The Summoning

VIII - Shelter

Even when I jolted awake, the rumble of the ocean did not cease as the weight of it pushed down over me. Opening my eyes, I found it was not the weight of the ocean holding me down, but a very large cat.

We were nose to nose as it purred, eyeing me with curiosity. I took in a shaky breath and froze in place. It really was a very large cat. Probably a Maine Coon.

"Hello." I rasped, not daring to even try and pet it lest it decided to turn against me. Somehow, it purred harder.

The cat trilled lowly before jumping down, allowing me to sit up properly. The bedroom door had been left open a crack and the cat slunk through the doorway with its tail swaying back and forth contently.

Just to the side of the door were two crutches, probably placed there while I slept. It was nightfall now and the moonlight filtered through the window to barely light the bedroom as crickets sang somewhere in the garden.

Past the sound of the crickets, I could just barely hear a melody echoing somewhere through the otherwise quiet church. At first, I thought maybe I had been imagining it, but as I limped to the door, grabbing the crutches and pushing it open wider, the haunting tune of a piano grew louder.

As hard as it was trying to quietly sneak down the hall with crutches, I managed and found myself following the soft music to the end of the hall. The cat was waiting at a pair of double doors, its eyes glowing as it peered up at me.

The doors seemed to lead somewhere behind the church's main room. The beautiful sound was louder here, slipping through the cracks of the doors that the cat now pawed at expectantly.

Sighing, I blinked down at the cat. "I don't think I should -"

My head snapped back up at the voice that began humming over the piano's tune, pursing my lips as if it would suddenly disappear if I might even the slightest sound. I even stopped breathing as I leaned closer to the door.

I couldn't make out anything being said, but it was like a siren's call, so raw in emotion. For a moment, I thought I could hear a sob cutting through the singing, but couldn't be sure.

Growing tired of waiting for me, the cat stood on his back legs, pulling on the handle of the door and popped it open before pushing his nose through the crack and slinking through the space.

Pulling my hands close to my chest, I bit my lip and took a step back as soft, flickering light poured through the doors. The cat meowed and I dared to lean closer to gaze through the sliver of light. It was a large room with high, vaulted ceilings that kept the sound of piano even as Vessel stopped playing to lean down and pick up the cat. He was sitting at a large, black grand piano with dozens of candles lining the shiny surface.

Vessel gazed down at the cat for a moment as it circled his lap. It curled up, tucking its tail close and closed its eyes as he stroked down its spine one last time. I could barely see the front of his mask from behind the hood of his cloak before he leaned down, taking the mask in one hand and pulling it from his face, setting it on top of the piano.

My breath caught in my throat. His face was still out of sight with the fabric of his hood shrouding him in darkness, but I suddenly felt like I was in the presence of something I had no business witnessing.

His fingers traced over the keys once more before pressing another sad string of notes over them.

"Don't you know I'm no good for you? I've learned to lose, you can't afford to."

I recognized the song immediately, watching in rapt attention as he sang, fingers gliding over the keys like a dance. I backed up and slowly lowered myself to the floor, leaning against the wall across from the doors as quietly as I could, laying the crutches over my lap. I was still able to just barely see the candle light filtering through the door and hear the end of the song.