Glass House

“Glass House”

There is more to a reflection than what can be seen.

~

He wanted to hate her because she was human. His lust drove him to stay seated. The life’s fire was dying inside of her, as she continued to dance with her partner. Her heels had a silent echoing tap that would have matched his heart if it were still beating within him. Her eyes held passion and fire that none could compare to. He could feel the beat of her dance vibrating through his bones.

Her skirts were long and flared out when her partner spun her around. Small coin beads hung along the folds of her skirts adding to her magical dance. The top of her dress was an intricate corset. It lined the tops of her breasts revealing her womanly curves. The top was a red lace with a silver and gold broach centered on the corset.

Her dark hair was curled and held a dark shine. A gold chain, slightly thin, was wrapped around her head with a moonstone that hung on her forehead. She was beautiful to him, not just because she was a dancer, but because she was human. She was fragile. As her pulse quickened, he could hear her heart fighting to keep up. It was harsh and pulsing too hard. Her breathing was labored and filled with pain. It was a silent mask on her face. As he turned her, and then she began to fall.

~

The light from the cameras blinked in synchronized recording. The mansion was lined with large glass windows. Downstairs the windows overlooked the outside pool. It shimmered in the moonlight. Ironically the mansion was known as the glass mansion. It was owned by a dark man.

He was not an evil man. The monster that lingered within him, would argue that debate. His heart’s passion was to heal and treat the sick, but his soul was held by dark shadows and secrets unknown to the world of humans. He was a man who studied his patients and helped them. His mansion was an infirmary, hence his need for glass and cameras.

The mansion’s outer shell was made of thick mortar and stone, while its old fashioned bay windows reached for the roof. Five towers encompassed the front of the mansion. The largest cascaded over the others resting in the entrance. Dull grayish columns framed the balconies of each tower on the second story.

It looked more like an institution for children rather than a mansion. The cameras had been added later as technology had slowly progressed, Dr. Adrien Hansol, was the man who had bought the infirmary. Adrien was an average young man. His jet black hair was normal cropped short and kept slicked back. His eyes were blue darkened by the intensity of his dark hair. His frame was slender and he kept his body toned. He was the weapon.

~

Her dreams echoed her fierce heartbeat, as her breathing became rough and labored. She was fighting with the covers and losing. The camera was seeing all of her pain and agony, her suffering. Her blood dripped slowly over her lips from the cut her teeth had set into her skin. Her fever quickened as the covers became an inferno. She jolted awake, sitting straight up. Curse her dreams, her memories as the nausea consumed her.

She felt it then, the cold traveler seeping through the covers towards her sweat drenched body. The rooms were always cold. She laughed, a harsh ragged breath, at the bitter thought. It would be impossible to heat a mansion of this size with as many rooms as it had. She pulled the covers closer, hoping the cold would not chill her body too quickly. The sun was setting outside of her window. When had she gone to sleep?

It was becoming harder to breath. She pulled at the shirt that was sticking to her body. She felt hot on the inside while her skin was freezing. She had to crawl out of the bed. Why wouldn’t her legs work? For too long she had danced, her only passion other than the love of her life. Mikal, her mind sighed. Where was Mikal? She needed to get to him.

“Mikal,” she tried to yell as she crawled and crossed under the doorway, but her voice would not carry a sound.

She recognized the sick ward. She could hear the machines with all the noise. Wanting only to find her love, she began to crawl down the hall. She wasn’t ill. She couldn’t be. She had just danced with Mikal the other night at the theatre.

As she neared the corner of the hall, she heard the voice of the doctor, the master of the mansion. His voice had haunted her dreams. He was the one who had been watching over her. In her dreams he had been clear with his diagnoses: she was dying, cancer had spread to her lungs.

Adrien was talking with an older elderly woman, who belonged to his staff. She was beautiful even in her declining state. She looked like the fairy-godmother from the Cinderella story that had always been her favorite. Adrien’s eyes were piercing, as if he were looking to her soul for the answers to her illness. It seemed as if his eyes were on fire. “Mikal.” He called out.

