by S. L. Morgan
“I am not leaving you, my love,” Levi answered, and then called for Jasmeen to get Reece a remedy for her pain.
After Jasmeen returned, Reece stared at the bottle she held as if it would harm her. “Reece, it’s a salve that will help with the pain.” Levi said as he took the offered bottle from Jasmeen.
She shied away from it and pushed Levi’s arm away. “Please, don’t. I don’t want anything,” she said, as she looked at him fearfully. “Levi, I’m so scared.”
What is happening to her? Levi thought in absolute confusion, wondering if somehow she was truly losing her mind. As distressed as he was seeing her in torment like this, he forced himself to ignore his emotions. The only way to help her was to try and get answers from her, and see if he could figure out what was going on.
“Tell me what it is you are afraid of.” he asked.
She leaned back into Levi’s embrace. “It’s so strange. It’s like all of this is hitting me in waves. Before, I didn’t recognize what was going on, but now I can tell when it’s going to happen.”
“When what is going to happen?”
“I will be terrified of you, I will hate you, and I will hate myself for hating you. I will want nothing more than to be away from you and this place. When those emotions hit me, I have to fight them. That’s what I’m doing right now, and I don’t know if I can keep fighting this.” She rubbed her head. “My head feels like it’s going to explode when I fight these dark emotions.”
Levi was at a loss, and before he could speak, she jerked away from him abruptly. He watched as she crawled on her hands and knees to the middle of the bed. She cradled her knees to her stomach and started to rock back and forth. She began to moan as tears streamed down her face.
Levi couldn’t bare the image of her torment. “Reece—” he said, as he reached out to her.
“Don’t!” she snapped. “Don’t touch me.” Her eyes were black with fury.
Levi lost track of time as he watched her rock back and forth, moaning in torment. He sat in silence and listened as she quietly mumbled to herself. He tried to discern what she was saying but was unable to.
Suddenly, Reece collapsed back onto her pillows, and her expression was now peaceful.
She reached her arm out toward him weakly, “I love you,” she said breathlessly.
Levi’s brow creased. “And I love you.”
She crawled back into his arms. “I am feeling so much better now. I think I may have fought it away.”
Levi ran his fingers gently through her hair, something still wasn’t right about her demeanor. “That is good to hear. Is there anything I can get you?”
“No, stay with me. Talk to me, in case it happens again.”
Levi looked down into her eyes and noticed the blankness in them.
“Levi, talk about something, please,” she said desperately.
“I wish we were still in Greece,” he answered. “Oh!” he said as he reached into his pocket. “Here’s your souvenir.” He laughed as he handed her the shell he retrieved from the ocean floor.
Reece looked at the shell and smiled faintly. “Thank you, will you place it on the table for me?”
Levi set the shell on the table, fairly surprised that she showed no interest in it.
Reece looked up at him, “So have they decided what is going on with that other world?”
“No. We still cannot decipher why they would wish to gather an army, as if we were planning to invade them.”
“If the Guardians chose to battle them, how would you fight them? How much better are the Pemdai warriors than theirs? Would you win?”
“Currently, we would not. Until Samuel calls in all the Guardians, we are outnumbered against their army. It is why we would never invade their lands at the present moment.”
“If you weren’t outnumbered, how would you fight them?”
“Armedias is similar in their lifestyle to the Pemdai. We would battle with swords and bows.”
“So you will fight with swords and bows?”
Levi became concerned by all the unnecessary questions Reece was asking of him, but still proceeded to answer her.
“We would mainly fight by the sword, if we had to. We are trained on the bow; however, it is not our preference.”
Reece laughed. “So you are not well trained in that skill?”
Levi pulled away and looked down at her. It almost seemed as though he were talking to someone else, and not Reece. “Why are you so overly concerned with the way we would battle Armedias? The Pemdai have no desire to battle, and we will not. I do not wish to frighten you with all of these unnecessary details. Is there something else we can talk about?”
