The Two Kings (Afterlife Saga) Page 23

  Lucius walked over to the burning me and picked her up into his bulging arms. His wings wrapped forward in a protective way and he started to walk back into the bed chamber. He looked back over his shoulder and said,

  “Remember Keira…soon, very, very soon.” The flaming me in his arms started to scream once more and when I woke from this hellish nightmare, I thought it was still my screaming that could be heard. It took me a moment to come to my own senses and not those of Lucius’ control. But when I did finally calm, I came to realise that I could still hear the screams,

  Only this time, they weren’t mine….

  Chapter 19

  The Temple

  The screams belonged to a girl, that much I could be certain. The room was just as I had last seen it before the dream. It was only me that remained altered from the horrors I had witnessed. I inhaled, filling my lungs finally with the usual scent of the room I loved like home. There was no burning oak smell, no flaking of the material under the flames that licked at them and most importantly the balcony was empty and intact.

  However my mental state was left fragile and frightened. I tried to shake off the feelings of dread and thankfully the full moon provided enough light for me to locate my clothes. I moved so slowly, like I was half expecting something to jump out at me and the constant sound of pain wasn’t helping my nerves.

  Once I was dressed, I wiggled my sockless feet into my trainers and moved towards the door I knew lead further into the fortress that was Draven’s home. I opened it and the crack flooded the room with light, however this wasn’t the only thing it let in. The sound was almost unbearable to hear and it wasn’t only the dream that had caused my distress. My memories of my own living nightmare came back at me like a wave of unsuspecting cruelty. This is what made my feet move from behind the safety of the door.

  I knew that if I had been heard when Morgan had me locked away, then my horrific past may not have left me with such a deep scar. How I had wished for just one person to find me, to save me from his madness and my hopelessness. I had screamed and screamed until my throat was red raw and my lungs left empty. But no one came….No one ever heard my cries but the man responsible.

  I knew that if ever I had heard the same, I would rather risk my life to help, than to live the rest of my years knowing that I had just walked on by….not when I could have done something….anything! I just prayed that I saw Draven along the way, or at least someone that I knew could help.

  I started down a long narrow corridor that I knew, as I had used it a few times, normally when being dragged away by Sophia. It consisted of stone arches that came down to blend with the soft stone walls. Luckily there were light fittings attached and the flames, although needed, they were also an unwanted reminder of the nightmare that Lucius had left me with…his gift.

  I pulled my zip up sweater closer to my neck and even pulled the large floppy hood over my head, this way I felt more secure. It still didn’t stop the shivers that convulsed my body, when the screaming stopped. I had to move faster, I had to get there and couldn’t let my own fears prevent me from saving a life.

  When I got to the end of the corridor my knowledge of where I was ended. I knew if I turned right it would lead me to Sophia’s room and I half considered it but when the screams got louder I knew they were coming from the left so with my mind set, I started walking down to opposite of where I knew. It seemed to be leading away from where people were or at least where they must have slept because it started to grow colder and not as well lit. I wished that I had a candle in my hand because I now feared that when I walked though the next door, darkness would greet me.

  My hand made contact with the metal handle and I looked only to realise I didn’t have my gloves on. I found myself feeling even more vulnerable as I stepped through on to what felt like a balcony. The night air hit me for the first time tonight even though my mind wouldn’t easily accept this truth, the dream had felt that real. I closed the door behind me as I knew I would soon be screaming myself if I allowed it to slam shut.

  It didn’t take me long to realise why the sight in front of me seemed so familiar. I had been here before, or so I thought. I was stood in a long corridor that was open to the night on one side. The balustrade was connected to large pillars that formed arches to the roof above. The walls held the same wrought iron lamps that lit when walked past, making me jump every time the sound of flames igniting in their cages happened.

  I had been here before, only then I was lead to believe it a dream. I looked over to see the massive courtyard far below and it looked as though a huge section of the house had been removed to fit in a Temple. The domed roof shone in the moonlight making it look like copper and I remember last time thinking the sculpture on top was a bird but now I knew better, as the figure of an Angel could easily be seen.

  I was staring down at it from a different angle as now I was on a different side of the house but I could just make out the side from which I had first seen it. I remembered that night well and Draven had found me lost and scared in the darkness. At first I didn’t know it was him, only after he saved me from falling to my death did I soon come to realise who my dark knight had been. This was yet another incident when his sister had been involved and tried to throw me into his path but he had dealt with it in other ways. In other words, just another time that I was made to believe it had been all in my head.

  I continued along the cold open hallway until getting to the door at the end and I thought how nice it would be, if like last time, Draven was there waiting inside. It didn’t take me long to find out my wish did not come true. Instead it opened into a cold landing and the only way left to go was down. The stone spiral staircase made my fear of heights rear its ugly head and a wave of nausea washed over me. My head spun at the sight of how far down it went and only when the screams started up again did it remind me why I was here. So I swallowed hard before venturing down them.

