“What do we do now?” asked Kanda.
Nashua sucked in a deep breath. “We do what we came to do. Secure the Stone. Regroup. And then start planning our attack on Juliska Blackwell.”
Billie, Maura and Noah exchanged looks of relief. They had succeeded in finding help. Hopefully, it wouldn’t be too late.
CHAPTER 19
Meghan and Colin stood outside the gate to the vast estate, which now belonged to Jurekai Fazendiin.
“I wonder if it is the same one, or if he just made a replica or something,” asked Meghan.
“I think it’s the same one. My guess, he didn’t like the location so he moved it here.”
“Moved an entire estate? Guess he really liked the place,” said Meghan.
“Probably liked the idea that it once belonged to Jasper, or was at least somewhere the opposition gathered. So how do we get in, anyway? And what do we do if we come face to face with your father?”
“I have no idea, and, I have no idea.”
Meghan tried to reach out to Colby but he was blocking her thoughts. Colin tried blasting the gate but to no avail. He tried to think himself inside, but that did not work, either.
“Perhaps I might be of some assistance,” a voice purred.
“Elisha,” said Meghan, seeing Colby’s Catawitch stepping towards them.
“First, I’m only doing this because my Master has lost his mind. Second, I’d rather his father didn’t kill him.” She seemed calm considering what she’d just said.
“He can’t kill him, Elisha,” said Meghan.
“I’d rather not test the theory.”
“I take it our father is not home,” she asked hesitantly.
“No. He’s been away. The gate won’t open without a sacrifice,” she purred hotly towards Colin, who was getting ready to try blasting it again.
“Why don’t you explain what you mean so we can get in already,” he spouted back just as hotly.
“What kind of sacrifice?” asked Meghan.
“A kind only you can give,” Elisha answered.
Meghan thought on that for a moment. What sacrifice could she give that no one else could give? It didn’t take her long to figure it out.
“How sick!” she blurted. “Must everything I do need my blood?”
“The only people allowed to open this gate are people with the blood of Jurekai Fazendiin running through their veins.”
Meghan asked Colin to use magic and draw a drop of blood. She let that drop fall onto the gate and it instantly opened. They stepped inside and followed Elisha up the stone pathway, which wound its way through decaying winter gardens.
She led them inside the house. Before long, they were forced to stop. Glass was strewn all over the place. Colored shards lined the floors and windowsills.
“Did he do it already?” asked Colin.
Elisha did not answer, but kept moving down the hallway working her way through the glass. They followed until they came to a wide part of the hall and saw Colby speaking to someone, someone still in the glass.
He pretended not to notice them arrive.
He had shattered every bit of glass except for this final pane, in which Aloyna still stood.
“Did my father really do this to you?” Colby asked her.
“I’m sorry. I cannot speak of it,” she replied.
“Did he kill his own father, your husband?”
“I’m sorry, I’m forbidden to speak of it.”
Colby kicked a shard of glass and it slammed into the wall, shattering into sand.
“Did you betray my father?” he asked more forcefully.
“You ask me things I am forbidden to speak of, Colby. I’m sorry. The truth is, I think you know the answers to these questions. You don’t want to believe it, but you do know.”
“Were you once in love with a man named Jasper Thorndike?” he asked her, not giving up.
A stained glass tear fell down her cheek.
Colby looked down, no longer able to look into her eyes. “You are my family. My father made me love you. Why would he do that if he hated you so badly? Why would he make me kill the man you loved?”
Colby’s fists tightened. His mouth turned up exposing his teeth.
He lifted his arms looking at his fists, tightening more and more.
When he opened his hands, blood trickled down his arms; his fingernails had slit into the palms of his hands.
Meghan and Colin backed away from him.
Elisha hid behind a corner.
A bloodcurdling wail escaped from Colby as he punched his fist into the final pane of stained glass.
However, the shards did not go flying through the air. They swirled like a tornado, taking the shape of a woman. The glass tornado came out of the windowsill and landed on the floor, whirling and clinking as it moved.
It started to slow, the glass forming into arms and legs and a head. A coarse breath escaped a forming mouth. The shards of glass started to smooth and seal together, forming skin.
Dark shards formed over the skin, reforming the clothes Aloyna had been wearing on the very day she’d been cursed into the glass. She looked exactly as they’d seen her in the vision. She had not aged a day. Meghan guessed her age to be around the same as her mother’s, around her early forties.
How odd, Meghan could not help but think. To have my mother and my grandmother be the same age.
Aloyna was back. In her body once again. She breathed in an out deeply, stretching her fingers, feeling her face as if to make sure she was really back in her human body.
She dropped her hands and looked up. Her eyes sharp and serious. She had a dark intensity about her.
“Colby, thank you,” were the first words she spoke. “I knew the moment you were born you would be the one to free me.”
He just stared at her, bewildered.
She stepped forward and took hold of his hands. She leaned in and gave each of his palms a kiss. The blood dripping down his arms dried up, dissolving back into his skin. The cuts sealed up, leaving no sign that he had injured himself.
“I know you could have done that yourself, but it’s my small way of saying thank you.”
