by Melody Rose
“I didn’t realize I would still get premonitions after my death. I think that’s uncommon, though,” she laughed brightly. “You’re the basis for extenuating circumstances.”
“What do you mean?” I felt my brows furrow. We slowed to a stop, and she reached for something in the middle of the air, turned, and pulled. I thought to myself that must have been a door. She stepped through and waved for me to follow her before pausing.
“Oh. You don’t see… how silly of me,” she laughed. “I would invite you to make yourself at home if you could. As it is… please find somewhere comfortable to sit.”
I smiled at the sweet tone she had and walked over to a slightly wider gap between a few trees so I could lean my back against one. “What is it like for you, here?”
She looked around, sitting down on the ground. I got the feeling she definitely had chairs but was just trying to make me more comfortable. “Oh, it’s just perfect… I live in my childhood home.” Her face had a warm and contented expression, and I couldn’t help but smile in response. “My family lived here for generations. I had to leave at a young age because of my gift; I moved into the castle as all Seers do. So now, for my life of service and struggle, I get to stay here forever. It always smells like tea and biscuits, the way my father used to make them for me.”
“That sounds beautiful,” I beamed, trying to ignore my fear about whether I would see a dead forest for eternity. “How long have you been here?”
“Oh, it’s been so many thousands of years now, I’ve lost count.”
“How-” I paused. Maybe it was rude to ask someone how they died? I wasn’t sure of the proper etiquette when conversing with the dead.
A knowing smile graced her face. “How did I die? I told Minerva of the prophecy. First, I told my fellow Seers that I’d had a vision, a significant one. According to the rules in the fae realm, I was supposed to tell the Queen first. Of course, no other Seers in the universe are required to do that. That was one of the ways she exerted control over us. So, I told her before I told another living soul.”
“She…” Alless paused in thought, I assumed to remember the details of what had happened so long ago. “Yes, I think she asked who else knew. I said no one. She looked pleased. Then she asked me to wait, and she said she would be right back. So, I waited in her study. After about half an hour, I realized she’d locked the door, so I couldn’t get out. I was so young. I’d only ever had two or three visions before that day… When the door finally opened, it was at least five hours later. I saw a woman with blonde curls, a witch that worked for Minerva. I saw her lips move, but I couldn’t make out the words. Then my heart stopped.”
I stared at her as she told this story. “You seem so calm about it all.”
“Well, I’ve had a lot of time to process it,” the spirit laughed. I couldn’t help but smile back.
“I’m glad you’ve found peace with it,” I nodded. “So what did you mean? I’m extenuating… what?”
“Oh,” she sighed. “I suppose there’s much you still haven’t learned. I’m sorry I have to be the one to tell you.”
I felt my palms get clammy. “Wh-what do you mean? Is it something bad?”
“Oh, no!” she said quickly. “Not at all, my Queen. It’s just… a lot. I don’t want you to feel overwhelmed.”
I took a deep breath and nodded. “Okay… where do we start then?”
She smiled, and I couldn’t help but feel more at ease when she did. She had such a calming air. “Why you really came. Your prophecy.”
I got chills but stayed silent and nodded, wanting to hear what she had to say as quickly as possible.
“When Minerva told Death of my prophecy the day she died, she told him there were rulers of the Underworld, Earth, and the Upper World. That wasn’t what I said to her years ago. I said the universe would be knocked out of balance, and when it was, the third member of the triad would take her place, when she was needed. Death rules the Underworld, Life rules the Upper World, and Spirit rules the Middle World.”
“What?” I cocked my head. “What’s the Middle World?”
“My Queen,” she laughed softly. “The Middle World is your world, the realms between life and death. All of them.”
I looked down at the mossy ground and tried to process what she said. That made no sense. “Like Earth… and… the fae realm?”
Alless nodded. “And the ogre realm, the witch realm, all of them. Highness, it is your destiny to rule all of these.”
