The toxic river expanded and rushed over the men filling their mucous membranes and then solidifying within their bodies. It looked like the poison filled up their innards and poured out of their noses, eyes, and ears only to become hard and shiny like polished metal.
The men who were in the back of the crowd, including Mazen Tratzel, escaped to the sides of the onrush. Many of the unlucky victims appeared frozen in place. I wanted to scream, but I controlled myself. The sight was horrific.
The men’s bodies looked deformed with the solidified metal pushing various parts of the skin outwards in massive lumps and protrusions. Their mouths were stretched so wide that they broke open.
Though utterly appalled, I was impressed in a sense with Aver’s genius. The idea of combining the mercury streams of the men’s own ammunition to bring them to their deaths was brilliant. Though, as much as they deserved it, and would have done the same thing to me given the opportunity, I wished he had used a more humane method to stop them.
Hardly above a whisper, Aver mumbled a spell. Now the river ceased flow and dissolved into the earth abruptly. The men’s bodies hollowed at once and collapsed to the ground. Aver turned and ran, now at an increased pace with me in his arms while President Tratzel fell back between some trees with the survivors of his army.
After some time, to my astonishment, Aver stopped abruptly. We were a considerable distance from the others. I couldn’t even see them now.
Aver was breathing hard. He released me from his arms. I stumbled backwards just a little as I caught my balance. His perfect, strong, lean body was crouched over with his hands on his thighs now. It looked like he was trying to catch his breath which surprised me. I thought serpent people were nearly infallible.
“Can you hear that?” He managed to say as he looked up at me from his hunkered position. His chest rose and fell rapidly. The early morning light broke through the trees giving a gentle glow to his well formed body.
“What?” I said. My tone was almost irritated.
“The music.” A little smile crept on his face.
I didn’t want to admit it, but the song playing in my mind was beautiful. It reminded me of a deeply romantic theme song from a dome cinema show I had seen once. The sounds made me feel like anything was possible. It made me yearn for the lake and to my great dismay, it made me yearn for Aver.
He put his head back down for a moment like he was trying to gain internal strength and then he attempted to stand up right.
I gasped when I saw that he had been shot to the side of his torso near his stomach. Blood was pouring out. The music became wild in my mind. In panic, I heard the brush of leaves and branches breaking in the distance. Mazen and some of his men must have reunited because I could hear the angry, familiar sounds moving toward us.
Aver heard them too. I wanted to run, but he grabbed me at once into his arms, pulling me up against his body, and kissed me like I had never been kissed. The music was so blissful it was like the world spun around in a whole new color. Hundreds of butterflies rushed out of my stomach. This release was even more intense than the last.
I was ashamed for liking the kiss, ashamed that I didn’t fight to get away. I rationalized that my attraction for this abomination must be genetic programming. It seemed as if I was powerless under his spell. Not only Shaul, he also was my soul mate. As much as I didn’t want him to be, it was a fact.
We both looked up in the sky at the butterflies. So many vibrant colors. I think he was surprised too, but Mazen and his men would overtake us soon if we didn’t run. I thought about how much I hated President Tratzel for the horrible dystopian society he had created and for imprisoning me.
Why wasn’t Aver taking me and running away? Why were we just standing there?
Then I saw that his gaze upwards became intense. Red light surrounded his face now. Looking away from the butterflies, he grabbed a stick and drew into the earth a triangle around us. He pulled out what I thought was a belt from his waist.
I was wrong though. What I thought was a belt was actually a live snake! It hissed. I tried to step away, but he grabbed me by the arm and pulled me closer to him. Then he split the snakes head open with his bare hands and pulled out its brain. My body tensed from fright as I heard him whisper enchantments. And to my great horror, the butterflies above us suddenly grew rows of sharp teeth like piranhas.
My eyes widened. What had he done?
Mazen’s army was in sight now. They made their way with their torches directly toward us.
But, the insects flew in a swarm now toward the president and his army. As much as I wanted Aver to stop the men who were in my pursuit, I didn’t want them to suffer unnecessarily anymore or even worse, die as the others had. They had families and people who cared about them, needed them.
