Nykara

by Katie Holland

  She let the anger boil until it filled up her body. She took that anger and used it to bring energy to her. She could feel the dark energy that was keeping her bound. She pictured it like a cloth wrapped very tightly around her. In her mind, she took her energy and used it to slice down the fabric until she was free. She knew the instant it worked as she could feel the restriction gone. Since she didn’t know what her next step would be she continued to lay there as if nothing had happened. But she did remember to put up her shield this time. There was no way anything was getting past it.

  “So, you have nothing to say for your fallen companions?”

  “I’ll grieve for them later. First, I’m going to take care of you,” she said defiantly.

  A booming laugh came from Victor. “Helpless little Ashley is going to take care of me, the powerful Grynn. You are quite the comedian. And just how are you planning to do that?” he asked her still laughing.

  “I don’t know,” she replied honestly. Alix really didn’t know what she was going to do. She just knew that she had to do something, or she and the hikers were going to die. She also knew that whatever she did had to stop him totally or he would hurt all of them. She needed more time to think. Maybe if I get him talking, she thought to herself.

  “How did you capture them without anyone seeing anything?” she asked, thinking he seemed to like talking about how great he was.

  “A very intelligent question little Ashely, I’m impressed. For someone like me, it was very easy. I simply bound them as I did you and rendered them unconscious at the same time. I then cloaked them, so no one could see them. And of course, I used magic to float them away and brought them here.”

  “Of course,” she said sarcastically, but he failed to pick up on her tone. “And how are they staying asleep?”

  “Ah, my clever little Ashley, trying to get me to tell all of my secrets?”

  “Yes,” she answered honestly.

  His response was to laugh again. “My, my, such a funny little girl. And since I only see two ways this can end I’ll tell you my secret. It’s called The Sleep of the Dead. It’s a special magic only available to the Grynn. It allows me to keep them just alive enough that I can bring them back if needed but keeps them close enough to death that they can’t fight back.”

  Alix was horrified but tried not to show it. She wanted him to keep talking. “You said you can only see this ending one of two ways, what did you mean?”

  “One, I kill you and these three or two, I make you one of us. Simple.”

  Alix had no words. She didn’t even like scary movies and right now she felt like she was living one.

  “So,” Victor continued, “What do you say? Would you like to join the winning side of the Grynn?”

  Alix knew that an outright refusal would probably be bad so instead, she chose to pretend like she was interested. “Tell me more.”

  Victor launched into a speech about how great they Grynn were and why she should switch sides. Alix quit listening after the second word. She needed to stop Victor, get the hikers out and escape. As he droned on she came up with a plan, hopefully, it worked.

  Eventually, he finished his speech. “So, what do you think my little Ashley?”

  “Um … well … it all sounds very exciting. Are you sure you could teach me to become a Grynn?”

  “Absolutely. No one is better than me.” His confidence was overwhelming.

  “That’s good, I could use a great teacher. I’ve learned almost nothing so far.”

  “And they sent you to face me. They must be incredibly stupid. I can teach you to be the greatest Grynn in history, well except for me that is,” he said smugly.

  Alix could tell he was believing her. It was now or never she thought. He turned his back for a moment and she jumped up. When he turned around again he stopped in his tracks. She could tell he was shocked. She used that to her advantage. She used her energy to push him across the room.

  “How dare you!” he roared. “They will die because of your actions.” With that, he threw an energy ball at the hikers.

  “I don’t think so,” Alix said, as she stopped it and threw it back at him.

  Victor was knocked back several feet and landed on his back. Alix took the opportunity to use her energy to bind him in a similar way as to what he’d done to her.

  Victor’s face turned red with anger. “You can’t do this to me!”

  “Actually, I think I can,” she said with a smile.

  “You will pay for this,” he sputtered.

  “Maybe, but not today. And I’ll face any Grynn I find outside this cave as well. You will not win today.”

  Alix proceeded to finish what she had in mind for Victor. She didn’t want to kill him, but she had to make sure he wasn’t getting free. She went over to Samantha and put her hands on her. One on her head and one over her heart. She then tried to feel The Sleep of Death magic that Victor was using on them. After a minute or two she could feel the dark magic inside Samantha. In her mind she pictured it like a dark storm cloud that filled up her body. Alix studied it and then went over to Victor, placing her hands on his head and over his heart.

  “Stop this. I demand you stop!”

  She ignored him. He could plead all he wanted, but she was determined to stop him. She took what she’d learned about The Sleep of Death, made it her own and used it on Victor. Next, she created an opening in the rock behind him. She used her magic to lift him up and put him in the opening. Then she sealed it shut with a rock. There was no way for him to get out now. She knew the magic she used would eventually wear off, but it would be days or even weeks before that happened.

