--:: Billy ::--
Air squeezes out of my lungs as we swoosh through the portal into some obscure new world. My innards contract in a painful twist, my bones crunching and churning with such intensity I cannot even scream. I am sucked into a whirlpool, or if it is a burning volcano, I cannot fathom. All I know is that the Serena’s vice-like grip on my wrist keeps me from being thrown into the endless eternity.
It’s a dark, deep, endless chasm. The lack of air suffocates my already straining lungs. I choke with a metallic, tangy scent that is so scratchy it burns my throat.
“Hold on to me, Sweetheart.” Serena says, her musical voice soothing, beguiling. It tethers me in these swirling chaos. This is more pain than I ever endured. Even more than my first shift at the age of four, when mother was with me.
Mother. She is gone. My family. I’ll never see them again. And Danny. Sweet Danny. Where did she go? How could she jump off that cliff? What made her feel so desperate, so unloved that she took that step?
I would ask her when we meet again. If I get to meet her again. Adam was so devastated. My heart broke for him. There is something about him and Danny that I cannot figure out. Or maybe I have but haven't got the guts to say it aloud. Adam is always been the quiet and responsible, the kind that keeps their thought to themselves. Yet many times I have seen his eyes following Danny. When he thought no one was looking, I have seen him watching her, engrossed in his thoughts.
That simple act spoke volumes. I should have talked to him while I could, but now it’s too late.
Now, I need to focus on my own survival. Goddess knows what this witch has in her mind. Stepping through that portal with Serena, I already knew I won’t see my family for a long time. It was for Silver Shadows, for whatever left of by broken family that I decided to go with Serena. But barely five minutes into my sacrifice, I am already having second thoughts.
“Aaarggghhh…!” An ear-splitting scream startles the hell out of me. My head hurts as if a sword impales it right in the middle. I cannot think straight. My body paralyses with pain as my brain stops its function.
“Nearly there, sweetheart.” Serena’ tuts, her soft embrace curling around me like a fog. “You are doing great. Just hold on to me. We are nearly there.”
Darkness swirls around me, clouding my thoughts, my vision, my mind. Yet my body feels her grasping hands. They touch me at places no woman has touched me before. They hold me in a grip that promises never to let go.
My heart shudders.
“Get off!! Let me go!” I scream, but to no avail. Her grip tightens as the whirlpool becomes even more powerful. I twirl like a lifeless twig, my heart nearly stopping. Another scream leaves my lips. I am about to pass out, but just the next moment, the ordeal finishes.
There is a void, and then there is nothing. We have arrived somewhere, which is only apparent by my body slamming into a hard floor. I crash onto a flag-stoned ground drenched in cold sweat. Chest heaving in a thumping drumbeat, I lie on the ground motionless, gathering my senses. It’s a relief it’s over and Serena’s hands are off me, but my stomach is full of a sick bile that won’t stay put.
I scramble to my knees, vomiting through my twisting gut. It’s not just vomit. I fear I have also soiled myself. My whole body is slack, unable to control a single muscle in my shaking self.
“First time is always hard.” The witch laughs, walking towards me. Hunched over my yellow vomit, all I see are her dainty legs clad in silver slippers.
“Get up and drink this.” Before I know, she grabs a fistful of my hair to tip my head up and empties a vial of some liquid in my mouth. The strength of her grip startles me. Witches’ power comes from their magic, but what Serena has is sheer physical strength. The ease with which she subdues a wolf like me is unnerving.
I shudder as the amber liquid sears its way down to my belly. It’s tasteless, yet a fiery warmth flows into my bloodstream as the last drop hits my throat. My wits return in a slow motion, along with my sight and the strength of my legs. Shaking nervously, I pull myself to my feet.
Serena stands in front of me in her silken white shift, her silver grey eyes watching me with a cold gleam. Her beautiful face, for some reason, looks more scary than ever. Her dark hair flies behind her without any breeze.
I swallow a dry lump. Being a hostage of the witches did not sound so bad. But being alone with this witch gives me nervous jitters.
Reining my nerves, I look around. We are in a dark grey room, with high ceilings but no windows. I cannot spot any door. It’s all solid granite walls with red drapes hung from the ceiling to the floor. A few torches are lit, their yellow light barely illuminating the place. A soft white mist wafts from ornately carved bowls placed strategically around the space. It’s scented with something sweet that gently coats your senses with a beguiling calm.
I shake my head, trying to hold my breath, to not inhale too much of it. This is a witch’s place, and I need to keep my leftover wits.
“Where are we? What is this place?”
“You are in the safest place in the Selgurathian.” Serena smiles, her red lips parting to show her pearly white teeth. “This is the Spring Palace, and you are in the innermost sanctum, reserved for only the most precious of my possessions.”
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
Her possession? An uneasy shiver runs down my spine. Aren’t I supposed to be a hostage of the witch kingdom?
“Where are the others? Aren’t there more like you?”
“Of course there are others.” She smirks. “But none like me. I am one of a kind and you are fortunate to have found me.”
Right. I don’t know what to make of it. My fortunes do depend on this witch. If I am to stay here for any length of time, I need to be on her good side.
Which is not her left or right. Neither front nor behind. It’s either under her or over her. Mostly under by the looks of her.
I shake head at my wacky thought. This is Jeff talking, not me. Sometimes I feel we have dual personalities, him and me changing interiors while our exteriors remain the same. It's as if our souls shift, turning one into other but in our hearts, we reamin ourselves.
Do I make sense? Not really. But I really miss Jeff. How I wish my twin was here, or any of my brother was here with me. They would have known how to handle this woman. And Adam, he would have turned heaven and earth to keep me safe.
