Crouched against the cracked roof tile, I could hear the impact of each blow and the grunts of pain that followed. Then, I heard Daris scream and my blood ran cold. I peeked and saw Daris clutching his stomach and Travis looking at his right hand like it was the most valuable thing on the planet, a smirk on his face and his dark eyes glinting dangerously.
“Now then,” Travis rolled his brother over with a kick, “where is she?”
“She’s not here,” he rasped.
“Oh, she’s here. She’s so close, I can practically taste her lips.”
I blinked and Travis was now the one on the ground while Daris stood over him. Camille and Melanie ran over to help him, but Travis waved them away.
“Don’t talk about her like that.” The growl was animalistic, shaking me to my core, but Travis only laughed as he got up.
“Like what, brother? Like the vessel of power she is? Or like the attractive girl I want to get my hands on?”
I couldn’t see Daris’s face, but his back was rigid.
“What’s wrong, Daris?” Travis goaded, “Got a crush?”
My breath caught, but Daris stayed silent.
“Look at this, girls. Now, the mighty Daris can’t even meet my gaze.” Travis walked up to Daris and punched him in the stomach. It was like he just couldn’t move. Travis kicked his brother again and my blood was boiling. If he hurt Daris one more time…
Travis shot a quick burst of green that sent Daris flying and I saw red. My vision sharpened and my senses heightened to a dangerous level. With a running start, I jumped off the roof and landed between the two of them, shooting Travis away. In my hands was my dagger, small but fully controlling me. I sent some of my magic to look over Daris and only got more pissed with every new injury I found.
“Get away from him.” My voice was a snarl, literally. My words weren’t words; they were the growls of an animal, a predator. Camille and Melanie couldn’t decide whether to laugh or to be terrified. I would have gone for the latter, but my attention was on the monster in front of me.
“Put the claws away, kitty cat. Just two brothers messing around.” He stepped towards me and a quick jut of rock came up to his waist.
“Skyler, leave,” Daris rasped.
I turned my head a bit to the side. “You, stay quiet. I’ll be mad at you later.” I was still growling, but the words were a bit clearer.
“Now, kitten, don’t be too harsh on him. He was just protecting you for me. Making you powerful enough to be mine.”
“Liar!” Daris wheezed from behind me. He started coughing and I backed up so that I was closer to him. “Skyler, get out of here!”
“Stop talking before you pass out,” I snapped.
“I still don’t get why you want her, Travis,” Camille commented nonchalantly.
“Why fight over someone worthless?” Melanie added. Did these two seriously not get it? I lifted the ground beneath them enough to knock them to the floor and took a few steps forward.
“If you’re done with your pointless opinions, I’m going to have to ask you to leave.” Immediately, Travis was laughing like I thought he would. I shrugged. “Okay, but don’t say I didn’t warn you. I’m not as fair as Daris.”
With one slice of the dagger, a funnel of air grabbed the Acerlums and tossed them around. They got to the top and I stopped it, watching them fall like cartoon flies.
“My hair!”
“I’ll fix it,” I volunteered.
A quick thunderstorm doused them and was followed by carefully aimed lightning. They looked so miserable that I had to tie up this perfect series with a quick blast of fire to dry them up. Their hair was charred in some places and their clothes were slightly ripped.
“There. All better.” They were almost in tears. So was I, but I was trying not to laugh.
“Come now, kitten, surely that’s not all you have.”
I snarled and charged, extending the blade, swiping wherever I saw him and getting a few hits, but not enough to do any significant damage. Travis got inside and grabbed my wrist and twisted, forcing the blade out of my hand. It fell to the ground, but my anger and power were still rushing through me.
Travis wrapped his arm around me and pulled me tight to him, grabbing my other wrist and pinning me in a way that had me twisted. “Camille. Melanie.”
The girls came up to me and grabbed my head and forced my eyes open. I tried to close them, to move my head away, but the cold pit formed instantly in my stomach. My anger rushed away from me and Travis released me as he fed on my emotions. I fell in a defeated pile.
