by Emery Skye
When we got to the foot of the stairs, we were confronted by two Spector hounds: four-hundred pound wolves with inky black fur matted in places, glowing red eyes, and a foul smell like death and decay. I drew my dagger, ready for a fight. Spector hounds had super speed and hulk-like strength. Interestingly enough, they ignored us; they were distracted by something—or someone.
I didn’t see it until it stood an inch from my face, which pissed me off. I wasn’t easily surprised. I punched forward with my fist and was stunned. I couldn’t move. Not that I didn’t want to. I wanted to so badly, I just couldn’t. It became harder and harder to breathe. I looked into the cloaked figure’s grey, icy, circular eyes. They were fathomless. For some reason, I saw something through her eyes, like a scene of some sort.
A girl was crouched into a small shape with a dark ponytail. She was clinging onto a bear before a headstone that stood in an empty, dirt-covered space. I couldn’t read the headstone or see her face. It was like we were underwater, but her small frame quaked with sobs. Then, as if I was thrown backwards, my periphery expanded. She wasn’t sobbing before one headstone, but a row of a hundred. They each had an L-U emblem, and each one was splattered with a red, gummy substance. Blood.
I jerked away from the scene when my airway started constricting even more. I had no idea why they weren't helping me. Did they think it was a joke? Why weren't they doing anything? I tried to scream, but fire scorched my throat.
Everything went black.
“Anna? Anna! Hey! Anna's waking’ up!”
I saw Amalie clearly, but everything else was blurry. I lifted myself up. Over Amalie's shoulder, Nathan spoke to the cloaked figure against the far wall. I tried to yell, but instead, I found myself gasping for air. That creature tried to kill me, but all I managed was, “kill...me.” Pitiful.
Nathan walked to me, and Amalie backed up to stand by Lucas and Taylor. Taylor looked at the thing like it ate her cat.
Nathan bent down and whispered to me.
“It’s not nice to spy on people’s thoughts.”
“What are you talking about?” My voice was raspy, but he managed to understand.
Now I could see other people’s thoughts? Yeah, right.
“Let’s walk,” he grabbed my arm and helped me get to my feet. I saw stars. Lots of them. I reached for my dagger.
Nathan read the gesture.
“Leave it,” he whispered.
“Dream on,” I left it in my belt, but kept my hand rested on it.
We walked down another winding hallway. This place was a human gopher hole. Nathan pulled me to him, and now I gazed into his green, knowing eyes.
“How long?” He asked.
“How long what?”
“How long have you been able to read minds?”
Wow, I never thought being a Warrior made you crazy, but he was definitely gone. He didn’t seem to think there was anything insane about this. Figures. My crush was insane.
“Umm... Earth to Nathan, I can’t read minds. That’s crazy talk,” I said, a bit sarcastically. Come on. Reading minds.
He looked me in the eye.
“The Soothsayer says you breached her mind.”
I sighed, irritated.
“First of all, it’s impossible to read minds. Second, if it was, I couldn’t have read her mind because I haven’t met the Soothsayer. Third, have you accepted you’re a raving lunatic?” I opened my eyes wide and felt my eyelashes brush my eyebrows.
He sighed too.
“Anna, it’s not impossible. It's very rare, even among Angels. You're one of those few, and you did meet the Soothsayer. She made you pass out when she pushed you out of her mind.”
I looked back the way we came.
“You mean that creepy thing with grey eyes and a tattered cloak is the Soothsayer,” Outrage heated my body. “Just so you know, the Soothsayer didn’t just knock me out by snapping her damn fingers. She almost strangled me! Or did no one else see that? Or did I dream that? What the hell is going on? I don’t want to talk about the whole mind reading thing.”
“Calm down!” He clutched my shoulders. After a few moments, he slid his arms down my biceps, causing tingles to run to the tips of my fingers.
“The Soothsayer was shocked, surprised, and angry that you breached her mind without permission. She apologized for...”
I opened my mouth and he cut me off, “...choking you. She will help us get to the Dark World. It’s not just that you can read minds; it’s that you can see into minds—see what they have seen or something like that. I'm not an expert; I can't do what you do.”
