I breakdown here. I don’t know how long I cry for but it feels like forever. I wonder if there’s any escape from this place. The headquarters was heavily guarded with both men and power and I don’t doubt this place is too.
I literally hit my head against the metal beams of the bleachers in hopes that the physical pain will out rule the mental pain. It doesn’t work.
“Ariella? It’s Baylon, what are you doing? Are you alright? Where are we?” a female voice exclaims.
“Baylon? What are you doing here?” I ask through sobs, half excited to see her. She has yet to discern my trust which is something that I can’t say for many people in my life right now.
“I escaped from Tarot shortly after speaking to you earlier today. I’ve been looking for you. I have news but I don’t think this is the best place to tell it to you. Where’s Daymon?” she asks and begins climbing through the maze of metal bars that make up the bleachers. This day feels like it’s lasted a millennium.
“Baylon, you have to get me out of here. I’ll explain everything as soon as we are out of here I promise,” I beg and begin making my way towards her. It’s nearly dark and I can barely see.
She seems to sense the urgency in my voice and suddenly we are no longer trapped in the mess of the bleachers but sitting on a bench next to a subway station.
“Are you alright, Ariella? You look like a mess,” she observes and grabs my hand. “Your aura is vibrating with anger. Where is Daymon? And what were you doing in Germany?”
After I explain my situation through sobs she grasps me in a huge bear hug and lets me cry in her arms.
“I’m sure there’s something in my grandmother’s spell books that can help bring him back to the light, Ariella,” Baylon tries. “If the Tario can create life then they can bring life into the light. I really hate to make your life any worse right now but we need to talk.”
“About what?” I ask cautiously, wiping away tears.
“Before I snuck out of Tarot I heard some of the surviving elders talking. They were saying how they needed to protect the ‘the ball’. I had no idea what they were talking about so I kept listening and apparently the knife isn’t the only thing that can kill Tario. There’s a ball that’s full of power, it acts as some sort of receptor, it receives power from the Tario’s home realm, the one we destroyed, and sends it here to be used. If this ball is destroyed then all magical power on this planet will seize to exist,” she explains with elaborate hand motions.
“What does that mean?” I wonder curiously.
“Any surviving witches, Tario, immortals, vampires, whatever, they’ll essentially become human. They’ll be powerless. And to destroy this ball we literally just need to break it open so the power escapes and goes back to where it came from. The ball is essentially tethering the power to this realm,” she hurries on excitedly.
“Why wouldn’t my mom…sorry our mom…known about this?” I ask.
“Only the five elders seem to know about it. They’re the ones who make the rules and everything. There are only three of them left and of course they’ll be protecting this ball with everything they’ve got but I think we can get to it if we can round up enough people,” she continues.
“This would’ve been really nice to know like 24 hours ago,” I tell her.
“I know, I’m sorry,” she apologizes and rubs my back sympathetically. I thought that seeing Baylon again would stir some kind of jealousy in me because of the whole thing that went down with her and Daymon but it doesn’t.
“Why are you telling me this? If we break do manage to break this thing, you’ll be human,” I mutter confused. Part of me wonders if this is some sort of set up or trap.
“Wouldn’t bother me a bit.” Baylon shrugs flippantly.
I contemplate this new option before deciding that we need to find the others. I’m not sure whether trust Baylon but I mean how much worse can our situation get?
“We should tell the others,” I decide.
Chapter 12
After hours of tracking spells performed by Baylon, we discover that the others are somewhere in Michigan. When we arrive in Michigan it’s nearly morning and I’m exhausted having not slept in far too long.
I can’t get Daymon out of my head. His ferocious red eyes are burnt into my mind and won’t go away. I tell Baylon everything, from the minute that we arrived at Marco’s dungeon to the moment she helped me escape. I owe her big time, even if I’m uneasy about trusting her. I tell her about our mother’s death, and she seems more bothered by it than I expected. She seems genuinely upset about it and continually asks me about what she was like. I tell her what I can which seems to satisfy her questioning for the time being but I expect that if we get through all of this, she’ll have more questions.
“Ariella? What are you doing here?” Jacob asks as we round the corner to where Baylon’s location spell has led us. Then he sees Baylon. I see him recognize her as Tario almost immediately and his eyes widen. I’m so thankful that he’s alright.
“She’s with me,” I reassure him and he doesn’t seem to be so happy about the whole thing.
“Who is she and what does she want?” Jacob demands.
“She’s my sister, her name is Baylon,” I answer cautiously. He eyes her with hatred. I know he sees this as true when he takes in our remarkable resemblance.
We’re interrupted by Tyler sprinting around the corner. He looks like hell. His clothes are tattered and his face covered in dirt and blood. He stops dead in his tracks when he sees me and Baylon.
“Where’s dad?” I demand, partially freaking out that he’s not in sight.
“He’s fine. He’s scouting out our next attack,” Tyler answers breathlessly. He looks exhausted.
“This is my…er…long lost twin,” I tell Baylon. She smiles appreciatively and introduces herself. “Tyler, this is your half-sister Baylon.”
