The master temple had a mystic air permeating its ancient walls, the smell of incense wafted through the air, the harmonious sounds of hymens reverberated over the walls of the massive inner chamber. A man in long flowing dark crimson robes walked deliberately deeper into the immense chamber, hands clasped and hidden in the folds of his robe as if he hid within the most precious of secrets.
He glided over the red and black granite floor that reflected the light of thousands of candles placed on the walls, all the exits of the chamber which counted to nine, and hanged from intricate chandeliers from the ceiling. For an onlooker, the man seemed to belong in this place, he folded the space around his robes and made it his own in more ways than one. Yet, something was odd about him, and only on further scrutiny would the onlooker realize that despite of the powerful light shed by the thousands of candles and their reflection, the man had no shadow, none whatsoever.
The shadowless man continued his walk to the very end of the chamber, where a man sized statue of a snake wrapped around a tall pole that carried what looked like a solar system with twelve planets. The mysterious man’s hand snaked out and touched with lightening speed spots on the body of the snake, and walked back three steps.
The sound of stone grating on stone flowed with the melodious hymns lending them an eerie quality, then a hole opened in the floor in front of the shadowless man and within was a set of stairs. He descended the stairs fast as the stone floor closed above him, sealing him from the temple above.
He walked through a long corridor lighted by living orbs of light, dancing and floating around him as he walked, and still he had no shadow under the powerful magical light.
At the end of the corridor, stood a massive mosaic of a black rose, the one the masters of the temple called Donum Tenebris, which meant the dark gift, he kissed the upper petal of the rose and the door turned to smoke that dissipated in front of him.
“You have come.” A woman sat in the corner of the hexagonal room that stood behind the smoke curtain.
“Yes.” The man delved inside and sat on the opposite corner to the woman. “How are faring, mistress of time?”
“As one might expect, master of dimensions.” The mistress of time had a mask covering her entire face, and the mask was the depiction of a multicolored whirlpool. “Did you know of the girl?”
“One of my eyes saw her as she touched the black rose.” The master of dimensions flicked his hand and an orb of light formed in the middle of the room.
In the orb, both could see Emily as she touched the black rose, and then as the stranger pushed her to inhale its scent.
“Who is that?” The mistress of time stared intently at the man in the image orb.
“I thought he was one of yours,” the master of dimensions said in a mocking voice. “We both know that you wanted to bring her in eons ago.”
“She might be important for the way, but she is not crucial.” The mistress looked away from the orb. “He is not one of mine.” She paused for a few seconds. “Did you check with the others?”
“All the other masters are trying to feed the void with broken dreams.” The master of dimensions sighed. “I guess this is what you get when you vote the master of shadows as this eon’s master.”
“She was the only one who stepped forward for the position.” The mistress waved her hand in dismissal. “We all bulked at being the possible master of the last eon.”
“True.” The master nodded. “Still, to jump at her whims, is a bit too much.”
“Agreed.” The mistress leaned forward in her seat. “Since we don’t know whose agent was that, what do you think should be the least obtrusive move?”
“She has already been inducted to the way.” The master held one hand in the other. “We can only assume that she will seek us soon.”
“But what if that agent takes her to them?” The mistress said in a firm and warning tone. “This could be as was foretold.”
“The end of times?” The master scoffed. “I don’t think it will visit us any time soon, the barrier between dimensions has never been as solid as it is.”
“So as the barrier between the times.” The mistress clenched her fists as she talked. “Still, we don’t know what will change the carnal nature of the void, it could be her.”
“Emily?” The master laughed. “She is just a infant.”
“She is human, and you know that they grow and learn very fast.” The mistress shook her head slowly. “You were once human, were you not?”
“I was, but that was fifty eons ago.” The master objected.
“Still, could it be that she has the spark?” The mistress dropped her hands in her lap and gazed back at the orb hanging in the air.
“If she is.” The master gazed in turn to the orb with Emily’s picture frozen in time. “Then one or more of has to die.”
If you liked this story, please check the first two episodes: The Black Rose, Part one, and The Black Rose, Part Two, The Sacred Scent.
You can also check these stories as well: Small Monster, and From Hell, Jack The Ripper.
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