TWELVE
Bryn
“Why isn’t Jolie awake?” Rand asked as he leaned over her. Taking her by the arms, he shook her slightly. “What’s wrong with her?”
“She got lost while I was in there!” I almost yelled back at him before turning to Mercedes. I was sitting on the bed, beside my sister, who looked dead for all intents and purposes. “The scenery started changing around us, and I was worried neither of us would be able to get back, so I had to return for help.”
“You were not to leave her side!” Mercedes scolded me. Grabbing the bowl with her still smoldering charm, she rushed over to the table where she originally created the concoction.
“It wasn’t by any choice of mine!” I yelled back at her, and my voice sounded panicked. “We heard a scream, and before I knew it, we were in the bad part of the vision. The one where Luce was destroying everything! Before I could stop her, she was gone!”
Mercedes nodded, and Rand stepped away from his wife and started pacing the room. “What can you do?” he demanded from Mercedes, and his face was drawn and pale. “Is there something we must do? Can you send me to go after her?”
“No,” she answered pointedly before turning back to me again. “We have so little time.” She placed the bowl in front of her and added a few things while she started stirring. Then she faced me again. “You both were in there for over a half hour, Bryn!”
“It was less than fifteen minutes!” I insisted as I shook my head. “I timed it.”
“Time operates differently inside your mind,” Mercedes explained somewhat absentmindedly.
“So? What does that mean?” I replied.
“It means you have scant minutes left to get her before she’s lost to us forever.” I watched her dumping the ingredients into the bowl as she stirred with fierce vigor.
Sinjin strode up to Mercedes with purposeful intent. “I wish to return with the Lady Bryn.”
“No,” Mercedes said as she shook her head vehemently. She continued adding her pinches of this and that to the concoction in the bowl, which was now foaming over the rim.
“I refuse to take no for an answer,” Sinjin growled.
“If anyone is going, it has to be me,” Rand argued. “She’s my wife.”
“That’s exactly why you cannot go after her!” Mercedes snapped as she faced him. “We’ve already lost Jolie to the vision. You are too close to it too, which means if you go in, we could easily lose you too.”
“I, on the other hand, will not fail,” Sinjin interjected as he smiled at Rand. Frowning back at him, Rand turned to face the window as he finger-combed a very agitated hand through his thick, dark hair.
“It’s too dangerous to send anyone else back into the vision! We need to simply get Jolie out. End of story,” Mercedes argued.
But Sinjin shook his head. “It is my primary role to protect the queen.” He turned and stared into my eyes. “To protect both of you.” Facing Mercedes again, he added, “I will not allow the Lady Bryn to return to the visionary state without my presence alongside her.”
Mathilda touched Mercedes’ arm. “I believe Sinjin could be an asset, Mercedes.”
Mercedes sighed and became quiet for a few seconds. Nodding, she slowly brought the bubbling mixture over and placed it on the bed again. Facing Sinjin, she motioned to the bed and told him, “Lie down.”
He simply nodded, and I scooted closer to my sister while Sinjin lay down on the bed beside me.
“Sinjin, I expect you to fulfill your primary role as protector and defender,” Rand said from where he stood beside the window. “I expect you to bring back both Jolie and Bryn.” Then he faced me. “Both of them.”
Sinjin nodded. “I shall not return empty-handed.”
Mercedes leaned over Sinjin and me as she lifted the bowl from the tray. She began fanning the smoke over us and said, “Same rules apply as before,” and she eyed Sinjin narrowly. “Just get in and get out! And above all, try to limit your conversation lest someone should overhear you.”
“Understood and acknowledged,” Sinjin said as he took my hand.
“Close your eyes. Bryn, you must now return to the vision,” Mercedes instructed me, and I did so. “Remember: time is of the utmost essence.”
She began to chant, and I imagined the same place in the forest where I entered the vision the first time. My eyes felt heavy and the familiar feeling of my body beginning to float again took hold of me. This time, though, it was barely a second before I was standing in the forest.
But everything was different.