I looked to Daris and met his gaze. He looked worried, but I only used my eyes to apologize for not listening to him, for coming back and trying to face Travis by myself. His blue eyes softened and he smiled sadly. I knew he forgave me, but, looking at how injured he was, I felt disgusting. My father didn’t even cause that much damage and Travis was able to do this to his own brother without a shred of remorse. He was using me as a fuel source now as he triumphed at how he was able to beat Daris, all the while planning on how he could use me to get into my father’s good graces.
Travis waltzed over to Daris and stepped on the gash in his stomach. Daris cried out and reached up to grab Travis’s ankle. With more strength than I thought he had, Daris unbalanced Travis and managed to get up. He was pale and wobbly, but he was standing and facing off. He got in front of me and nodded towards the dagger that lay a few feet from me before eyeing Travis.
I stuck my hand out and the dagger slid towards me as though it were a snake. When I got it, the leather binding coiled around my wrist. A brush of the blade had my emotions on high and the pit gone. Travis glared at me as I rose, his eyes black and menacing.
The similarities between the twins were shouting at me again as I watched them attack each other relentlessly, neither using magic to cause the other pain. Both were tall and built by the trials they had overcome in their training if they way they were hitting each other was any indication.
Travis aimed a kick at Daris’s head, but the Luxator ducked, and punched the Acerlum in the chest, sending him back a few feet. They both had a burning desire to succeed and make another person proud.
When Daris moved on the offensive, drawing his dagger, Travis was quick to grab his arm and bend it a painful angle. As he pulled the arm back further, he whispered something to my trainer that made Daris grit his teeth. Daris guarded his heart but was honest while Travis seemed to have lost his a while ago if he ever had one in the first place. However, looking at Travis’s soulless eyes, I remembered how dark Daris’s eyes could get when he got mad.
Daris screamed and wrenched his arm out of Travis’s grasp. He may not be an Acerlum and Travis may not be a Luxator, but they both had the same temper. They shared the same devilish smirk, but Travis’s, as I saw when he hit Daris in the stomach, was more malicious and bloodthirsty.
Daris’s legs gave out and I watched as he collapsed. He eyes were shut in pain and his hand was on his stomach. Travis chuckled and flipped a knife smaller than mine. The tip of it was red from Daris’s blood.
I stayed kneeling by Daris and covered his hand with mine. I shuddered as the warm blood went between my fingers, the red from both gashes mixing together in a scarlet waterfall that made me see red when I looked at Travis.
“Hang on,” I told Daris, the command sounding more like a plea. I kept my voice low, but I was screaming at Travis with my eyes, shouting whatever obscene words I could think of and demanding that he crawl back into whatever hole he came from. I was close to breathing fire; I was so angry.
“Blossom?”
I didn’t answer, my fury only growing the longer I stared at Travis.
“Sky—”
“Didn’t I tell you to stay quiet?” I scolded, squeezing his hand.
“But-”
“You should listen to her, brother. Who knows how much energy you have left?” Travis flashed his smirk again and my grip on my blade tightened. He breathed deepl
y and Camille and Melanie smiled as he exhaled gratefully. The way he looked at me was unnerving: Travis had a never-ending thirst that darkened his eyes to a predatory evil and it sent a chill down my spine. However, the pit didn’t form this time.
“What now?” I snarled and stood.
“Your fury smells heavenly, kitten. It’ll make the perfect power source for you once you start training with me.”
“Not interested. I already have my trainer.”
“Yes, the same one who is hanging on to each breath he takes and who got you to run away because even he knows that you’re too weak to beat me.”
“Shut up!” Daris shouted pathetically.
I turned on him. “Stop talking!” Camille and Melanie were giggling in the background and their failed subtleness only made me grind my teeth. “Thing One and Thing Two! Unless you want your hair to be completely gone, the three of you will leave. Now.” The two of them glanced at each other and looked to Travis
He scoffed at the pleading look in their eyes. “You two can’t possibly be afraid of her.”
