by Kristen Day
I returned my attention to Phoebe, “After I’m in the river, take Carmen back down to the marsh and wait for me there.”
“What if you get into trouble?”
“If I’m not out in thirty minutes, you and Carmen should continue to the Gates without me and get out as soon as you can.”
“No. I’m not leaving you,” she frowned at me in disagreement.
“You have to take care of yourself and Carmen. I’ll be fine.” I placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.
“You should listen to her, Phoebe,” a cynical voice responded. Her slight frame stood amongst the white vines; a smug look on her young, angelic face.
Bianca.
Chapter 36
“Bianca?” I whispered in bewilderment. “But…”
“But what?” she raised her eyebrows at me.
“You aren’t allowed to be here.”
“It would appear the rules don’t apply to me,” she shrugged and flashed a devilish grin. She was wearing the same blue dress, but any trace of blood and gore had been erased. Her shy, timid persona had been replaced with a confident, aggressive imposter, but the clearness of her voice was evidence that Nadia was not influencing her.
“You were always the favorite,” crowed another voice. We spun around to see none other than Priscilla standing to the other side of us.
“Priscilla!” Carmen cheered joyfully, “Look guys, she’s not really dead!”
“Carmen, be quiet!” Phoebe hissed. I shifted my baffled gaze back to Bianca; struggling to comprehend what was happening.
“You know each other?” I asked Bianca incredulously.
“Don’t you see the resemblance?” she cross-examined; matching my incredulous tone. I looked over my shoulder at Priscilla and then back at Bianca. How could I have been so blind?
“Cissy,” I muttered in disbelief. Bianca was a Siren…just like Priscilla. Bianca had died twenty years ago. If she were alive, she would be about Priscilla’s age. A thick cloud of dread hovered above me as understanding hit hard. Priscilla was Bianca’s twin sister.
“You didn’t really think I hadn’t stayed in contact with my own twin sister, did you?” she mocked me as she pouted with feigned compassion. “Oh…you did.”
“You lied to me,” I accused her, still in shock. Her betrayal cut deep.
“You made it so easy! You wanted to believe I was scared of Nadia. You wanted to believe I was lost. You wanted to believe I was your friend.”
“Quite presumptuous, if you ask me,” Priscilla cackled.
To my surprise, Phoebe spun on her heel and snarled at her, “Nobody asked you.”
“I am only loyal to Nadia.” Bianca looked past me and winked at Priscilla, “And my sister.”
“The monster who stole your soul?” I questioned her faulty logic.
“There’s a monster?” Carmen whimpered in a child-like voice, before Phoebe silenced her with a harsh look.
“She didn’t steal it,” Bianca glowered at me. “She saved it. She takes care of me.”
I turned my questioning gaze onto Priscilla; still wondering how they couldn’t see Nadia for what she truly was. “And what about you? Did Nadia ‘save’ your soul as well?”
“Not all of us can be as amazing as my sister. I strove to be what Nadia expected of me while I was alive, but she believed I would be more useful in my soul form. And she was right,” she beamed; proud of herself. ‘Delusional’ apparently ran in the family.
Keeping her green, calculating eyes on me, Bianca meandered out of the vines and drifted closer to Phoebe and Carmen. I noticed Priscilla advancing on me; strategically trapping us in the middle. I kept the conversation going as I tried to figure out what to do. I had no idea what type of weapon would work against body-less souls. If they were already dead, how could I kill them? But if Nadia simply stole their souls, did that mean they were actually dead? Too bad there wasn’t an instruction manual to go along with the Underworld. Then, another thought came to me as I narrowed my eyes at Priscilla.
“What about the Sirens? Are you not loyal to Keto anymore?”
“Of course!” Priscilla hissed at me. “Who do you think brought Nadia to Lorelei in the first place? Keto chose me to help Nadia!”
“Of course she did,” I muttered; my tone heavy with sarcasm. Inside, my blood had reached its boiling point. Keto wasn’t as noble as she had led me to believe. She wasn’t going to wait until I was immortal to challenge me. Instead, she had brought in reinforcements; Nadia being the supreme choice.
