Unwrapped: A Fated Realms Novel - 1

by M J Sherlock

  ‘I prefer boys who make me laugh too.’

  ‘Niall has a lyrical turn of phrase that makes you believe anything. He asked me out a few days ago but each time we dated a disaster happened -’

  ‘- Like what?’ India’s eyes searched my face as if figuring out clues to a puzzle.

  ‘I took him to Looking Glass Pond. How was I to know it was a portal?’ I threw up my hands.

  ‘What happened?’ India tugged bark free from the wound I had left in the fallen tree trunk earlier.

  I shivered. ‘The sky darkened and there was a howling gale. Too late, I noticed the tell-tale blue of a portal. I turned and ran back to the train station.’ Goose bumps pinched my skin. ‘He could see the blue… What does that even mean?’

  ‘And he came back for more?' India’s face radiated interest.

  'Yes, but on our second date someone tried to steal my bag, so I called Taine. We came home to find it trashed, especially my room... As if they were searching for something.' I drew my jacket tighter around me.

  'Did they succeed?' India fidgeted with the zip on her jacket, slithering it up and down.

  A plop of rain landed on my head, and then another and another until it pelted it down. The bare trees offered little shelter. Scanning for a way to get out of the rain, we spotted a small hut, covered with ivy, a short way ahead of us. We made a dash for it, arriving breathless and soaked.

  Our shelter was a bird hide with windows on all sides. Binoculars, notebooks and pens lay on top of a couple of wooden benches. Dark green wax jackets hung on the back of the door. Matching wellies lined the sides. I chucked a jacket to India and put on the other. We laughed at our bedraggled state and squeezed our hair dry.

  ‘You okay?’ India took off her shoes and swung her feet up onto the bench. She sat facing me, hugging her knees tight.

  ‘Yeah. Three clear days on the run. The weather was never going to last.’ I joined her on the bench as the rain distorted our view. Wave after wave of rain crashed over the hide as if we were in a car wash. Water worked its way through the wooden roof, plopping into a metal bucket in the corner.

  ‘I’ll need the loo soon if this dripping noise doesn’t stop.’ I forced a laugh.

  ‘Me too. You said they trashed the place - did the intruders take anything?’

  The laughter died away. 'No, I left my laptop behind, but something felt off, so I hid it in the garage. The rest I stuffed in my backpack and carried with me.' I tugged my hair into a plait and pinged an elastic off my wrist to tie the ends.

  'Do things often feel off before something happens?’ India tilted her head, considering me.

  'Perhaps. I had weird dreams of purple slime and tinkling pianos before I met Vashtin. The piano sound turned out to be the sound of glass shattering in an explosion while the purple slime was Vashtin’s blood. Other weird things have happened too.’

  ‘Like what?’ She leaned in.

  I examined the wooden knots in the ceiling trying to remember. ‘A few days ago, I was in a café when I sketched Niall sitting opposite me. A few minutes later, he strode in.’

  'Do you know what this means?' India asked, sounding excited.

  'No, what?' I hugged my knees, trying to get warm.

  'Your gift may be premonitions or seeing as the Cloaken call it. It is a big deal here. Talk to Annie before you rush off anywhere.'

  ‘Is she here then? Someone called Annie has been sending me messages all year.’

  ‘Yes.’

  We sat in silence for a while, waiting for the rain to ease off. When it did, we sprinted back to the Manor, keen to shower and change. Afterwards, I searched for Annie in the library. If she was there, her flame red hair should make her easy to spot.

  I wished I had brought my sketchpad from our room. The ceilings showed scenes of royal coronations across four different seasons. Each showed the globe and crown as an integral part of the ceremony. Exquisite chandeliers graced the room. Rails for moveable ladders allowed access to floor to ceiling high shelves of books.

  Further mid height bookshelves stood in rows, in a hub and spoke formation. A nest of comfortable seating in shades of blue and red lay at its centre. Wyatt was there, engrossed in a book and I inclined my head before continuing to search for Annie. I ambled past antique writing desks and spindly chairs and marble busts of past royals complete with jewelled crowns on their heads. As I turned the corner of the L-shaped library, it became more spacious, with less furniture and books stealing attention from the decor.

