Chapter 21 – A meeting with fear
Transporting was becoming easier for each time Unique tried. It was a matter of determination and nothing else. She had to blank her mind while still holding on to that bit of resolution of where she needed to go.
Sion hadn’t contacted her again, and the knowledge that he was out there—without staying in touch—hurt her more than it probably should have. She couldn’t even explain it to Annelka, who’d been a massive help in all of this.
The older woman had introduced Unique to the library, and for weeks, she’d been sitting up reading alongside the fallen Goddess.
Unique rubbed her eyes after she’d transported inside Annelka’s house. At first, it had been hard to explain the whole transporting deal to the gypsy. Luckily, the older woman wasn’t easily overwhelmed, and she did her best not to pry.
The couch was already made into a bed, and Unique wanted simply to crash. Despite their efforts, they’d gotten no-where.
Human religions were so odd. Their belief varied from household to household. While many of them was inspired by the Gods of Haims, it wasn’t something that they could use. Fascinating reading, yes. Helpful? No.
Unique sighed. If only Sion would help her somehow. That would be great. Actually, it would make everything so much easier. She placed the bag on the floor and went straight to the couch. There was no tea tonight—she simply didn’t have the energy.
Closing her eyes, she hoped for a nice dream.
Envy smiled. “I bet that little stunt was worth it, right?”
“Yeah. It was.” Sion answered. He jerked his arm, trying to get free from his strains. His suffering made Envy laugh.
“Well. I’ll get your precious little home wrecker as soon as I track her down.”
“Come on, Envy. What happened to you? Unique didn’t ruin your relationship with Retro—you did, remember?”
“I did no such thing!” Envy started to pace back and forth. “It was an accident; I just wanted her to back off.”
“What did you think would happen after you ‘killed’ his daughter?” Sion asked.
“I wasn’t supposed to kill her. She was messing with my head. She had no business watching my memories.” She clenched her hands into fists, her nails digging into the palm.
“Trust me… she didn’t do it for pleasure,” Sion muttered.
“That’s classic.” Envy snorted. “Of course you’ll support her. Aren’t you forgetting something here, dear brother?”
“Nope.”
“You’re not forgetting the travesty she brought on our family?”
“I have no clue what you’re talking about—the only travesty was you killing your sister in law.”
A menacing laugh escaped Envy’s lips. “Sister in law? Unique Retro-daughter has never been anywhere near a sister to me.”
“Sure. Just ignore the facts Envy—that makes sense.” Sion rolled his eyes. “It’s not like the whole story is written down in history books kept in the Hall of Origins or anything.”
Envy hissed. “Of course they did that. Bastards.”
“So… Do you have any plans of letting me go?” Sion strained against his bonds again. “Not that I don’t enjoy hanging out here, of course.”
“Sure.” Envy sent him a bittersweet smile. “When I’ve made sure that Unique can’t finish what she started.”
“Right. So that’s a definite no.”
“Just shut up.”
Unique jerked up. Envy. She had Sion entrapped in her cave. It was in the middle of the night, and Unique didn’t want to wake up Annelka. Instead, she dressed and walked outside, gently closing the door behind her.
To be able to find the cave again, she’d have to concentrate a lot. Doubt was mostly on her mind, and Unique didn’t know whether she actually could do it, but she had to try.
Caves. She breathed slowly, calming her heart.
Godly caves. Unique focused, clenching her eyes shut. Please work.
The—now familiar—sensation of transporting came, and Unique kept thinking of the caves. She needed to get to the caves to save Sion.
Sion. Why hadn’t he wanted her to find him? Was he trying to protect her again? When Unique re-appeared on the shore In front of some caves, she knew that she’d have to ask him—after she’d kicked his ass.
The cliff towered above her, and she let out a slow breath as she walked closer. Her feet sunk into the moist sand, and she struggled to keep a steady pace.
There. The cave. Hidden behind a thin shimmering veil—which probably was there to confuse humans—was the cave. With hesitant steps, and her senses on high alert, she stepped closer and entered the veil.
Inside, thousands of blue shadows glistened. It was different from the last time, where Envy had been surrounded by a green, nauseating light. The flickers of blue danced on the walls of the cave, and Unique frowned. Something wasn’t right here.
“Oh, my, Goddess. You can’t be here! It’s not possible—you’re dead!” a scared voice echoed in the empty cave. “Please go away, I haven’t done anything. Don’t hurt me.”
“Hello?” Unique called. “Where are you? I can’t see you.”
“Please don’t hurt me.” Sounds of someone sobbing followed shortly after. “I didn’t do anything. Please don’t hurt me.”
“I’m not going to hurt you,” Unique said, and then added in a mutter, “Unless you hurt me, at least.”
“I didn’t mean to,” the voice continued.
Unique looked around with confusion. The voice was definitely female. “I’m looking for Envy.”
“Envy isn’t here. Everything is Envy’s fault—Envy did this!” the fearful voice turned to anger, and it didn’t take long before a figure sprung out from the shadows. “You want revenge on Envy. I want revenge on Envy. I need Revenge.”
Unique took an involuntarily step back. This woman was crazy.
“Envy is a terrible thing. Envy is ugly. Envy’s fault that I can’t see Revenge.” The woman stepped forth, and now Unique could see a pale woman, with hair as black as coal. The black robe was of Goddess quality but was faltered and torn from years of abuse. The woman’s hair was flat and covered most of the face.
“I mean no harm to you,” Unique tried carefully. The woman jerked out of it and cowered back.
“You can’t be here. You’re dead.”
Cautiously, Unique looked down to her body. “Nope. I feel pretty much alive.”
“But how? How is that possible?” The woman widened her eyes. “You died.”
“Why does everyone keep saying that? Having visions of the past sucks, when I can’t see my own.”
“Unique, Daughter of Retro. It is you!” The woman dropped to her knees.
“Please don’t do that.” Unique was embarrassed and averted her eyes shyly. Awkward. She walked over to the woman. “Who are you?”
“I’m Feara, Daughter of Fury and Sage.”
“What are you doing down here?”
Feara gasped. “Retro-Daughter, do not taunt me like this. You know that we were all banished.”
“Oh. Right.” Unique cleared her throat. “I knew that.”
The woman didn’t say anything while Unique bit her lip, trying to gather her thoughts.
“But, let’s say that I didn’t know it. What were you banished for then?” Unique asked. Goddess, she hoped this worked.
Feara looked confused, but Unique simply held her chin high.
“Like many others, I was consumed with my ability—Fear.” She hiccupped and started to cry, heartbreaking sobs filling the Cave. “For over 125 years, I have been hiding here, fearing what they could do to me, and wishing so badly to see my twin, Revenge, again.”
Something clicked inside Unique’s mind. Slowly, she started to connect the dots. The banishment was before her birth, and the visions from Envy showed that she’d had a part of it.
Had she lived before? But died? This could explain the crying woman at her feet, and the possible marriage between her and Sion. Without a word, she turned on her heel, leaving Feara alone. She had to check the forest around the tree house. If she could get visions from dreams, and distance. She should also be able to get a vision from things.
She stepped out onto the sand and concentrated. She couldn’t have died—Gods can’t die. But how else could this be explained? Why were her memories gone?
A/N: It's amazing how many bumps I get with this story. Yesterday, I was once again close to giving up on this story. The whole thing got sorted out, and I'm more grateful than hurt now. But I beg of you. If you have ANYTHING on your mind about the story, then please don't be afraid to tell me. If you don't wish to comment, then send me a PM. One of my biggest fears on here is that you're "afraid" to tell me your opinion. So please, don't be afraid. I'd love to talk to you, and your opinion IS needed if I have to improve.