Scathe

by Chacelyn Pierce

  "Whoa, what?" He was insane and terribly confused and she needed to leave, yet she was engrossed by him and his story. Panicking about his believing she was his soul mate could be overlooked for a few more moments while she gathered up more information.

  More things to use for her article, of course.

  "Put it on and see for yourself." He held the mask out for her to take. "It will show you."

  Andrea reached out and paused, her fingers suspended in air just mere inches from it. She had serious doubts about what Luc said, but it seem like too much effort to argue. Plus, the mask beguiled her, drawing her in like an eddy deep in the ocean. Much like the otherworldly attraction Luc seemed to have over her.

  "What will I see?" She asked, skeptical.

  "The truth, but the question is…do you want to see it, Andrea?" His voice was soft and she found herself nodding, not taking her eyes off the ceramic mask held delicately in his grip. Luc stepped silently behind her and lifted the mask. She held it against her face and tried to remember to breathe as he tightened the strings. She turned to Luc when he finished and his eyes roamed over her covered face. "There, lovely." His fingers touched the soft space between her chin and throat.

  "Thought you said something was supposed to happen."

  The minute the words slipped past her lips, Luc's face began fading into darkness. She blinked to keep him in focus but it didn't work. It seemed the void swarmed over him like a flurry of black snow. Panic gripped her and before she could shout out her fear, the dark began melting away, leaving a tingling feeling through her tensed limbs and a starry night above her head. Andrea heard a distinct pop and sizzle, the loud sound reminding her of fireworks freed on the Fourth of July. She craned her head up, expecting to see bursts of colors in the night sky, but blackness ensued whenever glimpses of color flickered in sight. Andrea could smell water, the sweet aroma of wine as an undercurrent, but the cool wind on her cheek caused her to shudder. The darkness gave way to another fragment of light sparking in the indigo blue sky. Old buildings faded into view, old buildings built over water. It didn't take long to realize she was looking at a different span of time through someone else's eyes. The very air and sight seemed old as well as the jumbled thoughts sneaked in her mind. Thoughts that were familiar, yet forgotten…

  Ciana's eyes focused on the colors, so many beautiful colors. Masked people were clapping, dancing, drinking, and swooning over their lovers. She was finally free to move about and mingle with the people of Venice. And though she looked like a woman of some significant worth, her dress was borrowed and she hadn't a dime to her name. She'd charmed the vino vendors into giving her free wine. None seemed to care. She fascinated them and she would have to remember to again thank the Signora for allowing a servant girl to wear her mesmerizing dress. On the decorated streets of Italy, lower social class didn't matter as much. In fact, no one cared on this night. She and everyone were treated equally, though the wealthy still had the upper hand when it came to their costumes. They tried to outdo each other each year. There was only one man she cared to find. Duke Luciano had been in her sights since she saw him frequenting the markets. She was wary of him. He exuded money and power and danger. He should be easy to spot. Every year, whether he realized it or not, he always wore a soft shade of sapphire.

  The masquerade celebration radiated an intoxicating air. She swayed to the background music and the euphoria fogged her brain. She twirled one last time and paused when Luciano was in her sights. Her breath exhaled loudly as she took measure of the muscled nobleman watching the light show. The full face mask didn't fool her; she'd seen Luciano from afar numerous times to memorize his body and the way he moved. She wanted to explore everything about the man she knew so well from a distance. Ciana wanted to touch him intimately and run her fingers over his olive skin. However, she was a servant girl, and his status scared her. The gossipers labeled him a demon of sin, not a man. Parents told stories of Duke Luciano to scare their children into behaving. Ciana had never put much stock into others' dark musings; she wanted to know for herself. Luciano was indeed someone supernatural. He enthralled her so, like an angel. In any case, she'd always played it safe. She'd stayed far away from him to keep herself from crossing his path and hid behind vendors when she spotted him at the cafés and markets. However, tonight was a grand night, and for once she wanted to live and know what it would feel like to have Luciano take notice of her.

