This is a re-do of the last chapter. Much of it is the same, but there are a lot of parts that I changed and I’ve added some new scenes. It’s a good chapter, so read it J
Chapter fifty-five— Reaped of Our Time
Cyrus led us past the rubble and over to an arch that surprisingly hadn’t crumbled down during the attack. We followed behind, Nikki staying silent and the rest surveying the area. We may have to fight in this rubble; it was best to know the landscape before the battle that will come.
Standing at this arch, I looked at Cyrus in disbelief. “This can’t be the entrance to the Academy. There’s nothing beyond this arch.”
“There is a beyond for people who are worthy.” Cyrus nodded at us, a hint of amusement on his stony face. He then walked forward casually, and he was gone. Literally, he disappeared. Like a switch.
“What-?” I frowned, and touched the arch with my hand. It didn’t feel like it was enchanted. “How does he know we’re worthy?”
“I don’t know, but if he thought we weren’t, he wouldn’t have left.” Abby also touched the arch. “I don’t feel anything.”
“Well, it’s worth a try.” Ellie stepped forward and she disappeared. Just like that.
I laughed. “That’s brilliant. The entrance is literally hidden in plain sight.”
“Ladies first.” Ronan smirked, coming up behind me. Fiona snorted challengingly, and walked into the arch. She also disappeared.
Sophia, Bell, and Abby walked in next, also disappearing. I wonder what it felt like. Would it be like crossing into different planets? I stayed to see if Nikki was worthy enough to get in, which she was, even though I was angry at her.
I stepped up to the arch, and quickly walked through it, squeezing my eyes shut. It was like on a roller coaster, where your stomach goes up to your throat, along with the sensation of ‘butterflies.’ A lot different than worldly portals, I could tell.
Ronan walked through last. We were standing on a platform of reddish rock, in front of a… Castle. Almost medieval, with reds, blues, blacks, and whites on every brick. There were patterns of symmetry and lots of dragon designs on the walls, both eerie and dark. There were bridges that connected the buildings, tunnels, obvious corridors, and other areas I didn’t know the name of. There were no grass or trees or flowers whatsoever; just rock and running water. A very hot Academy, as well, because we were sweating like pigs.
“Welcome to Dragonspyre Academy
“What? You thought we weren’t?” Sophia teased, but he did not laugh. Cyrus Drake barely laughed, and if he did, it would be a shock to me. The thought of it actually creeped me out.
There were a lot of people scattered among the area. Lots of men and women, with dark colored armor and swords, holding other weapons that I’ve never seen. Some of them were on horses, riding like they were born in the saddle.
“Ellie!” I heard a young voice call out, sweet and gentle, and with a pinch of agony I remembered Natalia. Turning around, I saw a startling figure of a girl rushing up to us, rather tall and with hair as dark as midnight, perhaps the same color as Ellie’s. She had deep, unique dark blue eyes that almost seemed to glow, despite their seemingly darkness. Her skin was on the verge of becoming pale, but was tan enough to look normal. Ellie put her hand on the girl’s arm softly, staring worriedly at her skin, and I saw them exchange looks. The girl pursed her rosy lips, and said nothing. “You are back. I thought you’d never come home.”
“Little Lyra, I hope you weren’t worried.” Ellie’s voice shifted, suddenly sounding motherly.
The girl, Lyra, raised an eyebrow and the corners of her blood-colored lips lifted slightly. “Don’t call me little. I’m even taller than you, Ellie, it doesn’t even make sense.”
“You’ll always be little to me.”
“Uh,” I coughed, interrupting the random conversation. “What’s going on here? Who’s this?”
Ellie did a little laugh, sounding struggled and awkward. “Well… There is something you don’t really know, haha…”
“And?” Abby stepped up, studying Lyra strangely. Abby looked as though she knew something. She could see aura’s- was she seeing something strange on Lyra?
“Um, well…” Ellie did a lop-sided smile. “This girl, Lyra, is my sister.”
I felt my eyes bug out. “Why didn’t you say that before?”
“Silence.” Cyrus’s voice sounds uninterested, but he most likely knew about Ellie having a sister in the first place. “It’d be nice if you all just stop bickering.”
