Chapter 23: Pyramid

Chapter 23: Pyramid

The drive back was as boring as the drive down. I was feeling rather disheartened and was doing my best to ignore Mila's strange behavior. We unpacked the car. Anton and Mila bantered back and forth like normal siblings as I sank deeper into depression. I couldn't help it. I just need to accept the new Mila. There was nothing I could do. Not by myself.

I drew the curtains closed on the morning sun then flopped in my bed. I had closed off the rest of the apartment behind my bedroom door. I couldn't stand the banter. The more I listened, the sadder I got. It wasn't her. And even if it was, I missed a chance to grow up with her because my mother lied to me. My heart ached. My brain didn't know what to think, so instead my emotions took over and filled me with a great sinking depth of pain at my center.

Eventually, Anton and Mila left. The apartment rang with an eerie echo of silence. At first I found it peaceful, but that gave way to an incredibly loneliness. I wondered at the deep hole in my heart I had always felt and if this was indeed the piece that was missing.

"What are you going to do now?" A shadow asked from the corner of the room.

I was in so much pain that I didn't even jump in surprise. "Go away, Remi," I muttered.

"So, you still remember my name."

I buried my head in my pillow.

"Are you just going to give up?"

"Yes." My words were muffled by the pillow.

"And pout."

"Yes."

The bed sank as he sat at the edge of it. "You're going to let the darkness have her?"

I turned on him. "What am I supposed to do? I can't fight a mystical evil energy. I'm just one person. I feel silly walking around collecting blood. And my dad isn't even my dad. I don't even know what to think."

"So, you're not going to seek Matei Popov out?"

"No."

"Aren't you curious?"

"Just go away."

"Kira..."

"Leave." I threw the pillow at him.

He caught it deftly with one hand. After a sad look, he set it down on the bed. "Okay."

The shadows lightened. I was left alone in the crowded bedroom.

I stared at the empty place where Remi had sat. That hole in my heart ached more than before. My eyes drifted up to the stacked cube shelves lining all the walls in the small room. Clothes, decorations, papers, and the rest of my entire life were stuffed in them. Some were in totes, while some items hung out of the shelves haphazardly. The messiness bothered me. The dust bothered me. I just never seemed to have the time to fix the mess.

My eyes lifted higher to the small opening in the shelves where I had made space for the window. The pale pink curtain shielded the morning sun. It was all a perfect representation of my life. I had too many unkempt and neglected things. I did not have enough love and attention to go around, so instead they clung on to the shelves and cluttered up my life.

My mind wandered to my memories as I looked over each item. I wondered how many times the Veil had rewritten them. I wondered if I had ever known my father wasn't my father. Maybe I did at one point and that was why it wasn't as much of a shock to me as it should have been. I slunk lower into my twin bed. I pulled the comforter up around me, maybe looking for some semblance of a hug.

After a time, I sank into a restless sleep. My dreams were plagued with memories of my father and my mother. They consisted of mostly fights and heated words. Nothing stuck in my mind, only the anger between them. Slowly my dream drifted into a quest. I ran through a dark jungle towards a pyramid. The battle was gruesome, but I finally reached the top. I stood at the pinnacle holding aloft a giant black sword. I had finally achieved something. I finally felt fulfilled.

My eyes fluttered open. A weight sunk near the foot of my bed. I propped myself up on my elbows to see who was sitting there. Golden hazel eyes watched me.

"I thought I told you to get lost," I said.

Remi shrugged. "You're cute when you sleep."

I tried to fight the blush that came to my cheeks. I lost the battle so I just fell back down on the pillow and hoped he didn't notice.

"Where's Ember?" I asked.

"She has things to do. What were you dreaming about?" He asked.

I squeezed my eyes shut trying to remember. "A sword I think. It was huge and black. I was in a jungle, I think."

"The Night Sword," Remi whispered.

"The what?" I pulled myself up into a sitting position and leaned against the wall. There was something about that name that resonated with me. Not like déjà vu from a dream, but as if it called to me, like it was something that was mine that I had once lost and dearly missed. I banished that thought. That was pure insanity.

"The Night Sword called to you."

"And what is that supposed to mean?"

"That you have to go get it."

"Why does this sound like a trick?" I crossed my arms over my chest.

"Fine, don't believe me. I'm just trying to answer your questions." His form began to fade into shadows.

"No, wait. I'll listen," I begged.

His form solidified again.

"Tell me about this Night Sword."

