The In-Between (Book 1 - Death, Demons and Mere Mortals)

Chapter TWENTY-FOUR - The Burning Finger

Under the stone arch, they were led to a small room. The orb's light beamed bright and made everything inside eerie, emphasising the history in the room. Opposite them sat a tall throne. It was hand-made. Jen gasped, her jaw-dropping as she took a step back. Rock hands made up the throne, the slender fingers and knuckles firm and rigid in place. A layer of dust lay thick on the seat, the palms all upward making a flat bottom.

Emma stepped forward; she couldn't believe her eyes. There must have been hundreds of hands, and she did not doubt in her mind that they were real. A deathly silence fell upon the room. The walls were jagged, stones sticking out to impale an unfortunate soul. Emma let her hand hover above the throne, she didn't want to touch it, feeling some force ripple off of it. She couldn't stop staring, however, feeling some kind of connection with the room.

It was like the scene in movies she used to watch as a child. The moment when everything made sense for the main character. The moment when the girl fell for the right guy or a child finds their destiny in who they're meant to be. The moment's that were never real only fabricated for young minds like Emma's.

But the feeling. What pulled her to the chair, there was no other way to explain it. Only, nothing made sense.

The room was small, fitting only maybe forty or fifty people. The stone ceiling hung fairly low, carved with writings that Blake recognised as enchantments. He didn't pay much attention; his eyes flitting from one thing to another.

Emma imagined the ruler. The crown upon their head as they made their way into the room. She could see the crowd bowing, respectful and loyal to their leader. The gown trailed behind, eager eyes begging to touch it. She could feel the power that one would have felt on the throne, the strength that they would have held. Suddenly, the person in her mind turned and sat, showing their face. Emma shook her head, clearing her mind of the thought. She felt disgusted and ashamed, willing her mind to think of anything else. But, it kept finding its way back to the face under the crown.

'Emma.' Her name was a pleasant sound, she spun and yanked her hand away. She didn't realise how close she was to touching a curled fist that made the arm of the throne. Jen and Blake stood with their backs to her, their heads raised as they studied the wall. 'Can you read this?' Blake asked as he scanned the jumbled words.

Emma marched over, the throne still making its presence known to her back. She stood beside them and looked up. As she read the first word, it happened again. The letters moved by themselves, picking up and heading to another place to form new words. They watched and waited with awe as letters rearranged themselves.

'For those who seek what must not be sought, give up your soul. For that is what it must take.' Blake read, his eyes going over the words numerous times to try and make sense of it. He shook his head. 'It doesn't say where it is.' He glared at the words as if they'd offended him. Jen stayed quiet, something about the room made her severely nervous. She twiddled her fingers, biting her lip softly as she studied the cave.

It was cold. The air held something else, like the presence of those that had died in it. It was obvious that death was no stranger to the room, the feeling lingered in every crevice making Jen feel as though she was in a graveyard.

'No, it doesn't.' Emma agreed, turning her back to the writing and looking for something to trigger her mind. The walls were covered in faded, peeling white paint. It didn't show anything, it was just a simple design of lines across the walls.

She closed her eyes, pushing all thoughts and worries out her mind. Her voice spoke the words inside her head, she had a feeling that it wouldn't work, that it was too easy, but it was worth a shot. 'Brackorous, Revellous, Comentus.' She felt the air in the room rush towards her.