by Jamie King
The door at the foot of the bed creaks open. “Ellie.” A deep voice booms loudly. “It’s time.” The large bearded man pushes through the door displaying his broad shoulders and pot belly. His deep red beard speckled with gray rubs against his chest. “I know that you don’t want this, but it must happen for the coven. Your sister nearly killed us. I need you to be my strong girl, okay?” He stands beside me and brushes a hand over my hair. “We all make sacrifices, and this is yours.” He pats my arm.
I try to speak, but my voice is choked down. A sad smile graces his gentle face. “You will be unable to speak or cast spells. Agnes learned from Ceri’s actions.” He lifts me into his arms cradling me like a precious child. “Your magic has been bound.”
We pass through a guarded hallway. A guard whistles as we pass. “Lookin’ good Ellie. The commander will be pleased.” The man carrying me stops and stares him down. “I’m sorry sir.” The guard straightens and steps away.
Festive music and laughter floats down the hallway. “Good evening, sir.” A guard ahead of us bows. The creak of a door opening reverberates through my ears. Music and laughter explodes into the corridor. A woman announces our arrival and the room descends into silence.
The sea of red cloaked figures part as we move through them and the silver haired woman steps forward. Her long braid rests over her shoulder and a black dragon ouroboros decorates her chest. Agnes.
“Good Elijah, good. You may place her.” Agnes eyes me like her next meal.
Elijah places me on a wool blanket in the center of the room. “We made it more comfortable this time.” He whispers into my ear. “I love you child. Your mother and I love you.” He says as he backs away from me and blends into the crowd of faces.
I think back to Ceri, lying naked surrounded by the coven. Her body, draped in a cloud of smoke as an offering to the demon and his request for the next time. Chills spread down my spine. No. The red cloaks surround me and begin chanting. A quiet hissing and the smell of sulfur quickly permeates the room. Red sigils spin and weave in a circle over my body. A black cloud of smoke pours into the air through the center of the sigils. The room is quickly shrouded in black smoke as it blocks out nearly everything in sight.
A rumbling chuckle erupts and a wave of energy slams into my body. His presence is immense inside the circle. “It has been a few years, Agnes.”
“It has, Baal. I hope you enjoy this one to the fullest.”
“Oh, the sister, how exciting.” I try to wriggle free, but my body doesn’t respond. “My, my.” He chuckles. “You had to restrain her.” I can hear the smile in his tone. His heavy footsteps ease closer. My stomach sinks and my heart thuds in my chest.
A large strong hand seizes my thigh. I attempt to scream, but no sound comes out. A stream of tears slips down my cheeks as I struggle to look around the room at the people watching this act of horror.
“Oh, sweet fire, do not cry. I will be gentle.” He caresses my breast through the thin material and leans over me. I stare into his glowing amber eyes. They seem familiar. That color. I know that color. His hands move over my body before he lifts the skirt of my gown and braces himself above me. Please, no. I squeeze my eyes shut and the smell of sulfur dissipates.
The gentle lap of water and the cool dampness of grass beneath my back soothe my panic. I slowly open my eyes. A full moon surrounded by the clear night sky hovers above me. The small familiar grove with the crystal-clear pond and purple leaved bushes encircle me. Belanor lazily stands from her sleeping position at the water’s edge and comes to lie beside me. My heart still pounding, I glance around.
Was that another dream of my mom? The memory lingers of Baal’s bright amber eyes glowing above me. I pull my legs to my chest and wrap my shaky hands around my legs.
“They forced.” My throat tightens, and I can’t get the words out. A stream of tears falls to the grass as a large rough tongue drags across my bare arm. “Thank you, Bel.” I lean into her soft fur.
Heavy flapping breaks the moment as a white owl descends in our direction. Its massive wings flap heavily as it lands on a branch poking out of the pond. Its white feathers almost glow in the moonlight and its eyes are as white as snow.
“Hello child.” The gentle female voice comes as an echo in my mind.
