Chapter Thirteen

Alex did not feel as though he was really dreaming, rather he felt more delirious than anything. He was staring out at nothing but utter blackness, hardly able to move or think. As time slowly passed, Alex heard soft voices rising all around him. He was in too incoherent a state to understand what they were saying. However, he soon began to feel his senses returning as one familiar voice echoed above all the rest.

“Who are you?” The hoarse voice of a man spoke up. The darkness surrounding Alex was slowly becoming enveloped in light. As he listened to the voices, he knew that he had seen this exact vision several times before, and soon enough, he heard the woman’s voice give her reply.

“My grandfather’s grandfather was called Janus.” The mysterious light surrounding Alex was as bright as it had always been, but as his sight and senses gradually improved, he could soon see the man from his vision standing before him. Like the last time, the man was standing with his back turned to him and holding the strange sword-like object in his hand as he appeared to look off into the distance. This time, however, Alex could distinctly make out another figure standing by his side, and he realized it to be the woman he had been hearing. Her voice was still very familiar to him, but Alex could not recognize it in his current, dream-like state. She was also too engulfed by the light for him to see any details that defined her appearance. The only thing he could see was that, like the man, she was carrying something in her hand. From what Alex could tell, it looked like some sort of staff. “He is not of this world.”

Her words were exactly the same as the last time Alex heard them just before he regained consciousness. To his surprise, he did not awaken from his recurring dream. Instead, as the light around him began to stabilize, he turned around and realized that he was now looking upon a completely different vision. 

His senses seemed to return to him, and Alex recognized that he was standing within the Citadel walls. However, there was something very different about it now. The first thing he noticed was that there was no snow around him; in fact, the air felt warm and soothing. The trees all around him were covered in leaves whose colors varied from green to light brown and orange, telling him that it was the beginning of the autumnal season.

Aside from the astounding beauty of the sight, Alex was dismayed as he looked around to see that the Citadel appeared to be in ruins. The walls had all but collapsed, and the tower that rose up to rival the surrounding mountaintops was nearly reduced to its base. Much of the plateau was covered in various plant life and foliage, as though the Citadel had been abandoned for years.

It was quiet; the only sound to be heard was the singing of the birds in the trees and the soothing breezes skirting along the surface of the small lake. As Alex approached it, he could see something that had not been there before. Near the edge of the lake stood a structure made of light-colored stone that bore the striking appearance of a tomb. Someone was there, standing before it. Alex could not see who it was, but he could tell that it was a young woman. She did not possess the display of the inhabitants of the mountains, rather she was dressed like an Outsider, but she was nowhere near ragged enough to compare to those Alex was fighting against. The white, hooded jacket she was wearing was unspoiled, and her long, fair hair flowed lightly in the breeze. It had been a long time since Alex had truly seen the form of someone from his own world, but who was she? What was she doing in the Citadel?

“Hello?” Alex stammered as he approached the tomb. The girl turned around as she took notice of his presence. For a moment, Alex thought he may have been looking upon the woman from his previous vision. As she looked back at him, Alex could see that she appeared to be young, possibly around the age of twenty. She carried on her face an expression of sorrow, but at the same time, a rather familiar sense of compassion. This expression was sported primarily by her eyes which Alex had suddenly been drawn to. He felt a chill go up his spine as he recognized them; those captivating green eyes, they did not belong to this woman.

Alex glanced past her and toward the tomb. On the surface of the wall, he could make out a series of engravings. He read the first engraving curiously with narrowed eyes: WINTER’S BANE. The etchings just below it read: Natus Ex Tenebrae. Alex did not know what they translated to, but he recognized them to be Latin. The last engraving in the stone read: Praeco Deorum.

The woman appeared to realize what was going on in his mind as she stepped between Alex and the strange engravings. “Do not stray from the path,” she said forebodingly.

Alex turned his attention back to her. He realized that her voice was not that of the other woman he had seen. This one was much softer. Alex pointed toward the tomb. “What is that?” he asked as he attempted to take a step forward.

The girl immediately raised her hand and planted it firmly against his chest. Alex felt a surge of wind as he froze where he stood, gazing helplessly into her eyes.

She stared at him with a serious look, almost as though she was pleading for him to listen to her. “Father, you must not stray!”

Alex jolted from his sleep as if he had been struck by lightning. He gasped in horror, breathing hard in rapid succession as he tried to regain his awareness. It took his eyes a moment to readjust in the darkness of the tent. The fire in the pit was reduced to nothing more than a glowing pile of ashes. Leaning against his side, Rowan was still fast asleep. He could feel her steady breathing, but he stared over at her with wide eyes as his mind was too cluttered by the dream he just had.

“What the hell?” Alex muttered anxiously. He had no idea what time it was, but he felt that he needed to step outside. Moving ever so slowly, he lifted Rowan so that he could stand up. Alex carefully lowered her down to lie on the ground. After covering Rowan with a light, fur blanket that was folded in the corner of the tent, Alex slipped outside through the flap.