Forever Here

by Harold Wall

  Harold Wall

  Forever here

  Something was wrong; something had gone terribly wrong, and Delos knew it. He didn't know how he knew it—one moment he was

  roaming his kingdom aimlessly on his horse, trying to anything but think about Maggie's missing presence, and then the next moment he'd been overwhelmed with this sickening

  sinking feeling, the feeling that one gets when they realize they've forgotten something very important at the last moment.

  Delos's first impulse was to gallop fullspeed back to the castle, ready to defend it from whatever was attacking it. But when he arrived, he found that nothing had been disturbed. A

  few of the witches gave him funny looks as he ran through the corridors, checking every room, trying to find the problem.

  But the more he searched, the more his mind started to drift back to Maggie.

  No, not possible! He thought, angrily shoving the idea of her being in any sort of danger out of his mind. She was with Miles and Jeanne—both of whom he knew were just as

  strongwilled and stubborn as she was. If there was any sort of danger, they'd have the best chance of making it through it.

  But even when reassuring himself, his worry grew deeper, touching the innermost parts of his soul. Something wasn't right—something was dreadfully wrong.

  Having checked every room in the castle, Delos reluctantly started for the main entry way, trying to calm down his nerves. She's okay, he told himself, there's nothing to worry

  about…

  But as he entered the entry way, the knowledge that it wasn't grew more firm. In front of him the messenger witch—who carried messages back and forth between he and Circle

  Daybreak—was speaking rapidly in a low voice to another witch, whose eyes were wide with horror, her fingers reaching up to cover her mouth. "Oh no," She was wailing over and

  over again, and Delos wondered if she was even listening to the messenger anymore. Delos stopped, keeping out of their sight and listened. He couldn't hear the messenger with

  the other witch wailing so much, but he knew that by the witch's wailings that something had gone terribly wrong, thus confirming his bad premonitions. Finally the witch stopped

  crying 'oh no,' and cried, "How are we supposed to tell Prince Delos?"

  No longer could Delos contain himself. He stepped forward into their view. "Tell Prince Delos what?" He demanded, trying to keep himself as calm as possible. Both witches

  swerved around to look at them, their faces filled with shock and terror. Neither of them seemed able to answer, but Delos was much too impatient to wait for them. "Well, what's

  happened?"

  The witch who had been wailing burst into tears, whether it was from fear or just mere sadness Delos couldn't tell. But thankfully the messenger stepped soberly forward but she

  didn't quite meet his eyes. "Your Highness," She started, a flush coming upon her cheeks, "I regret to inform you that there's been an…accident."

  Delos went completely cold. No, he thought, no, no, no, no, no, oh PLEASE no! But as he was thinking this, he found that his more reasonable side had taken over and was speaking

  for him, "What sort of accident?"

  The messenger gulped and stumbled back a bit. "Earlier this evening…there was a car accident." Delos didn't need to ask what they meant—he knew exactly who it was the witch

  was talking about. "Something jumped in front of the car, and Miles tried to stop, but because the road was so slick, the tires skidded. He tried to swerve, but that only succeeded

  in getting the car to speed out of control. The moment they swerved off the road, the car rolled…"

  "And Maggie?" Delos demanded, his mind vividly painting the picture that the witch was describing. He'd never known cars to be such a danger—it showed just how little he truly

  knew about Maggie's world. If he'd known, he would have insisted that she stay, maybe get her parents to come up here…

  The witch's face paled—this is what she truly didn't want to tell him. "When Circle Daybreak got to them, they only found Miles and Jeanne in the car."

  Relief washed through Delos, something he realized soon after was a stupid feeling to have felt. "So she wasn't in the car with them," The witch flinched, giving Delos the dreaded

  confirmation that in fact she had been.

  No, he thought, his entire insides seeming to pour out onto the floor, this couldn't be happening. Not to him, not to Maggie…

  "Both Miles and Jeanne are conscious, although both have serious injuries—Miles, though, is much further on his way to recovery on account of his shape shifting ability. Miles says

  that Jeanne and Maggie were switching places and neither of them had their seat belts on. When the car got out of control, Jeanne was mostly pressed up between the back and

  front seats until the car started to roll, so she didn't get too badly injured, and Miles lost some blood and got a bunch of glass stuck in his skin, but he was wearing his seat belt."

  She took a deep breath, steadying herself before she continued. "But Maggie wasn't in a good position at all. Miles said she hit the windshield, although thankfully get tossed out of

  the car and although he wasn't sure exactly what happened after that, he says she slammed into him a few times when they rolled."

  Delos suddenly felt as though the floor had disappeared beneath him, leaving him falling into an endless black hole. For the first time since he was a child, he wanted to cry. He

  wanted to tear at something, destroy something, and crawl back into a corner and just break down.

