Chapter 13
The sun had set sometime while we were in the cave, so I had no real sense of time, and a real sense of danger. "Where were you, Liz, it's nearly nine?" Cara whispered sharply, snagging me as I stumbled slowly down the hall, and dragging me into her room.
"You wouldn't believe me even if you saw it yourself!" I answered solemnly. I had absent-mindedly taken the statue we'd found and wrapped it in my blazer, which I now opened up to show Cara. She snatched it from me and ran her hands all over it, checking for something, what I did not know, then looked up at me, confused. "It's Sehhmet, the Egyptian 'Angel of Death' goddess. I found it in a cave." I explained sleepily. Cara sat there, silently examining the statue a moment, while I let the song in and hummed what I knew of it, sprawling across Cara's bed.
"A cave?"
"Yeah, Dane showed it to me. It's about twenty minutes outside the fence, back behind a waterfall. The whole cave is full of writings on the walls, from all over the world." I began.
"Writings?" Cara gawked, still holding the statue.
"Yeah, all different kinds. Egyptian, Mesopotamian, Babylonian, Celtic, Sri Lankan, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Native American, Latin, Incan, Zapotecian; you name it, it's there." I listed with a sleepy snort.
"Since when were you an expert on ancient civilizations, much less their languages?" She asked bluntly.
Offended, I retorted, "I know some things, Cara. Besides," I caved. "I didn't know, they told me, the statue did too."
"They told you?" Cara asked incredulously.
"Yeah, I know it sounds strange, but that's the only way to describe it." I chuckled.
"So this is another skill you've acquired, I should write this down." She decided. Since that first day of channeling, she'd been keeping a notebook of channeled conversations, strange occurrences, my "skills", and her off handed theories about it all.
"What skill would that be?" I snorted, covering my eyes with my hand, blocking out the bright overhead light.
"You're psychic." Cara stated simply.
"Duh!"
"No," She continued, lifting my hand to look me in the eye. "This is different from automatic writing, or playing mental telephone. This is touch vision. It wasn't the writings talking to you, it was the wall itself; the caves memories of someone else being there, knowing about the writings and the statue. You just gained access to the cave's knowledge of what you were touching. This belongs in the book." She explained. Cara truly was my Giles, my Leo, my Aunt Zelda, or even my Oracle.
"Great, so next time I touch a desk, I'll remember the kid who picked her nose and wiped it under there!" I whined.
"No, I'm pretty sure it only works when it's something important, when you want it to work." Cara promised.
"Cara," I began, "do you remember that dream I told you about?" She thought a moment, and then nodded slowly. "Well, I'm almost positive that this was the black statue in my dream."
"Really?" She asked, genuinely curious.
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure. I have the strangest feeling that the dream wasn't just a dream. Like, maybe it was a vision something sent me, or maybe it was a map, an instruction manual, so to speak. I feel like I'm supposed to follow it, in order, like, I'll never any of this if I don't." I confided.
"Well, if that's true, then we have a secret door to find in the library. You've already had the near-death encounter with the pool, and now the statue in the dark passage, so, all that's left is the bookcase door, and the guy." Cara agreed, adding the last word a little softer.
"I guess so, but I want you to see the cave first. Maybe there's more to it that what I saw. Besides, the waterfall would be an awesome place to swim this spring." I decided. "Although, I don't know what we'll wear!" Cara and I talked until ten, when Elsa knocked sharply on the door for lights-out and I was forced to tiptoe back to my room.
I changed out of my wet clothes and into my pjs, pulled back the covers, and found myself near tears when I found a neatly scribbled note and a peanut butter cup. I saved the candy for later, gently dropping it into my underwear drawer, and I snuggled into bed with the note. I drifted off to sleep with the last thought in my head being the next day was Halloween. I slept deeply, without so much as a sigh, but the dream came, he came again. This time, I learned more than I would ever care to know.
The pool and the statue were gone, nowhere in sight; listed under "done" and put away without a second thought. I entered the dream, staring at the red glowing book. It lifted off the shelf and the bookcase swung back, but I stayed a moment longer than last time, just long enough to read the title of the red glowing book. Then, I was standing in the nothingness, and He was there. The only difference about the scenery was this time it didn't scare me; in fact, it was almost soothing.
"Hello again." I began, trying to sound confident.
"Do not put on airs with me, Elizabeth! I know your true heart's desire." He commanded.
"Why not, you do?" I snorted. "You're all up in my head, telling me what to do, and blah blah magical fire, blah blah you must choose, and blah blah destiny. You drag on like a vampire or something. You know, I'm not in a very good mood tonight, Carl, or Bill, or Bob, or whoever the fuck you are, so why don't you just come back some other time, okay?" I snapped.
"Do not speak to me, Oseluyovr, unless I give you permission! You are my servant, and I am your master!" He screamed. Out of nowhere, he appeared, the borrowed ANGEL face strained, eyes searing with rage, jaw set determinedly, and he grabbed me. One hand came around my neck, the other simultaneously spinning me around and holding my wrists behind my back. I could no longer see his face, but I could feel nearly every inch of him pressed against my back.
He loosened his grip on my neck slightly, stroking my throat with one sharp fingernail. "You see, you've already begun to like it here my sweet. Don't bother denying it, I know what you're thinking, remember? Come now, relax, and let me have you." I nodded weakly, somewhat numb. "Good girl, Oseluyovr. Don't worry, you will grow accustomed to the dark, and forever isn't really that long when you're enjoying it."
