Vaalbara; Visions & Shadows

by Michelle Horst

  “We only bathe once all the trainees have bathed,” he responded.

  “You say we have to figure it out.”

  “Yes.”

  “We’re going to be here a whole month?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, in that case.” I got my soap and facecloth and walked into the nice cool water, clothes and all. Two could play this game. Raighne just stood there watching me like I was some reality television show.

  “Do you mind?” I glared at him. “I might have clothes on but I’m still bathing.”

  Tossing me a slightly awkward wave, Raighne wandered off. Still…he didn’t go too far.

  I did my thing, trying not to use too much soap, as it would have to last me a whole month. I made sure I rinsed all the soap out of my clothes before getting out of the water, and then it struck me. No towels. I would have to stand in the sun and dry the old-fashion way.

  “Bloody hell!” I hadn’t brought a brush, my make-up kit, a towel, shampoo…Damn my hair was going to be such a mess. No conditioner. Well, I would soon officially be a Vaalbara barbarian.

  “You really do not have to make any fashion statements out here. Nobody will see you. Everyone is going to look the same.” That voice of annoying knowledge reappeared.

  “Oh, that’s fresh, coming from a guy who wakes up, drags his fingers through his hair, and looks like a supermodel.” I sighed. “I’m dry enough. See you at camp.” I was gone before what I’d said had sunk in. Why did I have to go and say that to him? I practically told the guy that I thought he was hot. Crap, no thinking!

  Please don’t listen in on me. I really need my privacy.

  I only hear when you project loudly. We had this discussion.

  How can I make sure I don’t think…loudly?

  Think normal, do not get upset. Whisper if you have to.

  I had to whisper to myself? As if!

  Seriously!

  “You need to project more softly. There is such a thing as mental screaming as well. I do not want a headache later on.”

  Man, this guy was always behind me! I glared at him before storming off to my sleeping bag.

  “Here is toilet paper should you need to go. The toilet would be in that direction.” Aurian pointed in the opposite direction of the bathing spot. It looked like there was nothing down that path except for sand and rocks. “You dig a hole and then you cover it. Have a good night’s rest.”

  Sometimes I couldn’t believe the conversations I was having with these people. Ten minutes later I was settled in my sleeping bag, all by my lonesome self, while everybody else had someone to talk to. It sucked. I had two options: One, I could get up and make a total ass of myself by going to sit by a group of people who didn’t want me there; or, Two, I could stay by myself doing my best not to think of the vision I had earlier, and thinking about Raighne while hoping he wouldn’t hear what I was thinking. Hmm, which one, which one? The Jeopardy chimes played in my mind. The decision wasn’t exactly hard, though. I’d rather eat sand than grovel for company.

  Raighne appeared once again. Man, maybe I should carry him around in a papoose. It’d save time.

  “Here is your dinner.” Well, Sid…so much for eating sand.

  “Thank you.” I got up and watched his eyebrows rise when he saw the clothes I had on.

  “Is there a problem? Because then you will have to take them off yourself.” I couldn’t help but smile when his eyes scanned over me again. Was he remembering that night we shared in my room after he practically saved me from Robert?

  “Did I say anything?”

  “You did the eyebrow thingy.”

  “I am not going to ask what eyebrow thing, because I am sure you have some long explanation in there somewhere. Why not just eat our food? That would be nice.” He handed me a plate with two hard boiled eggs and a dollop of peanut butter.

  I frowned. He growled.

  “Do not.”

  “Enlighten me.”

  “Eggs are full of proteins and the peanut butter alone will keep you alive for days. Research shows a human can survive on one teaspoon of peanut butter a day as his dietary intake. That and his fluids.”

  “We are not humans.”

  “It still makes us stronger. As immortals we cannot die unless we are decapitated, or…” He stopped talking, taking a bite of his sandwich.

  “Or what?”

