Chapter Nine

➳ Jude

“Come on inside then,” the elfen girl said, holding Hex. “You can leave your car there. What’s your name?”

I debated telling her my real name, ultimately deciding to use the name of my false identification. 

“Donovan,” I lied. “You?”

“Anemone,” she said, leading me inside. My eyes wandered around the circular room. The foyer was grand, and my eyes feast on the gold and green decoration. A massive spiral staircase stood in the center with stained glass windows along the wall. Gold and green seating and soft, colorful lighting allowed for a warming atmosphere. Paintings hung in gold frames, and I imagined everything was outrageously expensive. I was tempted to pocket something and sell it when I return to Skog, but I knew I couldn’t.

“Come on,” Anemone said, already on the steps. “You’ll stay in one of the guest rooms. I believe there is one ready on the fifth floor.”

“How many guest rooms do you have?” I asked with a snort.

“A lot,” she said simply. 

We passed the third floor when Anemone asked about Hex’s name. I rolled my eyes before responding. “Ask Annabeth. She named her.”

“Annabeth? Oh, of course! Who else…” Anemone muttered something particularly rude under her breath. “Poor baby… she looks so helpless…”

As soon as Anemone showed me to my room she rushed away without bothering to open the door. She mumbled something about Hex needing food and a good scrub. 

I pushed open the door and took a look inside. 

The bedroom was impressively large, but I barely noticed the moment I stepped into the room. 

I ignored the whistles of birds outside and walked over to the tall stained glass windows lining one of the walls. It swung open with a crash of wind as I approached. The sweet smell of honeysuckle carried up from the vines climbing the outer walls from the house. 

Yes, this will do. 

Not even bothering to take a breath, I threw myself out of it without so much as a cry. Darkness swept through me and tore me into its embrace. Distantly, I heard Anemone scream and Hex relapses into the cries that had tortured me throughout the drive here. I guess they had been watching me from a window above my room. 

I was in the sky… The sky of Skye to be exact. My home before my parents had done something so awful that we had been kicked out. I pushed past those images, focusing on what happened after that. Skog. Siblings. Death. Darkness. So much darkness. It wrapped around me as the wind faintly whispered in my ears. I was crashing into a void. One that never seemed to end. My wings couldn’t catch me now. I hit the ground with a sickening thud, and a silver light surrounded me. 

Light. 

Light. 

Light. 

Illuminating the dark. 

Dark. 

Dark. 

Dark. On the edges of my fading vision. This wasn’t where I belonged. Not at all. I was dead. Trapped in my own mind. From the darkness echoed a bitter laugh, cackling in my ears. Is this what the end of life is like? Nothingness? I didn’t want to be trapped with my own thoughts forever. That’d be a torture far above and beyond then the acts I’d done. 

Death. 

Death. 

Death. The silver of a piercing blinding me. An insipid, angry laugh came forth. What was doing this to me?

Light. 

Light. 

Light. Sliver this time. Like floating on clouds. A smile crossed my bloodied lips. 

“Jude,” a voice cried from the shadows. “Your destiny has changed. This is your chance to save yourself from this fate.” 

I laughed, a dark and angry laugh that came from someone very deep inside me. So deep, I hadn’t realized it was a part of me before.

“Why?” I screamed hoarsely into the void. 

“A girl needs your help. She needs someone to guide her. We have chosen you to be her guardian angel like the phaeryees in the myths of old. Save her to save yourself.” The voice faded and I was suddenly aware of an utter sense of cold. Loneliness. A lack of life that had been left as the voice did.

“Fine!” I yelled, a sense of doom hitting me. “I’ll save her! I’ll do it! Just don’t leave me to this!” The light returned and with it, so did the sense of life I was beginning to recognize as my soul.

“Her name is Camille. She is destined to end our world and forge a new one. You shall be the shield to her sword. This is your destiny.” I faintly nodded at the words, committing them to memory. I took a step towards the light, letting a breath of it fill my aching lungs. Anemone’s voice came back as I did. Screaming. Crying. A perfect storm. I laughed again, less angry this time. 

“I’ll make all the tables turn.” I took the last step into the light, letting life flood back into me.

Pain. 

Pain. 

Pain. A red haze blinded my vision. I screamed, a raspy, hoarse scream.

“Oh snake-spit, dingle-berry-day,” I cursed, curling into a ball.

“That’s what you get!” a tremor of a voice said from above me. “Scaring us like that…”

I cursed again. “Only an elf would find some way to make this about them,” I groaned, bursts of pain exploding across my body.

 “Aren’t you supposed to have magic? Fix this,” I ordered, the last words fading into a gasp. 

“I’m only a psychic.”

I looked up to see Anemone sweating like she just ran a marathon. Hex was in her hands, crying softly.

My nose wrinkled up. “Why are you so sweaty? You’re dripping on me,” I said with disgust. 

“I just ran down six flights of stairs with a baby on my hip. Of course I would be sweating!” Anemone was hot with fury. “Now what in Ienus were you thinking?”

“I wasn’t thinking. It was a yearning I couldn’t control.”

“Oh, sure… I’ll make sure to lock your windows as soon as I can,” Anemone said. “Now come help me take care of Hex.”

“I'd rather get some rest. My head hurts cause, you know, I just fell from the fifth floor.” 

“If you think I’m going to leave you alone after you gave me the anxiety attack of a lifetime, you are sadly mistaken!” Anemone turned on her heel and walked back inside. 

“Come on!” she called when I didn’t follow. Reluctantly, I trudged forward, following her to the sixth floor. I fought to ignore the sore pangs emanating from my head. 

“This is the nursery,” she said, showing me around the room. The room was light green and the walls were covered with golden polka dots. Two cribs, one baby bath, a changing table, a play mat, and a closet were all included in the room. Anemone sat Hex down and began to give her water. 

“You didn’t think to give her anything to drink?” Anemone asked.

“No,” I said flatly. I watched lazily as Anemone gave Hex food and water, bathed Hex, played with Hex, and read to Hex. I mostly sat in the background eating baby food and drinking baby water while ignoring the need to use the bathroom.

Soon, the sun began to set.

“Can I go now?” I asked for the millionth time.

Anemone huffed. “Yes. Do you want me to bring food to your room?”

“Water would be nice.”

“Alright. I’ll bring it up in a moment.”

I walked outside of the nursey and walked down the spiral stairs. I found my room and rushed to the bathroom. Afterwards, I collapsed on my bed. Half an hour later, Anemone came in.

“Here,” she said softly, putting a glass of water on my bedside table along with a pair of pajamas. She went to lock my windows before leaving the room. 

I downed the water in a second. Wiping my mouth, I changed into pajamas. I crawled into my bed and lifted the thick covers over my body.

That night, I had dreams of rage. A girl, a year or so younger than me, with long white hair, slung a sword toward the creatures in front of her. She killed every single living thing in sight.

I woke up in sweat. Was she the girl that would end this world and begin a new one?

For the first time in years, I was afraid.