part0018

Pushing my way through the vines, I walked out into the forest as the cold air entered my lungs. The snow was still falling as the moon lit up the flakes around us.

“It’s getting colder out here,” Logan said as they followed.

“Hey freaks!” someone yelled from behind us as we headed back to the sanctuary.

We stopped in our tracks and I slowly turned around.

“Thought I’d forget about what you did to me?” Kayden said as he and two others stood ten feet from us.

“We’re on the same side, guys!” Logan yelled to them.

“See that’s where you’re wrong,” Kayden said. “I could deal with you and maybe that idiot Devin, but Mark here is a Cambion. Do you know what that means?”

“It means he’s a demon!” Thomas yelled.

I felt the rage building in me as I tried to control it.

“Don’t do it, Mark, he’s not worth it,” Logan whispered.

“Simple payback, Mark, your friends don’t have to get hurt,” Kayden said, pulling a bat from behind him.

“He has powers, you idiots!” Devin yelled to them.

“There are others like us, Mark, others that do not want you here,” Kayden said. “They know if I don’t return from here, that they are to kill one of your friends every five minutes until you leave the Order.”

“That’s ridiculous, Kayden, don’t you see there’s bigger things out there than getting payback for a fight?” Logan questioned. “The Burning Snow is almost here!”

“You made me look an idiot in front of the whole class; I don’t take that lightly,” Kayden responded.

“We can’t have a cambion lead us,” Thomas cut in.

“So, what are you saying, you beat me up, then I leave and everyone here will be safe?”

“You’re not as stupid as you look,” Kayden laughed.

“Mark, don’t do this,” Logan said.

I turned to them and saw their terrified faces. “You guys should leave, you don’t need to see this.”

“He’s bluffing, Mark, no one here is going to betray one of their own,” Devin said.

“No powers, spirit animal, or weapons,” Kayden said as I dropped my swords.

“Mark don’t!” Logan tried again as I stepped forward.

I didn’t have a choice. If he did have someone back at camp, I couldn’t risk anyone getting hurt. Josiah told me there were some that wouldn’t approve of me, and that I would have to deal with them.

I walked toward them and stood there, waiting for the inevitable.

“Make sure they don’t interfere,” Kayden said as the two others walked closer to Logan and Devin.

He dropped the bat and swung his fist into the side of my face, knocking me over .

“I didn’t expect you to give up so easy, I guess you do want to protect people here,” he laughed, kicking me in the ribs. “Get up!”

Getting up onto my knees, an immense pain shot through my chest as the rage built in me. I could feel my leg burning as I held Akira back.

I stood up while he swung again and again.

“Please stop!” Logan screamed, the pain going numb.

I could barely see through the blood that had built up around my eyes.

“I should just do the Syreni a favor and kill you now!” he yelled, picking up the bat.

“Kayden, that’s not what we talked about,” Thomas cut in. “Just putting him in his place.”

“We get the message,” Devin added, one of them punching him in the stomach.

I fell to my knees again and tried to wipe the blood from my eyes. I could see Kayden pacing back and forth, swinging the bat around.

“What are you waiting for?” I asked him.

He walked over to me and raised the bat.

“Do it!” I yelled to him. “Do it, kill me!”

I felt the rage coming over me; my blood boiled. The darkness grew in me, wanting to come out. I could feel the darkness consuming the light inside, taking over my body.

I watched as he screamed and swung the bat toward my face. I stopped it with my mind right before it hit me. Something in me took over. I began laughing.

“Mark, control it!” Logan yelled .

I stood up and lifted Kayden into the air with my mind. I could feel the darkness take over and it felt good.

“Let him go, Mark, it was a joke,” Thomas yelled. “We weren’t going to kill anyone in town, we just wanted to mess with you!”

I turned and stared at Thomas and the other guy, seeing them take off running into the woods.

“His eyes,” Devin said as I focused my attention back on Kayden.

“Mark, the darkness is trying to take over. Think about Veronica and Jason,” Logan pleaded.

Everything in me wanted to kill Kayden, I really wanted to end him. I could feel a flicker growing in me, Veronica and Jason entering my mind—the innocent slayed by the corrupt evil I was portraying now. I calmed down and dropped Kayden from the air, falling to my knees.

“That was close,” Devin said and they rushed over to me.

I crawled over to Kayden; he was sitting up in fear.

“There are bigger worries here than me, I can assure you of that,” I said to him while he gasped for air. “We need to align as one if we are going to defeat the Burning Snow, Aurora, and the Syreni.”

He nodded to me as he scrambled to his feet. “Once Josiah’s gone, there’s going to be more like me, you’re going to have to convince us you’re not just a Cambion.”

He stumbled through the woods, disappearing into the night. The cold air filled my injured lungs and I felt the pain shooting through my body.

“I’ll just get a quick shower,” I said, pushing past them into the bathroom .

I took my clothes off as the image of my bruised ribs in the mirror made me wince in pain.