  Raighne peered into the distance. I could see he was contemplating whether to tell me or not. “Adeth was not born evil, she was made that way. She is my mother’s older sister and after my mother’s death she went to the Land of Shadows seeking her revenge. To this day we do not know why he did not kill her.”

  “Who is this ‘he’?” I asked.

  “We dare not say his name, as he then gains control of our minds. He will drive you insane, suck you dry until there is nothing left of you but an empty shell.” Raighne took a shuddering breath before he continued, “It is said he has the power to kill an immortal and an Angel alike. Alder is the only one who has seen him and he never talks about it. There are some legends that say he and Alder were friends, but because Alder was chosen as the high priest he turned evil and vowed to destroy the whole of Vaalbara. Some say they were brothers.”

  “Then there is nothing to worry about when I am on Earth. When that person shoots me I will be fine, he will not be able to kill me.”

  The relief that washed over me was enormous.

  He continued, with a smile, “It is different for us when we are on Earth. We retain our talents and remain as we are, but the longer we are there the more fragile we grow. We can die on Earth. That is where my mother died. She went to see if you were all right and she was murdered.” Raighne looked at me with eyes filled with sadness and I was left with nothing to say. I reached across and took his hand.

  Taking the steel plates back to the small tent, Raighne disappeared into it. Now for that long awaited conversation with myself. Raighne. What was I feeling for him and why?

  In the beginning when we had first met, I was besotted with him. All the girls were. Then things started to change as we became friends. He was always there standing by my side if someone had said something bad about me. He saved me that night with Robert. How would I ever forget that? Even if everything between us had changed after that, it was still real. That incident had happened.

  There was the day he gave me the choker. I have not once taken it off, to this very day. Then there was the night of our departure from Earth. The night we kissed. Okay, we did more than just kiss. It was the night I felt him stir in my soul before he turned out to be someone else. After that I saw a new side to him…a grownup side.

  When I had told him about my visions, about being shot, he became very upset. Was it because it would mean he failed at his task, or was it because he really cared for me? Today he shared a lot about himself with me. He had finally opened.

  My big question was: What did I feel for him? I adored him, I respected him, and I admired him. He was still the man in my dreams who made my heart speed along at a hundred miles a second, and made me lightheaded when he whispered in my ear.

  Oh yes, every day and every second that passed me by I was falling deeper in love with my guardian, who only seemed to see me as a stubborn human out to give him a hard time.

  I had to change my ways if I wanted him to like me for an immortal wannabe, who could talk all prim and proper. With all my scheming and thinking, I eventually drifted off to sleep.

  ~*~

  It had to be a nightmare because there was no way someone was trying to wake me up ten minutes after I had fallen asleep.

  “Alchera, you have to rise. We only have ten minutes to get ready!” It was Luna’s sweet voice, whispering words of bitter reality. I was screwed. I tried feeling for my clothes in the darkness. You heard me, alright, it was still dark out and Raighne was nowhere in sight.

  I got dressed in record time. Rolling my sleeping bag up as best I could, I crammed it into my backpa
ck when I heard Aurian calling for me.

  “Alchera, we are waiting.”

  Aw, great, just bloody great! The sun hadn’t even risen yet and the score was: The Perfect Annoying People - one; me - zero. I ran over to the group, trying to look as nonchalant as possible.

  “Peace be, everyone.”

  In true zombie style we all echoed Aurian.

  “You will walk into the desert as a group. You will spend the next week out there and return as a team.”

  Silence met him.

  “You will have us as your guides. It is unfortunate that Lunar and Lucius will not be able to experience the telepathic link with their trainers, as Evin already shares this link with Alandra.” River handed each one of us a jar of peanut butter, a spoon, and a hip flask filled with water.

  “There you are,” he said, with a smile. “You have five minutes to talk with your trainer, before you head out.”

  The silence continued.

  “Do you have everything?” Raighne sounded normal, as if Aurian had just spoken about the weather.

  “Yeah.”

  “You will be all right,” Raighne promised. “I will be with you every step of the way.”

