Neither Light Nor Dark: Destiny Awaits (Beyond the Gates Book 1)

by Lynn McCain

  The moment lasted only a short while before it was interrupted by more rustling coming from outside, except this time it was much louder than before. Without a thought, he pulled back a shelf from against the wall revealing a secret door, threw me inside, and slid the shelf back in front of it.

  “If you want to live, keep quiet, no matter what,” He whispered.

  There was hardly enough room to breathe, but there were, at least, small slits in the walls where I could look out and partially see what was happening.

  In a moment, the door flew open, and the wind poured in again, except this time there were several men dressed in some type of soldier attire. Their suits were solid black adorned with a large symbol upon the right sleeve of a horned goat. They carried with them swords and guns. I could even hear the sounds of wild dogs just outside. Throwing the man on the floor, one of them pointed his sword right at his chest. The rest of them began to tear the place apart, opening every cabinet and throwing their contents on the ground. One of them actually walked right in front of the wall I stood behind. I could feel his breath through the slits and smell the rancid odor that permeated the space around him. My heart was in my throat as I stood motionless. They spoke of a bright light coming from the center of the forest and were searching for its source. The man swore he knew nothing of the bright light or its source. After beating him quite severely and leaving him unconscious on the floor, they all soon left.

  I remained still throughout the entire charade, trying not to breathe and waited for quite some time before I escaped out from behind the wall. I had to be sure no more soldiers were coming. At least, in their rage, they had overturned the shelf that had been placed in front of the wall I’d hidden behind, making it much easier to escape. I slowly crept over to the man still lying face down on the floor. I thought for a moment he might actually be dead, but as I moved in closer I could see the rise and fall of his chest. At first I thought of running away, but after staring at him lying helpless on the floor I almost felt sorry for him. He did save my life, and he was much less scary than the soldiers. I had to help him.

  As I rolled him over on his side, he let out a small moan but still did not wake. The darkness was saturating the entire room around us with only a glimmer of the moonlight coming through the window. Although I could only see the man through the faint moon beams, he still looked so familiar, as if I had seen him before. His hair, dark and curly, lay messily atop his head, falling across his eyes. His eyebrows were thick, framing the lids beneath them perfectly. His face was, well it was beautiful. Without even realizing it, I ran my fingers across his lips. He looked so gentle yet in a rough kind of way. It felt as if, somehow, I knew him.

  As I sat staring at him, he finally started to move a bit and lie over on his back. Slowly opening his eyes, he found me looking right back at him. I had never seen anyone move as quickly as he. Jumping to his feet, he turned helplessly around in circles trying to figure out what had just happened.

  After a few moments of confusion, he retrieved his scattered lumber and started a fire. As he stood manipulating the flames, he looked at me, finally, and apologized for his previous behavior.

  He introduced himself as Calev, son of Avner. He then walked over to a small section of the floor near the ladder leading to the loft. Moving it aside, he pried one piece of wood from off the rest, and reaching underneath, pulled out a small container. His hands shook as he removed the paper from inside, holding onto it as if it were as delicate as a flower.

  “Lily, I’d like to show you something,” he revealed casually, as if we were old chums.

  I stammered back against the wall.

  “How do you know my name?” I demanded, my heart beating faster than before.

  He smiled slightly to one side of his face and explained that Grandfather had warned him I would not be easy to handle. My heart now raced even faster within me.

  “How do you know Grandfather?” My words came out angrier than I had intended.

  Calev began to tell me of what a wonderful king Grandfather had been, that when his kingdom was overturned by the darkness, he and his only son, Alon, were captured. He escaped with the queen, his daughter-in-law, and beloved granddaughter to Eden, protecting them from Reficul. My mind spun in circles. It all sounded like a fairytale to me.

  Apparently, there was a prophecy from long ago. It stated that in the reign of the seventh king, a pure child would arise out of the boughs of the prince to overturn the darkness. She would be half Eden, the other half Arcadian. She would be marked with the mark of her ancestors and would be the only one that could put an end to the evil in their world, that after her eighteenth birthday she would be summoned by the Great Spirit who would soon fill her and cause her to restore the families to herself.

