Series: The Mountain: Book 1: The Awakening

A Concerning Direction

A trace of cold slithered within Helen's veins, temporarily coercing her to clutch her chest as a mild yet inescapable pain stabbed at her heart. Leaning on the wooden railings of her own balcony, the princess coughed out a thick wad of dark gunk into a plain handkerchief. Wiping the corners of her mouth, she let out a lengthy sigh as she wondered what Liam was currently up to. It had only been an hour or two since Isabelle had led him off somewhere beyond her reach, yet Helen's symptoms had already begun to worsen. After their conversation the night before, the princess underwent several changes, all of them being for the worst. Aside from the black chunks of cold-like substances she'd brought up, chills as well as pains stretching from mild to intense constantly plagued her entire body. Despite this however, Helen refrained from clueing Liam in so as to not burden him any further than he already was. This, as she'd soon grow to learn, would turn out to be a terrible decision as not only would her symptoms worsen mere moments after Liam's departure, but a new one would also appear. 

Staring off in the direction Liam and Isabelle had disappeared off to, Helen dropped the piece of cloth, clasping her hands over her ears as she tried to blot out the sickening whispers of multiple, unknown voices. 

"Please," she muttered beneath her breath, "Please leave me alone!"

 To her surprise, the voices ceased their persistent prattle, leaving her in silence as if waiting for her to converse with them. 

Unsure of whether further interaction with them was a good idea , Helen cast the thought aside as she whispered, "Are you there?"

The moment she spoke, the voices assailed her mind all at once causing her to reel in pain. 

Supporting herself on the railings once more, she called out "Stop that at once!"

Unlike her previous experience however, the voices, rather than comply with her instructions, continued to pester her with unintelligible phrases.

"Oh Liam," she cried out, "Where are you?" 

At the mention of the boy's name, the voices that'd been rampaging through her mind halted once again, giving her a temporary bout of peace. 

"You speak the name of the Host," a singular voice stated flatly, "Why?"

"Who are you?" Helen inquired, relieved by the voice's appearance. 

"Who am I?" the voice questioned, "I am the voice of the many, the speaker of a thousand tongues, scribe of countless books. I have no name!" 

"A nameless scribe?" Helen shot back, annoyed that their buildup had led only to disappointment, "Why are you inside of my head?" 

"Because I am," the unknown voice replied. 

"Alright," Helen responded, irked even further by their vague response, "How'd you get here?" 

"What an odd question to ask," the voice said in return, "I am here due to your own actions."

 "My actions?" she asked confusedly, " I think I'd remember doing something like that." 

"You do remember it," the voice challenged, "Were it not for your time of need, we would've never assimilated ourselves into the likes of a lesser being such as you."

'Lesser being?' she thought, somewhat surprised by their choice of words. 

Casting the insult aside, the gears inside Helen's mind began to turn, rapidly outpacing its usual status as she began placing the pieces together. 

"What's your relation to Shadow?" Helen asked, staring absentmindedly into the trees below. 

"Shadow?" the voice asked, genuinely confused by the name.