by Katie Cherry
It feels like an eternity yet also like no time at all had passed by the time Auna returns. “The portal has not yet come. I cannot sense the residue of one having been used recently,” she promptly informs him.
Nathan nearly crashes to the ground in relief. “Good… then we can still make it.” He inspects his watch once more. “Two minutes left… I guess killing Zarafa will have to wait for another time,” he remarks with a light chuckle, tucking a very relieved Greg into his shirt pocket.
“Let’s go…” A scream ripples through the air, immediately chilling him to the bone and freezing the words in his mouth. “Angela!!” he cries, tripping over his feet as he races towards the cry.
Soon, another sound follows the first. “Oh Na-than!” the sing-songing voice of the vampire taunts. “I have your pretty little girlfriend… come here and kill me if you dare!”
Nathan slows just before he emerges from the trees, berating himself. He had to be smart about this. Odds were, this was a trap, and Bryce was hiding nearby, ready to grab him when he rushed Zarafa. Peering into the clearing, he checks to make sure Angela isn’t in immediate danger. Zarafa’s just standing next to her as Angela kneels in the grass, her hands resting on the ground beside her knees. An odd box lay on her back and she seemed to be unable to rise. Knowing that Zarafa had access to magic, Nathan figures that her inability to move was due to a spell. Wait… that box looks… familiar… scolding himself, he shakes the thought from his head. Now was the worst time to be thinking about that.
Turning, Nathan follows the tree line. “Bryce is to your immediate right,” Auna informs him, buzzing anxiously by his right shoulder. He nods and circles around the unsuspecting Bryce. Leaping forward, he grabs him from behind, pinning his arms behind his back. He yelps in surprise, but is unable to wrestle free.
Muscles burning from the effort of holding the larger man in place, Nathan leans forward to murmur into Bryce’s ear. “Walk forward- slowly. Don’t try to get away or I’ll just kill you.”
Bryce stumbles forward with clumsy footsteps, forcing his body through the undergrowth he had been cowering behind. Nathan presses him onward until they emerge from the cover of the trees.
“Why, Nathan, aren’t you just full of surprises…” Zarafa hisses, her eyes dilating and her teeth sharpening in her anger. Yanking Angela to her feet, she holds the girl in front of her as a shield, mimicking Nathan. “Looks like we’ve arrived at a stalemate,” she snarls.
“Not quite,” Nathan shoots back, his mind racing to think of the best way out of their situation.
“No, I do suppose you’re right,” Zarafa admits, calming herself down. “…After all, this girl means much more to you than Bryce does to me,” she points out with a feral grin.
“True, but you would never risk angering Patrick… to you, his wrath is much worse than mine. If I were to kill Bryce, Patrick would punish you in horrendous ways… am I right?” Her pale face is the only reply he needs. “That’s what I thought. Now, hand over Angela…” Zarafa’s face contorts with pain and conflict. Finally, her hands spring open, releasing her captive. Angela immediately scrambles over to Nathan’s side, quivering.
“Now let Bryce go,” she snarls, her eyes flicking over to the side.
“The portal is here,” Auna announces to him and Angela.
Nathan starts edging towards the portal, still keeping his hold on Bryce. Zarafa’s eyes begin to smolder. “Give him back… now,” she demands.
“Auna, how close am I to the portal?”
“Take two more steps to your left and you will pass through it,” she replies.
“Very well, I will release him,” Nathan declares out loud. He turns his head to Angela. “Are you planning on coming through the portal with me?” he whispers.
“…Yes,” she murmurs in reply, hesitance in her voice. Nathan frowns. She shouldn’t be so afraid to tell him so. He was just trying to keep her safe! He gives a terse nod, accepting Angela’s plan. Neither realm was safe for her anymore, and he would rather have her by his side anyway.
In a sudden movement, he shoves Bryce into Zarafa, sending them both tumbling to the ground. “Go, go, go!” he shouts, pushing Angela towards the portal. She vanishes into it, as does Auna when she follows just behind her. Nathan has only taken a step towards it when a burning hot blade slips through his calf. He turns to see Bryce’s vengeful eyes looking up at him. They’re the last thing he sees as he plummets backward into the portal.
