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  “It has different names, but in this world, it’s known as a Wraith,” Luna revealed. “They are foul and the most frightening to encounter, only because they cannot be stopped once it sends them to collect the souls of the dead.”

  “Enough about this,” My mother snapped at us. “Yuna will escort you to your room, so you can rest for the night.” She and Luna struggled to help me off the soft bed. “Your aunts and cousins had already left for the far side of the island to lay camp. Tomorrow evening, we celebrate by consuming as much wine as possible, listen to music, and eat a lot of delicious food. You can invite Amphis if you wish. I know how well you have taken to each other. This is only because you deserve a good present from me. I will allow her to set foot in this castle whenever she wishes.”

  I got up on my two feet without being helped the rest of the way. “Thank you, mother. I’m grateful for your gracious offer.” My legs automatically strolled to the door where Yuna waited for me. “I’ll pass on the invitation tomorrow. You’re right, I need rest.” The ache in my chest drained my energy, and I was weak in my legs until Yuna leaned against me to support my stance. “Good evening mother and Luna.”

  Yuna had staggered with me in her arms down the hall. We were only halfway away from my mother’s chamber until I heard faintly from a distance, my mother and Luna speaking. Luna’s aggressive voice stood out the most. “Of all the Demons, you seduce that one! It’s for the best if she doesn’t find out about her father.”

  “Her father knows of her existence now.” My mother expressed irritation. “I won’t let him have her.”

  I detected the protective instincts in her voice as Yuna struggled with me up the stairs to the tower. Why was my mother so fearful of my father? I’ve never seen my mother act helpless since returning. Her composure shakened and so was Luna’s based on my mother’s state of mind. What was a Wraith? Why has it come for me twice in my life? I wanted all my questions answered, yet there was no one in this castle I could trust to satisfy my curiosity.

  “Thank you, Yuna!” I spoke to her in a hastily manner. “I heard about what you did for me. Thank you!”

  “Milady,” She responded. “We were all fearful for you.”

  “My mother called it a Wraith.”

  “Milady!” Yuna gazed at me with uneasiness. “You are being hunted.”

  I gasped at her words as she continued to help me into my room. Yuna didn’t say another word after that, which left me in a state of uncertainty as to what happened and why would she assume I was being hunted. My life became more complex than ever that evening. Even in my dreams, I was in the cold darkness, listening to my inner thoughts. Tobias!

  In my mind’s eye, I saw myself in front of an enormous gilded mirror with carved skulls within the frame of the oculus. Behind my reflection, a wall of darkness materialized, and dark figured souls reached out, moaning in agony, towards me. Wraiths held them back as a large dark figure formed, carrying a massively bound book with a cover made with bones and black leather straps that kept it sealed

  . A deep fainted voice chilled into my mind. “ALLLLPHAAAARD!” The voice resounded deep and low pitched in the dark space. It reached out through the reflection of the mirror until I could see its skeletal hand approach me. The air was still with not even the sound of my breath. My heart pounded against my chest as it pointed at me. “You belong to me.” He echoed in the darkness before touching the center of my forehead.

  I woke up suddenly to the sight of dawn, slowly rising over the ocean horizon through my balcony window. Sweat dripped from my body as if I bathed in a pool of water, and my forehead ached where the ghastly figure touched me. What a strange nightmare to have after what transpired yesterday. The wound on my chest still throbbed in pain, but it appeared to heal better since the cut had sealed more since last night.

  It didn’t take long to get dressed and to make my way to the beach, eating a pear that tasted slightly sweet from the ripeness and the juice from the fruit was refreshing on my lips. The sun was extra warm today, and the wind whipped through my hair, which seeped into my cut, irritating the skin. So, I tied it into a ponytail and wore my black tunica, which was cut at the sleeves to be extra short and the collar cut wider, so my wound could breathe easier without the cloth grazing against it. Yuna said I had to wear my chest gear with the Hades insignia while my cousins were on the island, but I refused. It was too heavy, and my chest still hurt to wear it.

