Chapter Eleven
When you wake up with people standing over you with looks of disappointment, you know you screwed up big time—especially when one of those people is a scary looking king. I cringed and shut my eyes again, pretending I never opened them in the first place. It didn’t work.
“Get up Scarlet, we’re leaving,” the king’s scruffy voice was so deep that it scared me.
“Yes, sir,” I squeaked and got to me feet, but embarrassingly did not open my eyes. I cracked them open to see Kyra looking at me with sadly. Confused, I searched around myself to find a barren, fire bitten waste land. Blackened stumps of dead trees littered the landscape, accompanied by a thin layer of smoke still rising up from the embers. A long line of wagons were already moving along a dust bitten road that was now lined with poorly made graves. As I looked around I saw only heartbroken people trying not to look at the graves.
“There were no human casualties,” the king said. “But every creature in the camp that depended on that forest died with it.”
Reality was staring me dead in the face, but I couldn’t comprehend it. As I looked around, there were no creatures that defied rationality. No green-skinned women scurried around tending to the weeping children. I realized who the graves were for. Every nymph that had taken in the rebel camp was now dead. And it was all because of me. No one would look at me directly, but I could feel their icy auras piercing me like daggers. These once very warm and caring people who had taken me in now despised me. I not only destroyed their home, I also took the lives of their innocent allies. Horrible truth pierced my mind and I fell to my knees with tears welling up in my eyes.
The king left me without saying another word. I desired for the tears to fall down my face, so I could at least feel something, but they never spilled over. I felt completely empty all except for one emotion: hatred. I hated myself. I hated what I had done. I hated my very existence. And above all, I hated my gift. I despised my so called mother Aru for giving me the gift. It was not a blessing, it was a curse. It does not help, it hurts. First I had hurt Jake as an infant, then I put my family in danger, and finally I killed innocent creatures.
“Come on, Scarlet,” Kyra croaked with a broken voice. “It’s not safe here anymore.”
‘Safe?’ I thought to myself. ‘Anywhere I am isn’t safe…’
~
The next three days were a blur. I was treated as an outcast by almost everyone. Only Yuki and Siren stayed by my side, but none of us exchanged any words. During the night I slept on the cold ground while others slept in the wagons. I would catch sight of Vaze occasionally in one of the wagons, but I never acknowledged him. Other than Yuki, Siren, Kyra and my brothers, Vaze was the only one who didn’t give of a cold icy vibe towards me. Whenever I did catch sight of him he was always looking at me with compassion and regret. I didn’t care.
On the third night, I sat a farther distance away from the rest of the rebels than usual. We had stopped in a quaint wood for the night. People were already getting into bed. Dying flames casted long shadows across the trees, and they danced together in the moon light. Yuki, in the form of a wolf, was already fast asleep curled up by a tree. Siren used her as a pillow. Tough tree bark scratched my back as I tried to shift my position on the tree, but I ignored it. The silver glow of a crescent moon lit up the night sky with the help of a million dazzling little stars. It was beautiful, but I couldn’t help but see it as a mocking smile.
“Scarlet, you awake?” I turned my eyes to find Al walking towards me. When he saw that I was he quickly came to my side with a bundle in his arms.
“May I sit with you?” Al’s eyes were full of concern. I turned my head away from him and rested it on my knees. Al sat down anyway.
“I can see why you chose this spot,” Al said while admiring the sky. “It looks just like how the sky looked when we would camp out on top of the Warehouse, doesn’t it?” He looked to me with a smile on his face, expecting acknowledgement. He didn’t get any. “Those were some good times we had, huh, Scarlet? We were just kids then. We used to be so close. We haven’t spent any time together since we left, have we?” I sighed in response. Al looked back up at the sky.
