Cycle's End

1879

Adea wished she could say that she was back to where she was the first time the two of them snuck out to perform that revolting ritual. What happened when she was only 8-years-old, as far as she was concerned, paled in comparison to the way it made her feel this time around. Looking back, Adea remembered being just a frightened little girl desperate to put an end to her nightmares, and despite the terrible things she had to witness to achieve that, she had been ironically thankful for the sister who had gone to such dark places to help her.

This time was much different. Lyda told her that she was merely doing it to help her cleanse her dreams all over again, but she quickly proved her motives to be entirely selfish. Adea did not even want to think about it. Everything Lyda did that night she knew would haunt her for the rest of her life. Sure, she had regained total control over her dreams, but she questioned if she would have truly lost it after learning that it was Lyda, her own sister, who inflicted upon her the worst nightmare she had ever endured.

Four more years had passed since then. Adea was 16 now and had grown so much in every way. Much like her sister, she was beginning to be seen less like a child and more as the woman she was becoming. She and Lyda were now the same height as one another, with Lyda owning a mere half an inch on her. She had grown in maturity as well from the timid little girl she used to be. In spite of everything that happened that night, not a single bad dream had occurred and Adea had become much more engaged in the garden with her mother. Not only that, but over the last couple of years, she and Eran had developed a friendship closer than the others. She was happier now than she had been in a long time.

Lyda, however, was an entirely different story. For the first several months after their last trip to the Crossing, she had not spoken a word to her sister, and Adea could tell that she was beyond furious with her. Adea had been afraid to face her after having left her alone at the Crossing. Lyda had barely gotten home before their parents woke up, so they still remained unaware of their activities. Adea was relieved, but Lyda held a deep-set grudge against her that seemed to last an eternity. It had not gone unnoticed by their parents or their friends, who constantly asked what the problem was between them, but Lyda simply refused to acknowledge them. Adea, however, was too afraid to say anything. As much as she hated to admit it, she was scared of what Lyda might do. Perhaps it was best that everything they've done together remain a secret forever.

Lyda was now 18-years-old, and despite her increasingly withdrawn demeanor, it did not hinder her studies as a healer. She had taken her vows immediately after turning 17, making her younger even than Iris when she was recognized as a woman. It was surely a sign of a born prodigy, and her parents could not have been more proud of the woman she had become. Adea often wondered how their outlook on Lyda would change if they knew their secrets.

Even though Iris' job as a mentor had come to an end, she remained just as much a member of their family. She was like a long lost older sister to both Lyda and Adea. She was 25 now and had a family of her own. About a year after their last trip to the Crossing, Iris had married and bore a son whom she named Ash. It seemed, in spite of everything that Lyda and Adea had been through, the future was bright for everyone.

It was an unusually warm, spring evening as Adea sat on the steps of her cottage's porch with Eran by her side. She had spent the afternoon helping him and Ellis to gather fish they had trapped in the river at the bottom of the hill where her father would often do the same. After they were done, the two of them killed a couple of hours wandering up and down the hillside, just enjoying each other's company, until they finally made it back to her place.

"The sunlight is almost gone," Adea said softly. "Shouldn't you go before it gets too dark?"

"Nothing I'm not used to," Eran replied with a grin. "I've been hunting hours before the sun even comes up. You should come with us sometime."

"Uh, no," Adea responded in a playful tone. "I'll stick to the daylight."

"Still afraid of the dark," Eran teased her. "Haven't you gotten a little old for that?"

"Hey, I think I'm allowed one rational fear, don't you think?"

"Yes, but you're afraid of everything, Adi. Snakes, spiders, your creepy sister-"

"Oh, come on, I am not afraid of my sister," Adea interjected. "She is creepy though, I'll give you that."

The two of them laughed at the thought. "I worry about her sometimes," Eran said, thinking about Lyda her steady decline in attitude. "How has she been?"

Adea let out a sigh, trying not to let on that there was much more that she knew. "Oh, you know, same as usual. She rarely comes out of the cellar when she doesn't go out with Iris. She's at the point that she won't even bother to speak full sentences to anyone in the family. She's becoming more like our-" Adea was cut off by the sudden unnerving thought of Lyda possibly going down a similar path as their deceased Aunt Mara. She feared that if her declination continued, she might have no choice but to tell their parents everything. That was the last thing she wanted to do.

"Hey," Eran tried to get her attention. "Are you alright?"

Adea shook herself back to her senses. "Yes, of course! I was just thinking about Lyda."

