Chapter Twelve
Ash:
We made good mileage that day. Corey estimated we’d walked about fifteen miles in all. Dinner was canned corn and nuts, and we practiced with our magic a little before going to bed.
When I woke up, I wasn’t really awake. I was aware of what was happening around me, but hadn’t opened my eyes yet.
“We’re gonna make it there before nightfall, at the pace Ash is making us go,” Luke was saying.
“I know,” Corey replied. “We’re gonna have to go around it before night falls, or else.”
“I know, I know. I don’t think Ash can contemplate how big of a peril this is. She ran into this forest without regard of the hazards.” I never knew Luke knew words that big. Contemplate and regard, peril and hazards. Gosh!
“That’s Ash for you. She thinks she’s invincible, and most of the time she has other people thinking that, too.”
“It’s gonna be the death of her.” I didn’t have to have my eyes open to know Luke was shaking his arrogant head and grinning his egotistic smile. See, he’s not the only one with a big vocabulary!
I sat up suddenly, and gave a big, exaggerated yawn. Luke and Corey both spun their heads towards me.
“Good morning, boys. What kind of hazardous peril are we getting ourselves into today?”
They looked at me, and Luke shook his arrogant head- again. I was dropping not-so-subtle hints that I had heard their conversation, and they were picking up on them. But, to my surprise, they both looked a little worried and self-conscious.
“Don’t worry, all I heard was how brave I was and how I show everyone I’m a crazy maniac.” I had been joking, but my comment seemed to make them both feel better. I rolled my eyes at them, expecting Luke’s next comment.
“If you keep doing that your eyes are gonna pop right out of your head.” He smiled his egotistic smile.
“If you keep smiling like that your face is gonna stick that way,” I shot back, prepared this time. He just raised an eyebrow at me, smile not faltering.
“You say that like it’s a bad thing. If my smile’s stuck, I’m still smiling, but if your eyes fall out, you can’t roll your eyes.”
I stuck my tongue out at him, and started gathering my stuff. Laughing, the two boys followed my lead.
We started out again, I taking the lead, naturally. Corey hopped up to walk next to me.
“So, are there any, like, people in this forest?” I asked him.
“One village of Witches is laying around here somewhere. I’m not sure where though.”
“So what were you and Luke talking about this morning that you were so worried I had heard?”
Corey opened his mouth, than shut it. I smiled smugly at him. He looked over his shoulder at Luke, and said, “So, Luke, I’m gonna take up the rear to, you know, scout.” The two switched places, and Luke glared at Corey, who shrugged innocently.
“So…” Luke said slowly.
“So, what were you and Corey talking about this morning that you were so worried I had heard?” I repeated.
“Um…” Luke took a moment to give Corey another good glare, than turned back to me. “Nothing.”
“It sure was something!” I stepped forward to push a branch from a black tree out of the way, then let it whap back in Luke’s face. He returned next to me after a moment.
“Nothing you need to concern yourself with.”
“Something’s telling me it’s about me which make it something I need to concern myself with.”
“It’s not about you.” He bit the inside of his lip.
“Ha! Liar! I know when you lie! Don’t you ever lie to me, Lucas Coppertone!”
He looked at me, astounded. At first I thought it was because I knew he was lying, but then Luke said, “You remember my last name.”
“Yeah. I have a pretty good memory. And Mrs. Terra-Lewis only said it a million times, trying to suck up. What’s my last name?” I quizzed him.
“Raykon,” he answered immediately. I smiled.
“See, it’s not that abnormal.”
“I know, it’s just… what’s Corey’s last name?”
“Tyron,” I said immediately. I had grown up listening to teachers drone, “Good job, Mister Tyron, try harder next time, Mister Tyron.” To teachers, we were mostly called by out last names.
“Why?” I asked.
“Just wondering if you knew his like you knew mine.”
“Luke, I grew up with Corey. Except, he used to be an annoying guy who liked to watch me not fall all over him like most girls did.”
“What is he now?”
“Luke, the first time I talked to Corey, I pushed him in the mud. That made me different. That’s why he singled me out to pick on, because I singled him out.”
“Uh huh…”
“Now… I think… I don’t know what I think.” And I didn’t.
Luke lowered his voice, “So that letter from your brother…”
“Corey doesn’t know.” And shouldn’t know, said my gut. Why, I had no idea. But it said ‘don’t tell Corey’ so I wasn’t.
“So about your conversation this morning,” I said, before Luke could say anything else.
“Hey Corey, you need any help… uh… scouting?” Luke asked, turning around.
“Uh, sure.” Luke grinned at me, then slowed his pace to walk next to Corey.
“Babies,” I hissed, just loud enough for them to hear.
We continued along in silence until the sun was high in the sky. I stopped walking, and dropped my knapsack on the ground.
“Lunchtime,” I announced.
“What’s for lunch?” Corey asked, also dropping his gear.
“Sugar cookies?” Taking my not-so-subtle hint, Luke pulled out his box of sugar cookies. There were twelve, each about the size of my palm. We each took two, and sat down on the black path.
“So what kind of peril am I running into this time?” I asked them, taking a bite of my cookie.
“Ash, we’re about to enter the Black Lake territory. The monsters in that lake are, well, their sport is killing. We need to get around that lake before night falls, or else we won’t make it. Period.”
“Okay, so we’ll walk faster. How big is it?”
“If it weren’t so evil, we could swim from one width to the other.”
“And the length?”
“About half a mile.”
“Then we better hurry.” I shoved the last bit of my last cookie in my mouth, and stood up. The two boys followed, even though Corey hadn’t finished his cookies because he’d been talking.
We started walking again, and I noticed the path was becoming less and less overgrown as we walked on. I mentioned this to Corey and Luke, who were still walking a good ways behind me.
“I noticed that, too,” Luke said.
“It’s because during Monsoon season, the Lake overflows, and forms a little river down this path. It clears everything up,” Corey answered.
“It’s not Monsoon Season, I hope,” I said.
“Nope. The reason the path is so clear here, is because Monsoon Season ended recently.”
“How recently?”
“About a month ago.”
“Okay, good.” I stepped over a branch, the only piece of overgrowth on the path.
We kept walking, but not in silence. I could hear Luke and Corey tittering behind me, but couldn’t make out their words.
I jumped ahead a bit, trying to ignore them.. The path took a sharp turn ahead, and I jogged forward to the turn. When I did turn, I stopped short.
A huge, black tree was laying across the path. It was twice as tall as me, laying on its side, and was long enough that it disappeared into both ends of the Forest.
“Ummm… guys?” I called. Corey and Luke joined me.
“Wow,” Luke muttered.
“Look at these trees!” I cried, tilting my head up. The tops of the trees were so far above our heads that the leaves all blurred together in a big black-green mush. “It’ll take us forever to go around it.”
“We could levitate ourselves over it,” Corey suggested.
“Um, hello?” Luke said, waving hand sarcastically. “Can’t do much of anything, here. No way can I levitate.”
“Why not? It only took us a few days to master it.”
“Well, you knew all your life about your power. Still getting used to mine, here.”
“Corey could levitate you,” I recommended.
“Me?” Corey asked at the same time Luke said, “Him?”
“Yeah. You levitated me when you were just getting used to levitating things.”
“But… over that?”
“Why not? Ana can levitate Ms. Pomlar. I think you can manage.” With that, I shot into the air, and over the tree, landing delicately on the other side. A very shaky Luke followed, then Corey.
“See, that wasn’t so bad!” I said, clapping mockingly.
We continued along the otherwise undisturbed path, until we came to the Black Lake.
It was just as Corey had described it. Not to wide, but plenty long. The water was like a black sheet, threatening and ominous. Nothing moved in or around the lake, and the air was laden with an eerie silence.
Unafraid, but spooked, I approached the edge of the lake, dropping my gear as I walked.
“Ash…” Corey said warningly.
“Don’t worry, I’m fine.”
I wasn’t stupid, I didn’t go to the very edge. But I’m not smart, so I went close.
Suddenly, a huge SCREECH rung in my ear. I screamed, and stumbled. Stumbled right into the water. At first I thought, okay, I’ll just swim out. But then, a tentacle of some sort wrapped around my leg.
“AHH! HELP!” I screamed. I heard Corey and Luke screaming, too, scrambling to help me. I tried to pull myself up, but it tightened it’s grip on my leg.
I thrashed in the black water. Corey started to run in after me, but Luke held him back. They were both yelling, but I couldn’t hear them. The water roared in my ears.
“ASH!” someone cried, “GRAB THE VINE!” Aware of a thick vine in front of me, I grabbed it, and felt someone on the other end pulling. Apparently, so did the thing holding me down. It tugged harder, and I took a final breathe before I went under.
Anna:
I managed to hold it all day, until Alexis came to get me in the evening, bringing a tray of food with her. She felt awful for not asking, and let me relieve myself before eating. Dinner was chicken and vegetable soup, with fresh cooked bread and chocolate milk. I went to sleep that night with a full stomach and an empty bladder- just the way I like it.
