“Follow us,” the two announced in unison.
We started walking without talking, the ambiance was a little tense and I still felt a little faint. After walking for a while I forgot about the fight that had happened and I started to surprise myself as to all the information that I had obtained in such a short time, giving my life that greater purpose it had lacked. Everything fitted. Despite that I was still somewhat confused about my dreams, I didn´t know if the times that I had seen her were real or only a figment of my imagination. Either way, I was sure that I wanted to search for her, and it seemed that she wanted to find me too, but to kill me. After a few minutes of being consumed by my own curiosity, I did the best thing I could until then, ask!
“Where are we going?”
“We are going to the Kingdom, the Kingdom of the Moon. Our world is divided into four districts, all representatives of the four elements, these are led by the principal city of the Kingdom of the Moon, called The Light” Gabriel told me, in his cold manner.
“Why don´t we disappear like you do normally? Can you not do that here?” There was a deathly silence until Eric started to speak with a friendly and caring voice.
“No, the security of the Kingdom forbids it, because the fallen ones can also do it and they cannot enter like we are doing.”
I thought it was a good reason to have to cross the tunnel walking.
“Will my mother be there?”
“Yes, but you cannot see her.”
“Why?”
“Because you need to have training first, the council will decide what to do.”
“And, how long will I train for?”
“It will be a few days if you do well. Your blood remembers who you are, it won´t take much for you to learn.”
After a few minutes in silence, I noticed that the tunnel was getting wider and a little later we appeared before a large wood gate, about four meters high. It had hand engraved images, with a fine layer of gold dust on the border of the carvings. As I got closer I could observe that it was a story. Our story, as sons of the night we were created by Mother Earth to do Good and destroy Evil. Right in the center of the union of the two doors, the four elements could be found either side of the handles. I stayed there impressed, staring fixedly at every detail on the door, until Eric took me gently from behind by my belt and whispered in my ear that I should look at the upper right corner. When I lifted my eyes I saw myself, there, surrounded by light and peace, although I had the feeling that it wasn´t going to be like that. Quickly Eric distracted me from my thoughts and got even closer to me.
“I am sorry that I didn´t tell you the truth, it is a truth that consumes me inside and I am sorry to tell you that I won´t be able to be so close to you, this will become real and I will not be able to bear it.” I noticed how it was difficult for him to speak and felt the accelerated breathing of his chest against my back. “Tonight I will tell you everything.”
The next thing I knew he moved away leaving me with my mouth ajar as the door opened. At last he would tell me what was happening, happiness invaded me like it never had before. I was decided to tell him that night that I loved him and that nothing would stand in the way of our love.
When the door opened I didn´t really see anyone to begin with, until I looked down and saw a man who was only one meter twenty tall, he had glasses and looked old. What caught my attention most was the coat he was wearing, it was so long it touched the ground; it was a dark pistachio green color, embroidered with golden thread that highlighted his dark skin and grey hair.
I stood stunned, looking at him until Eric in a low voice that only I could hear and started to explain.
“He is a nuddle, they all look like that. They are our allies and they always help us when we need it, in return we give them protection and allow them to live in the kingdom. Do you see the pendant he is wearing?”
I looked closely and could see a clear violet stone that shone around about his neck.
That stone in particular is that of the third eye, it allows them to see further than the obstacles. They help the blacksmiths; they embed precious stones into our weapons that allow us to increase our powers in the battles and bring us energy balance. They also make the majority of the jewels for the families of the kingdom. The stones are their specialty, as well as them not affecting any of our powers.
I looked at him amazed by the amount of things that such a small being could do.
“Come in dear children, the Council awaits you,” he said forcefully.
We crossed the enormous door into an immense waiting area with great pillars and the same drawings of our creation were on the domed ceiling along with others I hadn´t seen. Within a second of being there a middle aged woman dressed in black like us, with a long coat the same as the small mans, but in grey-blue tones that matched her grey eyes.
“Good afternoon, I am Fairiel,” she said to me and bowed, I was about to say that she shouldn´t but the instant look from the boys stopped me. “It is a pleasure to meet you, your highness; I am the person in charge of the Kingdom´s defense.” I nodded unable to articulate a single word. “The Council would like to see you. Please follow me.”
The three of us walked behind her until she stood in front of a door. I was terrified that I may have to enter alone, I didn´t want to separate from Eric. Looking at him he squeezed my hand in a way that showed comprehension and gave me strength. The doors opened and we were called one by one; firstly Gabriel then Eric and finally me. My uncertainty was starting to grow as I waited in the hallway for Eric to come out, with Gabriel’s stare on my back. I had not spoken to him since I spoke sharply to him in the tunnel and I had no intention of doing so now. At last the door opened and Eric came out with a cautious expression. He made a silent gesture for me to enter. I started to walk slowly, with heaviness in my body that I could not describe. I felt scared, for not knowing what was going to happen or what they would ask me. I slowly entered into the hall; it was large with pretty dark wooden galleries. At the end there was a platform in which I could see a table with five people calmly discussing. They didn´t know that I had entered.
