Chapter 15
My mother walked up to Nate in complete and utter awe. It wasn’t because she wanted a face to face interrogation with the boy I was destined to be with, no, it was more so the fact that she was shocked to even get the opportunity to do so.
“You,” she cupped his face in her hands. “I can’t believe this.” She smiled.
For some reason, my eyes fell on Marrow. I finally saw his face without having to worry about it shifting into my fathers in seconds. Although when I looked at Marrow, he seemed to have already known what I looked like.
242
Don’t do it Kaylin. I decided to walk up to him and pull him away from the crowd. The commotion was endless, so I needed the space.
“Hey,” I nudged his arm.
He smiled at me with weak eyes. I knew that he was still mourning the loss of Liz. We all were.
“I’m sorry about her.” I whispered.
My gaze was facing down to the ground. I didn’t want to look into his eyes, even if I could see them. I was nervous, guilty, an emotional wreck. I blamed myself, despite what anyone could say. I let her go.
“Don’t,” he reached out his fingers to mine. I didn’t move away, even knowing that Nate was looking.
Without thinking I wrapped my arms around him, and began to sob. I couldn’t take it anymore. I let him down, I let them all down. Most importantly, I let myself down.
I felt his body tense up, but soften once he placed one hand on my lower back and the other behind the nape of my neck. He buried his face into my shoulder and pulled me tighter.
“I’m so sorry, Marrow.”
I could feel the contrast of cold heat radiating between us, complete opposite elements. He pulled me away, and placed his thumb on my cheek, wiping away the tears that had been there just seconds before.
“There’s nothing you could’ve done,” he whispered, pressing his forehead against mine.
I wanted to believe that there was something I could’ve done, anything that I could have done to have Liz there. She didn’t deserve to die. Neither did Ann, or Beth
243
or Sage. Neither did Ethan’s mother, or my father. It’s all my fault.
“I hate to interrupt,” Lore spoke calmly. “But we should get down to the town and see why The Enchantress brought us here.”
I pulled away from Marrow and took a quick glance at Nate; his icy blue eyes were dark like night as he stared at me. He quickly glanced over at Marrow and then walked towards Lore.
“What do you think is down there?” Nate asked, gritting his teeth.
Lore started his journey forward, pushing Nate’s back gently in front of him. “That’s what we have to find out, son.”
***
I made sure to stay side by side with Devon and Mable. My mother held Mable’s shoulder as she walked, keeping a steady pace with mine. I peeked over to look at Devon; his jaw was clenched tightly. I could see the stubble of hair that formed from his ear to the end of his chin as he returned my gaze.
“What?” He snapped.
I shook my head and forwarded my eyes, swallowing hard. Tensions are high, understand this. I knew that there was something wrong, but when Devon was angry, I didn’t know how to talk to him. I admit he had every right to be: upset, stressed, distraught. I, too, felt all of these things. More than anyone.
“Nothing,” I finally released.
244
I started walking faster, away from him, but he touched my arm and gently pulled me back to his place.
“Sorry,” he cleared his throat. “Just don’t know what to make of my life anymore.”
That broke me. I could hear the shaking in his voice as one tear dripped down his cheek. I immediately stopped him and pulled him in for a hug. Devon was never much of a hugger; he use to be when we were little but I guess things change. I guess. Only this time, it was as if we were little. He pulled me in tighter, his body arching with each sniffle he breathed into my hair. I could feel the disaster inside his heart, as well as my own.
I pulled him away at arm’s length, but he couldn’t stop staring at the earth beneath us.
“Look at me,” I whispered.
He bit his lip and ran his fingers through his hair, using one free hand to wipe his eyes.
“We’ll be okay,” I forced a smile. “We’ve come this far.”
Devon shot me an unsatisfied smile, but hey, it was still a smile. As we made our way further down the hill, I felt different. It was a good different, like a sense of relief. We made it this far, it was true. Keep thinking this way and you might just believe it.
I saw Nate walking alone in the distance, playing with his knuckles while staring ahead. He was just behind Marrow and Lore who were discussing something that seemed awfully serious. I wanted nothing more than to talk to him, but I couldn’t. I didn’t know what to say. It wasn’t anything with Marrow, he shouldn’t have felt angered. Who are you to tell someone how to feel?
245
Who was I kidding? Only myself. I felt something for Marrow, something that I wanted to feel for Nate. That’s why you push Marrow out. Because you can’t keep him in.
I took a deep breath and made my way to Nate’s side. I conjured up the courage to ask this, no matter how much I didn’t want to. I popped the question.
“Are you okay?”
He didn’t say anything for a few moments, just continued playing with his knuckles in silence. God, this was awkward. Bold move.
I bit my lip and looked up at him. His eyes were still radiant blue and his hair waved over them like a roof.
“I’ll just leave you be I guess.”
As I was turning around, I felt his hand tug my arm and pull me into his body. No amount of heat ever compared to the warmth I felt in this very moment. His thumb brushed my lips as he tilted his head and kissed me. Well that was uncalled for.
