“Alex!” hissed Gabriella.
Her voice snapped me back into reality. I washed the evidence off my mouth and hands, watching as the blood diluted into a pale pink under the flowing tap. Shaking, I shut off the water and dried myself with a towel. “Come on,” commanded the girl with the answers. Together we slipped quietly down the stairs and out the front door. “We need to head for the tube station,” she said. I followed her down the road a little way, where her bike stood parked. “Get on the back.”
I obeyed without a single argument. I felt numb. Gabriella was the key to it all. Why didn’t I see it before? I’d known from the start that something was up with this girl, how had I failed to connect the dots? The answer was glaringly obvious. I’d been blinded by her beauty.
As I put my arms around her waist, I laughed humourlessly to myself. I would have killed for the chance to ride together on her bike. Now I nearly had and felt nothing but sick to my stomach.
Gabriella kicked the bike into action and we surged down the road. Parked cars blurred into trees and shops as we sped into town. The bike slowed as we neared the alleyway where I’d… I didn’t want to think about it.
I noticed with shock that the alleyway was completely empty. There was no evidence that anything had happened at all. The bins had been tidied and the blood-stained concrete had been cleaned. TJ was gone. Those around acted as if nothing had happened. They ate food from kebab shops, chatted and smoked in drunken bliss.
There were no police in sight. No yellow tape. No crying witnesses.
Nothing.
Gabriella twisted the accelerator and we sped up again, climbing the hill towards the north part of town, where the tube station was situated. We arrived at the station and I clambered off the bike. My guide stepped off afterwards, killing the ignition and pocketing the keys. “Do you think it’ll be safe here?” I asked nodding to the bike. She gave me a glowering stare. “Who the hell cares?” The tube station was closed — a black gate pulled across the entrance, barring the entrance. Gabriella gestured towards it. “Would you like to do the honours?” she offered wryly. “Ella, I don’t think we should be breaking in here. It’s illegal.” She shot me a cold glance. “Yeah maybe we should just stick to GBH.” I winced.
“Fine, I’ll do it then,” she sighed.
Gabriella glanced around to make sure no one was looking. This part of town mainly consisted of supermarkets and car showrooms, so was pretty dead at this time of night. Just a handful of drunks stumbled past, cans of beer clutched in their hands. When they’d gone from sight, she positioned herself in front of the barrier. Stretching her arms wide for greater coverage, she yanked hard against the gate. With a scream it snapped off its hinges and into her hands. She placed the entire thing against the adjacent wall. My expression must have been one complete shock, because she laughed.
“Oh come on Alexander, did you really think you were the only one?”
We went inside and hopped over deactivated barriers.
Leading the way, Gabriella headed in the direction of the platform. We descended a few flights of concrete steps and jumped more barriers. When we reached the platform, I took her arm. “What now?” I asked. “We keep going,” she stated in a matter of fact tone and jumped down onto the track. My heart lurched in response. “Are you insane?” I hissed. “You’re going to get yourself killed!” Gabriella glared at me. “Alexander for the love of god get down here!” I stayed perfectly still, wondering if she had actually lost her mind. She put her hands on her hips impatiently. “You want to know what’s going on, right?”
I stayed on the spot for a few more moments, thinking. I need to know.
I nodded.
“Then stop being such a baby and get down here.”
So against my better judgment, I lowered myself onto the tracks and followed Gabriella. We ran between the rails for what seemed like forever. Eventually the tube went underground. I could feel the track sloping under my feet as we entered the yawning black mouth. We were plunged into complete darkness, but that didn’t seem to bother my guide.
“Take my hand,” she said without breaking her stride. I closed my palm around hers and felt the familiar crackle along with a harsh tug as she surged forward, pulling me along.
Incredibly, not long after, my eyesight seemed to adjust to the dense darkness and things grew clearer. Not a huge amount, but enough that I could make out the track and tunnel walls.
Ahead I saw the dim light of a station platform. As we reached it, Gabriella slowed. “We need to get out here and change to another platform,” she informed me. I followed her, leaping up onto the platform with surprising ease. The tiled sign said Earls Court.