  They seemed to go on forever and I found myself glad that they went down and not up, as my chest was already getting tight from my lack of fitness. I was at least glad that the moon was full and the sky clear because there was no soft glow of any candles but there were lots of little slit windows that allowed the moon to shine through. The further I got, the more difficult it became as the stone wall was damp and the steps slippery. I lost my footing more times than I could count but thankfully I remained up right until finally I reached the bottom.

  Now of course, the screams could be heard even clearer and as soon as my foot hit the last step I broke out into a run to get to the next door. The door was jammed but with a little persuasion, it creaked open, allowing me access. Thankfully in the next part I found that I could breathe more easily, mainly due to the well lit room and warm air. I could instantly tell that there would be people down here or why would there be lamps lit and the hum of voices in the distance.

  The room I walked into looked like a shrine, with large holes cut out of the walls filled with what looked like artefacts and strange glowing orbs. One in particular reminded me very much like the one I had seen in my dreams, on my first night in my new home. It was purple and when I got closer it started to spin and pulsate in its place as though it was responding to my presence.

  Other holes held things that couldn’t be explained without their owner present. In the centre of the room I had to walk round a glass case containing a sword that lay sideways. It was held there by stone hands gripping it tightly at each end and on the blade’s end blood constantly dripped into a pool of black water from where the hands emerged. It seemed so strange a scene that it took my mind far from the reasons I was here.

  I imagined it to be Draven’s collection and then I quickly started to wonder what he would think about me being here. Would he be mad that I was venturing into the unknown or would he see my quest as a noble one?

  I quickly hurried past and on to the next part and although worried for the girl’s life, I couldn’t help but be intrigued at all the new things
my eyes were laying witness to. This truly was another world….Draven’s world! And I knew this was one part of his life he tried desperately to keep separate from his human girlfriend. There was so much that I still didn’t understand and only the love in my heart made it all less important. To me he was just a man and most of all, the man I loved. I knew sometimes I doubted myself but in this I was absolute.

  The next hallway was wide enough to get a bus down and the mouldings were breathtaking. Stone carved into art work. Pillars that looked like sandstone men holding up the ceilings with bulging muscles and endless strength. Huge arches cut off into smaller half moons that were covered and framed with flowers that were gilded gold. The pillars also held gargoyles, before they reached the elaborate ceiling and they were not weathered like the ones I was used to seeing.

  No, these looked like they could have been carved yesterday and this added to the fear they produced. I almost expected their eyes to start glowing and for them to growl as I went past. So, of course, when the sound of stone moving above me could be heard I screamed, proving that no amount of preparing myself could have prevented my fright. I looked up but the grotesque creatures were still, only now their heads turned towards me looking down. This made me quicken my pace as now my heartbeat sounded in tune with the girl’s screaming. It pounded in my chest and every step I made was then followed by the turning of a monstrous stone head.

  “STOP IT!” I stopped and screamed out at them. I bravely stood facing their judging looks as my anger got too much. I mean, what could they do to me? I didn’t give it much thought as one by one they slowly turned to face the other way and I was amazed to see my little eruption had any affect on them.

  By this time I reached yet another door and before I went through it, I braced myself as I knew I’d come to the end of my journey because the screams could be made out as words of help. A girl’s voice was pleading to be freed and at least I knew I wasn’t too late. I took a few deep breaths and walked through to face my mission.

  Of course I was wrong… this door wasn’t the last to lead me to her. The screams stopped as soon as my foot entered the room, well I say room but it was more the size of a football stadium! The floor was a broken collection of tiles that made shapes and pictures I didn’t understand the meaning of. There were lighter patches attacking darker ones, like clouds in a battle, merging into one sullen colour of grey. It actually looked like the floor was alive with energy and at first I stepped back against the door that had now sealed behind me. I turned in a panic but it was fruitless. I was locked inside what I soon discovered to be a tomb!

  I let my heaving chest calm before walking into the centre where there stood the biggest pillar like the largest tree trunk in existence. Thoughts of the Jurassic age came to mind as that’s how I imagined the green life to have been back then. Of course, being made of stone only made it look more like a fossil as stone vines worked their way up the great structure. I didn’t know whether it was there for effect or was actually holding something mighty up above.

  My eyes followed in awe, as I reached the ceiling where it spread out like life finding home. The vines continued along the ceiling as if being a life force that at one time that had sucked needlessly at the air. Now, of course, it was being closed in by the roof but it looked like it once belonged to something much more. I found myself looking up until my neck ached, in pure awe.

  I momentarily forgot my situation and unfortunately when I did look elsewhere I found the walls, floor to ceiling, covered with holes. It didn’t take long for someone with half a brain cell to know what lay in these holes. They were the perfect size for a coffin to fit in widthways and I knew this is where the tombs of Draven’s dead ultimately found rest. My mind raced with questions upon questions and I bit my lip as to what the answers could be. What had I found down here?

  I knew one thing…. Draven was not going to be happy!

  I moved round the open space with my breath caught inside my body, only to be released when absolutely necessary. I feared as though I may wake the dead with each footstep I took and given the size of the place, I took quite a few of them. When I finally crept across to the other side, I found that one wall was covered in the stone vines that seemed born from the fossilised tree that acted as a pillar. They had snaked their way up, produced from the trunk in the middle, and rained down this wall as if to guard something beneath.

