{"id":3378,"date":"2016-04-12T00:01:16","date_gmt":"2016-04-12T04:01:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tellest.com\/?p=3378"},"modified":"2016-04-22T07:54:52","modified_gmt":"2016-04-22T11:54:52","slug":"bixby-alladocious-and-the-lady-of-life-and-death-part-two","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/bixby-alladocious-and-the-lady-of-life-and-death-part-two\/","title":{"rendered":"Bixby Alladocious and the Lady of Life and Death, Part Two"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bixby Alladocious and the Lady of Life and Death
\nA Story by Michael DeAngelo
\n-Part Two-<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

For all the fire he left behind in the Nexus, Bixby was sure that he had taken some with him.\u00a0 He could feel his body becoming corporeal, and warmth the likes of which he never felt coursed through every muscle, every bone, and every inch of his skin.\u00a0 He would have reflexively cried from the pain, if his body was whole yet.<\/p>\n

That searing pain ripped through him like a thousand daggers, and fleeing into his own thoughts was the only way he could muster the strength to endure.<\/p>\n

And I thought dying was bad<\/em>, he pondered.<\/p>\n

When it was over, a dull sting permeated his body.\u00a0 A cool breeze flowed through the area, and it almost felt like a brand new sensation.\u00a0 His fresh skin had never felt the cold, and that zephyr that whipped by seemed to drive nails into his flesh.<\/p>\n

Just as Adessa said, though, that agony was fleeting.\u00a0 He would remember it forever, but there was almost a feeling of emptiness when it had passed.\u00a0 Without the pain, his vision returned to him, and he arched his eyebrow.<\/p>\n

Bixby had returned to where it had all started: Bowry Cemetery.<\/p>\n

The gate still swung to and fro in the breeze, a subtle creak echoing into the air.\u00a0 He had left it unlatched in case he needed to make a quick getaway.\u00a0 Rumors at the town swelled that the place was haunted, and while he was fairly certain they were just that, he didn\u2019t want to be caught unaware because of his pride.<\/p>\n

He thrust that iron gate out even farther, considering what he knew.\u00a0 Ghosts were real, and he had seen them.\u00a0 \u201cIn fact, I suppose I am one,\u201d Bixby whispered.<\/p>\n

As he made his way through the cemetery, he took special care to avoid the graves.\u00a0 The magician never considered himself a superstitious man, but maybe that was due for a change.<\/p>\n

A distant rumble of thunder rolled over the area.\u00a0 Bixby drew his overcoat in closer, and the subtle movement caught his attention.\u00a0 His soul had repaired his outfit as well, a nice little bonus that he hadn\u2019t considered when Adessa had explained his so-called gift.\u00a0 All the better, he supposed.\u00a0 It wouldn\u2019t do to go crypt-diving naked.<\/p>\n

After only a few more moments, he arrived at the tomb, where the stone slab that was supposed to keep in the dead was left slightly ajar.\u00a0 The magician wanted natural light in that eerie place.\u00a0 While the claims couldn\u2019t be substantiated, he had been warned countless times throughout his career that the dead gave off an invisible, volatile gas.\u00a0 The last thing he wanted to do was blow himself up with an ill-conceived fire spell.<\/p>\n

When he slipped inside the tomb once more, he nearly leapt back out of the building, convinced that the rumors were true.\u00a0 For there, at the forefront of the corridor, a body sat propped against the wall.\u00a0 His brow furrowed at the truth of it, though: it was his<\/em> body.\u00a0 Just because his soul recreated a vessel for him, it did nothing to erase the old one from existence.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t every day that a man could see his own corpse.<\/p>\n

If there was any doubt\u2014if there was even a shred of a thought he had just dreamed his time in the Nexus instead of actually experiencing it\u2014it flittered away in that moment.\u00a0 Bixby was immortal, just as Adessa had said.\u00a0 Triumphantly, he strode down those first steps into the corridor.\u00a0 He held his head high as he proceeded down the path, his eyes fixated on that golden statuette destined to be his prize.\u00a0 His steps were firm and confident and\u2014<\/p>\n

How could he have forgotten?<\/p>\n

The sound of the pressure plate sliding into place once more was beyond familiar.\u00a0 Before, it was hauntingly final in its cruelty, and yet, in that moment, it sounded like nothing beyond a cruel joke.<\/p>\n

Bixby tried to leap out of the way, but the curved spikes were too fast.\u00a0 They sheared into him just as before, though they didn\u2019t strike so high.\u00a0 His lungs were spared, at least.<\/p>\n

The pain wasn\u2019t as bad as before, he considered.\u00a0 But when he looked down at his torso, he saw the damage was significantly worse.\u00a0 He bled from three times as many places as before, thanks to his ill-timed leap.\u00a0 That rapid blood loss sent him to his rump before he realized it.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow foolish am I?\u201d he wondered aloud.\u00a0 Again he rolled to his side before he crawled from the place that had doomed him.\u00a0 He gnashed his teeth together and shook his head, more disappointed with himself than whoever designed the sinister trap.<\/p>\n

He was so weary that he didn\u2019t realize where he was at first.\u00a0 But when he looked up, he saw his favorite boots.\u00a0 Bixby guffawed at the grim coincidence.\u00a0 Killed twice by the same trap, even though he knew where it would strike the second time around.<\/p>\n

The magician hoisted himself into place beside his corpse.\u00a0 Blowing out a sigh, he could sense his life force fleeting away from him.\u00a0 The darkness was coming back to him, and quickly at that.\u00a0 He dared not set his sights on that golden statuette again, the reminder of his failure.\u00a0 Instead, he turned the opposite way.<\/p>\n

As macabre as it was, Bixby used the last of his strength to drape his arm over his corpse.\u00a0 He grasped his far shoulder and propped himself a little higher.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow you doing there, good looking?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

*\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 *\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 *\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 *\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 *<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

She could sense the fissure opening and awaited the arrivals with a reinvigorated mirth.\u00a0 Since she could direct her new champion back to the land of the living, there was a revitalized confidence that Adessa carried.<\/p>\n

All that mirth was gone the next moment.<\/p>\n

Bixby held up his hands, placating the woman before she could say a word.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know. \u00a0Whatever you have to say, I swear, I know.\u201d<\/p>\n

Though her jaw had dropped at the sight of the magician, the lady who walked the line between life and death couldn\u2019t suppress a giggle.\u00a0 \u201cJust getting a little practice in, are we?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHad to make sure it wasn\u2019t a fluke,\u201d Bixby said.\u00a0 When he turned around, he summoned those same violet flames that had opened the fissure before.\u00a0 It roared to life, as it had earlier, and the magician marched toward it without trepidation.\u00a0 \u201cI have a feeling you\u2019ll be seeing a lot more of me,\u201d he surmised.<\/p>\n

With a smile on her face, Adessa offered a nod.\u00a0 \u201cI look forward to it, Mister Alladocious.\u201d<\/p>\n

Without another word, Bixby pressed through the fissure, returning to Tellest once more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bixby Alladocious and the Lady of Life and Death A Story by Michael DeAngelo -Part Two- For all the fire he left behind in the Nexus, Bixby was sure that he had taken some with him.\u00a0 He could feel his body becoming corporeal, and warmth the likes of which he never felt coursed through every […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3274,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[349,145,146],"tags":[1276,1268,1267,1263,290,149],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Short-Story-Panel.jpg","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1UVey-Su","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3378"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3378"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3378\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3379,"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3378\/revisions\/3379"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3274"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3378"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3378"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3378"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}