Hidden Worlds

by Kristie Cook

  He shifted back, the pressure of his body against mine lessening bit by bit until we no longer touched. “Sorry if this upsets you,” he said quietly.

  There was a lot that troubled me, like how acutely I missed the feel of his body pressed up against mine, or how, with a touch, he could send unexplainable shockwaves through me. There were so many baffling things left unsaid between us. We were connected beyond what was normal. I knew he was like me, but somehow different, too. Our lives linked together the instant we met, no matter how much either one tried to deny it.

  I averted my gaze. “We’ve had these indescribable moments, this instant bond. Then other times it’s like I disgust you, that there is something about me you truly and deeply despise. You know something about me, I know you do. So tell me, Eli, what or who am I?” I looked up at him, my eyes pleading.

  Anger and frustration pinched his expression as he ran his hand over his face and through his hair. He grunted and hissed under his breath, his hand smashing into the bark right next to my head. Woodchips sprinkled down on me. I didn’t flinch. He kept his hand up by my head, and leaned over me, his hair tickling my cheeks.

  “Please,” I entreated. “I know something’s not right about me. I’ve known it my whole life. I’ve never felt like I belonged. But it’s more than that, isn’t it? Please, Eli, don’t you think I deserve to know?” I asked, leaning my forehead into his.

  We stayed like that for a few moments, our breaths falling in sync. Then I felt his head move against mine, nodding. “Yeah, you deserve to know.”

  Finally, I was going to find out what I was. There was a reason people said, “Be careful what you wish for.” I suddenly felt the weight of that bit of wisdom. Did I really want to know? I knew it would change my life, but would it be for better or for worse?

  Eli’s body stiffened. He turned his head, scanning the dark forest.

  The way he was acting made my nerves go on high alert. “What’s wrong?”

  He ignored my question and continued to listen for something I couldn’t hear. All I heard was our breathing and the small sounds of the forest.

  “No. It wasn’t supposed to happen like this,” he whispered so low I didn’t know if I had heard him right. “Stay here. I’ll be right back.” Eli disappeared into the darkness before I could protest.

  “What? Oh, you have got to be kidding me,” I muttered to myself. “I swear if you’re only trying to get out of telling me, I’m going to kill you.”

  A crunch of broken twigs made me jump and caused my breath to catch. My voice quivered. “Eli?”

  A low, deep, menacing growl from the darkness locked my muscles in place. I wanted my brain to match the sound to an animal, a wolf, or possibly a bear, but I knew it was neither.

  Another beast-like snarl echoed through the woods, closer. My skin prickled as I felt its eyes studying me. I could hear the animal move through the dense brush, inching itself to me. Prowling. Stalking. I shoved myself off the tree, and crept toward the direction of the party. I was too far away from my friends; even if I screamed, no one would hear.

  A growl sounded from the direction I was headed. I froze. How did it move there so quickly? This thing was unnaturally fast, silent, and smart. It understood what I was doing and was blocking my escape route. It rumbled again, stirring the underbrush. It was still too well hidden in the darkness to see clearly. I could barely make out a shape and its eyes. It was enough.

  This can’t be happening!

  A cold sweat broke over me. A twig snapped. There was a moment of uncertainty. Neither of us moved. Air capsulated inside my lungs—the quiet before the storm. Then it lunged, crashing through branches, heading right for me.

  I spun and started running, darting in and around trees and through bushes. Loud cracks of breaking wood and foliage echoed behind me, like a bulldozer plowing through the forest, close on my heels. My nightmares had become a reality, blending into this one true horror.

  My heart pounded in my chest as my legs sprinted, trying to maneuver around the labyrinth of undergrowth. I heard it move to my right.

  The thing was herding me.

  As I looked over my shoulder to find it, my foot stumbled over a tree root, making me lurch forward. My hands flew out in front of me, trying to stop my fall. That’s when I felt it. Blinding ripples of pain raged up my calf as the claws ripped through my jeans and lodged deep into the back of my leg, tearing into my flesh. Blood gushed out as a mangled cry came up my throat.

