Playing With Fire (31 page)

“Is
there anything you need, Enzio?” As Alastair’s eyes met Enzio’s a chill went
down his spine as it always did when he looked into those blood red eyes. To
his surprise though, the cold rock hard blood lust in them was just a tad
softer, almost sad.

“Alastair,
is the girl safe in her room?” Enzio asked, the question shocking Alastair.

“Yes
of course she is, I made sure she was asleep just this evening,” Alastair lied.
There was a far off look in Enzio’s eyes, as if he was deep in thought, and
this made Alastair uneasy. Not once had he seen his master this way.

“You
have grown rather close to that girl, haven’t you?” Enzio said solemnly, but
surprisingly more like a comprehensive parent than a nefarious master.

“No
sir, I haven’t,” Alastair lied, trying to hide his guilt. In truth, he had.
Scarlet may very well be the first friend he had ever had. It wasn’t lying to Enzio
that made him feel guilty, it was that he denied Scarlet as a friend.

“What
a liar,” a sweet voice said from the shadows, chuckling. Making both Enzio and
Alastair jump, Velkire slipped out from behind a pillar, draped in a silver
robe and bearing his usual gorgeous on surface but blood thirsty underneath smile.

“My
lord, you startled us,” Enzio mumbled with a twinge of fear.

“My
apologies,” Velkire said sarcastically. Alastair saw his master twitch at this,
and then laid his eyes on the man he hated more than anything: Velkire. “But
honestly can you not see the lies that this boy is feeding you? It’s quite
obvious that he has not only grown close to her but also possibly fallen for
her.” Alastair could feel his face burn as his cheeks grew red. Velkire saw
this and laughed.

“It
seems that I am right, not only is it crystal clear on his face, but he had
taken the liberty to hide her from us.” Alastair’s heart nearly stopped then
and there. Enzio looked at him in shock, almost hurt, but Velkire looked at him
with his devilish smile, obviously amused. “Just as I had anticipated, Scarlet
has found out my little secret, and in attempts to keep us from finding out,
Alastair took her to the Portal Chamber.”

“Portal
Chamber?” Alastair repeated dumbstruck. This made Velkire laugh again.

“Oh
dear, you didn’t know?” Velkire said with a joyful glint in his eyes, as if it
were some inside joke. Velkire knew full well that Alastair had no idea what
was going on. “That room you found so long ago, naïve Alastair, is a portal,
and responds to only one master. When you were young here and liked to escape
away to your little chamber, it was
me
who sent you there, out of pity.
But now, just as I had planned, Scarlet went through the portal, and has ended
up in a room of my choosing. Alastair, I am not very sad to tell you this, you
have just sent your only friend to death.”

That
was all it took for Alastair to snap.

Like
a crazed animal, Alastair bolted past Enzio, the only thought on his mind being
Scarlet.

“Enzio,”
Velkire said in an incredibly bored tone. “Stop him.”

Enzio
said nothing, but disappeared for a split second before appearing again before
Alastair. In a mixture of surprise and fear Alastair stopped short, in which
time Enzio took to strike him in the gut, sending Alastair on to the floor
gasping like a fish out of water. Enzio looked to Velkire for more orders, and
Velkire smiled his devilish grin before saying, “Now make sure he can’t get
away.”

With
a slight hesitation, Enzio kicked Alastair with such a force that threw him
against the wall, creating a slight crack in the hard stone as he made impact.
In pain Alastair cried out, and Enzio came at him again.

“She
is fire!” Enzio boomed as he struck his underling to the ground once more. “You
are a sword!” Alastair crawled in pain onto his knees and looked up at his
master, straight into his enraged blood red eyes. With one swipe of his metal
hand, Enzio back handed his slave, and Alastair fell to the ground, the light
of his vision fading.

“Fire
melts swords boy. Don’t ever forget that.”