  Amphis waited at the cove as usual in a short frilly skirt with her chest exposed, wearing her wavy blondish brown hair tied high in a braid. Her radiant eyes glimmered at the sight of me with the soft expression of relief on her flushed face as if she had cried all night. She ran over and hugged me in her delicate arms as usual she smelled of sea water and sweet vanilla. The scent intoxicated me as I laid back into the sand, sighing in relief. Amphis laid next to me, kissing me on the cheek.

  “I can’t believe you’re here and it’s still you.” She glanced at the black tainted stab wound on my chest. “This is what they did to you.” She gently touched my wound and tried to heal it, but her healing magic didn’t work on it. “Did it hurt?” she asked with sadness in her eyes. Her tone was subtle to my ears, and that made my heart melt.

  “It hurt just for a moment before my heart stopped,” I remembered the essence of death vividly on my body. “I died.”

  “I know,” she sighed. “I felt it. We disconnected for a while, so then I realized you were not here anymore.” She looked away from me. “It terrified me, the experience of you slipping away.”

  “I’m sorry you suffered through it,” I replied trying to comfort her. “I’m still here beside you right now.”

  “What happened?” Her expression changed, and I saw how worried she was. “Something seemed wrong before we disconnected. A shadowy feeling came over me as I felt you die.”

  “I don’t really know,” I replied. "There's no clarity about what happened during the ritual. I remembered my mother stabbing me in the heart with the blade mixed in Hades blood. My heart stopped, and everything went black. And I was in a place cold and dark, just waiting.”

  “Waiting for what?” Amphis asked curiously interrupting.

  “I don’t know,” I answered. “A light awoke me.”

  “Nothing else happened?” Amphis asked as if there was more to the story.

  “Well something else happened.” I closed my eyes, thinking of the Wraith I saw in the lake. “Apparently when I was dead, something came for me. A dark phantom-like spirit appeared over my dead body and from what Luna described, it tried to take my soul.”

  “You were approached by a Wraith?” Amphis’ eyes widen in terror. “Wraiths are dangerous entities. Do you have any idea why you would be hunted by one? They only serve one master. And you would have to be on the list for them to collect your soul.”

  “No. I did nothing or knew anything of this until yesterday. It’s not the first time it has come for me either. I met that thing before coming to the island and back then it seemed right. I had no fear towards it. In fact, I actually felt at ease like I could just let it take me to wherever I’m supposed to be.”

  “Supposed to be,” she sounded concerned. “You are taken to the Bookkeeper. The collector of souls who cages them into the darkness. The souls he collects become forever damned to the void where no light can ever reach them.”

  “Who is this Bookkeeper?” I asked.

  “His true name is Tobias.”

  My eyes popped open. “Tobias,” I reacted in surprise. “My mother mentioned that name in silence.”

  “He’s a high ranked Demon lord,” Amphis answered. “In the Demon world there’s a hierarchy. Tobias is what you consider royalty among the Demon faction with the power to bend space time to trap souls. His book has a list of names of who he wants in his collection, to feed his power over the absence of light. He is, The Absence of Light.”

  I remembered my nightmare from last night and it matched to what she describe
d about the absence of light and the darkness that trapped all the souls crying out. It all seemed like a dark tale, told to frighten me; however, I felt at ease as if it was the essence of home. The figure I did not fear, the Wraith was his hound, which didn’t seem like it had intended to harm me. What did all of it mean? Tobias.

  “I don’t understand what it all means, Ocean Princess.” I closed my eyes again to listen to the waves wash up on the beach. “All I know is that I’m still exhausted from last night. Oh, by the way, my mother sends her invitation to come to the festivity tonight.”

  “So, your mother has accepted me into her castle for a night of exotic fun.”

  “I don’t know about exotic,” I laughed to myself.

  “I’ve heard Harpys are alluring in a night of music and wine.”

  “There will be plenty of wine that’s for certain,” I became mischievous with my words. “Enough to be intoxicated with a lover all evening until dawn.

