The Endërland Chronicles: Book of Serena

  Part happy and part embarrassed, Freddie just could not help but feel good at having her body flush next to his own again. A little too good. Holding her in his arms like this, touching her warm skin and inhaling that amazing scent of hers made it really difficult for him to ignore his senses. He knew he should not feel like this about her, but he was too powerless to stop himself. After all, he was as human as the next guy.

  When that initial moment of joy passed, Serena stopped jumping and dancing, but did not let go of him right away. She too enjoyed being near Freddie, feeling his body heat, his strong muscles flex whenever he held her, or the way his chin rested on the side of her head when she put her head on his chest, which she just did not do as often as she would have liked. She liked that a lot. But she didn’t know much about boys, or how things were done in this world. Nor did she know anything about him really, things that mattered, like, did he have a girl? Or, did he even think of her that way?

  Feeling that the hug had gotten a bit too long and looking into each other’s eyes a bit too awkward, they both shyly smiled and let go.

  ‘Sorry,’ she almost whispered, ‘I get too childish sometimes. I’m just, so happy.’

  ‘No need to apologise,’ he replied. ‘I’m happy too. I’m just stunned. I mean, you saw the wound and all that blood.’

  Serena tried not to think of that image that had kept coming back to haunt her ever since it had happened. Freddie saw it in her face and apologised immediately.

  ‘I’m sorry, I’m such a fool. I did not mean to remind you.’

  ‘It’s alright,’ she smiled sweetly and sat back in her chair. ‘What do you think happened?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ he answered and sat down next to her. ‘It’s a mystery. Things like this just don’t happen in this world, not like in your one where there’s magic all around, not to mention Summer Water.’

  ‘You mean; you don’t have that here? So, how do you heal people?’

  ‘With doctors and medicine, of course. And even then, it doesn’t always work; not all wounds can be healed, certainly not like your grandfather’s. It’s like, someone healed him, you know, magically.’

  Here, his voice trailed off and he looked at Serena with curious eyes.

  ‘What?’ she asked. ‘What are you thinking?’

  ‘Remember the talk we had about the Dreamer of the prophecy and how he would have power to do anything in this world?’

  ‘Yes,’ answered Serena, getting a hint of what he was insinuating.

  ‘What if it was you who healed him? I mean, you had your hands on his wound for a good while; maybe your healing power flowed through you, without you even knowing it. Or maybe you don’t even need to be anywhere near him to heal him; what if you just wished him healed and it happened?’

  ‘But I didn’t feel anything happening, yesterday, or today. I don’t think I did anything.’

  ‘But maybe you don’t feel anything. I mean; I don’t know how these things work, I’ve never had powers myself.’

  Serena got up and began pacing in front of him, her head down and her thoughts all jumbled up. Freddie watched her as she did but found that he had trouble keeping his mind on the subject at hand. In his head he kept imagining reaching for her hand and drawing her to him, rising up to stand next to her and cover those sweet lips with his own. And he had a feeling she might just let him. He wondered badly how they tasted. He almost felt his hand move toward hers and had to actually will it to stay put. These feelings were really getting out of control. He had to get a grip.

  ‘How do we find out?’ Serena suddenly asked, jolting him out of his daydreaming.

  ‘Find out what?’ he asked, flustered.

  ‘Whether I have these powers or not? I need to know.’

  ‘Well, it is different for every Dreamer; sometimes they live their entire life without ever discovering or using their powers, but most are aware. It usually starts by doing small things, small creations or changes in their surroundings that can defy nature or logic, and that most of the time only they can tell. In most cases it happens subconsciously, without the Dreamer even knowing he or she is doing it. But if they know their powers well, it can happen at will.’

  ‘Like when my dad called all the stars down from the sky in the Great War.’

  ‘He did what?’

  Oh, Serena just had to tell him about this.

  ‘They were almost losing the battle, because the wolfmen were too many, so he remembered that the Endërland sky is as populated as the earth is, even more crowded actually; so he called them all down to fight for us. And that’s how we won the war.’

  ‘Wow,’ Freddie marvelled. ‘That must have been such a sight.’

  ‘It is. I mean; obviously I wasn’t born then, but every time we celebrate Winter passing the Silver Sceptre down to Spring, all the stars come down from the sky just like that night, and we party all together. It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.’

