CHAPTER SIX

Once Andrew’s car had been thoroughly cleaned, the five of us piled in and headed to the park with the windows down and the music and A/C blasting. I sat, as usual, by the window in the front seat. Patricia sat directly behind me, Trish in the middle, and Henley on the right-hand side, belting Snow Patrol out-of-tune to passersby.

As we drove through the streets of town, I looked in earnest for something different; something that had changed since I’d been there. The car passed by Alman’s Antiques downtown, and my eyes were caught by the sight of three apparent new comers. The first was a tall, lithe girl with red hair, and an unlit cigarette in her hand. Behind was a boy with darkly alluring features, and a girl. It was the girl who caught my eye. And as I stared intently at her, her head turned and our eyes met.

“What are you staring so intensely at?” shouted Andrew over the music.

“Do you know who that girl is?” I said, nodding my direction in her direction.

“No clue. We saw her earlier today, though. At Arby’s for lunch.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. There’s something strange about her. And those two she’s with…” Andrew shrugged. “I just have the weirdest feeling. I think they may be one of them.”

My gaze left the figures on the sidewalk and turned to Andrew. He was completely serious. I turned back to the window, but the girl was gone. I prayed that I wouldn’t meet her in Michael’s incense filled back room.

Cedar Park was reached at the end of a Switchfoot song, and we tumbled out of Andrew’s car with our ears slightly ringing. Cedar Park was a massive park complete with everything from baseball diamonds, soccer fields, and tennis courts, to a skate park, playground and public pool. Of course, the grove of cedars was what the park was named for, and the lake was a top spot for the romancers and walkers alike. But the best part about the park to my friends and I was not all of these amenities, but rather the wild flower strewn maintained green past the playground. The green was bordered by not only the man-made attractions, but also the cedar grove, Alexandria Woods, and an empty field behind the apartments and buildings of central Newton. This was, of course, where we were headed, with Andrew and Henley leading the way.

We reached the northern end of the green, an expanse close to the cedar grove and Alexandria Woods, out of breath and grinning like fools. After a few moments of holding my side and breathing heavily, I turned and fell haphazardly into the grass. Laughing, Trish and Patricia followed suit, their heads pointing inwards toward mine. Soon, all five of us were lying in the grass, our heads together, forming a star. We laid there for some time, the purple flowers in among the blades of grass occasionally blocking our view of the cloudless sky, silent. I smiled and closed my eyes in perfect happiness, forgetting for a moment Rose and all the problems that came with her. I was far away from Newton, lying in a field high in the mountains, feeling the cool air on my skin, and smelling the scent of pine needles and mountain lakes. Images of a beautiful white castle, shrouded in mist in the middle of a large alpine lake. My very own Avalon.

“Kat. Kat.” It was Andrew. I opened my eyes to find him standing over my head, half-laughing.

“Hey, look, guys!” he exclaimed, “Kat’s returned from her trip to the moon!”

“Shut up and help me up,” I demanded, my face turning slightly pink. He held out his hands, and pulled me to my feet. On my feet, he tickled me from behind, and I spun around to see his black-sneakered feet running through the field, whooping and hollering with Henley close behind.

“I guess we better follow,” said Patricia.

“Yeah, we don’t want to lose our ride,” agreed Trish. I smiled.

“Let’s race them,” I suggested, sprinting after the troublemakers.

CHAPTER SEVEN

We exited the café and I took a good look at our surroundings. It was a lot darker now than it had been when we arrived. I stood there holding on to Maria’s elbow, my head spinning and my mind foggy. Something didn’t feel right, but I couldn’t say what. The street lamp near the entrance to the café flickered and my nerves jumped. Something was definitely off.

Maria took in a deep breath to get her bearings, and then began walking at a fast pace, pulling me behind. Jordan wasn’t following.

“Where are we going?” he asked. Maria stopped and turned to face him.

“Jerome offered us accommodation for the night,” she stated.

“Jerome,” replied Jordan. “And where is this ‘accommodation?’”

“We have to go through downtown and Cedar Park to get there. But I assure you that it’s safe. It’s where everyone spends the night while they’re here.” Even in the dark, I could see Jordan’s eyes squint in suspicion. “Jordan. Tammy’s not in great shape and they’ll help us at the hostel. They’re required to; it’s a Safe House. So, are you with me or not?”

Jordan nodded.

“Thank you,” said Maria, as she turned back around and looked up and down the lit downtown street. “We’ll have to take the alleys; we can’t risk being seen like this.”
Maria turned herself, and the attached me, down the nearest alley.

As Maria hurried us along the twisting, narrow streets behind the maze of buildings of Newton’s downtown, I couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was following, and I found myself jumpier than normal. Just the simple scrape of a rat’s claws against the pavement, was enough to make me start. The further we went down the alleys, the more nervous and panicked I became. With buildings close on either side of the narrow streets, there was no way for me not to feel claustrophobic, especially with the increasing awareness of someone other than Maria, Jordan and I.

