Everyone’s face showed puzzlement, everyone’s but Cris’s that is. What did he know? I glared at him. Cris smirked and rubbed the bridge of his nose while looking me in the eyes. My body felt like it went up in flames, but it was a pleasurable sensation. I shuddered and broke eye contact, shrugging the feeling off. I looked away and continued on with my speech, seeing as I had a silently captivated audience. “See, my blood mother thought it was in my best interest for me to have the “Seven Deadly Sins” living inside me. So, she had those hags put a part of the Traveller’s magic inside me. One of those awesome sins is lust!” I looked at my guys, waiting for the effect to hit its mark. “Basically, what you guys feel for me is more like lust than anything else. Oh, the looks on each of your faces! Well, if you think you’re freaked out about this, you have nothing on me. I am way beyond freaked. I have looked into booking myself into a mental institution after this is all over. That’s how close I am to breaking.”
I crumpled to the ground, releasing the silent spell with a flick of my wrist, and then I started to cry. I knew how I looked, but I didn’t care. Sometimes, you hold so much inside— anger, hurt, self-loathing and disappointment—that you have this breaking point when nothing you do or say can stop you from exploding. That was my breaking point. The bad thing is I feel like I have a lot of breaking points.
Mom rushed over to my side and hugged me. “It’s going to be ok…”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Charlie
I felt someone touch my shoulder. I looked up and saw my dad. He was giving me his silent support like he has always done. I sucked in a deep breath and pushed myself up.
“The first thing I am going to do after we save Nikko is get these damn sins out of my body. That way, I will finally know who I have feelings for and who has them for me. Let’s face it, I'm not the only fish in the sea, nor am I the only one with amazing powers. I’m just the one with lust! Plus, let’s be real, why would this many guys want someone like me?” I pointed at myself, not giving anyone a chance to say a word. I was getting good at that. “Precisely.” I exhaled, feeling warm with embarrassment. “Well, I guess it’s time to ring the bell.”
I pulled the cat’s tail. The top of its scalp pulled down, and you could see the cat’s skull. The cat let out a horrible screech, and I stumbled backwards, letting the tail go.
“Steady there, Kiddo,” Dad said, holding me up.
The door swung open, and I smiled.
“Fair maiden, I ken it haes bin awhile sin ye hae seen me, bit please… There is nae need tae fall at mah feet!” The fairy, Prince Reese, said, grinning joyfully.
Charming as ever and dressed to kill, Reese’s long, red hair was pulled into a ponytail, and his ocean green eyes seemed to twinkle. He had a velvet emerald cap and black leather pants, his feet bare. I looked around Reese and noticed Thorn right behind him. Reese stopped abruptly, causing Thorn to run into him. Reese gave the chameleon a look and then he rolled his eyes. I snickered. Thorn huffed. I thought Thorn was fascinating; he had the magical powers of a chameleon; therefore, he could change what he looked like whenever he wanted. That would be anyone’s dream. Right now, though, he was just Thorn, the nerd.
“Mah lassie, tis wonderful tae see ye again,” Reese said, clasping my hand.
I hugged him. “Hey, Reese.” I pulled back and playfully punched him on the shoulder. “Good to see you, and not behind bars.” I laughed.
He gave me a nod. “True, but we must git down tae why ye are here. A’m afraid that ye can only take three escorts with you on yer journey through the fairylands. But no need tae worry. The rest will be safe while they wait for yer arrival. Ah do apologize, but ye must choose, and be sure ye choose wisely.”
I swallowed hard and looked over at my traveling party. I knew I didn’t want my parents coming; I wanted them to be somewhere safe. But for the life of me, I couldn’t pick. I didn’t want to let anyone down. “Besides my parents, because I’m sorry Mom, Dad, you guys are staying here, who wants to come with me?”
It seemed that everyone wanted to come, everyone but my mom and dad. Sure, I’d told them to stay behind, but I was expecting some resistance. Dad chuckled. “Don’t make that face, Kiddo. We know you are in good hands. Plus, no one is as kickass as our Charlie.”
I smiled, feeling reassured. After deliberating, we decided to draw straws.
