"Is she going to be alright?" ...
"She should be." ...
The voices floated around in my head, but I wasn't sure if they were real or not. Was I dead?
"Oh, Cassie... Please, live." That was Sara's voice. I could tell.
"Sarathena, she's going to be alright." The second voice belonged to a man. He sounded much older... familiar, too.
My stomach clenched. It sounded like Creighton. With a gasp, I bolted upright. I opened my eyes, but still couldn't see anything. My hands flew to my face and I felt the bandage that had been wrapped around my eyes. I frantically pulled at the gauze, trying to remove it, when two sets of arms grabbed me.
"Cassie! Cassie, calm down!" Sara's voice wavered.
"Sara, who's here? Why are my eyes bandaged?" I turned in the direction her voice came from.
One pair of arms let go and I could hear footsteps shuffle to the other side of the room.
Room? Wasn't I in the forest?
With a jolt, everything came rushing back to me. The fog, the burnt surroundings, the voice, the shot... My head throbbed as I remembered each painful detail.
Suddenly, the wrappings fell from my face and I was able to look around. My vision was still hazy, but I was able to see. On my right was Sara. Her eyes were red from crying and she was a mess. Remembering what I had done to her, I went to pull her into a hug. Everything was stiff and my chest felt like it was on fire, but I didn't care. I nearly killed her...
"Cassandra, you have to limit your movements. You were dead for a good two hours." The voice came from the opposite side of the room. Slowly, I turned to face him. His hair was chin length and solid black. He moved closer to the bed. His eyes were soft brown with bits of gold in them.
"Who are you?" I took in his appearance. He looked shockingly similar to Creighton...
"My name is Hevak. I'm Creighton's younger brother." He extended a hand to me, but withdrew when I didn't shake it.
"Creighton's brother is dead. Sara killed him." My tone was cold; I didn't like being lied to. "Now, tell me who you are."
"Sara, you..." He began to speak, but his words trailed off.
Sara sighed from behind me. I turned my gaze to her as she rubbed her temples. "You told me you killed him, Sara."
"Cassie, what I said was a lie. That's Creighton's brother. He's not dead. He never was..." She didn't meet my eyes. Instead she was staring at the ground. "Please, you must understand."
"Why should I believe anything you say to me, Sara? Why should I believe that you're even helping me?" My eyes narrowed and I forced myself off the bed. Hevak turned to help me, but froze when I glared at him.
Neither of them said anything. I stood there for another second before deciding that it was pointless. I made my way out of the room, and kept walking. I didn't stop till I came across a garden right outside the main door. It was unusually chilly for it being summer. The sun wasn't fully up, and the flowers were still sleeping. I filled my lungs with the fresh air and relaxed.
I couldn't believe she lied to me again. Here I was, thinking that she was someone to be trusted, and it turned out to be false. Was Sarathena even her real name? I shook my head. It was useless trying to figure it all out right now. I had to figure out where I was, and the easiest way to escape.
Sarathena sat down next to me, and I avoided eye contact. I couldn't even look at her the same... "Cassie, listen-"
"Cassandra." I corrected her. She couldn't call me by something so intimate.
"Cassandra... Please, I understand how you're feeling right now. Trust me, I do." Her words shook as if she'd been crying. Up until now, we had been close. The thought of her sorrow still brought pain to my heart.
"Don't pretend like you understand, Sarathena, because you don't. You don't know anything." I startled myself. Brianna had said something similar to that when she snapped... Was I becoming more like her?
I shook myself. There's no way that we could be the same. Not anymore.
"I'm sorry you feel that way, but please, hear me out. I don't expect you to trust me as much as you used to, but it's imperative that you listen." Her tone changed. She sounded like her typical superior self.
"Fine. Go for it." I gave in. There was still a part of me that really looked up to her. I know she didn't mean to hurt me, but there was too much going on right now for me to handle this.
"Creighton believes his brother is dead. The truth is that I was never an assassin. Hevak is my beloved, and Creighton doesn't like that. At all. Hevak and his family are royalty. Since I'm not of royal blood, we're not allowed to be together. When we refused to split, Creighton was outraged." She paused as if she were reliving a memory. I could feel the pain that she felt.
