Dark and Twisted (24 page)

I press against Jaxson as he readies an arrow in his bow. The snow falls heavy around us, making it difficult to see, but the feeling of eyes on us grows with each second. Ice prickles down my spine. We are being watched.

Something in the distance catches my attention. At first, I think it’s just two stones siting in the snow, but there is something odd about them. Then they flicker, disappearing behind the cover of white and reappearing like they are blinking.
Blinking …
They are eyes, not stones.

“Jaxson.” I tug on his shirt. Why the hell is everything camouflaged in this world?

But Jaxson already sees it, and he pulls the arrow back the sting tight, pointing it at a lion. Lions are big. I have seen them on the Discovery channel, and once at the zoo on a school trip. But the one standing in front of us stands is the largest magnificent lion I have ever seen. It is as tall as a horse and twice as big. Its fur and mane are as white as the snow that falls from the sky. Every part of him blends into our surroundings, except those piercing humanlike, teal blue eyes. Behind its bent ears, two twisted white horns curve outward like an antelope’s, and its barbed tail flicks behind it with menace.

If it wasn’t for the eyes, we would have stepped right into his waiting claws. My heart pounds wildly in my chest. There is no way we are making it out of this alive. Jaxson’s arrow is pointed at it, the tip glistens with a threatening sheen. The lion bares his teeth, letting out a roar that shakes the ground. Spreading out a pair of white velvet wings behind him it leaps, and Jaxson pushes me to the ground.

The snow cushions my fall, but as soon as I fall, I push myself up and searching for Jaxson. The beast is on top of him, and his bow sets a few feet in front of me. I watch in horror as the beast brings his mouth down to Jaxson’s face, devouring him. My scream echoes around me.

When the beast lifts its massive head, I am thankful to see Jaxson is unharmed. His perfect face is still intact, but very wet, and he is alive. Thank goodness. The lion lays down on top of him, and begins to chuff, licking him with his huge tongue. While the thing is busy savoring Jaxson, I scoot over and pick up the arrow. I’m sure I will end up a lot worse than Jaxson is at the moment, but I have to help him.

I’ve never held an arrow before. It’s heavier than I thought and ice cold. The touch of it in my hand sends a chill through my body. Careful not to get the lion’s attention, I lift it over my head, shuffle closer with my eyes closed, and slam it down. My arm shudders, jarring my insides. My eyes fly open to meet Jaxson’s radiant blue eyes. His hand is wrapped around my wrist, holding me back. The lion wings open and close as a low rumbling growl vibrates the earth. “Has anyone ever told you, Ace, that you’re dangerous when you have a weapon in your hand?”

I let the arrow slip from my fingers. This was a trick. My legs give out from under me, but Jaxson catches me before I can hit the ground. I can’t do this anymore.
This is just too much for me to handle!
I break down in sobs.

“This is a game. I’m a game,” I say, remembering between sobs.

He pulls me tighter, supporting all of my weight. “You were never a game to me.” He brushes my hair from my face and leans down, kissing me as if I’m the only girl he’s ever wanted to kiss.

“This isn’t a joke?” I say through tears and his kisses.

“This is most definitely not a joke.” His mouth moves over mine.

I kiss him back just as desperately because he is the only boy that I ever want to kiss. Tears still run down my face, and they mix with the taste of him. Nothing matters anymore—not the past, not what might happen, nothing but him and me right now. All too soon he pulls away, leaving me dizzy and breathless. He leans his head against mine, his long lashes brushing the top of his cheekbones.

“Let me introduce you to someone.” He smiles then kisses me one more time on my forehead. “This is Richard,” he says still holding onto me. He motions to the lion that is busy licking its paw. What a cat thing to do.

“Richard?” I sniffle.

He shrugs, his hair falling back into his eye. “Yeah, my mom had a thing for human history.”

He smiles as he says it, and I want nothing more at this moment than to keep that smile on his face. He is handsome, but when he smiles there is so much more to him.

“Come pet him.”

I pull back. “Jaxson, that’s a lion.”

He snorts. “Actually, he is a Manticore.”

“Oh sure, why didn’t you say so in the first place? A Manticore won’t eat my face off, he’ll just swallow me whole.”

