Heritage (17 page)

“One, I don’t go Psycho and Two you're sitting on my coat” I tugged at my coat as he lifted his body off the bed.

“Sorry, ok well … wait. Are you going somewhere?”

“Yes with my friends,” I explained standing to put on my coat.

“Now? But we need to find Lorias before he does something dangerous” he exclaimed, following me out of the bedroom.

“Correction he’s your de... Follower, so he’s your problem” I muttered as we made our way down the stairs.

“Bye” I shouted to Beth, not that she really noticed I had gotten back.

Stepping out onto the front porch, I could feel Logan’s frustration as he stepped in front of me.

“Logan I’m entitled to a life” I muttered pulling my coat tightly around me. The wind picked up, and Beth’s dolphin wind chime, chimed franticly above our heads.

“This is important. If we don’t find him, then maybe you won’t have a life to waste gallivanting around with puny humans,” He shouted over the metal clanging.

“What is it you want me to do? You’re his Prince, you should have some sort of authority over him”

I began to shout to, as the wind chime continued to spin in the freak wind. My hair whipped around my face. Logan zipped his leather jacket up to his chin, as a gust of wind nearly blew us over.

“What in Satin’s name is with this wind?”

“I’m working on that, back to the matter in hand. He’s your demon, and he’s your problem” I mumbled. I’m guessing Rumpelstiltskin from last week, is rearing it invisible head again. Ignoring the start up of my ringtone, I made my way across to my car. Before Katelyn had kicked us out of the library on Wednesday, I picked up a book on wind spirits, and I’m glad I stashed it in the car.

“Would you care to elaborate? Or am I just meant to guess?” Logan muttered, following me and leaning against the front side window of the car.

“When you left me last week I heard…a voice in the wind” I whispered. Saying it out loud made it sound even more insane than it did before.

“A voice? In the wind” He looked at me with a side glance and chuckled.

“Shut up! It was real ok, I heard it and …….”

A gust of wind pushed me against the car.

“In Icarus Lies the answer to un asked questions”

It faded as before and I was left just like before, completely confused. Why does this wind spirit talk in riddles. I’ve never been good at them.

“Ok well that settles that then” Logan breathed.

“Elle?” Poppy bellowed walking up the driveway. Great, I know that look on her face. She’s set her sights on Logan.

“Hey Poppy, you’re early” I whispered, glancing at Logan to check he was still there. My heart was pounding against my ribcage. Keeping track of my lies was beginning to take its toll on my brain.

“No,  actually I’m just on time. Your Elle’s cousin right? I’m Poppy” She asked. Making her way towards Logan with her, look I’m hot walk.

Logan smiled at her and continued to stand silently against the car. Normally boys would have flirted with her or come back with a witty comment about her name being a flower, yeah boys are clever.

“Yeah this is my cousin err...”

“Chris” Logan piped up shaking Poppy’s hand.

“Yes Chris, Chris this is Poppy and Carrie” I threw a smile at Carrie as she stood lifelessly behind Poppy.

“Well its lovely to meet you Chris, are you coming out tonight?” She asked batting her eyelashes. I tried hard to hold back a gag.

“No,  he isn’t, he’s going back home to sort out his little problem” I smirked. I edged Poppy away from Logan and down the driveway.

“Actually” Logan shouted as he ran towards us.

“I’d love to come, if that’s alright?” He smirked.

“No!” I shouted.

“Yes of course, that would be amazing… I mean cool” Poppy babbled. What was he doing, this boy was going to be the death of me.

“Excuse us for just one moment” I requested, pulling Logan by the sleeve and dragging him towards the house.

“What? Don’t you want me to hang around with your friends” He smirked.

“NO! I don’t, and you don’t like humans”

“True but this double life you lead fascinates me and this little problem isn’t just mine”

Giving me a wink he marched off into the direction of my friends. Poppy’s huge smile could be seen from space it was that big.

The wind gently blew amongst the trees as we made the twenty minute trip from my house to town. Logan chatting about his imaginary college and family made my actual life seem unreal. The fact that Poppy believed everything he said was stupid. He loves all of this attention I can see it in his perfectly carved face. His cocky smile hasn’t left his face for one second.

“Your life sounds amazing” Poppy sighed. Her butter wouldn’t melt voice made my stomach squeeze. She was my best friend, but sometimes she really annoyed the hell out of me. Turning the corner we past the fence towards the northern brook.  The rippling of the water silenced the big headed talk of Logan and his amazing imaginary life. Everything was shadowed in darkness, and the wooded area felt eerie and slightly mysterious.

“This is sort of scary” Poppy whispered gripping hold of Logan’s arm. Glancing at me, she gave me a cheeky side smile.

“Help me”
a whimpering voice whispered through the trees.  Searching the darkened woods I couldn’t see anything. The sense of evil crept over me and sent my eyes in motion. Hiding my face from the others, I grabbed Logan’s arm and pulled him towards the side of the path.

“Did you hear that?” I asked scanning the empty trees for any sign of life.

“Hear what?”

“Death and destruction help ME!”
  A face of air flew past us and into the trees.

“THAT!” I exclaimed. “Follow the girls into town I’ll see you there” I shouted as I ran through the trees.

“What do I tell them” he yelled. I was too far into the woods to reply. Each tree I passed was bigger or taller than the last. The pitch black air filled my eyes, and everything I passed became a blur.

The face continued to flit through the trees as I followed it through a mile and a half of shrubbery. The face disappeared in splinters of light, like fireworks in the dark blue sky.

