by Tara Chau
“Tell Ty,” Is all I can say, think.
“No,” she answers sternly.
“Tell him, or I will. If Ty doesn’t deal with Liam first, then I will, and I’ll be ten times more inclined to sever his head the minute I see him.”
Anne merely watches me, her eyes full of dread and despair. "I'm dropping Ronnie off in forty minutes. You can tell him then,” I say, urging her to argue.
"Liam might be lucky. Depends on how I'm feeling. By the time we tell Ty, I might just run along with Ty instead of holding him back. Liam deserves what's coming to him."
“Don’t,” she says, eyes pleading.
“He tried to hurt you,” I protest.
“Liam might be a jerk and a conceded prick, but we actually can’t hurt him. We're Protectors. We all made an oath to never hurt an innocent person,” she whispers urgently.
“First of all, if Liam is your idea of an innocent person, then you need to go to some kind of Protectors therapy. Second, I never took your oath, so, ha.”
"My God, I wish Gabe were here. He would be able to stop you."
My gut twists, and my heart lurches. I have to remind myself of the conversation we're having, why we're having it.
“Gabe could never stop me from doing what I wanted to do. It's the one thing he isn’t good at. And, in this situation, he would come with me,” I say confidently.
"No, because Gabe controls his emotions, he would find some other way to get back at Liam; he's smart that way,” she says, smiling fondly.
Grabbing her hand, I squeeze tightly. “I’m here when you need me. I always will be.”
She smiles at me, nodding calmly. Letting go of her hand, I approach the pool edge. Pushing off the ground, I dive down deep into the water, letting the cool waves wash away my flaming anger.
Ronnie, occupied in her room, is playing at her keyboard, her door closed, allowing the three of us privacy. Ty stares across at the two of us, the only sound being a faint sweet melody mingling with our strangled breaths. It takes about five minutes for Anne to explain everything to Ty, me clutching her hand but not speaking a word. Ty’s fingers twitch, and I am up out of my chair in an instant, my hand thrusting outwards, pointed at Ty, who has risen halfway out of his seat, body angled to the door.
Anne continues to look sadly at Ty as I lower him back into the seat.
“Use your big boy words, Ty,” I say calmly.
He simply glares at me furiously, alright, probably not the best thing I could have just said, maybe a bit insensitive. "You can let go now, Dianna,” he says, deathly quiet.
I tighten my invisible hold on him but sit back down. "The fact that you just said my whole name tells me that your gonna sprint out that door the minute I release you.”
“He deserves what’s coming to him,” Ty sneers.
“That’s what I said!” I point out, turning my head towards Anne.
“We’re not going to hurt him,” Anne says strictly.
“I’m pretty sure I am,” Ty corrects.
"There is more than one way to hurt him; it doesn't need to be physical,” I say. "We could always put huge amounts of chilly in his food, video it, and post it somewhere. That would definitely hurt his ego and status,” I suggest.
Anne turns to me and smiles. “I need to speak with Ty alone. Please go home now. I'll call you after."
I’m unable to hide the wave of disappointment that washes over me, but I nod and smile, reassuring her that there are no hard feelings.
Rising up, I look over to Ty, give him a warning glare before releasing him. Ty lets out a breath, sucking in another deep breath. Maybe I held on a bit too tight. Oops. I walk into Ronnie’s room and sit beside her.
“I’ve got to go now; did you have a nice day?” I ask sweetly.
Ronnie stops her playing and beams at me. “Yes, but do you have to go now?” she asks, her eyes widening.
“Yeah, I do,” I nod.
“Wait, one question,” she asks.
I nod, confirming.
“Gabe’s in trouble, isn’t he?” I take in a breath, nodding stiffly. “Will he be alright?” she asks.
"We'll get him out, and he'll be home soon." It isn’t a lie exactly, but I can’t promise it.
She nods, understanding. "You have to help him. He's like, my second favourite brother.”
I laugh at that, such a six-year-old thing to say. “Yes, I’m helping in every way I’m allowed.”
