Blood Shed

Chapter 23 - Levana

I called out into the empty darkness, "Hello! Scarlett! Faolan!" I waited for a reply, but all the came back was the echo of my harsh voice. Slowly I looked to my bare feet. "Anyone?" I mumbled to myself.

"Hello dear." A voice echoed around me, daring me to look around and find the source of the voice.

I knew no one was there. It was just the darkness and I. My head was making up the voice so I ignored it.

It called again. "Levana, look at me."

The words pounded in my head, forcing my curiosity to rage inside me, I looked. Before me stood a radiant figure. With a golden dress, clothe draping over her arms and twisting around her legs. She wore no shoes. Her fiery locks cascaded down her back into large curls. She wore a wreath of golden leaves around her bright red hair. She looked like a burning fire with her pale skin. She radiated warmth swarming the darkness with light. "Mum!" The words spilled out of my mouth as I looked lovingly at my gorgeous mother. She held her arms out, inviting a hug. I ran to her and wrapped my arms around her chest placing my head on her shoulders, tears falling down my cheeks. She reminded me of an angel, the opposite of me, her devil offspring. But even worse, her hair reminded me of Scarlett. The one I gave my life for, the one I loved. I cleared my mind of Scarlett focusing on the one I thought was gone forever since I was a young child, the one who was standing right in front of me. I felt her touch. It wasn't warm like I remember; it wasn't filled with love or hope. She felt cold, icy to the touch. Her touch made me feel empty, it made me unsettled and worst of all, unloved. I pulled back from her cold hug feeling the warmth return to me. I felt my heart whole again, the hope I could see Scarlett one last time made me feel like everything was going to turn back around. I gazed back up at my mother. "Where have you been? What have you been doing all these years? What happened to you that night? You just disappeared!" I searched her eyes for answers. A flash of anger shone in once warm eyes. Just as quickly as it came, it left. I stepped back gathering my thoughts.

"Darling, I can answer your questions later. We have a more pressing matter at the moment. Do you wish to get out? To see your friends once again?" She stepped closer to me. It seemed she was hurrying me for an answer, an answer I couldn't think through thoroughly.

"Well... yes I think so." I looked to the floor thinking about how much I wanted to see Scarlett once again.

"Good then I need you. We can leave now if you wish, but you must do the spell."

"Wait why? Aren't you capable of doing it?" I looked up into her eyes again. She looked like an angel. Surely, she could pull it off better than I could.

"You see, I am an angel, however angels deal with lives, fallen angels deal with death. You have the power to use the spell and get us both out of hear." She grasped my hands in her and smiled. Her smile wasn't warm it was manipulative. She seemed... evil.

I quickly pulled my hands away and considered my options. She was still my mother; maybe she was just desperate to get out after all these years. I wanted to see Scarlett so badly that it was burning into my soul. So, I accepted. "Fine, how do we do this?" She stepped back, her smile spreading wider across her cheeks.

"We must visit someone first, it's been years since I last tried the spell myself, I gave up hope and forgot it. However, I know where we can get it." She looked off into the darkness, deep in thought.

"Wait you mean there is other people here?" I snapped her attention back to me.

"Why yes silly. You didn't think you were alone, did you? Don't be so naive, you're not the only one who has died in history." She hastily turned and paced quickly into the surrounding darkness.

I paused for a moment, then ran after her disappearing fiery hair. Soon I caught up with her, the area was pitch black. I could barely see where I was going. My mother seemed to know where she was going. Her glow lit up the space a few feet in front of me. I carefully followed behind my mother keeping in the light to make sure I didn't trip over this soft ground. It felt we were running on a new carpet, or a fluffy blanket. I quickly glanced around but still saw the pitch-black surroundings. My mother turned around to face me and wave her hand in a panic towards her. I sped up so that I was only half a meter behind her while running. Again I glanced around only to see something else in the darkness. Yellow glowing dots slowly came out of the darkness, followed by a white lifeless body. They emerged out of the darkness into the light staring at my mother and I run by. I turned back to where we were heading making out yet another light in the darkness. However, this one was purple. As we ran the purple light started to move. It separated off, small parts of it flying around us in circles pushing us yet further forward. My mother slowed her pace into a brisk walk. She came to a sudden stop in front of me causing me to bump into her while looking at the surrounding lights. I stepped out from behind her and followed her gaze to a whirlpool of purple light against the wall in front of us.

"Quick, you have to say the spell otherwise this could take a turn for the worst. They don't exactly like the dead coming back to life." She eyed the swirling lights cautiously. "You must speak these exact words; A swirl of purple stirs before me, add a shade of blood and tears, then open this gate to those before you. Turn it purple to white bringing forth hope of new life."

I listened to each and every word, storing them in my memory. I ran through the words in my head before speaking them aloud. "A swirl of purple stirs before me, add a shade of blood and tears, then open this..." My thoughts became clouded with pressure, pulsing through my veins as the purple light started to speed up it's turning. "This... this... gate... to those... before- AGH!" I screamed and grabbed my head as the pain flushed below my skin.

"Quickly finish the spell!" She snapped in my ear.

Tightly, she wrapped her fist around my wrist twisting it slowly. The immediate pain from my wrist distracted me from the pain pounding in my head. I spoke the last words, "Before you. Turn it purple to white bringing forth hope of new life." As I shouted the last few words I could see the portal begin to twist anti-clockwise and the purple colour fade into a creamy white. I felt a sweeping blanket cover my head, pushing me into the darkness and out of consciousness. My last feeling was my body thumping to the floor beneath the portal.