Footsteps hurried along the staircase as if he had only been waiting for the summons. “Kerra,” His voice carried pain. “What are you doing out of your room, sweetheart?”

The sound of his hurried footsteps reminded her of their dancing. She missed their dances. “Help me Mikal.” She whispered. “It hurts.”

Mikal cradled her in his arms. “I know sweetheart, I know.”

Adrien continued to stare after her almost entranced. The elder woman touched his shoulder drawing him out of his trance. “What is the matter, doctor?”

He sighed, “Kerra’s case is a complicated one.” He looked to his chief nurse. “Her vitals have been abnormally unstable, and her numbers are reading off the charts.” He rubbed his hand over his face and into his hair. “It is time that I review the video feed. I believe her illness is consuming her.”

~

Mikal carried her carefully back into the sickroom. His heart was pounding in his chest from fright; he had just been on his way down to check on her when Adrien had called to him. He stopped walking in the doorway of the room she had been placed in. Thinking better of it, he turned around and headed up the staircase. She would rest in his room. As he walked up the staircase, he wanted to cry. It was all so strange, so sudden.

They had danced until the crowd couldn’t cheer anymore. She had turned to do her beautiful full skirt spin so that the skirt would flair out as he wrapped her in his arms. But her legs had suddenly given out and her chest had been filled with pain. He had been close enough to catch her when she began to fall. Adrien had been at the show, almost as if he were God’s death angel waiting to collect her soul. Somehow Adrien had known she was dying.

Mikal carefully placed Kerra in his bed. His room was cooler and darker since there were no windows. A single candle cast dim shadows along the far wall. He walked to the bathroom to retrieve a cloth from the cabinet. It would be cool ice against her burning skin.

“I’m sorry Mikal.” She tried to say.

“For what sweetheart? This is not your fault.” He kissed her head. “Rest now.” He gently brushed his fingers through her hair. “I will stay with you.”

~

When he had managed to get her to sleep, Mikal went to her room. He flipped the light switch to study the mess of chaos. Her bed was a mass of tangled covers and sheets. Blood was smeared on the pillow and small drops were on the floor from where she had crawled out of bed. He had to talk to Adrien. He was too afraid he was going to lose her. But Adrien didn’t seem to be trying to save her. Mikal flipped the switch allowing darkness to consume the room again.

He could hear the tape being rewound and listened to as he approached Adrien’s office. Mikal knocked lightly before he entered. Adrien seemed fixated entirely on the images passing over the screen. He could see the hurt and loss behind Adrien’s eyes. Pain and sadness settled over Mikal. It was true Kerra was dying.

“Her condition doesn’t look promising does it?” Mikal asked. “Kerra’s going to die?”

Adrien’s back arched forward as if he were absorbing her pain through the video. “She is too fragile.” He whispered madly.

Mikal slammed the door at his answer. “Do not tell me you can’t save her!”

Adrien straightened, his trance broken. “She is too far gone and you know it.”

“That’s not good enough!” Mikal burst. “She can’t die!” He sank to his knees on the floor tears burning his eyes.

“Why do you weep for a soul that is already dead?”

“Because she’s not dead! She is in pain and there is nothing I can do to stop it.”

That silenced him. He envied Mikal’s passion and pains, feelings he had never felt.

“I can’t lose her.” Mikal pleaded. “I can’t just sit back and watch as this pain eats at her.” His hand dropped into his hands. “Is there nothing you can do for her?” He looked up at Adrien, the tears almost over filling in his eyes. “Please, I beg you. Can you do something? Anything?”

Adrien turned his face back to the screen, his expression blank. “There may be something I can do.” He turned back to Mikal. “Would you give your life if it would spare hers?”

“I would give my soul if it would mean saving hers.”

Adrien nodded. “Then it is time that I should confide in you a secret that surpasses all the ages of time.”

~

She could feel cool hands stroking her head, a pleasure that finally broke her fever. In her mind she knew she was asleep but she couldn’t get her mind to wake her body up from the nightmares. Every sound, every smell surrounded her. She just could not fully shake her dreams.