I
don’t know how long I sat there, cradling myself as I quivered in the darkness.
My eyes were wide open, but I couldn’t see a thing. Never before in my life had
I felt so weak, so defenseless, or so exposed. I felt like a child sent into
war armed with only a butter knife and a pillow.

As
I was looking down at my hands, or at least so I thought, I could suddenly see
their pale complexion glow in the darkness. Now taking more note in my
surroundings, I noticed something that had not been there before. A faint
bluish grey glow danced around in the darkness, casting shadows at all corners,
except from the source: two pedestals lit with a mysterious blue grey fire that
was suspended on a wall all but ten yards away from me.

The
flames did not crackle like normal fire, but instead hissed lightly as they
danced around in their very cold looking pedestals. Though the flames did not
give strong light, it was enough to see a faint outline of a door squished
between the two pedestals. Something about it made me feel very afraid, but at
the same time, allured.

Feeling
as though I were in a trance, I slowly rose to my feet with my eyes transfixed
on the outline of the door. I couldn’t feel the cold stone beneath my feet as I
came closer and closer, nor did I notice a single step I took. Before I knew
it, I was at the door, and my wonder and curiosity temporarily washed away my
fear.

I
let my hand trace the outline of the door, my milky white skin glowing faintly
bluish silver from the light as my fingers touched the lifeless stone from
where the door was made. As the rock grated slightly against the tips of my
fingers, I could faintly feel some kind of design or picture carved into the
slab of stone, but the light was too faint to make anything out. My heart
almost skipped a beat as my hand found a handle, and suddenly I was terrified.

The
very thought of what I might find tormented my mind, half in fear and half in
murderous curiosity. Unable to tolerate it, I threw the door open. The room I
found was fairly small, about as large as one of the rooms in Madame Gale’s
hut, and it made me feel a bit more secure knowing that it would be harder for
something to be hiding within it. Though I saw no torches other than the two
outside the doors, the room had faint lighting, just enough for me to see by as
I took my first trembling step inside.

The
room was entirely bare, all except for a long silver mirror resting on the
opposite wall. Normally, I wouldn’t have been interested in such things, but I
couldn’t help but notice the mirror’s divine elegance that seemed so out of
place in the room.

It
was at least three feet taller than I was, and its flawless surface reflected
everything as if it were perfectly still water. Everything caught upon it seemed
beautiful and angelic within the silver halo-like frame. Everything about the
mirror was pleasing to the eye, even my own reflection which I usually
disliked. My dark hair made a striking contrast to my light skin and white nightgown,
and my grey eyes looked almost as alive as Velkire’s, though with a slightly
different feel. I even swore that for a moment, it seemed as though my
reflection was glowing. What struck me as odd though was that I looked
flawless, brushed hair, spotless skin and not even a hint of any of my old
scars across my body. Something felt very wrong, but at the same time I
couldn’t bring myself to stop as I approached the mirror, my reflection’s eyes
wide with childish curiosity.

Fixated
on my own reflection, I moved my hands and when I did, the girl in the mirror
who was so familiar yet unfamiliar did the same. Everything was so in sync, I
didn’t even notice as my reflection smiled, because then I found myself smiling
as well, even though I had no idea why. It was as though our positions had
switched, and I was the one who was the reflection, doing whatever I saw the
girl do before me.

The
girl on the other side reached her hand towards the glass of the mirror, and I
did the same—or maybe it was I who had reached out, and the reflection only
copied. I wasn’t sure. Our fingertips touched, and suddenly I felt a shock race
through my body, paralyzing me.

The
once perfect surface rippled suddenly, and behind me I heard the door slam shut
violently. The girl on the other side of the mirror flashed from a copy of me
wearing a sick sadistic smile to a demon girl. I was frozen as I stared into
her blood red eyes, and was unable to react as her large clawed hand jutted out
of the mirror and grabbed my wrist, causing ruby red blood to appear as her
claws pierced my skin. With a violent jerk, the demon dragged me into the
mirror while my scream echoed off the walls of the small room until I could no
longer hear it.

