Finally, she returned her watery gaze, to the thing… no… it was a man… a God… she realised suddenly as the shape came into focus. Yes, it was indeed a God that hovered in the sky above them, glowing silver staph in hand, though his legs seemed to disappear in a cloud of smoke at his knees. His features weren’t particularly different from the men of her own world, besides the eyes, and general ambiance he cast upon them. In fact, he looked a lot like Leo, though he did not wear glasses and had a thick, shaggy mane of hair and a dark bushy beard that fell to his waist. His skin was clear, not a single wrinkle visible on his body, and his eyes were a piercing yellow, unlike anything she’d ever seen before. He wore no shirt, though it appeared he had some form of vest on that hung over his shoulders, left open at the front, and his pants were a cross between stripped pyjama bottoms and genie pants.
‘Who dares call Terian Molark, son of Paraka, God of the Fountain?’
Laura was dumbfounded by the boom and carry of his voice and nearly fell flat on her back as the words passed over her in a sudden, unexpected gust of wind. She held firm however, eyes shooting worriedly to Leo, who was nodding rapidly, urging her to speak. She forced herself to stand and raised her eyes to the God, the glare of the light finally dimming enough so that she could remove her hand from her face.
‘Um, Terian- Mr Molark- Mr Terian sir I um-‘
‘Stop this nonsense and speak girl!’
Laura felt a surge of angst wash over her, but she sucked in a breath and kept going.
‘It was I who called you, sir. Laura Harmer, daughter of Cara Westmill-Harmer. I have summoned you in the hopes you can inform me of what I am, what power I possess.’
‘How dare you disturb me, demanding I speak with you when you have no payment-‘
‘I have payment!’ Leo shouted before the God could finish.
The God durned to Leo, noticing his existence for the first time. ‘Did you just interrupt me?’
‘I-I’m sorry, but I do have payment! Right here.’
Laura watched as Leo pulled a rose-gold, oval shaped locket from his pocket and offered it up to the God.
‘Have you brought anyone with you on this visit?’ Leo asked, eyes trained longingly on the locket as it left his hand and floated up into the sky.
Laura felt a pang of shame that she didn’t offer up something of her own.
‘No, I was the only one willing to respond to the call today.’
Terian reached out a hand, grasping the glistening locket by the chain and lifting it to eye level, examining it, irises flashing silver with intrigue.
‘And of what importance is this? Why should I accept this as payment?’
‘It was my Mothers.’ Leo responded after a seconds pause.
‘Your mothers? And where is she?’
‘She- she’s not around anymore.’
Terian appeared to be smiling, ‘ah, I sense you’ve have rather a tragic past, Mr Mayfire.’
Laura lowered her gaze quickly to Leo, catching the flicker of pain that crossed his face. She’d never considered Leo’s past before, besides his profession. What sort of horrors had he experienced?
‘Yes.’ Was all he said in return.
Terian studied the locket a moment longer, until he finally curled his hand into a fist, Leo’s family locket closed up inside.
‘Very well.’ Terian said.
The locket disappeared and the God cast his bright yellow eyes upon Laura. ‘Westmill, you said? Descendants of William Westmill?’
‘Yes! Do you know about him?’ Laura asked, her heart suddenly in her throat.
‘Of course I know of him. I was alive when he was.’
‘Oh yes, good. Well my Mother, Cara Westmill-‘
‘Allowed an Angel to possess her body, granting her the strength needed for you both to survive? Yes, I know of you girl.’
At those words Laura’s whole body lurched.
‘So you know what I am?! You know what I can do?’
Terian didn’t respond immediately, though a wisp of a smile hid behind his lips. He observed Laura for a moment, and her breath caught as she waited desperately for his answer.
‘I know you have the body of a human and that you will have the strength and abilities of a Warlock once you receive your Identity Mark, though the hue of your Lightening is yet to be determined. You are an Enchantress, as your Mother is, as your grandmother was, as all those who you fight beside are. But the power you possess is complicated. Mixed. Controllable when understood. Dangerous when not explored. That is all I can tell you for the price you have given me.’
