Prologue

 

 

 

 

Prologue

 

I was only roughly five at the time, back then monsters and princesses were all part of a fairy tale. That was a time that the crazy things that I saw or did or a figment of my imagination. That time is over, just like the reign of peace for the Elemuntum Regnator Scripture. Although what is in the past will never be forgotten, it can never be taken back. Our every action is recorded in the book of life, in the book of the past. How I wish my ignorance could be taken back.

Ch. 1

Ch. 1

 

“Grandma!” I screamed, while running up the steps of her old Victorian off white steps. Rushing into her loving arms I buried my face against her, automatically inhaling the sent I had grown to adore. She smelled of wild flowers and honey. Pulling back I grinned up at her, her deep blue eyes exactly the same as mine. They weren't the only thing I inherited from her though. Her once silky platinum blond hair now white with age brushed my cheek. I couldn't help but to stare at the silver white strands. She wasn't even that old, and yet something about the coloration and her eyes whispered of old magic and secrets to me.

“Well I'll be, look at how much you've grown!” She exclaimed with exuberance. Picking me up and taking me inside I clung to her like a monkey. Giggling all the way into the living room she set me down and walked out. Telling me to stay put. Swinging my legs back and forth I looked around. The mirror wall across from me was the first thing to capture my attention. Red shoes swung back and forth, white lace stocking clothed my legs, lastly a small red and black plaid dress finished the appearance. My long silver blond hair fell all the way down to my hips, enveloping my reflection in a curtain of shimmering silver. The coloration kept attracting my attention, reminding me of a waterfall. Smiling I turned my electric blue eyes from the mirror and took in the old room. It just seemed to whisper to me and ooze the word mystery.

The sound of foot steps had my head snapping up, there stood my grandma with a leather bound book. She flashed that smile that I've known for all my four years of life and sauntered into the room. Looking at the book I was immediately captivated. The book seemed to radiate raw power. Sitting down beside me she blew the dust off the book before turning toward me. She had this serious expression, as if what she had to say was vitally important.

“Now ,Madeline, do you happen to know the story about how the elements came to be?” I shook my head in confusion. As far as I knew the elements were always the way they were. As if reading my mind my grandmother spoke in answer.

“Madeline, there are things you have to understand about the Earth and her magic realms. Not all of them were created the way they are. In fact, the elements are a perfect example of that. You see, a very long time ago the elements were all condensed into one ring....” I listened to my grandmother as if in a trance, a picturesque movie playing in my head.

 

 

Fire blossomed outside of the kingdom walls, the very walls were made of vines. The fire lapped at them like tongues of rage from a beastly dragon. Shattering glass echoed far off, along with a distant war cry. The king was running down a hallway badly injured, his deep graying hair soaked in his own blood. The ring on his finger glinted in the fires light, casting a rainbow of reds, blues, greens and silvers; the colors of the elements. Breathing deeply the king slid to a stop, the ground before him covered in liquid fire: magma. Cruel laughter seemed to echo from all around him. Whirling around, he glared into the dim light. The shadows dancing with the flames movements like a puppet being maneuvered by a puppeteer.

“Who's there?” The king called in a wavering gravelly voice. The shadows before him suddenly slunk forth like oil or tar. Congealing before him the shadows slowly lifted up until condensing into a figure of darkness.

“Nobody.” Came the hissing reply. The king sucked in a breath before backing up, the ledge crumbling behind him. Freezing he lifted his ring, the four elements within glowing and shimmering across the ebony surface. The cruel wheezing laughter of the shadow man seemed to drop the temperature by twenty degrees. The shallow breaths of the king huffing out into fog in the air.

“Give me the ring!” The featureless shadow snarled. The king steeled himself and snarled back at the shadow man defiantly.

“As long as I live you will never posses the power of the Elemuntum Regnator Scripture!” With a roar the shadow man slammed his hand forward and strait through the kings chest. A guttural moan escaped him from the impact, blood spattering the ground.

“Well then, I'll kill you now and take it.” Nobody hissed. Wheezing laughter left the king.

“Poor Nobody, you'll never wear the elements.” With that the ring burst into a powerful explosion of life, dispersing the elements to other realms. The very shadows receded, Nobody taking refuge once more in the corners and crevices. Collapsing down to the ground the king gasped for his finally intake of air before laying still. His silver eyes staring heaven ward emptily.

