Journey 'The Chosen One Trilogy: Book Two' (7 page)

“Oh. I don’t know.”

“Hmm. Ok. Are they tied like
me?”

He shook his head. “They can’t do magic
like you.”

“How did you know I did magic?” All
magic wielders wore an amulet. I didn’t have one.

“The captain told us. Said that for no
reason whatsoever were we to untie your hands.”

I grunted. He fed me a spoonful of
stew.

“Were you born here? Or did you cross
over?”

He closed his eyes and a pained
expression passed over his face. “I crossed.” He opened his eyes.
“You?”

“Um, well, both I guess. I was born
here, then they shipped me off to your world, and I came back about
two years ago.”

“You can go back and forth?”

I nodded.

“God, I would give anything to go back.
I’ve been here six years. I had a house, a car, a girlfriend. One
day, I’m taking a walk in the park and the next thing I know I’m
stuck in this godforsaken place.”

“Do you think the shifters are
possessed?”

He shook his head. “I don’t know what
they are, but I’ve seen enough of this world to know that there is
shit here that will never be explained. If they say they can turn
into cats and dogs just for the hell of it, then who am I to
argue?”

I noticed that the more he talked, the
less dimwitted he sounded. I smiled. “You pretend to be
stupid.”

He chuckled. “They don’t send me out of
the city if they think I’m slow. I get to stay here where it’s
relatively safe.” He offered me another spoonful and I shook my
head.

“Thanks.”

“No problem. I’ll bring you supper
later.” He frowned. “Do you think you can do what Braw wants you to
do?”

“God, I hope not.”

“You don’t think they’re possessed,
then?”

I shook my head. “I know they’re not.
I’m fated to one.” I felt a lump form in my throat. “If I can do
what Braw wants me to do, I’ll kill my own husband.”

“Shit.”

“Yeah.”

We were quiet for a moment.

“Hey, Hayden?”

“Yeah?”

“What do you miss the most?”

I smiled. “Showers.”

He laughed and nodded. “Yeah. That’s
high on my list too.”

“What about you? What’s number one on
your list?”

He smiled. “Fast food.”

“Ahh. French fries with too much
salt!”

“And big greasy burgers with extra
pickles.”

Someone behind us cleared his throat
and we jumped. I turned and made my glare as uncaring as I
could.

“Captain.” William bent to pick up the
bowl he had dropped. He glanced at me, his hazel eyes concerned,
and I gave him a smile.

“Thanks again, William.”

He gave me a nod before leaving the
cell.

Brice watched him leave then turned to
me. “Hayden.”

“Brice.”

“I just came by to make sure they were
feeding you.”

“William is taking good care of
me.”

“Alright.” He took a step toward me.
“Hayden…”

“Don’t.”

He growled low in his throat.
“But…”

“No. Save your breath, Brice. I don’t
want to hear it. I don’t want your excuses or your reasons and I
sure as hell don’t want to hear you say you’re sorry.”

“Damn it, Hayden!”

The tears were starting to run down my
cheeks. “No, Brice. Damn you.” I sat myself in a corner and closed
my eyes. A couple of minutes later, I heard the cell door open and
close. I broke down.

“Hayden, dear?” It was the woman I had
heard the day before.

I took a few deep breaths.
“Yes?”

“I couldn’t help but overhear your
conversations. I was just wondering who you fight for. The Namaels
or the Majs.”

“Neither. Both.”

“So you don’t think we’re possessed?”
That was a man.

“No. I don’t. I’m not sure what Braw
wants me to do exactly, but I’m going to try my damnedest to make
sure it doesn’t happen. Have you guys tried to escape?”

“No.” This was a younger woman. “We’re
chained to the walls. The only one that can get out of the shackles
is Jeff because his legs are so small when he’s a fox.”

“I can’t anymore.” Jeff sounded very
young. “They put it around my neck. I tried shifting and just about
choked myself.”

“Heads up, down there,” William’s voice
called down the stairs.

Everyone was quiet. A few minutes
later, two guards came down dragging something. They put it in a
cell and left.

“William!” I whispered as loudly as I
could. “William!”

I heard William come to my
door.

“What did they just bring
in?”

“Another one. A man.”

My heart thundered in my chest. “What…”
I had to swallow. “What does he look like?”

“Dark hair. I didn’t see his eyes. They
were closed.”

“No…no…no.” Had they captured Jasper?
Was it possible he could have gotten this far in less than a day?
“His hair? Is it curly?”

“No. Straight and long. In a
ponytail.”

Relief flooded through me and made my
knees weak. I sat on the floor.

“Hayden, are you ok?”

A shudder ran through me and I tried
not to cry. “I’m fine. I thought it might be Jasper.”

“Hayden?” This was a third man I hadn’t
heard before.

“Yes?”

“Why don’t you just burn them
all?”

“I can’t. My hands are tied behind my
back. I need them in front of me to call the colors.” I frowned.
“How did you know I could use the red waves?”

“I was on the ridge the day you threw
the wall of fire and killed Ream. I’m part of Jasper’s pack.” He
was starting to sound familiar.

“Michael.”

“That’s right.”

“You took an arrow in the arm that
day.”

“That’s me.” You could hear the smile
in his voice.

“How did you end up here?”

“Same as everybody else. I was out
patrolling and they took me by surprise.” He growled low in his
throat and I could imagine him shifted into a cheetah. “Is it true?
It was Brice that brought you here?”

“Yeah. He’s a captain here! How does
that happen?”

“I don’t know. It doesn’t make
sense.”

I heard a moan. “William, is he ok? The
new guy?”

