Euphoria Leak: The Heaven Called Hell: Chapter 4

Chapter 4: The Dream Girl

- 655:21:43 (6:39:17 P.M. Day 1)

Malise’s eyes were shut tight, and her brow was furrowed in deep concentration. In front of her were a dagger, A bowl filled with blood, of what kind wasn’t evident, Five candles, a matchbook, an incense stick, and a small glass vial filled with his blood.

Malise Breathed in deeply, only to let it out in exasperation. ‘Malise. You know what you have to do. It is vital that we listen to our husband! You know what will happen if we don’t claim Braeden for our side. I can feel his presence slipping... we need to remove his positive influence,’ Natas bit out disgustedly. She said ‘positive’ as if it was a dirty word.

Malise’s eyebrows knitted together, frustrated. ‘Natas. Listen to me. I’m trying. If you stop talking I might be able to finish this!’ Malise scolded and Natas ‘harrumphed’ indignantly, but fell silent.

Malise breathed deeply, refocusing her mind on the task at hand. She opened her eyes slowly, taking in everything around her. She methodically reached in front of her, taking up the small bowl and dipping the tips of her fingers in the dark crimson substance inside, letting her hand traverse the path it knew so well. An inverted pentagram, encased in a perfect circle. She placed the black candles at every point of the pentagram and took up the small cardboard and paper object, striking one of the matches inside and lighting each candle, and then the incense burner on the right-hand side. She placed the match in the small bowl of blood.

She grasped the dagger slowly and deliberately slit the palm of her hand, letting the blood drip into the center of the pentagram. The flames on the candles turned suddenly green. A smile danced malevolently across her face, shadows playing on her features. She picked up a small vial of blood on the left side of the symbol, removing the cork, careful not to spill any of the precious liquid inside, and poured it too into the center of the pentagram. The two’s blood, at first, you could see were separated, and then the blood first spilled, Malise’s own blood, began enveloping the blood from the vial, and it became a swirling mixture that formed an inverted cross.

The green candle flames flickered and converted into black.

The blood forming the pentagram began bubbling, boiling with pure, unadulterated power. Malise’s smile widened wickedly, and then she closed her eyes, furrowing her brow once more and concentrating acutely. Fairly quickly, she heard the chime of her bedroom clock striking midnight, and she suddenly sensed she was within him.

She chuckled and opened her eyes, willing them to adapt to the bright light that filled his dream. She glanced around and quickly realized she was somewhere she didn’t want to be. A white padded room. Alone. Shit.

‘What the hell? It worked, right?’ Malise glanced around again and noticed the door that almost perfectly blended in to the wall. As soon as she saw it, it opened, and in walked someone she knew perfectly, and someone she hadn’t seen in over two millennia. She gulped down the rising lump in her throat and tried to coax her pulse back to normal. Oh, god, they were beautiful. It must have showed because the two men who had just entered the room looked highly amused. After a closer look, she noticed the one that she knew so well didn’t look exactly as he used to, but he looked similar. She narrowed her eyes. No, wait, that wasn’t him… but she had seen him somewhere before also.

“Braeden, Lan, how nice to see you again.” She heard herself saying without even meaning to, and then she realized it wasn’t her voice that had said it; it was the voice that spoke inside her mind, Natas.

The two men flinched, and as Braeden flinched Malise noticed another person standing behind him, quivering. She paled. “Arden…” she whispered quietly, back in her own voice. He looked so small compared to the two behind which he was hiding. So weak, so frightened. Arden glanced up at Malise and then back down at the ground, shutting his eyes closed tightly. It must’ve been his conscience. Hah. She realized she didn’t blame him.

Lan appeared to be 19 and had semi-long dark violet hair and eyes. The color was so dark they appeared almost black. He had black wings closed behind his back. They were leathery like batwings. He was wearing a black vest with white pinstripes over a dark violet blouse and black pants with white pinstripes to match the vest. His shoes were dressy, shiny and black. His face held not a hint of facial hair and his eyes held fiery rage within them. He was…handsome. Malise blinked and schooled her face, fearing that thought would show through. She must not get attracted to her…son. Ugh, she was going to have some troublingly deep thinking to do after this.

Braeden appeared 17 or 18, and had hair that wasn’t any one true color. It had a mixture of every shade of red, orange and yellow, like fire. His eyes were reddish orange with flecks of yellowish gold. No facial hair. He was about seven inches taller than Arden and wearing the exact same clothes that Arden was: A black ‘Disturbed’ shirt and black pants with many chains and zippers. They were baggy around his black World shoes. His hair was medium length. He had a neutral look in his eyes and they weren’t directly on her, they were looking slightly to the left of her. He looked bored. They were both thin, scrawny almost but she knew on instinct that they were strong. Almost inhumanly strong.

Malise gave a mental deadpan. She thought he was attractive as well. She gave a mental shrug. Don’t think about it.

And then there was Arden. In his current state, his eyes were an icy dull blue, and terrified. His hair was still short, spiky, and sandy-blond, and he was wearing the same clothes as Braeden. Malise looked back at Lan, and then Braeden, and then decided on Lan.

He flinched in her gaze, but didn’t look away.

