With that decided Eranna turned back to the gilded mirror and ignored the ugly, gray-robed, hump-backed mass that was Ushma. She ran her hands over the ruby-red silk gown she had put on for dinner, the perfect complement to her snow white skin and midnight-black hair. She turned to the side and felt a smirk pulling at the corners of her mouth as she eyed her perfect figure.
Two-hundred years old and one would think she was only one hundred, so perfectly trim her body was.
“It would seem that taking the Were-boy’s parents into our custody was enough to send him into the human world, yet not enough to bring Eladria of Damu to me. I have been watching him through The Eye of Mollac. He is taken by her innocence and beauty.”
She spat the last word like a foul curse, jealousy curling low in her belly at the thought of anyone’s beauty surpassing her own. She’d seen Princess Eladria of Damu through the Eye. She’d seen the girl’s discovery of her powers. Eladria was coming into her own, discovering what she was really capable of. And now, those cursed Faeries were plotting against her. Oh, she knew about Adrah’s plan to send the scribes Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm into the world of men to retrieve the lost princesses. Adrah continued to underestimate Eranna and did not realize that she had eyes inside of Goldun and knew her every move.
Eranna would not care about Princess Eladria’s beauty or power, if not for the fact that Adrah meant to bring the girl back to Damu and see her seated on her throne. That, Eranna could not have. Restoration of the princesses to their former thrones would mean disaster for her and the certainty of the demise of her plans.
“What do you suggest then?” Ushma asked.
Eranna lifted her gleaming silver tiara from its place of honor beside her mirror. The intricate design of intertwining branches and leaves was further enhanced by a dusting of crushed diamonds. One large, clear stone dangled between her eyebrows.
“Oh, Ushma, it’s been so long since I’ve left this castle. It is about time I did, don’t you think?”
Ushma’s cackling laughter mixed with the musical sound of Eranna’s giggle. Ushma rubbed her hands—gnarled like tree branches—together and moved back toward the door.
“I will prepare your chariot, my Queen.”
“I know that you will Ushma. You are so very faithful.”
Ushma bowed several times before disappearing through the door. Eranna turned back to the mirror and continued perusing the hypnotic reflection staring back at her.
Perhaps I will keep the Witches around, she mused as she reached for her favorite diamond choker. They have their uses and at least with them around my beauty is magnified ten-fold.
~*~
Titus shivered and pulled the coarse blanket tightly around his shoulders.
He had been trying to sleep for hours, but couldn’t seem to drift off. His encounter with Selena left him shaken and he couldn’t get her out of his head.
How was everything going so hopelessly wrong? His assignment should have been an easy one: track down Eladria of Damu and kill her. One bite of his strong jaw at her throat would have done the job nicely, and yet Titus just couldn’t bring himself to do it.
He turned onto his side, facing the wall of the small, abandoned cabin he’d been living in since crossing over into the world of men. Titus felt like a fool, a failure, for allowing Eladria’s pretty face to distract him from his mission. His parents and little sister were being held captive by Eranna and all Titus needed to do to free them was end the life of one little girl. It should have been easy.
But Titus hadn’t been expecting her to be so beautiful and not just in a physical way. The afternoon when he’d first stalked her across the abandoned field, he had every intention of getting the job done then and there. Then she’d started to run. With the wind in her coppery red hair and a genuine smile across her heart-shaped face, Titus saw Eladria as the pure soul that she was.
He just couldn’t do it.
Titus sighed and squeezed his eyes shut, trying to tear his thoughts away from Selena. He thought about home instead. He missed Mollac and its endless stretches of pristine white snow. He missed the jagged mountains and snow-dusted pines. He missed stalking dear and hares through the peaceful forests with his pack. Most of all he missed his family.
Titus could picture them clearly, his father’s beautiful white pelt, his mother’s sleek form and his sister’s kind brown eyes. For them, he had no choice but to do what Eranna commanded. Her reach was growing and soon all of his race would be enslaved. Titus planned to rescue his family and get the hell out of the way. When Eranna had wiped out all who opposed her, Titus did not plan for himself or his family to be among them.
