by Jared Stone
Lucian smiled as well as he fondly recalled Gus in his previous human form – the tall, muscular body, dark features, and amicable disposition that made him likable to almost anyone. And the constant hunger! Although Lucian took great comfort in the fact that his friend was by his side once more, he secretly wished that Gus could be human again instead of the adorable puppy which now frolicked about. It would be nice for him to talk with the Kílán again.
“So, does he still have all of his memories?” Lucian inquired of the priestess.
“Partially,” Dareia responded. “You see, the prior experiences of one’s lives are merely interplays of energy at the most basic level. This interaction leaves a sort of ‘shadow’ or ‘echo’ of what once was, both in the past and in the future, experienced by beings in the form of memories or dreams. Thus, as the energy signature of an individual transmutes from one material form to another, so, too, do the assortments of energies tethered to it. We see this not only in instances of reincarnation, but also in ghosts – disembodied manifestations of spiritual energy – that are fixated on, or share with the living, experiences of their previous lives. So, yes; Argus’ memories of previous lives have carried over to a certain degree.”
Lucian was fascinated by this, trying to catch every detail of what the priestess quickly rambled off. “And all reincarnated people keep their memories?” he asked.
Dareia shook her head. “No. Not necessarily,” she responded. “When a reincarnated being has been reborn, the collections of energy forming memories are often unclear and so separated from the being’s current existence that they seem like a dream. And, very much like a dream, if these memories are not acknowledged or acted upon, then they will fade away completely with time, most likely never to be retrieved again. It takes either years of practice or a profound, overwhelming drive to hang onto past memories to result in remembrance. And Gus has, from the very beginning, always had an extremely powerful reason to remember….”
“So, what you’re saying is that some of my dreams could be memories of past lives??” Lucian cut in, recalling the very strange and vivid dreams he had been having as of late.
“They might very well be,” Dareia answered, “or they could be premonitions of future events as well. As I explained earlier, although humans see time as linear, it is not actually true. Underneath this plane of existence that we observe, there is a vast network of phenomena which transcends the earthly bounds of time and space. Although something has not yet occurred to your knowledge, it does not mean that its echo has not already reached your senses, albeit subconsciously. It is very plausible that your dreams are also shadows of events which have not yet come to pass. However, I caution you: dreams are heavily cloaked in symbolism and metaphor. Your brain receives information and does its best to translate that into meaningful imagery… but there is no way that this is done perfectly every time, and often the energy signatures are interpreted in a way which makes them almost incomprehensible. Very few beings have the ability or good fortune to finely tune these sensory perceptions into something more significant and actionable.”
Lucian was silent after this, unsure of how much farther down the rabbit hole he was willing to go at this point in time. The notion that his dreams could be foretelling the future was both tantalizing and terrifying; he wasn’t confident that he wanted any of the things he saw in his dreams becoming reality.
Pushing these worries from his mind and looking ahead again, Lucian took in the beauty of the winter wonderland before them. Having snowed just the day before, the tree limbs still retained much of the powdery coating; and, when slight breezes shook them, they emitted a shower of glistening particles into the air that floated down and sparkled in the lights which lined the walkways. Now that finals were over, the campus was almost deserted, and much of the snow still lay undisturbed in otherwise popular common areas. The boy considered how unfortunate it must be for those who have never experienced the splendor of freshly fallen snow, and he felt profoundly blessed to have grown up where he had.
As the group came to the snowy commons at the center of campus, Lucian paused and squinted into the distance. Underneath a lamp by a bench across the commons, a figure stood shivering all alone. The individual was barely identifiable in a big puffy jacket, mittens, and wool hat, but the light from above clearly illuminated flaming red hair sticking out from beneath the cap.
“Do you know this person, Lucian?” asked Dareia as she crept up to the boy’s side.
