Haven: Revenge of the Viper (17 page)

“Mom … Mom speak to me …” Sam cried. He cupped her head in his hands. “Please, Mom, I … I don’t know what to do …”

He reached for his mother’s arm, which felt cold and lifeless. He raged with fear and frustration that tore at his insides, trying to claw their way out. He shook with adrenaline as he tried desperately to keep it together.

“Mom … answer me, Mom!” he pleaded, his voice breaking as he spoke.

Sam gripped his mother with both hands and pulled her close, gently rocking her back and forth. Hot tears streamed down his face as he looked to Travis, who was cradling Sarah in his arms.

“Sarah …” Sam whispered.

Travis held Sarah tightly with one arm under her back and the other over her waist. “Sarah, wake up, don’t do this!” he yelled. But there was no response. Sarah’s arms dangled at her sides and she didn’t seem to be breathing.

The two boys, overcome with pain, looked up as the sound of rustling footsteps approached from just beyond the doorway. Demetrius, Vallen, and Holly stepped forward in unison, each brandishing their staffs in front of them. All three gemstones came to life, illuminating the room entirely. Startled, Sam and Travis looked up at one another, their large eyes bright with tears.

No one said a word as the room filled with the sounds of shallow breathing. They all watched as the knob of the battered front door slowly began to turn.

Sam and Travis were frozen in anticipation, their eyes glued to the door as it slowly creaked open.

A dark silhouette with long hair inched its way forward, past the threshold into Sam’s house. Sam let out a sigh of relief as the light met the intruder’s eyes. He knew this person. He recognized the green, catlike eyes gleaming in the staff light. Standing in his doorway, with an elusive look on her face, was the girl from next door. Sam’s eyes quickly flashed to Demetrius, Vallen, and Holly who had crept behind the door, ready to strike.

“Wait!” he said abruptly, holding up his hand. “I know her.” The girl looked startled as her eyes moved to Demetrius and the others pointing their staffs in her direction. Then her gaze fell on Travis and Sam, who were clinging on to Sarah and Alisa.

The girl timidly stepped forward, her eyes cutting back and forth between Alisa and Sarah.

“We mean no harm; we are here to help you, Samuel,” she said, looking directly at Sam. The sensuous tone of her voice was soothing and made Sam feel less hesitant about her being there.

Sam stared at the girl as he drew his mother closer in his arms. How did she know his name?

“We are friends of your parents. Please, let us help you. Time is of the essence.”

“
We?
Who is we?” Demetrius grunted as he lifted his staff a bit higher.

The green-eyed girl eased the door back to reveal a tall, gangly man standing just beyond the threshold. He was well-groomed, dressed in black slacks and a white collar shirt. He wore a tie that hung loosely around his neck, and it looked like he had just returned from work. He surveyed the room curiously before pursing his lips into a forced smile.

“This is Jacob,” the girl said. The man nodded nervously and his pale skin turned a rosy red. Sam thought that maybe he was her father, but who calls their father by his first name?

The girl turned her attention back to Sam, who wiped the tears from his face.

“Samuel,” she persisted, “please, we can help.” The sincerity in her voice helped ease the apprehension that was building up inside Sam. He looked to Demetrius for reassurance. After all, he was the one with the weapon trained on her. But to his surprise Demetrius had already lowered his staff.

Sam turned back to the girl. He could hardly see her through the tears that filled his eyes. His voice cracked when he tried to speak. “It … it killed my family. They’re … all gone.”

The girl inched into the room. “Please, Samuel, let us try to help.”

She took one step forward, then another, inching her way toward Sam and Travis. Neither of the boys moved; they both sat on the floor, quietly watching as she approached them. Holly and Vallen lowered their staffs as the girl grew closer.

She knelt down next to Sam and placed a warm hand on his shoulder. “Samuel, I promise I won’t hurt them,” she said. “We need to lay her on the ground, okay?”

Sam’s swollen eyes met hers. He wasn’t sure if it was her jade green eyes or her angelic features that calmed him, but without realizing it he had relinquished his mother into the girl’s arms.