Priscilla moved even closer, “They will both be quite pleased when I tell them we’ve gotten rid of not only you, but two other annoying Tydes as well!” At this, I stepped towards her.
“Leave them alone!” I demanded through gritted teeth. Priscilla nodded at Bianca, who immediately closed her eyes, opened her mouth, and began to sing. Although I had heard a Siren’s song before, Bianca’s was unlike anything I’d ever experienced. The seductive notes were impossible to ignore, as they wrapped around me like a vice grip and filled my mind to capacity. I instinctively centered my energy and pushed the song out of my mind and away from my body. Unfortunately, I knew Phoebe and Carmen were still completely vulnerable. As her notes reached several octaves higher, Carmen collapsed in pain. Phoebe quickly followed; clutching her ears and writhing in agony.
“Stop it!” I screamed at Bianca, at the same time that Priscilla wrapped her arms around me.
I was able to free my left arm, and I punched her as hard as I could in the stomach; causing her to loosen her grip just enough. I pushed her off of me and ran at Bianca. Her deep green eyes opened with the speed of light; shining with vengeance and welcoming my attack. Her image blurred as she continued to sing and I was knocked down by a pulsing shockwave that exploded though my mind and scorched my eyes. Thrashing on the ground, I squeezed my head in an attempt to rid myself of the painful spasms. Smaller shockwaves now pinpointed the front of my brain; severing all activity and paralyzing me. Fighting past the insufferable sharp pangs, I was able to crack open my eyes and shuffle onto my hands and knees. I began to crawl towards Bianca at an agonizingly slow pace, as the screams of Carmen and Phoebe became more desperate.
The air was suddenly knocked out of me as Priscilla’s foot connected with my stomach; sending me crashing over on my side and gasping for breath. As Priscilla pushed my shoulder down and prepared to hit me, I bent down and wrapped my shaking fingers around the handle of my dagger.
My trace quickly warmed at its proximity, but the aquamarines and diamonds felt cool in my palm as I unsheathed it from my boot. Waves of energy and calm determination shot up my arm and into my heart; helping me to push out Bianca’s unrelenting shockwaves as well as to throw Priscilla off of me.
I scrambled to my feet as she tried again to grab me from behind. I spun around on her and sunk the dagger into Priscilla’s shoulder with a quickness that surprised even me. She screamed and released me; crumbling to the ground.
Bianca suddenly stopped singing as she saw Priscilla on the ground, gripping her shoulder in anguish. Her deep green eyes became inflamed and a fierce anger took over her features. I noticed a light layer of smoke tendrils lifting from her transparent skin. Evil; just like Nadia. As I watched Bianca advance on me, I spotted Carmen and Phoebe lying motionless on the ground in my peripheral vision. As Bianca reached me the anger in her eyes changed to a burning hatred, and I noticed that the smoky tendrils were growing in height. Before I could move, she tackled me to the ground and slammed my skull against it; muting my senses and sending a black cloud of numbness around the edges of my vision. Pulling power from the stones of the dagger’s handle, another surge of white hot energy coursed through my veins and I successfully pushed the darkness back. She slammed my head into the ground a second time, and then produced a smaller knife from her dress pocket.
I caught her wrist as she swung it down towards my chest with fury. I struggled to shove the dagger away from me, and inadvertently met
her frenzied gaze. Her lips lifted into a vengeful smile and out of nowhere, an idea hit me. As I held her gaze, I concentrated on centering my energy and reached out to her mind. Just as I’d hoped, her smug expression morphed to shock as a litany of images flashed before my eyes. A tall woman with flowing blonde hair. A young boy smiling and laughing happily. Her own body covered in blood. Nadia’s face. A younger Priscilla running alongside her. Nadia lashing her with some kind of glowing whip. My own face, confused and terrified.
“Get out!” she yelled, as she snapped her eyes shut and recoiled in an attempt to rid her mind of my spying eye. I took the opportunity to rip her off of me and roll on top of her. The dagger in my hand warmed as I held it above her, prepared to plunge it into her chest. I was met with the frightened eyes of a young girl; vulnerable and defenseless.
