Chapter 8 Of Dreams and Dark Places

Lester didn't dream of a flawless man or endless gray skies, nor did he dream of blazing fire and a thrumming light. Instead he dreamt of darkness, and in it was Sal.

They were together, and the darkness was a vast and unending presence that surrounded them. They stood face to face on a deep chasm, somehow finding their footing on it's emptiness. Sal was wet, his silver hair was slick with black blood, his face painted with it, two shining swords in his hands dripping the semi thick liquid unto the darkness they stood on. His eyes were glowing blue, the only colour in this realm of black and white, and there was rage in them, a rage that was foreign on Sal's face, a rage that seemed to blind him. He took a step forward, and the ground rippled in circles beneath him, that was when Lester saw that they were not standing on darkness, they were standing on an ocean of black blood.

"Save me" Sal said, advancing forward with slow intimidating steps. "I need you to save me Lester"

Lester took a step forward, his mind racing with questions. Was this his Sal?, was this what the Shade had made him?, did he need saving from himself?

Each question came with every step Sal took towards him, until they were close together, close enough for Lester to raise his hands, ready to pull Sal into a hug.

Until the sword that once pointed down was now cutting into his gut.

Lester found himself gasping, looking down at the sword in his stomach, looking up into Sal's face, seeing the shock, the disbelief, the horror in his eyes, before Sal disappeared, and the darkness lit up with red and orange light. 

That was the light that woke Lester up, red and orange wisps like licks of candlelight that, when he opened his eyes, left his vision blurry from constant flickering. Spots of black and crimson danced in his sight, and he could feel that he was lying down, his head sinking into a soft pillow, his face upward and facing the ceiling. 

He squinted his eyes and tried to make out what was above him, and when reality was no longer smudges of color he saw that it was a white ceiling decorated with a distinct painting of red roses growing from green, thorned, curling stems.

He was momentarily mesmerized by the designs, a suitable distraction considering the dream he'd just had.

Then he was confused.

His room ceiling was bare, save that line of red from when he'd been drunk with a bottle of ketchup in his hands. As far as Lester could tell, he wasn't at home.

So where was he? 

He tried but he could remember little from the night before; flashes of raw pain, simmers of burning pleasure and the memory of a beautiful woman went through his head like sudden slices of lightning, which only amplified his confusion.

Lester jerked his head up in sudden, unnecessary panic and regretted it immediately. Pain snapped through his skull like the crack of a whip. It was one of those annoying headaches that came like stabs, rhythmically and periodically.

Lester groaned and massaged his temples, trying his best to recall everything from last night, but the more he tried to remember the more his head hurt, like someone was knocking against his skull over and over again. 

"Dear gods, relax, take it easy" came an unknown yet familiar voice. 

Lester turned his head, still confused, and saw a man placing a tray of teacups on the small wooden bedside table glistening with reflected candle light. The man was so large and muscular Lester thought the cups would shatter in his grasp, but he handled them with unfathomable delicacy, the glasses clinking as he poured a cup of brown liquid and handed it to Lester.

"Drink, it'll help with the headache" He said. 

Lester took the cup and gingerly took a whiff of the concoction

It smelt like shit. 

"I like to just chug it down, get it over with as fast as possible, you know" The man said. He poured himself a cup, his lips stretched into a tight, disgusted smile. 

Lester raised an eyebrow, obviously he wasn't going to drink something he got from a stranger, he wasn't stupid. 

"We'll drink it together then" said the man.

Lester sighed, pinched his nose, closed his eyes and took a quick gulp. 

It tasted like shit too.

"Who are you?" Lester asked as he coughed, suppressing a potential gagging fit, and set the teacup down on the table. "I feel like I know you"

The man took a huge gulp of his own and set his cup down beside Lester's. Lester noticed a tattoo on the back of the man's wrist, a red rose, as realistic as the ones decorating the ceiling above him.

"We've met, though the circumstances weren't…convenient" the man said. "I'm sure you can remember our little encounter together"

Lester opened his mouth to say he couldn't when his eyes locked with the man's. They were soft, brown, kind and familiar.

