The Opelux and Other Monsters || Book One

CHAPTER 14 - UNKNOWN

I sat up straight and something shattered across the floor.

I looked over the edge of the bed. A small teacup and its plate lay in pieces. I looked around me, rolled over, and looked over the edge of the other side of the bed.

"Hello?" I could've sworn someone had spoken. "Is someone here?"

I slipped to the floor and padded to the bathroom door and peeked inside. The room was empty—and the hole my vomit had made was gone. I turned back and scanned the bedroom. There wasn't anyone.

I tiptoed over to the glass doors and squinted through the sheer, white curtains. The world was dark. The balcony glistened from the never-ending rain. I tried to reach for the handle again, but that shield still wouldn't let me near it.

"A bit of Destere and a Thet Veehm should open it," a soft, melodic, feminine voice said.

I spun around, flattening myself against that hardened air, and sharp, unpleasant currents pulsated into me, forcing me away from it. I stumbled forward a few steps. "Who said that?"

"You should not speak aloud to voices inside your head. People will think you are crazy."

I scanned the ceiling and the walls, down to the dark space beneath the bed. The spacious room was still empty. And that voice was not one I'd heard yet, I was certain of it.

"Is this a joke...or another test?"

"No. Neither."

"You're in my head?" I pressed my hands to my forehead. I didn't feel any pain. In fact, I couldn't remember feeling clearer headed than this.

"Yes. I can see that you do not remember me. It is all right. My memories of you are a bit hazy too. Let me introduce myself—"

I sank to the floor, my toes numb from the sharp currents, and rubbed my temples. I must have hit my head harder than I thought.

"The Poeir test released me. I am called Lexicon."

"Lexicon? Like...like dictionary?"

"Yes. I am your artificial backup plan. Unfortunately, all of my memories concerning your before have been removed."

"Removed?"

"Yes. Consequently, the only things I can do for you now are, tell you what you should already know, and help you to recover your basic instincts."

"Such as?"

"Well, your Poeirs for one."

"You'll tell me how to use them?"

"Yes. The three you have been officially tested for, as well as the others when the blocks are broken."

Something unpleasant stirred in my stomach. "What others? What blocks?"

"Your Poeirs were contained within undetectable blocks when you first arrived. Somehow, the blocks around those three were weakest and shattered during each test. The sensation was eerie. I am fairly certain the sudden release had a bit to do with the dramatics of your reaction as well as the dangerous surges when those Poeirs were forced to reveal themselves."

"You said others. The test said I only have three."

"You do not have to speak to me aloud," Lexicon said. "Now, tell me this. Did your hands burn each time?"

"Yes. But nothing happened," I said in my mind.

"You mean nothing obvious happened. The sensors pick up nothing if the Poeir does not leave the skin. The blocks held them back, kept them hidden. By this continent's standards, you are quite the illegal. Not that that seems to matter to anyone here. That unpleasant old man undoubtably has more than three Poeirs and that curly haired pretty boy is a Vek, no doubt about it. Something you could certainly hold over him if he becomes a problem."