An island.
One side of it was gray and desolate. There was a huge mound of rock in the center that I realized was actually the entrance to a great cave. Small fires burned around it, giving off a heavy smoke, but there was nothing else. It was depressing and sad.
But then came the other side.
It was a shock to the eyes. It was an unexpected twist among the dead.
It was life
“Oh my,” I said to myself, my eyes straining to see more of the beauty.
It was completely covered in brilliant green. An expanse of grass that promised to be soft under the feet and gentle on the skin. There was also a stream, a real stream with real water. It looked fresh and cool and it made me realize how thirsty I felt. There was a great tree with abundant reaching limbs that twisted into the sky and bloomed with more brilliant green.
These things were spectacular, but they weren’t the most wonderful thing I could see.
In the center of the all the green was a house. A house made of white stone with a thatched roof. It was large but quaint. Old school, but new. And it was beautiful.
“Isn’t it wonderful?” I asked Sam.
“It’s amazing,” Sam agreed.
The dragon made a rather smooth landing on the depressing side of the island. Sam was the first to climb off and then he reached up to help me. My heart began to pound as we all stood there next to a dragon’s lair. No, he didn’t make us into shish kebab, but maybe he liked sushi… as in raw meat.
“Now what?” I asked Sam, gazing over to the side of the island that looked so beautiful. For some reason I saw no way to actually get there.
The Devourer gave a roar, then lumbered inside the mouth of the cave, turning back to stare at us.
“I think he wants us to follow him.”
“In there?” I asked dubiously, looking at the black hole of the cave.
“We’ve come this far,” Sam said.
“Why not?” I said. “No one likes sushi anyway,” I mumbled.
“What?” Sam said, gazing at me.
“Nothing, let’s go.”
And then we walked right into dark mouth of the cave.
*
“I certainly hope following the most feared creature in hell into its dark and scary lair isn’t a horrible mistake,” I said as Sam practically carried me as I hobbled through the dark.
“Eh, he’s only ten times the size of me, covered in prickly scales and razor sharp spikes. Just because he has more teeth than a shark, could swallow us whole and eats the dead souls of demons doesn’t mean he’s going to kill us,” Sam said nonchalantly.
Oh, how I missed him. I giggled. “Well if all else fails, we can feed him a Snickers.”
“How’s your soul?” Sam asked, his voice turning serious.
Actually, my chest was beginning to feel a little odd… but I hadn’t been feeling well anyway so how was I supposed to know the difference? “I think it’s okay for a bit longer.” I hedged, when in truth I had no idea how much longer I had.
“Maybe this wasn’t a good idea,” Sam said.
Suddenly, pure, bright light filled the inside of the cave. The Devourer was no longer leading the way. He had stepped through another doorway, an exit to the back of the cave and his massive body was no longer there to block the light. Sam and I looked at each other and he moved in front of me, keeping a hand behind him and firmly on my waist. “If I tell you to run, go as fast as you can on that ankle, back into the cave and find somewhere to hide. I’ll come and get you.”
I didn’t bother to argue because I didn’t have to. Sam stepped through the opening and I heard his intake of breath. I wasn’t about to wait for his permission so I stepped through, coming up behind Sam, and forgot to breathe.
It was stunning.
It was incredible.
It was the most perfect place I had ever seen.
And it was in hell.
Irony at its best.
“Holy cow,” I whispered, so in awe I could barely speak.
“If I didn’t know better, I would think we were in heaven,” Sam said, wrapping his arm around my waist and drawing me against him.
We were welcomed by the greenest of grass, not mowed short by the brutality of lawn mowers, but left to flourish. It didn’t take over, almost as if it knew exactly how long to grow so it invited your toes to wiggle into its depths. Swaying ever so slightly in the cool breeze that caressed your skin, it promised a luxurious respite from anything and everything that ailed you.
The sky, the most dazzling shade of azure, had no blemish in sight and the trees grew in abundance, their branches knowing no bounds and growing with a joyous, twisting freedom.
The stone cottage that I saw from the back of The Devourer was sitting not so far away and it looked warm and welcoming.
“Where did The Devourer go?” Sam asked, and we both turned and gasped.
The Devourer wasn’t there, but there was a giant… bird? Creature? Animal? Standing there staring at us. It was covered in feathers, brilliant feathers of blue, red and yellow. It spread its wings to reveal more jewel-tone hues of orange and green. It had a large body, but somehow it seemed graceful, never clumsy. It had a wide face and the top of its head was covered in a yellow Mohawk, while the feathers around its eyes were green. But there was something familiar about this creature.
It’s eyes… I gasped.