Not stopping, Gabriella paced along the tiled corridors of the station, leading us to another platform and back onto the tracks. There was a strong smell of diesel here and a flash image of thundering tubular trains shot into my mind. I shook it away.
Once again we sank into darkness, and once again I became blind. We ran in silence for a few more minutes and just as my eyes were beginning to adjust, Gabriella stopped. I barged into her, and felt her body tense up. “Alex, be careful,” she hissed. “Oh I’m sorry if sprinting through pitch black tunnels makes me a little clumsy,” I bit back. I heard her stifle a laugh. “Fair enough.” Then she became serious again. “Okay, it’s around here somewhere.” “What are we looking for?” I quizzed. “You’ll know soon enough,” was the reply.
My guide busied herself with whatever she was looking for. I could vaguely see her rapping her knuckles against the dank concrete walls. The thuds sounded hollow and echoed around us. Gabriella shuffled further along the track, repeating the process. As the minutes wore on, I could sense her getting more and more frustrated. She swore under her breath.
Something caught my attention. I turned around, staring into the gloomy distance. I squinted my eyes, forced them to focus. After several seconds I deduced that it was a glowing yellow orb. I continued to watch it, trying to get my head around what it could be. It grew steadily and then broke into two. Two pulsing yellow orbs. I craned my neck forward trying to make sense of what I was seeing. The cogs finally turned and a cold sweat washed over me. Headlights…train headlights. My heart jumped into my mouth. I reached out, aiming for Gabriella’s shoulder. She tried to shake off my hand when I found it. “Stop it! I’m trying to concentrate!” “Ella,” I squawked frantically, “there’s a train coming!” “What? Oh, just our luck!”
The headlights grew larger. I could make them out now; they shone in the gloom like two menacing eyes hovering above the hidden jaws of some foul beast, racing towards us, hungry and terrifying.
I could hear the sound now. The rhythmic clacking and screeching as it rattled along the rails. The vibrations raced along the tunnel and up my feet. Small stones and hidden debris started to tremor on the ground, like the tap of a thousand impatient fingers. Adrenaline started to flow through my body as my fight or flight reactions kicked in. The train was coming too fast and we were too far down the track, I didn’t think there was time to get back before it reached us. But we had to try.
“We have to go now!” I yelled over the increasing noise.
“No, wait a second, I know it’s around here somewhere.”
“Ella!” I pleaded.
The lights were huge. The ground a few hundred yards in front of us was suddenly illuminated. The light swept towards us as the hulking train thundered forward.
“Ella for god’s sake, we are going to die!”
The sound became deafening.
“Hold on…I know it’s here!”
The train was so close I could see Gabriella as clear as day. Then I saw what she was looking for. A few feet away from her, a small metal door set into the wall. It was curved to fit into the rest of the tunnel and had it not been for the tiny cracks of space around its edges and the strange symbol etched on its front, you wouldn’t know it existed at all. Gabriella noticed it as I did.
But it w
as too late, the train was too close.
Then came the blast of a horn and the screech of brakes as the driver desperately tried to stop. I shut my eyes and waited for death.
Something yanked me hard to the right and I heard a deep slamming sound. The horn continued to blare, distant and muffled.
It took me several moments to understand that we were still alive. I opened my eyes and gasped. We were sprawled on the plush carpet of what looked like an extravagant waiting room.
Golden wallpaper lined the walls. A silver border ran the entire length of the room. Large pictures of important looking men and women hung in various positions. A coffee table stood to one side. It sat in-between two salary destroying leather sofas. On top were several leather bound books, presumably to pass the time. The room smelled like a mixture of varnished wood and freshly cut grass. I noticed a large ornate vase beside me. It held beautiful flowers with vivid green stems and oil black petals. It looked like no plant I’d ever seen. Or have I? Lastly I looked straight ahead at a large desk carved from rich mahogany. Behind it sat an attractive woman in her late forties. She had short brown hair chopped over…purple eyes? They were wide with surprise as she stared at the tangled mound of arms and legs. My guide stood up, pulling me with her. “Heavens, Gabriella, are you okay?” asked the woman. “We’re fine thank you Iralia. Sorry about the entrance.” Flicking her head in my direction she added, “new recruit.” “Ah so that’s what all the fuss was about upstairs.” The woman smiled warmly at me. “Welcome dear.” “Uh, thanks,” I said, not sure of the correct response.
