Marked By Destiny, page 26
“I would have been happy to explain all of this to you tomorrow when we were supposed to meet. Imagine my surprise to be alerted that the lock to the library, which I distinctly remember telling you to use responsibly, had been opened.” Thameus’ voice was calm, but a glacial rage burned behind his eyes.
“Well maybe we’re both liars then,” Ira spat.
“I never lied to you.” Thameus didn’t waiver at Ira’s anger.
“You don’t get to turn this around on me right now. What is this?” Ira snatched the paper from Kaiden’s grip and flailed it in the air.
“You don’t get to demand answers to questions when you are the one breaking the rules.” Thameus’ exterior remained unbothered and chilled.
“I—”
“Did you even listen to me today when I told you I don’t know what uncovering too much too quickly could do to you? Have you for one moment thought perhaps I am doing what I can to make this as easy and safe for you as possible?”
As Thameus said these words, Ira could feel that blazing pain starting in the back of her skull again.
“You may not understand everything I do, but you need to trust me for any of this to work. There are many pieces at play in this game that you don’t know about.”
“This isn’t a game, Thameus! This is my life!” Ira’s voice cracked, her fingernails digging into her palms.
“And who do you think has protected you in all eight of them?” Thameus’ voice now boomed, his frustration spilling over. “Who do you think raised you, trained you, and took care of you?”
Suddenly, Ira felt a sharp pain spread through her arm. Her free hand sprung up to grasp it, and a warm, sticky liquid covered her hand. Everything else happened in an instant.
Kaiden’s strong arm wrapped around her torso as Thameus ducked to find cover. Using his own body as a shield, Kaiden pinned her between himself and a bookshelf. Ira strained her ears. Not a sound. There was nothing indicating what or who had just happened upon them. The hairs rose along Ira’s neck.
“What’s the plan?” While Ira’s voice barely made an audible noise, it sounded deafening in the silent tomb of journals. Kaiden held a finger to his lips.
Giving Ira a firm nod, Kaiden shuffled his body to the edge of the bookshelf, with Ira eagerly following behind him. As they moved, Ira felt a haze cover her eyes. Her body began to sway as her head filled with a fog. She looked back down at her still oozing arm and found it wasn’t only a sticky scarlet mess spilling from her wound but also what looked like a shiny black ink. She watched the two colors dance together, swirling down her arm and splattered along the floor. Her blood ran cold as she thought about what Thameus’ wound looked like after the Sniper Viper bit him.
“Kaiden…” Ira wasn’t sure the word had even passed her lips before she slumped back against the bookshelf.
A numbness began clawing through her limbs, starting at her legs and working its way up so that even her head lolled to the side.
“Kaiden,” Ira used all of her effort to make sure she said his name this time. “It’s poison.”
She could only hope he heard her before her vision blurred and she fell into total blackness.
Chapter 45
Fire and darkness simultaneously veiled Ira. There was a hazy figure lingering in the nearby distance. As Ira stepped toward the stranger, her body shook uncontrollably. The smoke-filled haze cleared just long enough for her to see the person standing so close was wrapped in a scarlet red cloak. The stranger felt familiar, but Ira couldn’t place it. She reached toward the cloak, fisting the smooth velvet fabric in her hands. Just as she was about to pull it back and reveal the stranger beneath it, her body violently shuttered, and she fell to her knees.
Searing pain and the look of fear on Kaiden’s face was what Ira woke to.
Kaiden cradled Ira’s face in his hands, relief misting his eyes when their gazes locked. “Ira, I know it’s hard, but you have to stay with me.” His words sounded muffled, but Ira was able to give him a weak nod. “Are you back?” An undertone of pure fear laced his words.
“I’m here.” Ira croaked.
“Do you promise?”
Ira couldn’t help the smile that curved her already cracking lips. She knew he wasn’t referencing their previous conversations, but she still weakly placed her hand to her chest and wheezed, “I swear it.” She was pleasantly surprised by the small smile on Kaiden’s face.
