Chapter 11
She was furious. A rock exploded at a distance and her minions stepped back to avoid her anger. She grabbed hold of my throat and pulled me up. I was choking and tried to loosen her grip, but she was really strong.
“Where is the crystal?” she said, emphasizing each word.
Suddenly screams filled the air all around us. Von was alive and had killed all of her minions. While she was distracted, I took out my knife and stabbed her. She was more angry than in pain and flung me to the other side. I would have hit the wall if Von hadn't appeared and slowed down my speed until I was floating into his arms. He set me down. Before, when I said good-bye to him, I had slipped him the crystal with the magic in it. I was hoping he would be able to use it and if he couldn't, at least the Elvains would have the magic. Now, when I looked at him, happy to know that he was alive, I wondered if it was the magic in the crystal that revived him. I also noticed a difference in him. He seemed aloof; cold and sinister. He did not respond when I called his name. He let go of me and walked away. A wall went up around me when I tried to go after him. I banged on it and called out his name, but he ignored me. He kept walking to where Nara was. She stepped back with fear in her eyes as Von moved forward. She waved her hand and a dozen of her minions appeared in front of her. They charged at him. Without missing a step or even looking at them, they burst into flames.
He and Nara started to fight. I could feel the walls of the caves trembling, dust fell and small rocks tumbled down to the ground because of them. Several openings appeared near the walls of the cave and Shuron and a couple of scouts stepped through. When Nara saw them, she placed a shield around herself. While Von was trying to break it down, she created an opening. She was about to step into it when Von broke the shield and flung her several feet away. At the other side of the opening, her minions saw that she was in danger and came charging through. Von glanced their way, then turned and walked over to where Nara was, as if their presence was too insignificant to him to bother with. Shuron motioned the scouts and they moved to attack the minions. He went over to me, placed his hand on the invisible wall, and concentrated. The whole place started to shake, huge rocks fell, dust flew everywhere and the uneven ground started to break apart. Everyone was dodging the falling rocks and the gaps in the floor while they fought. Only Von and Nara did not notice the devastation around them—their only focus was on killing one another.
“We need to leave now—the cave is collapsing,” Shuron said to me when he broke the cage I was in.
He then lifted his arms and a small bright light shot through the air before bursting. The scouts saw the sign and started to retreat. They made several openings and went through. The ones that were closest to us converged to surround us and fought the minions that were left. Shuron made an opening and one by one the rest of them went through. I didn't want to go without Von. I called out to him, but he was either too far away to hear me or didn't want to listen.
“We need to get Von,” I said to him and started to move, but he stopped me.
“It's too late—the cave is collapsing, there is not enough time. We have to go now.”
He was right, but I didn't care. All I could think about was getting to Von. I pulled away and ran to him while calling his name. Shuron was quicker. He grabbed me and forced me through the opening. It led us a mile away from the cave. I watched, in horror, as the cave began to fold within itself. I couldn't believe what was happening. I freed myself from his grasp and ran towards the ruins; all the while telling myself that he was still alive. He has to be alive. He couldn't be dead.” I wiped at the tears that were streaming down my face as I climbed to the top. Then I started moving pieces of the rubble, not caring that it was impossible for anyone to still be alive. The others stood a short distance away with somber eyes watching me as I moved one stone after another. Slowly, Shuron came over to me and knelt down beside me.
“Please,” I begged him. “Please help me. He can't be dead. We need to find him.”
Gently he took my hands into his and said, “I am sorry, Cassiea.”
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “No!”
He gathered me into his arms and let me weep. After a while, he said that we needed to go. Without a protest, I let him help me to my feet and let him support me as we walked away. The ground was uneven and I would have slipped if he hadn't been holding on to me. Several rocks moved and tumbled down, then the ground began to shake. He lightly pushed me forward and told me to run. I had only taken a few steps when a hand shot out from the rubble and grabbed my ankle. I fell and I could hear Shuron shouting my name as I was dragged under.
