Chapter Three: The Storm
On this Hallowed Land we’re born,
On this Hollowed Land we live,
On this Hallowed Land we die,
In this Hallowed Land we rest.
On her way
back to the room Alex stopped by the restroom.
After washing her hands, she stopped outside of her door and took a deep
breath. Then, very carefully, she pushed
the door open and peeked inside and found that, despite her efforts, Abraham
was waiting for her. She stared at her,
wide-eyed and alert, and it reminded Alex of an owl.
“Sorry,”
Alex said as she slipped inside. She
wasn’t sure whether she was apologizing for waking Abraham or for her behavior
the day before.
Abraham
smiled and edged toward her with one tiny arm extended. She held something out for her, a braid of red,
blue, and purple fabrics. Alex bent down
to examine it.
“I made one
for you,” Abraham said.
Silently,
Alex offered her arm. With her delicate
little fingers of pearl, Abraham tied the bracelet around Alex’s right wrist.
When finished she let Alex examine.
Despite, or perhaps because of, the simplicity it was beautiful.
“Thanks,”
Alex said, and she smiled. She looked
Abraham in the eyes, shaking. “Thank you
very, very much.”
Abraham
gave her a big, affectionate smile and then did something Alex didn’t
expect. She wrapped her skinny little
arms around Alex’s waist and held her tight.
At first Alex went stiff, not really knowing how to react. She didn’t hug people often and never this
close. It felt strange, but very warm
and comforting despite the girl’s diminutive size. It reminded Alex of a blanket fresh from the
drier on a cool winter’s night or a return home after many years away.
It reminded
Alex of time spent with Alicia
She broke,
and the façade crumbled in the little girl’s arms. Alex collapsed on the floor and sobbed, and
while she did Abraham stood holding her.
: The Princess and
the Key :
Isaac stood
at the front of the library, beside a bench dedicated to one of the
donors. Before him the campus stretched
out. A lush, green lawn stretched out to
meet the black asphalt of the parking lot.
Large trees, statuesque in their perfection, were spread evenly across
the campus.
He traced
his hands along the pillars holding up the buildings enormous canopy as he
walked the length of the entrance. The
walkway was made of a strange, sandy red stone that was glossed over. His footsteps echoed.
At the edge
of the patio he stopped and looked at the surrounding buildings. To his right they were constructing a new
add-on, expanding the campus with a new science wing. The large metal framework was wrapped in
plastic gauze.
Though seemingly attentive, his
mind was far off. Someone was there,
someone that didn’t belong. They were in
the city, his city, and despite his father’s warnings he was obligated to
confront them. At the very least he
could find out who they were and why they were there.
In truth,
Isaac didn’t know much about the Emotion.
He did know enough, though, to believe firmly that some doors should be
left unopened.
: The Princess and
the Key :
When Ellen
awoke Alex was gone and someone was knocking on her door quite
insistently. She stumbled from the bed
half-naked and glanced at the clock. It
was midmorning, but she still felt very tired.
The knocking continued, and she staggered her way across the room.
Abraham was
awake and had been coloring, but when the knocking started, she stopped. She eyed the door and mouthed the word,
“Don’t,” but Ellen didn’t see and cracked the door.
Carolyne
waited outside, and peeking out, Ellen could see something different about
her. It wasn’t something that could be
articulated but, despite her small size, Carolyne seemed somehow greater. Ellen recoiled briefly and then glanced at
Alex’s bunk. “Sorry, Carolyne, Alex
isn’t here.”
Carolyne
smiled, but it wasn’t a smile. Maybe it
was a warning. Normally, Ellen didn’t
mind Carolyne’s infrequent visits. She
found the other woman funny and interesting, and though they didn’t spend much
time together, Ellen considered her welcome.
That morning, however, Ellen wanted to slam the door shut. Carolyne stared through her.
“What about
the other girl,” Carolyne asked, and Ellen reacted on instinct. She slammed the
door but found it stopped by Carolyne’s food.
Ellen retreated, while Carolyne stepped into the room, her warning
written across her face. “I’ll take that
as a yes.”
That night, while she slept, the boy tore
the meat from her bones and searched her blood for the key to the castle.