  “So, I’m your lover and you will feed me wine all night. Anything else I should be aware of tonight?” she asked with a playful tone, grazing her fingers across my chest and neck. Then, I felt her breath as she kissed my lips. She tasted sweet like strawberries and I leaned into her and kissed her more intensely. I wrapped my arms around her as her tongue touched mine in passion. Her kisses were mesmerizing and addicting. I wanted more of her until there was the ache in my abdomen, once again, making the blood in my body rush faster through my veins and my skin was hot. The pulse hit my forehead where the Demon had touched me in my dreams. I pushed her lips away from mine and guided her to my chest to lay her head there.

  “What’s the matter?” she asked.

  “My head hurts today,” I responded. “Can we just rest here for a while?”

  She cuddled next to me as my mind drifted into the abyss of my dreams.

  I woke up to an uneasy silence and found that Amphis had disappeared, and the light of the sun had dimmed in the sky from a shadow that shrouded it. It was cold, and the air was still. It was strange, my body no longer suffered any pain, so I sat up and stood to my feet searching the beach. Everything around me had become lifeless and gray from the absence of light. A wall of darkness formed near me with the souls of the damned, reaching out once again. A group of five Wraiths’ glided above me, each showing their disfigured faces as they passed by. They pointed at the castle for me to go, whispering my name like an echo in the wind. “Alphard.” I followed the voices back to the castle. The corridors were dark and motionless. Not even the shadows existed without the light.

  The Wraiths’ lead me into the great hall where my mother’s throne was set. In the distance, I could see a colossal cloaked figure, standing in front of the throne, yet again with the thick massive book in one arm. His cloaked moved fluidly, expanding out in the space that extended to the far edges of the room. He had no face and I could see a large sheathed sword at its side. Its grip was black painted iron engraved with skulls. The long blade was intimidating and appeared heavy as if it could slice a being or a creature in half with one stroke. I took a deep breath and approached him with caution. My eyes didn’t look away from the sword, thinking I needed to be vigilant while making myself present to him.

  He stood there in silence, with the book. The Wraiths floated around him as if they were waiting. “Tobias.” His name slipped from my lips. His cloaked shifted in the air more erratically as he floated towards me. I noticed he appeared to have no legs just as the phantoms that served him. I gasped when he came closer, my head tipping back while glancing up at him. The darkness that was shrouded in his cloak gave me an extreme chill. “I’m not afraid of you.” He stayed silent. His skeletal hand reached out for me once again and his index finger touched my forehead. His power entered through my mind and the cold, dark, sensation, overwhelmed my body.

  “Awaken,” he whispered in a deep voice that resonated in the room.

  The floor trembled under my feet and the light in the room vanished into the darkness along with me. I gasped and woke up back on the beach with Amphis, laying on my chest. I panted heavily.

  She woke up to my distress. “What’s wrong?”

  I exhaled and inhaled frantically unable to speak. “Easy.” she stroked my face. “Just focus on your breathing.”

  “It was just a dream,” I caught my breath. “Just a dream.”

  The touch of Tobias lingered on me for the rest of the day. I experienced how much power a higher-level Demon has, all within my grasp. Something was different about my energy and the pain in my chest wasn’t there anymore. The wound was there, yet my skin was numb around the cut. I didn’t want to share with anyone, including Amphis about my strange connection to The Bookkeeper. In my mind and my heart, I knew who he was. However, I needed the courage to say the truth. What needed to be said? To accept it for what it is. Tobias! The Bookkeeper. A Demon. After my dream, I knew for sure… He was my father.

  CHAPTER XIII

  The Night Awakens

  MY SOUL HAD AWAKENED to the mystical dark energy, surging through my veins. Yuna was given orders by my mother to make sure I was prepared for the celebration in the evening. She dressed me as it became dusk.

  The sun set below the ocean horizon through my balcony window. My aunt, Ocypete, sent me a gift of fine white Egyptian cotton, smooth to the touch. It was a short-wrapped dress and Yuna covered my chest with a long strip of the cloth to bind my breasts; in support before she put on my black chest guard with the mark of Hades. While attaching the leather harness, she accidently grazed the wound.

  “I apologize, milady,” She cried after noticing the red inflamed skin around my black lesion.

