A Ravens Sky

Each steel cage lines up precisely along the edge of the transmutation-circle. It’s the kind of perfection better meant for an eerie painting rather than present existence. I’m careful as I step over the white-dusted line. It wasn’t enough for Eden to draw over the wood, she chipped into it to create a permanent etching of her unholy circle. The chalk is darker in certain areas, and lighter in the others. Eden must have grown impatient with her own hand. The drawing stretches across the room, barely leaving a gap between itself and the walls. Every symbol within it is illegible to me – me not having the required knowledge to understand the unspoken language. She explained the process, but her words went right over my head. But her voice – her soft, feminine voice – spoke so fondly of her alchemy, treating it as a separate entity in need of affection.

The bear rams its shoulder against the metal bars as it regains consciousness. A deep growl exhales from its shimmering, wet, black nose. I’m still not sure how such a small woman was capable of getting a bear into a cage. Even with it being four times the size of her, she managed to handle the beast all on her own and coax it into a cage better fitting for a large dog. A deep roar rumbles in its throat, and my hair stands on end. I should’ve had the bars made thicker.

Eden scoffs from across the room, probably seeing how fear distorts my face. I turn on stiff legs. She chuckles into bent fingers and slides her long, black hair behind her ear with her other hand. Her yellow eyes crinkle in the corners – her smile in need of more width than her face can provide. From a distance, it’s easy to picture her as a decently beautiful woman – her fair skin, and shimmering hair perfectly complimenting her petite frame – but I know better than to be fooled by her appearance. Her eyes flicker to my face and remind me of the beast hidden beneath that tight, plum dress.

My mother warned me the devil would be beautiful.

“It’s perfect, you’ve done well.”

She claps her hands with soft pats against her palm before she pushes to her feet. I watch, wary of the distance shortening between us. She steps with light feet into the center of the large circle. Six cages incase the outside of it, each filled with a requested animal. The raven being the only one I didn’t provide myself. It’s been with her since our first regrettable meeting – resting on her shoulder with an obedience better suited for a dog.

“Are you done?” I ask.

Eden turns to me, and her smile forms into a harsh glare. The transition is smooth, and poses to be effortless. I step back, and stumble. It’s easy to forget how quick she is to anger. Her glare heats my skin, and I take a second step. My fingers tap something soft and warm, but it’s not as inviting as the feeling suggests. The bear growls, and the vibration of it trembles against my fingertips. A chill travels painfully up my skin as I twist toward the bear. Eden clamps onto my shoulder, just as quickly as I look away.

She’d been halfway across the room only a second ago, but now she’s directly in front of me. She forces around and braces me against the cage. Her eyes burn into mine as the bear roars behind my head. Its breath burns into the back my neck. I don’t know who to be more afraid of, the woman with god-like abilities, or the wild-animal capable of tearing me in two.

“Don’t disrespect me, Aldrich,” Eden jerks me forward and slams me against the cage. “You’ve only seen a fraction of what I’m capable of. I would hate to have to show you more.” her stiff voice resonates reluctance with each syllable she spits.

She releases me, and I step to my side to create some space between the two beings that wish me harm – and possibly death. “Do you need something more of me?” I tremble out.

Eden smirks. “No,” she steps away. “We can finally begin.”

She walks along the circles edge, holding her hands out at her sides, and places one foot directly in front of the other to balance over the calked edge. Her body sways with each childish step, and the animals screech when she comes close. All except the raven who watches her with a cocked head without a single ruffled feather.

“A wolf, and a rat, and a raven, and a deer, and a bear, and a cat.” she slides her hand over the raven’s cage, and it caws at her, once. It opens its wings and hops closer. She smiles at the large bird “Aren’t they beautiful?”

“Yes… but why did you want these… specific animals?” I ask, somewhat nervous to hear the answer. “I would’ve brought you anything you asked of me.”

She stares off into the distance. “It’s not something you’d understand.”

The softness of her voice is the same as when she speaks about her alchemy – giving her words a presence of their own. She folds her hands behind her back, and her steps lose the lightness they had before. An unsettling silence looms over the room with the only sound being the clack of her heals. She reaches the drawings edge farthest from me, and steps over the line. Her back to me, she slides her hands over the small of her back and brings them to the front. She turns as her hands reach to be held softly at her chest.

“You might want to leave the circle now. Unless, of course, you’d like to join the transmutation.”

She crouches and her dress tucks under her legs for her knees to rest over. I shuffle beside her, careful to keep distance between us. My body clears the space, and blinding light illuminates from the chalk. I stumble a few steps and am barely able to keep to my feet as I spin to face the light. A metallic sound pierces my ears, but is quickly drown-out by earsplitting, animalistic screams.