This time, the forest was so dark and foreboding, while before, it was bright, airy, and verdant. A thick fog had rolled in, submerging everything in a dense layer of clouds that covered me from my waist down.
“Remember, my pet, none of what you see here is real.” I heard Sinjin’s voice to my left and immediately turned to face him. I couldn’t explain why, but I was very relieved to see him standing beside me.
I just nodded because I didn’t want to speak. Unfortunately for us, we couldn’t communicate telepathically through our thoughts. That limited any conversation, just in case Luce could magically eavesdrop on us. I couldn’t be sure if the vision resulted from my own doing or was deliberately planted by Luce. So all I could do was hope for the best but plan for the worst.
Sinjin took my hand and pulled me closer to him, smiling with an expression of resignation and encouragement. With a nod, we suddenly dematerialized through the air, and the wind swished across my face. I was surprised Sinjin managed to access that ability despite being in the visionary state, but I decided not to question it.
“We must remain stoic at all times,” he whispered to me as soon as we touched down in front of Kinloch Kirk.
I nodded and pulled my hand from his and we hurried through the entry gate and the courtyard. The front doors were wide open and the acrid odor of smoke pervaded our nostrils. Flames had already consumed most of the grounds of Kinloch as well as the house, itself. But they were burning themselves out now, leaving behind the smoldering residue of what was once the epitome of elegance in Scottish homes.
As soon as we approached the front doors, I noticed a body blocking our path. Then I remembered whose body it was.
I immediately looked up at Sinjin. I was nervous to see his reaction when he recognized himself lying dead on the ground. But I saw no response from him at all. Instead, he glanced down and didn’t even flinch. He simply sidestepped the heap of what was once his body and hurried up the front steps and into the foyer of Kinloch Kirk with me at his side.
I was so proud of him. I couldn’t suppress my admiration. He had one purpose and one purpose alone—to retrieve my sister and keep me safe in the process. Even the sight of something so awful as the charred remains of his own body couldn’t faze him. Sinjin was so strong in his character; of that, there was no doubt. And, more importantly, I was beyond grateful that he was there with me.
In this latest version of my vision, green vines blanketed the broken walls of the castle, spanning the doorways and any doors which were still intact. The vines stretched all the way up to the ceiling in places where the roof still stood. The crunch of leaves and other debris beneath our feet sounded almost foreign since everything below my waist was completely obscured by the thick fog.
The kingdom had lost all of its former glory. Trying to get my bearings straight, I was having trouble figuring out which room we were in. I eventually realized with much chagrin that the rooms had been rearranged. Thinking we were entering the foyer, I suddenly grasped we’d actually walked into the kitchen. Then I ran through the doorway into what should have been the dining room, but found myself in a bedroom.
I glanced over at Sinjin, who was still holding my hand, and his expression of puzzlement mirrored my own. Not wanting to waste any more time, I clutched Sinjin’s hand and rushed through the bedroom, reaching the door on the opposite side. The fog seemed to dance around us, and I wasn’t sure how it was possible, but pushing through it became increasingly more difficult. It was like slogging through cold Jell-O.
As soon as we passed the doorway, we were in the foyer. The staircase in the center of the foyer looked about as sturdy as a bunch of matchsticks strung together with twine. The banister was completely missing on one side and the wood was clearly split and charred in other places.
I started forward, but Sinjin yanked me back to him with a smile. We instantly dematerialized from the ground floor and reappeared at the top of the stairs. Good thing too! If not for vampire travel, I wasn’t sure we could have made it, certainly not if we had to climb the stairs the old-fashioned way!
I smiled up at him in silent gratitude before we hurried down the long corridor. The dense fog rippled around us like clotted cream. At the end of the hall were two doors. Ordinarily, six bedrooms occupied this wing of the house, but the same wasn’t true in the visionary state. We hurried down the seemingly never-ending corridor and the thick fog continued to ripple around us, growing denser as we approached the two doors at the end of the hall.
I gripped the doorknob of the door on my left and took a deep breath as I pushed it open, only to find nothing on the other side. Literally nothing! Nothing but open space and more fog. I turned to the other door but hesitated before I reached for the doorknob. If this were the little princess’s room, I knew what I’d find on the other side. That was something I had to prepare myself for.
