Crimson Echo (41 page)

           
I looked up from the broken glass to see Kane with a large, ball of fire in his hand. Kole and Kaleb multiplied into six instead of four. Sabrina eyed a set of sharp, silver knives stuck in a wooden holder. The knives leaped from their home and hovered in the air in front of her, pointing in my direction.

“Oh my God,
” She cried, letting all of the knives drop to the floor. “It’s Tristan, what took you so long?”

            Sabrina
ran to me with tears streaking her face. She threw her arms around me and stumbled forward, traveling through me. She wiped her eyes and stared at me with a confused expression. Kane crushed the fire between his hands and it smoked as it went out. The twins returned back to normal once they realized the threat was gone.

“What are you doing here
…without your body?” Kaleb asked, amused.

Kane shot him a look.

“I don’t know. I was in my body one minute and the next I was here.” I left out the details.

“Is she…” Kole
stopped himself.

“Don’t say it, don’t even think it. The spell must have back fired somehow.”
Kane murmured.

“Okay, everyone just
stay calm,” Sabrina interrupted. “I’m sure there’s a way to fix this.”

I saw Aurora now in the corner flipping through pages of an old, dusty book. “She needs to get back in her body as soon as possible. Do you know where your body is? Did you recognize anything around you, street signs, land marks, anything?”

“They took me to an old house, somewhere in the woods. It didn’t take long to get here.”

“That’s not much to go on.” Sabrina hung her head.

“I’m sorry.” I whispered. “That’s all I remember.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll find you.” Kane murmured.

“Did you have your cell phone with you?” Aurora asked as she looked up from the book.

“Yes, it’s in my pocket.”

“Excellent. We should be able to track you using the GPS in your phone.” She slammed the book closed and pulled out her cell phone.

“I don’t want to go back there.” I whispered to Kane.

“You have to. You can’t live without a body.”

“Yes, I need you to track down the coordinates using a phone number.” I overheard Aurora as she spoke quickly into the receiver of her phone.

“She’ll have the location in no time.” Kane tried to assure me.

“How are you holding up?” Sabrina asked, genuinely concerned.

“I think I’m okay for right now. I’m kind of anxious without my body.”

“We’ll have the two of you reunited in no time.” Her laugh was somber.

“Can you remember if they said anything? Do they have a plan?” Kane paced the kitchen floor.

“They want to kill you and they’re using me as bait.”

“Well, isn’t that clever?” Sabrina sighed. “What’s
our
plan?”

“We’ll take Jackson!” The twins high-fived each other as they came around the bar.

“I can handle Illyria and Kane, make sure Tristan gets out of there safely.” Sabrina instructed.

“Wait!” I screamed over t
he commotion. “There are others besides Jackson and Illyria. There are two girls that have some kind of weird shielding power and nearly six others on guard.”

“Do you know what gifts the rest possess?”
Aurora asked, hanging up the phone.

“No, they never used any
powers.”

“More than likely they’re
minions, mostly lower level powers.” Kane murmured in an exasperated tone.

“Okay, everyone grab a few potions for extra preca
ution. Sabrina, call Stefan. Tell him we’ve found Tristan and see how quickly he can get back here. If there is any way to do this without bloodshed that would be best.” Aurora kissed each of her children on the check and gave them a hug. “Most importantly, don’t get yourselves killed. We’ll meet back at the school afterward. Tristan…I’m sorry for all of this. I can’t imagine what you must think of us.”

           
Sabrina picked up a black cell phone from the countertop and hurried up the stairs. She probably had to change into battle garb. Even in the face of death she had to make sure she looked good. Kole and Kaleb fled the room to gather potions and Kane and Aurora stayed with me in the kitchen.

“
I’ll go in first and assess the situation. If I need help I’ll signal for the rest of you.” Kane spoke quickly as he formulated a plan.

“No, that’s what they want!” I objected.

“The whole entire family can’t just show up. It’ll be like the cavalry showing up at your door. We have to have the upper hand.” He explained. “Mom, I don’t want you anywhere near this. I know how hard this will be on you.”

“If you think I’m going to sit at home and twiddle my thumbs while my children are out there killing each other, you’re sadly mistaken.” She said in an authoritative voice.

“Fine, I’ll meet you at the school. Be careful.”

“I’m sorry.” I whispered. “This is
entirely all my fault.”

“Tristan this isn’t your fault at all. You’re a part of this family
now. You’re just as important to me as any of my children.” She gave me a heart wrenching smile.

           
Everyone went their separate ways, preparing themselves for a battle that they had no choice but to fight— for me. I didn’t feel like I deserved such a chorus of angels to swoop in and save me. What was I thinking? What made me think I could survive in a magical world? Illyria was right when she called me a fragile human. Kane and I weren’t equals. What relationship can last when one is so out of the others league?

           
Aurora had the most trouble with the plan, though I know she would never show it. She couldn’t bear the thought of going up against her eldest son, but she knew she had to if it came to that. I couldn’t even act like I knew how that would feel—even thinking about killing your own flesh and blood, not to mention someone you gave birth to and raised must be the hardest thing a mother could do. I could tell it was eating her up inside. I wanted my body back, solely to hug her.

“Do you think you can find your way back to your body?” Kane snatched me from my thoughts.

“I can’t be for sure. It was like I was drawn here, I just followed the pull.”

“Okay, I need
you to trust me. Do you… trust me?”

“Of course,” I paused. “Why?”

“Close your eyes. I want you to focus on your body. See it in your mind’s eye. Do you see it?”

“I see it.”