He shivered again beneath the blanket and frowned as a chill rolled up his spine. Twin Oaks, Texas had been nothing but blistering hot during the day and muggy at night since his arrival. Yet now, he felt his body temperature rapidly lowering. It felt like being home.
Titus shot up on his creaky cot, his eyes widening when he noticed his own breath, white on the night air. He trembled uncontrollably as a splintering, crackling sound filled the room. He looked down to find ice spreading across the floor and up the walls in a rapidly moving sheet of cool blue.
Dread filled him as snow swirled around the bed, producing the form of Eranna, seated on her colossal chariot. The vehicle was made of ice and was pulled by a pair of perfectly white polar bears. The massive beasts dropped to their haunches and waited obediently for Eranna’s command. Wrapped in ruby silk and diamonds, the Queen of Mollac was as striking as Titus remembered. Yet the beauty never quite reached her eyes, which resembled cold, hard bits of coal. She fixed those eyes on him now, her gaze narrow and assessing.
“Titus of Mollac,” she said, her ominous voice filling the room. She stepped down from her ice carriage and stroked the head of one of her bears before approaching. “You’ve been a very bad dog.”
She extended her hand toward him, producing a white, snowy mist from her blood red fingernails. It swirled around Titus, seemingly fragile, yet incredibly strong as it wrapped round him, pinning his arms to his sides and forcing him to his knees. Titus felt rage boiling up in him as he felt the beginnings of transformation ripping through him. A tight squeeze from Eranna’s snowy mist quickly sucked the air from his lungs and made that impossible. He settled on glaring up at her as she approached with a low chuckle.
“Now, now,” she said, running her hands through his hair. Titus shivered in revulsion but remained still. “There will be none of that. You and I can speak civilly or I can kill you now, return to Mollac, and kill your family.”
Titus felt his fingernails elongating and biting into his palms. His canines itched to tear free from his gums but he fought against it, knowing that one false move would ruin everything he’d been working for.
“I’m listening,” he said, just a hint of a growl underlying his voice.
“Do you not care for the well-being of your family?”
“You know that I do, Eranna.”
Eranna smiled. “Then why have you not carried out your assignment? Eladria of Damu is still alive and I have been watching you both through the Eye of Mollac.”
Titus hung his head and sighed. “I do not understand why you wish to kill the girl. She does not even know—”
“It is not for you to understand!” Eranna bellowed, chilling him with a frigid blast of air. The very atmosphere around her seemed to darken and her eyes took on a red glow as she drew herself up to her full height until her head was nearly touching the ceiling of the dilapidated cabin.
“I will not be questioned by you, you insolent puppy! All you need to know is that I want her dead. If you do not wish to find your parents and sister ripped to shreds when you return to Mollac, I suggest you do as I have commanded. I will give you one more day, Titus, to see the deed done. I do not want to have to come back for you.”
Titus felt her supernatural hold on him slackening and drew deep gulps of air into his lungs as he fell to his hands and k
nees on the floor. Eranna glided back to her chariot and took up the reigns.
“Do we understand each other, Titus?”
Titus nodded once with a jerk of his head. Eranna nodded and snapped the reigns over the polar bears’ heads.
“Good boy.”
~*~
“Okay, seriously Selena, have you heard a word I’ve been saying?”
Selena’s eyes slowly focused on Zoe as she bent to tie her running shoes. The dark gray track circled the football field and gleamed in the Texas sun. Selena took a sip of water from her squeeze bottle and smiled sheepishly at her best friend.
“Sorry, Zo. I guess I zoned out for a second.”
Zoe blew her dirty blond bangs out of her face and sighed. “You’ve been like a zombie all day. You going to tell me what’s going on, or what?”