“Stop!” I screamed at Aver. “Please.” My face grew hot from emotions. I should have stopped him before when he sent the river of mercury over them. But, lately, I felt as if my morals had been wrenched away from me. There was a streak of the sociopathic in me that was inexplicable.
Aver’s languid demeanor was a striking contrast to my crazed self—he was playful now. “You’re cute when you’re angry,” he chuckled.
I was in such shock when I saw the dread in the men’s eyes as the butterflies moved in that I could hardly acknowledge Aver’s condescension. The sounds of snapping teeth and screams of terror filled my ears. They attacked at once like a school of deadly piranhas.
The men cried out, vomiting and peeing themselves, as the bugs ate away their flesh. The empathetic part of me couldn’t stand to see such suffering. I threw myself on Aver. “Stop, stop!” My voice was hoarse and desperate. “There must be another way.”
But, before the chaos ceased, Aver pulled me up into his arms once again and he ran through the woods, past the boundary line right for the cliff.
I was scratching and clawing at him, trying to get away, but he didn’t even flinch. “Let me go, let me go!” I was crying and yelling. In truth, even in my fierceness, I should have struggled harder, but a part of me didn’t want to get away. My mind was so mixed up. How could I be drawn to someone so cruel and heartless?
Then there was this significant moment that was so odd. He gazed at me lovingly while still running at full speed and then he touched the tip of my nose with his finger endearingly. The trees rushed past my line of vision. I felt a spark of love for him that terrified me.
I thought his behavior was absurd. But really I was the insane one because, to my utter dismay, even his madness excited me. I reasoned it was biological, beyond my control because the feelings were truly horrendous and unreasonable.
The sparks of light in his piercing blue eyes mesmerized me. His omnipotence turned me on. It was as if I was completely out of control. Beyond all logic, I didn’t care that he was an evil monster.
Huge wings of fire spread from his back. The heat of the flames was intense. I was afraid I was going to be burned alive. I didn’t care—I was possessed by the evil energy of my despicable desires. I couldn’t believe how much I had changed from the young, innocent humpback into a sexually charged abomination.
But, just as he took flight off the edge of the mountain, Shaul leaped into the air and knocked him with me in his arms to the ground.
8
I fell from Aver’s arms onto the hard ground and rolled. Small, sharp rocks cut into my thighs and hands. Fire spread from Aver’s wings to the twigs and shrubbery near the edge of the cliff. With that, the surroundings went up in flames with Aver and I in the center of it.
Aver called out in Latin. His wings fell from his body. He stumbled forward a little. His stomach was still bleeding. I was surprised how pale and blood drawn his face looked as he collapsed. His chin hit a boulder where he rolled to the side. He was unconscious.
The nearby trees ignited like torches. I moved closer to Aver. The heat was shocking. It was like we were in an oven.
“Help,” I cried as I tried to stand
up. My voice lifted to a scream. “Shaul, where are you?” I couldn’t see him anywhere. The hump on my back hurt something awful. I must have fallen on it.
Smoke was everywhere and the flames rose up around us like hell on Earth. I heard a loud roar. It was like the sound of a gigantic lion. Then I heard a Latin chant like a song in my mind. The flames disappeared. The ground and bushes were black and charred, but the heat had subsided.
I saw Shaul beyond the destruction. He ran toward me. His body was swift in the morning light. My heart raced. I loved him. He was me. I was him. It was a real love, the type of connection that was based in mutual caring. I hoped it was a dependable love. My body ached to be held and nurtured. I wanted to connect to his goodness. I wanted to be safe.
Most of all I wanted to get away from Aver because his evil consumed me. It overwhelmed my logic. My connection to Aver was like pure passion beyond all reason. I didn’t want that. The world could not exist with only base desire.
I ran toward Shaul. He ran toward me. His silver eyes looked at me tenderly. I remembered our first kiss in the dungeon. My body yearned for that sweet tenderness. My arms opened to hold him.
