A Girl Between

by Marjorie Weismantel

  “Father, I just want to be with you.”

  The Master Luminar shook his head. “No, it is imperative that you stay alive. Go with Will.” Then he gently touched my cheek. “I hope to see you again, in this world or the next.” With that, he strode away through the smoke and the mist, and then he vanished.

  I was still trembling as Will took my arm. “He’s right, Tess. Time for us to go.”

  65. Nemesis

  We still had some distance to make it to the Spirit Tree. We could barely make it out through the gray snowy haze. We heard what sounded like a bomb go off, accompanied by a wave of smoke and flying embers. It was a war zone.

  “My dad’s work,” I said, secretly proud.

  “And a darn good job he’s doing. The bad ones are running around like chickens with their heads cut off,” said Sam gleefully.

  Will insisted, “They’re still after us, so the best thing to do right now is to pull up our hoods and start acting all cocky like we’re one of them. We should split up into two groups and approach the tree from different directions. I’ll go with Tess and you guys stick together. We’ll meet up later at the tree.”

  I didn’t want to leave anyone, but I figured that Will was probably right. When Sam and Doug took off in another direction, I just waved. I didn’t want to touch them or say anything because I was afraid I’d lose it. After all, we may not see them again either.

  After splitting up, we continued hearing loud booms and the accompanying sounds of calamity, behind us and to the side. Somehow, my father knew how to avoid hitting us. As we stumbled along, diaboles were checking us out, but I made a point to stare boldly at them. They didn’t seem to want trouble with another diabole so they always looked away. For now, we had them fooled.

  I glanced around in front of us and observed some changes that didn’t bode well. An odd cast had taken over the sky and it took me a while to understand what it was, the first light of dawn. When that realization hit me, my first inclination was to drop all pretenses and run like mad. I was terrified of being caught out here, surrounded by our enemies in daylight. But of course, we couldn’t hurry, for that would have drawn attention to us. I also noticed that I could no longer see the flashing in the sky. Did that mean that the skirmishing between the diaboles and luminars had ceased? Something seemed amiss.

  As we got closer to the tree I started to notice oddly shaped mounds of snow all over the place. Something about them didn’t feel right and I wanted to figure out what it was. The diaboles were just walking around the mounds, completely ignoring them. I HAD to see what they were. “Will,” I whispered, “What’s in those strange mounds of snow?”

  Will shook his head and said in a low tone, “There’s nothing there, Tess. It’s just snow. We’ve gotta keep moving.” He was avoiding my eyes so I knew he was lying.

  I made a point to walk near a mound and glance over at it. “Oh no . . . . !” I almost tripped over my feet stepping back.

  Will took my hand and drew me away. “I know, Tess. I’m sorry. You can’t react.”

  “You KNEW?” I whispered.

  He nodded grimly.

  The mounds were actually piles of dead ones, luminars. Numerous long icicle spears were sticking into their bodies and they were completely enclosed in shiny coffins of ice. At first glance, they resembled marble statues, but the ice daggers and the blotches of red under the surface of the ice quickly dispelled that notion. I choked, as I blindly stepped back. Will had to jerk me away so that I wouldn’t trip over a young woman, lying on her side with a spear that had entered her neck and came out the other side. The ice made her look like she was made of glass, one touch and she would shatter.

  I had to clear my mind of all this or I wouldn’t make it. I pulled my arm away from Will so that I could wipe tears from my eyes. I turned to reassure him that I would manage but HE WASN’T THERE. WHERE WAS HE?

  I quickly looked around and caught a glimpse of Will being dragged through the snow. He was frantically clutching a rope that was tied around his neck. “Will,” I screamed as I ran toward him.

  Suddenly, I was jerked back, a rope around my own neck. I tried getting my fingers under it, but the rope was too tight. Can’t talk, can’t breathe. Hurts. I was pulled back hard and down into the snow. Suddenly, a grinning head pops into view. It’s Red, Tonya’s pal! I peered behind him and saw Bully Boy glaring down at me. As soon as I tried to speak, I felt the rope tighten around my windpipe. Someone growled, “We don’t care about what you have to say.” I knew that voice. It was James, Ian’s nasty older brother. He must be the one standing behind me, holding the garret around my neck.

