Page 51 of Stitches
Thedaydreamswerememories.That should have been Levi’s first assumption, not thoughts of premonitions or some connection to people outside himself. Memories made more sense. He had experienced the things he was seeing, smelling, feeling—or at least the head on his shoulders had.
The castle was even more remarkable than Levi could have guessed. It was beautiful from the outside, even in the distance, black and glittering like the Dark Kingdom’s trees, but even more so, as if it was speckled with precious stones. Levi hadn’t known Ashmedai could take someone else into his shadows, but when the blackness swallowed them, there was no accompanying fear of the dark. Levi felt comforted, like being swaddled as a babe in a warm blanket.
Light had returned, revealing they were suddenly out of the rain, already inside the castle. They’d reappeared from a circle of shadows Ashmedai must always keep there, for the furniture had been arranged just so with a bright white crystal glowing that caused a large portion of the floor to be completely cast in darkness, like a shadow entryway.
The room was a study, decorated in reds and blacks like Ashmedai’sclothing. Everything was either gold or brocade or silk in the same deep colors Ashmedai wore. This room must be his favorite, with a massive candle clock, large black bookshelf covered in tomes, and a chair resting beside a window that looked upon the city. The study was in one of the castle towers, maybe even the one Levi looked at and pondered over when he saw a light on.
“Come,” Ashmedai said, leading Levi from the room into a high-ceilinged hallway.
The simple command reminded Levi why he already had and still felt uncomfortable in his trousers. The rain had helped, but now they were in a dry, cozy space.
With some of his memories returned more succinctly, Levi had a vague sense of feeling shame when he had pleasured himself in his past life. He didn’t know why. He didn’t even feel shame having released in the king’s presence, because he could tell Ashmedai had wanted to give him pleasure.
Levi wanted to do the same in return.
Now, after their brief trek through the castle, Levi was in a vast washroom, reached after having entered a bedchamber with similar coloring to the study. Levi assumed it was where Ashmedai slept—ifhe slept—and this was where he bathed.
There were oils and warm running water that Levi used to clean himself once Ashmedai left him. An ornate mirror was on the far wall, gilded like so much Levi had seen of the castle. It was floor length and reflected Levi in his entirety as he walked toward it, clean now, but still naked. His clothing was soaked from the rain.
When Levi first explored his body, he had noted every line of stitches. So many of them were gone now, leaving but a scattered few. Patches of skin and body parts were often a different shade of blue, but where Ashmedai had smoothed the stitches away, those parts matched in hue now, making Levi an almost unified azure.
His skin had been peach-colored once, light like cream, and his eyes… he couldn’t remember, but maybe they had been blue instead of violet. His hair had still been red though.
Focused on his body’s reflection, made from different people, Levi wasn’t sure what he felt, or if he was okay with the thought that, once, he had been someone else. All his parts had been different someones’, but only his mind, his head, remembered its former life and, in some ways, got to live on.
It made Levi more aware of each of his parts and where his remaining stitches connected or covered him. It also made him enjoy even more the places where stitches had been removed, because he was becoming his own man in more ways than he’d first realized.
He supposed the only thing that truly disturbed him after learning all this was whether remembering more would erase who he’d become.
“Levi? Are you all right in there?”
Levi turned back to the washroom door. A long black robe hung on the back of it, made of some sort of plush fabric that looked wonderfully warm and inviting. “Coming!” he called and, leaving his wet clothes draped over the edge of the tub to dry, donned the robe to exit into Ashmedai’s bedchamber.
“Prrp!” An unfamiliar noise sounded from behind Levi—but he had only just turned away from facing that direction.
Slowly, on edge with his hand still on the handle to make his exit, Levi peeked over his shoulder.
A ghostly form hovered directly in front of his face, shaped like a medium-sized, longish-haired cat, but translucent with the faintest pale glow. It was see-through like Daedlys, but whereas Daedlys’s black pits for eyes had become a source of comfort for Levi, these were bright, haunting white.
“Ah!” Levi yelped and leapt backward to escape the phantom cat, but since he had already turned the handle, the door gave way, toppling himout of the washroom—and into Ashmedai’s arms.
“What happened? Are you—?” Ashmedai began, with strong hands holding Levi steady. He darted his eyes beyond Levi, and instantly, the concern on Ashmedai’s face faded to amusement. “It’s only Aurora, curious about you, I bet. She’s a cathom.”
Feeling his heart in his throat, Levi let that sink in as he sank against Ashmedai. The hands at Levi’s elbows slid up his arms and around his back to offer comfort, though Levi felt foolish for needing any.
Just a cathom, what had become of cats the same way dogs had become rollhounds. The phantomlike felines were wholly domesticated and safe, but although Levi had known they existed, he’d never seen one, since they tended to be indoor pets.
He’d also never known Ashmedai had one.
“Rora, you’ve startled our guest.” Ashmedai clicked his tongue, calling her closer. “Apologize, won’t you?”
Gently, Ashmedai shifted Levi in his arms so he still held Levi, but Levi now faced the washroom door. Aurora floated out. Her movement was like Daedlys’s as well, but while his lower half ended in a wisp instead of feet, she had all four paws. They seemed to find traction on the very air, pulling her forward like she trod on solid ground.
Shewason solid ground. Or rather, on a countertop, walking about and demanding to be petted, her fur pure white save where there were tufts of brown at her ears, paws, the end of her tail, and part of her chest. He remembered how soft her fur was when he reached out….
But what his hand touched was no normal cat on a countertop. Aurora was still hovering, still translucent, and though she bucked up into Levi’s petting, there wasn’t fur beneath his hand so much as a sensation like sifting his fingers through the softest silk, cool but not cold to the touch.
Levi huffed a jubilant laugh, not only because Aurora had turned out to be a sweet creature, but because he remembered, “I had a cat!” Helaughed again and stroked Aurora more confidently. The cathom began to purr and rolled over in midair, so Levi stroked along her back.
