chapter 108 Wingspan

kiras far fetched theory was right. there was one door that was, and according to Kira, the only accessible entrance from the outside. i found it easily enough. instead of a door handle there was a hole that was big enough to put a rock through. well that wasn't irregular. whether acting on gut instinct or done by pure illogical thinking, it was hard to say, i reached up positioning my hand to fit inside and through the small hole that was in the wall.

i take a couple steps back away from the door when i hear a loud clicking sound but my hand wouldn't move. heaps of sharp needles sliced through my skin and I found myself becoming surprised when i felt a trickling of what i was sure was my blood trickling and splashing down and past my senseless fingertips onto stone. on the walls of the building that loomed before me I could see my blood trace across the monstrous slab of concrete in different energy shapes of overlapping circles like the ones i'd seen in energy books back at starkhouse.

When the entire building was traced over with my blood I heard a strong metallic sound fall into place and a wall disappeared before my very eyes. Light poured from the inside of the building and into the night behind me momentarily dispelling the darkness while the door opened up for me.

taking a deep breath i entered the catacombs quickly and quietly before the mirage door closed in on me.

thankfully i had access to a lit torch which i took with me for security purposes. it was faint but i swear i could hear chanting and thought maybe if i followed the noise then i would find my way back out.

It was a bit creepy and I was scared okay.

There were things in here that I didn't very much like that i didn't want close to me. interestingly just as kira suspected the scorpions kept to themselves separating from my sight once I got close enough to them. Apparently they didn't seem to like me as much as i didn't care for them. peculiar but i didn't think anything of it.

i stop walking once i get to a three way section. I groaned. Well how spectacular.

there was no way for me to know if either tunnel was the correct one let alone if they merged like i thought. i stand in front of each tunnel and end up choosing to use the one from which i could distinctly detect people talking. the set of voices were in assortment of high and deep pitch tones that reverberated past the tunnel i walked through setting off my eardrums.

the chanting blared into a thundering and resounding roar as i took the left passageway deeper into the tunnel. as i followed the sound farther into the one-way tunnel it became clear to me that it didn't sound like more than one person speaking as i first thought. 

the voice was male. a man was chanting offbeat syllables over and over again as if it were some formal practice of his. from my time spent with the headmistress the language was similar to casting a spell only this wasn't like that.

i didn't know what gave me away. the strange light that suddenly came into apparition around my body or he was extremely perceptive. either one was impressive. 

"the torch has served its purpose. you may set it aside now." funny thing was he looked normal for having like a millennium life span. if i saw him in some drug store in any city i would never have spotted him out as being an angel. though i supposed that was the idea. 

his intense charm invited me to know more. it was eerie how being near him affected me in such a calming manner.

i did as he said by hanging the used torch up on the wall.

after a while i decided to look around. cool, there was that star seed thing toby talked about. it wasn't as big as i'd thought it would be. the orb was a lot smaller than i pictured it during tobys reenactment and it floated over a small table.

overall the sanctuary was pristine with every item placed in fitting order suitable to its functional use. what i found most charming were the markings on the walls that were uniquely similar to the ones i saw in the headmistresses office toby used at starkhouse for his angel lair.

"Lets get this over with, shall we?" the man in front of me opens a box putting the obscured item behind his back.

"So. how does this work exactly?" i ask him tentatively

the man grimaces. "call me pravuil."

as a nice gesture i wave. "Nice to meet you. I'm Aislin by the way." i offer.

"Now that that's out of the way give me your blood." he says.

i chuckle nervously. "wait a minute here. no one said anything about my blood being spilled. i already got poked i don't feel like becoming a blood donor maybe some other time. thank you." Did Kira fail to mention that part because she knew how i disliked needles? i wasn't scared of blood i just hated the feeling of being poked.

pravuil stalks in front of me. "for the concoction to work i will need a drop. now come here and stop acting foolishly child." he looks at me with narrowed eyes. "do you want my help or not?" he asks me. 

"Of course i do." with that i walk over to him.

"for what it's worth i am sorry." he says

"sorry for what?" on reflex i scream when a push of force tightly presses my nerves to a point of uncomfortable pain.

"the needle is quite long." he drains the entire content inside a long cylindrical tube. "you know, the genius thing about memories is they never truly leave the brain. there's a battle going on inside your mind between negative and positive. the one that will win is the one you feed most."

once he collects a sample pravuil turns away from me to mix a bottle of liquid. "no matter, as you are one of the fallen." he says dis-entranced by the bubbly contents inside the bottle.

hearing that from him was like eating bitter sweet tangerines. "what makes you so sure?" i was skeptical for good reason. especially since none of the angels at starkhouse could tell.

pravuil walks over to a large square desk that held an odd variety of trinkets. "that light around you, the one that raduriel made was his doing. he knew the moment you arrived." he said dispassionate and unconcerned by my antsy demeanor.

feeling uncomfortable  i shuffle my feet. it was too good to be true. "so, how does this work? are you going to hypnotize me?" i watch him pick out a light blue bottle.

"i'm afraid its more complicated than putting you under a simple trance my dear. your soul is hiding from you." pravuil hums

i open my mouth. "meaning?" i ask edging him on.

he takes a pause from stirring the contents in the glass. pravuil looks at me in that apathetic unemotional way of his. "in order to be at peace with oneself two things must occur; the first of which, of course, is the access to a human body which only purpose serves as a vessel to hold something equally more precious. throughout ages its been refereed to as the divine, grace, whichever you prefer."

"how are you going to draw out the piece of me that's in hiding?" i asked him

i watch as he plucked out a plastic stick from the bottle. "i wish it were that simple. first, you must drink this." he gives it to me.

it was kind of like a soda bottle except it was a small bulb with an incredibly long noose.

i didn't hesitate to grab it. "then i will remember?" i drink it.

he takes the bottle back. "give it time. slowly you will start to remember what once blocked you from coming back."

i try not to show my disappointment by expressing gratitude. maybe then i would have my memories back. "well, thank you for all your help." i say. nothing.

"i wish i could do more." pravuil tells me mumbling.

the weighty undertone in his condolence hinted toward a certain unknown. "I'm sorry?" i ask him.

he sighs putting the bottle down next to a set of irregular empty ones. "Everything is deliberately planned out. Think of reincarnation as one big recycle that continuously flows until the end of time. That point in which all souls are gathered is basically a place to recover from previous failures that happened on earth and become renewed once again while awaiting for universal go ahead. Never once has there been a gap in this cycle. angels have always come back. There could be serious unforetold repercussions." he tells me insisting that i be careful.

"I'll take my chances." I take my leave.

the walk out of the catacombs was a lot easier now that i knew what to expect. Down the steps outside Kira stood waiting for me. -only I didn't understand the reason for her outrageous bubbly enthusiasm.

Unable to breathe regularly I start wheezing. "You can...stop hugging...me...now." i tell her eager to get away.

Kira finally releases me from her abnormal strong grip. after giving me a once over kira grins. "Sorry, after weeks of not hearing from you I got worried." 

"Weeks?! I was only gone for a couple of minutes." i tell her. 

"The seals on the archives are magic of the purest form- not that I've ever seen them. there are whispers of time lapse. So, while i imagine it felt like only a few minutes went by it's actually been three weeks." Kira says

i whistle. "wow. that's why toby freaked out so much before i left." i was happy to be out of there.

kira grabs a hold of my arm grinning from ear to ear with excitement. "exactly. Speaking of...theres somebody who'd like to say hi."

i let her take me high in the air as her good-sized wings took us back to starkhouse.