I am channeling my signature weirdness into something a little different this time. Rather than over-the-top silliness, like The Prodigal Son Returns or The Day Tyrell's Butt Exploded, I thought I might write something that tries to be just as strange, but more serious.
This is the first part of three.
I do not own Golden Sun. Special thanks go to Gary Numan and the late duo of Coil, for providing the ominous music that helped me write this.
The Awakening
Part I
"I'm not touching it again."
Three Adepts and one Alchemy sage stood before their leader, who was seated at a table. A large book bound in black leather rested on the table before them, the eyes of the leader locked on it even as they all stared at him. The ship they were in rocked ever so slightly, the gentle waves going unnoticed by them all, for they were all used to the sea after a month or so of sailing.
"I don't understand," The first to speak up was of course their leader's fiery sister, Jenna. "We sailed all the way back to Kibombo to take that stupid statue's test so we could get that thing. Now you're saying you don't want to use it? What a waste of time."
"I understand your frustration, Jenna," Felix replied, taking his eyes off the book to meet her gaze. "Believe me, I do. I am quite frustrated by this as well. But the matter is settled. I'm locking the book away."
"Well, let me try it at least!" Sheba said suddenly, reaching for the book. Before her fingers could even brush against the spine, Felix grabbed it off the table, and held it away from her.
"This book…" Felix said in a stern voice. "This… Necronomicon… It has to be locked away. Nothing good can come of the use of it."
"But the Psynergy you used with it looked really cool!" Sheba pleaded. "C'mon, I'm tired of using that stupid card. If you don't want to use the necrothingie, that's fine. But you don't have to be a prude and spoil the fun for us!"
"Sheba, I believe Felix's words should be heeded here," Piers warned. "He would not be so rigid in his decision if he did not have a good reason to."
"Piers is right," said the Alchemy sage. "Such dark and ancient artifacts should not be used so carelessly. My recommendation is to lock this book away and never touch it again."
Sheba and Jenna sulked at his words. They turned to Felix, as though expecting him to disagree, but knowing all too well that he would not. He was the first to be worried by the strange, alien book they had found. And they were met by a stern gaze.
"The book is being locked away," Felix said to the girls. "The vote is three to two, but as the I am the leader the vote itself is an act of courtesy on my part. I never intended to give you the option to take the book. I only called this meeting to tell everyone not to use it again."
"What gives? I thought this was a democracy!" Sheba sulked.
"I was not the one who chose to be this group's leader," Felix reminded her. "If you want the authority to call the shots, then you must also accept the responsibility of making the right ones. This includes taking the lives of everyone in this room into your hands, deciding who lives and dies in unavoidable situations that call for it. And not only your lives, but the lives of everyone on Weyard, if the things Kraden has been saying are true. Would you want to have such things on your mind all day and night, just to be able to decide who gets to use a mere book?"
Sheba backed down, grumbling out a very reluctant, "No..."
"I thought as much," Felix opened his bag, and slid the hefty book inside. "Then my decision rests. Everyone, stay away from this book. I'll hold onto it for now. Kraden and I will dispose of it when a chance arrives."
The group meeting was over, so everyone dispersed. Piers returned to the helm of the ship, Felix went to put the Necronomicon in his room, Kraden went to his study, and the girls went to have their lunches up on the crow's nest.
"What bug crawled up Felix's ass today?" Sheba asked as they ate.
"What do you mean?" Jenna replied.
"You heard him. He was all: 'Leadership, blah, blah, blah, responsibility, blah, blah, blah, everyone's lives, blah, blah, my decision stands'."
Jenna giggled. "I guess he's just stressed out. You know how he is. Always taking everything so seriously, all angsty and conflicted."
"Whatever," Sheba sighed. "He can't act all emo. I've seen him laughing before. It's just a book, what harm can it seriously do?"
"I'm sure he's just doing what he thinks is best for us," Jenna said. "As Piers already said, he wouldn't be so adamant about it if he didn't have a good reason."
"But what reason?" Sheba demanded. "What reason could possibly make a book so dangerous? The Psynergy it gave him wasn't that bad. It's just a book. Man, now I really want to know what was written in that thing."
Jenna didn't want to admit it, but she did too. The worst way to keep something from a teenager was to tell them they could not have it.
But she did respect her brother's wishes. She wouldn't go near the book.
"Whatever," Sheba sighed. "Enough about the book. Where are we going next? I think Felix said something about the Shrine of the Sea God..."
