Cam was right. What are you doing Leila? What have you done? I thought of the look of anger in Leonardo. I thought he was going to take a swing at Theo at one point. My stomach twisted.
I didn't mean to play with anyone. I didn't want that. I wasn't cruel like that. I did not mean for anything or any of this to happen. The only thing I wanted was-is...I had no idea. I did but I could not even admit it to myself.
"We should go." Theo finally spoke. I nodded and reluctantly followed them into the forest. All I knew was that mute silence was too intense and I do not know if I could survive that.
But that is when it happened; I stepped over the line of the border and when I did something happened. It was as if the second my feet touched the ground, a wave of air tinted with gold was sent flying away to who knows where. A familiar feeling filled me, as if I had been before. That is impossible. "Did you see that?" I asked.
"See what?" Theo looked at me bewildered. A flock of crows came soaring above us flying south. Thousands upon thousands of dark-as-night feathers. Their deafening, horrid sounds filling my ears and their soulless eyes on me, like a hawk. We watched them- both marvelled and nervous. I kept picturing them swooping down and attacking us.
Coincidence? I think not.
We finally caught up to Josephine, Leonardo, and Cam. "Oh joy! Into the haunted, deadly forest we go!" Cam sighed sarcastically. "I swear you all have a death wish."
"Not me, don't throw me in with that riff-raff," Josephine complained. I ignored her. Cam rolled his eyes and his eyes landed on me.
"If I didn't know better I would say you were scared. Cam?" Timmy chuckled.
"Scared no. Petrified." Cam smirked. The men laughed at this.
"I know the feeling." Timmy smirked at Cam's honesty.
Cam looked at me. "Why is it that whenever anything bad happens you are always involved?" Cam asked. Leonardo's eyes met mine briefly but he was the one to break away.
Trust me Cam, I have been asking myself that very question for sixteen years.
The men carried on walking but I hesitated; I was too intrigued by the movement in the edge of the shadows. I turned the corner alone when I saw a shadow cast against the tree. I froze. Someone was watching us. I forget to breathe. When the figure turned to come out from the shadows, with a dagger in hand, I inwardly gasped. It could not be. He could not be here but he was.
"Lovely to see you again, Leila." He smirked sinisterly. "Surprised to see me?" He could not be. He was not.
"Serpent." I hissed. His smile widened and this crazed look in his eyes matched it perfectly.
"In the flesh." He replied. Michael, the Serpent had found me. I thought he was dead but I was wrong.
He stood four feet away from me. There was no doubt in my mind, from the way he was smiling, he was going to kill me.
Chapter Twenty-three- Old foes
Here I stood in front of a man I loathed and feared with every fibre in my body. His voice brought me back to reality. "Leila," he said in the coldest tone. "Is that fear I see?" he taunted. I am not scared. I will not let fear overrun my mind or my body. Fear is like gravity, you lose your balance and it brings you crashing down. I will not be its victim. I will stand tall and I will not crumple. Not because of the monster that stands before me. Never.
"Fear? I have nothing to fear." I smirked defiantly. "I have told you once already; I do not fear you." The malicious figure only beamed at me. The serpent, Michael, was the kind of person who lit the wings of butterflies on fire to watch them burn and die whilst they soared through the air. Tormenting them knowing that with each flutter of their wings more agony overran them until they were nothing but a falling flame.
"I swore I would kill you for your betrayal all those years ago but that was before I knew..." He paused. There were so many memories in those cold, heartless, opaque eyes of his. He had tormented me as well, I cringed as the thought destroyed me. "Before I knew about your gifts." His eyes flashed silver with fury. "How did you hide them from me?" he questioned bitterly.
"I don't know what you are talking about," I denied it.
"Don't play games with me," he warned, his voice filled with venom.
He knew. "It was something very recent," I finally answered.
"Interesting?" His eyes deepened with curiosity. "Somebody must have cast a spell to repress your abilities and a cloaking one to hide them. A powerful one at that. Yet, you still managed to break the barrier." He looked at me impressed. "I sense a deep conflict within you. Light and darkness both festering and fighting one another."
I forgot to breathe. Why did people keep saying that? I glared at the face that only ever gave me misery. "You can outrun many of the devils in this world but you can not outrun the demon inside yourself."
"Enough short talk, what do you want?" I snapped losing my patience.
"Your head on a silver platter." He laughed out his crude words. I did not bother moving. I stood frozen in place; keeping my tranquil facade but inside I was screaming.
"Is that all?" I investigated. Why would he risk hunting me down? Was he only after revenge? What other probable reason could he have?
"No, far from it," he admitted. "I have travelled and discovered lots since our heartfelt encounter. I travelled far to Tenebris. There, I met with the dark lord personally." I scoffed at his ridiculous words.
"The dark lord is dead," I cut him off.
"I saw him with my own eyes and you dare say I am wrong?!" His voice was laced with deadly venom. "He is very much alive," he hissed.
That is not possible.
