Chapter 31

-Dante-

The cat was staring at me.

The sun was already up, Chase was fast asleep next to me, and Eru was sitting at the bottom of the bed, silently judging me with her tail wrapped around her paws. She hadn’t moved in a long while. She wasn’t even blinking.

“Are you… planning my murder?” I asked quietly.

She squinted her eyes at me.

“Do you… need something?”

She let out a tiny meow and jumped off the bed. I pushed myself up to see where she went and saw her going to the fridge. There, she turned to look at me and meowed again.

“You hungry?” I asked, suddenly realizing Chase hadn’t fed her last night. I got out of the bed, making sure I didn’t wake up her human and put on my pants. Eru meowed a bit louder when I stopped next to her and opened the fridge. “I don’t see your food in here,” I told the cat.

I got an angrier meow as a reply.

I peered at Chase’s bag, but I knew not to put my hand in there. I had the feeling I’d turn into a lizard if I tried to touch something that belonged to a warlock. Instead, I turned to look at Eru again.

“Is ham okay?” I asked, taking a big plateful of sandwiches out of the fridge.

When I sat down at the table, Eru jumped on it and sniffed the food.

“Let’s see…” I murmured, grabbing one from the pile and removed the wrappings, before pulling a big slice of ham out of it. “Here…”

She took the ham from me without hesitation and started eating it. She glared at me now and then while she ate, but otherwise, she was focused on her food.

I took a bite of the now hamless sandwich. “I know you don’t like me,” I spoke quietly. “And I can’t blame you… Chase is now in constant danger because of me, although Roeruiz did promise to protect him.”

What Chase and I did last night… Maybe it shouldn’t have happened…

Eru finished her ham in record time and turned to look at the sandwiches. I grabbed another one, gave her the ham and started eating the rest of it, thinking about last night. I didn’t regret it, not even a little, and that made me feel guilty. I should’ve regretted it. I shouldn’t have let our relationship grow any deeper, but I wanted it to happen…

I turned to look at Chase. He was sleeping on his stomach, hugging his pillow under the covers. The gorgeous view of him and the mountain range was worth taking a picture, but I didn’t even have a phone. I tried to take in every little detail from his slowly rising back to the sunshine on top of the mountains so I would never forget that moment or the warm feeling I had inside me. It was a good memory to take with me to the afterlife.

“We’ll find the cure,” I muttered to myself sternly and turned to see Eru finish her ham. “Maybe you and I can then be friends,” I told her, and she meowed quietly. I hoped she agreed with me. “Want more?”

She took the third slice of ham, but she ate it much slower this time. Once she was finally done eating, she cleaned her face carefully, and I lost myself just watching her lick her paw, then brush her cheeks with it. She was a pretty cat, even in her terrifying form. It was odd to think that this tiny creature was capable of kicking my ass.

Even when I was in my terrifying form.

Then, she surprised me by walking to me. I moved my hand closer to her nose and she took her time to sniff my scent. “Trying to decide if I’d make a good meal?” I chuckled.

She purred. She purred and pushed her head against my hand.

“She’s starting to like you.”

I nearly jumped out of my seat when I heard Chase’s voice. I looked at him over my shoulder and saw him getting out of the bed with a smile on his face. He walked to us, wrapped his arms around my shoulders from behind and kissed the top of my head. “Good morning,” he muttered.

“Morning,” I said, and Eru replied with a meow.

Chase squeezed me tightly before straightening his posture. “Is your skin itchy?” he asked, scratching his arm.

“No, not really,” I shook my head.

“It’s that damn bath…” he sighed. “Where did you put the salve? I’m itching all over…”

“All over, you say?” I smirked. “Do you happen to need help with the salve?”

He chuckled at my question. “I’ll go take a quick shower. Then you can help me,” he said with a wink, taking his naked butt to the bathroom.

“Can’t wait,” I said, smiling at the view before it vanished behind the door.

*****

The lazy, lotion-filled morning turned into restless midday while we waited for Elena. I thought I’d feel better once she came to get us, but it had quite the opposite effect on me. I was extremely nervous up until I found myself sitting in the restaurant, and the waitress started bringing in the food. I forgot to be nervous when the scent surrounded me.

And so, the second part of the ritual began, and it literally was just eating the most delicious breakfast I had ever had. It included a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables that tasted way better than the ones in our stores, the softest bread with massive toppings, an omelet with bacon, three kinds of juices, yogurt with strawberries and blueberries… The list went on. The staff in the kitchen was amazed by how much I could eat, and they took it as a challenge. They won.

