Blood of the Abyss

Blood of the Abyss Part 19

Chapter 19

Somebody Save Me

Lysandra

Faint light from candles danced in front of my eyelids; soft violin music whispered in my ears. I felt myself swaying to the tempo and felt a small grin toy on my lips. When I opened my eyes, I saw that I was on stairs leading down into a grand ballroom. The floor was marble and majestic chandeliers hung from the ceiling. As I descended the stairs and entered the ballroom couples danced gracefully to the quartet playing in the corner. I moved in between the dancing couples, trying to find Caspian. He didn't seem to be in the ballroom. A splash of red caught my eye by the doorway leading out from the room. I pushed the door open and saw more red droplets on the cold tiles. As I followed the droplets, I heard quiet sobbing. I glanced up and saw Caspian at the end of the hallway, clutching a limp body tightly. The red droplets turned into a dark red pool that Caspian was kneeling in. As I stepped closer I noticed his sword tossed aside, coated in dried blood.

I continued toward Caspian and for the second time today, saw myself dead. He clutched my corpse tightly in his arms and sobbed into my chest.

"Lysandra..." He cried out. "Lysandra..."

"Cas?" I knelt down in the pooled blood in front of him and gripped his shoulders. His eyes remained trained on the corpse. "Caspian, look at me. Please?" I begged. He didn't budge.

"How am I hearing your voice?" A tear slid down his cheek and landed on the cold face of my body.

"Because I'm here. Look up and you will see." I whispered, my hands moved to his cheeks, and his eyes closed.

"I did this to you." His voice shook in a choked sob. "Why must these HANDS be so cursed with the blood of others."

I looked at him confused. "What are you talking about?" He continued to mumble the nonsense over and over again.

He moved away from my corpse, leaving a smudged trail of blood from his trousers. His eyes never left the body, he shuffled back on his knees gaining speed with each second that past. He backed to the wall and curled in on himself. He tucked his head into his lap covering his head with his arms. His body started to rattle with every short breath he took. I could hear some sort of mumbling from him, I carefully moved from my spot on the floor toward Caspian.

"My name is Caspian, son of Lord Mordanticus. I lived in his castle for my whole life. I do not know any Elves and I have never been to Eodanor." He whispered. He said this over and over like a mantra. I raised my hand and placed it on his shoulder, he flinched hard at my touch and started to squirm away. I dropped my hand to my lap unsure how I could break him of this spell.

"Caspian, this is not real. I am not dead." I said quietly. I wanted to hold him and brush his hair from his eyes, I felt helpless. "Caspian do you remember how you got here?" I tried. "To this ball?" His mantra halted for a moment and he picked his head up from his arms. He was silent for some time before he cleared his throat.

"I was..." He fumbled, as if he was unsure of his answer. His brow furrowed and he finally looked up at me. He looked pale, and his hair clung damp against his forehead. He was breathing heavy, trying to calm down as he stared at me. Sweat droplets slid down his face that he brushed away with a shaky hand. Slight recognition filled his eyes as he stared at me.

"Cas?" I reached out a hand and was able to rest it on his face without him flinching away from me. He closed his eyes and turned into my hand, his lips lightly brushing against my palm. I noticed a door appear behind Caspian.

"Cas, it's time to go. Can you stand?" He nodded gently and I stood and helped him to his feet. "Let's get out of here." I pushed the door open and we exited Caspian's hallucination together.

***

Hard stone greeted me when I awoke from the intense hallucinations. We had made it to the odd church building, only to immediately be placed into a sleep state and undergo the third trial. I groaned as I sat up and saw that the others were already on their feet, ready to continue to the final trial. An odd silence resinated around us as no one met eyes with anyone else. This trial had really tested our spirits as much as our sanity. I stood with the helping hand of Caspian, who gave me a faint, small smile. I winced, suddenly aware of the pain in my leg that had been ignored during the hallucinations. Caspian helped me onto his back once again and nodded toward an open door. Green grass grew wildly and the sun was bright, considering the dismal experiences that we had all had.

"I guess we head that way." I sighed. No one protested. We started walking.