“Um, hello.” My voice is unsteady, and I lean further into Bel’s side and squeeze my knees closer to my chest.
“Do not fear me, young one.” Its head tilts to the side. “You have a great destiny ahead of you.”
“W-who are you?’
“I am known as Danu, mother of all that you know.”
“What does that mean?”
“For now, who I am is unimportant and I do not have much time.”
“Why are you here?”
“Remember what I say here. You must remember it.” Her sharp talons shift on the branch. “You must travel to the land of the auroran stone with the one that holds your soul mark to speak with the Guardians of Knowledge.” With a flap of her wings she vanishes.
I stare blankly at the branch in the center of the pond. What the hell? A flash of white catches my eye as the white lion steps into the clearing. I try to stand, but the world blurs and my head grows heavy. My breath is tight and shallow. I clutch my chest as I collapse onto the cool grass and roll onto my back. The moon graces me with its silver light as I struggle to breathe. A dull pain slowly throbs at the back of my head. I try to touch the area, but my arm falls to my chest and flops to the ground. I reach for the spot on my head once more. I manage to hold my arm to my forehead; the effort takes my full focus.
My hair is sticky and wet. My arm flops to the ground again and my vision darkens. My elbow cracks against a solid surface. Pain shoots up my arm forcing the little air I had in my lungs out in a ragged cry of pain. The familiar drip of water echoes through my prison cell. I close my eyes and slow my breathing. I see, so I was dreaming.
I lick my lips. They’re rough and chapped. My tongue is like sandpaper and I struggle to swallow. How long was I unconscious? I roll my head to the side and my cheek flops heavily against the stone. I jerk slightly when my cheek lands in something damp and thick. God knows what that is. The water that that horrid woman brought with her should be near my tray of food. The vague outline of the water bottle is only a couple feet away. I try to roll onto my stomach, but that only sends waves of pain through my head that radiates down my spine.
I give up and roll onto my back once more to stare up at the stone ceiling. This is exactly what that bitch wanted. For me to lay here slowly dying and rotting away. I release a strained laugh that causes blood to gurgle up through my throat. I can’t believe this is how I’ll die. My mom would be disappointed in me if I just die here. Then again, it isn’t like I have much to fight for. I lost everything, and no one is going to save me from this place. Where ever this place is. The pull of sleep tugs at my mind. I close my eyes and accept my fate.
Noise from the corridor pierces through the shroud of darkness. Not dead yet? The distinct sound of yelling and a loud crash come through the corridor. I wonder what kind of crazy stuff is happening here. Maybe they summoned another demon and he got loose this time. That would be perfect. Murdered by that which is my own. Hmm, what an odd thought. Why would I call a demon my own? Baal’s face appears in front of me. My mother or at least I think it was my mother. The sacrificial mate for their experiment. It was only a dream brought on by near death is all. It wasn’t real. I scoff internally at myself. You idiot, they were memories. Or visions! Thundering footsteps echo in my ears. Stop making so much noise!
“Nuri!” A man’s voice shouts. Oh my god, shut up! Your voice hurts! Why are people being so loud today? The metal of my cell door clangs as it crashes to the stone floor. A warm body leans over me. I struggle to open my eyes, but all I see is the white lion. His green eyes stare down at me. Arms embrace me and lift me from the cold stone floor. “My gods, Nuri.” I gasp in pain as my head rolls back and lands against soft l
eather. “I’ve got you.”
“The lion.” I gasp for air. “The lion. His eyes – your eyes.”
“Nuri, what lion?”
I gulp. “She said to go with –.” The pull of darkness sucks me in.
A rough shaking brings me back. I gaze into the eyes of the lion. “Nuri, who said to go with who?”
“My soul mark.” I sputter and sink into darkness again.
CHAPTER NINE
9
“Luka.” A soft feminine voice whispers close by. “She’s waking.”
I hear movement near me and I try to look, but my eyes feel like they’re taped shut.
“Ri?” Luka’s voice is raspy. I want to see his face. Why is he so upset? “Ri, can you hear me?” His voice is shaky. He called me Ri again. I like when he calls me Ri.
