by Sarah Bale
The water was cold against her face and she gasped, water filling her mouth. She coughed letting precious air escape in the form of bubbles. She raised her head on instinct and found herself being pushed farther down. More air left her lungs and everything began to blur.
She blinked and found that her eyes would not close. She looked around the bowl and suddenly realized it had been an illusion. It was so much more than just a bowl. It was everything. Flashes of people she knew and places she had been surrounded her. At the very end of it all, she saw her home and she ran to it.
She reached out to touch the front door. Funny, she didn’t remember putting her hand in the water. She pushed the thought away and opened the door. The scent of her mom’s apple pie welcomed her and she grinned.
“Mom!” she called out. “Where are you?”
“I’m in the kitchen, darling girl. There is someone you must meet.”
Lexi threw her cape over one of the chairs and went to the kitchen where her mom and another woman sat, drinking tea.
“Oh Mom, I’ve missed you,” she whispered as she hugged her mother. “There is so much I need to tell you.”
Her mom took her by the shoulders. “Lex, we don’t have time for everything. Please sit and let me introduce you to my friend.”
She sat next to her mom and looked at the woman who sat across from her. Her stomach clenched as she looked the woman over.
“Mom, what’s going on?”
“I told you she wouldn’t understand, Myra.” The woman said, exasperation tinging her voice. “I bet she doesn’t even see it.”
“See what?” Lexi asked slowly. “Mom, what is she talking about?”
Her mom sighed. “Grace, don’t rush her.” She looked at Lexi. “Lexi, surely you can see? Look at my friend, Grace. Really look at her.”
Lexi did as she was told and looked the woman over. Again, her stomach clenched. It just couldn’t be.
“Is she…is she my twin?”
Grace laughed. “No, dear, I’m not your twin but we are related.”
“I don’t understand what’s going on here. Please tell me. I need to get back and save Ian.”
Grace’s face softened. “I agree, you must save Ian. When you met as children, I knew that he was your other half. You two couldn’t be separated then so I can only imagine what it feels like now.”
An echo of the past crossed Lexi’s mind. She was too young for it to be a memory and yet the thought was there. A toddler boy sat next to a crib holding onto the hand of a younger girl. The room swirled with love. She blinked back tears as the thought drifted away.
Grace smiled. “Yes. That’s when you first met. He’s been through so much while he’s waited for you to return. Saving him won’t be easy, though. They’ve waited a long time for him.” She turned to Lexi’s mom and said, “Myra, you need to tell her. She won’t believe it until you tell her.”
Her mom looked down at the table and said, “Lexi, you know I’m not your real mother.”
“Yeah, you and Dad found me in a field. I’ve heard this story a million times.”
Her mom shook her head. “No, darling, I didn’t find you. I was told where you would be left. It was planned out from the moment you entered the other realm to when I would see you in the field. You were brought to me to be kept safe until the time was right.”
Lexi stared at her mom silently. It couldn’t be true. Her mom loved her and would have never kept something like this a secret.
“I do love you, Lex. You know I do. But what would you have said if I had told you this when you were young? You would have resented me and tried to find your true parents.” She smiled but it didn’t reach her eyes. “Child, I remember your teen years. You were such a handful. You would have run away at every chance. Plus, I swore I would do everything in my power to keep you safe.”
“And you did,” Grace said as she reached across the table. “I can never thank you enough, either. You paid the ultimate price too.”
Suddenly the truth hit Lexi in the face.
“I can’t believe I didn’t see it before,” she said weakly. She turned to Grace. “You’re my real mom, aren’t you?”
Grace nodded. “I am and I have waited so long to be able to finally tell you.”
“Does this mean I am the One?”
A shadow crossed both Grace and Myra’s faces.
“I see that dear Loren is still hell bent on finding ‘the One’,” Grace said using air quotes. “That man never knew when to give something up. ‘The One’ is nothing more than a childhood story, used to scare children into being good.”
Lexi could see that her mom…that Myra agreed. It was strange to think that both of her mothers were sitting before her.
“If there’s no such thing as the One then does that mean I’m a Witch?” She had to know.
Myra jumped to her feet. “No, of course not. How could you think such a thing?”
Lexi bit her lip. “I don’t know what to think anymore. I was told three categories that I might fit into here in Sinoda. One, I’m the One and will save everyone, which I now know is not true. Two, I’m a Witch and will die soon. Three, I’m here by mistake and will be sent back to Oklahoma with no memories of Sinoda.”
Grace took Lexi’s hand into her cold one. “Daughter of mine, you are not a Witch. You are not ‘the One’, either. You are something so much more.”
Lexi looked into Grace’s eyes and saw something deep inside. That something was truth.
“Then what am I?” she whispered.
“You are my daughter,” Grace replied.
Myra put her hand on her shoulder and added, “And you are my daughter as well.”
Lexi took Myra’s hand into her own and held onto both their hands. She was there with the woman who gave birth to her and the woman who raised her. And she knew what she had to do.