  ‘Sounds like it. I wish I could get to see it someday.’

  ‘Me too,’ Serena said and meant it. She imagined for a moment having him by her side while the heavenly host came down in a spectacular golden shower, and her lips arched of their own accord. Suddenly, she realised that she really wanted that to happen.

  ‘Anyway,’ Freddie brought her back to the present, ‘back to our subject. I guess there is something we could try, to see if you have any power.’

  ‘Like what?’

  Freddie looked around for inspiration and his eyes stopped at a rosebush out in the garden. It was flowerless and barely alive, having been left unattended for a long time, but it made for a great object for their experiment.

  ‘Look at that rosebush over there,’ he said to Serena who followed his gaze where he directed it. ‘Try and revive it a little; maybe make a rose or two blossom.’

  ‘How do I do that?’ Serena asked, clearly not having a clue.

  ‘I don’t know. Just wish it; see it happening in your mind or something, and maybe it will come true.’

  ‘Just wish it,’ Serena repeated after him and then focused all her attention on the rosebush. She brought her eyebrows together, concentrating on the plant as if she was about to set it on fire with her eyes. Freddie could see her hands closing into fists and the veins bulging on her forehead, and almost burst into laughter. It was a rather comical look. But he didn’t laugh; Serena needed to be convinced that this was real, or it would never work.

  After about a minute or so “trying” to will the plant into life, Serena sat back down and gave up.

  ‘Nothing’s happening,’ she said, disappointed. ‘Maybe I don’t have any powers after all.’

  ‘It’s too soon to give up, Serena. It might take a little time, so why don’t you just keep practicing on that, while I go and do some shopping. There’s practically nothing to eat in the house.’

  ‘Can’t I go with you?’ asked Serena, her eyes pleading with him. ‘I don’t feel like staying here alone. Besides, I’d like to see this new town you’ve brought me in.’ While that was true enough, what Serena didn’t say, was that she didn’t really feel like staying away from him. She enjoyed being with him more than she knew.

  But Freddie’s answer wasn’t what she was hopping to hear.

  ‘I’m not sure that’s such a good idea, Serena; I think it’s best you stay hidden for a while. The Order doesn’t know about this place, it belonged to my late grandmother; but we need to be careful anyway. I won’t be long, I promise.’

  Serena reluctantly agreed and returned to her experiment. Freddie left the house, heading into town and returning about an hour later with plenty of groceries and toiletries that would last them for at least a couple of days. Not really disappointed at the lack of progress with the rosebush, he proceeded to prepare lunch, while Serena watched him and tried to help with little things.

  She was quite impressed with his kitchen skills, something she didn’t have much of, since she never really cooked. But Freddie
on the other hand, looked like he had spent a lot of time in the kitchen.

  ‘Where did you learn how to cook?’ she asked innocently, a question which caused Freddie to pause for a moment, before answering. She could swear she saw a shadow veil his face for a moment there, but then she blinked and thought she must have imagined it.

  ‘My dad died just before my little sister was born, so it was just the two of us and my mom. She had to work most of the time to pay the rent and feed us, so I had to learn. In the beginning I was terrible at it; my mom would always eat and never complain, because she would be too tired, but my sister always whined about it. She especially hated anything that was green, which was pretty much everything,’ he laughed. ‘But it did push me to learn and get better at it.’

  ‘I can’t wait to try it,’ said Serena, smiling at him. She realised that this was the first time he had ever spoken about his family, and that made her curious to know more. ‘Where are they now? Your family, I mean.’

  Freddie’s face looked like someone had just poked him in a sore spot, but then he forced himself to smile again and answered.

  ‘It’s been a very long time, so they’re dead. It’s just me now.’

  He dismissed the subject rather quickly, but Serena couldn’t help but notice his sadness.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ she said. ‘I really am. It must be difficult losing your family and being alone.’ She thought of her own family just then, and the idea that she might never see them again lashed out against the inside walls of her soul. Her eyes shone bright with moisture in response. Freddie quickly grabbed the chance to shift the focus away from him.

  ‘You’ll see them again, Serena, I promise. And you’ll never have to worry about being alone; I’ll be with you for as long as you need me.’