 

 

With that my grandmother fell silent, waiting for my reaction. Her slender fingers fiddling with the aging book. Looking up silently I murmured quietly.

“Where are the elements now Grandma?” A faint smile pulled at her lips as she opened the brown leather book. The yellowing pages full of words that I didn't understand, even the writing seemed funky.

“No one knows sweet heart. No one but the King.” My eyes widened in interest before a thought struck me.

“What about Nobody? Surely he could find them if the influence from the elements is so strong on our weather.” A frown pulled at my grandmother's lips as she sat in thought. Tapping the page she murmured gently.

“We'll worry about that later sweet heart. Look at this here.” Looking over I saw a map. It was a strange map of a world I had never seen. Although some places looked familiar, as if they over laid our own world.

“What is it?” I asked curiously. A smile pulled at her lips as she leaned forward. One of her secretive looks twinkling in her eyes.

“This my love, is Magia. The land of all magic.” Blinking I looked down at the map curiously, the black ink faded, but the outlines of the land mass quite distinguishable from the aged parchment. Looking back up at her with a frown on my face I spoke cautiously as if afraid to break some spell.

“Where is Magia now grandma?” That secretive smile of hers appeared again. Her eyes twinkling with some hidden mischief.

“My dear, I would have thought you would have figured it out already. Magia is here.” She gently placed her index finger over my heart. I looked up at her in confusion.

“How is Magia in my heart?” Laughter whispered over my ears like a caress from a lover, her hands smoothed back my hair gently. Closing my eyes I filled my nose with her scent, her words washing over me like the cleansing rain.

“Magia is not a place, but more of an idea. Those who believe in it will find it. You my dear were always destined to be a part of it.”

 

 

18 years later

 

The loud beeping of an alarm startled me awake. Sitting up quickly I looked around my apartment in confusion. I remember having a dream of my grandmother, but her words and the things that had happened were already gone. Shaking my head, I stood up and stretched. These things always happened, I would dream of my grandmother and then when I awoke I could never remember what happened. All the same I knew something important was said, something that I needed to remember. Scowling I walked into the bathroom and looked at my reflection. I always looked more and more like my grandmother every day. Her deep crystalline blue eyes practically my own, silver white hair silky and full. Sighing softly I could feel that familiar ache in my heart, the ache that had been present since her death. She had been the only major authoritative figure in my life, the only mothering figure. My own mother died when I was one, and my father was always away in the military, so we didn't exactly have a close relationship. My grandmother and I on the other hand were like two peas in a pod...then one day she was gone. Just like that, the only person in my life who had understood me was gone. Swallowing back the lump in my throat, I turned away from the mirror and set about brushing my hair and getting ready for the day.

Sighing I walked around the house, gathering my keys from the table and my purse. The familiar black and pink waitress outfit clinging to my form. I detested the outfit seeing as I hated pink, but it was the only job within miles that payed halfway decently. Besides I had no room to complain, a job was a job, and in this economy I was lucky to even have the line of work I did. Scowling I stalked out the door and slammed it shut angrily. For some reason I just felt that today was going to be a bad day and if the rolling clouds over head were any indication it was going to storm as well. One thing that always bothered me was that it always seemed to storm when I was in a sour mood, the fanatical part of me liked to believe the weather and I were connected, but the logical part crushed that dream. Heaving yet another sigh I climbed into my old beat up crimson 1958 Cadillac and started the engine. It wasn't in the best condition, but it was the cheapest car being put up for sale. I closed my eyes and turned the key.

“Please work, please work!” I muttered under my breath. The engine sputtered and whirled a few times before finally catching with a throaty roar. Sighing with relief I pulled the gear shift into reverse and backed out of the winding drive. Holding the break I shifted it into drive and pulled down the urban road. I didn't live that far from the city, I didn't like them but I knew I would need provisions. I did like the outdoors though, so I got the old beach house a little under fifteen minutes from the city limits. Well it wasn't a city, more like a town of a few thousand. Roaring through the country side I glanced around at the sound of a motorcycle. They always made me nervous. Looking in my side mirror I saw the large chrome Harley with the purple and black flames rumbling up to speed beside me. The driver was tall and lanky, Gothic looking, I couldn't see his face sadly because of the black helmet. Even the visor was black, hiding him from view. He turned his head and a chilling feeling swept through me. I felt as if this man had been watching me for awhile...as if he were awaiting the perfect time to strike. After a moment he pulled on ahead and raced away, even though he quickly left my sight, the pounding in my chest didn't dissipate. My heart and breaths were quick like that of frightened prey. Shaking my head I focused on driving. Who ever that was, I don't know him and I'm just being irrational. No way is some Gothic biker stalking me. Scowling I pressed the gas and quickly entered the town limits off of White Sand Beach. Whoever says living on an island sucks is wrong. Cayo Coco is the most amazing place a person could live, of course I've always just been obsessed with water so it could just be me. Pulling up to the small diner off the beach I quickly parked and turned the key. Shutting off the engine and grabbing my keys I got out of the car and locked the door. Jogging up I quickly opened the door and slid into the ocean diner. Smiling and waving to the regular customers, I practically ran behind the counter to get my pen and writing pad. Coming back around I walked over to a table that two men just sat at and smiled brightly.

