Sacrilege (Theo Raeken) [2]

gift

I'm standing again.

I'm in an empty room, overrun by dust and grime. There's a window. I walk over to it. This feels out of body. Am I out of my body? I'm in hell, right? Where's all the fire?

There is an empty, dark street lit by oil lamps. There are barely any buildings on either side of the road. Of those, all of them are Gothic and large. There are no people. Nothing. This isn't hell, is it?

I cough and cover my mouth. Dust rises. There is an old door on the far wall. It would have been white once, but most of the paint has peeled off. I take a step towards it. The floorboards creak under my weight. I take more noisy steps forward until I'm at the door. What is this place?

I'm not sure if I even want to know what's on the other side. But curiosity gets the better of me. I wrap my hand around the doorknob and twist it open.

A cold, harsh wind envelopes me. I shiver, hugging my arms around myself in an attempt to reduce the coolness. There are no stars in the sky, but the moon shines high and bright. Wait. Moon? This isn't earth, is it? Is it another moon? Is it an illusion?

I slowly walk down the empty street. There are no noises except for the howling wind and my shoes crunching against the gravel.

I veer off course and find myself walking up the path to a tall black gothic building. I furrow my eyebrows. Why here? I wrap my hand around the knob and, expecting resistance, twist it sharply. The door opens slowly.

The room inside is splendid, with chandeliers and candles. In a tall, mahogany seat sits a man. He has a short beard and short curls. He has a devilish - pun not intended - glint in his eye.

"Who are you?" I find myself saying. The sound of my voice bounces off of the walls of the cavernous room.

"The King," he says in a slow, calm voice.

Holy crap, I think. I think about making a run for it, out the door and back into my own dimension. But he hasn't tried to kill me yet, so that can only be a good thing.

"Who are you?" he repeats back to me.

I swallow. "Arden. Arden Caraway."

"Why are you here?"

I take a step towards him, trying to keep my stature as solid as possible. "I'm looking for someone. Please," I beg. "He got put down here."

"Arden," he says. His voice is velvety smooth with a prominent English accent. "Do you know what your little boyfriend is up to at the moment?"

"No," I squeak out. My voice is small and fragile.

"Theo Raeken is trying to harness an army to overthrow my power. Do you know why?"

"No," I repeat.

"Because he's obsessed with power," he declares. "Do you know what will happen if he succeeds?"

What is it with those rhetorical questions? "No."

"We have a balance in the Afterlife, love," he says. "And that son of a bitch is trying to destroy that. I mean, come on now, it's a pretty crap job I have, but if I didn't have it, I think this would turn to shit."

I furrow my eyebrows. Who knew the King of Hell had such bitter humour?

"Can you give Theo back?" I ask shakily.

"I don't have as much power as I used to," he says. "Theo is in another circle of hell somewhere. Somewhere I can't find him. Somewhere you can't find him. Maybe the world is better without him."

"No. No it's not."

"This place has descended into chaos. War. There is no way that I can harness enough power to find —" He cuts himself off. "Something is wrong."

"What?" I demand.

"Something is wrong," he repeats. He speaks almost too quick for me to register. "And it's not on my side of this portal. It's yours. Something's interrupted the ritual." I flinch as he grabs my hand. "Listen to me carefully. If the afterlife's balance is destroyed, it won't just mean war for us dead people. It'll mean war for those of you who have abilities like yourself. People who aren't human. Your link has been severed in the world from which you came. I have to be quick.

"The separation between our worlds will come down if the balance is disrupted. This place is descending into hell and I need you on my side. I hope once the time comes you'll think my gift was enough to persuade you. Goodbye, Arden."

"Wait," I yell. "What gift? What are you talking about?"

"Goodbye."

A flash of light engulfs me whole, before I feel myself back on earth, lying on the grass in a witch's backyard. I can see everything but I can't move, or talk. I found my way back.

But without Theo.