Step into Magic

by Day Leitao

  He sounded so concerned, so honest, but Nia narrowed her eyes. “The king? Only the king? Aren’t you going to mention General Keen? Protecting your family?”

  Cayla wanted to protest, but Darian was faster, “This has nothing to do with my father.” His voice was calm and soft. “I know I’m his son and I can’t change that. But he knows nothing about this. I’m just here to help Cayla.”

  Nia hadn’t changed her expression. “And pray, tell me, how did you find us?”

  He pointed at Cayla. “She told me. Like I said, I came cause she asked.”

  The woman still didn’t look convinced. “How could she have told you?”

  He pulled his necklace. “This. Because we’re friends.”

  Cayla had to catch some breath. She couldn’t believe he’d just revealed one of their biggest secrets. Like that. And she couldn’t even make a face, kick him, or tell him anything, or it would only make everything worse.

  Nia turned to her. “Is that true?”

  All Cayla could do was look down and mumble, “Yes.”

  Nia was still angry. “But he’s in the army. Who knows who could’ve followed him?”

  Again Darian showed the palms of his hands and shook them. “I came alone, by boat, nobody knows where I am.” He looked at Cayla. “My flying partner has been dismissed from the army.” Cayla couldn’t repress a little smile. Darian continued, “I had nobody checking where I was.”

  Nia stared at Cayla. “You should have told us.” She turned to Darian. “I hope this doesn’t cause us problems.”

  He shook his head. “No. I’d never—”

  Nia sighed. “I hope so.”

  Cayla wanted to change the subject, and asked him, “How did you get here?”

  “Very tough climb. I don’t understand where you plan to go from here.”

  “Isn’t there a way down?”

  “As far as I know only lifts come here. Or very experienced climbers.”

  Cayla laughed. “Since when you’re an experienced climber?”

  “Since you asked me to meet you at this almost impossible to reach peak.”

  Right. I’ll find you. He’d meant it. Cayla looked down, thought for a moment, then said, “But if you could do it, I can do it as well.”

  “No doubt,” he said. “But I came up. I’m not sure I can climb down.”

  “Are we trapped up here then?” Nia asked.

  He shook his head. “I don’t know. Maybe we can come up with a solution. But the good thing about this summit is that nobody will come looking for you.”

  Ayanna came out of the bushes where she was hiding.

  Darian seemed surprised. “I didn’t know your sister was also here.” He turned to Ayanna. “Hello, I’m Darian, Cayla’s friend.”

  Her sister just stared at him.

  He also noticed Karina. “Good to see you again too. I’m sorry for what happened. I made a mistake and I would like to apologize.”

  Karina shrugged. “It’s fine.” It didn’t sound she meant it.

  “Thank you,” he said, then looked at everyone. “How are you doing with supplies? I brought some food.”

  Cayla smiled. “How did you know we’d be out of food?”

  “I didn’t.” He then returned the smile. “But I thought, why not?”

  Ayanna had a big smile. “Thank you. I was starving.”

  Nia stared at her. “You said you had enough.”

  The girl looked down. “Cause I wanted to leave some for you.”

  Darian laughed. “Good thing I came then.”

  They went to their camping site and sat on their blankets. Cayla tried to avoid looking at him too much, but she couldn’t help sitting beside him. The few times their eyes met all she felt was calm complicity and security. They understood each other now, and it made all the difference. It was just a matter of time for their infinite kisses.

  Karina chewed the same bland tasteless dry things, but hunger had improved their taste. Pleasant night sky, nature, all they needed was a fire, except they obviously couldn’t have one without drawing attention, which reminded Karina that this wasn’t a camping expedition. Nia asked Darian how he’d kept in touch with Cayla. The girl looked down and seemed embarrassed. From their conversation, Karina gathered that he had left the castle over a year before, when he gave Cayla the necklace. He also said he knew the kingdom was under rebel threat but that he had no idea people so close to him would be involved. This last explanation didn’t convince Karina very much, but, hey, he’d brought food, and for that she was willing to accept lame excuses.

