by Fuller, Tara
“Through every door and window pane let this power spread, let anyone against my will sleep like they were dead!”
I thrust my arms out releasing the energy within me like a wind, letting it carry my voice like dandelion cotton on a breeze anywhere it could gain access to the building. I held my breath and less than a minute later the voices stopped and the sound of a mug clattering to the floor urged me forward. I peeked around the corner and couldn’t believe my eyes. They were sleeping! Every last one of them. I rushed in and checked the steady rise and fall of their chests. Breathing. They were fine. Some of them were even snoring. Yep, I rocked. I smiled, and then quickly weaved through the building to find Alex.
Once I was in the vicinity of the cells, I gasped, grabbing my cloak and covering my nose and mouth, but even that did little to block the stench. This place was disgusting. Just as the thought ran through my mind a rat scurried across my boot and I had to clasp my hand over my mouth to keep from screaming. God help me. Alex where are you? I drifted through the timber building. It was huge and there were so many prisoners. Most were sleeping, but some were crouched in corners crying, completely unaware of my presence. There was no way I was going to find Alex this way. The darkness, the smell, the clammy air. They were all but seeping into my skin and I thought I might lose my mind if I didn’t get out of here soon. God, how long had Alex been here? How could he stand it? I finally gathered my courage and decided to call his name.
“Alex?” I whispered. Then again. And again. By the fifth whisper tears were sliding down my face and a feeling of hopelessness was settling in. The high I’d felt from my earlier success with the sleeping spell was now just a memory. I had no idea how long the spell would hold, but I knew I’d already been here too long. I turned a corner and whispered louder this time, my voice broken on the verge of a sob.
“Alex!” I sucked in a breath of putrid air and spun around as a weak voice stopped me from behind.
“Rowan?” I tripped, running back to the cell where it had come from and crouched down on my knees. Alex was there, chains binding him to the wall so that he couldn’t even sit. The rusted manacles dug into his wrists and secured his hands to the wood just above his head. Streaks of blood, which looked like black oil slicks in the darkness, stained his face and clothes.
“Oh God. Alex? Are you alright?” I asked, shaking the bars, trying to find a way in. Waves of pain and bitter desperation rolled over me and my stomach churned. I looked up and realized they were coming from Alex.
His head hung as if he didn’t have the strength to raise it. “Please leave Rowan. You shouldn’t be here. You have to leave before they find you,” he said through a cracked voice that barely resembled the boy I remembered.
“They won’t. I spelled them to sleep. Now help me get through these bars,” I said, taking on a businesslike tone. All I wanted to do was hold him, to tell him everything would be okay, but I knew that would never again be possible if I didn’t find a way through this. And quick.
“I can’t. I don’t have the strength, it’s gone.” His voice gave out like a puff of smoke and I could feel the panic in me taking over. The buzz of quiet desperation coming off of him immediately disappeared like a flame being snuffed out, and I knew he was no longer conscious. I had to get him out of there. I decided to try magic. I had no idea if this was even possible but it was worth a try.
Rebecca if you’re there. Please help me now. I sent out the silent prayer and hoped against hope that she’d come, but after a moment I knew it was just me in this frigid hallway. I wrapped my fingers around the bars and concentrated on the warmth brewing inside of me. Not an easy thing to do when the building felt like a dungeon packed in ice. I let it build slowly, slowly and then forced it out through my hands. The sound of the bars bending and warping beneath my fingertips woke a few prisoners nearby. They started crying out for help, for freedom. Finally the bars bent enough that the lock busted free and I swung the door open. The other prisoners were screaming now. Their fear and anger bombarding me. Blocking them as best I could, I moved forward, wondering how much longer the spell would hold on those guards with all this noise. I didn’t waste any time. I wrapped my fingers around the manacles, closed my eyes, let the magic scream through me as it seeped from my bones. I opened my eyes when I heard a pop and the metal went slack in my grip. I peeled the broken manacles from Alex’s wrists, unwound the chains from around him and let him collapse over my back. I nearly buckled under his weight, but managed to haul him out of the building without the guards waking, without those horrid screams for help paralyzing me.
