by D. N. Hoxa
“Wow, I never would have guessed.” I never even considered that anybody else was a darkling in disguise, even though that was exactly what I was. “What’s his Talent?”
“He’s a Will Bender. Not a very good one, though,” Sonny said with a grin. Will Benders were people who could bend will and make people do things they didn’t want to do.
I nodded. “And you? You’re a hundred percent Sacri, right?” Just trying to make sure there were no more surprises.
Sonny laughed. “Yes, I am. A hundred percent. And I’ve been training here for the past four days. Another Telekinetic, Ezra, has been helping me a great deal. Check this out.”
He turned to the lake with his hands raised. He closed his eyes, and the next moment, about twenty small rocks began to vibrate and rose a foot in the air. Then, his magic spread all around the edges of the lake, and every piece of rock on the ground rose up in perfect level.
Holy shit, this was amazing! “Oh my God, Sonny!”
He let go of the rocks, and they fell to the ground again. “It’s awesome, right? Just like you said! All I needed was practice and the guidance of a teacher who knows what he’s doing!”
My heart swelled like a balloon. “I’m so proud of you, Sonny. That was incredible.” All those rocks, at the same time, all in perfect line. Just a week ago, he couldn’t even raise three mugs over the kitchen counter in our apartment when we practiced!
“Yeah,” he said, his smile falling. “It really is.”
“What’s the matter?” I asked, but he shook his head and looked around.
“Come on, let me show you something.”
He took us to the other side of the lake, between the trees surrounding the Sacred Temple and the high stone wall of the castle. The narrow pathway took us to an unpaved road that went all around the castle walls, and as we passed, Sonny looked up at it. I did, too, but I couldn’t see anyone. I could tell that Sonny wasn’t comfortable.
On the other side of the castle were more cabins, except these were much bigger in size, and there were only seven of them that I could see. They were spread over a small field, with a low fence surrounding each one. On the right, there were two large barns, and I thought I saw cows moving behind them in the larger field. But Sonny took us straight ahead, into the dense tree line that stretched all the way from the Temple and behind the big cabins.
Not going to lie, I was just a bit scared to leave the light behind because the wood seemed really dark, but as soon as we passed the first few trees, it all changed. Golden light streamed through the branches of the trees, illuminating a wide road ahead. Thick trees on both sides and boughs stretched over the road, creating a roof of fluttery leaves over our heads. Brown, yellow and green leaves danced, and wood creaked with every push of the wind. It was warmer in there, too, and the sound of insects and of birds instantly calmed my nerves.
As if on cue, Analie, Sonny’s familiar, came to us and sat on his raised forearm.
“Hey, Analie.” She chirped in response. She was as big as a crow, only much more elegant, and her beak was longer, pointier, the tip of it completely white.
“She says hi. And that she…what?!” Sonny turned to her, brows narrowed. “By the gods, Ana.”
“What? What’s she saying?”
Sonny sighed. “She says she hopes Kit is dead in a ditch somewhere and she’s happy you’re alone.”
I laughed. Kit and Analie didn’t exactly get along, but they loved each other deep down. I knew they did.
“He isn’t dead, but he’ll be happy to see you, too,” I told Analie and turned to the woods again. “This is beautiful, Sonny.”
It really was. The uneven terrain of the wood rose and fell every few feet. Animals moved behind the trees, too fast to make out, and for every dozen trees with leaves of green, there would be one, smaller than the rest, as if it had not yet fully grown. Its thin branches were full of white leaves, or they could have been petals, with a black dot in the middle of each. Stare at it for long enough, and it looked like the tree was staring back at you.
“They call it the Wonderwood. It’s the best place I’ve seen here so far,” Sonny said, rushing down the pathway that curved to the right.
“How did you end up here, Sonny? What the hell happened?” He’d brought us here to talk because he seemed to think that people were watching us.
“I’ve been here four days, and the only thing I’m certain of is that somebody’s always watching,” Sonny said in a whisper. “But not here. I don’t think they can hear us here.”
