The light hovered in front of Anah's eyes as she slept, casting a green glow over her features. The deep, rhythmic breathing of the people in the room nearly drowned out the soft humming of the orb. Her eyes half opened, and a smile spread across her face like she was seeing an old friend.
It beckoned to her, dancing around the room to an imaginary tune. The glow drew Anah to her feet. Walking forward, it was like she was in a trance. She barely got out of the room without tripping over one of Jack's limbs which were casually strewn about the floor, twisting in near impossible positions that in no way seemed comfortable.
In the wee hour of the morning, the town was quieter than ever. A casual breeze brushed against Anah and her new traveling companion, never stirring her from her trance.
Their walk through the woods was peaceful, and without excitement. The only sound they'd heard was the fluttering of leaves in the breeze, and the gentle groaning of the trees. With no shoes on, the twigs on the forest floor stabbed and cut at Anah's feet, but even that could not wake her.
Stairs in the bell tower tripped Anah four different times, and each time she'd get up and kept walking as if nothing had happened, still following the dancing light.
Luckily there was no shattered glass in the room that once held a grand, stained glass wall, or Anah surely would have walked right over it and stained the wood with her blood. Instead, she made it to the absent wall unharmed.
A grand view of the forest could be seen from where she stood, stretching on for miles in one direction, and ending at the edge of a large lake in the other. Anah took no time to appreciate the beauty of the view. In her eyes, there was nothing but the light.
Anah didn't feel his hands grab her, trying desperately to pull her away from the edge. His calls fell on deaf ears. Only the green orb existed, and she would follow it wherever it took her. When a tall shadow crossed in front of the light, blocking her advance, she swiped at it with her knife, forcing it into retreat until both figures went tumbling out of the tower, hurtling toward the ground.
..............
Laying on the rocky ground, Anah tried to figure out where she was and how she'd gotten there. All she knew was that her feet hurt, and she had that awful, empty feeling in her chest again. Then she registered the roaring sound of ocean waves, and the smell of salt water.
Next to her she heard a groan that made her flinch. She had thought she was alone. "Anah, are you alright?"
With a sigh she pulled herself up in a sitting position, looking though the moonlight to see Jack sitting a couple yards from her. "Yes, you?"
"Well I'm bleeding, but I don't think you cut me too deep." Holding his hand up in the faint light, Anah could see a dark liquid on his palm.
"I cut your hand?" She crept on the ground on all fours so she wouldn't trip on the uneven rocks of the island.
"No, my ribs." The old, leather jacket was sitting on the ground next to him so he wouldn't get blood on it, and his soft shirt had a dark stain on it.
Anah stared at it in horror. "I did that?"
"You really don't remember waving a knife around like a crazed maniac?" he teased, but she found the situation more nauseating than humorous.
"I'm sorry." The dim light of the moon was barely enough to see by so she had to lean close to him as he lifted his shirt to show her the cut. He wiped the blood away with the bottom of his shirt. It really wasn't that deep, or that long, but it still made Anah feel awful. She repeated her apology. "What happened?"
"I woke up, saw that you were gone, and I went looking for you." Jack held up a pair of sneakers. "You left your shoes. When I caught up to you, you were in the tower right where the stained glass used to be. You looked like you were about to walk off so I grabbed you. Then you started swinging a knife at me before pushing both of us off the edge. There was a flash of light before we hit the ground, and we ended up back here. I tried getting back, but the portal won't work."
The dark, deadly ocean crashed against the shore around them as clouds crossed the moon's path. Anah watched as Jack's boat bumped and creaked against the rocks. "I know what you're thinking," she said with a stern voice. "I'm not getting on that boat."
Assuming she was joking, he laughed. "What else would we do, sleep here?"
"I'm staying here until morning," she said as she pulled her shoes on. "And you're not allowed to leave me."
Jack wadded up the bottom of his shirt, pressing it against the cut. He must've either been too tired to fight with her about it, or have realized that it was pointless to argue because he grabbed his jacket and said, "I think it would be more comfortable up there."