But Jenna's mind was occupied with other thoughts. The temptation to read that book had taken hold of her, and would not relinquish its grip. Her brother's warnings echoed in her ears, but she was simply too curious to let go of the idea.
Surely, one little peek wouldn't hurt...
That night, Jenna retired to the bedroom she shared with Sheba early. She got a few hours of sleep, then awoke in the dead of the night as she had anticipated. Sheba's quiet breathing was the only sound in the room.
Jenna rose as carefully as possible and inched her way to the door, being especially careful not to let the old wood at her feet creak. After an agonizingly slow walk, she made it to the door and inched through. Sheba's soft breathing was steady.
Jenna stepped into the hallway of the Lemurian ship, its ancient corridors illuminated only by the silver moonlight casting beams through the windows. Jenna passed Pier's cabin on her way to Felix's room.
She opened the door to her brother's room as slowly and quietly as possible. She knew her brother sometimes stayed up very late, and she had no way of knowing if he would be up until she was actually in his room. Her eyes took a while to adjust to the darkness. She saw the vague outline of Felix on his bed, his face buried in his pillow. He snored quietly.
Jenna inched into the room and shut the door without actually closing it. She looked around the room, seeing the shadowy outlines of Felix's few possessions. But where would it be...?
Of course. Jenna crawled to the floor and reached underneath Felix's bed, being careful not to bump him. Ever since he was a child, Felix had hidden things under his bed. She was right. Her fingers brushed against the bag from before. She grabbed it and pulled it out. She crawled to the other end of the room, sitting beneath the window, where the moonlight was strongest.
A feeling of hesitation.
Perhaps this was a mistake... She could still turn back, she realized. She hadn't taken the book of of the bag yet.
But she knew she would regret it. Jenna was not the kind of person who thought things through. She acted on whim more often than not, and she never regretted the consequences it brought. She would not let such an opportunity pass her by.
With trembling fingers, Jenna drew the leathery book from Felix's bag.
Time seemed almost to slow. She ran her fingers across the black, unmarked cover of the book. It was deathly cold. The texture was strangely familiar. The book felt almost... Almost like it was...
Alive.
The paper was rough and unyielding, a strange contrast to the smooth cover. She opened to a random page. Printed on the coarse paper were alien words she had never seen before. She dared not even whisper as she tried to read them. Actually uttering the words felt... wrong to her. But even reading the alien text silently was a challenge.
Ol for feari ur T'jigif ciuc Disifajifa xuosir citiubolih.
Sifus or les ceuc xifodif dul isitiluj joi,
ulic ol risitulihi uielir iwil ciusif bug coi.
Jenna was short of breath. She was drawn into the dark and foreign words, unable to think of anything else. The minutes crept by. The rough pages of the book shimmered in the silver moonlight. The words were strange to her eyes. They looked painful to speak, unnatural and forced to a human tongue, but still beautiful in a strange way.
Jenna closed the book, and held it close to her heart. She was filled with a warm feeling. She felt content and at peace. All of her previous fear and hesitation was gone.
She realized this, and lucidity struck her like lightning. She threw the book down in disgust as though it were a giant insect. It landed on the wooden floor with a loud thump.
Jenna's blood ran cold. She looked over at the other side of the room, where her brother slept. He groaned, rolled over, and resumed his snoring. Jenna let out a relieved sigh. But her fear was not gone yet.
The book lay motionless on the ground before her. The air around the unholy tome was distorted in Jenna's eyes. She didn't want to touch it again. She wanted to leave the abomination where it was and run back to her own bed. But she had to put it back where she'd found it, or Felix would know.
Jenna held Felix's bag in her left hand and hesitantly reached for the black book with her right. Her fingers wrapped around the spine. The hairs on her arms were on end. There was a kind of electricity emanating form the book. She felt she had done something horribly wrong. She felt like she had activated it or something.
Yes...
It was her thought, but it felt wrong. It felt forced, like it had come from another. And in that moment, it really sank in.
This book was evil.
She understood her brother's warnings now. Without another hesitation, Jenna threw the book in Felix's bag. For a fraction of a second, the book stuck to her, as though resisting her rejection of it. Not long enough for one to notice, but to Jenna it felt like an eternity.
She closed the bag and shoved it back under her brother's bed. She left the room a bit faster than she meant to, though at that point she hardly cared if she was caught. She just wanted to get away from it. How her brother could actually sleep so close to that much dark energy was a mystery to her.
