I drown in old memories and cannot move.
“Run,” he says. He grabs my hand and drags me toward the river.
Kepyrs flow from their homes: families with noisy children, elders and leaders. The witch, Laruna, hobbles out of her hut in a robe of blood red. An elaborate headdress denotes her elevated station as Priestess. She sees me and shrieks. “Enchantress!”
Children cry amid the confused shouts of their parents.
Laruna screams again. “Catch her. Bring her to me.”
My stomach twists. I do not understand the fear that slams into me from these strangers. My legs shake so hard I cannot move.
Daniel hauls me forward. “Come on.”
I force my reluctant legs to move. I dare not look back, but feel the warriors and guards closing in. Arrows and spears strike the ground around us.
Eighteen: The Escaping
We dodge between and around hut after hut. Unarmed villagers and children flee from us, screaming. Daniel stumbles, pulling us both down on the rock-strewn dirt.
“I’m holding you back,” he says.
“Do not give up.” I pull on him, my nerves raw. “Our only chance of escape is the river.”
Laruna screeches behind us, issuing commands that echo through the valley. “Kill boy. Bring me Enchantress.”
I shut out her voice.
Daniel trips again. “Sorry.”
An arrow whizzes into the rope over my shoulder. I yank it out. “Stay low.”
The sun rises in crimson glory. My hair floods with light and I streak ahead with renewed energy. I cannot control a circle of light to protect us while we run.
Daniel lags, holding his head. He gasps. “Save yourself.”
Exhaustion reflects in his pale face and I snatch his hand. “Not without you.”
“I was wrong about you not having courage.”
“You were not.”
“Only a girl would argue at a time like this.” He smiles and a little light of hope shines from his eyes.
“Unless you want to die, run faster,” I warn.
Blood oozes from his right arm.
“Are you hit?” I ask.
“Do you count the arm and head wound when they captured me?”
I laugh, despite everything. It feels good to release the knot in my stomach.
A muscled warrior leaps in front of us. “Do not move.” His drawn arrow points at Daniel’s chest.
We freeze. I feel the vibration of pounding feet through my boots and know there is not much time before we are completely surrounded. I point my finger at the warrior, struggling to control the energy. Thin light blasts into his chest. He screams and crumples. I hope he is not dead. There is no time to find out.
A dozen warriors rush us whooping and screaming. They halt when they see their downed companion.
I throw a bolt of lightning on the ground to warn them.
They slow, yet still circle, their weapons aimed at us.
I whirl around, sweeping my finger across each one. They shriek and collapse, surprise frozen on their faces.
“Wow,” Daniel says. “I’m impressed.”
“Come on.”
We dash around a larger, elaborate hut. A huge warrior guards the entrance, his crossed arms holding a dagger. My light flashes into him. He grunts and sinks to the ground. We run past and Daniel picks up his knife.
I can feel the surge of the river, even though it hides behind a hill.
Daniel slumps to the ground. “Too dizzy. Can’t make it.”
Many more warriors rush over the hill, shouting. I cannot take the chance that they will kill Daniel before I can hit each one. I enclose him in my arms.
He pushes me away. “Go. Leave me.”
An arrow thumps into the fur of my sleeve before I can protect us with light.
A fierce shriek pierces the air. Bryntar jumps out from behind a huge rock on the other side of the river. She splashes through the water in rapid leaps.
The villagers shriek, terrified.
The warriors turn and see her. A massive warrior releases his spear. The silver-pointed tip of the shaft glitters in sunlight before it thuds into her shoulder.
I scream.
Bryntar wrenches out the spear as if it were an annoying twig. Blood spurts, bright against her fur.
Fury surges through me. Bolts of white-hot energy sizzle from my hand and blow the warrior apart. I whirl around, ready to kill everyone.
Bryntar screams. “No, Elandra!”
