The Obsidian Crown, page 26
Absently, I grabbed the pack and opened it. The transavite rolled out. I didn’t really know what they could do, but I was willing to try anything.
“I am calling on the Brotherhood of the Black Rose. I need your help.”
One by one, they appeared in the small cave in front of me.
“I have a favor to ask of you.”
“Please remember that we can advise and guide you but we cannot intervene in your decision, especially if it’s a standing bargain with a Fae,” Elmwood said.
“I know. You told me that’s why you couldn’t take the crown once I decided I will exchange it for the doctor. I understand. It’s not that. I just want you to take care of my parents for me.”
“You’ve made your decision?” Raphael asked.
“I don’t really have much of a choice if I want them to live.”
Elmwood’s face clouded with the realization of what I was thinking of doing. “What you are about to do may do more harm than good.”
“I know that too. But I will need to be content with the knowledge I made the best decision I can make, given the information I have. I cannot be paralyzed by doubts because I keep worrying about what the future could be, when I already know what the present actually is.
“I have to surrender for the sake of everyone I love. Please promise me that you will take my parents back home and protect my friends. Make sure that the Sorceress lives up to the bargain. Wipe their memory of what happened. Give them something else, some other memory. Something they can understand. I don’t want them to suffer for this. They have suffered enough.”
The silence spoke louder than if they told me that they were utterly disappointed with my decision.
“I know this is madness but it’s the only way I can save them. It’s my destiny...it’s my time and I... can’t find a way out of it.”
The Brotherhood was solemn as they bowed their heads. Diwatha came closer and touched my arm.
“Remember that things are not always what they seem, that an impossible situation may just appear to be. You cannot change fate but you can make your own destiny. Sometimes we give up too soon and we lose the fight in our heads before we even begin.” She stepped back with the others, and they disappeared.
I was not exactly certain what Diwatha meant by what she said, and I didn’t have time to be waxing philosophical at that point in time. I needed to prepare myself for fate or destiny; it doesn’t matter what you call it, dead is dead.
CHAPTER 35
Back Into The Fire
“This is your last chance! If you don’t come out in the next five minutes—”
I walked in brazenly and asked, “What? You’re going to kill my parents? You’re going to kill me? You’re going to hurt and kill my friends? What if I say, go ahead? I don’t care!”
I saw my parents’ bodies suspended on the cave ceiling, hovering over the blackness of the crevasse down below.
Stay strong, Mom and Dad. Stay strong. You will be out of this mess in a few minutes. Just hold on.
“Bravo! Nice bluff, but we don’t believe you! I can already hear the gears of your mind working to figure out how you can save them. But don’t bother yourself because if you try anything, anything at all.” She let go of the magic, and I heard the screams of my parents as they started to plummet a few feet.
“Okay, okay. I get your point!”
The Sorceress laughed and kept her left-hand palm up to keep a steady stream of magic to hold my parents up. She abruptly pushed them back up again, which caused both of them to go into agonizing hysterical screams.
She glided over to the center of the cave, where the dying embers of the bonfire were still crackling softly.
She looked at the small sparks and with the slightest wave of her right hand, the fire roared back to life larger than before.
She sat back down on her makeshift throne and laid both hands on either side of the chair’s arms.
Kieran, still wearing his oversized robes, was standing on her right behind her chair.
Another hooded figure stood to her left.
As if performing a juggling act, she kept her left hand moving up and down, and the bodies did the same. Each movement triggered mixed shrieks of terror and maniacal laughter that reverberated within the cavern.
“Stop it! Stop torturing them!” I yelled. I rushed to the middle of the cavern to face her. She turned to me, and I sensed the immediate tug of the darkness within the hood. But this time, I was not giving in.
She must have realized I was able to push back.
“Interesting! You’ve learned to repel my Mesmer. Where is this newfound conviction coming from? No matter, you are surrendering anyway, aren’t you?”
I didn’t say anything.
“I’m sorry, but I will need you to state that to make it binding. You understand,” she said as if she was ordering food in a restaurant. She turned my parents’ bodies to face the roof and then, racing straight up to the roof facing the sharp teeth of the stalactites. I heard my mother cry and then saw her body go limp as she lost consciousness. My father put his arm over his eyes and continued screaming.
I felt my rage overtake my self-pity and my reason. I gathered all the power I could from the air, from the ground, from the trees up above, from everywhere I could get them. I gazed deeply into that abyss she called a face and said, “Catch me if you can.” I sent my will coursing down to my hand and threw a fireball at the hooded figure to the left. I didn’t have time to look to see if it made contact with the target. The Sorceress fired one at me. I rolled on my shoulder to dodge it, landing on my bleeding knee. But it didn’t hurt this time. Adrenaline had taken control. I had one thought and one thought alone. I needed to take Kieran out. I fired at Kieran as I was completing my roll.
“Sonababitch!” roared Kieran as he reeled backward from the attack.
The hooded figure on the left of the Sorceress groaned from the blast injury.