The campus
was empty on Saturdays, and Alex preferred it that way. It left her alone and free to go wherever she
liked. It also meant the library study
rooms would be empty. She could seek
refuge there until she finished her assignment.
She had
notebooks and papers stuffed under her arm.
The wind was picking up and dark clouds moving in. She pulled her hood up for protection. Halfway across the gym’s parking lot she
heard an explosion.
She turned
back to the dorms and saw a cloud of dust and debris lurching across the soccer
field. At first, she stared in awed confusion,
and then she dropped her things and started toward it. She couldn’t explain it, but she knew
something was wrong. Somewhere inside of
all the chaos a feral beast lurked. It
was tall and vicious, with too many heads and each dripping acid, and she was
its prey.
: The Princess and
the Key :
Shana spent
her Saturday morning attempting to read.
Every time she started the first paragraph, however, her stomach
turned. It felt like motion sickness,
but she was stationary.
The entire
day continued like that, and she stretched out across her bed and tried her
best to ride out the storm. Outside the
air was thick and heavy. Normally, Shana
kept her window open when it rained.
Today, she didn’t. With the
weather as it was, she was afraid of being crushed.
: The Princess and
the Key :
Carolyne
walked slowly from the plume of smoke with a sword in her left-hand. It was a rapier with a paper-thin blade. A set of ornate black wings extended from the
grip and pointed toward the sky. A thin
finger guard looped from blade to the hilt base. The world warped around it, distending as it
came into being.
Ellen could
hardly believe it. Her heart hammered as
she staggered away, pushing Abraham in front of her as they went. It all happened so fast that everything was a
blur. All she knew was that Carolyne was
insane and dangerous, asking about Abraham one minute, and then pulling a sword
from thin air and scattering the room across the field the next. Survival was a
fluke, and the gash on Ellen’s leg was a sign of good luck.
Abraham
struggled to keep pace. Ellen’s prodding
only made it worse. They made it to the
parking lot before the little girl fell forward onto her hands and knees. At their heels was Carolyne, stalking with a
predatory gaze. She didn’t mind them
running. For her, the chase was part of
the fun. She thought of it like burning ants with a magnifying glass.
Ellen
helped Abraham up and urged her forward.
: The Princess and
the Key :
Alex was halfway
back when she met Ellen and Abraham.
Carolyne was not far behind them.
Her rapier gleamed like a deadly beacon.
Ellen
stopped beside Alex, bent at the waist, and panted. “Alex—We—I…There’s something wrong with
Carolyne.” She righted herself and pointed back at the approaching threat.
“She’s after Abraham. She wants
her. She called her the key, and she
said…”
Abraham
rushed forward and hid behind Alex.
Holding her by the leg, she looked up with dark, fearful eyes. “Protect
me.”
Alex looked
at Ellen, who struggled to breathe, and then past her, at Carolyne. For such a small girl, she seemed larger than
life. Her presence took up the entire
street, but she maintained a measured pace.
She looked at the world as if she owned it.
They made
eye contact, and Alex felt heavy with fear.
Her pulse quickened, her heart threatened to burst from her chest. She was breathless and Carolyne, who had just
destroyed a building, wasn’t even winded.
Even at a distance, she seemed to have them cornered.
Again, she
looked down into Abraham’s eyes. They
were dark like the universe and seeking salvation. Without thinking, Alex nodded. They were all helpless, but Alex had the
advantage. She was used to being
helpless.
She pushed Abraham into Ellen’s
hands. “Ellen, take Abraham and hide
her. And no matter what happens, don’t
come out. Not until I tell you it is
safe, okay?”
Ellen pushed herself up. She was pale and sweating, and her eyes
seemed unfocused. She took a deep breath
and then nodded, and she took Abraham by the hand. Alex lead them along a back path, around one
of the buildings and then came to a stop in front of the library. She watched Ellen and Abraham disappear into
the construction site.
A deep breath and then Alex came to
rest on a stone bench in the middle of the grass. She kept her hands in her pockets to keep
from fidgeting and tried to think what she could say. With things as they were between them, Alex
couldn’t think of nothing.