  Alix didn’t take time to revel in her victory, she still had the hikers to save. Because she was now familiar with the magic used on them she was able to reverse it. She woke each one in turn. They were extremely disoriented.

  “Just lie still,” she told them. “You are safe, I’m going to get more help.”

  She made her way as quickly as she could to the cave entrance, worried that something had indeed happened to everyone. Alix almost cried with relief when she saw everyone waiting for her. It looked like Victor had lied.

  “Alix!” Ben yelled when he saw her. “You’re okay. What happened?”

  “I’m fine. We’re safe. There will be time for explanations later. Right now, I have to destroy this barrier, so we can get the hikers home. Stand back.”

  They all moved to the sides of the entrance. Alix made a powerful energy ball and threw it at the invisible barrier. She could feel when it shattered. “Follow me,” she said, turning back into the cave.

  With a little maneuvering, they got the hikers out of the cave, through the waterfall, and out of the water. Samantha, Jack, and Sara were very weak, and it was still an hour and a half walk to get to the vehicles. Kris suggested they make litters for each of them since they couldn’t walk themselves. Using his magic, he quickly constructed three litters and they lifted each of the three hikers onto one. He also took foil blankets out of his pack and placed one over each person. With the help of magic, they dragged the litters out of the woods and to the vehicles.

  Once everyone was in the vehicles Alix could breathe a little easier. As soon as she could she called her mom and told her they were on the way home. She could tell her mom was relieved beyond belief.

  Shay, Heather, and Ted were waiting at the door when they arrived. They got the hikers in the house and each situated in a spare bedroom. Mike and Alix visited each of them. Alix learned how to use her magic for healing. They explained what happened and where they were. Each was told to rest and when they woke up they could contact their families. They were too weak to say much more than thank you.

  After seeing the hikers Alix and Mike went downstairs to join the others in the den. Alix was wrapped in the arms of her mom, dad, and Shay. Tears started to escape her eyes. She was just as glad to see them. As soon as she stepped away from them the questions started.

  “Hang on
everyone. It’ll be easier if I explain what happened,” she told them.

  Alix then proceeded to tell them everything. About how she was caught by surprise and didn’t have her shield up. That got her a dirty look from Kris. About how Victor tried to recruit her to become a Grynn. About how she stopped him and what she did to him. And finally, how she freed the hikers from their sleep. She left nothing out. When she was done everyone just kind of looked at her in awe. It was making her blush actually.

  “You were brilliant,” Ben jumped up and hugged her. “I continue to be amazed by you.”

  “As are we all I think,” Natalie said. “You are an astonishing young woman Alix and I’m extremely glad to know you.”

  That just made her blush harder.

  “I just have one question,” Ben started, “Why will the magic you used to put him to sleep and hide him only last a limited amount of time? You made it sound like he would last forever.”

  “I think the Grynn Sleep of Death will last forever, but because my magic is good it prevents me from doing anything like that. Yes, we can kill in defense but that’s not the same thing as murdering someone. The magic seems to know that. So eventually he will be released from his temporary prison.”

  “But aren’t you scared he will come after you?” Shay asked.

  “Yes and no. He didn’t seem to know that Ashley wasn’t my real name so that leads me to believe that they didn’t really know anything about me. So that keeps me safe for now. But do I think that one day they will figure it out. I’m just hoping when they do I’ll be a lot more prepared.”

  “What do we do with the hikers?” Karin asked.

  “They should wake up in the morning. Mike and I were able to heal them. They were mostly dehydrated but should feel fine after they’re awake. When they do wake up we’ll have them contact their families. We’ll play it by ear after that.”

  No one seemed to have any more questions.

  “I think this calls for a celebration,” Rick announced. “Who wants Chinese food and ice cream?”

  They all thought that sounded like a tremendous idea. Rick and Ted went to get the food while Natalie, Heather, and Karin grabbed some paper plates and drinks. Ben was talking to Kris and Mike. That left Alix and Shay alone.

  “Well, Alix, now that’s it’s just us. Talk to me. How are you really?”

  “Actually, I’m okay.”

  Shay looked at her skeptically.

  “No, really, I am. Saving them made everything I’ve had to deal with seem insignificant. They could have died if not for me. I’m not trying to sound full of myself but if being the Chosen One means I have to deal with the likes of Victor in order to save more people I think I can handle it. It wasn’t easy, but I think for my first time I did pretty good.”

  “I think you did better than pretty good,” Ben said, sitting down beside her. “You were outstanding.”

  The three of them continued to talk until they could smell the Chinese food from down the hall. Everyone was starving and ate with gusto. The ice cream was from Lyla’s, so it was fantastic of course.

