“Dad, please, you know nothing. Who’s been feeding your head with these lies?”
An evil cackle comes from behind me. I know the tones instantly. They send a feeling of nausea, washing through my body.
“They aren’t lies, Jacobi.” Taya struts into the room, confident in a tight leather catsuit. “You know that as well as I do. Juniper is the reason for all the issues at Caspian. We were happy before she arrived and warped your mind.”
“Go to hell, Taya. Dad, this woman is a manipulative liar. Don’t listen to her. Let me out of these binds, and I’ll prove it to you. Please, Dad. Listen to me. Trust your son for once. Not this bitch who’s jealous because I dumped her.”
Taya throws her head back and laughs loudly. It fills the room. My mother crumbles into her seat at the evilness of it. My father still can’t see it, though, and I wonder what spell he’s been placed under.
“Dad, listen to me,” I shout, but he turns towards Taya.
“Take him. Save him for me.”
Taya nods. She comes closer to me and puts her hand on my shoulder.
“It’s time to go, Jacobi. We need to get those powers out of you once and for all.”
“Taya, don’t do this. Whatever is motivating you, it doesn’t need to lead down this road.”
Taya utters a few words, and we’re flying through the air. My head spins. I’m not in control of the magic around me at the moment, and I can’t handle it. I’m someone who likes to be in total control of my own body. It’s why I hated not being able to command the Guardian powers.
Eventually, we land in a dark room. The lights flick on, and sitting on an ornate, jet black throne in the centre of the room is King Ambrose. Next to him stands the man I now know is his son, Michael. Taya steps towards them and stands next to the throne on the opposite side to her brother.
“The world could have been so different for you, Jacobi, if only you’d loved me instead of her,” Taya takes the King’s hand. “Did I do well, Daddy?”
Daddy.
Taya winks at me. “Michael isn’t the King’s only child.”
The King claps. “You did fabulously, my princess.”
“No,” I mumble, my legs feeling weak. I’m trapped with no way out.
“Send the call out to, Juniper,” the King orders. “She has an hour to get here and consent to marrying Michael, or Jacobi Ashdown dies.”
“Did you feel that?” I ask, turning to Rose.
“Feel what?” she replies, stepping away from the scroll she was reading.
There’s an imbalance in my body, something’s wrong. “Jacobi,” I whisper his name and move to rush after him.
“Wait!” Rose calls, and I jerk to a halt. “You need to think this through. This may be the only chance you get to read these scrolls. What if this is a distraction?”
I close my eyes and absorb her words. She’s not wrong, but what if Jacobi’s in danger?
Suddenly a pain radiates through my body so rapidly I can’t move and I can’t scream. I can see Rose panicking, rushing towards me, but I’m frozen in place as a message filters through my brain, the intent clear, I can see it behind my eyes. After what feels like hours, but is probably only seconds, I’m released, and I stumble forwards. Rose catches me in her arms.
“What happened?” she questions a wobble in her voice.
“They have him. King Ambrose has Jacobi.” I swallow down the bile sitting in my throat. “I have an hour to meet them and consent to marry Michael or Jacobi dies.” I find it hard to breathe, my chest burns and my head is a mess.
“They can’t have realised the Superiors won’t allow the marriage to come to fruition in the magical world.” Rose places her hand on my shoulder, and I feel a warmth flow into my body. It calms me and I close my eyes, sucking in a slow breath and exhaling just as slowly.
“A spell?” I question.
“Mmm,” she replies, “it’s a calming spell. You need to be able to focus and think logically, but I have a suggestion.”
I turn to face her. “You do?”
She nods. “Look at this,” she says pointing to the only scroll I haven’t looked at. “I have read all of them, and this is the only one I’ve found which is about the future. The others are annotating events that have already passed, things we already know. Unless you’ve found something else?”
I shake my head and sigh. Unfortunately, she’s completely right. These scrolls are useless. They would have been amazing a year ago and may have meant innocent people like Sebastian wouldn’t have had to die, but now all they tell me is what I’ve already learnt from living through the events described. I step over to the scroll and read the words aloud.
“There are more than physical beings in play now. The world doesn’t always work in the flesh and bone only.”
I look up to Rose. “What the hell does that mean?” I ask. She shrugs and her eyes move back to the tapestry on the wall. With another sigh, I continue reading.
“The Witch is the strongest. The Guardian is the only one on a par with her, but he will not have his full power until he believes in himself.” My eyes widen at the script, and I know, without thinking about it, Jacobi doesn’t yet fully believe in himself or his capabilities. “The Witch is special. She can do things others cannot. She can bring the worlds together. She can talk to the Superiors.” My head snaps up, and Rose and I lock stares. She nods, and a tentative smile creeps onto her face. “I can talk to the Superiors?”
She nods. “That’s what it says.”
“I wouldn’t even know how to,” I complain, worried I only have an hour to get to Jacobi and time is ticking away.
“Read the last part,” Rose whispers.
I frown at her eagerness and look back at the words hanging on the wall.
“The Witch is the balance within the world, keeping evil magic from overthrowing the humans and taking over. She will be the link between the Gods and the humans. She will be the messenger and the Guardian will protect her for eternity, even in the next life. They are bound. They are created for one another, but if they fall in love, then they are truly the strongest of us all and could even challenge the Superiors. They are inherently good. They will always stand on the side of truth and take their rightful place in the magical world. To speak to the Superiors, the Witch will need a vessel.”
I look up to Rose again. “That’s it? That’s all it says?” I complain. “What does it mean a vessel?” I bang the scroll down on the table in frustration and start worrying about Jacobi again.
“Think about it carefully. If you wanted to talk to a God, an angel, a Superior, how do you think you could do that?” she urges me to think of the answer.
I take a seat on an old wooden chair and close my eyes, dropping my head back while I think about the past few months, the life changes that have happened, and then back to my early childhood. I could never remember past being adopted, but something niggles at the back of my brain. A memory which has been deleted from my mind.
I open my eyes and look at Rose again. “When you saved these scrolls, did you find anything else? Maybe a jewel or stone or something…” I shake my head. “Something which could be used as a vessel, to keep my memories from me?”