Alex was limp against me and completely unconscious. I tried not to think about the weight, or how serious his injuries might be, but before we could make it back to the horses my knees gave out and we both fell into a pile in the dirt. I stood up, fastened my fingers around his wrist, and began to drag him, praying that I wasn’t injuring him worse than he already was. I could feel liquid oozing from his wrists and I knew it was blood. They were rubbed raw from the chains and his skin was shifting and tearing beneath my grasp. It was too much, but better than death. I whispered apologies that I knew he couldn’t hear as I placed one unsteady foot in front of the other, unaware of my surroundings, only knowing that I needed to get far away from this village. Far away from that Godforsaken jail.
“Miss. My God you made it!” Nathanial cried as he jogged over to help me. Once he had Alex’s weight supported I collapsed, silent sobs taking over. I had saved Alex, but I could still hear the other’s screaming in my mind. Mothers, fathers, children, spending their final moments in that disease-ridden dungeon. And I’d left them. Left them to die.
“Miss we haven’t time for this now. We must move,” Nathanial insisted, pulling me forward. The sound of angry shouts rallied in the distance and the flicker of torches could be seen through the trees. They were coming. I nodded and wiped my face on the cloak now covered in blood and dirt, both from Alex. Once I was on my horse, Nathaniel hoisted Alex up so that he was draped across the horse’s back like a ragdoll. I fastened my arms around him and gave Nathaniel a nod to indicate I was ready. This time was different. Even the horses seemed to feel the urgency of our escape as we raced through the night. I could feel they were as tired and fatigued as we were and I prayed that they would hold strong. Alex murmured sleepily against my leg as I pulled my fingers through his hair. It was matted with blood and for the first time I let the anger that was building within me take over. Anger for what they’d done to him. Anger for what his Aunt had let them do. Alex was right; I didn’t belong in this time, this place. But neither did he.
“Just a few more miles to Ms. Foster’s,” Nathaniel said as the horses slowed to a steady trot. He was sagging against his horse and I could see he was exhausted. So was I. I tightened my grip around Alex and sat straight up.
“No!” I shouted, maybe a little too loudly. Nathaniel spun around, his head jerking up, nearly falling from his steed in the process.
“Excuse me Miss?” He steadied himself as he cast me a confused look.
“No Nathaniel. We can’t go back there. I have to get Alex out of here.” I stopped, letting him process what I was saying and then added, “Do you understand?”
He nodded gravely and the look in his eyes answered the question I'd been wondering all night. He did know what Marion was up to.
“Wise choice Miss. I have a safe place I could stow you so you and the young man could rest for the night if you’d like,” he said. As good as that sounded, seeing as how my strength was all but depleted and Alex was near death, I knew we couldn’t risk it.
I shook my head. “Thank you Nathaniel but no. We can’t take that kind of risk. Do you know the place where Alex holds his circles?” I asked, knowing that my reference to Alex’s use of magic shouldn’t jolt him. Not if he was aware of the things Marion did.
“Yes Ma’am. It’s the same place his sweet mother practiced under the full moon.” I felt my shoulders roll back in
relief. It wouldn’t be long now, and we would be safe.
“Just a little farther. It’s almost over,” I whispered and leaned down to press my lips to Alex’s forehead. A metallic taste burned my lips. I could feel the dull throb of his pain pressing into me like needles.
I kept my hands fluttering over Alex as we rode. Trying to infuse him with what little strength I had left. I didn’t know if I was doing any good but the steady rhythm that his breathing took on made me think that I was. I would need him to be able to walk if I was going to get him to my house once we were on the other side. I almost whimpered thinking of the pain that was to come, but it was worth it. Alex was worth it. I was repeating this to myself when the gleam of a fire caught my eye. I tensed as Nathaniel guided my horse through the clearing and a dark willowy shape emerged from the shadows.
