LJ Idol Season 10, Week 13: Abandon Hope, All Ye Who Enter Here
Li opened his eyes and squinted at the endless blue sky above him. Not a single cloud marred it; the sun beamed, his frail, thin skin practically sizzling with the heat of it. Salt pervaded his senses; his mouth tasted of it, it was all he could smell. The ground -- if he could call it that -- was jagged and rough, digging into the bare skin of his back; of his legs.
“How’s it feel to be back, Li?”
Li closed his eyes and let the brief flicker of darkness consume him. Where are you? he thought, grimacing as he tried to pull his arms closer to him. Something weighed them down. Or maybe tied them in place. He couldn’t tell; there was a bite to one of his wrists, one that throbbed and wouldn’t let go.
“Where are you?” he repeated out loud, knowing damn well that the person who’d spoken had heard his thoughts before. He could sense her; the darkness that surrounded her, the desperation and pride.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” The voice was closer this time; coming from above him.
Li opened his eyes. Black swirled through his vision and disappeared, leaving nothing but sky. This time, when Li pulled his arms closer to him, the resistance gave way. Slowly, he pushed himself to sitting, his neck bowing under the weight of his throbbing skull. He put his hands to his face; breathed in the scent lingering on his palms.
Blood.
Human blood.
“It’s been a long time, hasn’t it, brother?”
Li snapped his head up, doing a quick sweep of the land. No one stood next to him. No one was above him. Another sound crept into his awareness -- the crash of waves; the faint cry of gulls too far out to sea. Swallowing, Li glanced down at his legs -- which weren’t legs at all.
His tail -- he hadn’t seen his tail with its iridescent scales in so long.
“It has,” he managed, his voice cracking with a raging thirst he hadn’t felt in a long time. The landscape registered -- a dying tree, broken and split, standing by itself at the edge of a cliff.
Home.
“I must say, it took me quite a while to find you.” His sister -- his wonderful, terrible sister with her wonderful, terrible powers. That was no doubt her voice, though it had been many years since Li had last heard it. “We all thought you were dead, Li.”
“I was dead,” he breathed. “I was dead to the lot of you and none of you cared -- just another soldier lost in the fight against the humans, and --” He clamped his jaw shut and ground his teeth, forcing himself to take in another deep breath of sea salt air. His legs -- he should have his legs, but --
“I wanted to remind you what it was like to be the way god intended, brother.” His sister giggled, the noise sinister and overbearing. “You haven’t breathed the water for so long, I was afraid you’d thought yourself one of them.”
Li felt an unfamiliar swoop in his middle, his heart climbing into his throat as he continued to stare at the tree. He had to drag himself away from that tree. Away from his sister’s voice. “We don’t need the water,” he said, the words leaden on his tongue.
“I disagree.”
Footsteps, soft and padded and coming from behind him. Li whipped his head towards them, wild and tangled brown hair clouding his vision. His eyes landed on legs; shapely and thin and womanly. His gaze drifted upwards -- caught on the tattered skirt dancing around thighs in the perpetual ocean breeze.
“This is a dream,” he said, his eyes not daring to lift any higher than the woman’s chin. Because the woman in front of him wasn’t real. Because he hadn’t seen her in years and he wasn’t truly seeing her now.
“Very astute, dear brother.” The woman smiled, her teeth sharp, and folded her thin arms over her chest. Li’s eyes moved to her face -- searched it for hints of the girl he’d known decades ago, long before he’d started walking on land and living amongst the humans.
“I was always told I was smart, Jordy,” he croaked, curling his tail around himself.
“Jordy’s” smile faltered; Li saw the way her nails left red crescents behind on her arms. “It’s Jordine now,” she said, turning on her heel. She sauntered away from her brother, towards the tree. “We have so much to get caught up on, don’t we?”
Something shifted in the corner of Li’s vision. Snapping his head towards it, Li watched as a familiar shape pushed themselves up from the ground. That long, blond hair -- the curve of those shoulders…
“When did you meet her, Li?” Jordine asked, her voice cutting through the pounding of Li’s heart. “She’s human, isn’t she?”
“Leave her alone,” Li barked. The woman jumped and turned towards him, her eyes wide. She cried out for Li, even tried to stand, but stumbled and smashed her face into the ground. “Jordine, don’t you dare --”
“Have you told her what you are, yet?” Jordine continued, kneeling beside the woman. The woman didn’t seem to notice Jordine at all, not even as Jordine threaded her long fingers through the hair at the back of her head.
Li couldn’t bring himself to answer, instead dragging himself along the ground towards Jordine and the woman. His tail only provided him with so much force, and his arms were still weak. Jordine wrenched the woman’s head back, eliciting a cry that made Li’s arms buckle and threaten to give out.
“She is rather beautiful, isn’t she?” Jordine mused, cupping the woman’s cheek with her other hand. Her dagger-like nails edged along her jawline, then dropped to human’s stomach. “She’s with child,” she murmured after a moment, her black eyes widening. She turned to Li. “You mated with a human?”
