章節 22: Twelve Years Later
1891
Adea looked all around at her surroundings as she rode slowly through the tranquil, springtime woods. It was amazing to her how little twelve years' time could change these mountains, yet her entire life had all but flipped upside-down and emerged into a whole new world. It had taken her almost a year to recover mentally from the shock of losing her entire family. Eran had since taken her into his family's home, and soon after she had taken her vows, the two were finally married.
Ever since that day there were blessed before the Spirits, Adea began the slow transition into a new life of peace. In a way, she felt as though one life had died and a new one had been born, but every Spring equinox, she would go back to her family's cottage to pay her respects to the graves of her parents and her sister. Eran often asked her if she would prefer to erase the last painful memories of Lyda, but Adea declined, proclaiming that the memories helped her to remember all that was good in her sister. The Darkness is gone from her, she would say as she scratched her eye.
Twelve years had passed to the day since she lost her sister to that profane ritual. Was it all worth it to Lyda? In her way, Adea sure hoped so. Ever since that first night when there were mere children, Lyda hungered for what she called true power, as if the power to control one's dreams was not dangerous enough. Adea learned that the hard way, and so did Lyda.
In moments, Adea's horse slowed its stride until it came to a halt on its own, and she knew that this was far enough. She dismounted her horse and gazed around at her surroundings, taking several deep breaths of fresh air. She turned back to the horse, where a young boy still sat upon the saddle.
"Why are we stopping here, Mother?" the boy asked as Adea helped him off.
"The horse will not go any further," she answered. Once he was on the ground, Adea knelt before him and looked into his eyes with a wide smile. "You look so much like your father."
The boy returned his mother's smile. "He says I have your eyes."
"At one time, but they're not as full of life as they once were." Adea lowered her head as if pondering what she wanted to say. "Do you remember what I told you before we left, Galen?"
Galen nodded his head. "Do everything you say and don't question it."
"That's right," Adea replied. She stood up and took her son's hand. "Don't worry. Everything will be alright."
She had only been to this place during the day once before, yet she only now began to appreciate just how beautiful it really was. It was quiet and peaceful, and Adea had all but forgotten the horrific memories that were burned into the depths of her mind.
Adea led her son through the obscure rhododendron maze, holding him close as the mysterious pressure surrounding this place began to envelop them. Once they had come out of the path and into the spring that Lyda always called the Crossing. Galen gasped as his eyes floated around the beautiful sight of the basin. It was the same reaction Adea had when she first laid eyes on it.
"Where are we?" Galen asked in mesmerization.
Not quite answering his question, Adea said, "My sister brought me here when I was your age. It holds a very unique place in my memory."
"How come you don't talk about Aunt Lyda?"
Adea gazed into the eyes of her son, running her hand gently through his hair. "Do exactly as I say, alright?"
Galen nodded as his mother guided him over to the spot where the two springs met and split the roots of the Twisted Oak. She knelt and dipped her cupped hands into the water, sipping as she had done many times before. She let out a gasp of satisfaction as the water tasted just as pure and refreshing as she remembered.
"Take a drink," Adea ushered the boy to sit beside her at the spring. "The water is amazing."
Doing as he was told without question, Galen scooped up a handful of water, losing much of it through his fingers. The cold water chilled him to the bone as it entered his mouth. He had never tasted anything like it before.
"Drink more," Adea pressed him. Galen obeyed and continued collecting the water until he felt the air around him go cold with a sudden gust of wind. Adea knew exactly where to look as the dark pathway appeared in the rock near the cliff overlooking the west. "Do you see that?" Adea said, pointing toward the narrow crevice.
Galen followed her direction. "What is it?"
Adea stood to her feet and took her son's hand. "Come on. I'll show you." As they neared the dark opening, Galen began to drag his feet as something about it unnerved him. Adea only gripped his hand tighter and pulled him along. "Don't be afraid," she said, kneeling before him again as she tried to calm him. "You must trust me."
"Yes, Mother," he uttered.
