Chapter 20
Twenty
Elora
“You must move quickly,” one of the Enchantresses says. “Another guard will be down soon.”
“How?” The keys rattle in my shaking hands as I approach the first cell. “How are you here and I haven’t heard you all this time?” I didn’t think a heart could break so many times. But over and over my heart shatters as I glance at each woman locked in chains.
“It’s the keys,” the Enchantress before me says. Her eyes like molten, blue flames; her cropped dark hair shining under the low light. “Only the bearer of those keys can hear us and we them. It’s some sort of spell. Crafted by evil, I’m sure.” Her eyes meet mine. Pain and anger are laced there, but not fear.
She gestures for the padlock on the iron door. “Now quickly.”
As the key slips in, it’s as if my mind has left my body. As if I’m watching from above like a spirit. The final twist and the cell opens with a loud click. We both freeze, our eyes wandering slowly to the staircase where I’m sure another guard will come rushing down.
Another minute passes.
No guard.
The door before me swings open, and the Enchantress takes a tentative step out. My eyes go directly to her wrists. Not raw, but scarred and raised. I unshackle her and catch them before they have a chance to fall onto the ground.
“Give me the keys,” she whispers. Without thought, I do as she says. One by one, she unlocks each door. My mouth hangs open as each Enchantress steps out of their cells. They’ve been here the whole time. A few paces from me. These women…
“Let’s go,” the dark-haired woman says, tossing the keys back to me.
“Wait!” She and the other five Enchantresses turn in unison. They all share the same scarring around their wrists. The same look of determination across their faces. “You can’t just…” I gesture to the stairs.
We’ll get caught.
The dark-haired woman smiles, but there’s nothing warm in her expression. “You can wait here if you want, Enchantress. But we—” She turns, glancing at each of the other women by her side. “We have had enough. We’re going.” She quickly bolts for the stairs, and one by one the rest of the Enchantresses follow.
They’re not afraid.
No. Because they no longer have anything to lose.
Not giving myself any time to think twice, I pocket the keys and follow them up the stairs.
The Enchantresses ahead of me take their time, tip toeing on bare feet down the narrow hallway. String instruments sound around us, stopping and starting again, never playing a full melody or chorus. Almost as if they’re rehearsing. My stomach grumbles as wafts of sugary baked goods fill the hall.
The Autumn Moon.
My breath hitches. Can it be the Autumn Moon already? Have I been here that long? The thought instantly guilts me as I glance to the six women ahead of me. They’ve been here much longer given their emaciated state and scarred skin.
Coming to a stop, the dark-haired Enchantress gestures for me to join them. “What’s your magick?” she asks, her back flush against the wall.
“Elemental. But I’m not sure?—”
“We’ve been mostly drained.” Her eyes peer around me, toward the end of the hallway. Any moment someone could round the corner. My heart races as I watch her.
“We don’t have much left,” she continues, “but with your help maybe we won’t be completely defenseless.” She smirks, but as she tucks a wisp of hair behind her ear, her hand trembles.
“I haven’t been able to access it.” My stomach drops at the admission. While Galen hasn’t had success harvesting my magick, it’s as if it’s been buried away, tucked tightly inside of myself, hiding from the threat of being stolen. “But I’ll try.” I offer her a quick smile which she returns.
“Someone’s coming!” another Enchantress whispers from behind us. Sure enough, over the loud string instruments, boots shuffle around the corner. Clattering trays and chatter accompany it.
With all seven of us, there’s no way to hide. So, instead, we form a line across the hall. The way we came only leads back to the dungeon, so with our backs to the door, we wait for whoever rounds the corner. I raise my hands, as do all the Enchantresses next to me. The lump in my throat makes it impossible to swallow.
The magick is in you, susi.
I wish it was my mother’s voice whispering inside of my head, knowing she’s the final thread of power I need. But I remind myself of her words, anyway.
The magick is in you.
“One guard,” the dark-haired Enchantress says. “Two more in the adjacent room.”
My mouth gapes. How could she know such a thing?
A guard rounds the corner. His armor clangs and the tune he whistles comes to an abrupt stop, his eyes going wide.
“What are you?—”
Without another thought, I raise my trembling hands. There’s a weightlessness in my fingertips as I stretch them, no longer bound with iron and it brings a surge of hope in my chest.
The man’s face reddens, his cheeks puffing out as he pulls his sword from his side. In two strides, he’s halfway to me.
“Now, Enchantress!”
My body aches, my head spins, but I dig down as far as I can, reaching that well of magick I know is trapped inside of me.
Come on. I know you’re there.
