by Ainsley Shay
Adelina had done more than plan this out, she had orchestrated an entire future for each and every one of us involved in her puppet show. She planned to be the one alive while the rest of us killed one another. I needed to shift my thoughts. “What happened between you and Kenyon?” I asked Chandler.
“There’s an entertaining story,” Blacwin said, and chuckled.
Chandler snorted. He picked up a stick and tapped it against the ground. “It was a long time ago.”
“Duh, I figured that much out.”
He huffed out a humiliated breath. “When I left to go look for Adelina, while you were still at Skelside, I had to cross the bridge. As you’ll see when we get closer to Skelside, there’s no other way.”
“Get to the good part, would you already?” Blacwin said.
“As I started over the bridge, Kenyon and his minions came up out of the water, ’cause that’s what they did when they had nothing else to do—which was most of the time. Anyway, I was so focused on finding Adelina I’d forgotten about them. As I came to the center of the bridge, they rose and scared the ever-living-shit out of me. I drew my blade and sliced through the air. I felt it hit something and realized it was one of the moat creatures. It was only a thin cut, but when they sensed the blood, they wanted revenge for what I had unintentionally done. I ran the rest of the distance over the bridge. Just as I reached the edge of the forest, I was yanked off my feet. It was Kenyon. He made sure I would never catch up to Adelina. Now I know why.”
“He will protect her to the end,” I said. Chandler and Blacwin both nodded. I took a bite of the granola bar. It was dry and brittle in my mouth, hard to chew and harder to swallow.
“We must move soon. I want to get across the moat when the sun is just on the horizon,” Blacwin suggested.
“We should plan to get across when it’s still dark. That way—”
Blacwin cut Chandler off. “That way we’ll be the ones who will become the targets. We need to be able to see where his guards are positioned and what their plan of attack is.”
“If they have one,” Chandler scoffed.
“Be certain, they have one.”
I had to go with Blacwin on this. We were pretty sure Penemuel had already returned to Skelside several months ago. He would have told Lord Darenfys everything he’d learned while he was living in Gradywoods posing as the creative writing teacher at the high school. He had never found Adelina, which was the main reason he was there. She had fled before he had arrived. But, he had found an ulterior motive for being there...me.
“Penemuel will be waiting for us. And, he will no doubt have the Fallen army prepared to take us down.”
I heard the disdain in Blacwin’s voice as he spoke about his brother, Penemuel, who had stayed true to the Lord. He was his main guard. Blacwin’s hatred for his brother had grown to the point of no redemption when he’d kidnapped me and had planned to kill me before Blacwin and Chandler had shown up. Penemuel had escaped, and as far as we knew, he would no doubt have returned to his master’s side.
“Let’s get moving,” Blacwin said.
I started to feel bad for my brother. He had not gotten his way almost the entire trip. He had even given up his seat by the window for me on the long flight here. I put my arm around his shoulder. He was taller than I was, but I managed. “Hey, let’s just get this over with. Kill Lord D, find Adelina, kill her, drain her blood so we can bring back Snow and my mom, and get the hell out of here.”
Chandler nodded. “Sounds like a plan to me.”
None of the things on my short to-do list would be easy. In fact, all of them would be hard as hell and just as deadly. The three of us were up against powerful beings that possessed magic and immortality. It dawned on me I had never asked Chandler or Blacwin if they could be killed. “Guys, if you guys can live forever, then how does someone actually kill you? Scratch that—rephrase, how do we kill the guards if they are like you?”
“Slice through the neck, the jugular to be exact—cut off their head if you can—they need to bleed out,” Chandler said.
“Oh...my...God! Do you know how gross that is?”
Chandler held his hand out for me to take. I did, and he pulled me to my feet. “Sis, I know more than I’d like to admit.” I winced. “All of them, like us, have Lord Darenfys’ blood coursing through them, and his blood is powerful.”
I once was forced to drink his blood, but that was lifetimes ago, and it wasn’t enough. I wish I had the time to learn how to fight.
“Hopefully, you won’t need to.”