"Good," Adea nodded. "Now get yourself through." She pushed him toward the crevice. Galen only looked back at her as if he didn't understand what she wanted him to do. "Go," Adea repeated. "It's alright. I'll be right behind you."
With that, Galen climbed into the crevice, his mother's hand pushing him from behind. He was scared at first, constantly looking behind him to make sure his mother was still there. Eventually, the two emerged into the path surrounded by the stifling brush that led to the archaic ritual site. Adea grasped her son's hand and led him through the brush until they came upon the haunting memory.
Galen's skin crawled at the sight of the stones perched in the circle formations. Adea, however, stood there as still as a statue. "This place is just as I remember it," she muttered to herself.
Galen looked up at her with wide eyes of concern. "Mother?" he called quietly.
Adea's attention fell back on her son. As she stared into the eyes that had once belonged to her. In a matter of seconds that felt like years, Adea's senses went numb. She could barely feel the touch of her son's hand. Her thoughts began to get fuzzy as she stared blankly at the boy she whose face she slowly failed to recognize. Before she knew it, she was in a bubble that blotted out anything beyond this strange place. She could not envision the spring on the other side of the crevice from which they had come. She could not see the face of her best friend and husband, who had no knowledge of where she had gone with their child.
And the child…
Adea stared at him. His face had become completely unrecognizable to her eyes. Here she stood in the place that haunted her dreams for years, locked in a haze that cut off any worldly feeling in her body and spirit. "So this is how you felt," she muttered under her breath. The boy beside her opened his mouth to speak but Adea could not hear any words come forth. She felt as though she was in a trance as she turned and grabbed him by the shoulders.
Adea lowered the boy onto his back in the middle of the circle. He grabbed ahold of her arms as if to resist, but she did not even feel the pressure of his grip nor the strength it took to pin him down against the stone. The boy had a frightened look upon his face, constantly mouthing words she couldn't hear. Disregarding the fear in his eyes, Adea leaned over and kissed him on the forehead, and in a voice that seemed to come from inside her head instead of her mouth, she whispered, "Trust me. This is the only way. It's for the greater good."
Adea reached within her garment and pulled out an old, stone knife. The boy instantly struggled, his eyes wide with terror as he tried to cry out to his mother. Adea pinned him to the ground with a single hand, applying seemingly inhuman strength. The boy could not move, and Adea could not hear his screams.
"I want this power," her voice echoed in her head as she raised the knife. "More than you."
Everything was numb. Adea felt nothing. No soft touch of the wind. No tranquil sounds of birds singing. No grief nor remorse. The only thing there, lingering in the dark depths of her mind, was the memory of the last moments of her sister's life. Everything she tried to do to her twelve years ago, Adea now found herself on the other side of it.
That was when she felt it. A great surge of warmth and energy coursed through her blood. It spread to every corner of her body, filling her with a sensation greater than any adrenaline or sexual satisfaction she had ever felt in her life. It continued to escalate, rising to the surface of her flesh until it almost burned. The power her sister always wanted, the power promised by the Dark Twin, she had finally taken it for herself. Suddenly, she let out a scream when it felt like some powerful force tearing at her very soul, but it was over in little more than a few seconds.
Adea let out a gasp as her eyes shot open. Everything had gone silent. She felt that her senses had returned, but this time, there was nothing to be heard or felt in the air. It had gone still. Her eyes lowered to the horrific sight in front of her. The body of the boy lied motionless in the center of the ritual circle. His face was pale, his eyes were clenched shut and his mouth hung open as if stuck in his final screams. The cloth of his upper garment was torn apart, revealing the gaping, bloody hole where his own mother had carved out his heart. Adea turned her attention to the small organ lying beside the mangled corpse of its owner. It was shriveled up, charred and burned, thus signifying the final completion of the ritual she and her sister had begun so many years ago. The heart of a Human sacrifice, as well as a soul, she presumed. And the power…
Adea stood to her feet. Something immediately did not feel right. It wasn't just the absence of the wind or sounds of the woods. Everything felt gone, was the only word Adea could think to describe it. She couldn't even feel the movement of her own legs as she stood up. She allowed her hair to brush against her face but felt nothing. She breathed, but nothing came in or out. She brought her blood-stained hand to her nose to smell it. There was no scent. She placed her hands against her face, desperate to feel the cold sensation of her flesh and the blood that soaked them. Nothing.
