Across Worlds - Chapter 41

Akia

It wasn’t long until Akia was lost. She had never actually been in the fortress before, only seen it from the outside. If she still had her magic, she could’ve reached out to find Rhys’s. That was impossible now.

The hallways seemed to be never ending. They were all the exact same shape and length, leading off of one another seamlessly. How was she supposed to remember where she’d come from? The walls were a deep gray and there weren’t any windows, at least none that let in light. Each one was blacked out. Not only could no one see in, but no one could see out either. Anyone could sneak in here without Rhys even knowing. Sometimes she just didn’t understand the way he thought.

As she wandered the halls she kept her knife out. Phillip had given it to her that morning, reminding her it was her only protection. “Keep it close,” he had said. “You’ll have to go off on your own eventually. This will help protect you… if you use it right.” She planned on using it for that exact thing.

No matter which hall she went down, she found no doors. How was she supposed to find Rhys now? It seemed impossible. There could be no fortress without rooms. A building with just hallways wasn’t really anything at all.

She wondered if she had been walking in circles. It didn’t seem to matter which way she went since each hallway she turned down was the same. For all she knew, she’d been own this way many times before.

Suddenly, she heard voices. They were muffled, but she could tell they were male. Quickly, she looked around for a place to hide. But there was nowhere to go. The hallway she was in was completely empty. Not even a single table or large potted plant.

She ran to the end of the hallway and froze. There was nothing in front of her but a wall, and a hallway to both the right and the left. Just like the one she had just come out of, each one was empty. There was nowhere for her to hide. She took a quick look over her shoulder before hurrying down the left hallway. The voices grew louder as she hurried along, hand on the wall to the left. If something was hidden, she would find it.

Halfway down the hallway, Akia stumbled to the left. She stopped and looked back, relieved to see an indent in the wall. It was a secret door. Without a second thought she shoved the door open and disappeared inside.

The room was dark, but it didn’t matter. She wasn’t going to stay in there for long; just until the owners of the voices were gone.

“We have to get out of here,” one said. “Do you remember the way?”

The other scoffed. “How can anyone? It’s a never ending maze in here. I think it’s this way through.”

“As long as we don’t run into Rhys. If we do, you’re telling him that we let her go.”

“Why? I was knocked out, I couldn’t do anything. You were awake the whole time. Who’s he going to believe?”

It was the Warriors from before.

Their footsteps thudded past her hiding place and down the hall. Soon she couldn’t hear them at all. She still waited before making a move.

She slid the door open and stepped out into the hallway. The Warriors were nowhere to be seen, much to her relief. She wasn’t looking forward to another fight just to get to Rhys. The door groaned behind her and she turned in time to see it shut completely, leaving no trace of a door.

Wonder how many other doors are hidden around here. Rhys could be anywhere behind these walls. But she didn’t have time to waste looking for hidden doors.

“End it now. No more diversions.”

Akia froze. That voice belonged to Dorrin. He was close by, which meant Rhys was too.

Quietly, she made her way down the hall and around the corner to her right. That hallway was empty, but Dorrin’s voice was getting louder. She was close.

“You’ve wasted enough time because of that silly girl.” he was saying as Akia crept forward. “She’s not on your side anymore. Get over yourself.”

Akia reached the end of the hallway and had no choice but to go left. She stuck her head around the corner. Dorrin was standing in the hallway while Rhys leaned against a doorframe. It was the same kind of door that she had found earlier. The room behind him was illuminated, bathing part of the hallway in golden light.

“I thought I could change her mind,” Rhys replied. “Find a way to get her back again. Obviously that didn’t work.”

“Obviously.” Dorrin shook his head. “I don’t get you, Rhys. There’s so much you want to accomplish, but you let things get in your way. It’s going to be your downfall. I can’t keep coming back and babysitting you and your plans. Meet me when your plan is complete. Only when it’s complete. I don’t want to see you before, understood?”

The floor beneath him suddenly opened and he dropped through. Akia gaped as it closed back up, leaving no trace. How cool would it be to have Dorrin’s magic?

Rhys was left standing in the hallway, staring at the wall in front of him. Akia couldn’t see him too well, but she could tell that the conversation with Dorrin had made him upset. He was standing rigid and his hands were glued to his sides.

Great. Now I have to fight him when he’s angry. She thought. Many times before, when she was still young, she had tried to reason with him when he was upset. None of it ever worked. It only made everything worse and things got ruined because of him. Anger was one emotion that never looked good on him.

She watched as he stomped back through the door and slid it shut. The beautiful light disappeared and Akia was left with nothing but a few lanterns to light her way.

She slipped into the hallway, keeping her left hand firm on the wall. The room was about halfway down, if she remembered correctly. Her hand would hit it eventually; hopefully there were no other rooms down this hallway.

The wall moved with a click and she froze. A bit of light poured out through the crack. This was it, the room Rhys was hiding in. Once she went inside, there was no turning back.

Gathering up her courage, and pulling the knife back out of her pocket, she slid the door open.

