Aon

Chapter Ten

My eyes opened lazily as a hum filled my ears and something warm pulsed on my chest. I didn’t arouse from a nightmare, which was a first, but something felt different inside the room. The air seemed thin and cold, like tasting winter on the tongue after it has snowed. The room was pitch black, the fire had died out long ago, but that’s not why it was cold. It wasn’t the type of cold to make you coil beneath a blanket. In a way, it felt as if it were a form of energy that pulsed as a faint breeze across the room. The warmth on my chest kept me from shivering with each pulse, but it was not within, it felt as if it rested on top of my skin. It covered my skin with a warmth that sent my brain mixed messages of whether to be cold or warm.

I lied still, listening to the hum that followed the same wavelength of the energy. It didn’t scare me like I had thought it would. Instead, I felt drawn to get up and look for where it came from. It wasn’t human, it wasn’t Aon, and it wasn’t even a ghost. This was different. It was something I couldn’t describe, something that pulled me to my senses quicker than I expected. I knew it had to be only a little passed two a.m., but I should have expected waking so early. I had gone to bed just after lunch. I had slept the remainder of the day and into the night.

I shoved away the covers as I went to stand, when a flash of light startled me and brought me stumbling in fright. The warmth on my chest ignited like flames as soon as I was exposed to the elements, and the sheets fell to my ankles and tripped me. I lost footing and slammed into the stone wall as I half hyperventilated from what my eyes saw. It glowed brightly, lighting up my chest and blinding my eyes as I peered in horror.

The Pendant glowed, brighter than anything I have ever seen before. Like a single star in the sky, it lit up the room just like a ball of fire from my chest. Every joint and stem of the Pendant pulsed, just like blood flowing through veins, but only this was molten gold.

I stood still and watched, expecting more to happen, for screams or dreadful images to appear as it had in my nightmare. But nothing came at first, it only lied limp against my chest and glowed like a single star amongst all the gloom. I gained my breath and steadied my heart the best I could, but my body still trembled. I didn’t know if this was from the passing fear, or if it was from the overpowering energy that seemed to pulse off this thing. My legs were weak, as if the Pendant were draining or forcing something upon me until it overwhelmed me. I fell back against the wall again and I clutched the rocks as my head began to spin and spiral.

My body didn’t numb, but everything felt strange to me. Everything was being heightened, as if something stirred my soul to swell from my chest to fill every inch beneath my skin. I felt stretched, as if everything inside of me was being forced to expand and mold. My heart hammered and with every beat the hum grew, and the warmth on my chest seemed to send an electric bolt throughout my body. It was like I was suddenly being electrocuted and I collapsed, spasming as it jolted and pulsed inside every bone and muscle in my body. My blood seemed to boil, stirring and bubbling as it flowed through each vein with a jolt of electricity.

I didn’t know what was happening and I couldn’t scream or call out for help. My jaw was locked shut and my body jolted with each spasm while my eyes locked on the ceiling. I gasped through my teeth and arched my body as I sputtered out through my teeth.

I’m going to die… this is it. It was all wasted.

I continued to spasm and my eyes pinched shut as I grunted and growled through my clenched teeth. It intensified until every joint and muscle locked in place and I was left outstretched and stiff. I couldn’t breathe, and my heart stuttered. I was frozen in torment as I waited for both to stop.

I gasped, choking for breath as everything abruptly uncoiled and my limbs curled back into myself. My heart pumped rapidly inside of my chest, the feeling was terrifying. It felt like my heart was about to explode out of my chest. My body trembled as the pain subsided until eventually it disappeared as if it hadn’t scarred my body. I laid on the cold stone ground, curled into a ball as I grasped desperately for something to clutch. The Pendant still glowed, but the warmth had vanished, and the hum silenced. Instead of grabbing the cots leg beside me, my hand clutched for the Pendant at my throat and I couldn’t hold back the shriek as something jolted down my arm. I could see it, the light as it left the Pendant and traveled through my arm and into my chest. It hit the core of my being, not my heart and soul. But somewhere in between, where it dissolved into a bitter warmth that left me laughing madly in almost joy of the bizarre feeling that corrupted me. My body trembled as if it were cold, but a warm stinging sensation hovered beneath my skin.

Why am I laughing? I felt as if I should be crying, but for some reason, this new feeling brought me relief. Something straightened inside of me that had been broken long ago. I felt drunk, even though I’ve never been under the influence of alcohol. It was the best way I could describe it. I leaned back against the wall as I sobered from the bizarre laughing fit and shut my eyes to compose myself. I felt drained and whole at once, as if everything finally made since and I was freed from a secret bondage that had entrapped me to an earthly bound.

