by Lola StVil
“My blood will burn you,” she says by way of an explanation.
She cuts her palm and wipes the blade clean before handing the knife back to Kane, who stuffs it back away. Pearl’s blood is a beautiful electric blue color.
“Are you sure you’re up for this?” Pearl asks Regal.
He nods. He hands me a vial of Gelliom.
“As soon as the enchantments break, they’re going to know about it. Give me this quick, okay?”
I nod and take the vial. We all stand around watching Regal. The air around us is filled with tension as Pearl raises her hand to Regal’s mouth.
“Bon appetit,” he mutters.
He puts his lips on Pearl’s palm and sucks up a spurt of her blood. He swallows it, and instantly he begins clawing at his throat, his chest, his arms. He drops to the ground, screaming in agony.
“Oh my God,” I say, rushing to his side.
“Regal? Regal? Can you hear me? You have to use your powers to throw the bit of plastic,” I shout.
I don’t think he even hears me through the agony that consumes him. He drags himself onto his knees, screaming up at the ceiling. Tears run down his face, and the veins in his neck stand out alarmingly as he continues to scream. Blood is running from his ears.
I start to uncap the Gelliom potion.
“Atlas? What are you doing?” Kane says from behind me.
“I can’t stand this, Kane. We’ll have to find another way. I’m going to give him this now.”
“It’s got no power unless he makes the shot,” Kane quickly reminds me.
I lower my hand from the cap feeling suddenly useless.
“How long does he have left?” Langston demands.
“About thirty seconds,” Pearl says quietly.
I jump in front of Regal and grab his hands, fixing my eyes on his. I ignore the madness I can see there brought on by the intense pain that grips him.
“Regal, listen to me. I need you to listen to me. You have to fight back. You have to press that button, or we’ll all die.”
He stops screaming for a moment.
“I…I can’t. It hurts too much. I can’t even think,” he whispers. “I can’t control my powers.”
“Regal, please. Do it for me,” I whisper quietly enough for only him to hear. “You told me once that you loved me. If that’s true, do this for me.”
I hate myself for using his love for me this way, but it seems to work. He lets out another agonizing scream, and then he forces himself to his feet. I watch, holding my breath as the piece of plastic floats into the air. It moves painfully slow, but then it gains momentum. It slams into the button, which glows bright red. A shrill alarm sounds.
Regal falls to the floor again, and now, he’s not screaming. He’s not breathing.
“Please don’t let it be too late,” I beg.
I uncap the Gelliom potion and pour it into his mouth. It runs down his throat. He coughs and sits up.
“Well fuck me, that was intense,” he says.
I laugh then. A shrill, hysterical sound that scares me.
“We don’t have much time,” Pearl shouts.
I run down the cage and blast the lock from it. We rush out as an army of about twenty water nymphs runs into the chamber.
I don’t waste any time. I raise both palms and fire from them both simultaneously. Two of the water nymphs go down. Spears rain down on us, but this is a battle I know we can win. The nymphs don’t have any powers, at least the kind they can use to hurt us, and although their spears are lethally sharp, I know we can end this quickly.
A spear catches Langston in the arm, and she roars angrily. She rips it out and fires at the nymph who put it there. The nymph goes down. All around me, nymphs are falling to the ground.
“Stop,” Pearl shouts suddenly.
Her shout is so loud and so unexpected that I do as she says without thinking about it. Her shout has a similar effect on the others. The nymphs stop too, and we stand facing each other, anger and hurt showing on all of our faces.
“Enough, please,” Pearl says. “I know what they’ve done is beyond evil, but try to understand that they are in the grip of an addiction. If I can break that addiction, I can help them. We can once more serve our true destiny. They are still my family.”
“Look, I get it, but Perry is our family. And these bitches killed him,” I say.
Charlene steps forward, and I automatically raise my palm. She throws her spear to the ground and lifts her hands in surrender.
“I take it Perry is the annoying one who won’t shut up? He lives. Let us go free, and I will tell you where to find him,” she says.
“You are a disgrace to our kind, Charlene. You are the reason all of our family act this way. You and your selfish desire. Get in the cage,” Pearl demands.
“What?” Charlene says.
“You heard me. If you want to live, get in the cage,” she repeats.
Charlene seems to know that she means business. She steps into the cage.
“And the rest of you,” Pearl says. “Drop your weapons and get in the cage.”
They shuffle forward, dropping their spears.
“No chance,” one of them says.
She stands her ground, hanging back from the others and keeping a tight grip on her spear. Pearl raises an eyebrow.
“You think I won’t let them kill you if you choose to remain a threat?” Pearl says.
Something in her tone tells me she means business, and the nymph clearly hears it too. She drops her spear and steps into the cage.
“One day we’ll get out of here, and you’re going to pay for this,” she says.
Pearl ignores her. She waits for the last nymph to enter the cage and she slams the door shut. She picks up the broken lock from the ground and looks it over.
“This won’t hold. Will you guard them for a moment while I fetch a new one?”
I nod, and she disappears. She is back in moments with another lock. She slips it through the door to the cage and locks it.
“Now tell them where their friend is,” she demands.
