Out of the World

40. Lumina

Nina

After hours, I ended up giving in to my tiredness and fell asleep. It had been a hell of a day.

The sound of someone grunting sharply made me wake up suddenly. I opened my startled eyes, remembering where I was: this dark basement or whatever they call it here in Hell. My gaze roamed around the place, the small mattress that didn’t even fit Hali, the sink and the toilet — well, it was all that we had here.

“How is our VIP guest? The boss said we must treat you well, even give you two meals a day,” the Demon taunted, looking at me with a smirk on his face. For some reason, they considered me a special merchandise.

He placed two bottles of water and something that looked like dry bread close to us before walking towards Hali and lifting her chin forcefully,

“Did you decide to say something, Pixie? Your mouth is pretty useless, isn’t it? But we can fix the issue and put it to good use! You will suck me!” he released a dark chuckle as he unbuckled his belt.

In some sort of reflex, I threw the water bottle at him, “Stop it! You suck your own d.ick!”

He looked at me with wide eyes. Nice, Nina, you managed to shock a mean Demon.

Shaking his head, he ignored me and went back to Hali, clenching her hair in his fist, “You know, if your mouth is of no use, you can’t work with it or say what we want to hear, that useless tongue of yours might as well get cut, and we will use it to feed the Hellhounds.”

His words made me swallow hard in fear, yet some sort of determination burnt bright in my chest.

“Don’t you dare! If you hurt her, I will taint your special merchandise,” I declared, starting to scratch my own arms. I wasn’t one for self-harm, damn that I would do whatever it took to help poor Hali.

“Are you a cuckoo bird? I will immobilise you, chain you to the fvcking wall” he asked, his face contorted with anger.

“Don’t try me, Dude! You know that the chains can bruise my arms, meaning you can’t do it. So, do as I say and get lost, or else you will lose some coins,” I made it clear, my eyes fixed on his orange almond-shaped ones. I was playing a wild card with no clue if it would work or get me some new chain-like bracelets, yet I had to try it for Hali. We talked a lot and bonded pretty fast in the last few hours.

The man huffed and cursed under his breath, giving me a dirty stare before he headed upstairs, locking the basement door behind him.

“Oh my Goddess, Nina! You are insane – thank you so much!” Hali mumbled, hugging me and quivering slightly. I imagined how terrified she was, even more cornered than me when the guy in the club tried to attack me. At least, in my case, Soggy Bread was only a drunk and barf-worthy Human.

“I know it was crazy, but I had to do something,” I told her, roaming my fingers down her arms in soothing motions. I could feel her muscles relax a great deal as she let herself fall into my embrace. The thing was, Hali was so tiny that little me was pretty much as tall as a supermodel next to her. She should be even smaller than 5 feet.

Hali held my glowing hand firmly, as if it was some sort of safety ring for her, “You don’t know how good seeing and feeling light is for me. We, Pixies, are very attached to nature, losing any contact with the earth and sunlight for longer than I can count makes me so weak and stressed. Thank you for sharing your light with me, Nina,” Hali whispered, and a smile formed on my face — I was so glad I could help at least a little bit.

Wrapping both my hands around hers, I murmured back, “I hope it can glow even brighter. Before today, I was afraid of my glow, my light, my feelings. Now, I can see the beauty in it.” A long sigh left me.

Hali whispered, “Nina, we must find a way out of here, before they sell you and kill me. If my calculations are right and the Demons feed us in turns, tomorrow we will have the best possibility to escape. I have something in mind. It might not work, but it’s our only chance. If we fail, it will surely be my end.”

~ * ~

Unknown Point of View

Crossing the portal between Realms, I arrived at the Human Realm and headed to her house as I did every year on the day of her birthday. That was the only day in the human year that I dared to visit her, see her and ensure that she was safe and hadn’t been found by the Order or anyone else.

Seeing her this year was even more crucial, for it wasn’t only her birthday but also the day the spell would start decaying – if it hadn't already started. I had to find a way to get close enough to be able to cover her with the thick blanket of another spell. It pained me to imagine having her light fading and her soul shrinking, but I didn’t have any option. It was the only way to keep her safe, to keep her alive.

A cold exhale left my lungs, I longed to see her and make sure she was safe and sound, yet as soon as I stepped foot in this Realm, I felt a tingle in the back of my head. Something was wrong with Lumina.

Arriving closer to the apartment, I looked through the window. Her flatmate liked to keep them widely open. The only person I could see was her flatmate, strolling around in her sleeping attire. I couldn’t see her, hear her voice or even feel her energy. She wasn’t here. In fact, she wasn’t anywhere close, else I would’ve been able to feel at least a spark of her light, especially now that the spell was fading.

My heart beat faster than the wings of a Garden Fairy as desperation jolted through my bloodstream. I was always tranquil and nothing could upset me, except Lumina. She was the reason for all my worries.

Going to her university as fast as I could, I looked for her once again. A small smile formed on my lips as I recalled one of my fondest moments, when I saw Lumina painting, an almost invisible and delicate glow surrounded her. Lumina’s art took her close to her real nature, her essence, and spirit.

Dizzily roaming around the human paths, I racked my mind in an attempt to figure out a way to find her. An exhale left my nostrils, it had to be done. It was risky and she might even feel my presence as my soul tried to reach for hers, but now I didn’t have any other option, for finding her was all that mattered.

Clenching my eyes shut, my soul dispersed behind the eyes of my mind, spreading around like the light that enters a prism. It tried to reach for her, the core of light within her soul. After minutes of trying, all I could feel was emptiness — no light, no Lumina. This could mean only one thing: she wasn’t in the Human Realm any longer.

I swallowed hard as panic spread through my whole being. My body felt so heavy that I became almost like a physical entity, pain and fear materialised from my eyes in the shape of tears. If I didn’t control myself, I would soon be visible to human eyes. Had the Order found her before I could cast some protection on her?

Looking at the sky, I asked within my soul “Lumina, where are you?”