Arkadia (Halfway House Series Book 1)

by Dzintra Sullivan

  Arkadia: not happy at having to wait for u, you asked me to meet u, then no u, WTF?

  A text immediately came back.

  Bohdan: meeting? I didn’t ask u, where the fuck are u? Something’s wrong, TELL ME WHERE YOU ARE!!

  Suddenly, an ice kingdom began to grow in the pit of Arkadia’s stomach, and every hair on her body stood on end with the realization of how she could not have seen it. This is not Bohdan's style. He’s the one who bombards my room with flowers, or watches me sleep in order to surprise me, not asks me to wait in a graveyard.

  A small rock fell from above her head and bounced off of her shoulder. Arkadia looked up and her eyes locked on a woman. Her breath hitched as she realized it was Violet. Arkadia frowned as she looked up just in time to see Violet’s arm extend high up above. A white hot spear of fear and pain shot through Arkadia’s body as she collapsed to the ground, unconscious. A trickle of blood slowly ran down her forehead from where a rock had hit her.

  Eloise dropped the cup from her hand, and it shattered on the tile floor, shards of porcelain flying forcefully into the air. At the same time, Bohdan came crashing through the front door, his chest expanding frantically as he gulped large amounts of air.

  Eloise’s eyes locked onto Bohdan’s, both of them having felt an earth-shattering spike of fear from Arkadia’s energy. As if they were twins, in unison, they said, “Arkadia’s in trouble, we have got to find her NOW!”

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  “Did you feel that?” Eloise asked Bohdan.

  “I have never felt fear like it, and then it went blank; it was like I had her on radar, and suddenly, the electricity got cut. I have been trying to tune back into her, to feel where she is, but all I get is dead air space. She is in trouble, Eloise, BIG trouble.”

  As Eloise watched Bohdan struggle to keep his dragon in check, he told her about the strange text from Arkadia, then the drop into the abyss of nothingness. Eloise’s own panic level was going off the charts.

  Footsteps came bounding down the stairs at having heard the ruckus. “Hey, Bohdan, my man, wassup?” Emerson came round the corner; he froze on the spot at the look of panic mixed with anger crossing Bohdan's face. “Wooaahhh …” Emerson raised his hands in surrender. “What’s happened? By the look on your face it’s serious.” Zahmali and Raven wandered into the room next, both of them glancing at Bohdan, then at Eloise. Both of them assumed Emerson had done something wrong and they stepped back unison, exchanging a look of, ‘If he’s on a sinking ship, I am not boarding it with him’.

  Eloise spoke softly, but they could all hear the strain in her voice, like a violin string that is tightened to within an inch of snapping. “Arkadia is missing.”

  Raven stepped forward. “Say what now? She was at school. I saw her. Are you sure she’s missing?” Raven asked, a sound of disbelief in her voice.

  “SHES GONE, MISSING, KIDNAPPED … GOD ONLY KNOWS WHAT’S HAP …” Bohdan was shouting in a panic when Eloise lightly touched his arm, and he stopped mid-sentence. Nodding at Eloise, he walked outside; fresh air might help his brain calm down, and he needed his brain to calm something fierce because dragon was within a bee’s doodle of escaping.

  “We are sure, Raven. She texted Bohdan asking where he was because apparently, she received a text from him, but it wasn’t him. Both Bohdan and I felt a spike in her fear, the likes of which I personally have never felt before, then … nothing.” Eloise was explaining to the rest of the house what she knew of the situation.

  “Nothing?” Zahmali asked.

  “Can’t be nothing, surely there is something,” Emerson added.

  Eloise took a deep breath. Calm and focused was what she knew she had to be right now; letting the mind-clouding emotion of panic into her thoughts was detrimental to Arkadia, and every second could count. “Yes, my dearest children, I mean nothing. It is like having turned out the lights. One minute she was metaphorically screaming, then the next she had vanished, swallowed up by a large endless black hole. Have any of you heard anything?” With shakes of the head from everyone, Eloise went outside to Bohdan.

  “What can we do to help?” asked Raven.