“Good, now push everything out of your mind. Only focus on re-connecting to your body. Feel your organs, your muscles, your lungs expanding—breathe in and out. Taste the air around you and listen to the sounds in the room. Now you have to want to be back in your body more than anything else.”

           
I saw my body in my mind. I imagined my bride’s maid dress, my hair falling around me, and my hands locked to the floor. I sucked in a gulp of air. I smelled dust and a hint of staleness lingered on my tongue. The sound of Illyria and Jackson fighting over a dead body alerted me to the fact that I must have been on the right track. The ground beneath my feet vibrated and I felt dizzy like the room was spinning. It felt like an earthquake as it grew stronger. A gasp alarmed me and my eyes flew open out of instinct.

“I’m…I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt.” Sabrina apologized.

“It’s okay, try it again. You were almost there, you almost disappeared.” Kane urged. “It would help if she didn’t have an audience.”

            
I closed my eyes after watching Sabrina dart out of the room. I repeated the steps, until the floor shook again. I wished for my body over and over. The air around me became heavy and my feet left the ground. The room spun again and I listened for the arguing to continue. Then it went blacker than any black I had ever experienced.

           
I shot up off of the ground and gasped for air as I tried to get my lungs to expand after the long period they were constricted.  My eyes darted around the room taking in everything around me. Illyria was still as stiff and cold as before, Jackson appeared to be relieved and the six minions never moved.

“What happened?” I breathed.

“We had a slight… accident.” Jackson shot a look at Illyria.

“Best not to dwell on the past,” She laughed nervously. “Let’s look to the future, shall we?”

“How long was I out?” I asked Jackson.

“Not long, five minutes at the most.” He replied.

“I think I died. I remember floating over my body.”

“You weren’t breathing. We thought we’d lost you there for a minute.” Jackson forced a smile.

           
The minions began to scurry like roaches. They scattered back and forth around the room screaming. Some fell to the floor and writhed against the walls as they scratched at their faces. They constantly checked to their left and right like they were watching for something.

The largest male stepped forward, closer to Illyria, holding his head in his hand
s. She stepped away so that he couldn’t touch her.

“They’re coming, they’re coming. Intruders, they’re here.” He claw
ed at the sides of his forehead— his eyes were crazed like he hadn’t seen light of day in years. “They’re in my head!” He wept. “They’re in my head, get them out. I’m losing all my data. They won’t stop until they steal it all. I’ll be left with nothing! Please, they’re under my skin, crawling around in my veins.”

            
He continued with silent sobs as Jackson and Illyria readied themselves for a fight. Then I understood what they were there for, they were being used as an alarm system. I knew there wasn’t anything crawling under the poor man’s skin, but it was hard to watch him try to dig something that wasn’t there out of his head.

Emma flung the door open and in a hurry rushed toward Jackson. “Jules just had a vision, Kane’s on his way right now. He’ll be here in less than five minutes.”

Jules stepped through the doorway; it was obvious that she was terrified by the evil duo. “They’re here!” She screamed.

           
She was more beautiful then Emma, more child-like. She had a short, black bob and her eyes were black—which seemed to be a theme around here. She wore a black button up shirt with badges and pins covering every square surface, like a Girl Scout and a purple tutu around her waist. Black and purple striped leggings covered her legs and she wore black combat boots on her feet.

“Emma, be a dear and hide our bait, would you?” Illyria asked, eyeing herself in the window.

She picked me up off of the floor and dragged me into the corner. As soon as she had me in position Illyria secured me once again with the invisible cuffs. She looked me over one time and then rolled her eyes. Emma’s hands flew to her temples as she rocked back and forth.

“The bait is secured.” She breathed.

Kane appeared in the middle of the room by himself as promised.

Illyria looked at him with a puzzled expression.

“I’m alone.” He answered her unasked question. “Where is she?”

“She’s safe…
for now.” She laughed. “Julia, check the perimeter.”

           
She ran at full speed, disappearing out of the back door— obviously happy to be away from the madness. Her tutu became a purple streak as she fled. Kane watched Illyria as she moved away from the window and then he eyed Jackson as he walked into the living room.

“What do you want in
exchange for Tristan’s life?” Kane demanded.

“Nothing huge,
it’s a trifle really. All I want is your powers.” Jackson laughed maniacally.

“Impossible, I couldn’t do that even if I wanted to.”
Kane yelled.

“Sure you can, just will them to me.”

“There’s another option.” Illyria spoke up.

“Anything, just name it.” Kane demanded.

“You can watch me kill your girlfriend. I think that’s only poetic, don’t you?” She smiled.

Kane’s face grew dark and his body erupted into flames. “She will not die while I’m alive!” He promised.

“Then you both shall die!” She spit.

             Like a mirage, the rest of the family materialized behind Kane. When he went up in flames, it must have alerted the others. As impossible as it was to believe, these godlike creatures had to be real—my mind wasn’t creative enough to dream this up. Even now, I was afraid of waking from this terrific fairytale. Going back to my boring human life could never satisfy me after spending so much time with the Evans’. Seeing Kane again, I knew I would be safe. The ache to be near him scorched the edges of my nerve endings and I tingled all over.

“Kane, I’m over here!” I shouted.

“Stupid girl, he can’t hear you.” Jackson hissed with his back to me, never looking in my direction for fear of giving away my location.

            Kane and his family
were all standing side by side now, each equally as beautiful as the next. As I watched them from behind Emma’s shield, I couldn’t help but take pride in the fact that I knew these people. They were all Gods in their own right, fearless in the face of evil and yet angelic at the same time.