We all nod and call our powers forward. In the blink of an eye, my Valtrue, myself, Yemi, Sevryn, and Iric stand feet away from the healing villas’ double doors.
I swallow down my unease and doubt.
It doesn’t get by my men, though. They each, even Amick, close in around me and lay a hand on my body. I suck up their silent support and step through the door as Iric holds it open for us.
The knot in my throat grows tighter as we walk down the hall. The closer we get to the turn we’d need to take to reach the imitation rooms, the faster my heart pounds.
Luckily, before we reach it, we take a left through a different illusion wall. This is the first time I’ve noticed the sign above it.
Departed.
That makes sense. Sadly.
The whole layout of the Hailtorium, more so the healing villa side, not the dining hall side, is still utterly confusing to me. It’s been explained that certain walls will lead you to certain halls. Then, at the opposite end of those halls, another illusion wall will lead you directly outside like how Kyzen, Yemi, and I walked out on my first day here.
Crafty, yet the intricate workings of illusions are puzzling.
I’m not exactly sure what I expected to see when we walked into a room dedicated to the ‘departed,’ but this is even sadder than I imagined.
It’s basically a plain white room with no windows, no decorations, dim lighting, and bare stone slabs. Well…most are bare aside from the two that have white sheets draped over the bodies.
“Would you all give us some space? I’ll walk Thayla through everything.”
I give my men a clipped nod as Yemi steps toward me and links her arm through mine. Her trembles tumble through me, and I squeeze her bicep with my other hand.
“It’s going to be okay. Just a real quick switcheroo with our barriers.”
“You’re way calmer about this than I thought you’d be,” she says, blowing out a breath.
“I’m not calm at all. I’m just ignoring the reality of the situation. Do we have to…do we take their…fuck.”
So much for ignoring it.
“No, we don’t have to pull their sheets back. Just hover our hands over them.”
Gods, that’s still creepy as fuck.
My stomach sinks as we stand in the middle of the small space separating the two Attendants. I choke back the bile trying its damnedest to crawl up and out of my throat.
Although every inch of them is covered by the sheet, the perfect impressions of their bodies are on full display.
“Put your hands out like this and call your power of Boundaries forward,” Yemi says.
Her arms stretch out on either side of her with her palms hovering about a foot above the men. I do as she instructs and a tingle spreads down my spine. My shoulders straighten as the warmth of my power flows through the rest of my body, halting at my fingertips.
“Okay.”
“Good. N-now…” She clears the stutter from her throat and shakes her head out. “Map out their bodies and get a sense of your barrier surrounding them. I can feel it already. There’s just one lingering over them both. Once you have it, you’re going to call it back to you. Think of that as like you slowly pulling your curtains open. When yours starts to withdraw, I’ll add mine.”
Her arms and voice trembled through that explanation, and I know it wasn’t because it’s physically exhausting for her to hold her arms out like that.
This is more morbid than I expected.
I mean, don’t get me wrong, I knew this wasn’t going to be a pleasant experience, but even with them covered, this feels like a violation.
Yeah, dying due to natural causes is impossible for us immortals, but death itself isn’t. Obviously. When that happens, the process is supposed to be peaceful. You die, your soul goes wherever it deserves to go, then your bodily vessel is supposed to decompose.
I can’t help but feel like I fucked up a sacred cycle.
