True Heir, Chapter 4

Okay, this was a particularly hard chapter, and long, to write. It's going to need a lot of work, I think. I'm thinking that the conversations are going to seem like they last forever. Personally, I think they keep repeating themselves. It was kind of hard to piece everything together so that's why.

All the spell words are completely from my imagination, and if they happen to mean something(which I doubt) that's not what I intended.

Well, I hope you like it! This was the hardest thing I've written in a while.

Comment and critique, but still enjoy!

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Chapter 4

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When I came to, I realized I was shaking uncontrollably and huddled into myself. Then I cried for a long time.

When I was done with that I looked around. I was still in the hallway, lying in…Oh, my God. I screamed and crawled away, I had been lying in Angelique’s blood.

“MOM!” I screamed, my voice was hoarse from screaming and crying, “Mom! Where are you?”

There was no answer. I pushed myself off the floor and lurched into the living room. I looked at the clock on the mantle; I hadn’t been out for long. Thinking about blacking out reminded me that I’d been hit in the head with something, my hand slowly made it’s way to the back of my head. There was a huge bump on my head; I brought my hand in front of my face. It was bloody. Was it Angelique’s or mine? I made a sound somewhere between a scream and a sob and lay down on the couch.

Where’s mom? Did they get her? What happened to Angelique? Did anyone here the gunshots and call the police? That last one didn’t make any sense since if someone had heard the shots and called the police I’d have woken up in a hospital bed and not in a pool of blood. I choked on a sob just thinking about it. Suddenly the memory of everything that had happened came rushing back. Answering the door, Mom and Angelique arguing, shots being fired, Angelique falling to the ground, and Mom screaming.

I got off the couch; I had to do something, anything, but what? Police. Call the police. Running to the phone, I dialed 911 without waiting for a dial tone. I waited for the phone to start ringing and for someone to pick up, but it never happened. I hung up the phone and picked it back up again. No dial tone. I grabbed the cord and pulled, and I saw the frayed end of wires peeking out.

Running to the kitchen, I managed to avoid the bloody hallway, and I picked up the other phone. I listened desperately for a dial tone. Nothing. Again I picked up the cord, and just like last time I saw that the wires had been cut.

I sat on the ground right where I was standing, and my mind just went blank in shock. Someone had tried to kill me, and had probably killed Angelique and Mom… I started crying again, my body shaking uncontrollably, and I kept crying until I felt a hand grasp my shoulder and yank me up.

Without thinking I screamed and struck the person as hard as I could. I actually landed the blow too. Thank God for tae-kwon-do classes. I struggled to try and break their grip but stopped immediately when they spoke, “Heather! Get control of yourself!” The person screamed in my ear, I went absolutely still; it couldn’t be who I thought it was, and yet…

I opened my eyes and saw Angelique standing before me.

My mouth dropped open, and I couldn’t speak. Angelique was alive! Bloodied and bruised, yes, but alive. I ran to her and hugged her tight, because although she was a stranger I felt an overwhelming sense of joy to seeing her breathing.

Slowly and hesitantly she put her arms around me, and whispered comforting words in my ear. Stepping away from Angelique, I realized that her body had been missing since I’d woken up. I guess in my panicked and terrified state I hadn’t even noticed it was gone.

“B-but how are you… alive?” I sputtered.

“I’ll explain later,” she said impatiently. “But first we have to get out of here.” Turning around, she walked through the door, and I ran after her.

I grabbed her arm, “What about my mom?” I asked worriedly. Mom could be hurt, or worse, dead. Once the thought crossed my mind I almost started crying again.

“She’s fine.” Angelique said as she headed for the door, and when I just stared at her she sighed and said, “Believe me. I’d know if she was dead.”

“But how?” I asked. “She’s not here. You can’t know that for sure.”

“I said I would explain later! First, we have to get out.” I could tell that I was starting to wear down her patience.

“No.” I said defiantly, “Tell me where my mom is.” After I said it I realized that Angelique could’ve kidnapped her. After all, it didn’t look like they’d been getting along before the men showed up. I took a big step away from Angelique; if she was dangerous I didn’t want to be around her.