Carolyne arrived shortly, keeping
to her slow swagger and waving her blade idly.
Blades of grass parted with each pass.
Twenty-feet away she came to a stop, and she stared Alex in the eyes. She was smiling, still, though it was
twisted, sinister. “Alexandra.”
Alex tried to swallow but her throat
felt dry as a dish rag. She stood. “Carolyne.”
“Move, please. I need to get the Key.”
Alex’s knees shook, but she ignored
them. She stood as tall as she could while
slouching. “The Key?”
“Yes. The girl with the dark hair and the pale
skin. The one that Ellen is trying to
hide. She is the Key, and I need her.”
“And what is she the key to?”
Carolyne sighed and cocked her hip
dramatically. “She is the key to the
heart of God, dear.”
Alex paused to contemplate this but
could find no meaning in it. She wasn’t
sure Carolyne truly understood, either.
“Listen, either you move or you are
moved. Your choice.” Carolyne leveled her weapon and directed the
tip at Alex. For the first time since
they met, Alex was afraid of her. Her
eyes were glassy blue and without pity.
She looked ready to kill, and Alex was sure it was more than a look.
“I…” It was hard to speak, hard to even think, and
even harder to stand. Every nerve in her
body was alive, tugging her in different directions. All of them made for her to move, to let
Abraham go. Then, she heard it.
Be
brave. I can help you.
She took a deep breath. “I’m not moving.”
The glassiness of Carolyne’s gaze
left, replaced by a livid fire, and then softening into familiar warmth. “Listen, I don’t want to move you Alex,
because if I do, it means I’ll have to kill you. So, please, this is the last time: move.”
Alex shook and thought to move
again, but she could hear the Voice echoing in her mind. She held her ground and balled her fist, and
she meant to speak but couldn’t manage it.
Simply standing took everything she had in her.
Carolyne sighed. “Please, Alex, please! We’re better than this! Just let me have the Key. Let me go to the Emotion!” A long pause followed as Carolyne let every
word settle. “If you like, you can come
with me. WE can go together, to the
Emotion. You and I.”
There was kindness there, longing
and lingering want. For months, Alex had
wanted Carolyne to look at her that way.
Now, she was having it offered at the end of a blade. She had something Carolyne wanted, something
to keep her there. It felt good to no
longer just be a ‘her.’ Finally, she was
part of a ‘we.’
Then, Alex remember Alicia, who
would never forgive her, and she thought about Shana, who never really liked
Carolyne in the first place. She thought
about Ellen, too, pale and bleeding, the results of her efforts to protect a
lost little girl. She thought about
Abraham, who held her as she cried.
“No.” She meant to say it, but the word died in her
throat. She hung her head and stepped
aside, and Carolyne lowered her weapon and sauntered forward. “Good girl,” she said, and her footsteps
echoed like thunder again the pavement.
Alex couldn’t even watch her
pace. She stared at the ground, at her
feet, and let her shame eat her. That’s
when she saw them out of the corner of her eye: tightly woven bands of red,
blue, and purple yarn bound about her wrist.
She stared at them for what felt like an eternity, and she felt the
change with in. She wasn’t confident,
but she was resolved, and she met Carolyne’s gaze head-on.
“I’m not moving!” She shouted the words and, in that moment,
felt different. They were equal in that
instant, but it didn’t last.
Carolyne sighed and shook her head,
and then she was gone. She moved so
quickly that Alex couldn’t follow it.
Alex blinked and Carolyne was there, distance closed and blade
ready. She lunged, and instinct took
over. Alex threw her arms up in defense,
sacrificing them to the blow.
There was a flash and a pop, and
the world spun.
Alex had never flown before, but
she did then. Like a cannonball, she was
jettison across the campus and went spiraling through the air. The fence caught her and folded back. She tumbled across the clay unearthed by the
construction and slid to a stop.
It hurt. She hurt, but with time and effort, she
managed to bring herself to kneeling and then, with a grunt, standing. Her legs were weak, but she was steady and,
to her surprise and Carolyne’s anger, her arm was whole. In fact, her entire body was more-or-less
fine. She had survived not just the
melee but the fall as well.
