Within The Shadows

by Julieanne Lynch

  “I do believe you look rather peaky today. Are you feeling okay? Were the refreshments to your liking?” he asked as pleasantly as he could.

  “Yeah. The food was great, the blood even better. I’m just not feeling one hundred percent. I think it’s the lack of daylight, and the need to be a bit more sanitary, but otherwise, I’m just great.” Sarcasm flew with the last few words.

  “Mmm, not much I can do about the sunlight. However, I believe these may be of some use to you,” he said.

  He handed me jeans, a sweatshirt, socks, and underwear. The toiletries were fabulous. My favourite coconut shampoo and conditioner combo were accompanied by my toothbrush, toothpaste, some hair serum, gloss, body moisturizer, and my favourite Lancôme perfume.

  I smiled.

  “Ah, you are so much more beautiful when you smile,” he commented.

  “Thank you. I didn’t expect any of this.” I was so overcome with emotion that I cried.

  “Shush, come now, dearest Giselle.” He put his arms around me. “As I’ve said before, do not burden yourself with tears. They do not help. You must stay strong. I will do all I can, but you must help me.”

  “How, Afanas? How can I do anything, when all I do is sit here alone hour after hour? I don’t have the strength any more. Besides, I stink like a vagrant, and have the worst case of dog breath ever.” I tried to laugh.

  Afanas tried his best to console me. It was pointless. I was so consumed by my own miserable existence that I did not realise how sincere he was being. He got up, and made his way to the door.

  Turning back to me, he said, “Remember, Giselle, you are bigger than this. I know none of this was of your choosing, but you must find the strength and courage to see this through. I believe you are a lot stronger than you give yourself credit for. In time, you will overcome your weaknesses, and you will find great power.”

  I sat there, dumbfounded by his confidence in me. I was not sure if I wanted to laugh or cry, but one thing I was sure of, and that was my friendship with Afanas.

  Chapter Seventeen

  I HAD ONCE read in one of my father’s many books that, ‘In the darkest hour, the soul is replenished, and given strength to continue and endure.’ I used to think it made no sense whatsoever, but now after hearing what Afanas had said, I believed I was in my darkest hour, and needed my soul to restore itself. Somehow, I was going to achieve that. Of course, I had no clue as to how I was going to do it, but I had to trust my instincts. Not forgetting Afanas’s promise to assist me, I felt a jolt of courage surge within me.

  A few hours later, the door to my cell opened, and in came the shadow, his eyes glaring at me. He stood at the foot of my bed, watching me as I scuttled further back. Another set of eyes came in behind him, his silhouette less visible, but his eyes more menacing. They both remained silent, peering at me. They made me feel uncomfortable, and almost forgetting my earlier promise to myself, I scrambled off the bed, and stood just inches away from the first shadow.

  “What do you want?” I asked.

  He chortled to himself, and then speaking to the other, he mocked me. “And this is supposed to be our Queen?”

  “If I am to be your Queen, then maybe you ought to show me some respect,” I angrily retaliated.

  “How can we? You are a joke. Look at you. When was the last time you saw your own reflection?”

  “Well, let’s see . . . I have been kept here, in this damp shit hole for a while now, so I guess you know the ‘facilities’ aren’t exactly crying out for an award anytime soon. Maybe if I was treated to the simple luxury of a toilet and shower, then perhaps I would be more presentable. Or don’t you want your Queen to have access to the world that lies beyond that door?” I hissed as I made my way to the door.

  “That lot there.” I pointed to my clothes and toiletries lying on the bed. “Bring it with you. Now, are you going to show me where I can wash, or do I have to figure it out myself?” I asked the second shadow. His eyes glowed as though they were on fire.

  He looked at the one behind me, and without pausing for more than a moment, he walked out into the dimly lit tunnel. I followed him with a feeling of déjà vu. Eerily, the tunnel reminded me so much of the dream I’d had where I found Nikita. I put her and all of my problems to the back of my mind, and concentrated on the present. I had to figure out the layout of the tunnels.

