Lover Eternal

by Idella Breen

  Cait nodded. “We were hoping to enter the Bank of Hidden Things.”

  “Ah, yes. I see. Well, you are in luck. I happen to be an employee at that particular establishment, though I am on vacation at this time. I can call one of my coworkers and have him meet you at the entrance to let you enter.”

  “You would do that?” Beck asked.

  “I will. But, that is all that I can help you with. Whatever you need to do once you enter will be up to you to accomplish. I also request that my name never leave your lips while you are within those walls. Some very strange things have been occurring within the bank and I was only too glad to take some time off.”

  Snow frowned. “Strange things?”

  Tanger nodded. “There seems to be a shadow looming within its walls and it is very unforgiving. Several of my coworkers have gone missing. I don’t know what is lurking down there, but whatever it is, I want nothing to do with it. It is probably a hidden thing gone berserk as we do deal with ancient artifacts which sometimes constitute strange creatures. As a friend of your mothers, I say this to caution you to be mindful, though I know you must enter for your own reasons.”

  Snow nodded. “Thank you, Tanger. It is a big help just aiding us in entering the bank.”

  The gruff goblin nodded as he held out an old and wrinkled hand. “It was a pleasure meeting you, Snow Bennett. I wish you all the best in you travels.”

  The brunette smiled and shook his hand making him shiver as she was still cold after using her powers for so long. “The pleasure was all mine. We should be on our way then. What is the name of the friend we will be looking for?”

  “His name is Bangar and he is my cousin. He will meet you at Read On, a bookstore downtown.” Tanger gave them the address. “Now, be on your way. Special banks have no hours of operation as they are always open and available to whoever has a key. He will show you the way and open the door. The rest will be up to you.”

  * * *

  “Hurry up!” came the irritated voice of Tanger’s cousin. Snow was beginning to realize that she much preferred Tanger to his cousin, especially since his cousin had proven to be more annoying than the former. Bangar was skinny where his cousin was fat but both were about the same height. Tanger had been more of a grumpy grandfather but Bangar was more annoying and rude.

  They had met with the red-faced goblin outside of the bookstore, as it was well past business hours, and he had quickly proven to be nothing but a shifty little fellow. After a few awkward attempts at a conversation, it was finally revealed that Bangar was essentially going to have to smuggle them into the bank. Tanger hadn’t been joking when he mentioned trouble within the underground bank, but it was revealed by his red-faced cousin, that things had only gotten worse while he was away. Several employees had appeared dead over the course of the last few days. This lead to the bank being locked down. Bangar bluntly told them that he wouldn’t risk his neck for them usually. But, he owed his cousin a great deal and was, therefore, making an exception. So, they were being led to a back door of sorts of the bank as the front was heavily guarded. Apparently, there were many entrances to the Bank of Hidden Things as well as many exits.

  “In here.” The thin goblin turned down an alleyway between two buildings. It was dark out as they hadn’t reached Seattle until midnight and Snow was dead tired. She knew Beck and Cait weren’t faring much better as they had done most of the driving.

  Bangar shiftily looked from side to side, before walking up to a red door, with peeling and chipped paint, of an old house that seemed out of place in the middle of an alleyway of downtown Seattle. The door had two golden number fives hanging from it. Bangar opened the door only to suddenly slam it shut. The sudden clap of noise startled Snow after they had been so careful to keep quiet during the majority of the trip. The goblin quickly shoved his square pocket watch into the strangely shaped lock and turned. The night was once again disturbed but the sounds of several contraptions and gears clicking and clacking within the door before a sudden loud popping noise was heard and the door swung open of its own volition.

  Bangar stood back and sneered. “Well, get in. I opened the door like I promised. You have to find your own way back out. And don’t say my name while you’re inside. It will just cause us trouble.”

  Once he said his piece the goblin spun around and disappeared into the night. “I think I preferred his cousin,” Cait growled.

