Author's Note: Well hi there. Ummm, I didn't know where else to put my story. If any of you have read Darkhenge, some of the elements of Catherine Fisher's story are in here
Summary: Torin and Kana are really close best friends. Their dads were college buddies, which is why they r so close. One day, Kana's spirit/soul/essence/wutev u wanna think of it as was captured by this weird man who disappeared into a portal. Now the body of Kana lies comatose. Then, Torin meets this strange new girl named Sonam who tells him she knows how to get Kana back. They journey to Annwn, the Unworld and into the depths of Kana's conscious. Torin has to save Kana from the mysterious guy (name is Ukaru). Ukaru is actually king of annwn and sonam is the lost queen of annwn. The reason Ukaru steals many girls is for them to replace sonam as queen. Sonam willingly left because she wanted to explore the world. Bad summery. Am sry. Don't rly know how to explain the plot. Just read on.
Chapter 1
Torin groaned and stretched his arms out. He yawned. He hadn't slept well that night. Come to think of it, he hadn't slept well since Kana's accident. He looked at the photo of the smiling and cheerful black-haired young woman on his night-table. He studied the picture more closely. Kana was his best friend. Their families were quite close. The two had always followed each other everywhere since they were little. He looked again at the photograph, his mind soaking in all the details in it. In the picture, she seemed to be laughing at something he'd said while the camera was doing its work. Her electrifying eyes seemed so open and genuinely happy. He sighed miserably, his mind reliving the memories of the horrible evening, the fateful evening when his Kana was taken away from him.
Flashback
It had been raining, the kind of light rain that anyone would welcome in the summer. Kana tugged Torin's arm pleadingly, reminding him of an innocent little child. She had begged for him to let her run once more through the field of flowers in the meadow. The place had always been special to the both of them. It was a quiet little sanctuary belonging to no one but themselves. Over the years, they had gotten to know the field inside and out. He looked at the flowers, his artist's eye sucking up the fine details of everything. "Please, Torin?" she begged. She gave him a heart-melting look. Torin couldn't resist.
"Fine. You go run ahead while I stay here by the trees. Don't blame me and make me feel guilty when you catch a cold and will be lying miserably in your bed," he warned.
"Really? Thanks, 'Tori!" He scowled. He hated that nickname. If it had been anyone other than Kana calling him that, he would've shot the person a deathly glare and would've given several punches. "Oh, what's with the face 'Tori?" she had asked.
"Nothing." he muttered. Torin watched Kana jog through the field, with a joyful smile never leaving her face. He heard her laugh, a musical sound that filled him with contentment. Kana stopped to smell red flowers that caught her eye. She plucked a few and carefully placed them in her purse. She continued to run through the fields, her figure growing smaller and smaller as the distance between them increased. Torin grew worried. He could no longer see Kana's tall figure. He darted in her direction.
"Torin! Help me!" He frowned. Knowing Kana so well, he detected the fear in her voice. He sped up, anxious to reach her. Her voice seemed to be coming from behind the clump of trees to his left. "Torin!" Kana cried again. He ran to a nearby tree. He followed her frightened gaze to see a man seated on a black stallion. The man was taller than Kana, but not as tall as Torin. Torin gasped as he recognized the identity of the mysterious man. He was the same man who had sort of stalked Kana. Torin remembered the time he and Kana had a light lunch together at the Sunny Side Up Café. A man with startling green eyes had been staring at Kana the whole time. Seeing that unknown man looking at Kana that way made Torin unexpectedly angry. He didn't realize that he was so overprotective of Kana. Torin had glared back at the guy until Kana had rested a comforting hand on top of his. That same man had been cropping up wherever Kana went for a week now.
The mysterious man was dressed oddly. He wore black trousers and tunic with black boots to go with the outfit. The strangest part of his dress up, was that he wore a mask. It was made up of blood red feathers and green holly leaves. It covered every part of his face so it was no longer visible. The only things uncovered were his eyes. Once again Torin's artist's eye noted the sharp colors that made up the masked man's face. His unsettling eyes seemed to be green, the kind of sickly green seen after being sick and vomiting. His pupils were even more unusual. They were slits, like a cat's and were red, a deep maroon shade that seemed to pierce everything it gazed at. The cloaked man met Torin's eyes and malevolently stared back.
