Gaze of Fire

by Melissa Kellogg

  Despite Canicus’s aggressive attitude, Jinx went to Asher’s side. She had to stand in-between two of the mediums to do so. She placed a hand on his bicep. Her lips trembled. Evelyn put a hand on her back to steady her and the sadness overwhelming her. It was one thing to hear about Asher’s condition, and another to see it. The best friend they knew of and cared about wasn’t waking up, and might not ever.

  Jinx gulped hard. “Asher, you need to listen to me,” she said.

  The medium said, “He’s listening, and here.”

  “Head towards the Cattail ruins,” Jinx said with a quiver in her voice.

  Evelyn said, “Tell him that if he focuses on it, it will shine like a lighthouse in the spiritual realm for him to see.”

  “He’s gone,” the medium said.

  Evelyn cursed. Her voice had done that.

  Canicus shouted, “Now get out! We have important matters to discuss.” His face was red. He was at a breaking point.

  Evelyn left with Jinx in tow.

  “Well, that helped, not,” Jinx said.

  Evelyn looked at the floor. The only other person Asher would listen to, and remain focused on, was Karena. Evelyn had to make sure that Asher knew what to do. She could try to use Blade, but Karena’s voice would guarantee that Asher had heard the instructions. If Karena told Asher to meet her at the Cattail ruins, he would do so with every last ounce of strength in his spiritual body. Evelyn felt her insides curl from jealousy, but she strangled the feeling.

  Blade came up to them from where he had been lurking around a janitor’s closet.

  “You need to tell us what’s going on,” he said, and leaned up against the nearby wall.

  “There’s no time to explain. I need both of you to help me, so that I can save Asher,” Evelyn said. She hoped that they would be willing. She turned to Jinx, “I need you to set up a distraction here. Watch for my return and then set it off.”

  “She’s not going to do that. I won’t let her get into trouble over you,” Blade said.

  Jinx gave him a knowing look. Blade’s nostrils flared, and he turned his head away.

  “What do you want Blade to do?” Jinx asked. Her grey eyes darted around, but Evelyn’s hearing was sharper, and she knew that no one was close enough to eavesdrop, at least not yet.

  “Blade, I need you to head over to Karena’s house. Karena is under house arrest, and she will most likely have a bracelet on her wrist that needs to be removed. I will meet you there.”

  Blade pushed back some of his black, shaggy hair. He glared at her. “Removing an item like that is illegal,” he said.

  “Asher has less than a day to live. We don’t have the luxury of waiting until they take that bracelet off of her. I need Karena so that she can talk to Asher because he will listen to her voice. He isn’t listening to anyone else. After she tells him where to go, I have to leave the city and head into the Markhan Territory.”

  “The swamplands?” Jinx breathed.

  “Yes.”

  Jinx looked at Blade in horror, and their gazes met.

  “I’ll get the distraction ready,” Jinx said, and walked off.

  “Are you coming with me, or should I head over to Karena’s house first?” Blade said. All traces of contempt were gone now that he knew what was at stake.

  “I’ll meet you over there. I have to go to the nearby radio station and radio the town of Banesvale in order to alert Garth, a master gearcrafter, about our situation. After that, I’ll fly to Karena’s house.”

  Blade nodded and jogged away.

  It was doubtful that they would make it to the Cattail ruins in time, but she had to try. The journey into the Markhan Territory would be perilous, but not as perilous as it would be for Garth and his crew, especially if they couldn’t make a quick turnaround and get out of there. In areas like the Markhan Territory, and anywhere else that was less civilized than the Sundarin Nation, people who were caught tinkering with metal parts were tortured and either hung or burned at the stake. She had no idea if Garth would even help them, but he owed her dad a few favors.

  Self-doubt stole into her mind like a thief. Her confidence wavered. But she remembered how her dad was never one to hesitate when it came to making an important decision, no matter if there was a high risk of failure. It was better to try, than to not try at all.

  Evelyn entered one of the hospital wards, opened a window, and jumped through it. Her wings carried her into the night.

