NOTE: This chapter is going to have a lot of things in it. Information and such. If at any point you get confused, don't be rude - just ask. In a comment or a PM and I'll answer as soon as I see it. Happy reading! (: xx
✖ Chapter 14 ✖
SILENCE FILLED THE already stuffy room after Cecilia revealed what she had been up to. It faltered my thoughts for the briefest moment, uncertain of why she hadn't placed the necklace's long line of generation's power into herself rather than Rose. It would have kept her younger, stronger... unstoppable.
Rose seemed just as confused as me, her eyes widened with her eyebrows pulled together. It didn't take a genius to realize that she had no idea what Cecilia had done to her, whether it was beneficial or crucial. It was all mind-boggling.
Cecilia raised a brow. "Harry, do you know the true purpose of the necklace?"
I narrowed my eyes, the chains still refraining my power. "My mother told me that each witch who had it before her placed their power inside of it before they died. So it wouldn't go to waste, or something." I swallowed the lump that involuntarily swelled in my throat. "My mother had done the same."
She nodded, approvingly, yet held up a finger. "But the catch is that not just any witch can obtain the power. A pure heart will be able to store the elegance of such intense magic. And yet, there are no pure hearts in a world of deception."
Rose spoke. "Then how did it get inside of me? What did you do?"
The elder woman smiled in a twisted way, as if this puzzling game she played was her only act of being pleased. "I doubt you want to hear any of the science talk, now, would you? It took a very long time to connect the dots and determine the proper way to abstract the power. But we succeeded, haven't we, Hilary?"
Still looking flustered and like she wanted to disperse through the floor, the frail lady nodded, pushing up her glasses. "It took fifteen years to decipher-"
"They needn't not know the details," snapped Cecilia, glaring at the woman and I felt bad for her, honestly. "All they need to know is what's going to happen from here on out."
I raised an eyebrow, annoyed with her persistence in making the scene dramatic. "Could you begin speaking before I fall asleep?"
She shot a glare my way in response, but opened her mouth nonetheless. "To enforce my control on Miss Rosalie, there is an obstacle spell binding her magic unless I say otherwise. It keeps her in-line and also from getting any idea or having pathetic little tantrums. But when that magic continues to go unused...," she trailed off, looking to me to finish.
The two pieces clicked as I mumbled, "It gets stronger."
"Precisely." Cecilia grinned. "It's unfortunate I had to waste a bit of it a few days ago to keep your little posse from escaping the institution's premises. But we've moved on from that and even resting those few days has drastically increased the potential of Rosalie's abilities.
"Now, Harry, I know you use your magic more frequently than most. Mainly to keep your pitiful heart beating. But there's something your mother and father never intended to tell you. Something that may shock and anger you," she said - smirking now, and I await for her to continue. "Not only are neither of those people your true parents, but the most powerful witch ever known to mankind, who has even cast an immortality spell on herself, is."
I gaped at her for a long time, my mind jumbled and my thoughts stringing into incoherent run-on sentences. Was this woman being serious right now? Expecting me to believe things she said? My mother wouldn't have lied to me about being hers. She loved me... right?
Suddenly, I found myself looking to the floor at the possibilities of this being true. Mum always told me I was different from other witches, from other kids at school. I thought she told me that as an act of self-confident reassurance. Could she have merely been lying to cover up the fact that I did not truly belong to her?
I was shaking my head, jaw clenching in seconds. "No," I grumbled under my breath. "You're lying. Stop lying!" I'm not sure why I yelled, but conflicted emotions would have been a good guess.
"Am I?" Cecilia's eyes narrowed on me now, her gaze almost appearing to be dangerous. "Leah Styles not only gave you away to protect herself, but to keep you away from people like me. People who thrived for others that had such power. She thought she was being smart by disposing you to her best friend and yet it was the stupidest thing she'd ever done."
Leah Styles.
The name rang through my ears, familiar. I had heard of her many times, actually. We learned about her in one of my history classes. She had lived long ago, though, nearly the middle ages and was hung for suspicion of witch craft. There was no way she could have conceived a child and it still be living today.
As if reading my thoughts, Cecilia's eyes crinkle as she smiled once more. "Yes, Harry. You are immortal. All of those times you nearly died, you wouldn't have anyways. Unless your head is ripped from your shoulders, you're going to be around for a very long time."
If she thought that had cleared things up, she was horribly mistaken. If anything, I was more confused than before.
Cecilia began to wave her hand at me dismissively as my eyes remained on the floor, mind swirling with thoughts and attempts to depict emotions. I couldn't focus on any one in particular - there were too many; betrayal, confusion, resentment; the list went on.
