by Arden, Mari
"Aliens are very real," he states. "Every alien I've ever met has had magic. Don't let yourself be confused. It could cost you your life. Humans have a silly idea of what aliens are and what they look like. It's nothing close to the truth."
"You said there was always greater power somewhere else and that's why Earth has been left alone for so long," I recall. "The Saguinox have revealed themselves here. Does that mean--"
"Yes." His answer is sad and angry at the same time. "It means that power is here now." He takes another deep breath. "It means that they're here to stay."
"Why?" My question is a petrified whisper.
"That question has many answers. I don't know them all. This is what I do know. They've destroyed everything. Earth is the only planet left. To understand what that means we need to go back." He holds me tighter, as if I'm going to flee after I hear what he's about to say. "Thousands of years ago there used to be universal laws created by the Council. The Council was made up of powerful magicians from every race and every planet. They had in their possession something called the element crystals. No one knows how they came to posses these, but for as long as time has existed the Council has protected them. These crystals are energy sources that specifically control elements present in all the planets. To possess these would be to have powers over the entire universe. The crystals needed guardians, and were protected by the elemental witches. These were magical people who had an affinity for certain magic special to the crystal, like air, water, land which they called tierra, and… fire."
I stiffen in his embrace. Before I can say anything, he rushes on, continuing. "The Council wasn't perfect. Their intentions were always good, but corruption and power often rose to the surface of everything they did. Eventually it all fell apart, and when the Council disintegrated, the magic did, too. The crystals disappeared. No one could find them
"Then, a hundred and fifty years ago, rumors surfaced about some remarkable crystals. There were whispers that in order to protect them some elemental witches hid them in people. No one believed it for a long time. I mean how could you? It was crazy." Kaiden's voice shifts, growing darker and angrier. "Then the Saguinox began invading planets, and triumphing over every type of magic. That's when people started investigating. It's a long story, but the only thing you need to know is the Saguinox have the crystals."
He takes another deep breath, like he's trying to forget something painful. "We believe for a long time now they have been using the crystals to destroy their enemies. What they didn't know is that the crystals are wild magic. There's always a price to using them. They destroyed many planets before they finally understood, but by then it was too late. There was only one planet left, still untouched, still pure." His embrace tightens. "They have every crystal, except one. Someone hid it very well, and it's been lost ever since."
There was light and colors…
Like fire.
Remember.
"Me," I whisper.
He presses his face to me. "Yes," he reinforces quietly. "Kenna, you are the carrier of the fire crystal. You're the miracle we've all been hoping for."
Chapter 29
The stars suddenly look brighter than they've ever looked. I try to imagine somebody living there, someone using magic even. But it all sounds so unbelievable that the only image I can get in my head is E.T. riding his bike.
Kaiden is next to me, trying to sleep. He tells me he only needs an hour to regain his strength, but he's been knocked out for almost two so I'm not sure if he's telling the truth.
Its still night, and I wonder if it will ever be day again. The pain shooting up and down my body has intensified, but the throbbing in my head is worse. After the fire has cooled, my head is a field of dead brain cells. When Kaiden catches me massaging my head, he tells me the pain is normal. It hurts so bad what I really want to do is cut my head open with a rock. Would that be normal? Somehow I think not.
Soon, fatigue, pain- or maybe both- makes me drowsy. My eyelids are heavy like bricks, but I don't want to sleep. I'm scared about what I might see.
I play a game with myself to keep me awake. I make pictures with the stars, connecting them like dots. There's one star in particular shining brighter than the rest. For some reason, I'm drawn to it. My eyes keep returning to the star, staring at the sparkling white perfection, transfixed by its beauty.
The throbbing pain in my body is making me dizzy, but I don't stop. Gazing intently, I start to see something shift, moving gently. Lightheaded, I concentrate deeper until the faraway light seems to drift closer.
I should be afraid, but I'm not. I'm motionless, waiting for it.
