AIDAN

Once home, Nadia and Lana quickly passed out. I was not so fortunate. Trying something I hadn’t done since my first year in college, I sat forward in bed, crossed my legs, and closed my eyes to focus on my breathing. What if I were to lose control again when we trained the next day? My lungs were heavy. I just wanted to know how I controlled my violent compulsion in my previous life as Zagon.

A tingling sensation ran through my spine followed by a feeling of weightlessness. “If I open my eyes, and I'm floating above my bed again, I'm gonna lose my mind.”

I slowly peeked, keeping my fingers crossed. “Sweet baby buddha!” I was rapidly floating away from the house. “That’s my roof!” I squinted to see clearer, but, instead, saw straight through the house and into my room. My body was still sitting on the bed. Before I could even try to deduce a way to drop down, my speed kicked up a few hundred notches, sending me soaring through the night sky.

“Why? Why can't I do one simple thing without it turning into The Twilight Zone? At least I'm not scared of falling since I'm not in my body.” It then dawned on me I had no idea where I was going.

Bursts of red light appeared and encircled me. I was still processing everything when a tunnel of crimson light formed around me. At my current speed, I would have lost my skin miles back.

The red tunnel of light finally faded, bringing me to a stop in a massive stone corridor. “Uh, alrighty then.” I gawked at the gothic architecture. Stained glass windows lined the stone corridor. They went forty or fifty feet to the ceiling, while large candelabras burned in front of each one. The dark stone walls were deeply upsetting. Every few feet, a carved image of titan-sized monsters torturing humans decorated the walls.

I moved my legs to step back but didn’t go anywhere. “What the he—oh, I'm still floating.” My recent stint with levitation gave me a head start in maneuvering.

I hovered along the never-ending corridor until coming to double doors, also detailed with monstrous carvings. “Who decorated this place? Tim Burton?” I gently eased towards the door and tried the handle. My hand went right through. “I’m not sure why I ever expect anything to be normal.” I breathed deeply and phased past the doors.

The first couple of rooms blew my mind until I realized each was as intricate and antique-filled as the next. Furniture, paintings, candlesticks, poster beds, and tapestries belonging to someone of extreme wealth and aristocratic taste.

After a little more exploration, I found myself in a huge foyer with a stone staircase wide enough to fit a decent-sized house. It led to yet another set of massive double doors. "They really weren't afraid to destroy ecosystems in whatever medieval century this is. I’m sure there’s a forest somewhere trying to regrow its dignity." I approached the staircase but stopped when the doors behind me creaked open.

If I had been in my body, the blood would have drained from my face. "What the—who the--how?" I stammered at the sight of myself stepping through the doors. My other self’s hair was longer than I would have ever kept it, and slicked back; not to mention he looked like he was on his way to a renaissance fair.

“This doesn't make any sense. Nadia’s past self looked nothing like her. Wouldn't Mr. Serious have been able to recognize me as Zagon by my face, regardless of my mental blocks? My face. Why do I look the exact same?” I awkwardly waved at my past self but he looked right through me.

Zagon’s black hide-skin jacket didn't look half bad with its metallic accents and a serious number of buckles, most assuredly for weapons. His pants, however, looked a little snug for my taste. My balls hurt just from looking at them. Zagon redeemed himself with an awesome pair of ass-kicking boots.

“Oh man, those are sweet gauntlets. Memo to self, bring gauntlets back.” Realizing Zagon was about to walk through me, I floated back. He stopped to look at the doors at the top of the stairs. I followed his line of sight before he raised a hand and made the doors swing open.

I followed Zagon through the opening to a courtyard. Dead center was another set of stairs leading high to an aerial chamber. The entrance of which was surprisingly more sinister than any thus far through the castle.

No matter how hard I squinted, I couldn't see inside. “Let me guess, we want the terrifying doors?"

Zagon stood at the foot of the steps before he leapt through the air. I took a deep, calming breath and concentrated on following him. Almost at the elevated chamber, Zagon landed a few steps from the top.

As I passed him, I looked back before deciding to go in first. I turned face forward in time to slam against the double doors. Searing pain shot from my head to my toes. I wailed while slowly floating around from disorientation. “Really?! The physics here suck.”

Once recovered, I floated to the doors from hell to give them a closer look. A barely visible glow on them gave the impression there was some kind of barrier. The large fanged skull on the door almost seemed to be laughing at me.

I knew I was way past getting through on my own and floated back to Zagon. He stepped up to the doors like he was in a staring contest with the fanged skull. After I bobbed around Zagon for twenty rotations and five long minutes, he finally broke his concentration. Looking at the night sky, a single tear escaped his eyes. He stepped forward and the doors flew from their hinges into the chamber.