“Okay, now all potential recruits must be signed in regardless of creed. It’s procedure. So let’s get you booked in shall we?” Her tone was soft and warm, like the way a nurse would speak to a terminally ill patient. “What’s your full name then dear?”
I stood like an idiot, my mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. The woman put up her hand. “No matter. In fact Gabriella, if you don't mind I’d prefer to do it the old fashioned way. I'm a little out of practice.”
Gabriella shrugged. “Be my guest.”
The woman smiled, leaned back in her chair and breathed in deeply. The papers on her desk lifted up and the leaves on the exotic flowers trembled. Then I felt something invisible tugging gently at my skin. Like a million tiny hooks. Shivers swept down my spine.
After a few seconds she stopped and clicked a pen.
“Right. Alexander Eden, Human. Born Seventh of August, nineteen ninety four, aged Seventeen. Thanks lovely.” She wrote the information on a form attached to a clipboard.
“What the fu-”
“-If you could just sign for me” she interrupted, gesturing the form out towards me, before setting it down on the desk.
I stared at Gabriella, mouth wide open. She nodded towards the desk, and I shuffled over. As I got close my blood turned to ice in my veins.
The woman had wings.
From the angle I’d been at I hadn't been able to see the leathery appendages protruding from her back. They were folded, the ends spilling over either side of the chair and touching the carpet.
The woman looked up at me and cocked her head sideways. “What's wrong dearie? Never seen a set of wings before?”
There was a rush of wind as they opened up. They were colossal, spanning at least eight feet. I heard a high pitched scream and realised it was coming from me.
“IRALIA!” shouted Gabriella and the woman instantly re-folded her wings. I fell to the floor and scrambled away on my backside, trying to put distance between myself and the creature.
I felt a warm hand squeeze my shoulder and the waves rolled through me like morphine, calming. Gabriella squatted down and smiled. “Don't mind Iralia, she’s harmless. She just likes to mess around with the new guys.”
As my heart smashed against my chest, I looked up at the thing behind the desk. She gave a butter wouldn’t melt smile.
“I'm sorry Alexander. I just get so bored whenever I’m stuck down here. I promise I won't scare you again. But I do actually need you to sign this form.” She waved it at me.
I refused point blank to go back over to the desk, so Gabriella had to bring the clipboard to where I was sitting. I had to hold my wrist with the other hand to stop it shaking. My signature resembled a series of lines and splodges.
Gabriella returned the form to the creature. Then she came back to me and offered her hand. I took it and stood up.
“It’s okay, we’re moving on now,” she soothed.
I followed her through a set of double doors at the far end. As we passed Iralia, I made sure I was as far away as physically possible.
When the doors had shut and we were safely on the other side in a long white corridor, I turned and yelled, “what the hell was that thing!?” Gabriella waved a hand for me to keep my voice down. “Have you ever heard of a Succubus?” she whispered. “What, you mean as in the life-force stealing demon?” “That’s a fairly accurate description.” I pointed at the door. “A-are you saying that the monster in there is one?” Gabriella’s eyes narrowed. “Iralia is not a monster, but yes she’s a Succubus.” I backed away from her, hands up. “That's it, craziness levels just hit unacceptable. I want to go home. Let me out please.” She walked towards me. “Alex surely you must have suspected something out of the ordinary was happening by now.” “Of course I did,” I snapped. “But I didn’t expect something off the X-files!” “I never said the truth would be easy.”
“Easy?” I had to force myself not to scream. “How about not even in the realm of sane?” I pressed my hands against my head. “I can’t handle this, It’s too much.”