Losing myself in the haze, I finally close my eyes.
Chapter 29
The stars suddenly look brighter than they've ever looked. I try to imagine somebody living there, someone using magic even. But it all sounds so unbelievable that the only image I can get in my head is E.T. riding his bike.
Kaiden is next to me, trying to sleep. He tells me he only needs an hour to regain his strength, but he's been knocked out for almost two so I'm not sure if he's telling the truth.
Its still night, and I wonder if it will ever be day again. The pain shooting up and down my body has intensified, but the throbbing in my head is worse. After the fire has cooled, my head is a field of dead brain cells. When Kaiden catches me massaging my head, he tells me the pain is normal. It hurts so bad what I really want to do is cut my head open with a rock. Would that be normal? Somehow I think not.
Soon, fatigue, pain- or maybe both- makes me drowsy. My eyelids are heavy like bricks, but I don't want to sleep. I'm scared about what I might see.
I play a game with myself to keep me awake. I make pictures with the stars, connecting them like dots. There's one star in particular shining brighter than the rest. For some reason, I'm drawn to it. My eyes keep returning to the star, staring at the sparkling white perfection, transfixed by its beauty.
The throbbing pain in my body is making me dizzy, but I don't stop. Gazing intently, I start to see something shift, moving gently. Lightheaded, I concentrate deeper until the faraway light seems to drift closer.
I should be afraid, but I'm not. I'm motionless, waiting for it.
Losing myself in the haze, I finally close my eyes.
Chapter 30
I'm in a tunnel.
The whiteness isn't a star.
Before I become alarmed, a deep voice says, "We really should stop meeting this way." Instantly, all fears evaporate. He's waiting for me at the end, a tall shadow in the startling brightness. Suddenly I feel lighter inside.
"Maybe you should visit more." I can't keep my tone as stern as I would like. Looking at his face makes my heart jump faster. "You know, instead of leaving me in a prison."
My sneakers produce soft sounds on the cement floor, and it reverberates gently like the noises of a grandfather clock. "FYI," I continue to inform him. "It ranks first on the list of worst ways to court a girl."
Rhys smiles, but doesn't reply. Inwardly, I sigh in dismay. He's so handsome, and has done the worst thing possible, yet my heart is still fluttering, aching to be held by him. Without a doubt I belong in the psych ward. Maybe he hears me because he laughs, gazing at me with a strange tenderness.
Ignoring how his expression makes my skin scorch, I ask, "Is this another dream? Or am I really dead this time?" My footsteps are loud in the serene silence as I come to stand by him.
"No," he answers softly. "You're not dead. Not yet, anyway."
"Comforting," I say as I reach him. There is light all around us in the tunnel, and it seems to go for miles and miles. "Where are we?"
He shrugs. "I'm not sure. The In- between maybe?"
"Another cryptic answer." I want to touch him, and so I do. Only this way can I say what I want, and feel him the way I want to. In real life it'd never be like this. It could never be like this.
His cheeks are firmer than I imagined, and I trace the bones lightly. He catches my hand,
and presses his face into it. He flips it over, studying my palm. It's completely black. It's so dark my birthmark isn't visible. He looks angry. His scrutiny makes me uncomfortable, and I try to snatch my hand away.
"Killed a couple evil creatures today," I tell him lightly. "I think I should be promoted from sidekick to hero."
"I always knew you could do it."
"It would've been nice if you told me earlier, then I could've gotten out of that hell hole faster." This time my voice is stern.
"Your powers come when you're ready for them," he tells me. "They wouldn't have come any earlier than now."
"How do you know so much about me?"
"I make it my business to know things about beautiful women." He kisses the middle of my blackened palm tenderly. "Like this, for instance," he says, rubbing the spot where my birthmark is. "Where I come from, a mark defines who you are," he reveals quietly. "If you're a guard you're marked with that symbol. If you're a warrior, you're celebrated with that symbol." His eyes catch mine. "And if you are a carrier, then it's imprinted into your skin, hidden in your body." More questions swirl in my mind, but whenever I'm with Rhys like this they become less important.
