Chapter Two
That night, I slept restlessly.
I never dreamt. I stopped dreaming when I was six because dreams were impossible. They were for people who had goals and hopes. I had none of those things, and even though I had Akin now and my life was infinitely better, I still didn't dream. I only relieved memories, all of which were awful, but there were some worse than others.
I found myself reliving the moment I was first slammed down on the dirty bathroom floor of a goth club in Styx. I was drugged up on something Epimetheus had paid the bartender to slip into my drink. It caused a strange heat to spread through me, a buzzing in my ears, my magic to become useless, and my muscles to feel like pudding. I could only lay there, breathing hard as random hands forced my arms behind my back, hooking them with a silver hook on the cuffs on my wrists. Someone tied something around my head, gagging my mouth, and a fist bashed me over the head, making my vision spin and twirl.
The bathroom smelled awful; shit and urine wafting up my nostrils accompanied by the cheap smell of a floral air freshener in a dingy corner near rusty sinks. Someone broke a mirror and the sound of it shattering rang in my ears. I heard laughter and someone cursing, a steel-toed boot slamming into my ribs and causing one to fracture, making me choke in pain.
Someone's fist sank into my hair and yanked my head up at a painful angle while another person dug their foot down into my spine, threatening to snap it. Someone shoved a piece of broken mirror in my face, and though their words were slurred from the drug in my system, I could still smell and feel the rage and disgust behind it.
Not to mention, I didn't look so great.
My lip was busted, nose broken, a huge bruise spreading up the side of my face and darkening the scar that ran from my left brow down through my eye, turning it a milky white, and forking off at the corner of my mouth.
"You sick twisted son of a bitch!" Someone's voice managed to ring clearly in my ear before the shard of glass sank into my cheek and tore it open, blood flooding my mouth. I choked and coughed, then hissed as someone yanked at my hair again, bashing my head into the tiled floor. I was thrown onto my back, my vision blurring as blood ran from a gash on my forehead over my face.
I panted hard, blinking rapidly. I could feel deep hard metal music screaming through the door every time it opened nearby, feel the rough pulse of it vibrating the floor beneath me along with feet gathering around. I felt blow after blow split my cheek open, exposing the bone. The drug only numbed my ability to fight back, not to feel physically. I could feel every painful fist collide with my face, my stomach, my groin.
Hot pain flashed through my system and I struggled to find the rage that I had counted on to protect me my entire life, but I couldn't find it in me to give a shit.
I knew why they were doing this to me. Why was I fighting it when I deserved it?
That thought made me go limp on the floor as I felt someone grabbing at my legs, hoisting them up high until I swore they were going to break my legs off and beat me with those too. More blows rained down on me until I couldn't move anymore, and everything hurt.
I wasn't sure what happened after that until someone stuck their face in mine, smashing their lips against mine, biting my lip open and sinking their fangs into my tongue. They dragged their bloody mouth to my ear, and sneered,
"How do you like it, you pig?"
I don't. I didn't. Everything about it hurt and my body felt like it was going to rip in half. The only thing that made his assault on me slightly bearable was the blood that slicked him up enough to slide in easily. My muscles screamed in pain and my chest was tight as I gasped for breath past the gag that was soaked with my blood. Someone yanked the gag out of my mouth long enough to shove something filthy into my mouth, so I had no choice, but to breath through my nose.
My breathing grew desperate and harsh, almost like I wanted to scream, but I wasn't sure how. My throat was raw and hoarse, my chest tight as if I couldn't get enough air into my lungs that clenched tight.
A loud electrical crackle followed by booming thunder snapped me from my nightmare.
I woke with a sharp gasp, coated in cold sweat as I grabbed at Akin's waist and he gasped in turn, surprised by my tight grip. The light flashed on, but I couldn't really see from under the blankets. I always slept with my arms around Akin's waist, my face against his chest, sometimes his stomach. A strange habit I'd developed shortly after meeting him and I wasn't entirely sure why.
"Hannibal? Baby, are you all right?" Akin pushed the blankets back and sat up slowly, but I stayed clinging to his waist, breathing hard. He brushed the sweaty hair out of my face, leaning down to kiss my head a few times. I tightened my grip on him, squeezing my eyes shut.
