Precious Anathema

by T. L. Manning

  “I don’t know how long I have but Eris, I need you to teach me how to speak to the animals, I need to know to get out.” Freya pushed by everyone and took my hand.

  “How are you doing Ella, I am so sorry for any harm the past weeks have caused you.” I let go of her hand as I looked at everyone, it had been a matter of hours since I saw them in the dining room I knew it.

  “No, Freya I have only been gone a few hours since I was here last. I just saw all of you.” My voice cracked as I spoke and watched everyone’s face change, I knew I was the one mistaken. I looked at Xander and saw him exchange a look with Selene, did I just see that? I tried to put it out of my head and grabbed Eris with fearful tears in my eyes. “Please Eris, please show me now.” She smiled at me and then I heard her voice without her moving her mouth as she looked at me.

  ‘I hope this works since we are touching, you have to get out of that hell right now, I am about to come down after you do you hear me, you need to come back, I don’t know why you need to know how to talk to the animals but all you need to do is touch them. You have it in you, just touch the animal and speak Ella.’ I smiled at her and looked back to Xander as everything became hazy. I opened my eyes to see Lukin standing over me.

  “I thought you were dead, one second you were standing here and the next you fell over in a heap, what the hell happened to you?” His eyes were sincere, and I thought of how well I could read people and what I knew Xander’s eyes told me as he looked at Selene. I couldn’t think of that right now though, I let Lukin help me to my feet and brushed it off as I walked past him and allowed myself to get closer to Cora. I had no idea how this would work, but I placed my hand on her as she stared at me with large black eyes.

  “Cora, I am not going to hurt you, I don’t think you want to hurt me will you please help me?” She never moved, her eyes never blinked and I never heard a sound. I let go of her and turned to face Lukin, ashamed. “It didn’t work, I thought it was the answer but it didn’t work.” I walked away and sat back down by my tree as Lukin sat down where he was.

  “Delilah.” Hearing him say my name made me jump a little, I looked up and his eyes were sympathetic. “Are you going to tell me where you went, and what upset you so much? I know it’s not raining but I know that look, I had it once you know.” Now he was going to be nice to me, now he wanted me to open up to him?

  “Nowhere important I guess, and nothing upset me you are mistaken.” I looked away and saw Cora turn her head away from me, almost as if she knew what I said to him.

  “Look, I just meant that you were right. We are stuck together until we can find a way out and I apologize for before, don’t make me regret it.” The next move was cleaver of her; she slowly walked to him and placed her head on his shoulder to get his attention away from me. She was jealous, and she could hear us.

  “Cora, look at me!” I screamed at her, she couldn’t hide the fact that she didn’t want us getting closer. Her head turned as I startled her, I thought I would cry as I jumped up off the ground. “You hear me, thank you Eris she hears me!” Cora began to back up from Lukin and myself. “No, Cora please don’t leave we need your help, please don’t run.” I couldn’t move fast enough as she spread her massive wings and knocked me to the ground with her take off. My head hit the ground and I screamed as the sky went black.

  SIXTEEN

  “Delilah, Delilah can you hear me wake up! Wake up now!” I opened my eyes and Xander stood over me. It was all a bad dream, I had been suffering the worst nightmare of my life, I wrapped my arms around him and began to cry as I started telling him what had happened.

  “It was awful Xander, I saw you and Selene together giving each other secret looks like you were a couple and I was trapped in hell with this asshole of a man who dragged me, screamed at me, threw me around and called me names, I am so glad it was a nightmare and you are here now.” I pulled my face up to kiss him, and at first he wouldn’t kiss me back but he relaxed and settled right in where I knew he belonged. Our lips craved to touch, our tongues danced and my heart skipped a beat as I fell in love all over again.

  “No, Delilah I am not Xander wake up please.” He let go of me and as I picked my head up I could see Lukin sitting beside me with his head down.

  “What the hell was that? How could you let me do that, how could you let me believe you were him?” I inched farther away and he wouldn’t look at me.

  “I didn’t do anything Delilah, I wasn’t kissing you and then I don’t know what happened. I haven’t kissed a woman in a long time, longer than you realize, I am sorry, but just so we are clear you kissed me.” I did kiss him, it was maybe the best kiss of my life and it was with him.

