Chapter 16: "An Angel of Mercy"

I pulled the dagger out from his chest the moment the life left his eyes. Relieved by what I had at last accomplished, I had kept my promise to the spirit of my mother, and the whole of me just felt a bit more… free. A large weight had been lifted from off of my shoulders, and then I nearly gagged, as I stood up in disgust. His blood was now pooling at my feet; the sticky substance which stunk of iron staining my flesh that unmistakable color. "Bye," I murmured, releasing the dagger, and allowing it to fall to the floor once again. It was over-- or at least, part of it was. It really didn't matter though-- I had done it, at least. Travis Smith-- or whatever his true name had been was now dead. No more. A memory. The truth had been revealed; I now knew his parentage, and I knew what he had truly been. Carla was avenged as well. Two birds with one stone-- I could only hope that she would find it in her soul to forgive me. A split second later, I focused on the injuries I had sustained from the rough battle; I felt the large empty gap between my teeth in my bloody mouth with my tongue-- there was some heavy bleeding. I realized I could even smell the shit-- it was then that I remembered that he'd been able to break my nose, and blood was continuing to gush out in a nauseating fashion. I winced in pain, and then fell to the ground, as I remembered the throbbing pain in my ankle-- searing pain. How did I have so much energy to fight him not even thirty seconds ago? I wondered, and then an answer came, as the amulet flashed dully white once again, and then became dull and glassy as it had been before; What spell is upon this stone? I wondered, gently fingering it, just as I realized it had been sprayed with blood as well. I was unsure if the particular stain had come from me or Travis. And not possessing the necessary equipment to analyze the blood, I dropped the thought; Does it really matter if there's some spell? It saved your life, whatever it was.

I allowed the amulet fall back to the nape of my neck, and began to wonder whether or not I could be saved, or if Elaine could be watching over me this very instant, as she had said she would always be. It was a long shot but worth a try, "Elaine," I whispered, "I can't walk. Please do something. Help me," I spat out another mouthful of blood, and stared at it in disgust for a moment before continuing, "Please, I need you now more than ever, fairy godmother," and before I had the chance to finish my plea, there she was. Her shimmering, transparent form was an angel of mercy beside me, "Help," I murmured, my eyes closing despite my lack of tiredness-- despite the fact that I was eager to strike up a conversation on the day's happenings, I lost control, "Ankle--" and before I had finished my sentence, the lullaby of Elaine's spell caused me to drift off into a peaceful sleep.

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"Wake, Beatrice," a voice was now whispering through the darkness, penetrating my thoughts, and dragging me away from the mystical dream world to which I been confined to since drifting off-- my lips formed a slight smile, and my eyes gently opened to find Elaine staring down at me, "Where am I?" I murmured.

She did not answer, "You must be hungry-- I forgot to send food along, sorry for the oversight."

I opened my mouth to contradict her, but then realized that although I hadn't thought of it, I was hungry, "How long has it been since Mars?"

"About a day."

"It seems like so much longer than that," I murmured, quietly.

"Here's some bread and cheese, and three or four oranges-- you like oranges, right?"

I nodded, as the aforementioned foods materialized out of thin air, and tied themselves up in a neat knapsack, "There's some wine in there too-- do you drink?"

"Not really, but I'll overlook it. I won't be stumbling around after two bottles of champagne like Jacqueline after she married my father-- I'm no drunk."

"Sorry for all the haste, dear, but get up. You are not safe in this place-- neither am I."

"But Travis is dead," I whispered gesturing towards his lifeless, blood spattered form, "I killed him," I couldn't help but smile at the thought of having been able to kill my mother's slayer with such relative ease.

"I know that, but there are infinitely more to be found here."

I nodded. It seemed so unfair; right after I killed one of the bastards, more were on their way to do me in… Couldn't they leave me the hell alone for five seconds? It was stressful enough without them chasing after them, and I was far too lazy to be on my way once again, "Please--"

"Stand," she whispered, almost finishing my own sentence for me.

I shook my head, "But I can't," I replied, gesturing towards my ankle.

She smiled, "That was something very easily remedied. Stand, my child."

I nodded, realizing that the pain in my ankle was now gone, as was the gap between my teeth where two new teeth had magically grown. The bridge of my nose was straight, and all the blood had been siphoned away.

I stood.

"Thank you," I murmured somewhat lamely; unsure what else to say in return for such a magnitude of helpfulness.

She nodded, handing me the knapsack of items, "You must leave now."

I shook my head stubborn as a mule, "But, Elaine. The lady-- and the voice. You can't just send me off without telling me the--"

"I know that you have many questions right now to be answered, but there is not enough time."

"There never is," I hissed, exasperatedly, "Furthermore, Elaine--"

"Now, Beatrice! Get out of here before they swarm. Do you not know a thing about their world? His death will come as quite a blow for them. Run, Beatrice. Get out while you can."

Deciding it best to ask questions later rather than now, I turned my back to Elaine, and began running as fast as I could.

I exited the cave and found myself in the midst of a barren wasteland; a dying red sun cast its dark shadow over a world deprived of both life and beauty, and there were other caves-- I stared around me, frightened. The shaska, I realized, but there was not enough time to think. A door had suddenly appeared, and without a single ounce of hesitation, I wrenched it open, and jumped inside-- I was falling… falling fast; I wondered if when I would at last land, my bones would break upon impact.

I ended up worrying over nothing.

