Chapter 62

I awake to a distant voice echoing off the stone walls. I open my eyes groggily and stifle a yawn. Yet again, I’m met with pitch black. I sit and survey my surroundings, well, what little I can make out. All I can see is shadows. I get to my feet and put one foot in front of the other.
Almost immediately, I bump into something soft but solid. It lets out a curse. I look into the shine of familiar eyes. There’s no static energy though. So, although I can’t see him clearly, the person I am looking at must be James.
“Kayla, is that you?” James asks. I throw my arms around his neck and hug him, happy that he has found me. I thought I was lost for sure.
“Where are we?” I ask. I am still confused about why I’m here, and, more importantly, where here is?
James eases me to the ground and sits beside me. “We’re in the dragon realm. It was the only reasonably safe place your grandmother could think of in the heat of the moment.” With that, we stand and orb back to the log cabin where a number of people are gathered.
My grandmother attempts to throw her arms around me in happy greeting, but I shrug her off. She has small cuts on her face and a swollen lip.
Clara stands and stares out of the window. Seeing her so lost within herself makes my heart cry out in pain. I fear she’ll never be able to get over the loss of David. I place my hand gently on her shoulder. She turns her head and stares right through me, then continues to stare out the window unblinking, her face blank.
I take a good look at the other people around me. Some sport minor cuts and grazes while others have more serious injuries. My stomach churns at the sight of blood staining the once-plush white carpet.
Chris is kneeling down, healing a large hole in a man’s chest. Nausea rises, sending my head into a spin.
“Are you okay? You look rather pale,” Justin says. I nod my head, afraid to speak in case I’m sick. He stands in front of me, looking out of place in this gathering. I give him a small smile. Justin has rarely spoken to me since I returned from Lucifer’s kingdom. I don’t blame him, not after all the mean words I called him.
“Enchanted Falls has been destroyed. Our people have scattered and gone into hiding,” he blurts out.
I look at the dejected faces around the room. The people of Enchanted Falls are a pitiful sight. My stomach drops and a pain stabs my heart. The king has destroyed their home.
“We are gathering an army to help us battle the king,” Justin says. “But only a few have come forward so far.”
“How many?” If Lucifer could take down a whole magical community, I doubt a small army would stand much chance against him.
“A handful of wolves, some witches, a few angels and couple of fae.” My stomach sinks lower. That’s not nearly enough. I sigh and look away.
“This is your fault!” A high pitch screech invades my ear drums. I turn and see a seething Sarah bounding my way, her eyes wide with anger. She has a large cut on her forehead and dried blood on her face.
I stand straighter, my shoulders held back for her onslaught of insults, though nothing she can say will make me feel any worse. I’ve hit rock bottom with no way of climbing back up.
“You…you did this! You are nothing but a crossbreed that is here to destroy us all. My father was right about you.” Her face twists into an evil grin. She steps closer, until her nose touches mine. “The council will see you suffer a painful death, and when they are done with you, well, let’s just say you will wish your mom had done the job she intended and killed you in that car crash.”
I can feel everyone eyes on us. I shrink back.
“You got a problem, Sarah?” Misty comes to my rescue, her delicate, child-like features taking on a defensive look.
“Oh no, not me, Misty. I am not the one with the problem.” Sarah gives me one last deadly look before storming away. I let out the strangled breath I didn’t realize I was holding. My hands shake at my side and tears blur my vision.
Misty pulls me into a hug and rubs my back. My tears flow freely. My blood is nothing but a curse.
***
I stand in the corner of the room, watching as people leave one by one. It’s not long before all that’s left are the Michaels, my grandmother, and around twenty other people. Some are familiar, some I am yet to learn the names of.
Michael stands in the middle of the room; his presence alone draws everyone’s attention. I look at him, but I don’t hear his words. I’m lost in my thoughts, trying to think of a way to fix the mess I created.
Misty takes my arm and leads me up the stairs to her room. Chris, James, and Justin are setting up sleeping bags on the floor. Cole is nowhere in sight. When I think about it, I realize I’ve not seen him all afternoon.
“Where’s Cole?” I ask the room in general. Everyone looks away and carries on like I haven’t said anything.
“Where is he?” I ask again, louder this time.
