I closed my eyes for a few seconds but couldn’t fall back asleep; a constant tick filled my thoughts. I hated those ticks, that wouldn’t leave my mind no matter how
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hard I tried to push them out. I looked up at them again as I shivered. Devon’s dark hair was a mess, falling over most of his forehead. His blanket covered only the curve of his shoulders. It looked like the muscles beneath his skin were dancing, or maybe that was just the movement of the fire. I didn’t think it was possible to be that tan, but maybe it was because I was just so white.
My mother’s brown hair curled behind her ears, brushing the peak of her collarbone. She looked young there, sleeping. She always reminded me of myself. Just, with a few wrinkles.
Then there was my thirteen year old sister, Annabelle. She had the most beautiful red locks that fell perfectly even while she slept. She fluttered her eyelashes against her snow white skin, the same colour as mine. I never wanted to be jealous about how beautiful she was, but I couldn’t help it.
I glanced over at ten year old Mable with her high cheekbones and straight dark hair. She kept gnawing at her lip and in that moment, I knew she was the coldest out of everyone there.
Stop admiring your family Kaylin, do something about Mable. Beside the two trees lay my father’s blanket as well as mine. I swallowed heavy and got up, looking once more at my family before walking over to the roots. As I walked across the marbled soil, I heard my boots crunching against the little rocks. I cursed under my breath; I didn’t want to wake them. I quietly knelt down beside the bark and picked up my father’s blanket to put it aside. I reached for my own; the wool fabric rubbing against my skin gave me instant warmth. I covered my neck and arms with the blanket then stood up. Dusting off
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my knees, I made my way over to where Mable was sleeping. She looked so cold that it saddened me more than anything. I took off the blanket wrapped around my arms and placed it around her as she squeezed her eyes shut and hugged Annabelle. Well, at least you did your job.
I carried over the four logs resting at Devon’s side and lit another fire a few feet away from my mother and sisters. I guess it worked; their facial expressions changed. They seemed warmer and more comfortable. I bent down beside the tree trunk again and placed my father’s wool blanket on top of myself. It felt as if my dad were there, holding me when I had a bad dream. But I was old enough to know that he would never hold me like that again.
My eyes started to close and I only saw darkness.
Voices woke me as the winds howled furiously. My eyes flew open and I realized that I was still lying on the slump of the tree, bark piercing the curve of my back.
Father, alive...
“Who’s there?” I responded instantly.
There was nothing, no one awake in my family.
A voice travelled through the air without a trace, but I couldn’t make it out correctly. I was sure I heard something. I raised my eyebrows and removed the blanket wrapped around me. I scratched at my arm, it felt a tad tingly.
Seek, find...
I drew out my knife. The voice was circling me, taunting me with something. There was someone there, there had to be. I wasn’t losing my mind. I mean, I
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probably was, but I was always joking when I talked to myself.
That voice; I couldn’t tell where it was coming from, or describe what it sounded like. It was just, familiar. I looked around but my family was still asleep. The fire was still lit and the embers were still burning.
Kaylin,
Kay...
I sealed my eyes shut and blocked my ears. The voice seemed to fade, slowly. The familiarity, I knew it all too well. This happened to me before when my dad disappeared, but it never actually happened again. Until now.
I got up to meet the corner of the sector’s passageway. I looked both directions into the shadows, finding nothing.
Kaylin, find...
Enchantress...
I leaned my head out and swallowed hard, but the voice never came back. I waited, agitated yet patient for something, anything to explain this unexplainable. It knew my name, that voice. What was that? I scratched at my arm again; why was it so itchy, seriously.
There had to be someone. Maybe Devon was playing a trick on me in his sleep. I’m sure we could do that, maybe, I don’t know.
It knew my name.