“At least you still have your winning sense of humor,” he grumbled under his breath.
After dropping her face, he diligently began wrapping her arm, which was still oozing two different colors—that of blood and ink.
Ira’s brain felt like sludge, and she swore it was as if her eyelids were filled with lead. Her eyes drooped closed again.
The flash of a red cape filled her vision. Her pale hands reached to pull back the hood and see who was beneath it.
“Ira, please.” Kaiden’s voice was distant.
She felt a weight on the side of her cheek again, and her eyes snapped open. Kaiden’s shoulders released a fraction of their tension when he saw she was awake again. Ira tried to move a part of her body, any part, but even the smallest movement felt like trudging through a river of molasses.
“Kaiden.” Her voice was a weak croak.
When Ira looked down at her fully wrapped arm, it was as if she was feeling the full intensity of the pain for the first time. An involuntary cry escaped her until she grit her teeth, clenching her jaw tightly. When her jaw relented and another small cry escaped her, Kaiden slapped his hand over her mouth.
“I know it hurts, but we have to stay quiet.” A single tear squeezed itself out of Ira’s eye, but she nodded.
“Fourteen, Three, Twenty-seven!” The call of numbers came from Thameus, though his voice carried in a way where it was impossible to pinpoint his location.
Kaiden’s brows furrowed. “He’s shouted that three times. I don’t know what he’s trying to say.” He began chanting the words under his breath as he anxiously raked his fingers through his hair.
Ira used every ounce of her mental energy to keep her eyes open, meaning she barely had any to spare trying to solve riddles. Kaiden leaned his back against the shelf across from Ira, resting his palms on his knees. As she looked at him, Ira saw a number above his head.
“Kaiden, it’s the books.” His head snapped up. “The books.” She tried to point, but her lack of strength made that an impossible task.
Kaiden followed her gaze to look at the number above his head that read Row 8.
“Shelf fourteen, row three, book twenty-seven. It’s a filing system.” Ira’s voice was growing weaker. Every word felt like an effort she didn’t have.
“You’re a genius.” Kaiden bounded to his feet but quickly crouched back down. “Wait, how do you know that’s the order.”
“I don’t,” she answered honestly. “But I doubt there are twenty-seven rows on a single shelf, and it doesn’t make sense for the system not to start with the bookshelf number.”
“Fair point.” Kaiden stood back up. “You stay here!” he instructed.
“Well, yeah,” Ira mumbled, but Kaiden was already gone.
He returned with a book in his hands that had the middle completely hallowed out. In its place were two daggers that Kaiden eagerly grabbed.
“Now what?” he finally asked, making sure to continue monitoring their surroundings. Ira shrugged, exhausted by the movement.
“Four, fourteen, nine!” The instructions again echoed among the empty bookshelves.
Since the initial attack, everything remained silent—hidden. Whatever attacked them to begin with was waiting for the opportune moment to strike again. And they found it. Within seconds of Thameus giving out this second code, there was a loud clanging of metal on metal, followed by an unmistakable grunt from Thameus. Ira’s chest grew tight as Kaiden’s shoulders stiffened. He only gave her a silent nod, pushing the second dagger into her limp hand.
Kaiden wrapped Ira’s good arm around his neck, apologizing with his eyes when he heard her whimper.
“You’ll be faster without me,” Ira gasped through the pain.
“I’m not leaving you behind.” Kaiden’s voice was firm, leaving no room for negotiation.
Ira did her best to hold herself up but kept tripping over her own feet. Kaiden did his best to stealthily move them through the bookshelves, making as little noise as possible. As they rounded a corner, a loud crash echoed through the library. Ira whipped her head around and finally got a clear image of Thameus. His stance was firm as he braced himself against two of the most horrifying creatures Ira had ever seen.
