The Obsidian Crown, page 15
It had been hours since the flashing red letters “T minus 4” projected itself on my bedroom ceiling, yet I laid on my bed staring at it, very much wide awake. It was a futile attempt for rest, and I know that. It was just we’d been working so hard on this, and it seemed we were always one step behind the Sorceress. I decided to make use of what time I still had by going through the book. I was not as fast at reading, but as Hailey had been teaching me what she knew, I could piece a few things together. I grabbed the book and went to the kitchen. I pulled the rest of the birthday cake from the refrigerator and started to pick on one of the mocha flavored flowers using my finger.
“I’m down to four days to prove my innocence and I have nothing. All my friends are either abducted or cannot be trusted, except for Hailey. What am I going to do?” I said out loud.
“Do you want me to answer that or is this a private convo?” Hailey said, shoulder leaning against the kitchen door, magnifier tucked under her right arm.
I smiled and pointed at a chair with my cake-covered finger.
“Can’t sleep either, huh?” Hailey said, pulling the chair out to sit and pushing the book next to the cake.
“Nope, T minus 4 days and counting before they slap on my new bracelets. Detective Dewitt is not going to give my uncle any leniency. He’s convinced he’s got his murderer already.”
“Fork?” Hailey asked as she handed me a plastic fork from the sink.
“Sure. I wasn’t really planning on being civilized.”
“I wasn’t worried about civility. I’m just worried you will eat the whole cake and leave nothing for me,” she retorted.
I smiled at her attempt to cheer me up. “Thanks, Hailey. I’m really glad you’re here.”
“No worries. Kidding aside, I’m sure your uncle is working up a good defense but yes, I understand that he doesn’t know what he’s really dealing with. Magic.” She made her fingers flutter in the air as she said the word. “Yup, it’s you and me and the book of lines.” She pulled the book towards her and tried to look at it with a handheld magnifier.
“I know we went to Doctor McGrath’s and she’s not there. But that doesn’t mean the dream is true,” she said.
“Well, we haven’t found Kieran,” I answered.
She looked up at me, fork hanging from her mouth. “Yes, but we also haven’t looked for him really. I mean, when is a dream, not a dream? Just because we were both there, doesn’t make it real.”
“Ok, so let’s just say that both of them are captured. Who else is there? We only told Taylor about the crown and the dream with the Sorceress in it. No one else knows.”
“I’m sure she told Blaise. Why wouldn’t she?” Hailey said while cutting another piece of the cake with her fork.
“True,” I said.
“Do you think Blaise and Taylor are with the Sorceress?” she said, still dangling the piece of cake on her fork.
“I don’t know anymore. All I know is if I don’t get that crown or find out how to make it work, I have nothing to bargain with and we stand to lose everyone.”
“First thing tomorrow, we find Kieran,” Hailey said.
“Agreed.” I nodded.
“But before we go, this might be a good time for you to tell me how you know about the crown?” she said, still dangling the fork from her mouth.
I was caught by surprise by the question. I know her irreverence and flippant attitude can be off-putting, but she has a right to know. After all, I ask her to risk her scholarship, her relationship with her mother, not to mention her life to help me with my dilemma.
So, I told her what the Kerberian Box and the crown showed me that day in the Sanctuary.
“Good to know,” she said, and she finally put the fork into her mouth and ate the last piece of cake.
CHAPTER 17
Taylor’s Dilemma
“So where is Kieran? Did you beat him up again?” Hailey said.
“What are you talking about? I have not seen him. I don’t know why you two buy everything that guy tells you. You’re so gullible,” Blaise said.
“And you are a mean bully! Now, where’s Kieran?” I said.
“Maybe you didn’t hear me the first time, I don’t know!” Blaise said as he saw Taylor walking towards us. He got up and started to meet her halfway.
“Where were you last night then? Around midnight?” I asked.
“None of your business!” Blaise said as he reached out and put his arm around Taylor.
“And Taylor? Where were you?” Hailey asked.
“Well, why should I tell you? Are you about to accuse me of being one of the hooded figures too?” she barked at her.
“Well that’s interesting because Taylor knew about the crown, and you and she were both missing last night,” Hailey said, pointing at the two of them.
“So, maybe we were on a date, something you two wouldn’t know anything about! Blaise spat on the ground.
“C’mon, Blaise, let’s go. This is not worth it,” Taylor said, pulling Blaise away.
“Really?” Hailey asked as she folded her arms over her chest. “And what time did this date end? After you kidnapped the Doctor and Kieran? Or after you beat them up?”
Blaise pulled away from Taylor and turned to face Hailey. “Hey! I don’t know what you guys are talking about! I was nowhere near Kieran or that witch Doctor, okay?” Blaise yelled at her.
“You need to do better than that, Blaise, because they’re both missing and you’re the last one seen beating up on Kieran,” I said.
“Wait, what are you guys accusing him of now? Kidnapping? Not one but two people? I have had it with the two of you!” Taylor screamed. “He was with me last night, all night!”
“Oh we know you were together,” Hailey said. “I didn’t think you would like wearing those grungy robes and ugly dagger belts but I guess anything for a little power.”
