Otherland (8 page)

“I’m not lifting my shirt, Cherise.”

“I ain’t hittin’ on you, fool. They marks. Mother marks. The mother line. The stretch marks. All kinds of proof of when a woman has a baby.”

“I already told you, Cherise. I was told it was impossible for me to ever have a child. There’s no proof to look for.”

“Just let me see and we know fo’ sure.”

“Stop it, Cherise,” Lydia involuntarily laughed, as Cherise’s attempts at lifting her shirt tickled her.

“If you ain’t noticed, we got the same parts. Yours just be white. It ain’t nothing I ain’t seen befo’. Jus’ let me look real quick.” Cherise continued to chase after her and reach for her.

“Cherise, no, you don’t understand,” Lydia said, suddenly fearful, but Cherise was too intoxicated and too fixated to notice the change in her voice. Once cornered, Lydia reflexively turned her back, and Cherise lifted her shirt. There was a noticeable silence.

“Shit, girl, what the hell happen to you? You look like you done been whipped a hundred times.”

Lydia trembled uncontrollably.

“Hey, girl. Everythin’ all right. Let’s get you mo’ wine. I’m sorry. Not my problem we been best friends all dis time and you ain’t tell me nothin’.”

Cherise guiltily dragged Lydia into the kitchen and placed a glass of wine in her hand. Lydia, at the moment, continued to shudder violently, almost like she was having a seizure, and her eyes looked to be in an entirely different place.

“You aiight, girl. You havin’ a memory? Come on, drink yo’ wine. Tell me what you seein’.”

“I … can’t,” Lydia said, her voice marked with so much pain.

“Maybe, maybe there be a good reason you ain’t have your memories, Lydia. Maybe it be best if you just keep on bein’ Lydia and let the past be in the past. It probably better that way.”

As much as Cherise tried, she couldn’t get Lydia back 100 percent, so she got her tucked into bed, had one more glass of wine, turned the lights out, and curled herself in her sleeping bag for the night.

***

Finally, darkness descended, and the Dark soul could move about again. Making up for lost time, he flew through the night faster than he ever had before. He sensed the air and followed the trail to where she was, moving through buildings, traffic, and all those physical things he could move right through, until he was standing above her. He panted. He couldn’t help it. The urge so powerful, so strong. It was her. Older, but still her. Crying out in her dreams, perhaps remembering him. He’d hoped she’d never forget, so when she opened her eyes, she’d know exactly who he was.

“Aliyah,” he hissed, and attempted to wrap his hands around her throat, but just like the buildings, they moved right through her. “No!” he cried. “NO! NO! NO!” He tried grabbing her hair, tried hitting her, tried picking her up, nothing. And she just kept on sleeping, seeming completely undisturbed by his presence.

“Get away from her, black beast,” he heard yelled behind him, moments before the lights singed him and he had no choice but to return into the night. He howled.

“Lydia, wake up!” Cherise shouted, her entire body quivering.

They both screamed when the hatchback door slammed open against the wall.

CHAPTER 11

“Somebody betta’ tell me what the
hell
is goin’ on or I’m goin’ freak out,” Cherise said, pacing the floors, back and forth. She’d turned on all the lights in the house, and this time it was Lydia placing the glass of wine in her hand, telling her to drink it and to calm down.

“You ain’t see it, Lyd. I did. Dis enormous black thing standin’ over you, like it tryin’ to hurt you. It had these eyes, these eyes so black, like hell itself. I saw it and ain’t no one goin’ tell me I didn’t see what I saw. Then you show up, just like that, like you done been standin’ at the door the entire time,” she pointed shakily at the Light knight.

“I’m fine, Cherise. Look. I’m unharmed. Whatever you saw obviously couldn’t hurt me.” But Lydia was shaken up herself at just the thought of something standing over her while she was sleeping.

