Souls

by Kahilah Harry

  “He’s dying,” Dmitri answered simply, glancing up.

  Dying? “How?” I asked as I started seeing what was happening clearer. Dmitri didn’t answer me, but he didn’t really have to at the moment because I saw it for myself. The vampire’s skin bubbled like it was boiling, but the bubbles never popped.

  He finally landed, and I had to turn my head away after his impact. There was a hiss, and Caspian looked in the direction of his fallen follower. He stared at the sky and growled. The moon had finally showed up, shining brightly in the sky.

  “Let’s move,” Dmitri said in a hushed tone when Rita made her way over to us. She glanced at me with hard eyes and looked back at Dmitri, nodding. I knew she hated me. But that was the least of my worries.

  They took off, and the scenery around me blurred. Dmitri kept jerking to keep himself from falling, which rattled me. I looked up to see where we were headed. At the top of the mountain, part of the temple still stood unaffected by the earthquake.

  “I see it!” Dmitri yelled before I could say anything.

  The temple was closer than before, and I felt like we could actually make it tonight.

  Dmitri growled and turned around, punching one of the vampires that leaped in the air. I ducked when her arm swiped at me. Dmitri ran backward while fighting the vampire, whose eyes glowed violet along with the streaks going down her face. Her snarls filled the air, and he hopped up and kicked her in the face, causing her to fly back into the male vampire behind her. He whipped around and continued running, grabbing one of my arms that lost its grip and locked it back around his neck.

  “Thank you,” I breathed, too short of breath to yell.

  He nodded and continued to run up the mountain. The rumbling faded, but the pillars wouldn’t stop coming.

  “They’re not going to stop unless we stop them. I’ll take care of it,” Rita yelled, glancing behind her.

  “Be careful. Meet us at the top when you’re done before Caspian can catch you,” Dmitri responded, and she gave a curt nod, jumping backward and twirling her weapon in the air. I heard her battle cry loud in the air but didn’t look back. Dmitri dodged and weaved between the pillars, all of them coming close to knocking him off the path again. The yellow path was up ahead, the only spot on the mountain that wasn’t moving. We were so close.

  Dmitri jumped up and started running on the pillars that shot up in front of him, leaping off each one as they got higher. He landed on both feet on one that was a few feet away from the yellow path. He grabbed my arm and flung me into the air.

  “Dmitri!” Half of my scream was stuck in my throat from the sudden action, and I clawed at the air for a second before landing in Dmitri’s arms. He rolled on the ground, protectively curling me to his chest. The rumbling was over, and no more pillars were shooting up in the air on this side.

  “Why would you do that? You almost gave me a heart attack!” I yelled, jumping up out of his embrace. My heart was pounding loudly in my ears.

  A small smirk formed on his face as he rose from his sitting position. He shrugged.

  “I just wanted to see your face when you thought you were about to die.” His teeth made a rare appearance, eyes sparkling with humor, and I crossed my arms, glaring. “Come on. We only have a little way to go before finally making it to Aloysius.” Dmitri glanced around the area before walking straight down the path.

  “What about Rita?” I asked. I couldn’t see where she was from my spot on the mountain. I hoped she was okay.

  “Rita will be fine. She’ll find her way back to us. What you need to worry about is meeting Aloysius.”

  I was confused. “Why do I need to worry?” I questioned as I caught up to him. He paused his walking, making me stop as well. I followed his eyes but didn’t see anything.

  “Wait for it,” he whispered, eyes facing straight ahead.

  I looked as well, tapping my foot impatiently, wondering what he was seeing. After a long, agonizing minute, the dark clouds parted, and I saw exactly what he saw. “Are those stairs?” I squinted, hoping it would help me see better. Yep, those were definitely actual stairs floating above the mountain, only a short walk away from where we stood. They were gold and wide, casting a light glow onto the mountains. The clouds moved, and I saw clearly that the stairs were connected to the temple.

  “Yes. Aloysius is an extravagant man. He loves for everything to be over the top and for everyone to see his wealth,” Dmitri explained, rolling his eyes.

