Lord Liverchester

Chapter 13

It was difficult to stay awake when warmth kept pulling me back down. In the darkness, all I knew was Dorian's body beside me. I felt the presence of our things scattered about, but they were far from my reach. I continued to sleep long after we knew it was morning. Dorian checked his pocket watch with the flame of his lighter. In that warm glow, I saw his tired eyes. For a while I thought today might not be the day. But the gatekeeper wouldn't wait. After what felt like hours, going back and drowning in a sea of warmth, accompanied by pleasant sunny dreams, we decided to wake up. We sleepily stumbled around the room with a single candle to light our way. All or things were picked up and contained, sure not to leave any sign of ourselves behind. Our blood had stained the wine glass, a darker shade of red settling at the bottom than what would be expected from just wine. Dorian wiped it out with a black satin handkerchief, setting our remaining mess outside the door for someone to collect. Maybe it would be forgotten. It was unconventional to use random rooms in venues and pubs like a hotel room. That was how Dorian got around though. Despite having the money to pay for a hotel night after night, he spent all his tours gallivanting from one place to the next, sleeping wherever he could. Staff were usually kind to him, as he was so well known and respected. Like the previous morning when we were in a hurry to leave, everyone had pleasant words for us. This time, there was money involved. The pub owner pulled us over to the side and handed Dorian a massive wad of cash. I'd never seen anything like it, and Dorian was even surprised. Neither of us protested though, and after we stumbled out into the street sleepily, still in a bleary eyed haze, he counted the money. His eyes were wide with amazement, holding up the equivalent of $800 in today's American money. It may not seem like much, but Dorian wasn't always paid so handsomely. Feeling generous, he handed me half.

"After all, you're half of what made last night's show so good," he said, pulling me gently down the road.

The sky was dark and cloudy, a subtle mist covering everything. I tucked the money away, thanking Dorian as I checked to make sure nobody was watching. The streets were practically empty, just the two of us rushing to seek shelter wherever possible. Our next stop was a large brown brick shop, a "meat market". It was definitely a meat market, almost a nightmare inside. I tried to ignore all the things that made it more of a butcher shop than a market, able to admire the red and gold details on each window. I followed close behind Dorian to the back, clinging to him and holding my breath. I was sickened, my nostrils invaded by the smell of blood. He was unfazed, used to things like that and possessing a stomach of steel. We stood staring down at a crate full of cabbages, exchanging glances before picking out which one to give the gatekeeper. It was almost funny how he required something as simple as a cabbage alongside our blood. Just our luck that night was a full moon. This couldn't wait, unfortunately. Our task had to be performed without failure and we were total amateurs. It sounded easy enough, just covering a cabbage in our blood and leaving it by the gate for some strange creature from another realm to come collect. Dorian assumed the cabbage was there to represent a member of the Whinery family because we couldn't just go sacrificing a Whinery every couple weeks. One problem we ran into was whether it should be a fresh cabbage or one that had gone slightly off. The Whinerys were for certain rotten cabbages, but we wanted to be nice to the gatekeeper. No self respecting creature would eat a rotten cabbage. But maybe a demon would. Demons aren't particularly known for being respectful to themselves or others. I was so bored with the argument, concluding myself that we should just get one of each and see which one was taken.

"Yes, but what if he takes both? Then we won't know which one he liked best," Dorian counteracted. "I agree though. Its our first time, and neither of us knows what to expect. Hell, he may take neither. Irvine didn't tell us what to do in the case of failure."

I assured Dorian we wouldn't fail, picking up a fresh cabbage while he held a slightly brown one. The thing about cabbages is, they don't rot very quickly. If they're kept in good conditions, they're more likely to stay good. We got our nasty one from the bottom of the crate, one that was kind of smashed under the weight of all the others. After that fiasco, Dorian picked up some snacks for the road. It was a long walk back to the gate and it was raining. This whole adventure was turning out to be a bag of mixed emotions. I was almost excited, though part of me never wanted to go back to that place again. I would be traumatized every time, seeing the place where my best friend was almost taken from me for good. He would have been the perfect sacrifice, so beautiful and talented, a delicious snack for thousands of demons. It saddened me to think about, how he really had nearly put his whole life on the line to save us all. I tried not to think about it, but I became distant in the process. Dorian tried to speak to me but I clammed up, not answering him in full sentences. I strayed behind him when we left, and I didn't try to shelter myself from the now pouring rain. Dorian stopped to pull me closer, expressing concern. It was nothing, I assured us both. It was something, but I brushed it off, having felt those feelings plenty of times already. Dorian wouldn't allow me to distance myself completely, wrapping his massive coat around me to keep me warm. I kept pace with him, walking slowly into the woods. Though it was totally unwanted and I tried to clear my mind, I imagined the gatekeeper just eating Dorian. It was a brief vision, but it still hurt to think about. It could still happen, even if it was a very stupid connotation. Before we even got there, I was filled with dread. Maybe it was the cold rainy day or the silence that fell between us, but I was not feeling confident. On a normal day, I could have felt differently, but in that instant, I was clinging to Dorian like a scared child. His position of acting like a caring father was taken again, and he soothed me with a song. He hummed to me all the way to our doom, wrapped around me protectively. It was such a long walk, seemingly going on forever. Could we just get it over with, please? My brain was probably my only enemy, but it was trying to tell me otherwise. No, everything else was my enemy and it was only trying to be logical. Well, believe me, boys and girls, when your brain shows you images of your best friend dying in the worst ways imaginable, at the worst possible times, it is not trying to be logical at all. That pattern of thinking is very damaged and will not lead to positive events. Being scared all the time is no way to live.