Crimson Echo (40 page)

“All
of this… all of this fighting  is about love?” I tried to understand. “She’s just using you, can’t you see that?”

“If I were you, I would keep
my mouth shut.” Illyria made a mad dash toward me and picked me up by my throat again.

“Or
what, you’ll kill me?” I gasped for air.

“T
hat can be arranged. Though I think I’ll keep you alive just long enough to watch Kane die.”

            If she killed Kane the least I could hope for was death
. Without Kane in my world I had nothing else to live for. Then we really could spend eternity together, though I knew he would disagree on where he would spend eternity, but I wasn’t as convinced as he was.

           
Her cold fingers tightened around my throat and my feet dangled in the air. Jackson turned his back to me and began to pace back and forth as Illyria slammed me against the wall. I gasped for air and clutched at my throat. The longer the air supply was cut off the more I panicked.

“He will never love you!” I wheezed in a fit of terror.

            In an instant of pure desperation and maybe even a bit of stupidity, I gathered as much strength and oxygen as I could and kneed Illyria in the stomach. I knew that I couldn’t possibly hurt her, but if I could just catch her off guard maybe she would let me go and I could run. The blow to her abdomen worked and she flung me with little exertion on her part. I slid across the hardwood floor of the living room until I heard the thud and I immediately felt the stinging pain in my crown.

“She wasn’t supposed to get hurt, that was the plan.” Jackson chided her. It wasn’t long before he was squatting beside me.

          I tried to move my hands to hold my aching head, but they wouldn’t obey the orders that my brain gave them. My eyes grew heavy as I stared up at Jackson’s tortured face. All I wanted to do now was sleep. I remembered the symptoms of the concussion I had when I was in the fire at Echo High, but I felt too weak to hold my head up. I struggled to keep my lids open, fighting against the darkness that was overpowering me.

Fight! You can do this!
My unspoken screams echoed in my head.

           
My body started to tingle like it always did when Kane tried to orb me somewhere. It felt like tiny needles pricking me all over my body. I couldn’t look for fear of nausea. When my skin finally quit tingling, I worried. I knew it wouldn’t be long until I slipped into a coma or worse. After that, the numbness set in. The stinging traveled from my toes to my knees then from my nose to my hands. The last to go were my fingertips.

          
The tension and heaviness on my body began to recoil. I felt light as a feather, like gravity was no longer a constant. The ground underneath me pulsed and vibrated, rattling me to my center. I couldn’t break free of the new surge of electricity that coursed through my bones. It felt like my body was being detached from reality— it made me think of Velcro on a child’s shoe being ripped apart.

           
The heaviness became even less now. My eyes were tightly clamped together, but I could see everything around me. I could hear every conversation with exceptional clarity and feel every living thing in the room like they were connected to me now. The vibrations stopped and my thoughts drifted overhead.

           
I couldn’t feel the aching throb in my head anymore. Instantly, I touched the spot on my scalp that had been wounded. My arms moved freely. I took a closer look at everyone around me, but the angle was all wrong. I didn’t remember standing. I looked down at where I had been laying. I was still there with hands balled up into fists, my eyes still clenched and my lips pursed.

             My body lay
motionless on the cold linoleum floor. A wave of panic flooded my mind and I effortlessly pushed it away. Controlling my thoughts in this new phantom body was much easier. If I didn’t want to think of something I didn’t, no unwelcome thought crept into my mind without my permission.   

           
I had the sudden urge to investigate further the conversation Jackson and Illyria were having. Before I could direct my legs to walk, I was moving, floating, really. My new body flowed without restraint, like a feather that had been caught up in a swirling breeze and carried on the wings of a velvet wave.

It was Jackson’s frantic voice that disrupted my peaceful frame of mind. “Illyria, she’s not moving, she’s not breathing.”

“She’s just unconscious. If I had to hear her whine for one more second, I would’ve…” She stopped herself with a smile, imagining the many ways to take my life.

“No, this is serious. She’s really not breathing.”
Jackson repeated.

           
I understood the urgency in his tone as he kneeled over me. I hovered over my body watching Jackson give me chest compressions. With each thrust of his hands I felt like I was being pulled downward, like the Velcro was being reattached.

“What’s one casualty?” She asked. “I mean, it’s not like she’s of much use
to us anyways.”

“We need her alive remember?
” Jackson gave me a quick breath. “Besides she’s more of an asset to us
if she’s alive.”

  “I suppose you’re right,” she paused. “What if we let her die? Why hadn’t I thought of that earlier? If she’s gone, Kane will know the pain I’ve felt for so long. It’s perfect.”

The look in Jackson’s eyes told me he didn’t agree. “Will you forget about that for a minute? Kane won’t come if she’s dead, then again if he does come he might bring the queen. Think about it.”

I breathed a sigh of relief.

“Alright, I’ll go find a healer. Maybe they can bring her back.” She vanished into a wall of gray electricity.

Jackson sat beside my limp, lifeless body with his face buried in his hands. “How did I get myself into this mess?” He whispered. “
I can’t do this to my brother. Tristan, please come back.”

“Kane
, where are you?” I breathed.

“I’ll change my ways.” Jackson said as he held my hand. “I promise I’ll change.”

Just then a women burst through the front door and confronted Jackson. “They haven’t attacked my shield in over an hour, can I let it down? It’s depleting me of all my energy.”

“Its fine, go!” he waved her away. “Tell Emma to leave her shield up, we may need it.”

          
She rolled her eyes behind her glitter filled lids and disappeared into the back bedroom. I felt what I assumed to be her shield drop. The connection I had sensed before grew stronger, radiating out for miles. I could feel small animals on the outside of the house, their auras were faint. People were easier to grasp.

