Duality : Book 1 of Codex Elysium

chapter 17 (edited) (and edited again)

Chapter 17

The Elysium coastline is a wild and ragged place, long brown and yellow grass sways in the wind, trunks of dead stunted trees are scattered across the coastal plain. Sheer cliffs plunge for hundreds of feet down to a rocky beach below. The sea is wild and raging as it hammers into an island which stands a short way from the rest of the cliffs. The top of the island is level with the rest of the coast. Its sides are just as sheer and unclimbable as the rest. The only access point to the island is by a narrow stone bridge. The island is where the druids stronghold is located.

Smooth black fortress walls surround the compound. They are nearly twenty feet high and topped with medieval looking battlements. There is only one gate into the compound. Inside is a large courtyard with the trunks of four long dead oak trees. In the very centre stands a massive stone fountain, which has a large stone dragon standing in it. Water would have once flowed out of its open mouth but the fountain has been dry for a very long time. The mansion surrounds three sides of the courtyard, set-out in a u shape. It is a three-storey building with many high arched glass windows. Only the windows on the top storey look out over the ramparts of the wall. In the very centre of the u stands the only entrance to the mansion. Black marble stairs lead up to a set of double oak doors, two fierce dragon statues stand guard on either side of the door. At the back of the mansion rises a single black tower. It is a very simple round black tower with a flat roof.

Eva opened her eyes, her bedroom was in complete darkness. Dawn was still hours away. She tries to shake away sleep and a foggy mind, trying to make sense of the strange noise which awoke her. Finally, her mind catches up and she realises it is the soft and gentle sounds of a piano playing. Eva sits up and then instantly wishes she hadn't as pain flares in her wounded side. All over, her body was bruised and hurt. Tiberius had used his magic to heal and close all her major wounds, but what remained was the pain and the scars. Eva ran a hand across the ragged scar on her stomach and silently cursed Tiberius. He had the power to heal without leaving scars and he could easily take away all the pain. She sat in the dark and reflected on the argument they had had. "Scars and pain are useful tools! They are reminders of not to be so foolish in future," he had said, "also if you got completely healed every time you got injured, it would make you reckless and you'd think you were invincible." Eva hadn't replied to that, she had been too preoccupied by the fact that Tiberius had no scars and seemed to be in absolutely no pain at all. She had ended up yelling and screaming at him until she had no strength left and passed out.

Sitting alone in the dark, Eva listened to the sad music. Down the far end of the hallway was a room which Tiberius jokingly called the piano room, a grand open room with absolutely nothing in it except for a grand piano. Listening to the slow and sad sounds, Eva wonders who is playing. Tiberius had never gone near the thing in the two years she had lived in the mansion. She didn't think he even knew how to play. Clutching her sore side, Eva climbed out of bed and decided to investigate. Her bedroom was in the section of the mansion they call the hotel section, another of Tiberius's jokes. Thirteen bedrooms line both sides of the hallway. It's completely dark as Eva slowly makes her way down the hall. There are large wax candles set in brackets along the walls, but Eva decides not to light any. Her bare feet make no sound as she creeps along the wooden floor boards. The sad and haunting sounds of the piano draw her onwards. Once past the bedrooms Eva reaches Tiberius's library. The door is open. A quick glance shows no one inside. Further on down the hallway the glow of orange candlelight spills from an open doorway, Eva creeps up to the door and her heart breaks at the sight inside.

The room was in complete darkness except for the glow of a single candle balanced on top of the piano. Jason was sitting with head bowed and tears on his face gleaming in the light, channelling all his emotions into the piano, the music is full of pain and sadness. It speaks of loss and despair. The music sends Eva on a trip down memory-lane. She remembers when she first arrived in this hell, the fight against the demon, being left alone and bleeding to death. Sometimes Eva hated Tiberius for saving her. Maybe she would have been better off dying again? She had always believed in a better afterlife, a place of peace and light. This world had been a major disappointment. Jason's music was washing over her and speaking to her heart. Clearly he was having the same thoughts about this place. Tears began falling down Eva's face as she watched Jason play. The tempo began to quicken and yet it remained sad and haunting, Jason didn't need to speak a word, the song was saying everything. His fingers flew effortlessly across the keys while his tears rained down on them. Eva had to brace herself against the door frame. The music and emotions were hitting her hard. Jason's song was like magic. Tiberius appeared at her shoulder with a single finger to his lips. After taking a long look at Jason he gently takes Eva by the arm and guides her away from the door. "Let him be," Tiberius whispered. Eva silently nods and allows herself to be guided down the hallway towards the lounge, where more orange candlelight can be seen.