Small beams of sunlight filtered through the boarded windows and highlighted the neglect that painted the room. Decaying wallpaper hung in tattered ribbons, the floorboards were marred by deep surface cracks, and piles of dust and refuse were swept up against the walls and into the corners.
In the centre of the room sat a girl. Unwashed, knotted hair of indeterminable colour fell over her face and across her shoulders, barely hiding the scabs and growths that grew in clusters across her dirt-stained skin or the harsh shape of her ribs beneath her tattered dress. She sat motionless, cross-legged, the slight rise and fall of her chest her only movement.
Time slowly passed and the tiny sunbeams turned from yellow to orange and then darkened, drowning the room in a black fog. As though in response, the girl stretched her arms above her head.
"Up," she commanded.
The filth that surrounded her brightened. Each particle emitted its own faint light then rose into the air as the girl swept her hands from side to side and motioned for the mass to merge into a thick cloud. When it was in place, she cupped both hands against her lips and blew a soft breath towards it, transforming the makeshift cloud into strings of grey-white smoke that spiralled around the room and filled the area with a pleasant yet unknown smell.
"I believe that this particular scent is lavender, Alexandria," said Authrum, the voice that lived in her head.
Alexandria smiled.
"Lavender." She inhaled deeply. She didn't know what lavender was but it smelt nice — really nice — nicer than most smells she had grown accustomed to. "What is lavender?"
A field of purple flowers flittered into view, their long, delicate stems swaying from side to side alongside the sway of her summoned smoke, then the image vanished as suddenly as it had appeared.
"Oh my… it's very pretty," she breathed.
"Perhaps after this night you will at last see such delights with your own eyes." Authrum's warm voice held a hint of a smile that caused her own to widen. "The moon rises. Are you ready to begin?"
Alexandria's smile vanished. Closing her eyes, she drew a quick breath and held it for a long moment before her chest tightened and demanded she release it.
Every thirty-three nights Authrum helped her to perform various activities — he called them ‘rituals’ — in the hopes that one day she would be strong enough to transport herself from this world to his. She didn't belong here. There was nothing more in this world that she wanted than to leave, to escape, but Authrum's rituals... they were painful, and very bloody, and sometimes she wondered if they would ever work.
A lump grew in her throat and she quickly swallowed it. She would not cry; she had cried too much already.
"Your abilities are growing, Alexandria. I truly believe you have the power to succeed." A brief touch of a hand sat upon her shoulder before the sensation disappeared. Authrum was intangible; untouchable; a figment of her thoughts and yet he was realer than anything else she had known. "What you lack, my dear, is confidence."
A light breeze manifested from the nothingness and surrounded her body, softly coaxing her eyes to open and to stare at the smoke she had created. The soft grey-white tendrils danced with the breeze, spiralling about the room in rhythmic waves, up and down, side to side.
"You consistently banish the filth from these paltry living quarters with ease, transforming muck into wisps and scents derived from flora you've never encountered. You. I did nothing. You could transform this building into a great bird and fly away on its wings, if only you trusted my teachings. No one else in this realm can perform such feats."
"In this realm," Alexandria repeated, her tears welling before she could stop them. "People in your realm can do these things. I belong there. I belong with you!"
A silent pause lingered for an overly long moment before Authrum spoke again, his tone more exasperated than she had ever heard.
"Then do it, child. Trust in your abilities. Trust in me. Trust in the possibilities that I've allowed you to witness. Transport yourself from this disgusting pit and come to me. Come home."
Alexandria clenched her eyes so tight that bright dots flashed behind her eyelids.
Authrum’s strange voice had appeared in her mind since she was six years old and had spoken to her, comforted her, shown her so many things: vibrant fields awash with colour and backed by snow-topped mountains, bright buildings that were so tall they touched the clouds and so glossy they reflected the sky, and people… there were so many people. They smiled, laughed, danced, and ate bizarre foods that looked so different to the small chunks she was given. Her father, the only person she had ever seen, would only grunt, snarl, drink and smoke until he fell asleep.
It was hard to know if the visions were even real. This fantastic world that Authrum showed to her was just that: fantastic! But it was also a great mystery. How could she trust in such possibilities that she had never experienced — could never experience? The walls that surrounded her were real; her life was real.
“I grow impatient, Alexandria. The moon rises.”
Authrum’s aura darkened. A chill swept through the air and sent goosebumps over her skin and she wrapped her arms tight about her body. He had never sounded so annoyed nor had he admitted to such impatience before. This was unlike the calm and kind person she had come to know.
She opened her mouth to voice her concerns but heavy footsteps shook the floorboards.
“Godammit, Alexandria!” Her father’s voice roared outside the door. “How the fuck you lightin’ fires in there? Gonna burn the fuckin’ house down.”
