"Gerr..." I whispered, gently shaking Gerrard awake. He opened his eyes immediately, his entire being alert within just a few seconds.
"Is everything all right?" he asked, sitting up and holding my shoulder. I smiled softly at him.
"Yeah," I said in a soft voice. "Everything's fine. They're serving dinner soon," I said.
"Dinner..." he trailed off, looking around him as if just realizing where he was. "We're in Sylvanterra," he mumbled. I nodded.
"I was disoriented, too, when I woke up," I told him. He groaned and held his head in his hands, pressing down on his tired eyes with his palms.
"I'm so freaking tired," he said, sighing and leaning back on the headboard.
"Me too," I said, looking at him. The only light in the room came from the moon outside, which shone brilliantly through the curtains, illuminating Gerrard's blue-grey eyes.
"When did you wake up?" he asked.
"About a half hour ago," I answered. He nodded.
"You said you wanted to talk to me about something when I woke up," he said, looking at me with wide, awake eyes.
"Oh, right," I said, remembering. I leaned back against the wall next to him, fiddling with the silk material of the dress I was wearing.
"Remember when I was passed out from that poison dart that Rowan shot into my neck?" I started.
"Yeah..." he said.
"Well, when I was unconscious, I had this...dream, I guess you could call it," I said.
"A dream?" he asked.
"It wasn't really a dream, because I'm pretty sure it's happened before," I said.
"What do you mean?" he asked, thoroughly confused now. I sighed, backtracking and rethinking how I would tell him.
"I guess I should tell you this first," I said, "A while ago, after I had first gotten my powers and before I had met Elijah and you, I had this dream about a woman with blonde hair dressed in red who had a dagger come down on her hand," I explained.
"Ok..."
"The blonde woman was my mom," I said. Gerrard furrowed his brows.
"I didn't realize it at the time, but after I took the Blood Oath myself I realized that it had been her. And when I was unconscious, I had a dream about my mom again. It was when she was about to go fight the final battle; I guess where she was about to go reveal her double agent status. And then right after that one, I had a dream about her when she was in the hospital bed and my dad..." I trailed off, feeling overcome with a sudden emotion as the memory of the dream burned in my mind, "...my dad was there. And he was upset. And she was dying. I think that's when the Blood Oath curse activated," I said.
"It was so weird, when I was watching it. I felt like I was actually there. There was a burning building at the battle and I could feel the flames. I felt like I was choking on the smoke from the fire. But when I tried to talk to my mom, or my dad, or anyone, they couldn't hear me. It was like I was invisible to them; like I wasn't even there," I continued. "What does it mean? How come I can see my mother's memories?" I asked.
"They're not exactly you're mother's memories, are they?" Gerrard said. "Because otherwise, you would be seeing the situation through her eyes. But you were saying that you were watching from the sidelines, like you were an eye-witness or something," he said.
"Exactly! That's exactly how it was!" I said. "No on in the dream could hear or see me. It was horrible," I said. "But why have I been able to see these things? How was I able to see them?" I asked.
"I don't know," he replied, furrowing his brow. "I honestly have no idea. I've never heard of anything like that happen before. I've heard of sharing memories, but that's different because you're looking at the memory from that person's eyes, as if you were that person. But this is different," he said.
"Damnit," I cursed, banging my head on the wall behind me. "Do you think it has anything to do with ancient magic?" I asked. He shrugged.
"Maybe. We can tuck that away to ask Mikael when we find him," he replied. I nodded, frowning, falling silent. Gerrard nudged me.
"We'll figure it out," he said.
"I know," I mumbled. "It's just..." I trailed off, looking out the window at the shining moon. "It's just that it felt so real. My parents...they looked so real. And it was so good to see them together again, even if it wasn't in an ideal situation. And part of me just wanted to stay there in that memory--or whatever it was--forever. But I couldn't. They disappeared and I woke up and everything's just as messed up as it was before," I said, feeling the warm sting of tears at the corners of my eyes.
Gerrard noted this and put his arm around me, pulling me into a hug.
"We're going to figure this out, Caley. Things will get better. You just have to be a little patient," he said, kissing the side of my head. I nodded, sniffling and wiping the tears away with the back of my hand.
Patience. It had never been a quality that I possessed, but it was becoming increasingly more essential for me to learn it.
~~~~~~~~~~~
"Is it weird that I'm sad to leave this place?" I asked Gerrard as we walked out of rooms with our backpacks.
Queen Maya had provided us with more travel-friendly clothing. I was dressed in light tan leggings, a simple green tee-shirt, a pair of sturdy brown boots, and a dark brown cloak that was magically enhanced to be cool in the afternoon heat and warm in the evening cool. Gerrard was dressed similarly.
"We got comfy for about a day. Now it's back on the road again," Gerrard replied.
"I'm really not looking forward to traveling down a river for the next few days," I mumbled.
"We've got almost a week until we have to head back home. Let's hope we find something useful," Gerrard said. I nodded and we walked outside of the palace, where the sun was shining as brilliantly as ever.
Outside, Rowan and his crew were waiting for us. Queen Maya stood amongst them, looking like a shimmering Amazonian goddess in her simple white dress.
"I trust you have adequate supplies?" she asked us when we reached them. We nodded. "Very well. You will take two boats, as that will be sufficient for the lot of you. I ask you to present this," she paused, snapping her fingers to bring forward Ty, who brought over a flat box covered with an elegantly woven cloth to us, "to my father. You cannot go see a previous king without bearing gifts," she said.
Gerrard nodded and took the box. I opened up my spelled purse and we put it in there, along with our many other supplies, including the maps that Mikael had drawn.
"I wish you good luck and hope that you find what you are looking for," Queen Maya said to us.
"Thank you for your kind hospitality," Gerrard said to her, bowing his head.
"It was my pleasure," she replied, holding her hand to her heart. I smiled awkwardly at her. "You will do well to take the advice I gave you, Caley Lucia," she said to me.
