The Amulet Trials

by Willa Alders

I looked at Archer and Avery and they both shook their heads as we walked into the castle. Caleb and Carmina disappeared down the hall, to their room. I figured this is where they went when they wanted away from it all, because they just walked like they knew the place. Avery and Sam disappeared shortly afterwards. Lona continued to walk with us up the stone stairs which looked very old and gothic.

  “Come on you two, you both need much needed rest, tomorrow is going to be intense. We only have two days to get you ready for the battle, and get you back. It’s not near enough time but it will have to be sufficed. Now I recommend you get some sleep, the servants will come get you in the morning at six to meet us in the grand yard. Please don’t fool around there will be plenty of time for that later on. Please get some rest. You will find clothes in the closet. See you in the morning.” Lona smiled as she curtsied to us as she headed back down the hall.

  “Well I don’t know what all the bowing is for but I guess are you ready to head in for the night?” I asked Archer looking at the doors in front of us.

  “Well beautiful they say you and your mate will rule the Kintana one day so maybe they’re just practicing.” Archer smiled and I laughed at that thought.

  “Maybe, come on.” I said opening the door as we walked into the room.

  The room was extremely big. It had skyscraper ceilings and a huge window that looked out over a pond. There was a king size canopy bed draped with black and red curtains, and a huge black blanket on it. The bed was centered in the room. There was an old Victorian couch and chair off to the other side with two massive wardrobes. The two closets were off to the side and we could see they were huge as well from where we were standing. There was a bathroom in the middle of them.

  I blinked it was crazy that the size of the room we were in was the size of my whole house. I just shook my head. The room was absolutely beautiful and amazing. Even though it was antiquity and dark inside there was a touch of technology. They had had a stereo and a flat screen built into the wall. Whoever built it had a touch of the present in them, to keep the castle up to date.

  “Well Archer what would you like to do?” I asked him.

  “This.” He said wrapping his arms around me kissing me gently.

  I smiled at him, “We shouldn’t we should rest.” I said softly between kisses.

  “Yes beautiful, but what if this is the last time we get to be with each other?” He asked and I could tell there was some concern in his voice even though he was trying to be seductive.

  “It won’t be. At least I hope not.” I said kissing him back with fake hope.

  “Well you’re probably right Ara….” Archer said trailing off then his face turned into a sly smile. “You heard Lona she said to be ready at six am, and according to the stereo it’s not even one am here yet. That gives us plenty of time to rest. So just in case if this is our last chance to be together or not there’s nothing wrong with making each moment count.” He said pulling me closer into him. “It just so happens that I love being with you.”

  Archer had me instantly and I couldn’t fight the urge to resist him. “Ok, you win. Just one thing though.” I said whisking the door shut and locking the stone lock with a flick of my wrist. Then I turned to the stereo as I blinked and low music hummed softly in the background.

  He smiled at me and began kissing me softly. We walked back to the bed he laid us down. I got lost in him and his body once more. We walked to the bed as Archer started kissing me as he laid us down. I let him undress me and I did the same to him. It wasn’t long before I lost all sense of reality and I allowed myself to get lost deeper with him. We got lost deeper in each other. When it was over it was perfect I was lying under the covers in his arms.

  “I’m sorry beautiful, I wish there was a way I would have never put you in this mess.” Archer said softly kissing my head.

  “I know its ok. It sounds like it would have happened regardless of my destiny remember. You’re just a very good bonus!” I said pulling the covers up and yawning. “At least you told me. Now come on let’s get some rest before the servants come up. I love you.” I said yawning again.

  “I love you too Aralynn, thank you.” Archer said softly. “Get some rest if you can beautiful.” He said kissing my head again.

  “You too.” I said lying in his arms.

  I closed my eyes trying to relax hoping I would drift off into sleep soon. I had been sleeping better now that Archer was with me constantly. It was strange to me that I needed to be next to Archer in order to sleep because I never used to. Now was a different story and I gladly welcomed him being next to me.

