The Girl Behind the Words

Day 31 - Free day

Since several people have been asking for the sequel to No Way in Heaven or Hell, I have decided to post an excerpt from the first chapter in addition to the one in this February's Wattpad Block Party (which you can read along with a cast interview).

************

1 –THE NEW CETHIELITE

The black castle was absolutely silent. There were no sounds of footsteps, no voices, no flame cracking in the hallways. The torches had died out because one had tended to them, plunging the entire castle into even more darkness than it usually radiated with its black walls and eerie gargoyles. Not to mention its halls so wide every sound echoed tenfold. A fine layer of dust coated the various pieces of art and furniture.

The castle's former glory seemed long forgotten. Cobwebs were even forming in some of the corners. The kitchens were littered with statues of the servants, and many of them were standing immobile in the middle of a corridor, caught in the midst of their daily duties by the terrible affliction that had befallen the Thendarian world.

In the throne room, frozen in a bewildered stance as he stared at his hands, was Lord Zerelus, ruler of Thendaria, the world of atonement and fire. His dark hair, his pale skin, and black cloak were now a dull gray. Everything was as still as the paintings hanging along the wall. It was as if time itself had stopped, and yet hadn't at the same time. If time really had stopped, then there would be no dust on the palace tiles. The same stillness had also fallen upon the world outside the palace. It all looked almost exactly the same. The same endless red sunlight still glowed above them. It causes the inhabitants' skins to turn red, a color that deepened over time. The buildings were rustic and made of pale gray stone, as they had been for longer than anyone could say. But like the palace, the world ad stopped in its tracks, as though someone had hit the pause button on a remote, or was looking at a picture.

Each of them too were entirely silent. The streets were littered with statues, each in varying positions of shock, horror and dread. There wasn't a sign of life anywhere. There wasn't even a gust of wind. There was little way of telling exactly how long things had been this way, but if one were to examine the layer of dust, one would estimate it had only been a week or so, two at the most. There were no indications as to what caused it, or whether it was permanent or not. Zerelus's desk, in his study, was covered in papers and notes, an old fashioned raven quill standing in its bottle.

Written on the pages were handwritten comments to various schematics and designs, charts and lists. Several words often reappeared, sometimes more than once on the same page. "Cethielite", "plan", "conquest". The details were complex to the point where only Zerelus himself could make sense of all these notes. He had clearly been an extremely busy individual, before ending up like a giant paperweight, of course. Even in stone, he still had a strong aura about him. One could tell at a glance that he was in charge, and that he knew it, not to mention enjoyed it. He wore only velvet, and didn't mind the ambient heat since he had long since grown accustomed to it. In the deadly silence, however, something happened quite suddenly. There was a faint shift in the air, as though an invisible wave had swept over Thendaria. For several moments, there seemed to be no other change. Until, at last, in the throne room of the castle, Zerelus's fingers twitched.

Eliana felt something tickling her face. She didn't want to open her eyes. She wrinkled her nose and turned away. She was comfortable, why was someone trying to wake her? When they tried again, she decided they weren't going to leave her in peace until they succeeded. She sighed and her eyes opened to look into a face. A male face with deep dark eyes and light brown tousled hair. And that impish smile Eliana sometimes loved, and other times, like this one, found a little annoying. She gave him a grumpy look.