Darlings (17 page)

She returned his grin. “Is there dancing in
Everland?” she wondered aloud. 

“There is. Much like medieval dancing.” He
talked to her, but seemed much more content looking into her eyes
than making conversation. It made her feel uneasy. She wasn’t used
to someone so intense. He had an unusually large smile
now. 

“What are you smiling at?” Gwen finally
asked. 

“You.” 

She laughed. “Well I know, but why?”

“You’re just strange.” 

“I’m strange?” she said, thin eyebrow
cocked. 

“Yes.” 

Her heart skipped a beat. He thought she was
strange? 

“Strangely beautiful… strangely funny…
strangely…perfect...” Holding her gaze he finally looked away. “And
now I am sure you think I am strangely-”

“Wonderful,” she whispered. 

He stopped swaying and gently took her face
in his hands. He stroked her cheek as he whispered back, bringing
his lips closer to hers. “Wonderful?” he asked. “You have no idea
how long I’ve waited to hear you say that.”

She brought her hand up and measured roughly
an inch between in thumb and forefinger. “Just a little wonderful,”
she whispered even softer as he brought her lips to his. 

He grabbed her wrists as they kissed. Never
had she been kissed so passionately before. He was tender and
kissed her slow, with her luscious bottom lip between his. His
breath was sweet and his skin softer than she expected. She felt
his cool hand slid down the back of her neck, sending shivers down
her body. He pulled away. 

“Wow,” Pete murmured. 

Gwen looked up at him mischievously. She
wanted more. Grabbing his neck, she pulled him in again and he
kissed her harder this time. He backed her up against the wall of
the gazebo setting her on the ledge, never letting his lips leave
hers. Finally, his lips left hers only to find their way to her
soft subtle neck. Breathing hard he ran his mouth along her flesh
as she tilted her head back in delight. She felt breath now on her
ear. “You’re beautiful Gwendylon. Everything I could ever have
imagined.” 

Turning she placed her forehead against his.
“I’m just glad you imagined,” she said smiling.

He picked her up by the hips and set her on
the ground. Walking behind her he wrapped his arms around her
waist. “Close your eyes,” he said. She obeyed. 

“Why am I closing my eyes?” she
asked. 

“Shhh,” he answered. 

Gwen felt her bare feet leave the wooden
floor. Laughing she exclaimed, “Pete, put me down!” 

“Are you sure?” he whispered. “Open your
eyes.” 

Gwen opened her eyes and realized he wasn’t
picking her up. They were…floating. Close to ceiling of the gazebo.
She grabbed his arms, suddenly afraid. “How is this
possible?” 

“Fairy magic,” he answered, holding up a
sapphire velvet sac of dust. “I um…borrowed it from
Tina.” 

“You stole it?” she asked.

Pete laughed and again whispered, “Enjoy it.”
They hovered in the air swaying to the music as he caressed her
neck with his lips. 

Suddenly they were interrupted by Mrs.
Amelio’s bloody scream.

Chapter 6

“I know they’re here Maria. Tell me where
they are,” the monster growled. He was large and rotting with
cheeks that already had holes where the skin was eaten away. His
earlobes were hanging and large dangling hoops were strung through.
A dark tuft of hair sat in the middle of his balding and dirty
head. His eyes were black and shifted as he spoke. Kicking the old
woman in the back, he laughed as she fell to the ground at the foot
of the bridge leading to the gazebo. Her face hit the ground,
bloodying her bottom lip, and she cried as he spoke. 

“Talk or you’ll be gutted like your miserable
insect of a husband.” She attempted to get up as he stomped on her
back, forcing her into the gritty dirt once more. 

Pete had lowered the two to the floor and
covered Gwen’s mouth instructing her not to make any noise. Still
standing behind her he whispered barley loud enough for Gwen to
hear. “Don’t make a sound or he’ll hear us. He can’t see us. Call
Andrew.” Horrified, Gwen raised her hand to her chest.
Andrew.
Get here now!
She thought. 

On my way. Are you okay?
He
asked. 

No! They’re here, Andrew oh God, get here
fast. He’s going to kill her! 

Hold on Gwen. 

The pirate grabbed the woman by the hair,
raising her face out of the dirt and bending her neck back in a
horrific position. She yelled out in agony. 

“You will regret not telling me woman. This
will drag out longer if you choose not to speak.” 