I lay, slumped against the wall of the passageway waiting for the voice, but it never returned. I drew myself tighter and shivered; not because of the cold, but because of what just happened. Something about it though, it drew me to it. As if, it knew me, as if, we were connected. It was
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a feeling I can’t explain, and don’t think I will ever be able to explain. Put it this way, it’s like seeing someone you haven’t seen in a long time, but you two were so close at one point. I don’t know. I apologize to the imaginary people in my head; my analogies are horrible.
Fall asleep, Kaylin. How did it know me? I knew that it wanted me to find it- whatever it even was. Just fall asleep, Kaylin. Maybe I was dreaming. Maybe it was just another nightmare.
Minutes passed and I realized that all this time I’ve been scratching at my arm. What was wrong with me? I’m actually losing my mind. It wasn’t long before I felt my arm starting to burn just as it did that night of my father’s disappearance. Now that, I knew all too well.
I placed my hand over top of my tattoo. A cold breeze blasted my face, taking me off guard as my hair flew backwards. The icy air made my face feel numb. I blinked once and I felt dizzy. I fought to keep my eyes open but all I saw was darkness, darkness that I didn’t need to close my eyes for.
***
“Kaylin,”
I felt strands of hair prickling my skin and the weight of fingers wrapped around my shoulders. I was being shaken.
“Kaylin, wake up.”
I used my arms to support me as my eyes opened to the sight of my mother’s face. A slight frown formed at the corner of her mouth. Her smile began to fade when I
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got up to stabilize myself. I rubbed my scalp as I glanced upwards. The sky was a dusk orange with splashes of red; my guess it was morning. This world never lived in light. Even during the day, the sky was a shade of twilight and the night was gloomy and toxic.
The last thing I remembered was a voice, a cold wind and then I was out. It was like I collapsed or fell with force, something of the sorts.
As my vision came into focus, my eyes fell onto my sisters washing clothes in a pot. I don’t think mom told them what happened. I looked around to see Devon re-roasting some deer we caught the other day but besides that, everything looked exactly the same.
I stared at my mother’s gentle features; I wondered how she looked like as a teenager. Maybe she thought of blaming me for my dad’s death? I used to say that they weren’t actually married, just thrown together but now I understood. They learned to love and protect each other after all the years they’d been together.
I got up and moved away from my mother, stepping on ash from last night’s fires. She caught my arm before I took another step forward.
“It took me forever to wake you up. I was worried.” She said.
When was she not worried? Ever since my dad’s death, every little thing we did, I did, she was on edge about. I thought about it though and it was okay to be worried when we didn’t know the extent of a situation. I have always been alert to noise, every Enchanted had to be; it was how we were raised.
I shook my head in a brief movement, “I’m fine.”
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She let go of my arm but kept her gaze on me, eyeing my every movement. “Are you sure?”
I nodded without hesitation. I just wanted the conversation to be over, to move on. She was very protective, but honestly I would be too. With everything that had happened from then until now, it was a lot to carry inside. Sometimes, things just get too much to handle. I understood.
I wa
lked over to Devon, attempting to forget the voices I heard last night and to forget everything that happened to me.
“Need help?” I asked.
This was the first time I saw him since last night. Still the same goof as usual.
Devon smiled and shook his head. “To cook? I think I’ll be okay.”
I picked up an unused pot beside the fire and walked over to the crops. I found some pepper spice and scooped it up. It was my favourite hands down, and I probably over-ate it. Maybe that’s what’s making me go crazy? I separated certain bits of the spice and flicked them on to the ground. Taking the rest, I knelt down beside Devon and sprinkled it over the roasting deer.
“Don’t put so much,” Devon nagged.
“It’s fine, I didn’t take a lot anyways.” I replied.
Another thing about Devon, he is two years older than me, but acted as if he were a parent already. I loved him for that yeah, although he was trying to fill our father’s place. He could never be him.
“It’s not about the spice.” He said.
I scrunched my eyebrows in confusion. Guess I wasn’t the only one going crazy.
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“So I can add more?” I grinned, my fingers already on the brim of the pot.