A gentle hand touches my face. “Nuri, are you able to open your eyes?”
I will my eyelids to release me from darkness. They oblige, and I’m blinded by a bright white light. I squeeze my eyes shut and groan at the burning sensation. Tears pool and pour from the corners of my eyes.
“Shut off the light, Rora.” Luka stands over me blocking the light from my face. “It’s okay, Ri. The light’s off now.” His finger brushes away the tears.
I peak through my eyelids. Only an accent light is dimly glowing in the corner. I blink rapidly to clear my vision and I’m met with bright green eyes. His face is full of concern as he stares down at me. His skin is pale and dark circles fill the space around his eyes.
A hand touches my arm. “Nuri, would you like some water?” Aurora’s soft voice relaxes me for some reason. Odd, I somewhat despised her before.
I continue to gaze into Luka’s eyes and nod slightly. Aurora places a straw to my lips and waits for me patiently. The cool liquid cleanses my dry throat. Aurora pulls the straw away.
“Not too much.” She sets the cup on the side table just out of reach. “I’ll go let everyone know she’s awake.” She leans over placing a quick kiss on Luka’s cheek before leaving the room.
The room falls into silence as Luka and I stare at one another. Images of the white lion flash in and out of my vision. They are so similar. His movements and demeanor. Their eyes have not only the same color, but the same energy.
Aurora pokes her head through the door. “The doctor says you will be here for a few more days before you are allowed to go home.” She offers me a sad smile. “I have some things to take care of, so I’ll be back in a few hours to check in on you both.” She closes the door behind her once more leaving us alone.
Luka clears his throat. “The doctor said you cracked your head open pretty bad. You lost a lot of blood, Ri. If we hadn’t found you when we did,” He looks away taking a deep breath, “We could have lost you.”
“I thought,” I take a deep shaky breath, “I thought I was going to die. Alone in a cold dark cell.”
He slumps into the chair next to the bed. “Ri, when I saw you lying in a pool of blood…” He places his hands over his face. “When I found you, you mentioned a lion. What did you mean?”
“I did?” I try to think back to when Luka found me, but the whole thing is just a dark foggy blur.
“You did.” His eyes narrow. “Tell me about the lion you saw.”
I dig through the dark fog. Bright green eyes and silky white fur. Merely a glimpse of it. Images of the white owl flash through my mind.
“This wasn’t the first time I saw the white lion, but this time was different. An owl was there this time and she said that I need to find the guardians of knowledge with my soul mark. When she flew away the white lion was watching me.” I stare at him unable to shake the similarities and the odd sense that the two are connected. “You remind me of him, the lion.” I fidget with my blanket and look away. “You have the same eyes.”
Luka sits silently for a moment his chest rising and falling steadily. “You’ve seen the lion more than once?”
I nod. “He’s usually with a black panther. They seem to really like each other.”
Luka lets out a heavy sigh. “What was the owl doing there?”
“I don’t know. She only told me to go to the guardians of knowledge.” I shrug. “I asked her name, she said it was Danu.”
Luka shoots out of the chair. “Ronor and Danu visited you while you were dying?” He paces at the end of the bed mumbling unintelligible words to himself.
“Luka?”
“You not only saw Ronor, but the goddess Danu, Ri. The mother goddess came to you knowing you would not die. She knew you would be saved. How?” He stops pacing at the foot of my bed. “Ronor came to you, why you?” He picks up his pacing again and rubs his chin.
“Luka, who is Ronor?”
“Ronor is my familiar, granted to me by the gods to aid me in my spiritual journey. All magical beings are paired with one at birth.”
“How did he appear in my dream then?”
He shakes his head. His fingers pressed tightly to his lips. “I don’t think you were dreaming. I think you astral projected into the Astral realm to escape the pain of your injuries,” His eyes dart to my face, “Or you were guided there.”
