The Clement Chronicles

chapter 4

Chapter 4
It was once again a cloudy day and the streets of Seattle thrived with ordinary people making their way through the busy streets. Monday morning- everyone would be too busy to notice an ordinary young girl and god-like looking man moving amid the crowd. They had no idea what creatures lurked around them and how easy it was for something to snatch them away from their lives.
The grey skies above me suited the gloomy silence between Caspian and I, we walked side by side, careful not to draw too much attention to ourselves as we hurried to Eli’s house. She has no idea what she’s in for and I have a feeling she will not be as susceptible as me when it comes to believing this labyrinthine story.
“Keep to the light, avoid the shadows. Even with the sun out, there are things that may lurk about – waiting to pounce. “Warned Caspian as he made another one of his frequent checks around the block. I made a note not to cross him, especially when it became clear to me that he was a trained killer who played the part of simpleton walking down the residential streets. I nodded and stopped fiddling with the hem of my t-shirt when we faced Eli’s building.
Caspian informed me that we were to make a quick stop here and cast a temporary spell on all that lived here. It was a complex spell that involved Eli and her family forgetting me for a long while until I was clear of all this mess. It would be a tad bit longer than the stop at my mothers, she did not remember me and the nurses informed me that I should come back another time- when she was much easier to handle – wiping her memories was easy as she hadn’t had much of me – it was not easy to leave her there – nothing about any of this way easy… now I had to do the same to Eli.
It weighed down on me – leaving my best friend and possibly allowing her to forget me, she was the last person I would want to hurt, given all that she means to me. But if me having to wipe her memory of all things related to who I am means her living, then I will gladly do it for my friend, no regrets but pain and guilt for what I was about to do. Who was I to deem her memories null and void? But it had to be done.
I knocked on the familiar red door and waited for my friend to open the door and welcome me inside with one of her bear-hugs. I waited to be greeted by that familiar scent of potpourri that encompassed the entire double-story apartment here in the city.  Was this to be my last time coming to this doorstep? The feeling of loss and dread enveloped me into my own thoughts until the door was finally opened – but instead of Eli standing there with her usual uggs and sweater – she stood with black attire – everything was black: from her combat boots to her fighting leathers? What was happening? Was she having some weird target practice with one of her rifles and I happened to catch her at a bad time? That was it, she was going to the firing station to practice her aim.
“Cyra, I was waiting for you to show up here. I tried finding you but I see Caspian got you first.” She jerked her head to the Greek god beside me in a way of greeting and Caspian hid whatever shock he seemed to have with a sly grin.
“What is happening?” was all I could blurt out in my shock. How does she even know Caspian? Are these two acquainted? If so, how?  Eli has no friends apart from me, right? She is as lazy and home-bound as I am and so what is she doing knowing about Caspian?
Being without a soul makes you hard to detect. It is one of the reasons very few people saw you or mixed with you. Those who did most probably have ties to the supernatural world or better yet – belongs to it.
“Oh no, no, no! You better not tell me that you know what this is about and you haven’t told me anything – my whole life.” I pleaded, my best friend hiding this from me? Was it all a lie? I felt betrayed. I was willing – am willing to give up so much for her safety and it seems that she lied to my face – it would seem that she doesn’t even need my saving either. I began to feel lightheaded trying to take things in but I focused on my breathing. Anxiety letting its sharp claws close around my neck once more.
She looked at me with a sad expression filled with guilt. Eli opened the door widely and ushered us in.
“Let us discuss this in private. Too many eyes and ears out here.” If it weren’t for the fact that I was being hunted and trailed, I would have walked away until I calmed myself down.
I entered the cosy apartment and dragged my sore feet over the soft, cream coloured carpets in Eli’s rustic but modern home. I sat on the couch and stared at my hands before Eli handed me a drink – it was not coffee.
“You have many questions for me, let me explain before you take off with me. It feels like I betrayed you but I swear I did it for your safety – the less you knew, the harder it was for anyone to sniff you out.” She sat on the sofa facing me and I averted my eyes to anywhere but her face.
I was literally stranded here, not knowing who to trust or who to find to help me. My closest ally as it stood was Caspian who saved me from Envy and he was now examining the spread of knives and rifles laid out on Eli’s oak dining table. My best friend was not who she appeared to be and I was not who I appeared to be.
“You need to trust me – “she began to say but Caspian interjected with his deep and sensual voice. He walked over to my side and sat on the armrest. If Ryth was a queen in her prime, then Caspian was a king of his time and placing.