Maria grit her teeth and said, “They’re not
here and…if they were…I’d…never tell you.”

The pirate reached into his pocket and pulled
out a bloody knife. “Wrong answer. Now it looks like I’ll have to
slit your throat with the same knife that I disemboweled your
husband with. How quaint.” He placed the knife against the woman’s
neck and she met Gwen’s eyes. Maria brought her twisted old index
finger to her quivering mouth and held it to her lips instructing
Gwen to be silent. 

Gwen peeled Pete’s hand from her mouth and
screamed, “No!” the monster stopped and looked around. He laughed
with disgusting delight. 

“I knew you were here,” he hissed. “Come out,
come out wherever you are princess. Petren, I am sure you’re with
the little darling.”

Pete grabbed Gwen tighter and harshly
whispered, “He will kill us Gwen. I can guarantee they are all over
this place.” The filthy pirate waited a few seconds for an answer
and when one didn’t come, he returned to his prey. 

“Well too bad for you woman. I hope you had a
good life because it is about to end, though much more slowly than
I anticipated due to you little friends here.” Twisting Mrs.
Amelio’s pinky up, he said, “I will begin by slicing this little
finger here off. Don’t worry…I take that back,” he got closer to
her ear. “Be terrified. This will hurt.” Slamming her hand down on
the ground he pinned her arm down with his knee and raised his
knife. “Ready, set….”

Gwen grabbed Pete tightly and closed her
eyes, waiting for the fluttering feeling to enter her stomach. She
found it and concentrated hard, sucking the energy from Pete like a
sponge. Gwen felt him wince, but she kept going. He whispered
louder than he expected. “Stop Gwen. Ugh. Stop!” Pete fell to his
knees and Gwen opened her eyes and picked up a nearby boulder with
her mind, or so she thought she picked up just the boulder. Soon
she saw a whole tree being yanked from the ground. The snapping and
cracking of the massive roots echoed in the gazebo. With one sweep
of her hand, she turned the tree on its side and commanded it to
swing like a baseball bat, smashing the pirate between it and a
second nearby tree. Blood poured from the hideous creature and he
lay slumped over, clearly dead. 

With that, dozens more of the monsters came
out of their hiding places, shrieking and yelling, ready for
battle. Pete grabbed Gwen’s arm and yanked her to the ground. He
took her head and held it to his chest, whispering he warned,
“Gwen, you don’t have the strength to take them on. You’re
exhausted now. Feeling lightheaded? I can’t help you. You took too
much of my energy. We have to hide. Hold perfectly still. Call
Andrew. Tell him to stay back. There’s too many for
them.” 

Pete was out of breath and the pirates were
closing in. They were throwing some sort of powder into the air.
“Don’t let it touch you. It will stick and they’ll spot us.” Pete
managed to get out. Gwen was feeling lightheaded. The fluttering
feeling was disappearing. She had used too much power.

Suddenly, Gwen heard snarling and growling as
Andrew and the others approached. A loud roar like that of a lion
echoed through the grove bouncing off the gazebo ceiling. Andrew.
Gwen

shuttered as she remembered Pete’s warning.
Call them off he had told her. There are too many. It was too late.
They had to fight. Tok came in from the left as Andrew came in from
the right. 

Gwen trembled as Pete lay on top of her. He
whispered, “We have to help them Gwen. It’s too late to hide.” He
flipped her over so she was facing him. He looked at the
approaching pirates and winced. Taking a deep breath he kissed her,
hard, and whispered into her ear, “Stay hidden.” Before Gwen could
answer, Pete stood and walked into the powder. Like a ghost, they
began to see him. He was standing in the doorway of the gazebo,
directly in front of one of the large monsters. The ugly pirate
shrieked, as strings of spit dripped from his hungry, cracked
lips.  “Over here!” he screamed. Pete clenched his fists, and
threw his head back. He raised his arms and summoned a sword from
the hand of another pirate, just feet away. The knife slit the neck
of the pirate and stabbed its owner in the chest. 

Gwen pulled her knees in as she trembled
against the wall, watching Pete take life so gracefully. He moved
his hands like a poised dance, twisting and turning slicing and
stabbing without a single touch. He shook and she could see he
couldn’t hold on much longer. She watched as more and more pirates
appeared. Pete was keeping them from her, but his strength was
failing.
Gwen, are you still in the gazebo?
She heard
Andrew’s familiar voice in her head. 