The animals became restless, slamming their bodies against the walls of their confinement, and doing all they can to break-free. My breath catches in my throat and a cold sweat drenches my back. My mother raised me on witch, and ghost, stories to scare me into behaving, and now I’m in one of her fireside threats. Eden promises she’s not a witch, but I can’t think of any other explanation for this power.

“You may want to look away now,” Eden’s voice projects from the blinding light, speaking over the other sounds before vanishing.

I’m not able to take her suggestion into action. My body freezes with my eyes locked-on the black wolf across from me. It glares with its pale-blue eyes and bared teeth. It’s probably deciding on how it’s going to kill me once this is all over. The wolf’s eyes wince closed, and its clenched jaw opens. My skin crawls as a man’s scream shakes the foundation of my consciousness. The wolf’s back arches, and a loud snap stabs into my heart. The wolf’s arm bends to create a new joint, and it falls forward.

I thought this is what I wanted, but I continue to regret my decision with each unnatural snap. The wolf’s eyes open and I can feel my own body ache as I watch the wolf’s change.

Eden is turning them into man.

Fear creeps up my neck, and I manage to turn away. But even with my averted gaze, each sound paints a horrific picture in my mind. Behind my eyelids, I can see the animals writhe against the thick bars. I can see the hope leave their once sparkling eyes as they fight to remain what they’ve always been. What God created them to be.

Eden breathes a soft groan, and pulls her hands from the ground. She cradles them to her chest, and apologizes to the air as she takes quick breaths. The raw moans of pain are replaced with tender sobs.

“Perfect,” Eden laughs, out of breath.

I don’t say anything. My voice is lost. Tears trace my cheeks as the dreadful sounds play over-and-over in my head. I’ll never be able to forget.

“I told you to look away.” she pats my shoulder.

Witnessing something like this is enough to bring me – a grown man – to tears, but Eden – a woman – is unfazed. She doesn’t care about the pain she inflicted on these animals, or the fear that trembles my heart. I lift my eyes to Eden, hoping to find a drop of remorse in her face that will prove her humanity. Her toothy smile says otherwise. She pats my shoulder again, as if we’re now close friends. Her hair is damp with sweat, and she breathes deep, heavy breaths. She shows no repentance for the deed she’s done, as if this is nothing to her – as if it means nothing to her. I turn my head to the circle of cages. I knew what to expect, but I’m still a shocked to see a living, breathing human-being in each cage.

Eden told me she needed three males, and three females for her transmutation to work – something about perfect balance, and symmetry. Eden steps in front of me, blocking my view for a few seconds as she makes her way to the man across from us. I try to follow her, but stumble and have to stop. Eden looks over her shoulder and snickers. She touches her fingers to the cage and the man inside cowers toward the back. He wraps his fingers around the bars behind him, using his hands as if he’s had them all his life.

“Now, now, there’s no need for that.” she tuts, crouching in front of the cage door.

She flips the lock, and leans back as she opens the medal door. Her body swings with the door and she laughs at her own antics. The man’s voice cracks in his throat, and he recoils, touching his new hand to his throat. Eden pushes forward to balance on the balls of her feet.

“Come on out.”

He presses further back. I stumble forward, able to handle a few steps before needing to stop. The naked man watches me. I swallow trembling breaths. The wolf’s eyes, and hair, are the same color, making him look like something out of a dream. With his eyes locked on me, he places his hands on the bars at each side of him. He doesn’t look away as he pushes through the cage door. Eden moves with him, giving him space to crouch outside the bars. She springs to her feet, and her shoulders bounce with an added oomph she provides her enthusiasm.

“Look at that, he likes you.”

I take another awkward step, and Eden touches the back of her hand to my chest to stop me. She swats it through the air once, as if to swish off the residue of me. The naked man pushes to his feet using the side of the cage for support. He’s slightly taller than me and his athletic physique seems out of place for a man who’s only been a man for a few minutes.

Everything about him is human – his hair, his eyes, his tan skin. The only proof of him being otherwise is the large paw-print in the center of his chest. The marking is a deep black like fresh paint that has yet to dry.

“What is that?” I ask, mustering a whisper of my voice.

“It’s the wolf’s print. It’s there to keep you from forgetting what they really are.”

I nod. Eden shoves the man’s shoulder and he snaps his head toward her. A soft growl emanates from his chest.

“I don’t like when you growl at me, it makes me want to bite out your vocal cords so you’re never able to make a sound again.” she shoves him, this time with enough strength to force him to against the cage. “I should’ve expected the wolf to have a temper.” she scoffs through her nose and turns her back to the new-man.

