by J. B. North
I turned around quickly. I hurried to his side, the chain attached to my foot clanking loudly, and felt his forehead. If possible, it was even hotter than it had been the first time. I shook his shoulder, but he did not wake.
“Help!” I yelled out to the natives. “My friend needs help!”
The door opened almost immediately with the same young man from earlier.
“He needs the healer!” I said frantically.
The man took one look at Roland before sprinting off into the evergreens. In five minutes, he returned with the healer, breathing hard.
“He's worse than he was before,” I said as the healer bent down to tend to Roland. He felt Roland's forehead and then sat back.
The fact that he wasn't reaching back in his satchel for medicine worried me.“What is it?” I asked.
The healer looked back up at me. “To tell the truth, I do not think that he will make it.”
I looked at Roland, whose chest was heaving with struggled breaths, and then back at the healer. “Surely there must be something that you can do,” I said in disbelief.
The healer studied me, and then looked at Roland. “I will do one thing...something I probably should have already done. Our leader prohibits any newcomers in the village, but this is a special case.”
I blinked away tears, and waited for him to finish.
He took out a key and unlocked Roland's chains and then my own. “I'm going to bring you to my house, so that your friend can die in a proper bed.”
I didn't know how to react to that. I just stood there as the healer picked Roland up in his arms.
“Wait.” I hadn't even realized that it was me who said it until the man looked at me. “Roland wanted me to ask you something if anything went wrong.” I paused to clear my throat. “He was forced into taking up the power of a sorcerer. He heard that your people can heal him from that.”
The man nodded as he continued out of the shack.
I hurried to follow him. “So is it true that you can take away his power?”
“I can't...but I know someone who can. However, your friend has to be awake in order for us to accomplish this.”
I sent a silent prayer up to God that He would allow Roland to awaken.
The village was in the middle of a meadow, but its grass was starting to bend over from the weight of the snow. I shivered and rubbed my arms with my hands. If I were in second form, it would be a lot easier to stand this weather, but it was too dangerous, especially here.
The houses were made mostly out of stone, although there were a few made out of wood. The villagers, mostly women and children, came out to watch us pass. Most of the women had cold, unforgiving expressions, but the children only showed curiosity. I kept my gaze on the ground until the healer led me up a few stairs and into a warm house.
The room that he had led me into was lined with cots on either side. At the back of the room, a fire was lit in the fireplace. It was a surprisingly nice house, something that I didn't expect from people rumored to be savages.
The healer laid Roland down on a cot near the fire, and although it was tempting for me to go closer so that I could warm up, I stayed with Roland.
“I'll be right back,” the healer said. He disappeared further into the house and came back with a bowl of cold water, a cloth, and a vial of some sort of liquid.
“Keep the cool cloth pressed against his forehead,” he said.
I automatically did as he said.
The healer shook the little vial in his hand and removed the top with a pair of tweezers.
“What is that?” I inquired.
“It's a medicine extracted from a plant that we call Last Breath. It is already almost certain that your friend will die, but with this, he definitely will.”
He was about to tip it into Roland's mouth, but I grabbed the healer's hand, stopping him. “I thought that you wanted to help us,” I said.
“I do,” he answered. “But this is the only way that he will wake up before he dies. The plant gives off a great amount of energy at first, but within a few hours, it causes its consumer's body to shut down.”
I was torn. “How can you be sure that he won't recover from the sleeping draft?” I asked.
“I've seen this before,” he said. “The herb used in the sleeping draft is usually harmless, but to those who are allergic to it, it is a deadly tonic.”
I looked at Roland. If he truly was about to die, then it would be a mistake not to give him the vial of Last Breath. But if he would live, giving it to him would be fatal.
Roland's breathing stopped for a few seconds. I watched him, worried until he took in another shallow breath.
That decided it for me. I let go of the healer's hand, and watched as the liquid poured into Roland's mouth.
The healer watched Roland expectantly. Roland's face screwed into a look of revulsion and he coughed a few times before his eyes opened again.
He looked at me and his forehead wrinkled in confusion. “Ivy...What's happened?”
I shook my head, tears spilling from my eyes, unable to answer. I took one his hands in both of mine and he grasped my hand just as strongly. It made me even sadder because I knew that it wouldn't last that long.
The healer answered him for me. “We don't have much time, so this may sound a little harsh. You are dying... Ivy has told me that you want your sorcery taken away. Is this true?”
Roland nodded. “Yes...but I feel fine right now. How can I be on the brink of death?”
The healer shook his head. “I've given you Last Breath, an elixir that gives you energy to make your last moments count before you go.”
Roland looked at me fearfully. I nodded my head gravely.
“I'm going to go get the other healer. She will be able to fulfill your wish.” He left quickly, and in his stead came a tall woman, long black hair braided over her shoulder and freckles dotting her cheeks. White and red paint was drawn across her forehead and down her nose.
Roland's squinted his eyes when he saw her, and then widened them as if in recognition. I looked back and forth from one to the other.