"I'll try," I said, feeling Gerrard's eyes on me. I hadn't told him about my little conversation with the queen the night before.
"I have spoken to Rowan and he will help you as you journey," she told me. I exchanged a glance with Rowan and we nodded at each other. "It will take four days' time to reach the mountains and then you will have a day's journey to the Monk's Peak, where my father and his community of monks reside," she explained. "There you may stay for as long as you are welcome."
"We will return shortly, my Queen," Rowan said.
"You will do well to take care of our guests," she said to him. He nodded and bowed deeply. The rest of us followed suit. "Be safe and I wish you luck," Maya said, turning and going to the steps of her palace. She stood on the top-most step, above us. "Perhaps we will meet again in the future," she said, directing her words towards me.
"Good-bye, Queen Maya," I said.
"Good-bye, Caley Lucia," she replied.
And then we turned around and the seven of us began walking towards the portals that would bring us to the base of the mountain so that we could resume our search for answers once more.
Once at the base of the mountain, we trekked our way back into the forest. From there, we transported to the river, where we found two boats waiting for us. They had oars which had to be rowed manually rather than magically, probably in case we ran into some Magia Non on the river.
"We will travel by day. When evening falls, we will make camp because it is best that we do not disturb the creatures of the river at night," Rowan told us.
"Well, I wouldn't want to disturb then in the day either. But hey, that's just me," I said, tossing my bag into one of the boats. Gerrard rolled his eyes at me and followed in after me. Rowan stepped into our boat, followed by Ty. Delsin, Paco, and Naran got into the second boat.
"We'll take turns rowing," Rowan said.
"Why can't we use magic until we see someone?" I asked as Rowan pushed the boat off the shore. The boat wobbled a bit, steadying itself with the weight of the people inside.
"We cannot risk it," Ty replied.
"And besides, you can't rely on magic to do everything, even if you are a witch," Rowan added, grasping one of the oars. Ty took the other one and the two began rowing in rhythm, making the boat move steadily forward down the river. We were somewhere near the middle of the river and we needed to make our way all the way down to the middle of the Andes mountains, where we would find the community of monks.
As we rowed down the river, I began looking at my surroundings. It was quiet, like usual, but not in the normal sense. The hum of insect wings could be heard all around us as we sailed down. In the distance, the sounds of monkeys chattering could be heard, as well as the rustle of the leaves as animals moved through the forest. Occasionally, a splash could be heard and a fish would fly out of the water, only to land back again with the flailing of its tail.
The colors of the forest stood out vibrantly. The green of the leaves was rich, contrasting sharply with the bright colors of the tropical plants and flowers. The soil looked black and wet, as if it had just rained. The leaves of some of the trees hung down low, nearly reaching the bank of the river in some places. It was all so beautiful, so peaceful.
I began to feel sleepy as the hours ticked by and the landscape began blurring together. The constant heat on the top of my head made my hair scorching to the touch. I touched the skin on the tip of my nose and winced. I had a wicked sunburn. I was glad for the cloak that Maya had given me. Even though the rest of me was burning and sweating, the cloak kept my upper body cool.
Yawning, I rested my head on Gerrard's shoulder.
"You never told me you and the queen talked last night," he whispered to me.
"It wasn't important," I said.
"Regardless, you usually tell me everything," he said.
"Like I said, it wasn't really important. No one was threatened. We were just talking," I replied. He pursed his lips and silence fell over us again.
"Would you like to stop for food?" Rowan asked us after a few moments.
"I think that would be a good idea. Especially because you guys have been rowing for about five hours now," I said.
"Five hours is nothing. We once rowed for eleven hours straight," Ty said.
"I can believe that," I said, eyeing his bulging biceps from underneath his cloak.
"Show offs," Gerrard muttered as Rowan signalled to the others that we were pulling over.
"What time is it?" I asked as we pulled onto the shore and tied the boats up. Paco looked up at the sky, shielding his eyes as he looked at the location of the sun.
"I would say around three," he told me.
"Wow," I said. I looked to the trees and saw Rowan and Ty setting up food.
"Hey! We'll do that. You guys rest," I said, going to him.
"We don't need rest. We're fine," Rowan said to me.
"I know, but I feel lazy. I can help," I said.
"You are our guest. You just sit and relax," he argued.
"That's bullshit. I don't like feeling useless," I said. He opened his mouth to say something else. I crossed my arms over my chest and he realized he wasn't going to win the argument.
"Fine, you can start the fire," he said. "And collect some wood for later when we set up camp," he added as he pulled off his shirt.
"Where are you going?" I asked, trying not to look at his amazingly toned abs.
"To catch some fish," he replied casually. He tossed his shirt on the ground and then jogged over to the river. I watched as he jumped gracefully into the water and then re-emerged, making water fly all over.
"Stop oggling; you have a boyfriend," Gerrard said, coming up next to me.
"Are you jealous because your body isn't half as amazing as his?" I teased Gerrard as I trekked into the forest to find some wood.
"Please, have you seen me naked?" he asked.
"Unfortunately, yes," I said, recalling all the times Gerrard would walk around shirtless in front of me. Gerrard smirked when he saw the blush creep up onto my cheeks. I punched him in the arm and bent down to pick up some dry twigs.
After gathering some wood to make our food now and then for later at night, Gerrard and I made our way back to the river bank. I dropped half the wood on the ground and tossed the other half into one of our boats. I squatted by the pile of wood and focused my mind, getting ready to create a fire using magic.
"Don't use magic," Rowan told me.
"What?" I asked.
"Make the fire by yourself," he replied.
"It's easier this way," I said.
"You have to learn how to do things on your own," Rowan said. "You need to learn how to discipline your urge to use magic for everything. Controlling when and how often you use magic will make you more in control of yourself. It will help you to be a better witch," he explained.
I frowned, recalling the promise I had made to the queen and to myself about trying to control my emotions. Sighing, I picked up a dry stick and tried rubbing it again another. After a few minutes of trying to start a fire by myself, I launched the sticks into the river, letting out a shout in my frustration. The others glanced at me, amused by my annoyance.
