by Kealohilani
“So, I had to trick you into this— a secure situation from which there is no escape that you can make. I needed to be certain that you could not leave until I was sure that you could love me and stay with me— forever— safe and sound.”
“How thoughtful of you. So, once I fall madly in love with you, then what? I get my body back and we get to be stuck in the fifth dimension forever? Just the two of us together?”
“No,” Drakne began, with an eerie smile. “That is the brilliance of this. You see… I recently discovered that I am a Half-Heart.”
Lani gasped in disbelief.
“I know,” he chuckled. “I know! Not possible right? I didn’t think so at first either— not with all the ‘noble this’ and ‘virtuous that’ in the legends— but then I saw my name on Vranah’s list.”
“Are you sure you read it right?”
“Yes I’m sure I read it right! No doubt, he is debating between allowing me to live— or killing me— once I have killed the rest of you for him. I would bet on the latter. He is probably not sure if one Half-Heart can pose a threat to him or not. This is where you come in. Don’t you see?”
“No…” Lani answered— hoping, more than believing, that she did not understand his meaning.
“If you and I marry, we will be more powerful than even The Great Evil himself. We can bring peace to the lands and rule together as husband and wife.”
“Never!”
“Why ever not, my dove?”
“Off the top of my head? You are evil! I quite care about the welfare of my eternal soul and damnation is a deal breaker for me when it comes to evaluating a guy as a marriage prospect. So, no thank you. And as far as the prophecy is concerned, let me repeat myself. You are evil and so that wouldn’t work very well either. And quit calling me pet names!”
“The prophecy says ‘Only when two of the Half-Hearts are completed…’ – that could be you and me – ‘…shall The Great Evil be defeated forever.’ It never said they both had to be good. Besides, I could be good. You could teach me how. We could use our power for good and for peace and make it so there was no more conflict in the lands.”
“If you truly love me, let me go. Take me back to my friends, my sister, and the man I love.”
“I can’t,” he said, his face falling along with his shoulders in disappointment that Lani wasn’t even getting close to being on board with his plans. “Even if I wanted to, Vranah would find out you were still alive and all would be lost.
“He would certainly kill me for my deception when he finished with the rest of the Half-Hearts and I was no longer needed. Worse, as I have already said, he would eventually find a way to kill you. You are well protected, but not invincible. I’m sorry. You can’t go back.”
“Then you don’t love me and I certainly could never love you.”
“Oh, but you will,” Drakne countered, changing to a more sinister tone. “You will change your mind for Jharate’s sake,” he drawled with a twisted half-smile.
Lani’s eyes flashed with the fear that gripped her. He saw it and it pleased him. He was back in control.
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“You will see.”
With that, Drakne laughed a deep quiet laugh— as he backed out of the room with a sweeping bow and disappeared behind the large oak door.
Jharate felt two hands on his legs and awoke with a start. He looked down and saw Raoul healing him. Jharate felt a deep gratitude within him, but dared not say anything— lest Raoul change his mind. The instant the white light disappeared, Raoul stormed out again.
Jharate quickly realized that Justin and Erik were in the cave with him. This was the first time he had seen them since that nightmarish night and their faces were almost foreign to him now. Erik was sitting at a distance, sharpening his sword— and Justin was glaring at Jharate.
“You ignorant git! How could you be so stupid? She loved you and you were too weak and selfish to just love her back and protect her! You are beyond disgusting!”
Jharate made no defense. He merely sighed and spoke quietly.
“I agree.”
Justin blinked in surprise. He hadn’t thought Jharate would admit it so quickly. Jharate’s voice was quiet but the tone was unmistakably sincere.
Justin stared at Jharate as he thought of what else to say because he had really said it all. When nothing came to mind, he mimicked Kendra’s trumpet noise trick by pursing his lips hard and blowing out air— but did it much slower than she was wont to do and ended by popping his lips before continuing.
“Well, we need to forget about all that right now. We’ve gotta focus on our mission. After we win this war we can all work out the issues we have with you and have time to deal with the grief we all have over…” Justin trailed off. He couldn’t finish that sentence.
“How can I forget what I have done?” moaned Jharate.
“I don’t know, but you have to for now,” said Erik curtly. “You did it. You can’t change it. Live with it. Now, use your gift and tell us the next action we need to take to recover from this blow. The people from Destavnia will be here any day to take us to the castle.”
Jharate closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and waited for a vision to come. He waited. And waited. And waited. Nothing came. Nothing at all.
He attempted to initiate his gift anew. He shut everything out. He did not hear the waterfall— or the sounds of Erik’s blade being sharpened— nor the tapping of Justin’s fingers on his cup. Time passed in this state— how much he could not say.
“Nothing… It is gone. My gift is gone!”
“That can’t be. You’re just not concentrating hard enough. Put down your sword so you won’t distract him, Kook!”
“Fine, but you stop tapping on your cup!”
“Now try again, Jharate— and concentrate!”
Jharate did as Justin bid him and closed his eyes again. He took a deep breath. He waited in the darkness of his mind for an image— a sound— anything.