She seemed so calm. I, on the other hand, felt like I was about to throw up. Could I throw up in the Bay of Souls? Technically, I had no body here.
“Please,” she said quickly. “Don’t fear this, Myrcedes. This has been your destiny as long as ruling the Underworld has been Death’s or the Upper World has been Life’s.”
“You mean Daath and Syrion?” I frowned. “What do you- how is that possible? They’re millions of years old, and I’m-”
“So are you.” She paused to let me take that in, but I felt even more confused. “Your soul was born at the same time as theirs. For millennia after millennia, you have been reborn.”
I blinked, and in the sheer amount of time it took to take a breath, I felt as though I’d been hit by a wall. Just like the day that Minerva revealed to Daath who I was and my childhood memories flooded back, I had the experience once again. Flashes of lives, of faces, names, places, and memories exploded in my mind.
I leaned forward and held my head in my hands, feeling a strange sensation. It wasn’t so much a pain as it was a pressure. I felt my eyes get hot like I was about to cry. I felt Alless’s hand on my shoulder, and it reminded me to breathe. “What’s happening?”
“You’re recalling everything. Don’t worry, Highness, it will pass in a moment. It’s quite a bit to take in.”
“Why didn’t anyone tell me about reincarnation?”
“No one else knows,” she shook her head. “No one else ever is.”
“What? Why me?” I looked up, feeling the pressure subside, wiping my eyes. “I… Alless, I don’t understand.”
“I know.” She nodded, and her dark hair seemed to bounce in waves. “Don’t worry, my Queen. Let me explain. The balance between chaos and unity, good and bad, every meaningful dichotomy of the universe has been in place for ages, and while it was, there was no need for the realms to be united under one ruler. At the beginning of time, your soul was conceived, and you lived your lives in peace. If you lived as many lives as possible, as different people, different creatures, different circumstances, once you reached this point, you would be prepared to be an effective Queen.”
“Minerva has been trying to destroy the balance, to expand her power since she became a Queen, and she was bound to succeed, eventually. Once she did, you would be necessary. She finally generated enough power amongst her alliances to threaten the balance. At that point, she felt confident enough to come after you, so you were united with Death and Life, Daath and Syrion.” Alless paused and, for the first time, seemed to have real hesitation. “I have debated asking this. I’ve received prophecies of your life for so long, I feel as though… I apologize, my Queen,” she shook her head. “I don’t mean to overstep.”
“No,” I said quickly. “Please, tell me. You don’t have anything to worry about.”
She smiled and bowed her head in gratitude. “Much of what I know about you is not specific. I’ve wondered for years how the triad would be brought together. Please tell me if it’s not too much to ask, how did you meet them?”
“Of course.” I grinned, both in amusement at how humble she was and from remembering all those months ago when I’d first bumped into the twins. “I was on my way to work, and they were just there. They had on a glamour to hide themselves, but I’ve always been able to see spirits.” I supposed as the universe’s embodiment of Spirit, my lifelong gift for perceiving ghosts made perfect sense. “I could see them too, so I just stepped around them. Once they realized I could see them, they
stared at me. Daath said hello… and I ran away.” I laughed at the memory now. I had no idea that day how severely my life was about to change.
Alless’s expression shifted from one of excitement to one of adoration and fulfillment. “Thank you for sharing. I wish I could ask you so many more questions, but we don’t have the time. You came to me for answers.”
“Right. So…” I took a deep breath. “What about from now on? Now that I’ve met Syrion and Daath, now that I’m Spirit, will I live forever, or-”
She smiled sadly, and that mere expression halted my question. “You will die. Once you die, you will be reborn. Some of your life spans may be short. Others may last centuries. But you will always be the Queen, and you will always be the completion of the trio, the Spirit. You will always return to join Death and Life.”