“I love your dramatic side.” He laughs and kisses me on top of the head before guiding me over to the giant, flying lion that is watching me the way an annoyed cat would.

“I don’t think this is a good idea.”

“Of course, it is.”

He places my hand on top of Richard’s head, right between the horns. He is not chomping on my hand, which is a good sign. I touch him warily, and a rattling erupts in his throat as he pushes his face into my hand.

“See, he likes you.” Jaxson rubs him between the ears.

“I like him, too.” And I do now that I know he’s not going to eat me or Jaxson, but that doesn’t stop me from shaking like a leaf. I’m freaking out on the inside. As if petting a lion along isn’t intimidating enough, this one just also happens to have horns and wings and is the size of a horse.

“Jaxson, he has wings. Lions don’t have wings.” Richard bumps his wet nose into my hand, knocking me back slightly.

“Yeah, well little good they do. He can’t even fly. They’re more for decoration. He is kind of like a giant peacock.”

That’s probably a good thing. The thought of flying giant lions is quite frankly terrifying. I reach for his wings, and they feel like velvet under my hand—soft and thin.

“He really is amazing,” I say rubbing my fingers on the underside of his wings as Richard closes his eyes, enjoying the attention.

“Well, I’m glad you think so because he is going to take you to Caillte where the door home is.”

I stop petting Richard and spin on Jaxson. “What?” I must not have heard him right. “You mean us. He is taking us home.” I correct him.

“He can only carry one, but I will be right behind you.”

He pulls me to him once more. I press my face into his shirt, breathing in the light smell of pine, mixed with the delicate smell of rain. Winter, he smells like winter.

“I can’t leave without you.” I grip onto his shoulder. “I can’t leave you. If he can’t take the both of us, then we will walk.” I didn’t survive this long and go through everything I did just to be torn apart from him.

“Ace, you have to go. It will take days to get to Caillte if we walk. On my own, I can go much faster. I will be right behind you. I promise.”

“But what if something happens to you?”

He lets at a chuckle. “You’re worried about me? I’m from this world. I survived it for eleven years.” He kisses the top of my head.

Tears spill over my eyelids, and I don’t fight them. There is a nagging feeling growing in the pit of my stomach that if we separate, this will be the last I see him. He leans his chin on top of my head, pressing a hand on my lower back, and our bodies melt together. I can feel our time quickly dwindling. I’d never realized I wanted someone so bad until this very moment and there was the possibility of not having him anymore.

“You have to go. If you stay, they will kill you,” he says.

I feel like I have been stabbed in the heart. “Who? Who will kill me?” I ask.

“My father’s seekers. They are here.”

“What about you? What happens if they catch you?”

He kisses me on the top of my head and pulls away. His eyes glow bright, eyes I want to get lost in.

“I will be fine. Ace. Promise me that, whatever happens, you will get to the door and leave. You can’t try to come back to this place, do you understand me?”

My throat swells, making it almost impossible to breathe as tears pour down my face, and he gently wipes them away, turning them ice on the tips of his fingers.

“Promise me, Eden. I couldn’t live if anything happened to you. It would kill me.”

I nod my head, which feels too heavy on my shoulders as I make a promise I don’t think I can keep. “I promise.”

The moment I say the word the sound of howling surrounds us, but I don’t see anything. I grip Jaxson tighter He stiffens, his hands pressing protectively on my back, his face set with a hard look, and his eyes dangerously illuminated.

“Richard,” he demands of the beast.

Obediently, the lion stands, shaking the snow from his great white mane. The howling seems to make him restless, and he lets out a roar that has my heart pounding as he paws at the ground. Jaxson leans his face close to his and says something in the language he spoke to the lizard creature in, then turns to me.

“You have to go now,” he says in a hurried voice.

“Jaxson, come with me, please,” I beg again, causing him to falter. I can see the indecision written on his face.

“Please,” I choke out around my tears.

“Ace, I’ll be right behind you, I promise.”

He lifts me up, and I wrap my arms around his neck crying. “How come this feels like it’s permanent, like this is goodbye?” I hiccup.

He lifts my chin up. “It’s not goodbye. I will be right behind you. When you get to Caillte, find the door. Do not wait for me! Go.”