William moved away from my door and
came back. “He’s pretty beat up, but I think he’s ok.”

“I don’t suppose you would untie my
hands long enough so that I could heal him?”

“Sorry, Hayden. I don’t have anything
against any of you guys, but I don’t feel like being executed for
helping you out.”

One of the heavy doors upstairs opened
and closed.

“I’d better get back to my post. I’ll
be back later.”

I leaned my head back against the wall
and closed my eyes. “How the hell am I supposed to get out of this
mess,” I mumbled to myself.

*****

The sound of my cell door opening
roused me from the light sleep I was having. I kept my eyes closed,
trying to keep the dream as vivid as possible for as long as I
could. Slowly, the feel of Jasper’s arms around me faded
away.

“That smells good, William.” Jasper’s
blue eyes started to blur. When William didn’t answer, I opened my
eyes. “Oh. It’s you.”

Brice was leaning against the opposite
wall, holding a plate with scrambled eggs, bread, and fruit. I
loved eggs. My stomach rumbled.

“They had stew on the menu again. I
thought you might like this better.”

I shrugged and winced at the pain that
shot through my shoulders.

“Are you alright?” Brice looked about
to take a step toward me, but stopped.

A lump formed in my throat and I
swallowed to get it down. He looked so concerned. He looked just
like the Brice I loved. I blinked and a tear trailed down my cheek.
But he wasn’t the Brice I loved. I had no idea who this man
was.

“Where’s William?”

His blue green eyes saddened. “He’s
getting supper to the others.”

“Don’t you have better things to do
than to keep pestering me?”

“You would think so.”

“Then go do them.” I swallowed and
wiped my cheek on my shoulder.

“No. Not until I say what I have to
say.”

“Get out.”

“No. Hayden, I am sorry I stole you
away from Jasper. I’ll make that right as soon I can. Help Braw
tonight, do what he wants, and he’ll let you go. I’ll get you back
home after that. But if you don’t help him willingly, he’ll hurt
you. By the moons, Hayden! Can’t you stop being stubborn for one
minute and just go along with this!”

“What?” I got up and stomped closer to
him. “Do you even realize what you’re asking me to do? You’re
asking me to kill people! And not just these people in here. You’re
asking me to wipe out two entire populations!” I took a few more
steps and closed the distance between us. “If I do this, Jasper
dies! Luke and Mel, they die! Tyler and Trent! Zane and Dawn!” I
was right up to him and yelling. “If I do this, I don’t have a home
to go back to because my entire family will be dead!”

The truth of my words struck me and I
found it impossible to breathe. I felt my legs go weak and
buckle.

Brice dropped the plate he was holding
and caught me before I fell to the floor. He pulled me to his chest
and held me. Great sobs shook my body.

“Hayden, are you ok?”

Brice turned at the sound of William’s
voice. “She’s fine.”

“She doesn’t look fine,
sir.”

Brice growled low in his throat. “What
is your interest in her, William?”

“I don’t have an interest in her at
all, Captain.” William’s voice dripped with sarcasm at the last
word. “It seems to me you might be the one with an interest in
her.” I heard him step farther into the room.

“I certainly do not! Hayden is like a
sister to me.”

William gave a hard laugh. “Is this how
you guys treat family around here? You kidnap her from her husband,
lock her up in a cell then expect her to wipe out everyone she
loves because some quack job who isn’t even from here thinks he can
play god?”

I looked up at Brice and wanted to
laugh at the shocked look on his face.

“I don’t know about you,” continued
William, “but that doesn’t seem very brotherly to me.” He gently
took my arm and pulled me away from Brice. “Now. I think I heard
the lady ask you to leave.”

Brice looked down at me, his eyes wide.
“I…” He frowned, as if confused, gave William a quick glance, and
left.

William held me by the arms and looked
me over. “Are you ok?”

I nodded and he wiped the tears from my
face.

“Why did you do that? They’ll kill
you.”

He shrugged. “Maybe. If he cools off
before I see him again, I might just get a lashing.” He let go of
me and started to pick up the eggs and fruit off of the floor. “Do
you want me to get you a bowl of stew?”

“No. I’m not hungry.”

“Alright. Just let me know if you
change your mind.”

I nodded. “William?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you.”

He smiled. “Sure thing.”

Once he had closed the door, I sat on
the bed. The tears were starting up again with the thought that in
a few hours, I was going to try and find a way to save six
beings.

*****

When a guard I didn’t recognize came to
get me from my cell, I knew the time had come. He marched me up the
stairs, out of the castle, to a courtyard. The night was dark and
the moons were hidden by the clouds.

There were four men and two women tied
to posts on a stage. This was surrounded by a huge crowd.
Everybody, tied or not, stared at me. Michael flashed me a smile
and I tried to smile back. I noticed Brice and Sonia standing to my
left. William stood toward the back of the crowd, a frown on his
face. The guard took me to stand in front of the prisoners. My
heart was pounding in my chest and my mouth was dry. Surely Braw
was wrong. How in the world could he use me to kill these
beings?

The crowd parted and Braw made his way
to me. He stood a few feet away from me and addressed his
people.

“Hayden comes to us, willing and able
to aid us on our quest for a pure world.”

I opened my mouth to contradict this
statement but changed my mind when the guard dug his fingers into
my arm.

Braw closed the distance between us and
touched the black staff Brice had talked about to my arm. It didn’t
look like stone. It seemed to be made out of black crystal. I felt
the magic flow into me in waves. The energy it created caused my
muscles to cramp and I fell to the ground as a spasm raked through
my body.