  Just like that my eyes got heavy as I started drifting off into sleep. I started dreaming until my dream quickly turned into a horrific reality. The movie reel appeared out of nowhere ruining the good dream I was having. This time it was different than the way it had been. This time I knew who the couple was. It was no longer a mystery. It was Archer and me.

  I stood there watching movie scenes unfold right before me. Archer and I were holding hands at first. Then it flickered to the next part of the scene skipping the in betweens. Archer had me wrapped in his arms holding me tightly close to him. Next I had pulled my head away as he kissed me. I saw his face and then mine after the kiss. I could read our expressions on what had just happened. We had said our goodbyes. Then just like that the movie reel fast forwarded itself automatically so fast that the scene just disappeared.

  I continued watching as the reel reappeared. This time the reel went back to being like an old black and white film. The reel had moved forward in time because the scenery was different. This time I was inside an old an old abandoned factory walking up stairs. I watched carefully making sure I didn’t miss anything. I had walked into a big open room. I stood on one end my eyes full of fury and hatred. I saw why because on the other end of the room there she stood. My so called best friend Kilyn was standing there her eyes matching mine. As far as I could tell I hadn’t done anything yet, and neither had she. It didn’t last long because she let out a wicked hiss of laughter as I watched black and white flames appear from behind her. I watched as a chair appeared out of nowhere flying at me. From what I could tell it was definitely on at this point because I went running toward her.

  I didn’t get to see anymore from that scene because the reel flickered again. Just like before that scene disappeared just like the first time, and just like that it appeared again. This time it was later on during the battle. I could tell. The next scene was absolutely horrific. I saw her torturing Archer. She had hit him with the bullwhip and he dropped instantly to the ground. Kilyn let out her evil wicked laugh again as Archer was lying on the ground lifeless. I couldn’t tell if he was dead or not. All I could focus on was how he was still and the puddle of blood around his body. I screamed in the dream as I jumped waking up. Tears were running down my face uncontrollably as I was gasping for air.

  Archer woke up and sat up beside me. He wrapped his arm around me. “Everything ok beautiful?” He asked quietly.

  “Not really, I just had a nightmare. A bad nightmare, you were lifeless.” I said looking up at him.

  “Don’t worry beautiful that won’t happen. I won’t die, and she won’t kill me.” Archer said pulling me closer and kissing my head. “Besides she can’t we have to rule a kingdom in our near future.” He laughed. “Now come on future leaders need to be on the top of their game. Let’s get ready our alarm clocks should be knocking anytime.” He smiled getting up out of the bed.

  I smiled back at him still a little bit weary, I hoped he was right. I hoped she wouldn’t kill him and the movie reel was wrong for once. The again the movie reel never did show everything in full –like the outcome of anything. It never showed the outcome of the bear attack. It only showed bits and pieces. So I hoped Archer would still be alive. I hoped that the outcome wasn’t bad; I hoped we would come out stronger than ever. Maybe tired and battered but at least alive that I could live with.

  I walked over to the
wardrobes, and found a sweat suit and a pair of gym shoes to put on. They were the exact gym shoes I had at my house and that I kept seeing in the reel. I pointed and Archer nodded I knew he knew. I watched as he showered then I did. We both got dressed in sync, and I pulled my hair up in a ponytail. Just as I finished there were knocks at the door. I whisked my hand opening the door. There couple of servants bowed to us.

  “There’s really no need for that.” I said putting my shoes on and tying them.

  “Oh yes Miss Aralyn there really is. You will be queen soon enough and he will be the king. We must do so.” The girl servant said.

  “Well then, what is your name?” I asked.

  “I am Mariselle, and this is John-Luc.” She curtseyed again.

