Hey all! Emilee here.
Just stopping by for a quick hello and to say I hope you enjoy the chapter! Remember to vote and/or comment if you enjoyed it! Let me know your favourite part(:
Picture of Sera up top. (Side note, the Sera in my mind has more silvery hair than the grey in the picture but I feel like this girls face portrays her perfectly)
Xo, Emilee
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Chapter Two
The Skeleton in the Closet
Smoke billowed from the wreckage; the stench of burning flesh and gasoline hung in the air. Sera stood in the middle of the road as she watched the car burn, the front of her white dress soaked in blood. Her silver hair blew in the wind as the flames licked the vehicle. Screams rose from inside the car. A soft rhythmic piano started playing in the distance; turning the screams into something of a haunting melody.
More blood started to pour down her dress; pooling at her feet. A small tinge of guilt unfurled in the very back of her mind as she continued to look at the car. The flames suddenly dissipated, sputtering until they were just small embers around the base of the car.
Horror climbed up Sera’s spine as her own self materialized in the car, replacing the burning couple. The version of her in the car stared at her, never breaking eye contact, even as the flames grew bigger and bigger until they engulfed the entire vehicle. Sera stayed frozen where she was, watching as she burned to death; her skin peeling away as the fire got hotter. Screams echoed all around her, more than just hers. They threatened to rip her skull apart.
Pain started to allocate in her abdomen. Slowly, Sera looked down at herself. The dress was still covered in blood, though now there was a thick metal bar protruding from her gut. A scream started to rise in her throat. . .
Gasping, Sera sat up in bed; her whole body drenched in sweat. Panic burned through her as she clutched her abdomen. No blood. No metal bar. She was okay.
Leaning back against the wall, she tried to calm her breathing. It’s okay, she thought. It’s okay. It was just a dream. You’re okay.
She stared at the roof, scared that if she closed her eyes, she would see herself burning. This wasn’t the first time she had that dream. It had been a reoccurrence ever since the accident. Her therapist said it was just shock and survivors guilt and that they would stop eventually.
Sera doubted they would ever stop.
Pushing her bangs back from her forehead, she exhaled sharply, puffing her cheeks out in the process. Her throat felt like sandpaper. Reaching over, she clicked her lamp on. The room instantly flooded with light; her various pictures catching the soft glow and reflecting it back to her. She grabbed her phone from her nightstand.
5:00 am.
“Great,” she muttered while dropping the device. “I’m never going to be able to fall back asleep now.”
Sighing, she ripped her covers off. A shiver wracked her body as soon as her bare feet touched the hardwood floor. Stifling a yawn, she grabbed her black bathrobe from the back of her door and yanked it on overtop of her tank top and shorts. Next she shoved her feet into her slippers then yanked her door open. The hallway was completely dark, the glow from the microwave below casting a peculiar look to the kitchen.
Sera stepped into the hallway, closing her door softly behind her. Her sister Olivia was an extremely light sleeper and Sera wasn’t about to risk incurring her wrath for waking her up before sunrise. Sera moved down the hallway, her hand trailing on top of the railing as she made her way to the stairs. She moved down them quickly and headed straight for the kitchen.
Sera plucked a mug from the dishwasher and looked inside it, wanting to make sure there was no leftover film. Once satisfied it was clean, she turned and filled it with water. She leaned against the counter, her eyes scanning the living room in front of her. It was dark, the only light coming from the streetlights hidden by the curtains. Sera brought her mug up to her lips just as a loud bang erupted from the front door. The girl jumped, spilling water over the edge of the mug.
She looked at the front door, her eyes wide. Who would be banging on their door at this hour? The option of a deranged psychopath was the first to spring to mind, though she knew deep down it was probably more like teenagers wanting to scare people. She kept her eyes on the door, her body amped with fear. It really didn’t take much to get her mind working.
There was another bang on the door. This time she almost dropped the mug. She set it down on the counter with a clatter, spilling water over the edge as she did. Sera involuntarily took a step towards the door. Faintly, she could hear someone from the other side of the door; they seemed to be distressed. What if they were in trouble?
She took another step forward. The house was pretty small, it wouldn’t take her long to cross the living room and get to the door. Though something was holding her back, a faint feeling in the back of her mind that was screaming danger, it’s a trap!. Sera stood where she was, halfway to the door, her legs frozen with both fear and uncertainty.