“I’m in a field, why am I standing in a field? What is it with me and standing in fields.”  My voice boomed in the silence. Looking around, there was nothing but trees and a few stumps. The empty field seems familiar in a way, but I’m sure I haven’t been here, unless I came with the Bales on one of their annual family picnics.

“Everyone is happy

  Everyone is good

  Loving life

  As we should”

Four singing elves came dancing out of the woods wearing pink and green matching jumpsuits. The field began to fill with more matching elves, and they were all singing with cheery little faces.

“Flowers are growing

  The sun is shining

  Land is free

  Icarus is the place to be”

Ok this is just weird, wait no, this is completely insane. The elves began to dance around a statue of another elf that had appeared as they danced. The trees changed into podiums and stalls filled with elves surrounded me. The field had changed from being empty to an elf like football field. Pink and green flags soared into the dark blue sky followed by hordes of balloons. The Icarus chanting filled the once silent field and everything had turned into a bustling circus of little people.  An elf in a pink and green suit walked towards me and tugged on my dress.

“You have to save us!” He whimpered.

“From what? You all seem so happy” I answered. Grasping my dress tighter his smile turned into a snarl as he bared his teeth.

“SAVE US!” He snarled. He grew five feet and leered over me. In one flick of his hand,  I fell to the ground as he continued to leer over me. The field had gone silent, and all the elves had turned towards us. Some were walking towards us, with evil expressions on their faces.

“SAVE US!”

Their screams pierced my ears and my head began to spin out of control.  Their faces flashed from happy little elves to evil in mille second motions. Everything was pink and green blurs. Covering my ears I could feel the moisture of blood seeping through my fingers.

“SAVE US! THE END IS NEAR” the screams increased as all of the elves surrounded me. Leering over me as I cowered in pain on the wet grass.

“ELLE!” Alex screamed as she materialised beside me. Her hands lifted my head onto her lap as I quivered. The ringing and chanting were still alive in my head. Opening my eyes the pink and green steamers were gone, the stands, the statue and the elves had all disappeared into thin air, just as they had come.

“What happened, Oh my days your bleeding, Oh Elle!” She cried pulling me into a sitting position.  Twisting my hair and placing it behind my ears, she removed my hands and inspected them and then my ears. Her voice was muffled under the chanting elves still alive in my thoughts.

“Elves” I whispered straightening myself out and examining my bloody hands.

“Elves?” Alex echoed stroking my hair.

“Yeah, they were over there, and they were shouting, screaming at me to save them” I muttered. My ears ached, but the ringing had died down to a mutter and I could hear the hooting of an owl in the distance.

“Alex how did you know I was here” I asked standing up. My head spun, and I fell back down on the ground.

“Logan actually, err told me you had run off into a dark empty field after an air face, which funnily enough sounds like something you would do” She teased and helped me stand.

“Funny, I think we need to take a trip back to Icarus.  The elves seem to be in trouble. Well I think that’s what they were trying to tell me. When they were SCREAMING AT ME” I yelled at the empty field.

“O.K. maybe you should sit back down for a while” She fretted and continued to hold my arm.

Ashlee Simpsons voice echoed in the air as I pulled out my phone.

“Hello” I answered wearily.

“So how was the teddy bears picnic?” Logan mocked.

“Oh it went great, a bunch of elves tried to deafen me”

“What? Are you ok”

“Logan…you almost sound like you care” I teased, but it did sound like he cared. My heart skipped a beat, and I couldn’t help smiling.

“No,  but if you were hurt that means you won’t come rescue me from your boring friends. The flower girl is driving me nuts” he moaned. The chatter of my friends in the background made my smile fade.

“Ah yes. Let me get cleaned up, and I’ll take them off your hands”

“You sure you are ok though. I mean for your friends sake you know” He mumbled.

“Yes I’m fine, make sure to let them know that won’t you, bye” I chuckled shutting the phone and placing it back in my bag.

Walking towards the middle of the field I could still feel the presence of the army of tiny elves, dancing and singing with their cheery faces that turned to pure evil. 

“That bad huh” Alex sighed placing her chin on my shoulder.

“Something just doesn’t seem right”

“What do you mean? Magical creatures needing your help, that’s normal” She questioned.

“Why here? Only reason we went this way was because….” The only reason we went that way was because Logan asked for a short cut to town, which meant walking through the brook. Maybe it wasn’t a coincidence. I knew him hanging around was unusual, he had a hidden agenda.

“LOGAN! He asked for a short cut this was the short cut!,” I exclaimed, heading in the direction of the brook through the trees.

“Come on Elle, if he wanted you to be hurt, why did he call me to come help you?” Alex protested trying to keep one step in front of me.

“I don’t know!” I sighed. I think the elves screaming had made my head scrambled, and thoughts were just a jumble of words.

“Listen to me Elle” Alex exclaimed “Maybe he hangs around you because I don’t know, he likes you”

“Alex….”

“Elle, let’s just go get you cleaned up and then let’s go find your friends ok?”

“Fine” I sighed.

                                                       ***

As we entered fireflies, the multi coloured light streams flickered from one metallic wall to another. Crowds of teenagers were cluttered in the corners of the room on brown leather chairs. The dance floor was full of teenagers dressed to the nines and most girls were barely wearing clothing. I saw Logan before the rest of them. His piercing blue eyes looked out of place amongst my normal friends. Walking over to the bar where they were standing, I felt weird. Alex and Logan were part of my other life and them being here with my human friends, it felt too weird. I wanted to keep them apart, but that hasn’t worked out so well.

“Hey Elle and….” Oscar greeted and gave Alex a smile.