Splitting a Soul~Chapter 18

We walked down the dark hallway for a long time. Metis hadn’t given us a torch to light out way and after only a few yards the torches along the wall had stopped, plunging us into darkness. All of us kept tripping over cracks in the stone floor, except for Aisling who could see clearly even in total darkness. After awhile, I illuminated the hallway as best I could as I ignited my left hand blue flames that provided us without night vision with some light.

“Look, over there!” Aisling shouted, pointing into the darkness. We all gave a quizzical look into the darkness, but saw nothing. I extended my hand forward a bit, but still saw nothing.

“Care to explain to those of us that don’t have night-vision?” Jack asked in a snarky tone.

“It’s a ladder right over there that leads to the surface,” Aisling explained as she ran forward into the shadows. We all followed after her and Jack pushed past me and took a few steps, which was followed by the loud sound of vibrating metal.

“Found it,” Jack said as he rubbed his forehead. I took a few more steps and saw the ladder come into view, with Aisling about half way up already. “Ok, up we go I guess.”

We all started climbing up the ladder one after the other. Aisling eventually reached the top and fiddled with some kind of lock. When I heard it click, she pushed it open and I saw the light of the moon shine in through the now open pathway. She almost flew out of the open hatch as she pulled herself up and was quickly followed by Jack and Kimi. I climbed up the last rung and almost slipped on the last step, but got up and closed the trap door. Once closed, I saw that the hatch had grass on one side so it was completely unnoticeable by anyone passing by. The moon was almost full and right over the library, which almost made me forget that the library had security walking around. It was actually the beam of a flashlight that reminded me.

“Guys, we need to get out of here,” Kimi whispered to us as the light got brighter.

“What about our weapons?” Aisling noted, looking around frantically. I looked around and saw Jack’s staff leaning against a wall.

“Over there,” I said and we all went to the wall. Next to his staff was my sword in pocketknife form, as well as Aisling’s shield and ax. Kimi picked her jacket up from a nearby branch from some plant that was growing along the walls of the library. As I looked down, I also saw a small envelope lying on the ground. I picked it up and opened it, taking out a small handwritten note from inside. I traced my fingers along the edge of the paper and gave myself a small papercut, but ignored it for now. As I held note, I started reading the letter that was inside:

Dear Aisling,

Feel free to visit any time, and bring your friends along if you like.

''Love, The Librarian''

P.S. You only have until the next full moon so please hurry honey.

I handed her the letter and noticed something else inside the envelope. Inside were four library cards and I passed them around to the others. Kimi put it in one of her pockets, as did Aisling and I.

“When am I ever going to need a library card?” Jack asked rhetorically. However, he still slipped the card into his wallet and placed it into his pocket. I looked at that note at the bottom; was the full moon when Aisling would fully change and we would run out of time? Either way, we would have to hurry from now on.

“Hey, who’s there?” I heard the guard say in a shaky voice. He was by now just around the corner. “I warn you, I’m armed!”

We all rushed to the far edge of the area that made up the libraries impressive yard. We jumped behind some bushes and watched as a frail old guy rounded the corner and began waving his flashlight around like it was a light-saber. In his other hand was a long nightstick and I wondered if that was what he meant by armed. He held it over his head like he was ready to bring it down at any moment, but just kept shining his flashlight around.

“I must be hearing things in my old age,” he told himself as he put his nightstick away. “Strange, as I don’t hear much of anything these days.”

The old guy wandered off and we ran to the car. It would be a few hours until morning so we decided to get some sleep while we still could; well all of us except for Aisling. Jack drove his car to a nearby park and we pulled into an area with a lot of trees. From there we set up camp, with Aisling pulling out two tents from Jack’s trunk. She pressed a button and they unfolded by themselves and set themselves up. I hadn’t remembered them being there before and I wondered if Gear had put them in there when he fixed the car.

“I’ll take first watch,” Aisling volunteered.

“Alright, don’t stay up too late,” Kimi said before climbing into her tent and zipping up tent flap.