I slept late, to my surprise. Like Mom, I was a morning person. Always waking up early, and a bit to cheerful in the morning. Yet, when I woke up, the sun was pretty high in the sky.
A tray was in front of the door. It held a large sandwich- bacon, lettuce, and tomato- and a glass of lemonade. I scoffed it down quickly. Alexis came in as I was sipping down the last of the lemonade.
“You’re awake,” she noted. “I came for you earlier, but you were still asleep, and I decided not to wake you.”
“Sorry. I don’t usually sleep this late.”
“You have nothing to apologize for.”
“Where do the trays go?” I asked. I noticed I never saw Alexis leave with the trays, only bring them.
“They are collected while you sleep.”
“Oh, okay. So,” I started, standing up, “Where to today?”
Alexis smiled. “You’ll see. Let’s go.”
We exited my tower, and entered the secret passageway. Walking down the stairs, Alexis asked, “How adventurous are you?”
“Well, not very until recently,” I answered truthfully.
She stopped, as did I. I came to notice that this spot on the stairs we so often stopped at was the main floor.
Alexis opened the passageway, and we stepped out as it hissed shut. We were in one of the many red and gold carpeted hallways. Except, unlike other hallways, this one had only one door on each side, and one at the end, instead of many doors.
We walked down the hall, to the door at the end. Alexis stuck her head in, then opened the door wide, and walked inside, motioning me to follow.
The room we now found ourselves in was quite large. It was rectangular, with a door on either end of the width. To the right of where I stood in the doorway was a stage, half covered by a ratty, red curtain.. Circular wooden tables were pushed up against the walls, with elegant wooden chairs stacked on top of them. They were coated in layers of dust.
“The Beam Gallery,” I said.
“Yes,” Alexis said, nodding, and she shut the door behind us.
“Why are all the tables stacked and dusty?”
“The Beam Gallery used to be used for entertainment purposes. Then, five months before I was due, while the Lords and Ladies were gathered in this room, a hidden killer jumped out of the beams. He was killed before he could cause anyone harm, but that was the end of the Gallery. Father and Mother decided, with a child coming along, that the Beam Gallery was to dangerous to be used daily, so they shut it down, and stacked up everything. Like I said before, people sometimes use it to get from one Hall to another, but nothing more.”
“Huh,” I said, walking further into the room, looking up at the ceiling. It sure was a good place to hide. The entire ceiling was covered beams, some thick enough to lie on, others not so thick, and others as thick as my arm. It was beautiful and intimidating at the same time.
“So your plan for today…” I started.
“Is to go up in the beams,” she finished, grinning proudly.
“How do we get up there?”
“Follow me.” She walked over to the stage, and walked up the stairs that led up to it. Shrugging, I followed.
Alexis parted the red curtain, and walked behind it. Following, I saw behind the stage had nothing but dust. And, a staircase leading up. It looked in danger of falling through, but Alexis started up them fearlessly. Not wanting to look like a scardy-cat, I kept following.
“How long has it been out of use?” I asked as we climbed.
“Almost exactly thirteen years.”
“You’re thirteen,” I said stupidly.
“In three months, yes.” So, Alexis was about a year older than me. Yet, the way she let others push her around, and her petite stature, mad me seem older.
“How can this place be so…” At a loss for words, my voice trailed off.
“Old?”
“Yeah. If it’s only been out of use for thirteen years.”
“It was old to begin with. And without proper, daily care, it fell apart quickly. But the beams will hold.”
“How do you know?”
“Rooms are built for beauty, not stability, but supports are quite the opposite.”
We were at the top now, among thousands of beams. Alexis stepped on one of the larger ones, and started walking along it.
“Come along,” she said.
Cautiously, I stepped on a large beam, too. I looked down, but the height wasn’t to great.
Alexis and I walked along the large beams, laughing and having a good old time. I decided to be daring and step on one of the smaller beams. Then, we started to see who could walk further on the smaller beams.
Of course, I slipped. I managed to grab the beam before falling all the way, but Alexis still let out a big squeak.
So I dangled there for a bit, calculating how far to the ground I was. I guessed if Alexis were standing on the ground, it would take two more people her height stacked up on top of her to be able to reach the beam. I was closer to the ground with my feet dangling. It would be easy to just let go and jump down, and I most likely wouldn‘t even twist an ankle. Looking up, I noticed it wouldn’t be terribly difficult for me to swing myself back up on the beam, either, but it would take more time.
“Ash…” Alexis whimpered.
“I’m okay. Should I jump or swing back up?”
“No, not that. Look,” she hissed. Turning my head, I noticed the door to the room slowly opening. I could hear voices outside it- guards. It sounded like they were finishing up a conversation before walking in.
Hurriedly, I swung my feet up to grab the beam, then situated myself to hug it as well. The ceiling was far enough that normally they shouldn’t be able to see me. Except this was anything but normal, and my foot-long blonde hair dangled down for everyone to see.
Normally- and again, the situation was anything but normal- I would’ve levitated my hair to not hang down or, even better, levitated my whole body back on the beam. But the silver Anti-Magic bracelet again reminded me of the non-normality of the situation.
I’d just about given up hope, but as the door creaked open a bit more, my hair surprised me by levitating up, hugging the beam, as well. I turned my head so my chin was on the beam, and saw Alexis concentrating pretty darn hard. She put her finger to her lips, and even that little motion seemed to take immense willpower. I nodded slightly, and rested my cheek against the wooden beam.
The guards entered the room, loud and sarcastic, as most guards are. I squeezed my eyes shut, as if that would make them go away. It was something I had always done as a child. To take my mind off the danger below me, I filled my head with a memory. I was upset because Mom wouldn’t let me wear my hair down like all the other girls in my class were doing on May Day- she insisted on putting it in braids with ribbons. I had screamed and pouted, and squeezed my eyes shut as tight as they would go, so Mom would go away. When I had calmed down enough to open them, Miracle was standing in her place. Now, when I was little, I idolized Miracle. When I grew up, she became more of my friend. And Miracle had ribbons in her braids, which made me immediately change my mind.
Abruptly, the memory changed. I was in a dark room, and I was a baby. I lay in between two other babies, both with blonde hair like the kind that hung in my face. Irritated, I pushed my hair out of my face with chubby hands. I noticed a crib across from the one I lay in. A girl was sleeping in it, and, oddly, a boy was under it, sleeping as well. Then, so silently I wouldn’t have noticed if it hadn’t been for a sliver of light, the door opened. I blinked. It was a man, but I could tell it wasn’t Poppa. He turned to the girl in the other crib, and asked her something. She lay there, and stared at him. Then, quickly and quietly, he hunched down and grabbed the baby to my left. The face, it was so clear. He was young! He had clear blue eyes that were tearing up as he grabbed my triplet. He had sandy, curly blonde hair. On his black cloak, was a picture of two silver snakes intertwined to form an arrow. Before he left, he whispered, “I’m sorry.” I squeezed my eyes shut, wishing the man would just go away. And he did, Andrew in his arms.
My eyes flew open at this sudden memory, and I gave a sharp intake of breath. Luckily, so very luckily, the guards’ shutting the door drowned it out. My hair fell to curtain my face, and I heard Alexis above me breathing heavily with the effort of holding it up.
I let my legs fall first, then let my arms go slack. I landed on the carpet with a soft thud. Alexis disappeared from above, scrambling down from the staircase we had climbed up. She stood beside me.
“What happened?” she asked me, concerned.
What had happened? Was this Andrew’s abduction? I remember, the day before my birthday, Miracle telling me her memory. Everything matched up! The man, he asking her a question, just us in the room! She had been doubtful. She had said she and Max wouldn’t have been separated at such a young age. But they hadn’t been separated! Max had been under the bed! I’m not sure why, but that had been him under the bed! I tried to go back to the memory, but something blocked me out. How had I been let in that forbidden area in the first place? What had triggered it? What had it been telling me?
“Ash?”
“Alexis,” I said, turning to her hastily, “You know about the kingdom, right?”
“I guess…”
“What does two silver snakes twisted to make and arrow mean?”
“It’s a clan. They’re devoted to finding magically potential children. The practice is supposedly illegal, but the guards and Father have more pressing matters to attend to.”
“How young are the children?” I was getting worked up now.
“Usually very young. They want them to have no memory of their former life.”
“What do they do with the children?”
“Their fate is chosen when they turn eight years old. If they show more than potential, they are kept, and trained as warriors, then sold to the army when they turn sixteen.” She spoke professionally, like a schoolteacher. I was getting more and more excited- this explains Andrew’s letter, his dreams, his lack of knowledge.
“And if they aren’t magically potential?”
“Well, the clan feels like they’ve been slapped in the face when a child they’ve stolen doesn’t turn out the way they’ve planned. It’s a disgrace to them. So, the duds, as they call them, are usually put to death.”
