Merritts of Writing 3

Chapter 30-2

Angie

Once more I had failed. Only this time I had a least tried. But trying hadn’t been good enough.

I’m so sorry Em. I’m so sorry.

THE INSTANT THE PAIN BEGAN

“Dammit, Angie! You got bit, didn’t you?”

I heard Stevron hollering at me but his voice was faded and weak. The venom coursing through my body was dissolving my barriers. Causing pain to rip up my leg and my stomach to turn. I struggled to keep focused.

Jake’s voice turned from urgent pleading to laughter. It’s sharp shrill echoed through my head. ‘I, I, I told you so. Barty’s-a-shit, Barty’s-a-shit, Barty’s-a-shit’s gonna die.’

“Jake! Jake, don’t do this.”

My younger brother ignored me. ‘Little Sis, Little Sis, Little Sis is gonna cry.’

“Jake!” I hollered. Through the fog and the pain, I forced myself to rebuild my barriers.

Jake’s continued laughter roared in my ears. ‘The Oracle, The Oracle, The Oracle still has fury. But, but, but don’t worry. There’s, there’s, there’s more than one half sky. If, if, if you can figure out the lie.’

The implications behind Jake’s singsong riddle turned my burning blood to ice. The years melted away and a flashback of Jake taunting Em, who’d been only a toddler, streaked across my fragile barriers like a bad movie.

“Listen to me you little shit!” I ground out between clenched teeth. “If you let Carter die, you know it will kill Em. She loves him.”

Jake’s musical tone stopped. His voice took on a hard edge. ‘Love, love, love will be their downfall. It, it, it will be the end of you all.’

“I don’t believe you.” I shouted. “I won’t believe you!”

‘Believe, believe, believe what you will. The, the, the hidden son has been ordered to kill. So, so, so The Oracle-to-be must die. Now, now, now time to say your goodbyes.’

Jake’s taunt made me furious. I’d had enough of hearing his threats and enough of being afraid. It was time to fight as Stevron had encouraged me.

I forced the edges of my barriers up. They adhered to an adjoining section and then to another. I felt myself getting stronger. Jake’s laughter intensified.

“Jake…Jake!” I hollered again. “You kill Carter and I swear, it’ll be my life’s purpose to erect a barrier so strong, so impenetrable you’ll never find so much as a crack the size of a pinhole ever again. I’m warning you little brother. Don’t screw with me!”

The last of my barriers finally solidified and Jake instantly vanished.

I looked down at Carter and saw that his body had stop convulsing. He was still shaking like he was in the midst of a bad fever. I reached for his wrist and thankfully found that his pulse was weak but steady.

I turned my head to where I’d last seen Stevron. He was gone. I looked around in panic.

All the fyre crawlers were also gone. Except those that Stevron had stepped on.

How much time had passed? I hadn’t thought I’d crossed over. I was sure my barriers had held.

Then I heard voices. I glanced at the trench and saw the once clear water had turned to a murky black. There looked to be hundreds of small marbled-sized venom sacks floating on the water’s surface.

A moment later Calvin was kneeling beside Carter. His words were coming out in a rush. I looked to him and saw him through a sudden and fierce hazy fog.

My stomach lurched. I leaned away from Carter and threw up.

I could hear Calvin yelling at me. “Was he bit? Angie! Answer me! Was Carter bit!”

I shook my head. “I don’t know.”

“Stevron said you were.”

I nodded. I wiped the back of my hand against my mouth.

Calvin reached out and touched Carter’s forehead. “He’s burning up.”

“We need to get him back to camp,” Dirk said. I felt his hands grip my shoulders.

I glanced around for Stevron. Mylane came rushing over to Carter’s side. “Stevron,” I called anxiously, “is this normally how someone reacts to the venom?”

Stevron knelt beside me.

“The fever?”

He still didn’t answer me. His eyes were focused on Mylane. I watched Stevron’s jaw clench and the silver in his eyes flared

Mylane swallowed and edged even closer to Carter. She put her hand against his cheek. He stilled slightly at her touch and I noticed the change in his face. He was still as chalky as when he’d first collapsed, but he’d aged at least ten years.

The beginning of creases had formed around his eyes and his chin and cheeks had toughened. On closer examination I could see tiny bristles of whiskers that hadn’t been evident before. Then a patch of white hair appeared on the side of his head, just over his left ear.

I opened my mouth to speak but couldn’t find any words. More of his hair began to turn grey and more wrinkles spread across his forehead. Was Carter dying after all? Had Jake ignored my warning?

Anger rushed through me. I got to my feet without thought and then was shocked to discover the burning pain in my lower leg was gone.

“Angie?”

I heard the surprise in Calvin’s voice.

Dirk chuckled. “Damn, girl.”

I looked at Stevron. His eyes darkened. The swirling silver sparkling with fury. He held out his hand to me. “Angie, I think you need to see this.”