“Let
go!” I cried as I struggled against the demon’s grip. The demon cackled wickedly
as she threw me onto the stone floor, into a mirror image of the room before,
but instead of a faint gentle glow, the room was tainted with a sickly red
color.

“Welcome,
my new spicy meal,” the demon cackled in a screech-like voice. “This is my
humble abode within the Hidden Realm, in which Guardians and demons alike walk
the earth, completely unknown to your stupid human race. It would seem as
though my master truly sent me a luxurious meal this time around, considering
you didn’t dissolve the moment you entered this realm. You have the blood of
Guardians, do you not? It does not matter either way, for in this realm, demons
are much stronger than in your physical world.”

I
watched in horror as the demon morphed from the shape of a girl to that of a
hideous combination of the front of a bear and the back of a giant lizard with
an armored spiked tail. The abomination’s tongue flicked in and out of its
mouth as it was sizing me up, perhaps to decide on how to kill me. Mocking me,
the demon swiped its massive clawed paw at me and I jumped back, which made it
laugh. I tried desperately to summon my fire, but as before only a small flick
of a flame appeared, before sizzling right back out of existence. The demon
cackled as it made its way towards me, and the ground seemed to shake with
every step it took. Crazed with fear, I dashed at the mirror and threw myself
against the glass, pounding as hard as could, hoping that it would have pity on
me and send me back to my world.

“You
can’t escape me now child!” The demon roared in delight as it raised its paw,
preparing to strike. I continued to beat at the glass with my trembling fists.
The mirror’s surface was as hard as stone when I hit it and the only thing that
my struggling resulted in was pain. Gulping down air in sharp panicked breaths,
I stared into my true reflection’s eyes. Its eyes were wide and terrified, and
the pupils were so dilated that one could hardly tell that they were there.
What I saw in the mirror could barely be considered more than a terrified
tortured soul. I looked more like a cornered animal than my own self. In the
mirror I saw the paw of the demon come down in a deadly arc. I tried
desperately once more to summon fire and strained to such an extent that I
could feel it in my body. But no matter what, nothing happened. It was as
though some invisible force had severed the bond between my fire and I.
‘You
look pathetic,’
a voice in my head chimed as the paw came sailing closer to
me in the reflection.

“NO!”
I shrieked at the top of my lungs and in the blink of an eye, fire spewed into
existence like a stampede of raging horses. Like a collapsed dam, whatever had
been restraining my power lost control, and my hungry flames raged
uncontrollably, tied to my terrified state. The demon let out a pained cry as
the fire caught its paw and hungrily devoured it. It reared back in fear as the
flames attacked it mercilessly, and its cries almost made me feel sorry for it.

With
a renewed crazed will to survive, I struck at the glass with all my might, fire
lacing up and down my arms like a protective jacket. It shattered into
thousands of individual shards, each reflecting the demise of the demon, and I
fell forward to the cold stone floor of the previous room.

Tiny
shards grazed my skin as I landed among them, but I couldn’t feel the stinging
pain. My heart was still racing and my breathing remained panicked, even though
the imminent danger was over. Or at least, so I thought.

“My,
my, Scarlet,” a sweet deep voice said gently, but broke the silence as I had broken
the mirror. “It seems you shattered my favorite mirror. Don’t you know that
breaking mirrors results in extremely bad luck?” I refused to look up, as
though not being able to see him would mean he wasn’t there. But he was. In the
reflected destruction of the demon Velkire’s sadistic smiling face looked upon
me with his signature smirk a thousand times over from the shards of the mirror. 
Taking amusement in the moment, Velkire chuckled.

“I
honestly can’t say that I expected this,” Velkire said. “I thought you were
going to die there for a moment, but then again, that wouldn’t be any fun, now
would it?” I saw Velkire kneel down to me a thousand times at once as I stared
into the mirror shards. With one gloved hand Velkire tipped my chin so that our
eyes met. My body shook all over but no matter how much I screamed in my mind
my body would not move.

