“I know we’re friends, but out of everybody here, we’re probably the least close.”
“I like you, Kassia. I was just scared of the unknown I guess.”
“I know you do, Zane. I like you too. But, still…if the demons get me and somehow brainwash me or whatever it is they have planned…you have to kill me.”
His jaw dropped open. “It’s not going to come to that—”
“Zane,” I interrupted. “I just need to know that you will keep Mira — all of them — safe. If they turn me against you.” I started to get choked up. “You have to kill me. They won’t. You have to protect them.”
He was silent for a minute before he responded, “If I know that you are truly gone, I will kill you.”
Hearing that was more disturbing than I thought it would be. “Thank you. Now, go find a bird.”
He scoffed. “Yes Ma’am.” He stepped back out of the car.
When I looked back, I noticed Mira was awake, and she had tears streaming down her face. “You weren’t supposed to hear that.”
“Obviously.”
I crawled over the seat and sat next to her. “It’s only an emergency backup.” I was crying now too.
“I can’t think about this, Kassia. I just can’t.”
“Okay.” I hugged her and held on for a long time.
It was dawn now. I dried off my tears and woke the rest of the car up. Zane had made his way back. “A bird told me there is someone up the mountain. It sounds like the person we’re looking for. It’s going to be a long hike though.” He looked over at the convenience store we were parked at. “They open in a few minutes. We need water and power bars. I’m not sure where this person is, but the round trip hike to the summit is twelve hours.”
Daxton whistled. “Twelve hours.”
“We’re all in good shape. We all have our gifts. I think we can do it, but we may not have to go that far.”
“We may be fighting demons along the way, which will take a lot out of us.” I reminded him, hating to be the downer.
“Yes, there’s that.”
“Make sure we bring the salve and first aid kits.” Auralee said squeezing Noe’s hand. Today, her shirt warmed my heart. It read, ‘Love is blind; friendship closes its eyes.’
“Alright guys, let’s get in the store and up the mountain.” We all banged our fists together.
After shopping at the store, we found ourselves at the trailhead staring ahead of us. “This is it. Everybody ready?” Zane asked.
A bunch of “Yups” answered back.
We headed in two by two. The beginning wasn’t too bad. About half a mile in, we came across a water crossing. Somehow we made it across without getting wet. A few minutes later, a ranger who was coming down the mountain stopped us. “Morning kids. Can I see your permits?”
Zane and I exchanged looks. “Permits?”
“Yes, you are supposed to have permits to be on this mountain. If you don’t have them, I’m afraid I will have to escort you back.”
Mira stepped up. “Sir, you already saw our permits.” She smiled. “You checked us all and we each have the necessary permit. You’re going to continue going back down the mountain, and we’ll continue going up.”
He looked confused for just a few seconds. “That’s right. I already saw your permits. Thank you. Be careful now.” He smiled and continued going on his way.
I giggled. “You’re awesome, Mira.”
“I know.”
“Let’s go.”
Soon, Zane saw something scurrying off the trail. “I’ll be right back.”
We stood around while people going up the mountain passed us. I figured we looked pretty dumb just kind of standing there. A few minutes later, he was back. “That was a marmot.”
“What the hell is a marmot?” Mira asked.
“I dunno. Some big squirrel looking animal.” He shrugged. “He said we need to go to Mirror Lake.”
“How far is that?”
“Four miles from the trailhead.”
“And how far in are we?” I asked.
“That sign we just passed, pointing out the different trails, was about a mile in.”
“Great.” Only three miles to go. I sighed. I pushed on ahead of them knowing we needed to get there. My legs were already aching and I was hungry, but I wasn’t going to complain. We were here because of me; I had to get us there.
We hiked up quietly, each of us in our own heads, except maybe Auralee. She had all of us to entertain her. We stopped a few times for drinks and snacks. A middle-aged man was coming up past us, he stopped for a moment. “Take it one step at a time, kids. Slow and easy. That’s the only way to reach the top.”