I was taken aback by Hailey’s accusation. “Wait, wait! You guys stay here,” I told Hailey and Blaise. I pulled Taylor a few feet away from them and said, “We need to talk.”
Once we were out of hearing distance of the others, I said, “Listen, I know you don’t know me and we have not been close friends before but, Taylor, I am asking you for help to find my parents and prove my innocence—”
“Hold up, you need to slow your roll there, sister. I don’t know why I, Taylor Van de Kamp, should even care what you and Hailey think of my boyfriend. Nevertheless, I was nice to drive you around because, for some unknown reason, you think that he is evil incarnate and I want to prove you wrong,” she said.
“Taylor, just wait, I need to explain—”
“No, you wait! Let’s just rewind for a minute there. First off, I don’t care about this quest. Not that I am a heartless bitch but I just don’t have anything to contribute here. I have my own life. I like what I am. I’m proud of my accomplishments. Winning in gymnastics, my cheerleading squad, being prom queen, those are the kinds of quests I’m into. I like to help you, Abi, but this is just not my gig. Besides, I know they all think I’m too shallow to make any difference anyway. I can’t afford to be entangled with this any weird stuff, whatever it is!” she said non-stop.
“I’m just saying, I know you want to help but I don’t think you can do that if you keep telling Blaise everything,” I said, interjecting before she could set off on another tirade.
“I didn’t tell Blaise anything! What makes you think I did?” Taylor said.
“Well, first he found out about the box and he knows that the Doctor had it. The next thing we know the office was burgled, the Doctor beat up, and the box was stolen. Then, you go with us to Black Rose where we found out about the crown. Well, he can’t account for his whereabouts last night. The Doctor and Kieran were kidnapped from the hospital at the same time. They haven’t turned up yet. And worse, the Sorceress has the crown now. I know you love him but, c’mon. We found him beating up Kieran under the bleachers asking him about the Knights!” I pleaded with her.
“You are impossible! After all the horrible, life-or-death situations we’ve been through. You have the audacity to accuse my boyfriend! Blaise, who nearly died twice just because we happened to share detention with you. Well, I don’t want to be sucked into your private little hell! All this magic, all this supernatural stuff is not for me and Blaise!” Her voice rose to a fevered pitch, choking the tears back. She stomped her foot in frustration.
I felt my blood rise to my cheeks. “But how do you explain all those coincidences?” I said.
“I don’t know and I don’t care. You’re right! We’ve never been friends and we never will be friends. He’s my boyfriend. Don’t you think I would know if my boyfriend is part of a cult? Don’t you think I would know if he is evil? Just because all of you think I’m just some airhead that I can easily be manipulated doesn’t make it so. So yeah! We can’t be friends because I can’t have friends with someone who doesn’t trust my judgment. It probably would be best if we don’t talk anymore, ever!”
“Taylor! Please be reasonable,” I begged.
“No! I don’t want to talk to you anymore. I am so done with all this drama! But I can tell you one thing. You will eat your words. He’s a good guy and I will prove it!” She grabbed Blaise by the hand and left.
From behind, I heard Hailey say, “Just let her go. You tried. Some lessons need to be learned first-hand.”
CHAPTER 18
Blaise’s Tunnel Vision
I looked at Taylor and Blaise walking away. Taylor’s shoulders were heaving up and down. It was apparent she was crying. Blaise stopped her, and they seem to be having a heated conversation.
“Let’s go, Monty. We need to keep going,” Hailey said.
I turned around to leave when I heard Blaise’s voice, “I can’t believe the two of you! You are so ready to blame me for everything. You don’t know who you’re protecting!” he was saying as he was walking towards Hailey and me.
“Do you think you can intimidate us?” Hailey shouted at him.
“I don’t care what you think, but you don’t know the whole truth. And will not have you hurt Taylor because you two are too dense to see it! You are being played!”
“Blaise, let it be. I’m done with it!” I could hear Taylor running after Blaise but he was on a warpath and would not be pacified.
“No, Babe. They don’t know the whole story. I wasn’t beating up Kieran. I don’t even know how his nose got all bloody. I started to ask him about that night in the hallway. And he started to run. So, I chased him down. He went under the bleachers, saying something about he’s not one of them. I was trying to get him out of there to explain himself but your friends here showed up,” he said, fuming mad.
Taylor finally caught up with him, and he became somewhat calmer. He kept pacing and rubbing his chin, staring out in the distance at nothing. He cleared his throat and said, “I saw the hooded figures materialize and I freaked out. So I went for the library. I saw him, a few yards ahead of me running back, too.” He paused, as if unsure whether to continue. He took a deep breath and shook his head. “But I’m faster so I easily outran him in the hallway. I was sure he was just right behind me then suddenly, I realized he stopped running. I don’t know when. I heard some voices like chanting behind me and I got worried. I thought the hooded men got him so I doubled back to look for him. At first, it was too dark to see, but when I found him, he had a strange look on his face like I caught him doing something. Before I could say anything, he bolted towards the library, leaving me standing there. All of a sudden, I see these lights coming from behind me. Then I hear the whizzing of something fast. I didn’t know what it was. The next thing I know, fireballs were flying. Kieran was hit in the back. I figured I’m next so I ran.” He paused. He bowed his head, as if embarrassed by the confession. He kicked a loose stone on the ground then continued, “I just wanted to ask him what he was really doing in the tunnel. But every time I get close to him, he starts acting like he’s being beaten up.”
