Hail the Queen

The Man in Bones Part 2

I woke up on the beach, just like Vitalis said. I had been on this beach a thousand times, staring out at that same black ocean with silver foam floating along the waves. Each time I visited this place I arrived in a lovely gown. It was usually a gown of thin fabric with off the shoulder sleeves draped over my upper arms. My ebony curls encircled my head looking glossy and perfectly twisted.

This place was only available to me in my dreams. That sweet space between life and death. It was no wonder I always showed up looking beautiful and waiting for a man that looked like an NFL quarterback to walk out of the ocean. None of this was real.

Not yet.

My feet started moving involuntarily, and I was on my way toward the dark water. Though my feet moved I didn't seem to be covering any ground. It felt much more like the ocean was swelling, reaching out to greet me.

A crown of spiky spirit bone began to emerge from the inky liquid. His pale eyes shined, water droplets clinging to his thick black lashes. The water slipped down over his shoulders, sliding down his chest. He walked out of the water confidently, smiling as his eyes met mine.

"Why did you tell me to meet you here?" I asked, the wind whipping my skirt. I loved the feeling of the light fabric against my skin. It felt so freeing, like I could finally breathe.

"It's time," he said, dropping the smile as his serious voice made an appearance. "You'll turn eighteen tomorrow."

In the human world I was so out of sorts so much of the time I hardly knew what day it was. I had somehow lost two months entirely. I had no idea my birthday was so close.

One's eighteenth birthday signified many things. The beginning of adulthood being the key idea. For me it was the same. I became an adult, and that meant I was eligible to receive my crown.

"We need to go over a game plan for tomorrow," Vitalis said, "I sent Leiandros to get you in trouble, I apologize for that, but I needed you to take a nap."

My birthday and the crown both disappeared for a split second. How could he send that worm after me?

"Why would you do that to me?" I shouted, knocking one of my hips to the side. I felt betrayed. He knew how Leiandros made me feel.

"I told him not to get too wild," he said, as if that made things better.

"He laid on top of me while a doctor was in the room," I hissed, " She stood over me and stared down at the both of us! Is that wild enough for you?!" I shook my head in disbelief. His arrogance was infuriating. "Never give him permission to visit me," I said, "Never."

"I had to get you here, and right now you're wasting time."

"We're partners, Vitalis," I reminded him bluntly, "Or have you forgotten?"

Vitalis and I had made an agreement three years ago when things first started to go sour down here. I told Vitalis to wear the crown and keep things in order until I could join him. He was happy to do so seeing as it got him out of the black water.

"I had to make time with you, Dacia," he argued.

"I slept last night, you couldn't speak to me then?"

"I pulled Leiandros off of you last night, and let you rest afterward! Doesn't that count for anything?!"

I bit my bottom lip, determined not to argue anymore. Vitalis was my oldest friend, which made it that much easier for him to get under my skin. I had known him since I was five years old. I met him just after I had snipped the head off of a snake with a pair of scissors. I thought the snake was whispering to me, and it had been driving me crazy for days.