30. Eerie Night

Brooke's mother was looking for something in that library, but what Brooke found was not what she expected.

           Brooke couldn’t sleep. She tossed and turned all night, antsy for the day to arrive. Restlessness, yeah, that’s what it was. The dragon’s tongue on the clock pointed to twelve and its short, stubby arm reached the two. Brooke decided to take her shower. She grabbed the gown and underwear from the dresser by the abstract shaded floor lamp and entered the corridors of the mansion. She found the bathroom, a broad display of white tiles. She walked up to the tub and turned the golden knob, laying her fingers around the star shaped handle. Brooke unwrapped Meredith’s dress strip from her wrist and saw a long scar had formed. She touched it and winced. It was fresh and sore. The shower head sprayed a warm rush of water and Brooke stepped inside after placing the clothes on the sink counter. Her skin flinched at first touch. Her hair clung to the end of her panty line. For the first time, Brooke really wanted a haircut. She chuckled to herself and let her body soak.

Her talk with Lyriel brought alive some unpleasant things such as her mother’s departure. Then, she thought back to her father’s outburst at the violin recital, and she found a sense of hate for her mother, leaving them to hurt and grieve the way she did. Why had she resented her father so much and not her mother? She was the one who left. She was the one who started this. She was the one the interrogators wanted. They thought she was hiding her? No, why was she thinking about this now? Brooke shook her hair and the wet strands clung to her cheeks. Closing her eyes, she let her mind sink into darkness and she stood there for a while.

Brooke turned the knob and the rush stopped. She stepped out and slipped on the gown, its lacy hems brushing against her knees. She balled up her jumpsuit and threw it away. That part of her life was gone. Not forgotten, but gone. She wrung her hair out, and walked out of the bathroom. When she returned to the bedroom, she saw that Meredith was not there. A sense of panic fluxed through her. Ellis was still there. She tried to wake the anymalis, but she only rolled over. “Ellis!” she called.

Ellis scrambled to sit up. “Huh?”

“Where’s Meredith?”

“I have no idea.” Ellis yawned and purred, lying back down. She frowned at the lazy anymalis. Brooke ran out into the corridor and instead of going downstairs, turned the opposite way. She found a door cracked open. She looked inside and smiled the panic receding into admiration. Meredith lay next to Yoko, half-covered and asleep. They breathed in harmony with one another. Brooke had thought about asking Lyriel if she could keep Yoko, but seeing them this way made Brooke reconsider it.

She closed the door and then wondered back. These corridors made Brooke feel a sense of loneliness as she treaded in the dark using only the light of windows. She thought about how lonely Lyriel must feel walking up and down these eerie, silent corridors every day. Once or twice a breeze whistled through, but that was it. Then again, the woman was eccentric enough to enjoy such solitary. Maybe. Strange masks from foreign countries began to take the place of the windows and Brooke began to realize she might have turned the wrong way. 

She stopped when she saw another door at the end of the corridor. It had a plaque that read LIBRARY. Brooke didn’t know why she was so curious. It’s not like her mother was in there. She entered the library anyways, softly pushing on the lightwood. The darkness blinded her as she walked onward. She ran her hand across a shelf of books, her fingers feeling the hard and soft textures of the covers. She came across a desk with a lamp shinning on an open book. By the window, Brooke saw a messy scene of books scattered, a couple of shelves thrown to the floor. She wondered what happened there. Brooke sat in the chair in front of the desk and looked at the back. She saw a closed eye. On the front, there was a widened, opened eye. It blinked! She gasped, slamming the cover down.

The pages of the book were blank! Hands reached from the pages, grabbing and grasping. Brooke threw the book on the ground and backed up to a bookshelf knocking it over. She watched the hands continue to reach. She began to hear whispers, whispers of a language, an ancient language that sounded familiar. What was this? Sorcery? Witchcraft? Magic? Brooke didn’t understand. She ran out of there and it seemed like the whispers followed her. She dashed down the corridor and to her room. She closed the door, slamming it shut as if a physical being had chased her. Breathing heavily, she hid under her covers and prayed for the whispering to stop. Silence. She opened her eyes and peaked from her covers. The anymalis simply rolled over. Brooke laid there for an hour or two before falling asleep.