The metal on the guard’s armor grates against the string instruments, the heat from his body closes in on me, and when I’m about to scurry away, something uncoils inside of me.
That tiny spark of magick, buried in me like a seed in the soil, springs to life, twisting and twining through my palms.
The guard gives no indication that he feels my magick; his sword extended, the tip of cool metal brushing under my chin. Two of the Enchantresses break the line and flee back toward the dungeon. But I don’t move. It takes less than a second to reach into his lungs and find the element I’m looking for.
Air.
His eyes bulge, the sword under my chin drops to the ground with a loud clatter, but I don’t move until every last bit of air from his lungs turns to earth. Thorny brambles break free from his chest, long vines pushing out through his eyes and nose. His body twitches as branches and thorns encompass him, and when his mouth parts, nothing but dirt falls from it.
“We need to move.” The women beside me flinch as I step around the guard, but they don't follow me. “Now.”
The dark-haired Enchantress snaps her eyes to mine, wide and silver lined. She says nothing, but she steps forward and the others follow her.
All except...
“You two.” I point to the Enchantresses that fled back toward the dungeon. “Come on, we don’t have much time.”
Their bodies are trembling, clasping onto each other. They’re not much older than I am. Both blondes. Both with eyes the color of night.
“We can’t.” The taller of the two shakes her head, cradling the shorter one against her chest.
“If you stay here, you’ll die.” I bite my tongue for how direct my words are. But we’re running out of time. They don’t budge from the doorway. I shrug. “Suit yourselves.”
I turn to leave, but the dark haired Enchantress stands in my way.
“They’re afraid,” she says. “And probably in shock to be with each other again.” She peers around me and smiles at the two women. “Sisters who have been separated for years, find it in yourself to have some empathy.”
My heart and shoulders drop, but I do not forget her lack of empathy or patience for me in the dungeons. I square my shoulders before glancing back at the sisters. They cradle each other, fingers clasped tightly together. I imagine if it were Sam I was reunited with, I wouldn’t let her go either.
But I also wouldn’t risk another moment in that cell.
“They’re going to get us caught,” I say, forcing myself to keep the cold wall I’ve crafted so well around myself. I hate it, this cold indifference I’ve tricked myself into believing was who I really am, but right now there isn’t any time to spare. “They can stay if they want, just like you said before.”
Her eyes burn through me, and I know mine are shining right back. We stand there a moment, nothing but the string instruments sounding between us, before I turn and head for the other end of the hall. It’s faint, but the scuffle of four sets of feet sound behind me.
Peering around the corner, I hold my breath as I watch the band continue their rehearsal. We’re near the grand ballroom. My mind tries to pull me in, memories of my childhood in Valebridge swiftly floating to the surface.
Oftentimes, I push these memories away. All but the ones of my mother. Every other memory crafted from my childhood in Valebridge seems wasted.
Painful.
But right now, I open myself up and let them come. Ballrooms and luncheons. My mother and her classes. My heart constricts, but I push myself hard, searching my brain for the memory I need most.
A particular memory of this very room.
A memory of a door.
Pushing my back flush against the wall, I hold my breath as a server walks by so busy whistling a tune he doesn’t notice five very large flies on the wall.
“Aside from the musicians,” the dark-haired Enchantress whispers, “there are two guards in the next hall over.”
The hall that leads to the back door. Nodding, I shake my hands at my sides. My energy is waning from using my magick on that guard. I’m not sure how much more I have to give.
“What’s your magick?” I whisper to the Enchantresses. As they explain, my heart sinks further. A Seer and a Healer. The dark-haired Enchantress explains she’s an Intuitive, able to read bodies and energies which explains how she knew how many guards were where.
“And you?” I ask the red headed woman.
“An Empath.” Her pink, full lips curl up.
My head snaps to the Empath, her magick mingling with mine. Observing. Reading me. She smiles but my stomach lurches.
Each of the women’s gifts are powerful, in their own right. But I send a silent plea to the Mother that they can also fight because without it, I’m not sure we stand a chance.
“We need to keep moving,” the dark haired Enchantress says. Her blue eyes flicker as she holds her hands up. “The hall is clear. Are you sure it’s that way?”
My stomach knots, but the memory is there. A sunny afternoon after my lessons with my mother. Eager and excited, I bolted through the door and headed straight for the woods, my mother calling after me not to spoil my dress before lunch.
I glance at the Enchantress and nod. “We need to round the corner, avoid the musicians, and head to the narrow hall. There’s a small door that will lead out to the castle gardens and beyond that, the forest.” My hands tremble and wrists ache as I push my hair out of my face. “Once we’re outside, make your way through the gardens until you find the outerwall of trees. Stay quiet.”
