Chapter-HundredThirty, Memories

Chapter-HundredThirty, Memories
Deadly Tree’s POV (Part Two) 

Memories

The underworld had finally gone quiet.

For once.

The demons sprawled across my chambers unconscious after drinking themselves into oblivion from the mushroom liquor. Broken goblets littered the black marble floor while purple flames crackled softly inside the wall torches.

Usually I enjoyed the silence.

Tonight it felt unbearable.

I stood alone near the balcony overlooking the endless darkness below, gripping the cold stone railing hard enough to crack it beneath my fingers.

Something was wrong with me.

Terribly wrong.

My thoughts wouldn’t stop spiraling.

Fragments of memories kept slamming into my mind violently.

Memories that weren’t mine.

At least…

I didn’t think they were.

A little girl laughing while running through rain.

Silver eyes staring at me warmly.

Strong arms lifting me onto broad shoulders.

A voice saying softly:

“You’re safe with me, Gem.”

Gem.

That name again.

Why did it hurt so much?

I pressed both hands against my head as pain exploded behind my eyes once more.

“Stop…” I whispered shakily.

The visions only grew worse.

Another flash.

A younger version of myself crying beside a grave.

A male kneeling beside me holding my face gently.

“You don’t have to be strong all the time.”

Another memory.

Thunder crashing outside while I hid beneath blankets.

Someone laughing softly before pulling me against a warm chest.

“It’s only noise, troublemaker.”

My breathing became uneven.

None of this made sense.

Why did these memories feel real?

Why did they feel like mine?

The prisoner.

It started after seeing him.

After hearing him call me sister.

My chest tightened painfully again.

Why is the man my master is holding affecting me this badly?

I hated the feeling.

Hated the confusion.

Hated the weakness clawing through my thoughts.

Master Luicen saved me.

Created me.

Freed me.

So why did part of me suddenly fear him?

The thought alone made darkness ripple violently around my body.

No.

I couldn’t think like that.

I owed him everything.

Didn’t I?

I turned sharply away from the balcony before pacing my chambers restlessly.

The demons remained asleep behind me.

Lucky them.

I couldn’t sleep.

Every time I closed my eyes I heard that prisoner’s voice again.

I’m your brother.

Brother.

The word echoed endlessly inside my skull.

I needed answers.

But I couldn’t ask Master Luicen.

Fear curled through me instantly at the thought.

If he sensed doubt inside me—

He would destroy me.

I had seen what happened to creatures who disappointed him.

Their screams still haunted parts of this castle.

No.

I had to find answers myself.

And there was only one person who could give them.

The prisoner.

Sean.

Even thinking his name sent another strange ache through my chest.

I stopped pacing abruptly.

I cursed him.

The nightmare curse was still feeding from his mind.

That meant I could enter his dreams.

Watch.

Question him without Master Luicen ever knowing.

The realization sent dark excitement through me instantly.

Yes.

That would work.

I slowly walked toward the center of my chambers before kneeling beside a black rune circle carved into the floor.

The symbols glowed faintly beneath my touch.

Ancient dream magic.

Forbidden magic.

Perfect.

Purple fire rose around me as I sliced my palm open with one sharp claw.

Black blood dripped onto the runes instantly.

The chamber darkened.

Shadows twisted violently across the walls.

And then I began chanting softly.

“Per noctem aperi portas mentis…”
(Through the night, open the gates of the mind…)

The air became heavier immediately.

“Per terrorem liga animam…”
(Through terror, bind the soul…)

The rune circle burned bright crimson beneath me.

“Da mihi oculos ad somnia eius…”
(Give me eyes into his dreams…)

Dark smoke curled upward around my body.

“Et per timorem fac me ambulare…”
(And through fear, let me walk within them…)

The room vanished instantly.

Darkness swallowed me whole.

Then—

Screaming.

I appeared inside the nightmare.

Fire consumed everything.

The smell of blood and burning flesh filled the air while wolves screamed in agony around me.

Bodies littered the ground.

Children.

Warriors.

Women.

Dead.

A massive tree towered above the battlefield twisted with black vines and rotting flesh.

The Deadly Tree.

Me.

No…

Not me.

The nightmare shifted violently.

I spotted Sean immediately.

He was chained to the ground on his knees screaming himself hoarse while demons forced his head upward.

“NO!”

The sound ripped from him painfully.

I followed his horrified gaze.

And froze.

A woman with silver-blonde hair was being torn apart by demons in front of him.

Her screams echoed endlessly across the burning battlefield.

Mate.

The realization came instinctively somehow.

Sean struggled violently against the chains.

“ZOE!”

Another body hit the ground nearby.

Then another.

And another.

His family.

Forced to die while he watched helplessly.

The nightmare fed from his terror beautifully.