I’ve never been consumed with so much energy before. The way he lifted my arm to put around his neck sent shivers down my spine. I wanted this moment, and only this moment to last forever. I didn’t care who was watching, not my mom, my brother or even Marrow. This was the kiss my body was waiting for ever since I met him, ever since I touched him. His hand cupped my face as he began to release.
He kissed me once again before moving away, and then removed the strands of hair that drifted to my face from the wind.
“Don’t leave, ever.”
246
Don’t leave. I was lost in a daze staring into his eyes when I jumped at the sound of Devon whistling.
“Let’s go!” He yelled.
I laughed under my breath, shaking my head. Nate and I met up with everyone who was at the bottom of the mountain. They were all staring forward which made me curious as to why. I guess I was still caught up in the moment because I missed the angelic beauty of what was presented before me. That’s amazing.
“We made it.” My mother gasped holding tightly of Mable’s hand.
In front of us stood a brass and gold gate, green vines intertwining between precise patterns. The gate must have been 15ft tall with spikes at the top. I noticed two towers on either side of the entrance, glowing blue and red.
“So, do we just walk in or?” Marrow asked.
“I have no idea,” Paul said holding on to Ethan.
He walked towards the gate and touched it, then immediately jumped back in a panic.
“What the –,” he yelled.
His hand was burning bright red as he limped over in pain.
“What happened?” Lore asked, grabbing hold of Paul’s wrist.
“Daddy, are you okay?” Ethan asked.
Mable walked over to Ethan and took him by the shoulders, moving him beside my mother.
All of a sudden, Paul started screaming frantically.
“My hand, it’s gone! What have you done?”
247
He dropped to his knees holding his wrist, swatting Lore away. Lore looked to Marrow who gave him a confused shrug and N
ate rushed to Paul’s side.
“What’s wrong, Paul?” he asked.
“Do you not see? My hand is falling off!” He exclaimed. “Help me! Do something!”
Oh, no. From what I could see, his hand was perfectly intact. It was still glowing red, but nothing was happening to it. It was still there. It’s an illusion. What is this place? Off to a great start.
Lore shook his head, pinning him down.
“Paul, your hand is still there,” he began touching his fingers and then palmed his hands together. “Breathe,” he released.
I watched Paul’s body lighten and his grey eyes close together. What was that?
“I really thought my hand was burning off,” he puffed. “I can’t explain it.”
Lore moved away from Paul and patted his back. “Illusion,” he mumbled through his teeth. Knew it.
A rumble rattled through the skies as a loud voice called down from one of the towers.
“Who goes there?”
I looked up to see a man in a white robe and dark hair. I couldn’t really see his eyes, but the light glared them to be red.
“We’re Enchanted from The Labyrinth,” Lore spoke calmly. “The Enchantress sent us.”
“Ordinary Enchanted?” The man demanded.
Ordinary? At this point I was confused. There were different kinds of Enchanted? I only knew us to be the only existing kind, whatever kind we were. I turned to look at
248
everyone else, but they didn’t seem fazed. Maybe it was just me. Like usual.
Before anyone could reply, the man with the dark hair vanished from the tower and reappeared right in front of the gate. I could see him clearly now; white drapes hanging around his body covering his feet, midnight hair the colour of Ethan’s and blood, red eyes.
As he raised one hand and closed his eyes, a red glow formed underneath his skin. This was the same red glow that appeared every time my arm would heat up. He opened his mouth and breathed out a line of fire inches away from all of us.
This man bore my element, fire. Only it wasn’t a line of fire like anything I have seen. Devon, my mother, Mable and I looked to and from each other in shock. I’ve made lines like this before, but not this strong, not this hot. The fire seared into the ground, burning the earth beneath us while the flames rose above the gate. I could now only see a shadow of the man with the dark hair, the intense flame separating us.
A transparent circle formed within the fire and the man spoke.
“Use your abilities to walk through the flame. Only then will I let you through the gate.”
Naturally, the first one to attempt was Marrow. He swirled a ball of liquid from his palms and shot it at the fire, but it only sizzled. He cursed.
“You’ve got to be kidding.”
Lore knelt down and began to trace a spell into the dirt to melt away the fire from underground, but the earth did not absorb the water. Nate stretched out his arm towards the water as crystal liquid sprayed out from his
249
palms, and again, nothing happened. Well, water was out of the question.
I watched as Paul raised one hand to the sky controlling winds, and of course nothing blew away the flame.
“What the hell do we do?” Marrow asked, unsatisfied.
I prayed to hear my father’s voice, but I only heard the whips of flames beating against one another. I turned to look at Devon who looked just as uncertain as I did. I didn’t know what to do, nothing came to me. Could we even do anything?
Devon and I have both drawn flames before, but never this strong. This was intense, a new spell that I have never seen before.
“Kneel down everyone,” my mother spoke as calm as she possibly could. Everyone looked distraught, including Devon and I. Excuse me?
“Mom?” Devon asked confused.
“Devon, Kaylin, come here,” she waved her arm beside her and Mable.