  Beck nodded. “True Captain, but he did serve his purpose. I suggest we enter now though as all the noise is sure to attract some attention.”

  Cait nodded and stepped forward. “I’ll go in first, then Snow, then Beck. We will keep this formation until we find the manager.”

  Snow and Beck nodded and followed the werewolf inside. It had been decided during the car ride that Cait would lead until they found the manager. Both she and Beck were concerned for Snow’s safety as there were too many unknown factors within the bank’s walls. After speaking with Bangar, the caution was all the more necessary. Once the three of them had crossed the threshold the red door slammed shut behind them and seemed to seamlessly meld into the wall.

  Cait frowned. “I guess we can’t leave the way we entered.”

  “Guess so.” Beck nodded.

  “Come on. We have to hurry. There will be guards patrolling if what Bangar said was true. Keep to the walls and only speak when necessary.”

  The other two nodded and Cait took off down the stairs leading into the lower levels of the underground bank.

  Chapter 8

  They ran, and ran, and ran for what felt to Snow like an eternity. She had never had the best stamina and what annoyed her, even more, was that neither Beck nor her wife seemed to even be out of breath. She, on the other hand, was panting with a stitch in her side.

  “Cait,” she gasped and the werewolf paused.

  “Are you okay?”

  “I need to stop for a minute. I need to catch my breath.”

  Cait glanced around them. For every few feet, there was a corridor leading off of the main path. Snow had looked down some of them and noticed that there were doors of different colors scattered around, in what seemed like a random fashion. The bank was built of a reddish brown stone, similar to clay but more durable. As she leaned against a wall she could feel the coldness of it and sighed in relief even as the dim lights from overhead illuminate the corridors. Despite there being so many doors, none of them had any numbers or other markers besides the different colors.

  Wheezing, Snow met her wife’s gaze. “How are they able to tell the doors apart?”

  The redhead frowned. “To my understanding, the different colors indicate the value of what lies inside. I only know that red doors are the least valuable and that black doors are deadly. I don’t know the value of the other colors.”

  “I think purple is poisonous,” Beck added as he cautiously glanced around them. His eyes ever keen on even the slightest movement around them.

  But, that was the problem, Snow thought. There wasn’t any movement around them. Since entering the bank, they hadn’t run into one soul, not even a guard or employee and it seemed to be making Cait and Beck even more on edge.

  “Cait, where is everyone? Shouldn’t there at least be guards patrolling?”

  Her wife met her gaze and the wariness was palpable in her eyes. “We better move again.”

  “Are you even sure the manager is here?” Snow asked as they started off at a slower pace.

  Cait nodded. “We are getting closer to him but he seems to be moving away from us at a quick pace.”

  Snow frowned. “Why?”

  The werewolf shook her head.

  “Does he know we are chasing after him?”

  “I don’t know Snow.”

  “Are you even sure what we’re chasing is the manager?”

  The werewolf stopped again and turned back to them. “Beck?”

  He shook his head. “I don’t have as good of hearing as you, Captain. I don’t hear anything.”
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  “Nothing?”

  He shook his head again.

  Snow frowned. “But, it’s so quiet in here. I can even hear our footsteps when we’re running. How far would the manager have to be for only Cait to be able to hear him?”

  The tengu and werewolf shared a look. Cait suddenly looked to the front.

  “What?” Snow whispered.

  “It’s stopped.”

  “What?”

  Cait looked back to them, a bead of sweat trickled down her temple. “The jingling of keys. It suddenly just stopped.”

  “What does that mean?”

  Cait frowned. “I don’t know.”

  “Cait — ”

  “I don’t know, Snow!”

  The outburst made the following silence all the more deafening. Beck broke it. “Captain, what should we — ”

  “Get back!” Cait pushed Snow up against the stone wall and both she and Beck stood guard in front of her.

  “What — ”

  “Shh!”

