Danny -
The next few weeks I spend in search of my non-existent mate. Gerhart has told me to do my best. How I am supposed to find him in the confines of this city, I cannot fathom but I play along, not wanting to give an impression I am not trying.
He does not know what I know. To his credit, he is genuinely trying to help.
I wander the streets of Khlem Torrat, spending my days as if I have no care in the world. From dawn till dusk, sometimes even beyond that. My library trips have reduced. Instead, I have taken to wandering about the city centre. Watching the crowd, the passers-by living their life to the fullest is becoming my favourite past-time.
“You need a job.” Melania, the bracelet-seller I bumped into the first day, tells me as I sit opposite to her. We have become sort of friends in the past two weeks.
“And what job could it be? Everything here is done by magic.” Part of my voice is filled with disdain, part with envy. This is not me. I feel like a caged bird who can only dream of flying.
“That magic is what makes this place Khlem Torrat, baby,” Melania smiles. “It allows us freedom. It liberates us from mundane and lets us follow our heart. You should try it. See what you enjoy the most.”
“Is that why you sell bracelets? Because you enjoy selling them?” Her logic is lost of me. I too want to follow my heart but am not free to do so. I am bound by the confines of my limitations and no amount of external freedom can set me free.
The freedom of Khlem Torrat is a limitation itself. It expects me to be mediocre. It forces me to accept my defeat.
“I love making trinkets.” Melania looks wistful. “My mother used to make them. She loved making jewellery and taught me the art. It’s my way to keep her memory alive.”
I stay quiet as she returns to her jingling bells to attract more customers. She is an omega and came here after her mate rejected her. He was a Gamma of some pack and was not interested in a mere omega.
He chose another woman, and she made sure Melania was driven away. Gerhart had found her bleeding half-dead at the edge of a forest when he got her here.
Much like me. I sigh, my eyes wandering about the place. It’s a motley of commoners from all over the world and I am one of them. What’s the point of such life, I do not know. If being happy and safe is life’s only aim, everyone here seems to have achieved that Nirvana. Only I cannot get to that peaceful state, not with this festering bitterness in my stomach.
Two days later, my brain is at the end of its tether. The alluring honeycomb of Khlem Torrat would soon become a prison if I do not find an outlet. I give up and set up a sketching isle next to Melania’s little cart, having borrowed some money from her for basic supplies.
“This is a great idea!” Melania chirps as I earn my first payment of ten tessos. “You can do so much with this money.”
“Like what?” I roll my eyes, unable to shake my dejection. Melania shrugs.
“Like new clothes? Food? Or you can pay towards the upgrade of your living quarters. And if that is not enough, you can just talk to the Oracle. It costs money, but you get what you want most of the times.”
Oracle? I turn to her, my attention fully focussed.
“Do you mean there is a clairvoyant here? As in…someone who can tell future?”
“Future, past, she can tell you whatever you want, Diane. But for the right price, of course.”
The next few weeks I work hard to save money. The clairvoyant charges a thousand tessos per question. She is the only Oracle in Khlem Torrat, and no one knows how she came to be here. All we know is that she was here before Gerhart turned this mountain into this city and ever since she has occupied the bowels of this mountain.
It’s an underground place. I have so far seen only what is above the ground but underneath, it’s another story. There is no magic here. It’s only darkness and sweltering heat.
“They say there was a volcano here once.” Melania tells me as we walk through the dungeons to a certain entrance. From there onwards, I’ll have to venture alone. I do not know what to expect. If this is even a good idea. The world I came from, the progressive and rational human world frowns upon such practises. Future is what we make of it, my Maths professor would say. Grandma would have laughed at me, had I told her I was seeking a clairvoyant.
That would have been before I knew she was a Witch, of course. And so, I pursue my path with determination.
We come to the mouth of a tunnel. Inside is so dark I can barely make out any shape. There are stairs that climb deeper, like the jagged teeth of a waiting serpent. We halt to take a breath as Melania grasps my hand.
“Form here you go alone.”
“Is she…dangerous?” For the first time since we started, my heart fills with trepidation.
“You’ll be alright.” Melania pats my hand and leaves.
I watch her disappear back the way we came, then enter the tunnel. There is a chute for money wherein I pour my coins. They disappear in an instant, making a sound like kids' merry laughter. I know its not me who;s laughing.
From there, it takes me further twenty minutes. The stairs go deep, winding through the dimly lit passageways. Torches flicker in the distance, the pungent smell of burning oil and ancient moss clinging to my nostrils as I sink deeper. The steps become slick with moisture. The ceiling drips with icy droplets. The air is thick with damp dread. The light has turned into a smoky dull façade. It feels more a cover to hide something dark.
