His eyes bled into mine, leaving me feeling, different. He smiled and tapped my shoulder, squeezing at my collarbone. He walked away, joining his parents and Nate, looking back at me once. I glanced down at my fingers and found my mom standing with Paul and Ethan.
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Avoiding their faces, I saw them laughing with my sisters and roughhousing my brother. Maybe they were destiny, but my father? Where did he come in? I didn’t want to think about it.
“Let’s go everyone.” Liz proclaimed loudly.
I moved towards my family as we all walked out of a hole and through a hall of grass and stone, as white mist began to emerge through the curved wall.
***
I held my sisters hands tightly, linking arms with my mother as we walked through the thickness of grey and white mist. The air was heavy, and I felt my throat closing up, just like it did before entering Paul’s sector. I began to cough, as well as everyone else.
“Paul,” Marrow stuttered. I couldn’t see anyone, only dark shadows moving in front of me.
“Yeah?” Paul’s voice called out. I was still coughing until I noticed a blinking red light on my arm; the sensor mark, someone was near. I felt my sister’s sweaty palms in mine. This can’t be good.
“Since you like control this kind of thing, think you can help us out?” He desperately pleaded. I heard coughs and Marrow frantically yelling, “Shit, hurry! There’s something coming and we can’t see a thing!”
I assumed that he noticed his arm as well.
Bazlars, Souls…
I heard through the fog. What the hell?
“I’m working on it!” Paul yelled out. I felt a cold finger pressed underneath my skin as a raspy voice slithered into my ear.
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Let’s play...
It wasn’t the voice I always heard, no. It was a different pitch. My whole body went numb. I shook my ear as a laugh breathed in through my other ear. It echoed through the wind and I felt another finger trace my other arm.
“Nate, I know you’re into me but this isn’t the time to joke around,” I heard Marrow say.
“That’s not me, Marrow,” Nate’s voice was shaky.
“Oh, my -” replied Marrow.
Play...
Mable’s grip released off of my hand, her shadow disappearing into the white. My world stopped instantly.
“No!” I yelled taking out my knife, the red engraving burning through the mist. A white face with black eyes hissed at me, and then disappeared.
“Paul, right now, this would be the perfect time!” Marrow spat.
“Walking into this fog drained my element, give me time!” Paul yelled back.
“Daddy,” I heard Ethan cry.
“Mable!” I frantically called out. My dagger flashed as I sliced through the fog, hearing more hissing.
She wanted to play...
Now I was enraged with fury. If anything happened to my sister, I wouldn’t know what I would do with myself. I lit a flame in my hand and positioned it in front of my face. Moments later, an image appeared before it. It had white skin, black eyes, an open mouth that showed no teeth and grey skin. My bones chilled as it came into me. I screamed and pierced the top of its head with my knife, no
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hesitations. The creature laughed and disappeared into the fog.
“How are we supposed to kill these things?” Liz gasped.
“Try your power!” Sage yelled.
“We did and it’s weak, only Ethan and Paul can access full energy!” Lore shouted back. I could hear whips of knives through the mist as another face appeared before me. I aimed for the heart this time, but only chuckles and grimaces faded into the grey.
I like this game...
Mable wasn’t gone, she was here, somewhere. I just needed to find her. I couldn’t lose her, I couldn’t.
“Paul, how long does your damn element take to regenerate?” I heard Marrow’s irate voice through the sound of more slashes.
Moments later, a blast of air stung my face. I looked around to see marbled stone below me and everyone in a clear view, mist circling the perimeter. Mable was in the center of us with one arm over her stomach, shut eyes and brown hair whipped across her face. I rushed to her side as white figures danced around the circle.
Wouldn’t it have been a treat if your sister got stepped on by one of your feet? The slither chanted, deadlier.
“Mable!” I shook her, “Mable get up, Mable.” Her energy was drained; I felt it in her veins. I closed my eyes, water dripping from my eyes and wrapped both of my hands around her tattoo. I needed to heal her, no matter how weak I would become. Golden flames escaped as I transferred fresh fire into her. Transferring your fire to
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another person didn’t necessarily heal them, but gave them enough strength to regenerate. Her tattoo flashed, a red light travelled through her body as her eyes opened, flashing crimson then fading brown. “Mable, come on.” I lifted her to her feet, one arm around my waist.
“Cut their heads!” Paul yelled.
“What?” Beth called.
“Just trust me,” he replied.
Everyone around me except for Annabelle and Ethan moved outside of the circle, slicing their blades through the necks of the white figures. High pitched screaming flooded the air as the figures faded to dust, floating into the air. The mist was still around us, but a faint blue light lit our arms, showing the progress we made. Everyone fixed their positions, still holding on to their knives.
“I guess playtime wasn’t such a good idea,” Marrow spat at the ground.
Lore placed his hand onto Paul’s shoulder, looking ahead. “Thank you Paul. We would have been slicing at each other’s throats if it wasn’t for you.”
He nodded and took hold of Ethan’s hand. “Are you okay?”
“Dad, what was that?” This was the first time I ever heard Ethan call his father ‘dad’ instead of ‘daddy.’ I panted hard, realizing the type of creature we just fought. I knew this was just the beginning, and I was not feeling it.