"As for you, Rosalie. That man who abused you all those years was not your father, either. In fact, your real mother had given you up for protection the same reasons Harry's mother did - people like me. I suppose the man who housed you was just bored out of his mind which led him to hurt you and for you to eventually run away.
"Yet all of that anger you had towards him only fueled your power. The power you already had. And now with it and the necklace..." Cecilia laughed darkly, seeming to believe she would be victorious in her malicious plan. "Oh, we three will be indestructible."
Rose scoffed. "You already have an entire country under your supposedly pure rule, what more could you want?"
Cecilia chuckled. "Oh, dear. Why have one country when you could have them all?"
The statement seemed to have lingered in the air for a while, Cecilia snapping to Hilary that it was time to check on her latest experiments. I didn't bother asking what that meant. I didn't bother looking up. My mind was still in a frenzy, my stomach churning from every thought that trampled me.
"Oh, and one more thing." I heard Cecilia's feet stop at the door and she came back around behind her desk. "I have a surprise for the both of you. Other pawns in my game, so to speak."
At the snap of her fingers, the door opened and Rose's gasp laced with terror and disbelief had me look up, only to regret doing so.
There before us both stood Marcus and Jessie, looking more alive than ever.
***
Perhaps defining them as alive was a bit of a stretch. Sure, they were breathing and functioning like they were, but something was... off. Not only had they not blinked since entering, but every now and then their head would do that weird twitch thing Rose's did while she was being manipulated. It was as if they were there, but not fully.
All of this was too much for my brain to take in during one sitting.
Cecilia had been laughing over our shocked faces. I couldn't help it. Not only had I not seen Jessie since he ran off during the last fighter where he tried to use medieval torture on Rose, but Marcus had disappeared as well and I had not even acknowledged his absence. When had I begun to get so oblivious?
A guard had rushed in, apologizing for intruding but rambling on about how the other three prisoners had escaped. A sense of relief flushed through me as I hoped Daniel made it out safely, and even Megan who would talk your ear off and Aiden who's silence would put a man with no vocal chords to shame.
But even more confusion hit when the guard hung back after Cecilia scurried off, Hilary on her heels. It was in that moment that the image of the guard flickered, it's body shifting to a slimmer and shorter frame before I was staring at Daniel himself.
I grinned. "Way to play the player."
He shrugged. "I try." His eyes cast a weary glance over at Rose and she tried to smile at him. "Are you still being an extreme hormonal teen?"
"I don't think she'd tie me up if I was," she said with a mocking tone, but smiled nonetheless. God, that smile - I had nearly forgotten the warmth it sent through me.
Megan and Aiden came in just as Daniel went to close the door. I didn't bother asking how they pulled it off without sirens blaring, but they were quick to untie Rose and move on to me. The problem? The chains wouldn't budge. The other problem? Marcus and Jessie looked like someone had pushed their "kill" button.
I felt like utter garbage as they each began fighting them off, Rose trying to duck instead of swinging back considering she couldn't use her powers. And here I was locked to a chair with no way of getting out. The strongest one capable of getting us out of here, and I was rendered useless by a bunch of chains.
Rose rushed over to me to help with the chains while the others did what they could against two human manipulated robots. I tried to wiggle my arms, to at least loosen a bit of it, but to no avail did they budge. It was obvious Rose was getting frustrated as she continued to tug at them.
A thought struck me, and I hated to make her even more infuriated, but it was the only idea I had.
"Get them off of me," I grumbled in a dark tone, doing my best to sound angry.
Rose huffed. "I'm trying. If you haven't noticed, they're bound by a spell."
"Then undo it," I snapped.
Her glare flicked up to meet mine. "I don't know how!"
"Figure it out!"
It seemed like she was more irritated in herself than at me, but she also seemed stunned by my outburst. However, her hands were trembling just the littlest bit from the frustration dwelling inside of her, and she tugged at the chains again. I did my best impression of a groan out of annoyance, and I suppose that's what finally made her snap.
"For God's sake, Harry, I'm trying!" she yelled, just as she ripped the chain in half.
I grinned, nearing a smirk. "I knew it would work."
She gaped at me, then down at the chain she had snapped that was supposed to be indestructible. The shock was evident on her features, and I couldn't help but laugh as I shrugged the rest of them off. Before I could get out of the chair, Rose roughly pushed my shoulder and I fell backwards in it.
"That's for purposely pissing me off," she said as I gawked up at her.
Her emotionless expression soon twisted into one of amusement as she stuck her hand out to me, and I took it as she helped me up. Before I could move, once more, she yanked on my hand and brought our chests together, her lips crashing into mine. The fire ignited instantly, my hands moving up to cup her face before she pulled away.