"Peter" Lester whispered as he started to remember. The silhouette against the streetlight, the assuring voice in the darkness, the slice of silver in the shadows, the splash of cold blood on his face and the burst of light in the alley. "You saved me from that thing" 

"I tried to" Peter said. "Turns out succubi shedim are harder to exorcise than I thought" 

"Shedim" Lester whispered, the word played across his head in circles like a merry-go-round. "I've heard that before, it's the name of that…creature that attacked me last night"

"Not it's name precisely, more like what it's called, the thing that attacked you, mortals usually call it a—"

"Demon" Lester said before he could stop himself. "A sexy, enticing, and terrifying demon" 

"Yes, a succubus, I believe I did mention that earlier" Peter said.

He moved to the edge of Lester's bed curiously and sat down, the soft mattress caving in under his weight as he leaned in close to Lester, his dark brown hair falling in singular strands over his forehead. 

"The question I'm trying to answer is what could it want with you, and how do you know that shedim translates to demon" Peter asked. "By the looks of it you've only been Nephilim for a few hours, there's no way the Order could have found you that fast, unless another Shaded being found you first"

Confusion made Lester's head pound harder and he sat up to set his back against the head board. He could make out the rest of the room now, a small simple bedroom with a wardrobe, table and chair, all of them smooth and glistening like pebbles washed down by river water. There was nothing very peculiar about the place, excluding the undeniable fact that everything was in shades of red.

"Slow down, Order?, Nephilim?, you're talking like i'm supposed to just understand" Lester said as he tried to adapt to the colours around him. "I don't"

"You will soon, Nephilim are self taught, having the knowledge and wisdom of the mala'chim help as well, it will take some time but the Order will be here for you eventually and they'll help guide your Transfiguration"

"Transfiguration?" Lester said. He scoffed and pushed away the covers. He could feel his headache receding, probably thanks to the shit tea, and he started to remember more. 

Sal.

He needed Sal. 

"I have no idea what you're talking about okay?, I know about the Shade, I know about the Court, I know that the world is even more fucked up than any mortal knows, but I don't know about an Order of any sort, thanks for your help, but I need to go and find my brother" 

He jumped down from the bed, thankfully Peter had not seen it fit to undress Lester— he never understood why they did that in the movies— and he began putting on his shoes.

"What are you doing?, you can't leave yet, they'll be here soon"

"I don't want to be a part of this"

"I'm sorry Sylvester" Peter said. "But you already are, whoever incited your Change made you one of us the minute they did. Trust me there is no turning your back on the Other World, it follows you everywhere, every realm, every world. The Shade, this life, it is infinite, and sadly, we are not"

Lester slid his foot into the second sneaker, not missing a beat as he began to tie the laces.

"His name is Sal" Lester said, standing from the bed and searching the room for his phone. "He's the one who made me this way" He spotted the phone on the table along with his wallet and snatched them up, urging his vibrating fingers to stay still as he searched the pockets for anything missing. "I want to hate him but I can't, you know why?"

He shoved the wallet hard into his back pocket and turned to face Peter who stared at Lester with searching eyes, as if now noticing things he hadn't before.

"Because he and I, we, are infinite, we are beyond this world, both worlds, all worlds, as long as I have him there is another way, there always is"

He walked to the door and put his hand on the knob. It sizzled with heat as his skin made contact and he jerked his hand back.

"Holy shit!" Lester exclaimed.

"I apologize, the wards are designed to only be opened by me and mine" Peter said. "Should've warned you"

"You think" 

Peter smiled and stood from the bed, in the strangely bright candle light Lester could now truly see how large Peter was, it was almost intimidating, like standing in front of a giant, but his kind eyes that now held a subtle light of amusement made him look like Barney— or maybe Lester still had a bit of a concoction.

