by K. G. Reuss
“Kel—” I started but was interrupted by Courtney.
“I thought I told you to stay away from my boyfriend,” she said, stepping between me and Kellin menacingly.
“I … Kellin?” I asked in disbelief.
Was he really still with this horrible beast? After all the things he’d been spouting to me?
He must have sensed what I was thinking, much like Calix could, because I stared wide-eyed at him when he spoke.
“Courtney, you are a horrible, terrible person. I have wasted too many nights with your name on my lips. For some reason, I thought courting you would make the pain of my reality disappear. Instead, it took what could have been and twisted into a knot I cannot undo. You are my second biggest regret, my first being that I ever stepped foot into this godforsaken realm in the first place. You, Courtney Fox, are not my girlfriend, nor will you ever be again. We are through, and I don’t even want my name to ever touch your harsh lips again. This has nothing to do with Ana. It has to do with me and you. Me because I was a fool for thinking I could do this, and you because, well, you’re you, and you will never make anyone happy until you figure out what makes you unhappy. We’re done.”
He didn’t wait for her answer and pushed by us without so much as a backward glance. Courtney’s face fell but she recovered quickly and glared daggers at me.
“You!” she hissed, advancing on me. “You! You did this! We were fine until you started bothering him!”
“I didn’t do anything!” I shouted as she lunged at me, her claws flashing.
She dug at my skin and pulled at my hair. I felt the fire burning beneath my skin and I cringed, taking the beating she was handing me, but only because I didn’t want to hurt her.
We fell to the ground in a twisted knot of long hair, arms, and legs. I could hear people cheering around us and I ground my teeth as I tried to control the flame aching to get out. I landed a hard hit to her face in an effort to get out from beneath her. That only fueled her fire more when she saw the trickle of blood coming from her nose.
She hit me across my face and that was all it took for me to lose what little control I had. The fire burst from some unseen area of my body and ignited her thin blouse, the flame quickly climbing up to eat at her long hair. I stared down at my hands and noted that they held no flame, but burned like they may.
She screamed and batted at the fire as I watched in wide-eyed horror at what I must have done. Luckily, someone remembered Fire 101 and knocked her to the ground, smothering the flames.
“Ana,” Calix’s voice cut through the horror.
I looked up to see Calix standing above me breathing hard, his eyes flashing dangerously.
He held his hand out to me and I took it without hesitation, desperately needing to get out of there, to get away from the accusing eyes of my peers, to get away from the stench of burned hair, flesh, and clothing.
He led me out into the raging storm as fire erupted from my hands.
“Calix,” I whimpered, clutching my hands to my chest. “Calix!”
He turned to me in the rain, wrapped his hands around my flaming ones and rested his forehead against mine.
“Breathe, Ana,” he said gently. “Remember what I said. You control the flame.”
I pulled in deep breath after deep breath as Kellin’s storm raged around us until the flame had died out and I was left standing drenched in the middle of the parking lot, Calix’s arms around me as I cried.
“Let me take you away from here,” Calix murmured, kissing the top of my head. I nodded and let him walk me to the edge of the dark tree line.
“What? W-where’s your car?” I asked looking around confused.
“I have a much faster way to travel,” he answered, smiling down at me. He opened his arms and I stepped into them.
The moment he wrapped his arms around me, I felt a pulling in the very core of my body. It was so strong, it made me tremble.
“The first time is always the most uncomfortable,” he whispered.
The pull grew sharper, and I felt like the air had been sucked out of my body. I clung to Calix as I caught glimpses of passing scenery, followed by blackness, then a flit of more scenery.
When our feet finally touched down, I was trembling and shivering so badly, Calix pulled off his jacket and wrapped it around me.
“It won’t always be that bad,” he said, hugging me.
I looked around and saw we were standing in the middle of a cozy log cabin, a fire crackling merrily in the fireplace.
“What is this place?” I asked, looking around in wonder, my teeth chattering. “How did we get here?”
“This is my secret hideaway,” he said, leading me to the oversized couch in the center of the room. “I used one of the many ways Fae can travel.”
“Will I be able to do that too? Travel like that?” I asked, thinking about what good time I could make to class in the morning, then realizing I never wanted to return to school. I’d just set Courtney on fire. There was no way I’d ever be able to go back.
“Perhaps,” he answered delicately.
“Why perhaps?”
“Only a very small handful of my people can travel in such a way. I would imagine you would use a different route, so to speak. However, if you enjoy it, you can always adapt to it.”
“I wouldn’t say I enjoyed it,” I replied hastily. “I felt like we were traveling through a black abyss. It was cold and frightening. I was afraid of falling.”
“I was with you, though, Princess. You were safe. I’d never let you go,” he said, leaning in and kissing me gently on the lips. A swell of electricity flowed through my body at his touch, and I ran my hands through his thick, black hair, wanting more. Demanding more. I wanted to distract my mind from what had just happened with Courtney, and Calix was the perfect distraction.
He obliged my desires, his hands roaming every curve of my body, his touch warm and gentle with the undercurrent of electricity.
