by Mia Fox
“I have no intention of leaving,” I said evenly to Raven.
She smirked and baited me. “That’s why you turned away at the sight of real love and passion? You haven’t actually experienced that yourself, have you? I mean, I assume that’s why James isn’t here with you.”
It would take a lot more than words to affect me. I wouldn’t give her the satisfaction of hurting me in that manner. “Bust my buttons, I was never gonna to leave you here alone, certainly not with your bosoms exposed for all to see. I just wanted to shield my own eyes from such an unladylike exhibition. By the way, it’s good to know that this trip hasn’t caused you a loss of appetite. I see you’ve been tucking into the desserts lately.”
“Screw you, Suki.”
I smiled sweetly while she adjusted her jeans and smoothed down her top. In truth, she had a remarkable figure, more curvaceous than my slight frame, but I wasn’t about to let her know that I harbored the eensiest bit of admiration for any part of her. We began our walk across the meadow, toward the wall of Sycamore trees -- an unlikely trio forging a trek into unknown and volatile territory.
Raven easily walked ahead while Phineas and I ended up next to each other a few steps behind. It wasn’t that I had any desire to be near him, given what I had just witnessed, but the thin air made breathing difficult even with the slightest amount of exertion. Phineas seemed to struggle with the same problem as his words came out slowly and barely above a whisper, which may have been his intention.
“Please Suki, let me explain.”
“I have nothing to say to you and I’m not your girlfriend, thankfully. You don’t owe me an explanation.”
“I want you to hear me out. All the things I said...,” his voice grew even quieter and I could tell he feared Raven would hear him. “...what I said in the bar...it was the truth.”
“You’re just worried that I’m going to tell Charlotte that you’re slimier than the backside of a lily pad.”
“But I’m not. I don’t know even know what that was...she just...you have to believe me.”
“Believe what?” Raven was a good distance ahead of us, but suddenly she turned on her heel and I saw an exchange between the two of them that I hadn’t ever noticed before. I had seen admiration cross Raven’s face when Phineas had perfected shapeshifting. It was no secret that both of them had a mutual attraction. But for the first time, I saw something else in Phineas’ eyes as he looked at Raven -- fear.
As sudden as a heart attack strikes, my own heart started to beat wildly in my chest. The palpitations were erratic and fast, making me gasp from both the sheer shock as well as a sudden and gripping pain that seized me. I dropped to my knees and struggled to breathe.
“Suki? What’s wrong?”
I looked up at Phineas and upon seeing the surprise in his face I knew that he had nothing to do with the attack plaguing me. I could no longer even remain on my knees. The pain in my chest was so intense that I doubled over onto my side, pulling my legs up and desperately trying to get any air into my lungs.
“Talk to me!” Phineas yelled, but only the slightest whimper escaped my lips. “Raven, is it the realms? What’s happening to her?”
Raven approached my side and leaned down to look into my eyes, which were open wide with fear. “Yeah, she doesn’t look too well.”
“Can you do something?”
“Yes Phin, I can. But why are you so concerned with her? It makes me sick.”
Phineas caught my eye and we both came to the conclusion together. This attack did not come from within my own system; it was set into motion by Raven and although I had witnessed her ability to influence one’s mind, never had I known her to be able to command such power over another person’s body.
“Raven,” I cried out weakly. “Please stop. You’re going to need me to approach Charlotte.”
“Really?”
“She’s clever and resourceful. The Amulet gives her powers unto herself.” But even with the Amulet, Charlotte was no match for Raven. Pairing them against each other would be like sending a kitten into the lion’s den, but it was all I could muster in the moment.
“I have nothing to do with this, Suki.”
Phineas grabbed a hold of Raven’s shoulders. “What do you mean?”
She looked at his hands, aggressively placed on her arms, and then stared a deathly look into his eyes. “If you touch me, it better be with the hands of a lover for I swear if I ever see such disloyalty from you again, you will be sorry.”
Phineas released his hold and ran his hands through his hair in frustration as I continued to cry out in pain. “What are you doing?”
My heart was now pounding with such force that one could see it flailing against my chest, turning a fist-sized portion of the skin that covered the organ black and blue.
“That?” she said, pointing to my writhing body on the ground. “I can make her good as new in a heartbeat...forgive the pun.”
“Then why don’t you?”
“I’ll do one better, but first come here,” she said tapping a finger against her lips. Phineas took a moment to assess the situation and knowing it was dire, he approached Raven, albeit not quite willingly. She, on the other hand, wasted no time in throwing herself into an embrace.
To Phineas’ credit, their kiss was tentative at best. Raven’s hands wove into Phineas’ hair, keeping him in place so that she could grow his passion, but to her annoyance Phineas kept an eye on my collapsed form.
“I can see that you’re a bit distracted.” She lowered herself next to me and took in my condition. My eyes were now closed, the effort of keeping them open being too difficult. She pulled back one eyelid and then dropped her hand as if repulsed with the imminence of my death.