  He hated himself just then for letting his mouth run ahead of him and making promises he knew he couldn’t keep. His boss would get what he wanted, and there was nothing he could do about it. But recently he just could not keep a clear head when it came to her.

  Whether he had meant it or not, Serena's heart grew warmer as those words landed. She put the thoughts of both their families on the side and chased her sadness away.

  ‘Thank you, Freddie. I don’t know what I would do if you weren’t with me.’

  ‘It’s my job,’ he replied, immediately regretting his choice of words. Serena's face dropped as soon as those words left his mouth, so he turned and hurried to repair the damage. ‘I mean, I’m glad I’m here with you, too. I wouldn’t wanna be anywhere else right now.’

  He almost kicked himself as he anxiously waited for the smile to come back on her beautiful face. And it did. Her eyes lit up again and just like that the rest of the room felt lighter and brighter, literally. If he was wondering about it up until that point, Freddie no longer had any doubt as to whether Serena felt something for him. She could no more fight it than he could. What a mess.

  With this knowledge out there in the air, they finally set up the dining table and sat down to have lunch. It was a dish with potatoes and herbs that Serena had never tried before, but it was brilliantly cooked. It had been a while since Freddie had cooked for someone else, so he enjoyed the compliments.

  They spent the rest of the day giving the experiment another try, convinced that with enough practice they’d be able to unlock Serena's dormant powers. But no matter how hard she tried, she was still unable to cause a single leaf to grow on the dying rosebush. When they’d had enough of that, they just sat next to each other, sharing stories from their lives and their worlds.

  Serena wasn’t alone in her yearning to know everything about him; Freddie also seemed to come up with question after question, each answer leaving him with the desire to hear more. Despite being so young and living a life relatively simpler than any other girl he’d known, there seemed to be so much about her that was worth learning.

  He had not met that many girls in his life, but from those that he had, none had managed to capture and fascinate him the way she did. He couldn’t tell whether his ever-growing attraction towards her made him feel like this, or she really was that interesting, but he was beginning not to care. In fact, he was really starting to have second thoughts about helping his boss with his plans for her. He’d agreed to do this thinking she would just be someone he didn’t know, someone who didn’t matter. But now that he did know her, everything had changed.

  As she sat on the couch across from him, with her legs folded underneath her and her eyes glued on his pear-shaped face, he was finally hit with the full weight of his choice and its consequences. If he went along with his master’s plan, he had no idea what might happen to her, though he expected nothing good. But if he stopped now, if he told her the truth and helped her escape while she still could, he would lose someone else he really cared about. And he might lose Serena, too, for if she learned of his role in his master’s plans, he was certain she would never forgive him. He wouldn’t.

  Realising he was caught between a bad choice and a worse one, Freddie forgot for a moment to keep his poker face on, and let desperation and worry rule instead. Serena noticed this, and could tell that something wasn’t right.

  ‘Freddie, what’s wrong? Why did you go sad all of a sudden?’

  She moved from her position on the other end of the couch and came to sit next to him. She then put a hand on his cheek, like her mom always did with her when she was sad.

  Freddie recuperated rather quickly, hiding his thoughts all over again. He meant to gently push her away and reassure her that he was alright, but he could not bring himself to do it. Instead, he put his hand on top of hers and held it there, managing one of those smiles which Serena really loved.

  ‘It’s nothing, I’m sorry. I just remembered something that happened a long time ago, that’s all.’

  ‘Do you want to talk about it?’ she pushed, even after telling herself not to.

  ‘I’m alright, thank you. You don’t need to worry about me.’

  Almost impulsively, he kissed her hand and gave it back to her, now forcing himself to get up, when all he wanted to do, was sit there with her, all night long.

  ‘It’s late; we better get some sleep. We gotta try to wake your powers again tomorrow.’

  Serena wasn’t that happy that this moment had to come to an end, but she decided better to hide it. She got up and smiled back at him, heading towards her room and the bed she had shared with him the previous night. Only, tonight she doubted he would stay with her. She knew it wasn’t proper and he was an honourable man. Oh, but for one moment she wished he wasn’t. She said goodnight, looking one last time in his gentle eyes and disappeared up the stairs.