Her head shot back toward the path in the crevice. She could no longer hear the distant flowing of the streams. "What is this?" she tried to say, but she could not hear the words come out of her mouth, nor did they sound within her head. It was silent as death. Adea rushed back to the crevice and emerged back into the spring basin. That was when she knew something was terribly wrong.
It had never been so quiet in this place. Her attention was quickly drawn to the streams, almost expecting to find them dry and barren as a way of explaining the silence, but it was even more strange than that. The streams were as full of water as they had ever been, but they did not flow. They were frozen; not frozen in ice, but still with no movement. They looked as though they were frozen in time. She glanced around at the trees and towering bushes all around her. The leaves and branches did not stir even the slightest amount. There were leaves on the ground that seemed to be frozen in place as they had been blown by the wind, but it was gone. "I have to get out of here," Adea mouthed, voiceless. She turned to head back to the narrow path leading out of the Crossing, and that was when she saw it.
The entrance to the path was blocked by a tall figure shrouded in the darkest shade of black. It stared at her with large eyes of an otherworldly yellow. Adea knew immediately that she was looking at the same entity that haunted her from the beginning. This was the first time she had seen it in the light of day, yet she was more terrified now than ever. It emanated an aura of fear and dread that gnawed at Adea's soul like the cold winds of a winter storm. "Who are you?" she mouthed again, hoping that it might be able to hear her. "I did it. I finished the ritual! What do you want?"
The entity said nothing. It stared at her a moment longer before turning and disappearing into the maze. Adea made a move as if to follow, but just then, the brush shifted in front of the path. She rushed to the edge of the path that was now blocked by the bush. To her shock, she could not see anything on the other side. No openings in the brush that might suggest the existence of a pathway. It was as if the entire thing had simply vanished, and the brush was too thick to take even a single step into.
She looked up to the sky, which was quickly being swallowed by a hallucinatory flood of faint lights like jets of blue. In seconds, the sky had all but disappeared and was replaced by a cloudy, pulsating canvas of madness, and the only sound filling Adea's ears was the soft yet deafening hum that echoed from above her. She remembered something Lyda had told her the first time she brought her to the Crossing. "I don't think this place is always here," her words echoed in her mind.
Adea wanted to panic but did not have the strength to feel it. In a moment of terrible realization that filled her heart with dread and regret, she believed she finally understood the ancient ritual's demand for a soul. It was not the soul of a sacrificial victim. The burning of the victim's heart was nothing more than an act; a key opening the way for what the Darkness truly wanted. It was the soul of the one who completed the ritual. The power that Lyda so desired, the prize that Adea tried to claim for herself, it did not exist. It never did. The ability to control their dreams was just a temptation to get them to dabble further, and she had done exactly what it wanted.
It was only now that Adea understood that Lyda was the lucky one. She had died before she could finish the ritual. Over the next twelve years, Adea allowed the same temptations to slowly consume her until she had done it herself. She lost all strength in her legs and collapsed onto her back, staring up at the nameless abyss above her. "What have I done?" her mouth motioned the words while no voice came out. Without thinking, she had murdered her own son the same way that Lyda had killed their parents. And now she had paid a price far worse than death. She was trapped here in the very place that had long haunted her memories, and now it had vanished from the world and taken her with it. Nobody knew where she had gone. Nobody knew what she was doing. It had all been wiped away from the fabric of reality, along with her.
Adea's eyes remained open as she lied back on the stone, motionless as the frozen streams. Whatever entity had lured her back to this place was gone. It took her place within the real world and left her here to slip into madness. It was a fate worse than the most horrific nightmare she could conjure up in her wildest dreams. It was over. There was no undoing what she had done. This was the fate she had sealed for herself.
Trapped forever.
每周推薦票狀態
-- 推薦票
榜單 
-- 推薦票