Page 8 of Losing The Vampire King
“On second thought, do make me some tea,” I correct myself, feeling like the worst guy in the world. “A hot beverage might do the trick.”
She immediately brightens up at me having changed my mind. “I’ll go make it immediately,” she says. “Then, we can drink it while sitting here and looking at the stars.”
“That sounds great,” I grin.
For a moment, I think she might lean closer and kiss me, but she seems to change her mind in the last minute. For some reason, I am relieved. She smiles instead, retiring to her cabin. I hear faint clanking of dishes, then silence again. I’m not that particularly thirsty for tea, but I feel like I am causing her more pain than I should be, even in this situation.
I want to tell her that I am trying to remember, but nothing is working. I sigh as I remember the dream again. What could it mean? Is it some symbolic shit that this loss of memory is preventing me from being intimate with the woman I love… or loved? Or is there more to this story that I need to unearth?
There are too many questions. They can’t all fit inside my head. Then again, I don’t want them to. I want to wake up and remember who I am. I want to look in the mirror and recognize the man looking back at me, but I can’t do any of those things.
Like Gala says, we need to be patient. Only, patience requires a pacified mind. Mine is anything but calm. Mine is a whirlwind of questions, of mysteries, of danger that is lurking behind every tree in this forest, where Gala is urging me not to go.
I feel like these shadows are beckoning me to come to them, almost as if they might hold the key to my memory.
“Here is the tea,” I hear Gala say, as she approaches, carrying a tray with two tea cups. She offers me the one to her right.
“Thanks,” I say, taking it into my hands.
Just as I’m about to bring it to my lips, a cool breeze hits me right in the face. I exhale loudly, scratching my nose with the upper part of my hand. She looks at me questioningly, waiting. I smile reassuringly, taking a sip.
It is a little sweet. I guess she put a little too much honey in it.
“Is it good?” she asks.
“I’m hoping it’ll send me into a deep sleep tonight,” I smile back, not even slightly aware of how right I will eventually be.
Chapter Five
Bianca
The healer’s hut is like something from that old fairy tale, Hansel and Gretel. Only, her hut isn’t made of candy and sweets, but mud and branches, extending over a deep hole in the ground. I stand in front of it, just staring.
“No wonder it took me ages to find you,” I murmur to myself.
I look at the door, which isn’t a door at all, but some sort of a curtain, made of leaves, branches and dry mud. I wonder if this is a good idea. Then, I remember what my mother told me. This nymph is one of the oldest still living. Her knowledge of both the human world and the world beyond their grasp is immeasurable. If anyone knows the extent of nightshade poisoning and how to heal from it, it would be her. I inhale deeply, wondering what it is I am getting myself into.
Suddenly, somewhere in the distance, a crow caws at me, making that unique, fearsome sound. I jump with fright, feeling my heartbeat with the palm of my hand, half-expecting some monster to come out from the shadows and devour me. But nothing like that happens. I am alone here, in the woods, with my own treacherous thoughts, in front of a door I need to go through.
I can’t remember the last time I felt this afraid. Maybe it was when the skin walkers thought I betrayed them, and they were out to get me. I had Eddie with me then. I could rely on him for help, although we were strangers to each other. Now, I am alone in this. There is no one I can count on, but myself.
I try to keep my fear under control, to make it work for me, instead of against me. I approach the entrance to the hut, inhaling deeply. I wonder if she already knows that I’m coming. Judging from what my mother told me, this old lady knows things beyond the grasp of the physical realm. Her eyes see more than a mere mortal’s eyes and her ears hear more as well.
I touch the earthy curtain with my fingers, revealing a passageway. It feels wrong entering someone’s home like this, without knocking, but there is nowhere to knock. I hesitate. I know I need to be here, but I would feel much more at ease if I would see the lady of the house. Then, I decide to call out, while I’m still here, on the threshold.
“Halia?” I say her name a little more silently than I planned to.
I look past the earthy curtain, at the small flickering light inside, that dances in shades of yellow, orange and red. I can only assume that this is fire.
“Who goes there?” I hear a deep, wise voice from inside.
“I… I’m Bianca,” I say, my voice trembling. “I am the daughter of – “
“I know who you are,” the disembodied voice interrupts me. “What I do not know is why you are standing there, without deciding whether you wish to come inside or return where you came from. Make your choice and stop wasting my time.”
I have to admit, I wasn’t expecting her to be so… direct.
In an effort to show her that I wasn’t afraid, well at least not that much afraid, I take a step inside. The moment I do that, I feel like I have stepped into a different world. There are dried herbs and garlic hanging on all the walls, including some flowers that I have never seen before. The shelves are stacked with old books, leather bound, that seemed to be well read. In the far end, there is a fireplace. Over it, there is a cauldron, with something bubbling inside.