“I know what you’re thinking Heather.” She said angrily; I was definitely getting on her nerves. “You’re thinking that I staged the whole thing and kidnapped you’re mom, but I didn’t.”

I opened my mouth to argue when a voice from outside shouted, “We’ve waited out here for hours, and any spell put on the place would’ve worn off by now anyway, let’s search the place!”

Spell? What does that mean? I was about to ask Angelique, but then she grabbed my arm, “C’mon,” She whispered urgently, “We have to go now. No arguing. Not till we’re safe.”

Safe? I thought, what’s going on? The sound of the front door opening drove away any questions I had floating around in my head, and I let Angelique lead me away.

“Where are we going?” I whispered to Angelique as we crossed the living room.

“Shh. Wait until I say you can talk.” She instructed.

I shut up, and we peeked out the window of the back door. Angelique opened it quietly and we snuck out. I became increasingly nervous as we cut through the backyard. What if someone caught us? What if they had guns and they shot at us?

As if on cue, someone yelled to someone else, “Hey! Someone’s leaving the house!”

“Run!” Angelique commanded; she wasn’t bothering to be quiet anymore because there was no doubt that they’d already spotted us.

Running faster than I ever had in my life I felt a strange tingle down my spine, but I ignored it and ran faster. I’d never been good at running, but I suppose the adrenaline gave me the extra burst of speed I needed.

I didn’t worry about Angelique; she’d been shot before, I was sure I hadn’t been imagining it, and survived. I was willing to bet that she’d survive even if they came right up to her and cut out her heart. Things as I knew it were changing, and people, it seemed, were only the tip of the iceberg.

When I reached the cover of the forest that bordered the yard I stopped to look for Angelique. She was running top speed right towards me, and I decided to get further into the trees.

Panting like an Olympic runner after a race, Angelique came to a stop beside me and leaned against a tree.

“Don’t worry,” She gasped, “They can’t find us. I laid out a spell hiding us from enemies around the whole forest.”

“Spell?” I questioned; I was beginning to think she was crazy.

Angelique froze, and I smirked. I’d finally gotten some information out of her, and I don’t think she was supposed to tell me anything.

Angelique slid down to the leaf-covered ground, and then she said quietly, “I wasn’t supposed to tell you anything, but now I guess I have no choice.” She smiled faintly. “I’ve been waiting my whole life for this moment, but somehow I had pictured it differently.” Her gaze was distant, engulfed in a past fantasy.

“I thought we’d be sitting in your living room calmly discussing your past. And future.” She sighed, “I guess I should’ve been more realistic. I thought you’d know me too, but your mom wouldn’t hear anything of it.”

“Hear anything of what?” I asked. Outside I hoped I appeared calm and put-together. Not like I’d just been through hell, which I had, but inside I was practically trembling with excitement.

“Magic.” She looked up and closed her eyes for a moment, then, as if gaining strength from the forest itself, she looked me straight in the eye and said, “Heather, you’re a witch.”

I just couldn’t contain myself anymore. I doubled over laughing so hard my sides hurt. How could she believe I’d fall for something as stupid as that. Oh, well, I’d needed to laugh anyway, but then the thought of my mom caused me to immediately sober.

Angelique was frowning at me and she said to me, “Heather, I’m being serious. You really are a witch.”

I put my hands on my hips. “Prove it.” I demanded.

Angelique stood up, and brushed herself off. “Fine. Close your eyes and concentrate. Think about something that makes you happy.”

I did as she told me, even though I thought all this was total crap. Closing my eyes, I concentrated really hard on my family. The thought of my family made me smile, just like it always did. I thought about my mom, Dad, Cam, and even Charlie.

Somewhere off in the distance I heard Angelique tell me to open my eyes, and I did. What I saw instantly made me grow terrified.

I was floating at least five feet off the ground. Floating. I was floating.

Angelique was smirking. “Do you believe me now?” She said superiorly, and I nodded; too numb to speak.

