by W. J. May
“Yes, because you’re the embodiment of calmness,” Darian retorted. “Didn’t you just say you wanted something to punch?”
You? “That’s not helping,” she replied, glaring at him. She turned away and buried her face in her knees.
Darian’s frantic moving around ceased, and he let out an audible sigh. He sat down next to her on the other side of the box. The clasp of his fingers on his palms began to ease and his fingers tore themselves free from the grip of his fists. “I’m sorry I’m not much help,” Darian said softly.
“It’s fine,” Atlanta replied, looking up. “I...I’m not much help either. Sorry about what I said about wishing you and Raul traded places.”
“I’m sorry I snapped.”
She snorted, and tried to smile. “Yeah, you don’t seem the kind of person who usually gets all riled up.”
“You know, I used to be very calm. All the time. I never had a problem with my own feelings.”
“What changed?” Atlanta asked. “This prison?”
The box remained open, the top hovering over them, the ruby in its center glistening.
“Before here.” He sat quiet, staring vacantly at the box. “I can’t believe I’m telling you this,” he said as he briefly smiled. “I didn’t mean specifically you. I just mean that I’ve never told anyone this.”
“Told me what?”
“I had to kill someone I loved.”
Atlanta frowned.
“Her name was Serena,” Darian continued, his eyes closing briefly.
The ruby began glowing brighter, spreading a red hue over the ceiling that went unnoticed by them both.
“Why’d you kill her?”
“She was a Werewolf and I, I was just one of the agents of the Coven, undercover in a university in Spain where we met. It was like a fairytale. She completed me, made me feel like I didn’t have to continue living the life I did. She made me feel like we could somehow have a future together.”
“You were in love...” Atlanta whispered, wondering briefly where Ryan was. Not that I love him. He was with S—Adelaide. He might still be, for all I know. She focused on Darian, pushing the thought away. It was too painful.
“But eventually we realized that, to have a life together, we had to somehow both escape the things that kept us prisoners. Me the Coven, and her the pack. I should’ve never told her about how much I wanted to be free of having to always be in danger, she shouldn’t have had that in her heart. It was all because of me... and I had to correct my mistake.”
His voice shook, and Atlanta felt an urge to reach out and hold his hand. “What happened?”
“One full moon, a Wolf from Serena’s pack killed a Vampire. The Vampires in the town weren’t many, but they became angry. They attacked the pack and the Werewolves easily overthrew them. But that didn’t stop them. The Werewolves were high on the power the full moon gave them. They believed they were unstoppable. Serena led them towards a base of ours on the outskirts of the town. They attacked the agents of the Coven there. As soon as I heard, I rushed to the base...” He closed his eyes. “The base was on fire. The moment I saw the Werewolves recklessly turning everything that came their way into ashes, I knew I had to stop them.” He sighed and opened his eyes. “I knew she was doing it to set me free. And although she was trying to save me from misery, she attacked me. She’d lost control. She couldn’t stop herself. The last time I looked into her eyes I had my blade in her heart, her blood all over me.” Darian lowered his head, and a sudden silence fell over them.
“I’m so sorry,” Atlanta whispered. She thought about Ryan again. Could he have been out of control, too?
“Don’t be,” he answered. “Ever since then, I’ve been losing control of my emotions. My mind and heart found different paths, opposite to one another, in a constant struggle.”
“Don’t blame yourself,” she said, trying to console him. “It won’t bring her back, and it’ll never make you feel any different, just worse maybe.”
“I started hating myself after that. All the love I had for her turned into hatred the moment I killed her. That hate I directed at myself.”
I get it. She wanted to comfort him, to let him know that he wasn’t alone in his struggle, that she blamed herself for her uncle’s death and everything that was happening in Calen. But he knew that; he had, after all, tried to calm her earlier, back in the remains of her home, when everything seemed dark and lost. She had no idea he was struggling with his own demons.
The lid of the box fell back into place and the ruby ceased shining.
“You know, since you told me this, I feel like I’m obliged to share something with you, too,” she said.
“You don’t have to.”
“I know, but I want to,” Atlanta nodded. “Consider it a show-and-tell session of dark secrets and bottled emotions.”
Darian chuckled. “Very well, be my guest. Bestow upon me your sorrows. For I am the Coven. It is my job to listen. Misery loves company.”
“Poetic,” Atlanta snickered.
“Shut up and talk.”
“I prefer you talking like that than some Hand of the Coven.” She grinned and it slowly died on her lips. “I used to hate myself, too,” Atlanta began in a serious tone, “but for different reasons. Ever since I was young I felt helpless and weak. So weak that I would do the most reckless things to prove to myself that I was stronger than I believed.”
“I think I can relate to that,” Darian said. “What kind of stupid stuff did you do?”
“Like trying to jump out the window of my room to prove my legs could withstand the distance.” When Darian gave her a look with one eyebrow raised she laughed. “And then I ended up with a broken leg instead, and scars on my arms.” She leaned over and pulled up the sleeve of her suit, showing him a scar on her right arm that started at her wrist and ended right above her elbow.