Yet strangely…

Watching it made my chest hurt.

Sean’s face twisted in agony as blood poured from his wrists where silver chains cut deep into his flesh.

“Please stop…” he begged brokenly.

The demons only laughed.

One shoved him harder into the dirt forcing him to watch as the woman’s body finally went limp.

Something twisted painfully inside me.

This wasn’t pleasure.

Not anymore.

This was horror.

Sean collapsed against the chains shaking violently.

Then suddenly—

His eyes snapped toward me.

He saw me.

Dream walkers were rare.

Most trapped souls never noticed me inside their nightmares.

But Sean did instantly.

His expression changed from devastation to shock.

“Gemma?”

That name again.

Pain stabbed through my skull instantly.

I stepped closer carefully while fire crackled around us.

“My name is Deadly Tree.”

Sean stared at me silently for several seconds.

God.

The grief in his eyes nearly made me step back.

Like seeing me hurt him more than the nightmare itself.

“You really don’t remember,” he whispered.

I folded my arms coldly trying to ignore the strange ache building in my chest.

“You claim to know me.”

His laugh came out broken.

“Know you?” Tears burned down his face. “Gemma you’re my sister.”

The word hit like a physical blow.

Sister.

Another flash exploded through my head instantly.

A younger boy placing flowers in my hair while I laughed.

Warm sunlight.

Safety.

Love.

I staggered slightly.

Sean noticed immediately.

“That’s you remembering.”

“No.” I snarled harshly. “These memories are lies.”

Sean’s expression shattered.

“They’re not lies.”

The nightmare around us shifted violently again.

Now we stood inside a warm pack house kitchen.

Laughter echoed softly around the room.

A younger version of me sat on a counter stealing food from Sean’s plate while he argued with me.

I froze completely.

It felt real.

Too real.

“You used to do that constantly,” Sean said quietly beside me. “You annoyed the hell out of everyone.”

The memory version of myself laughed loudly.

The sound sliced through me.

Because I knew that laugh.

I knew it.

“No…” My breathing became uneven.

Sean stepped closer slowly.

“You were stubborn,” he whispered. “Too brave for your own good.” His eyes filled with tears again. “You used to hide in my room during storms because thunder scared you.”

Another memory slammed into me violently.

Darkness.

Thunder.

Strong arms wrapping around me protectively.

“You’re safe, Gem.”

Pain exploded through my chest so hard I gasped.

“STOP!”

The dream cracked violently around us.

Walls shattered.

Fire exploded outward.

Sean flinched but didn’t move away from me.

“Gemma listen to me,” he said desperately. “Luicen lied to you.”

“NO!”

Darkness burst from my body violently.

The nightmare trembled beneath my power.

“He saved me!”

Sean’s eyes filled with heartbreak.

“He destroyed you.”

The words cut deep.

Because part of me feared he was telling the truth.

I looked away from him breathing hard.

“If what you say is true…” My voice shook slightly. “Then why can’t I remember fully?”

Sean swallowed hard.

“Because he corrupted your soul.”

Silence followed.

Heavy.

Painful silence.

The nightmare shifted again around us.

Now I stood watching another memory.

Me.

Crying.

Sean hugging me tightly after a nightmare.

“I’ll always protect you,” memory Sean whispered softly.

Something inside me cracked.

A sob nearly escaped my throat before I forced it back violently.

No.

This couldn’t be real.

Could it?

I turned toward Sean again.

His face was exhausted.

Broken.

Yet despite everything—

He looked at me with love.

Not fear.

Not hatred.

Love.

Why?

I cursed him.

Hurt him.

Destroyed him.

Yet he still looked at me like I mattered.

“Why do you care?” I whispered before I could stop myself.

Sean stared at me like the answer was obvious.

“Because you’re my family.”

The words nearly shattered me completely.

Family.

Another memory flickered.

A graveyard.

Sean holding me while I cried.

“You still have me.”

Tears burned my eyes instantly.

I stepped backward violently.

“No…”

Sean moved carefully toward me.

“Gemma please fight him.”

“I don’t know who I am!” I screamed.

The nightmare exploded around us.

Fire consumed everything again.

Dark vines burst through the ground violently while screams echoed in every direction.

Sean grabbed my shoulders desperately.

“You’re Gemma!” he shouted. “You’re not a monster!”

Pain tore through my skull violently.

Deadly Tree.

Gemma.

Monster.

Sister.

The names collided endlessly inside my head.

I shoved Sean away suddenly breathing hard.

“I can’t trust you.”

His expression broke all over again.

“Gem…”

“I don’t know what’s real anymore,” I whispered shakily.

And that terrified me more than anything.

Because for the first time since my rebirth—

I wasn’t sure Master Luicen was telling the truth.