This room was different from the near natural tunnels.
I got up on all fours, and in the eerie light from my strange sigils; I saw a tall rounded cupola, a floor made up of chiseled stones, depicting wondrous things, probably ancient. There were fragile mermaids, flying lizards, what I took to be some sort of dinosaurs and bears of gigantic size, hundreds of different kinds of animals, and animals I had never seen. There were men on lizards and even horses, and then there were beings being worshiped, that much was clear. These creatures were large, yet with limbs like men, happy and boisterous, perhaps good-willed and generous by the kind looks on their faces. The beings were being basked in adoration. Hordes of people were bowing to them, and leading them was a tall man in a horned helmet. The horns were like that of the statue I had seen. I moved on. One brilliant carving showed a man with an unruly beard, white and long, his shoulders swaddled in a faded red coat and in his head there was a twin dragon helmet. He bowed to a beautiful woman of lithe limbs. I crouched as I eyed the mysterious sights and then finally walked around the huge place, shivering. I wondered if I could touch the fires lingering in my mind, for I was freezing, but the ice was tumbling so loudly through my head, I decided not to try. I contemplated on touching the ice again, more carefully this time.
Suddenly, I felt something strange.
I felt as if someone was touching the same strands, pulling at the power of the fire. I saw what was being pulled and combined, clumsily I thought, and I realized this was being done behind me. With a yelp, I turned to stare around at the room, and my eyes fixed on a figure standing immediately behind me.
There stood a boy, my age. He was nude, his arm burning with fiery red sigils. He was blond and long-haired, all grin with a thick jaw, and he had tattoos on his chest and sides, of ravens and skulls. I realized he was staring at my breasts, and I covered myself up with a blush. He grinned sheepishly and indicated his nakedness, and I blushed as well, for he was not a bad looking boy. ‘Not much we can do about it, eh? I’m Lex. Lex Cyburn. You speak English? Yes? Or no?’
I frowned. He had an American accent. ‘Shannon,’ I said with a small voice, for I had ever been awkward with people.
‘You from New York?’ he asked happily, his eyes never leaving my body.
‘No, I’m Welsh,’ I told him.
‘Damn! English! I guess we are at war? We were last year, probably this year as well. You are not armed?’ He stretched his neck to see behind me.
‘I’m Welsh,’ I said icily. ‘And I don’t want to shoot you. Unless you keep staring at me like that.’
‘Sorry!’ he said, lifting a hand in the air disarmingly. ‘I’m from Boston.’
I frowned at him. ‘Have you seen anyone else around?’
‘No, not really. But I guess I’m happy to see you! Do you feel it?’ he asked, his eyes gleaming. ‘The … power? I just knew there was something here. I knew it! They did not lie back home.’
‘No, they sure didn’t,’ I stated sourly. ‘Where are we? Any idea?’ I asked, staring around the room, hoping for a place to hide. He was totally shameless as he spun around, whooping, and I blushed again as I stared at his round ass. Damn American.
‘Goddamn. I don’t know, but I wanna have some answers to this tattoo on my arm, eh?’ he smirked, showing his dangerous looking red arm. ‘Have you tried to touch it?’ he asked.
‘The thing on my arm? Yes, of course. It …’
‘No, no! The power. See?’ he concentrated and sweated. He was still touching the flame side of the power, holding some parts of it, and uncannily, I could see what he was doing. He pulled at simple parts of the flame, quite recklessly and filled himself with that power. Soon, from his hand a tiny flame sprung forward, weak, then too strong as it blasted away, and he shrieked and fell back, laughing as the flames burnt away from him, ending in a tumbling ball and scorching the ground before him.
It felt warm and wonderful, and then I cursed him before I knew what I was doing.
‘No! There are carvings there! Precious!’ I shrieked, taking steps forward.
His good mood evaporated in a show of incredulity as he leaned down. ‘OK. Yeah. Are they important?’
‘I don’t know. Maybe? They are old.’
‘Ah, you don’t want me to wreck the precious past. You a history major in college or something? You look smart. Well, you look great as well,’ he said with an infectious grin.
‘No,’ I told him, blushing furiously as I chased the grin away.