  I was escorted through a stone built corridor that eventually brought us to what seemed to be a building of some sort. Once we were through the door, it was closed with a bang. I was led further up some stairs that spiralled round and round. Looking down over the handrail, I felt dizzy. We were so high up.

  “Where is this place?” I whispered as I looked up. The stairs seemed to go on forever.

  There were no windows, and the air was hot and sticky. I did not like it one bit. Finally, we came to a stop. The shadow in front of me turned around. His gaze met mine. The menacing look he’d first bestowed upon me had mellowed to a mere amber glow.

  “You will find everything you need through those doors,” he said.

  The other one handed me my clothes and wash bag. I did not hesitate. As soon as I was through the door, I collapsed in a heap on the wooden floor. The dizziness was the worst than it had ever been. I felt as though I was on a boat in the open sea, waves tilting it back and forth, but the sickness that followed was uncontrollable. Each time I thought I had finished, more would come.

  I can honestly say I had never felt so sick, ever. I lay on the floor for a while, waiting for it to pass, and eventually, it did. I looked around me, trying to gather the strength to get onto my feet. I was in a big bathroom. It was pretty basic, but to me, it was luxury. I picked up my clothes, and set them on a mahogany bench beside the bathtub. I unpacked my shampoo and conditioner, and set them on the bath.

  Turning on the taps, I heard a noise coming from the pipes. They creaked as the water came spitting out. Lovely hot, steamy water began to fill the bath. The mirror above the vanity unit began to steam up, but I was still able to make out my reflection. I looked a mess. My hair was dirty and tatty. My face was pale, and I was pretty sure I could see the beginnings of a pimple. I looked gaunt, and the shadows under my eyes made me look decidedly unhealthy.

  Shrugging my shoulders, I began to peel off the filthy clothes I had worn ever since I had arrived here. They smelt bad, and my underwear was useless. I threw them towards the corner of the room, adamant that I would never wear them again.

  I turned around, and picked up a soft blue towel from the sink. As I looked down at my naked body, I was startled by the growing dark stain that had now spread from my breast down to my navel.

  Trying to reason with myself, I put the ever-growing darkness down to me being held against my will, but I was denying the truth. I knew what it meant, and I was only too willing to forget that I was destined to be some kind of Queen for these shadow creatures.

  Sinking into the hot water eased the ensuing nausea. My head felt light, and I could hear my heart pounding, its pace increasing as I fought to stabilize my breathing with long, deep breaths. Finally, it passed, and I could relax again. Letting the water spill over my head, I sank down under the water. It cleared my mind of all its woes. Momentarily, I felt normal, or at least as normal as I could be, given my situation.

  A knock at the door brought me to my senses. I swallowed a mouthful of the water as I bolted to the surface, drenching the wall and floor.

  Coughing, I shouted towards the door, “Yeah?”

  There was no response, only another knock. “Jesus Christ,” I muttered to myself as I hesitantly stepped out of the tub, and wrapped the towel around me.

  Upon opening the door, I saw that an envelope had been slipped underneath it. I picked it up, and held it in my right hand as I peered out into the poorly lit hall. There was no one. The only sound I could hear was me, my breathing, and my pounding heartbeat. I closed the door behind me, and sat down on the bench. When I tore the envelope open, out fell
a key, and a small piece of paper.

  I read the letter.

  Dear Sweet Giselle,

  Here is a key, a tiny piece of a puzzle that is much bigger than both of us. I know you did not ask to be involved in any of this, and I reverently regret what I have done to you.

  Now you must find the courage to seek the door that bares the mark of Eve. There, you will find the doorway that will lead you back home, but beware of the dark ones. They mean you harm, and do not believe you are the daughter of Samael.

  Please, be vigilant on your journey. I will try to keep a watchful eye over you. However, I must remain here, opposed to your freedom. I must fulfil my side of the deal.

  Be safe, child, and may the Goddess be with you.

