Shadows of Lela

by Tessonja Odette

  When the song was over, we turned, out of breath and giggling, to curtsy for my parents. My mother and father held up their hands in applause, and I wished with all my heart that I could stay forever in that moment, beneath my parents’ smiling eyes. But to my dismay, the nagging darkness crept forward again, reminding me something was wrong. Nothing is wrong. My family is here. They have always been here. I have always been here.

  Without warning, the bright light from the candlelit chandeliers faded to a glow, dimming the Hall until there was only a dull, gray light illuminating the room. “What happened? Where did the light go?” I asked my parents. Their smiles had faded with the light, and dark circles appeared under their cold, black eyes. The gray light threw them under a ghostly pallor. They reached their hands toward me, as if in plea for help, but before I could take a step forward, they toppled limp and lifeless to the ground.

  I gasped and turned to Linette for help. A cry escaped my lips as she too had been swallowed by the gray light. Terror fell over her face as she stepped away from me, one hand covering her mouth, the other covering her suddenly bloated belly. I reached out my hand to comfort her, but she cowered from my touch. With every step she took away from me, her body began to decay. Blood poured from her eyes instead of tears.

  I covered my face in trembling hands and screamed. “Dimetreus! Dimetreus, where are you? Help me!”

  “What have you done?” growled a voice behind me. I whirled around and met the angry face of my brother. He was no longer youthful, beautiful, and joyous; he was a man aged by sorrow and rage. “Get out.” He took a step toward me, hand raised.

  “Please, I didn’t do anything,” I whispered, retreating away from him.

  He caught up with me in two great steps and sent his hand across my face. My entire body ached from the blow as I fell to the floor, sobbing, pressing my cold fingers to my burning cheek. A wave of memories and unanswered questions surged through me. “This isn’t real, this already happened,” I mumbled as I pressed my eyes closed.

  “Look at me,” demanded my brother in a fierce whisper.

  Slowly, shuddering head to toe, I did as I was told. I opened my eyes and looked into the dark, beady eyes of Morkai.

  “I’m your family now.”

  I sat up, screaming as I opened my eyes to darkness. I swung my head side to side, trying to fight the blindness. A muffled growl of laughter came from somewhere to my right, and I held my breath to halt my screaming. I heard a creaking noise, followed by a blinding, blue light. I blinked a few times and tried to regain focus. In the doorway stood a shadowed figure, an orb of blue light hovering over the silhouette of a palm.

  “I figured it was time to wake you up,” Morkai said.

  “Where am I?”

  “You’re home. At Ridine Castle.”

  My breath came out in ragged gasps as I forced myself to calm. My heart continued pounding in memory of the nightmare, but I knew I must have my wits about me in Morkai’s presence. I took one last deep breath, and forced my mind to steady.

  Morkai and the room slowly came into focus as my eyes adjusted to the strange blue light emanating from his hand. I looked around me, finding myself in a bed beneath a brown wool blanket. I looked back at the sorcerer. “How long?” I asked flatly.

  “Three days. You’ve been out cold for three days.” He lifted his palm, and the blue light faded, quickly replaced by a warm, yellow light glowing from oil lamps around the room.

  The light brought a piercing throb to the back of my head. I reached my hand to soothe it, only to find my arms wouldn’t reach. I looked to my wrists and found them bound with a thin, gold brace connected to a shimmering gold chain. I eyed the chains, following the path from wrist to bedpost, where they’d been secured. I raised my eyebrows in question.

  “What did you expect?” Morkai gave a dismissive shrug of his shoulders. “I couldn’t have you wandering free in the middle of the night.”

  “Trust me, I’d do worse than wander.”

  Morkai threw his head back in laughter. “Ah, I have to admit, I do like your spirit.” He walked to the side of the bed. My body trembled as he stood inches away, yet I held my glare unwaveringly.