  I was starting to feel a blackness creep in around the edges. Another face in my sight with a flash of red. Big red lips, in a big red grin, laughing. It was Tonya. I tried to open my mouth, to tell her how ugly she looked with her new choppy hair-doo, but James tightened the rope again and all I could manage was a gagging sound.

  She plopped down, sitting hard on my stomach. Man, she definitely put some weight on. She stuck her face right in mine and sneered, “Well, fancy meeting YOU here!” I tried to laugh in her face but I could only manage a croak.

  Tonya glared at me. “Tess, do you know why I HATE you so?”

  I tried to shrug as if I didn’t give a crap but I couldn’t move under the all that weight.

  She continued ranting, “It’s because you ruined my life so many times.” I looked at her like she was crazy. What’s she talking about? She’s been the one doing most of the ruining. “You’ve always ruined everything for me, time and again.”

  A distant explosion went off and the rope loosened for a second. It gave me a minute to speak. “What the heck are you talking about? I hardly even know you,” I squeaked.

  “Don’t give me that. I’ve been following you into every life and you always wreck things for me. Remember when you killed my mother? You made her suffer!”

  “Killed . . . . ?” I asked hoarsely. Suddenly, James tightened the garret around my neck.

  “Yeah, you killed my mother! You know this, just like you know why we can talk through mindspeak.”

  I tried to answer, but I couldn’t squeeze anything out of my throat. I just glared at her.

  “I’m sick of you, Tess. I am sick of seeing you around here. Say goodbye to your life, to all your friends and your family, and to all your boyfriends. Yeah, you have a pretty good life here and I’m glad you’re gonna have to leave it. I hope you don’t come back for a while, cause I’m sick of having to follow you everywhere.” With that, Tonya nodded at James. I knew she was telling him to tighten the garret, to end things, to end me and my wonderful life. That’s one thing she was right about, my wonderful life here.

  I felt the weight of Tonya lift off my stomach. The garret closed my throat down. As I struggled for air, I felt the lightness slip away, leaving me in the dark void.

  66. He Saved Me

  “JAMES, YOU TURD!” What are you doing?” A man yells. That voice!

  A loud grunt, then screams . . . . . .

  GASP . . . . gasp . . . . gulp for air, precious air. In and out, in and out. Fresh cold air.

  My throat hurts so bad. Feels like a truck’s sitting on it.

  Someone lifted my shoulders up and held me. Tess, are you OK?”

  I peered out. Sad, miserable blue eyes staring at me. It was Ian, beautiful Ian.

  “Tessie, I’m so sorry. It was my brother!” He indicated with his head.

  I looked over. It was James, flat on his back, looking like a dead man. There were at least ten ice darts sticking in him, his eyes, his neck, his chest and his legs. He still had the loose garret in his grasp.

  Then, I turned back to Ian. He didn’t look right. His head was shaved for one thing. Why would he shave his beautiful hair? I don’t remember him being so thin. There was an odd pallor about his face, very pale, and what appeared to be faded bruises on his face and his neck.

  I reached up and touched his cheek. “Ian,
what happened? You look . . . . I don’t know, you don’t look yourself. Are you OK?” He smiled grimly. “I’m afraid they’re all mad at me.” He vaguely waved around. “But, Tess, don’t you worry about me. I’ll be all right. How about you? You shouldn’t be here.”

  “I know. I’ve gotta go.” I leaned on Ian, starting to get up when suddenly he was gone and I had to catch myself. Someone had pulled Ian away. Then, that VOICE again.

  “WHAT DID YOU DO? Did you SAVE her? Tonya screeched at Ian while pointing at Tess. Bully Boy and Red were holding Ian, twisting his arms back. “How DARE you! You’re gonna pay for this, lover boy!”

  She turned to me, yanking me by the hair. “YOU WAIT!” Then she pointed her fingernail daggers at Bully and Red. “Take him away and hurt him, bad. I don’t want to ever see him again.”

