Stillness draped over them like a shroud. It was suffocating enough to feel unreal, yet painstakingly real. The sword slipped off Eniola's hand, dissipating before reaching the ground. The walls were closing in—no, she shook her head trying to dispel the thought. Her nails dug into her palm.
This couldn't be true, how could Aisha be dead? A dead person can't exist—the way she did. Disbelief settled between them like a calm sea, without a second thought they all ripped the teleportation paper with them.
A blinding light clothed the room. It didn't take long for the intensity to go dim, but the living room was still in sight. Jared stared at the paper from a distance. "What? No.... this doesn't make any sense."
They were fake.
They should have been able to sense the deception unless. . . He went still as his eyes tracked a reddish purple liquid leaking from the tip of the paper. A fruity scent filled his senses. "This is—" before he could finish, Amare interrupted. "A potion made to disguise fake magic as real. Something no ordinary person can make." He made his way past the others, then dropped to one knee beside the family.
"You said Aisha is dead. Do you have proof?"
They nodded. Amare gestured to Jared to extinguish the flames. The older woman got up first and headed to the TV table. She picked up a portrait and handed it to him. His hand trembled as his eyes stayed on the figure. Eniola grabbed her forehead, unable to look away.
Zuri clasped her hand over her mouth, eyes filled with horror. Jared snatched the frame from Amare, just to be sure of what he was looking at. It was a portrait of Aisha, but her appearance wasn't the problem.
Aisha Henshaw
1961– 2011
But the current year is 2026
The woman spoke. "She has been dead for fifteen years. You never met her."
"Hold on hold on hold ...on." Eniola wished she had a cigarette in hand right now. "You mean this woman has been dead for fifteen...years and whoever... whatever we've been talking to is some..." She dragged her hands down her face. "But how? ...a shape shifter?"
"We can figure out how later." Jared shook her shoulder. "Right now we need to know how to save Veronica." His attention shifted to the woman. "This is going to be a long story, but we're working on—"
"The rise of Amnesia in this district." The woman calmly stated. "We're aware because we've been working on it as well. My name is Monica if you need to address me."
Shock settled on Zuri's face. "You have?" Monica nodded. "Yes, we've had a hunch on who the culprit might be. But when you broke in talking about Aisha, it confirmed our suspicions.
"Explain." Amare demanded. Monica walked past him. "Your friend has been kidnapped, this isn't the time for explanation so we'll say the most important details." She shot a look of approval to the others. The middle aged man, who introduced himself as Greg spoke. "We figured out that the culprit approaches people going through hardships."
They said one of theirs, Jeremy, decided to play into this role. The racing hands of the clock didn't let them go into detail. The only details that were mentioned were how Jeremy encountered a therapist who gave him a black card. "The energy from the black card reminded Monica of the person Aisha sealed years back." Jeremy stated.
Zuri side eyed Monica. "It almost sounds like you were present?"
Monica met her gaze. "I'm not actually human. You could say I'm an entity, a guardian of this family. I was there during the sealing, if only..." She paused, taking in deep breaths. "Let's just say her sacrifice was honorable. I'll never let it be in vain."
Zuri nodded, deciding not to press further. Jared let out a sigh, This is gonna sound like a stupid question but I'm going through with it. "What makes you so sure that this fellow is the actual culprit and the one we met?"
Monica arched a brow but understood. "A similar case happened when she was alive. Thanks to her excellent skills we were able to capture him. Plus when the card disappeared, it was quiet for a short while then you guys broke in, talking about meeting some...Aisha."
. Jared was satisfied with her answer. Eniola dragged her hand back and forth against her arm . "What's his name?"
The woman in her mid twenties, Aanu, shifted closer to her mother and reached out for her arm. "Vaelrith."
♦♦♦
Her eyelids slowly opened to reveal the shimmering, bioluminescent walls around her. The air felt thick and smelt...weird? that's the only way she could describe it. She placed her hands on the ground—or what looked like one— and pushed herself up to her knees.
"Damn." Veronica uttered. "Just my luck, I've always dreamed of getting illegally whisked away like those empty self-insert shells in romance novels where the only interesting detail is their petite figure. Yay."
The joke couldn't be appreciated long enough. She raised her head and fell back, scurrying away on her hands and feet to put as much distance as possible between herself and whoever had decided to be a jump scare by standing beside her.
No clue of who they were but prevention is better than cure as they say. She squinted her eyes, trying to map them out. The white polka dot dress and red hair in a familiar style made her blood boil and run cold. "You..."
"Aisha" tilted her head, confusion flickered across her face. "That's strange, you're supposed to be out for longer. A human can't recover th—
"Save me the chit-chat for later." Her legs finally remembered their function. Looks like too much time hadn't passed. I can still use it, let's hope it takes me back to the right time. Warmth surged through her body as electric blue light swirled in her eyes and around her fingers. The sight of Aisha doing nothing was enough to create doubt but she brushed it off.
