Chapter 19

For a while, Bo did nothing but gaping at the woman in front of her.

"No…this can't be…" she muttered while wondering if she should be thrilled, or scared to see her mother right now.

"This can not be real. You can't be…how? How could this even be possible?"

The woman tilted her head a little while holding Bo's gaze. Her brown eyes flickered softly.

There was a heaviness in her eyes. It was something that was both tender and solemn.

Suddenly Bo couldn't breathe. She could swear that she had seen that look before, long before….

"I could be real," said the woman softly.

Bo almost immediately shook her head. "No…" she murmured. "They all said that-they all told me that you were dead. You died right before…right before you sent me away. My father, Valefar, Bilith…they all said that."

"You are sure that I'm dead because you were told so?"

Bo nodded absentmindedly. She kept altering her gaze back and forth between her mother's face and the blue lotus flowers that she was holding.

Those flowers look too fresh (and too perfect) to be true. She could even smell them.

The woman smiled and shook her head gently. "No, Bo. You knew that long before anyone had ever told you about me."

"What?"

"You knew I was dead, Ysabeau. You knew before you had heard it from anyone else."

Bo frowned. "I did…?"

"You were there, Bo," the woman whispered. "You were there, weren't you?"

Those words…they hit her like the angry waves of the stormy ocean. They pounded against her chest. They hammered her eardrums. They crashed into her soul, repeatedly, until scorching flames suddenly engulfed her.

With her head spinning and her breath short, she closed her eyes momentarily. When she opened them again, she was no longer in that small dark crypt.

Underneath the burning sky she stood, choking in the smoldering heat. The air was thick of sulfur.

Dazed, she stared into the darkness afar while coughing.

Coming from everywhere were screams and cries. The heat was too intense, and the smell of blood, death and despair was too heavy.

She struggled to breathe, groaning while rubbing her sore eyes.

Why are my hands so small? That thought struck her as she took a good look at her eye-rubbing hands. They weren't her hands. They were the hands of a young child.

"Mmmm…" she groaned.

That is not my voice. Bo told herself.

It was then that she noticed something bizarre. She felt a second presence inside her mind. There existed not one, but two individual minds, one of which was panicking in fear, while the other was simply confused and exhausted.

The second mind…it seemed to be connected to that voice and those small hands….

Bo wanted to look at those hands again, just to make sure that she wasn't hallucinating, but no matter what she did, she couldn't move those hands. She couldn't even move her eyes. In fact, it was nearly impossible for her to deal with all those strange thoughts and emotions that kept overwhelming her own.

In fear, she realized that she didn't have a second mind inside her. She was the second mind. She was the alien inside someone's mind, a young child's mind.

"Ysabeau, shhhh…" someone shushed her with a soft voice.

I know that voice. Bo thought.

She raised her head a little - or rather, that child raised her head.

Entering her vision was Bo's mother's face, the same face that she had just seen in the crypt of Dark Temple, the same beautiful face that she had seen many times in her deepest dreams, dreams which she'd forget the moment she woke up….

Right now, that face was only maybe six inches away from hers. It was streaked in blood and dirt, yet her mother still managed to give her a comforting smile.

"Where are we going?" The child asked curiously.

"To somewhere safe."

"Where is Val? Is he with us?"

Val? Is she asking about Valefar? Bo wondered.

Bo's mother stroked the child's face gently. "No, sweetie, Val had to…go somewhere."

Instead of explaining further, she burst into coughs as she cradled the child's body tightly to her chest.

Bo could hear her violent heartbeat, right beside her ear.

The child clutched the collar of her dress. "Are you alright, mommy?"

Hearing that word, Bo's mind was wiped blank for a brief moment. It was until then that she finally understood that this child was in fact herself.

This wasn't another vision. This was a distant memory of her own. It must be the last moments she had with her mother before she died.

"I'm alright, Bo." Aife gave her a reassuring smile. "It's all going to be alright."

"Okay," Bo nodded. She was too young to understand what exactly was going on, and too tired to stay awake. After all, her mother, the person that she trusted wholeheartedly, had just told her that everything was going to be alright. Why would she worry about anything?

No, no, don't close your eyes! Don't fall asleep! Bo screamed at herself.

