Briarcliff

by Lorraine Beaumont

  “Get out of my head!” My voice tore through the room. The cloaked figures appeared again like a flash, but then faded back out.

  “Why are you doing this to me?” I was at my limit. The giant hole in the ground glittered blue and light snapped from its depths.

  “This is not real.” A whisper of air blew against me and carried with it the warm, sweet- smelling scent of Adriane. The sound of his voice revived my tenuous hold on reality and pulled me back from the edge of despair. Was that it…? Was this another illusion? Oh, please be an illusion. Concentrating on controlling my rampant fear, I focused my energy, holding onto the words like a lifeline. Mentally, I purged the insects from my mind. Each thorax popped apart and yellow liquid spurted out of the black casings. And then they were gone.

  “I did it.” I couldn’t believe it. I felt almost giddy, suddenly having conquered one of my biggest fears. A false sense of bravado swept over me and I felt like I could take on anything right now.

  Unfortunately, my momentary reprieve was short lived. I felt a warm sticky wetness on my hands and when I lifted them, they were covered with blood.

  There was so much blood. It poured like a river over the stone and flowed down in a crimson sheet into the Cragmire.

  “Please, stop doing this to me!” I squeezed my eyes shut to block out the unnatural sight. It had to be another illusion. I had to believe that or I would lose my mind. Concentrating, I tried to vanquish the gruesome sight of so much blood. Adriane’s face loomed behind my closed lids and my heart lurched.

  Again, a feeling of calm washed over me and when I reopened my eyes, the blood had vanished. Relief poured over me. Was I in the clear then? Another rush of giddy excitement surged through me until I tried to move and realized I was still stuck to the stone.

  “Tsk, tsk, tsk. Aren’t you are a tough one to break.”

  I turned slowly and stared into the dark eyes of the man playing a starring role in my waking nightmares. “Not you again,” I groaned and rubbed my forehead. Strangely enough, I was not even that surprised to see him.

  “I am glad to see you have so much fire, it will burn brightly through my veins for years.” He smiled beatifically. “I can hardly wait.” He clapped his hands together.

  “What are you even saying?” I glared at him.

  “You still do not know, do you?” Theatrically, he placed his hand on his chest and shook his head at me like I was pitiful.

  “Know what?”

  “What this,” he gestured to the room, “is all about?”

  “How would I? No one has told me anything.”

  He chuckled. “How remiss of me,” he said. “Would you care for me to explain it to you before we finish this?”

  “Not really.”

  He frowned. “You are really sucking all the fun from me.” He pressed his hand to his chest again. “You wound me, right here.”

  “Right, I wish,” I deadpanned. “What do you want?”

  “I already told you,” he sighed. “I would like your blood,” he said, his voice courteous…almost kind, like he was asking for a cup of sugar and not my blood.

  “Well, too bad. I’m afraid it is already spoken for.”

  “By whom?” he asked and lifted his brow. “The boy pretending to like you so he can take what rightfully belongs to me?”

  He gave me a look like I was really stupid.

  “You poor stupid human…you don’t get it do you?”

  “Get what?” I fumed. “That you’re a liar?” My body shook with rage or fear, I wasn’t sure which.

  “My goodness, such hostility…for me?” he breathed and pressed his hands together. “Don’t be angry with the messenger.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “The boy you are so upset over, he was using you.” He shook his arm and brushed off his sleeve. A solitary bug flew into the air and hit the floor.

  I shook my head, not sure if I was seeing what I thought I was seeing. “You’re lying. He wouldn’t do that to me.”

  He gave me a sympathetic look. “Wouldn’t he?” He took a breath. “Well…if that makes you feel better.” He shrugged his massive shoulders.

  “You’re a liar.” Deep down I wasn’t so sure though.

  “Am I?” He lifted his brows mockingly.

  I didn’t know what to believe. Maybe I was still dreaming. I grabbed the underside of my arm, and pinched hard. “Ouch!”