“Dude, this thing has central air! I don’t even know how that works!” Jack yelled as he jumped back into the tent doing who knows what.

“I should get in there before he turns the temperature so low that I have to come out here to warm up,” I joked as I got up from the stump I had been sitting on. “See you in the morning.”

“Wait,” Aisling said. I turned to face her and saw her intense red eyes looking right into my soul, or at least that was how it felt. Those eyes seem to reflect light like a cat and it made me jump back on reflex, like I was facing a monster. “We need to talk; follow me now.”

Without a word, Aisling got up and began to walk deeper into the park. I wouldn’t say that felt the bravest at that moment, but I got up and followed her regardless. I followed her until I could barely see the lights of the tents and I wondered how far she would take us. Thankfully the moonlight was bright and it helped me avoid a few tree roots and dips in the ground.

‘She’s going to kill you.’ I heard in the back of my head and my heart skipped a beat.

‘Shut up,’ I thought back at the thing living inside me. However, I wasn’t the only one anymore with a demon living inside them; now Aisling had one too.

“This is far enough,” Aisling said as she spun around and looked me in the eyes again. “You’re going to tell me everything right now.”

“I’m sorry,” I apologized, but I honestly didn’t know what she was talking about. “I’m not sure…”

“Don’t lie to me!” Aisling said, staring me down. With a flick of her wrist, “I told you in the library that I could see the blood and ichor flowing in your veins. I could see the same in Jack and I could see that Metis wasn’t just a simple librarian. This curse that is taking over me has some advantages; so tell me what Kimi is right now and don’t lie to me.”

‘Look at that, she isn’t going to kill us,’ the voice joked. ‘Now that I’ve got a good look at her, she doesn’t look too good.’

‘I can see that, that is why we are trying to help her,’ I scolded to my other half.

''‘It is too late for that. You should kill her now and get it over with,’'' he said and I heard that laugh of his that could turn milk sour.

“Ash, tell me now!” Aisling repeated as she pulled me from my own thoughts. I looked up and saw that she had her ax pointed at me. I knew that she would do pretty much anything to know what I already did. Kimi wasn’t just Kimi anymore to Aisling; she was now a puzzle that Aisling couldn’t figure out. All children or even legacies of Athena couldn’t stand not being able to solve a puzzle.

“Ok, I’ll tell you the truth; just put the ax down first,” I told her and she did, but she still kept it tight in her hand instead or reverting it to its hidden form. “You’re probably going to want to sit down.”

“I’m fine as I am,” Aisling replied, never taking her eyes away.

“Fair enough I guess,” I said and took in a deep breath before releasing it. “Kimi is…different from most people out there.”

“You’re avoiding the question again,” Aisling said as I saw her fingers twitch in her ax hand.

‘You should use the Mist and make her forget any of this ever happened.’

‘I’m not doing that to my friend,’ I countered.

‘Looks like you already are,’ he laughed in my head and I felt my arm moving on its own. I had to use all my willpower to keep it from going any higher and I regained control of myself. The entire time I just heard my unwanted house-guest laughing.

“Well Ashton Faith, what is she?” Aisling asked me again. It was the use of my full name that got my attention, like when my mom would yell at me whenever I got in trouble.

“She’s an Elemental, or at least part of one,” I confessed. I could see the gears in Aisling’s head start to turn as she put the puzzle pieces together.

“What does that mean? Is she an Elemental or isn’t she?” Aisling asked, still trying to figure out the answer without my help.

“When Fire was being attacked by the Collector…Lawrence…whatever; the fire Elemental split off a piece of her power and it took the form of Kimi,” I explained. “Remember that day at Olympus with the fire?”

“How could I forget that day? It was the day that all three of met for the first time…and when Olympus almost got sucked into a tornado,” she said, thinking about it in her head.

“That was because the Fire Elemental had sent her there out of desperation and the Wind Elemental tried to snuff out the last bit of fire so it could take over her territory,” I continued. Aisling seemed to finally understand what was happening.