I landed, but something soft broke my fall. It was obviously twilight, as the sky was both purple and dotted with small distant yellow stars. I stood up, and realized I had landed on a small pile of sand-- A desert, I thought, half frightened, Why am I here? I wondered, as a heavy gust of wind blew the pile of sand away from me. I blinked the small grains of sand out of my watery eyes; how I despised these damn places.

"Hello?" I called out, unsure as to whether or not I had been sent to the past or present this time around, "Is anyone here?"

No answer.

Damn. This was another one of those "watch and see" places. I hated that…

My stomach growled. Ignoring it, I decided to try again. "Hello?" I repeated.

I hastily peeled an orange, and shoved some in my mouth. To my disdain, I found a seed or two and spat them out before swallowing. The orange was juicy and delicious nonetheless; I swallowed, and peeled a second as I began to walk. Having my fill of oranges, I tore off a chunk of bread and some cheese and chewed slowly, processing the atmosphere of the place. I uncorked the bottle of wine, and feeling a bit dyke-ish, drank deeply directly from the bottle, and then nearly vomited. Other than a stolen sip of champagne at a wedding long ago, I had never cared for the taste of alcohol. My shoulders shook in disgust, and I dumped the bottle out entirely in favor of another bite of bread.

My stomach altogether nourished, I tied the remaining foods in the handkerchief, and held it. I had realized that I could hear a voice-- a voice I had instantly recognized. I uttered the name, and then when zero answer came, I decided to go to him since he would not come to me.

I followed the sound of his voice until I hat at last found him-- a rather tall man crouched down low with his back facing me, "Hello," I whispered, "can you help me?"

No answer.

I frowned. This was obviously the past. I walked in front of the man to get a better look at his face. I gasped. My first vague suspicions had indeed been correct. My father, "Dad?" I murmured, frightened; looking closer at his face, and reaching out to touch it. But, my hand passed directly through it as if it were mere vapor. "Dad," I repeated, no longer a question; a statement-- a demand. A word that sounded so alien and new to me from its disuse. And somehow, he was now changed-- this was not the man who had taken me for long walks along the beach when I had been a child-- he was younger. He was not the father I had known. What had happened to him? His face was so different-- sadder; the eyes that had shown before with love and understanding were dull and glassy, the once clean-shaven face I had admired was now covered with stubble-- a beard was forming. Suddenly putting two and two together, I realized where I now was. Iraq-- so this was how my father had wound up during his "disappearance," but how had he returned home?

He looked mad-- insane; as I had looked when I had been lost in the forest, and trapped within the oasis. Maybe the madness was something that ran in the family; I chuckled, and gasped at his unkempt hair; wild and ferocious in appearance. I bit my lip to stop myself from crying at the sight of my him; as with my mother, it had been such a very long time since I had actually been able to see him, "How did this happen?" I asked, out loud.

And a sound came. A movement not too far off from my father and me. He paid no attention to it-- almost as if he did not want to hear anything-- as if he was trying to drown out the rest of the world. I couldn't blame him; knowing what had befallen my mother in the other memory, a shaska was very likely to be lurking in the shadows-- was that how the two memories were connected? Had Jacqueline entered my father's life before I was old enough to remember, just like my mother…? It couldn't be. My heart began to race as a voice came; its words were eerily cold, and yet strangely calming, "James…" it whispered. I whipped around to find who had spoken, but found no one-- quite predictable, and yet I could almost recognize the voice. I had heard it spoken once-- no twice before. The woman in the dream… The strange nameless woman whose identity remained anonymous. Was she the strange presence? It-- she continued to speak directly to the man who was now cowering in the shadows, "Stand… Joanna is waiting…"

And she stepped out from nowhere. I gasped at the sight of her although I had seen her once before. I now understood that it had been she who had sent me to the memory of Mars's destruction. She was so absolutely beautiful-- even more beautiful in person, if you could call it that. She smiled at my father as he attempted to further himself into the shadows; he remained silent-- almost as if he had been too traumatized by whatever he had encountered within the desert between then and now to speak. "Do not be afraid of me…" she whispered, "I will not hurt you… Stand…"

He obeyed. She ventured towards him, and began to stroke his hair gently; I stared at the beautiful nameless entity of a woman as she comforted my father. How could someone be so beautiful and pure? Her long dark hair was pulled back, and done up in a tight bun on the top of her head, while her deep blue eyes were twinkling-- even in the dismal darkness of night; my father's fright lessened, and I focused my gaze more intently upon the pair-- the mortal and the immortal-- the man and the faerie, for this was what she surely was. That was evident, "Take my hand…" she whispered, and she held out a pale hand for my father to take. Without anymore hesitation, he gently took the hand, and their forms faded away, leaving me alone, wondering about what had just conspired here. I stared around me at the now empty world… These two glimpses into the past-- that of my mother's near miscarriage and my father's rescue-- what had they meant? What had happened to my mother? And who was the woman who saved him from that death worse than many-- I had seen her before, and yet I still did not know a thing about her other than she was strangely gorgeous, and obviously a faerie or immortal being of some sort.

I stared around me, unnerved by everything; this memory was over obviously; otherwise I would have gone with my father and the strange woman back to New York-- or wherever they had gone after having left the desert. The worst was over; nothing major had occurred between my father's leaving the desert, and his safe return to the mortal world of earth. Obviously, there was no relevance in the desert anymore.

But it made no sense of any kind. I needed answers-- and quickly, "Elaine!" I called out into the darkness, but there came no answer-- expected of Elaine, of course, but nonetheless annoying, "Elaine!" I screamed again, but there was no response.

Instead, a door appeared, and without a choice, I opened it, and jumped inside.