Carolyne shrieked and Riis appeared
at her side, arms crossed and grinning like a baboon. She leaned over and whispered into Carolyne’s
left ear. “Listen, girl. Now is not the time for sentimentality. You want to complete the task I’ve given you,
yes? You want to be in God’s heart? Then you’ll have to go through her. TEAR through her if need be, and then you’ll
need to take the Key. Do you
understand?”
Carolyne nodded. It was clear that she didn’t want to hurt
Alex, but she refused to be stopped. She
closed her eyes, and she reached out.
Inside of the building, hiding among the mess, she could feel them: Ellen
and the Key. She moved with bullet-like
speed and precision, tearing through the plastic and stepping into the
unfinished halls.
This time, Alex saw her and moved
to intercept. She wasn’t sure why, but
Carolyne didn’t seem so big or scary anymore.
They were equals, standing on level ground. The bracelet felt warm around her wrist, and
she found strength in that warmth.
Caroyne met Alex with surprised frustration. She readied her blade, leveling it again, and
this time she aimed for Alex’s heart. It
was unfortunate, she thought, but also necessary. Alex had to die.
: The Princess and
the Key :
Shana was
in bed, restrained by the infinite weight of the atmosphere. She had long since giving up on her book,
given up on anything, and so lied there sick and twisted up. Something was happening that day, something
bad.
Her head
felt like it was being crushed in a vice and her body sedated. The effects weren’t physical, she
thought. It was more like her soul was
sick, and the body followed its lead.
Everything was knotted and tight.
The sound
of cracking glass caught her attention.
She sat up, slowly and with effort, and found the picture on her desk
broken. A web-like fractured had
appeared just over Alex’s smiling face.
Shana took the picture in hand and stared at it for a few seconds, then she
rose from the bed.
Something
was wrong. Alex was in danger. Her dreams were more than dreams, and she
knew for sure. She grabbed her car keys
and ran out of her room without even changing.
There was no time. Alex needed
help, and Shana had to be there before it was too late.
: The Princess and
the Key :
The wall
collapsed inward in a puff of gray dust.
A pear-shaped figure came tumbling out of the debris and crashed into an
unpolished, winding staircase. She
scrambled to her feet and sprinted down the hallway. In the very same instance, the stairs
ruptured into bent shards.
A blade cut
through the fog of dust that choked the air, creating an opening for Carolyne
to stomp through. Her jaw was tight with
rage. “I gave you a chance, Alex!” She closed the distance between them quickly
and swiped with her blade.
Alex fell
forward, face-first, and crawled away on her hands and knees. For a moment they seemed on equal footing,
but Alex had overestimated herself. She
realized very quickly how severe her disadvantage was. Her short-lived resistance only proved to
reinforce that sentiment.
In the hazy
distance at the other end of the hall she found Ellen and Abraham. Ellen had blacked out from blood loss, her
arms wrapped around her tiny ward, who sobbed softly.
“I gave you
multiple chances!” There was another
attack and another narrow escape. Alex
rolled across the floor and came to a stop.
There wasn’t much room to navigate and nowhere left to run. Doing her best to fight the fear buckling her
knees, she stood and faced Carolyne.
Deep, deep
within her a Voice told her to fight.
Alex, in turn, promised that she would do her best.
: The Princess and
the Key :
Riis
watched the beautiful opera from outside of the building. Once, the two girls had loved each other and then
were made bitter rivals, and all for a key.
A key the importance of which even none of them fully understood. Still, she had to commend Carolyne. For a pawn, she was quite powerful.
He
approached her from behind, and she could feel him. She could also feel reality warp as he
conjured his Voice into being, and she ducked smoothly under his first
attack. His chakram circled in the air
and returned to him. He caught it with
his left hand and had another brandished in his right.
His Voice
manifested in the form of two bladed rings called chakrams. The one in his left was black in color, had a
cross-grip in the center of the ring and four points on the outside. The right had a simple bar-grip and was
rounded on the edges. It was pure white.
