The Mystic Chronicles: Locket

by Elizabeth Hawkins

  Before, she had the luxury of being able to be bored, she had the delicacy of being able to have time to solve an important mystery, to dig up the past. She still had the desire to want to know the past, or about Saytrix, but she couldn’t. She had bigger things to worry about. More things. She needed to take care of Liveria. She didn’t have the time to worry about something that didn’t want to be found. As she pulled off her training jacket, the noise of the speaker filled her ears. There was an announcement.

  “Greetings, fellow Shylack Vampric Academy students. As you all may know, if you are in our Vampric Soldier program, you were tested harshly the other day to be recruited to train at the fairy kingdom of Endlyasha. This is an extraordinary opportunity for your future Vampric soldier career. Today, we have received the results. We have chosen twenty-four of our amazingly wonderful Vampric students to take upon this acquisition. Number one. Orion Klarelenshaze…”

  If Scarlett had a heart, it would have been burning with passion as rapid as fire. Her nerves were on edge. She didn’t know that she could want something so badly, in her entire undead life. The reason she woke up in the morning and practiced as hard as she did, and fought as perfectly as she did, was because she wanted to be a soldier. To be in a position like that meant everything for her.

  She played with her fingernails rushingly, as she waited to hear her name. She bit the insides of her dry cheek, her eyes blinked rapidly, as she brought her legs up to her chest. “Number twenty-three. Leona Kaliya Christable.” Scarlett began to lose hope, her shoulders dropped, the feeling of desperation and regret plagued her soul as she already knew that she was not going to be in. She didn’t understand. She passed. She thought about Lucian’s words.

  Out of all honesty, how could she not have gotten in? She then proceeded to stand up, and turned her back to open the door to go back into the black box. She needed to cope more.

  As her brown hand reached the cold metal of the silver handle, and her feet were about to enter back into the casualties of her catastrophic thoughts, she’d heard four words that made her heart sing. Hope fulfilled her entire body again, and she stood in temporary shock. “Scarletta Lenotine. Number Twenty-four. If you have been recruited and assigned a number, please report to the K building, room nine hundred seventy-five, for further information. Thank you.”

  Chapter|Nine

  Scarlett rushed to the K building in an abrupt motion.

  She knew it in her heart that she was a great soldier, it was in her gut that she knew that she was even going to get in, in the first place. But why? It was the lingering question that was in the back of her mind. Why were they recruiting random young Vampric soldiers in training? Why not go to the Vampric Kingdom and request twenty-four knights. Scarlett wondered if there was a war going on that the public wasn’t aware of yet. Impala was an isolationist country. So that didn’t make any sense.

  About two hundred years ago, Impala signed a peace treaty with the country of Wivarny, the place where the Souleaters had lived. The only problematic and chaotic event that caused uprisings and rebellion was the war that happened over seventeen years ago, with the Undetermined and the government. That story made Scarlett’s stomach turn. That single event was the start of a war that lasted two years. Scarlett believed that there still were others out there. More Undetermined’s. Half-breeds.

  When she’d gotten to the K building, she raced up the staircase as if her life depended on it. She gazed out the glass window of the hallway, the light green clouds kissed the lilac sky in longing, as the breeze swept over the wondrous scenery of her city. How she would miss Crimsroseyn, she thought. There were tall, cityscapes that went on for miles, and mansions that multiplied and multiplied. Crimsroseyn was one of the wealthiest cities in the Vampriclands. Scarlett had seen beyond her city, and she never longed to go back.

  She looked ahead as a group of other Vampric students walked into a room with two armored fairy soldiers on both sides of the entrance. Scarlett recognized that they held JK-A guns. Jaqez Semi-killantric automatics. Jaqezium was a toxic substance that blinded its victims. It was a type of laser. Very deadly. Rarely, did the public ever see or use those types of guns. Part of Scarlett wanted to hold it in her hands. She’d never seen one in real life before, only on wandtube, or in books. But the other half of her was worried. Why did they have so many guns? Must have been Fey culture. The Vampric mostly trained with knives, and swords. Guns, they’d barely touched. Although that never stopped Scarlett from purchasing them, and building them. The royal Fey guards were so defensive. On edge. But why? It made her wonder.

