Angel Dust - Terry Kuder III (best classic books txt) 📗

pointed on the end. She was an elf. She wore sandals instead of shoes and around her ankle clung a bracelet with an emerald jewel attached. Her entire apparel was toned in a forest green with a faded yellow seeping through at the bottom of both pieces of clothing. Her hands were covered in brown leather gloves with a green emblem of some sort on the back. In one hand she held a wooden staff that jutted back and forth at random areas up its length till it reached the top where it would then split off into about five or six tiny directions wrapping themselves around another green emerald and coming back together at the peak. Any thoughts that I had attempted to submerge into my subconscious were now out and about, floating around my head with unwarranted ease.
"Did you bring what I asked?" Her voice was completely changed. Where once there was a soft, gentle tone, there was now a more athletic one. Not the type that sounded too manly, but just enough to express assertiveness. Dan untied the bag from his waist and threw it to her. She opened it up and peered inside. She looked up briefly at Dan and then shut it. "Good." She looked over at me with a subtle sneer. "Why is he here?"
"Because it's important for him to know. That's why I'm asking for this. It's not enough coming from me though. He needs to hear it firsthand." Dan's tone was stern, unwavering in stutters.
"Can we trust him?" She asked sharply still glaring at me.
"Yes, Mira. Of course we can. Would I have brought him here if we couldn't?"
She sighed quickly. "Very well. You might want to take a step back." She smirked as she raised her staff into the air. I willingly obeyed as she slammed the end of her staff back into the ground. A rush of warm air exploded from the epicenter of the staff, pushing me back a bit, almost knocking me over. Leaves, dirt, and branches circulated through the air, slowly gliding down only to be hit with another blast. I raised my arms in front of me to defend myself from any oncoming debris. Dan's blacksmith build allowed him to sustain it; he didn't budge as the wind continued to hit us. The wind came out in spurts, first slowly, but gradually picking up speed. The rocks in the middle began to rattle a bit just as the wind was hitting us with a constant stream. I watched as the rocks slowly started to rise into the air. Over the sound of the wind, I could hear echoed hums coming from Mira. The boulders floated through the air with ease. I watched intensely as the blasts became harder and harder, hitting the rocks with strength. Cracks began to zigzag throughout the rocks, splitting off into varied directions until the stones exploded into tiny pebbles. The fragments began to circle around an area that opened up between them, picking up speed.
With my attention focused on the rocks, I didn't notice the boney corpse that they had hid underneath their bulk. My mouth dropped open as the wind lifted it up into the air. I looked over at Mira to see her eyes were completely white. The wind ruffled through her clothes and for a split second I thought it was going to rip them off. Just like Dan, she wasn't moving an inch either. I looked back over at the spectacle before me and wasn't too sure at what I was witnessing next. The bones flopped around midair as something red began to grow on them. The growth thickened in bulk around each bone. I squinted finally realizing what was happening. The muscles were growing back on the bones. I stared as the veins weaved in and out of them, pulsating as blood began to flow through them. The muscles appeared torn at first as they knitted together like the threads of a quilt in a checkered pattern. The more they repeated the motion, the more solid they became. In the middle, I saw the organs begin to form, at first appearing as a convoluted mess. They solidified to which I couldn't tell if that had made them less disgusting or not. The muscles circled around them, completely closing them off. I also observed the heart coagulate into a solid mass, beating as it did so. The corpse sucked in a huge amount of air, finally coming to life. The skin came in random tiny scraps, spreading over the muscles like a disease. The hair sprouted through the scalp like flowers in the spring, stretching out further and further until it reached the corpse's waste. The color was a dark teal.
The corpse was now in its final stages of its revival. Its chest bulged out, forming two humps underneath the hair that grew over it. The hair curtained it, concealing the nakedness that was sure to be there. I noticed eyes shaping into the skull right before skin for the eyelids covered them. Cartilage formed a bridge for the nose, boring holes into bottom for nostrils. Teeth plucked through the gums of the lipless mouth, grinning a devilish smile before two spots of skin bulged out to form full lips covering them up. Hair then grew above the eyes as eyelashes extended out. Fingernails elongated from underneath the skin of the fingers, stretching out a little ways and curving at the top. The same process was repeated with the toenails. Two small humps also emerged from its back, the humps molted drops of skin that transformed into feathers as they fell. The humps began to shape into two incomplete wings and the once stack of bones was now a breathing human being. The entire time, the rocks had continued their circling routes, their speed almost seemed blinding. After the ritual was complete, they stopped dead in their tracks, falling to the ground. The fully nude female slowly came down on her toes. She landed on the ground and stood there with her arms to her side, her chest heaving up and down taking in her first few breaths. Her skin glistened with the glow and sheen of a newly born. In a sense, she was just like one. She opened her eyes, looking around at the atmosphere taking in the sight. They were the same color as her hair, a greenish teal that was brightened with a splash of blue around the inside of the iris. The two colors transitioned seamlessly.
She finally focused her eyes on Dan, who just smirked as if he knew who she was. He looked over at me and smiled even wider. Her eyes followed his to me. My mouth still hung open, saliva beginning to drool down the corners. I slurped it up and looked over at him. He gave a throaty laugh and she giggled.
"Dan, it is very nice to see you again." Her first words came out fluently.
"You too, Lily." He walked up to her, taking off his tunic and wrapping it around her. "Sorry to wake you up so abruptly."
"Oh, it's alright. I've been asleep for way too long." She replied, yawning out the last words of this statement. He guided her to one of the logs and helped her sit down. She stumbled a little just like I had when I awoke from my coma.
I watched them, hypnotized by the fact that they were having a normal conversation as if she hadn't just risen from the dead. I looked around to search for Mira, but she had already disappeared taking whatever treasure was brought with her into the darkness of the woods. I walked towards Dan and Lily and stood in front of them. Dan looked up at me awaiting my first question. "How is this going to explain anything?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.
He chuckled raising his hand towards me, "Lily, this is Tyson." He then lowered his hand to Lily. "Tyson, this is Lily, Azalia's mother." He smiled.