This was The Devourer. Somehow, remarkably, its ugly exterior was transformed in this place to a thing of great beauty. “It’s The Devourer,” I whispered to Sam, who nodded, not taking his eyes off the dragon.
“I’ve been waiting for you,” a woman said from behind and Sam spun around quickly. I turned too, just not quite as fast.
She was just as striking as everything else. Her beauty rivaled that of Airis, except there wasn’t an untouchable vibe. She wasn’t as austere as Airis. She was more natural, but nature had given her its every gift. She had long hair the color of sun-kissed wheat and her wide-set eyes were as green as the grass beneath our feet. She wasn’t very big. In fact, I was taller than she and I guessed her height wasn’t more than five feet. She moved with an elegance and grace that I would never master, even if I practiced for a hundred years. Her skin was smooth and creamy with pink undertones, making her appear very young. But none of these things were her most beautiful feature.
Her most beautiful feature was her aura.
I had never before seen such pure, unfiltered color. There was a bright yellow and a crisp orange that weaved with emerald and blue. But the most abundant color of all was magenta—the unique blend of purple and pink that I had only ever seen one other person wear. My brother. Except this woman had about three times the amount of that color and, instead of circling only her head, it encompassed her entire body.
We shook ourselves from staring as Sam asked, “Who are you?”
She smiled. “My name is Aniano.”
“Once again?” I asked.
“An-yah-no,” she pronounced more slowly.
“I think we’ll just call you Ana.” Sam replied ruefully.
“If you wish.” She smiled back, her green eyes amused.
“What is this place?” I asked her.
“My home,” she said simply. “Come, I will show you around.
Forgetting my ankle was broken, I moved to follow. I stumbled, but Sam was there to catch me.
“You are injured. I can help.” She didn’t wait for us but walked toward the cottage. Sam picked me up and hurried after her. There was a large set of French doors, open to the breeze, where I thought she would go, but instead, she passed the open doors and walked across a small clearing on the other side of the house.
“Heven is human. Her soul…” Sam began to say, obviously concerned that we were wasting time.
Ana lifted a hand. “Her soul is not in danger here. It will remain in her body.” Then she stopped and looked down with unfiltered joy on her face. Sam made it to her side and stopped, placing m
e on my feet (well, my one good foot) and we both looked down to see what she seemed so awed by.
It was a flower.
It was growing alone among the softest patch of green grass. The breeze played lightly with the petals. It was golden and seemed to be lit from within; its edges were glittering and magnificent. The creamy yellow petals were open, inviting the warmth of the sun and the gaze of our eyes.
“You brought us out here to look at a flower?” Sam asked, trying to sound polite.
“It isn’t just any flower,” Ana said kindly. “It’s a piece of the sun.”
“A what?” Sam asked.
“This flower grows from a drop of the sun. It is the purest form of life.”
“Then what’s it doing in hell?” Sam asked, curious.
“Proof,” I murmured.
Ana turned toward me and smiled.
“Proof that God created hell, not Satan. If Satan created it, then this place wouldn’t exist.”
“That’s right,” Ana said.
“I guess no one would think to look for it here.” Sam allowed.
Ana turned her smile on him.
“Come,” she said, bending down to pick a petal off the flower. I gasped at destroying such beauty, but the petal grew back immediately.
This time she led us through the French doors and into the house. I took in everything as we stepped inside. It was awfully large for a cottage and the inside had an old-world look with modern conveniences. The floors were dark, scuffed up wood that looked uneven yet charming. The walls were all white, but looked bumpy and when I peered closer, I saw it was because they were made of stone. The ceiling was vaulted and made of the same dark wood that covered the floors, and there was a large fireplace filled with crackling logs. The mantle was a huge piece of wood and the only thing on it was a bulky white vase filled with wildflowers. We walked across a multi-colored braided rug that was old and in some spots worn, but was otherwise extremely soft underfoot.
We walked past overstuffed aqua-colored couches and into the kitchen, which was open to the living room. It was a large room that had stone countertops and stainless steel appliances. There were more braided rugs of every color on the floor and peeling white-painted stools beneath the island.
“Please, sit,” Ana invited as she grabbed a teakettle off the stove and filled it with water and set it to boil. Then she opened up a cabinet filled with white porcelain mugs. She wasn’t tall enough to reach them, so she climbed on the counter to get what she wanted. Her hop back onto the floor was soundless. Then she set the cup by the stove and placed the flower petal at the bottom.
Sam pulled out two stools for us to sit on. While I was fascinated with her movements and what exactly she was doing, I found myself growing dizzy again. I was sweating and shaking and I wanted to go to sleep. Sam seemed to pick up on my crappy feeling and rubbed slow circles over my back with his hand.
