From Deities (21 page)

“Skylar?” Hearing my
name whipped me back to the present.

I tried my best to look happy and cheerful, but Mom always saw right through me.

“You okay, hun? You’re not getting sick again, are you?” Mom placed her wine glass on the table after taking a sip.

“I’m fine. Maybe a little tired. I just took final exams so, I’m….”

Mom’s brow angled while turning her head sideways. “It’s been a week since your last exams.”

She was right. “I meant—”

“You know how college kids are. After the exams, they party the night away, right?” Steven winked at me, smiling as if I would approve of him taking sides with me. Well, it worked. I watched him shove a piece of meat he had just sliced into his mouth.

“Of course,” Mom giggled. They started talking about their college lives, so I tuned out. Looking at my cell phone, I realized Mason had texted me again.

Where are you?

I’m at a restaurant with Steven and Mom.

I’ll see you tomorrow, right?

Yes. How are you guys holding up?

We’re fine. Don’t worry about us. Just be careful.

I will. And you, too.

I’ll text you later. Have a good time with your family.

I will.

Mason didn’t reply. I could just imagine him pacing in his room or staring at the wall wondering what he could have done to prevent what had happen. Mason was that way. His heart was heavy with the burden of the death of his mother and now this. I knew him well enough to know that he would blame himself for Everett’s disappearance.

Just as I was about to click off, Kayla texted me.

Wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas.

Merry Christmas to you, too.

Did you get my gift?

Yes, did you get mine?

Yes. I love the picture collage you made.

Thank you! And thank you for my beautiful scarf. I’m wearing it right now.

Really?

Yup.

Nick told me that he’ll be out of town starting tomorrow, and that he didn’t know when he’d be back. He seemed a little off today. Is Mason going with him?

Yes. He is.

I’m sad we aren’t together for Christmas this year.

Me too, but I’ll see you for the New Year’s party, okay?

Can’t wait. Give my love to your mom.

You do the same. Gotta go. Out to dinner.

Hugs!

Hugs back!!!

“Sky, is everything okay?” Mom asked.

I put my phone back into my purse. “Everything is fine. That was Kayla wishing me Merry Christmas.” But it wasn’t fine. Nick had told Kayla he didn’t know when he would be back, and his words broke my heart. Nick was right; we didn’t know when we would be back, and there was a possibility of neither one of us making it back home. That made me sick to my stomach.

Glancing at my mom, and seeing the way she looked at Steven, made me wonder if I looked the same with Mason. I was pretty sure I did. She was in love and so was I. At least I knew if something were to happen to me, she would have him to comfort her. Hopefully, he was that type of a man. Some men sucked in that department. For this, I would try a bit harder to really get to know him and maybe even hug him back when he hugged me.

“Sky?” Mom called again.

I snapped back to their conversation. “Yes.”

“Steven and I wanted to give you something for Christmas, but since we didn’t know what to get you, we thought that a gift certificate would be the best.” Mom handed me a card.

“Thank you. It’ll come in handy. I have your gifts at home.”

“You didn’t have to get us anything,” Steven said, dabbing his lips with the napkin.

“It’s something small.” I’d bought Steven a tie and Mom a scarf. A very generic gift, but I didn’t have time to shop around. I’d bought Everett and Nick ties, too; Amanda was getting a scarf. But for Mason, I made something extra special. I’d created a mini photo album for him. He seemed to love the idea when he’d seen mine. Inside were pictures of our times together and his family, though I only had a few of those. I even bought some picture frames and put some pictures in them. The first time I was in his room, I hadn’t seen any photos of his family. I figured it was about time that he had some, as a reminder that he was not alone and that he was loved.

“You’re in college so we don’t expect much, but when you become successful at whatever you want to be, then you can get us something big.” Mom giggled. “You know I’m just kidding, right, hun?”

“Of course, Mom.” I smiled, hoping that her teasing could come true…that she would see me become successful in the future. Mom had no idea what was in store for me and there was no way I could even explain it to her, so a part of me dreaded this Christmas Eve, thinking that this might be the last time I’d ever see her.