I wasn’t sure how long we’d been there, but it must have been for hours. When I opened my eyes, it was to see myself wound tightly around his hard, warm body on the couch in front of the dying fire.
His eyes were closed, his long, sooty lashes resting gently on his flawless ivory cheeks. I had a flashback of my vision of him dying beside me, and I shuddered. He squeezed me tightly in his sleep, and I laid my head back on his chest, feeling the thick muscles through the T-shirt he was wearing.
I’d only just found him, and I didn’t want to lose him.
“I’m not going anywhere,” he murmured, and I jumped at the sound of his sleepy voice.
“It creeps me out that you can do that,” I said, shaking my head, my long, blonde hair falling over my shoulders. “Are you sure you don’t read minds?”
“I’m sure,” he replied softly. “I think I was just thinking the same thing as you. That’s all.”
He kissed me gently on the lips and pulled the blanket up around us.
“People are going to begin to wonder what happened to you. To us,” he murmured, noting the time.
“I don’t care,” I replied. “I-I can’t go back. Not now.”
“Really? You don’t care? What happened to my uptight princess?” he teased lightly, brushing my hair back from my tear-stained face.
“I’m still here. I’ve just decided there are some things I can’t change, like what people think and what I’ve done.”
“You may be able to someday,” he said thoughtfully.
“What?”
He shrugged. “Well, you’re Fae. Some are fortunate enough to possess the power of suggestion.”
“You mean compulsion?” I asked, my brows furrowed.
“Yes, I suppose you could call it that if you’re gifted enough to actually control someone. I was talking more about persuasion.”
“You can do it, can’t you?” I asked, sitting up and staring down at him. “The night at the game, on the bleachers with the nachos! I almost kissed you! I couldn’t e
xplain it at the time, but that’s what it was, wasn’t it?”
“Perhaps,” he answered sitting up. “Are you mad?”
“Yes! How dare you try to control my mind!”
“Believe me, Ana, I wasn’t controlling your mind. Besides, I wouldn’t have kissed you. Not like that. I was testing you. I wanted to know how strong you were, if you would be able to fight it, and you did. I was proud of you.”
“Proud of me because I fought off your freaky mind powers?” I asked skeptically.
“Yes. If Zaros … if he gets you, Ana, he has the power of compulsion and it’s powerful. It’s extremely strong,” he whispered. “It doesn’t help that he also has the Ankh of Dominus, either. You wouldn’t stand a chance in your current state. He has men who follow him without question. Not because of compulsion, but because they have dark hearts like he does. They can control the mind. I want you to be able to fight for yourself when I’m not there. You need to be able to.”
“Why wouldn’t you be there?” I asked, my heart racing as I replayed the horrible vision in my mind.
“Because,” he said sighing and taking my hands. “I might get called away. If that happens, I won’t be of any help to you. You have to be able to fight on your own.”
“Then teach me, Calix. I’m afraid.” My voice shook as I spoke the truth. It was more than fear. It was terror. I’d seen what the Master was capable of. I saw what he was doing to the Nihilist, his own son.
“I will,” he promised.
“I don’t want to go back. I want to stay here with you,” I said, untangling myself from him the rest of the way and getting to my feet. “If we go back, there’s a good chance I’ll be in a lot of trouble for what happened with Courtney. I want to stay right here, far away. I want to learn everything I can. I don’t want to hurt anyone!”
“Ana,” he breathed, standing up to join me. “Come here.”
He opened his arms wide, and I fell into them sobbing. I was terrified. Was Courtney OK? Had I really hurt her? Was this the beginning of what I was to become? Someone who hurt people?
“Shh,” he murmured, holding me tightly. “You still have a choice in who you become. What happened today was an accident. I should have told you sooner, and then I could have taught you how to control your powers. I’m so sorry, Ana. It’s my fault.”
I let him hold me until the tears subsided. Leaving unexpectedly like this was like tearing off a Band-Aid. I knew this day was going to happen, I just didn’t want it to be like this. My parents were going to be worried about me. My friends would be worried. In the end, though, maybe this was simply for the best.
“Teach me, Calix. I want to—I have to—learn,” I said, looking up into his dark eyes.
He studied me for a moment before nodding. “I will teach you everything, Ana. I’ll save you or die trying.”
His words made me wince, and I realized there may be many people willing to sacrifice themselves for me. I couldn’t let them die for me. There had to be a way around it, and I would find that way.
“It’s for a good cause,” I murmured. “Me focusing everything I have on learning is what’s important. My future is in Winterset, not here. It was never here.”
“You’re beautiful,” he said, cupping my face in his hands. “I admire your determination, Ana. You’re perfect on the inside and the outside. It’s what takes your beauty to a whole other level. It’s why he wants you. You are the ultimate weapon for him. The perfect balance to the Nihilist.”
His words made me shudder.
“Balance or not, I’m in charge of me. My birthday is only a few days away. If they find me, Calix—” I stammered, uncertain of what would happen to me without proper training.
“They won’t,” he assured me, kissing me gently. “They won’t.”
“I’ll hold you to that,” I whispered before pressing my lips to his again.