  “Oh, don’t look at me like that.” His voice was disturbingly gentle. He reached a hand toward my face, as if to caress my cheek. I flinched and pulled as far away from him as I could within the limits of my bindings. Morkai’s eyes widened, shock passing over his face before he quickly snatched his hand back. His scowl returned. “Get up and get dressed.” He snapped his fingers, and my bindings disappeared.

  I massaged my wrists, surprised at how quickly he had let me free. He must not find me a threat, I thought with disappointment.

  “Wear what is in the chest at the foot of the bed. Then come to me.” His mouth twitched in the faintest hint of a smirk before he turned and left, slamming the door behind him.

  Once Morkai was gone, I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding. The beating of my frantic heart began to slow, and my breathing returned to a regular pattern. I stepped out of the bed and looked around the room. It was spacious, yet sparsely decorated; the only furnishings were the bed and the wooden chest. The air was cold and damp, saturated with a stale, moldy smell. I slowly stepped across the chilly, stone floor to the window and looked out at the black sky speckled with clusters of bright stars. I wasn’t sure whether it was early morning or late night. Shadowy silhouettes of the Ridine Mountains stood in the distance above a faint shimmer of light where the stars were reflected in Lake Ridine. The familiar view tugged at my heart. I sighed, but could not let myself fall into sentimentality.

  With a shiver, I crossed my arms over my chest and looked down at myself, surprised to find I was clothed in nothing but a chemise. It wasn’t my own. My stomach churned at the thought of someone stripping and changing me in my unconscious state. The thought brought my attention to my hands, which looked completely clean. I ran them through my hair, which felt as if it had been thoroughly washed and combed. I’ve been bathed. I swallowed a lump in my throat, shaking unwanted thoughts from my head.

  With no better options, I went to the chest to dress with the clothes Morkai had provided. Within the chest, I found a beautiful, midnight-blue gown patterned with silver threaded butterflies. Ivory lace ran along the bodice, hem, and sleeves.

  As I pulled the gown over my shoulders, I realized I would not be able to lace myself into it; it was not the simple style of dress I was used to wearing. I ground my jaw and nearly tore the dress in two, when I was interrupted by a faint knock at the door.

  “Stay out!” I barked, covering my chest and backing into the shadows against a wall. Without a word of reply, the door opened, and in walked an old woman dressed in filthy rags. She came to me without looking at me and reached for the dress. I flinched and nearly pushed her away, but then understood what she had been sent to me for. I took a hesitant step forward and turned around so she could tighten the laces at the back of the dress. My heart quickened at the unfamiliar routine; I hadn’t been dressed by a maid since I was a child.

  “Thank you,” I whispered gently to her. “What is your name?” There was no answer, and I figured it best not to inquire further.

  Once the job was done, the woman left as silently as she had come, and I was left again to the dark, empty room. The silence lasted only long enough for me to step into a pair of dark blue, delicately beaded slippers when another knock sounded on the door, this one fiercer than the last. I didn’t have the chance to inquire who was calling before the door swung open, and in walked guard-boy.

  “What are you doing here?” I crossed my arms and scowled fiercely. He replied with nothing but a sly smile. I took the moment to penetrate his mind. I searched…and searched. Nothing. He was blocking me. He must have expected my powers. In fact, he must have known about them long before I came into the hunters’ camp, which would explain why I hadn’t been able to sense the danger he presented. Morkai had him thoroughl
y prepared.

  “It was a trap, wasn’t it?”

  Again, he gave me nothing but a smirk. “Come.” He reached toward my arm. “Morkai demands your presence.”

  I jerked away and stepped around him, exiting the room with my head held high. “I can walk myself.”

  The boy caught me by the wrist. “I am to lead you to him. Unless you’d rather struggle first.” His voice was cold, and his eyes sparkled dangerously. It was hard to imagine I ever saw him as a pathetic, young boy.

  I gave in, and let him lead me forward. He was not rough, which I could have been grateful for if I were not so full of rage. The rage, however, kept the fear at bay, which was something I treasured so much more.

