by Heidi Acosta
“She must have nice eyes.”
“Yes, her eyes must be lovely.”
“If they are blue, they are mine. It has been so long since I wore blue eyes.”
“Let us keep her,” the voices whine in unison.
“No, her eyes would look better on me.”
My eyes? A small flutter of panic flits in my chest. But the aroma of magnolia fills my nose once again, and I relax. I feel a little giggly and have to bite my bottom lip to suppress a laugh.
“Now, girls. If it was up to me, I would give her to you, but she is not mine to give yet. When I do win her, though, her eyes are all yours.”
My heart slams into the ground beneath me. Cardelian. I bite down harder until the metallic taste of blood fills my mouth.
“Should we give her more moon flower?” someone hisses.
“No, you have given her too much already. Besides, she is awake,” he says amused.
There is no point in pretending I’m asleep anymore, so I open my eyes. The scream I was holding back rips from my throat.
The dead girls surround me, but they are not really girls anymore. They are hideous creatures. Green scales cover their bodies with a thick secretion slipping over them. One of them peels back her dark green lips, showing off a mouthful of razor like teeth. Instead of a nose, she has slits instead. Stringy white hair is matted to her head, and black hollowed out holes stare out from empty sockets.
I scream again, crab walking as far away from them as I can. The creatures hiss at me. Eel-like tails flip from side to side as their hands thrash at the black sand with webbed fingers that end in claws, probably used to take out their victim’s eyes. Bile burns my esophagus as it climbs up my throat.
Cardelian’s laugh amplifies around me in an amusing tone. He no longer wears the jeans and sweater. Instead, he has on black leather pants, and his chest is bare and oiled. Oh-my-god, his wings. They rest on his back. It wasn’t a dream. This is all very real.
“Come now, Eden, you’re a wanna be a writer. Are you scared of mermaids?” he scolds me.
“Mermaids.” I drag in a breath, “don’t steal eyes from people.” My mind recalls all the stories I read as a child. Mermaids are supposed to be beautiful creatures that rescue drowning sailors. These things are grotesque monsters that kill people and pluck out their eyes.
“Where am I?” I ask. Afraid to take my eyes off Cardelian and his herd of green girlfriends. We seem to be in a desert, and there is bright red sand everywhere except the black river where more mermaids are.
“This is wrong, very, very wrong.”
“This …” He spreads his arms open, unfurling his wings behind him. “This, Ace, is Faeylon and I am the king.” He smiles wide, like that explains everything. “Or will be once you help me get what I deserve.”
“Don’t call me that.” I spit.
“Oh, are we a little sensitive that your boyfriend turned out to be a killer?” he mocks me.
My head aches and sweat pools at the back of my neck. I feel like everything is closing in on me. “I don’t understand,” I gasp.
His smile falters, and he closes the distance between us in two large strides. Kneeling down, he lifts my chin in his velvet soft hand. How can someone so beautiful be so evil?
“I know you are dense, but try to keep up. You were brought to another world. Well, realm really. A faerie realm that is filled with creatures that haunt your nightmares, ones that will suck the very soul out of your withering body. And you, my dear, are a new pawn in a very long game that is being played.” He pushes my face away.
My mind whirlwinds trying to make sense of what he is saying.
“Since you are a pathetic human, I’m going to give you to the count of ten to run,” he says.
I don’t understand his directions. Run? Run to where? I stare up at him, his hair blinding me in the sun.
“One … two …” He begins to count, but I don’t move because I’m paralyzed. “Eden, when I get to ten, I will be that creature that sucks your soul from your body.” He grins maliciously at me.
Every part of me protests as I stand up, and the ground rocks back and forth, but I run any way. His countdown follows behind me, mixing with the hisses from those horrible creatures.
Chapter Thirty
It feels like I have been running for hours. Sweat drips into my eyes and down the sides of my face. The sun and sand combined is blinding. I run towards a hill in the distance, hoping that I will find shelter there.
