AN: Thank you to ljhjelm49, desireecarbenell and AudraLeeony for reviewing xx
ALL RIGHTS GO TO CHARLAINE HARRIS!
Chapter thirty-four
Ammy's POV
"Isaac, where are we going?" I demand as I trail along beside him, Alec next to me with his hand wrapped tightly around mine. All Isaac has done for the last twenty minutes is lead us around everywhere like we're some sort of show case. Everyone keeps gawking at us, but then again I haven't been here in a long time, plus I have a Were with me. But seriously, there is no need to stare at us; I'm only here for some help. I just want my life back to normal and out of danger.
"I'm taking you to Clarence, you know, the old geezer who used to tell us magical stories when we were younger?" he reminds me of said person, the image of the man appearing in my head.
"He's still alive?"
"More alive than any of us" I hear him mutter just as we take a right to come up to a rubble path, one that leads up to an old dusty mansion. Oh, now I remember him.
"Just let me do the talking" Isaac mumbles before whacking on the wooden door. I'm surprised it didn't crack or break with the amount of power Isaac was putting into what should have just been a simple knock on the door.
"What do you young whipper snappers want?" the elder man demands in a hoarse voice as the door flings open, his glare softening when he realises who is at his door.
"My, God, well, look who it is. Ammy, it has been so long. Isaac" his voice turns dark and cold when he mentions Isaac's name, causing Alec beside me to chuckle.
"Hello, Mr Lorie, I was hoping if I could enrol your help?" I query, figuring that we would have better luck if I talked to him instead of Isaac. After all, he does seem fonder of me.
"Of course, you come on in and who is this young gentleman with you?" Clarence eyes up mine and Alec's clasped hands with a small smile, almost as if he was pleased. How strange.
"This is my boyfriend, Alec" I introduce the two, both of them shaking hands before we make our way into the main room where there is a fire already going. Thank God, it seems to be absolutely freezing today.
"Now, Ammy, tell me what it is you would like help with"
"Isaac says that you would be able to help me get into the other world. The one Angels go to after they have died on this realm" I tell him, his head slowly nodding as he licks his lips.
"I can certainly help you there, but why do you need to go there?" he probes, his wise old eyes meeting mine for the very first time. Before he just looked at me, not actually at my eyes.
"I have a small problem. There is this woman, a shadow type woman called Delilah-"
"My Delilah? She died many a year ago, but I never thought she would turn into a shadow…" he trails off, hurt and sorrow filling his eyes.
"Your Delilah?" Alec probes, obviously as confused as I am.
"My daughter, she was killed many years ago by a woman protecting her child. I understood completely, I never blamed that woman, but nor have I ever met said woman. She was doing what was right by her child, even though it cost the life of my own child" he sighs, blatantly still heartbroken over the situation. So my mother killed his daughter.
"I'm sorry to hear that, Mr Lorie, but I really do need your help…" I trail off, hoping to bring him back on track.
"You do not understand the seriousness of this, child. It is one thing for an Angel to die and go to the other world, but it is an entirely different thing for an Angel to become a shadow" he shakes his head; his skin paling at whatever thought has entered his mind.
"What do you mean?" I ask, Isaac and Alec watching and listening to the conversation with complete enchantment.
"An Angel becomes a shadow when they get lost on the journey to the other world. My Delilah is trapped between worlds and she cannot find her way, her soul is tormented. She most likely believes that if she can have her revenge, she will be able to pass through into the other world. But it is not that easy" why does everything have to be so complicated?
"Please, do tell" I encourage, needing to know the rest now that he has caught my attention.
"A shadow can never enter the other world, but if you can travel to the midst of the dark land, the place between the worlds, you can kill the shadow and send her to a better life. She will not be able to live as a guardian, but instead she will be sent to heaven where she will be kept safe" oh, a Christian. Okay, fine. Whatever.
"How do I get to the dark land?"
"I will tell you if you can tell me one thing" he bargains.
"Anything"
"Why is she trying to have revenge against you?" now how do I go about this?
"My mother was the one to kill her. She didn't want me experimented on, I was one of the special five. They wanted me for testing, my mom didn't" I keep it short and sweet, Isaac looking at me with curiosity.
"I didn't know you were one of the special five" he announces, me flipping him off before I register what he has said.
"Wait, you already knew about the special five?" in response to my question Isaac nods his head with a look that could only be read as Duh!
"Stop talking right now, you are in danger here, Ammy, wanting to do this. You need to be careful if you go ahead and try to reach the dark land, make sure someone remains with your body while your soul is out and wandering. You need their voices to guide you back otherwise you, too, could become lost forever. Your soul stranded and confused, and your body in a permanent irreversible coma. Unless you can find your way back" once again, there goes the complications.
"Tell me, I need to know"
"You need to perform three acts of purity" he tells me, making me sigh. This sounds as though I'm about to do a magical trial to win a super prize, but, no, I have to do a trial to get myself into some fucked up world so that I can rid myself of that woman and protect myself from her.
"What are the three acts?" Alec probes, beating me to the punch line.
"You are not old enough to perform two of them" Mr Lorie informs me, making me roll my eyes.
"I'm sure I can find a way, my life is in danger, I think I'm okay to break a few laws" I reason, Mr Lorie taking that in before he takes a deep breath.
"I know someone who can help you break said laws. But I shall not phone him until you are certain you want to perform the acts"
"Please tell me what they are, Mr Lorie" I look over to the clock, already working out that my family's plane will land very soon, meaning that they will be close to arriving home. They will try to phone me the second they land, and I do not get a very clear signal in this world. The only reason I managed to get hold of Isaac was because he was at his home, the one of in our world. The world that I grew up in.
"The first act of purity is to be able to walk across 10 metres of bubble wrap without popping any of the bubbles" I will admit that I was close to laughing with that one.
"The second act you must do is marry for love" oh, now that one may be a problem.
"Umm" I stall, trying to conjure up some sort of response to that that isn't stuttering.
"You can marry who you please, as long as it is for love" Clarence clarifies, Alec tensing slightly beside me. This should be fun, but how the heck am I supposed to get married? It's against the law until I'm like 18.
"I know of a man who will perform your marriage, but you shall have to marry in this world. The age for legal marriage here is 16, plus it gives you more brownie points on your purity scale" I take a deep breath, trying to think this through. I dread to think what the last one is…
"What's the third act of purity" I whisper, wanting to get this over and done with as soon as possible so that I can have some time to think all of this through.
"Now this one is a little more complicated, especially due to your age…" he trails off, building up the suspense in not only me, but in Alec, and even Isaac, as well.
AN: Sorry to be a tease, but what do you think the last act of purity is going to be? Would love to hear your thoughts :D xx