He pulls my face to his, letting his lips hover for only a moment before closing the distance, and his mouth is on mine. I’m floating, and everything disappears around me. There is no longer the threat of danger with him kissing me like this. Tiny ice particles fill my lungs and then melt. The sensation of hot and cold courses through me. I press my hand against his chest, feeling the steady beat as if it was my own heart pulsating my blood. I feel his magic, warm and bright, prickling inside my body and filling every part of me.

He breaks away, leaving me desperate for more, and sets me down on top of Richard. The lion once again lets out a deafening roar.

“I will be right behind you,” he says again.

“Jaxson.” I try to grab for his hand, wanting to hold on to him. I want to stay with him. If he has to fight, I want to fight by his side.

He reaches up to his neck and yanks the necklace off, tying it back around mine. I shiver when the stone settles between my breasts, and the familiar pulse of it returns. “Jaxson.” I can’t do this.

“When you get to Caillte, do not wait for me. Do you understand? You must leave at once.”

I shake my head because I cannot leave him in this place, a place that is as equally beautiful as it’s dangerous. “Jaxson,” I choke out his name one last time.

He leans in, whispering something to Richard, and we dart forward, leaving me looking back at Jaxson.

Wolf-like creatures leap out at us as soon as we take off as if they were waiting for this very moment. The wolves have boar like tusks that protrude from their mouths. Their eyes are pure white, matching their white fur that is stained copper with dried blood.

I scream as one gets close, thrashing it tusks, but Richard is faster and moves out of the way just in time. I stare down at the snapping wolf as we break through the pack. I tighten my grip on his mane and lean in close to him. A wolf to the right of us lets out its blood-curdling howl and leaps, but the creature falls from the air with an arrow sticking from its head. Black ooze seeps out onto the white snow. I turn to see the pack of wolves closing in on Jaxson.

I call to him, terrified that he is not going to make it. I need to go back to help him, but Richard is moving much too fast for me to get off. Somehow, amidst the pack, Jaxson sends another arrow flying, burying it deep in another wolf that is flanking us, now leaving three of them. They easily keep up the pace with us. Richard thrashes his tail, stabbing one with the barbed end, and it lets out a yelp as it collapses to the ground.

We dart under the skeleton trees, and a branch slashes me across the face. My cheek feels like it is on fire as crimson liquid splatters the back of his white coat. The smell of blood seems to make the wolves mad, and a frenzy of howls fills the air as more close in on us.

One leap, landing on his backside, and the claws dig deep into Richard’s flesh. The lion lets out a roar and stumbles. I kick at the wolf’s head, nearly missing its mouth as it rears back. I kick one more time with all of my might, and with a yelp, it loses its grip on the lion and tumbles to the ground.

Richard’s breathing is labored, and his injuries are slowing him down. I try to assess them, as blood spills from two gaping holes on his leg.

“Just a little farther,” I encourage him, patting his side. I wish I had a weapon to protect us, and I’m afraid that his injuries are serious.

Two more wolves dart from behind a tree, nipping at Richard’s back. One of them gets too close to his mouth. Turning his head, he grabs the creature by the neck, shaking it like a rag doll, he snaps its neck. Others leap, and one lands on Richard’s neck, digging its claws into his flesh. Richard stumbles to the ground, and I’m thrown. I roll until I’m on my back. Every piece of me aches, but I don’t have time to think about that. I force myself up, even though every muscle protests. Pain shoots up my arm from my wrist when I try to push myself off the ground. It’s broken. Richard lays in a heap, his massive body rising and failing with labored breathing,

A wolf circles us, its head swinging side to side as it tries to hook Richard with its tusks. I pick up a fallen branch, and with my good arm, I swing it at the wolf like a mad woman. The creature turns on me, but only for a second. The branch collides with it face, but it shakes it off as if I was nothing more than an annoying insect.

Crap.
I have managed to distract it form Richard, but now it has set its sights on me. It crouches, ready to pounce, I squeeze my eyes shut, waiting for the blow. When nothing comes, I open my eyes to see Richard holding the limp creature in in his mouth.

###

We make it over the mountains in one piece. Now we stand on another beach, this one is different than the black beach we were on. The sand here is pink, and each footstep sends a cloud of pale dust wrapping around our feet. A blue river runs along the side of us, with huge pieces of floating ice. In the distance, the sky looks yellow. We must be close to Caillte.