The water hit my face and I felt at peace, the warm water cooling my freezing skin, filling the shower with redness from the blood.

“Mark,” a voice whispered. I opened my eyes and her face flashed in my mind.

I almost fell out of the shower at the sight of that peeling skin, long black hair. Turning the water off, I quickly dried off and reentered the room.

“Here, wear this,” Logan said, tossing me a nice-looking shirt and pants.

“It’s going to be alright, Mark,” Devin said. “We’ll get them back for what they did to you.”

“No, we won’t, Devin, they aren’t worth it,” Logan said as they got dressed. “Mark, you’re quiet, how are you doing?”

“I just have a bad feeling.”

“Don’t worry, once we’re at the dance and you have your hands around Callie, you’ll forget all about this bad feeling ,” Devin laughed. “You think you guys will hook up?”

“Let’s go; we’re going to be late,” Logan cut in as he opened the door to the cabin.

I put my hand in front of Devin and he walked for the door. “Be respectful of Cheryl, she’s been through a lot.”

He nodded at me and I followed him through the doorway.

The cold air hit me even harder; it had to be getting colder by the minute. The freezing temperatures were moving closer and closer to the sanctuary .

As we walked toward the gym, I couldn’t help but notice the frozen leaves, branches. The ice was edging its way across Dracfort.

“There you guys are!” Callie said as she opened the door for us.

“Sorry, we got held up,” Logan answered. We walked inside.

“What happened to your eye?” she asked me, noticing it in the light.

“It’s my fault,” Devin cut in. “Hit him with a branch.”

“Of course, you did,” she said, grabbing my hand.

I had never been to a dance before. Veronica joked about going to one once but I could never work up enough courage to ask her. Jason and I used to hang out at my house on the night of the school dances, and we’d laugh at everyone who went.

I walked through the door into the gym and was overtaken by loud music and decorations that filled the room. Students were all dressed up, in dresses and suits. I caught myself smiling at the thought of Jason laughing if he could see me now.

“I’ll be over there if you guys need me,” Logan said as he headed for the bleachers.

“Cheryl,” Devin said as he grabbed her hand.

“Well then, it looks like it’s just us,” Callie said as I began to get nervous.

A great war was upon us and I was nervous about dancing with a girl.

“I get you a drink, now right?” I stuttered as I made my way to the beverages table.

“Stupid,” I whispered to myself.

“Oh, it’s not that bad, I’m sure she’s just as nervous,” Mrs. Crane said as she walked up beside me .

“Mrs. Crane!” I yelped as I spilled some of the drink. “You look nice tonight.”

“Thank you, Mark,” she responded, helping me with the cup. “I drew the short straw in being one of the chaperones.”

“Yeah, I’m not exactly a school dance guy either,” I laughed, taking a sip from the cup. “You know this is spiked, right?”

“Of course, it is,” she laughed, winking at me before walking away.

I couldn’t help but think that everything could change. Everyone here had been training their whole lives to fight. What was waiting for us on the mountain would change our lives forever. Looking around at everyone smiling and having fun, that was all going to change.

“Mark, did you forget about me?” Callie asked as she walked over to me.

“Callie, I really like you.”

“I really like you too.”

“That is why I can’t be here tonight,” I said, looking around.

“Mark,” Callie said, reaching for my hand as I pulled away.

I tried to stay, tried to hide what was really going on. I couldn’t be happy until this was all over with. Leaving the gym, I glanced back and saw the devastation in her eyes.

I walked through town and stared at the icy streets, snow piling up.

I reached the lake and sat on the docks, staring at the cave I’d come through, the giant ship that had carried me from Rockport to Dracfort. I had grown so much since then, yet still had so many questions. Tossing rocks into the freezing waters of the lake, the snow continued to fall around me.

“You’re going to freeze to death out here,” a voice came from behind .

“I’ll be fine,” I said as they sat next to me.

I almost fell in when I caught on that it was Dexter.

“Didn’t mean to startle you again,” he laughed, tossing a rock into the water. “You know, I’ve only been outside of those walls one time.”

“Fear,” he uttered. “When I was younger, I was at a crossroads in my life. I had committed myself to the Order of Lai but wanted to see what else was out there. I have family in Rockport, believe it or not. So, one day, my friend Michael and I went there to see for ourselves what else was there. Turned out it was far scarier than I had imagined.”

“Who do you know in Rockport?” I asked him.

“I’m your uncle, Mark,” he said as I widened my eyes. Of course, I’d expected this.

“Your grandfather was an amazing warrior, when me and your dad were young, we had to decide if we were going to follow in his footsteps or not,” he explained. “Being Cambion is hard, being Cambion and wanting to do the right thing is almost impossible. Luckily for me and your grandfather, it became easier to realize that the light always overcomes darkness. The same can’t be said for your dad. He had it tough here and eventually moved to Rockport where he learned of and joined the Syreni.”

“So, my dad is evil?”

