Closing her eyes, Liz touched the force field with both hands. She knew far more than I did, and I hoped she could break through it.
Next, a fireball whizzed past my head and crashed into the force field, dissipating into nothing but red energy. The soldiers were out for the count, but the Immortals weren’t.
“
Sarah, stall them!” Liz said.
I darted forward and ducked behind a huge statue of an angel. I peeked out and took careful aim at my first target, who was standing next to an equally large statue of a priest. I let out an onslaught of fireballs with expert precision, and the Immortal stumbled to the ground. Another tried to sneak around the water fountain, but I kept him in my sights, threw my hand back, and delivered a fireball that took him out before he knew what hit him. Fragments of stone flew as water exploded. My breath froze in my throat as Ethano walked in my direction, his hands brimming with blue energy. “Hurry!” I yelled. “Ethano’s coming.”
I threw more fireballs, but he shot out streams of water that instantly fizzled them to smoldering nothingness. He stared into my eyes harshly, wearing a smug smirk. He was still a good distance away, but that didn’t make me feel safe in the slightest.
Suddenly, I couldn’t move my limbs; I literally couldn’t lift a finger because Ethano had paralyzed me. Pain exploded in my head as an invisible hand yanked my hair back.
“
Submit to me,” he ordered sternly inside my head. “I won’t spare your punishment, but I’ll let your sister live.”
“
Go to hell!” I yelled back.
An invisible force yanked my hair even harder. “You will pay for this,” his voice echoed in my mind. “Our deal is off, and now your beloved Liz will be executed before your very eyes.”
Deal
? I wasn’t aware we’d made any kind of deal.
“
I got it,” Liz yelled. When I didn’t respond, she knew what was happening: My body was under Ethano’s control. She threw me over her shoulders, and we traced a million miles an hour into the woods.
As I bounced on Liz’s shoulder, I swore I was going to puke all over her. “Put me down,” I said. “I’m okay now. Ethano’s power over me is broken.”
She came to an abrupt halt and set me down, then glanced around for the best direction to go. Finally, she pointed to the north. “That way.”
I took a few steps through the vegetation until I slipped and fell sideways, bursting through clusters of large leafed plants and down a rocky hill. Somehow, I needed to slow my descent. Reaching out my hands, I desperately tried to grab a tree, a log, or anything to stop my gravity-induced momentum. Rocks flew up from under me, and branches slapped my face, arms, and legs. I finally stopped rolling when my back and head hit something hard, a jolt that sent a series of shudders through me. I drew in a sharp breath and reached behind me, then ran my fingers along what felt like the bark of a tree. I rubbed my pounding head and blinked, groaning, stars spinning in my vision. I gazed up at the humongous green ferns
looming over me.
Soil was clinging to my clothes, hair, and skin.
Liz held out her hand and helped me up. “Come on, sis. They’re right behind us!”
I sucked in a shuddering breath and nodded. A brilliant flash of lightning lit the sky, followed by a loud clap of thunder. I shielded my eyes as torrents of rain showered down upon us. With my dress glued to my back from the rain and my own perspiration, I sprang into the overgrowth and sped deeper into the forest with Immortal speed, leaping over giant logs and slippery rocks along the way. My frantic mind forced my feet into action, allowing me to ignore the burning sensation in my legs. Darting forward, I jumped over logs and zigzagged through the thinning trees, finally stopping where the soil turned into mud. Red balls of light illuminated the dark night in an eerie crimson hue, making me jump as they whizzed past my head and crashed into the unsuspecting trees. Dirt, twigs, and stones exploded all around me.
“
Sarah!” Ethano’s voice echoed through the howling wind and rain.
I shuddered at his voice, adrenaline pumping through my body. I took off as fast as my legs would carry me, past tree limbs that hit my tired muscles and cut into my burning skin like a whip. My body ached from the thrashing, but I was thankful my mind stayed surprisingly clear. My panting was almost as loud as the crashing thunder above my head.
Behind me, shouts rippled through the air. I sprinted through the creeping vines that draped from the trees like braided rope. My breath came in short, shallow rasps as I glanced over my shoulder. Branches snapped, and the ground shivered as Ethano’s men gave chase. I gasped for air, and my lungs burned. It was then that I realized it was time to employ a new strategy.
Maybe we could outsmart them somehow
.
I made a left toward a thick cluster of trees, and my feet crashed through the giant ferns that dotted the landscape as wet branches slapped against my body. I had sprinted a few hundred feet when every step suddenly became a battle. My foot tangled in the thicket, and I tried to claw through the tangle of thick, unruly vegetation with my hands, desperately trying to break through. I let out an exasperated sigh. “Let’s try another way.”
Closing her eyes, Liz spun in a slow circle.
“
What are you doing?” I asked between breaths. “We have to keep moving.”
“
Hold on. I’m feeling for their presence, their energy,” she said. “Maybe I can find us an escape route.”
I gave Liz a moment to do her thing, hoping she’d find a breach or a gap so we could sneak through the perimeter. As I waited impatiently, the cool rain washed over me, and the night’s events flashed in my head. Tears rolled down my face. Ethano’s cruelty had cut me just as harshly as his blade had cut my lover, leaving me dumbfounded, numb, and in shock. All I could feel was plummeting heartache. The rain brought memories of the last time Victor and I had made love, in a rainstorm he’d created. It was a memory I would cherish forever.
Liz gasped a trembling breath, snapping me out of my thoughts.
“
What?” I prodded, afraid to hear the answer.