"So you are Lester" Peter said as he approached. "I see it now, the knot tying the both of you, it's strong and beautiful, like aionios" He placed his hand on the door knob and there was a hiss of energy, the smell of static electricity wafted through Lester's nose. "Sal needs you, I don't know why, but he needs you, go and be with your brother"

The door opened but it wasn't a corridor or living room or front porch it opened up to. Behind the door was a swirling hole of fire, crammed into the doorway like a tunnel of terror, it sent wisps of air blowing into the room, the smell of ashes and burning and that same static smell engulfed Lester, it left him heady with vertigo even though he was standing on solid ground. 

"Woah"

Peter chuckled and placed a hand on Lester's shoulder. 

"I like you Sylvester, I hope we meet again" he said. 

Lester smiled and found that he believed him. 

"I hope so too" he said, and found that he meant it. 

"Goodbye" Peter said, and before Lester could reply he was shoved and swallowed by the fire.

***

Julika woke to the sound of something crinkling uncomfortably beneath her. She groaned, reached for her back and revealed the plastic cup she'd used last night, now crumpled into a misshapen shape. She sighed and tossed it across the room and then as if that took all the energy in the world she crashed her hand down on the bed again.

From the moment Julika opened her eyes again she'd felt tired, like parts of her were scattered all over the place and she needed time to put herself together again. She'd been drifting ever since, constantly shifting between the waking world and the world of dreams. Both of them had been confusing in their own ways. 

She recalled her dreams that were filled with hazy memories; a sky of dank crimson, fruits of glistening gold, a cabin in the distance. 

She could understand none of it, and it was much easier to think about the things from her waking hours; Sal's tender hands brushing the hair out of her face, the taste of strawberry slushies dancing on her tongue, the smell of hamburgers, of meat and bread, and the bright smile on Antony's face when she took a bite from it. 

She'd experienced all this in brief, forgetful wisps, but now she could feel herself finally, fully awake, ready to experience it all to the fullest.

She pushed up from the bed and rested her back against the headrest. The room she slept in, she realized, had been cleaned, the last time she was awake it had been a mess of plastic cups and hamburger wrappers, not to mention the plastic bags and bottles she'd left lying around. Gods, she'd been a slob. 

Now the only thing that littered the ground was the cup she'd used as a cushion and two wrappers at opposite ends of the room. She sighed, wondering how the wrappers got there, and threw her legs over the bed. 

Her bare feet met the cool, tiled floor and though she wobbled, she was able to stand straight not long after. She moved to pick up the plastic cup, then she walked pass the mirror for the wrapper and stopped.

She turned, very slowly, and gasped as she looked at herself. 

'Is this me?', she thought as she placed her hand delicately on the reflective glass, the image looking back at her seemed to be made of the stuff of dreams, as if it were an illusion that would fade away if she didn't feel if it was real. 

She reached for her hair and felt the silver strands slip through her fingers like strips of silk, she touched her skin, felt how soft and flawless it was, an evidence of what she saw in the mirror, she widened her eyes and knew that the bright red orbs looking back at her, with surprise, and wonder, and confusion, were hers as well. 

She chuckled lightly, and felt her heart skip a bit as she saw how beautiful she was, how flawless. 

'My Julika'

She gasped and turned as the soft fatherly voice echoed in the recesses of her mind. 

A face flashed across her vision. 

Eyes as red as hers, hair the same silky silver, a smile like the curve of a crescent moon. 

The door creaked open and Julika was so startled she threw the plastic cup in her hand in the direction of the opening door. 

The cup sailed through the air and bounced off the body of a girl about the same age as her. 

She had wavy dark blue hair that reminded Julika of a flowing river reflecting the night sky, one hand held the handle of the door, while the other was perched on her waist as she looked down at the cup on the floor confused. When she looked up, with a brow quirked and a playful smirk on her lips, Julika saw that her eyes were very dark, nearly black, with something else glittering in them, specks of silver like dim stars in the sky. 

"Nice throw" said the girl with a smile. "You guys can come in, she looks decent" 

The girl came into the room, and following behind her were three people, two familiar, one as foreign as the girl standing in front of Julika. 

Sal and Antony came in, Sal with that spark of care and worry in his eyes, Antony with a small, familiar smile. Julika was glad to see them, Sal's presence was like lying in a bed of flowers, and Antony was always a pleasure to be around, but the boy that came in after them was both unfamiliar and, somehow, electric.