Finally, our rushed travel through the winding streets ended and we emerged into a large open field. Here, Maria paused, and I let go of her elbow. I let out the breath I’d be keeping locked up in my breast, and breathed the air in deeply. Not too far from here was the park; you could smell it in the air.

“It’s this way, I think,” said Maria. “It’s been a while since I’ve been there.”

As she spoke, the presence of another person, was eminent. My heart thudded against my ribcage. I stepped in closer to Maria.

“Maria,” I whispered, becoming more and more nervous by the minute. “I think someone’s following us.”

“What do you mean?” asked Maria.

“Well, it’s just this feeling I’ve had since we left the café. Like someone’s watching our every move; tracking us.” A quiet footstep in the brush behind them caused me to turn sharply around. My eyes scanned the evening dark, searching for the cause of the noise.

“What was that?” I breathed, nearly terrified. What if it was the Cloaks? I was sure that even a small town like Newton had Cloaks. But if it was the Cloaks, then why hadn’t they stopped them before? What were they waiting for? My eyes narrowed as I tried to pierce the dark. There was definitely something there. I could feel it. Alice. What had Jerome been saying to her as we left the café? Had he been telling her to follow us? And if so, was it to keep us safe? Or to keep them safe?

Jordan and Maria turned and looked to each other.

“What did you hear?” asked Jordan.

“A footstep. I swear I heard a footstep,” I replied, my eyes still searching the bushes.

“Come on out,” snarled Maria into the air. Everything was quiet. And then, a series of footsteps drew closer. My heart thudded harder. Out into the clearing stepped a lithe figure. A pale beauty with chestnut hair and smoky eyes. Alice. I should have known.

A strange grin spread across her face, and she lunged across the clearing. My breath caught in her throat. Nothing good could possibly come out of her leap. Maria stepped in front me and then everything was blurred. I couldn’t really be seeing this. Maria pinning Alice down, her nails digging into Alice’s arms, drawing blood. Jordan grabbed me by the waist and hoisted me over his shoulder. The ground beneath him was dark green and moved at the speed of a running man. I protested as much as I could, but I knew there was no way he was going to set me down.

Finally, Jordan set me down. We were no longer in the scrubby field, but in the taller, cooler grass of the park. A stand of trees stood to the right-hand side, and I was sure they were the cedars the park was named for. Jordan bent over with his hands on his knees.

“You’re heavier than you look,” he said.

“You didn’t have to carry me; I would’ve followed,” I replied, looking down at the grass. Light purple flowers peeked their heads out from among the dark green blades. I noticed then that the grass was a bit mashed in the shape of someone’s body. Curious, I looked around the silhouette. Four more grass silhouette’s were there. Each one was a bit different, and, from what I could make out in the night-time light, there were three girls and two boys, all lying with their heads toward one another in the shape of…a star. A tingle went up my spine.

“Someone’s coming,” I said.

Jordan and I turned toward the footsteps coming towards us. I saw his muscles tense, his right hand reach up his sleeve. Into their vision came another elegant figure. Smoke twisted in the air in front of the woman. I let her breath out and Jordan drew his hand out of his sleeve. It was only Maria.

She came to stand before us, and I noticed the slightly crazed look in her eyes. She drew in a deep breath and exhaled a cloud of smoke. She was calm again. She dropped the cigarette to the ground, where she ground it with the toe of her shoe. Maria’s eyes rose to meet mine. Another tingle went up my spine. A hand grabbed my arm and pulled me away. It was a boy with sandy hair, and a glistening ruby pendant hanging about his neck. Arby’s.

I stumbled and twisted to see a knife in the boy’s hand. My face went white. I knew what was going to happen, but before I could do anything to stop it, the knife was no longer in his hand. Everything played in slow motion as Jordan grabbed at his side, and Maria lunged for the boy. Jordan stumbled to the ground. The hilt of a knife shone in the moonlight.

“No!” came my belated cry as I bolted to Jordan. I stared at his wound in panic, and looked to where Maria was. She had the boy by the neck.

“Maria! Stop!”

“Why should I?” she snarled.

“If you kill him, there won’t be just one boy,” I stated, trying to pound sense into her head. She bared her teeth, snarled one more time, and let him go. He collapsed to his knees, his hand at the base of his throat, gasping for air.

“We can’t just let him go, Tammy,” she pleaded, turning to me.

“No. He’s going to help us. He’ll know where a healer is.”

Maria looked down at the boy.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Andrew dropped me off in the cul-de-sac behind my house after an evening meal of Indian food especially prepared by Henley’s mother on his way to begin his patrol. I waved as he drove off, and then picked my way in between the houses to my backyard, which I reached by way of a loose board in our fence. I snuck my way through the dark grass, and tried to make it through the back door and up the stairs without alerting my family. Unfortunately, Jessica’s pink Barbie car was perfectly placed in the middle of the hallway for me to trip on.

“Katie!” called my mother. Her exclamation was a mix of anger and a question. Why would she question that it’s me? I wondered, as I guiltily made my way to the living room.

