The Light Who Shines

by Lilo Abernathy

  I stand quietly and feel the endless dark around me, and I push the pain out of my mind again. I let the sound of the water and the feel of its drips, cold, sharp, and biting on my skin, fill my mind completely. I focus on it. I meditate on it. I become a part of it. I let all fear slip from my mind and envelop myself in the music of the rain and the darkness.

  After some time, I slowly become aware again, out of my self-induced trance. My stomach feels sick from lack of food. How much time passed while I was absorbed in the rain? I should stop asking myself that. It’s a useless question. The rain is now dripping so heavily from the beam overhead that my hair is drenched. Water is coursing down my arms. I put my mouth to my shoulder and lap at what water I can get. Then I open my mouth and lift my head to take in the water that drips from the beam. It tastes richly of earth. It is cold, and I am cold to the bone. I hope it is helping to clean my mangled back.

  I wonder what Maud is doing. Has she had another round with Harry? Will she ever be able to admit she likes him? What color is her hair today? I hope I don’t end up dying here because then Maud would be alone. I want to hear more about Harry and laugh with her over their pranks. I hope she isn’t worried about me now.

  Then I think of Alexis and her shop. The kitchen in back is so cozy, and Alexis is so fun. She makes the most amazing things. I wonder what Varg is doing. Did Gambino take him? I hope he’s okay without me. My heart aches for my friends.

  I decide to blank out my mind again and feel with my inner self. I feel the glow of my sixth sense, and this time instead of pushing it out, I imagine it softly expanding away from me. I feel it lightly disperse and effortlessly fill up the space around me. I let it drift through the darkness of the room, beyond the walls, out over the first small souls that I felt and beyond. It feels like it’s going further than it has ever gone before, but it’s hard to tell in the boundless darkness. I can feel all around me at once, and I feel the souls of many, many small creatures. I let my fear go, and I feel them as small balls of light. I try to focus my sixth sense in one direction to try and feel further and further. I search for any sign of people. I stretch first in one direction, then another. But as far as I can reach, I only feel the tiny balls of light from the small mammals that inhabit the earth around me. Where could I be that there’s no human life around?

  I pull my sixth sense in again. The room is suddenly here, freezing me. My pain slams into me, and I nearly choke at the sudden onslaught. I realize that while I was feeling with my sixth sense, the pain and the sense of my body faded. Good. I will use that when I need it.

  The rain must have stopped. The water drops are coming less frequently now, even irregularly. If this is the same rain that threatened the sky on Phantom Island, then it’s likely that it’s nighttime on the same day, or it is early morning. I listen carefully, and between the sounds of the occasional rain dripping I perceive a low rushing noise. I must be by the Half Moon River! I’m underground. I wonder if I’m at Red Wood Cemetery. I feel a rush of hope. Then it fizzles out. What good does knowing where I am do me if I can’t move?

  I try pulling on my arms again. I let my hand muscles go limp and round and try to slip them through the shackles, but they prove too tight. I try to pull at my feet, but the shackles are even tighter there. I grit my teeth against searing pain as I stretch my left foot as far as it will go and try to wiggle the chain. Blast it! There is no movement in the bolt cemented into the block I stand on. I breathe quietly for a while until the pain subsides. Then I try the right foot. Same result.

  I wonder how long until Blackwater returns. I don’t want to think about it, but I must. What do I need to learn the next time he comes? I need him to bring the light so I can examine my shackles. I need to examine the beam my shackles are attached to. I want to see the roof over the beam. I want to check the bolts in the floor and the size of the cement pad I stand on. I need to check the chain links for any spots of weakness.

  I think about Jason and wonder if he did all of these things. He had no shackles on him when he was found. I wonder how he escaped. I must convince Blackwater to tell me. I also need to learn about the amulet and what he wants with it, just in case I make it out alive.

  As I think all of these thoughts, the fever gets stronger and stronger. I finally let my mind rest and slip away into a darkness of my own making.