<<
Angela gasps when she emerges from the portal, her head swimming. She still wasn’t used to the thrill ride of traveling between the realms. Shaking herself to try and banish the leftover feeling from the ride, she turns back to the portal. She’s just about to panic that Nathan missed the portal when he tumbles through. It closes behind him. He collapses to the ground, his head heavily whacking the stone floor.
“Nathan!!” she cries, kneeling beside his head. “Auna, what happened?”
The fairiye shrugs her tiny shoulders helplessly. “I went through the portal before I noticed anything was amiss. I’m sorry, I don’t know what transpired to cause Nathan to collapse like that.”
Greg slips out of Nathan’s shirt and scuttles around to his right leg. “Bryce stabbed him just before he got to the portal… he’s bleeding pretty badly,” he remarks, his tail knotted in worry.
“Okay… okay… so we just need to bandage it up… stop the bleeding,” Angela begins, scrambling to find something to tie over the wound. There’s a burned, abandoned Dragon Hunter cloak lying nearby, which she folds and ties as tightly as she can on Nathan’s cut. Then, unsure of what to do, she sits and pulls his head into her lap.
“Please… please wake up,” she murmurs, stroking his face. “We don’t have long before we’re likely to be discovered… and I don’t know what to do,” she finishes, a tear slipping out of her right eye.
Nathan then stirs. “Angela…” She feels his body stiffen in pain as his nerves scream at him once more, reminding him of his cut. He pants from the effort, but is able to force himself to his feet. He sways unsteadily, then leans a little on Angela when she lends him her support. He turns to Auna, gasping. “Auna… you said you found where Patrick kept his weapons and spoils of war… please lead us to it.”
Auna hesitates. “Wouldn’t it be wiser for you to administer the cure to Crystal while Angela grabs the weapons? We don’t have much time… each second is precious,” she presses.
Cursing his foggy brain, Nathan agrees. “Alright, fine. But please hurry, Angela,” he says, looking her in the eyes. She peers back into his pleading eyes, glistening with tears, and nods.
“You can count on me,” she assures him before slipping away.
<<
Following the path Auna had outlined in his mind, Nathan pushes against the wall for support. Each of his uncertain steps threaten to cast him down, but he presses on. For Crystal… for Crystal, he repeatedly chants in his mind. The words give him the strength to keep moving, although his leg howls in horror at the pain it had endured and yet still was forced to suffer through.
At the last turn before he reached Crystal, he turns to Greg. “Alright, your turn. Show me what you can do.” The rat quivers when he’s set down on the floor, then takes off like a bullet, streaming around the corner. The guard in front of Crystal’s room screams, and the sound reverberates off the stones around them. The clock truly is ticking now, Nathan grimly realizes as he steps toward the flailing woman.
Her back was turned to him, thanks to her single-minded focus on Greg, so it’s easy for Nathan to reach out and tug her sword from its sheath. She spins at the sound, but Nathan instinctively runs the cold steel through her gut as she lunges at him. He winces and drops the sword immediately. Who had he become?
Shaking off such reflections until a later time, he stoops and removes the key to the room from her belt. Standing and leaning against the wall, he slips the key into the lock, twisting it until he h
ears a clear click. Pushing the door open, he steps into the room, eager for his first look at Crystal in months.
Naturally, he’s caught off-guard when he’s tackled to the floor.
“Who are you?” Crystal demands from the perch on his back. “What did you do to my guard?”
Nathan grunts as she shifts her weight, crushing his lungs. “I’m… Nathan… your… friend,” he gasps out.
She hesitates, then rolls off of him. “I don’t remember you,” she simply states, watching him with wide, curious eyes as he sits up.
“That’s okay,” he pants. “I can help you remember everything,” he adds as he pulls out the syringe, which had miraculously survived.
Crystal eyes it suspiciously. “How do I know you’re not lying? What if you’re trying to kill me?”
Nathan’s eyes fill with tears as he observes her. Her childlike behavior wasn’t the only thing changed about her… she was almost a completely different person. His heart aches inside of him, as though it’s trying to reach out and find Crystal itself. “Because,” he finally says, “I sent Auna, the fairiye, to find you. …Do you remember that?”