Tears fell from my eyes as she spoke. I’d been trying not to think of it, honestly. I knew that as a human, I had a life expectancy of maybe seventy or so years, but I’d hoped being a reaper would save me from that fate. I never wanted to leave Daath and Syrion. But to find out in the same moment that not only would I die, but I would be reborn, I would find them again, love them again… I wasn’t sure which was more prevalent, joy or terror.
Alless took my hand and squeezed it. I looked up at her and smiled as I wiped my face. “Thank you… thank you for explaining all of this.” I was still anxious for what was to come, but for the first time since the night Lindsay and I went to that night club where I was attacked by the reaper, I felt clarity.
“There’s still more you want to know, isn’t there?”
I blinked. There was, but I’d nearly forgotten that I wanted to ask. “Yes, actually… I have a question about the Upper World.”
Alless had a knowing smile and nodded. “Yes?”
“Why does no one talk about it? And if Syrion is its ruler… why isn’t he there?”
“The Upper World exists, but many consider it a myth because it’s closed. It will remain closed off completely until Life, the King of the Upper World, accesses it. People have been trying to ascend to the Upper world as long as time has existed, but it will never work until its King sits on his throne.”
I frowned at that. “I don’t understand. Then why hasn’t Syrion done that?”
“When I foretold the prophecy, it was as much for you as it was for him,” she sighed. “It was my job as the Seer to find him, to tell him. Before I could… Minerva killed me.”
I looked down and bit my lip. “Alless, I’m so sorry. I feel like you died for me…”
She looked at me with an obvious expression of confusion but smiled. “But I don’t feel that way. I died for an evil woman’s vanity. No one caused that but Minerva herself. Besides, even if I had died for you, I can’t imagine a better way to go, your majesty.”
I smiled warmly at her and squeezed her hand. “Thank you… tell me one more thing. How can I help Syrion to ascend?”
“You can’t,” she shook her head. “He doesn’t need your help. All he needs is your trust.”
I wasn’t sure what she meant, but I nodded anyway. “Okay… and there’s nothing-”
“One more thing,” she cut me off with a thoughtful look. “I want to tell you, during my life, I always had an affinity for the name Tawney.”
I blinked and felt my expression melt into one of confusion. I was about to ask her what she meant and why she told me that, but she cut me off by shaking her head. “There is nothing else I’m meant to tell you, your Majesty.”
I frowned. “What?”
“That’s all I needed to say to you.” Alless smiled as she stood. “I’ve fulfilled my purpose, and you’ve fulfilled yours here.”
I stood myself and looked around, more than a little frustrated by the sudden dismissal of the conversation. “If you say so…” I still felt like I had so many questions, but none that I knew how to ask.
“Don’t worry,” she took my hand in both of hers. “There’s nothing else you need to know.”
I wasn’t quite sure I believed that, but I knew I should trust her, anyway. “Alless, thank you for everything.” I hugged her tightly. “This has made things so much clearer.” In some ways, at least.
She smiled and nodded. “Goodbye, Spirit. I am honored to have met you.”
“The honor is mine,” I smiled back.
I began to walk back. My mind flooded with questions about what she’d said and about the future, worries and excitement at the prospect of being Queen of not only Earth but every other living realm, and confusion over her parting thoughts. After walking for a few minutes, I stopped, closed my eyes, and black clouds swallowed me.
27
Syrion
I sat in the armchair next to Myrcedes’ bed where her body lay, just as Daath and I had done the first time she traveled to the Bay of Souls. That had taken several hours, but this had exceeded any other trip we’d ever known anyone to take where their soul left their body. After fourteen hours, we decided we should take shifts so we could get some work taken care of as well as sleep. About thirty-five hours after her departure, my brother slept on the couch while I kept watch. I’d begun to get concerned about how long she’d been gone. I’d even tried to wake her a few times, but there was no change.
I felt a knot in my stomach unfurl itself the second I saw her eyes flutter open. I quickly moved to sit on the bed next to her and took her hand, kissing it repeatedly. “Thank goodness. You had me scared half to death, Myrcedes! Promise me you’ll never do something like that again.”