“Okay, that’s all, unless you want to help me train?” she grins.
“Um, I don’t really feel like being impaled today,” I laugh nervously.
She laughs at me as I stand and walk towards the door.
I sense the dagger flying towards me within seconds. I hear it whistling and see it in my mind. Knowing that I won't be able to dodge or catch it in time, I stretch out with my mind, picturing my hand reaching out to stop it. I turn around to see Ronnie's panicked face. Then it morphs into disbelief. Taking two steps, I grab hold of the dagger's handle, smiling at how perfectly still it hovers in the air. Tossing the dagger at her feet, I wink and stride out the door.
* * *
A five-hundred-word report on the camp, word count ten percent over or under, due in three days. Great. Monday is more tiring than I had anticipated. Coming back to school after a week in the bush, I'm in need of a little time to adjust. The five of us are supposed to catch up at Ty's house straight after school to plan what our next move is going to be.
Seated around the coffee table, we all have a clear view of each other’s sombre faces.
“We need to find a way to draw Lucien out, get the book,” Ty says, starting off the conversation.
“We’re exactly where we started months ago,” Hayden expresses impatiently, “with the bad guys having one of the biggest threats known to our world.”
"Exactly, so that's why we need to get it back before they decide to do some real damage with it,” Ty states.
“What does that asshole want badly enough to come out in the open for?” Hayden questions.
We’re all silent for a few minutes, trying our best to come up with some kind of leverage against him.
“Di,” a voice whispers, “he wants Di,” Anne suggests quietly.
“What?” I hiss.
“She’s the only one he’s come out to talk to,” Jess realises. “Lucien has had countless opportunities to kill you; he hasn't."
“Lucien won’t believe us if we set a trap for him, using Dianna as bait. He knows that we would never truly endanger her like that,” Ty says.
“No, but he will come if she says that she wants to simply talk, no fighting, no trap, an information mission only,” Jess assures.
“Right…” Hayden says, nodding with realisation.
“If we send her in, and word somehow gets to Gabe, a stone wall and an injured body isn’t going to save us,” Ty threatens.
“Let’s do it,” I say, ignoring Ty’s worried eyes.
Looking at Anne, I give her a reassuring grin.
"Brainstorm a collection of questions you want me to ask, not too many. It'll seem suspicious. Give them to me when you're done. We still need a location. I can't just shout at him from the streets,” I say, rising from the ground.
Walking into Ronnie’s room, I pick her up from the ground where she’s working through a hardy book, giving her a tight squeeze.
“Make sure you stay safe when you go to see him. That boy is a monster,” she says darkly.
“Been eavesdropping, have we?” I ask, giving her a disapproving glare.
She shrugs but still holds the demand in her eyes.
“Yes, your brother wouldn’t be letting me go out if I weren’t going to be safe the whole time,” I lie.
"I'm not some stupid girl. I know that there is always a risk, even when there isn't,” she says smartly, resuming her spot on the ground.
Ruffling her hair playfully, I walk out the doo
r, dodging the tennis ball easily as it soars towards me. Flicking my wrist back, I send it bouncing back into her room.
* * *
My hands ache from scrubbing the bottom of the pot for the past hour, attempting to remove the burnt rice. Dad had gone to work in his office a half-hour ago, after I had insisted I could clean the rest of dinner away. Sighing frustratedly, I give up, soaking the pot in warm water. I drag myself into my room, collapsing onto the bed. I roll over, groaning from exhaustion, then sit up quickly, peering at the scrunched note on my pillow.
Cautiously reaching for the paper, I switch on the lamp to read the familiar handwriting. Mumbling the note to myself, I let out a shaky breath. Ty has written that I am to memorise these three questions to ask Lucien once they find his location.
Does Lucien have any other attacks planned for the near future?
Do those plans involve the Book of Beings?
What is his motive for everything he's done?
After reading the questions over three times each, I place the note aside, walking off to get ready for bed. Even though I've faced Lucien before a few times, it still makes me want to puke and run in the other direction at the mere thought of him. Climbing into bed, I curl into a ball under the quilt, trying to block out all the sounds of the passing cars and the rowdy winds.
