by J. L. Weil
She tapped her right heel into Daylight, guiding the horse to make a quick turn. “Tell me you brought a blade.”
“Why do I need weapons when I’ve got powers?”
“It’s always good to have a backup plan,” she said, and although I couldn’t see her face, I swore she had rolled her eyes.
“I do have a backup plan, you,” I replied.
“How are we related?” She sighed.
“I ask myself that every day.”
“We need to lose them.”
I wholeheartedly agreed. “Got any bright ideas?”
She hunkered low against the animal’s back. “For starters, not being on top of an Opalient might help. We’re sitting ducks.”
“There.” I pointed up ahead to an overgrown patch of trees and shrubs—the perfect hiding spot.
“It will do. Try not to get killed.”
“Swell plan,” I added, exuding so much false enthusiasm, I could have won an Oscar.
Ember steered Daylight into the brush, bringing him to a halt. Together we dismounted, sending the majestic Opalient off in the other direction as we dashed toward the foliage. It was dense enough that we should be able to lose them unless, of course, they had some kind of tracking skills, which was always a possibility. I still didn’t understand how Ember knew we were being followed, but the hairs on the back of my neck were sticking up anyways.
Leaves and twigs crackled and snapped under our feet. Ember lightened her steps, waving for me to do the same as we hiked deeper into the thicket. Neither of us expected to meet a dead end—or in this case, a mountainside.
“Now what, genius?” I hissed under my breath.
Ember stooped under a branch, keeping her voice low. “Are you always this helpful?”
I followed her over the branch. “Only when I’m under pressure.”
“So all the time. Good to know.”
Rolling my eyes, I followed her along the cool gray wall. Every few minutes, I glanced over my shoulder, expecting to see a band of Forsaken or something equally horrifying chasing us, but there was nothing. Nada. Zilch.
Are we both imagining being hunted?
My mind was on overdrive, but this didn’t feel like my head playing tricks on me. I snuck another glance as Ember grabbed my arm, pulling me into what I expected to be a rock wall, but my head didn’t ram into the side of the mountain.
We entered the mouth of a cave just tall enough for us to fit through without having to duck down. Darkness spread out in front of us with beams of sunlight at our backs, pushing us farther inside. The air was humid, and smelled like a spa mixed with faint traces of flowers—lilies or lilacs—something sweet, pleasant, and uncharacteristic of a mountain. I ran my fingers over the bumpy texture of the walls, feeling a hum of energy exude from the rock. “What is this place?” I asked. Supernatural was the first thing that came to my mind.
“A cave or a den, but not just any cave. Do you feel that?” she asked, her eyes drifting over the rough interior as if she was looking for something.
I was almost afraid to say what was on my mind for fear of sounding like a crazy person. Then I remembered everything in the Heights was wacky. “I feel it. It’s like magic.”
Ember nodded. “Be careful where you step. We might have exchanged one disaster for another.”
No truer words were spoken.
As we walked deeper inside, Ember flicked out her hand, letting flames dance over her fingers to light up the path.
Please, no laiders. Please. Please.
I exhaled slowly as I forced my mind to reject any thought of this being a den for those hairy, spidery, cave dwellers.
“You are praying for no laiders, aren’t you?” Ember guessed, a small grin on her face.
Could she read my mind? I evaluated her with a sideways look. “No, why would you think that?” I asked, lying through my teeth.
“Because I haven’t forgotten your fear of spiders, and you’re hands are clasped together,” she said, pointing to my white knuckles.
Surprised, I shook out my stiff hands. It was moments like this that gave me hope for my sister. She was still in there, buried deep below the tough girl shell. “How long are we hiding out in here exactly?” I asked, stepping around a loose pile of pebbles and sticks.
She turned toward me, her dainty yet fierce features barely perceptible in the dim lighting. “Depends how many zombies we find.”
“What?” I shrieked. “Don’t tell me I’ve accompanied you on a zombie hunting expedition.”
