Beyond the Veil

Chapter Three

          Feeling her heart skip a beat, Serena waited for another flash of lightning and she was not disappointed, nor did she have to wait long. Once again the sky lit up only this time there was no face, just angry clouds glaring down at her.

          Your eyes are just playing tricks on you, Serena.

          She tried to convince herself of that as she let herself into the house, but she couldn't shake the sudden uneasy feeling that had come over her -- the feeling that someone was watching her.

          That night, Serena dreamed.

          She found herself running through the streets of a long abandoned city. The sky overhead was stained red as blood, and a full, broken moon hung low on the horizon. As Serena ran the rotting ground beneath her feet began to crack and split, gnarled hands reaching up to grasp at her ankles and legs, desperate to hinder her. Was she running from something, or towards something? Serena couldn't tell.

          Maybe it was both.

          Maybe it was neither.

          The next thing she knew the ground fell away completely and she was falling, plummeting into the darkness like a stone tossed over the edge of a pit. Air whistled passed her as she tumbled towards nothing. Just when she felt she would fall forever, the darkness receded and she found herself floating amidst the twinkling light of a million stars.

          In the distance she could make out a fog, thick and black, spiraling towards her. As it grew closer, the sound of a thousand voices speaking in unison rose around her. It started as a faint whisper and rose until it was a crashing crescendo. She tried to cover her ears but the voices continued to grow louder and louder until she could take no more.

          She screamed.

          It was a piercing,  violent sound.

          The voices went silent.

          The billowing clouds grew still, rippling and twisting in place like a vaporous snake. Serena saw no eyes, no visible face, but still felt like it was watching her.

          Who are you?

          Though it held no corporeal form, Serena instinctively knew it was a who and not a what. She also knew the answer before it replied. She didn't know how she knew, but she felt a connection to this darkness.

          I am one, and I am many, I am the creator and the creation, I am the enslaver and the redeemer, I am the father of chaos, I am the devourer of worlds.

          Sounded like a lot of lofty claims to her.

          What do you want with me?

          The fog pulsated and Serena was overwhelmed with feelings if intense hate and unequivocal wrath..

          I want what you have stolen.

          Stolen?

          Before she could question it, the fog exploded outward. Long, inky black tendrils of smoke plumed into the star studded space around her before arching inwards. They spiraled around her, caging her in and she caught a glimpse of the face which had been masked by darkness.

          It was her own.

          Serena woke with a start, her breath hitching, her eyes fluttering open.