An hour has passed since I retreated to my room, after hastily excusing myself from Stacker and rushing off to her like a banished dog. I then closed the door behind me, as usual, leaving the outside world to exist without me. I began piecing together the scattered threads of events since my encounter with Joseph: the man who never leaves my side, the book of the green potion, Regina's sudden entry into our lives, and the tomb talisman. All these threads are held taut in my hands, but they don't form a clear picture; they remain scattered fragments that lead me nowhere.
Terror has begun to creep into me again, seizing me as it did before when I ended up shattered in a sea of blood. Now, I'm certain that another encounter with Joseph is imminent, and all I hope is that this time it won't be the end of my life.
I don't know what's occupying my mind; everything is terrifying. Regina is a member of Joseph's ancient cult, and she's undoubtedly plotting something. And Orasagi, the servant of the old palace, is stalking me, and I don't know what he wants from me. And I have the book "Preparing Joseph," and I don't know if it will cause me trouble or what to do with it. I don't even know who to trust. Detective Adam isn't answering my phone, and I can't involve my mother in this. I feel like I'm alone in the face of danger.
"Diana!" Her voice broke my reverie and shattered the silence.
I quickly composed myself: "Come in!"
Regina entered with her smug smile, wearing a red dress and high heels.
"Sorry, I think I disturbed you."
"No... I was just about to change and finish some work on the computer," I said politely, but a slight nervousness crept into my voice.
"Do you work?"
"No... I'm not employed. I'm a writer... just a hobby, or a routine, you know."
She nodded, and a long, pleasant, and trouble-free conversation ensued until she revealed the reason for her visit. Stacker told her I was a good writer and sent her to ask me to write an article on a specific topic. I agreed, and then we moved on to general conversation, during which she spoke with an air of superiority, and I joined in.
"I see a lot of resemblance between you and Grandma Sauntra," I said, looking her over.
I expected her to get angry, or to take it as an insult, since Sauntra was the most arrogant woman I'd ever known. But the opposite happened. She blushed and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear with a shy, self-important gesture.
"Really? Amazing! No one's noticed that for the first time!"
What? Is she trying to emulate her and proud of it?
"Since I was little, I've worked hard to be like her... strong, beautiful, and dominant," she added.
"She smiled wryly. "It's true she's beautiful, strong, and dominant, but those qualities don't make her a role model."
She leaned back on my desk smugly. "Yes... ever since I was little, I looked up to her and wanted to be like her. Every day I tried to win her heart."
"Was she really that elusive and attractive?"
She winked sarcastically. "She wasn't attractive, but she was kind of kind. I was friends with her eldest son... you wouldn't know him. She hated him because he killed her sister, Miranda. In his madness, he killed her as a child. He burned her face and tore her apart. From that day on, she hated him, hated that he wasn't childlike like other children. But I was his friend, and if she hated him, she would hate me too. To stay by his side, I had to convince her of my love."
I paused. She was talking about Joseph. And she said "you wouldn't know him" as if he wasn't the one who smashed my face. But I'd just discovered that Sauntra hated him because he killed her sister. It's sad, honestly. A little boy, instead of playing, kills his aunt and burns her. I felt Regina was stupid, incredibly stupid, for telling me all these secrets, especially since she so boldly said she loved him and wanted to stay by his side. Embarrassing words, but the way she said them was even more embarrassing... and dramatic.
She continued her trivial, dramatic, and romantic tales. I was just listening, or rather, I wasn't really listening; I was lost in thought. Did Joseph love her? Had he sent her to me? But if he had, she wouldn't have told me all this like a fool, thinking I didn't know Joseph.
While I was listening to her, a message popped up on my phone. I turned on the screen, and there was Adam, the detective, sending me an urgent message, asking me to meet at the following address. It wasn't the resort where we usually met, but a narrow street in an old neighborhood. He understood from my expression that it was urgent, so I excused myself and left. I was left alone, wondering: Should I go or not? It seemed he wanted the book, since he'd sent me the nearest address.