“The whole naïve thing really works well for you.”
Frustrated, I waved my hands. “This is not an act, Ember. You know they’re chasing me.”
The path narrowed, and Ember took the front while I trailed behind. “Exactly,” she said.
“You’re using me as bait. God, that is so low.” So much for thinking I had gotten through to her and that she was an actual person with a heart.
She glanced over her shoulder, giving me a pointed look. “Don’t pretend you don’t want to know why they’re seeking you out.”
I let her reason roll around in my head. Damn her. It was true. I did want to know, but I also didn’t want to die in the process. “You could have told me first.”
“Nah. This was way more fun.” She chuckled.
I groaned inwardly. “Mom must have dropped you on your head as a baby.” The walls of the cave grew moister, and I picked up the sound of running water. “Do you hear that?”
Nodding, her focus returned to the path laid out in front of us. “We’re close.”
“Close to what precisely?” I asked, trepidation blossoming.
“You’ll see,” she replied. The inflection in her tone did nothing to pacify my worry.
We better not be walking into a zombie nest. So not cool. “I hate surprises. Do you remember that too?” I asked.
She didn’t reply.
A few minutes later, the narrow path gave way to a crystal cavern. It was as if the walls were constructed out of broken glass. The flickering flames on Ember’s fingertips reflected throughout the space like a thousand sparkling stars.
I gasped. “This is breathtaking… and dizzying,” I added. My neck craned back as I spun around.
Ember seemed as mesmerized as I was. “The Cavern of Glass. I thought it was a myth,” she murmured.
For some reason, I’d been under the impression Ember was familiar with this particular cave, but apparently, that was not the case. “You’ve never been here?”
She licked her lips. “No, but the guards used to talk about a cave just like this.” Her sharp green eyes roamed around the room. A look of wonder softened her face, making her appear younger.
This place had an alien vibe I found both thrilling and frightening. A shard of glass or crystal—I still wasn’t sure what the precise material was—fell to the ground and caught my eye. I sunk to my knees, extending my hand.
“Don’t touch—” Ember started to warn me.
Too late. The fragment was already in my fingers. I had anticipated it to be heavier, but the crystal was light in my palm. As I inspected it, I noticed something in the glass and lifted the shard to get a closer look.
“Did you hear me?” Ember asked, her voice slowly fading away. The glassy surface of the crystal began to swirl, dissolving my reflection, and replacing it with the shape of a woman.
A whirlpool of smoke appeared, wisps of color covering the woman’s feet and streaming around her legs like a rainbow. The hem of her skirt dragged along vibrant blades of green grass and wildflowers. Her skin was golden, kissed by the sun, and silky strands of red hair cascaded down her back.
The sound of a little boy laughing drew my eyes. He couldn’t have been more than two. He ran to the woman, holding out his hand for her to take. His dark hair was as black as obsidian, but then I saw his eyes and gasped.
Blue. Purple. Pink. And Green. The colors sparkled in his irises identical to mine.
I didn’t need
a DNA test to know whose little boy he was. The resemblance was impeccable, and I felt a connection with the toddler deep in my soul.
My hand reached out to touch his chubby cheek, but I was met by the resistance of glass.
I blinked.
Was that my future? It couldn’t be, but I so wanted to believe it was possible. A longing for a life filled with happiness and so much love had struck my heart, overflowing from the emotions of the people in the vision, and the potency of it followed me back to the here and now.
Slightly shaken, the fragment of glass slipped from my fingers, shattering over the rocky floor like raindrops. I stared at the broken pieces, feeling as if I’d just fractured my entire future in a simple moment of clumsiness.
Could it be that simple?
Ember placed a hand on my shoulder and softly called my name. “Charlotte? Are you okay?”
“I…” My voice trailed off. The beads of glass slowly began to vibrate, and then they were moving, pulling together like magnets. The fragment had put itself back together and was sitting in the precise spot I’d found it. “Holy shit,” I whispered.
