Twisted Souls

Chapter 25

It's a struggle to get out bed for multiple reason this morning. One, my body is still exhausted from yesterday and hasn't fully regained its energy, two: today's the day when it all plays out and who knows what the outcome will be, and three, I want to avoid Xalale as long as possible. After last night I don't think I can look him right in the eyes.
But however many reasons I have, I have even more reasons to get up. I need to check on Elle and Coxen, see how far Sephora is on that solution, and, bottom line is, I can't hide from my problems forever.
I get up and get ready (though it's not the quickest). I know I've missed practice and breakfast, but that's not the top priority right now.
"You never know what the day holds for you until you wake up and see." I try to motivate myself, but end up worrying myself more. Before I leave I decide to take my necklace along with me. As I pull it out of the drawer, I can tell it's nearly entirely stone. I can only find about an inch or two of the chain still metal.
Just stepping outside my door, I can sense that something was off about today. The tension was so apparent that it seemed to suffocate me.
I waste no time hurrying to Elle and Coxen's room. Even though the energy seems more upbeat here, I can still feel the negativity creeping in slowly.
"Mallory." Elle smiles brightly at me.
"H-hey." I glance over at Coxen who's sitting by the window. His face is half hidden since he's facing away from me, but I can tell my his furrowed brow that he's somewhat troubled.
"What's wrong?" Elle ask, smile slowly fading from her face.
"Nothing." I lie as I approach them. I try to add some cheer to my voice. "You're finally out of bed. How do you feel?"
Coxen seems to be in deep concentration and only looks away from the window once his sister nudges him.
"I feel better. It's nice not having to be bedridden." He sounds distraction and turns away from us to look out the window again.
Elle makes a 'tsk' sound.
"I don't know what's wrong with him. I keep asking him what he's looking for out there, but all I get is nothing. Now you seem to be saying 'nothing' as well. What's really wrong, Mal?"
I give her a small smile. Elle and her positive energy. She can't feel it can she? The wall of negativity and darkness rising? Maybe it's better that way. But to leave her in the dark, it feels wrong.
"It really is nothing." I respond.
She gives me a suspicious look, but it immediately fades away.
"Sephora said she needed to talk to you. It sounded urgent. I think she's in the library right now."
"Ok, thanks Elle." I'm about to turn and run, but think twice and capture her in a tight hug.
When I pull back, she's searching my face with worry.
"Are you sure everything's ok, Mallory?"
I take in a sharp breath and nod. "It will be."
Before she can pry for questions, I bolt from the room and rush to the library, fingers crossed that it is something important.
Sephora has her nose buried in a book when I reach the library. She glances up and quickly waves me over.
My stomach is in knots as I wait to hear what she has to say. Her face is hard to read, but it's waver between uncertainty and relief.
She holds out a small, glass bottle filled with something pink. I inspect the concoction, but don't know what to think about it.
"It's finished." She says almost grimly.
"What is it?"
"The solution to get you home."
I nearly drop the container in disbelief. My limbs feel light and heavy at the same time. An overwhelming flood of emotions slam into me at once. I'm in complete shock.
"Th-this is going to- to get me- you found a way-" I can't even process this.
The key to getting home is right here in my hands. I can end all this worrying and go home right now if I choose to.
I finally decide on an emotion and it's complete and utter joy.
I hug Sephora tighter than I've ever hugged anyone in my entire life. Jumping up in down like an idiot (until I stop and remember I'm me and luck hates me, so it's best I not rock the ship). I squeal like a little schoolgirl who got to go to see her favorite boy band in concert.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you. You have given me so much more than I could ever hope for, thank you Sephora." I let go of her and hold the liquid up to the light. "Now how do I use it? Do I just pour it over myself, or drink it? Does it taste nasty, does it have an aftertaste?"
"Mallory, Mallory."
I calm down a bit and look at her with shining eyes.
"What? What's wrong?"
I don't expect her to look as happy as me, but the only emotion she's wearing is worry.
"There is a deadline to the solution. It won't be usable once the moon has hit its peak in the sky tonight."
"Oh. Well I'll just use it before. Now how do I use it?"
"Mallory? You remember our promise right?"
"Yeah. Yeah, I won't abandon you, not like this. I just got really excited there." I set the solution down and face her. "I always keep my promises."
She scans my face then firmly nods.
"You pour the solution on the ground and a portal should open up. Just jump into the portal after it opens and it should take you home."