  Your Friend,

  Afanas

  Sitting in silence, I held the key, and stared at it. Its oval-shaped head had pretty red flecks sparkling through it. Pondering on what Afanas had instructed, I dressed quickly. Storing the key in my pocket, I left the room, and proceeded to find the door that would take me home.

  It was all like some bizarre illusion. Never in my wildest dreams would I have ever imagined anything like this happening to me, your average girl next door. I was never one for vivid dreaming. To be honest, I thought for a moment that maybe my mind had been playing tricks on me, and none of this was real.

  Maybe it was post-traumatic stress over the Marc and Evie ‘thing,’ but then again, the way my stomach turned was all too real for me. The dizziness and nausea just kept on coming. One moment, I was fine, and the next, I was heaving my guts up against some wall. All I wanted to do was crawl into my bed, and have my mother bring me some of her homemade chicken soup. To have those special moments back would be worth every bit of pain and torment I had gone through.

  My eyes filled up when I thought of my mother. She was going through her own hell, and I was not there to help her, to look after her. I had been denied that the instant Leonid had stepped inside our home. Nothing would ever be ‘normal’ again, and that was something I was going to have to learn to accept.

  I soon found the stairwell I had been escorted up from my cell. I looked down, and was instantly shocked by the height. I was at least a hundred feet high. The thought of falling down into what seemed like an endless stairwell scared the hell out of me. It wound down like a vortex, and as I looked upwards, it was exactly the same way, an endless spiral that continued upwards further into the darkness.

  Ignoring the urge to give in, and wait for whoever would come for me, I thought about my mother and Marc, and, of course, Leonid and Alex. I could not help but to wonder as to whether this had all been my destiny. If it was, why had it taken so long to materialize?

  I kept this line of thinking as I wandered further up, searching for doors, until I came to a stop four flights up. I could hear the murmurs of voices coming from further down a corridor. As always, curiosity got the better of me. I tiptoed towards the door, and, holding my breath, I listened in on the conversation.

  “You’ve felt the mark for yourself. You know she is the chosen one,” Afanas said.

  “I still am not confident she is strong enough. She is too emotional. I don’t think she will be able to let go of her human form very easily.”

  A voice I didn’t recognize answered. “Ah, but you forget, old friend, she has the capabilities of my people. She is unique. Do not underestimate her power.”

  “Yes, Afanas, we are very well aware of her newfound power. After all, she did send us the corrupt soul of that poor girl. What was her name?”

  “Nikita,” Afanas replied.

  “Oh, yes, Nikita. The vampire whore who thought she would be turned in favour of her essence. What a silly little girl she was,” he quipped.

  “Then what is the problem, Xavier?” Afanas asked.

  “Old friend, I believe you know the answer to that one yourself.”

  “Given time, we will know if the seed was planted.”

  “Time may be one thing we have, but in order for us to bring her to her rightful place, she must fulfil the final phase. She must bear the child.”

  “Then we must proceed with methods that are unknown to man,” Afanas murmured glumly.

  “Indeed, Afanas. It is time for methods of the old. I shall send Rimane to bring the girl to me,” Xavier said as he made his way to the door.

  I scurried back down the corridor, and fled up the next flight of stairs. Breathless, I stopped, and tried to gather my thoughts. Afanas told me to look for ‘the mark of Eve.’ This was something that completely stumped me.

  What was the mark of Eve? Did Afanas mean Eve as in the biblical Eve? I guess that was something I was going to have to find out.

  I hid in the darkness as the shadow creatures rushed past. They were too busy to notice me lurking in the corner. I held my breath, trying not to exhale. Once the commotion had finished, I ran towards the next flight of stairs. This time, I concentrated on each floor, searching for some kind of symbol that reminded me of Eve. I decided that it was most likely to be the biblical form of her. Although that really left me none-the-wiser, I thought that maybe it would be something like the image of a woman upon the door. It was as good a guess as any.

