Inked (The Ink Keepers Book 1)

by N. I. Rojas

  “I told you the Graphylux took you willingly. His one and only duty is to protect and obey you. The Witch received a well-deserved punishment. You should have acknowledged the boy was right when he told you to end with the Witch.”

  “Now you agree with him when in the beginning you told me he was like the pest?” -Kyra asked, and really wanted an answer, but Incantatrix just shrugged. Now she was pointing at the Witch. - “I won’t kill her… or anyone. There has to be another way.” -Kyra protested, while cleaning her face with fresh water.

  “I’m very proud of you. You have learned a lot. Reality may give you only one way to do things- the right way-, but fantasy gives you choices, different paths to reach the right way. What a better recognition than to be able to choose!” -Incantatrix helped Kyra to stand up. - “You must hurry now. Mount Grimm is not too far from here. I’ll help you get faster, but you must do something with the Witch now. She’ll wake up any moment.”

  Kyra thought. Something had to be done, but what? She didn’t want to kill her but didn’t want to leave her free to go back to school, or to allow her to eat more children in Alter Land. But what could she do? What was the right thing to do with her? Walking past her friends and two unknown boys sleeping in the floor, Kyra discovered what to do.

  A spell… that was obvious. But which spell?

  “Give her a little of her own medicine.” -The Graphylux begged. Kyra didn’t understand immediately, but soon she fell into account.

  “I’ll make her sleep forever!” -Kyra conjured the words slowly in her mind.

  “Be careful what you write.” -Incantatrix said with fear this time. Her eyes were locked in Kyra’s and a bright sparkle flew across the Enchanted Forest. - “You must write the right witch, or every single witch in Alter Land will succumb under your spell.”

  “Is there a difference?” -Kyra asked, considering a great choice to put every single living witch under an eternal spell. - “If I can put down every witch the dangers will end!”

  “Oh, yes, there is a difference.” -Incantatrix protested before Kyra started to write. - “Bad witches eat children. Learning Witches walk here and there with a bottle of Rafflesia water inside their backpacks. Good witches help girls reach Mount Grimm in the blink of an eye.” -Incantatrix said with a wink. Kyra preferred not to think too much on what she had just heard, although that would stay in her thoughts, bothering forever.

  The evil Witch known in human’s world as Mrs. Rose felt under the veil of a dream so deep of which she could never return.

  “Add drama, Kyra! Emotion, suffering, conflict! Because if you don’t, this Witch will find a way back.” -Incantatrix urged her, whispering by her side.

  Just the kiss of the true love will make her eyes see the light again.

  “Risky… maybe too much. But that will work. As I see it, she’ll sleep forever.” -Incantatrix gave Kyra an encouraged hug. - “Now, wake up your friends, there’s still some Rafflesia water left. It’s time to finish this. Just follow the fog trail. But I must warn you, I cannot help you once the night arrives.”

  Chapter 18: Win the Girl

  Monday afternoon

  Luckily, the Rafflesia water was enough to wake the rest of the kids. Mackenzie’s facial expression was priceless when Kyra splashed the putrid water in his face. So bad she wasn’t extremely mad at him at that moment, because she would have enjoyed it even more. Mackenzie stood mad at her for a long time, but his attention was rapidly dragged by the two kids, now crying of fear. The third boy came out of hiding, as he stood close watching what was happening, but he was small to fight against the Witch and not brave enough to risk himself to be the dessert.

  Kyra stood with the kids as Mackenzie went looking for some fruits and nuts to feed them. Those boys were starving, eating Kyra’s MREs. Spasms of hunger made their chubby stomachs jump peevishly, making Kyra feel pity for them. Evening was coming faster, hasty as hurricane, relentless as a broken heart.

  Misfortune should have been marking Mackenzie’s stars the day he was born. Nothing came out as he had planned. Nothing was fun or exciting and he wished to turn back time to avoid the moment in which he was so ungrateful to desire to grow.