But, at once, I was pulled back by a sudden force. It felt like a strong wind had grabbed hold of me and my entire body retreated backwards through the air and away from Shaul.
I heard a duel of Latin spells and enchantments alternate back and forth from Shaul to Aver. I heard a crying baby. The sounds stopped. My mind spun as the windy force released me abruptly into Aver’s arms.
I heard angelic voices in the sky above, “Unholy, unholy.” A million stars trailed through the morning sky in the shape of a serpent in the firmament. “Unclean, unclean.” I felt the power of energy pour down upon us in defilement.
A part of me wanted to be right where I was, enraptured by Aver’s touch. His hold was strong and self assuring. It felt right. “Unholy, unholy.”
I turned away and threw my head into my hands. My hair was wild and messy, falling over my shoulders
“Unclean, unclean.” The voices were beautiful, deceiving.
“Stay with me, Cordellia,” Aver begged. “I need you.”
Even in the chaos of the moment, his words touched me deeply. He needed me. But, then my mind cleared and I remembered he was the Devil. Was I crazy to fall for his deceptive seductions? Surely he did not need me. I struggled to get away. To my surprise, he didn’t fight, and I broke free from him relatively easily as I fell to the ground.
I heard Shaul’s voice. He called upon the spirits from the dark side and to my great astonishment, a huge round smiley face lifted above Aver and me. It was laughing maniacally. What a strange machination. An absurd horror. I looked up at the red emoticon, fierce in the sky, and saw it inhale deeply then suck Aver up into its mouth and shake him by the head like a rag doll. The smiley face spit him out and burped.
My heart nearly split when I saw Aver lying lifeless on the ground. I screamed out like a crazed girl, “What have you done?” My voice was hoarse and raspy as I looked over at Shaul.
He came toward me, but I ran away not knowing where I was going. I just wanted out of this world. I stumbled forward, tripping over a rock. My chest kept rising and falling uncontrollably as I thought of Aver and how I would never see him again. He was dead. As much as I logically wanted it so, I couldn’t live without him. He was me. I was him.
With that recognition, I tumbled off the cliff. I didn’t even bother to command my wings open. Instead, I just fell head first into the glistening lake.
To my surprise, the water was cool and refreshing. I was relieved in a sense to be back in my natural habitat. My sheer white gown tore away from my body without effort as my legs transformed into a sleek red fish tale.
Again, I noticed that my vision was enhanced beneath the surface of the lake. For a second, I had forgotten that that had occurred the last time. The surroundings looked crystal clear with sparkling bubbles of air from my fall all around me. I swam deeper toward the enormous light that shined so bright in the distance.
The music in my mind was soft and melancholy. I knew the sadness I was hearing in the rhythms was because I was separated from my soul mates. Both Shaul and Aver. But, I told myself I didn’t care because it was the only way I could swim onward. I couldn’t care. It would be the death of me.
My mind ached of mental torture. I felt like my heart was splitting open at the thought of Aver’s death. Oh, how could I care so much about the most evil serpent of all time? He was such a horror. In truth, he was the manifestation of all that was bad in the world and yet I yearned for him with all my heart and all my soul even though I hardly even knew him. And now I would never see him again. Oh, just stop thinking, I told myself.
My thoughts made me feel crazy. I mean, how could I care for someone I just met? The only rationalization I had was that when a person finds their soul mate, the draw is irrational and all encompassing. It’s like the force of the soul draws to the other. The yearning to be one in perfect unity is a power greater than logic.
I was swimming rather slowly because I didn’t know where I was going and I hardly cared. The light was so bright before me and I didn’t want to swim into it like I did the last time with Shaul. The energy had been too intense for my physical body and I burnt up into nothing. It had been such a shock. I didn’t want to go through that again. I wanted peace and serenity. I wanted to go some place I could relax and gather my thoughts.
A school of many carp swam before me and past. At first I was startled, but I shouldn’t have been. There was plant life floating in the water of this bottomless lake. I should have expected to see fish as well.