  As we walked through the hallways, I watched my surroundings, finding them familiar yet vastly darker and less well-kept than I could remember. The tapestries were dusty and faded, with burn marks marring the once-beautiful designs. Cobwebs hung in low clouds from the ceiling. Only a few lamps and candles were lit, throwing shadows where there used to be light. I shuddered, remembering the vibrancy of my nightmare compared to the true vision before me, unable to decide which was worse.

  After a long walk through the lengthy hallways, the boy led me up an even longer flight of stairs. Considering the heights we were ascending, we could only be heading to one of the towers. At the top of the stairs there was a large, wooden door engraved with spirals and strange patterns. Below the door, I could see a faint red light. Despite my best efforts to control my emotions, my hands began to shake. I balled them into fists and held my composure as the boy opened the door and led me inside.

  We were in a large, circular room, illuminated by bright-red lamplight that threw an eerie glow upon the room’s contents. The first thing that stood out was the overabundance of books; shelves upon shelves of books covered the expanse of every wall. In the center of the room was a large table strewn with more stacks of books and unfamiliar tools and gadgets. Next to the table were two ornate, throne-like chairs.

  But where is Morkai? I regretted the question as soon as I heard the creak of a previously unseen door hidden between two bookshelves. Morkai entered the room and the door swung shut behind him, leaving no evidence of its existence. His face stretched into a disgusting smile as he assessed me from head to toe. “Now you look more appropriate, little sorceress. I knew Linette’s clothes would fit you.”

  I deepened my glare and tried my best to appear unaffected by the knowledge that I was wearing my dead sister’s dress.

  “How did you like your old room? Did you find it cozy and to your liking, like when you were a child?” Morkai’s voice was sharp and mocking.

  My shock at this, I could not hide. My mouth fell open as I realized the dark, cold, empty room I had departed from had once belonged to me, had once held my own bed, my own chests and cabinets, my own dresses, mirrors, and tables. I could tell Morkai enjoyed my shock.

  “You may go, Orin,” he said to the boy. Orin released my wrist, and left me alone in the room with Morkai. I steadied my breathing and kept my gaze firm, ready to defend myself against whatever he would deliver next.

  “Don’t look so tense.” Morkai went to his desk and began flipping through his books as if my presence was nothing to be concerned with. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

  “Then why am I here?” I hoped he couldn’t hear the quiver in my voice.

  “You know why you’re here. You attempted to sabotage my plans. I want to know why.”

  I put my hands on my hips and turned my chin up, forcing confidence. “Well, if you must know, my friends and I were nearly killed by one of your hunting parties. Then I found out what they were hunting. Then I found out whom they were hunting for. And, knowing your true nature, I assumed your intentions were nothing short of evil. I wanted to find out exactly what you were planning and why.”

  Morkai turned around to face me, folding his hands at his waist. “What exactly do you want to know?”

  His reaction caught me off guard. “You will answer my questions?”

  Morkai nodded. “Isn’t that what you’ve been risking your life for?”

  “Yes, but…” After all the time I had spent looking for answers, I found myself unable to form a single question. Could I even trust him to answer me honestly? Of course not! But the offer was too good to pass up. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and readied my first question. “How did you know where to find me?”

  “I wasn’t exactly trying to find you…at first. I had been given report that a group of my hunters was being stalked and sabotaged by someone. Then I found several of them had been murdered. While penetrating the mind of my Roizan—you have met him, have you not?”

  “The Beast,” I said under my breath.

  Morkai let out a sharp laugh. “No, my dear Coralaine, he has a name. So, while I was penetrating the mind of my Roizan, attempting to come across some clue to the identity of my new foe, he showed me your face—so vaguely familiar and just as much of a nuisance as I remembered you to be. After a deeper look, I knew it had to be you. I assumed you were on some heroic mission and therefore would be easy to catch at the height of your stupidity.”

  I clenched my teeth, and moved on to the next question. “Why are you hiring hunters to slaughter unicorns?”

  “I desire their horns.”

  “Why?”

  Morkai sighed, as if I were boring him. “Because they are useful to me. They contain power, magic.”