“So Eli, how did you hide yourself and her without informing anyone of us that you were in fact alive – the last time I saw you, you were trying to find Cade in Lorus. I thought you died during the fire.” So very tense, this conversation was so very strained.
Eli rolled her eyes at his jab at her survival skills and she spoke with a voice I never heard her use – a warrior’s voice, “I answered to Ryth – not someone who never fought at her side – not the way she needed at least.”
Something eerie flashed in Caspian’s eyes and he growled at her insult. Both of them had close ties to Ryth and they were willing to fight for her, even if Eli didn’t see it, I did. They wanted the same thing and would accomplish it much faster if they set aside their differences and worked together.
“Easy now, Eli – we both don’t want to start something you cannot walk away from. Our duty is to Cyra and to help her. “Caspian dismissed her glare with so much more of a smirk. Eli immediately tore her gaze away from him and squirmed – actually squirmed on her seat. Just how scary was Caspian?
“I was one of Ryths’s oldest friends and comrades… I defended her honour and protected her life before this world even settled to be what it is today. She was a strong leader and an even greater friend. I owed her my life… we were all friends –“
“Some would even say – coterie” Caspian disrupted once more and Eli smiled softly at the term. That’s what they were called, her comrades in arms.
“As they would all say,” she soothed, “I was her friend and when she was murdered by some hound, we were left to defend the world. I didn’t mean to hurt you Cyra – but when I saw you when you were little I recognised the same light inside you that I did with Ryth so I watched you grow and when I felt something amiss in you – something so powerful missing – I knew you were some descendant or mercy bestowed upon this earth. I knew I needed to stay close to protect you and help you… I owed you that at least for not being able to save – Ryth…” Her voice became uneven and shaky.
I glanced at Caspian and he rubbed his wrists softly as he sat, no sarcastic comment to add to Eli’s pain.
“I am not Ryth – I am not – “I began to say softly.
“I know – I did watch you grow up in front of me – and I knew you were not her. You two are so very different but so strong and kind. Even in your pain you made others smile. You are so brave and perhaps that is what sets you aside from the rest, you have heart. You are the light that this world desperately needs. I cast a spell to glamour myself as a child so that I could protect you from whatever saw you and recognised you. I did so until I could no longer hide it – when your father and brother died and your mom left, something in you broke that day that echoed so loud that I knew it would be felt by everything around you. A beacon, the cry of a goddess.”
I must have stopped breathing for Caspian cleared his throat and I instantaneously began to suck in small breaths.
“Cyra Clement, I do not regret doing what I did and deceiving you – for I was fulfilling my duty to Ryth and her bloodline – I was protecting you. I do regret, however, causing you pain and setting this feeling of mistrust within you – I am truly your friend and as it stands, I am still your “coffee-loving” best friend. I will do whatever it takes for you to trust me again and I will offer myself up for your protection as you take this journey. It was real for me – the friendship – I could have protected you from the shadows but I saw that you needed a friend – and so did I. You helped me in more ways than you know…” Her eyes welled up with tears probably from having to express all of that emotion and I found my tongue thick and heavy all at once, a silent tear slid down my cheek as I nodded.
I may not be able to forgive her for the years of lying but she did save me in her own messed up way and I owed it to all the innocent people in this world to give them the best fighting chance against whatever darkness sought to strike them down. If we were to go about this journey I needed to unite the coterie with my presence. I swallowed my pain and stood up, I faced the two of them and clenched my jaw.
“Where does this journey take us first?” I mustered all the courage I could and looked them both down.
Eli scoffed towards Caspian’s direction as he rubbed the back of his neck in awkward silence. What else was it that they were not telling me?
“We need to find the amulet of Kiryth first and then train you.” Caspian spoke sternly while Eli scowled at him. Train me?
“That should be easy given that you know who has it Caspian, didn’t you keep tabs on it? “ It was Eli who spoke now with as much determination that I was sure we could somehow be one step ahead of the darkness looming before us. He looked at her with one of the most deathly looks I had ever seen and if I did not know Caspian, I would have ran for the hills because of the danger I now felt around these two immortal beings.
“The last place I left it was in Scardia – the Dquari Temple.” He heaved and Eli’s face paled and by the looks of it I thought she was going to be sick.