The carp seemed to know where they were going, so I decided to follow them. They were moving parallel to the light. We were pretty deep within the lake at this time. I wondered what could possibly be off to the side of this bottomless water source.
I followed the fish to a forest of water willows. The long, thin stalks rose up from a floating plot of land that looked like an island wading under the water. Before I reached the mass of earth, I saw that it was neither attached above or below but seemed to be held in place somehow by the force of the light far below.
At first I hesitated in following the carp through the willows, but they seemed at ease as they wove through the thin stalks. It seemed safe enough, so I proceeded. I felt a strong sense of curiosity at what lay ahead.
The forest was dim now that the light was beneath us and partially blocked by this underwater land mass. I could see light in the distance through the willows, so I presumed that the island likely ended breaking way to the brightness.
The willows continued on for quite some time and I started to get nervous. It was hard to see ahead through the denseness of the forest. We had woven in and out through so many of the plants in varying directions that I wasn’t sure if I could find my way out on my own now.
The music in my mind was spooky. It had an ominous feel that was inexplicable. I felt very far away from Shaul and Aver now, far away from the community, far away from my mother, far away from Telly Belle. This was what I wanted. This was good.
My long hair caught on one of the willows and pulled me backwards. I stopped to untangle it, but it was wrapped around tightly. Then I saw something rush past, something dark and shadowy. It wasn’t a fish, but an entirely different entity. My body tensed as I felt it brush over my tail.
9
I whipped my head around to see what had just brushed against my tail. It was an astonishing creature, dark and transparent like a shadow. I backed away from it. Adrenaline rushed through my body.
Staring me in the eyes, the creature waded in the water before me for a second. Though its figure had a shadowy quality, its head was in the form of a goat and its body was shaped like a cat.
It hissed at me. I tried to move away, but my hair was still tangled in the willow. At once, it jumped on me and scratched my arm and chest with its claws. I twisted around, struggling to throw
the thing off of me, but it kept switching from a physical, tangible form to an immaterial shadowy figure. Just when I thought I got a hold of it, my hands slipped through it. And that happened over and over again.
I was in a frenzied panic. My body was bleeding from the scratches into the water and I couldn’t get the creature off of me. I was thrashing around so much that my tangled hair ripped away from the willow.
No matter what I did, I couldn’t break free. I screamed with all of my might, bringing a loud musical roar into the lake. To my utter astonishment, the sound vibrated through the being. I saw the sound waves like light shaking in patterns within its essence. It released its claws and shook uncontrollably for a minute in convulsions. Then it swam away in fright.
I was shocked that I possessed such a power over the ethereal. My mind began to reel. What was that horrifying creature? Where did it come from? But, as my thoughts spun around in my head, the blood flowed out of me in a red cloud.
I was ok. I had several scratches on my arms and chest. They were only minor wounds, mostly surface scratches and shallow piercings, but I was afraid of what other creatures the blood might attract.
Now, after the attack, I considered turning back. The carp were gone by now and I didn’t know where I was. If I retreated, I might get lost trying to find my way back. I had followed the fish through so many twists and turns, I didn’t really know where I was. Maybe I would find my way, and then again, maybe not.
When I looked back, I saw that the forest of willows was dim and gloomy. It looked so thick and endless. I could spend hours trying to find my way off the island.
But, when I looked ahead through the plants in the direction that the creature swam away through, I could see light. I wanted to know what was there. I really didn’t have anything to go back to if I retreated. I wasn’t ready to face Shaul now that he killed Aver. And the community was after me.
My curiosity got the best of me, so I swam through the willows in the direction of the light. I wanted to find a place of refuge. But, ultimately, I wanted to find a home. I was tired of all my struggles. After the U.S. Economy Crash, the world had become a despairing place. Now that I was a josephine maybe the best place for me to live was within the lake. Maybe I could find a home just ahead, parallel to the light.
Girl Enchanted (Book 2 of The Girl Trilogy) Page 6