“Wait, wait!” She clutched her side. The hood fell partway, but she had her face away from me. Then suddenly, the sweet, heady scent of Sampaguita pervaded my senses. Time stood still. I turned my face to see hers more clearly, but that sweet smell reached my brain faster than anything my eyes could register or process. My body and my mind were at war. I felt the calming and soothing effect of the scent as I had countless times before in her office. It’s the smell that I remember before succumbing into a deep slumber that brought me the truth. It was a depth of sleep that couldn’t be attained without entrusting someone with your body and mind. The scent’s calming and soothing effect tried to invade my mind and threatened to undermine my will to fight.
That white flower that is the sign of hope, devotion, of loyalty. The one I have associated with knowing the truth and purity. The scent I used to remind myself of the beauty of second chances and the peace you find borne of earned trust. Then my mother’s words rang in my head, “Sumpa Kita, means “I promise you,” but don’t let yourself be deceived; it also means “I curse you.” I didn’t have to see her face; I knew.
“Doctor McGrath! Why?”
CHAPTER 36
The Final Betrayal
My instincts had been telling me who she was, but I didn’t want to believe. Even as I stood there, I was still hoping against hope that I was wrong.
She turned to me, and my heart sank to a new low. She pulled the rest of her hood off to reveal her face. Her dark green eyes were wet from crying. I wasn’t sure if her face was distorted from guilt or from the pain of being caught.
I stared at her. I didn’t say anything. I slowly shook my head and swallowed hard to stamp out the tears I expected to come. But they didn’t. My heart ran cold with this last betrayal. I turned away from her.
“Wait, stop, you don’t understand,” Doctor McGrath began.
“Oh, I think I do,” I said as I readied a new fireball.
She held her left-hand palm towards me to stop me from attacking. “I need to explain. We are on the same side.” She hobbled over to help Kieran. She continued to talk while she was trying to get him back on his feet. “I tried to help you. I told you I need you to remember who you are! I tried to help you regain your memory.”
I heard her voice, but I was not listening to what she was saying. My mind refused to acknowledge her impassioned appeal. I only thought about what and how I felt. I was hurt, and I was betrayed! How dare she spin it as if I am the one at fault!
“I suspected you from the start but I gave you the benefit of the doubt. There is no such thing as aligning the portals, is there? You were biding time so I would release the crown from the Kerberian box. Yet again, I listened to my heart and it told me that I was wrong about you; that you are a good person! But when I found the gem you used to bug the sanctuary, I began to wonder if you have been working for the Sorceress all along. I know I was right! I just didn’t want to see it! I wanted to believe you are on our side!” I screamed so loudly at her that she and Kieran cowered away from me.
I heaved in deep breaths and paced back and forth, waving my arms as if doing so will express my regrets more deeply. “I gave you every chance to be with us but I can see that my trust in you is extremely misplaced. A snake will not stop itself from striking just because you trusted it; just as much as a power-hungry person like you would not side with the weak regardless of how much they trusted her!” I shouted.
But I’m not done yet! I need to express to her the magnitude of her duplicity, to show her that she, the Doctor is worse than the Sorceress because she took us, molded us, made us believe, and then betrayed us. At least the Sorceress remained true to herself as a purely evil being.
“But it all makes sense now. Everything is clear to me now. When I found out the nature of the spell cast on Blaise, I suspected you were the one casting the spell on him. That’s why he is not healing! You were killing him, slowly and painfully! You made sure you were with Blaise in the hospital so you can keep up the spell. What kind of monster are you?” I accused her.
“No, wait! You don’t understand. I did all that for the sake of our people. The future has been foretold. We need to unite or…or—”
“Or what?” I yelled impatiently.
“Or all of Faedom will be destroyed…Xana Mundi will fall. We need the crown to ensure the survival of our people. It is our only hope. Trust me, please, we are on the same side.” She finished getting Kieran to his feet.
My temperature boiled over. I was losing what little restrain I had over my anger. “More lies! I trusted you with my life! I trusted you with my friends’ lives! You betrayed us! I will never trust you again!” I had to pause. I clutched at my chest as if to recapture my heart that was trying to get loose of my ribs. I stared at the ground. I needed to regain some control. I bent over with my hands on my knees, taking deep breaths.
At this vantage point, I could see the dark chasm on the floor of the cave just a few feet away. My eyes wandered momentarily to the dark and fathomless abyss. In that brief moment of quiet, I must have channeled the soul of the jilted husband who tore this house apart. I understood the bottomless anguish he must have felt from the discovery of the treachery. My heart ached with the weariness of being deceived. I understood his pain. I raised my head to meet hers and glared at her menacingly. “You are so very wrong; we were never on the same side. And we will never be on the same side!” I pounced. I bounded towards her like a lion to its prey.
But she was again one step ahead of me. Before I could even finish my sentence, she fired at me. I jumped behind a boulder for cover.
I can’t believe it! I did it again. I keep getting distracted by my emotions when I should be focusing on the fight!
I peeked to see if I could shoot back, but Kieran was ready. I barely got my face out of the way as his fireball whizzed by. I sent one of my own but with no hope of hitting the target.
