I was a kid when I first met him. I was so terrified because of a legend. According to that legend, seeing the dire wolf for the first time resulted in joy. A second sighting was a warning. A third time was said to be a death omen. I had seen the dire wolf twice already; the next time I would have seen it, it would be a death sentence for me. At least, that was what I thought.
The next time I saw Ramin, nothing bad happened to me. The tale of the dire wolf of the Deadly Sand dunes was the locals’ effort to explain the inexplicable occurrences in their land. You know, I was not the only one of my kind who lived in that area. But we do not all share the same beliefs; my boy Ramin has been blamed for all the harm unscrupulous vampires have done in that corner of the world.”
He stared at me with a piercing gaze. “But what saddened me the most were the people. People I loved and trusted. I still cannot decide who is worse, humans or vampires,” he gave Tristan a deadly stare. “Vampires suck your blood; people suck your soul. I cannot understand why people cannot be honest. Why do they care only about their own welfare without thinking of the feelings of those who love them?”
“I think mankind is insidious by nature. I have lived long enough to have witnessed myself the moral degradation of human society. In my time, men were prized, and women were the pillar of the family, responsible for the proper education of their children.”
“In your time, women also did not have the right of free will and choice. They did not enjoy basic human rights,” I said with a raised eyebrow.
“Certainly, modern society has made strides forward in the matter of personal liberties, but we cannot overlook that some moral values have been either devalued or weeded out.”
“Are you saying that in your time there was no betrayal, no dishonesty, no immorality?”
“Of course, there were all these. Dishonesty, betrayal, and immorality led me to my current state. I am the product of all of these. However, I am proud of the code of honor men used to have; nowadays, our moral and intellectual virtues are old-fashioned and obsolete.”
“A code of honor cannot overrule laws and courts.”
“If that is what you believe, then I do not really know what you are doing in the Avallon Academy.”
He cleared his throat to hide his agitation. His movements did not show the impulsiveness of the youth reflected in his appearance; he exuded a mature man’s confidence.
“Anyway,” I said as I moved in the sand dune that I was trapped in, “this sand is hot and it is getting everywhere in my body, so I need to get through this challenge now. Maybe your connection to Tristan is what we are looking for. Why do you hate each other?”
“My father and Izolde’s father had betrothed us when we were younger. I loved Izolde and always thought that I was going to marry her. However, Tristan entered her life and my dream never came true.
Izolde’s betrayal reminded me of Inanna, the Sumerians goddess of warfare and sexuality. Unlike other gods, Inanna was moving from conquest to conquest. She was young and impetuous, constantly striving for more power than she had been allotted.
Although she was worshipped as the goddess of love, Inanna was not the goddess of marriage and family. The hymns dedicated to her told how infamous she was for ill-treating her lovers. She wore a single garment, pearls around her neck, always ready to snatch a man from the tavern. When Inanna descended to the Underworld, she treated Dumuzid, her lover, in a very capricious manner. Inanna abandoned Dumuzid and permitted the demons to drag him down into the Underworld as her replacement. Inanna later mourned Dumuzid's death and declared that he would be allowed to return to Heaven to be with her for one half of the year. Inanna always stirred confusion and chaos, carnage and floods, conflict and battle.”
“You cannot compare my wife to Inanna,” Tristan shouted before bright red flashes appeared from within the sand. They started out as tiny, growing bigger and bigger as they moved steadily towards Pally. Trying to keep his head out of the sand, Pally stretched his hand until his fingers touched one of the flashes and the explosion that occurred spread lights like fire along the sand.
“Inanna had a twin sister called Ereshkigal,” Pally said as he examined the lights. “When Inanna ascends from the Underworld, it is through Ereshkigal's powers. While Inanna stays in the Underworld, Ereshkigal rules the Upper World. There are always consequences for one's actions. When one of the gods behaves badly, mortals suffer for the god’s negligence or poor judgment. Sometimes, life is just not fair.”
