The House of Grey- Volume 4 (27 page)

The
mural
was
highly
detail
ed
in the oddest of places
and less detailed in others
. The being that stood foremost
in both size and prominence
among the crowds was surprisingly
undefined,
as if
the artist
was not
quite sure what his model looked like. Above this rather strange
figure
were shadowy depictions of mystical creatures that Monson
thought
resembled beings or characters out of
myth and legend—the hydra, griffin and yeti, to name a few.
The likenesses were simpler, less detailed, as if the artist took the basic
idea of every type of fantasy creature
and
stripped
them
down to
their
essence.  Or
maybe
it was the other way around
; m
aybe all
notions
of fantasy and myth
originated with
this picture.
But the implications of that idea seemed ridiculous to Monson—that all thought was from a common source; there was no way that was the case. 

He
pulled the book closer
,
tracing his finger towards each of the
seven distinct
beings illustrated in the drawing.
They were placed methodically around the mural, equidistant from the center.
A
faint
grayish
haze spr
ead
out around
the central being as if he was
using
his spirit or existence
to
draw the others towards him. As if he was making them a part of him. As if he was
...

Realization struck
Monson
.
“This is the reason for your organization. You
’
re trying to find the being in this picture.”

“They call him the Being of Seven
Bloods
,
”
a
nswered Grayson quietly
.
“
The
rest
of the mural
drawings
ha
ve
been lost
. They are the missing pages you see at the back of the book. S
upposedly
these additional pictures
depicted
this being and
its
companions traveling
;
traveling to fix something that
has gone
terribly
wrong.
S
o wrong
,
that if it doesn’t get fix
ed w
e are all
doomed
. Everyone.  You, me
,
everyone in this world
,
and at least a couple of other
world
s
to boot
.
We can only guess at its meaning. Grandfather usually added his notes and speculations right behind a sketch or photograph, but again the pages right after this one were torn out.
” 

Monson gulped
.
“
W
hat happen
ed
to
them
?
What do you think was on them?
”

Grayson hung his head
.
“I wish I knew.”

He looked back up
,
making eye contact with Monson. “To conclude the story, Grandfather was the only one to make it out of that cave alive. Something attacked them. Not even Grandfather knew what, but the rest of his men sacrificed themselves to allow him to live.
W
hile his men fought whatever it was that attacked them
, he ran
,
and found himself in
a place he deemed The Caverns of Salt. Grandfather wrote of the screams of his men echo
ing
off the enclosed spaces
,
and how short
ly
after he left them
,
the only sound he could hear
was
the thump of heavy footsteps
coming towards him
.  Cornered in the Caverns of Salt,
h
e said his final pray
er
.  It was
in
that darkest hour that something rescued him
—
a woman
,
Grey
,
a woman like you ha
ve
never seen.
”
 

Trembling
fingers pulled at a previously unseen, final sheet of paper.

Monson
released a huff of air in awe
. He
gazed
at the portrait of a woman unlike any other in the history of the world. She was like a goddess give
n
physical form
,
with beautiful platinum eyes and long platinum hair. Her clothing was just as ethereal
,
like a liquid metal that did not hang on her body but hovered just above it.  Monson’s head
became
fuzzy
.
H
e wanted to ask who she was
,
but
w
ords, they seemed so unimportant right now. What did he really need words for
?
A
ll he really need
ed
was to sit—

Grayson interrupted him this time
.
“Sariah
.
S
he called herself Sariah.”

Sariah
,
thought Monson
.
What a beautiful name.

Grayson concluded his story
. “Sariah is
the key
,
Grey, the key to all of this. It was through her that H.U.M
.A.N.E
was created, that we have the limited amount of knowledge we currently posse
ss
. It was all her. She told Grandfather that
everyone
must travel
his
own pathway to power
, fulfill their destined fate to bring about the salvation of all worlds
. And
that
finding the Being of Seven Bloods
was the only way to bring that salvation.”

Monson Grey and Grayson Garret
t
sat in silence, allowing the words and the
ir
significance to sink in. 

After several minutes,
Monson made a decision. “Grayson, I hope you haven’t gotten tired of me. Because I think it’s about time I tell you a story.
I hope that
together
,
our stories will make sense
.
”

Monson talked,
and
talked
,
and talked. He talked for the better part of an hour
, leaving
as little as possible out of his story. He talked about the weird happenings surrounding h
is interactions with Casey, Artori
us, Kylie, Cyann and all the rest. He told him about how he had this weird knowledge
of stuff
that he
could not
explain or comprehend and that it kicked in at the
most unexpected
times. He told him about the scars, both emotion
al
and physical
,
that weighed him down.  He spoke of his past and what little he could remember
of
it.
F
inally, he told him about
the times
when he looked at his reflection
and
his reflection would look back at him.

“Wait, stop there
,
” said Grayson with a
thoughtful expression.
“Clarify something. What do you mean your reflection
would
look back? Isn’t that what a reflection is supposed to do?”

“
No,
a reflection should mirror the original. That’s the definition of a reflection. This one did not
.
” Monson shuddered as he recalled the experience. “
Sometimes
I look at my reflection in a window or mirror and it
look
s
back at me. I
can
see it in his eyes, my eyes. It’
s no
t me. I thought I was going crazy until
the other
night when I had a dream where I actually spoke with my reflection. I actually spoke with myself.”

“Amazing
….
” Grayson rubbed at his face thoughtful
ly
.
“
A
nd that’s what led to what happen
ed
in the Atrium
.
”

“Ahh...
y
eah
, sort of,
” said Monson
,
his suspicions
finally
confirmed
.
“So you were there?”

“Yeah
,
but I was lucky
,
that’s all
,
” answered Grayson
,
smiling
.
“
H
appen
ed
to be there when Taris came running in
.
D
on’t worry
,
I don’t think she saw
me
,” he added after Monson gave him a sharp look
.
“I was about to leave when I saw you come in
,
talking to yourself. I admit my curiosity got the better of me.”

“You saw what
happened
?”

“Yeah
,
I saw what happen
ed
, but before we get into that, first finish telling
me
about your dream.”

Monson finished his story. He told Grayson about Dawn, Yari and Gi
,
though he made sure not to speak Yari and Gi’s name
s
aloud
, and
about the three requests that Dawn made. He also discussed the Magi Blades and the strange process to call upon the
m
including the vague gestures and odd posturing.  Monson knew what he was doing was dangerous.
He
hardly knew Grayson
,
and yet he was disclosing a great deal about himself. It was a chance he
felt he
had to take
,
even if his
thirst for knowledge was dulling his
good
sense. Grayson had the knowledge and
his story
seemed somewhat credible
. This
was his chance
;
h
is big chance to find out what was going on. He had to leave everything on the table. No secrets
it was quite possible that he needed
the information Grayson had and if he was forced to expose himself
to gain whatever tidbit he could
, then so be it.

“Monson
,
it’s got to be you
,
” said Grayson
with
total conviction
.
“You’re the only one
who
could—
”

“Grayson
,
you’re so convinced
,
but you haven’t given me a single reason to believe that I’m this Being of Seven Bloods. What has you so sure?”

“Power
,
Grey. The part of the prophecy we have says that one of the signs of the Being of Seven Bloods is
‘
power untold.
’
Think of it this way
.
”

He pulled out a piece of paper and drew a line across it. He labeled the
start of the line
“
1
”
with
“
100
”
at the end. He looked up from
the
paper.

“I told you earlier that AOI
,
or
the sphere
of influence
,
is a magical method of using your Kei.”