  "We don't know where she is," The messenger went on, determined to finish the message, "and we're doing everything possible to try to find her. But we can't guarantee that we

  can find her in time to save her. She must have serious injuries, maybe even fatal ones…"

  "STOP IT!" Delos shouted, surprising both of the witches to the point where they both stumbled back, their eyes wide with fright. "She's not dead," As he spoke the words, he knew

  they were true. He could feel that there had been something terribly wrong, but it wasn't that. He knew it without a doubt. Maggie was strong, and their connection was stronger

  than any he'd ever seen. If Maggie had died, he would have known. The feeling would be worse than this. He'd feel like he'd lost himself along with her—but he felt the

  determination to go and find her, to save her before it was too late. "Where are Miles and Jeanne now?" He demanded.

  "There's a small Circle Daybreak post near the crash site," The messenger answered reluctantly, her eyes full of worry and sadness. "Miles and Jeanne are stationed there for

  healing—tomorrow morning just before sunrise two Circle Daybreak members—Rashel and Quinn, I think their names were—will be at the pass to take you to them. You'll decide

  what to do from there."

  "I want to find her," Delos insisted, his voice rising again. "I want to go find her now!"

  The messenger shrugged her shoulders, "I am truly sorry about this Prince Delos, but there's nothing we can do about it right now. I suppose you could leave right now, but the

  fastest way to travel is by car, which you don't have. You'd be more productive if you waited till you could collaborate, maybe wait for a team of Circle Daybreak members to help

  you out—the more people you have the better chance you have at finding her." The witch's words were practical…but they still made Delos feel useless.

  Maggie was out there, hurt and frightened and waiting for his rescue. How long did she have? He didn't know. All he knew was that the more time he wasted the better chance of

  her not making it through the night.

  But he couldn't go—the witch was right.
A horse wasn't nearly as fast as a car—he'd get there much faster if he waited for the two Circle Daybreak members to pick him up. But

  that meant making it through the night…for the both of them.

  Stay strong Maggie, he thought as he nodded to the witch and turned, heading back up to his bedroom to prepare for the trip, I'm coming for you soon—just hang on till I get there!

  KKK

  The entire world was filled with darkness and unbearable pain. I felt like I was floating in midair, but at the same time I felt tons heavier. I couldn't think—I couldn't move or open my eyes and after a few painful tries I gave up.

  Was I dead? The thought crossed my mind and a new wave of pain washed over me—if I could have, I would have let out the screams of pain I desperately wanted to let out. No, I

  struggled to think, if I was dead I wouldn't be in so much pain.

  So where was I? I didn't know. At the moment I was in too much agony to care. My head throbbed to the beat of my heart, and each breath I took sent a pang through my chest. I

  could hardly hear myself think, it hurt so badly.

  "This isn't good," A sudden male voice invaded my world, startling me and sending a wave of pain through my mind. I didn't know the voice, but I still thought I'd heard it before.

  But I didn't bother to try to remember it because thinking was a major challenge to me. "At this rate she won't make it through the night," His voice sounded irritated and was

  increasing in anger.

  "Is she really that important?" Another male voice whom I was not familiar with asked.

  "There's no chance of an alliance without her," The first voice snapped. Alliance…the word triggered recognition in my mind but I didn't remember why.

  The other man snickered, a sickening sound that sent painful chills up my spine. "I still can't believe Prince Delos would fall for such a weak piece of worthless vermin."

  Delos—my mind instantly knew that name, and my heart beat faster, the pangs in my chest therefore increasing. Where was he? Was he ok? My breathing became more labored

  and the second speaker stopped chuckling.

  "I guess Delos was weak after all," The first sighed, "But we need his help if our society is to survive. He won't agree to it otherwise. And if she dies, all that will do is make him

  angry and determined to destroy everything we've worked hard for."

  "So what do we do, boss?" Silence. As the silence grew, I suddenly started to get a very bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. Something wasn't right here…

  "Ok," The first voice sighed, finally breaking the silence. What was ok? I didn't understand.

  And then the bite came.

  It was swift and painful, tearing into my neck and making my body tense as the life drained out of me. I could feel the blood transferring from my body to the fangs that were

  imbedded in my neck, replacing the original pain with a whole new meaning of pain.

  I was dying.

  My mind knew that, but for some reason all I could think about was Delos. I was going to die and leave him here all alone. That alone was a pain greater than anything I had felt or

  was feeling so far. I didn't want to leave Delos here alone again—I knew without a doubt that it would destroy him.

  I'm so sorry Delos, I thought, I love you…

  As soon as I thought that, though, the pain stopped and the fangs released my neck. Dizziness and confusion replaced the pain.

  Oh, just kill me now, I wanted to plead—there was no reason to torture me! I hadn't done anything worthy of such a thing!

  That's when someone firmly grasped my jaw and squeezed, forcing my mouth open. Now what? I wondered, poison? But a moment later thick, hot, sweettasting liquid spilled into my open mouth and another set of strong, firm hands roughly grasped my shoulders, lifting me up just enough for the liquid to fall back down my throat.

  Don't swallow! A warning bell was crying somewhere in the back of my mind, swallow and you'll regret it! But I couldn't help it. With each swallow, the pain in my mind disappeared

  along with the rest of it and I was slowly starting to feel heavy with sleep. It felt so much like a relief. Maybe this is what death feels like, I thought as the liquid was removed from

  my lips.