Stunned, Alexandria watched as her summoned smoke danced beneath the door and into the hallway. She had lost control of it; it was supposed to stay in the room! The footsteps drew closer. Wood shattered as her father burst through the lock on the door and she paled as Authrum chuckled. Authrum…
“Where the fuck is this smoke comin’ from? What are you burning?” Her father yelled, clenching his fists as he stepped towards her.
The pungent whiff of cigarettes and whiskey radiated from him and ruined the lovely scent of lavender she had created for herself. He was as thin as she but not quite as dirty and his clothing was far cleaner than her rags would ever be, his eyes were dark, red-rimmed, and his glare was hot, hotter than any fire she could have created. What if… could she actually create fire?
Authrum’s chuckle transformed into a full-bellied laugh.
“Yes, dear Alexandria, you can create whatever you desire. Your will transcends the mantle of humanity if you would only trust in your abilities!”
She yelped as her father’s fist flew into her stomach and sent her frame sprawling against the wall.
“Answer me, bitch!” The floorboards shook as her father stormed towards her, creaking and moaning beneath the unaccustomed weight of another body. “You tryin’ to set my house on fire?”
“No— I…”
“Don’t lie to me!”
A crack emanated through her eardrums as her skull met the wall twice, thrice and over again. Warm blood spilled from her nose and dripped down her chin, the tears that she wanted to cry now impossible to summon amidst the onslaught.
“Please…”
“The moon rises, Alexandria. Focus your will and take your leave from this pathetic, little man. Claim what is rightfully yours.”
Faint spots appeared and intermingled with her sight and her breath grew short, ragged, a chorus of grunts and wheezes. Thick fingers tightened around her throat and the spots brightened, encompassing all she could see. Another crack echoed through her ears as her head met the floor. She barely felt it. She was disconnecting herself just as she had last time her father burst through the door in a rage. This was not the end; that would be too easy.
“The moon rises.”
Authrum’s voice rose an octave within her mind. Could he not see that she was busy? There was no time for his silly little rituals that would never work. She was stuck here. This was her life, forever. A tear at last found its way from her eye and rolled down her cheek, mingling with the blood that pooled beneath her face.
Forever.
“I tire of this!”
Authrum’s voice flew through her mind and escaped her mouth in one guttural howl that forced her father from her body and flung him into the opposite wall. Her eyesight broken and waning, she could scarcely see his crumpled silhouette as Authrum’s will made her climb to her feet and march her bruised and bloodied limbs towards the man.
“Use this vessel for the rite,” Authrum snapped with her own voice. “Be swift. The moon has risen.”
Compelled to follow Authrum’s instruction, to please the bodiless man from another realm who had offered her kindness and hope in a world that only allowed her despair, Alexandria raised a trembling hand towards her father and focussed as she had been taught.
An image of her father’s fiery eyes burst into mind and flames simultaneously appeared in a circle around his body. The fire was her will. Sparks and embers rose into the air and imitated the flaming ring below, churning round and round until it was but a burning haze; a glowing jewel that siphoned what remained of her father’s soul and tossed it back and forth like a plaything.
A cool confidence replaced all that she had once feared. She knew it to be Authrum’s influence, but she did not care. She would have his help; accept it with all of her heart. She would find freedom and fly from this world upon wings of flame borne from her will. This was her chance, her only chance, there would never be another. She would succeed in her quest for freedom, for life in a world where she would be welcomed… there was no other choice. Success was mandatory.
With an ear-shattering creak, the roof ripped itself from the house and smashed into a line of cars waiting out in the street. Yells and screams were evident but could barely be heard over the wailing wind as a great gust swooped into the opened room and lifted both Alexandria and her father into the starlit sky. The moon was full and shone its bright light upon her, akin to a beam from the heavens that raised her into glory. This was it. This was her moment. Floating in mid-air amongst the clouds, the flames licked and danced all ‘round as she stared, mesmerised and entranced by this feat. Authrum was right. She could do this. She had the ability to do this.
White flashes lit up the clouds, followed by a soft, rumbling thunder. The sky had been clear mere moments ago. She had the ability to change the very weather!
“Focus, Alexandria. The smallest break in your attention will doom my efforts. Our efforts.”
Alexandria wanted nothing more than to leave this wretched existence and find a place in the delightful realm that Authrum so often spoke of. Euphoria and joy rushed through her veins alongside her living blood but she curbed it the best she could. She must focus. She would not fail.
A chunk of flesh tore from her father’s arm, followed by another and another until his bloodied body was nothing but gore and bone. A faint relief flooded her heart, for this time it was not herself experiencing this torment. Every thirty-three nights she would rip herself apart under Authrum’s guidance and try to transport herself into his world, and every thirty-four days she would have to will her flesh to return. This was much better when it was someone else’s flesh. Maybe that had been the issue all along.
