Chapter 27
Be my
illusion and I'll
Be your distraction
I'll take you on
I'll
take you on - Howie Day "I'll Take You On"
Harper once showed me this holovid, told me on Earth it would be called a "horror movie," where the young heroin was walking down a dark, forboding corridor. The only sound heard was the clicking of her shoes. She was looking for someone, someone she'd lost, when suddenly the monster pounced on her from the darkest corner of the corridor. Well, I feel like that heroin right now, only I wasn't screaming Harper's name. Harper never could figure out why the girls did that. He'd say, while swinging his arms about, that it was like plastering a huge flashing "Hey, I'm monster chow!" sign on their rather well endowed chests. I'd give him one of my "Now was that never nice to say" looks and he'd run towards me, imitating the monster. I'd give a overly girlish scream, pretending to be scared, then he'd pounce me, tickling my sides.
No matter the warm and fuzzy feelings coming from the memory, I truly do feel like one of those girls. The corridor that I'm walking down is only lit by a few candles scarcely placed throughout it. The only sounds I can hear are my boots hitting the hard stone beneath me and, right now, I feel like the monster's about to jump out and eat me.
I'm still bewildered as to how the hooded person has vanished yet again. So far there are no other exits, save whatever's at the end of this eerie corridor. A chill passes over me and I shiver. This is enough to make me quicken my pace. Before I know it, I've reached the end of the corridor and now I'm faced with something I truly didn't expect: a solid stone wall.
"You've got to be kidding me," I whisper in disbelief to myself.
The wall does, however, have three images on it: a sword, a heart, and an infinity symbol. Above these three pictures there's writing etched into the stone. I'm not all too shocked to see it's in my people's language. Besides the picture and the words the wall is blank. I raise my flashlight and read:
Something lost
waiting to be regained.
In the here but in there forever they
remained.
Beyond the darkness they await.
For the melody of
light to unlock the gate.
Infinity, heart, sword will be
awaken;
But choose wisely 'fore if you are mistaken
That's where it ended. The final lines had worn away with time. I read and re-read the passage, still it doesn't make sense. The wall was solid, the images are merely painted on. I look around, there's no other way around this wall.
"What? What happens if I'm mistaken...I don't understand! What am I supposed to do?" I say aloud.
"Well, it looks to me to be a riddle."
My breath catches in my throat. "Seamus?" I question as I spin around and confirm my speculation. There he stands, arms crossed, staring up at the wall. For a brief moment forgetting what the outcome will be, I rush him, arms outstretched. I pass completely through him. He turns and grins at me.
"Woah, babe! No one's ever done that to me before!"
Pure Harper, cracking jokes at a time like this. "Harper? How are you here?"
He shrugs and I find it almost oddly amusing to see a ghost shrug. "Well, my golden goddess, that is the million throne question. Now I'm not going to kid you, it felt like I was being pulled apart from all sides." He's wearing a mask of cheerfulness, a half grin emerging from his lips.
My eyes glisten as tears begin to well. "You were in so much pain when you left me...I thought you'd left for good."
His cheerful mask shatters as one of worry appears. He closes the distance between us and hovers his ghostly hand just over my cheek. He looks in my eyes and gives me a warming smile, "Never, Trance."
The skin under his shimmering hand tingles and I smile for a moment. I'd give anything to actually be able to feel him again.
He lowers his hand and continues, "I can't explain it, everything hurt. One minute you were fading, I mean all I could see was darkness, and then the next minute it was like I was being pulled forward and I find myself here. I saw you there staring at the wall and I didn't want to interrupt so I just started reading too."
That catches me off guard. "What do you mean you were reading? You can read what's on that wall, you can understand it?"
He nods, "Yeah, babe, I can read it fine, now the understanding part, I'm still working on that. Anyway, why shouldn't I be able to read it, it's not like it's in some kind of foreign language or something."
"Actually, Harper, it is in some kind of foreign language. It's in my people's language. You shouldn't be able to read it it."
He walks forward, clipping me as the walks past. For a moment my entire body feels like it's made of ice. It's definitely a new feeling. Harper stops a few feet in front of the wall.
