I pick the other one up, light shimmering down the blue steel, revealing a slight pattern embedded into its length.
A frown tugs at my forehead as a spark of recognition tightens my stomach. Rushing back to the front door, I step outside, holding the sword up to the light, desperately trying to read the markings even as I know I won’t be able to.
Both swords are identical from the leather bound slightly curved hilt, twisting down to entwine with the wickedly sharp blue steel pointed blade. Each marking etched into the blade reads the same, words beyond my knowledge yet embedded into the deepest recesses of my brain.
Unable to resist any longer, I carefully place one sword next to my wrist, my confusion growing when I confirm what I already knew.
The swords markings mimic the bracelet; each unknown word engraved precisely the same. What could it possibly mean? How can the bracelet from a Zantronian creature and the swords from an elderly Prytorian couple bear the same markings? None of this makes any sense and my head swims with this new found strangeness.
I don’t have long to contemplate the possibilities before I feel the now all too familiar sensations of fear rising up from my gut.
Jerking back I accidently bump the sword against the bracelet. The reaction is instantaneous and utterly painful at the same time. Instead of searing my skin with its heat, the gold band acts in reverse, sending icy tendrils of agony throughout my flesh and freezing deep down into my bones, while the steel of the sword heats swiftly to such a scorching level that if it wasn’t for the leather hilt I wouldn’t be able to hold it in my bare hand.
Gingerly separating them, the reaction eases as if nothing happened at all. Two unrelated and seemingly beautiful objects sitting there innocently like my mind made the whole thing up. However much I want to know what the heck just happened I don’t have the luxury to test them out right now – nor do I honestly want that kind of pain again. I have to focus now; my priority has to be escaping yet again.
My eyes futilely scan the dense surrounding undergrowth, he’s nowhere to be seen but I know he’s there watching, waiting to make his move.
Blay. How did he manage to find me so fast?
There’s no way I will be able to escape down the steps while injured and into the forest before he captures me. If I can already sense him then he is close, too close for my liking.
I have no choice but to retreat into the tiny house. Maybe I can barricade the door and hide, possibly he doesn’t even know I’m here and it’s all just pure dumb luck that he’s stumbled upon my refuge.
I move quietly. Closing the door and dragging the solid table in front does little to ease the building anxiety. My time is running out and I still haven’t been able to accomplish what I had set out to do. The bracelet is still firmly entwined against my wrist and now I hold two matching relics which bear the same message. Things are looking grimmer by the second.
For the briefest of moments I actually contemplate doing the extreme, taking the deadly looking sword and cutting right through my own arm in an attempt to rid myself of the bracelet for good.
I lift the sword, running the blade softly against the skin just above the bracelet, careful not to let them touch again. Deep red blood pools out from my skin, staining the steel before dripping onto the ground, splattering against the stone floor, a gentle stinging bringing me to my senses.
My stomach lurches as I realise what I’m about to do and I jerk back, unwittingly pulling the sword deeper into my flesh. A cry escapes my lips at the exact same time that a fist pounds on the door, but I can’t drag my eyes away to look as he forces the door open, pushing the table aside like it’s nothing more than a cardboard box.
As I watch the pooling blood dripping from my wrist, my eyes catch a tiny light flickering across my skin, no more than a spark at first, then faster than I can blink, it weaves out further, covering my arm to disappear beneath my shirt.
Breath hitches in my lungs as the tiny blue, finger-like veins of light grow brighter, seeping out from where the sword sliced my wrist, travelling just beneath the thin layers of my skin, tickling softly as they progress.
My eyes are riveted to my arm, to the deep cut which beyond all explanation is healing. The flesh knitting back together with the help of the dancing blue lights, so quickly that my eyes can barely keep up and disappearing back into nothingness so fast that I don’t have a chance to process what this miraculous occurrence is.
Within several heartbeats the wound is gone, leaving behind a bright pink scar covered in still warm blood.
“What the hell?” Blay’s breathless voice jolts me back to the present and I turn to face him, our eyes locking and I know from the disbelief mirrored on his face that he saw what I never wanted him to see.
Chapter Nine
The shock over my miraculous healing is forgotten the moment Blay takes a step towards me. The swords automatically rise up as if an extension of my arms, crossing slightly in front of my chest to act as a shield and a deadly warning.
Blay freezes, each defined muscle going rigid, his face returning instantly to the stoic expression that I’m used to.
“Rayna, what are you doing?” His voice is low, calming and completely natural to him.
“Come any closer and you will soon find out.” I change my stance, leaning on my right leg, my left slightly in front, ready to charge at the right moment.
Slowly he lifts his weaponless hands, feigning safety, which I will never fall for.
“Rayna I’ve come to take you home. You have no reason to fight me.”
Even if I believe his words, the constant shimmering of warning flushing my skin wouldn’t let me fall for his lies.
“Home?” I mock. “Mine or yours? Cause Prytora isn’t my home.”
“Is that why you ran – because you want to go back to Earth?”
The question stills me. Do I want to go back home, to Earth? Or do I just want to escape from everyone and everything - away from this ever-changing reality which is fast growing out of control.