But once again, nothing came. He grew increasingly anxious as he tried yet again. Nothing.
I cannot command my gift! I have lost it! What am I to do?
He had done the unforgivable and now he was useless to everyone— with absolutely no way of helping to repair even some of the damage he had caused.
Jharate opened his eyes and noticed a dagger in the corner of the cave. This was his chance to end it all right here and now. He ran for it— before he was even aware of what he was doing.
Justin summoned the dagger to his hand, just as Jharate was almost on top of it.
“You’re not getting out of this that easy, you disgusting coward. You are going to learn to live with yourself.”
Jharate clenched his fists and his jaw at his failure, but then sighed and relaxed his muscles. He was not sure what he would have done if Justin had not stopped him. But his momentary madness was gone now.
He knew that killing himself would not bring Lani back. Worse than that, it would not take him to her on the other side. Self-inflicted death did not bring peace to spirits. It would be a rare case where one would ever be able to find peace on the other side in that situation— and that only if one were not responsible because of one’s state of mind, which would be solely up to Heaven to decide.
That was a risk Jharate simply could not take. With his momentary madness gone, he felt he would be responsible if he made another attempt to end his life.
Beyond the everlasting personal risk— how would Arante feel if he left her in such a way? How would his people feel? What example would that set? What legacy would that leave?
No. It will not do. He decided, once and for all, against it.
“You are right again, Justin. Very well. I will live with my guilt. You need not worry about another such action from me.”
“Good,” said Justin, as he placed the dagger in a sheath, and handed it to Jharate. “Let’s find a way to put this to better use, shall we?”
Jhar
ate nodded in agreement. Mid-nod Jharate stumbled to the ground and began to shake uncontrollably— as if having an epileptic seizure— then fell deadly still.
“Get help!”
Erik ran off at Justin’s command and Justin dropped to Jharate’s side. He checked for a pulse and any sign of breathing.
“Oh no, man! Do not make me give you mouth to mouth! Come on! Get back here!”
Justin started pumping Jharate’s chest. He knew that compressions were the most important part of CPR— and that if Arante dragged Raoul here soon enough, he wouldn’t have to do anything more.
“HURRY UP, RAOUL!” Justin yelled even though he wasn’t sure if he could hear him.
Jharate opened his eyes and found himself in a stylishly-decorated room made of stone. A large mirror with a golden frame instantly caught his notice. He felt drawn to it. One careful step after another, he drew nearer. As he was about to peer into it, a sudden flash of light to his right caught his eye.
He turned and beheld a curious contraption— flooded with electricity. A woman with long flowing hair floated inside the glass cylinder of this strange machine— looking as though she were suspended in water.
Jharate’s heart jumped as he recognized the woman.
“Lani!”
He ran to the machine and frantically inspected it. Was she alive? Was she dead? The machine seemed to be making a sound like a heartbeat. Was it hers?!
In that same instant Jharate thought he heard her voice— behind him— calling his name. But as he turned to look, his body received an icy jolt and the dim light of the cave flooded back to him.
“Jharate! Jharate!” a voice kept calling, but it was not hers.
Jharate became aware that someone was shaking him. He felt the freezing water that had just been thrown on him dripping down his face.
He opened his eyes again to see Justin standing over him with an empty bucket. He must have been the culprit. He looked to his side to discover whose voice was still frantically calling out his name.
“Enough, Arante! I am conscious. You may cease shaking me now.”
Arante stopped, with a slightly embarrassed look on her face for having continued past the point of his regaining consciousness. But her face changed to a stern look as she remembered that she was the one who was upset. She smacked his shoulder roughly as he sat upright.
“What happened to you? Is this passing out business going to be a regular occurrence? You scared me half to death!” She smacked his shoulder again for good measure. “You stopped breathing and I had to get Raoul to heal you again— which he wasn’t glad to have to do. What is wrong with you?”
Jharate noticed that Erik and Kendra were also present— both staring at him with worry lining their foreheads. Tierza and Laern also entered the cave with concern etched on their faces as they looked at Jharate. Jharate looked away from them and back to Arante.
“I apologize for frightening you. One moment… If Raoul initiated my breathing again— what purpose did the water and the shaking serve?”
“Because you needed it!” Justin snapped, annoyed at Jharate’s ungrateful behavior.
Jharate ignored Justin.
“I was… Rather, I saw… Lani.”
The others looked at each other with mixed feelings. Erik thought Jharate had lost his mind. Arante felt that he had temporarily died and seen her ghost whilst his spirit had been wandering. Justin couldn’t decide what to make of it. It was Kendra who spoke first— jumping to a happier conclusion.
“She’s alive! I knew it! I should have trusted my gut! Twins are supposed to have that extra sense, right? And I knew Drakne wouldn’t just take her like that if she was dead!”
“But she was a Half-Heart. And we know Vranah wanted her personally. So wouldn’t Drakne have to take her body back as proof?” Arante wondered.
“Maybe that explanation would have worked before Jharate had his vision. But if he saw her— there must be a reason, right? It must be to save her!” Kendra reasoned.