‘Me? I didn’t do much studying. Sucked at school. The family traditions demanded my attention. And my boat. And …’
‘Got it,’ I told him imperiously and regretted it, as he looked mildly hurt. ‘I was terrible at school as well. This … thing made it hard to study. But I do love history.’
‘Bookworm,’ he grinned. ‘A gorgeous one. Well, now you can study all you want. We are free. Just imagine. We’ve been missing this all our lives! How could we ever manage it?’ He was massaging his palms. I smiled at him tentatively and even gratefully, for I was warm again.
‘Best not burn off anything either of us would miss,’ I chided him gently.
‘I won’t burn it off, don’t worry,’ he winked, and I blushed again at his insinuation. Then even he looked embarrassed but kept grinning. ‘Sorry, you know Americans. We don’t have any manners. You a noblewoman?’
‘I’m a farmer’s daughter,’ I told him sullenly. ‘I meant these clues to our whereabouts,’ I growled and rubbed my temples. ‘I tried to pull the power, but it nearly killed me,’ I told him. ‘It feels strange, like a million tons of grinding ice running down a frozen river.’
‘I feel no ice,’ he said dreamily, ‘but the flames roar so loud. It is glorious. Ice, eh? That’s strange. So damned strange.’
I nodded and wondered at his words. ‘I can sense the fire, somewhere, but it is so weak.’
‘Like a damned inferno, girl,’ he said. ‘ I wish to learn how to use it.’
‘Who,’ I asked him carefully, ‘did you kill to get here?’
He opened his mouth and shut it, then looked down. ‘I …’
‘Never mind,’ I said, looking at him warily, then around me. ‘I am not sure I enjoy it here.’
‘I’ll miss my dingy,’ he told me softly, his good mood subdued. ‘Swan.’
‘Your what? A swan?’ I asked, thinking him mad.
‘A boat, my boat,’ he stammered. ‘I’ll miss it. But little else. We had these stories in the family, of blood and madness, but it’s not mad, is it? It’s just … right. Uncle told us we would be given a choice one day. It was yesterday. He wore these robes. It was in the woods some twenty miles off Boston, really creepy place. He bent on this altar, which looked old, by the way. You would have hugged it.’ I gave him the evil eye, and he took the hint. He rubbed his face and shook it vigorously. ‘He worked with us. He was a thief and a bully. He had stolen from the brotherhood. My uncle asked me to bring this particular guy along. There, he told us what to do, but only if we wanted to. Then he called our names and these strange gods. I was scared shitless. I understood why he wanted me to bring the guy along soon enough. He killed him, just like that. Didn’t see it coming, neither did Joseph. Uncle did it quickly, thank God. Then he told me … you know. My face. It sort of twisted? Not sure how I managed to do the next part. The bloody deed. But I … did it after ... It was not pleasurable, not fun, definitely would have had a cold beer rather than lick at the steaming blood. But I think nobody’s going to miss him.’ He looked away and I knew he felt bad about it.
‘Did he have a mother? This thief? And what brotherhood were you talking about?’
‘We all have mothers,’ he scowled. ‘But his was a bad one, a whore. I suppose she won’t miss him. Maybe.’ He looked away, unconvinced by his own words. ‘And he was a thief, yeah. That is important. You steal from your own, anything can happen.’
‘Never mind,’ I told him, tired of the pointless discussion, and looked around, h
oping to find something to cover myself with.
Lex shook his head. ‘I know what you mean. Really. Shannon, relax. We are here. We can't … you know, worry about everything right now. Did someone do it for you?’ he asked, looking embarrassed. ‘It’s the only way …’
I shuddered and was about to tell him about Dana. I shut my mouth and thought about it. No, I didn’t want to tell anyone. They would, perhaps, hold it against her. ‘My grandma killed a man. My sister went and drank from the wound. I …’
‘Followed,’ Dana said as she walked to us from the dark, her lithe body glistening with water and sweat, a fiercely red brand burning on her arm like live flames, much stronger than the one on Lex’s arm. The fool boy whistled softly. ‘She followed me. My sister drank the blood Grandma spilled, and here we are.’ She walked to me, tall and dark and finally grasped at me, laughing wildly. I sobbed and grabbed her furiously back, holding on. ‘We are free,’ she said and leaned to whisper in my ear. ‘You lied for me. Perhaps you are different here, after all. Canny and useful. Try to keep in control, though. Let me run this.’ I nodded uncertainly at her words. I was not sure I liked the new, conniving Dana. Nor did I trust her as I had. And yet, I loved her.