“Why should you thank me? I killed Jasper Thorndike.”
“Yes. I know. And I dare say you’ll spend the rest of your life beating yourself up for that. I won’t add to your misery. And I don’t blame you. I put the blame where it belongs.”
“My father?” he questioned.
She patted his shoulder but said nothing.
She looked over his shoulder at Meghan and Colin. “And this will be the sister you spoke of,” Aloyna said.
“Yes,” Colby answered, his voice deflated.
Meghan nodded a greeting, having no idea what to say.
“What an odd thing,” Aloyna said. “To have lived only so little of my human life, to have lived for hundreds upon hundreds of years in the glass, only to just now, have grandchildren.”
“We need to get you somewhere that’s not here,” Colby warned her. “I know my father is going to be furious when he finds out what I’ve done. I’ve never defied him before.”
“Will you come with me?” Aloyna asked him.
“Only to get you somewhere safe. I... I need to have a talk with my father,” he spoke flatly.
“Wait,” said Colin, before anyone could leave.
“Oh, right,” said Meghan. “The reason this all happened.”
She stepped over to her grandmother. “I’m sorry I have to ask this of you, at the first time we are meeting and after you’ve just been freed, but I have a favor to ask of you.”
“Please, ask.”
“I need a single strand of your hair. To prove that you are free.”
Without question or hesitation, she reached up and plucked a strand from her head, and handed it to Meghan.
“Thank you,” she said, grasping it, folding it, and wrapping it inside a tissue she had in her pocket. Meghan looked up, wanting desperately to ask Aloy
na something, but didn’t have the nerve.
Aloyna could tell and encouraged her to do so.
“I realize you’ve just gotten your body back and all, but if I could ask, what exactly do you know about the prophecy? The one about the three immortal children...”
“Ah yes, the prophecy. You must first understand that we were in desperate times. The world was in complete chaos. It wasn’t like it is today. Or what I’ve been told it’s like today.” She nodded at Colby. “Today, most people don’t even know magic exists, never mind that they should each possess it.”
She paused for a moment.
“For better or for worse, at our most desperate hour, I made a choice. A choice I knew would forever change the course of the future. You see, I know my son, and I know his desire for power; his desire to maintain control would be his undoing. He’s a power hungry mongrel willing to do anything to get what he wants, without getting his hands dirty to get it done.”
Colby flinched.
“So the choice I made, one you should all know, was for the greater good of all mankind. The truth is... the prophecy is a complete fabrication. It’s not real.”
“What?” the three asked at once.
“A terrible lie that I created. But a necessary lie. Which planted the seeds for what needed to grow. I knew my son would not be able to help himself. He would find some way to control the prophecy. To make it work to his advantage. Which in the end, would make it come true.”
She peered sharply at the three of them.
“Three children born of an immortal bloodline, the most powerful children ever born into the world of magic, with the power needed to overthrow my son and restore balance to our world. In my son’s arrogance to control the prophecy, he created the very thing I wanted him to create. The three of you.”
She paused for a moment, taking a lighter tone.
“The hardest part was talking Jasper into playing along with my lie, especially knowing the outcome for my betrayal. I know my son well. I knew he would punish me in a way he felt fit the crime; keep me alive and in a place where I could not live, but merely exist. I could not move forward. I could do nothing to stop him.”
“So, it’s all a lie,” said Meghan, dazed. “Everything I’ve come to believe and accept, is based on a lie? It’s not even real?”
“Oh but it is real. It is more real than anything else in this world.”
“Because of who we are,” said Colin, trying to understand. “Children of an immortal bloodline... but I don’t even know who I really am. I don’t know why I’m immortal.”
Aloyna opened her mouth to answer, but Elisha let out an alarming snarl. “Enough talking! We need to get out of here before he comes home!”
“I’ll take you somewhere safe,” agreed Colby. He snapped his fingers creating a fire in which Elisha hopped into, taking them instantly out of the estate.
“Crap!” shouted Meghan. “I wasn’t done talking to her yet! You can’t just show up, tell someone their life is a complete lie and then just freaking leave!”
Colin grabbed her hand and within a moment, they were standing back in Kanda Macawi’s driveway once again.
“What are we doing here?” spat Meghan. “Why didn’t you take us to Catrina?”
“I thought you might need a minute,” said Colin, surprisingly calm. “I know I do. I’m dying to get to Catrina, but the way my mind works, I have to take time to process things. If I rush to save Catrina before working this through…” he threw his hands into the air indicating a boom. “Plus, I wasn’t sure you wanted to go with me. It might be extremely dangerous.”
Meghan reached into her pocket and took out the tissue that held the strand of Aloyna’s hair and handed it to him.
“Here, this is yours.”
He took it and secured it inside a pocket of his own.
“But I’m still going with you, Colin. What isn’t dangerous for us? We’re living up to a prophecy that isn’t even a real prophecy. Pawns created by someone hoping to control a non-existent prophecy.”
He nodded. He knew Meghan well enough to know she was about to lose it. He just let her go.
“This whole thing our lives were built around, heck the reason we were born, isn’t even real!”
The more she thought about it, the angrier she became.