Relief did not come to her after that. She made her way back through the moonlit hallway. The shadowy corridor, illuminated only by rays of silver moonlight, had been beautiful to her a few minutes ago. Now every shadow seemed to be a hiding place of devils. Every movement was a attack waiting to happen.
Jenna feared little. She was a Mars Adept, and a powerful fighter. But she couldn't fight night terrors. The intangible was terrifying to her.
She returned to her room, and closed the door as quietly as possibly so as to not disturb Sheba. Even so, the young Jupiter Adept seemed to notice her return, as she sat up and rubbed her sleepy eyes.
"Where you been...?" Sheba asked her, her words slurred by drowsiness.
"Bathroom," Jenna quickly lied.
"Mmmmm," Sheba muttered, falling back and pulling her sheets over her head.
Jenna went to her own bed and pulled her sheets over her head. She wasn't as scared now that she was in the security of her bed. And Sheba's adorable breaths helped ease her tension. But she was still on edge.
Something...
Something wrong had happened. She should have listened to her brother. She shouldn't have touched that book.
She could feel it.
She could feel the dark energy of the book emanating all the way from Felix's room.
It was calling to her.
Jenna knew better than to think what she was thinking. The book wasn't alive. It couldn't possibly be alive. But it had...
It had whispered to her...
Jenna closed her eyes, as though it would block out the dark thoughts.
She wouldn't go near the book again. She would forget it. She would refuse to acknowledge its existence. That was the only way to fight something like that.
It didn't exist, it didn't exist, it didn't exist, it didn't exist, it didn't exist...
If she kept telling herself that, she might believe it.
It didn't exist.
It didn't exist.
It didn't exist.
"Jenna!"
She turned to find a certain red-haired Mars Adept approaching her through the crowded streets of Kalay. Garet waved excitedly as he ran to her, and she couldn't help but grin.
"That was about an eight, Garet," she laughed as he reached her. "Try to keep it below a five."
He laughed as well. "Sorry. I'm just glad to be out of the house. Kay's been in a mood today, where she gets mad over the slightest things. She gets like that sometimes, but I don't know why."
Jenna knew why. She was surprised Garet didn't. He really was clueless sometimes.
"You need to have talk with your parents, I think," Jenna said to him.
Garet raised an eyebrow. "About what?"
She just laughed.
"Are we still having lunch later?" Garet asked, eager to change the subject.
"Yeah, sure," Jenna replied. "Ivan will be joining us, right?"
Garet nodded. "Yeah, he's been pretty tied up lately with helping everyone from Vale settle in, so he's really looking forward to some downtime with friends."
"Sounds like you are, too!" Jenna teased.
Garet laughed and looked away. "I always look forward to spending time with you, Jenna."
"Oh, Garet. Get out of here! I'll see you in a few hours."
They both laughed and Garet left her, after promising that he'd be waiting at the restaurant with Ivan. Jenna sighed as he left. Garet was very kind. Sometimes a little too kind, actually. He coddled her. She loved him, sure. Just not the way he seemed to wish she would.
The streets of Kalay were crowded despite it still being early morning. She had just arrived in the city with the other refugees from Vale, and everything was still being organized. Jenna, Felix, and their parents were still settling into their new house, and they had a lot of stuff to unpack. She had been hoping to get some fresh air and quiet before the day's events began, but that was clearly not to be. Her headache had only been worsened by the humming chatter of the pedestrians.
With nowhere else to walk, she followed the streets back to her new house. She stepped inside to find Felix and her parents already busy unpacking boxes.
"Oh, Jenna! There you are," her mother said as she entered the living room. "Where were you?"
"Just taking a walk."
"Oh, okay. Here, this one is all your things." She handed Jenna a heavy box. "You can unpack and organize your room for now. We'll worry about the living room and the kitchen later."
Jenna left for her new bedroom, carrying the heavy box effortlessly. Her years of travel and battle had left her tougher than most girls. A mere cardboard box was nothing compared to Dullahan or the Doom Dragon. Still... the evacuees from Vale had left their doomed hometown with next to nothing. How in the world had they ended up with so much to unpack?
What a mystery.
She made her way up the stairs and rounded the corner, heading towards the bedrooms. Because of the large box in her arms, her vision was obscured, so she didn't notice Felix in front of his own door with a heavy stack of boxes in his arms until she collided with him.
"Gah!"
They both tumbled, boxes falling around them. One of Felix's boxes landed on its corner and popped open, its contents pouring out.
"Shit!" she swore. "Felix, I'm sorry. I didn't see you there."
