DayLight

Madam Tsali allows them to take their Knowledge of the Night into the daytime so that they can capture Dionysus

 

Madam Tsali is showing us how to bring our knowledge of Gorrenna into our real lives. She places a cold rock in each of our hands and tells us to close our eyes. I do so and I the rock feels colder, or else I’m imagining it. Madam Tsali paces around us chanting; I am strong enough to control the powers of Gorrenna within me, I am deceptive enough to hide than power from discerning spirits. I am wise enough to avoid misusing that power I am obedient enough to do what I am told. Madam Tsali stresses on this. She looks at ares when she says this. Ares does not notice but Mogh and I exchange a quick glance.

Later that night I explain to my ‘helper’ what madam Tsali instructed me to do. Then the three of us join hands. I hold Ares’ hand tentatively and clutch my rock in my left hand my ‘helper’ stands behind waiting for his part. When we are finished I add the words, I bring my helper, who will cease to exist if he is not faithful to the chain. There is a deep rumbling sound and I bite my lips so hard that I bleed. The scarlet tear trickles down my chin and down to my chest and stains my white dress, spiraling out of control forming a pattern of intertwined roses. I see the eyes of Ares and Mogh wide and alarmed. They grip me by the arm and steady me. My hands are still tingling.

Mogh looks grimly at me. No one speaks until I do. Ares pushes his hair out of his face. Tick-tock. From the corner of my eyes I see my helper staring at me a smile of glee on his face. Tick-tock. I struggle to raise myself. “I am alright.”

Ares sits down on the grass next to me and I curl up next to him trying to explain what happened. Mogh’s voice comes loud and clear. “It a blood pact now.” oh no I cannot believe what I just heard. He explains quietly, “Since the old days people would do blood pacts. It lasts forever. We are all bound to each other by your blood now Selene, including him. “He pointed to my helper who was grinning in delight. “He belongs to our world now. Selene you brought that creature into our world.”

Ares stands up fists closed. “Do not dare blame Selene for this, Mogh” Mogh steps back slowly, “I was not blaming her Ares, I was just trying to make her realize how serious this is.”

“You are being a bloody b*****d.”

“You would not be defending her if you did not want to bang her.”

Ares takes a swing at Mogh. Summoning all my strength I freeze them both. They stare at me while I walk around them saying, “You should be ashamed of yourselves.”

I look up at the night sky; it twists and churns in agony. There are no stars in the sky now, no light.

I snap my fingers and they both unfreeze and look at each other. I turn to them both and say, “I am sorry.”

“Apology accepted.” Mogh smiles. My helper approaches me saying, “Tomorrow mistress, we shall find Snow White.”

Mogh and Ares guffaw like idiots saying, “ Ahahaha Snow is white no more.”

Perverts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I wake up as I normally do, stretching and wondering what I would be doing today. Then I spot a grayish bluish stone by my foot and I reach for it. As I touch it I feel a tingling sensation and everything floods my mind at once, until I feel as if I am drowning. I see Ares walking towards me, Diana my lost friend, madam Tsali’s stern face, Dionysus drinking some liquid from a flask, , Hera’s eyes just before she crumbled to the ground, Mogh with his mighty powers summoning a flock of blackbirds, Lance with his piercing eyes, me standing just outside of Nightschool on my first night. When I open my eyes and look around my room is the same, but something is different. I have knowledge now; I remember last night and all the other nights I spent at Nightschool.

I snap my fingers and out comes my ‘helper’. Only those who have been to Gorrenna can see him. He has plaited his beard and the sight of it is so comical that I almost laugh. Almost. I have a nervous knot it my stomach; I am worried about meeting Ares. My helper senses my apprehension. “Soon we will find snow white mistress.” He walks around my room touching my things and sniffing the air. Everything here is new to him. He walks to the window. I have to open it for him because he is three feet tall.

He is in a good mood; I think he likes our world. I walk out of my bedroom conscious of the fact that there is a long haired, undersized inhuman creature trailing behind me. My mother is in the kitchen making breakfast. I cannot help it; I look behind me and see my helper who grins. My mother looks at me curiously, “Good morning, did you have a bad dream you look worried?”

“Yes mom,” I lie.

Later I travel to Port of Spain the capital of Trinidad. The streets are flooded with people and there is a huge traffic problem, which is why I decided to travel instead of putting my mom through that bumper to bumper traffic. A vagrant stretches his emaciated hand towards me and I step away bouncing into a woman who gives me a dirty look. I just love the city. As I approach the library I see Ares before he sees me. He is looking the other way now; his black tee is hugging him as style dictates and his jeans aren’t slack either. His well defined abs print through and I have to remind myself why I am here. To work on our task; not to goggle at Ares. He turns around and sees me. I wore a black Capri and a black and white top that spirals and swirls like my blood did last night.

We greet each other then start talking about Dionysus and how we intend to catch her. Of course my little friend is here also. His eyes are wide with wonder and admiration as he looks around the city. Ares eyes him uneasily; I don’t blame him. What if someone does see him? That would be quite difficult to explain.