We never really
celebrated Christmas anyway, but it was a drag this time around. It had been barely more than a day since Everett disappeared, but it seemed like weeks. Nick and Amanda moped around the house while I just stared at the ceiling in my room. Sometimes, I would stare at the phone and wait for a return text from Sky.

When I woke up that morning, I found two boxes, neatly wrapped in Christmas paper on my bed. I knew immediately they were from Sky. Our family had never exchanged gifts before. Nick or Amanda must have brought them into my room when I dozed off, even though I hardly slept last night.

When I opened my gifts, an overwhelming feeling of joy filled my heart. Not that I’d expected anything from her, but it was a gift that took a lot of thought and preparation. Flipping through the album that was creatively decorated, I couldn’t help the huge smile on my face. It made me miss Sky even more. Looking at the pictures in the frames made me laugh. One was of Sky and me, and the other one was the six of us. Seeing Everett snapped me out of my euphoria, and my heart became heavy again. Placing the frames on my nightstand, I headed out.

I sauntered down the hallway to gather my family. With backpacks in their hands, they were already by the door waiting for me.

“Let’s go get our brother back.” Nick wrapped his arm around my neck with a tight grip to intensify his intentions, and wrapped the other arm around Amanda.

“Whatever it takes,” I said. “First, we need to pick up Sky at her dorm.”

“Let’s go. Let’s do this.” Nick released his hold and handed me my backpack. “Remember this? Here we go again.” Then, he opened the door.

Victor and his
people were waiting for us at the same spot on the beach, each with their own backpack. Good. We didn’t have to share our supplies. This time around, Zara was there, too.

Sky tensed up against me. She always seemed to be like that when she was around her dad, and I could understand why. Sky didn’t know how to act natural around him. I could just imagine all of the mixed up emotions she was experiencing since I would be the same way.

Zara stepped closer to us, out of her protected circle, and the breeze tousled her red hair. I had to admit, I had never seen such beautiful hair in my life. Her skin was paler than I remembered. Maybe it had been the florescent light in the dining hall that had given her a different look.

“I’m sorry about your brother. I was hoping my premonition was wrong. Whoever is behind this has been planning it for a long while. They’ve known about Sky, and they are ready. Of course, I’m only assuming, but it makes sense. Now… are you ready?”

“We are, but where are we going?” Nick asked.

“I’m going to open a portal. It will take us close to Mt. Hem. It’s not going to be an easy journey.” Zara waved her hand in a circular motion and mumbled some words I didn’t understand.

A tiny light sparkled and jetted out from the palms of her hands to the ground. It changed from white to blue. The light grew—expanding and stretching—and the wind started blowing. At first I thought it was from this world, but it was coming from the portal. “Jump in after me. Hurry, before it closes.”

Zara went in, then her people followed. I kissed the back of Sky’s hand and held it tightly. I didn’t know what awaited us or where we would land; all I cared about was that Sky and I weren’t separated. I would take every precaution to be sure she was safe. After glancing at each other, we stepped in.

Although I felt like my body had been sucked into a vacuum, I landed hard but steady on my feet with Sky next to me, still hand in hand. The first person I saw was Victor. I knew he was worried about Sky, but he didn’t say a word. It was the way he watched her and his body language.

Up ahead, the sun beamed through the thick clouds. When I gazed in the direction everyone else was staring, icy chills pricked every inch of me. I’d heard of a forest that was dark, even during the day, but I thought it was only a myth. Now, it had become my reality.

Nick cleared his throat nervously. “By any chance, that’s not the Night Forest, is it?”

“Whatever it’s called, I don’t want to go in there.” Amanda grimaced, shaking her head. “It creeps the hell out of me.”

“It’s okay,” Noah assured Amanda, moving to stand next to her. “I’ll protect you.”

Amanda’s sour expression quickly disappeared. “Well…in that case, I’m sure I’ll be fine.” Her flirty tone was enough to have Nick’s eyes rolling.

“I’ve heard that the trees swallow you up,” Nick continued.

“They’ll slice you up first, of course,” Sarah added, showing off her sword.
That girl needs to get off her high horse. She might think she’s tough, all armored up, but with one zap of my bolts, she’d be knocked out.