They had an almost iridescent white skin stretched far too tautly against their body, which consisted of six limbs that jutted out from their back. Sharp talons curved at the end of each foot. Their overly wide mouths hung open in smiles that revealed a full set of arrow-tipped teeth, but the most horrifying part of all of it was their beady blood-red eyes with tiny black rings around them. Ira watched them advance toward Thameus, moving so fast they became a blur.
“What are those?” She shrieked. Her voice caught their attention, leaving four sets of beady eyes boring into her. Their horrific smiles widened.
Thameus struck his sword through one of the distracted creatures, causing a bone-chilling screech to escape its mouth. Ira felt bile rise in her throat as her ears burned from the sound. She watched Thameus rip his sword through the body of the creature, an unidentifiable liquid spraying across the bookshelves and floor. The three monsters that remained let out an anguished and irate scream.
The distraction didn’t work to its full extent, unfortunately. As one creature focused its full attention on Thameus, the other two contorted their bodies and began racing toward Kaiden and Ira. Their legs were a blur as they rushed toward them; the movement of their limbs looked unnatural.
Kaiden wasted no time running far away from the creatures and dragging Ira along. As they rounded a corner, Ira spotted the journal she threw at Kaiden’s head earlier and quickly dropped the knife in her hand to scoop it up.
“What are you doing?” Kaiden yelled.
“I need this!” Ira defended, clutching the book to her chest, protectively.
Kaiden rounded a corner and shoved a nearby shelf over, sending it crashing toward the ground and hopefully buying them a little time. Ira watched as the creatures paused for, their heads cocking to the side.
“You didn’t think you needed a knife a little more in this moment?”
“Oh, right, because I’m so useful right now?”
“Duck!”
Kaiden dropped Ira’s arm, and her legs immediately buckled beneath her. A shooting pain cascaded down her body as her neck snapped back, and she slammed into the marble floor.
Kaiden more gracefully dropped to his knees as one of the creatures lunged toward them. While the creature was still in midair, Kaiden struck their underbelly with his dagger, slicing them clean open. The sloshing sound of the creature’s guts falling from its body was a sound Ira was sure would haunt her for the rest of her life.
“Ira!” Kaiden’s eyes grew wide in fear, and Ira quickly turned to see the second creature standing before her.
It raised a taloned foot over its head, ready to strike. As swiftly as the beast brought its foot down, Ira spun her body out of the way, ignoring the pain it caused. Snatching a different journal that had fallen to the ground, she held it over her face, using it as a shield. The creature’s talon tore through the entirety of the book, stopping just short of piercing her cheek.
Ira felt a strong grip on her collar as she was dragged away from the creature. She became momentarily disoriented as Kaiden hauled her over his shoulder and proceeded to run.
“See, useful!” Ira called, clutching the not destroyed journal to her chest.
Kaiden rolled his eyes as he made a sharp turn down row four. He began to chant the sequence of numbers under his breath as he scrambled to find the book Thameus was leading them to.
He practically crowed in triumph as he snatched the book off the shelf, ripping it open in anticipation of finding more weapons. However, he let out an exasperated huff when they came up empty. Dropping Ira back down to the ground, he checked that he grabbed the right book.
The commotion from fighting quieted, and the library was filled with a haunting silence once more. Ira strained her ears enough to hear the sliding of talons across the floor, but the sound kept multiplying. The widening of Kaiden’s eyes told Ira he was coming to the same realization she was. There were more creatures. A lot more.
Then, very faintly in the distance, Ira heard one single hoof clomp and she let out a sigh of relief. They were still vastly outnumbered, but at least Thameus was okay.
“What about the book?” Kaiden hissed, pushing it onto Ira’s lap. She dropped her head back on the shelf, a new wave of exhaustion and sludge seeping into her brain.
“Thameus had to have a reason. Flip through it,” she wheezed.
Her arms went limp at her sides again. Even the journal she rescued laid just out of reach of her fingertips from her inability to keep a grip on it anymore.
Kaiden earnestly flipped through the pages.
“Wait look at that,” Ira rasped, clumsily dropping her hand to one of the pages.