“Yes, Nathan sent her…” she murmurs, her eyes narrowed thoughtfully at him.
“And do you trust Auna?” he presses.
“Yes,” she replies. “She gives off a good feeling, like I can believe her,” she states.
“…And I don’t?”
She runs her eyes over him, then shrugs. At this, Nathan feels like wailing and gnashing his teeth in horror, loss, and sorrow. He struggles to swallow these feelings. “Well… if you trust Auna, you can trust me. You need to take this medicine,” he assures her, holding the syringe out to her. “I can help you with it,” he offers when she hesitates.
Biting her lower lip, she nods and holds her left arm out for him. He takes the soft, pale arm of his lost friend and lays it in his lap as he prepares the needle. Concentrating, he slips it into the main vein, then squeezes half of the golden liquid in before retracting the syringe. He returns the container to his pocket, then watches Crystal’s face intently, waiting for the change.
After a few seconds, she shrugs. “I guess your cure thingy didn’t work.”
Her nonchalant words strike his heart, and he hurt like he never had before. He was now devoid of hope, and she was devoid of hope- only she didn’t even know it. He had lost his best friend, yet she was sitting right in front of him. What am I supposed to do now?! He screams inside his mind, feeling the energy drain from his bones. …What am I supposed to do?
CHAPTER TWENTY
I’m Willing to Risk It All
The boy, Nathan, kneels in front of me, just staring at my face. His eyes swirl with unexplained sorrow. On impulse, I reach out and take his hand. He gazes hopefully into my eyes. “Listen,” I begin. “I’m sorry your elixir stuff didn’t work…” The boy shakes his head and stands, turning away from me.
“No,” he says, breathing heavily and raking his hands through his hair in frustration. I stand and watch him curiously. “No, this isn’t right… why didn’t it work?!” he cries, spinning around and rushing up to me. Taking my face in his hands, he presses his forehead to mine. Anxiety causes him to be stiff and intent. “Please… please remember,” he begs.
Something about the look in his eyes causes something to click in my brain. A burning sensation instantly spreads from the area he had slipped the needle into. Gasping, I stumble back, pulling away from him as my veins throb. The golden liquid flows around my body, then seems to gather in my brain.
I collapse to the ground, unable to control my body. Behind my closed eyes, memories once blocked parade by at a blinding pace. My eyes fly open once I reach the end, and I sit upright with a gasp. Nathan is kneeling beside me, looking panicked.
“Nathan!” I cry, pulling him into an embrace. I feel as though I’ve just woken from a dream. A long, terrifying dream.
“Crystal,” he sighs, relief seeping out of him. “I thought I’d lost you,” he mumbles into my neck. I shiver at the feeling.
“You won’t be getting rid of me that easily,” I tease, pulling away and smiling at him.
“So your memories are back, then?” he confirms, running his eyes over me as if checking for damage.
“Yes, I remember everything,” I smile. “And once we’re out of here, I’ll tell you all about it.”
He smiles back. “I’m sure we both have note-worthy tales.” He pauses as a girl with something strapped to her back appears at the doorway. “In fact, I need to introduce you to someone. Crystal, this is Angela. Angela, Crystal.”
“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you in person,” Angela says, her eyes flicking over to me for only a second. “But I’m afraid we don’t have time to exchange pleasantries at the moment.” She drops a duffle bag at Nathan’s feet. “I grabbed the things you mentioned specifically, as well as a few others. Matter Ring, Glaoud skin clothes, Lightning shoes, etc. However, as I was leaving, someone saw me. He ran before I could stop him…”
“Patrick’s on his way,” I finish for her, dread seeping into my bones once more.
Nathan gives a sharp nod. By the look on his face, I can tell his mind is buzzing as it races to piece together a plan. “Alright,” he declares, stooping to open the bag. “Let’s suit up.” He hands me the Glaoud skin outfit. “This lets you disappear, right?”
“Pretty much,” I confirm, slipping it on over my other clothes.