When Brooke awoke, she saw that Ellis wasn’t there. Meredith walked into the room, wearing jeans and a blouse. She looked so normal. Where did she get those clothes? Brooke wondered. Meredith held Yoko in her arms and smiled. “Good morning!” she chirped.

“Someone’s in a good mood.”

Meredith spun, pointing to her jeans. Yoko giggled, a reaction that was happy instead of disturbed or antsy. “A new wardrobe would put any woman in a good mood.”

“I see.”

“Here is yours.” Meredith handed to her a long sleeved shirt and black pants. “Shoes are downstairs.” Meredith skipped out of the room. Brooke’s head thumped and she felt sore from the run. What was that all about? Brooke put the clothes on and followed Meredith downstairs. She pointed to sneakers and Meredith wore flats. Beside the sneakers was Brooke’s sword. She grabbed it and connected the sheath to her belt. “Lyriel told us to meet her in the front of the mansion as well.”

Brooke opened the mansion door and it was like pushing a brick wall. The light sprinkled into her eyes and they had to adjust. She saw Lyriel, Ellis, and Athena talking. She approached them as Meredith followed. “Morning!” exclaimed Lyriel. “Now that you are dressed, here are the supplies I have for you.”

Brooke and Meredith exchanged glances. Lyriel presented a folded sheet. “This is the map to get home, okay?” Meredith took the map. “And here’s a few thousand bucks; make the most of it.”

Brooke took the money and stuffed it into her pocket. She glanced at the mansion and the window where the library was. A curtain wavered in it like the dress of a ghostly maiden, mysterious and vague. “Lyriel, I went in your library," she confessed. Lyriel owned the mansion and that library. 

“Oh?” Her brows arched.

“Were you reading a book that had two eyes on it, one on the back, and one on the cover?”

“No.” The word was definite, solid, and final. Surely she must have been studying something, but what was she studying? Magic probably, something Brooke didn't care for, so she allowed the subject to drop. Lyriel glared at Brooke as she had intruded on something top secret, and picked up a conversation with Athena. What was she hiding?

Brooke then watched Meredith play with Yoko, bouncing him on her hip. She glanced from Yoko to Lyriel and remembered the long, silent corridors. “Hey, Meredith, why don’t we leave Yoko with Lyriel.” The mansion was large and Brooke imagined Lyriel was lonely living in it.

Meredith looked at her as if she had said to leave her leg with Lyriel. She hugged Yoko close and shook her head. “No, I don’t want to!”

Brooke propped her hands on her hips. “And why not?”

 “Because…” Meredith’s eyes ricocheted. “I just don’t want to!”

“But he’ll be safe here with Lyriel.”

Meredith shook her head, continuing to hold the baby close. Why was she acting like such a child? Brooke felt like she was asking a kid to hand over his candy. She wasn’t a bully. She just wanted Yoko to be safe. Having him around will hinder them if Brooke had to fight. “No!”

“If an orc happens to attack us right now, I can’t fight if I am changing diapers.”

“But I-”

          “Princess Meredith, I’ve seen you behave more maturely,” said Athena. “You know as well as anyone someone of your hierarchy cannot care for a child that does not belong to her.”

          “I know!” Meredith yelled. She looked like she was ready to cry. “I know who and what I am.”

“Then you should know this is best.” Meredith looked at Yoko and a tear slid down her cheek. She snuggled him and he laughed. “Now give Yoko to Lyriel.”

          “Please don’t make me do this.”

Brooke shook her head. It had to be done. There was no way around it. Meredith miserably handed Yoko to Lyriel. She took him and smiled. “Thank you, Brooklyn.” Brooke nodded and patted Meredith’s back.

“The day is young, we must depart now.” Athena waited for them to get on. Meredith was the last to go, slugging towards the gigantic tiger. She glanced back at Yoko, happy and smiling, without her. He will be okay. It was Meredith who’d be lonely. 

 

Author's Note

Dear Reader,

A little experimental. I was just working with creating a creepy, chill up your spine mood. It is not a prophecy of any kind. There is no prophecy in this book or at least I don't consider it a prophecy, just a responsibility handed to someone trusted. What do I mean? Keep reading!

Thanks for reading!

Sincerely JazzSoulKeke,

God bless