Suddenly she was pulled from the kitchen. Myra and Grace both called her name as she left. Hands reached out and strange voices cried out to her but she couldn’t answer. She saw a light ahead and knew she had to go to it. Just as she was about to touch it, a strong hand reached out and grabbed her.
Lexi was pulled from the water and dropped onto the floor. She gasped air into her lungs and coughed at the same time. It felt as if she was drowning even though she was no longer in water.
“Help me,” she moaned as she reached out for King Loren.
He stood above her with an unreadable look on his face. She grabbed his leg for support and he kicked her away.
“So, you are not a Witch nor are you the One.” His voice dripped anger.
“Please, I don’t—”
He cut her off. “Get out of my palace. Now.”
Lexi got to her feet, still disoriented.
“Get out now!” he roared.
She ran toward the door and was glad when it opened to let her out. She ran through the door and right into Andrew’s arms.
“What happened in there Lexi? I heard screaming and tried to get in but the door was locked.”
She held onto Andrew’s arms. “We have to leave the palace. King Loren told me to go. I have to save Ian, Andrew.”
Andrew looked back at the door and asked, “Did the king say anything else?”
“He said he knows I’m not the One.” She saw the look that passed Andrew’s face and quickly added, “He said I’m not a Witch, either. Then he told me to get out.”
“I don’t know what to do. If Ian were here—”
She stopped him. “He’s not here and that’s why we need to go out there and find him.”
“You’re right, of course. Forgive me.” He thought for a moment and said, “There’s only one person I know of who has made it to the Witches’ palace and lived to talk about it. And he is here, in this palace.”
“Good. Let’s talk to him and then go get Ian.”
Andrew took her by the hand and led her through a maze of hallways. They finally reached a small door and he knocked softly on it
.
“Come in,” a very tired voice replied.
Before opening the door, Andrew said, “Lexi, this man made it out alive, but barely. The Witches tortured him for nearly a month before he escaped. Sometimes he doesn’t make sense so please don’t be offended by anything he might say.”
She nodded and let Andrew enter the room first.
“Good evening, Master Timothy. It is good to see you,” Andrew said. “I brought someone who would like very much to meet you.”
Andrew held out his hand, indicating that he didn’t want to wait for Timothy to answer. Lexi took his hand and walked into the room. It was dimly lit and her eyes had to adjust to it. The room itself was tiny, barely more than a closet, with only a small bed, and a chair near a window. Timothy sat in the chair staring at the wall with a blank expression on his face.
He was thin, so much so that his shirt and pants hung loosely from his body. His cheeks were gaunt against his pasty gray skin. Lexi wondered how long it had been since he had escaped the Witches’ palace.
“Almost like a prison cell in here, isn’t it?” he said without looking at her.
“Uh, yes sir.”
She wasn’t sure what the correct answer was supposed to be but the room did remind her of a cell. The only thing missing were bars covering the window. Luckily, the open window allowed the room to air out because she was sure that without it, the room would have a horrible stench.
“If my cell at the Witches’ palace had been this nice, I would have been in heaven. It wasn’t, just to let you know.”
She took a step closer and sat down on the edge of his bed. It didn’t appear that the bed had ever been touched. She saw a pillow and blanket in the corner of the room and realized he must be sleeping on the floor.
She asked, “What was your cell there like?”
He looked at her this time and she was shocked to see that one of his eyeballs was missing. The socket had been sewn shut, leaving a harsh, jagged scar behind. It had clearly been sewn that way on purpose for punishment.
“My cell was so small that I couldn’t even sit down. If I did, I sat on spikes so sharp they pierced my skin. There wasn’t even a place to take a piss. I think that was the hardest part to get used to…pissing on myself like an infant or an invalid.”
He looked away again and Lexi saw that his face, neck and arms were covered in scars. Some were little and others were not. In addition, some were clearly deep. Her stomach jumped and she wondered what was happening to Ian.
As if sensing her thoughts, Timothy said, “I hear they have taken one of the Royal Guards.”
Andrew answered, “They took Ian.”
Timothy sighed softly. “I don’t want to imagine what they will do to him. The Witches respected me, or so they said, and look what happened to me. They despise him.”
Lexi didn’t want to think about it so she asked, “Please, sir, we need to know how you escaped their palace.”
“Going to rescue him, are you?” Timothy laughed bitterly. “The only way you’ll get into the palace is to surrender. Then you’ll be sent to one of their dungeons and not necessarily the same one Ian is in. Of course, they might kill you on the spot, which would save you so much trouble, really.”
He sounded so sure that it made her want to weep. How had this broken man managed to escape?
“Please, how did you get out?” she asked again.
He reached under his chair and pulled out a folded piece of paper. The once white paper had faded to a dull tan.
“I sketched this when I made it out of their palace alive. I knew that one day someone would be crazy enough to want to get in their horrible hellhole.”
He handed it to her and she opened it slowly, not knowing what to expect.
“Is this…is this sketched in blood?”
Timothy nodded. “It was the only thing I had available, you see, and I didn’t want to forget anything. Time is a funny thing. Sometimes I don’t even know who I am anymore.”
