Gradually, Aidan returned to his original form and pulled the metal from his side. His silver-blond hair was slightly disheveled and his breathing was somewhat ragged, but he still retained the commanding presence as before. Black blood spilled from the open wound onto the expensive fabric of his vest as he clutched his side with pain. He threw the bolt down angrily on the floor.
“This isn’t over,” he snarled before disappearing into a burst of smoke.
Aidan was gone — only the two of them were left, with me lying helpless on the floor.
The boy was kneeling beside me in an instant, trying to assess the damage as he looked me over carefully. I blinked deliriously in the face of the man who saved me and offered a weak smile, but he looked away and called over his shoulder, “Maya, are you all right?”
Her vitality recovered and the hue to her olive colored skin slowly returned to normal as she massaged the tendons in her throat. It was then that I noticed that each of them had a bluish mark etched into their neck that resembled some kind of sigil, but I couldn’t see it properly since it was partially hidden beneath the collar of their clothes. “I'm not the one you should be worried about,” she told him curtly while walking up behind him. “The transformation’s already begun.”
She crouched down beside him and pointed at my hand. Confused and alarmed, I glanced down at my wrist where Aidan had grabbed me, and felt my stomach drop.
There, glowing beneath the layers of skin, were what could only be described as scales.
“You shouldn't have done that,” he murmured, not daring to look me in the eye. “You may very well have signed your own death sentence.”
“Good, then we both agree,” the girl replied, picking her sword up off the ground. She stood over me and raised it high above her head.
I recoiled with fear and shock as the boy reached out to stop her. “What do you think you're doing?”
The girl looked at him in surprise, “What does it look like? We were told to eliminate the threat.”
“And you think killing her now is our only option?”
“No, please!” I begged them. “I don't understand, you just saved me!”
A few moments ago they were my saviors, but now with a violent shift in tone, they seemed to have changed their minds. Maya scoffed at him, “Don't be so melodramatic, Caleb. I'll make it quick and painless.”
She raised her weapon again so I covered my face with my hands and braced for the attack. Silent tears streamed down my cheeks as I closed my eyes, praying it would be over soon.
Several seconds later nothing had happened so I peered out from behind my fingers and found the two of them seething at one another. The boy had grabbed her by the wrist and taken a protective stance in front of me, but she was refusing to back down. I sensed a familiarity between them that was making me uncomfortable. From the way he spoke to her, and the way she looked at him, I could tell they had a history together. This seemed more like a lovers’ quarrel than what they were actually discussing.
“Maya, she's an innocent,” the boy insisted.
“It doesn't matter, she's been infected! You know what's going to happen — it's just a matter of time before we'll be forced to destroy her anyways.”
“You will not be her executioner!” he argued. “She hasn't done anything.”
“Yet!” the girl shot back. The tension in the air between them was nearly palpable, but after a while her temper cooled and he eventually released her. She returned her blade to its sheath and asked, “Then what do you propose we do?”
As they stared each other down I breathed heavily through my mouth, clinging to whatever shreds of sanity I had left. He turned to me for a moment, searching for something inexplicable, so I gazed back at him pleadingly.
“Please,” I begged him quietly. “I don’t want to die. I’m not even sure what’s happening.”
I’m not sure what he was hoping to find within me, but after a long while, he appeared to have made a decision.
“Convene a Council of the Elders. The girl deserves a trial at least.”
“A what?” I asked them frantically. “This is insane!”
Maya blanched at his suggestion. “You can't be serious.”
He gave her a warning glare and said, “Just make it happen.”
“Why do you always have to be so difficult?”
She scowled at him, and then at me, before disappearing with a gust of wind that went ripping through my bedroom. An involuntary gasp escaped me when she left and I shuddered bitterly against the cold. I was still reeling from the fact that Aidan had managed to infiltrate my room and come after me without any provocation. It shook me to the core knowing someone like him would be interested in me to begin with. I didn’t feel safe, knowing he’d probably come back for me again.
As soon as she had gone, Nate came back with my father, who resumed banging loudly at the door. “Wynn, open the door right now or so help me, I am going to break it down!”
“I don’t hear anything…” Dad argued skeptically.
“WELL, I DID! We’ve got to get in there, I heard banging around and people arguing! Wynn could be in trouble.”
“Son, if you could just calm down for a second—”
Caleb leaned in and whispered urgently, “Listen carefully. In a few seconds you'll be taken to the Grove of Ancients to await your trial. Once you're there, I need you to remain as calm and composed as possible. It will go against every instinct imaginable, but try not to speak unless they ask you something. Anything you say there will just come across as arrogance. The Elders are looking for any excuse they can find to destroy you, so try not to give them one. Just nod and listen to everything being said and it'll turn out better for you in the end. You may not understand a lot of it, but that's okay. It will all make sense soon enough.”
He sat back on his heels and placed his hands above my wrist where the damage had occurred. My skin began to glow as a gentle tingling sensation replaced the pain, like it had been neutralized by morphine. The scales on my hand disappeared and returned to the same color as the rest of my skin. “Wha—?”
“No, don't talk. Just trust me.”