“I know you’re home!” A man’s voice yelled, causing Sera to jump out of her skin. She stumbled backwards, almost falling over their yellow armchair. She stared at the door, her voice stuck in her throat. What was she supposed to do?
He banged on the door again while simultaneously screaming, “Olivia. We need you.”
Olivia? Sera was shocked. As in my sister?
Sera was about to yell back that it was too early and Olivia was sleeping when a door slammed shut above her. The upstairs light flicked on, making Sera blink multiple times as her eyes adjusted. Looking up at the loft, she watched in confusion as Olivia came bounding down the hall, hopping on one foot as she shoved her leg into a pair of pyjama pants. Her blonde hair was falling out of a loose bun and her glasses were askew on her nose. Once fully dressed, Olivia raced down the stairs.
Sera backed up as Olivia came bolting through the living room; basically vaulted herself over the ottoman, then ripped the front door open with such force it slammed against the wall.
As soon as the door was open a man came stumbling in. He was dressed in jeans and a dark blue jacket. At first Sera thought he was drunk before she realized he was carrying another guy.
Then she noticed all the blood. There was blood everywhere. Both men were covered in it.
Terror kept her frozen in place as the man moved into the living room, kicking the door shut behind him.
“Can you help him?” The man asked, angst littering every syllable.
Olivia hesitated for only a split second before nodding her head, her skin paler than normal. “I’ll try. Put him on the couch.”
Sera watched in fear induced silence as the man gently dropped the unconscious one onto the couch. As he did, she realized that the blood was coming from him and that—“Oh my God.” She screamed, her voice a octane she didn’t even know she was capable of. Both Olivia and the man looked over, as if they were now just noticing her. “Oh my God. His arm. He’s missing an arm!”
“Sera.” Olivia looked more shocked now than when she let the men in. “What are you doing down here? I thought you were sleeping.”
Sera couldn’t bring herself to answer. She felt as if she might pass out. Her eyes wouldn’t move from the bleeding man. His arm was torn right off; the stub a gory mess of blood, bone, and flesh. Blood was dripping onto their hardwood floor.
“Can you help him?” The man asked again, obviously not caring about whether Sera was sleeping or not.
Olivia turned her attention back to him. She nodded. “What’s your name? What were you fighting? Are you okay?”
The man waved off her concern. “I’m fine. My name is Torin. We were fighting a Aagor. At first it was like every other one we’ve seen but then,” he swallowed, his eyes filled with apprehension as he looked at his friend, “But it had a defensive mechanism we weren’t aware of.” He paused for a minute, then said slowly, “It had a elongated tongue.”
Olivia looked at him, her expression one of surprise. “You’re telling me a Aagor did this? With it’s. . . tongue?”
Torin nodded, his expression grim. “I wouldn’t believe it if I didn’t see it. But I’m telling you, it’s face collapsed and then it was all tongue.”
Olivia looked at him a moment longer before looking back over at the man on the couch. She took a deep breath. “Okay,” she kneeled on the ground next to the man, “What branch are you with?”
“Eleven.”
Olivia nodded but didn’t say anything. Sera watched in silence as her sister gripped the bloody stub and closed her eyes. Sera was about to ask her what the hell she was doing when a dark energy palpitated throughout the room, making alarms go off in the back of Sera’s mind. Olivia frowned but still stayed silent, keeping her hands tight on the stump.
Sera’s eyes widened as a white light started to glow beneath Olivia’s palms. “I’m dreaming.” She whispered to herself. “I have to be dreaming.”
The light grew until it was a steady blaze of pure energy. Sera could still feel the darkness around them yet as the light continued to burn, she felt it start to fade. The smell of burning flesh brought back flashes of her dream.
Everything was silent as the light continued to burn, both Sera and Torin watched intently as Olivia took deep breaths. After a few more seconds Olivia opened her eyes. She looked at Torin. “That will stop the bleeding. Though he has lost a lot of blood. A lot. I’ll need to do a transfusion.”
“What about his arm?” Torin asked, his voice thick with emotion. “Is there anything you can do? He needs his arm. He’d get slaughtered without it.”
Olivia was silent. She bit her bottom lip. Sera could tell she was contemplating something big. After only a few seconds, though what probably felt like an eternity to Torin, Olivia said slowly. “There is something I can do. I have been practicing the Old Ways,” she broke off, her eyes finding Torin’s. She studied his face, as if she was looking for something in his reaction before continuing. “I can create him an arm. It won’t be flesh and bone, but a concoction of titanium alloy. I can enchant it with Manos, making it almost impervious.”
