PMD: Crux of the Self

Soul Food

"I'm so, so sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt.." Von couldn't pull his eyes away from the candlelight. Each wick vied for his attention, and his eyes danced from flame to flame, each swaying in a subtle, captivating dance. He swayed where he stood. Unable to take a step, unable to look away from the candles that filled the pews.

"Are you lost?" came a whisper. "We haven't seen you in Candle Cay before," came another. "It's so nice to have a guest!"

The words of the candle congregation were calm and curious, but they nevertheless had Von's stomach in knots."I am lost," He admitted.

"We're very good at guiding folks home!"

"Where is home?" Hope flared within the lizard.

"A tunnel runs beneath us." "It will take you wherever you need to go." "It's a maze, so you best stick with us!" "It'd be bad to get lost down there." "We'll keep you safe." "The door to the cellar." "Will you follow?" "Lets get you home, where it's nice and warm."

Transfixed, Von could only focus on the candlelight. It helped distract him from the surge of weakness he felt. Home. Which one? Jake? Would he even recognize me like this? His body began to move and he shuffled after one of the candles leading him down the chancel, to a door, tucked away in the old stone. Home. In my car? Where I was? Where it's cold. So cold.. At least the fire of the ghostly candle was warm. Home. With my family? In Oregon? There's a church there, too-

"There is no home to go to," he said aloud. The crowd of candles kept their smiles of melted wax as they stared at him. Von's heart thudded in his chest. He had broken their spell over him, but would they let him leave?

He stopped moving and stared, not in fascination, but in shock. He stood at the top of a set of wooden stairs that descended into a darkness he could not will himself to enter. At the foot of the stairs waited one of the spirits whose flame led him downward, its candle hardly able to pierce the darkness that would have swallowed him, had he not come to his senses.

The walls of the cellar were built different from the church. Underground, the stone from which the church was made gave way to ancient clay brickwork. It smelled earthy, but dry, none of the dampness present he expected from a basement. The ghost's flickering blue light not quite strong enough to peel back the darkness that shrouded the alcoves that lined the walls. Catacombs.

The spirits' flames flared higher, and a sickness swept through Von. They've been sapping my strength this whole time, he realized. He sunk his claws into the wooden floorboards to steady himself. "Home is down," "Come with us through the tunnels," "Of course you have a home," "Everyone does!" Their voices swirled around him, the chorus of the candles cacophonous.

".. Not this one," came a whisper quieter than the rest, almost imperceptible, but so, so close. At the base of the stairs, the sole candle below him went dark. One by one, the fires gathered behind him, urging him down, were extinguished, while they all remained quiet, not a single protest among them. When the last light was snuffed out, Von took in a shaky breath of air as their pressure weighed off of his chest.

From the shadow cast by Von's tail rose a ghost, its body a smokey darkness, its eyes burning of two distant candles, flickering orange this time. It spoke again, addressing the gathered spirits. "This one belongs to me now. Return to your rest." It was humanoid and stood only two feet tall, but its presence commanded all of Von's attention. As the candles obediently returned to their places, Von stared at the dark presence with only weariness, too drained to think, or to question.

"Human," it hissed, "You will perish, if you are not more careful. Your time to venture into the Labyrinth will come, but not today." It placed a hand on his shoulder, its grip icy, its eyes of fire burning into his. "You are weak of will and body. Do strive to be better than the naive pawn that you are." A tremor passed through him, emanating from where the darkness held him. Sapped of everything he had, Von could no longer hold onto consciousness, and slipped into unsteady dreams.