  Ciana breezed by him and ducked into the alley. She'd caught his attention, she was sure of it. She paused and side glanced to see if he'd follow. Her cheeks warmed as she saw him turn and walk in her direction. Oh, to be considered by a Duke, her mother would never believe it. Still, she played with fire, and nothing would come of this except a short-lived dance or flirtatious conversation. At least Ciana caught his attention for the first and maybe only time.

  She heard steps heavily behind her, and her adrenaline churned in her blood. Music and cheering were dim to her ears now. She'd grown bored with the night's festivities already. Luciano stole all her attention. She wasn't buzzed from the wine she'd gulped before running off and her steps were sure. However, she acted like a drunken fool. A short thrill had gone through her when she noticed Duke Luciano following her and she laughed, the sound echoed off the brick and mortar.

  Her father would be pleased she caught the eye of someone so rich. Yet, the rumors she'd heard gave her concern. Many believed Luciano was evil, not by his character, but that he had been spat out of Hell itself and could change into an evil creature at will. Ciana wasn't too afraid of him, not when he looked like a man. Not an ordinary man, though, he was so striking. Hard to believe he would be interested in her. Stepping out into the empty street, her mind reeled at hearing his rapid footfalls behind her. She slipped into the shadows and would wait for him. Ciana covered her lips to stifle her giggle. A duke ran after her. The sensation was almost too overwhelming.

  He stepped out on the street looking for her. She knew that this was her chance to ensnare him, as he'd done her many months ago.

  A sharp slash of pain jarred Andrea out of the vision. She raised her hand to her head, feeling a phantom throb there. Her vision jumped back to ancient Venice, she watched the streets and canal bridges breeze past her, she was running. Running from the man she'd been enthralled with moments ago. Looking through the vision of the woman Ciana, Andrea glanced over her shoulder to see a vision of Luciano—no Luc—with his eye's blazing like a bonfire. Fear gripped her, nearly choking the breath from her lungs. Ciana's feelings were really starting to influence heavy on her thoughts and it started to annoy her.

  Andrea reached out blindly, hitting a man's solid chest. Luc. She jerked back, not exactly sure why. It wasn't her fear, it couldn't be. What was happening to the vision? It went suddenly haywire, yet she remembered it all. As though they were her memories, long dead and forgotten. Being Ciana seemed so normal, so much like home. The flirty conversation she had with Luciano before running, the firelight in his eyes, the word demon floating in her mind. She couldn't recall what happened next…

  Andrea shuddered when her vision cut out. She clenched her eyes shut to see black water rushing up to meet her.

  Andrea had never been a swimmer. The fear of deep water had been ingrained into her since she was a little girl. As a reflex to save herself from drowning, she blindly threw her hands out again to grab hold of anything. She screamed out from shock as the ice cold water hit her and drag her down. She gasped for air but nothing came. A loud, unmistakable thump echoed in the dark water memory. Somewhere in the back of her mind she knew she'd fallen on the floor of Luc's library.

  Andrea allowed herself to be swallowed by the darkness, the numb vibration pulsing through her bones seemed to wrap around her consciousness and then…she was weightless.

  VI

  "Let the devil catch you but by a single hair, and you are his forever."

  ― Gotthold Ephraim Lessing

  The luscious sound of running
stream water and the smell of blossoming flowers caused Andrea to open her eyes. Gone were the Italian buildings and the indigo night and Luc's expansive library. She took in the new scene and wondered at what point did the wrong turn come. Untamed grass with gorged droplets of dew shimmered in the low sunlight. Rolling over onto her back, she felt the damp grass under her, but surprisingly she was dry. She studied the amber sky, rich in color streaked with lavender clouds rolling sluggishly overhead. The peach color either announced the incoming dawn or evening, she couldn't tell, but it was no less beautiful. The pigment reminded her of the orange Dreamsicles her father used to eat out of the freezer when he thought no one was watching. It also reminded her of the rising flames in Luc's eyes. The Italian woman's memories rose up as if they were her own, and some part of her believed they might be. She didn't have time to think about reincarnation and such. She needed to figure out where she was and find a way home. She'd reached her threshold tolerance for supernatural. She never believed she'd ever think that about herself.