  Chapter 16

  With Asher’s masquerade mask in one hand, and the necklace he had given her in the other, Karena fell asleep in her bed, only to awake more than an hour later. She glanced at her clock. It was a few minutes past midnight. She closed her eyes to go back to sleep, but she heard voices. Who was up at such a late hour and why?

  With a groan, Karena forced herself out of bed and to her door, which she cracked upon. One of the voices belonged to Hadrian. There were two others. She recognized one as being familiar, but couldn’t place it. Hadrian’s voice sounded angry. Had someone broken into their house? Karena couldn’t let Hadrian deal with a possibly dangerous situation alone. Everyone had taken it upon themselves to show how much they disapproved of her, so whatever was transpiring downstairs could be a direct result of that.

  She slipped down the stairs. The voices were coming from the kitchen. In the dim hall, she calmed herself. If she didn’t, she might freeze the boards under her feet. Temperature changes caused them to pop or creak, and they could give her presence away. Because she knew the house and where the clusters of clutter lay next to the bookshelves and cabinets that were supposed to contain them, Karena didn’t trip in the dark house as she tiptoed closer.

  A male voice said, “Take it easy. She’s trying to help. We’re both trying to help.” His voice was the one that sounded familiar.

  “I have to talk to Karena,” a female voice said. Her voice was like a violin, high-pitched, but strong in sound. It wasn’t mousey or nasally. Karena didn’t know who it was or why the woman would want to talk to her.

  “Right. Not going to happen. Get out,” Hadrian snarled. “You’re not welcome here.”

  “We’re going to see her, whether you like it or not. It’s of the utmost importance,” the male voice said with a threatening tone.

  “No, you’re not. Ms. Birdbrain, here, won’t have any feathers left if you try to get to Karena,” Hadrian said.

  In the shadowed hall, which was half-lit due to the kitchen light spilling past the corner she was hiding behind, Karena saw movement next to her. One of the potted plants on the nearby shelf was growing. Its roots wiggled out of its pot. Hadrian was animating it, so as to assist him in a fight he felt was coming.

  Without wasting another second, Karena rounded the corner and entered the kitchen. She stopped in her tracks. Evelyn was there, as was Blade. She liked Blade, but not Evelyn. She bristled, and icicles grew from her shoulders like porcupine quills. Blade was fighting to loosen the constricting vines around his wrists, but with no luck. A silver knife was scooting towards him. But Karena’s focus wasn’t on him, it was on Evelyn.

  Upon feeling the severe cold upon his back, Hadrian turned and saw her. He asked, “Care for a chicken wrap?”

  Just like Blade, he had ensnared Evelyn in a coil of vines. Her arms and wings were pinned to her body. Evelyn hadn’t transformed into her halcyon form. If she had done so, it would’ve meant that she wasn’t there for peaceful talks. Though the vines around her pained her and she was wincing, she didn’t fight them. Her grey eyes held no malice. They were saddened and desperate.

  Evelyn said, “I have news about Asher, and it isn’t good.”

  “Let them go,” Karena told Hadrian. She hated herself for saying that. She wanted to see Evelyn suffer.

  Hadrian frowned, and squinted at her. “You’re not awake then. You’re sleep walking,” he said.

  “I’m not. I want to hear what Evelyn has to say. I want to know how Asher is, and if they’ve found a way to brin
g him back,” Karena said to Hadrian, and then to Evelyn, “Did you learn anything about Asher’s condition? Have they found a solution?”

  “No, they haven’t. They’re focused on trying to find that book and on searching through the archives for something that can undo the spell,” Evelyn said. She grimaced as part of the vine around her dug into her wing joints.

  Karena shook her head. That book had walked off and it was highly unlikely that they would find it. There wasn’t a way to bring Asher back, but yet, Evelyn was there before them, risking her life in doing so, and therefore, maybe there was a chance, no matter how remote.

  Hadrian released both of them. Evelyn told them everything that she had heard in the hospital.

  After she was done, Hadrian said, “You’ve got to be kidding. The closest and most accessible sacred ruins are in the swamplands? Am I hearing you right?”

