The Harvest, page 31
What made her grieve was losing Dinah. That killed her inside, and though she felt the need to cry, she couldn’t. Her body was too busy fighting to stay alive.
Dinah only wanted to help. She was not supposed to be part of her crusade. Her stupid crusade. Did she really think she could defeat an Ostara so easily? Why? Because she willed it so? Was Dinah’s death worth it? Was one? What was wrong with her?
“Almost gone,” Jedrek said. His voice was distant, like someone shouting from a mile way.
“End it,” Tayten said. “We’ve got to go.”
The pressure increased exponentially, and her vision darkened completely. She could hear nothing but the throbbing of her veins, slowing, slowing...and her thoughts clouded, as if she were on the verge of falling asleep.
And then light, and loudness, and confusion.
“Maddie?” she heard a voice ask. At first, she thought it was her mother.
But then her vision cleared, and the voice was succinct.
“Dinah?” Madeline scowled, her voice raspy and barely audible.
“I got you,” she said, smiling. She helped Madeline up to a sitting position. “Are you okay?”
“Are you?” Madeline rasped. She tried to hug Dinah, but her arms wouldn’t move. It was then she felt the vibrations in the air. Dinah must have succeeded, but she couldn’t dwell on victory right now. She nearly broke as she felt Dinah by her side. “I thought you died,” she whispered.
“What? No!” Dinah said, stepping away far enough to let her see the room. Tayten was lying on the floor unconscious, but Jedrek was still awake. He was standing against the wall, opposite the end of the operating table, glaring at them with murderous intent.
“The spell circle,” Madeline whispered.
“It worked,” Dinah said. “He’s trapped. The temporary seal you told me to place on myself kept me mobile when I activated the room. You can’t move?”
“No,” Madeline said. “Not a lot. I can talk fine.”
“Good,” Dinah said, reaching under Madeline and lifting her into her arms. “I’ll carry you out of here, and then I’ll clean up.”
“What’s that mean?” Madeline asked.
“Don’t worry. I’ll knock them unconscious and tie them up. No killing.”
“Thank you,” Madeline said, resting her head against Dinah’s chest. Dinah slowly pushed the operating table aside with her hip, opting not to walk by Jedrek.
“The diagrams you told me about worked perfectly,” Dinah said. “You’re so smart.”
“No,” Madeline whispered. “They tricked me. I thought they killed you...and I shouldn’t have come into this room alone. I underestimated them.”
“It’s okay now,” Dinah said. “We’ll...”
“Dinah?” Madeline said, glancing up at her. “Dinah, what’s wrong?”
“I don’t know,” she frowned. “I feel...I felt weird when I first came into the room, but seeing you on that table, I forgot about it. I just wanted to save you.”
“Wait, tell me. How do you feel?”
“I’m woozy, “Dinah said. “I feel weak, and lightheaded, like I’m getting sick really fast.”
“Did they hurt you?”
“No, I quickly spun Tayten around and punched him, and then I put the last candle down which completed the circle, and...and...”
Dinah fell forward and tried to catch them both, but she was only able to roll onto her shoulder. Madeline fell out of her arms and rolled onto her back as Dinah groaned.
“Dinah, we have to get up,” Madeline said. “Come on.”
“I’m trying,” Dinah said. “I promise.”
Madeline heard a grunt, and her eyes fell on Jedrek. He was foaming at the mouth, and his muscles were huge—easily twice as big as before. His fingers were twitching, and his breathing was slow and deep, as if he was preparing to stampede. His manic eyes were ablaze with purpose, and the vibrations in the air were more prominent around him, almost visible with how much power was emanating from him. A humming sound was beginning to fill the room.
What was going on?
“It’s Jedrek,” Madeline whispered under her breath. “He’s doing this somehow.” She turned to Dinah and tried to reach out to her. Her arms felt like they were one with the floor. “Dinah! Dinah! It must be his specialty! Get out of here!”
“I won’t leave you,” Dinah said, trying to climb to her feet.