By the time I get to it, my legs are cramping from dehydration. The black river flows out of a cave at the base—the same black water that held the mermaids. My mouth is so dry my tongue sticks to the roof, but I don’t dare drink this water. I try to ignore my thirst. I need to find a place to hide before I worry about anything else. I’m scared of what I might find inside the cave, but I’m even more scared of siting out here, waiting for Cardelian to come get me.
Getting in offers a challenge because I have to climb jagged red stones that scrape my knees and palms. Water rushes past me, smashing against rocks that jut out of the river. Sharp stones jut out of a small cave, making it look like an angry mouth, waiting to swallow me whole. I climb the jagged cliff until I pull myself over the edge of the falls, and collapse, my legs no longer wanting to move. I lay my head down on the cool stone. Everything is fuzzy and strange to me in this new world, like I’m in a dream.
This is wrong, I think as I let my eyes close. The smell of magnolias fills my senses before I drift off to sleep.
When I open my eyes, night has fallen outside the cave. I blink, trying to clear the sand from my eyes. I am still not sure if I’m awake or if this is all a bad dream, but the throb in my head confirms this is not a dream, this is very real. I fight back nausea that is rolling through me.
How can this be real? Faeries and mermaids, they are nothing more than a child’s make believe. Faeries are supposed to be sweet, little mischievous things no bigger than a bee. How wrong did the fairy tales have it? From what I just experienced, they seem to resemble darker creatures, things from nightmares, closer to resembling demons.
The throbbing in my head blurs my vision, and I groan, pressing my hand to my head as I push myself to my knees. Standing up is turning out to be a harder task than I expected. I have to lean on the wall for support, but I yank back when the walls light up like a Christmas tree.
“What the…?” I put my hand back on the wall and watching as it lights up like thousands of twinkling, silver lights. Millions of tiny beetles, the size of lady bugs, light up the cave. When I take my hand away, the lights go out. I place it back on the wall, and they turn on once again.
“Amazing.” My voice echoes around me.
Slowly, I edge my way out onto a thin ledge, moving deeper into the cave. Hot air blows up from below, pushing my hair back from my face. From the bottom of the cave, the sound of water rushes under me. Kicking at some stones, I push them over the edge and listen for the sound of them hitting the water. They clunk against the wall until they are silent. Not a splash.
It is a long way to fall, and I am not fond of heights, but I don’t see any other option at the moment. I need to figure out a way back home, and I don’t want to do that at the foot of the cave, waiting for Cardelian to come find me. I press myself against the wall and shuffle along the edge. The beetles follow me lighting my path as I go.
I manage to make it into a little alcove along the path. It is not much bigger than a small room, but in here, at least, I am farther away from the entrance and whatever might come in it. I lean against the wall taking inventory of my injuries.
I hear a loud clicking noise in the distance. Like heels on the tile: slow, deliberate, and menacing. I swallow hard, and squint into the darkness for the culprit, but all I can see are the millions of twinkling beetles. The insects begin to turn on and off, traveling up the cave wall as the clicking grows closer. Then I see it.
Fear grips me, making me weak and absorbing into
every part of my body with a vice-like grip. Even if I wanted to run, I couldn’t. I stare at a creature the size of a lion on the other side of the cave. Large, pointed ears flick back and forth and its body covered with black inky scales with large, silver, almond-shaped eyes and razor like claws that click along the wall as it moves. It lets out a high-pitched shriek that pierces my ears and causing rocks to shatter and rain down on me.
The paralyzing fear releases its grip on me, and I stumble back until I am pressed against the hard stone wall. I am trapped and completely covered in darkness because the beetles no longer light up the walls.
Click…Click…Click.
I huddle into myself, trying to become as small as possible, invisible. The temperature drops so fast that the humid air turns frigid, seeping deep into my bones. I pull my sleeves down over my fist.
Where did it go? I press my hand hard against the sharp edges and try not to think about the crunch of beetles or the ooze that spreads between my fingers. I wipe the dead bugs off on my skirt and hope the creature was has moved on.
It’s gone, I repeat to myself over and over again, trying to slow my heartbeat, but I spoke too soon.