“Who?”
“Them,” said Sonny. “The people who brought me here.” He stopped and grabbed my hand. “I’m so sorry, Sin. I wanted to call but my phone doesn’t work here, and they wouldn’t let us use whatever they use to communicate. I wanted to come back, but once they bring you here, they don’t let you back.”
“It’s okay—”
“No, it’s not okay. Sin, you have to get me out of here. These people are monsters!”
The fear in his eyes filled me from head to toes. I grabbed his face in my hands. “Tell me what happened to you.”
“Travis wanted to come here, but they tested us, and he didn’t do very well. Then they separated us into teams, and me and three other guys were to go retrieve an amulet from some sorcerers in Manhattan. I thought we would just go there, talk to them, and they’d hand it over!” His eyes filled up with tears. “They killed them, Sin.” His voice broke. I pulled him to me again. “When we got there, three men with masks were already fighting, and they killed them! Cut them to pieces right in front of our eyes.” He shook in my arms, and my heart broke for him. Anger rose in my chest like a beast. “Then they gave us the amulet and left. We had to bring it back, and when we did, they brought me here. They didn’t give me a choice. I told them I didn’t want to go, but they put me to sleep instead.”
My teeth gritted. Fucking monsters. They’d taken Sonny to frame him. To give the Guild someone to chase after. Fucking hell, he was just a kid!
I pulled him in front of me. “What did they do to you? Tell me—if they did something, I need to know.” So I could enjoy taking their lives more. I didn’t care if they were hellbeasts or not—I was going to kill them.
But Sonny shook his head. “Nothing, nothing, I swear.” He wiped his face and tried to smile. “Aside from the killing, they treated us great once we got here. Gave us food, beds, clothes—”
Something moved in the woods, and we both turned to look. Suddenly, the entire place felt darker somehow, like the boughs had closed in over us with the intent to block the sunlight from streaming in. I could see nothing.
“It’s just the animals,” Sonny said. “They won’t hurt us. Come on.”
He shot forward, almost running deeper into the woods. I followed, unsure of what to feel still.
“They have other people, older Sacri and darkling, who specialize in different fields, and they’ve been training us. They’re crazy good at it, too. Like Ezra. He’s an incredible teacher.”
“But why?” I asked. “Why are they training you?”
Before he could answer, I saw where he was leading me. The ground fell about ten feet below, creating a hole in the ground, and on the left, a big, grey rock with sharp edges rose over it. A tree stood alone at the corner of the rock, thick branches sprinkled with white leaves and black dots, just like the smaller ones I’d seen before. Thick vines wrapped over the tree trunk in a perfect spiral, and a layer of the white leaves covered the rock like snow. Sonny walked up to it, and I followed, mesmerized.
From the rock, I could see exactly how far the wood stretched—as far as the eye could see. And it was beautiful.
Lines and lines of trees on either side of the narrow meadow under the rock, some green, some colored like rainbows, gave it an otherworldly feel. Flowers, big and small, covered the ground, sprouting around trees like they were their accessories. Birds chirped and small animals rushed from one side to the other, the hushed sounds
making me feel like I was in a dream.
“It’s amazing, isn’t it?” Sonny asked.
“It is.” Even my voice sounded breathless.
“I don’t know what place this is, but it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”
I could say the same thing. I would have loved to be able to stay, to explore every inch of these woods, to see every creature that lived in it, but the truth was, Sonny and I were both prisoners here.
“Why are they training you, Sonny?” I asked my brother as I took in every detail of the view around me, committing it to memory.
“They’re building an army,” he said in a whisper. “Before we came here, they told me that there wouldn’t be a fight, but that if there was, they wanted to be prepared. Here, things changed. I don’t care what they say—they’re training us to fight, and they’ve only just begun.”
“How many?” I asked, as I tried to grasp the idea that someone was actually going to go to war with the Guild. Because there would be no talking. The Guild didn’t negotiate, not with the darkling.