I felt like his slave, as if he were exploiting me. He would send me an address and order me to come without a word, expecting my immediate obedience. I remembered what Stacker had said earlier: that I was a fool to believe him when he was using me. So I decided not to bring the book with me. But I would go anyway; perhaps it would be of some use. Despite my fear of meeting Orasagi, the mysterious man, I decided to take the risk.
I headed to the place he had sent me for. I walked because I didn't want the palace driver to know my destination; he might tell them. On the way, I admired the beauty of the city. I bought some ice cream, some pretty bracelets, and a book on astronomy, which I put in my bag. Then I continued tracking the location on my phone. Suddenly, I found myself in an old neighborhood. Despite its age, it wasn't as frightening as the neighborhoods I had seen in Mexico and Brazil with my father. Those had terrified me, and I relied on this comparison to reassure myself.
I opened the large iron gate and went inside. The smell of alcohol and drugs greeted me; it was almost suffocating. I moved through the alleys and buildings, only to find myself trapped between narrow walls that blocked the sunlight, plunging the place into darkness. I stood calling out, "Is anyone here?" I was searching for Adam, but suddenly, a force of gravity shook me from the ground, hurling me against the wall. I fell to the ground, coughing violently.
It was the same force Joseph had used to attack me. Was it Joseph? Was this a trap to kill me? I nodded, resigned to death before him once more, and there he was, the man who had been watching me, the old servant, Orasagi. He wore a black cloak, his face dark, only his white beard visible. When Stacker had told me about him, I had imagined him as a kind, gentle old man. But it seemed he was going to kill me without a doubt.
He pulled an old-fashioned dagger from his pocket. I was terrified. I would rather die by magic or a spell than by a dagger in my stomach. I jumped up to run, but he cornered me and pinned me against the wall. He placed the dagger against my throat and spoke in a terrifyingly menacing tone: "I won't waste my time with you, young lady. I sent you a message in your dream and asked you politely, but you seem to be a cheap, ignorant fool."
I closed my eyes against the closeness of his terrifying face, trying not to move lest he slit my throat. "What do you want from me?"
"Bring me the Green Potion Book you stole from that old hag. It's not safe with you."
I felt the dagger slowly pierce my skin. I sighed in frustration and tried to appease him: "I'll bring it to you, I promise... just take this knife away from my throat."
He pressed harder, and I screamed. This time I felt it really pierce my skin, and he said in an even more menacing tone: "Not a knife, but a sorcerer's dagger. If you don't bring me the book, I'll slit your throat with it."
Now I understood… He was a sorcerer, like Joseph and the rest of the cult. But he seemed older, almost twice his age. An old sorcerer. But why did he end up as a servant in the palace? And the bigger question: Why didn't he just go in and steal the book himself? Why did I have to bring it to him?
"Very well… I'll bring you the book this evening in the palace garden."
He didn't take the dagger from my throat. Instead, he pulled out another and pressed it against my stomach, threatening me even more: "Foolish girl! Do you think that if I could get into the palace, I'd ask you to bring it? If I could, I would have gone in and stolen it myself. But that old hag has built a fortress against any sorcerer to keep them from entering her palace. If I ever set foot in the palace, she'll find out and attack me. So… do as I say, or I'll cut out your tongue."
Now I understood why he didn't take the book himself. Sauntra had a fortress protecting the palace. But why did this servant want it? And even though I was foolish, I wasn't foolish enough to bring it to him. I'll lie and save my life, just like I did before.
"Please... just take these weapons away from me. I'm not running away anyway."
His expression softened slightly, and he stepped back. He tucked the daggers back into his cloak and looked at me warily, as if to make sure I wouldn't run. Once he was certain, he stood up comfortably and said, "Listen, young lady. I don't care what you're going through in that palace. All I care about is that you bring me the book."