“Yeah, we had a lot of fun when we were little,” he said. “But it wasn’t just good stuff, remember? I would get picked on by that group of boys because I tried to stop them from beating up an old dog one time. They would always try to beat me up, but you always stepped in with Darren or Seth and taught them a lesson. I would cry because I was scared they were going to hurt me really badly, and you would always nag me saying no one is going to hurt me while you were around.” I chuckled at the thought. Al was lying. He did cry, but not because he was scared he would get hurt. It was because he did get hurt. He had always returned home beat up because he tried to stand up for himself and whenever I asked about it he would lie and say nothing happened. But I caught him one day while he was getting beat up. He took it without a sound until they left. That was the only time I saw him cry over that.
I lifted my head and looked at my brother. He wasn’t that little kid anymore. As he gazed up at the stars I saw a completely different person. His hair had grown considerably, and it now reached his shoulders. His babyish features were gone. His jaw was set strongly, and his shoulders were broader. He wasn’t as scrawny as I remembered either. I could distinctly see finely built muscle even through his loose tunic. But the biggest change was his eyes. They were much older. The childish laughter that used to dance inside them had subsided and was replaced by a burden I couldn’t quite place. It scared me how much he changed. There was no doubt in my mind. The boy who sat with me now and the boy who left Laetus at the beginning of our journey were two completely different people. Al looked at me with a half-smile on his face.
“I guess things have changed quite a bit, huh?” he said. “You don’t have to protect me anymore.” I smiled and hit his arm.
“Nah, are you kidding me?” I joked. “If I don’t go around protecting you, what am I supposed to do all day? You can’t expect me to set everything on fire and be happy with it.” Al laughed.
“That’s true I guess,” he said. “If I left you alone for more than a day there wouldn’t be anything left to protect me from.”
I shook my head and chuckled. It was typical Al. He always found a way to make me laugh, even in my worst depressions. Al grabbed the bundle from the ground and began to unravel it.
“Aren’t you cold?” he asked, handing me a blanket from the bundle. “You’ve spent three days sleeping in ripped clothes after all.” I shook my head but Al wrapped it over my shoulders anyway. Sighing, Al looked over to Siren and Yuki.
“We always seem to attract the strangest company, don’t we?” he said only half to me. I looked at the small psycho child Siren and nodded. Compared to her, Yuki was completely normal.
“Are you going to go back to bed Al?” I asked. He shook his head.
“You seem lonely out here by yourself,” he replied. “I’m not going to let my only sister’s company be a half Blood Wolf and a Guardian.”
I shook my head grinning and punched his arm jokingly. I hadn’t realized it until then, but I missed spending time with my brother. Yawning, I curled up next to him. The rest of the time we were awake we spent staring at the stars. We pointed out the constellations we knew and made up names for the ones we didn’t. For the first time since we left Laetus, I was happy. Spending time with my closest brother helped me out of depression, at least for a little while. For a second I thought I could deal with the icy emotions the rebel camp sent towards me, and maybe even deal with my own hate filled emotions towards myself. Those were reassuring thoughts, and for the first time in a while sleep opened its loving arms to me with gentle kindness.
I should have known that perfect little oasis would crash down on me.
~
“Scarlet,” a soft voice whispered into my ear. I drowsily opened my eyes a crack, but seeing nothing, I dismissed it as my imag
ination and closed them again.
“Scarlet,” the voice whispered again. This time a delicate hand brushed past my cheek. I opened my eyes again, but once again let them close.
“Scarlet!” a new voice hissed it in my ear as if it were poison on the bearer’s tongue. A strong hand clasped around my mouth and immediately I jolted awake. I tried to scream, but all that came out was a desperate squeak. The touch of ice cold metal lightly pierced my neck, causing me to shrink away. Wide eyed and scared to death, I looked the only way I could, which was in front of me. The second my vision focused I wished I was still asleep—or better yet, dead.
Standing there in front of me with his usual ‘I-have-fun-watching-you-writhe-in-pain’ smile was Velkire. My heart froze in my chest. For a second, I forgot how to breathe.
“Hello again,” Velkire said with his beautiful, yet mocking voice. “Did you miss me?” I couldn’t speak, partly because there was a hand over my mouth and partly because I was scared out of my mind.
“Master, it would be so much easier to just kill her now,” a deep raspy voice that I knew all too well hissed next to my ear. Enzio pressed the flat of his dagger harder on my neck with a bloodlust that shaped him entirely.
