One Second to Midnight

 

    He sat amongst the stones letting the stillness of the night sink into him. Small sounds from insects reached his ears and the lights of fireflies flittered around in the darkness, but with the gates locked for the night there was no anger and hatred to disturb him. He could almost sense his sister surrounded by the quietness of the souls that had moved on. He missed her and wished she was around more often.

               The clanking of metal being dragged across the ground announced her presence before the pale night light showed her coming from between two tall stone column monuments. The sword was heavy and chipped in many places, but the bent and battered scales seemed to hold her back even more. She swung them forward with a great effort and then stopped to prop herself on the hilt of the great sword.

               “Why must you hide in such places?” her voice breaking with the effort it cost her to project it. “This place does not stop them from making use of you anymore than it could stop them from beating me down regularly.”

               “I am exhausted with being their favorite toy,” he pulled himself up and made his way over to give her his arm. “Come sit awhile and rest. You may not be able to heal but for tonight at least, we can rest a bit.”

               “The clock is ticking, and it is nearly midnight, brother,” she allowed him to lead her to a bench sitting near a small stone carved with a lamb. “Our rest may soon be eternal, but you will have to be their instrument once more. Where is your sword and shield?”

               “I am always their instrument, and they no longer care if I have my sword or shield,” he growled. “They use me to fight everything. Even the things that are your natural enemy. My name is called upon to commit atrocities as much as ever but the blood they spill is everywhere and they see no wrong in what they do. You sit beside me beaten with your scales unable to balance and your sword so blunted, and yet you want me to go back to the tasks those monsters would give me.”

               “They aren’t all monsters!” a melodious voice called out as she stepped from between the same columns. Flowers grew as she stepped forward but quickly wilted and fell apart. “There are so many of them that want good and bright things for people. You cannot let the bad ones destroy you, dear brother.”

               “Little sister,” he came and towered over inhaling right next to her face. He leaned into her ear and whispered, “you may shower yourself with as many flowers and rainbows as you like, but you still reek of your own blood from those monsters constantly trying to kill you.’

               She stumbled back from him as blood blossomed on her side giving proof to his words. A bright light quickly surrounded it and flowers covered it before they too wilted away.

               “You are right that there are so many who wish to kill me,” a tear trickled down her face and she smiled despite the pain. “But so many believe in me that I heal and grow again and again. The clock is ticking closer to midnight and there are only seconds left for them but there are still those who want better for those around them. They are not all monsters and even those that use you sometimes only do so in defense of all they love and hold dear.”

               With a snort he turned away from his two sisters looking out at all the stones around them. The cycle had been going on for millennia but with one more tick of the clock this cycle would finally come to an end. No more being called on for the petty greed of men wanting to take from others and no more being used to prop up the lies of corruption and inhumanity. His sisters couldn’t yet see but one little wrong step by man and the clock would take its final tick.

               “You both been fighting this as long as I have, but there is little more to do,” he turned back to them revealing his sword was still at his side. “With a little push, they’ll let us end it and then maybe we’ll be able to find where they’ve stuffed our sister away.”

               “Brother, I don’t think you remember what happened after the last reset,” his sister wheezed out from where she sat on the bench. “Before She decided to create, she had to unleash Chaos. There was constant change and growth and movement, and we were shaped into the forms we have now. With this reset there is no telling what will come next.”

               “That’s true,” her sister skipped over scattering flowers in her wake to plop down on the bench. “The first creatures were rather boring and there was not much to do. These creatures may have many monsters amongst them, but they do so many interesting things. Remember when they used to gather round a fire and tell one another such wonderful stories and now they create entire moving worlds to watch. The ones before just lumbered around eating all the time. Come, brother, you must admit these haven’t been all bad.” 

               “Doesn’t matter whether they’ve been good or bad,” he came over to the bench and picked up his sister’s scales and sword. “It’s just time for us to be done with them. Whether or not we find our sister, what they’ve done to her makes your suffering seem like nothing. When the sun rises, your scales will collapse, and the world will know that I have consumed it once and for all.”

               He dropped the instruments on the ground and turned to step away. A soft breeze moved through the cemetery and carried on it was the laughter of a small child. He dropped to his knees on hearing this sound and wept with such force that his body shook. His sisters moved to kneel beside him as they felt the pressure of the clock lessen.

