Silt!
Daniel clenched his jaw after he felt something hit him. He remained composed as the sounds rumbled from above. When the blast cleared and left behind lingering smoke, he stood up and moved away from the two. His mind still remembered the piercing pinch a moment ago. He checked all over until his hand touched something solid. It wasn't his skin. The hand felt hard like rock. Daniel didn't react to it, but Mother Elaine did and pointed it out.
Adrenaline had kicked in for him not to experience anything. It was a long and thick wooden stick. He gripped the hardwood.
"Don't pull it out!" Mother Elaine yelled while running to him.
"Too late," Daniel said, then yanked it out. The side of his shirt was torn, and his left torso vomited blue blood. A bit splashed onto Mother Elaine's face, jerking her back. Lian went right up behind and braced her from falling.
Daniel took off his shirt and looked at his left side, revealing a massive open gap to his left side. He saw a bit of his lungs behind the ribcage. The wound was like a drooling mouth, leaking and spitting out blue blood. Lian had to ensure Mother Elaine he was fine, much to the latter's distress.
And Lian was right, calming Mother Elaine. Heat was generated around the gap. Vapor was emitted from the wound. The skin started to regenerate, and blood clotted. Daniel noticed the pinching pain was fading away, and he stood for a little bit. "I need a shirt if you have a spare, please."
“I’ll get you one.” Mother Elaine looked at the wrecked house. The entryway to the backyard was all open because the door was torn out of its hinges. Smoke covered everything inside. "That reminds me. I need to show you two something," she said, then looked at Lian. "I don't know who you are, but you are a pretty lady."
"My name is Lian," she said, speaking in a Beijing-like dialect.
"Oh, great. You can speak Mandarin; that's great. I'm Elaine, but many call me Mother Elaine…So, you can call me either of the two. Well, come on, Daniel. It's over here," Mother Elaine said and walked to the detached garage across from the house. She clicked on the remote, but the garage door didn't work. After a few more times, she went to the nearby door, got inside, and manually lifted it. It turned out that the garage was detached from the opener.
Even in her pajamas, Daniel couldn't help but notice the change in Mother Elaine's physique. The last time he saw her in person was a few months ago. Her arms, especially her triceps, were now well defined and hefty. For her age at fifty-four, it was a feat.
"Hurry, get in," Mother Elaine said. "Turn on the light switch next to the door."
Once Daniel flipped the light switch and locked the door, Mother Elaine closed the garage door and readjusted the blinds. Inside the garage revealed her Lincoln Navigator. The rest of the space was bare, and the walls were uniformed with boring blue paint, making it gloomy.
Daniel noticed a bookshelf at the far end corner. “A bookshelf?”
Mother Elaine didn't say anything except a nod. She pulled a string and pushed the shelf forward, opening inward. "Welcome to my lair, where I stayed for most of the time." She let the two enter first before heading inside and closing the door-disguised shelf.
The basement was very impressive. It was pretty much another residence because it had every basic amenity, an open living room, a library, and a kitchen. Bigger than a one-room apartment.
"When did you build this?" Lian asked. "Did you build this alone?"
"Most of it. The design was on my end, but the digging was from a crew I hired for a night shift."
Lian headed to the basement's library. "So you're not married to that guy?"
Mother Elaine shook her head. "I never did. We used to have something before Ava was born, but after she was born, it's gone. Personal issues got worse, so I built this place and stayed here every night for almost a decade."
“I’m sorry. That must be rough.”
“It’s alright. There’s nothing to be sorry about,” Mother Elaine said, then paused. “Wait, why did my house blow up?”
Daniel, who was sitting on the couch in the open living room, noticed two scrolls on the table. He didn’t hear what Mother Elaine asked a moment ago. "Uh, what's this?"
Mother Elaine strolled to the table. "These are two scrolls that I found in the backyard a few days ago during sunset."
"What do they do?"
"I don't know. I haven't opened it yet."
Lian, who was looking over a book, turned her attention to the living room. "Scroll? What does it look like?"
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"It's golden."
Lian put the book back on the shelf and headed to the living room. When she saw the two golden scrolls on the table, she looked at Mother Elaine. "Have you touched it many times since you picked it up?"
Mother Elaine shook her head. "No, after I picked it up, I put it in one spot on the cabinet over there until I brought it to the living room about a week ago for decorations."
Lian told Mother Elaine to sit on the couch as she sat on the floor, facing towards the two. "Good thing you hadn't opened it yet. I dropped these two scrolls in your backyard. It was supposed to be for you and for your daughter, Ava. Unfortunately, with her unexpected passing, I'm taking one back." One scroll disappeared, and one remained.
"So, this was planned?!"
Lian shook her head. "Not what happened minutes ago. Ava wasn't supposed to die, but she was killed by one of our enemies."
“Is that why you blew the second floor of my house up? With Ava’s body still in there?”
“Yeah, no loose ends,” Daniel muttered.
"You could have just fabricated it and changed multiple contexts."
"I could, but I wasn’t thinking about that."