There was a rush of water somewhere. She could hear birds all around her. She could smell the breeze of soft mountain rains. She felt like she was home again. Her mother was singing in the distance, and her father was outside chopping the firewood. It was a pleasant time, quiet, and soothing. One of her more pleasant memories from her childhood.

Then she felt the pull, and everything began to fade to black. She saw a woman with black hair. She was beautiful, elegant looking. Her eyes were dark, black. The wind moved around the woman, blowing her black hair around her body. Its color changed to a dull grey and slowly to white. Her body full of curves began to change to decay turning it from healthy pink to a yellow grey, all skin and bones. Was this death? She reached out to Kerra; reached into her body towards her heart and soul. It felt like her hand was wrapped around Kerra’s heart. The woman’s claws wrapped scraping her insides. Suddenly she yanked her hand back.

Kerra jerked awake breathing heavily for a moment. She felt so tired. The pain lingered in her chest. It felt like the creature had tried to pull her soul from within her. Slowly she lowered herself back into the comfort of the covers and smell of Mikal. She felt comfortable almost safe, like she was wrapped within his arms.

~

Mikal gently stroked her head, wondering what she had just seen to make her body jerk forward. Her body began to twitch as she fought with her dreams. He wondered what she was seeing, wondered if he would be able to see her dreams with his gift.

Mikal placed his hand on her head, absorbing her fever into his icy hands. He could see trees as they passed by in a blur. She was running. He could hear her quick but steady breathing. Her eyes turned to look behind her. She saw a woman, elderly and all skin and bones.

“Who are you?” He heard her voice call out.

“Kerra…” the woman hissed softly. “You know who I am. I am death and I have come for you.” The woman reminded him of banshees singing. “Come with me Kerra. It is less painful if you do not fight me.”

“I do not want to die.” He could feel the gentle brush of tears against her cheeks.

Her vision moved away from the woman and everything else appeared as a blur once again. She ran until she had reached a large open field. He could feel the sun burning on her face. Mikal released her, the image of the sun burning his eyes. His eyes were wide. She began to stir and awaken again as her heart began to calm. Kerra turned her head and saw that she was lying in Mikal’s lap. That at least gave her strength.

“Hello sweetheart.”

But the cold touch of death still lingered in her chest and whispered in her ear. “Mikal,” her voice was hoarse as if she had been screaming and crying. “I do not wish to die.” The rears came quickly and he held her long after they had subsided. He wasn’t going to let death take her.

~

The halls were filled with voices as Mikal chased Adrien down. Their elegant dress and speech made him feel sick. The woman he loved was at death’s door and the doctor was having a tea party! He was so scared and tired.

Mikal entered the great hall. They all wined and dined, while Kerra’s soul slowly slipped away. The nightmares were strengthening. It was as if every time she fell asleep death was draining her of her life. He’d watched a couple of times as she had dozed off, and every time death grew stronger with more humanly features as Kerra began to die.

“Adrien!” He called over their voices.

Adrien looked up from the table and his guests. “Yes, Mikal?”

“I need you to come with me.”

“Can this not wait until later, Mikal?”

“No.”

Adrien’s head jerk up quickly. He studied Mikal’s burning anger and growing fear. “How far has it progressed?”

Everyone became very still looking to Mikal for the answer.

“Death,” he choked back, “Is passing judgment.”

Mikal carried her still body downstairs to Adrien’s room. Adrien closed the door behind him.

“If I do this Mikal, you have to promise me that you will not go back on what you said. Should she regret living our life and therefore pull some rash actions, I will not hesitate to kill her.”

“Then I will not stand in your way.”

“Very well,” Adrien nodded. “Remove her shirt.”

Mikal did as he was told and stood on the other side of the bed. Adrien sat on his knees on the floor beside her. He ran his middle, ring, and index finger from her navel to the top of her chest bone.

