The Rosewood Prophecy

Chapter 41

"The Elders lied to you. Sending seven kids on a suicide mission was the dumbest plan anyone can come up with. They made you think you had powers, and that you were destined to save the world. But in reality? You're nothing. Just a frightened child who cowers before the power of the mighty evil lord." Lord Victor bent down and stared into my eyes. I felt Katherine stiffen, and I wrapped my arms around her tighter. Lord Victor noticed.

"Ah, the emotions of mortals. Too bad I gave that up a long time ago. Now Kath, if only you chose quicker and sooner, maybe you could've avoided this fate. Maybe your friends would've avoided their fates."

"My lord, we found something down in the forest. We thought you'd like it." A soldier scurried up to Lord Victor, holding something in his hand. I followed Lord Victor's gaze to the charred stick in the soldier's palm. Gingerly, Lord Victor picked it up with his thumb and index finger and examined it.

"What an interesting piece of wood," he mused. "Charred, but not burnt. Fragile, yet strong. Interesting..."

"That's Ashley's wand," Katherine's hoarse voice sounded for the first time. I looked down at her in surprise. "I can recognize it anywhere. It's Ashley's wand."

"Proof that the bomb worked, and everyone exterminated, my lord," the soldier bowed low. "Everything went accordingly."

Lord Victor waved his hand and dismissed the soldier. He glanced at Katherine and snapped the scorched wand in half. Katherine choked back a sob.

"Bring them back to their cell. Make sure they're under lock and key, and have extra guards posted. They may be defeated, but they're still dangerous." Lord Victor ordered. The soldiers standing in the background snapped to attention and bowed, acknowledging the order. Two hands grabbed my arms and hoisted me to my feet, while others tried to pry Katherine away. I growled and lifted Katherine into my arms, glaring daggers at all who dared to touch her. We only had each other now. I won't let anyone hurt her again.

As the soldiers hustled us away, I heard Lord Victor say, calmly, "Aaron, you can still save Katherine by joining me. That way, you can make sure no one ever hurts her again." I stopped walking. "Think about my offer, Aaron," Lord Victor's voice slithered to me on the wind. "Think carefully."

Katherine balled the front of my shirt into her first. "Don't," she whispered hoarsely, her eyes pleading up at me. "Don't leave me."

"I won't," I promised her. I could feel Lord Victor's eyes on my back as I followed the soldiers back to my prison.

* * * * *

We needed to get out of here. I felt the cool metal of the keys that Ashley had given Katherine, who gave to me as soon as we were shoved back into our cold prison cell. She didn't look like she would ever be okay again. She passed out in my arms, and had been sleeping ever since, only to wake up for a few hours at a time.

Two days had passed since we witnessed the deaths of our friends. Every time I closed my eyes, I see the bright orange flames and feel the explosion. My nightmares consist of seeing Indigo, Lucian, Ashley, and Rachel turn into charred corpses or blown up to pieces in front of me, while I was frozen in place and could only scream my throat hoarse. The grief in me turned to anger, and then to determination. Looking down at Katherine's sleeping form curled against me, I vowed to get us both safely out of here and then extract revenge. I will kill Lord Victor even if it costs me my life.

Surprisingly, Lord Victor didn't involve us in more of his evil plans. He seemed to forget about Katherine and me, rotting away in the cells. But I knew this peace wouldn't last long. We needed to escape as soon as possible.