Authors: Rain Oxford
Insidious Winds (26 page)
That’s right. That’s why
. She was strong inside
and out, but not an absolute bitch like Regina, she was undeniably gorgeous,
and when she showed her soft side, I felt like I won an award. Too bad she was
completely and irrevocably Alpha Flagstone’s.
“Tell me what you want most,” she said. She kissed my
chest and I ran my hand down her back.
“Right this moment?”
“Always. What is most important to you? What can you
not live without? What do you want more than anything?”
I thought it was her questions that were distracting
me from enjoying her body at first. However, after a moment, I started to
recognize it; it was my instincts. I pushed her off and sat up, startled to
realize that I wasn’t dreaming. “What the hell is going on?” I was in my room
with my roommates and Scott asleep. Remington kissed my shoulder. We were both
naked, awake, and in my bed.
“Relax,” she whispered. “This is what you want.”
“Where is Flagstone?”
She leaned up to kiss my neck again. I pushed her
away and pulled the blanket around her to cover her nudity. As much as I knew
something was very wrong, she was still ridiculously beautiful and distracting.
“Who cares?” she asked. “I want you.”
“No, you don’t. I’ve been in your head; I know what
you want.”
She smacked my chest. “Why do you have to be so
stubborn?” She vanished without another word, leaving me stunned and confused.
“Dev? You good?” Darwin asked, sitting up. “I thought
I heard something.”
“You did. Go back to sleep. I’m going for a walk.”
“Need backup?”
“Not yet. I’ll come get you if I do.”
“Okay. Luck, bro.” He rolled over and went back to
sleep.
I got up, dressed, and went out into the hall. My
intention had been to look for Remington’s room to make sure she was okay, but
I found myself standing outside of Langril’s room instead. I knocked lightly,
waited, and knocked harder. When I still heard nothing, I tried the knob.
Unlocked.
The room was empty. It was three in the morning and
Langril wasn’t in his room. Langril’s words from the days before came to mind.
I expected him to be here, so why wasn’t he? He was supposed to be here.
Something was very wrong. I pulled out my penlight to
scan for any blood or sign of a struggle, and what I found was worse; Langril’s
red ball was on the floor beside his bed. I had never seen him care for
anything as much as he did that ball, so I knew he wouldn’t leave it lying
around on the floor.
“Devon Sanders…”
I turned to see Adesra standing in the doorway, about
five and a half feet tall instead of her usual six inches. “What’s going on?”
“Your time is up, Devon Sanders. The Shadow Master is
about to get the key. You must get it now, or we will all be enslaved. Please
help us.”
“How?”
“The gnomes will lead you to the realm where you will
face a test. Only the balance of nature will help you pass this test. You will
have to sacrifice what is most important to you.”
“Screw that. I’ll get the key, destroy Krechea once
and for all, and then I’ll keep whatever is most important to me. I’m not going
to take this lying down and I’m sure as hell not letting Krechea take Astrid or
my friends.”
“Anger is not the way, Devon Sanders.”
“I’m not angry.” I walked passed her, went straight
down to the bottom floor, and left the dorms. Yes, I told Darwin I would get
him if I needed him, but my friends couldn’t help me with this. They did enough
for me already.
I entered the castle, where the vampires and their
teachers were in the middle of their classes, and went to the underground
level. I didn’t get my sword out of its hiding place because I wasn’t willing
to set off an earthquake under the castle. Instead, I found the stairs to the
next level down. I pulled my penlight out because there weren’t automatic
torches on this level, then stopped on the bottom step.
“Come out, gnomes. You said a year ago that you would
help me stop Langril and Krechea, so I know you’re here and I know you’re
listening.”
It was silent and still for about three minutes
before a patch of the dirt was pushed up and a gnome appeared. He scowled at me,
which was how I recognized him as the same one that stopped the enchanted tree
from beating me to a pulp. Considering everything Langril has done, I still
hadn’t forgiven him for that.
The gnome didn’t speak; he just turned and ambled
down the tunnel. I followed cautiously, relying on my instincts to warn me if I
was about to set off one of the traps. Fortunately, the gnome seemed to have
the magic to prevent the traps from going off, just like the fire salamanders
had.
When we reached the fifth floor, I couldn’t help but
to slow down. Although my instincts weren’t warning me of danger, I knew this
was a bad place to be. There was something so malevolent that it poisoned the
air.
“Can you tell me anything about the test I’m supposed
to face?” I asked the gnome.
“You will probably die,” he answered.
“Something constructive. What will I have to do?
Who’s in charge of the test?”