They both laughed quietly and glanced at the top of the box as it floated above them, noticing the red glow of the ruby for the first time. Neither said anything about it, though.
Atlanta stared, as if mesmerized by a flickering fire. “The thing is, I had to find out where the weakness stemmed from. The moment I knew it and understood, it was easier for me to stop hating myself so fiercely.” Her gaze dropped down to her hands and she picked absently at the dirt that wasn’t there. “But it was just the anger that went away. The hatred remained.”
“Where did it start?” he asked.
“The moment my Uncle James told me that my parents died in a fire when I was five. I was twelve when he told me, and I felt a tingling right under my chest. I felt that there were flames setting fire to my insides and leaving me dry.”
“I’m sorry,” he whispered softly and put a hand on hers. “I didn’t know your parents died when you were young.”
“It’s okay; time heals all wounds, right? That’s what they say. Or at least I think about it less nowadays. When I found out what had actually happened to them I started training with Uncle James, trying hard to stop the fire inside me. I avoided facing the sadness and grief, and instead turned it into anger to make myself feel stronger than the pain I didn’t want to face.” She shrugged. “But it never helped pacify the feelings eating me alive. Worse, it was fuel to the fire growing inside me; it did nothing but make me angrier.” She’d tried to hide it. But always knew it was simmering inside of her. She wondered if James had known, too.
“Anger feeds on anger,” Darian said. “Only peace can disintegrate it.”
“Thing is, I didn’t want to believe that, because I didn’t want to make peace with the fact that my parents were never coming back. I had thought they were somewhere out there, trying to make the world a better place so that I could grow up happy in it. I always hoped I’d meet them someday.”
The red light from the ruby shifted and now fell on the wall behind them. It shone brighter than before and spread throughout the hall.
“You see what I’m seeing?” Darian asked quietly as the
red waves of light fell under their feet like bright colored shadows.
She nodded and continued talking, as if drawn to the light. Almost thinking her confession was helping move the ruby and create the light. “I just wish I could meet my parents, see what everyone sees when they compare their faces to their parents’ faces. Believe in love, or disbelieve it, because of seeing how my parents love, or hate, each other. I don’t know, whatever there is in that world of families, I wish I could take a peek at it, be embraced by it.” She paused a moment, realizing she’d been talking a lot. She turned her gazed to his face. Darian’s eyes glistened with what seemed to be hidden tears. She’d been so carried away by her own thoughts, she didn’t realize he was still holding her hand. A sense of fear took over her heart, because at that moment she felt something that was bittersweet. She slipped her hand from his and turned to stare in front of her. “It’s childish, I know. I just wish I could see my mom and dad.” She sighed.
Suddenly, the branches of the trees behind them began unfolding and slipping away. The light from the Ruby engulfed the room completely and the bottom part of the box began glowing.
“What’s going on?” Darian whispered.
“I don’t know,” Atlanta whispered back.
They stood and stared at the walls as they opened. The tree branches fell to the floor and turned to dust, revealing a bright white light from beyond the wall shining on them. There was a shadow in the distance.
Atlanta squinted, making out the figure of a woman with long hair.
Darian stood still beside her. “Careful, Atlanta,” he whispered.
She gave a curt nod. She didn’t know who to expect, but knew that they’d finally found their way out of the labyrinth. Her heart sped, as she feared it was Adelaide.
The woman slowly drew closer and Atlanta let out a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding. It wasn’t Adelaide. The woman’s eyes were blue.
“Who is she?” Atlanta whispered, reaching for Darian’s hand.
Chapter 19
“What have you found?” Adelaide’s green eyes glowed as Michael appeared before her, his hood falling from his head, the sound of ravens above signaling the return of the scouting party.
“It’s exactly like you said.” Michael smiled. “She’s there.”
Atlanta.
The name left a bitter taste in her mouth. Ever since she’d learned of the girl’s escape from Calen, with two strangers no one had ever seen before, she knew Everlore would be their destination. It was the only thing that made sense, the only place the little blonde could possibly find anyone strong enough to help her.
James trained you well, young Skolar.
“How far has she gotten?” Adelaide asked.
“The ravens saw her walk out of the labyrinth. She’s been able to get past Lenore’s first challenge.”
Adelaide laughed. Oh, how she wanted to be there when Atlanta came face to face with the witch. “It seems luck is on our side, my pet,” she said. “The last Skolar, and the books of magic as well. This’ll be a fine day for us all.”
Michael snickered and fell to his knees beside Adelaide. “I smell blood,” he hissed. “Lots of it. It’s making me hungry.”
“In time, my pet, in time.” Adelaide took in a deep breath and gazed at the city in the distance, the magical walls surrounding it mirroring the forests. “Gather the others.”
Michael raced to the task, and Adelaide walked to the edge of the tree line. “Oh, how I have missed Everlore,” she whispered, chuckling. Movement in the forest behind her let her know that her hybrids were ready, and with a wide smile on her face she led the way.
She floated just inches above the ground, surrounded by a dark green glow as she moved. She held a book in her hands that had fragments of dust carved into its cover, like stains that bled through the pages so much that they took it to be home.
