by Emery Skye
“Do you want to go or not? Go get your things.”
She gave me one last questioning look and gallivanted from the room.
I grabbed my bag. Feeling like I forgot something, I scanned the room.
“The golden package,” I muttered as I walked over and stuck it in my bag. Hope I remembered everything. I took one last look and meandered toward Taylor’s room.
When she came to the door, she looked like she was headed for a photo shoot. Her hair stood perfectly spiked, her makeup enhanced her natural beauty. She dressed like a Halle Berry Cat-Woman look-a-like. Figures. She had four bags.
“Taylor,” I said, looking at her bags, “This isn't a vacation! There probably won’t be any place to plug your blow drier in anyway.” I knew for a fact, without seeing through the black bags, that Taylor had a bag designated for hair and makeup products. It was Taylor, for Power’s sake.
“Oh, we’ll make a place,” both her eyebrows arched. I had no doubt.
“For Deror,” I mocked.
“No, I don’t want Deror anymore,” she waved a casual hand. “You can have him. Lucas, on the other hand, is mine. Now, are we going, or what? These bags are heavy. Here. Help me.” She tossed me a bag that felt like it was full of bricks. I grunted.
I shoved the bag back at her.
“Hell no! You want to bring them; you can carry them.”
“Oh, please, this one,” she lifted up a bag with both hands, “is full of weapons. They’re for everyone.” She pouted a little. I knew she was lying, but I didn’t feel like arguing. I slung the bag over my shoulder. “Where’s Amalie?”
“In the lobby.”
We headed downstairs and saw Amalie standing by the door. Of course, everyone had time to fix her hair but me. I rolled my eyes. She'd changed, too, and now looked nice.
“Ready?” We opened the door and tiptoed into the bitter cold. My boots sank in the snow. Everyone was quiet—even Taylor.
Amalie tripped a few times, and caught herself on my bag, making it cut into my shoulder. Luckily, the cold numbed the pain. My eyes battled the darkness as we made our way to the gates. My cheeks and nose stung; I pulled my scarf up to just below my eyes. As we approached the gate, I slowed and cautiously evaluated my surroundings. We couldn’t afford to be caught now. If we were, Amalie would never find Alyosha. The other girls kept pace with me. I appreciated the acknowledgement.
I looked down at my watch: 9:55. They should be here. I struggled to control my breathing and prayed they would show, alone. Amalie buried her face in my coat. She must have been freezing. I took my scarf off and gave it to her. She smiled; her face was bright red. I searched for any sign of Deror or Lucas. After a few long moments, Amalie tugged on my sleeve like she used to do when she was a child. Scared. She pointed into the night. I saw something move. We were huddled by an evergreen. I motioned for them to stay back.
I stepped away from the tree and bumped into something hard. I almost screamed when I saw Deror towering over me. I apologized, yet again, for running into him.
“It’s fine. Come on. If we’re going, we need to leave now,” he jogged into the lead.
We followed. Amalie tripped a few more times, still catching herself on my bag. The strap dug deeper into my flesh. I fought the pain, but I bled. I could feel it. Smell it.
“Where’s Lucas?” I asked.
“He’s getting the transportation figured out,” Deror said.
“Aw, a man after my own heart,” Taylor exclaimed.
I rolled my eyes. Amalie shook her head.
When we reached the gate, I didn’t see anyone. Two massive statues of lions flanked the entrance. The lions, blessed by an Archangel Ariel, protected the Academy. When we crossed the unseen threshold, I felt a jolt. My stomach churned, like after you eat some really bad chicken.
We trudged through the snow for a long time before anyone spoke. Figured it would be Taylor. She pranced up to me and started complaining.
“I'm cold. My feet hurt. Will we get there soon? Where are we going? Where's Lucas? What happened to the transportation?”
Deror didn’t speak.
“Earth to Nathaniel Deror, I'm speaking to you.”
He still didn’t respond.
She picked up a handful of snow, shaped it into a ball and hurled it at him.
He dodged it without looking. He stood in front of her before I could blink.
