Light

by Adrienne Woods

  The ponytail came back down the stairs and stopped in front of us. “What was the color of your sand?”

  “What do you mean, what color? The color of sand. It was light brown.”

  “Golden,” the woman asked again and I nodded. “She’s one of us, the Shadow Caster was trying to change her.”

  “How do you know this woman?” Ponytail asked again.

  “I don’t. She took me while I was on the street in Chicago. I woke up here.”

  “Where is she now?”

  A loud, breaking noise from upstairs made me scream. Don’t do anything, you know nothing, Mom’s voice yelled inside my head.

  “Fox, get her out of here, now,” Ponytail yelled as one of the dark men came tumbling down the stairs and landed face down on the carpet. He didn’t get back up. The cowboy and the other guy was still upstairs. I had no choice but to follow the woman that looked like a white mouse.

  “It’s going to be fine. I promise.”

  At the door, I was pushed out of the way and I watched as one of the sofas crashed into the door inches from us.

  “Stay here, don’t move.” The girl, who I assumed was called Fox and not rat said as she went after her team members.

  I peeked around the corner and saw Mom’s black dust in the form of the whip, her favorite weapon. She was really good at fighting against all of them. Bodies wearing white flew a couple of paces away and then I heard that same buzzing sound that I had heard that day in the attic, and by the shouts and fists hammering the floor, I knew she had escaped the same way we’d came here. She was safe.

  “She’s just gone,” the Asian man that crawled from under the table said, sounding a bit annoyed.

  “You know who that was?” Ponytail asked.

  “Vinicola? It can’t be,” Cowboy dude said with a bad Texan accent. Vinicola, Vinique.

  “No, John. Vinicola disappeared a long time ago.”

  “I remember. You don’t have to remind me of that night,” Cowboy said and then he looked back at me. “The question is, why’d she try to recruit this one?”

  They all stared at me.

  “Are we talking about the Vinicola?”

  The woman slapped the Asian dude hard on his back. “Henry, there’s only one Shadow Caster who can handle a whip like that, and it’s Vinicola.”

  The cowboy dude laughed.

  “It’s not funny. Selene is not going to like this one bit. Knowing that the Shadow Caster who killed one of her best Light Casters is back…” Ponytail shut all of them up. “It’ll be on us, all of it.” I wanted to smile. My mother was famous and the Light Caster Ponytail was speaking of, could only be my father. By the look on these people’s faces, my mother wasn’t just famous, she was very dangerous too. Then Ponytail walked toward me with huge strides.

  “Your sand?”

  “Tom,” Fox said.

  “Fox,” his head snapped back at hers. “Remember who’s in charge here. You had your chance.”

  “I’m just saying, she’s been through enough.”

  “Still we have to make sure that she wasn’t turned.” He stood right in front of me and started putting his fingers on my lips to look inside my mouth. I pulled away hard, pushing his hands away.

  “Tom!”

  “Your sand.”

  I shook my head. I wasn’t in the right place to wield it now and Mom did warn me about what could happen if I wasn’t in the right place. “I don’t know how to make it come.”

  “Your sand,” he said again.

  The woman’s hand grabbed him gently by his arm. “She doesn’t know what she is yet. She can’t even wield her sand properly, just take her to Revera.”

  “You know we can’t take her there if she’s a Shadow Caster.”

  “She’s only a child.” She grunted back at him. “I don’t care who’s in charge. This is still my team and I say we take her back to Revera.”

  The two of them stared each other down.

  “You heard Fox, Tom.” The cowboy said and touched my arm softly, guiding me toward the exit.

  A grunt escaped Tom’s lips and he pushed past Cowboy and me to get out first.

  Outside, two huge SUV’s were parked on the grass. What was it with these people and SUV’s?

  They looked similar to the SUV Beavis and Butthead had driven that day when they’d picked me up from school.

  They were big and black with tinted windows. Inside was all black and leathery and I took a deep sniff as the scent of new car still lingered in the air.

