A devil dog…Wait! Could I be bitten by a damned devil dog?Luckily, Oni increased our pace."Oni," I whispered while practically jogging behind her. "There's a devil dog over there."The Wraiths. They cannot hurt you as long as you stay on the path. Did we talk about this? I don't remember us talking about this.No worries. Just follow me."Yes." No worries. Nope none.I wasn't letting go of Oni. I wished I could have ridden on her back.We hurried along the questionable path for several long minutes. I stopped looking behind me because shadowy figures were trailing us.Oni said that nothing could touch me as long as I stayed on the path, but the shadowy figures were only a few steps behind us. What if one of them jumped up at me, scared me, and tried to get me to run?It was like when I first learned to drive a car. My mother told me that if a car moved into my lane that I couldn't kill the people in the lane next to me. I had to break, speed up, or whatever else I could
The Seer was like no other child in the village. Since birth, she seemed different, barely crying and content to spend quiet hours alone. Her parents did not confide to the villagers that their child could communicate without using words, and it appeared that she communicated with other unseen beings as well.As the child grew, she was able to show her family frightening things: the recent dead and spirits from worlds vastly different from their own. Strangely, the child was never afraid and considered these entities to be her friends.The family swore never to speak of these things, but their child revealed her talents as she felt compelled to heal the sick—even the sick that were, by all accounts, already dead. Soon the King learned of the child, but instead of decreeing that she be put to death for consorting with evil spirits, she became the King's Seer. And once the little girl was a Seer, she successfully predicted the outcomes of battles and aided the people of the land throug
But it wasn't only the humans that had forgotten. The Neratomay forgot their history. They did not remember who controlled their memories and prevented them from speaking of those memories that they were able to recollect. They did not remember the Chosen, and the idea of day-walkers became the stuff of myth and legend.They were taught to believe that their creator was She-Who-Is-First. Even the original Neratomay that knew all did not know the truth behind what had created them.Shrouded in mystery, the Committee taught the Neratomay not to question authority out of fear of pain and death.And without the ability for the Mother to intervene on behalf of her Children, over time the Chosen were made nearly extinct. Left in their place were their human children whose abilities lay dormant, awaiting death so that a spark of life could re-animate their un-living corpses.With their memories suppressed, the Neratomay did not understand their attraction for these golden mortals, but it
"You called me a Queen. But your Chosen were animated by the demons that you handpicked. I was created by the bite of a Neratomay. How can I be one of your Chosen?""Hold up," she said, "This is just another layer of the world, remember? Not heaven or hell. Let's think in terms of spirits and not demons. True demons exist, but they are not what animate the un-living. All kinds of spirits live here. Some are like the one you call Oni, a strong Succubus, and some have speed, strength, or cunning. Others are bad—ones that you don't want walking around in the world—the way you don't want Hitler or Charles Manson walking around."I looked over at Oni, who was still kneeling. I wondered if she could understand what we were talking about. I was happy that my friend wasn't considered a demon. It had been hard to think of her in those terms, anyway."When my Chosen procreated, they created living children, and when those children procreated with humans, they created Golden humans—like you."
Some of the righteousness drained out of me. She was right. Who was I to be judgmental? Hadn't I done horrible things to survive? I had helped kill people who might have been just like me because of my position as a Master Council woman. I enforced laws that I didn't understand, laws that I knew were wrong.And I was meant to continue doing what the other Elders had done before me. Surviving Epic Cu and joining the Elder Council simply meant that I had to agree to support the weaker Neratomay—while in actuality supporting demons that wanted to control the world.Well, fuck that!"No, I can't do that," I said bitterly."That's easy to say when you're safe in my hut," she said. "Millions of others have said the same and have met their final death. You can just be dead like the others who said no or who tried to fight back. Or you can share a seat at the top with the other Neratomay Kings and Queens."It took me a moment not to try to deny my need to survive by any means necessary. I
I started to get tired and hungry, and the Mother seemed annoyed at all of my questions. "Can you send us back to the mortal world?""No," she said.Damn."After the Underlings attempted to evict me from the Underworld, I was brought to this realm and encased by my protectors. It also encased my abilities. I can't do anything to help my Children." I wanted to cry. Here was a powerful being on our side, but she was just as much of a prisoner as we were.Wait, maybe the question wasn't what she could do for me but what I could do for her."This isn't the realm that you created?""No. This is just a small sanctuary…one that is no bigger than this hut. When I first arrived, my friends created an entire world for me. They tried to make it resemble my home, but they didn't understand what my world was really like. How could they when this dark place has been their only existence? So, they showed me how to build it from my memories.""The way the Elders build their world from their m
"Something needs to even the odds, Mother. Something.""Only God can do that," she said softly."God didn't make Vampires. You did!" I stood. "You watched us suffering, dying for nothing. And all you did was watch!""The world has made itself over many times before. It will do so again."I glared at her. "Yeah, but you'll be safe right here in your bubble when that happens." I shook my head. "Thank you for your time." I turned away and walked to Oni, placing my hand on her shoulder. "We need to go."My friend looked up at me with a worried nod then stood. "Kim of Tige," the Mother said. "You still do not understand.""Well, that's probably because I'm too stupid," I said sarcastically.The Mother chuckled. "I like you very much. You have given me words of wisdom. I am one of the most powerful beings in this world and you still speak your mind. You have courage. Come and sit. You have not asked me the most important question."Oni watched me with worry."Give me another minut
I heard the wind before I realized we were no longer in the shelter of the hut. With the first shock of the gritty sand hitting me in the face, I covered my nose and mouth again with the makeshift scarf. I grabbed for Oni's hand and found only wisps of dark smokiness as she fluttered near me.And I was right. We were surrounded by spirits. Some had form and shape, but most were like Oni—billowing and insubstantial.I hated the way this world looked, like film exposed wrong. The sky looked stormy and was tinted with purples and blues, and the ugly trees were nightmarish. It was as if evil had corrupted and twisted it with ugliness.I didn't want to think of having to step through those many wisps of smoke.Stay on the path…Oni seemed to read my mind, and she moved forward, going through the entities that had no solid form. The ones that did have form, like the devil dogs and ghouls, stood their ground, staring at me with desire. Those she went around.I stayed as close to her as