Forever Lost

Chapter Thirty-Six: When I See Prey, I Attack

Melody rounds the corner, her breath heavy.

"Hi!" I greet with a friendly smile.

Her hand lay flat on the stony wall. She stands, hunched over, head hung low. "Hey- Kaya-"

I set the Halltics potion down on the alchemy table. I saunter over to where Melody stands and guide her to a small stool. She sits, her head leaning against the wall. It's then I notice the small canvas notebook in her hand. I wait for her to catch her breath before I mention it. "What did you bring?" I finally ask.

She opens her eyes, using the wall as a support. She looks at me with this look of curiosity in her eyes. "Huh?"

I gesture to the book. "Why did you bring a notebook?"

"Oh yeah," she holds it to her chest as if it was dear to her heart. "It's more of a journal actually."

"Oh, sorry." I sit down across from her on he floor. "You don't have to take notes, you know."

"I didn't bring it for notes." I cock my head to the side in curiosity. She closes her eyes as if about to cry. "I need to talk to you about something." she's silent for a while. I don't respond. She finally opens her eyes, opening the canvas cover. "After I left, I had private training with Stealth. I ended up passing out while I was in the meld form." she begins flipping through the pages, stopping at one that had been doggy-eared. "I woke up this morning, but when I looked in the mirror, my pupils were bordered with bright red." she then looks up at me. "Like yours!" she returns her gaze to the page. "Anyway, I have no recollection of what happened to me after I blacked out, but I have a feeling that I was still..." she looks up at me, eyes sorrowful. "awake. Does that make sense?"

I nod. "As if you were possessed or taken over by another spirit. That sound right?"

She nods, returning her attention t her journal. "Well I've been writing in this journal daily, but only once a day. But yesterday has two entries." she looks up again. "What scares me is that I'm the only one who writes in this, and the signature is different." she looks back down, closing her eyes.

"What does it read?" I ask.

She sighs before opening her eyes. "12th of Willow, 2049, Journal Entry #8, Kurma. Everything is going according to plan. Her time is almost up. Kyle's mind had been infected and Hagi doesn't suspect a thing. Just two more years and I'll be free. Just two more years. Daemone Melody."

"So you're the only one who writes in this, right?"

She nods.

"So there's absolutely n possibility that someone else could get a hold of it and write in it?"

"No, the ink that I use is my blood."

"Eew, why the hell would you do that?"

She gives a small smile. "Because, it assures that I'm the only one that can write in it."

"What? You're going to need to explain this to me in a little more depth."

"Alright," she closes her eyes again, sighing. She begins her explination a moment later when her eyes open. "I got this journal from my father when I was little. He said it was special, that only I could write in it. The first thing I did that day was grab a pen and try to write, but nothing showed up on the page. I tried another and the same thing happened. But then I tried it on a normal sheet of paper, and sure enough, ink showed up. I gave up trying after that.

That same day, he asked me how I was enjoying my gift. I told him that I couldn't write in it. Then he remembered the second half of his gift to me. When I opened it, I found a pen. I took it, but dropped it immediately. The pen had cut my hand. It was then he told me that only that pen in my hand could write in that journal.