Chapter Six

Samara

It was only when we made it outside the cavern that we paused for the briefest moment. And though it was brief, it was long enough for me to note that we were no longer in Curio.

It’s not that I doubted Ewan when he talked about the Veil being the borderland between his world and mine, but that I couldn’t believe how incredibly captivating his world was to me.

Although we exited back into a forest, there was a hum of energy in the air the moment I stepped onto the dirt. Crickets chirped, stars blazed proudly in the night sky—almost as if it was greeting us with its twinkle. The air was clean, the trees a vibrant bark brown and leafy green—despite the lack of sunlight—and the moon was full, offering its beams as our lantern.

I could have stood there all night, but the sound of Ewan’s panting reminded me of why I was here.

I turned towards him. Ewan was bent over, hands on knees in a very animated breathing position. He took a deep breath and straightened his body. I saw his white scales gleam in an enchanting way in the moonlight but did not see a shimmer over his body. For just a moment, I could see how his form could be considered beautiful.

“Your glamour,” I began. “It’s gone.”

His mouth scrunched up for a moment, but then relaxed. “Yeah.” He nodded. “I don’t really need it here.”

As much as I wanted to discuss that further, I had to push it aside. I was getting dangerously distracted, but just the thought of those grains of sand turning Aryan into stone was enough to squelch any curious thoughts that entered my mind.

“Where’s the fortress?”

Ewan pointed towards the left. In between the trees, in the near-distance, I could just make out the red stone of my visions. “But Ssssmara, Sssssoren h-hass a lot of guardsss. How do you plan to get in and out without getting caught?”

I smiled at my guide. “I’ll take care of it. Just lead the way.”

*****

I was surprised at the speed with which Ewan maneuvered around the forest. Before I knew it, we had reached the edge of the woods. Ahead of us was nothing but hard sand and red rock. I took a step towards the fortress that wasn’t much farther ahead. But I didn’t get far when I noticed that Ewan was not by my side.

I turned back around and saw the serpent Janus cowering behind a thin tree.

“Ewan, your job is not yet done.” I placed a gentle touch on his shoulder. He shuddered and held the arm I touched with his free hand. “Have courage.” I smiled just as he looked at me. “Everything is going to be fine. I promise you.”

He released his arm, standing a little taller. Ewan nodded, just the slightest bit of confidence sneaking its way into his eyes. “Thisss way.”

He half crouched along the intimidating wall of the fortress. I glided my hand along the stone, surprised to find it so smooth despite the random pockets of holes that were scattered throughout. When I stared up, I noticed the rooves of the compound were of a more whimsical nature. The tops were rounded, revealing smooth lines as if they were molded by hand, and their dark gray coloring revealed a stark contrast with the light red of the walls. Interesting.

As my gaze drifted back down to Ewan, I realized how carefully Soren’s fortress had been constructed. Well, I suppose a stronghold would be given much thought before its assembly, but the way it was made—with the carved in balconies with their dark doorways, the smoothness of the outer walls, the subtle detail of the rooftops—left an air of sophistication, and rather than a fortress, as Ewan had claimed it to be, I felt it was more like a palace of Soren’s making. One, that felt familiar, at that.

I shook the feeling away. It’s probably just from the visions. But then again, I never left Aryan’s prison in my visions. So how can the outside of Soren’s palace make me feel as if I have been here before?

We were just about to turn the corner when I thought: Door.

“T-the entrance iss coming up.” Ewan whispered, just before a large slab of stone—the same dark gray as the rooftops—was presented to us. In front of it was a single stone-made guard who had yet to spot us.

“Well?” Ewan’s whispers were panicked.

“Follow me.”

“W-what?!” he hissed as I felt his eyes trailing me.

The guard was at least seven feet tall and glared at me as I approached. “Step away, mortal!” his voice was gravelly, inhuman, but not entirely intimidating.

I was a child compared to this goliath of a being, but I held my head high, smiling as I spoke with conviction, “Open the door.” The guard moved in a mechanical way as he did what I said. Before he could attack, I held up my hand. “Stop.” He froze. “Leave this door open until you hear my voice tell you to close it.” I looked back to find Ewan still a few feet away. I waved him over before giving out my last command. “When you see me, him, or anyone we touch, you see no one.”