He released my neck altogether and replaced his hands with his mouth, licking, nibbling and sucking upon it. He gently massaged my shoulders and, ever so slowly, spun me to face him. There was a strange look in his eyes; a mix between hate, love, and revenge, in his borrowed eyes, one I'd never seen before. He smiled, chuckling softly, and suddenly his mouth was on mine, hot, demanding, and oddly welcome. His tongue explored my mouth and I felt a sharp twinge, and, startled, I quickly withdrew.
I pressed one finger to my lips and felt something thick and wet. I drew my hand away and stared dumbly at my bloodstained fingers. "You bit me." I laughed. "You stupid son of a bitch, you bit me!"
"Blood has always been a curious commodity, Oseluyovr, just getting in the way of true enlightenment." He laughed darkly, chilling me to the bone. "Now come, we shall remove the pestilence upon your brain and the darkness will never scare you again. Nothing will scare you, ever again, Oselyovr. Don't you want that, to be fearless?"
"No, fear is good. It's an emotion, that's what separates people from animals, feelings. I like being afraid, it's a rush. So, if it's okay with you, I'd like to keep that so called pestilence that makes me scared." I stuttered. Nameless, fearsome stalkers, I could handle. Them wanting to reach in and squiggle their fingers inside my head, I could not.
"I was not asking!" He roared. "You shall be mine, even if you're in bloodless bits and pieces!" He lunged at me, grabbed me around the throat with one hand, and lifted me into the air above him. I kicked and squirmed, but he only squeezed tighter and laughed, "Silly girl, I will not let you stop the ritual! It is coming, and not even the Twelfth Sibyl can stop me!"
"Who are you?" I whispered, getting dizzy, my vision blurring slightly.
"I am called Lophelian. I care not that you know this, now that you'll never see the world to tell it. You will stay here with me, forever, along with all you know. The earth will warm and the sun will shine for a blissfully brief moment, and then the darkness shall come and swallow the entire world in shadow in a single bite. It's a pity you won't be there to see it." He laughed, his fingernails digging painfully into my neck and I felt something warm and sticky run down to my shoulder.
Desperate, I did the only thing I could think to do. I couldn't scream, for Lophelian held me too tightly. So I thought. Cara! Cara, it's Liz, wake up! He's got me; you have to wake up and save me!
"You think I can't hear you too, Oseluyovr? Silly, stupid girl, she cannot hear you she is incapable. So just be a good child and die!" Lophelian laughed.
Cara, my mind screamed. I could somehow feel the edges of her mind, resisting me. The nature state of her brain was tightly closed, and I had to somehow open it up. I closed my eyes and visualized pushing open a rusty door, and once safely inside, I screamed again. This time, I felt her shudder and accept my message. Good Cara, now come wake me up, this is very important. I commanded. Come wake me up, now!
Right next door, Cara sat straight up in bed and shivered. She shook the sleep from her mind and laughed at the foolishness of her dream. She'd been having the most delicious dream about being a famous dancer, and having her favorite super star fall head over heels for her, when Liz burst in screaming to wake up. "I must be losing my mind!" She chuckled softly, but then she remembered the incident between Ms. Evy and Liz. She jumped out of bed and wrenched both bathroom doors open and stormed into Liz's room.
"Liz, come on girl, wake up." Cara whined, shaking me gently. "Liz, get you ass out of bed before I have to drag you out!" I was just about to black out from a lack of air, thanks to Lophelian, when I heard Cara calling me. I smiled at him as I became translucent and slipped between his fingers like a wisp of smoke. I opened my eyes and coughed, gasping for air.
"You alright, Liz?" Cara asked softly.
"I am now. Jeez, you sleep like a rock; Lophelian nearly killed me by the time I got through to you!" I laughed, still light headed. I smiled up at Cara, but she was studying me with a peculiar look of horror and I suddenly felt sick. "What?" I asked, running my hands over my face, feeling for a bump or a blemish, then down my neck and my hand stuck to a gooey spot. I jumped out of bed, ran to the bathroom, flipped on the light, and stared into the mirror. I turned my head slowly to the right and nearly fainted at the sight of the telltale blood oozing from four neat puncture marks on my neck; Lophelian's fingernails.
Cara came up behind me and caught me around the waist, just in case I decided to fall down, and asked gently, "Liz, did you do this, or did someone else?"
"It wasn't me, Cara, I swear. It was Lophelian!" I assured her.
"Alright, I was only asking. Let's clean it up before it gets infected or something, or anyone sees it." She agreed. She guided me to the toilet to sit down so she could attend to my wounds. I sat there, silently staring blankly at the fish swimming across the shower curtain, my mind in total disarray. Cara calmly wiped the blood away with a washcloth, rinsed my neck with peroxide, smeared on some Neosporin, and covered it with a large piece of gauze. "There, all better, see?"
"I stood and looked in the mirror again, examining the pure white square held on by medical tape, knowing what it hid making me shiver. Cara stood in the doorway, eyebrows raised, as if seeking approval, so I nodded weakly. She smiled and led me back to bed, tucking me in as if I were a baby. She sat down on the edge of the bed, drew a deep breath, and asked one simple question. "Who is Lophelian?" I told her everything, even the bits and pieces I'd left out about the kissing and such when I'd told her before.
When I'd finished, Cara stood up and headed for the door, then, on a second thought, stopped. "Liz, I have a plan. It's too late and you're far too gone to hear it now, but tomorrow I'll tell you. Just prepare yourself for one thing; we have to tell the others." I nodded silently and drifted off to sleep again with the lamp still burning brightly.
