Authors: Heidi Acosta
Heavy snow falls, landing between the tightly woven trees and blurring the world around me. I have to fight the spindly arms of the bare trees that reach for me, yanking at my hair and tugging at my clothes. The wind blows me back, but I don’t stop. I keep fighting to get to him. Somehow Jaxson is controlling the weather, he doesn’t want me to follow him.
Someone darts in front of me, knocking me back, I land with a yelp, jarring my insides. My attacker stands over me, their eyes glowing bright red. A low, throaty growl vibrates from him. I push myself up, bracing myself to run. A red glow envelopes him, and he begins to twitch. I should be running and going for help from the police or the government. Instead, I stand frozen like an idiot.
My attacker falls to the ground withering—and then nothing. It stops, the light goes out, and in his place is a dark heap. I squint, trying to get a better look. My attacker is gone, and in his place, is Cardelian. He tries to push himself up, but falls back.
“What the heck?” My mind tries to make sense of what I just saw. Alien theories are replaced with werewolves, vampires, and then back to aliens.
His body pulsates as I watch him change once again in the moonlight. His hair is slicked back, showing off pointy ears. Not werewolf pointy, but more in a
Lord of the Rings
way. What the hell? I squeeze my eyes shut and look at him again. Its official, I’m crazy.
Wings unfurl out of his back. They’re on fire, and the red and orange flames lick them. He stands, stretching the wings out, they are as long as he is in length and about twice the height. Heat moves off the fire, melting the snow in their vicinity. Everything else about him looks normal. Well, as normal as a gorgeous, ripped, eighteen-year-old boy with wings and pointy ears can look. He turns to me, his eyes glowing a bright red.
I should be freaking out now, but I’m mesmerized, as if in a trance. He bows his head, his breath coming out fast and ragged as he grips a nearby tree for support. The bark burns where his wings touch, falling in ashes.
“Eden,” he gasps before falling back to the ground.
I’ve read enough books to know I should be terrified. He changed into the monster from those fairy tales I read as a child, but all the fear is gone seeing him in this weak, vulnerable state. I just hope that if he turned into a vampire, it’s one of those sparkly vegetarian types.
I force myself to go to him, but I’m not sure what I should do. I don’t even know what I’m dealing with. He needs help, but who will believe me? Everyone is going to think I’m crazy like Essie, and this will just confirm it for them. They will lock me away like they did Abby and my aunt. I get down on my knees so he.
“Cardelian?” I reach out, touching his shoulder, but instantly yank my hand away with a yelp. His skin feels like it’s on fire.
He bares his teeth at me. Thankfully, they look normal, not pointy, sharp, or blood thirsty. At least, I don’t think they are.
“Get away from me,” he growls.
“Cardelian, you need help,” I say, ignoring him.
“No! I don’t want you to see me like this. Please, go,” He says breathlessly.
I sink to my knees next to him. Thick, wet curls hang in his face. His eyes are not glowing anymore and are back to the honey color I’m used to seeing.
“Why did you follow me?”
“My brother … I … don’t want him to hurt you.” He gasps.
“You’re just like him, aren’t you?”
He nods his head. “You could say that.”
I look away from his face, embarrassed that I have seen him this way. “What exactly is that?” I ask.
Using the tree as a brace, he begins to rise, his breathing now more even. His height looms over me. I follow suit since being crouched on the ground doesn’t seem like a safe place to be at the moment. Even at my full height, I only come to his chest, and his presence makes me feel small and vulnerable.
“You shouldn’t go sticking your nose in places that it doesn’t belong.” He reaches over and pinches the tip of my nose.
“What? I don’t understand.” I back up, confused by his sudden mood change.
He lets out a loud laugh that vibrates off the trees. “Oh, Eden, you really are dull and stupid. Why he chose you when he could have had any female is beyond me.” He laughs again, and it’s smooth and inviting, even though his words are meant to be cruel.
Reaching out, he grabs my arm, yanking the sleeve of my jacket up and revealing the spot that Jaxson touched in my dream. A faint blue pattern of snowflakes glows on my skin, the spot still cold. Cardelian begins to trace the mark with his finger. At first, where he touches it’s warm, melting any ice that I felt, but then slowly it starts to turn to fire, burning me. I scream as the pain rips through my arm, and then he stops.