  They stood in absolute silence. No one moved a muscle, only the sounds of labored breathing could be heard. Then a howling wind whipped around them seemingly from nowhere. It howled and pushed and pulled as if to separate the three of them. The dim lights flicked, before going out, and even Snow, a child of ice, was frozen by the cold bite of terror that filled her.

  The darkness wrapped around them, the wind howled, then nothing. It was gone as soon as it had come but the darkness remained. After a moment’s silence, Snow spoke, “Cait?”

  There was no answer so she reached out only to feel a coarse fabric in front of her. It was strange because her wife usually wore cotton shirts and Beck had feathers. A cold breath fanned across her face and she froze. Gripping the rough material, she tugged.

  “Kaaaa!” A wailing screech pounded into her eardrums and she released the fabric to cover them. It continued. On and on, the screech echoed and wailed and when Snow felt as if her eardrums would burst a flare of fire closely followed by a blazing light illuminated around her revealing the creature before her. Covered in a dark coarse material from head to toe, a hood hanging over its face, was a monster Snow had never seen before. It lifted its arm, the cloth hanging loosely as it reached out a pale boney hand to touch her. The feeling of dread and ice cold fear engulfed Snow and she realized she couldn’t move. Its hand inched closer and closer and very faintly she could hear a voice. Slowly, it became louder as if it was echoing from within her mind but they were words she couldn’t quite understand. The only one that made any sense was the one faintly spoken phrase.

  “Come to me, without regret and you shall have eternity.”

  A burst of heat suddenly surrounded Snow and the monster was engulfed in flames. The screeching intensified drowning out the softly spoken words. The monster burned for a moment before a dark sphere surrounded it, and it seemed to fold in on itself, disappearing from sight.

  “Snow! Come on baby, can you hear me? Open your eyes! Snow!”

  “Captain! Cait. Calm down!”

  “Don’t tell me to calm down!” The werewolf screamed at Beck, surprising Snow. She had never heard her wife respond in such a way especially with a friend. Slowly, she opened her eyes only to feel cold droplets fall to her face. Shocked, she realized it was her wife’s tears.

  “Cait?”

  “Oh, God! Thank God, you’re okay! I thought I lost you again.”

  Cait crushed the girl close to her, holding her with all her strength. “Cait, it’s too tight,” Snow whispered surprised at how tired she suddenly felt.

  Her wife pulled back only to touch her lips to hers gently. “You’re okay. You’re okay.”

  Cait continued to repeat the phrase over and over seeming to take some comfort from the affirmations. Snow turned to Beck, a question clear in her eyes. “What happened.”

  The tengu reached out and gently touched Snow’s shoulder and she was shocked by the slight tremor in his hand. “What do you remember?”

  Snow frowned thinking back to the last thing she remembered. “Cait suddenly called out for us to be quiet and the both of you pushed me back.”

  “That’s all?”

  The brunette shook her head. “There was a loud wind followed by darkness. I figured the lights went out.”

  Beck frowned. “Yes, but they are back on now. Anything else?”

  She frowned. “I remember darkness then…” she trailed off as she looked around only to realize that there was light but the corridors of the bank were illuminated by dim orange light bulbs. The light she had remembered seeing was like fire. She shivered as she remembered the chill that has filled her body as the darkness had surrounded her. Turning back to Beck she said, “I don’t understand.”

  He nodded. “You were pulled into the night reapers sphere. It almost cursed you.”

  “A night reaper?”

  Cait seemed to finally get ahold of herself. “I’m not surprised you don’t know what it is. It’s a very ancient monster. Honestly, I thought they were extinct.”

  “What is it?” Snow asked.

  Her wife’s suddenly amber eyes let Snow realize that she was fighting with her werewolf at the moment. Snow shuddered and realized that what had just happened was a lot worse than she thought for her wife to have to fight with her wolf to keep control.

  “A night reaper was, is, a species of monster that appeared one day seemingly from nowhere. They haunted the lands casting their curse on what seemed to be random people. It wasn’t until those people began dying that their purpose became clear. A night reaper is a messenger from the Fade. It seeks out a certain type of person.”