He pointed to the symbols that were illuminating through the sand. “This is the waxing crescent Moon that begins the spring equinox. That one is the meteor shower that locates near the end of one synodic period of Venus, and this is the constellation Taurus that disappears when the sun rises and marks the occurrence of the vernal equinox.”
The beauty of the lights within the sand dunes did not last long. As Pally pointed to the lights that formed a waxing crescent Moon, a cluster of lights, and a symbol resembling the K letter, three red dots started flashing on my ring. All the lights exploded in million pieces and a gasp of wind carried us away through an air tunnel that was created in the middle of the cell.
CHAPTER 7
*
I blinked my eyes to adjust to the darkness. I groped the floor; it was also made of rose thorns that stung every time my legs moved. I slowly stood up against the wind that was blowing in the cell.
“First it was water; then it was earth; now it is wind. Is it really the Five elements we are looking for? Or is it the Four Elements?” I thought.
I streched my hand to reach the wall and I touched Pally instead. Tristan was standing right beside you.
A young man was the newest addition to our team. He was obviously the occupant of the cell we had landed in. As much I would love to spend some time with pleasantries and introductions, I knew that we had to pass to the main course and find the key to the next riddle fast.
“Hi you!” I waved awkwardly. “I am Gwen; this is Tristan, and this is Pally. What is our name?”
The man hesitated for a moment and then said baffled, “I am Percy. What are you doing here? How did you get in here?”
“Well Percy, it is so nice to meet you. We are trying to find our way out of the Thorn Prison, and something tells me that you have the key to the portal that will get us closer to freedom. In fact, we are two riddles short to freedom. So, if you want to be liberated too, please tell us why and how you got in the Thorn Prison.”
“WORLD WAR II HAD JUST ended when I first met Blanche,” Percy started. “Two weeks after we first met, we wed in a church in Cornwall, and my young bride became the mistress of my newly-built house.
In the months that followed, our house lived in absolute happiness. I had never imagined that a man’s soul could be so deep with emotions. Blanche unlocked parts of my heart that had been firmly sealed. Every day passed pleasantly, my business was growing, and Blanche had developed particularly good relations with the local society by baking delicious pies for them. We kept a low profile and never revealed our true nature. The news of her pregnancy came to seal our ultimate happiness. We were so ecstatic that we could not understand that ultimate happiness could never be achieved.
Blanche was seven months pregnant when I decided to travel to London to buy textiles and ribbons for my store. It was the first time since our marriage that we were separated, but the good relationship we had developed with the local community comforted me. All the eminent ladies had promised to keep an eye on my wife, and I gave our housekeeper clear instructions to notify me immediately in case of premature birth. I could see the risks of our separation, but this trip was important to my business as the textiles stock in my shop had decreased significantly.
Two days later, I was still in London without any news from my beloved wife. If there is something I don’t recall with fondness from those days, it is the absence of communication with our loved ones when we traveled. With neither cell phones nor internet, there were onl
y landlines for those who could afford to have one. We were not of the fortunate ones.
I was packing the goods in my two huge suitcases so when the lady who owned the Bed and Breakfast I lived in knocked the door of my room and told me that someone was asking urgently for me on the phone.
I felt my stomach tighten, and I ran as fast as I could to the parlor and grabbed the phone handle.
‘Mr Percy!’ It was Maria, a young girl that used to help Blanche with the household chores and occasionally lived in our house, especially when I travelled for business.
‘Maria, is Blanche alright?’ I asked, afraid of what her response might bring.
‘Mr Percy, I’m so sorry,’ wailed the poor girl.
Honestly, I would not wish her position on anyone. How could she announce to her benefactor the tragedy that had hit his household? What words could describe the horrific things that happened during the two days of my absence?
