More confused than before, the immortal narrowed his eyes.
"Remembers what?"
Pieces that have once been lost.
The light completely covered Griff's body, and with a painful scream he stumbled back and forth, clutching his head as though it might split at any second. He extended a trembling hand into the air.
"C-come…on…dammit!"
He curled his fingers around the air. With his growl increasing into a furious shout, he wrenched his arm back, pulling from thin air a pair of katar. Crystalline fragments appeared around him, accompanied by a faint shattering sound. Panting and with weak knees, Griff fell back against the wall. He gave the concerned immortal a weak but earnest smile.
"I…was wondering," he panted. "…when I'd…get these back." Groaning, cursing, and fighting to stand on his own two feet, Griff gave a final, deep sigh before looking once more to the goddess. "Don't…don't get me wrong," he huffed. "I'm glad to get these back and all, but… It's a bit early, don't you think?"
The goddess hesitated, looking down.
Time is the coin of life.
For many, it is the only coin they have,
and only they can determine how it will be spent.
Be careful, Griffith, lest you let this final coin
fall into disuse with age.
Griff nodded, his smile fading as a look of sadness overtook his bright features. "It's the only one I have left," he said. "I'll make damn sure the price is worth it this time."
Reyfa shook her head, lifting her chin.
It is alright.
We have all made sacrifices.
It will be worth it when we see this scourge
finally wiped from the annals of time.
For a moment, he turned to look at Reiem. The mix of uncertainty and doubt there melted into determination.
"Yeah. It will be."
PART FIVE
Dark Truths
I
The soft blue strokes of the flower petals seemed to stretch on endlessly into the distance, melding with a grey sky that foretold of a coming storm. The air was warm, heavy with humidity. The little girl pushed her messy brown hair from her eyes with a sigh. Her feet dangled over the edge of the cool stone bench, its rough texture biting into the backs of her legs as she kicked them to the slow tune humming in her chest. She didn't like that feeling on her legs, but she refused to get down. She had to wait.
She promised that she would.
She watched as a gentle wind ruffled each flower in turn, following the petals blown astray and making up names and faces for them as they swirled. One became a witch, soaring through the towering trees of the mighty forest. Another a gentle dancer, performing both plie and twirl in graceful motion.
Another wind blew.
She shivered at how much colder it was.
Pushing her hair away once again, she scrunched up her face at the scenery around her. Something wasn't right. She looked hard at the pool of water before her.
Why was she here? And where, exactly, was 'here'? It wasn't any place she could remember. A meadow full of blue Gentian blossoms, surrounded as far as the eye could see by clouds and hazy horizons. She saw some ruins in the distance, but that was it.
Humming still, she forced herself from the bench and stood at the water's edge. Peeking just enough to see her own face, she studied her reflection before closing her eyes. She inhaled deeply—Gentian blossoms, fresh water, grass, wind…
"Charlotte," called a velvety voice she couldn't recognize.
She opened her eyes and looked around as though slowly clearing her sight. A lone man stood on the other side of the small pool, his back to her. She didn't recognize the ruffled silver-blonde hair or the long coat. He turned suddenly, as if hearing his cue. The scarf wrapped around his neck let her see the full of his pale, beaming face, and Charlie felt an unpleasant sensation when she realized that the man's twinkling blue eyes were smiling at her.
"Who are you?"
"A soul bound by fortune and fate," he said. "Searching for someone like you."
"So, it seems you found me."
"Indeed I have." He smiled. "A chance to see you once more. Who would have thought?"
Charlie felt her breath hitch in her chest. She backed away from the water's edge. Something was wrong. Looking down, she gasped. There was no smiling man reflected in those still waters—there was a monster. A swarming, living shadow, glittering with countless stars, with glowing green flames where she expected to see eyes.
"What do you want? Why are you here?"
"Our prayers have been answered, dear Charlotte. And your calling, fulfilled."
"But, I…" Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes. "I don't understand."
The man came closer, crossing the water's surface. The pool bubbled and roiled, turning a foul purple-black that emitted a hissing, noxious miasma. He leaned forward to look her in the eye.
"You are the One, Charlotte. The stars die for you. That which is mine by right shall be restored…by you."
She didn't understand. What prayers was he talking about? And what 'calling'? But before she could speak, he had turned his back to him.
"Do you remember that night?" he mused as he stared into the water, now pure once more. "Nine years seems so long ago."
Slowly she lowered her eyes to the reflection.
"The water," she whispered.
"Though, you'll find that time has no meaning where I'm from."
"The screaming…"
The breeze picked up, shaking the flowers. It grew until it was a cold wind, like in a midwinter night, and it made Charlie shield her eyes, shards of ice biting at her skin. The man's coat fluttered like a pair of hellish wings until suddenly it seemed to stop, as if frozen in time.
When Charlie opened her eyes again, she was an adult, a midnight gown flowing around her as if…
As if they were underwater.
The man was gone from before her. The flowers dissolved in the wind, their dark blue color spreading in the air like ink in water, until all around them was of a blue color.