“Kneel!” She yelled to everyone else.
What are you doing, mom? I don’t think I would have done what my mother asked either, it came out of nowhere and I had absolutely no idea what she was doing. She interlocked my fingers with hers; her with Mable’s and mine with Devon’s.
For a second I was clueless until it hit me. It was genius. She was going to unite our power into one and blow away the fire.
And that she did.
250
It felt incredible, sharing energy, feeling all this power. As her whole body turned to crimson, I watched as sparkling grey ash powered out of her hands, diminishing the fire like a blast of water. I’ve never seen her do anything like this, not that she had a reason to. We’ve never had to come face to face with something that tested her ability like this. All of our ability.
I heard clapping as smoke subsided, revealing the man with the dark hair and red eyes. A smile crept upon his face, but it was not sinister as it was before.
“Impressive,” he spoke. “You have much promise, Lyle.”
My mother fell to her knees in gasping breaths, exhausted from the spell. This happened to me back in the cave, I knew the exhaustion all too well. I held her arm to stabilize her, pressing my hand to her tattoo to transfer more fire.
“Let us go now,” Paul demanded.
“As you wish.”
The man extended his arm as the gates creaked open. I didn’t know what to expect coming forward, but I know that we made it this far. That was a something.
One by one, we stepped inside hearing the golden gate close behind us. As I turned around to get one last look at the world I left behind, the world where Ann, my father, Beth, Sage, and Liz died, I realized that the man with the dark hair had vanished.
Chapter 16
It was like walking into a new dimension upon entering the gate. The aroma changed from ash to citrus wax and yellow daisies. I was standing on green cobblestone surrounded by dozens of small wooden houses with light mist floating from their chimneys. The beauty of this place was truly captivating; for a second, I forgot that The Enchantress had created it.
Mable tugged my finger as we explored around.
“Why is their coloured smoke coming out of the roof?”
252
It was only then that I realized each house had a different colour of smoke. It was either misty red, grey, chalk blue or green. Then it hit me: Enchanted did live here, the legend was true. The coloured smoke represented what element they possessed. Bright accusation.
“They’re Enchanted like us Mable,” I smiled and continued to walk.
As we approached what seemed like the main area of this little village, dozens of people came into view; people that I could see. There was no curse, they were not my father, they were normal. As some passed, I caught sight of their eyes. Each one had a different colour, like us. There were little shops and booths with fresh fruit where families gathered with their children. The smell of baked herbs filled the air as I explored the different areas of the main square. This is so much better than The Labyrinth. People are free.
I watched Nate, Marrow and Lore fight for a piece of fruit from across the plaza, while Paul, my mother and Ethan conversed with a family of Enchanted. Surprisingly, Devon trailed behind talking to a girl with blonde hair and tan skin.
I stared until he noticed me, and shot him a side grin. He rolled his eyes and continued talking to the girl. Mable still at my side walked over to a fruit stand.
“Can we get some, Kaylin?” She asked.
I followed shortly behind and patted her back.
“How much?” I asked the man behind the booth.
The man had white hair and grey eyes, but he did not look old at all. He smiled at me with crooked teeth and looked down to Mable, then to me.
253
“Ye, for ye two beautiful girls like ye-selves, free!”
Interesting accent. Mable’s face was wild with excitement as she picked up a circular dark orange fruit with pink seeds around the middle.
“What’s this, sir?” She asked.
/>
“Anything ye want it to be, ye!” He smiled, and hopped once.
I watched Mable stare at the fruit as the pink seeds formed into a golden serpent right before my eyes. What the hell?
Instantly, the world around me faded to black and I watched the serpent slither out of the fruit. I grabbed at my clan dagger and stumbled back, falling to my feet as the serpent overtook my body. It grew in size and bit at my neck, tearing flesh off my bones as I screamed in pain. Get off of me! Get off!
Reality.
I felt my whole body shaking and I was back to... the village?
I wasn’t dead?
Where was the serpent?
“Kaylin?” Mable asked with a worried smile, holding up the fruit as she looked to me.
I shook my head and looked at it again, the pink seeds formed around the middle like normal.
“Let’s go,” I told Mable, putting back the fruit. “Thank you.” I said once looking back at the man with grey eyes, scanning his movements.
Mable skipped in front of me towards Devon. All of a sudden I heard an echo ring through my ears.
“Told ye,” it said.
254
I turned around instantly to find the man with grey eyes staring right at me, with the tongue of the golden serpent.
***
Maybe it’s just an illusion, like what happened at the gate? Shake it off, Kaylin. I met up with Devon who was sitting on a bench with his arm around Mable. Goosebumps rose on my neck every time I took a look back to the man with grey eyes.
“I don’t appreciate your frivolous actions when I’m flirting with someone,” Devon joked, his attention still on Mable.
I bit my nails and turned around to look at the fruit booth again. Something was, off. There was something chilling in me, I couldn’t explain it.
“You okay?” Devon asked, taking his eyes off Mable and placing them on me.
Enchanted: The Labyrinth Page 20
