by W.J. May
* * *
Sarah leaned against the giant stone pillar outside the back of the church. The beams of sunlight felt good on her face. She wondered how her sister had dealt with the drama of finding herself in a dangerous new world with no one to protect her when she came through the portal at fifteen. The sudden helplessness had to be world shattering. Not only had Liz lost all of her friends and family, but this odd world was very different from what they were used to, and one tiny mistake could’ve cost her her life. Sarah jumped as bells chimed in the distance, jolting her out of her thoughts. She straightened her back at the realization that the church service must be over, and the time had come for her to leave the sanctuary of the kind priest’s church.
Frank put up his hood and turned to face her. “It’s time.” His voice came low and grave, too grave for an easygoing man like him. It wasn’t like him to let his worries take hold of his spirits.
“Yep, I’m ready.” She infused as much cheeriness into her tone as she could muster. At least one of them had to keep up the good mood before they drowned in their own pool of despair.
Smiling, Frank straightened up her glasses. “There, you look perfect.”
“Thanks for everything, Father.” She turned to hug the old man. “And thanks for taking care of my sister when she had nobody else to look after her. That means the world to me.”
“My doors are open to anyone in need of refuge, as our heavenly Father would have it.” The priest nodded graciously, and Sarah thought she might have seen a tear in his eye. “Be careful,” the priest said. “I’ve just received word that Ethano Milers is tracking you as we speak.”
“Who is he?” Sarah asked.
“He’s a very powerful Immortal from the Cardashian Court. I don’t understand why they would send somebody so high up to personally bring you in for trial. Usually, they just send in an experienced and skilled tracker. My prayers will go with you, child.”
Sarah shook her head. Obviously there must be a reason. She officially had her third enemy. “They must really want me.” She gave the priest one last hug, and this time, there was a tear in her own eye.
Jules led the way through the lush green grass to the front of the huge stone church. They blended in with all the other priests in monk’s robes, exiting through the two giant oak doors.
Sarah’s mouth dropped. Reality came crashing down at the sight of hundreds of knights on horses, all there with one mission: to behead her. Shudders rocked her body. She couldn’t give in to her fear, though—not when her life and the lives of so many others depended on her. She forced herself forward, gazing only at the ground, trying to gain her composure. She hoped that if she didn’t look, her heart would stop beating so fast, but the closer she inched, the more her hands started to sweat. Her nerves felt like they were fraying like the bottom of her borrowed robe with every step she took.
The knights swarmed the place, waiting for the moment she’d come out of hiding, as if they were cats and she the mouse.
Taking a deep breath, she started limping as she clung to the staff, hoping it might throw them off her trail. Her heart pounded as she swerved between two knights on black horses. A horse neighed, and Sarah nearly jumped out of her skin. She wasn’t sure if her nerves could take another moment of it. She took a deep breath and focused on seeing her sister’s face again.
“Sorry about that, Father,” a knight to her right said.
She nodded and tried to understand his logic. He was sorry his horse had scared a priest, but he seemingly had no qualms about killing an unarmed woman for no apparent reason other than identity theft. What kind of place is this? Is that their idea of justice? She hobbled along, and in no time, they came to the edge of the city where knights guarded the perimeter.
“Halt!” a knight ordered.
She peered up past the black horse to the red tunic covering the guy’s chainmail.
“Let us pass so we can get more bread from the next village,” Jules said. “No one told us about the extra guests.”
“You intend to feed our troops?”
“Indeed,” Frank said. “We just need a few supplies—some wine, bread, and potato chips.”
Potato chips? Sarah nudged him. It was no time for making jokes.
“Splendid, Father.” The knight lifted his visor, his brown eyes shining at the thought of filling his stomach with a free meal and then plundering the village.
“What is your answer then?” Jules prompted impatiently.
Sarah kept her head down and bit her lip, waiting for the soldier’s answer, her heart pounding hard.
The knight motioned his colleagues to clear a path. “Let them pass to go for provisions!”
The others obediently took a few steps back.