The kettle began to boil and Ana poured the water over the petal. The cup seemed to glow the minute it was filled and the steam that came off the top danced with golden glitter. “Drink this,” she said, sitting the cup on the island in front of me.
Sam looked at her like she just grew three heads.
I leaned down and inhaled some of the steam dancing above the liquid. Warmth filled me and I felt a light surge of energy. Before Sam could protest, I lifted the cup and drank. The water was scalding hot and I felt the burn all the way down my throat. My eyes watered at the temperature, but I took another smaller sip.
Sam stared at me, poised and waiting for something horrible to happen. But nothing did. Instead, warmth spread throughout my body, different from anything else I had ever felt before. It was as if I were being lit from within and for a moment, all the horrible things that happened to me melted away. Then a tingling feeling began to spread, starting at my toes and traveling up until my fingertips and head felt as if tiny people were dancing upon them. When I looked down at my hands, they were shimmering with golden flecks. My whole body was shimmering.
I had never felt so relaxed or alive.
“Drink,” Ana insisted, and I lifted the cup again. Suddenly, my broken ankle no longer hurt and the swelling and bruises faded away.
Sam stared at me in wonder as I healed; then he looked up at Ana with a new appreciation in his eyes. The mistrust was gone, replaced with genuine gratitude, and it completely transformed his face into something so beautiful I was struck breathless.
But then I got a vision of all the blood on the floor of his cell. I hadn’t even checked him for injuries. I choked a little on the liquid and Sam stood abruptly, his arms coming out on either side of my body as if he expected me to collapse.
I looked down into the cup at the shimmering water and noted there wasn’t much left. I already felt better than I had felt in so long and it seemed selfish to drink the rest, especially after everything he had endured. I smiled to let him know I was fine and lifted the cup toward him. “Your turn.”
He began to shake his head and I glanced down toward the dagger wound still festering in his bicep, but it was partially covered. I lifted the sleeve of his shirt and examined the wound. It was swollen and red around the edges. Carefully, I lowered the shirt and looked back into his eyes. Without taking my eyes away, I lifted the delicate cup up to his lips and tilted until the liquid met his mouth.
His honey-colored eyes watched me as his lips parted and the drink slid down his throat. I watched as he swallowed and prayed there was enough left to heal him. He took on the same glittering glow and I felt the transformation in his body the minute it took place. He was healed.
Satisfied, I turned to Ana and handed her the cup. “Thank you.”
The effects of the tea were still flowing through me and I felt overly warm, but more wonderful than I had in a very long time. “Why did The Devourer bring us here?” I asked Ana.
“I told you, I have been waiting for you. He recognized you right away. There has been no one before you to trust such a beast.”
“About that,” I said, straightening on the stool. “He looked so… different on this side of the island.”
Ana smiled. “That’s because here, on the island, you see The Devourer for who he is on the inside, not as he appears in hell and to those who only know how to hate.”
“But he appeared ugly and scary when we were in hell.”
“Yes, because that’s what you expected to see. But you knew there was more to him, didn’t you?” Ana asked, placing my cup in the sink and walking out of the kitchen. She sank into one of the cloud-like couches.
I guess I had always sensed something good within The Devourer.
“She feeds it candy,” Sam said, his voice laced with amusement.
Ana laughed. “What kind?”
“Snickers.” A small smile played on my lips as Sam and I sat on the couch opposite her.
“I’m afraid I have never had this candy that you speak of,” Ana said.
I drew back in shock and fished through my bag to pull out the one remaining candy bar that wasn’t melted. I slid it across the wooden coffee table between the sofas. Ana picked it up and tore the corner off the wrapper. She stared at the chocolate bar for several seconds before she bit into it and chewed slowly. Her eyes closed and then she looked up. “This is magical!” She laughed.
“I actually prefer a Milky Way,” I told her.
She wrinkled her forehead.
“We’ll bring one of those next time,” Sam said and Ana nodded around another bite of candy.
“Do you live here alone?” Sam asked.
Ana nodded. “Yes. I am the only one who knows of this place, other than God… and now you. I am the keeper of life here in hell. It is my job to hold up the glamour and protect the flower.”
“Glamour?” I asked.
“The island is hidden behind a heavy glamour. No one would be able to see it even if they knew what they were looking for. All that can be seen here is the dragon’s lair, which most try to stay away f
rom.”
“But, we could see it,” I said.
“That’s because you were meant to. Normally a person would have to come through the cave and step onto the island itself before they were able to see through the glamour. Once they see it, they will always be able to. But you, you were able to see it because you have a purpose here, a purpose I can help you with.”
“What is our purpose?” I asked Ana.
“I’m not entirely sure, only that I will assist you. In time, I am sure you will know.”
Tirade Page 20