Charlene snorts out a laugh.
“Why? You’re not going to let us out of here either way.”
Pearl bends down and retrieves a spear.
“Don’t think I won’t kill you, Charlene. The rest of our family deserves my help. You deserve nothing.”
She pokes the spear into Charlene hard enough that a wash of blue flows down her body.
“Fine. He’s in the Floo Chamber,” Charlene screams.
Pearl lowers the spear.
“Follow me,” she says to us, disregarding Charlene and her screams, which I think are now more from anger than pain.
She hurries away from the cage and leads us down another thin passage. The passage loops and bends, and I’m starting to think this is all part of some elaborate plan to trap us or something when Pearl halts.
“This is the Floo Chamber. Prepare yourselves because I don’t think your friend is going to be in a good state,” she says.
We step in, and despite Pearl’s words, I feel bile rising in my throat when I see the state Perry is in. He is tied flat against a wall, naked except for his underwear. His entire body has large chunks of flesh missing. He doesn’t appear to be bleeding, which throws me completely. I can see down to the bone on his thigh. He is unconscious.
“It doesn’t bleed. They use a salve to stop it so their meal lasts longer,” Pearl explains.
“Perry. Oh my God, Perry,” Langston cries.
She is the first one to break the spell of paralysis we’re all under. She runs to his side, and I can see the tears on her cheeks as she begins to tear at the restraints that hold him.
His eyes flicker open at her touch, and he blinks a few times, and then he grins.
“About damn time,” he says.
I glance at Regal.
“Do we use the Gelliom on him?” I ask.
Regal shakes his head.
“No. If we
get him to the surface, I can fix him with my normal things.”
“Pearl? Can you get us back out of here?” I ask. “Through the ice I mean?”
She nods. “Of course.”
Langston finishes untying Perry. He winces as he takes a step forward and then another, but he’s steady enough on his feet. We follow Pearl back to the entrance to the cavern.
“Here’s the thing,” Pearl says. “Once we’re in the water, we need to be fast. The salve only works in our chambers, and he’ll start bleeding out pretty quickly.”
“Perry should go last then so we can all help him,” Saudia says.
She squeezes through the gap followed by Regal. Kane turns to Langston.
“Are you going to be okay?” he asks her quietly.
She nods.
“Yeah, I really think I will be. I…when I thought…never mind. Yes, I’ll be okay, thanks.”
I go next, and I hold my breath, waiting for Kane and then Perry. As Pearl warned us, as soon as Perry hits the water, he begins to bleed. I grab one of his arms and Kane takes the other, and we kick for the surface. I can see the ice above us. I can almost reach out and touch it when I feel a hand wrap around my leg.
I fire down without looking, but the hand keeps its grip. Bubbles escape my mouth in my panic.
“We’re under attack,” Pearl says. “There’s about ten of them that were missing from the group when they came for us.”
She can talk under water? I guess as a water nymph it makes sense. I beckon to her, and she comes to my side. I point to Perry, then to Regal, and then to the surface.
“Got it,” she says.
She takes Perry from me and heads for the surface. I fire again, and the hand slips away this time. Kane is being pulled lower, and I see the shower of bubbles come from him as he is bitten and releases the breath he’s holding.
I dive down and grab his wrist. I fire past him, and the pull slackens. I begin to swim for the surface.
Pearl is back at my side, having deposited Perry and Regal on the surface. She takes Kane from me and drags him to the surface. I watch as the ice parts at her touch, and she pushes Kane above the water. I clamber out and go to him. He coughs and then sits up.
“You okay?” he asks me.
“It should be me asking you that,” I say.
I feel intense relief when I see the bite mark on him is small. Langston is already beside Regal and Perry, and Saudia clambers out next and goes to join them. Pearl sticks her head above the water and smiles at us.
“Pearl, thank you,” I say. “What you did for us. You saved us all.”
She smiles.
“It’s what I do. Why do I get the feeling that no matter what I say to you, you’re still not going to turn back?”
“We can’t do that,” I say.
I quickly explain our mission to stop Arken. She shudders.
“Good luck,” she says.
“Listen, Pearl,” Kane says. “You need to leave this place.”
He offers his arm to her; she shrinks back slightly, frowning.
“I know it goes against who you are, but hear me out. Not all of the nymphs are in that cage. And the ones who aren’t are going to be rescuing the others pretty soon I would imagine. You’re outnumbered, and you deserve better than to spend your life with them torturing you. You aren’t doing anything against my will, so you don’t have to feel guilty. I’m sure Sadie will be able to give you something that will stop the cravings once we get home. Take a bite and join us.”
Pearl smiles and shakes her head.
“Thank you for the offer. It means a lot to me, but those girls are still my family. I have a plan. I will seal this crack so no unsuspecting people can end up as bait, and I will swim down to the ocean. There I will join up with another colony and get word back to our leaders about my sisters. They will be able to give me a potion to undo the cravings, and we will once again live in peace and fulfill our destiny.”
“You’re sure that will work?” I ask.
“I’m sure the seal will stop anyone from being in danger. The rest, I’m not certain of, but I have to try. Look what you just did for your family. Now it’s my turn to risk everything for mine,” Pearl says.