Sitting in the middle of the couch were my mother and Evan.

“Where’s Rose?” I asked, wary. When Rose was unaccounted for, it made me nervous.

“She’s at the Council Seat overseeing the patrols,” my mother answered, completely unaffected by the atrocity of her statement. The patrols and the increased number of Cloaks were the most obvious sign of what Rose was doing to the community. We never used to need patrols, but since Rose’s arrival, more and more of us were becoming increasingly panicked about things that never used to occur in Newton.

“Patrols?” I asked, accusingly.

“Yes,” answered my mother simply.

“Mom, don’t you see? We never used to have patrols! Or so many Cloaks! Trish’s mom is a Cloak, now. And Andrew has patrol duty! Can’t you see what’s happening?” I almost screamed. “And as soon as my training is complete, guess where I’ll be, Mom? I’ll be out marching around the dark streets with all the others! I can’t believe you’re letting her take control like this!”

“Take control?” said my mother. “How can you say such a thing, Katie? She’s your grandmother! She would never want to see you hurt; that’s why she’s doing this. And she has a point; you won’t stay in Newton forever! And how am I supposed to protect you while you’re at your father’s? All she wants is for you to be safe, for the community to be safe! That’s why there are patrols and more Cloaks. And for information, Trish’s mother voluntarily accepted that position.”

“Is that what you believe? That Chelsea would just volunteer for a position as dangerous as a Cloak? How can you be so blind?” Frustrated, angry, and hurt, I was crying, now. Where is my mother, I asked silently. My mother’s imposter stared at me, her mouth slightly slack in disbelief. Then, her mouth closed into a thin line.

“Your grandmother’s right. I’m not going to let you talk that way any longer, Katie. It’s disrespectful, and as my daughter, you should know better than to act this way. Go on up to your room and think about the impact your words have on others. As well as your actions. Next time you go out with friends, I expect you to ask for permission first.” She stood and left the room. I stared after her, then looked to the floor.

“Your mother was really worried, Katie,” said Evan quietly.

“Please tell me you don’t believe Rose,” I whispered.

“I may find your grandmother harsh, and I may not agree with the things she says and does, but I trust your mother’s judgment.”

I nodded and looked to the stairs. Three faces peered out from the dark hallway. I sighed and turned to leave.

“You ate dinner, yes?”

I nodded and climbed the stairs. As I passed by Evan’s kids on my way to my room, David offered me a grim smile. I suggested a smile back, and closed the door to my room quietly. I looked across the room to the bay window. I sighed and crossed the room. I opened each of the windows and sat down on the window seat with my back resting against the wall. I rolled my head to the side to look out into the depths of the quickening night and closed my eyes. Tears welled out from under my eyelids. All I wanted was to be at Dad’s. There we would be sitting on the couch watching a movie on TV and eating ice cream before going to bed. Of course, my brother would come in halfway through the movie and want to change the channel or complain that we didn’t call him, which usually resulted in a brief pillow fight. I had only been in Newton for two days and already I was ready to be back in the light filled yellow house on Oak. I buried my head in my arms and let my eyes cry their fill.

Sometime later, a rock came flying in the window to hit my knee. I cursed and turned to the window to yell at the person bellow, only my words were stuck in my throat. Standing in the grass of my front yard below was Andrew and a tall, lithe girl with a threatening look directed in Andrew’s way.

“You’re the only healer I know, Kat,” he said, white as a sheet. I looked from him to the girl. I recognized her as one of the girls I’d seen on the street earlier in the day. I climbed out of my window without a single word. I joined them on the street.

“You need a healer?” I asked the girl. Her answer was to grab both of our wrists and run.

CHAPTER NINE

I did as Maria told me. My legs pounded the leaf-strewn ground of the cedar trees at the edge of the park. I followed her instructions to the tee. A large stone with a rose carved in it appeared on my right hand side. I turned right and kept running; my eyes and ears open for any sentries. I found the Safe House much easier than I had expected to. The low concrete building was shaded by trees, but the light inside the stained windows gave it away. I burst through the door.

Men and women of all kinds stood up at their tables. A young woman dressed in black came and put her hand on my back.

“What is it?” she asked, clearing reading the distress in my behavior.

“My friend. Witch’s blade,” I gasped.

“Maurice! Get her something to drink while I get a band together. It’ll be alright, hon,” she said, soothingly. Maurice handed me a glass of water. I guzzled it down.
Soon, the woman was back with a team of four or five men and women. They asked me questions. My only response was, “We have to hurry.”

“Okay, hon. Don’t worry; your friend will be alright. But you need to tell us where he is,” replied the woman. I shook my head; I didn’t know how to tell them where Jordan was.

“You don’t know?” asked Maurice.

“I know. I can’t … describe,” I responded, my mind still on Jordan’s body lying in the grass, blood oozing from the wound in his side. We had to hurry; a witch’s blade was no ordinary knife.