  Eloise spun around as she held onto the door, trying desperately to fake the strength to hold herself up, and she said, “Get on the phone. Call anyone and everyone you can, and see if anyone has seen her, can see her, or know where she might be.” Eloise went outside and shut the door behind her.

  Bohdan was pacing. A tenuous hold was all he had on his dragon; that scaled beast wanted out, it wanted to find Arkadia, and rip apart whoever it was that had taken her. The front door opened, and his eyes snapped up to see Eloise walking out. “I still can’t pick her up; it’s like she no longer exists …” He staggered, and reached out to hold the railing on the house, his breathing erratic. “You don’t think … God, don’t let it be.”

  Again, Eloise put her hand on his shoulder. He felt a calming essence flow through his body, a warmth full of peace, and he closed his eyes, greedily absorbing the feeling. “No, I don’t think so … however, I may have something you might find interesting,” Eloise said as she removed her hand and sat on the step, motioning for him to do the same.

  Watching Bohdan take a seat next to her as she requested, Eloise spoke softly. She didn’t want the kids inside to hear her. “Do you remember when Violet attacked her at the house?” Bohdan nodded as Eloise continued. “Well, I did some investigations into Violet’s family history; it seems there is some bad blood from many, many moons ago. Apparently a great-great-great grandmother of hers was terminated by the council.” Bohdan was about to ask a question when Eloise just held up her hand, requesting him to stay silent until she had finished. “It was recorded that Arkadia’s great-great-great-great uncle was the one who tipped off the council to the breach. Over the last one hundred plus years, there have been two other attacks on members of Arkadia’s families’ lives.”

  “You think this is some old family vendetta of revenge?” Bohdan asked, his head tilted as he thought about the possibility.

  “I am saying it is an option. If she hadn’t been attacked at the house, I perhaps would have jumped toward Violet, but seeing Arkadia’s panic after being held in Violet’s magic spell and the fear in her eyes, I say there is a fairly good chance it’s Violet that has her.”

  Bohdan jumped up off the stairs, a spark of hope in his eyes. “That’s great. Let’s just find Violet, and we will find Arkadia.”

  Eloise put her hands up again to silence Bohdan. “That may prove more difficult than you think. Violet’s family has appeared human for many years because of a deal made with a witch back in the eighteenth century. The book recorded Violet’s ancestor saved a witch from sudden death and was granted a wish of sorts, to which they requested invisibility or a ‘cloaking’ spell to become part of their abilities.”

  A frown appeared on Bohdan's face as Eloise said, “IF Violet has her, then it maybe near impossible to find her.”

  It was then Eloise saw Bohdan snap, his body contorting and re-shaping itself. Wings started to protrude from his shoulder blades, and his skin turned from a lovely deep tan to pure jet black scales, so shiny they looked wet. The final transition was the face, his nose elongating to form his fire breathing muzzle, which happened to hold a scary full set of very sharp teeth.

  Eloise stood and took a step back onto the porch as she witnessed this magnificent transformation from man to dragon, in what seemed like seconds. The dragon looked straight at Eloise; she nodded and said, “Go find her, dragon. Stay safe and check back in, okay?” The dragon’s head nodded up and down in understanding, as he spread his magnificent wings. Eloise marveled as they must have been over thirty feet across. She shielded her eyes as the beast flapped its wings to lift his massive body off the ground.

  She hoped he might find her, but feared it wouldn’t be enough.

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Arkadia didn't know whether it was day or night, and there was barely enough l
ight for her to be able to recognize if her eyes were open. The stench was making her stomach recoil. Omgaaawwwddd. I hope that isn't me. Her tummy threatened to empty itself at such a vile smell. Arkadia tried to breathe through her mouth as the fear of the unknown was taking hold of her brain. Adrenaline spiked through her body, lighting her up like a raging out of control forest fire; her fight-or-flight reaction was alive and kicking. She took stock of her body. Legs move … phew … Yes, arms move too … yes. As she began to stretch, Arkadia quickly realized the size of the cage she was in was no bigger than a glorified dog holder. "What the f..." she said, and froze as a door creaked open at the top of a staircase. For the first time, she was able to see her surroundings, and a small gasp escaped her lips as she fully realized that there was something worse than a death sentence by the council.