“What did you do?” Ember said with an accusation in her tone as if everything that ever happened was my fault. The sun didn’t shine—my fault. There was no chocolate in the world—my fault. The guy of her dreams fell in love with me—my fault.
I was getting pretty damn tired of everyone always blaming me. Some shit was out of my control.
This probably was not one of those times, but that was beside the point. “You knew what would happen when I touched that piece of glass,” I hurled back at her.
“I had an idea. The crystals in this cave are rumored to enhance your powers.” She drew out her knife and sliced at a crystal from the wall.
“Do you really think that is a good idea?”
Concentrating, she popped out the mirror shard. “Definitely. Who doesn’t want more power?” She shoved it into the back pocket of her pants. “You should grab one for yourself.”
The temptation was there after having experienced the power myself, but I already had enough problems with my abilities. “I’ll pass.”
“Suit yourself.” She anchored her hands on her hips.
“Got any other cool caves you want to take me to today?” I asked sarcastically.
She pressed her lips together, putting the dagger back into its holder against her thigh. “Just don’t use any of your other abilities. I don’t want to have to drag your ass all the way back to the Institute.”
“Good to know you wouldn’t just leave me behind.”
“We should get going.”
We went back the way we came, with Ember illuminating the passageway so I didn’t eat dirt, but it soon became clear that we had made a wrong turn, or the cave was fucking with us. Either was possible.
“Okay, admit it. We’re lost.”
Ember would do no such thing. “Not going to happen. I don’t get lost.”
I paused to look back.
“What is it?”
“I thought I saw something,” I responded, keeping my voice low for good measure. One could never be too cautious.
She motioned to me with a wave of her chin. “Stay behind me. I don’t want you to trip or something.”
Boom!
Chapter Fifteen
My first thought was: Holy shit, we’re going to die. My next thought was: Avalanche!
Chaos descended.
The cave shook, sending dirt and debris showering onto our heads. A blast of white-hot air scorched me from down the corridor, just as something smashed into my shoulder, sending me on my ass with Ember beside me.
I didn’t think, only reacted. Throwing out my hands, I activated my shield, making sure to spread it far enough to encompass Ember.
Every point in my body throbbed, but I fought through, keeping my concentration on protecting my sister.
There must have been some kind of explosion or part of the cave had collapsed. My ears were ringing and smoke billowed all around my invisible bubble. I couldn’t see anything.
Ember crawled closer to me, linking our arms together. Blood dripped down the side of her face from a gash I hoped was not too deep. “That sucked,” she wheezed.
I’d say. “We need to get the hell out of here. Can you move?”
She nodded. “I’m good. How long can you keep us shielded?”
Shoving to my feet, I ignored the aches shooting through my body. “We’re about to find out.”
Together, as we supported one another, Ember and I tunneled our way through the rock piles, trying not to inhale the smoke. Under our feet, the ground continued to tremor with small aftershocks. Time seemed to drag by, and I could sense my powers weakening. We needed to get out of here before I collapsed.
Just as the shield started to flicker, I saw a dot of light. Ember’s hand clasped mine, and she half dragged me out. “Don’t give up now. You’ve got this.”
Which really meant: don’t black out.
If it was only as simple as commanding myself.
I could do this. I would do this. I just needed to push forward. Absorbed on putting one foot in front of the other, I stared at the pale yellow light, watching as it grew, and then we were free—no longer in danger of being trapped forever.
My relief was exponential.
Drawing in a deep breath of crisp air, I stumbled against a tree. In an effort to prevent a blackout, I rolled my shoulders and kicked out my legs, keeping the blood flowing.
“Anyone ever tell you what a badass you are?” Ember asked, as she sat on the ground.
I grinned. “Not today.”
She chuckled. “I finally get what Dash is always grumbling about. Trouble gravitates to you like flies to shit.”
That was one way of putting it. “What makes me so special?”
