**** Chapter Ten: THE LAKE OF LOREZ

**** Chapter Ten: THE LAKE OF LOREZ

The forest floor was covered with thick mossy underbrush. Mist hung in the air and dewdrops glistened like beady jewels. It was cool but not cold, quiet but not silent. I didn't see any forest creatures nor could I hear anything that might indicate animal life forms. And yet, when the breeze passed through the woods, it made the trees talk.

I looked at the towering, thick trunked trees that surrounded me. Each one soared as high as a twenty story tall building and was as thick as twenty of me. I touched one. Redwood – or something like it. They seemed to be alive with a soul of their own as they stood tall and sure in the scanty sunlight. I remembered reading about these giant trees that could reach well over three hundred feet. The bark was fireproof, they could reach the age of two thousand years and no insect could kill them. A simple tree in a book had sounded so magical. I had always wanted to visit one of the redwood parks and Daddy had even promised to take me there one summer but then – don't know why – he had cancelled.

I sighed.

Half a mile had never seemed longer. I walked for what seemed like an eternity before I reached a spot circled by high snowy mountains wearing clouds like ornaments. As I walked further, the trees parted to reveal a shiny tear shaped lake cradled in the valley floor.

Everything wore a silver hue there in that sunless corner of the mysterious forest.

The water of the lake gleamed silver and gold and rippled as the cascading clouds tickled its surface. I sat by the bank and brushed my hand over the thousand wild white blossoms swaying in the slight breeze. I noticed nearly half of the lake surface was blanketed by these same flowers.

I looked at myself in this pristine lake as if it was a giant mirror.

Still clad in my ripped black leather apparel, I looked very different from the last time I’d seen my reflection. My eyes were dark with smeared kohl that had left streaks down my face. My full lips were grey with left over black lipstick. I remembered what Nancy had said to me last night about my – wait –had it been just last night?

I seemed to be important here. A shape shifter was my friend and a Demon King clearly had some important job for me. This was fancy stuff. But I wasn’t free to have freewill. Demon was dictating my every move. He was telling me what to do and if I resisted he got annoyed, forceful and rude.

This was how Daddy treated me – only he did it with love. But he couldn’t let me choose for myself; couldn’t let me explore the many wonders and the magic of the world around me; wouldn’t let me out of his sight. This is why Nancy had become so indispensable for him. She was like a hawk. I could go missing in the Bermuda Triangle and she would still find me. She was Daddy’s replacement when he wasn’t around to keep an eye on me and after he died – she was everywhere. And now Demon –

I shrugged away my thoughts. I bent and scooped up some water in my palm and washed my face ‘till it looked like mine again. And then, with a deep breath, I took another scoop and drank from it.

It tasted cool. Like mist! It was delicious and I greedily drank some more. It was only after the first few sips that I realized I was starving and this liquid didn't just quench my thirst, it filled up my tummy too.

I felt the elixir running down my throat into my veins. I felt tickled, happy, as it soothed me and took away my anger and my doubts as it cascaded through my body. But I didn’t sense any unleashing of whatever Azure had mentioned. I didn't feel any stronger or more powerful.

To confirm my doubt, I picked up a random stone and tried to squeeze it. Nope. Nothing. If anything, my hand hurt from all that squeezing. I threw it into water, all the while shaking my head. This was crazy. Dumb fairytales!

I was about to leave when a disturbance in the calm lake water caught my eye. The center of the lake was churning up a storm while the rest of the lake remained placid with the white blossoms still floating peacefully. The rising waves threw up a glassy figure that morphed into a beautiful woman, floating just above the misty water.

"Aoife." Her voice had an echo. "Welcome home, my child! I have waited for you for eternity!"

"Who," I said, blinking quickly to make sure I wasn’t dreaming, “who are you?” She wasn’t glassy any more. She looked very real, just like I was except she was floating on water.

She wore a silver dress that seemed to be cut out of the same clouds or rippling waters that she’d emerged from a few moments ago. Her hair was dark like mine and tied into a clean knot at the back of her neck. Her skin glowed like silver moonbeams and she looked delicate, serene and very beautiful. For some reason, she looked very familiar too. But most importantly – her thigh bore the same crescent mark as mine!

"I am Lorez," she answered. "I have wished for you and prayed for you and now you are here. My child, destiny has beckoned. You will now free us of the curse."

"Curse?" I almost choked. “There is a curse?” So this was the Princess of Enth who had given the Lake of Life to the protection of the race of Phromaz. But – she was a ghost and there was a curse?

“You are not aware?” She gave a slight laugh as if she already expected it. “Azure hasn’t informed you then and Antinoos doesn’t care enough to say. It is the Curse that will plague your life and that of your Demon if you don’t fight it – just like it has plagued me for two thousand years."

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