"Welcome back."
That voice ... that bone chilling voice.
First there was nothing, only black emptiness that stretched on for miles. But the sound of that greeting set fire to the world and it burst to life. There was no ground below me and no sky above me but I felt it humming, all around, with an energy that concentrated on the lone figure sitting in front of me.
The beast.
Death.
Other than a mere glimpse at the Crypt, I have not seen him in so long. It has been months since he plagued my nightmares and even longer since he forcefully pulled me into his realm. And our time apart has aged him drastically. His bones were cracked and his eye sockets drooped, claws were dull and fangs were snapped. From the way he stood hunched, due to a meek spine and weathered by hunger, it was clear that whatever cosmic force has been keeping him alive all these years is beginning to wane.
He looked at me, and I at him, and eventually Death whispered, "You're late."
"I'm late?" I asked.
Both of us froze. The question rolled freely from my mouth, so easily. My voice entered into the air and the darkness bombarded the sound like a moth to white hot flame. Because for the first time ever in this strange place outside of reality ... my voice was heard.
I have never been able to speak in the beast's presence.
Until now.
"Yes, you're late." He shook his boney head and a groan rattled through his disconnected ribcage, "I have been waiting for so long, and look what has become of me. You were supposed to be here ages ago. What kept you?" He did not give me the chance to answer, "Bothersome human spirit? A will to live? A fighting chance? Determined to save your one true love?" He gagged, "Oh please, what a waste of time."
Even while he spoke, his shoulders sank further and this beast I once feared became nothing more than a collection of ivory, "What happened to you?"
He glanced down at his condition and dust misted from between his broken fangs on a curdled laugh, "You happened."
"I did this to you?"
"You lived up to your expectations. I had half a mind to kill you a long time ago, to let that foolish boy fire a bullet through your brain and save myself the trouble. But I was too cocky and I was so bored. I fancied a game, but look at the outcome." He sighed again and the sound hissed through the barren bones of his body, "If I had known it would end like this ..." He stopped himself and smirked, "Well now, that is from a different ending, isn't it?"
"I thought your game was to get Dustin's heart." I pressed.
"That was part of it, seeing as how you were so dead set on saving the unfortunate boy." The skeleton sneered at me and that same black smoke oozed from his eyes. But the consistency was different. In the past, the sludge that leaked from his eye sockets threatened to suffocate me. Now, it only looked as though the beast were crying and its thick flow had become a measly trickle, "And I won't deny how I craved his heart, it truly would have been delicious. Unlike anything I have ever feasted on before. If only we had more time ... I came so close ..."
"You are Death." I declared without invitation to do so, confident and fearless, "I figured out who you are."
"Perhaps." He countered, circling the chipping wooden throne where Dustin once sat, "But that is only the first chapter, you have yet to read the rest of my book. Although now, I can't imagine how it would matter. My story is coming to a close."
I was surprised to hear how melancholy he sounded, "Where are you going?"
"Away."
Such a simple answer, riddled with so much mystery. He has always been a conundrum, the one puzzle I never solved, the question left unanswered in the back of my mind. His existence quite literally festered, always present but never explained, and it made my curiosity unbearable, "Does that mean you won't pester me in death as you did in life?"
He thumbed the throne fondly while repeating my words, "In death? You think ..." He waved away the subject, "No matter. Our games have always been fun, why would I ruin this one for you? I suppose you will just have to find out for yourself."
Always so cryptic, "What does that mean?"
"One question at a time." He chided.
"Will you continue to bother me now that I am dead?" I questioned again.
"How can I bother you ... when I am you?" He grumbled and flicked at a splinter that had since emerged from the smooth wood of Dustin's throne. There appeared to be something beneath it, another material beneath the wood, but I couldn't determine what it might be, "I once told you I had plans of making Dustin my successor and perhaps I would have – after all, it does not take much to taint a poor fallen soul as dark as his. But as you recently learned, I am merely a messenger and you were inevitably the only one to receive my message."
"What message?" I pressed, "I don't understand any of this."
"Of course you don't, I didn't either." The beast sat himself at the base of the throne rather than in it and from where he crouched before the immaculate height of crafted monarchy, he looked like nothing more than a peasant awaiting punishment from the high court he knowingly betrayed, "I made it my mission to defy because rebellion has always been in my bones, but it is impossible to do so here. It is impossible to disobey. So it is you who takes the fall, I return to my status as the messenger, and that boy gets to keep his savory heart."
My mind was swarmed with confusion and it drummed waves of turbulence through my thoughts that made the beast whimper in pain,"What are you talking about?"
"Your mother, damn that woman." He hissed, "That dreadful creature put quite an obstacle in my way, she halted my game long before it ever began. I had a message for you but because of what your mother did, it was delivered inadequately. My job is quite simple, collect the dead and deliver messages, but your mother just had to screw with my plans." He leaned back against the throne and let it hold his weight that was too much for him to bare, "Thankfully, luck was on my side and Fate introduced you to Dustin so sweetly for me. On that night, my message was delivered and you were returned into the world from which you were stolen."
