by K. R. Bowman
“Sloane, are you there?” a different female voice.
“What’s wrong with her?” the first female.
“I don’t know. You saw her. When she touched that sword, her mind went to a different place,” a male voice this time, “Sloane?”
“Her arm, it looks like she’s bleeding!” said a second female voice.
Someone’s fingers rubbed lightly over my arm.
“It’s blood, but she just has a red line on her skin,” the male voice responded.
I tried extra hard to focus. The dark hovering shapes became people. Those people turned into Ashlen, Callum, and Raleigh. I smiled slightly. Their faces grew more concerned.
Callum had me in his strong warm arms, “Sloane, you okay?” His eyes were anxious for my answer.
I patted his cheek, “Callum.”
“That is going to be a no,” he started to lift me up more, but I pushed him off.
“I’m fine, okay? Just let me be for a minute.” My head was beginning to clear. I pressed my hand to my forehead. Callum backed up a little, but not much. His hands still rested on my arms.
“Cal, I need some more room.”
Callum’s eyebrows rose slightly, and the corners of his mouth tugged, but he scooted back some more.
I was sitting outside the opening of the tombs on the grass. The sun was about to peek out for its morning tease, so we hadn’t been down there for long, maybe three hours. The world felt tilted. I leaned my head back with my eyes shut, letting my face soak up the sun’s meager rays. It was gone before I knew it.
“Okay, Sloane, what happened for the umpteenth time?” Callum kneeled on the ground in front of me.
“Long story short, I met my grandfather in a metaphysical kind of way, and he told me how I can get Willow.”
“Well, that’s great. How do we get her?” Ashlen asked.
I looked around and spotted the sword lying a few feet away. I pointed to it, “With that and my necklace.” I noticed my arm where the red line ran down from my shoulder and curved slightly to the inside of my arm near my elbow. It was a smooth, clean red line that was slowly turning to pink like my hand had.
Raleigh picked the sword up. She examined across the sword, inspecting it, “How will this sword help us to find the real one?” She walked back toward us.
“He said that this sword would release Willow, and Artemis will help us find the real sword.”
“Release from what I wonder.” Callum looked over at me.
I lifted one shoulder in a shrug, “He said it would be challenging and that the task would only be for someone that is worthy, so let’s hope that I am.”
I held out my hand toward Raleigh, “Here, let me see.”
She handed me the sword hilt first. The metal gleamed in the sunlight; it was clean and untarnished. I ran my hand over the cool smooth blade. It vibrated slightly in my hands.
“Oh, wow, it just shook in my hands.” I looked up at them.
“Here, let me look at it,” Callum moved closer to take the sword. “It didn’t do anything with me.”
“Maybe it’s like Artemis, and it only answers to me.”
He looked back at the sword, pulling it closer to his face, apparently to get a better look at it. His eyes roamed over the surface of the blade, trying to find some sort of sign or scribble. “I wonder if there might be any clues hidden in this blade. Maybe heat or cold would bring out some pattern that we could decipher.”
“You think something needs to be added?” I leaned over and studied the sword, thinking.
“Well, he told you that it would tell us how to release her, so I think that there would be some sign or inscription on the sword somewhere that we could see. Of course, you might need to be near the real Willow for some kind of sign to become more apparent.”
I looked at Ashlen and Raleigh’s faces, trying to come up with something. My eyes landed on my right hand. The pink line across my palm began to fade.
“What exactly did he say?” Callum asked.
Could it be that easy? Or really that painful? I smiled. My grandfather would be that nasty to come up with something like this. Without further thought, I took the sword from Callum and swiftly ran the blade across my palm. My brain registered the pain efficiently. The others around me yelled, asking me what I was doing, and if I was crazy. Someone, I think Callum, tried to pull the sword from me, but I moved away from him.