  “Yes. It’s in the Markhan Territory, in the heart of the swamps. I don’t know for certain if we can make it there in time or if we even have a means of transportation to try to make that journey. I sent a radio message to Banesvale. Hopefully, it will get passed to Garth,” Evelyn said.

  “And you say that he has a ship that can fly. Ships can’t fly. It’s not possible. It’s heavy, like thousands of pounds heavy,” Karena said.

  “The question is why would someone even try to build such a thing. You would have to be a madman to think it can be done or that it would serve a purpose,” Hadrian said.

  “It is possible. They used to say the exact same things and more about radio waves when the idea was first conceived of,” Evelyn said. “They said that about electricity, and then the Tesla coil generators that power homes individually, rather than having wires stringing each house to a transformer. Times are changing. Though he doesn’t realize it, Garth is one of the best master gearcrafters out there.”

  Karena thought about what Evelyn had said. Her plan was crazy, and it relied on something that few had heard about or thought possible. This technological wonder, or in Karena’s mind, a technological masterpiece of lunacy, could cross a distance that would normally take over a week by boat, or two weeks on foot, in less than a day. It was because it could fly as a bird did, over the land, rather than having to trek through it.

  She wanted to laugh at the thought of an airship, and call Evelyn insane for believing in such fantasies. Yet, the one thing that kept Karena’s mouth shut, and hoping that a ship could indeed fly because some kind of lunatic out there had achieved that, was Asher and the fact that time was running out. She was willing to try anything and believe in anything if it meant that she had a chance at saving Asher.

  As long as they flew above the Markhan Territory, their trip wouldn’t be as dangerous compared to if they went by boat or on foot. They wouldn’t need a team of magical people and elementals to come with them. However, if they crashed, it would be a different story altogether. The swamplands were infested with dangerous creatures and apex predators. In the Sundarin Nation, dangerous cryptids had to struggle to survive and were quickly wiped out by humans. In the Markhan Territory, for the most part, it was the exact opposite, where humans were the ones who had to carve out a harsh life.

  The people of the Markhan Territory were superstitious and temperamental. They viewed gearcrafting as the demonic possession of metal components. They knew that this skill of shaping, putting together metal parts, and making it serve a function came from nonmagical folks. Their extermination of real or suspected gearcrafters was what confined them to using horses and candles. They didn’t see the value in trying new ideas and inventing new gadgets to make life easier.

  If the airship crashed, everyone on board would not only have to contend with the cryptids, but also the people, who would immediately be able to identify that they were foreigners and most likely those that been in the airship. Was the risk worth it? They could make the trip in less than a day, an incredible feat, across hundreds of miles of swamplands, but on a technological wonder that was in its infancy of development.

  “Do you know if his airship can make that kind of a trip?” Karena asked. It seemed too good to be true, except for the part about having to go into the Markhan Territory.

  Evelyn said, “I saw him two years ago, and he had made it fly for twenty miles. I’m sure he has improved it. He’s obsessed with this project of his. He wants to be the first to make a ship travel through air, rather than water.”

  “Makes perfect sense,” Hadrian grumbled and rolled his eyes.

  Karena rested her elbows on the kitchen counter and put her face in her hands. “I don’t see how this will work,” she said.

  “But it could,” Evelyn said. “Don’t you see that there’s a chance? We can’t wait around and hope that they find that book Tristan used and pray that they succeed in reversing some ancient spell. We have less than a day to rescue Asher from the spiritual realm.”

  The reality that he was gone and about to be gone forever was hard to grapple with. His absence in Karena’s life would create a void that she wouldn’t be able to fill. The thought of him being tormented inside of that wraith for thousands of years would consume her for the rest of her life. She had to try. She didn’t see how Evelyn’s plan would work. There were a lot of what-if’s to it, but despite that, if there was a glimmer of hope, Karena had to seize it with all that she had.

  “You’re right,” Karena conceded. “I don’t understand how a ship can fly, but I’ll go with you and follow your plan.”

  “Me too,” Hadrian said.