  Freddie remained behind, sorting out the living room and switching everything off, while at the same time rebuking himself for losing it in front of her. The way he was going, he was making everything so much harder for himself. He had to stick to his initial plan; there was no other way. He could worry about Serena's fate later.

  He went to bed arguing with himself and jumping from scenario to scenario about where he could go from here. But whichever way he rationalised it, he was now certain that he was about to lose someone very important to him. And that drove him to silent tears. He could see no way out.

  His eyes were still damp, an hour or so after they’d both gone to bed, when he heard his door creak open and Serena's voice calling his name.

  ‘Freddie, are you awake?’

  He quickly dried his face with his hands and sat up.

  ‘Is everything okay?’ he asked, masking his voice so that she wouldn’t tell he’d been crying.

  ‘’Yes,’ came her reply, ‘Everything’s okay. I just, couldn’t sleep, and, well…, I was kinda hoping you’d let me sleep with you again.’

  And just like that, all his anguish and his worry faded into the night. He made room for her to come into his bed and lay down beside him. She nestled in his arms just like she’d done the night before, and he cradled her with the longing t
hat he’d denied himself from the very first time he’d laid eyes on her. Putting his arms around her and keeping enough distance so that she wouldn’t understand just how happy he actually was to have her there, they both fell asleep, shutting out all the worries of the waking day.

  The new neighbourhood where the Bagleys’ dream house was located still lacked the lighting in its dark streets, but that played perfectly to Drake’s advantage. He wanted no one to see him enter or leave the premises, though he was feeling more and more like he no longer cared about any of it. He’d wanted this for so long that he hadn’t thought at all about what he’d do once it was all over, once he was done with the two of them. He had no clue where to go next. He guessed, he’d just have to play it by ear and take it one day at a time. He’d be a free man after all, and both worlds were his to conquer.

  As he stepped inside the front yard, he saw that one of the three men he’d hired to pose as policemen, waited for him sitting down by the entrance. The other two were inside, making sure the Bagleys were nicely tied and keeping quiet.

  ‘You took your sweet time getting here,’ the man spoke with a thick Scottish accent. He was still in his police uniform, but had done away with the hat.

  ‘You got somewhere else to be?’ asked Drake, not really caring.

  ‘Aye, I do,’ the man answered, ‘away from here.’

  ‘Fine, then. Come inside and let’s get this over with.’

  The man followed him inside the house, where they headed straight into the salon. The other two had tied the Bagleys up together to a marble column. They’d both been gagged to prevent them from screaming or making any other noises.

  Drake ignored the two prisoners and their hateful looks and walked over to the men.

  ‘You got everything you wanted from this place?’ he asked, motioning towards the mess that had become of the Bagleys’ clearly burgled home.

  ‘That we did,’ the main guy spoke again. ‘You sure you don’t want nothing?’

  ‘It’s all yours,’ Drake replied, throwing him a handful of banknotes, which the man grabbed in the air. ‘As is this. It’s what we agreed on, and a little extra; that was quite the show back at the Windsor’s. Now, leave and forget that you know me.’

  The men stood where they were for a moment, but it was clear that their business here was finished. So they headed towards the door and vanished into the night. Drake went after them and locked the door from the inside, finally giving all of his attention to his former parents.

  Walking back to where they had been chained, he grabbed a chair and sat just a couple of feet away from them. He said and did nothing but cross his arms and stare at them. There was no visible emotion in his eyes, just a dead stare that said nothing at all. The Bagleys on the other hand glowered with hatred and malice, but there was also a good dose of fear in there somewhere.

  Finally, Mr. Bagley started making mumbling noises, as if he was trying to speak. Lazily, Drake reached for the rag over his mouth and pulled it away, leaving the man free to say his piece.

  ‘Drake, I know why you’re doing this, but you got it all wrong. We came back for you; it was supposed to be a surprise. We came here to set up the house and make it ready for you, and then we came back to get you and Bessie. Only, you had already left, and Bessie… Well, I guess you did what you had to do, son…’

  A kick in the teeth interrupted his speech, causing Mr. Bagley’s head to fly in the opposite direction and bleed profusely. Mrs. Bagley scowled underneath the gag rag. Drake looked at her, fire practically spewing out of his eyes.

  ‘Wait for you turn, mother.’