“Come now, Enzio,” Velkire said jokingly. “You know the easy way bores me. Scarlet has been so entertaining, it would be a shame if she died now.” Childish laughter danced in his murderous grey eyes as he smiled at me.
“Mmphm fmm!” I swore at Velkire through Enzio’s hand. In response, Velkire laughed.
“You’re so funny when you’re frightened!” Velkire exclaimed with glee. “I can already tell it’s going to be fun having you around. Let her speak Enzio.” Enzio took his hand away from my mouth but he held tight onto me.
“I’ll give you three seconds to get the hell out of here before I burn you to a crisp!” I hissed at them. Velkire’s eyes danced as his face lit up. Enzio chuckled darkly in my ear.
“Oh don’t worry, we are leaving soon. But we won’t be leaving alone,” Velkire chuckled.
“What are you talking about?” I growled. I really hoped I looked as menacing as I was scared.
“I mean, you’re coming with us,” Velkire said smiling.
“Yeah sure, when I’m dead maybe,” I scoffed at him. Enzio laughed in his deep, raspy voice again.
“That can be arranged,” he purred. Despite the rags wrapped around his head, I could tell he was smiling behind me. Chills went down my spine.
“Now, now Enzio,” Velkire said. “That would be such a waste if we killed her. She’s been doing so well! She even overpowered the Hell’s Flames.” Velkire placed his attention back on to me. “Scarlet, I want you to come join me.”
“You know, there’s a little thing about life, you don’t always get what you want,” I replied. “You’ve been trying to kill me since I was a baby. And you’ve tried to kill my brothers too. What makes you think I’ll come with you on my own free will?” Velkire shook his head.
“I would never kill you,” Velkire said. I could tell he was lying through his teeth, but he was a good actor. “I was testing you, and you’ve passed every one of them! I’m giving you the option to end all this. What do you say?” I paused for a moment and acted like I was deep in thought. With a fake sigh, I looked back up at Velkire.
“I say, you can take your offer, and go shove it back up your butt with all the other crap you pull!” Enzio growled and pressed the dagger harder on my neck, drawing a small driblet of ruby red blood. Velkire only laughed.
“I thought you might say something like that, and that’s fine,” Velkire chimed. “You can choose to stay here.” That left me dumbstruck.
“Really?” I said after a short pause.
“Why yes, of course!” Velkire said with a slight twinge of sick humor. “However, every choice in this world has a consequence. Enzio let her go.”
Enzio did as he was told and I immediately scrambled away from them, a wall of fire separating us. Velkire laughed again. I was really starting to hate when he laughed.
“Before you make your decision, you should at least know that it won’t be a free one,” Velkire said. “I have a set price already in mind.”
“What is it?” I asked, lowering my wall of flames enough to see his face. Velkire smiled and shrugged his shoulders.
“Just watch,” he replied deviously. Then something I didn’t expect happened. Velkire remained the same, all except for his eyes. His glowing grey eyes began to turn red, and his shadow began to expand behind him. He smiled at me and revealed sharp white teeth that were identical to the demon girl’s. Mesmerized, I lost concentration on my fire, and it dissipated.
“Oh, don’t give up on me now,” Velkire said in a new demonic voice. “You haven’t even seen the best part yet.”
Suddenly, his shadow began to change. Instead of mirroring only one body, it began to grow into two, and then three. A multitude of shadows began to dance on the trees along with Velkire’s. Terrified and confused, I lost my balance and fell on my back, scraping my elbows as I landed on them. Velkire smiled again, but this time he looked more like a demon than a handsome man.
Then, before my eyes, the shadows began to take a solid form. Altogether, Velkire’s shadow disappeared completely and was replaced by dozens of bloodthirsty, hissing Shadows. Velkire shut his eyes and exhaled. He flicked his wrist and the Shadows scattered away towards the helpless sleeping rebels.
“No!” I screamed. “Please stop!” The sight of Yuki and Siren asleep a little ways a way caught my eye. “Siren, Yuki! Wake up, every one’s in danger!”