Laura took a step towards Terian, feet stumbling over one another, pulse beating wildly in her ears.
‘What? No!’ She shouted, but before she could react further, Terian shot up into the sky, taking the swirl of colours and flames with him.
Everything was silent again, the air quickly settling back to the still, peaceful night it had been before. Laura stared up at where Terian had been, a lump forming in her throat. She’d been so close. So close to the answers she needed.
Sometime later, Drew murmured, ‘we should go.’
~
‘Mixed? What does that mean?’ Grace asked in dismay.
The group were seated around the library fire, indulging in hot chocolates and coffees despite the early hour of the morning. Regardless of the excitement they felt about the success of summoning the God, they were all still a little downhearted by the answers they’d received from Terian. In addition, they had the difficult task of piecing together the little information they’d received in the hopes they’d discover some kind of hidden meaning behind the words the God had given them.
Gemma had managed to drag herself from her bed to join them, though it was evident the pain was getting to her. She was seated in the middle of the couch wrapped tightly in her blanket, Grace and Stella squashed in beside her. Logan sat on the floor by Grace’s legs, knees pulled up under his chin, the four of them had been listening intently to Laura, Leo and Drew as they relayed the events of the summoning.
‘I don’t know.’ Leo responded, ‘but clearly it is a power that could be dangerous if not taught to wield properly.’
Laura stared down into her mug, resenting the discussion ahead for she knew it would only lead to more questions rather than answers.
‘And who’s going to teach her? No one knows anything about the power she possesses. We can’t expect her to just pick up on it, she could end up causing harm to herself.’ Drew replied angrily.
Drew was dealing with the lack of answers worse than she was, and had been in a bad mood ever since the summoning, however, despite knowing that, Laura still didn’t appreciate being spoken about as if she were a child. She already resented her inability to control her power, she didn’t need a reminder that she could seriously injure someone if she wasn’t careful.
‘We’ll just have to do what we can to help her.’ Leo responded quickly.
‘How could we possibly know it’s enough though? She could lose control, you’ve seen what the power does to her. It takes over her whole being!’
Laura’s heart quickened as the anger and shame she had for her gift boiled over. She recalled the way she’d destroyed James; the frightened look in even the Wicked’s eyes when she’d demanded they allow Grace and Logan to pass with a dying Gemma in their arms; the look of pure shock on Drew’s face when she’d healed him. She despised the power coursing through her veins, and the clear fact that she wasn’t the only one who feared her lack of knowledge on the subject shone through in Drew’s words, resulting in her hating her power even more. She crossed her arms, wishing she could disappear, for the road their current discussion was taking was not one she wanted to follow.
‘Yes, we have seen the way her power takes over, but I’m sure with training, she can learn to wield it.’ Leo insisted.
‘And if she doesn’t? What if-’
‘I’m right here and can speak for myself.’ Laura snapped.
/> She felt Drew’s flinch, though she didn’t spare him a glance nor did she regret the harshness of her words.
‘Sorry, I didn’t mean-‘ Drew began stiffly.
‘Don’t worry about it.’ Laura said before he could finish, not wanting to cause an argument in front of everyone. ‘All I will say is that I will work hard to ensure I don’t cause anyone harm. I promise.’
Laura made sure she caught Drew’s gaze as she spoke those final two words, and she could visibly see the tension within him ease and his eyes softened. She kept her own gaze neutral, returning it to the floor as the discussion continued around her.
‘Can we summon someone else?’ Logan suggested in attempt to ease the tension, but he was shut down immediately with a strict no from Stella.
‘We were lucky that Terian was willing to listen. Not all God’s are as kind.’ Stella told him.
Leo grimaced, ‘and believe me, Terian was the epitome of kind.’
‘So, we’ve now confirmed that Laura does indeed have a connection with heavens, allowing her to summon the Gods with the help of someone with an Identity Mark.’ Stella said after a moment’s silence.
