by Marnie Cate
Twirling around knocking everything in her path, Meg called, “Wind and Air, come to me.” Miles laughed as stuffed animals flew in the air.
“Water, sprinkle your magic on us,” she laughed as she took a small glass of water off the table and dipped her fingers into the water and flicked it on to Miles.
“Enough, enough,” he giggled, wiping the water droplets off his face. “I like you even if you don't have magic inside you, Meg.”
“I like you, too, Miles, even if you are my bratty little brother.” She said, with a smirk. “You are in luck. Mara has taught me how to be a good big sister.”
“Will she like me, too?” he asked, timidly.
“She will not like you, Miles. She will love you as much as I do. So will Gram. They will make us yummy treats and tuck us into bed. Cole will teach you to play kickball and will take us swimming,” she said excitedly.
“They will never let me go with you,” he said sadly.
Hugging him, she said, “I will always take care of you, Miles. Gram and Mara will find us and take us both home soon.”
With those final words, the mirror lost the image. Tapping on the mirror, I began calling out again to Meg, “Meg, I am here and I will come take you home. I promise.”
Knowing she could not hear me, I felt the anger and frustration beginning to grow inside me. I suddenly felt that the elementals were standing behind me.
Turning to them, I demanded, “Bring the image back! I need to see where she is.”
Blaze took my hand and said, “Mara, we can't bring the image back. It was a gift from Danu to you. Meg is safe though and she is with Miles who you can see she loves already.”
“How is a small boy being there going to comfort me. She is with those horrible people and I have been wasting time running around in magic land. I need to go to her now. He can't protect her.” I insisted. I was determined get to her now not later. “Show me how to get back home!”
“Mara, we still have the celebration,” Bay said, softly. “You can't leave yet.”
“I cannot stay here another minute. Please, tell me how to go back?” I pleaded.
As if answering my cries for help, the mirror that I had been watching Meg lit up with a blue light.
“Is this the way?” I questioned.
Daisy nodded and gave me a sad smile.
Not wasting another minute, I walked through the mirror and found myself in a small, circular room. The way I had entered was now just a stone wall but in front of me, I was faced with another mirror. This mirror glowed a soft silver light. I walked towards my reflection and tried to walk through it to find out it was just a mirror. Circling the room, I felt around for an exit and to my dismay, I found no way out. Hard stone surrounded me. The ceiling was at least forty feet above me and appeared to be made of the same hard rock. Feeling defeated, I sat down in the middle of the floor and began to softly cry.
“I never asked for this gift. Nothing good has come from it. My mother is obsessed with power and convinced my father to fake his death. My Grandmother has been stuck raising their children. Families are hiding their gift and running away to keep themselves safe. What good has this so called gift been to my family?” I cried.
“Mara, pull yourself together,” a voice snapped at me.
Looking around, there was no one in the room. However, in the mirror, there was the image of Sarah Sands. Shocked to see her, I stared in her blue eyes that were glaring at me. Taken back, I began to compose myself. I had never heard her use a stern tone let alone wear such a look of disapproval.
“If you can compose yourself, we can talk,” she said, as she stepped through the mirror.
Reaching out to me, she took my hand and pulled me into her arms. As she held me close, she smelled like citrus and frosting. I was brought back in my mind to sitting in her kitchen with Cole while she made us fresh orange juice and cinnamon rolls. Abruptly, she released the hug she had been giving me and returned to the mirror before I could speak.
“Are you calm now?” she asked, in a voice that was more familiar to me. I knew this sweet, kind voice. “You know that you were never a burden on Mae. She loves you girls and would have been as much a part of your life even if Eliza and Elliott had not disappeared. Our families were blessed with a gift but it is also a big responsibility. You are just learning what the gift means at a late time and I regret any part I had in holding that from both Cole and you. We did what we thought was best at the time. Now it is your responsibility to unite the families and honor the gift.”
Taking her words to heart, I began to feel guilty for my meltdown. “Sarah, I spoke out of anger. I just do not understand why everything is such a mess. My sister is scared but putting on a brave face for that little boy. How am I supposed to feel about him? He must be the reason that Eliza left us if she really is his mother.”
Sarah looked at me sadly, “Miles is your half-brother, Mara. Eliza was always rash in her decisions when it came to Cedric. You cannot face her full of fear and anger. You need to face her with the strength, love and trust of the Goddess that you have always had from your grandmother. Don't rush off to save Meg and lose yourself.”
With those last words, her image disappeared and I found myself staring at my own reflection. I looked into my own brown eyes that seemed sad and lifeless. The dark circles surrounding them were deep and dark. Seeing what Sarah must have seen, I felt determined to be the person that I was raised to be not this image in the mirror. Gram would never sink into sadness and anger. She would say, “No time to worry, we have much to do,” and then tackle whatever was in her way. I would become the person she believed I was and I would not forget who I was. The Goddess saw something in me that was special and I would honor the gifts she gave me.
As I felt my determination build, the mirror in front of me began to change and the reflection filled with rippling water. The image made me think of the choppy water of Sparrow Lake. At first, the small waves were calm but the speed and intensity of each movement of the water grew. I found myself being splashed as the waves grew harder and began to slap against the mirror. Standing up, I moved away just in time to watch the mirror before me shatter and the violent water burst out towards me.
