded.
“I have seen a glimpse of the future,” Caesar added as he got to the point. “Something is coming, my dear Mr. Argent. I do not know much of it—but the house will give you an answer soon…”
“The house…?”
“It is not…exactly just a house. It is a Red Manor.”
“I still do not understand,” Mark admitted.
“In time you will,” Caesar said as he placed a hand upon Mark’s shoulder.
Mark shot awake. Emily jumped as well.
“Let me guess…someone else is here?” Emily asked as she placed her hand to her chest and let out a heavy sigh. “It is a good thing we don’t have heart attacks, Pickles.”
“Pickles, really…?”
“It’s the last thing I ate,” Emily muttered as she was about to get out of bed.
“I’ll be alright,” Mark said as he nodded. “This isn’t a bad thing—or even a Bradley thing.”
“Haha,” Emily said as she rested her head against the bed. “That one was kind of clever.”
“I try,” Mark said as he slipped his jeans on and climbed into a t-shirt. “I won’t be long.”
Mark walked down the spiral staircase and briskly meandered down the long hallway until he reached the entry way. He paused at the large metal door. He knew that someone was there—he could somehow sense it. He pulled the door open and a girl entered into the room. She had long black hair and grey eyes that flashed like a cat’s eye whenever the light reflected upon them. She was wearing a dark brown leather skirt and a matching leather short sleeved coat. She had a small white silk tank top that revealed her flat stomach. She looked curiously around the room. She carried with her a wooden case that was taller than she was in height.
“We’ve met before,” Mark said as he attempted to get the curious girl’s attention.
“Three years ago,” the girl said as she nodded.
“It was more like three nights ago,” Mark said as he attempted to make sense of what she meant.
“I forget…” the girl said as she gestured to the seats over by the glass and metal table. “Time doesn’t work the same way as it does for your kind as it does mine. We need to talk.”
“Alright,” Mark said as he nodded. He watched as the girl precariously placed the large wooden case onto the table and rested her arms upon it as she sat and continued to look around the room. Mark climbed into the seat across from her, careful not to disturb the strange case.
“So you are the one Caesar chose to be Red Manor’s new protector?”
“I suppose,” Mark said as he nodded. “Caesar left me the house—but he didn’t tell me much about it.
“Tell me about your life,” the girl asked as she looked to Mark expectantly.
Mark began to speak for what seemed like a very long time.
So…that is where we are now. I apologize for any of the off language…or the overly sexual parts. I guess I really do tend to over-share when it comes to…my life. But yeah, that’s…well, that’s everything up until the point that you asked. I mean…minus all the things about when I was a child—unimportant things like that. But…that’s the story of how I was just a normal mortal, who became a Conductor…who, in turn, ended up finding out that he was a Perpetual. Which all lead to us meeting—something I’m sure is going to be of equal importance. Is that sufficient?
“Thoroughly…” the girl replied with a warm smile. “My name is Lily. We do not have last names like your kind…Mr. Argent. I am just Lily, the youngest daughter of Elise and Ryan.”
“It is nice to meet you, Lily,” Mark said as he smiled. “And…just call me Mark—only Caesar calls me Mr. Argent, but he does it in a weird way that makes it somehow okay—anyway…sorry off topic again. Tell me about your kind.”
“My people are called the White Stag. I believe you have met my older brother in the canyons just outside of the house.”
“I do remember that,” Mark added.
“Our kind has been hunted throughout existence—almost to extinction at times. Most of our lives are spent in the form of a pure white stag, or a white doe—it was nearly four hundred years ago when I was wandering down through time, when I found a peculiar man living alone in a small hut in the woods one winter.”
“Sorry to interrupt,” Mark said as he felt a bit guilty. The girl had not interrupted a single time when he was sharing his story. “Walking through time?”
“When we are in the form of the White Ones, we must always walk through the woods or field—never through a city or town. As time has progressed, Mortals and Perpetuals have made that a rather difficult feat. Sometimes we must walk in the past or the very, very far future in order to get where we are going. When I say walking through time, I mean it in the most basic sense—remember, time is different for our kind. I got lost though, which was uncommon for me. It was the thirteen year of my life and I found myself in an especially cold winter. I found the peculiar man living all alone in the hut. He had nothing—and very little food. He could have k
illed me and had a fine meal. It is something that does happen to our kind from time to time, especially to the young ones. Instead, he would put out food for me—scraps of bread and dried fruits. I endured the winter and gained enough energy to reveal my more familiar form. I explained to Caesar, although that was not his name at the time, that I wished to repay his kindness. I handed him a contract of sorts and I used part of my energy to create Red Manor for him. It became a sanctuary, where none could harm him. His part of the contract was that he must take care of me as I take care of him. We were bound. He wrote his wishes for his life in a book—which I warned that he must do so very carefully. Some of my folk are not so kind and they will trick Mortals or Perpetuals into contracts that are very dangerous…”
“So you are the house, in a way?” Mark said as he attempted to understand their contract.
“A part of me is,” Lily said as she nodded. “So, since Caesar left the house to you—he also left me under your protection.”
“That seems more than fair,” Mark said as he nodded. “So what do I need to do? Sign a contract—write something?”
“Normally that would be the case, but things are slightly different…” Lily said as slid her hands upon the case. “We are already bound. You will protect me as I will keep you protected here…there will be no contract and you shall not have to make an entry into the book. However, you will accept me as a guest.”
“Happily,” Mark said. “Caesar mentioned something…you are one of the Children of Cernunnos? That something bad was coming?”
“I am,” Lily said she unlatched the wooden case. “Something is coming…that is why my people are converging on this time—I fear it will come soon. It is something ancient and evil—it will draw Mortals and Perpetuals to its side…maybe even a few of my kind as well. This is why I must be trained…”
Lily opened the large case, revealing a large wooden recurve bow. It had a dark oak wood handle and a pure white, almost ivory, or bone material at each end. Strands of golden string were wrought tightly against the antler shaped ends. She pulled out a large quiver of long arrows, each tipped with the same pure-white, snow colored material. There looked to be around fifty or so arrows. She reached in and retrieved one final item, a long white dagger with a wooden hilt.”
“The blade is a gift, for you,” Lily said as she handed the long dagger to Mark. “These items were made by Perpetuals—for hunting us…they are made from the antlers of our men folk.”
“I’m sorry,” Mark said as he felt guilty for something that he did not even know about. “I had no idea…”
“We often sided with the Conductors of old, because our hatred of Perpetuals ran so deep,” Lily added as she picked up the bow and placed her finger against the gold threading. “I must be taught to shoot—if we all wish to survive what is to come.”
“I’ve never shot a bow or hunted in my life,” Mark said as he let out a short sigh. He wanted to be more helpful—but he lacked the experience.
“But one of your company does, one who has great respect for my kind,” Lily said as she placed a hand on Mark’s shoulder and smiled.
“Maddie,” Mark said as he nodded. “Maddie can train you…and I will protect you as best I can—for whatever is coming. We all will. I promise.”
“I trust you,” Lily said as she packed her bow up latched the wooden case shut. “For I know you do not act out of revenge and that you will not keep me from secrets—that you will be on the side of justice. Caesar picked a good successor, Mark. I had the highest of hopes that he would. He did not disappoint.”
“I am happy that you think so, you honor me with your compliments.”
“Although, do tell your woman to kindly stop shooting and burning the squirrels. They are of the forest and our kind holds them in high regard. It is rather disrespectful.”
“Right…sorry…”
*
To be continued in: Children of Cernunnos
