Black Blood - 15. Chapter 15

15

They held a meeting of sorts in Skylar’s bedroom around 9 p.m. and everyone was there; Mayrin and Airi the immortals, Kalan the half-immortal, Micah the human, and Viko the… She wasn’t too sure what Viko was exactly.

Had she known the fate of the worlds would be decided in her room, of all places, she would have tidied up a little. There were clothes thrown across the chair and bed, and some on the floor. Some drawers were open, too many unfolded clothes preventing them from closing properly. There were notebooks and pencils on the desk. Some books were piled up on the night table; Kalan had selected them for reading between sessions of slaying vampires.

“Please take me back to Efreyse,” Viko said to Mayrin. She sat at the desk while Viko stood in front of her in his tight snake print pants and dark green tank top, his golden skin appearing darker next to Mayrin’s paleness. “I need to know what’s happening there, or I’ll go mad.”

Sitting on the windowsill next to Skylar, Micah raised a hand, fingers holding the hem of his preppy white shirt’s sleeve against his palm. “It’s true. He’s been obsessing over it. And if he doesn’t shut up about it, I’ll go mad too.”

He fiddled with the three silver rings in his left ear anxiously as he exchanged a glance with Skylar. Everyone was being quiet and waiting for Mayrin’s answer. On either side of the double bed stood Airi and Kalan, the latter looking down at the books on the night stand like he regretted not having time to read them all. They included The Lord of the Rings trilogy; who had time to read that anyway?

“I could swear that’s where Charisma went, too,” Viko carried on frantically, strands of brown hair falling in his yellow eyes, “she changed my little brother into a vampire, and who knows what he did next?”

“All right,” Mayrin stood, “you’ve convinced me.”

She ordered everyone but Skylar out of the room, so she could concentrate to open a portal, and show her how it was done.

“You’re doing it right here?” asked Skylar.

“So you can use it if you want to, within a year’s time.” Mayrin tucked her blonde hair behind her ears. “Or Kalan can use it to come back home if he happens to sneak away on some foolish adventure again.”

“I heard that!” said Kalan through the door.

They ignored him.

“What about my roommates?” Skylar frowned, a hand reaching up to the side of her head. “Is there any risk that they’ll see the portal?”

“No,” Mayrin answered flatly. “They don’t have any magic; they can’t see it, can’t use it. The only way Viko will cross it later is by being within the reach of my wings and stepping through it with me.”

Skylar nodded. She had already prepared a backpack, with some toiletries but mostly food and water. She hoisted it over her shoulders, every movement filled with apprehension. She realized that somehow she hadn’t truly believed it was real until now—the whole alternate dimensions thing. Stunned, she watched as Mayrin summoned enormous white glittery wings that came out of her back, ripping two vertical holes in the violet cotton of her shirt with a shredding sound. The feathery wings were so majestic that Mayrin had to fold them in half so they would fit in the room, and even then they touched the ceiling and walls. The soft wind coming in through the open window rustled the translucent feathers with an imperceptible sound.

Skylar couldn’t find any words to say. She just stood in fascination behind her, tempted to reach out with her hand to touch the wings. They looked really soft. But Mayrin suddenly yanked them forward, wrapping them around herself so they would come together in a rustle of feathers. She had chosen the back of Skylar’s room, in between the dresser and window. It was a good location for the portal, as opposed to having it next to her bed or by the door. She wouldn’t want to randomly and inadvertently fall into some unknown world after getting up one morning.

It seemed like quite the effort for Mayrin. Her wings had come together, and as she pulled them slowly apart, a crystalline screen that shimmered like water slowly appeared. It was an excruciatingly long process. When she was finished, tiny beads of sweat trickled down her temples. She let her wings loose, and they fell to the floor with a soft thud. Skylar was still contemplating the portal. It looked like a mirrored door, except instead of her reflection, all she could see were ripples of air that seemed trapped in the screen, moving sinuously like water currents, up and down, and from side to side. It was gray, blue and white all at once, but mostly clear like the wind. Skylar couldn’t stop looking at it, feeling its power, and the promise of all its possibilities.

“You’ll go in first, Skylar,” said Mayrin in a fatigued, but soft voice. “Kalan will go with you, to make sure you end up in the right place. In time, you’ll learn how to set your mind so you control your destination. But it’s not easy when you’ve never been there before.”

Hearing his sister call out his name, Kalan stepped inside the room with the confidence of someone who knew what he was doing. He took Skylar’s hand, lacing their fingers and squeezing warmly. Skylar felt reassured, and a tinge of excitement mixed in with the apprehension.

