Orange Shadow Magic: Heir to The Throne. Book 2

Chapter 5: A Time to Mourn

Mally Johnson awoke with a start, her head slamming against the wooden plank in front of her forehead, a loud thud echoing across the cabin. Slowly, the sound disappeared, but the pain in Mally's heart did not subside with it. 

The memories came rushing back like trains at the crack of dawn. They thrust themselves angrily at the locked door of Mally's heart until the door came flying off the hinges and she was reminded of her all of the cruel, devastating losses that had plagued her mind like wildfire. 

Gala hurtling through the air, blood pooling on the tile, Parker's body lying still as a mouse on the ground, King Expella's face as he released the news that Coral was dead, and that vile deceiver Avery leaving them for King Expella. 

Why did this happen to her? All of these crazy psychotic events that just had to happen to her. Mally had lost Parker: the love of her life, Coral: her youngest sister, and she might lose Gala too, due to the loss of Avery. Gala had just begun to let her heart open again. Avery might have been Gala's cure, but now Mally feared that Gala might not be the same again. She feared that Gala might now be lost, lost forever in her grief. But also, why was she chosen as Sphinx Princess? There was nothing special about her. She was just another sphinx...

A soft patter of feet on the floorboard startled Mally, and she slid back under the covers, her own heart beating a million miles an hour. Nobody should be up at this time, and nobody should be coming into her room...

A little voice inside Mally's head yelled, "Hey! Imagine the sphinx princess being afraid of a few little footsteps!" But, Mally shoved the thoughts aside. Slowly opening one brown eye, Mally quickly examined the other bed for signs of life. There was no sign of a brown mop of hair, or thick blue overalls either. Gala was gone. 

Mally slowly lifted her legs from the cot, and she put them gently on the panels of wood below. Tiptoeing gently through the hallways, Mally cautiously made her way to the windowsill and peeked out of the glass. There was no sight of Gala in the billowing wind, or in the midst of the ancient trees. Maybe she was just out on a long walk around the lake. The familiar taste of cool liquid sliding down your throat could be refreshing on a day like this. Her mouth was already salivating before she had finished that thought. She was indeed thirty. 

It was as if she was floating like a cartoon character as she made her way to the rushing current. Dipping her head low, Mally's lips grazed the cool water. And then she came to a sudden realization. Gala wasn't there. She was gone. Mally jerked her head out of the refreshing stream of cool water and glanced around anxiously. No sign of her sister. Just trees. 

A loud screech caught her off guard as she rose and stood on her heels. Kneeling to the ground, she felt each limb expanding, growing. Suddenly she was transforming into a ferocious bat, wings beating sharply. An awe-inspiring bat stood now on the crisp ground, frozen stiff, and listening for clues to continue her search. Launching into the sky, Mally's wings flapped silently, the sun's light starting to thread vibrantly out of the darkness, booming miraculously over the horizon, a shimmering droplet of gold in all of the serene darkness. 

Mally didn't make a sound as she swooped to and fro, looking everywhere in hopes of finding the person or creature who had made that God-awful noise.

"You've called me," a brittle voice announced from the deep forest, finally the clue Mally was looking for. Was that voice... Gala's? Mally descended towards the sky-scraping treetops and noted that there was an unknown woman with long brown hair, hazel eyes, and a staff made out of twirling vines that seemed to frolic in the wind. The other young woman had hair as plain as tree bark compromised with beige eyes, classical overalls, and a red and white shirt underneath. Mally knew it had to be Gala. After all, her sister did have the plainest looks imaginable. But why would her oldest sister be out here? And with a stranger? As Mally leaned in closer, she realized the pair were exchanging a heated set of arguments with each other. Mostly, it was Gala sending the arguments.