Obumbrate (19 page)

Kayden's mood turned black. "We're confronting her, not slaughtering her in a pool of blood."

"Says you, the manipulating demon," I continued to battle with him. The room turned hot and stifling, and the fireplace jumped to life with a gust of ash and flame. "But you forget, I have a score to settle. If that means making a mess of some body parts, I won't mind."

The rest of the week rocked in limbo, like a person floating among a raft in the Bermuda Triangle. Kayden, Ari, and I all somehow managed to completely avoid another, catching only glimpses of one or the other passing through rooms.

It had been the first time in days that I'd had a moment to myself, one that didn't involve passing out or crying from heartache. Lilix's mansion was large enough to hold over a thousand people at any given time, yet I felt enclosed and cramped. No amount of lavish decor or carefully spaced rooms could keep the feeling at bay. It was almost as if I constantly felt like a pair of eyes rested on me, watching my every move while taking subtle notes.

As the days went by, I found myself exploring rooms within the mansion. Part of me had hoped opening random doors would bring Ari out from the shadows, bringing him to talk to me, even if only to say I wasn't allowed to explore. Instead, all I found was a crushing silence greeting me with every open door. The contents of most were barren; left over furniture draped in white sheets, broken violins and cellos, empty notebooks and abandoned half paintings. One thing did catch my eye though- a broken, aged wooden desk, the kind you'd find in an abandoned schoolhouse. I wasn't exactly sure what Ari had been trying to warn me about, except maybe that Lilix was just a messy housekeeper.

After I grew bored of exploring useless rooms, I started investigating the grounds around her mansion. No one had exactly told me how much land Lilix owned, just that most of the land in sight was hers. Turned out her property line extended as far as the eye could see, claiming rolling hills and a small river just a mile from the mansion.

I decided to take a sketchbook and head out to the river, soak up a little sun while finding a place to ground my head and heart. Making sure to sit a little ways off the bank, I found a cozy spot among some grass and flowers and took a seat.

The sight was beautiful; flowers identical to the ones in the floral shop Serena and I had been in were in full bloom. Mixing hues of tangerine and smoky violet brought to life the patch of grass along the river. While the sun, sitting high and bright, would have normally scorched me, a gentle breeze made the outdoors inviting and pleasant. 

I flipped open my sketchbook and began to draw, starting with small, smooth lines across the page. Instantly I began to feel calm and relaxed, stress melting off my shoulders and leaving me with a weightless sensation. No pressure, no call to action, just a beautiful setting with open room.

As I continued to draw, I felt my mind slipping into a familiar limbo. Images, both good and bad, phased in and out of my head as segmented sentences paired with each photo. I thought of Ari, and how mixed up I felt with him and his awkward actions, yet couldn't deny the magnetic pull I felt for him. He clicked with me perfectly, understood exactly the kind of misery I did, two birds of a feather.

Then there was Kayden. A brooding, mysterious, borderline psychotic bastard who thought it was okay to play with my emotions. One minute he was colder than the Arctic, the next he would be reaching for me, an aching look in his eyes begging for me to step into his arms.

Both of them were ridiculous, that much was for sure. I didn't see the need to get wrapped up in another person when I could barely manage myself and my own pile of problems. Having someone else in my life, no matter how perfect or imperfect they were, wouldn't solve my own issues. It wouldn't save me from dying.

I pulled myself out of my head with a rough shake, a huge sigh escaping my lips. My eyes stared down at the sketchbook in my lap, another photo of an eye staring back at me. I must have drawn it in the midst of my half-hearted musings over the two boys.

Voices sounded off in the distance, whoops and yells and laughter filling the serene setting with noise. I stared off toward the house, spotting two familiar faces dressed in all black racing through the field, tackling each other on and off. My stomach immediately clenched, the thought of a Vens coming to mind. I dropped my sketchbook with a thud and rose to my feet, calling out fire to my hands and arms.

The figures came with alarming speed. One lanced into the air, sharper than a diamond-tipped arrow, heading straight for me. The other ran in a hazy blur, shifting from left to right in less than a blink of an eye.

