Extraordinary (28 page)

The incredible misery in his words caused an eruption of tears from Tristan’s striking brown eyes. He turned away to regain his composure. In the middle of this heartbreaking experience, I crouched next to this wonderful soul while the love of my life bawled right along with him.
My eyes remained dry.

One step at a time.

****

Chapter Twenty-Two

Sometimes when you weren’t busy looking, eternal relationships would form. Without trying, I had acquired a new friend, a grandfather, and a soul mate. I would not trade them for all the wishes in the world, unless one of those wishes was for them all to come home with me.

Now, my focus had to be on Sadie and Blaze. I shuddered to think of what they were facing as Katerina’s prisoners. They were more than capable of defending themselves under ordinary circumstances but the first lesson I had learned when this fiasco began was nothing about this was ordinary.

My imagination placed my siblings in a dark dungeon with concrete floors and no bathrooms. I could almost hear the constant drip of that leaky pipe that was close enough to drive you mad but just out of reach to stop its flow. The guards would be hateful towards them and only allow them bread to eat.

“Arwen!” I blurted. “You have to help us.”

Arwen lurched from his chair, startled by my outburst. Tristan swung back around like I knew something he didn’t. My disturbing prison scenario might have been too cliché to be real but the fear that even one of those circumstances was true had lit a fire deep inside my soul.

Enough time had been wasted.

“Tristan has filled me in up until now,” Arwen said. “The basic principles are well calculated but I know Katerina and I know the ins and outs of her dwelling.”

“Does everyone here talk like you two?” I asked.

“How do we talk?” Tristan asked.

“Like smarty-pants.”

“That’s because we are smarty-pants,” Arwen said.

To Arwen’s apparent surprise, Tristan and I were pleasantly amused by his unexpected response. Arwen seemed delighted with himself as well, standing a bit taller, smiling a bit wider.

“That’s more like it, Arwen,” I said.

Arwen’s pride dwindled. His smile faded into a frown and he returned to his usual position of gazing downward.

“Hey, Arwen,” I said, waiting for him to look up at me. “It’s ok
ay to be happy sometimes.”

“Well, color me surprised,” Tristan said. “Ms. Ryan, I do believe that is some excellent advice.”

Tristan’s right eyebrow lifted as he stared at me until he believed his message had sunk into my thick skull. I didn’t need his sarcastic expression I knew what he meant.

Take your own advice, Alexandra.

Sometimes I wished I could stick my tongue out at my inner self. She irritated me.

Arwen led the way back inside the house, stopping once inside to hold the door for us to enter. The action was unnecessary but as Arwen stood politely opening a door that was in no rush to close itself, my chest tightened—he deserved better, I would see that he got it.

Tristan and I crouched down to avoid bumping our heads on the doorway. I, personally, could not withstand the annoyance or humiliation of another concussion. Arwen began unrolling a large piece of paper across the table. Since I was already looking down, because I had no other choice, I could see the paper appeared to be blueprints.

“Sorry about the lack of artistic ability,” Arwen said.

Tristan and I chose our seats around the dining room table, which was constructed from a tree trunk, or, perhaps, a tree limb. It was very small after all. Arwen remained standing, perfectly eye-level with his sketches while we struggled to position ourselves close enough to see the drawings. Our chairs sat near to the floor requiring our knees to bend up to our chests. The table was too low for our legs to fit comfortably underneath so we rotated around and peered at Arwen with our bodies turned sideways—and ankles intertwined.

“This is a map I drew for Tristan earlier,” Arwen continued. “I was trying to illustrate the layout of the castle but my penmanship isn’t what it used...well, it never has been very good.”

“No, this is great,” I said. “Any idea where she would be holding Sadie and Blaze? Are they being tortured and only given bread?”

My frightened imagination got the best of me again. The silliness of my rambling became apparent instantly, but luckily only to me. Tristan and Arwen concentrated so absorbedly on the blueprint it left little room to recognize my awkward panic.

“She has them in this area,” Arwen said, pointing to a small section of rooms in the basement. “Conditions are less than ideal but I can assure you they are taken care of.”

“So you’ve seen them?” I asked.

“I know her plans,” he said. “The thing about being quiet and small is that you are often overlooked or forgotten, but it also means you hear things others might not want you to hear.”

“What does she intend to do with them?” Tristan asked.

“And what is so special about us? Granted, we have pretty cool powers but they aren’t life changing take-over-the-world powers. What good would they be to her?”

“It is not your individual abilities that make you all special,” Arwen continued. “The bond that makes your abilities possible is what she wants. Everyone here has some type of magical skill but we are residents of a magical realm. There is nothing terribly interesting about people who all wear the same hat, so to speak.”

“So we aren’t from here and therefore we are fascinating,” I said.

“Basically,” he replied. “There has never been an instance of a magical being having a relationship with an earthly being much less for them to have magically inclined children. You all are mixtures of two cultures that have never combined. The powers you and your siblings possess are much deeper and stronger than any Katerina can conjure.

“At first she desired revenge against your mother,” he continued. “But once she realized your existence, her plan changed. She became intrigued. Your power means little to her, she is powerful enough on her own, but with Katerina there is rarely any rhyme or reason in her actions. She is driven by hate and greed...and quite possibly boredom.”

“So she’s not concerned with breaking my mother’s spell?”

“That was always her plan and it still is, but now she’s taking it further.”

