"I'm sixteen," Snow said. "But I think I'm having a birthday soon." She cleared her throat, and I noticed she fought back the tears."You think?" I asked simply, putting my hands to my hips.She nodded. "I don't belong in this time. Where I'm from, I recently turned sixteen. Since I've been here with you, I keep getting these flashes of conversations from where I'm from, and I'm hearing people I care about. One of them, Gabe, he said I had a birthday coming up, which would mean I've been away nearly a year." She looked devastated. A tear ran down her cheek and, as though the feelings were my own, I felt an overwhelming agony. In my mind, I saw a flash of steel, heard the clips of conversation. Saw her in a beautiful dress. Watched her get bitten by a hunter. Saw her kiss a dark-haired boy who bore a striking resemblance to my Gabriel. (At least the girl had good taste in men.) She walked through a room full of magical creatures. Talked to a blonde human, she called Cindy. I saw
She whinnied, stomping her foot as I headed back to where I came in - the waterfall. The closer I got, the louder the roar of the water. Mist splashed against my face. Once we were free of the elven city and back at the edge of the forest, Ryden and I would fly to the land of the unicorns. It would be a quick trip.Ryden fluttered near my ear. "Where are you going to put the horn, anyway?"That reminded me that my satchel was missing. It held more than my things. It was of sentimental value because Gabriel gave it to me. I didn't respond. Ryden didn't know the whole plan yet. She didn't understand what I was doing. I would tell her, of course. I told her everything. But I hadn't found an opportunity."Silindra, it's my destiny, my fate, my calling, to do this." Envy's voice roared louder than the waterfall as she raced around and in front of us, blocking our way.I looked at her, searching her kind, generous eyes. "It won't work, dearest Envy." I reached out to touch her emer
My sister Sharra and I had been born with wings, and at a young age, became quite adept at flying. I had a training period, a time where I learned what it meant to beat my wings against the air, turn them, or tuck them according to what kind of flying I intended and where I wanted to go. With the little unicorn, there was none of that. Once we were out of the forest, Envy leaped into the sky and soared like she'd been flying forever."It took me ten tries before I could fly without crashing into something," Ryden whispered."She's magnificent," I agreed, unable to take my eyes from her."This is amazing, wonderful, stupendous," Envy said, her deep violet wings beating against the bright sky.I flew over to her. "It really is the best, right?" Her giddiness and enthusiasm rubbed off on me. Snow White was enjoying herself as well. I've never flown before, she squealed happily. Her voice caught. Is it all right if I talk? I was nervous about speaking before, but now you know I'm here w
Whoa, that's a long way down. Where did he go? Snow White asked.I don't know, I responded. Flying over, I scanned the valley below, searching. After several minutes I still hadn't found him, and I was almost at the bottom. Glancing up, I saw Titan looking down at me from a slight lip in the rock. He had an arrogant smirk on his face.I worked hard not to shake my head in frustration as I flew toward him. "Find anything interesting?" he asked when we were eye level. "No.""Tsk-tsk," he said. The noise sounded like he sucked spit between his teeth. It was annoying, but I ground my jaw together, holding back any comments. The troll leader turned, and I noticed for the first time the oblong door behind him. It blended in so entirely I would've missed it had I not been so close. He pushed, and the door scraped inward.Not another cave, I grumbled. Snow White wasn't excited either, and her mind slipped through mine, pulling us forward to her time.***"I can't stay long. No one knows I'm
"Dear ones, you are the sum of all other magical creatures - the beginning. Blood is your sustenance because magic is strongest there. And we saw no purpose in staying. When we created you, we provided you with each other." They turned, swimming away and taking their strange light with them. We were again plunged in darkness. The clicking sound, which Sharra and I guessed came from our parents, got farther and farther away. Blue-green light filled the salty cavern once again, but the sea dragon was gone as well. We were alone.Sharra cried.I forced back my tears, knowing they wouldn't make a difference. From that moment on, Sharra and I became more than sisters, more than girls related to one another. And I promised to protect her, always be there for her. I became the parents she never had. That was several lifetimes ago. Since then, I found myself in hundreds of caves, and every single time I thought of Sharra and the tears she shed for our non-parents. Standing on the precipice of
I understood Titan's passion. I held the same beliefs for the quest I was on, to save magic, but I doubted what Titan was doing down here would matter in the long run. The term "science" was thrown around at the last council meeting. It meant little to me. "What else do you do down here?" I asked."Let me show you." He glanced over and smiled.I held my tongue, working to keep my face blank of any emotion. "You believe I'm heartless, uncaring. Is that it? You're wondering how I can put science above the lives of my people.""Something like that," I acknowledged."It's simple. Down here, we take emotion out of the equation. We take a problem and use science along with our magic to solve it. Up there," he pointed one of his thick fingers toward the ceiling. I understood he meant above ground. "The trolls and the elves fight over an imaginary line - an important line, yes, but imaginary, nonetheless. The elves only desire power. We aren't oppressing them, and they have plenty of food and
When Titan returned, he was all business and took me on a tour of Varden's immense innards, winding us through the most elaborate structure. Like the inside of an anthill or a beehive, everything was precise and pristine. When we finally reached the bottom level, I sensed a change in the air, like the crackle of electricity right before a lightning storm. There was a vibe, a droning energy. It made me nervous."What's this level for?" I asked, moving after him into a tunnel. A reddish glow pulsated to some unknown rhythm, and a coppery smell inflamed my nose.Titan turned back and smiled, the light bouncing off his teeth with a menacing radiance. "Down here, we extract, study, and discover the delicacies of each creature."I stopped. "You what?" What did he mean by delicacies?Snow shivered."This is our lab. It's fascinating all we've uncovered about each species."Tentatively I hurried after him. The farther along the corridor I went, the worse the smell. If Snow could've run, she wo
I knew Silindra heard all that was being said, and I was glad. Perhaps if she were able to change the past, things could be different in the future, and I wouldn't be marked. I could just be me and wouldn't even know about vampires or magic or anything supernatural. "It doesn't matter anymore," Sharra continued. "Whatever the Seal did, it's ruined you. The chayot, the witches, Adam Henry. Ugh, they all believe you'll wake, but they don't understand the Seal's power like I do. You won't come back, and that's for the best. I've chosen another. She isn't as great as you could've been, but she is part chayot."No! I couldn't let her hurt anyone else. "Besides, she's nearly ready. She's fallen in love, and her craving for her lover's blood burns within her. It's so strong I can feel it. Soon she'll consume him, and then her body will be mine." She cackled. I tried to force myself awake. I needed to stop her. "Stay asleep, Snow. Because if you wake, I'll hunt down and destroy everyone y