Phineas watched as Raven stood up and closed her eyes, her hands were raised skyward: “The death of my enemy will not come; harness the spell and heal her suffering.” As Raven repeated her chanting, the pressure eased from my chest and my heart no longer pulsated with a force that threatened to explode from my chest cavity. Slowly, the bruising of my chest dissipated and my breathing returned to normal. I was exhausted from the experience, but I would live.
“You see? I do have a heart. I spared poor Suki’s life, now you can do something for me.”
Phineas glanced at me quickly to ensure that I was okay before answering. “What do you want?”
“It’s easy. Just put any feelings for Charlotte aside.”
Knowing full well that Raven could read his thoughts and feel his emotions, he answered cautiously. “I...care about you, Raven. I mean, isn’t that obvious from what happened between us before Suki got here?”
“Mmm, not so much,” she answered and then turned her attention to me. “Suki, you have such miserable timing. You always have. If I had just five more minutes alone with Phin, we would have consummated our relationship and once again been one. It could have been the way it was with us.”
I stood up slowly, willing myself to stand tall against her. “Maybe he still has a bit of free will left in him.”
“No, he’s always had free will. The difference in him occurred when I restored his humanity. That was obviously a big mistake.”
“Raven, no,” Phineas interjected, knowing how this could end for him. “You said yourself that we were better when I felt more for you. My humanity intensified things, don’t you think?”
“Until your stupid heart betrayed me. So...this is how the rest of this little expedition is going to go. I spared Suki’s life, but I’m taking back your humanity as payment.”
“And Charlotte?” I asked, now knowing full well that Raven’s powers were not only strong, but as volatile as her personality.
“Once that Amulet is mine, Charlotte is free to go home with you. She can go back to one of the dumb jocks at high school, and Phineas...you can watch her live happily ever after.”
Neither Phineas nor I spoke. I needed to regain my strength and I wasn’t about to foolishly say anything to set Rave
n off. As for Phineas, he knew that it was only a matter of seconds before he didn’t care about anything that brought him to the Romani Realms in the first place. Raven had managed to get both of us here to help her find the Amulet of Pollox.
I knew now that the scene I stumbled upon with Phineas and Raven was manufactured through her powers, but his love for Charlotte would wane as she took away his ability to feel. Even if Phineas had loved her once, he wouldn’t for much longer. Seeing the extent of Raven’s abilities, it wasn’t just a question of whether I would get Charlotte and hopefully, Samantha out of here alive. We now had to consider whether Phineas and I would be around to join them.
* * *
Chapter Five
Charlotte held onto Shadow’s hand as they walked deeper into the forest, oblivious to the fact that the further they walked the less daylight appeared through the thick tree branches.
“Don’t stop for anything, Charlotte.”
“I don’t like it here,” Charlotte said as much to herself as to the little girl who accompanied her.
“It’s the only way. You’ll have to trust me.”
With those words, memories of Phineas came rushing back to her. They were the same words he spoke when he took her back in time. Too many things happened that day. She had fallen in love with him, found the Amulet of Pollox, but instinctively kept it a secret; and she experienced loss. It was the day of Samantha’s death and with the loss of her friend, Charlotte relinquished her trust of Phineas.
“Trust me,” Shadow’s words whispered around her, but she could no longer see the girl in the dark forest.
“Shadow? Don’t leave me.”
Charlotte started to run although she had no idea why. She also couldn’t understand why she even wanted the creepy little girl with her, except that any companionship was better than the solitude and unknown experiences that kept occurring to her in these strange surroundings.
Although she hadn’t been aware of the tarry puddles in the meadow, she noticed them now, along with what looked like bones jutting out from the black depths. Charlotte slowed down her pace to gingerly hop over the puddles. There was light in the distance, perhaps just a quarter mile farther. She hurried toward it, but felt something grab at her ankle and tug her toward the ground.
She went down hard, landing in one of the tar puddles that splattered into her eyes. As she wiped the murky liquid from her face, she stared as the small puddle in which she sat, mesmerized by its sudden expansion in every direction. With lightening speed it spread until the forest had completely disappeared and in its place, Charlotte found herself treading the black water of a swampy lake.
Vines underneath the surface of the water wrapped around her legs. The more she kicked, the more tangled she became until she was forced underneath.
“Take my hand,” a voice called to her.
Instinctively, Charlotte extended her arm and was grateful when someone pulled on it, dragging her forward. The force in which she traveled caused the dirty water to splash in waves around her. It found its way into her mouth and she spluttered and coughed it out until thankfully landing in a heap on the shore.
“I love you, Charlotte.”
Charlotte looked up to see Shadow standing over her in a white dress that was not only dry, but as clean and bright as the now sunlit sky.
“What is this place?”
Shadow smoothed the dirty hair from Charlotte’s face. “Come on. I know where you can get cleaned up.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you. Look where I ended up the last time I followed you.”
Shadow’s eyes suddenly changed from their icy, pale blue to a black so dark one couldn’t even see her pupils. “Then you won’t see your friend.”
“Samantha? You know where she is? Take me,” Charlotte’s voice rose with the desperation of a girl tormented. “Please, take me to her.”
