Chapter Eleven
Andi
“No, No, Myles, please no!” My piercing scream resonates around the square, everyone stares, but no one dares come close. Cradling his head, my fingers entwine in his hair. Clutching tightly, I rock back and forth.
He can’t be dead. This isn’t how we end.
I rub my hands over his face, along his chest, hoping to find any sign of life. He feels different. Cold, inert.
Please.
His once beautiful, tanned skin, was now ashen. His deep, vivid eyes, now pallid.
Please.
Tears slipping down my face, I tenderly stroke his hair.
Placing my hands over his wound, blood percolates between my fingers, rolling down my hand, staining it crimson.
A glow erupts from my fingertips, a shimmering light, drifting from me, into Myles’ chest. My head snaps backwards, my veins warming inside me, bubbling.
A heat flows through me, gushing towards my hand. The bubbling inside me halts.
Dragging in a deep breath, my body becomes my own again. I roll my shoulders, and my neck cracks; the force should have broken it. My fist clutches Myles’ top, and I jump at the rise of his chest. His eyes snap open, gulping in air, he searches around him.
“Where is she?” His brow knits in confusion.
“Myles?” I breathe, sliding his head from my legs.
Exclaims and gasps come from the spectators, trying to comprehend what just occurred. Many of the townsfolk flee to safety, the others too curious for their own good. But I have no answers, I’m still trying to figure that out myself.
“Andi?” he chokes. “There was a…” He shakes his head, reaching his hand up to cup my face, wiping away a tear.
My hand grasps his ripped top, where he should have a gaping wound. Instead, his skin is intact, leaving a faint pink line. What is this magic?
First, I drained the life from all those guards, then I brought Myles back from the dead. He was dead. His breathing stopped, the light left his eyes, his body went limp, and yet, I brought him back to life.
The witch was right. My magic was dangerous. I took the lives of many men like it was nothing.
Mum rushes up behind me. “Andi. Come on, we need to go. Get up.” She hauls me to my feet, urging me on.
Mangled bodies grunt and groan as some of the guards stir, nursing their injuries.
“Quick, we need to get back to the cottage.”
Mum and I help Myles up from the ground while Elana uses all her body strength to hold Wyatt upright. We push past folk in the street, struggling to get through the throng before the guards come to their senses.
Myles slumps into Dad’s armchair while Mum and I replenish our lost supplies, readying to depart once more. In dire need of a change of clothes, I slip away to my bedroom, pacing back and forth on the worn rose-coloured carpet.
I killed them. Killed them with my bare hands. How is it even possible? Where did the thrilling magic from the woods go? This was far from the beautiful, bright light skating over my skin.
No. This… this was raw.
Never have I felt more alive and lethargic at the same time; it’s terrifying.
I drag my hands through my hair, gripping as tightly as I can, silently screaming.
I catch sight of myself in the mirror, taking a second glance.
My right eye is brighter than usual, more vivid.
The colour of fresh blood. I retreat, falling onto my bed with my head in my hands, tears flowing.
Mum creeps in, wrapping her arm around me. “I am so sorry. If we had told you sooner, this wouldn’t have happened.”
“I sucked the life out of those guards. I could feel their… essence, their… their life seep into me, the agony they were suffering. And it felt… I don’t know.
It felt… good. But draining. I couldn’t stand after…
” My voice breaks, “What’s happening to me?
” Pulling away from her, I pace the room again.
“That was… well, terrifying, I’m not going to lie. But you also brought Myles back to life.” She looks at me and smiles.
I did. I brought him back to life, but how? Everyone knows there’s no way back from the dead. Death was irreversible. Eternal. So, how is Myles Alive?
Mum grabs my shoulders to stop my pacing. “I don’t know what is happening, or what will happen. I know—and so do you—that you need to learn to control this power. Before it takes control of you.”
“Where am I supposed to learn? There's no magic school.”
“No.” She softly smiles at me. “But there is a temple in Yiren where folk go to study. To learn, to heal. Dad found a priest, if I’m not mistaken, the information will be in the box.”
She brushes my hair away from my face. “After he gave you your necklace, he continued searching for answers, hoping that when the time came, he could help you.”
Yiren. The land of the elves, where magic originated. Tales of the elf wars have inspired books and songs for centuries. It’s legendary.
Excitement and nerves soar through my body, prickling my skin. I’m not the adventurous type. I never thought I would leave Vendyl, let alone Linorah. Mum takes my hands in hers, squeezing her thumbs gently into my palms, the same way she used to do when I was a child needing reassurance.
It's the only way. I have to go to Yiren and meet this priest.
Together, we head back to the living area, arm in arm.
Wyatt gives me a half smile as he holds ice to his eye.
Beside him, Elana stares off into the distance, her head resting against his shoulder.
Myles sits quietly with his eyes closed.
If it wasn’t for the gentle rising and falling of his chest, I would think he was dead. Again.
I can’t go through that twice.
I study him for any sign of injury. My heart thumps erratically against my chest. Myles lifts his head, meeting my gaze, giving me his lazy, lop-sided smile.
I rush to him, throwing my arms around his neck with such force that he crashes backwards into the chair.
He holds me tightly, with the need for closeness.
Unwilling to let him go, I run my fingers over every part of his body, tracing along his skin, confirming this is real.
His heart, beats through his top, soaked in the blood that no longer flows, ripped to shreds by swords.
His eyes have a blankness to them now, dulling the once sparkling russet shade.