My blood ran slowly down the edge of the blade, falling toward the hilt. As the blood swam along the hilt, the sword exuded a white light, and the blade burst into a blue-white flame that licked up to the tip of the sword. I held the sword out in front of me. Designs suddenly illuminated. The fire died slowly and cooled instantly, but it still hummed slightly in my hands. The designs that I could now see etched into the sword were a sterling blue hue, which started at the hilt and traveled down the length of the sword, curving across the blade.
22
We traveled to the front of the main building and stood near the front door. Callum and I waited on the girls, who had run upstairs to grab some supplies. Callum held the fake Willow, inspecting the designs etched into the metal.
“Well, what do you think that means?” I watched him as he looked over the blade.
Callum looked over at me, “I’m not sure. There are no definite patterns or any kind of language hiding in the designs, so your guess is as good as mine.” I saw him try not to smile, which he covered up by studying the sword very carefully. He kept turning it every which way so he could get a better angle. The mystery excited him.
He held the sword out to me, being careful not to let the edge of the blade get too close to me, “Here you go.”
The moment my flesh touched the cold metal, it shivered in my palm and a faint humming noise emanated from it. This sword spooked me a little, but no way was I admitting that to Callum.
“I know you’re anxious, but there’s not much else we can do to prepare for something like this.” Callum was studying my face, trying to gauge my emotions.
The corners of my mouth lifted faintly, “You’re right. I just like to have my plans in order, even though the whole time I’ve been here, I haven’t been able to rely on my planning.” I shook my head out of wonder; it was hard to get out of a routine even if your whole world had been knocked off its axis.
I looked back at the main building.
“Where are those girls?” I muttered to myself.
Callum coughed, “Uh, Sloane?”
I turned back to look at him, “Yeah?”
He reached up and ran his hand through his dark hair. It almost appeared as if his neck was turning red, “I’ve been meaning to ask you something.”
An eyebrow arched, “Yeah?”
A loud racket erupted from the main building. The girls had pushed through the doors with bags hanging from their backs and off their shoulders. They were arguing, and I saw what I assumed was the reason for their disagreement, walking behind them was Harris. He had a huge shit-eating grin on his face. He also had a large bulging bag strapped across his back.
“Alright, people, let’s get going. We got us some relics to go get.” Harris came up to me and slapped my back a little too hard, making me have to take a couple of steps to steady myself.
“Sorry, we were trying to get out without anyone seeing us, but Harris was camped outside our door,” Ashlen replied in an apologetic tone. She stepped closer to me, “You know I can’t tell him no.”
I laughed, “Ashlen, it’s okay, I love Harris. He can come. It wouldn’t be the same without him.”
Raleigh stood off to the side with her arms crossed over her chest, “Harris, you better keep your stories and little country remarks to yourself.”
“Who me?” He winked at her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Raleigh slipped out from under his arm and rolled her eyes.
“And don’t touch me,” she sauntered over to me. Raleigh held out a long piece of cloth for my hand. I took it and wrapped
it carefully around the new gash. Raleigh tied the material ends securely. I closed my fist, trying not to let the pain show on my face. Great, why did I cut my dominant hand?
People passed us as we walked along the road—the guards stationed heavily at the front gate. One of the men called out to us. Callum greeted him and spoke with him for a minute. We waited right outside the gate. Not that many people were leaving the city, most were entering. Callum slapped the guy on the back with a big smile on his face and turned back toward us. He really kept surprising me.
“What’s that look for?” he asked.
I blinked and shook my head, “You just keep me thinking is all.” I gestured to the guard, “What did he say?”
Callum glanced behind him, “He was asking where we were going.”
“What did you say?”
He smiled, “I said we were going on an adventure to find a magical sword and to destroy the Nightlins.” His eyes were gauging my reaction.
I shoved him, not too hard but enough to make him back up a couple of steps. He laughed. I continued along the stone wall toward the stream that ran through the city. Raleigh and Ashlen walked on either side of me. Harris was directly behind the three of us. Callum was still chuckling behind us as his boots crunched on the rocks. The fake Willow was slung across my back and tied safely with a strip of leather.