“Look,” he breathed deeply through his nose, “I don’t need some spoiled little brat yelling or throwing snowballs at me. You’re a noviate, start acting like it or you’ll be lucky to end up dead.” Harsh, but she deserved it.
I jumped between them and locked eyes with him.
“No, you look. No one asked you to take us. You chose to come, and we can choose to leave anytime. Don’t forget it. You’re not doing us a favor,” I wanted him to be there with me. It gave me strength, made me feel safe.
The intensity in his eyes took my breath away.
“Do you really think that three noviates can go to the Dark World undetected, save my brother, and get out alive?”
I could almost taste his contempt. The derision.
He grabbed my shoulders, hard, and lifted me until I could look him straight in the eye.
“You haven’t seen what demons can do.” It wasn’t condescending, the way he said it. It was the stone-cold truth. “They kidnap pregnant women and eat the fetuses. They tear out people’s livers. They strangle babies and feed them to the specter hounds.
“I'm not sure even God knows what they'd do to you,” he squinted and clenched his jaw. “They might rape you. Worse, they might keep you for breeding purposes, or target practice, or experiments. They would certainly torture you to within an inch of your life, heal you, and then do it again. Several thousand times.” He paused for a breath.
Amalie gasped.
“You have no concept of eternity until you suffer through part of it,” His beautiful, emerald eyes blackened.
I stared ahead, petrified. More than ever, I realized I desperately needed Nathaniel Deror. That thought scared the holy living crap out of me.
I put my arms against his chest and felt that familiar, forbidden, exciting spark. I pushed myself off him and summoned my biggest “big girl” voice, and hoped it would be enough.
“Don’t ever speak to me like that again, and don’t you ever speak like that in front of my baby sister.”
He released his grip, grunted, and put some distance between us. It felt like an hour had passed. Amalie suddenly collapsed.
“Amalie!” I shouted.
“I'm sorry, I’m just so tired.”
I looked to Taylor for help. Pointless.
“Come on Amalie, just a little longer. I promise. Just imagine a big hot cup of hot chocolate.” Back in Colorado, whenever we had to walk to the store, we’d joke about how we could taste hot chocolate and how we were really wrapped up in a plush blanket rather than freezing our butts off. “K?”
She gave me a small smile. She was burnt out. Her eyes looked bruised and her skin had a tear-stained sheen. I pulled her to her feet, hooked her arm around me, and moved. One step at a time.
Before long, my baby sister weighed as much as a pony. Add in the bags, I don't know why I didn't collapse. I wondered suddenly why neither Taylor, nor Deror had even offered to help. Actually, Taylor didn’t surprise me too much; Deror did.
I noticed I switched back and forth from thinking of him as Deror, Legite Deror, or Nathan. When had it become strictly Deror? The thought saddened me.
Finally Deror stopped.
“Now, we wait.”
Taylor dropped her bags, one atop the other, and sat on them.
I tried not to drop Amalie, failed, and unceremoniously relieved myself of my burdens. I sat on the biggest bag and took some time to catch my breath. When I was convinced I wouldn't die, I looked around. We sat in the middle of nowhere. And I thought school was isolated. Funny.
Amalie erupted into violent
coughing. Not funny. I dug some elderberry root out of my bag and fed it to her. Thankfully, she stopped. Mostly. At least she didn't sound like she was going to barf up a lung. I got up, gave her my seat, and propped her up with the other bags. I stomped to Deror. If looks could kill, his head would have exploded. How could he save me but ignore her? Douche.
He stood about thirty feet away. The closer I got, the harder it was to stay mad.
“Wait for what?” I tried to concentrate on the words; my voice leaked venom.
“I told you this would be hard. Your sister shouldn’t have come,” His words were clipped. Callous.
Had he said that? Maybe I hadn’t heard him.
“I didn’t say it was hard,” I rubbed my hands together to get blood flowing (futile attempt), “and don’t worry about my sister, I take complete responsibility for her. We've been walking in the snow for hours. I was just wondering—”
“I hope you're ready—” he interrupted me.
Fittingly, he was interrupted by bright lights and a loud engine.