“H-how do I get down?” I asked nervously.

“Here, let me help you.” She held out her hand, and I grasped it tight. She winced, and I loosened the death grip I had on her.

She closed her eyes, “Ith nuon dis rucan.” She said in a detached voice, it was almost like she was somewhere else entirely.

I fell to the ground with a hard thump, and stood on shaky legs. How was what I just did possible? I thought about it for a moment until realization swept over me like a tidal wave, and I dissolved into a fit of giggles.

Clutching my side with one hand, I put the other over my mouth to stifle my slightly insane-sounding laughter. I’d been so stupid, and it was all just so funny I couldn’t help it.

Angelique looked at me; her mouth was curved down into a frown, and her icy blue eyes looked very disapproving.

“What?” I gasped the word; I was calming down now, but I still couldn’t believe I’d thought it was all real.

“You’re laughing,” she stated. “You shouldn’t be laughing, this is a serious matter.” I could feel her disapproval turning into anger quickly.

“I’m laughing, Angie,” I giggled at the memory of her telling me to call her Angie. “Because it’s not real. You’re not real, and my mom is probably making pancakes in the kitchen waiting for me to wake up.”

The anger you could see clearly on Angelique’s face softened to pity, and I didn’t know why. Then I thought, does she think I’m crazy? Oh, well. It doesn’t matter anyway, because this is all a dream! Or a nightmare…

“Heather, I’m sorry, but this is real. I wish it wasn’t, but it is and I can’t do anything about it.” She told me softly.

My giddiness was fading, but I held fast to the belief that this was all a dream. I had to, because if I didn’t, I wouldn’t know what to believe. “Angelique, I’m going to say this once more, and I’ll say it slowly so that you can understand: This. Is. A. Dream.”

She continued to stare at me with pity in her eyes, and that pity was like a bucket of cold water tossed on me. Even worse was what she said next.

“Heather, if you were dreaming you wouldn’t be able to feel pain. Like when they knocked you out, and when you fell. You felt those things. This is real and you need to accept that.” There was determination in her voice, determination to make me understand even though I didn’t want to.

“But, Angelique, if this is real that means my mom is still out there. Hurt, or even dead.” I couldn’t ignore the truth forever, sure, the laughing fit had bought me a few minutes of insanity, but subconsciously I hadn’t really believed everything that had happened could be solved so easily.

“We’ve gone over this. I would know if she was dead.” She sounded bored, like she was totally over the whole thing.

“How?” I asked eagerly. I needed to hear anything that would make me believe Mom was safe.

“Hmm… I guess since I’ve spilled the beans it doesn’t matter what I say anymore. Watch, and I’ll show you how I know.” She dug a small hole in the ground, and around the edges she traced little symbols in the dirt. I gazed curiously at the symbols; one of them seemed very familiar.

Angelique pulled a small vial of silver liquid out of her pocket, and poured it into the hole. Once that was done, Angelique snapped a thorn off of a nearby bush. Using the thorn to prick her finger, Angelique spoke in that eerily detached voice she’d used earlier and said, “Inu ki sodu, Julie, int go firo.”

Instantly the liquid in the hole shimmered, and I gazed in wonder at it until it showed an image of Mom. She was curled up in a ball on the marble floor of some room, and she was crying. I couldn’t see anything else of the room, and when the image faded I began to cry.

Angelique patted my back awkwardly. “It’s all right, Heather, your mom is going to be okay.”

“No she’s not,” I sobbed. “She’s been kidnapped, and I have no idea where she is.” Sniffling, I tried to gather my courage and failed miserably. “C’mon, we have to go back to the house and call the police. They’ll want to know what you were doing there, so you have to come too.”

I started walking back in the direction we’d come from, but Angelique grabbed my shoulder and turned me to face her.

“She’ll be fine, and you want to know why?” I looked up at her; tears running silently down my face, and I nodded. “Because we’re going to find her.” That was all she said before she spoke a few words in that other language, and we were falling into a big white hole.