Taking a deep breath, I watched the fog swirl up around my waist. It was getting denser, growing taller, and now, it was well past my belly button. That couldn’t be good.
At the sound of a whimper, I stopped paying attention to the fog. Sinjin turned toward me and we both froze as we listened. The soft sob was repeating itself. Sinjin turned to face me, and I nodded at him. “It’s Jolie,” I whispered.
He pushed my hand away from the doorknob and protectively thrust me behind him as he slowly opened the door. I peered into the room from around his shoulder, and what I saw nearly stopped my heart.
Luce was standing in front of my sister. He was blocking her from leaving the room. The scariest part, though, was that he appeared solid, just like Sinjin, my sister, and me. He wasn’t translucent like the castle and most of the scenery.
“Don’t worry, he can’t hurt us,” I whispered to Sinjin. “We’re still in the visionary state, which means he can’t physically do any harm to us.”
Sinjin glanced back at me with a frown. “But he can keep us trapped here, which is just as bad.”
“Not if we don’t give him the power to entrap us,” I replied with a sprinkle of optimism. I refused to believe we had come this far only to lose the game to Luce. No! That wasn’t going to happen. Not on my watch. “This is my mind,” I continued. I was whispering to Sinjin but really addressing myself. “Therefore, I retain most of the control.” I took a deep breath. “Let me handle Luce. You just get Jolie out of here.”
Sinjin turned to face me over his shoulder and his eyes were hardened, angry even. “I will not leave without you.”
“You might not have any choice,” I whispered. “She’s already been here too long, and your primary duty is to protect the queen, not her sister.”
“Bryn,” he said as he looked at me imploringly.
“Sinjin, you know that I’m stating the truth,” I insisted as I shook my head. Without waiting for his response, I sidestepped him and walked into the room.
Pushing all the anger, anxiety, and concern for myself deep down inside me, I honed in on my training—trying to recall everything I learned in the tribe as well as everything Sinjin taught me at Kinloch Kirk. I evacuated all the worry and negative thoughts that might affect me adversely from my mind. And my mind eagerly complied until it was no more than a blank canvas. Now I was a warrior and no longer Bryn, the queen’s sister. I was no longer the princess. I was in full survival mode.
I pushed through the fog that continued to billow around me, rising and growing. Ignoring it, I chose to focus my ferocity on Luce. Luce’s back was to me, so I walked around him, becoming faintly aware of my sister’s amazement as soon as she saw me. I managed to get a small glimpse of her from my peripheral vision, but I wasn’t interested in her right then.
I was entirely focused on Luce. I had to be. I was well aware that his powers surpassed mine exponentially, but this was my mind. Never mind the home advantage of battling the enemy on my own turf. This was my mind, a place where I set my own rules and Luce had no other choice but to abide by them! And that was exactly what I told myself.
Circling each other, only our eyes locked, but as soon as they did, I held him captive. I stared unflinchingly without blinking. Jolie must have seen her golden opportunity and silently slipped out from below Luce. She carefully tiptoed toward Sinjin, who waited for her with outstretched arms.
I continued my stare-down with Luce but managed to get a glimpse of Sinjin from the corner of my eye. He hesitated. Although I had a brief moment of doubt that nearly incapacitated me, I immediately shot it down. Whatever Sinjin decided to do was strictly his business. I couldn’t control him and, furthermore, I couldn’t afford any distraction from Luce.
Well, that’s not entirely true, I argued with myself. This is your head! You can force Sinjin to take Jolie the hell out of here!
And so I did. Imagining the vines that climbed all over the walls, I saw them reaching suddenly inward, stretching across the threshold of the doorway. Little by little, they began to bend at my command, attaching themselves from one side of the wall to the other, and expertly weaving an impenetrable net to prevent Sinjin from coming back inside the room. Eventually, he would have no other choice but to leave.
