by T M Caruana
“No, you mustn’t touch him. In my bag is a bottle. It’s half full of tiger blood. Isn’t that enough for your potion? Take it, but don’t touch Tarus.”
I didn’t care that she would have access to the drink. She was stubborn and wouldn’t stop until she succeeded so why fight it? I’d just lost my best friend and Noah…no Noah! I realised that he must be dead by now.
“Okay,” she said, unhappy to skip over that bit as she had obviously been looking forward to it, but it was magic blood all the same.
Moreover, tiger blood from a living tiger wasn’t something to play with and she wouldn’t put her own life in danger.
To tame the unicorn and lion wild,
“I already have a unicorn horn to stir all the ingredients into the water. I have you to thank for that.”
She looked at her pet who still had his eyes on Michael between the grids. His tail was still swinging to and fro. When he heard he was called, he rose to circle past the bars and around the font, until he reached her side, where he again lay down with a big yawn.
Now it was also explained why the Oracle had wanted to protect the unicorn on Sabi. The horn was needed for the drink and Eutychia couldn’t travel there. However, she had apparently got hold of a horn in her own way.
To mock the subtle in themeselves beguiled,
To cheer the plowman with increaseful crops,
And waste huge stones with little water drops.
“Aha, the last three sentences. There aren’t many people who know what it means. However, since you don’t have long to live, I can offer you the truth. The ingredients should be hidden under the water; all but I just needed Katrona’s steel heart to break the surface. The unicorn horn should stir the heart, and is then lifted to let the water droplets fall on top of it. Thereafter, the water becomes orange from the chakra and tiger blood. The drinker of the beverage should have enough power to…”
A water whirl like a hurricane, like the one Myra and I had seen before, swept in from the entrance and rushed towards us. It was bigger and stronger than the previous one. It stormed past Eutychia and straight towards the cage. When it pushed through the bars, it nearly drowned all of us before it stalled and transformed into a human. It was Leo. I couldn’t decide if I was happy or disappointed to see him. But it was something that I could wait to think over. We were saved, or at least I hoped so. His strong fists were holding the sea grass bag. He tore it open and took out the power stones.
Eutychia groped at her neck, only to find that her stones had been stolen from her. She looked more scared than angry though, and took shelter in the hallway with the lion rushing in front of her. I caught a glimpse of her face peeking out and it looked as if she was planning something sinister.
Leo gave Michael the indigo stone, Myra the blue and he retained the yellow stone of the key.
“Who are they?” he asked and pointed with the key he held in his hand at the woman with the child.
The fact that there were more people involved in the escape meant he would have to change his strategy.
“Are they going to come with us?” was his next question before anyone had time to respond to the first.
It was clear that he was in a hurry to transport us all away before the witch remembered a spell that would push him to his limit. His body froze and his eyes opened wide when he saw Katrona’s lifeless body in a pile on the floor.
“Hell,” he whispered to himself and turned around, drawing in a deep breath with closed eyes.
It wasn’t like him to swear.
“Michael, take the child to Angi. Myra, you will take the woman and Susy you come with me,” he ordered quickly after having turned to face us again.
Shortly after, I had taken his angry grip and felt the key pinch my skin against my palm, I found myself in another world. Angi was full of greenery, obscuring the view of the sky and any far-reaching view. It was as equally dense as the overgrown forest, but in green instead of gold and you could easily become lost in the maze of trees and bushes. The others appeared at our side and Harriett ran quickly to Michael to get a safe hold of her child.
Chants and drumming sounded from amongst the trees and Leo started walking towards the noise. Without a word, the rest of us followed him. He wasn’t as fast as Noah or Hunter so it was easier to keep up with his pace.
I could hear Kora’s voice. She sounded upset. It was a harsh discussion about something, and she clearly disapproved. It reminded me that she had left us earlier to see her mother after her father’s death. His own brother had murdered her father, whom I had met in the overgrown forest. It was something I would have to tell her about and it wouldn’t be easy, but I had to. It would probably change her plans about her worlds’ council members and she would have to protect her people from her evil uncle. She would probably choose to rule over the people herself as the rightful heir, as the chief’s daughter.
18
RIGHT OR WRONG
Michael came up behind me unexpectedly and I ducked out of fear from the sudden movement. My fear didn’t stop when I saw that it was him, because I also saw his eyes glowing with hatred and his body tense with anger. He was breathing rapidly through his nose and his hands were clenched, swinging at his side to gain speed. Before I had time to draw any conclusions about his motives, he had already thrown himself fearlessly onto Leo with his hands tightened around his neck and throat. Leo flew to the ground and managed to use his hands to dampen the fall as they were sliding on the grass before he came to a halt, with all his shirt’s buttons popped open and his stomach green from the grass.
It would take several hours before the grip would kill him. A sea creature didn’t have to breath air like the rest of us, as their bodies absorbed air through the skin as well as through the nose and mouth. He would have been worse off if we had been on Medi, where the air was thinner and wouldn’t have penetrated his skin so easily. He would need water before he needed air. His powers would clearly be stronger than Michael’s if you ignored the fact that Leo was more muscular and could probably stand up, with Michael hanging as an accessory around his neck. But he lay still and made no move to defend himself. I myself was a little angry with Leo and thought it served him right for a while before I warned Michael to stop.