Without looking away from me, he kisses each part of my birthmark until he reaches the end. His lips suck the tip of my index finger gently. I'm barely able to breathe, and hot chills wash over me with every kiss that he gives.
"Sometimes when you're afraid, all you have to do," he traces my scar again "is find your mark." His touch makes me ache.
"Rhys," I whisper. "How can we be together like this?"
"Magic."
I'm frustrated with his answer. "How come you always leave me when I need you the most?" My voice breaks.
"Sometimes the choices we make are not always the right ones, but they are the necessary ones for right now."
"Necessary? Imprisoning me is necessary? Letting someone hurt me is necessary?" I ask, shattered.
"I have to." His confession sounds pained. He grips my shoulders hard. "I feel everything you feel when you hurt, Kenna. I feel it. In here," he points to his head. "And in here." He points to his heart.
"Then leave and come with me!"
"I can't." For the first time he sounds angry with me. "There are things that are bigger than us. Everyone has a part, and I have to play mine."
"What is my part then?" I snap back. "Tell me. I'll do it. Anything for this nightmare to be over."
His lips clench together. "You're already doing your part."
I stare at him, livid, and sad at the same time. He's looking at me, too, and it's like we're each trying to stare the other down. Neither one of us wants to give in, but the fatigue in his eyes hurts my heart so I look away.
"Are you always going to stay with me in my head?" I ask quietly, staring ahead into the white nothingness.
"Only until you're part is done."
I want to screech at him, to tell him to stop playing these dangerous games. I want to shout at him be with me. Choose me. But I don't get a chance to say those things.
The second I turn to him, his lips crush mine. It's a forceful kiss, a kiss filled with frustration, anger, and injustice. He hurts me when his teeth nip my lips, but I want more. I crave the pain because it means he's real. It means he's just as shattered as I am.
I bury my fingers in his hair, reveling in how close I can pull him. When my whole body is pushed against his, I wrap my legs around his waist, forcing him to carry me the way my heart had been carrying him since the moment he saw me.
We pull away because the light is dimming around us. I know what he's going to say before he says it.
"Yes," I answer. "I'll survive. I'm a survivor," I echo his words.
He clutches me hard. "You need to believe it. Now is not the time for you to die."
Shadows cover us, slowly rising like mists. They get to him first, but before they can pull him away, he grabs my hands, touching my birthmark.
"This is who you are." His eyes stay on me until the last possible second.
When the blackness starts to pull me back, I'm afraid it's the last time I'll ever see him again.
Chapter 30
I'm in a tunnel.
The whiteness isn't a star.
Before I become alarmed, a deep voice says, "We really should stop meeting this way." Instantly, all fears evaporate. He's waiting for me at the end, a tall shadow in the startling brightness. Suddenly I feel lighter inside.
"Maybe you should visit more." I can't keep my tone as stern as I would like. Looking at his face makes my heart jump faster. "You know, instead of leaving me in a prison."
My sneakers produce soft sounds on the cement floor, and it reverberates gently like the noises of a grandfather clock. "FYI," I continue to inform him. "It ranks first on the list of worst ways to court a girl."
Rhys smiles, but doesn't reply. Inwardly, I sigh in dismay. He's so handsome, and has done the worst thing possible, yet my heart is still fluttering, aching to be held by him. Without a doubt I belong in the psych ward. Maybe he hears me because he laughs, gazing at me with a strange tenderness.
Ignoring how his expression makes my skin scorch, I ask, "Is this another dream? Or am I really dead this time?" My footsteps are loud in the serene silence as I come to stand by him.
"No," he answers softly. "You're not dead. Not yet, anyway."