"This is impossible!" I exclaimed, throwing my hands up over my head.
"It's not. If the Magia Non can do it, so can you. Your abilities are far greater than theirs," Rowan said.
I glared at him and then looked back at the pile of wood I was supposed to set fire to. I wanted nothing more than to utter a spell and ignite the flames, but I had to do it the hard way. I had to learn how to control myself, because the way I was now wasn't right.
What scared me the most was that I was afraid that when it eventually came time for the final battle and my ultimate reveal to the Order of my betrayal, that I would do something terrible. I was afraid that I would lose control of my emotions and hurt Abbey or Lance or worse, Trey. And I knew I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I made the same mistake I did when fighting Peter Long. I shuddered as I thought about how close I had gotten to snapping his back and paralyzing him forever. It frightened me to think of how incredibly evil I had become to have had the need to kill someone. I couldn't lose control of myself like that again; I needed to be more careful.
With that in mind, I bent down and picked up two twigs again. Focusing my mind on the task at hand, I rubbed the two twigs together. Remembering what Gianna had told me about manipulating the air particles in order to strengthen a fire, I began softly blowing at the twigs, feeding them oxygen. To my excitement, I saw smoke and from the smoke, a tiny flame sparked to life.
"I did it! Look!" I cried, jumping up and pointing at the feeble flame. Rowan glanced over just as it went out, sending off a thin swirl of smoke.
"Damn it! You didn't see it! I made it! I made the fire without magic!" I said.
"I believe you," Rowan replied, a smile on his lips. "You see? You don't need magic for everything. Many things can be done without it," he said.
"Yeah," I agreed, nodding, "I guess you're right."
"Now make a real fire," he said.
"Can I use magic this time?" I asked, glancing warily at the two burnt twigs. Rowan chuckled and then nodded. I pumped my fist in the air and then conjured up a fire using the burnt embers of my tiny flame.
After we had eaten some tasteless fish that Rowan had caught in the river, we packed our things and climbed back into the boat to sail for another few hours before setting camp up for the night. Gerrard had decided to take up one of the oars along with Ty, so Rowan could take a break.
"So why are you so reluctant to use magic?" I asked Rowan as I mindlessly stacked the wood I had gathered into a pile.
"I told you already. Because you cannot always rely on magic for everything," Rowan said.
"Well, why not?" I asked. "We have an endless supply of energy. Why not use it?" I asked.
"Because we do not have an endless supply," Rowan replied, his dark brown eyes flashing in anger.
"Each tree, each leaf, each stem and each seed, they all have a role in this world, whether it be to sustain the earth or help feed a tiny ant. To use mercilessly use the energy of a leaf thinking that it will not make a difference is wrong. Too often with modern magic do Magia carelessly abuse the earth that sustains them. They forget that it is with this very earth that their powers arose from. It is a poor way to return the favor that Mother Earth has bestowed upon us by using her power selfishly," Rowan told me.
I raised my eyebrows, struck by the magnitude and intensity of his words. He was really passionate about this. It made me realize why the people of Sylvanterra seemed so calm and peaceful. They respected their magical origins and didn't abuse its power. But Elijah and the new generation of magic users didn't realize that harming a simple leaf could upset the delicate balance of the sustainer of our magic. And this was wrong.
"I never thought about it in that sense," I said, my voice soft.
"You are being raised in an environment that teaches modern magic. The magic of the ancients relied on our origins: the earth, water, fire, air, and blood. These are what created our race. With those elements, we can be destroyed, be enslaved, or be saved," Rowan explained.
His words resonated in my mind. I was enslaved to Elijah because he used an ancient binding spell. The water masters were being destroyed because of an abuse of the ancient elements. So the way to be saved, the way to remove the curse on the water line, had to be by using the elements in some way. But how? What spell did I have to say? Was there even a spell? Was it a potion?
I felt myself growing frustrated as I thought about it. Every new piece of evidence that I found seemed to lead me further away from any sort of conclusion. If anything, it confused me even more, which made me feel even more helpless than before.
Sighing, I extended my conscious to that of the river's, trying to feel its essence. But my mind was murky, just like the water in the river and I couldn't concentrate. I only hoped that whatever information Queen Maya's father would give us would be helpful.
~~~~~~~~~~~
"We are not leaving yet," Rowan said the next day after we had finished packing up our campsite and removed traces of our having been there.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"You will receive your first lesson today," Rowan said.
"My first lesson?" I asked, glancing at Gerrard, who narrowed his eyes at Rowan.
"You say you want to learn how to control your magic. But the only way to do this is to respect the energy of the earth. Today, I am going to help you realize the severity of harming Mother Nature," Rowan explained. I swallowed, nervous as to what was in store for me.
"Growing up, the people of Sylvanterra learn from an early age that it is important to respect their environment. Part of it is because our ultimate sustainer is Valeo'mons, our god. We realize that Valeo'mons has kept us alive for thousands of years. To abuse the power it provides would be a great disrespect," Rowan began explaining to me.
"So how do you guys learn to respect the environment?" I asked.
"By feeling what Mother Nature feels," Delsin answered.
"And how do you do that?" I asked, glancing at him.
"When you extend your consciousness to the water, what do you feel?" Rowan asked me.
"I feel...calm. I don't really know how else to describe it. I feel like I'm one with the water, like the smooth ripples are running over me, as if I'm in the water myself," I answered.
"So, too, do we feel what Mother Nature feels. Earth masters can extend their consciousness and become one with nature. But there are so many aspects of nature. There are plants, animals, the earth itself. All of these things are a part of nature. They all create a delicate balance that must be maintained. The easiest to reach your conscience out to is the earth," Rowan told me.
