by S L Mason
My eyes shift all around the clearing. I’m alone. All the bodies have disappeared, leaving the stream bank clean and empty. As if they’d never existed.
The rocks dig into my knees, and my hands hold clods of dirt. Hysteria is close. It toys with me, and I play back. My screams echo off the trees, bouncing back in my face and laughing at me. The pain in my head sharpens before the scream in my raw throat subsides. I squeeze my eyes shut, pushing the liquid out.
My vision clears, and the ache around my head throbs. My fingers rub the aching ring, only to run across itchy bumps. They encircle my head, ending at my temples. My back is in agony, either side of my spine on fire. Why can’t the aching stop? Why can’t the killing stop? Tears threaten to wash over me, and a whimper escapes my lips.
I sit back on my heels, and my eyes search everywhere for answers. What had Nick said? It’s not real, but he’s dead. It must be.
CHAPTER 29
The forest is quiet, too quiet. Tilting my head back, I scan the sky, peeking through the forest canopy. It’s a sky, but not the Fae iridescent cavern—impossible. My hands rub the moisture from my eyes. The mind fog I’d had since entering the game zone falls away. Squinting, I see minute wakes.
This isn’t real. Nick had seen it. How could I have missed it? I jump to my feet and waver with weakness. I run my hand over my bodice and land on my belt pouch. I pop the snap open, and my fingers shift around, searching until the cold smooth exterior of a vial meets the tip on my thumb—Lavender’s energy potion. It doesn’t look to have more than a dram at best.
The squeak of wood pulling apart followed by splashing water dripping on rocks. A cold wind blows my hair forward into my face. Every hair on my body stands straight up. I turn to the sound of rocks crashing together. They all laugh, each reeking with disdain.
“She doesn’t look like much to me. Can’t we just kill her and be done with it, Terra?” The misty shape curls around the other three. The body is nothing more than a hint of a breast and flowing hair, pierced by icy white eyes. Her pouty lips hitch to one side.
“You know we can’t, Aer. We need to test her mettle. We must find the Aether.” Rocky lips spark with each word. Aer humphs, blowing her hair around.
“I could give her a watery embrace, and then we’d be done. Easy as falling over a cliff into a deep pool.” Steely blue eyes reflect the color of deep blue cold ocean water. Her skin pills with scales like a fish as iridescent as a rainbow trout.
“No, Aqualis. Her roots are deep in Fae. She will either bend like a sapling or break like a heavy branch. You know the rules we test for Aether.” The tree has the body of a woman naked and grained. She could’ve been carved straight from a single tree. The hair hanging from her head resembles a weeping willow. Leaves cluster over her breasts and groin. Her eyes are the color of a Japanese maple leaf. Her lips are the red of turning fall leaves. Her hand points a branchy finger at the watery woman—Aqualis.
A breeze pushes down my nostrils and over my tongue. I smack my lips together, searching for the moisture that is wicked away. “What the fuck are you?” I say. Fae sight is excellent, but my eyes aren’t big enough to take it all in. Fear roots me to the forest floor much like the tree woman in front of me.
“Elemental Nymphs, human.” The words from the craggy mouth shoot tinder on to the forest floor. The flame takes and rises high, spreading in a circle around all of us. I sing to the rocks to rise, but they keep their place.
“You can’t use my children against me, stupid half-ling.” The rocks I called all fly at me, slamming into my chest and head. An old-fashion stoning. Humming vibrates in my chest, pulling the wind to my command.
“Perhaps she doesn’t understand how the game is played, Ignis? Do you even know what an element is? Surface dwellers are too thick. You must lighten your mind.” The force of Aer’s words throws me out of the fiery circle and into a tree. It knocks away every breath in my body with the impact.
The four of them circle around my new location. I hear the slap of water before it splashes part of my chest and face. A scream tears from my lips, and the acid in the water burns half my face, disintegrating my chemise and melting my leather bodice into the jelly that I once called skin. Smoke rises around my head. The scent of burning hair fills my nose and mouth. Salty tears stream from my eyes, stinging the wounds wherever they fall. I lift my head, pushing off the tree trunk. My chest clenches from the vice grip of branches and vines closing around me. Roots hold my feet in place. I’m trapped like the kids in the maze.