“We are not sure that it is her,” a man in a white dress determined.
“And if it is, are you going to leave her outside? She knows where we are, even if it isn´t the real Samantha,” said a woman whose face reflected pure wisdom.
“Furthermore, I think we should hear her story first,” said a man with big eyes, he looked young and was dressed in green.
Seeing that they hadn´t counted with my presence in the room I cleared my throat to let them know that I was in the room.
The Council was interrupted and they remained speechless, looking at me, until the man dressed in green jumped towards me enthusiastically with a big smile on his face.
“You see, I knew it was her,” he said shouting. “You are the living reflection of your mother,” he exclaimed coming closer to me to inspect me from top to tail. “Oh my dear, such a lapse, my name is Francis, Counsellor Representative of Earth, hence my favorite color, green” he said smiling. “Come my dear, don´t stay there standing, I am going to present you to the rest of the members.”
He lifted me up and presented me to all of them, each one dressed in a different color depending upon the element they represented.
“This is Peter Smith, Counsellor Representative of Air” he said signaling a man dressed with a white jacket and a tired reflection on his face. “This is Elias White, Counsellor Representative of Water. He is young for his post, but he is a great man,” he smiled reading my thoughts about the blue jewels that he was wearing. “This lady here,” he said pointing to a woman with a fitted red suit that defined every curve of her body. “She is Angelica Jones, Counsellor Representative of Fire.”
The woman gave me a friendly smile as Francis continued to present me to the rest.
“And Miss Fairiel Black, Head of Defense.”
I smiled again and sat at a big round table beside Franci
s. Last of all he presented me to Argi. I remember that he told me that his name meant light and he laughed at the irony that he always wore black the same as us. Argi was the Representative of the Moon and at the same time all of the elements, in case that one of the components of the Council was not available. Francis was very funny and joyful; he made me relax little by little. They simply wanted to hear my story, to see if I remembered anything about my infancy or about any son of the night and how the boys had found me a few days ago.
I told them every detail that I could remember about my early years, without mentioning Eric’s theory, that Anne could be a witch. As I spoke, they all listened carefully to me, however the lady dressed in red, representative of fire, whose name I didn´t remember, looked at me fixedly trying to find something familiar, I thought. She embed every centimeter of my face as though she were about to paint a portrait.
After telling them of my meeting the boys, whilst omitting some details, I ended and let out a sigh that I didn´t know where it came from. All of them seemed satisfied, after the short yet intense talk about my life.
We were leaving the room, when Francis decidedly offered that I stay in his house, it was the closest to the training ground. Eric´s eyes shone when they found my eyes in the corridor that led to the exit of the Council. The building was enormous and well lit; something which surprised me, with great pillars of ancient roman style everywhere. The main library of the kingdom was to be found here, it was were all the important documents were kept; it was also where the Council and the representatives of the Kingdom met as well as hosting parties on special occasions. It was a meeting point, but that afternoon it was deserted, the people had been warned that they should not go there until the meeting with me had finished, Fairiel explained to me, when we left the building. Gabriel and Francis were on the staircase of the entrance, still arguing as to where I would sleep during the next few days.
“I live in the countryside, my house isn´t very big, but you all fit if you want.” Gabriel, after explaining infinity of times that his house in the center of the city was safer for me, accepted reluctantly.
“My dear, if someday you have any doubts or need help just look for me, I know many things about your mother that you will want to hear.” He said the last part in my ear, pulling me away from the others. He winked and left.
I told myself that I had to remember this new friendly and charismatic source of information that I had found. When the members of the council left, I could see the view in front of me with some detail. I managed to see a large quantity of houses very like human ones, bunched together in tall buildings. We found ourselves in the center of the city, there was a lot of movement in the narrow and picturesque streets; we were heading towards Gabriel´s house. I could de that the houses, although they looked similar to human houses, looked old and well conserved, with grey stone ornaments, filled with alleyways where darkness reigned even though it were midmorning. On the way the boys told me that the city of The Light had been built first and then the rest of the cities that belonged to the elements of the Earth. Together they formed the great Kingdom of the Moon, as, although they were far away from these cities, they formed part of this great union and all were led from the central part, in which we now found ourselves. They told me that Francis lived in the kingdom of the Earth, which was outside the principal city, there wasn´t so much security not barriers to prevent the wanderers entering as there was here.
Shortly after we arrived to a house that looked Victorian, not as large as Eric’s, it had a somber and blood-curling aspect. We entered to a small entrance hall, there was nobody there. Gabriel told us that they were fighting in what would be for me like Los Angeles. He took me to a modest room with its own bathroom; it had a lovely closet and a chest of drawers beside the bed. On top of it there were some folded clothes.
“Put it on, you will need it to train,” after which he left and Eric stayed watching me until he managed to say something.
“Tonight I will come to your room and we will speak,” he said in a dry tone. His expression was indecipherable, I didn´t know where all the love I had felt as we danced had gone.
