“Rhys, it’s time to wake up,” I said. “School starts in an hour for you.”

“Mi…Mica, that you?” asked Rhys sleepy voice.

“Yeah, Rhys, it’s me,” I said. “Let’s get the day started.”

I stood up and went to his closet where his clothes were stored. His father Jade had brought him the clothing from his house for Rhys to wear. It was easy picking out his clothes right now, he wanted baggy pants and long-sleeved shirts and a baggy hoodie to wear. It was Rhys way of covering up the fact that he lost a lot of weight from the time his mother held him captive. I placed the clothes at the foot of the bed and left Rhys to dress himself.

I headed downstairs to find Cassie cooking something for everyone that can eat breakfast. Everyone made sure to keep the hallways clean of clutter for Rhys. Of course, that was a challenge some days with hyperactive Ed and his twin brother Al. It made me irritated having some many people inside of my house. I couldn’t wait for Cassie, Ed and Al to leave back to their own home. It could not arrive quickly enough.

“Mica,” called Rhys at the top of the stairs.

“Nothing to trip on,” I called back, turning to watch him carefully climb down the stairs to me. “Are you okay this morning?”

“I’ve been better,” answered Rhys. “How much longer until the weekend?”

“Tomorrow is Friday,” I answered him. “You’ll have two days to relax then.”

“Good, learning braille is tedious,” said Rhys. “Are you walking me to school this morning or are you going to be busy with Amelia?”

“She hasn’t told me about anything pressing for us to do today, so I am free to walk you,” I answered him. “Are you sure you want me to walk you there this morning?”

“I don’t trust I’ll be able to walk there safely on my own today,” replied Rhys. “Besides, my dad usually accompanies me but he called last night saying something came up that he needed to attend to this morning.”

“Then I shall escort you to school,” I said.

“Ah, he just wants to show off his boyfriend,” teased Amelia as we walked into the living room together.

“Don’t tease him too much,” spoke Esva. “He might pop a blood vessel or two.”

“Remind me again why I put up with you two,” said Mica.

“You have to,” answered Amelia.

“Right,” sighed Mica.

“Time to eat,” said Cassie walking into the living room with plates of food.

Ed and Al were following behind her. We ate breakfast like a normal family, loud noises, people talking and food being consumed. Ed and Al were a little too loud for my liking. I was glad when Rhys indicated that he was ready to leave for school. We moved to the entrance to my house where his bookbag had been left last night.

I grabbed it for him as he opened the door. We left the house in silence, just enjoying the morning sun, the chill in the air and the quiet of morning. Neither of us said anything as we walked. I was glad the school, Amberville, was only a twenty-minute walk from my house. It was one of the best schools to attend around his area for those that had hearing, seeing and speaking problems.

It reminded me of my high school. I loved attending high school for learning only. If I could attend a college to continue my educations, I would sign up in a heartbeat. The only downside I had with high school were the students. I would love to be the only student in a classroom learning if possible. With Amelia and her job, I knew I would never have time for college, not even online classes.

Why did this always happen to me?

I should be familiar with stuff like this happening to me. I was not.

Hibernation was something I had to do if I wanted to continue living. Replenishing the nether energy I used up, that had been stored inside of my clay body. It was like sleeping but not. I had no concept of time passing or anything that happened around me. Amelia was usually good at ensuring nothing happens to me during that time.

It looked like she failed this time.

I had opened my eyes after my required Hibernation to find I was not in my own room, in my house. The room I woke up inside of was bare of any decorations. Sitting up in the bed, I noted the gray sheets and blankets I had been tucked into pooling around my bare chest. That was weird. I could have sworn I put on a comfy t-shirt. I grabbed the sheets and blankets, pulling them up to check and see if I had on my sweatpants. I sighed in relief seeing them on me. Thank Anubis for small mercy.

I slipped out of the bed, frowning when my feet touched the cold floor. The room had a desk without drawers, a hard wood chair, the bed, no windows, one light and two doors. Walking over to the first door, I turned the knob and opened it. Inside was a small bathroom with only one light, a toilet and shower head with a drain in the floor. I closed the door and moved on to inspect the other door. This one had to lead to the outside. Turning the knob didn’t work. The door was locked.

I could not leave on my own. Moving to stand in the middle of the room, I closed my eyes and reached for the connection between Amelia and me. I could feel the connection but it wasn’t very strong. It felt like she was thousands of miles away from me. The connection felt as if she was in America and I was in Babylon still.

That could not be real.

I knew I went home.

I could not have dreamed that up.

I saw Esva, Al, Ed, Cassie, Amelia, and Rhys all inside of my house. I even opened my door to speak to the annoying Casey. So why could I not feel Amelia close enough to connect our minds for us to speak. There had to be a reason. I opened my eyes and walked to the door. I inspected the sides of the door, moving to look at the ceiling and floor against the walls. I could barely spot them but there were runes craved into the spots that connected the floors, ceilings, walls, and doors.

Someone had trapped me here. Someone that knew about magic trapped me here. Who could it be? My thoughts moved over my short list of enemies. The question was, who could have taken me underneath Amelia’s watchful eye? I stopped that train of thought and took a deep breath. There was no point thinking about it and panicking. I would find out soon enough.

With nothing else to do but wait, I moved to the desk where a few books sat upon it. Picking up each book to read the title before replacing them, I thought about reading one of them. I grabbed the book titled The Myth of Hades by Hartford Braylin. I sat about reading it. I don’t know how many hours went by before the door to outside was unlocked and in stepped Faye Mitchell.

“It was you who took me from Amelia,” I said to her. “How did you pull that off?”

“As if it was hard,” she said walking further into the room. “Kyle and Joseph distracted her for me. I slipped inside and nabbed you.”

“What do you want from me?” I asked her.

“You already know what I want from you,” said Faye glaring at me. “I want you to be my Zeis. The power inside of you is immense. Amelia would never be able to use you the right way.”

“Oh, and you think you can,” I stepped back. “I don’t think so.”

“It’s not like I am giving you a choice.” She grinned as she moved towards me. “Afterall, how long can you last before her magic is drained and your soul slips from your clay body.”

“What makes you think I want you to be my Mistress?” I spat out. “I don’t want Amelia for my Mistress.”

“I don’t believe you,” said Faye, brushing her fingers through my hair. “You are a Zeis because you did not want to die. You will become mine to avoid death again. I’ll give you a few more hours to think about it.”

She turned and left the room. I shivered as I sat upon the bed. I was going to die. For real this time.

Oh Anubis, I don’t want to die. I don’t. I really don’t.

I laid upon the bed, curling in on myself as I checked the amount of nether energy remaining. It would last me a few days. I had to find a way out of here before then.

Kásan, dōshite watashi o suteta no? Kore wa kāsan no seidesu.

I hate my life. I hate my life because of you, mom. I gripped my palms, feeling small pricks of pain as I dug into my body. Trapped, trapped, so very trapped.

What do I do, Lord Anubis?

You leave.

I sat up, looking around for where the voice came from. When I saw nothing, I asked. How do I leave?

Gather your ether energy and create a portal to your Necromancer?

I felt something point the energy I usually ignore. I rub at my chest to ease the ache before gathering myself. It would not hurt to try. I closed my eyes and pulled on the ether energy around my soul and forced it outside of my body. Thinking about Amelia the entire time.

I grinned when I opened my eyes.

I was leaving.