Riis smiled
hungrily as she appraised him. They were
roughly the same height. His hair had a
reddish tint to it, and his skin was darker than hers. He moved with a youthful vigor that made her
hate him. When they locked eyes, he
smiled. “Found you,” he said.
She nodded
in return. “So you are the one I was
warned about. It took you much longer
than I anticipated.”
He
shrugged. “I was taking the time to
enjoy the show. So, no Voice?”
She
chuckled and dragged her fingers along the trunk of a nearby try. Arcs of light danced along the bark and
peeled it from the wood. She bared her
teeth. “I don’t really need one, as you
can see.”
Isaac eyed
the display apprehensively and then shook his head. “Uh, not really. No.”
Her face
hardened. She flexed her fingers, which
popped loudly. “Enough chit-chat, little
hare. I’m here to RIP you apart.”
“That
doesn’t sound like much fun.” He grinned
and winked. “Can’t we talk? Maybe grab a
bite to eat?”
“No,” she
howled, and she rushed. He threw his
left chakram again and backed away, keeping distance between himself and her
hands.
: The Princess and
the Key :
Shana
rushed through traffic, ignoring most of the laws she had only just
learned. Alex was in trouble. Alex needed her help. Alex was dying. She wasn’t sure how she knew or what she
could do, but she could just see Alex lying in a pool of blood and screaming
for her. It was like they were connected
by strings, and she could feel the vibrations.
: The Princess and
the Key :
Alex
squealed in pain and toppled over. Her
side was red with a river of blood as she bled across the unfinished tile
floor. With effort she got herself to a
knee and sat before Carolyne, her head bowed.
She had lost, and she felt sure that she would die.
Carolyne
seemed to agree and wore her open contempt in a sneer. “You should have
listened,” she said, directing the bloodied rapier point at Alex’s
forehead. “You should have listened,”
she repeated, her anger swelling.
“Scared yet?”
Alex balled
her fists. She didn’t even think about
it. Of course she was scared. Her side was on fire, and she was losing
blood quickly. Her head was light, her
movements sluggish. She wouldn’t be able
to dodge the next attack, no matter how hard she tried.
Abraham
cried nearby, screaming fitfully into the silence. She tugged Ellen’s arm. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry!”
Carolyne
cackled viciously. “You’re both sorry,”
she said, and she lunged.
Dire or
dead either way, Alex flinched and threw her arms up again. There was another flash of light, and
Carolyne’s blade stopped, suspended only inches away Alex’s flesh. The world wrung and the windows shattered in
the storm. Alex fell back but kept her
right arm up.
Carolyne
pushed harder. Reality bulged and
swelled. They could feel it straining,
struggling to hold her back. Whatever it
was, it was giving. Carolyne put her
full weight into her blade and growled like a wild animal.
“You
bitch,” she shouted over the maelstrom.
“You whined and whined about how you wanted me, how you NEEDED me! You wouldn’t stop. Then I give you this chance, this perfect
fucking chance, and you throw it away!”
She shook her head and put her weight, little as it was, into the rapier. The blade sunk deeper, sliding into whatever
kept her at bay.
Please, hear me, please, say my name!
Everything stopped. Alex didn’t understand how, but she
knew. She used her left arm as a brace
and pushed, and she said it. The words
appeared, fully formed in her mind, and she said them loudly and with
conviction. She called out to her Voice.
“Three
Gods!”
A bracelet
of pure platinum appeared from the air, coiling around her right arm from
forearm to elbow. From it a blade grew,
swelling forward and bridging the distance between the two women. The tip parted Carolyne’s shirt and narrowly missed
her throat.
: The Princess and
the Key :
Less than
hundred feet away another battle raged.
Isaac moved nimbly, hands bleeding around his weapons. Each time he blocked her attacks an arc of
light danced along his palms and parted his flesh. He didn’t know how many times he could
deflect her, and she was too quick for him to evade.
They broke
through the doors into the cafeteria.
Isaac tumbled and rolled to a stop while Riis followed him, bounding
through the open doorway and narrowly missing his face. A flash, and the skin on his cheek tore
open. He winced and retreated into a
nearby wall, her advancing endlessly on him.