  She squared her shoulders, with a slightly lifted chin, and moved gracefully past the seats. She took the one on the far right, crossed her right thigh over the left and folded her hands. She turned her head slightly and analyzed the room.

  Numerically speaking, there were twenty-four plastic black chairs that stood in rows of twelve by two, in the center of the room. The windows boarded, the green fire of the torches lit up the dimness. The glow of the fire cast over Scarlett's worried expression. The flames danced in her eyes. She sat stiffly and counted the heads of every single person. No Liveria. No Silas. Alone. Like how she once was, last year. Her fingernails caved into her hands. Her jaw clenched.

  She analyzed all of the Vampric that were picked. Quickly she noticed that just like her, they were mostly Vampric students that shared the same rankings as herself. Students that only had a year left out of the thirteen years you were supposed to spend learning at Shylack.

  Almost suddenly, the two back doors had shut heavily, with a clang.

  The commotion made heads turn. The Vampric students were as silent as the moments before death. It revealed a smug Lucian, as he strutted through the doors with his head high. His smirk was painted across his face, as a black sheer cloak draped behind him. He proceeded to stride forward. His royal gear was plastered in organized jewels, the collars of his long-sleeved dark shirt decorated in silver flecks. Lucian’s dark jeweled belt had gleamed, as he walked to the front of the small room. The elegant shimmer of the torch highlighted his face-structure, the point of his left ear decorated in random silver piercings.

  When Lucian met eye-contact with Scarlett, she expected him to look away, but he didn’t. Neither did she. Until, he finally did. “Congratulations.” He announced. The crisp and raspy tone of his voice echoed and bounced off the walls. His tone was direct, like he was used to speaking to crowds. Like he was used to order. He began to pace slowly, with his hands gracefully crossed beneath his back.

  “You were all chosen specifically, for an important reason. You have a purpose. Most of the Vampric that are in Shylack's Vampric soldier program did not make it. Before we release this information, understand that we possess your records.You should know that you all belong to the Kingdom of Endlaysha now, according to the electronic waiver that you and your families signed at the beginning of the year. Atticus, reference the contract. Now.”

  The royal guard behind them cleared his throat. His voice was stern. “According to the contract, it references section eighty-five out of two hundred of the Shylack Academy handbook. It states that, In any circumstances, in an event of harsh calling, Vampric soldiers in training that contain high percentages must be drafted for any events necessary if and only if the lives of others are or will be in danger.”

  Lucian smoothed his hair, and cleared his throat. “Thank you.”

  “You all belong to the Kingdom of Endlaysha now.” She pretended not to be so affected by Lucian’s words. She couldn’t have been upset. She knew what training as a Vampric soldier meant, she knew that she was allowed to get stationed off early, if necessary. She just didn’t think it would ever happen. She couldn’t believe that they were being drafted. She had to leave Liveria. To leave Silas. The room still fell silent. She wasn’t ready.

  His eyes met Scarlett’s for half a second, “No questions? Excellent.” He paused, and his eyebrow lifted the same time that his forehead
creased. His expression was hard, as he clasped his hands together firmly. “The country is in danger. Over the course of the year, terrorist attacks have slowly increased. Ultimately to our knowledge, the Undetermined are behind a majority of these attacks. Since the rebellion of Mendeleev and his actions, there’d been a sensitive position available. And the Undetermined have unfortunately filled that space. There are secret groups every day attacking innocent villages and cities. And it will only get worse.”

  Scarlett sat stiffly. Perhaps that was why Saytrix was so terrified of solving their mystery. It lead to other things. Crimsroseyn had never been attacked. She’d read stories and news articles about other cities outside of her own that had, though. She never realized the seriousness of it all.