“Marion,” I whispered under my breath, feeling the horror sink in. Nathaniel jerked the horses to a halt and climbed down to face her.
“Nice work Nathaniel. Your services will not be forgotten,” she said, and he gave her a curt nod. My heart sank. Nathaniel was not our friend. He’d brought us all this way only to toss us into the spider’s web. I wanted to punch him. I wanted to scream. I wanted–
“Surely you didn’t think that I believed that you’d come back so easily.” Marion interrupted my thoughts and laughed as I slid off of the horse to face her. I eased Alex onto the ground, my eyes stealing a glimpse of the giant hemlock that she was blocking. The symbol glimmered against the firelight, the door that held the promise of home on the other side. God we were so close, and she was going to crush us. I felt so weak, so defeated. Angry tears sprouted behind my eyes but I forced them back with a vengeance. No. I would not let her see me cry.
“Why can’t you just let us go? You don’t need us,” I pleaded, my legs feeling like jello as I walked across the clearing to meet her. Anything to keep her focus on me and away from Alex.
“Now Rowan you know better than that. And we had a bargain.” She leaned over and cast an amused glance to Alex’s lifeless body behind the horse. “Though I had expected you to bring my nephew back in a better condition than this. I really don’t know what good he’ll be to me now.”
She frowned, then shifted her attention to me and her lips curled up into a smile. “You on the other hand my dear. I’ve seen nothing like you since I had my poor sister killed.” She began to circle me and I gagged on the fear lodged in my throat. “Yes you will be of great use. And easy to dispose of afterwards. You know nothing of what you hold inside. And your stupidity will of course be my greatest ally,” she mused, toying with me.
“What do you want from me?”
Her crow-like face shimmered with excitement above the firelight, transforming into something otherworldly, and grotesque.
“Your power,” she said simply as if it were obvious. “Tonight under the full moon we will conjure a spell that will wipe the whole lot of persecutors out.”
“How? What will happen to them?” I asked, trying to prolong the inevitable. I inched away racking my brain for an answer. Some way to defeat her. Nothing.
“I’ve called upon darkness many times before and it has always been faithful to my needs.” She laughed to herself. “Tonight I shall repay those favors by offering up their souls. While they sleep sound in their beds a mighty fire shall sweep through their village and the darkness will reap the rewards.”
She stopped, her eyes reflecting the fire, making her look demon-like. “And you, child, will be the key to it all. And to think I almost killed you. It really is too bad that your mother had to pay the price for your stupidity. But traveling through time can be quite disorienting and you and your poor mother really were quite similar.”
I froze, anger and pain flaring through me, almost bringing me to my knees.
“You did it? You caused the fire. You killed my mother?” I said. I could barely speak. My mother burned to death because of her. I stared at her pale hands and ground my teeth together. Those hands sparked the flame that killed my mother. Something was happening inside me, breaking me in half. I couldn’t take it. I’d never wanted to kill someone before, but now, I wanted Marion dead like I’d never wanted anything in my life.
“Yes.” She laughed. “In my defense I thought it was you. She looked just like those silly sketches of you that Alex drew. Honest mistake, really. And now you’ll help me unless you want to endure the same fate that your mother did. Believe me, it won’t be pleasant or quick. I promise you that, child.”
“I won’t!” I snapped. “I won’t help you kill innocent people. I’d rather die!”
She laughed again, amused. “You think I need your will? Like poor Annabel I shall take what I need from you as well. I will admit it would be easier if you were willing, but not at all necessary. You will be mine tonight!” she shouted and the flames leapt into the air with a vengeance, licking the treetops.
“Like hell she will,” Alex croaked as he limped to my side. I gasped. Here in the light he looked like death. His face was pale and ashen, his body marked with the lacerations of a whip.
“Nonsense. We won’t delay this any further.” She flicked her wrist, mumbling a spell under her breath and my legs crumbled beneath me.