Ash:
We made good mileage that day. Corey estimated we’d walked about fifteen miles in all. Dinner was canned corn and nuts, and we practiced with our magic a little before going to bed.
When I woke up, I wasn’t really awake. I was aware of what was happening around me, but hadn’t opened my eyes yet.
“We’re gonna make it there before nightfall, at the pace Ash is making us go,” Luke was saying.
“I know,” Corey replied. “We’re gonna have to go around it before night falls, or else.”
“I know, I know. I don’t think Ash can contemplate how big of a peril this is. She ran into this forest without regard of the hazards.” I never knew Luke knew words that big. Contemplate and regard, peril and hazards. Gosh!
“That’s Ash for you. She thinks she’s invincible, and most of the time she has other people thinking that, too.”
“It’s gonna be the death of her.” I didn’t have to have my eyes open to know Luke was shaking his arrogant head and grinning his egotistic smile. See, he’s not the only one with a big vocabulary!
I sat up suddenly, and gave a big, exaggerated yawn. Luke and Corey both spun their heads towards me.
“Good morning, boys. What kind of hazardous peril are we getting ourselves into today?”
They looked at me, and Luke shook his arrogant head- again. I was dropping not-so-subtle hints that I had heard their conversation, and they were picking up on them. But, to my surprise, they both looked a little worried and self-conscious.
“Don’t worry, all I heard was how brave I was and how I show everyone I’m a crazy maniac.” I had been joking, but my comment seemed to make them both feel better. I rolled my eyes at them, expecting Luke’s next comment.
“If you keep doing that your eyes are gonna pop right out of your head.” He smiled his egotistic smile.
“If you keep smiling like that your face is gonna stick that way,” I shot back, prepared this time. He just raised an eyebrow at me, smile not faltering.
“You say that like it’s a bad thing. If my smile’s stuck, I’m still smiling, but if your eyes fall out, you can’t roll your eyes.”
I stuck my tongue out at him, and started gathering my stuff. Laughing, the two boys followed my lead.
We started out again, I taking the lead, naturally. Corey hopped up to walk next to me.
“So, are there any, like, people in this forest?” I asked him.
“One village of Witches is laying around here somewhere. I’m not sure where though.”
“So what were you and Luke talking about this morning that you were so worried I had heard?”
Corey opened his mouth, than shut it. I smiled smugly at him. He looked over his shoulder at Luke, and said, “So, Luke, I’m gonna take up the rear to, you know, scout.” The two switched places, and Luke glared at Corey, who shrugged innocently.
“So…” Luke said slowly.
“So, what were you and Corey talking about this morning that you were so worried I had heard?” I repeated.
“Um…” Luke took a moment to give Corey another good glare, than turned back to me. “Nothing.”
“It sure was something!” I stepped forward to push a branch from a black tree out of the way, then let it whap back in Luke’s face. He returned next to me after a moment.
“Nothing you need to concern yourself with.”
“Something’s telling me it’s about me which make it something I need to concern myself with.”
“It’s not about you.” He bit the inside of his lip.
“Ha! Liar! I know when you lie! Don’t you ever lie to me, Lucas Coppertone!”
He looked at me, astounded. At first I thought it was because I knew he was lying, but then Luke said, “You remember my last name.”
“Yeah. I have a pretty good memory. And Mrs. Terra-Lewis only said it a million times, trying to suck up. What’s my last name?” I quizzed him.
“Raykon,” he answered immediately. I smiled.
“See, it’s not that abnormal.”
“I know, it’s just… what’s Corey’s last name?”
“Tyron,” I said immediately. I had grown up listening to teachers drone, “Good job, Mister Tyron, try harder next time, Mister Tyron.” To teachers, we were mostly called by out last names.
“Why?” I asked.
“Just wondering if you knew his like you knew mine.”
“Luke, I grew up with Corey. Except, he used to be an annoying guy who liked to watch me not fall all over him like most girls did.”
“What is he now?”
“Luke, the first time I talked to Corey, I pushed him in the mud. That made me different. That’s why he singled me out to pick on, because I singled him out.”
“Uh huh…”
“Now… I think… I don’t know what I think.” And I didn’t.
Luke lowered his voice, “So that letter from your brother…”
“Corey doesn’t know.” And shouldn’t know, said my gut. Why, I had no idea. But it said ‘don’t tell Corey’ so I wasn’t.
“So about your conversation this morning,” I said, before Luke could say anything else.
“Hey Corey, you need any help… uh… scouting?” Luke asked, turning around.
“Uh, sure.” Luke grinned at me, then slowed his pace to walk next to Corey.
“Babies,” I hissed, just loud enough for them to hear.
We continued along in silence until the sun was high in the sky. I stopped walking, and dropped my knapsack on the ground.
“Lunchtime,” I announced.
“What’s for lunch?” Corey asked, also dropping his gear.
“Sugar cookies?” Taking my not-so-subtle hint, Luke pulled out his box of sugar cookies. There were twelve, each about the size of my palm. We each took two, and sat down on the black path.
“So what kind of peril am I running into this time?” I asked them, taking a bite of my cookie.
“Ash, we’re about to enter the Black Lake territory. The monsters in that lake are, well, their sport is killing. We need to get around that lake before night falls, or else we won’t make it. Period.”
“Okay, so we’ll walk faster. How big is it?”
“If it weren’t so evil, we could swim from one width to the other.”
“And the length?”
“About half a mile.”
“Then we better hurry.” I shoved the last bit of my last cookie in my mouth, and stood up. The two boys followed, even though Corey hadn’t finished his cookies because he’d been talking.
We started walking again, and I noticed the path was becoming less and less overgrown as we walked on. I mentioned this to Corey and Luke, who were still walking a good ways behind me.
“I noticed that, too,” Luke said.
“It’s because during Monsoon season, the Lake overflows, and forms a little river down this path. It clears everything up,” Corey answered.
“It’s not Monsoon Season, I hope,” I said.
“Nope. The reason the path is so clear here, is because Monsoon Season ended recently.”
“How recently?”
“About a month ago.”
“Okay, good.” I stepped over a branch, the only piece of overgrowth on the path.
We kept walking, but not in silence. I could hear Luke and Corey tittering behind me, but couldn’t make out their words.
I jumped ahead a bit, trying to ignore them.. The path took a sharp turn ahead, and I jogged forward to the turn. When I did turn, I stopped short.
A huge, black tree was laying across the path. It was twice as tall as me, laying on its side, and was long enough that it disappeared into both ends of the Forest.
“Ummm… guys?” I called. Corey and Luke joined me.
“Wow,” Luke muttered.
“Look at these trees!” I cried, tilting my head up. The tops of the trees were so far above our heads that the leaves all blurred together in a big black-green mush. “It’ll take us forever to go around it.”
“We could levitate ourselves over it,” Corey suggested.
“Um, hello?” Luke said, waving hand sarcastically. “Can’t do much of anything, here. No way can I levitate.”
“Why not? It only took us a few days to master it.”
“Well, you knew all your life about your power. Still getting used to mine, here.”
“Corey could levitate you,” I recommended.
“Me?” Corey asked at the same time Luke said, “Him?”
“Yeah. You levitated me when you were just getting used to levitating things.”
“But… over that?”
“Why not? Ana can levitate Ms. Pomlar. I think you can manage.” With that, I shot into the air, and over the tree, landing delicately on the other side. A very shaky Luke followed, then Corey.
“See, that wasn’t so bad!” I said, clapping mockingly.
We continued along the otherwise undisturbed path, until we came to the Black Lake.
It was just as Corey had described it. Not to wide, but plenty long. The water was like a black sheet, threatening and ominous. Nothing moved in or around the lake, and the air was laden with an eerie silence.
Unafraid, but spooked, I approached the edge of the lake, dropping my gear as I walked.
“Ash…” Corey said warningly.
“Don’t worry, I’m fine.”
I wasn’t stupid, I didn’t go to the very edge. But I’m not smart, so I went close.
Suddenly, a huge SCREECH rung in my ear. I screamed, and stumbled. Stumbled right into the water. At first I thought, okay, I’ll just swim out. But then, a tentacle of some sort wrapped around my leg.
“AHH! HELP!” I screamed. I heard Corey and Luke screaming, too, scrambling to help me. I tried to pull myself up, but it tightened it’s grip on my leg.
I thrashed in the black water. Corey started to run in after me, but Luke held him back. They were both yelling, but I couldn’t hear them. The water roared in my ears.
“ASH!” someone cried, “GRAB THE VINE!” Aware of a thick vine in front of me, I grabbed it, and felt someone on the other end pulling. Apparently, so did the thing holding me down. It tugged harder, and I took a final breathe before I went under.
Anna:
I managed to hold it all day, until Alexis came to get me in the evening, bringing a tray of food with her. She felt awful for not asking, and let me relieve myself before eating. Dinner was chicken and vegetable soup, with fresh cooked bread and chocolate milk. I went to sleep that night with a full stomach and an empty bladder- just the way I like it.