Along the wall, were numbers, marking each portal.
“We need number three to take us to the river.” Callum walked up to the wall and pounded on number three, three times. The portal shimmered as it activated. “Alright, who’s first?”
Raleigh said, “Me.” And without hesitation, she stepped through the portal.
Callum watched as I took my spot in front of the shimmering wall. One big deep breath in, and I stepped through.
Cold air rushed through me, and my stomach flipped. I barely had time to think to brace myself before my feet hit the ground. Raleigh grabbed me from the spot before Ashlen smacked into me. Next, Harris sailed through the opening above us, then Callum, cool as a cucumber.
I gingerly picked up Artemis; the needles were lazily swinging back and forth. I whispered to her, “Artemis,” the necklace hummed in answer, “find Willow.”
The needles frantically spun around and around. Everyone gathered around me watching the necklace, awaiting its decision. The large needle stopped abruptly, and the smaller one began to slow until it rested, pointing toward the North. The humming quieted a little, but I could still hear it faintly, tickling my ears.
“It’s pointing in the same direction as the stream,” Callum offered.
“Okay, come on, let’s go,”
We walked along the river bank. Harris dropped back and chatted with Callum. I hopped down to stand on the narrow shore. The others jumped down to stand beside me, or in Ashlen's case, slid down. I looked over my shoulder to find Callum’s eyes. He pushed between Raleigh and Harris to stand beside me. I watched Artemis as the needles moved to the left, pointing west following the path of the river.
“Onward we go, we are sticking with the river for now.” I hitched the bag on my shoulders, trying to shift some of the weight, then followed along the bank. I glanced behind me to check that everyone was following.
Raleigh was right beside me, “Raleigh, have you seen ghosts before?”
Her mouth became a firm line, and she shook her head, “No, not ever.” She kept her attention focused ahead.
I grabbed her arm, easing her to a stop and studied her eyes. I took a step toward her, “I wonder.”
“What are you doing?” She asked carefully.
Her dark brown eyes were their normal shape and color.
“I thought maybe your eyes had begun to change. But of course, we are out of there, so even if your eyes had changed to black, we wouldn’t know.” I studied her and smiled, “Next time, I’ll stop you and check.”
She laughed, “Okay, deal.”
We kept a steady pace. Eventually, we had to travel above the river because the bank became too narrow for all of us. The moonlight reflected off the water. Callum acted as a guard, following behind. Raleigh was behind me, followed by Ashlen then Harris.
Harris whistled some tune I couldn’t place until Raleigh yelled at him, “Harris, would you shut the fuck up! We do not want to hear that godforsaken song. Celine Dion's, My Heart Will Go On, has been overplayed without having you whistle it too.”
I couldn’t help but giggle, which earned me a punch in the arm.
We found a large tree that was probably six feet in diameter and had stood close to fifty feet tall; it had fallen over alongside the river, like some sleeping giant. We decided to make camp beside it, thinking it would act as some kind of protector. We made a small fire so we could cook some food and get warm, but then we doused it for fear of any kind of creature lurking.
I rolled out my sleeping pad, making sure my back was to the tree. Everyone followed suit, except for Callum and Harris, who both decided they would take turns watching over us. Forever our personal guardians.
For some reason, I fell asleep pretty quickly and dreamed. My dreams began with me running through the forest, hunting for something. Although I couldn’t remember what it was, I had lost. I stepped into a stream and instantly fell through landing into another dream. In this one, I was with Callum, Ashlen, Harris, and Raleigh. We were out camping, and somehow, we are back in the Norm, just camping in your run of the mill forests. We seemed happy and carefree. Harris had us all laughing hysterically. Callum stretched out on the ground, his face smooth with no lines of worry or stress. He barely resembled the Callum I knew. Ashlen propped against Harris’s legs. Her head tilted back so she could watch him. Raleigh laughed and threw peanuts into the air then caught them in her awaiting mouth as they came back down.