  At least he looked happy and relaxed, unlike the last time she’d seen him. Cayla was also at ease around him. Karina was usually terrible at noticing lovey-dovey stuff, but these two, with their bright eyes, had a virtual billboard saying, “we’re in love and we know it.” She smiled, happy that they’d solved whatever problem they had before.

  Nia and the girls were tired, and soon they got ready to sleep. Darian had a tent, but Nia thought it would be better for them all to sleep outside, so as not to split the group. Nia still insisted they should keep watch and volunteered to be first. Darian volunteered as well, but Nia insisted it should be her.

  This place had grass! It felt so soft and comfortable that Karina soon fell asleep. She woke up with a voice, “You’re in danger.”

  15

  About the Rebels

  Karina sat up and saw only Ayanna and Cayla sleeping. She didn’t see Nia or Darian, but she heard soft voices a little further down, and went in that direction, where she saw them.

  Nia seemed angry, and spoke to Darian, “You are going to tell me everything, because I didn’t believe half the stories you told. I want the truth.”

  “Fine,” he then noticed Karina, “but I’m not gonna talk in front of her.”

  Nia turned to Karina. “It’s great you’re here.” She turned to Darian. “You. You owe her an explanation, remember? I doubt she believed your lousy excuses, because you’re a terrible liar. Are you going to explain yourself, or do you want her to discuss her worries with Cayla?”

  Karina almost defended herself explaining she had no intention to discuss anything with anyone when she understood Nia was only arguing for Karina’s inclusion in their conversation.

  Darian looked upset. “I don’t even know who she is. You can’t expect me to—”

  “Hey,” Karina cut him off, “thanks to you I was captured, tied, imprisoned. I would appreciate an explanation. And I didn’t really believe what you told us.”

  Nia added, “She’s Cayla’s friend; I think you’ll want her on your side.”

  Darian took a deep breath. “Fine. She might as well listen.” He stared at Karina. “But I’ll talk to Cayla personally. If she hears any of this from anyone but me, I’ll—”

  “Hey,” Nia interrupted. “You’re not in a position to be threatening anyone. Now, if you want us to help you and keep your secret, you’ll want to explain yourself first.”

  He looked down, stroked an imaginary beard, looked away, then finally faced Nia. “So, unlike I said earlier, I knew people close to me were part of the insurgent movement, and… I’m also part of that movement.”

  Karina had guessed something like that, but maybe not that much. Nia took a step back.

  Darian continued, “I know it sounds bad. But you need to know that I grew up in a village that was threatened by the king. I was sent to the castle, to my father, and all it did was confirm everything I suspected. And I got in the army and, remember I was sent far South,” he pointed to Nia, “where you came from. Well, once you’re there, you start to see things, and… They are doing everything they can to wipe out anyone who might oppose the king, or any community that appears to have the slightest chance of opposing him. Or anyone who yields magic. Or seems to do so. The definition of magic is quite fuzzy, though. Anyways, the first thing I did was to bring this up to my father.” He looked down and closed his eyes, as if in pain, then snorted. “But guess who
’s responsible for all that repression? Guess who wants to enforce these laws with violence?” He shook his head. “My father. I realized I would never change his mind. I considered deserting, at the risk of being executed, unless my father intervened, which would put me in a very uncomfortable position. Then I thought there should be another way, and I found it. Other people also found it. The insurgents stopped deserting the army only to be found and killed. Instead, we became the army, or at least a good part of it.”

  “You’ve been conspiring against the king,” Nia said.

  Darian looked down and nodded. “Cayla’s father. I had no way to tell her. I never had the occasion to see her or talk to her. But,” he looked at Nia, “I know that the king’s after you. I thought perhaps you’d side with me, you’d understand.”

  “We’re all running from him,” Nia said.