“Jane?” Roland said.
She smiled sadly at him. “Roland. I'm sorry to finally see you again at a time like this.”
Roland barely took any notice of what she said. “We thought you were dead. Don't you know how happy your parents would be if they knew that you were still living?”
I finally realized who she was. Jane, Matilda's beloved, lost daughter.
Jane frowned. “I would love to see them, Roland, I really would. But there is no way that I can go back to the mainland without being caught. I've been banished.”
Roland tilted his head. “Banished?”
She nodded. “From Ginsey and Pira, at least. If I had the second form of a hawk, it would be a different story. I would probably be able to make it to Leviatha without detection...But I've made a good life for myself here.”
Roland was quiet.
Jane looked down at her hands. “Let's go ahead and get this over with.”
When she looked back up, she wore a strangely blank expression. I watched in fascination and fear as her blue eyes began to take on a silvery glow. “Ask me your questions,” she said. Her eyes weren't focused on Roland. Rather, they were on some distant thing behind him.
Roland looked bewildered and he took a while to answer “I—uh, I want to know how to get rid of the dark powers that I was given.”
Jane smiled, still not really looking at us. “That is simple. What dispels darkness?”
“Light,” he replied.
“Correct... darkness is lies and deceit. Light is truth and love. Ask me your questions.”
Roland thought for a moment before saying, “What do I do to rid myself of the darkness?”
“You must wrap the light around your dark thoughts. You must focus always on love,” she said.
Then, her eyes stopped glowing and her shoulders slumped. She looked exhausted, and she sat on the b
ed, beside Roland.
Roland looked at me, confused.
“Do what she said,” I pressed, worried that he would run out of time.
He looked back at Jane who was watching him tiredly, and then he closed his eyes. While his eyes were closed, his eyebrows narrowed and he started to grit his teeth. I studied him, and was scared that he wouldn't know how to do what Jane had said.
My fears were put to rest when Roland opened his eyes suddenly. The soft brown of his irises had turned into a beautiful, golden color, a purer gold than the color of his scales when he was in second form.
“He has done it,” Roland said. “He has gotten rid of my darkness.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Who is he?”
He looked at me, as if surprised that I didn't know. “He is Life.”
I smiled uncertainly, but when Roland's features began to twist in pain, it faded. His eyes kept their unearthly glow, but I knew that the energy of Last Breath had started to fade.
Jane stood up, although I knew she could have used more rest. “I must go find the other healer. He will be able to take care of Roland properly during the last few hours of his life.” With that, she stumbled out the door.
“Ivy,” Roland said. His voice was noticeably weaker. I focused my eyes on his. The glow was disappearing. “While I was gone, He told me about something that you must do. He said that you must get to the plant of eternal life...and you must do it soon.”
Hope rose in my chest.
Yes. The plant of eternal life. Its power would heal Roland.
I stood. “You're right,” I said. “I don't know why I haven't thought of that already. I'll go find the plant, and I'll bring it back to you.”
He nodded and sat back in the bed. I studied him one last time before hastening out the door.
I hurried in the direction that Jane went. When I spotted her in the middle of the clearing, headed away from me, I hurried to her side and took her arm. “Jane,” I whispered, glancing around to make sure that we were out of the hearing range of the women and children who still populated the streets.
She looked at me in surprise.
“Where is the plant of eternal life?” I asked.
She studied me with narrowed eyes. “Why do you want to know?”
“Roland told me that Life told him I was supposed to retrieve it.” I didn't realize how crazy that sounded until after it was already out of my mouth.
Her incredulous look vanished, and she seemed to get a burst of energy as she dragged me around a building. Her stride was long, but I kept up with her, knowing that I had to hurry.
“What is your second form?” she said suddenly as she turned to face me.
“Why does that--?” I began.
“Just tell me,” she interrupted, her grip tightening.
“A phoenix,” I answered.
Her eyes flashed, literally flashed, with the same silvery glow. “Then in that case, I can tell you... The gate to the plant is at the top of the mountain, guarded by an ancient statue. The statue comes to life if anyone gets near it, so you will have to act quickly to get inside.”
“How do I get in? Is the gate locked?” I asked.
“I honestly don't know. The people that have gotten close enough to figure it out don't return,” Jane answered.
I swallowed hard. “Not one?”
“The only one that was able to make it back died eons ago. He left no record of his experience, except for a small painting of the plant's appearance.”
I remembered a picture of the plant in the headmaster's office. Was it the same one that had been painted all those years ago?
“Why are you letting me do this if I'll most likely die?” I questioned skeptically.
“The only other person to make it out of the gate alive was a phoenix. If he could do it, there is a chance that you will be able to as well.”
So the another phoenix had been on this very island, searching for the same thing. “Is that everything you know?”
She glanced around once more before stooping closer. Her voice fell on my hearing like a soft breeze.
“The key to the gate is your strength.