"Well, Trance-babe, when I look at it I can read it as easily as the warning on a Sparky Cola can. So, if it is in your language, how can I read it?"
"I guess it appears in the language of the person trying to read it. This might be to our advantage. After you disappeared, I had a vision-"
"But the Council took away your powers."
"That's what's so unique about this particular vision. It wasn't one of my little glimpses into a possible future or a memory of a past timeline. This was something all together new. It showed me you, then this planet, and finally this temple."
"I was in your vision, huh? Am I in them a lot?" He says with a wiggle of this eyebrows.
"If you must know, yes-" I stop. Harper's grin broadens into smile. I shake my head, I'm becoming distracted, which happens to me a lot when harer smiles like that...I swear it's his dimples...and they way his eyes sparkle...they're entrancing. There I go, I'm getting off track again. I place a hand over my eyes and turn away from him. Come on Trance! Eyes off his dimples...and those goregous eyes...stop...get back to what's most important right now! I tell myself sternly.
I press my lips together for a moment as I gather my composure once more. "Harper this is not the time to be flirting. We've got to focus on the task at hand." I look back to him and his smile has faded, having been replaced by his "Aye, aye captain" face. I smile for a moment and continue, "If my instincts are correct this might be my way of getting you back. You may not know where you are, and neither do I, but I have a feeling whatever is behind this wall will get you out of there."
"What? You believe I'm in some kind of Purgatory?"
I walk to him until I'm besde him. "Seamus, you died in my arms...because of me. I've got to believe that your coming back like this and then my vision signs indicating that there's still a way to get you back. So if you're in this Purgatory, whatever that is, then I mean to get you out of it."
"I think I like that plan, but Trance you might want to hurry, I feel a slight tugging again. It's not strong, but it could be soon and I'm not sure if I can come back again.
"Harper, please don't think that. I need you with me." I say as I come to face him.
"I know Trance, just like how I need you with me right now, but I don't know what brought me back the first time, hell even this second time, because I'm not controling it. So if this riddle is the answer then we need to get to solving it."
"But I don't understand it and the last part is gone."
"Then we're going to have to work with what we've got. So, we've got three pictures and a riddle. The pictures are part of the riddle."
"It says they will be "awaken." We can only choose one I assume, but why are we chosing them?"
Harper gets closer to the wall and starts inspecting the pictures. "My guess is that one of these pics will open the wall," Harper says in an almost playful smart alec tone.
I get beside him and cross my arms, "Well, Harper I figured that much out for myself. I meant why are we choosing them? What do they represent?"
Harper just shakes his head. He's as clueless as I am. I reread the riddle, it sounds familiar, especially the first few lines. My eyes go wide as it dawns on me. It's like the jade woman's prophecy!
"That's it! I understand it now. It's asking for us to choose the reason behind opening the wall and regaining what was lost. It's giving us three options. The sword represents revenge, the infinity represents power-"
"And the heart represents love! That's it Trance! You choose one if it's right the wall will open but if you choose wrong..." he lets the statement dangle because we both know what will happen if I choose wrong. If I choose wrong, Harper will be gone forever and I'll have lost my only hope of getting him back.
"How am I supposed to know what's wrong or right? I mean what I think right could very well be the wrong choice. I can't...you can't afford for me to choose incorrectly."
"Well, you choose, touch the picture and we'll go from there, Trance. It's all we've got. Whatever happens, babe, I don't blame you, so don't ever feel guilty for whatever happens to me. Now let's get on with this show."
I nod. I already know my reason for opening the wall. I reach out and touch the heart, closing my eyes, awaiting the result. To my saddened surprise, nothing at all happens. "I don't understand. I made my choice, if it were wrong, something should have happened."
Harper stands beside me, rubbing his middle, a look of discomfort on his face. "Trance, the tugging is becoming a little harder to ignore."
I look at him. He's starting to flicker. "No," I whisper. I press harder on the picture. I frantically beat it with my fist for a few seconds, still nothing happens but then an idea pops into my head. "Wait, maybe we both have to do it."
"Trance, that can't be it. I mean, I can't touch anything. I'll go right through it if I try."
"Harper, please, it's worth a try. I'll put my hand on it and then you put yours over mine. I mean if the riddle refers to my situation. You're my something lost. So maybe you've got to be part of the regaining process, even if you are a ghost."