As I felt the now cold Pendant at my throat, clutching it with my hand as I gained my breath back. I heard a crack and groan that made my eyes snap open. I searched the dark room in alarm for the sudden sound. Something thick caught my throat, and I began to cough over dust that was being disrupted. In the distance, a sudden glow began to appear. It was as if the wall was being slowly pulled back to reveal the obscure light. It wasn’t a color I’ve ever seen before, a shade mixed between an azure blue and a purple hue, with the faint drop of the color of blood.

I sat up shakily and peered at the odd glow. I hesitantly stood while leaning against the wall for support. It wasn’t light per se, it was like electricity in a sold form, frothing like smoke in this odd colored substance. And it was beckoning me now. I felt it pull on me, as if a cable wrapped around my inner soul and tugged me forward. My throat constricted, and my head buzzed. I was lightheaded, and it was hard to breathe for some reason.

I felt drawn to go towards it. As if somehow it held the answers I needed. I pushed away from the wall and stumbled across the room, stubbing my toes and shins against the unseen objects around the room. But I didn’t care, I needed to get there for some reason. I was almost panicked. I felt in front of me were the wall had disappeared and stumbled through the entrance. The glow had disappeared and pushed deeper into the hidden tunnel, deeper until I could just make out the bend in the tunnel twenty feet from me.

I felt both sides of the stone walls with my hands and guided myself through the narrow tunnel. As I drew nearer, the farther it went and disappeared behind a corner. It’s a trick. Stop! I mentally began to shout at myself. But something inside of me, passed my inner thoughts and into the core of my being sighed in content of the sight. I rounded the bend and stood dumb founded to find a narrow staircase only two feet in width. I glanced back at the entrance and found only darkness looming like deathly claws reaching into the little cave behind me. I don’t know why, but I touched the Pendant for security.

I didn’t know where this obscurity was leading me, but as I took the first step down the stairs; I realized it wasn’t cold anymore. Everything seemed to fill with a warmth and a static feel or energy. The further and deeper into the walls I disappeared, the more my heart began to race, and I felt that breeze again.

Stop!

I wanted to stop and turn back suddenly, but my feet kept going and the air seemed to thicken and swell in the room until it felt unbearable.

Wake up! I wanted to scream.

An excitement filled me, just like it had when I approached that portal in the alley.

Wake up or die! My mind screamed.

I almost leaped out of my own skin as another voice sighed in content inside my mind.

Don’t stop. He’s here.

My eagerness got the best of me and I found myself practically stumbling down the stairs to see what drew me deeper and deeper. I didn’t fear it when I hit the landing and began sprinting. If anything, it pulled me as if the cable tied to my soul had begun to yank me closer and closer. It was a feeling that made my chest swell and my ears ring as I rushed towards the odd glow only twenty feet from me.

I turned another corner and stopped in my tracks at what stood blocking my path. It was a big heavy wooden door. It looked wedged in to the point the wood splintered around the edges to keep it lodged into the tunnel.

Good. My practical mind huffed.

But for some reason this infuriated me to the point my blood boiled.

No! I must find it.

I didn’t know what it was I had to find though. All I knew was that this door was blocking my only chance in finding it.

I stood looking at each corner for a weak spot for more than ten minutes. I pushed against it, I banged my fists against its splintering wood, and even tried kicking it in. Nothing was working, and I found myself panicking as I watched the odd glow disappear beneath the door. I looked around myself desperately, but there was nothing to use to push or wedge into it to get it to move.

My last resort was to run and slam my shoulder into it. As stupid and practical as it sounded, it was my only thoughts. It works in the movies doesn’t it? I put all effort into it, flinging my whole body against it with a running start. The impact made it shudder and groan while my shoulder made an audible popping noise as something creaked and splinter. I found myself staggering away out of breath and in pain. The wood was old, maybe a hundred to a hundred and fifty years old, which made it brittle with my body slamming against it.

I backed up again and hesitated for half a second, trying to block out the pain before charging and slamming myself into it. It thundered as it broke, and I found myself falling with it to the ground. A puff of dust whisked into the air to choke me and I found everything blurred from the storm of filth. My throat went parched and I found myself covering my mouth and nose with my shirt just so I could breathe. It took quite a while before everything slowly began to settle, but as it did, something faintly glowed before me. It grew brighter every second I left the dust to settle, and I peered up in awe from where I lied at what was in front of me. It was like waves flowing up the wall, moving like a constant pulsing river silently. It glowed before me in those beautiful colors, a vortex of some sort, a thick wall of energy. It was constantly moving and gave off a charge that made my skin tingle and prickle as my heart throbbed.

