The Pariah Child & the Ever-Giving Stone Read online

  Were they okay? Did they miss her? A thin line of tears appeared in Sarah’s eyes.

  “Oh, Sarah, my poor baby girl.” Her mother’s voice, full of anguish, echoed throughout the forest.

  Sarah peered around her but saw nothing. “Mama? Mama!”

  “It’s okay, honey. It’s all right.” Her father’s raspy voice reached her ears. Sarah looked around until in the distance a light began to shine, and as that light disappeared, there were her parents. Her mother was weeping with her face buried in her father’s work jacket. He held his wife close in his arms, but Sarah could see the way his face contorted. He was fighting back tears, as well.

  “Why did she run away?” her mother asked. “Were we bad parents? Was I that bad of a mother?”

  Sarah raced toward the image and reached out for her family.

  “Mama, Daddy! No, I didn’t run away. I didn’t!” The closer she grew to the image the farther away it went. Always just out of her reach. Then, gradually her parents dimmed into the darkness, and Sarah again was left alone in the forest feeling like a hole had been torn in her heart.

  “Look at all you have put them through, Sarah. All the pain you have caused.” Despite his strong words the dragon’s voice was calm.

  Sarah silently wept. “I didn’t mean to. I didn’t want to hurt them. I love them.”

  “Well, none of that matters now, does it? The damage is done,” said the dragon. “Their hearts are broken.”

  Sarah shook her head. “No. I can fix this.”

  “You can’t.”

  She fell to the ground and banged her fists on the earth and screamed, “Just shut up. Shut up! I don’t care what you say. I’m not scared of you.”

  “Perhaps, you do not fear me,” he said. “But I know what you do fear.”

  “Sarah.” It was a young, sweet, innocent voice. She spun around and there was her four-year-old self. Wide-eyed and freckled face with a bush of orange-red hair. “We’re scared, Sarah,” said the four-year-old.

  Sarah bobbed her head, not sure if what she was seeing was real.

  The four-year-old shuffled on her feet. “Are we going to die? Please, don’t let her kill us.”

  “Her?” Sarah put out her hand. “I’m not sure who she is. Come with me and...” The words disappeared from her mouth.

  She watched as two pale hands appeared from the shadows and rested on the child’s shoulders. A ghastly face with messy brown hair appeared with the hands. Susan grinned with large green eyes. Her hands tightened on the girl’s shoulders.

  Sarah looked at herself and screamed, “Run!” But it was too late. Susan clasped her hands around the girl’s neck, whose eyes grew round at the sudden pain. She placed her small hands on Susan’s and tried to free herself.

  “I thought you said you wouldn’t let her kill me...us,” the girl wheezed. “We weren’t going to die.”

  The tears were rushing fast down Sarah’s face. “I’m sorry” was all Sarah could whisper.

  “You let us down. Everyone’s going to die because of you.”

  Sarah’s stomach churned as her younger self died. The child’s eyes rolled into the back of her head, her hands fell to her side as Susan placed the body gently on the ground like she didn’t want to break it. Like it was a porcelain doll. But it had already been broken.

  There was no point in carrying on. The odds were against her, and she had no way of evening them out. Susan began to approach her.

  Sarah held a hand up. “Don’t come near me. I’m telling you to stay away!” She glanced up at Susan only to divert her eyes to the ground.

  “Oh, Sarah,” Susan said and pushed her hand down. “You don’t have to pretend with me. I know you’re not strong. I know you’re like me.”

  Sarah held herself as her body began to shake. She covered her head and pleaded. “Serwa, Alex, Jake... help me. Please, help me.”

  “Sarah.” Jacob’s voice came to her like smooth milk. So comforting and soothing. She looked up, and there he was smiling down at her, his dark brown hair just barely caressing his brows. Suddenly, everything seemed all right. She reached out for him, but her hand slipped through his.

  He gave her a small smile but didn’t meet her eyes. “I guess that makes sense, doesn’t it? You can’t help someone if you don’t know who they really are.” Sarah jumped to her feet and threw herself into his arms only to open her eyes and see that she had walked straight through him.