  Chapter 59

  The Riverside

  Jack Tanner: June 2, 2022, Red Ages

  Ernesto and I get out of the car at Phantom Island. “The boy was kidnapped from here. He was found in front of the Cock and Bull Tap. Half Moon River runs from one location to the next. Blackwater can portal, so he may not have had to use the river, but he may be anywhere along the river.”

  Ernesto stands in his casual blue linen suit, his elegance and grace belying his predatory nature. He looks up and down the river, sniffing the air, cocking his ear to hear. He says, “Then we must search all along the river and every building between here and the Tap to start. We should search three houses deep on each side.”

  I nod and add, “We should search every structure on the properties, not just the houses, and listen to the ground near the structures. We don’t know if the center point is Phantom Island or the Cock and Bull Tap, so we need to search south of Phantom Island and north of the Cock and Bull Tap. He can portal two to three miles, so we will need to go that far. But I think the stretch of river between the island and the Tap holds the most promise, so we should start there.”

  Ernesto looks at me closely for a moment and says, “I know she is very important to you, Señor.”

  At his words, all the feelings that I’ve been keeping at bay in order to function come flooding into me again. My throat thickens. I turn away from Ernesto and try to control my emotions. Then I look him steadily in the eyes and say simply, “She is my light, nothing more and nothing less.” I take a deep breath and then say, “We must find her. I’ll take this side; you take the other side of the river. We will go three miles past where it hits the Red Wood Cemetery.”

  Ernesto and I move at an impossible pace, searching up and down the river all night. We look for tracks, scent the ground by the river, and check the perimeter of every structure for scent or sound. We listen to the earth. We pause only to be sure of the scents we run into. We check both sides of the river with Ernesto on one side and me on the other.

  With every unsuccessful minute that passes, I feel like I’m ripping further in two. We must find her. We must find her. Her name swims in my head like a beautiful chant. Blue. Blue. Blue. It taunts me and tantalizes me, urging me on. When I start to feel hopeless, I think of the glow of her beautiful light the day I held her in my arms, and I feel hope again. That’s what she is to me. She is my light and my hope.

  Chapter 60

  Strengthening the Soul

  Bluebell Kildare: June 3, 2022, Red Ages

  I wake up gasping for breath again with cold water dripping down my face and running in rivulets between my breasts. This time, at least, I don’t imagine that I’m drowning. Blackwater stands in front of me grinning with an empty bucket in hand.

  My shivering is uncontrollable, and I can’t tell if it’s from the cold water, the cold air, loss of blood, or an infection setting in. I speak through a chattering jaw, “Have you come to taunt me again?”

  Blackwater sets the bucket down and stands straight up. Clasping his hands together in front of him, he rocks back and forth on his heels like an excited schoolboy. His thin, bony face seems almost jovial in a perverted way. His cruel mouth twists into a semblance of a grin as he says in a singsong voice, “Taunt is such a negative word. I like to think of it as plucking the juicy fruits that life throws my way.” Then he leers up and down my naked body with his gaze lingering long at my breasts. “And you are a very juicy fruit.”

  Another wave of chills runs through my body, this time for an entirely different reason. I want to cower away, but there is nowhere to hide. I avoid Blackwater’s gaze when it f
inally makes its way toward my face, and I look beyond him instead. The firefly lantern is hanging on the wall again, and it reminds me that I need to take advantage of the light. I tilt my head back. That small movement causes my back to move, and pain rips through me. I grit my teeth and pretend I’m trying to let the water run off my face.

  There are several beams across the ceiling. My chains are attached to the beams via a wide band of iron going around them. A large closed loop is attached to each band, securing the chains. There are no bolts in sight, so they must be on the ceiling side of the beams. My chains are made of thick loops of iron, not soldered, but so thick it would be impossible for me to loosen them. What I wouldn’t give for some superhuman Vampire strength right now! The beam is supported by the rock and dirt walls, and it in turn supports loosely fitted, rotting boards that make the ceiling. The boards keep the dirt mostly at bay but let water through. I wonder how far underground I am. Far enough for no screams to be heard. But how far is that? A few feet? Ten or more? Screams. He was afraid of screams, which is why this place is underground.

