Beautiful Darkness

➵ Unpredictable

"How are you alive?" The first sentence I can think of spews from my lips.

The red-headed druid gives me a smirk.

"A simple human concept such as death could never tie down someone like me," Her tongue bites. A wicked gleam in her eyes tells me that she is a loose-cannon full of pride and manipulation.

Christian Rydel and Perizada Elvena step forward. Seeing them alive stuns me into complete silence.

"Please excuse the... special... one. She thinks that because a carefully calculated plan saved her from an ultimate demise that she is all powerful," Perizada adds. The two females share a stoic glare.

"To answer your question, we had help. Roman Darnassian spoke to us shortly before the battles began. He offered us each a pill that would have our bodies mimic the effects of death. On our part, we just had to make a convincing end," Christian raises his shirt and exposes a freshly scabbed over wound that covers at least six inches of his lower abdomen.

My mind stumbles on the first part of his explanation.

"Roman?" I am now aware of my surroundings. We are no longer at the inn, "Where are we?"

"Another dimension, obviously." Perizada lives up to the cockiness that her kind is notorious for. Her wrist begins to trace a swaying pattern. Energy appears and swirls between her fingertips introducing vibrant colors and static. Around us trees and plants grow from the ground. Their branches reach above seven feet as more plants are born.

"Quit showing off, we don't have much longer." Christian snips. His large form and features radiate an anger that never seems to fade.

"Whatever," Perizada heavily rolls her eyes and drops her hands to her sides. All growing ceases immediately.

"We are here to warn you. Antonis is demanding to see the bodies... our... bodies. Suspicion will put you at a direct disadvantage. You need to tell Roman. Peri tried to contact him, but his location was blocked. Some sort of magic lingers in his mind." Christian continues.

"Wait, his mind? Are we in my mind right now?" I ask.

"Yes and I can assure you it is a very dark and distasteful place to be." Zara is quick to answer.

"I don't understand this. If you all are alive, there must be some sort of plan. Why haven't you joined us?" Too many holes are evident in this story.

And above all, why didn't Roman give me a pill? Why would he purposefully allow me to concede and be taken into Antonis' custody?

"There isn't enough time. I can't hold this much longer," Perizada begins to fade. She stumbles slightly and Christian grasps her for support.

"You need to find the stone. It is the only hope we have." Zara rushes.

"What stone? Hope for what?"

"The stone Antonis once questioned you for. You have to remember, Arailia."

"Tell my brother that I love him." Christian's voice is the last thing I hear before all the plants fade away. I am back in front of the inn, my feet buried underneath the freshly fallen snow.

His brother? Is it one of the wolves in the pack?

The encounter leaves me quite dazed and with more questions than I had before. Aside from Roman, the fact that Lincoln and Christian are brothers baffles me. Lincoln never confided this to me before the battles, and never showed any displayed grief. Perhaps he did, and I was too blinded by my own emotions to see it. Despite this shocking information, my mind is still wrapping around how they are all alive.