Telluric

Chapter XVI: MUSE

XVI

The brooch now lay on the floor emitting a soft buzz, vibrating near Clary's boot. She looked curiously at the object, and suddenly it came to life. Crawling toward the wall, she dodged it and watched as it scampered slowly onto the desk.

"What are you?" Clary whispered to the creature. Suddenly, as if the arachnid had a consciousness, he methodically began to click and whir. And suddenly, four notes stung the air.

G

C

A

F

Then the brooch collapsed and stopped moving. Clary stood incredulously watching the object. Picking it up, she held it close to her eyes and inspected it. Bejeweled rubies and dark gems gleamed naively back a the inferno within Clary's eyes.

She placed it back onto the desk and wiped the sweat-stuck hair from her forehead. Slumping against the wall, she decided to turn on the small television that stood itself on a shelf across from the desk.

The first thing that appeared was the news, with Graywood's own Arianna Wilkes. She was interviewing some citizen about a recent budget meeting, and Clary found herself more absorbed in the television than she thought she would be. It offered a benevolent distraction from her current stressors.

The beetle on the desk faded as she listened to the synthetic laments of the reporter, and the electric colors were painted together into a messy palette. Clary found herself absolutely absorbed, the hours ticking by. When she finally snapped to her senses, the day had changed attire; into something deep blue and speckled with stars.

Heading into the back room behind the mass of beads, Clary climbed the steps and entered the apartment above the shop. There was a bedroom, kitchen, bathroom, living room, and dining room, all lived in by the one and only Clary. She brushed her teeth and changed into pajamas, collapsing into bed shortly after.

Her dreams were dark and confusing, as dreams can often be. She stood alone in a dark room, with dim lights barely visible. Motions around her caused a panic and she twirled to find what it was. The fires that she normally could start very easily were not appearing, and the dizziness she now felt caused her to fall.

But instead of hitting the ground, Clary fell into the darkness. The lights flew up from around her as she fell. The breeze and wind flushing upward as she fell down cooled her significantly and began to spin her around. She felt like Alice, falling senselessly down the rabbit hole.

Finally, she found herself falling upright and plunging straight down into a pool of water. She felt helpless and vulnerable. A light suddenly intensified nearly causing her blindness. Covering her eyes, she felt it become dim once more. When she opened them, a figure stood before her. He was dressed in robes and an odd bird-like mask. Her stare was cut short as he pulled her from the water. Suddenly she was standing on the water, drenched and dismayed.

The figure was gone, and in its place was now another figure, this one looking completely different. This figure mimicked was a glowing entity. The dress they wore was flowing around the wet landscape. Their hair was white and long, and their skin was black with white speckles about it.

Glowing dimly, white and teal tattoos swirled around the figures arms and legs, and they held out their hand.

"You have called, darling?" The figure murmured, omnipotence ringing clear in their voice.

Clary knitted her eyebrow. The entire experience was lucid and surreal to her, the dreaminess playing a large toll on her current state of mind. Reaching out for the figure's hand, she suddenly felt herself wake up.