Eran gave a slight nod of his head. "Has she been to the Valley lately? You said that Iris was helping her seek employment there."

"Yes, but I don't know what's happening with any of that. She hasn't been to the Valley in weeks. I'm worried that she's giving up on herself."

"That's ridiculous!" Eran responded in disbelief. "She's so intelligent, one of the youngest healers ever to take their vows!"

"Gee, thank you. That makes me feel terrific," Adea joked.

Eran laughed awkwardly. "Oh, you know I didn't mean it like that."

"Well, you're not wrong." Adea groaned.

"I know. It doesn't help her case that she refuses to take on a student of her own. Is she at least seeing somebody yet?"

"No," Adea shook her head. "She's not the social butterfly she used to be, Eran. Honestly, she's nothing like the sister I once had. It's upsetting to say the least."

Eran stood up, twisting around to crack his back. "It's getting pretty late. I should probably go." As Adea stood up by his side, he looked back at her and smiled, admiring everything about the young woman she had grown into. "At least you haven't changed."

"I don't know," Adea said, glancing down with a smile. "I feel like I've changed a bit too."

"For the better," Eran replied. Adea raised her eyes to meet his, unable to stop her smile from growing. The two stepped into a firm embrace, seemingly unwilling to let go of one another. When they separated, Adea rested her arms around her shoulders as they gazed into each other's eyes. Eran opened his mouth as if to say something, but he could not find any words to say. After what felt to them like a lengthy, awkward pause, the two of them moved into a passionate kiss. It was the first they had ever shared together, but somehow, Adea felt as though it was long overdue. For once in her life, she felt like she was in the right place.

The cottage had been so quiet that evening, inside and out. Lost in their own company, neither of them noticed Lyda emerge from the cellar. She made her way to the kitchen, looking around as if to make sure that she would not run into anyone. As usual, she was not in the mood to interact with anybody. After pouring a small cup of milk for herself, she headed back down the foyer, but before she could turn the corner to retreat back down into the cellar, something caught her eye.

Lyda looked up, stopping in her tracks when she spotted Adea and Eran through the glass window of the front door. It was dark outside, but she could clearly see her sister standing there locked in Eran's arms and kissing him. There were no thoughts going through her head as she watched, only instincts; shameless instincts of roiling jealousy at the sight of her sister, still recognized as a girl, in the affectionate embrace of a young man. Much of her wanted to feel betrayed by her own friend as well, but she soon snapped herself out of it. These were thoughts unbefitting of an oracle, as she was training herself in secret to become. She still had much to do tonight and had business wasting her time here. Looking away from the repulsive sight, Lyda slipped down into the cellar, locking the door behind her.

"Who do you think you are?" Lyda growled to herself, unable to steer her irrational thoughts away from her sister. "Do you think yourself superior to me? Don't forget who gave you everything you have now!"

Her frustration was turning into indignation the more she allowed the thoughts to linger. In a strange way, she found this mood helpful. Lyda knelt her bedside and pulled a thin, folded sheet of cloth from underneath it. It was five by five-foot square cut of cloth, light gray in color. Lyda unfolded the sheet and laid it out on the cellar floor. It was a plain cloth when she had bought it in the Valley, but upon bringing it back here, she painted upon it her own personal makeshift ritual circle, modeled after the one found on the pages of Aunt Mara's book. This way she no longer needed to make a mess by wasting her father's lime.

At first, Lyda would set up a circle once or twice a week after everyone had gone to bed, simply to meditate; to clear her mind, acclimate to the power she gained from their last ritual four years ago, and focus on everything she sought to achieve in the future.

Lyda's memory of that night was unusually fuzzy. The best she remembered was Adea losing it and taking Hazel back to the house, leaving her at the Crossing alone. It infuriated her beyond reasoning, and she had a lot of time during the walk back to allow her anger to simmer. As the years went by, the wounds she felt never really healed. Though she and her sister were long since back on speaking terms, Lyda's grudge still ran too deep, so much that she doubted she would ever go out of her way to help Adea again in her hour of need. Ungrateful bitch, she thought without so much as a hint of shame. In her lowest moments, she mused over the idea of forcibly inflicting nightmares upon Adea again, if only to teach her a lesson through suffering that she would not soon forget. The only thing keeping her from doing so was telling herself that continuing to bring someone as weak as Adea along this path with her was detrimental to the future she sought for herself.