“Do you think you can show us?” asked the woman. I nodded and left the building, expecting them to follow. They did. I ran back through the trees, out into the park to where the grass was stamped down into a star made from long-gone bodies. The center of the star was stained. Blood. I hated blood. I cried. My stomach lurched. The group from the Safe House gathered around Jordan. Maurice pressed his finger against Jordan’s neck. He nodded. Two men unfurled a lightweight stretcher and placed it on the ground beside Jordan. Someone wrapped strips of linen around Jordan’s middle, trying to keep the blade steady; moving it would be deadly. Carefully, Jordan was placed onto the stretcher. I stuffed a fist in my mouth.

I didn’t understand what was happening, why it was happening. I wanted nothing more than to be home, in my own room, asleep. Maybe when the sun rose, I would find myself in my bed and all of this would have been a bad dream.

Someone put a hand on my shoulder. I looked up at the face. It was the woman.

“Don’t worry, love; he’ll be alright. Everything will be okay, you’ll see.” She enclosed me in a hug and led me away, following the other carrying Jordan into the cedar grove. I hope Maria would return soon. We needed the healer.

I barely noticed anything around me as we headed back to the Safe House; my thoughts were too drowned in worries and anxiety. Maurice was in the front, and he was the one to arrange for two tables to be brought together where they placed the stretcher. The woman stayed with me the whole time, and I didn’t dare go any farther than the door.

“What’s your name?” she asked me, bringing me another glass of water.

“Tammy,” I replied.

“Alright, Tammy, dear. Well, my name is Mel, and we’re going to do everything we can to help your friend. My husband is a healer, so I’m going now to get him. I won’t be long, I promise.” I nodded absently. None of her words were really registering.

“Don’t you worry, love; everything will be just fine.” She left, and I stared at my glass, wishing for Maria to come through the door.

Across the room, Jordan groaned. I bit my lip. The witch’s blade was doing what it did best: a slow, painful death. I cried. Horribly excruciating moments passed as Jordan faded on the tables across the room. Finally, the door opened.

CHAPTER TEN

We were at Cedar Park in no time flat. My nerves were colliding so much that I thought I was going to be sick.

“This way,” said the girl. Andrew and I had no choice but to follow.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

“Why should I tell you?” her voice was hard, as trembling hands pulled a cigarette out of its pack. She lit up.

“If I can’t trust you, then I’m not going to be willing to heal whoever it is that needs it,” I said, all the while knowing I was lying. If there was someone who was truly hurt, then as soon as I felt their pain, I would have no choice but to heal them; that was the way a healer’s power worked.

The girl’s eyes narrowed. “He’s at the Safe House,” she returned.

I leaned over to Andrew. “Safe House?” I asked, my voice barely a whisper.

“It’s a building in Alexandria where their kind and our kind can be without repercussions. Well, as long as they’re not discovered by Cloaks, that is,” he answered. I nodded.

As we were led further into the woods, I could feel my heart thudding. The Safe House, however, was reached sooner than I expected. I was also surprised to find Amelia standing in the threshold.

“Kat,” she breathed, clearly unsettled that I was there. “No, Kat, you can’t do this. You don’t know what this means.”

“You can’t deny him help! This is a Safe House,” snarled the girl.

“I’m not, dear,” replied Amelia, putting her hands up. “My husband is also a healer. I was just leaving to get him.”

“No. There’s not enough time for you to go and fetch your husband. My friend is lying on a table in there with a witch’s blade in his side!”

“A witch’s blade?” I asked, stunned. Without even looking at Andrew, I could tell he was turning red.

“I thought—“ he began.

“It doesn’t matter Andrew,” I said. “All that matters now is that we save his life. And if he’s got a witch’s blade in his side, then there really isn’t time to get Micah, Mel. I’m sorry. But this needs to be done.” Amelia’s shoulders drooped, and she looked to the ground.

“Why don’t you go and get him anyway,” suggested Andrew. “I mean, in case Kat’s not enough.” Amelia nodded and headed off into the night.

“What do you mean ‘not enough?” demanded the girl.

“Stop arguing. The tension isn’t going to help anything,” I said, as I walked into the room.

**DISCLAIMER** This section contains blood. It's not gory or graphic-it's really described, really-but if you have an active imagination, just beware. On a better note, it is minimal! **DISCLAIMER**

Sitting next to the door at the bar was the other girl I’d seen in the afternoon. She looked horrible. Her face and eyes were red from crying, and fear lurked about her like a malevolent shadow.

“Maria!” she cried, jumping up when we entered. “Is that the healer?”

“Don’t worry,” I said. “You’re friend will be just fine.” I prayed wholeheartedly that I wasn’t lying. I looked to the back of the room where a dark-haired boy was stretched out across two tables, clearly in a heap of pain. I hesitated for a second before forcing my legs to move; I wasn’t sure I wanted to share in his pain. As I slowly crossed the room, my focus was centered on the boy with a knife protruding from his side. Slowly, my side began to ache. It was dull at first, but increased with every step I took, so that by the time I’d reached the tables, it was all I could do to remain standing. I gripped the edge of the tables and looked down into the boy’s face. He was barely breathing.