He had black hair that looked recently cut but still fell over his inky blue eyes like a curtain. He came into the room without a care in the world, and as he set his eyes on her Julika blushed, and then had the sudden urge to walk across the room and punch him in the shoulder. He was good looking, as all the people in the room with her were good looking, and he had an energy around him, like firelight burning in the confinement of a glass lantern. 

"Julika" 

She tore her eyes from the black haired boy and faced the owner of the voice. She very nearly faced Antony but knew that it was Sal. It was sometimes difficult to tell between the two of them, but there was a slight significant difference. Sal's voice was deep and smooth, like a single note from a conch shell, but Antony's, though just as deep, was hard, like someone who'd been trained to speak with authority and without remorse. 

"Are you okay?" Sal asked. 

She nodded her head slowly, and Sal raised his eyebrows in a question. 

Are you sure?

She nodded again, involuntarily glancing at the dark haired boy once again. There was something peculiar about him, she could feel it.

"I wanted to introduce you to some friends" Sal said. "Julika, these are Katarina and Casmir, they've been….absent, but they're my best friends, and I'd love for you to get to know them" 

Julika looked from the girl to the boy, Katarina and Casmir. They both smiled at her, their lips turning up slightly at the corners, and then it clicked. 

"You guys are related?" She asked. 

"Unfortunately" Katarina said.

"We're twins" Casmir said. 

Julika didn't know how she hadn't figured it out earlier, they both had the similarities of siblings, the angles on their faces, the way they stood close to each other, Katarina in front of Casmir like a shield, Casmir towering slightly over her like a wall for support. Not to mention the smile on both their faces when they looked at her were exactly the same. 

"How are you feeling today Julika?" came Antony's voice. She watched him move to pick up the cup and the wrappers from the floor, his movements swift, nearly mechanical. "You're on your feet quicker than before" 

"I'm feeling better, much better" she said. "I think I'm fully recovered" 

"Well we can't know that for sure until we see Nelly again" Sal said, taking Julika by the hand and leading her to the bed for a seat.

Julika pulled her hand away and stared Sal down stubbornly. She knew he was only looking out for her, that's what he'd been doing from the moment she laid eyes on him, but she wasn't a child.

"And when will that be?" She said.

He smiled, like he was amused. What was so amusing?

He put a strand of her hair behind her ear, his skin brushing hers lightly, the smile on his face radiant, before putting his hand in his pocket casually. 

"Right after you take a shower and change your clothes" he said. "And after that you can do whatever you want" 

He moved past her and sat on the bed. The others were at different parts of the room now. Casmir and Antony at the door leaning on either side like bodyguards, Katarina rummaging through the wardrobe at the other end of the room. Julika hadn't even noticed any of them move.

"I'd like to go out and see the sunlight" Julika said. "I don't remember what it looks like"

Sal smiled again, sympathetically this time, and nodded. 

"You will, I promise, but that will be when we get back" Sal said, he looked at Julika directly, and she got the feeling she was about to hear something she might not like. "That's another reason I came to see you. I and my friends will be going on an expedition of some sorts, we'd be gone for sometime, probably a week"

The disappointment she expected gave way to excitement.

"A week?, where are you going?" 

"Several places" Sal answered. "Most of them far away"

"And you want to leave me here alone, for a week, why can't I come with you?" 

"Because it's not safe, not for you, we can't risk you leaving the house yet, besides you're still recovering"

"I'm fine now" Julika said. Now she knew she sounded like a child, but she didn't care, from the minute Sal said "not safe" she felt something stir inside her. There was danger somewhere out there and she wanted to run to it. 

"I can see that" he said calmly. "But I'm not taking any chances, Jules, I'm sorry, I just want you to be safe, alright?"

She scoffed, ignoring that fluttering feeling in her stomach from the sound of her new nickname on his lips. Jules. She found herself liking it. 

"And what would I be doing, all by myself, in this big, bland and empty house?" she asked.

