Adorable

Chapter 21 | Nightmares and Enemies

No. No no no no no. She isn't here. She can't be here. "How are you here!?"

"Why, Keefe. Is that any way to greet your mother?"

"It is if my mother is trying to kill me. What are you doing here?"

"So you still call me your mom? Interesting. There is hope for you yet."

"No, there isn't."

I had completely forgotten about Ro sitting next to me. So had my mom, apparently, because she did nothing as Ro threw a dagger at her. But she turned at the last second and the knife whistled past her, barely an inch from her sleeve, and impaled itself in the wall.

"Now now, none of that." She clicked her tongue. Out of nowhere, a rope appeared around Ro's wrists. It tightened, and another appeared on her ankles.

I looked around wildly. Was there a Conjurer somewhere? I didn't see anyone else. But now my mom was walking towards me.

"Keefe, we need to talk. You have disappointed me for far too long. I want you to quit stalling and come fulfill your legacy."

I barked a harsh laugh. "You have got to be kidding me."

"No, not kidding. Just... hoping. Because if you don't, well... the others aren't quite as patient with you as I am."

"Oh, so they've finally gotten tired of you constantly whining and begging me to come be evil with you? Good for them. And hate to break it to you, but so am I. So you can leave now."

"Oh, can I now? Well, if you won't see reason..." she strode over to me and grabbed my wrists. I tried to resist, but I was still far too weak from my nightmares. Out of nowhere, another figure in a black cloak appeared and tied a rope around my hands. They tied me to my desk chair and gagged me. I couldn't free myself, but I thrashed hard enough to at least make it difficult.

"Stop struggling." said my mother calmly.

In answer, I kicked out my feet at the stranger's shins. Before I could blink, they slapped my face hard enough to make me see stars for a moment. I kicked them again. Their fist came out of nowhere, slamming into my nose and right eye. My head whipped backwards, and I struggled to retain consciousness. I felt a warm trickle run down my face and realized my nose was bleeding.

"I told you not to struggle, Keefe. My friend is not nearly as patient with you as I am."

I couldn't speak through the gag, but I glared daggers at her. Well, with my left eye. My right one was swelling shut.

Stars continued to dance in front of my eyes as my mom continued. "Now, we can do this the east way, or the hard way. You will hand over the Moonlark."

I froze. Then I scoffed in the back of my throat and thrashed again. Never. I'd never give Sophie to her. Even if they killed me. Luckily, she would still be at school. Safe.

"If you give her to me peacefully, my friend might even spare your life. Well... they will at least kill you quickly. But if not..." she trailed off casually as the cloaked figure pulled out a knife about six inches long, paper thin, with jagged edges.

I began to thrash harder. I had to escape. I had to warn Sophie. But then the figure stepped closer to me and pressed the blade against my cheek. I tried to pull away, but they pressed harder. The blade broke the skin and I felt blood trickle down my neck. But I didn't care. The only thing that mattered was getting to Sophie. Protecting her.

"Keefe," my mom warned. "Cooperate."

Never, I thought. I tried to lean forwards, hoping I could knock over the chair and slip out. But then the knife was at my throat, pressing lightly but firmly. I froze. Would they really kill me?

Apparently so, because the knife pressed a little harder, the jagged edge barely penetrating my skin. I leaned away from it.

"I will give you one more chance, Keefe. Get the Moonlark."

At that moment, she froze and turned towards the door. I did too, and my blood froze in my veins. A soft knock echoes through my room.

"Keefe? Can I come in?"

I tried to scream, but the gag wouldn't let me. So I thrashed and kicked the chair, trying to signal to her to stay out. I barely noticed as the knife dug into my neck.

But none of it worked. Sophie slipped the door open and stepped into my room. Her eyes landed on me first and she froze, letting out a tiny gasp. Then her eyes flitted around the room.

I had been frantically trying to free the gag, and it slipped enough for me to yell one word, "Run!' But then the knife sliced my shoulder, and I bent over in pain.

"Too bad, Keefe. This doesn't count. I'll be taking the Moonlark, and my friend here can decide what to do with you."

My body turned to ice as the figure traced my face with the knife, cutting tiny lines across my contorted features. This person obviously hated me for some reason, and would be eager to kill me in the most painful way possible. But I didn't care. Sophie wasn't running. Why wasn't she running? She had to get out of here. She was the one they were after. I didn't matter.

Just then, a blur of grey whipped around the corner. Two glints of metal flew straight for the enemies. But just before they hit, Lady Gisela grabbed the other figure and leaped away.

Sophie ran to me and immediately untied my gag. "Keefe, what happened? No, don't talk. I'll call Elwin."

"Don't," I muttered weakly. "I'm okay." I turned to Sandor. "Get her somewhere safe. They'll be back."

He nodded, quickly untying a cursing Ro before grabbing Sophie's hand. "Leap us to Havenfield."

She looked horrified. "No! Keefe is sitting there tied to a chair, cut and bleeding all over, and you want to leave?"

"No. But Romhilda will take care of him. I need to get you to safety."

I tried to hold it together, I really did. But flashbacks were coming back stronger than ever, and I could barely breathe. As my vision started to darken, the last thing I saw was Sophie's face leaning over mine, worried about me. Worried about me. When she was the one who almost got captured. And it was my fault. She was probably so worried about me that she came here right after school. I should have hailed her. I should've gone to school, nightmares or no nightmares. She's done it. But she's far stronger than I am.

I whispered to her before I slipped away into my nightmare-infested mind.

I'm sorry. I love you. Goodbye.