When that became too dry, I started sketching.
One thing I wanted to be before a professional boxer was an artist. One of the only things I had an actual interest way back when. I realized early on being an artist wasn’t realistic, even less so than fighting for money. Didn’t mean I didn’t keep up with it.
With so much free time on my hands, I started filling up my notebook. Plants and herbs Neepa pointed out to me, the fields outside, even portraits of Eva and Neepa. I’ve done about a dozen for my parents, none of which were finished. They have to be perfect; I don’t want to forget a single detail of their faces.
Whenever the nerve presented itself and I went to Caroline, the charcoal pencil refused to move. Not even a single line.
It was around noon, I think, when the sound of hooves clopping down the road was heard. With only the sound of the wind out here, the horse’s footfalls might as well have been a car blaring its horn.
Eva jumped to her feet. “Let’s go,” she ordered.
“Al, you should gather your things. We could be in the capital for some time,” Neepa instructed.
It only took me a minute to head upstairs and gather my things; easy to do when all I owned was a sack, knife, and some clothes.
I walked down the stairs, struggling to get my cloak fastened over my shoulders, but I didn’t quite understand how to put it on. The brooch was especially difficult. It fumbled out of my hands. The clasp rolled across the floor and bumped into Eva’s boot. She looked down at it, then to me.
I was expecting a snide remark, but she just picked it up and approached.
“Hold still,” she said while crossing the fabric over my chest. With a tug, she ran the needle through the fabric and fastened the brooch.
She then walked off and out the front door without another word. I shifted in the cloak and noticed that it hung comfortably.
“Thanks,” I said quietly.
Neepa finished loading her bag with a few miscellaneous items on her bench before donning her pointy hat. Her lips curled into a smile.
“What?” I asked.
“Nothing. You just look dashing in a cloak, that’s all.”
I grabbed the edges of the cloth and held them out. “I feel a little silly wearing it, not exactly common apparel from my world.”
“It suits you.”
We walked outside together and approached the carriage. Eva and the driver were chatting. The first thing I noticed was that the driver was a woman this time around; the second were the two ears sticking out of her straw hat. Another beastkin.
The ears pivoted towards me and Neepa, then the woman’s head followed. She had short-cropped, brown hair and big blue eyes that grew bigger as they settled on me. The tight black leggings and tan tunic that left both her shoulders exposed made her look more like a… Well, anything but a soldier.
She dropped the reins of the horse and leapt from the driver’s seat, landing right in front of me.
“Oh, so this is him?” She leaned in close and gave my face a good look. “You don’t look like anything special,” she said, her tone a touch disappointed. She leaned in again and gave me a good couple whiffs. “You smell different.” The brown tail from her rear curled and swayed with curiosity.
“I’m not sure how I should take that,” I said, taking a step back.
“I’m not saying you smell bad, geez.” The cat-girl leaned in and sniffed me again. “I actually like how you smell; just different.”
“Uh, thanks. No Felix?” I asked.
The woman smirked. “Were you expecting the same driver you punched?”
“I guess not. You two aren’t friends are you?” I asked, rubbing my forearm.
She slapped my shoulder and laughed. “Hell no, Felix is an asshole. About time someone knocked him on his ass. Ran his mouth raw trying to get you charged. All it did was make him look even more pathetic.” She took a second to titter, then proffered her hand with a grin, flashing me her sharpened canines. “I’m Laramie by the way.”
“Al,” I said, taking her hand.
“Al, huh?” She shook with a surprisingly firm grip. The cat girl couldn’t have been over five foot five.
Laramie’s gaze traveled the length of my body as she held onto my hand long after I stopped shaking. She gave Neepa a cursory glance and her feline irises narrowed ever so slightly. Those pearly blues went back to mine. “Shall we be off? I have to get you to the Grand Mage as soon as possible.”
“Right,” I agreed.