"Lilix, don't land on her!" Ari's voice came from the running blur. My mind froze; Ari?

The second I put two and two together, he came into clarity. Ari was running, sprinting faster than anything I had ever seen. His short, platinum blonde hair laid flat against his head as he ran, allowing his startling blue eyes full exposure. His run reminded me of a cheetah dashing across the hot plains, locking on its prey with the intent to catch it at all costs.

Lilix on the other hand was graceful, a swan among buffalo. From her springing leap into the air, to the arching of her body, to her cleanly tucked landing, she was never without poise. Her hair had been pulled back into a loose ponytail, stray pieces pressed to her skin as she worked against the breeze. Her eyes were equally captivating like Ari's, only in a different way, for I knew these were from witchcraft, not a genetic gift.

They both landed in front of me, inches apart from another, laughing from the exhilaration of the sprint. Lilix placed a hand on Ari's shoulder and smiled warmly, pearly whites taking place on yet another piece of her that was perfect. A bubble of annoyance built in my chest, the beginning of something rude forming on my tongue.

Lilix beat me to speak. "Enjoying the fresh air?"

My rude retort slithered back into my throat as I fought not to laugh. Lilix may have looked gorgeous and had a perfect setting in her home, but it seemed she forgot to cast a spell on saving herself from speaking like a ditz.

I forced a smile onto my tightly stretched lips. "Oh, yeah, loving it. Nothing like a little pollen inhalation to brighten the day!"

Ari stifled back a laugh, his face twitching with exertion.

Lilix grinned, fighting to giggle herself. "Ari and I were just about to start some battle practices. You know, fighting techniques and that kind of thing. Care to join us?"

"Uhhh, sure?" I shrugged my shoulders, figuring there wouldn't be much harm in playing a little sparing with the two of them.

"It would be useful," Ari said, his eyes sparkling from the sunlight. "In case the Queen tries to pull a fast move, or if someone makes a move on you at the party. Though you already seem to have a good dose of defense down from what I saw against that Vens."

Ari was right; I wasn't exactly clumsy when it came to fighting. I had the proof in the two Vens I had managed to kill with little help. Although most of the time when push came to shove, my body did more than I realized, like some instinct buried within the memories of my skin and bones. Still, it wouldn't hurt to know what to do when my instincts didn't kick in.

Lilix took me by the hand, pulling me away from the river's edge and further into the field of flowers. She left me in a patch of blue tulips, putting ample distance between us as she stepped further in-field.

Finally, she was satisfied. Her voice carried on the wind as she called out. "Call out your fire."

I did as she told. Pressure built in my chest and flowed through my veins, spreading through my arms and building into the tips of my fingers. With only a spark for warning, blue fire blossomed over my fingers and hands, rushing to engulf my shoulders and chest until it licked my upper half like a mid-cropped turtleneck.

"Good," I heard her appraise me. "Now attack me."

I faltered instantly. I didn't like the idea of attacking someone without provocation. "Lilix, I-"

"Too late," her voice echoed like a whisper of a ghost. I blinked, and she was gone. A faint whistle sound touched my ears just before she collided on top of me.

We collided in a heap, Lilix instantly pinning me to the ground. Fire lashed at the flowers and grass, incinerating it with puffs of black and white smoke. I gasped, struggling to free myself from her iron-clad hold with kicks and thrashes of my arms. Nothing worked.

Something snapped in the back of my mind, and instinct took hold of me with force. Like storm waves crashing onto a beach, I blazed fire off my chest in a gust of heat, throwing Lilix back high into the air.

She spun in mid-air, catching herself and landing perfectly on her feet, just like a cat. I could spot several small cuts and burns from my fire, part of her long bangs burned to a black crisp.

I shot out my hand, a burning strip of fire flinging like a whip. It lassoed around one of Lilix's wrists, spiraling up her arm and shocking her with waves of pulsating fire. Three pulses into it, she dropped onto her knees, eyes rolled heavenward, and collapsed.

Watching her pass out instantly snapped me from my instinctual rage. I extinguished my fire with a single pause, running over to her small, crunched in frame.

"Lilix? Holy crap, Lilix can you hear me?" I repeated frantically, turning her over onto her back.

