7

 I scrambled to sit up. My head was still light and a slight, sickening feeling swirled in my stomach. My hands and arms tingled slightly as I attempted to put weight on them with a sharp, sudden pain in my right shoulder reminding me I had been stabbed. I looked down a bandage had been wrapped around me, over my right shoulder, across my chest and under my left arm holding a pad of gauze in place.

 “What happened? Where am I?” I squinted. The ceiling above me was off-white; the walls were a shade of grey which didn’t look healthy in the flickering candle light which sat atop a nightstand. There was a strong smell of incense which overpowered my senses, an extremely sweet aroma which screamed wild flowers. The shutters were closed on the windows, but it wasn’t backlit by a warm glow. The sound of the night echoed, dogs howled, footsteps slapped the rain soaked floor, wind howled and threatened to blow the shutters in and a bar fight could be heard in the distance.

 I looked to Lowri who sat on the edge of my bed, her hair tied back and with worry written all over her face.

 “I thought you were going to...” She didn’t finished, she looked up, with the smell of flowers and the green of her eyes; anyone would have thought they were sitting in a meadow during spring.

 I smiled to let her know I was fine which she accepted with a small nod and a smile back.

 “You’re at Don’s city house. Your Mouse found you at your place, you weren’t breathing, had no heartbeat, you were dead, Cal. Dead. If I hadn’t been nearby to hear your Mouse shouting, we could have lost you.”

 I noticed a Watcher standing at the open door watching over me with a servant girl beside him, and beside her, stood Prospect. His robes were black and he held a small, black book with a star on the cover.

 “Dead? But I feel fine.” And I did, apart from the pain in my shoulder from trying to sit up, compared to how I felt at my place, I felt fantastic.

 “Cal, you passed out on Wednesday. It’s now Saturday,” she said.

 “Three days? I’ve been out for three days? It only felt like three minutes.” I hadn’t forgotten about my time in the Netherworld �" if it was the Netherworld.

 “You were dead for three minutes; we beat your heart and stopped your bleeding but you’ve been unconscious for three days.” That would be why my time in the Netherworld was so short.

 Prospect stepped forward, he had a small glow about him, not from his expression with his eyes full of concern, but he seemed to actually radiate light. “Cal, I have been praying to Grace that you would be ok.”

 I didn’t know what to make with that now, after my experience in the Netherworld. Prospect looked deep into my eyes, and he must have seen something because his expression turned into a soft smile. “It’s good to have you back, Son,” he said.

 “It’s good to be back.”

 There was a pause between us, Prospect looked at me for a few seconds, his forehead creased a little with thought. He held a little, black book against his chest. “Cal, do you know why Grace is amongst the stars?”

 I shook my head.

 “It is because as a human being there are six points to us.” Prospect stepped forward and stood beside my bed, he touched my knees, first the right, then the left. “Here we pray, we ask for forgiveness and for fortune.” He touched my hands, again, first the right and then the left. “Here we work, we toil, but they are also the first point of contact in meeting others, through a hug, a touch of the arm, or a handshake.” He touched my forehead. “Here, we think, we choose the offers that come from the sixth.” He touched my chest, just to the left of the centre, over the place where my heart sat. “Here is where morals are born, where the light comes. “

 Prospect’s face grew softer and I realised how old he really was. His beard had strands of grey, the dark skin around his eyes was sagging slightly and creases were folding at the corners. Prospect’s expression didn’t appear to be pleased that I was back; it was as if he had seen something in my eyes that made him feel sorrow and pity, like I was a child who had wet the bed and had tried to wash the sheets.

 Then Prospect continued, “The sixth point is the most important; it is where love, fear, joy and hate stem. It is the most important because when the heart breaks, we fall to our knees, clap our hands together and look to the sky. I want you to think, think long and think hard, Son, is there a time when your sixth point brought the other five into one?” Prospect placed hand on my shoulder. “I’m glad you’re ok.” He then smiled at Lowri, turned and walked to the door. Lowri and I watched him leave.

 “What was that about?” Lowri asked.

 “Wish I knew.”