Tyler nods appreciatively. I see that he doesn’t hold such a large grudge against the Tario.
“Mom? Corra?” I ask finally. The boys’ faces become pained.
Jacob answers, “Tyler was getting ready to kill one of the Tario and somehow the Tario switched places with your mom and Tyler…well he accidentally stabbed her.”
I gape. Obviously I’m very upset by this but Tyler looks absolutely broken by it. After all, he killed his own mother, the woman who raised him. Tyler’s face is grief-stricken. I can tell he’s trying to be strong but I see both guilt and grief across his face and I want to hug him. The poor guy, if I was in a situation where I accidentally killed my father, I could never forgive myself.
“Corra was trying to hold down one of them so Tyler could finish them off and the Tario moved and the knife cut Corra just barely and that was that,” Jacob continues sadly. “Tyler is a very strong fighter, maybe not so much physically but his power is very strong, it’s no wonder your mother chose him for the job and not anyone else. I thought D was strong but…he’s nothing compared to Tyler,” Jacob says.
This comment seems to perk Tyler up just a little. I can’t imagine killing my own mother or a family friend like Corra at that. The grief he must feel. I wonder how this will affect him in the future if he has much of one.
“Speaking of which, where is that bastard?” Jacob asks, referring to Daymon.
I’m only telling this story once because it pains me to even think about it. So I tell them to find dad and we’ll talk. After all, he needs to hear the news about this glass ball.
Later we are eating pizza at a diner when I tell them about Daymon. Of course I leave out the part where he tried to get me to have a threesome with him and some random chick. I hate telling them this because I know they’re already skeptic about his being a vampire but I know I have to. I again be sure to steer clear from telling them about how we are romantically involved in any way.
I also tell them about the ball of power and everyone seems on board with the idea to my surprise. I thought some of them would value their immortality or po
wer too much to give it up and I also thought they’d be very skeptic having this idea come from a Tario.
Baylon does her best to convince us all that she can be trusted. She must succeed at least some because she’s still alive, and no one has tried to kill her yet.
Part of me hopes that now that I’ve gone missing from Marco’s dungeon he will give Daymon his light back and send him out to find me although I know this is a far stretch.
We decide to go after this power ball late at night when the Tario will be most off of their guard. I get some rest in a hotel room while I can and Jacob, Tyler, and my father go out to get rid of some more Tario. Baylon stays with me to make sure that Marco doesn’t come back for me. She puts a new protection spell on me so he can’t find me and I’m beyond thankful for her help. I can’t imagine going back there and being tortured by Daymon’s darkness. I wonder how long it was going to be before Marco lost entertainment in my pain and decided to let me become dark.
When I wake up from my nap it’s light out. I’m surprised by this. I am even more surprised that my father, Jacob, and Tyler aren’t back yet. Baylon sits watching TV and drinking a soda.
“They’re not back?” I ask, sounding agitated. If they’re not back then something bad has happened.
“Nope,” she answers and switches the TV off.
“What do we do?”
She shrugs. “I have no idea. We could go off on our own to destroy the ball but that’d be stupid and really dangerous. I could track them.”
“Okay, let’s track them,” I agree.
Baylon rises from the bed. I realize that she’s changed into a baby blue knee length dress that matches her eyes. It’s absolutely beautiful and I only wish that I could pull off something like that.
We try tracking them for almost four hours before we come up empty and have to call it quits. Now what?
“You know what, Ariella? I thought I should be so upset that our mother is dead but I’m not in any more pain than if my dog would’ve died. It’s bothering me more that I’m not in as much pain as I should be than that she’s dead,” Baylon says suddenly, catching me off guard. I’m not sure how to reply.
“Well, you didn’t really know her so…” I trail off not sure where I was going with this.
“Are you okay?” she asks me then and reaches for my hand as if to soothe me.
I think about this before I answer. “Yeah, I think so. She lived a very long life. I mean, I didn’t really know her either. I spent fourteen years of my life thinking she was already dead and then I just met her again a few days ago so…”
“I know what you mean,” Baylon agrees and then releases my hand.
“You’re so pretty, Ariella. You could be a model,” Baylon compliments me and tucks a strand of my hair behind my ear.
Me? A model? Is she high? She is absolutely stunning. I’m so average.
“I’m so glad that I got to meet you. I’ve always wanted a sister. I mean I have Anessa but…like anyone who has the darkness sucked out of them, she is a little…off. In fact, she is right at the front line of the movement alongside my dad and his mom my grandma Layli to exterminate the humans by introducing them to the supernatural,” she explains. “I would die for Anessa, but I know she wouldn’t do the same for me.” At the mention of Layli I have to force down some anger. I will never forgive that woman. I hate being tricked and lied to.
“You don’t seem to be concerned for the Tario. You just let my father and brothers go off to kill some,” I admit in a statement but mean it to be a question.
“I’m not. I love this planet. I love the humans and the animals and just everything. If the Tario went extinct, I wouldn’t be bothered. They’ve done nothing for me but lock me up,” she explains and I see her point.
“I understand,” I say but I’m not sure that I do one hundred percent. How can you hate your own kind?