The beautiful pattern Jaxson painted is gone, now there’s only a red, angry burn. I whimper at the sight of it.
“You really are a freak.”
I try to pull my arm free, but he tightens his grip, yanking me closer to him so that my back is pressed against his chest. His other hand snakes around my waist so that I can’t run. The pieces start to click together. The woods and my attacker, the glowing red eyes, the person in the school, but why me?
“I don’t understand,” tears spill out my eyes blurring or surroundings.
“Of course, you don’t. You’re just a piece in the game we’re playing.” His breath is hot on my neck as he spins us around in one fluid motion. “Isn’t that right, brother? Really, a gypsy protection spell? And I thought you couldn’t sink any lower.”
“Well, then you really don’t know me that well, brother.” Jaxson replies, leaning up against a tree and looking bored as he spins an arrow on the tip of his finger. He looks as if he doesn’t have a care in the world.
I scream, hoping there is someone out there that can hear me, but a hot, heavy hand clamps over my mouth to muffle it.
“Why is it that they always scream?” Cardelian asks Jaxson.
I try to bite him, but his hand is too big. It slips over my nose, making it hard to breathe. Jaxson makes no move whatsoever. He is so still that he could be a statue.
After what seems like ages, he finely speaks, his voice low and filled with contempt. “Come, Cardelian, don’t you grow tired of playing these childish games?”
Cardelian laughs, his body shaking against mine. “So coy, I love it. You brought your poker face to the game. This should be interesting.”
I don’t understand what they are talking about. I feel dizzy, from lack of oxygen, and I fight to stay awake. I need to find a way out of this.
“Come on, Jaxson, let’s play. I’ve got your little play thing, and I know you want her back,” he taunts.
Jaxson’s eyes flicker, pulsating with bright blue light around the edges. Cardelian’s skin grows hotter, and even though I can’t see him, I’m sure his eyes are glowing a fire red as he starts to walk us backwards.
Jaxson reaches behind him and brings forward a bow, nestling the arrow in it. The weapon glistens in the moonlight, and it looks like it is made out of black glass. He points the arrow at me. It is the same arrow from my dreams. My pulse pounds in my ears, and I try to scream again even though no one can hear me.
Juliet’s words swim in my head, making me sick.
“He kills you with an arrow.”
“How about you let her go, and you and I play a new game,” Jaxson’s voice drips with poison.
I’m a part of some weird alien hunting game. Like the movie
Predator
, except these are hot boy aliens.
“You never liked to play by the rules, Jaxson,” Cardelian says with a mocking tone. “You know that weapons are not allowed.”
He pushes me forward, and I land hard on my knees, causing the thin fabric of my tights to split. A mixture of warmth and pain throbs down my legs. Free from him, I run, but I’m yanked back and suspended in the air with what feels like invisible ropes. They wrap around my arms, and another tightens around my neck like a noose. I grip at them, trying to stop it from choking the life from me, but it’s no use.
I’m dragged to where Cardelian stands, and I realize he is controlling this. Like magic. He flicks his hand toward the sky, and I’m yanked upwards until I dangle over the top of the trees. I kick and pull, but with each movement, the rope gets tighter. All oxygen leaves me and I can no longer drag anymore in.
“I’m not playing anymore of your games, Cardelian.” Jaxson’s voice booms through the forest. His arrow is now pointed at Cardelian.
Shoot! Why doesn’t he shoot him?
I scream in my mind. My chest feels like it is going to explode aching for air.
“Careful, if your arrow flies she will die. I will snap her little neck.” Cardelian wags his finger at Jaxson. “Are you going to play the game? Hurry, she is a fighter, but even the best fighter needs to breathe.”
“I’m not doing this again.” Jaxson drops his arrow.
“Wrong answer.”
Cardelian flicks his hand again and I start to spin, traveling higher and higher into the sky. Suddenly, I’m jerked to a stop, hovering just above Jaxson. His eyes are two glowing orbs. I don’t know if he can see me, but I plead with my eyes for him to help me, to give Cardelian whatever it is he wants.
“Let her go and I will play,” he finally says.
Cardelian’s grip around my neck loosens and I can breathe again. My wrists pull together, the chain tightening around them. I squirm, trying to free myself from my invisible chains. I whimper and try to cry out, but an invisible band gags me. I’m a prisoner in this game they are playing.
“It’s simple, really. I want to play our game we like to play.” He clasps his hands together. “You know it well
.