I stood slowly and stared at this stunning obscurity with adrenaline pulsing thickly through my veins. It was as if the string that wrapped around my soul vibrated, sending a current back to me that drew me closer with every pulse. My heart hammered inside my chest and I held my breath in anticipation as excitement spiked my curiosity. My heart was left in my throat and my feet and hands were numb as a thumping sound filled my ears. It took me only seconds to realize that the thumping sound was the erratic beat of my heart.

What was on the other side? Where would it take me? Why was it boarded up? Had my father known of this secret passageway? He had to know, he and my mother had owned this home after all…

It was so beautiful, the way the colors and moving liquid curled and bent in on itself. It was like a sea of waves caressed the stone fall. I felt the urge to touch it. I wanted to see if it was a portal as I thought it to be. I lifted a hand, hesitantly holding my breath in anticipation. Without thinking I shoved my hand into it. It all happened in a flash as an electric shock suddenly hit me.-

Those dark chocolate eyes, they peered at me through a haze. Unclear at first, then suddenly before me. They weren’t as I had seen them before, distant and emotionless; they now explored my own gaze, almost peering into my soul in search of an answer. My ears rang and the thumping in my chest almost ceased as I held my breath in shock.

He stood before me, the man from my nightmares. His dark eyes peered into my own, his hands clutching my face desperately as he pulled me to himself quickly. An electric current shot up between us and a hum filled my ears. He captured my mouth with a groan of defeat and wrapped an arm around my back to pull me against him tightly. I should have froze. I should have pushed him away in disgust. But my own fingers clutched onto his face and curled into his dark brown locks. I frantically tried to keep hold of him, twisting in his arms until we were tangled. My heart soared as I found myself trying to wrap my arms around his neck. Who was he? I wanted to scream. Stop, please. I groaned.

We gasped to gain our breath back once our lips were parted, but it took all the effort in me not to pull him back to me.

“I love you. I love you. I love you.” He whispered urgently.

He pulled me into his arms and tucked me into his grasp, his mouth falling to my throat as I shuddered. His fingers pranced down my spine as he crushed his body against me. His mouth hungrily leaving warm opened mouthed kisses against my flesh.

“You are mine.” He breathed out in a growl. “Only mine, Eleanor. –God, you’re my torture.” He groaned as he captured my lips again.

I yanked my hand back in astonishment and covered my mouth in horror as I tried to understand what just happened.

What was that? Who was that? What the heck?

I hesitated and glanced around myself in embarrassment. I hoped it was just me that saw it, but for some reason, I felt as if I wasn’t the only one that saw it in that moment. When I looked around me, I was alone, but something stirred in my stomach… excitement, chagrin? I couldn’t decide.

I felt intrigued and peered at it as I tried to push away the hallucination it gave me. This tunnel must be where my father headed to see the future… But who was that man? I was tempted to put my hand into the vortex again to see, but I withdrew and backed away from it for now.

I was awake. I wasn’t in a zombie-like daze anymore. My senses slowly came back to me as I realized what danger I could have put myself into. I was restless after I left the tunnel. I started the fireplace up again and paced the length of the study. It’s a good thing my pendant was acting as my flashlight, or else I would have never been able to find my way around the study. As soon as I stepped foot out of the tunnel, the stone wall slid back with a thunderous bang. I half wondered if it would only open when I was in need of it, or if it would open when I wished it to.

My thoughts were scrambled as I tried to understand what happened before and after the tunnel. It was confusing, yet I didn’t dwell on it too long. I didn’t want to. I had other pressing matters to think about. I immediately began to plan what I would do as soon as I left the Manor; if I should take that short cut through portals, or if I should walk out the front door. But where exactly was I? Would I walk out the door and find myself in the middle of nowhere? Or will I be underground? So far, I haven’t seen any windows in this house, so the last guess seemed strongly plausible.

I paced until I had my thoughts in order and ventured passed the studies doors. I headed for the lobby as I shrugged back on my jacket and yanked up my hood. I would go out the front door. If I want to form an army, I have to know exactly where I am…

I pulled open the front door and ducked outside as my eyes flashed around me. As I stepped down the first step, I was startled to find myself in town, on a busy street filled with people. Bystanders passed by on the sidewalk and cars sped up and down the road blaring their horns all the while. In curiosity, I turned to look at the Manor and almost laughed at what stood before me. From the outside, it was an abandoned building. A door hung from the hinges and the windows were busted out or simply boarded up. It was eerie from the outside, hollow as the small charred building swayed with the cold breeze. Mortals ran passed without a second glance, maybe not even seeing me yet. I pushed aside the door and peeked inside, and sure enough, the Manor was still there in all its glory.