“It’s useless,” Velkire said back to normal again. “I put a spell on your entire beloved band of misfits so that we would not be interrupted. One would need immense power to be able to stay conscious or to awake from this spell.”
“You can still stop this you know,” Velkire continued. “Unless you want your beloved family eaten alive and slaughtered by Shadows.”
“If you touch them I swear on my last breath I will rip you apart piece by piece!” I screamed desperately with small beads of tears forming in my eyes.
“Scarlet?” a groggy voice from behind questioned. My breath caught in my throat, I whipped around to see Al, rubbing his eyes and yawning. “Why are you yelling?”
A look of confusion flashed across Velkire’s face, but Enzio didn’t hesitate to react. In a fraction of a second, the demon had my brother restrained, with a dagger hovering too close for comfort to his throat. Regaining his composition, Velkire took advantage of the situation.
“Well now, Scarlet,” Velkire mused. “It seems our guest has finally come to. Now there will be a witness to the destruction you are about to cause. Your brother shall be an eye witness to the death of the entire camp, right before he dies as well. Oh, how a shame it will be, losing the little talents this group of misfits may have had. Vaze, for example, had a huge potential of becoming the greatest king that the world had ever seen.”
Al’s breath came out in a quivering hiss. A small dot of his precious blood appeared on his milky white skin as Enzio pricked it with his dagger, making me even more agitated.
“It’s your choice Scarlet,” Velkire purred. “Will you come with me? Or will you let all you’ve ever cared about die before your eyes, while knowing you could have saved it all.” I shot a desperate look back at Al. His eyes were swimming with fear and confusion.
“What’s happening?” he asked in a shaky voice, hardly above a whisper. My vision began to blur as the first of my tears dared to spill over. I dropped my head in defeat.
“Fine,” I whispered, my voice already getting choked up.
“What was that?” Velkire mused, knowing full well what I said. “I didn’t quite catch that last bit.”
“I said I’ll go!” I roared, trying to keep it from coming out in sobs. “Are you happy now?”
Velkire smiled. “Very much so,” he said, now calm. He turned away from me and held his hand out parallel to the grou
nd. In response, a wall of deadly black fire erupted from the ground, and created a swirling portal identical to the one from Madam Gale’s cottage. I took little interest. I was still trying to hide my face from Al. Velkire stepped through the portal, and turned back to me.
“Come now, child,” he said while extending a hand to me. “We have much to do.” Reluctantly, I raised my head to look at him. He was smiling warmly at me, but I saw through it. I felt absolutely nothing as I took his hand, and let the black flames engulf my body. Enzio followed after me into the portal, leaving Al frozen dumbstruck. I took one last look at my beloved brother.
“Good bye Al,” I whispered as the flames begin to close the mirror to the world outside. Al lost it. He bolted for the portal with tears in his eyes and arms outstretched. I knew he wouldn’t make it. His last word to me was simple. But it nearly broke my heart and soul.
‘No’.
Chapter Twelve
“NO!” Al screamed as he made a desperate jump for the portal. The image of his sister had already started to disappear behind the flames, but he wouldn’t accept it. He had been training to become stronger, to protect the ones he loved. And there he was, watching his sister being taken away by a blood thirsty murderer. He didn’t need a hint to know that the man with the demonic grey eyes was Velkire. His master had told him about him. Al came with in a fingers distance of the portal, and for a second he thought he might be able to at least get to Scarlet. His hopes were extinguished when the portal completely disappeared from sight, leaving him reaching out to nothing.
Al’s mind could not process what happened right away, but eventually it overcame him like a tidal wave. All at once, the poor boy was drowned in grief, loss, and hatred. Tears began to well up in his eyes.
“No!” Al cried as he struck the ground with his fists. Torn apart by pain, he crumpled on the ground. He screamed again, still on his knees weeping. Even while training to protect what he loved, he could not save his sister. Yet again, Scarlet suffered because he was not strong enough. But this time, the damage may have been irreversible. Screams came from the camp of rebels, but Al hardly noticed them. All that he could process in his mind was: she’s gone.
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