               “She is still out there and still fighting to stop you from becoming your worst brother,” his sister’s melodious voice eased him as she gently squeezed his hand. “Your final dawn may come but it is not today.”

Schrödinger's Cat

The door was locked again. There was no light to see, but I knew the door was locked. They always locked the door.

They left me food this time, but I didn’t trust the food. The food was their trap. They wanted to me behave the way they thought I should. Eat the food they thought was right for me. Leave the room when they gave me permission. Everything was by their schedule and their rules. It was all a trap.

I would not be a part of their trap.

I wondered how long it would be before they opened the door this time. It didn’t matter though. They would never let me be free.

I could hear them outside the door. They were arguing again. They argued a lot. Sometimes about me. Sometimes about other things. I could hear them well enough most times, but this time I moved closer to the door to hear.

“I’m telling you, she’s not in there anymore,” one of them said.

Idiot. Of course I was in here. They had locked me in. What did they think? That I would just walk through the door?

“Of course she is in there. The door is locked,” said the other.

Well at least he had some sense. I sat there for a while listening to them debate. They said the only way to prove it was to open the door and they would need to get the key. I heard them walk away.

I always enjoyed when they weren’t arguing outside the door. That was when the silence could descend. Beyond the silence was the music. They told me there was no music, but I knew better. I could hear the music.

The music was the most glorious sound I had ever heard. It was a mixture of bells and laughter and joy. It made me want to dance every time it started but I was afraid to dance. I was afraid that if I danced they would say that it was just something else wrong with me. It would give them yet another reason to keep me locked in this room.

This time I waited in the silence hoping the music would come before they returned. I yearned for the music as much as I yearned to be free of this room. Sometimes I wanted the music more than I wanted my freedom. The music was special, and I somehow knew that if I was free of this room, the music would never come again.

The music came. It started out so soft, like a gentle breeze and then built to a bubbling brook. The music was like nature come to me in my dark prison. This time as the music built from a bubbling brook to the power of crashing waves, I began to dance.

It felt glorious to dance. To twirl and move and become one with the music. It felt as though I could dance right past that door and into freedom. I continued to twirl around the room, and this time as I came to the door, it was as if it wasn’t even there. I went right through it and saw the rooms beyond, but the music continued and I continued to dance with it.

It was glorious this freedom. It was better than any freedom I had before they locked me in that room. I could dance and move and be free as I had never been before. I even danced right past the men as they were returning to the room with the key.

NO!

They couldn’t open the door. If they opened the door the music would end, and I would be back in their trap. I tried to stop them. I tried to get their attention, but in my freedom they could not see me. They didn’t understand this freedom and wouldn’t recognize it.

I had to stop them. I didn’t want to go back to the trap, but there was nothing I could do. They were already turning the key in the lock.

As they opened the door, the music stopped and my freedom ended. I was back in their trap and they could see me there. 

Moon's Tears

In the beginning all of the people were together as one nation. They lived together not always in harmony with one another but in peace, because for them the world beyond was the only true enemy they knew. But as in all things, this did not last. The people brought up great warriors to protect themselves so that they could venture to the far beyond in search of more. For it is always in the people’s nature to want more.

Of these great warriors, the greatest was Sun, for he had great strength and power. But many feared him because he could be merciless and cruel to those he considered weak. To appease him, the people sought to find him a mate. The elders urged him to search amongst the women and choose a bride. They felt that if he chose the right woman, she would be able to teach him to be gentler and be the protector the people needed.

Sun did not believe that he needed a bride but since the elders were so insistent, he went among the women to see what he could find. Sun had not searched long before he saw the most beautiful of them all. She shone with an inner light so radiant and soft that he felt the need to have her. When he told the elders that he had found the woman he wanted for his bride the elders were ecstatic. They asked her name and Sun could not give it for he had fell in love with only her beauty. As he described her to the elders, they knew exactly who he spoke of but they became hesitant for they had just realized their mistake in telling him to choose any woman.