Reece’s eyes were like flint when she jerked away violently and glared at him. “I think you should leave!”
“Reece you are no condition to be left alone.” he said sternly.
“I’m fine, I want to rest.” she answered.
Before Levi could respond, Jasmeen entered the bed chamber. “Simone is here to call on Reece.”
Levi stood from the bed, “Reece desires to rest—”
“Send her in!” Reece blurted out.
Levi looked at Reece in confusion as she smiled smugly at him. “You can leave now.”
Levi turned and exited the room without another word to Reece. When he encountered Simone in the sitting room, he looked at her darkly. “Reece desires your company.” he said flatly. “However, she is unwell, so I ask you to make your visit as brief as possible.” he commanded.
Simone nodded, “Of course.”
Levi studied Simone for a moment, “I’ll be in my father’s office if she needs me.” He said as he turned to leave.
Relief washed over Reece after Levi left, and Simone walked into her room.
“Simone!” she said with eagerness as she got out of her bed. She gripped both of Simone’s shoulders in desperation. “I need your help. I need to leave Pemdas.”
Simone smiled. “I have a horse waiting for you.” she reached for Reece’s hand, and led her away from the doorway. “In an hour, set out for an evening walk. I will meet you out in the forest where the creeks divide, the location where you always take your walks.”
“An evening walk?” Reece asked. “This isn’t a game Simone, I have to leave, now!”
“Reece, the palace staff will notice you leaving. You must not arouse suspicion.” She wound her arm through Reece’s and walked slowly back to the door. “Now, simply set out for an evening stroll, as you’ve been known to do, and I will handle the rest from there.” Before Simone left, she instructed Reece wait ten minutes before following after her.
Reece spent her time waiting, writing in her journal. Ten minutes had passed before she left her room discreetly. No one was around, and she strolled out to the forest without being questioned.
As promised, Simone was waiting with a young man about Reece’s age, and a Guardian horse. Simone abruptly approached her. “If you still plan to leave, then you must not waste another second.” She looked at the man. “Make haste, Mr. Prather.” Simone said with a smile.
Reece gazed up into the man’s eyes, realizing it was Mark Prather from the Hamilton’s ball. “Mr. Prather, thank you so much for helping me!” she said desperately.
“Reece!” Simone snapped. “We waste time! Both of you must leave now!”
Mark Prather quickly mounted the horse, and offered his hand to help Reece. Once Reece was settled on the horse, Mark heeled the stallion, and they galloped rapidly through the forest.
It wasn’t long after they left that Reece felt the negative hold that had taken over her vanish. As the oppressive feeling left, her rational thoughts returned. What am I doing? she thought as they rode further away from the palace. She feared for her life, and had to get back to the palace somehow. She considered jumping from the horse, but they were moving too fast. Her body trembled with fear, knowing that she was in imminent danger. Her only chance was to jump from the horse. She released her grip on
Mark, but gasped in pain when his clenched down hard on her wrists, pulling her tightly against him.
“Hold on, we are crossing over the barriers.”
“Where are you taking me?” she yelled.
Mark ignored her and then a bright light flashed, nearly blinding her. When her eyes readjusted, she realized that her surroundings had completely changed. “Where are we?” she demanded.
Without the glowing nature of Pemdas, she could hardly see anything. She started fighting Mark’s hold on her, but was unsuccessful. Think, Reece. Don’t panic!
“Well—well—well!” she heard a raspy voice call out loudly, as the horse slowed to a walk.
“The plans were executed flawlessly, My Lord Visor, sir.” Mark proclaimed as the horse stopped. “You will be extremely proud of Lady Simone as well.”
Lord Visor? Michael Visor? She looked around and noticed they were surrounded by an army of men. I’m in Armedias! she thought, as her heart started pounding. She screamed when she was jerked from the horse’s back, and her arm was twisted in a tightened grip.