I didn´t respond, I didn´t want more confusion, only I would talk about this with him in the night. When I looked at the clothes I realized that it was the complete black bodysuit with white stitching. It was pretty, with nooks all over for weapons I supposed. The cloth was elastic, to give flexibility. When I had it on I looked at myself in the mirror of the closet, I thought I looked like a ninja, but I liked it. After that I put the flat black tennis shoes that I found beside the bed. I didn´t feel hot despite it being long sleeved. I pulled back my hair and left the room decidedly, heading back towards the entrance. They were waiting for me when I arrived and Eric´s eyes came out of their orbits when he saw me but he said nothing, he just secretly smiled.
When we went out in to the street we continued in the same direction we were going when we stopped at the house. The streets were steep; I looked up and could see how a great castle rose from within the last houses of the city, on the topo of a hill. I was so fascinated that I stopped. I didn´t know where we were going and what we would do but I felt emotive. On the way I observed that everyone walked in the street, there were no cars. Confused, with the intention to ask why, Eric looked at me and answered.
“We disappear in the shadows, remember. We don´t need cars”
“How do you jump? I want to do it too.”
“You will learn soon,” he answered winking an eye at me. But he quickly continued without looking at me. I concluded that he should be discreet in the city.
We arrived to a building which didn´t fit in with the rest; it was more modern and newer, made of shiny bright metallic materials. We entered and there before us appeared a great hall, with a carpeted floor and high ceilings filled with horizontal beams at varying heights, which I didn´t know what they were for. Eric set me apart a little and commented a few details with me that I found curious.
“You know that in this room time is different. A minute outside is an hour here inside. You can train much more, also you won´t feel tired, or pain, the atmosphere is designed for it.”
Eric moved towards Gabriel to comment something to him while I inspected the room. I bumped into them as I looked at the ceiling; they had stopped in unison and the looked at me expectantly.
“What is it?” I asked.
“We want to present you to the best trainer in the kingdom; he will teach you all you need to learn to fight. Don´t worry, we will be here to help you,” Gabriel said in a neutral tone.
Without delay, a big strong man appeared behind my back, dressed as I was. He presented himself to me and told me to follow him. At the end of the room there was a small door, which hid a weapons room full of swords, daggers, knifes and all kind of bladed weapons.
“We don´t use firearms to fight, they don´t hurt our enemies. We will start by giving you a sword and see how you yield it and I will teach you the cutting points. Don´t worry, today we will only train for a couple of hours.
I nodded my head and we returned to the hall. There was a mannequin in the center. The instructor showed me that the cleanest zones for effective cuts to kill a wanderer were the neck, the heart and the wrists. He gave me the sword and I almost fell over by the weight. I grabbed it with both hands trying to remember everything that I had been told in two minutes. After several hours of trying to kill the doll without any success, I gave up. I couldn´t handle that sword, it was too big for me and I didn´t feel comfortable with it. After laughing at my failures, he decided that that would be enough for my first day. He had given me an hour of theoretical classes after my first tries and then I had passed the afternoon fighting against an immobile object. My spirits were low, at the moment I returned the sword I thought that perhaps I would never learn to fight as a daughter of the night.
We left to receive a fresh night breeze and we returned to Gabriel’s house with the hope that the next day w
ould go better.
Chapter 8
Phoenix looked at the façade of the house, just as old as the rest, but darker, he thought. He knew that Gabriel wouldn´t be long in arriving and he hoped to be able to see the face of the boy that wanted to find him. It seemed ironic to him that a young man with no experience in magic and witchcraft should want to contact him. Nobody had seen him since the last battle he had taken part in. After that, he decided not to place himself in danger for the sons of the night or for humans. He almost died in that battle which had made no sense; he remembered melancholically and did not want to allow that to happen again. He appreciated his life too much.
Many wizards that he had met had not understood why he wanted to be immortal, but he never explained it, the secret was his alone.
With a little magic, he opened the door to the house, leaving sparkling speckles on the lock. He closed it again and looked for Gabriel’s room to wait for him. At that moment he felt confused, yet alive, it had been a long time since he had done anything so emotive.
When he found it he sat down on a trunk in front of the bed, to wait. He didn´t like to be kept waiting, but this case was different, he wanted to surprise him and hear his plan, at any cost.
“Prepare a nice letter for your sister, my dear Elizabeth,” Ian said in a heavy tone. “We must sow a little panic before attacking,” he laughed softly.
They were in the office of his house, dark, with the windows hidden by dense wine colored curtains. Ian did not like daylight. It seemed like a symbol of God and he was willing to submerge himself in the world of darkness forever. He desired to let all the demons of hell loose and help them to exterminate the humans. To do this he needed an immortal, able to go to hell and back with life to open the gates. Only he knew this plan and he felt triumphant for it. He knew who he needed and that he would soon find himself before him.
Darkness The Diary of Samantha Owen Page 8