It darts past me, shrieking so loudly that it splinters through the cave. I scream wanting to move away from it, but I am trapped. I press my back as hard as I can to the wall, hoping to push through the stone. The creature crouches, ready to pounce. I scream again, but this time, it sticks in my throat, the cold cutting it off.
Where the creature stands, ice spreads out from under it across the ground, splintering the cave floor. It lets out another blood-curdling scream and bares its black needlelike fangs and ebony liquid drips off each one. I’m on my own, and I’m going to die, no one will ever find me.
It hisses as it leaps, knocking me to the ground with a sickening thud. My head bounces against the floor, and pain vibrates through my skull, expelling whatever air is my lungs. The creature on top of me begins to slowly dig its razor-sharp claws into my shoulders. I buck wildly, trying to get it off me, but each movement I make causes its nails to dig deeper into my flesh. It lets out a triumphant ear-shattering shriek once again.
Our cries sound in unison as the pain becomes unbearable, causing my vision to cloud. I’m going to die. The creature tilts its head, soaking in my terror as if it can physically taste my fear. Blood streams out around the monster’s claws of the, spreading out on to the black floor under me. It leans down, licking it’s claws, bliss rolls off the creature in waves as it nuzzles my face, and a forked tongue snakes out of its mouth, coiling around my neck.
I try not to think about what is about to happen. Instead, I think about Jaxson, hot tears roll down my face. No matter how disturbing it is, I want to see his face before I die. I let out a whimper and turn my head away, remembering him: dark, dangerous, and beautiful.
I can almost see him as if he is here with me now, standing on the ledge, watching what is happening. His pale, cold blue eyes find mine, his dark hair falls in his face, hiding the boy from another world. He is beautiful in my memory, and I let the thought of him fill me until it’s almost unbearable, until the pain from the creature is replaced with an ache in my chest that threatens to rip me open.
Chapter Thirty-One
My hallucination of Jaxson steps closer, slipping a dagger from the waist of his jeans and slamming it into the cave wall. The beetles light up brighter than before. Lights dance around him. The creature hisses, pressing its damp body onto mine. I’m his prey, and he is not letting me go. Jaxson, unaffected by its presence, comes closer with fluid-like motion, his eyes remaining locked on mine.
“Ace, everything is going to be okay,” he says.
But he is wrong. How can anything be okay?
“Stay,” I whimper, not wanting to be alone when I die, wanting to hold onto the illusion of him.
Gravel crunches under his boots as he moves closer. He crouches down and reaches out, gently brushing my hair back from my face. He feels so real.
He speaks to the creature in a language I have never heard before. It’s like a song, soft and sweet, yet firm and demanding. The Creature grows agitated, digging its claws deeper into my arm, and I let out a scream. It hisses against Jaxson’s words, but he continues to talk to the creature anyway, his eyes remaining locked on mine as he does.
I wish he would stop. Having enough of what Jaxson is saying, the cat-lizard leaps off me in one swift movement and begins to drag me backwards. I cry in agony as it pulls me and look at Jaxson one last time. To tell him goodbye.
Jaxson has an arrow notched in his bow, he pulls back, letting the arrow fly. Minutes, maybe seconds go by before the creature collapses, crushing me with its weight before rolling to its side, dead.
I gasp for air, but it chokes me as it enters my lungs. I’m covered in an oil blood. I roll to my side, feeling sick to my stomach, only to meet the dead creature’s open eyes. I scream and back pedal away from it.
“You don’t have to worry, its dead.” Jaxson yanks the arrow out of its body and thick, oily blood pours out of the wound.
“You … are … real.” I pant, looking up at him
“The smell of your blood will bring more,” he says, wiping the blood on his jeans from the arrow.
I can’t move, can’t think. My mind has gone blank. People do this, right? Their minds shutdown in a protective mode or I have lost it completely?
He stops cleaning the arrow and looks at me. “Your wounds.” He reaches for me.
I flinch away from him, and he stops, hand outstretched between us. Everything slams back into my mind, and I can barely breathe.
“You. You’re not human,” I croak.