“You’re—going—to—be—alright,” I said, taking a sharp breath in between each word. “This—will—hurt.” My hands wrapped themselves around the hilt of the blade, and the muscles in my forearms contracted as I pulled the knife out. Blood gushed, and I put both hands over the wound. My vision blurred and all I could see was blood and something a sick green color. Poison. That was what had to be cured first. If the poison wasn’t negated, then there would be no use patching up the wound—he would be dead in a matter of hours, judging by the rate it had already taken control of the boy’s body. I ran ahead to stop the green liquid.

A ways down the stream, I could see the poison coming towards me, and I tried to remember my lessons. Things were different when you were dealing with blood and other liquids than when you were just mending a break or a simple cut. They behaved differently. I knew that somehow, I had to get a hold of the poison to keep it from spreading, but I had no idea how to do that. If I merely held up hands, it would only be deflected, unless I could somhow completely close of the passageway, but who was to say the poison wouldn’t take another course?

Poison acts differently than your usual bodily fluids. Michael’s calm and steady voice reverberated in my head, and I wondered where it was coming from. I didn’t think we’d had a lesson on poison yet. Most of the time, it’s sluggish and thick. The poison on witch blades is more like a thread; you can actually grab a hold of it. I put my hand out as the green stream came ever closer. I felt it brush up against my hand, and I made a fist. The stream stopped moving. Now, how was I going to get rid of it?

Poison. Every poison has an antidote. So what was the antidote to a poison meant to take out a witch’s enemies? Think of where the poison is; it’s in the blood stream. The poison on a witch’s blade is meant only to poison those with certain blood types. Witches aren’t affected at all by the poison, but they will encounter death. And everyone else? They only get sick for a few days, kind of like salmonella. So… Witch blood. That was the answer. If the poison didn’t affect witches, then their blood must be the answer. So I needed to get witch blood into the boy’s blood stream. I needed a clean knife.

**DISCLAIMER** Here's another warning about blood. Not much, but it is mentioned. **DISCLAIMER**

I must have been thinking aloud, because suddenly fresh blood was entering the stream. At first, I thought it was my own. But then, I wasn’t bleeding. Somebody else had let their blood mingle with the boy’s. Andrew, maybe? It didn’t matter.

The poison was nullified within a matter of moments. I continued with my work, bringing the now clean blood back into the body, and patching together torn muscle and skin. But even with everything patched up, the boy wasn’t waking, and I was quickly fading.

There was only one thing left to do. I had to find the boy.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

The girl Maria had brought to heal Jordan stood over his body, clutching the tables to hold herself upright. I stared at her in horror. I knew that a healer’s work was based solely on empathy, but I hadn’t really comprehended what that meant. She sucked a breath in between her clenched teeth, and grabbed a hold of the knife with both hands. She wavered a moment, and I thought I saw her knees buckle.

“Maria,” I whispered. “I don’t think she’s strong enough.” Maria whipped her head towards me, and then back to the girl. Her eyes widened, her nostrils flared and she turned away from Jordan, squeezing her eyes shut. There was blood gushing from the wound, covering the girl’s hands. I gagged, but I didn’t dare let Jordan disappear from my sight. The girl’s hands pressed against the wound, and then her body went absolutely still. She closed her eyes, and a second later, they were open again, but it was as though she wasn’t seeing anything in the room. Her pupils were dilated and the iris seemed somewhat hazy. I didn’t want to think about what she was seeing—the scene in the room was gruesome enough.

I watched as she stood stock still, then, her jaw tightened and one hand made a fist, as though she was holding on to something.

“I need a regular knife,” came her voice, oddly distant. It sounded nothing like her voice a few minutes ago. “Someone—Tamara—bring me a knife from behind the counter.”

I didn’t know how she knew my name, but I didn’t dare ask. Instead, I did as she bid and fetched a clean paring knife from behind the counter. I held it out to her.

“Cut the palm of my clenched hand,” she said. I blinked in surprise. Why on Earth would she want me to cut her? I looked at her hands and my face squished up involuntarily. She moved her clenched hand away from Jordan’s side, clearly expecting me to do as she said.

“Tamara,” she spoke. “Right now I have a hold of the poison, but it order to cleanse the bloodstream, I need witch blood. So, you can either cut my palm, or cut your own. He won’t survive without it.”

I stared at her hand and then at the knife. I bit my lip hard as I drew the blade down my palm.

“Grab my fist,” she instructed. I grabbed her fist, and assumed that my blood was joining Jordan’s. As the girl continued with her work, I looked over my shoulder at Maria. She had turned back around, apparently she had regained control. She gave me a grim smile. Beyond her, the doorway was empty. I frowned. Didn’t that sandy-haired boy stay by the door?

“You can let go now Tamara,” said the girl. My hand released hers, but I didn’t move from her side. Something wasn’t right. Where was that boy? I looked around the room. He was nowhere to be seen. I frowned and shrugged. Maybe he’d just been too squeamish to stay inside.