  He threw his head back and laughed. “No, you are not dreaming.” He gave me his staple look—like I was a pathetic moron.

  “I am…” Suddenly I had an urge to tell him everything. Everything I was thinking and feeling. Instead, I pinched myself harder and pressed my lips in a firm line.

  “Giving me the silent treatment?” he asked, unperturbed. “What a shame, too,” he sighed. “I do so enjoy our little chats.”

  I rolled my eyes, not able to help myself.

  “I find you humans quite peculiar.” Lifting his hand, he dragged his fingers through his hair.

  “I find you repulsive,” I spat and balled my hands into fists.

  “Yes, you are a strange breed,” he continued, unfazed by my insult. “Some of you have no sense of self-preservation at all.” He shook his head. “You do not even realize what those retched gargoyles are and yet you go out of your way to help them.” His voice was harder now, sarcasm overriding his polite tone.

  Some part of my mind was sounding off warning bells but I ignored them and purposefully tried to get under his skin. “Well, have you looked at yourself lately…you aren’t very appealing.” I made a face.

  “Oh, and they are? Please.” He rolled his eyes, obviously unperturbed by my little poke.

  “Why don’t you just go back to where you came from and leave them alone?”

  “Oh, it is not them that I want,” he said. “It is only you, remember? You are the ‘chosen one’. They are merely obstacles or pawns, depending on which way the wind blows.”

  “Which way the wind blows?” I turned my head as my skin prickled in warning.

  “The tide does turn from time to time. Everything hangs in balance, and sometimes the scale is tipped in another direction caused by the actions of others. It’s all very simple really and sometimes predictable. However, I find you quite exciting…you have made my visit here most entertaining…this time.”

  “This time…” My breath caught.

  “Yes…” His brows drew together. “This time,” he repeated.

  The conversation I had with Adriane replayed itself in my mind.

  “See the moon?”

  “Yes.” I looked up at the giant blue orb. A strange blue hue spread out from it and seemingly growing in size the longer I stared at it. I pulled my eyes away.

  “Don’t you notice the color?”

  “Well, yeah, it’s kind of hard to miss.”

  “Don’t you think the color is strange?” He looked down at me.

  “Not really.” I shrugged. “The moon does take on strange colors sometimes, right? I never pay much attention to it.”

  “Well you should.”

  “Why?”

  “Because that’s how they know it’s time.”

  “Time for what?” I was completely lost.

  “To come…here,” he said, as though that explained everything.

  My mind came back to the present, along with what pod-Hanna had said…

  “Well, that is the tricky part, your parents may not have always been here, but…you were born here, under a blue moon, so...you really are quite special in your own right.”

  “Why are you calling me the ‘chosen one’?” The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end.

  “Oh, right,” he laughed. “You still do not know.” He smiled. It was not a warm smile, it was sinister looking. “They cherry-picked you from the bunch…for me…for us.” He swept his hand in the air, but I could only see him.

  “Why?” What the hell was he talking about?

  “Well, someon
e had to do it,” he said, matter of factly. “You see, we made a deal and now we are here to collect.”

  “I didn’t make a deal with you.”

  “Yes, I know,” he said and waved his hand dismissively, “but a deal is a deal.”

  “Deals can be broken,” I reminded him.

  His eyes turned cold. “Not this one.”

  “Why? What’s so special about this deal?” I was trying to stall. I didn’t know why, but I felt like I needed to keep him talking.

  “Let’s see, how do I explain this to you?” He crossed his arms and tapped his chin. “We take one of you for the betterment of us all.”

  “What does that even mean?”

  “You give up your life so we may live on,” he explained casually. “So you see… you really are doing a great service and I thank you for your selfless act. It really is quite big of you.”

  “Why me though?” I had to ask. “Why not someone else?”

  He shrugged. “We didn’t pick you, they did.” He pointed out across the room.

  I turned and looked. For a brief moment, the cloaked figures appeared again but just as quickly faded away. “Who are they?” I felt sick.