  “Soon you’ll save your mermaid friend.” -The Wizard said with faked emotion. As usual, he appeared from nowhere, almost killing Mackenzie with fear. - “The poor girl is getting sick… you need to hurry. Everything is in place. The artifacts are almost complete, I see you have almost everything. You won the girl’s heart already?”

  Mackenzie was confused. He didn’t remember anything about a heart or winning the girl.

  “What heart?” -Mackenzie asked crossly.

  “The little Witch’s!” -The Wizard said as if it was an evident choice. - “You need to win her love, but I see you’ve done great until this moment. You just need more encouragement I see!”

  Mackenzie feared those words. The last time he heard the word encouragement coming out of this Wizard’s mouth, his poor pet SunFish had been murdered just for the pleasure to make him suffer.

  “No, no, no…” -Mackenzie protested urgently, trying to hide his fear and suffering. - “I’ll do it. I’ll win her heart, but please, don’t harm Sirina.”

  “I see you learn. Maybe you can win the girl’s heart with pretty words. Now that you learned to say please, maybe she’ll fell you’re a special edition.”

  After new instructions were given, Mackenzie was left alone and more confused than before. He kept collecting nuts and fruits after the Wizard left. He couldn’t believe he had to barely beg this guy, something he had never allowed himself to do before. He was so tired of the Wizard now. Tired of his commands, of his wickedness, of his control, of taking his friends away. Now he wanted to take Kyra too. Why the Wizard needed Mackenzie to win her love? How that would benefit the Wizard’s plan? He was sure he liked the Fairy Girl in a different way he liked Sirina. Sirina was controller, a manipulator sometimes. Kyra was so attached to reality that she was completely lost, and that made Mackenzie feel the urge of protecting her. Yes. Despite her witch status.

  Mackenzie walked back with the dinner. It wasn’t much, but that would work after the three kids ended devouring all of Kyra’s MRE’s. While the boys chewed unstoppable, Mackenzie sat close to Kyra. She was trembling now. Cold and fear were a bad match. Although he didn’t notice in the beginning, tears streamed silently from her eyes straight to the floor. Fat tears of uncertainty and desperation. He gave her some strawberries and she just said an indifferent thank you. In response to an involuntary impulse of his body, he did the unexpected. He leaned close to her and immersed her body in a tight embrace.

  It was soft now, warm, fresh, vivid. Just a second was needed to make Kyra’s world a better place. The best was the essence emanating from their hug. Hundreds of tiny purple bells flowers opened around them, as forming a love shield. Soft noises, as glockenspiel singing carols from door to door, refreshed the tension growing around. Flower buds danced everywhere, twirling gracefully as ballerinas. And just for that moment, Kyra and Mackenzie felt connected, as it had never happened before.

  The Enchanted Forest obeyed the wind, who blew its soft warm breeze making the top of the trees dance an endless ballad, while looking perplexed at the un-aging boy growing right in front of their faces. The sun tried to peek too, forcing its hottest rays to seep in between the softly dance of leaves and branches. The sunlight casted shadows in the ground, while passing by birds were singing soft songs of love. The dancing flowers, the wag of the trees, every animal from nearby waited expectant for what was going to happen. Wanting to see with own eyes the un-aging boy growing at last. Curious they all were, to see the results of such tight hug. Perhaps they had always made themselves the same question. When this boy will finally grow?

  “I have something for you.” -Mackenzie said when Kyra pushed him away softly. He took out his flute, the one he made with bamboo cane from the Merm Lagoon. Kyra looked at him dubiously. He placed the flute in Kyra�
��s hands and stood up. - “You must take something of me with you when you return home tonight.”

  He placed the thin object into her hands, holding her, wanting to feel the touch of every one of her fingers. Witch or not, she was different. For a moment Kyra tried to give Mackenzie back his flute, but he didn’t take it.

  “I don’t know what to say, Mackenzie. This is yours; I cannot take it.” -She protested, considering this flute maybe had a sentimental value for him.