Sarah let out a tiny sigh of relief and walked into the forest, taking swift but measured footsteps so she wouldn’t look conspicuous. Either the disguise or the kind priest’s prayers had worked—or maybe a little of both.
An animal snort, along with the sound of thundering hooves echoed behind them. She spun around to see a group of knights approaching, and her hands began to tremble. She frowned.
The knight’s hand moved to the hilt of his sword as he inched closer. “Wait, you.” His hard gaze focused on Sarah. “Hello, Father.”
She swallowed hard, words frozen in her throat. Sweat gathered across her brows, and her pulse started to race again. Their plan was falling apart, she knew it, yet she wasn’t about to go down without a fight, dressed like a clergyman or not.
“I’m sorry,” Frank chimed in. “He’s a mute. I can translate for him if you’d like. I know the language of hand signs.”
The knight didn’t tear his gaze off Sarah. “Ask him why he’s wearing pearl earrings in his ears. Is he blind as well as dumb?”
She took in a sharp breath, marveling at her own stupidity. Crap! How could I have forgotten to remove those?
“Oh. I am sorry, sir, for the confusion, but it is our way of penance, a punishment to purify a troubled soul and thoughts,” Frank said, unfazed.
“Really?” He let out a chuckle. “Ask him this. What is it like to be married to the most evil man in the entire world?”
“We don’t marry,” Jules said.
“Perhaps you don’t, but I can assure you she does.” The knight dismounted. In two long strides, he reached her and yanked down her hood and glasses. “We’ve finally got you!” he hissed, the stench of his breath floating into Sarah’s nostrils.
“Get away from me!” she spat, her anger flaring.
His hand clasped around hers, and his eyes lingered on the ring. “She wears the mark of the Immortals! Seize them!” Pointing at the others, he drew his sword out of his sheath, his cold stare meeting hers once again. “My Queen, for your crimes, you are hereby sentenced to death.”
“No!” She shook her head, willing her magical powers to make an appearance, but nothing happened. Whatever the Immortal thing was, it didn’t work on command. In her time, Frank or someone like him would have debunked those so-called powers ages ago. Her heart thundered in her chest.
Jules and Frank shouted from behind.
The sun caught in the soldier’s blade as he raised it over his head, ready to strike. “I promise that I shall make this as quick and painless as possible, Highness. Your friends won’t feel a thing either,” he said with a laugh that told her he was lying about that part.
“No!” she screamed, her heart pounding in her ears.
He turned to the other knights. “Get her in position.”
Sarah glared, and a few soldiers backed away.
“Do not fear her!” a knight said. “She’s merely an infant, a baby Immortal who ran away from her teacher. She doesn’t know a thing about her powers or how to wield them.”
How could this be the end? Maybe I can appeal to him emotionally, make one last-ditch effort. She looked deeply into his eyes as a knight jerked her to her knees. “Please stop this! Put that thing down. You don’t want
to kill me.” A burst of heat spread through her forehead.
He stared at her, wide-eyed. For a moment, all color drained from his face, as though he had just seen a ghost. Then his cheeks turned red and his eyes beady.
She stared at him, frowning, wondering what was happening to him.
The soldier’s hand waved, his sword dangling over her head menacingly.
She shook her head.
He imitated the action, then put the sword away ever so slowly. His voice came low, barely louder than a whisper. “I don’t want to kill you, miss, but you’re still under arrest.” He had a grim line perched on his forehead, his hands clenched as though he was leading an inner battle.
“You did it!” Jules whispered.
She stared at him as realization kicked in. Maybe this Immortal ability business isn’t a hoax after all. She couldn’t believe it was so easy, but ultimately, it worked! She’d somehow managed to tap into his softer side, appealed to the part of him that did not want to harm or kill a helpless woman. But being arrested wasn’t going to help her situation. She knew somebody else, some heartless individual, would just do the dirty deed and behead her in a second.
A knight gripped her arms behind her back. Pain surged through her body, blinding her for a second. In spite of the burning sensation, she struggled against his strong hold hissing, “Let go of me!” Another burst of intense heat flooded her mind, weakening her against the pictures that threatened to form before her eyes.