She blinked, looking exhausted. “How long was I gone?”
“It’s been a day and a half, love.” I stroked her purple hair as her expression shifted to one of shock.
“That long? It didn’t feel that long… I thought it was just a few hours…”
“We were worried.” She sat up, and as soon as she did, I wrapped my arms around her. “We were so worried… what happened? Did you find her?” I’d almost forgotten why she was there in my excitement over the sheer fact that she was back.
Myrcedes nodded and held her head, likely to try to recall all that she had experienced over the last day and a half. I saw Daath stir on the couch and sit up as she began to explain.
“I found her… she knew I was coming…”
“What?”
“She’s been getting prophecies, even after her death.”
“I didn’t think that was possible,” Daath said, rubbing his eyes as he stood and crossed to the bed. Myrcedes looked relieved to see him awake and smiled.
“Well, she said I was, um… some kind of extenuating circumstance. We’ve known since the day Minerva died that I was a part of this trio, but I’m… I’m not just meant to be the ruler of Earth… I’m the ruler of all the Middle World. Everything between the Under and Upper Worlds.”
I felt something in my stomach twist as she said Upper World, and my heartbeat quickened.
I hadn’t opened up to her nor Daath about any of this. For weeks, I’d been going to the Floor of Dreams and the library, trying to learn anything I could about the Upper World. It was a myth I’d heard of for centuries, but since Daath and I had never heard of it in a practical sense, I’d always assumed it was just that, some myth. We’d been around since just about the beginning of time, so how could there be something like an entire realm of existence that we hadn’t heard of, let alone one that I was supposed to rule?
At first, I felt like an idiot for not having ever really taken it seriously or understood it, but truthfully, I hadn’t been stupid; I’d just never looked into it. I never thought there was a reason.
According to any records I could find, no one had ever been there, which contributed to the belief that it was all a myth. People tried to jump to it the way they could jump between Earth or the fae realm or the Underworld, but it never succeeded. No one had a practical description of what it was like.
I struggled to find any solid answers, so I went to the Floor of Dreams. Part of me felt a
s though I had wasted my life, building up the Underworld when I had a kingdom of my own I was meant to rule. It was hard to explain, but the Floor of Dreams clarified that my destiny wasn’t to rule the Upper World yet - it wasn’t necessary thus far. I struggled in an entirely different way with that, knowing that the thing I was born to do was apparently inconsequential for several million years.
In essence, I’d spent every day since Minerva’s death trying to find some way to answer these questions, but I’d found that similarly to Myrcedes, the Floor gave me information that led to more questions than answers.
“So… the Middle World?” I asked. “That means, Earth…”
She nodded, anticipating my questions. “And everything else.”
“Myrcedes,” Daath whispered, stroking her hair. “Fucking hell…”
“That’s almost unbelievable,” I murmured. “So, if that’s true, then why…”
We asked her several questions. She answered every one of them. Daath and I shared a similar thought at the knowledge that she had apparently existed along with us for all eternity, and it was how in the universe had we managed to miss her for this long? Even so, Myrcedes assured us it was meant to be exactly like this.
The biggest shock came when she explained that her journey being reincarnated wasn’t over. I felt Daath’s reaction, and I knew he could feel mine. Honestly, neither of us had actually contemplated the possibility that we would ever lose her. Perhaps that was naivete on our part, but we’d never had to face any form of loss. We only ever had each other, and we knew we’d never lose one another. When Daath died, so would I. I’d never have to live without him.
Now, however, we’d reached a point where we could hardly believe we’d spent millions of years without her, so the thought of having to lose her, having to watch her die, and then spending another twenty years waiting on her to find us once again… we both felt as though we were already mourning that loss, despite the fact that she sat there between us on the bed, healthy, happy, gorgeous, and finally for the first time since we’d met her, fully understanding of her place in the universe.