Jesus. I hadn't dreamt about Styx in a while. I chalked it up as stress and spotting that prostitute earlier the day before as a trigger for it. I blinked my eyes open as Akin put his arms around me.
"Sssh, you're all right, sweetie. I'm right here. You're okay. No one's going to hurt you." Akin promised, petting my head and kissing me on the temple. I savored his words of comfort, letting his petting motion soothe me into submission. We sat there for a while, listening to the sound of thunder rumble and shake the building. Lightning flashed outside and lit up the penthouse, letting it shine through the doorway that separated our loft bedroom from the rest of the house.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Akin asked me after I'd managed to steady my breathing. I shook my head and Akin nodded in understanding. He reclined against some pillows and let me rest against his chest under his arm, my eyes locked straight ahead. Part of me was still tense, expecting someone to move from the shadows in the room to attack me. Sometimes, I'd wonder if maybe just being with Akin was a dream and my subconscience was trying to protect me from further trauma caused by the patrons of Styx.
But Akin was there to remind me that it wasn't a dream. That I was safe.
And yet, this time, I still felt uncomfortable, still tense and wary. I still waited for something to come lurking in here to kill us, to kill Akin. That thought made me hug Akin tighter.
"I love you, Master." I breathed, inhaling the sweet scent of him. Like sunlight and faint cologne. A delicious masculine scent that I relished in, wanted to bath in as I pressed my face against his skin. Akin smiled, brushing the hair back from my face.
"I love you too, sweetheart. More than anything." I closed my eyes and breathed a sigh of relief.
We continued to lay in silence, listening to the storm crashing outside. I didn't want to go back to sleep, but I didn't want to keep Akin up either, so I remained quiet as he pet my hair until he slipped back into sleep again. I peered up at him as he lay slumped against the pillows, lips parted slightly in a very light snore, his long blonde hair brushed to the side and falling over his shoulder like a golden waterfall.... or sunlight pouring in through the windows. It was beautiful. I wanted to bury my face in it and inhale more of him until I was drunk on his scent.
But I also wanted to let him sleep. So I waited until he was in a deep enough sleep before I carefully slid away from him and tucked him back into bed so he was comfortable. I turned the light off and left the room quietly, grimacing at the thunder that crashed outside. I went to a button on the wall downstairs and hit it to send the giant curtains dragging across the tall ceiling over the windows, blocking out the flashing lightning and the rain that pelted the glass like little rocks.
I went to the kitchen and opened the fridge, studying the contents before taking out an apple and heading to the sofa to sit down, drawing my knees up to my chest and staring at the blank television screen. I wasn't particularly big on television, so I didn't turn it on. I just wanted to sit in silence, trying to block out the nightmare that had haunted me.
Subsconsciously, I reached into the pocket of my sweatpants and fingered the charm there, frowning at the rough ridges rubbing the pad of my finger. I withdrew it and held it up to stare at it, taking a bite out of the apple.
It was probably Lea's, I decided. I should throw it out, and yet, for some reason, I found myself unable to do so. I stared at the symbol a while longer, frowning slowly.
Why was it so familiar?
I started to get up, then stumbled as my vision tilted to the side and I dropped the apple to the floor. I moved to catch my balance, but I sank to the floor on my knees and the moment I did, something strange happened. I had tunnel vision for a split second before I suddenly found myself standing in a thick jungle. I blinked rapidly, looking around, bewildered.
What the hell just happened?
My heart slammed into my chest with panic and I scrambled to my feet, looking around in circles at the jungle that surrounded me. I'd never seen a place like this before. It was thick with brilliant green foliage, flowers of so many different species in all shades of colors lit up around me. I heard the sound of a bird screaming over head and I looked up to see what appeared to be a red phoenix zooming through the sky before vanishing in the tree canopy.
Okay, now I was really confused.
Was this a vision? I'd never had something like this happen before. Momentary flashbacks to a time I wanted to forget, but a vision? Was this another flashback?
