Page 105 of Of Mercury and Mist

When I’d been working with Josiah and we reached this stage of the process, we’d shoot people up with vile energy harvested from wraiths, sending it straight to their hearts. The beings were the aimless, wandering souls of deceased lower level demons full of anger, loss, bitterness, and the uncontrollable urge to devour souls. They were famished, and unable to ever fill the void within.

Often, when Josiah and I would reach this point of the torture, the victim would die.

THIRTY-SEVEN

Ashley

The hours melted away and Samuel never put me back inside the golden cage. I passed the time sitting in the living room drinking tea or playing checkers with either Mandy or a wraith. Board games were a bit different with a disembodied soul, but I managed. It was just odd not being able to clearly see my companion since it was a blur out of the corner of my eye. The red and black chips would levitate or shoot across the board, and I’d have to guess where they wanted their piece placed.

It felt like I was dreaming. Like I was trapped in an alternate universe and observing my own actions, watching things happen to me rather than having things happen because I made a decision to perform a certain act. It was as if I were split in two and the half of me that felt real was frustratingly out of reach every time I tried to latch on.

So, I ignored her.

The times I fought against my fugue state, Samuel, Mandy, or a wraith was right there plunging me back into the abyss of my mind plying me with words or food and beverages.

We attended many a party, and Samuel even took me back to the rustic bar in the village, “for old time’s sake.” The barmaid, Suzy, had been thrilled to see me and congratulated Samuel on a “job well done.”

Something about their exchange had stayed with me. I wasn’t certain if it was her talk of loyalty and responsibility, or her lamentations over Lord Ezra’s demise. I just knew it didn’t sit right.

The reminiscing between the two had brought my hallucination of Micha back to mind and I’d watched them as intently as I could. Which wasn’t saying much, given my state, but I clung to the picture in my head. For whatever reason, I couldn’t let it go. I knew it was significant, the way my heart raced, and my breath caught in my throat. Micha meant something to me, something life changing that I didn’t want to be without.

“Here, love,” Samuel came to a stop in front of me, holding a glass of white wine that I accepted.

He sat down in the armchair to my left, the small table holding the checkerboard between us. “Thank you,” I said, and lifted the glass to my lips.

A snickering sound behind my head had me twisting to see what was there and the wine sloshed over the rim a little bit. I set the glass down and wiped my hand with the edge of my skirt. My skin glittered where the liquid had splashed, turning iridescent under the gentle candlelight.

Samuel waved his hand at the wraith behind me in annoyance before getting up and returning with a bottle. “Here, let me top that off for you,” he said, taking the glass.

My heart thudded in my chest as the back of my neck prickled. Something had changed. Slowly, I slid my hand up my leg and placed my forearm on the rest. The fine sheen remained, and a sense of foreboding blanketed me.

My drink was handed back to me and Samuel kissed the top of my head before he left the room. Curious, I held the glass beside the burning candle to my right. The longer I stared into its depths, the more the wine sparkled until it didn’t appear potable anymore.

I knew I couldn’t drink it.

Several large potted ferns lined the walls, creating a lush atmosphere and plenty of spaces for mischievous wraiths to lurk and hide. Nobody watered the plants, or trimmed them, or did anything else with them that I’d noticed since I’d arrived.

I brought my wine over to one of the plants and poured it over the loamy soil.

This became my ritual, whenever possible. The wraiths followed me around, watching and waiting, and it was difficult to dispose of the poison at times. I did whatever I could to distract them, sometimes dropping jewelry on the floor since they had an appreciation for shiny objects. I also discovered they liked cheese, and I would toss a few slices of cheddar their way in order to rush over to the plants while they were distracted.

Slowly, my head began to clear, until one day everything came back to me with a vengeance. I was horrified. I’d been wined, dined, drugged, and paraded around like a show dog for the crowds at the palace.

The worst part was, I realized Micha had come for me and all I’d done was stare at him dismissively while he was dragged away. There was no way to find out if he was still here—or if he was even alive.

Anything could’ve happened while I was high and drunk against my will. It had been too difficult to figure out if the environment and atmosphere was negatively affecting me, or if something else was going on. I suspected it was a combination of the two because I’d never drunk as much—ever, as I had while in the Second Realm. But now I knew, and I was doing something about it.

I cut back on the amount of food I consumed, and I tossed my drinks into the houseplants whenever I could. Obviously, I couldn’t go without water, so I began taking it from the bathroom sink and praying it had been untouched.

My plan worked. Samuel was none the wiser and I continued to act as if I were completely under his control. Laughing, giggling, eagerly accepting whatever he gave me, and acting delighted with him in general.

A wraith almost caught me once by the ferns, but I pretended I was chasing it and fooling around, and it seemed to buy my act. Dropping my glass on the floor as I laughed, it’d swooped around me.

“Are you okay, love?” Samuel asked, after hearing the commotion.

“The wraiths are so tricky,” I’d said, clasping his arms and allowing him to lead me back to my seat by the table.

“I don’t know why you’re always going after them; stay away.”

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