However, she had absolutely no control of what the child would do or feel. Her younger self was completely worn out. Slowly, she closed her eyes.

"It's all going to be alright, my Ysabeau…" her mother whispered as she gave her a light kiss on her cheek.

As the younger Bo fell asleep, all Bo could see and hear were her vivid dreams. It was the most eye-opening and awkward thing that she had ever experienced. Then, even the dreams disappeared. There was nothing left but a dark void.

Bo didn't know how long she had waited for her younger self to wake up. When the little girl finally did wake up, Bo felt the very thing that awakened the girl: a spine chilling fear.

Almost immediately, Aife tightened her arms. She held her so tightly to her chest and the little girl groaned.

But, Aife didn't loosen her grip, not even a little bit.

As the little girl's eyes fluttered open, Bo saw something.

From the flames, from the shadows, from everything that was falling and collapsing, there emerged a figure.

At first, Bo couldn't see that person's face. She could only feel the terror, and that wasn't even her own feeling. That fear belonged to her younger self.

"There you are," that person - a man - said softly as he approached them. In that voice, there was a cold, careless cruelty.

He stopped, keeping a 3 feet distance between him and Bo's mother. "Aife…" he clicked his tongue and shook his head. "I was looking for you everywhere."

I know that voice. Bo thought.

Indeed, she knew that voice. In particular, she knew that cold, careless cruelty that was often buried underneath a certain charisma, under an enormous arrogance.

She had heard that voice before, many times. There was just something in it - no matter how gentle or caring it had disguised itself - that creeped her out.

And now, she knew why that voice would frighten her. She knew whom that voice belonged to.

It was her father.

It was that handsome man who showed up at her doorstep, introducing himself with a perfect smile and sparkling eyes. It was that man whom she had resided with, spent time with, and ran errands for. It was that man whose eyes would get foggy whenever he talked about her mother, his late wife.

The same man who stood in front of his injured wife looking at her like a helpless prey.

He reached his right hand out. "Give it to me," he demanded firmly.

"No," Aife refused. Slowly, she stepped back a little. With her left arm holding Bo as close to her chest as she could, she reached her right arm out and opened her hand.

She chanted a spell, and an invisible force knocked the man back, sending him into stumbles.

He laughed as if he found it funny while combing his hair.

"Oh, Aife, we've tried this. You can't kill me," the man said. "Just give me that device."

He approached them again. Aife tried to get away from him but she was too weak to move. The man leaned in, with the reflection of the burning sky crumbling in his eyes.

"Give me that ring. I promise that I'll let the little one live."

Aife huffed out a sneer. "You can't use the ring without-"

"That's exactly why I'll let her live. Just give it to me!" The man yelled in rage. Even the blaze surrounding him quivered in fear.

"You'll never have it!" Aife bit out. She straightened her body and raised her right arm again, chanting in a language that Bo didn't understand.

A blinding ray of light burst out from her palm, repelling everything around them, including the furious man.

Through the ray, there born a large black raven, a crimson red salamander and a pale horse.

"Mommy, look, a horse…" the little girl uttered as she gaped at the horse. The horse stared right back at her with his feisty eyes.

Aife threw her onto the back of the horse. "Go!" She urged.

The horse dashed out like an arrow, leaping over the scorching flames that were chasing after him. It leaped into the dark unknown, leaving everything behind.

"Mommy!" Bo yelled as she turned her head. Vaguely, she saw the raven flying away. The salamander slithered and disappeared as well.

She could still hear her father's frustrated growl. The flames around him roared and Aife collapsed into the fire.

No! No! Take me back! Don't make me leave her! No! Please! Take me back to her! Bo screamed, begged and cried

There was nothing she could do to change that. It wasn't real. It was an old memory and she was simply reliving it.

She grabbed the horse's mane like her life depended on it. The horse took her through time, through space, through life and death, until darkness finally consumed both of them.

"No!" A loud scream burst out of Bo. It burst out from the bottom of her soul.

She jolted, throwing her legs and arms out while gasping in pain. Wake up! Wake up!

As she finally calmed down and opened her eyes, she found herself back in the crypt again.

"My father…it was him! It was him who…killed you! I was there! I saw it!" Bo shouted, panting.

