by Suzi Davis
“Caoilinn?”
I hesitated only a second longer before releasing Sebastian’s hand and gliding forward to accept David’s firm yet cold grip.
“Thank you.” I spoke coolly, my head held high as I managed with surprising grace to climb out of the boat and onto the dock, coming to a smooth stop by Nathaniel’s side. He took a small step back from me.
Once we were all off the boat, David led the way up a small path leading away from the river and winding up the steep hill. It felt more like we were in the jungle than in Greece with the thick grasses and trees around us and the steamy, humid air that seemed to be suffocating us all.
We walked in silence, the Others occasionally muttering comments back and forth but never loud enough or long enough for either Sebastian or myself to overhear. We had all worked up quite a sweat when we finally approached a hillside village several kilometers away from the river. I was surprised when David took a fork in the path that led us away from the village and around to the hill that rose up behind it.
“The Necromanteion is an underground temple, hidden within the hill,” Sebastian whispered to me as we walked. No one tried to stop us from talking so he continued in a low and soft voice. “In ancient times, people would come here in hopes of conversing with the dead. They would stay underground in the tunnels for days, fasting and given nothing to eat or drink except for hallucinogens from the priests. Then they were brought to the main chamber, into the Underworld itself to gain knowledge and wisdom from the dead. Many did not survive the trial or were half-mad by the end of it.”
Someone cleared their throat loudly behind us and we fell into silence once more. Sebastian’s whispered words of this place’s dark history echoed through my mind and haunted my thoughts as we continued hiking up the trail.
The trees grew more sparse, the grasses taller and drier, the earth rockier and bare. Up above us, not even a quarter of the way up the hill, rose an arched entrance of large, squarish-shaped stones, marking the entrance to the Necromanteion and the Underworld.
David marched ahead and through the entrance. We had no choice but to follow.
“This is just one of the many entrances,” Sebastian whispered in my ear as we approached the intimidating archway. “This hillside is full of caves and tunnels, many of which lead to the Necromanteion temple and its chambers within. I don’t imagine tourists typically enter by this route or travel too far into the tunnels. One could easily become lost for days.”
I didn’t respond. I told myself it was because I was out of breath from the heat and the steady hike, and that it wasn’t fear that was choking the words in my throat and sucking away my breath.
I found myself following David through the archway and into the shadows beyond. The air immediately felt cooler than outside and goosebumps arose all over my body while my eyes adjusted to the darkness. The Others took out flashlights and lanterns as they entered behind us, the beams of light weakly fighting against the heavy, consuming darkness. We shuffled forward in single file, approaching a steep and narrow staircase that disappeared down into the depths of the Earth.
“Watch your step,” David cautioned as he began descending the stairs.
My breath was loud in my ears as I followed him, my heart pounding in my throat. I used one hand to feel along the rough, jagged stone walls as I slowly took the stairs one at a time and with the other hand I tightly gripped onto my necklace as if holding onto life itself. Its warmth was an invaluable comfort in this cold and dark place.
The staircase seemed to go down forever. I had no idea how deep we were when we finally reached the bottom. It abruptly ended and we came out into a narrow and low tunnel that had been carved into the rock itself. David marched straight ahead, barely waiting for us to keep up as he navigated the many twists and turns and led our group ever deeper into the bowels of the Earth.
After some time, I thought I saw the soft, flickering glow of firelight ahead. After spending so much time in the thick, impenetrable darkness I thought at first I might be imagining it, but sure enough, as we rounded the next bend in the tunnel we found ourselves approaching a large cavern that was filled with the flickering light of many pitchy torches.
“David, welcome.” A beautiful Asian woman stepped forward to block our entrance, her surprisingly tall figure and striking beauty imposing. She had beautiful, jet black hair that flowed to her waist and small, perfect features with large, dark eyes that dominated her face.
“Lily,” David answered with a slight nod of his head.