7

Lily

Dan and Lily stared at me as I gaped at them. "A....Azalia's....?" I started as if I hadn't just heard the words that Dan spoke.
"Yes." He laughed.
"I take it this one has never seen a revival." Lily stated.
"I guess not. Of course, he may have, but we wouldn't really know, would we?" He looked up asking me. Lily looked puzzled, yet I couldn't understand why. She had just been a bag of bones three minutes ago and she looked at me like I was the strange one. How did Mira know how to perform such a ritual? Did the town know about her? I assumed not considering that she always wore her hair down. Where had she come from and why did she suddenly appear as attractive as she did? It was certainly confusing. I looked at Lily. She was attractive as well. Despite the color of her hair, it was apparent that Azalia belonged to her; her features were almost exact. As my thoughts wondered, I completely lost focus that I had a question to answer.
"He has some sort of amnesia." Dan replied for me.
"I see." Lily nodded. "Then how do you know his name is Tyson?"
"We don't. It's just a name that seemed to fit him."
A couple moments of awkward silence passed before Dan began. "Lily, I brought Tyson here to ask you some questions. I believe they are important for him to know, especially coming from you, because I'm afraid that the time will be soon."
She stood up in shock. "Already?"
"I believe so."
"How do you know?"
"She's almost eight."
The answer made her even more surprised. "I've been gone that long?!" She raised her voice.
"You know what would have happened if we brought you back beforehand." Dan said lowly, looking at the ground as if he was being yelled at by his own mother. She remained quiet, sitting back down.
"You're right." She said after a lengthy pause. "How much longer do we have?"
"About twenty days."
"Well, that doesn't give us much time does it?"
What the hell? Time? What time? She could have been brought back before tonight? Had she really died? There were too many questions circulating for me to focus on just one. Was something going to happen? Did this have to do with Azalia? They said that she was almost eight. It had to do with her. My heart quickened as the questions piled up thinking of how Azalia's safety was possibly in danger.
"Do you guys want to clue me in here? Or am I just going to have to let my head explode with all these unanswered questions? What does this have to do with Azalia?" I finally inquired.
"Do not fret, Tyson. Please, sit." She patted the space next to her. "All will be clear soon."
"I hope to all hell it