“I saw her body in a device— an unfamiliar machine. She was contained within a glass cylinder. It looked as though she were suspended in water with electric currents flowing throughout. It was impossible to categorically determine if she is dead or alive from what I beheld. However, it is possible that she lives.”
Silence descended for a moment as everyone pondered what he or she had just heard. Could there be hope that Lani was still alive? Or was it a trap set to bait them with false hope? Or had Jharate just lost his grip on reality altogether? Jharate wondered these same things as well.
“Understand this now— if she lives— I will save her even if it is the last thing that I do.”
“If she is alive, we will help you,” promised Tierza.
“Absolutely,” Laern agreed. “It is time for us to be of use to Alamea and not just to the Elven Kingdom.”
“So where is she?” Kendra asked.
Jharate shot Justin a frustrated look. “Why did you deluge me with water?! If you had simply stopped when I began breathing again, I could have—”
“Dude!” Justin interrupted.
“You ruined my vision! You destroyed the only chance I had to see where she is located! My gift is not functioning properly and you terminated it!”
“Calm down!” Justin ordered. “Now think hard— is there anything else you remember?
“Think really hard,” Tierza added encouragingly. She watched Jharate carefully— dearly hoping that Lani was still alive. She had grown quite attached to her in the short time they had known each other.
Jharate described the scene that he had just witnessed again, down to the tiniest detail. He recounted every aspect of the luxuriously-furnished room, the canopy bed, the great gilt mirror, and the unique machine.
He ended by describing how he thought he had heard Lani speak his name from behind him and that when he had turned to see where she was, he had been abruptly awakened and had found himself back in the cave— wet, and being shaken like a leaf in a hurricane.
Lani jolted where she lay on the bed as her eyes flew open. She had been lying there for hours trying to contact Jharate. Devoting all the energy she had within her had been enough to successfully reach him. However, her message had gone unfinished because he had been pulled away too soon.
“Great! Just great!”
She would have punched or thrown the satin pillows if she had any strength left. It had taken a considerably-larger amount of energy to use her gift with no body. She felt totally drained— more exhausted than she had ever been— even more than when she had given up a year of her life to the mountain siren.
No one with a body could ever imagine the fatigue that overcame her. Lani understood now a little about how Vranah must feel. The lack of physical form made everything at least ten times more difficult.
Beyond the odd fatigue that didn’t make any sense, lacking a physical form was mentally taxing. There was no way to turn her mind off. And she quickly found that there was no way to sleep.
Sleep would have been a glorious reprieve. But apparently, she was going to be awake for every last wretched second of her captivity. And if it were true that she would be here until she fell in love with Drakne— it would be an eternity.
She lay on the bed for hours thinking about what to do next. Her thoughts inevitably drifted to the technical aspects of her situation.
Now that I’m only a spirit, how am I able to lie down on this bed? Why don’t I fall through or maybe just float?
Lani wondered if perhaps it had something to do with being in the mirror.
That must be it. It isn’t a real world. It is the metaphysical— like I am now.
But that didn’t make sense either. She decided to abandon her theories. Trying to figure things like this out was pointless— and besides, now she was getting a headache.
“How the monkey can I have a headache with no body?!” she wondered aloud in spite of her previous decision not to think about it. “Stop it! Get
a grip!” She tried to snap herself out of it. “Focus! Okay. Drakne said there was no way for me to escape… Does that mean by myself— or period?”
She paused and decided it was probably better to avoid talking about this out loud. Who knew if he could hear her from wherever he was at the moment.
There must be a way out— because he said I had to stay here until he was sure of my love. But— he also said he knew that my gift would show me the way out of the fifth dimension if I was left inside of my body long enough— hence why he also trapped me here as an added precaution.
So that must mean that there is no way to get myself out of this mirror now that my body is on the other side… The way out must depend on someone outside this mirror realm… Or is that what he wants me to think?
Lani finally sat up on the bed and looked for clues as to how she might escape. She stood up and walked around— scanning her side of the room.
A small trunk at the foot of the bed caught her attention. It appeared to be made of solid gold with inlaid rubies around its edges.
It was interesting that one who was so evil could have such a love for beauty. Not that it was unprecedented. History was replete with examples of bad guys who loved elegant things. But it caught her off guard nonetheless.
Somehow there was serenity in his chamber that should not be here. Lani never would have pictured this room for Drakne— not counting the vampirey color scheme. The softness and elegance did not match his personality or harsh gothic looks.
“Half-Hearts are supposed to be good… He must have been good once… What happened to him?”
A sudden rush of pity welled up inside her spirit. She shook it off— quickly reprimanding herself for her inability to concentrate.
The trunk looked solid. It would do.
It was surprisingly heavy, for not being real. She struggled to drag it over right next to the mirror/window. Turning it on its end vertically, she kicked the trunk into the glass pane with all the force she could muster. The trunk hit the mirror hard and fell over.
Nothing happened. Not even a sound.
She looked at the mirror in dismay. Apparently force was not going to be an option.