  “I thought you were someone else so I didn’t kiss you for the record.” He sat back down and looked at the ground.

  “I am an asshole, I apologize for that, and the bruises too, but I would like to point out that it sounds like he is an asshole too so in a way you can feel better about kissing me since he sounds like an asshole too.” I grabbed a clump of grass and threw it at him as I rolled my eyes.

  “It’s my imagination running away with me and nothing more; he would never cheat on me.” I said it but even I didn’t believe my words as I remembered the look he gave her.

  “I used to live in a fairy tale too Delilah.” He stood up and turned his back to me. “Since I have been here I know the world is truly dark, and I know that upon my release of this hell will also be my demise and I’m ok with that.” I hadn’t really sat down to think of what could happen to Lukin when we escape the labyrinth.

  “You got yourself into this mess just like I did Lukin, don’t expect me to feel sorry for you.” My snarky remark made him turn quickly, eyes cold and empty.

  “You don’t know anything about me or why I am here so don’t pretend that you do little girl.” His glare was enough to fire my anger, and I wasn’t going to let him win this fight.

  “I know why men were put down here, I know that my ancestors had their fun with you and then sent you down here, I know the stories and I don’t feel bad for you at all.” He took a step closer to me and clenched his fists at his sides.

  “You know nothing of why I am here!” growling his words at me I never took my eyes off him, I wasn’t intimidated by him anymore. “You believe what you want to believe which makes you no better than any of them!” What else was there to believe, he put himself here with his lust and nothing more. As his face softened I could see a vulnerability wash over him, his eyes closed and his shoulders dropped. He was more lost than angry it seemed. Looking around I couldn’t help but wonder why magic could be used in here, but Lukin remained unchanged, I watched him as he took a deep breath and opened his eyes.

  “Lukin, do you ever wonder why being in the safe room doesn’t make you start aging?” He shrugged his shoulders and looked up at the sky.

  “When I found this place I had already been in hell for at least a decade, I fell on the grass and started screaming with joy. I thought it was the exit, then I got scared when I found it wasn’t and didn’t come back here for a long time, fearing that I would vanish if I did but for some reason it doesn’t affect me that way, just one more trick by the bitch herself.” I couldn’t help but smile under my skin to hear him single her out and not put me on that list, but it was something I needed to find out, he should age and disappear in this void, but it had no effect on him, this could prove interesting.

  “I need to find a way to get everyone out, that’s the first task. I don’t know how to do that, I don’t want to fail.” Lukin moved his thick hair from his eyes, reminding me that I had a knife on me. “I could cut that for you so you could see better you know.” He rolled his eyes at me as he pointed at the grass.

  “With what would you use exactly?” I pulled the knife out of my belt and he jumped back.

  “You mean to tell me that you have had that this whole time?” I nodded as I held it out to show him.

  “I took it from the kitchen
before I came down to protect myself.” He started laughing and shook his head.

  “You mean to tell me that you could have killed me at any moment and you never reached for that?” I looked at the blade and then back at him, wishing I had but grateful I hadn’t at the same time. I stuck the tip into the ground between us; he sat closer to me and hung his head. “You really aren’t like them are you?” I saw my opportunity and took it.

  “Guess you will have to wait and see it for yourself won’t you?” I took the blade out of the ground and stood up to make my advance. Lukin never moved as I grabbed a handful of thick, dark hair and began cutting. The pile was pretty incredible as I moved to his bangs. I started cutting and as the hair fell to the ground and I could see him so clearly from this close I felt my pulse quicken, His long dark eyelashes curled perfectly. His almond shaped eyes looked deeply into mine and his olive skin was flawless, he really was a beautiful, yet angry man. I took a step back to examine my first attempt at a haircut and almost laughed out loud. I had made six different cowlicks, some of it was nearly buzzed and other parts still hung over his ears. His bangs were perfect though, the most perfect upward slant ever cut. I smiled at my handy work and thanked the Goddess it would be too dark for him to see once we made our way back into hell.

