Authors: Eli Harlow
She walked slowly alongside the river, humming to herself as she went. The only other sound was the content rush of the river. Even it seemed to be content to move at a lazier pace this morning. The sandy riverbank was cool against her bare feet. Although the sun was no more than a whisper through the black night, it was already warm. Alyssa leaned against one of the large oak trees and watched the rising sun as it touched the treetops across the field. She watched silently as the purples turned to orange and then to yellow and finally to a soft gold that seemed to blanket everything in light.
As the sun continued to rise, she walked across the field, dew clinging to her legs and dress. She could see Blackberry at the edge of the field. His black coat seemed in stark contrast to the bright light but he looked no less beautiful for it.
She moved toward him, her hands at her sides so as not to frighten him. Blackberry lifted his head
to glance at her. Alyssa whistled to him, hoping that he would come to her. But after he made no attempt
to do as she wanted, she sat down next to him in the tall grass. He was grazing, as usual. She had seen him do little else since she bought him.
He looked at her briefly before returning to his meal. “What are you doing here?” he asked gruffly.
“Watching you, do you mind?”
“Yes,” he snorted.
“Is anything wrong Blackberry?” Alyssa asked softly as she moved closer to him. He shook his head, his long black mane flying around his face. “Don’t lie to me,” she scolded softly.
“I do not enjoy being tame,” he said.
Her face twisted into a scowl. “You are hardly tame here. And there are worse fates than this,” she replied.
“Name one then little angel,” he challenged.
Alyssa crossed her arms over her chest. “I could beat you,” she warned. She didn’t know why she had said it. Alyssa began to quickly apologize, but his broad grin stopped her in mid-speech.
The stallion neighed in laughter and replied, “No you couldn’t.”
Blackberry was openly mocking her. All thoughts of remorse aside, her face flushed red and her hands balled into tight fists. “No, I couldn’t. But I don’t see why I can’t at least be near you.”
Blackberry’s expression softened slightly as he gazed down at her. “You may stay, but you will not touch me,” he told her. Alyssa nodded. For him, this was a big step and she dared not test his patience.
He turned toward her and eyed her gently. “You wouldn’t know the first thing about beating something. Why in the world would you threaten me with it?”
Alyssa looked away from him. “I know enough,” came her meek reply.
Blackberry knew when to drop a subject. And this was very clearly one of those times. He continued grazing while keeping a weary on her. He had noticed the marks on her body before, even though they were pale. Even on a white horse, scars still show.
“What’s grass taste like?” she asked absently, hoping to change the subject.
Blackberry shrugged. He had gotten used to her asking so many questions. “Like any other plant I suppose.”
“Oh,” she replied. Alyssa took a blade and began chewing on it. She kept her face still, hoping to hide her displeasure. Although the grass was sweet and moist, it was still just grass and no amount of encouragement would make her think otherwise.
Blackberry laughed softly. “You aren’t supposed to eat it, only animals like horses and cows and others. Your body isn’t made for it.”
She looked up at him and nodded. “I don’t know what angels are supposed to eat though. I hadn’t ever tried grass before, so I wanted to see if that was a possibility. It isn’t though.”
“You don’t know what you are supposed to eat?”
Alyssa shook her head no.
“Then how have you been eating so far?”
She shrugged. “Some things taste okay I guess. There are some things I even like eating. Most though just make me feel full for a few hours. There’s nothing that I really enjoy.”
Blackberry nodded. “Horses are fortunate in that. We know what we are supposed to eat. And we know what is expected of us, for the most part at least.”
“I used to know what was expected of me. But now, I’m not so sure,” she said quietly.
“Do you ask this many questions of Marcus?”
Alyssa’s cheeks flushed red. “Not anymore. He doesn’t seem to like it very much when I do. So I try not to.”
“That’s probably wise,” Blackberry said as he moved to another fresh patch of grass.
She nodded and rose to her feet. “Thank you Blackberry, for letting me spend some time with you.” He gave her a soft neigh and continued grazing. Alyssa walked toward the cabin in a slow daze.
Blackberry was right, horses are fortunate. She longed for Marcus to tell her what to do, even if it was cooking or cleaning. At least then she would know what he wanted from her.
The cabin was quiet when she got there. She hadn’t seen Marcus go across the field, so she assumed that he was probably still asleep behind the waterfall. Although the stone had been smooth and comfortable, her muscles still ached for a warm bath. Alyssa’s feet sank deeply into the peach rug of the bedroom as she crossed it. Near the bed though, the floor felt different. She walked over the spot again, slower this time. There was a strange dip in the floor that she hadn’t noticed before. Alyssa peeled back the rug enough to reveal the spot. There, halfway under the bed, was a trap door in the floor. She looked around for Marcus, but didn’t see him. She didn’t hear him either. Her mind told her not to open the door, but her curiosity was louder and more persistent. Besides, she only wanted to have a look. If she was careful, and fast, then she could see what was under the bedroom before Marcus would ever know that she was down there.
The trapdoor opened silently on well-oiled hinges. A solid oak ladder led down into a dark room. Alyssa tentatively stuck her head through the opening before going down the ladder. Her eyes took only a second to adjust to the dim torchlight of the chamber. The walls were lined with bookcases filled with objects of all sorts and sizes. A few she recognized, most she didn’t. Alyssa ran her hand over a small glass jar before a bag caught her attention. She walked over to it and picked it up. It was only about the size of her palm and made out of a dark cloth. It wasn’t leather like the Marcus’s other bags.