I slept late, to my surprise. Like Mom, I was a morning person. Always waking up early, and a bit to cheerful in the morning. Yet, when I woke up, the sun was pretty high in the sky.
A tray was in front of the door. It held a large sandwich- bacon, lettuce, and tomato- and a glass of lemonade. I scoffed it down quickly. Alexis came in as I was sipping down the last of the lemonade.
“You’re awake,” she noted. “I came for you earlier, but you were still asleep, and I decided not to wake you.”
“Sorry. I don’t usually sleep this late.”
“You have nothing to apologize for.”
“Where do the trays go?” I asked. I noticed I never saw Alexis leave with the trays, only bring them.
“They are collected while you sleep.”
“Oh, okay. So,” I started, standing up, “Where to today?”
Alexis smiled. “You’ll see. Let’s go.”
We exited my tower, and entered the secret passageway. Walking down the stairs, Alexis asked, “How adventurous are you?”
“Well, not very until recently,” I answered truthfully.
She stopped, as did I. I came to notice that this spot on the stairs we so often stopped at was the main floor.
Alexis opened the passageway, and we stepped out as it hissed shut. We were in one of the many red and gold carpeted hallways. Except, unlike other hallways, this one had only one door on each side, and one at the end, instead of many doors.
We walked down the hall, to the door at the end. Alexis stuck her head in, then opened the door wide, and walked inside, motioning me to follow.
The room we now found ourselves in was quite large. It was rectangular, with a door on either end of the width. To the right of where I stood in the doorway was a stage, half covered by a ratty, red curtain.. Circular wooden tables were pushed up against the walls, with elegant wooden chairs stacked on top of them. They were coated in layers of dust.
“The Beam Gallery,” I said.
“Yes,” Alexis said, nodding, and she shut the door behind us.
“Why are all the tables stacked and dusty?”
“The Beam Gallery used to be used for entertainment purposes. Then, five months before I was due, while the Lords and Ladies were gathered in this room, a hidden killer jumped out of the beams. He was killed before he could cause anyone harm, but that was the end of the Gallery. Father and Mother decided, with a child coming along, that the Beam Gallery was to dangerous to be used daily, so they shut it down, and stacked up everything. Like I said before, people sometimes use it to get from one Hall to another, but nothing more.”
“Huh,” I said, walking further into the room, looking up at the ceiling. It sure was a good place to hide. The entire ceiling was covered beams, some thick enough to lie on, others not so thick, and others as thick as my arm. It was beautiful and intimidating at the same time.
“So your plan for today…” I started.
“Is to go up in the beams,” she finished, grinning proudly.
“How do we get up there?”
“Follow me.” She walked over to the stage, and walked up the stairs that led up to it. Shrugging, I followed.
Alexis parted the red curtain, and walked behind it. Following, I saw behind the stage had nothing but dust. And, a staircase leading up. It looked in danger of falling through, but Alexis started up them fearlessly. Not wanting to look like a scardy-cat, I kept following.
“How long has it been out of use?” I asked as we climbed.
“Almost exactly thirteen years.”
“You’re thirteen,” I said stupidly.
“In three months, yes.” So, Alexis was about a year older than me. Yet, the way she let others push her around, and her petite stature, mad me seem older.
“How can this place be so…” At a loss for words, my voice trailed off.
“Old?”
“Yeah. If it’s only been out of use for thirteen years.”
“It was old to begin with. And without proper, daily care, it fell apart quickly. But the beams will hold.”
“How do you know?”
“Rooms are built for beauty, not stability, but supports are quite the opposite.”
We were at the top now, among thousands of beams. Alexis stepped on one of the larger ones, and started walking along it.
“Come along,” she said.
Cautiously, I stepped on a large beam, too. I looked down, but the height wasn’t to great.
Alexis and I walked along the large beams, laughing and having a good old time. I decided to be daring and step on one of the smaller beams. Then, we started to see who could walk further on the smaller beams.
Of course, I slipped. I managed to grab the beam before falling all the way, but Alexis still let out a big squeak.
So I dangled there for a bit, calculating how far to the ground I was. I guessed if Alexis were standing on the ground, it would take two more people her height stacked up on top of her to be able to reach the beam. I was closer to the ground with my feet dangling. It would be easy to just let go and jump down, and I most likely wouldn‘t even twist an ankle. Looking up, I noticed it wouldn’t be terribly difficult for me to swing myself back up on the beam, either, but it would take more time.
“Ash…” Alexis whimpered.
“I’m okay. Should I jump or swing back up?”
“No, not that. Look,” she hissed. Turning my head, I noticed the door to the room slowly opening. I could hear voices outside it- guards. It sounded like they were finishing up a conversation before walking in.
Hurriedly, I swung my feet up to grab the beam, then situated myself to hug it as well. The ceiling was far enough that normally they shouldn’t be able to see me. Except this was anything but normal, and my foot-long blonde hair dangled down for everyone to see.
Normally- and again, the situation was anything but normal- I would’ve levitated my hair to not hang down or, even better, levitated my whole body back on the beam. But the silver Anti-Magic bracelet again reminded me of the non-normality of the situation.
I’d just about given up hope, but as the door creaked open a bit more, my hair surprised me by levitating up, hugging the beam, as well. I turned my head so my chin was on the beam, and saw Alexis concentrating pretty darn hard. She put her finger to her lips, and even that little motion seemed to take immense willpower. I nodded slightly, and rested my cheek against the wooden beam.
The guards entered the room, loud and sarcastic, as most guards are. I squeezed my eyes shut, as if that would make them go away. It was something I had always done as a child. To take my mind off the danger below me, I filled my head with a memory. I was upset because Mom wouldn’t let me wear my hair down like all the other girls in my class were doing on May Day- she insisted on putting it in braids with ribbons. I had screamed and pouted, and squeezed my eyes shut as tight as they would go, so Mom would go away. When I had calmed down enough to open them, Miracle was standing in her place. Now, when I was little, I idolized Miracle. When I grew up, she became more of my friend. And Miracle had ribbons in her braids, which made me immediately change my mind.
Abruptly, the memory changed. I was in a dark room, and I was a baby. I lay in between two other babies, both with blonde hair like the kind that hung in my face. Irritated, I pushed my hair out of my face with chubby hands. I noticed a crib across from the one I lay in. A girl was sleeping in it, and, oddly, a boy was under it, sleeping as well. Then, so silently I wouldn’t have noticed if it hadn’t been for a sliver of light, the door opened. I blinked. It was a man, but I could tell it wasn’t Poppa. He turned to the girl in the other crib, and asked her something. She lay there, and stared at him. Then, quickly and quietly, he hunched down and grabbed the baby to my left. The face, it was so clear. He was young! He had clear blue eyes that were tearing up as he grabbed my triplet. He had sandy, curly blonde hair. On his black cloak, was a picture of two silver snakes intertwined to form an arrow. Before he left, he whispered, “I’m sorry.” I squeezed my eyes shut, wishing the man would just go away. And he did, Andrew in his arms.
My eyes flew open at this sudden memory, and I gave a sharp intake of breath. Luckily, so very luckily, the guards’ shutting the door drowned it out. My hair fell to curtain my face, and I heard Alexis above me breathing heavily with the effort of holding it up.
I let my legs fall first, then let my arms go slack. I landed on the carpet with a soft thud. Alexis disappeared from above, scrambling down from the staircase we had climbed up. She stood beside me.
“What happened?” she asked me, concerned.
What had happened? Was this Andrew’s abduction? I remember, the day before my birthday, Miracle telling me her memory. Everything matched up! The man, he asking her a question, just us in the room! She had been doubtful. She had said she and Max wouldn’t have been separated at such a young age. But they hadn’t been separated! Max had been under the bed! I’m not sure why, but that had been him under the bed! I tried to go back to the memory, but something blocked me out. How had I been let in that forbidden area in the first place? What had triggered it? What had it been telling me?
“Ash?”
“Alexis,” I said, turning to her hastily, “You know about the kingdom, right?”
“I guess…”
“What does two silver snakes twisted to make and arrow mean?”
“It’s a clan. They’re devoted to finding magically potential children. The practice is supposedly illegal, but the guards and Father have more pressing matters to attend to.”
“How young are the children?” I was getting worked up now.
“Usually very young. They want them to have no memory of their former life.”
“What do they do with the children?”
“Their fate is chosen when they turn eight years old. If they show more than potential, they are kept, and trained as warriors, then sold to the army when they turn sixteen.” She spoke professionally, like a schoolteacher. I was getting more and more excited- this explains Andrew’s letter, his dreams, his lack of knowledge.
“And if they aren’t magically potential?”
“Well, the clan feels like they’ve been slapped in the face when a child they’ve stolen doesn’t turn out the way they’ve planned. It’s a disgrace to them. So, the duds, as they call them, are usually put to death.”