“No, in its spiritual form, it can’t touch you. You’re physical. It’s not. The best it can do is terrify you like what happened with Cherise in seeing it,” the Light knight explained. “Now it knows that, though, so it may very well take a different course of action.”

“You keep sayin’
it.
What is
it?
” Cherise asked.

“I’m sorry, Cherise. You shouldn’t have been made a part of this, but you are now. He’s broken the Bylaws, which means he’s probably not going to return when we’re summoned. It obviously has no impulse-control, which we’d already suspected it wouldn’t. We only needed to use him for me to locate Aliyah, as he knew her personally when he was human, so he would be able to sense her location.”

“Am I the only one here freakin’ out about dis and not makin’ any sense of it right now?” Cherise cried.

“You have every reason to feel the way you do, Cherise. They are frightening creatures to look at when you’re not accustomed to them.”

“Hoo, hoo, hoo,” Cherise breathed loudly. “My world jus’ completely turned upside down. Now I don’t know what to believe.”

“Cherise, you’re the one that believes in heaven and hell and an afterlife and spirits and all that. You were just telling me all about it earlier,” Lydia said, a bit sharply.

“That’s just believin’ in those things. I never expected to
see
it. It scares the piss out o’ me. Ain’t you scared? I mean, it was standin’ over
you
, Lydia. It was after you. Don’t I get no thanks for scarin’ it off to begin with? It was moanin’, woke me right up.”

“Thank you, Cherise,” Lydia said tiredly. “So, who or what is it?” she directed her question toward the Light knight. He was proud to see her so grounded, especially after earlier’s hysterics.

“He claims to have been your guardian during his human life.”

“Dwayne Demonica?” Lydia questioned.

“Is that his name? So you remember him, then?”

“No, I don’t. I just did some research earlier on the name you provided, and that’s something that came up.”

“He claims that you killed him and –.”

“Ha ha, Cherise. See? I told you I killed him,” Lydia laughed, as though they were doing nothing more than talking about good times.

“- and that you brought him to Otherland and had him eternally imprisoned in the Darkness,” the Light knight continued.

“Why would I do that?
How
would I do that?”

“I don’t know, only the High master has access to the documents of the names and lives of the souls in Otherland.”

“The High master?” Lydia questioned with a big smile on her face.

“Is she okay?” he asked of Cherise.

Cherise smacked her.

“What the hell, Cherise?” Lydia yelled.

“Yep, she be fine. What kinda guardian he be that Lydia, or Aliyah, would need to kill him and have him imprisoned in the – the – ?”

“The Darkness. It’s a place with spiritual restraints as tough and unbreakable as stone. There is not a smidgeon of light in the darkness, but for one place. Those imprisoned there can’t hope to ever escape. He’s evil. More evil than most. You can tell by the color of the darkness the deeds one did in their human life. Aliyah had very, very good reasons, I’m sure, for being rid of him.”

“Man, all this jus’ sound plain crazy,” Cherise said. “If not fo’ what I saw, I wouldn’t take one second tryin’ to believe any of it.”

“I escaped,” Lydia said suddenly, her eyes far off.

“Are you remembering something, Aliyah?” the Light knight said softly, placing his hand atop hers. The Dark soul wasn’t the only one struggling with impulse-control. It had taken everything in the Light knight’s power, up to this point, to not touch her, when he so badly wanted to. There was an instant spark when their hands touched, and she pulled away sharply in surprise.

“I
was
,” she looked at him in irritation.

“I think what you were remembering was the last time you returned to Otherland, after many years of being away. You were with the child, the one you drew, and both of you were taken to the Darkness to await the Ceremony trial, as the child was being accused of having let you in. No humans, accept for you, Aliyah, can get in without being let in or brought in, just like you are the only human that has ever been able to resist the spiritual restraints, so you managed to escape and return here. That is how they learned that it was you that had returned, despite the promise you previously made that you would never come back again.”

“The child was imprisoned too, and I just left him there?” Lydia cried, devastated.