It was only a few days after my departure from Cornwall that my Blanche felt the suffering of premature birth. Once her water had broken, Eline, her best friend who lived next door, urgently called the midwife. She also sought the support of Tamara and Nia, two ladies who had promised me they would take care of my wife. The birth was painful; more painful, however, was the outcome. After several agonizing hours, our child came into the world. However, the midwife was unable to tell whether it was a boy or girl. She was not even able to tell if it was human or beast. She could only say for sure that our baby was dead, stillborn and deformed. It had a face but had no head. Between its shoulder blades, a mouth protruded. Male and female genitalia were attached to its abdomen. It had feet, but no hands.
Tamara fainted out of horror. That worried Blanche, who hadn’t seen the newborn, as the midwife had rushed to wrap it in hot towels and immediately left the room. My wife was told that Tamara was unwell and couldn’t handle the thrill of the birth. Blanche was told that she should rest and promised that she could see the baby as soon as she woke up. As Blanche sank into sleep, ignorant of the tragedy that hit our family, Tamara ordered Maria to bury the baby and begged the midwife and the ladies keep the truth about the baby's appearance a secret. She would claim to Blanche that the child was born dead, and I would be told the truth only after my return.
Indeed, when Blanche awoke, she heard from Eline that the baby was born dead and that our priest ruled it should be buried immediately or it wouldn’t meet our Creator and become an angel. My beautiful wife lamented with all her soul but agreed that I should not be asked to return in haste, as everything was over. What neither Blanche nor Eline knew was that nothing was over.
The birth of the deformed baby did not stay hidden for long in our small village. The promises for discretion were not kept, and soon our family’s tragedy was the village’s main topic of conversation. Birth defects are common on shapeshifters but is still a shock factor for humans. The description of the stillborn passed by word of mouth, and soon its deformed limbs became horns and claws. Although our true nature as shapeshifters was not revealed, however accusations of witchcraft that were soon thrown at us.
I must point out that before my relationship with Blanche started, I had several love affairs. It turned out the worst of all was my flirting with Elizabeth.
Even though she was a married woman, this did not stop her from engaging in our affair. When I met Blanche and fell in love with her, I asked to part ways with her. My will was not well received, but I did not give her any choice. From then on, I could sense her jealousy. However, I never predicted that her wickedness was so great as to accuse Blanche of practicing witchcraft. Elizabeth started to spread rumors that Blanche used to fill the pies she sold with magical herbs. She even went to claim that she had witnessed Blanche inviting the spirits of evil in on a night with a full moon. To make things worse Elizabeth dared to say that herself had become seriously ill after she ate a piece of pumpkin pie that Blanche offered her when she visited our home. Of course, they all were unaware that Elizabeth could not possibly have visited our home, as I had advised my wife to avoid any meetings with her, and I'd clearly explained the reason.
Deeply saddened by the concatenation of events, Blanche was unable to defend herself, and in my absence, she had no allies to defend her. She was alone against the gang, and I was not there to protect her.
It was midnight when Elizabeth invaded our property carrying a torch. As Elizabeth put the curtains and tablecloths on fire, Maria blocked her way to our bedroom. Elizabeth looked at her with evil eyes and commanded her to go away as she rushed into our bedroom where Blanche was lying mourning for our stillborn child.
The net morning, when the fire was extinguished, Maria got into the burnt-out house and choking on the smoke, she rushed straightening to our bedroom. What she saw made her burst into a loud cry of despair. My beloved wife, the most beautiful creature in the world, was lying burnt on her bed.
Everyone in the neighborhood was talking about a tragic accident that claimed my wife’s life. Maria, though, found out that Elizabeth, before she set our house ablaze, had sent her then lover to tie Blanche up in bed and let her burn so the murder would look like an accident.”
Watching him struggle under the emotional weight the memories had on him, I put my hand on his arm. His body shook as if it had been hit by an electric charge. A small cry of surprise fled from my mouth as sparks shot from my palms and the electricity passed into his body.