Then, without another word, he bent down on one knee. He closed his eyes and placed his hand, palm first, onto the rich silt by the river where we were standing. His muscles, which had previously been tense and stiff, loosened immediately. His features became lax and his breathing became slow and steady. A slight wind that didn't exist before rustled all around us. To my amazement, the ground where Rowan's hand rested began glowing with a soft golden light. After a moment, he stood up, opening his eyes.
"By cultivating our land with our own magic, the land gives it right back to us tenfold," he said to me. I nodded.
"So how do I do this?" I asked, thinking back to Gianna's lessons when she taught me how to manipulate other elements. They were brief lessons and I hadn't really gotten the hang of it, but Gianna said it wasn't important, as long as I knew how to.
"You must first clear your mind and then, just as you do with water, try to become one with the earth," Rowan explained.
I nodded and closed my eyes, clearing my mind of all thoughts. It was a little more difficult than usual, because I had a million different thoughts floating through my mind these days. I felt Rowan come up to me and place his hands on my shoulders, pushing them down slightly. He was silently telling me to let loose, to let go of myself.
As I felt myself relaxing, I felt him bring me down to my knees. He put his hand over mine and brought it down to the earth. I felt the coolness of the soil touch my skin. I tried to force each nerve ending in my hand to feel the texture of the soil. I tried to feel each bump, each pebble, each little blade of grass in the earth. But my consciousness couldn't extend further than the coolness of the earth.
Sighing, I opened my eyes.
"What happened?" Rowan asked. I flushed a little at his proximity.
"I couldn't do it. I couldn't get past the texture of the earth," I said. "I couldn't be one with the earth."
"Well, you won't get it the first time. You have to keep trying," Rowan said.
"How long is this going to take?" Gerrard asked. I could hear the annoyance in his voice. He didn't like that Rowan was trying to teach me new magic. It was, after all, his and Gianna's job.
"Depends on how fast of a learner Caley is," Rowan replied, glancing at me with a slight glint in his eyes. I scrutinized him, realizing that he had just inadvertantly posed a challenge to me. Little did he know that I loved a challenge and that it only fueled my desire further.
"Let's try this again," I said.
Letting out a deep breath, I closed my eyes again, pushing out all extranenous thoughts. I heard Rowan get up and move away from me, giving me my space. I once again put my hand on the ground and tried to extend my consciousness to the earth underneath my hand. I felt each aspect of the soil, but I needed to push further than that.
Slowly, but surely, I began sensing the minerals inside of the soil. I could sense the exchange of oxygen and nitrogen, the magnesium and the calcium. I could sense the molecules within the soil. And then, I felt the cool earth turn warm. Opening my eyes, I caught a flash of the earth glowing beneath my hand. I had done it. Even if it was only for a moment, I did it.
Beaming, I looked up at the others who were watching me.
"I did it!" I exclaimed giddily.
"I can't believe it," Naran whispered.
"How did you get it so fast?" Delsin asked, looking at me with a strange expression on his face.
"Because she already has the foundation in her mind. She's practised manipulating the other elements before. She's just not a master of it yet," Gerrard replied.
"Even so, it takes years for even an Earth master to do what you just did," Rowan said.
"She's stronger than we all give her credit for," Gerrard said.
"Indeed," Rowan said slowly, "this seemes to be the case." He continued looking at me as if I were a foreign species. I glanced at Gerrard, who shrugged.
"We should get going. It is getting late," Paco suggested. Rowan blinked, tearing his eyes away from me, and nodded.
"You are right. We should leave now," he said.
And with that, we got into our boats and then resumed our trip down the river.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Our journey continued. The days were long and hot. The atmosphere was calm and sleepy. I used the time in between our stops to focus my mind and reach my consciousness out to my surroundings. At one point, I was able to feel the fibers of the wood that was in our boat. Whenever we stopped, Rowan and the others would tell me to sit in seclusion so that I could practice feeling my environment. It took an entire two days before I felt it: the heartbeat of a spider monkey.
"Oh my god!" I exclaimed, running to where the others were sitting and talking.
"What?" Gerrard asked, looking up at me as I struggled to keep calm in my excitement.
"I felt it! I felt the heartbeat of an animal!" I said.
"Already?" Ty asked incredulously.
"Are you sure?" Rowan asked, his eyebrows knitting together. I nodded my head vigorously and sat down beside him on the ground. It was interesting, because as I did so, I could feel the earth beneath me. I could feel every aspect of it, as if we were one.
"It was bizarre. It almost felt like I was inside of a drum as it was being beat. I could literally count the thump-thump of its heart," I explained.
"How is this possible?" Paco asked.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"How have you reached such a high level of connectedness in so few days?" Paco reiterated. I shrugged.
"I don't know; I guess I'm really good at focusing once I get the hang of it," I said.
"Yes, but it is not only about focusing. It is about reaching a deeper level all together. Becoming one with the heartbeat of another creature is extremely advanced magic, Caley Lucia," Rowan told me.
"How so?" I asked.
"Because once you can reach that level of connectedness, you can have full control of whatever it is you have connected with," Naran said, his voice grave.
"So what you're saying is that I could force the monkey to do whatever I wanted?" I asked.
"Even give up its life in order to sustain your magical reserves," Rowan replied, his expression dark.
"I would never do that, though," I said, recalling one of the first lessons that Professor Mika from Trinity High had taught us.
"You may say that now, but in a battle when you are losing, you may be tempted to kill the monkey to gain the upper hand. That is why it is dangerous for you to have learned this so quickly," Rowan said.
"You're the one that told me to connect with my surroundings!" I exclaimed, getting frustrated quickly.
"What I wanted you to do was learn to respect nature. It is one thing to feel an animal's heart beat, but it is another in itself to feel the animal itself, to feel what it is feeling, to realize that it has a much larger purpose in this world than to sustain your energy reserves," Rowan said.
"I wouldn't kill an innocent monkey," I said.
"Power is a greedy thing, Caley Lucia. Its temptations are beyond our control," he told me. I bit my lip and looked at Gerrard, who had a frown on his face.