  After dinner Kris, Karin and Mike headed home. Alix decided it would be better for her to stay the night in case Samantha, Jack, or Sara woke up early. Shay got permission to stay as well. They all hung out in the den until Alix’s parents decided to head home.

  “We are so proud of you,” her mom said before they left. “And I know Sharon and Sean would be as well. You are an exceptional young woman Alix. See you tomorrow. Call if you need anything. We love you.”

  “I love you both too,” she hugged them and watched them drive away.

  “I’ll show you guys to a room,” Ben said.

  They walked upstairs. Ben showed them to the room next to his. “Mom said she would get you guys something to sleep in.”

  They hung out in Ben’s room for a while before going to the room next door. The bed was big enough for both of them and they quickly fell asleep.

  Chapter 39

  Alix woke up bright and early the next morning. She went to check on the three guests. Sara and Jack were still sleeping but Samantha was awake. She was so grateful to Alix that she was in tears as Alix told her what had happened. Natalie had set out a change of clothes for Samantha and Alix showed her to the nearest bathroom, so she could shower and start to feel like a person again.

  Within the next thirty minutes, she repeated the process with Sara and Jack. Both were equally as grateful as Samantha was.

  By the time Jack, Sara, and Samantha were showered and dressed so was Alix. Shay was still sleeping, and Alix knew better than to wake her up.

  She showed the three of them downstairs and found Natalie, Ben, and Rick in the kitchen. Introductions were made, and Natalie made them a big breakfast. Each took turns contacting their family. There wasn’t a dry eye in the kitchen after the calls were made. By the next day, someone would be there to pick each of them up.

  Shay eventually made her way downstairs and was happy to meet the three people that had unknowingly been at the center of everything they’d done for the last few weeks.

  Natalie and Rick convinced Alix, Shay, and Ben that it would be a good idea to go to school and act like it was just another normal day. Natalie assured them their new-found friends would be well taken care of. If anything were to change she would call the school immediately. They reluctantly agreed. Ben drove to Shay’s and then to Alix’s where they could change into clean clothes.

  The school was positively boring after the previous day’s adventure. Alix knew that every day wasn’t going to be like that, but it was still hard to go from the Chosen One to just a regular high school senior. Even though they were only at school for a half a day it seemed to take forever.

  Finally, it was time to go home. They went back to Ben’s to check on Sara, Samantha, and Jack. It was as if they had been part of their group forever. Natalie had taken them on a tour of Sunset Creek. Sara said she thought it was the cutest town she’d ever seen and vowed that she would be back.

  After visiting for a little while Ben took the girls home, but not before everyone had exchanged phone numbers. It was amazing how quickly they were becoming friends. Even though they would go their separate ways Alix knew they would always keep in touch.

  At home, Alix was happy to spend some time with her parents. She went to bed that night with a sense of peace she hadn’t known before.

  The next day Natalie had let her know when each of the previously missing hikers was picked up by their family members. She said there were lots of happy tears. Alix asked her how the missing hikers were going to explain that they weren’t missing anymore. After all, it had been on the news and there were even police reports. Natalie assured her that the Almati Council would handle it.

  Alix was glad this situation had a happy ending. It could have just as easily gone the other way. She had no clue what the future would hold but she knew it was going to be full of ups and downs. She also knew that no matter happened what she had a support system to back her up. She had made some new friends that she knew would be in her life as long as they were alive.

  Just as Alix and her parents were sitting down to dinner the doorbell rang. Her dad went to see who it was.

  “Alix, can you come here please,” he called from the hallway.

  Alix and her mom looked at each other. Curious, Heather went to the door with Alix. Standing there was a man in a fancy suit holding an envelope.

  “Miss Alix Dracon,” he said and handed her the envelope.

  He left as soon as it was in her hands.

  “That was strange,” her mom said as they sat back down to dinner.

  Alix held the envelope in her hands. It was really nice paper and her name was in elegant script on the front.

  “Are you going to open it?” her dad asked.

  “Uh, yeah, I guess.”

  She slowly turned it over and slid her finger under the flap to break the wax seal. It was like something she thought a king woul
d send. Inside was a card. On the front was a fancy “A”. She opened it and read what it said. She had to read it again to be sure. It was from the Almati Council. They wanted her to join the council and help lead the Nykara people. This sounded scary and exciting all at the same time. All she could do was smile. This sounded like the start of a new adventure.

  The End

  Author’s Note

  Thank you for reading my book. If you enjoyed it, please consider

  leaving me a review at your favorite retailer.

  Thank you!

  Katie Holland

  Please look for more books in the Nykara series coming soon!

  Extras

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  Table of Contents

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22