Looking up at the top of the small cliff they were facing, Anah could see some trees which meant softer ground. Although she dreaded the long, cold night on the ground, surrounded by a deadly ocean, she couldn't help but look forward to a little bit of time without Rendel and Felidy annoying her. She missed it being just Jack and Anah.
They climbed up the uneven, rock steps carved into the cliff side. For the first time, they stood on top of the island, looking out over the ocean. In the distance, Anah could see Jack's beach house. A couple lights in the house shone bright enough to see it in the dark.
"We're not even that far," Jack said, pointing out the house to her.
Anah shook her head as she backed away from the edge. "I can't do it. Not at night, and not after what happened with Shritaum. I'm scared," she admitted.
The moon hid behind more clouds, obscuring Jack's face, but he handed her his jacket and led the way back into the trees. "How are you doing with everything?" he asked.
"I really don't want to be turned into a sacrifice." She said. "And I really don't want any half Elvita babies." Her face went red as she said it, but Rendel had done a good job at scaring her. She'd never be able to pay Lina back for offering herself to Shritaum in Anah's place.
"No, just quarter-Elvita babies," Jack mumbled.
If her face had ever been redder, Anah didn't remember. Did he know how she felt about him? "What?" she asked stupidly.
He shrugged, not looking at her. "It's really obvious," he said with a slightly cold voice. Was he angry about it? Anah stopped walking. "Everyone knows you like Rendel."
Annoyance quickly replaced her fear. "I don't like Rendel. He's gross, and mean, and creepy, and...no. Not Rendel, never Rendel." She crossed her arms over her chest. "I was drunk when he kissed me, and I was only holding his hand because he was dead. I'd have held your hand, too."
His eyebrows were up at his hairline. "Alright! Don't get so defensive."
"Then start believing me when I tell you things! I'm not going to lie to you; you're my best friend."
A smile spread across his lips. "Still?"
Anah returned the smile as she found a soft spot to lay down, using the roots of a tree as a pillow and Jack's jacket as a blanket. "Of course. Am I still yours, Princess? Or am I replaced with your girlfriend?"
"No, and Fe's not my girlfriend...I think." He found a spot not too far from her on the tiny island. Still nursing his wounds, he sat down.
"You think? Ever had a girlfriend before?" Anah teased.
"No. I don't meet a lot of people. I went on a date once, but she had a really strong accent and it helps to understand your date."
Laying on her back, she could just barely see the stars through the trees. It would've been peaceful if not for the sound of waves below them. "I had a boyfriend for about a week. We went on one date. He took me to the theatre, and then he tried sticking his hands up my shirt so I dumped a bucket of popcorn on his head. I think it hurt his pride."
For some reason Jack found that extremely funny. They didn't talk anymore, and soon after Jack stopped laughing they both fell asleep.
..............
For the first time ever, Anah woke up before Jack. His shirt was blotted in a dull red, and his hair was a mess complete with pieces of tree in the black locks. Anah curled up in his warm jacket and started throwing little bits of bark and pebbles at him. It wasn't until one landed in his slightly open mouth that he woke up spitting.
Putting on a fake confused face, Anah pulled the jacket tighter. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah..." he spit a couple more times. "I think a bug flew in my mouth."
"Oh dear. Hope it's not poisonous."
He squinted at her in the light. "I spit it out."
"Good." She hopped to her feet. "Let's get going then."
The waves were smaller than usual as if the ocean understood Anah's heightened nerves and was trying to make up for it. She didn't even need Jack's nagging and pushing to get in the boat.
A smile was on his face as he sat across from her. "You're getting better at this."
"It's easier with you here," she told his shirt. Even bloodied, the cotton fabric helped soothe her mind.
The boat floated away from shore. It was only then that Anah noticed the lack of oars. Full of panic, she looked back at the island, now too far away to touch. "Where are the oars?" she demanded.
"I don't know," he admitted. "But it's nothing to worry about. We'll just float to shore."
She groaned, grabbing onto the edges of the boat so hard that her fingers hurt. They were going to die. This was the end. She never even had to worry about being sacrificed to Shritaum; she was going to die at sea as she'd always feared.
Jack placed his cool hands over hers. "You'll be fine. I promise."