When we get situated into the place we will be staying, I was going to have a serious talk with everybody on why the hell people are keeping secrets all a sudden.
Speaking of which…
“Where will we be staying?” I asked, suddenly realizing that we came here empty handed.
“I have lived here my whole life.” Ellie admitted, her eyes lighting up. “I live in a small house with a few towers, but we’d have to share rooms to sleep in.”
“So we’ll be staying with you?”
“You will have to stay with Miss Icegem.” Cyrus’s voice was a bit too demanding for my taste. “The Academy is packed- there aren’t any dorms available, as you can see, there are some people living on the streets at the moment.”
“That’s horrible. Is there no place to stay?” I bit my lip, looking behind Cyrus and seeing the people standing on the sidewalks, talking rather drowsily. Lyra exchanged glances with Ellie, nodded, and walked off awkwardly. I wondered what Ellie had mentally told Lyra.
“No. Dragonspyre Academy was never built for all of the citizens of Dragonspyre, only the exclusive scholars with great intelligence or skills. The Headmaster, Professor Falmea, and I have discussed this- we had expected something similar to this to happen, but its still a surprise on how many people are actually here.”
Professor Falmea sounded familiar. She must have been a professor at Ravenwood. I haven’t really thought of Ravenwood for so long, and I couldn’t really remember many of the professor’s names, except my own Balance professor.
I suddenly heard a screech from above. Looking up, I had a mental vision of mutilated flying squirrels flying across the sky. Blinking, I caught a glimpse of the wings disappearing behind a building. Feeling like my sanity has finally left me, I asked: “What are they?”
“Drakes.” Cyrus looked up as well, his eyes glinting with fascination. “Half breeds of Dragons. Very good creatures.”
A drake flew out from behind a tower, followed by a second, smaller one. They were tiny looking dragons, with red scales and sharp yellow horns on its head and claws. There was something on them; something moving and lumpy.
“There are people riding them! Are they crazy?” Bell shouted out, looking alarmed.
“You’ll be crazy as well; because that’s one of the things you will be trained to do.” Cyrus smirked. “If you survive, of course.”
“That’s comforting.” Bell
“Its not supposed to be comforting. It’s supposed to be advice to not be killed.” That shut us up. Cyrus walked away from us, back straight and oh-so-strictly, if it’s possible to see that from his walk.
Thankfully, it was easy to follow him, since he stood out with his bright yellow tunic through the crowds of armor and dark colors. Plus, if I lost track of him, I could always follow somebody else who saw him. The advantage of having seven other people with you, I suppose.
After being pushed and squashed by warrior scholars, I almost ran straight into Cyrus. This of course, would have been real awkward, since he is a moody professor that had probably wanted me expelled before. He saw me differently today, however. Before, he had practically hated me, like every one of his other students. Now, he seemed to respect me, as the person who I was. Of course, being nineteen, it’s not like I’m a child anymore, nor would he treat me as one. Still, there was something new, something nicer and more respectful; I kind of liked it. For once, people were taking me more serious.
Surveying the mass of people around us, I asked Cyrus what everyone was thinking. “How will any of the professors teach all of these people to fight?”
“There aren’t enough.” Cyrus replied numbly. “Some of them will go into battle unarmed and never taught.”
“But…” I frowned, gaping at him. “That’s practically a death sentence!”
Cyrus turned to me. “Not everyone here will have the privileges of living, Mary. A pure downfall of fighting my own brother.”
“And my father.” I added, glaring at him. “Don’t forget that.”
“Will we be taught?” Nikki asked, looking stony. Despite my hatred for her at the moment, at least she looked as though she was on my side.
“As terrible and selfish as this sounds…” Cyrus avoided our eyes, suddenly not looking as intimidating as we feel. “Only the most important people are being taught. The others- commoners- are not. We try to teach them as much as possible, but even if they got the full education of how to fight in a war such as this- they wouldn’t survive.”
“And so you’re going to teach us, because you believe we can survive?” Sophia snarled. “I refuse to be taught if others are going to die if we do get taught instead.”