“About two hundred that I know of, here in Tachtoh. But there has to be more.”
I nodded. “They’ve probably used the Gateway in the Shade. That’s the only way they could have brought us here. And that’s how we’re going to get out.”
“But how? Do you know anyone who knows how to access the Gateway?”
I flinched. I didn’t….wait.
Yes, I did.
Damian Reed. He was three hundred years old, as I’d found out the night before. Or morning. And if he didn’t know how to access the Gateway, he would know someone who did.
“Maybe. How did you know I was in that cabin, Sonny?”
“They came to get me. I was training with Ezra, and Boyle sent some people to tell me that you were here. That I was to wait for you to wake up and show you around for a bit before I took you to him,” Sonny said, swallowing hard. “Boyle is one of the people in charge of Tachtoh, the only one I’ve seen. They say his Talent is Possession, but I never saw it for myself.”
Possession. Just like those hellbeasts in the Shade had been possessed. Coincidence? Hell, no.
“Take me to him,” I said in a breath. If there was a way to get out of this place, the man in charge would know about it.
But Sonny raised a finger at my face.
My heart skipped a beat as I looked around, expecting someone to attack us. “What?”
“Hush,” Sonny whispered and pointed ahead at the woods. “Watch.”
So I did. There was nothing there, except the trees and the animals moving in a blur behind them. I opened my mouth to speak, to tell him that I couldn’t see anything, when something moved to the right of the woods.
Leaves shook, some of them falling to the ground, and wood snapped as something big moved through the branches. A heartbeat later, a horse stepped into the meadow.
He was over five feet tall at the withers, holding his head high as a thick black mane fell in waves over his elegant neck. His black coat shone almost blue under the sunlight, making his powerful, muscled body look like it was cut out from glass. His long tail moved from one side to the other as he took slow steps with the gracefulness of a feline. He moved his head to the side, pulled up one of his front legs, and neighed. Suddenly, from the grass of the meadow, a snake rose up halfway, and hissed at the horse. My breath caught as I looked at its green body—the color exactly the same as the grass it had been hiding in—and saw the eyes. Five or more sets of eyes went down the snake’s back from the head. I blinked, waiting for the view to change, but it didn’t, and the horse slammed his front leg to the ground. The snake jumped back and became one with the grass again. The horse shook his head once more, as if he were disgusted, his mane bouncing around his neck. Then he proceeded to walk.
“That’s gotta be the most beautiful horse I’ve ever seen,” I said in wonder.
“You haven’t seen anything yet,” Sonny said. “Just wait.”
So I waited.
I watched the horse walk around the meadow, as if it were searching for something in the grass. He went as far as the tree line, sniffing the flowers around, and suddenly turned his head to us, as if he hadn’t seen us standing there until now.
His loud neigh made me want to fall back, but I resisted. I watched as he backed away slowly, then turned away from us and started galloping.
“Here it comes!” Sonny called, as the horse’s body exploded.
No, it didn’t explode. Two dark shadows extended from his sides and rose up, becoming bigger and more…feathery.
They were wings. The horse had sprouted a pair of wings.
He ran so fast, I thought he was going to slam into the trees at the end of the meadow, but then he jumped in the air, and his huge, powerful wings beat once, taking him higher.
Sonny laughed. I couldn’t make a single sound as I watched the giant horse rise in the air, growing smaller and smaller, until he turned and the trees hid him from my view.
“A…a Pegasus?” What the hell? In theory, even Aunt Marie didn’t know half of what went on in our world, and there were more realms out there than anybody knew. But there was something about seeing a horse sprouting wings and taking off into the sky that made you wonder if you could tell dreams apart from reality.
“It’s the only one here,” Sonny said. “I come and watch him every day at this time. He comes to the meadow and takes off flying, like clockwork.”
“What else hides in these woods?” I wondered.
