The Voodoo Doll

Chapter XXXVIII: Home

I lost control of my body.

Time seemed to stop around the Glass house. The silence that followed Michael's death rang in my ears, as if it was the loudest sound in the world. His voice lingered in the depths of my consciousness as I lay on the floor, my limbs unable to move, my lips quivering, my body shaking from the cold that suddenly dominated the room.

You're more useful dead than alive.

I looked at Cassiel-Obaa-chan, who kneeled next to me, grabbing my face, whispering words that I didn't understand.

I'm done playing with you, silly girl. I'm done letting you plant flowers inside Noah's head.

I was almost killed.

I was almost dead.

Dead.

Dead.

The mere thought terrified me, my twisted brain already imagining the pool of blood forming on my chest, dripping on the floor, the pain from the wound, the dizziness devouring my head, the cold creeping in my fingers and my feet, as the life leaves my dying body, as I realize I will no longer be there, no longer see Noah's smiling face, Noah's midnight hair, his ocean blue eyes, just like my colored locks, my favorite color in the whole universe.

Noah.

The boy who saved me from madness.

Noah!

I want to see him, I want to touch his face, I want to feel his long eyelashes and his soft cheeks, I want to see his smile, all over again, just to tell me everything is going to be okay. If I'm with Noah, I'm myself. If I'm with Noah, I am invincible.

Noah feels like...

Noah feels like home.

I wanted to get away from here as soon as possible. Away from death, away from mad angels who wanted to kill me for a reason I had yet to find out.

With shaking fingers, I reached my hand in the only pocket my skirt had, and clicked my smartphone open. The screen lit up instantly, showing me a rainbow spiral, twisting and turning like an optic illusion. My eyes ached from the sight, but I didn't turn my gaze away. Cassiel-Obaa-chan put her hand on my left shoulder.

"You have to hide somewhere far away. They're coming for you, and this time, I can't beat all of them. They're much stronger than I will ever be."

She was stating the obvious. But where would I go? I wanted to say.

"Why are they doing this?" , I asked instead, my voice breaking towards the end. Although I didn't wait for an answer. I knew she didn't have it.

Cassiel shook her head. "I don't think Lailah is behind this. I suspect Michael is acting behind her back."

"Who's Lailah?" , I said. The phone grew hotter in my hands, the spiral turning faster and faster.

"Lailah is our angel Queen."

I didn't have the time to process this new revelation, for a blinding light forced my eyes shut. A female voice spoke from inside my head.

"Who do you wish to see the most?"

My answer was a mere thought, synapses connecting to form an image. A boy with dark hair and changeling eyes. My lips didn't need to move to say the name, for Typhon's phone could read its owner's mind.

"Initiate transport. Loading 0%.... 1%....."

The world around me shifted. The Glass house was gone, Cassiel obaa-chan was nowhere in sight as darkness enveloped me. The first ounces of panic gripped my heart. Was I dead, after all? Was my survival only a dream fabricated by my dying brain?

5%.... 10%.....60%....

The fear quickly turned into confusion, for darkness gave way to a small light in the distance. The light grew bigger and hotter, until it became a rising run. Then came the clouds, white cubes, like photo pixels, formed flying cotton candy in the middle of a vast blue sky. 80%...The black floor took the color green. 100%.... Transport complete. I could feel the tips of the grass tickle my bare thighs, dampening my skin with water drops, the last remnants of a recent rain.

I looked at the horizon of this new world, and my blood froze in my veins as the realization hit me like a bullet in one's head.

A small well stood in the distance, a black silhouette right next to it, holding the rope that led inside.

I was back in Typhon's digital world.

And this time, I was completely, utterly, alone.