When I asked what made this specific breakfast so important for the ritual, Elena explained that it was packed with all the good things my body needed to gain energy, and since I was in the middle of a healing process, I definitely needed it.

“And, of course, we added our secret ingredient,” she winked at me.

“Do I want to know what it is?” I asked.

“Nope,” Chase said before Elena could.

“You know what it is?”

“I am a potion master,” he chuckled. “It’s Chernobyl juice.”

“Chernobyl juice?” Elena frowned.

“I use it in his potions – he came up with the name,” Chase explained, pointing at me.

Elena stared at him, then at me, and suddenly nodded. “Well, yeah – I can see why,” she mumbled.

“What is it really?” I asked.

“Don’t tell him,” Chase chuckled.

“It’s a great compound in all sorts of potions and recipes,” Elena told me with a smile and checked her watch. “Oh! Look at the time! I must go see how the preparations for the last part of the ritual are going along! I’ll come to get you at four o’clock – sounds good?”

“Sounds good,” Chase nodded.

“Great – I’ll see you at four,” she said, and practically vanished in thin air.

“What is it?” I asked again, but Chase shook his head.

“Not today,” he laughed.

*****

We spent our time wandering around the House and the yard with Eru. She did seem much friendlier towards me now, even though she was mainly focusing on exploring the new surroundings. I noticed that she didn’t go too far away from Chase, and always kept an eye on him. Twice Chase had to call for her when we changed our direction, and both times she came running back with her tail high in the air.

At four, Elena came to find us so we could start the last part of the ritual.

Meditation.

It was so freaking boring. The room was really nice though. It had the view over the mountain range, and two of the walls were made of rocks and covered in blindvine. There was also water running down from the top of both walls, and when I was told to close my eyes, I almost forgot that I wasn’t in a rainy forest.

But I was so goddamn bored. I was having trouble sitting still and listen to the soothing voice of the older dwarven lady, Iliana, who was guiding us through it. For the first time after I escaped Lena’s lab, I wanted to go for a run. But no, I was stuck learning how to breathe. Okay, we learned more than that, but still…

Of course, I tried my best to focus, and I hoped that I did all right by the end of the session. I was worried that I had failed this part of the ritual, and the Elders wouldn’t want to help me because of that, but Elena assured me that they wouldn’t reject me just because of that.

“All you need is to remember these exercises in case you encounter bad memories while you are in the dream,” she said. “These are tools you can use to make your journey with the Elders smoother.”

I nodded, hoping that I had learned enough.

After that, all we had to do was wait. We were strongly advised not to leave the House since there was a possibility that something would ruin the effects of the ritual, like getting upset or stressed or sick from foreign food. We didn’t want to take the risk of having to start all over again, so we stayed in our room.

Chase’s skin was still mad about the bath, so I got to spent a lot of time rubbing the lotion on him, but for the remaining time, we just tried to rest and stay positive. It was a long wait, but somehow, the hours went by, and it was finally time to go meet the Elders.

I thought I had been nervous before, but it was nothing compared to the moment when Elena knocked on our door. My stomach was turning unpleasantly as we followed her through the building in our pajamas and blue robes, and stopped in front of two, massive doors on the first floor.

When she pushed them open, revealing a big, dimly lit hall, with nothing but three statues in a circle, I wanted to run and hide. I could almost feel their presence. I could’ve sworn I heard them whispering in my ear.

“Welcome to the House of Spirits,” Elena spoke with a respectful voice, and gestured us to follow her. “This is where you will step into the dream, but first, we must ask for their aid.”

I glanced at Chase, who looked just as timid as I felt. It was odd to see him without his usual confidence. This had to be new to him, too, but I didn’t dare to open my mouth to ask.

Elena approached the three white statues that were facing each other in the middle of the room. There was just enough room for a few beds in the middle of them. The old faces looked downwards, each holding a lantern in their hand, and each of them had a massive crown. The statues were probably three times bigger than me, and something about their wrinkly, bearded faces and empty eyes creeped the fuck out of me.

“King Bodor,” Elena spoke, bowing to the first statue. “King Galvan,” she uttered, bowing to the second one. “King Ulev. I am here with Dante Gray and Chase Cooper – they are in need of your wisdom. You have followed them through their ritual and have seen their hearts. Will you offer your aid?”