But he didn’t. Something chirps in my brain. It’s because of him you are here. It’s because he lost Danny that you are here. Otherwise it would be her...
I sigh as my throat tightens. Yeah, then Danny would be here in my place, facing this witch. Then what kind of coward would I be, throwing that poor girl under the bus to save myself?
I clutch my splitting head. Thoughts swirl around it relentlessly, each sprouting its own thread. My mind has become a tangled mess, a hive of angry bees stingling me at every opportunity.
I wish Tammy had never rejected Damien. I wish we had never come to the Anadin Peaks. I wish the Goddess grants this witch some wisdom, so she stops watching me like a starved beast.
“I am glad I chose you. You are so handsome.” Serena comes closer to drag a long red nail down my cheek. With one touch, the vomit on my face clears. It disappears from my clothes and the floor below as if I was never sick.
“That’s more like it. I like my men properly groomed.”
“I am not your man. Where are the others? Where are the other witches of the Grand Council?”
“Tonight I am the Grand Council,” she laughs in a humourless voice. “Do as I say and I’ll let you see them…eventually.”
She clicks a finger, and a pair of women appear out of thin air. They wear brown robes, each with a thick iron collar and a long crescent shape tattooed across their left cheek. In the flickering light of the room, they appear like shadowy wraiths.
“Jella, Keiki, take him away and prepare him for tonight. You have an hour.”
The two women bow to Serena, then turn to me. I frown, taking a step back. There’s no way I can escape here unless I can disappear into thin air.
“May I know what this is? What are you planning to do?”
“You will know soon, young man. For now, just let my maids tend to you.”
Before I know the two women take hold of me. There is something unnatural about them. They feel solid, but they don’t look solid. My hand passes through Jella’s when I try to swat it away. Yet when she takes hold of me, it is solid as rock.
What are they? I am curious. They are not human, nor any other race I know of. They are certainly not witches, as I know enough of the witches to understand they are nothing like these smoky apparitions.
My musings are interrupted when I am led to a steaming bath and the two women start pulling off my clothes. In a few moments, I am completely naked. Screaming does not help. Nor does thrashing. The two women take their time, scrubbing me with scented oils, gels, powders and what nots. Then comes a hot bath with rose water, which is finished by a pat-down with a silk towel. I am presented with a pair of flimsy black robes, which I pull on hastily, fastening the front ties to cover my modesty. The two women show no emotion. I might as well be invisible to them.
An uneasy fear has gripped my heart. Why am I being prepared like a sacrificial lamb? I kind of know why and fervently hope I am wrong, but something tells me I am not. I am not that naïve, but neither am I experienced in these things, like my brothers.
What the heck.
Once again, Jella and Keiki don’t give me much time to ponder. Wearing nothing but those flimsy robes, I am marched back into the dark chamber. This time, the décor is changed. Candles flicker all around, illuminating a vast red bed that I swear was not there before. White drapes hang over the bed, sliding elegantly over the sides. On the bed is Serena, wearing a little dress that I do not know how to describe.
It barely covers her midsection. The top and bottom half spill out of tiny strings. I avert my eyes as she clicks her fingers, making the two women disappear.
“Look at me.” Her words have a command that pulls my head back in her direction. It’s not a voluntary motion. A searing, galling power coils around my being, making me obey her command.
“Come here.”
My legs cross the distance like a puppet being pulled by invisible strings. My blood solidifies in my veins.
“Help!” I whimper in a feeble voice that only I can hear. Serena slides out of the bed, her silver eyes roving over my body.
“So handsome you are!” Her hand caresses me, slithering down my torso, trailing my muscles as if she is examining some work of art. The touch disgusts me, my stomach churning with a renewed nausea. “Beautiful. I must say the Stevens boys are all rather gifted. And you, especially, are my gift.”
“Let me go, you filthy bitch! Take your hands off me!” I shout, trying to move back, but the invisible ropes keep me in place. Her eyes glower with an annoyance.
“I won’t. You are mine now. My pet. My slave. Mine to savour and devour. You will never escape me.”
“I am a hostage of the witches. You are committing a treason by hiding me in this dreadful place. Imagine what will happen to you if they knew…”
Something sharp slashes through the air, sliding over my torso with the speed of lightning. Blood gushes from my chest and I realise what it is. Serena’s elegant fingers have turned into sharp iron talons. Blood drips off them as if it’s Serena’s blood, but it’s actually mine.
A sharp pain shoots through my ripped body as I slide down in shock. Any deeper and she would have scratched my entrails out. Pain, ache, burn, a lava of chaos erupts through the wound like a volcano. A blood-curdling scream shoots out of my clogged throat, only to be subdued by another crashing noise.
Something cracks like a thunder and the wall of the chamber comes unravelling like made of cardboard. Through the rubble of dust and falling rocks, I see a dark silhouette against the setting sun outside.
“Help!!” I shout to the figure before she flies in over the fallen debris. Her black silk robes flow as if made of night itself. Floating through the dusty mist, she lands between me and Serena like a wisp of the light, yet the place instantly brightens with a thousand moons.
“Serena. I command you to stop.”
“I won’t, Rosalind!”
“NOW, Serena!”
“But…he is my…”
Another crack sounds, and Serena crumples to the floor in a heap. The new black clad woman walks towards me, her black hair covered with the powdery dust. Her eyes are the most delicate shade of honey I have ever seen. Her face has this softest expression of gentleness, as if she never caused the surrounding havoc.
“Do not worry, William. You are safe now. No one can harm you while I am around.”
Her voice echoes in my mind as something settles with a certainty. I close my eyes, not with pain or fear, but with a serene relief that I know will last forever.
***** *****