“The challenge is intended to make sure only mortals
who are worthy can attain the keys. Such challenges were originally only for immortals,
but the rules have gone lax.”
“So they’re not designed for any person of Earth to
survive. What about people from the other worlds?”
“When humankind was still young and naïve, magic was
only created through elementals and the gods. Ancient wizards of Dothra,
however, had learned to create portals into other worlds. These wizards were
immortal and powerful gods of their own lands, yet what they had was not
enough. They learned to draw power from others by killing, and those they did
not kill were enslaved. The Ancient Ones ruled over all they found with endless
greed and cruelty.
“When humans were at the brink of extinction, the
gods stepped in to send the Ancient Ones back to their own world. It was a
devastating struggle, but the gods finally designed a tower on each world and
let the Ancient Ones fight themselves over monopoly of those towers. Once the
gods forced the Ancient Ones back to Dothra, they sealed the towers.
“Why were the keys created?”
“For the same reason the towers were; the gods wanted
the power for themselves. They created the keys to control all six worlds.”
“Six?” Earth, plus four paranormal worlds made five,
not six worlds. Then again, I doubted the gnomes even had a concept of math.
“Yes, six. They created four keys; one for each of
the worlds except for Earth, because they wanted the power of the other worlds
and did not want to share Earth’s magic. Earth’s magic, meaning elementals.
Therefore, only one who is a being of the balance, the elementals, can attain
the key.”
“I’m not an elemental.”
“You are a warrior of elementals; a defender of the
balance. If you are not, you will die here.”
“What happened to the Ancient Ones?”
“They continued trying to escape Dothra and
eventually… they just vanished. We believe they are still trying. There is only
one left that we know remains.”
“Don’t tell me. Please don’t tell me.” If he said
Langril or Krechea, I would throw up.
The double doors opened and a beam of light formed in
the middle of the dark chamber, illuminating a figure I never imagined meeting.
At the same time, I knew it couldn’t have been anyone else. My jaw dropped open
and I found myself at a loss of what to say or do.
What does anyone say to a Roman god?
One of the faces was youthful with blond hair and a
clean face, while the other was elderly with white hair on the head and face.
“Hello, Devon Sanders,” the elderly face said, sounding far too human for
comfort.
“You know me? I mean, are you really here or are you
just some figment of my imagination?” I asked, shocked.
“Whether or not this meeting is taking place solely
in your mind,
I
am real and
I
do know you,” the young face said.
“I know you because you have come to me for a power you are not yet ready to
possess. Return now to your world and know that you have avoided a terrible
fate.”
“With all due respect, it’s not that simple. I need
to keep the key out of Krechea’s hands. Is there any other way for me to do
that than to get the key myself?”
“No. It is too late,” the elderly face said.
“And what happens if Krechea gets any of the keys?”
“Your world would be destroyed. Are you willing to
sacrifice what is most important to you in order to save others?”
“You just told me I didn’t have a choice. I have to
stop Krechea.”
“That is not an answer to my question.”
“Yes. I will sacrifice what I have to in order to
protect the key from him.
“Then enter and prove yourself worthy, but be warned;
you cannot leave the same man.”
That’s just what I needed; more ominous warnings. “No
retreat, no surrender,” to quote my wedding vows.
The doors behind him opened into complete darkness.
When I cleared the doorway, the doors closed and I was alone in a chamber that
was only about five feet wide and long. I ran my light over the walls, which
were covered in intricate designs, but I couldn’t find instructions or a
button. A soft sound made me turn, my light fell on a solid figure, and I
dropped the penlight in shock.
“Henry! What are you doing here?!” I grabbed the
light and aimed it at him again. He was definitely solid.
“I am your first guide.”
“I get a guide? I don’t want you to have to sacrifice
anything.”
“You needn’t worry; I am only here in your mind. I
can tell you nothing you don’t already know and I can guide you only as much as
you allow me. I am your subconscious personified.”
“Well, that’s more than I thought I’d have. So how do
I get out of here?”
“Like I said; I can only tell you what you already
know. The gods who designed the tower are not merciless, so either there is a
way out or they will present one to you.” As soon as he said it, my light
flickered out and I heard stone scraping against stone. I pocketed my penlight
and turned to the sound.
When I reached out and felt that the wall was gone, I
slowly made my way forward. Light didn’t actually emanate from something, but I
could suddenly see pretty much everything, including several ominous cracks in
the ground. What made such small cracks ominous was the fact that they were in
circular patterns.
Henry and I followed the tunnel for a few minutes
before the cracks began to get wider. “We really don’t like this,” Henry said.