Zagon didn’t waste any time entering the circular interior. The marble floor was so shiny, it reflected my image perfectly. It almost freaked me out until I remembered I was the only one who could see it. Black fabric lined the dome ceiling with the ends draping both sides of a throne. A rather creepy throne decked out with skulls galore. Zagon walked towards the center of the chamber, keeping his gaze locked on the royal seat.

“Maybe if I try meditating, I can get myself back home. Granted, it may take actual effort this time, but--oh, god. What’s happening?” Shivers ran down my spine from black smoke materializing from the floor and walls. The smoke rushed past Zagon and I, joining together above the throne. Once completely gathered, two huge glowing eyes opened within the blackness. The shimmering silver irises locked onto Zagon and did what could only be described as smiling.

The smoke ducked behind the throne followed by a gorgeous woman looking about in her early forties slowly stepping into view.

Her long brown hair cascaded to where her knees would be under her off-the-shoulder black ballgown. Her face was perfect in every way you spun the word with big almond-shaped eyes and long lashes. A terrifying smile formed on her red lips at Zagon.

Her voice was ethereal in the way that it seemed to be everywhere. “Enoch, my darling, I presume you received my gift. I hope you found it as entertaining as I, but from your stone facade, I can see you did not. What a shame.” She slowly caressed the throne’s arms.

My eyebrows furrowed in confusion and looked between the woman in black and my past self. “Who’s Enoch? I thought your name—I mean my—our name was Zagon?”

“Foul sorceress of malice; disgusting and abominable.” Enoch pulled off his jacket to be shirtless. “Your day of reckoning is at hand. By my birthright, Amara, I shall expel you and your dark magic back to the recesses of oblivion.” He spat at the bottom of Amara’s dress.

She made her way past the throne until standing a few yards shy of us. Amara's head tilted to the side and her smile grew. “Tell me, Enoch, son of my own traitorous spawn, Zagon, do you think yourself a benevolent being? What of this family and your lineage leads you to believe such fallacies?”

“Wait, what?” I blurted, though neither the woman nor Enoch could hear me. “What do you mean son of Zagon? And you’re my—our grandmother? But, you’re like, way too young.”

“Enoch, my darling, why you are the very personification of chaos. Don’t tell me you think yourself a benevolent creature.” Amara finished with a snap of her fingers. Different forms of weaponry, from swords to javelins and halberds to scythes, manifested in the air, surrounding Enoch.

Enoch’s face twisted in anger, showing a crack in his stoic demeanor. “You murdered every benevolence I've ever known!” His eyes welled, though his face remained cold. “Even...”

There was a twinkle in Amara’s eyes. “Oh, my poor sweet boy. Your love was in such devastating agony, too. You see, I have a tendency to lose my composure during playtime. When Eric could scream no longer, I mercifully and might I add, quickly, ended his suffering by feeding him to my babies in the catacombs.” Amara licked her fingers and smiled. “I gave his death a purpose, something few individuals ever achieve. My devils have been full for days. But I saved Eric’s heart and gifted it to you. It did, after all, belong to you, and I did my utmost to keep it in one piece. You should show more appreciation.” Amara let a small laugh slip before covering her mouth.

Enoch dropped to his knees, seemingly devastated by Amara’s words. Feeling sympathetic, I floated over to him, but when I approached, I sensed something familiar. Savage and dark. Blackness coursed inside Enoch’s veins and seeped through his pores. I watched his hands change into claws.

I did a double-take at the blackness from his skin abruptly evaporating. Outshining every drop of darkness, white light surrounded Enoch where he stood.

Enoch’s claws, which centuries from then would be my own, changed from black and jagged to white and pearl-smooth. He lifted his head barely an inch, but it was enough for me to see his eyes. They were iridescent.

I looked back at Amara to see the confusion build on her face. “It is not possible.” She raised her hand, but Enoch unfolded massive white bat wings from his back and charged her. He blasted forward with such power; I was blown backward.

Until then, I had been unaffected by everything, save for the creepy chamber doors. I briefly caught sight of Enoch as the rest of his body became pearl-like. While rolling through the air, bursts of red light appeared like fireworks around me again, growing larger and brighter.

My spirit, or whatever, was yanked from behind, pulling me into the red tunnel of light. Once it finally faded, it took me a second to realize I was speeding through the sky towards my house. The fast and forceful re-entry into my body sent me flying from my bed and into a wall.

I tried to sit up, but a non-stop ringing coursed through my ears. My breathing was going hard and fast, and for the first time in days, I actually felt my heartbeat. After pulling myself onto the bed, I stared at the ceiling while letting sweat pour from me. “Enoch,” I breathed. “Son of Zagon.”