  “It’s ok,” I pleaded. “I felt nothing.”

  “Are you certain, milady?” She reacted with anxiousness while checking the wound to determine if it was bleeding.

  “I don’t feel the pain anymore, so yes, it's fine.” I patted down the cotton against my skin, checking around my torso. “This feels nice. Who would have guessed a cloth can be so gentle and breathe so well? It’s incredibly soft.”

  “Your aunt’s territory is Egypt,” Yuna replied. “There is an abundance of wonders there. Jewels and elegant attire, all gifts offered to her from the Pharaohs and villages as a tribute.” She then secured it around my collar, along with Amphis’ enchanted choker, a Roman gold and glass necklace. It composed of six gold crescent pendants, twisted wire, faceted green glass beads; spherical and semi-round green and gold beads. The jewelry was dazzling. “From your aunt, Aello. Roman jewelry.”

  “This is beautiful!” I played with the beads around my neck and had a crescent pendent between my fingertips. “I’ve seen nothing like this before. Mother usually wears only gold chains, bangles and gems.”

  “Happy birthday, milady,” Yuna spoke, it was refreshing to watch her beam with happiness. “You’re finally getting things of your own.”

  “I would prefer to travel to all these places my aunts and cousins have been.” I exhaled. “I admire their sovereignty. Sometimes I get envious of them even though they wish me gone from this life. They get to experience the world as they please, they have a family that remains by their side. Nothing is more delighted than having the grace of a family to fly with. The world is infinite to a Harpy and knows no limits. I crave to see the world outside this island once again and maybe visit the north to visit my family and friends.” I hunched my head in grief. “If they even still remember me. They possibly have lives now without me. Maybe a family of their own.”

  “Everything always moves forward, milady,” Yuna’s mood became as wise as an owl. “It never remains the same and the more days you spend living, the oftener things change with the seasons. You will encounter further than you fantasize. You may not be the woman you are now, but you will uncover an abundance of pleasures in the forthcoming and might indeed see plenty more of the world. Maybe further than your family and friends ever did. Your mother has not confined you, mistress. She simply wishes you to live long en
ough, so you can experience what she and her sisters have seen and more. The darkness has awarded you with eternity.” She lightly ran her fingers through my hair and gathered it to tie it up.

  “Do you think Amphis will admire me dressed like this?” I urged her while she prepared my hair.

  “I've come to understand the lady is captivated by you regardless of how you look, milady.” She had a twisted smirk. “I guess someone invited her tonight.”

  “Yes,” I acknowledged. “I’m restless to meet her. I’m nervous.”

  “Oh, I’m certain once she’s in your sight all that uneasiness will turn to sheer excitement. You’ll just have to compose yourself in the presence of your mother and aunts," she cackled. “Make sure you take a claim on her before your cousins do. Most of them have a reputation for collecting and seducing gorgeous girls and later disposing of them for the mere pleasure.” She painted black eyeliner on my eyelids and dark shadows just above my eyes and eyebrow. “This will help your eyes stand out. The swift wing clan use this for their eyes most occasions.”

  “It looks exotic,” I glimpsed at my reflection in the mirror. “It's different, I don’t even look like myself anymore.” I settled with determination and touched Amphis’s choker trying to recognize the woman in the reflection that featured me. “There's no turning back now.”

  “No, milady,” Yuna bowed her head. “You are now the Princess to the clans.”

  I faced Yuna taking a sharp breath. “Shall we go?”

  “Yes, milady.” She bowed once again before we made our way out of the tower and downward to the central chamber.

  In the distance, I could hear the Lyre and Harp play harmonizing melodies that surrounded the hall with music. The smell of wine and fruit filled the air with appetizing aromas, masking the scent of perfumes and oils from the women in the room. They set bowls on top of mid-sized pillars in the corners with oil that was set on fire to the light area and candles had been spread throughout the tables in candle holders. Underneath the sets were tablecloths varied with black, red, and gold as decorative colors of the clans. The flags of each tribe draped over the banister of the staircase with their emblems.