My Stepfather's Darkest Secret

Stolen from a dream

Laura

Where do I start from...

“The hooded figure…” I gripped the metal beneath me.

A vivid recall of the hooded monster continuously ate at my mind. The hunched curve of its back muscle bulging through the dead grave cloak draped over its ginormous body.

And that pungent rancid smell that floated around it.

Ugly goosebumps spread down my arms as I shivered.

“There was something inherently sinister about him.” I explained, staring into Dante’s gray eyes.

He nodded. “That's because it is not a ‘him’ exactly.”

He said, tapping strategically at both ends of the scroll while simultaneously whispering inaudible words.

I watched the dusty scroll with unique characters carvings glow a bright amber under the dull flickering light above us.

Dante pulled open the corked end and pulled out a roll of what looked like animal hide.

“One day, you would be able to read all of this yourself.” He said to me, rolling out the hide on the open ground at our feet.

It turned out longer than I expected, displaying inked characters that were beyond my comprehension.

“I have no idea what any of these figures are saying.” I confessed, feeling guilt racking through my inside. There was always some sort of expectation I failed to meet ever since I got here.

“That's all right. That day is not today, Laura. You still have a lot to learn about yourself.” Dante raised his head to me with a slight smile on his lips, “that's why I am here.”

My belly flipped and coiled.

“To teach you.” He added, falling into a squatting position.

“Come on,” He waved me over, “move closer.”

I left the chair reluctantly, perching next to him, mimicking his squatting position. Our knees slightly grazed and for a second, my belly flipped inside out again.

Our proximity evoked feelings I was running away from.

Our night of endless passion played while his voice resonated throughout the room. My eyes caught his thick muscled thigh and the image of me stabbing his leg came to mind.

I stumbled backward at the thought, doomed to an inevitable fall when his strong hand held me by my lower back, stopping me from falling on my butt.

“Steady.” He cautioned, staring deeply into my eyes, “Are you good?”

I couldn't speak so I opted for the next best option.

I nodded, swallowing the lump of trapped shock back down my throat.

“Eyes on the scroll.” He muttered.

“The hooded being you saw wasn't a man as I said earlier, but a monster trapped in time between both worlds. It is meant to stop you from escaping the veil.” He explained.

“I don't get it though. I felt like I was in the veil in person. It did feel real, like I was actually sinking—”

“A Roakada can do that to you sometimes.”

“A What now??” I struggled not to laugh but couldn't help it.

How could a creature so scary, capable of holding me hostage in my own dream have such a lame ass name.

“You think it's funny?” Dante sounded genuinely curious instead of pissed like I thought he would be.

“No…” I tried to lie but quickly gave in as he appeared unbothered by the fact I found it funny.

“Okay, maybe I find it funny a little.” I confessed, chuckling.

“I mean, this monster was able to draw me into the veil, trap me with a compelling spell so I followed it through a dark forest until my legs bruised and they couldn't give it a befitting name. Roakada…” I repeated the name, chuckling again.

“Rock-harder…” Dante muttered after me.

We slowly turned to face each other, holding eye contact for only a second before breaking in a synchronized laughter.

The joy was short-lived.

He cleared his throat. “Yes, it's good to laugh at the enemy. Makes the concept of a multidimensional, psycho-beast less scary.” His tone became serious and I was back to swallowing another lump in my throat.

“Oh-” I choked, trying to accept my reality.

I remembered the thick soot on the sole of my feet.

“That means I was actually walking the veil when I was in my dream.” I came to conclude after some seconds of shared silence.

Dante shook his head dismissively.

“That's not possible.”

“The only reason he was able to get you in your dream is probably because you just had your first mild transition and that's what it detected.” He explained.

I thought about showing him the soot beneath my feet but decided against it when he went on about the prophecy.

Technically, it was split into two parts. On one end, it spoke about the history of our pack and the role the elementary wolf played in the pack. The second part, which made up the majority of the scroll, was still inaccessible.

Once again, I was up against a wall with no real idea what I was up against.

“I don't get it. So what exactly would you be helping me with if you can't read the scroll entirely?”

“I will help you defeat the Roakada. Not only that, but I also teach you how to walk the veil in the best way I know how without losing your soul entirely or having it trapped in the dark void along with other abominable creatures that have been sealed there over generations.”

My stomach sank into the cold damning pits of my belly. “Great, just f*****g great. More pleasant news about the veil. How am I sure that you aren't sending me to hell?” I shook my head.

Dante was quiet.

“Why me?” I finally asked the question that had been on my lips silently for the last three days.

“Why did it have to be me? It makes no logical sense...” I was fighting the rage that consumed me from within because I had no idea how he would react to the blazing crash out threatening to escape my insides.

I fought back tears too.

“Mother universe never makes a mistake. Not on this plane.” Dante’s voice mirrored my frustration.

“Do you think I wanted this life?” He asked me.

I let his question hang in the air, knowing it was rhetoric.

He shook his head, getting up on his feet.

“If you are not ready for this, If you don't think this is worth your trying or that your people aren't worth saving, you can walk out of this basement and we can pretend we don't know what's chasing us till the day of doom.” Dante folded his arm, gazing at me neutrally.

This felt like manipulation at its finest. How could I walk away when even my own life was on the line?

“I can't afford to be selfish.” I confessed, sitting on my butt in defeat.

“Exactly why I am here-” He paused, staring at the sole of my exposed feet.

“Dark soot with glittering sand.” Dante whispered out loud.

A second later, his face paled like he just saw a ghost.

“Did you go outside before I found you?” He asked with urgency.

“No.” I replied, my chest pounding harder and faster by the second.

“Don't move a bone.”

Dante ran out of the room and up the stairs.