“She’s not the one! Look how easy it is to subdue her. Ignis, we should use her to feed the forest. The mushrooms from her blood will strengthen us all. Aqualis don’t burn her anymore, it sours the food.” My eyes shift from side to side, searching for a way out, pushing against the vine that holds my head firmly to the tree. What did she say? My blood, and mushrooms?
The acid water burns away the sheath of a dagger. My hand is so close. I fold my thumb into my palm. Finally, being double-jointed pays off. I can practically pull my hand out of anything.
My hand pulls free from the branches wrapped around my wrist. I grab the blade. Before they can stop me, I bring it down, stabbing my thigh. I pull it free, only to have Terra’s vines wrap around my wrist, wrenching my arm behind the tree and overextending my shoulder in the process.
“Look! She knows it’s a lost cause. She kills herself. It is better to feed Fae than be ruled by this. Don’t you think, Ignis?” Aer caresses the side of my face with the warmth of a summer breeze. My heart pounds in my chest, along with the fire of hate. They’re toying with me. If I die here, Nick died for nothing, and Arty will be lost to this place.
I angle my head down, pressing my brow into the bark of the branch that holds me in place. I see the mushrooms growing where my blood dripped on the forest floor. It isn’t enough. The wake lines coming off my blood move slowly. I’ll never bleed enough. Harnessing the ache in my chest, I turn it into a vibrating sound, emanating from my heart. It raises blood from my thigh down to the forest floor, and I fling it around my body.
“Aqualis, stop her!” Ignis crashes her words out, spewing flames. Three sparks land on my legs, catching on the leather straps. A whimper escapes from my lips. I continue humming the droplets into place.
“I can’t take her water. She’s too Fae. There isn’t enough left. The human side is too far gone.” Aqualis rages her scales, turning white like angry water. My lips chap with moisture loss, but I smack them together.
“I’ll stop her. Even Fae must breathe.” Aer moans as she pulls the air from my lungs. My chest caves with the loss of oxygen and air pressure.
The magic wake comes from my chest, not my lungs or throat. The sick sound of stone impacting flesh hits my ears before the pain reaches my mind. Ignis pelts my upper body. One stone crashes into the melted skin of my head, pulling it farther from my skull. Panting takes over, and the throbbing beat of my heart fills my ears. I bite down on my cracked lips, and the coppery taste of blood fills my mouth. I spit it to the side of the tree and watch the tiny fungi grow. Every blood drop I move falls in place, and mushrooms grow. My whimpering sways reverberations over the forest floor, slamming into the nymphs. I push them back with only my cries.
The magic wake bounces back to the mushrooms. It supercharges their growth, turning them purple and becoming small trees surrounding me.
The vibrations in my chest shake the vines and branches into dust, freeing me. I sag away from the tree trunk.
At my feet lies Lavender’s vial. In one motion, I scoop it up and pour it down my throat.
The blast of energy flees through my body as if all the energy from a supernova exploded in my chest traveling outward. Magic wakes move out at the speed of a tsunami. It tears down all in my way, pushing the nymphs to their knees.
“We have a contender, ladies! The test is over. We have our Aether.” Ignis sparks fire from her mouth with words. I push harder, dousing the flames. In unison, they all
regain their feet and move in. I stand my ground. It isn’t real.
With magic wakes, I grab Aqualis and push her watery body into the unyielding rock of Ignis. I pick up the willowy form of Terra, and I twirl her in a circle like a cyclone and tangle Aer in the vine-like branches.
“You cannot use the elements against each other.” Ignis stamps her rocks together. It amuses me.
“The elements only work, if you use them in order,” I shout. “Otherwise they cancel each other out. Nature has a balance. It’s called the cycle of destruction. Not all surface dwellers are dumb, asshole.” My voice rises as does the mushroom round. I sing myself above the nymphs. They wriggle and scream in frustration. The ring carries me to the fence where I’d entered the game zone. I lower my voice, landing in the grass with a soft bump.