“Father won’t allow him to stay because he does not trust him,” James answers as he gets comfortable on his makeshift bed.
“What gives your father the right to say who can and can’t stay here?”
“Nobody trusts him. If he stays, we lose our army,” Justin adds, shrugging his shoulders.
“Maybe those people are small minded,” I say, worrying about Cole. Where can he go? He has no family or friends.
“Kayla, you earn trust. It is not given just because you want them to give the devil’s son some leeway,” Chris says.
“If that’s the case, you people have given me nothing but lies and half-truths since this began. I don’t know how you have the cheek to say you earn trust.” I storm out of the room, slamming the door behind me. These people play by their own rules. One rule for them and another for everyone else.
I find my grandmother in the kitchen, stirring some foul looking and smelling liquid in a large pan. The smell hits me full force, and I stagger back. Taking deep breaths of fresh air and pinching my nose, I prepare myself to walk back into the kitchen.
“Kayla. Stop being a baby.”
“If that’s dinner, I think I’ll pass, thanks.” I instantly regret opening my mouth as the smell lingers on my taste buds. I slowly back up.
“Kayla, while you’re here, I need some of your blood.” Grandmother holds a carving knife in her hand. The sliver glints in the artificial light. My heart almost stops beating as I stare at the size of the blade.
“For goodness’s sake, get a grip of yourself girl. Witches do this all the time, now stop being a baby and pass me your hand.” If she calls me a baby one more time, I might just let her meet one of my electric balls.
I tuck my hands behind my back and take a sly step back. With remarkable speed for an old lady, she’s in front of me before I’ve even thought about running. She pulls me over to the bubbling pan and holds my hand over it.
I try to wriggle free, but her strength is surprising, and she holds my hand in place. The knife moves on its own towards my palm, and I close my eyes before it makes contact. A deep stinging sensation runs across my hand. Blood drops into the pan and the liquid bubbles frantically in response. She pulls my hand back and wraps a not particularly clean tea towel around the open wound.
She smiles and then continues to stir the pot. The thought of Cole runs through my mind as I look at the knife, which is now lying in the sink.
“Why did Michael send Cole away? “I ask, pressing the tea towel tighter because the blood had already begun to soak through it.
“Because, child, Cole cannot be trusted, especially at a time like this. We are talking about a great many lives here. What is there from preventing Cole from betraying us all? Even if his intentions to us seem good, he has more reason to side with his father. How would he feel battling against his own? My dear child, we are not talking about a simple argument that will blow over.” Oddly, I find myself agreeing with her, but I can’t help feeling bad about it. Cole has never given me any reason not to trust him.
“So, what was with the blood thing?” I ask, pulling a face. The foul contents are turning from green to brown, and it is starting to look worse than before if that’s even possible.
“This will make the cabin and much of the land around it invisible. It will create a similar barrier to the one we had around Enchanted Falls, but not as strong. We are hoping the invisibility will give us time to get a plan in place.” I nod, only half understanding.
“How do you think Clara is, Grandmother?” I wait anxiously for the answer. I find it hard being around Clara and looking into her lifeless eyes. I miss her. Even though she’s here in body, her heart can’t stand the pain, so she lives in her mind.
His death still lies heavy on my heart. The thought of him brings untamed tears to my eyes again.
“She is very withdrawn and detached from the world. It pains greatly, but there is nothing we can do for her right now. Time is the only thing that can cure a broken heart. Time is all she needs. Once she accepts what has happened and moves on to the next grieving stage, she will become more like herself. However, we must be prepared for the fact that she may never be the woman she was. Her pain is deep. She and David were like two bonded souls.”
Still feeling worried and with a hand that feels like it is on fire, I make my way back to Misty’s room. Everyone gives me a disapproving glare. I know they blame me. It’s fair enough I suppose, I blame myself. It hurts seeing the disappointed looks on strangers faces. At times, I wish I was better prepared for this life. At other times, I’m thankful I at least got a chance at a normal life with no crazy near-death experiences.
If I’d known about this life, I wouldn’t have met Clara and David. Then again, David would be alive. My thoughts right now are so conflicted. Even though I try not to dwell on what could have been, my mind still wanders down that path.