Baylon offers me an unopened bottle of soda. I take it.
“Ariella, can I ask you something?” Baylon asks nervously.
“Sure.” I shrug and pop the top of the bottle.
“I’m young. I mean for being Tario. My power isn’t as practiced as most Tario’s. I sense that you struggle with your darkness. I sensed the same thing with your brother Tyler. I mean our brother. Neither of you is light or dark, are you?”
I shake my head and then tell her what my mother explained to me about Tyler and myself.
“If you were human, what would you do with your life?” she then asks, catching me off guard.
I have no idea how to answer this and she laughs when she sees my lost expression. I have to admit that though I know I’m not human, I really haven’t had the time to dwell on this fact. I still see myself as living a human life one day. I still feel like this could all be a dream.
“You’re young, I get that. If I were human I think I would go to school to be a nurse or a doctor,” she says thoughtfully.
“Why can’t you do that as what you are now?” I mean, med school would be no problem when you have all the time in the world. Eventually you’d get through it.
She sighs. “The Tario aren’t allowed to work human jobs.”
I wrinkle my nose at her and she giggles.
“I really hope that one day we can be real sisters. Human sisters and we can do human things together like go shopping and eat ice cream out of the container.” She giggles some more.
“Me too,” I agree. “Baylon, how did you escape and where is your sister?”
This seems to break her good mood. “My father was supposed to be watching me but Anessa came through the door saying she had news to tell him. She wouldn’t let me hear it and I don’t think he expected me to escape. I never have tried before. They went into the other room to speak and I literally just walked out of my home. I didn’t want them to follow my essence trail, so I had to walk out of Tarot. I had to walk through a council meeting which is where I heard about the glass ball. The entire time I was nibbling my cheeks nervously hoping that no one saw me. It was so nerve wracking but I made it out and then I found you!” She smiles but it lacks confidence.
I pull my brown hair up into a pony tail and think about our next move. While I do so, Baylon seems to stare at me as if I’m an interesting spectacle.
“What?” I ask, confused by her look.
“Nothing, I’m just trying to understand you.”
“What do you mean?” I ask, suddenly self-conscious.
She laughs and straightens out her dress. “You’re eighteen years old and you have the courage and bravery of a knight. I’ve been around far longer and I lack both of those traits.”
I’m not sure what to say so I just smile and then nod towards the door.
She nods with an exasperate sigh and says, “I guess we’re doing this on our own, huh?”
“I guess so.” I nod in agreement and put on my shoes. No point in wasting time. I try not to imagine what might have happened to the others.
“I can pop us into Tarot. I know where this ball will be. There’s this town center where the council meets. The oldest elder, he’s like the ‘king of the Tario’ basically, he lives there. Everyone will be looking for me so it’s going to be tough to sneak in there but it’s not protected too badly because not many Tario dare disobey the law. We have to sneak in this building that they use for court hearings, that’s where the ball is.”
“The law?” I question, wondering what she means.
“Yeah, it’s against the law to enter this place without invitation from an elder.”
“I take it I don’t want to know what they do to those who break the law,” I infer.
She shakes her head quickly and grimaces. “Are you up to it?”
“Yup,” I answer nervously.
She laughs awkwardly. “Okay, let’s do this.”
When we get to Tarot, we are in small storage room. “Where the hell are we?” I ask.
“Shh, the Tario have super hearing, Ariella. Just follow me,” Baylon inst
ructs and opens the storage room door revealing a very large kitchen.
She pauses for a moment as if she’s listening and the signals for me to follow her.
“This is as close as I can get us to the building we need to be in,” she whispers.
We sneak through the house and I wonder where we are. I follow her quietly out of the building and we begin sneaking down to the next house which is absolutely huge. I assume that this is the place we’re looking for as it very elaborate. She leads me back around to the back door and then listens through the door for a long time before looking around and then walking right in. This place looks more like a house than a courthouse.
I’m surprised that it’s not locked but am not in a position to question it right now. I slip into the house after her and descend a large staircase. She motions for me to be really quiet and I see why when I see three men positioned in a circle. They are standing like statues with theirs backs to a large black wooden stand with a little tiny crystal-like ball positioned on top of it. I realize that this little ball must be the thing we’re after. I’m shocked to see that it’s no bigger than a plum. This is basically what their lives depend on?
She motions for me to remain where I am and has me tucked behind a decorative fountain. I wonder what she’s going to do. Then she does the unthinkable and walks right out into the open.
“Hello, my father requests your presence, elders,” she says lightly as if this is the most normal thing.
“Where is he, are you not supposed to be watched at all times?” I hear one of the men ask.
“That’s the problem, elders. There’s been a catastrophe,” she continues.
“Why is he not here? What kind of catastrophe?” Another one of the men asks.
“I don’t know. He wouldn’t tell me,” she attempts.
I hear the third man chuckle.
“Baylon, dear, get out of here before you get yourself landed in prison,” one of them warns.
Baylon doesn’t give up and I wish that I could go out there and fix things but going out there will only get both of us in deep shit. I remain silent where I am.
Tainted Heart (The Tainted Series Book 2) Page 13