Sinister Secrets

Speculations and Strange Meetings

The sea lapped at the shoreline, crawling over the sand reaching its fullest height, and then rolling backward toward the center again. The sun beamed down on me, warming my skin and sending me into a moment of pure bliss: just that beautiful shoreline, the sun, and me. I slid my hand through the white sandy beach, lifting the sand and letting it slip between my fingers, the grainy feeling rubbing along my skin. The trees behind me swayed against the salty breeze that carried off the water. It was peaceful. So much peace. The only disturbance of the peace was the loud drumming in the distance. The subtle beat calling back to it. I glanced over my shoulder in the direction of the drums, listening to the beat and memorizing it before climbing to my feet and following it. I waded through the trees, giving one last wistful glance at the shore as the sound of the drums grew louder as if they were asking me to focus.

I opened my eyes and stared directly up at the ceiling. I recalled the dream, letting the scene replay over and over again in my head, the sound of seagulls above, the lapping water, and those drums. I filed away those sounds in a distant cabinet in my mind so I could bring them back up whenever I needed to. Being in The Wall, we were far from any large bodies of water. Seeing that sprawling ocean had me wanting to really experience it. 

I sat up in the bed, drawing my knees up to rest my arms along them. I glanced down at the spot beside me and was thankful that I'd asked Relm to give me some space. Just a few days to collect my thoughts. It was nice to wake up on my own and not have to worry about the person beside me who didn't even like me to begin with. I ran a tired hand over my face before crawling from the bed and padding barefoot to the window. I stared out the glass, watching the tree line for any sign of life. When I found nothing, I simply made my way to the bathroom.

I climbed under the hot spray of the water and let the temperature ease at my sore muscles. Being pulled into the room with the Dark Lord had answered some of my questions, not all of them, but some. I was starting to put some pieces together. I was a protector. I had no clue what that meant, but apparently, it had something to do with a dragon. I was "bonded" to the Dark Lord- still iffy on the definition. And most of all, the Dark Lord couldn't find the dragon without me. Oh, and can't forget the biggest gem of it all- I wasn't safe in The Wall. Which, meant I probably wasn't safe around Relm either.

An even scarier thought was that, if I wasn't safe in The Wall and I wasn't safe around Relm, was I safe around the Dark Lord? Sure he was a Lord, but his father was against non-magical beings and, though he had too, the Dark Lord fought on his father's side of the war. He also wasn't very happy that I was the one bonded to him and the protector. So who did I trust? No one? I did what I did best when I needed answers. I went in search of Amos.

Amos and I had agreed to do some research together and now that I had more information, it was safe to think that this was bigger than both of us even imagined. This wasn't just someone playing a prank on me, this was more. I entered Center Court, my eyes scanning the fountain area for him and coming up empty. But, when my eyes found the gate, I paused. It had been so long since I thought of her, the craziness that had swelled in the last several days and caused me to put her on the back burner. But, for some reason seeing the gate then took me by storm. I was raptured by memories of her. Of a time when Iriana was here. She would have helped me. She would have already known the secrets they were all hiding and she would have helped me get out of them. I missed her and there wasn't a time more than now that I desperately needed her.

I sighed, heading across the stone path for Amos's house. I knocked on the door and he answered promptly, letting it swing open as he headed back inside. I frowned at his abrupt greeting but followed him in.