  I pursed my lips and nodded. Augustus seemed to be about the same, so I expected his brother to be similar. “Is that why I need to prepare myself?” I threw that question out again when we started walking.

  “Part of it.” He paused to lift himself onto the stairs, and then steadied himself and reached down, waving his hands for me to reach up. I put my hands up to grip his, and he lifted me effortlessly. “Another part is that only you will be able to enter the temple. Aloysius loves to pull tricks. I won’t be there to help you, so you have to prepare yourself to not get sucked into his act.”

  27

  On the way to the temple, Rita joined us, not a hair out of place. Everyone from Caspian’s army was dead, and Caspian was nowhere to be found. She didn’t know where he went, and I hoped he’d given up trying to capture me.

  “These stairs weren’t this long last time I was here. He must’ve expanded it,” Dmitri commented, eyes narrowing a bit in suspicion.

  “Is that a bad thing?” I asked.

  “I’m not sure. I hope not,” he answered, looking around warily. The stairs glittered and shined, their beautiful golden color mixed with the blue accents, made me feel slightly euphoric.

  I actually made it. I mean, I wasn’t completely there yet, but I was closer than before. I made it through drowning and creatures attacking me and being captured by Caspian. I considered this a win. My eyes traveled up the beautiful stairs and stopped when I saw the large temple. It shone brightly against the dark sky. It didn’t look like there was a door, but then again, I was still far away, so I couldn’t see every detail.

  This is it. There’s no turning back.

  A blue color appeared whenever we took a step and disappeared when our feet lifted. I bounced and hopped up the stairs, laughing at myself as I tried to create my own rhythm with the blue color every time it appeared.

  Dmitri was shaking his head at me, but there was a soft smile on his face. That gave me the hope I’d been missing the entire trip. The confidence I needed to get me through this challenging journey was now here, and I welcomed it with open arms.

  Rita wasn’t smiling at all as we traveled, but I didn’t really expect her to. She may not be showing that she was grieving, but I knew she was. Her best friend was just killed by Caspian. There was no way to bounce back from that after only an hour.

  “How much longer do we have? What would be your guess?” I asked Dmitri as we continued to make our way up the stairs.

  “Probably another thirty minutes at the rate we’re going,” he answered, giving me a side glance.

  I scoffed and laughed at the deeper meaning behind his answer. “Hey, now, I can’t help that I can’t just speed my way up the stairs like you guys.” I waved my hands in the air for emphasis.

  His smirk grew, and he nodded to himself. “I mean, I could help you, but I’m assuming you would rather take your time.”

  I smiled at him. I guess he did know me well, huh.

  As we climbed, I took the time to get lost in my thoughts and gaze at the sky. I stopped keeping track of time, but I figured a good bit passed by from the sky’s color. It was getting a little brighter, the dark sky being replaced with red streaks.

  For some reason, I didn’t really want the day to come just yet. I kind of enjoyed the night, despite the destruction that came with it. It was calming. The dark clouds hovering above the temple also started changing colors, from almost black, to a muted yellow. As we continued, the temple got closer, and I could see more detail than before. It tur
ned out I was right about the temple not having a door, at least not one that I could see.

  The front was smooth, with no lines or cracks that would indicate an opening. The entire temple was pure black with red streaks gracing the pillars. The shine from it was almost blinding. The clouds above it seemed to absorb a lot of the shine so that it wouldn’t blind us.

  It looked like lightning shooting through the pillars. The colors were constantly moving. I tried to see the shapes on the front of the temple, but I wasn’t close enough. I did notice that the top of the temple was dome shaped, the same red streaks going through it like the pillars. Seeing the beauty on the outside made me excited to see the inside.

  “Only a few minutes left until we are at the very top. Are you ready?” Dmitri asked, staring at the temple like I was.

  Am I really ready? My lack of mental preparation mixed with Dmitri’s doubts made me believe I wasn’t prepared, but thinking about everything I went through to get to this spot, I knew I was ready. “I was born ready,” I answered proudly, my steps becoming more confident with each one I took. Nothing was ruining my great mood, not even Rita. Caspian was nowhere to be found, and at this point, I was confident that he wasn’t going to show up again. At least not anytime soon.