  “I want you to have it.” -He tried his best. Win the girl’s heart, he remembered. - “I have you engraved in my memory and my heart already, there you’ll stay until my death.” -He didn’t believe those words escaped his lips. Those were his true feelings but still he would never have dared to say it aloud. He never would have allowed himself to believe that those feelings were there, beating hard into his heart, hammering painfully in his body, devouring every trace of the rascal boy he was before knowing Kyra. His pride has always been way beyond his weak, beating heart.

  Kyra couldn’t believe he had said those sweet words. This boy, the one who uses to talk about troll’s droppings, or to burp out loud in a crowded eating salon. She just threw herself into his arms, hugging him hard, while tears ran down her cheeks deep into the collar of Mackenzie’s shirt.

  She pulled away from him a few centimeters, her eyes focused on his sweet thin lips. Those locks that kept such a beautiful truth hidden all the way down there, buried into his heart, covered and concealed with his wrong talking until this very moment. She came closer to him now, leaving behind all the promises she made to herself about avoiding love and such nonsenses. Kyra just wanted to kiss him, to feel the first touch of the lips of someone so loved, but Mackenzie just buried his face deep into Kyra’s neck, deeply inhaling her enchanting smell.

  What a punishment the Wizard had given him. Win the girl’s heart… but don’t kiss her yet.

  “Oh, Teenage love!” -The Graphylux said with a fake cough. Mackenzie and Kyra jumped, startled by the audience they ignored before. - “I think there’ll be plenty of time for smooching later. The night is coming and we’re still here, stuck in the middle of the Forest. The Witch sleeping close; we are babysitting three insatiable hungry kids, and a traitor or two among us.”

  “What I told you about this, pen?” -Kyra asked, grounding the Graphylux with her gaze and strict voice.

  “Just saying… We should continue. And you must start thinking what to do with the three kids if you don’t want to be more delayed.”

  It was better if they hurried to follow the trail left by Incantatrix. The little kids must continue walking alone much to Kyra’s regrets, following Mackenzie’s directions to go to his tree trunk. Truth was they would never make that far.

  “Are you sure they can’t come?” -Kyra asked Mackenzie when he gave instructions to the kids. The three kids nod with their heads, their eyes were shining in the afternoon light.

  “You can always write something to entertain them.” -Mackenzie said back. He wasn’t cruel, just a little surprised seeing Kyra’s maternal side. - “Don’t worry so much! Lost Boys are the toughest guys you’ll ever know.”

  Mackenzie made a pose to show how muscular he thought he was, making Kyra laugh with embarrassed. Small clouds of dust rose from the floor as Kyra and Mackenzie walked fast through the mist. Kyra turned her head to count the crew, just to discover the Inkling had disappeared. As much as she would have wanted to return looking for him, Kyra knew the Inkling would be hiding by choice. If It was truly a traitor, maybe someone captured him already.

  Grabbing Kyra by the hand, Mackenzie entwining his fingers with hers. This act gave her hope to continue walking despite the water bubbles starting to grow in her sore ankles. Soon everything would end, she kept repeating. Soon she’ll have her father back, soon they’ll go home. She’ll ask Mackenzie to go with them. She’ll teach him to write and read and she’ll learn a lot of things from him.

  Kyra had learned that everything in Alter Land was just as weak as a tower built from marshmallows, and dangerous as a car assembled from crystal shards. When she saw the destruction ahead, she felt grateful of having sent the three Lost Boys back to safe lands. Kyra squeezed Mackenzie’s hand with almost supernatural strength. Her fingers were sweating so much that fat drops of sweat fell to the ground.

  “Okay? For all the… Where that came from?” -Mackenzie asked, not hiding his surprise this time. Just several feet away the forest was completely crushed as if a meteor had fallen there, making a crater so big it was a luck there was still life in Alter Land. Kyra walked towards the edge of the crater with fear, her knees shaking so bad she could hear the noise they made with every collision. Her teeth chattered so hard that it was sure her father would find several cracks in Kyra's always perfect teeth in her next dental checkup. She leaned forward to see the destroyed place. Mackenzie stood back, thinking this was another illness to his land. Now he was almost sure the Wizard was the one to blame for all this.