  “Well Mariselle very nice to meet you, and nice to meet you too John-Luc you can call me Ara not miss and this is Archer. Really there is no need to curtsey us even though you insist you must. I’m going to tell you something and I want you to listen. I do not know when we will rule exactly. I do know it’ll be soon obviously. So first thing’s first when I become queen you will not curtsey anyone. No more curtsies and if anyone tells you different you send them to me ok starting right now!” I said as my voice sounded like a ruler, like a queen. Like the queen that I would be soon enough. It shocked me the strength in my voice.

  “Yes miss, uhm no Ara. Yes Ara got it no more curtsey. You are very nice. You will be a great queen.” Mariselle smiled at me.

  “Thank you Mariselle.” I said as Archer grabbed my hand.

  “Come on, we have to get you two to the grand yard before Orion and Lona have a fit.” John-Luc laughed as we followed him out of the room.

  I looked at the two of them. John- Luc was about 15 I figured, and he stood 6 foot 2 inches. He had black hair that curled on top of his head. His eyes were green and filled with secrets you could see that. Other than that he was a typical 15 year old boy. Mariselle on the other hand was short about 4 feet 3 inches, she was very tiny and she had long jet black hair. Her eyes were green and filled with innocence. She was eager to please.

  Mariselle walked back beside me the whole time thanking me over and over for telling her not to curtsey and how grateful she was. She kept saying how I would make a great queen. I made a mental note to bring her on as my personal assistant when I did. I liked Mariselle even if she was young. She was sweet and she seemed to know a lot about the kingdom the in’s and outs. At least from what I was picking up on from our conversation.

  We walked through the castle down two flights of stairs then through a door. The grand yard was indeed huge. It was a huge yard about the size of three football fields surrounded by the walls of the castle on all four sides. I didn’t realize how big the castle was till then either. I blinked and I noticed the yard was surrounded by flowers. I looked around and didn’t see Orion or Lona yet. I turned to Mariselle and John-Luc.

  “They are coming we must go.” John-Luc said to us.

  “You both find us later please? We want to welcome you two to join us for pizza tonight.” I said to them.

  “Yes we will Aralynn. Thank you.” Mariselle said as her face lit up and they walked off.

  “You are a very kind queen to be.” Archer smiled at me.

  “Well thank you king to be. I like her.” I said wrapping my arms around him and kissing him softly.

  We didn’t get a chance to do much more than a quick kiss because Orion and Lona both flew in then. They dropped down and walked toward us. Archer had his hand in mine. I smiled because we both looked at Orion in dress pants, shoes and no shirt as always. Lona had on sweats similar to mine.

  “It was very nice of what you did for Mariselle and John-Luc. You are going to be a great leader soon and a lot of changes coming I see.” Lona smiled kindly at me.

  “We know we’ve trained her well.” I heard Caleb say as we turned around he was walking up behind us.

  Caleb and Carmina as well as Avery and Sam came walking. They were all dressed in sweats and I could see they were ready to train as well. They were there to help us. I laughed a bit because I realized they weren’t going to take it easy, even though I already knew that. Then I got sick feeling because I knew that there was a chance my family could get injured. This made it all the more important for me to train harder.

  “Morning Car, Caleb, and you two.” I smiled at them then yawning.

  “Morning gorgeous.” Sam smiled hugging me.

  “Ok I want everyone to listen closely. Two days isn’t merely enough time to do what we need to get Aralynn and Archer ready. This type of training normally would take months to get two immortals ready. Sadly we don’t have that we only have today and tomorrow. So training is going to be rough and hard. I need you to understand that. It seems that you both are quite good at controlling your abilities and you both are very quick learners. So my hope is that with these two days we get you both trained as well as we can. I’ve even brought in reinforcements to help.” Orion smiled as more people flew in behind him. “All of them behind me are the best guards and soldiers the Kintana have. They are here to help get you ready. We are going to challenge you two. Got it?” Orion’s voice was soft but stern.

  “Yes we’re ready but tell them to stop curtseying please.” I said pointing to the guards. They stopped instantly as I said that. “What’s the first thing to do?” I asked everyone.

