Servant to the Prince of Darkness

Chapter 39: Reflections

I squeezed my eyes shut to fight through the pain, but it was hard to ignore it. I bit on my lip hard, but it didn't help. I didn't know what was happening, or what I should be doing. I cursed Jericho for not telling me anything about what to expect.

I heard a faint whispering in my ear. It was so soft and quiet, but I heard it. I didn't catch what it said, but I believe it said my name. It sounded so distant, though I could feel the chill on my neck, like someone was right behind me. I quickly opened my eyes and the pain went away, replaced with that uncomfortable electricity. I was taken back by my surrounding. It had the atmosphere of the in between, but this place had plants. There were trees and grass, even bushes. It was a forest. A dark forest. I looked around. The sky was black, nothing was in it, yet I could see fine. The trees looked just like the shadows of trees, everything here seemed to be shadows.

"Where am I?" I heard a voice. I spun around to find who it belonged to, but there was no one.

"Who was that? More importantly, what?" I spun around like some crazy lady trying to find the owner of the voice.

"That's what you're thinking. Isn't it?"

"Show yourself," I demanded.

"If you wish." There was a rustling in the woods to my right. I turned to see me coming out of the thick batch of trees. She looked exactly like me. From the small freckle that was on my neck, to even the strange color of my eyes.

"What the..." I trailed off.

"Where do you believe you are?" Was that what I sounded like? Man my voice could be seductive if I wanted it to be.

"The I between?"

"No. Think again. Think harder," it demanded.

"I'm not completely sure. Why do you look like me?" I circled around the imposter, looking at her every inch.

"If you knew where you were, it would answer that question," she said, irritated.

It took me a moment to remember what Jericho was doing to my soul.

"Are you my bond to Amos?" That just caused her to huff angrily.

"No. I am you stupid. You are in your soul," she said calmly, but you could tell she was a little upset. An o formed on my lips.

"Wait, are you my soul. Would I be my soul?" This was confusing. She threw her head back and laughed.

"You have yet to learn just who you are. That shall be revealed in time."

"Who are you?" I couldn't help but ask.

"You and I go by a lot of names. I am your deepest part of your soul. When the time is right I shall be one with you, but for now it is best to be separate," she walked by me with the kind of grace I'd only seen come from the Queen.

"You're making no sense," I stated.

"That boy, Jericho, he is trying to do what exactly? Rid you of Amos? That would be possible if it weren't you," she said.

"What?"

"I'll tell you a little secret. It won't work," she said slowly. I wanted to ask her, or me, what she, I, meant, but all of a sudden she disappeared in a fit of laughter. Suddenly my vision went black.

Something whispered to me again, I could barely hear it, but I think it said, "in due time, empress." That word again. I've heard it before. Before I could process it too much I opened my eyes to chaos.

My servant mark was clearly showing, and there was a strong wind fishing around the room. So many books, paper, and even some furniture was trapped in this tornado like thing. Jericho's body had the black veins like mine had, but they were gin from mine. I quickly put my servants mark away and the air around us stopped.

I hadn't realized how loud it had been until it stopped. Everything fell from their suspension and hit the ground with a thud. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Onsal, knocked out on the ground. I went to to see if he was ok, but Jericho had a death grip on me. He was clearly sweating and the black veins seemed to be growing bigger. I stepped closer to him and brought my hand up, along with his, to lightly brush his cheek. His eyes flew open as soon as my hand brushed his face. The dark veins quickly began to disappear. They began to disappear from the place I had touched him, like I had lit a fuse.

"You ok?" I asked him. He looked pale, and all he could do was nod. "What happened?" I looked around to see the mess we had made.

"Did it work?" He asked, ignoring my question. I summoned my servants mark.

"No." I had a feeling it wouldn't work anyway. That strange dream like place seemed like just that, a dream.

"When I was in your soul I saw something. Something sinister and damning. It told me that this wouldn't work. And do you know why? Do you know what it said to me?" He looked at me in the eye, totally serious.

"What did I say?" I said trepidatiously.

"It said because you were one of us that it wouldn't work. Did you know? Did you know you were one of us?" He didn't look angry, but confused. And scared. I didn't know he could look like that.

"No. I didn't. What...what exactly did you see?" Was it like something I'd seen?

"I didn't really see it all too well. It flickered in and out of my vision, like something from the in between. But I caught a glimpse of it, its eyes were like...lanterns in the middle of a pitch back head. It had antlers like a deer, but I didn't see too much other than that." No wonder he was pale. I swallowed hard. I'd seem that thing too. What was it? Why was it lingering around me? Was it trying to get to Amos? Or Jericho? Was it trying to get to me?

I couldn't tell Jericho I'd seen it too, I don't think that would beat right now.

"Well, I guess I know who my father is now," I chuckled sadly. Jericho just looked at me, confused. "To be clear, I don't know exactly who he is. But I know he came from here. Moms not from here, obviously, and I've never met my dad. Only makes sense. But he'd have to be a higher up if he could pass the in between. Or someone who was banished maybe?" I began rambling.

"Stop talking," Jericho ordered, clearly annoyed.

"What the hell is going on?" Jericho and I both looked in the doorway to see Amos standing there. And he did not look happy.