“Please Stasia, don’t send me there! Please!” she screamed in terror.
I faltered as her fear washed over me, and a momentary pang of sympathy stalled my anger.
With her features returning to the young, innocent face of a girl, I hesitated a second too long. As I began to pull the dagger away from her, she laughed demonically and stuck her own dagger into my stomach. Pain exploded from the newly formed wound, and my rage returned with a vengeance; strengthened by the added layers of betrayal. I lifted the dagger easily and brought it down into her chest.
“No!!!” I heard Priscilla scream behind me. Bianca’s eyes closed as she quickly began to fade below me. Her form shrank from human, to the familiar thin ribbon of silver; which appeared to then be sucked up and away towards an unknown source. I held a hand over the bloody cut in my abdomen and struggled to stand. Priscilla was doing the same, with the intention of attacking me again. I then dragged myself and half-stumbled over to Phoebe and Carmen, who were still unconscious.
“Phoebe! Carmen!” I shook them frantically. Phoebe finally groaned and made an effort to open her eyes when I felt it. A prickling cloud of cold, aching evil wrapped its tendrils around me and tightened; slicing my skin and yanking me down to the ground. I struggled against it, but only succeeded in cutting my skin further.
“I’m really getting tired of you,” Nadia materialized beside me, glaring down at me as I lay helpless on the ground. Her eyes flitted up toward Priscilla with icy hate. “And you.”
With a flick of her hand Priscilla screamed, sunk to the ground and began to fade. As her soul morphed into a silver ribbon, she followed the same path as her sister and disappeared from sight.
Nadia muttered something with irritation and then faced me. Her golden eyes flashed as her skin and hair sparkled of gold. It was more apparent than ever that she was connected to the Underworld. The evil tendrils floated off her skin, alluding to the firing inferno that burned just below the surface. She wore a tight bronze skirt with a flowing white blouse that highlighted her golden skin. She shook her head at me.
“I suppose if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.” She glanced at Phoebe and Carmen, rolled her eyes, and growled, “Get up.”
With another flick of her hand, they were swiftly hoisted to their feet; instantly regaining consciousness. I watched as Phoebe’s anger began as a slow simmer within her narrowed eyes, and then roared to life as she attempted to move and couldn’t. I froze in fear, as the white vines at the bank untwisted and slithered towards my roommates. Shaking myself mentally, I struggled against the tendrils that held me down as the taunting vines curled around their legs, torso, and arms with painstaking slowness. Carmen receded further into herself as she looked on in eerie silence. Phoebe struggled against the death grip of the vines, but Nadia only succeeded in looking bored.
“Leave them alone!” I yelled at her. “They don’t have anything to do with this.”
“You did this,” her eyes sparkled with madness as her words caused a memory to resurface.
“This is your fault. You killed them.”
“No!!” I screamed. Nadia just smiled and flicked a finger at Carmen and Phoebe. Instantly, the vines tightened and cut off their ability to breathe. Carmen’s eyes bulged while Phoebe continued to struggle.
“Carmen! Phoebe!” I called out to them, feeling utterly helpless and inadequate as my roommates were strangled to death. Nadia glanced down at a non-existent watch on her wrist.
“Time to go,” she claimed, as if we were simply late for an appointment. She flicked a finger at the vines again, which promptly lifted Phoebe and Carmen off the ground. I felt myself also being lifted as the evil tendrils continued to slice through my skin. “I’m taking you where you belong.” She brushed her hair off her shoulders, smirked at me in victory, and snapped her fingers. “Hell.”
Chapter 37
Silence. It precedes many things. The punch line of a joke. The deafening boom of fireworks. A much deserved standing ovation. For us it preceded a terrifying experience that we would never, and could never, forget. The moment Nadia snapped her fingers, we were transported somewhere that no nightmare, no fear, no dark corner could ever compare with. It truly was Hell: Tartarus.