Lifting her eyes just enough to see him through the fringe of bangs, Anah said, "You'll regret those words at my funeral." Somehow she convinced herself that the salty water on her face was from the ocean waves, not her tears. Jack wasn't fooled.
"Anah..." He took one of his hands from over top of hers, using it to wipe off her face. When her cheek was dry, he didn't remove his hand. Instead, he ran his thumb over her skin leaning his head towards her. His face was so close that she could count the hairs in his eyebrows. She got up to seven when the boat dipped and her panic set in again.
Anah pulled her face away quickly. "Don't." There was some crazed place in his mind that had found that situation weirdly romantic, but Anah refused to let their first kiss be in anyway marred by the taste of saltwater on his lips, or the horrid, nauseating fear in her gut.
Jack hung his head, taking his hand off her. "I'm sorry, I-"
"No. You don't..." When his eyes widened in fear, Anah cut off her sentence to look behind her. Before she could turn her head, something large hit her and sent her over the edge of the boat. Jack's hands reached desperately for her, but the water was too choppy, a sudden storm brewing up around their boat.
The hit to the head left her disoriented. That, her fear, and the quickly worsening weather made it impossible to keep above the surface for long. She screamed for Jack, reaching her hand up to grab for something, anything.
Her lungs cried for oxygen as she struggled to breathe, swallowing gallons of salt water. "Jack!" The water felt like ice against her skin, filling her lungs with a chill that made it even harder to breathe. "JACK!" Her voice was lost in the wind and crashing waves.
Anah couldn't see anything but lightning and water. Cold waves knocked her around, and something strong grazed against her legs. She screamed and cried and pleaded with her non-existent god to save her.
Something wrapped around her ankles, pulling Anah completely under until she was so deep in the water that the crashing waves stopped throwing her around. Just before she blacked out she saw something huge pass in front of her muddled vision, and she realized that she was going to die.
........
It wasn't the squealing that woke Anah up, or the bright sunlight streaming in through the window, it was her baby sister pulling on her hair with surprising strength for a toddler.
Opening her eyes, Anah had a moment of panic that all of her new friends and her trip to that world had been an insanely twisted, realistic dream. Elsy was trying desperately to pull Anah's hair out as she lay in her obnoxiously pink bedroom. Anah slapped her sister's hand away. "Stop it, Monster. That hurts."
"MOMMY!" Her little face turned red with the effort of her screaming.
Mary stuck her head into the room. Her eyes traveled over Anah's face without emotion. That was normal, but then she gave a fake smile to someone else in the hall. "She's awake."
"Is she?" Anah almost cried at the sound of Jack's voice, thanking any and every god that he wasn't dead. They both stepped in the room, and Jack gave her a politely sympathetic look.
"How are you feeling?" He asked in a similarly distant voice. Maybe she had dreamed everything. He was acting like they hardly knew each other instead of having almost kissed.
"Bad," she admitted.
"Anah, don't be rude," Mary scolded.
"He asked."
Jack nodded politely to Anah, pretending he hadn't heard their short argument. "You were looking like you weren't going to wake up there for a bit. I found you in the ocean after that storm. I thought you were dead"
"Jack brought you back here. Thank him."
Anah gritted her teeth. "Thank you, Jack, for returning me to my own personal hell."
He frowned ever so slightly. Mary's jaw twitched in anger. "You should be getting home Jack. It's starting to get late, and I need to get Elsy ready for bed."
"Of course," Jack said, not paying any attention to the look of horror on Anah's face. He couldn't leave her with that psychopath. "I hope you feel better, Anah," he said with a nod of his head before following Mary out of the room, not even looking back at her. Elsy ran after them, flailing her chubby arms.
With her covers over her head, Anah tried to fall back asleep, to get back to her Dreamland, but when she heard the door click, she knew she was in trouble.
Mary grabbed her wrist with an incredible amount of strength. Anah whimpered at the pain, but Mary paid no attention, yanking her out of bed and onto the floor. "Get up!" she demanded of her sick daughter.
In her weakness, Anah was barely able to stand, but her fear of the woman aided her legs. "I'm sorry," she tried, but Mary's eyes were crazed as she grabbed Anah's jaw.