Her eyes fluttered open, a taunting smile playing on her lips. "Nicely done, but you forgot one thing."

I blinked, confused, until a pair of warm hands wrapped around my neck without warning.

Ari's voice whispered in my ear, teasing me the same way Lilix had just done. "You turned your back on the enemy."

"Dammit, you two are no fun," I scowled, turning around with a fist full of flames to smack Ari in the face with. He let me go and leapt back, laughing as he dodged me a couple of times. My heart felt light and free, like a bird released from its cage. I had forgotten what it felt like to truly smile and live in the moment.

Tackling Ari onto the ground, Lilix cheered me on. I had brought my hand inches from Ari's face when he called everything to a grinding halt.

"Essallie, what is that?"

My eyes traveled from his face, worry etched deep in his eyes, to my hand. At first I didn't see it, but then I stared closer. My fire, blue and beautiful, was now turning black at the tips.

Pushing off Ari, I got up to my feet, using my free hand for support. All the while, I couldn't take my eyes off the shift in color of the fire, it's change distracting.

"Huh," I said to no one in particular. I twisted my hand from one side to the other, marveled by the stained flames. "And here I thought I was beyond surprises."

"What kind of surprise?" Kayden's voice came from the side. I turned to see him standing alongside Ari, having materialized from smoke.

Holding out my hand, I gestured to the black fire with shrug of the shoulders. "It's kind of cool, actually. Though I was expecting white after seeing Ari's fire." Fire snaked up my arm like a protective barrier from the world. "When did your fire start to do this, Ari?"

Ari stared at me, frozen in shock. With difficulty, he turned to meet Kayden's equally dismayed stare. They both turned back to me, staring for what felt like an eternity with the same soul-crushing, sorrowful stare. Both of their eyes gave me the impression that they were burying an emotion deep, down under the surface. My skin began to prickle, a cold ache settling in my bones that had nothing to do with the large cloud passing over the sun. And that's when it hit me.

They didn't have to say anything, because Ari's fire never turned black.

Ari had never been dying.

I was.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

GRAVITY

"You need to eat something, Essallie."

"I'm not hungry."

"You have to eat before the party. Last thing we need is you playing the Fainting Damsel in the Queen's quarters."

The day had finally come, a week having passed in a whirlwind of death markers and uncomfortable bits of silence. In a matter of hours, I would be playing myself into the Queen's castle. The thought alone brought a whole new wave of nausea to it.

The last two days of the week had been hellish, and that was putting it lightly. After the display of my impending death in the grassy fields, I'd locked myself in Lilix's room without contact from everyone. At first I thought I'd only need a minute to put a brave face back on. The two days of sleeplessness and uncontrollable shaking soon proved otherwise. I had known I was dying for weeks now, but never actually saw proof of it happening before me. Seeing the black fire had been like waking up in hell itself, surrounded by searing lava and creatures of death, unable to free myself for all of eternity.

It had taken Kayden and Ari both to coax me out of the bedroom for the party crashing scheme. Now, sitting at the island countertop in the kitchen, I was wishing I hadn't.

"I always had a nagging suspicion you were a closet anorexic," Kayden said, trying his hand at livening the mood. "You not eating that sandwich is only solidifying my thoughts that you're going to need a cheeseburger and ice cream binge night soon."

Glaring silently at Kayden, I kept my mouth shut, looking back to the plate in front of me and grimacing. He had done his best to make a sandwich fit for human consumption; ham, tomato, spinach and mustard on two slices of white toast. On a normal day, I would have happily swallowed it whole. Today, not so much.

"I can't eat this," I said with a sigh. "I just don't have the stomach for it."

He leaned in across the countertop, serious. "Think of that sandwich like the Queen. Defeating that sandwich will only make it tastier."

My lip twitched. "That made no sense."

"But it did get you to grin."

"Don't know what you're talking about."

"I bet a joke on bakeries and muffins will fix that."

A half-choked laugh caught in my throat. I grabbed the sandwich off the plate and shoved a bite in my mouth, savoring the first bit of food in days. "I'm so nervous about tonight."