  “I know. I’m in the army, remember?” He laughed. “By the way, they think you’re highly dangerous, Nia. But for the others, the order is to return them to the castle alive.” He looked down. “But Cayla didn’t seem very concerned about her own safety. She said she had some problems with her father, that all she had to do was finish her interrupted mission and everything would be fine. That her father was upset that she failed or something.”

  Nia rolled her eyes.

  The mention of their failed expedition made Karina ask a question, “Who were those people who imprisoned us and wanted to cut our hands?”

  Darian raised his eyebrows. “Hands? No, they said something about fingers, but that it was just a threat.”

  “They later decided on fingers, but it wasn’t a threat. They were even preparing the equipment.”

  His face paled. “I’m sorry. Really sorry. Well, Rose’s group, they are not in the army. There are many scattered independent groups, and hers is one of them. I was good friends with her sister, Zayra.” He looked at Karina. “You met her. Like me, she supports the insurgency, but I would never think she would backstab me like that. Also, Rose’s group, they were not supposed to make decisions on their own. Still, I’m sorry for my part in it. But I did tell Cayla it wasn’t safe to go wandering on her own. I offered to go with her, but no.”

  “There were six or eight people,” Karina said, “I don’t think you would have made much difference.”

  He looked down. “I didn’t mean like that. Anyways, I left her and I thought no harm would come to her, or you, because if anything happened I’d be the first to know.”

  Nia raised an eyebrow. “The first?”

  He looked down and around. “I, I deal with communication. And since I dropped her off, I was paying attention to that area.”

  “Wow, lots of attention,” Karina said. “Thank you so much.”

  He raised his shoulders. “They never reported, never contacted anyone. They did it on purpose. They betrayed me.”

  “Fair enough,” Nia said as if to end the subject. “And what does this insurgence of yours plan to do?”

  “We have to depose the king.”

  Nia narrowed her eyes and stared at him as if trying to see something. “Then Cayla would no longer be a princess.”

  Darian shrugged. “I don’t mind. In fact—”

  “She does,” Nia interrupted. “The thing she most wants is to succeed her father.”

  He stroked his imaginary beard. “Well, I could make her queen.”

  Nia’s eyes widened. “What?”

  “I mean, there’s a lot of discussion on who should take power in case we succeed. It could, uh, somehow, eventually be her.”

  “I think she would love the idea,” Nia said, “until the other people who also want to take the power start showing up with part of the army. It would be chaos.”

  He shook his head. “If you knew what was happening, you wouldn’t fear chaos. But yes, her life could be in danger. That’s why I’m not a supporter of Cayla as a ruler, at least not until everything is stable.”

  “Who would rule then?”

  “We’ll decide among the leaders.”

  Nia snorted. “Sure, whoever gets the biggest chunk of the army is king.”

  “No, not like that. We’ll establish a council. That’s what we do anyways, no single leadership.”

  Nia rolled her eyes. “That’s cute and sweet and idealistic.” She became serious. “Until there’s power to be split. And what about Lylah?”

  He took a deep breath. “We haven’t seen or heard from her in years. Nobody can enter that castle of hers. I don’t even know if she’s alive and if she is willing and capable of governing anything.”

  Karina had to correct him. “I saw her. She’s alive, or at least she was, until, uh, a few days ago.”

  “She’s very much alive, and that’s where we are going,” Nia added with a strange certainty.

  Darian grimaced. “Even if she is alive, you’ll never get there. Not from here.”

  “Odell sent us here,” Nia said, “and I think he wants us to go there for some reason.”

  “But that could be dangerous,” Darian said.

  “Do you have another alternative?” Nia asked.

  Again he took a deep breath. “That’s part of what I meant to tell you. Since you’re all safe here, and we have a good part of the army… we could take the castle. Then—”

  “No. My son’s there.”

  Darian looked down and bit his lip.

  Nia stared at him. “You can’t. You can’t attack the castle. Cayla would never forgive you. There’s my son, there’s her father, there’s your father.”

  Darian closed his eyes. “I was willing to make this sacrifice.”