  Climbing further up the stairwell, I came to a large circular-shaped hall. I noticed four white doors positioned like the points of a compass. They were very different from the dark doors I had seen below. The hall was completely empty. Being cautious, I crouched down behind a wide iron mirror that was oddly placed just to the left of the first door. I waited for a few minutes, eager to see if anyone would pass by, but nothing happened. Not one person or shadow passed through any of the doors.

  Finally, I decided I had waited long enough, and walked out from behind the mirror. It was a bright hall, beautiful and angelic looking, which was bizarre, considering I was in some kind of Hell. Light glistened around the room as I strolled towards the first door.

  Looking at the faces of the doors, I noticed that they were all identical, the only difference being their handles. Although all were round and brass, a different letter was engraved on each. Closer inspection revealed that the first door directly behind me had the letter ‘S’. To the left of me was the letter ‘E’. Directly opposite that one was ‘W’, and the door to the top of the hall had the letter ‘N’. Perhaps my idle comparison of the doors being points of the compass had not been so idle after all, but none of them had anything else that I could see on them, and certainly no symbols that matched the description Afanas had given me. I felt jaded.

  Sitting in the centre of the hall, I dropped my head into my hands, and sighed. I had been defeated. There truly was no way of escaping this place. With the key in my hand, I was ready to give up, and take the long journey back down to face whatever was coming to me. Giving in was now something I was getting used to, and it definitely sucked to be me.

  Chapter Eighteen

  FROM THE CORNER of my eye, I could see something in the reflection of the mirror. It sparkled and danced across the glass. Turning my head round, I was both shocked and excited by what I saw.

  It was the reflection of a woman, her modesty protected by leaves. Her hair was long and golden, and she was unlike any woman I had seen before. She stood in front of the door that had the letter ‘N’ carved into it. Looking back at the door, I could see nothing was there, but through the mirror I could see Eve.

  I used the mirror on the three remaining doors. The door with the ‘W’ carved into it had the image of fire, shadows, and screaming faces. Opposite it, the door with the letter ‘E’ had images of spirits, their faces were white and god-like, but the door that bore the letter ‘N’ remained blank. Nothing showed up.

  I fiddled with the key between my fingers, and toyed with the idea of looking behind each door, even though I knew it was a risk I could not afford to take, especially now that I might be so close to breaking free. I remembered Afanas’s warning not to trust the dark ones, and I did not want to take the chance in running
into any of them any time soon.

  Calmly, I walked up to the door with ‘N’ engraved on it, and put the key into the lock. As I turned it, I heard a commotion coming from the stairs. I spun round, and saw a small army of shadows making their way up towards me.

  “She’s here,” roared the shadow closest to me.

  “Sound the alarm,” another beckoned.

  Before they came any closer, I turned the handle, and stepped through the door with no clue of where I was going, or how I would get home. I closed the door with a bang, and frantically turned the key, locking it from inside.

  Inside? I was outside. I had left behind the hall, and, in fact, the whole gloomy building. Frantically, I ran through the trees and overgrown hedges that surrounded me. I had no idea where I was, but something told me I was going to find out soon enough. The further I ran, the more familiar the area became. I recognized the willows, and the scents of the wild flowers. Water rushed down the stream, and the bridge was soon in my sight. It was my worst nightmare. The door had sent me back to the mountains of the Utmish Ato-tem. I was back in Armenia.

  “Shit!” I whispered as I approached the bridge that lay at the foothills of the coven.

  “This could only happen to me,” I said as I kicked a pile of leaves that lay beside some rocks.

  Sitting in the late evening sun, I looked up the hill, and saw the outer boundaries of the estate. I knew that nightfall would soon descend upon me, and I did not want to be left outside and unprotected. There was only one thing I could do, and even though it killed me inside, I knew I had to take refuge within the coven and face Alex and Atarah. My life sucked big time, and I was not expecting it to get better any time soon.

  The climb up hill was a struggle in itself. I did not remember it being this bad the last time, but then again, the last time was a weird experience by all standards. I’d had my first glimpse of the shadow creatures, and was then rescued by Leonid. As a result of the whole damned situation, the damned mark on my chest grew darker each day.