Remember? How we played it with Abby. I can still hear her screams.”
I can’t even begin to imagine what sick things they did to her. My eyes burn, and hot tears roll down my cheek into the night sky. Cardelian yanks me down so that I spin in front of him on display.
“Shhh, no crying, you have to be brave. Isn’t the heroine in your little stories always brave?”
He grips my face in his hands, squeezing my cheeks hard. I can see every flawless feature of his. How did I ever find him attractive, how did he hide his cruelty from everyone so well?
I choke out, “Why?”
“Why? Oh, my dear stupid human girl,” he scolds me like a child. “You are all the same. Something tells you, deep in your gut …” He pulls out a sword I hadn’t seen before, one that is pitch black, the hilt of it glowing with a fire that doesn’t burn him. Pressing the tip of the sword into my stomach, he continues. “…right about here, not to trust us. Humans are all the same. You always sense there is something different about us, something dangerous. Yet you ignore it for the beautiful face.” He smiles. “Or the tortured soul.” He points his sword at Jaxson.
Expressionless, Jaxon stands with his fists clutched together. “Let’s get on with this,” he says, voice dangerously even.
“Patience. I’m teaching our little play thing a lesson.” He points the sword back in my direction. “Humans are too stupid to listen to their instinct. Instinct is one of the greatest weapons you possess against us, and yet, you let something like a silly little feeling of lust get in the way … every single time.” He laughs.
“Oh, what is that face for? Did you think I actually liked you? That I could care for anything as pathetic as you.” He leans his forehead against mine, rocking it from side to side. “Eden, you’re not even pretty.”
His voice drips with venom, and acid rises in my throat.
“But it really wasn’t my affection you wanted, was it? No, you thought he could love you. Isn’t that right?”
Cardelian rips the truth out from deep inside of me. I follow his gaze to Jaxson, searching his eyes for the truth. Could he actually ever care about me? But, I see nothing in his gaze, and his stare is as cold and distant as ever.
“You are just a prize for winning a game to him. He doesn’t care if you live or die. Or lose your mind. Isn’t that right dear brother?”
Jaxson stares at Cardelian unfazed. “The rules?” he spits.
I’m only a piece in their game, and I know there is no way I’m getting out of here alive.
“This is how we are going to play. It’s simple. The girl is the prize, the first one to get to her, keeps her,” Cardelian says.
I wish I was stronger and could fight back, but I’m helpless under his control.
“My pets will take her to a hiding place and keep her safe. The rules are as they always have been. You get to her in time, and she is yours to do with as you please. If I win, she dies. Of course, that is after I have my fill of her.”
My stomach twists into a tight knot.
“And to make things more interesting, let’s get rid of this.” He reaches into my pocket pulling out the stone necklace that Jaxson gave me, dangling it on the tip of his finger. “Really, Jaxs, I wouldn’t expect you to be as careless with something as precious as this.” He grips the stone in a fist and it feels like I have been punched in the chest as an ache buries a bruise deep inside of me.
An arrow flies past me burring deep into Cardelian shoulder. Bright red blood, the color of shimmering rubies, drips out and around the black shaft that sticks from his flesh. I scream and try to move away. The sight of the blood is all wrong. It shouldn’t glimmer like jewels.
“Breaking the rules already.” Cardelian growls, ripping the arrow from his shoulder and tossing it to the ground with the necklace.
He pushes me to the ground, and I land hard on my knees. I try to stand up and run, but my clenched muscles are still bound by whatever this invisible force is. I can only watch in horror as the two boy’s race towards each other faster than any human.
Fire against ice. The trees ignite in flames where Cardelian’s wings brush against them. A sharp, jagged piece of ice shoots up from the ground around Jaxson, only slowing Cardelian for a moment, but he takes to the sky and lands on top of Jaxson with such force that the collision sounds like thunder. Steam rises around them, blurring the image of their battle, but the sounds coming from it is deafening.
Jaxson is the first to emerge from the smoke. Water beads off his hair and a stream of blood spills from his nose. His bow and arrow are no longer in his hand. Cardelian steps from the cloud of smoke, his wings full erected in a rage of fire and eyes burning red and gold flames dance off his fingertips.
Jaxson’s fingers ignite with blue sparks, and I watch in disbelief as he molds them in into a bright blue ball, tossing it at Cardelian.