"He promised that he'd do everything in his power to separate us. When he tried to kill me, Hevak stopped him, risking his own life." Tears rolled down her face, but she smiled as she spoke, "I sacrificed half of my life to get his back. I didn't even think twice about it. We're simply meant to be with one another. If Creighton were to find out about him I wouldn't be able to get him back."
It wasn't till after she was done talking did I realize that my hand was rested on hers. I couldn't help but try to comfort her. She was almost like my mother. I couldn't hate her.
"I don't get it, Sara... If Creighton believes he killed his brother, then why did you have me believe that you killed him?"
"Because, Creighton did something to me. He altered my thoughts so I would believe that I hated Hevak. What he neglected to acknowledge was that my father was the one who taught him how to do so. My father also taught me how to prevent those sort of attacks.
"The more I pretended that I had killed Hevak, the easier it was to hide his existence from his brother. When I learned Creighton had chosen you as a target, I knew there was something I had to do. I soon realized that he would be able to listen in on our conversations. Therefore, I gave you that little bit of false information." Sarathena gave me a sheepish look.
In a weird way, everything made a little more sense. I could understand why Sara would lie to me like that. I knew I would do that for Scott in a heartbeat.
Scott... Will I ever see him again?
The memory of Scott reminded me of that dreadful evening. Those haunting red eyes.
"Why did they come after us that night?" I made it a point not to be short with her. Part of me still trusted her, but not as much as I used to. Sara was like a mother to me. She stuck by my side even when things got out of hand. She was my guardian.
"I'm not quite sure. I think Creighton may be on to me. Now, that doesn't mean he knows Hevak is still alive, but he definitely is curious." She shifted uncomfortably in her seat.
I decided not to pressure her. I could tell that the thought of Creighton finding out about Hevak worried her. I gripped her hand a little tighter.
She smiled at me. "Cassie?" Her words were so soft, I thought I had imagined it. I lifted my head and met her gaze. "I'm sorry, my dear. From now on, I will tell you nothing but the truth."
She wiped the unknown tear from my cheek and smiled. "Thank you, Sara. I accept your apology."
"Is everything alright out here?" Hevak's head poked out from the door. He looked uneasy and worried. I felt bad for lashing out at him.
"We're fine. Thank you, my love." Sara smiled. I nodded and we made our way back into the house.
It was a little smaller than a mansion, and had no windows. The dining hall was magnificent. There were three crystal chandeliers hanging above the table, and paintings lining the walls. The moldings around the room told a story, as well as the mural on the ceiling.
As we were eating, Hevak told me tales of things greater than I could have imagined. Things that I had heard of only in fairy tales, he had seen. I envied his adventures. I envied his memories.
"I love your home, Hevak. It's very beautiful." I gazed adoringly at the crystal chandelier hanging above us.
Hevak scoffed. "This place is no home. It's a prison cell." Sara placed a tender hand on his arm. He placed his own hand over hers and gave her a smile. "What I would give to tear this place down..." Hevak brought Sara's hand to his mouth and gently kissed it.
"My sweet, you know you couldn't do that." I could see the sorrow that tinged her words.
I cleared my throat. "Is there something wrong?" I didn't get it. To live in such a beautiful mansion... Why would anyone want to tear it down?
"After Sara brought me back, we fled here. This place was used as a shelter for people like me. Just because we're immortal doesn't mean we can't be killed. It's difficult to do, but there are some of us who are willing to go that extra mile...
"My parents founded this place when we were much younger. We would spend hours a day making sure that the magic never wore off. When Creighton awoke, not all of his memory returned, so he doesn't recall the location of this place."
I leaned forward. "When Creighton awoke? What do you mean by that?"
"When my brother went after Sarathena, I asked Mhethias for his help-"
I cut him off. "Mhethias?"
Hevak gave me a confused look. "Has Sara not told you of him?" I shook my head in response. "Very well. Mhethias is the King of Immortals. My family has served him for many generations. My father was his second in command. He has ruled for generations upon generations. He rose to power in 1013 when his father passed on."
"But, wasn't his father immortal?" I felt stupid for asking, but something in me had to know.