  I felt really weak from blacking out but I wasn’t gonna let Tonya get me. I started rubbing my hands together, starting to feel a spark. She was about to get a little surprise.

  What was that? I saw a flash of white out of the corner of my eye. Something landed on Tonya’s head and she quickly released me. “Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh. . . . . . . . ,” She screamed, then she fell over, trying to protect her face with her hands. It was a Siamese cat in a complete frenzy, biting and clawing all of Tonya’s exposed skin! I couldn’t help but notice the inch long claws that were rapidly shredding Tonya’s coat. They looked like a rake of daggers. The cat paused for a minute and looked over at me. Then I realized, I KNEW that cat. I recognized her eyes. One was blue and one was green. It was Princess Hannah, one of the gypsy cats, a real beauty. Suddenly, Princess let out an unearthly howl and pounced on Tonya’s face, ripping off her ear lobe. She looked at me in triumph, blood dripping from her inch long canines.

  The sounds of human screams and howling cats filled the air. There were a number of Siamese cats leaping everywhere, clawing, biting and scratching their way through the diaboles. They jumped from one victim to the next, claws and teeth dripping with blood and flesh. I turned in another direction to come upon Bully Boy. He was rolling around in the snow, a large cat clawing at his eyes. I was very familiar with that cat, too. She was my own Beauty Queen!!! What a magnificent fighter she was! She too had the extraordinary claws and canines.

  Red was also there, just a few feet away. He was crawling on his hands and knees, trying to escape the wrath of the other gypsy Siamese, Empress Stephania, who was screeching with delight as she proceeded to pounce on his head and tear his scalp to bloody shreds.

  I’ve got to find Will. I tried to ignore the chaos around me as I searched for Will’s dark green coat. The Spirit Tree was still about 50 yards away. I could get there myself, but first, I had to find Will.

  Then, my heart stopped. There was Ian, bloodied, lying on the ground. Ice spears were stuck in his chest and his legs and he was covered with a layer of ice. I rubbed my hands together until I felt the heat. I slowly ran them over his body until the ice was partially melted. By then, I found a faint pulse. I unzipped my coat and lay down next to him as close as I could, wrapping my coat around him, resting my cheek against his. His lips were so cold they were blue, so I leaned in and pressed my warm lips to his. I felt his eyelashes flutter against my forehead.

  I heard someone clear their throat. I look up to see Will, standing there, looking down at us.

  Ian touched my hand and whispered, “I’m OK, Tess. Thank you. You must go.”

  67. Tree of the Living Spirits

  I took Will’s hand and he pulled me up. I didn’t like leaving Ian, but I knew we had to get out of there. At least Ian was alive. We tightened our hoods and started moving. The witch cats cleared this area of some of the bad ones, but we knew it was only a temporary reprieve. The field was crawling with hundreds and hundreds of diaboles. As we got closer to the Spirit Tree, I noticed something odd. None of the diaboles were within a 30 yard radius of the trunk of the tree. Why wouldn’t they get any closer?

  “Will, how come the diaboles aren’t any closer to the spirit tree?” I leaned in and whispered.

  “I don’t know. It’s gotta be something about the tree.”

  “Holy crap! Tess, LOOK at the tree.”

  I noticed something strange about how the branches swayed, but I still couldn’t see what Will was all excited about. “What are you talking about?”

  “Look closely at those hanging branches.”

  I studied the tree and finally saw what Will was talking about. It was hard to discern because everything was covered with snow and the branches were moving around from the wind. It was an odd movement though, almost rhythmic, as if to music. Something long was swinging from the branches. What??? It was dead people! You could tell they were dead because of the unnatural angle of their necks. They appeared to be hanging from the ends of the long wiry branches. There were at least thirty or forty of them.

  Will quietly stated, “Now, we know why the diaboles aren’t any closer to the tree.”

  “Will, how do we know that won’t happen to us?”

  “It won’t Tess. Look around the base of the tree. What do you see?”

  I studied the tree and noticed some movement. “There are people huddled around the tree.”

  Will nodded. “That’s right. They’re the luminars.”