“Nothing now,” Paul kissed his forehead and nudged him forward. As we moved, the clarity of the circle moved with us, the mist fading away slowly. A couple more steps and the fog died down. We found ourselves
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looking at a stone wall with two different directions, right and left.
“Can someone just tell me what the hell those things were?” Marrow asked, glaring back at the white residue behind us.
“Those were Bazlars, dark souls. They feed on the fear of the living to create their territory. In this case, fog.” Paul answered, looking back.
“Wait, how do you know that? Have you seen one?” Marrow asked.
Paul shrugged, “Never, but I don’t know how to explain it. When I was fighting it, all I could hear was Bazlars, souls.”
That was the first thing I heard before the creatures appeared. Maybe Paul heard the voice too? Maybe I wasn’t as crazy as I thought.
Lore moved to the front of us all with Liz. “It makes perfect sense since we are in your stage. It would be you over us that would know what kind of creatures lie here,” Liz coughed before starting again. “We have no idea where these paths end up. For all we know, it could be a dead end with creatures or ghosts like that.” She pointed behind us.
“Liz, relax.” Lore breathed out, eyeing out both sides of the wall. “I’m so stupid.” He said fingers through his hair.
“What?” Liz asked in confusion.
“We have the map engraved remember? How could we have forgotten?” Lore looked down to his arm, staring intensively. I looked over to my mother who was sitting with Mable in her lap. She wasn’t moving anymore,
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but I could feel the gentle pounds of her heart, and her chest rising up and down.
“Lore, we have to help Mable,” I said.
“I thought you gave her energy?” He questioned.
“I did, but she needs rest.”
He g
lanced down at his arm once more and flipped his gaze to both paths. “We can stop here because both paths lead to something different. We take the path on the left. The path on the right is a dead end.”
I nodded and carried Mable to the wall, sliding a blanket around her back and over her shoulders.
“How long are we to stay here?” Sage asked.
“As long as it takes for my daughter to heal.” My mother answered. Sage moved his arm forward about to protest but Beth pulled him back, her mask nodding as she gripped his hand.
“She needs water.” I said, feeling her forehead. I heard footsteps against the stone, feeling Nate’s cool skin brush the heat of my arm. Without looking at me, he pulled my hand away and placed his on her head. A light blue glow rayed out of his palm, and then water trickled down her face and into her mouth. She mumbled a few words as her eyelashes started to flutter open. Carefully moving Nate’s hand away, she lay slumped against the wall, nodding at Nate’s torso.
“Do you think you can walk from here?” I asked, moving strands of hair away from her face.
“Yes, Kaylin.” I could tell she was still weak but I was happy she was okay. I hugged her, tugging her to her feet, watching her run towards my mother.
“One more thing,” I turned around to face her. “Don’t show fear, just in case.”
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She bit the inside of her cheeks and shot me a look, “But I’m ten.”
“At your age I was killing baby wolves. I’m sure you can hide your fear, now let’s move on.” Marrow burst out. He was so inconsiderate. She was just a kid. I almost hit him, almost.
“I don’t like you very much,” she squinted at him.
“Not many people do.” Marrow glared at Beth and moved towards his father.
“Enough, Marrow.” Snapped Liz.
Mable took me by the hand before returning to my mother’s side. “I’ll try, Kaylin.”
I smiled and turned my attention over to the back of Lore and Liz’s heads, moving towards Devon.
“Are you hurt?” Devon asked.
“No, just a few scratches. You?”
He shook his head.
“The sooner we get out of this place, the better. A little progress is better than no progress at all. We don’t know how much ground we still have to cover here, so we have to be mindful,” Lore said.
I watched as he took out his clan knife, the sides shimmering crystal blue as Liz took him by the hand and moved forward. Everyone seemed to draw out their knives as well, so I did too. I glanced to Nate who was holding on to his blade tightly, side by side with Marrow. I looked quickly to my right where a path led curving inwards to grey rock.
Kaylin, turn, home, go...
A slightly different tone came into place: my father. I knew it was, it had to be. I gazed around, shutting my eyes to trap the tears at my waterline.
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“Dad?” I whispered. “Dad, is that you?”
Keep, forward…
It was the voice I heard that night, the voice that whispered in the winds. It wasn’t my father’s, it slithered. My father’s was gone. I shook it off; it was my mind playing tricks on me. He can’t be alive.
I heard rustling and glanced up. Dozens of white swirls began to drop from the sky. As they spiralled down, we all moved closer together. I took a closer look and saw that the swirls turned into figures. Shit.
“Paul, think we can use some of your knowledge again?” Marrow asked.
“I don’t-,”he stuttered, “I don’t know what they are, not yet.”
I pulled out my knife and held it in front of me, my tattoo glowing red as I held grip of the rim. Two figures stood in front of me: grey in some parts, slightly transparent the rest. Their face began to blur into something familiar, into my father's. I tried turning to look away, but my head wouldn’t turn. It stayed looking at me. His grey eyes, dark hair, the same scar above his eyebrow, and ripped clothing. I wanted so bad to reach out to him, but I couldn’t do it, my head wouldn’t turn away.