“Hi! Welcome to White Ibis Ocean Bar and Grill, I'm Madeline and I will be your waitress. What can I do for you?” Looking between the two men I had to force my smile to stay in place. The man on the right was that biker, I was sure of it. Without his heavy biker jacket and helmet I could see his features, deep wavy bronze hair framed his high set cheek bones and bronze eyes. His deep tan skin seemed to shimmer under the soft florescence lighting. With a full pearly white smile that could melt the coldest part of Antarctica, he spoke in a deep husky voice.

“Just a water for me my dear. How about you Lawrence.” Looking over at the man on the left a shot of relief swept through me. This man had wavy blond hair, tan skin and green eyes. He even looked your typical surfer dude.

“Fried shrimp and a coke please.” When he spoke it was in a foreign accent. Australian maybe? Writing it down I smile brightly and nodded.

“I'll be right out with your drinks sir's.” Twirling around I quickly strolled into the kitchen. Getting the water and soda I placed them on a platter and sauntered back out towards their table. Placing the drinks in front of the designated men I smiled and glanced at 'Lawrence'.

“Your food will be ready in approximately ten minutes.” He nodded and flashed me a small lop sided smile.

“That's 'ight love. I don't mind waiting for a pretty little thing like you.” This flirtatious Australian man had me blushing crimson all the way to the roots of my hair. Clearing my throat I turned and quickly walked away with my head ducked down. Laughter from behind me had me blushing harder with embarrassment. I felt humiliated as if I was the brunt of some huge joke. Stalking into the kitchen I leaned against the counter and took deep breaths to calm myself. For some reason when I got stressed out strange things happened. It's like water would come to my aid and do things to the things that were stressing me. I felt shaky, that pulling feeling in the pit of my stomach getting stronger. Closing my eyes tightly shut I concentrated on solid earth and of puppies, flowers, music. Things that always calmed me down. Within minutes the rushing in my ears, the thumping of my heart and the silent pull of water toned down to a distant rumble, like the far off sea. Opening my eyes I calmly walked to the server counter and picked up the order five. Walking through the double doors I stalked calmly to the table and set the fried shrimp down.

“Enjoy your meal.” I said in a flat tone. Internally I winced at the cold voice I heard from myself, but the man had it coming. The audacity of the man! Treating me and no doubt other woman like that! Stalking off, I went about waiting on other people until my shift's end.

Wiping a table with a cleaning rag I glanced up to see it was a quarter to eight. My shift ended in ten minutes. Sighing tiredly I finished cleaning up the table and stacked the dirty dishes on a trey. Pushing my sweaty bangs from my face I picked up the treys and brought them to the kitchen. Dumping them in the soapy sink I began washing them diligently, practically scrubbing my skin off with the germs. Pulling my hands from the water I dried them and dried off the now clean and rinsed dishes. Stacking them in the designated areas I looked around once more. Everything was spotless and cleaned up for the night. Groaning tiredly I walked out of the kitchen and turned off the light. Walking through the diner I stacked chairs on the table, turning off lights as I went. Walking through the front door I turned and locked it with the set of keys our boss gave me. Exhaustion swept through me making me hate being the manager and a waitress even if it did pay good. Jingling the keys I stalked to my vehicle and began digging through my purse looking for my keys.

“Aha!” I muttered as I finally pulled out my car keys. Stashing the story keys in my purse I turned back to the door intent on unlocking it and getting home.

“Pretty little thing like you shouldn't be out this late at night, love. Perhaps I should make sure ya get home alright.” An Australian voice rumbled from behind me. Freezing I could feel dread pull in my stomach again. I knew that voice, it was the voice of the man in the restaurant. Slowly turning around I raised my jaw and spoke in a stiff voice.

