20

BRICE

I rinse the soap suds off Soleil's body for the second time and watch the foamy trail flow down the drain. The water is clean and so is she.

Soleil smells like the citrus and rose body wash I am used to wafting off her skin.

I shut off the water, walk out of the cubicle, and retrieve one of her towels. She's still in the stall naked and afraid when I wrap her in the bath sheet before leading her out.

I coach her onto the bed before returning to the bathroom to dry myself off and slip on my briefs. I take a look at the man staring at me in the mirror. He looks stressed and uncertain.

How did I get here?

I go back into the bedroom and chance a glance at Soleil who hasn't moved from where I deposited her. I want to go back to my dorm, but I can't leave her like this.

I have an internal battle with myself on whether to go or to stay.

I find myself making the decision when I slide her drawers open to retrieve a tampon, underwear and a plain T. I walk up to her, help her stand up and dry off. The white cloth is stained crimson as I wipe her legs down and in between.

I search her eyes for recognition. Her irises move from side to side, her gaze is unfocused and spaced out.

I make the executive decision to dress her when I toss the towel on her bed, unwrap the purple covering and slip the tampon inside her. It's intimate, even under the circumstances.

I help her slide into her underwear and then the shirt which falls mid-thigh. This is not my first time practicing after care, but it is the first where I'm the cause of the damage. I think of Hailey who I'd come across in a state of shock and had to nurse back to health.

It took a while but she finally told me about the sick men in her family. I'd never force myself on a woman let alone my own blood. How shameful.

I battle with myself yet again as to whether I should leave when I tuck Soleil into the freshly made bed.

Against my better judgement, I find myself sliding in behind and holding her close, willing her to get better as I try to come up with some sort of plan.

Thierry – he would know what to do, my mind proffers the solution.

However, he's been distant. When I was younger, he'd refer to me as son all the time, yet as of late I can see the derision when he calls me boy  anytime I mess up. I have to come up with a solution that doesn't include him.

The extensive library in Paris comes to mind, however I've been warned against teleporting over long distances.

I may have been warned about porting but that doesn't mean I can't project.

It would be my mind not my physical body I would be transporting. It is my mind that I needed to find the information on love spells. There must be a book that can remedy this curse. I've spotted sections here and there in my readings, but never paid them much attention.

I'll leave in a couple of hours.

At peace with a plan, my mind ceases racing and I close my eyes settling into sleep.

I will fix this, I vow.

Before the lull of sleep can drag me under, I'm stunned awake by the escalating beat of Soleil's heart. It isn't long before her breath follows in quick short gasps.

I feel a cold chill settle around the room raising the hairs on my arms and at the back of my neck. I draw her closer to me as my body recoils, ready for attack.

The shadows dancing on the walls merge and morph into demonic shadows before descending to the floor and making their path to where we lie.

I recognize them for what they are - terror demons. More out of instinct than actual will, I port us back into my room at the manor seeking safety.

Just when I think everything will be fine, Soleil starts screaming.

I climb out of bed and so does she, running in every direction with that high pitched yell. It escalates to a screech when she pulls my bathroom door open and finds herself on the other side.

I have to block my ears as I struggle to make my way to her. She evades me and tries the other door that leads out into the hallway.

The shriek stops and for a moment I wonder if she's a banshee. Before I can properly think it over, I hear her hurried footsteps padding their way down the hall, away from the sleeping quarters.

I chase after her. At the threshold of my bedroom, I catch a glimpse of her as she turns the corner and makes her way down the grand staircase. The girl is fast. I'm pumping my arms and legs trying to reach her before she hurts herself.

I push my body a little harder. When I have her within reach, I tackle her to the ground.

I immediately regret it when I hear her head bounce again the hard tiles.

"He's after me. He's going to kill me. Please don't kill me," she mumbles deliriously. Her eyes roll to the back off her head before she passes out.

"Soleil?!" I pick her up, cradling the back of her head and gently try to shake her awake.

She fails to come to.

I try again.

Nothing.

I thought I could do this alone but I'm running out of options. The subdued and serious Soleil I know is behaving like a maniac. There are terror demons after her. This is more than I can handle.

