The Ouroboros

Chapter Three from Thorne: The Withering Shore

Welcome to the third chapter for Thorne: The Withering Shore.

There are six chapters to the Withering Shore but Thorne’s story doesn’t end there, so stay tuned for more adventures.

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Thorne: The Withering Shore

I was always told that the day belonged to us but the night belongs to them. It was never a truth I wanted to unfurl but all paths are leading me there, down to the pier at the end of the line. Down to the darkness that bleeds into the withering shore.

Chapter Three - The Ouroboros

Alina sent a car for Thorne with an apology that she would have to meet her at the party; she wanted to be early to make sure that the event was running smoothly. Thorne, on the other hand, wanted to be at least fashionably late. She needed time to think. But more importantly, she needed more time to prepare.

All she had thought about the past few weeks was the Artach and it’s sudden appearance in her life. Since she saw it painted in blood on the floor of the Brian Elison’s building she started noticing it more and more. The invite to Maven’s end of year event was the biggest indicator that something dark was bubbling to the surface.

She dug deep into Maven’s history and found nothing. When she was doing a routine background check, finding nothing was standard. But it was now alarming that there was no real information about them. Nothing beyond the clean, corporate image they had created with plastered smiles that never reached their empty eyes.

She had brought it up a few times with Alina since, subtly trying to warn her without going into the details. But she didn’t want to ruin things until she was absolutely sure what was happening.

Thorne had become close with Alina over the past few weeks. She’d spent more nights with her than on her own. But all of that would come crashing down if she started talking about Artach’s and portals to other worlds. So she kept close and made a plan.

The event was at Maven’s penthouse. When she had a moment, she would slip away and find his office. Thorne had a simple program that would copy a device in a blink. She just needed to get in, copy the hard drive and get out. Then she could take her time scouring the insides of Maven’s workings.

The car pulled up and Thorne adjusted her suit before she went inside - determined to find out what games they were trying to play.

The elevator doors opened straight into the penthouse where the party was in full swing. The cities’ elite were crowded inside, spilling out onto the balcony where they happily ignored the best city and park views that Thorne had ever seen.

Alina saw her from the bar and Thorne watched her glide across the room, her hands held high above her so that she didn’t spill any of her champagne. People made a path for her and the train of her gown. On anyone else, the dress would have been over the top but on Alina it was irresistible. She looked good and she knew it. She handed Thorne a glass and immediately called a toast:

‘To work that brings old friends together.’ Thorne didn’t consider it luck that had brought Alina back into her life. A crossing of paths, if she believed in that sort of thing. But one thing was certain: in this light, with the way that Alina was looking at her - she wanted to be more than friends. 

‘Some party,’ said Thorne.

‘I think this is where half the budget goes,’ said Alina, grabbing another glass from the passing tray. ‘Come, I’ll introduce you to some people.’ Thorne followed her through the crowd, scanning faces and looking for signs that would help her piece it all together. 

She was in a room full of strangers until her eyes passed over a familiar face.

‘Is that Yasmin Knox?’ Said Thorne, subtly pointing to the woman in the corner of the room. She hadn’t seen her since school nearly fifteen years ago but her hair was still the same flaming red in a long mess of curls. 

‘Yeah, she started not long before me - she put me onto the role.’ 

’Yasmin did?’

‘Didn’t I mention that?’ Said Alina casually. Thorne wasn’t sure if she was being coy - she must have known that she hadn’t spoken about it. But maybe she remembered that Thorne and the other girls from Fernleigh had kept to themselves. She wouldn’t have been anymore excited to see Yasmin if she had been warned that she was coming.

She couldn’t remember what Yasmin’s power had been. In fact, she didn’t think that she had one. Not everyone at school could do what Alina and Thorne could do. Some were merely incredibly smart. Yasmin was declared a genius at an early age. Thorne had never cared about things like that - you could be have the highest IQ in the world and still do stupid shit. But Thorne had always been intimidated by her. Only now she couldn’t think of why.

Then she spotted another familiar face next to her.

‘And that’s Kayden Carver - is this a bloody reunion?’ Said Thorne, more annoyed than anything else. She had searched through every inch of information she could find about this company but nothing had mentioned the staff with special abilities. 

What other secrets were they hiding.