  I’m still pretending to shake water off my face when suddenly I see water flying at me again. This time, because my head is tilted up, the water goes down my nose and into my lungs. I whip my head down and curl over, coughing and hacking to get the water out of my lungs. Pain surges over me again with each cough because my entire body has to move. When my lungs finally clear, I stand straight again, which comes at no small price, and glare at Blackwater from under dripping hair. “What was that for? I’m already awake!”

  Blackwater sneers, “You stink!”

  “Of course I do! You’ve left me no option but to pee myself. Leave one of your buckets by my feet and I’ll use that.”

  Blackwater looks at me askance. “Do you think I am a chambermaid to carry your slop out for you?”

  I look at his fine trousers and white dress shirt with gold cufflinks and the odd brilliance in his eye. I can sense his emotions permeating the air. He exudes irrational fearlessness and can hardly contain his excitement. Is his excitement about possibly getting the amulet or about hurting me? Perhaps both. At the same time, his soul taints the room with a cloying, black choking feeling that is twisted and unnatural. I wonder how he can be so sick and still keep up appearances.

  I retort, “Do you expect me to be alive long enough to fill it to overflowing?”

  I can see Blackwater’s dark eyes glinting as he ponders this. I wait expectantly for the answer.

  He says, “Very well then.”

  I bite my lip as I now realize how limited my days are. Should I just give him the damn amulet and try to get it back later? No, he didn’t free Jason when Jason found the amulet for him. I am so cold, and my back hurts so much, but my survival instincts require that I push on. I look around the stone walled room and up into the face of Tobias Blackwater with his maniacal demeanor and the crazy gleam in his eyes. I wonder if these are my last days and this is my grave.

  “Tell me, how were you able to use Jason to get the amulet?”

  Blackwater’s eyes dance merrily and the air fills with the waves of his madness as he answers, “Jason had the ability to amplify magic. I can portal, and I had a very powerful scrying mirror. Very simple recipe, really.”

  I decide to try to stroke his ego to get information. He seems bright, but he is also clearly not right in the head. “That’s very impressive work, finding the tools to locate the amulet, especially since it had been so carefully hidden. No doubt hundreds of powerful sorcerers have tried to find the amulet over time. So what went wrong that Jason was able to escape?” This is a lot to say with my body still shivering. I’m almost thankful for the cold as it begins to have a numbing effect.

  Blackwater laughs mockingly, apparently catching onto my ruse. “He escaped in a way that you couldn’t possibly accomplish, my dear Bluebell. He used his amplification powers to grab on to my portal magic while I was finishing a shift, and it carried him out of here.”

  I feel another nail in my coffin. I obviously can’t use Jason’s method of escaping after all.

  Blackwater’s laughter trails off, and his face turns unnaturally dark as his mercurial mood shifts yet again. He mutters, “He was quite a talented boy. It’s a shame because I had planned such great uses for him.”

  Then Blackwater steps up to me and raises his arm. I flinch, but I can’t move far. I watch his eyes squint and his mouth purse in a scowl as he hauls off and hits me. My head snaps to the right at the force of his arm.

  Blood flows down my nose freely. I lift my head and look him in the eyes. “What was that for?”

  Blackwater rubs his temples like he has a headache and frowns. “I was not happy about losing Jason.”

  I feel the mood in the air shift, and Blackwater’s spirits lift as he turns taunting again. “Your dear Vampire lover and that dago detective that you have wrapped around your finger are looking for you.” Blackwater laughs softly. “They aren’t even close, and because I jump here, there is no way for them to follow me. Even that damn animal of yours can’t sniff a trail to us. But isn’t it so good to know that your loved ones are trying so valiantly and so uselessly to find you?”

  He’s trying to hurt me. I won’t give him the satisfaction. I say, “Yes. Thank you, Blackwater. How kind of you to let me know that I am missed.”

  Blackwater scowls and says, “Now, let’s get down to business.”