She
fractured the stone above him as he ducked under and sprinted away. He was halfway down a long, polished hallway
before she caught him. She dragged her
hand along the glass panels lining the walls, shattering them as she
passed. A high swipe, and Isaac used her
momentum to throw her overhead. She
landed on both feet and turned on him.
He threw
his left chakram, but she knocked it away with her hand. Passing her, he caught it and continued
toward the exit. She caught him and
kicked him in the back, knocking him through the door and onto the cement
walkway outside. He scrambled to his
feet and rolled out of the way as she laid hands on where he was. The cement turned to dust.
They came
to a stop outside near a small pond.
Isaac retreated into the center of the water, walking on its surface
like a prophet. It had taken him months
of training to learn the basic of this and years more to master it. It hurt a little to watch Riis follow him
out.
She flexed
her hand and gazed around the shifting water.
“Here? This will make you a fine
grave.”
Isaac took
a deep breath to steady his hands. Blood
ran down his knuckles and his cheek. He
was afraid she was right, and then he felt the shift in the air. In the distance, he could feel Alex’s
awakening, and it restored some hope to him.
: The Princess and
the Key :
When Alex
opened her eyes she was lying outside of the library. The stone walkway was slick beneath her
back. It was raining, a light
sprinkle. Dust and debris lay strewn about
her. Carolyne was about twenty-feet
away.
Alex felt
sluggish. Her right arm was still bound
in the strange, intricate bracer. A
long, double-edged blade stuck out past her fist. Two figureheads were etched into its
surface. Closer to the blade was a
dragon’s head, holding a red gem in its open maw. A maiden held a blue gem on the opposite
side, closer to her elbow.
She stood
and wiped the sweat and blood from her brow.
Her injuries were light, insufficient to leave her helpless, but severe
enough to cause her pain.
Carolyne
woke and stood across from her. Aside
from the tear in her blouse she was still in fine condition. She swung her rapier around, testing its
weight and adjusting her grip. Then she
smiled viciously at Alex. “Finally, you
finally heard it! The damn thing’s been
begging for months, and now you finally hear it.” She fell into a fit of high, wild laughter,
and the sky joined her with a deep-bellied rumble of its own
Alex held
up the brace and examined it. “What is
it?”
“Proof of
your existence,” Carolyne said. She cradled
her rapier like a child. “It’s your
soul’s voice, Alex, and through it you can express your will. It is here to help you. At its essence, it is you, and that is why
you’re better. See, wisdom is energy,
and we have more than they could ever hope for.
We’re so much more, so much higher, that even their gods can’t touch
us. We are harbingers, dear, and we can
bring them something, save them from their pointless little existences. We just need the Key.” She held out her hand
once more, an offer, and she said, “One. Last. Chance.”
Not for the
first time Alex felt alone. It was a
near constant state for her. Outcast,
freak, she felt familiar with those titles, but this strange weapon made her
feel even more isolated than before. She
could summon a construct of her soul, and she didn’t even understand what that
meant. After hearing it explained, she
wasn’t sure Carolyne truly understood either.
Whatever
the case, she had to make a choice. She
stood and leaned her head back. Closing
her eyes, she let the rain wash it all away.
Whether animal or angel, madman or prophet, monster or savior, she knew
wherever she went she was closing doors.
To challenge Carolyne would mean challenging her love, her first
lover. To join her meant sacrificing
Abraham, helpless and hopeless, but otherwise foreign.
Carolyne
took a confident step forward. “We are
better than this, Alex, better than them.
Come with me to the Emotion, to the heart of God!”
These words
brought Alex back. The rain felt more
substantial than before. It soaked
through her clothes and eased her aching body.
The blood on her face was washed away and pooled at her feet.
: The Princess and
the Key :
The light
Isaac felt faded as quickly as it appeared.
Riis charged him, leaving a spray of water in her wake. Turning his attention back to her, Isaac gave
a last-second toss, and she slipped under the muddy water. His chakram bounced along the surface and
then returned to him. He caught it and
turned a circle, searching for ripples in the water.
He started
taking slow steps toward the edge, both chakrams ready. His thoughts were scattered, drawn away. He couldn’t focus on both Alex’s missing
presence and on his enemy at the same time and, torn between them, found
nothing.