"Where were you?!"
"I was in the woods," Anah lied, knowing that would be better than telling her she'd been living with a boy.
Mary didn't look human to Anah as she squeezed her arm to near breaking point. "Freak," she spat.
Anah shouldn't have said anything. She should've just kept her stupid mouth shut, but maybe her lack of oxygen from nearly drowning had altered her brain. "You're the freak," she retaliated.
The crazed woman didn't take kindly to that, throwing Anah to the ground where she smacked her head on the edge of a dresser and lay still.
............
Hours later Anah awoke. Her head throbbed among her many other injuries. A small blood stain decorated the carpet where she lay.
When a shadow blocked out the light of the moon on her face, Anah thought the worst. She imagined all sorts of horrible creatures that had come for her including her wicked, evil, adopted mother. Her nerves had never been worse, and fear racked her body.
Footsteps moved to her side, and a voice whispered her name, putting a hand on her bruised arm. "Jack?" She glared up at him in the dim. A part of her was incredibly relieved that she hadn't dreamed everything, but mostly she was angry. Her fist found his chest, hitting him hard enough to knock the air out of him. "You left me!" she hissed.
Jack clicked the lamp on, looking her over. "I don't envy Rendel. It's impossible to keep you from harm."
"It's easier when you don't leave me alone with a mad woman. Help me get out of here before she comes back to finish killing me."
He frowned at the cut on her forehead. "Are you dizzy at all? Anah, you hit your head really hard."
"I'm fine," she lied, pulling herself to her feet before her vision went black again for half a second.
"Liar," Jack accused as he held her up. "How am I supposed to get you out of here?"
"I can help." The voice came from the doorway, and Anah's heart dropped as she saw Roze standing there, a hard look on her face.
Anah shook her head. "No."
Her sister crossed her arms over her chest, flipping her hair to the side. There was definitely a faint bruise on her chin. "She's gone completely over the edge, and I won't stay here anymore. Take me with you, or I'll tell her where you've been hiding out with your boyfriend, you slut."
"I'm not her boyfriend," Jack said firmly. "But if you help me get Anah safely out of here, you can stay."
"No!" Anah stomped her foot, nearly blacking out again. "She can't stay!"
"It's my house." He readjusted her. "Roze, help me get her outside."
Together, the two of them managed to get Anah down the roof to the sand below, and across the beach to Jack's house. She didn't remember half of it.
Jack started cleaning the cut on Anah's forehead as Roze was in the next room. "Are we just going to tell her everything?"
"Why not?" Jack asked. "She has every right to be there; she's Elvita."
As much as Anah absolutely hated the idea, she couldn't deny that what Jack said was true. Maybe Roze would be better in her own world. "How am I alive right now, Jack? I thought I was going to die."
"I did too." He was avoiding eye contact. "That storm came out of nowhere...I think it's what killed our parents."
"Then how did we survive it? And why would Shritaum want to kill me?"
"I used magic." He seemed a little proud of himself. "There was something else in the water. I assume it's the kraken that Rendel was talking about. The thing grabbed me, and tried pulling me off the boat so I used my magic to shock it. Once I did that, it just left, the storm with it. I barely found you in time. That's when I saw your mother." He smoothed his hair back. "The storm had taken us much farther down the beach in front of her house. I had to pretend that I had just found you, and was trying to take you home. I'm so sorry she hurt you. I thought she was normal when I left you there, and I had to wait until nighttime to get you out."
Anah closed her eyes for just a moment, but when she opened them again, Jack was nearly done with his work. "What happened in the boat before the storm-"
"Forget about it, Anah. That was nothing, and I'm with Fe." He placed a bandage on Anah's forehead, leaving the room as soon as he could.
Anah was glad for the bump on her head that made her sleep. Without it, her fears would have kept her up all night. At least with the portal not working, she wouldn't have to get back on a boat because she was sure she wouldn't be able to ever again. There were so many questions left about Lina, and Roze, and the portal, and where Kellen and Kendelyn had disappeared to, but Anah slipped into a dreamless sleep, protected by a restless Jack with a gun in his hands.