“I thought he was; for most of my life, we were at constant war with each other. It was tough feeling like I betrayed him. So, when I went on that journey out of Dracfort, I wanted to see how he was.”

“Did you talk to him?” I asked, more interested.

“Yes, it seems your mother brainwashed him into thinking we were the evil ones. ”

“Why are you telling me this now?”

“If something happens to me when we fight the Burning Snow, I wanted you to know the truth,” he said. “There’s one more thing I should tell you.”

“Do you remember when you were back in Rockport, and there was a car that followed you around, driven by a man in a black coat?”

“Yeah, I found him dead in Aurora’s lair,” I answered, tossing another rock into the now still water.

“The man you saw dead was Michael, my friend. The car at the drive-in that night, that was me Mark. I couldn’t get out of the car, couldn’t talk to you so I was hoping you’d just get in.”

“Wait, you were the guy at the drive-in and at Barney’s restaurant?”

“Yes, Michael and I were keeping tabs on you, I wanted to protect you from your family.”

“Wow, I wish you would have just talked to me at the drive-in, we could’ve saved a lot of people from dying.”

“Like I said, I hadn’t been outside of Dracfort my entire life. I was confused and scared.”

“How did you get the scale from Aurora?”

“I stayed around in Rockport, trying to find a way to get to you, to tell you the truth,” he said as a gust of wind nearly knocked us into the water. “The night you and your friends went to the cliff to search for clues, I confronted your parents. They were stunned to see me there, they acted like they had missed me and were so happy to see me. I was shocked, almost fell for it, Mark.”

“It was a trap?”

“They led me down into their basement, said you were down there cleaning up. Michael was following you guys and told me you were on Mermaid Cliff. I followed them downstairs and sure enough, there you were, moving boxes around the basement. I almost blew my cover when I saw you, I knew it was her disguised as you. It looked so real, Mark, your brown hair, brown eyes, even the small scar on your cheek.”

“So, what did you do?”

“Not only did I know you were on the cliff, but they must have forgotten I was Cambion. Cambions can sense when a demon is near, especially one as powerful as Aurora. When you are near a powerful demon, you grow weak, they seem to drain you of your powers. Which is the opposite of half demons; the more of them, the more powerful you are.”

“I remembered your grandfather gave me his dagger, forged with angel dust.”

“Angel dust?” I asked.

“Yes, very little, if any still exists today,” he explained. “Back in that basement, I quickly pulled the dagger out, catching your parents off-guard. I stabbed you, well Aurora, in the heart, forcing her to turn into her true self. I had only heard the tales of what she looked like. The long black hair, scaly skin, peeling off her face. I was memorized by her eyes, they were drawing me in as she screamed in pain. I pushed the blade deeper into her incredibly tough skin, breaking the dagger and the scale in half. She swung her long nails as me, creating these scars. I quickly grabbed the scale and made my way down into the tunnels through the hole in the basement that was left open.”

“That is insane; you came face to face with the demon that has haunted me for months. Will she regrow that scale?”

“No, that is her weak spot now,” he explained. “There is no more angel dust that we know of, no more substance that can penetrate her tough scales. That spot is where you need to target with the dagger I gave you.”

“I can do it, I can kill her. Just tell me one thing; why did you do it, why did you betray us? ”

“What?” he questioned.

“Josiah saw the ink bottles in your cabin. You’re the traitor.”

“Ink bottles? I don’t know what you are talking about. I’ve spent my entire life serving the Order, I would do nothing to corrupt it.”

“Someone set you up then,” I uttered as a chill shot through my body.

The snow stopped in that moment, everything seemed to stand still, silent. I looked over at Dexter as he stared behind me.

Turning around, I could see a glow of light moving across the lake toward us, then straight past us to the cave. Suddenly, the cave wall was encased in ice, the lake frozen solid beneath our feet.

“Oh no!” Dexter whispered as he stood up, staring out to the edges of the sanctuary.

Suddenly, a gust of air and snow burst in around us and I could see the glow of a barrier fading around the sanctuary. The spellbound wall that kept evil out was no more, and the cold had removed all defenses from us, leaving us vulnerable.

I was in a state of shock and disbelief, Dexter pulling me through town. I kept looking back at the once lively lake, now frozen solid. Dracfort had become a frozen wasteland, open to anyone who wanted to take it for their own.

I followed Dexter as he pulled me into Josiah’s cabin. Waiting there was everyone I’d come to know as family: Mrs. Crane, Mrs. Deluca, Dexter, Jack Wood, Logan, Devin, Callie, Autumn, and Cheryl. They all sat around the cabin. Horror and fear grew on their faces as I approached them.

“The barrier is down, the Syreni could enter at any moment!” I called out to them as they didn’t seem to react. “Why is no one answering me?”

A few cried as Logan pointed into Josiah’s bedroom. Walking toward it, I feared the worst. I fell to my knees when I saw the sword sticking out of his chest. I took a moment for it to sink in before recognizing whose sword it was. On top of the handle was a tiger’s head. Lucian.