  Annie nestled on a giant beanbag made of royal blue velvet. She appeared half-asleep, her curly hair obscuring her face. A tawny cat purred on her lap. Cat hairs littered her white leggings and emerald tunic. She straightened when she saw me, dislodging the cat.

  ‘Take a weight off and tell me what’s on your mind.’ She pointed at a cream beanbag next to her.

  ‘Besides the fact you’ve driven me mad all year? Giving me and Stella instructions that sent us straight into danger...’

  Annie held up her hand. ‘That’s what I like about you Ellie, the way you hold everything inside - not. One day you’ll understand.’

  I sat and wriggled to get comfortable. However tempting, it wasn’t the right time to have a go at her so I kept my mouth shut. I needed allies. The cat stretched and purred before stalking over and curling up on my lap.

  ‘Plato likes you.’ Annie indicated the cat.

  I petted Plato while I shared my story and India’s suggestion that I may be a Seer.

  Annie drilled down on details of half remembered dreams and déjà vu experiences until my head whirled. ‘What gifts do the other Guardians have?’ She leaned in to stroke Plato’s head.

  ‘I don’t know and I’m not sure they do either.’ Plato purred as I rubbed his soft fur in circles on both sides of his face. His whole body vibrated as he arched his neck in approval.

  ‘We will train for an hour a day. Note down any odd feelings and dreams with the time and date in this journal. Then we can judge if you are a Seer.’

  Annie passed me an exquisite, leather bound journal, which wrapped around on itself and closed with an ornate hook. The journal was cherry red with an image of a phoenix rising from the flames embossed into it.

  ‘The phoenix is a symbol of renewal and rebirth for our people. May it help you on your journey to becoming.’

  Her words rang with prophecy. ‘What do you see about me?’ I rubbed the top of Plato’s head and stroked his nose. Plato licked me gently before resuming his grooming.

  ‘Too much and too little. The Oracle impressed on me to give minimal direction. Anything more could lead you to ricochet onto the wrong path. I didn't foresee Vashtin’s death, only shadows around you both.’

  ‘Can you tell what happens to me or my parents?’

  ‘Mist shrouds your future. There are bursts of light and a cacophony of sound, but the rest remains blurred. Our choices shape the future. Your confusion in the face of so many conflicting options means I cannot predict the outcome.’

  ‘Can you tell when something will happen?’ I paused my petting of Plato.

  ‘You may learn to judge light and shadow and identify people and places. Dates often remain a mystery.’ She gave a half-smile as if at a private joke.

  I felt comfortable until she said her next words. 'The timing of the bag snatch and break-in with your date with Niall is suspicious. Is he with the Venator?’

  Her accusation stung and I gaped. It never occurred to me to suspect him. Memories crowded in on me with a rush. Sending him a text from Elderton Manor. Fantasising about kissing him. Talking about our shared history. Selfies on the Millennium Wheel. Laughing on our way to Looking Glass Pond. Sketching him at Crossed Forks. Him passing me his phone number. The first day I saw him...

  Annie’s words burned me like acid. If correct, how would I ever recover? How could I make it up to my parents? To others? I had led an outsider into what turned out to be one of the Cloaken’s most sacred places. M
y stomach started to regurgitate breakfast and I struggled to choke it down. 'I’ve got to go…' Plato jumped off me as I grabbed the journal and legged it back to our room. Flabbergasted, I lay back on the bed examining the patterns on the ceiling.

  When India returned from the assault course, she took one look at me and asked, 'Is it your parents?’

  I shook my head. ‘Annie.’ My throat closed up as if I had swallowed a marble.

  ‘Sorry I am covered in mud or I would hug you. I’ll shower and then you can tell me why you’re so uptight.'

  When India returned, I shared Annie’s suspicions as she towel-dried her almond-scented hair. I grabbed a tissue, wiped my face and blew my nose several times before chucking the balled-up tissues into the bin.

  'Sorry, but she is right. Taine felt such a force of emotion that day he thought you’d been attacked.’ India applied eyeliner and lipstick before perching next to me on the bed. ‘If the bag snatch wasn’t suspicious, why call him?'