I walked down the sterile looking corridor with no idea of where I was heading, there were so many doors, with god only knows what hiding behind them.
“Wait!” cried Gabriella running after me. She put hand on my arm. “Alex, we need you.” She paused. “I need you. Please allow us to explain. Then if you still want to go, I’ll take you myself.” Her eyes bored into mine, searching for some common ground.
“Explain then,” I said, folding my arms.
My guide shook her head. “I'm not the right person to do that. But if you come with me, I promise you’ll get the answers you want.” She held out a hand, which I pushed away.
“Fine, but no more surprises.” I could still feel my pulse jackhammering away in my ears. “I’d prefer not to have a heart attack.”
“I’ll do my best,” Gabriella agreed with a sober expression. Pointing towards a set of metallic double doors at the end of the corridor, she added, “but you have to understand, once we get where we’re going, you will see and learn things you never believed possible. I need you to keep an open mind.”
“It’s wide open. Trust me, Bat-woman back there made sure of that.”
“Okay then,” Gabriella said with a faint hint of a smile.
We walked the length of the corridor, me lagging behind. I couldn't help it. I didn’t know what to expect, all rationality had been thrown out of the window. Gabriella pressed a circular pad by the double doors, which lit up. The doors rolled open after a few moments and we walked into an elevator. The sides were all mirrored. The floor was the same plush red carpet as the waiting room. The panel only contained one button. It looked like a triangle with a circle inside. Gabriella pressed it. A voice from somewhere said:
Temple of the Divine Elements.
Temple?
The corridor disappeared from view as the doors slid shut. I waited for the typical lurch of vertical movement, so was surprised when the lift jerked backwards. It went slowly at first and then gathered speed at an alarming rate. It became so fast that I shrank back to one of the sides, gripping the rail for fear of falling over. The metal felt cold and damp in my nervous hands. Gabriella kept her head down and didn’t say anything for the entire ride, which took an uncomfortable minute or so.
After what felt like an eternity, the elevator slowed and then even more unnervingly, rotated 180 degrees.
There was a loud ding and the doors rolled open. Gabriella walked out with the confidence of those in the loop. I edged out, still wary of what I might find, my hands leaving clammy prints on the rail.
We were in some kind of tunnel. The walls were carved from uneven rock. Our footsteps echoed on the slabs of granite that formed the ground. At regular intervals we passed between rows of what looked like golden bird baths. Odd green flames curled and flickered from their centres. The scent they released was smoky but not unpleasant. It reminded me of roasted chestnuts.
After we'd been walking in silence for some time, we reached a set of stone steps which led up to a gigantic oak door. The tops of the arch were so high I had to tilt my head back as far as I could to see them. Thick iron handles were attached to the middle. Above, a Latin phrase had been etched into the wood. Curious, I moved close to read the words.
DILECTI SURGEMUS — SOCII POLLEMUS
“Chosen we rise — allied we prevail,” I translated. “Wait…how did I know that?”
“All in good time,” Gabriella said from behind me. I wiped a line of sweat from my forehead with the back of my hand. The preternatural flames made the area very hot. “So, what is this place?” I asked. “This,” she replied, “is the entrance to the Temple of the Divine Elements. “Please tell me this isn’t a cult.”
Gabriella gave me a sarcastic look and climbed the steps. With a feeling of great apprehension, I followed. There was a moment of hesitation and she took a deep breath. Then with a shaking hand, she knocked in a complicated sequence and drew back, regarding me with her vivid eyes. She looked nervous.
“Here we go.”
There was a cranking sound and the doors yawned open.
11
T he room was monumental. Thick, golden pillars stretched up and disappeared into the darkness above. The floor beneath our feet was literally paved in gold; my reflection stared back at me from the shining surface. Lush tapestries hung from the expansive walls. One depicted a colossal bird covered in flames, soaring up into the sky. Comets of fire rained down from its tail, igniting the ground below. Another showed a gigantic face in the woods, formed out of trees and other foliage. Even its beard was made from thick leaves. It smiled down with benevolence at various woodland creatures below.
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