I had to chuckle, Debbie meant what she said about the Manor being under protection. All they saw was an abandoned house ready to collapse. Whereas we Aons saw a great Manor, yet still capable of what it could in its youth.

I shrugged on my jacket and stuffed my hands in my pockets as I jogged down the cement steps. It was maybe only six a.m. Yet, people were out and about, jogging, going to work, and some were even out walking their dogs. I walked with my head down and made my way up town as I scanned the streets.

It was a fascinating city and I found myself peering at everything in silent awe and curiosity. How was it possible for things to change in such a brief time? Everything seems to have come into focus suddenly. I looked around myself, searching for someone like myself. At first nothing seemed different. They all looked the same… that is, until I saw a slender man bustle by me. He was common looking. Only in his late twenties, scruffy and wearing baggy clothes as he texted on his phone. Something thin vibrated around him, like a haze when the sun’s rays reflect off the black tar of the streets. I stood stunned and in awe. As I searched, I realized there were more people walking passed me with a thin vibrating layer around them. Was that them? Were they Aon’s?

I stared at them until they looked back at me, but I didn’t get the reaction I expected. They would blanch and turn their heads in fright, almost as if I were dangerous to them. I tried to approach some of them, but they threw their hands in the air in surrender and took off down the streets.

I stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and looked around myself in disbelief and defeat. No one would let me get a word in edgewise, they would shut down and run away as soon as they realized my attention was directed towards them. I slumped onto a bus stop bench and dropped my head into my hands.

This was harder than I thought. I suppose I expected them to immediately listen to me and agree. This is reality though, apparently ‘my kind’ are all cowards. Instead of even being curious as to why I wanted their attention, they ran from me as if I were a threat. Was I? Did they see something I didn’t?

I looked down at my hands, but I saw nothing. Yet, when I scanned the slowly gathering crowd, I could pick out every Aon I saw without flaw. There was so many, but they wouldn’t listen to me or even look at me. What did they see? Was I that much different than them?

My shoulders slouched in defeat, I sighed and stood from the bench and began to walk down the sidewalk again. I searched once again, trying and failing to gain the attention of passing Aons without alarming them. My attempts were wasted and by the time the sun began to wane, I found myself heading back down the same sidewalk towards the Manor alone. The streets weren’t as full as it had been hours before, everyone was settling for now until dinner rush hits. I hadn’t eaten that morning, nor had I eaten lunch. I wasn’t that hungry anyway, but I didn’t like the hollow feeling in my stomach. I was broke, without a penny to my name. I also had no ID and no way of access to anything in my name. I’m sure in my bank account I had my paycheck from Friday, but it was too risky to attempt a bank withdraw even if I could access it.

I kneaded my temple as I casted a glance over my shoulder and spotted, yet again, another Aon casually strolling down the block. I glowered at her. A very thin woman, with a narrow face and large sapphire eyes. She was beautiful in my eyes, with large blue eyes and a natural pouted mouth. I glowered until her head turned. She stopped puzzled by the sudden change in the atmosphere between us. Once her eyes caught mine, she took off down the block with her golden ringlets tossing behind her like ribbons.

“Yeah, keep running.” I muttered in agitation. “You’re all worthless, a disgrace to-”

I was cut off as a body suddenly slammed against mine. The next second my back hit the pavement and a heavy body toppled on top of me. I hadn’t seen it coming. I couldn’t brace myself as my back hit the ground and the body landed on top of me. An electric shock suddenly surged throughout my body. At first, I thought it was my spine, but the body on top of me suddenly gasped out in shock. I gulped in air, choking to regain back the breath knocked from my lungs as the person scrambled to get up. Suddenly a pair of dark eyes were locked with mine as he stilled in horror, silently hovering above me.

Time seemed to slow in that moment. One minute we were both frozen in shock, then in the next his eyes broke from mine and snapped behind him. I knew him, he was there –it’s him.

“It’s you.” I breathed.

His eyes fell to me and then flashed up as he launched himself forward. I scrambled to sit up and watched in horror as another male hurled his body passed me; his black eyes set upon the retreating figure as he snarled out in rage. His hair was jet black and his body much larger than the first man that surged forward. The atmosphere of the second man was much different than the first. I felt a surge of fear at the sight of him and recoiled back in repulse.