That hurt Malise on the inside, for some reason. Knowing that he hated her and had never met her. Technically. He hated his mother. His mother was in her body. Suddenly something occurred to her. If Lan and Arden – and Braeden – are all separated, then why weren’t Natas and herself…? She looked around and confirmed she was still joined.

“It’s because we all wanted to be separated. Natas obviously didn’t want to separate from you. I suppose Malise didn’t want to be separate either, Maleah.” Now it was Malise’s turn to flinch.

“How did you know that was my true name?” Malise asked.

Lan cackled, and she recognized it as Satan’s laugh. “Do you expect such a powerful demon to not know something as basic as that? Don’t be a fool.”

Malise raised her eyebrow. “Surely ‘the son of Lucifer’ would have sounded more dramatic than ‘such a powerful demon’, don’t you agree Lan?” Now it was Natas’ turn to speak.

Lan flinched again, Malise suspected it was more at the sound of her voice than her actual statement. Arden whimpered and started shaking.

“See, you’re not the only one with fun facts,” Malise said silkily.

‘Damn it, he’s learning too much, Braeden might be awakened if he hears much more. Natas, end it-’ Malise started.

“Not so fast, Maleah. The truth is coming out tonight no matter how hard it may be for you. You have to deal with it; you cannot silence Malise forever, just because you don’t quite get along.” Braeden spoke this time.

“Oh, great, so it’s not just Lan who can read my thoughts? I thought it was just a nifty trick the son of Lucifer knew.”

“Tch. Having Lan inside you, you basically inherit nifty tricks. Arden still hasn’t, but he will as soon as I awaken.” There was a malignance in his voice that made Malise’s skin crawl.

Malise smiled though. “Who said it was Malise who was suppressed, and not Maleah?” The silence thickened in the air and the men tensed.

Lan glanced at Braeden and Braeden shook his head. “That is not possible,” he stated as if they hadn’t just witnessed him asking Braeden if it was.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk, the great Lan needing conference from an entity- a lesser entity, no less?” Malise commented, her voice starting to change from the voice that she used in her normal life, obviously Maleah’s.

“What do you mean lesser entity? If you were Malise you would know that all entities were equal.” Braeden informed; convinced he was correct.

Malise laughed maniacally. “Yes, so He says. But come now. How convenient is it that you can read messages in fire? That won’t do much good in battle.”

Braeden narrowed his eyes threateningly. “And falling asleep in the middle of battle to perceive a dream from Master is?” He had a point, not that Malise would admit it. “Let’s face it. Kiara has the most convenient power, though it must be pretty unnerving, having Satan inside your mind at all times.” Another good point.

Malise wanted to point out that it was almost as bad as having Satan’s wife inside your mind at all times, but she resisted, realizing Natas was still there.

“But I can get into people’s dreams at will and torture their minds.” Malise was getting desperate to make a point that her power was superior.

“And I can summon fire at will. Besides, as you have discovered, if one knows what you are attempting they can stop you, trap you. Admit it Malise, you got the most inconvenient power of them all.” Malise’s expression darkened into a glare of pure hatred.

‘I cannot believe I was actually attracted to this pompous, narcissistic, egotistical jerk!’ Malise commented to herself.

Lan and Braden’s eyebrows shot up and almost disappeared into their hair and they exchanged glances. “Were you now, Malise?” Lan catcalled and Braeden winked jokingly.

Malise’s eyes widened in shock and then realization forced her into mortification, as it always seemed to. Only her dignity and raw willpower made her expression deepen into an even darker glare at them, but not even all the willpower in the world would have been enough to force away her rising blush and suppress the mortification seeping into her expression.

The men burst out in euphoric laughter, convinced they had the upper hand and that Malise was broken. Malise’s glare deepened even further. Her hair rippled around her and the air filled with her emotion and power. However, her inner wall of resolve and confidence was crumbling. Soon her outer walls would too and her façade would dissipate, and when that happened they would be able to see the shivering child that still feared the darkness.

Natas, who had remained silent and action-less this whole time, decided it was time to take a stand. “Enough. This has gone on for far too long. It is time to get down to the affairs that we came here to settle. Braeden, when are you going to awaken?”

The men seemed to sober up but their eyes still sparkled with laughter. “Soon, Malise, very soon. And then you and I can…” Braeden stopped and wet his lips.

Malise suppressed the bile rising in her throat and Braeden chortle again.

“No you’re not. Not if I have anything to say about it.” Lan asserted, not bothering to look at Braeden.

The sparkle was gone from Braeden’s eyes now. “And why not?”

“Because we are not aiding my father, or my mother.” Lan growled in a tone that suggested he was not in the mood to argue.

“Quit being so juvenile, Lan. So, what? Am I going to remain asleep forever?”

“…Unless the Good side awakens you, then yes.” Lan was speaking quietly now.

“Tch. Yeah right. You just wait; I’ll awaken soon enough. And you can be sure it will be for the dark side. There’s no way in hell I’d ever help out the good side.” Braeden sounded determined.