He laughed. “No. It’s just,” he trailed off for a few seconds and hesitated. His voice was shaky as he began again. “Nate from the Coperton clan, he came by before everyone was up and dropped some seasoning off.”
He pointed to a corner behind the tree where a small, clear bottle was hidden. Nate. I had never heard of a Nate before, but I never really associated with anyone outside of our clan. Made some sense, but did it really? Why would someone from another sector just randomly come and give us an offering? That literally does not happen, ever. You have to be an idiot to do that. Or, in this case, Nate from the Coperton clan.
“He seemed all right. At least he wore a mask.” He said.
I stopped him instantly, confused at the situation and slightly ticked off.
“You’re so dumb,” I released. “It could be poison or something. Devon, if mom finds out - ,”
Now it was his turn to interrupt me, as usual. I liked this banter, but I wasn’t a fan of the situation. It really was dumb to accept something unknown and foreign.
“First of all, I know what I’m doing.”
Well it’s not just your deer to eat, it’s for everyone. So, you really are lacking brain cells. Shut up, Kaylin, let your smart ass of a brother talk. Maybe he’s coming up with something clever in the midst of his stupidity.
“Second, I took the liberty of tasting it myself and it was delicious. If it was poison, then I’d be dead by now.”
My face narrowed into a stern frown. “You could have died if it was poison.”
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“But I didn’t. It’ll be ready soon.”
I shook my head and stood up, looking back at Devon as I walked away. Hm, Nate. Who was this Nate and why did he come to us? Something felt off, again, I am unable to provide an explanation as to why. It wasn’t bad or anything, just, it was, off. This wasn’t random. First the voices, followed by that blasted wind and now a member of another clan coming to us, to offer us something? Something just wasn’t right.
I grabbed a grey shirt and black pants, making my way behind the passage walls to change. I looked down at the water source to see my reflection. I didn’t look any different, maybe a bit pale but everything about me seemed the same. I tied my hair with a loose green vine and made my way to Annabelle and Mable.
“Kaylin! Mom was so worried about you.” Said Annabelle hugging my arm. She squeezed tightly at my fingers then retreated.
I glanced over at my mother who was picking some vegetables out of the soil.
“I don’t see what the big deal was.” I lied. I patted Ann’s back, “I couldn’t have been asleep that long.”
Mable stopped washing her shirt and looked up at me with big burgundy eyes. “I didn’t think you were alive. You were asleep for what felt like forever.”
I grinned, bending down to help her with what she was washing.
“You were just really hot. Mom nudged you like a billion times, but you didn’t move.” Annabelle said, fixing her red locks.
“Well I’m up now and I’m okay.” Another lie. Keep it up Kaylin.
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Did this have anything to do with the wind last night? It was just wind. A few voices, but mostly wind. Keep telling yourself that. I helped Annabelle and Mable dry and wash the rest of their clothing before I heard something rustling through the empty spaces of air circling me.
Kaylin...
I wasn’t dreaming, this was real. This was reality happening right now. I looked around at my family, hoping that it was one of them talking to me. Sadly, I was wrong.
Find the clans, help us all...
It was clear now, what this voice was saying. It wasn’t a voice in my head, it wasn’t me. My arm started to heat up. By heat up, I mean, I was getting burned. Normally fire wouldn’t hurt me because we harness our energy from it, but this, this was burning me. The pain shot up again. I ground my teeth and moved as far away from Annabelle and Mable as I could. It felt like my flesh was ripping apart. I gripped the back of my arm tightly and turned it over; my tattoo was flashing crimson. I pressed my fingers down on it once and it sizzled.
Fire burned me.
This was impossible.
A moment in my thoughts passed then, my arm stopped hurting. I picked and scratched at my tattoo but it was like nothing had ever happened. That pain, although lasting only a few seconds was excruciating. It made no sense whatsoever. I couldn’t be burned.
