Original Souls (A World Apart #1) (68 page)

It's done. Finally, I can feel myself again. I barely had my eyes open while Sena. Lilit
h—
well, Camil, read from that little book in her hands. Sebastian lied to me. It hurt, a lot. Hopefully, he wasn't lying when he said we could all go free. I hope his version of peace, is actually peaceful. I opened one eye to peek out at the two of them. Sebastian was still kneeling on the ground to my left. Camil still faced the window. She's saying something I can't pick up on. She's speaking in a much lower tone than I heard a minute ago. I have no idea where we go from here. They haven't motioned either of the Squadron drones next to my unconscious uncle to cut me loose. They just stood there like zombies. They don't even look like they're breathing. I hope Uncle Evan's okay, because I don't think I can carry a six-foot guy out of here all by myself. I wonder where Anvard and Lindle are? They could help for sure. I have no idea what to do. Now that they've got what they want, neither of them are paying me any attention whatsoever. I
t’
s risky, but after all that's happened, like the tunnel and the coaster ride, I think I can handle this.

"Hey...!" I tried to shout, but before I could get the whole sound out, someone covered my mouth with their musty hand.

"The less they think of you, the better," came an unwelcome voice. He put his head close to mine as he undid the straps of the altar. He used only one hand as he reached across to my left side. He still covered my mouth with the other. "Be still, and most certainly quiet," he whispered into my ear. He removed his hand and crept around the altar toward my feet. He undid the straps without Camil or worse, Sebastian, taking note. I rolled off the altar, and he led me cautiously toward the other smaller room behind the large cavern that housed the Creative Window. I grabbed him by the arm to motion him to stop.

"What about my uncle?" I asked in a childish tone. I felt like a kid again anyway, instead of some old soul who knew way too much about what made the world go round, so it's kind of fitting.

Walker looked back, though he couldn't actually see around the threshold that separated the two rooms. "I hate to say this, but Evan might have to be spared for now
.
” With a sense of urgency, he rushed me through the dreadful thought of leaving my uncle for dead.

"I can't just leave him." I looked up at the man who most likely got me here in the first place. I can't imagine what he must be up to. But as much as I want to know, I'd much rather get away from Sebastian, but not without my uncle.

"You have to," he started up again
.“
If they haven't destroyed him yet than they must want him around for some reason. He'll be fine," he tried to assure me.

"No!" was my immediate rebuttal. "They said we'd all be free, and safe, if we just submit. They'll let him go, they promised."

"And you believed them?" his tone struck me hard. "Corinth," he grabbed my shoulders, "they would have said anything to get the Nexus from you. Absolutely anything." I was surprised that he knew that term. Mostly, because he pretended that he didn't last we spoke at his Villa. I was fed up with all the snooping around. All the lies and mind games. I had to put an end to it.

"What's going on here?!" I couldn't help but yell. My emotion was boiling over. Walker shushed me. I tried to calm down, but it wasn't as easy as I would have hoped. "No! Tell me now. Why'd you try to kill me? I thought we were friends! Why should I even trust you right now?"

"Corinth, just because your ill-informed grandmother thinks I tried to harm you doesn't mean i
t’
s true. She thinks she knows it all, plain and simple, but what's going on here isn't the slightest bit simplistic, if you haven't already noticed."

"How'd you know she was my grandma?" I asked in a softer tone.

He straightened up, like his pride level went up a few notches. "I am The Well Read Walker, as well the school's senior Librarian. I
t’
s sort of my job to know things. But I digress, most ministrants already know this fact." With that, he pulled me by the arm and led me to the winding staircase. "Trust, Corinth ... is something one person earns from another. I think that I deserve the benefit of the doubt from you at this point. But I level with you full
y—
that the tainted fruit I fed you over these past months was for good reason."

He admitted it. He did poison me. But the look in his brown eyes said something more than the words he choked out of his throat. Walker hadn't been forthright with me since we met, but his sole interest right now is safety. That, at the very least, I could tell. I could just feel it in this very apparent way that struck me like it was the certain truth, not smoke and mirrors. But that doesn't make me anymore cooler with leaving my uncle behind. What if Sebastian is as treacherous as Walker believes? Than Uncle Evan is in huge trouble if -we don't rescue him now. "I'm sorry, but we can't just go. Where are Lindle and Anvard? They came too." I knew he had my best interest at heart, but I ca
n’
t just walk away scot-free from this one.

"I'm absolutely certain they're both all right. Once the lower levels drain beneath the mountain, they'll find their way back up and out."

"You can't just say that! How?"

"Corinth, we do
n’
t have time for this!"

"That, you are right about. In fact, you're already too late," Sebastian projected himself, looking like an even more deranged and sinister fellow than usual. "Fiat Lux!" he shouted with his wand in his hand and pointed in our direction.

I immediately hit the deck, as the red burst of light sparked from the illuminated tip of his rigid black wand, but Walker didn't flinch. Not even a little bit. After a few seconds, I understood why. I looked up from the damp ground to see Walker standing tall, while the red light from Sebastian's spell crumbled. It fell to pieces on the outer perimeter of Walker'
s
… force field. To see those golden lights around Walker and I flare up like that shocked me. I didn't even know Walker casted any spells. Then again, he didn't use a wand or llave, so he must be stacked with abilities I could
n’
t possibly dream up. Apparently, Sebastian didn't know either from the looks of it. His mouth hung open still, in a gaping gasp of confusion and frustration.

