The Beast In The Corridors

The Beast In The Corridors
It felt as if the world around me had crashed to the ground. Was this man really saying that I was going to die again and this time stay dead?

"As a mage, you should know about this." Geofrey pointed out, seeming amused. "Are you really one, or are you just faking?"

"I only recently learned of my past self." I responded slowly, still trying to process what I was just told. "There is still a lot I have to learn again."

Closing my eyes, I took a calming breath. How is this even happening right now? How long did I have?

"Can you tell me more about this body-snatcher thing?" I asked, suddenly feeling desperate. "Is there a way to stop the rejection?"

Instead of responding, Geofrey narrowed his gaze. From the look that was slowly forming on his face, it was clear he didn't know what to think of my question.

"Come with me." He sighed, reaching out and grabbing my wrist. "This isn't the place to talk."

Having no reason to decline, I allowed him to lead me down the long hallway and towards a dark corridor lit only by a single torch hanging haphazardly on a wall sconce.

"Where are we going?" I asked, eyeing a very large spiderweb lining the roof above us.

"My office," he explained, stopping at the end of the hall. "It's more private."

Remaining silent, I watched as he began to run his finger along a wall as if looking for something. Confused, I started debating whether or not I should run. It was only when the ground beneath my feet began to rumble that I realized what was going on.

Eyes growing wide, I watched as light began to form along the door within the wall.

"A hidden study?" Though I knew I should be weary, I couldn't stop my piqued interest. "How?"

"This is normal." Geofrey huffed. "Most palaces and homes of nobles contain at least one or two hidden passages."

Nodding I watched and waited as the door began to slide up, causing rubble and dust to fall to the ground beneath it.

Just beyond, I could see a brightly lit room with a large desk covered in books sitting in the center of it. Behind the desk sat a large bookcase filled to the brim with books that contained strange titles, and as we stepped inside, shelves covered in jars and bottles came into view.

Stopping in my tracks, I closed my eyes as a vision of a similar room popped into my mind. Instantly, I recognized the room as my own office, back when I was the grand mage of this land.

Instantly, my heart gave a painful lurch at the memory of my own sacred space. As far as I knew, that place was probably long gone and forgotten. How in the world could I have abandoned it?

"What's wrong?" Geofrey asked, sensing my sadness.

"I just remembered something." I responded quietly, feeling the urge to cry. "I'm okay."

Eyeing me, he seemed unconvinced of my words, but after a moment, he just shrugged and headed towards his bookshelf. Beginning to rummage through the many volumes in front of him, Geofrey mumbled quietly.

"What are you looking for?" I asked, unable to control my curiosity. "Maybe I can..."

"FOUND IT!" He boomed, pulling a leather-bound book with years of wear on it from the shelf and slamming it down on his desk. "This should answer all your questions."

"You mean..."

If I were keeping up with this man's sporadic thought process, then this book should be about body snatchers. Surging forward, I looked at the cover, taking in the gold letters that read Transmigration. Lifting a brow, I looked up from it and back to Geofrey.

"You don't even know what it was that you did?" He huffed, seeming to be becoming genuinely fed up with me. "Your soul transmigrated from your original body to the one you're in now."

"But how come this body looks exactly the same as the one I had there?"

With all my memories back in place, I could remember every detail of my last life, including exactly how I looked.

"Luck, perhaps?" He offered, rubbing his massive chin. "I just know that this isn't your original body; this one was already here to begin with."

If what he was saying was true, then how in the hell did this body end up in Elias' bed, and what happened to the original owner? Was she in fact an assassin sent to kill Elias but died before she even got the chance?

"I'm getting a headache." I muttered as all my questions began to become overwhelming.

"Best to not be too terribly concerned." Geofrey offered as if it were that easy. "You wanted to know if there was a way to reverse the rejection process. If there is a way, it is in this book."

Nodding, I ran my hand along the surface of the book while feeling my heart begin to pound in my chest. Even though I asked the question, I wasn't necessarily sure that I wanted to know the answer.

"Are you going to take a look?" He asked, beginning to lose patience. "I didn't just waste my precious time hunting that for you to pet."

Flushing, I quickly lifted the book from the desk and opened it.

"There isn't a table of contents." I said slowly, beginning to flip through the pages. "How am I supposed to know if what I'm looking for is in this?"

"Do you not know how to read?" Geofrey asked, reaching up a hand and flicking my forehead. "Take it with you; read through it. Bring it back to me tomorrow when we proceed with your first magic lesson."

"But won't you get in trouble for lending this to me?" I asked as an image of an overly aggressive Vladimier popped into my head.

"That man won't care what I give you." He assured me, smirking. "After all, I am your tutor, so I can simply say it was part of your lesson. Unless, of course, you plan to tell him about your situation. "

"I don't." I said immediately. "I don't want anyone to know this."

As I spoke, an image of Elias' face popped into my mind, and I immediately found myself wondering exactly how he would react if he knew that I was slowly beginning to die. Would he care, or would he just shrug it off? At the mere thought of him just shrugging it off, I felt a pang of pain rush through my chest. Though I had all but rejected him, I still couldn't stop the strong emotions that rushed through me when I thought of him.

"You alright?" Geofrey muttered, drawing me back to the present.

"Yeah." I responded, plastering a smile on my face. "Thanks for this; I'll read through it tonight."

"Good girl." He beamed, seeming mighty proud of himself. "I think this will end our lesson. You should head back now."

"Right." I responded, giving a slight bow. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah, yeah," he huffed.

Taking that as my cue to leave, I quickly turned on my heel and made my way back into the damp and dark hallway, hoping that I could remember my way back. Retracing my steps, I looked around, trying to notice if the area I was passing seemed familiar. However, the further I went, the less I recognized the area.

Slowly realizing that I was getting lost, I stopped and examined the area, considering whether or not I should retrace my steps, but just as I found myself deciding to go back the way I came, I heard a loud hiss echo through the hall around me. Feeling a chill run up my spine, I slowly turned, preparing to face whatever it was that caused it.

With wide eyes, I watched as bright red eyes stared at me from the shadows before slowly beginning to become surrounded by a scaly face with a jutting open mouth, revealing razor-sharp, decaying teeth and a long, spiked tongue that shot in and out, seeming to taste the air as it examined me with a look of hunger.

"What..." I murmured just as the creature released a garbled growl and lounged forward.

Lifting my arms, I prepared for the blow as the creature raced towards me, ready to have me as its next meal. I didn't know why it was in the castle corridors, but due to my negligence, I had managed to find my way into its territory, and now I wasn't sure if I would manage to survive.