  *

  “I can’t believe you!” My fear of seeing Ella had turned into anger toward being tricked and I had to unleash it. “You knew it would work, you knew I would fall for it and you proved that all of you witches are the same!” Selene stared at me smiling, she got what she wanted, and as soon as Ella got herself out of the spell she was going to tell her too. “Why hurt me like this, tell me Selene why would you do this to me?” Her smile grew wider and she pointed at the door.

  “Why don’t you ask your Daddy, it was his idea after all?” He told Selene what I was supposed to do?

  “No, no Selene I don’t believe you. He would never do this to me, it’s one of your tricks, and he would never do this!” She stood up and walked close to me, running her finger across my shoulder.

  “When she finds out what you did, she won’t listen to you, she will hate you and now you can take care of her and this Curse, you should thank us. We did you a favor.” She walked by me as tears filled my eyes; I had been betrayed by my own father for his own selfish gain. I heard the door open behind me and felt Selene’s cold stare. “You really are amazing in the sack Xander, too bad I had to pretend to be that tomboy to see it, but glad I did.” The door slammed behind me and I broke, Selene was right after all the hurt Ella had gone through she wouldn’t listen to me, she would hate the sight of me and never let me explain. They knew exactly what they were doing. It was time to find my Dad and have a little chat.

  *

  “We need a plan to get out of here, I need to convince everyone trapped not to kill me and get Cora back here so I can talk to her.” I stood up and started collecting branches off the ground. Lukin stood up but wasn’t assisting me; I turned to him and pointed at the ground. “We need to make weapons, come and help me.” He just stood and watched me gathering an arm load of wood before he started laughing.

  “Do you know anything about ghosts at all?” I looked at my arsenal of lumber and back at him realizing the sharpest end wouldn’t stab something that wasn’t really there.

  “So what then, do we just go out un armed?” They weren’t looking to kill him so he might not understand my panic.

  “We need to arm ourselves with mental weapons; it’s the only way to fight them. We need to do it now too, the longer we wait the more agitated they will get because they know you are here.” I dropped the load of wood in my arms and took a deep breath as I walked to the knife, pulling it out of the ground I turned to look at Lukin.

  “I know this won’t work, but I need something to help me walk back out there don’t I?” He nodded and took the lead; I was not ready for this at all. I looked up at the blue sky and hoped this would not be the last time I saw it as we stepped into darkness.

  SEVENTEEN

  The darkness was much more than just a shade from the light as we walked back into the hallway. I hadn’t noticed before but now I could feel it flowing through me, getting into my blood, into my mind and as I took a breath I knew it was beginning its attack on me. The air was thick in my lungs, I was about to reach out for Lukin when I felt a rush of cold air go through me, we had not made it ten feet yet and they were already swarming.

  “They are here Lukin.” He turned and I watched his eyes grow as he looked down the hall behind me.

  “Delilah whatever you do, don’t turn around, just walk to me and take my hand, do it now!” I did as I was told, feeling one cold blast after another, each one taking my breath with it and almost fell into him as I took his hand. He was still looking behind me with the eyes of a scared child as we moved forward. With every new blast I squeezed his hand; they were going through me with force. They were angry and they were ganging up on me.

  “Lukin this will never work, you can’t feel what I do. They will never trust me, and I don’t blame them. The breaking of this curse was doomed from the beginning, I can’t do this just take me back to the safe room please.” He glanced down at me and then his gaze went back to whatever was following us.

  “I can’t do that Delilah, You can do this as much as I hate to admit it you are not the one I am angry at and not the one they should be either, plus if we try to go back they will get us before we get to the door.” I tried to look back but he grabbed my face and looked into my eyes. “Don’t look! They want you to look, they want to scare you and they will go to great lengths to make sure you don’t make it out of here. Just keep walking.” I squeezed his hand and kept moving forward until we went around a corner and I felt so tired I almost collapsed.

  “Lukin, what is wrong with me?” He knelt down, guiding me to the floor to rest.

  “They are stealing your energy every time they go through you, that is how they get their power. You have been drained to slow you down to make it easier for them to take you.” He ran his hands through his hair for the first time since I cut it and felt the first of a few nearly bald patches; wide eyed he looked at me and shook his head, before he could lose his temper I giggled.