Her brother sat up, rubbing his temples. She pushed her own box aside and moved to collect the things that had fallen out of Felix's. It seemed to be mostly books he'd gathered during the adventure. She picked them up indiscriminately and tossed them back in the box.
Contact.
Time seemed to freeze. She knew what it was she held. She didn't even need to look. She was touching it. It was there. It was breathing between her fingers.
The Necronomicon.
She'd put it out of her mind. She had spent weeks denying its existence. She had convinced herself the events of that moonlit night had been a surreal dream. She had forgotten.
Whispers.
Daylight couldn't protect her. The company of others couldn't protect her. Not when she was this close to it. The childhood comforts of safety were meaningless against this alien construct. The fear was back. It came rushing back to her like an opened floodgate. She shivered. She trembled. She gasped.
Comfort.
She closed her eyes. The world seemed to dissolve around her. The walls around her melted as wax. She fell. She sank deep into the depths of her innermost self, where all truths were laid bare and all things were without consequence. She saw herself as a child, sitting alone in a foreign landscape of nothingness. Her child-self hugged her knees. She was cold. She was alone.
Everyone had left her.
She hated the feeling of being alone. She hated isolation. She hated denied affection. She was so lonely.
There was a sound. Water was dripping. She looked up through her tear-stained eyes. Another drop. Where was the water coming from?
The dripping became a trickle. The trickle became a sprinkle. The sprinkle became rain. The rain became a downpour. The downpour became a hurricane.
The sound of gallons of water rushing down filled her ears. The empty landscape began to fill. She was being flooded. It was rising so fast. Already she was submerged to her waist. She would drown if she didn't swim.
Where was the comfort now?
An image struck her, filling her inner vision. Felix. Her mother and father. Their bodies, dead and decayed. They were floating along the river, the gentleness of the river betraying the gruesome sight of their waterlogged bodies.
"That's a lie!" she screamed in defiance. "They didn't die! They survived that day!"
True. They did. Perhaps that was your misfortune.
She struggled to rise as the water filled the abyss. She would drown if she didn't keep her head up.
She saw the depths of Sol Sanctum. The Elemental Star Chamber. The beautiful blue water that filled the chamber sparkled gently. It was indeed a stunning sight. Until she saw Isaac and Garet.
Isaac had been the lucky one, his neck having been broken by the fall. Garet was less fortunate. He lay motionless, floating atop the sparkling blue water. At first he had tried to climb back up the glowing cliff to safety. For hours he had tried in vain to scale the slippery rocks. At last he had given up, and he now waited for death to take him.
"No..." she whispered. "That didn't happen. They made it out of there. They followed us."
Who can say what reality is? All you know of the world around you is what you perceive by your five senses. The things you see, the things you touch... Tastes, smells, sounds... Your Psynergy is something of a sixth sense. But all of these things... They can lie to you. Do not trust your mind so much as you do.
Jenna struggled against the waves that threatened to engulf her. The black abyss had become a raging ocean. She kicked against the waves with all her strength.
She was panicking. She would drown if she didn't fight.
A series of images flashed through her mind.
Ivan, sinking with the Tolbi-bound ship...
Mia, unable to tread on the waters of the Mercury Lighthouse...
Sheba, lost forever beneath the raging waves of Idejima...
Piers, gone with his ship in the wake of the tidal wave...
"Stop it! Why are you showing me these things?!"
You fear this...?
"I don't want to see my friends dead!"
Do not fight the embrace. Do not rely on your senses. Give in. Let me comfort you.
Jenna realized something at those words. She stopped fighting. It was easy, so much easier than her previous struggle. She sank beneath the waves.
It wasn't dark or cold. It was warm and comforting. She wasn't suffocating.
I can give you so much, Jenna.
I can make your every desire a reality.
She smiled. Where was her fear? She didn't care anymore. It felt so nice to be comforted in this way.
"Jenna?"
She looked over to find her brother staring at her expectantly. His hand was held out.
"Oh, sorry!" she handed him the book. "I guess I spaced out for a bit."
"Right," Felix muttered tiredly. "I accept your apology, but try to be a bit more careful next time, okay?"
"S-sure,"
Felix rose without another word, lifting the box of books and entering his room. Jenna waited for a minute, before doing the same.
"I'm sorry?" she asked in confusion.
Garet and Ivan were watching her with strange looks. Ivan sighed.
"Did you not even hear the question, Jenna?"
"Sorry, I guess I didn't."