“Thanks.” I nodded. If only we were just going to the top. If only we were normal kids on a normal hike. But no, we were trying to find a secret shaman who lived somewhere on this mountain.
Noe stayed quiet on the hike. She wasn’t a big complainer anyway, but she grimaced a few times. I assumed something was bothering her. I had developed a pain in my side and each step hurt. “Hey, Auralee, what are the hikers in front of us thinking?” I had to talk about something or the pain would drive me nuts.
She laughed. “Okay. The guy is trying to impress the girl, who loves nature and outdoors. He told her he loves to hike, and she suggested they come here. Now, he’s wishing he had kept his mouth shut.”
I laughed. “That’s funny.”
“There’s a family behind us who climb to the summit every year. Six months ago, their oldest son died in a car crash. This is their first time without him, and they’re all feeling a little different about it.”
“Wow.” I felt bad for them. For me, it would be like losing one of us. I didn’t grow up with blood relatives, so my friends were my family.
After another hour, I saw some water ahead. “A lake! Is that it?” I looked back at Zane? “Which way do we go?” Excitement rose up in me.
“Calm down, Kassia. That’s not Mirror Lake. It’s Lone Pine Lake.”
I stomped my foot. Mira laughed. “You gonna have a temper tantrum now?”
“Yes.” I stuck out my lower lip.
“Do you know how much further, Zane?” Daxton asked him.
“Little over a mile.”
Daxton took my hand. “We’re almost there.”
We trudged on. The pain in my side grew with every step. I tried to go slow and easy, but I felt like I was holding everyone back. Daxton gripped my hand, hanging on to me. Every once in a while, he’d turn to me and say something sweet like, “I’ve got you. We can do this.”
In the next twenty minutes, we descended a little into a place called Outpost Camp and started walking through some meadows. We proceeded up the trail and it wasn’t long before he said. “There, Kassia, look.” Daxton pointed.
I could see another lake now, not quite as beautiful as the one earlier. There weren’t as many people there. “It’s closed to camping,” Zane said. “Maybe that’s why she likes it here.”
“Look how rocky it is after this.” Auralee pointed ahead. “The tree line ends here.”
“Trees can’t grow further up because of the environment,” Noe responded.
Zane put his finger up, signaling us to be quiet. “I’ll be back.”
I picked at something sticky on my hand until he came back. “Well?”
Zane nodded. “Follow me.”
We waited until there weren’t any more hikers in sight, and then we headed towards the lake. We walked around to a secluded spot. “Now what?” I was beginning to get annoyed. We had been driving around the country for weeks, fighting demons, and hiking for hours. What else did we need to do?
“We wait.”
“Right. For?”
“I’m not sure.”
Glad he had the patience to sit around and wait. I, however, did not. “C’mon Zane! This is fucked up. We wait? Is she even real? Is she going to appear in the middle of the lake? I want answers. I don’t want to w
ait!” I yelled, getting mad.
“Psst, Mira, you might want to intervene before she blows,” Noe suggested.
“Oh!” Mira stood up in between Zane and me. The blood drained from Zane’s face as he realized who was getting mad. “Kassia,” Mira spoke softly. “Chill out. We’re all tired. We’re all frustrated, but Zane didn’t do anything. And, well, I’d really like it if you didn’t kill him.”
I broke my concentration and looked at her. “Fine, for you.” The look on Zane’s face bothered me though. “I wouldn’t have hurt you, Zane.”
His face softened. “I know…I think.”
I sat away from the group thinking about what we were doing, hoping this shaman would be able to tell us what to do. What if she couldn’t or wouldn’t? What would we do then? We’d have to go to plan B. We couldn’t keep living like this.
As it got darker, I got more worried. “Wonder if there is even such a thing as a shaman,” I muttered under my breath.
Chapter Eleven
I thought I heard something. My head snapped up, and I saw her, at least I thought it was a her. She had long white hair and the yellowest eyes I had ever seen. Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve ever seen yellow eyes before. Her skin was thin and pale. She looked like she was over 100.