“Good,” Tayten shouted from where he laid. “Because we’ve got a lot more to talk about.”
Chapter 30 – Melee
“It’s a spell circle, brother!” Tayten shouted to the ceiling, straining against the invisible force. The humming in the room was getting louder. “The new girl mentioned candles. They got to be around here somewhere. Look at the floor!”
Jedrek’s eyes darted back and forth, scanning the room.
“Madeline,” Dinah whispered. “I’m sorry...I can’t.”
Madeline closed her eyes for a second to think. They were in a stalemate, but for how long? Jedrek seemed to be growing in size by the second. At what point would his strength overpower the spell? He had to be the #1 ranked Arcana for a reason.
“Remove the spell circle,” Madeline said finally.
“Maddie, we can’t,” Dinah said.
“We’ll be free,” Madeline said.
“But so will they.”
“I know, but first, get over to Tayten and search him. He should have a knife on him. He mentioned stabbing you earlier, which means he must have a weapon. Based on Jedrek’s mass, I would think he would forego weapons, so don’t worry about him.”
“Okay,” Dinah said weakly. Jedrek growled at her as she slowly crawled over to Tayten, still laying on his back. She nearly fell on top of him, and he gnashed his teeth at her as she scanned his body. Finally, her body fell on the knife sheathed at his side. She moved for it, but she felt so sick that she nearly fainted, slapping the hilt of the dagger instead of procuring it.
“GET HER!” Tayten shouted, and Jedrek roared at the top of his lungs, desperately trying to break free of his binds. At the end of his roar, he managed to take a step forward, his foot sounding like a dresser scrapping against the floor.
“DINAH!” Madeline screamed, and Dinah grabbed the blade from his belt, sheath and all. With one final grunt, she kicked behind her, knocking over the once invisible candle in the center of the room.
Instantly, the vibrations ceased, the humming stopped.
And everyone made a move.
Jedrek barreled towards Dinah. Dinah kept the blade at Tayten’s throat, and Madeline rolled over, leapt to her feet and rushed Jedrek while keeping her body low.
Stupidly, she tackled Jedrek at the legs, sending him falling forward onto his chin. She didn’t think for a second that he was unconscious though. As he regained his composure, Madeline got up and clapped her hands to Dinah. “Quick!” she said.
Dinah threw her the sheathed blade and Tayten punched Dinah in the stomach as soon as he was free from the blade’s threat. Dinah fell backwards and scurried to her feet as Tayten climbed to his. Madeline caught the dagger in mid-air, unsheathed it, jumped on Jedrek’s shoulders, pulled his neck back and then put it firmly to Jedrek’s throat, so hard that a thin line of blood seeped from his skin.
“It’s real now,” she said. Though it was a risk removing the dagger from Tayten, there was no way they could fight Jedrek two-on-one. Not with the strength he was emitting. Tackling his legs worked once but she was sure it wouldn’t again.
She glanced over at Dinah for a moment and was shocked to see her struggling. Dinah was the one that had been trained in self-defense by her mysterious but powerful parents. In the years Madeline had sparred with her, it felt like there was an endless list of new techniques and situations to go over. In her mind, Dinah was proficient enough in combat to consider it a borderline specialty in of itself, and its practical application was certainly more useful than her dream analysis.
To see Tayten make short work of her was beyond comprehension.
He blocked every one of her punches, dodged every desperate kick and weaved out of every grapple she attempted. Through it all, he didn’t even fight back. He destroyed her mentally, cutting down her confidence and showing her how futile engaging him was. She might as well have been a child trying to seriously take down their parent in a play-fighting match.
Madeline had to do something.
“Stop!” Madeline shouted. “Or I kill your brother!”
“I’m almost done,” Tayten said as he dodged another swipe at his nose. He spoke calmly, and his breath was still. He had barely increased his heart rate.
“NOW!” Madeline shouted.
“You don’t get to decide how this goes,” Jedrek said matter-of-factly. “The Arcana won’t kill. None of them. This is not the first time we weren’t in control, but we always win, because we’re willing to go all the way. That is why we will win.”