Mother Elaine, as much as she wanted to slap Daniel in the face, reacted in a composed manner. “You’re very reckless. I hope this is all worth it.”
Lian redirected the conversation. She asked Mother Elaine about the year 2005. The latter recalled how negative it was for everyone. When Lian revealed to her about her home planet’s war that led to the events of 2005, Mother Elaine grunted and stayed silent.
Daniel signaled to Lian to continue. And she told Mother Elaine a summary of events up until today.
“I think I get the picture…Thank you,” Mother Elaine muttered.
Lian nodded, moving on to other topics. “Back to the scroll…This scroll is a rare item. Only a few can be crafted every Raal year, which is equal to an Earth year. These golden scrolls were made to give to individuals who can't or never had qi. Daniel already had qi, so this is for you." She handed the golden scroll to Mother Elaine.
"What do I need to do with this?"
"Open it. Roll from the bottom end."
Mother Elaine rolled the bottom end towards her chest and the upper to eye level, uncovering a few lines of logographs. After she opened it, Lian told her to read it out loud.
One spark becomes two. Naivety turns into wisdom. Wise dreams become our guideswork. Guideswork will lead us to the Moon. The Moon is the pinnacle that all must strive to pass the human state of vulnerability. Never fear failure and rise with the urge to reach your potential. The Moon is with you.
After a few seconds, it was silent.
“What was supposed to happen?” Daniel asked. "I don't see anything—"
"What?" Mother Elaine asked, noticing him looking at her.
Daniel took out his phone and switched the camera screen to selfie mode, showing it to Mother Elaine.
She dropped the scroll onto her lap, terrified, and asked multiple times if this was an editing filter. Daniel continuously shook his head at every doubt she expressed. Mother Elaine's eyes glowed elegant gold, progressively illuminating enough to brighten the entire screen of Daniel's phone, so that she flinched away.
"Panic isn't going to work," Lian said. "I didn't expect this, but Daniel, you have it too."
Daniel then looked at his phone screen. His eyes were glowing gold too, but only briefly as they turned into sky blue. "Ok, so what does this mean?"
Before Lian could say anything, the ink on the scroll flashed red. The red light flashed outward, engulfing the entire basement. A sudden force and pressure that came through from it was so violent and abrupt that Daniel felt a punch right into his face. It knocked him cold. He felt the last bit of consciousness when something solid hit the back of his skull, drifting to sleep.
“Ugh,” Daniel groaned as he opened his eyes. The basement was partially trashed. The couches were all in debris, like sand dust. Some of Mother Elaine’s furniture was obliterated into pieces.
Daniel rubbed the back of his head. It felt a little tender, but nothing critical. He got up and turned his attention to the wooden floor where a huge dent was imprinted. It was hardwood, making the dent more noticeable.
Lian got Mother Elaine up from the floor. She sat her down on the floor and told Daniel to sit next to her.
"You okay?" Daniel asked Mother Elaine.
"I'm a little dizzy, but I'm fine."
Lian unleashed green magic from both of her palms, firing right at the two. Daniel felt a surge of energy lifting his back straight up. The same thing happened to Mother Elaine.
"Everything went well. I'm healing you guys to get you back to optimal."
"Was that knock-out really necessary?" Mother Elaine asked.
"Raal humans naturally absorb this better because of their natural strength, and Raal's gravity is much heavier than Earth's…Alright, it’s finished."
All three stood up.
"If it weren't for that healing thing, my jaw would've hated me for a week."
Daniel scratched his head, feeling no tightness on the back of his head anymore.
"So, what happens now?" Mother Elaine asked.
Lian shrugged. "I mean, your normal lives are done. A new journey is about to begin, and now you will have to deal with Raal coming to Earth."
Daniel then looked at Mother Elaine. "I've been thinking. With your past in this miserable life with the guy for at least two decades, maybe it's time to start fresh."
"What a coincidence. My Lincoln was already packed. I just need to get a few more things from the lair before we take off."
"Great and well…I got problematic news, and I don't have much time to wait,” Daniel said, putting his phone away. One of his staff sent him a message about the press gathering a mile away. Despite already warning not to get the press attention, one of the officers did. The only thing he could do right now was keep his composure.
Under a time constraint, Daniel and Lian helped Mother Elaine pack her last belongings.
Singer Lain: Starbloom
A saint groomed for sacrifice awakens a sleeping god and summons a ruinous, slow-burn love. Divine music, forbidden Heat, and a world where faith has fangs.
BOOK ONE COMPLETE!
- dark romantasy ? slow burn
- a saint who won’t stay silent
- dragon gods, blood-magic, chosen-one fallout
- hearts vs. holy orders
- daily updates!
“A lush, sensual fantasy about power, purity, and the magic that blooms when a girl dares to sing her own song.”
Exiled to fetch the mythic Starbloom, Lain meets Mallow, a roguish herbalist with gentler hands than the clergy’s, and Morgan Balthir, a veinwright whose vows taste like chains. The Underserpent is waking. So is she.