I’m not sure why, but in that exact moment, I did. I trusted him implicitly. I nodded softly and he seemed to relax.
“Remember what I said… and good luck.”
Suddenly, I felt the air lifting me and it seemed like I was flying. My stomach was doing somersaults and the image of Caleb's face was the last thing I saw as the room around me began to fade to darkness. I left my life, my home, and everything I ever knew, behind me.
Chapter Three
Heaven Help Me
My stomach heaved as another wave of nausea overtook me.
It felt as though I was falling backwards through time and space, being pulled in a thousand directions at once. Everything on my inside wanted to be on the outside, and the physical toll of being ripped every which way made my head reel with vertigo.
I still wasn't clear on what was happening, or where I was being taken, but what Caleb said about being put on trial was enough to make anyone nauseous. Everything was happening so fast I didn't have a chance to think. My entire world was upside down and I was both hurt and confused, trying to make sense of it all.
Gradually, the momentum began to fade and my vision returned to normal. I swallowed hard and for the first time took in my surroundings, realizing I was in the center of a forest glade. Moonlight filtered through the leaves overhead, illuminating the entire Grove and casting dappled shadows across the earth. Mushrooms and bright, green moss grew alongside the myriad of trees, so tall they might have extended all the way up into the heavens.
Wide-eyed and curious, I went to take a step and found that my feet didn’t touch the earth. Rather, I was floating a few inches above the forest floor, suspended there in space.
Oh God, this isn’t over. What’s happening now?
I strained against the invisible force holding me aloft, but it was use
less. No matter which way I moved, my feet wouldn't reach the ground.
Buried in the dirt beneath me, silver veins of light rippled through the earth as if the forest was alive. It was an uncomfortable feeling to sense that I had been placed inside a living, breathing organism. Caleb called it the Grove of Ancients, and now I was starting to see why. “Ancient” was in fact the word that best described it. Everything about this place was old and rich with history. Life flowed through the earth and trees, bringing substance to the world around, the source of all creation.
I'm not even sure how that knowledge came to me, but it just seemed to be self-evident, the same way I knew I was unwelcome to tread upon it.
It was hallowed ground.
Everything was lovely and full of life, like I had stepped into a fairytale.
I’ve got to get home, I thought to myself miserably. But how am I going to get out of here?
All at once I became a lost, little girl in the woods who was frightened and alone. My blood began to rush as I reminded myself that soon I’d be on trial.
A low rumbling and groaning sound echoed through the woods as twenty-one brilliantly crafted chairs broke through the earth, slowly rising to surround me and form a perfect circle. I gasped slightly when it started, and became anxious at the number of judges I’d be facing. Twenty-one, I thought to myself, horrified once I’d finished counting them a second time. Why so many?
As they finished erupting from the terrestrial world, I was able to get a better look. Each one of them was unique and intricately crafted to serve as a form of throne, all varying in shape and size. I had never seen such an exquisite display of craftsmanship in detail or variety. Some of them were polished marble and had a pallid glow about them. Others were encrusted with rubies and made of stone black as onyx. The last ones, however, were shaped from a single piece of wood and featured ornate carvings, such as the phases of the moon or changing of the seasons.
Even though they formed a perfect circle around me, there was still an obvious division into three separate groups. I would have liked to examine them closer, but the sound of voices in the distance let me know I was not alone. Crap, they’re coming! Remember what Caleb said, you’ve got to keep your cool — and don’t say anything.
The voices grew louder as tiny lights the size of fireflies began to dance across the Grove. One by one they expanded, growing larger and larger until the beings revealed themselves completely and divided themselves into one of the three different factions. Instinctively, I jumped, startled, each and every time one of them appeared.
First, were the ones that looked the most like humans, if you could compare them to anything. They were dressed in simple robes and spoke in hushed voices to one another as they took their seats in the seven marble thrones. Their unnatural, pale blue eyes cast an eerie glow from beneath their hoods, and I could tell these must be the same kind of beings Caleb hailed from. To the casual observer they looked like angels, but the way they carried themselves was cold as stone. I felt as though they could see right through me, penetrating my very soul. It was an unsettling, vulnerable feeling that set my teeth on edge, especially since none of them looked pleased to be here. I was surprised and a little nervous at their hostility, but then my eyes focused on the halo of light surrounding them — a sparkling cloud of perfect, forget-me-not blue.
It was like nothing I had ever seen before, it was glorious. I wanted to touch it, to taste it, to experience it more fully, but their cold, indifferent stares quickly banished the thought from my mind.
What is this thing? I wondered. And why do I want to eat it?
As the first group took their seats, several pairs of prying eyes began to appear in the woods around us. Tree nymphs, gnomes, and other creatures were all gathering to watch. Some of them looked friendly, but most of them did not. They took their seats within the branches, making sure to leave a wide enough berth that they were separate from the growing Council.
As the numbers grew larger and larger, my anxiety began to rise. This cannot be happening! I kept screaming to myself. I’m going to wake up and all of this will be gone. Still, the group kept growing and growing, watching me from the shadows of the forest. I hated being the center of attention. I did my best not to look at them, waiting for the other seats in the chamber to be filled.