  “Do you know why Aloysius will only let me in the temple?”

  “He likes to have a one-on-one interaction with whoever needs his services, so he says. I never really asked why to figure out the true reason,” Dmitri answered.

  I nodded, thinking about his response. “I guess that makes sense. I might ask hi—” My sentence was cut off from a force that slammed into my back, causing me to stumble forward. I lost my breath and caught myself on my hands, the pressure jarring my wrists.

  “Meadow, run!” Dmitri yelled as I got up, trying to regain my balance. I whipped around quickly and almost tripped over my feet. Dmitri was growling and wrapped his hand around Caspian’s throat, stopping him from attacking.

  I ran. I didn’t look back to see if I was being followed. I could barely make out what was in front of me. The steps seemed to go on forever, and I paid more attention to the way I was breathing. The temple was completely clear now. The shape that I couldn’t see before on the front of the building was now visible. It was a cross. The same intricate cross I’d seen everywhere, except on the temple, it was upside down. My brain wanted to analyze and comprehend everything it was taking in, but I couldn’t. All I could focus on was getting to the top.

  “Meadow, duck!” Rita shouted, but it was too late because I was hit from behind. This time I tumbled and rolled down a step with another body. I tried to get up on my own, but I had no control. I was yanked up and an arm wrapped around my throat, cutting off my airway. My hands automatically grabbed onto the arm, clawing at it.

  “Let her go now!” Dmitri shouted, eyes blazing in anger.

  Caspian’s laugh filled my ears, and I continued to claw at his arm, trying to get air back in my lungs. My chest tightened, and it felt like his hands were squeezing my lungs slowly.

  “Now!” Dmitri’s eyes glowed violet, and Caspian loosened his grip on my neck just enough for me to be able to breathe again. My cough was obnoxious, but I needed to get air back into my lungs.

  “Caspian, please let me go,” I rasped, pleading with him.

  Rita looked at us with cautious eyes, and Dmitri’s were hard and narrowed, trained on Caspian.

  “Now, why would I do that? I finally have you exactly where I want you. All the other times were just cat and mouse games. But this, this is the real deal.” He cackled in my ear.

  “Don’t do this, Caspian.” Dmitri walked our way slowly, a hand stretched out.

  Caspian walked backward, pulling me with him. I stumbled over my feet to find the next step so I wouldn’t fall. Caspian kept an arm around my neck, and his other hand lying flat over my pendant. I tried to glance down to see what he was doing, but I couldn’t move my head.

  “What are you doing?” I asked breathlessly. I tried to speak with confidence, but some fear seeped through. My eyes widened when I looked at Dmitri and Rita. “Why are you guys staring at me like that?” I questioned them, trying to understand their faces. Neither of them answered me or even paid attention to me. All of their attention was on Caspian. “Caspian, answer me!” I growled, trying to use some bass in my voice.

  “Oh, sweetheart. What I’m about to do to you is a gift that, in due time, you’ll come to appreciate,” he whispered in my ear. A shiver went down my spine. He gripped my pendant tighter and yanked, detaching it from my neck. The gasp that escaped me was loud and hoarse. My hands flew to my empty chest, and I looked up at Dmitri in shock. He looked as if he was shouting, but I couldn’t hear anything.

  An explosion rocked my vision, and pain ignited in my head immediately. My vision was so blurry. Flashes of images hit me at full force, each one more painful than the other. None of them were clear enough for me to see. More images slammed into my head after the other set was over, drawing the biggest scream out of me.

  I couldn’t figure out if I was standing or sitting. I didn’t know what was happening around me. I thought I heard Dmitri yelling my name, but music blocked a lot of it. Where was that music coming from? Something else slammed into my mind and it had me gasping for air. I couldn’t breathe.

  “What’s happening to her?” I heard Rita shout, and I didn’t hear a response. Something ran into me, and I felt like I was floating and drowning at the same time.