"Yes, he was. His father was murdered. That's what pushed my parents into building this place." His demeanor changed as he spoke. "Mhethias agreed to help me, since my family had been so kind to him. He wiped Creighton's memory. Everything that linked Creighton with our family was erased and forgotten. The only thing that stayed was his hatred for Sara..." He smiled apologetically.
I tried my best to understand. I kept thinking about Brianna. Even though she wasn't my sister anymore, the thought of completely wiping her memory pained me. On some level, I understood Hevak's actions, but it was still upsetting.
"Earlier you said something about making sure the magic didn't wear off. What did you mean by that?"
"This mansion has a spell cast over it that makes it impossible to track. Once inside the secure perimeter, it's almost as if you've fallen off the face of the earth. Not even the best psychics the world has to offer can detect your thoughts here." He snickered. Hevak may have referred to this place as a prison, but in reality, it was keeping him safe.
As the night grew on, we conversed about many things. I laughed constantly as Sara would indulge on embarrassing stories about Hevak. Later, he would bring out salvaged photos of her as a young girl, and she would desperately try to snatch them away. It all seemed so lighthearted and fun, I had completely forgotten about everything. Brianna, Creighton, Scott... Everything.
I drearily crawled into bed close to midnight. I hadn't bothered to put on the set of pajamas Hevak had dug out for me. I sprawled out across my bed and sighed deeply. This was how it should be. Everything seemed so normal here. It seemed so... Peaceful. I smiled to myself as I remembered all the memories they had shared with me. As I drifted off to sleep, I wondered if I would be able to have my own.
The stone was cold to my feet. The wind that whipped around me chilled my spine. My vision was too foggy to make anything out, but I could tell that I was in a room. My mind flashed to Hevak's mansion. Was I still there?
After blinking a few times, I was finally able to take in my surroundings. I was in the corner of a dimly lit room; the only source of light came from a flickering candle placed upon a table near the center. I went to take a step forward, but froze. Something seemed... wrong. I wasn't alone.
"She's dead." Her voice drifted from the farthest corner of the room. I peered into the darkness, but gave up. I couldn't see anything in this light.
"Impossible." The man wearily scoffed at her.
"We can't get a reading on her. I saw her death, my lo-"
"LIAR! She's not dead, you imbecile! If she were dead, then I'd be dead! Do you know nothing?" His voice ripped across the room and shook the air around us. "I told you to find her. Not to feed me lies."
The room settled down for a moment, and I was able to make sense of the situation. Creighton sat at the table in the center of the room, with his face rested in his hands. He looked as though he hadn't slept in ages. In the far corner stood Brianna. She, herself, looked as tired as Creighton. Had they been looking for me?
"Lord, I've been doing some research... There's a place up in the mountains; a mansion named Immortality's Grace. To my understanding, this place has been used to hide immortals for years. It blocks communication from the outside world; it goes so far as to block ones thoughts as well." Her tone rose as she finished her last sentence.
Creighton looked up. Suddenly, he didn't look so tired. It was as if he were trying to remember a forgotten memory. Then it clicked. He whirled around to face Brianna and threw his arms open.
"Of course! Brianna, my dear, I never doubted you for a moment." His warming smile lit up the room. In the dim light I could see the sparkle in his deep brown eyes. His sunken cheeks made him look older than he should, but nonetheless breathtaking.
Breathtaking? What was I thinking?
Within an instant, the air went still. Dead still. No one moved; no one spoke. Slowly, they both turned to face me. Panic started to set in when I realized I couldn't escape. I willed myself to wake up, but nothing happened. I stood there, terrified, not knowing whether I should run or await what I knew was coming.
"Maybe we should start heading out there immediately." Brianna's grin chilled my soul. It was the grin of a killer. The grin of someone who had died inside.
When I woke up, I realized that I had been screaming. I took a deep breath and attempted to calm myself down. I swung my legs off the side of the bed and stood up. That wasn't just a dream. There was just no way. My heart was still beating a mile a minute, but I didn't feel so helpless anymore. We weren't safe here anymore.
"Cassie!" Sara has barged into the room, surely alarmed by my spontaneous screams. "Cassie, are you alright?"
"We have to leave. Now."
She nodded, and without a word, we began to leave.