"Are you feeling alright?" Garet asked, concern in his eyes. "You've been really distant today."
"Sorry, I don't mean to be,"
"And you're apologizing a lot," Ivan observed. "Not exactly the Jenna we're familiar with."
"Sorry..."
"You see! Right there!"
Jenna jumped a bit at Ivan's sharp words. She knew he had a point. She wasn't being much like herself. But she couldn't help it. Ever since she'd touched the book...
She was on edge.
Even in the middle of the day, surrounded by her friends and family, she couldn't help but be uneasy. The book had crept back into her mind, leaving its foul odor behind. It was just like all those months ago on the ship... She was afraid again.
But it was different this time. She wasn't afraid of the book itself. But rather...
She was afraid of how relieved she had been.
"Well, even if Jenna is out of it, I'm having a good time," Garet said mockingly. "How about you, Ivan?"
"I'm rather tired," Ivan replied. His eyes showed it, too. "But I am enjoying this quiet lunch. It's nice to get away from responsibility for a while."
"Wouldn't know," Garet laughed. "I lucked out. I was going to have to take over as the mayor of Vale at some point. I do miss the village, of course. But I'm so relieved that I won't have to take care of everyone now."
"You didn't want to?" Ivan inquired.
"I don't think I could handle it," Garet said. "A job like that shouldn't be decided by family, I think. They should let whoever can do the job the best do it."
"And how would they decide that?" Ivan asked.
"Let the people decide. Whoever the most people vouch for would get the job. It seems a much better system, if you ask me."
"That would never catch on," Ivan said, shaking his head. Then Garet started laughing, and Ivan joined in.
Jenna laughed as well, but her thoughts were elsewhere.
She couldn't stay away.
She knew she was making a mistake, but something was drawing her back with a force she had not the will to resist.
She was in Felix's room, just as she had been months ago in the Lemurian ship. It was just as dark, she was just as quiet, and her brother was asleep, snoring just as quietly as last time. It was like history was repeating, save for the changed surroundings.
She found the book exactly where she expected to, right under Felix's bed, in the same bag as before. She pulled the book out.
Immediately, all the fear and unease was gone.
Comfort...
She realized then, that it wasn't the book that was causing her to feel so anxious... It was being apart from it. The book was a part of her, and being separated from it was what made her so afriad.
She held the tome close to her breast, and sighed softly at the feeling of warmth that spread through her body. Her skin tingled. Her pink lips curled into a smile.
She felt so at peace.
She didn't know how long she remained there, just holding the book close to her and smiling, but it didn't matter. Time was irrelevant.
She moaned softly.
"GEEEEEEEEETTTTTTTT OOOOOOOUUUUUUTTTTTTT!"
Jenna's heart skipped a beat. Her brother was awake. He was awake and screaming with the rage of the heavens themselves. She rose, still holding the book close as though afraid to let go of it. She had half a dozen excuses on her tongue, but she knew Felix wouldn't believe any of them. She prepared to apologize...
And she stopped.
Felix wasn't awake.
He hadn't even moved. He was laying in his bed, snoring quietly, with an arm tossed over his face to cover his eyes. He mumbled something quietly, and rolled over.
Then... who had screamed?
She knew the answer. Nobody had screamed. Her ears were lying to her.
Just as she had been told they would.
She was jolted by the false scream. Though she wanted to spend more time with the book, she wasn't about to test her luck.
She placed the book back in Felix's bag. The moment it left her hands, she felt the unease and the insecurity return. But now she knew why she was feeling that way, so it didn't bother her anymore.
She crept out as quietly as she could. Felix did not stir as she left.
"Isaac, do you want to have lunch together later?" Jenna asked.
Isaac frowned. "I'm sorry, Jenna. I'm going to be busy all day today helping out my parents. Everything's been so chaotic since we got here."
Jenna tried her hardest not to look too disappointed. "Okay. That's fine. We can go on a date some other time, right?"
Isaac looked down, and hesitated, as though he wanted to say something but couldn't. A moment later, he looked back up at her. "Yeah, we will. See you later, Jenna."
Isaac left, quickly disappearing into the crowd of people around them. Jenna walked home, feeling a bit more depressed than she figured she should be.
Isaac wasn't... avoiding her, was he?
No, that was silly. They had been friends since childhood. They had spent so much time together. He had comforted her after she lost her parents. They had shared a first kiss. They had promised they would get married one day...
The memory was enough to bring Jenna out of her depression and put a spring back in her step. An idea came to her. Even if Isaac was too busy to spend time with her... she could still do something for him.