  He circles around me, pausing at my back and causing me to flinch. He comes back to face me and says, “So, you passed out last time and I had to stop. No enjoyment that way, certainly.” Then he starts speaking clinically as though I am a hunk of meat. “Your back is a swollen mass of black bruises with eleven gashes where the skin has been ripped off or split.”

  He reaches behind his back for the whip and waves it in my direction. I watch it shimmy through the air, undulating back and forth, mesmerizing me like a snake. “Bluebell, are you ready to tell me where the amulet is?”

  Every time he asks me, I feel like I have a new chance to tell him and get out of here. But I remind myself that there will be no getting out of here by his hands. “Why do you want the amulet?”

  Blackwater grins maniacally, making his bony cheeks and long nose stand out, and his mood elevates again to elation. His rapidly oscillating mood swings tell a tale of his madness louder than a herald. His voice rises to a higher pitch, and in his sing-song voice he says, “Imagine a world where the natural order is restored, Bluebell! Where the magically Gifted, who are now scorned and ridiculed, rise up and take the power from mediocrity. Imagine a world where Vampires are controlled and are no longer a threat to the magically Gifted.”

  “That is a grand dream, Blackwater. How will this happen?”

  Blackwater raises his arm to me and brings it down even harder this time. He shouts in fury, “We will make it happen!”

  My neck jerks back as I feel first the shock of pain, then the wet, thick oozing of blood that drips straight down to my mouth. I tilt my forehead forward, hoping the blood will make it to the floor. I scream inside my mind in frustration. I can’t even wipe my face!

  Then Blackwater smiles a sickly sweet smile. “Your time is up, Bluebell. So where is the amulet?”

  I close my eyes, knowing the agony that is about to come, but I keep in my mind’s eye the fact that my flesh and my will are all that stands between this man and the death of millions of innocent people. I wish I could ignore this fact, but I can’t. In my mind I see thousands of strangers, people who I’ve passed on the street or seen in a shop. It could be any of them, all of them. He could hurt small children, the sick, the elderly.

  I open my eyes and look steadily at Blackwater as I say softly, “What amulet?”

  Blackwater’s eyes flash with savagery as he spits out, “You intend to play that game again, do you? Well, I’m happy to oblige.”

  He is angry again. I’ve lost track of how many times he has switched between angry to gleeful in the past f
ive minutes.

  He once again walks around to my back. He says, “Let’s see how many you can take tonight.”

  I take a deep breath as questions and answers swirl in my mind. Should I tell him? Maybe if I tell him he will set me free. No, he will not let me live, and he will hurt so many people if he gets the chance. I can’t do it. I’m not going to tell him.

  I hear the whip move through the air, and it lands on my back, tender, enflamed, and broken from the night before. I arch in pain.

  “One!” he shouts gleefully.

  He strikes again.

  “Two!” This time he’s counting the lashes out loud. “Three! Four!”

  I keep thinking of where the amulet is as if that is my salvation, but I’m so delirious with pain that I’m afraid I might accidentally tell him. So I rip my mind away from that thought and start repeating my mantra in my head. What amulet? What amulet?

  The whip keeps falling, and I arch with each hit. My muscles are so swollen from the last set of lashes that each hit now ruptures muscle cells. I can feel my muscles being pulverized.

  “Five! Six! Seven!”

  The whip has broken all of the scabs that formed overnight and is now meeting raw muscle with blood flowing freely.

  “Eight! Nine! Ten!”

  I’m surprised I have any skin left on my back, but I can feel pieces of skin being torn off with each lash. The pain is so great I can’t tell where a hit lands anymore.

  What amulet? What amulet?

  Blackwater comes around to my front. “Where is the amulet?” he asks.

  I whisper with all the strength I have left, “What amulet?”

  Blackwater purses his lips, but a tiny smile starts to lift the corners of his mouth. Then he moves behind me again. I can feel that his anger at me for denying him what he wants is now warring with his twisted joy at causing me pain.

  “Eleven! Twelve!”

  I’m gasping for breath. My eyes are squeezed shut. My teeth are clenched. The pain racks through me as the whip laces its course across my back.