"What world? You mean Dustin's world?" Could he really be implying such a ridiculous notion?
"You watched him brutally murder someone and yet, you found yourself oddly drawn to him like decay to a corpse. Didn't you ever find it strange how even though you were so inadequate for this lifestyle, somehow you fit perfectly? As if you always belonged." He laughed to himself, "I remember the revelations you had, each week you considered those people more human than monster. And as you assimilated into their world, I thought to myself, I will kill two lovebirds with one stone. I will take her innocence and I will devour his heart, and then the message won't even matter."
Separate worlds, his and mine, that converged at a bridge between Dustin and I. It made no sense. The world Dustin hailed from was one I had no previous knowledge of. I was born into safety and sheltered from the kinds of dangers Dustin was taught to harness. My innocence and Dustin's heart were designed from two very different histories that were a universe apart.
"You got neither my innocence or his heart." I persisted strongly.
"On the contrary, my game has not yet reached its conclusion though the end is rapidly approaching. My time as this being is coming to a close. I cannot move on until my message is delivered and you made this last so much longer than I anticipated." The beast said under a glare, as if I were at fault for his long delayed departure, "Now that my message has been received, I can finally move on. My replacement is already well groomed."
I have heard this threat before and just as when it was first spoken, I rejected the idea that Dustin could become so vile. Dustin is many things and he may consider himself a monster, but I knew better than to let those superficial assumptions define him, "You won't succeed in making Dustin your apprentice, he will never be like you."
"Ahh ... but he will be very similar to me."
"Over my dead body."
"Exactly my point, stupid girl." Black smoke now emanated from every open orifice of his skinless body, rising high into the air where it seamlessly melted into the surrounding darkness. I wondered if that is how this world came to be and has since been sustained, by this creature, "What do you think happens to a man when the love of his life dies due to his own demons? You saw what became of him when his previous wretch died. I can only imagine the flavor his heart will acquire from something as tragic as this."
That is what I feared from the start. Whether it be my death, or Lumiere's, Corinth or Eli's; if any of us were lost, Dustin would not recover. None of us would recover. But how can I prevent such an outcome when I have already passed?
"Even now, after all this time, your thoughts continue to scorn." The beast tapped broken claws against his forehead, "You know, I was just like you once. It took a lifetime for me to realize what I was being prepped for. Only afterwards did I realize my calling and once it has been determined, it can not be changed. That is the way of our family. I did not want this either but once you bite, it is impossible to forget the taste."
His every word was increasingly perplexed and no matter how I tried, I could not find his logic,"Truly, I have no idea what you mean."
"You will. With time, you most certainly will. And you will become the messenger so that I don't have to. Honestly, who would have thought you of all people would be my successor?" He shrugged to himself, sweeping his arm in a grand gesture towards all that lay around us, "In the beginning, I was so proud to call this place mine. Now, I am tired. I will be happy to see you replace me. Change it however you wish, this is my own concoction but you can create the realm however you want it to be seen."
"You think ..." It was dawning on me that the beast wasn't after Dustin, and these interactions between the beast and myself were not entirely about retrieving hearts or playing games. The beast's intent, whatever it might be, was about me, "You think I am going to replace you?"
"The devil needs a lieutenant and if Dustin is that devil, I can think of no one better to serve at his side. You two will work so nicely together." The skeleton slumped lower in his position, letting his skull rest wearily against the leg of the throne, "Some of us have to suffer to keep the balance, to let the villains have their time in the moonlight. The mere fact that you are conversing with me proves how far you have come. Don't you remember when your delectable thoughts were your only way of communicating with me? Indeed this place has changed, rather drastically I would say. But you?" He laughed, "You have changed most of all."
I shook my head and the world around us trembled, "That can't be true, this is ridiculous. I am not your replacement, I died. I was stabbed and killed. Game over." The most important lesson I have learned, "What's dead should stay dead."
The beast wasn't listening, "Just be lucky I am your senior, you should have seen the barbarian who preceded me. She was an absolute nightmare ... but she made a lovely Heart Soufflé."
His predecessor? There was someone – something – that came before him? Does that mean, "What were you like before you became ... this?"
He didn't answer me, for the memory was too painful for him to recall. He only stared with those empty sockets and although emotion was difficult to decipher across his boney face, I swear I felt pity laced within the smoke that eternally seeped from his eyes.
"I know what comes next for you and in my own disturbing way of caring, I wish I could keep you from it. But the list must be tarried and I will not be the one to question the higher order. So I can only ask you to be careful. Accept the help that will be offered," He motioned to himself, "I didn't and look where I am now."
"Wait!" I called out from frustration and the echo of my voice traveled for miles. The beast held his head tightly, as if my command caused him physical pain. For his sake, I continued quietly, "Help from who?"
"You already know." The beast growled, "Did the Gatekeeper send her regards?"