“
It’s…Ethano called all his Immortal forces with his mind. I can feel them closing in on us from all sides! We’re practically surrounded.”
I gripped her hand. “In that case, we need to think of Plan B…and fast.”
Thunder cracked, and lightning bolts cast glowing webs across the sky. Rain dripped down my face and chin. Dark clouds stood high on the horizon as I halted to hide behind a monster-sized log that was covered in bright green moss. Giant ferns towered over us.
Gathering my breath, I wiped my palms on my dress. I gazed around the forest and noticed an eight-legged insect busily at work, spinning a web that was almost complete, with all of its sticky, silky, intricate design. Then it hit me. “I’ve got it!” I shouted as the rain poured down and the thunder rumbled. I pushed the wet hair back from my eyes and pointed under a thick tree. “If we can squeeze inside that log—”
“
The spider web will hide us,” Liz said. “Perfect!”
I crawled through the thick foliage and undergrowth, gasping for breath. Liz gently lifted up the web and squeezed into the log, and I quickly followed. Once we were inside, I placed a hand over my nose and mouth; the moldy, musty odor of decomposing wood overwhelmed me. I cringed as I wiggled in farther, staring at the spider above me who kept right on spinning its delicate threads. Droplets of water dotted the web here and there, and I hoped the thin tapestry wouldn’t collapse under the weight. We had inadvertently torn some of the web on our entry, but the spider busied itself to fix our damaging and cover the hole with a new thick, white web.
The intricate design amazed me, and symbolism bounced around inside my head. The spider represented Ethano, an ensnaring, controlling force who wanted to trap me in his wicked web. I was an insect entangled in the silk threads, no match against a powerful opponent who wanted nothing more than to devour me. I decided right then and there that the fly was going to teach the spider a lesson.
Nothing would give me greater joy than to squash him under my boot
!
Emotions consumed me as I thought about what had happened in that temple. The horrible scene played over and over again, that bejeweled knife piercing my Victor’s heart. A sob escaped from my throat, and Liz placed an arm around me.
A horse neighed, and twigs crunched, startling me.
Soldiers
! My heart was beating so loudly that I feared they might hear my exaggerated pulse. I squeezed my eyes shut as Liz and I huddled close together. We didn’t move a muscle or whisper one word as I tried to calm my racing heart.
“
There’s nothing over here,” a soldier said.
“
I’m gonna kill those women the second I see them for making us trek through all this mud and rain,” another soldier said.
“
No,” one said. “Ethano wants them alive.”
“
I know he wants the queen alive, but the other one?”
“
He wants the princess as a bargaining chip.”
My stomach turned over.
He wants Liz alive so I’ll do whatever he wants, so he’ll have total and complete control over me. That manipulative bastard!
I refused to be part of his sick, twisted fantasies. Ethano had been a thorn in my flesh since the second I’d met him. He’d tried to drag Liz and me off to Immortal Court to have us tried and executed, and then he’d tried to kill me again by poisoning Victor the first time. Then, when I thought he was safely behind bars, he showed up at my castle and tried to sacrifice me in an ancient ritual. When he realized he didn’t need me for the sacrifice, he threatened to rape me and kill my sister. Perhaps worst of all, he’d destroyed my special bond with my husband, then killed him in a ceremony that didn’t even work. I muttered a few curses in my head and swore revenge all over again.
I heard the horses galloping off into the distance and let out a sigh of relief. We stayed inside the log for hours, cramped as it was, terrified to make a move. After a long while, I bit my lip and pondered whether to stay there or make a run for it, back to my castle. I started to crawl from our hiding place, but my sister grabbed my ankle.
“
What are you doing?”
“
We’ve been in here for hours. I’m going to see if it’s safe.”
Liz pulled me back. “Sarah, wait just a little bit longer, huh?”
“
No, Liz. We need to get back so I can send my army after Ethano. They’ll make him pay.” With a sigh, I scampered out. The fresh smell of pine lingered in the air. I brushed the dirt off my clothing with a few quick strokes and glanced around cautiously, looking for any signs of danger. “Looks like the coast is clear,” I said, though my voice was trembling from my overwhelming grief. When my sister crawled out and our eyes met, I froze.
“
Sarah, I’m so sorry. I…” Her emotion-filled voice drifted off, and she embraced me tightly.
“
I just can’t believe…I can’t accept his death. Is he really gone forever? I saw it with my own eyes. I know he’s dead,” I said, sobbing, “but my heart refuses to accept what I saw.” I collapsed to my knees, and Liz fell with me. “It hurts so much. I-I can’t breathe.”
“
Calm down and take a deep breath,” she said, wiping the tears from my eyes.
“
I feel like I’m drowning,” I cried out. “Why? Why!?” I shouted. My world was exploding around me. I couldn’t imagine a future without Victor. I loved him like crazy and was sure I couldn’t live without him. “I loved him, Liz! Now that he’s dead, so is a part of me.” I rested my head on Liz’s shoulder as emotions consumed me. “My world crumbled today. I will never…I won’t ever be the same,” I whispered. “How will I go on without him?”
“
You will…because he would have wanted you to,” Liz said, patting my knee and pulling me in for another hug.
* * *
When we got back to the castle, I was greeted by my soldiers. I tried to deliver the horrible news, but the horrible words would not go beyond the threshold of my lips, as if they were too awful to fall on human ears.
When Liz explained the entire story, there were horrified looks on their faces that I’d never forget. They loved Victor just as much as I did.
“
I’ll go find King Taggert,” I said. “He’ll help me. He loves Victor like a son.”