The way Elijah taught magic was that by all means necessary, we should win. To lose was to be weak. Which meant that killing an innocent little animal for the bit of power that it would provide was worth it because in the end, winning was all that mattered. What Rowan was telling us completely contradicted Elijah's philosophy. In fact, it corresponded more with the magic that my father and his institutions taught.
"So what should I do?" I asked. "How do I learn to respect another creature's life?"
Rowan exchanged a dark look with the others.
"It is the only way," he said.
"What is?" I asked.
"Then we must find one that is already dying," Delsin said gravely.
"What are you talking about?" I asked.
"You must kill an animal by taking its powers. Only then will you understand what we are saying," Rowan said. "Naran and Paco, you will go and find an animal. We will begin here," he instructed.
"Begin what?" I asked as Naran and Paco got up and disappeared into the forest.
"A mock battle. You will fight as if we were in battle. And once Paco and Naran bring you an animal, you will connect with it in the same way that you connected with the monkey. You will feel as it feels. And then you will kill it by taking its powers. Then you will know what we mean," Rowan told me.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Gerrard asked me. I looked at him warily.
"I don't really have a choice, have I?" I replied.
I didn't know why, but I felt nervous. I could sense that Rowan was much, much stronger than I was. What if this was the plan all along? What if Maya wanted to get me far enough away so that they could kill me and no one would find out? What if she never wanted to help me to begin with?
I tried to push the negative, paranoid thoughts out of my mind and focus.
Rowan reached down and placed his palm on the ground, closing his eyes. I saw the earth light up under his hand and I copied his moves. Closing my eyes and clearing my mind, I extended my consciousness to the earth beneath me, to the trees around me, to the leaves rustling in my ears.
Standing, I could feel the earth and the trees for miles away. I felt as if my consciousness were a tide that sweeped over the land. I was the earth and the earth was me. We were one. We were the same. I was Mother Nature.
I opened my eyes just in time to deflect a high-speed tree branch being thrown at me. I waved it aside, throwing it into the river beside me.
"Use only the elements of the earth and none other. Let's keep this fight fair," Rowan said, circling me. I turned as well, keeping my eyes on him.
Feeling the earth's essence tingling in my fingers, I manipulated it, bringing a tree root from under the ground up and making it spiral around Rowan's foot. Rowan loosened the tree root by turning it into vines, which I knotted up around his leg. He changed the vines into dirt which fell all around him.
Rowan stomped one of his feet, sending an earthquake like tremor through the ground, making me lose my footing. As I began to stumble, he caused a tree root to come out of the ground and wrap itself around my neck, making it difficult for me to breathe. My back was arched at an uncomfortable angle and I felt myself panicking as I began losing oxygen.
Before I could completely lose control, I turned the roots into a vine, but Rowan was quick and he quickly wrapped the vine around me in a full body-binding curse. Now, I was paralyzed.
"Damnit," I hissed under my breath, struggling against the vines. Reaching my senses out, I brought a sharp tree branch to me and cut the vines with it. They fell around me and I sent the tree branch flying at Rowan's head. He caught it effortlessly in his hand and then within seconds multiplied it into about a hundred branches which he sent flying at me at an incredible speed.
Thinking quickly, I made the soil beneath my feet rise up and create a dirt wall, which blocked the branches from getting to me. One poked its way all the way through, stopping a mere centimeter before my eye.
I heard Rowan chuckle.
"Very good, Caley. Very good, indeed," he said as I dropped the wall of dirt. I was beginning to feel dizzy. The fight had only just begun and I was already tired. But I needed to keep going. I couldn't let him have the satisfaction of beating me.
"You've mistaken me for a weak girl that doesn't know what she's doing. That is your mistake, Rowan," I said to him as we circled around one another. Rowan didn't look weakened in the least. He seemed perfectly fine, like this was just a leisurely activity for him. This only fueled my desire to win even more.
"Well, so far it seems that you are a weak girl. You have shown me little that is impressionable," he replied smugly.
Glaring at him, I made the earth beneath him turn to quicksand which began engulfing him. His eyes widened momentarily before he called upon a root and pulled himself out. But as he did this, I changed the root into a vine which slipped out of his grasp. He reacted quickly by sending the quicksand my way, spraying me with sand particles. I threw my arms up to shield my face so that it didn't get into my eyes.
I was beginning to feel frustrated. It was extremely difficult to rely only on the earth elements to win this fight. I wanted badly to conjure up an energy ball or a ball of fire and launch it at Rowan's head. But I had to win by his rules, or I wouldn't hear the end of it.
"Getting tired?" Rowan asked.
"Please," I sneered, although I knew that I was.
"Let's open our magic up to other spells, then, shall we? You may use any other spells, but the only elemental spells you are allowed to use are earth spells," he said.
I smirked, not hesitating for another second before conjuring up a mass of silver energy that swirled around in a spherical formation. I launched it at Rowan, who quickly deflected it and then launched an energy ball of his own at me. I slid onto my feet, ducking the energy ball, which grew in size as it neared me. Sliding past Rowan, I quickly jumped to a prowling stance, with one leg stretched out wide and the other bent, ready for me to pounce in any direction.
Rowan sliced his arms in the air in the form of an X and send the energy waves flying at me. I jumped out of the way just as they hit the stump behind me, slicing it in half. Had those hit me, I would have been severely hurt. Looking incredulously at Rowan, I realized that he was serious about this. He was in this to win. With this fueling my ambition, I set about conjuring up a spell that I knew would take a grave toll on my energy reserves.
Summoning the magical energy within me and extending my senses out to the forest around me, I created a mass of energy between my two hands. I held it in front of my abdomen and then called upon the forest's powers. Several tree branches sharpened to a point became swept up in the energy ball, becoming infused with magical energy so that they became almost electrical wooden daggers, all swirling around in a ball. Feeling the heat on my skin and my energy levels decrease, I distracted Rowan by first binding him in a full body-binding curse and then wrapping him tightly with vines also infused with energy. Then, I approached him as he struggled against the grips of the ropes.