“Angela, I want you to take the Matter Ring,” Nathan says, slipping it onto one of her fingers. I watch them carefully, noting that there seemed to be more than just friendship between them. I feel a pang in my heart, then banish it, scoffing at myself. Why should I be jealous? Nathan’s free to have a girlfriend.
Then I realize I have every right to be jealous. Angela was gorgeous, obviously fit and sporty, and close to Nathan. She’s probably close to a lot of people, whereas I’m not even close with my own family- either one. I had few friends as well. Angela seemed like the perfect girl. I already resent her.
The sound of pounding feet interrupts Nathan as he slips on a pair of Lightning Shoes. Dropping the laces of the remaining shoe, he quickly spins towards me. “Stand by the wall and put your hood up. Don’t move- don’t let them see you.” To Angela, he says, “They can’t grab you while you’re wearing that ring- unless they have one of their own.” Pulling a sword out of the bag, he turns back to us. The long, slim sword gleams in his tight fist as it tilts, catching the light. It seemed to be made of white gold. The hilt was studded with a big blue jewel and seemed to fit perfectly in his hand.
“I’ll fight them off,” he finishes. I gape at him in surprise, but Angela speaks up before I can.
“You’re going to fight off an unknown number of trained soldiers by yourself? And on your injured leg, no less!” she cries, gesturing to his right leg. It’s only then that I notice the injury. His leg was bleeding heavily, although part of a Dragon Hunter’s cloak helped to staunch the flow.
“What happened?!” I gasp.
“I’ll tell you later,” he grunts as the Dragon Hunters nearly reach us. “But I’m fine,” he finishes as the first of the Hunters reaches the door. He looks in and pales when he doesn’t see me there, thanks to the Glaoud skin.
“Patrick’s gonna kill me,” he groans.
Another man appears beside him. “Not if you capture Nathan! The girl, though, we can kill,” he sneers, stepping into the room and facing Nathan. It takes everything I have to hold still.
“Angela, get behind me,” Nathan growls. She reluctantly gets out of the way. Behind the man, three other Dragon Hunters arrive. They stop and watch.
“Put down the sword, boy,” the man directs. “Unless you want to lose some fingers, that is,” he snickers.
In a single, fluid motion, Nathan flings the sword forward, his arm straightening until the sword plunges into the man’s gut. He falls to the floor, a ghastly gargling sound erupting from his throat as blood begins spi
lling from his mouth. Nathan pulls the sword free and glares at the other men.
“Attempt to kill or harm my friend here or myself, and I will kill you. However, if you wish to join us and take refuge from Patrick’s wrath, you are welcome to flee with us- provided you give up your weapons.”
One of the soldiers turns to whisper to his companion. Carefully leaning forward, I manage to catch his words. “We only have to preoccupy him until Patrick and Hunter return. If we can keep him here, we might be rewarded… or at least escape punishment for losing the Princess.” The other man nods, then takes a deep breath and steps into the room towards Nathan.
“Boy, you could kill us all, but it would never solve your problems. You will still be Giftless, still be hunted by Patrick, and Crystal will still be ours. Regardless, the more strife you cause us, the more he will cause you. Your loved ones…” He doesn’t get to continue his sentence. With one angry surge, Nathan removed his head from his shoulders. Angela screams and moves away from the blood that follows, although it passes through her regardless, thanks to the Matter Ring.
As Nathan stands, panting with fury, his sword slowly dripping blood onto the floor, I remain still. Shock freezes my bones. What had I just heard? Nathan… Giftless? I watch him as he stares down the rest of the Dragon Hunters, snarling like a wild animal. How had I not noticed before? Something had drastically changed him… and now I knew what it was.
“I don’t have time for this,” Nathan growls at the three remaining soldiers before leaping forward and cutting them down. Two are killed before they could react, but the third is quicker on his feet. Pulling a knife out of his sleeve, he severs the muscle in Nathan’s sword arm.
With an outraged shout, he shoves the man into the wall so hard he cracks his skull. Blood shows in his teeth as he smiles, panting his final breaths. “No matter,” he chuckles wetly. “It’s too late for you now. Patrick will return in a minute… plus that knife was laced with poison only we can cure!” With another gasping chuckle, the man finally dies.