“You have no choice.” Another voice came out of the midst, old and familiar. Startled, I turned around, and almost yelped in surprise. It was like a flashback from so long ago; my village and the last day I was at home, when I had sailed off with Sierra to another foreign world to find my sisters. The old man who had been there when I first met my father, and had seen his evil self.
“Headmaster.” I whispered, gaping at the man. I heard he was here, but I didn’t expect to see him so soon, especially while fighting one of his own professors. “I haven’t seen you for…”
“A while.” He smiled, but looked less amused than his smile. A man came up behind him and whispered something in his ear; something in French. Ambrose nodded and the man scurried off, doing whatever he was told to do.
Wait. Was Ambrose in the High Council? I snuck a glance at Nikki, and she was looking just as uncomfortable. The Headmaster, however, always had a way of knowing things. He merely looked at Nikki and nodded, and I felt as if he knew who she was, and wasn’t surprised. I took a deep breath, and held my tongue.
“It is unfortunate on the ways that we are teaching the people of this Academy,” Ambrose spoke solemnly and sorrowful, as if he meant it. Unlike Cyrus, who was so stony and cold that it seemed that he didn’t care. “And I would change it if I could.”
I looked at the crowd. Some of them looked poor and rugged, but most of them looked rich and spoiled. It was a good looking bunch, however, to fight on our side during the war. Strong and confident.
“What classes will we take?” Ellie asked, looking like she wanted to cry. For some reason, I wanted to laugh because of that. She could be bad-ass, but was still an emotional princess.
“Thirteen hours worth of training will be needed every day, to be as powerful as possible.” Ambrose explained as he paced. I gaped at the amount of hours. I’ve only had about four hours at the most of school- why in the world would we need thirteen? “All of the schools of Ravenwood, including your own, will be taught. No longer will there just be a secondary school; everyone must study all of them. That will take seven hours.”
“But I graduated Balance.” I protested.
“It doesn’t matter.” Ambrose continued. “You will also study the magic of Astrology, Umbrata Venustus, and defense. Additional classes will have to be taken as well, such as horseback riding, swords, and archery. All in all, it will be thirteen hours, ending at eight in the evening.”
“Horseback riding?”
Ambrose glanced at us, looking serious. “You won’t want to fight on foot, and you need to learn how to fight on a horse.”
Cyrus cleared his throat, and motioned to a small tower-like townhouse. “This is where you will be staying. You will receive your own schedules in the morning.”
“Our own?” I cocked my head, wondering if I heard him right. “You mean we won’t be having classes together at the same time?”
“Some classes you will, but it’s mainly individually organized.” Ambrose looked up and blinked. “Mr. Deathbringer will most likely be here soon to plan things out… I suggest you talk to him.”
“One step ahead of you.” The cocky voice came up from behind us, and we turned to see Wolf. I wondered why we didn’t hear him walk up. I could tell he was stubborn and hard-headed; it was the way he stood, how he walked, and what he said. Maybe people found him intimidating because it’s so hard to convince him he’s wrong… When he’s wrong. I’m not going to believe he’s intelligent, however, until I see it for myself.
“Hi Wolf.” Ellie did a little smile and he nodded in recognition.
“Cyrus, I believe you have a class at the moment. I suggest you return to the students who are in desperate need of your teaching.” Ambrose excused Cyrus, who stalked off silently, looking more stuck-up then ever. Ambrose himself tapped his staff on the ground lightly, and nodded at Wolf. “I’ll give you some time to talk with the girls, but soon you will have to return to your teaching, as well.”
“Yes, Headmaster.” Wolf replied moodily and Ambrose walked away to a group of experienced Wizards without a goodbye. I wondered what Ambrose was doing during all of this. He truly had connections, I could see; every person he talked to looked rather intense and powerful. He will be a good help, but I wondered how much help, exactly. He was old, after all.
“Teaching?” Ellie blinked, and then frowned. “What is this about teaching?”
“I’m a professor now.” Wolf smiled proudly, looking superior. “I’ve reached the age of twenty-one, and I can teach. The Headmaster couldn’t say no, of course, because of the shortage of professors-“Wolf’s voice tuned down to a whisper, as if this was secret. “But I have to say, I always had a higher grade average than anybody.”