She smiled in response and lifted a navy-blue cloak over his shoulders, fastening it with a large, golden clasp. It was similar to the thin gray cloak she wore but hers had a smaller, silver clasp.
“Please, join the other Originals,” she gestured with her head to the far side of the large, shadowed cavern where three other cloaked figures stood waiting. Even from this distance, I recognized Angelina’s slighter figure amongst their midst.
Sebastian and I were ignored as the Others slowly stepped forward. Jai was also given a navy blue cloak and was instructed to stand with “the Originals”. Nathaniel, Darius and Charlie were given gray cloaks and moved to stand at one side of the large chamber. The remaining two from our group (Francois and Krystos) greeted Lily with polite nods and then moved to take their places on the opposite side of the chamber where a girl with dark-skin and short, black curly hair stood with a stout-looking young man who had longish, sandy blonde hair – none of them wore cloaks.
I glanced around the huge chamber, fighting the fear clawing at my stomach and the panic that was threatening to overtake my tentative focus and wavering calm. The Others had formed a half circle, the Originals in their blue cloaks in the middle, the gray cloaks to the left and the plain-clothed ones to the right. Their faces were all expressionless as they watched Sebastian and I with cold, accusing eyes, the torches causing shadows to flicker across their frighteningly beautiful faces. Despite the torchlight, the cavern was filled with darkness and shifting shadows, the archways carved into the rock above us disappeared into mysterious blackness as if we really were standing upon the boundary of the living and the dead. I could almost believe the spirits of the dead were gathering here; I felt Mags’ presence in the torches’ flickering flames, and I imagined Walter’s accusing eyes peering down from the thick blackness above me. I tried to push these thoughts away but was still acutely aware of them. The air was colder down here and there was a musty scent in the cold, damp air that made me want to gag – it was the smell of death. I was terrified but I tried to embrace my fear and accept it. I would use it somehow, I promised myself.
“Seamus, Caoilinn,” Lily murmured our names softly. The ice in her voice was challenging, despite her gentle tone. Her quiet words echoed unnaturally around the chamber, bouncing back upon our ears in a harsh clash of noise. “Step forward.”
We had no choice but to obey as the Others wanted us to. Sebastian took my hand and escorted me forward into the center of the half-circle that the Others had formed. We held hands with a grip that was tighter than usual. My fingers dug into Sebastian’s hand in a way that was both desperate and intense. I wished that I would never have to let him go but I knew our time together was ticking away on its final countdown.
Lily stepped around us to take her place with the other four Originals. Once she had joined them, one of the two men I didn’t recognize stepped forward, his dark brown hair cut close to his skull, his square jaw and rigid stance all gave him a military appearance. He fixed his narrowed dark eyes on Sebastian, completely ignoring me.
“Seamus Maitiu Coghlan, you have been summoned here today to stand trial and bear punishment for your crimes against The Order,” he intoned in a loud and booming voice. I steeled myself against the sound, refusing to shrink back from him.
Sebastian smiled wryly. “It’s nice to see you too, Oscar.”
“You created The Order and then you attempted to destroy it,” the other man I didn’t know spoke u
p, his words bitter and his contempt clear. He wasn’t as handsome as the rest of the Others, though he was still attractive in his own way with his wavy blonde hair, hooked nose and wide-set, blue eyes.
“The Order was never meant to be,” Sebastian calmly agreed. “Surely you can see that, Jonathon. Haven’t you all questioned your existence at some point throughout the years? Haven’t you all wondered who you really are and why you are here? Haven’t you felt how unnatural, how immoral your powers are and questioned whether it was right for them to have ever been granted to you?”
“You attempted to erase the memories of your fellow brothers and sisters. You manipulated us and used us to fulfill your own wants and then abandoned us when we no longer met your needs. You hid the truth of our abilities and potential from us, and you broke your sacred vows to The Order – the vows that you swore upon with your life.” David spoke slowly and calmly, his eyes holding Sebastian’s steadily. There was an emotion hinted at behind his cold, hard accusations that I thought might be betrayal and pain. I wondered if I were merely imagining it.