“What?” I asked Chandler, startled he had heard me when I hadn’t spoken. It had happened a few times in the past and each time it felt just as disturbing and intrusive.
He ignored my question and said, “You have only one job: kill Lord Darenfys. Get to him, stab him through the heart with the dagger, and kill the bastard once and for all.”
It wasn’t going to be easy; the Lord would be heavily surrounded by his guards. Invisibility would do a girl perfect, right about now. We gathered our backpacks and headed for the edge of the woods. It was still dark, but I could tell this was the same place we’d begun to emerge from last night, before Kenyon arrived.
The night was still holding. The moon was low and the sun was creeping just below the horizon. Daybreak would be visible in a matter of minutes. We started across the field, and when I saw the drawbridge, the feelings of familiarity stung like a wasp. I was Catherine again, helpless and hoping for only a place to rest for the night, and food. All of those years ago I had gotten much more than those things, I became: lost in a sick love triangle, cursed, had fallen in love, been imprisoned, and eventually suffered death. I stopped, unable to take another step as I remembered the horror. This was real. We were going into Hell to face the devil himself.
“What’s wrong?” Blacwin asked, stopping next to me.
“I can’t do this.” My voice was a hoarse whisper, on the verge of a scream. “I can’t. Everything is coming back to me in full force. None of the colors, but every other horror I had experienced here.” I fell to my knees.
Chandler was at my side in an instant. “It won’t be the same as last time. We are the ones on the hunt this time. We are the ones who have the upper hand.”
I shook my head. Only moments ago it was I who was giving him the pep talk on how easy our mission would be. It was my turn to crack. “If I go in there, he will keep me, forever this time. He won’t let me die. He’s waited too long to have me. Centuries of yearning for someone who will walk right through his front door and into his arms.”
“Yes!” Chandler howled. “That is exactly what we want you to do. Then, you stab the dagger into his dark heart with the dagger.” His excitement almost soaked through my terror, but it was blocked at the edges by tortured memories.
“Baby, listen to me.” Blacwin was kneeling next to me and pulling me into his arms. I tucked myself into him and felt his warmth and emanating love. “You are the strongest person I have ever known. I have watched you suffer in ways that have shredded my insides into raw pain, and you have survived. Just as I was born to love you with every cell of my being, this is what you were born to do, kill him.”
His words sank deeply into my soul. He was right. I wanted my life and I wanted it with him.
“Find the courage, baby. Find the courage. Chandler and I will be by your side. Together we can do this.”
Blacwin’s voice was soft, yet determined to get me moving. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. I closed my eyes and reached for all of the inner strength I could find. As I started to rise, Chandler was on one side and Blacwin on the other. We were in this together and each of us had something to fight for. There was only one choice for me, and that was to kill the enemies. I breathed in their strength and determination to conquer and conclude what we came here to do.
As we walked forward, the drawbridge grew closer. I saw the dark, slithering, spiny back of a creature slinking below the water’s su
rface. A thick-coiled chain was embedded into the flesh of its tail. It had been there a long time. Chandler was the first to cross. His cautious, fast-moving steps would have been humorous in a different situation. I followed quickly behind him, without diverting my eyes from the other side of the bridge. Blacwin followed closely behind me.
We were on Skelside soil, Lord Darenfys’ turf. Our element of surprise had wavered when the guard who was patrolling the grounds spotted us. He was on foot, not horseback. It was like stepping into another time zone or realm. The scene was straight out of the fifteenth century. Chandler started in a full-on run to catch the guard before he had the chance to announce our arrival. Blacwin took hold of my arm. Chandler sped closer and closer to the guard. The guard’s armor weighed him down, making it easy for Chandler to catch him. My heart sped up with every stride he took.
Chandler leaped into the air and landed on the guard, bringing him down. The armor crashed onto the ground and echoed off the stone walls. They rolled over and over until Chandler was on top of the guard. I watched in horror as Chandler ripped the facemask off the guard. With agility and speed, Chandler tore the knife from the holster on his belt and held the blade against the guard’s throat. The guard’s stunned reaction stilled as Chandler drew the blade across the guard’s throat. The guard’s jerking body stilled.