An hour later, Jenna emerged from her house with a small wicker basket in her hands. The faint but unmistakable aroma of freshly baked cookies drifted out of the basket.
Jenna quickly found Isaac's house and knocked on the front door. She heard Dora calling her in, so she opened the door and stepped inside.
Jenna froze for a moment.
The house was organized and furnished. Dora was sitting on a couch, folding laundry, while Kyle sat next to her, reading a small book.
Isaac was nowhere in sight.
"Oh, hello Jenna!" Dora said to her. "What can we do for you?"
"Isaac... isn't here..." Jenna said quietly.
"Oh yes, I believe he said he was going to be having lunch with a friend of his," Dora said. "I can't remember where he said he would be, though..."
Kyle set his book down and adjusted his reading glasses. "The orchard," he said.
"That's right. He got a few things from the kitchen and left for the orchard behind the palace."
Jenna frowned. "I see. Thank you, Ma'am. I'll be going now."
As she solemnly walked away from Isaac's front door, Jenna noticed Garet walking up to her with a big stupid grin.
"Hey, Jenna! What's up?"
Jenna scowled. Normally, she would have the patience to deal with Garet's dumb jokes and his obvious crush on her. But today...
"You pig," Jenna spat. "You're always stuffing your face. Then here! You can have these!" Jenna shoved the basket of cookies into Garet's chest with enough force to push him off balance. Then she turned and ran towards the palace, ignoring Garet's confused shouts.
It didn't take her long to reach the orchard. By then her fists were clenched in rage, even as tears ran down her cheeks. Normally she enjoyed going to the orchards. The different kinds of trees, the fruit, and the birds always put her in a good mood. But there was only one thing on her mind now.
She knew exactly who Isaac was with.
Once she spotted them, Jenna hid behind a tree and silently watched.
They were having a picnic. Isaac was smiling. The blue-haired whore with him was giggling. Then she gasped as Isaac reached into the basket and pulled out a bottle of alcohol. Isaac poured them both glasses and they made a toast. They emptied their glasses, and set them aside. Then they moved closer.
They started to kiss. Fleetingly at first, and then deeper and more passionately. The whore moaned sensually as Isaac moved from her lips and kissed the base of her neck.
Jenna chose that moment to reveal herself.
"How could you do this to me...?!" she screamed.
Isaac and Mia broke apart and stood up. "J-Jenna?"
Jenna pointed her finger at Mia. "How could you betray me like that? How could you leave me to be with that whore?!"
"Jenna what are you talking about?" Isaac demanded.
Do it.
"You promised me, Isaac!" Jenna cried. "You said we would be married!"
Isaac was agape. "Jenna... we were six years old and playing a game!"
"It wasn't a game for me!" Jenna screamed.
"Jenna, I'm truly sorry you had to find out this way," Mia offered. "You know I always valued your friendship, and I never meant to hurt you..."
Do it.
"Shut up, slut!" Jenna spat.
Isaac and Mia exchanged glances. "Jenna, we're free to make out own decisions," Isaac said calmly. "We were going to tell you when the time was right, but we never..."
Isaac continued to speak, but Jenna was no longer listening. His voice grew faint and distant, as though she was hearing it from underwater. Jenna felt a strange presence, like a comforting warmth.
"It's you..." she said with a dopey smile.
You know what you need to do. Remember? I told you everything.
"I do, but... would that be right?"
It is your right. This is your world now. Everything you see, everything you desire. If you want something, make it yours. You don't deserve to feel pain anymore.
"I know. I've felt so much pain over the years." She remembered all the loss. Her family. Her brother. She had thought them dead. And Isaac had comforted her. He had been her knight. He had traveled across the world to save her after she had been abducted. But now...
You do not deserve it, Jenna. If he doesn't love you... make him.
"Yes..."
Her perception returned to the present. Isaac and Mia were now staring at her with confused and concerned expressions.
"Jenna, are you okay?" Isaac asked.
Her lips twisted into a devilish smile.
"You were talking to yourself..." Mia said.
Jenna ignored her and looked straight at Isaac. "You love me, Isaac. I know you do."
Isaac stared at her for a moment, then sighed. "Jenna, please. Don't make this difficult. I love Mia. But you're still one of my best friends and-"
Isaac's eyes widened and he took a step back. Mia did the same. For they could both sense the Psynergy Jenna was gathering.
"Jenna, are you insane?!" Isaac demanded. "Don't do this!"