Laura was hit with the eerie feeling of being watched, which was verified when her gaze flickered up and caught everyone staring at her. She remained quiet until finally she knew she had to tell them about the need to find Kane.
‘I can’t piece it together any more than you guys can. But I think I know someone who might be able to help us.’ She said, before explaining her intensions to search for Kane.
‘Where do we even start searching for him though?’ Gemma inquired, her voice quiet, the bag’s under her eyes even more evident under the flickering light of the fire.
Laura glanced around. ‘Mum and Dad saw him a lot. I’m positive they would have left some kind of clue behind to his whereabouts. I know they tried to keep me from the Spirit World, but they were still prepared for this, all of this. They had things in place for my escape, should the Wicked ever come. I’m sure they would leave something behind to lead me to Kane. So I guess it’s time for me to go home.’
She caught a shared look between Leo and Stella and her stomach churned, for she knew that look. She glanced back down into her mug, letting out her breath before speaking.
‘You’ve already been out to my home since all of this, haven’t you?’
She felt Stella’s hand come to rest on her shoulder in attempt to comfort her.
‘Yes.’ Stella said, giving her shoulder a little squeeze. ‘And we found nothing.’
Laura’s stomach dropped, but she was not the kind to give up. If she were, she wouldn’t be at the manor, nor would she be fighting so hard for a race she knew so little about; a world she’d never been a part of.
‘You didn’t know them like I did. Like I do. I have to go back, at least for a day. There has to be something.’
Her friends fell silent, and she knew they doubted Laura’s words. Laura couldn’t blame them, for she didn’t know if she had said them out of belief or hope.
Finally, Leo spoke. ‘All right, we’ll organize for you to go home. I don’t know how much time we can buy you, but we’ll see what we can do.’
Laura felt a knot she didn’t realise was inside her loosen at Leo’s words, and she shot him a grateful smile.
‘Okay. So, say we find out where Kane is, and we track him down. Then what?’ Drew pressed onwards.
‘Well, we either get answers about my power or we don’t.’ Laura said.
‘He may even be able to shed some light on how Cara got her Identity Mark back, and everything else she’s done to protect you.’ Grace chimed in, and Laura felt her hopes lift at the realisation that yes, Kane would most likely have those answers too.
‘What about Cara for that matter? And Caspian? When do we go after them?’ Logan queried.
‘Soon.’ Laura said. ‘I don’t know how yet, but we will find them.’
‘We can’t go anywhere without the force knowing, and Stella and Leo can’t leave regardless.’ Grace added.
Leo stepped in then, ‘we should focus on sending Laura back home for a day. That should be easy enough, if we can convince the Force you need to retrieve some of your things and personal items for your Father’s funeral. After that, we’ll take it one step at a time depending on what Laura finds. For now, I think we all need to get some sleep, most of you can barely keep your eyes open.’
There were nods of agreement, draining of mugs, and sleepy mumbles of goodnights as they each made their way out of the library and down the hall to their own rooms. Tomorrow, it seemed, would be yet another busy day.
Chapter Five
A lot Can Change
Receiving permission from the Corin Force to return home was as easy as Leo had implied, and it was just after lunch the very next day that Laura found herself, Grace and Gemma being driven out to her house by Robin and Mitch, two of the younger Force Members assigned to guarding the Manor. Both boys sported the grey-green Corin Force uniform, badges pinned to their shoulders providing insight to just how well respected they were despite their young age.
Robin chatted with the three light-heartedly, his grey-green eyes flashing back at them as he asked them innocent questions about their lives at the Manor. His fiery red hair shone bright in the sunlight that streamed through the cars windows, and freckles were splayed across his face in an uneven pattern. He was respectful, regardless of the group’s current status among the Enchanted, and Laura appreciated that.
Mitch, however, was quiet and calculating as he drove the car, his brown eyes glancing at them in the rear-view mirror every so often. Besides acknowledging Robin’s varying prompts, he didn’t speak. His dark brown hair was cropped close to his head on the sides, but was longer on the top, and if he wasn’t so closed off, his face would have been considered kind.