“That’s impossible.”
“I see things and people, Nathan. Not minds.”
He stared at me for a long time. Concern deepened his crow's feet.
“She — the Soothsayer — can see the future. What did you see?”
“I saw...a girl with dark hair pulled back in a ponytail. She was crying. There was…were gravestones and… a lot of blood,” my voice was calm. Especially considering my awareness of my new talent.
Nathan didn’t say anything for a long while. He just studied me. I thought about what this might mean.
His mouth opened and closed his mouth a few times.
“What were you doing when you saw the girl and the…graves?”
“Um... I was looking at its…her eyes,” I finally accepting the thing might actually be female.
“I think you may have been looking through her eyes. Have you ever been able to feel or see things when you look at people's eyes?”
I leaned against the wall. Nathan copied me. Our faces locked on the other. It was times like these that I missed the Academy.
“Well, sometimes when I look at someone’s eyes, I get the feeling like I can understand them better,” this sounded so stupid.
“Hmmm...” he arched an eyebrow. “I'll tell the others we're bunking here tonight. I have some research to do.”
“Oh, yeah, Nathan. You tell them.”
I’ll be avoiding the flying pointy objects.
“Here?! You’re kidding, right?” Taylor said.
“No,” Nathan answered calmly.
“No! No! You have lost your damn mind! That crazy-ass cat lady tried to kill Anna with her eyes. Her eyes, Nathan. Are you fucking kidding me? No way am I staying here.”
“Yeah, me either. It's totally creepy here,” Amalie shivered, looking around.
Taylor look satisfied.
“Come on girls. I'll protect you,” said Lucas.
Yeah, right. He was the biggest girl of all.
“I say we go back up top and set up camp as far away from this psycho as possible.”
“We’re staying here. End of discussion.”
Poor Nathan. The whole alpha male thing was not the way to handle Taylor.
“Don’t you dare tell me what I am doing!” She charged forward and jammed her index finger in his chest. He stared down at that finger like it was alien. Yes, poor Nathan. He was out of his league.
He looked at me, eyes pleading.
I almost choked on a laugh.
“We're leaving!” Taylor shouted.
Review of the situation: Taylor was mad. Time for revaluation.
It had occurred to me during first year at school that, maybe if I just ignored Taylor, she would shut up. I quickly learned that I overestimated my ignoring skills and underestimated Taylor’s persistence. She never stopped whining until she got her way, or I convinced her that my way was her idea originally. I decided to try that.
“Taylor, maybe we should leave—” I began.
“What?” interrupted Nathan, stepping forward. I put a hand on his shoulder. Since he thought I could read minds, I tried to make him hear what I was thinking. After a few seconds, it was like we'd talked. His eyes told me he understood my intent.
“It will be dark above ground and cold too.”
“—and there will be worse creatures than the Soothsayer out there now,” added Nathan.
“And, we haven’t eaten all day. But, if you think it's best we leave ...I...”
“No, I most certainly do not! We'll sleep here tonight. I need some things: a brush, shampoo and conditioner, oh, and a shower,” Taylor demanded.
I looked at Nathan, now sitting, and decided to take this opportunity to get some time alone with him. I wanted to talk to him about my so-called mind reading or whatever.
“Lucas, Taylor, and I will get the sleeping arrangements figured out with the Soothsayer, and Anna and Nathan can get our gear,” Amalie said.
“Ugh…” started Taylor.
“I'll talk to the Soothsayer, Taylor,” Amalie reassured the anxious brunette.
Lucas moved toward Taylor. He was obviously smitten, which surprised me. Lucas was a Warrior, not an instructor. So, at least there was no real red tape they had to deal with in that sense. Both Nathan and he were the human equivalent to a solider, but he was also a Legite and Legites had a one-track mind on loyalty, commitment, and discipline to the Law. I didn't understand what he saw in Taylor. You know what they say. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. I wondered what Taylor would do to Lucas.