"One ho—ack." A sharp, throbbing pain ran through her head. It was like someone had pierce her scalp with an ice-pick. She clutched her head, leaning against the wall. Her breathing slowed as the pain subsided. "There's no point in that. I ensured no one but me can use their ability within this space." Aisha rubbed her chin. "Who would have thought you have an ability."
This is bad. I didn't even think about the cost of rewinding time, what's the point if I'm just going to be coughing blood unable to explain. Veronica leveled a glare at her. Well that's still better than being here.
Disgust painted Aisha's face as she stared down at her hand. "I should shed out of this skin. Being in this woman's skin is repulsive." Before Veronica could process what she said, her gaze dropped. Something splattered on the ground—it looked like fluid. She squinted and tilted her head. Her gaze traveled upwards. Her stomach churned.
Aisha's face stripped away—no—it's more accurate to say "dripped" away. Thick streams rolled downwards, their slow drips echoed. It was like watching a candle melt—except it wasn't wax. It was skin. Veronica recoiled, standing still despite the tremors running through her body. What the... actual hell?
The "shedding" revealed another skin beneath. It was a man, tall and lean. Teal shoulder length hair, eyes were pale grey like fog caught in a glass which had a shimmer to it. He was dressed in black and white wizard robes. A shaky finger was raised at him. "You... You're the man that bumped into me while I was standing at that cafe." She took a step back. "Your energy feels familiar."
He narrowed his eyes. "You could sense that? You may not be so ordinary after all. I did underestimate you, you're smarter than you look."
He's definitely not expecting me to say thank you to that. Veronica shot him a cautious look. His gaze averted, as if lost in thought. "In fact you all were smarter than I gave you credit for. You could have figured me out, but you all were so... so focused on." His shoulders shook. "catching the culprit that you latched onto whatever crumbs were thrown your way."
A vein formed on her temple. Her fingers flexed, her lips parted like she was utter something.
Ha... what am I doing?
She laughed internally. Fighting with swords isn't going to solve this. I don't even know what he's fully capable of, maybe....
Shivers ran through her spine when she noticed his expression. It was of one who had discovered an annoying insect. She kept shifting her legs even though his attention wasn't on her. Her nails pinched her skin. "Aren't you gonna at least tell me your name?" His voice dropped. "Why would I? It's not like your memories are going to stay with you."
Wow...so much for basic manners. She lowered her face to wipe off the sweat with her shirt. "Looks like someone just tried to pry." He dusted his sleeves. "Let's not waste anymore time." Veronica stood still, refusing to let any tremor show. I... I just need an anchor. Her hand slipped into her satchel taking out a leather book that had seen better days.
♦♦♦
An earsplitting groan pierced the air. Zuri pressed her hands against her eyes, trying to ease the throbbing pain. Amare knelt beside her, hands hovering near hers. "What happened Zuri?" Fortunately she didn't go blind, but the pain persisted—no it seemed to be easing up—she couldn't tell.
"While using Veronica's pen for remote viewing, I saw her in a magical space. I tried to see more but suddenly a pair of pale eyes met mine." She rubbed her head. "Then this pain came over and my ability cut off."
Jared paced about the room. "No sign of that Aisha?" Zuri shook her head. "I didn't see her. Though I caught a glimpse of a face. It looked like a man." Monica's hand clenched around her dress. "Pale eyes. A man's face. It has to be him, I'll never forget him. The cause of Aisha's death."
Eniola Looked at her with a scrutinizing gaze. "You never told us how she died." Greg coughed, beating his chest. "We don't want to bore you with the details. Besides your friend need to be rescued, Vaelrith noticed our interference. We have to act now."
"But if you want to know, Vaelrith was a nuisance back then so while trying to seal him, she died." Jeremy said. Zuri's lips pressed into a thin line. "So how are we going to find his domain?"
Her question struck them. It was one thing to plan but it's useless if they can't figure out his whereabouts. The thought of Veronica, a human, standing against an entity who can kill her just for breathing wrong made their muscles weak. The underlying tension made the ticking wall clock feel like a count down.
Jared halted, as if remembering something important. "Wait, you said you played into the role of fellow victims." He pointed at Jeremy. "You must have met him as the therapist and received his card."
Jeremy lowered his head, not wanting to look at him. "I...I lost the card." His mother, Chisom sighed. "He didn't lose it, yes he did meet the therapist and we were monitoring the effects on him as well as providing mental protection.". She shrugged though her shoulders weren't relaxed. "I guess that guy picked up on it and...cut him off."
Greg turned aside to clear his throat. "It took longer to get him because the card just... vanished." Monica tapped her foot against the floor, rubbing her jaw. Just then she snapped her fingers with a smile. "Aisha had a book with details on Vaelrith. I'm sure there's notes on how to find him. Let's use that."