The bright moonlight pierced through the clouds and sent them away though the thunder remained, growling louder and louder until it sounded as though it were emanating from within her own thoughts. A giant crack echoed across her mindscape and made its way into the known world. The air rumbled, the starlit sky rippled and wavered, and the spinning flames stopped their rotation for the tiniest moment then renewed its cycle with force. Twisted by the forceful flames, her father’s body exploded in a crimson rain and a million impossible colours tore through the sky.
That wasn’t supposed to happen.
Her attention broken, Alexandria trod thin air then flailed as she came tumbling from the sky, falling faster and faster each eternal second as booming thunder echoed across the cloudless expanse. Dark shadows — vaguely human silhouettes — loomed overhead, obstructing the moon. Authrum’s laughter rang out and filled the void, followed by the laughter of other, unfamiliar voices.
She was going to die. She deserved it; she had just murdered her father!
Tears fell from her eyes as quick as she fell from the sky. Then, just before her body met the ground, warm arms wrapped around her and held her close, straightening her so that she lightly touched the wooden floorboards of her roofless room feet-first.
Licking her lips, she peered up into the slanted green eyes of the human-esque creature that had saved her. It had an elegant face, contoured by sharp bony ridges in place of cheeks and eyebrows, and black markings were painted in strange patterns along his neck and across his exposed chest. Crimson robes as red as her father’s blood billowed around him, adorned with golden chains and rubies that harnessed the moon and shone bright with their stolen light. He patted her shoulder and offered a smile, showcasing rows of pointed teeth, and suddenly she knew.
“Authrum,” she whispered.
“You have performed so very well, Alexandria,” he purred as more of his ilk flew from the coloured tears in the sky, followed by beasts both beautiful and bizarre, and together they filled the air with shrieking laughter and guttural roars that shook the foundations of the house; of the ground beneath the house; of the entire world. “I hope you are pleased. After all, dearest child, your new life is ready and waiting for you. I do assume you are ready. Of course you are. Look at all you have just achieved! You are more than ready.”
Before she could respond, he grasped her hand and yanked her over the crumbling walls that remained of her father’s house and brought her down to the grass below. It was so soft. She opened and closed her toes as car horns honked, as people screamed and ran, as a hundred dogs barked and howled beneath the endless cacophony. In the distance, crashes and alarms could be heard as she assumed cars smashed into one another, into houses, as the world around her went mad with whatever she had just done. She tried to swallow but couldn’t, her throat was dry and no matter how much she tried she just couldn’t relieve herself of the hacking feeling in her throat.
She was supposed to enter a new realm, not bring the new realm here. This was not what was supposed to happen. She had failed. She buried her toes further into the grass and inwardly wept, for her body refused to relinquish the tears and anguish that fought so violently within.
“Welcome to your new world, my dearest." Authrum squeezed her hand and pulled her out into the street, onto the cold, hard road. "Let us see what marvels await, shall we?” He smiled. "And perhaps a change of attire."
A year or so ago I wrote a little something about plotting, planning, and writing again, then never mentioned it again. xD
At last, after months of feeling very uncreative, I finally sat down and wrote the first rough chapter of The Worldmeld -- title not set in stone. Of course my brain refused to finish Joey and Jenny's tale, but it is what it is. I must write what's in my head. This is why I have ten half-finished books in my Scrivener, HAHA! Better half-finished than not even started.
This started off decently, I think, but then devolved into a mass of freewriting at the end there. I struggled with the small domestic violence scene. It's the only one in the entire story I have planned and it needs work. But at least it's there and ready to be worked on. I want Alexandria to be a character one is sympathetic to despite the things that she does and is manipulated to do. Not so sure I conveyed that well.
I'm on the fence in regards to if I want this to be a single large novel or a several book serial. We'll see how it goes!
I'm not going to pressure myself to keep writing like I did earlier this year. Chapter two might be here next week; it might be here four months from now. Hell, with my scatter-brain the next thing I write could be Joey and Jenny. Come what may. I hope you enjoy it. 🙂
Thank you for stopping by!! ❤️
Alexandria is a teenage girl neglected from birth, abused by those who are meant to love her, and blessed by a powerful being from another realm. Desperate to find refuge in the other realm, she performs ritual after ritual in an attempt to free herself only to unintentionally fulfill the powerful being's secret desire -- to meld the two realms into one that he can rule over.
Chaos ensues. In the short span of ten years the world becomes overgrown, apocalyptic, and nothing is as it once was.
Henry and Sebastian are friends pulled into the madness, their every abhorrent action a method of ensuring their daily survival, and seek their own escape from this new life they reprehend and did not wish for. Forging terms for an escape ends in deceit, separating the men from one another and forcing them to find their own paths; Sebastian a thrall under orders to "rebalance" power and Henry an ally to bush creatures once believed myth.
Can Sebastian bring balance to the chaos or will he bring further ruin to the world? Is it possible for Alexandria and her Demon to be overthrown? Will Henry ever find his friend again?*
*Not an actual blurb, but gives the gist. 😅