I looked away. This was what the act of murder in battle looked like. I knew I had no choice, but if I did, I knew I never wanted to see it again. I tucked my head into the crook of Blacwin’s arm. That was only the beginning.
Chandler lifted himself off the guard, and Blacwin and I started toward Chandler. He stood, and the look of triumph did not mask his somber expression. Blacwin seemed to understand. He set his hand on Chandler’s shoulder. “This won’t be easy. Almost every one of them was once our brother.”
It was something I hadn’t thought of. They would be killing the men they had once fought with and would kill for, and most likely die for.
“We have no choice,” was all Chandler said.
The sun was half way over the horizon. The soft light silhouetted the castle, making whatever or whoever was coming our way difficult to see. We moved swiftly across the field, quickly closing the distance between us, and Skelside. A wall of guards appeared. Their dark, fierce uniforms symbolizing strength and pride. Standing out in front of all of them was the Lord himself.
My stomach heaved when I saw him. Bile burned my throat. His haunting beauty was translucent through the evil that made him what he was, a self-made monster.
He crossed his hands over his heart, and with sickening delight said, “My beautiful Catherine has come home.”
His knowing smirk said he’d known I would someday return to him.
Today was that day.
4
“Don’t call me that!”
“Forgive me, my love. It’s the only name I have in my heart.”
I wanted to throw up. His voice was exactly the way I had heard it in my nightmares; it was rich and velvety, and dripped with authority and expectation. Blacwin tightened his hand over mine. I still felt exposed to the Lord, as Chandler moved closer to my side. The weight of the dagger grew in my backpack. It reminded me what I was here to do. I stared across the field at his army. They would do whatever it took to prevent me from accomplishing that goal. Just seeing them caused whatever was left of my confidence to plummet into the abyss of hopelessness.
Lord Darenfys stepped toward us. He motioned for his guards to stay back. His elegant swagger mocked the awkward stance I portrayed. He was still twenty feet away from us when he said, “I do apologize. Why don’t you and I have wine—you do love my special blended wine, remember?”
“I remember gagging on it.” The disdain in my tone caused him to pause. Then his grin thinned into a sad smile that would be branded in my skull until I died. I cringed at the thought it might not be too far from now. I needed to be nice to him in order to get close, but I found it to be impossible. The guard’s faces showed they were immune to any of the conversation between Lord Darenfys and me. They were mere statues waiting for his next demand.
I dreaded what his next command would be; kill them, do what you want with them, make sure they suffer. Nothing good could come from this. Nothing. “Blacwin,” I whispered. Twisting at the waist, I turned my back slightly from the Lord and his army. “This is the end—” I paused, calculating my next words. Carefully arranging them in just the right order. “There wasn’t enough time—and I—”
“Don’t,” he said, cutting me off. His voice was husky and full of the same dread that weighed down my heart. “I won’t let you tell me goodbye. Not like this—not ever.” His eyes never left the line of soldiers in front of us.
“I just—”
Chandler nudged my shoulder. “This is not the moment to challenge him. Blacwin has come here to fight and to avenge. Don’t be the distraction that gets him killed.”
Ouch! I opened my mouth to speak but then quickly closed it again. I wanted to be the hero. I wanted to be the one to kill the enemy. I didn’t want to be the one who would get us killed in the process. I nodded and didn’t speak another word until necessary. It didn’t take long.
Darenfys gave a slight wave of his hand. Four soldiers closed the distance between them and us. Involuntarily, I stepped backed. “Shit, they’re coming.”
“Calm down, four is nothing.” The unease and shakiness of Chandler’s voice suggested otherwise.
“Brother?” I said.
“Yeah?”
“I have a feeling underestimating them will only get us killed faster.”
The sun and all its glory rose behind the guards. Its glare silhouetted the line of soldiers, amplifying their thick armor. The four guards were more than halfway to us when Blacwin let go of my hand and stepped in front of me. Chandler stood firm next to him. My heart pounded with a fury I knew wouldn’t subside until we were far away from Skelside.