“Wait, he was behind you? But he came in first.” I said.
He nodded. “I know because he passed me by.”
“Did you actually see the hooded figures throw any fireballs?” I asked.
“No. That’s the thing. But it would be crazy to think Kieran would be involved in it because he got hit first and he died! That would be impossible.” Blaise ran his hand through his hair, clearly less mad but more agitated now.
“In a normal world, true. But as we both know, there was nothing normal with what we went through,” I said.
“I know. But I can’t shake the feeling that he did something. I just don’t know what it is. It’s the expression on his face. I can’t get over it. It’s like I interrupted him in the middle of something he shouldn’t be doing.” Blaise placed both hands on top of his head, interlacing his fingers. I could tell that he’d been over and over that night in his head for a while.
“It doesn’t really matter now. We’re not getting involved anymore,” Taylor said, still sobbing.
Blaise shook his head. “I don’t really care what you do with that information but I’m with Taylor. You’re on your own.”
I watched them leave until the last sparkle of her intense blue and white halo disappeared in the distance. I knew she and I were never very close, but at that moment, something inside told me that she was important to me. I couldn’t say why or how, but there was a dull ache and a sense of emptiness in my heart. And a certainty, that this burden is larger and heavier without her beside me.
CHAPTER 19
A House Divided
After we parted ways with Taylor and Blaise, Hailey and I returned to our classroom and started to research old mansions in Oregon online. After a couple of hours of searching, we found tons of images of old, abandoned, dilapidated mansions, but none of them looked like the one in the dream.
“Hey, how do we know it’s in Oregon?” I finally asked.
“We don’t. We don’t even know if it’s real, much less where it could be,” Hailey said.
“For that matter, how do we know it’s not in Xana?” I added.
Hailey didn’t answer right away. Her brows were furrowed in concentration on whatever it was she was reading online, biting on a pencil, typing furiously on the keyboard. Then she said, “Unless, I could find an article about a famous haunted house sitting over a cave. Where urban legend has it to be the site of a murder-suicide.” She pulled the pencil from her mouth and pointed it at the computer.
“Let me look at that! Is there a picture?” I said as I came around behind her to share the screen.
The digital photo of the article was that of some kind of newspaper archive. The picture was not very clear since the paper was already yellowed with age.
“Classic love triangle. Husband finds wife with lover in the mansion he built and gifted to her. He goes crazy and kills the wife. Husband never found, presumed dead…” Hailey mumbled while scrolling through the article.
“See if there’s a picture of the mansion,” I said.
“Whoa, here’s the interesting bit, the mansion is famous for the crack that goes from the top of the mansion to way below its foundation. Blah, blah, blah…Seismologists baffled as there are no recorded fault lines in the area or earthquake strong enough to have caused the crack. According to local legends, the jilted husband was a powerful warlock. It is said that he broke the mansion with a powerful spell of which still lingers to this day.”
“Scroll down! I think this is it!” I said impatiently.
She scrolled further down on the pages, and there it was: an old picture of the mansion from the dream. Underneath, it said Baron K Mansion AKA the Broken Heart Mansion.
“What’s that word there? Baron K-something?” I asked.
“It’s too faded to see. Do we need that info? I could research some more,” Hailey said.
“No, I think we got it. That’s what we’re looking for. That’s where we’re going!” I said, thumping on the picture of the mansion on the screen. I started to gather my things from the table.
“Yes. Yes. You’re right, I’ll print out the address,” Hailey said as she did the same thing. She had become somewhat subdued since we fought with Taylor and Blaise. I could tell that she felt sorry about it, but she was too proud to say she was wrong.
We walked towards the locker area in silence. “Listen, we can check out the mansion and then call Taylor if she wants to join us there. She just needs some space right now. Besides, I was probably too hard on Blaise. We really don’t know if it’s him under the hood,” I said, trying to console her.
She shrugged and pulled open her locker door. “Let’s just go. We can decide if and when we find the Broken Heart Mansion,” she mumbled as she stuffed her school bag into the locker.
We took a cab to the street address on the article. It was the deserted street I saw from the dream. I recognized the mansion immediately. “We need to find that cave entrance,” I said. I did a quick survey of our surroundings and realized that the mansion had several acres of grounds. “Awww…” I groaned. “It would take days to find a hidden cave entrance here… I have an idea, what about we go through the mansion?”
Hailey followed my gaze around the overgrown thicket and said, “Okay, but we can’t take too long inside. It’s getting dark and it doesn’t look very safe,” Hailey said, looking at the mansion with trepidation but started to walk uphill anyway. I followed her.
“Hailey, I need to tell you something.”
“What is it?”
“I have been keeping a secret from all of you.”