Torin didn’t even hesitate. “Do it.”
Olivia looked at him, uncertainty crowding her blue eyes. “Are you sure? I mean, you know the rules. You know this sort of stuff is forbidden.”
“I don’t care about the rules. Just fix him. We’ll deal with the repercussions later.”
Olivia nodded. She looked back at the man on the couch, her features soft with concern. Even though Sera’s mind was whirling with questions, she couldn’t get herself to focus on them with a dying man on her couch.
“What’s his name?” Olivia asked softly.
“Yuri.”
“Yuri.” Olivia touched his cheek. “What did you get yourself into?”
Torin shook his head. “He’s always getting himself into trouble.”
Olivia pushed to her feet, determination setting into her features. She looked at Torin, and as Sera looked at her sister, she felt the composure inside of her crack. “What is going on?” She said, her voice high. “Olivia. Who are these people? How did you glow? What are you talking about forbidden? What the hell is Manos?”
Olivia looked at her, her expression startled. She seemed to be searching for words when Torin walked towards Sera, his blue eyes hard. He came to a stop right in front of her. “I apologize that you’re confused. You obviously weren’t brought up in this but now is not the time for questions. Yuri will die if Olivia doesn’t treat him. Now. So, I’m asking you to please wait. Ask her your questions later. Just let her focus right now. Please.”
Sera looked at him. The way he said please made her think that the he and Yuri were very close. She pressed her lips together and nodded. His features softened and she noticed how kind his eyes were.
“Thank you.” He said and Sera knew that he legitimately meant it.
Sera nodded once more, not sure of what to say, then looked back at her sister. Torin stayed standing beside her, his arms crossed over his chest as he watched. Olivia was once again seated next to Yuri’s shoulder; her legs now crossed in a meditation pose as she gripped the stub with both hands.
The light came back but this time it was a light blue and it enamoured Sera with its pleasantness, a far cry from the feeling of darkness she got last time. A sense of serenity fell over the place. Sera watched in awe as the tension in Yuri’s body dissipated, just as the tension in her own shoulders lifted.
Sera wanted to ask Olivia what she was doing but kept her mouth shut, scared that she would break her concentration. The light only lasted a few more seconds before it flickered out and Olivia opened her eyes. She took a slight breath before turning and looking at Torin, her eyebrows creased. “I’m getting a resistance. I think there’s more going on here than just his arm. Could he have been poisoned?”
Torin didn’t move. “I don’t know. Aagor aren’t exactly known for poisoning people but I don’t know what to think anymore.” The tension hadn’t left Torin, Sera could still hear it in his voice. He took a deep breath, as if to calm himself down. “It’s possible. The Aagor was only attached to him for about thirty seconds but—” he broke off. “It’s possible.”
Olivia pressed her lips together. “There’s something here. Only a poison gives that sort of resistance. I just, I don’t know what it is. It’s not like anything I’ve ever come across.” She took a deep breath, “I can curb it for now, until I can come up with an actual cure.” Now her eyes met Torin’s; they were the most serious that Sera had ever seen them, “But I can’t promise that I’ll come up with something. He may be fighting this the rest of his life.”
Torin stayed silent. He stared at the ground for a good minute. Neither sister said a word. Finally when he looked up, his eyes were dark. “Goddamn dumbass,” he growled, “I told you. I told you, not to go after Aagor alone. We could have prevented this. We could have—.” He broke off and exhaled slowly. After a few breathes he looked at Olivia. “Do whatever you can. We’ll figure out the rest.”
Olivia nodded. She gingerly touched him on the forearm. “I’ll try my best.”
Torin nodded but didn’t say anything. His eyes were glued to Yuri.
“Okay.” Olivia said, dropping her hand from Torin. She turned her attention to Sera. “You know that room in the basement that I told you not to go near?”
Sera nodded once, slowly. “Yes. What about it?”
“I need you to go get something for me.”
Sera frowned. “But you said—.”
“I know what I’ve said.” Olivia clipped, her voice harsh. “But things have changed. I can’t leave Yuri alone. He could go into shock any minute. I need you to go down there and grab a vial labelled A-6, as well as a container marked Cruor. Be fast and don’t touch anything besides those two things. Do you understand?”
