HOURGLASS

CHAPTER FOUR - I Feel a Bit Screamish 22:00

We passed through a few more rooms, but none of them had such memorable characters as Charlie. Spooky decor and lighting made all the actors look even better than their impeccable makeup already did. Although the original vampire was my favorite, there were some very interesting others along the way. Frankenstein's monster confronted us in a musky hallway, an army of undead civil war heros chased us through a corn field, and the loch ness monster's severed head served as a gruesome staircase to an attic with a cult ritual being performed.

The window slammed shut behind us as we crawled through the small space. The seven figures dressed in black before us spun around and glared at us. The one who had been standing in the middle of their pentagram walked over and grabbed our arms. The figure removed its hood and revealed a gorgeous woman with skin black as night, eyes the color of amber and golden hair pulled up into an ornate arrangement. She also had odd markings under her eyes that resembled tiger stripes..

"Oh! You must be the two that Charlie promised me. He so wanted you though dear. He said you smell like, what was it? Cherry blossoms and courage. What an aroma. Ah, yes I do smell it." She traced Nessa's face with one slender finger, and Nessa, brave Nessa, shivered and moved to stand behind me.

"Yeesh Nessa, it's just a haunted house." I rolled my eyes at her fear and she violently shook her head 'no'. All she could do was stare at the space behind the lady.

In that space, there was a decapitated goat. Not a fake one that they'd bought for the haunted house, but a real animal that was leaking blood all over the floor. I exchanged a glance with my horrified friend, my expression matching hers.

"Oh, darlings, it is just a bit of blood! Nothing to worry about." She smiled, her face seeming more and more sinister with every word she said. As our faces fell and turned into true fear and disgust, her lovely face turned cold.

"Do you not like it? I had been told that you both love fear." She looked down at her feet, obviously heartbroken. I felt the sudden urge to comfort her and I knew that Nessa had the same impulse by her jerky movement back and forth.

The lady with coal black skin turned to face us again with a flourish. "Well, I think that we should start over." She snapped her fingers and we were suddenly standing in the middle of the woods. Now, I don't mean fake trees, went through a trapdoor type of transportation, I mean we were in Lexicon, then we weren't. Nessa and I stumbled, trying to make sense of the chaos we just went through.

"I am Zephyras, the leader of this world. No, this is not Earth. That puny ball of dirt and water is barely worth my breath to explain. This is Erkir, my most wonderful creation. Eons ago, when you humans were barely taking your first steps into civilization, I decided to leave Earth. I knew that I did not want to stay for the unbridled chaos that you all would create. I can not stand a messy situation. So I created this, a perfect world. Everything follows the exact plan that I created. Not a single atom out of place. My only problem is that I can not create unique and diverse humans who follow the rules! It is just the worst. That is why I chose you two. You are both extremely talented. Nessa, an artist. Robin, a master of creating perfection out of hell. You both are exactly what I need, and I hope that we will all get along!" She smiled and her eyes twinkled. Not with happiness or laughter, but maniacal insanity.

Nessa nudged me with her elbow and said, "Talk about being a perfectionist." I chuckled silently but suddenly lost it and began laughing my head off, absolutely hysterical. Zephyras glared at me and whistled. Suddenly, I froze. Not from chills or fright, but I couldn't physically move my body. She shook her head and tsked at me, making me feel sorry for laughing. It was like I was in a trance, unable to be myself, unable to think, unable to even breathe.

Zephyras sighed. Lifting her hand up, she said, "Now. I do not have to keep you alive if I do not want to. It is just easier for me and more pleasant for you to live. Darling, if you annoy me once more, I will move my hand down, and you both will be crushed by an enormous block of magic. It will not feel good."

Nessa and I shared a glance, and nodded at the monster before us. She smiled, letting us free of her invisible vise.

"Let us do this, shall we?"