"This isn't how things are meant to be," Jenna said in a voice that was not her own. "I must make things right."
Isaac tensed up, standing in a half-crouched position, ready to move. He was hesitating. He didn't want to hurt Jenna, but he may be forced to restrain Jenna if she became violent. Hopefully, they could talk her down.
"Jenna, please," Isaac pleaded. "Just... calm down. We can talk about this."
"There will be no talking!" Jenna screamed, shaking her head back and forth. "You will not speak again until I say so!"
Isaac wanted to say more to her, but felt it wouldn't be a good idea. So he simply closed his mouth and waited.
Jenna gave him a hard look. "Do you love me, Isaac?"
He nodded. It was best to agree with her. Besides, it wasn't untrue, he simply did not love her in a romantic way.
Mia looked at him, then back to Jenna, and back to him again.
"You always loved me, right?" Jenna continued. "You were just waiting for the right time to tell me."
He nodded again. There was so much he wanted to say to her, he just couldn't bring himself to say them.
"This slut over here..." Jenna said with a contemptuous nod to Mia. "You never cared about her. She's just a plaything. And now that you've realized your feelings for me, you have no further need for her... isn't that right?"
Isaac nodded. He looked over at Mia, the girl he had been kissing and whispering sweet nothings to only a few minutes ago. How could he possibly want the Imilian whore over a girl like Jenna? His eyes had no trace of affection for Mia anymore.
"In fact... the very thought of her makes you sick."
It did. He felt nauseous as the memories of him touching her came to his mind. He fantasized about Jenna instead... and he felt warm and light at those thoughts.
Mia looked concerned now. Something was wrong, and she didn't understand. Why wasn't Isaac chastening Jenna for saying those things? Why was he looking at her with... such disgust? She felt hurt.
"Isaac... don't just let her say those things. Please, say something! Tell her how you feel!"
He did not. Instead, he turned away, unable to look at Mia anymore. He felt like he would vomit if he had to look at her ugly face for even another moment.
"You may speak again, Isaac," Jenna said with a sweet smile.
"Thank you, Jenna," he replied.
"Isaac, what's happening!" Mia exclaimed. "What is she doing to you! This isn't you, snap out of it!"
"Get out of here," Isaac said with no hint of pity. "I'm tired of you. You were amusing for a while, but I've accepted that my heart truly belongs to Jenna." Isaac went to Jenna's side and took her hands in his, like they were getting married.
Mia held back the tears. This was so wrong. She prayed it was some sort of cruel joke. They had spent hours together. They had confessed their love for each other under the stars. She was saving herself for when they were married, and he was doing the same.
"What did you do to him, you bitch?!" Mia screamed.
Jenna turned to her, a devious gleam in her eye. "As for you, Mia... you will never have another man. You will never desire another man. You like girls now. For the rest of your life, you will be attracted to girls, and men will disgust you. All your religious stigma against homosexuality will not prevent you from feeling this way. Girls get you hot."
Jenna turned away for a moment, but then turned back with an evil grin.
"Oh, and you get turned on very easily now."
Mia's jaw hung open in sheer disbelief as Jenna walked away from the orchard with Isaac on her arm. What was this nonsense she was talking about? Mia scoffed at the very thought. She loved Isaac. Nothing would change that. Mia swore that she would figure out how Jenna was controlling Isaac, and free him from her thrall.
Still, Mia could not take her eyes off Jenna's cute rear as the girl walked away...
The only sound in the house was the quiet scraping of forks across plates.
Jenna's family ate their dinner with a sort of quiet somber among them, which was unusual for the usually lively and conversational family.
Only Jenna seemed to have any life in her. She had a grin plastered to her face, which did not fade even as she chewed. Her eyes were far-away and dreamy, filled with memories she kept to herself.
Naturally, Jenna was done first. She broke the silence by rising and quietly excusing herself. She ran off, and vanished through the front door.
Neither parent commented on this. They simply finished their respective dinners and sluggishly went to bed.
As soon as they were gone, Felix was on his feet, and headed towards his own bedroom.
He went to his bed and pulled the large black bag out from underneath. He tore it open and grit his teeth.
"Damn..."
The Necronomicon was gone.
Jenna sighed blissfully, and rolled over. Isaac lay beside her, devoid of clothes as she was.
"That was wonderful," Jenna said. "I never knew making love could feel so... incredible."
"I enjoyed it too," Isaac said.
