“Did it hurt?” asked Ivan. “The first time you changed, did it hurt?”
“I don’t even know how to describe it really. But yeah, it hurt. More than I can express or ever want to live through again. It was like my skin was peeling off my body, piece by piece, and when it was over I was one of them. A Scratcher. The horror I felt, was equal to the power surge pumping through my veins.”
“Does it still hurt?” Ivan dared ask.
“No. I’d wager it’s more like when Sebastien transforms. Like it’s been permanently etched into my DNA or something. Feels like second nature. Unnatural nature, that thrives on anger, panic and fear.”
“We’re going to fix you,” said Ivan.
“I don’t deserve it.”
“Juliska took advantage of you, Jae. You didn’t have a fair choice.”
“Maybe not, but I made the choice. And when it comes down to it, the truth is even after everything she’s done, I don’t know if I can kill Juliska Blackwell. You know, I always thought my dad was strict, mean, sometimes even, but I get it now. He wanted me to be safe. Be smart. I did the exact opposite and now my family thinks I’m dead, and I have no idea what’s happened to them.”
“Jae, I know there’s not much I can say to make things better, but,” he was cut off as Nona and Elisha came bounding around the corner.
“Something’s coming,” they meowed in unison.
“What is it?” asked Ivan.
“All I saw was a shadow,” Nona answered, wishing she had seen more.
Ivan and Jae jumped to their feet, palms facing outward, eyes scouring into the darkness for any slight movement. They waited breathlessly. Alert and at the ready.
Nona and Elisha sat as still as statues, listening, watching and hoping for the tiniest glimpse into the future.
There was a rustle in the bushes across the camp road.
Sebastien flew overhead, diving for the bush to get a closer look.
He stopped mid-air and caught himself, flying backwards.
A muscular body with four legs galloped out of the woods, sauntering down the camp road toward the lakeside of the camp.
Ivan released a breath he’d been holding in.
The Catawitches relaxed their statuesque poses.
Sebastien flew back into the air.
“Just a moose,” said Jae, with an air of lightheartedness. “Funny enough, that’s not the first time I’ve said that in this campground.”
Ivan had no idea what Jae meant, but let it slide. He glanced towards Kanda’s house, muttering, “Now would be a great time to wake up.”
CHAPTER 15
Mireya and Joseph watched night veil the island. There were no stars to gaze at, no moon to light the outside. Hours passed and now it was midnight.
After they had returned from their workday, Joseph had gone straight out the back door and sneaked his way back to her house.
They were sitting in what had once been Ivan’s room. He had a window that faced the backyard. Just after midnight, they opened the window so as to see and hear what was happening outside more easily. The chilling November air rolled inside, sucking away any ounce of warmth in minutes.
Joseph had told his parents what he was doing and although they approved of his actions, they feared what the price would be if he, or any of his friends, were caught.
Sheila Mochrie had barely even noticed the extra body wandering around the house. Irving still sat in his chair in the front room, unmoving, uncaring. Wasting away, with a blank stare.
Mireya and Joseph had pulled Ivan’s empty bed over to the window so they could sit and watch.
If all went as planned, not too long from now, the Svoda prisoners would be running through the backyard; Mireya and Joseph would meet them, and show them where to go.
It would be difficult to see in the dark, especially since no one could use magic.
The youngsters had spent the previous weeks not only sneaking things to the prisoners, but sneaking as many provisions as they could, stockpiling them in the secret room at the back wall of Mireya’s bedroom loft.
Each day, as they prepped the rations for delivery, they took a little something here and there, hiding it inside the secret pockets they had added inside their coat liners.
If the prisoners were lucky enough to escape and not get caught, they would need as many provisions as the youngsters could provide. Once the prisoners were in hiding, they’d have to stay that way. The youngsters’ movements were too closely monitored for them to make any cross island journeys that didn’t have to do with their regularly scheduled deliveries.
Daveena’s home was much closer to the prisoners’ destination; the now abandoned estate of the late Garner and Ravana Sadorus.
Mireya and Joseph would meet the prisoners just after their escape and show them where to go next, to Daveena; who would point them in the direction of the Sadorus estate.
From there, the prisoners would need to find a tunnel entrance, which wound its way underground and into the basement of the home. That is where the prisoners would hide.
At least they had been able to hide the key inside the meat. Without the key, the prisoners could not get inside the basement. The entire plan would have failed before it even started. What was the point of escaping if you had nowhere to hide once you did?
They would not be able to use magic. During the escape or after. Magic left behind a trail that could be traced. They would have to resort to the potions and weapons provided by the youngsters.
They were not privy to the specifics of the prisoner’s escape plan, other than they would be using the vials of potions and handheld weapons the youngsters had provided, and that at some point thereafter, they would make their way to Mireya’s yard.
The only communication they’d had, before the need to move up the escape plan by a day, was to wait until after midnight. It would be good and dark and chances were the guards would be dozing off.
Mireya shivered out an uneasy breath.
Joseph took hold of her hand. “It’s going to work.”