“She’s my wife,” he growled, narrowing his eyes at Jordine. His mouth went dry as Jordine’s hand moved back to the woman’s face. “If you hurt her --”
“Ah, but this is a dream, remember?” Jordine countered, a slow, dangerous smile making its way across her face. “Tell me her name.”
“No.” Li glared at her, willed himself not to think of his wife’s name. Jordine’s eyes narrowed at him once again, her lips curling into a snarl.
“So you remember the rules, then,” she sniffed. One hand covered his wife’s face; the other pressed against the back of her head. “I could split her wide open, you know. Or crush her feeble skull in my hands -- whichever you’d prefer.”
He wanted to protest. He wanted to beg Jordine not to do whatever she had planned. “You’re just like mother,” he hissed, nails digging into the dirt as he pulled himself forward. If only he could have his legs --
“Is that so? Is that why you never returned to the island?” Jordine asked, her voice light with curiosity. His wife sobbed, gasping in pain as Jordine seemed determined to press her palms close together despite there being a human head between them.
Li looked away before Jordine’s palms succeeded in meeting each other, his stomach threatening to escape at the wet sound of crunched bone. A dream, he reminded himself. He wasn’t here on this hell rock in the middle of the ocean. He was back home, in his bed, with his legs and his wife and her intact head.
“Have you eaten a human recently?” Jordine asked, her voice muffled. “I remember you used to love the eyes, when mother would bring them home as treats…”
Li flinched and gagged. He studied his hands; how his blunted nails raked the dirt. “Why are you doing this?” he breathed. His eyes stung and his lungs burned. “Why -- why reach out to me, after all these years?”
“Because I want to be Queen, dear brother,” Jordine said. Feet slapped against rock and hard-packed soil, slow and steady, stopping millimeters from Li’s hands. Li lifted his head as Jordine folded in on herself, lowering herself to his level. Blood and brain matter bedecked her hands, her arms, her chest, her face, and Li’s vision faltered, his head growing abnormally light.
She gripped one of his arms, pulled Li as upright as he could be without his legs, and thrust something into his open palms. “I need you to return home, dear brother,” she said, folding his hands around the warm, round objects. She leaned in close, the metallic scent of blood overwhelming and flooding Li’s senses as she whispered, “I can’t be Queen without you…”
He met her eyes as she pulled away from him. “Open your hands, Li,” she said, rising to her feet and stepping backwards toward the tree. “Look at what’s in them and come home.”
She disappeared, her form blinking out of existence. Li’s fingers tensed, threatening to tighten around the orbs he held. His wife’s body remained crumbled at the base of the tree, blood pooling around the body. Her body.
With a slow, deep breath, he unfurled his fingers and glanced down.
“How’s it feel to be back, Li?”
Li closed his eyes and let the brief flicker of darkness consume him. Where are you? he thought, grimacing as he tried to pull his arms closer to him. Something weighed them down. Or maybe tied them in place. He couldn’t tell; there was a bite to one of his wrists, one that throbbed and wouldn’t let go.
“Where are you?” he repeated out loud, knowing damn well that the person who’d spoken had heard his thoughts before. He could sense her; the darkness that surrounded her, the desperation and pride.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” The voice was closer this time; coming from above him.
Li opened his eyes. Black swirled through his vision and disappeared, leaving nothing but sky. This time, when Li pulled his arms closer to him, the resistance gave way. Slowly, he pushed himself to sitting, his neck bowing under the weight of his throbbing skull. He put his hands to his face; breathed in the scent lingering on his palms.
Blood.
Human blood.
“It’s been a long time, hasn’t it, brother?”
Li snapped his head up, doing a quick sweep of the land. No one stood next to him. No one was above him. Another sound crept into his awareness -- the crash of waves; the faint cry of gulls too far out to sea. Swallowing, Li glanced down at his legs -- which weren’t legs at all.
His tail -- he hadn’t seen his tail with its iridescent scales in so long.
“It has,” he managed, his voice cracking with a raging thirst he hadn’t felt in a long time. The landscape registered -- a dying tree, broken and split, standing by itself at the edge of a cliff.
Home.
“I must say, it took me quite a while to find you.” His sister -- his wonderful, terrible sister with her wonderful, terrible powers. That was no doubt her voice, though it had been many years since Li had last heard it. “We all thought you were dead, Li.”
“I was dead,” he breathed. “I was dead to the lot of you and none of you cared -- just another soldier lost in the fight against the humans, and --” He clamped his jaw shut and ground his teeth, forcing himself to take in another deep breath of sea salt air. His legs -- he should have his legs, but --
“I wanted to remind you what it was like to be the way god intended, brother.” His sister giggled, the noise sinister and overbearing. “You haven’t breathed the water for so long, I was afraid you’d thought yourself one of them.”
Li felt an unfamiliar swoop in his middle, his heart climbing into his throat as he continued to stare at the tree. He had to drag himself away from that tree. Away from his sister’s voice. “We don’t need the water,” he said, the words leaden on his tongue.