The room they were in was dark, but Jenna could see perfectly. The thick, leather-bound book beside her was like a battery... it enhanced everything. Seeing in the dark was only one of the many things she had realized she could so when she had it. After her first experience with Isaac, she had thought of the book and wondered if it would feel even better if she had the book with her.
And it had.
Every single sensation... every feeling and touch... every second felt like a minute. It had been unlike anything she had ever experienced. In all her life, she had never felt as alive as she did in those moments.
She knew she could go again. But Isaac... she would have to wait for him to recover. She felt disappointed.
The book whispered to her, reminding her of her powers. She had full control over everything Isaac did. She could make him ready...
She smiled excitedly at the thought.
Just as she was about to do that exact thing, the door of Isaac's bedroom burst open and there was a crashing sound. Before Jenna or Isaac could react, she felt the bed being violently flipped over, sending them flying back into the darkness. Her head hit the invisible wall, and everything started spinning.
Everything was dark, so she couldn't see. She heard Isaac scrambling up and attacking the man who had stormed in, obeying her silent command. She heard the sound of blows being exchanged, and felt Isaac collapse next to her in the shadows.
Jenna could feel the attacker take the book, and leave without a word. The loss of it filled her with sorrow and emptiness. But she also felt a flash of rage. She knew who it was. The only person who could have known about the book.
"Felix..."
Jenna rose and lit a candle. "Isaac, get dressed. We have to go after him!"
"Yes, Jenna. I will."
It didn't take them long.
Felix was waiting for them outside their house. His arms were crossed, and he did not carry the book.
"Where is it?" she demanded.
"Locked away, where it belongs," Felix replied. "Not in my bedroom, of course. In a secret location, where you won't find it."
"Give me the fucking book, you asshole!" Jenna screamed. She felt weak... sickened. She felt empty without the book.
"It's too dangerous," Felix said simply. "Already, it's corrupted you with its dark magic. You need to be separated from the book. It'll be hard, but eventually, its taint will go away, and everything will be back to normal."
"Felix, give me the fucking book, or I swear I'll rip your fucking eyes out!" Jenna screamed. She felt lightheaded. She needed the book back... she could feel her powers slipping away.
"I'm sorry Jenna," Felix said in his most sympathetic voice. "This is for your own good."
"Aaaaaaarrrrggggh!" Jenna screamed. "Isaac, get him!"
Felix put up a good fight, but he was unable to hurt his sister or friend, and it was still two-to-one.
They knocked him unconscious, and dragged him away into the woods.
Felix opened his eyes.
Jenna and Isaac were standing over him. Isaac looked, as he had before, like Jenna's brainwashed zombie. Jenna, on the other hand, looked bad. Her eyes were red and sunken in, her chest heaved with every breath, and she trembled.
"You're going into withdrawal," Felix said. "You should be in bed right now, not out in the woods."
"Shut up!" Jenna commanded. "Tell me where the book is!"
"I won't," Felix said. "And you must know by now that you cannot use the dark magic the book gave you to force it out of me, either."
Jenna bit her lip. He was right. She had tried already. Something was blocking her new powers... it wasn't her separation from the book, because she could still control Isaac.
Still, she had to get it out of him somehow...
"Isaac..." she said to her thrall. "Get him to talk. Don't break anything or leave any permanent damage. But make him hurt."
Felix's screams carried through the forest for half an hour. But he did not break. He had endured worse in Prox, all those years ago.
He did not struggle or fight back, because he could not hurt them. He knew Jenna wasn't in her right mind. He knew it was the book messing with her.
So he endured in silent agony.
Jenna paced back and forth while Isaac interrogated Felix. At last, she realized nothing would come of it, save for his screams potentially drawing unwanted attention. She ordered Isaac to stop, and she stood before her bleeding brother and stared at him.
Just how could he resist her abilities? She had the power to control any person she saw... why was she unable to do so with Felix?
She noticed her brother was clutching his bleeding hand, which was understandable, as Isaac had likely broken a finger. She reached down to take Felix's hand, in order to see how bad it was, and he drew away from her. She grabbed the hand more forcefully, and felt a burning in her own.
Jenna drew back with a pained hiss, her hand slightly burned by the touch. She looked at Felix's hand, and saw what had caused it.
A Cleric's Ring, which had the power to resist curses.
"Of course..."
Felix's eyes widened. He struggled against his bonds, but there was no escape.
"Isaac, take that ring off him."
Garet, watched in silent terror from behind a tree as Jenna marched back to the village with a grin, Isaac and Felix following obediently behind her.