“You do not deserve it,” I said without looking at him. I took some steps and turned round again.
“Burn,” I proclaimed as the flames grew around him as much as his cries. I felt no pity, nor compassion. I had no feelings for this being. The flames consumed him as I turned to see how the beings that he had created were converted into ashes transmitted by the flames of their master. If he dies, they would too.
I observed how a few black ashes were scattered on the ground where he had been. There were no longer any cries, no more fighting or death. The sons of the night lifted their weapons in a cry of victory still not knowing what had happened.
The fire inside of me was fading until the tears sprung forth substituting the flames. My knees weakened. My fingers touched the earth, still without knowing how, had they had let the love of my life escape. There were no thoughts in my mind. Simply there was nothing. It was as if a part of my soul had been uprooted. Winning the battle no longer mattered to me, I didn´t even notice the bodies of the sons of the night stretched out on the ground. I hung my head unable to stop the tears as I watched how my fingers sunk into the ground. I let the pain consume me. I had a wound in my chest that I couldn´t heal. That one thought make me get up and turn towards the cliff. Something took hold of my hand before I could jump. Without understanding what had happened, I turned around to see the man with the red hood. He uncovered his face to show his dark fair hair and very deep brown eyes.
“You are not going to die now that I have found you.”
Words didn´t leave my mouth. I wanted to tell him that I wasn´t going to die, I was going to look for my beloved. I had to find him; I had to find his body. An understanding expression came across his face when he saw mine.
“I will go…” and he left without more. He started to go down one of the edges of the hill until I could no longer see him.
I sat there to wait, thanking the breeze that caressed my face and dried my last tears. A moment later someone sat by my side.
“My dear, I cannot understand how you feel,” it was my mother. “Thanks to you, our race is preserved. The world is saved. You have saved me.”
A silence embraced the moment until I heard, again, more words.
“Elizabeth is fine; she has recovered thanks to Phoenix and a friend of his. The Council wishes to thank you for what you have done, but I told them not to come. They did not see what happened,” I continued in silence without looking at her. “Kenneth and Francis are fine,” she said without knowing what to do to make me answer her.
Again silence took control of my throat.
“Your father will bring him back, believe me, he will not rest until he finds him. He never did with you or with your sister.”
Hearing those words, I looked at her for the first time, she looked good.
“My father?” I asked with hardly a voice.
“Your father is the messenger, the one with the red hood.”
The now known salty tears returned to my face without me knowing why. My mother embraced me when she saw me that way, with the hope of comforting me.
“Why does love hurt so much?” I asked without detaching myself from her.
“It isn´t like that my daughter, what you feel is sadness and pain for the love that is no more, not for love itself. You have to understand that your souls are infinite. Our body is mortal the same as the humans; although we live more years or less, it is our essence that which is and transcends. Your souls are linked, for you to have found each other in this life means that the union was stronger. Do not feel pity or pain,” she said looking me in the eyes. “For that which is still to come, without doubt, you will see him again, sooner or later.”
“So what should I do?”
“The best advice I can give you is to be patient and calm. The future is unpredictable.”
No more words left my mouth. My mother would not abandon me, so I would stay with her watching the sunrise.
Chapter 20
The Council was full of sons of the night, as it hadn´t been for centuries. Groups had been formed after the battle. The spoke enthusiastically without knowing what had happened. The families returned to happy reunions and the members of the Council debated about what should be done next.
“She should be the new empress. That is what the law dictates,” Elias repeated for a third time.
“And what happens with Elizabeth?” Francis started to get angry. “She is also the empress´s daughter and you all know why her existence was hidden.
“It is they who should decide.” Argi said speaking for the first time “They are the heirs, they are twins and they are the ones who have the power to decide if their want to reign or if they want to pass the government to someone else.
“Samantha will not want to govern, I know,” sighed Francis as he sat on a chair after what felt like centuries.
“Is Elizabeth well?” Fairiel asked out of interest.
“Yes,” Angelica responded distracted. “The witch Niv cured her.”
“What can we do?” Peter asked now tired.
“Wait until she gets back, we don´t know why she hasn´t come.”
“It must be something very grave,” whispered Francis worriedly.
Gabriel walked impatiently from one end of the room to the other. They had been able to set up the room to cure Elizabeth in a way that she was separated from the noise. He had spent hours watching her as she slept. He didn´t know if she was unconscious or if she would take long in waking up. But his patience surfaced allowing him to wait calmly. He remembered her sweet kisses in the darkness of his room with every step he took. At first he had feared for his life, but at that moment he feared her rejection. How could he explain his feelings to her? How he had felt that morning when he woke up and didn´t see her. That he had done the impossible to find her and despite everything he didn´t mind her trick. He loved her; loved her virtues, her defects… and he couldn´t imagine another day separated from her. He passed his hands through his black hair when the doors opened again. They came to examine her every 15 minutes more or less. One of the girls had volunteered to look after her; she looked at him and left a small tray with a mug on one of the tables that were scattered about the room. He hadn´t lifted his head any of the times that she had entered. The girl missed having such pure love seeing Gabriel´s desperation. Seeing the mug he looked at her and thanked her before she left the room leaving him alone again. He moved closer to the improvised bed where Elizabeth slept and kneed on the floor. He took her hand and squeezed it tightly. His tiredness took control of his body noting the hard floor. He slid down, still with his beloved´s hand in his and closed his eyes. He jumped out of surprise when he noted that something brushed against his face.