  “Leave us be,” we heard a girl scream. We looked in her direction to see two people running in the direction of the tree. They were being chased by a group of diaboles. “Will, we’ve gotta help them.”

  “Tess, let it go. We’re not in a position to do anything. We’re surrounded.”

  One of the luminars managed to break through to the safe zone of the spirit tree. In reaction, a diabole close to the perimeter raised a long jagged ice spear and aimed it at the back of the luminar. I couldn’t just stand there so I started rubbing my hands together to gather the sparks.

  Will grabbed one of my arms and whispered hoarsely, “You gotta stop, Tess. You’re getting unwanted attention from the group behind us and there’s nothing you can do.” I turned my face slightly to get a glimpse of the diaboles behind us. One was staring at us. I folded my arms in front of me as if I was just trying to warm myself.

  What was THAT? A flash of electricity, from the direction of the spirit tree, jolted across the perimeter and zipped directly to the tip of the ice spear. It jumped around the spear as if engaging in a dance and then it entered the hand of the diabole. He screamed and stood rigid, while the electricity charged though his body. Then, he keeled over. The smell of burnt flesh was in the air.

  The other luminar had been caught by the group of four diaboles who had been chasing them. They were carrying her to one of those death mounds. She looked terrified as they laid her down on the frozen mound and placed their hands on her, causing her skin to turn translucent. “Oh no,” she screamed, her head moving back and forth. THEY WERE FREEZING HER TO DEATH!

  Will gripped me so I wouldn’t move. There were at least 40 diaboles standing between her and us.

  “I can’t just stand here, Will.”

  Suddenly, a loud CRASH of thunder. Several bolts of lightning flew from the Tree. I glanced around to see the lightning hit the bad ones who had taken the girl. And it wasn’t just a quick strike. The stream of electric charges continued zapping the diaboles, causing them to jerk around, as if they were attached to puppet strings.

  We were both staring at the spectacle of the lightning show. I wonder where it actually came from – the Tree, or from a powerful luminar under the Tree?

  “They’re distracted. It’s a good time to cross over.”

  “Yeah, I would say that it’s now or never,” Will responded.

  There were only a few diaboles between us and the safe zone. We walked past them and as soon as they were behind us, we broke into a run. We didn’t stop until we were under the arms of the Spirit Tree, panting hard, hands on knees, gasping for breath.

  I heard someone yell behind me and I quickly glanced back to see a diabole near the perimeter. S
he had been whipped up in the air by the end of a long thin tree branch, entwined around her neck. She was grasping at the branch, kicking frantically with her feet, trying to escape. After a while, her struggling stopped with a few spastic jerks. I knew she was dead for it was obvious that her neck was broken by it’s odd angle.

  “She must’ve stepped over the safe zone,” I shuddered.

  We made our way to the luminars that were huddled around the trunk of the tree. I said to Will, “Do you feel that?”

  “Yeah, it feels like electricity in the air.” Will just barely touched his hands together and the sparks flew.

  “Look at that,” I pointed toward the luminars sitting together. There were flashes and sparks in the air all around them. You could even see arcs of electricity between the tree branches. “Will, have you noticed how the branches of the Tree are moving? The wind isn’t affecting them. It’s almost as if the branches are moving in harmony, rubbing together to stir up electricity.”

  Will glanced at me while nodding agreement. “That’s exactly what it looks like.”

  There were about seventy people around the tree. I thought there would have been more. Did many luminars die? I felt a lump in my throat, thinking about Mercy.

  “Will, I do see Nadya and Dika, and there’s Sam and Doug.” I pointed to them huddling under the tree. As if he heard me, Sam looked up and saw us watching them. They came over and hugged us.

  “I’m so glad you guys got here,” I exclaimed, a sense of relief washing over me.

  “It wasn’t that easy getting through the gauntlet, but we managed.” Sam looked like he had to grit his teeth to talk so I tried to turn him around to get a better look at him. He was obviously in a lot of pain. He tried to stop me so I stepped behind both of them. I was shocked. Their coats and the back of their legs were covered with puncture holes and smeared in blood.

  Doug said with a big grin, “They tried to stop us with their stupid spears, but it didn’t work.”