Out of the corner of her eye, a dark form morphed from the blue-black ink.
"Now, about 'us'." The man said casually as he morphed around her. "On second thought," he smirked, swirling to face her. "Who are we to tell the threads in which patterns to weave?"
Steel shone on his hand for a moment, and in the next Charlie felt the blade sinking in her side. She gasped, looking at him. Crystal fragments appeared around them, twinkling like jewels, though Charlie could only see the man.
"Would that I had another choice," he lamented in a velvet sigh, his golden hair around his head like a halo. "But, love, listen: Our voices have already taken flight. Our wish of peace has been heard. And this moment will have to be enough," he softly whispered as he twisted the knife ever so slightly.
He suddenly pulled the knife out, and Charlie drifted backwards, clutching at the wound in agony. Blue-black ink seeped between her fingers, dissipating into the water.
"It's not right," she protested, but her voice faltered as black tears began drifting from her eyes. "All I… All I wanted…was to live."
One Gentian blossom remained at the man's feet. He picked it.
"When the world falls down around you," he said, holding the flower. "And you find yourself alone amid a lightless place, look to the darkness. Know that I am there, and that I will always be watching."
Charlie raised her eyes to him. The current threatened to carry her away. And she didn't resist, didn't flail or fight or try swimming away. Weakly, she took the Gentian blossom as the darkness swelled around them. She tried gasping for breath, but the wound was too painful, the water crushing in around her.
The man slowly drifted towards her, an amused smile on his lips. Quick as a snake, his hand shot forward, catching Charlie's chin and forcing her to look at him. She felt the mounting fear overcoming her pain as she was made to gaze at his face yet, as unreadable as those b
rilliant blue eyes were, she didn't see any of the vile hatred or spite she felt in his actions.
Then Charlie sensed something coming from this man, something her soul understood even if she, herself, did not. She wrapped her own hand around his wrist. A pale green-blue light glowed softly, and he let go of her chin. It was a strange instant during which, maybe out of curiosity, he let her cradle his hand.
"Darkness cannot drive out darkness," she said, gazing at him, speaking in a voice that melded her own with one birthed seemingly of melody and ageless memory. "Only light can do such a thing."
The man's smile vanished, and Charlie saw something passing before his eyes. It was as fleeting as a raindrop in the wind, and it vanished even before appearing. He then snarled and ripped his hand from her with such force it brought their faces together.
"There is no shadow without light," he hissed into her ear. "Thus shadow owes its birth to light."
She trembled, letting her gaze linger for only a moment longer before her eyes fell away. She tried grasping for his hand, but the undercurrent was too strong. Her hand let go of the Gentian blossom, which dissolved into ash as darkness engulfed her. She felt her life force slipping away.
"Until we meet again," the man said.
Something dark—almost like sorrow—lingered in his words, and Charlie could only latch onto them as she fell down, down, down into the dark depths.
‡ † ‡
The soft, pale gold light of early morning filtered through the thin curtains. She stayed some moments there, laying in the bed, her mind whirling. Breathing was harder than she thought, and her entire body ached as she sat up on the bed. She gazed around the room: It was her own. However, Ignis, sitting on a nearby chair further away from the bed, stole her attention. Her friend looked up, eyes wide and weary, upon hearing her move.
"You're awake," he whispered. Without waiting for a reply, he got up and crossed to the bedside. Why did he seem so shaken? "I thought you were… It's been three days."
Charlie's eyes widened. Three days? The last thing she could remember was that thing in the temple ruins. And Reiem…
"Griff…?"
"Nothing but a bruised ego." He waved it away.
"And Reiem?" Charlie asked in a small voice, terrified of the answer.
Ignis turned to the door. Not even turning his face away could hide the confliction of emotions swimming across his pale features.
"He's fine," Ignis simply said. "He left that for you." He pointed to the nightstand before opening the door and leaving Charlie alone.
It was the dagger. She picked it up gingerly until the weight settle in her hand. It felt right. Like it was a part of her she'd lost long ago. As she held it, turned it over carefully within her hands, she felt as if her head was splitting in two. Her sight blurred, and she thought she could see greenish eyes in front of her.
…a child of Elder Blood…
…you…carry on…what Marianne…could not…
…until we meet again…
The pain receded, and her sight blurred with tears. She wept bitterly, clutching the blade to her chest.
Nothing made sense anymore.
‡ † ‡
Charlie had not moved once in the last hour. She simply sat there, unmoving, like a statue, in her bedroom.
The house was noisy, though it hadn't been that way when Ignis left, as he'd departed the home entirely, speaking in hushed tones to someone on his phone. It hadn't been until ten minutes ago that people had arrived, and their voices had filled the home. Tal, Lori, Griff, and Ignis. But she didn't hear Reiem—nor did she hear the tell-tale rumble of a portal signaling his arrival. Was he really okay, as Ignis had told her? Despite everything that had happened—everything she tried to push aside with a smile—she knew they didn't have as agreeable a relationship as she'd hoped. Griff was their mediator, fostering a fragile but manageable peace, all for her sake.