  “First is making you two tap into the power you two share. Every immortal couple like myself and Lona, Nohelani and her mate, Caleb and Carmina all are tapped into it. We all know how to tap into the bond and our mate instantly knows what to do or what we’re thinking without us telling them. We know how to fight together which makes us stronger. We know how to shield our mind awake and asleep so no one can pierce it. Once you tap into this, you two will be unstoppable! No one can break that bond, and for what we’ve been told and foreseen you two are the most powerful at this. All you need to do is tap into it and there you go. It should already be easy enough for you two. Aralynn think of something it doesn’t matter what. Archer you need to free your mind completely. I want your mind empty and ready. If you are completely thought free whatever Aralynn is thinking will enter your mind easily. Just so you know I’ll be listening to make sure you get it right.” Orion pointed to me then Archer.

  I nodded and instantly I thought of Archer walking over to me and kissing me. Then I thought of me in a white gown and Archer’s bow as well. Archer shot the bow from his hand instantly then he walked over to me wrapped his arms around me and kissed me. He smiled and he thought of a tux and the words. I nodded toward him, I knew he got it.

  “Very good you two. Well I guess you two know how to tap into the future. Archer you did everything right. Now it’s your turn Aralynn.” Orion smiled at me.

  Archer stood there, and I smiled at him because I knew what he wanted. I turned around and froze Avery. Then unfroze him, Avery snorted and shook his head. I could see that he wasn’t happy about it but he let up and smiled regardless.

  “Good good, you two are doing wonderful. Really there is no need to do any more than that. It is quite obvious that you two can tap into that bond much easier than what anyone of us expected. Now all we have to do is tell or teach you how to shield your mind. It’s easy just think that you need your mind shielded and it should do the trick. I’ll try to penetrate your thoughts, and so will everyone else. Both of you need to think of something now together.” Orion said quietly.

  Archer and I looked at each other and started thinking in sync. We wanted our minds shielded. We began thinking about the battle and how we had no choice but to kill Kilyn I heard Avery coming toward us then just like that he thudded against a force field and fell down. I watched as the same thing happened to Caleb and Carmina then Orion and Lona. It was working. Archer and I both laughed instantly as we focused on not letting our shield down.

  “None of us can see what you are both are thinking. That will help significantly in training and the battle. As long as you ca
n keep your mind guarded neither one of you two will be destroyed. Now enough boring stuff. Let’s get to the fighting.” Lona smiled at us. I laughed at her because she sounded like a kid.

  CHAPTER 16 ARCHER

  I stood there and laughed with Aralynn when they said that. I was attempting to concentrate on what they were saying with the training. I wanted to pay attention but my mind was preoccupied. I didn’t see my mom here with all of them, and I hadn’t seen her lately. That had me kind of anxious because I knew she was supposed to be here helping. At the same time I sighed because I told myself that she would surface soon enough and there was no need to worry.

  To take my mind off my mom’s absence I looked at Aralynn smiling because I knew just moments ago we had silently agreed to be together forever again. This was good because I had something to give her later on which I knew would seal us together permanently. I smiled again at her then turned toward Lona and Orion. I knew by the looks on their face that what I had in store for Aralynn would have to wait until tonight. Right now they were commanding my full attention. I knew it was training for now and nothing else.

  “To my understanding you young Archer can command hybrids. Well it just so happens we have some with us. I want you to command them to do anything; anything at all.” Lona said to me pointing to some of the guards.

  I looked at the guards Lona was pointing to. These guards were special because they were part human and part Kintana. If I didn’t know any better I would have suspected they were just normal immortals because they didn’t look any different. I smiled and mind spoke to them. Don’t worry guys; I won’t make you hurt yourselves. I thought of each guard picking flowers then taking them to Aralynn. To my surprise as soon as I started thinking this each guard one by one picked flowers and gave them to her.

  “Thank you Archer and thank you guards.” Ara said smiling.

  “Very good thank you. Now Archer can you command a bow and arrow to appear in all of their hands?” Orion asked to me.