Harper shakes his head, "I knew there was a reason I didn't like riddles. Well, after you, my golden goddess."
"Here goes," I say as I place my hand once more over the heart. Then Harper raises his still flickering hand and places it over mine. His hand sinks through my own. Still the wall makes no effort of opening. Harper looks at me, disappointment in his eyes.
"Trance, I don't think it wor-AH!" Harper pulls back, his arms wrapping around his middle. It's happening again, he's fading. He falls to his knees and I fall to mine in front of him, ignoring the pain coming from my now skinned knees.
"Harper! Fight it! Stay with me, please!" I beg. It's not working so I try again, "Harper, look at me!' His head stays down. "Harper! Look at me now!" His head raises, his eyes meeting mine. "Focus on me and only me."
"Hurts," Harper says through gritted teeth.
I frown, "I know, Seamus, I know, but you've got to try. Focus on me. I need you to stay with me, ok. Come on, do it for me...do it for your golden goddess." He nods and clinches his eyes shut, head dropping once more. He raises his hands to his temples, forming fists as he concentrates. The flickering slows. "That's it Harper, keep doing whatever you're doing because it's working." Finally the flickering stops.
Harper's breathing hard now. "That...wasn't...fun." He looks at me with tired eyes. I'm losing him, I can tell. Everytime this happens, he weakens a little more. If it happens again...I fear that it might be the last time. He sees the worry in my eyes and gives me a weak smile.
"Ah, Trance that was nothing. Didn't hurt anymore than a hangover after one of Dylan's Common Wealth parties. Don't worry babe, I've got you to keep me grounded." His voice is so weak but he continues, "Wanna know what I thought about to keep me here. I thought about your eyes when you laugh at something I say even when we both know it's not that funny, I thought about your smile and I thought about our kiss. I thought about what it would feel like to have you in my arms again and Trance, that's enough to keep me going."
"I love you," I say with a smile. "I've wanted to tell you that since the day I came back. Back then I thought I'd changed too much to ever tell you, but I know that now I can. I love you so much, Seamus." I feel like saying it a hundred more times so he will know just how much I mean it.
He smiles and places his hand over my cheek again, "I love you too, babe, I love you too. No matter what happens, I want you to remember that. I've loved you since the first time I saw you. OK, so, yeah, it took me a little while to get used to the scar-uh, I mean the gold you, but all I needed to realize was that you were still my Purple Pixie, just...well, a different color." We both give a slight chuckle. Harper never was one for words when it came to his feelings. I smile at him, now hovering my hand over his cheek.
"Oh, Harper, what I would give to be able to touch you."
Suddenly the ground beneath us begins to rumble and Harper's eyes go wide. I turn around to see that the wall is beginning to move sideways. Within a few minutes it's completely moved aside revealing a massive inner chamber. We both stand and stare at the nearly formed opening. Without a word, we both start in. As we cross the entrance the chamber becomes illuminated by hundreds of candles.
"Well, that was interesting. Guess we chose right, huh?"
Before I get the chance to answer, another voice fills the air.
"Trance Gemini and Seamus Harper you have made your decision, now it's time to see if it was the correct one." This new voices comes from the center of the chamber. We look up to see the hooded figure standing arms crossed.
"The wall opened so I'm saying we did, and who are you to tell us otherwise," Harper says.
"How can you tell us anything," I question.
The figure chuckles bitterly, "Because I was once in your place and I chose incorrectly." The person pauses, raises his hands to the hood and throws it back to reveal the jade face of a woman. I gasp and the woman smiles. "Ah, I see that you recognize me. I assume Morrighan told of my encounter with her great-great grandfather. He was such a honorable man, I hated to see mortality claim him. You have come for the same reason I did all those years ago, but before I get to that, the look on your face tells me that you are confused as to my identity. I never told Patrick my name, therefore you do not truly know who I am. Well, Trance Gemini, you've heard of me because I am the reason you are here. The same goes for you Seamus Harper. My past sins are responsible for your separation. My forbidden love has caused the both of you undeserved heartache."
My eyes widden as I gasp, "Ska-rae!"