I nod. I can understand that.
“Good luck,” she says again. “And goodbye.”
She slips under the water before I can respond, and the ice seals over her. She gives us a quick wave through the ice, and she’s gone.
I feel a sudden rush of sadness. Pearl deserves better than what she has to put up with. And the fact she still wants to rescue the others after what they did to her is a testament to her character.
“Oh thank God,” I hear Langston shout.
I turn and head for the small group.
“I guess that means Regal fixed Perry,” Kane says.
Perry is sitting up when we join the group. The skin of his thigh looks pink and shiny but other than that, he’s all fixed. Regal moves on to Langston and the stab wound in her shoulder.
“How are you feeling, Perry?” I ask.
“Good,” he says. “Thanks, everyone. You know, for coming down there after me. Especially you, Kane. I mean I didn’t know you cared.”
Kane laughs.
“I don’t. I came for Langston,” he fires back.
Langston is strangely quiet as Regal works on her.
“Seriously, man, that took some balls if you don’t like water,” Perry says.
“What? Why does everyone keep saying that?” I ask Kane.
He opens his mouth, but Langston speaks up.
“Kane is fine with water. It’s me who is afraid of it. Anything I can’t stand up in terrifies me. When we left the isle, I was freaking out, and Kane almost drowned to get me out of there. I didn’t tell anyone because I knew you would all tease me about it. And when you all started asking questions, Kane said it was him who freaked out so you’d leave me alone,” she says.
“But you were the first one down there when Perry went through the ice,” Saudia says.
Langston nods. “I know.”
She looks at Perry. “Because I love you. And as much as I was scared of the water, I was more scared of losing you.”
Perry scoots across the ice and takes her hand in his. He smiles warmly at her. Regal moves away from them and begins to work on healing the bite on Kane.
“I’d have gotten half eaten months ago if I’d have known you’d finally admit it,” Perry says.
Langston thumps him in the arm, and he laughs.
“I love you too,” he says, and they kiss.
“Finally,” Kane mutters.
He seems to know a whole lot more about all of this than I do. I thought it was one stupid kiss and a crush that Langston didn’t care for.
Regal comes over to me next.
“Turn around, let me heal your back,” he says.
I shake my head.
“There’s nothing wrong with my back,” I say.
“Sure there is, you’re bleeding,” Regal says.
I remember now. I was poked by a spear. It feels like so long ago I forgot about it. It’s healed quickly, and we start walking across the ice, slipping and sliding as we go. Regal gave Perry his hoody, which Perry wears like a dress, but at least he’s wearing something.
“See, I told you the ice was solid,” Perry says.
Saudia shakes her head.
“Really? After all that you’re still going to have an ‘I told you so’ moment?”
Perry just grins.
“What happened down there anyway? How did they get you, Perry?” Saudia asks.
“They probably gave him a big smile and promised to date him.” Regal laughs.
Langston glares first at Regal and then Perry.
“I’m strictly a one-woman man these days,” Perry says, wrapping his arm around Langston’s shoulders.
“I fell through the ice, and before I knew what was happening, hands were pulling me down. I was trying to free myself,
firing down, but the water slowed my powers down so much it was like they couldn’t even feel it. One of them came up behind me and cracked me over the head. And when I woke up, I was strapped to the wall.”
“And you, Regal? How did they get you from behind us like that?” I ask.
“They used the same enchantment they used on the cage. One of them must have been behind us, and they cast the enchantment around me. I was soon surrounded by seven of them all pointing spears at me. I knew if I took one or two of them down, the others would kill me. And it was obvious you guys couldn’t hear me. Then they dragged me through an opening in the wall, one I hadn’t even noticed, and got around into the clearing. Once you were all there, guarded by the spears, they lifted the enchantment and the rest you know.”
“Saudia was right. They were luring us in,” I say. “I spotted the entrance because I thought I saw a flash of movement and then I saw it again as we made our way to the opening where the bubble started.”
The conversation dies down as we leave the frozen lake and trek through the snow again. We need all the energy we have to fight through it as our feet and lower legs sink into it. I wonder how Perry is even moving at all with no shoes on.
After what feels like forever, we finally come to the opening of the Valley of the Damned. The walls rise so high on either side of the valley that I can’t see the tops of them. Although they are covered in snow, now I’m close to them, I can see the odd patch where the rocks peek through.
The ground is snow like everywhere else, but it looks harder than the rest. I can see where ice crystals form on the top of it and glint in the afternoon sun.
“Well, this is it,” Langston says as we all stop and look at the valley before us.
Regal nods.
“Yup. I guess it’s time to meet the Winter Demon.”
No one moves, and I realize they’re all as afraid as I am of stepping into the valley. Somehow getting here, none of it seemed like a reality, but now we’re here, it feels all too real. I’m the leader, and I know I should go first, but I just can’t bring myself to take the step forward.
“Together?” Saudia whispers.
“Together,” I agree.
We join hands, and as one, we step into the Valley of the Damned. Instantly, nets of ice open up beneath us, and I feel myself being launched into the air, dragged away from the others.