Zeb said, “Even though I believe I should be the one accompanying you, I concur to this stick-drawing-straw-game.”
I giggled, shook my head, and then I said a little spell to bring straws into existence. “Educare addo vita!” A yellowish flame washed over my hand, leaving behind six straws. “Okay you guys, whoever gets the shortest straw stays behind. Now, draw.”
After everyone pulled out a straw, I compared them. Asher, Jace and Cris were coming with me. I looked over at Tru, and I felt small and helpless all of a sudden.
“Give me one second, Reese. Okay?” He nodded. I took Tru by the hand. “Can we talk?” I asked, pulling him away from everyone. Tru’s big hand felt warm and reassuring. He gave my hand a gentle squeeze as I turned to him. The look on his face nearly broke my heart, and his words were crushing. “C, that’s all I’ve wanted to do. Talk. Explain my side of the story.”
I exhaled warily. “I know, Tru. I know I haven’t given you that chance.”
Tru’s face turned red, and his eyes took on a yellowish glow. He growled, “No, you haven’t at all! You’ve fuckin’ pushed me to the side as if what we have… had… was nothing to you! I've been searching my mind, trying to understand what the hell happened. I was here.” Tru pointed to his heart. “I wasn’t here.” He pointed to his head. “I couldn’t stop what was taking place. Do you believe me?” Tru pleaded with his eyes.
I swallowed the lump that was stuck in my throat. I felt tears threatening at the corners of my eyes. “I know, Tru. Your grandfather told me as much. He said that you were under a spell or something.”
Tru ran a hand through his hair, looking frustrated. “All I remember is waking up and… Well!”
“Yeah, I get it.” I ducked my head, and Tru pulled me into his arms. It felt so good to have him hold me like this again. I wanted to go back to the way things were before, but I knew I couldn’t, not until I had Nikko back and The Seven out of me.
Tru inhaled. “C, to know that I have hurt you the way I did… I love you, C! I would never do anything like that to you by my own free will. I know you now have some foolish notion that I am only with you because of The Seven, but I have loved you from the moment your body crashed into mine. When I saw you, I knew I wanted to spend every last minute with you. I wanted to be that person that made all your dreams come true.”
My breath hitched. Tru never really said he loved me, not the words, I love you. My chest felt like it was expanding and collapsing at the same time, my heartbeat a disjointed pulse of Yes! No! Yes! No!
“Tru, I can’t say those words to you right now.” I looked down.
“C”—Tru tilted my chin—“I never said you had to. I just wanted you to know how I felt.”
Tru took my hand and placed it over his chest where I knew the howling wolf was. Slowly, he ran his hand up the back of my neck, grabbing a fistful of my hair, and yanking my face up to his. Without a word, Tru possessed my lips as if he was a dying man in need of water. He drank from me with passion and need. Pulling back, Tru hugged me to him as if he would never let me go.
Tru pulled away, smiling sadly. “I think it’s time. Besides, the guy with wings is looking a little agitated. It could be from the fact that everyone is watching us, or that one kid, he is standing a little too close… like an extra limb.”
I looked over at Reese and Thorn and immediately started laughing. Thorn had his permanent scowl on to detour anyone from delaying too long.
“Yeah, come on, I think you’re right. If Thorn gets any closer, he might be wearing Reese’s body as clothes.”
***************
Everyone was gone except
for my three guys, Reese, Thorn, and me. I was feeling a little nervous going into this. I didn’t know what would happen, and I didn’t want to screw up my chances of saving Nikko. I’d already done that once and I sure as hell didn’t want to do it again. Reese explained that I would have three trials to go through before I reached his father’s kingdom.
Reese told me that once I enter through the gate, I would begin my first challenge. When I asked if every outsider had to go through challenges just to speak with the king, he shook his head. Reese told me that his father was simply testing me. With his final words of safe travels, he left. I was pissed. I couldn’t wait to finish and tell the king how I felt about his little game that he wanted me to play.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Charlie
As I stepped through the gate with my three guys behind me, I heard a popping sound, and the next thing I knew, I was standing in an all-white room. Though, honestly, it didn’t even look like a room. There were no walls and no floor. The only thing that made it look remotely like a room and not some blank canvas was the row of doors directly in front of me. I was also alone. I looked around, but all I could see was vast nothingness.
