the women floated above her. Their ancient, rasping words seemed magnified,
as though each syllable filled the entire room, until Scarlet felt like she was
filled with the very sound of them.
The first woman
was using a sing-songy voice. “A vampire in love with an Immortalist, dear
sisters. Have you ever heard of such a thing?”
“And when their
races bring our world to the brink of war!” added the second.
From her
position on the floor, Scarlet shook her head in confusion.
“What are you
talking about?” she pleaded. “I don’t understand! What war?”
From all around
her came the sound of the women laughing, echoing off every wall, swirling down
through the entire tower and back up again, multiplying fifty times over. Their
laughter grew louder and louder until Scarlet’s head pounded from the noise. Their
cackles merged with the roaring wind, with the rocking building.
Scarlet could
take no more. She slammed her fists into the ground. She felt the stone crack
beneath them.
“Why did you
bring me here?” she screamed.
All at once,
everything went silent. The women stopped howling with laughter. The wind
stopped roaring. The floor no longer shook.
Scarlet breathed
hard and deeply, trying to calm her frayed nerves.
“You brought me
here,” she added, “because you can help Sage. I know you can. I just want a cure.”
There was a long
moment of silence. Then, from the center of the room, a small yellow light
began to glow.
Scarlet swept
the hair from her eyes and peered up. The light radiated warmth, and for the
first time since she’d entered the tower, she got a real sense of her
surroundings. The Mayan-style stones exposed on the inside were a warm beige
color. There were no windows. The roof pointed up, culminating in a huge peak.
Dust covered cobwebs criss-crossed across the length of the ceiling, thick and
ancient.
And, more
importantly, Scarlet got her first proper look at the three strange women. In
the yellow light they appeared much younger. Their white shawls looked golden,
and the mistiness had disappeared from their eyes, revealing that each had a
different colored iris.
“Who are you?”
Scarlet said.
“We are the
beginning,” the first woman said. Her voice no longer cracked but was as smooth
as honey. Her eyes sparkled azure.
“We are the
end,” the second sister said, her emerald eyes glinting.
“We are all time
and no time,” added the third. She had deep black eyes like pools of oil.
“I don’t
understand,” Scarlet said.
The blue-eyed
sister ran a hand down her silky gold shawl and paced across the floor, her
steps as light as snow.
“We have been
here since the first spark of life,” she said. “And we have seen the end of
time. We exist always and forever, and always have, and always will, for ever
more. We have seen the birth of the Earth and its death. We have seen it a
thousand times over, backwards, forwards, and all at once. We know everything.”
“We are
knowledge,” the second sister added. “All understanding. We can stand on atoms.
We hold planets in the palms of our hands. We are the wind and the water, the
fire and the earth. We are everything that has ever been or ever will.”
“We are sorrow”
added the third sister. “We are joy. We have felt every tear that has been
shed. We have breathed every breath. We are pain and forgiveness, anger and
sin. We are intangible and everything that can be felt at once.”
Scarlet shook
her head and tried to calm her rapidly beating heart.
“And you can
help me?” she stammered.
The blue eyed
sister turned to the other two.
“Dear sisters,”
she said. “She cares deeply for the dying Immortalist.”
“It is a
powerful love, indeed,” the second sister said. “But what of her mother and
father? They chase her across the Earth.”
Scarlet finally
managed to collect herself and stood.
“What about my
parents?” she asked.
The third woman,
the one who had reviled Scarlet so much,
as though each syllable filled the entire room, until Scarlet felt like she was
filled with the very sound of them.
The first woman
was using a sing-songy voice. “A vampire in love with an Immortalist, dear
sisters. Have you ever heard of such a thing?”
“And when their
races bring our world to the brink of war!” added the second.
From her
position on the floor, Scarlet shook her head in confusion.
“What are you
talking about?” she pleaded. “I don’t understand! What war?”
From all around
her came the sound of the women laughing, echoing off every wall, swirling down
through the entire tower and back up again, multiplying fifty times over. Their
laughter grew louder and louder until Scarlet’s head pounded from the noise. Their
cackles merged with the roaring wind, with the rocking building.
Scarlet could
take no more. She slammed her fists into the ground. She felt the stone crack
beneath them.
“Why did you
bring me here?” she screamed.
All at once,
everything went silent. The women stopped howling with laughter. The wind
stopped roaring. The floor no longer shook.
Scarlet breathed
hard and deeply, trying to calm her frayed nerves.
“You brought me
here,” she added, “because you can help Sage. I know you can. I just want a cure.”
There was a long
moment of silence. Then, from the center of the room, a small yellow light
began to glow.
Scarlet swept
the hair from her eyes and peered up. The light radiated warmth, and for the
first time since she’d entered the tower, she got a real sense of her
surroundings. The Mayan-style stones exposed on the inside were a warm beige
color. There were no windows. The roof pointed up, culminating in a huge peak.
Dust covered cobwebs criss-crossed across the length of the ceiling, thick and
ancient.
And, more
importantly, Scarlet got her first proper look at the three strange women. In
the yellow light they appeared much younger. Their white shawls looked golden,
and the mistiness had disappeared from their eyes, revealing that each had a
different colored iris.
“Who are you?”
Scarlet said.
“We are the
beginning,” the first woman said. Her voice no longer cracked but was as smooth
as honey. Her eyes sparkled azure.
“We are the
end,” the second sister said, her emerald eyes glinting.
“We are all time
and no time,” added the third. She had deep black eyes like pools of oil.
“I don’t
understand,” Scarlet said.
The blue-eyed
sister ran a hand down her silky gold shawl and paced across the floor, her
steps as light as snow.
“We have been
here since the first spark of life,” she said. “And we have seen the end of
time. We exist always and forever, and always have, and always will, for ever
more. We have seen the birth of the Earth and its death. We have seen it a
thousand times over, backwards, forwards, and all at once. We know everything.”
“We are
knowledge,” the second sister added. “All understanding. We can stand on atoms.
We hold planets in the palms of our hands. We are the wind and the water, the
fire and the earth. We are everything that has ever been or ever will.”
“We are sorrow”
added the third sister. “We are joy. We have felt every tear that has been
shed. We have breathed every breath. We are pain and forgiveness, anger and
sin. We are intangible and everything that can be felt at once.”
Scarlet shook
her head and tried to calm her rapidly beating heart.
“And you can
help me?” she stammered.
The blue eyed
sister turned to the other two.
“Dear sisters,”
she said. “She cares deeply for the dying Immortalist.”
“It is a
powerful love, indeed,” the second sister said. “But what of her mother and
father? They chase her across the Earth.”
Scarlet finally
managed to collect herself and stood.
“What about my
parents?” she asked.
The third woman,
the one who had reviled Scarlet so much,
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