“So that explains why she has no memory of her past and the fact she hasn’t been claimed by anyone. How she seems to react whenever an Elemental is acting up. Why that bow she carries would drain her so much,” Aisling said to herself, but then locked eyes with me again. “How much of this does she know?”

“As far as I know, nothing,” I said, turning away from her gaze.

“So you haven’t told her anything?” Aisling asked accusingly. Not only that, but she sounded angry as her eyes flashed an even deeper shade of red. “You’re a coward.”

“You don’t understand,” I started. “I’ve wanted to tell her, I just haven’t found the right time.”

“And when would be the right time?! When we set the Elementals free and Kimi is pulled back into just being a small flame in the eye is the Fire Elemental!” Aisling yelled.

In all honesty I hadn’t even thought of that. What would happen if we did free the Elementals? Was I strong enough to protect her if something like that had happened? Maybe I always knew and just tried to hide it from myself. Maybe I really am a coward.

‘Can’t argue with that,’ I heard in my mind.

‘I’m going to kill you if you say another word,’ I shouted back.

‘I’d like to see you try…’ he said and his voice seemed to echo until it faded.

“You’re going to kill me? That’s a joke. With the power I have now, I doubt anyone could kill me,” Aisling joked as she swung her ax around.

“Did I say that out loud? Listen Aisling, I wasn’t talking to you; I was talking to someone else,” I confessed, but it just made me sound crazy.

“I’m the only one within a hundred feet. Trust me I know; I can see everything. I can see a deer over there eating some grass as her little fawn stands guard. I can see every beat of their hearts,” she said as she turned to me. “I can even see that papercut on your finger.”

I had forgotten about it until she mentioned it. I looked down and saw that the small cut was still there, but at some point a small drop of blood had formed. I looked at it for a second and then back to Aisling. She wasn’t looking at me anymore, but at the small drop of blood on my finger and she licked her lips.

“Aisling, you aren’t like this,” I said, trying to calm her down. Now I was in trouble and I knew that she could probably kill me even before I got my sword out. I mean her weapon was at the ready and she could move faster than I could see. My only choice was to calm her down. “Try and think clearly.”

“Just a taste,” Aisling pleaded as she looked at me, but it was more like she was looking past me as if I wasn’t even there. The corners of her mouth turned upward into a kind of demented smile and I saw that her teeth had gotten longer. “Maybe a lick or…a bite.”

“Aisling!” I shouted and her smile faded. She looked around wildly like a sleepwalker that just woke up in the middle of the hallway instead of their own bed. That bright red in her eyes seemed to fade into a mix of red and grey. Her teeth seemed to retract back into her gums somewhat.

“I’m..I’m sorry. I don’t…I’m not sure…I…” Aisling said, her voice shaky as she held herself and dropped to her knees. It looked like she wanted to cry, but the tears wouldn’t fall from her eyes and I wondered if she even could. My body seemed to react on impulse and I dropped down next to her and wrapped my arms around her. Aisling didn’t move and just sat on the ground. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll fix this and make everything right,” I told her, but I wasn’t sure if I was lying or telling the truth. I didn’t know if I could fix this, but I was going to try my best. Aisling took a deep breath and seemed to calm herself down.

“Can we really?” Aisling said, more to herself then me. “What is going to happen to Kimi, to us, to the Elementals?”

“I don’t know, but we’ll have to figure it out when it happens. Are you with me?” I asked her, helping her up to her feet.

“Ya, I’m with you. But don’t think this means you’re off the hook. We’re still going to tell Kimi the first chance we get,” she said and gave me a playful punch, which hurt a lot more than it should have. We walked back to the camp and I said my goodnights to Aisling. I climbed into the tent and found that Jack had indeed turned the temperature down as low as it could go. I turned it up to normal levels and crawled into my sleeping bag. I looked at the ceiling of my tent until I finally felt sleep overtake me.