Chapter Twelve
Ash:
We made good mileage that day. Corey estimated we’d walked about fifteen miles in all. Dinner was canned corn and nuts, and we practiced with our magic a little before going to bed.
When I woke up, I wasn’t really awake. I was aware of what was happening around me, but hadn’t opened my eyes yet.
“We’re gonna make it there before nightfall, at the pace Ash is making us go,” Luke was saying.
“I know,” Corey replied. “We’re gonna have to go around it before night falls, or else.”
“I know, I know. I don’t think Ash can contemplate how big of a peril this is. She ran into this forest without regard of the hazards.” I never knew Luke knew words that big. Contemplate and regard, peril and hazards. Gosh!
“That’s Ash for you. She thinks she’s invincible, and most of the time she has other people thinking that, too.”
“It’s gonna be the death of her.” I didn’t have to have my eyes open to know Luke was shaking his arrogant head and grinning his egotistic smile. See, he’s not the only one with a big vocabulary!
I sat up suddenly, and gave a big, exaggerated yawn. Luke and Corey both spun their heads towards me.
“Good morning, boys. What kind of hazardous peril are we getting ourselves into today?”
They looked at me, and Luke shook his arrogant head- again. I was dropping not-so-subtle hints that I had heard their conversation, and they were picking up on them. But, to my surprise, they both looked a little worried and self-conscious.
“Don’t worry, all I heard was how brave I was and how I show everyone I’m a crazy maniac.” I had been joking, but my comment seemed to make them both feel better. I rolled my eyes at them, expecting Luke’s next comment.
“If you keep doing that your eyes are gonna pop right out of your head.” He smiled his egotistic smile.
“If you keep smiling like that your face is gonna stick that way,” I shot back, prepared this time. He just raised an eyebrow at me, smile not faltering.
“You say that like it’s a bad thing. If my smile’s stuck, I’m still smiling, but if your eyes fall out, you can’t roll your eyes.”
I stuck my tongue out at him, and started gathering my stuff. Laughing, the two boys followed my lead.
We started out again, I taking the lead, naturally. Corey hopped up to walk next to me.
“So, are there any, like, people in this forest?” I asked him.
“One village of Witches is laying around here somewhere. I’m not sure where though.”
“So what were you and Luke talking about this morning that you were so worried I had heard?”
Corey opened his mouth, than shut it. I smiled smugly at him. He looked over his shoulder at Luke, and said, “So, Luke, I’m gonna take up the rear to, you know, scout.” The two switched places, and Luke glared at Corey, who shrugged innocently.
“So…” Luke said slowly.
“So, what were you and Corey talking about this morning that you were so worried I had heard?” I repeated.
“Um…” Luke took a moment to give Corey another good glare, than turned back to me. “Nothing.”
“It sure was something!” I stepped forward to push a branch from a black tree out of the way, then let it whap back in Luke’s face. He returned next to me after a moment.
“Nothing you need to concern yourself with.”
“Something’s telling me it’s about me which make it something I need to concern myself with.”
“It’s not about you.” He bit the inside of his lip.
“Ha! Liar! I know when you lie! Don’t you ever lie to me, Lucas Coppertone!”
He looked at me, astounded. At first I thought it was because I knew he was lying, but then Luke said, “You remember my last name.”
“Yeah. I have a pretty good memory. And Mrs. Terra-Lewis only said it a million times, trying to suck up. What’s my last name?” I quizzed him.
“Raykon,” he answered immediately. I smiled.
“See, it’s not that abnormal.”
“I know, it’s just… what’s Corey’s last name?”
“Tyron,” I said immediately. I had grown up listening to teachers drone, “Good job, Mister Tyron, try harder next time, Mister Tyron.” To teachers, we were mostly called by out last names.
“Why?” I asked.
“Just wondering if you knew his like you knew mine.”
“Luke, I grew up with Corey. Except, he used to be an annoying guy who liked to watch me not fall all over him like most girls did.”
“What is he now?”
“Luke, the first time I talked to Corey, I pushed him in the mud. That made me different. That’s why he singled me out to pick on, because I singled him out.”
“Uh huh…”
“Now… I think… I don’t know what I think.” And I didn’t.
Luke lowered his voice, “So that letter from your brother…”
“Corey doesn’t know.” And shouldn’t know, said my gut. Why, I had no idea. But it said ‘don’t tell Corey’ so I wasn’t.
“So about your conversation this morning,” I said, before Luke could say anything else.
“Hey Corey, you need any help… uh… scouting?” Luke asked, turning around.
“Uh, sure.” Luke grinned at me, then slowed his pace to walk next to Corey.
“Babies,” I hissed, just loud enough for them to hear.
We continued along in silence until the sun was high in the sky. I stopped walking, and dropped my knapsack on the ground.
“Lunchtime,” I announced.
“What’s for lunch?” Corey asked, also dropping his gear.
“Sugar cookies?” Taking my not-so-subtle hint, Luke pulled out his box of sugar cookies. There were twelve, each about the size of my palm. We each took two, and sat down on the black path.
“So what kind of peril am I running into this time?” I asked them, taking a bite of my cookie.
“Ash, we’re about to enter the Black Lake territory. The monsters in that lake are, well, their sport is killing. We need to get around that lake before night falls, or else we won’t make it. Period.”
“Okay, so we’ll walk faster. How big is it?”
“If it weren’t so evil, we could swim from one width to the other.”
“And the length?”
“About half a mile.”
“Then we better hurry.” I shoved the last bit of my last cookie in my mouth, and stood up. The two boys followed, even though Corey hadn’t finished his cookies because he’d been talking.
We started walking again, and I noticed the path was becoming less and less overgrown as we walked on. I mentioned this to Corey and Luke, who were still walking a good ways behind me.
“I noticed that, too,” Luke said.
“It’s because during Monsoon season, the Lake overflows, and forms a little river down this path. It clears everything up,” Corey answered.
“It’s not Monsoon Season, I hope,” I said.
“Nope. The reason the path is so clear here, is because Monsoon Season ended recently.”
“How recently?”
“About a month ago.”
“Okay, good.” I stepped over a branch, the only piece of overgrowth on the path.
We kept walking, but not in silence. I could hear Luke and Corey tittering behind me, but couldn’t make out their words.
I jumped ahead a bit, trying to ignore them.. The path took a sharp turn ahead, and I jogged forward to the turn. When I did turn, I stopped short.
A huge, black tree was laying across the path. It was twice as tall as me, laying on its side, and was long enough that it disappeared into both ends of the Forest.
“Ummm… guys?” I called. Corey and Luke joined me.
“Wow,” Luke muttered.
“Look at these trees!” I cried, tilting my head up. The tops of the trees were so far above our heads that the leaves all blurred together in a big black-green mush. “It’ll take us forever to go around it.”
“We could levitate ourselves over it,” Corey suggested.
“Um, hello?” Luke said, waving hand sarcastically. “Can’t do much of anything, here. No way can I levitate.”
“Why not? It only took us a few days to master it.”
“Well, you knew all your life about your power. Still getting used to mine, here.”
“Corey could levitate you,” I recommended.
“Me?” Corey asked at the same time Luke said, “Him?”
“Yeah. You levitated me when you were just getting used to levitating things.”
“But… over that?”
“Why not? Ana can levitate Ms. Pomlar. I think you can manage.” With that, I shot into the air, and over the tree, landing delicately on the other side. A very shaky Luke followed, then Corey.
“See, that wasn’t so bad!” I said, clapping mockingly.
We continued along the otherwise undisturbed path, until we came to the Black Lake.
It was just as Corey had described it. Not to wide, but plenty long. The water was like a black sheet, threatening and ominous. Nothing moved in or around the lake, and the air was laden with an eerie silence.
Unafraid, but spooked, I approached the edge of the lake, dropping my gear as I walked.
“Ash…” Corey said warningly.
“Don’t worry, I’m fine.”
I wasn’t stupid, I didn’t go to the very edge. But I’m not smart, so I went close.
Suddenly, a huge SCREECH rung in my ear. I screamed, and stumbled. Stumbled right into the water. At first I thought, okay, I’ll just swim out. But then, a tentacle of some sort wrapped around my leg.
“AHH! HELP!” I screamed. I heard Corey and Luke screaming, too, scrambling to help me. I tried to pull myself up, but it tightened it’s grip on my leg.
I thrashed in the black water. Corey started to run in after me, but Luke held him back. They were both yelling, but I couldn’t hear them. The water roared in my ears.
“ASH!” someone cried, “GRAB THE VINE!” Aware of a thick vine in front of me, I grabbed it, and felt someone on the other end pulling. Apparently, so did the thing holding me down. It tugged harder, and I took a final breathe before I went under.
Anna:
I managed to hold it all day, until Alexis came to get me in the evening, bringing a tray of food with her. She felt awful for not asking, and let me relieve myself before eating. Dinner was chicken and vegetable soup, with fresh cooked bread and chocolate milk. I went to sleep that night with a full stomach and an empty bladder- just the way I like it.