“Show off.” Ellie mumbled. “I can’t get honors in more than four classes when I have to work six hundred hours through school.”
“It’s thirteen.”
“Well, I totally wasn’t exaggerating.”
I cleared my throat, and they both looked at me. I bit my cheek, suddenly regretting the attention hogger feeling. “We just arrived earlier then we thought from Mooshu, and yet, I have a feeling that we are on a tight schedule. I am in desperate need to know about our classes, our training, and the planning of the war-“I glanced at Wolf. “Along with the fact that I feel like I have no idea what to do about the battle field.”
“Well, we can figure that out. The end is soon to come, and I know you are all very…” Wolf exchanged glances with all of us almost awkwardly, as if he was giving us breaking news. “Nothing you tell yourself will save you from the truth. At the moment, there is a huge problem with the amount of people and creatures joining Malistaire, because they want to be with the person who they believe won’t lose. I’d say around twenty to thirty thousand strong, with what Ambrose has been figuring out.”
“And how many people do we have?” I asked stiffly.
Wolf cleared his throat, looking uncomfortable. He must have not been expecting to give us all the crappy information. “Eight to ten thousand, at the most.”
My eyes widened. “You got to be kidding me.”
“How the hell will we win this if-“
“There is a big chance we won’t.” Wolf shrugged, and studied our faces quietly. “How to win, or kill Malistaire, is not my question to answer.”
“Well, obviously, its not like you’re going to be the one plunging a sharp object through his heart, are you?” Nikki replied bitterly. “I bet you don’t even know how to kill your own father. Think how hard it will be for Mary, despite everything he’s done.”
“That’s always the excuse, isn’t it?” I croaked out warily. “Despite everything he’s done, like it doesn’t matter. Like I just want him to live because he’s my father. No, it’s not like that, even though it sounds like that. If that was the truth, everything that would be coming out of my mouth would be utterly ridiculous. I hate him so much.”
I expected Wolf to be at the very least feeling a bit awkward, but his expression never changed. “All of you need to shut up. Even in Dragonspyre Academy
Many of us sighed in agitation, tired of being stressed over who to trust and who to push away. “I wish the answers could come easily to us, like a memory. If I could trust myself, maybe I would be better at this kind of life. We are all a big part of this intricate plan handmade by the Fates themselves, and they only give us mere tips on what to do to follow our destinies.”
“You hold the answers deep within your own mind. Consciously, you’ve forgotten it. That’s the way our minds work. Whenever something is too unpleasant, too shameful for us to believe, we reject it. Erase it from our memories, I suppose I could say. However, the imprint is always there.” Wolf stood quietly and a heavy silence hung over us.
My mouth hung slightly ajar as I looked way in defeat, for I had thought of those similar words a long time ago. The pain that binds me, or the fear, will never help me. I cannot shamefully hide my thoughts from my enemies like a normal person could keep theirs locked forever from another. The Seraphina-Alleyen has been given many responsibilities and many jobs; one is to blind others from the truth that finds a way from who we are. We are supposed to try to be real. However, I feel alone; sure, I’m with my sisters, but I’m not with the people I needed the most right now. Like Caspian.
I feel alone, and we’re not together. That is the only thing that feels real. Not the life I am living right now; for right now merely feels like a dream. A love without a sound or touch is the greatest reality I could ever feel.
I looked back at Wolf, suddenly realizing that I had been frozen for a few moments. “I was told that I didn’t have to kill Malistaire, but to merely change him. It doesn’t matter how, or how long it will take, or if he loses his entire memory in the process. He surely deserves to die, but-“I took a shaky breath. “I’m so sick of death. Seeing people who I never expected to get hurt, and there is no way to say I’m sorry. The sucky part is that the real war hasn’t even started yet, and the fact that I feel weak and frustrated already makes me feel like I’m never going to be ready for whats to come; and so we need your help, Wolf. To at least try to help us along, make sure others don’t die. Make it so we will have a plan to bring down my father without death, and to save others in the process.”