Selena sat on the ground to begin her warm-up stretches, which conveniently gave her the chance to avoid Zoe’s probing hazel gaze.
“It’s nothing, really, It’s just … I got a bad grade on my last English test.”
It was a lame excuse, but it was all she could come up with out of thin air. Zoe rolled her eyes and joined Selena on the ground, folding one leg in while extending the other one out and bending it toward it in a stretch.
“Okay I’ll take it for now, but when you’re ready to talk, I’m here.”
“I know, Zo.”
After a few minutes of silent stretching, the two girls joined their teammates near the coach.
“All right,” said Coach Kremlin as she twirled her gleaming whistle around one finger by its string, “we’ve got a meet this weekend against the Ellison Eagles, so this week’s practices are very important. I need you all to be on time, suited up and on this field no later than three-forty-five.”
Selena watched the bluish-green gum roll around the coach’s mouth as she talked. Coach Kremlin stood with her muscular legs braced apart and her hands on her khaki short-covered hips.
“Coach Tomlin will take the long jumpers and Coach Lyons will take the hurdlers. I want to see the 1x400 relay team.”
Zoe pushed her bangs out of her face with a headband and waved to Selena as she followed Coach Tomlin to the jumping pit. Selena moved into place with the three other girls on the relay team. The four girls eyed the coach expectantly, waiting to be informed who was going to run which leg for the meet. Selena could already feel the eyes of Alison, the team’s second-fastest runner, boring into her menacingly. Alison had no love for the girl that was the fastest on the team and Selena could feel the venom in her stare.
“All right ladies, I want to see smooth passes out there,” Coach Kremlin advised as she approached with a clipboard and aluminum relay batons. Running first leg, Alison Caney.”
If at all possible, Alison’s glare turned even deadlier as she went to take her place on the blocks. She hated running first leg.
“Second leg, Jennifer Donnelly. Third leg, Selena McKinley.”
“Of course,” muttered Alison as Selena walked past her to take her place.
“And on fourth leg Natasha Whitfield.”
Selena ignored the stares and glares of the other girls as she took her place to await the baton. At the sound of the coach’s whistle, Selena’s focus moved away from staring eyes and jealousy. As she waited for the second leg to come toward her, Selena felt the familiar rush of adrenaline that came just before she ran.
When the second leg runner approached, Selena reached out with her arm and took off at a trot, waiting for the aluminum tube to hit her palm. When it did, she was gone with a small burst of speed—nothing too freaky, just enough to propel her around the curve and toward the fourth leg a few seconds under her usual time. Even after the fourth leg had taken the baton, Selena felt the whirl of hot air around her and wished she could just keep on running.
Wouldn’t that be something, she thought; running off from that field in a blur with the dry heat of the air propelling her miles away … when she stopped she rested her hands on her knees, closed her eyes and tried to imagine the moment.
Coach Kremlin came onto the field, clapping her hands and smiling. She thrust her stopwatch toward Selena with a wide grin.
“Three seconds faster than last week, Selena. You keep it up, we might actually have a shot at district finals.”
Her teammates came over to offer their congratulations, though Selena guessed correctly that Alison only came to give her more dirty looks. The brunette crossed her arms over her chest and stared at a spot over her shoulder.
“Not bad, Selena.”
“Thanks.”
“Who’s the hottie?”
“Huh?”
Selena turned to follow Alison’s gaze and felt her heart dropping down into her stomach. It landed there like a frozen stone and sent shivers up and down her spine.
Titus.
He stood with his arms propped up on the gate surrounding the field and bleachers. His dark hair was tousled and falling over his forehead, a match for his stretchy black t-shirt. He was wearing his glasses again, but Selena could feel his eyes on her. She turned away quickly and shrugged.
“What makes you think I know?”
She knew her attempt at sounding nonchalant had failed.
“Because he’s been staring at you since he showed up.”
Alison flipped her ponytail and shrugged one shoulder, her eyes still locked on Titus.