  The entire room felt like it was closing in upon me. Was he implying that I was this, pure child? What did he mean half Eden, half Arcadian? He then unfolded the weathered paper now resting upon his lap. It had writing on it just like the book I had found in Grandfather’s secret room.

  “It is all we have left of the ancient prophecy,” he confessed. “In your Grandfather’s escape, the book went missing.”

  You can imagine his surprise when I reached into my leather satchel and pulled out the book with the strange emblem on the cover. He practically fell off of the sofa and immediately started toward the window, as if to make sure no one was nearby. Every word was whispered from that point on. He explained that we had to find the only living elder to translate. The language was no longer spoken by the people. Only one was left from the tribes of which it came. His name was Levon Amlachi. His years were many, so we need not waste time. The Searchers had kept his identity hidden, so Reficul would not be able to find him. Without the book, we would not know what to do.

  Reficul knew all about the book and what it said. He knew about the pure child, about her power to overcome him. He had made it top priority to destroy this book and keep its wisdom from the minds of the people. He had power over the Dark Winds; they would destroy the girl and the book if found unprotected. I was the girl, and I possessed the book. I had to lie down. Calev cleared a place for me on his bed.

  “You can rest awhile, but we must leave out before the first light of day. The evil will find us.”

  As I lie in bed resting, my mind filled with thoughts of Grandfather and Mother. They had known all along about this prophecy, about my destiny. I thought about the words Grandfather spoke over me, “Neither light nor dark, sun nor rain, could ever keep your destiny away, nor my love my little, Lily flower.” He had been referring to this very moment. I thought of Henry and how worried he must be for losing me in the woods, how devastated he would be when I didn’t return. I thought of the soldiers and their wild dogs, the Dark Winds, and the danger that lie ahead of me. But most of all, I thought of my father. I wondered, was he still captured? Had he survived? My eyes grew heavy. I could hear Calev below the loft rustling papers, perhaps cleaning up. I soon drifted off to sleep.

  Chapter 6

  I awoke to Calev’s hand over my mouth. I was so startled I began to scream but no noise left my tongue.

  “They have found us,” he whispered into my ear, “we must leave immediately.”

  Pulling me to my feet, he kept his hand placed over my mouth the entire time. We quickly descended the ladder, and he led me out the door. On the way I grabbed my satchel, and he his ax. Once outside, there were others; three more men I was supposed to trust. I wanted Grandfather so badly to explain all that was happening. If only he had been there.

  I could not see the faces of the men, and we moved too quickly for introductions. The night seemed to go on forever racing around in the forest. All the trees looked alike to me. Finally, we came upon a giant tree in the center of all the others. The sound of wild dogs in the distance had me trembling all over my body, and the wind had begun to blow violently.

  Calev yelled, grabbing for my hand, “There is a tunnel just ahead. We will be saf
e there.”

  I was unable to reach even his fingers, as if a force was knowingly keeping us apart. Remembering when Henry and I were on our picnic and the sound from the jewelry box calmed the wind, I reached within my satchel to retrieve it. I could hardly keep it from flying out of my hands while I twisted its lever. The miniature ballerina edged around the circle. All four men watched in amazement, as the sound from the tiny box actually overcame the wind. It was as if time momentarily stood still, and we were able to escape into the tunnel.

  Once underground, Calev closed the opening behind us. We were all able to catch our breath briefly, but nobody said a word. The three men just stared at me, as if I were some kind of circus show. I, myself, was preoccupied with calming the rise and fall of my chest. After all, a lady is not used to running with such intensity.

  Noticing my apprehension to our new surroundings, Calev assured me we were safe.

  “The Great Spirit guards the openings to our tunnels. The only way evil enters in is if we invite it.”

