You need to calm down Chastity, I told myself after the fifteenth deep breath and I started to do the only thing that calmed me down. By the chorus, Tom stopped and I walked past him.
I came to a stop a few paces in front of him and saw the annoyed expression on his face. “What, I can’t sing either?”
Tom huffed, shook his head and walked past me. “Teenagers.”
The rest of the trip was extra torturous but to my surprise nothing happened. There were no Shadow Casters anywhere, no Shadow Hounds that were going to rip through Tom’s flesh like they had through the old man’s. I was certain that it would only be Tom’s life they’d take as I knew they were going to take me to the Oblivion.
The trees still looked the same and when we passed the same tree with the same snow owl three times, I knew Tom was walking in circles, but I really didn’t want to say anything, afraid that he would bite my head off, literally.
Small noises escaped my lips as I pondered whether or not to tell him.
Tom stopped again. “What is it Chastity?”
I rolled my eyes at the bark and walked fast again. “Nothing, just that we’ve passed the same snowy owl three times now.”
“It’s not the same one.”
“I’m sure it is,” I snapped and decided I wasn’t going to walk another hour to prove that to Tom.
“It’s not, they just look the same,” Tom grunted. “It is not even alive to be honest with you, it was made to look like that.”
“Made by whom? What’s it doing…”
“Enough Chas. Just keep walking. We are almost there.”
I zipped it, but couldn’t stop thinking about the owls. Why would someone put it there if it wasn’t even a real owl to begin with? What was its purpose?
I found another owl that looked pretty real but we didn’t pass it this time. Tom stopped in front of another oak tree. It was nothing special but we stood there as a soft whisper left his mouth, so soft that I couldn’t quite make out what he was saying.
A knob appeared out of nowhere and some of the veins that spiraled around the tree moved away from one another, forming what appeared to be a door.
I just gaped in awe and stared at it, guessing I would never get used to this world.
Tom opened the door when all was in place, and gestured with his head for me to walk inside.
I looked at him, scared about what was waiting on the other side and then glanced back at the door.
“For heaven’s sake, it’s a portal, unless you really would like to walk the entire way?”
“No, shortcuts are fine.” I walked to the door and took a sigh. “Shortcuts are perfect.”
“Just remember to hold your breath,” Tom said and gently pushed me forward.
Not again.
Once inside, the air was extremely thin and I held the breath I’d taken when he’d asked me to. Then the twirling started, this time it wasn’t me, but it was everywhere around me. As if the tree had started to spin around me faster and faster. I stood in one place with Tom opposite me with Henry on his arm. Different shades of white and grey appeared and I knew it was colorful again but that my eyes weren’t ready to take all of it in.
This sucks so much.
My hair started to blow around my face and when my head swirled so much that my stomach started to turn, I closed my eyes.
My hair fell back over my shoulders and I opened my eyes. We were in some sort of closet. My legs felt weak and I fell to the ground, sitting on my bum.
A couple of seconds later Tom appeared out of nowhere, but he didn’t look close to the state I was in. Henry was sitting on his arm and the owl hooted as if what we had gone through a couple of minutes ago was an everyday activity.
Tom stopped in front of me, fiddled for something in his jacket pocket and took out a piece of metallic foil, thrusting it into my palm. I realized quickly that the foil contained exactly what I needed. Chocolate.
“Eat, the sugar will help.”
I knew that. Mom had given it to me once, I thought as I bit off a piece. At once I could feel warmth jolting through my legs and into my toes.
I took two more bites and finally had the strength to stand up.
“You ready?” Tom asked.
Not really, but I guessed I had no choice, and nodded as he opened the door.
“Welcome to Lalouve.”
I HAD NO CLUE WHAT LALOUVE WAS BUT I DID KNOW it was breathtakingly beautiful, even without the colors. It was bright too and a million stars seemed to float around in between objects, objects that only existed in dreams. There were many things flying in the air above me. Pigs with really small wings. A boot, fishing rods, a grand piano, books, many books, and small objects that looked like pocket watches were among them.