“I disagree.”
Footsteps, soft and padded and coming from behind him. Li whipped his head towards them, wild and tangled brown hair clouding his vision. His eyes landed on legs; shapely and thin and womanly. His gaze drifted upwards -- caught on the tattered skirt dancing around thighs in the perpetual ocean breeze.
“This is a dream,” he said, his eyes not daring to lift any higher than the woman’s chin. Because the woman in front of him wasn’t real. Because he hadn’t seen her in years and he wasn’t truly seeing her now.
“Very astute, dear brother.” The woman smiled, her teeth sharp, and folded her thin arms over her chest. Li’s eyes moved to her face -- searched it for hints of the girl he’d known decades ago, long before he’d started walking on land and living amongst the humans.
“I was always told I was smart, Jordy,” he croaked, curling his tail around himself.
“Jordy’s” smile faltered; Li saw the way her nails left red crescents behind on her arms. “It’s Jordine now,” she said, turning on her heel. She sauntered away from her brother, towards the tree. “We have so much to get caught up on, don’t we?”
Something shifted in the corner of Li’s vision. Snapping his head towards it, Li watched as a familiar shape pushed themselves up from the ground. That long, blond hair -- the curve of those shoulders…
“When did you meet her, Li?” Jordine asked, her voice cutting through the pounding of Li’s heart. “She’s human, isn’t she?”
“Leave her alone,” Li barked. The woman jumped and turned towards him, her eyes wide. She cried out for Li, even tried to stand, but stumbled and smashed her face into the ground. “Jordine, don’t you dare --”
“Have you told her what you are, yet?” Jordine continued, kneeling beside the woman. The woman didn’t seem to notice Jordine at all, not even as Jordine threaded her long fingers through the hair at the back of her head.
Li couldn’t bring himself to answer, instead dragging himself along the ground towards Jordine and the woman. His tail only provided him with so much force, and his arms were still weak. Jordine wrenched the woman’s head back, eliciting a cry that made Li’s arms buckle and threaten to give out.
“She is rather beautiful, isn’t she?” Jordine mused, cupping the woman’s cheek with her other hand. Her dagger-like nails edged along her jawline, then dropped to human’s stomach. “She’s with child,” she murmured after a moment, her black eyes widening. She turned to Li. “You mated with a human?”
“She’s my wife,” he growled, narrowing his eyes at Jordine. His mouth went dry as Jordine’s hand moved back to the woman’s face. “If you hurt her --”
“Ah, but this is a dream, remember?” Jordine countered, a slow, dangerous smile making its way across her face. “Tell me her name.”
“No.” Li glared at her, willed himself not to think of his wife’s name. Jordine’s eyes narrowed at him once again, her lips curling into a snarl.
“So you remember the rules, then,” she sniffed. One hand covered his wife’s face; the other pressed against the back of her head. “I could split her wide open, you know. Or crush her feeble skull in my hands -- whichever you’d prefer.”
He wanted to protest. He wanted to beg Jordine not to do whatever she had planned. “You’re just like mother,” he hissed, nails digging into the dirt as he pulled himself forward. If only he could have his legs --
“Is that so? Is that why you never returned to the island?” Jordine asked, her voice light with curiosity. His wife sobbed, gasping in pain as Jordine seemed determined to press her palms close together despite there being a human head between them.
Li looked away before Jordine’s palms succeeded in meeting each other, his stomach threatening to escape at the wet sound of crunched bone. A dream, he reminded himself. He wasn’t here on this hell rock in the middle of the ocean. He was back home, in his bed, with his legs and his wife and her intact head.
“Have you eaten a human recently?” Jordine asked, her voice muffled. “I remember you used to love the eyes, when mother would bring them home as treats…”
Li flinched and gagged. He studied his hands; how his blunted nails raked the dirt. “Why are you doing this?” he breathed. His eyes stung and his lungs burned. “Why -- why reach out to me, after all these years?”
“Because I want to be Queen, dear brother,” Jordine said. Feet slapped against rock and hard-packed soil, slow and steady, stopping millimeters from Li’s hands. Li lifted his head as Jordine folded in on herself, lowering herself to his level. Blood and brain matter bedecked her hands, her arms, her chest, her face, and Li’s vision faltered, his head growing abnormally light.
She gripped one of his arms, pulled Li as upright as he could be without his legs, and thrust something into his open palms. “I need you to return home, dear brother,” she said, folding his hands around the warm, round objects. She leaned in close, the metallic scent of blood overwhelming and flooding Li’s senses as she whispered, “I can’t be Queen without you…”
He met her eyes as she pulled away from him. “Open your hands, Li,” she said, rising to her feet and stepping backwards toward the tree. “Look at what’s in them and come home.”
She disappeared, her form blinking out of existence. Li’s fingers tensed, threatening to tighten around the orbs he held. His wife’s body remained crumbled at the base of the tree, blood pooling around the body. Her body.
With a slow, deep breath, he unfurled his fingers and glanced down.