  There were lanterns hanging on the walls that the men used to light the dark corridor that lie ahead of us. I thought it must have been trolls that had built the tunnels, because I could hardly stand up straight. As we walked, I heard one of the men traveling with us ask Calev if he was sure I was the one. Calev turned around, rather swiftly handed off his lantern, and grabbed me by my arm.

  “Show them your birthmark!” he demanded.

  I, of course, refused. What kind of lady did he think I was?

  “How do you know about that anyway?” I questioned, again angrier than I had intended.

  He did not answer, just pulled me over closer to him and wrapped his arms around me, facing my back toward him. I became mush, weak and timid. With his other hand he slid his finger under the sleeve of my dress, pulling it just off of my shoulder, exposing the strange markings I’d been born with. I wanted to protest, but I could not move. My skin crawled, in a good way, with the weight of his touch. The legs that were meant to carry me became numb. Shaking me back into reality, he roughly pushed my body away from him, grabbed his lantern, and continued walking without another word. It was obvious that Calev was in charge. The three men continued following without hesitation. I, in turn, argued the rest of the way.

  After what seemed like an eternity, we finally came to a stop. Calev knocked on the doors that lie in front of us. I just knew it had to be the troll’s home, because the doors were even smaller than the tunnel. It slowly opened and a beautiful woman stood before us. Her eyes lit up as she saw Calev. He picked her up off the floor and held her tightly in his arms.

  Her name was Levona. With hair as black as night and skin as brown as the desert sands, she was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. The other men pushed passed, but I stood staring like a trapped animal. After noticing me, she cleared her throat a bit. Calev turned and introduced me as Lily, granddaughter of the great King Channon, the one the prophecy spoke of. She stepped back, as if sizing me up, looked at Calev and laughed out loud, right in front of me.

  “She cannot possibly be our savior.”

  They had been expecting a great and mighty warrior. I was neither great nor mighty, and I was definitely not a warrior. Although I wanted to scratch her eyes out for being so rude, I did agree with her. How was I supposed to save anyone?

  We had to spend the remainder of the evening in the home of Levona’s father. I was finally introduced to the men who had accompanied us. Their names were Azriel, Barruk, and Eitan. I was also introduced to the rest of Levona’s family. The entire house vibrated with whispers about, Lily. I had to get away.

  At Calev’s request, Levona escorted me to a small room at the end of the hall. There was a bed in the corner that almost touched the floor with a thin mattress on top, a small table beside the bed, and one more by the door with a wash bowl on top. Levona spoke no words to me and once I entered the room, she slammed the door shut with much force. What had I done to her? I splashed some water on my face and headed straight for the bed. I was exhausted. I missed Mother and my very large, comfy bed at Grandfather’s. Everyone was being so secretive and not one person, including myself, thought I was the girl the prophecy spoke of. As a matter of fact, I was not sure if I even believed any of it at all.

  I lie staring at the ceiling until I could no longer ignore the rumbling inside my stomach. I had not eaten since I had come to Arcadia. It seemed as if the entire house was asleep as I ventured down the dark hall from my room. That is until I got closer to the room with the fireplace. I heard voices so I crept as softly as I could up to the corner of the room.

  “Was I the only one who saw her? You can’t be serious, Calev.” I heard a voice say. Others agreed.

  “There is no way that little girl is our Savior. She looks as if she’d be frightened by her own shadow,” the older man said.

  “Yes, did you see her hair? It’s so light, and her complexion too. She is weak, Calev. You must see that. I’m sorry but I can’t follow that into battle. She would get us all killed for sure.”

  It was a woman’s voice, Levona’s I’m sure. I knew I didn’t like her.

  “Enough!” Calev yelled. “Have any of you met a Searcher? I’ve heard the prophecy; hair as gold as the sun, skin as white as snow, and when you see the diamonds in her eyes, then you will know. Heck, it was practically a nursery rhyme for me growing up. It’s her. I know it, end of story!”