Chapter 37
I turned my phone off that night, my heart heavy with sadness, my multitude of messages unread. No one would find me out here in the middle of the mountainous area, wherever this area was. Even Calix wouldn’t tell me, which did make me a bit uneasy. But I trusted him.
We went to sleep that night, his arm wound tightly around me as I rested my head on his chest. I listened to his slow, even heartbeat as he slept, wondering how I’d gotten to this point in my life.
And Kellin.
My heart ached for my friend. For someone I had maybe even loved at some point. I knew he was hurting. There wasn’t anything I could about it, though. Our time was over before it had even started, and now he was gone. I didn’t even know if I’d ever see him again. I prayed that if I ever got the chance to look into his eyes, it would be because we were still on the same side and I wasn’t some puppet for the Darkness.
I closed my eyes, trying to push my parents’ and Mel’s worried faces out of my mind. Sleep came sometime soon after, and I struggled to keep my eyes open, not wanting to lose the remainder of the night, not wanting to glimpse what I knew was coming.
The air was heavy with sadness, the regret nearly choking me as I watched the scene before me.
“You are late,” The Master growled, turning his cloaked form to the Nihilist as he entered the room and dropped to his knees before him, his dark hood hiding his face.
“I’m sorry, my Master,” the Nihilist said thickly, his voice deep, an unbearable undercurrent of remorse weaved into it. “I was held up trying to tie up the loose ends.”
“And?”
“I have succeeded, My Lord,” the Nihilist answered hollowly. “It is only a matter of days now.”
“Excellent,” The Master said, the wicked smile evident in his voice. “And what of the village Sarnias?”
“Razed to the ground, my Lord,” the Nihilist replied in a small voice.
“And the survivors?”
“There weren’t any. We took their heads and sent them to Dar’ish for them to see our majesty and strength, my Master. We burned what was left of the bodies. Everything as you commanded.”
“This brings me joy, Nihilist,” The Master said in his deep, gravelly voice. “You have done well, my son. Do not try to fight me again, though. I will not be so forgiving next time. You will bear more than scars if you try to overcome me again.”
“My Lord,” the Nihilist bowed his head, and my heart ached for him. He had tried to escape! He didn’t want this. I had to save him.
“Soon, you will be joined by the Oracle,” The Master said, turning away from the Nihilist and walking to a raised dais in the center of the room. It looked like an altar where they laid out bodies for sacrifice. My stomach twisted into knots at the thought.
“What will you do to her?” the Nihilist asked, his head snapping up, the dark hood still covering his face.
“Whatever I want,” he cackled. “She is there for your strength and for my enjoyment, and I do intend to enjoy her before I hand her over to you. I want to break her. I earned the look Lauris will have on his face as I take his virgin daughter from him.”
Bile rose in my throat, and I took a frightened step back. There was no way I could let him get me. He had terrible, despicable plans. It was more than hurting and killing others. He planned on carving out my soul in the process.
“My Lord,” the Nihilist interjected, his voice strained. “If the Oracle is mine, I would like her to remain untarnished. She is my promised.”
“She is mine first!” The Master snapped, turning his cloaked form back to the Nihilist in a flurry of anger. “As was her mother! I will take her, and you will accept that. And if you question my rule again, so help me, you will regret it. I have been kind in allowing you freedom of thought. I can take all of that away. Just. Like. That.”
The Master waved his hand and the Nihilist bowed his head in defeat. I felt his will sag from his body. Not even he could fight it.
I struggled to open my eyes, terrified to hear any more.
My eyes snapped open and I found myself all a
lone in the bed, the blankets pulled snugly up to my neck, my body drenched in sweat.
The spot where Calix had slept was cold. He’d been gone for a while. I frowned. Where could he have possibly gone? We were surrounded by hundreds of miles of woods and mountains as far as I could tell.
Not that it matters, I reminded myself. He traveled wherever he wanted by whatever means he used.
I wandered out to the large picture window and gazed outside, my stomach churning. What I’d seen left a gaping hole within me, but it also made me more determined to find a way out of this. People were dying over it. The Nihilist, even though he murdered and tortured for the Master, was just another innocent bystander, and even he did not deserve what was happening to him.
I needed Calix. I needed him to teach me. I needed him to hold me and tell me we’d get through this. I looked out through the thick trees, wondering if he was out there somewhere in the foliage. Off in the distance were picturesque snowcapped mountains. The beauty was astounding, and I breathed out appreciatively despite my troubled thoughts.
I turned around and gasped as I nearly collided with Calix, who had been silently standing behind me.
“You scared me,” I winced, clutching at my heart.
“I’m sorry,” he murmured, his face twisted in sadness.
“I was worried. Where were you? Are you OK?”
“I’m fine,” he answered. He pulled in a deep breath, and the sadness was erased from his face.
“Did you miss me?” he asked, the tiniest of smirks on his lips.
“I … yes. I did,” I answered simply. No point in denying it. I had it bad for him.
He leaned down and kissed me gently, and I relaxed against him peacefully as his arms circled around me.
“Did you sleep well?” he inquired, pulling away.