The few candles in the corners suddenly went dark, and the moonlight was the only light we had. For a second, I thought it was their way of saying hell no, but suddenly, I could see three small orbs of light appearing in the middle of the statues, slowly making circles around each other.

As I watched, they grew brighter and moved further away from each other, towards the statues. One by one, they entered the lanterns, becoming so bright the room didn’t need any other source of light anymore.

Elena turned to smile at us. “They accept your request.”

I let out a deep, shaky breath, and so did Chase.

Elena asked us to wait there and went to call for someone. Soon later, there were four of her staff members carrying two big mattresses, and they placed them in the middle of the statues. They quickly made a bed for us and brought two tiny tables which they placed on both sides of the bed. Then, they left, and Iliana came in, pushing a catering trolley with two big mugs and a teapot on top of it.

“Let’s begin, shall we,” Elena smiled at us, gesturing towards the bed.

I felt uneasy when I sat down on the left side of the bed, Chase taking his place on the right, and Iliana gave us the mugs that were now filled with tea. I saw Chase sniffing it with a suspicious look on his face, and I assumed he was trying to guess what was in it. Then, Iliana left as well, leaving us alone with Elena and the spirits.

“Now all that is left is for you to fall asleep,” Elena said. “Do you have any questions?”

We both shook our heads. I was too nervous to think of anything at that moment.

“All right then – just remember, once you are in the dream, and you wish to wake up, all you have to do is walk back towards where the dream started – the spirits will understand you’ve had enough and will let you out. If you encounter bad memories, but wish to continue forward, just remember the meditation exercises to stay calm. They are effective,” she spoke quietly.

“What if they’re not?” I asked.

“Then you walk away,” Elena said with a smile. “It is recommended that you do not push your limits too far.”

I nodded and looked at the mug in my hands.

“Once the spirits have given you all the aid they can, they will let you fall back to normal sleep. I will be here, keeping an eye on you until that happens, and if I suspect something is wrong, I will wake you up.”

“How can you tell if something is wrong?” Chase asked.

“We are trained to spot these things,” she said reassuringly. “Now, if that is all, I suggest you drink up before the tea gets cold.”

I took a deep breath and started drinking. I couldn’t tell what it tasted like. Fruits and leaves, I suppose. I didn’t waste a second to drink it all, and once I was done, I put the mug away. Chase was a bit slower than me, but he, too, was in a hurry to fall asleep.

“Goodnight,” Elena said as we lay down, the lights going off in the lanterns.

I guess I fell asleep the second my head touched the pillow. I opened my eyes and saw a patch of woods in front of me. It was raining. The sounds around me were the same as they were in the meditation room. Dripping water everywhere. The smell was the same, too.

But I was alone. I turned around, my eyes darting towards the trees, but Chase wasn’t there. There was no one there with me, and I was nearly starting to panic. But then, I turned one last time, and Chase was standing there, looking around with wide eyes.

“This is how I pictured everything during the meditation,” he said, looking around the forest.

“Are we… in the dream?” I asked.

“I suppose so – it doesn’t feel like a normal dream to me,” he said.

I had to agree. I was awake. I was fully awake, or at least I felt like I was.

We stared around only for a short moment, but then, the spirits appeared. Those small, smoke-like orbs flew around us for a moment, and then, they started moving towards the closest trees. Chase and I exchanged curious looks before following them.

I wasn’t sure how far we walked, but it didn’t take long when the forest suddenly ended, and we stepped out into a quiet, dark street.

“This is…” I mumbled, stopping to a halt. “This is close to where I lived.”

I glanced at Chase, who suddenly wrinkled his nose, looking… angry?

“With her?” he asked.

“Yeah,” I mumbled, turning to look on our left. “It’s just down the street…”

Of course, he was angry… I was angry as well. I wanted to forget everything about this place. And her.

I heard footsteps coming our way, and when I turned around, I saw… myself. The realization hit me a second later.

“This is…” I mumbled, taking a step closer to the drunken me who was wobbling towards us. “It’s when I got turned,” I breathed out.

“What?” Chase asked with wide eyes, staring at the past me. “That’s a hint?”

I didn’t even realize it until he said it. “Why would they show this to us if it wasn’t?” I asked, hastily walking towards the past me. I didn’t get too far, when suddenly, something big and furry dashed out of the forest, hitting the past me so hard he flew on the ground. The wolf was big, black, and bit the old me on the shoulder so fast that I hardly even noticed it. The drunken me yelled in agony.