Laura wasn’t sure, yet, how the two operated. They appeared to be the classic ‘good cop, bad cop’ duo, and she could only hope that her plan would work regardless of Mitch’s suspicious gaze.
As soon as Laura was granted allowance to return home for the afternoon, it was decided that Grace would accompany her to be the ‘shoulder to lean on’. Gemma, however, would be the distraction, buying Grace and Laura enough time to check the whole place for clues to Kane’s whereabouts.
When they finally turned off the road onto Laura’s driveway, she couldn’t help but crane her neck in attempt to catch a glimpse of her house. Her stomach was doing flip-flops, and she felt as though she were in a dream. Then, the familiar homestead came into view, and suddenly she couldn’t hold back the single tear that slipped down her cheek.
‘It’s okay.’ Grace said, reaching for her hand and giving it a squeeze.
Laura could only stare as they approached the familiar brick house, the roof shining silver under the sun, the curtains pulled shut over the windows. The garden was overgrown, and there were little tuffs of grass growing around her Father’s work shed, evidence that the place was no longer being looked after.
Laura’s breath caught as the car rolled to a stop out the front of the abandoned house. Her heart raced in her chest until Mitch cut the engine, and then everything stopped. She pushed the car door open and stepped out onto uneasy legs. The whole world was quiet around her, waiting.
She took a few steps forwards, then came to a halt, her body buzzing as she recalled the last memory she had of her home. She stared at the ground by the front door, unable to move any further. There was no blood, no body, no sign that her Father had ever laid there, dying. Then she raised her eyes, casting them over her home, the sheds, the farm, Wimerack Mountain. It was all familiar, yet at the same time, it was beginning to feel so very different.
She realised then the fuss Gemma was making behind her, buying Grace and her as much time as possible. Grace linked arms with Laura, giving her the strength she so desperately needed. Laura cast her eyes over her home one more time, before sucking in a breath and setting off for the fro
nt door.
~
‘Please, just unclip the seatbelt for me. It hurts to reach across.’ Gemma said, putting on her best puppy dog eyes for the handsome Force Member.
‘I’m sure you can use your other hand.’ Mitch said, dark brown eyes watching her unsympathetically as he crossed his arms, a strand of his brown hair falling loose from his slicked back style.
Gemma glared at him, the puppy dog eyes gone. ‘Are you seriously going to stand there and let a poor, injured girl, who nearly died, undo her own seatbelt, causing her immense pain? How very chivalrous.’
She stretched her right arm across her body towards the seatbelt, keeping her left hand close to her stomach, pretending it hurt too much to move. She groaned and winced with each movement, exaggerating her level of pain.
‘Oh for God’s sake, here.’ Mitch snapped, leaning over Gemma and clicking the seatbelt button, carefully pulling it off her and allowing it to wind up. ‘There, now out you get.’
Gemma stared up at him, eyes wide. ‘But I can barely move, please, will you help me out?’
Gemma was quick to cast an eye around, ensuring Robin was still sweeping the perimeter and the girls were inside.
‘You got into the car fine.’ Mitch said, drawing her attention back to his frowning face.
‘All that reaching for the seatbelt really took it out of me, and your driving wasn’t that smooth either.’ Gemma faked a wince and rested her head back against the seat, her eyes closed. ‘I think I might pass out if I don’t get out of this car, I’m in so much pain.’
Gemma cracked an eyelid to see Mitch shake his head then squat down by her side. He reached for her first leg and eased it out of the car, then he helped swivel her body sideways, all the while lifting her second leg through the doorway.
‘Can you stand now?’
Gemma pressed her hands into the seat, trying to push herself up into a standing position, then slumped back down. She saw the moment Mitch gave up and bit back a grin as he bent over her, allowing her to wrap her arms around his neck while he secured his hands behind her back, helping lift her up.
The Sacrifice (Wicked Book 2) Page 5