“Hello? Reese? Your Majesty? Hello? Okay, if this is a test to see how long it will take before I go crazy, I’m about to be there!”
I heard a monotone voice say, “Welcome to the white hall of illusions. Welcome. Welcome. Welcome.”
I blinked, and then the next thing I saw was some kind of fairy floating in front of my face. I shook my head and took a step back. The creature was fascinatingly beautiful. It had two sets of horns. The first set looked fleshy, with red and white lines rising up from the being’s eyebrows and curling over its head, almost touching the second set of horns. The other set looked as if they were made of metal with black and silver lines. The horns started where the ears should be, but in place of the ears, there was a red, heart-shaped jewel. The rest of the creature’s body was the same as the metal looking horns, except for her white hair, golden eyes, and red lips. Even her wings looked as if they were made up of metal.
“Welcome!” it said again. “This is the hall of illusions. I am Echo. I will be helping you to find your way out. Welcome. The game will begin when I say ‘go’. You must find your way out of this room before your time runs out. You have ten minutes, and you have only ten minutes. Once your time is up, you will be trapped in the hall forever. Go!”
The creature was gone, and in her place was a clock, counting down the time. My mouth fell open.
“What the heck? How am I supposed to get out of here when I don’t know what the hell you want me to do?”
I heard a zipping sound, and there was Echo, leering maliciously. “Pick a door…Any door. Pick a door…Any door. Once the time runs out, your game is over. This is an illusion. This is an illusion. This is an illusion.” She held out her arm, indicating said door, and then she was gone.
I had a bad feeling I was going to have nightmares of her voice when I got back home. I looked at the line of doors and sighed. Which door should I pick first? What if it’s not the right door? What will happen if I lose?
I knew I didn’t have time to think about it, so I decided to start with the very first door. I opened it, and I didn’t see anything. I closed my eyes and shut the door. For some reason, I knew this door wasn’t the right door.
Echo sang out, “No… Don’t like it? Are you sure? Don’t you want to find out? No…Don’t like it? Are you sure? Don’t you want to find out? This is an illusion. This is only an illusion.”
I shook my head, thinking that if someone stayed in this white room for too long with Echo, said person—me—would be like a dog that hasn’t seen its master in a really long time. Psycho. I was already feeling it. I was already in the white room. I was only missing the jacket. Shrugging, I headed over to another door and pulled it open.
I heard Echo say, “How about this one?” But then the next thing I knew, every door I could see started opening. “Or this one? Or this one? Or this one? How about this one? This is an illusion. This is an illusion. This is only an illusion.”
I yelled, “That’s enough! If you’re not going to help, then for the love of-fill-in-the-blank, please shut up!”
“You don’t want my help? You don’t need my help! That is fine I will go, but remember…”
I said, “Yeah-yeah-yeah. This is an illusion.”
I looked at all the open doors. There were ten. I glanced at the time that was quickly counting down. Suddenly, it felt like I was choking. Panic seemed to take on a physical form and wrap its tentacles around my neck. I knew it really wasn’t there, but I was so worried that I was going to fail Nikko. I coughed, gritted my teeth, and pushed this irrational emotion away. I stalked to the next door. I was on a mission to crush this and get the hell out of here. I peered inside the door, immediately impressed and relieved by the beauty that captured my eyes and who was waiting there for me. Jace was standing on rolling, green hills as far as I could see with a breathtaking backdrop of clear skies in every shade of blue.
Jace waved at me and walked to the door. “Hey, Charlie, come on. This is the way out.” He reached out his hand, palm up, for me. I looked at him, and it didn’t feel right. I remember Reese telling me not to trust anyone, not even the people I knew. Jace cocked his head to the side. “What Charlie? You don’t trust me? Come on, this is the way out. Trust me, Charlie.” He thrust his hand out again, urging me to take it.
I looked at him. My hand was hovering above his and shook my head, slamming the door in his face.