“What happens if she succeeds?” Tristan asked. “If Katerina manages to carry out her plan, what happens to them—to us?”

“They will die and so will we,” Arwen answered. “The only reason they are alive now is because they possess a portion of their mother’s genes. If those genes—the magic ones—are removed or altered they will die instantly in this world and Katerina will punish us for helping.”

“So we better get this right,” Tristan said.

“What is the point of punishing you?” I asked. “Especially if she is victorious.”

“Katerina’s power is centered on evil jealousy,” Arwen explained. “If for no other reason, she will punish Tristan and me out of pure resentment.”

Our entire fate rested in one another’s hands. The thought of Tristan and Arwen risking their lives for us was a burden I could do without. Circumstances had evolved from saving me, Sadie, and Blaze to protecting everyone involved as well.

We all needed each other. We all needed this plan to be successful. Sadie, Blaze, and I needed to escape to survive. Tristan had a promise to keep. Arwen would help us so that he may live freely for the first time since he was a child. Katerina had taken enough from him.

Oh, what a tangled a web indeed.

“How soon can we get moving?” I asked.

“We should go as soon as possible,” Tristan said.

“First, there is something you should know,” Arwen said in a serious tone. “I am confident of Sadie and Blaze’s safety because the key to all of your powers is you, Alex.”

“Tristan mentioned that last night. What is that about?”

“Katerina discovered that you are the connection between Sadie and Blaze’s abilities. Within you rests the source of the powers you all possess.”

“Why me?”

“Because you are the strongest.”

“I don’t believe that,” I said. “Sadie and Blaze are much stronger and capable.”

“The honor was bestowed upon you because, if I understand correctly, you were the connection,” Arwen said. “You were with your mother the longest and with each of your siblings before your separation. More than that the universe saw your strength from the very beginning, now it is time to discover and display that power.”

“This is not surprising to me,” Tristan interjected. “For someone who is painfully independent and intelligent, you really have no understanding of your true abilities—magical or otherwise. We all can see the real you, it’s about time for you to do the same.”

I had hidden away from the world for so long that I managed to hide from myself. Life was about finding yourself and happiness but I never dreamed that I would sabotage my own quest for completion.

Am I completely useless?

“I thought we were supposed to be the best kept secret,” I said. “How does Katerina know more about my family than we or anyone else?”

“Her life revolves around your family,” Tristan said.

“You’d be surprised what you can do with time, darkness, and magic,” Arwen said. “She felt your power the second we arrived. She just didn’t know it was you until she saw you.”

“What does this mean?” I asked. “Aside from the obvious repercussions, what effect will this have on our journey?”

“I hope that it will allow you to release the strength you hold inside,” Arwen answered. “But it also means that protecting you is the most pressing matter.”

“How did you come to that conclusion?” I asked. “As far as I’m concerned Sadie and Blaze are most important.”

“Since you are the key to your family’s magic, losing your abilities removes all power. Katerina only needs you to destroy you all.”

“So I just won’t lose my power,” I said, feigning calm. “Or don’t die. At least, I’m harder to kill.”

The walls of the tiny house seemed to close in around me. The weight of the world crushed my chest and hunched my back. A single breath of air was an intense struggle. Completely unnerved, I forcefully slid my chair away from the table just as Tristan kneeled at my side.

“Alex, breathe,” he said.

His eyes locked on mine while his thumb caressed the top of my hand in his. This was not the response of a true leader. This was the response of a frightened nineteen-year-old crumbling under the pressure of an impossible mission. Determined to become the strongest version of myself, I stared back at Tristan until his serenity flowed through me.

A gulp of air inflated my compressed lungs, washing away all anxiety. The old Alex would have been waking up on the floor after another fainting spell but this Alex faced her fears instead of succumbing to them.

Without warning, for the first time in quite awhile, I was not apprehensive—uncomfortable, but not fearful. I couldn’t if I wanted to; it was out of my hands.

The exciting burn in my soul was not magic; it was my true nature aching to be released. My constant inner conflict was not a result of complacent indecision but rather a choice I had unknowingly made to suppress the traits that could make me a leader. The image my mother painted in her journals and the person Tristan saw when he looked at me was the person I, myself, never knew but failed to disguise from the world. I had only thought I was blending in.

I may not have understood or immediately recognized the strength buried deep within but, like it or not, our fate rested in my hands. The least I could do was remain conscious and, hopefully, brave.

“We need a plan,” I said. “I suggest we make one.”

“Maybe you should lie down,” Arwen said.

“No, I’m fine. Tell us what you know.”

“Yes ma’am,” Arwen said, once again consulting his maps. “Well, the rooms where Sadie and Blaze are being held will be heavily guarded. That should be no problem since you have demolished several of the guards already. The hardest part will be getting to Katerina without her getting to you first.”

“Once I get to her I will need a second before I can start,” Tristan said. “I won’t have time to pick and choose, I will have to absorb all of her power, and so I may be weakened at first.”

“It will weaken Katerina also,” Arwen said. “We will take this time to get everyone out. Alex, make sure you have the potion with you because we will need everyone at full strength.”

“You guys have been busy with this little scheme, huh?”

“You aren’t the only impatient over-thinker,” Tristan said with a wink. “I just hide it better.”

“We won’t be able to rely on our powers,” I said. “She will probably have us blocked. The only chance I have at anticipating situations will be if she doesn’t see me coming and that is doubtful.”

“Sadie may still be able to use hers,” Tristan added. “I can handle it either way.”