by Paige Watson
Terrick was at the red door to the caput’s apartment as we walked inside. Warrin stood at his side, and they both had on matching midnight-blue suits. Terrick looked like an ocean set ablaze. His bright hair seemed to contradict the serenity of the suit; while Warrin looked like the sea during a stormy night. His hair looked even darker when paired with the deep color of his suit. I hung on to Conrad, not wanting to be separated from him amidst this sea of people. Everywhere I looked, glistening jewels hung from the necks of women and black suits dotted the room at every turn. I watched as Helen and Milton disappeared into the swarm of guests. Finally, I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw Caroline and Noah talking to Everest in the center of the room. Everest bowed to Caroline and pressed his lips upon her hand. He must have complimented her in some way, because her skin flushed and she looked away from him.
“Bourdet,” he said, extending his hand to Conrad to shake. “And Eve—I mean Evey. I must say you look more divine than should be possible.” He showed me the same courtesy he had to Caroline and kissed my hand.
“Thank you. That’s very kind of you to say.”
“Kindness has nothing to do with it; it’s merely a fact.” I looked sideways at Conrad and noticed he was staring off to the side. I figured Everest’s comment had made him slightly uncomfortable as well. “Well, I see some potential donors over there I need to talk to. If you would excuse me for a few minutes,” Everest said, as he walked to the other side of the room.
I watched as Noah handed Caroline a glass of champagne. His hand was on her back, barely leaving any space between them. He watched as she drank from her glass. “He really does like her,” I thought to myself.
“Come dance with me,” Conrad said, holding out his hand. I placed my hand in his, allowing him to pull me out to the dance floor. All the other couples seemed to be doing some kind of formal waltz. Apparently, that didn’t involve enough touching, because Conrad wrapped his arms around my waist, pressing our bodies together. All the noise and people faded away as we started to sway.
“So, what do we do when all this Concilium stuff with Aden is over? Will we get to live out the rest of our lives?”
“What do you want to do, when everything is over?” His lips met with the skin on the side of my neck.
“I asked you first,” I said with a smile.
“Well, I want to spend my time with you. What about you?”
“The same,” I answered, running my thumb along his jawline. “I don’t think it’s fair you remember us being married, and I don’t.”
“Are you asking me to marry you?” I could tell by the way he said his question he was teasing me. My cheeks started to burn as he stared at me. “Because of course I would say yes, but we have a sort of tradition concerning engagements.”
“What kind of tradition?”
“I can’t tell you that,” he grinned. “It takes away the element of surprise.”
“That’s not fair,” I pouted.
He gave me a swift peck on the lips. “I’ll tell you one thing though; I always ask you.”
“And why is that?”
“Because I’m old-fashioned,” he replied with a wink. He led me off the dance floor and over to a buffet filled with food. The leather couches we’d been sitting on the previous day had been replaced with tables and chairs. Each of the tables was round and made of glass, with six chairs sitting around it. Conrad and I fixed two plates with food before sitting at a table by ourselves. As we started to eat, a waiter came by, placing two glasses of champagne in front of us. Apparently, it wasn’t necessary to check anyone’s I.D. at this party. However, even if they did, it’s not like they would tell true ages. The youngest looking people in the room were at least a couple hundred years old and I had no clue what my true age was. As I ate my food, I watched the couples still on the dance floor. Everything about this place was beautiful; from the tables and chairs strewn about the rooms, to the arrangements of white orchids that cascaded from crystal vases. I was so enraptured with the ambiance of the party, I didn’t notice Conrad had stood up from his chair.
“I’ll be right back,” Conrad whispered in my ear. I looked to him and grabbed ahold of his tie, jerking it down so his face met mine.
“Just make sure you hurry back,” I said with a kiss.