A figure was formed in front of me as if tons of celestial particles joined together in one body. She had wavy brown hair and almond eyes. The next moment, she was gone.
‘Did you see that?’ I shouted.
Percy nodded and cupped my palms.
‘Was that Blanche?’ I asked.
Instead of answering, Percy took my hands again in his and sparks sprouted from our joined palms, and a river of images overwhelmed our minds.
We saw Blanche giving birth to their dead child. We saw her trying to get free of the ropes that tied her to the railing of the bed while the fire was approaching. We felt her grief, anguish, terror. I yelled out, and suddenly, everything was quiet. The pain disappeared; tranquility and warmth filled our soul. And love. Bathed in a bright white light, Blanche looked at Percy and gave him the most beautiful smile. Then her lips moved. She said something that I could not hear. Blanche spoke again, yet the sound of her voice did not reach my ears. Blanche turned her back and vanished in a white light that blinded me.
Suddenly, everything became black, and I collapsed. The electricity ceased Percy released my hands from his grip, and they dropped like dead weights on my thighs. Drops of sweat rolled down my forehead, and my breath was quick. I opened my eyes, awestruck, and saw Percy staring at me, eyes wide open and white, without pupils, without irises. He opened his mouth to speak, but the words that came out were incoherent.
I nodded Tristan and Pally to join us. The moment our hands touched, a blast grabbed all four of us and carried us away through a tunnel of fire.
CHAPTER 8
*
Our long ride falling through the ablaze tunnel ended up on the thorny floor of another cell. My whole body hurt as I slowly stood up. My eyes were still trying to adjust to the bright light that filled the thorn-made cell as a smoldering fire was slowly burning the rose brunches.
“Izolde, what are you doing here?” Tristan’s loud voice was filled with surprise and happiness.
A beautiful young woman was sitting on uncomfortable chairs made of thorns, her hands tied behind her back. A piece of cloth wrapped around her mouth prevented her from making any noise or saying a word.
“Izolde, are you alright?” Pally asked quietly.
Tristan turned around and ran towards Pally, his hands clenched into fists. Without losing his composure, Pally bent down to avoid Tristan’s fist, which was targeting his chin, and rapidly slid his arms around his opponent’s waist. With a nimble movement, Pally threw him down. Holding Tristan’s hand firmly behind his back, Pally yelled at hi
m, “You want to be a hero, don’t you? Well, now is your moment.”
Tristan struggled under his enemy’s weight and spat out a few curses; however, he was not able to let loose. “What do you want from us? Why don’t you leave us alone? We have suffered enough because of you.”
Pally tied Tristan’s arms behind his back and made him stand on his feet. He brought Tristan to stand in front of Izolde who were looking at them with watery eyes.
“Would you die for her?” Pally asked calmly.
“I have already died once for her, and I would gladly give my soul and every particle of my body to save her,” Tristan gasped.
Staring with wide eyes, Pally hesitated for a moment and then he started shouting at him.
“Then you should have never left her. If you had not gone fishing salmons in British Columbia, then you would have been with her when the Black Sword Riders found her and I would not have had to help her escape,” Pally said.
“Escape? You led her straight to Thorn Prison,” yelled Tristan. “You are the reason we got imprisoned.”
“I am the reason? If you had not cast Gráinne's spell, you would not have alarmed Mordred’s WizGuards and they would not have come after us for misuse of magical powers.”
“But I had to find where Izolde was hiding,” Tristan protested. “I did not know that you had helped escape when the Black Sword Riders invaded our house. Gráinne's spell was the one way to find out where she was hiding and reunite with her. Besides, we had use Gráinne's spell quite a few times before and no one had accused us of misuse of powers.”
“You had use Gráinne's spell before the Board of Wizards set the rules on acceptable ways to use of magical powers. Gráinne's spell was not on the list. That is why the WizGuards came after us. We were all blamed for something that was your fault.”
The Thorn Prison (Avallon Academy Book 2) Page 5