Michael was like a shadow, alternating between racing ahead of her and behind her, like two chess pieces on a board. His presence calmed her, her little pet, a being so beautiful and dangerous he would die before anything were to happen to her. Even with an army of hybrids at her back, she rarely felt at ease without Michael by her side.
Adelaide looked over her shoulder at the dozens of hybrids following her. Ever since Atlanta opened the door, they had multiplied. The hybrids were made so that, with every full moon, Adelaide could create another hybrid from the blood of two others. With about dozen of them set free from behind the door of the Dome, their multiplying was ceaseless. Soon she would have an army so great, nothing could stand in her way.
“We should have killed her when we she was within our reach,” Michael spoke, his voice a dark monotone beside her.
“My dear boy, this little brain I gave you thinks only of killing and controlling. You have no idea what we are getting,” Adelaide responded, her lips stretching and a slight laugh lingering in her chest.
Her eyes were set towards the distance. Her mind saw nothing but red, black, and grey hues that she sought to set her eyes upon. Centuries of longing were turning into a movement in her chest that was so rhythmic, it could be mistaken for heartbeats.
“Can’t you see what we did in Calen was nothing but an opening for the path to find our way here?” she continued.
She traced a finger across the leather bindings of the book in her hands. It had also been locked away in the Dome along with her hybrids, and ever since she had laid hands on it she rarely let it out of her sight. It was no book of teaching, nor was it a book of spells. It was an inkless book that, when possessed by a witch, ultimately allowed her control over any witch whose eyes glowed the color of the book’s green cover. It made her capable of controlling all the witches who had helped her in the time of the insurgence.
The sky was dimming and the light of the sun created a dim blue canvas for the streaks of red from its paintbrush of light. The croaks of the ravens were suddenly silenced as the walls of Everlore appeared in the distance ahead.
She knew that even if the inhabitants of Everlore knew of her coming, they wouldn’t be able to stop her. Their use of the power of natural forces wouldn’t stop the dozens of heartless hybrids and the power of her spells. And even if the hybrids were to be stopped they would divert everyone, and Adelaide would be able to enter the town and get what she came for.
“We should have finished her. It would’ve been so easy,” Michael whined.
“We couldn’t have killed Atlanta,” she whispered to Michael. “She was needed. To lead us to where the powers we need is. Like a sheep to the slaughter, she has led our army exactly where it needs to go.”
The wind howled as they neared the dark grey walls of Everlore. From deep within the town, the trees shook and the leaves fell on every doorstep. A warning for all to be ready for an oncoming evil. Adelaide smiled as she watched her hybrids prepare themselves for the onslaught, their breathing heavier in anticipation of the havoc they would wreak. Michael raced between the ranks, hissing out her orders.
The wind echoed through windows and the crevices of every house in Everlore. From above, the gargoyles glided across the sky, darkening it as they hovered above the houses. Black hail fell from their jaws, hissing as they touched the surface of the walls and melted them down. Everlore’s greatest defense fell quickly.
The ravens stood on the remains of the walls as a sign that darkness had arrived, as if the dissipation of the walls weren’t enough. The hybrids hovered into the town and the silence fled away into endless thrumming. Adelaide followed, and with a slight nod they raced down the streets in a blur.
The first screams sounded almost immediately, and in the distance a burst of fire erupted with a thundering explosion. This is going to be beautiful, Adelaide mused. A tall woman raced out into the streets, then turned around, blue fire raging from her hands. The flames burst out in a jet towards one of the houses, and before she could turn around one of the hybrids was on her, tearing at her flesh. Her screams were cut short as bl
ood spurted out of her.
More blue fire erupted to Adelaide’s right, followed by the hissing of her hybrids and the screams of the dying. She floated down the road, Michael close to her side, making her way deeper into Everlore. Every now and then she’d let her own green fire burst out, and watch in manic laughter as a house burst into raging flames.
From between two houses a trio of men ran into the street, turning to face her, blocking her way. The larger of the men held a staff that burned blue.
“Wesley,” Adelaide greeted, smiling. “I was wondering when you’d show up.”
From either side of the trio hybrids appeared from between the flames, hissing, fangs bared, ready to attack. Wesley held his ground.
“This stops now, Adelaide,” Wesley said, pointing his staff at her.
Adelaide laughed, throwing her head back. In the distance, she could see the watchtower. She turned to Michael and nodded.
“Burn it all, and find me up there,” she commanded.
Michael let out a loud growl, and the hybrids attacked just as Adelaide disappeared.
Chapter 20
“Who are you?” Atlanta had stepped in front of Darian, as if to protect him, her hand lingering dangerously close to the dagger in her belt. Inside, a small voice shouted in warning, letting her know that their journey had not yet ended. That their escape from the labyrinth did not necessarily mean they were safe.
I know her. The thought hit her like a sudden revelation, her brain straining under the force of trying to place the woman’s face. I think. She felt Darian’s hand on her arm, as if reassuring her, and she drew strength from the touch.