“No, I’m not,” he admits unforgiving. “Ace, we need to get out of here. I also need to look at your wounds. Their claws and teeth,” he points over at the dead creature, “are filled with poison. It also releases a pheromone that alerts the others in the hive to let them know it has found prey.”
“Hive?” I squeak.
“Yes, and we are deep in its hive. The perfect place to hide you,” he says more to himself than me.
That’s right, we are playing a game. A game.
“Chances of us getting out alive are slim,” he mutters, glancing around.
I need to get away from Jaxson. Chances of me surviving with him are even slimmer. I try to stand up, but every part of me hurts. I wince, falling back to the ground with a moan of agony. My shoulders throb, the room sways, and my head is fuzzy.
“Let me help you.” He reaches for me again.
. “No, I don’t want your help.” I force myself to stand, but cry out as pain vibrates through me. Keeping my back to the wall and Jaxson in front of me, I move slowly towards the exit.
“We don’t have time for this.”
He sounds almost like he is begging, but I’m not fooled. “How did you find me?” I ask, keeping the exit in sight.
“A hunch,” he answers.
I don’t believe him. “What kind of creature are you?”
He flinches at that word, creature. Then he says the last thing I expect. “I’m Elfin.”
He is so serious when he says it, that it hits me as funny, and a giggle bubbles up around the pain. He does not move, his face statue-like.
“You’re serious.” I choke on my laugh.
Suddenly, an intense pain strikes me in the stomach. I double over, and he moves to grab my elbow so quickly he is a blur.
“You need medicine.” He tries to guide me.
“No.” I pull my elbow away and try to run. Stumbling out onto the ledge, my feet feel like lead weights. I try to not think about the drop next to me or the creatures that are coming. The pain burns through my shoulder. I slam against the wall, falling forward. There’s one thing on my mind: survive.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Jaxson calls my name, but I don’t stop. I pick up my pace, moving faster along the thin ledge. My elbow hits the jagged rock that juts out of the wall, followed by war
mth. I’m bleeding. I use the pain to push me forward. I need to find a way home and get away from this messed up world where creatures feed on people’s souls, draining them until they are just empty shells. A pinprick of light sits in the distance, and I move towards it, but any hope I had evaporates as I’m slammed hard against the jagged wall. Sharp rocks dig into my spine. I let out a cry as Jaxson pushes his body hard against mine. It’s suffocating, even though he uses no powers against me. I feel like the invisible chains are wrapped back around me, choking me.
“Eden, stop!” he growls, his chest rising fast and hard.
But I don’t stop. I fight back, pushing against him, trying to kick at him. He moves closer, pinning my legs with his.
“Let me go,” I scream, my mouth filling with hot, salty tears.
“Stop fighting me and listen. I’m trying to help you. You’re going to get yourself killed.”
“And if I stay, you will kill me. I think I’ll take my chances on my own,” I yell.
I try to pull my arms free, but he yanks them above my head. My shoulder screams in protest. He doesn’t flinch at my discomfort as he holds my arms. With his free hand, he pulls a dagger from his belt.
“This,” he pushes the hilt of the dagger into my hand scraping my knuckles against the wall until they feel raw. “This is a Night Blade. If I try to hurt you, if you even think for one moment that I will hurt you, take this and drive it into my heart.” The hilt is white with stars and moons carved into it, and what I can see of the blade looks like purple glass. “I will not even fight you.”
“You are lying,” I shriek, my chest heaving, ready to explode.
“No. I promise I will get you home if you let me help you. Dammit, Ace, if you go running off in this world, there are creatures out there that will do things to you far worse than what Cardelian has planned.”
I don’t believe him. His grip on my hands loosens as my hold on the dagger tightens. His body is still pressed against me, pushing me into the wall. I can feel every ridge of him, every muscle. I have never been this close to a boy before. It’s as confusing and as terrifying as it is exciting and intimate. Every feeling I had toward him comes crashing back, stopping on the one thing that I’ve wanted since I first laid eyes on him. The desire to kiss him overcomes me.