“See if they can pass me!” Colin gloated. His ego was just as big as Sarah’s, but maybe I was being too judgmental. Our family was full of self-admiration.

“Don’t worry so much. I’ll scorch them if they dare to touch us.” Aaron flickered his fingers, showing off his fire.

“Nonsense.” Zara waved her hand like she was swatting a fly. “Stick with me and you’ll be fine. This entrance is the only way to get to Mt. Hem.”

What was she talking about? There was no entrance. There wasn’t even a space for a small animal to pass through.

Zara started walking in first. The trees slithered away, as if the branches knew she was there…or did she use her magic to untangle the unfriendly path? I had no idea, but it opened up when it had been tightly closed just a second ago.

Walking further in, I continued to hold Sky’s hand. Every once in a while she would look at me, but she didn’t say a word. I knew that look. She was checking up on me, trying to read my thoughts. I hadn’t spoken to her once since we got there. I was too busy scanning the surroundings for any freakish activity. Once inside, it was dark except for the miniscule rays of sunlight seeping through the cracks up above. Lucky for us, the sky was cloudless.

Sometimes the sunlight would highlight Sky’s hair, making her look like an angel, and sometimes it would hit that perfect spot on her iris, making it twinkle. In both instances, she was a beautiful vision in my eyes, and I would do anything to protect her.

Black branches weaved tightly together, reminding me of the swamp’s trees. I felt like I was inside one of the massive trees, fighting my way out. Bare branches tangled with adjacent branches, so I couldn’t tell where it started or ended. It was pretty quiet, except for the shuffling sounds of our footsteps, but every once in a while, I heard rumbling sounds from high above. The sudden change in temperature not only gave me goose bumps, but it was getting difficult to breathe, as the air became thick and heavy…or was it just me?

I don’t know how long we’d walked, but my legs started to ache, and they hardly ever ached. I knew Sky’s were hurting, too, by the way she was walking, even stumbling a couple of times. I didn’t mind catching her fall, though; it was a good excuse to hold her close to me.

“You okay?” I asked.

Sky nodded with that sweet, angelic smile that I loved to see. It always caused desire to explode within me. She was a good sport and never complained, unlike Amanda. Figuring that it was a perfect opportunity to speak, I purposely made us lag behind.

“I found your gifts today. Actually, someone placed them on my bed.” I swung our arms as we walked hand in hand. My smile was so big; I probably looked like a lovesick fool. It was true...I loved Sky, this I knew for sure. It was one thing that was holding me together. She was helping me wake up from the dead.

“It was Nick,” she giggled. “Do you like them?”

I smiled again, not from her words, but from the sound of her laughter. She made the cutest sounds when she was happy, not to mention the other sounds I loved to hear whimpering out of her sweet lips, like when I was purposely inflicting my light on her.

“Of course, I do. Thank you. I will always treasure anything you give me.” Swiftly stopping, I turned around and kissed her. It was just going to be a little peck, but I lost it when our lips touched. She tasted like blueberry muffins; guess I know what she must have had for breakfast.

Eyes closed, Skylar pulled back, opening them slowly as if coming out of a daze. Her chest rose and fell quickly; she was enjoying my kiss way too much. “You need to stop. I’m going to want more.” It was a good thing she made us stop. I had forgotten where we were. 

After walking for a few hours, we couldn’t see the path in front of us. Zara started to dimly glow, but it wasn’t from her body—like how I would do it—it came from the stone she held in the palm of her hand. The blue light intensified, giving us enough light to see our path, so I decided not to light up myself. I realized Nick was thinking the same thing when he looked at me, shrugged his shoulders, and just kept walking. He was dimly lit, but had quickly shut it off.

“We can take a rest here,” Victor said, looking overcome and tired. “It seems safe enough, don’t you think, Zara?”

Zara glanced around at the surroundings, then looked at her stones. “I think so. I don’t feel any negative energy.”

There was something about her tone of voice that betrayed her words, but I brushed if off. After all, I had no idea what she did with those stones or what they meant.

“I think this is a good open space,” Amanda added. “There are no bushes here,” she glanced around, “just trees, dead grass, and dirt.”