“I know you are fully aware of how many people who will die in this war, even if I attempt to help them all.” Wolf replied softly. “But what you need to do is look forward, not backwards. Stop thinking of the past, because you don’t live there anymore. Just turn around, and walk away from that subject, because you can’t save your father, Mary. He isn’t even your father anymore, but a monster of the dark. His soul can’t be purified, because he damaged the world so much that he can never take back what he had done to everybody and everything.”
I felt a bit of anger swell up in me, but I knew he was right. The anger quickly turned to hurt, wondering if I was going to be happy again if I ended up killing more people. “Whats the point of not looking back when you can't even turn and walk away? And even so, to save the people you love? I cannot do that, Wolf. I can’t forget things. They remain in my mind like a never-ending buzz of anger and sorrow.”
“Then why don’t you fight?” Sophia joined into the conversation, turning to me. “Why don’t you give your father what he deserves? If you want him to hurt, then make him hurt. Nobody will judge you, Mary. Nobody will tell you no.”
I blinked, suddenly realizing that Sophia made a vivid point. If I killed him in the most brutal, terrible way, I would never be judged. I would never be arrested, or yelled at, or thought of as a disgusting murderer. I would be thought of as a savior.
I wondered if that was right or just messed up.
“Enough of this talk. I’m a busy man, I don’t have all day. I have many people to talk to and many things to do, and I’m trying to spend the most time with you people just to help you survive in this crisis.” Wolf insisted, looking around. “Ellie, we should head back to your house. I’m sure your family will be happy to see you, much like Lyra was.”
“I can do that.” Ellie nodded, and looked at all of us. “Follow me, guys. It’s kind of a long walk from here. Try not to get lost.”
“K’.”
“Where did you go, before?” I asked, wondering how I was going to see if I could really trust him. At least Wolf wasn’t a pervert, like Juan. In fact, he seemed to ignore everybody except the person he was talking to. I kept glancing at him, studying his face for any sign of stress or possible knowledge of spying and lies. However, he looked completely calm, almost at ease, which I found irritating.
“For your information, little girl.” Wolf stared forward, following Ellie with a slight strut. For others, it looked like he was doing it with no trouble. For me, I didn’t buy it. I needed physical proof to see if he really is bad-ass like he thinks he is. “I have a life; therefore I have stuff to do. Training, work, and studying. Now, it’s a group of weak girls with apparently unique powers is what I have to work with. That’s not enough.”
“Work with?” Bell
“Yes, but its my job to help you choose the battlegrounds, the amount of weapons, and the training- along with the fact that you know nothing about Dragonspyre, nor what people will do or what creatures live out there in the dark. It’s your choice whether to live or to die; I’m merely helping you on that goal.” Wolf answered, and Bell
“We shouldn’t fight.” I bit my cheek, also wanting to throw an insult at Wolf. “Not at this most complicated of times. We need to work together, as annoying as it sounds.”
“Hey, maybe you’re smart after all.” Wolf grinned. I glared at him and rolled my eyes.
“How did you know about us?” Sophia blurted out.
“Shhh!” Wolf grunted and pushed us towards a shadowed corner, out of sight. We shuffled ourselves comfortably, into a half circle and stared at Wolf intently. “Be careful where you talk. Don’t you know there could be spies anywhere?”
“We know. You told us.” I nodded, looking him in the eye. “This is why we want to know how exactly you know about us.”
His violet eyes narrowed. “I’m not a spy, for your information. I study things. I also want you to realize that my father wrote a very truthful book, one of which people thought was insane and threw it to the ground, right in his face. My father was not crazy- he was an utter genius. I read the book. I thought that would be rather obvious to you, considering you had somehow obtained the last copy.”
I cleared my throat, not wanting him to know about what actually happened to that last copy. “Right…”
“I knew you were the daughter of Malistaire, but why would my father be so intrigued by the story of Malistaire, Sylvia, and their daughter?” Wolf continued. “I decided to figure it out. The fact that nobody knew where you were traveling, who you were meeting, until you were working in the palace of Marleybone- just made me hungrier to know the truth. It was until I realized that you were traveling with people-“His eyes moved over to my sisters, who moved uncomfortably. “That I realized that there was something going on. Something different.”