“You miserable creature, where the heck were you? Why did it take so long before you came to save us?”
Michael’s angry voice hit me like a wave on the shore of sadness. He had lost his newfound love who he had looked for, for so long, as he had explained with his wasp and flower story, where he hopped from flower to flower without being able to choose one that was worth committing to. How would I feel if it had happened to Tarus? If Eutychia had killed him? The idea was as unbearable as Michael’s tormented screams.
“I…I…I should never have left you, I’m sorry,” Leo murmured with a voice more tormented than if he had murdered her himself.
“You’re sorry? You’re sorry? You should be lying dead in the witch’s dungeon, not Katrona. Katrona didn’t deserve it!”
“You are right Michael. It should have been me. It should have been me long ago. Katrona didn’t deserve to die and neither did Noah,” Leo’s reply made Michael loosen his grip although it didn’t seem to make him less angry or more forgiving.
I believe at this point we all thought about Noah. I would have a hard time forgiving myself for what I had exposed him to and I would never get the chance to experience my true feelings for him. We had shared a child and he had been the man in my life. Even if feelings of love hadn’t been obvious, the fact was that he had always been there for me. Tarus had been dishonest with me…or not dishonest, but he had avoided telling the whole truth. Or was the truth that I hadn’t really asked him about it? Had I been blinded by my feelings for him? I was angry with Tarus too, because I would now never be able to come face to face with Noah to ask his forgiveness. Although I was angry, I couldn’t help remembering his totally embracing hugs, his charming smile and his emerald eyes. I want
ed to be with him now; I didn’t want to wait. I wanted to know that he was unharmed and I wanted to hear his voice. When would all this be over? How many more would have to sacrifice their lives?
“Michael you’re right, but it doesn’t help if Leo also dies too. We still have a lot we need to do and we need him,” I said softly.
The words would hurt him as they could be interpreted as if I had chosen Leo’s side. I hadn’t chosen anyone’s side. It wasn’t Leo’s fault that Eutychia was sickeningly evil, but saying that wouldn’t relieve Michael’s pain. Nor mine. My sorrow over my best friend’s death, who had helped me through my first few difficult moments in my new life and had been standing by my side to comfort me every second, made me feel truly desolate. She was gone forever.
“No it won’t help, but it would make me feel much better,” he replied angrily and I could hear that he really meant it. “Why didn’t you use the force field Susy?” Michael asked sadly without looking at me.
It was like a knife in my back. How could he say that to me now? He was well aware that I would have saved Katrona if I had remembered the magic, but I hadn’t thought of it at the time and neither had Michael, because if he had, he would have reminded me. But he was right. If I hadn’t had my thoughts focused on Tarus, maybe I would have remembered the magic and have saved us all. It was my fault that I always put Tarus’s life ahead of everyone else’s. It was my fault that Katrona died. I wanted to scream, tear my hair and run as fast as my legs could carry me. It didn’t matter where. I just wanted to use my strength to relieve all the anger and sadness I felt. I wanted to hide my shameful soul from a world that must have been so wrong in choosing me to be life’s creator. I clearly couldn’t handle the task. However, Michael was probably not the first person I had disappointed considering all the sorrow in the worlds. It wouldn’t matter what I felt or thought, there was nothing that would change reality, so I didn’t respond to his question. It had probably been rhetorical anyway.
I crossed my arms to hold up my aching chest, and noticed something new about myself. I had a glow around my body, like a light bulb had just been lit up and was about to heat up. I held out my arms to see and it scared me so much that I screamed as if a spider was crawling along my body.
“Guys…guys!”
The panic in my voice resulted in both of them turning around to look at me in surprise. Even Myra and Harriett, who had walked a good distance ahead of us, turned around to see what my panic was about.
“What’s happening to me? What should I do?”
The panic was still there in my voice, whilst my eyes were staring at my bare gleaming arms.
“There’s no danger Susy, it’s just your chakra, look at us we are starting to gleam too.”
I was relieved to hear Leo’s explanation, but was still ignorant about my glowing skin.
“What’s a chakra and why is it affecting us now?”
My question came out in the same nauseous tone as if I were ill.
“It isn’t anything to worry about. It’s your soul’s charisma and it’s visible here on Angi. It will provide information about everyone’s strengths and weaknesses, but it’s something that Kora can explain better than any of us,” Leo advised dismissively with his voice, still understandably dejected.
He would be sad for a long time to come, with every right to be both grumpy and angry. I was just happy that he still talked to us, unlike Michael, who scarcely breathed or stood on his legs. Time would heal all wounds, just like it would for me; my wounds and my memories. Yikes, the mere thought of having to talk to Kora ached like a sour apple in my stomach and reminded me of the conversation that awaited me about her father. Would I now have to confide in her about my chakra, which apparently symbolised my soul? I felt myself wrinkling my nose and pulling my head back in disapproval. I would rather read the entire black notebook to try to find answers myself than ask Kora. The notebook, which Eutychia had probably seized from my bag along with the tiger blood.
“Leo?”