The serpent had to be lying. He was lying. He could not be telling the truth.
The dark lord was a beastly man that destroyed everything in his path. He had been the king of Tenebris. His name had struck fear into the hearts of everyone in Rumore. He viciously let loose his men on defenceless villages; mine included.
He could not be alive. The king, Leonardo's father himself, killed him during battle all those years ago. Did he not? I tried to shove the fallacy down my throat. Forcing myself to believe an argument that had no evidence, no justification, nothing.
"He is at full strength and is preparing to take his long awaited revenge. He recruited me among various others. His army is impressive to say the least," he explained. Then he slid out a blade from his cloak pocket. He held the rich, black, mahogany handle tightly in his grip. The eight inch blade was sharp enough to cut skin on the lightest contact. Then I let my eyes trail to the silver imprint on the handle, the DL initials are carved into the blade.
This was not any blade. This belonged to the dark lord and it had an acquired fame over the years. Afterall he used this very weapon to slaughter hundreds upon hundreds. The king had said it had been buried with him and my gut suddenly flipped.
"So you are his minion now?" I inquired.
"My allegiance is pledged," the Serpent replied bitterly.
"Why are you telling me this?" I asked him suspiciously.
"When he requested my service in return for a handsome price, he sensed that I had been in contact with another magical being. A powerful one that could tilt the scales in this war that is already on the horizon," Michael stated bluntly.
"What does this have to do with me?" I glared at him.
"Do you not see? You are that magical being. The dark lord wishes for you to join forces with him." Was he making this up? Was this bizarre, outrageous, impossible story a ploy to distract me?
"The king killed the dark lord himself. The king announced his death," I argued.
"Did it ever occur to you that he lied? Politics is a language to disguise lies as truth and to justify the means for personal objectives." The serpent laughed. "Do you really think the king would let anyone question his power? Let any doubt fester among his society or enemies?"
I stared at the corrupted shell of a man. "Even if what you are saying is true, you are talking about a war. A war that will only hurt people. A war that will bring chaos and mayhem." Ther
e was barely a perceptible pause.
"I don't know about you but mayhem always brings a smile to my face." Michael was truly twisted. Then again I had discovered that many years ago when he had forced me to murder my best friend. I cringed as the memory resurfaced.
"Whatever makes you think I would side with someone as evil as you? Let alone the dark lord?" I spat. I could tell my eyes had turned to daggers.
"Apart from the fact that you are on the losing side." He sighed. "You are realistic. You know you can't face the dark lord alone and ever since the king started executing sorcerers more and more rebels have gathered." He sighed. "He is planning his own self-destruction. Entertaining is it not? Besides why would you want to help a man that wishes nothing more than to see your head on a spike. Ever heard of the saying: the enemy of my enemy is my best friend?
It felt like decades since I had been at the castle. The law ordering the execution of people who practiced magic. I shivered. How many people had the king killed already?
"Three hundred and four in counting." The Serpent knew what I was thinking. I almost choked on the number. Images flashed through my brain of people being slaughtered and terrorised. How could the king do this to his own people?
I didn't even know what I was fighting for. Was I trying to help a barbaric ruler? Should I side with one of the darkest men ever to walk this realm? What am I even doing? "He has used various methods as well: fire, the chopping block, hanging, torture, drowning..."
"STOP!" I gulped the lump that had filled my throat. Everything went silent and then I knew. I knew what I was fighting for. I was fighting for the people, the innocents, the victims, the nameless ghosts that got caught in the crossfire. "Why does he want me on his side? Why is the dark lord interested in me? How does he sense my power? What does he know about me?" I questioned. Did he know my identity?
"Life is full of questions. Granted, I like to think of them as riddles. Do you not?" The Serpent smirked.
"Michael. I would rather die than join you or that barbaric man that is dead," I stated. "He is dead. The dark lord is dead. I am done listening to your twisted stories."
"Well if you would rather die, I have great news for you because I will gladly do the job. A word of advice though, you better start believing in twisted stories because you are in one." the Serpent stated, there was something in his tone that kept me frozen in place. "Morality is not black and white. The dark lord has vision. He wishes to construct a new world in which magical beings thrive."
"You are one of the foulest men I have ever met." I paused. Gulping down all the horrid memories. "I would not work with you even if I was on my deathbed."
I had never trusted anyone, which was why I never trusted Michael, from the very first time I had I laid eyes on him. I had never complained about his treatment to me. I always took every beating in silence. When he was angry with me, he would hiss and then whip the back of his hand on my face or cast a tormenting spell.
There was no running away though. You could not just quit the slums; it did not work like that. So I stayed until the night he turned me into a killer. I still remember his dark shape exploding into my room at night. I recall him dragging me out downstairs into his main living space. I remember the men and his most loyal members waiting for me.
In the centre of the room beside the crackling fire was a girl tied up. A girl around my age, weak and defenceless. A girl who was raised to be slaughtered. A girl he made to be killed. She had been my childhood friend and my only source of affection. Her name had been Michelle. That was why he made me kill her; she was my weakness. His icy words still haunted me to this day: "I will burn the heart out of you until you are soulless; just like me." I gulped, removing the memory from my mind.
