Chapter - Twenty-Four

I fell through space and time before colliding with a broken floor, its marble cracked and in pieces. My hands were cut into ribbons of gold blood as I tried to pick myself up, crying out from the sting of pain. As my eyes adjusted to the low level of light, I realised I was in Angel's chambers. But they were not the same as before.

The pentagram lay forgotten in ruins on the fragmented floor and the curtains were torn and swept clean off the walls. Books with their spines and pages ripped out were strewn across the ground near a broken and battered bookshelf. Angel's glass throne was broken and lay in pieces in the corner of the room. Everything was in ruins and the portal to Cyra had vanished.

A sudden realisation tore through me. Where were my friends?

I jumped to my feet, ignoring the stinging pain of my cut hands, trying blindly to find a light switch. Instead I just smeared my blood on the walls. I pushed through the door, gaping at the ruins of the building. The club was a mix of crumbling walls, splintered floors and shattered disco lights, the glass crunching under my shoes. As quickly as I could I dodged the cracked foundations and hurried from the wrecked building.

Outside was worse. The street was empty. A low, whistling wind tore through the heart of the city as evening was cast across the sky. A cluster of birds parted and flew away squawking as I strode through the avenues of the inner city. I fumbled around in my pockets for my phone but of course, it wasn't with me. I had left it with Felix.

Where is Felix?

‘Are you alright?'

I jumped, spooked by a sudden voice coming from over my shoulder. It was low and rich and I turned to find a man, but he was wearing a thick glamour that shrouded his body in a blur. I had to blink to peel away the layers of the glamour to see him. There was nothing normal about him, including his gemstone hair and shaded brown and green eyes. His eyes were exactly like Volker's. I stumbled back, catching my breath as the man followed me when I moved away. He was curiously close as he watched me fumble.

‘Who are you?' I asked him.

‘I think you already know something about me,' he said.

‘You know Volker.'

The man paled. ‘I did once, yes. Not for a very long time.'

‘Where is he?'

‘Not anywhere near here. Have you seen the streets surrounding us?' He gestured around us. ‘It's a bit barren, my dear. Rather hard to find anyone, I'm afraid.'

My mouth dried but I managed to ask, ‘How do you know Volker?'

The man smiled. ‘Ah, a question I can answer. Volker is my younger brother. Although he hates the notion of being young at his age. My name is Raoul.'

My heart beat loudly in my chest. The man glanced towards it.

‘I am Tabitha, Volker's friend. He glamoured me as a baby and I've just met my mother Cyra for the first time and come out of her stupid portal and I have no idea what's going on.'

‘Settle, settle.' He soothed me with soft whispers. ‘Where were you last?'

‘In Angel's chambers with Volker and Felix. I told Felix I'd be back in a few minutes, but after I went through the portal it closed.'

‘Angel was with you?' Raoul asked, his eyes narrowing. ‘When was this?'

‘December.'

‘Of what year?'

I met his eyes. ‘I don't understand.'

‘What year did you meet with Angel?' Raoul's glamour disappeared, showing me his dark crimson suit and neat black tie. His mixed irises expanded with an emotion I couldn't quite fathom. Dread? ‘Angel is the name of a warlock not heard much of these days.'

‘December 2019,' I told him. ‘I was with Angel, Volker and Felix.'

‘Oh my,' Raoul breathed, his eyes widening. ‘And you say you met with Cyra, the Fae Guardian?'

‘Yes. She is my mother.'

‘I don't know how to quite tell you this,' Raoul said. ‘But things are not as they were when you left, Tabitha. The world is not what you remember.'

‘What does that mean?' My mouth tasted like sawdust. ‘It's still 2019, right?'

He shifted on his feet. ‘Um … no.'

‘What kind of sick joke are you playing?'

‘I'm not! I promise you, there is no trickery. I am no Volker,' Raoul said. ‘I am much more yielding in my ways than my brother. It is the truth. We are not in 2019 anymore. It has been a long time since you graced Earth.'

‘What do you mean?'

‘Cyra's forest is not an earthly dwelling. She resides in a spirit realm, for she guides spirits to their ending destination as they pass through her valley after death. Volker could not have known. She is a difficult goddess to locate.'

I drew away from Raoul, my feet catching on the broken cement as I almost tripped. He went to help me but I righted myself and backed away. ‘Don't lie to me.'

Raoul's hands reached for me. ‘I know you don't know me, Tabitha, but I can take you to my brother. You have to trust me.'

My mouth wobbled as tears sprang to my eyes. ‘Where am I?'

‘It is not safe for you out here, youngblood,' Raoul murmured, reaching for me again. He gently took my wrists and encased them in his warm hands. I didn't know what to do. Can I trust this warlock?

‘Cyra put enchantments on you to protect you from someone, didn't she?'

‘For safekeeping,' I told him. ‘How do you know what I am?'

‘Your scent. And you have Cyra's hair. It is hard not to know.' His smile was a little weary. ‘Please come with me, Tabitha. You have my word, I will not hurt you.'

‘But where am I?' I asked Raoul, letting him pull me towards a horse-drawn carriage waiting in the street with two footmen in attendance. The horses nickered softly, the sound echoing through the moonlit streets. Raoul gestured to the footmen, who swept me inside the carriage. Raoul climbed in and sat opposite me. He clasped my hands once more but gazed at the floor as I spoke. ‘Please. I have to know.'

The midnight sky blanketed the carriage. Raoul held onto my wrists so tenderly that I wondered if he thought I would shatter. He raised his head and looked into my eyes. What he said next chilled my bones. ‘We are in the year 2032, Tabitha. You have been away a long time.'

And as he urged the driver on, my whole heart was drenched in darkness.