The ground levels under my feet as I reach a flat surface. The tunnel widens, making way into a cavern. Dark water ripples at my feet as I find my way blocked by an oblong pond. Grey smoke rises in swirls as my eyes train on the other end beyond the pond.
There is a figure there. Shrouded in dark robes, sitting hunched on a throne of dark rock. A faint aura emanating from behind casts it in an obscure glow. It does not help to illuminate the figure or its face. Instead, it shows me the cobwebs hanging around. Water droplets shine through the delicate strands as if ghastly pearls on a shroud.
“Diane Winters. Welcome. I was waiting for you.” The figure moves curiously in the flickering shadows. Although it’s supposed to be a woman, the voice is neither male nor female. It’s a scratchy, old and detached sound, like rumbling earth before quaking.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
“You know my name?”
“Of course.” The figure chuckles. “I won’t be much of an Oracle if I can’t see my own future.”
“Then you must know why I am here.” I ask, my eyes boring through the white mist to take an aim at the person. But the image keeps flickering as if it’s quicksand.
“I know why you are here.”
“And?”
“And the answer is no. I cannot help you. What you seek is beyond my ability.”
I am outraged. I paid this woman good money. All I had saved from my sketching endeavour upstairs. It was seven thousand, three hundred and fifty-three tessos. And this lady, this... person, is refusing to help me?
“I cannot see your future.” The Oracle says flatly. “To say the least, it’s dark. Shady. Full of uncertainty. There are shadows. Mayhem. Death. But beyond it, I cannot decipher.”
“Is it my death?”
“I cannot say.”
My heart shudders. Is it Olly? Tammy? Someone from the pack? Adam?
“Please. I need an answer. Who do you see dying?”
“As I said, nothing is clear. There are bodies…many and mutilated. It’s horrific but I do not know the reason.”
“Then what can you see?”
“I see death. Sadness. Misery. And all that is in your heart. I see you, child. You are breaking apart.”
So I am breaking apart, yet not dying. That’s a consolation, indeed. A bitter laugh escapes my lips.
“Are you sure you are telling my future or merely stating my past? Did you talk to Gerhart by any chance? Or Mrs Bates?” The mockery in my voice is evident. But the figure stays unmoved.
“What you suffered in the past is nothing, child, for the real pain is yet to come. So brace yourself. You heart about to break, shatter to a thousand pieces. But before breaking, there will be a respite. Your destiny will play with you like you are a pawn on a chessboard.”
Pawn on a chessboard. That sounds familiar.
“Will I survive?” I ask blandly, for all I care now is my own survival. Nothing else matters, no one else apart from me.
“Who’s to say? But I’d say you have a fair chance if you make the first move. Play the game as your fate wishes. It’s the only chance of your survival.”
Play the game. I am all ready for it. But how?
“Please. I need to know more. How do I…how do I undo my curse? How do I mend my heart? How do I regain my powers…?”
“You already know the answer to that, child.” the Oracle sighs with mild impatience. “Gerhart already told you. The only solution is to find your mate. He is the answer to all your questions.”
I stare as resentment fill my heart. My fists curl and eyes blaze. Mate. If I have to hear that word one more time I might set something afire. Starting with this annoying hooded figure that keeps harping about my mate. They must know about my mate, how I was rejected. Yet time and again they mention it to mock me. Anger rising to my head, I bend to pick up a pebble and hurl it to the so-called oracle. The rock disappears somewhere into the mist without reaching the other end. A deep throaty chuckle emanates from there, bringing me shivers.
“How selfish of you, child. I thought you would be more interested in knowing about your friends. Your sister. And a certain someone. Is he not the one you are pining for?”
The words hammer my brain with tiny, prickly nails. The mist filling my nostrils is noxious. My eyes begin to water yet I muster a haphazard response.
“I am not pining for anyone. But I’d like to know about my friends.”
“If you say so.” The Oracle chuckles. “Although there is but one solution to your problems. And you know very well what it is.”
*****
Two hours later I stumble out of there, breathing back into the strangely fresh air of the city. Melania holds my hand and leads to a nearby bench to make me sit. My head swirls as a barrage of dizzying images rush through it.
“What happened? Did you get any answer from the Oracle?”
I am barely able to shake my head. The answer was the same as what Gerhart gave. I needed my mate to mend my heart. There was mention of death, mayhem, misery. But if I remove the clutter, the Oracle mentioned a game of chess.
I am surprised I can still think clearly. There must be my witch genes. The cold clarity that I inherited from my grandmother. It looks like I need to deploy it to find a solution to this puzzle.
Yet my mind whirls with the images I saw in that dark pool of water. I saw Tammy. Bleeding through her neck, hunched on a flag stoned floor as she scrubbed it clean. There was a woman who ordered her around. After some time, the woman left and Tammy got up as if on a mission. She scurried through the floors and staircases of what seemed like an opulent palace before entering a dungeon, then hid behind a door to listen to someone.