To Lyda's disbelief, however, she could not remember the things Adea frantically told her about that night, like how she manipulated the fire burning the heart in a psychic manner. Adea claimed that that was the reason she ran away from the ritual site, and the following night, Lyda experimented with her bedside candle. Much to her excitement, she was able to control the tiny flame with simple direction from her mind. She knew Adea would never trust her again after the lies she told her about her dreams. At the same time, Lyda was concerned about alienating her sister from all this. She was desperate that night. The whispers in her head had her convinced that the two of them needed to see this through all the way. They started this together. The only question lingering in her mind was where was this truly going? As yet another four year mark approached, Lyda could hear the whispers again, just as before, and she could not escape the feeling that it would soon be time to return to the Crossing. It seemed as though she was bound to this every four years. Why, she had yet to determine. What was the end goal of all this? More importantly, what of Adea's involvement?

"What am I supposed to do with her?" Lyda said as she sat in the center of the circle, closing her eyes in deep thought. "If I had known how far I planned to go with this, I would never have brought Adea into it. I only did it to help her out of the kindness of my heart."

"Well, now you see what kindness gets you," she answered herself.

"It was more than that. We should have done this together! I wanted us to take this path as sisters."

"Clearly she doesn't want to. Maybe she doesn't even want a sister."

Lyda clenched her eyes and teeth. "After everything I've done for her!" she hissed the line again. "She can't just turn her back on me like that!"

Lyda's eyes flew open. There was a sound like rushing air filling her ears as she lost her focus, and as it stopped, Lyda fell a few inches back onto the sheet. She had been so lost in her meditative rage that she did not even notice she had levitated off the floor. Ordinarily, she would have been shocked by this, but as far as she was concerned, she was not ordinary. Not anymore. In the years since the last ritual, she wondered if Adea even realized that she had gained everything Lyda had as well. What would happen if Adea got wise? Lyda knew that there was no way her sister would go along with her any further. What if she decided to be a hindrance?

"She won't go back with me," Lyda continued talking to herself. "I just need to cut her loose."

"And what if you can't? You both started this. You both need to finish it."

"But I still don't understand."

"Yes you do. Remember what you read in the pages of Aunt Mara's book. Your ancestors knew all about it. The ritual you initiated runs in a twelve-year cycle."

"I remember. But when does it end?"

"It ends when you perform the final ritual. The time is coming soon."

"What happens when I do?"

"Treasures. Wisdom. Power. Everything you could ever desire. They called him the Dark Twin, but he is a benevolent Spirit to those who have the heart to seek out his gifts. It's you. It's your turn now. Perform the final ritual. You still have weeks to prepare. When you do it, there will be no limits to the treasures laid at your feet. The world will be like a blissful dream."

"And after that? It's only been eight years now. What happens when the twelve-year cycle ends?"

"Nobody knows. There was nothing in the pages to explain that. But there's no turning back now. You know what you have to do. Are you strong enough?"

At that thought, Lyda closed her eyes, took in a deep inhale, and outstretched her arms. Just then, the objects on the shelves on either side of the cellar shook and lifted from where they sat. Soon after, the shelves were raised into the air as well. Lyda felt a rush of adrenaline coursing through her body. This power alone was incredible. Her mind swarmed with excitement over what treasures could possibly await her when she returned to the Crossing. Last time, she was reluctant to go through that again, though she never would've let her sister know that. Now she wished that she could do it again tonight, but she had to be patient. Her time would come. The only thing standing in her way was Adea. Somehow, she would have to cut her out of this. She search the pages of the old tome a hundred times over if she had to to find a way to finish this alone. It was for the best.

After a long minute, Lyda relaxed and allowed everything around her to fall back into place, cringing as the shelves toppled over with loud thuds. After a brief moment of silence, she sighed in relief when she did not hear her father waking.

"I can do this," Lyda said softly. "I'll finish what I started and reap everything, but what will I sacrifice when the time comes? Neither a hen nor a cat will suffice. What else would I need?"

"That's the wrong question to ask yourself." As if acting on instinct, Lyda raised her left hand toward her bed as the knife used to cut the hearts from her previous sacrifices flew out from under the bed and into her hand. She stared at it, gently and somewhat intimately stroking the blade. "Instead, ask yourself just how far you're willing to go."

Lyda closed her eyes again as the anxious rush returned to sweep beneath her flesh. All second thoughts of doubt and notions of vice were emptying from her very spirit. It felt good, everything she was doing. Everything she was about to do. As she opened her eyes, she spread a mischievous grin across her face, and unbeknownst to her, her right eye began to glisten a faint hue of yellow.