“But look what she did to us!” Melanie grabbed the ends of her tangled hair and Camille looked like she was seriously considering my offer.
“It’s hair!” He shouted at them.
“It couldn’t hurt to just come back and get her later once she’s stronger,” Camille mused, “Then, she’ll be more of a prize and less work for us.” Travis looked at her and closed his eyes, his annoyance showing. Daris and I could only watch.
“You two are worthless. If you won’t help, then I’ll take care of her myself.” He turned back to us and smiled. “After all, you two said so yourselves: she can’t do any real damage. She cares too much for others.”
“How is that bad?” I screamed. “How is bad to love and care for another person other than yourself? How is having other people around a weakness?”
“They’re baggage. Useless. Worthless. A hindrance to your real potential, kitten.” He took a step towards me and stretched his arm out. “Can’t you see your power, kitten? You spent years around others and just discovered what you’re capable of a few months ago. Imagine what would happen if you went solo. What do you say? Let’s ditch Squirt over there and take off; I can show you what real power is.” His hand reached for mine, but I stepped back. I reeled back my fist and struck him in his face, glaring into his eyes long enough for it to happen.
Travis dropped to the ground like I had just moments ago, the energy drained out of him. The green glow that surrounded my hand and blade faded. I felt rejuvenated as the pit in his stomach did its work. Travis clutched at his chest and Camille and Melanie crumpled to the floor. The girls soon dissipated in clouds of black smoke like my father did, but Travis stayed behind.
“I have power, power given to me by Nature and nurtured through my training. Daris and my mother aren’t my weaknesses. They aren’t baggage or a hindrance, but you guys are.” I grabbed his collar and made him look into my eyes. “I’ve had enough of your shit.” I let him go, but he didn’t fall to the floor. My sudden surge of confidence faded to shock and fear as Travis began to laugh and stand to his full height. I took a step back.
“Oh, kitten,” he pretended to wipe a tear from his eyes, “you wouldn’t say that if you knew the truth.”
He sobered, but his grin stayed like he knew some deep secret. “Tell me, how much do you know? What is your role?” I was silent, the attitude I had evaporating instantly as I struggled to find the pit that incapacitated him just moments ago. My blood ran cold when I couldn’t. I was frozen and trapped between running off and staying to help Daris. “Let me guess. We can even make it a game. If I win, you go on a date with me.”
I recoiled, the proposition like a poisoned dart. “I’m not making any sort of deal with you.”
“But what if you should win?”
“Don’t care. No deal.”
He shrugged. “Then I’ll assume blindly. I’ll only need one chance to tell you that you have no real specifics of what you’re fighting for.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“And yet you stand before me like you’ve been part of this war since it began. We all know who you side with, for now.” From beneath him, a root shot out. He dodged the attack and came after me. I was too busy trying to think of an escape route that I couldn’t get out of the way or put up something as a defense. Anything to buy me some time.
A clang of metal sliced through my thoughts and I was thankful my blade had acted where I had failed, blocking Travis’s dagger. Its blue glow covered my hand and protected me. Travis looked shocked that I had moved, but then his eyes dug into mine. The blade glowed red and the cold in the pit of my stomach was replaced with warmth, one that was all-consuming and empowering.
“What?” Travis cried out as my dagger cut through his like it was butter. We watched the two halves of the knife fall, the cut edged by red metal that dripped to the ground and burned the grass. Travis whistled appreciatively like he was catcalling a girl and I just stared in amazement.
“Now, this is interesting.” He lunged again and I slipped out of the way.
“How curious,” Travis purred, “Your power melted my dagger. That’s a first.”
He dodged my red blade with no room to breathe and swerved so that he was behind me. He locked my head and wrapped his other arm around me so that my upper body was completely immobile. “You even have some Acerlum abilities.”