As pissed and frustrated as I am over the situation, I don't want her to die. I don't want anything bad to happen to her.

I stand up and scoop her into my arms heading for the sun room. I deposit her on the lone chaise lounge that stands under the sunroof surrounded by a myriad of plants. I take a look back and she's still asleep. Opening the doors that lead to the dense wood, I head for the lake.

*

I call forth the steel blade I usually keep in my room and slice my palm open, allowing the blood to drop into the water.

I need Thierry to come. This lake is a gateway. It will allow him entrance into this world instead of the intermittent projections I see when I need a quick word.

I close my eyes and try calm the racing of my heart by chanting his name and my request.

A cool hand pries my bloody fingers away from the stinging cut. I open my eyes to find Thierry standing before me in wet black jeans, the water from his hair dripping down his torso.

"You're hurt. What is it mon fils?" my son.

His cool gaze assesses mine. His voice is strong and calm. My BPM drops with the endearment. I feel the tension in my body ebb as my shoulders sag in relief.

"I did something bad."

He places a comforting hand on my shoulder and gives me a reassuring squeeze.

"Show me."

I don't spare another word. I turn and lead him back into the manor through the sun room. Soleil is still on the chaise curled up in a fetal position, facing us.

Thierry walks past me towards her, leaving a trail of water in his wake. He crouches at Soleil's side and tilts her chin up.

"Reveillez-vous," he commands. Wake up.

I watch her come to. Her eyes shift from unfocused to hypnotized as they latch onto his mesmerized. Brown orbs change to grey as they mirror his.

After a few minutes, Thierry holds his hand out to me.

I take hold of his hand and see what he sees: the woman who speaks to the child and sends her to her room; Soleil unscrewing the vent and fitting it back on as she makes her way through its passages; the gun; the hand that pulls the trigger.

Me chocking her in the shower; My hand transforming into the hand of the man with the gun as his tattoos ink their way up my arms.

"You tore a wall in her mind. This is her deepest trauma and your actions in this moment stands next to it in comparison. To make matters worse, she's merged the terror of the past with the present moment."

"What do you mean?" I find myself asking, dumbfounded.

"Memories are attached to emotion. The stronger the emotion, the deeper the memory is rooted in the mind. You took a memory walk, yes?" Thierry continues.

I nod with a heavy tongue.

"Memory walks are not to be disturbed. They are not intrusive. It's a fact finding mission. You are to be nothing more than a fly on the wall. The subject must not be aware that you are there. However, you were angry Brice. You terrified her of you when she initially was not. Her mind in seeking comparison latched onto the level of terror it knew.

"This moment, this scene, this murder, is what she now associates you with. You have upset one of the four fundamental faculties of the mind – her memory – through your anger. Do you understand?"

I nodded my head yes as I process what is being said.

"This is a rather useful form of attack if your intention is to break the mind of your enemy. Do you think you could do it again if need be?" Thierry asks, the corner of his mouth turned up in amusement.

I nod again feeling like one of those bobble-heads annoying people place on the dashboard of their cars.

I had been so excited to finally have Soleil to myself, to be with her without the prying eyes of onlookers only for her to tell me I'd been duped. I was upset.

I've been upset and gotten into fights but this felt different. It was personal. A part of me felt vindicated over the power I wielded over her when I entered her mind. But another part of me, a deeper more quiet part, wished I hadn't – wished it wasn't Soleil.

"What's the matter?" Thierry asks, standing to his full height and towering over me at 7 feet.

"I -" I pause and take a deep breath knowing that stuttering indicates hesitation and hesitation is a sign of uncertainty. "I wish I hadn't," I finish.

A wide grin spreads across Thierry's face. He doesn't look perturbed. I have that going for me at least.

"It's the spell. It's made you weak. Soft towards her..."

He waves his hand and a red luminous thread connecting Soleil and me appears.

With a snap of his fingers, it shatters into glitter moments before fading into dust and disappearing into the ether.

The air around me seems to clear as a haze lifts.

My vision sharpens.

I'm at complete ease and in control.