  I knew I should turn back but it was as if something powerful wanted me there. My fear was slowly being replaced with a need and a want so great, I couldn’t do anything to save myself….from myself!

  I felt my body react to my recklessness. My hairs stood on end thanks to the raised bumps on my skin. My heart rate doubled or even tripled as all my ears could make out was the beating drum that now played a doomed beat inside me. I tasted the acid that a nervous stomach produced and swallowed hard when I came only a foot away from the vine covered wall. My body wasn’t my own, being forced by a mind I only half controlled.

  “Touch us!” Whispers of the dead beckoned from each hole in the room. I spun around half expecting to see thousands of decomposed corpses all stood there edging closer to me. I turned back to the vines and raised my hand causing a wave as they all hushed, waiting in turn for my mistake to play out like a Greek tragedy. My fingertips needed to find the vines that polluted the wall, concealing a truth I needed to find. I only paused a second but it was enough for the whisperers to urge me on, one last time.

  Then my skin came into contact with the cold stone that caused a reaction. The stone moved under my fingers like I was finding a pulse on a sleeping corpse. It started to pulsate more violently before quickly producing thorns that pricked my palm and pierced it enough times over to extract my blood.

  “Ouch!” I yanked my hand free and that wasn’t the only thing the pain freed, as now my mind was completely my own again. I looked down at my hand and found there a strange symbol that resembled a birthmark I had under my hair line. It was more noticeable when I was a baby, when I had only thin wispy hair but now it was completely covered under my thick blanket of blonde locks. It was an odd shape, like a quarter moon with its back to a sideward V. The blood had stopped escaping as I wiped it on my jeans but it was still red and sore.

  I heard a noise and when I looked up the vines were now wide awake and alive with the new blood they had fed on. The part which had tasted my blood had turn a lush green colour and it grew thicker before retreating back behind its stone brothers that lay behind it. Then I staggered backwards as the whole wall became alive with motion that reminded me of light grey snakes all slithering to get away. It all pulled back at once, as if my blood had been acid and the vines needed to get away from the infected area.

  I don’t think my eyes had been held open so wide or my mouth been hung down in shock as long ever before. I gasped as the retreating vines revealed a huge wooden door that belonged at the back of a castle drawbridge. Well that was just great…. I had revealed a door, yes, but I would have to be the size of a two story building to open it!

  Then, as if my thoughts held some greater meaning, the door started to split in the middle and allow an opening big enough for the giant from Jack and the Beanstalk to pass through. But this didn’t just allow me access to go in, it also allowed the girl’s screams access out. This spared me any hesitation as I ran inside to find the crying girl I had to save.

  I ran until my eyes adjusted to the dim light that came from the end of a tunnel I had been granted entrance too. My legs felt like jelly as it felt as though I had been walking all night but I didn’t want to think about it now, I could rest later. Now I had to find her and considering now her voice could be heard, crying little sobs, I knew the next room would be where I would finally find her.

  I walked through a bright light that I thought came from the room but when the energy made my body tingle I knew it had in some way acted as the door. I stepped through to the other side blinking, to clear my now blurry vision. It was like someo
ne had taken a picture and the flash had me seeing nothing but black dots. When it cleared I wanted to scream at what the next room held….I was now, clearly, inside a prison!

  The walls held heavy metal doors with only small barred windows in arches. The locks were strange and instead of holes for the keys to fit, they held little flat dishes that looked ready for a liquid to be poured in to. They were the weirdest looking locks I had ever seen. But this was all small factors compared to the banging and screeching sounds that my presence was causing.

  “I smell human sweat upon flesh!” One gargled voice spoke and I shivered before nearly running back through the brightly lit portal.

  “I smell a ripe fruit ready for plucking!” Another voice spoke, only this one made my bones near to shaking as its deep demonic edge continued,

  “One I would gladly tear apart, skin from flesh, flesh from bone!” I wanted to start screaming myself but then the girl’s sweet voice brought me round from my own nightmare and reminded me of her own.

  “Help me, please.” Her voice sounded strained from screaming and again the memories hit me harder than any of these monsters threats. I walked towards the door I thought the voice came from cautiously, knowing the other creatures did not think kindly of my interference or maybe they did, considering they seemed to be thinking of me as a happy meal!

  The doors went on and on, but the voice led me to her. I hesitated before going up to the door, remembering all my other mistakes I had not long ago made. But, when she pleaded one last time, my senses left me, being replaced by my guilt and memories. The metal door was cold and I noticed a bluish light filtering through the window in the door. I thought this must be from a window inside the cell but when I reached up on my tiptoes I was wrong. The blue light came from the silhouette of a young slim girl that only wore a long white muslin gown. She had her back to me and her black hair hung straight down her back like black beauty’s tail. For a second I was like a deer caught in a car’s headlights. I was frozen at the sight and the blue glow deepened a shade at my reaction to her.