I slept late, to my surprise. Like Mom, I was a morning person. Always waking up early, and a bit to cheerful in the morning. Yet, when I woke up, the sun was pretty high in the sky.
A tray was in front of the door. It held a large sandwich- bacon, lettuce, and tomato- and a glass of lemonade. I scoffed it down quickly. Alexis came in as I was sipping down the last of the lemonade.
“You’re awake,” she noted. “I came for you earlier, but you were still asleep, and I decided not to wake you.”
“Sorry. I don’t usually sleep this late.”
“You have nothing to apologize for.”
“Where do the trays go?” I asked. I noticed I never saw Alexis leave with the trays, only bring them.
“They are collected while you sleep.”
“Oh, okay. So,” I started, standing up, “Where to today?”
Alexis smiled. “You’ll see. Let’s go.”
We exited my tower, and entered the secret passageway. Walking down the stairs, Alexis asked, “How adventurous are you?”
“Well, not very until recently,” I answered truthfully.
She stopped, as did I. I came to notice that this spot on the stairs we so often stopped at was the main floor.
Alexis opened the passageway, and we stepped out as it hissed shut. We were in one of the many red and gold carpeted hallways. Except, unlike other hallways, this one had only one door on each side, and one at the end, instead of many doors.
We walked down the hall, to the door at the end. Alexis stuck her head in, then opened the door wide, and walked inside, motioning me to follow.
The room we now found ourselves in was quite large. It was rectangular, with a door on either end of the width. To the right of where I stood in the doorway was a stage, half covered by a ratty, red curtain.. Circular wooden tables were pushed up against the walls, with elegant wooden chairs stacked on top of them. They were coated in layers of dust.
“The Beam Gallery,” I said.
“Yes,” Alexis said, nodding, and she shut the door behind us.
“Why are all the tables stacked and dusty?”
“The Beam Gallery used to be used for entertainment purposes. Then, five months before I was due, while the Lords and Ladies were gathered in this room, a hidden killer jumped out of the beams. He was killed before he could cause anyone harm, but that was the end of the Gallery. Father and Mother decided, with a child coming along, that the Beam Gallery was to dangerous to be used daily, so they shut it down, and stacked up everything. Like I said before, people sometimes use it to get from one Hall to another, but nothing more.”
“Huh,” I said, walking further into the room, looking up at the ceiling. It sure was a good place to hide. The entire ceiling was covered beams, some thick enough to lie on, others not so thick, and others as thick as my arm. It was beautiful and intimidating at the same time.
“So your plan for today…” I started.
“Is to go up in the beams,” she finished, grinning proudly.
“How do we get up there?”
“Follow me.” She walked over to the stage, and walked up the stairs that led up to it. Shrugging, I followed.
Alexis parted the red curtain, and walked behind it. Following, I saw behind the stage had nothing but dust. And, a staircase leading up. It looked in danger of falling through, but Alexis started up them fearlessly. Not wanting to look like a scardy-cat, I kept following.
“How long has it been out of use?” I asked as we climbed.
“Almost exactly thirteen years.”
“You’re thirteen,” I said stupidly.
“In three months, yes.” So, Alexis was about a year older than me. Yet, the way she let others push her around, and her petite stature, mad me seem older.
“How can this place be so…” At a loss for words, my voice trailed off.
“Old?”
“Yeah. If it’s only been out of use for thirteen years.”
“It was old to begin with. And without proper, daily care, it fell apart quickly. But the beams will hold.”
“How do you know?”
“Rooms are built for beauty, not stability, but supports are quite the opposite.”
We were at the top now, among thousands of beams. Alexis stepped on one of the larger ones, and started walking along it.
“Come along,” she said.
Cautiously, I stepped on a large beam, too. I looked down, but the height wasn’t to great.
Alexis and I walked along the large beams, laughing and having a good old time. I decided to be daring and step on one of the smaller beams. Then, we started to see who could walk further on the smaller beams.
Of course, I slipped. I managed to grab the beam before falling all the way, but Alexis still let out a big squeak.
So I dangled there for a bit, calculating how far to the ground I was. I guessed if Alexis were standing on the ground, it would take two more people her height stacked up on top of her to be able to reach the beam. I was closer to the ground with my feet dangling. It would be easy to just let go and jump down, and I most likely wouldn‘t even twist an ankle. Looking up, I noticed it wouldn’t be terribly difficult for me to swing myself back up on the beam, either, but it would take more time.
“Ash…” Alexis whimpered.
“I’m okay. Should I jump or swing back up?”
“No, not that. Look,” she hissed. Turning my head, I noticed the door to the room slowly opening. I could hear voices outside it- guards. It sounded like they were finishing up a conversation before walking in.
Hurriedly, I swung my feet up to grab the beam, then situated myself to hug it as well. The ceiling was far enough that normally they shouldn’t be able to see me. Except this was anything but normal, and my foot-long blonde hair dangled down for everyone to see.
Normally- and again, the situation was anything but normal- I would’ve levitated my hair to not hang down or, even better, levitated my whole body back on the beam. But the silver Anti-Magic bracelet again reminded me of the non-normality of the situation.
I’d just about given up hope, but as the door creaked open a bit more, my hair surprised me by levitating up, hugging the beam, as well. I turned my head so my chin was on the beam, and saw Alexis concentrating pretty darn hard. She put her finger to her lips, and even that little motion seemed to take immense willpower. I nodded slightly, and rested my cheek against the wooden beam.
The guards entered the room, loud and sarcastic, as most guards are. I squeezed my eyes shut, as if that would make them go away. It was something I had always done as a child. To take my mind off the danger below me, I filled my head with a memory. I was upset because Mom wouldn’t let me wear my hair down like all the other girls in my class were doing on May Day- she insisted on putting it in braids with ribbons. I had screamed and pouted, and squeezed my eyes shut as tight as they would go, so Mom would go away. When I had calmed down enough to open them, Miracle was standing in her place. Now, when I was little, I idolized Miracle. When I grew up, she became more of my friend. And Miracle had ribbons in her braids, which made me immediately change my mind.
Abruptly, the memory changed. I was in a dark room, and I was a baby. I lay in between two other babies, both with blonde hair like the kind that hung in my face. Irritated, I pushed my hair out of my face with chubby hands. I noticed a crib across from the one I lay in. A girl was sleeping in it, and, oddly, a boy was under it, sleeping as well. Then, so silently I wouldn’t have noticed if it hadn’t been for a sliver of light, the door opened. I blinked. It was a man, but I could tell it wasn’t Poppa. He turned to the girl in the other crib, and asked her something. She lay there, and stared at him. Then, quickly and quietly, he hunched down and grabbed the baby to my left. The face, it was so clear. He was young! He had clear blue eyes that were tearing up as he grabbed my triplet. He had sandy, curly blonde hair. On his black cloak, was a picture of two silver snakes intertwined to form an arrow. Before he left, he whispered, “I’m sorry.” I squeezed my eyes shut, wishing the man would just go away. And he did, Andrew in his arms.
My eyes flew open at this sudden memory, and I gave a sharp intake of breath. Luckily, so very luckily, the guards’ shutting the door drowned it out. My hair fell to curtain my face, and I heard Alexis above me breathing heavily with the effort of holding it up.
I let my legs fall first, then let my arms go slack. I landed on the carpet with a soft thud. Alexis disappeared from above, scrambling down from the staircase we had climbed up. She stood beside me.
“What happened?” she asked me, concerned.
What had happened? Was this Andrew’s abduction? I remember, the day before my birthday, Miracle telling me her memory. Everything matched up! The man, he asking her a question, just us in the room! She had been doubtful. She had said she and Max wouldn’t have been separated at such a young age. But they hadn’t been separated! Max had been under the bed! I’m not sure why, but that had been him under the bed! I tried to go back to the memory, but something blocked me out. How had I been let in that forbidden area in the first place? What had triggered it? What had it been telling me?
“Ash?”
“Alexis,” I said, turning to her hastily, “You know about the kingdom, right?”
“I guess…”
“What does two silver snakes twisted to make and arrow mean?”
“It’s a clan. They’re devoted to finding magically potential children. The practice is supposedly illegal, but the guards and Father have more pressing matters to attend to.”
“How young are the children?” I was getting worked up now.
“Usually very young. They want them to have no memory of their former life.”
“What do they do with the children?”
“Their fate is chosen when they turn eight years old. If they show more than potential, they are kept, and trained as warriors, then sold to the army when they turn sixteen.” She spoke professionally, like a schoolteacher. I was getting more and more excited- this explains Andrew’s letter, his dreams, his lack of knowledge.
“And if they aren’t magically potential?”
“Well, the clan feels like they’ve been slapped in the face when a child they’ve stolen doesn’t turn out the way they’ve planned. It’s a disgrace to them. So, the duds, as they call them, are usually put to death.”