So he does know her.
"She told me to ask you something. About my name." I relayed.
"Ahh yes, a name. What is in a name? For a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." The beast quoted on a grisly laugh, "I would have thought you might figure it out by now. Then again, they say the most capable are often the least competent."
My patience was dwindling, "Can you please just speak plain?"
"Can I speak much more plain? A name is a name, yours happens to be shared." His shattered fangs shifted upwards on a smile, "I am bound to the Gate in the same way the Gatekeeper is, though her role is quite the opposite of mine. She helps others, I do not. We are so different and yet, a bond is shared between us. Two blossoms from the same seed."
Two blossoms, same seed?
"Are you insinuating that you and the Gatekeeper are somehow related?"
His grin became something malicious, "If that is what I am insinuating, and if you and I are one in the same, what does that mean in regards to your precious name?"
"My name ..." Surely I know my own name. If there is nothing in this world we can know entirely, our name is definitely a stronghold. We receive it at birth, we carry it through life, and we label our tombstone with it upon leaving this world. But as I stood there, staring into the face of an entity that was beyond mortal rationale, I was questioning the only thing I should be certain about, "My name is ..."
"It is not about your name, not really. You already know what your name is." The beast clipped impatiently, "But do you know hers?"
"Who? The Gatekeeper?" I blanked momentarily, "Her name is Erie."
If the beast had been graced with eyes, they would have rolled at my inadequacy, "Usually a full name has several components."
Did he mean her middle name? Her last name? I don't understand how any of this ties together; his game was interrupted by my mother, I was stolen from one world and eventually returned, names can be shared ... what does it all mean?
"Think, stupid girl. Truly think." The beast eagerly awaited for me to move the last piece in our game, but it is hard to move a pawn when you are one, "I won't say it all again. You already have everything you need to answer your questions."
There were so many possible meanings to his nonsense, but one in particular sprouted from a conclusion that was too absurd to consider. I was returned to my original world, we are one in the same, I am his replacement, names are shared.
And my father ... he hates me.
"Am I ..." My voice refused to speak such senselessness, but my thoughts rampaged on the back of a single fleeting reflection, "Am I related to Erie?"
The beast did not answer.
He also did not try to hide his satisfied sneer.
"One last feast is in store for me, although it is not the heart I wanted. But take heed. Because what comes next will be your undoing." He rapped his broken talons against the wooden throne and warned, "I will get my heart, girl. One way or another. But it is up to you who's heart I inevitably receive. And the moment you make that decision marks my resignation ... and your promotion."
Cold dread surged through my dead heart.
Abruptly, the chair behind him caught flame and suddenly the realm around us ruptured. The light from that fire soared up and out, disproportionately blazing in an overwhelming explosion, and it chased away the shadows that have been surrounding us since our very first encounter. I realized then that this realm wasn't empty at all, nor was it flat or dismal as I have always thought it to be.
Quite oppositely, it was abundantly crowded.
By bodies.
Miles upon miles – mountains upon mountains – of bones, cascading in all directions, swallowing this realm from behind the thick curtain of darkness that has hidden these carcasses from my sight since the very first time I was brought here.
Only inches from the clearing where I always met the beast, but I never knew. They had always been so very close but just out of sight, as if the remnants of those bodies didn't dare crawl any closer to the throne where the skeleton dwelled.
There were so many; spines disconnected from skulls, mandibles lost of their teeth, radius' and ulnas mixed between femurs and tibias, vacant ribcages and pelvises thrown against cliffs of pieces that had long since been separated from the rest of their bodies. It was a graveyard but without graves, we were below those tombs now. And this is what happens once funerals end and parades empty from the cemetery.
My hand drifted over my mouth, "What is this place?"
The skeleton rose from where he had been sitting and his bones in particular seemed much more sinister when surrounded by so many others, as if he personally stripped these lifeless corpses of their skin and chewed on their hearts while making sculptures with the bones that remained. He chuckled to himself, "Welcome to your kingdom."
He nestled himself in the throne, crossing one leg over the other, and stared down at where I knelt before him. The fire that had been eating away at the chair extinguished on contact, and a new throne was revealed, not the same as what I remembered from all of our previous exchanges. Only my ignorance made his throne appear to be constructed of wood. But once the fire snuffed itself and the shadows crept forward once more like an invading fog to hide the world this beast had created, I realized the throne was never made of wood.
It has always been made of bone.
And somehow – without evidence or proof – I knew the skull perched at the highest point of the throne's crest like a capstone to be admired by all ... was mine.
"Come one, come all. Kneel before her majesty." Death chanted to lost souls and wandering spirits. In their presence, under the witness of entities I could never hope to understand, Death bowed his head and declared, "Let us celebrate the rise of a queen."
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Did you guys think it was over?? What? With so many loose ends? Come on now, you know me better than that ;) there is still a little bit that needs to be clarified so don't worry, I'm not done with you all just yet ... there is still more heartache to be felt ...
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