Tom actually smiled and Henry, well the owl was twirling in between clocks and bicycles with three wheels. There were electronic objects which looked like animals. Some barked and mewed, and others chirped. There were plenty of doors too, but not like the ones that had flown past us yesterday, no these doors were moulded into what looked like a beautiful tree.
“Where are we?” I couldn’t stop staring at this futuristic place.
“The Lalouve is a space created for pure inspiration. When a Dream Caster loses their touch, Selene sends them here.”
“Who created this place? I mean the inspiration must come from somewhere.”
“It does, the Inkas are responsible for this,” Tom said as we started making our way forward.
“Inkas?”
Tom smiled. “You know them as fairies, I believe.”
“They’re real?”
“Everything that is myth and isn’t, is real, Chastity.”
“What does that mean?”
He just cocked his head, and smiled mysteriously as he ushered me forward.
The walk was a long one and we passed the Inkas’ village, or Lalouve, as Tom called it, which was really just a big tree.
Further up we passed a semi-forest but didn’t go any deeper into it.
Round and oddly-shaped fruit I’d never seen before hung from the trees, and berries of different shades filled the bushes.
I’d never seen fruit like that before or the beautiful leafy flowers that grew near the base of the trees. There was grass everywhere, but it looked dull and grey. Still the shadows between the trees looked so inviting that I wanted to take a breather, but Tom and Harry had no intention of stopping.
The dirt road we walked on was long and the only thing I could see on the horizon were hills upon hills. I really wasn’t looking forward to this trip. We stopped and rested at a tree to have a break and Tom took out some sandwiches.
I looked at the fruit hanging from the branches above me. It appeared to be fruit I knew but they were mixed together and hanging from all the trees. Although I didn’t like fruit, for some reason my mouth was watering for all of them.
“Can we eat the fruit?” I didn’t know why I asked as I really didn’t like the taste but my curiosity was begging me to just try it.
“Sure, it’s for everyone’s use.” Tom put a piece of sandwich in his mouth and held out a piece for Henry who was sitting on his shoulder.
The owl picked at it with pinching movements before clutching the piece of bread in one claw.
I got up and picked the juiciest pear hanging close to my head and sat down, placing it in my jacket pocket for later, finally enjoying myself in this strange world. When Tom was finished with his sandwiches, he picked up his jacket and we moved on.
One sun was starting to set and the temperature cooled down immediately, just like it had yesterday.
When the other one started to set, I took out the pear. I bit into it and a thick juice, like liquid yoghurt squirted from it. It was sickeningly sweet but had a strawberry-slash-vanilla taste to it. I took a second bite and to my surprise I finished the entire fruit, as it turned out it wasn’t a pear at all. Pears had been forced down my throat before, not literally, and they didn’t tast
e like this.
My stomach started to make noises after an hour again and I knew that it was going to annoy Tom any minute.
The shadows the darkness created made my heartbeat rise slightly and then Tom just stopped. He held out his hand and for a second I just stared at him awkwardly, but then curiosity got the better of me, and I found myself reaching out too.
Before us was a low wall. I thought we were going to have to climb over as it looked as if there were many hills still up ahead.
We stood there until a knob finally appeared and Tom opened the door.
He let me go first and I took a deep breath but realized I didn’t need it as we immediately stepped through to the other side. I felt as if I’d been transported back to the thirteenth century as I entered a long dark alley with cobblestones, paths and streetlamps molded against the walls.
One of the plates that hung above a door read The Lucky Windmill. I noticed there were a couple of bicycles parked in front of the tavern but we made our way to the alley to the left of the building. As we walked up Tom had to shove one of the drunken men that exited away from him which startled a sleeping Henry on Tom’s arm, awake.
I put on my hoody again and closed it up. I was really getting tired now, my eyes burned and my stomach was still growling.