  “The Fade?”

  Cait nodded. “Some believe it is where souls are laid to rest. While others simply believe it is an eternal darkness.”

  Snow nodded. “What kind of person does the night reaper take?”

  “A soul without regret or hate.”

  Snow frowned. “Why?”

  Her wife’s face seemed to crumble as more tears escaped. Beck finished the explanation for her. “A night reaper seeks souls of that type because only souls with no regret or hate can be sacrificed to bring someone back from the dead.”

  The brunette said, “I don’t understand.”

  Beck nodded. “They are the messenger from the Fade but they have a master.”

  “Who?”

  “Who you might call Death but it is more a belief than an actual person or monster. Death is a decree so the night reapers are both the slaves to Death and also the bringers of life. By taking a soul they may bring another one back from their master’s grasp. But, what took some time to realize was that the cost of a soul varied depending on its value to Death. It could take from one to thousands of souls just to bring one back from the Fade.”

  “So, it was going to kill me?” She shuddered even as the words left her lips.

  Beck nodded. “It was. And if you fought it, it would have cursed you. Night reapers are not strong in the sense of physical strength as they have no tangible body but they have the ability to draw people into their sphere and while in their domain they are able to rip your soul from your body. Only a pure light weakens them enough to cast away their darkness. Cait used her flame to scare it off as there is no known way to actually kill them. If it had touched you while you were within its domain you would have been cursed.”

  “What would have happened if I was cursed?”

  “Then not even Cait could have saved you,” he replied solemnly.

  The realization of how close to dying she had been only moments before, suddenly weighed heavily on her and she slumped into Cait, resting her head on her wife’s shoulder. They were interrupted by the loud jingling of keys followed by a loud and gruff voice.

  “Who the hell are you all and what are you doing in my bank?”

  They turned all at once to see a short and stubby goblin with a ring of what must have been hundreds of keys, all of varying shapes and sizes, hanging from a thick lea
ther belt. The manager had arrived.

  Chapter 9

  “A night reaper?” Maz, the manager, said as he folded his wrinkled hands on the dark mahogany desk. He was a stumpy little fellow and when he had sat at his desk, Snow had noticed that the chair had what seemed to be a kind of booster seat. It allowed him to sit higher at his desk instead of looking like a child in his father’s workspace. Snow got the feeling that the goblin was a man that commanded respect but also took great pains to reinforce his status. He was dressed in a three-piece navy blue suit and like most goblins, Snow had recently come into contact with, he wore gold on his person. Maz had a golden necklace with a small golden coin hanging from it. The coin looked archaic and the brunette wondered if it was an antique of some type. When he sat, he had pulled the huge ring of rattling keys off of his thick leather belt and placed them on the desk in front of him. Snow had been shocked by the sheer number of keys and all their different shapes and sizes. None of them seemed to have any type of markings that might have hinted at what door they were paired with. Instead, they were made of different materials, colors, shapes, and sizes.

  After Maz had found them, he and two guards had escorted Cait, Snow, and Beck back to the goblin’s office for questioning. The way to the office had been made up of so many twists and turns that Snow quickly lost her sense of direction, and was once again lost when Maz had slipped a key into a room with a white door and opened it to reveal a small cozy office with windows overlooking downtown Seattle. She had quickly realized then that they must have walked up stairs at some point in order to have reached ground level but she didn’t remember their being stairs though she had a faint recollection of walking up an incline. Shaking her head she sighed. The Bank of Hidden Things was as mysterious as Cait had made it out to be. The goblin had been skeptical at first, but once they explained what happened his face had paled, and he looked down at his clasped wrinkled hands and sighed.

  Snow nodded. Cait was sitting in one of the leather chairs beside her holding her hand while Beck decided to stand by the door. The werewolf hadn't left her side since the attack and Snow was grateful for the physical reassurance that she was still alive. “Yes, sir. We believe it was a night reaper.”