With that last demand, the guard faced forward, statue-like. He looked around as if Ewan and I were not right there in front of him.

Ewan waved his hand in the guard’s face. “H-How—”

“There’s no time, Ewan.” The urgency in my voice gave him pause.

“Thiss way, Sssamara.”

I followed, my thoughts frantic. We were taking too long. How far are the grains of sand now? I was positive they had long ago devoured his feet. Are we going to make it in time?

I heard voices coming from a mess hall down the corridor. “His soldiers?”

Ewan nodded his head and whispered, “It musst be their break. Sssoren is not sso unkind asss to deny dinner.”

I held in laughter as I thought about the kind of food stone soldiers must eat. Do they eat rocks? Stone soup, perhaps? And if so, would that be considered cannibalism for a being made of that material?

“Sssamara…” Ewan whispered nervously as a guard began to come out of the room down the hall.

He was too far away to persuade. I felt the fire in me surge, but then, Ewan yanked my arm, pulling me through a doorway that led down a dark stairwell.

“W-why are you sssso warm?” he asked, releasing my wrist as if it were hazardous.

I felt embarrassed but did not answer as I created a small flame in my hand to light our way. “Are we almost there?”

Everything I did seemed to frighten Ewan to no end. I suppose I couldn’t blame him. I terrified everyone who came into contact with me. Not to mention that I all but physically forced him to help me. So, who was I to judge how he should feel? Even though I knew all of this to be true, I still found myself hiding a frown as I listened to his response.

“It’ss not a direct route, b-but it’ss not a guarded one either. In jusst a minute we’ll be clossse to a sssssecret passage that will—a-ha! Here.” He pushed a piece of the wall to the left, gesturing me to go in before he closed the wall behind us.

The passage led to more stairs that seemed to lead to a dead end. But I had faith Ewan knew what he was doing as I followed him up the steps silently.

Just as the steps would lead to a ceiling, Ewan placed his hands upon it and pushed up. A quiet pop sound filled my ears, leaving me both nervous and excited for what was ahead. Ewan smiled down at me, seeming to feel the same, but then stopped when he realized what he was doing.

Stealthily, he peeked out the crack he made, and then opened the entrance wider, stepping out swiftly. I followed suit, relinquishing my flame by making my hand into a fist. He closed the now floor-door and slithered down the hall, stopping just before the last room.

“W-we have to be quick now, Ssamara. I don’t know how long the guardsss will be disstracted for.”

I nodded and stepped into the room I had seen a hundred times before. It felt strange being in this prison, but it shouldn’t have. I’ve memorized every inch of it looking for clues on how to get here, and yet, it felt entirely new. But I had no time to admire anything. As soon as I walked in, my eyes went straight for the fuming stranger.

He was still hanging from the wall, his face still livid, and the sand just finishing his shoulders and beginning to work on his neck.

“I thought you were never coming back.” Aryan’s voice was lethal as he spoke to Ewan.

“I wassn’t.” Ewan’s eyes were everywhere but on Aryan. “B-but I didn’t have a choice.”

That amber glare made its way towards me, and the moonlight from the hole in the ceiling revealed the glamour I did not see in my vision. Is my mystery prisoner a Janus as well?

I approached him slowly, examining his true form. Like Ewan, he had scales, but it was different. They appeared softer, smaller, and somehow, more skin-like. His eyes were still that amber color that captivated me, but they appeared more catlike, and the skin around his eyes more of a black than the burgundy-purple of the rest of his skin. His ears were pointed, and his hair the same mohawk-like style of his glamour—only, it was deflated by abuse.

“Aryan…” I smiled at him. Despite seeing past his glamour, I still found him quite attractive. “Tell me, do you want to leave this place?”

He looked at me suspiciously. “Who the hell is this? Ewan.”

Ewan did not speak, and Aryan did not answer my question, so I repeated. “Do you want to leave this place?”

“Why would you help me? How do I know you’re not just trying to trick me like the rest?”

I resisted an inappropriate giggle at his stubbornness. “I told you, didn’t I? I’m coming for you.”