His grip loosened.
Sarah swung around, baffled. What is going on? He’s listening to my commands. Where did this ability come from? She didn’t know what kind of power it was, but she planned to use it to her full advantage. “You’ll command your men to let me and my friends go. This is a big misunderstanding. Let us go so we can bring back food for the feast.”
His head bowed, and he looked at the other soldiers. “My mistake, milady. You and these men are free to go.”
Another knight stepped forward, shaking his head vehemently. “Sir, you can’t do that! She’s put a hex on you. Our orders clearly state that—”
Sarah gazed into his green eyes, drops of sweat rolling down her forehead. Anger built up inside of her. How dare he question his superior? She closed her eyes against the building surge of electricity pouring through her. Her body jerked in convulsions, and she couldn’t move. Am I--paralyzed? It was as if she had absolutely no control of her body. She gasped and lifted her hands. No…I CAN move! As she opened her eyes, a wind whipped through her hair and rose to a fierce howl. Lightning flashed; thunder cracked. Ice-cold drops of rain fell from the sky, cooling off her hot skin.
“Seize her!” yelled the man in charge.
“Ain’t happening!” she yelled back. She gasped as she gazed down at her hands; they were glimmering, glowing with energy. Without warning, red balls of light centered in the palms of her hands, some kind of sparking electricity. What the heck? Where did the wizard-like powers even come from? They didn’t even fizzle with the rain. It was freaky but she decided she might as well put them to good use, especially with soldiers bolting in her direction, swords drawn. She threw crackling balls of fire from her outstretched hands. Dirt and leaves exploded all around them, as if she was tossing grenades on the battlefield.
“We can’t take on an Immortal with unstable power,” a knight said.
“We’ll get reinforcements. Let’s go!” The leader pulled on his reins and steered his horse back toward the perimeter, his group trailing behind in a hurry.
Sarah blinked the dripping rain out of her eyes. She whipped a few more balls of energy toward the departing knights just as a precaution. The fireballs only slammed haphazardly into tree trunks, but she had to scare them at all costs while she still possessed the weird power; she didn’t want them to come back anytime soon. The horses whinnied in terror, and more shouts echoed as clouds of dirt, bark, and mud exploded high into the air. There! That should do it. Gazing down, she watched her hands instantly turn back to their normal color. She sucked in a deep breath and tried to control the trembling in her hands. She gazed out ahead at the billowing smoke that hung over the trail of smoldering fires—fires she’d created with her very own hands. She watched the rain extinguish the flames.
Jules and Frank rushed over as she stared at the splintered tree trunks.
How the heck did I do that? But it didn’t matter. The only thing that mattered was that they were alive and breathing. She wiped her forehead with the long sleeve of her wet cloak. Relief flooded through her as she grabbed Frank’s hand, and they slowly walked deeper into the woods, her legs threatening to give way beneath her, her forehead still on fire.
The rain ceased, and the sunshine peeked out from behind a pile of fluffy clouds.
“You did it, babe!” Frank said. “What kind of superpowers are you sporting anyway?”
She heaved a sigh. “I’ve got no idea. That was just…weird.”
He let go of her hand. “You’re burning up, Sarah. Are you running a fever?”
Beads of sweat rolled down her back. Her clothes were soaked in an instant. “I feel like I’m being sautéed in a frying pan, like stir fry. I haven’t a clue how to work these powers. I’m navigating through them blindly. Wish you guys had the Web somewhere,” she said to Jules. “I could Google them.”
“Web? I am not sure what a spider would be able to do for you,” Jules said, causing Sarah and Frank to roll their eyes at one another. Then he averted his eyes to the ground and said in a whisper, “But Victor could teach you.”
Frank rolled his eyes again. “Just drop it, will ya?”