“Whoa, are you okay?” Asked Mable carrying a pot of damp clothing. Annabelle was trailing after her to see what happened.
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“What’s wrong?” My mother asked with a pot of vegetables in hand.
“Nothing’s wrong.” I replied, getting up off the ground. I hid my arm behind my back to conceal the fact that it was shaking. I tried moving away when I bumped into Devon.
“Deer’s cooked.” His tone was low and suspicious, but I didn’t let it bother me. Enough had happened already.
My mom eyed me and then shrugged, “Thank you Devon.” She turned back to me, “You and I will look at that after.” She pointed to my arm and turned the opposite way.
I swallowed and watched my brother as he gave me a weird look. He nodded to me oddly, and then tossed me a pot filled with deer meat and peppers. I sat beside Mable who was pigging out on the food, smiling and mumbling to herself. I glanced over at Annabelle and my mother who had pleasant grins, then Devon who was simply returning everyone’s smiles.
I hadn’t tried the meat yet, but the smell was pretty appetizing. Plucking a piece of it off the bone, I was interrupted.
Go...
At this point, I wasn’t even afraid anymore. I just wanted to know what the hell was going on. I breathed slowly and closed my eyes as the voice drifted in the winds. I shook my head and put off the voice as my teeth sunk into the meat and I chewed. It was the freshest thing I have ever tasted. Moist, succulent, but - That’s Nate’s seasoning. That moment, I remembered what I was eating and spat it out. Nate’s seasoning. Luckily no one seemed
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to notice because I was not about to save Devon’s ass on something I did not agree with.
“It tastes great! How did you make this Devon? It’s different...” My mother shook her head in astonishment.
Devon didn’t hesitate.
“Secret.” He responded, winking at me.
I rolled my eyes and fingered my food, placing the pot on the ground beside me. My mother indulged herself with another handful of meat as did both my sisters. Annabelle looked up at me and smiled, her dimples deepening when I caught her gaze.
Do you hear me...
Oh, I heard. I scanned The Labyrinth’s passageways from where I was sitting. There was absolutely nothing there.
Find the clans
, find me…
I waited. There were moments of silence and I knew it wouldn’t continue. I needed to sum it all up, to figure out what it wanted. I wasn’t scared, I was curious. Did my family hear the voice too? I looked over at them still eating, unfazed. I took that as a no.
“Want some more deer Kaylin? It’s yummy.” Annabelle asked with shreds of skin on her lower lip.
“Thanks, you guys can have it.” I smiled, placing my hand on her knee.
That’s when I felt it, the same burn that happened before. Only this time, my arm tensed and then became numb. Oh, no, no, no. I spun my back to turn away from my family as I stared at my tattoo, scanning each letter. A red heat wave flamed through the black ink as my eyes forced me to read each letter. D was first, the amber color slithering like a snake. E was next and then S, each letter
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burning worse than the other. Tears burned as they dripped down my skin. My face scrunched as I wailed in pain. I flung my arm over my stomach and threw my head downwards. I watched a blurry visual of Mable coming, rushing to my side as I shivered and shook, my body unable to control itself. I never in my life felt a worse pain, nor did I ever want to feel this again.
“Kaylin, Kaylin!” I heard her scream as I fell over, my body curled up.
An intense heat rose through my entire body. It started from my tattoo and up through my core. Various hands grabbed at my waist, my legs, my arms, and every part of me. Although, I couldn’t feel anything, I could only see. My body felt like a lifeless corpse that caged pain. My vision was getting weaker, growing more and more blurry as I looked at my mother, then Devon.
Find me...
My eyes sealed as the world faded away.
Chapter 2
Kaylin...
Was the first thing I heard when I came to. I was surrounded by pots of water, and overlapping strips of damp cloth covered my arms. Now this was the indistinguishable part. Was it the voice saying my name, or was it my family? The moonlight glimmered across my face as I sat upwards, breathing heavily.
Enchanted: The Labyrinth Page 2