“Plenty of creatures. I saw a white bunny with antlers yesterday, and a darkling girl who’s been training with me said she saw a badger with a glowing tail,” Sonny said. “Probably plenty of other things.”
“Is this place a Shade?”
“I don’t think so, but it could be. It doesn’t feel like it,” Sonny said.
“Well, it’s pretty great out here, but we have to get back to the real world.” And to do that, I was probably going to need Damian’s help. But would he help me?
He would if I could find anything out about the amulet.
“Hey, do you know anything about what happened to the amulet? Who has it?”
“Boyle,” Sonny said without missing a beat. Relief covered me.
“I really want to speak to that man now.”
“Sin, he’s very dangerous,” Sonny whispered. “And he’s not even the man in charge of the whole Uprising. Just…just be careful, okay?”
“Don’t worry about me, okay?” I said as we headed back, down the rock and into the woods again. “You just make sure to keep a low profile here. I will be coming back for you, no matter what Boyle says to me now.”
“But what if he doesn’t let you leave, either?”
“Then we’ll find a way out of here together.” I put my arm around his shoulders. “It’s okay, buddy. Just stay out of trouble and don’t tell anyone anything. Whatever happens, I’m getting you out of here.”
Sonny nodded. “I’m so glad you’re here, Sin.”
“I’m glad you’re here, too.”
“I should have stayed away. I should have just minded my own business. Now, I won’t even get to go to Nova Terra.” His voice shook. I patted his back.
“It doesn’t matter. We’ll figure it out. Plenty of other people out there who’ve done great without school.”
He laughed.
“We’ll be okay, Sonny. We’ll be just fine.”
Chapter Eighteen
The man Boyle stayed in one of the larger cabins at the back of the castle. Sonny took me to him, and as soon as we reached the fence, the door opened, and a man came out. Sonny stopped moving.
“Good luck,” he whispered under his breath.
My heart broke all over again. I didn’t want to be away from him, not for a single second. All my instincts shouted at me to grab him by the hand, run, and never look back.
But the rational part of me knew that we wouldn’t get far, even if we were flying on that bl
ack horse’s back.
So I swallowed. “Remember what I said. Keep a low profile. I’ll come for you, Sonny.”
He nodded, and with his head lowered, he walked away toward the castle.
Taking in a deep breath, I turned to the cabin. My confidence didn’t waver because I knew I’d do whatever needed done to get Sonny out of this place. No exceptions.
I walked to the man with my head up, pulling my hands into fists so he wouldn’t be able to see my fingers shaking. I had my daggers with me, and most importantly, I had magic. Plenty of it, if the night before was any indicator. If I could make my fingers glow like that again, I’d be fine against anyone.
At least that’s what I told myself.
The man was over six feet tall, with a square head and small eyes pushed deep into his skull, dark and lifeless. The corners of his thin lips were turned downward as he analyzed me from head to toe, just as I was doing him. His shoulders were wide, and the brown cardigan he wore stretched all the way down to his knees, covering his torso completely, hiding whatever weapons he might be carrying.
When I approached him, he stepped to the side to let me in.
I expected the inside of the cabin to be similar to the one I’d woken up in. I was wrong.
The square room was three times as big, with larger windows and crisp white walls. The wooden floor shone as if it had just been polished, and there were a lot of stuffed heads of the strangest animals I’d ever seen mounted on the walls. A creature with a thick mane all around its head like a lion, except its features didn’t look feline. He looked more like a dog or a wolf with dark brown fur. The head of a bear with four eyes, and some sort of a lizard, with golden scales and an open jaw full of razor-sharp teeth.
Ahead, a wide stairway filled the middle of the room, leading upstairs, and in front of it was a large U-shaped table that curved to the sides and went all the way to the front of the room. In the center of it sat a man—who I assumed was Boyle, and two others stood behind him with their hands folded in front of them.
The man who’d let me in closed the door behind me. Air whooshed in through the open windows. I walked across the room closer to Boyle, feeling as if a thousand eyes watched my every move.