The woman Sun wanted was called Moon and unlike the rest of the young maidens, she was not one of their daughters. She was an orphan who had been raised by the wise woman Earth. The elders feared Earth because she had great power and was very protective over those she claimed. They did not know what to do because if they told Sun that he could not have Moon he could turn against them and if they tried to give Moon to him, Earth would seek vengeance. After much council they decided to approach Earth to reason with her.

Earth saw the elders approaching and knew that trouble was soon to follow their words. She had seen Sun watching Moon and feared that he had fallen in love with her beauty. When the elders confirmed this, she asked them what they thought she could do about this. Not wishing to anger Earth, the elders asked her to speak with Moon and convince her to wed with Sun. Earth, being patient and deep, saw wisdom in what they were asking, but rather than agreeing to tell Moon to marry Sun, she told them she would speak with Moon about meeting Sun to see if she could ever love him.

When Earth approached Moon with this news, Moon was devastated. For quite some time she had been keeping a secret from Earth, and while she was ashamed with not trusting Earth with it, she knew that it was time to let Earth know of it. Moon was already in love with another and they were planning on building a family together. When Earth asked her what warrior had captured her heart, she was pleased when Moon replied that it was no warrior. It was the young craftsmen Mountain. She had seen one of his crafts one day in the market and loved it for its simple beauty. When she had met the one who had created it she saw his beauty as well, for Mountain, unlike the warriors of the people was not beautiful on the outside. He was dark and scarred but his heart was pure and untainted by war. This pleased Earth because with this knowledge she knew that Moon’s heart was as beautiful as the rest of her.

Earth returned to the elders and told them that Moon would not marry Sun. This angered the elders but they were not powerful enough to challenge Earth. They debated what to do about Sun, but they had no need to worry about his wrath because while Moon was telling of her love to Earth, Sun had been listening. Sun was furious and went to see his only friend Day. Day listened as Sun told him of Moon and how he must be the one to have her. While Sun could be merciless and cruel, Day was no better for he was sinister and calculating. He had no love of Earth or the people and saw in this his opportunity to punish them all. He told Sun that together they could steal Moon away and flee into the sky where the people would have no warriors strong enough to follow them.

Sun and Day found Moon while she slept and grabbed her. She cried out at their cruelty and Mountain heard it. He came running after them and began to follow them into the sky. Sun turned and seeing Mountain struck him down. Moon was devastated as she saw her love falling out of the sky. Earth hearing their cries knew she could not save Moon now that she was in the sky but she could protect her love. She rose up and captured Mountain and folded him into her embrace. He was now higher than the rest of the people but he would never be able to reach the sky to rescue his love.

Sun and Day were triumphant but Moon escaped them. She could not get out of the sky but she ran across it continually to avoid those who had taken her from the one she loved. The people could hear her cries but no warrior knew how to rescue her from the sky. Night, the bravest of all warriors, recognized that if she could not be rescued, she needed a protector. Night donned his darkest armor and darkest cloak and journeyed into the sky. He caught Moon and wrapped her in the cloak to hide her from Sun and Day. He then turned to fight them to keep them away from Moon. Sun and Day shone so brightly in the sky that they would push back Night but his darkness would not be out done and he would turn and push them back for a time. So the people begin to see the time of Night and Day and they could constantly see Sun trying to get past Night to find Moon.

Moon was finally able to look down on the people and see her love risen above all of them. She began to cry knowing that they would never be together again. The people looking at Night’s part of the sky were amazed to see light coming from it. It was not the harsh light that Sun and Day sent down upon them but the soft radiance that reminded them of Moon. The more Moon cried, the more the people could see of her until her tears shown so brightly they could see her face in the sky. They marveled at the sight of it, but Mountain did not want to see his love cry so deeply. He began to whisper to her and tell her of his love and how it would never end and slowly her tears began to dry until she could be seen no more. This would last for a small time and then she would no longer hear the voice of Mountain and she would begin to cry again.

The people eventually separated and began to war among themselves but wherever they went they would look up into the sky and remember their past. They would remember that love can be a powerful thing that moves even Earth. They would remember that Day and Night must always be at war to keep Moon and Sun apart. The people would always remember that their world was once one and that pettiness and jealousy were what broke it apart.