  “I can’t help you, Sarah,” he whispered. “You don’t know me.” He began to vanish. Sarah stretched her arms out for him. She grabbed air.

  Her shoulders shook rapidly and she fell to her knees. “I need help. I can’t do this on my own.” Sarah held herself and began to cry again.

  Susan stared down at her, taking hard breaths through her nose and continously flexing her hands.

  Sarah glanced at the woman. “Please, don’t kill me. Don’t kill me.”

  “Don’t kill me. Don’t kill me.” Her words echoed through the forest. Sarah closed her eyes. There was someone else crying. There was another voice. Sarah opened her eyes, and she saw herself huddled on the floor.

  “I’m so scared,” said the other Sarah. “I can’t do this. I’m not strong enough.”

  Sarah watched herself crying. “Everyone, I’m so sorry. I’m not a hero. Those only exist in stories.”

  “No,” Sarah whispered. “That’s not...” Susan clasped her hands around Sarah’s neck. Sarah grabbed the woman’s hands and tried to pull away.

  “I should have finished you off when you were four,” said Susan. “You left me! Left me to die in that room. Now’s my chance. I can get out. You can’t stop me!”

  “No.” Sarah struggled as the woman lifted her from the ground. It grew harder to breathe as Susan’s grip tightened. She shook her by the throat and forced Sarah to stare into her eyes.

  “You’re just like me.” Susan smiled wickedly. “Crazy! Crazy! That’s what they’ll call you.”

  Everything began to blur. Sarah began to slip away. “You could never save everyone,” Susan said.

  Everyone, Sarah thought. I couldn’t save everyone.

  Images of Lyrica flashed through her mind. She was dancing around the fire with Skuntz in the elves’ forest. The Great Spirit Tree spoke to her and entrusted her with the bow and arrows. Jacob whispered to her from his prison cell. The tree nymphs called her sister and welcomed her into their family. Serwa scolded her and said she would never become her teacher. Alex told her about Abel...

  They saved me. They all did. So, I have to try...

  She refocused and reached up to her throat. “I’m not going to be scared,” she said. “I can’t...be scared. This is my story. I’m the hero.” She pried Susan’s hands away from her throat and pushed Susan to the ground before falling to the floor gasping for breath. She turned to Susan who was getting to her feet.

  “You’re dead,” Sarah shouted. “Buried.” Susan stood, yet she couldn’t move her legs. Her feet had sunk into the earth. Sarah dug her own hands into the dirt and pulled Susan down.

  Susan shook her head with an evil grin plastered on her face. “Crazy, crazy, Sarah. You’re just like me. Just wait until I get out again. I’ll get you for leaving me. I’ll get you, Sarah.”

  “Whenever you want a good fight.” Sarah pulled Susan down until the earth reached her neck. “You can come get me.” Susan’s head slipped below the earth, her wild eyes green eyes hidden beneath the dirt. She was finally silent.

  “I’m not scared,” Sarah breathed. “I can do this.”

  Everything disappeared.

  “Sarah, where did the dragons go?” Jacob asked stepping beside her. “Are you okay? What’s –”

  “We were wrong,” said Serwa. “It isn’t a mountain.”

  Sarah focused her eyes. She was back. “It’s a volcano. We need to go now,” she said. She looked back at Alexander who was resting in Serwa’s arms on the floor. He couldn’t go any farther. “You and Alex stay bac
k. The heat will be too much for him, he –”

  The vampire staggered to his feet. “No. I’m going. Don’t argue.” Sarah looked at Serwa.

  The witch nodded. “I can keep him alive with my magic...for a while.” The girl nodded as well, and her friends followed her through the doors.

  There was a small space of land around the room and a short, narrow cliff where one could step out and look down at the lava steaming below. Sarah raced to beginning of the cliff and began to cross it.

  “Be careful,” Jacob yelled. His words almost made her laugh. If he only knew what was about to happen, he wouldn’t have even wasted his breath. She walked steadily to the edge of the cliff, careful not to fall in just yet. Once at the edge she looked down at the liquid red and felt its heat burn her face. The stone now was so hot Sarah felt like it was melting through her skin. She had to hurry. There was no delaying the end. She turned to face her friends.