“Yeah, I think…, I think that’s Lilly…,” Lucian said. Without hesitation, Lucian turned from their course and trudged through the snow separating him from the isolated girl. With a quick, apprehensive glance at Blake, Willow immediately followed after Lucian, and soon the rest of the party was trailing along behind.
“Lilly!” called out Lucian as he came nearer to the girl. She turned to him, and under the street lamp he could see her features light up in joy.
“Lucian, you made it!” exclaimed Lilly cheerfully. She ran up to him and gave him a great big hug. As the outside of her puffy jacket made contact with the boy’s face, he flinched as the icy material stole the warmth from his skin.
Gently pushing himself away from the excited girl, Lucian looked at her, confused. “I made it?” he asked. “What do you mean?”
“The letter that you left for me,” explained the girl, smiling more meekly now, “telling me to meet you here.” Willow now arrived at Lucian’s side, quickly followed by Blake, Dareia, and lastly Gus, who still had difficulty managing long distances through the chest-high snow.
As the smile dropped from her face, Lilly looked at Lucian. “Lucian, what’s going on? Why did you bring so many people with you?”
Lucian stood there, trying to put the pieces together in his mind. He knew that he had never written any letter to the girl, so she was probably just mistaken.
“Lilly,” said Lucian apologetically, “I never wrote you a letter….”
Before he could finish, he was forcefully shoved to the side by Dareia, who took his former place in front of the speechless girl. The priestess had her right hand held out as if it was a claw, with her long, sharp fingernails glinting in the light from above.
“What are you plotting, witch!?” she cried out in the girl’s face, snarling fiercely with an intensity that Lucian had never before seen. “You might be able to fool these children, but I can sense your dark energy. You do not know with whom you trifle!”
Now practically quaking in fear, tears began to well up in Lilly’s eyes. She looked at Lucian desperately and babbled, “LLL-Lucian…. WWW-What…?”
Lucian stepped in between the girl and Dareia and looked into the priestess’ wide emerald eyes with a steely stare.
“Dareia, what on Earth are you doing!?” the boy said defensively as Lilly clutched onto the back of his jacket. “Can’t you see she’s just confused!? She’s definitely not a witch!”
Dareia, nails still outstretched, looked past the boy and down at the trembling young girl behind him. Within seconds, the priestess’ facial features began to soften, and a look of pity arose in her eyes. “Do you mean to tell me that you really do not know?” she asked the girl gently. Lilly could only answer Dareia’s inquiry with the horror and confusion still present in her face.
“She truly does not know…,” Dareia said out loud. Lucian couldn’t determine if this was intended for him or strictly for herself, but he didn’t have time to contemplate it before Dareia’s countenance once again grew firm and resolute. “In that case, we must leave. Now.”
Willow took a step forward and placed a hand on Dareia’s arm. Looking at the priestess, she asked, “What’s going on?”
“We are all in grave danger, especially the girl…,” Dareia responded with a dire tone. “We must leave this place.”
Grabbing Lucian by the jacket, the woman’s strong arm yanked him forward through the snow along with Lilly, who still clung to his back. They had not progressed farther than
a couple of steps, however, before a figure in black stepped into the clearing before them. His face could not be seen under the hood of the cloak, but Lucian immediately surmised that this was the mystery necromancer who had caused such trouble for him before. Gus could be heard growling beside them as ferociously as he could, given his diminutive size.
“It appears that I have caught a kitten in my mouse trap…,” the cloaked one said, seemingly amused.
Throwing back his hood, the face of Father Ini was clearly visible in the light reflecting off of the snow at his feet. I should’ve known…, thought Lucian upon recognizing the priest. Why can’t anyone I meet just be normal!?
“Told you so…,” mumbled Willow smugly by his side.
“Ini-herit!” said Dareia in a surprised half-whisper. “I thought….”
“Clearly, you thought incorrectly,” said the dark priest smugly as he walked a few steps closer to the company. “You foolish priestess…. Did you truly believe you could kill one who has gained mastery over death itself?”