Etched into the book was a sketch of the creature currently hunting them. Kaiden and Ira frantically began skimming the pages, looking for clues. Just as Kaiden turned the page to keep reading, every lantern in the library was snuffed out, leaving a blanket of darkness to swallow them whole.
Chapter 46
Kaiden strained his eyes to see what information the journal had to offer.
“There has to be a way to beat them.” Ira’s head throbbed as she forced her eyes to stay open.
“Stabbing them seemed to be pretty effective.” Kaiden scanned their surroundings again, making sure no creatures were lurking nearby.
“That’s effective one-on-one. I know you heard what I heard,” Ira hissed.
The slow tapping of pointed feet approaching muted the conversation. Ira and Kaiden looked up to see one of the creatures hovering just above them, crouched on the top of the bookshelf. Kaiden put his finger to his lips before gripping the dagger tighter. Ira put her hand over his to stop him, pointing to a passage in the book that was barely lit by a sliver of silver moonlight.
While not particularly bright, the archanesseus is a fast creature that runs only on sound.
Though their eyes are terrifying to look at, they are completely blind. Their only true defense is their speed, dagger sharp feet and unmatchable hearing. They are a true creature of darkness, with any form of light causing them to shrivel, wither, and die instantly. They feed off of the intoxicating power that darkness provides.
Careful not to have direct contact with their blood, saliva, or the secretion they produce on their feet. It’s highly poisonous. At first, you will feel sick and sluggish before starting to feel remarkably better with a clear head. This is phase two of how the poison works. Once you start feeling clear again, you don’t have long before you will be driven completely mad by the poison. You will see things that aren’t real, relive nightmares from your past, and finally your entire body will reject every matter of food or water you try to consume, and you will slowly die of dehydration.
Kaiden and Ira both looked down at the makeshift bandage on her arm. The archanesseus tilted its head from side to side before moving on to another bookshelf.
That’s what happened to me anyway. Well, not the death part. I was just starting to hallucinate when Nela—
Ira stopped reading, and her stomach clenched. She reached her hand up and caressed the name with her fingers. Her fingers that were able to move, her head that was beginning to feel clear and able to focus enough to read this passage, her body that was not searing with pain anymore.
Ira gave a panicked look over to Kaiden, as he also realized her sudden increase in mobility. Pushing out the realization that Kaiden and Nela were not randomly chosen to come and get Ira and bring her to StoneGlass, she read on, becoming more frantic.
That’s what happened to me anyway. Well, not the death part. I was just starting to hallucinate when Nela finished her potion, thanks to Kaiden gathering the ingredients. This is what happens when Thameus leaves us alone for days on end. Off trying to discover whatever answers he’s always looking for.
Ira’s mind spun. This journal, her journal, had to be eras old by the looks of the sun-splotched pages and fading ink. The thought clanged around Ira’s head. It was confirmed. The three of them were somehow all connected. Those feelings of familiarity she tried to push away had all actually meant something. As if these people, whom she thought she was making friends with, were all just a relationship forced upon her from the fates. Her mind reeled as she wondered if any of her experiences with them had even been genuine.
Kaiden watched the spiraling happen in her eyes and gently laid his hand over hers. She yanked it out of his grasp.
“Ira, I’m just as confused as you are, but if this book has answers, we need to focus and find them.”
Knowing he was right, Ira nodded and pressed on, turning the page.
Anyway, back to why I’m here logging this experience. After gutting these creatures over and over, eventually, the sun came up, and they all scurried away. Like little babies. We were on the verge of winning even without the sun. So, if you’re ever facing them again, just know they are terrified of the light. Oh, and try not to get stabbed this time. It really hurts. But, if you do get stabbed, this is what you’ll need:
2 frog legs
3 sprigs of thistlethorn flowers
1 fairy fluff leaf
4 drops of pure, untainted blood from the injured
That last ingredient is tricky, as the poison works its way through the bloodstream, so work quickly. See you in another life… hopefully one with less monsters.