            
I became aware of a weak pull as it tugged at my core. It was as if I couldn’t think of anything else. I was being drawn in this direction and it took over every one of my senses. I had to surrender to it, there was no other option. I let it lead me foolishly, I could be walking into a trap or straight into heaven’s gates—either way, there was nothing I wanted more in that instant then to find out where that brilliant shining light was coming from.

           
I was pushed through the structure of the old rickety shack, through walls and insulation, through doors and closets. I thrilled at the new found freedom of being weightless. I knew I shouldn’t have been happy about it. I didn’t want to leave my parents or Kane. The heartache it would cause them was unfathomable in my new brain. I pushed the gloomy thought away from me again. It was much easier this time.

          
As I continued my impromptu adventure the light became brighter when I reached the yard. Everything was brighter; the grass was greener and the sky seemed bluer than I remembered. Flowers smelt sweeter and air felt softer. I had always imagined heaven a lot different than this.

           I decided to explore everything around me with my new set of eyes. I could hear birds chirping and rabbits running as I escaped from the house.
As I approached a clearing in the woods behind the house, I was met by a swarm of bees. I swatted at them as they circled around my head. Their wings hummed in my ears.

“Shoo! Go away!” I smacked at them.

            They continued to flutter around me and I tried to run past them, but they were everywhere now. The buzzing grew louder as more of them showed up. I turned when I heard someone whisper my name. It was a tiny angelic voice, almost child-like as it chimed.

“Tristan, over here.”
The voice came again, trilling with tiny giggles.

            
I turned back around to be met by a mass of bees in an organized formation. They were like a small army standing at attention. The bee in front, I assumed to be the queen, moved out of the configuration and fluttered inches in front of me. Upon further inspection I realized they weren’t bees at all, they were small people in bright, yellow, flowing dresses with little wings on their backs. I stumbled back, confused by what I was seeing.

“Don’t be scared Tristan, we won’t hurt you.” Her tiny lips moved fast.

“Did you just say my name?” I asked feeling foolish. Now I knew I had to be dreaming, that bump on my head was causing hallucinations. “What are you?”

“We’re fairies, but we don’t have time for questions.  You have to hurry!”
All of the fairies behind her nodded in unison.

“
Fairies, now I know I’m dreaming.” I laughed.

“What’s so hard to believe?” She put her hands on her hips. “You believe in witches, but you can’t believe that fairies exist?”

“This is crazy,
I’m
crazy.” I started to walk away. “They’re going to lock me away for good. Bring on the straitjackets.”

“Tristan, wait.” She buzzed. “You need to trust me! You always were stubborn.”

“How do you know that I’m stubborn? You don’t know me.” I turned around.

“I do know you,” she admitted. “I’ve always been around you. We played together all the time when you were younger, don’t you remember? Think hard, before you were jaded. I was there.”

“You were my imaginary friend, Jasmine.”
I thought back to my childhood, to the time when I believed in magic—when anything was possible. “But how is this possible?”

“You stopped believing in magic.”

“Why can I see you now?”

“You believe again and Kane is the reason, he’s opened your eyes back up to a world you’d forgotten long ago. Now go find him, before it’s too late!” She frowned when I didn’t move. I was still having trouble processing the new revelation that fairies exist. “I’ll explain
everything
later just do what I say, please.”

“Will I ever see you again?”

“I’m sure of it.” She said with a tinkling laugh and then disappeared.

           
I felt the pull again, only stronger this time. It was like I was being propelled forward by something other than myself— I still had no control over it. I ran at full speed, faster than I had ever traveled on foot. Twigs snapped under my feet and brush scattered out behind me as I ran. I followed a brilliant light through the woods, hoping it would have the answer that I sought after. I wasn’t sure if the light I saw was the sun beating down on me or if it was my portal to heaven.

           
I crossed a grassy pasture and it all became clear. I could see the red stables in the distance and the manor beyond that. The back lawn looked like a demolition derby, nothing had been cleaned up. The decorations still lay mangled and destructed on the ground.. The tables and chairs were in scattered piles around the yard and the gazebo in pieces— hardly recognizable.

           
I made my way up the steps onto the patio giving the door a gentle nudge. I passed through with little effort. I walked back and forth through the door a few times just to be sure. Once inside I looked around for my favorite witches. I heard voices coming from the kitchen and I hid behind the wall to listen in on the argument that was taking place in the other room.

“What are we doing just sitting around? I’m ready to fight.” Kole huffed.

“Yeah, I'm ready to kick some ass!” Kaleb agreed.

“We have to be smart about this. Divide and conquer.” Kane murmured.

“There are only two of them. They don’t stand a chance against us.” Kaleb argued.

“Kane
, the longer we leave her there the greater the risk of something happening to her.” Sabrina chimed in, farther away than the rest of them.

“I already cast a summoning spell. S
he should have been here already. I don’t understand, unless she’s…” He stopped himself as he became angry.

“Don’t even think like that!” Sabrina fumed. “Tristan is a lot stronger than you give her credit for.”

            I crept into the kitchen knowing they couldn’t see me, but if this was it for me I wanted to be with the ones who had given me the greatest adventure of my life—no matter how short that life was now. The tension in the room was thick. Everyone hung their heads lost in their own thoughts.

            I walked around the counter and watched
Kane as I moved. He looked sad and I wanted to take that pain away from him. I guess Illyria was right, it would hurt him. I never thought about Kane being in pain, he was so strong and concrete to me. I breezed behind him and my elbow caught a glass dish on the counter and it shattered as it hit the ground.