Chapter 17
The floating vehicle came to a halt ten feet from us, hovering a few feet off the ground—no tires in sight. It was covered with black paint and orange rust. When Lucas opened the driver’s door and jumped out, it was a good nine-foot drop to the snow.
“Your carriage has arrived,” he said with a gleeful smirk.
He’s one odd angel. Angels in our choir aren’t so… loud.
“Ah. My hero.” Taylor sighed dramatically, and dropped her bags at his feet. “Here you go, hottie. Put these away, will you?” She winked, and without waiting for a response, climbed into a seat. Typical Taylor.
“What is that?” I asked staring at the vehicle up and down.
“It’s the Fliegendes 3000,” Lucas laughed.
He may have been laughing at my ignorance or my skepticism. Didn’t know, didn't care. Frostbite was my immediate concern.
I must have looked confused. He shook his head. The smirk got bigger, and he stowed Taylor's bags.
The only place I had ever been in Alaska was the Academy and the hockey arena, as of recent. My mom was stationed in Colorado, so I had never seen or heard of anything like the Fliegendes 3000. Even if I had, I wouldn't have been prepared for the real thing.
“Umm won’t we attract unwanted attention in that thing?” I asked.
“Most humans can't see it,” Deror answered, climbing in. "The ones that can, nobody believes.”
“That's comforting," I said sarcastically. Sad to think that some humans weren’t really the loons everyone thought they were.
I helped Amalie into her seat and then picked up our bags. I clutched our bags to my chest like I was a toddler holding her teddy bear and not a noviate heading to war.
“We'll be travelling at nearly supersonic speed through the Fourth Dimension!” Lucas shouted from the driver seat.
I froze.
“Whoa! What? Seriously?” I couldn’t believe this.
Deror nodded.
“How do we get to 4-D?”
I had never been to the Fourth Dimension before. It was a mystical plane— the Other World. Bethel was in 4-D. I didn’t like being so close to the Powers when doing something so illegal.
“Anna, come on!” Amalie pleaded.
“Just put your bags in the back, Anna.” Deror commanded.
“Is it safe?" I asked, unmoving,
Deror got out of the vehicle.
“Anna, it’ll be fine.” His words were conciliatory. His tone was adversarial. He swiped angrily at the bags. I refused to let go.
I leaned close and whispered.
“You just told me about fetuses and livers getting eaten and some other crazy, terrible stuff. Now we're going 4-D; the Angelic realm, and you think you can just say, ‘everything will be okay,’ and that’s that?”
He nodded.
“Are you insane?”
“No.”
“No?” I repeated.
“No. We stay on one road. Simple. Nothing to worry about.”
I couldn’t believe he kept a straight face, but he did. Deror was the picture of stoic.
I looked at him uncertainly.
“What is fueling it?” The skepticism I felt filtered into my voice.
“Nymph magic,” he answered nonchalantly.
Nymph magic would take us to 4-D. Right. Perfect. What?!
Nymphs lived in cities in the Fourth Dimension, but were rarely seen.
Taylor was the essence of equanimity, snuggled in a back seat, swaddled in a blanket.
Amalie coughed again. I told her to move to a back seat, next to Taylor. I figured since the back seats were closer to the driver seat, they'd heat up faster.
I was right.
The frigid, front seats didn’t help my frostbite much. Deror sat beside me, and Lucas drove.
I leaned my head against my window. I wanted to ask where we were headed next. We couldn’t just walk into the Dark World. I knew I wouldn’t get any real answers. I tried to sleep, but my mind reeled, as usual.
After a few minutes, the girls were both soundly sleep, but Deror was wide-awake. He stared intensely out the window and had a look like he was mentally preparing for a war. Maybe he was.
I needed to talk. I didn’t care with whom. I just needed to talk.
“Legite Deror.”
“Nathan.”
“Huh?” I bit my lip nervously. Since when did the first name thing start again?
“You can call me Nathan,” His tone was deeper than usual, more alluring. I thought of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata.
I was nauseated. Damn butterflies.
“Um, Okay. What happened to Deror?” I mocked.
He shook his head.