“Dad?” I tilted my head back.
His pale lips curved into a smile. “It’s me Burgy.”
Burgy. My mind was in memories. I haven’t heard that name in a long time. My father use to call me that when I was little because I had burgundy hair before it turned auburn brown. He shortened it and called me that every time he talked to me or tease me. My lip quivered as I stepped back, trying to force myself to look away. I couldn’t.
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“You’re not my father.” I said, raising my knife over my chest with eyes watering.
“Who else would I be?” He moved towards me, with an open hand.
I couldn’t face this, I needed to run. “You’re gone! I saw you run!” I shouted at him.
“But I’m not gone. I’m here, with you.” He moved closer, “Take my hand Kaylin, we’ll be together.”
Breathing heavily, my brain started surging with different memories.
“Everyone stop! They’re scanners! They’re Enchanted who steal memories; they aren’t who they look like. Find the courage to fight them!” Paul yelled.
The person standing in front of me, the replica of my father smiled. It cracked its neck, eyes turning red as it growled coming at me. I couldn’t turn away, my eyes focused on it, while another hologram of my dad emerged from behind.
“Come here, Burgy.” It slithered, transparent hands turning into grey claws.
I stumbled backwards, my hands moving to the stone wall. “Oh don’t give up now, I trained you better than this.” They both smiled, mimicking each other.
“You aren’t my father,” I spat.
“Then why don’t you come get me?”
Grimaces on their faces filled my vision. The thought of killing my father even if it wasn’t him, was close to impossible. I was forced to stare and destroy.
The scanners moved towards me as I stabilized myself, gripping tight of my knife. I shook my head. You’re not real, you’re not real. I rammed it into the first scanner that called me Burgy. I felt the other grabbed my wrist and
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groaned in pain as its nails dug into my veins, blood slowly dripping down my skin. I sliced the top of its hand as it
shrieked and moved back. I stabbed it in the heart, and watched it collapse in front of me, my father’s face transforming into a grey skull. A force pulled me backwards, causing my head to fall hard against the stone. I felt warm blood trickle down my forehead, seeing it move towards me in a blur. I used what power I had left to blow out a fire ball and trace a mark, but it grabbed my arm, lifting me up.
“My beautiful daughter,” it slithered, taking hold of my neck.
Too weak to move, I did the only thing I knew I could do. I turned my arm to fire, causing it to release its grip and move backwards shrieking. My eyes drooped over as I staggered over to it, digging the knife into his chest. Its eyes opened, and fell to the ground, turning into another grey skull.
“You’re not my father,” I spat, holding my wrist.
Turning around, I watched as everyone fought shadows. They sliced through and collapsed to the ground. Annabelle was held down, a figure on top of her holding her neck. I didn’t think twice. I limped towards her, jabbing my blade into its jugular. I kicked off the lifeless corpse on top of her as she hugged me.
“Kaylin,” she released.
I noticed the claw marks around her neck, “What happened? What did it do?” I analyzed the wound frantically.
“I’m fine, but your wrist...”
“I’ll be okay.”
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Ethan was crying out as a scanner jabbed at his arm, blood rushing to his palm.
“Ethan!” Paul screamed, running towards the figure and slicing its neck.
“Daddy, you killed mommy!” Tears ran down his cheeks. He coughed over and over then collapsed to the ground.
“That wasn’t your mother.”
He picked Ethan off the ground, biting the end of his shirt to wrap Ethan
’s arm.
“We can’t stay here, they could be back.” Lore said.
“They won’t be, I would feel it if they were.” Paul released, still tending the wound of his son.
“The Enchantress must know we’re here, the sky is turning dark again.” Liz looked up into the atmosphere.
I, too, glanced up at the light as it slowly faded into onyx.
“Let’s just patch up our wounds and be on our way.” Lore murmured.
“Rest again mom?” Marrow asked.
“No rest dear,” she sighed. “Heal.”
Chapter 9
I dabbed at the blood on my forehead as I leaned back, pressing a flame against the claw marks on my wrist. If I were to do this to anyone else, it would probably burn their arm off. But since I controlled fire, the sensation was actually pretty soothing and took mostly all the pain away. Flaming your arm doesn’t necessarily heal a wound, but numbs the pain. Eventually, the actual wound would have healed over time. Inner dialogue of explanation strikes again.
“You know I can help you with that?” I wasn’t paying attention, but I recognized Nate’s voice.
“I got it covered.” I responded, removing my palm from my wrist.
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“Just making sure.” He breathed out, sitting in front of me.
I thought that maybe it would be the appropriate time to ask Nate the few questions I never had the time to address. “How do you know so much about all of this? Like tracking, healing-,” I questioned.
“Runs in the family, I guess. Both my parents had the gift of knowledge, so I got it too.” He paused for a few moments and took a deep breath. “And our family never lost a member.”
I squinted, rubbing my fingers against the stone. As much as I hated thinking about it, it was true. Everyone here had lost someone to The Enchantress, besides the Coperton clan. Maybe that’s why they were so powerful; they shared all their individual gifts with each other.
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