The alley felt long but when we finally found the end, it opened into a huge theme park. There were many attractions and people were everywhere. We started walking through and as much as I wanted to look around, I couldn’t. I was too scared of losing Tom in the crowd.
I managed to keep up and we walked up the steps of what looked like a post office but when Tom knocked and a guy wearing the same clothes as Tom answered, I knew that the end of this long and tiring journey wasn’t far off.
He signed his name in a black book as the guard just stared at me. It felt awkward after a few seconds and I tried to smile at him as our eyes met, but it didn’t take.
When Tom was finally done, we moved on and went through another door, but it wasn’t a wooden door. It was clear, and I could see what was happening on the other side. There were plenty of people wearing the same gear as Tom and Fox, and they were bustling around, rushing from front to back all in haste.
They didn’t speak to anyone and I followed Tom as he led me to another room.
The room was completely white and it hurt my eyes after a couple of minutes.
It was too white, and I began to get worried that this was another test. One that would surely cause me to lose my mind and go crazy. I was sure this was how the patients felt at the nut house.
Tom just sat against the wall, as if this was everyday protocol while I paced up and down, trying not to let the white room get to me.
A soft pinging sound filled my ears and Tom got up, walked toward me, grabbing my arm as he went to stand in the middle of the room.
He didn’t say anything.
“What’s….”
“Shush,” Tom said and gave me the raised eyebrow glare when I tried to speak again.
“Okay fine,” I mumbled softly.
We just stood there, all huddled up like idiots. Then it happened.
The room changed right in front of me. First windows appeared, then beautiful soft curtains and thick velvet drapes.
The white floor was now covered with a soft grey carpet. I couldn’t stop staring at it and had no idea what the hell was happening.
When I looked up paintings appeared out of nowhere. They reminded me of Picasso’s as the figures all swirled into one another and most of them were out of proportion.
The walls were richer now, more welcoming than the bright whiteness I’d stared at for the past half hour or so.
Couches appeared out of nowhere and they looked inviting, big. A small coffee table in the middle and a grand piano in the right corner also materialized. Bookshelves appeared against the wall, and before I knew it the room looked like the lounge of a very upscale apartment.
Tom cleared his throat, breaking my gaze from the unknown room as I looked at him. He tapped his chin and I closed my mouth.
When everything stopped appearing from nothing, Tom went over to the couch and sat down. He immediately picked up a magazine with a funny looking gadget on top of the cover, and started paging through it as if we hadn’t just experienced something way out of this world.
I jumped slightly as a door behind me opened and a tall girl with short bobbed blonde hair with bangs walked in.
She looked elegant, with a tight skirt, high heels and a beautiful red top. Her makeup was laid on thick.
“Good day Tom. Selene will be with you in a few minutes.”
“Thanks Donna,” Tom said as the woman touched her ear softly and spoke as if she was answering a call.
She walked to the opposite side of the room, opened a door which hadn’t been there a minute ago and disappeared, still busy talking into the device in her ear.
A couple of minutes later another woman appeared. She was really beautiful with friendly eyes. I thought she resembled a woman in her early forties. She wore a soft cashmere sweater and white pants with pumps. Her reddish brown hair was taken up into a chignon and she had small drop earrings hanging from her lobes. She walked straight to Tom, who stood straight, as she took both his hands in hers and gave him two kisses on the cheeks. “I’m truly sorry for your loss. If there is anything I can do to help, please don’t hesitate to ask.” She sounded so sincere.
She then turned her gaze to me and gave me a warm smile. When she reached me her arms folded around me. Personal space meant nothing to her at all, but for some reason it didn’t bother me as much as I thought it would.
“I am so sorry about that test,” she apologized.
“It’s okay,” I lied. I was sure I was going to have nightmares about that for a couple of days, if not weeks, to come.