“Just think of dragons,” Kalan smiled crookedly as they wriggled around one of Mayrin’s white wings to reach the portal. “That should work. I’ll take care of the rest.” They stood so close together that she could feel his leather bracer pressed against her arm.

Skylar glanced around her bedroom one last time; at the navy duvet, her lamps with their silk shades and beaded fringes, the messenger bag in the corner with her school stuff overflowing, and her mother’s charmed necklace on the desk, next to her laptop. Her father’s novel was still on the night table with Kalan’s selections, the book marker at the first third. She told herself she would finish it when she got back.

The portal was shimmering, silvery and bright, somehow beckoning. They went in together, holding hands, Kalan with his bow and arrows and Skylar with her heavy backpack. It felt like suddenly opening a door and having strong, cold wind whip at their faces. For a moment it was so silent and black that it felt like they were in nothingness, like outer space. Then Skylar found herself shrouded in foggy air, her flat leather boots stepping on uneven ground, in fall flowers and weeds. She couldn’t discern much through the curtain of fog, but she could smell the earthly, fresh scent of foliage. Apparently, where her apartment was in her world was a forest in Viko’s. She could hear the sounds of small animals moving about in the trees, as well as night birds hooting.

She jumped wildly when she felt a hand on her shoulder. But she whirled and saw Kalan, of course. She had forgotten about him for a second there.

“Did I scare you?”

“No.”

He smiled. “Let’s make a fire.”

“But… the others?”

Kalan made a face. “It might take a while. Your friend Micah said he really wanted to come with us while we were waiting in the hallway. He seems really stubborn. But I know Mayrin won’t want him to come, and you know how she is.”

“Oh.” Skylar had mixed feelings about Micah joining their quest. Of course, he was her best friend, and she wanted him here. But at the same time, it would be dangerous, and Micah could be a bit helpless.

Kalan started gathering small branches and twigs. The faint moonlight through the fog was the only thing providing light. Skylar shivered. She shrugged off her backpack so she could unzip it and take out her green sweater. Sliding her arms in the soft, warm sleeves, she sat on a wide stump next to some lush ferns, her backpack between her jeans clad legs.

“Need help with that?” Skylar asked as she saw that he was trying to produce a spark from rubbing and knocking two rocks together.

He looked up. “Yeah,” he admitted, laughing softly, “I just didn’t want to ask. Is your magic okay now?”

“Only one way to find out.” She searched the side pocket of her bag for the new lighter she had recently bought – good thing those things were cheap. “You can’t do fire magic?” She didn’t know what else to call it.

“Not really. I’m better with water.”

“Huh.”

She switched on the lighter’s flame. She could have just tried lighting up the fire with it, but the wood was a bit wet so she wasn’t sure it would take properly. Besides, she really wanted to know if her magic was back.

So she let it fill her. She was in for a surprise; not only was it back, but it was also stronger than ever before. Her skin felt too warm, and it reminded her of when she had burned Jacy without the help of a lighter. It confused her, and she was troubled, so she panicked and lost control, unleashing it all at once. As a result the fire rapidly grew overly large, almost burning Kalan along with the pile of twigs.

Thankfully, he had reflexively stepped back. Skylar shoved the lighter back in her bag, unsure if she had really needed its help or not. Looking up, she could see the bewildered look in Kalan’s eyes. In the light of the orange and red flames, she noticed his eyes were more teal than blue. His dark copper locks glowed, almost the same color as the fire. He came to sit close to her, leaves crunching under his boots. With the light of the fire Skylar could see their surroundings a bit more. There were some red berry shrubs nearby; she was pretty sure those berries weren’t edible.

“That was intense,” said Kalan.

“Sorry.”

“It’s okay. Try not to lose control again, though. It’s dangerous – for you, too.”

She lowered her gaze, curly locks falling next to her face.

“I know. But how do I keep it from going out of control?”

Kalan thought, gazing at the fire. He still wore those black pants and wide neck yellow shirt with the black tribal drawings that Skylar had been kind enough to wash for him. Maybe he liked these clothes because they held emotional value, since his sister had made them. Mayrin seemed like quite the busy woman when she was in Zarien; designer, restaurant owner, tutor…

He unstrapped his bow and quiver and put them on the ground next to Skylar’s backpack.

“You have to think like it’s an extension of you, like with summoning magic. When using your energy, even with elemental, pretend like the fire, for instance, is your arm moving, or your leg. You can do whatever you want with it. Does that make sense? It helped the kids I’m tutoring, so I thought…” He shrugged, letting the sentence trail off.

She smiled. “You sound like you’re a good tutor. I could’ve done with you when I was younger, practicing in the parks by myself and getting all frustrated.”

