The Seelie Curse

Chapter 51

Now outside the memory, the guide rune resumes its pull on Rowan's body, guiding her towards somewhere inside her mind. The surface beneath Rowan's feet begins to take on a different, ribbed texture and wind swirls around her ankles. Rowan shivers, wrapping her arms around herself.

Where is the rune taking her? Why is this space inside her mind growing colder? A stronger gust of wind barrels into Rowan and she shivers again, smoothing her hair down. She looks down at the ground, frowning. She can see the movement of the wind around her feet, carving ripples into the surface beneath her feet.

She can't really see the ripples themselves, but she can see the shadows they cast and she can feel the texture beneath her bare feet. Rowan's frown deepens as a new thought comes to mind. She's definitely wearing clothes in this mind space, so why isn't she wearing shoes? The rune yanks on her again and Rowan stumbles forward, into a space empty of memory droplets.

The rune keeps pulling at her, but its tug is less insistent now. She follows it into the very centre of the space, where the ground dips. The runestone stops tugging at her and disappears from her grasp. Rowan inhales sharply in shock and looks into the centre of the shallow bowl in the ground.

There's something there, something she can't quite see. Rowan steps down over the edge of the dip, into its curved sides. Instead of the rippled texture of the rest of the ground in her memory space, the surface here is perfectly smooth. More than smooth, smooth would imply she could keep some sort of grip.

But her feet slip out from beneath her and she goes sliding down towards the centre of the bowl. Rowan shrieks as she goes shooting down the convex slope. She can see it now, there's a hole at the centre of the bowl. If she falls into it, what's going to happen to her? She's already inside her mind, what if she gets trapped here?

She flails, trying to find some sort of purchase on the bowl, but her hands and feet just glance off. If only there was some sort of texture here, she would have a chance. But there's nothing. No texture at all. Rowan keeps sliding down and down. When she reaches the edge of the hole in the centre of the bowl, she teeters there for a heartbeat before her body tips and she plummets down through the gap.

She's falling for a minute before her fall suddenly stops. She winces, her whole body feels like she hit something at full force. But if she had, she wouldn't still be breathing. Rowan tries to roll over to see what she hit, but she can't move her body. Not really. She cranes her neck to the side, trying to see. But she can't.

To the sides of her are stone-like walls and she can see the hole above her. Bet she can't see the surface beneath her. Something shifts beneath her and she shrieks as she starts to slide again, down another curve. Rowan shakes her head violently, internally screaming. She doesn't want to fall through again, she doesn't.

She shudders and tries to reach behind her to claw at the surface, but her arms won't move. With tears in her eyes, Rowan cries out to the inside of her own head, screaming with her thoughts and voice. Light flashes around her and Rowan stops moving. She lies there for a moment, silently weeping in shock between her shuddering movements.

When she tries to move again, she finds she can, although her entire body screams in pain. But the forming bruises don't matter, not right now. She has to know what happened. Rowan pushes herself into a sitting position, her body aching. There is some sort of dome behind her. She feels along its surface, frowning.

It's cold as ice, but flickers of heat seep through at random intervals. They lick at her fingers, sending tingles through her body. Rowan shivers and struggles to her feet, stumbling. The surface beneath her now that she's standing is slick and warm. Rowan looks down and gasps.

There is nothing there, it's like she's standing on air. She gasps and the strange platform disappears. She falls straight down, tumbling over herself for a split second. But when her mind is distracted again by the fall, it reappears beneath her. She slams into it with a thud and she groans at the fresh wave of bruises.

But she's not falling, at least, although she doesn't know how. Perhaps her powers manifesting inside her mind, since she could use the runestone, except she doesn't have this gift. She can't control the air and wind, that is Astrila's gift. So what is this? She turns to the dome again, trying to peer through it.

There is a swirling mass of light and shadow there, moving like a storm cloud. It's contained inside the dome, inside her mind. But what is it, exactly? Perhaps the very self of her? She places her hand flat against the dome, trying to feel what's inside through the dome. But all she can feel are those flickers of heat that escape, and those aren't much of a clue.

She breathes, "What are you? Why was I brought here?"

A voice echoes back from around her, a silent voice. It's the one she hears in her thoughts, herself. "This is your core, the very centre of your being. It is the key to what is to come and it is where you will learn what must be done."

"And what is that?"

"When day and night are one, new and ancient powers will battle. Let the world you love guide the players where they need to go."

"I don't understand."

"You have the pieces you need. Comprehension will come as time passes. It is time to return to the world outside."

Rowan shakes her head. "No, wait! Tell me what you meant!"

But the world around her flashes bright and she can feel the pull from outside her head, dragging her back to reality.
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What do you think the voice meant? What was it? What do you think that bowl was? What about the dome? What was behind it? What's going to happen next? Tell me your thoughts!

Happy reading and I'll see you next chapter!

~Goddess of Fate, signing out.