“And,” Tayten said, pivoting to the right to avoid one of Dinah’s throws towards his jaw. “I’M DONE!” he shouted triumphantly, punching her in the throat so hard that she crumpled to her knees. Madeline felt her blood boil, and for a second...a split second, she considered cutting Jedrek.
But she couldn’t. She couldn’t...Grant’s words echoed through her mind as she kept her grip firm on the hilt of the blade.
If she killed now, she would kill again, and the cycle would never end. There had to be a way out.
Madeline removed the blade from Jedrek’s throat and threw it as hard as she could into Tayten’s back. He howled as he instinctively reached for the dagger and Dinah took advantage. She cocked back her arm and punched him on the side of his chin, with enough force to knock him unconscious instantly.
Jedrek jumped to his feet with Madeline still on his back and slammed her into the wall, knocking the wind out of her. Dinah grabbed the knife from Tayten’s back and rushed him, but Jedrek kicked her square in the chest, sending her flying backwards. The knife flew out of her hands and Madeline tried to struggle free and leap for it, but Jedrek saw her attempt. He clutched her face and threw her into the operating table. Then he went for the knife.
He picked it up and approached Madeline slowly when Dinah tried to wretch it out of his hand. They struggled for a bit, and Madeline tried to hit him over the head with the gas tank beside her, but the fake prop was shockingly light. Jedrek grunted and shoved Dinah away, and she attempted to kick the dagger out of his hand, but he grabbed her leg in mid-air and stabbed the meat of her thigh.
“DINAH!” Madeline screamed. “Full-circle!” She hoped the message would come across without warning Jedrek. Dinah nodded and pushed down on her leg, forcing it to leave his grip, and then she backed up.
“COME ON!” Madeline screamed at Jedrek, drawing his attention. He spun around and went to stab her, but she raised her arms and took the brunt of the attack. The blade inserted, and the scars from the fox stared back at her, reminding her that she could have died then too.
If she had given up.
If she hadn’t tapped into the grit and fervor that defined her.
Madeline backed away and the dagger left her arm, leaving behind a steady stream of blood.
“You won’t win,” Dinah said to Jedrek as she kicked him in the back. He turned and slashed at her, but she was able to lean back and dodge it. He approached her, swinging and missing, and it was obvious that he was not well-versed in knives.
Madeline wasted no time. She had to trust Dinah.
She bent down and looked across the floor. A spell circle, created out of the blood from Dinah’s thigh, had been placed around Tayten. If he woke up, he would be trapped and unable to move.
Madeline applied pressure to her wound as best she could and then she ran over to the previously kicked-over candle and placed it back in the middle. Unfortunately, it was unlit—the flame having gone out when it had hit the cold floor.
“Wait, wait,” she said, looking back up at Dinah. She was holding her own against Jedrek, but it wouldn’t last forever. They could only dance around the room for so long before he got a lucky stab in.
“Got it,” Madeline said, grabbing one of the aluminum trays from where the scalpels were. She ran over to one of the once invisible candles in a free corner of the room and began pouring the little pool of wax from it in the tray. Hearing Dinah grunt from behind her, she ran over to the other corner and did the same, getting as much wax as she could onto the tray.
“YOU DONE?” Dinah shouted. Jedrek had her pinned up against the wall, and they both had their hands on the hilt of the dagger.
But the blade was pointing towards her chest.
“Coming!” Madeline yelled. She leapt over the operating table with a tray of wax in one hand and a lit candle in the other. She ignored her knife wound. First things first.
“Hurry!” Dinah groaned as she tried kneeing Jedrek—to no avail.
Madeline ran behind Jedrek and promptly began pouring the wax over his head. He blinked rapidly and began shouting as he swung at Madeline. She backed away and held the candle high in the air. “You want to burn?” she asked him. “Stay where you are.”
Jedrek stood still as he considered rushing her. He still held the knife in his hand.
Dinah moved fast, bending down and creating a circle of blood around him as he glared at Madeline with enough hate and anger to make her shudder. Dinah completed the circle and recited the incantation under her breath.