When I came to, I was on the floor, lying on my back. My body felt like it had broken into millions of pieces and my head had gone through the blender. My eyes were unfocused and I was seeing two of everything. I groaned in pain as I moved my head slightly to see that I was in a small cave. Several feet above me was an opening that I assumed was where I had fallen from. A shadow crossed over me and Nara appeared in my line of vision. She was still alive; furious and crazed. She was dusty all over, some of her hair was pulled out from her braid, her clothes were torn and there were slashes of blood everywhere on her body. She lifted an arm and my eyes widened in horror at the knife she was holding. I couldn’t move as she stabbed several times while yelling and raving on about how it was all my fault. How I had ruined everything and I was going to pay for it. I screamed each time the blade went into my body, then after a while I couldn't feel anything. There was a numbness that spread over me and I felt a weightlessness as if I were floating an inch above the floor where I lay as I watched the upward and downward motion of her arm. She then grabbed a fistful of my hair and tilted my head back exposing my neck.
The knife had just nicked my skin when she stared to scream in agony. She arched back, letting go of my hair and the knife. I could see a faint light appearing in the middle of her chest. It then grew bigger and brighter. Slowly a faint outline of a hand started to appear and grabbed hold of the light before it pulled back. The light started to dim until it disappeared. I looked up to see her face frozen in fear. She fell sideways to revel Von behind her. His face was expressionless as he looked at me. In his hand, he held a glowing object. He moved it closer to his chest and pressed it into him until it disappeared. I whispered his name, so glad that he was still alive. He leaned down and placed the palm of his hand on my chest. My whole body started to ache with pain once more. Then a warm tingling sensation took over before it subsided. I moved slightly and didn't feel any pain. I noticed the cuts, the bruises, and the stab wounds were gone. He was about to lift me into his arms when someone called out his name. We both turned to see Shuron standing there with the other scouts. Von got up to go to him, then stopped and turned to see one of the scouts had lifted me into his arms. Within a blink of an eye, we appeared next to Shuron.
“She is mine. Let her go,” Von commanded.
“I can not do that.”
I stepped forward and was blocked by an arm from the scout who was next to me. Suddenly, he was pushed away from me and landed hard on the ground some distance away. Shuron stepped in front of me and held out a crystal. He started to chant before he was pulled forward to where Von stood. Von grabbed a fistful of his shirt and punched him in the jaw. Shuron went down, but quickly got up and lunged at him. They started to fight. All of us looked on as they either used their magic or their physical strength to fight each other. I overheard one of the scout saying to the other that there was no competition, Shuron was no match for Von since he absorbed all of Keya’s magic. I looked from one to the other and realized that the scout was right. Von looked like he was just toying with him and Shuron was trying hard not to get killed. I knew I had to do something to stop this. I ran to Von shouting his name, telling him to stop. The scout who was next to me went after me. We were struggling when Von saw us and the next thing I knew, the scout burst into flames.
I screamed and stood there frozen in place, horrifi
ed by the pile of ashes next to me. Shuron and Von started to fight again. Then everyone started to attack. But, it was useless. One by one I watched them perishing in flames. And all I could do was stand there, horrified. I kept repeating over and over again for them to stop, to stop fighting, it was all over, she was dead, but no one would listen. They all perished into flames until there was only the three of us was left. Shuron was lying on the ground unconscious. Von lifted his arm and was about to strike when I finally was able to make my body move. I ran, covered Shuron with my body and got hit instead of him.
I was in and out of consciousness, my head pounded and my back felt like it was on fire. My ears were ringing and I heard a muffled voice next to me. I forced my eyes to open to see Von beside me. He gently lifted me into a sitting position and moved me until my back was supported by the wall of the cave. He looked normal again, like his old self. He said my name again. When I was able to speak, I begged him not to fight anymore. It was all over. Nara was gone and he didn't need to fight anymore. He looked around him and saw the devastation. He whispered Shuron's name when he saw his unconscious body. He turned to me and I could see the horror in his eyes.