The first rational though about this situation enters my mind since finding out about the wish.

"Why her?" I voice to my guardian and god.

I wonder if this was random or if there's a particular reason, any rights, Soleil may have to ask for such a thing.

"We don't talk much at school. She's never shown an overt interest. So, why her? Why would a stupid love spell work on me if you told me I was a god among men?" my voice rises in anger.

Thierry had taught me that wishing was lazy magic. It was a matter of fate and relied on too many terms and conditions to be fulfilled. If one could pinpoint a finite problem then there was a finite solution to counter it.

Men of renown find solutions. They do not leave things to chance.

Wishes didn't seek solutions. They sought out back doors and bridges. Wishes were a way to get what you wanted now and pay for it later. From what I'd gathered, granted wishes were nothing but fools gold. The chances of the maker retaining their desire was slim to none.

"That's something I've also been asking myself."

Thierry combed a hand through his short, blond locks and looked me in the eye.

In a blink, I found myself viewing my high school memories in high definition with surround sound. He was walking through my mind but i was aware of it and him. Each memory moved past us faster than I could focus.

I caught glimpses of Hidde, Tsepho, Hailey, my pigeon – Pierre and Soleil.

Suddenly dozens of images of her flashed by in a blink. I didn't want to close my eyes and miss a thing.

The open vision before me slowed down and I found myself watching a thirteen year old rendition of me run across the beach and into the water after Charlondra who was struggling to make her way to Soleil against the tide and the waves.

Soleil's head bobbed in and out of the water precariously. She was drowning.

As soon as I was deep enough in the body of water, I sent a whistle though the waves, warding off any creatures that may have been lurking around her. The last thing I wanted was to deal with a shark or have something else get to her before I did.

Within a few seconds, I'd made it to her and had her on her back. My arm was secured around her neck keeping her head above water as I paddled back to shore.

Dragging her limp body onto the beach, I noticed the red lacerations of the sting. As I brushed my fingers against the welts, I was able to discern that the toxin was from a bluebottle and not a jellyfish.

I'd never been stung before. I had witnessed a few incidents and knew that as gross as urinating on someone was, the relief from the sting was immediate. Considering we were out here all alone, I whipped out moby dick and let the river flow focused on distributing the spray evenly over the red welts.

"What the actual fuck!?" Charlondra howled in disgust as she dragged herself over to us looking like a wet cat.

I tucked myself back in somewhat embarrassed.

The memory cut out and I found myself facing Thierry once again.

"You saved her life. A life for a life. The reason the spell worked is because she's already bound to you. You simply never claimed her."

"What do you mean?" This time I couldn't just accept his information at face value. What does he mean Soleil is bound to me?

"The one that gives you life is the one you owe your life. That is the rule of the gods. Naturally, your parents are your first god since they gave you life. The sea was going to take her life yet you redeemed it. Her life is yours. Claim it and you shall tip the scale back in your favour."

"How do I claim a life?" I asked, wrapping my mind around this new knowledge.

"Life and death are in the power of the tongue. Have her yield it over to you."

I hated being subjugated more than I hated these confusing riddles Thierry sometimes spoke in. I needed the upper hand. How could I have been so stupid? Stupid over Soleil when instead she was bound to me.

"But," He paused allowing the tension to build. "Claiming a life also means claiming responsibility for said life. Her well being is up to you - mentally, emotionally, physically, spiritually, and financially. The right is extended for as long as she remains alive. When she dies..."

"It's broken," I concluded what he implied.

"Exactly. And if she saves your life the debt is paid."

I thought back to Soleil and myself on that beach as I watched her lying on the chaise in the manor's sunroom.

She was not the object of my affection, but a subject to command and instruct.

With the ethereal bridge connecting us now broken, I was free. The balance of fate had shifted back in my favour. Instead of her having me spellbound, she owed me a debt.

She owed me her life.

04 | 03 | 2023

WC 2695

Guys, I love to swim but large bodies of water are a no from me 😭

So much is going on in the ocean...

Anyone ever been stung?

Would you let a good Samaritan piss on you for the relief? 😂