She placed a hand underneath Alisa’s body and laid her gently on the ground. Sam winced, looking at the small cauterized wound in the center of his mother’s chest. The same green glimmering poison that had been in Xavier’s wound traced the edges of the gash.

Everyone stood quietly watching as the girl removed a small vial of amber liquid from her pocket. She quickly flipped the top off with her thumb and placed the tip to Alisa’s pale, parted lips. The thick liquid poured freely into Alisa’s mouth until the vial was empty.

“We need to help your sister as well,” the girl said. She looked at Sam, as if asking for permission. Sam wiped more tears from his eyes and gave a gentle nod. The girl turned to Jacob, who seemed hesitant to enter the room and remained rooted to his spot by the door. “See to Samuel’s sister,” she said firmly.

Jacob nodded and moved quickly across the room to Travis. “Please, I need to help her,” he said. But Travis was reluctant. He held on to Sarah’s hand, staring into the man’s somber face. Sam knew Travis was in as much pain as he was; he cared for Sarah and he was scared. But Sam also knew if there was any chance of saving his family, any chance at all, they would need this man’s help. “Travis … it’s okay, let them help,” he said.

Travis looked at Sam. His cheeks were tearstained and his hands still trembled, but he slowly released his grip on Sarah so Jacob could take her.

Sam turned back to the unusual girl as she stared at his mother’s pallid face, hoping for any sign of consciousness. He watched as she took her hand and gently stroked a few loose strands of his mother’s hair back against her head. A few days ago Sam thought this girl was just an ordinary teenager like himself.
Boy, did I get that wrong,
he thought to himself. He stared at the girl as she tended to his mother. Long, straight strands of raven black hair fell across her heart-shaped face, accentuating her apricot skin. Her long eyelashes batted like small wings around her eyes, which vigilantly moved between Alisa and Sarah.

She looked kind of exotic, Sam thought. He had never seen anyone quite like her before. But that wasn’t all—she looked too confident in what she was doing, as if she had done this before, and that gave Sam cause for concern. For one, she knew his mother, and two, she knew Sam by name. He wondered what kind of magic she possessed. She wasn’t carrying a staff, so maybe her magic didn’t work that way.

There were so many questions but none of them really mattered right now. All that mattered was that this girl, whoever she was, could potentially help his mother and sister. Sam’s stomach was in knots and he couldn’t keep his hands from shaking. He wanted to help, but didn’t know how. He wasn’t even sure what they were doing.

“What’s happening? What are we waiting for?” Sam asked impatiently between sniffles.

The girl did not move. She continued to stare down at his mother’s body.

“Sometimes our eyes can deceive us and things are not as they seem, especially when black magic is involved,” she said in an even tone. “This tonic,” she held up the vial, “better known by my people as Soulrista Immortalalice, will tell us if her spirit is alive. If the spirit lives, then there is hope.”

“What do you mean
your
people?” Travis asked.

Everyone’s eyes moved to Travis, except for the girl’s. She continued to stare at Alisa. Sam looked up to Demetrius, Vallen, and Holly, who stood behind Travis. Holly’s face was streaked with tears and she looked down and began shuffling her feet. Vallen stared at Travis nonplussed, as if he wasn’t expecting a question like that just yet. Demetrius, on the other hand, narrowed his gaze. Sam wasn’t sure what he was thinking. He was much harder to read than the others.

The room fell silent until Vallen finally said, “There will be a chance for questions, but now is not the best time.”

Scowling, Travis returned his gaze to the floor where Sarah and Alisa lay. Sam felt his frustration too; his questions seemed to be mounting by the moment and no one was answering them. He looked down at his mother and sister.

“No,” Sam said a little louder that he intended. “I think now is the perfect time.” Travis looked up. “I think someone needs to tell us who you people are and why you are here!”

Sam’s face had gone red, as anger swelled inside of him, twisting into a giant acrimonious knot that lodged in the center of his chest. If he didn’t say something now he thought he might explode.

“Now is not the—”

“No, now
is
the time! I don’t even know this girl’s name,” Sam said, glaring at Vallen. Then his eyes moved to the green-eyed girl.