  Serwa was staring at her, brows slanted. “What are you waiting for?” she said. “Throw it in, and let’s leave!”

  “Hurry.” Jacob added.

  Sarah smiled and shook her head. “I’m not going with you all. I can’t.” Her words hung thick in the air.

  Serwa placed Alexander beside Jacob and stepped forward.

  “Sarah. Throw the stone in and come here.”

  “I have to,” Sarah said. “It’s the only way.” She began taking steps back while Serwa took steps forward.

  “Just take it from your chest,” the witch said, glancing between Sarah and the lava. “Remove it.”

  “I can’t. I never could. The stone refuses to leave my body.” She placed a hand on her chest. “It needs me. I have to do this.”

  Sarah quickly glanced at the scene behind her. It was so bright she had to turn away to save her eyes. The rising heat continued to melt her back as she faced her friends again.

  “Don’t do this,” Serwa begged. Her golden eyes glowed with the boiling liquid below. “Please, Sarah...” She moved toward her. Sarah, immediately, took several more steps back and raised her hand in warning. “Don’t come any closer. Any of you! Everyone stay away!”

  Sarah looked at them still holding her arm out to keep the distance. She turned from Serwa to Jacob.

  She let her arm drop to her side and a sad grin stretched across her face.

  “We’re all good friends now, aren’t we?” Tears rolled down Sarah’s cheeks. “You guys... and everyone I’ve met in Lyrica were my first real friends. Before this, I was always alone. I didn’t know what it felt like to have such good friends. Thank you for that.”

  The stone’s white light began to permeate her chest. The time was near. It was time to go home. Sarah covered her chest, somewhat blocking the light it was emitting. “Serwa... when we first met I thought you would hate me forever. Becoming so close to you was the last thing I expected. Now you’re like the older sister I always wanted.” The last words fell from her mouth in sobs. She bit her lip and steadied herself.

  “And Jake, I never thought someone like you would even... would even speak to me and now you’ve traveled to another world with me. How amazing is that, huh? You’re my best friend, Jake.” Her gaze dropped to the floor. “And I know this was a long shot but from the moment I met you... part of me thought maybe in the future we would be...” The words crumbled in her mouth. She sighed. She couldn’t say it. She never would be able to say it to him.

  “Sarah?” Jacob’s voice broke her from her thoughts. She looked up at him. “We can,” he said. “Just come here.”

  Those few words made Sarah cry even more. He liked her, and she liked him, too. Knowing that was enough.

  “Thanks for protecting me,” she said to Jacob. She took a deep breath. “And please, take care of my parents, too since I won’t be able to.”

  She coughed out raspy sobs as the image of her parents pushed forward in her mind. Hot, salty tears ran down her face, stinging her lips. Her heart ached.

  Maybe I can watch over them from heaven. The thought did not stop her pain.

  “Sarah—”

  She shook her head at Jacob. “Please, just do it.”

  Finally, she turned to her third friend. Did she have to say much? He knew how she felt. They had spent so much time together and with each moment they grew closer. His eyes watched her cautiously, waiting for any sudden movements.

  “I love you, big brother. You were the best guardian.” His eyes filled with shock. This was her chance. She stretched her smile even further. “Bye.” Then, she pushed herself off from the cliff’s edge. Serwa raced after her but was a second too late. The witch reached her arm out. Sarah waved.

  She turned her body, so she was facing the lava. The stone was emitting a bright white light from her chest that nearly lit the whole volcano. As Sarah looked down at her fate she felt a strange serenity. It was all coming to an end. She had done it. She had saved Lyrica.

  The light grew brighter. Sarah began to hear a familiar whisper in her ear.

  “So, you’re here for the end, huh? That seems like the right thing to do. To see me off.” She smiled feeling the flesh stretch as it began to leave her face. The dragon appeared by her side, his eyes haunting as always.

  “You have done your duty, Sarafina. It is time for you to return home.” With one claw he punctured her chest where the stone rested, removed it from her and let it drop. And then he disappeared into thin air.