“Not that there’s much to look at,” she added before turning to join the others near the starting line.
Selena let Alison’s comment slide off her back like she did every day and went to practice the 100 meter dash. She tried not to glance back, but Titus’ eyes burned her skin with their intensity and she couldn’t resist another peek. When she looked back though, he was gone and Selena felt equal parts relief and disappointment unfurling in her chest.
What was he doing here? After his warning last night Selena hadn’t expected to see him again. Now curiosity burned more than ever and Selena knew she would have to see him again. She wanted answers and something told her that confronting Titus was the only way she was going to get them.
Resolved, Selena went through the rest of practice distractedly counting the minutes until five o’clock. When the coaches finally released them, she drew her sweats on over her running shorts and tank top and slung her backpack over her shoulder. She declined Zoe’s offer to give her a ride home and headed straight for the abandoned field. Somehow she knew that she would find him there.
Sure enough, he was there, sitting on a rotting log with his back to her. His back muscles tensed as she approached and she knew that he was aware of her.
“You shouldn’t be here,” he said without turning around.
With a huff of annoyance, Selena walked toward the log and plopped down next to him.
“Yeah, well here I am. And I’m not going anywhere until you tell me what last night was about and why you’re acting so weird. One second you’re being nice to me and the next you’re running me off. What’s your problem?”
“Selena, I warned you … ”
“Your warning didn’t make any sense. You don’t make any sense! Who are you? What are you?”
Her last question was a strained whisper. “What am I?”
Titus turned toward her, his dark sunglasses removed, his blue eyes penetrating. His eyebrows snapped together over them as he exhaled.
“I don’t know if you really want to know what I am, but we can start with what you are.”
“Okay.”
Hope flared in Selena and she inched closer to him on the log. Her hands trembled as she waited, anticipation gripping her tightly. For years she’d wondered, hoped and waited for some clue, some inkling of what she was and if there were others like her. She waited for the answers silently.
He ran his hands though his hair and sighed.
“Damn Selena, I’m not even supposed to be telling you this. I’m supposed to … ” he paused and shook his head. “I’m going to tell yo
u anyway, because you need to know. You’ve felt different your whole life haven’t you? But you haven’t been able to pinpoint why, to understand why you can do what you can do.”
Selena nodded. That was exactly how she felt.
“That’s because you’re from a whole different world than this one, Selena. The kind of world filled with people that can do things a lot like what you can do. You were sent away as a baby to this world. That’s why you don’t feel like you belong; because you don’t.”
“What does that mean, another world? Like another planet? Tell me!”
He threaded his hands into his hair and pulled, grunting in frustration.
“I’m trying!”
Selena leaped to her feet, her mind racing a million miles a minute. Anxious, she paced back and forth.
“If what you’re saying is true then Gram isn’t even my real grandmother.”
Titus continued staring at her. He looked as if he was going to be sick.
“Then that means my parents are out there somewhere and probably looking for me, right?”
The hope she’d been carrying since she was a little girl sparked to life at the thought of finding out where she really came from. Maybe her father was super-fast too. Maybe he had other abilities. Maybe her mother was where she got her brown eyes and dimpled cheeks from. And then, realization hit her like a ton of bricks and she gasped.
“Gram’s been lying to me my whole life. Why do you think she would do that?”
“I don’t know.” Titus shook his head glumly. “That’s a question you’ll have to ask her.”
“I’m sure there’s a reason. Gram wouldn’t lie to me unless she thought she needed to protect me.”
She paused and turned to stare at Titus, who had finally found the courage to look her in the eye.
“Would she need to protect me from anything, Titus?”
“Selena, you have no idea.”
“You basically just told me that I’m some kind of alien with freakish powers from a world full of other aliens filled with freakish powers. If there’s anything else, I think I can handle it and now’s the time to tell me.”
Daughter of the Red Dawn (The Lost Kingdom of Fallada) Page 3
