The Gathering (77 page)

"Are you all right, Mrs. Stark?"

The Shape stood up and folded his hands in front of him.
 
Blaylock was leaning against the door, smiling at her pain.
 
She pushed herself back against the wall and then laid her hand over the amulet.
 
Her skin was red and raw, still throbbing against her hand.
 
She glared at the Shape.

"What is this?"

"It is a very special gift.
 
You see it will allow me to take all the gifts that she meant for you, Mrs. Stark."

Alia stared at him.
 
She heard Ferage.

She is calling to you, Alia.
 
Why do you not answer?

Then she understood.
 
He wanted her magic, the magic meant for her.
 
The goddess had known what was coming and she had come to Alia that day to stop them.
 
Alia let her head fall back against the stone.
 
The pain on her chest disappeared.
 
She felt the tears hot against her skin.
 
Her fear had held her back and it had cost her heart.

The Shape looked down at her.

"Ah, guilt… I believe I felt that once, only once.
 
It served no purpose."

The Shape walked to the edge of Alia's cot and sat down.

"It cost me a great deal to get my hands on that amulet, Mrs. Stark.
 
A great deal.
 
You should know that if you attempt to invoke her now, you will only succeed in giving me her magic sooner than the full moon, but it matters not.
 
By tomorrow night, all of your gifts will be mine, for it is on that evening she will bestow her gifts to you, even if you have not called her."

Alia stared at him.

"How do you know all this?"

The Shape laughed.

"I have it from the horse’s mouth, as it were… no matter.
 
You should know, there is no known way to remove the amulet, Mrs. Stark.
 
It is an old magic.
 
Some say older than the gods themselves."

Alia took a long deep breath.

"Let them go.
 
You don't need them.
 
You have what you want.
 
Let my soldiers and my children go."

The Shape smiled and stood up.
 
Then he nodded to Blaylock, who stood up and walked over to Alia.

"I'm sorry, but I can't, you see, Thomas has far too much anxiety.
 
I think that you and your children and your soldiers are exactly what he and the others need as an outlet for that anxiety."

Alia looked up at the man who held her captive.
 
She gritted her teeth.

"You'll regret it."

The Shape laughed and walked towards the door with a dismissive wave.
 
Thomas knelt down in front her and grinned.
 
Then he raised his eyebrows.

"You're gonna be really fun… seriously, I can feel it."

Alia sneered at him.

"Go fuck yourself."

Blaylock laughed to himself and then looked down at his hand.
 
He made it a fist and then threw it forward.
 
His hand met with Alia's mouth.
 
Her head recoiled and when she turned back around, her lip was split and blood rolled down her chin.
 
Blaylock then walked to the door and as he exited he laughed.

Alia lifted her head and watched him leave, then licked her lip and spit blood on the floor.
 
She propped herself against the wall in her original position as the laughter in the hallway subsided.
 
She felt the sting of her tender flesh and the throbbing of her face.
 
She began to feel every little ache.
 
She sighed and closed her eyes.

"How are we gonna get out of this one?"

Soon her breathing got heavy and she slid off to sleep.

Through the bars of her window, a raven appeared.
 
It hopped into the room and gently landed on the bed.
 
It stared at her sleeping body, cocking its head right and left as it looked at the black amulet now burned into her flesh.
 
A look of recognition sparkled in its eye and with a flick of its head it flew back to the window and through the bars, flying into the night.
 

119

Sean sat on the eastern rampart staring at the horizon.
 
The first rays of morning slipped over the hills and he thought back to several days before.
 
He hadn't slept well since the rescue party had left.
 

He had nightmares every night.
 
He rubbed the back of his neck and breathed deeply.
 
Then he heard the footsteps and turned to see Chris walking towards him.

"You sound like an elephant."

Chris smiled and sat down next to Sean.

"You ok?"

"Me?
 
Sure."

"You don't look like you've slept much."

"No, not much."

"For what it's worth, I'm glad you and my mom… well, you know.
 
I'm glad."

Chris shrugged and looked at the horizon as Sean studied his face.
 
There were circles under his eyes and his nose and cheeks were red.

"Chris?"

Chris turned and looked at Sean.

"Did you see something?
 
Did you dream something?" Sean asked.

Chris smiled and shook his head.

"No."

Sean nodded and looked back at the horizon.
 
Together they watched the sun come up over the trees and mountains.
 
Chris had come to talk to Sean about his dreams.
 
He was shocked by how real they were.
 
He could feel the pain.
 
The pain of their whips, the pain of the salt and the pain of their fists and feet, but as he looked at Sean, he didn’t think he should tell him.
 
He could tell by the circles under Sean’s eyes that he wasn’t sleeping.
 
Also, he didn't think he should show Sean the bruises he had on his sides.
 
Then he wondered if they were even his dreams.

Suddenly Sean stood up and looked down at him.

"C'mon, Kid.
 
I'll buy you breakfast."

Together they walked to the Dining Hall in silence.

120

"Tanner?"

Sam groaned as he propped himself up and walked to the heavy wooden door.

"Tanner?
 
Can you hear me?"

"Yeah."

Sam heard Tanner's voice through the vent on the door.

"Dude, you ok?"

Sam listened and heard Tanner groan as he stood up and walked to his door.

"Yeah, great."

"I'm sure your mom is ok, Man.
 
She's a tough lady."

Tanner put his back to the wooden door and smiled.

"Yeah, yeah, she is."

Sam rested his head near the small window and took a deep breath, grimacing as he did.

"Hey, whatever happens, Man… I say we follow your mom's lead.
 
Whatever she does, we do.
 
What'd you think?"

Tanner rubbed his head and leaned forward.

"Yeah, sounds good."

Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of a large metal door being opened and crashing into the wall.

"Hello, Gentlemen."

They moved away from their doors as the Horde guards opened them and dragged the boys out into the corridor, dropping them near the stone walls.
 
Blaylock and Brollen stood in the center of the corridor.
 
Brollen looked over at Blaylock and smiled.
 
Blaylock stepped forward and leaned over and into their faces.

"Hello.
 
How are we feeling?
 
Pretty bad, I'd imagine."

Sam and Tanner stared at him and then Tanner looked over at Gary, who blew him a kiss.
 
Tanner sneered and let his head fall back.
 
Gary laughed.

"Well, my boys here need to release a little aggression, so we're gonna do a tap dance on your heads."

He stood up and walked back towards Brollen who began to move forward, but Blaylock stopped him.
 
He turned and smiled as he pointed at Sam, then Tanner.

"Oh yeah, in a few hours … your bitch and your sister… all mine."

Blaylock grinned and turned as Sam and Tanner tried to stand, only to be held down as Brollen and his men beat and kicked them.
 
Blaylock held his palm to his face as he inhaled deeply.
 
Her scent was still there.
 
Sweet, like a peach.

121

Hannah's head was resting on Chelsea's lap as she slept.
 
Chelsea gently stroked her friend's hair as she stared at the stone all around them.
 
She let the hot tears in her eyes roll down her face and then angrily wiped them away.

She sniffled and looked at the window in the their cell.
 
The sun was shining though the bars and the rays of light fell on the gray stone floor.

Then a movement came from the window.
 
Through the bars, a raven landed on the sill and looked down at them.

Chelsea smiled and held out her hand.
 
The bird cocked its head back and forth and then jumped down on the cot and then the floor.
 
It hopped towards her and then gently nuzzled her hand.

"I'm glad you're here," she whispered.

The raven cawed softly, causing Hannah to stir.