  Sarah’s senses began to wane. Her mouth was drier than a desert, her eyes had tunnel vision. Her body became numb, and her ears only heard hollow shouts from above. For the final time, everything around her started to go black. All was almost gone, but she could still feel something. Her magic was still alive, and she could feel another presence coming toward her. She looked behind her and before everything vanished, Sarah saw a figure. It looked kind of like an angel.

  Chapter 29

  Sarah leapt up. Her heart was sprinting. She held one hand on her chest trying to calm herself. The other searched for the sword the elder dwarf had given her. Dread rose in her stomach. Her eyes moved rapidly looking for the enemy, but she soon realized she was alone and the battlefield was gone. She leaned back on the headboard and eased her breathing.

  Sarah was in a bed in the center of a large circular room that was completely white from the walls to the sheets.

  Am I dead? Is this heaven or... some other place?

  She touched her face expecting all the flesh to be gone, replaced by thin burnt bones. Instead she felt smooth skin. To her left, she noticed a mirror. She raced to it to assess the damage.

  Her face was flawless, except for the freckles of course. There were no scars, no scratches, nothing to hint at what she had been through.

  Sarah felt her hair. The ends should have been singed, yet they were as curly and red as ever. She looked down at her outfit. Where was her armor? All she wore was a knee length chalky gown.

  Wherever I am, they don’t have a great way of welcoming you, she thought walking around the room. She must have been in some tower because the walls stretched up for what seemed like miles. As she paced the room, she rubbed her hands against the walls to feel for a door.

  There was none.

  Am I a prisoner?

  “Hello,” she said to no one, “is anyone here? Where am I?” She felt a presence.

  “Sarah.” Jacob’s voice startled her. She whirled around, and there he stood wearing pants and leather boots with a cotton shirt.

  “Jake, what are we doing here? Where’s everyone else?”

  “They’re fine,” he said stepping toward her. “You’re here to heal.”

  She looked at him and shook her head. “I thought I died. I jumped into the lava. Why aren’t I dead?” Her friend remained silent and stared at his feet. “The Spirit came to me,” she continued on, noting his silence. “He took the stone and threw it into the lava for me. He said I was going home, but I felt the lava –”

  “Can you remember anything, Sarah?” Jaco
b placed a hand gently on her shoulder.

  “I can remember flashes. What I remember most is darkness and something...”

  “What was it?” Jacob asked.

  Once again, she shook her head. “It kind of looked like an angel. We’ve met a lot of things since coming to Lyrica. Do you think angels could be here? Do you think that’s what saved me?”

  By now Jacob had removed his hand and taken several steps backward. Sarah watched him. He wouldn’t look in her eyes and was tugging at his shirt. She reached out with both her hands and placed them on his shoulders before he could move farther away. He jeered as her fingers grazed soft lumps of skin behind his shoulders.

  Sarah looked him right in the eyes. His breathing hitched. “So tell me what you think, Jake. Was it an angel?”

  She waited for his response.

  He licked his lips. “I don’t know.”

  She dug her hands into his shoulders and let the magic pour from her. She wanted the truth. There would be no more lying.

  Jacob screamed as his wings were forced from his back, bringing strings of ash with them. They were wide, long and strangely covered in black feathers. Sarah pushed him away from her.

  “So, that’s what you are? You lied to me, Jake.”

  “Wait, Sarah.” He flapped his wings and flinched in pain. She fought the urge to comfort him. She looked at his wings and saw that some of the feathers were a singed gray. He had been hurt saving her.

  Sarah didn’t want to care. She wanted to want him to suffer, yet seeing him hunched over in pain made her anger falter.

  “Were your wings healing?” she asked gliding her fingers over his feathers.

  He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Yes. I didn’t know you were going to force them out like that.”

  She frowned and glared at him. “You should have never lied to me.” She took a seat on the bed, and Jacob sat beside her.

  He tried to touch her, but she moved away. “I didn’t mean to hurt you. I didn’t want to lie to you, but I had to, Sarah.”

  “And why is that?” She moved from the bed and marched across the room.