  Where the hell am I?

  She was surrounded by a garden of rich, immense beauty¸ and fruitful trees towered over her body. She sat up, feeling the damp air brush against her skin and the heavy perfume of florets flourishing the meadow around her. Songbirds gave the melodic tune of tranquility and the mild temperature seemed to relax her skin. Skin? She wasn't in her business skirt suit anymore. Her clothes had morphed into a type of cream toga pinned at the shoulder.

  She heard a rustle at her side and jumped away when the tall grass shifted. It took her a few minutes to calm when she saw the beautiful creature lying next to her.

  A fawn, nibbling on a blade of grass, looked back at her without any fear. Reaching out slowly, she laid a hand on its narrow head and stroked until her heart rate returned to normal. Guess she wasn't in terrible danger if a baby deer wasn't up and running off. Absentmindedly rubbing the fawn, she glanced around again. She'd believe this was a dream except, it didn't have the warbled, confusing patterns like her dreams normally did. The forest was too vivid to be a dream and too dreamlike to be real. Luc most likely put her here, but she wondered where here actually was. Could this all be in her head, or did he actually transport her somewhere? Or did he drug her and leave her lying on his floor, tripping out on some hallucinogen, and staring at a painting that looked like this amber garden creation? Either way it was terrifying and overwhelming to be cast off to a place of paradise.

  She stood up, the plush grass providing a blanket of cushion under her bare feet. She patted her body, wondering if she felt any different by touch. Nothing seemed odd, but she wouldn't doubt it could change at any moment. A slight, hazy glow highlighted the world around her, as if it was a fantasyland enriched in another world. Somewhat familiar, possibly the Houston arboretum she liked to visit on occasion. She took a step toward the stream. The soft rustle of grass behind her caused her to turn and see the fawn following her. As cute as it was, she didn't have time to worry about it; she had to find a way back to the real world.

  "Luc?" she called out and was answered by the birds raising their chirps.

  Great. He'd dumped her in some realm and was nowhere to be found. Lifting up her toga she marched to the edge of the stream and was overtaken by the need to drink the crystal water. Cupping her palm she sipped the cool water and watched the fawn lower its head to drink as well. "Where are we, little buddy?" A part of her half expected the animal to speak, but it ignored her as if she hadn't said a word. No doubt she might actually be in Hell, and Luc decided to toy with her a bit before revealing his fiery world and her eternal damnation. Had she died? Had he killed her? Was she in Heaven instead? She chewed her bottom lip in worry and cast a skeptical eye over everything again. The large trees swayed in a warm wind, animals flittered about in the distance. She looked for any faults, a telling sign she'd been tricked. However, the forestry seemed too real and too beautiful to be Hell, even if it was an illusion. She wanted to be in denial about being dead also. She stuck to the belief that people don't get thirsty when they're dead. She was going off the interview she had last year with a family that swore they were dead and stuck on Earth. They said they never got hungry or thirsty, they simply existed. Well, death might not be the answer to this mystery, but Luc knew the answers. Andrea knew Luc had to be in the garden, somewhere. Not sure how she knew, perhaps a gut feeling, but her gut never let her down in the past.

  Following the stream, she journeyed deeper into the woods where the canopy of trees blocked out most of the golden light. She gathered more travelling companions along the way. She had a brown rabbit, two chattering raccoons, the original fawn, and a small antlered buck following her footsteps. Still no sign of Luc. She didn't know where she was going, but she walked until the last specks of sunlight were blotted out by a single tree. A goliath tree with bark so black it looked like smoothed tar. She squinted upward, hoping to make heads or tails of the strange tree. She wasn't a gardener, she didn't know the various trees, but she did know the tree before her was unlike any she'd ever seen. Reaching out, she touched the tree. The coarse bark felt warm and almost seemed to vibrate under her fingertips. She knocked on it and took a few steps back, earning a shrieking protest from one of the raccoons. The tree didn't move, but one could never be too careful. She'd seen Lord of the Rings often enough to know strange places had living and walking creatures of all types, even trees.