“Rowan! No!” Alex’s voice was warm and muffled in my ears and the world around me now had a filmy glow. It was as if someone had wrapped me in a thin veil of plastic, and no matter how hard I fought I couldn’t break free. The barrier wound tighter and tighter until I could barley breathe. It was a binding spell. Is this what Annabel had felt? It must be. A wave of sympathy washed over me for the girl. I was bound, my magic just a useless tool swirling within me. My life just a flower waiting to be plucked and crushed by Marion. I would die here tonight. I thought about my dad. God how I’d hated him these last couple of months, and Cam. But now, facing the end I was drowned in love for them. What would my death do to them? Would it drive Dad over the edge? Would Cam ever recover? And Bev. God, Bev was waiting for me at this very moment. What would she think? Then I thought of my mom. Would I see her again once I was gone? It was the only light in the darkness so I dwelled on that, letting myself hope. And Alex…my Alex. What would happen to him now? Tears stung my eyes as I grabbed on to that last lingering image of him that blazed through the fog of memories. I love you Alex. I prayed that he’d heard it, though I knew my lips hadn’t moved, or at the very least felt it.
Eventually even the image of Alex faded, and I found myself floating in an ash-grey cloud. Was this death? Was I still bound? Whatever it was, I hated it.
“Rowan.” The icy whisper sent shivers racing down my spine. The chill brought me back the slightest bit and I grasped for it, refusing to be sucked back in.
“Rowan, believe,” she whispered again. My heart fluttered in my chest as a jolt of hope seared through me without warning. Rebecca. I could feel her icy fingers now working inside me as if undoing a knot. With each passing second the hold was loosening. I wiggled my fingers triumphantly and the warm glow of the fire burned away the last bit of fuzziness that clouded my vision. The air around me was like ice, silvery and crystalline. I opened myself to it, feeling the energy in my chest pop and burst with electricity. It was Rebecca. Working through me.
“Foolish boy! You can’t stop fate! Don’t make me kill you nephew!” I heard Marion’s shouts break through just as the last of the binding spell was dismantled. I whispered a silent thank you and stood up to join Alex, who had Marion backed against a tree.
“Impossible,” she whispered in horror, her eyes raking over me like I was an alien. Alex let his gaze wander over me and his eyes went wide. I could only imagine what I looked like. I was burning up with energy like a ball of fire and had no idea what to do with it.
“Rowan…you’re…you’re.” He stopped when his hand instinctively reached out and touched me and I could see the hair on his arm stand up on end. I could also see the silvery light reflecting in his eyes. The same light that was surrounding
me. I shivered and a sense of urgency took over. “It’s Rebecca Alex. She’s here. It’s been her all along.”
He nodded and his face turned to a lighter shade of white.
“What do we do now? Do we run?” I said.
“No. I have a spell, I just don’t have the power. I’m too weak Rowan.” He looked hopeless and I could see his defenses breaking down. He had been holding Marion here with everything he had left to keep her away from me. I grabbed his hand and pressed my forehead to his.
“Take it Alex. Take it all!” I remembered him transferring his energy to me the night I was attacked, how intimate and most of all how invigorating it had been. This was the answer. With Rebecca inside me we had enough energy to fuel him for a lifetime. Or at the very least, long enough for him to do away with Marion. The pop of a gunshot in the distance and a burst of shouts shattered the bubble we’d formed. Alex and I both turned, breaking our connection, our fear escalating as the faint echo of a mob rallied somewhere in the night.
“No!” Marion screamed and with Alex’s attention drawn away from her she broke free. It all happened quickly then. Marion’s hand jutted out into the air and an awful crackling sound exploded from her fingertips. My God. Fire. A burst of blue fire was streaming from her fingers. Before I could react it skimmed my face. Seared the nerve endings just below my eye. Alex grabbed me as my knees buckled from the pain. The skin on my cheek was flayed, charred, blood streaming down my chin. Alex dragged me behind a tree for cover and ran his hands over me.