I glance over my shoulder for the thousandth time, looking for Jaxson. My chest constricts “He will be there, he promised,” I reason with myself.

Richard stops and begins to pace the bank. The water seems much calmer here than the black river. There must be a place to cross over to Caillte. I reach for the necklace, pressing it to my chest, letting the steady beat of it offer me some comfort as I slip off Richard’s back and begin to look for a safe place. Apparently, they don’t believe in bridges in this world. I have to agree with Richards’s hesitation. I grew up in upstate New York, everyone there knows that it’s never a good idea to walk out on the frozen ice.

It is not until we are about a mile down the river that I find a spot that looks safe enough. The ice has gathered at a bend in the water forming a bridge.

“Richard,” I call to him.

He is instantly at my back, nuzzling into me. A deep vibration from his chest rattles me.

“If we want to get to the other side, I think we better cross here.”

He huffs, letting out a warm breath, and I sigh, too.

“I don’t want to cross any more than you do, buddy, but we have too.”

He lets out a roar of protest. He is refusing to go any farther, and I can’t blame him. He lays down on the beach and licks his wounds. I can’t wait on him. I have to go. Jaxson might be there waiting for me. I am hesitant to leave the lion, but I don’t have a choice.

With a quick goodbye, I leave him and cautiously step out onto the ice, water spills over the tops of it, making it slick. “It’s okay, I can do this, and Jaxson will be here,” I reassure myself, but I am not sure if I really believe it.

No. Jaxson had to get out alive. He had to. I would feel it if he didn’t, I am sure of it. If he is not on the other side, I don’t know what I’ll do. I can’t leave this world without him. My throat aches with the thought, but I cannot cry. I have to get across the river first.

The ice is slick, but holds steady, allowing me to cross safely to the other side and onto the island. Caillte is nothing more than a tiny island with one hill, and on top of the hill, sets the only tree. The air is warm with the sweet smell of honeysuckle on the breeze. I race up the hill to the tree, hoping that this is where the door to home will be. This is where Jaxson said he would meet me.

Once at the top, I stop and turn around, scanning the horizon. I can just make out the other lands, but I don’t stand still long. I need to find the door home and be ready to leave when Jaxson gets here. I walk around the tree, this has to be where the door is, it’s the only thing that makes sense. There’s nothing else on this tiny island.

The tree is not very tall, not what one would think of when picturing a doorway to another world. It has a thin, spindly trunk with olive green, teardrop leaves that hang low to the ground, and yellow trumpet flowers are scattered throughout the leaves, giving off no aroma, I wonder where the sweet smell is coming from. A pink ribbon tied to a branch blows in the wind catching my attention.

“There is no way home. I don’t even see a place for a door,” I say in despair as I realize that there is nothing here but s tree, no door or magic portal, nothing.

“Sometimes the smallest ones are meant to do the greatest things.” The tree shivers and a face begins to appear in the bark.

“Holly—” I press my hands over my mouth, stopping the scream on my lips.

“Sometimes the strangest things are also the kindest. Don’t be fearful, little one.” The voice sounds like a whisper being carried on the wind, and it floats up to the sky before wrapping around me. The tree reaches out, stroking a long, thin branch down my cheek.

“Do not worry I was charged with the task of getting you back to your world.” She smiles. Her face is actually beautiful—for a tree. Her bark is smooth, making her look like a young girl. She shakes again and what I took for roots are actually her legs.

“You are …” I stumble over my words.

“Beautiful. Thank you. You may call me Willow.” She smiles, but it quickly disappears at the sound of howling in the distance. “We’ll need to work quickly, Eden.” She stands, pulling up the earth with her as she does.

She begins to climb up the remainder of the hill and I try to follow. I have run to keep up with her long rooted legs. Dirt and rock come loose, tumbling down the hill behind her as she moves. The ribbon that trails out behind her looks familiar, but I cannot put my finger on it.

When we are at the very top, she stops and takes a seat next to a yellow boulder, leaning on it for support. Her roots dig into the new earth, snaking their way deep until they are buried.

“Step under my branches, and perhaps you will recognize something.”

I look up at her. I should be afraid—so far almost everything in this world has tried to hurt me—but I’m not. I want to go home, and if walking under her branches will get me there, then I will do it. She parts her branches, which remind me of long braids, and gestures for me to enter. I hesitate for only a moment before I step through.