"Thank you." I begin to pick up the solution but stop. "I have to go find somebody, do you mind if I carry the solution on me?"
"I trust you Mallory."
I smile and head for the doors. It feels great knowing I have a way home. But I have to use it before the peak of the moon tonight, so I have to keep track of time. The only obstacles standing in my way is that darkness. I don't know when exactly it's going to starting devastating the kingdom, but I need to defeat that first before I can go home.
Even though I've been praying to avoid him all day, I needed to find Xalale.
"He's the only way. He needs to stop this darkness. I need to get home."

At first glance it appears the throne room is empty, but it's only because Xalale is standing in the shadows.
I don't know what to say to him right away, so I linger by the door and try to come up with something.
"What do you need?" He ask, never turning to look at me.
This forces me to finally say something.
"Uh, no. I mean yes." I don't know what to add to this so I wait for his response. The room has an uncomfortable vibe to it.
When it's apparent that he's not going to pursue the question, I start up the conversation again.
"So how are you feeling?"
Yep. Its gone back to awkward conversation starters- though I'm not sure they fully went away.
"I'm going to try it."
"Hm?"
I glance away once he looks at me, and shift as he approaches.
"I've thought about it a dozen times. It's kept me up every night. I don't know if I will be strong enough to successfully subdue the darkness, but I will try."
I didn't even have to plead to him about it. He just said he would try. Everything might turn out OK after all.
"Oh, ok. That's good. I guess I'll go ask Sephora about what to do next." I place my hand on the handle behind me and begin to turn it- ready to bolt from there.
"Mallory." He stops my hand from opening the door all the way. The concerned look on his face only makes me want to escape from him more.
"I-I have to go. There's a lot to do and- and not much time to do it." I hastily twist the handle and stumble through the door.
I don't even glance back as I breeze down the hall.
"Once a murderer, always a murderer. No matter what he does that's all he'll ever be."
I calm down more the farther I get from him. A game plan is already forming in my mind as I enter the library.
Sephora is hunched over some dusty books and barely registers that I'm there until I tap her on the shoulder.
"He's going to do it." I inform her.
She stares at me in disbelief before finally answering me.
"I have little experience with this kind of thing, but I know somebody who can help us. I'll have to send for him though."
I bite my lip. "How long will that take?"
"I can reach him and return before dusk."
Weighing my options I see no other plausible choice. We only had one shot at this, so we had to do this right.
"Alright, but are sure you can be back in time?"
"Absolutely." She is already packing her things and is heading for the doors. "I'll be back before dusk."
"Before dusk." I repeat, waving her off. After she leaves, though, fear floods through my system.
"What if she's not back before dusk? What if this darkness takes over before dusk? What if I can't use the solution to get home in time-"
No. I wasn't going to think those negative thoughts, I have to stay positive no matter what. No matter what, everything will be ok.
"What to do now?"
I end up wandering the halls until I get bored and return to my room. Everything is a waiting game around here.
Lying on the bed, I toy with my necklace, ignoring the fact that most of it is stone. After I get tired of playing with the necklace, I pull out the solution.
"So close to home." I can almost smell the chocolate chip cookies baking in the oven. I can nearly feel the warmth of my bedsheets at night. I can almost see the twinkling stars shining above my rusty home. "Almost home."
As itchy as my hands are to pop open the cork and pour out the liquid to create the portal, I show self-restraint and put away the solution.
"Almost there, not quite."

The only word that can describe my morning is frantic. I literally- for hours on end- paced back and forth in my room until I was sure that I was making a wear in the floor. I stayed in my room the whole morning, letting the worry fester and boil.
I'm sure if I would've went by Elle and Coxen's room, they would have noticed my unhinged state in a heartbeat. That goes for Shay as well. Which is why I hid in my room all day, making sure the doors were locked.
Every hour Sephora wasn't back was another gray strand in my hair, it felt like. Dusk was approaching a lot quicker than I expected and not a trance of her has shown up yet.
"OK Mal, maybe she just got sidetracked. She's probably right around the corner with whoever she was bringing. Relax, there's still time."
I know from past experience to never listen to that delusional little voice in the back of my mind. It was too optimistic, too sunny and hopeful. Maybe for another person that might be encouraging and true, but for me it was all useless lies.