Sera frowned, feeling like a little kid being told to only use the washable markers, but she forced herself to nod, pushing back her confusion in the process. Her sister had always berated her for even asking about the cellar in the basement and now Olivia was telling her to go into it? Though Sera wasn’t dumb, she knew that whatever was in that cellar pertained to whatever was going on. Later Sera would figure out exactly what that was, when someone’s life wasn’t hanging in the balance.
“I understand.” Sera said, her voice sounding a lot more confident than she felt.
“Good.” Olivia said. “Oh. And take Torin with you.”
“Torin?” Sera echoed just as Torin said, “Me?”
“Yes. Now go!” Olivia demanded as she turned her attention back to Yuri.
Sera looked at Torin, who nodded once as if to say whatever she wants. “Well alright. Follow me.” She said as she led him down the short hallway that branched from the kitchen. The hallway wasn’t very long, and only had two doors. One led to a bathroom while the other led to the basement.
Torin followed silently behind her, his boots heavy against the floor. A part of her wondered who exactly he was, but the naïve part of her didn’t really want to know; she knew that once she found out what sort of world they belonged to, nothing in her safe little world would be the same again.
Once Sera reached the door, she grabbed the door handle. It was cold in her clammy hand. Their basement wasn’t her favourite place, if one could really even call it that. It was more of a glorified crawl space; big enough to stand up in, yet the floor was just packed down dirt.
Sera pushed the door open. A small landing was at the top of the stairs, with the light being a single bulb attached to a string. Sera reached up and clicked it on. It lit up the stairs enough for Sera to feel comfortable using them. They were pretty old stairs.
“So this room,” Torin said after a few steps, his voice making her jump. She stopped and glared at him over her shoulder. He looked at her apologetically. “Sorry. You’re a skittish one, aren’t you?”
Now Sera scowled. She didn’t like being called skittish. “Anyone would be skittish if two strangers showed up ensanguined on their doorstep.”
Torin considered. “True.”
Sera took started moving down the steps again.
“So this room.” Torin started again, “Do you know what’s in it? Why did it sound like Olivia was keeping you out of it?”
“Because she was.” Sera huffed. She pulled her robe righter around her. The air was much colder down here. “For as long as I can remember she has basically forbidden me from going into it. Hell, she tears my head off if I even look in its general direction.”
“Huh.” Was all he said. They trudged down the steps in silence. Once they reached the bottom, Sera reached up and tugged the cord to the light. They were showered in the pale-yellow glow from the lone bulb, a twin to what was at the top of the stairs. There was another one at the far end of the room but they weren’t going that way.
There wasn’t much for stuff down there. Half the space was used for storage, which everything was covered in cobwebs and dust, while the other half was empty. Wooden wine racks the same height as Sera rested against the furthest wall, the matching set voice of wine bottles. The Broughtner’s weren’t much for drinkers. The objects had been left by the previous owners. Sera assumed they hadn’t been able to fit them out the door.
A broken foosball table sat in the corner, two out of it’s four legs missing. There was a old futon shoved in another corner, a spring sticking through one of the cushions. Various crates and barrels of different sizes were stacked along the length of the stairs. Sera wondered if Olivia used them in her secret room.
“So where’s this room?” Torin asked while looking at Sera expectantly.
Sera gestured behind him to where the thick oak door was. “There.”
He turned. “I can see why you would be curious about it.”
Sera chuckled slightly. “It’s like something off a horror movie, don’t you think?”
Now Torin chuckled. “Wouldn’t that make us the ones who let the demon out?”
Sera lifted a shoulder. “Probably.”
Sera stopped in front of the door. She entertained the idea of there actually being a demon trapped in there but quickly dismissed it when she started to get goosebumps. Besides, she didn’t believe in demons.
Torin was standing opposite her, his eyes watching her expectantly as she looked at the door. Her eyes found the comically large black lock; the door itself was quite normal looking, yet she couldn’t help but feel like she should keep it closed. There wasn’t a darkness emanating from it per se, but there was something unnatural about it. Sera couldn’t exactly pinpoint it but it made her hair stand up on her arms.
She took a deep breath and pushed the feelings away. She had to open it. If she could help save someone’s life, she had to; her morals wouldn’t let her do otherwise. Taking another breath to calm her nerves, Sera grabbed the silver key from the hook beside the door. As soon as her fingers touched it, a pulse of energy shot through her, as if the key had somehow shocked her.
Sera quickly pulled back, her eyebrows furrowed. She ignored Torin’s questioning look as she slowly reached for the key again. This time when she touched it nothing happened. “Well that was weird.” She mumbled as she grabbed the key then shoved it into the lock. The key felt sort of sticky as Sera turned it in the lock, but it clicked open quickly.