There it is, the entrance and the magic line of bubbles floating up over my head arching into a dome. Extending my index finger, I touch one bubble. It pops. The world around me tilts, and I stagger to right, waiting for the movement of the earth to settle. Then pop another bubble, and a fence post falls. Beyond the post, there’s a clamor of clapping and laughter. My lips press together, and I clench my teeth. They are watching, those bastards. They watched Nick die and laughed about it. I follow the laughter’s source with one foot in front of the other, and I storm to a tear I created in the magic. Inserting both hands into the opening, I pull with all my might ripping it apart.
The game zone melts away with the wind and a laugh. “That’s thirty-two.” Bonn’s voice fills my ears as do heat from my anger. It’s all just a game to them. I open my mouth to sing, but my leg gives out from under me. My hip hits the ground hard. Two hands wrap around my arms, pulling me up and hugging me.
“You made it! I was so worried.” Deston pulls back, staring deep into my eyes. The green of his eyes is so perfect and bright. I want to stay there forever. His hands move over my body, sending thrills into my battered muscles. The goofy smile returns, along with a perplexing fog. “Let’s get you back to the castle before you faint,” Deston informs me.
I nod vigorously. I want to answer, but the words don’t come.
“You bitch, you killed him! It’s your fault.” Nikki’s voice runs down my nerves like nails on a chalkboard.
“You killed him, Nikki. I tried to save him. You killed your own twin.” I choke on the words. My chest wavers with the cries I want to scream.
“No, Sarah. You killed him.” Arty’s words cut me. He stands with his arm around her protectively.
“Nick was my friend. Why would I kill him?” I turn to face Nikki. “He only came here to save you, you ungrateful cow. How could you? You didn’t deserve a brother like Nick. He died trying to find you, and you killed him in cold blood.” The words lodge in my throat.
Her hair is white from tip to root. Points from her ears peek out between her long hair. Arty’s aura wakes the sickly yellow of rot. Under my breath, I hum the counter to the rot. Arty’s eyes mist over and clear before widening.
“Sarah, where have you been?” He leaps over to my side and hugs me with his big bear style, rocking me from side to side. He pulls back, meeting my eyes.
I sputter. “Your safe, I wasn’t sure. No one had seen you. Deston told me everyone from the maze died.” I clamp onto him, squeezing with all my might. I bury my face into his chest and breathe in a scent wholly Arty.
“I fell from the circle. I sat there, listening to your voice, and then there was a loud crack. You were gone. Nikki and I met, and she helped me.” He smiles back at her.
Nikki whispers, “Arty, come with me.” Nikki’s hand grips his bicep to pull him away. I see the magical influence she has over him.
Arty’s wide eyes trail over my acid washed face. I cringe at what I must look like. Arty had said I was pretty, once. I doubt he’d say that now.
“It was an enchanted world, you dimwit,” I snap at Nikki. “In my world, you killed Nick and in yours I did. One way or another, he’s dead and he’s never coming back.” My voice wavers as heat burns my eyes and chest with a pain that will never go away.
Nikki cuts me off. “No, you killed him, Sarah! You came back and brought him with you. You did it!” The rumble in the back of her throat is all the warning I get before Janice’s shield blocks my vision. The magic slams into the magic shield, glancing off. I wish I’d left Nick on the surface with Jake and Tom. At least then he’d still be alive.
“Time to go, Sarah.” His eyes mesmerized me and I blink to find clarity
Nikki’s right. I’d killed Nick. I saved him from the maze only to kill him. The weight of it slams down on me, bowing my back. My hand finds Arty’s. Arty smiles and squeezes my hand in return. I draw comfort from the contact. I pull him along with me, heading toward Deston’s carriages.
“You know the rules, Deston. You can’t take my slave with you. He’s mine.” Jacques floats over Arty and I. His wicked smile flashes white, shiny teeth.
Deston quips back. “I have no intention of taking your slave. I have my contender; that is enough for me. You heard what the nymphs said. She’s too Fae. Today has been a double win for me.” Deston’s words burn my ears the same way the acid had burned one side of my face. Nick is dead, and it’s a double win for him? The ache in my throat radiates, reaching my eyes to wash over with tears. I press my lips into a tight line. I swallow the pain, and it slithers back to my belly, lodging itself there.