Natas nodded, as if she had assessed the situation and now had a plan. “So that is how it is. All right, that’s all we needed to know. Good night, Lan, Braeden, Arden.” She said, addressing each of them in turn with a nod. She closed her eyes and let the dream fade around them.

- 651:30:52 (10:30:08 P.M. Day 1)

The first thing Jasmine noticed as she came to sitting up in her bed, panting, her blood pulsing through her body, was the darkness around her. Cold sweat beaded her pale skin with the lingering memories of the hellish dreams. She was clutching the comforter to her frantic heart.

Her eyes darted around the room from nightmarish image to nightmarish image, each coming closer by the instant, and she shot to her feet, darting to the switch on the wall and conjuring light within the black abyss that was her domain. The images vanished instantaneously, much to her relief and her eyes’ protest.

Her eyes were slow to adjust to the blinding glare of her lamp, but that didn’t bother her. Only the darkness did. She sighed slowly, trying to calm her breathing, and dared a glance at the clock by her bed. 10:30 PM was what it read. She had time to call Kiara, but did she dare? Could she hide the frantic nature from her voice? Already her friend suspected her of lying, and that had just been her typing, much harder to decipher than speech. She decided not to call her tonight and started towards the kitchen; she was starving.

Jasmine’s parental units were scattered amongst the house, Father in the living room, mother on the PC playing solitaire. She sighed. Ahh, the normality of my everyday life. Opening the fridge she swiped the only thing that held her interest; a can of Coke, and took out a frozen pizza from the freezer, sticking it in the oven. She walked back to the table, getting out her homework and starting on the daunting task ahead of her. She shuffled through the papers, trying to get an estimate of how much she had. When she had a decent guess, she made a disgusted noise through her nose. Great. Two freaking hours' worth.

After eating her parents were already in bed and coaxing her into her bedroom. They would have forced her in earlier this month, but they had gotten tired of arguing everyday, so they basically left her to her own devices. She finished her homework before midnight and walked back to her bedroom, pulse already quickening in anticipation of her pitch-black room. Her Mother must have turned the light off. Shit.

The door was slightly ajar, and the dark inside seemed thick enough to drown in. Her mother must have turned her light back off. She swallowed her pulse and slowly reached out to touch the door, fingers tentatively pressing on the wooden barrier between her and her nightmares. Out of the darkness she could see a wrinkled grey hand reaching towards her hand, and she swallowed both a scream and her heart back into her chest. It touched her hand and she shivered, the only feeling was a slight dampness and a chill creeping up her spine. She threw the door open, jamming her mouth closed as not to scream at the visions of gruesome things coming for her. She reached around the corner through something decaying and grey, much to her disgust, to hit the light switch on the wall.

Sanctity. Her room became sanctity against the evil things that hid behind her eyelids as soon as the light came on. She was blinded for a second but that was the only bad side effect. She stalked to her desk and sat, dragging out pen and paper, and starting on another poem to occupy the rest of the night, which had become increasingly morbid recently. Go figure.

652:50:59 (9:10:01 P.M., Day 1)

Arden awoke racing to sit up. The world swam in front of his eyes and he felt as if he were going to vomit, but he suppressed it, pressing his palm across the side of his face and partially covering an eye, rubbing back and forth trying to coax away the unwell.

The world finally stopped moving and he realized he was on the ground. ‘Lan…? How did I end up down here?’

It took Lan a couple of seconds to respond. ‘You must’ve fallen out of bed.’ Arden looked around.

‘But my bed’s all the way on the other side of the room.’ Arden countered, now suspicious. ‘Argh, what is this nagging in my mind? Like I’m forgetting something really important?’ There was an unreal quality to the room around him. Everything was sort of pinkish orange. He realized it was sunset. A flash of white, Malise. He blinked. The room was growing darker with the second. Another flash, this time of a theme, something inside him, Satan, Natas. Ahh, he clutched his head, a deterrent from the increasing memories.

‘Arden? What’s happening to you?’ Lan.

“I don’t know!” He said aloud. The room was growing paler, bluer. It was nearly dark. Full Dark was less than 5 minutes away.

A sense of dread flowed through Arden’s mind and he realized it came from Lan. ‘Lan, what do you know that I don’t?’

Lan ignored the easy insult. ‘That we don’t want this thing to get out, Arden. You cannot let this out, or all will be lost. Push it back, Arden! Don’t. Let. Him. Out!’ He said forcefully.

Arden opened his eyes, stretching them on purpose and blinking. The dark was coming faster than it should have, it seemed. A wave of nausea, followed by heat throughout his body. Arden curled over on his knees, clenching his roiling stomach. Another flash, it was himself, but taller. Much taller. And he had hair the color of fire. But it wasn’t him. He knew that it wasn’t himself.

A name. A name was being conjured to the brink of his consciousness. What was the name? It seemed so important that he say the name aloud. Arden screamed with frustration. ‘Don’t say the name!’ Lan called in Arden’s mind. But he must. It was imperative that the name was said. The will to say the name was overwhelming. Arden uncurled and knelt on his knees, face towards the ceiling and shouted. Shouted the name that would be his undoing.

“BRAEDEN!”

He fell, still shouting, onto the cold hard floor unto which he had just awoken.