Aife sighed and shook her head. "No, he didn't."

"But, he was right there! I saw you-"

"It wasn't him."

"Then…how did you die?"

"The last spell I casted, it required a sacrifice. At that time, I was the only sacrifice available. It took everything I had left."

"You mean…the spell that sent me away? Why did you send me away? Why? You could have lived."

Aife let out a bitter smile as she shook her head. "No, Bo, it was either a quick death for me, or endless torture for both of us. I escaped his imprisonment so I could get to you before he did. Had I not sent you away, he could have held both of us captive."

"Just so he could have the device?" Bo murmured as she looked down at her ring finger. The decoder ring sparkled faintly. "If…if this device is really that powerful. If it could alter life and death, why haven't you…why haven't you killed him instead?"

"Because I couldn't find the right spell."

"The right spell?" Bo frowned hard.

"You see, Ysabeau, to kill something, anything, you would have to destroy the indestructible. For humans, you would have to destroy their soul. For Demons, it would be the Demon core. For Angels, it would be their Angel's grace. For monsters, it would be the beast inside them. For everything and everyone, there was an essence, something you can not exist without. The destruction of each essence requires a specific spell, and I couldn't-"

She paused briefly and sighed. "Your father…I couldn't figure out what he really was."

The hair on the back of Bo's neck stood. "What do you mean?"

"I mean literally that. He did not have a soul. He is neither a Demon nor an Angel. I researched. I tried. I really tried…but with the war, and you, and the probing eyes of his minions…I just…. By the time I finally had an idea, there was no time left for me. If…if I was wrong, everything would fall into his hands. I can not let that happen."

"That was why…you broke the ring and sent them away."

Aife nodded. "I couldn't let him have it. I couldn't let him have you. I just couldn't. I did what I had to."

"Mom…" Bo murmured. As that word left her, her tears poured out. She started to sob, for all the betrayal and lies, for the death she had just witnessed, for trusting someone that she shouldn't, for everything that had wronged her and her mother.

"Mom…tell me. Tell me what he is…I have the ring now. I can end him."

Aife didn't answer her. Instead, she lowered her head and took a whiff of the lotus flowers.

"Mom!" Bo begged. "Tell me!"

Still, Aife didn't reply. With her nose buried in the lotus flowers, she gazed into Bo's eyes and gave her a comforting smile.

"Mom!"

This time, Aife opened her lips, but Bo couldn't hear a word she said. Her image, and everything around Bo, started to become blurry. It was as if Bo was being ripped out from the scene.

Bo struggled, crying, kicking and throwing punches, but slowly everything around her disappeared.

The last thing she remembered was Aife standing there, with the blue flowers in her hand. Instead of looking at her, Aife was intently staring at the corner of the crypt.

"...Bo! Bo! Can you hear me? Bo, wake up!"

Hearing that voice, Bo's eyes shot wide open as she gasped sharply.

"Mom?" She muttered, trying to catch her breath.

"Mom…?" Tamsin's voice was full of teasing, yet at the same time, heavy with concerns.

Bo coughed as she struggled to find Tamsin. The Angel was kneeling right beside her holding one of her hands in hers.

Bo let out a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment, as she pulled herself close to Tamsin for comfort.

"I thought you were gone," Tamsin told her while squeezing her hand. "It was like the Ghost Chapel all over again. You entered the crypt and then you just…passed out."

"I'm alright," Bo said. "I think…I think I might have entered the Ghost Crypt."

"What do you mean?"

"It's like…the Dark Temple has a Ghost Chapel. The crypt has a Ghost Crypt too. I…I met my mom and I saw things."

"What kind of things?"

"My memories. I was with her when she died. My father was there too."

"Did he…?"

Bo shook her head. "No…he didn't. I'm sure he wanted to, though. He demanded that she hand her the decoder ring, but she refused. Then, she casted a spell to send me, and the ring away. That spell…killed her."

She swallowed hard, for there was a painful lump in her throat. "She…sacrificed herself to protect me."

Tamsin sighed and held her tightly. "So this mother of yours that you met…she was just a piece of memory?"

