CHAPTER 11: SYMBOLS

PRESENT

"The whole thing, Azura, and, not a sad measly sip." She said, with a stoic face. Her tone did not leave any room for any more arguments.

I swallowed the entire content of the cup, might as well just get it over and done with quickly. We both stared at each other afterward; our eyes locked in an intense staring battle which for me was a move to assert dominance even though I could barely stand up whereas for her, this was just to pass time and her posture made it very clear.

Suddenly I feel tingles at the tips of my fingers and toes, the tingles gradually fade away and give way to a numbness that spreads all around me. The room starts to spin, and I can no longer hold on to the cup, and it falls to the ground; the sound of the cup is the last thing I see before my eyes close and darkness engulfs me Of course, the drink a mysterious stranger gave me was tainted; I should know better than to trust people.

I wake up, and I am in the forest with people screaming; the ground is rumbling and the smell of blood is in the air. The scene before me looks all too familiar, and I can't help but wonder why, the sound of someone screaming brings me back: it is a woman in pain, it is my mother. At that moment, it finally clicks as to why this entire scene looks so familiar; this scene is straight out of my nightmare. This was the place my world shifted and the reality of who I was came crashing down on me.

I stand frozen as I am forced to relieve the horror of watching my mother being killed and dragged into the depths of the underworld all over again. Just like the first time, my body is filled with so many negative emotions, which translates into bloodlust. My eyes and body are glowing and get even brighter with each head I decapitate. The ground has gone from mere rumbles to full-on shaking with the amount of blood that has been spilled, my senses are sharp, but my blade is sharper; I slice through their necks like its cloth. The sight of the blood fountains erupting from where their heads once were and the blood coating my clothes only makes me crazier and more upset. I turn around with the full intent of doling out the same treatment to the remaining two men as their fellow companions, but they disappear into a black mist before I could get to them. Right before they disappeared, I lock eyes with one of the men and I get that sense of familiarity. I fall to the ground and finally let my tears fall. I cry till I pass out.

I wake up, and I am on the outskirts of a village, a dagger flies past me as I shift to dodge it. What is going on? Why am I reliving all these events?

Zizire and I are once again fighting. He looks so different without, the stitches on his neck, the markings, and the glowing white eyes.

"My name is Zizire, remember that name when you stand before the gods to receive your punishment in the afterlife!" he screamed before charging toward me.

He jumps on me, and we fall to the ground. I am not a fan of the headache I had after this particular fall. I push him off me, and we keep fighting after he gets up. Even though I know what is coming next, I can do nothing to stop it. Our swords clash against each other, and we are in each other's faces, our eyes lock, and I am face to face with those particular set of eyes again. He stabs me in the thigh with a dagger and the pain jolts me.

I black out again and when I come to, I am reluctant to open my eyes again.

I decide to take a peek at my surroundings, and I am back in the forest with Membe. I try to open my mouth and tell him about what has been happening because maybe by some stroke of luck, he would be able to help me escape this nightmarish loop, but as usual, he cuts me off before I can get a word out. Even if he did not start speaking, given the past two experiences, I doubt it. I would have been able to say anything.

"Was this call to let me know that you are finally going back to your village?" he asks with a smirk. As usual, I have no control over what happens in these scenes. All I can do is sit back in my head and let the scene unfold before me.

"What you said implies that I once lived there and then decided to leave. You make it sound like there is someone waiting for me that misses me; there are people who are awaiting my return, but it is only to present my head on a platter to the gods as a peace offering." I say while twirling my freshly sharpened daggers and catching the sight of something interesting in the bushes behind him.

Before Membe could respond with another one of his monologues, I throw one of my daggers at his head. Membe disappears into the mist out of fright and shock.

I hit my mark on the hooded figure's shoulder. The figure I now know is Zizire back from the dead.

"You are getting sloppy half-breed" Zizire replies, still keeping the hood over his head. Everything happens just like before; I goad him until I get to him, thus forcing him to reveal his identity.

The plan works, and he angrily rips off the hood, and my eyes widen briefly before I school back my expression, but just like the first time, he caught the look and smirks.

His eyes are completely white, and they are glowing, his arms are now covered with markings that glow white as well, and he has a tiny turtle shell strung onto a rope and tied around his neck.

Just like the first two times, a force pushes me out of that scene, causing me to black out once more.

I wake up, and I am at the entrance of my mother's hut back in her village, but she is not alone, the chief priest is present as well. They are both engrossed in a conversation, the markings on their bodies and the turtle shell they each possess in one form of jewelry are extremely similar to what Zizire had when he came back to life. But, unlike their markings which are drawn with chalk; his is embedded in his skin, just like mine are. Suddenly, the diviner stops talking and stares in my direction and I freeze, not knowing what to do at this moment. The chief priest also stops talking when he realizes that she had stopped paying attention, and he follows her line of sight.; now they are both staring at me.

"Did you hear something?" He asks. "Are you okay"

"It feels like we are being watched." She replied whilst rubbing her arms, "Like someone or something is standing at the entrance."

"I am not seeing anything but then again just in case let me do this." He replied and then reached into his bag and pulled out a gourd containing what looked like ash, then muttered some words under his breath and threw it at me. Hands grabbed at my ankles and draw me into the ground.

I awake again, expecting to be at some other bizarre memory, but I am back at the hut with the woman staring at me with a stupid smirk firmly planted on her.

"So, what did you learn, Azura." she asked calmly.