First Encounters

If you ever wake up tied to a chair, you have three reactions. The first is to wonder what the hell is going on. The second is to panic. The third is to try to figure out how to get out of the predicament you are currently in. When that fails you revert back to the second.

I know this because that is how it all started for me. Normally I stayed safe in my room engrossed in my books, allowing them to take me to other places. But this night my friend, Stephanie, had convinced me that I needed to act like a normal teenager and go to a party. That is how they found me. I never even knew they existed outside of the books I read. I never knew that I was a threat to them. Before this all began, I was only a nerdy teenager who was more comfortable with books then people. But I didn’t know any of this then. I only knew that I was tied to a chair.

All I could think was where was Stephanie and where was I. My mind kept going to those movies where a girl gets kidnapped at a party and sold into slavery. I was positive that somehow this was what was happening. That all those times my mother had told me to avoid parties for this very reason were coming true. The truth when I would learn it was actually scarier for me.

It was while all of these thoughts were going through my head that I was that he walked in. He was absolutely gorgeous, like a cross between Channing Tatum and Zac Efron, but even with that beauty there was something about him that made my skin crawl.

“I see that you are finally awake,” he said with a thick Russian sounding accent. It was so clichéd villain to have that accent that I actually rolled my eyes. Probably not the smartest thing to do but my mother was always telling me that being a smart ass would get me in trouble someday. “Rolling your eyes will not help you little girl. Whatever you are, I want to know now and you will tell me or suffer the consequences.”

At that statement I lost control and started laughing, “What are you supposed to be? The worst villain ever to be in a Bond movie? Don’t get me wrong, you’ve got the creep factor going on, but the dialogue and accent need some serious help.” To me he had now become as scary as any B-Movie villain ever. Unfortunately that impression of him went out the window when he pulled out a blade that was about 8 inches long and looked capable of cutting through my skin with ease. “Look, I don’t know who you are and I don’t know why you decided to tie me to a chair but I’m just some nerdy kid that made the mistake of going to a party last night. I’m no spy and I’m no threat to you at all. Please, just let me go and we can forget this all happened.”

“Little girl, the fact that you are talking to me at all, proves that you are most definitely a threat to me and all of my kind.”

Beginnings (Cont.)

“I have absolutely no intention of going anywhere with you,” Kara replied as she began to gather up her cards. “I have no idea who you are and you know entirely too much about me without having ever met.”

                The man reached over and grabbed her arm, “You can pretend all you like Kara not to realize how bad things are getting with the curse, but I can see the truth of your feelings in your eyes. My name is Marcus and you are going to help me.”

                Kara pulled at her arm trying to get free of the man, “Just because you know my name and you think you can read me doesn’t mean I am going to help you, Marcus, if that is even your real name. Yes I can read the fear in the people who sit down here but that doesn’t mean I can be of any help in getting rid of the curse.”

Marcus resisted as she continued to pull on her arm, “Your name is Kara which is short for Karanna. Your mother’s name was Elsabeau. You father’s name was Aaron. You have not seen him since you were two year’s old. Your mother died when you were twelve and you were raised by her people on the outskirts of the city. Your mother had a minor talent for reading the future in the cards but amongst her people you are believed to have a major talent which you barely tap when reading the fortunes of the rich up here in the Place. I have done my research well enough to know that you are the one whose help I need. Do you have any further questions or will you agree to help me?”

Kara continued to pull on her arm and noticed that they were drawing the attention of the gendarmes who worked the Place. They had no problem with the fortune tellers who worked there but one of the gendarmes coming their way had no love for Kara and she knew that he would take great pleasure in aiding anyone who meant to cause her trouble. Kara needed to think fast or she would be at his mercy and she had no intention of that happening.

“Why do you care about trying to stop the curse? No one else seems to care and you are not marked. Who is it?” Kara queried in hopes of distracting him. “Your mother, father, sister, brother… It must be someone you are closed to.”

Marcus did not relinquish his grip on her arm as he replied, “I have been fortunate in that no one I am close to has been marked yet. My interest in the curse lies in doing what is right for the people of Verrioun.”

“I am supposed to believe that you have the best interest of the people of Verrioun at heart? Why? Because if the people flourish, you can make more money?”