‘Free?’ I told her with a small, trembling voice. ‘This is not home. Nor safe. Everything safe is gone. No police, no laws. We don’t know if we are free.’
‘We make the laws!’ she said happily, as if to a child. ‘We don’t have to pretend, for once, and that is worth it all,’ she giggled. She grabbed my head again and put her mouth to my ear. ‘For once, there are no throbbing pains in the night, no chains of expectations, nobody to look down at us if we fail, and we can make our own rules. None shall mock you here, think you are crazy. If you don’t act it.’
‘Is she crazy?’ Lex asked with a grin, having eavesdropped.
‘She is,’ Dana smiled, and I pushed her. She grasped my arm, staring at my eyes. ‘We are free! Everything, Shannon, is just right. For once. Forget the old world. Can you feel the power? We always had it! Can’t you see that? We were gold chips buried under sand, Shannon, back at home. Here, we will enjoy!’
‘You did not want me to follow you,’ I told her bluntly.
She sighed and tilted her head. ‘It’s time we grew apart a bit, Shann. I don’t want you to be so dependent on me. Here, I wish to do things my way. I told you. I want to be free and happy. And not worry about you. Nor do I want you to worry about me.’
‘You killed …’ I began to whisper.
‘I did,’ she whispered back, forcefully. ‘Stop it. Forget and be happy.’
‘I second that,’ Lex interrupted having heard that part, walking closer. ‘She’s right … wait.’
From the corridors, more lights shone. They looked eerie, then like bubbling red flashlights, and then figures showed up. Two were creeping carefully forward, a reddish glow around their forearms, both were dark as night. They were a boy and a girl, perhaps twelve, black and handsome, the girl’s hair long to her calves, the boys curly and wild. One said something softly in a language we did not understand. It was the girl. ‘I bet she doesn’t understand English,’ Lex whispered. ‘Wonder where they are from.’
The two stopped to stare at us, and the girl was fidgeting. I saw she had been crying and looked lost. The boy looked at her miserably, but shrugged and grunted and came forward to stand near us, on guard. The girl hovered nearby and we all stared at her. ‘Who are …’ I began, but Dana nudged me. More reddish lights shone in the corridors, and a group of people arrived. Two were wolf-like men, in their twenties, bald and thin, one girl, perhaps our age. They stayed on the side, eying us warily until the girl,a tall blonde cut with shapely breasts waved her hand. ‘Privet, druz'ya.’
‘Oh boy,’ Lex whispered. ‘Is that … Heard it from some sailors. Russians?’
The girl grinned and shrugged.
‘Yes, da!’ Dana chirped and thumbed me. ‘They are Russians. I’m sure of it. Shannon, and I’m Dana Crowther. From Wales.’
‘Lex Cyburn,’ said the American boy, eyeing the girl with a lecherous grin. ‘An American.’ The Russian girl noticed his lingering look but brazenly flaunted her shapely body by bowing slightly.
She made elaborate movements with her hands, pointing at her chest. ‘Donskoi! Anja Donskoi.’ She pointed a finger at the two men and spoke at length. We all looked at each other, confused.
The black girl sighed and spoke. She pointed a finger at one of the bald boys. ‘Alexei. Dmitri has the crooked nose. She says he broke it on a toilet door, drunk. They are her brothers both, and she is their unlucky sister. They are from St. Petersburg.’ I noted they all had slightly slanted eyes. I had heard Russia was a big country, and they looked exotic.
‘Nice to meet you,’ Dana grinned and eyed the black girl. ‘Your name?’
‘Able et Albine,’ said the boy. ‘Nous sommes de Marseille.’ The girl shrugged.
‘She won’t answer?’ Lex asked curiously.
‘I think they are French,’ I stated. ‘From Marseilles.’
‘Where?’ Lex asked.
‘From Marseilles,’ I told him. ‘It’s in France. That is Albine.’ She scowled at us. ‘Right?’ I asked.