Blay uses my distraction against me, moving far faster than I can, he surges forward, grabbing my wrists and twisting forcefully until my arms are screaming out in pain.
My fists open automatically, dropping my only weapons to the ground, leaving me utterly defenceless.
He pushes me backwards, my arms flying about to keep my balance as I’m forced further into the room. He takes me by surprise, kicking the blades out of my reach and slamming the door behind him.
“You’ve got about five minutes before my men storm in here to see what’s going on, and if you’re still acting like a lunatic when they get here there will be nothing I can do to help you,” he pauses, releasing a heavy sigh. “So bloody hurry up and tell me what the hell is going on with you.”
A humourless laugh echoes around the cold room and even though I know I sound insane I can’t stop.
“What, so you can kill me? Yeah, I’m not that stupid!”
“Why would I kill you after I saved your life?” A scowl narrows his deep, thoughtful, golden eyes, hinting at his genuine confusion.
I shake my head refusing to answer him, I can’t reveal the truth, even if he did see what happened to me, I won’t admit why.
“Rayna!” he shouts.
My shoulders slump as I try to cave in on myself in a feeble attempt to hide away.
“Rayna, please let me help you.”
My eyes meet his and for the first time, the sickly fear in his presence retreats to a gentle simmer as I see the depth of his concern in his penetrating gaze.
I don’t know why I do it, it goes against everything I’ve been fighting for this entire time, but I slowly lift my arm, dragging my sleeve back to reveal the innocent looking bracelet.
His frown eases, a knowing look covering his handsome face.
“It’s not a family heirloom is it?”
I shake my head, unable to speak the words that will seal my fate.
The thunderous poundi
ng of footsteps up the stairs has him acting on instinct, leaving me confused by his actions. He darts forward, pulling my sleeve back down to conceal the bracelet and grabs the swords rushing into the bedroom, wrapping them both up in a blanket and tucking the package into the waistband of his pants.
“Speak nothing of this to anyone.”
I just stand there in stunned silence. What is he doing? Why hasn’t he slid the blade across my throat and killed me already?
“Rayna! Do you understand?” His hand reaches out, gently resting his rough palm on the side of my face, his thumb turning my head so I face him.
The silent warning returns, going into overdrive and I have to force myself not to pull away, yet at the same time, a different sensation runs through me, heat of an altogether different kind.
“Don’t tell anyone about this. Trust me and I can protect you.”
I don’t look away, lost in the depth of his intoxicating eyes, until the door bursts open and five giant men barge in, ruining any safety I might have momentarily felt.
“Sir?” A guard, strikingly similar to Zaneth, stands back watching as Blay’s eyes drill into me.
Only when I give a gentle nod does Blay release his grip. He turns to the men, showing no indication of what he intends to do with me.
“We have been successful in finding our missing guest. She’s shaken and disorientated and should return to the castle immediately.”
The men file out, leaving me to stand there too afraid to follow yet too scared not to. Blay turns to me, his face etched with concern, his voice soft when he beckons me forward.
“Come on, let’s get you out of here.”
Glancing around the tiny house one last time, my eyes come to rest on the photo of the elderly couple, so happy, still so in love after all those years together. I offer up a whispered thank you for their unoffered hospitality, then with dread filling my chest I pass Blay, letting him walk behind me, making sure I don’t have the chance to run again.
The staircase runs out far quicker than when I ascended it, and I can now see the short stone guard does in fact fence a long rectangular shallow pond. The edging carved into the shapes of stars and moons. It would have been glorious when it was first built, now it merely reminds me how everything, no matter how grand and special, comes to an end.
There is no waiting cavalry at the base, no motorbikes to drive us out of here, not even a horse. With just the five guards, Blay and myself back on the forest floor, it seems like we will be walking back to the castle. The idea doesn’t thrill me.
“Blay,” my voice cracks and I have to clear my throat before continuing, it is too easy to return to my mute state.
“I think my injuries will slow us down, perhaps the guards should go on ahead?” I truly hope he agrees. I need time alone with him, no matter how daunting that will be, to uncover what he plans to do with me.
Blay’s eyes sweep over me, a frown creasing his forehead, his expression clearly stating that I’ve finally gone mad.
“What injuries?”
The moment I reach down to expose my wounded leg I see it, or more the fact that I don’t see it. The deep laceration is completely gone, my pants are still ripped proving that I didn’t imagine the fall, but my leg has completely healed, showing no sign that I had been hurt at all, and when I reach for my head I don’t find the long gash which had oozed blood the night before.
What the heck is happening to me? First I heal from the blade cutting my skin and now my injuries have completely vanished. Did those mystical blue lights have something to do with my other injuries disappearing too? Whatever is going on it’s either the best thing or the worst thing that can happen to me, I just haven’t figured out which yet.
Discreetly, so the guards don’t notice, I pull back my sleeve; the bright pink line of a freshly healed scar stands out against my alabaster skin. Although it has healed, it is still obvious that I had in fact been injured. How come I was left with a noticeable scar - why didn’t the evidence of my stupidity fade away completely like my leg wound did?
