The Summoning (Sleep Token FanFiction)

XXXV - The Night Does Not Belong To God

The next few weeks were filled with jamming for finals as if this were a montage from a 90's movie. I studied Chemistry and English with Vessel in the mornings, "Maths" with II in the afternoon, Art History and Social Sciences with III in the evening, and Humanities with IV at night. Before bed, I would try and brush up on anything I was missing. 

Vessel knew the other part of my deal with II, but refused to help me "channel" any abilities until I passed the test exam. 

The start of week two, I was dragging. There would be breaks throughout the days for food, rest and practice for the boys, but I was so filled with anxiety about not getting it right in time that it drained my energy. 

I fell asleep at the little desk that used to be a nightstand in my room late at night, when everyone else had already gone to bed. 

I froze, filled with confusion as I blinked my eyes open to find myself in a ballroom filled with people dancing in venetian masks. 

Fuck, fuck, fuck... I thought to myself, moving around the sides of the room to try and find a way out. I was in a ball gown of my own, a stark difference between everyone else in the room in black and velvet blue. 

I found a way to a balcony, glass doors swung open to reveal a night sky beyond the lights of the building. 

Catching my breath, I leaned my arms onto the stone of the balconies railing, before turning my hand over to stare at the faint hint of a scar in my palm. 

"Care to dance?"

I knew that voice. I turned to find him in the flowy white shirt, but instead of his usual cloak, he was wearing a stiff white cloak with gold filigree swirling around and suit pants to match the stark white. The cloak had an oversized hood with the same decorative elements pulled over his head. His mask was on, but looked different. It looked more square around the mouth, missing the decorative red swirls, but the symbol was still over the face. 

"I don't know if I want to go back in there." I said, trying to not let him affect me. 

He tilted his head to the side at my reply before tipping his eyes up to the night sky. I could have sworn I saw the stars above in the dark eyes of the mask. 

"I didn't mean inside." He leveled his gaze back to me, ever patient. 

He stepped further into the dark, away from the light flooding out from the ballroom, closer to me. 

From the corner of my eyes, I saw a shooting star streak across the sky. Then another before I tilted my head up to find a star shooting across the sky above us. 

"Okay." I stepped forward and took his offered hand. I found my hand shaking as I took his slowly, eyes catching briefly on the faded scar in his own palm that matched mine. 

Sucking in a breath, I fell to the floor next to my makeshift desk, cursing as I rubbed my aching back. 

In the morning, I nearly crawled to the living room as Vessel waited for me impatiently. He was tapping the pencil in his hand over the hard cover of the chemistry book as he watched me shuffle into the kitchen to get water. 

Folding his fists under his chin, he smirked just a little.

Long night?

"Don't even start with me." I mumbled, downing a whole glass of water in one go. 

He was patient with me while I struggled to focus. Today was English. Something about The Odyssey that I hadn't read in a long time. I felt like math with II didn't require so much thinking. I watched him read over my small essay on the book and found myself smiling at the little furrow to his brow. He touched the pencil to his lips as his eyes darted over the page before sliding the pencil behind his ear and flipping to the next page. When he caught me basically gazing at him, he laid the papers down with a little sigh.