The little girl held her arms out for a hug. Charlotte stared at her and started to cry from the stress and strain of the last few hours. The girl’s blackened eyes continued to stare through her, making Charlotte’s fear grow to an irrational height. She was now standing in the midst of a green grassy field with the smell of wildflowers filling her senses, and yet she shook with uncontrollable fear.
“Love me, Charlotte.”
“I...I don’t want to get you dirty,” she said taking a step backwards.
“It’ll be fine. You want to see your friend, don’t you?”
Charlotte slowly took a step toward Shadow and placed her hands on the girl’s arms at an attempt to hold her at a distance. But the girl wrapped herself in Charlotte’s embrace. “Hold me tighter,” Shadow instructed. Charlotte moved her hands to the girls’ waist, but she screamed and released her at the sight of blood-stained handprints covering the girl’s arms where her hands used to be.
Charlotte looked down at her own hands, but only saw the black mud from the swamp. She stared with horror at Shadow whose eyes now shined brightly, once again a beautiful hue of light blue.
“What’s wrong, Charlotte?”
As Charlotte continued to stare at the little girl, the bloody handprints dissipated in the glowing sunlight leaving no trace whatsoever. “What’s going on?” Charlotte asked, pacing in circles.
Shadow pointed to the far end of the field. “Over there. She’s inside.”
A few moments ago the field was a massive expanse of green grass, nothing else in sight. But now, a beautiful, octagon-shaped structure stood just a few meters away, it’s walls made entirely of glass, shining in the sun like a beacon. Charlotte shielded her eyes from the sunlight, which reflected off the glass with intensity in spite of the distance. Shadow held out her hand, and this time, Charlotte took it without hesitation.
* * *
As the gazebo-like structure loomed before her, Charlotte could no longer contain herself. She ran faster than she had ever in her life, willing herself through the tall grass, until she reached the glass walls. Shadow had inexplicably gotten there before her, although Charlotte never saw the small girl overtake her. She moved next to her and like Shadow, she shielded her eyes from the tremendous glare of the glass walls and peered inside.
Like a scene from a formal debutantes ball, at least half a dozen girls were gathered together wearing gossamer gowns of sheer silk. They sat primly sipping from teacups as incredibly handsome men decked out in black suits stood at attention waiting to refill their cups. They just sat and drank without looking at each other or even speaking.
“I don’t see her,” Charlotte said aloud, pressing her nose against the glass.
“She’s right there,” Shadow pointed.
Charlotte took another look at where Shadow was pointing. In the center of a circle sat a girl whose back was to them, her hair was indeed red like Samantha’s, but it wasn’t Samantha’s wild mane of runaway curls. This girl’s hair was conservatively piled high on her head, not a stray tendril in sight. She wore an elegant, midnight blue strapless gown that featured a criss-cross lacing in the back from the waist upwards.
“She’s beautiful...it couldn’t...”
“Are you saying that your friend is not beautiful?”
“No, of course not. It’s just that Samantha wouldn’t be caught dead sipping tea in a ball gown. That girl is too...it’s just not like her.”
“Well, it’s a bit different here, isn’t it? But you’ll get used to it.”
Charlotte turned to stare at Shadow, fearing the words she spoke. But before she could verbalize any words to the contrary, Shadow backed away from the gazebo, moving to leave. “Well, I’ve seen enough. Coming?”
“No way,” Charlotte answered as she knocked on the glass window. Although the sound rang out clearly to her ear, not a soul from inside even turned toward the noise. Samantha and the girls continued to sit in silence. Charlotte slapped both hands against the windows, pounding harder in a desperate attempt to get Samantha’s attention.
“That’s a good show,” Shadow noted.
>
“Be quiet,” Charlotte snapped. “I thought you were going to take me to her, not tease me with the sight of her.”
“That’s not the show I’m talking about. It’s the one playing in your mind.”
A myriad of emotions were indeed bombarding Charlotte’s psyche, but there was something about the little girl’s words that plagued her. If she knew what Charlotte was thinking, did that also mean she knew the secrets that the Amulet brought her? “Can you see my thoughts?”
“I don’t want to see everything, not the boring stuff,” Shadow answered, once again sounding more like her age. “But, those...” she said pointing to Charlotte’s head, “those are good,” she wickedly smiled.
The emotional pull affecting Charlotte was too much. She was having a full blown panic attack over not being able to get to Samantha, and the ramblings of this little girl, or whatever she really was, made her heart pound with intense nerves. As Shadow started to leave, rounding the building to the other side, she called back to Charlotte. “I’m going for a walk; I’ll be back after you mind the show.”
“What?” Charlotte asked, not understanding her words. Before Shadow answered, everything around Charlotte shifted into darkness. Her eyes saw nothing except the images and thoughts of her own mind, playing in a fast-forward mode, although showing memories of her recent past.
Images flashed of Phineas, his beautiful features, her smile as she looked up at him with longing...the pictures played on, one after the next, in her mind. She tried to shake herself from the thoughts, but as she saw herself obviously in love with Phineas, her heart betrayed her current reason for being in the Romani Realms and returned to feeling love for him.