* * *
Red skies, earth cracking, people were falling, the moon cut in half, things crawling out from the damaged earth. In the middle of all of the howling, growling, and shrieking, Helena. No, not Helena…Death.
The thing that has been told to take over her, take over the world, the thing I'm supposed to stop. But in the corner, pushed against the pavement, I lie.
Not moving, nor calling, nor breathing, just lying in a pool of blood, my own blood, dead. Cackling fills the skies, carried around by the howling winds. From where I stand, it seems like I’m watching from someone else’s body, from Dyla's. Three people round the corner, teens.
Anne,
Ty,
Gabe.
As more demons crawled from whatever hell they’d been summoned from, the word shakes, the skies crack. The moon has been severed in half, and the sun is a clear red ball. Both are out together. Both are coming closer. Smoke blows through the streets, a thick, suffocating haze, so much so that it can be described as a vaper wall. It is hot, really hot. The winds that blow seem to boil the skin of the Protectors, but the demons revel in it. Death turns to the chaos, shrieking in all her wicked glory. Piercing cries flow through the streets of Maline, people run around in distress, the only light guiding them is the light of the closely approaching sun and moon.
Gasping for breath, I wake from the horrific dream, drenched in sweat and reaching for the non-existent male body next to me. Remembering that Gabe is in Maline, stuck and in trouble, I take a shuddering breath, closing my eyes, desperately trying to steady my breathing. A quiet knock comes from the door. Dad peeps his head in before walking in and sitting on the edge of my bed.
"You alright, kiddo? Another bad dream, you were screaming a bit,” he says wearily.
I nod slightly, wiping the sweat and tears from my face.
“You’re alright, you’re safe,” he says, pulling me into a hug.
I shudder slightly but melt into my dad’s embrace, missing the feeling of another’s closeness. “I’m alright,” I say softly.
Dad stays with me, sitting at the desk chair until I fall into a light sleep, rubbing my back reassuringly.
By morning I’m already wide awake as my alarm goes off, still lying-in bed, staring up at the ceiling, trying to think of a way to approach Lucien with the questions. Rolling out from under the covers, I walk slowly into the bathroom. After getting a very minimal amount of sleep last night, it is an effort to keep my mind on one thing. Not being at all bothered to care what I wear today, I pull out a cream-coloured long-sleeved shirt and match it with black shorts and white sneakers.
I die; in my dream, I was dead, dead when everyone needed me, Death killed me. This doesn't make any sense. Is it the future, a message of some kind? Lugging my bag onto my back, I strut out into the living room to grab an apple and my lunch money, yelling goodbye as I leave for school. The walk feels short, as I dread the moment at which I will have to walk through the doors and into the hall of screaming teens. Jess walks up beside me and continues to walk next to me, nodding her hello.
“When?” she asks.
“After school,” I reply. By the tone of her voice, I know that she's asking about when I plan to confront Lucien.
“Where?” I ask.
“Clyde avenue, number twenty-one,” she answers.
"That arrogant son of a horseshit. That's the exact same place Gabe and I found him ages ago. The fact that he hasn't moved shows that he's not even a little afraid of us or the other Protectors. He's unbelievable,” I seethe.
Jess stops me with a firm hand on my shoulder, we walk to the side of the hall, and she tightens her grip.
"Be careful, I'm serious, don't take any risks, Di, and come back,” she says, eyes in a state of panic.
“Alright, I promise I’ll be okay. You'll see me tomorrow,” I promise reassuringly.
Jess smiles appreciably before turning to our left and walking into the very next classroom. The bell rings, and I sprint the rest of the way to my own class. Jess's plea burned into the back of my mind.
It surprises me that the day goes by rather quickly. The classes seem a dozen times shorter and the breaks even more so. By the time Anne and I walk out of the school grounds, I am dreading the moment where Anne will leave me, make her way to join the others at Ty's house while I go to confront Lucien. My body freezes up as Anne turns around to give me a hug of good luck and goodbye.