I remembered the envelope Elliot had given me and I gave it to her. She opened it immediately and started to read. She read quite fast as she pushed one page behind the other. She sighed and put the paper back into its envelope. “Let me guess,” Selene said over her shoulder to Tom, “You’re still not sure where to put her?”
“Not entirely, Elliot thinks she would do well as a Guardian.”
My mouth almost touched the floor. Tom was actually smiling and he sounded polite. Wow.
“Okay.” Selene sighed and smiled as she looked back at me. “Come, Chastity, sit with me.”
She led me to the sofa opposite where Tom had made himself comfortable and I sat right next to her. I had to admit, I hadn’t expected any of this. I imagined her completely different, sitting on some throne with light emanating from above, with a scepter in one hand. Something that belonged in a Lord of the Rings novel, not this. She was warm, friendly and sounded sincere in her apology.
“So I heard that a Shadow Caster kidnapped you?”
I nodded and remembered the story that Mom drilled into me. “I had no idea what she wanted from me. I swear.”
“Of course you didn’t,” Selene said in a very concerned way.
A cat jumped onto her lap and I froze. It was Shades. I couldn’t believe it, the darn cat was here. I found Selene’s eyes on me, squinting slightly.
Don’t say a word when you see the cat. This must have been what Leigh meant.
“Do you like cats?”
I nodded and stroked Shades’ head, just as I always used to do. I had to admit, a part of me was beyond excited that there was someone inside Revera I knew, and at that moment, everything started to make sense.
Shades pushed her head harder into my palm which made me giggle and everyone around me stared as if she was a sacred animal that shouldn’t be touched or something.
“He’s never done that before,” Selene said and giggled too.
“He?” I was sure Shades was a she.
“Mr. Grey. He isn’t a regular cat either. He is an Anitule.”
“You’re a Tula?” I remembered what Fox had called them.
�
��Well, I wasn’t at first, but then Mr. Grey kept following me around and I guess I sort of became one. Cats, animal or Tula are not very different from one another. They want to be petted when they want.”
I giggled.
“You had a cat back home?”
“No, but I had a stray friend. She used to come in every night and I gave her some milk. My dad was allergic.”
“So sorry to hear that. So tell me, who do you think the Caster was?”
I squinted at her, not understanding what she’d really asked.
“Your mother or father?”
“It had to be my father. My mother had no idea when those Seekers came for me. I didn’t know my biological dad. Mom didn’t speak about him that much and for a long time I thought that I was the daughter of some Chinese mob boss.”
This made Selene laugh again.
“Far from it Chastity.” She raised her eyes playfully at me.
“Is my mother okay?” I knew that she wouldn’t be able to answer my question but I had to try to make all of this sound as convincing as possible.
“Your mother…” Selene sighed and I froze again. “She’s fine, Chas, but Kyle told me that she was in such a state when they found her in your room, that they had no choice but to erase her memory of you. I’m so sorry, but it’s for the best.”
I nodded. Lucky for me, it wasn’t really Mom. It was just a dummy and I knew Mom was somewhere, hopefully safe and sound, still knowing who I was.
We spoke about everything that had happened up to me meeting her today. Selene was the type of person I could tell anything to. She wanted to know as much as she could so I began at the beginning. I told her about the day my sand appeared and how all my friends, ex-friends who had turned into bullies, started to fall asleep. I didn’t know what was going on and then I told her about the dream. I didn’t mention the black sand or Leigh as I was still sure that he was not supposed to be in that dream with me.
“So the sand in this dream, what color was it Chastity?” Selene asked.
I stayed quiet for a couple of seconds, trying to rearrange my answer. “What do you mean by what color? It was the color it always is.”
Mr. Grey made himself comfortable again on Selene’s lap as she gave me a warm smile and stroked the cat’s back. A soft purr came from his belly as I carried on telling Selene my story of how I’d woken up and still had the scars on my legs. Then about how I’d put bandages over them but they’d disappeared the next morning, and there was no sign of any blood whatsoever. I ended my story with a tear.
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