Chapter Two: Prison of Shadows
I awoke in a stone room bereft of furnishings. Intense cold seeped through the walls, floor, and ceiling. However, there was no moisture anywhere. I picked myself up from the floor and blinked blearily. A dream, I supposed. I brushed my hands together and noticed for the first time that they were grainy. In fact, the floor seemed to be moving beneath my feet. Sand. Unspeakable dread seeped into my middle. Slowly I had begun to connect the hoop with my presence here. I strode to the murky walls. Though there was no light in the room, the grayness seemed to shine from within as I approached. I looked down at my hands and gasped. The hoop was still around my neck, shining more brightly than ever before. It blazed with such radiance that though I knew it to be impossible, the light seemed to pass through my hands!
Suddenly a section of wall at the far end wriggled. Not caring for my own safety, I dashed towards the sound. Moonlight splashed across the hills of sand, catching in the crevices. I could see now just how small my prison was. Two men strode in, bringing with them the scent of chilly night air. I breathed their scents greedily. Before I had not realized the stench of this place. A bundle swathed in cloth rode atop their shoulders. A strange dream indeed, I thought. I came closer to them, but they did not even look at me. The leader of the two sighed and set the burden down none too gently. "Hurry! We have to get back before we're found out!"
The other man grunted and dropped his end to the ground. This caused several of the end cloths to fall away. I gasped in horror. A corpse's burnt face stared back at me. The men still took no notice of me. I frantically reached for the shoulder of one. My hand passed through him. He only shivered. "I told you it was bad luck to bury a nobleman in a thief's tomb!"
"Let's go. We're wasting time."
"Wait!" I pleaded. "Oh please wait!" I followed close on their heels. However, when I reached the door to the tomb, I found that I could not escape. "No!" I screamed as the men replaced the seal.
The moonlight faded, leaving me in utter darkness with the unmoving corpse. Terror and rage clashed in my body. "If this is a dream, I want to wake up!" I shouted. "I demand it!" At length, I tired of shouting to the dead man and the unresponding walls. I crept to a corner far from him and sat hunched as if I could make myself disappear. Somehow I found myself gripping the hoop. Unlike the men it did not allow my fingers to pass through it. I closed my eyes, clinging to its reassuring solidarity. Somehow I had to awaken from this dream!