Chapter 24 Conquest of Chimera

Chapter 24

Conquest of Chimera

  Suffocating blackness trapped Kress extinguishing her golden glow sucking her down into a place that should not exist; a place concocted by arrogant fools and maintained by cravers of violence and death…

   Strangers from the east had once more invaded the west. Kress was one of those strangers; Kian and Kia were the other two. Myra was the first. But unlike Myra and those that followed her from Older’s bed. No one could see them, hear them, or touch them.  They were safe, without flesh. Their bodies lay securely tucked away in Wayferra, however, their consciousness, their will, their comprehension had for a time, been set free.

    The moon a speck of white floating in the black pricked Kress’ attention. A wave of relief rushed through her mind. Reaching for it with everything she possessed pulled her out of the darkness and into the night.

  Sweetness brushed past her. She turned and saw Kia and Kian hovering beside her. Their bodies clothed but translucent drew near.

  “Kress what are you doing here,” Kia pleaded.

 “Your hand Kia, show me your hand.” The sprite glowed pink against the night.

  Kia lifted her hands. Kress saw no injury.

  “There was blood.” Kress insisted, “It’s gone now.”

  “There is blood,” Kian said his voice solemn and filled with dread. “Look there.”

   They looked down and much to their dismay, they went down, suddenly they were mere inches above the ground, mere inches above a moonlit mangled mess.

  A wail split the night’s silky silence like a razor. “My son my daughter, I can tell them apart.” Like a shadow springing to life a muscular silhouette rose from the ground, dripping entrails draped his hands. He turned toward the east and howled. As he lifted his red sticky hands to the mocking moon. They could clearly see this shattered father was half -human and half panther, a creature they had never seen.   

   “Where are we,” Kress asked forgetting to fly up close to Kia’s ear.

   Kia heard her easily then swayed back as if an unseen wave was washing over her. “The west” she said, “beyond the peaks far below the snow line, Myra, Myra…Myra did this.”

   “Myra, Myra,” Kia was still mumbling even as morning light spilled across her sweat soaked body.

   Kian bolted straight up in the bed as Kia rolled over toward the cleansing warmth of the rising sun. It was then she saw Kress lying still on the floor.

  “Oh no, what did I do?” Kia eased from the bed, kneeled down and gently scooped the tiny creature from the hard wood floor. Cradling her in cupped hands, she blew ever so softly against the tiny puff of light. Finally, after several seconds she could feel her tiny body tremble against her skin. Then waking fully Kress twisted around lifted up and searched in vain for blood that was no longer there.

  “That wasn’t a dream Kia,” Kian’s words struck them both like an iron bar. 

  Kress threw herself at Kia’s ear clinging to it like a tick, “I’m sorry I’m so sorry,” she wept. “I should not have come. I saw things I can’t forget. Don’t know how but I did.”

   “I know how,” Kian, said, “I left my body and took the two of you with me.”

  “No Kian I don’t think it was you. The first Older I saved,” Kia paused holding up her right hand, “reached out and touched me. There was blood. Kress saw it.”

  “I did,” said Kress, “but it’s gone now.”

  “Not gone hiding,” with that Kia drew her hand up to her face and remembered. A red dot slowly appeared in her palm. She turned her hand up as blood began to pool there.

  “Stigmata, purpura,” Kian mused as he studied Kia’s strange affliction, “Deep empathy.”

  “Guilt,” Kia sighed, “I did this, I made Myra what she is now, we’re connected. I have to undo this. I have to kill her.”

  “We saved them Kia,” Kian said as he clasped Kia’s bleeding hand and pressed to his chest, “Something in the Narrows overwhelmed us with grief compelled us to act, more manipulation. They made us do it just like they made you for me. They made this world and all that’s in it….but why?”

  “They playing with us Kian they think we are just their toys.” Kia reached up and ever so gently grasped Kress. Kress relented, fully trusting Kia and released her ear. “Look at her Kian, she’s beautiful but we both know she exists only in myth and imagination just like every creature on Chimera.”

  Kian nodded in agreement, “Everything and everyone here is real but it did not used to be. I’m sorry Kress don’t mean to talk about you as if you were not here, but I didn’t come from them. I came from God a long long time ago.”

  Kia peered into Kress’s tiny face, “They made me too Kress, but that does not mean I’m not human. Life is real and priceless regardless how it came to be. We must cling to that.”

  Kress shook her head, “I’m not sure I understand.”  

 “Lucius said he had something to show us,” Said Kian, “I say we get dressed, keep last night to ourselves, that includes you too Kress until we see what he has for us, maybe then we’ll all understand.”    

  They nodded yes and prepared to go.