“He’s no longer imprisoned. He’s in my protection. Unless he passes the boundaries of my home, no one will be able to find him, other than the elders, of course.”

The Light knight suddenly felt the powerful pull. “Ah, I’m being summoned. I have to return. I need to provide the ean update. I’ll be back as soon as I can.” And just like that, his body fell to the ground like a ragdoll, seeming lifeless.

“What the - ?” Cherise cried. “He okay?”

“He’ll be fine. He’s … sleeping,” Lydia said, swallowing another glass of wine in one gulp.

CHAPTER 12

“Elders, there is so much to report,” the Light knight said. Instead of one of each, all of them were there.

“If he doesn’t return, I fear we’ll have a bigger problem on our hands,” a Light elder said, referring to the darkened criminal.

“I doubt he’ll return. An innocent human saw him.”

“We know. We know instantly when the Bylaws have been broken. We’re hoping he’ll at least be honorable enough to return,” a Dark elder said. “We’re lenient the first time a soul returns to that world, not knowing the amount of restrictions there are, but if he doesn’t come when summoned, we’ll have no choice but send more forces into the human world to find him, and that is something we really don’t want to do. Did you find her?”

“Yes, elders.”

“Then why have you not brought her here?” the grey-eyed Dark elder said sharply.

“I was in the midst of speaking with her when I was summoned, while also trying to calm the innocent.”

“Did you rid of the innocent memory of what she was exposed to?” the Light elder with the indigo eyes inquired.

“Again, I was in the middle of those things when summoned. Elders, I am happy to report that she did not return intentionally. She has no memories. She goes by a new name and does not have any memories of being Aliyah. She did not purposely breach the ruling from her last Ceremony trial here, and did not purposely come here. She is clueless to her history, and I can honestly say that I don’t see her as being a threat to our world.

“I’m trying to work out the particulars, but I do believe she keeps returning here on a sub-conscious, unknowing level because she left something here that she is trying to retrieve. Once retrieved, she will have no reason to return here, not on a conscious or a sub-conscious level.”

“What is it you think she is trying to retrieve?” the orange-eyed Dark elder asked.

The Light knight hesitated, then, believing in the elders whom worked directly for the High master, he said, “A child.”

“A human or a non-human child?” a Light elder asked.

“A human.”

“Which child?” the grey-eyed Dark elder asked.

And that’s as far as the Light knight could trust after hearing the tinge of menace in the Dark elder’s tone, in the absence of being in the High master’s court, so he lied, “I don’t know yet.”

“Is it the boy-human who may or may not have let her in that she came to be imprisoned in the Darkness with, of which she escaped?” the same one inquired.

“Would she have left him here, imprisoned in the Darkness, if he was the one she was looking for?” he said lightly.

“I told you, Light elder, I did not feel comfortable with the boy’s release. I ask, once again, that we retrieve him and return him to the Darkness until all this has been sorted out.”

“The Light knight’s right, Dark elder. If that had been the child she was looking for, she would not have left him. She would have awaited the Ceremony trial and asked that the child be returned with her. Light knight, you have done well so far in your duty to the High master. The only thing you’ve left to do, now that you’ve found her, is ease the innocent’s memory of what she saw, and return Aliyah to us for a Ceremony trial before the High master. If there is a child she is looking for, and her intentions are, in fact, pure and innocent, she can argue her case at that time for the High master’s ruling.”

The Light knight bowed to the elders. “Might it, at this time, be priority to find and return the Dark soul criminal before it causes any more trouble in the human world?” he suggested. “If he figures out how to possess a human body, he will be capable of far more damage than what he has already caused.”

The Light knight then waited patiently as the Dark elders grumbled about how important her imminent return was, and the Light elders reasoned the type of destruction that an AWOL soul could cause in the human world, until the Dark elders reluctantly agreed. All, but one, whose eyes flashed furiously at their decision.