"Comforting," I say as I reach him. There is light all around us in the tunnel, and it seems to go for miles and miles. "Where are we?"
He shrugs. "I'm not sure. The In- between maybe?"
"Another cryptic answer." I want to touch him, and so I do. Only this way can I say what I want, and feel him the way I want to. In real life it'd never be like this. It could never be like this.
His cheeks are firmer than I imagined, and I trace the bones lightly. He catches my hand, and presses his face into it. He flips it over, studying my palm. It's completely black. It's so dark my birthmark isn't visible. He looks angry. His scrutiny makes me uncomfortable, and I try to snatch my hand away.
"Killed a couple evil creatures today," I tell him lightly. "I think I should be promoted from sidekick to hero."
"I always knew you could do it."
"It would've been nice if you told me earlier, then I could've gotten out of that hell hole faster." This time my voice is stern.
"Your powers come when you're ready for them," he tells me. "They wouldn't have come any earlier than now."
"How do you know so much about me?"
"I make it my business to know things about beautiful women." He kisses the middle of my blackened palm tenderly. "Like this, for instance," he says, rubbing the spot where my birthmark is. "Where I come from, a mark defines who you are," he reveals quietly. "If you're a guard you're marked with that symbol. If you're a warrior, you're celebrated with that symbol." His eyes catch mine. "And if you are a carrier, then it's imprinted into your skin, hidden in your body." More questions swirl in my mind, but whenever I'm with Rhys like this they become less important.
Without looking away from me, he kisses each part of my birthmark until he reaches the end. His lips suck the tip of my index finger gently. I'm barely able to breathe, and hot chills wash over me with every kiss that he gives.
"Sometimes when you're afraid, all you have to do," he traces my scar again "is find your mark." His touch makes me ache.
"Rhys," I whisper. "How can we be together like this?"
"Magic."
I'm frustrated with his answer. "How come you always leave me when I need you the most?" My voice breaks.
"Sometimes the choices we make are not always the right ones, but they are the necessary ones for right now."
"Necessary? Imprisoning me is necessary? Letting someone hurt me is necessary?" I ask, shattered.
"I have to." His confession sounds pained. He grips my shoulders hard. "I feel everything you feel when you hurt, Kenna. I feel it. In here," he points to his head. "And in here." He points to his heart.
"I can't." For the first time he sounds angry with me. "There are things that are bigger than us. Everyone has a part, and I have to play mine."
"What is my part then?" I snap back. "Tell me. I'll do it. Anything for this nightmare to be over."
His lips clench together. "You're already doing your part."
I stare at him, livid, and sad at the same time. He's looking at me, too, and it's like we're each trying to stare the other down. Neither one of us wants to give in, but the fatigue in his eyes hurts my heart so I look away.
"Are you always going to stay with me in my head?" I ask quietly, staring ahead into the white nothingness.
"Only until you're part is done."
I want to screech at him, to tell him to stop playing these dangerous games. I want to shout at him be with me. Choose me. But I don't get a chance to say those things.
The second I turn to him, his lips crush mine. It's a forceful kiss, a kiss filled with frustration, anger, and injustice. He hurts me when his teeth nip my lips, but I want more. I crave the pain because it means he's real. It means he's just as shattered as I am.
I bury my fingers in his hair, reveling in how close I can pull him. When my whole body is pushed against his, I wrap my legs around his waist, forcing him to carry me the way my heart had been carrying him since the moment he saw me.
We pull away because the light is dimming around us. I know what he's going to say before he says it.
"Yes," I answer. "I'll survive. I'm a survivor," I echo his words.
He clutches me hard. "You need to believe it. Now is not the time for you to die."
Shadows cover us, slowly rising like mists. They get to him first, but before they can pull him away, he grabs my hands, touching my birthmark.
"This is who you are." His eyes stay on me until the last possible second.
When the blackness starts to pull me back, I'm afraid it's the last time I'll ever see him again.