The room began to fill with rushing water. Feeling around the room, I searched for an exit. Behind the shattered mirror, I only found solid rock. Looking to the ceiling, I could see the same hard stone. Feeling the emotions build inside me, I began search the floor and walls around me for any exit.
“Damn! Damn! Damn it!” I cried.
The water did not slow. Instead it continued to fill the room as I frantically searched for my escape. The water soon reached my knees and, what seemed like seconds later, I was wading through waist high water. As the water continued to rise, I was soon struggling to keep my head above water. It was not enough that the water was filling the room so rapidly but soon the water felt alive. The cold waves kept tossing me back and forth as the water rose and I began to feel like I was in a game of Ping-Pong where I was the ball. Soon, I found myself pulled under the icy water and surrounded by thousands of bubbles. Frantically kicking my feet to keep my head above water, I broke the surface.
Remembering the swimming lessons my grandfather insisted on, I thought about the times I spent with my grandfather learning to swim. I began to feel less scared as I recalled his calm voice and gentle words telling me that I would be safe. As I floated in the rising water, it seemed to respond to my emotions. The thrashing became calmer as I focused on my grandfather's words. My brief moment of peace did not last. Before I knew it, I had almost reached the ceiling that had no exit and I began to panic. At this rate, I would be trapped and drowned in minutes. As if it was feeding off my fear, the water began to toss me around again.
As the water began to rise up my neck and almost over the top of my head, I tried to calm myself. You are the granddaughter of Mae Veracor and the great granddaughter of Genevieve Silver. You are the descendent of strong women. You
have nothing to fear. With these words, the water once again calmed and I was able to tilt my head back above the water. How am I going to get out of this?
Reaching my hands up, I could touch the ceiling. The stone was solid but not as hard as I expected. Desperately, I began clawing at the soft stone. As I tore at it, it began to crumble in my hands. Feeling confident, I dug my short nails with all the power I could muster into tearing at the heavy sand-like stone. Closing my eyes and trying to blink way the small particles as they covered me, I laughed at the irony. Soon I will bury myself alive instead of drowning. Thoughts of giving up and just letting myself sink into the water crossed my mind but I was motivated to try harder when I felt moist dirt. The black earth was much like the soil in my grandmother's garden. Finally, the small hole I had dug into the ceiling was just enough for my hands to fit through. Concentrating every bit of energy I had inside me, I continued until I felt small roots and my fingertips scraped and bleeding were covered in a warm breeze. Feeling around, I knew that I was touching the soft damp moss of Starten Forest.
My efforts of removing soil and moss around me were not wasted and I was quickly able to reach my arms up and through the hole that I had made. Struggling I pulled myself out of the water, I laughed as I felt the breeze on my dirt covered face. Digging my elbows into the ground, I was able to pull half of my body out of the water. Panting and shaking from the effort, I rested my cheek on the ground.
“Don't give up now,” I thought. Reaching out around me, I anchored my fingers into the ground and made my final effort to claw myself out of the hole. When I was finally free, I dragged myself onto the large roots of a tree and embraced my exhaustion.
Chapter 35
As I laid staring at the ground, I had so many thoughts running through my head that I could not straighten them out enough to focus. Why am I so drained if this is just my soul? Isn't my body at home resting right now? A warmer breeze blew over me and I braced myself for a scolding from Blaze.
“Are you going to just rest there all day,” a deep sultry voice asked. The words ran through me like a hot wave and I knew it was Kai.
Not moving from my resting spot, I replied, “I am taking a rest after my near death experience. A break seemed appropriate after digging myself out of the watery tomb I was trapped in.”
“Isn't that a bit dramatic. You look well and alive other than all the dirt covering you,” Kai said, with a sly smile. “Here take my hand and I will help you up.”
As if my mind had no control over my body, I rolled over to face him and accepted his outstretched hand. When our fingers touched, I felt the same heat run through me that I had the first time we met. Letting him pull me up, I found myself face to face with him and for the first time, I noticed the color of his eyes. His eyes started at the black pupil as golden orange that spread out into streaks of deep red and yellow. The urge I had felt the first time to kiss him filled my mind and before I knew it, I found his warm lips on mine. As he pulled me even closer, he continued to gently kiss me. My fingers caressed the back of his neck. As his long hair touched the back of my hand, Cole came to my mind and I felt repulsed at what I was doing.
Pushing him away, I cried, “No, I am in love with Cole.”
Walking back toward me, he held out his hand, “But he is not here and I am.”
Pulling me back into his arms, he began to kiss my neck. Fighting back my desire to let him continue, I shoved him away and slapped him across the face.
“I am engaged to Cole. You are trying to confuse me. I need to go home,” I demanded. “Show me the way back now.”
“You really think you are ready to go home, Mara?” he scolded, looking at me with pity in his eyes. “Your emotions are all over the place. Kissing me and then striking me. How are you going to be calm enough to face what is coming? You can't even control your urge to kiss me again.”