Yeah, that was so not my Jace. My Jace would have smiled or been frantic for me to hurry up. My Jace would have called me “Fox”!
I looked at the clock, it read 5:59 and counting. I closed my eyes, sucked in a deep breath, and moved to the next door. Inside the room there was nothing but blackness. I was about to turn away when a spotlight came on and there stood Tammin, smiling her Cheshire Cat grin. My mouth fell open. I moved it up and down like a fish out of water, but nothing seemed to be coming out.
“Hey there, Charlie girl. Look what I’ve got!” She held up a little black box and wiggled it in front of me. “Yeah, Nikko is good and safe. I brought him here for you. I had to sneak away from Kate, but I did it. All you have to do is step through this door and voilà! He is free. Whatever the elders told you, they lied. You know I’m on your side, girl. I’ve always been on your side.”
I nearly jumped up with joy. Yeah, I had a very naïve and foolish moment. If she wanted me to have Nikko, he would have already been free. I glared at her in frustration and slammed the door. This is an illusion. Why do I keep on forgetting that! I moved on to the next door. It was a red room, from the floor to the ceiling, and in the middle of the room was Kate with one arm wrapped around my mother’s sternum and a sharp blade pressed to my mom’s neck.
I took a shaky step towards the door, dread clawing at my insides.
Kate narrowed her eyes at me. “If you take one more step, I’ll slit Janet’s throat and laugh as her warm blood covers my body.”
I hastily stopped. My voice shook. “Mom, you’re going to be okay… Okay?”
I felt my body trembling with rage. I hated Kate, more than I have ever hated anyone. God, why did this have to be a sick twisted game that the fairy king cooked up? Why couldn’t it be a magical fight? Now that I know how to use my abilities, they’re taken away from me! Ugh!
With a steely voice, my mom ordered, “Do as she says, sweetie, and don’t come in here. I’ll be okay. No matter what, you need to listen to me. It’s all an illusion. Do not believe anyone!”
“This is an illusion! This is an illusion! This is an illusion!”
“What?” I asked confused. “If this is an illusion…why wouldn’t you want me to come in and help you?” Tears started to well up in my eyes.
Kate guffawed. “I’ve changed my mind. Do come in. If this is indeed an illusion, nothing bad will happen to her... Or will it? I think you
should come in and get an up close look for yourself as I cut her pretty skin. Besides, don’t you want to say your goodbyes before I rid your mother of her very existence?”
This was some really screwed up shit. First, she warned me off, and now she’s inviting me in.
Mom cried out, “Charlie, I don’t want to die. Please save me!” She began to cry.
I stood there, unmoving, hating everything about this sick, twisted game.
Kate cocked her head to the side. “Oh, are you not going to save your mother? Come now, child, can you truly be that cruel? Maybe there is hope for you yet!”
With those last words, Kate slit my mother’s throat. Blood spurted out from my mother’s neck in an arc of bright red, splashing all over Kate and covering the floor. My mom reached up to stop the blood flow, but it was too late.
She looked at me one last time with hurt and disbelief. Her lips parted, but all I heard was a wet gurgling sound. I watched horrified as my mother’s face took on an expressionless look and her lifeless body went limp-toppling to the floor. I looked up at Kate, my eyes wide with disbelief. She smiled at me, took a handkerchief from her pocket, and began cleaning off my mother’s blood from her face. I slammed the door and crumpled to the floor. I didn’t care that my time was dwindling away. I didn’t care that this might all just be an illusion. All I cared about was that I just let my mom die in front of me.
How could I go on? I was a failure in all things! How could I live with myself? What would I tell my dad? Why? Why? Why?
Sobs racked my body as I wept for my beautiful mother, who I could have saved.
Silent screams flooded my mind: That couldn’t have been the right door! That couldn’t have been the right door! Please, oh please, don’t let that be the right door! This is an illusion! This is an illusion! This is an illusion!
I stopped crying and listened, I mean I really listened this time.
“This is an illusion! This is an illusion! This is an illusion!”
A Ghost of Magic: Chosen Saga Book 3 Page 13