  Drowning.

  Drowning.

  Drowning.

  The word was repeating in my mind, and I started choking. I wanted to claw at the air, but I couldn’t move. What was happening? Let me breathe! I wanted to scream, but my mouth wouldn’t open.

  “Don’t worry, I’ve got you. We’re almost there.” Dmitri’s voice reached me. His voice echoed in my head, another image following behind it. The image started moving. It slammed into me, and I was no longer floating. I was on a dance floor. It seemed familiar, and I looked around until my eyes landed on Dmitri. He was staring at me. I smiled at him over Caspian’s shoulder, and he smiled back, eyes soft. Rita was in his arms, but he paid no attention to her.

  Static replaced the dance floor, and now I was looking at Dmitri’s back. I looked around, and I was in my apartment sitting on the couch. How did I get here? I glanced up and gasped as I saw myself standing in front of Dmitri, a surprised and frightened look on my face. Before I could decipher it, another image slammed into my head, white lights spotting my vision.

  I wasn’t on the couch anymore, but looking at someone in the air, from behind a boulder. The area was dark, and I heard shouting. Dmitri and everyone in my team, plus Caspian, were running on the beach, arms raised and waving. Another woman I didn’t recognize was running with them. The angle changed, and I was face-to-face with the person in the air. I couldn’t make out who it was because her face was down, and everything started getting blurry.

  No, no, no. I wanted to see who it was. I was starting to be pulled back away from the woman, and I waved my arms around, trying to get everything clear again. I was about to be too far to see when she raised her head, and I choked on a gasp when her golden eyes locked on mine, auburn hair turning black right in front of me. Before I could see anything else, the scene disappeared, and I was drowning in darkness.

  Many images raced toward me and began slamming into my mind like before, not slowing down for me to see anything clearly. It felt like someone was smashing a hammer over and over again on my head in the same spot.

  “Hold on, please. We’re here, just hold on a little longer.” Dmitri’s voice penetrated the force, and it sounded like his voice was filled with…pain? But why?

  “Let me in! Drop the barrier, please, Aloysius!” Dmitri was shouting, but it sounded muffled. I was being rocked forcefully from whatever he was doing, and another scream left me when it felt like my head was about to explode.

  “What is happening to me?” I screamed, clawin
g at my head when I realized I was able to move again. My screaming wouldn’t stop. I couldn’t stop the pain. It spread through my body and seeped into my bones. It was everywhere.

  “Your memories are coming back, but in a deadly way. Your pendant was holding them back. It wasn’t supposed to be taken off yet,” Dmitri whispered, jerking when I screamed louder.

  My eyes snapped open, but I couldn’t see him. I saw a moving image of the beach, but it quickly disappeared, and it was dark. But then many moving images came back, surrounding me, then forcefully moving all at once. It was so overwhelming. I didn’t know how much longer I could hold on and take this.

  “Come on, man! She’s dying!” I heard Dmitri shout, and tears started rolling down my face.

  Dying.

  Dying.

  Dying.

  I was dying.

  The pain wasn’t letting up. I could barely breathe, and it was getting harder to stay conscious.

  “You know I can’t let you through.” A new voice that sounded familiar filled the air. It must be Aloysius.

  My scream joined in when the memories all started slamming into my mind all at once. I couldn’t do anything but lie there. So, this was what it felt like to die a painful death.

  “Then take her! She can’t die like this!” Dmitri pleaded.

  I was numb to the pain by that point, so I could hear the silence between the two. Red spots dotted my vision and my eyes closed again as the memories became fuzzy. I was losing consciousness, and that was okay with me. It meant the pain would be over soon.

  “Fine. Hand over the witch.”

  Acknowledgments

  This feels weird. I’ve read many acknowledgement pages from many books and now I have my own. I will keep this short and sweet.

  The first person I’d like to thank is my twin sister. Thank you Kalilah for sharing your stories with me and encouraging me to write my own. You pushed me to find my own voice and made sure I knew that I was a talented writer and reminded me that everyone tells their story differently.