“RRRRRuff!! Ruf Ruf!!” Gus began to bark wildly. In his peripheral vision, Lucian could see several more shadowy forms creeping out of the bushes. Looking around them, Lucian and his companions realized that they were surrounded.
“Now, it is obvious that I cannot just allow you to leave,” Ini-herit continued, coming ever closer to the clustered group. “The girl is of vital importance to our grand design. The vessel which houses the essence of the Night.” He then glared at Dareia. “And, additionally, I shall truly revel in the joy of retribution for the theft of my power so many years ago, priestess….”
Looking back over her shoulder at Lucian, Dareia commanded, “Protect the girl at all costs!” Then, turning back to face the priest, she exclaimed, “I shall handle the high priest.”
With this, the priestess slipped one strap of her dress off of her shoulder, followed by the other, so that the thin garment fell, crumpled, upon the snow beneath her. She then reached up and plucked both feather earrings from her ears and casually tossed them to the frozen ground as well. The four students behind her stood aghast, but none more so than Blake, who could not seem to take his wide eyes off of her perfectly sculpted, nude form.
“Ummmm, Dareia…,” Lucian interjected bashfully.
“DO IT!” the priestess roared back.
At this, all eyes were immediately cast off of her and directed back to the matter at hand. As Lucian, Blake, and Willow encircled Lilly, who was now crouching low to the ground and hugging her knees, Dareia’s body began to shift. Her angular shoulders shifted back as the golden hair from her head flowed down her body to cover her flank. As she dropped down on hands and knees into the snow, her jaw protruded forward, and pointed ears now transitioned to the top of her head. Within seconds, she was a human no more. What now stood atop the discarded fabric was a powerful lioness poised for battle. Lucian stared, wide-eyed, at this miraculous transformation, but only momentarily before a draugr rushed at him with a blood-curdling cry.
Emptying his mind briefly almost by reflex, Lucian generated a concentrated ball of qi and sent it flying at the advancing draugr. The blast hit the creature mid-stride in the left shoulder with an explosion of white light, sending it spinning around and down onto the ground. Seemingly undeterred, it quickly scurried back up and continued to race at its target. Lucian once again called upon his energy and sent the qi flying a second time, blowing off one of the corpse’s legs and considerably slowing down its charge. As the damaged enemy persistently hobbled toward the boy, Lucian released one final discharge of energy directly at the draugr’s abdomen. The fleshy sack burst open, raining fluid down around it and ejecting severed body parts off to the sides. Lucian’s relief over this victory was short-lived, however, as a second draugr quickly took the fallen one’s place in the charge.
Behind Lucian, Blake now grappled with one of the draugar in hand-to-hand combat. Blake was not as accustomed to calling upon his energy as Lucian was, especially in times of high stress like this, and the draugr had gotten too close before he had had the chance to eliminate it. Despite the draugr’s superhuman strength, it seemed that Blake actually possessed the superior muscle, fueled by demonic energies. The boy threw the draugr’s arms to the side and landed a punch directly into the creature’s putrid cheek, effectively decapitating it and letting out a rancid odor of rotten flesh that was almost unbearable. Yet, even headless, the body continued to claw at its adversary, and it took several more punches and kicks before the corpse was reduced to wriggling limbs on the ground. Blake then took this opportunity to rush out into the fray and began throwing punches wildly at any of the unfortunate undead close enough. The smile which he wore on his face as he did so betrayed the fact that he reveled in this unrestrained brawl.
As Lucian and Blake battled on either side of her, Willow stayed close to Lilly in a protective stance with her fists raised and ready for battle. In front of her, Gus also stood on guard, snarling viciously. Avoiding the notice of both of the boys, one draugr managed to pass their defenses and appeared a few yards away from Willow. Willow stood up straight in defiance with her arms up in front of her. “Want some of this, stinky?” she said in revulsion. The draugr confidently walked up to the girl and stood before her, looking down at her with empty black eye sockets. Gus had begun to gnaw mercilessly on the creature’s ankle with his razor sharp little puppy teeth, but it seemed to have no effect.