She looked the map over and handed it to Andrew. The look on his face confirmed her fears. It was nearly impossible to get into the palace, much less get back out.
“Nothing is impossible,” Timothy whispered.
That was the second time he had noticed her train of thought.
“Can you—”
“Read minds? No. Not anymore. Now it comes and goes as it pleases. That’s why the Witches wanted me. My great brain would have served them well, only it didn’t.” He eyed her. “But yours just might…”
Her heart leaped. He knew she could hear people’s thoughts. She worried that he might say something to Andrew but he didn’t.
Andrew put the map in his pocket. “Thank you for the map, Master Timothy.”
Lexi stood. “Thank you for everything.”
As they reached the door, Timothy called out, “You will need great courage to face them but more importantly, you will need great heart.”
Lexi put her hand over her heart. “Then the Witches should truly be afraid because Ian is my heart and I will do anything to get him back.”
Timothy smiled at her and then turned back to his wall. Lexi left the room and Andrew closed the door behind them.
“That poor man.”
Andrew led her down the maze of hallways. He didn’t speak but she could tell by the tenseness in his shoulders that he was worried.
Once outside the palace, he took her by the hand and pulled her behind a tree.
“Lexi, I can’t let you go to the Witches’ palace. Ian would never want you to go there, especially to save him.”
She looked into his green eyes and saw fear. She reached out and caressed his arm.
“Andrew, I have to. I would never ask you to go in their lair alone and you can’t ask me. We have to do this together. We have to save Ian.” She paused and then went on, “But if you won’t go with me, I’ll go alone.”
Turmoil and conflict danced across his face as he listened to her speech. The thought of entering the Witches’ palace terrified her but the thought of losing Ian was worse. Without him, she would be dead inside. So her only choice was to put on a brave front and pray Andrew would help her.
Finally, he nodded. “Okay. We need to come up with a plan and maybe even a backup plan. Then we’ll go save Ian.”
She smiled and sat on the grass. Andrew sat next to her and pulled out the map. As she looked at the complex hallways and secret passages, she prayed they weren’t too late. She loved Ian and she didn’t want to think about losing him.
Chapter Ten
“Ian,” a familiar voice whispered. “Ian, open your eyes. I need you in me…now.”
Ian stirred under the soft covers. His head was pounding and he couldn’t remember what caused the pain. A soft hand caressed his stomach before moving lower. His lips lifted into a smile before he felt a sharp pain behind his eyes.
“Lex…stop. My head is killing me.”
Her lips brushed against his as she spoke, “Poor Ian. I bet I could make you feel better.”
Her throaty chuckle let him know exactly what she had in mind. He felt her move and then she straddled his lap, rubbing herself against his hardening cock.
“Lex—”
“Shhh,” she replied. “Just go with it.”
She continued to rub herself against him and then her mouth covered his nipple, her tongue darting out to taste him. He moaned in approval. While she teased his nipple, her free hand went between their bodies and into his pants. Her fingers wrapped around his cock and squeezed it.
“My, so big. Have a look, sister.”
Ian had barely registered the words when he felt another hand push into his pants. This time the grasp was firm.
“Oh yes. So big.”
Suddenly everything came crashing back to him. He could see Hank carrying a screaming Lexi away from him as he waited for the Witches to take him. They didn’t do anything, though. Instead, they waited for him to inhale the flower’s drugs and he had. Shit. He re
membered his lungs burning with the need for air and then he gave in.
“I think someone is remembering where he is.”
He began to struggle, then, trying to get away from them. The hands in his pants continued to squeeze and stroke and he hated them for it. And he hated himself for responding.
“Let go of me. I don’t want your hands on me.”
He tried to open his eyes but a blindfold covered them.
Hot breath tickled his neck and a voice said, “You know that isn’t going to happen. We’ve waited years for you to come to us. And now that we have you, we aren’t going to let you go.”
It was the eldest Witch, the one who was in charge. The one who broke his heart when he had been nothing more than a stupid teenage boy.
“Miki, please let me go. I know the kind woman I used to date is still somewhere inside you.”
The room grew still. He knew no one had dared to call any of the Witches by their old, human names but it was worth a shot. Maybe her name would stir something deep in her soul. He didn’t have much to lose at this point.
“How dare you,” one of the others exclaimed.
Miki cut her off. “No sister, it is fine. He may be the only one in this realm who has the balls to call me by that name.” She laughed but it was without humor. “The names Mother gave us. Miki, Vicki and Ricki—her precious babies.”
“No. Do not use our names.”
Both hands left his pants and he felt the bed rise as they stood. He knew Miki was still next to him, though, because of the slight dip in the mattress.
“Silence!” Miki commanded. “Those names have no power over us anymore. I made sure of that when we killed Mother. Now leave us. I grow tired of your dramatics.”
“But—”
“I said leave us.”
Ian knew of what she spoke. When the three sisters first gave into the magic, they killed their birth mother right away, leaving her head on a spike in front of the gate of Sapphire City. It had been a small taste of what they were capable of doing. Killing the queen and everything she represented had been the worst thing they had done so far.