"My house is not bland" Katarina protested. It seemed she found a suitable outfit for Julika. A white blouse and blue jeans. "It just needs a little colour on the inside, that's all"

"That is the exact definition of bland" Casmir muttered, loud enough for everyone to hear. Antony chuckled, Katarina rolled her eyes in response.

"She meant nothing by it, Kat" Sal said, his eyes still on Julika. "But I'm glad you asked" 

He took out a small book from his pocket, the one he'd slipped his hand in so casually. The cover was red and had a gold bookmark dangling down the center of the length of the spine. Julika stepped forward and took it from Sal's hand. The cover was smooth and had the word THOUGHTS written on it in glittering gold. 

"You got me a…?"

"Journal" Sal said. "Nelly said your flashes of memory might become more vivid than before, so I got you this, to help you sort them out" 

He stood from the bed, and she could feel his gaze on her so she looked up. There was so much going on in Sal's eyes, so much openness, so much emotion, all of it made him impossible to read. He was like a universe, vast, and encompassing everything.

"Besides that there are books I brought for you to help you understand our world better, and hopefully, remember how you were a part of it" He put his hands on her shoulders, they were warm through the thin fabric of her pyjamas. "Don't worry about boredom, you'll have plenty to do okay?, now get dressed, Nelly will be here in an hour, we'll be downstairs" 

He moved away from her and walked to the door. She still held the book in her hand, could feel the crisp of paper as she traced her finger over the pages enclosed by hard cover. It wasn't the first gift he'd given to her. He'd gotten her clothes and food and had given her all the attention he could, but this one was the one she was most touched by, this was the one she knew she'd cherish forever. 

"See you later Jules" Sal said before walking out the door. 

Casmir and Antony nodded a goodbye before following after him, and with the click of the closing door Julika was left alone with Katarina.

"Classic Sal" said Katarina as she walked closer to Julika, her boots clicked against the floor, the sound like the ticking of a clock. "Trust him to think of something like this"

If a smile were to be a sound it would be Katarina's voice as she spoke of Sal. It reminded Julika of something warm and soft, like a blanket over your shoulders and a cup of hot chocolate between the palm of your hands. 

Another memory perhaps, Julika thought.

"Does he always get books for girls he looks after?" Julika asked, she still hadn't taken her eyes off the book until Katarina reached her and took her gently by the arms, leading her to the mirror Julika had been staring at minutes before and sitting her down in front of the vanity table. 

"I don't think Sal has ever had to look after anyone in his life, at least not the way he's doing with you" Katarina said as she began to pack Julika's hair up in a bundle. "But he does have a knack for going the extra mile for the people he cares about, it's what makes him Sal, he's nothing without that big heart of his"

"Has he ever done anything like this for you?" Julika asked.

There was a pause, and Julika feared that she'd crossed a line, and though Julika faced the mirror Katarina betrayed nothing from her expression.

"Sal has done more for me than I could ever deserve" Katarina said finally. Julika could see Katarina's hands quivering as she pulled out a band and curled Julika's hair in a bun. "He's been…everything"

"You two must be very close then" 

Katarina smiled sadly, longingly, before meeting Julika's gaze through the mirror.

"Something like that" she said. Then her smile shone brighter. "Now enough about Sal, let's get you ready, gods know how long I've wanted to be around a fellow female, it would surprise you how much drama goes on in the lives of these boys" 

Julika smiled, and looking at Katarina made her feel light inside, like she was a ray of sunshine.

"Tell me all about it"

***

Casmir stood in his weapons room, the knives hung in rows all around them, the blades reflecting the firelight from the torches above made them look like lances of fire themselves, teasing Casmir as he looked up at them with bewilderment. 

"Confused?" Sal asked.

Casmir turned and faced his friend. Sal stood at one side of the weapons room directly under a line of misericords, hands in his pockets, back against the wall, silver hair reflecting firelight just like the knives above him did. He looked at Casmir with the same thoughtful and affectionate look Casmir had given him once upon a time.

"Is it that obvious?" Casmir said. 