What was she doing? Was she spying on someone? And what was she bleeding from the neck unless... A bolt of fear crashes through my body but before I could gather myself, the scene changed.
Now I was in what looked like a plush office. Behind a polished teakwood table, sat Myra’s father Gerald. In front of him was Jeff, standing with his head bowed, his face red with humiliation.
“I would not expect you to know your place, Jeff, but remember you are my son-in-law. I may turn a blind eye to your transgressions with the young ladies of this pack, but the least you could do is to not insult my daughter in front of them.”
“Father. This is not true. Jeff did no such thing. You have been misinformed…”
“Are you saying my own Beta would lie to me, Myra?” Gerald turned to Myra, his pudgy face turning puce. Next to him was a red-haired young man of smooth face and stocky build. “How dare you insinuate this? Rolfe has served me for all his life. He has my full faith, unlike your upstart husband.”
“I didn’t mean to accuse Rolfe. I am merely saying there is a misunderstanding.” Myra looked pale while her father puffed with anger.
“If this is a misunderstanding, you must prove it. Rolfe has proof your husband is cheating on you. Do you have a proof otherwise?”
“I...father...”
“I thought so.” Gerald cut her short. “You have no idea, girl. How can you when you do not even share a room with your husband. Jeff must pay for this. He must be taught a lesson!”
“Father, please, have mercy...” Myra begged.
“Alpha, please. Leave this to me.” The smooth-faced man, Rolfe, interjected.
“Yes Rolfe. I’ll leave this to you. Administer ten lashes to this Stevens mutt, and twenty to my darling daughter for choosing him in the first place. And the next time, do not even wait for my order. You are free do as you please.”
Rolfe dragged Jeff behind him while Myra followed in panic. Hot sweat broke on my forehead trying to understand what was happening. Is Gerald mistreating his own daughter? Is Jeff really cheating on Myra? Are they really going to be flogged?
Just then the scene shifted. This time, I was in the dining room of the pack house at Silver Shadows. I saw Olly sitting at the head of the table. Next to her was Gabe and at the far end, hunched alone in her chair was Tina.
It was just the three of them at a table for twenty. It looked so bare my eyes pricked.
“You can sit next to us, Tina.” Gabe said, his fork clattering into his plate, making Tina wince. “Ma is not here any longer. You do not need to follow her rules.”
“I am fine here.” Tina mumbled sadly. “And I miss Ma. I miss everyone.”
“I say you drop that attitude, Tina.” Gabe snapped. “Grow up. Everyone is gone and the house is empty. It’s not like they are going to come running here just to wipe your tears.”
“But I...”
“Not everyone is gone.” Olly interrupted Tina, putting her nose in the air. I could not believe she had taken John’s chair. It’s the Alpha’s chair for God’s sake. What was happening? Where were John and Phyllis?
“Where is that disgraced Beta of your brother?” Olly raised her eyebrows, giving Tian a smug look. “Sulking somewhere, I believe? Is he not supposed to be here to support his sister?”
Tina looked flushed. “Adam is at the graveyard. He is…”
“Oh for god’s sake. I do not know how long he is going to mourn for father. Unless it is not father that keeps him in the graveyard. It is…” Gabe halted, sharing a look with Olly. She smirked, twirling her wineglass in her hand.
A sob escaped Tina’s throat as she left the table to run upstairs. The scene shifted again. It was the graveyard at Silver Shadows, at the furthest end of the pack grounds, surrounded by tall begonias and wisteria arches.
My heart lurched as I saw a figure hunched before a headstone. It seemed the Autumn is finally ended, and Winter had made its appearance. A light coating of snow nestled over grey grass and a soft flurry kept falling. The figure on the ground raised its dark head and I realized who it was.
Adam. He looked worn, with vacant eyes. The injured side of his face looked raw with hurt. Exhaling a heavy sigh, he got up, but lost his balance to lurch sideways.
“Adam!” I rushed to support him, only to realize I could not touch him. I was not really here. Yet he must have felt something as he looked about him startled.
“Adam? Can you hear me?” I asked, reaching out to try my luck. But as always, it failed.
Sighing, he turned to walk away from me. I followed with the last dregs of my fading strength only to see him stop near a tall tree.
It was a beautiful red maple, with some leave still hanging on resolutely. In the cold breeze of the dusk, its branches shook as if inviting lost souls.
“My darling!” Adam said rushing towards the tree.
I stopped in my tracks.
There was a woman there. Tall, elegant and beautiful. She raised her arms to beckon him as Adam moved forward to hug her close.
***** *****