  “Hmm.”

  “Do you understand?”

  “Huh?”

  “You will be in a group. Five people all together.”

  I nodded. “Yeah, in the desert with only sand and rocks. You could’ve warned me,” I replied.

  “You would have given me a hard time.”

  “Group together. It will be a good idea to check who is next to you. In doing so you will take full responsibility for that person. Take care of each other. May Awo guide you and good fortunes meet you on your way.” I didn’t take my eyes of Raighne while Aurian spoke. How could they send me out into the desert after the vision I had?

  I shook my head lightly before glancing to my left. Blair stood next to me. Somehow we had just become each other’s responsibility.

  Sid, she’s your problem.

  ~*~

  We’d been walking for what felt like hours, and it was already scorching hot though the sun still hung low in the sky. Everyone had just broken their fast by eating one teaspoon of peanut butter and taking three sips of water. The peanut butter still stuck to my teeth.

  How are you doing? Raighne’s voice echoed in my mind.

  Talk about giving me a heart attack! Can you knock next time? So what made you decide to grace me with your presence?’ Two seconds later I kicked at the sand. I had to be more civilized with Raighne if I wanted to win him over.

  We had a quick meeting. You are lagging behind. You need to walk with your group not behind them.

  I’m not that far behind. I started picking up my pace, anyway. Silence descended, as if my guardian had simply had enough of my attitude. Raighne? I sighed. Raighne?

  A chilling voice entered my mind. No, not Raighne…Carter.

  Chapter Six

  Taken

  Death, be kind to me, hear my plea unto thee.

  Take my life and end it quick, let it be as a thorn’s prick.

  “Blair! Blair!” I ran as fast as I could towards her, panic burning in my lungs. I was her responsibility. She would help me. She had to help me.

  Turning in my direction, her facial expression changed from annoyance to worry. “What is the matter?”

  “Blairrgck!” That was all I could get out when an arm came out of nowhere and went around my neck. It yanked me clean off my feet.

  “Alchera!” Blair started running for me; Storm right on her heels.

  “Stop!” When the man holding me spoke, they all froze in their tracks. “Come closer and I will rip her head off.” They had to believe him, they just had to. Why? Because I did.

  My breaths were coming in small, quick puffs. My heart? It was almost silent, as if waiting for permission to beat.

  “Please, let her go.” It was Blair talking on behalf of the group. Was this a training session?

  A sickening feeling came over me as the group blurred in front of my eyes.

  “Nooo!” That was the last I heard of Blair.

  ~*~

  Snow. Not real snow. Television snow. That’s the only way I could describe the first thing I saw when we rematerialized. That and I felt cold. We were in the blazing hot desert, but the guy holding me was freezing, and gripped me so tightly that his ice cold aura seeped into my skin.

  “Carter. You brought us our dear Alchera. How kind of you to join us.” I tried to see who was talking, but the grip on my neck was too tight. We were back at the campsite and all the guardians stood frozen in shock.

  “Raighne!” The fear in my voice was unmistakable. Raighne made a move towards me, but was stopped dead in his tracks by what the female voice said next.

  “Any closer and Carter will rip her head from her body.”

  My eyes were only on Raighne; we both knew there was nothing he could do to save me. I saw the blur out of the corner of my eye. It could only be River moving so fast across the field. I felt the sickening feeling in the pit of my stomach. I managed to whisper Raighne’s name one last time, as he lunged forward, his face torn with emotion.

  And then…he was gone.

  ~*~

  Thrown to the floor, I landed on all fours but kept my head down, fearful of what would come next. Carter walked around me, slowly, like an animal would stalk its prey. In one swift movement he tore the backpack from me so hard that it felt like my shoulders were being pulled from their sockets. I made the mistake of crying out in pain.

  “Shut up!” I flinched at the sound of his voice, and then he whispered to me. It sounded as if caution was laced with concern. “Shhh! No noise…not a sound.” Then he kicked me. He kicked me so hard it lifted me clean off the floor.