His hold loosened and then it was gone in a cloud of smoke. His breath whispered his last comment and my heart stopped. “You are certainly a weapon worth fighting for.”
I could even hear his stupid smirk, and once I came back to reality, I couldn’t stop shaking.
Daris brushed my hair back as I tried to calm down, the possible truth of Travis’s words sending me into a state of shock. I cried for everything that that one statement could mean—that I was the reason the Luxators were dying, the reason the Acerlums were suddenly being so bold.
“Blossom.”
I looked up and saw Daris through blurry vision. He was still bruised and had a few cuts along his arms. He was covered in dirt from head to toe and was obviously tired, but his eyes were bright and proud and his skin wasn’t as pale as it had been the last time I had glanced at him. I hiccupped and just kept crying.
“It’s okay.” It was so cliché, but he was okay; so, I laughed. I laughed until my throat was raw and threw myself at him.
“You’re okay.” I sobbed into the tatters of his shirt, ignoring the drying blood and the dirt that was smudging onto my face.
“Ow, ow, ow!”
“Ah! Sorry!” I jerked away and looked at the tear in the fabric. The edges were frayed and colored with dried blood. Underneath, the fatal cuts had sealed and were mostly just a large, dark bruise that covered most of his stomach. Running across it were two lines, one raised and slightly paler than other and both surrounded with bright red.
I brushed my fingers along the edge of the shirt. I wanted to heal him, but the tears were back and I couldn’t even see a foot in front of me.
“Skyler.”
“Don’t,” I sobbed. “Please, don’t do that again.”
“Sky—”
“No! I don’t care. The next time we fight someone, if you tell me to run, I’m going to shift and copy you until you go out of your mind! And if you almost die again and scare the crap out of me, your recovery time is going to double instead of being halved!”
“Blossom.”
“I’m serious! Don’t do it!” I used the heel of my hand to rub away the tears. Daris wrapped an arm around me, but I shoved him off. I didn’t want to cause more injury, but I don’t think he cared. He wrapped me in a big hug and tucked me under his chin. I heard him hiss and I shifted, but he just held tighter. I laughed and accepted the hug, holding him loosely. That still didn’t help the fact that I could feel him cringe.
“Better?” He asked.
“Shut up
and let me go,” I mumbled into his chest, “You’re hurt.”
“I don’t care,” he echoed. He put his face in my hair and I felt him smile. I sighed and gently nuzzled into his collarbone. I couldn’t help but smile, too happy about being in his arms to complain.
“First my father and now Travis. You’re going to get yourself killed if you keep trying to protect me,” I murmured. I felt him inhale and I rose with his chest. “Don’t even try to talk me out of my reasoning.”
He chuckled lightly and I could hear the pain he felt with each sharp exhale. Finally, I managed to wiggle myself free.
“How is it that you were sent to protect me and I’ve been the one saving your ass?” I joked.
“Your guess is as good as mine. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that every time I get hurt, it’s because I’m watching you.”
If I didn’t see the smile on his face, I would have thought that he was being serious, but that smile made me turn to mush.
“Oh really?”
His face turned red at the small purr in my voice. I won’t lie: I did it on purpose just to see his face. Daris just put on his crooked smile and pushed my head back so that I was sitting on the ground.
“That wasn’t nice,” I told him.
“Neither was the knife in my stomach,” he deadpanned.
I stuck my tongue out and we laughed until there was just silence until something occurred to me. “What are we going to do?”
“We’re going to pack. Go grab your stuff.” He rose from the floor and slowly made his way back to the building, pain evident in his steps.
“You already know where we’re heading?”
He nodded. “We need to pack more supplies, though.”
“Nope. I need to pack more supplies. You need to tell me where everything is from where you will be sitting on the sofa.” We walked into the house and I was surprised at how clean the room was despite what just happened. “Now, sit.”
“I’m not a dog, Blossom.” Nevertheless, he sank into the chair with a grimace.
Marked by Time (The Mark Series Book 1) Page 23