The water
broke, and Riis seized him by the ankles.
She pulled him under, dragging him down first by his feet and then his
shoulders. The dirty water stung his
eyes and filled his throat. He flailed
weakly as she seized him by the face.
The energy moved through him, cutting him to the bone. Fresh wounds wept blood into the water.
He thrashed,
but she was gone. She moved too quickly,
darting around him, touching him lightly and rending his flesh. He spun in the water, swaying, kicking,
making for the surface but being pulled back down. She took him by the head and knocked skulls
with him. He lurched back, mouth open,
releasing what little air he had left.
Her hands
fixed around his throat and flexed. He
could feel her energy now, moving through her and into him. With his right hand, he took one of her arms
and then drove his left arm up into her elbow.
The arm gave, folding upward with a dulled, water-dampened crack.
She tried
to kick away from him, but he held her in place. Gripping his chakram tight, he punched her
repeatedly in the stomach with his left hand.
To start, her flesh resisted, but after repeated punctures it softened
to wet paper. He stopped only when she
did.
He pulled
himself from the water, gasping and wheezing as he made it to the surface, and
dragged her along after him. On the
shore, he coughed until the water came back up.
Then, he went back to her body, ran his blade along her throat for good
measure, and pushed her back into the water with his foot.
It was
raining as he stood, and the rainfall washed the mud from his body. He felt weak and breathless, but he didn’t take
the time to recover. In the distance, he
could feel Alex again, but only faintly.
So, he drew a single deep breath and forced his reluctant body forward.
: The Princess and
the Key :
Alex turned
her gaze on Carolyne. They stared at
each other for what felt like an eternity, brown eyes on green, but it felt
different from the past. Nothing
lingered between them. There was no
romance or regrets, only a deep sense of disappointment.
Carolyne
lowered her arm and fixed her stare on the ground. Her hair fell wet into her eyes. “Of course you can’t,” she whispered.
Alex lifted
the bracer—Three Gods—again. Then she
cut the falling rain with it. “I’m
sorry,” she said, holding the blade in front of her without really knowing what
to do.
Carolyne lifted
her own Voice. “Whatever, it’s fine,
just tell me, because I have to know: why are you fighting so hard for that
girl?”
Alex gave
it some thought and then shrugged.
“Honestly, I don’t know,” she said, realizing how ridiculous it sounded. “But I’ve made my decision, and I’m following
through, Carolyne. I’m living my life for once.”
Carolyne
bared her teeth in what should have been a smile. “Fine, you idiot, but this is the end. You may be able to hear your damn soul, but
you’ve only just learned its name.” She
ran her fingers along her rapier’s blade.
“You still can’t understand a damn thing it’s saying to you!”
Staring
across the wreckage and the rain, Alex swore she saw reality bending around
Carolyne again. She thought that all the
fear was behind her, but she was very, very wrong.
: The Princess and
the Key :
Shana’s car
slid on the wet asphalt. She came to a
stop and then stumbled out the driver’s side door, sprinting on bare feet
toward the campus. After only a few steps
her legs gave out. She fell forward,
catching herself on her hands and knees and vomiting into a puddle in front of
her. The air had become so thick, so
heavy, that she could no longer breath.
It was a struggle to even keep her eyes open.
Danger permeated
the air. Rain and thunder swallowed her
sobs as the crawled forward. Alex wasn’t
far off. Ahead, in the distance, she
could see light pooling around the library, and she could feel Alex at its
center. Whatever it was, it was
dangerous, and she had to hurry.
She forced
herself to standing and started forward again.
This time, she made it to the grass before she collapsed.
: The Princess and
the Key :
Carolyne
held her blade out before her. Her eyes
were closed, her body tense, and the air around her grew heavy. In a moment of do-or-die, Alex blitzed her
with Three Gods ready. She crossed half
the distance before the world crashed down on her, the air thick as stone.
Submit to me, world of life, and cut this
string of fate!
The words
were not spoken but felt. Carolyne’s
eyes glowed a bright, sickening green.
