TIME AFTER TIME

interludium, ii

PANDORA.

Some would say it's a death wish to tell a demon your name, but they've never met Lucius Violet. The demon who looks at the world from every angle. It's like he has eyes in the back of his head, which made sneaking up on him almost impossible. 

"Darling Dora," he would sigh with the whispers of the night on his tongue, "I've told you time after time you will never surprise me."

I glare at him from the trees before dismounting my aerial position in the vines. When I land soundlessly, he turns to me and offers a beautiful smile. 

"How do you do that?" I asked, circling the demon who had once again lured me to the edge of Oasis. Far from the sea, my sister and other watchful witches. 

"Demon," he states plainly. His quick hand reveals the leather bond notebook in his silk attire from his pocket. The robes he wore differed from the light fabrics of Oasis. If anyone glanced at him, they'd know he was from other lands by his wardrobe alone—if his face didn't give it away. He gestured towards me with the journal, and those eyes glistered, "I have a question for you."

"You always do," I mused, watching his fingers glide over the pages he had spent days filling with information. He asked me intellectual questions, ethical questions, and logistical questions. He would tell me about his home, Spartacus, and hours later, he would quiz me on the information he recited. He spoke Sparta, teaching me the language. He never asked me about Oasis, witches, or spell casting. I wasn't concerned if he was going to double-cross me. After all, I had told Pearl that if he did, I'd rip out his core myself. 

"Would you like to come to Spartacus?"

I stopped balancing on the root of the tree, my bare feet falling into the sands of the North. Beyond me were the Barenlands, a sea of sand and misery. There were myths of Wild witches who wielded magic that was neither Spirit nor Chaos. It's just another ghost story Mother told to keep us in line. Now, I stared at Lucious in question. He never asked me that before. I told him what he already knew, "Yes, I would."

Night flashed as he grinned, "Wonderful." Another pocket was revealed in his robes, and suddenly, he was holding violet silks, offering them to me, "You'll have to change."

My eyes grow three sizes, "Now?"

"I can turn around if you're shy."

I swat away his poorly-timed flirting, "You-- You want to take me to Spartacus now?" My mouth was agape like a fish on the shore. Lucious, ever calm and collected, nodded. 

"Yes, now." He offered the clothes to me once again, "Will you come with me?"

I stared at the demon on the cusp of the Barenlands, watching as the wind blew sand far from the two of us. All of the places I had dreamt of seeing. All the food I wanted to try, the smells, the sounds, the textures. All of the things I pleaded with Mother for change and integration of both witches and demons. She practically laughed in my face, but Lucuis was offering all that I had wished for. I was reaching for the clothes with a quickness and dressing even faster. 

Lucious turned to look in the opposite direction out of curtsey. After all, he saw everything. He even saw me struggling to tie the silk robes together, which gave him the perfect excuse to tug me towards him, tightening the band around my hips. I felt my face redden, as it always did when Lucuis was too close. As his hands worked, he instructed me, "When we get to Spartacus, move beside me at all times. If you are too far, other demons will smell your scent or worse." His hands tied a knot as he continued to speak, "Don't stare at anyone too close, remember to conceal your mind, and most importantly..." His hands lingered on my hips as he took a deep breath, "Do not tell anyone your name."

Whatever you say, I tell him in Sparta. And then I tilt my head, "How exactly will we get there? I'm not able to carry you that far on my phantom wind."

"Don't worry about that." He outstretches his hand to me, "Just take my hand."

I clasp my hand around his, well aware of the mild heat that began to build to a burn. 

We walked back to Oasis, shielded by the shadows of the setting sun. I held him close as we breezed through the jungle on my phantom wind, only slowing when he signaled me to. After our gentle dissent, he led us to a small pool of water. Then, walking around the bend, I saw a familiar waterfall. I stayed close to him as we ventured behind the curtain of falling water to the cave. I watched him move quickly over the puddles, and when a splash of water landed on his shoulder, I heard him wince. A trail of smoke simmered from his skin as if he had just been burned.

Once we reach the ground, I watch as he pushes aside a stone that was on the floor, beneath it was a symbol written in Sparta. I wasn't sure what it said. I couldn't read the one Lucius began to write or the one after that or the half a dozen that followed. Lowering his marker, he gestured for me to follow. Once again, I was beckoned by the demon's hand. I accepted it. 

I took a deep breath, glanced over my shoulder once again, and placed my feet over the warm markings on the cave floor. Lucius took my hand and inhaled deeply, walking with me towards the back of the cave. Ancient words fell from his lips, and then we were swallowed by darkness. 

The world remained dark, and so the demon's hand remained in my own. The first thing I noticed in the darkness was the blistering heat. After that initial heat wave, the warmth became a gentle hold, cradling my entire body. The omnipotent spiritual energy of Oasis was long gone. In its place was that suffocating heat. Lucious tugged me forward, and then I felt leaves brush against my skin, twigs snap beneath our feet. Then we emerged from the foliage, and I saw marble stones in the shapes of beasts amongst wildflowers. 

"Welcome to the royal gardens of Spartacus," he turned to offer me that dazzling smile, "or more accurately, welcome to my home."