“No. It is because if this spreads beyond Verrioun than all of Xennatos could fall.” Marcus replied ominously, “And if that occurs then we have no hope. If you help me, we have some small hope. But without your help, I have no faith that I can find a way to stop this.”

Kara had become distracted by this bit of revelation from Marcus and did not notice the gendarme standing next to them until he asked, “Is the fortune teller causing you trouble, sir?”

Kara held her breath as Marcus looked at the gendarme and replied, “Oh no. There is no problem. The young woman merely stumbled and I was trying to help her. Isn’t that right, my dear?”  

Kara knew that if she agreed with this statement, that she was also agreeing to help Marcus with his mad quest to end the curse. She debated a moment but there was really nothing to debate. She didn’t trust Marcus, but the cards thought he had a chance to stop the curse and she could not let that go. Kara looked him directly in the eye and smiled, “Of course. He was just helping me. And I shall be happy to help him in return.”

Beginnings

                Kara sat at her table shuffling her cards. The sprits were not speaking to her today but that would not matter. These desperate dilettantes would still come to her table here in the square hoping to learn what the future held for them. If the future was false all the better. They believed that by hiding behind their masks they were safe from detection, but Kara could still see into their eyes and still read whether they had been marked by the curse or not. Kara had learned long ago that even the rich showed fear in their souls and everyone in Verrioun was afraid of the curse.

                Days when the sprits were not speaking through the cards were easier for Kara. They allowed her not to be as troubled by what the spirits were showing her. The curse was spreading and if it was not stopped soon everyone would be affected. Kara had been so immersed in these sorts of thoughts that she had not noticed the man who had been watching her through most of the day until he sat down across from her.

                “You wish for a reading, sir?” Kara enquired of the gentlemen.

                “That would depend on whether the sprits are speaking to you today,” the man replied. “I would hate to pay your exorbitant price, Kara, only to be fed a pack of lies.”

                Kara was instantly put on her guard at this statement. Most of the fortune tellers in Verrioun just moved the cards around and told those seeking a fortune what they wished to hear. No one truly cared. Fortune telling was just another way to con those with too much money into paying the price of being rich.

                “I am afraid you have me at a disadvantage, sir. I do not believe we have been introduced and yet you know my name. I think it would be best if you sought out a different fortune teller. Carlotta is rather good and she is only across the square,” Kara replied hoping to be rid of the stranger.

                “Oh, yes. You are correct. Carlotta is rather good at playing the con man’s game,” the man said with a smile spreading across his lips. “But you on the other hand, have an actual talent. I need an actual talent for my purposes. Perhaps you could see if the cards are ready to speak?”

                Kara stared into the man’s eyes and realized that for the first time she was speaking with someone she couldn’t read. She decided it would be best to just shuffle the cards a bit and then admit the truth that they were not speaking today in hopes that he would go away. But as she was shuffling them, she realized she could feel the spirits moving through them. She began laying them out for the reading.

                As she looked up from the cards, the man caught her eyes. “I see the cards have finally chosen to speak to you today. I will take that as a sign that the spirits wish me to succeed. That is the best news I have had in some time,” Kara saw him relax a bit with this statement. “Tell me. What do they say to you?”

                Kara looked back down at the cards and began to interpret what the spirits were saying. “They tell me you are a dangerous man. Not that I needed that message from the spirits. They also say that what you seek is not far away. You will need help though to find it. They also say that I am that help,” Kara flipped a few more cards and continued. “Ahh. I see now. You seek to end the curse. Hmm. But you are not marked yourself. Ohh. That is interesting.”

                The man leaned in, “What is interesting?”

                “The cards say that this is only the first part of your journey. That what you seek to do will take much longer than the time you have already given to it.” It was Kara’s turn to smile now. She had a feeling that a man dressed so expensively would not like what she was about to tell him, but the spirits were saying that he would do it. “The cards say that what you need to find can be found where all foul things lie down.”

                As Kara predicted the man frowned at that statement, “And where exactly would that be?”

                Kara’s smile became a bit of a smirk as she proclaimed, “Why in the Red Light District, of course.”

                Kara’s smirk quickly vanished as the man responded with a statement she should have seen coming, “Well then. Since the spirits have said that you will help me out, we shall have to go to the Red Light District together.”