  Cowboy climbed in after me and Fox opened the opposite door. I knew I was going to be smashed in the middle like a piece of ham between two slices of buttered bread.

  Tom slid in behind the steering wheel and the Asian dude called shotgun, while the other two guys took the first SUV.

  Tom spoke in some code over his ear and mouth pieces that were still attached to him, and the only thing that I could make out was that the SUV in front of us was going another way, and of course over and out.

  I caught Fox’s eye just as we drove off, and tge rat-like woman gave me a soft smile.

  Cowboy, on the other side of me, slid his hat over his eyes so that just his nose and mouth stick out.

  Something told me that this was going to be a long ride.

  “So,” the Asian dude turned around his seat to look at me. “You talk the talk?”

  I frowned and looked at Fox for some indication to what he was talking about.

  “Mandarin,” she said.

  “Oh, no.” I shook my head. “I don’t speak Mandarin, or Cantonese.”

  Mr. Sandman, a very old song that used to be one of Mom’s favorites played over the radio. The Asian dude smiled at Tom as he turned it slightly louder. “I like this tune.”

  Fox smiled and stared out the tinted window shaking her head softly while the Asian man kept singing softly along with the chorus.

  I huffed as the words of the giddy song filled the car. The reality was so far from what the woman was singing about. Mr. Sandman was indeed a fairy tale version parents told their kids to help them have sweet dreams, but in reality, there was good vs. evil, both badass at fighting with weapons and sand that appeared from deep within when they needed it.

  They were Casters, and that was something I didn’t know if I was cut out for or not.

  THE RIDE TO WHAT TOM WAS REFERRING TO AS THE Passageway, was far from the cabin in Montana. It was hard for me not to cry. I didn’t know if my mother was safe or not and being stuck with people I didn’t know made the situation even worse.

  I was scared and thought about the past couple of weeks. My life had turned from jealous girls and abs and asses to golden sand and wielding weapons.

  The only one who spoke to me was the Asian guy. His name was Henry, and he was as geeky as they get. Still he didn’t speak Mandarin or Cantonese. He didn’t even have an accent. I didn’t ask him what his age was, as I silently wished for him to just shut the hell up.

  I didn’t know what he was doing on this mission, he didn’t look like the fighting type. He’d been sitting in a corner, or underneath a table, way out of danger while the others were fighting against Mom.

  The curves of my lips turned up slightly every five seconds or so as he kept speaking. Henry carried on babbling like a little schoolgirl until Tom literally growled at him. He turned around after rolling his eyes and everything became silent again.

  The SUV turned into a very small town. It was dark but you could still see some light around the edges of the sky. It lit up the dark streets where most of the street lights were out. The only ones that worked were right in front of places that were still open.

  I turned my head and looked past Fox. A port which still operated had about ten or twelve boats bobbing in the water and a lighthouse shone in the background. The wind blew against the car as they came to a halt at the stop sign.

  I didn’t see a beach, just pebbles and rocks where the water crashed against land.

  The S
UV drove slowly down the street again, past a convenience store and a pharmacy. A hardware store and a small diner stood on the other side of the street.

  Tom kept on driving the speed limit as I looked through tinted windows, this time, out of Cowboy’s window, as he was still sleeping. The soft snores that he let out told me that much.

  By the second stop sign, Tom turned left and the road carried on for another couple of miles. When they finally came to a halt and Tom switched the engine off, I could see the outline of what looked like another lighthouse. This one was badly in need of some TLC.

  Fox reached over me and give Cowboy a hard shake. “Wake up, we’re here.”

  My head snapped to Fox. “Where is here?”

  “The Passageway,” Tom snapped and I lowered my head. I didn’t like the demeanor and vibe that was emanating off of him. I knew that whoever Tom was, he didn’t like me at all.

  “Don’t worry about Tom,” Fox spoke softly. “He’s like that around everyone.” She winked which made me smile. I liked the rat. I could tell that she was a really good fighter and for some reason used to be this team’s leader. I really wanted to know why she wasn’t the leader anymore.