“Do you know what we are?” Ellie asked cautiously.
Wolf stiffened. “Yes, I do now.”
I stepped forward. “Now? Adam didn’t know what we were. You couldn’t have figured that out from a book.”
“I know because of the tattoo on your necks.” Wolf smiled, looking rather dark. “Do you know what it symbolizes?”
“No…” I admitted slowly. “Do you?”
“Then you evidently haven’t been to the world of Wizard City
“But what does it mean?”
Wolf swallowed stiffly. He looked around, and urged Ellie forward. “I’ll show it to you when we arrive at Elizabeth
“Only about a block left.” Ellie added quietly, intrigued. “What is it that you will show us?”
“The symbol means many things. I can’t tell you clearly without something to show you it with. You’ll just have to wait.” Wolf replied hurriedly.
After about five minutes, Ellie stopped in front of a very narrow and tall brick house with two towers sticking irregularly outwards on the second or third floor. It looked run down and battered, and yet, still in place. Ellie looked up at her home and took a deep breath, treasuring the scent. “Home sweet home.”
I saw a face peer out from the window; a woman. The head bobbed up and down quickly, as if suddenly excited. The large doors of the house sprang open and the woman rushed out, looking frazzled. “My baby! Oh sweetheart, you’re home! Your father and I were so worried! Come here, baby!” She took Ellie in her arms and Ellie smiled at her embrace, closing her eyes.
The woman had black hair with strands of grey and stormy blue eyes. She was short and weathered, but still held a resemblance to Ellie. Ellie sighed quietly, eyes still closed. “I missed you, mother.”
“Lina, whats going on?” A gruff voice entered through the front doors once more, belonging to a heavy set man with messy brown hair and glasses. He caught sight of Ellie and smiled, walking towards her and giving her a hug as well. Kissing the top of her head, I felt a ping of jealousy. “You’re home. Thank the Fates, you’re home.”
“I told you!” Lyra hurried outside, laughing. “I told you, but you didn’t believe me.”
“Lyra…” Wolf smiled, walking forward. “Attempting to ruin surprises for family reunions since you were born. Good job.”
“Who do you think I am? The good sister?” Lyra rolled her eyes and smirked.
“Behave, Lyra.” Wolf’s eyes twinkled and turned back to us to watch Ellie and her reunion with her family. There was something in his eyes, however, that made me think that he found Lyra’s personality rather fascinating.
“You know me, just trying to be the better person.” Lyra winked and turned around and walked with a kind of pretty sway, and even though she wasn’t as gorgeous as her sister, she must be very beautiful in the eyes of man. She almost reminded me of a ‘snow white’ figure, with raven black hair and blood red lips.
Ellie’s parents turned to us. “Did you help bring back our daughter?” The mother, Lina, looked at Wolf. “What about you?”
“Everybody but Wolf helped bring Ellie home, but Wolf is the one who is helping us get situated in Dragonspyre. He knew we were coming. We need a place to stay, and Ellie offered us a place, and…” Abby awkwardly trailed off, and the parents exchanged glances.
The father sighed. “I suppose we can do it, with the lack of places to live right now. What are there, seven of you? Wolf, surely you’re not staying with us?”
“No, I have my own place, as a teacher.” Wolf replied. “Small, but decent. However, I will be paying visits quite often to make plans with the girls. We are doing business together.”
“Well…Okay.” Lina answered lightly. “I suppose we can do it. You’re all girls, and you can share rooms. We only have three sleeping spaces provided; in the living room, a bedroom, and in the attic. Come inside, and we can discuss things while I make supper.”
We walked inside, and our new abode was much warmer and prettier on the inside than the outside. The walls and floors were a mixture of whites, reds, and browns. The kitchen and dining room were connected, and were cluttered with pots and pans and a small table covered with papers and plants. The living room was narrow, with a small heater, three chairs, and a large, beaten down couch.
Ellie stopped at the foot of a stairwell. “Upstairs is my bedroom, our guest bedroom, and my parents bedroom. The third floor is our attic, which is dusty, but good enough.
“I don’t really care where we will be living; I just want to know what the symbol means.” Nikki’s eyes narrowed at Wolf uneasily. “You told us you’d show us.”