I turned my attention back to what was happening on the tables. Jordan’s blood looked different now. Before, there had been a sort of sickly greenish tint, now it looked like any normal person’s blood. Only Jordan wasn’t normal. If he was normal, the poison wouldn’t have affected him, not in this way. I watched as the girl unclenched her fist and Jordan’s cleansed blood, began to revert itself back into his side. My eyes widened, and my mouth hung open. Blood was not supposed to do that. I wondered if this happened with any bloody wound that a healer laid hands on. Even the blood on the girl’s hands was no longer there. So much for the suspicion that a healer’s workplace was always messy and unsanitary! I looked at the girl and noticed that her muscles were quivering, and the light emanating from her Stone was dimmer than it was when she’d began. Considerably dimmer. I made a brief prayer that she wouldn’t die saving Jordan’s life.

The skin and muscles that had been sliced by the knife were repairing themselves, but Jordan’s eyes remained closed. In fact, he looked the same as when the healing had first begun-white. The color drained from my face. Was this all in vain? Was what she was doing helping at all? Or was he already gone when we’d started? My lower lip wavered. As the skin sealed shut, the girl held out her hand. I took it and closed my eyes in prayer.


Sorry guys. I got into the zone and wrote a whole chapter....

Ha ha! Why are you apologizing for keeping the story going, never?? It's silly! ~~

CHAPTER TWELVE

Where could the boy be? I knew he wasn’t actually dead; he blood was still flowing, which meant that his heart was still beating.

They say your memories flash before your eyes when you’re about to die, I thought, or was that still Michael? I couldn’t tell anymore.

They also say that the afterlife is a place you hold close to your heart. So, was he in the mind? Or in the heart? I closed my eyes and let his blood stream take me to him.

The place where I found myself was the beach. I was a bit wet; apparently the blood stream was synonymous with the ocean. The only building on the bluffs above the beach was a lighthouse with a little English cottage attached. Sighing, I made my way up the beach.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” came a voice moving beside me. I turned my head. It was the boy.

“Yes it is,” I agreed. “Do you live there?”

“My mother and father do. My sister and I used to.”

“You don’t anymore?”

“There was a fire,” he returned, shrugging. “We had to make it on our own. But now I’m back. Do you think my parents will be glad to see me?” I looked into his face. He was eager to be reunited with his parents. This was going to be hard. I looked down. My Stone was barely glowing and my hands were shaking.

“I think,” I started, taking in a breath to steady myself, “they will be both happy and sad.”

“Really?” he asked.

“Yes. They will be happy because they haven’t seen you in a long time, but they will be sad because you’re leaving everything behind when you’re not even 18.” I hoped he wasn’t 18. He nodded slowly.

“There isn’t much I’m leaving behind.”

“What about your friends?”

“I don’t have very many friends. Maria and Tammy, well, we aren’t friends just yet. Just people forced to run together.”

“Then, what about your sister?” It struck home.

“Jenna,” he whispered. He looked down at the sand. “I think…I think she will get past it.”

“It won’t be easy for her, though. Losing someone you love is never easy. You know that from your own experience. Why else would you be back here? You were happiest when your parents were around, and so, naturally, they and your family home is what you hold closest to your heart. Do you really want to make Jenna go through that again? And you may not be so troubled about Maria and Tammy, but they’re worried about you. They’ll be sad when you’re gone, too. I know. They sent for me to heal you. I wouldn’t be here, otherwise.” His eyes were lost in thought. Ahead of us on the beach a door with his parted family on the other side appeared. The light in my stone flickered, and, for a second, another door was on the beach, one meant for me. Then, a second strength came flooding into me, and there was only one door in the sand.

“You can go through that door now, but you can never come back through it,” I said. “Think about everyone you’re leaving behind; everything you’re leaving behind. Do you really want to leave it?”

“Maria and Tammy, they care about me, don’t they?” he asked, truly looking into my face for the first time.

“Yes,” I said. “They don’t want you to go.”

“Then I won’t go. My parents will wait for me.” I smiled.

“Let’s swim,” he said.

My lungs sucked in air as I was brought back to my senses. They boy’s friends rushed to him as he opened his eyes. My own world turned to black as my knees buckled beneath me and the floor rushed up to greet me.




Sorry about the shortness of this post!! It was all I could think of without going into a new chapter....

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

I opened my eyes as Jordan opened his. Maria and I were hovering over him in an instant, just as the healer crumpled to the floor. I spun and knelt beside her.

“I shouldn’t have let go of her hand,” I said as Maria helped Jordan off the tables. He stood, his weight supported almost completely by Maria, his breath coming in short and quick. I checked the girl’s pulse, afraid that she’d done more than faint.

“She’s not dead,” breathed Jordan, confidently. “She convinced me to come back. She told me how much you guys have done for me.” As he finished his sentence, shouts were heard outside the Safe House. The people behind the tables jostled among themselves to scramble out a back door. I knew who was coming even before I felt the power.

“Cloaks,” I said.