  Tom looked around fast before he opened the old creaking white door to the lighthouse.

  “After you,” Fox said and I took a deep breath. I had no idea how an entire Passageway was going to fit into a lighthouse that looked as if it was held together by termites holding hands, but I followed Tom and Henry none the less. We climbed the wooden stairs that looked as if they were going to snap in two at any second.

  I tried to sidestep every hole and crack I could see inside the steps, and hated how much noise they were making.

  “Phil,” Tom said softly and Henry’s laughter came out in a mocking tone right in front of me.

  As I mounted the last couple of steps three men appeared. A man in his mid-forties with a huge stomach and bushy eyebrows shook Tom’s hand and gave Henry a slap shake.

  “And who is this?” he asked as he looked at me.

  “This is Chastity Blake,” Fox said and winked at me.

  “Chas, meet Phil. He is the Tector, the guardian of many entries that lead to the Outer and Revera.”

  The Outer? I had no clue what she was talking about but I smiled. Still, a bit unsure about all of this as my mind couldn’t comprehend how on earth the Passageway, whatever that was, fit into this old lighthouse, but then again, I still struggled to accept that whenever I was angry or scared, gold sand sprouted from my hands which could actually make other humans sleep or hurt ones that weren’t from this world.

  “By that cut on your face, I would say this wasn’t as easy as you thought, hey John?”

  Cowboy chuckled. “We managed fine, old man.”

  Phil smiled, stared at the door he was guarding and pulled a huge bundle of keys from his pocket.

  “Is it true that Vinicola is back?” Phil asked softly but I couldn’t hear Tom’s reply. I only knew that he spoke about me as Phil’s eyes lingered on me for a couple of seconds. He finally went back to his task and the keys rattled again until he found the right one.

  He opened the door and we all stepped inside and started to cough at the dust that had accumulated over each and every object that was in the small room. From what it looked like there was a couch with a dirty old garment covering it, a cupboard and a mirror. I gave Fox a look that was filled with questions, the most important one was what the hell were we doing here?

  “Think it would kill you to dust now and then?” Tom asked and Henry laughed.

  Tom shot him a look. “I can’t wait for you to hoot again.”

  Henry slapped Tom on the shoulder and I thought that maybe this dude really had some sort of death wish or something. “You love me, admit it.”

  But Tom just shook his head and cleared his throat. He walked up to the mirror, picked a rag up from the floor and wiped it sort of clean.

  Tom took out a marker and started drawing signs on the mirror. Plenty of squares, circles and odd triangle shapes. When he finish drawing in a circle shape around the mirror, he tapped softly in the middle. A soft buzz came from the mirror and then it seemed as if the mirror shuddered slightly. The dust fell off the mirror and it cleaned itself. I had to open and close my eyes, because I thought I was dreaming. Yet, after everything I’d learned the past few days, I knew dreams were as real as you and me.

  We all stood back waiting for the process to finish and when the shapes Tom drew on the mirror started to move around and formed a huge symbol in the middle of the mirror, the substance turned from glass to a jelly, watery substance.

  “Ready Chas?” Fox asked me.

  I gave her the look. The one that screamed that I would never be ready for this shit, but I guessed I didn’t have a choice so I nodded.

  Phil slapped Henry hard on the back which made me jump. “Time to squawk again my boy.”

  “I don’t squawk,” Henry said in a slightly dull tone and turned to look at me. His smile reached his eyes again. “See you later Chas.” He winked and ran straight for the mirror.

  The minute he dove through, all sorts of colors came sprawling out. It was simply stunning and I couldn’t help myself as I watched in awe as bright yellows, pinks, purples, blues and slight reds flashed past me.

  “Don’t take too long, Fox,” Tom said before he disappeared through the mirror too.

  “You want to go next?” John asked us, and Fox nodded, before she looked at me.