‘Just plain ol’ nepotism, I’m afraid. I know Yasmin through my father so we always kept in touch. Kayden referred Yasmin for a role in marketing or some bullshit, then she referred me when they needed someone good with numbers.’ Kayden noticed Thorne first, she smiled at her as they continued across the room. When Yasmin turned around, she had the audacity to wave. It wasn’t a welcoming gesture. It was a slow, wave goodbye like she was a passing float in a parade. Then Thorne remembered why she had been intimidated by her when they were young. 

She was a smart, rich, bitch.

‘You didn’t mention that, either,’ said Thorne, drawing her attention back to Alina. 

‘Didn’t I?’ She said. Now Thorne was madly searching through the faces, wondering who else she went to school with. Who else could have potential to cause harm.

Alina was surging ahead, trying to find the person that she was desperate to introduce. Thorne grabbed her wrist and pulled her close.

‘Why didn’t you tell me any of this.’ said Thorne, keeping her voice low. Alina rolled her eyes and tried to shake her off. ‘Alina, are there more people here like… us?’

‘Is something wrong?’ Said a voice behind her. Alina’s face lit up with a smile,

‘Brian - there you are! I wanted to introduce you to my old friend: Rose Thorne.’ Thorne turned and found herself face to face with an old client. 

‘Rose, this is - 

‘Brian Elison,’ said Thorne. He had cleaned up since she last saw him stumbling down the stairs from his building. The same building that had the Artarch drawn in blood across the floor. Even though weeks had past and he had lost the heavy bags from under his eyes. She still found herself looking at his hands as if she would find them covered in the blood he had used like paint.

‘You know each other?’ Said Alina. 

‘I don’t think so?’ Said Elison and Thorne remembered that she had been hired by his wife. Her final warning now ringing in Thorne’s mind: They’ll know you were in there… you’re a part of this now. 

Thorne was staring. 

‘Sorry, I’ve just seen you in the papers,’ said Thorne and Alina laughed. ‘I never thought I’d meet you in the flesh.’

‘You’re practically famous, Brian,’ said Alina. 

‘I wouldn’t say that,’ he said, his eyes never leaving Thorne’s. ‘Welcome to my home.’ Another thing that Alina didn’t mention.

‘I didn’t realise this was your event,’ said Thorne.

‘I’ve been working with Maven for sometime now, I like to support them in any way I can.’ Thorne struggled to match the man before her with the one she saw weeks before. Then she realised that he was alone.

‘Is your wife here?’ said Thorne, Brian winced and she felt Alina stiffen next to her. The perfect question. Thorne feigned shock: ‘Sorry - I didn’t mean to pry.’

‘No, it’s fine. Audrey has just been very unwell these past few weeks. But I’m hopeful she’ll get better soon.’

‘She’s in our prayers,’ said Alina.

Bullshit.

She was fine when Thorne saw her last - scared and paranoid but not sick. Thorne needed to find that computer. She needed evidence. She knew that there would be something in the penthouse that would help her understand. Alina expertly changed the subject to business - something they were all more comfortable talking about.

Thorne took her chance.

‘Excuse me,’ she said as she slipped away. Alina barely noticed but Brian’s eyes didn’t leave her. She could feel them boring into her back as she pushed through the party. If she could just find an empty space then she could disappear entirely but the crowd had grown since she arrived and she was almost squeezing her way through.

When she finally made it to the other side, she pretended to wait for the bathroom. There was only one person ahead of her. She waited for them to take their turn and the passing waiter to round the corner before she made the illusion of empty space around her, and made herself invisible.

With a final glance to the party behind her, she snuck away to find out what the hell was going on.

Thorne peered into each room as she made her way down the hall. She should have been impressed by the sheer number of rooms of the place but she only found it frustrating. More rooms meant more time searching for what she needed, which meant less time with Alina. She should have told her what she knew about the mark. But she wanted to be sure before she mentioned it. 

She came to a spiral stair case that wound it’s way up to a second and third floor above. How big is this place? 

She took a hunch that the office would be in a corner of the building. You didn’t host parties in an office, you had meetings. Secret meetings. The corner of a building felt more private. And with an owner like this, she imagined it would need a view. 

She made her choice and made her way to the third floor, keeping the fabric of her illusion steady. No one would see her climbing the stairs, they would blink away the haze when their eyes refused to focus on her and wonder if they had too much to drink. 

