Crimson Echo (38 page)

           
Most of the guest had cleared out by now and rightfully so. The queen lingered a moment and then left after staring me down with a curious expression. A tall man in a dark black cloak swayed by the door— I could tell he wasn’t sure what to do. The man smiled apologetically at me and vanished in a puff of gray smoke. I couldn’t help but wonder how many witches were here and how many of them could have stayed to fight.

Then the blur stopped. Kane’s foot came down hard on Jackson’s throat.

“How dare you use your powers against our mother!” His foot ground harder into Jackson’s neck.

           
Sabrina’s eyes welled up and she began to rock back and forth on her heels as she ripped the flowers and veil from her hair. “STOP,” She screamed. “You’ve ruined my wedding! I’ll never forgive you for this!”

            Stefan rushed to her side and tried to console her, but s
he waved a hand at him and sent him crashing into the arch above the altar. She had clearly lost it and in a fit of rage taken down her future husband. I looked back at him to make sure he was okay, but all I could see was a pile of wood. Kole and Kaleb stood frozen on either side of me, possibly too afraid to go up against their older sister. They both jumped when she threw her head back and let out a blood curdling scream.

“Kane, get out of my way, this is my fight!” She turned to me, her unusually bright green eyes faded to a deeper, darker crimson. Taken off guard, I gasped and immediately covered my mouth as she quickly looked away.

Kane seemed to ignore her.

“Don’t let Tristan see this!” She ordered with fire in her voice.

           The fury in her crimson eyes scared me, but I couldn’t look away. It was kind of like passing a car accident on the road, you want to look away but you can’t tear your eyes away from the carnage. Kane’s eyes pleaded with me to look away, against my waxing curiosity I obliged— until he turned away.

            
I wished they didn’t see me as a weak human. I wished I could do something, anything, as long as I wasn’t hiding behind the twins.  Why couldn’t I be agile and strong or born with a gift of my own to protect the one’s I love? If only I had stuck with the karate lessons my mom had forced me into when I was younger, maybe I could stand a chance.

          
Jackson hissed at his family as they all trenched around him, trapping him in the circle they were creating, leaving me on the platform and Stefan buried under the now destroyed gazebo.  They all drew in closer, examining his every move—re-adjusting with every shift of his weight. He was surrounded by the most powerful beings I had ever met. He didn’t seem scared, only enthralled with the amount of people it took to imprison him. He coiled around like a snake, slowly turning to meet each set of eyes that stared him down. A low growl hissed from his teeth.

“You are all so foolish! You think you can stop me?” Jackson
shouted. “I am the echo of fear that rings in your bones; the louder than life whisper that pricks the hair on your arms. The fog on a dark night—you can’t see me coming. I am the one who brings destruction.”

“You’re a scared little boy. You come in here with your threats
and your dark magic and hope to achieve something? You want a fight? Well, you’ve got one!” Sabrina scowled.

“Please Sabrina, don’t egg him on.” Aurora begged. “Look, we’ve made a home for ourselves here and w
e intend to keep it that way, please don’t ruin it for us.”

“Why shouldn’t I? What have you done for me? I did everything you asked of me for two hundred years. I followed you around like I was your minion, hanging on your every word. Where did it g
et me? It was never good enough— I was never good enough. I won’t be brainwashed any longer!” His eyes hinted at a tear, but he quickly shrugged it off.

“I did the best I could. You wouldn’t believe how difficult it is raising five kids, let alone magical beings on your own, with no father figure. Sure I made mistakes, but is taking everything away from me going to make you feel better at the end of the day?”

“Enough!” A woman shouted. She glided into view wearing a black leather bustier, tight, leather pants and a black trench coat. Her charcoal, black hair bounced as she walked. “I sent you to take care of one tiny detail and you disappoint me, yet again.”

           
Kane turned and a snarl ripped through his lips as his eyes met hers. She brushed him off and sauntered around the deconstructed wedding chairs. She waved her long, pale hands and wood and debris flew in all directions, creating a clear path for her to walk down.

“I’ll get to you in a minute.”
She brushed Kane’s face with her long red nails.

“Leather,” Sabrina scoffed. “Hasn’t that been played out?”

“You,” She pointed her finger in my direction. “I see he’s finally found you after all of these years. You can take someone’s memories away and they’ll still find a way to mess everything up.”

“Memories, what do she mean?” I looked to Kane for an answer.

“He hasn’t told you? Oh, that’s right, he can’t. He doesn’t remember. Ah, more fun for me.” She giggled. “But where do I start?”

“Illyria, don’t!” K
ane yelled. “Leave her out of this.”

“Leave her out of this
? But this is all her fault. It’ll be quite a riot to see the look on her face when I tell her the truth.”

            Kane stepped out of the circle and his family drew in closer to Jackson making up for the space he left. He gritted his teeth together a
nd a tiny, red flame formed in his hand and grew twice the size within seconds. I blinked and the fire ball was traveling at warp speed toward Illyria and inevitably toward me.

Illyria’s hand waved and the fire vanished. “Parlor tricks? I’m insulted.”

“Tell me what’s going on?” I interrupted.

“We can talk about this later, Tristan. We don’t have time right now.”
She insisted.

“Tristan, don’t listen to a word she says. She’s full of lies and black magic.”

“Awe, he’s leaving you all in the dark isn’t he? Such a bad boyfriend, I don’t know why you put up with this.” Illyria pouted her lips.

“Shut up,
witch!” I screamed at her. “Kane, what is she talking about?”

“She’s feisty, isn’t she?” She drew her
hand back and the next thing I knew I was on the ground with a throbbing jaw. “Watch your tone little girl, I won’t be spoken to like a subordinate. I am nearly a thousand years old. Didn’t your parents teach you to respect your elders? Oh that’s right, they’re dead.” She laughed maniacally.