She replied by squeezing his hand firmly. Her hand was sweaty but she didn’t care, so was his. The consequences of the plan not working were too ghastly to contemplate.
An echoing boom, followed by three loud snaps caught their breath. They heard voices shouting in the distance, the sound carrying through the air.
The escape had begun.
Mireya didn’t let go of Joseph’s hand and they scurried down the stairs and to the back door, waiting breathlessly to see desperate shadows racing in their direction.
##
Meghan, Colin and Colby marched out of the estate that would one day belong to Jurekai Fazendiin and back into the bustling village, below.
As they walked, surroundings started to change. Everything blurred, little by little, a new memory forming around them.
For a moment, they were standing on nothing.
And then cobblestone formed underneath their feet.
They were standing in a dark alley with Jasper and Aloyna, who were arguing.
Meanwhile, a battle was raging behind them.
A misfired spell smashed into the building just over their heads, draping them in sparks, but they ignored it, deep in a heated conversation.
“Jasper, you must allow this to happen,” Aloyna was saying.
“Allow you to be punished, for hundreds of years, based on a prophecy that may or may not come true! You might be right about your son, but what if you’re wrong?”
“I believe in this prophecy, Jasper. And I’m willing, even if it means a lifetime of imprisonment, to stop my son.”
“This is far more than a lifetime, Aloyna.”
“I’m not asking you to wait for me, Jasper.”
“I would wait a thousand years for you, but to watch you sacrifice yourself for something that might never happen...”
“It will happen, Jasper. Three immortal children will be born and they will restore balance to our world.�
��
“And what if that balance is to the side of evil? What of your sacrifice then?”
Meghan listened intently, as did Colin. Colby was too, but it was clear by the look on his face that he still did not believe he was part of some prophecy.
A prophecy that had been made a long time ago.
Much longer than Colin and Meghan had realized.
“I’ve made up my mind, Jasper. I don’t want to leave you. But I will do what is right.”
A cart sitting nearby blew up, shards of wood flying everywhere. Jasper lifted his hand and the wood froze, mid-air.
“Okay,” he told her. “Okay.” He turned to walk away, back towards the battle, but stopped. “I will wait for you. And I’m not saying goodbye.”
##
Ivan was on high alert. After the false alarm moose appearance, he and Jae had not spoken. Sebastien, in bird form, flew overhead keeping a look out. Ivan and Jae each took a corner of the front of the house while the Catawitch’s took the backside of the house.
Ivan’s heart strummed, his nerves standing to attention at the slightest sound or movement. Dawn would be coming soon. At least in the daylight it would be easier to see an attack coming.
It zoomed by his head, out of nowhere.
A spell thrown at the front door of the house. It ricocheted, hitting the ground, thanks to the protection spells they had cast.
Ivan and Jae ducked, crawling behind a water barrel at the side of the house.
They didn’t see anyone. And they heard no movement.
“Probably trying to see how many of us there are,” said Ivan.
“So what do we do?”
“Sit tight, see if they strike again. Our protections should hold them off for a little while.”
Ivan heard a bird chirping overhead. He looked up to see Sebastien in his bird form peering down. He shook his head letting them know he saw no one.
A second spell zinged over their heads; this one bounced off the roof, splitting a tree just to the side of the house.
Nona and Elisha held their ground at the back of the house, but saw nothing approaching.
“Okay, I want you to get inside the house, Jae,” decided Ivan. “I’ll follow in a minute. I’d feel better if we were closer to Meghan, Colin, and Colby.” He motioned for Jae to crawl along the ground to the front steps.
From behind the water barrel, Ivan shot two harmless lighting spells into the air. It wasn’t meant to hit anything, just grab their attention for a moment.
Jae got inside and slammed the door shut. He peeked out of the window right next to the front door, watching for Ivan.
Ivan slipped to the back of the house and called out for Nona and Elisha, ordering them to get inside the house. They scurried alongside the walls, hiding in the low shadows along the ground. When their feet touched the stairs Jae opened the door, letting them inside.
Ivan and Sebastien getting inside would be harder.
Whoever was attacking would not keep falling for distraction spells. Ivan crawled back behind the barrel and made his way to the front door. A spell whizzed over his head and slammed against the house. It did not do any damage, but it didn’t ricochet off either; the protection was already weakening.
He slid back behind the barrel.
Sebastien flew down to his side.
“Did you see anyone?”
Sebastien, still in bird form, shook his beak, no.
Footsteps.
“Someone’s coming,” warned Ivan.
He peeked around the barrel and although he heard the distinct sound of feet scuffing across dirt, he could see no movement.
Sebastien took flight, taking cover high in the branches of a pine tree, his bird eyes scouring the landscape for any sign of their attackers.
A man’s voice called out.
“We can end this simply. No one needs to get hurt. Just hand over the boy and girl we seek.”
Ivan realized they were not here for the Projectors. Juliska must have sent them... they were tracking him and Meghan. Part of him felt relief over this fact; at least this was a foe he could fight.