Blay interrupts my internal confusion, his voice carrying an unspoken warning.
“Rayna, are you ready?”
Re-covering my arm, I face them, waiting for one of them to take the first step on our long journey back to the castle.
None of them move except for Blay. They all stand statue still as Blay unties a little leather bag from his waist, pulling it open and pouring out a sparkling pink powder onto his palm.
I can’t help but be intrigued as he throws the powder out if front of him, careful not to hit anyone with it, before he steps back, arms crossed over his firm chest as he waits. I’m about to question his sanity when the air in front of us begins to change, shimmering like a mirage.
The space directly in front of Blay disappears, leaving a gaping hole in the forest. Its edges are blurry, wavy like a child’s cut out picture; the space inside the hole is dark, with a sprinkling of glittery light, showing no distinguishable objects whatsoever. The whole thing is so surreal it’s hard to take in.
“What the hell is that?” I breathe.
“It’s our transportation.” Blay shrugs as if creating a hole in the middle of thin air is no big deal.
“Transportation? What do you mean?”
“Cron,” Blay motions to a guard who immediately walks forward, stepping into the hole and disappearing right before my eyes.
A string of curses rush out of my mouth as three more guards follow suit, leaving Blay, me and one more guard behind.
“Your turn.”
I glare at him, backing away from the man-eating hole.
“You’re freaking crazy if you think I’m walking into that thing!”
“Fine, don’t.”
I expect him to turn away; to leave me here while he goes, God knows where, through a sparkly shadow in mid-air. Instead he covers the distance between us in a few lanky steps, not bothering to give me time to understand what he has planned.
He leans forward, swooping me up to rest ungracefully across his shoulder, my bum up in the air and my head dangling down behind him. Before I can scream, he runs through the shadow-hole, my vision going pitch black as my stomach free-falls, hitting hard enough to spill its contents into my mouth.
It is over within a heartbeat, far quicker than I thought possible for such an order.
Blay unceremoniously plonks me back onto my feet, holding my shoulders so I don’t fall flat on my face like I’m certain I will do if he lets go.
“See, that wasn’t so bad,” Blay mocks.
If I didn’t have double vision I swear I would punch him right in that lopsided grin of his.
“You’re an arse.” I shake my head, clarity finally returning and I see we are once again in a large stone room, an array of deadly looking weapons lining the walls, the guards already here too, throwing glances my way as I struggle to stay on my feet.
“What was that shadow-hole?” I ask as I take in my intimidating surroundings, trying to ignore the attention I’m getting from the ever watchful guards.
No longer in a hurry to get me moving, Blay answers me properly this time.
“Basically, it’s a portal.”
“A portal made from powder?” Even though I just witnessed it, I’m still having trouble believing it.
“It is a portal created from a special element that allows us to travel around Prytora effectively, with limited wasted time.”
“Can you travel to other places with it?” A note of desperation clings to my voice and I try unsuccessfully to keep my face expressionless.
The grin which lit up his face only moments ago now rapidly dissolves, a shadow darkens his eyes and I instantly regret asking such an obvious question. If I ever contemplate using the powder to get away again, he will be anticipating it now. What little leverage I would have had is now long gone.
“No, this one in particular solely opens up portals in the Prytorian Realm. A teleportation jump to Earth, or othe
r planets, requires a much greater substance and it is heavily guarded.”
I feel my face fall, unable to hide my disappointment. Looking around the room, the sheer amount of differing weapons lining every inch of the room puts me on edge. It’s obvious these people are well prepared for a fight, yet they still are unable to win the battle.
“Where are we?” I ask, more to drag Blay away from the irritable mood I seem to entice so easily in him.
Blay turns his back on me as he goes to a corner of the room where he opens a heavy-lidded box and places the leather satchel of powder inside.
“We’re in the armoury, back inside Lonix Castle.”
He pulls the bound swords from his waistband, a frown puckering his forehead before grabbing a leather bag from a hook and placing the package inside and slinging it over his shoulder.
I don’t ask what he’s going to do with them even though I’m dying to demand them back. They don’t belong to me so I have no right over them, yet they don’t belong to him either.
“Mother will be beside herself by now, we better hurry or she will come looking for you herself.”
I follow beside Blay, thankfully leaving the guards behind in the armoury and enter a long dark hallway which seems endless and has nothing of interest to distract me.
The silent warning of Blay’s closeness simmers along my skin, no longer like the scalding of fire, more a gentle awareness, like the sun kissing your skin, just enough to stop me from relaxing.
We fall into silence, an awkward air causing us to drift to parallel sides of the hall. My eyes dart back and forth from the thinly carpeted stone floor, to Blay’s tightened muscles, the tension in his broad shoulders showing his discomfort at being so close to me as well.
Whatever fleeting moment we had back at the cottage has completely dissolved, creating an even bigger crevice between us.
I’m dying to know what he plans to do with me. Did he really mean what he said about protecting me or was it all a ruse to get me back to the castle and then turn me in?
I open my mouth ready to demand an explanation, yet a different question escapes.
Paladin Rising (The Paladin's Curse Book 1) Page 10