  As more light emptied into the room, Arkadia could see the windows were small and high on the wall, so she guessed she was held in a basement. In one corner there was a sink, and from where she was, it looked black with grime and filth. Piles of rubbish and papers were scattered over the floor. Beside the sink, she could see a door, and thought it was most likely a bathroom door, but seeing the state of this room, she would hazard a guess the toilet was far worse.

  The more the door at the top of the stairs opened, the more light flooded in, and she was now able to see that there was another cage, similar to hers, on the other side of the room... Inside was a slumped figure. Arkadia gulped loudly as she wondered who it was and if they were already dead.

  Fear spiked through her body as a person appeared at the top of the stairs, slowly descending step by painful step. Arkadia was in shock and disbelief that this was happening to her. This happens in the movies, to girls in matching bra and panties sets, not to average kids in small towns. The light behind her captor was casting a shadow across their face, making it difficult to see them clearly until they got a little closer.

  Arkadia gasped audibly as she saw Violet’s face. “Violet? Thank God it’s you … help me get out of here, quick,” Arkadia said feeling hopeful. Sadly, that hopeful feeling evaporated when she looked at the pure evil smile that crossed Violet’s face. Her voice was calm, soft, and full of venom when she asked, “Why would I let you go? When I went to so much trouble to put you in?” Violet dropped a bucket of water in front of the cage. “In case you’re thirsty,” she said, turned around, and disappeared back up the stairs.

  If Arkadia’s mind was a race car, it was winning the Formula 1 right now. Violet kidnapped me? Violet kidnapped me? Arkadia tried to get her mind around the idea that one of her best friends in the entire world had her trapped in a small, dirty cage, surrounded by decomposing god-knows-what, but by the smell it certainly wasn’t recently dead. Suddenly her demeanor changed. “VIOLET FUCKING KIDNAPPED ME! FUCKING BITCH … LET ME OUT!” Arkadia screamed with all the breath and anger she could muster, grabbing the cage and rattling it for the life of her, which it may indeed come down to costing her exactly that. Shaking the cage again, she knew Violet would come. She wasn’t sure what was going on, but she sure as sugar knew it wasn’t good. Sitting back in the corner, she stretched her legs out in front, which with the length of the cage, was only about half way. She leaned back against the cage that she barely fit in. Her jeans were filthy and ripped, and big drag marks of dirt trailed up the back of her jeans and shirt. Tears started to flow, and she didn’t know what to do. She had tried to contact Eloise brain to brain, but nothing, all she got back was dead air space.

  She stopped as she heard a moan. The lump in the other cage was in fact a person and seemingly alive. “Hey, are you alright?” Arkadia asked in a loud whisper; she didn’t want to alert Violet to this poor soul being awake, and wanted to give them time to adjust first.

  Watching the body roll over, Arkadia could see it was a female that looked about the same age as her. More moaning came from around the poor girl. She was obviously in pain and shock. “My name is Arkadia. Are you okay?” Arkadia tried asking again. As the girl’s head turned over and she opened her eyes to look at Arkadia, Arkadia fell back into her cage, her hand going across her mouth stifling a scream as Violet looked back at her from INSIDE the cage. How hard did I get hit on the head?

  Chapter Forty

  “Who are you?” whispered Arkadia to the girl in the other cage. She had obviously been beaten, and her clothes were filthy and ripped. Mud smeared up her cheek, and what looked like a black eye was starting.

  “Who the hell do you think it is, Arkadia? The Queen?” Violet grumbled as she tried to stretch in the cage, finding a position that was comfortable was a fruitless endeavor.

  Arkadia tilted her head in confusion. “I admit I have taken a hard blow to the head, but last time I checked there was only one of you?” she rubbed her eyes as she continued, “And since I woke up in this hellhole, I have definitely seen two.”

  Violet sighed as she spoke softly. “There was only ever ONE Violet; however, this ONE Violet does have an identical twin sister, Ivy, and that’s who is upstairs.”