“If you’d rather call me that, then by all means.”
Growl.
“Nathan?” I combed my hair with my fingers and hoped it didn’t look as dreadful as it felt.
“Yes?” He continued staring at nothing. I looked out the window. We flew over an ocean of snow. The only light sparkled from the headlights of the floating Fliegendes 3000.
“Where are we going?” I shifted in my seat. My leg fell asleep.
He gave me a quick glance.
“The Soothsayer Library.”
“The who-sayer what?” I asked, choking on my spit a little bit. Real charming.
“The Soothsayer Library contains a book with a picture of every place in the world and the Other World.”
The Other World was composed of both the Fourth Dimension and the Dark World.
“And?” I urged him to continue.
“And, the picture is a portal. It takes you to the place in the picture, most of the time.”
My thoughts turned like the wheels on a train: fast and concise.
“What do you mean by most of time?” I tried to mock his low-pitched voice with my high-pitched voice. I just sounded awkward.
“The Soothsayer doesn’t guarantee accuracy. She only guarantees results.”
“Stop speaking in riddles,” my voice cracked. “Why do we have to bank on a possibility? Isn’t there any other way?”
“No,” he sighed.
I noticed that he hadn’t moved a muscle since he took his seat in the bizarre vehicle.
His one-word responses irritated me.
“Do you hate me?”
“No,” he glanced at me out of the corner of his eye.
“Seriously? A one-word answer? Again?” I gritted my teeth.
“How was that inappropriate?” Confusion creased his forehead.
“Don’t play me for a fool, Nathan,” My voice grew; I looked over my shoulder to make sure the girls were still asleep. They were, of course. Amalie’s neck looked broken, and Taylor had drool running down half her face. I wanted a camera.
“I’m not,” He leaned so close that our lips almost touched. He paused.
I glanced away, nervous, and looked back.
“Forget it,” he said.
&nb
sp; “See?”
“See what?” he asked.
“The way you act,” I paused trying to find the words. “You act like I don’t matter in class, and then you save my life. Remember how you acted when I woke up in the infirmary? You act like you hate me, and then say you don’t. I don’t get you.”
I’d gone from guinea pig to him being my mentor. Then he fought Warriors to help me, stood up to the Patron on my behalf, and took me to Anchorage to play Hockey… Then he closed himself off, again…I didn’t get it.
I slumped back into my seat. Expressing my tangled thoughts sounded awful. My checks were hot.
He leaned in, opened his mouth, and was interrupted.
Damn Taylor.
She leaned between us.
“Guys, where are we going? I need sleep.”
“You were asleep, Taylor,” I growled.
“Anna, you don’t really expect me to sleep in a car. Do you? I need a bed," she sniffed and wrinkled her nose. "You need a shower.”
Amalie squirmed in her chair.
“I need food,” she announced.
“Me, too!” Lucas yelled. “We're coming to Asceta. We could get a hotel.”
“I might have to marry you!” Taylor shouted up at him. She blushed. He smiled down at her. I found it creepy.
My stomach growled, and a shower sounded better than food. I tried to convince Nathan.
Nathan didn’t speak.
“Come on, man! I’m dying here! My stomach is eating itself!” Lucas begged.
Amalie and Taylor laughed.
It was wonderful to hear my little sister’s laugh. It felt like it had been forever.
“Fine. Let’s go to Asceta.” They were overjoyed. I was ambivalent. I don't know what Nathan was.
The rest of the drive was aggravating. Taylor wouldn’t shut up about how much I needed a shower. Amalie and Lucas couldn’t stop talking about food. I couldn’t stop searching Nathan’s face for some clue about what he might have said before he’d been so rudely interrupted.
Lucas slowed as we entered the unfamiliar city. Rows of independent buildings connected to another like townhomes. Sparking lights decorated each one with a million different colors, like a rainbow trout. It was oddly, beautifully foreign.
“Don’t get too excited. We’re not doing any sightseeing. We're eating, sleeping, eating, and leaving. In that order, got it?” Nathan tried to sound big and tough. I rolled my eyes. I wasn't about to let him ruin this experience for me.