Then, the wolf was gone just as fast as it had appeared, leaving me and Chase staring at the bleeding man on the ground. I felt… numb. It happened so quickly… so… effortlessly. My whole life had changed just like that, in a matter of seconds.

“That’s…” Chase mumbled.

“I can’t remember much about this night,” I said quietly. “I didn’t know it happened so fast…”

“That wasn’t an accident,” Chase said. “It happened way too fast – whoever it was, they meant to turn you.”

“This is a hint,” I repeated. “But how is this going to help us?”

Chase shook his head, and suddenly, the spirits returned to us. I wanted to stay there and figure out what happened, but it was clear that this was only the first stop in the dream, so I turned my back on my past self, feeling a bit shaken, and continued following Chase and the spirits.

A short moment later, we were suddenly standing in front of a familiar door. Chase frowned at me when we stepped through it and found ourselves standing in Benjamin’s house – the round one.

“Oh my God,” Chase breathed out when the spirits flew towards the lounge, where Mr. and Mrs. Cooper and the three demon lords were fighting over the book of blood spells. I followed them hastily and saw the spirits starting to circle the book. Once I got there, the people, the demons and the entire house vanished, leaving us in complete darkness, but the book remained. “You know what this means!” Chase said in excitement.

“Are you saying…?” I whispered.

“This book is going to help us!” Chase said, picking it up and hugging it tightly. “It has the cure!”

I couldn’t believe it… I just stood there, somehow feeling numb and emotional at the same time. “It has the cure…?” I whispered.

I couldn’t believe it…

“Why else they would show it to us?” Chase asked with bright eyes. “I knew it!”

I was just about to join his excitement, but then, the spirits continued their way. We watched them gliding through the darkness for a moment, but then, a room appeared in front of them. Not just any room… Well, it wasn’t a room at all.

I couldn’t breathe as I stared at the bulletproof walls.

“What is that?” Chase asked.

“That’s where I turned into the beast…” I said with a choked voice. “…for the first time.”

It was the cell in Lena’s lab. The special one they had in case they needed to conduct painful, disturbing experiments that could cause us to lash out or change our form.

I thought I couldn’t go anywhere near it. A huge part of me wanted to turn back and not know what the spirits wanted to show me. But I had to know. With Chase by my side, I started walking towards it, the place that housed my worst memories. That time I got doused in acid… That time my arm was cut off…

That time this nightmare began.

We stopped close by, and for a second, the glass cell was empty, but when I blinked, I saw myself standing inside. We were suddenly surrounded by people, machines and the spectating area.

“This is the moment I turned,” I said after looking around. I saw Lena with her friends sitting close by. I saw Bernard being all excited to start this experiment on me. I saw Killian watching me closely with his hateful eyes.

Seeing it all was taking its toll on me, but Chase took my hand in his, making me feel stronger. We watched Bernard giving me adrenalin. We watched as I started to turn. We watched as I broke free from the chains and attacked the door, tearing it apart… The noises were just as loud as I remembered…

But then, the whole scene started from the beginning. Bernard walked into the cell again, and I was still shackled.

“What…”? I muttered, looking at Chase who seemed just as confused.

When I was fully transformed, and started breaking down the door, the spirits reappeared but flew away from the cell. We both turned to see where they were going, but they stopped right in front of…

“Killian?” I whispered his name with fear in my heart.

Killian was staring at my transformation with wide eyes, but only for a second. His expression became angry as he turned to look at someone in the audience.

Everyone was staring at the cell in horror, with wide eyes and mouths agape… All but one.

Lena was looking at Killian. She smiled at him. She didn’t seem to care about what was happening to me. Like she… already knew it would happen to me.

Suddenly, everyone else in the room vanished. Only those two remained, and the whole place became silent.

“What have you done?” Killian asked her.

“I proved it can be done,” Lena replied with a proud smile on her lips and stood up. We couldn’t see the people she was talking to, hurriedly telling them to come with her. I imagined it was the moment I broke the door.

When Lena tried to get to the exit, Killian stopped her. “What I told you was confidential – you promised you wouldn’t do it!” he practically hissed at her.

“Don’t worry – you will get your share,” Lena said and continued walking while Killian grabbed his gun and pointed it at the glass cell. At me.

They, too, vanished, leaving Chase and I standing in the empty room.

I could only stare at the spot where Lena stood just a second ago. Her words were almost too much to understand, but it was clear what happened.

“It wasn’t an accident,” I whispered. “She did this to me.”