Visions

I never particularly liked caves. Especially not dark, damp caves in the middle of the volcanic swamps of the south. I was naturally claustrophobic, a trait my whole family had. I looked back at Elaina with a pained expression, a silent ‘Don’t make me do this’. She looked back at me with a hard look and I sighed. I began to wonder why I, a lord who had better things to do, had agreed to help this crazy human.
The halls of the cave glistened with moister, the dank smell of dust and musty cave rot wafting along the breeze. Elaina stopped.
“Do you hear that?” I frowned, listening carefully. A light giggle tailed behind the wind sending shivers down my back. Reason two I didn’t like caves.
Elaina dragged me closer into the cave. We came to a large cavern, the expanse lit with several wall sconces. A shimmering bronze mirror hung across the room. More laughter blew in, louder than before.
Suddenly, all the sconces went out, plunging the room into darkness. The mirror began glowing, faint at first. I looked at the golden glow, enthralled by it’s alluring warmth. The metal rippled, expanding and shifting until a figured emerged from it.
It’s skin was pale with undertones of gray. Long silvery blond tresses tumbled down it’s back and shoulders. A distinctly feminine face solidified on the pale head, it’s lips soft and full and pink. I stared back in horror at the figured, my deceased mother looking back at me.
“Jack…My darling baby boy…” It whispered, taking a step forward. My hand flew to my sword, ready.
The creature, I refused to refer to it as my mother, grinned as droplets of blood rolled down her cheeks, leaking from her empty sockets. I looked to Elaina, my eyebrows drawn in worry. Was she seeing the same thing I was? She didn’t acknowledge me. She was staring at an empty space to the right of the creature. Her face was contorted with fear. She was muttering a name over and over again. Carter.
“Is that anyway to greet your mother?” It cooed. “I’ve been dead for over a hundred years Jack…Didn’t you miss me…?” I swallowed to sooth my suddenly dry throat. Next to me, Elaina screamed and fell to her knees, sobs racking her body.
The creature lifted it’s manicured hands to its chest, like it was heartbroken. It began crying, the blood leaking from its eyes sockets flying as its sobbed. It clawed at its collarbone, digging and scratching at the delicate flesh. Chunks of blood soaked skin were torn off, collecting on the floor of the cave. It began laughing maniacally as it cried and clawed, lurching towards me. I backed away, but not before its hand grabbed my face, smearing blood down my cheek. I swallowed down a rush of acidic bile.
The figured screeched in pain and anguish and fell in front of me, clawing and my clothes. Its skin sagged and melted, steaming as is dripped off its grim and blood covered bones. The skeleton lay at my feet rattling with laughter and tears. I tenderly nudged it with my foot and its disintegrated into a pile of red dust in a stained dress. I turned away, grasping my stomach.
The mirror shivered again, glowing brighter than before. It rippled and wavered, like it was going to spit out another ghost from my past. I drew my sword, stepping over the pile of dust. I raised my blade and brought it down over the crest of the mirror. The shivering metal clenched around the blade and shattered into liquid droplets that showered Elaina and I in flecks of coppery gold.
The laughing was even louder now. It echoed off the walls of the cavern, seeming to come from all sides. Thin spiderlike wisps of snowy white fog curled from the gold flecks, forming a humanoid cloud where the mirror had been. The cloud had a distinct grin on its empty face. I groaned. Poltergeists. It giggled one last time before pouting like a child and rushing through the cave on a sudden gust of wind. It passed through me and I shivered as I was plagued with visions of blood raining from the sky and bodies strung up in trees, swaying gently as fire licked at their feet.
The sconces on the walls relit. I shook away the visions and rushed to Elaina’s side. Her face was stained with tears and her eyes were bloodshot. I moved a strand of hair out of her face.
“This isn’t even the right place is it?” She asked quietly. I shook my head sullenly. It was going to be a long night of spelunking.