Laramie finally released my hand then hopped from where she stood and landed right back on the driver’s seat of the carriage. It was as if she were on a wire rig out of a kung fu movie. She’s certainly as spry as a cat. Eva, Neepa and I slipped into the carriage and Laramie snapped the reins, setting us off down the road.
Eva took up the entire seat with her body on one side, Neepa and I sat side by side on the other.
“Get comfortable,” Eva said, locking her hands behind her head. “Lucinia is deep within the capital, it’s going to be a while.”
“I’m in no rush,” I said. Eva’s warning had left me anxious. While I doubted a wizard was going to kill me, I felt a little uncomfortable being surrounded by who knows how many. A delay would be welcomed if possible.
I marveled at the sights of Scintillion once we slipped back inside of the walls. I was too distracted to notice the sights before. Everything certainly fell in line with what one would’ve expected from a fifteenth century setting. Despite the materials of stone, rough wood, and stucco, everything looked well maintained, even immaculate at times.
We passed several shops and stalls on the way, where many patrons were mulling about on the streets and sidewalks. The enticing smell of fresh bread wafted into my nostrils as we passed a building with a wooden sign that had a loaf of bread carved into it. Out in front loading various loafs into a wood rack was a merry plump-looking man. He turned just as we were passing and caught my glimpse. His features crinkled as he gave me a wide smile, waving as if I knew him half his life. I returned the wave.
We passed several more shops as we rode on. Some I could recognize like a butcher, a florist, a bookstore, a jeweler, and a haberdashery, but there were a few I couldn’t quite place.
An hour into our ride and I grew bored of what was outside and lay back in my seat. I’m sure it would be a lot more interesting if I had the chance to explore. I rubbed my eyes, then a heavy yawn stretched my jaw.
Neepa looked up from a book she was reading from her lap. “Didn’t sleep well?”
“I was just a little nervous about today.”
Actually, I woke up twice last night from the nightmares before the third left me too wound-up to fall back asleep.
Neepa closed the book and clicked her nails against the edge of the cover. “I-If you like… y-you could rest… on my lap.”
I glanced over at Eva, who had dozed off. “It’s fine, I can—”
“You should really be well-rested if you’re going to meet the Grand Mage. We still have a lot of time before we get there.” She slipped her book back in her bag and gave her lap an affirming pat.
Neepa was being surprisingly insistent. It was so off the cuff that I didn’t know what to say. However, I couldn’t deny how nice it would be to lie down, at least for a little bit.
There wasn’t enough space for me to lie down completely, but it was enough for me to get on my side. I gingerly laid my head on Neepa’s thighs and stared at Eva napping in her seat. It was a little awkward.
“Better?” Neepa asked.
“Y-yeah.”
She laid her hand on my head and began to gently stroke my hair. Neepa’s touch always felt so warm and tender. It was surprisingly comfortable given the confined space and the bumpy ride, but it just seemed to work.
As I settled, I realized how weary I really was. Several nights of interrupted sleep tends to do that. My eyelids closed and I gave into lassitude, slipping away before I realized it.
�
��✽✽
Darkness assaulted from every direction. I couldn’t make out anything, couldn’t even see my own hand when held in front of my face. Then, like God working a light on a catwalk, a circle of light illuminates Caroline. I see her, and she’s looking in my direction, but not at me, almost as if there were a one-way mirror separating us.
Further off to her right, another ring of light illuminates three grey, grotesque monstrosities that attacked my university. Again, they looked towards me, but not at me. Behind them was a poorly drawn backdrop of the library painted with rough brushstrokes in contrasting pastels. They all faced me as if posing for some sort of photo.
Caroline began skipping in place, like she was frolicking through a field of daisies only she could see. The monsters stuck out their arms and began approaching her in large, exaggerated movements.
The crude motions and lights was like witnessing a play. Only there was no noise.
I called out to her. Only I didn’t. I thought I did, clear as day, but I heard nothing, felt nothing. I tried to reach out, but couldn’t.
The monsters were getting closer.
