Chapter Seven: A Ghost from the Past
"Dais," she choked out my name a second time, and I strained my dusted vision. I heard movement, but I couldn't tell where she moved. "What.what.this is a strange place.and I have never seen you in a dream.oh.oh.this is real."
I coughed, still not finding strength to rub the dust out of my eyes and see. I forced myself up into some kind of sitting position, finding my hands in time to rub my eyes. The tears came shortly after I rid a large majority of the dust out. Blinking cleared my vision to the point where it could see defiant shapes and colors, and there in front of me, stood Sada, hair hanging down, and a loose red dress, covered with dust, and she stared at me.
"God, you're supposed to be dead!" Sada frowned a little. Damn, this threw my entire order upside down! "You've been dead for four-hundred freaking years!"
"I'm not dead," Sada answered quietly. "I.remember being stabbed in the gut, and.after that.I would dream about people and talk to them, but.I was never dead."
"You were so! You were dead when I found you!" I abruptly stood. "You died! I couldn't hear your heart!"
Sada stepped forward, and squinted. "Dais, if it's been four-hundred years, why are you alive?" What? Oh, Talpa. How was I supposed to explain that to Sada? I had turned my life over to a demon bent on conquest for four hundred long years, vowing to take revenge on humanity. "What aren't you telling me?"
"Nothing!" I yelled at her, pulling back from the hand that threatened to touch my face. I turned away from her because I couldn't bear to look at her innocent face.
"Do you love.another?" Sada whispered. I laughed.
"No, I could never do that," I sighed. I committed something much worse than loving another. I cursed myself silently. My star should have told me all these years she still lived.
"Then, what do you hide? Where are we?" Sada turned to step out of the ring. I grabbed her fiercely by the arm. The magic of this ring is what kept Talpa from sensing us, creating a magic buffer. I couldn't feel his calling inside this ring.
"Don't step outside. You'll be killed," I pulled her back in, and then, she was so close to me, and unwittingly, I had placed my hand on her shoulder. I couldn't react as she squinted in confusion, stroking the hair out of my face, staring at me, questions floating through her eyes.
"What does this mean?" Sada asked. "Where have I been for all this time?"
"In a casket, buried in a tomb," I answered. "Asleep, I guess, but you might as well have been dead." Sada pondered my words, eyes wondering in thought, even as she faced me, stroking my hair.
"Love, where have you been? Didn't you feel me calling you?" I pulled away quickly, turning my head from her, no where to go but outside the ring. Where had I been? Every decision haunted me. "Who."
"You did! I thought you were dead, so this is what happened! It's all your fault!" I regretted my pathetic attempt to hide the truth as tears filled up Sada's dark eyes. "I.um." I tried to recover as two small streaks cleared away the dust on her cheeks.
"You.meant that." More tears fell down her cheeks. "This is what brought you here. It's not a lie."
"I." but it was the truth. Sada's death drove me to Talpa to seek revenge. I had embarrassed all aspects of evil second, throwing away larger portions of my soul than I realized until now. "I." stuttering got me no where, but I couldn't tell her. It would brake her heart.
"Dais, where is here?" Sada backed up a little, allowing a person's shoulder length between us. "I deserve to know this, since I have been brought here for death."
"This is.an evil place ruled by a demon. You're his sacrifice of power," the truth of it cut deeper than knives to my heart, and I felt true pain in my soul, the first time in four hundred years.
"Oh," Sada whispered. She stared at me intently. She looked around the room for a moment, and then faced me again, a sorrowful look in her eyes. It broke what was left of my heart. "Oh, he was the one," I choked as she spoke those words. "For four hundred years, you've served a demon who deems me worthy of blood sacrifice, believing me dead."
"Dais," she choked out my name a second time, and I strained my dusted vision. I heard movement, but I couldn't tell where she moved. "What.what.this is a strange place.and I have never seen you in a dream.oh.oh.this is real."
I coughed, still not finding strength to rub the dust out of my eyes and see. I forced myself up into some kind of sitting position, finding my hands in time to rub my eyes. The tears came shortly after I rid a large majority of the dust out. Blinking cleared my vision to the point where it could see defiant shapes and colors, and there in front of me, stood Sada, hair hanging down, and a loose red dress, covered with dust, and she stared at me.
"God, you're supposed to be dead!" Sada frowned a little. Damn, this threw my entire order upside down! "You've been dead for four-hundred freaking years!"
"I'm not dead," Sada answered quietly. "I.remember being stabbed in the gut, and.after that.I would dream about people and talk to them, but.I was never dead."
"You were so! You were dead when I found you!" I abruptly stood. "You died! I couldn't hear your heart!"
Sada stepped forward, and squinted. "Dais, if it's been four-hundred years, why are you alive?" What? Oh, Talpa. How was I supposed to explain that to Sada? I had turned my life over to a demon bent on conquest for four hundred long years, vowing to take revenge on humanity. "What aren't you telling me?"
"Nothing!" I yelled at her, pulling back from the hand that threatened to touch my face. I turned away from her because I couldn't bear to look at her innocent face.
"Do you love.another?" Sada whispered. I laughed.
"No, I could never do that," I sighed. I committed something much worse than loving another. I cursed myself silently. My star should have told me all these years she still lived.
"Then, what do you hide? Where are we?" Sada turned to step out of the ring. I grabbed her fiercely by the arm. The magic of this ring is what kept Talpa from sensing us, creating a magic buffer. I couldn't feel his calling inside this ring.
"Don't step outside. You'll be killed," I pulled her back in, and then, she was so close to me, and unwittingly, I had placed my hand on her shoulder. I couldn't react as she squinted in confusion, stroking the hair out of my face, staring at me, questions floating through her eyes.
"What does this mean?" Sada asked. "Where have I been for all this time?"
"In a casket, buried in a tomb," I answered. "Asleep, I guess, but you might as well have been dead." Sada pondered my words, eyes wondering in thought, even as she faced me, stroking my hair.
"Love, where have you been? Didn't you feel me calling you?" I pulled away quickly, turning my head from her, no where to go but outside the ring. Where had I been? Every decision haunted me. "Who."
"You did! I thought you were dead, so this is what happened! It's all your fault!" I regretted my pathetic attempt to hide the truth as tears filled up Sada's dark eyes. "I.um." I tried to recover as two small streaks cleared away the dust on her cheeks.
"You.meant that." More tears fell down her cheeks. "This is what brought you here. It's not a lie."
"I." but it was the truth. Sada's death drove me to Talpa to seek revenge. I had embarrassed all aspects of evil second, throwing away larger portions of my soul than I realized until now. "I." stuttering got me no where, but I couldn't tell her. It would brake her heart.
"Dais, where is here?" Sada backed up a little, allowing a person's shoulder length between us. "I deserve to know this, since I have been brought here for death."
"This is.an evil place ruled by a demon. You're his sacrifice of power," the truth of it cut deeper than knives to my heart, and I felt true pain in my soul, the first time in four hundred years.
"Oh," Sada whispered. She stared at me intently. She looked around the room for a moment, and then faced me again, a sorrowful look in her eyes. It broke what was left of my heart. "Oh, he was the one," I choked as she spoke those words. "For four hundred years, you've served a demon who deems me worthy of blood sacrifice, believing me dead."