Remi lifted his finger. "The Night Sword is a legendary sword that was foraged to defeat the eternal blackness. It is said-,"

"Wait... eternal blackness? Like the darkness?"

Remi shrugged. "I don't know. I am only telling you the legend as I heard it. Are you going to let me finish?" He gave me an irritated look.

I nodded for him to continue while I ignored his sass.

"It is said..." He waited for me to interrupt again. When I didn't, he continued, "that it can call to its wielder's darker half in a time of need to help maintain the balance of the realms. It is unlocked through solving three puzzles."

I waited to see if he was finished. When he didn't continue, I tried to formulate all the questions running through my mind. Just as I opened my mouth, he held up his hand.

"Don't. All I know is what I told you. Don't ask me my opinion on it. The sword called to you. Only you can answer those questions.

I wrinkled my nose at him. He reached out and booped me on the nose. I blinked and stared at him.

"Really?" I said.

He smirked. "I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself. Your freckles are just so cute."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "I don't have freckles."

"Yes, you do. Those aren't something you grow out of. You just don't look closely enough anymore to see them." He tapped my cheek.

I swatted his hand away. "Stop distracting me. Back to this sword. How do I get it?"

He frowned. "Do you really want to go get it?"

"Will it help me defeat the darkness in Mila?"

"I really don't know."

"Do you think I should at least try? If I can summon the darkness from Mila, then maybe I can kill it with this sword."

He shrugged. "It's up to you."

"You don' think this is going to work." I stated.

"I really can't say."

I heaved a sigh then climbed out of bed and started dressing for an adventure. I put on a pair of work boots, a pair of jeans, one that only had one hold in the knee, a T-shirt, and a black hoodie. I didn't have any armor or weapons for an adventure, but I did throw my tote turned purse over my shoulder. I was as ready as I was ever going to be.

"Alright, take me to this sword," I said.

Remi stood from the bed. "Are you sure about this?"

I nodded. I was feeling better about this than about the spell. At least some sort of weapon would be helpful. And there was something about this, a feeling that was drawing me into it. The sword was calling to me. It wasn't just something, it was my thing. I knew it somehow. I knew this sword was a part of me.

Remi stood in front of me. His hands settled on my waist. I tried not to concentrate too hard on that.

"Hold very still," he whispered in my ear.

Remi pulled me close to his chest. I exhaled and stilled my body as much as I could. Cold pressed in around me. My vertigo threatened to pull me out of balance. I ended up leaning into him to as the world around me moved. Finally, my feet hit solid ground. His arms loosened. I caught my balance and stepped back.

I looked around. We were standing a dark forest, but it wasn't completely dark. The leaves glowed a teal green, not like the neon yellow of glow-in-the-dark. It was as if the leaves themselves were lit by an outside source, but there was none. It created this fascinating contrast of light and dark in the forest. The tree bark was outlined with a similar brown glow, making the whole forest visible, yet completely shrouded in night. I felt as if this was what a cat saw with their night vision. And all of it, I mean all of it, felt incredibly familiar.

Chirps, screeches, and croaks of various animals filled the air. The loudest of them all was the shake of something that sounded similar to a cicada.

"Where are we?" I asked, I had to raise my voice over the sound of the jungle to be heard.

"This is a different realm. It has many names, but loosely translated, it means realm of the never ending night."

"That seems an apt name for a place to find the Night Sword."

Remi bobbed his head. He only appeared as a dark figure in front of me, so I couldn't read the expression on his face.

"And where do I go now?"

Remi's hands came up. He grabbed my shoulders and spun me. "There."

His deep voice in my ears sent shivers down my spine. My eyes looked through the teal colored trees and beyond. A giant pyramid rose up above the forest outlined in its own gold and brown light.

"Were the Egyptians also from this realm?" I asked. A bit of sarcasm dripped into my voice.

"Pyramids are universal among the realms. Besides you know many cultures created pyramids on Earth."

That I definitely knew. I was a sucker for Ancient Aliens. I was into all of that weird stuff. "I guess I am going to have to be like Indiana Jones here and find the Ark."

Remi sighed behind me. "I don't think there are going to be snakes."

I laughed despite my growing fear. "At least there's that."

Remi released my shoulders. "Let's get this done. Your sister needs you."

"Right, Mila. It's such a weird feeling having a sister. I never realized it, but we really were like sisters, even before I knew we actually were."

Remi hesitated a moment. He sounded like he was going to say something, but didn't. Instead, he started walking through the trees. I followed after him as he cut a path towards the looming pyramid.