"That's for being my motivation," she whispered, her eyes sparkling as they met mine and I couldn't help the ridiculous grin I had on my face.
Daniel grunted as the robotic-like Jessie lunged at him, barely missing. "Guys, the cliche love being reunited is adorable and all, but could we maybe delay it for just a tiny moment?"
The fight was decently easy once Rose and I stepped in, her powers not totally blocked anymore and me just being me, basically. It was odd how anger could fuel such an intense emotion, snapping you in half when it gets the better of you. Sometimes it works to an advantage, and other times it can break you completely. I was thankful Rose's had done the first option.
We ended up tying the now unconscious bodies of Jessie and Marcus with the chain and rope left behind from Rose and I. I tried to knot the broken chains the best I could, but it wouldn't matter because hopefully we'd be out of here before the two awoke. And yet, as I stepped back and looked at them, a weird feeling rushed over me.
It felt wrong to leave them. I knew more than enough of Jessie's manipulation and Marcus's cruel ways, but they were both only set-ups. They hadn't done this in particular - Cecilia had. Everything awful seemed to fall into the palms of her hands, leaving only her to blame. And I couldn't bring myself to actually step away from these two after knowing them all my life if there were a chance of altering the mind control.
I shouldn't have, but I wondered what Jessie actually was to me. Was he my actual twin brother, or another manipulation of Cecilia's? We had once been awfully close, leaving me to hope we truly were related. And oddly enough, even if we weren't, I would always look at him like a brother. There was once a time when he was innocent before Cecilia really began her psychotic game.
It was all so frustrating and confusing that I had to turn away and block my thoughts. Rose placed her hand on my shoulder as if she sensed what I was thinking, her eyes revealing an understanding look when they locked on mine. I had to look away from that too before everything came crashing down and broke me.
Has my whole life really been a lie? What is it to say that any of this is real?
"We should get going," said Megan, eyes peeking through the crack of the door. "She should be coming back soon."
Sucking in a sharp breath, I mustered all my strength to say, "I can't leave them here... Not like this."
Daniel looked at me in shock. "After everything they've done to you, Harry? I thought you hated them both."
"I did but... I found some things out today," I muttered, shaking my head at how ridiculous I was being. This false sense of hope that they may regain their natural sanity was utterly implausible.
And yet I still slung Jessie over my shoulder, glancing to the others and was surprised when Aiden stepped up to grab Marcus.
Rose stopped us from walking to the door. "We can't go out there," she said. Just when I was about to question how we should escape, she pointed towards the ceiling. "There's an attic right above here and a door inside there that leads to the roof."
Not having any other option, Daniel and Megan helped Rose pull down the ladder to the attic that was in the corner. We all climbed up, the others helping to get Marcus and Jessie's limp bodies up as well. The same process went with getting to the roof. The only question that remained was how to get down.
Megan fiddled with her fingers. "I can get us down, I think. I have this levitating thing I can do, but I've never tried it on myself or a group of people."
"Don't strain yourself," I told her. "Do each of us separately."
"And put us towards those woods," said Daniel. "They seem natural to flee into when you're a fugitive."
I rolled my eyes at him, but Megan nodded and began lowering us down to the ground as gently as she could. It was clear it took a load of concentration, sweat beading her forehead once she got to Aiden and I carrying Marcus and Jessie. It was such a weird thing to be floating in midair, almost like teleporting in slow motion. I began to envy that power.
Yet Megan dropped to her knees once I hit the ground, her being the only one left. "I can't," she said weakly, just as sirens began blaring.
We really did not have time for a magic fail.
"Just jump," I told her, laying Jessie down and walking over, Daniel beside me. "We won't let you fall."
She wiped the sweat off her forehead, hesitating for only a moment before she realized the make or break of the situation. As promised, Daniel and I both linked our arms in a makeshift net and caught her right before she hit the dirt. She seemed flustered when she stood, but thanked us nonetheless.
So I picked up Jessie again and we started running. I ignored the cramps in my legs from carrying extra weight and focused on gaining distance from the psychopaths behind us. I stayed near the back while the others ran ahead, determined for them all to make it out and I'd be damned if I let anyone get in the way of that.
But I realized running was all I ever did and I was tired of it. I was so exhausted of always being chased, wanted, hunted - it was driving me mad. I would never be able to settle down in the future if my life continued to be this way. I would never be able to have a family or even think about one if this continued to be what fate had in store for me.
God, I was sick of it all - Cecilia and her games, the new revelations of my entire life being nothing but a false facade, the people I care about continuously being the ones in danger - I just wanted it all to be over with.
The little faith of actually making it through all of this is what kept my feet moving at a rapid pace behind the others, and I didn't dare slow down.