She looked up as Michael leered at her darkly. “It’s been too long, hasn’t it?” He glanced up at Mark. “What are you waiting for? Go! Get Simone out of there before someone realizes the little Pemdai princess is gone.”
At Michael’s orders, Mark turned and rode away briskly. Reece pried her wrist out from Michael’s sturdy hold, and ran as quickly as she could. She had no idea where she was going, but she had to get away. She wasn’t far before a strong hand seized the back of her neck and forced her to stop.
“Not so fast, little princess,” the man said with a laugh.
He held her neck tightly, paralyzing her where she stood. “You’re Michael Visor?” she managed.
“The one and only.”
“Get your hands off of me,” she demanded.
He gripped her hair, and yanked her head back. “Or what? Your boyfriend won’t be helping you this time. As a matter of fact, our armies are already prepared for the arrogant Pemdai to come get their little Key.”
He started marching her back toward the camp of Armedite soldiers. She knew she had to get out of this, and she started fighting him with every last bit of energy she possessed.
“Let me go!” she screamed.
It was the last thing Reece remembered saying before everything went black, and she woke up shivering on an ice-cold, stone floor.
Levi struggled to maintain his focus while his father, Samuel, and the other Guardians discussed the reasons Armedias might have for planning war. Sitting in this meeting seemed pointless to Levi; he hadn’t heard a word anyone was saying. He should have never left Reece alone in Simone’s care, and as hard as he may have tried, he couldn’t suppress the inward feeling that something wasn’t right.
Without dismissing himself properly, he stood up, and left the room abruptly. He walked swiftly through the corridors to her room, hoping he was wrong about the danger he believed Reece was in. As he raised his fist to knock, the door to Reece’s room opened.
“Jasmeen?” he said, somewhat startled.
“Master Levi,” she answered, her eyes wide with fear. “I was on my way to send for you and the emperor this very moment.”
Levi maintained his composure. “What has happened?” he asked, as he brushed past her into the room.
“She’s not here, sir,” Jasmeen said in a shaky voice. “I went to offer her and Simone some tea, but they were gone.” She handed Levi leather-bound journal, “I found this lying opened on her bed.”
“What is this?” Levi said, as he flipped through the pages.
“It’s her journal, sir.”
As Levi skimmed the pages, his heart nearly stopped when he read her first journal entry. Impossible, he thought as he fanned the pages and found the last thing she documented. His fists gripped the leather journal tightly after he read that Simone had offered to help her leave Pemdas.
Levi’s heart began to beat rapidly. “Inform the emperor, and tell him that I have sent you. I must see if there is a way I can track them before it’s too late.”
Levi exited the room hastily, and nearly ran over Harrison in the corridor. “Levi? What has gotten into you?”
Levi shoved the book into Harrison’s chest. “Reece may have left Pemdas, and I have to find her.”
As Levi started to walk past him, Harrison grabbed his arm. ”Hold on a minute,” Harrison said, as he stared at Levi in confusion. “What makes you think that?”
Levi glanced down at the journal. “The last page of that journal states that Simone offered to help Reece leave.” Levi ran his hand aggressively through his hair. “This was directly after she ordered me out of her room in order to be alone with Simone.”
Harrison stared at Levi in disbelief, “Why would you leave her alone with that woman?”
“Harrison!” Levi glared at him darkly, “We have no time—”
“If these writings are true, how could Simone have helped her leave Pemdas?” Harrison interrupted Levi as he flipped through the pages. “There is no possible way—” He stopped himself, and looked somberly at Levi. “Michael,” he said gravely, “she used his horse!”
This can’t be happening. Levi rubbed his forehead in distress. “I should have let Javian destroy that horse!”
Harrison’s expression darkened. “We must locate Reece immediately.”
“I will find Reece! You must interrogate the woman from Armedias.”
Harrison looked at Levi in confusion. “The priestess? What could she possibly have to do with any of this?”
