CADDIE's POV:
Surprisingly, Alix took the news well. After spending last night scolding me, I expected her to be more distraught. I even hoped that she would reconsider going with Dmitri and me but the next day, she woke up with a smile on her face and made a flippant comment about the weather. As we walked to breakfast together, I couldn't help but shoot her worried glances as she rambled on about some drama between her brother Mira's cousin. There was a brief moment when I thought that maybe, just maybe, her sense of preservation had caught up to her when she suddenly stopped walking and gasped. But, I was wrong.
"I forgot to study!" She ran down the hall and pulled out her textbook from her pile of books.
I shook my head and cracked a smile. Maybe it was better that she wasn't dwelling on the future. I could have asked her what she knew but something kept me from pressing any questions. Someone was going to dieâthat's what Alix had implied. I refused to see that happen.
------
Dmitri and I looked as if we were secretly plotting the destruction of the world with the quick glares we sent each other at breakfast. The food on our plates remained untouched and cold as our stomachs twisted into painful knots. Anxiety was practically oozing from his pores. Using only my eyes, I tried assure him that his secret was safe with me but he didn't relax. And, if I were in his shoes, I don't believe I would have been fine either. That secret he harbored was not something he could hide forever, eventually it would come out and the repercussions would be brutal. The Council, of course, wouldn't do anything, since they were in on the whole ordeal but there would be those in school who would not be happy about the deception. The least I could do, was keep his secret for a little while.
Forcing my mind away from Dmitri, and the ball, I tuned in to the conversations that surrounded us- only to wish that I hadn't. Everyone was talking about the ball. Through eavesdropping, I found out that most people thought Kimone shimmery, sliver Egyptian-styled dress was a top favorite out of all of our outfits. I also discovered that Mira and Ryder had apparently hooked up afterwards. They denied all of the rumors but guilt and regret kept showing up on their emotional radar.
"So, is it true?" Mira's icy blue eyes were narrowed and focused on Dmitri and me. Resisting a shiver, I remembered how she had every reason to try to kill me. Dmitri furrowed his brow and gave her a quizzical look.
"What are you talking about?" His Russian accent curled the words as he spoke. His light brown hair was fashionably styled. With his high cheekbones and kissable lips he looked like the perfect boy, but his brother's looks went beyond perfect.
Her glossy pink lips twisted into a sneer. "Don't play dumb with me, Alek! Everyone in school knows you two disappeared for a lengthy amount of time."
Suddenly, all of the students sitting on the platform were interested in what we were going to say. I felt their ravenous stares on my back as they waited to hear the juicy gossip. Didn't anyone value privacy nowadays? Ryder playfully nudged my shoulder. He wiggled his golden brows and gave me naughty smile.
"Nothing happened," I told them.
It wasn't a complete lie; nothing happened that I wanted to discuss. Mira rolled her eyes in disbelief and turned to Dmitri. This time her demeanor was more demanding. He squirmed in his seat as she scrutinized him.
"We...uh...kissed," he said bluntly.
My eyes rounded in horror as the words finally connected. He told everyone that he kissed me. Whispers arose from the ravenous teenagers, they hungrily consumed the gossip and twisted each word he said until it sounded like a soap opera. Humiliated, I abruptly stood up and ran off of platform.
Alix rushed over to me but I brushed her away, and walked out of the dining hall. Rationally, I knew I shouldn't have reacted so dramatically, but a sad part of me wished that my first kiss didn't have to be apart of some twisted rumor mill. As I continued to walk through the deserted halls, I found myself getting lost.
I had never been in that part of the school before, and by the rotting wooden floor and crumbling stone walls, it didn't look like anyone else had been either. It was like something from a horror movie, complete with cobwebs and the horrifying smell of decay. Sunlight streamed in through the cracks in the roof. An eerie feeling began to overwhelm me.
A narrow and dark stone hallway beckoned my curiosity. I timidly walked across weak floor. It cracked loudly with every step. I walked through the small tunnel and felt claustrophobia creep on me. The room it led to was much larger but in even worse shape. The wholes in the floor told me who unsafe this would be.
"Caddie!" Maddox yelled on the other side of the tunnel. I took a step back into the disaster zone. The plank began to shake underneath my weight. I held my breath and shut my eyes closed, hoping I would disappear.
Maddox ran through the small tunnel without noticing how weak the floor was.
"Don't move!"
But it was too late. He took a step towards me and we both fell through the floor. My screams were cut short as both of us fell onto the ground. I slowly sat up trying to decipher if I broke anything. Everything was so sore, it was too hard to decide.
"Ugh," he groaned, "where are we?"
Goosebumps formed on my arms as the feeling of insanity began to trickle into my mind. We were in The Dark Ones dungeon, without any light or sense of direction.
"Do you know how to make light come from your hands?" I asked frantically, fear seized my heart.
"I know how to preform an illumination spell," he corrected me and quickly muttered an odd word under his breath.
His hands began to illuminate and some of the darkness began to disappear. It was only enough to see a few feet ahead of us but it would work. We stood and followed the dirt path.
"Why did you follow me?" I asked, trying to ignore the hissing noises in the shadows.
"I wasn't the only one following you. I was just the first person to find you." He said it as if it was no big deal.
Maddox was relatively quiet. We didn't really know each other, but I was fond of him as a friend. It was hard to remember how powerful and imposing his powers were. I started to realize that he probably knew more than he should, like Alix.