Luck was on her side as she opened the door to find Brian’s office on the third floor, tucked away in the corner just like she’d hoped. Tucked was the wrong word. The room was large enough to have a sitting area and a desk. One wall was covered in books, some locked behind glass doors, and a ladder that reached up to the ceiling ten feet above. She crossed the room to Brian’s computer. It was password protected but she had a program that would override it - now that was something worth spending money on. She plugged the USB into the computer and began searching through the desk itself while she waited for it to work its magic. 

The surface may have been cleaned but she imagined no one was allowed to touch the contents of the drawers because when she opened the first one, mess sprang out. Piles of documents that had been stuffed inside with little care. She scanned through the pages but found only old bills, past their due and final notices. 

‘It’s always all for show,’ said Thorne. She’d never known a wealthy person to be without debt - for some reason their debt was the good kind that meant three story penthouses and holidays on yachts. While the lower classes drowned in theirs and struggled to buy food. She stuffed the paper back where it came from and opened the next drawer. 

Empty. 

A man who has one drawer overflowing doesn’t just leave the second drawer empty. She reached inside and felt around for something, anything that would help her. The drawer was long but not deep enough to match the depth of the desk. 

It was a false drawer.

She felt around the edges until she found a small gap at the back just wide enough for her to slip a finger between and pull it forward. The wood fell down into the drawer and a book fell on top of it. Thorne heaved the book out of the drawer but when she saw what it was she dropped it.

‘Shit,’ she breathed. 

An Ouroboros was staring back at her. 

The paper was worn and yellowed with age but the cover was stiff and the Ouroboros was a clear bright red as if it had been freshly painted. The figure of the snake devouring its own tail spoke to the unity between all things. But the last time she had seen it, she had been warned against it. If the Artach was the door that opened between this world and the next. The Ouroboros was the thing that you didn’t want coming out.

Thorne remembered the last time that she had seen one. Behind the door drawn in light that at first refused to open, like it knew that they would regret it. But they were kids back then and danger felt more like adventure.

She remembered the darkness that leaked through the door, swallowing the light from everything it touched. She remembered the snake winding its way around the neck of a creature hunched in the entrance waiting to pounce. It was devouring it’s own tail as it circled, like the Ouroboros was a necklace for the giant creature. The torso of the creature was larger than the door but it bent low to peer at them.

When Alice saw its dark, yellow eyes she screamed for them to shut it out. But it was too late. Rose slammed the door just as the creature’s hand grabbed the frame giving it barely an inch of freedom. More than enough for it to ooze through the door.

They should have done something to stop it coming further but they were kids then. It all seemed impossible to believe. They did what any child would do. They ran. Which made it so much worse.

She had to tell Alina. 

She shoved the book back inside the drawer and set it back how she found it. Abandoning her search of the computer, she grabbed her USB and rushed back to the party to find Alina.

‘Rose, where have you been?’ Said Alina when Thorne found her at the bar. ‘I’ve been looking all over for you.’

‘We have to go.’

‘What? Why?’ Thorne was aware of how crowded it was at the bar. There were too many hands reaching across her for drinks. Too many ears listening to what they were saying.

‘I’ll tell you later,’ she said. ‘Please, we have to go.’ 

‘Oh, come on,’ said Alina as she took two glasses from the champagne tower with expert precision. ‘Come on, just one drink.’ 

‘Fine,’ said Thorne as she took the glass and tossed it back. 

‘Christ,’ said Alina. ‘Slow down.’

‘We have to go.’

‘First you’re asking me to be my date, now you’re asking me to leave.’

‘I just made a mistake. I don’t think you should take the job.’

‘Well it’s too late for that.’

‘Alina, please, I can’t tell you here but there’s something very serious going on. You don’t want to be part of it.’ She went to grab Alina’s arm but missed, her hand slipping down to the bar beside her. She looked to her hand confused - and saw it stretch into two.

She looked her to Alina and saw three of her staring back. She watched her face contort and Thorne shrank away from her.

‘Rose?’ She asked, her voice now miles away. ‘Rose - are you alright?’

Thorne stammered a reply before she fell onto the bar and slid to the floor. The tower of champagne glasses crashing to the ground beside her.

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