Victor put his backpack down and took out a bottle of water. Everyone else did the same.

Taking out a bottle of water, I handed it to Sky and she gulped half of it down. I knew I was staring, but I couldn’t help it. She could even make drinking water look sexy, and that made me even thirstier. After I drank some, too, I gazed around to see where Nick and Amanda were.

Suddenly, something caught the corner of my eye, and I turned away from Sky. Tiny bubbles of water hovered in the air in front of us. They looked like bubbles, so I zapped one with a small bolt and it popped.

I knew it was Sky’s little joke by the sly, yet innocent smile and her giggling, not to mention a few more bubbles were now coming out of her water bottle. It was amazing to see this transformation, yet she was handling it better than I would have. Perhaps it was the fact that she was getting used to the paranormal life, and she had support around her.

I closed the bottle and handed it to her, just in case she wanted more. Apparently she wasn’t thirsty, but still wanted to be playful. With a shake of my head, I mouthed, “No, no, no.” After planting a kiss on her forehead, I put the bottle back into the backpack.

To my surprise, I saw more water bubbles, so I poked one with my finger. It wasn’t the reaction that I got last time. My finger went right through it, and it retained its form even when I removed my finger. I even used my bolt, but nothing happened.

Turning at the sound of laughter, I saw that water bubbles surrounded us, multiplying by the second. I glanced at Noah and Tim—the two that I thought were behind this—but when they seemed fascinated by it, I knew they had nothing to do with it, especially since their water bottles were closed. The only other person I thought could do this was Sky, but she appeared worried instead of amused.

“Mason, I’m not doing this. I don’t think it’s from one of us,” she said under her breath. Her eyes were wide and frightened, glued to the bubbles dancing in front of her.

Nick, being Nick, cast out electricity through his finger; it also went right through them, just as it had for me…and again, nothing happened. Seeming puzzled, he poked his fingers through one…still nothing.

Colin and Sarah swung their swords while Aaron tried to scorch them with his light, but still nothing. We were in deep trouble if none of our powers had any effect on them.

Worried, I turned to Zara. The stone in the palm of her hand had completely changed to red, unless she had a different stone. I was almost certain it was blue when I saw it give off light earlier. With her eyes locked on the stone, she didn’t move or speak. I was waiting for her guidance when suddenly, Zara jerked back.

“Don’t let them open in front of you. Swat them away,” she said quickly. “It’s a sleeping spell. Hurry, come behind me.”

“What the hell?” I grabbed Sky and made sure Nick and Amada were right behind me.

The bubbles started growing bigger, but that wasn’t our only problem. Something was grabbing me, wrapping around my ankle. It happened so fast that by the time I realized they were the roots from the trees, I was imprisoned against its trunk.

When the initial shock wore off and I managed to snap out of it, I searched for Sky. Everyone else was tied except for Zara, who looked utterly stunned. Baffled, she ran to Victor and tried to help him get loose. The grip on me was too strong, and everything I tried had no effect. Even my light bounced right back at me. I stopped when I felt the pain from my own shock. Damn it!

“Sky, you okay?” She was tied to the tree next to me.

“I’m fine, Mason. How are we going to get out of this?”

There was panic in her voice. I had to do something.

“Can’t you get us out, Zara?” Nick hollered. The roots had completely wrapped him up. He couldn’t move any part of his body, just like the rest of us, but Nick wouldn’t stay still. He kept squirming, cussing, and lighting up, but it wasn’t working.

“What you said was true,” Colin shouted.

“We’re going to be swallowed up!” Amanda shrieked.

“Don’t waste your energy. Get a hold of yourself,” Sarah said to Amanda, who was tied up next to her.

“We’re going to die!” Amanda bawled.

I tried to think of a plan to get us out, but I ran out of time. Plus, Amanda’s cries weren’t helping me either. The bubbles—which were now the size of bowling balls—began to pop. At first, it looked like white vapor swarming around in front of me, before it wafted straight for my face. The next thing I saw was a blurry vision of Sky. As I fought the urge to sleep, I had no choice but to submit, and my last thoughts were of Sky. I hoped I would still find her there when this wore off.