I tried again. Screaming didn’t do anything because there was no noise. I screamed, cursed, begged, and then went back to screaming. All mute, like I’m stuck in a vacuum.
They grew closer and closer until the monsters finally descended upon her. There was no flash and a puff of smoke, no flash card that said ‘Ah!’, and she didn’t slip through a trapdoor.
They ripped into Caroline like a wolf on raw meat. Her face contorted into agony as her mouth let out a silent cry. I tried to look away, but couldn’t. I tried to cover my eyes, but then I realized that I had no arms. I only imagined I had been moving or that I tried to see my own hand. All I could do was watch.
An eternity seemed to pass before the lights cut and I was bathed in darkness again, sparing me from the horror. However, that single grain of relief slipped through my hands when another unseen spotlight illuminated Eva and Neepa.
The pair stood in front of another painted backdrop of the library, but the butcher paper it was drawn upon was crumpled, torn, revealing dancing flames from behind the stage. The young witch cowered behind her Amazonian-like partner like a damsel in distress, hands held close to her chest and her head going from left to right crying voiceless woes of mercy. Eva stood mightily in front with a wood shield and sword, pounding her chest like a proud warrior and moving her mouth like she was berating her opponent.
Before them was the Caster. He had one hand on his hip and the other pointing to the girls, taking up the pose of a flamboyant and extravagant villain, his mouth moving like he was delivering his monologue, his magical cloak fluttering around him with dramatic effect.
Eva moved on the offensive with her sword high. Instead of some poorly choreographed stage fight of sloppy movements and slowed strikes, the cloak formed tendrils and wrapped around Eva, ripping her clean in half at the waist. Even though I had no body, I could feel my stomach heaving.
The Caster threw Eva’s remains aside and approached Neepa, who dropped to her knees and begged.
No. No. No. Please, god, no. Stop it. I’m here. Hey, Asshole, I’m here! I’m here! Just fucking look over here!
It did nothing.
The Caster’s cloak tendrils wrapped around Neepa’s neck, choking her. He hoisted her high off the ground, feet kicking violently under her. The Caster drew his knife, priming it right at her belly.
My mind roared, but it did nothing. The knife sank in and the Caster gave it a violent twist, Neepa’s gut spilling a fall of thick crimson. Her mouth hung wide in a silent cry of agony. Then it cut to black.
The very fringes of my mind cracked like hot tea being poured into a cool porcelain cup.
The light came on a third time, revealing something that made my mind reel.
Mom? Dad?
There they were. My mom, wavy black hair cut short and eyes like that looked incapable of glaring. My father, his black hair graying at his sideburns revealed his age, but his brawny build made him look ten years younger. They were looking at me, smiling like I just got home from school, eager to ask how my day was and what I learned.
The stage was gone; all around them were the smoldering remains of my neighborhood, mountains of bones and the crucified remains of rotting corpses under a red sky. Underneath my parents’ feet was a patch of green grass, light seeming to radiate from them like a beacon, making it seem like a picture of them was cropped onto some edgy art student’s landscape. Dozens upon dozens of those monsters and hooded figures circled around them; all had gazes of malicious intent fixed at the loving couple. They inched closer and closer to my parents, who continued to smile at me.
Please. No.
The closer the monsters and cloaked figures approached, the more my mind screamed, begged, cursed, and roared.
A string deep within me was getting pulled taught. All conscious thought reduced to a deafening ring as the string grew tighter and tighter as the monsters neared.
They pounced on my parents, and the string snaps.
✽✽✽
I bolted up and slam my shoulder into the carriage wall. Heart hammering like I just ran four miles, I hastily searched my surroundings. Still in the carriage.
Neepa stared at me with alarm. Eva awake and sitting in her seat, staring at me like I was mad.
“Al, are you okay?” Neepa asked, sidling over to me and placing a hand on my shoulder, her voice tinged with worry.
“Yeah,” I said after a few breaths. “I’m—I’m fine.”
“Why did you yell?” Eva asked, arching a brow.