  “They managed to hack into our country's government's official security system and send threats. This was recent. Until further notice, the messages remain confidential.” Scarlett licked her fangs absently. Fear. Was that what she was supposed to feel? She’d pieced it together.

  Whatever the government was planning, they were preparing for the worst. Something big. And they were trying to use different kingdoms to control whatever they had planned. They didn’t only just want fully trained Vampric knights from the kingdom, but they’d also wanted the skilled younger Vampric, as well. It made sense. Anxiety suddenly washed over her. She’d never been in a war. She’d never intended to be in a war. She only wanted to become a knight. To be a part of the Kingdom, amongst the royal. She wanted to be powerful and mean something. Not to risk her life fighting a war against something that had nothing to do with her. Or did it?

  “Yes, the Vampric Knights from your kingdom have been notified and are already being trained for this exact war that will be happening in due time.” He paused like a dictator would in the midst of discussing a plan. His expressions were so intense, Scarlett thought. Lucian looked as if he were the type of person who was immune to genuine laughter. He looked to the ceiling, and then back at the audience of Vampric students who carried a series of blank, distraught expressions. He sighed, a flicker of compassion flashed in his eyes but only for half a second. “We need you all, and we aren’t left with much time. At my palace, you will be pushed to your limits and ready for this upcoming war.”

  “So we don’t have the choice to leave if we wanted? We just belong to you Fey creatures, now? I won’t leave my life behind and I’m not gonna’ let a Fairy, like yourself, tell me, a Vampire, what to do.” A smug Vampiric boy interrupted him. The Vampric boy laughed with the two of his friends beside him. “So what, there's a war? Big deal. Doesn’t mean we’re obligated to listen to you.”

  Scarlett turned her head and wanted to punch him. Ryan Ravstone. Typical him, he’d always been problematic. His arms were folded, his eyes narrowed and daring. Lucian rolled his eyes boredly. He made a gesture to the royal security guards that were at the two double doors at the back of the room. Scarlett turned her head. “Eliminate this one.” He ordered, with his arms crossed, and his chin up.

  “Yes sir.” They responded in unison.

  Everyone watched, as the guards picked up the Vampric boy, violently. There was a girl that shot up, and flashed an angry expression at Lucian. But before she even got a word out, he interrupted her. “Postpone this and you perish, too.” Scarlett wondered how the media would act if they really knew about the harshness of their precious Prince Lucian.

  With quickly formed fear in her eyes, slowly, she sank down back into her seat. The boy struggled against their grasps, shouting and begging at them to stop, until they shot the JK-77A gun. There must have been Glycarian infused. Black blood spilled out from his white shirt as it stained. His body limp. The Vampric students gazed in quiet horror, as the guards took him away.

  “Y-you can’t just do that!” Shouted the blonde girl who was sitting behind him. Her eyes bulged.

  Lucian sighed, and fixed the collar of his shirt, and narrowed his eyes. “I do whatever gets the job done, sweetheart. Read the contract.” He spoke, and gazed at her. The richness of his hair was styled into perfection. “Death doesn’t amuse me. Shouldn’t amuse you, either. It happens. It won’t ever stop happening. And nobody’s immortal. Not even you Vampric.” He said. “Does everybody understand?”

  Scarlett covered her mouth.She wanted to believe there was a way out, but there wasn’t. She signed the contract. At the beginning of the year. Like Lucian said. Cold anger shot through her veins, as she clenched her fists. She hated him. She didn’t understand how he could have just killed an innocent person. How he could compare something as precious as life to something disposable.

  Lucian inhaled. “Apologies for the disturbance.” He said with a smirk. There was a beat of silence. He then licked his lips. “In exchange for your hard work, you will be given coinage and any estate in the Vampriclands of your choice. This is of course, once the war is over.”