“Yes, I know that.”
“Of course you do. You want me to distract you from
your growing worry, so that is what I’m doing.”
“Well, feel free to not. You do a bad impression of
Henry.”
“Yes, you do,” he said.
He was correct; he was successfully distracting me
from worrying. The cracks, however, continued getting wider. Within ten
minutes, I had to carefully step from circular stone to circular stone. Ten
more minutes later, and I had to hop from step to step. Then, just when I
thought it was getting too dangerous, every single step but the one that I was
on crumbled away, leaving me standing alone in the dark on a round,
two-foot-wide platform.
“Henry?” I called. Darkness grew until I was
practically blind once more.
“Only someone who is worthy is allowed to attain the
key,” Janus said. I couldn’t see him, but I wouldn’t forget that voice any time
soon. “Should you pass this test, you will be given a choice. Should you fail,
you will not leave this place.”
“Okay. I knew that coming in. What do I have to do to
pass?”
“The goal is simple; to pass this test, you must save
the one you love.”
“I love several people. Can you be more specific?”
The ground lit up in front of me to form what looked like a two-foot-wide
circular hole into another room. Inside this room, I saw Astrid unconscious on
the floor.
“The vampire has consumed poisoned blood and will die
soon, unless you can heal her.”
“You poisoned her?!”
“No, I did not. We are not in the habit of killing
innocents. However, we will also not interfere, as this was the result of her
choices. You have the opportunity to save her.” The hole closed up and it was
dark once more.
“I will save her.”
“Then make haste. From this point forth, you will
face many challenges. To save her, you must find a chalice that contains a very
powerful healing potion, which will heal any ailment including death.”
“It will heal someone from death?”
“It will, but be careful what you wish for.”
I thought of bringing someone back after three or
four months of being dead and shuddered. “I’m going to save her before she
dies. What would have happened if I didn’t come here tonight?”
“This is the exact moment you were destined to
arrive.”
* * *
Light returned to the room and I found myself on the
same podium in front of a bridge that bowed upward slightly. It was wooden,
about a foot wide, with no hand guards, and long enough that I couldn’t see the
other side through the darkness. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“To guard the key, you must have bravery,” came the
god’s snide answer.
“Henry, do you have any brilliant advice for this?” I
asked.
“Don’t fall,” he answered.
“I hate you, cat.” I stepped onto the wooden bridge
and paused, waiting to see if it was going to collapse. It looked like it was
going to hold, at least until I made it to the middle. I took another step and
stopped again to get my balance. There was nothing below me for as far as I
could see.
Thank god the gargoyle saved my heart
.
Between Hunt and Vincent’s lessons, Remington’s
classes, and my meditation class at the university, I had gotten pretty good at
finding my inner peace. I pictured the Grand Canyon at sunset in a lightning
storm. I focused on the deep blues in the sky, the vibrant oranges of the
earth, and the angry purples of the clouds above.
Holding onto that serenity, I opened my eyes and
focused on the bridge. I didn’t let the chance of falling even cross my mind
again. I would do it because I had to do it. One foot in front of the other,
and repeat. Repeat until there were no more steps.
I lost track of how far I walked and I only slowed a
few times to regain my balance. Several times, Hunt’s and Vincent’s lessons
came to my aid as I found myself instinctively controlling the air around me to
help my stability. When I finally looked up, I had just a few more steps to
take and Darwin was waiting on the other side. I refocused on my steps until I
was on solid ground again.
“Good going, bro.”
“What happened to Henry?”
“You said you hated him.”
“I lied. I don’t hate Henry at all. He’s a good man
who’s helped me many times.”
“Then why am I here now instead of him? Who are you
trying to convince? I’m just a projection of you.” He waved his hand in gesture
towards the door in front of me.
It was a massive wooden door with a rounded top and
engravings all over it. I pushed against it and was surprised when it actually
opened for me. Inside were three more tunnels. “Which one do I take?”
“I wonder,” Darwin replied.
I rolled my eyes and started down the middle tunnel.
After about ten minutes, as I was walking slowly with caution, I came upon a gate.
“You don’t happen to have a key, do you?” I asked, already knowing he didn’t.
Aside from the fact that he wasn’t really there, there was no key hole in the
gate.
Still, Darwin made a show of patting his pockets.
“Umm… no.”
I pushed and pulled against the gate with no success.
It didn’t even wiggle a little. “Right then. Next tunnel.” We backtracked and
chose the tunnel on the left.