He takes my hands, kissing my knuckles, then the ring which sits neatly on my finger.
Elana interrupts our idleness as she collides with me from behind, wrapping her arms around me, squeezing tightly.
I haven’t taken the time to think about what it was like for them, watching me being hurt up there on those steps.
Mum looks exhausted, her eyes rimmed with dark circles and full of worry.
Wyatt’s face is haggard, as Mum wraps his leg and cleans up his head wound.
I rise onto my unsteady feet to face Elana, one hand still clinging to Myles.
“I’m okay,” I say to her, “promise.”
Elana looks at my neck, dabbing the cuts with a napkin. I don’t feel them anymore, numb to the pain. I’m grateful for the shock that’s blocking the ache.
Elana sobs uncontrollably. Tragedy has taken her youth. I wish I could take away all this hurt from her. She should be making mistakes and learning from them, not watching her sister being brutalised.
Listlessly, we all fix ourselves a plate of the makeshift meal Mum scrounged up, eating in utter silence, contemplating the day’s dire events.
Wyatt lets out an almighty belch, breaking the tension of the room. Our silence broken by roars of laughter.
“Trust you, Wyatt,” I say, wiping away tears.
With a loud crack, the room becomes engulfed in black smoke, overwhelmed with a putrid foul smell. The smoke dissipates, and an old woman emerges. I shrink back into my chair as her face becomes clear. I should have recognised the smell; it’s not one to forget in a hurry. The witch.
Myles, sensing my anguish or feeling my body shake in terror, pushes himself forward in the chair, shielding me. The witch scours the room, making direct eye contact with everyone. Her gaze narrows as she sets her sights on Myles, then flicking to me, her lips curl up into a sneer.
“Not trying to hide, are we, girl?” she says, tilting her head, gazing at me intensely. A darkness swells around her. “You have been busy, haven’t you?”
The witch shuffles towards me, her ripped cloak floating around her feet, the stench growing stronger with each step. The contents of my stomach threaten to reappear.
“Learned a bit of magic.” Her chin lowers, her darkened eyes sweeping over Myles. “Brought someone back from the dead. Tut tut.”
“How did you…” I begin.
The witch rushes towards me, so close that her breath fills my nose, making me gag.
Her knitted eyebrows reveal hundreds of tiny creases across her face, like rings on a tree stump, showing her age.
Her eyes are a dark brown with silver hues.
Her lips are dry and cracked. She reaches forward, digging her bony fingers into my chin, her icy touch burning my face.
“I know everything, girl.” Her face beams with a crooked smile. “You took something that didn’t belong to you.”
“What do you mean? I haven’t taken anything,” I say, flinching away from her.
Her expression turns solemn, eyes wide. “Don’t play innocent with me, girl,” she says, pointing to Myles. “He was supposed to die, but your little trick saved his soul from Death. And he doesn’t like to be thwarted.”
“What? No, I didn’t mean to do it. I mean, I don’t know how to control it. It just happened,” I plead.
“Death does as he wishes.” She backs away from me a little, looking at Myles.
“No, please,” I say, pushing in front of him.
The witch looks at me carefully. “You sure?” Myles shrivels beneath her gaze, fidgeting in his chair. “Don’t worry, I’m not here for him.” Myles exhales. “Death has granted you a mercy of sorts.” She smiles wryly with her broken, crooked teeth on display.
“He has found your power… intriguing, a little piece of him. I’m here to tell you that he will be watching, waiting… to see how you fare. This power could bring you greatness or be your downfall. Until we meet again.”
With a puff of black smoke, she is gone.
I’m surrounded by looks of dread and bewilderment. Mum rubs the bridge of her nose, pulling Elana in close.
I wonder if she wishes they had never found me. They would never have had to deal with any of this if I hadn’t been thrust upon them. They could have lived a normal life, a better life. Collapsing down on the arm of the chair, Myles’ hand rests on my back.
“When did it get boring around here?” Wyatt chimes in. Everyone stares at him, bewildered. “Just trying to lighten the mood,” he says, slumping his shoulders.
Elana speaks so quietly it’s almost impossible to hear, “What are you going to do?”
Since finding out about the magic, my life has slowly slipped away piece by piece, putting everyone I know in harm’s way. The town is crawling with guards doing whatever they please, without consequences. Witches showing up at my house with enough power to kill us in an instant if they wanted to.
The only reprise being, Death has taken an interest in me, ‘my greatness or my downfall,’ what does that even mean? Leaving is the only safe option now; if I go, the guards will leave, and the witch will have no cause to hurt my family.
“I guess, I find this temple in Yiren and learn to control my magic. But I don’t know where to start.”
“You don’t have to do this alone. I’m with you,” Myles says, clutching my hand. “We’ll head out on the road tomorrow at first light.”
I should tell him to stay. That he will always be in danger with me, but I’m selfish. Being alone has always been agonising, worrying about which decisions to make, which direction to go.
I’m useless.
“Wouldn’t it be quicker to take a ship from Zephyr?” Wyatt weighs in.
“Probably, but I’ve heard the Calmin Sea is packed with pirates. Be safer travelling by road and just hope we don’t run into bandits,” Myles answers.
Wyatt opens his mouth to speak, but Mum interjects, “Myles is right, and there are much worse things in that sea than pirates.” My head spins to Mum, I’ve never heard of my parents' travels by sea.
They would always clam up and change the subject.
Without further explanation, she gets up, taking some plates to the basin.
First, witches and Death, now pirates and bandits, what's next?