"She's coming with me," he said with a sneer. Torin ran to Kana's side. She stood frozen as the masked man's hand reached toward her. Torin wrapped his arms around Kana protectively. The cloaked man sneered once more. His hands held Kana. They began to grow white, blindingly white. Kana collapsed in Torin's arms and he staggered to support her while she was unconscious. He looked to see what the strange man was doing, horrified. A mirror image of Kana, her spirit essence seemed to fly out of Kana's body from the touch the masked man had given her. He helped her onto his stallion and rode away. Torin stared uncomprehendingly at the sight. He watched as the black stallion and its rider literally disappeared into a black portal the mysterious man conjured with several gestures of his fingertips.
Torin carried the comatose body of Kana out of the meadow and into the rain. He opened the passenger seat in the front of his black car and gingerly laid Kana onto the leather seat. He flipped out his cell phone and called each of their parents in a matter of seconds. He drove straight into the hospital and talked to the receptionist. He told her the whole story, but she looked at him skeptically. He inwardly cursed.
"Look. I honestly couldn't care any less if you choose to believe me or not. Just help her!" Torin cried.
End of Flashback
Since that painful evening, Kana had lain between life and death in an expensive nursing home. Torin always came to visit her on Fridays. He dreaded them and was always in a fiery rage afterwards that engulfed him until he cried himself to sleep with the guilt.
Guilt. It ate him up day and night. For the following weeks after the "accident", Torin had nightmares every night. He woke up crying and whimpering. His mother stayed with him in the night for a couple of days to look after him. He was so tired of his dreams, of the endless guilt, of rage at the mysterious guy who had stolen Kana from him. He felt like he was a shell, all hollow on the inside. He had to remind himself to breathe when he thought of Kana after his nightmares. Torin didn't know how he did it, how he managed to live each day without committing suicide. He had even considered it a few times, but 3 things (more important than anything else) held him back.
The first was the silent, unspoken promise he had made to be there for Kana when she woke up. The second thing holding him back was that he knew Kana wouldn't want him to commit suicide. Her opinion mattered to him even if she was in a coma and might never wake up. He silently cursed himself again for thinking dark thoughts. Never, as in NEVER would he allow himself to think that his Kana might never wake up again, that he would never see her lovely smile again. The third reason stopping him from committing suicide was the promise he had made to himself to find Kana and the mysterious man who he hated most in the world.
He absently stroked the picture of Kana in his hand, then put it back on his night table before getting up out of bed. He yawned once more then left to wash his face and brush his teeth.
Near Stonehenge
Torin lay sitting at the base of the tree by Stonehenge with a box of his treasured pastels in a backpack strapped to his bike and a sketchbook. His friend Henrik lay on the ground next to him, listening to rock music from the earphones on his head. Torin sketched a rough drawing of Henrik lying on the grass and listening to his music. He focused on the way Henrik's straw-colored hair fell over his eyes. Henrik paused the song playing on his Ipod and sat up straight. He looked at the ancient stone pillars to start a conversation with his best friend. "What do you think the pillars were for?" he asked Torin.
Torin shrugged. "I don't know." He went back to his drawing. Henrik ran a hand through his hair.
"The pagans probably practiced some weird human sacrificing rituals there," he said with contempt. Again, he got the same reaction from his artistic friend. Sighing inwardly at the changes in his best friend after Kana's accident, he decided to change the subject. Maybe that would get some actual conversation from Torin, Henrik thought. Now, what should we even talk about?
Henrik cleared his throat to grab Torin's attention. Torin looked up, annoyed.
"What?"
"Why don't you get a job, Tori?" Torin reached over and smacked Henrik's arms.
"Didn't I tell you not to call me that?" he said.
Henrik rolled over away from his friend. "Oh sure, it's perfectly fine if she calls you that," he muttered spitefully. Both of them knew that Henrik was referring to Kana when he spoke. Torin glared at him. Henrik cowered. If looks could kill, then I would be dea, he thought. "Sorry."
Torin grunted his acceptance of Henrik's apology.