It couldn't be. I only had flashbacks about places I knew of. I had no idea where I was.
I waited for it to vanish, but it didn't, so I started to hesitantly pick my way through the trees and bushes, branches and twigs snagging on my pants and whipping my arms as I followed the sound of ocean waves crashing. I could actually smell the soil under my feet, the ocean breeze gliding through the trees, rustling the leaves, the sweet pollen from the flowers. A couple of bees buzzed past me and a row of colorful pink birds sat on a vine, watching me with beady gold eyes.
I broke through the trees to stand in front of a temple.
It was ancient, massive, and spanned the whole bay that lay beyond it. It was two stories high with a tiered gold roof, columns stretching up around it and along the wings of it; columns heavily detailed with ancient legends I'd never even heard of before. And across the front entrance, an open doorway with intricate designs decorating the frame, there was a massive symbol that I recognized instantly as the charm I'd found outside my complex.
So it was Lea's.
Was this her temple? Why was I having a vision about her temple? Was I finally having a flashback about my time in Atlantis with her?
I couldn't remember anything of my time in Atlantis, something that infuriated Iapetus. He thought he could use what I knew of them to fight them in the war, but I couldn't remember a thing about it, so he beat me for it as if it were my fault and not my mother's.
The temple was beautiful, though. Made of white and gold swirled marble, pristine and flawless in design. I approached the steps to the front entrance, pausing to lay a hand on one of the columns, frowning at a legend I didn't know before, but I suddenly felt like I had memory of it.
The legend told of the time Lea had defeated an ancient sea beast and gained the favor of an Atlantean coastal village, who used to leave massive offerings for her.
Another column told of how she'd saved an Atlantean priestess from being attacked by Greek soldiers who had pillaged and destroyed her home.
The stories went on to etch in other columns, some across the outer walls.
While interesting, I was more interested in what was inside the temple. I couldn't remember what was inside it, or if Lea had even let me wander her temple. Iapetus had refused to let me inside his house. I was only allowed a small handful of times when Clymene had tried to teach me how to cook, but I was too clumsy, according to her, so she'd run me out of the house and I was no longer allowed access. My food rations had decreased after that and I had to sit on the steps outside to wait for Clymene or one of her sons to bring scraps out to the pigs they had in a barn with cows just down the hill.
I much preferred the barn as opposed to the shed they gave me as my room. At least I wasn't alone in the barn and the animals didn't seem to hate me.
I walked through the towering doorway of Lea's temple, entering a wide open hall lined with more columns, and long flowing gold and red silk drapes. Plants sat in pots and vases, spilling out and climbing the walls, statues of Lea and her siblings. There seemed to be more statues of Zetnos, though, than Atlan or Xanius or Xelius. I walked through the hallway, which eventually opened up even more with tall arched windows that looked out over the bay and I realized that part of her temple was poised on the water.
Weird. How could I not remember any of this?
Why was I remembering this now?
Was this an actual memory or did she curse her charm to implant memories into my head?
I had no idea what was real and what wasn't anymore. It was frustrating.
I approached an open archway a ways down the hallway that opened up into a bedroom, but the moment I stepped into it, a sharp pain exploded in my skull and I gasped, stumbling back to grasp my head.
Everything around me rippled and pulsed, the images squirming and blurring together until I felt like I was going to puke because it was making me dizzier than hell. I covered my mouth with the back of my hand, squeezing my eyes shut as the world tilted and I almost fell until I reached out and caught my balance.
I blinked my eyes open to find myself standing in the kitchen of my penthouse. I looked around quickly, trying to find more traces of that strange vision, but it was like it had never happened. I looked down at the charm that was still clenched tightly in my fist so that it left a faint imprint on my palm. I grimaced.
Yeah, never mind, this was going in the trash.
I went to the garbage can under the sink and tossed the charm inside, shaking my head and closing the cupboard as I went back upstairs to curl up with Akin under the blankets. It was almost morning, but I'd get at least a couple hours of sleep before the next day really began.
I found it hard to sleep again, but when I did, I was pleasantly surprised.
For the first time in my life, my sleep was blank.