Ash:
We made good mileage that day. Corey estimated we’d walked about fifteen miles in all. Dinner was canned corn and nuts, and we practiced with our magic a little before going to bed.
When I woke up, I wasn’t really awake. I was aware of what was happening around me, but hadn’t opened my eyes yet.
“We’re gonna make it there before nightfall, at the pace Ash is making us go,” Luke was saying.
“I know,” Corey replied. “We’re gonna have to go around it before night falls, or else.”
“I know, I know. I don’t think Ash can contemplate how big of a peril this is. She ran into this forest without regard of the hazards.” I never knew Luke knew words that big. Contemplate and regard, peril and hazards. Gosh!
“That’s Ash for you. She thinks she’s invincible, and most of the time she has other people thinking that, too.”
“It’s gonna be the death of her.” I didn’t have to have my eyes open to know Luke was shaking his arrogant head and grinning his egotistic smile. See, he’s not the only one with a big vocabulary!
I sat up suddenly, and gave a big, exaggerated yawn. Luke and Corey both spun their heads towards me.
“Good morning, boys. What kind of hazardous peril are we getting ourselves into today?”
They looked at me, and Luke shook his arrogant head- again. I was dropping not-so-subtle hints that I had heard their conversation, and they were picking up on them. But, to my surprise, they both looked a little worried and self-conscious.
“Don’t worry, all I heard was how brave I was and how I show everyone I’m a crazy maniac.” I had been joking, but my comment seemed to make them both feel better. I rolled my eyes at them, expecting Luke’s next comment.
“If you keep doing that your eyes are gonna pop right out of your head.” He smiled his egotistic smile.
“If you keep smiling like that your face is gonna stick that way,” I shot back, prepared this time. He just raised an eyebrow at me, smile not faltering.
“You say that like it’s a bad thing. If my smile’s stuck, I’m still smiling, but if your eyes fall out, you can’t roll your eyes.”
I stuck my tongue out at him, and started gathering my stuff. Laughing, the two boys followed my lead.
We started out again, I taking the lead, naturally. Corey hopped up to walk next to me.
“So, are there any, like, people in this forest?” I asked him.
“One village of Witches is laying around here somewhere. I’m not sure where though.”
“So what were you and Luke talking about this morning that you were so worried I had heard?”
Corey opened his mouth, than shut it. I smiled smugly at him. He looked over his shoulder at Luke, and said, “So, Luke, I’m gonna take up the rear to, you know, scout.” The two switched places, and Luke glared at Corey, who shrugged innocently.
“So…” Luke said slowly.
“So, what were you and Corey talking about this morning that you were so worried I had heard?” I repeated.
“Um…” Luke took a moment to give Corey another good glare, than turned back to me. “Nothing.”
“It sure was something!” I stepped forward to push a branch from a black tree out of the way, then let it whap back in Luke’s face. He returned next to me after a moment.
“Nothing you need to concern yourself with.”
“Something’s telling me it’s about me which make it something I need to concern myself with.”
“It’s not about you.” He bit the inside of his lip.
“Ha! Liar! I know when you lie! Don’t you ever lie to me, Lucas Coppertone!”
He looked at me, astounded. At first I thought it was because I knew he was lying, but then Luke said, “You remember my last name.”
“Yeah. I have a pretty good memory. And Mrs. Terra-Lewis only said it a million times, trying to suck up. What’s my last name?” I quizzed him.
“Raykon,” he answered immediately. I smiled.
“See, it’s not that abnormal.”
“I know, it’s just… what’s Corey’s last name?”
“Tyron,” I said immediately. I had grown up listening to teachers drone, “Good job, Mister Tyron, try harder next time, Mister Tyron.” To teachers, we were mostly called by out last names.
“Why?” I asked.
“Just wondering if you knew his like you knew mine.”
“Luke, I grew up with Corey. Except, he used to be an annoying guy who liked to watch me not fall all over him like most girls did.”
“What is he now?”
“Luke, the first time I talked to Corey, I pushed him in the mud. That made me different. That’s why he singled me out to pick on, because I singled him out.”
“Uh huh…”
“Now… I think… I don’t know what I think.” And I didn’t.
Luke lowered his voice, “So that letter from your brother…”
“Corey doesn’t know.” And shouldn’t know, said my gut. Why, I had no idea. But it said ‘don’t tell Corey’ so I wasn’t.
“So about your conversation this morning,” I said, before Luke could say anything else.
“Hey Corey, you need any help… uh… scouting?” Luke asked, turning around.
“Uh, sure.” Luke grinned at me, then slowed his pace to walk next to Corey.
“Babies,” I hissed, just loud enough for them to hear.
We continued along in silence until the sun was high in the sky. I stopped walking, and dropped my knapsack on the ground.
“Lunchtime,” I announced.
“What’s for lunch?” Corey asked, also dropping his gear.
“Sugar cookies?” Taking my not-so-subtle hint, Luke pulled out his box of sugar cookies. There were twelve, each about the size of my palm. We each took two, and sat down on the black path.
“So what kind of peril am I running into this time?” I asked them, taking a bite of my cookie.
“Ash, we’re about to enter the Black Lake territory. The monsters in that lake are, well, their sport is killing. We need to get around that lake before night falls, or else we won’t make it. Period.”
“Okay, so we’ll walk faster. How big is it?”
“If it weren’t so evil, we could swim from one width to the other.”
“And the length?”
“About half a mile.”
“Then we better hurry.” I shoved the last bit of my last cookie in my mouth, and stood up. The two boys followed, even though Corey hadn’t finished his cookies because he’d been talking.
We started walking again, and I noticed the path was becoming less and less overgrown as we walked on. I mentioned this to Corey and Luke, who were still walking a good ways behind me.
“I noticed that, too,” Luke said.
“It’s because during Monsoon season, the Lake overflows, and forms a little river down this path. It clears everything up,” Corey answered.
“It’s not Monsoon Season, I hope,” I said.
“Nope. The reason the path is so clear here, is because Monsoon Season ended recently.”
“How recently?”
“About a month ago.”
“Okay, good.” I stepped over a branch, the only piece of overgrowth on the path.
We kept walking, but not in silence. I could hear Luke and Corey tittering behind me, but couldn’t make out their words.
I jumped ahead a bit, trying to ignore them.. The path took a sharp turn ahead, and I jogged forward to the turn. When I did turn, I stopped short.
A huge, black tree was laying across the path. It was twice as tall as me, laying on its side, and was long enough that it disappeared into both ends of the Forest.
“Ummm… guys?” I called. Corey and Luke joined me.
“Wow,” Luke muttered.
“Look at these trees!” I cried, tilting my head up. The tops of the trees were so far above our heads that the leaves all blurred together in a big black-green mush. “It’ll take us forever to go around it.”
“We could levitate ourselves over it,” Corey suggested.
“Um, hello?” Luke said, waving hand sarcastically. “Can’t do much of anything, here. No way can I levitate.”
“Why not? It only took us a few days to master it.”
“Well, you knew all your life about your power. Still getting used to mine, here.”
“Corey could levitate you,” I recommended.
“Me?” Corey asked at the same time Luke said, “Him?”
“Yeah. You levitated me when you were just getting used to levitating things.”
“But… over that?”
“Why not? Ana can levitate Ms. Pomlar. I think you can manage.” With that, I shot into the air, and over the tree, landing delicately on the other side. A very shaky Luke followed, then Corey.
“See, that wasn’t so bad!” I said, clapping mockingly.
We continued along the otherwise undisturbed path, until we came to the Black Lake.
It was just as Corey had described it. Not to wide, but plenty long. The water was like a black sheet, threatening and ominous. Nothing moved in or around the lake, and the air was laden with an eerie silence.
Unafraid, but spooked, I approached the edge of the lake, dropping my gear as I walked.
“Ash…” Corey said warningly.
“Don’t worry, I’m fine.”
I wasn’t stupid, I didn’t go to the very edge. But I’m not smart, so I went close.
Suddenly, a huge SCREECH rung in my ear. I screamed, and stumbled. Stumbled right into the water. At first I thought, okay, I’ll just swim out. But then, a tentacle of some sort wrapped around my leg.
“AHH! HELP!” I screamed. I heard Corey and Luke screaming, too, scrambling to help me. I tried to pull myself up, but it tightened it’s grip on my leg.
I thrashed in the black water. Corey started to run in after me, but Luke held him back. They were both yelling, but I couldn’t hear them. The water roared in my ears.
“ASH!” someone cried, “GRAB THE VINE!” Aware of a thick vine in front of me, I grabbed it, and felt someone on the other end pulling. Apparently, so did the thing holding me down. It tugged harder, and I took a final breathe before I went under.
Anna:
I managed to hold it all day, until Alexis came to get me in the evening, bringing a tray of food with her. She felt awful for not asking, and let me relieve myself before eating. Dinner was chicken and vegetable soup, with fresh cooked bread and chocolate milk. I went to sleep that night with a full stomach and an empty bladder- just the way I like it.
