Long Ago

Chapter Four

Once at the bottom of the hole, I noticed a long hallway that looked to lead to a large room. Mark jumped down from the ladder and landed behind me. He was holding a lantern that did little to chase the darkness from around us. He pushed to get in front of me, shoving me against the packed dirt wall. "Follow me," He said roughly. He began walking down the hallway holding the metal lantern out in front of him. I followed closely, afraid of being left in complete darkness without his light.

Three feet before the large room, he turned to the left to face the wall. He looked at me with a smirk and pushed gently against it with his free hand. The wall shoved back like a panel and slid over to the side. He walked into the room he had just revealed and I followed, only to stop dead at what the room beheld.

"A dragon," I whispered breathlessly.

Indeed. 

A dragon head, tail, teeth, and scales lined a large wall across from us. I looked around with awe and saw that not just the dragon's parts were in this room. Trolls, fairies, and mermaids as well. Troll hair, eyes, and skeletons; mermaid tails, shells, and hair; and tiny fairy wings pinned to the wall with nails. "This is all that is left of these creatures," Mark said. I snapped my gaze to him, forgetting he was there. He shook his head, "This is all that's left of magic."

"Did you and my aunt kill these creatures?" I asked, anger rising in me.

He looked at me, his rough face confused and drawn tightly, "Of course not. We found their parts scattered here and there. We took them to try and figure out how they died."

I looked back at the dragon head that seemed like it was growling at me. "And what did you find out?"

"Nothing. Not a single thing about why they died. All we know is when. About sixty years ago every single creature with magic flowing through it's veins dropped dead. Same day, same hour, same minute, same second... they all died, and magic vanished. We still don't know the motive of whoever did this though. We think it was the king... but we don't have enough solid evidence."

I shook my head walking over to a pair of small glimmering wings. "That's horrible."

"Yes. It is." He said walking up to stand beside me.

I looked at him and asked, "What does my aunt have to do with any of this? What does my mother... my mother's death have to do with this?"

He looked at me and asked, "Do you know what your grandfather was?"

"What?" I asked turning to face him fully.

He sighed, irritation written all over his body. "I'll take that as a no. Your grandfather was one of the first founders of the group your aunt and I are in. We are called The Midnight Magicians." He huffed a sigh and continued, "Your grandfather was one of the original four people that started this group to find out what caused magic to vanish. He was on to something... something that would unleash the secret that has plagued these lands for decades... but then he died."

My heart trembled. My grandfather was everything to me when I was little. He told me everything, we had no secrets, but...

Mark continued, "Your grandfather was so close to knowing why magic vanished, but he was a very secretive man... they all were." He muttered that last bit, seeming irritated. "I always got the feeling they were hiding things from me. But your grandfather was the worst one, no matter how much we begged him to tell us what he found, he deemed it best to keep it hidden until he was sure." He turned around and approached a table that had papers and journals spread all over it. He placed his hands on either side of it and sighed. "He died before he confirmed what he found." He shook his head, "Your grandfather was in perfect health before he died, there is no explanation as to why he died... your aunt thinks he was murdered."

"Murdered? By who?" I walked around to the other side of the table and braced my hands on it as well.

He shrugged, "She was captured before she sent word with what she found out." He looked up from the map he was examining to stare into my eyes. "What exactly happened when you found your mother today?"

I told him... I told him everything, even though it sent a roaring physical pain rippling through my whole body.

He shook his head when I finished, "It can't be."

"What?"

He grabbed a leather journal that looked worn down and falling apart at the seams. He flipped it open to a certain page and read, "They're gone, I've killed the last one. It was a female, and she was with three of her offspring. I knew I couldn't leave them; they would grow up and destroy everything we've worked for. But their screeches would have forever haunted my dreams, so, I left their fate to Mother Nature. It's so cold out here, they will likely be dead before sundown, but at least it wouldn't be by my hand."

"What... what is that?" I asked my voice shaking slightly.

He shut the journal and looked up at me with fire in his eyes. "The King's journal. Your grandfather found it years and years ago in an old war camp. We think it's referring to a troll or fairy. Your mother might have been killed by whatever creature he refused to kill."

"So more likely trolls then? There was so much damage..." So much blood. "How could a fairy have done that?"

"True," he nodded. "Very true. But that also means we have a lot more danger on our hands. Trolls are ruthless and vicious creatures. Though they have no magic, they will stop at nothing to-" His head snapped to the doorway and he slowly walked towards it.

I looked at him and whispered, "What is it?"

He held up a hand to quiet me and peered out the doorway. He pulled back into the room and swore under his breath. Looking at me with wide eyes, he said, "Raven, I'm afraid this is all the help I can give you. But, there is one more person left in our group."

"My aunt?" I asked hopefully.

"No." He said, sorrow filling his eyes. "She... she was certainly killed." He continued, but he spoke so quietly and so fast I hardly caught everything, "There is another. He is in the dungeons awaiting a sentence that is likely to never come. The king has most likely forgotten about him. He's a little older than you. He joined the group at an early age but was captured before he could help our cause. When your aunt came to me she told me he still lives. His name is Apollo. Get arrested, find him, and escape together. He has already been told you would come for him and he knows what to do."

"How has he been told of me? I didn't even know about all this until just now."

He shook his head, a sad smile blooming on his face, "Your aunt suspected you would come to me... she knows... knew more about you than you realize."

A loud bang echoed through the long hallway. Mark and I both snapped our gaze back to the doorway. Heavy footsteps grew louder and louder as the guards stomped closer and closer towards us. Mark looked at me and smiled kindly before pushing me into the hallway. He spoke only one word as a good-bye. "Run!"

I wasted no time as I darted down the hallway towards the room at the end. I heard a grunt from behind me then a guard yell, "There she is!"

I picked up my pace then paused, "Get arrested," I mumbled to myself. I turned around to see the guards running after me. "I turn myself in!" I yelled, throwing my hands up as I marched towards them.

They slowed their steps down but continued towards me. "Stay there." One of them yelled; once they reached me, another turned me around and placed my hands in shackles. "You'll be lucky if you live through the night for all the things you've done."

They turned me around and began the long walk down the hallway.