I try to recall the events leading up to my visions. Shortly after I hit the ground, I passed out. “I was, I.” No, I was dreaming. I was dreaming of my mother. Her family, my family sacrificing her to a demon. To Baal. His eyes, his glowing amber eyes staring back at me. The same eyes I saw in my own reflection when I was with Jake. There is no doubt. I have a connection to the demon - to Baal. My father.
“You were what?”
I shake my head. No one needs to know about the dreams. What would they think of me? They are too horrible. It was too horrible. “I was passed out. What is astral projecting?”
“Astral projecting is when your soul exits the body and travels to the Astral realm. Some call it the spirit realm and many humans call it Heaven.”
“Wouldn’t that make me dead if my spirit left my body?” I prop myself against the pillows and grab the cup of water Aurora left for me.
He chuckles. “No, your soul is still attached to you. The only way you would die is if the line tethering your soul to your body were to break or if the body itself were to die.”
“How could the tether break?”
“It’s very rare, but when the person visiting the astral realm visits for long periods of time they can become attached to the astral realm. This will lessen the bond the soul has with the earthly plane and eventually the tether will begin to fade and ultimately the soul will no longer be able to return to earth and the human body will die.”
“Like an addiction?”
“Yeah, the astral realm is devoid of pain and suffering for the most part and many people once they visit end up wishing they could be there forever. It’s quite sad.” He drags his hands over his face before pushing his fingers through his hair. “As for the goddess, I have never heard of a soul mark. Soul mate, sure, but not soul mark.” He looks around before pacing again. “How do you know what to look for if you don’t even know what you’re looking for?”
“Who are the guardians of knowledge?” I sip from the cup.
“They must be the oracles. They go by a few names depending on who you are. Some call them the Keepers of Time and others call them the Guardians of Knowledge. I know them as The Oracles. They’re in Fae on an island secluded from outsiders and protected by strong magic. They can see visions of the future or probable future. I’ll be able to obtain permission to visit them, but it won’t be until after you’re released from the infirmary with a clean bill of health. As for the soul mark, I will do some research, but I have no idea what that is.”
Luka steps around to the side of the bed towering over me. “Do you have anything else you would like to tell me?”
Images of bright amber eyes hovering over me bubble to the surface. Sulfur burning my nostrils surrounded by magic. I shake my head. “No.” I whisper. I set the water on the side table. “Hey, Luka. How did you find
me?”
Luka sinks into the chair beside me. “I had a gut feeling of your location. I’m not really sure how to explain it, but it’s like I instinctually knew where you were.”
I stare at the ceiling and take in his words. I wonder if the goddess helped him. “If the white lion is your familiar then does that mean that Bel is mine?”
“Bel?”
“Yeah, the black panther. I always see her in the same place. Always the same place.”
“If you see her each time you visit the astral realm then I would assume she is.”
I smile and warmth spreads over my body. “That makes me happy.” I release a soft laugh. “Ronor and Bel seem to like each other a lot.”
CHAPTER TEN
10
I pull the black t-shirt Aurora brought for me over my head before walking out of the small bathroom. “Okay, I think I’m ready.”
“Perfect.” Aurora stands with a small bag and heads to the doorway. “Luka is grabbing some of your things from your dorm room for you.” She turns at the door. “You’re going to love where we’re staying. We just moved in a few days ago.”
It’s been three weeks since I woke up in the white coven infirmary. Luka says I had been missing for five days when he found me. Tiffany and her mom have filed a missing person’s report on me. Luka said it’s best to have them think I’m still missing. I don’t want them involved in any of this, so I’m going along with it. It breaks my heart knowing that they’re worried about me.
I follow Aurora through the doorway and into the infirmary. The nurses rush through open doorways and hold baskets of glass bottles filled with colorful liquid. Unlike a human hospital, these doctors use magic and potions to cure people. We turn down a pristine white hallway and come to four elevators. The doors slide open and Aurora presses a button. It lights up and displays E4. The entire side of the wall is full of buttons. Ranging from A to Z accompanied with a number. “Um, how many floors are there?”