“Don’t worry, I will.” I let go of his black tie and watched as he walked through the crowd of guests. Noah and Caroline were in the center of the dance floor, turning about the room. Noah, it appeared, was a trained dancer, because he swirled Caroline in circles, before dipping her so low she was almost on the ground. She liked him as much as he liked her, that much was obvious. I had a feeling before too much longer they would be as inseparable as Conrad and me.
“Would you like a dessert plate?”
I turned to see a waiter in a crimson jacket, holding a tray lined with various desserts. “What all do you have?”
“There’s chocolate cake, French apple pie, tiramisu, and strawberry lemon cake.”
“I’ll have some apple pie,” I said. He set a slice a slice of pie in front of me and pointed to Conrad’s seat. “Oh, he’ll want the chocolate cake,” I said with complete certainty. After he left a piece of cake in front of Conrad’s chair, I stared it. I really was starting to remember things. How else would I know Conrad would want the chocolate cake? A surge of joy dispersed through me. I really was remembering more things about Conrad and myself. I took a bite of apple pie. The filling was sweet and juicy. I returned my fork to the dessert for another bite. In an instant, I saw images of the red apple hanging from a branch, begging to be plucked. My fork slipped from my fingers, clanging against the plate. The picture of the apple was burned into my mind. Its peel, which was a glowing red, only seemed
to strengthen in color. I had another flash, this time I was holding three brown seeds in my hand, and I was running through the castle. I knew, without a shadow of a doubt, those were the seeds I needed to find, the seeds Aden was looking for. Another memory thrust itself before my eyes. I was sitting at a small wooden table, a cup of piping tea in front of me. I looked up and saw Conrad’s mother seated on the opposite side of the table. Her dark hair was pulled back into a tight bun, and a brown shawl was wrapped tightly around her arms.
“It’s very nice of you to still come and see me,” she said, pouring more tea into her cup.
“It’s my pleasure to do so and I’m glad to see you’re doing so well.”
“Cecily and I were fortunate enough to have our health returned to us. I believe we have you to thank for that.” The one feature she shared with her children, were her beautiful blue eyes; a color which couldn’t be matched by any jewel I had ever seen. However, where Conrad’s shone with light and kindness, I always had the strange feeling hers were staring into me, examining me with the purpose of discovering my secrets.
“I did nothing another person wouldn’t have. I just hope the three of you will continue to be happy here.”
“In the year we’ve been here, we’ve been very happy. Especially Conrad, he loves it here. I think he was always meant to be more than just a blacksmith’s son.” She took a drink from her cup and watched as I did the same. “You’re very fond of him, aren’t you?”
“Yes,” I said, setting my tea back on the table. “I am.”
“He loves you. That’s why he gave you that necklace.” Her finger pointed to my neck. My hand flung to the pendant, touching the pearl which hung from it.
“I know and I treasure it more than any other possession I own.”
“Do you feel the same way for him?”
“I think that would be quite obvious.”
“I know you do, but as his mother, surely you can understand my need to hear it from you.”
“I love your son more than anyone else in this world,” I said.
“To love another man is to commit treason against the king.” Her blue eyes were staring into mine with a subdued intensity.
“Then it would se
em I am a traitor.”
Her mouth unfolded into a slight smile. “There is something Conrad never told you about that necklace,” she held out her hand, waiting for me to place my adornment in it. I took off the necklace and delicately set it in her hand. She turned the pendant over and pressed a tiny lever down, opening a small compartment behind the ruby, on the back of the pendant. “It has a secret hiding place.” She handed the necklace back to me and I stared down at it. “When my mother wore the necklace, she kept notes from
her lover in there. Her parents arranged for her to marry a rich man, but she was already in love with my father. She used the necklace to hide the notes from her parents.”
“She ran away with your father, didn’t she?”
“She did. She gave up a comfortable lifestyle and money for love.” She reached over the table and took my hand in hers. “And I have a feeling you would do the same.”