Colin agreed with her line of thinking, but patiently let her continue her rant. It was like she was being angry for the two of them.
“Maybe this is a good thing,” she continued. “If you think about it, it’s sort of freeing in a way. Just hours ago I felt like I was just a body going through fate’s motions. That my life was predetermined before I was even a concept.”
She scuffed her boot into the dirt.
“Are any of us really free though? I still feel like a pawn, I mean, it doesn’t change anything, does it? Our lives are already so engrained in this prophecy that we’re forced to make it true whether we want to or not!”
She huffed, fiery lines popping across her skin.
Colin just let her continue. There was a part of him that agreed with Meghan, completely. And a part of him that wanted to laugh out loud at the fit she was having. And a part of him that just wanted to rant along with her.
“You know, screw all this!” she continued. “Prophecy or not, the reason for our existence or not, I’m still going to finish this. At least now it’s my choice. You know? My choice. The next move I make will be because I decided to make it. Not because I’m following some predetermined path.”
She stomped her foot on the ground for extra emphasis.
“You done?” he asked her, a hint of a smile escaping his lips.
“Yes,” she replied, haughtily. “I am. And that’s my choice too,” she shouted at no one. She didn’t feel done. It was just too much to take in all at once. They needed to free Catrina, after that, she could get pissed off.
“You are right,” Colin told her. “About everything you said. I can’t disagree. We were born out of a non-existent prophecy that will keep dragging us back into its web. We’re stuck finishing this whether we want to or not. It doesn’t change anything we’re about to do.”
“No, it doesn’t,” she agreed, shaking her head. “Should we tell anyone?” she wondered.
“I don’t know. Everyone thinks we are these chosen three, and prophecy or not, I’m still a Projector.”
“Let’s just keep it between us for now then. Hopefully Colby will too. There’s no sense in telling anyway, I guess. Especially if it doesn’t actually change anything. I guess I see who dear old Dad got his conniving ways from.”
“Yeah, takes after his mother a bit,” agreed Colin.
“I don’t even know her. Only what we saw in the blood vision and just now. I’m sure she means well, or meant well. But prophecy real or not, we were still created as pawns in someone else’s game. Who does that?” she let out in a frustrated sigh. “Is there no one in this world without some kind of agenda that doesn’t involve using us?”
“We are the fated three,” Colin said with a sarcastic tone. “Sorry. I should be angrier I think. Somehow, I guess just knowing that regardless of the three immortal children thing, I’m still a Projector and people will always be hunting me or trying to find some way to steal my powers or control me. My future is messed up either way.”
“Oh, Colin. Our lives are really screwed up.”
“You could definitely say that and get no argument from me.”
She blew out an exasperated breath.
“So, are you still coming with me?” he asked her.
“You aren’t getting rid of me that easily,” she replied. “Besides, I’m suddenly feeling the need to seriously kick some butt.”
“Let’s go then. You ready?”
“Ready as I’ll ever be. Let’s go save your girlfriend.”
CHAPTER 20
“Wasn’t today fun?” Juliska Blackwell quipped to KarNavan.
“You’re in good spirits.”
“Who wouldn’t be?” she returned. “That couldn’t have gone better if I’d planned it myself.”
“The prisoners are still on the loose,” he reminded.
“Not even a concern. They’ll be caught easy enough. Need I remind you we’re on an island they can’t get away from?”
“No. No reminder needed.”
“What? Don’t tell me you’re suddenly growing a heart or something?”
“Nothing of the sort, my Queen.”
“Well it got my point across perfectly. They’ll think twice before attempting such a stupid thing again. Of course, Ardon catching those kids in the act proved helpful.”
“That’s why she’s my number two.”
Juliska let out a satisfied breath, sucking in the cold air as if it filled her, satisfying an icy craving. A light fog settled atop the pavilion of her stone fortress. Patches of white rolled up over the edge, crawling along the cold stone floor.
Juliska’s long-jacket whisked behind her as she spun around, her devilish eyes landing on the newest addition to her fortress: an iron cage.
“It’s always so much more effective when they try to escape... they think they actually have a chance.”
“And what are the plans for your new pet?” asked KarNavan.
“I haven’t decided yet,” she spoke, staring deeply into the eyes of her new prisoner.
Jae Mochrie did not respond. He sat on the cold stone floor, shivering in the back corner, as far away from Juliska Blaskwell as he could get. He knew it was only a matter of time before she either killed him, or made him kill someone else.
“Hollee,” Juliska shouted.
Hollee bounded up the stairs in seconds. “Yes, my Queen.”
“Get my prisoner a blanket. I’d prefer he didn’t freeze to death before I decide what to do with him.”
Hollee strutted back down the stairs, returning in just minutes with a thick wool blanket. She shoved it between the irons, letting it fall to the ground.
Hollee leaned in, smiling.
Pajak, Juliska’s glass-like pet spider, clinked along the top of the cage.
“He’ll keep you company,” she whispered wickedly.
Control (The Blood Vision, The Immortality Stone, and The Woman in Glass) (A Fated Fantasy Quest Adventure Book 7) Page 20