  “Chas, it’s the only way to enter through to the Outer.”

  “What is the…”

  “Shush, I’ll explain later. Right now, you need to pay attention. Just hold your breath as you go through the mirror. Close your eyes. Although it may feel like you are going to suffocate, know that you are perfectly fine. Tom and Henry are waiting on the other side. The fog is cold, so brace yourself. But only for a little while.”

  I just stared at her.

  “It’s the only way.”

  “Fox?” John asked.

  “John,” Fox cut him off.

  “Now close your eyes and take a deep breath.”

  I did as she said, while looking at John. What did he want to say, when she cut him off like that?

  I didn’t look, although I was dying too, but my fear of losing my eyes or whatever was way too big to peek.

  My finger touched the mirror. It felt cold as my arm reached further inside. The freezing temperature almost felt as if it was burning into my arm, into my bones and when pain started to emerged, I grunted and pulled back.

  A hand connected hard with my back which made me fall into the mirror. A horrible, excruciating pain tore through my flesh, and everything I was.

  My heart beat so fast as I crunched down on my teeth. A deep grunt from within made this feeling seem ten thousand times worse.

  Then the same stabbing pain I had only experienced once before, inside my Initiation dream when I was standing before that mirror, made my skull want to snap in two.

  I couldn’t take it anymore and clutched my head and screamed. The freezing fog immediately engulfed my screams and ran its course down my throat and into my lungs. Pain and a fright I’d never experienced before overwhelmed my entire existence and nothing I did, made any of it easier.

  I couldn’t cough, even though I tried with all my might. It felt as if the fog just pushed itself inside of me, and we weren’t a match at all.

  Then the pull came and my body connected hard with the surface. I coughed, gasped for air, and screamed one last time before all the pain just disappeared. Like none of it had happened at all.

  Tears were close by, even though I felt that they were a sign of weakness. Maybe I was weak, but at that moment I didn’t care.

  I couldn’t open my eyes to find out where I was, and I just lay on the cold hard floor.

  My hair and clothes were wet, I didn’t jnow why because I couldn’t feel any water, just a freezing pain. My heart beat so fast it was the only thing I
could hear.

  “Chastity,” Tom’s voice finally got through and I could sense a figure kneeling beside me.

  “Open your eyes!”

  I did and saw a pale white hand touching mine. Even though I was staring at his hand right on top of mine, I couldn’t feel it and it was a very strange sensation.

  I lifted up my stuffy head, looked up at him and stared with knitted eyebrows at his huge figure.

  A big, grey owl flew past him which caught my eye and I looked at the hopeless bird trying to find a resting spot.

  What was an owl doing here?

  I thought it was strange that after what I’d just gone through, that was the number one question on my mind.

  Forcing my gaze from the owl, I found us stranded inside a cave, with no openings, only walls and walls, with this gooey substance pooling at my feet. The bright light from the substance made my eyes hurt and I looked away, but not before I saw half my body still drenched in it. I couldn’t feel its cold or the wet anymore, only the cold of the hard surface.

  I slowly pulled my legs from the liquid that surrounded us inside the cave.

  I looked again, looked back at Tom, while my heart started to beat faster again. This couldn’t be happening. My eyes had been closed, I was a thousand percent sure of it.

  Then why cant I see color?

  FOX AND TOM CAME WALKING OUT OF THE BRIGHT lake a couple of minutes later. Both their coats were drenched and judging by the grunts coming from John, he didn’t like being wet.

  “Is she okay?” Fox asked as she passed Tom and walked to where I’d stationed myself against the wall of the cave.

  “You should’ve mention the Clencing to her, Fox.”

  “She wouldn’t have gone through that mirror, Tom. I did what I had to do.”

  Tom shook his head. It was the only compassion he’d shown me since we met.

  “Chastity,” Fox said and kneeled before me. “I’m sorry. I…”

  “You should’ve mentioned something. I could’ve prepared myself for pain. I thought I was going to die.”