His eyes widened for the tiniest moment in disbelief—affirming my earlier suspicions. So, he did hear me…

He seemed to examine me, but I paid little attention to the once over he racked my body with. I was too busy watching the sand nearly reach his jaw.

“Get me out of here.”

I nodded and looked at Ewan. “Be ready to catch him.”

Ewan stood next to me, arms ready. “W-what are you going to do?”

To be honest, I hadn’t thought of that, but I felt something in me surge. Like a wave. This is new. I closed my eyes and focused on that energy. I let the wave wash over my body and down to the palm of my hands. Before I knew it, water fell from them like a fountain.

I stared at the water in surprise but knew instinctually what I had to do with it. Just as I turned my attention to Aryan, I heard him gasping for breath. Swiftly, I laid my hands against his neck, gliding them over his body, and watching as the water washed away the sand, making it disappear as if it were never there.

Just as the last grains dissipated, Aryan’s body slumped, leaving only the chains to hold him up. And it was at that precise moment, footsteps could be heard from down the hall.

“S-ss-sssamara?” Ewan called, concern coating every syllable.

I whipped the water away and called the flame again. I used both hands as I got on my tiptoes and pushed the flame against the metal chains like a blowtorch. I generated as much heat as I could muster and watched the metal of the chains drip against the wall, cooling as soon as it was away from my flame. At the last thin bit of chain, I wrapped my hot hands around the links and yanked hard, releasing Aryan from the wall.

Ewan caught him and threw Aryan onto his back. His eyes were panicked, but I remained calm, ready for anything or anyone that might approach.

I stepped in front of the men, peeking out the door to see two guards down the hall. “Come on,” I told Ewan as I walked out to them, commanding them not to see us as I did the guard from the door. “Ewan, where’s the door to the hidden passage?”

He was quite unnerved but used his frantic energy to focus on our escape. He tapped twice on the door with his foot once we reached it. With little hesitation, I bent down, and blew hard against the ground to reveal the doors latch. The air I expelled was much more powerful than I intended, but I had to push the exploration of my powers aside. I opened the door, allowing Ewan and Aryan to go ahead of me.

In the passageway, I lit our path to the secret door, sliding the heavy exit that led to our escape. I continued to light the way we had entered but blew away the flame when I heard the pounding steps of multiple soldiers. Just as we would come out to the main corridor, I took a quick peek of what we were up against. It was then that I realized that the stone men were not identical. They each appeared to be different colors. Most likely due to the type of rock they were made of, but despite how fascinating that was, it was a futile observation. I could easily see the ten soldiers would be much too many to be subdued and succeed in our rescue mission. It would have to be one or the other. And I choose the latter.

I didn’t want to be in this fortress for much longer. Who knows how long it will take for the master of this palace to figure out what I had done? And when he does, I don’t want to be here for his wrath.

I took a deep breath and whispered, “Let me help you carry him.”

Ewan looked at me with uncertainty but did as I said. Aryan’s head lulled against the nape of my neck as I got a good grip of his arm and draped it over my shoulders.

When I was confident I wouldn’t drop him, I smiled at Ewan—hoping this gesture would reassure him that I had some semblance of a plan. “Run.”

We made a mad dash for the exit that glowed a silvery beacon of hope.

He did as I said but was very unhappy about it. “W-why do you want me to die!?”

At our noise, I heard a few guards shout for us to stop, but I pushed myself to keep up with Ewan—whose legs were much longer than mine. We broke through the open entrance like a pair of runners through a marathon ribbon, but we did not stop running—the stomping of the stone soldiers proving to be a great motivator.

“Shut the door!” I screamed at the soldier guarding the entrance. He looked around his surroundings as if we weren’t running for our lives. “And do not let anyone out!”

I looked back at the guard, watching him slam the dark grey slab of stone shut, and holding it tight. The sound of his fellow guards slamming on the door and bellowing echoed in my ears as we turned the corner and ran straight into the forest.

We kept moving, miraculously keeping pace with each other all the way to the Veil. And even when we got to the border, we did not stop. We just kept going, letting the faint green paint of the walls guide us.