His wings giving him speed, he spins out of the way and the blue ball of sparks hits a nearby tree, exploding into a million tiny pieces. Cardelian releases the gold fire in his hand it arches from his palm, lighting up the night sky and hitting Jaxson in the chest. He is thrown backwards slamming on to the ground.
“Really, Jaxson, do you think your kind has a chance against mine. Remember, I am the superior species in this game or have years of our ancestors’ wars taught you nothing?” his says breathlessly.
Jaxson’s hands dig at the gold flames, struggling to move them with his magic. He manages to lift it off his chest enough to roll out from under it. The flames crash onto the earth, setting the ground on fire. Jaxson sends another ball of magic, this time, it hits the target. Ice wraps around Cardelian and his wings, and he tumbles to the ground, covered in a blanket of thick ice.
The muscles in my legs and arms release, and I am up running before whatever control Cardelian had on me comes back. Hopefully, they will not notice that I am gone. I tear through the trees, not daring to look behind me. The underbrush is on fire letting off thick billows of choking smoke. I cover my mouth and nose, but there is nothing I can do about it burning of my eyes.
I just need to get back to the school and get help, but I am disoriented and have to slow down to get my bearings. I turn around, looking for something familiar, and then I spot the school through the cloud of smoke in the distance. The pulsating the music pours though the gym doors. I run in that direction, but I trip, something wrapping tightly around my feet. I roll over to my side.
My heart skips a beat as gold flames wrap around my feet. It does not burn, in fact, it is oddly cool to my skin. Cardelian lands next to me, tucking his wings behind his back as he yanks my up by my shoulders.
“Idiot, did you think you could get away?” His grip tightens until my bones feel like they are about to break.
I scream, hoping that someone from the school will hear me, but it is too late. He grabs me by the waist. His wings beat furiously as he takes flight. Heat hits me in the face as we rise much too fast. This time, my scream rips through the spell he has over me, but he quickly muffles it again, and I choke on the tail end of my shriek.
I watch as everything I have ever known grows smaller and smaller beneath us until it looks like a child’s toys. We continue to climb into the night sky until it all becomes a smear of lights. The air is thin up here, and I have to force myself to stay conscious. The cold from the moon mixes with the intense heat from his wings. Twisting his body like a diver, we free fall through the night sky, his wings wrapped around us, burning my cheeks. We are spiraling to the ground. I squeeze my eyes closed, and then we jerk to a halt so suddenly it feels like slamming into a brick wall.
I hurt all over, and my insides feel bruised. We didn’t hit the ground. Instead, we hover above the tree lines. When I was little, I once climbed to the very top of the tree in my front yard. I wanted to know what it felt like to be a bird, to be able to reach out and touch the sky. I no longer wonder what it feels like.
“Remember, doll, he chose you,” he whispers and releases me.
I fall, flailing like a rag doll as I plummet back to the earth. His wings, a raging fire, are all I see before slamming into the water below me.
I must be broken. Not dead, but badly hurt. I don’t have time to do an inventory of my injuries because ice water envelopes me, pulling me under and sucking me down. I try to kick but have forgotten how to make my limbs work. I scream but end up sucking in dirty pond water. It’s like I’m made of lead the way I sink. My arms grasp for anything to stop me from plunging any farther.
My hand collides with something pliable and I grip on to it, trying to slow myself, but I just end up pulling it down with me. A soft, stringy matter wraps around my fingers. I yank on it harder, and it comes loose, hitting me on the shoulder. As it floats closer, I scream, sucking in even more water. It’s Juliet. Just like in my dream, she is bloated, her skin green. Her white milky eyes open, staring at me. Frantically
,
I try to untangle my hand from her hair, but I am too entangled, and she sinks lower, pulling me with her.
Which one killed her? Jaxson or Cardelian?
I am hit from the other side by another girl with white eyes and green skin, and her hand is wrapped tightly around my arm. Her lips peel back, showing a mouthful of razor-sharp teeth. I desperately try to pull her off me, but her grip is too tight. I’m hit again from, and then again, dead girls come at me from every side, bumping into me from all around. My limbs become entangled in their hair as they yank me down.
The water starts to spin in a whirlpool of dead girls. I don’t have time to think about how I’m dying or how the girls died. My body is violently whipped around, something else slams into me, and then everything goes black.