Yes,
she replied meekly. He continued.
There are too many. We’ve got to get out of here. We’re going to
form a retreat. I want you to get out of there. Go through the
window in the back.
His voice seemed labored.
I’ll meet you
there
.

Suddenly, Gwen felt a stabbing pain in the
front of her right shoulder. She winced as blood dripped down her
arm from a good three-inch slice. Andrew had been injured. Pete
turned and met her eyes. “Go!” he shouted. Too weak to continue
using his telekinesis, he summoned an axe to his hand and began
hand to hand combat. She forced her feet to move as she ran
frantically to the back opening of the gazebo. Andrew was waiting
for her, blood wetting his fur. A tall, slimy looking pirate leapt
out from behind a tree sinking his teeth into Andrew’s back. Gwen
screamed as Andrew pulled him off and smashed his skull against the
ground. The sight of all the blood made Gwen dizzy. Her back hurt
from the bite. 

Come on!
Andrew commanded. Gwen turned
once more and saw Pete fighting four pirates alone. She saw Tok
surrounded on all sides by the monsters. He took his massive knife
like paws and swept them through the necks of four of the pirates
in a row. It looked hopeless. She couldn’t leave them.
Now!
Andrew screamed through the bond. Instinctively, Gwen tried to
summon the energy. Closing her eyes, she reached deep. Her
abdominal muscles contracted and she felt her body turn scorching
hot. Where was it? She needed it. Tears ran down her face as she
reached for it. The spark. Any spark. Suddenly she trembled. 
She had it. A tiny bit of energy had entered her body through her
back? Raising her slender hand she, she felt the blistering power
leave her boiling stomach and flow out her palm. Opening her eyes
she saw the fire. The group surrounding Tok was ignited in flames.
Screaming, they rolled on the ground and ran haphazardly as Tok
took them out one by one. Gwen fell, onto Andrew’s soft back,
hearing his velvety voice.
Stay awake, Gwen. Don’t pass out. Do
not close your eyes. Do not close…
and she heard no
more. 

Chapter 7

Cold. Hard. Must. Bars. Gwen opened her
reluctant eyes and that was the first thing she saw, bars. Steel
bars, and through the bars, a drooling pirate sharpening his knife.
She closed her eyes and opened them again, praying it was some
scene in a nightmare…but the pirate remained. Gwen was lying on her
stomach on a freezing wet cement floor that felt slimy beneath her
cheek.  

She pushed herself up on her trembling hands
and looked around. Four tiny cement walls surrounded her. Her mouth
felt puffy, and tasted like she’d just licked a penny. Brushing her
index finger across her lip, she felt liquid. Blood. She attempted
to sit up. Pulling her legs in, she was met with the resistance of
a steel chain. Her foot was chained to steel hook anchored firmly
in the concrete. Heart racing, she tried again to pull her foot in,
this time with much more force. It was no use, the chain would not
give. She turned and examined the metal cuff secured tightly around
her left ankle. The thick chunky chain was something she would have
expected to see in a circus, holing an elephant in place, not
someone as small as her. She began to feel claustrophobic. She
needed out of the chains. Closing her eyes, she attempted to find
the energy. Yes. She would command the lock to open. Or summon the
keys, or light the pirate on fire…fire. 

Her thoughts were suddenly consumed with her
last memories before waking up in her new cement hell. She had
actually lit them on fire. Examining her palms, she saw tiny burn
marks in

the center of her right hand. She closed her
eyes and attempted to find the spark but was met with…nothing. She
couldn’t even access the part of herself that searched for the
spark. It was as if a brick wall was separating her mind and the
tunnel leading to the energy she needed. Her breath quickened.

She brought her finger to her mark.
Andrew. Andrew, are you there
? She waited, fearing no
response. She was surprised at how alone she felt in those
seconds.  Gwen had gotten used to sharing her thoughts when
she so chose.

 
I’m here,
he answered
meekly.

Andrew I’m stuck in some prison cell. They
have me chained to the floor and I can’t use my ability. You have
to come get –

Did they hurt you?
he asked, sounding
winded. 

No…I don’t think so…yet. Where are you?
How’d I get here? Please Andrew, come get me.
She
listened.