I didn’t have to wait long, although the next group that joined us in the glade appeared to be far more sinister. As dark as the first group was light, they took their seats in the chairs that were made of onyx. They had an aura of their own, but it was dark and smoky, surrounding them like a fog and billowing out across the ground beneath them.
First was a giant bug-like creature; all along its hunched back was a green exoskeleton and a spine of thorny barbs. Its deformed face hid behind a leather mask that had been permanently sewn into its skin, and two pincers formed its mouth underneath, dribbling black ooze while they clicked together.
The next creature was a human-spider hybrid, with the body of a gigantic Black Widow and the torso of a woman. Her hair was twisted into dreadlocks and pulled back to reveal eight black eyes dotting her forehead and piercings climbing up both her ears. Black leather straps wrapped strategically around her torso to expose her shapely figure.
I shivered at the sight of her, unwilling to think what a creature like that would be capable of. Another monster became visible in the shadows, walking deftly towards its seat, and my chest shook with tremors of fear. The impulse to run away was almost overwhelming, but I was unable to leave or scream — no one would have heard me if I tried.
Keep it together, I told myself repeatedly. Just keep it together and you’ll get through this.
After the spider came three more creatures of darkness that took their seats in the onyx chairs. One of them was a two-headed ogre, another, a djinn dressed in elaborate clothing and floating through the air as I did. They were followed by a mysterious creature whose flowing black robes reminded me of Death and filled my heart with terror. I couldn’t see its face because it was hidden behind the shadows of a blackened cowl, but I shuddered to think what hideous creature may have been hidden behind the layers of fabric.
Last there came a little girl who couldn't have been older than six or seven. She had golden blond hair that curled into ringlets and wore a puffy, pink tutu with a tiara on her head. Being drug along beside her was an antique doll. She used a stool to climb onto her enormous throne where she sat kicking her feet because they wouldn’t touch the ground.
I couldn't explain why, but she was the one who scared me most of all. Something about her was off, and the minute she crawled up onto the blackened throne, my suspicions were confirmed. I didn’t like seeing her there at all. Maybe it was the blatant juxtaposition of feigned innocence while sitting on a demon’s throne, but hidden behind her dimpled smile was something sinister and dark.
My stomach twisted itself in knots.
The seventh chair sat empty, and I shifted uncomfortably at the thought of who was supposed to fill that seat.
Trembling slightly, I put on the bravest face that I could muster and watched them fall in line, sitting as high priests and judges at my trial. None of it was quite as I imagined.
Sitting across from one another the way they were, it was impossible not to see the separation of dark and light. A few moments of anxious silence passed and a light sheen of sweat broke out across my forehead. The seven wooden seats still lay empty and everyone turned expectantly towards them. Then their occupants started to arrive.
I'd expected them to be something awful, or even more horrific than the ones that came before, but my fears were laid to rest when they stepped out from behind the moss covered trees.
A woman was first to arrive, with flittering butterfly wings and a crown of flowers upon her head. Her long, silver-blonde hair was tied back with a piece of ribbon to reveal a pair of elfin ears. Beneath a flowing, purple gown, her feet were bare and adorned with beaded anklets that tinkled when she walked. As
she took her seat in the first of the wooden chairs, flowers burst forth spontaneously around her and she smiled at me impishly.
When another elf sat down beside her and offered her his hand, she took it happily and cast him a doe-eyed look that I’d know anywhere — it was love. He did not share the same lighthearted countenance as the woman next to him, but returned her winning smile with a look of fervent adoration, before turning his attention to me. His eyes were dark with thought as he looked me over with a stony stare. Over his shoulder was thrown a velvet cloak, held together by a wrought iron pin of exquisite craftsmanship. The fabric had been embroidered with hundreds of little stars that made the material sparkle like the night sky.
I remembered the stories my mother told me when I was little, about dark fairies that stole naughty children from their beds. At the time, I thought it was just some fables meant to scare me so I’d behave, but now I was starting to believe her. I could not deny the scene taking place before me anymore than how the sun would be rising in the east. Perhaps this was one of the darker fairies she'd been warning me about. I didn't want to believe it, but my primal instinct was telling me to beware. Of everyone here in the Grove, he seemed to assume the most authoritative role — it would probably fall on him to decide my fate.
After the fairies came a golem, wearing nothing but a loin cloth made of leaves and dragging a wooden club along behind her. Her body was entirely made of stone and she had fire glowing from between her joints and eyes.
Next, a unicorn and a centaur came galloping along beside them and trotted over to their seats, which were actually more like daises to accommodate their needs.
Beside the daises a small pool bubbled up from the earth below, surrounded by a ring of weathered stones. Crystal blue water sloshed against a seat in the midst of the pool and I noticed this throne was unlike the others and their earthy craftsmanship. Its splintered, barnacle encrusted wood seemed to be made from a sunken ship with an old, corroded porthole decorating the back of it. The design made sense once a mermaid came swimming up from the depths below and took her place among them.
Dealing with the Devil (The Earthwalker Trilogy Book 1) Page 4