The room had more of a library feel to it than anything. The walls to her right were lined with bookshelves while to her left there was a desk and a few lounge chairs. Rhys was standing facing the shelves, his back to her. It didn’t seem like he had heard her come in. She was in the perfect position.

Knife out, she moved silently towards him. Her mind was working overtime, struggling to form a solid plan. Somehow she had to convince him to tell her the location of the locket and fight him off so she could get to it. It was a tall order, but she had to get it done. No one else could do it.

Just as she had made up her mind to attack, Rhys spoke up. “Daughter of Kit. I’ve been expecting you.” She cursed as he turned to face her. But his eyes were trained on the pages of a book. “Did you know that shapeshifters can only change into something, or someone, that they’ve seen before? Without the correct features, the shift will be unsuccessful and cold possibly harm them.”

Akia stared. “And this matters why?”

Rhys closed the book and slid it onto the counter behind him. “Studying magic has always been a hobby of mine. Because one day I’ll need to know how to use it, so I want to know how it works.” He pushed against the air and Akia stumbled backward. She was able to stay balanced, but a flash of red light quickly followed, hitting her straight in the stomach.

Fighting the pain, she stood tall and held out her knife. But instead of facing Rhys, she was looking at George. She froze, her mouth half open.

George -- no, Rhys -- smirked. “It’s not hard to mess with your mind, is it? With these powers, I can make myself whomever, or whatever, I please.”

Akia shook her head. “You may look like him, but I still know a coward is hiding inside you.”

Rhys shuddered and returned to his normal self. He was glaring at her, hands glued to his side. “Enough out of you. This is the end, daughter of Kit. You’ve been hiding for a long time, oblivious to the world I’ve been creating. Now that the locket and the powers are in my control, everything will fall into place.”

“You haven’t done it yet,” she retorted. “I’m still here, aren’t I? And there’s still five more threats outside of these walls that are coming for you.”

“Not if I’m gone before they get here,” he responded. “I’m sure you’re not planning on hanging around, are you? Because I’m giving you a choice now, your last one. Help me accomplish the one thing we always wanted all those years ago or struggle helplessly only to watch me succeed.”

Akia laughed. “You think that’s even a choice for me? I’m not helping you accomplish anything.”

“So be it,” Rhys responded, his eyes darkening.Akia stared at him, not sure what to do. His eyes dilated and she couldn’t look away. They pulled her in, demanding all of her attention. Everything disappeared around her, turning to black, until all that was left were those two eyes. She wanted to pull away, to look at something else, but her eyes wouldn’t respond. Her breath became shallow and panic coursed through her body. She wanted to move, but her body wouldn’t respond. Those eyes were all that she could focus on, even though she knew her attention was needed elsewhere.

Suddenly she was hurled backwards into the bookshelves. As she fell, books rained down on top of her, their harsh spines stabbing her shoulders and back. She covered her head, but still cringed as every edge tore at her skin. By the time they stopped falling Rhys was in front of her. He pulled her up roughly by the arm and threw her against the adjacent wall. It stung as her shoulder slammed. She gritted her teeth and kicked Rhys in the side. He cried out and his grip loosened, but he didn’t let go. Taking advantage, Akia kicked him again. But he caught her leg and threw her to the ground. Her hands hit first, and then her leg awkwardly. It twisted, sending a sharp pain through her, but it wasn’t anything significant.

Rhys stood over her, eyes blazing, and flexed his fingers. Her body convulsed. The pain coursed through her body, setting fire to her bones and twisting her skin. She tried to focus on the pain, locate the cause of it in her mind like she had all the other times he had used the torture spell on her, but nothing happened; and she knew why.

Rhys’s words barely registered in her mind as the pain took control. “I’ve tried to save you, Akia. All this time I’ve been dancing around you, focusing on your friends. We were meant to be rule together. You wanted this just as much as I did. But once you started lashing out against me, I wasn’t going to let you win.”

The pain was growing at a rapid pace. Soon all Akia could feel was heat; boiling heat running along every inch of her skin. She could imagine how her body was twisted in strange ways and how many bones had been broken. Her screams ceased, as the pain was too great to even open her mouth.

“Now your fight is over,” Rhys continued. “My Warriors will take care of your friends, the only backup you have. And once I’m through with you, there will be no more threat. I can escape with the powers and create a world where everyone is equal. There will be no powers, no magic, no reason for anyone to not be trusted. Doesn’t that sound wonderful?”

Balls of light danced in her vision, even when she closed her eyes. Her breath came in occasional short gasps. The pain was unbearable.

It won’t be much longer. She thought as she gave into the pain.

Suddenly it released her and the pain was gone. Even though her body didn’t feel like it was self destructing, there was still a dullness left, one that kept her body firmly planted on the ground. She wasn’t in the mood to fight even though she knew she had to.

There was thud and Rhys cried out. Akia looked up to see him on the ground, frozen. A thin layer of glass surrounded him, shimmering even under the soft lighting.