She nodded.
’French?’ Lex asked Albine, who nodded. ‘And you know English? And Russian!’
‘Obviously,’ she said morosely. ‘Albine.’
‘Albine,’ Lex whispered, giving me a strange look. ‘A kid still.’
‘Dangerous children both,’ I told him as I smiled at them encouragingly. They had killed someone to be here, perhaps.
Dana nodded at her while making subtle signs for me to be quiet. ‘We …’
‘You lied,’ Albine said with a thick dialect.
‘What?’ Dana asked.
‘I was listening out there,’ she whispered. ‘About your grandma sending you here.’
’I did not!’ Dana said. ‘This is no way to speak to someone you just met, is it? What if I called you a thief before even asking your name?’
‘You might, but I know you lied,’ Albine said, but apparently regretted saying anything. She shrugged as we stared at her strangely.
The Russian girl said something with a small smile.
‘What a strange bunch we are,’ Albine said with a bored voice. ‘Her words. But I agree.’
We stood there, uncomfortably silent for a while, wondering what to say and what to do next, each of us nude as the day we were born, their arms burning red and mine with silver. Lex, apparently unable to sustain the silence grunted. ‘So. Do you think we are still on earth, after all? It all looks strangely familiar. The stone looks like rock back home, and there are no giant fungi ready to consume us. Nothing weird like that, eh? Surely, an alien world would look different, no? Like somewhat strange, at least?’
‘There was a weird statue and this floor? It looks bizarre,’ I said. ‘And we have not seen anything yet.’
‘No,’ Dana said. ‘We are far …’
‘Yes,’ Albine answered at the same time, and the two stared at each other, shrugging. ‘Perhaps we are still on earth?’ the girl asked. ‘How could we know?’
Then we knew.
The room shuddered. A doorway opened, and past the shuddering door, there was a corridor with a bright, burning light. The light filtered, snaked to our hall, illuminating the room slowly. The door was taking its time, ripping itself open, very slowly, thin dust blowing and billowing through it as if it had not been used for years. The light was brighter now, but something was passing through it. A shadow, flickering and iridescent was moving there, coming forward as we squinted. It walked, that much was clear, and it had a dark, swathed cloak around it, covering much of its face and body save for long, shapely white legs, ending in elaborate golden shoes. Its hands were at its sides, the fingers moving and light was playing on the fingertips. I felt it was touching the power, the fiery side of it, and I guessed that was what made the light. I wondered at the elaborate strings she wa
s weaving together with ease and saw more lights spring forth from her hands. They were red and white, floating around the room. The figure glided forth and stopped before us, and we huddled instinctively into a group. The dark hood turned and stared at each of us in turn. What it was, I knew not. It was small, shorter than we were, moved smoothly as water across the stones, and yet seemed somewhat human in its ways.
‘Lady,’ Lex began with a trembling voice, for it was obviously a woman. The thing shook its head, and the hands groped the air. Fiery light and the subtle fire mixed, and I felt her pulling at the power and creating a complicated pattern and suddenly, streams of light engulfed us. Then, nothing.
‘Can you understand me?’ said the woman’s powerful, singsong voice.
‘Yes,’ Dana said with apprehension. ‘You …’
‘She speaks her own language,’ said Anja with wonder. ‘And so do we.’ We turned to stare at her. The language was ours, and we realized we had not spoken English, but some other, far older language.
‘Welcome all,’ said the woman, the voice beautiful and enchanting. ‘I am called Cosia. I already know your names. And the gift of speech is yours for good. It is the universal language of the world.’
‘Where the hell are we?’ asked Able softly, the French kid.
‘I would like to know as well,’ I added.
‘What did you say?’ the creature asked, her voice full of amusement.
‘We,’ I said and put a hand around Able, who looked supremely startled, ‘would like to know where we are.’ The swaddled female snickered, and I decided I did not like our host. The Russians were tittering as well, and I scowled at them until Cosia’s hood turned that way. Then she looked at me again, and I did not enjoy the look.
The Dark Levy: Stories of the Nine Worlds (Ten Tears Chronicles - a dark fantasy action adventure Book 1) Page 7