“What have I done?” he said with such pain and agony in his voice. “I am—”
I touched my fingers to his lips to silence him. “This isn't your fault. None of it is your fault,” I said to him and to myself, I said that the fault was mine. I should never have left on my own in the first place. All l wanted was to keep everyone safe and look at what I had done. I wanted to beg him for his forgiveness at what I made him do, but I was too ashamed to say the words.
He shook his head and looked away. “No, this is my fault. I should have protected you better.”
“Von—”
He kissed me lightly on the lips. “Everything will be all right; I know what I have to do.”
A knife appeared in his hand. He grabbed hold of my hand and placed the handle into it. I was confused and tried to let go, but he held my hand tightly. He looked at me then and I looked at him with pleading eyes, not knowing what he was going to do, though I knew it wasn't going to be anything good.
“I love you, Cass. Always have and always will. Forgive me,” he said and plunged the knife into his chest.
I screamed, trying to pull my hand away, but with his hand over mine, it wouldn't budge. I cried as I yelled at him to stop, to let go. He would not move. Instead, he pushed it in even further and twisted. I screamed his name as he slumped over me. His hand loosened and I was finally able to let go of the knife, but it was too late. I moved him so his head would rest on my lap. I was shaking all over and sobbing. I pulled the knife out, threw it as far as I could, and placed my palm on the wound to stop the flow of blood. My hands were shaking when I touched his neck to try to feel for a pulse. Nothing. Calmly, I shook him and said his name, telling him to wake up. I begged him to please wake up. I knew I wasn't making any sense, but I couldn't help myself. Even though I knew he was gone, I still hoped. I still wanted to believe that it wasn't over. So I yelled, pleading with him to move, to open his eyes. I was startled when the center of his chest started to glow. First it was just a dim light, then it started to grow. It grew until it burst into a blinding light. I covered my eyes from the glare. Suddenly, I was hit in the chest. It hit me so hard and pressed me against the wall that I screamed in agony. It kept increasing. The pressure was so great that I felt the wall behind me breaking apart and I could hardly move or breathe. Then everything went dark.
I dreamed that I was back at the campsite, in a room. I got up and walked out. It was late morning and I could see a few people moving around. Some noticed me and smiled while others looked concerned. They all said something to me, but I couldn't hear them. One looked my way, turned and ran in the other direction. I was entering a room and the first thing I saw was a person's back. He turned and I realized it was Loquis. He smiled and walked over to me. He placed both hands on each side of my shoulders and looked into my eyes as if searching for something.
“Cassiea, none of this is your fault. Promise me that you will remember. None of it is your fault,” he said to me.
I wanted to reply, but no words came out. As hard as I tried, I couldn't make a sound. Suddenly, his eyes grew big; wide with shock and pain. His mouth opened as if to scream in agony, though no sound came through. There was a bright light and he slowly crumbled to the floor. I screamed, calling out his name, but I could only hear silence. My body stood still as a statue while my mind was in turmoil at what I had done and my frantic push to move my body to help him. But, I stood there over his body as he lay with his eyes wide open. I turned around and saw Mirra barging in through the door. My arms lifted and she was flung to her right. I went over, knelt beside her. She was saying something to me, but I couldn't hear. I couldn’t hear anything. Her eyes widened and I could see a glowing bright light.
Then a sharp pain stabbed at my chest. I looked behind me to see Shuron holding a necklace with a crystal attached to it. He held it out as his mouth moved, though no sound came through. I could feel the pain in my chest growing worse by the minute. It felt like someone was ripping my heart out. As I tried to lift my hand up, I felt another sharp pain, this time at the back of my head. The world went dark once again.