  The room held a violent sense of shock and hatred, but also fear somehow lingered. The way that Lucian constructed his death was too casual to just get over. The money and place to stay definitely mattered to Scarlett, she could do so much with it. But was it worth it? Acrimony grew from Scarlett’s heart and decorated itself around Lucian’s presence. He killed the boy for no reason. She thought about her stepmother and possibly her stepfather, how they were killed for nothing. How could he have killed a student deliberately like that? His parents were going to be devastated, his family was going to be devastated. He had a life, and Lucian took that away.

  She dug her fingernails into her palms sharply. He gazed into her light eyes intensely for a split second, and then back to everyone else. She folded her hands, and fixed her posture. Lucian cleared his throat, as he lifted an eyebrow. “Today, you must pack immediately. We are taking off in the afternoon. Questions?” He smirked, “Great.”

  Chapter|Ten

  She stood in the line to get onto the dragonplane, stationary.

  All of the Vampric packed the same things. White training uniforms folded in clear bags with gray shoes. Minimal toiletries, and an extra bag. Weapons clipped to their belts, ready for anything. Scarlett grazed her finger absently along the tip of the knife, and she drew minimal blood, as her skin stitched itself back together. The Vampric soldiers had to leave almost immediately. Scarlett didn’t feel the need to pack anything. All she had were pieces of random clothing and weapons, and her oracle. She’d been texting Liveria through Silas the entire afternoon. Suddenly, her dreams felt like nightmares.

  The air was cold, as she heard minimal chatter all around her. Yet, in a crowd of so many of her peers, she felt completely and utterly alone. A few days ago, she was so sure of what she wanted, it scared her to know that it’d changed.

  Scarlett walked up the stairs, and into the dragonplane. There were two rows of seats on each sides, inside. Everyone looked the same, Scarlett thought. Their expressions, at least. Shocked, poker-faced, and completely deranged-feeling on the inside.

  As Scarlett was inside the dragonplane, her eyes peered outside of the window. She gazed at how the red clouds of Crimsroseyn had vanished away within itself, as the darkness of the sky had washed it all away. The Vampric city that she knew. She missed so many things. A part of her even missed her old house that’d gotten burned down. She didn’t have time to say goodbye to Liveria or Silas, or Morgen and Rovert; only an oracle call. She didn’t consider it a valid goodbye or departure. She didn’t get to hug them or see the reactions on their faces. She only heard their voices. It felt different.

  The dragon blew yellow smoke from its nostrils as its red wings flapped. Its body shimmered beautifully against the horizon, as its wings had started to flap. There was a carriage attached to its back, the carriage that would take all the Vampric studs to Endlaysha. Whenever she peered out the window, she wished the air could carry her away from everything. Scarlett sat down in the far back. She placed her bag off of her shoulder, and to the seat next to her. Her oracle vibrated in wonder. And as she pulled it out of her
bag and put it to her ear. When she saw who it was, she tensed.

  “Silas.” She spoke, “I’m sorry for not saying goodbye.” She murmured. “Don’t hate me.” The plane was about to take off. She felt it ascending into the atmosphere, the slight pressure of it going up made her sink into her seat as her seatbelt locked, delaying the inertia to pull her forward. “How’s Liv?”

  “She said she misses you, and that she’ll text you if something weird happens.” Silas chuckled slightly, but then his voice went serious.“Do you know when you’ll be back?” Scarlett placed her fingertips onto the window. She shook her head. “I have an idea, but it isn’t certain.” She spoke, remembering Lucian’s words from the meeting from earlier. “I’ve been stationed in Endlaysha, which is pretty far.”

  There was silence. “Mm,” Silas pondered.“Well, this is what you wanted.” He pointed out. “You should be the happiest.” Something was off with him. “Grateful.”

  “But not like this.” Her lips mumbled. She could hear the voice of his girlfriend through the phone line, amongst music and others, too. She tensed. He must have been with other people. She didn’t know why she was hit with a wave of jealousy. Scarlett crossed her arms, and cocked her head unknowingly. “You seem busy.” She spoke. “How’s Orika?”