  'Niall likes me. Perhaps someone’s using him...’

  ‘Perhaps.’ Her tone suggested this was unlikely.

  ‘I hid my laptop. Maybe I suspected something. Did I tell him anything important? I texted him from Elderton Manor.' For a moment, I covered my face with my hands like a toddler hiding. I wanted to disappear, start over, anything but be the cause of my parents’ abduction.

  'We’ll have to ask Alex. Texting Niall may have let them triangulate your phone signal and given away your location.’ She rubbed my arm.

  'Why did they wait then?' I dropped my hands.

  'They wanted all of us, not just you. They were information gathering.’

  'We had such a near miss.' I shivered.

  ‘Stop beating yourself up. We messed up too.’ She raised an eyebrow. 'Would your parents want you risking your life for them, untrained?'

  'No.'

  I washed my face while India finished drying her hair. My stomach growled. A nap would wait. I settled for applying my makeup and hoped no one noticed my bloodshot eyes. We met Alex and Taine for lunch and tucked into venison stew. I managed only a few tasteless mouthfuls before abandoning the effort. India drew attention away from me by asking who won the assault course. Taine had beaten Alex by a mile or a few seconds depending on who I believed. I shook my head. Boys. India won her race. They were all settling in well but then they knew each from being babies.

  Ting, ting, ting, chimed Zoe’s bell as she stood up to make more pronouncements. Whose life would she wreck next? She was blocking me from rescuing my parents. Not that I knew where they were. Zoe wasn’t to blame for everything but still...

  ‘...Time for our Guardians to learn Cloaken magic. Wyatt and Annie are downstairs waiting for you. Most of our battles with Venator have taken place in confined spaces so we are replicating that...’

  She said more but I tuned her out. I scanned the room, wanting to distract myself. The Cloaken were keeping to themselves. So much for building relationships. My eyes were gritty and sore from my unaccustomed crying. A headache formed a spike behind my eyes. I had an image of me sitting on a ginormous chest trying to squash in anger, fear, bitterness and resentment. Pulling hard on long straps to close it as each emotion took on a life of its own, wiggling to escape like a venomous snake.

  ‘Hey.’ India tugged at me. ‘Is there room for one more in there?’

  ‘In where?’ Could she see the chest?

  ‘Your pity party.’ Her smile took the sting out of her words. ‘We’re off to learn Cloaken magic. You coming?’

  ‘Sure. Thanks for having my back today.’

  ‘You’re welcome.’

  The rest of the day flew by, except for the bathroom cleaning duty that I landed by missing my assault course slot in the morning. The time was not wasted. I met Sofia as well as seeing Titus again. Titus was the Korean punk who had first introduced me to Taine. Sofia looked Spanish with long dark curly hair and sparkling brown eyes. Alex had also caught bathroom duty. Competition here must be ferocious, either that or it was rigged. Alex disappeared with Titus while I remained with Sofia.

  'Did you know your name means beautiful woman or shining light, Ellie-Grace?' Sofia poured bleach down the toilet and brushed it until it shone.

  'I had no idea.’ Awkward. I cringed.

  'We place great store by names. Alexander means defender or warrior. Taine may mean God of light or God of the forest.’

  ‘What about Niall Campbell?' I wiped around the taps and the bowl of the sink.

  'Niall means champion but Campbells are associated with treachery.' She tipped a bucket of dirty water into the bath.

  The comment stung. ‘What does India mean?' I gave the sink a final wipe.

  'The place or river or body of water.'

  ‘What about your name?’ I rinsed the bath with the showerhead.

  'Wisdom.’ Her smile lit up her face. ‘I am next door if you ever want to talk.'

  After returning to our room, I spent several hours tossing and turning. My back ached as I struggled and failed to find a comfortable position. Images bombarded me of my parents being tortured. Niall also wandered into my dreams until they became a tangled mess that I had no hope of deciphering.

  Chapter 24: Preparing for Battle

  The days sped by, each haunted by fear. I filled my journal with reports of déjà vu and nightmares. My parents had starring roles with Dad’s back covered in welts and Mum appearing drugged out of her skull, catatonic in a corner.