  “Oh, you poor thing,” he said sympathetically. “Here I am going on and on…” He waved his hand. “You do not know that either?”

  My brow creased. “Why would I know that?”

  “Everyone knows,” he said as though that explained everything, the problem was I still didn’t know what the hell he was even talking about.

  I was at my limit. “Ohmigod!” I screamed. “Who is everyone and what do they know?”

  “You poor little bird…” He shook his head. “You are how old?” he asked suddenly.

  “Seventeen,” I told him, not seeing any reason to lie at this point.

  “Perfect.” He rubbed his hands together. “And still a virgin?”

  “That’s none of …”

  He was at my side before I even finished my sentence. Leaning down he lifted a piece of my hair and inhaled deeply. “I do so love the way you smell. So sweet…so pure…and yet…still so innocent.” His smile grew wider and wider until I could see every tooth in his mouth. All of them pointed…sharp….

  As useless as I knew it would be, I tried to run. This time my body did move. Adrenaline poured through me. Pushing past him, I leapt off the stone.

  “Not so fast,” his voice thundered throughout the cavernous room as he lifted up his hand; the tips of his fingers closed together and he yanked backward.

  My head snapped back and my hair stretched from my scalp. I hit the floor so hard I saw a blast of white.

  “You are trying my patience.” Dythius opened his fingers.

  Suddenly I was released and fell forward. I didn’t care if I was trying his patience. Crawling forward across the stone floor, I tried to get away.

  In a flash, he was in front of me, blocking my futile attempts at escape. The ribbons of ink on his body glowed vibrantly. “Do you think you can get away from me?” he hissed into my upturned face, his cold fingers clasping my chin so I had to stare up into his black eyes that were filling with lines of red.

  “I can hope.” I forced a smile even though I was in pain.

  His lips curved like he was about to smile. “Let’s get to this shall we?” He clapped his hands together.

  I heard car trunks slamming and felt like I was going to throw up. “Wait!”

  Dythius turned and held up his hand. “Yes,” he said pleasantly.

  I stared at the empty space between me and the giant man. I couldn’t see anything but I had a feeling something was right beside me and it terrified me. “Why do you have to use me? Won’t anyone do?” I asked desperately, grasping on to anything at this point.

  He seemed to consider my words for a moment.

  I latched onto to his hesitancy. “I think you should pick. I mean how do you know I’m even the best one?” I couldn’t believe what I was saying. It was the fear and the desperation I was feeling making me say these things.

  “But you are so pure…”

  “What?” I scoffed. “No I’m not. I have impure thoughts all the time.”

  “Yes, but you don’t act on them.”

  “Oh, yes I do. You should have seen me earlier. I was doing stuff with strangers and I use foul language all the time and…”

  “Enough,” he cut me off and looked at me curiously. “You would trade with another to spare your own life?” he asked, his tone was condescending.

  “Sure.” I nodded, not thinking my plan through.

  Dythius threw his head back and laughed. The sound reverberated throughout the room.

  His laugh scared me more than his threats.

  “Oh, this is going to be good.” He rubbed his hands together and then flung out his arm. “Come, Centurion. No need to stand on formalities now.”

  Simon walked into the room with his head hanging low. He had a strange expression on his face and he was unusually pale like the life had been sucked from him and he was no more than a living corpse going through the motions.

  “Good news, Centurion,” he tittered. “If this young lady says the word you will get your wish and your misery will end once and for all.”

  I gaped at him. It was odd seeing him that way. Even when Simon was battling Adriane, there was still a spark of something in him from his humanity, but now he looked like a vacant shell.

  Dythius crouched down in front of me and lifted his hand to my face.

  Again, I saw the handsome man he could be as he trailed his finger down the side of my cheek and looked closely at me. “I can sense your fear, you know. It lingers around you like a shroud and dims your spirit.” His breath wasn’t warm like Adriane’s, it was cold and I shivered in spite of the brave front I was putting up. He gave me another curious look and stood up. “I feel your lack of self-preservation again, too.” He adjusted his sleeve cuffs. “Such a shame, too,” he said and raised his hand.