"May I ask why?" I asked politely, even though the situation didn't allow for such a question. He had just been about to cut my throat, and now I was asking him as if it were his duty to answer.
He looked at me in surprise, clearly astonished by my composure, but said, "I want to summon Joseph."
"Suntra summons him every Saturday," I confirmed, but he interrupted me sharply:
"Not after you stole the book from her. As long as you have the book, Joseph won't return. And even if you tried to harm the ritual yourself, it wouldn't work, because you're just a human, not a cult witch."
"I'll return the book to Sauntra, and she'll return it every Saturday as usual, and that's how it will come back to you. She'll continue preparing it, but you'll only be able to regenerate his spirit once, because you're outside the palace and don't even own his grave."
He smiled in amazement, removing the covering from his face so I could see his features and his white head clearly. Then he said admiringly, "Clever... I thought you were foolish. If that's what you've concluded, then congratulations on your analysis. You seem to understand the events in the palace... You know the reason behind the tomb law and Sauntra's talisman for regenerating Joseph's spirit. It seems you took a risk to understand all this. But I regret to disappoint you, because this conclusion is wrong. You don't know the key piece of information: I don't want to regenerate Joseph's spirit like Sauntra does every Saturday. I want to bring him back to life. I want to take him out of the grave."
So, he's after something bigger than regenerating a spirit. There's a big game being played, and I don't want to be a part of it. His goal is complicated.
"Why?" I asked seriously.
"Because that old hag can't bring him back to life. She only controls when he comes back and when he disappears. One week alive, one week dead. And I am his servant... his loyal servant. For years I've searched for a way to bring him back to life, but I haven't found one. And here you are... a twist of fate."
"If Joseph wanted you, he would have come to you and asked you to bring him back to life."
He said sadly, "Joseph thinks I'm dead. Before I ran away from the palace, I committed a sin against him that made him hate me. But instead of killing me, he decided to just banish me. And now, the only way for me to regain his trust and win his favor and love as before is to bring him back to life as a gift."
I was lost in thought, pondering his words. Was he really that powerful? His mother hated him because he was a monster. Regina loved him and wanted to stay by his side because he was a monster. And his servant was willing to lose his life to gain his favor. And what would they gain in return? What could they possibly get from a monster like him who crushes and dismembers people without mercy?
After a short silence, I finally spoke, shocked: "Don't worry. I'll get you the book... if you leave the palace."
He drew his dagger again: "Remember, I won't be lenient with you. I'm prepared to cut you to pieces if you break our promise."
I nodded and ignored him, then began walking slowly toward the exit, trying to process what had happened, connecting the dots, and thinking deeply.
I walked aimlessly down the street. Should I get him the book? If I did, I would be relieved of his threat to kill me, I would keep my promise, and I would be sure he wouldn't kill me. But... if I did, Joseph would come back to life, not just his soul renewed, but his flesh and blood and strength. And I would be guaranteed to live in hell for the rest of my life. And if my mother and I didn't escape, or even if we did, Joseph would still kill innocent people, young and old, with the power he uses for evil. Although bringing him back to life is impossible, something only God can do, after what I saw with my own eyes, I began to believe everything.
Now, I'm faced with two choices, both leading to destruction. But the best solution is to keep the book with me and not give it to Orasagi, so that Joseph won't appear. As he said, as long as I have the book, there will be no Joseph. But if I don't give him the book, it means I won't meet him, and I won't leave the palace, lest he attack and kill me for not bringing it to him. So, after much deliberation, I've decided to lock myself in the palace. I'll never leave. In fact, I only go out once a week on ordinary days. So I can live in the palace, as long as everything is provided for me. The most important thing is that Joseph isn't there.
But there's another problem: Regina. I don't know what the hell she's doing here. I hope her presence isn't dangerous for my mother.
And it seems Joseph is free now. He won't be imprisoned until Saturday. If Saturday comes and no one summons him with the book's magic, then he'll disappear. In the meantime, I must be careful and stay away from anything that might lead me to him.