I concentrate on her face, wondering how I could live without her. I shake in barely controlled anger. “Do not shoot another arrow or I will kill you all!” I glare at each Kepyr. Lightning bolts fly from my fingers on the ground between the warriors. The deafening explosions of light, dirt and rock make them prostrate themselves before me.
Bryntar grabs us and runs to the river. “Swim.” Ripping the rope from me, she throws us into the water.
The cold makes my bones ache instantly. Without the rope to weigh me down, I fight to stay submerged. Arrows slice through the water and float away on the swift current. I strain to see Daniel far under me, kick hard toward him and seize his shirt. We rise to the surface.
Daniel gags and coughs up water.
The witch screams. “Kill. Kill. Kill.”
Warriors run alongside the river. Spears slash by our heads.
I yank Daniel underwater.
He shivers and swims hard next to me. We dare not surface and stay under until he pulls on me and shoots to the surface.
“Don’t you breathe?” Daniel gasps, coughing up water.
“Not air.”
“Leave it to me to fall for . . .”
Rough hands drag me underwater. I fight to free myself. Arms crush me tight against a muscled chest. I reach for the knife in my belt. It is gone. Instead its sharp edge touches my throat.
A warrior drags me to the surface. “Fight me, I kill you.”
“You are dead,” I say.
He laughs and presses the knife into my neck.
I ignore the slight cut of the blade, knowing my power can kill him, especially in the water. I worry the shock will kill Daniel, too. I sag and let the warrior haul me to shore, trying to think of a way to get free.
Suddenly, the river bleeds. Arms release me and I float away from my captor. Daniel releases the dagger that sticks through the warrior’s throat. He gathers me close and I wonder why I want him to hold me forever. “Did he hurt you?”
“Not much.”
He trembles. “We have to get farther away.”
The river takes us quickly and I wish we could ride it all the way to the ocean and far away from the island. Guilt bites deeper than the cold. Daniel killed to save my life. I killed from uncontrolled anger. I am a murderer and it sickens me.
We float away from our destination. The Ice Mountains mock me before they disappear from view. I hope Bryntar escaped and is not far behind us. I watch the shore as the current takes us farther and farther downstream.
Daniel grows weaker. “Sorry. Not gonna’ make it.”
His hand slips from mine. Frantic, I snatch at his fingers. Water slaps me in the face and fills my throat. I cough, reach for him and grab his wrist. It takes all my strength to drag him ashore.
The bitter wind hits my skin. I cannot stop shivering as I haul Daniel through tall, thin trees and behind dense bushes. Drained, I cover our trail and stumble back to him.
His face is white, green eyes dull with pain. He smiles faintly. “Even with your superpowers, I would have taken you on a date.”
“What is a date?”
He closes his eyes.
“Daniel!”
Chapter Nineteen: The Surprising
I place my hand over Daniel’s chest. Nothing. I cannot feel his heart beating over the thumping of my own.
“Daniel. Please wake up.” I lay my head next to his heart to hear its faint, erratic beat. “Tell me how to help you.”
My every nerve
aligns with Daniel’s. I smooth the wet hair from his face and touch the swollen bump on his head. An unfamiliar chill streaks to my fingers and I jerk back in surprise. The sensation disappears. I touch the throbbing wound with my whole hand and feel nothing. Try my fingertips again. Icy tingles stream into Daniel. I tremble and blink in disbelief as his wound begins to heal. When my fingertips start to burn, I yank them away. The heat fades.
The clear vision of Taroc’s finger touching my forehead tightens my throat. The light was so bright before he died, I had forgotten until now. Did he transfer his healing power to me? My choice to become normal washes me in doubt.
My fingertips run along the jagged cut on Daniel’s arm. I am grateful to feel the warmth of his blood, the connecting of tissue and muscle, the sealing of his cut. When the burning starts, I know the healing is finished. Tears drip down my face.
“I’m not dead, yet.” He sits up and wipes a tear from my cheek.