“We have to get out of here,” said Maria, urgently.

“We’re not going to leave her, are we?” I asked, looking down at the healer.

“We have to, Tammy. I may be strong, but two bodies is way too much for me to carry. And we certainly can’t stay here and let ourselves be crucified. Well, I’ll be crucified, you’ll just be dead.”

“Maria’s right Tammy. She knew what she was getting herself into. We have to go. Now,” said Jordan. I looked at the girl one last time, and then let Maria run us out of the House.

The woods that Maria ran us through were a dark blur, but I could see well enough to notice the sandy-haired boy watching as the Cloaks marched into the Safe House and emerged with the healer’s unconscious body. I wanted to see his reaction to his betrayal, but I was denied the opportunity, as we were moving too fast. We were deep in the woods when Maria stopped.

“We’ll have to stake the rest of the night out here,” she said, laying Jordan down on the grass. I stood on the edge of the small clearing she’d found, staring out through the endless dark green of the forest. My thoughts were on the healer.

“I’m sure she’ll be alright, Tammy,” said Maria. And then, a light went on in my head, and my faced drained of color.

“No,” I said, quietly. “No she won’t. Jordan would have only been affected in that way if his blood type was the same as yours, Maria. That’s the way the poison works. Witches are immune, your kind dies, and everyone else is sick for a few days. So unless he’s an anomaly…” I didn’t bother to finish my sentence. Maria and Jordan looked at one another. I was tired of their shared glances.

“He’s not of my kind, Tammy. I don’t know what he is, but he’s not of my kind,” replied Maria softly, staring at the ground.

“So you’re not a witch, you’re not a va-one of Maria’s kind, and you’re not a normal human being. What are you? What kind of creature is that healer being put to death for?”

“Put to death?” they asked in unison.

“Yes. With his reaction, they’ll suppose he’s a member of a Clan. Bringing a Clan member back from the edge of death is one of the highest crimes a witch can commit, apart from actual treason. If she’s not killed, she’ll spend the rest of her life in a cell, occasionally being tortured just for the pleasure of whoever is in charge. She’ll be lucky if she gets death at the stake.”

“They’ll burn her?” asked Jordan, his face was whiter than when he was dead. I nodded. Even Maria’s face paled.

“I didn’t know, Tammy,” she said.

“We have to save her,” stated Jordan. Even I stared at him. I was slightly astonished.

“How do you propose we do that?” demanded Maria.

“They have to hold her before they burn her, right?”

“You want to break her out of a witch prison? Do you know how crazy that is?! It’s like volunteering to ride into the Valley of Death!” Jordan’s face fell. Mine lit up.

“There is a way…” I said.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

I opened my eyes to darkness. But not the good kind of darkness. No, there was something very malicious about the dark I found myself in. There was a banging on something metal to my right. I jerked my head in its direction. In the dark, there were thick vertical sections of something even darker. I put my hand out toward one of those darker strips. It touched something cold and metallic. I drew my hand away with a sharp breath. Bars. I was in a prison.

“Don’t know why they have to keep it so dark in here,” remarked a gruff voice on the other side of the bars. “It’s not like it’s going to hurt us or anything.”

“Yeah, or change our behavior,” came another voice from the same cell. A shadow in the shape of a hand extended between the bars.

“Alex,” said the gruff voice. I stared at the hand. My fear had extended to every corner of the cell, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to touch that shadowy hand.

“Kat,” I replied, keeping my hand to myself.

“Kat is it?” replied this Alex as his hand retreated. “So, what’re you in here for? Kill the wrong person?”

“No,” I said. “I don’t know. Where is here?”

There was a chorus of laughs from all around. I automatically tensed.

“Y’don’t know?” came a voice in the dark on my left.

“You’re at the Council Seat,” said somebody else.

“Well, Council Seat Detention Center, anyway,” came the voice of “Alex’s” cellmate.

“Welcome, to the CSDC,” said Alex as the lights suddenly came on. I squinted.

The figure that stepped into the light was thin, pale-faced young woman with long straight blond hair. She walked to my cell, trailed by two men dressed in white suits. The girl herself wore a white dress. She walked as though she were an innocent angel—her hand folded in front of her, and her eyes turned toward the floor. But I knew better than to trust that façade; after all, Rose could seem just as innocent if she needed to. There are demons inside everyone. She stood exactly in the center of the bars of my cell door and her eyes rose to meet mine. Ice blue. I shivered. No angel ever has such cold eyes.

I gauged the other inmates’ response to her, and found that she must be someone new.

“Do you know why you’re here?” she asked, her voice faking sweetness. I looked at the adults behind the girl. Cloaks. I was certain of it.

“No,” I half-lied.

“You healed an enemy of us witches.”

“I wasn’t aware he was an enemy. Besides, I didn’t have a choice.”

The girl laughed. “You always have a choice.”

“You’re obviously not a healer,” I returned, my voice stone.

“You’re telling me that a healer can’t control their actions? I highly doubt that. And even if that was the case, you certainly didn’t have to follow Maria there.”