  He was taking up for me. Something smiled inside me. His kind words distracted me, and my hand slipped off of the wall. I fell on the ground before them. Totally humiliated, I jumped to my feet, ran back to my room, slammed the door, and dove onto the bed. As I lie there, my eyes filled with tears I could hold back no longer. I was afraid and felt all alone. I wished I had never found that key.

  I soon heard a knock at the door; it was Calev.

  “Lily, Lily let me in.”

  When I refused, he opened the door anyway, came in and settled right beside me on the bed. The warmth of his body eased some of the pain in my heart, although I was unsure why. Still having the blanket over my face, he pulled it back and apologized for what had happened. A rebel tear flowed down my cheek. His gentle fingers brushed it away. I became lost in his eyes. He was so familiar to me. His curly hair lay messily all over his head. My fingers reached, almost mechanically, to brush it aside, as if I’d done it a thousand times.

  “Don’t worry, Lily. When we reach Amlachi, the others will come around. He will confirm who you are.”

  You see, Calev’s families were Searchers. They were hidden among the people, lost tribes of the chosen ones. Many had given up hope of the prophecy ever coming true. But there were a few that never gave up, never stopped searching.

  “Lily, it was me that you met in the woods when you were just a girl; the day you found the key. I never lost hope that one day I would find you again.”

  Just as I was about to answer, Levona walked into the room. Standing in the doorway with her arms crossed, she let out an angry, “Huh!”

  Calev jumped to his feet and adjusted his clothing, while she furiously turned and stomped out of the room. Calev, of course, went after her just as Henry would have done for me. I lie there the rest of the night thinking of Henry. I wished he was holding me in his arms. I also thought of Calev and wondered if he was holding Levona in his. I hoped I would wake up and realize that I had dreamed the entire thing, just a nightmare. Indeed it was, except I was wide awake

  Chapter 7

  I woke the next morning to a nice fire going in my room. The warmth of it against my face made me think I was at Grandfathers in my bed. But when I opened my eyes, there before me was the dark and dreadful room I had fallen asleep in. I reluctantly arose and got out of bed, not wanting to face the day, much less the people outside of the door.

  I contemplated sneaking out and finding my way back to the door I had come through, desperately wanting to just go back home. The only thing that stopped me was the thought of finding my fath
er alive, well, that and the thought of wild dogs ripping my flesh apart. Still, I had to know if he was alive. My moment of weakness the night before gave me the push I needed to get started. I was not weak and normally didn’t allow myself to cry. I had to prove it to myself, that no matter what anyone else thought, I was strong, strong enough to do what needed to be done; regardless of the fact that I felt nothing of the sorts.

  As I gathered my thoughts and began to dress, I heard a commotion going on down the hall. Before I knew it, the door flung open and a man raced in with Calev right behind him. He circled around me over and over, all the while Calev was trying to catch him. Neither of them even noticed that I had not finishing dressing. I finally yelled to the top of my lungs for them to stop. Both men came to an abrupt halt and rather swiftly turned away from me. I noticed the man I had never before seen, cut his eyes back at me. Before I could slip my dress on, he whipped around and grabbed my waist, pulling me closer to him. He moved my hair aside, showcasing my birthmark. I, in turn, screamed and tried to slap him. He let out a boisterous yell, teaming with excitement.

  “We’ve found her!”

  While I had the chance, I reached over and grabbed the wash bowl off the table. Without another thought, I hit the man right in the head. His feet crumpled underneath him as he fell to the floor. Calev stepped back as if not wanting to be next. He let out a snicker, scratched the back of his head, and smiled to one side of his face. Grabbing the man by the arms, he drug him out of the room, all the while not saying a word. I stood there feeling rather proud of myself but at the same time a little sorry for hurting the man.

  Before I left the room, I walked over to the table by the door. It had an old, dirty mirror on top. Pulling back my dress, I glared at my birthmark. To think I had always hated the ugly thing. It looked like nothing special to me, so all the fuss over it was a bit strange.