Amalie moseyed over to me. “I’m still mad at you,” she grumbled, but she added, “I love you.” She wrapped her arms around me in a hug. Her chicken arms were stronger than they looked, and I hugged her back. I missed this.
I couldn’t help but wonder why she was being so kind and loving when just this morning she was gnawing on my throat. Then again, that was the great thing about Amalie: She was full of surprises. And maybe a little bipolar.
“I love you too.”
She joined Taylor, who impatiently tapped her foot. Then, they all left together. I had half a mind to follow them; I didn’t trust the Soothsayer. She tried to kill me. Even so, Nathan adamantly argued there was nothing dangerous about her. I trusted Nathan. Mostly. Speaking of Nathan, I suddenly realized he left. Maybe he went to the bathroom. Not.
“Fine, I will just go get the things by myself,” I said to the air.
I grabbed an antique oil lamp and began the journey out of this room. The others had gone left, so I decided to go right. Logical, right? As I walked down the corridor, I turned my senses on high alert. This place was foreign, possibly dangerous, and there were Spector hounds.
Come to think of it, why did the Soothsayer have those? This wasn't the Dark World, and Spector hounds are uncommon pets. I’d have to ask Nathan.
It wasn’t until I walked a little ways that I noticed the air supply of stale air in this place was depleting the deeper I delved down. I accidentally kicked a loose rock that pattered away doing flips in the air. Every sound created a soft echo. The echo played tricks on my ears. Combine the echo of small rocks with the drip, drip of water, and you had the perfect setting for a horror movie. There were no doors, but the hallway seemed endless and claustrophobic. My heart started pounding.
I heard a noise up ahead. Did I? Didn't I? I slowed down, hugging the wall, but continued toward the source of the noise. The closer I got, the louder it got. The tang of cold rock and feeling of moist air was too much.
I know that’s real. I’m not crazy. Was hearing things part of mind-reading? Shit.
I drew my dagger, and gripped it fiercely. I held onto my oil lamp, but the light dimmed, and I waited for my eyes to adjust. A noviate's eyes were definitely sharper in the dark than humans. Still, I saw nothing. No scary dog, demon, or witch.
As I moved closer, and rounded the corner, the clatter of small rocks falling to the ground caught my attention. Little rocks. Probably nothing to worry about. Unless, it meant the cave was collapsing. That would be a problem. I relaxed slightly and leaned against the wall. No more rocks fell. I smiled. It was only rocks. I'd been reduced to picking a fight with rocks, in a cave, no less.
I took a deep breath and felt a tickle on my shoulder. With my dagger in my hand, I executed a one-hundred-and-eighty degree turn and dropped into a crouch without a moment of hesitation. Warriors were taught never to hesitate. Just a second of hesitation could lead to an angel’s demise. I was about to attack when a hand grabbed my wrist. I kicked my assailant's feet out from under him.
“Anna, it’s me,” Nathan grunted. I went back to the oil lamp, about to yell at him, but he stopped me. “I'm sorry; I shouldn’t have snuck up on you.”
“Damn right you shouldn’t have snuck up on me! I could have killed you!”
“Yeah, sure you could,” he scoffed as he got to his feet.
“I could have,” I didn't see the humor. He still underestimated me, or maybe I sucked. I didn’t know anymore.
I had always been the perfect student in all of my classes. I had never been bad at anything. Now I ran away from the Academy and headed to the Dark World.
“Maybe not. It doesn’t matter,” I paused. “I thought that we were going to go get Taylor’s crap together.”
“I checked the perimeter.”
“Isn’t that what the Spector hounds are for? By the way, why does the Soothsayer have Spector hounds?”
“The Soothsayer was given a special dispensation because the library holds valuable, dangerous information.” What’s so dangerous about a couple of books?
Fabulous. Nathan knew about the Spector hounds and led us here anyway. Thoughtful. Not.
“That’s great. So, Mister Perimeter Checker, can you explain why rocks are falling?”
“I was about to. You tried to stab me.”
“If I wanted to stab you, I would have.” I shot him a cocky grin. “Maybe it’s just an infrastructure thing,” I said, studying the wall.