  I heard car trunks slamming once again and froze. They were all around me but I couldn’t see anything.

  “So what’s it going to be?” he asked, seemingly impatient now. “If you are willing to trade, get on with it.”

  “Get on with it,” I repeated.

  “Yes,” he sighed. “That’s what I said.” He rolled his eyes, clearly at the end of his patience.

  “What does that mean?”

  “Use the dagger and take his life.” He smoothed his hand over his hair and flung the length over his shoulder.

  “Me!” I shook my head vigorously.

  “Yes, you!” He widened his eyes.

  I looked down at the ground and once again, the dagger was there. So was the pool of Adriane’s blood. My stomach convulsed and tears stung the backs of my eyes. It was another reminder of what I had done. Swallowing hard, I bent over and picked up the knife with two fingers, even though I didn’t want to.

  “That’s a good girl. Now all you have to do is plunge that dagger into his chest and push him down into the Cragmire.”

  “What?” I recoiled and almost dropped the dagger. “I—I can’t just stab him.”

  “Either you stab him or he is going to stab you…your choice.” Dythius shrugged. “Makes no never mind to me. I will still get what I need.”

  Tears flowed freely from my eyes as my leaden feet were pushed forward. I could feel something trailing at my sides, breathing against my legs. My body shuddered with fear, for myself, fear for Simon, and with indecision over what I should do. There wasn’t enough time to sort it all out either. I had to make a choice. If I didn’t figure something out, Simon was going to have to die. Or I was going to have to die. But I didn’t want to die and I didn’t want him to either. Desperate for answers, I searched Simon’s face for what to do and in doing so my fingers clutched the dagger tighter. “There has to be another way,” I told him and even as I said it I could see no other way. It was either me or Simon. .

  “Come on,” Dythius said, sou
nding irritated. “The moon is waning.”

  I looked up through the giant hole in the ceiling. The moon was tinged with red around the edges, just like his eyes and I wondered if I could just wait them out until after the moon finished phasing. I felt a push against my back, like someone was touching me. I looked over my shoulder, but no one was there. “Simon…” My voice shook with anguish and desperation.

  He looked up at me, his dark gaze haunted. “It’s all right.” He lifted his arms akimbo. “Put me out of my misery.”

  “No.” I shook my head frantically.

  “Someone do something.” Clearly exasperated, Dythius stepped forward and pressed his hands together.

  I tried to take a breath but my chest constricted, squeezing air from my lungs. I gasped for air and Simon blurred before my eyes from lack of oxygen.

  “Do it!” Dythius pressed his hands together tighter.

  “I can’t breathe.”

  Dythius opened his hands slightly and a miniscule amount of air slipped back into my lungs. “See what I can do to you?”

  I nodded, not able to utter any words. I was too busy trying to drag some air, no matter how small, back into my burning lungs.

  “Stab him already,” he yelled and the cavern shook like thunder was rolling overhead.

  “I can’t.” And yet no matter what I said, my hand lifted the dagger. “I—I can’t,” I told him and myself. My mind and body were at war with one another. My mind said no, and yet my body was not my own. It was being forced to do something I would never do, something so horrible, so reprehensible I wouldn’t be able to live with myself even if I did somehow find the strength to do what was expected of me, to save myself, to be selfish, so I could go on living. But at what cost? To take another life?

  I couldn’t. I knew this absolute fact just as I knew the sun would rise and set each day. The same as I knew I loved Adriane and I would never see him again. ‘If he’s even still alive,’ my sick mind chided me.

  “You already took care of one,” he reminded me. “What’s one more?” Dythius seemed to have read my thoughts again and I shuddered from the harsh reality that his words were probably closer to the truth than I would have admitted to myself or anyone else.