“Read Reece’s first entry. She writes of a nightmare that she had. She describes the exact scenario between me and the priestess on Earth.” He stated. “Harrison, I never told her about that confrontation. I only informed her that the Armedite had read into my mind!”
“If what you are saying is true, how could the priestess have gotten into Reece’s mind like that? Her mind is protected; our devices can’t even alter it.”
Levi shook his head. “Her mind may be protected against our devices; however, don’t forget that the Ciatron were able to use their powers of mental persuasion on her successfully. I believe that the priestess has done the same thing. The priestess took over Reece’s mind, and persuaded her to leave Pemdas!” Levi turned to leave. “Just speak with the woman, and do whatever you can to get answers from her. I must go.”
“Rest assured, I will get the answers we need from her,” Harrison said.
As Harrison disappeared down the steps that headed toward the command center, Levi walked briskly through the corridors. He stopped to ask the palace guards who attended the doors if they had encountered Reece. They informed him that she had taken her usual walk into the forest.
Levi ran quickly in the direction the guards pointed him. There was hope in his mind that they were not too late, and Reece was still in Pemdas. His confidence was shaken when he discovered the fresh hoofprints of a Guardian horse in the soil before him. He knelt down and pressed his fingers along the edges of one of the prints. After examining it, it was obvious that a horse had been in the area recently.
Without wasting another second, he went directly to the stables to see if Michael’s horse was still in confinement.
Javian met him at the entry. “Master Levi?”
“Is Michael’s horse in his stall?” Levi asked, as he stormed past the stable master and into the large building.
“Of course, sir. Mr. Maxwell has been in charge of that horse,” Javian said, as he followed Levi through the stables.
Levi closed his eyes in disbelief when he encountered that the stall for Michael’s horse was vacant. He roared angrily as turned to exit the building. He jerked Areion’s reins off the hook and threw them over his shoulder. He bellowed loudly for his stallion, and glanced back at Javian. “Notify Samuel that we need men positioned at every vortex leading out of Pemdas this instant.”
As Areion approached the fence, Levi jumped it, and swiftly p
ulled the bridle over his horse’s head. Areion bit down on the silver mouthpiece of his halter forcefully, prepared and willing to adhere to Levi’s course of action.
Levi grabbed the reins, a handful of mane, and hoisted himself onto Areion’s back. “Go, NOW, Javian! We may still have a chance to stop them!”
Levi charged Areion toward the forest where he had discovered the fresh prints of the Guardian horse. Areion effortlessly jumped over the large fence as Levi directed him to the location where he found the fresh hoofprints. The tracks were fresh enough that Levi knew Areion could easily follow the scent of the soured horse. “Follow them!” he ordered his stallion.
Areion lunged forward aggressively, and they raced rapidly through the forest. Once they were over the protective barriers of Pemdas, Levi halted Areion at the vortex to Armedias. It was painfully obvious that Reece had been taken into the dimension. Areion fought Levi’s hold on the reins as he approached the vortex. As tempting as it was to travel through and recover Reece, he knew that their army was on the other side, waiting for the Pemdai to make such a foolish move.
Levi ordered Areion back toward the palace. When he arrived in the courtyard, he jumped off the horse’s back and bounded up the steps that led into the palace. Levi charged into the command center, looking for Samuel. The atmosphere of the palace had changed entirely. Imperial Guards and Guardian warriors were combing throughout the palace grounds and rooms in search of any sign of Reece and Simone.
He approached where Samuel stood with a group of Guardians, giving them instructions on where to search for Reece. “Commander.” Levi interrupted. “Reece is Armedias.”
“How certain are you of this?” Samuel responded.
“Michael’s horse is gone. I followed the animal’s fresh trail to the vortex that leads into that land.” He stared gravely at Samuel.
“We have dispatched Guardians to be stationed at every vortex that exits Pemdas, I will inform the emperor of Reece’s whereabouts immediately.” Samuel replied. “We have also received word that Mark Prather was the one to remove Michael’s horse from his stable.”