I chastised myself for being distracted. I saw Kieran send one of his time-delayed fireballs around where I was. Before he could detonate it, I was able to jump over the boulder. I fired. I got a clean shot at Kieran.
“Aaahhh! No! Help! I’m going to die! I’m going to die!” Kieran screamed as he fell on his back with the front of his robe ablaze.
The Doctor sent magic over Kieran’s clothes, and it stopped the fire but not before I smell burnt flesh and saw blistering all over Kieran’s upper body.
“Am I going to die? I don’t want to die!” Kieran kept bleating at the Doctor.
“No, you’re not. Just be still. You’ll be fine,” the Doctor shouted at him.
The Doctor, still severely injured from my earlier shot, limped over to Kieran’s side. She hovered her hands over Kieran and chanted a healing spell. Kieran started to cough and sat up with the help of the Doctor.
“You are a fool, Abigail! You don’t know what you are doing! I keep trying to tell you to remember who you are and yet you refuse to believe what is in front of you. Foolish kid! You don’t know what’s at stake! You will be the death of everyone!” Doctor McGrath said in anguish. I was surprised to see tears in her eyes.
It doesn’t matter whether it was a lie; whatever she was saying, she really believed it to be true.
“You only see what is in front of you. There is a bigger picture. There is a bigger plan.”
“Shut up, Esmelda!” the Sorceress shouted. I nearly forgot about her in my rage. She had since seated herself and was still holding my parents suspended in midair. I was confused by the name she called the doctor but I turned my head just in time to see her yank the invisible rope. From the top of the cavern, the
shrieks and screams of my parents reminded me of what was at stake, and I backed down.
The Sorceress continued speaking amid the cries up above as if nothing was happening. “Well played, well played. You might as well take out as many pawns as you can,” she said as she looked at the Doctor and Kieran huddled together. She got up from her seat, and motioned for the Doctor to take over holding my parents afloat. “I guarantee you, you won’t win this game. But if you really want to play, I will give you a taste.”
Without warning, she sent out several fireballs in rapid succession at me. I dodged each one. Every time she threw one, she stepped determinedly in my direction. They came in so fast I didn’t have time to react. She sent the first one. I bend over backwards, as far away from the fire as I could. She followed it up, one after another. I kept moving to avoid them, but the frequency was getting shorter and shorter. I lost count of how many attacks she made, but the cave was getting hazy with the smoke from the fireballs and the putrid smell of phosphorous. I was losing energy and fast. She threw another, and this time I had no time to move out of the way. Instead, I put my right arm over my head to cover myself from the fireball and slid down on the ground at the same time. I howled in pain as the fire licked at my exposed arm.
The next will be a fatal blow if I don’t move!
I collected my power on my good hand and threw out a fireball without any regard for accuracy as I rolled away from her. I scooted backwards to hide behind a stalagmite.
I got lucky. I saw her reel to her right from the contact. I kept my back tightly against the rock. I took the time to breathe. I had lost a lot of energy, and my lower left arm was in agonizing pain. Wincing, I inspected my wound.
Third-degree burns on the upper side, not too deep. Thankfully, it was just a regular fireball and a glancing hit.
I focused my energy and conjured a fireball. Good! I can still summon power with it.
I sent the fireball hurtling towards the Sorceress. But this time, she was ready. She merely levitated over it. I closed my eyes from disappointment. I couldn’t afford to waste what little energy I had. I extended my good arm to collect more power from my surroundings, collected them on my palm and I sent one ball away. She dodged it. I steeled myself against the pain and followed it up with another from my injured hand. She didn’t expect that. It was a direct hit!
I was about to cheer when she just got up and brushed the dirt off her robe as if nothing happened. Without any precursor movement, no incantations, no twirl of hand, she sent a gust of wind that hit me in my stomach like a ten-pound weight. I doubled up from the pain. She sent another one. This time a cold freeze shot up through me like an icicle and hit me in my chest. Another fireball. This time it glanced my face. The impact felt like my head got hit with a two-by-four. My eyes started to swell, and blood trickled down from my forehead. The odor of my burnt hair and skin assaulted my senses. It didn’t take too long before she made her next move. An invisible force jerked my hands upwards, making me lose whatever collected energy I had stored. The next thing I felt was burning heat all over my arms and hands. Then she turned the heat up, and I felt the blistering of my skin and smelled the burning of my flesh.
I cried out in pain as I crashed down on the floor with my arms severely burned. I watched while smoke swirled away from my scorched hands and arms. I couldn’t do anymore. I’d played all my cards, and now I was done. But that didn’t mean I would let her win.
“I admire you and your seemingly bottomless supply of hope. You came in here despite all odds; you fought as if you had a slight chance.” The Sorceress kept the monotone discourse while she shot smaller fireballs at me for her amusement.
I kept crawling away from her. I needed to get close enough to the chasm. Meanwhile, small fireballs were boring holes into my jeans. I writhed as they burned my skin.
I kept creeping closer and closer to the abyss. I needed to get there. I needed to have enough energy to get to the chasm.