“You manipulated and confused my thoughts. You aided Magdalene in keeping Caoilinn and I apart. You erased my memories, distorted my perceptions of the truth and took from me a vow that would never have been willingly given,” Sebastian answered just as evenly. I could see the anger rising in his eyes and I sensed his sudden fear.
It was a tense moment. David and Sebastian’s eyes were locked together, the Others all waited in silence. The only sound was the occasional crackle from one of the torches and my own breathing that sounded unnaturally loud in my ears. I couldn’t stand it any longer.
“What vow?” I asked. My tone demanded an answer, my words echoing ominously around the chamber that more and more, was feeling like my tomb.
All eyes turned to me except for Sebastian’s. He continued to glare steadily at the five Originals before us – his accusers, judge and jury.
“Seamus made a vow before both the five Originals and the four members of the Second Order.” Oscar indicated the four others standing to our side in their gray cloaks. “He vowed that he would never reunite with Caoilinn. He swore that he would never combine his powers with hers and share in her strength and secrets. He promised that he would never abandon The Order for her and if he were ever to do so, he vowed to gladly pay with his life.”
A chill ran down my spine, paralyzing my whole body with fear. The sudden look in David’s eyes made my blood run cold.
“It is time to live up to your grand words,” David murmured to Sebastian. His expression was strange, a mixture of regret and cruel anticipation. I watched in horror as Darius stepped forward from the side of the circle, reaching for Sebastian. What was even more terrifying, was that Sebastian made absolutely no move to run or to fight. A silent scream tore through me, shaking my whole body and ripping up and out of my throat to meet my silent and motionless lips. But I couldn’t move or make a sound either – I could barely breathe. And abruptly I knew, that Sebastian was about to die.
Chapter Eighteen – Silence and Darkness
I didn’t notice Lily come up beside me until she placed her small hand delicately on my arm. She seemed to be particularly wary not to touch my skin, her touch so light on my shirt sleeve that her fingers seemed to almost float above it.
“You must step aside now, Caoilinn,” she instructed me. She only had to apply the slightest pressure on my arm to get me to do what she wanted. I was both terrified and infuriated to be manipulated with such ease. I had spent far too long feeling powerless and afraid. For years I had let my parents and my peers dictate my life and make decisions for me. And for months now I had been running non-stop, constantly afraid for my life and Sebastian’s, never able to relax or to go home. I was done with being frightened, I was finished with quietly standing by and letting others control my life. A power was steadily growing inside of me along with my righteous rage, the silent flames of which were both familiar and long-forgotten.
Lily led me to the side of the half-circle. I let the fire continue to build within me, my eyes blazing down on Darius and Charlie who had now joined David. I watched in horror and outrage as they each took one of Sebastian’s arms and threw him to the ground. Sebastian didn’t resist. His skull met the hard, rock floor with a loud and sickening crack. Images flashed before my eyes at the sound, the nightmarish memories of last winter when he had been attacked and had nearly died cutting through my mind and severing the last of my doubt. My necklace blazed against my chest, my anger grew to consume my remaining fear and yet still I was unable to move, unable to speak, absolutely powerless still to resist the Others or to aid Sebastian in any possible way. I could do nothing but watch.
Darius and Charlie each knelt on one of Sebastian’s arms while Krystos stepped forward to hold Sebastian’s legs. There was no humor in his dark eyes now, only the solemn shadows of death.
I watched in mute horror, hardly able to believe what was happening as the five Originals moved forward, each pulling a large ornamental knife from their robes with curved blades that were obviously sharp and more than ready to be used. There was something strikingly familiar about those knives. Something stirred deep within me at the sight of them, my stomach clenching, my breath catching in my chest. My mind flashed backwards in the blink of an eye and the knowledge struck me with terrifying certainty – those were the same knives that the Sisterhood had used to murder Caoilinn with. I had no doubt in my mind that those weapons had been provided by Mags, probably to carry out my own murder. I could imagine her outrage at learning they had been turned against Sebastian, though it would be but a pitiful spark against my own fury that raged barely within my control.