“Who?”

“Don’t give me that. You know who I’m talking about; and you’re going to tell me where they are,” she snarled, her hands gripping the bars. Here, her inner demon was revealed. It was no worse than Rose. Unfortunately, I had no clue who this Maria was or who she was looking for.

“I don’t know who you’re talking about,” I replied, irritation beginning to creep into my voice.

“The boy and his friends,” she snarled, briskly, leaning into the bars with her teeth bared. My heart finally made it into my throat, and I swallowed hard.

“I was unconscious,” I said, my voice rising. She growled, her arm pushing through the bars, and her nails scrapping against my skin. The muscles in my jaw moved as the blood welled up on the surface where she’d scraped me. I was expecting the scratch to heal itself instantly, instead, my arm stayed red and scratched. My powers had been stripped. Her ice-cold hand closed around my arm, and she yanked me up against the bars.

“Tell me where they are,” she growled.

“Let her go, Alegra.”

Both of our attention was instantly turned toward the stairs that lead into the holding area. I recognized the man as the dad of one of the kids at school—Max. The girl—Alegra—snarled at me one last time, and released my arm. I rubbed the spot she’d been holding. There would be a bruise.
Max’s father came down the stairs, a key in his hand.

“Move aside, Alegra. You’ll get your information in time.” Alegra grudging moved aside.

Max placed the key in the lock on my cell door, and took me by the arm, thankfully not as hard as Alegra.

“Thank you, Mr. Taylor,” I said.

“Don’t be thanking me. The Queen wants to see you,” he replied, guiding me out of the holding area and into the dimly lit corridors of the Council Seat. My heart sank to the bottom of my stomach. Rose.

The dread of coming face to face with Rose was so strong had no sense of where Mr. Taylor was leading me. I only noticed his grim smile and squeeze on my arm as he opened the door to a dark room.

Inside, the room was utterly dark. I couldn’t see a thing. My heart began to pound within my chest, its sound seeming to echo in the darkness around me. I was afraid to move away from the door.

Penetrating the dark and almost reverberating off of unseen walls, came the voice of Rose.

“It truly is quite sad. A young girl, such as yourself, from such a good family shouldn’t end up in a situation such as this. But, here you are. In front of me. And in this world that you find yourself in today, mistakes such as yours are inacceptable. So, pray, tell me why I should pardon you.”

“Pardon me? I shouldn’t have to ask for your forgiveness. That boy was dying. In a Safe House. But apparently the sanctity of a Safe House has been rendered obsolete under your regime.” I couldn’t see Rose’s face, but I could feel the tension mounting.

“Who gave you permission to talk like that to me, your grandmother and Queen?”

“You are not my grandmother, nor are you my Queen! You think you have control over all the Witches, and perhaps you do, but it’s not because they respect you or your position. To them, you will never be Queen. And, to me, you will never be my grandmother, either.”
My anger and hers were palpable in the darkness, so much so, that my hands trembled.

Suddenly, there was a crackling sound and an electric blue light appeared on the other side of the room. The light sped its way toward me, and as it closed the distance between us, I could see that it formed the shape of two giant, jagged hands. My eyes grew wide, but I had no time to move out of the way, as they closed themselves about my neck and threw me up against the wall above the door. My legs kicked, and tried to grab at the hands preventing me from breathing, but I was helpless. I managed to utter some sort of scream before the world was no longer there. I felt my body hit the floor, and I let myself slide away into the darkness of oblivion.

I was awakened what seemed like years, but could only be minutes later. Rose stood over me, malice etched deep into a face lit by an electric blue light that emanated from her Stone. Her upper lip rose as those eerie hands reach down and took hold of my own Stone. The cord pressed itself into the back of my neck. It burned. I felt the leather cut my skin, but there was nothing I could do; I could barely breathe. Abruptly, the cord snapped, and my head, which had been lifted off the ground with the force of those blue hands, banged against the floor. Black spot invade my vision. But through that spotted veil, I watched as those hands carried my Stone higher and higher and higher. Tears rolled down my cheeks as I came to the realization of what was about to happen. The Stone fell and shattered on the hard floor. There was a pain in my chest as I had never felt before, and I couldn’t help but curl up on my side and clutch at my breast, my nails digging into my skin. Again, I was unable to breath. Everything burned. I couldn’t stop crying. Somebody—Rose—stepped over my crumpled body and opened the door. I reached out for the shattered pieces of my Stone—my life, but my hand was stopped swiftly by the underside of a shoe. Two white figures dragged me from the room, but all I could see were the bits of emerald quickly losing their hue.



((Okay, all, so the next bit may seem a bit confusing. Tamara's chapters will continue as they are, fairly long and structured, but Katherine's are going to be completely different. They're very short and not neccessarily on the same time frame as what's taking place on Tamara's side. In fact, they're written to seem sort of out of time completely. There is a reason behind all of this, and once you read through it all, it'll probably be clear. We just wanted to warn you so you weren't too confused.))