Well you see I need him to help me find a mythical being called snow white, because she escaped from dreamland into our world by breaking into someone’s consciousness, she very dangerous you should watch out for her we don’t know what because we have no idea how the person she possessed looks.well, heres my number, call if you see her. That ought to do the job.

We walk to a café and sit down after buying currant rolls and orange juice. A fat man with a huge mole on his face sits opposite us. His shirt is bursting at the seams and he has at least three chins. He looks straight at me and mouths the words you murdered the wretch… his eyes are as black as lance’s spirit and I nudge ares slightly. Ares looks at the man who has now resumed eating with vigor. The man expression betrays nothing. After I tell Ares what he mouthed to me Ares asks the man if he has a problem. The man looks up at Ares with a look of dignified astonishment on his face. “What do you mean?” Ares apologizes and leave the café.

Neither of us speaks as we walk. The blazing sun makes my pores rain sweat as we walk through the busy streets of downtown. Someone bounces me and does not bother to say anything. A shriveled up old lady wearing a checkered apron sits by a newspaper stand with her feet in a bowl of water. A basket next to her is full of dinner mints. “Buy one,” she says. A foul-smelling vagrant hums, “It feels good, loving somebody when somebody loves you back and that’s a fact.” He bobs his head and grins. Neither of us says a word about this. The streets smell like a mixture of sweat and rubbish. A bald man in a black Ferrari blows his horn at a group of churchgoers crossing the street.

Finally Ares speaks. He says, “You really think she used that man to get to us.” I nod mutely and wipe away several beads of perspiration from my face. “She must be really strong then,” Ares looks away as he says this and I realize that he is actually afraid of what will happen when we face Dionysus. “She is too confidant,” I say loudly, “she is wearing herself down.”

“Shh,” Ares says, “She could be anywhere.” I swallow this for a moment. As I realize with horror what this means even though it is thirty-five degrees I shiver involuntarily. It is summer and they are other teenagers around. Ares gets a lot of smiles and not so discreet glances from other girls. I take his hand and then I feel silly and childish. I have to break the silence. “So, um, Mogh is coming in two days then we’ll be able to start. That is um great.”

Ares nods absently. After a minute or so he speaks. “We have to find the person Dionysus is controlling and you know, call on her then bind her.”

That’s why Ares was so quiet; he was planning while I was thinking about him. He left out a key part of the plan though. “When Mogh comes, right,” I add quickly. “Yes alright.” I know that Ares would love to catch Dionysus without Mogh but it is too risky. We enter my favourite book store. I spend hours here during my holidays buying and reading books. Helena greets me with a hug and a peck on the cheek. She wears a new tinted eyeglass. I compliment them and she blushes. After I introduce Helena and Ares we move through the bookstore pretending that she is assisting us when the three of us are really chatting.

Helena is tall, lithe and introverted. You only see her white smile when she likes you. The first time we met we talked for like ever about Roman and Greek mythology. I am a regular customer there so we always have time to talk. She is a genuine person. She is not vapid like most of my friends who think I’m weird because I think about more than the top twenty songs and who wore what to where . She has long hair that she recently streaked with red. She has a boyfriend with short spiky hair whose real name is Steven but everyone calls him Sonic.

A middle aged woman with frizzy hair asks Helena about Caribbean cookbooks. Helena says, “I’m coming back.” Then she is gone. Helena used to want to be a tattoo artist. She is artsy and creative. I suck major in art. I’m better with a pen in my hand that a paintbrush. Ares and I look at comic books. Ares is artsy. When Helena comes back they talk about art and she even shows us some of her sketches. A thirsty vampire gazes longingly at a beautiful girl. She is unaware that anyone is looking at her but she hugs herself as if she feels the chill of his gaze. She flips the page. A knight kneels before a girl his eyes looking into hers her delicate hand in his, she smiles as if she has no troubles. She flips the page. The same girl is holding her large belly sobbing; her eyes are large and panicky. Some emotion in me stirs. I cannot place it; fear, wonder, sadness, hopelessness. That is what Helena’s art does; it makes you feel the desire, the pain and the delight, of her subjects. The formidable store manager glares at Helena. Then she snaps it shut and says with a smile, that’s enough for today.

After we walk out of the bookstore I turn and see Helena leaning against the wall her hand at her heart. I cannot see her eyes but I feel sure they are closed. I am about to turn around and ask if she was alright but she has already straightened herself and walked away. Odd. Very odd. Ares walks me to the bus terminal then my helper and I try catching a maxi taxi.

Later, at home I try to think everything out clearly. I decide that there is only one thing I can do to clear my mind. I call Ares and ask him if he thinks we should find a way to get Helena to take off those glasses. He agrees saying that we will have to be careful. “I know.”

We agree to do this on Monday which is when Mogh is arriving in Trinidad.

Later that night when we make mind contact, Ares tells me that he loves me. “I love you Selene”

“I love you too Ares”

We talk like this for hours, reveling in our newfound love.

 

Author's Note

What d'ya think of it?