  I couldn’t make a sound, even if I’d wanted to. I was too busy trying to breathe. Battling to get some air into my lungs and take some of the pain away, a new kick slammed into my stomach. Right before I passed out I heard something crack. I wasn’t sure if it was one of my ribs or just a piece of wood that I flew up against. All I knew at that moment was that I was thankful for the darkness.

  ~*~

  Waking up in a small empty room, the air around me had a thick, musty smell to it that would’ve had me sneezing like crazy had I still been on Earth. It looked like I was locked in a shack made of old, rotted wood.

  I moved slowly; my body protested in agony. I wanted to see if there was anything I could use as a weapon for when that animal returned, but instead I found my stuff scattered all over the place torn to shreds - my favorite jacket was ripped to pieces.

  I wanted to cry at the sight but swallowed my tears. I didn’t know when this, Carter, would return, and who knew what he would do to me if he found me crying.

  My eye caught sight of the rope hanging from the ceiling near the corner. My stomach lurched. I had to escape. I remembered the pain from my vision.

  Sid? He has us now. They have us now.

  Raighne’s wavering voice sounded in my mind. Alchera? Can you hear me?

  Raighne! I could only get his name out. I had to steady myself, control my breathing and emotions. I can hear you.

  I am… I have failed you! His voice broke then. I couldn’t hold back my own tears anymore, not when I heard him crying.

  You did not fail me. They caught us by surprise. I couldn’t believe I was the one encouraging him.

  You are right. I need to pull myself together. Look around you so I can see what you see.

  I’m in a shack. Raighne. My voice trembled with the absolute horror I felt rising in my gut. This is what I saw in my vision yesterday.

  “So glad to hear the visions have started.” The sentence was followed by a slow clapping of hands. I crawled to the corner where my bag was lying.

  She was nowhere in sight, it was just the echo of her voice and applause sounding through the room.

  Alchera, what is happening?

  She is here.

 
Who?

  “I do not know if I should be upset because of this little conversation going on between the two of you, or if I should welcome it.” There was silence in which I could only hear my own heart beating. “I think I will welcome it for a while, and then your guardian can see how much he has failed you.” The sentence vibrated through me. I was sure Raighne could feel it too.

  “Raighne.” Whispering his name I realized he was going to experience the same pain I was about to feel. My vision wasn’t going to remain just a nightmare anymore.

  The blow came from nowhere, but it did the trick. It made me see stars. Rising from the floor, I made my hands into small fists and bent at the knees - just like Aurian had taught me.

  “Show yourself!” I tried to sound as brave as possible, but my voice came out raspy and trembling - giving away my true feelings to my unknown enemy.

  The female voice disappeared as Carter, my kidnapper, marched toward me. “I will give the orders!” His fist slammed so fast and so hard into me I was sent flying across the room into the back wall. I slid down to the floor like a rag doll.

  I was too scared to look up, not wanting to see him standing there. I didn’t want to look into the eyes I saw in my vision, so I took the coward’s way out and lay there with my face down in the dirt, pretending to be passed out, trying to get my breath back.

  He had won with one blow. So much for being strong!

  Grabbing me by the back of the neck, Carter picked me up until I dangled in the air. Then I met his eyes. They told me I was right to have been afraid; I was right to have been terrified. They were a pale, dead blue. There was no sign of any emotion whatsoever shining in Carter’s eyes. They were empty…devoid of life.

  “Why?”

  Carter took me to where the rope was hanging. My survival instincts came flooding back, telling me I had to fight. Flopping around like a flimsy piece of crap wasn’t going to save my life.

  I kicked at him and clawed at his arms and face. It didn’t help. Carter was much stronger than I was, and didn’t seem to be affected by my poor attempts at self-defense in midair.

  He tied the rope tightly around my wrists, causing me to whimper. It hurt, but in the end I was relieved it was around my wrists and not my neck.