A Book of Myths

Chapter One: Presence

Radiant stared at the trees, indecision striking her with a bat. The oak and willow mixed forest stretched far out before her, growing darker the farther they went. Buried in the cleverly named Allure Forest was an oaken treehouse and ancient ruins sporting moss-covered statues. Beyond, she had learned of a crescent-shaped cliff ending at the Atlantic, and far deeper in was the ruins of the original people who were now long gone. Indecision still plagued her, staring at her with beady eyes just waiting for her to finally make a choice.

"Radiant! Come on! We have practice!" shouted the annoyed Melody from afar. Radiant blinked, shook her head clear of her struggle, and headed off to her friends.

"Sorry. I was thinking about something. Didn't realize I zoned out for a second," she stated, walking with her friends through the crowded streets of New York. Marina nodded, understanding the episode that had happened, while Melody rolled her eyes.

"That's something you need to get better at," she said. Radiant blinked.

"You mean I should get better at zoning off?" she asked. Melody groaned,

"No! At noticing. Nevermind."

Radiant laughed it off and walked, thinking about the forest again. After the last 2 years, she had searched through old maps, looking for any old buildings or objects. Most maps didn't show anything, but the few that sat in the Treehouse were detailed and littered with marks.

"Don't zone out again. Besides, we're here," Melody muttered, bumping Radiant with her bag. Radiant shook her head, glaring at the younger woman. Melody's face held a smile, her eyes glittering with laughter. Radiant's, however, was covered with a frown and her eyes glowed with annoyance.

"Shut up," she murmured, heading inside the building. Melody followed, watching the outside world disappear behind the shutting door. The two entered into the main theater, their eyes floating around the room. The high ceiling set was lined with three sections of chairs, ten rows each, with three second-story decks, sparing two more rows each. The stage was settled at the far back, lit up and glittering.

"Something should really be done about the ceiling," Melody said, leaving Radiant standing at the entrance. Glancing up at the ceiling, she let her eyes fall onto the crystal chandelier, smiling gently at it.

"Come on Mel, I think it looks good," she called, walking slowly to the stage. Melody rolled her eyes again, picking up the Keytar. Grabbing a mic, Radiant stepped up onto the stage and tested the mic.

"It works!" called a voice from the entrance. The small group glanced toward the doors, Radiant's smile dropping a little. The figure stepped forward, into the soft light of the chandelier, and gave a small smile to them.

"Afternoon, Ray," it said, the smile giving way to a neutral expression. Radiant tilted her head to the side, her thoughts debating to say hello back.

"Afternoon, Jack," she finally said, turning her attention back to the task at hand. Placing the mic in its stand, she turned to the others.

"Don't forget, next week is the concert, so we should be prepared and on time," Melody said, completing Radiant's thoughts. The group themselves dipped their head, returning to their tuning. Shaking her head, Radiant nodded, making the last person in the building a little uncomfortable.

"Jack, go sit somewhere. I'll talk to you after practice," she said, spinning back to the microphone. Jack nodded, headed toward the front row of seats, settled down, and watching the band begin warming up.

"Yo, yo, yo, yo, yo," Radiant sang, her voice gracefully falling down each note. The rest followed, Melody playing each note.

"Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, Ti, Do."

After a couple of scales, the group started to practice. Melody kept her eyes on Jack, uncertain of his intent. Jack, however, was watching Radiant, his eyes trying to decern the difference between her and whatever he had met on that awful night. But he couldn't see anything, not a spark of it.

"Hand raised to answer, voices come to call. Standing in the hall, staring out far beyond. There's a spark, deep inside you that you just can't ignore," Radiant sang, her voice soft and ethereal. Jack sat up since his ears had not heard her sing in the past months.

"You're being called, by something you don't quite understand," Marina and Melody continued. "But you still follow it with your heart!"

Radiant glanced over at Micheal as he struck a heavy cord, both nodding to the beat. Marina stepped away from her mic, smiling as she played cord after cord. The room itself trapped the sounds, circling them around to all of the chairs.

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"Jack, you better have a good reason for being here," Melody said, having pulled Jack to the side. She glanced over at Radiant, who was busy conversing with the rest of the band. Jack leaned against the wall, rubbing the back of his neck and sighing.

"I just wanted to see her again. I wanted to see if I could tell the difference between her and that..... thing," he stated, looking away from the hardened glare of the chef. Melody scowled, reaching for her pocket knife.

"You mean the demon Ruined?" she asked, leaning closer. Jack flinched a little, nodding frantically.

"Yeah! The demon. I couldn't even see any of Ruined in her," he said, looking away again. Melody straightened, flipped her knife, and sighed. Turning away, she left Jack leaning there and climbed back onto the stage, grabbing her Keytar. Jack moved his attention to Radiant, watching her laugh and joke with her bandmates.

"Ray, you should probably go talk to Jack. He's been watching you for a while now," Marina said, tilting her head in his direction. Jack busied himself with his phone, trying to act as though he hadn't been doing much aside from that. Radiant dipped her head to her friends, turned, and walked across to the other wall.

"Jack."

Jack glanced up at her, unsure of what to answer with.

"How are you?" he asked, choking back his other question. Radiant sighed,

"I'm fine. and I'm guessing Melody told you Ruined's name?"

Jack nodded, putting away his phone. He glanced at her, searching her eyes for words he wouldn't be able to describe. Radiant flicked her eyes down to the ground.

"This isn't about her, is it?" she asked, looking back up at him. Jack met her gaze, shaking his head frantically.

"Absolutely not! W-Why would it be?" he asked, laughing nervously. Radiant's face was smeared with doubt, her lavender eyes glaring at him.

"Sure, Jack. I'm gonna go get some water," she responded, leaving him standing there in his nervous state. Jack nodded, watching her leave. Geez, I can't get a break from this day.