"You going to throw that at me?" he asked as I stood above him as he writhed on the ground.
"I am," I said.
"Really? Because I don't think so. Look, it's already getting smaller," he mocked. This was, indeed, true. The ball of energy I had conjured up was decreasing in size. I could feel myself becoming weaker.
"Launch it, Caley! Or get rid of it!" Gerrard yelled from the sides. I knew he could tell that I was getting ready to black out.
But just then, I heard a rustle from within the edge of the forest. Naran and Paco emerged, holding the body of a panting chimpanzee. I glanced quickly from the monkey to Rowan, who still had that gloating look on his face. My hatred intensified and I reached out to the power reserves of the monkey. I connected with it, my consciousness entering into its. My mind was suddenly filled with pain and fear. It was as if I were the chimpanzee, breathing my final breaths in the arms of a stranger.
End it; it's going to die anyway.
I looked at the monkey, murder in my eyes.
But it doesn't deserve to die this way. Nothing deserves to be rid of its last breath forcefully.
With this in mind, the energy ball I had conjured up disappeared into thin air and the vines loosened on Rowan's body. I clapped my hand over my mouth and felt my eyes fill with tears as I remembered the extreme fright that the little animal was feeling. It had been so miserable. It had been so vulnerable.
"It seems..." Rowan paused, getting up and panting slightly from the magical exertion, "that she understands what it means to take an innocent's life in order to fuel your own energy," he said.
"I don't understand," I said, my voice soft. "It was almost like I was the monkey," I said, watching as Naran and Paco tried to attend to its wounds. It looked like it had been mauled by a predator of some kind.
"And that is the only way to actually feel what a living creature feels. By becoming one with it," Rowan said, tossing me a flask of healing potion. I downed it in one gulp, wincing as the cool liquid seared my throat, as if I were drinking liquid vapor rub.
"Did you notice how during our entire battle, we didn't actually suck the energy out of any of earth's elements? We simply used them to our advantage. That is the correct use of elemental energy: using it to help you, but at the same time, respecting its right to live," Rowan explained. I nodded, considering what he had said.
"So how does this help Caley control her emotions?" Gerrard asked.
"Now that she can respect a creature's right to live, she will be less likely to kill something for the sake of killing. She'll think about the pain she felt first," Rowan replied. Gerrard looked at me and I shrugged, letting out a deep breath.
"We should probably get going again," Ty suggested.
And with that, we were on our way once more.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Two days later, we reached the Andes Mountains in Western South America. It had been a long journey, but during it, I had learned a lot. And now, I would learn the thing that I initially came to the Amazon for: what Mikael was up to.
The Andes mountains were tall and green, with snow capped peaks. They stretched for as far as the eye could see and reached up into the sky, so high that they disappeared into the clouds. It was a really beautiful sight, almost as beautiful as Sylvanterra itself.
"Which peak is it?" Gerrard asked as we docked the boats we were travelling in and got out. To trek up the mountains, we would first transport to a location to which we could and then after that, we would climb by foot.
"That...we cannot disclose to you," Rowan replied.
"What--" I began asking and then in a shuffle, I blacked out.
When I awoke, I found myself in a forest. It was chilly here and there was fog around us. That meant that we were fairly high up on a mountain. Which one it was, I had no idea. And I think that was the reason Rowan had stunned us again.
"Was that really necessary?" I asked, rubbing my neck where the dart had been inserted. I guess whatever tranquilizer they had used this time wasn't as strong, so the effects had worn off quickly. Even so, my neck was sore from where the dart had been shot.
"Yes, it was. Just like we keep Sylvanterra a secret, so, too, do we keep the Monks' Peak a secret," Rowan replied, a smug look on his face. I rolled my eyes at him. He probably just wanted to stun me and Gerrard.
"How long until we get to the inhabitance?" Gerrard asked as we began our steep climb.
"If we keep moving, we should get there by sundown," Ty answered.
"Perfect, then we can get our answers by night and be out of here tomorrow," I whispered to Gerrard. He gave me a look of relief and I knew he was tired of this place, too.
I wrapped my cloak around me tighter, grateful for its magical properties. Because of the swift change in temperature, the cloak instantly warmed me and shielded me from the cold of the mountain.
"Aren't you guys cold?" I asked, noticing how the other five had taken off their cloaks.
"We've adapted," Delsin replied nonchalantly.
"Good for you," Gerrard muttered sourly under his breath. I chuckled.
As we climbed, I found myself beginning to get warmer. With the excess exercise, I was beginning to sweat in my cloak. After about an hour or so I, too, took off my cloak and draped it on my arm. The mountain was steep and I was beginning to get tired. This made me realize that I had become lazy. Because Elijah was so busy with his plans to take over the magical world, he spent less time nagging me to keep my endurance up. And because of that, I was becoming weaker. I made a mental note to ask Gianna to keep me on track once we got back.
After about three hours of climbing the mountain on foot, we were almost completely immersed in fog. The trees were sparse up here, but visibility was low. I found myself gripping onto Gerrard's arm to keep from getting lost. However, soon after this bout of fogginess, we emerged into a thicket of trees and our visiblity was restored. The trees were thicker here and closer together. On the ground lay snow that crunched under our boots.
"Are we there yet?" I found myself asking, my breath coming out in sharp gasps due to the altitude change. My ears were continuously popping and I felt dizzy at this incredible height. I was glad that there was no way to look down, because if I did, I would have definitely fainted.
"Nearly," Paco replied.
"Are you tired?" Rowan asked.
"No, I was just wondering," I replied defensively. He chuckled and continued up.
After a few minutes, we emerged onto a mountain path. It was an unpaved road, but at least it was somewhat flat ground.
"If we follow this path, we should reach the Monks' Peak in about an hour," Delsin told me.
"About damn time," Gerrard said.
And sure enough, an hour later, we saw the red-orange tips of huts among the thick trees and snow. I glanced at Gerrard, feeling myself become revitalized by my excitement. We were so close!