At that moment, the Light knight knew the child wasn’t safe. “Very well, the council has decided that it is of utmost importance that you return to us the escaped Dark soul first. Once he is contained, you are to bring Aliyah to us.”

The Light knight bowed again in respect and said, “In that case, I must retrieve some supplies before returning to the human world.”

“Very well. We will summon you back here after you’ve gotten the supplies you need.”

The Light knight walked away, proud and strong, and when they were no longer in sight, he opened the path to his home. The boy-human instantly ran to him and surprised him with a hug. Awkwardly, the Light knight patted his head.

“I thought you’d never return. What have you found? Did you find her? Did you find my mother?” the boy said excitedly.

“Quiet, boy. We don’t yet know if she’s your mother. You cannot speak these things aloud, or at least, so loudly. You may whisper them.”

“Did you find her, this Aliyah?” the boy whispered.

“Yes.”

“Is it the same one who came here?”

“It is.”

“Did you talk to her? Did she tell you she was trying to come back for me?”

The Light knight was silent, not knowing how to tell the boy that she, at the moment, was adamantly denying having a child, so perhaps the child had a different meaning to her. Even if only the one time she saw him once she’d returned here as Lydia. “She painted a picture of you,” was all he could think to say.

“So she
does
remember me. Then why has she not returned to come get me?”

“It’s not that simple, boy. Her coming here breaks the Bylaws. That is why she is now being hunted. Any human that finds their way here must stay here, as you well know in your life-long presence here. In the absence of her memories, she is mistakenly doing things far damaging to this world, and once it is learned about, she will be in far more trouble than even she knows.”

“Then take me with you. Bring me back there. Instead of her coming here to get me, you can bring me to her,” he said so innocently and desperately, breaking the Light knight’s heart. He believed 100 percent in the High master’s knowing and ruling, but it didn’t mean he always understood or agreed.

Instead of telling the boy that it was impossible and could not be done, he said, “You must practice patience, boy. There are things that must be done, first. Things are not safe right now.”

“Call me Jasper. Jasper Love. That is my name.”

The Light knight inhaled sharply. Like mother, like son. “We do not speak names here, little one,” he said so harshly that the child cowered. “Don’t ever, ever speak that name here again.”

“I – I’m sorry,” the boy cried. “I thought it might help you.”

The Light knight wanted to console him, but he couldn’t. He needed the boy to know how serious and important it was, so he left him alone and met up with the Light soul he’d called.

“Thank you for coming, my friend,” the Light knight said fondly.

“No problem, I always know it must be something important when you call me.”

“You are my most trusted friend,” the Light knight bowed.

“Yes, I know that. What can I do for you?”

The Light knight led them away from the borders, and began to whisper, “I am keeping a boy here. I need you to stay with him, make sure he doesn’t leave or travel far. There is a Dark elder, I fear, that may not have the best intentions in mind, and he seems to be gunning for the human child. As you know, if an elder wants to find someone, they easily can, so I need you to stay on guard. Should a Dark elder arrive asking for the boy, wanting to take him, I want you to summon the rest of the elders.”

“Won’t I get in trouble for going against an elder?”

“Not an elder acting on his own wants. Our system is set up in a way where elders can only do what is unanimously agreed on. Should one elder begin acting on its own behalf, then it is your duty to bring it to the attention of the rest of the elders, and then they will deal with it from there.”

“Very well, I will do as you ask, my longest and most trusted friend.”

“Thank you.”

“But – .”

“But what?”

“How old is this child? I fear I do not know how to take care of one.”

The Light knight burst out in laughter. “He’s not a baby, friend. He is old enough to entertain and take care of himself. You need only be here, and perhaps put up with the many questions of a child his age that happens to be human. Don’t fret, Light soul, you will find the benefits as I have.”

“You are fond of this child?”

“He is a child. How could I not be? He looks at me as though I High master itself. It is quite amusing and endearing, really. I must go now and return to my mission. I thank you.”

“As always, anything, my friend.”