Page 21 of Death of a Mortal

“Aren’t you going to ask if we were successful with the flower and animal bits?”

“My child, you would not have made it over the threshold of my home if you had failed, nor do you have the courage to show up here empty-handed. So, hand them over.”

I gritted my teeth at its comment but laid the two halves of my sleeves on the table anyway, eager to get this task over with.

I huffed out a deep breath as the banshee took the halves of my torn sleeve and unrolled each to reveal the flower and the animal parts. “What do I have to do for the truth and memory?” I asked as it tipped the ingredients Nella and I had acquired into the cauldron with a hiss of steam.

“You will see in due time,” it whispered.

Then, faster than this frail thing should be able to move, it turned and hurtled toward me with a handful of the steam from the cauldron in its fist and thrust it into my face. The shock made me inhale the scalding steam before I could think. I tasted what burned flesh smells like.

The banshee stepped back with a triumphant grin as I foughtnot to wretch. Within moments, I felt as if my body was free-falling down toward the ground, and my eyes fluttered shut.

I screamed and opened my eyes to find I was no longer in the banshee’s cabin. And there was no sign of it or Nella anywhere.

“Nella?!” I yelled in a panic, looking around and finding nothing but darkness.

“Here you’ll face your greatest truth, which is the key to unlocking your most potent memory. Good luck.” The banshee’s voice sounded ethereal and echoed as if it were surrounding me and coming from nowhere in particular.

Great, another test.

I looked around once more, blinking hard, and couldn’t find even a faint light in the distance or feel the slightest inkling of air movement around me. It was like a place that existed after everything else was gone, or maybe before anything existed at all. So how in the world was I to find my “greatest truth” in a place of such absolute nothingness?

I crouched to touch the ground and felt neither warmth nor coolness against my fingers. The ground was there, supporting my weight, but also untouchable like it wasn’t there. This whole place was jarring like floating in an empty abyss.

Was that my truth? That I was just floating along through life with nothing to light my way? That I was no one and nothing of any consequence? The crushing feeling of being unimportant and unwanted made my stomach drop.

I squeezed my eyes shut to block out the intrusive thoughts just as the air shifted around me.

I opened my eyes to find a new scene unfolding before me, as if floating on smoke and solidifying as it spread. Nella appeared, looking unearthly beautiful, as if enhanced to pure, flawless perfection. Her wavy blonde hair glowed, her blue eyes shone unnaturally bright, and her skin looked like porcelain, free of any imperfections. Her smile was broad and beautiful, content.

I took a tentative step toward her, reaching out to touch her, butfound my fingertips met nothing but air. When I waved my hand in front of her face, she didn’t blink or move or show any sign that she could see me.

Another smoke figure to my other side took the form of Aemilia, followed soon by Cassius. They stalked toward Nella as they became solid, eyes gleaming red, and sinister grins plastered to both of their perfect faces.

Nella screamed and turned to run. Even though I could see her legs moving as if running, she advanced no further away from them or me, as if running in place. I looked between Aemilia, Cassius, and Nella with a sense of dread settling in my stomach. They were stalking toward her, able to move while she couldn’t.

She glanced back at them with panic and fear apparent in her eyes as they neared. I screamed for Nella to run faster, even though I knew this wasn’t real. Or could it be? This place had a way of making me feel as if I were watching reality through a veil. But surely reality didn’t have smoke versions of my family? My panic rose as I yelled Nella’s name over and over.

Aemilia reached a hand toward Nella, and the moment their skin met, tendrils of lightning wound their way up Nella’s arm, around her torso, and spread to her legs, making her trip and fall to the ground, shrieking. Tears stung the back of my eyes as I felt powerless to do anything as I watched my greatest fear unfurl before my eyes—Nella, unprotected, and falling victim to our twisted family’s violence.

She convulsed and screamed on the ground, surrounded by crackling lightning, as Aemilia’s and Cassius’s maniacal laughter echoed all around me. Cassius took a step toward Nella and crouched down to whisper in her ear. The unbearable words found me loud and clear over Nella’s screams, despite how quietly he’d spoken them...

“You are worthless. You are alone. There is no one here to stop me from ending your pathetic life. And this will not be painless.” Cassius threw his head back and laughed and laughed as my tears of sadness and pain turned to burning, angry tears of rage.

I screamed until my throat was raw, begging the scene to stop, for the banshee to bring me back, praying this wasn’t real.

Just as his first kick connected with Nella’s ribs, I shut my eyes. I couldn’t watch this. Somewhere beneath the grief, something hot and dark coiled in my chest like a spark waiting for air. I felt bile sting the back of my throat just as I heard a new voice.

I had to look, because I knew that voice.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw another smoke figure solidifying as Aemilia’s screech of delight echoed around me over his arrival.

Fadric.

His smile was wide, beaming. His curls were perfect. He walked right past me and stopped in front of Aemilia as Cassius aimed a kick at Nella’s face, her head snapping back and blood flowing from her nose.

Her screams stopped and she stilled. I dropped to my knees next to Nella and reached for her again, still unable to touch her. She looked close to death. Her movements reduced from convulsing to small twitches, her blinks became longer, and her eyes went out of focus. She was fading fast, faster than the tears were falling from my chin.