  Nia became the furious scary woman Karina had seen once. “Sacrifice? You want power!”

  Darian was still calm but shook his head. “No, no way.”

  Nia was definitely furious. “Is that why you’re all over Cayla? To be king?”

  He squinted and answered in a calm but dry voice. “Both your suggestions are offensive.”

  “We’ll see. Now, has this attack been planned? How much influence do you have?”

  He raised his arms, showing the palms of his hands. “No, no. Nothing’s been planned. It was just something that came up to me now, seeing all of you here and safe. Sorry if I forgot about Cayla’s little brother. I was just going to say it was safe now. Other people, not me, have planned an attack before. We’ve been having a good part of the army for some time, but I always told them it wasn’t safe to take the castle. I can access top information, through my father, so I get a say on that. But I’ve been lying. We do have enough power to take down the castle, and I thought now I could tell them the truth.”

  Nia pointed her index finger to him. “If there’s an attack planned, you have to halt it.”

  “Nothing’s been planned.” He spoke in a soft voice, as if to soothe her. “Nothing. It was something I wanted to suggest. If your son’s there, we’ll think of something else. We’ll find another solution. We’ll—”

  He stopped suddenly and looked behind Nia. Karina also looked. Cayla was walking towards them. She stepped closer, rubbing her eyes.

  “What attack? What’s happening?” She then looked up, and opened her eyes wide, looking scared. “Why didn’t you wake me up?”

  They all looked where she looked. A roundish silver thing stood almost above them. It definitely looked like a flying saucer from below. But, in their context, it was scarier: a lift.

  Darian said, “Hide. I’ll deal with them.”

  Nia shook her head. “I think they saw us.”

  “Now. Hide,” the boy repeated.

  He sounded so insistent that Karina turned around and ran to the place where Ayanna was, to wake her up. She noticed Cayla and Nia were beside her. In fact, Nia was the first to reach the younger sister and pull her up. “Get up. Come.”

  Ayanna seemed sleepy and confused, but she did as she was told. They moved to the bushes where they had first hidden.

  Nia then pulled Cayla’s hand, as if to prevent
her from climbing or running farther away. “We have to stay together.”

  Cayla grimaced, but she also hid in the same place.

  “What’s happening?” Ayanna asked.

  “They’re coming for us,” Nia replied.

  “Who’s coming?” the girl asked.

  “I don’t know. Let’s be quiet.”

  They could not see what was happening beyond the bushes and closest trees, but they saw the gleam of a bright light.

  A man or boy spoke loud enough to be heard from that distance. “You know what we’re here for.”

  “Well, hello, Jax,” Darian replied. “It’s good to see you. I don’t actually know. Sorry. Why don’t you tell me?” He sounded calm and friendly.

  “I think you’re the one who has something to tell,” Jax said. “Do you have an explanation for this?” His tone of voice was a sharp contrast to Darian’s, as he sounded anything but friendly.

  “I’m pretty sure I can explain anything you want, as long as you ask. I can’t read thoughts, though, unfortunately. Let’s sit and talk.” His voice was soft and smooth.

  “Darian, we’re not against you,” a girl said, “just let us take the princesses. I’m sure you know it’s for the best. We won’t harm them, I’ll make sure of that this time. And we know they’re here.”

  “Zayra, I thought we had agreed on this…”

  At the mention of this name, Cayla got up, but Nia held her. “No. Wait.”

  “We can fight,” Cayla replied.

  “Try to listen,” Nia whispered.

  Cayla sat down, looking cross. Karina could only hear the last part of what Darian was saying.

  “… understand my position.”

  “Diplomatic ties,” Jax replied. “I’m willing to accept that. Now, make use of them and help our cause. We can win this.”

  “We can,” Darian replied. “But the princesses won’t help us. They are running away from the king. Why do you think they are here? They’d be useless as hostages. Trying to use them for bargain would only expose us.”

  “We’d rather take our chances,” Jax said. “Unless you care to convince us.”