Relief rushes through me when his color returns. His eyes penetrate my very soul. My heart beats in time with his. He leans over and his lips touch mine, so gently I think I am melting. The island, the cold, the fear vanish in the safety of him.
He stops the kiss.
My lips part in desperate need. He pulls me into his arms and kisses me again. The melody of my heart sings as we spiral into an unknown peace.
I am confused by the need to be one with Daniel and never want to stop kissing him. A precious joy intermingles with growing heat and scares me. Yet there is also purity. And with that knowing comes the calm acceptance that I love Daniel. With everything that I am. I do not know when or how it happened. I only know it is true.
Daniel stops the kiss first. He caresses my hair. “You are so beautiful.”
I ache with fierce longing.
Feelings of being less than a man and the inability to protect me rise in him.
“Please do not feel unworthy.”
He chuckles in surprise. “It’s almost like you can read my mind.”
I lower my eyes, a needle of fear shooting into my chest. “It is similar.”
He stands up, wobbles and gains strength. “What?”
I cannot lie to him. “I can feel you.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I cannot read minds. I feel thoughts, even physical pain.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“We had no time. Then you ran away.”
“You should have told me.”
I drown in his growing anger. “I cannot control it.”
“Learn how. My feelings are none of your business.”
I tremble.
He starts to walk away. “Don’t think our kiss meant anything to me.”
“Where are you going?”
“Away from you.”
How can you leave me after what we shared? Hurt, then slow anger flares. I choke on
my words. “You want to leave the one who risked her life to save you? To heal you?”
His eyes dart to his arm. Pride overruns his feelings. “Stay out of my head.”
“I am sorry. I cannot help the way I was born. It is hard to separate my feelings from those of others.”
He stares into my face with a stranger’s eyes. “Try harder.”
I shudder at his disgust.
“Can you read my feelings now?” he asks.
I dare not answer.
“Control yourself.” He stomps off.
Is this the same Daniel who kissed me? We shared a moment I will never be able to forget. I do not understand how his feelings can change when mine have not. A heavy darkness wraps itself around me. I think of Bryntar. How can she cope with the loss of Taroc after loving him for nine hundred seasons?
A faint drumbeat flows on the wind. I cringe, abruptly aware of movement in the trees. I push Daniel behind a bush and clamp my hand over his mouth. He shoves me away.
Bryntar leaps out of the trees.
“Bryntar.” I jump up and throw myself into her arms, the only real place of safety I have ever known. I do not care that the rope around her shoulder rubs my face.
She winces and pulls away.
“I am sorry.” I reach up to touch her bleeding wound. “Do not move.” Cool energy streams into the gash.
Her eyes fill with silver tears. “Taroc gave you his gift?”
“Only in my fingertips.”
“That is enough.”
“Super girl kills with a single blow and heals the sick,” Daniel says. “Why not fly us out of here while you’re at it?”
I avoid his eyes. “Only birds fly.”
“Not in my world.”
Bryntar glances at us. “Kepyrs not stop.”
“We need a safe place to rest,” Daniel says.
“How can we hope to escape them?” I ask.
“We outsmart,” Bryntar says.
The endless beat of the drums increases in volume.
“Let’s get out of here,” Daniel says.
Bryntar plunges through the trees.
Daniel ignores me and hurries after her.
The drums batter my broken heart.
Chapter Twenty: The Hiding
There is no escape from my connection to Daniel. No matter how hard I try to dismiss it. I pretend to ignore him.
The sun pours heat from above and dries our wet clothes. Too soon, I wish for the cold river and take off my coat and boots. I dare not remove the metallic shirt that protects my heartbeat from Aru. The constant beating of drums makes me want to scream. I trudge after Bryntar. “How much farther?”
“Until dark,” she says.
My stomach twists in emptiness. I cannot swallow for the dryness in my throat.