  The pain was so intense my mind went numb. I tried to keep moving, but sharp daggers ripped into my other calf, immobilizing me. Pain seized me. Falling forward, I slid on my face through the dirt. I was done and prepared myself for the full attack, knowing it would hurt, but it’d be quick.

  ***

  Suddenly, the giant beast was hurled off me with so much force it sent me rolling into the bushes, my head slammed into a protruding tree stump. Darkness engulfed me.

  I don’t know how long I lost consciousness. My brain was so jumbled it was hard to know which way was up. Opening my eyes briefly, I saw I was still deep in the bushes. A wave of nausea crashed over me. My head started spinning. I shut my lids hoping it would stop.

  A deep, menacing snarl erupted on the other side of the brush. I jerked with terror as the hazy memory of a beast with flaming, red eyes came back to me. If this thing came barreling through the bushes, there would be nothing I could do. I would die. I tried to prepare myself.

  Then another vicious growl ripped through the air. This one sounded different and further off.

  Holy hell. There are two of them.

  The snarls grew louder until the sound of two large bodies colliding echoed through the forest. Jaws snapped, bones crunched, wood splintered as the two beasts tore at each other. This might be my only chance to escape before they remembered me and came for their dinner.

  I forced myself to sit up. Pain ricocheted through my body, making me gag. I looked down and saw my legs gushing blood. I clenched my jaw to keep from being sick. Flesh, muscle, and veins were in shredded clumps, tumbling out of my calves. I was losing too much blood too fast. It wouldn’t take long for me to bleed out. I had to stop it or at least slow it down.

  As soon as the thought crossed my mind, a maple leaf-shaped plant slithered toward me. If I weren’t already in a state of shock, this would have put me in one, but the warm pulse of the earth was keeping me calm. The leafy stems wound their long string-like stalks around my legs and cut off the flow of blood.

  Was the earth trying to help keep me alive? Funny, when you are about to die the things that would normally terrify you don’t. Deep down, I wasn’t really surprised that we, the earth and I, could feel each other’s pains and joys. I was grateful for its help and was comforted by it. I always figured I was sensitive to the earth, someone who could feel the life sources around. But this went beyond that. Nature was protecting me, taking me in as one of its own and trying to heal me.

  The plant tightened around my legs, causing spasms inside my body. There was barely enough time to turn my head before I vomited, heaving until there was nothing but bile left. All the energy I had was gone. I slunk back to the ground, squeezing my eyes together, while acid trickled down my throat.

  No matter what, either because of some beast or from blood loss, I would not survive the night. I was thankful for the earth’s help, but it would not be enough. I was going to die. While I lay there, the beasts continued to combat in the distance, rattling the ground underneath me.

  This is a dream. It has to be a dream. This isn’t real. Wake up, Em, wake up!

  I didn’t. It wasn’t a dream. But sleep was calling me. It wouldn’t be long until I finally drifted off, never to wake again. Thoughts of Mark added to my pain. He lost my mother, which destroyed him. This would kill him. I hated myself for putting him through the agony again. I also thought about my friends, especially Kennedy and Ryan. How worried they must be about me. How distraught they’d be knowing they
were so close and couldn’t help me. I never had friends like them before.

  It was becoming harder for me to think coherently. A low buzz started in my ears, and it took me several minutes before I realized it was the woods, humming with silence. The beasts had stopped fighting, which meant one of them would be coming for me. I no longer cared but welcomed it.

  The bushes in front of me shifted. A guttural snarl broke the silence. It reminded me of the noise an animal makes when guarding its food. Time seemed to hold its breath before one of the creatures huffed, signaling defeat, and moved through the foliage away from me.

  My consciousness slipped further away with every breath. No longer was I trying to hold on. Death was no longer scary to me. It would take all my pain away.

  I let go.