I meet each Enchantress in the eyes. They nod and when I glance behind them, to where the two sisters stood before, they’re gone.
“Let’s go.”
We tip-toe our way around the corner. One of the musician’s catches my eye, but with the low light of the room, he doesn’t balk or raise a brow. The string instruments begin again, the sharp notes pulsating off the stone walls. Their music stirs something in my chest this time. The slow crescendo, the rise and fall of the strings. A memory forms, of a ball just like this one. Perhaps another lost moment of my childhood seizing the opportunity to arise.
Hazy images of dances and gowns. Of blue and gold. A man with dark hair and a woman?—
I stub my toe and tumble to the ground. I hiss as my knees hit the marble floor, but I right myself quickly before any of the musicians on the small stage notices. Their music doesn’t stop, doesn’t falter, so I press forward until we’ve made it through the ballroom and to the small hallway.
It’s darker than the others, used mostly by servants and handmaids if I remember. As the four women filter in behind me, something like hope blooms in my chest. It’s difficult to see in the low light, but a rounded shape comes into view as my vision adjusts.
The door.
“Run!” I don’t look behind me to see if they follow before I’m sprinting to the door.
Please be unlocked, please be unlocked.
With as much force as I can muster, I push it open and stumble into the falling rain. Wet, fat drops soak my hair and cheeks. A cry breaks from my lips as my feet and hands hit the dirt. My eyes drift to the sky as rain pelts over my skin, stinging my wrists. Another cry slips from me as I close my eyes. My magick stirs in my chest, a low pur of approval as my fingers sink into the damp soil.
Earth.
Over my shoulder, the other Enchantress stumble out of the small door behind me. Their eyes as wide as mine, their smiles beaming through the darkness.
Then, we’re running through the sopping wet, castle grounds. Carried by our bare feet and broken bodies. We’re running as if our life depends on it, because it does. The slap of rain against my cheeks sends a rush of adrenaline through me.
Rounding around a few neatly groomed hedges and thorny rose bushes, I can taste freedom on the tip of my tongue. Sweet and full of promise. We’re almost through the gardens.
“Come on!” I don’t look back to ensure the other women are keeping pace. All I can envision is Ruse and Alaric. Sam and Sorin and Jarek. My head spins as a distant howl echoes from beyond the trees.
Alaric?
He doesn’t respond but the howling increases and with it, my steps.
We’re almost there.
My heart stammers, my feet digging into the muddied ground as a scream pierces the air. I squint against the rain, and through the darkness, I see the red haired Enchantress. Her body flails, her screams shrill as a guard pulls her back toward the castle by her hair.
“No!” I lunge in her direction. I don’t make it far before I’m tugged forcefully backward. Screaming, I claw at my attacker, but their hold is too firm. My arms are pressed tightly to my body. I can’t move.
Another howl.
Then another.
I’m here! Ruse, I’m here!
Then, I’m pulled further away and the freedom on my tongue turns sour. The other Enchantresses disappear from my view and the hope that propelled me earlier vanishes.
I wiggle my body, working hard to get my wrists free. I bite down on the hand wrapped around my chest, digging my canines into flesh.
“Stop, Elora, you’ll cause more of a scene.” His deep voice raises the hair on my neck.
My body stills, a fresh chill clawing at my spine. My back is pressed to the man’s chest, so I can’t see his face.
I’ll be taken again.
Dragged back to that dungeon.
My chest tightens and breathing becomes shallow.
I can’t go back.
Can’t be put in that cage.
I attempt to bite him again so he’ll drop my wrists, but his body is like steel around mine.
Unmovable.
So close. We were so close.
Just as my heart splinters, the man turns, dragging me with him and the lanterns from the castle begin to fade from my view.
He pulls me to a wooded area, the pine trees moan and sway with the rising wind. I tumble to the ground as he lets me go. None of the other Enchantresses are within eyeshot, no more howls echoing through the wind. All I see is the castle and a few servants lighting the white pumpkins that line the bridge, the faint string of music sounding from within.
Turning my attention to the man, his gray hair is cropped short on the sides and only slightly longer on top. His facial hair is the same shade of gray, trimmed neatly. His dark attire, black from collar to boot, sends a memory straight to my mind, but it’s muddied and faint. He takes a step away from me. He cradles his hand, the one I’ve bitten, to his chest.
“Who are you?” I scurry backward but don’t stand. My legs trembling from the sprint from the castle.
“My name is Calix,” he says and takes a deep breath. “I’m here to help you.”