The sound of smashing glass drew me back into the present time. I looked to my right and saw a waiter picking up shards of broken glass. My hand was on the necklace. It had a hiding place, a small niche. It was large enough for three apple seeds to fit inside. I removed my necklace, and before I could undo the clasp, another body crashed into mine. I looked up to see the same waiter who had the dessert tray earlier, was trying to get out of the way of a couple dancing around him.
“I’m sorry, please excuse me,”
“It’s not a problem.” He set fresh glasses of champagne in front of me and hurried away to serve other guests. My eyes followed him as he weaved in and out of the crowd, handing off glasses filled with golden liquid. A sudden jolt coursed through my body. On the other side of the room, I saw my mother. Donovan had his arm wrapped around her neck, preventing her from being able to run to me. I stood up from my chair as people walked in front of her, blocking her from my view. I moved around the table and started to run in her direction, speeding past Caroline and Noah, who were still on the dance floor. I could hear Caroline calling out for me but I didn’t slow down until I reached the window my mother had been standing in front of. It didn’t matter though, because she was nowhere to be found. I looked around the whole room, trying to find some trace of her. I started to panic as I realized I may never get to see her again. One second she was standing in the same room as me and now she was gone.
“Evey, what’s wrong?” Caroline and Noah were standing beside me, each wearing a worried expression.
“I saw my mother.”
“You saw Marie?”
“Yes, she was right here and Donovan was right beside her,” I said, answering Noah.
My eyes darted from face to face, hoping one of them belonged to her. Then, to my relief I caught a glimpse of her as she was being pulled to the door. I took off after her, running as fast as I could. I could hear Noah and Caroline following behind me. They were shouting for me to stop but their words fell upon deaf ears. I reached the door and flung it open with all my strength. I rushed down the hall and pressed the button for the elevator. It felt like I was waiting forever before the doors opened up. The three of us hurried inside, and I pressed the ground button. Right before the doors closed a hand shot through them, opening them back up. Conrad was standing in front of the elevator with Helen and Milton.
“What’s going on?”
“Donovan had my mother. They were at the party and then they vanished. We have to go find her.”
“Evey,” he said, taking my hands in his.
“I know it’s not a good idea but we have to help her. We can’t let Aden kill her too.” The tears were already filling up my eyes as I looked at him. The thought of losing one more person I loved sickened me. “I’ve already lost too many people to him.”
“There are six of us,” Helen said. “We can take Donovan.”
“Ok, but if things start to turn bad or anything like that, we turn back,” Conrad ordered. “And we protect Evey at any cost.”
They all nodded their heads in agreement. I watched as Milton pulled two short-swords from underneath the back of his suit jacket. He handed one to Conrad and kept the other for himself. Helen pulled a small knife from her purse and Noah pulled up his pants leg to reveal a narrow dagger.
“Geez, you people are prepared for anything,” Caroline said. I noticed her hands were full of purple material. She’d been holding up the bottom half of her skirt so she could keep up with me.
“That’s because we have to be,” Helen replied.
“Can I see that?” Caroline pointed to the knife in Noah’s hand.
He handed her the knife cautiously. Caroline took Noah’s knife and cut the bottom part of her dress off, letting the material hang at the middle of her thighs. Noah stared at her in disbelief. “I’ve lived thousands of years and women never cease to amaze me.”
Caroline tossed the spare material over her shoulder and grinned. “I know tricks you’ve never even dreamed of.”
Conrad held onto my hand, as I waited anxiously for the elevator to land at the bottom floor. When the doors finally opened, we burst through them, charging through the lobby. A cold wind swept through my hair, as we stepped outside. I glanced left and right, trying to figure out which way Donovan took my mother.
“I don’t see them,” I said to Conrad. “Do you?”