“The amulet – lost forever. So only Ryth herself could retrieve it. That was awfully smart of you – a death trap for us.” Eli stammered and began to rub her temples. She stood up and began packing carefully selected rifles in a bag.
“We can retrieve it if we train her – she could fetch it. You said it yourself, she has the same connection as Ryth. We just need to harness her magical ability and she can do the rest.” Caspian plotted but Eli shook her head.
“It could be dangerous – She is not ready – we can’t risk it if –“Eli hollered at his suggestion and I winced.
“Well – train me then – whatever it is you need me to do, we are running out of time and those things already know I’m out here. At this rate, everything we do is a risk. So train me and let me help. I’ll be damned if I let you two sit around talking about what I’m capable of and not. “I hissed at the two of them and Caspian smirked at me and I felt a little blush creep in so I turned towards Eli.
“Strong spirit, we just might survive Allenon and his union of idiots after all.” Eli murmured. She handed me a knife and I took in the sheer beauty of it. It seemed too heavy to be handled but too light to even exist. It felt like everything and nothing all at once. It was a simple dagger – no jewels incrusted on it but it had foreign patterns engraved on the silver hilt – it was the markings of a dead language.
“A scelp, to kill - if we are not around.” I nodded and pocketed it while Eli packed a few things. The unspoken meaning between her handing me the scelp rang inside my mind – over-thinking, I was over-thinking again and I needed to keep myself in check. The last thing I need now is for me to not being able to breath and having them drain all their hope along with my dying breaths.
“I take it we are making our way to Scardia then? “I affirmed and she nodded in disagreement but it was Caspian with his sensuous voice that answered.
“We are going to the Pit of stones – to train you. “
“A hidden land where darkness cannot follow. Here, we train you and get you ready to retrieve the amulet. “Eli explained.
“My home – the place where all my people reside... No one may enter without my consent. You will be safe there.” Caspian declared and I nodded. I had nothing of importance to take with me except for some medication that Eli had in store for me in one of her cupboards. Enough to last me a long time…
I was nervous and I had all the reason to be. I was diving into something that I did not quiet comprehend and I was completely unaware of what threats I would face along the way. 
“If this place is so safe – why don’t we just ship everyone there? “ I felt stupid he moment that thoughtless question left my mouth.
“One, it has many creatures that humans will surely die of fright from and secondly, We can’t leave the human world unprotected while the sins and dark shadows linger outside – hunting for you… it is not unknown to us what they may do in their breaks.” Eli posed while packing her bags and smiling deliriously at some weapon I have never read about in books.
I fell silent while they packed and waited a few minutes before I mustered up the courage to ask Eli the next question – I didn’t want to bother her with my many questions while she seemed very busy.
“How do we get there? “I asked while they packed. I felt more like deadweight at this point.
“We ride the wind.” Caspian winked at me and in an instant I was enveloped inside a pocket of air and I felt like I was the wind all at once. Free and strong.We were moving between time and space and with a speed I was sure would cause any human to flay under. I could feel the wind become me and carry me all over the place. My body was free and I was enjoying the feel of simply being moved between a place that was not anywhere – It felt like a surge of energy. It took no effort on my part to move, almost as if I was sinking and I had no worries about it.
I lost balance after traveling in what seemed to be a dark world made of wind. I hit the ground on my knees and felt like I may be sick right there and then. Strong hands helped me up and I turned to face Caspian who smiled at my sudden jerk.
“Ass!” I hissed at him. He was a tad bit theatrical and gave me no warning as to what to expect wind riding was.
I looked in awe at the Palace before me, a beautiful, marble building erected around a huge city of various creatures not from this world. It was breath-taking.  Thousands of buildings, built bellow in levels, carved from various stone formed the heart of the city. Little orbs of gold flew and darted about. It was the souls – this was where he kept the souls he retrieved. A silver river snaked its way across the city, cutting it into two halves. The Palace half and the city itself. The clear, blue sky stretched above the magnificent city and I knew that this place was definitely not on any map on Earth. The sun, it seemed, was silver and yellow all at once. It was beautiful, I could get lost here if I wanted to – to explore the world not of my own… but I was here to save my world, not join this one.
“Welcome to my home, Urbe Lapis.” Caspian extended a hand for me to take in the beauty of it all. I could write all about this place and my words would never do justice.
“I understand now why you call it the Pit of Stones” I said while I brought my fingertips to my lips and just watched the life flow about. He smiled at my reaction. It was a sight to behold, watching this extravagant world unfold around me.