The only fall back I have is that solution. But I promised I would stay and see things through and I for one always keeps my promises. (Really starting to regret that selfless trait now)
The world outside seems to be getting darker as well. The dark clouds looming in the horizon are not giving me warm fuzzy feelings right now. You can almost sense the negativity building in the atmosphere. Just one prick feels like it could unleash a monsoon of darkness.
Finally I can't take it anymore, I have to do something other than wait around for Sephora to come back.
"Maybe there'll be something in the library that explains what to do. The library is huge though and we don't have much time-"
"Excuse me, miss."
I pause and turn in the direction of a guard heading my way.
"The young woman has returned with her visitor. They're waiting for you in the throne room."
"Thank God!" Sephora did come through for me. It was like a small weight was lift off my chest.
I'm breathless by the time I reach the throne room doors. Sephora is there talking to a familiar jittery figure.
"Sephora, you had me panicking for a sec." Or try a few hours.
She gives me an apologetic face then motions to Olivos, who jumps a little when I look at him. He doesn't tremble as badly once he recognizes me.
"I'm sorry for the delay. I couldn't bring you who I wanted to help us. He had fallen ill and is still weak from recover. So I brought the next best person to help us deal with this."
"I-I remember you." Olivos stutters out. "You- you helped me and- and-"
"I remember you too, you're Olivos, right?"
He actually smiles. A nervous smile, but still a smile.
"Now," Sephora says getting down to business. "Where's the king?"
I just struck me that Xalale wasn't in the throne room. I had an idea of where he could be, so I tell them I'll be right back and dash down the halls.
I'm almost to the garden when I suddenly get the feeling that he isn't there. Ignoring the feeling I make my way to the balcony garden, and just like my gut told me, he wasn't there.
"Where could he be?" I ask myself already heading to the next logical place.
The moment I stop at his bedroom door, I pause and hesitate.
"What are you doing? You're wasting time, that's what." But I still stand there at the door, deciding whether or not to knock or enter. Luckily I don't have to make a decision. The door swings open and Xalale nearly runs into me. Self-consciously I put some space between us and look away as I speak.
"You need to come to the throne room." I say it loud enough for him to hear me the first time, then turn away and hurry down the hallway.
"You just need to keep your promise and then you're free to go home. You'll never have to see his face again after that."
I take a small amount of comfort in that, but a tiny part of me is filled with a strange hollowness I can't pinpoint exactly. Shrugging it off, I hurry to make my way back to the throne room.
Xalale only a few paces behind me once I reach the throne room.
I've determined that Olivos is usually jittery and nervous by nature, but that intensifies once Xalale is in the room. Even Sephora seems to wilt at his presence.
I decide to be the one to break this icy tension.
"So what's the first step?"
Sephora tosses a quick glance to Olivos, who after a second realizes this is his time to speak.
"Uh- uh...um- well, you see-"
When he glances over at me, I mouth a reassuring, "It's ok." After that he tries to calm down some and picks up a book he has with him.
"Uh- well, we can't d-do it here."
"Why not?" Xalale voice is as sharp as a knife and it rattles Olivos, but he continues.
"You see, the darkness or-o-originates in a certain area. I don't kn-know why, but, um, it has to happen there. The darkness needs to b-be contained at the peak of Sagegate Mountain."
"How far away is that?" I ask.
"About an hours ride on horseback." Sephora says.
I glance out the window at the dark clouds growing in the distance.
"We should probably get a move on then." I reply. "There's not a lot of time left-"
"I'm going by myself." Xalale says cutting me off.
This catches me off guard and I finally turn to look at him.
"You don't know how to deal with-"
"Mallory, can I talk with you, privately?"
I want to say no, but instead I just sigh and shrug my shoulders. Sephora and Olivos quietly slip out, leaving me alone with someone who I can even stand to look in the eyes. I walk over to the window and stare out into the darkening landscape.
"I need you to trust me." It's the first thing he says to me, but it's all he has to say.
"Trust? Trust him? What on earth has he done or said that has been worthy of me putting any trust in him?"
"It would nice if you actually looked me in the eyes once." He growls.
I don't respond or even react to what he's saying. I continue to silently stare out the window. Several seconds roll by and after a minute or two has past, I hear him walking away.
"Say something, anything!" That small, naive part of my brain is still screaming useless instructions at me, but this time I refuse to listen to them.
"What are you doing!? Just say something. At least turn around to see him go." But the tiny voice falls on deaf ears. Behind me I hear the doors slam shut and I'm left alone with nothing but silence.
He's already gone.