“Done,” Dinah said in relief, standing up. “He can’t move...unless he does whatever that was earlier.”
“I will be seeing you,” Jedrek said. “I promise.”
“Not for a while,” Madeline said. “You’ll have every Arcana to deal with, and I know who you are now. I’ll be waiting.”
“You think you’re smart,” he chuckled. “You’re not.”
“I’m smart enough to know you’re stalling so that you can grow again,” she said. “And there’s this.” She threw the candle at him and he yelped. His body couldn’t react as he was chained down in the spell circle, but he was afraid all the same. To his surprise, he did not catch fire, even when the wax dripping onto the floor hit the flame. “Wax isn’t oil or gas,” Madeline said. “It needs a lot of heat to burn. When the candle is lit, it heats the wax around it, and the wick draws the wax up, turning it into a hot gas. There was no way I could set you on fire, but I was counting on your stupidity. You may be the muscle, but Tayten is certainly the brains. I have no idea why you’re ranked #1. If I had to guess, I would think Tayten designed it that way so he’s underestimated. No one vies to be number two.”
Jedrek was furious, and his breathing became erratic.
“I got it,” Dinah said, prying Jedrek’s fingers from around the dagger. She walked in front of him and hit him over the head with the hilt repeatedly. After the fifth blow, he finally went unconscious—his body remained in suspended animation.
“Damn, that was hard,” Madeline groaned, sitting down and leaning up against the operating table. Dinah cut a piece of fabric from around her shirt sleeve and bent down to wrap it around Madeline’s arm tightly, putting pressure on her wound. Madeline motioned for the knife, and Dinah handed it to her. Madeline quickly cut strips of fabric from the bottom of her shirt and wrapped them around the wound on Dinah’s leg, making it as tight as possible. She then handed the dagger back. Dinah sighed heavily and sat down beside her.
“Is this what it’s going to be like?” she asked, dropping her head between her raised knees.
“Probably,” Madeline said. She wiped her brow. It was dripping with sweat and grime.
“We look like a mess.”
“So, do they,” she said, pointing at the brothers.
“Yeah,” Dinah coughed. “But, uh, let’s not have any more adventures for a little bit.”
“We have the third trial coming up,” Madeline reminded her.
“Damn it, I forgot.”
“We’ll make it. Got more experience under our belt, right?”
“Maddie, this hasn’t deterred you at all? From abandoning your mission?”
“I don’t know,” she said truthfully. “On the one hand, we barely made it out alive, and someday, we will probably be killed...but...we also saved lives today. We did.”
“Yeah,” Dinah said, staring off into space.
“Dinah, I really thought they killed you...if you had died, I couldn’t forgive myself. If you—”
“I know what you’re going to say,” Dinah interrupted her. “You can save it. I’m not leaving your side, okay? We’re a team. If I was alone, sure, I might have died, but you almost did too. We need each other...and sure, one day, one of us might not be around to help the other, but we got the memories, don’t we? Isn’t that what living is all about? Making memories to call upon and reminisce over?”
“I don’t really recall memories for that reason,” Madeline admitted. “Not often. It’s all facts and statistics. Whenever I do daydream, it’s usually about the future. I try to stay focused.”
“And say you win,” Dinah said. “And you reach the end triumphantly...you will loathe your journey. You may not regret it, because you helped others, but you did it out of obligation and duty. You didn’t live. You didn’t appreciate the beauty of this life. You only dwell on what needs to change.”
“You’re right,” Madeline said. She remembered when Annalise had Lucas Ashby and his mother on stage, and her classmates were clamoring to kill them off for a Harvest invitation. Her grandfather had made an excellent point of showing her those that refused to get involved. In all the darkness, she couldn’t see the flickers of light. “But what do I do?” she asked. “How can I concentrate on anything but my mission?”
“You’ll have to force yourself to have fun,” Dinah laughed. “I can’t even believe I have to say that.”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know,” Dinah shrugged. “Why don’t you try going on a date with Amias sometime?”