I slept late, to my surprise. Like Mom, I was a morning person. Always waking up early, and a bit to cheerful in the morning. Yet, when I woke up, the sun was pretty high in the sky.
A tray was in front of the door. It held a large sandwich- bacon, lettuce, and tomato- and a glass of lemonade. I scoffed it down quickly. Alexis came in as I was sipping down the last of the lemonade.
“You’re awake,” she noted. “I came for you earlier, but you were still asleep, and I decided not to wake you.”
“Sorry. I don’t usually sleep this late.”
“You have nothing to apologize for.”
“Where do the trays go?” I asked. I noticed I never saw Alexis leave with the trays, only bring them.
“They are collected while you sleep.”
“Oh, okay. So,” I started, standing up, “Where to today?”
Alexis smiled. “You’ll see. Let’s go.”
We exited my tower, and entered the secret passageway. Walking down the stairs, Alexis asked, “How adventurous are you?”
“Well, not very until recently,” I answered truthfully.
She stopped, as did I. I came to notice that this spot on the stairs we so often stopped at was the main floor.
Alexis opened the passageway, and we stepped out as it hissed shut. We were in one of the many red and gold carpeted hallways. Except, unlike other hallways, this one had only one door on each side, and one at the end, instead of many doors.
We walked down the hall, to the door at the end. Alexis stuck her head in, then opened the door wide, and walked inside, motioning me to follow.
The room we now found ourselves in was quite large. It was rectangular, with a door on either end of the width. To the right of where I stood in the doorway was a stage, half covered by a ratty, red curtain.. Circular wooden tables were pushed up against the walls, with elegant wooden chairs stacked on top of them. They were coated in layers of dust.
“The Beam Gallery,” I said.
“Yes,” Alexis said, nodding, and she shut the door behind us.
“Why are all the tables stacked and dusty?”
“The Beam Gallery used to be used for entertainment purposes. Then, five months before I was due, while the Lords and Ladies were gathered in this room, a hidden killer jumped out of the beams. He was killed before he could cause anyone harm, but that was the end of the Gallery. Father and Mother decided, with a child coming along, that the Beam Gallery was to dangerous to be used daily, so they shut it down, and stacked up everything. Like I said before, people sometimes use it to get from one Hall to another, but nothing more.”
“Huh,” I said, walking further into the room, looking up at the ceiling. It sure was a good place to hide. The entire ceiling was covered beams, some thick enough to lie on, others not so thick, and others as thick as my arm. It was beautiful and intimidating at the same time.
“So your plan for today…” I started.
“Is to go up in the beams,” she finished, grinning proudly.
“How do we get up there?”
“Follow me.” She walked over to the stage, and walked up the stairs that led up to it. Shrugging, I followed.
Alexis parted the red curtain, and walked behind it. Following, I saw behind the stage had nothing but dust. And, a staircase leading up. It looked in danger of falling through, but Alexis started up them fearlessly. Not wanting to look like a scardy-cat, I kept following.
“How long has it been out of use?” I asked as we climbed.
“Almost exactly thirteen years.”
“You’re thirteen,” I said stupidly.
“In three months, yes.” So, Alexis was about a year older than me. Yet, the way she let others push her around, and her petite stature, mad me seem older.
“How can this place be so…” At a loss for words, my voice trailed off.
“Old?”
“Yeah. If it’s only been out of use for thirteen years.”
“It was old to begin with. And without proper, daily care, it fell apart quickly. But the beams will hold.”
“How do you know?”
“Rooms are built for beauty, not stability, but supports are quite the opposite.”
We were at the top now, among thousands of beams. Alexis stepped on one of the larger ones, and started walking along it.
“Come along,” she said.
Cautiously, I stepped on a large beam, too. I looked down, but the height wasn’t to great.
Alexis and I walked along the large beams, laughing and having a good old time. I decided to be daring and step on one of the smaller beams. Then, we started to see who could walk further on the smaller beams.
Of course, I slipped. I managed to grab the beam before falling all the way, but Alexis still let out a big squeak.
So I dangled there for a bit, calculating how far to the ground I was. I guessed if Alexis were standing on the ground, it would take two more people her height stacked up on top of her to be able to reach the beam. I was closer to the ground with my feet dangling. It would be easy to just let go and jump down, and I most likely wouldn‘t even twist an ankle. Looking up, I noticed it wouldn’t be terribly difficult for me to swing myself back up on the beam, either, but it would take more time.
“Ash…” Alexis whimpered.
“I’m okay. Should I jump or swing back up?”
“No, not that. Look,” she hissed. Turning my head, I noticed the door to the room slowly opening. I could hear voices outside it- guards. It sounded like they were finishing up a conversation before walking in.
Hurriedly, I swung my feet up to grab the beam, then situated myself to hug it as well. The ceiling was far enough that normally they shouldn’t be able to see me. Except this was anything but normal, and my foot-long blonde hair dangled down for everyone to see.
Normally- and again, the situation was anything but normal- I would’ve levitated my hair to not hang down or, even better, levitated my whole body back on the beam. But the silver Anti-Magic bracelet again reminded me of the non-normality of the situation.
I’d just about given up hope, but as the door creaked open a bit more, my hair surprised me by levitating up, hugging the beam, as well. I turned my head so my chin was on the beam, and saw Alexis concentrating pretty darn hard. She put her finger to her lips, and even that little motion seemed to take immense willpower. I nodded slightly, and rested my cheek against the wooden beam.
The guards entered the room, loud and sarcastic, as most guards are. I squeezed my eyes shut, as if that would make them go away. It was something I had always done as a child. To take my mind off the danger below me, I filled my head with a memory. I was upset because Mom wouldn’t let me wear my hair down like all the other girls in my class were doing on May Day- she insisted on putting it in braids with ribbons. I had screamed and pouted, and squeezed my eyes shut as tight as they would go, so Mom would go away. When I had calmed down enough to open them, Miracle was standing in her place. Now, when I was little, I idolized Miracle. When I grew up, she became more of my friend. And Miracle had ribbons in her braids, which made me immediately change my mind.
Abruptly, the memory changed. I was in a dark room, and I was a baby. I lay in between two other babies, both with blonde hair like the kind that hung in my face. Irritated, I pushed my hair out of my face with chubby hands. I noticed a crib across from the one I lay in. A girl was sleeping in it, and, oddly, a boy was under it, sleeping as well. Then, so silently I wouldn’t have noticed if it hadn’t been for a sliver of light, the door opened. I blinked. It was a man, but I could tell it wasn’t Poppa. He turned to the girl in the other crib, and asked her something. She lay there, and stared at him. Then, quickly and quietly, he hunched down and grabbed the baby to my left. The face, it was so clear. He was young! He had clear blue eyes that were tearing up as he grabbed my triplet. He had sandy, curly blonde hair. On his black cloak, was a picture of two silver snakes intertwined to form an arrow. Before he left, he whispered, “I’m sorry.” I squeezed my eyes shut, wishing the man would just go away. And he did, Andrew in his arms.
My eyes flew open at this sudden memory, and I gave a sharp intake of breath. Luckily, so very luckily, the guards’ shutting the door drowned it out. My hair fell to curtain my face, and I heard Alexis above me breathing heavily with the effort of holding it up.
I let my legs fall first, then let my arms go slack. I landed on the carpet with a soft thud. Alexis disappeared from above, scrambling down from the staircase we had climbed up. She stood beside me.
“What happened?” she asked me, concerned.
What had happened? Was this Andrew’s abduction? I remember, the day before my birthday, Miracle telling me her memory. Everything matched up! The man, he asking her a question, just us in the room! She had been doubtful. She had said she and Max wouldn’t have been separated at such a young age. But they hadn’t been separated! Max had been under the bed! I’m not sure why, but that had been him under the bed! I tried to go back to the memory, but something blocked me out. How had I been let in that forbidden area in the first place? What had triggered it? What had it been telling me?
“Ash?”
“Alexis,” I said, turning to her hastily, “You know about the kingdom, right?”
“I guess…”
“What does two silver snakes twisted to make and arrow mean?”
“It’s a clan. They’re devoted to finding magically potential children. The practice is supposedly illegal, but the guards and Father have more pressing matters to attend to.”
“How young are the children?” I was getting worked up now.
“Usually very young. They want them to have no memory of their former life.”
“What do they do with the children?”
“Their fate is chosen when they turn eight years old. If they show more than potential, they are kept, and trained as warriors, then sold to the army when they turn sixteen.” She spoke professionally, like a schoolteacher. I was getting more and more excited- this explains Andrew’s letter, his dreams, his lack of knowledge.
“And if they aren’t magically potential?”
“Well, the clan feels like they’ve been slapped in the face when a child they’ve stolen doesn’t turn out the way they’ve planned. It’s a disgrace to them. So, the duds, as they call them, are usually put to death.”