  Delos jogged up the steps to the small urbanneighborhood home that was serving as the area's Circle Daybreak center and stopped at the

  door, shifting uncomfortably in his somewhat lose blue jeans and tugging at his white longsleeved wool shirt. How did men wear this stuff? He wondered for about the zillionth

  time since he'd tugged them on at the gas station nearest to the pass. It was probably one of the many unknown questions that he thought might never be answered.

  Delos shook his head, his damp hair brushing his forehead and reached up and pushed the thing humans called a doorbell. Behind him the two who had driven him safely up here

  strolled up, keeping their distance. The black haired girl, Rashel, stood on her tip toes and whispered something into the man's ear, a small smile spreading across his lips. Delos

  winced and turned away—it was obvious from the beginning that these two weren't just partners, something at the moment he was envious of.

  The door finally opened to reveal a woman with black curly hair and purple eyes—the mark of a witch. "Delos," She stepped aside, her eyes intent on him as he stepped through the

  threshold. "Welcome." Delos wanted to turn and snap at her, tell her that he wasn't here to feel welcome—he was here to get business done.

  All he wanted to do was figure this out as quickly as possible so that he could begin his quest to find his Maggie.

  Instead, Delos whirled around and asked, "Where are they?" He knew he was being rude, but at the moment he didn't care. Since meeting Maggie, he'd made it one of his goals to

  try to be as polite as possible to everyone, even those who he in reality wanted to beat the crap out of. But now that Maggie was alone and in danger, he wasn't exactly in the mood

  to be polite to everyone who stood in his way of going to her rescue.

  The witch's eyes widened, and as she opened her mouth a familiar voice interrupted her, making Delos spin back around. "I'm right here," There stood Miles, looking much better

  than what Delos had originally pictured. He had a bandage still on his forehead and a few other scrapes, but otherwise he looked fine—must have been his new shapeshifter blood

  working. But that wasn't what concerned Delos and pulled him a little bit out of his own Maggieobsessed world.

  The look in Miles's eyes said it all. Miles, of everyone here, blamed himself for whatever happened out there. Although he tried to smile at Delos, Delos could see the selfblame

  lingering in his eyes and the lines of worry creasing his forehead. Delos sighed, trying to calm his nerves down a bit—he wasn't the only one here who was worried about Maggie.

  "Are you ok?" Delos found himself asking instead of shooting questions like, "When can we leave? Who's going to search where?"

  Miles shrugged his broad shoulders, looking away from Delos to stare down at the ground. "I've felt worse," He commented, and Delos wondered if he was telling the truth. "You?"

  "I didn't just walk out of a car crash," Delos reminded him, "How's Jeanne?"

  Miles nodded his head, "I think she's going to be just fine—she's been itching to get back out there and look for…" His expression froze cold before turning into one of frustration.

  "I'm so sorry Delos—I don't know where it came from, I swear!"

  "It's not your f—"

  "DON'T TELL ME IT'S NOT MY FAULT!" Miles's explosion caught Delos off guard. Miles never lost his cool—of everyone he was always the most positive one, always the one who was

  looking towards the future—his major difference with his headstrong leader of a sister. Delos wasn't sure how they'd make it through the next few hours—since he fully expected to

  find her within a few hours—i
f Miles was losing his control.

  "Miles…" Delos started again, but Miles was raving now and Delos could see the tears threatening to fall from his eyes.

  "After everything she's done for me…risking her life for me, going to search for me in unknown, unfamiliar places…and what did I do? I lost her, just when we'd finally found each

  other again. And all I've done about it so far is sit here."

  "You're hurt," Delos cut in—he completely understood how Miles was feeling, except that he hadn't exactly been the one to lose her. "Look, it's as much your fault as it is mine,"

  Delos started and quickly raised his voice to keep from being interrupted when Miles looked like he was about to object, "I was the one who insisted that you guys visit your parents —I could have had them sent up and kept you guys safe, but I just…I just wanted…." Delos stopped. He might have opened up a lot, but he wasn't about to let out all of his

  innermost feelings to Miles. He wasn't that comfortable.

  Miles seemed to get the jist of what he was saying though because he didn't look at him like he was expecting more. "I'm still the one who lost her, after you trusted her…after she

  trusted me to get her back safely."

  Delos couldn't take any of this anymore—all he wanted was to get a plan together, get out there and find Maggie and bring her back into the safety of his embrace. "Stop blaming

  this on you Miles—blaming yourself isn't going to get us anywhere!"

  "He's right you know," Both of the men looked up to find Jeanne standing at the top of the stair case, her red hair drawn back into a pony tail. The messenger was right—Jeanne

  obviously hadn't been too hurt. On the outside, at least. Delos was sure that she was probably having a hard time moving much less getting out of bed. But there she was standing

  there and trying to look like there wasn't a sore muscle in her body. It was probably only possible because of her experience as a slave. "Blaming and arguing isn't going to get us

  anywhere. If we want to find her, we need to figure out a game plan and get moving as quickly as possible."

  Miles instantly cut her off, his voice firm with his decision; "You aren't going anywhere; you're much too hurt for it!"