“Well I was just a kid back then, too. And I really sucked at magic. Only one other kid at the Academy was pretty much as bad as I was.”

Skylar nodded thoughtfully. The crackling of the fire was somewhat soothing. Or maybe it was Kalan’s presence; she wasn’t sure.

“Was it Nafi?” She used Charisma’s old name.

“Yeah.” An owl flew from one tree to another over their heads, and Kalan looked up with the reflexes of a trained hunter.

“Were you friends?”

Kalan shook his head with a bitter smile. He tucked a reddish strand that had slid out of the hair tie behind his ear.

“She didn’t have friends. Just boyfriends, you could say.”

“Oh,” she said in understanding. Then, teasingly, “Were you her boyfriend?”

He shook his head again. He was so tall that, even though he sat directly on the ground and Skylar on a tree stump, they were almost the same height.

“One day, after history class, she invited me to her room. Nafi had demanded to have a room in the towers of the Academy, with the students that came from farther towns and villages, so she never had to go back home. I think she hated it at her father’s castle; she preferred to be always at school where she was rather popular – with the boys anyway.”

“Is this story getting anywhere?” she taunted him. “Did you hook up with her or not?”

The smile on his lips was somewhat shy. “No, actually. I had found one of my friends crying because she had, well, she’d broken his heart, I suppose, just a few days before. So I decided not to get involved with her. Then she said that I was naive if I thought any other immortal girl would ever want me, because of my being half-human. She said I had wasted my one chance at true pleasure. And then she walked away and never talked to me again.”

Skylar arched an eyebrow as she busied herself with throwing some more twigs into the fire.

“You know, it makes me wonder why she chose the name Charisma. I don’t think it suits her. More like Bitchissima.”

Kalan smiled at her, then gazed in the distance again. It was a rather eerie night. The fog wasn’t clearing up, and they could barely feel the wind.

“I have this other memory of history class—the only class we had together. It was the last time I saw her before she ran away from Zarien. Some kids were asking the teacher about these old legends they had heard, of Immortals drinking Malkye blood.”

“What did the teacher say?”

He shrugged one shoulder. “There are a few records of it happening. One wanted to try it for the rush. He thought it was worth the risk. He paid a Malkye for it. Apparently you have hallucinations and an intense buzz before dying. Well, it turned out, he actually survived it.” Kalan teased the fire with a long thin branch, making it crackle and spark. “And he was strong and fast, with amazing reflexes and enhanced senses. But he went mad, lusting after Malkye blood so badly that they just killed him in annoyance, only to realize that killing him also killed the Malkye who had given him the blood in the first place. Years later, another one tried it—a girl this time—after hearing about the first story. But our history teacher said she had a sort of existential crisis some days later, and she threw herself in a fire.”

“I wish all vampires would do that,” said Skylar, “save me the trouble.”

“Nafi was really paying attention, and that had never happened before. She didn’t usually care much about lessons. But that day, when the teacher spoke of those stories, her ears pricked, you know, she was listening.”

“I’m sure she was,” Skylar said darkly. Blake must have been in a dark place in his life, she thought, to agree to give his blood to Charisma, knowing that if she went mad like the others he would go down with her. They were both insane, that was for sure.

“It’s been a while,” Kalan said, changing the subject, “do you think they’re still arguing?”

“Micah can be really stubborn. I swear, that boy, when he wants something…” She could just picture Micah standing up to Mayrin, getting all worked up, shouting to whoever listened that he absolutely wouldn’t let them go without him. “Hey, what if they appear in the fire? Isn’t that dangerous?”

That made Kalan laugh; a deep and pleasant masculine sound. “They should be all right. The portals are safe for those who know how to use them. You just have to be specific in your inner mantra while you go through it.”

“So, like, take me to Efreyse, but please don’t make me land in fire?”

“Something like that.” An amused smile lingered on his lips.

As if on cue, Mayrin showed up among the foggy woods, wings spread out and wrapped around both Viko and Micah. Skylar figured that was the way people with no magic could access the portal. Airi was right behind them, smoothing his short blonde hair and dusting off his clothes; perhaps he felt the portal had gotten dusty after all that arguing in Skylar’s bedroom. Unlike Kalan, Airi was no longer wearing Mayrin’s designs, but instead sported an outfit borrowed from Josh’s wardrobe; dark blue jeans and gray v-neck tee that were actually too big for him.

Mayrin’s wings disappeared in the foggy air and Micah rushed over to Skylar, walking around the large fire. He seemed so out of place in the forest with his bright white sweater, skinny jeans flecked with all colors of the rainbow and Gucci shoes. His arm was still in the cast, too. Skylar shook her head as she sprung to her feet and opened her arms; Micah was clearly seeking the comfort of a friendly hug.