And it didn’t feel like coins either. It was almost like a powder, but it felt too light for it to be filled with sand or dirt. Alyssa opened it slowly and reached a finger inside.
The powder was warm, but more than that it seemed soft and gentle, like a mother singing to a newborn or a ray of sunlight. Then Alyssa knew what it was. She pulled her fingers out slowly so as not to spill any of the precious powder. The tips of her fingers glittered with the golden powder. She licked one of them, just to be sure. The powder coated her tongue and warmed her body. Her skin began to glow with a soft golden hue. There was no mistaking the powder’s origin.
“Tiernan…” she whispered softly as her eyes began brimming with tears. She cinched the bag and placed it back on the shelf. There was only a small amount left, but even that was worth a fortune and she didn’t want any to spill out. Alyssa licked the rest of her fingers off and sat down on the stone floor, awaiting the rapture that would come.
It was always the same. The warm glow started in her mouth then spread throughout her body, taking her breath away with its power. She had felt the sensation hundreds of times, but it was always as perfect as that first moment when she had broken her arm and Tiernan had given her some to take away the pain. He had told her that only good creatures could feel it as profoundly as she did. As a child, Alyssa had no idea what he meant, but as she saw Ruben let his friends taste the powder she understood. They felt the warmth, but not the bliss that came with it. Their skin had no luster, their senses did not heighten.
They remained the same, except for the slow warming that crept through their bodies.
Her heart began beating faster as the powder circled in her breast. It flowed, gently at first, then faster as it neared its mark. There was a sharp pain as the powder touched the small tip of Tiernan’s horn that remained lodged in her stomach, but it quickly subsided. Bright white light spread across the room from her stomach as the piece of horn began radiating its own magic. She felt safe, comfortable, and loved like never before. It was the feeling of being home and asleep in her mother’s arms as a child.
Tiernan had allowed her to touch those memories that she had forgotten. Her mother, with her long blonde hair cascading over her shoulders, held her close. Her father had been there too. He kissed her forehead and ran a gentle hand down her arm.
Alyssa let the tears fall freely. Although she hadn’t been with her parents in nineteen years, the memory was as clear as if they had been there with her. It wasn’t fair. She should have been allowed to stay with her parents. Her memories faded as the powder lost its magic. It allowed her to see only a glimpse of things, and nothing more. Tiernan had been trying to show her how to harness and control it, so that she could see a particular memory. But he had been taken away before he could teach her fully.
So she had only learned how to go back to the beginning, to her birth. It was still wonderful though. As her skin and senses returned to their normal state, Alyssa looked up at the bag. She resisted the urge to take more of it. Marcus might notice if too much was missing, and she also didn’t want to spend too much time in the chamber. There was no way to know how much time passed each time she entered her memories. Sometimes it was only a moment, others it had taken an hour or more. She had been defenseless during those times, but Tiernan had usually been by her side to protect her. Alyssa looked at each of her wings, checking the brilliance and texture. The powder always made her feathers grow at an alarming rate. It also improved the color and softness. This time was no different.
Alyssa rose to her feet to make sure she wasn’t mistaken. But she wasn’t. Her wings were back to their full size, and strength. Even her broken wing had been restored to its original glory. She flapped them once to test them, the motion of it causing the torch flames to sway in the breeze. Alyssa laughed and folded her wings over her shoulders. “Thank you Tiernan,” she whispered before planting a kiss on the bag.
Her eyes traveled to the center of the room. A large table stood there, its edges lined in tall candles. The table was covered in a soft fabric with intricate gold symbols on it. She touched a few of them. They meant nothing to her, but she wondered what they meant to Marcus. A large book rested in the center of the table. She opened it slowly, not wanting to damage any of the pages. The book was at least a century old with dark pages and torn edges. Each page was covered in a fine script that she didn’t recognize. Somewhere she remembered seeing the language, but she didn’t have the faintest idea where.
Alyssa carefully closed the book and moved away from the table.
A wooden door that she hadn’t noticed on her way in stood across from her. It wasn’t very big, probably just enough for Marcus to go through it. She went to it and opened it slowly, unsure of what would be on the other side. A torch hung every few feet, just as in the other room. But this room was a circle. Alyssa had never seen anything like it. The tall ceiling was even circular, creating a dome above her head. Various weapons hung along the walls. She inspected a few of them, but found little interest in most. They were all beautiful of course, but weapons had never fascinated her the way they did for some people. Alyssa removed a sword from its resting place. It was heavy in her hands. She made a few slashes in the air with it before the weight became too cumbersome to manage. Alyssa turned back around to replace the sword. She had just put it back on the wall when a cold chill shot through her. Something was behind her, watching her. She could feel its breath, cold as ice, against the back of her neck. It wasn’t Marcus. This thing was distinctly evil, more so than anything she had ever seen before. Alyssa turned around slowly, her hands shaking at her sides.
A pair of blood-red eyes stared back at her.
Alyssa opened her mouth to scream, but no sound came out. Tears streamed down her face as she stood helplessly before him. Her legs refused to move, although her mind was screaming at them. The air rushed back into her lungs, giving her the breath she had been seeking.