We followed Rowan and the others up the winding path. As we drew closer to the huts, we began seeing signs of civilization. People walked about with calm exteriors and easy strides. Most of them were men who held tall wooden canes with curved ends. Some even had lanterns attached at the end of the curved hook. I noticed as they walked by that each had a marking of a leaf on the stick. All of them wore hooded green robes that matched the color of the greenery around us. None of them had any hair.
"Rowan!" we heard a voice say. Turning, we saw a middle-aged man come down the pathway from what looked to be a small market type place. He smiled a toothy smile and embraced Rowan in a hug.
"Elyan, como vai?" Rowan asked. The man responded with something I couldn't understand and the two laughed.
"You have friends with you?" the man, Elyan, asked.
"Yes, they have come to us from Northern America. They have embarked on a great journey and seek answers. They have met Queen Maya and she has sent them here so that they may receive the answers to their questions," Rowan replied.
Elyan turned to Gerrard and I. He scrutinized us for a moment before placing his hand over his heart and bowing his head slightly. We returned the gesture.
"You are of the Aguamenti line?" he asked me. I nodded. "Hmm. I have not seen one of those in a long while," he said.
"We were wondering if we could speak to Queen Maya's father," I said.
"You may, but will you not rest first? Surely you must be tired from your trip here?" Elyan suggested.
I glanced at Gerrard because I knew he was ready to just get our answers and then go home. But we knew that it had been a long journey up and it would be a long journey down before we would be able to transport back home. So we silently agreed to stay the night on the mountain.
"Thank you. We will accept your offer," Gerrard said. Elyan smiled at us and extended his arm, telling us to continue forward.
We followed Elyan to a small burrough of huts. We stepped inside of one and I was welcomed by a gust of warmth. At least they had some sort of heating up here in the cold of the mountain.
"I will prepare food for you," Elyan said. We all thanked him and huddled around the fire that was burning in the fireplace.
"Where is the Old King now?" Rowan asked Elyan as he set water to a boil in a pot.
"He is meditating on the Rock," Elyan answered.
"When will he be finished?" Rowan questioned.
"His routine is to fast from the time that the sun rises into the sky to the time that it sets. During this time in fast, he spends the day meditating," Elyan replied, dropping some herbs into the water and stirring.
"Sundown will be in about two hours," Rowan said.
"Then he will return in two hours and take supper so that he may break his fast," Elyan answered.
"Will we be able to see him, then?" I asked. Elyan nodded. I sighed and stretched my aching legs, just itching to ask the questions I wanted to ask.
Two hours later, Elyan brought me, Gerrard, and Rowan to a different hut. It was far into the town and located at the very peak of the mountain. It was in complete solitude, the only building for a few miles around. This was the Old King's hut.
Elyan knocked on the door of the hut. While we waited for the King to answer, he pointed at a large rock that jutted out from the side of the mountain. He told us that this was the Monks' Rock and this was where the deepest spiritual actualization occurred.
After a few moments, the door of the hut opened up to reveal an old man. He had a bald head, just like everyone else, but was bent over with a slightly hunched back. He wore a hooded robe, as well, except his was brown in color. He gripped his cane tightly in his nimble hands and peered at us.
"My King, you have guests," Elyan said, his voice instantly losing its friendliness and instead taking on a tone of humility. I noticed that he didn't bow his head in order to show respect. I wondered if the king had instilled this in the monks living here. Maybe it was to show equality among men. Or maybe it was because he had renounced his title as king.
"Guests?" the king repeated slowly, looking from me to Gerrard.
"My King, I hope you are well. Your daughter sends her regards," Rowan said in a humble voice.
"Oh yeah! I almost forgot" I exclaimed suddenly, reaching into my purse to extract the gift that Maya had given us to give to the king. I pulled out the box and thrust it out to the king, who looked at me with a curious expression on his face.
"It's a gift," I told him. The old man chuckled slightly and opened his door further.
"Thank you, Elyan. You may go," the king said. Elyan nodded and then retreated.
"My King, I wish to make a prayer on the Rock. May I do so?" Rowan asked.
"You do not have to ask permission to pray, young one," the king replied. Rowan nodded and he also retreated. Gerrard and I entered the hut after the king, closing the door behind us.
"I hope we aren't intruding," Gerrard said as we followed him to a small sitting area. He gestured for us to sit and picked up a string of beads before sitting himself.
"Quite the contrary. I was simply reciting some prayers," he replied. "Where have you travelled from?" he asked us.
"From the United States," I said. "Or Europe. Both, really," I added. Gerrard shook his head from next to me.
"And for what purpose?" he asked.
"We had some questions that we needed answers to. Queen Maya said she couldn't answer them for us, so she sent us here to you," I replied.
"What sort of questions?" the king asked.
"Do you know Mikael Gemeni?" I asked. The king raised his eyebrows.
"You know of the Gemeni twins?" he questioned.
"I not only know of them, but I've met one," I answered.
"You have?" he asked. I nodded. "How old are you?" he questioned.
"Nearly 20," I replied.
"But that is not possible. Mikael Gemeni died 23 years ago," the king said.
"His brother died. He is still alive. I met him," I told him.
"How can that be? How did he survive?" the monk asked aloud, more to himself than to us.
"Survive what?" I asked.
"Katerina Lucia's killing curse," the king replied. "You know of Katerina, right?" he asked.
I felt a slight pang in my chest and nodded.
"It would be kind of sad if I didn't," I replied. "Considering she's my mother."
The king looked at me sharply. It was as if he were seeing me for the first time. I felt a rippled run through me and I knew he was scanning my mind for answers. He couldn't get through, though, despite my exhaustion. I knew he performed an energy check next and he seemed impressed with the results.
"So you are the last Aguamenti?" he asked. "You are the Chosen One?"
"Chosen One?" Gerrard asked, glancing at me. I swallowed, realizing that I hadn't told Gerrard about the prophecy said Valenya had told me last Christmas.