  Annie offered little comfort. Until we rescued my parents, we had no way of determining truth from a normal nightmare. Normal, I shuddered, there was nothing normal about hearing Dad scream in agony as a whip lashed his back repeatedly. I didn’t share my visions with Zoe and India, even when I woke them with my screams. I would apologise, roll over, face the wall and bite my lips to repress my tears. Only the fact I had not foreseen my parents’ deaths gave me any hope at all.

  Each morning consisted of running and fighting through mud, overcoming obstacles and playing survivor games. We carried pretend or actual injured teammates back to the designated medical zone where a doctor named Morgan and her assistant dealt with them. Sometimes Wyatt or Sofia sent us on a treasure hunt and pitted us against each other.

  As we improved our skills, we used Cloaken blasters set to deliver a mild shock to the opposite team. In battle, they could be set to stun, incapacitate or even kill. They were provided to us pre-charged, each capable of firing ten shots. To re-energise them, I had to master the art of funnelling energy from my body into it. India managed it the first day, but me, no. I took much longer to learn, failing at step one - stilling my mind. Next, I was supposed to visualise an inner core of energy and siphon some off. I giggled at the thought.

  ‘Build that wall.’ Taine reminded me of the meditation lessons over the summer.

  I couldn’t work out how to hold a wall in place to control my thoughts while at the same time letting a ball of energy out. Far too much coordination required. It stung to watch first India, then Alex and finally Taine master it. Three days later, I was still stuck on step one. Now they had rechargeable blasters, I was an easy target. They ganged up on me, firing from all directions until I threw my hands up in defeat. Tears prickled, the odd one slid down my face as I tried and failed to stop them falling.

  Sofia stood to the side, her dark eyes watching me with concern. ‘Come with me.’ She led me back to the Manor and into the library. We walked to the giant beanbags where she invited me to rest and close my eyes. ‘Cloaken are taught from their mother’s knee how to tap into their energy but I lost both parents as an infant.’

  ‘So how did you learn?’

  ‘When I was eight, a teacher gave us all a candle and instructed us to light it. The others touched it and it flared into life. Mine lay dormant in my hand for what felt like hours. The children laughed and jeered…’

  ‘What happened next?’ I was interested, forced out of my misery at the thought of hers.

 
‘My teacher invited me back after school. We lay on beanbags much like these. She asked me to imagine an immense ball of red and yellow light in the pit of my stomach and hold it there. To feel the heat of it and imagine rolling it up from my stomach and down my arms until it reached my hands. I then lifted my hands up in the air-’

  ‘-Did it work?’ I opened my eyes and wriggled making the beanbag rustle.

  Sofia raised herself up on her elbows. ‘Yes. Now lie down, close your eyes and picture a ball of fire. Crimson at the centre, warming to tangerine and softening into ochre. Feel its heat blazing inside. Feed your emotions into it…’

  Her voice faded into the distance as I imagined pouring my emotions into a ball of fire. It roared into life, flashing with heat and smoke. The ball rolled up my body and down my arms until with a rush, it was outside my body, warming my hands. Woohoo. I could have done a happy dance right there. I was incredulous. It worked.

  Letting go of the heat, I hugged Sofia, jubilant. ‘Thanks, I needed the win.’

  She hugged me right back, her warm softness reminding me of my mother. A lump formed in my throat as a wave of emotion washed over me. Sofia released me.

  ‘Stand up and have another go. Move it faster. Play with it. Make it shrink and grow. Turn off the heat. Throw it up and catch it again. Lob it to me.’

  The ball obeyed my every whim. I even caught it when Sofia threw it back, laughing in delight.

  ‘Your friends will have a nasty shock if they gang up on you again,’ said Sofia, beaming at my progress.

  ‘Sure will, thanks again.’ We exchanged one last hug before going downstairs for lunch.

  I joined Alex and India in the dining hall. Taine followed a few minutes later.

  ‘We’ve been doing so well with the blasters…’ India paused as her fingers twisted a napkin, ‘they are teaching us how to use throwing rings.’

  ‘How do they work?’ I broke a bread roll into pieces and began eating.

  ‘We’ll start with pre-energised rings. As we improve, we will create our own.’ India sounded proud and confident.

  ‘And?’ I asked