  “Woahhh … ” said Arkadia. “You have a twin? How the hell don’t we know about it? I have known you since we were kids; that has got to be bullshit.”

  Violet shook her head. “Ivy is very real, I should know. She has only just recently returned to live with us as Mom and Dad had her boarding in another type of home,” Violet said as she moved slightly. Letting out a pained yelp, she cried, “That bitch has broken a few of my ribs.” Her arm wrapped instinctively around herself, and she panted small breaths to try and cope with the pain.

  “Another ‘type’ of home?” asked Arkadia.

  Violet’s voice was now raspy and pained, and she spoke quietly. “Yes, another type, for example, the home you’re in is to help you, right? You’re having issues with your abilities, and the den mother wants to help you.” Nodding, Arkadia’s eyes were bulging out of her head at complete disbelief that a friend she had known for years knew a lot more about her than she had ever thought. Violet continued, “Well, the place Ivy has been is for the un-helpable; she is damaged up here.” Violet tapped her head. “There is something very wrong with Ivy. She doesn’t visit often, and I class that as a blessing”.

  “You mean she is a Whack-a-Doodle?” Arkadia asked.

  Violet replied very quickly with, “A very deadly Whack-a-Doodle, hell bent on vengeance.”

  Arkadia asked, “Vengeance? On who? I haven’t done anything, and you’re her TWIN sister for goodness sake … I mean like what the freak!!!!”

  The door creaked open, and both Violet and Arkadia turned their heads to look at the new sliver of light that cascaded downward into the basement. Ivy descended, the menace radiating off her was almost palpable, and walking over to Violet’s cage she asked, “You’re awake now, sis?” Ivy spat the last word as she kicked the cage hard. “Hi, Ivy,” Violet whispered back. She lowered her eyes so as not to antagonize the devil inside her sister.

  Arkadia decided the direct approach might be the way to get out of here, and she swallowed hard against the fear swelling in her throat, and said, “Ivy, there must be a misunderstanding. I don’t know you, and this has nothing to do with me. Can you let me go?” Ivy’s head spun to look directly at Arkadia, her eyes burning brighter than molten lava. Grabbing a chair and dragging it over to Arkadia’s cage, the scraping on the concrete floor was painful to listen to. She stopped near the cage, but just out of reaching distance.

  Straddling the chair, Ivy said, “Only one thing I want from you …” Ivy’s dark, almost black, eyes stared at Arkadia as she continued, “your death.” Arkadia waited for the punch line; however, it was not coming. Ivy’s face remained cold and unfeeling as she had simply stated that only the death of Arkadia would suffice her needs.

  “As you may have noticed, you aren’t the only para in this house.” Ivy smiled deviously as she watched Arkadia’s face change with the understanding of what was really happening and who she was truly dealing with. Continuing on, she sai
d, “My stupid sister has been happy to continue living a fake life, letting humans and paras both think she is a simple, silly girl that goes to school and only concentrates on her hair. We come from a very long line of Mesmers, we are dark fae, and should be proud to be dark fae, but goody-two-shoes like my disgusting sister think its okay to be good.” Ivy shot a death stare at her sister in the other cage. “No MORE, this ends now.” Ivy stood, walked over to Violet’s cage, and kicked it again. “SHE HAS TO DIE … TONIGHT!” Ivy screeched. “Finally, our family will have vengeance, justice will be served, and the main course is her head on a platter.”

  “Ivy,” Violet pleaded. “I am begging you. This was forgotten decades ago, leave it in the past. It is not our battle to fight.”

  Ivy spat as she spoke, venom coating every word she uttered. “It is our battle. You might not want to end it, but I do. It was her great uncle that caused our grandmother of yester-year generations to be eliminated; her family caused the death of one of our family. I say it’s an EYE FOR AN EYE!” Ivy walked over to the bag at the base of the stairs, reached in, and pulled out a long length of white, wax-coated rope. Walking back to Violet, she said, “Hands out of the cage.”

  “Ivy. No …” Violet cried.

  “HANDS OUT OF THE FUCKING CAGE, NOW!” Ivy screamed at her. Violet locked eyes with Arkadia who had been watching silently from her cage.