"Perhaps you are right; maybe you are better off dead." He sighed. Then with one click of his fingers a fireball whirled towards me. I dived to the floor, the fire brushing my skin. I returned the spell as quickly as I could. The wave of heat missed him by inches.
"Is that the best you got?" he asked. He sent a fleet of deadly charms my way and I barely deflected them. Come on, come on Leila. You can do this. I projected a force field to stop his spells from harming me. The force field sparkled like dew gleam.
I ducked behind the nearest tree but I knew that was not enough to stop the Serpent coming after me. After all these years he was here to finish the job. His spells were beating and battering the forcefield. "Come on Leila, FIGHT ME!" he roared. "Embrace the dark nature you were born with. Embrace the darkness." I felt the force field weakening and I knew I could not play defense forever. "Or you can join Michelle in the next life."
"Do not say her name," I said in a voice tainted with hostile threats.
He smirked. "Michelle, she was your friend. I remember your pleas and your refusal to carry out the deed all those years ago." How far away was Leonardo? Or Theo? I should not have wandered off.
"I was a child! She was a child!" I screamed. I tried my best to suppress my inner power. "And you sick monster cast a spell on me, you cast a spell that overtook my body. You forced me to murder my best friend." I stared at the bitter hearted man. He could sense my fury and my agony. He was enjoying this.
I was going to rip him to pieces and enjoy doing so. I was going to burn him alive or peel the skin from his very flesh. I want to make him scream in agony and listen to his torturous shouts as if it were music. I wanted to make him suffer for all the harm he did in his pathetic life. I did not just want to kill him. I wanted to drag a dagger slowly above his heart, not enough to kill him instantly but enough to let him bleed out internally, slowly and painfully. Something dark shifted in my core and I was not quite sure what it was.
"I would not have had to if you had done it on your own." He sighed. "Michele, she was such an annoying girl. But at least her death serves for something."
That was the final straw. He did it. I removed the invisible veil that separated us. I lost control. Rays of light emitted from my hands and hit him full force in the chest. He was sent flying backwards and he hit the forest floor. Dirt and twigs were sent in all directions and filled the air. My eyes were blazing.
The serpent looked stunned for a few seconds. Then he appeared to be sizing me up and reevaluating. After a few hesitant seconds he smirked. His power source switched to full on battle mode.
Rage consumed me as the horrid memories of my past flashed in my mind. Thousands in a matter of seconds. I witnessed so much suffering at the hands of this man. I suddenly let everything go. The wind roared around me and I heard a clash of thunder boom followed by a bolt of lightning that cut the sunless sky. He conjured a spell that sent a nearby tree to fragments of sharp wooden daggers then in one brisk movement they soared towards me.
They did not reach me though because I burnt them into nothing but ashes. I aimed a lightning bolt his way but the purple rays never reached him. Instead they backfired attacking me. The bolts struck me through and through. The agony overwhelming me and my breaths were replaced by high-pitched screams.
I fell to the floor. Drained of energy and beaten. There was no protective barrier between us now. I was defenseless. I still felt the bolts boiling my blood and bit my lip as I could to stop moans of pain from escaping.
"You fought bravely," he said with a hint of admiration. "But I am afraid it is not over yet." He sighed. Lifting his hand to my chin and forcing me to look up at him. His hand was stained with my deep red blood. "Such a shame. Such potential. Are you willing to reconsider?" he asked hesitantly. "The Dark Lord wants you alive but he doesn't know you like I know you, your defiance is a threat to the movement. You are better off dead. Take this as a final act of mercy and kindness," he muttered. Just kill me already. "Look up at me, I want to watch the light drain from your eyes," he hissed. I complied.
It was over. I took in a small, painful, breath as my warm blood trickled down my arm. He raised his hand and I could already feel the dark charms and spells surrounding me. I had failed.
/> Out of nowhere a flash of feathers soared through the sky, extending its dagger-like talons into the flesh of the serpent. I did not need to look twice to recognize the vibrant colors of this bird. It was Bayard. So many questions flooded my mind but I had to force them away as my instinct to survive took over.
The serpent looked startled and completely taken by surprise. He seemed to be in a trance as Bayard viciously scratched and pecked him. I do not know where the newfound energy came from but I could feel something or someone healing me.
I gathered what little strength I had and forced myself up. But I moved too quickly and my world began to swirl. A hand grabbed hold of me behind and I was too weak to argue. They encouraged me to shift my weight onto them. A rugged, short shavings of a beard stroked my skin. It was Theo.
Serpent was suddenly next to me with the dagger placed to my throat. Theo stiffen behind me. I searched for Bayard and I found him. There were two options, he was either passed out or dead. I wanted to run to his side but I was in no position to move. "Put the blade down," Theo said in a warning tone.
The Golden Year and the Sorceress Page 21