"That's what the prophecy meant, then? That it's me?" I asked. The king eyed me and I frowned. "But how do you know about that?" I asked.
"What aren't you telling me?" Gerrard hissed under his breath.
"You'll find out," I replied back in a whisper.
"I have studied many ancient magical lore. I have heard all of the stories. Never did I imagine, however, that I would meet the child that was destined to save the race of the Magii," the king replied.
"The entire race?" I squeaked. He nodded.
"What was this prophecy?" Gerrard asked, his voice indicating that he was furious with me.
"Two fishes swam in a stormy ocean; one astray, one chosen," I began, Valenya's haunting voice echoing in my mind.
"United to make one with magic so unthought, to create serenity that all others could not," the king continued.
"This fish swam in a stormy ocean; not astray, but chosen," I continued.
"Chosen as the one," we finished together.
"And Caley is this fish?" Gerrard asked, pointing at me.
"She is," the monk replied. "The fish is metaphorical, as is the ocean. The fish are people and the ocean is the world of magic," the replied.
"The two in the beginning were my parents, right?" I asked. He nodded. "Why did it say that they created one with a magic that was so unthought?" I asked.
"Because you have the ability to have incredible power. You are destined for greatness, Caley Lucia," he replied.
"I don't understand how, though," I said, feeling my throat constrict with the pressure that I suddenly felt.
"Only you can restore peace among the Magii once again," he said. "How you will go about doing it, however, is beyond my magical knowledge," he added.
"And that was what we came here to ask," I mumbled, feeling my heart sink.
"No, what we came here to ask was what Mikael was doing when he came here 25 years ago. Queen Maya said that she remembered him coming, but was too young to remember why. We want to know why and she said you would have the answer to that," Gerrard said.
"She was correct. I do have the answer to that. But it is only a short-term answer and you will understand this once I tell you what Mikael was doing," the elderly monk said.
"Mikael Gemeni and his twin brother Leonardo were the most exquisite of all contemporary magical specimens. It had been a long while since there were born Magii that had a full range of magical powers. It was as if they were the sons of the Original Witch herself. They had the power to master every element to its full capacity and not only did they have the power to do so, they did," he began.
"We know this already," I said bluntly. Gerrard elbowed me in the ribs and the king chuckled lightly.
"They say patience is a virtue," the king said.
"And I say there's no time like the present," I replied, impatience dripping in my voice. Gerrard sighed and clapped a hand over his eyes in embarrassment. I rolled my eyes at him. I waited too long for these answers. I didn't need the backstory. I just wanted the answers.
"Anyway, as I was saying, there hadn't been a Magii like this in a very long time. And now, there were two of them. It was no wonder that they had become so well-known among the entire world of the Magii," he continued. "Now, although they were both incredibly powerful, they had one handicap each. Mikael was blind and one of Leonardo's hands was a stub. One day, when I was king of Sylvanterra, we had the pleasure to be visited by Mikael Gemeni himself. He was not accompanied by his brother, which was strange, because supposedly, the two were always together."
"I was more than ecstatic that he was visiting us, but I won't go into too much detail about that, since you are impatient for answers. The reason he had been visiting was actually because he was looking for all of the ancient civilizations of the magical world. He wanted to create a map, he said, of all of the kingdoms and nations. It was almost obsessive how he had described it. When I had asked him why he wanted to do this, he replied that I would find out in the later years of my life. I am guessing that the reason was you. He wanted you to know where all of the magical civilizations are," the king explained.
"But why?" I asked.
"That is why I said I can only give you a short-term answer. If he is still alive as you say, you should find him and he will tell you why," he replied.
"So pretty much I came here for nothing," I said, slumping back in my seat and feeling more frustrated than ever. I had an idea of what I would do when I found Mikael and it involved physical punching.
"Why for nothing? Were you initially going to go to all of the magical civilizations?" he asked.
"We were planning to, but it wasn't final," Gerrard replied.
"So now you have reason to," the monk said.
"But that doesn't tell us what he's up to!" I exclaimed.
"You let your emotions cloud your judgment," the monk said. I frowned. Supposedly, I had overcome that. "Think about it in this way: what have you learned from your time in Sylvanterra that you would not have learned back in your home?" he asked.
I bit my lip, thinking back to the lessons that Rowan had given me and how I had come to respect the earth around me and had learned to use more advanced elemental magic. I had learned quite a bit and I found myself becoming stronger and more tolerant as a witch. Had I been right? Was this Mikael's plan all along? To make me a better witch? But how would that help me?
I voiced these questions to the king who sat back in his seat and peered at me over crossed fingers. His prayer beads dangled from between his fingers as he looked at me with a knowing smile on his face.
"Think about it, Caley Lucia. The answer will come to you," he said. "I suggest meditating. It helps clear the mind," he added, getting up.
Gerrard and I also got up, taking this as a cue to leave. I was ready to go home, anyway. I was tired and my mind was reeling. I just wanted to sit in my room on top of my fish tank floor in my father's apartment and think about everything that I had learned and how it could possibly help me to find and break the curse on my family.
We left the king's hut and met up with Rowan, who would take us back to our transporting spot. It was nighttime, but I was insistent on going back. I wanted to go home. With a heavy heart and a confused mind, I followed Rowan and the others down the mountain.
Although I still didn't know of Mikael's exact whereabouts and I was confused about what exactly it was that he was planning, of one thing I was completely certain: that I was the only that would be able to fix this mess.
___________________________________________________________
A/N: Well, this quite a lengthy chapter. A LOT going on in it. So let me know what you think!
Why do you think Mikael wants Caley to go to all of the magical civilizations? What will she gain from it?
Next chapter will be back to her normal life with Trey & Co. It'll be shorter than this one for sure, but we needed a little break from the craziness of the magical world.
Leave me a comment! And vote!
XOXO
P.S. Song of choice is by Linkin Park. It's called Castle of Glass. If this book were a movie, I imagined that song to be playing when Caley fights Rowan. Fitting, right?