“Up that way!” Caroline called out. She pointed up the street, and I squinted through the darkness, hoping to see my mother. I could barely make out the two figures moving up the sidewalk. They moved slowly, and without a second thought, I started sprinting up the street. Conrad held onto my hand as he ran by my side. The six of us moved quietly, as we followed after my mother. About two blocks from the apartment building, Donovan and my mother turned left down an abandoned alley. Conrad led the group in their wake cautiously. I knew his senses were on high alert and he held his sword in front of him. I glanced to my right and saw Noah had one hand on Caroline while the other held onto his dagger. He was standing in front of her, like Conrad in front of me. Milton and Helen looked deadly, as they brandished their weapons behind us. I watched as Donovan and my mother disappeared into a dilapidated building. Crumbling bricks made out the exterior of the building and the door remained attached to its frame by a single hinge. Conrad shoved me behind him and my hands clutched onto his waist. I could feel my heart pounding inside my chest like a jackhammer. Cobwebs and dust hung in the air like curtains, as we walked through the doorway. We stepped into a large room, strewn with scraps of wood and metal. It looked like some sort of renovations had been started ages ago, but seeing the state the building was in, the plans must have been scrapped. Emergency lights were on, although the bulbs had to be covered with an inch of grime. Thirty feet from us stood Donovan, holding my mother. I watched with horror as a horde of souls emerged from the darkness, fanning out behind him. Their screeches penetrated the silence of the building as they rushed toward us. I flung my hands over my ears, praying to God he would put an end to it.
Conrad pushed me and Caroline together before running to meet the souls. Noah, Helen, and Milton were right on his heels, as they brought their weapons down, spilling black liquid as they made their way through the crowd. I clung to Caroline, as the entire room erupted into a river of darkness. I couldn’t see anything but her, and I looked around desperately, trying to set eyes on Conrad and my mother. I should have known Donovan was trying to draw us from the safety of the caput’s apartment. Out of nowhere, a soul came up behind Caroline, grabbing her shoulder. I could hear her flesh sizzle as the hand burned her. A scream escaped her lips, and I pulled her away from the diseased creature. Huge welts appeared over her entire back and she crumpled to the floor in pain. We scooted backwards on the floor, trying to escape from the soul, but it advanced at a rapid pace. I tried to cover her with my body as I waited for the soul to burn me. Just as the hand was nearing me, a glint of metal separated it from its owner. The soul howled, causing us to cover our ears. Noah swung his knife through the air, slicing at the soul’s throat. Its head tumbl
ed off the neck before colliding with the concrete floor. He reached for Caroline, pulling her to her feet. He wrapped her in his arms for a second.
“Are you ok?”
“Yes. Thank you so much,” she said, holding onto him.
“I’m just glad you’re ok,” he said, holding onto her even more tightly.
I stood up, trying to fight the urge to fall back to the floor. I looked at the three secundae in the midst of battle with the souls. Milton was taking on three at a time, while Helen and Conrad were fighting back to back. Helen’s movements were fast and precise. She threw her dagger into the eye of a soul and retrieved it, before the soul disintegrated into a pool of black slime. I suppose I now had my answer as to why she was made into a secundae. As they put the souls down, more seemed to come from the framework of the building. I looked around everywhere for my mother, and my desperation to find her increased by the second.
The first sign of them I saw, was the gnarled scar covering the bottom half of Donovan’s face. His eyes stared at me, full of malicious intent. He had my mother by the neck, standing about twenty feet away from me. A sharp knife stuck out from under my mother’s chin and she flinched at the pain it inflicted.
“Mom!” I reached out for her, as I started in their direction. She tried to say something, but Donovan’s grasp prevented her. She struggled against him, trying to break away. She threw her head backward, colliding with his face. Blood gushed from his nose and he grabbed onto her arm, turning her to face him. His knife slashed at her throat before I could reach them. Her skin flushed with scarlet, as she fell onto her knees. I could see the life in her eyes start to fade. “No!” Before I could run to her, a hand held me back. My mother lay dying on the floor, and I was unable to go to her. I looked and saw Caroline.
“No, Evey. Donovan wants you to come to him. It makes his job easier, and then he’ll take you to Aden.”
“Caroline, she’s dying,” I cried.