Sinjin watched the vines obscuring the entryway before his eyes met mine in silent understanding. My undivided attention remained on Luce, but as soon as I saw Sinjin disappearing from view, I could finally breathe a little more easily.
Now it was just Luce and me. Exactly how I wanted it. Jolie and Sinjin had to locate the single flame that would lead them back to safety by themselves. That was all I could ask for.
“You’re mighty strong, child,” Luce said, and a sudden wind began blowing his long, white locks outward. He didn’t bother or even attempt to attack me since we were in my own dreamscape, and it would do no good. But I knew he wasn’t satisfied. He’d surely attempt to rile me in some other way to distract me. His only goal, at this point, was to trap me in this world and keep me in this vision.
And I fully intended to make sure that wouldn’t happen.
“I’m much stronger than you could ever imagine,” I answered between my gnashing teeth.
He cocked his head to the side, and I realized with mild amusement that he was missing his arm.
“Who knew you were capable of seeing the future?” he continued. “I certainly never expected it.”
“I didn’t see anything,” I argued. “You deliberately planted this vision in my mind.”
He immediately shook his head. “No, I did not,” he insisted. “I breached the firewall to your mind, yes, but I was never one to forewarn you.” Then he shrugged and added, “I daresay that would have been like giving away the game before we ever even played it.”
“If that’s true, then how could you be here right now?” I demanded. I wondered if I should believe him because he wasn’t trustworthy, but there was something glimmering in his eyes that told me he wasn’t lying.
He threw his head back and laughed. “You weren’t strong enough to keep me away from you, Bryn! I’m a supreme elder, or have you forgotten?”
“I haven’t.”
“And let’s not forget that I also raised you. I taught you everything you know! I turned you into the woman warrior you have become today.”
“No, you didn’t!” I protested, biting my lip because I refused to become emotional. He was deliberately trying to provoke me, and I knew there had to be a reason why.
“You were always like a daughter to me,” he continued, “with so much potential. Do you know that my primary goal was to see you one day assume the mantle of responsibility for our tribe? I was grooming you to eventually take my place.”
“You’re lying!”
Luce continued as if he hadn’t heard me. “No, that wasn’t enough for you. Instead, you ran to the enemy. You took everything I gave you and crassly spat on it.”
“I was never a daughter to you,” I retorted, finding myself nearly seething with rage. The words slipped out through my teeth and the anger coursed through my body as the room began to shift. The window started to disappear into the floor, like it was melting. And the door, along with the knotted wall of vines I wove in front of it, blinked clean out of existence, only to show up again but on an adjacent wall.
I steadied myself as I took a deep breath. The surroundings were responding to my emotional interaction with Luce. The more infuriated I became, the more things changed, pushing me farther away from my escape. I had to maintain a cool demeanor and ignore all the stress buttons Luce kept pushing.
“You’re right, Bryn,” Luce said as he nodded emphatically. “You were so useless! You never deserved any of the training I provided for you. You couldn’t even overcome your incompetence as a breeder!”
His cruel words hit me hard and my pain instantly rippled into the vision, causing more things to shift and disorient me. I had to regain my self-control. Each time the vision shifted, it became harder to find the flame. And if I didn’t flee from this broken-down version of Kinloch Kirk and vanish into the forest within the next few seconds, I feared I’d run the risk of being trapped here, inside my mind, forever.
“You’ll never access our kingdom, Luce,” I told him, my hands fisting at my sides. “I will never allow you to touch a single hair on the head of a single person in Jolie’s realm of sovereignty.”
He threw his head back and laughed again as his hideous, white beard flowed around him. Interestingly enough, the fog only encircled his ankles. Meanwhile, it now reached the bottom of my ribcage. I didn’t even try to steal a look because I couldn’t afford to take my eyes off Luce. I did manage to see, however, in my peripheral vision that the vines continued spreading across the walls and the floor.
“I will conquer this kingdom,” Luce responded. “And in a way that no one will ever foresee or expect.”
“Oh, really? Is that so?” I asked with a little laugh as an ingenious idea suddenly struck me. Luce had an insatiable ego, so if I could manage to get him talking defensively, perhaps he’d reveal something important without realizing it. “Excuse me if I don’t hold my breath.”