It was pitch black, but I felt safe, then the screaming started, and we stopped to look around. Everyone transitioned back to their protective and watchful stances as if we had never left the Night Realm. We stood with our backs to the fire in a tight circle and waited.
Without warning, they dropped from the trees within a matter of seconds.
We tried to fight back, but they were too fast. The monsters' long, sharp claws tore through our skin like it was made of tissue paper. Callum was throwing fireballs at them, while Harris tried to shoot them with arrows. Raleigh used her sword to hack through their limbs. Black blood coated her face and arms. Her white teeth gleamed when she smiled. I tried to use my sword, but the animals kept tearing at me. The bones of my arms peeked through the shredded skin.
I woke up with a hand over my mouth and whispering in my ear.
“Sloane, Sloane, wake up. It’s a dream, Sloane. Wake up.” His voice tickled my ear and made the hairs on my neck stand up.
“Are you awake?”
I nodded.
“Stay quiet. I heard something.” Callum took his hand from my mouth and sat back on his heels. He watched the sky like he was listening to something I couldn’t hear. I strained my hearing as much as I could, but the woods had fallen deathly quiet, which made me feel uneasy.
Callum and I were the only ones awake. The fire was completely out I could barely see the embers twinkling in the ash, which meant we had been sleeping for several hours at least. The moon was shining brightly, but it was nearing its descent. The night was a tad chilly, enough to make me pull my blanket up to my chin and make my breath appear faintly in the air before me.
Callum slowly stood and pulled his sword from the sheath. I reached behind me to grab mine. I positioned myself beside him and unsheathed my sword. The metal glowed a faint blue. I immediately turned to Callum for guidance, but he only nodded and motioned for me to stay quiet. He pointed to the other sleeping bodies and gestured for me to wake them. I very slowly and carefully tiptoed over to Ashlen and knelt beside her. I pushed her gently and put my hand over her lips before she could speak. She noticed my sword’s blue glow. She understood instantly. She woke Harris, and then I roused Ral
eigh. Our placement around the fire reminded me of my dream from a few minutes before. We stood in a circle with our backs to each other, all straining to listen.
Callum was the only one who had super hearing, so I mostly kept my eyes on him. My sword slowly grew darker, and my heart resumed its natural pace.
“What did you hear?” Ashlen turned to us.
Callum replied, “They got pretty close. I was certain they had heard us or at least smelled us, but I guess not.” He smiled softly.
A loud shrieking erupted through the night, and I could hear what sounded like thousands of wings beating the air. My sword lit up like a beacon, and before anyone could react. A large Nightlin dropped down from one of the treetops. His vast wings berated the ground, and his sharp talons latched onto Ashlen’s shoulder. They were gone in the blink of an eye. Ashlen’s screams echoed as it carried her through the trees. I stood motionless. I couldn’t believe it. Harris took off at a charge through the forest. I could hear him yelling all the way. Callum was throwing things into a bag in a frenzied panic. I looked around me in slow motion.
To my left, Raleigh scrambled around our campsite, trying to pick things up. She dashed up to me and slapped me across the face. Her eyes were solid black. She looked furious and scared.
“SNAP OUT OF IT!!” she whipped around and darted toward her bag, grabbing it and slinging it across her shoulders; she disappeared through the dark forest.
“Sloane? You okay?” Callum had his hand on my shoulder and was shaking me slightly.
The sting from her hand hitting my face reverberated through my head like my brain was knocking back and forth against my skull. I gently rubbed my cheek to make sure it was still there.
I nodded solemnly.
“Come on.” He spun on his heel and sprinted through the trees.
My bag rested by my feet. I scooped it up and ran after them. Twigs snapped, and heavy footfalls crashed through the underbrush, every now and then Harris yelled Ashlen’s name. My eyes, I assumed, were solid black as well, because their night sensitivity was heightened. I could see every leaf on all the trees and on the ground. I leapt over every obstacle and dodged every low lying limb.