Hot breath moves over my un-scared ear. “Let it go, my Lady. This is a long game,” Janice whispers.
My chest shutters and nostrils flare. All the blinking in the world will never make the tears or the pain stop. I hadn’t just lost Nick. Now I had to watch Arty walk away too.
“Come, slave!” Jacques orders Arty to his side.
I watch Arty’s pained expression. He strains against the magic. My eyes search Arty’s, tracing down to our laced fingers. I lock on the leather bracers on his forearms. They glow with magic, forcing his hand from mine. His shoes emanate the same enchantments, dragging his feet toward his master and away from me.
I choke out an “Arty,” but my whispering desperation can’t change the magic. I grab his hand with both of mine only to have, his fingers slip from mine. My eyes meet his. Only his glasses aren’t there to reflect the light or block part of his face. His goofy half-smile scrunches up one side and he runs his fingers through his shaggy hair.
“Don’t worry, Sarah. I’ll be safe. I’ve made friends.” His eyes dart to Nikki and someone behind her.
I shake my head. His eyes narrow with a slight nod. He throws me Scout’s Honor.
“Don’t’ go, Arty.” I choke back a sob. The pain in my leg overwhelms me along with blood loss. Blood on my face has coagulated and dried, causing the skin to contract and itch. My head aches and itches too.
My body sags to the ground as strong hands lock around my shoulders. My legs sweep into the air. My head rests against the rhythmic beating of a heart pressed to my good ear. I embrace the oblivion of black on the back side of my eyelids.
CHAPTER 30
“Don’t leave her side,” Janice whispers.
“No, my lord, never. Can we not treat her?” Lavender pleads.
“No, Deston would be alerted. She must heal on her own.” Janice’s reply is bitter.
“As you say, Lord Janice. However, I will not let her die, even if it costs me my own immortality. I may be a lower caste of Fae, but I have the same stake you do,” Lavender retorts.
Their words wash over and through me. I hear and understand, but I don’t care. Arty, Nick, Pastor Rollins, the girls from the maze, and their haunted faces rush in to scream at me. Olive’s eyes stare, pleading for Nick to take her back to Zoe. The bloody grass in Arty’s front yard, his headless father, the crumpled form of his mother. Everywhere I look is covered in blood with giant pools pouring into the cracks of my enchanted bubble of body pieces and hell. Girls scream in the background as vines climb up my legs, digging their thorns into my flesh. The vine
s inject a paralyzing poison into my limbs. My hands rip at the vines, but the thorns turn into teeth chewing away at my limbs. Water sears my flesh, and branches pull my appendages from their sockets.
Slowly, the bloody pool surrounds me, climbing up to reach my neck. I open my mouth to scream, and the fleshy warm coppery taste pours in. I’m choking on it as it slithers down my throat, bubbling up into my nose. My hands flail and dig at my throat for air. I whip at my eyes, pushing the blood back. The world turns red and then black.
__________
The raw meat of my throat from blood curdling screams is all I feel as my fingers grip the sheets. I’m in bed. Sweat beads on my forehead and under my arms.
“My lady, you are safe. I am here.” Lavender’s voice is soft and soothing.
“Lavender, are you alive?” Tears threaten, but I blink them back.
“Yes, of course. I’m alive and so are you.” Her hand smooths my hair back on one side.
My hand races to my face. Fingers trail over withered, rippled skin where my ear should have been, only to encounter a melted stump and a sticky cold hole. My hair no longer warms one side of my head or the pointy ear that once lived there.
“I want a mirror, please.” my scratchy voice caws at her.
“Oh, my Lady, I think you should wait for Deston. He may heal you.” Her eyes shift from left to right as she stands up, nervously fluffing my pillows and straightening the bedding.
A fog comes with Deston’s name, settling over my mind along with a warm liquid in my belly.
I shake my head, but I can’t find the clarity I desire. “I still want the mirror. Don’t pacify me or I’ll get it myself.” I flip the covers back, revealing the gash in my leg. The cut, a straightforward stab wound, but black rot radiates down my leg, shooting ugly veins in all directions. “Why hasn’t my leg been treated?” I ask. Throbbing pain from the wound rages back at me, shooting and vibrating with my pulse.