“This will be an inside job, my dear, so clever in its simplicity that none of you will ever see it coming! It is not I whom you should fear but those around you—those who proclaim to be your friends,” he taunted me.
I shook my head. “You’re just trying to sprinkle the seeds of suspicion amongst us,” I started. “You want us to start doubting each other so you can weaken us from the inside out. But believe me, it won’t happen.”
I was the first to doubt my own words, but I was playing a leading role and I decided to stay in character. If I could upset Luce enough, he might spill out the very details that could benefit us later. Well, that is, if I managed to emerge from this damned, godforsaken vision.
Luce stepped closer to me, and I eyed the melting window, which was now back in its original place. I figured that must have been a good sign, or at least, I hoped it was.
“You know nothing of Kinloch Kirk or my sister! You’re a lying manipulator and your ominous words and empty threats don’t faze me one iota!” I exclaimed, virtually turning the tables on him. Who knew what might happen if he became emotionally unstable?
Luce took another step toward me. His eyes narrowed and his expression grew more serious. “Did you ever, in all your musings, consider that the informant you seek among you is actually you?” he asked as he examined my face for a clue. “Perhaps you are not the same person you think you are. You now, and always will, belong to me. I programmed you! Nothing can break the ties that now link you to me.”
“I don’t believe you,” I growled like a mad dog.
“You shall see the truth in good time,” he persisted. “And when you realize that, the last laugh will be at your expense.”
“I still don’t believe you,” I repeated, although this time with a little less gusto.
“All the jealousy you harbor inside for your sister,” Luce continued, “is about to culminate to a breaking point.”
“I harbor no jealousy toward my sister.”
He laughed. “Yes, you do! You are secretly jealous of her and you envy all the things that she has, things that you will never have. That stubborn jealousy will eventually consume you and you will not be able to let it go. It will breed its nasty messages inside of you, growing ever stronger and uglier until you can no longer control its fury.”
“I don’t believe a single word you’re saying.”
“The fire will ignite, dancing along your skin again as the rage starts to explode inside you. It begins as a tiny flame but soon erupts into an inferno and you will spontaneously combust, destroying the very people you claim to care so much about! Your wrath will destroy all of them and save me the bother and trouble!”
The room shifted and I tried to swallow the hard pill of doubt that suddenly lodged in my throat. Luce was doing his best to lock me up in my own mind, and I couldn’t allow him to succeed. With a deep breath of air, I tried to calm my raging fury. But as hard as I tried, my anger overcame me and I could feel the heat boiling on the surface of my skin. Rage. Unadulterated rage. The same feeling I experienced with that prick, Jack.
“And when you murder the baby princess, you will never forget the look of betrayal in her eyes,” Luce taunted me with a sadistic grin. My mind, however, failed to fully register his words. Instead, I was flushing with intense heat.
The unbearable heat continued to rise inside me until I could no longer contain it. It had to come out. All of a sudden, bright flames of yellow, orange, and red appeared all over me, dancing along my skin.
Luce stepped back, and his eyes went wide as saucers. He could only stare in disbelief at my blazing arms and hair, since my body was now completely engulfed by rampant flames. And yet, I couldn’t feel the heat any longer. Now, I felt nothing but rage.
Fire outlined my entire body, whipping up and lashing out toward the vile leader who once “raised” me. The room made a loud noise as the door and windows shifted again. Glancing upward, I commanded one of the vines to wrap around Luce. A huge tendril dropped down that looked like a snake. Wrapping itself around his middle, the winding vine completely encircled Luce, and he reacted with surprise. Only seconds later, the plant dropped away from him. Upon hitting the floor, it exploded into a pile of ash.
My skin turned a darker shade of red and the flames lapped even higher and faster. I felt more alive and in a way I never could before. Taking a step toward Luce, I held my hand out to him, trying to touch him so I could melt his skin with my flames. But he simply disappeared right in front of me, as if he’d never been there in the first place.