“Stasia?” Phoebe whimpered quietly next to me.
We found ourselves standing on parched soil that was blacker than black; staining everything it touched. Our clothes were quickly covered in the suffocating soot and I could feel it collecting in my lungs. But Nadia and her evil vines had disappeared. It took me several moments to register our surroundings; being that I had never seen anything like it before. Suspended at least twenty feet off the ground were thousands of tormented souls; held captive. From the sky, a thin rope of fire attached to a shackle circled their necks. From the ground, a similar rope of fire stretched upwards; securing their ankles. Both ropes were pulled taut, leaving each soul vulnerable and helpless. I could feel something that resembled evil, but it was much less organized. It felt more like a boiling madness that pressed against me; poking and prodding to wiggle its way in. I pushed it away and envisioned my mental barriers so that I could think straight. I also felt an overwhelming hopelessness that was threatening to suck the energy out of me.
“Phoebe, don’t move,” I warned her in a low voice; unsure as to what would happen if someone or something figured out there were three new residents.
“Make them stop screaming!” Carmen screamed at the top of her lungs in agony. She clutched her head and squeezed her eyes shut; crouching down to her knees. I glanced at Phoebe, who was attempting to comfort her with a pained expression. The screams of the souls were apparently lost to us. I could see their grotesque mouths stretched open as they struggled against their binds, but all I heard was silence.
“Why don’t we hear them?” Phoebe glanced up at me with trepidation.
“I don’t know,” I whispered, feeling completely defeated.
“Make them stop!” Carmen screeched again, even louder.
“We need to get her away from them,” I advised Phoebe. I closed my eyes and sent out some intuitive feelers in the hopes I could sense which direction we needed to travel. To the north, west, and south I felt only more madness and hopelessness. To the east, I felt a slight trickle of light that washed over my skin like a breath of fresh air.
“This way,” I instructed Phoebe. She pulled Carmen upright and we both supported her weight as she continued to fight against the screams. We half carried, half dragged her for what felt like miles over the scorched earth. At last I could see a clearing up ahead, but I had a foreboding feeling that it wasn’t necessarily a good thing. Once past the forest of screaming souls, Carmen was able to walk on her own; but completely drained and still in shock, she remained unresponsive. We held her hands and continued to walk. I noticed that the trace on my arm had grown murky and dull under the weight of delirium surrounding us. The wound from Priscilla’s dagger and the slashes from Nadia’s evil had stopped bleeding, but the damage had been done. Every move stretched and reopened each one, which burned incessantly and sent sharp pains along my skin.
We arrived at a wall of misshapen
branches that arched towards the sky and then fell back down to the parched dirt; creating hundreds of scraggly tunnels. A layer of a black, moss-like substance hung over most of the branches; preventing us from seeing more than a couple of yards within. This stretched out all the way to the horizon in both directions, and appeared to be our only option. I closed my eyes again and felt that same sliver of light, and knew that we were heading in the right direction.
“Carmen, do you think you can make it through here?” I asked her; enunciating my words to make sure that she understood. I felt like I was speaking to a toddler as she continued to stare at me blankly. Her warm dark eyes had turned distant and lifeless; void of any comprehension or emotion. I sighed and gestured for Phoebe to follow me. We knelt down and began to make our way through the maze of branches and trees. Beneath the canopy of black moss, the world became shaded and bleak.
A mildew stench filled my nose and a slight burning irritated my eyes. I sensed something around us and caught glimpses of things that darted in and out of the shadows; stalking us. We pushed on, climbing over and through branches; often tripping on camouflaged roots. The presence I felt began to multiply, and I knew that we were being followed by not one, but a group of….something. I could feel their elation, as if anticipating something.
“Did you see that?” Phoebe whispered in terror, as a shadowed figure dashed in front of us.
“I think we’re being followed,” I informed her in a low voice. All of my senses switched to high alert as a hair-raising scratching sound filled the air. Carmen stopped dead in her tracks and became rigid, as she stared at a spot in the distance with an expression that gave me chills. She looked…possessed.