“You be careful, don’t go and do anything stupid,” Anne says worriedly.
“Yeah,” I laugh nervously, “I’ll be alright. Remember, if I’m not back at Ty’s in an hour, wait another ten minutes before coming to get me.”
Anne nods reluctantly before releasing me from her hold. “I’ll see you soon,” she says, giving me one last hug.
I squeeze her back hard, closing my eyes and savouring the moment before I have to go do something less than desirable. Anne lets go and jogs away quickly, headed in the direction I am going as Lucien lives three streets from my house. Here we go.
The street on which Lucien is currently living is deserted. There are no children or old people out in the gardens, no cars parked in the driveways, not even the sounds of birds disturb the eery silence. Approaching his house, I stop just before turning into the driveway. Peering at the small house sends spiders crawling up my spine.
Something tickles my back. I reach behind to swat it away, thinking that it's a leaf stuck in my shirt, or maybe a fly. I feel something hairy brush my skin along my spine, something scratchy and small. My scream pierces the air as I flail my arms around in panic, breathing unsteadily and calling out desperately. The feeling of multiple things climbing up my back and neck makes me cringe and shake helplessly. I run onto Lucien's front lawn and fall onto the ground, rolling onto my back. I cringe and hold back another cry as I feel the cracking and hear the squish of tiny limbs and bodies. Jumping up again, I stare in horror as three humongous spiders attempt to crawl away. Some make it a few steps before dying, the last one making it farther before its broken legs give out.
“You have some spider guts on your shirt.”
I spin around quickly, trying wholeheartedly to calm my racing heart.
“You know I hate spiders,” I spit at Lucien, “Why the hell did you do that?” I demand.
"I didn't do it, technically. You felt as if spiders were crawling up your back. My spell simply brings to life the first negative and warped thing it can source out; you thought it, it created it,” he answers, shrugging.
Today, Lucien looks once again normal. Redshirt and shorts, hair ruffled as if he has just awoken from sleep, the only thing
semi unusual is his pale skin. It has been bleached of colour since the last time Gabe and I had seen him. He now looks deathly ill.
“What do you want now? I haven’t done something wrong in the past… twenty-four hours,” he states.
Somewhere in the back of my mind, I wonder what he had done twenty-four hours ago and why I would have to confront him about it, whether it was a horrible thing or even worse.
“I need to ask you a few questions,” I say cautiously.
“You do remember that we’re enemies, right? You can’t just come to me, asking questions about what I plan to do next, just because you’re bored and decided you want to try taking me down. It’s quite rude, actually,” he says with a glare.
“You’re the one that said you want me to join you,” I say, racking my brain for an excuse.
“You want to join?" he asks sceptically.
"Maybe, but I want to know if you have a solid plan first. After all, I'm not one to stay on the losing team,” I say with a forced smirk.
“I’ll give you answers, but I don’t trust you enough to actually give you the plan. The answers will be more like clues.”
I nod in agreement, watching him carefully. "Do you have any other attacks planned for the near future? Because that's something I won't do,” I add.
“Yes,” he answers simply.
I nod my understanding and try desperately not to pounce on him and gouge his eyes out. Instead, I move on to the next question. "Do they involve the Book of Beings?"
“Correct,” he says patiently.
“Why are you doing all of this? What is your motive, Lucy?”
Lucien sighs heavily, rolling his neck in two circles before looking back at me. “I’m doing it because every Shifter has a right to be and do whatever they want. I am going to destroy the Protectors so that the Shifters can live like they were born to, with pride and without fear. Protectors keep them from doing what their instincts tell them to do, punishing them if they step as much as one toe out of line. It's not right, so what better solution than to get rid of them? That way, everything can do exactly what they want. When my plan has been carried out, and everything is how it should be, the Shifters will be the ones monitoring the Protectors. Your Counsel has misused its power, used it to lock away those who could not help but to give in to their natural instincts. This new world that I’ve found, it’s unfair and unjust, I’m determined to fix it,” he says, satisfied.