“Don´t be afraid,” he heard a loving voice.
He turned around quickly and saw his beloved´s blue eyes glued on him.
“Are you alright?” he asked rushed, “how long have you been awake? Do you need something?”
“Calm down,” Elizabeth whispered putting one of her fingers on Gabriel´s lips.
“I feared so much for you,” he let out.
“Don´t worry, I am fine. My sister is worse than I am, I can feel it.”
“I know that something important has happened, but I didn´t want to leave you to find out.”
Elizabeth smiled at him as he caressed his face.
“Can you forgive me? I had to distance myself to protect you. I cursed myself every day for having left you there and I only hope that you don´t hate me for doing it. Every time I closed my eyes I saw that live purple of yours. If you let me I will never leave you alone again.”
Gabriel, joyful that she was well, hugged her without saying anything.
“I just love you. I don´t care about what has passed or what will happen. I love you, here in this very place and this instant,” he whispered in her ear before kissing her.
He savored the smooth lips of his beloved as if it were the elixir of life itself. He d
idn´t take his lips from hers even hearing how the door opened.
“Excuse me,” the girl who had left tea for him, cleared her throat, “I need to examine her.”
Gabriel looked at her with a glimmer in his eyes that he could not hide. He moved away from her to leave space for the girl and when she left he returned to embrace her. He lay on the wooden table, by her side and rested beside his love.
Kenneth looked distracted from the door of the Council. The people began to go home. But he could not move from there. He could not imagine the pain that Samantha was going through. Venice had quickly told him what had happened before going to be with her daughter. He thought of how he would feel if the same had happened to Francis and he shook his head strongly trying to dispel that image from his mind. Soon he noticed a hand on his shoulder.
“Are you going to stay here?”
He turned round and saw Francis´s sweet and joyful eyes. He embraced him tightly without saying anything. After a few seconds he spoke without security in his voice.
“I didn´t see it Francis, I didn´t see it.”
“You cannot torture yourself for that. You better than anyone knows that the future is unpredictable. You couldn´t have let her know about something that you didn´t know was going to happen.”
“I know.”
“Then don´t give it any more thought. Go home and rest.”
“Come with me,” he said almost pleading.
“You know I cannot, the Council needs me here.”
His metallic green outfit shone under the sunshine. It seemed beautiful to Kenneth.
They hugged again and Kenneth closed his eyes and disappeared. Francis looked towards the hill that was far away. He saw two dots that had not moved from there since that night. He left the building and walked towards the small mountain that had appeared from nowhere. He had to get Samantha away from that place.
Phoenix spoke calmly with Niv and Gaia. They were sitting on a not very wide bench. His black outfit had become grey with all the ash. His face was tired and his eyes were heavy.
“You have done a great job. I am very proud. You should now teach new wizards. My days as a teacher are over.”
“What do you mean?” Gaia asked without understanding what the wizard wanted to say.
“My dear, it is time that I do something that I didn´t have the opportunity to do before. I made a promise to myself that I would do it and I will do it. They still have much life before them.”
Niv looked at him without knowing what he was referring to. She had arrived at the last moment to help.
“That boy has been a revelation. I owe it to him.”
The witches’ didn´t know what was happening. They saw him take something from his jacket. A bottle with a blue liquid that moved impatiently, in his other hand he had another bottle, much smaller that held in the bottom a single drop of blood.
“Hold them,” he extended them to Gaia.
He took an old dagger that he used to make potions and spells and he scratched his hand. He quickly took the bottle with the blue liquid between his fingers and squeezed the palm of his hand until some drops fell into the liquid. Then he opened the smaller bottle and poured a drop of blood into the bigger one. The mixture did not change color, but it moved faster.
“Goodbye my dear friends,” he smiled.
The liquid brushed his lips and he drank it without wasting a drop. He closed his eyes feeling how the potion took effect. Now their lives were connected.
Seconds later the witches realized that what they had let him commit an error, according to their judgment. They thought that he had committed suicide. They didn´t think of what would happen next.
Patrick was doing what he knew best. He was looking for the son of the night who had given his life to save his daughter. He could not return with his hands empty and he wouldn´t. He had seen how his daughter burned the Fallen One who has formed this cliff. Before, the exit from the city was a valley with some hills, now there was a breach of which no one knew if it had an end.
After hours of walking, the sun had come out. It had been a few minutes since he reached the floor of the breach. He started to walk through the steep terrain, full of stones. After so many years doing the same, he no longer noticed the fatigue, he simply continued. He didn´t even have time to tell his daughter who he was. He preferred to recover something that was difficult to lose. After descending that terrain, he had no hopes of finding anyone alive, but he wouldn´t abandon for that reason. His daughter needed him and that was what he was there for.