Willow reached back and threw one punch aimed directly at the draugr’s stomach, which let out a sickening ‘sploosh’ as her hand punctured through flesh and became encased in decomposing organs. With a look of complete disgust, the girl yanked out her slimy hand and tossed the goopy filth off to the side before connecting that same fist squarely with the corpse’s jaw. Despite one or two teeth flying out, the draugr first realigned its neck, then reached back and brought its forearm down through the air, crashing into Willow’s shoulder. The girl collapsed to the ground under the force of the powerful limb with a cry of pain. As she lay there on the grass, she looked up at the creature that glared down at her through the empty, lifeless holes in its head. It reached up with both hands, preparing to bludgeon the girl to death.
Just then, the draugr’s chest burst open as tendrils of dark energy issued forth, and both halves of its body dropped to the ground beside Willow. Taking her hand and holding it against her damaged shoulder as pain continued to sear through her body, she looked up and saw Blake with his arms held out before him. The glow of demonic qi was still fading from his palms as he reached out to help her to her feet. Smiling smugly, he looked at the girl and said, “You owe me one.”
Willow grabbed hold of his outstretched hand and let him pull her up effortlessly with her one good arm. “No,” she said, seemingly unimpressed, but certainly relieved. “Now we’re even.”
While the three students fought valiantly to protect her back, Dareia slinked forward on padded paws toward the necromancer. With a wave of his hands, two draugar from his sides rushed at the lioness. Effortlessly, Dareia reared up on her hind legs and brought a massive claw down upon one, practically liquefying it with the intensity of the slash. As the other draugr clawed at the impenetrable hide of the lioness in vain, Dareia turned and quickly subjected it to the same fate. Turning back toward Ini-herit, she continued her slow, deliberate advance.
The priest smiled. “You always were a tenacious little minx,” he said mockingly.
“Rrrrrrrr…,” Dareia growled disdainfully.
“I see that I shall have to deal with you myself…,” Ini-herit continued as he held his hands out in front of him with his palms facing the sky. He began to chant something quietly to himself, and, in his up-held palms, the gray glow of his energy began to emanate. Dareia crouched down low in preparation for whatever the necromancer might have in store.
Without warning, Ini-herit flipped his hands so that they were facing the lioness, and gray bolts of pure energy fired from his palms. Dareia leapt to the side
to dodge this attack, and the bolts collided with the snow beside her, sending huge chunks of dirt and grass exploding upwards.
The priestess wasted no time in crouching down and springing off her hind legs toward her opponent. As she flew through the air, the necromancer chanted again and gathered together another charge before ejecting it once more. The blast connected with the lioness’ outstretched claws, creating a zapping noise as they sliced through. This strike slowed her down just enough for Ini-herit to sidestep her assault, and the two resumed their standoff once the priestess had landed back on the ground.
“Grrrrrrrr,” Dareia snarled, her emerald eyes locked on the dark priest.
Ini-herit smiled. “Do not forget, high priestess of Nemea,” he said, “that, though mortal weapons are unable to pierce your hide, the weapons of the gods shall not be hindered by your defenses.”
With another growl, Dareia once again pounced at the necromancer, claws extended. Ini-herit quickly summoned another energy bolt and sent it at the lioness, this time hitting her in the chest and sending her dropping to the ground on her side. As she lay there, breathing heavily and stunned by the blow, the necromancer calmly walked over and stood next to her.
“Priestess,” Ini-herit said, looking down at her. “I shall take great pleasure in finally killing you and using your corpse as a puppet.”
With this, Ini-herit reached out and laid his hand on Dareia’s side. As his fingers lit up with a gray glow, the lioness started to tremble. The necromancer smiled smugly as a golden light made its way from the priestess, into his hand, and up his arm.