Her skin was slick but soft under his touch. Her body reacted as if a chill had just gone through her body. Her breathing quickened because of her harsh dream. He could feel her heart quickening, wearing itself out. He ran his fingers in the opposite direction this time and stopped in the middle of her chest just below her breasts in the hollow space below her rib cage. Leaning into her body, Adrien bit down into her chest and the source of all her pain.

Death began to scream. Kerra dropped to the hard ground trying to mask the sound from her ears. It was the worst thing she had ever heard. Instead of growing livelier, death began to die to decay once again. Despite the sound, Kerra rose and began to run. She didn’t care if she died, so long as she could get away from the sound of Death.

Mikal stood watching. Adriel stopped, his head rose from the bite marks confusion smothering his face.

“What’s wrong? What’s the matter?”

Adrien was puzzled. “I heard screaming. A screaming I have not heard in a long time.”

“Who was screaming?” Mikal asked.

“Death.” Adrien replied, “I did not think she was so close to death.”

Mikal walked around the bed to sit beside Kerra. Suddenly her back arched and a cry escaped her lips. Mikal caught her just like he had the night she had fallen. Gently he stroked her spine, as a crystallized amber fluid seeped out of the bite holes. Adrien grabbed a towel, “It is the cancer. I wasn’t sure this would work. Ha, she will live.” He smiled and clapped his hands as if he were a mad scientist. Mikal smiled, but he was almost positive that they were not through the worst of it. Kerra’s pulse was still too quick and her breathing too shallow. Something was still wrong.

She couldn’t find the field in her dream. Had she taken the wrong turn? Her hand came to her chest as the pain caused her to stumble down to both knees. What was going on? Was she dying? The screaming intensified, echoing in her ears. She had to wake up. Why couldn’t she wake up? Her knees felt weak as she got up. She stumbled forward a few steps. She wasn’t going to give in. She forced her body to move.

Adrien’s smile began to fade. “Something is wrong. Her heart is passing.” Adrien moved quickly, nearly pulling the door of a small room nearly from its hinges. Adrien returned with a wine bottle.

“Is that what you gave me?” Mikal asked.

“Yes,” he answered. “She is passing too quickly. Death is trying to take Kerra’s soul with her.” He pulled the cork, “Open her mouth.”

“Wait. I know a way.”

Adrien reluctantly handed him the bottle. Mikal took a mouth full of the liquid and kissed Kerra, forcing it into her mouth.

“Well that’s one way to do it.” Adrien muttered.

Mikal held her head in his hands, he studied her face. Mikal rubbed his thumb against her chin.

“We must finish pulling the last of the cancer from within her my boy.” Adrien spoke softly.

“Anything,” Mikal answered. He moved her body placing it against the pillows, before he bit down into the same spot that Adrien had. Over and over he had to spit into the towel so he would not take the death into himself. When they were certain the last of the cancer and the pain had been pulled from within her body, Mikal healed the wound over with his saliva.

“You must give her time to heal.” Adrien said calmly. “Take her back upstairs and tuck her in.” He turned to put the bottle back into the room, then thought better of it. “And here, take this with you. You will need your strength.”

Mikal took her back upstairs and put her in his bed again so he could be near her. She was very still which frightened him, but she was still breathing. He wrapped the blankets around her and pulled a chair up to the bed. He drank from the bottle until he fell asleep in the chair.

There was a light brush at his hand that woke him from his sleep. He opened his eyes weary that he had just dreamed her touch. She smiled at him, even if it was not strong. He put the bottle on the nightstand and leaned forward. “Hello sweetheart.” He smiled. Her eyes were finally shining again.

~

“Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you our Fair Lady and her Prince, Kerra and Mikal.”

They entered the dance floor. The light glistened on her hair once again. The beads of her skirt making a small ringing sound; the beat of her feet that echoed into their hearts; the smiles that once again captivated them; and fire that burned in her eyes. Once again Adrien watched her, but not out of hatred or lust this time. He watched them in envy. Mikal who would have given up everything to save her; and Kerra who was now also one of his many beautiful children. They were his heart dancing out the beat that hummed inside of him.