Sal chuckled and detached himself from the wall with fluid grace. He was by Casmir's side in an instant, and Casmir expected his heart to summersault the way it used to. But there was nothing, no electric jolt, no feathery flutter, nothing. 

"Just pick a blade, you love blades" Sal said. "What about your daggers?" 

"I died, remember, they died with me that day" Casmir said, he could still remember what it was like to feel the hilts in his palm, the blades singing in the air as he sliced. "I need a new weapon, but…"

"But what?"

But they had been a suitable weapon for a different Casmir, Casmir the vampire, without his speed and his strength he didn't think he'd be able to use them again. He didn't even think he wanted to use them again. 

"Casmir, talk to me" 

Casmir looked away from Sal and pressed a hand to his chest. He remembered the sharp points of the trident piercing through his heart, grinding against his ribs, shooting out his front.

"I can still feel it sometimes, the trident, I don't feel the pain but I remember it, it's like this invisible scar, I feel the points in my chest Sal, I feel the blood leaving me, I feel my heart struggling to beat with a hole in it"

'Not to mention memories of the Gap, standing in the sands of time that exist inbetween, straining against the chord of gold that kept pulling me to the End'

"Oh Cas" Sal whispered. "I'm so sorry" 

Casmir sighed and felt the tear drop trail it's way down his cheek and land on the floor. It was clear as water, no longer did he cry blood.

"I don't know if this life is for me anymore Sal, the violence was fine when I was a vamp but I'm mortal now, I'm fragile" 

"Mortality is not fragility, Casmir, in fact I think you are stronger now than you were as a vampire" 

Casmir laughed. It was sharp, soft and sad.

"You may not be immortal or fast anymore" Sal continued, a hand now placed firmly on Casmir's shoulder. "But I know for a fact that you are strong, it was you who fought the End, not as a vampire, but as yourself, that alone tells me that you don't need a curse to be powerful" 

Casmir faced Sal, marvelling once again at the sincerity in his voice, the affection in his eyes. If it had been before he died Casmir would have used this opportunity to tell Sal of his feelings, and to find out if Sal felt the same way, but Sal already knew, Melchior must have told him, and Sal hadn't said anything about it, meaning he didn't feel that way for Casmir, and Casmir didn't feel that way for him anymore either. 

Something had changed when he told Melchior to tell Sal what he felt. It was like putting those feelings into words, saying it out loud, had somehow made them unreal, like a myth. From the moment he'd closed his eyes and left his body, Casmir wondered if he'd ever had feelings for Sal at all, or if he'd just been infatuated by the fact that someone as beautiful and kind as him had come to his rescue. 

"Thank you, Sal, for everything" Casmir said.

"You don't need to thank me, we're friends Cas, as long as that's the case I'd do anything for you" Sal said.

Casmir smiled. He didn't feel his heart clench at the word "friend", he felt it swell with a whole new kind of love, the kind he'd only felt for Katarina. 

There was a buzz and then a sharp, jaunty tune that echoed in the weapons room. Sal took out his phone from his pocket. 

"It's Kat" he said, before tapping his phone and raising it to his ear. "Hey Kat, what's up?, is Nelly done?"

Katarina seemed to be saying more so Sal excused himself and walked to the other side of the room.

Casmir watched him go, wondering how he ever thought he stood a chance with Sal. It was clear from the way he spoke, the softness in his voice as he said her name, Sal was in love with his sister, and if it were to be any other boy Casmir would be pissed, but this was Sal, they all knew the way he loved, like a burst of fireworks or like the crackle of a bonfire. Casmir trusted Sal not to hurt his sister, what he didn't trust was his sister's ability to not hurt Sal. 

"We've got to go" Sal said, he had a worried expression on his face as he approached Casmir again, tension from nowhere stiffened his movements and strained his voice.

"Is everything alright, are the girls okay?" 

"They're fine" Sal said. "But remember my best friend I was telling you about, the one I....Changed?"

"The one you guys were looking for?" 

"Turns out I don't need to look anymore" He smiled, the brightest Casmir had seen him smile since the moment they met. "He's back Cas, my brother is back"