My eyes open to a blinding light shining above me like the rays of the sun. The lord has come to take me home. Whispers fill me as I fade in and out of the darkness.
"Cast the spell," someone says.
My eyes shudder, and I see the silhouette of someone looming over me. A black shadow cast before the bright lights. I try to move, but my body is numb. A fire burns through my veins at the speed of a train, but I can't make a sound.
I see them before me, Evelyn and Lenora.
Blackness.
Again, a light is shone upon me.
Voices fill the room.
I don't know where I am, but I can feel heat on my face like I'm standing in front of a raging fire. I hear the voices, but their words roll through me like blank thoughts.
Blackness.
I finally awake to the smell of fresh apple pie, like my mother would make when I was a child. The smell lingers in the air, bringing me back to reality. Dim lights surround me. I'm in a bed, wrapped in white linen. Cloth and bandages cover my arms.
I'm stiff. It's hard to move.
I manage to pull myself upright and look around the room. The walls are ornate with depictions of angels and demons. The fires of hell burn upwards as the light from heaven shines down. They look to be at war. The floor is white marble, polished and reflecting the light that looms near the door. A hearth is lit with a fire that looks freshly tended.
This is no hospital.
As the door swings open, I'm greeted by a familiar figure. His face is still etched with wrinkles, but he's dressed like a common man in rags. Gone are the robes accented with gold. He glides toward me like the wind is carrying him.
"My child. My child." He spews. Heavens, my prayers have been answered, and the Almighty has given you the great gift of life."
He pauses.
"We thought all had been lost, that he had come to carry you away beyond the clouds to your eternal rest. But here you are, alive and well — blessings and miracles."
I struggle to move, my body stiff, pain wincing through my bones.
"My child, you need rest," he guides me to lie back on the mattress.
"Father, please — tell me what happened."
A moment passes, and it feels like time is frozen.
He sighs.
"There was a bang on the door. When I arrived, you lay on the stone cover in blood," He looks down, sorrow in his eyes. "I'm not supposed to help."
He goes quiet. Time still froze.
"I should have let you die," He whispers.
I hear his words, but don't comprehend what he says.
The lines on his face are deep and seem to be filled with emotion. His lips are cracked. His eyes are dark and heavy. A man tormented by something, I see it in the sorrow that stares through me. Gone is the man who took me to the armory. This is not him, only his shell.
"I must go back to the hunt," the words are squeezed from my lips.
His face darkens further, growing with pain. His head shakes in protest.
"My child," he says, his voice graceful and soft. "You are weak, you will die."
Tears begin to fall from my face. "If I don't do…" I pause, choking on the words that form in my mouth. "… she will die…" The words fall with my tears.
Pope Linus rests his hand against mine. "If you must, then there is much more that you need to know about this hunt…"
His eyes do not meet mine; they fall upon the floor as he stands. He whispers something under his breath as all my pain begins to fade away like a snuffed-out candle.
"Stand and follow me, my child. There is much that you must learn."