Spindly trees change into barren hills and sparse grass. I am more nervous than ever, being so exposed. I hate the hot metallic shirt, the clothes under my arms, the next hill, the sharp rocks and Daniel, for he talks only to Bryntar. Smothered in sweat, I am relieved when fluffy clouds swarm over the sun. Their giant shadows give me the illusion of protection. Will I ever feel safe again?
The drumbeats stop abruptly. Silence is welcome, yet my bare feet still feel the vibration of our pursuers. “The warriors are not far from us.”
“Terrific,” Daniel says.
“Run.” Bryntar leaps up a hill and disappears. Daniel vanishes after her.
I rush to the top and look down in dismay. Bryntar and Daniel stand before a wide impression that spreads as far as I can see, as if something massive fell from the sky and crushed the land. Thousands of trees grow like deformed bones and carve through tangled marsh and brambles higher than my head.
Heartbeats from within the swamp crowd my senses. Of the places I have seen on this island, this one scares me the most. I hurry down the hill. “We cannot go in there.”
“You gotta better plan?” Daniel asks.
“It is too dangerous, Bryntar.”
“I know,” she says. “Only chance.”
Daniel points to the Kepyr warriors racing over the rise. “Our chances for survival just hit zero.”
My skin crawls.
“Stay alert,” Bryntar says. She plunges downhill through a gap in thick, mangled trees.
Daniel moves faster than I do and disappears after her.
I glance back at the advancing warriors and push through the trees. My bare feet squish into warm mud and decay. The droning of insects saturates the air. I slap away the stinging bites.
“Wait,” Daniel says. He stares at the clothes in my arms. “Put on your boots. They can protect you from snakes and ants.”
Pleased that he has any thoughts about me, I slip my muddy feet into the soft fur and take a step. It is difficult to walk. Mud sucks with every step.
“What if we get lost?” I ask.
“I will get us out,” Bryntar says.
“Unless we die first.” Daniel snatches a branch and bats away a large colorful frog that leaps toward me.
I wince. “Why did you do that?”<
br />
“Stay away from anything with bright colors.”
“Why?”
“Color means poison where I live.” His shoulders slump.
“How will we escape the warriors?” I ask.
Bryntar shakes her head. “They do not follow. Surround bog and wait.”
“Great,” Daniel says. “Why trudge through this muck and get killed when we get out? Let’s end it. Where’s the quicksand?”
“What is quicksand?”
“You’re going to save the island? I feel so much safer now.” He glares and adds, “Enchantress.”
I flush at the hated name and scowl at him. “Do not call me that.”
“Since you can’t fly, I’m not sure Angel fits.”
Bryntar pushes between us. “What is problem?”
“Nothing,” Daniel says.
I turn from him so he does not see my face. I will not give in to tears.
“Stay close. Walk in my footsteps,” she says.
“Ladies first,” Daniel says to me. He bows.
I stomp past him. Sour air stings my nose. I swipe away a swarm of buzzing insects. Dense vines choke reeds, roots and plants. A sudden shaft of light brightens the many patterns of green and brown, unexpected and beautiful. Until the ground looks like it moves. Spiders and bugs crawl everywhere. I shudder when a bird shrieks in agony.
Daniel laughs. “Welcome to the bog.”
I glare at him. “Do you know how it feels to experience death?”
“Only the loss it brings. That never goes away.”
I try to detect a glimpse of sympathy. There is none or he hides it well. I wish I knew how he stops his feelings.
Rain trickles overhead and pours in a sudden deluge. The sound is a welcome relief after the continuous buzzing.
“Drink while you can.” Daniel opens his mouth to the rain.
Bryntar and I do the same.
When I finish, an unexpected pink flower catches my eye. I take a step to breathe its fragrance.
“Stop!” Daniel yells.
Slime sucks me into a mucky hole so fast that I barely close my eyes and mouth in time. I sink fast. Brown sludge drowns me. I cling to the heavy coat and sink deeper, unwilling to give it up in hopes of reaching the Ice Mountains. There is a sudden tug on my hair. Please, please be Daniel. I move slowly upward.
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