Victor! His sapphire-blue eyes flashed in her head. She could hear his voice roll across her mind, repeating those precious wedding vows to her in the sweetest and most sincere way: vows he intended to keep, at least for that first day. She remembered how her hand had trembled as he’d placed the ring on her finger, the touch of his lips, the way he’d held her, the passion they’d experienced in such a short time. Her heartbeat spiked. He probably didn’t know what to make of me—a woman who talks back, talks of things he’s never heard of, and runs away. But she couldn’t forget that he had a dangerous side, and he might just kill her the moment he captured her. She needed to focus on saving her friends, finding her sister, and getting the heck out of Dodge. She didn’t have time for Superpowers for Dummies 101, instructed by Victor the Conqueror. “I’m going to take a rain check. Now let’s go find my team. We have an execution to stop.”
“Follow me then,” Jules said. “The village we are headed to isn’t a pretty sight. Just to warn you, the people living there will beg you for money, food, and anything they can get their hands on. They are starving, for their cattle have died in the drought, and the ground is too dry for their crops to grow.”
Sarah let out a slow breath. “That’s awful. My heart goes out to them,” she said, and it truly did. She’d been supporting charities since the second she’d received her very first paycheck, clear back when she was sixteen. In spite of the fact that some of her pursuers thought her evil, Sarah had a heart of gold and wanted to help the less fortunate.
Hours later, they arrived. Within minutes, a little boy ran up to her with dirty cheeks and greasy hair. “A visitor!” he shouted. “Can you spare me anything to eat?”
Sarah knelt down, her heart melting at the sight of his big brown eyes. “What’s your name?”
“Edward.”
She handed him a gold coin and whispered, “Use this to put something in your tummy, Edward.” She watched him as he scurried away, smiling, then turned back to Jules. Edward didn’t strike her as a boy from a poor country with a swollen head and belly, eating from trash piles, yet she couldn’t help but offer some token of support. “Jules, what does the face of hunger look like?”
“You just hugged it,” whispered Jules.
Tears welled up in Sarah’s eyes. She vowed to somehow help this village, even it meant giving away all her gold.
A red and orange sunset glowed in the sky. Sarah took a deep breath, hoping they had made it in time. Her friends were to be executed at sunset, and she still blamed herself for their predicament. Why did I have to pick the Sabrino Cave area to hold those stupid expeditions? Liz had disappeared from that same place, yet she risked the lives of her team by dragging them there. Waves of guilt washed through her as she watched peasants with sunken cheeks walk around the village square in simple robes and cloaks. Jules wasn’t kidding: The villagers were absolutely starving. She noticed that small stone buildings lined the streets, and she wondered if her friends were meant to be executed in a jail cell or put on display.
She noticed a red-haired woman squinting in the dust, rocking a crying baby. Her frightened blue eyes glistened with desperation. A little barefoot girl with the same long, red hair clung to her mother’s side. Her bony arms and legs stuck out from baggy clothes. A shabby dress covered in patches of dirt hung from her shoulders.
“Jules, is there any milk for the babies?” Sarah asked.
He shook his head, wearing a grave expression. “Without cattle to give it, no.”
The woman pulled on her sleeve. “Please help me and my little ones. Do you have anything to eat? Anything? I cannot bear to watch my children die.”
Sarah’s heart sank. She had never witnessed world hunger in person, and suddenly all those infomercials and commercials had a whole new meaning for her. “I don’t have any food, but I have money.” With shaking fingers, she reached inside her bag and pulled out a few gold coins.
“Oh, thank you for your kindness, miss! You have given my children a few more days to live!” Tears streaked the woman’s face as she bowed at Sarah’s feet, kissing the tattered hem of her robe.
“Please,” Sarah said, helping her up, meeting the surprised expression in the woman’s gaze. “Go with God…and feed your children and yourself.”
The woman nodded and darted off down the cobbled street, pulling her daughter along.
“I see a crowd gathered over there.” Frank pointed. “We better check it out.”
Weaving through the crowd, Sarah peered closer. Adam, Steven, and Beth were all bound to long wooden stakes in the ground. A group of townspeople surrounded them, shouting obscenities and waving torches. Sarah’s mouth dropped; it was medieval torture at its finest, being burned at the stake. “This is outrageous! I cannot let them roast my friends.”