I swallow the fear rising in my throat, unable to shake the feeling that her words are meant for me. The man’s upper-lip twitches and his glare radiates heat. I swallow again, his anger making me just as uncomfortable as Eden’s.

“What… what do I do now? How do I teach them?” I ask, feeling the need to break the heated silence.

Eden spins on her heels to me. “You don’t need to teach them anything, I created them with all the knowledge needed to serve you.”

I shoot Eden a questioning look.

Her smile pulls her lips as she steps closer to me. “You simply have to tell, and they will do.” she waves her hand to the cages.

I look back at the man. He watches my every move, but his eyes don’t look as hostile while watching me. Eden places her hand on his shoulder, but his eyes stay on me.

“I’ll name this one Lupo.”

I turn to her with a furrowed brow. “Wolf?”

“Because that’s what he is.”

“…Right.”

“And we will name the others just the same,” Eden stretches her arms to the others. “I can’t have you seeing them as anything more than beasts, it could be dangerous for you to start caring for them too deeply.”

“They’re animals… if anything, they’ll be my pets.”

“You’ve been warned.” she swipes her hand at me.

I’m still uneasy, but at least I’ve stopped trembling. I look away from the wolf-man, and scan the other cages. Each of the new humans have pulled themselves from their cages – all except the woman with the golden-caramel hair. Some of them are still hesitant to stand, but she’s the only one not free from her bars. I walk over to her, careful not to trip over my own legs.

The woman looks up at me with large hazel eyes, and it’s easy for me to recognize her as the doe. Only a deer can have eyes as beautiful and wide as hers. She examines my face the way the wolf had. I crouch in front of the cage. She inches further into the corner. I hold my hand out, and her eyes flicker to it for a split-second before jumping back to my face.

“It’s time to come out.” I say.

The woman shakes her head with enough force you would think I’d asked something unreasonable. The only way she’s leaving her cage is if someone drags her out. Maybe if she weren’t a woman I’d be able to do it, but I don’t have the stomach to man-handle someone as seemingly delicate as her.

My hand twitches and I understand Eden’s warning more clearly. I sigh and push to my feet. They are not human. I shouldn’t care about using force. I need to treat this woman – this thing – the same way I’d treat a deer. I exhale a harsh breath through my nose and turn to Eden. She walks around the room with her hands crossed behind her back, and a huge smile spread across her face.

“They’re perfect.” I say, exaggerating my words in the hopes of pleasing Eden.

“Just remember your promise, Aldrich. The raven, and doe, are mine, and –”

“I won’t tell anyone about them.” I finish her sentence. “But I don’t really see a problem with others knowing. The fear of your power will only better my cause of keeping people away.”

Eden appears in front of me and grabs the collar of my shirt. She yanks me forward, her face inches from mine.

“Do you know how long I’ve been waiting for an opportunity like this,” she snaps. Spit flies from her mouth to splash my face. “If word ever gets out about their existence, everything I’ve worked for will come crumbling down, and it will be your fault.” she shakes me. “If you betray me, I will kill you. I will have my creations kill you. I’ll have them kill you in the most painful way you can imagine.”

I hold her wrists. “I won’t tell anyone.” I agree.

She’s much shorter than me, but her grip is one of a beast. She grudgingly releases me and takes a step back. My breaths quake against my ribs as I unsuccessfully attempt to hide my fear. Eden softens her glare and turns to me with a smirk.

“I’ll make sure you keep your promise.” she stretches her hand out to me.

I glance back-and-forth between her hand and face, not sure what to make of her gesture. My mind fights my body as I place my hand in hers. My palm is slick as my nerves coat me in sweat.

She closes her fingers around my hand and a spark of pain explodes against my skin. I try to snatch my hand away, but I’m stuck. My hand clings to Eden as if we’re fused together as one body. I fall to my knees as the pain burrows under my skin like a parasite. A child’s laughter circles in the back of my mind. Its voice reverberates off the walls of the room, toying with me. My scream vibrates against my lips as I try to rip my hand from Eden. Droplets of blood spill from between our palms and slide down my arm to drip off my elbow. Eden scoffs, and throws my hand from hers. I cradle it to my chest as kick away from her.

“What the hell.” I hiss.

“Look at it.” she instructs.

I hesitate, but ultimately do as she says. A brand fills my palm. Looking as though it’s been there for years. The burn is healed over in the shape of the circle drawn on the floor around us. I flip my hand, and the top is branded with the same mark as if the fire had burned all the way through.

“All of your children, and your children’s children will be burned with this mark so that I will always know.” she steps closer.

“What about when you die?”

“Oh, Aldrich,” Eden shakes her head. “I will never die.”