 The servant girl shuffled at the door.

 “Lowri, could we talk in private?” I looked over her shoulder to the Watcher and the girl.

 “Sure.” Lowri walked over and dismissed the two; the Watcher didn’t look pleased but obeyed her wishes. The servant girl closed the off-white door as she left while Lowri returned to sit on a chair beside my bed.

 Disappointed that she was no longer sitting on my bed, I straightened myself further to lean against the headboard.

 I told her about my experience in the Netherworld, what I saw and how I felt. She didn’t speak the entire time, just sat open mouthed and wide eyed.

 Once I had finished, her look didn’t change. I was expecting some sort of reaction, some sort of ‘I told you so’, but she just sat with a shocked expression. Her forehead slightly creased. Her eyes wide with long lashes which finally gave into blinking.

 “Well...” I attempted to coax her into talking.

 Her mouth moved, but no words came out.

 “Lowri?”

 “Are you saying you crossed over? You entered the Netherworld?”

 “I’m saying I saw something.” I tried to deny myself, to close out the thought of a Netherworld. However, my mother and father would be safe and at peace, their souls forever sleeping in the sky peering down at the world below and watching their loved ones living their lives. The thought that scared me was that a soul intact is deemed worthy to rest, regardless of person before. Yven the Wicked, Adem Ezra or the infamous murderer who was never caught, simply known as the Black Ripper could in theory be resting with their counterparts who tried to bring justice to their crimes. That was what most troubled me, my father, the greatest man I knew, could be resting side by side with the arsonist who started the fire which killed him.

 “Cal, you can’t deny it now, you’ve experienced it yourself. First hand.”

 “I’ve experienced something, whether it was the Netherworld or a delusion. I ain’t certain of anything.” I began looking around in search of my pipe, I needed relaxation at this point and Lowri wasn’t helping. “Look, Little Rich is still missing, I have an emotional cylinder and a Jűr stabbed me. Now, considering I’ve lost three days of my life -” I turned, my feet touched the floor, I rubbed the back of my neck. “I’d better get back to work”. I stood up and walked over to the pile of clothes waiting for me on a wooden framed chair in the corner, the photograph of Little Rich and the mysterious man, the cylinder and my pipe lay in waiting on top of my clothes, along with my punch knife and dagger which the Jűr kindly left behind.

 Lowri made a move for the door.

 “You can stay and watch if you want.”

 She left, rolling her eyes and shaking her head, not knowing how serious I was.

 A strong breeze hit the shutter on the window and blew one door open, it cracked against the wall as it swung on its hinges. The candle blew out leaving the room dark other than the moonlight which gave off an eerie, slightly blue light. I moved closer to the windowsill. Stars twinkled in the sky above. I couldn’t believe there were souls up there. I just couldn’t. And for me to cross over and enter their world �" it wasn’t possible. I thought about what Prospect had said and tried to think of a reason for why he had said it. Was there a time I fell to my knees, clapped my hands together and looked to the sky? Only once I could think of, when my parents had been killed. I put Prospect’s speech to the back of my mind, regarding it as more talk of Grace I didn’t need to know.

 I got changed, then looked at the photograph Lowri had found at Little Rich’s home. The tall man I had seen during my blackout peered over the top of his spectacles at me. His familiarity annoyed me. I tucked the photograph in one pocket, the cylinder in another, blew out a heavy breath and bit down on my pipe. There was a lot to do, more than usual; already I felt the tension in my shoulders.

 I left the room where I had spent three days unconscious.

Reviews

[Morrigan Nicole]

Onward!!!

[Morrigan Nicole]

Hmmmm, my favorite part was when Cal asked Lowri to stay and watch him dress. He's so cute! THEY are so cute. Lowri and Cal, I mean. Don't want to spend too much time reviewing I am eager to read more.

[Becky Clancy]

I really like this chapter, but I have yet to read the other ones as well :P keep up the good work though (:

[Coyote Poetry]

Good discussion in this chapter. To wander from life to death could leave you off balanced. I like her concern for him. No weakness in this chapter. Thank you for sharing the excellent story.
Coyote