The man –the man from the visions and dreams shot a glance back at me. That face from then on would be forever locked into my mind. It was that man, it was the man from the vision… His dark chocolate eyes peered into my own with as much amazement in that short glance. His plump mouth popped open in almost horror and excitement. In that short glance he scanned me and met my gaze with glassy eyes before snapping his head forward.

It was as if my mind had taken a picture of him, locking his face into my head with every detail clearly sketched. He had a rounded square face, high cheekbones that were prominent beneath his dark olive toned skin, with a clean-shaven chin that came to a rounded edge. His nose was slightly wide, with two narrow almond shaped eyes that peered at me from beneath his thick brows. He had thick rich brown curls that hung to his pointed chin in loose waves, which he appeared to attempt to push back behind his almost pointed ears. Some curls fell free and fell forward in front of his bewildered eyes, adding only more mystery to this man with his hard gaze.

I quickly stood and peered after him in horror. Why was that man chasing him? Had he done something wrong? Was he in trouble? Should I go after them?

            My soul said, ‘yes’, but my mind told me ‘no’. I can’t be spotted, and I believe that man chasing him was a Legion. I could feel it in my gut, the second man and the shadow in the night, he was chasing whoever that man was. I felt a pull on my soul, as if the man from my visions was pulling the cable tighter and tighter until it ached. I wanted to find him, to go after him. It was as if he shoved a part of himself into my chest, then ripped out a fraction of myself and took off with it.

Too much was happening all at once, this morning with the Pendant, then the tunnel, now this… I couldn’t decipher it at first as I distanced myself from him and geared myself towards the Manor. As soon as I reached the last step and opened the door to the Manor, my stomach churned, and my head pulsed as I forced myself inside to face everything once more. I ignored Thomas’s inquires and buried myself into my father’s study. I tore it apart, I dug through his drawers and I searched his bookshelves for something. A guide… something that could help me to rid this new feeling.

I found nothing in those two hours when Thomas came in to find the mess. He stood motionless and gazed around in disbelief.

“I’ll clean it up.” I whispered from the corner I was tucked in.

His eyes snapped to me and he sighed. “It is only your fourth day of this life, calm down. There is always tomorrow…”

“Not always.” I muttered to myself as I scanned the bookshelves. I doubt he even heard me.

“What has you suddenly twisted into knots?”

“Did you know there’s a secret tunnel?” I blurted.

His eyes flashed to me as he sunk into the sofa in shock.

“You’ve found it?”

“Actually, it appears to have found me.” I mumbled as I looked to the wall in question.

“How’d you find it?”

I told him what happened this morning. Telling him everything from the point of waking up, until the vortex, then I stopped to look at him. He was staring at the wall silently before looking to me with furrowed brows. I couldn’t recite the vision I saw, not only would it be inappropriate to tell him, but he was –in a way –a father figure to me now. It would be uncomfortable for both him and I to recite what I saw. Besides, what I saw for some reason felt sacred to me.

“I would tell you to stay away from it, because it bares the truth. But I’m afraid you will become as addicted to it as your father had. It showed him his future, the raw truth. Although when it came to war, it showed him something he didn’t like and yet he still went back to it. Your father was half driven mad with trying to see what would happen next…” He hesitated and rubbed his face with his shaky hands. “I took the liberty into asking someone to barricade the tunnel off after your father died, but it appears it picks who it wishes to be known to.”

“I’ll avoid it, then.” I said simply.

He shook his head. “It’s not that easy, Ms. Foster. Once you have seen it once, you will be addicted to it. I can only give you my advice, and that would be to avoid it as much as possible.”

I kneaded my temples and slumped against the wall.

“Why is my life so screwed up?” I mumbled.

He grunted in disapproval. “It’s not, you just see it as disordered because you are not used to this lifestyle. To Aons the Mortal life is, as you say, ‘Screwed Up’ because they are not used to the petty struggles. You will learn, and you will understand one day. Today –today just isn’t that day.”

He stood and left, ordering me to clean the room as he wobbled away. I had it cleaned before dinner was served, but I could barely eat with everything else gnawing on me. I had to get things done, but how?

I paced the study until it was almost midnight, then I lied awake until I grew uncomfortable and got up to walk the halls. I knew my answer wasn’t here, but I had to keep moving. By three a.m. I could barely move and sunk into a sofa somewhere on the second level. I slept there for the night. Yet, I was not alone. As soon as my eyes closed, he was before me…

His dark chocolate eyes peered at me from another dimension, haunting me until I awoke from a cold sweat more than once. I couldn’t rid him, and I tossed and turned until dawn brought light.