Love Bites

LOVE BITES Chapter 18 : The Conjuring Room

Chapter 18 : The Conjuring Room

I followed closely behind Alastair, my hand in his as he led me through the darkness.

Harsh puffs of warm air left my mouth, fuelled by the fear coursing through my veins. That and the soft scraping of our footsteps were the only sounds I could hear. The carpet had vanished, we were now treading on cold concrete. My bare feet were freezing. Behind me, I could feel Chàntelle's presence, his eyes on my back.

I still couldn't wrap my head around it all, everything that was happening. It all seemed so surreal.

As soon as we entered through the curtain in the wall, a mass of frigid air hit me. I was expecting a tunnel, a hallway to walk through to reach whatever enchanted room this man lived in but there was nothing of the sorts. There were no constraining walls, no suffocating crowdedness, only a never ending blackness that couldn't be touched swirling around us. The curtain was simply a means of stepping into another room. It was like a door to new world but neither the stale atmosphere, pungent scent or deafening silence felt natural here.

"Alastair," I whispered, unable to stop my knees from quaking, "I'm scared."

The feeling of déjà vu overpowered me.

"Alsa, I'm scared..."

I wasn't sure if Alastair was looking at me. I couldn't see anything. Unlike in my bedroom, things were no longer visible in shades of grey. That ability had vanished.

"You said the exact same thing the last time you were here," he said, and I knew, even without seeing him, that there was that light smile on his face. It made me calmer to know that he was relaxed enough to smile. "I guess even after all these years you never really change," he said more so to himself than me.

Chàntelle's voice resounded from somewhere in front, thick with an accent that rolled his words. "So what are these words we need to have, Alastair?" I jumped, expecting him to still be behind us. I hadn't even heard him move. He was silent, like a cat.

One by one, little globes of light began to flicker on. My eyes followed the lights as they lit up in a line around Alastair and I, casting away the empty darkness. There were an assortments of colours; some glowing green and others blue, and they didn't appear to be set out in any specific order; just randomly chucked around the room outlining shelves and tables. A chandelier holding tens of candles was the last to light up. It's melted candle sticks suddenly sparked to life, burning with small yellow flames that lit up the entire room. And standing directly under it, with his arm open around him, was Chàntelle. Shadows danced across his grinning face, his blood red eyes trained on us.

My heart was beating so hard in my chest. I couldn't decide if the room was enchanting or frightening. Perhaps both.

So this was the... conjuring room Alastair was talking about? I took a moment to admire my surroundings. It was more cramped than I thought it would be. The darkness made it feel open and larger than it really was. Bordering the murky walls were glass cabinets. Each shelf was stocked full of jars, but not for one second did I believe any of those jars contained cooking spices. Behind Chàntelle there was a large wooden table with books scattered across it, and oddly, a familiar bowl with intricate markings engraved on its outside.

"Is this just a friendly catch up after all these years?"

"Don't act ignorant, warlock," Alastair clipped, his voice detached. "You know exactly why we're here."