A Howl In The Night by Lorelei Sutton (best novels for students TXT) 📖

and this laugh feels more real than anything else. "The builders didn't believe in adding it, I guess. Old fashion is the best fashion over here."

"The builders?" I look around anxiously. "Where are they?

"This castle is ancient anyways," Ray says, completely ignoring my question. Looking straight ahead, he walks over to a pair of doors and then stops.

I almost ask him why he is being so evasive, but the sight before my eyes prevents me from doing so. Speechless, I survey the narrow hallway, with the stone walls inlaid with gold and the floors covered in a luxurious, blood red carpet. At the end of the hallway, a magnificent set of doors is present, engraved with a number of strange designs.

"What is this..." I murmur in wonder, staring at the carpet and waving my foot around in it. My feet seem to sink into its luxurious depths as I imagine myself falling onto it and floating away.

"This is the most sacred area of the castle. Everything in this world stems from this room." He grabs the handles but holds it closed, turning to face me.

"How could that-"

"You'll see. Just take a look." Ray smiles, his eyes softening as we look at each other. He continues to stare at me for a while, I almost frozen as his expression morphs into one of vulnerability.

"I don't want..." His voice chokes up, his hand turning white against the golden handles. I step closer to him, my own hand reaching for his.

"Don't want what?" I ask softly, my fingers about to curl over the same handle. At the last moment, he pushes me aside, his eyes narrowing at the movement. His body shakes slightly.

"I'm sorry," he quickly apologizes. "I had a moment of nostalgia." He quickly pulls the first door open, and keeps it open for me to walk through. "Ladies first."

When I peer at his face, he seems as if, once again, he has adopted a completely different expression than he had possessed minutes before. I pass him, and take a look into the vast depth of a room that defies logic in every sense of the word.

"Ray, what... is this place?" I ask, surveying the walls that are not walls, the floor that seems to be crumbling beneath my feet.

"I like to call it the core. Pretty nice, huh?" he asks, lifting his arm and flinging it from side to side. "Be careful on the ledge. You don't really want to fall off."

Yes, he's right. I couldn't really see it before, but now I can clearly make out a ledge, stretching an unfathomable distance into the darkness. I tilt my head to look over a sharp edge, only to see a dark chasm, glittering with nothing but the spark of curiosity.

Ray comes to me and gracefully takes my hand. "Please take a seat, Mona."

I whirl around to see an ornate chair engraved with the same designs that decorated the door. The uneasy feeling returning, I slowly lower my body into the seat, wondering how I could have missed such an obvious object in a room that seemed completely empty only seconds before.

"Do you remember our conversation in the library? You know, when you chose to be awakened?"

"Yes," I reply, my thumbs rubbing against the sides of the chair.

"I told you then about the purpose of the werewolf species. It was to defeat the Shifters, who are all evil, terrible beings that exist merely to terrorize humans."

I nod, unsure of where he is going with any of this.

"Well, that was not exactly the truth."

"What-"

"Some are, to be honest. Many of the most ruthless Shifters travel to Earth on a daily basis to grab their next meal. Others are not even close to what we have encountered on Earth. I know you have seen many of them here."

"Did you say... next meal?"

"Wait, Mona. Just let me talk," Ray implores, his eyes searching mine. I fall silent, and after a few seconds he continues. His body straightens as he lifts his arms again. A wash of color begins to appear behind him, painting a strange scene that spellbinds me. As the picture takes shape, I suddenly realize that the room we are in is spherical, with the ceilings and walls slanting into each other, curving around the thin ledge into the vast depths that lay below.

"There... is a God." Ray looks at me, and then sweeps his gaze across the vivid landscape. Miles and miles of bleak horizons are before us, not unfamiliar to me as I make out the corner of a sandy beach scattered with battered bodies.

"So this is..."

"There isn't a name. It can't have a name. If it allows itself to be named, it allows itself to be controlled, and no one can truly harness this realm. Like a wild horse, it lives and dies alone and free, without anyone to hold it back. But anyways, this is besides the point. What I mean to say is, I've never had to question."

"Question what?" I ask nervously, bringing my hands together. The scene behind Ray is shifting to reveal close up scenes within the world, with the first being a lone Shifter looking deep into the well that Griffin and I fell into.

"That there is a God. It's quite a paradoxical privilege to have. Knowledge is painful, to be honest." Ray pauses, his eyes reflecting a dark crimson, almost as if it were a trick of the light. "I hesitate to give it to you. But I have no choice, anyways. It will be over soon."

"Ray, you aren't making any sense. What's going on? What is this place?" I move to get up from my seat, but a strange force holds me down. I look down, and in horror see a thick rope strapped around my waist. I whip my face back up to him, and he is smiling sadly at me, his hands still raised.