“That seems hardly reasonable.
“Well, what do you think?
“Don’t know, but I'll take care of it. What do we need?”
“Well, feminine hygiene products.” I stared at my shoes.
“Understood.”
He walked away. I didn't know what to do, so I followed him. After a while, he slowed. We were now shoulder to shoulder. I stared at him. He didn’t notice. I had so many questions to ask, but, right now, it was enough just walking together. Being so close was comforting. I was always alert, always, but being around Nathan took the edge off.
Thanks to my oil lamp, I noticed an opening to the left. I slowed. Nathan noticed and gave me a reassuring look. As we approached some of the light for the oil lamp leaked into the opening.
Nathan took a sharp left, and sure enough, it was a room filled with everything we could need. Towels and tissue stacked in a pile to the right. No hair drier. Taylor would throw a fit. I couldn’t understand why. She wore her hair like a boy.
A stockpile of canned food on the floor to the left. I couldn't imagine Taylor eating out of a can, but she wouldn't have a choice. I wondered how long it would take before she'd give in. I was surprised this was here at all. The Soothsayer didn’t look like she ever ate or bathed.
“Why is this stuff here?” I asked
Nathan filled a duffel bag he found.
“Everybody eats. Everybody bathes.”
“Ha. Ha. I just thought, I don’t know, she could create food or something.”
He was silent, but he smiled a small smile that made my heart flutter. Maybe we weren’t a lost cause after all. Stop thinking about it.
Once again, I was right. Taylor was throw-bricks-at-your-head-pissed that she wouldn’t be able to blow-dry her hair.
Nathan, being the smart one, dropped the duffel bag and found someplace else to be. Quickly.
He sure was a quick learner with females.
Warriors rarely dated or married. Those that did almost never had children. Harbingers perpetuated our species. My mother was an exception; she was a Warrior who had my sister and me. It was actually fascinating that we were her children. She wasn’t the mom type. As for my dad, well, the story gets sketchy. Mom never spoke of him. I assumed he died in battle.
Nonetheless, in my current situation, I was left to deal with Taylor because I didn’t have the intellige
nce to run away fast enough. That seemed hardly reasonable. Some Warrior, all you have to do is throw women in the mix, and Nathan scurried like a squirrel running from a wolf.
“You know, this perfectly spiked hair doesn’t come without work. Part of that work includes a blow-drier,” Taylor whined
“You always look sexy, babe,” Lucas said.
“That is because of the blow drier, Lucas,” she snarled.
“Ha, I knew you weren’t really pretty, you’re only artificially pretty.”
Amalie would take advantage of the situation.
“Enough! I know this is tough, but reality check, Taylor. It's tough for everyone, not just you. I'm sorry we didn’t find hairspray, or a blow drier, or whatever, but you're going to have to deal with it like the angel you are.” I took a breath. “We need to stop arguing about stupid crap. Have any of you even considered, for a second, that tomorrow we are going to the most dangerous place in any world? It's time to grow the fuck up!” I took a deep breath and looked at Amalie. Her admiration made me blush. I glanced at Lucas and Taylor. They understood and were afraid. Finally. “Please, for Alyosha's sake, let’s stop this petty bullshit.”
No one spoke for a long time. I felt free to leave, since there was nothing else to say. I walked out the door and saw, to my surprise, Nathan leaning against the wall.
“Hey, I am going to go train a little; want to come?” Hell, I just yelled at everyone else, I was on a roll.
“Yes.”
“Lead the way,” Like I knew where I was going.
After a few hundred feet, I saw him looking at me.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“What, Nathan?”
“That was something else back there.”
“What was?” I asked, confused.
His green eyes peered into my soul.
“The way you got Taylor to shut up. I never thought I'd see the day she was speechless.”
I laughed. I actually laughed, and it felt so good.
Nathan laughed too: a deep laugh that made butterflies dance in my stomach. It reminded me of our trip to Anchorage. After a minute of solid laughter, he blazed a path down yet another dirt hallway. This place really was a human gopher hole.