  A thump sounded to her right. Turning she caught sight of a golden pear-shaped fruit nestled in the ankle high grass. Cautiously she walked to it and picked it up. Warm from the sun it fit in the palm of her hand. Ripe and sweet, she had the urge to sink her teeth into the soft fruit. It was a crucial, almost a driving madness to quench her growing hunger. Raising it to her lips, she closed her eyes to taste the bliss to come. A tight grip seized her wrist, halting her completion. She opened her eyes to see Luc's fierce gaze on her.

  "No. Not again," he said seriously and then cracked a flirty smile that didn't touch his eyes. "The first time was hellish enough for the human race, who knows what a second time around might do."

  "I've been looking all over for you. Where have you been?"

  His wine-red hair blew in a soft breeze. "Watching you."

  "Watching me? What—where are we?" She glanced down at his body to see him wearing only a loin cloth. Every delectable muscle of his physique had been available for her viewing. Oh, it was soo nice, so tempting. He looked like an ancient warrior come to life. A wet dream come true. She licked her lips, suddenly wanting him more than ever before.

  "Drop the fruit and I will tell you." Oh. She hadn't even realized she had a death grip on the large pear shaped produce. He still had a hold of her wrist, as if he didn't trust she'd drop it. A part of her didn't really want to, she was hungry, and she wanted a small taste. Just a nibble to help curb the hunger. However, the challenge in Luc's eyes was a battle she didn't want to fight. He looked like he'd wrestle her for the fruit if he had to. She reluctantly released the pome, hearing it thump hard against the ground at her feet. Luc's bare foot smashed it further into the ground, ruining all the syrupy deliciousness that could've been rolling down her throat.

  "Was that necessary?"

  He glanced up and met her gaze. "Yes, this particular fruit in Eden is meant to tempt you."

  "Come again. The fruit of where?"

  Luc crossed his arms. "The Garden of Eden. You wanted proof, this is it."

  Andrea put her hands on her hips and shook her head. "We could be in your backyard for all I know. You could've drugged me and dragged me out at dawn to make me think time has elapsed and we're in some mystical place."

  "My, your mind is fascinating. All these elaborate scenarios you come up with. I assure you, Andrea, it may have been my backyard once upon a time but not anymore."

  She'd play along; he was talking about himself, just what she needed. "Why here though, you could've shown me a glimpse of Sheol or something more evil?"

  He looked away an
d then up at the big tree. "This is the beginning. A story that would be easier for you to…accept. Sheol is simply no place for you and no place for you to see me for what I am. Even if you're convinced it's evil."

  "Lucifer is evil."

  He frowned. "I was an angel first and foremost, and because I felt something forbidden I was cast out. My anger and hatred grew, I want nothing more than to avenge what was done to me, but I will never succeed. Plus, it's in the past, I want to move on from it. It took a long while for me to get to this point." He looked up at the tree. "It started here, this very spot. I was told by someone I loved to be proud of what I am. She made me proud, her encouraging words constantly echoed in my head. Her caring nature consumed me, I quickly became infatuated and she became everything to me. I fell for pride and love, but no one ever mentions love because they believe I'm not capable of it. Most of the truth has been erased from history, leaving myth and small pieces. I loved Eve with everything in me, she cared for me, but not nearly enough as I thought. She refused me when I wanted to take her as my eternal mate. I told her God could've fashioned Adam another wife again. She refused, too afraid of her punishment, but she told me she wanted to be with me one last time. One more time before she was forever faithful to Adam, as God intended.

  "I was too upset to bed her then, and swore I wouldn't ever again. I returned to Elysium, giving us space. By then, everyone in Heaven had found out what happened between Eve and me. They didn't show an ounce of leniency. Especially since Sammael and Lilith's whole debacle had made angel/human relationships forbidden. And of course, Adam's new wife was off limits. So I was cast out, burned out of Heaven, when I wouldn't accept their bond and bow to Adam as the superior male for Eve. I became the first True Fallen. I became so full of hatred for what they did, but Eve's rejection hurt the most. I felt betrayed by her. I wouldn't have thought twice about falling from grace and becoming mortal if she'd been by my side."