Wolf sighed, and turned to Ellie. “Do you have a quill and parchment?”
Ellie scowled. “Who do you think I am? I’m a scholar, not a hermit.” Ellie left the room for two seconds, and came back with the supplies.
Wolf grabbed the piece of parchment and a quill. “It means,” he dipped the quill in the black ink that Ellie offered. We leaned in to watch as he drew a circle. “The circle stands for protection.” He drew a triangle within the circle. “The triangle stands for stableness and equality.” He drew a smaller circle on the tip of the triangle, and dipped his quill in the ink once more. “The smaller circle stands for bravery.” He drew a spiral over the shapes. “The spiral stands for knowledge,” he then drew a line across the symbol, connecting with one of the lines of the triangle. It was a finished replica of our tattooed symbol. “The dash across the symbol stands for the bridge of reality and the spirit world.”
“Reminds me of our traits that were given to us by the Fates,” Abby breathed out, looking fascinated as she stared at the parchment. “Seraphina-Alleyen.”
“Whatever you like to call yourselves.” Wolf put the ink back on the shelf, and left the drawing for us to see. “All I need to know is that you’re messengers from the Fates. I don’t care if you’re angelic or aliens, but if you can help us fight this war, then the Spiral needs you.”
I sighed. “How do you know if the tattoos mean anything? We could have gone to a tattoo artist.”
Wolf shrugged. “A magical essence comes from those tattoos. Something strange and mystical.”
“Great.” I murmured. “Another thing to add to the list of strange things about us.”
“It’s true…” Abby added quietly. “I’ve seen it in all of your auras. It glows differently than everything else. I hadn’t really noticed it until now, though…”
Wolf opened the door to the outside, where a slight breeze of hot wind breezed through the room. “I’ll be back soon with some maps of possible battlefields and weapons. Get something to eat and sleep tons, because you never know when you will be able to do so again.”
“Wolf-“I added quickly, just before he shut the door. “If we’re going to work together, we don’t tolerate people who prefer to be ‘leaders.’”
I heard him laugh. Sarcastically, he replied: “Then I really like this whole teamwork thing- it kind of has a kink to it, don’t you think?”
He shut the door, and the hot breeze that was in the room ceased. Turning to the others, I asked. “Tell me why we let him help us again?”
“Because,” Elizabeth
“But he’s weird.” I groaned, and threw myself on a purple couch. “Did you see his eyes?”
“Yes. They’re quite intriguing, if you think about it.” Lyra spoke quietly, walking into the room gracefully. When I looked at her, she was busy opening up chests of Dragonspyrian clothes which were left here for us. “These are for you guys. They’re old, but they probably will fit.”
“Oh…” Abby’s eyes lit up, and she grinned. “Thank you so much!”
“He’s also cocky.” Lyra added, continuing the conversation about Wolf. “I’ve known him for most of my life, and he’s probably one of the most mysterious people I’ve ever known.”
“I guess I should get used to it.” Abby smirked. “I have a feeling that there are a lot of cocky people here.”
“Actually, I think there is.” Lyra replied. “Living here my whole life kind of sucked.”
Walking upstairs and leaving Lyra, I saw that there were three sleeping areas. We rock-paper-scissored each other on who got the best rooms, and I ended up with the dusty attic that had a red stain on the floor under the blue rug. I actually found it rather hilarious, while Nikki, my roommate (unfortunately), scowled and thought it was frightening. Ellie assured us that it was a drink spilt, but I couldn’t help but tease the others that it was blood.
Ellie and Abby were sharing Ellie’s room together, with a big window, and Sophia got the boring-looking room, but she was lucky enough to get her own bedroom. I was tired of sharing.
We all had spare clothes within our rooms, many of them in chests. I felt rather grateful, because I hadn’t expected to receive such fortitude. I chose which clothes I wanted to wear apart from the others in the chests and stuffed them in my drawers. Unfortunately, a lot of my clothes had metal built into them, so they looked chunky and awkward in my drawers. I sighed at the thought of having to wear metal.