"Anyway, I think you should get a job." Henrik looked to Torin for a reaction, and plowed on when he got no response. "You know, to get your mind off of things," he continued. "Besides, why should I be the only one to suffer?"
Torin tilted his head and contemplated the thought. "Hmm. Maybe you're right."
Henrik stood up indignantly. "Hey! Of course I'm right! How could you doubt your best friend?"
Torin ignored his friend's comment. "Do you know of any place there are openings?"
"I don't know. I just told you my idea on a whim," Henrik replied.
"What about where you work?"
"Nope. Sorry, but the Quaint Café doesn't have any empty positions," Henrik said apologetically. Raindrops started falling from a suddenly dark and cloudy sky. "Come on. We'll head over to the Quaint Café. My shift starts in half an hour. We might as well have hot chocolate there while staying out of the rain."
"Sounds good to me," Torin replied. He carefully stowed his sketchbook and pastels into the small backpack before slinging it onto his back. He looked at Henrik. "Ready?"
Henrik nodded, then hopped onto his bike. The two raced down to the next couple streets, hurrying to get out of the pouring rain.
At the Quaint Cafe
Torin and Henrik sat facing each other, their dripping jackets hanging on a nearby coat rack in the small café. Henrik's hair was plastered to his head. Torin asked a nearby waitress if he could borrow a couple of towels.
"Would you please bring a couple of towels? My friend and I wanna dry ourselves off." The waitress nodded then left. A few moments later, she appeared with two blue towels in her hands. She handed one to Torin and the other to Henrik.
"Henrik, your shift starts in 15 minutes, right?" she asked.
"Yup, Rosa." Rosa turned to leave, but Henrik asked her something. "Could you bring us 2 hot chocolates?"
"Sure," the friendly waitress replied. Torin was studying her intently the whole time. His hands were itching to draw a sketch of the blonde haired woman. Blue eyes, just like Kana's, Torin thought painfully. But, he noticed, Kana's electric blue eyes were intense. They told stories. Sometimes they were light blue, when she was calm and content. Most times, they seemed to have a sparkle to them. Henrik noticed how Torin felt. He caught Torin studying Rosa with the expression that meant he was just itching to draw her.
"Hey Rosa! Can you do me and my buddy here a favor?" he asked with a smile. Torin glared at Henrik, he knew exactly what Henrik was gonna say. He smacked his arm.
"Shut up!" Torin hissed. Henrik grinned, looking non-pulsed
"Rosa, would you mind if my friend Torin drew a rough sketch of you?" he asked. Rosa looked flattered.
"Umm...Sorry, but I have to work," she said apologetically.
"Later then. Torin here needs it."
"No, I don't!" Torin said. "What I need is a job to take my mind off of things."
Rosa looked up. "A job, you say." He nodded. She tilted her head to the side, looking thoughtful. "You're good at art right?"
Henrik clapped his friend on the back. Torin winced. "Of course he's good. He's an artistic genius!" he exclaimed.
"Well you could work with Dr. Richard. He's an archaeology professor. He's teaching a class about the ancient people of this area and Stonehenge. I think he wanted help having sketches of the place. I think he's doing a dig out there, too," she added.
"I don't think that there would be much creativity in the job, but at least it's something. I'd probably be drawing lotsa dirt and broken pieces of antler bone," he mused out loud. "How much does it pay?"
"I am not sure. My sister, who works as Dr. Richard's assistant didn't tell me," Rosa replied. "His classes are going to be outdoors by Stonehenge starting tomorrow. Well, I'd better get back to work," she said and left.
"Thanks for everything!" Torin and Henrik called after her.
"So what do you think?" Henrik asked his friend. "Are you gonna do it?"
"I think so. There's probably not gonna be much of a pay, but that's okay."
"Listen, I gotta go. My shift's starting. I will meet you tomorrow in time for lunch. I wanna see your future employer," said Henrik, then he too left.
Torin chugged down his mug of hot chocolate then donned his jacket. He paid the bill then walked out of the café to his bike. Torin slung on his backpack then headed home to tell his parents about the job.
Well what do you think? Reviews are a good thing. No flames please. This was kinda an introductory chapter. Others will be better.