Anger built inside me, I realized that he was right. I did want to kiss him again and that feeling was only making me feel guilty. I loved Cole. There was no doubt in my heart about my love for him but the passion Kai made me feel was irresistible.
“I don't want to kiss you again,” I lied, unconvincingly. “In fact, I need a shower to wash your disgusting handprints off of me.”
Mocking me, he said, “Oh Mara, you are right. You do need a shower but it is not to wash me away.”
“Can you please just show me how I can get home?” I said, sweetly trying a new tactic.
“No,” he said flatly, without emotion.
Feeling a rage build up in me, I screamed at him, “Show me the way! I need to get to my sister.”
Softly, he spoke, “Mara, you are not ready to leave here. Your emotions are a mess. If you go back before they are under control, you will have no chance of getting your sister back.”
Sitting on the ground, I held back the tears that were building. The soft sounds of the forest played all around me. Every emotion I had building up inside me came through and the dam holding back my tears broke. Kai sat down in front of me and just sat there quietly watching me. As the tears flowed freely down my cheeks, my thoughts raced.
“I know I need to control my emotions,” I said quietly, “But I don't know how to do it.”
Standing up and holding his hand out to me, I moved back. “Mara, I promise that I will not kiss you again unless you want me to.” Kai said holding his hand out towards me again, “Friends?”
The sincere look on his face convinced me to trust him. As I touched his hand, I felt a warmth flow through me but this time it felt affectionate not amorous.
“Friends,” I said, looking into his dark eyes, “Can you please help me? I need to save my sister.”
“Trust me and I will help you use your emotions to help not harm you.” Kai said. With those words, he led me back through the forest to the tree that I had begun my tour of the elemental's home.
Chapter 36
Instead of returning to the elementals, he led me past the trees and deeper into the red and black forest. We walked until we reached a path that was surrounded by crooked trees. The trees were gnarled and turned as if they were twisted and tied in knots. Each tree had a slender white trunk covered with a thick, peeling bark that exposed its soft green inner bark. Topping the trunks were long branches covered with hundreds and hundreds of small salmon colored leaves that canvased the path we began walking on.
We walked without speaking. I felt calm and began wondering how I was going to learn to control my anger and fear in such a peaceful place. Feeling frustrated at myself, I sighed. As if responding to me, the branches of the trees leaned in and blocked the path we were walking on. Turning around, I found that we were surrounded. My heartbeat began beat fast.
“Is being trapped part of the plan?” I asked, with a bit more anger in my voice than I had intended.
Kai just looked at me with an emotionless face. His nonresponse infuriated me.
“You are not helping me at all,” I said and was immediately slapped on my upper arm by one of the tree branches. The smart sting of the deep red mark angered me even more.
“Stop!” I cried out, slapping at the branch that had just hit me.
Instead of retreating, the tree became more aggressive and began to whip at my legs. The sharp slaps continued as I fought back. Looking at Kai's calm face, I realized what was going on. My anger was feeding the trees behavior. Instead of fighting back, I focused on breathing. As my anger began to release, the attacks lessened. Then, the tree rose and opened the path again.
“So you can learn,” Kai said, as he took my hand again. “But you are still not ready to go home yet.”
Not letting myself get upset, I nodded and we continued our walk. Our pace was not rushed and I began to just enjoy the view. The sky above was an azure blue with birds of many colors soaring through the soft white clouds. I wondered if these were really birds or if they were just the Air elementals.
“Is that Breeze up in the sky?” I asked.
With a mocking laugh, he replied, “No, just birds.”
The path slightly began to incline as we walked and soon we found ourselves at the end of the path of trees and on a rocky path of black stone. The rocks looked sharp. I stopped and looked for a way to avoid them.
“Giving up already,” he asked, as he sensed my hesitation.
Not wanting to give him the satisfaction of giving me a lecture, I stepped off the dirt path onto the dark, jagged trail in front of us. As I expected, it was sharp and the sandals I was wearing were little protection. Every step agitated me. I felt a slow rage building inside me.
“How much farther until we are out of the rocks,” I asked, impatiently. “My feet are killing me.”
Kai ignored my question which only made me angrier. Before I could tell him what I really thought of him, I felt a sting on the top of my foot.
“Ouch,” I cried out, in pain. Looking to see what was attacking me, I saw that the rocks were smoking and flames were starting to slap at my feet and legs.
“Damn it,” I thought to myself, “You are a slow learner. You are burning yourself.”
Pushing back the pain, I continued walking and tried to pay no attention to the fiery sparks that were still licking at my skin. The sharp edges of the rocks were still cutting into my feet but I focused on the endless path ahead of us. The fire slowly stopped burning me and I was able to ignore the fact that the rocks were still uncomfortable to walk on and I was glad to no longer be feeling the fire.
As we continued, I began to think about how my feelings were affecting the world around me - how they were only hurting me. Proudly thinking to myself that I could control my environment and that I could help not feed the fire with my anger. I realized that this would be necessary when I faced Eliza.
Excitedly I turned to Kai taking his hand in mine anxious to share what my I had learned. One second of taking my eyes off the trail cost me and I found myself falling off the edge of a cliff that had come from nowhere.