“Now
child,” he said softly. “It’s finally time.”

The
sound of a distant ocean made Al uneasy as he lied restlessly in his bed. The
light of the moon was faint as it passed through his window, but in addition to
the waves it was enough to keep him awake.

It
seemed to him that he was the only one who could not sleep, for both Gidian and
Vaze were fast asleep. They had stopped for the night at an inn in a local town
they had found, and the inn itself was only a short walk away from the ocean.

Alphonse
Lucelles. The name that was supposedly belonged to him repeated itself over and
over in his head, haunting Al like an unrelenting ghost. He wouldn’t dare speak
it aloud, as if he feared it. It seemed like a taboo word to him, but no matter
how hard he tried to believe the witch had been lying, he couldn’t. Deep down
his heart tugged at the familiarity of the name, as if something sleeping with
in his memory was stirred by it. Finally, he mustered up enough courage and
opened his mouth to whisper his name.

“Alphonse
Lucelles,” a calming voice said suddenly before he could. Al jumped at the
sound and his eyes darted to the foot of his bed where much to his surprise
stood a tall, imposing woman. She was dressed in a pure white gown that covered
her feet and arms, but also matched her snowy skin and hair. She seemed to glow
in the moonlight, making her absolutely radiant.

“Alphonse
Lucelles, I have come to you on orders from my Lord.” Her lips did not move as
she spoke, nor did her expression change. “I am here to give you a choice.”

“A
choice about what?” Al whispered hesitantly. The unrelenting gaze of the woman
made him nervous, almost as nervous as to find out who her ‘lord’ was.

“A
choice of knowledge, young one.” The woman offered her hand out to him. “If you
come with me, I shall reveal two opportunities to you, but only one can be
chosen.” Al hesitated, and glanced at her hand wearily. “Do not fear child, I
am not here to harm you. I am simply here to show you two paths of fate that
lay in store. It is your decision that will prove if harm shall befall you.”

Taking
one quick look at his sleeping master and Vaze, Al took the woman’s hand.

“I
find your choice both wise and brave, young Alphonse,” the woman commented. “I
advise that you do not move, unless you have a strong stomach.” Before Al could
state that he didn’t, everything flashed in blinding light and his body
contorted into shapes Al didn’t think humanely possible. The woman seemed
unfazed, but Al couldn’t help but jerk at least once. When the light subsided
they were in a street of the same town but much closer to the ocean than before,
and Al understood why he may have needed a strong stomach. Unable to control
his flipping insides, Al fell to his knees and lost his previous dinner.

“When
you are done, we may proceed to our destination,” the woman said emotionlessly.
With his body shaking, Al got to his feet and followed the woman. They
exchanged no words, until finally halting in front of a very old house. The
decrypt structure seemed like it had once been a very proud and appealing
abode, but the toll of years and hardships had succumbed it to sadness. While
staring at it, Al couldn’t help but feel hollow, as if it had drained his
happiness from him. Although the night was silent and all seemed to be asleep
in the town, a faint candle flickered through a window on the second story.

“Where
are we?” Al asked, finally breaking the awkward silence. The woman did not turn
to face him. Her gaze was fixated on the lit room.

“We
are at the home of Francis and Susanne Lucelles,” she answered plainly, but Al
felt as if she told him he was going to die tomorrow.

“Are…are
they my…?” Al’s voice left him before he could finish his question, and the
woman replied with the one word that hit Al like an earthquake.

“Yes.”

Hesitantly,
Al started to walk towards the door with his heart racing, but the woman
stopped him, finally facing him.

“Alphonse,”
the woman said gently, hinting for the first time that she had emotions. “If
you go to them now, you will lose your other path. Don’t you wish to at least
know what it is?”