  “Hadrian, I can’t let you.”

  “I’ll sic your parents on you if you don’t.”

  She knew that he would make good on his threat. “Fine, Hadrian is going as well,” she said to Evelyn.

  Blade stepped forward and gestured to take her wrist. Karena held out her hand, and he examined the bracelet on her wrist. It was a smooth ring of metal without a key hole or hinge point.

  “Hold your arm steady. This might hurt…. actually, it will hurt,” Blade said. He tucked some of his black hair behind his ears to get it out of his face.

  Blade put one hand above her wrist and one below. He wiggled his fingers as he tried to get a grip on the metal. She felt pressure around her wrist. The uncomfortable sensation increased. It was as though someone was squeezing her wrist hard. The pressure mounted until it felt like her wrist was going to break. She cried out.

  A loud snap cracked the air. But it hadn’t come from her wrist breaking; it had come from the bracelet. The bracelet had splintered. The pieces fell onto the floor and began to shudder with a life of their own. The runes that had been on the inside of the bracelet glowed red, indicating what she already knew, she was now in deep trouble with the police.

  “We need to go now,” Evelyn said. Light and quick on her feet, Evelyn slipped past them, and sprinted for the front door.

  “I have to tell Rose that we’ll be gone,” Hadrian said, and dashed upstairs to let her know.

  Karena found her boots, laced them up, shrugged on a lightweight jacket, and left the house. She stopped on the sidewalk to look at her home, the blackened yard, her scratched up car, and the peeling paint on the front of the house. Because they had to repeatedly wash off the graffiti that appeared there every night, the paint couldn’t take it any longer. In the quietness of that moment, she said a silent goodbye to her home and what epitomized her life. She might not come back from the Markhan Territory.

  Karena jumped into the back of Blade’s beast-like, off-road jeep. Evelyn was in the driver’s seat.

  “Are you sure you want me to take your jeep?” Evelyn asked Blade, who was sitting in the passenger’s seat.

  “I’ll say you stole it from me,” Blade said. “I mean, you would do that, wouldn’t you?”

  Evelyn glared at him for a second, but then dismissed his comment by turning on his jeep. Hadrian ran out of the house, and got in. Now that Hadrian had joined them, Karena felt like she could relax a little more. She pressed her bac
k into the cushions.

  Evelyn stomped on the gas pedal. The jeep’s tires screeched and they sped away. They heard distant sirens. Without a doubt, they were headed for their house. She felt bad for Rose, who would have to contend with the police showing up and barraging her with questions.

  Hadrian leaned forward. “How do you sit comfortably with your wings in the way?” he asked Evelyn.

  Evelyn muttered and shook her head, irritated by his question. “How is it that no one has socked you in the mouth yet?” she said.

  Hadrian shut up, which surprised Karena. Normally, he had a response for everything. She looked out the window. There was more activity than usual on the streets. The Nightguard were in full force that night. They were in their wolf forms, loping down streets with their noses skimming close to the ground. Up above, she caught glimpses of magical people zooming around on their flying apparatuses. All anyone had to do was stop their car, and they would see her in the backseat. As it was, their car did look suspicious because it was one of the few that were on the streets at that late hour.

  Evelyn eased Blade’s jeep into the hospital parking lot on the south end. Vines grew up the building’s height on that side of the building. They exited the jeep.

  “I’ll let Jinx know that we’re here,” Blade said. He walked away, trying to appear casual about it.

  Evelyn turned to Hadrian. “I have a better idea than trying to sneak inside. Strengthen the vines. Karena can climb up them to the third story and to that window,” Evelyn said and pointed to a window next to the southeastern corner of the hospital building.

  “You make it sound so easy,” Karena said. She was beginning to realize how much she hated heights.

  Alarms went off in the hospital. Karena startled and grabbed onto the nearest vine. Hadrian put his hand on the main stalk of the vine, and strengthened it so that it could hold her weight. As Karena climbed, Evelyn paced her while in the air. Evelyn hovered close enough to be of help in case she struggled or her grasp slipped.