“I am quite sure I will be fine. Thank-you for your concern, sir.” His green eyes suddenly flashed brilliantly in the shadows like lighting in the distance. The smell of Ozone had my hair standing on end. This cruel smirk swept across his features marring his once charming face.

“I do not believe I asked you a question love, nor was it a suggestion.” His accent seemed thicker now, his voice turning gravely and inhuman. His smile no longer resembled a smile, but more like a grin full of fangs, a silent show of the weaponry he held. Each and every tooth in his mouth was a sharp point like shark teeth. Gasping I backed up into my car, my hands coming up to clutch my chest. My heart raced as I watched the man before me deform and shift, it was like watching half of him shift into a fury monkey of some sort. A long tale whipped out behind him and edged toward me. Looking at it, the end suddenly split open into a four digit hand right in front of my face. My eyes widened as I looked up at his face, now fury and more ape like than human like. A scream tore itself from my lips as I shoved my key into the creatures eye. With a supersonic wail the creature lashed back from me, his tale coming up and the little digits yanking the key out. My stomach tried to revolt at the sight of the mangled flesh, oozing purple-red blood dripping down his black and white face. Running past him I made a dash for the restaurant doors only to find them closed. Looking back I saw the keys on the ground by his ape like feet, my purse must have spilled its contents while I stabbed him. Looking around I made a dash for the road and took off in a dead sprint running as fast as I could. After a few seconds I head a hypersonic cry of outrage, then the sound of bare feet smacking the ground. Panting and choking back sobs I looked behind me to see no one there. Stopping under the street light I looked around in fear, a whimper building up in my chest. Tears slowly dripped from the corner of my eyes as I fought the battle against my tears. Turning back around so I could continue my escape I stopped cold. A fury black and white chest was a mere millimeter from my face, warm air brushing my scalp. A tale hand coming into my line of sight and tilting my head up to look into the mutilated face of the creature that had once been Lawrence.

“Going somewhere love?” He rumbled in that deep inhumanly gravely voice, the accent thick and foreign. Stumbling backwards I screamed at the top of my lungs at him.

“What do you want from me!?” His lips pulled back to flash those terrible shark teeth, raw flesh stuck between them. A nauseating feeling swept over me at the thought of it being human. He took a step forward, his tale whipping out and wrapping around me, crushing me tight. Gasping I tried to breath as he lifted me into the air, crushing my rip cage slowly.

“I want your flesh!” He hissed, the stench of death would have gagged me if I could breath. I could hear that familiar rush in my ears, a weightless feeling swept over me and the next thing I knew I was sliding through the creatures tale-hand and to the ground. Dropping onto my feet I stumbled and hit the ground coughing and gasping harshly. I was confused, how had I slipped strait through his clutch? Even the creature seemed confused, but only for a second.

“Young Elemuntum eh? Mmmmm...you shall make a tasty morsel.” He hissed, saliva dripping down his jaws. Dropping down onto all fours he circled around me, tale held high with the hand open and waiting to grab me. Watching him silently I tried to figure out where I had heard that name before, shaking it off I concentrated on the trouble at hand. Taking in a deep breath I winced at the raw feeling of my throat. As the creature circled closer I frantically tried to figure out how to stall it while thinking of an escape plan.

“W-what are you?” I asked weakly, feigning exhaustion. That creepy grin with those teeth filled with rotting flesh were once again bared to me in cruel amusement.

“I, my little Elemuntum, am a Ahuizotl.” That name sounded so familiar to me, but why couldn't I recall it? As the creature circled around behind me I felt a tingle at the base of my neck. Rolling to the side the creature slammed into the ground with a wild yell of pain. Rolling to my feet I screamed the first thing that came to mind.

“

erventibus unda percusserit eum!

” I frowned in confusion after I screamed if for two things.

One: I had no idea what I said, all I knew was that it was in Latin. Two: A boiling wave came roiling up from the water plant beside us and slammed the creature away from me. I didn't have time to ponder on the crazyness of what just happened, I only had time to run. Turning I sprinted down the road, running toward the city limits, to where I felt safe: Home.

Impressum

Tag der Veröffentlichung: 26.03.2013

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This book is dedicated to my loving best friend and the sister I never had, Rosie Mahan. She is the best thing that's happened to me in my life, also one of the strongest influences toward my writing and art. Love ya sis!