“No,” the girl interjected. “Samuel is right; he needs to know.” She took a deep breath, tucked her hair behind her ear, and looked up at Sam. Her ear was thin, long, and unusually pointed.

“My name is Lyra and we are not from this world,” she said bluntly.

Sam mouth fell open and Travis’s eyes grew twice their regular size.

“I’m—”

“Vulcan!” Travis blurted out and slapped his hand over his mouth. He looked just as shocked as Sam felt.

Lyra frowned, confused. Sam’s eyes cut to Travis.

“What?” Travis groaned “She said ‘not from this world.’”

Lyra slowly tuned to Sam and continued. “I am Elvin, and we,” she swept her hand toward Demetrius, Holly, and Vallen, “are from a world called Haven.”

Sam stared at Lyra for a moment, not saying a word. He couldn’t believe it—first magic and now this. What was next, dragons? Sam felt his whole body go numb. He had seen his mother do magic and that would mean his mother was from another world too. Sam felt his head begin to throb. He placed his hand on his forehead and ran it down the length of his face.
Secrets,
he thought,
so many secrets.

Sam didn’t say anything for a moment. He wasn’t sure how to respond. He wasn’t sure about anything anymore. His life had been turned upside-down in a matter of days, each day more awful than the last.

Finally, in an effort to change the subject, Sam asked, “How will you know?”

“Know?” Lyra asked, bewildered.

“How will you know if she’s alive?” he asked, staring at his mother with a blank gaze. His voice was monotone and distant.

Before she was able to answer, Jacob turned and looked up, “Lyra!”

Sam turned to Jacob. Specks of golden dust sparkled in a ghostly golden glow around Sarah’s body like a fine mist.

“That’s how,” Lyra said. “That is her soul, you see. It’s faint, but she is alive.” Jacob reached down and lifted Sarah’s bloodstained t-shirt off her stomach. The thin gash across her midsection had vanished, leaving only a dark scar in its place.

There were tears in Travis’s eyes, but he was smiling and Sam couldn’t help but smile too. His sister was alive! She had made it, which meant there was still hope for his mother too. He saw Demetrius step forward out of the corner of his eye. Sam looked up at him, but his smile quickly faded. Demetrius wasn’t looking at Sarah; he was gazing down at Alisa.

Sam turned to see Lyra lower his mother’s head back to the ground. Her despondent gaze made Sam’s heart seize up, and the sick, empty feeling crept its way back into his chest.

“What,” Sam asked, “What is it? What’s—” But his voice caught in his throat when he looked down at his mother’s body again. Her skin seemed paler than before, and there was no golden glow or sparkling anything around her body. Petrified, Sam looked to Lyra, but her once luminous green eyes were vacant and sad now.

“I’m sorry, Samuel, I am so … sorry.” He could hear the finality in her voice.

Sam shook his head. “No, no, please, you’ve got to do something, please!”

He moved closer to his mother and took her hand. “Mom!” he yelled. “Mom, please, you can’t leave us, you have to wake up.” Tears began to steam down his face again. “Mom … Mom!”

Sam looked up at Demetrius with a wild panic in his eyes. “Do something! You have to help us!” he yelled.

Holly gasped and covered her mouth, her eyes welling with tears. Travis held Sarah’s hand and stared at Sam’s mother. His eyes were swollen and red.

Sam slowly placed his head on his mother’s chest and through broken sobs and trembling shoulders continued to mutter, “Please, please …”

Chapter 15

I
t was some time before Sam left his mother’s side. Holly finally persuaded him to move to the couch, giving Lyra and Jacob space to attend to the bodies, which they covered with large blankets. Sam watched from the corner of his eye; the sight of his mother and Xavier just lying there made him feel empty and absolutely miserable inside. Travis looked just as bad as Sam felt and he would not budge from Sarah’s side. His swollen nose and two black eyes from the fight with the Viper made him look like a sullen-faced raccoon. Despondent and exhausted, Travis stared blankly into Sarah’s pale face, oblivious to his surroundings.