Cold.
My bones, my fingers, my toes.
Every bit of my body is colder than it's ever been before.
It's painful to breathe, the breaths coming out of my mouth clouding the air in front of me as I navigate a dim tunnel alone. I feel as though I've been here before, the damp darkness somehow feeling familiar.
But where am I?
I try to remember how I had gotten here, but nothing comes to mind. I just feel a flat emptiness. I can scarcely feel my heart beating softly in my chest as I continue towards a light at the end of the tunnel.
Dust motes float about as the tunnel continues to widen. The light grows brighter, nearly blinding me as I squint against it. I look down, my bare feet leading me into a cavern. Just when I've begun to wonder if I'm about to go blind, the light dims.
I blink a few times, bright spots dancing across my vision as I squint. White marble pillars tower around me, lining the edge of the cavern that is nearly the size of an indoor basketball court. The ceiling reaches up to nearly the same height, the detailing at the top of the pillars lost to the shadows they're cloaked in.
A bell rings, the sound light and only faintly there as something stirs in my subconscious.
I've definitely been here...once before.
But when?
My thoughts feel thick and sluggish, like treading water in my own mind as I try to string myself together. I've been here once, but not this far. I look down, following the pillars down to a matching, white marble floor.
Something about this place seemed much like it was a site where rituals were performed.
Only question was, what kind of rituals?
I shiver in the cold silence as, in the center of the cavern stands a fluted pedestal. The bell rings once more, the tone slightly louder, an urgency almost being conveyed through it.
Come to me.
I feel it rather than hear it, a tugging sensation in my chest, beckoning me to the pedestal. Another part of me wants to flee.
When has a strange ritual proven to be good for you?
If I'm being honest with myself, it seems almost like it's set up to be ceremonial.
Yet my feet carry me up a short set of marble stairs where I stop by the pedestal. Crystal clear water ripples in the bowl of the pedestal as I approach, the water churning uneasily before it settles.
I want to reach out to it and examine it with my own magic, but find that I can't. Deeper still, I feel that I shouldn't. Beneath the perfect, marble surface it all felt strange.
I take a step back, yet something stops me as my feet are locked in place. The cold from the marble seems to soak into them as I stand frozen.
The bell rings again, a light chime that echoes in the cavern. Something drops into the pedestal but when I try to focus on it I can't name what it is. The water ripples suddenly as it churns and turns a deep shade of gray that makes it impossible to see the bottom.
Images float to its surface, much like a crystal ball revealing visions.
What I see makes me open my mouth and scream.
****
I jerk awake.
I sit up.
The ring on my finger burns with an intensity that makes me yelp. I frantically twist it off as it flares hotter, the fear of my skin burning off coming to mind. I toss it across the room, a tiny, metallic tink marking where it hits the wall and drops to the floor in the dark.
Sweat has beaded my forehead as I furrow my brows. The clock across from me reads 3am.
Confusion has clouded my mind in a thick layer that stifles me.
Where am I?
I sit for a long moment as my eyes adjust to the darkness. Indigo is fast asleep in the other bed next to me, the covers pulled up tightly to her chin.
Something about seeing her peacefully sleep settles me.
She's safe.
I can't help but feel that she wasn't. Somehow, in some way, I felt she had been in danger.
I reach up to wipe at the sweat on my forehead.
Gross.
I needed a shower if I was going to have any chance at falling back asleep, as the material of my shirt is sticking to me. I toss back the covers, careful to not wake up Indigo as I silently slide off the side of the bed. My feet feel strange on the carpet as I tiptoe across the room.
Only once I've closed myself in the bathroom do I turn on a light. I keep my steps light as I lean into the shower to turn it on, the water hissing to life from the showerhead. I pause when I see that I've tracked dirt into the bathroom.
What the?
I lift one of my feet to inspect the bottom of it, as I notice that it's blackened from dirt. I check the other and for some odd reason, they're both coated in it.
An unsettling feeling makes my stomach turn as a chill settles into my chest.
Something far more sinister than I can comprehend is going on. I trace the red mark the ring had left on my finger, knowing in that moment that the magic that had been cast may not have been mine.
The only question is, why can't I remember it?
YOU ARE READING
Unforgettable (Unfamiliar Series #2) (NEW COPY)
Fantasy***(((Book 2 in the Unfamiliar Series)))*** Kara Zen is back to finish up her senior year at Greenwood Academy, but when a horrifying discovery makes her relive the memories she's repressed, she can't shake the possibility that she may be at risk on...