She lunged forward and there was a flash of light before her blade
landed like a hammer blow. Alex felt it with
everything in her body and did her best to push through, but the current was
too great. She was washed away, world
spinning chaotically around her. She
landed hard and rolled to a stop face up in the rain.
It hurt to
breathe. Carolyne followed close and was
on her in an instant. It took everything
Alex had to avoid the next attacked. She
rolled out of the way and stumbled to her feet, dodging a second strike and a
third, but a fourth caught her in the side.
Her footing
wasn’t stable. She spun and swung wide,
aiming for the head, but couldn’t follow through. The pain in her side brought her to
kneeling. Breathing became a struggle as
pain shot up her spine. All of her limbs
suddenly felt like lead.
Her legs
gave first, and she fell to her knee, head down, pain wracking her bones. She looked almost submissive as Carolyne
stood over her, sneering. “Is that
it? Is that all you have?’ Her tone softened and affection bled through. “Please, tell me it is. Tell me you were wrong, that you have changed
your mind. If you do, I’ll give you
another chance. Alex, please.”
Alex wasted
no time and gave no energy to contemplation.
She pushed off the ground with the last of her strength and threw her
weight behind her blade, which found home in Carolyne’s stomach. Two inches dug in, and Carolyne came to an abrupt,
wheezing stop. They stumbled together,
Alex falling forward, Carolyne staggering back.
They stayed
like this, the rain washing over both of them.
This single instant stretched into eternity. Alex stared up into Carolyne’s wide, green
eyes and swore she saw tears, swore she saw genuine hurt. Then, Carolyne’s rapier evaporated into the
air and, shortly after, Three Gods followed suit.
Both of
them collapsed on the muddy concrete, blood pooling in the rain around them.
: The Princess and
the Key :
Up to that
point Abraham had waited. She was scared
and alone, but she couldn’t hide forever.
Ellen had become so cold, and she could feel the raging battle come to
an end. Their lights were dimming, one
by one, and only she could fix it.
: The Princess and
the Key :
After a few
minutes of heavy breathing Shana could stand.
The storm had come and passed.
She sprinted toward the library, ignoring the ache of her bare feet on
the wet stonework. Whatever had
transpired, she wasn’t confident that Alex had made it through.
: The Princess and
the Key :
Isaac felt
like a fool. Ignoring his father’s
advice, he threw himself into a big damn mess and dragged others into it along
the way. Then, he took a life with his
own hands and, possibly, caused the death of another. He couldn’t feel Alex’s presence anymore,
could no longer see the glow of her light.
He sprinted
through the campus, the wet grass and mud sucking at his feet as he went. When he last felt her, Alex was just outside
of the library, on the far side from him.
As he ran, he found himself thinking of his father again. How much could his father have known? More than he would ever tell Isaac.
It didn’t
matter. Isaac was here, and he would
make a difference. By-standers, he
reasoned, never wrote the next page of history.
: The Princess and
the Key :
The last
thing Alex felt was a lingering pain in her side. She was wet and cold, and then she was
nothing at all. In the distance she saw
Shana running toward her, an angel in soaked pajamas. Then, in the blackness, she heard her scream.
Light was
everywhere. It was inside of her and
around her, and it was in every color imaginable. If Alex could have gone out of body and
looked at herself, she would have thought of herself as being green. She definitely felt green, and that made her
happy. She wanted for nothing, no taste,
no scent, no sound. She was content to
simply be.
“So, this
is the end?”
“No, of
course not,” Alex said, feeling somehow assured. “It’s just an ending for us. I made my decision, Carolyne, and I stand by
it. Isn’t that the point of life? To make decisions? To follow through? To exist and live?”
“Then you
should keep on trying and keep on living, Alex!”
“…Shana…”
“I’m so
sorry, Alex, please understand. This is
all I could do.”
“It’s
okay. I made this decision myself, and I
promise you, I have no regrets, other than the fact that I hurt someone very
dear to me.”
“Sorry to
say, princess, but it’s not over just yet.
You aren’t dead. You’re just
adjusting, is all. Despite all of our
efforts, I think we failed. It looks
like we get to go to the heart of God after all. To the Emotion.”