           
Kane immediately lunged across the backyard and jumped on her back. Her hair whipped back and forth as she tried to throw him off. It was weird for me to see Kane so unrestrained after all this time. I knew he was holding back on me. I turned to look for Stefan, but he was still buried under the now destroyed gazebo.

“I’ll snap your neck, don’t think I won’t.” Kane hissed in Illyria’s ear.

“Don’t be a hero Kane, it won’t end well.”

“I won’t let you destroy my family.” His grip tightened on her throat.

“Just like the old days, isn’t it?” Her smile was sinister. “You don’t know how much I’ve missed this.”

“I see your delusions haven’t faded any.”
Kane looked to his family for help, but they were all still gathered around Jackson.

“Wha
t do you want?” Sabrina yelled.

“What
do
I want?” She repeated as she slung Kane to the ground.

           
Illyria stood over Kane and stared at him for a second before looking back at me with disgust. She sighed and then walked toward Jackson and the rest of Kane’s family. She knew exactly what she had come for. She was just toying with us now— it was all a game to her.

“Hmmm,” s
he placed her long finger to her chin and contemplated something as she stared at Jackson. “Our original plan was rather anticlimactic, wasn’t it? I have a better idea.” Her eyebrows rose in my direction.

“Kane, get Tristan out of here!” Sabrina demanded.

“Stay,” she said as she turned to Kane.

“I can’t, I’m stuck!” He glared at Illyria. “If you hurt her, you’ll die the most agonizing death known to man, I swear!”

“Oh, you’re scary. You can’t even move.” She laughed.

Kane’s eye
s narrowed and he barred his teeth.

           
Illyria became a blur as she advanced toward me—her hair flowing like satin ringlets in the wind. I blinked and she was beside me in an instant, her cold breath on my neck gave me chills. She tousled my hair as she walked around me in circles. I stood perfectly still, making sure not to make any sudden moves. I knew more than anything else that she was a predator and I was her prey. She was a lioness and I the doe.

“We’re going to have so much fun together.” She trilled.

My eyes widened at the thought. I wasn’t sure what her idea of fun was, but I could guarantee I wouldn’t agree.

Kane struggled against her power, still stuck in her invisible prison. “Get away from her, don’t touch her!”

“You’re partial to this one. You always have been. I just can’t figure out what is so special about her.” Her hand wrapped around my throat and she lifted me off the ground to inspect me. I clawed at my neck and kicked against her, but it was no use, she was too strong. “What are you?” She asked confused.

“What…am…I?” I thought about it for a minute. “What do you think I am?”

“I don’t understand, but what I saw…” Her words trailed off and her grip became tighter.

“I’m just a girl,” I choked. “I’m j
ust a normal girl.”

“You’
re lying!” With effortless ease she threw me across the backyard. I heard the howling of wind in my ears as I flew through the air. I kept my eyes clenched tight. I felt warmness at my temple, followed by more thumps as I continued to hit every object in my path. I rolled across the gazebo and on to Stefan. I had forgotten about him as he lay unconscious in a pile of white lattice.

“Stefan,” I whispered. “Get up, you’re our only hope.” I shook him and suddenly everything around me started to spin.
It was like motion sickness, but worse.

He opened his eyes and starred at me with a glassy gaze.

“Please get up, we need you.” I pleaded.

“What happened?” He asked.

“There’s no time to explain, we have company.”

He lifted his hand to my cheek and showed it to me. “Tristan, you’re bleeding. No matter what
happens, stay here and promise me you won’t move. You may have a concussion.” He kneeled in front of me and pulled a white square from his breast pocket and pressed it into my temple. “Apply pressure and try to stop the bleeding.”

I winced as I pulled the matted, blood stained hair from the wound and reapplied the handkerchief. “Stefan, don’t let her freeze you. She’s strong.”
I informed him.

“I promise.” He shot me a worried glance.

          I thought back at how I had been so afraid of Kane and his powers— all I wanted now was to be in his arms, to feel safe. I remembered falling from the tower, how it all happened in slow motion— wishing Kane hadn’t jumped. Realizing he was no normal boy shouldn’t have come as such a shock. I hid in the debris as I watched this family fight to keep what was rightfully theirs and it made me want to take action. I couldn’t allow these monsters to take away my only chance of being happy.

        
The wheels started turning in my head as I tried to come up with a plan— the gears cranked and I knew I would have to make my move soon. The scenarios played out in my head and I flipped through them like pages in a magazine. I would wait until I could catch her off guard and then attack. I edged myself to the gazebo and quickly crawled up the steps. Stefan was keeping Illyria busy with his finely tuned capoeira techniques— a form of martial arts he had earned from his time in Brazil.

           
She waved her hand at him several times, but keeping his promise she couldn’t freeze him— he was just too fast for her. Watching them fight was like watching the Olympics. They ran forcefully toward each other and Stefan flew into a twisting summersault over her head. Stefan got a few good punches in, which only made Illyria angrier than she already was. When they decided physical combat got them nowhere, they switched to using their powers against each other.

          
Stefan balled up his fists and slammed them down against the ground. The earth under my feet shook and rumbled, but it did little to phase Illyria. I had never seen him use his magic— I had only heard of what he could do. I still hadn’t figure out what he meant when he said he could summon the elements.

           
The failed attempt on Stefan’s part to weaken her only fueled her rage. Illyria stared at Kane and he screamed as he erupted into flames. She reached out her hands in Kane’s direction and the fire flung from Kane’s body to her hands and then she hurled it at Stefan. She laughed as it grazed his shoulder. It singed his shirt and blood began to drip from his arm. He staggered to his feet and tried to regain control after the blow.