She reflected on the ancestral glade, the battle in the ruins. There was something hungry within that blighted creature's gaze—ravenous, almost, as it tried to get into the sacred circle. And that warm, blue-green light. She remembered Reiem falling in battle, then losing consciousness herself. But he must have been fine; she was awake, and he'd given her the dagger. But why wasn't he here?
And then there was that strange man she felt so very connected to within her dream despite not knowing who he was. In truth, she was becoming more aware of how little she knew herself these days. The lantern, the letters, and now whispers in her head of Elder Blood. She'd tried so hard, pushed through things that would drive an ordinary person to the brink, but now, it seemed as if she was a stranger. Not to those around her, but to herself.
She didn't know who she was.
Charlie didn't know who she was because she probably wasn't even 'Charlie'.
She felt cold, sitting there in an otherwise warm room. For what seemed like ages, she wanted to get up and go out, to see and speak to everyone most certainly awaiting her arrival. Instead of the challenging life of a Guardian she'd always dreamt of having, she seemed to be living nothing more than an existence of tortured expectation, waiting for each new twist to slap her across the face and beat her down when she thought she'd finally crawled over that next mountain.
She had barely registered the door opening and someone entering the room. She sat there, silently thinking and worrying, when gentle hands rested upon her shoulders. She looked up slowly to see Griff standing before her, his gentle honey eyes on hers, a mix of worry and warmth on his face.
"I'm here, my girl," he said, to which Charlie slowly nodded her head before looking back down. "We all are, okay?"
She didn't reply.
"Charlie," Griff said quietly after a moment. "I have a lot to tell you. And so does Lori. A lot that we should've said way earlier but were too chickenshit to. Reiem won't be here, but me, Iggy, Tal, and Lori will. Promise you'll come out soon?"
Charlie slowly nodded, and sighed.
"What do you wanna tell me?" she asked, her voice cracking.
"It's about you," he said simply. "I think it's pretty important you know if you're gonna take care of this place, right?"
He tried to smile, but when she didn't react, the corners of his mouth fell, and he gave a sigh of his own.
"Look. I know you don't really care right now," he said gently, "but maybe it's for the best that this all comes out into the open. No more secrets, and no more tears. Okay?"
Charlie closed her eyes. Griff was right—she really didn't care right now. So deeply had she been struck by the sudden turn of events. But perhaps she'd learn something that could help not just herself, but them all. They were all in this together, after all…
"Alright," she said after several seconds.
II
The living room was almost deathly quiet, Charlie noted, as she followed Griff down the hall. What had once been a comforting refuge, full of laughter, liveliness, and love, now felt like an icy tomb—silent and morose. Ignis stood in the entryway, leaning with hands stuffed into his hoodie pocket. Tal and Lori sat together on the loveseat, their otherwise warm faces strained with unease. Charlie could only imagine just what it was that was going to be said.
"I'm scared, Griff," she muttered quietly.
"Me, too," he admitted. "It's been such a train wreck. I'm sort of nervous to get everything out."
Charlie didn't know just what earth-shattering secrets he held, nor did that question matter much to her at the moment. All she could focus on was the feeling that permeated the room, a feeling like she was about to be fired or expelled.
She took her seat across from the pair, with Griff claiming the armchair. Lori looked older than she had in a long time, but also seemed to be relieved and almost happy. She seemed to be a woman who had just had a terrible burden lifted from her shoulders. Or was about to.
"Charlie," she said, smiling her warm, tired smile. "I'm glad you're awake. I want to tell you how proud I am of everything you've do
ne so far."
"Is something wrong?" she asked, and Lori managed a chuckle.
"I was worried," she stated. "I knew that something like this would happen eventually, and that when it did, it would be a terrible loss to us all. If you lost, the seals keeping the darkness deep within the mines at bay would be shattered as well. But if you had uncovered the truth and won, then you would be taken over by guilt, and hunted by the monsters conjured by Marianne, no less. But neither of those things happened."
"What…are you talking about?"
"I think you should ask Griff," Tal replied. "He knows a lot more than us."
As the others turned their heads to him, Charlie slowly followed suit. She could see that Griff was deeply troubled by whatever it was he was about to confess, though well-intentioned or not, she couldn't tell.
"It's been so long," he whispered. "Everyone. I know I'm a fuck-up, but please…forgive me for what I'm gonna tell you. I've gone along this whole time, lying to everyone, trying to make things right, but still, it…"
"We know, son," Tal answered. "We're on your side, but we can't help unless you tell us everything, okay? When you came to us the other day, we shared everything we knew, so now, it's your turn."
Lori made a noise of confirmation, while Ignis remained silent, and Charlie simply stared. Taking in the looks on everyone's faces, Griff crossed his arms, tapping his fingers. He fell silent for a moment, staring hard at the floor.
"Like Charlie, I'm a guardian of sorts," he finally said. "I didn't choose this, but I can't exactly back away from destiny. It's been a pain in the ass, not gonna lie." He paused, and a shudder seemed to work its way along his body, a motion which quietly frightened Charlie. What was he afraid of?
The Silence Between Page 21