• Passage: Chapter 6 part 2

    Three archways stood like sentries in the middle of a hollowed cave. At the keystone of each of the arcs an intricate symbol of sweeps and lines tattooed the stone. One of the arches, the one to the left, depicted a flaming candle. The symbol was bright gold but the rest of the stone was black and charred as though someone had torched it and left soot to bleed into the stone. The center arc held the symbol of a sun, yellow rays stretching off the stone into an eternity. The rest of the stone was fine white and black marble. The final arc, on the right, held a two lightning bolts criss-crossing at a center point. The lightning bolts were a rainbow of colors all contained within fine lines of silver. The stone itself was a white marble without the taint of black.


    The cave was damp and cold. The walls looked as though someone had taken a knife and tried to make the walls smooth but instead failed making many bumps and bruises on the surface. The ground was barren except for where the three archways stood and a fine layer of dust. In each of the arcs it looked like someone had put in a full length mirror, a placid reflection of the wall behind her stared back against the surface.


    Without knowing it soon she was standing before the center arc. Her fingers caressed the ivory white marble. The mirror showed a vacant spot where she stood. Her fingers moved from the frame to the glassy mirror. It felt like diamond.


    A noise, soft like the sound of rock hitting rock, tapped her on the shoulder. She turned abruptly only to see a small light glow by the wall. There wasn’t much light in the room to begin with. Except for the normal glow from the three arch ways making them even eerier there was nothing. Now this little glowing orb floated.


    Curiosity drove her to try and touch the light, like a small fish ensnared by an anglerfish. As she got closer to the light it moved away until it smashed into the wall of the cave. The light stretched out creating tendrils across the mass of stone. The lines swept and bowed creating a web of radiance. Then when it seemed the lines were finished the glow seeped out creating a door of pure luminosity. Then all the light disappeared leaving a hallway.


    It felt as though a string were attached to her chest. It pulled her towards the deep blackness. It yanked and tugged until her feet followed. She got the idea pretty quickly so she started walking. She didn’t like the string. She felt as though her heart were going to be pulled out of her chest until it was beating on the ground limp in front of her.


    As she moved closer the poignant scent of death became stronger and stronger. She stopped breathing except for the short necessary breaths needed to survive. She stopped only when her face slammed into something hard. A ripple of light radiated from where her cheek hit the glass. An archway, like the ones in the other room, stood in front of her, the light illuminating the center. The frame was made of black ivory. Two extensions stretched from the frame holding two orbs. Inside one of the orbs was a white flame licking the edges of the glass then fading back into a small spark as though some invisible wind where brushing the blaze. The second orb contained a black flame.


    She let out a small sigh and then the light faded revealing a mirror. Her gaunt face stared back at her. Naomi screamed.


    A hot sweat clung to her skin as she sat up in her bed. Her deep breath undulated from hyperventilating to short rasping breaths as she sucked in some of the crisp morning air.