Clockwork Forest

Chapter 12 the shadow and the new cook ( complete)

Chapter 12

The air was cool around him as each step he took had taken him to the two doors were one led to a frenetic witch and her strange snake husband, he had the only key to enter his observatory that clicked as he turned it to one side, he took a deep breath and stepped on through the door that creaked  and fluttered with dust as it opened, inside was pitch black to the human eye but eyes could see perfectly as he took it all in, but he remembered to look the door behind him as he didn’t want anyone else to walk on through, with each step he took up the steps it echoed all around until he stopped  and looked around.

He could see the dust particles float motionless in the air as the moon light leaked in through the windows, his observatory had a large telescope that fitted from the ceiling to the floor with a single large chair and a series of knobs, levers, dials, around it was a series of empty vials collecting dust along with book shelves with dusty books, the air was stale and tasted of metal as he took a few steps towards the large telescope he placed his hand over the long brass object as he did the dust flew up to greet him and left a trail on the side of his finger print trails, he sighed and looked around again viewing the ghost of his past self curiously making notes while staring into the distance testing his new toys and even looking into the stars, there was a moment were he paused at the realisation that there was a moment where he was care free, but that moment didn’t last as looking out at the world didn’t fill him up like it used to, he sighed again as he looked up at the set of stairs at the back of the room with a strange looking coloured eye on it.

The eye seemed to follow him around his observatory until he started to take steps closer towards  it, it watched him walk up the small set of steps, the eye seem to look around and oven over his shoulder trying to work out if there was anyone else around, it blinked twice as Nicolas waited as the door open on its own occurred, the waft of incense burners  and oils wafted out along with what appeared to be smoke that floated around his ankles, he looked inside with the various candles of different shapes, size and colour, there was a single bed and a single large round table in the middle, around the room dotted a series of multi coloured items on walls and ceiling along with charms of all sorts.

His attention brought him back to the centre of the room were a black figure could be seen with a smile that laminated in the dark as he beckoned his guest in “come in, come in have a seat”

Nicolas took a couple of steps forward as the door closed behind him with the same eye staring at him, he sat down opposite the shadowed figure on a single armchair made of red Velcro, his chair was made of the same material but felt slightly uncomftable as he sat down, a cup was pushed in front of him but it was cold and red, Nicolas looked at it and looked back at the shadowed figure, he crossed his arms and scowled his brow and asked “what do you want?”

The finger sat back and crossed one leg and clasped his finger tips together “nothing, just a friendly chat”

Nicolas kept his hard stern cold gaze “there is nothing friendly about our chats”

“now come Nicky boy I know about the new guest”

Nicolas narrowed his brow even more “how?”