She blotted the side of her head with the end of her shirt, soaking up a small amount of blood. “Besides your fantastic hairstyle?”
I smoothed the crazy curls sticking out in different directions. “I’m sure that’s it.”
After a brief rest, we began to make our way through the wild brush, Ember leading the way. It was early evening, and the hours left of sunlight were numbered. As we walked, she dug into her pack, pulling out a wrapped bundle of dried meat and some fruit similar to an apple. She tossed me one of each. “Eat,” she ordered me.
Dutifully, I took a bite. Oh, how the times had changed. A hundred years ago, it was me telling her to finish her dinner, or making her an after-school snack. Ember—or Monroe, as had been her name then—and I had spent a lot of time together. Having two full-time working parents, who had been very dedicated to their careers, meant the two of us had always relied on each other.
Apparently, eating and walking wasn’t something I was capable of doing at the same time in my current exhausted state. I tripped over a branch, at least I thought it had been nothing more than a fallen tree limb, but then something wound tightly around my ankle. Suddenly, my feet were swept out from underneath me. A scream ripped from my throat as the blood rushed to my head, making me dizzy.
I was upside down, dangling from a low tree. “What the hell!” I shouted, searching for Ember as I swung back and forth. Was she okay?
Someone laughed, and my worry for my sister slowly simmered to aggravation. I totally wasn’t in the mood for any more crap today. Wasn’t nearly being blown to smithereens and trapped in a magical cave enough for a single day? How much was the universe going to throw at me?
Swinging in the air by my feet made it difficult to maneuver. Every time I tried to shift my weight or twist, I went in the opposite direction, which put a damper on pinning my sister with a death glare.
“Cut me down from here!” I demanded.
Ember’s wicked laugh was cut short—the mountainous woods went eerily quiet. The first inklings of unease tiptoed down my spine. “Ember, this isn’t funny. I swear to God, if you leave me—”
Well, shit.
&
nbsp; Ember wasn’t faring any better than I was.
A trio of rebels disarmed her and held her at knifepoint. Two strange bracelets, like handcuffs, tied her wrists.
This had turned out to be a productive trip, said no one ever.
My eyes connected with my sister’s. She was pleading with me to do something.
What?
Blackout?
Because that I could do with the teeniest amount of energy.
One of the men came to stand below me. He had eyes like a snake—creepy and mustard yellow with black slits that seemed to contract as he stared at me. Things only got weirder from there. He stuck out a long, black, forked tongue, tasting the air around my face.
I recoiled, bile rising in my throat. “Man, I feel sorry for your girlfriend.” I had meant to keep the comment inside my head, but the words just tumbled out.
His smile was anything but pleasant. “I’m going to enjoy this.”
Obviously I would not.
The lizard bastard slipped a brown bag over my head, and I went apeshit, bucking my body and swinging my hands. It was a waste of energy I should have saved, but survival mode kicked in. Blind, I relied on my hearing to tell me what was happening.
My hands were fastened together before I was cut down from the tree and hoisted over someone’s shoulder. I could only assume it was the mutated lizard dude. He smelled like a pet store.
“Here’s a free life lesson for you: don’t struggle. It will only make things worse,” Mr. Smarty-Pants said.
“You can take your lesson and shove it up your asshole,” I said, muffled by the sack. This kidnapping business needed to stop. I got that I was cute, red head, petite, and had unusual eyes, but did that mean every Tom, Dick, and Harry had to pluck me off my feet and carry me to his lair?
It was exasperating.
My only consolation was Dash would find me, and God help the asshole who had thought kidnapping me was a good idea. Then I remembered he was upset with me, and a pang in my chest bloomed. What if he doesn’t find me? What if I never get the chance to tell him I’m sorry or “I love you” one more time?
My wiggling was probably futile, but it didn’t stop me from trying to break free. They were lucky to have caught me at a moment when my abilities were recharging. I wouldn’t dare use them again and risk blacking out.