It’s like I stepped into a different world entirely. A warm breeze blows around her trunk with the scent of sunflowers riding on the breeze. It’s my mother perfume. I close my eyes, breathing the scent in. I used to nuzzle my mother’s neck when I was little smelling the comforting smell. I open my eyes and spin around, realizing that everything in here is a part of me. At the base of the trunk sets my father’s slippers that are so worn there is a hole in the big toe. I used to put them on after he’d left for work and flop around the house. I step closer, and etched deep in the trunk, is the word freak. I press my hand to it, and I can feel the pain of each time that word has been spoken to me.

I lean my head against her trunk, aching for my parents, and hating the hurtful words that are said to me every day. Willow shivers in response to my touch, or perhaps she feels what I feel. I don’t grieve for long. Just like in my life, I push the hurt down deep and listen to words that float on the breeze. They are Essie’s chants and poems she used to say to me before she got sick.

But she’s not really sick, she’s not crazy, she just had it wrong. There were no aliens, it was creatures from Faeylon. I laugh and continue my exploration of the tree. The pink ribbons that my mother used to tie at the end of my braids, and pages and pages of words I wrote drape the branches. Half of a best friend charm and a baby doll set on a limb, the toy is looking down at me with its beady eyes. It’s my old doll, the one I hid in the back of my closet because it freaked me out.

I laugh and look up at the sun shining through the branches. Suddenly, something wet lands on my cheek, and tiny snowflakes in the shape of butterflies float around me. I fall to the ground and spread my arms open, letting them land on me. They whisper words in another language, but they are drowned out by the sound of a heartbeat, and I know that they belong to Jaxson. The heartbeat is faster than a normal one, but just as steady and strong. I can stay here forever.

“You must not get lost in yourself, or you will become lost in both worlds.” Willow’s words enter my secret world.

I want her to leave. I don’t want to share this with her. These are sacred and private parts of me. The snow turns to rain as Preacher Dan’s summon from my parent’s funeral echoes around me. I sit up and pull my legs to my chest, curling into myself.

“I don’t want to leave.” I rest my head on my knee, letting the hollowness fill my chest as I listen to his words.

“I cannot make you leave, but a great price was paid to return you to your world, and it will have been paid in vain.”

I look up at Willow. A small blue bird has begun to build a nest next to her ear. This world is so strange and confusing.

“But I have to wait for Jaxson,” I protest. “Besides, it’s safe here.” I rub my hand across my threadbare baby blanket, which I’m sitting on.

“You must not hide within yourself. One’s daemons are always lurking just around the edges.”

I look away from her, out toward the pale yellow sky that has begun to turn a deep shade of purple as it fills with dark clouds. Lightning splinters across the sky with the blood-curdling howls that pierce Preacher Dan’s sermon.

I can see the wolves’ claws, and their horrible nuzzles sniffing at the ground around the base of her branches. “I cannot leave without him,” I say to Willow, panic filling me.

“You must be strong, little one. What is truly yours will return to you.” The wolves’ howls echo in the night sky. “It will not be long before they find a way through my magic. Before they find my weakness,” she says, shuttering in fear.

“How … how do I go home?” I ask, now desperate to be away from this world.

She holds out her hand. “The price.” My heart beats frantically as the wolves’ claws at the ground, nipping at the air.

“But I don’t have anything to give?” My throat aches.

She takes a long, twig-like finger and runs it across the leather cord tied around my neck. Her fingers, no longer soft and gentle, scratch at my skin. The stone beats harder against my chest.

“You always had it, even before you knew it.”

“But Jaxson gave it to me.” I clutch the stone, feeling the warmth in my hand.

“He knew that this would be the price for your return to your world. A heart for a heart.”

A wolf has made its way halfway through already. I can smell its rotting breath. I yank the cord off my neck and hand the necklace over to her. The wolves outside go wild, and a frenzy is growing outside of Willow’s branches. I feel like I just gave her a part of me. The world around me begins to swirl in a dizzying motion. The ground cracks, breaking away and revealing an abysmal hole where the ground once was. Losing my balance I fall into it, I cover my head trying to protect myself from the earth and rocks that tumble past me.