Blood & Power [Book One of The City of Eternity Series] [✔]

1.25: Retrieval

Dying wasn't exactly a concept that was lost on me. I had been here before, or at least, I had visited a version of death before. The change felt a little like this, it took a cold grip and devoured all traces of life from your body before feeding you a little back - not a lot, just enough to pull you back into the arms of the living.

This did feel... different.

It wasn't as cold.

Those hands that crept around your spine and over your rib cage, suffocating you of all air hadn't begun to trail up my skin; that feeling had been replaced by a subtle warmth that fluttered over me, offering me a careful embrace instead.

As the fingers of peace trailed over my skin, I was left to imagine the endless possibilities death could give me. I was left to imagine where I could possibly end up after all I had done.

It hadn't clicked until I heard a gentle hum. A sing-songy hum rang through the air with gentle ease, carrying a familiar tune I hadn't heard in a long time. It reminded me of the old days before we had ascended from the depths of our hiding place; I had gone on a small venture on my own and made my way to a family-run bistro that I used to like scoping out prey in. That night there had been a family gathering inside celebrating an 18th birthday and playing loudly over the speaker was this song, a sweet melody with words time had chased away.

As the hum gradually lost volume I found myself pleading for its nostalgic caress. I suppose that plea was enough for my body to gather some strength; allowing me to slowly open my eyes, greeting the sunshine with several heavy blinks. The soft white glow of a new day was encapsulating the room, every corner filled with a bright light; it was a wondrous contrast to the fast beat of my heart, waking from sleep in panic mode.

The time adjusting had given me time to view my surroundings - the first thing I saw was the curving white brick ceiling above me. It certainly didn't feel like the place I thought I would end up in. The ceiling had seamlessly flowed into the white brick walls, the whole room giving off an ethereal provocation. The only traces of colour in the room had been the straw hats that were clinging to the wall at my eye line and the brown chair in the corner of the room.

I had forced myself to slide up in the bed I found myself in; a king-sized white sheet bed that had been littered with emerald green throw pillows and one large throw blanket. The bed was surrounded by white linen sheets strung from the ceiling, separating me from the outside. As I cast my eyes down the bed, I was met with a rattling sight. Eva was sitting there on the edge, leisurely sipping from a brown spotted mug and reading a book that seemed to be about the properties of Mediterranean herbs.

The little black cat was sitting beside her, nudging its head into her hip and softly purring with every turn of the page; I imagined the cat was demanding she goes back because it hadn't finished reading.

As the bed shifted to accommodate me rising on the bed so suddenly, the girl had turned her head, greeting me with a fulfilled smile. She had risen from the edge and briskly placed the mug on the white side table in front of her.