  It was like I was being lifted into the air. Maybe your soul really does move out of you and float away at the end. I forced my lids to open, to watch myself leave my body. Through the thin slits I could muster, piercing green eyes looked back into mine. They shone like stars. I wanted to float into them and stay forever in their brilliance.

  My eyes got too heavy. Death, with his arms open, beckoned me to follow. I went gladly.

  TWENTY-SEVEN

  You know the moment right as you wake up, before reality hits, and everything is perfect? Yeah, well, I didn’t have one. Searing hot pain wrenched me awake as it tore through my body making me convulse and spasm. I felt a red hot needle boring into my skin. Everything was blurry and jumbled. Voices seeped into my thoughts. Their words had no real meaning, but I strained to listen and make sense of them to distract me from the pain. The voices were my only tether to reality—without them, I felt as if I would let go and never come back.

  “Hold her down. I can’t do this when she’s moving,” said a man’s voice I didn’t recognize.

  “Did you give her enough morphine?” I recognized the deep, husky voice, but I couldn’t quite grasp onto an image.

  A woman was screaming in my ears. Why are they letting her carry on like that?

  “I gave her another thirty milligrams. I can give her more, but because of what she is, her metabolism is going to burn through it faster than I can dose it out. The bigger problem here is the poison he put into her system from his nails. The toxin is like pure iron pumping straight into her bloodstream. A scratch can make her sick, but this much damage will most likely kill her. And she’s lost so much blood … way too much. She won’t be able to fight off the toxins and produce enough clean blood. She needs more units, but we don’t have an ample supply in storage, especially the blood type she requires.”

  “But she has to be okay.”

  “The attack tore through several major arteries in her lower extremities. I’d estimate about seventy percent of her total blood volume has been depleted. That, on top of the poison in her blood stream … I’m personally shocked she’s made it as long as she has,” said the first man.

  “When I found her, plants had wrapped themselves around her legs. I could feel the pulse. They were trying to save her.”

  “Then there is no doubt who she really is,” the first man stated. “The odds are we will lose her, especially without more units. I really don’t know what’s going to happen. I’m working out of my realm here. All I know for certain is she needs blood, and quickly.”

  “Give her mine."

  “It could kill her. You know it’s not done. It’s too risky.”

  “She will die anyway, right?”

  There was a pregnant pause. “Yes,” the man finally answered.

  “Then we don’t have a choice. It could help her fight the toxins. Point is we don’t have her blood type, and I’m not going to let her die without a fight.”

  Silence followed. The only thing I could hear was the woman whimpering in the background.

  “I don’t agree with how Lorcan handled this, but being what she is, you do understand this will not end well? She will eventually be destroyed.”

  “I know,” the second voice replied. “I knew the moment I saw her tattoo, if not the moment I first saw her. I am prepared for how this will end.”

  “Should we be worried about your judgment if the time comes?”

  “Are you questioning me? You know I understand more than anyone. I know my priorities. Believe me. I will do what I have to do.”

  “I apologize,” the other man replied softly. “Okay, let’s try it. It may not work, but we have no alternative.”

  “I understand. What do you need me to do?” He sounded more agitated as the woman continued to wail and moan.

  “I’ll hook you up to an I.V.”

  Jeez, will someone please shut that woman up. She’s as annoying as hell.

  “I think she needs more morphine, Owen. She seems to be in a lot of pain.”

  Oh, listen to the man, Owen.

  I felt a hand reposition my arm and soon after a warm sensation came over me and silence filled my ears.

  Oh, good, they finally shut her up. Feels soooo much better … Ooohhh thaaat’s niiice.

  ***

  “Ember, open your eyes.”

  A sultry voice floated into my head and stirred me from a deep sleep. My eyes blinked open, and when I rolled over onto my side, a beautiful forest lay before me. Every leaf glistened in the sunlight, and fresh dew clung to the leaves. It was breathtaking, and I felt so warm and happy here. There was an instant emotional connection to it.

  “Ember, mo chuisle, get up.”