"Trickery, I'm sure," the old dude spat. "Polar tricks of some sort. I'll break that field without even trying," he seemed certain. But so did Walker. "Fiat Lux!" he shouted, using the same failed spell.

This time, I was a little more confident, so I didn't take cover. I actually stood up while the red beam of light turned to dust on the outside of the field.

"Ad Infinitum," whispered Walker. It was just like Sebastian had done to me when I still had that thing in my head and I tried to read deep into him. Sebastian must have tried to read Walker's mind, or worse, break it. That's good though, because it means Sebastian doesn't know much more how to use the Nexus than I did.

"Who are you?" Sebastian inquired while moving closer. I was wholly shocked they didn't already know each other. That made Walker seem like a lot less of a threat to me.

"Worry about yourself, old man. You can't control the Nexus anyway, so worry you should
!
” Walker mocked
.“
It wasn't built for a mind like yours. It will turn you inside out. Destroy you right and ready before you nearly reach your end-goal of the night."

Sebastian's pale face went as red as a cherry. "You fool!" he was spitting angry. "There is nothing that will stop this. The Creative Window may not destroy things, but it will provide me with what I need to destroy this entire World . . . and you two imbeciles as well!" He looked at me, and his icy blue eyes flashed wildly. "Do it now, Camil!" He commanded her like a general commands troops. His tone seemed like it was meant for several people with the way he shouted out at her. Still, the only other people in either room were my uncle and the two stooge-like Squadron dummies standing near him. She took the order in stride, but some hints of trepidation in her body language screamed she was feeling otherwise.

"Of course," the traitor to Aurora Boreal chirped back to her master.

What I saw once she moved closer the Creative window shocked me, too. An Aurriculium board sprouted out of the ground like weeds that burst through old and cracked cement sidewalks. With the board came a horrific looking beast. The Tydrahn!

"Run!!!" Walker shouted, grabbing my arm, basically dragging me toward the spiral staircase we had been on our way toward since he freed me.

But it was already too late. Once the tiger-like dragon formed on the board, it opened its mouth wide and conjured an orb of light. It sent that sparking orb hurtling across the room, right into Walker's force field. The field exploded immediately and it sent both of us flying into the wide mouth of the winding staircase. Walker took most of the blast. His head hit the wall hard, and it left him unconscious. He rolled down the stairs a little farther than I did. I tried picking myself up to go to him, but my ankle was twisted backwards. It hurt bad and virtually immobilized me. I looked down to Walker lying on the first landing of the staircase, and I saw lots of blood coming from behind his head.

"Walker! Walker! Wake up!" Nothing got through. He wasn't even moving down there.

"Corinth ... Corinth! Where are you?" with that oddly placed accent,
I’
m sure that has to be Anvard yelling from what I assumed was the bottom of the stairs.

"Anvard, help!" I was shocked that neither Camil, Sebastian nor the massive Tydrahn showed up yet to finish the job. Anvard and Lindle came charging up the stairs. They were soaking wet and out of breath. Anvard stopped a few steps in front of me and reached out for my hand.

"Come on, we need to get out of here," traces of that strange accent crept into his speech sometimes. Couldn't understand why his sisters sounded so different. Before, it annoyed me. But now it is the settling sound of comfort

"I can't," I said in a defeated tone.

"Look, Corinth, no more of this obsession, this is too real now!" He was obviously angry with me for bringing them here. I'm angry with myself for coming. I should have known on my own that Sebastian couldn't be trusted. He looked back to an unconscious Walker as he picked up speaking again. "The adults can handle themselves. Walker, your uncle, and anyone else! But we've got to go. We have no way to defend ourselves without our llaves. We're just sitting ducks now." He kept reaching for my hand, so I grabbed at his. He pulled me up and I immediately collapsed back onto the damp ground.

"What's wrong?" asked Lindle.

"The Tydrahn, i
t’
s . . ."

"The what!" Lindle shouted. "Exactly what the heck has been going on since we were in the lake?"

I was going to answer him, but was distracted by Anvard. "What's wrong with your leg?" Andy questioned me while kneeling down to check me out.

"It's twisted, my ankle. I don't think I can walk on it." Quickly, he swooped me up and started shimmying me up onto his right shoulder. "Hey, what are you doing!" I said nervously.

"I'm getting us out of here," he retorted flatly.

Lindle flipped -out over our rudeness. We did seem as if we were ignoring his presence. "What about the Tydrahn?" he asked again jumping up and down like a toddler having a tantrum.

"Yeah, there's one in the room with the Creative Window. It just blasted the force field Walker put up around us both. He tried to save me, but I didn't want to leave my uncle behind. Then Cami
l—
" Both their facial expressions fell, "I mean Sena. Lilith conjured an Aurriculium board, and now a real Tydrahn is in there, right now!"

"What's a Tydrahn?" Anvard curiously asked. This time he was the one who was ignored.

"That's impossible, Corinth! The
y’
re not real, Corinth! They're just cards, Corinth!"

"Lindle, don't you think I thought that too, but after it blasted u
s—
things got pretty real," I said, then started to feel woozy. All the blood rushed to my head because of the way Anvard was holding me over his shoulder. He was quick to notice. He pulled me down and cradled me in his arms. It felt weird, but I really didn't have any other options.