We stayed up until around ten, eating dried meat and water (to save food) that was Ellie’s tiny fridge, and talking. It would have been more fun if we weren’t so frightened and exhausted.
In the attic, Nikki was still trying to attempt to fold her clothes, which also had metal on them. I kept glancing over at her as I read a book, the one she got for my birthday, and wondering what to say. I was still angry at her.
“Why did you do it?” I found the words strange in my mouth, too loud, almost.
Nikki froze. “Do what?”
“Why did you keep it from us?”
Nikki sighed, and put her clothes in the drawers, giving up. She knew keeping anything else from us would be inevitable. “I didn’t want to be known as a priestess- or a princess, of some sort. It’s not who I want to be, nor how I wish to be judged.”
“We wouldn’t have judged you.”
Nikki sat on her bed, staring at the blue rug on the floor, the one hiding the red spot. “I know that now, because our sisters didn’t judge you when they knew you were the daughter of Malistaire.”
I bit my lip, feeling pain licking at my mind like a flame. I pushed it away, shaking my head. I stared off into the distance, somewhat admiring the moonlight that shone through the cracks of the roof, revealing dust floating in the air. “What do you think he will do next?”
“He will work with his desires to kill. Your friends, your family, and everyone that you ever loved.” Nikki looked at me, acknowledging each other. For a moment, things were quiet. Then I turned off the light.
Going to bed that night was bliss. It was like lying on clouds, even if I was probably lying on an uncomfortable mattress. For the first time in years, I had a good dream.
“Wait!” I laughed, running forward. My hair was loose out of my pony tail, sticking to my face in sweat. “Sabrina! I can’t run and laugh at the same time!”
“Then you suck!” Sabrina stuck her tongue out, her brown eyes glinting mischievously. She was up in an oak tree, one of the trees in Unicorn Way Park
“Mom’s going to kill you for climbing trees again!” I laughed, beginning to climb myself.
“Say’s the monkey!” She yelled out, climbing higher.
“Who’s the monkey?” I shout, sounding sarcastically insulted. I grab her foot, which makes her scream in delight.
“What did I tell you about climbing trees?” Mom’s voice comes from below, sharp and strict.
But even she has to cover her mouth to stop from laughing, as Sabrina swings down with her legs hooked over a branch, her face appearing in our mother’s face upside down. “Boo!”
“Sabrina!” Mom laughs. “Mary, Sabrina, get down this instant.”
“We love you.” I giggle, hopping down. Sabrina ends up jumping on my back, and I scream as I fall down, getting a mouthful of flowers in my mouth.
“Oops!” Sabrina leans down and whispers in my ear. “Are you okay?”
“Uhhh…” I groan. “It’s a bad idea to attack the tickle monster.”
“To attack the wha-?” Sabrina’s eyes widen, and she tries to jump off of me, but I grab her and push her down into the grass. She yelps as I began to tickle her, laughing and half-heartedly attempting to kick me off. “Mom! Help! Sissy is the evil tickle monster!”
“Oh no!” Mom shouted over from a distance. “The evil tickle monster’s weakness is her back!”
Sabrina quickly reaches over and tickles the bottom of my back and I screech and jump off of her, feeling like ants were crawling all over my body. “Don’t tickle me there!” I laughed.
“Who’s the tickle monster now?” Sabrina squealed, and we end up chasing each other.
Lying in the grass, we watched the clouds pass. Turning my head, I gazed at Sabrina. “What do you love about the world?”
Sabrina smiled, and met my gaze. “I love you.”
I sighed and looked back up into the sky, Sabrina’s face still in my mind. Then, I felt like I was being sucked up a vacuum cleaner-
I could hear Nikki’s voice shadowing my thoughts, loud and vivid and screaming. “He will work with his desires to kill. Your friends, your family, and everyone that you ever loved.”
Then I woke up, curled up on a mattress, in the darkness with only the white moonlight to show me through the darkness.
But I didn’t open my eyes. I took a deep breath, and relaxed myself. I was to go back to sleep.
I wasn’t going to hurt anymore, or feel sorry for myself. I’m passed that now.
And so I prayed and slept a better, dreamless sleep; not knowing what would occur the morning after.
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