Ivan responded, “Sorry. Juliska’s going to have to wait. I won’t be handing Meghan or myself over, anytime soon.”
He’d feared it would be just a matter of time before Juliska sent someone to hunt them down. And for all he knew, Billie had been right in her concerns; she may have directed Juliska’s hunting party right to them.
“Mr. Crane, I presume,” the voice called out. “You might be interested to know that our mission is not for you today. Although, we have been warned about you and your little misses.”
Ivan did not respond. He had been too quick to dismiss the fact that they were here for Colin and Colby.
“My patience is thin, Mr. Crane.”
“Why don’t you show yourself,” Ivan shouted back.
To his surprise, the man did show himself. He materialized out of the darkness from the side of a large tree trunk in Kanda’s driveway.
“Stripers,” realized Ivan. “Perfect! An enemy we can’t see. This is just getting better and better.”
The Striper took a few steps towards the house. “As I said, we’re not here for you. We seek the Projector and the Song Spinner, per the Queen’s orders.”
So Juliska Blackwell was going by just the Queen now.
Ivan was confused. Billie had warned them that Juliska was looking for him and Meghan. Why was she now looking for Colin and Catrina?
He shook his head, feeling dumb.
It was a trap.
They had hoped Billie and her crew would go in the opposite direction for help, right into the arms of the ones she was really looking for.
“Good thing Catrina isn’t here,” Ivan mumbled, adding, “Really wish those guys would wake up in there.”
Inside the house, Jae, Elisha, and Nona checked in on the three memory travelers; still no sign of waking up. They crept back to the front of the house and took a peek outside and saw the Striper standing in the driveway. They heard everything he and Ivan discussed.
“I hate to say it, but maybe Catrina being imprisoned by Freyne was a good thing,” said Jae.
Nona meowed in sarcastic agreement.
Elisha snarled toward the front window. “I’ll never let them near my Master,” she purred in a deadly tone.
“While I agree with your sentiment,” said Nona, “do you have any actual ideas?”
Elisha snarled, “Just one. Get my Master out of here!”
She darted into the living room where Colby lay, still deeply in his trance.
Jae crawled in, keeping low, Nona right behind him.
“No Elisha! You can’t take him. You don’t know what will happen.”
Nona jumped in front of Elisha, thrashing her claws and catching her chin.
“So it’s a fight you want?” Elisha snapped.
“No. But I won’t let you take Colby away from here,” Nona replied, her stance poised to fight.
Outside the house, Jae heard the Striper’s voice call out.
“Five minutes. I’ll give you five minutes to make the smart choice. Hand over the boy and girl, the rest of you can leave in peace.”
“Really? You’ll just allow us to walk away?” replied Ivan. “Why don’t I believe you?”
The Striper’s eyes started to glow as the moon emerged from a thinning cloud, over the edge of the trees, behind him.
A heartless grin spread across his face. “Five minutes,” he reminded. “Turn them over, or prepare to fight.”
CHAPTER 16
The blast hole was just large enough for two people at a time to squeeze through.
It was on the backside of the prison wall.
The prisoners rushed through, two by two.
A voice hollered near the front of the prison.
“What was that?”
“Hurry, get inside! Check it out!”
An elderly couple insisted on being the last out, waiting patiently as t
he twenty other prisoners got through and ran for their lives towards the rendezvous location: the Sadorus estate.
There was a pathway that started at the back of the prison, breaking off in three different directions, leading into the woods.
Draped in total darkness, it took a moment for the prisoners’ eyes to adjust so they could see the correct path they needed to follow. Schoolchildren had worn this path well.
“The prisoners are escaping,” a guardsman called out repeatedly.
The lead prisoner, nicknamed Scarface, urged the elderly couple to get through. He would follow as the last one out.
They squeezed through just as Stripers rushed around the corner. The elderly woman thrust her provisions into the hands of Scarface, while at the same time, her husband grabbed the potion bottle Scarface held in his hand.
“Run,” the old man ordered.
The elderly man turned and threw the potion bottle towards the guardsmen. It blew up in front of him, sending dirt and plumes of smoke into the air.
“What are you doing?” Scarface demanded.
The woman took his hand and said, “Run. Get everyone to safety. We’re too old and weak to make it. No arguing.” She pulled another potion bottle out of her sleeve, aiming it towards the Striper guards, now working their way through the first explosion.
Scarface didn’t have time to argue. He obeyed, knowing full well he was leaving them to their doom. The only price worth their lives, was if he could do as they asked. Keep the others safe. Keep them alive.
The elderly woman waited until the guard was just about upon them, and dropped the potion bottle just a few feet in front of her.
Her husband grabbed her and they ambled in the opposite direction of the other escapees. The right side path didn’t go far, coming out just at the front of the prison, in the street. It was also a thin path and they had to run, one in front of the other. The husband stayed in front, hoping to protect his wife.
Control (The Blood Vision, The Immortality Stone, and The Woman in Glass) (A Fated Fantasy Quest Adventure Book 7) Page 16