“I passed 100 a long time ago, my dear.”
And she could read minds.
“Follow me.” We all stood and followed her. She took us up the mountain a little more to a place I was sure nobody had ever been. “Nobody can see this place,” she told us, “unless you’re with me or I let you. You may call me Vala.”
Her home was a decorated cave. Long sheets hung on the walls of the cave, and a rug covered the floor. A kitchen table and a bed were shoved against the walls. Many books were lined up on numerous bookshelves. It was plain but homey.
The lady shaman sat down and looked at us all. “What brings you gifted kids to my mountain?”
If she could read minds, she should know. I took a deep breath. Here goes nothing. “We’re hoping you can help us.” I filled her in on who we were and what had happened at the school. “We’ve been running and hiding for a couple weeks, but the demons keep finding us. We won’t be safe, ever, anywhere. We’re hoping you can tell us what to do.” I wondered if I sounded desperate enough because we were extremely desperate.
She didn’t speak for a few moments. I got the feeling that she was reading each of our minds, but she didn’t confirm that suspicion. “You are all in a very dangerous position,” she said finally. Her voice was high, like that of a young child. “Especially you, Kassia. So young, so beautiful, and so deadly.” I swallowed hard. “I have heard whisperings long before your gift was revealed. They have been waiting for you.”
My hands were shaking. “I don’t want…”
“I know, child. Despite you killing humans, your soul is full of light. You only killed to protect.”
I nodded, looking at Mira who had tears flowing down her face. “Please, can you help us? Please.” I was crying now too.
“Demons are awful creatures. They are being controlled by Kern. He is the one calling the shots,” Vala explained.
“Do we need to kill him?”
She cocked her head to one side and then the other as she looked at me. “He is very hard to kill, and killing him won’t stop all the evil in the world.”
My shoulders sagged, my hopes sunk. “Is there no hope then?”
“You already know what you have to do to protect those you love.”
My eyes grew wide. “That’s all there is?”
“NO!” Mira jumped up.
“Over my dead body!” Daxton shouted.
She grinned. “You have loyal friends.”
“I have to protect them.”
“Yessss….” She looked back at me. “They won’t stop until they have you and when they do, child, you will be used as a weapon. The only way to stop that from happening is death. But, you will have to do it in front of Kern himself.”
I heard Mira gasp behind me.
“That means I have to get caught.”
“Yes.”
I shuddered, remembering the demon’s eyes.
“The dagger you have, make sure it’s well hidden. When you’re brought before Kern, he will want you to demonstrate your gift. You will not be tied up at this point. Take the dagger and stab yourself in the heart. They will not touch the dagger, they cannot. It is sealed by the angels and the faeries. It will burn their hands if they touch it.” Vala looked at my friends and said, “You must not take it out either. Bring her body with the dagger back here to me. We will deal with her properly then.”
Mira was holding her head in her hands. “There has to be another way.”
“I am sorry, but there is not.”
Her voice rang of truth, and I could feel it in the very fiber of my being. I had known this all along. I had to die for them. Not that I wanted to die, but as long as they were safe, I would. “Where do I go?”
“Don’t worry,” she cackled. “They will find you.”
“If they take her, how do we find her?”
She looked over at Noe. “Once it’s done, you should be able to see what you need to help find her.”
Noe nodded. “Okay,” she softly responded.
“Are you sure there’s nothing else?” Daxton asked, his voice shaking.
“You love her. Tell her this.”
“Nothing?” Auralee asked. “We came to you for help, and you tell her to commit suicide?”
“The demons of this world are just getting stronger and stronger. The good is fading. I’m the last of my kind in this country. The faeries won’t come out of hiding. The angels won’t set foot on the ground. Humans are destroying the earth as well as themselves. The gifted are getting fewer. But, somehow, you kids give me hope.” She closed her eyes. “Yesss…hope. Remember what I said you have to do. I will see you soon.” She stood up and looked straight at me. “Godspeed.”