“She’s so mean,” he whined as he held her tight, “she didn’t even want me to come. She said I was useless and that I would slow you guys down. I hate her. You’re my best friend and Viko’s my boyfriend! Of course I had to come! She can’t even understand that.”

“Okay, okay, calm down.” She patted his back.

“But she said I’m useless. That’s so awful,” he insisted.

“You’re not useless. You’re like—you’re moral support.”

He sniffed. “That was lame Sky.”

“You didn’t bring anything, did you? Do you have your inhaler at least?”

“In my pocket,” he said. Pulling away, he sniffed again and made a show of completely ignoring Mayrin, who was also approaching.

“You owe me for that shirt,” Skylar thought of the two slashes in the back.

“Come to Zarien some time and I’ll give you all the gold you want,” Mayrin replied, and Skylar’s eyes went a bit wide.

“Careful what you say, woman. I might actually take you up on that offer.” Standing next to her, Kalan gave a muffled laugh.

Viko walked past all of them with dark, impatient eyes, combat boots stomping at the ferns. “All right, enough chit chat. Are we going or what? Come on, Micah,” he added without waiting for an answer, putting his hand on Micah’s back as he led the way forward.

Mayrin and Airi actually followed the two boys briskly through the forest, without a word of protest. Kalan hoisted the leather strap with the bow and quiver, sliding it on his right shoulder and around his left hip. Skylar pulled up her backpack and stared at the fire, thinking of Kalan’s advice. You have to think like it’s an extension of you, like summoning magic.

She just felt the flames, and then let go of it, like the act of dropping one arm. The fire disappeared in a second.

They walked in silence. She sure hoped Viko knew where he was going. Personally, she had completely lost her bearings, especially with all that fog.

“So why hasn’t my sister healed your friend already?’ Kalan leaned in confidentially. “Is she being difficult?”

“Yes, she is,” said Skylar quietly, looking down to make sure she didn’t stumble on a branch or tree root or something. Although she couldn’t see much in the dark. Mayrin and Airi were like faint lights in front of them, their hair glowing silver in the feeble moonlight.

“She probably just wanted to dissuade him from coming. But now he’s already here, so… I’ll talk to her.”

“Thank you. Hey, there’s something I’ve been wondering this past week, but it felt too silly to ask.”

“You can ask me.”

“Yeah, well, I was wondering if I could heal him myself, or heal anyone for that matter. With my blood, I mean.” She flushed a bit; as she said it out loud it sounded even stupider. “It’s just that, Mayrin said I was kind of like an immortal.”

But Kalan was already shaking his head. He wasn’t laughing at her, at least. “No, it wouldn’t work. This kind of injury,” he turned slightly so he could lift a strand of her hair and look at the scar on her temple, “would’ve been gone in a few minutes on Mayrin or Airi. Only pure immortals have that special ability. Lucky bastards; I know. I can’t do it either. Don’t feel embarrassed, okay? You can ask me anything.”

“I know,” she glanced at him sideways, “I asked you if you hooked up with Charisma earlier, remember?”

He made a funny face. “You sure bounce back quickly.”

“One of my innumerable qualities.”

She looked ahead. Their progress was slow compared to the others, and she knew that was her fault. But she wasn’t used to travelling in the dark like this. It was unsettling having no city lights around. Annoyed with this thick darkness causing her to stumble on practically every branch on the leafy path, she decided to try something. Again, she remembered Kalan’s advice. She let the magic be an extension of her palm. She felt the warmth and tingle. She was calmer now, more in control. In no time, a flame appeared, floating in her raised hand, casting light. Some frightened birds flew away from nearby trees in a flap of wings. She couldn’t repress a smile; the flame wasn’t hurting her skin.

Kalan seemed impressed, but he said nothing. The flame was bright enough to guide them through the sinuous, narrow path Viko had chosen. At least now she could easily see where she was putting her feet, so she could avoid those treacherous branches. The night wasn’t so scary anymore. While stocking up her backpack earlier, she had realized the only flashlight in the entire apartment wasn’t working, and she hadn’t found any batteries. So a magical flame would have to do.

They walked quietly for a bit, the flame never faltering. Skylar felt comforted by it. Once more she had this feeling that her magic would never abandon her. Although now she knew better.

It seemed the forest stretched out forever. Blake had been right; this really wasn’t New York. She wondered what lay ahead, wherever Viko was leading them.

In any case, she was a bit disappointed. She hadn’t seen any dragons yet.