My mind worked rapidly and calmly as I watched the five Originals surround Sebastian. The torches flickered and dancing shadows stretched about the cavern like demons creeping through the dark boundary between the world of the living and the world of the dead. I knew I had to do something. I could feel that Sebastian was hanging on the cusp of life and death right now. Time slowed down and weighed heavily upon the air. I could almost count the seconds he had left to live. I was the only one who could possibly save him but what was I supposed to do? There had to be an answer, there had to be a way. But how? I was certain Caoilinn had left me a clue; that the myth of Ireland’s Earth Mother was meant to save him somehow. I knew that I should have learnt something from the tale, that she had meant for me to come to some kind of realization… that I could end this all… by somehow sacrificing myself or…
I gasped. Only Lily who stood the closest to me heard the soft sound, her eyes flickering my way suspiciously. The realization hit me and with it came a cold and powerful control. The fire in my heart turned to ice. There was absolutely no doubt in my mind anymore – I knew exactly what had to be done.
“Stop.” I spoke clearly and calmly, my voice commanding more attention than it ever would have if I yelled. Whether it was because I wanted them to or not, the Originals stopped their advance on Sebastian and all eyes were suddenly on me. Their faces betrayed little emotion but I could sense their surprise. I took two steps towards them, not yet close enough to interfere but near enough that they knew I was no longer bound by their control, not entirely at least.
“How is she…?” I heard Nathaniel whisper.
“Silence! Focus!” Oscar yelled, his loud, drill-sergeant’s voice echoing around the chamber and into the darkness above.
“Calm yourself, Oscar,” I chastised, frowning in disapproval. “You have no need to be alarmed. Your wants no longer prevent me from aiding Seamus as I no longer wish to save him,” I calmly explained.
The Originals stared at me with disbelieving eyes, the others watched in astonishment and disbelief. Sebastian lay on his back with his eyes tightly shut and his lips moving rapidly as if he were speaking to himself. I was worried for a second that my nearly perfect imitation of Caoilinn had once again confused his mind, but I abolished the thought almost the instant it occur
red; I didn’t have the energy to spare to worry over it. At this point, it was much more important to save Sebastian’s life now and worry about his sanity later. And besides, it would be better if he were confused, if he didn’t truly understand what was going on until it was too late for him to stop me.
“I don’t believe you,” Jonathon stated flatly, narrowing his eyes as he stared down his bent nose at me.
I shrugged, indifferent.
“She lies!” Angelina chimed in. The others remained silent and expressionless.
“He has made too many mistakes, done too many wrongs and committed too many crimes against us all. For that, there is a price he must pay and I want him to be punished,” I coldly pronounced. Sebastian’s eyes opened as my words seemed to have finally broken through his mad mutterings. He arched his back slightly and tilted his head back, staring up at me with confused and disbelieving eyes. It would be hard for any of them, including Sebastian, to doubt my conviction, my absolute honesty because I wasn’t lying. I would speak no words but the truth – this couldn’t possibly work otherwise.
The five Originals slowly lowered their knives but they did not put them away or step back. David watched me with suspicious eyes, the shrewd intelligence within them shining brightly.
“What kind of trick is this?” he demanded.
“I speak to you nothing but the truth. I no longer want Seamus to be my eternal companion – it was a mistake right from the start. I never truly wanted him this way. I needed friendship, companionship – I wanted to find another like myself, so I created one.”
“No, stop! Don’t do this Gracelynn!” Sebastian called out as he suddenly seemed to guess at what I might be doing. Before he could say anymore, Darius ruthlessly kicked him in the side of his head, leaving his head rolling from side to side and his eyelids flickering as he struggled to remain conscious.
“What do you want, Caoilinn?” Jai asked softly, speaking for the first time since we’d entered the chamber. His gentle brown eyes probed into mine, willing me to speak the truth.
