Astral Plane

Prologue

Astral

Plane

Written By

Clare Hamlin

Prologue

All around me there is nothing but darkness. A single light hangs in the middle of the darkened basement, it absentmindedly flickers as it illuminates a single circle in the middle of the room. Nothing else can be seen,but I know he is here. I can feel him, that choking dark presence that beckons me to draw closer. I feel the smoky air of his aura, the feel of it as it coils around my neck. I draw a sharp inhale as I try not to show the fear that sings through my veins. I mustn't show him what he wants. I mustn't give into the terror he so desperately needs.

I stick out my chin as I stand taller, hearing his boot scrape against the concrete floor. His heavy steps form as he draws closer towards the fringe of the shadows. "Do you know who I am?" His voice is the only noise that fills the empty space. Its haunting low baritone has an edge as sharp as a blade. That voice that remains skillfully calm seems to amplify that deadly purr that hides in the confines of his words.

That one question that has haunted me for what seems like all my life hangs in the thick air of silence in between us. How many times have I asked about who this man is? How many times have I so desperately tried to divulge the secrets of his past in order to fully see who stands before me?

I see the past, present, and the future as I stare off into those shadows. I finally know. I know now what has been kept from me, hidden away for centuries, and what it has to do with him. With that knowledge I know of the absolute destruction its consequences have in store for us.

It appears there was never a way to escape this entwined fate, a fate that seemed to have been forced upon us ever since birth.

 "Yes," I breathe, wishing it weren't true. "Yes, I know who you are."