  “Ink?” -Kyra asked confused. The crater was full of black ink with some strokes of colors, as if a painter had been working on something, but choose just to destroy the work of art by spilling the black ink on it. - “What you think, Graphy?”

  The Graphylux considered it, taking its time.

  “Don’t get me near that pool!” -He said. - “It is ink, but poisoned. Whoever did this is evilness incarnated! I know something about this. The bad guy is collecting all the words crossed out of the paper, out of the story in which he was written too, making them serve him.”

  “Like the Inkling?” -Kyra asked.

  “No, not like It.” -The Graphylux said. Kyra could have sworn that if having lips, the Graphylux would have accompanied the sentence with a twist of lips. - “The Inklings were just drops of ink falling in the paper, useless, without purpose, just a mistake. The crossed words were once sentences with unexplained purpose, it was maybe wrongly written, full of mistakes, or much more wickedness than what the author could handle at the time.”

  “What you suggest then? We need to cross this crater. It is so big that we’ll lose another day if we border it, and Incantatrix’s trail follows straight ahead. But we cannot walk over this bad ink, right?” -Without waiting for the answer, Kyra took a broken branch from the ground and submerged just a few inches of it inside the bad ink. It burned immediately, forcing Kyra to throw it fast to avoid been burned too. The wasted branch felt with a noisy splash in the ink, from which a guttural sound escaped. Mackenzie yelled Kyra’s name and she turned around surprised.

  “What’s that thing?” -Kyra yelled.

  “Nymphs!” -Mackenzie answered with a shriek. Between them, giant white nymphs gathered, huge like snowy trees, intimidating as death itself. Kyra looked back. More giant nymphs were coming out of the ink. Their white bodies were perfectly clean of stains. It was easy to see through them, as they were like jellyfishes. Their long thin legs were taller than Shimmerhorn, Kyra’s unicorn, and the whole electrified aura surrounding their bodies was maybe wider than a bulldozer.

  “Ouch!” -Mackenzie yelled. He was lying on the ground, a giant nymph launching something web-like at him, tying him by the legs. In just seconds he was hanging from the web while more of those sticky threads started covering his body as a cocoon. He kept yelling and shaking, trying to free himself. Kyra, on the other hand, was being pushed to the inky crater, and there was no escape, neither to the left or the right. As usual, the Graphylux was speechless when an idea was needed. It was Shimmerhorn who charged against the nymphs, managing to free Kyra. She mounted his back as rapidly as she had always dreamed of, and the unicorn kept running, attacking the nymphs.

  Mackenzie had done the right thing sending the Lost Boys away. Had it not been so, there would be more people to save, or to feed the starving albino nymphs. Kyra’s backpack felt to the ground and Shimmerhorn was so fast she couldn’t grab it. She was inventing her plan on the go as she had no idea of what she was really doing.

>   Mackenzie’s yells stopped. His body was covered from the toes to his mouth with that weird web. One of the nymphs charged at Kyra, its hand transformed in a solid rock. She knew what was coming now and felt the hit before receiving it. A thump on the head left Kyra unconscious for several seconds. She let go of Shimmerhorn’s mane, falling backwards, hitting hard against the rocky soil. The unicorn turned around, standing protective over her while she felt recomposed enough to mount again. There, lying in the floor, she could see the panorama surrounding them. There was no escape this time, no chance of survival. Between all the brume created by the nymphs, the trail Incantatrix had left was almost invisible. If they managed to continue, which was dubious, they would have to guess how to reach Mount Grimm on their own before nightfall.

  Some of the nymphs were leaving Kyra’s side, all of them swirling around Mackenzie. Kyra took advantage of that neglect to reach her backpack and mount Shimmerhorn again. Kyra patted his neck, thanking him for having protected her again. Slowly, they went close to the nymphs.