"Even now, I'm struggling on how to tell my story. I suppose I don't have to tell it. I could leave you here. Or push you over the ledge." He steps closer, sticking out his foot. "It would be so easy. But I can't. There isn't a point. Fate says it won't be so."

I begin to breathe heavily, my heartbeat accelerating. I rock within the chair, testing the rope to see how strong it could possibly be.

"Shifters are more than the werewolves have made them out to be. In fact, every single one of them is a soul, both the corrupted and the pure lumped all together in this waiting room for their final destination. And me, I get to be their leader. I am the caregiver of the waiting room, protecting both the peace and the Shifters from escaping their cage."

My eyes widen as his face starts to shift along with the scenes around him. His arms immediately fly to his cheeks, as if trying to hold himself together. "Just a minute longer... I can wait... don't want... to..." He whispers to himself.

"Show me who you are," I say, my hands working at the rope. It is too strong, however, and I know that it would be pointless to keep trying. But most of all, I am concerned about Ray's evident pain. It grips me, and I can't take it any longer. "Let it go."

There is no response as Ray clutches at his head, struggling once again. "Show... just... let it..." His hands move to cover his eyes and an almost lightning-like flash appears in the room, causing me to blink several times and look at the ground. When I finally look up, I nearly jump with my chair into the abyss.

"Ray? What happened to your eyes?"

Instead of his green eyes, he now possesses a pair of ruby red eyes, glowing with the same demonic intensity that I am so familiar with. The rest of him is the same Ray I am used to, but that one feature frightens me beyond anything else. Shivers run up and down my spine as he almost takes a step forward, then backs away at my expression.

"I guess there's no going back anymore. I can't be Ray, just as you can't be Mona." Ray pauses. "I will finally take on my role. Mona, I am the enemy. I am what the prophecy calls the wolf with the red eyes. I have been given a mission by God, and I intend to finish it, while at the same time doomed to certain failure... as it is written."

I only stare at him, my teeth chattering involuntarily as the cold sweeps in like the snow upon the backgrounds of the sphere, each crystalized piece of water fluttering to its death in the gray valleys.

"When the true God created this world, he made me as well. He made hundreds of servants, built this large castle, and gave me companions to counsel me as I led this kingdom. At first, there were no troubles. Our land flourished, nutrients rich with emotions dripping from the treetops and Souls practically frolicking among the green plains. Everyone could use feelings of joy and happiness as proper sustenance. No had to leave... or wanted to leave.'

'But he did not leave me in charge of this world without conditions. He gave me a piece of paper, detailing what was to happen when the first Shifter crossed over into the foreign worlds that lay past our borders, that I was not allowed to open until the time came. A long time passed, a time that could only be described as peaceful and blissfully temporary; when I was living a life that was as stagnant as the reigning clouds over our terrain.'

'But after a while many more souls were entering our world and there were not enough nutrients growing to support the population. Some would fight each other for a single piece of fruit, while others would intimidate Shifters into relinquishing their hard-earned nutrients. This went on for a while, and soon a brash, rebellious Shifter decided to take matters into its own hands. It left, sneaking through the gates into Oblivion, and I thought we would never see that particular Shifter again. Well, I was wrong.'

'It appeared again, at the edges of the gates, holding some strange sphere-like objects. When other Shifters came to look, he released the spheres, all of which released a wealth of feelings that invigorated the Shifters that surrounded it. They were introduced to many emotions that were not available within our realm, such as jealousy, greed, and anger. The reason why Shifters need emotions is to make them feel somewhat alive while they wait, allowing them to retain some of what their soul originally consisted of. However, these... ugly emotions ignited a fire within their own souls, an fiercely burning passion that far exceeded the satisfaction one would get from a single grain of Happiness.'

'Since fire is contagious, the news spread quickly about the Shifter's new mysterious energy source. I knew about it already, having this room to survey the kingdom as a whole at any time I would like. Not worrying about anything, I just let it go. I never seriously thought that the Shifter would even make it much longer when fed with such impure emotions, much less incite an entire rebellion against me. Of course, I severely underestimated its influence, as it lead thousands, against my orders to stay away, into the Oblivion under the pretense of finding a land with wealth in feelings beyond measure.'

'Scared by the events that had taken place, I practically ripped over the letter that contained the true God's message. Within it, I found the prophecy, a description of the real world, a silver ring, and some more instructions. I was to travel between worlds to monitor the Shifters, as their taste for humanity could not be quenched, and watch for the appearance of werewolves, who were an apparent threat to the Shifter society. I was very disturbed by the information, but was secretly excited to leave and see