We were faster this time since I wasn’t expecting
something to jump out and attack. This tunnel ended at a rock wall. I put my
hands on the wall and searched it for any triggers. In fact, I was so caught up
in it that I nearly missed the small movement under my foot. I looked down to
see that I had stepped on a square, foot-wide, metal platform.
I heard a sound in the distance. “Did that sound like
the metal gate sliding open to you?” I asked.
He rolled his eyes. “Yes, it did sound like that to
you
.”
I stepped off the plate and the sound came again.
“Okay, open and closed. I can do this.”
“How? You can’t be in two places at once and I’m not
really here, so I don’t exactly make the cut weight wise.”
“It’s a test, which means there is a right answer.”
“You haven’t lived in the paranormal world for long
enough. Hell, even you don’t believe that.”
I ignored him and went back to the original door so I
could try the last tunnel. This too led to a wall, only the wall had three
shelves built into it. In each of the shelves was a boulder about the size of a
bowling ball. “Why does this seem too easy?”
“Look up.”
I did and gaped. On the wall was a long riddle.
Unfortunately, I had no idea what the riddle said. “Great. That’s much better.”
“Remove one stone and one stone only,” Darwin read,
“but choose wisely, for two stones are a trap.”
“You can read that?” I asked. He sighed. My
subconscious was getting frustrated with me.
“That’s in English.”
I studied the scripture again. “No, it’s not.”
“You’re now arguing with yourself. It also says that
each stone has an inscription under it. Only one statement is true.”
I leaned close, not touching the rocks, and read the
words under them. Well, I tried to.
Unsuccessfully.
Darwin sighed again and rolled his eyes. “The first
stone says, ‘This stone is safe.’ The second stone says, ‘This stone is not
safe.’ The third stone says, ‘The first stone is trapped.’ Remember that only
one of the statements is true.”
The first stone
had
to be either safe or not
safe, so either the first or last statement was true. Thus, the second
inscription was for sure false. Also, if the first rock was safe, then that
meant both the first and second statements were true, so the first statement
was false and the first stone was trapped for sure. That meant that the third
statement was true. I tried to pick up the middle stone, but it wouldn’t budge.
“What did I do wrong?”
“You forgot to bring a wheelbarrow.”
I tried again and grunted when it gave. The damn rock
weighed two hundred and fifty pounds! “This is not going to be fun,” I grumbled
as I maneuvered it into my arms.
Darwin followed me for a moment in silence. “Do you
want to think up a cheerleader? I can do a cheer, but I doubt I’d look that
good in a skirt. Clara would make a nice cheerleader. A shirtless cheerleader…
I bet she’d put out.”
“Darwin! This is not the time for that.”
“Yeah, yeah. You can’t shut your subconscious up,
though. I
am
your instincts.” With that, he vanished… and instead I
faced John Cross.
“No, crap! Give me Darwin back! Anyone but you would
do.”
He smirked. “Does his lie comfort you, Devon?”
His voice sent a shiver down my spine and the stone
fell. Frustrated, sweating, and panting, I leaned against the wall. “The tunnel
wasn’t this long before. I should have been there by now.”
John sat on the stone and crossed his arms. “Then
give up and leave it. It’s not like you would have made it anyway. This is just
a ploy to distract you so that Krechea can use Heather to get the key.”
“Shut up. You’re lying.”
He shrugged. “
Who’s
lying? I’m just saying
what you’re thinking. You know there’s no way you’re getting out of here alive,
you know Astrid can’t hold on forever, and you know Darwin lied to you. That’s
why you never looked at the paternity test yourself; you didn’t want the lie to
end.”
“Darwin has never lied to me.”
“He did. You never really believed that Vincent was
just
mistaken
about you being his son. The truth is that he didn’t want
you any more than I did. The only person who ever loved you is trapped in Hell
and you’ve done a shitty job saving her so far.”
“I thought my subconscious was supposed to be helping
me here.” I straightened. “Get the hell out of my way.”
He just smirked. “Am I in your way? What happens when
you take someone who is unlovable, give him unstoppable powers, and then betray
him? You get me. Get used to it, because you’re looking at your future.”
I let the anger take over, grabbed him by the front
of the shirt, and slammed him against the wall. He was corporeal. I was about
to punch him when he suddenly disappeared. When I sensed movement behind me, I
turned, poised to strike.
“Wait!” Astrid said, throwing up her arms and
flinching away.
“Astrid. Are you really okay? What happened?”
“You shouldn’t have come here. You can’t make it.”
“I’m not going to give up. Are you really here or… is
this my subconscious again?”
After a second, she laughed. “No, I’m just kidding.”
With a small flash, she changed into John. “I just wanted to see your face.”