"You guys didn't need to come for me," I insisted.
"Why not? You were so humiliated with what Aleksander had said. There's obviously more to the story." He dug deeper. "There are times you can hardly stand him, so why would you make out with him?"
I felt my uneasiness grow as he got closer to the truth.
"We did kiss," I said, trying to keep my voice even.
"But..."
"But we had other things to discuss." I realized that we had stopped walking.
"What are you two keeping from everyone else?" He wondered out loud.
Without my consent the truth came out of my mouth. "We're trying to find his brother," I said in a strained voice.
Through the soft light I could see the traces of a smug look on Maddox's face. He had almond shaped eyes and a sharp jaw line. The wise look in his eyes came from being the Mind Manipulator, but his Asian features added a regal feeling to his presence. I realized that I didn't tell him the truth because I wanted too, but because he compelled the truth to come forward. It must have been a power of his.
"So why did you come here?" He asked trying to piece the puzzle together.
"I don't know," I answered truthfully.
"I think part of you does. What is this place to be exact?" He asked, and once again I felt compelled to answer.
"This is where they keep captured dark ones."
A startling melody of growls and hisses responded.
Maddox and I shared an uneasy look before he continued with his interrogation.
"Why would you come here?"
"I didn'tâat least, I didn't realize that I was coming here," I remembered I was just walking around aimlessly, but maybe my feet were taking me to a certain destination.
"There is a dark one here that can help Aleksander and me," it felt weird calling Dmitri by his brother's name, now that I knew the truth.
"And I would actually need a favor from you," this moment was as good as any to ask him for help.
He nodded once a through the pale light, "Do you remember where that Dark One was kept?"
I didn't, but I also didn't know which direction we should take to leave. It only made sense to try to find her as we ventured onwards. Using the light from his palms we peered into each cell. After inspecting hundreds of different jail cells, a loss of hope began to spur inside of me. Until I heard a frightening voice echo from the cell I was standing by.
"You're back," the girl hissed.
I whirled around to see the ghastly looking figure was standing behind bars. There was a deranged look in her eyes.
"Is that her?" Maddox asked. I could feel his fear.
I nodded and placed my hands on the bars reciprocating the spell that Heidi did. The girl took a few steps back and fell onto her butt. My hands glowed and cell door shook violently as it opened. Maddox and I quickly stepped in.
"I don't really know how to do this," he whispered to me, "I could kill her."
I glanced at the cowering girl before returning my unsympathetic gaze to Maddox. "She deserves worse than death. That's why she's trapped here."
Maddox noted my uncompromising tone and turned back to the girl. He timidly reached out to grip her temples. I didn't know who looked more terrified, Maddox of the Dark One. Her eyes rolled back into her head as he searched through her mind. After a few minutes of silence he released her skull and she collapsed to the ground. His breath was ragged and short, he fell onto his knees from exhaustion.
After he regained his breath he said, "You're in luck, she saw him when he was first imprisoned."
*Â *Â *
I stood in Heidi's office, alone, as she thought about my new discovery. Before I had stormed into Heidi's office with the news, Maddox and I had found a way out of the dark maze. We found a hidden door minutes after leaving the jail cell. The door was connected to underground tunnel that led to the forest. Once we were out of the tunnels we made our way back to the school.
"You're telling me that the dark ones are hiding in underground tunnels in Salem?" Heidi balked at the thought, she looked as if she was going to laugh.
It did sound far-fetched. The council members prided themselves on knowing about everything that happened in their world. The idea that the Dark Ones had been hiding beneath their noses made them seem weak. I could only imagine the Dark Ones laughing at our stupidity as we walked on top of their hideout. I wouldn't blame her if she did laugh at the idea, I questioned Maddox relentlessly before giving the information to Heidi. Once I felt positive that he was telling the truth I managed to spit out to Heidi. My fingers fidgeted with the sleeves of my black crested sweater, as I anticipated Heidi's reaction.
"This is good, right?" I asked.
Heidi forced a smile and nodded, but for some reason there was an outraged glint to her dark eyes. I doubted any of the council members would be as accepting as she was with the idea. The Dark Ones were not only breaking every rule the supernatural held dear to them but they were also making a mockery of us.
"Find the Volkov boy," she agreed, "I want you to tell me where these hooligans are exactly, and when I find them I will be the one to end them!"
I was surprised by my aunts outburst. Her eyes sparkled with barely contained fury, as her clenched fists twitched. Not wanting to anger her further I took a step back. Her body trembled as she tried to reign in her inner demons. I had never seen her so out of control before, and it was frightening. A low inhuman hiss escaped her lips and for a second I swore I saw a forked tongue slip out of her lips. That was not normal, not even for a Dark Witch.
My brows furrowed in confusion, I opened my mouth to ask but she quickly held her hand up and growled, " I need you to find the other Volkov child.. You and your friends will leave tonight."
I was shocked by her words. Tonight? My mind raced as my nerves went crazy. I had no choice but to do this. It was my turn to be brave. My legs shook as I turned to leave the office, and my magic surged through my veins. It was as if my powers knew I was going to need it. We were in tune, and I didn't need to search for a force in the dark because it was waiting for me to use it. I held my head higher as a tingling sensation ran through me.
I began to walk up the main staircase when I saw a dark figure glaring at me from the shadows.
**Hey Guys I still need to edit it but I thought I'd put it out there! Thank you for being patient with me, and sorry that it's short again. But tell me what you think about this chapter!!**