“I… I didn’t…”
Neepa brushed her hand along my forehead. “You’re sweating.”
I gently eased her hand away and let out a calm breath. “I was startled by the ride, and this cloak is a little toasty.” I fanned at my sides to emphasize the point. The carriage wasn’t moving anymore. “Just not used to sleeping on the go.”
“What’s with the banging and yelling?” a voice to my left asked.
I jumped when I saw Laramie’s inverted expression out my window. She kept her straw hat in place with her hand, one of her ears flicking once as she leaned in a took a whiff.
“You smell again,” she stated.
“S-sorry, just a little hot,” I replied.
“Nah, still a good smell.” She let herself fall off the roof, turned easily in the air and landed gracefully on her feet. She opened the carriage door and outstretched her arm. “We’re here.”
I was the first to rush out, eager to be free of the confined space and the girl’s prying gazes. The air left my lungs in a rush at the imposing edifice before me.
If the Arms of Earus’ base was ripped from a medieval novel, Lucinia was ripped right from scriptures of holy legend.
The structure was easily four times the size of the guild and about eight times as immaculate. It was as if all the most beautiful cathedrals in my world got together, had a bunch of kids, took the most beautiful children, and then specially bred them to get the best characteristics of all into one child, then that child married a castle from a fairytale to birth the structure before me.
The pristine steps leading up to the massive open doors looked as though they were finished that morning. Even the brick-paved walk I stood upon looked as if they were set by Euclid himself.
“Holy mother of all holy,” I said, staring up at the grand spires. From here, it looked as though they broke through the troposphere.
“It’s marvelous, isn’t it?” Neepa asked, joining my side.
I turned and marveled at the massive courtyard we stood in. There was a wide stone-paved ring around a grand fountain that had paths leading to other entrances of the U-shaped courtyard. “If you told me this was entrance to heaven, I’d believe you.” My head continued to swivel around, taking in all that I could.
“This place is a damn eyesore,” Eva huffed from my other side.
“Eva!” Neepa
scolded.
“What? Why do a bunch of pompous mages need so much space for?” Eva craned her neck and stared at the massive spires I was marveling at. “What the hell do they do up there?”
“Ah, Alfonso of the family Engel!”
I turned and saw and elderly man in white and grey robes descending the stone stairs. He held his arms out wide in a welcoming gesture. Long graying hair flowed from his head, strands blowing from his kindly eyes and gentle smile.
“Just Al is fine,” I said once the man stood before me.
“Al.” He nodded. “I am Grif of the family Helkein. I am here to show you to your personal chaperone. From there, she’ll admit you to the Grand Mage.”
He turned and extended his arm towards the stairs and bowed his head.
I felt something brush along the back of my neck, startling me. I turned and saw Laramie grinning up at me with her tawny tail curling behind her. “See you around, Al.” She tipped her hat then hopped back on her carriage.
I waved goodbye to my first beastkin acquaintance and turned to follow Grif.
Stepping past the arched doorway was like stepping into a whole other world. The stone ended and wood polished to a mirror degree started. The walls and furnishings were all made of wood. The high, vaulted ceilings were adorned with chandeliers every forty feet in the massive vestibule. Scores of people were all coming and going from various hallways and all looked to be from different ages and races. I saw several more beastkin, more people whom I assumed were elves, and a walking lizard––I can’t sum it any other way; imagine a bipedal lizard with vaguely humanoid features and there you go. He shot me a dirty look for staring too long.
After a long walk down the grand space, we can to a stop in front of a service desk of sorts where several attendants where waiting and talking with other individuals.
In fact, based off all the other men and women we passed, Neepa, Eva, and I were severely underdressed. Ornate robs and silk clothing seemed to be the standard apparel. My grey cloak made me feel like I was wearing a potato sack. Normally, such a thing wouldn’t bother me. Then again, how often did I walk near so many people who looked like supermodels attending a royal ball?
Heart of the Resonant: Book 1: Pulse (Resonant Series) Page 15