"No…I mean, I don't know for sure. I…a part of it was definitely my memory, but…the one that I met in the Ghost Crypt…she talked to me, like…we had a real conversation, but…how could it be real?"

"Maybe it was just a vision, or even a piece of your own consciousness?"

Bo sighed. "I don't know. I asked her why she didn't use the spells from the Book of the Dead to kill my father when she had the chance."

"What did she say?"

"She said she didn't know what he was."

"You mean she didn't know what kind of person he was at first?"

"No," Bo shook her head. Then, she explained to Tamsin how a specific spell was required for killing her father, and how her mother didn't have time to figure that out.

Too surprised, Tamsin went quiet for a long time, before she eventually murmured, "well…at least now we know why she had to send you and the ring away….did she tell you anything else?"

"No…she just said that she had an idea of what he was but she just didn't have the time to confirm that."

"What was her idea then?"

"She didn't tell me. She just stood there sniffing her flowers."

"Like real flowers, or is that an euphemism of sex organ or something?"

Bo punched Tamsin in the shoulder playfully. "Real flowers. They were those blue water lilies in that river that connects Heaven and Hell ..."

She trailed off, as she recalled the last moment she had with her mother in the Ghost Crypt.

"What is it?" Tamsin frowned.

"She…she kept looking at that corner there…" Bo pointed at the far right corner of the crypt.

"Maybe that was her way of telling you something?"

"Yeah, like what…?" Bo murmured as she walked to that corner and examined it.

She pressed down on each and every block of stone on the wall. Then, she did the same to the floor paver. As she ran her fingers along the piece of stone at the very corner, she noticed some unusual grooves under her touch.

She scraped the dirt and grime off with her knife, revealing a small carving: the decoder ring symbol - two concentric circles with a pair of wings.

"Help me get this shit out," she demanded as she started to pry the edge of the stone with her knife.

With Tamsin's help, she successfully removed the stone. Underneath, there was a small chamber. In the chamber, she found a roll of papyrus.

She unrolled them. "Oh, it's…hieroglyph again…."

Tamsin scanned a few pages, before she concluded, "I think this is the entire Book of the Dead."

"It is?" Bo murmured as she examined a few sheets. She stopped when she noticed that after maybe ten papyrus, the style of the writing suddenly changed.

"Are these…the Book of the Dead as well?"

"Let me see…" Tamsin took the papyrus and examined them. Then, she flipped forward. "I don't think these belong to the Book of the Dead. The Book of the Dead ends-"

She handed Bo all the pages with the same writing style and pointed at the last line on the last sheet. "Here, it says, I am the maker of my name. I'm pretty sure that this is the last line of the Book of the Dead."

"Then…what are those?"

"I…I think they are…I think this is a different writing system. Damn what is it called? Hio-hie-shit, I can't remember the exact name. It's basically like…it's like the cursive version of the hieroglyphs."

"Great, now we have the cursive version. What does it say? Can you read it?"

"No, I can't. I don't think anyone can. People who knew how to read and write these died long before those who knew how to read and write the hieroglyphs. But-"

"But what?"

"You have the decoder ring, don't you?"

"You think this ring can also decode…these?"

"Doesn't hurt to try, does it?" Tamsin shrugged.

"Yeah, of course, it's just that…I don't know how to use this ring to translate things. Do I just…wish it?"

Tamsin sighed and placed her hand on her forehead in defeat. "Ummm…I have no fucking idea. Well, usually, I think, with a decoder ring, you will have to slide and turn the rings-"

"Okay…" Bo slowly turned the outer ring. "How far should I turn?"

"Until certain symbols align but who knows what this ring-"

Tamsin stopped abruptly, almost biting her own tongue when she saw a sudden burst of light coming from Bo's ring.

Slowly, Bo raised into the air, floating, spinning.

"Bo!" Tamsin yelled.

"I'm…okay, Tamsin…" Bo answered her, with an unusually relaxed voice and glowing eyes. "I'm fine….I'm just…seeing things…a lot of things…."

A/N: Sorry for the long wait! As you all can see, this fic is very near its ending. I expect to have 2, maybe 3 more chapters for this fic. After this fic I plan to spend some time write a Sentinel/Guide Valkubus fic. Thanks for reading!