I wasn’t sure how he would react to my question, so I hesitated.
“Yes?” he replied puzzled, waiting for my question as he stood up, now that Michael had let go of his neck.
“Now that Eutychia has the tiger blood, do you think she will be able to make the potion and use the spell? What do you think she will use it for?”
As I suspected, there was something in my question that made his eyebrows narrow and his eyes become secretive. He looked at Myra, who was still standing at a distance, talking to Harriett.
“Tiger blood?” he asked, confused.
I realised that he hadn’t been present when I had promised Eutychia the substance in exchange for Tarus’s life.
“The tiger blood was in my bag. I promised her that she could take it. She probably took the notebook from the bag as well.”
I sigh. Everything seemed complicated. I saw Leo bend down and pick up the notebook from the inside of his high leather boot, a little bent, but otherwise intact. Then he opened the pouch he had hanging from his belt.
“You mean these?” he said, obviously pleased with himself, holding a protective cloth between his hand and a little glass bottle half full of Cezar’s tiger blood.
My hands hit a little too hard on my face and I wasn’t even surprised that a glimmering rainbow lit from my arms. My breathing stopped as my eyes glazed with terror at the little bottle and my legs became as weak as a newborn deer’s.
“No,” was all I could get out. “No, no, no…” I repeated again and my torment made Leo’s face fade, displaying his usual guilty look.
“What is the matter? I thought you’d be happy?”
He sounded annoyed at my ungrateful response.
“If Eutychia dared not venture into the overgrown forest herself to get hold of tiger blood from Cezar, what do you think her next action is? Where do you think she will get the blood?”
My question needed no answer. He would understand. Leo wasn’t stupid.
“Tarus,” he whispered with his face toward the ground so I could barely hear him; more like a hum than a whisper.
I understood what it meant to him; he clearly got on well with Tarus and they had, over the years on Teli, become good friends, or maybe they had even been friends before? I decided not to think more about it. As long as he was on Pixi, where Eutychia couldn’t go, he was safe. We were on Angi now to gather an army to defeat Nomnat’s own army of villains. The faster we could confirm our alliance, the faster we could go back to Pixi and I could have his arms around me again.
“Perfect,” said Leo, more insensitively than necessary.
He glared at Michael who had sunk to the ground in a depressing motion showing his unwillingness to live. He had wrapped his arms around his legs in the foetal position, trying to he hid his tears. Leo opened the cork of the small glass bottle gently with the cloth and sat down on his knees next to Michael. He was carful when handling the blood; one drop and he would be dead in a fraction of a second.
“Leave me alone Leo.”
Michael turned his head to rest his cheek on his right arm.
“Michael, I wouldn’t ask you if it wasn’t important for the others rather than for me. You don’t owe me any favours,” Leo said with a serious tone, which Michael had also noticed. “But you know how often your people cry and we really need a tear in the blood.”
Michael nodded dully. He took the bottle and let two teardrops slide down into the bottle. An incredible transformation took place. I would never have believed it, if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes.
The blood began to spin in a vortex at a speed faster than if Leo had spun the bottle. The liquids spun faster and faster until the blood’s dark red colour was thinned to a transparent water-like substance. Had the tears transformed the blood into water? Is this how blood reacts in the body when you drink it? Michael had explained to me that it would lower the heart rate to a death-like state if consumed. But did the human blood return to its usual state on awa
kening?
I reflected on how much knowledge Leo actually possessed and what he had chosen to tell and chosen to withhold. Did he have more secrets that would be revealed when the time was right? Was he in fact in the same league as his father, Merlin?
I looked at Leo, from his boots to his God-like face, as radiant as a rainbow with blue the predominant colour. He was too perfect, like a predator disguised in a beautiful shape to attract its prey. Who could I really trust out of all of them? I had been told that Tarus was the most ruthless ruler of the seven worlds, while Leo was the son of the most fearful magician in history. Michael was cleared from my suspicions. His feelings had been transparent since the beginning. I guess it’s him I’m going to have to trust – he and Hunter. Hunter had always had my best interests at heart. Samuel was always mysterious and quiet and an outsider in the group. He didn’t especially like Kora, though it only proved his knowledge as a good judge of character.
I couldn’t help giggling to myself. It was a strange group of characters who had been sent to Teli to save me. They said that they were seven. I had come to know six. Who was the seventh? It proved that there were still many unanswered questions, but I would have to choose which was the most important to have answered first. The responses came infrequently and many were apparently incomplete.
“Little water drops. It’s the last important process that the witch hasn’t figured out yet,” Leo explained. “Just one left,” he sighed and tucked the bottle into his pouch again.
When Leo looked up, he met my questioning eyes, but kept quiet without revealing any of his secrets. Just one left of what? What was it that he kept secret?
“When Eutychia realises that the bag didn’t contain the blood, it probably won’t take long before she comes after us. Our spells are difficult to control on Angi because of the lighter gravity, but there is more than one way to slaughter a sheep. And Michael’s healing powers are out of action for the same reason so it’s probably best that we hurry to Kora. I don’t even want to think about what Tarus would do with me if something happened to you,” Leo concluded without a hint of sarcasm.