  Pushing myself up, I turned to see Torin standing in the distance. My heart fluttered. He pivoted and headed into the forest. I knew he wanted me to follow. But no matter how quickly I ran, Torin never let me catch up. A cool breeze stirred the leaves around me, sending chills over my skin as I delved deeper into the shadows. The branches curled and twisted into bony fingers. Heavy shadows hung over me, incarcerating me within their gloom. Panic consumed me when I realized Torin had disappeared. I picked up my pace, distressed I had lost him. I pushed through some brush into a clearing and halted.

  Bodies were lumped in piles across the burnt meadow. Ash and smoke hung heavy in the air. Blood soaked into the grass, dying it a rich shade of burgundy. The sight of carnage and the smell of charred flesh bore down on me, making me retch. A stabbing pain sank into my heart. I was certain, without knowing why, I was responsible for the destruction in front of me.

  “Ember?” Torin’s voice spoke softly next to me.

  “I did this.” I fixed my gaze straight ahead as I spoke. “Didn’t I?”

  “Yes.” He looked down on me, his eyes full of sadness. “You are capable of much worse. When the time comes, you must try to break free, Ember. Your life and everyone else’s depends on it.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Turning his body he pressed closer to me. “Things are about to change.” He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “I’m going to do everything I can to protect you. There is so much I wish I could tell you. Know there is a spy and traitor amongst you.”

  “A spy? Who?”

  Instead of answering me, Torin brought his lips down onto mine and kissed me deeply. Eventually he pulled back. “I’m trying to show you.” He kissed me quickly again before adding, “Don’t trust them … nothing and nobody are what they seem … including you, my dear Ember.” He turned away, fading into the trees.

  “Torin, wait, don’t leave me.”

  His form shimmered and then completely disappeared. I felt myself dissipating and being pulled deeper into oblivion.

  ***

  I drifted in and out of consciousness, but one thing I knew for certain in my gut was Torin was real. Not even in my wildest fantasies could I have come up with someone like him. I had to deal with the fact some person could get inside my head and control my dreams. But right now I had bigger things to worry about.

  My body was still too heavy to move. I was about to come up for air but my dreams grabbed me and pulled me back under.

  ***

  M
y eyes blinked open to what looked like a makeshift clinic. It reminded me of movies I saw when the Red Cross used homes as hospitals for wounded men in war or disaster. It had several unoccupied metal-framed beds across from me, a large, standing screen dividing the room, and what looked like an operating table on the other side of the divider. The floor was covered with blood, discarded bandages, and an I.V. bag. What pulled my attention the most were the three men standing near me, their voices raging. One of them I recognized instantly—Eli. I didn’t move, somehow knowing I shouldn’t draw attention to myself.

  A guy with long, surfer-blond hair hanging loosely around his beautiful face was yelling at Eli. “Why in the hell didn’t you tell us what Lorcan was doing? You knew he was after her, and you know what Lorcan is capable of. You always protect him, but it only hurts us.”

  “I thought I could handle it. Lorcan has his issues, but he wouldn’t do anything to hurt this family.” Eli’s voice was packed with certainty.

  “Is that what you got from tonight? He went directly against both your orders,” the blond guy bellowed.

  “Cooper, let’s calm down. This went bad, but we have to deal with what’s at hand,” said the third man.

  “Cole, this went more than a little bad. She nearly died. Now how useful would she have been to us dead, huh?” The guy named Cooper paused. “Because Eli can’t step up to the plate, Lorcan almost killed our only way out of here.”

  Eli moved quicker than my eye could follow, slamming Cooper into the door. “Watch yourself. I won’t tolerate your insubordination either.”

  “Is it my insubordination that bothers you, or do my words hit too close to home? It’s not a secret you have feelings for her.”

  “What?” Eli backed away from Cooper. “I don’t have feelings for her. What I’ve done has been for us.”

  “Oh, please. I know you, and the girl has you completely undone.”

  “Enough!” Eli’s voice rang with such ferociousness it shook the room. “If you have a problem with my leadership decisions, then challenge me.”