The answer to the question is your own discernment.
The conquering of your desires are your memories.
The end of the battle is your heart.”
At the last word, she twisted away and stumbled back around the building, disappearing from my sight. I trembled, fighting the fear that threatened to make me return to Roland without the plant.
The end of the battle is your heart.
The meaning was clear. I was going to die.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
My mind tried to sort things out as I walked uphill through the pines. If the end of the battle was my heart, how would I get the plant to Roland? Perhaps I would be granted enough time to bring it to him before I died...But then, who would free Kurt from King Ciaran's dungeon? I supposed Roland would have to. With his experience, it was more likely that he would be able to save Kurt, so really, it was as if I was sacrificing my life for two people. I knew that this had to be the right thing to do.
Once I was sure I was far enough away from the village, I shifted into my phoenix form and took off into the sky. I needed to do this as fast as possible if I wanted to make it to Roland in time. If I didn't, then I will have sacrificed my life for nothing. I hefted myself higher, helped along by an updraft of wind. It was almost as if the air itself wanted me to get to the gate.
I had almost reached the snowy peak when a strange sensation took over my body. All of a sudden, I was plummeting.
I crashed through the trees, flailing around as an outside force made my body shift back into first form. I tried to grab hold of a pine branch to keep me from dropping any farther, but the branch rubbed my hand raw before cracking and splitting off the tree. I landed on the snowy ground with a thud. Although the snow cushioned my fall, the wind was still knocked out of me, and I struggled to breathe for several seconds. Once I was able, I sat up, chilled from the snow that had melted through my clothing.
I took in my surroundings. What was the force that had caused me to change form so suddenly? In front of me, to my left and to my right, there was only snow and pines. The ground was strangely flat for a mountain, at least in this particular spot.
I stood and turned around...and then froze. Looming in front of me was an ancient rusted statue, three times my height. I swallowed tightly.
Its entire body was covered in dead vines, and one of its arms had eroded off with time. Strange designs criss-crossed over the entire thing, but I couldn't make them out since the vines were so thick and the statue was so worn. Its rusted red eyes peered at me blankly.
Nothing happened for the longest time. I took a tentative step closer, wanting to get a better look at the arm
This must be the statue that Jane had warned me about, but I don't think she knew what state it was in. It was way too old to protect a gate.
Then, when I was about to walk past it, the eyes lit up.
I backed up as fast as I could, but was slowed by the snow.
The statue rumbled. The trees around us shivered. Birds fled from their perches.
The tremor of the statue continued as it shed its vine clothing. The vines pulled up the disconnected arm as they snaked over his shoulder, securing it to the body once again. Now that the vines were gone, I could see that the statue was restoring itself to its former glory. It gradually turned from brown rust to shiny iron, and blue hieroglyphics began to write themselves out over the statue's body.
All around us, the snow melted and the trees shrunk into saplings and continued to grow younger until they were completely gone.
It was as if he had taken me back through time.
I glanced at our surroundings. We were on a large, rocky plateau. Behind me, there was only a drop-off of endless shadow, but behind the metallic giant, there was a black stone gate, half sunken in a bubbling pool of molten lava. Thunderclouds
rolled overhead, lightning flashing in their dark gray depths.
Despite being made of metal and blue hieroglyphics, the giant looked very human, taking the form of a handsome man. Lean muscles flexed as he pulled a sword out of the ground in front of him.
“Choose your weapon,” he thundered, his powerful voice ricocheting of the rocks.
I was so panicked I didn't know what to say. Jane's words echoed in the back of my mind. The key to the gate is your strength.
“I choose strength,” I said shakily. The giant chuckled deep in his throat. “Then strength you shall have.”
A tingling feeling took over my body from head to toe. I didn't change visibly, but physically, I began to feel stronger. The weight of my body disappeared almost completely. I felt like I could fly if I wanted to.
The giant smiled, exposing sharp metal teeth. I crouched, a plan forming in my head already. He bowed mockingly, and then surged forward with his sword. I moved quickly with my newfound strength, dodging his thrust and sprinting away from the cliff he'd had me backed up against.
His heavy footsteps shook the ground behind me as I ran toward the gate. Before I could get any closer, something hit me in the back, pinning me to the ground. I growled in frustration and stood, making the boulder fall heavily behind me.
The giant stood right in front of me. “Running never works,” he said, beginning to circle me while twisting the sword in his hand. “How did you think you were going to get through the fiery pit?”
I hadn't thought my plan that far through. My eyes flicked back to the gate. My strength might allow me to launch myself through it.
He lunged forward once again, this time even faster, barely giving me enough time to dodge away before he struck me again with the hilt of his blade. I flew backward and into one of the boulders, making it slide and tumble into the empty chasm below. I almost went with it, but managed to find a grip on the ledge.
The giant walked up to me, showing off his sharp teeth with another leering grin. “So many before you have suffered this same fate. It is no surprise to me that a girl this small should follow them.”