The guards’ steps were in sync. Each had a sword at their side. It clanged against the armor with each stride they took. I caught sight of them through the thin break between Blacwin’s and Chandler’s shoulders. They were approaching fast. I wanted to run, when I should have wanted to fight. Draw out the dagger and thrust it into the guts of these oncoming monsters.
I didn’t.
I stood frozen behind my own wall of protection. Blacwin and Chandler both took a step forward. There was a gap between them and me.
The four guards stopped a few feet away from them. “It would be wise if you came with us of your own will,” one of them said.
“And let you kill us without a fight?” Chandler asked.
“My old friend, in case you haven’t noticed, you are outnumbered by a hundred.” The guard’s voice was tinged with humor and sarcasm.
The guard took another step closer and began to draw his sword. Blacwin put up his hand. “Macon don’t, we’ll go with you.”
Chandler’s head jerked toward Blacwin. He hadn’t said anything, he didn’t have to. But, I was with Chandler on this one. What? I wanted to scream. Who would voluntarily go with them? I had been under the impression we were here to fight. But, this was Blacwin and I had to believe he had a plan. I tried to push through the two of them, but neither one of them budged. Chandler gave a quick unhappy glance in my direction and returned his stare to the guards. The closest of the four guards moved aside to allow us to walk ahead of them. Blacwin and Chandler went.
I started behind them and the same guard who let them pass drew his sword. My shields, Blacwin and Chandler turned to see the guard press the tip of his sword into the ground at my feet. “You are to be brought directly to the Lord.”
“We are to stay together,” Blacwin said.
“You are to do as you’re told if you want her to live,” replied Macon.
Blacwin’s eyes were ablaze with fury and defeat. He mouthed, “I love you,” to me, before he turned away. As promised, Blacwin and Chandler went without a fight. I
stared in shock as they were led away from me. I was alone; left as prey to the one who wanted nothing more than to make me his. The guards had dispersed to either side of Lord Darenfys. Between him and me, there was only an empty field separating us. The Lord’s eyes met mine. His smile was tender; void of sarcasm, regret, or leadership. I was lost. Before, I’d known what I was supposed to do when I arrived. Now, I wasn’t sure of anything. I’d thought I would have Blacwin and Chandler at my side. Now, I was alone. I was exposed and vulnerable to the monster standing before me.
It had been hundreds of years since I had seen him in person; but in my nightmares, only a few months. It was all the same. Time seemed to have molded into a unit of endless nightmares.
I looked at the ground and deliberately moved my left foot first, then my right. Each step brought me closer to the fallen angel I had grown to hate, night after night. Why was he so beautiful? His light hair was pulled back and tied at the nape of his neck, just as I remembered. Lord Darenfys was the combination of elegance and evil; he was pure perfection. I hated him less than I wanted, and more than he probably deserved. He was an oddity who was partially angelic and immortal, with a minimal part of human. Which was ironic, considering that was the only thing he’d ever wanted to be.
As in my dream, when Catherine—I—had first arrived at Skelside, there was nowhere to go. Guards were everywhere. Trying to out-run them would only be suicide. I had only two things going for me. One was the dagger in my backpack. The other, this time I knew what I was in for.
The guard kept his sword positioned at his side as he guided me onward. Blacwin and Chandler disappeared in the throng of guards. Darenfys was so close. I felt sick to my stomach, and an eerie feeling took over my entire body. It was like a lost or severed connection had been electrified when the two halves reconnected. My gaze shifted from Lord Darenfys to movement near the edge of the castle. As my eyes adjusted, I had to have been imagining the sleek figure. She was out of view to everyone else in the field, but I saw her with more clarity than I’d ever seen anyone. Adelina deBlays, The Carving Witch, stood with her hands resting on her hips, in perfect stillness, as if she were one of her statues. She wore a long, elegant dress covered in leaves, like she was trying to blend in with the forest. Her cunning smile depicted a woman who was on the verge of getting exactly what she wanted. Chills blossomed over my entire body while anger boiled in my veins.