He advanced over a contour that got harder and harder. Stone peaks came out of the ground, impeding him at times from seeing further. He kept walking until he had the opportunity to climb a stone to observe from a higher perspective. He went up and examined every crevice. He stopped when he saw something in the distance. It could be a trick of the shadows of a stone but he went down and started to run in that direction. He took minutes to arrive until only a few meters away he could make out a leg on the ground. He advanced hurriedly until he got to his side. A large stone was crushing the body that was under it. He used all his strength to move it until he managed it.
The body of a young man appeared from within the rubble and he knew that it was him. He examined him without moving him. His head was fine, but his ribcage was crushed. He could see that he had broken bones throughout his body. He closed his eyes and thought of the pain that his daughter must be bearing. He bent down and picked him up carefully. When had a good hold on him he commenced to undo the path that he had come. He thought, as he carried him, that he would not make it until nighttime. But he would make every effort to arrive as soon as possible.
He walked a long while until he decided to stop to take a rest. He lay the boy down carefully on the ground and sat by his side. He drank the valuable water he had left and then confirmed to his surprise that he had nothing left to eat. His breathing was drawn out when he looked at him. He was an attractive boy, with chestnut brown hair, almost fair. The profiles of his face were smooth and a shadow beneath his eyes let him see the little that he had rested and the much that he had fought before dying.
He stayed there staring at him when he noticed something moving. His chest wasn´t as crushed as before. His arms appeared to recover their habitual form. He couldn´t believe what he was seeing. He looked towards the dislocated leg, but it remained the same. He didn´t know what was happening. He looked again towards his chest and a small movement made him open wide his eyes.
He was breathing. He was exhaling. He moved closer to confirm from close up. His chest was moving very slowly. He took his pulse in his wrist but felt nothing. He went up to his neck without obtaining any answer from his blood. He thought that he was going crazy, until without warning, one of his big, silvery-green eyes was looking at him. A deep breath that Eric made confirmed that he was alive. He moved his hands around to check that his body was still there. And he looked again at the amazed man that he had before him with a great smile.
“Are you alright? Do you remember what happened?”
Patrick looked at him still unable to believe what he was seeing. He inspected the boy from his fair hair full of earth to his shoes. He sat there gob-smacked. He didn´t move when Eric warned him that he was going to try to stand up. Just as his legs gave way, Patrick grasped him and held him. Eric smiled at him. However, he couldn’t take another step, his legs failed as he tried to cling to Patrick with his weak hands. The messenger, not knowing what to do looked at him, seeing how the spark that maintained his eyes alive, faded. The young man’s body fell completely without any strength at all, at the same time an expression of frustration crossed the face of a father who foresaw that the most important mission of his life would fail.
Epilogue
My name is Samantha Owen, this is just one of the things I have discovered over this last week. I never imagined the adventure that would come from leaving my room one Saturday afternoon. Today is now Sunday and the stars
start to shine in the sky. In the last hours I have had a lot of time to reflect and I have decided to write this diary; because I don´t want to forget all I have lived. For that reason, I intend to write down in detail in each sheet of paper. That way, if at some time I need to remember, I can read and learn from the experiences described here.
I have discovered that nothing is as it seems and that, if you pay a little more attention, you will notice the difference. I have travelled to a fascinating world; that place that I knew existed because my heart told me so. There I have met a family I never thought I had and some friends that I hope never to miss again. In that dimension that the senses are sharper, I experimented for the first time what it is to fight and what it is to love; I have felt anger and pain, peace and conviction, frustration and victory. I am felt the joy of discovering that I am different and I like that. I have discovered that I have great inner power that I still must learn to control. I have let myself be captivated and fascinated by every corner of this new world. I have forgotten things that I thought were important and I have replaced them. My beliefs have changed through those experiences. In such a short period of time, although I am not clear whether time really exists, my life has changed. My fears have dissipated and in the end I have been able to know myself, in body and in soul.
There are also many things that I have not managed to understand and that at this moment in time represent a great mystery to me. But I no longer fear the unknown, the new. Now I only desire to search for more answers and recover those empty years of my life.
The reality is that I have found things in the darkness that I never knew existed and although I have been in darkness many times, on some occasions more than I would desire, this has made me learn to differentiate the real from the imaginary and the important from the insignificant. The darkness has taught me things I never imagined.
Finally, I would like to remember one word, the word LOVE. Considering that, at this moment means everything. It is the great force that unites me to my family. It is the energy that has made me fall in love, that I love and that I live. Because for the first time I have felt that I am truly corresponded. He showed me that; he fought for our love and I will do the same. Although I don´t know if I will see those green eyes full of passion and life again, or that smile that reflected mischievousness; but I will not surrender nor will I be defeated. Because although I do not kiss his sweet lips again, I know that our love will last through space and time. And I feel happy to have met that person that made everything make sense in my life.
Darkness The Diary of Samantha Owen Page 23