Sera looked at Torin. “Well, here goes nothing.” She said while pulling the lock out of the way then pushing the door open. Once it was opened Sera and Torin stood in the doorway, each of them looking into the room. Sera was looking for any sort of gremlin or something that would come out of the darkness and eat them; she didn’t know what sort of things Olivia was keeping down there.
No gremlins attacked her, but Sera did see a faint glow on top of what looked like a workbench. There didn’t seem to be an actual light, at least not that Sera could see, but there was definitely a peculiar blue glow a few feet into the dark room.
Torin walked into the room first, heading straight for the blue light. Sera followed slowly behind him, her arms wrapped around her. She frowned as she got closer to the workbench. Now she could see that it was a rock that was emitting the light, it seemed to pulse with energy.
“How is that rock glowing?” Sera asked, her mind having a hard time keeping up with what her eyes were seeing.
Sera watched Torin skeptically as he grabbed the strange rock then lifted it to his face. It casted a peculiar blue glow on him, making him look like he was about to tell a scary story. Instead he shook his head, his eyes filled with surprise. “This is crazy. I haven’t seen one of these in years. I didn’t even think there were any left.”
Sera tilted her head. She inched closer towards him, curiosity burning in her veins. “What the heck is it?”
Torin looked over at her. “Rocks that can glow are called Yooperlite. They’re Syenite rocks that have an abundance of florescent Sodalite—.”
“Let’s just pretend like I know what you’re talking about.” Sera said, not understanding a word he was saying. “Why is that one so special?”
Torin looked back at the rock. “Well, this one has been genetically altered.”
Sera blinked. “What do you mean? How can a rock be genetically altered? And follow up, who would want to genetically alter a rock anyways?”
Torin frowned. “You really don’t know anything about this stuff, do you?” He didn’t wait for a answer. “There are many uses for altering rocks; for light, healing, even weapons. But to alter one you need a specially trained Alchemist. I was under the impression no such Alchemist’s existed anymore. Besides, altering anything is highly illegal.” He looked at Sera. “Your sister has been keeping a lot of secrets.”
Sera’s sisterly protectiveness kicked in. She narrowed her eyes. “What are you saying?”
Torin just shook his head. “Nothing. She’s helping us do something illegal. I’m not about to turn around and tell on her for doing something equally as illegal.”
Sera nodded, though she didn’t exactly understand how altering rocks would be illegal. “So what is that rock?”
“It’s called Ameliorate. It helps with healing.”
“So you think my sister made it? Why would she do that?”
Torin shrugged. “I don’t know.”
Sera stood in silence as Torin continued to scrutinize the rock. After a few seconds she rocked back on her heels and said, “Shouldn’t we look for those things Olivia wants? Plus, she said not to touch anything, so. . .” she trailed off while making a point by looking at the rock still in his hand.
Torin put the rock back where he found it. Then he turned and looked into the dark room. Something on the edge of the shadows on the workbench caught Sera’s eye as Torin said, “Hey, you got—.”
“A light?” Sera said while grabbing the lighter and holding it up.
“Yes.” Torin said. Sera passed it to him. He would know what he was looking at better than her, she decided. Torin flicked the light on and the room came to life. It was much smaller than Sera would have imagined, only about ten feet by ten feet, but it was filled with things Sera didn’t know what they were. She saw vials, half of them filled with different coloured liquids, the other half sitting empty.
On the wall furthest from them was a shelf filled with containers, each of them labelled in thick block letters. About one hundred percent of them Sera didn’t know what they were. Most were inscribed with names that she didn’t even know how to pronounce. Though as she looked, one of them jumped out at her. She rushed towards it, grabbing the small clear container labelled Cruor.
Sera turned with the container in her hands. “I found whatever Cruor is.”
Torin was busy looking at a row of vials. “It’s something to do with blood,” he said, his voice trailing off as he searched for A-6. After a second he made an a-ha sound then plucked a vial from the shelf. He turned, “Got it.”
“Let’s get these up to Olivia.” Sera said while simultaneously shoving down her feelings of ‘what the hell is happening’ for a little while longer.
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Exigent
Fantasy** Updated every Friday ** There has never been such a thing as normal, at least that's what twenty year old Sera Broughtner is slowly finding out. In one night Sera learns that her sister Olivia has been keeping a secret: she is an Alchemist, someo...
