Death in a Paradox

The Fourth Chapter

The Fourth Chapter

~~~

Augustus

Now, the fun begins.

"I have Meredith's location!" Annabella yelled. I rushed over to her, nearly falling over my bag, and looked over her shoulder at her computer.

"And?" I asked with desperation. There was nothing on the screen. Something flashed and a map appeared.

"Something's up," Annabella muttered. "It's a fake location. It changed from the first time." She frowned and moved her mouse over the screen to release her anger. I sighed and let my head fall back. I can't live like this, chasing every little lead on Meredith. I want to, at the same time. I rubbed my eyes. Something changed in the room and Annabella's head whipped around.

"You know it, sweetheart!"

We both turned to the woman who was standing behind us. She had bronze locks that framed her face and fell down to her thighs. Her eyes seemed to have no stable color; they changed as she looked around our room. Her skin probably once was beautiful, but now it was a dead looking white. The strange woman smelled, no, reeked like dead bodies. That kind of confirmed my suspicion of her possessing a dead body in order to talk to us. A stained white dress hung onto her frame and in her hair was a wreath of dead laurels. She was barefoot, but her feet were dirty and caked in mud. Annabella and I locked eyes. This wasn't a very nice person. Annabella already had her knife in her hand, ready to pounce, studying the mysterious woman, searching her for any possible weaknesses.  My sword and bow were across the room, all I had was a sheath of arrows. Eh, worth a try. I took an arrow out of the sheath.

"Oh, no need to be so," she took a deep breath and pouted, "you know, protective. It's kind of annoying." She walked towards us. Annabella wasn't attacking, but she was ready to fight. 

"Ma'am, uh, take it easy, please," I raised my hands. "Please." She caught on with what I was doing.

"Oh, Augustus, there's no need to fight me!" she span around, her dress moving slower than her, and she grabbed my levitating sword. "There really is no need for any of this. You let Meredith die, it's really the only way for her to pay for her crimes." She said all of this in a facetious tone, as if it was a joke to her. "You can just give up now," her hand traced the edge of my sword, "and I can guarantee we'll have no problems later."

"No," Annabella whispered. "If you really think that'll happen, you're wrong."

"Oh well," she sighed theatrically. "Guess I'll see you soon. Have fun dying, sweetheart!" With that, she threw Annabella something and transformed into a mist that quickly disappeared and left a bad smell in the room. Annabella opened her palm to show me what the item she caught was. I saw her eyes were figuring out her next move.

"A pawn," I stated clearly. I took out out of her hand, but dropped it. It burned my hand. Annabella picked it up and examined it more closely. She turned it over so she could see the bottom and suddenly, her brows furrowed.

"What is it?"

"It says one word. Augustus."

 - - - 

"Augustus, why did you come with me? You could have stayed and waited," Annabella turned to look at me.

"Meredith would be my first answer. I'm also kind of"--

"You knew Meredith for a few weeks, really. You come with me mainly because of her?" her eyes narrowed and she reached into her pocket.

"I'm untraceable, I already know that. So are you. Then how come that crazy lady came here, told me to give up, and threw a pawn at me? The only way she would have known was that someone told her, intentionally or unintentionally. So why are you here, really?"

(See? Trust issues.)

"I'm Augustus Marcus Maxwelby. I was born in Chicago, Illinois on April fifteenth. I'm an only child raised by my father and mother, Evan Maxwelby and Hera Maxwelby. I am here because one of my friends got kidnapped, and I want to help find her."

"Wrong answer, Maxwelby," Annabella stood up. "What do you know about ivory and its magical properties?"

"Not much," I replied. Annabella was getting annoying.

"You can control someone when you put ivory in their blood. You were in the hospital for a few weeks in the summer, someone slipping you ivory wouldn't be a problem," she looked out of the window. She seemed in pain. "You are being controlled by an oneirio. You are controlled by the oneirio of nightmares and deceptive dreams. Out, Maxwelby. I don't want to see you, ever again. I don't like risks."

~~~

Annabella's Journal Entries

I've been searching for Meredith for days, but I can't find her. She's shielded by someone, or a dreaded something, and it's impossible for me to find her. So please, I need help. Whoever is watching over me, and possibly the rest of the human race, please send help. I've tried so many enchantments and magic circles, I've lost count of how many. They are currently drawn all around me. 

Nothing seems to work here, now that I think of it. Normal spells I would use to start a fire cause me more pain than help. I am alone here, and I feel like there is something watching me.

My only hope now is that I am so close to finding Meredith that nothing will work. I doubt this, though, as there are myths about a place where magic doesn't work. Unfortunately, they are so old, older than the Necromancy Society itself, and I don't know anything about it. 

There is something I do know. The rise of the oneirio is an omen of an unexplained event nicknamed Midnight Hour. No one knows anything about Midnight Hour. I believe Midnight Hour is this cursed place. It is draining my magic.

I am working on different ways to save Meredith. I am trying to learn as much as I can about time and I have a general theory about it. Time seems to bend around specific events, mainly time travel. Time is a straight line, but with jagged lines in the most unlikely places. People believe that they have many ways to live their lives, which would result in multiple lines and the fact they can choose which one, but it is a false belief. The time line isn't controlled by you, you are controlled by the time line. There is also one more thing I am worried about. It seems I can travel to the past, but I cannot travel back to the future, because it has not happened yet.

I don't believe Time is a concept. I believe it is a real living, breathing thing controlled by someone. I have plans to find that someone and force them to release Meredith.