  He then took out of his pocket his favourite double edged blade and knelt next to his adoptive father. Beside them Mrs. Bagley began kicking out a storm, having a very good idea as to what was about to happen to her husband.

  Drake grabbed the man by his hair and looked straight into his bloodied eyes.

  ‘You don’t get to call me that; I am not your son. Apparently I never was. As for you, I know exactly who and what the both of you are; and believe me, there is absolutely nothing you can say that I will ever believe or care to listen to. Tonight, you have told your last lies.’

  Before he even finished his sentence, Drake slid the knife deep inside the man’s stomach and twisted it around a couple of times, before taking it out again. Mr. Bagley winced from the pain, but Drake’s hand over his mouth did not allow for any sound to come out. When he withdrew his hand, he replaced the rag over the man’s mouth and turned his back on him.

  While Mr. Bagley slowly bled to death, Drake moved over to Mrs. Bagley, whose stare would grind metal if it could. Removing the rag that kept her quiet and freeing her mouth, Drake now positioned himself almost on top of her.

  ‘You look like you got something you want to say to me, mother,’ he said, expecting her to spew out the worst towards him. And the woman did not disappoint.

  ‘You’re no son of mine,’ she vomited. ‘You never were. You were just a street dog, a fleabag that we used for our purposes and then threw back out when we no longer needed you. And mark my words, you’ll remain a street dog for the rest of your miserable life, no matter where you live or what you wear.’

  Having finished her hateful speech, Mrs. Bagley spat in Drake’s face and shut her mouth again. Scowling at her, Drake drew closer and grabbed her hard from her loose hair, using it to wipe the spit from his face. The woman squealed from the pain and pulled her head back, leaving behind a handful of hair in his hand. He looked at it and then forcefully shoved it all inside her mouth, holding her jaw shut.

  ‘Bessie was right about you; you know? There’s not a maternal bone in your body, not one. That’s why the Almighty left you barren.’

  Covering her mouth with the one hand, just like he had done with her husband, he slid the bloodied knife inside her stomach, twisting and turning it a few times for good measure. Blood and guts burst out of her abdomen, soiling her specially tailored gown. Marge twisted in place and screamed as loud as she could, but only muffled sounds came out from underneath Drake’s fingers. The tears from her eyes, however, ran freely down her made-up cheeks.

  ‘I would have done anything for you,’ Drake roared while cutting her up, ‘but you chose this instead. I hope it was all worth it.’ He pulled the knife out of her mutilated flesh and wiped the blood in her pink satin dress. The woman lay at his feet, crying and gasping for air.

  Having finished with the “surgery” part of his plan, Drake now got back up and grabbed the nearest oil lamp he found. He threw it against the sofa behind him, where it broke, setting it on fire. Right then, the horror in the Bagleys’ eyes reached new levels. He then picked up another lamp and threw it against the curtains, setting them on fire too. He went around the entire house doing the same thing, until he was satisfied with the results. The whole house soon caught fire like a dry haystack in the middle of a hot summer’s day.

  When he figured it was time for him to leave, he walked back to his prisoners for one final farewell. They both half lay half sat on the floor, shrinking and whimpering from the pain, blood and guts spilling out of their open stomachs.

  ‘I love what you’ve done with the place, mom and dad; it really is a dream house. Well, I do hope you’ll enjoy it. I’m just sorry I couldn’t stick around long enough to enjoy it with you. Ta ta.’

  He turned his back on the dying couple and started to walk towards the exit, while the fire devoured everything around him. But before he could even get to the front door, he heard the voice of Mrs. Bagley calling after him.

  ‘Drake.’

  He turned.

  With livid fire in her eyes Mrs. Bagley spoke one last time.

  ‘This isn’t over, son. I’ll come back for you; you watch.’

  It could have been the flames already licking up her flesh, but Drake could swear he saw her eyes shine bright red for a single moment. It mattered not; she was already history. He gave her one last disgusted look and smiled viciously.


  ‘I’ll be waiting, mother,’ he replied, brandishing his double edged knife in the air.

  Turning his back on both of them again, he headed towards the door, walked through it and closed it behind him, leaving the quiet neighbourhood the same way he had come. A sense of accomplishment washed over him, as he knew he was finally with his old life.