I woke up in a daze. My head pounded like someone took a hammer and used it to hit the back of my head over and over again. Groggily, I slowly got up, wincing and moaning in pain at each move I made. There was a clatter of something breaking. I turned and saw a glimpse of someone running off. I regretted the movement as a sharp pain stabbed at my head and quickly went down to my spine. I fell back on the bed moaning. I could hear someone coming in and then placing a hand on top of my forehead. Within seconds, my pain lessened.
“You are finally awake,” a male voice said. “Do not move or the pain will come back again,” he warned when I tried to get up. “You need to stay still and rest.”
“Where am I?” I asked. He sounded so familiar. I tried to open my eyes to see who it was, but I was so groggy and I was slipping in and out of consciousness.
“You are at Alyntia.”
“Alyntia, what the heck is that?” I didn't realize that I said it out loud until I heard his soft chuckle.
“It is the name of our home.”
“What happened?” I asked. “What am I doing here? Who are you?”
He chuckled again and said, “You have been through quite an ordeal. You should rest now.”
“I have to go.”
“Stay for now,” he whispered. “You are safe,” I heard him say before I fell asleep.
The next time I woke up, Shuron was there at my bed side. I felt much better though sore all over. He told me what happened that day in the cave. He could only guess—and I confirmed—that I had given the crystal to Von and he had absorbed all of the magic within himself. As they had suspected, it turned him evil. The reason why the crystal's magic had quickly took over, turning him evil, instead of it being a gradual process, was because of his level of magic and because he was weak; almost at deaths door. None of them realized until later that Von had transferred it all into me. Mirra and a few others had came into the cave to find Shuron and me unconscious and Von dead. When we were back at their home, he and Mirra heard that I was awake and was walking to Loquis' cort. Mirra went after me and by the time she got there, I had killed Loquis. I was about to kill Mirra too when he came in. While he was distracting me, Mirra hit me over the head. As I lay unconscious, he was able to transfer the magic back into the crystal.
“Do not blame yourself for Loquis' death, Cassiea. You were not in control when the magic was within you, just like Von was not to blame for the deaths of the scouts. The magic turns even the purest heart evil.”
“But, I thought I could control it. I thought I was immune to it. Isn't that what all of you told me? Isn't that why I was to hold on to it?”
“We know very little about this magic, but what we said is true. Over ti
me you will be able to change it. In this circumstance, it was placed within you at a moment when you were at your weakest. It took over your body and mind before you were ready to understand how to use it and how to control it.”
He took the box that was on the table next to him and walked over to me to place it on my lap. Before he left, I asked him why Nara didn't just kill me to get the crystal instead of forcing me into giving it to her. He explained that there were two ways to take control of the magic away from the master. One was to kill me, the master, and the other was for me to relinquish the magic to her. Nara knew she would never be able to kill me because the magic would instinctively protect me. By handing the magic over to her, I willingly surrendered it and therefor gave the control of it to her.
It was an hour after he left when I forced myself to acknowledge the box. I knew what it was. I didn't want it and was tempted to throw it away. Unfortunately, I couldn't. Opening the box, I took out the necklace that held the crystal with Keya's magic and placed it around my neck.
The sun was setting the next day when the ceremony began. There were globes of glowing lights that floated above everyone. They all dressed in somber colors and the atmosphere was filled with sorrow and grief. Everyone gathered at the main thoroughfare that all of their corts had been built around. There was a big ancient tree at the center. Shuron stood, with his back to the trunk of the tree, on top of a platform between Von's and Loquis' body. Several jars were placed in front of him. He said something in a language that I couldn't understand. Everyone bowed their heads as if in prayer. When he was done, a couple of them moved to carry the bodies and the jars down to the edge of town while the others trailed behind. I was the last to follow. There, they had built a mount with twigs and branches. They carried the bodies to the top and laid one next to the other. Shuron held out his hand and the bottom of the mount lit up. The flames spread quickly. I watched at a distance and said a silent prayer to them.