  “What do you use them for?”

  At this Morkai grinned. “Where do you think my Roizan gets his strength?”

  I nodded. This was no surprise. “But why unicorns? Why use their magic and not your own?”

  “Why use up my magic when I can harness one of the greatest sources in this land? Those creatures have grown abundant in Kero, and I detest them. They are a sign of foreboding. So why not have them destroyed and use their power for my own needs?”

  I swallowed my disgust. “What is the Roizan for?”

  “Don’t you know what a Roizan is? It is an ancient term. The Roizan is my weapon, my servant, and my channel to the magic within him.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “And I don’t have time to explain ancient magic to you.”

  I clenched my teeth. “Fine, then. Why are the hunters starving and torturing the unicorns before dehorning them?”

  “I don’t want their horn for any pure, miraculous uses,” Morkai said with a flourish of his hands and a roll of his eyes. “I want the dark horn of suffering. The horn of death. The horn of true power.”

  This corresponded with what Valorre and I had already concluded. “Why are the hunters working for you? How are you gaining so many allies?”

  “They don’t work for free, Coralaine.”

  “What do you give them in return?”

  “They keep the unicorn pelts. I have no need for their stinking corpses, so I let the hunters have them to do with as they please. Since unicorn skin is a rare and highly desired luxury, my hunters fetch a high price for it.”

  Everything made sense, yet so much was still missing. I paused, searching my mind for the next question. “What are you planning?”

  Morkai burned me with an intense gaze as his face stretched into a malicious grin. His lips pressed firmly together.

  “You said you’d answer my questions.”

  “I will tell you later. First, there’s someone I want you to see.”

  My heart began pounding. “Dimetreus?”

  Morkai cackled as he strode forward to grasp my arm. I didn’t fight as he led me out of the room, down the stairs, and down the endless hallways. I was in a daze as I thought about my brother. Was he in good health? Was he a prisoner? Would he be happy to see me? Would I be happy to see him?

  After what seemed like an endless journey, we came to a dark stairwell. Morkai raised his hand, opened his palm, and ignited a glowing orb of red light. We descended the stairwell, ending at a large hallway lined wi
th barred chambers. The dungeon. My heart sank. So, he was a prisoner. I tried to remain strong, but as we walked past the stinking, rusty cells, I began to tremble. I wiped a falling tear from my cheek.

  We finally stopped at a cell. Morkai touched the lock with his hand, and the door sprung open. He stepped inside, flooding the cell with his red light. I ran in after him, halting with startled surprise as I found the occupant was not my brother after all. “Teryn?”

  20

  Plans

  Teryn

  My breath caught in my throat as a beautiful woman rushed into my cell. It wasn’t until she said my name that I realized it was Cora. “You’re alive!” I nearly ran forward to embrace her, but then remembered the dark figure that had entered before her. I stole a quick glance at the sorcerer, whose pale, smirking face glowed under the strange, red light. He watched me out of the corners of his eyes. I kept my distance and remained silent; I didn’t want anything I said to put myself or Cora in danger.

  With nothing else to say, my eyes strayed over Cora, making sure she was completely safe and unharmed. Finding her whole and uninjured, I was suddenly aware of her drastic change in appearance. Her skin was clean and smooth, and her hair was free of tangles, flowing in long, dark waves over her shoulders. Her small waist was cinched above a light curve of hips in an elegant gown that displayed a modest bosom that rose and fell with her heavy breathing.

  My eyes quickly snapped back to her face, which was full of anguish. She opened and closed her mouth a few times as if she couldn’t figure out what to say, before she finally decided upon, “I’m glad to see you are well.”

  I could tell she was trying to appear collected and indifferent, but her eyes glistened with tears. She looked like she wanted to say more, to ask me something, but she kept her mouth pressed tight. To answer one question that I knew was on her mind, I glanced toward the corner where Lex sat, his arms folded over his knees as he quietly peered from the shadows. Cora followed my gaze and let out a sigh of relief.