  “I told you I could cut it; I never claimed to be any good at it.” I chuckled as he laughed and tapped my knee.

  “Come on, we need to keep moving, there has to be something in here that can help you and we will find it.” I got up on my weak legs and we kept walking through the darkness. I thought about the word ‘help’ and wondered if he had been right when he first found me. What if all of this was an elaborate set up to trap one of the Grace women and make them pay for a century of torture and manipulation? At the end of the next hallway we found a set of stairs leading down, both of us looked behind to make sure we had no other option before descending deeper into hell, with deep breaths we began taking it step by step and with each on behind us it actually seemed to get darker. I couldn’t go back, I couldn’t go up and as we stepped onto the floor flickers of light danced for us in the far corner of the room. It was the first light I had seen since we left the safe room, I had no idea ghosts or demons could possess such beauty as I watched the dance, I found myself smiling and moving forward as Lukin lunged his arm out in front of me.

  “Stop, this is some kind of trick. Don’t take another step. I have been here a long time and have never seen this before, this show is for you and I doubt its friendly Delilah.” I backed up not taking my eyes off the lights, remembering my childhood summer evenings collecting fireflies with my mother. The lights blocked our only exit if we moved forward and turning around found that the stairwell was gone now too.

  “Were trapped here Lukin, they won didn’t they?” Backing up to the far wall we both slid to the floor.

  “Look, this isn’t so bad. With one way in or out we can see anyone coming, so why don’t we stay here for a bit and rest. The lights make it seem a little nicer anyway. We can make o
ur plan to get out later,” I felt my eyelids grow heavier as I watched the dancing lights, Lukin stayed awake keeping us safe as I drifted off to sleep.

  *

  “Delilah, sweetheart it’s time to wake up.” Opening my eyes the most beautiful light had filled the room, and the softest voice called to me. I sat up, Lukin was gone and I was surrounded by light. Grabbing my knees I crept closer to the wall in fear.

  “Who are you, what do you want with me?” The light because brighter, and hues of purple and blue danced through the light as the voice spoke again.

  “You have set us free Delilah, you have brought light back into our dark world and we owe you. You don’t need to fear us.” The lights continued to dance and I was captivated in the rhythms.

  “Who are you, why can’t I see you?” The lights cast greens and reds all around me.

  “You wish to see us my dear?” I nodded and then the lights dimmed and I found myself surrounded by at least two dozen large flying, talking dragonflies. My eyes began to adjust and I could see legs, hands and breasts. These were not dragonflies at all, I tried to speak but I couldn’t find words. One of them with long brown hair rested on my knee, looking up at me with big green eyes.

  “Delilah, you can get out of here, but not without our help. We know where the exit is and we know what obstacles lye ahead of you. We can help you, let us help you.” I nodded and looked up again, watching as one by one they all gathered around me. “When you leave this room the real tests begin, you will enter the under-garden and it lives and breathes like you and I. The flowers and shrubs crave flesh and will stop at nothing to get you. The only chance you have is to use the knife you hide, and keep to the middle of the path. Once you escape the garden you will find yourself inside the forgotten woods, this might be the most important part of the journey, the souls are following you and it is here that you must fight the urge to forget, and in there confusion you can convince them to come with you, beware Delilah if you are overtaken in the forest you will never get out. The last task is the most dangerous, but we will find you and help all of you out do you understand everything I have told you?” Understand? No, I didn’t understand any of it but I made mental notes as she spoke to me. I nodded again, still unable to speak. “We are going to wake you now, and you will still be able to see us, but Lukin can’t so you will have to convince him that we are not a threat. One more thing about Lukin you need to know Delilah, he is not here for the reasons you believe. He rejected the advances by Emma and in her anger she threw him in here. He is not the man you think he is and this knowledge will help keep you alive in the woods as well. Trust in him.” I closed my eyes and all went black, my mind was blank for the first time since I could remember. No worries, no anxieties, no fears to interfere with sleep, no dreams danced in my head, and as I slowly opened my eyes I felt Lukin’s arm around me still. He had stayed awake to protect me in my sleep; he really wasn’t who I thought at all.