And with that she was gone.
Nobody moved for a long time. I think we were all in shock. “We should be going,” I muttered.
“That’s it. You’re just going to give yourself to them?” Mira screamed lunging at me. She grabbed my shoulders and started shaking me. “You can’t! I didn’t take care of you for all these years just for you to kill yourself!”
Oh Mira, sweet Mira. “Always worried about me.” I cupped her face in my hands. “Now it’s time for you to let me take care of you.”
“No.” She wailed like a baby. “Take me with you. We’ll die together.”
“Absolutely not!” I held her while she sobbed. It felt odd comforting my friends over my own death. I had to keep repeating, “This is for them”, over and over in my head or I might just completely lose it. I was holding on by a thread. I felt like I was going to snap at any second. So, chanting, “This is for them, this is for them, this is for them…” kept me from doing so.
Daxton sat next down and put his arm around me while I still held on to Mira. She had literally cried herself to sleep, and I was still stroking her hair. “Vala was right.”
Our eyes met and I smiled.
“I love you, Kassia.”
My heart melted. “I love you, too.”
He kissed me gently and lovingly. I never wanted it to end. I ended up falling asleep while leaning on him. When I woke again, the sun was starting to rise. We needed to go. Vala had given us a safe place to sleep that night, and now it was time to face our destiny.
I woke everybody up, and we descended the mountain slowly. We had no desire to get to wherever it was we were going. A few times, I found myself blinded with silent tears and stumbled along the trail. One of my friends would grab my arm and help me find my balance. Somehow I think it took us longer to get down than it did to get up. We were in no hurry.
Back in the car, we just sat. “Where do you want to go?” Zane finally asked.
“Doesn’t matter.”
“Do you want to go home?”
Hell yes I did, but I couldn’t risk bringing danger to Glendale. “No.” I shook my head. “Let’s find somewhere to eat.”
“Okay.” He started driving.
I turned to Auralee and asked curiously, “Could you read Vala’s mind?”
“No,” she answered.
After we ate, we checked into a big hotel with a pool, and we had a good time. I tried not to let my impending death get in the way of being with my friends. I couldn’t keep dwelling on it. At least not in front of them. I had to be strong so that they could be strong. But, at night, when they were sleeping, I’d break down. Why had I been brought into this life if I was to leave it so young? Why do I have to die in such an awful way?
“This is nuts! We’re not going to let you sacrifice yourself,” Daxton said, abruptly. This caught the attention of everyone in the room, and they turned towards us.
Knowing this was the only thing that would work, knowing I had to do it, there was only one thing I could say. “Don’t make me hurt you.”
His eyes widened. “You wouldn’t?”
“If I have to.”
“Mira…she can stop you.”
Looking over at her, I responded, “To save me, she’d have to let all of you get hurt. Do you think she’ll stand by while that happens?”
“What about that drug that knocks you out?” he threatened.
“How much of that do we have? We’ll run out at some point.” I countered.
“Noe?” He seemed desperate now. “Can’t you see a way around this?”
Poor Noe, the look in her eyes clearly showed she wanted no part of this conversation. “No. I’m so sorry.” She took a deep, shuddering breath. Then she suddenly sprang up from where she was sitting and ran to the bathroom.
His lip quivered and tears formed in his eyes. “Do you expect me to just let you do this?” My heart broke for him. I wanted to reach out to him, bring him to me, and beg him to keep me safe.
I swallowed hard. “Then don’t watch.”
He picked up a book and threw it across the room. “Dammit Kass!”
Tears sprang to my eyes. “Don’t you all understand? I did this. I brought this on. They want ME! They will kill you to get to me. I have to protect all of you.” I looked at Mira. “I failed before. I have to succeed this time.” Mira was bawling on the bed.
I shifted my gaze to Daxton. “You have to let me go. I have to do this.”
“I don’t want to,” he said between his teeth.