“Better hurry up then,” Jules said. “Do you have a plan to save them?”
Frank craned his neck. “It’s hard to see with all these people. We’re just going to have to wing it. Maybe you can use those powers of yours, Sarah.”
Sarah took a closer look. A pile of wood was arranged by their feet, along with small bundles of sticks and straw. One spark, and her friends would be doomed. She shook her head. “I’m not sure, Frank. I don’t know how to control it yet. What if I accidentally ignite them? I already feel awful enough about this. I could never live with that.”
Jules touched Sarah’s arm. “Tell them you’re Princess Gloria.”
She nodded, even though she knew she was about to sign her death sentence. Making her way through the sea of people, Sarah hoped it would work, or else she’d be burning right along with her team. She wondered if fire would kill her, but even if it didn’t she was sure it’d hurt like crazy.
As Sarah pushed past a stick-thin woman to the front, Beth spotted her and screamed out her name.
Sarah gazed up into her pale face and terrified green eyes. Her long blonde hair was a dirty mess. “Shh! Beth, I’m going to get you out of here.”
“Hurry!” Adam said, struggling against his bindings.
“The roast’s about to start any minute,” Steven hissed. “Since we’re the main course, this is one dinner I’d rather miss.”
“I’m doing all I can.” Sarah’s gaze fell on a man with long black hair and a matching beard. Somehow, he stood out from the cheering crowd as he stood by her friends. Maybe it was the glint in his eyes or the serious expression, as though he didn’t quite enjoy the display like all the others. She straightened her back and marched over to him, regarding the guards as she whispered, “Please, sir, I beg you to stop this execution.”
The man glared at her. “Get back with the others, miss, or we’ll have another fire to light.”
“But—”
He turned his back on her as he addressed the crowd. “These thieves were caught stealing a loaf of bread that’d just been dropped off by a friend from the next village. Now they must pay for their crimes. What do we do with thieves?”
“Hang ‘em!” the crowd cheered.
“Nobody steals from us. NOBODY!” a man yelled.
“We don’t have enough to feed our own children, yet they steal bread for themselves!” a woman screeched. “Kill them now! That will teach them and other would-be thieves a thing or two about greed!”
Sarah groaned inwardly. Her ability to read people was awfully off track, as she had thought the man might have something remotely gracious within him. Like the rest, his smile likely only meant he was already imagining the gruesome details of the execution about to take place before his eyes.
“My baby hasn’t eaten in two days!” someone yelled.
Sarah had to stop the madness, even if it meant sacrificing her own life. Slowly, she rose from her cowering position. Her gaze met Frank’s somewhere in the distance, but she ignored his questioning frown. Her voice came low, then increased in volume as she gathered more courage. “I’m Princess Gloria, and I demand you stop this nonsense now.” To prove her point, she lifted her hand to flash her ring.
The bearded guy bowed, deeply muttering, “Your Highness.”
The crowd fell silent and followed suit.
Now that she had their respect, she demanded, “Release these prisoners.”
“With all due respect, milady, our orders come straight from your father, who despises thievery more than anything,” the bearded guy said.
She watched in horror as he retrieved what looked like an axe from behind his cloak. Not only did she suck at reading people, but she gathered that her sixth sense and ability to pick up any dangerous undercurrents must suck too.
The man continued, “Please step aside.”
Taking a deep breath, she thought back to what Jules had said. She was an Immortal now, and immortality did come with a few perks. She had no idea how it all worked, but she had to give it a try. “I demand that you stop this execution right now!” A pang of heat burst through her head, making her wobble on her feet for a second. Maybe the ability of influencing someone’s mind is connected to emotion. It had surely worked when the knight had planned on executing her.
The executioner laughed, his eyes glinting with malice. “Trying your parlor tricks on me? I know how to block you out. You Immortals are really something, and you? You’re not even that strong. Stick to the weak-minded, young one.”
She smirked. Great. Even strong-willed humans can block me out. Irritated, she blew out a breath and walked back over to Frank and Jules. “It’s not working! We need a Plan B…pronto. You two got any more bright ideas?”