A Magical Betrayal - arabian (book club reads .TXT) 📗

the room without them noticing and left a good dinner for them with a note from me.
When I was back in the maid cave I lay down and the second my head hit the warm fur I was laying on I was out.


I woke up before dawn to see the other girls in the cavern stirring. “Good morning,” I said while yawning simultaneously. They murmured their good mornings back to me then reptile man entered the cavern.
“Cecilia, Emily, Olicia. Come with me girls.” They followed him without a word but I had a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach.
“Don’t go,” I shouted at them with my mind. They all stopped and looked startled then they looked at me. I pleaded with them with my eyes.
“We have to go,” Olicia said to me. I looked from her to reptile man then had an idea. I started plucking his brain so that I could figure out what he was taking them to. What I discovered was awful. I saw an image in his mind of the strange creatures hatching out of eggs and eating the girls alive. I jumped to my feet.
“Don’t you dare lead them to their deaths you monster,” I yelled at the top of my lungs. His eyes opened so wide eye thought they were going to pop out and roll across the cavern floor. “Pass out,” I commanded. In less than a second after saying it he crumpled into a heap on the floor.
“Follow me,” I said. Then without bothering to look over my shoulder I walked to the small opening, crouched, and went through. On the other side I walked to the pedestal in the middle of the room. Still without turning around I snatched the false flower I had placed on the pedestal and broke it into a million glittering turquoise shards. I used some wind currents to gather them up and then let them swirl all around the three girls behind me.
Then I turned to look at their shocked faces. Their eyes had glazed over and they looked as though they were carved from stone. Then slowly, ever so slowly they began to thaw and start to move again. When they finally looked at me they blinked very slowly as though they had just woken up and then they all started babbling.
“Shut up,” I thundered over the din. They instantly stilled and became silent. “Thank you. Now, you three follow me silently,” I emphasized the word drawing out every syllable, “and help carry Hailee and Enna, the two little girls who have been captured to be used as feed for the goblin spawn like ya’ll were to be.” They all nodded mutely and followed me into the girls’ room. What we found was too awful to believe. There were broken, eggs in the corner of the room with trails of slime leading all over the place.
The room stank of death. There was blood coating every exposed surface and----. I shuddered unable to register any more than I needed. There were two crumpled bodies in the middle of the room. I walked over to Enna’s body and confirmed what I already believed then I started to hear again. Hailee was breathing in small, shallow pants that rattled with the sound of death, but she was still alive. The girls in the back of the room were gagging at the stench and then faintly, I heard the quiet footfalls of someone entering the cavern with the pedestal.
“Take her,” I ordered them and sprang to my feet. I would have taken Enna’s body for a true burial but we couldn’t carry her body and move quickly at the same time. I skulked to the entrance of the girls’ small cave and peeked out of the leather flap. Deric was standing in the middle of the room with his head cocked listening. I willed all of the girls into silence, then speaking into their minds I said,” Keep to the shadows and you will make it to the ledge. Once you are there use this,” and I held up a small leaf,” to get to the bottom. Just say grow and it’ll become large enough for everyone to sit in it then it will float to the ground. Be swift.”
Then taking a deep breath I exited the small room and entered the cavern. Derric looked at me unsurprised. My face no doubt looked grim and sad. “You have seen the children.” It was a statement, not a question and he seemed to be slightly amused.
“What’s left of them,” I said. Then to my surprise, he smiled. He actually smiled. My stomach dropped out from under me. This smile was not warm and dark like I’d seen him smile before but this smile was cold and black. This smile was blacker than the deepest pit in the bowels of hell. I wanted to scream and cry and run away all at the same time but I couldn’t.
“Aleca,” he purred,” come here.” I walked so that I was just out of lunging distance of him. “Come, closer.” He said. Omigod. Omigod. I think I’m going to scream. I swallowed down the lump in my throat and walked until I was close enough to touch him with my outstretched arm. Please don’t touch me. Please don’t touch me. My silent plea was ignored; he wrapped his arms around my waist, pulled me close, and whispered in my ear.
“Aleca, do you remember what you were before I kissed you?” My body already stiff with fear went rigid in complete and utter terror. I am so bad at hiding what I’m feeling. He laughed against my neck and I shivered. His breath was like ice. “Hmmm…” he murmured as he tightened his grip on me. “Ally, Ally, Ally.” He said silkily, “You aren’t fooling anyone. If you hadn’t had your memories you would have joined me last night without a clue of what I was doing.” He lifted one hand and traced my collar bone. I jerked away from him and backed against the far wall.
His eyes were hungry black orbs. “Don’t you ever, ever, touch me,” I said. My voice was husky and deep from sleep. He threw back his head and howled with laughter.
“This will be fun,” he croaked as he transformed into his true shape. “Oh, and Ally, I forgot to tell you,” his voice sounded like that of demonic decent, “I really am not what you think I am. The human form you usually see me in is that of Deric’s but it doesn’t belong to him anymore. My name is Skotino. In your language that means darkness,” He, it, whatever it was chuckled.
Then I did the only sensible thing a girl could do in this situation. I ran. I ran like the devil himself was going to steal my soul. When I reached the ledge outside of the cave I didn’t even pause I jumped into the air and was freefalling like a maniac. I fell for what seemed like an eternity and then when I saw the ground approaching I jerked so my feet were beneath me and absorbed the impact of the fall with the balls of my feet. I looked up into the air for any signs of pursuit and was disappointed to see a swamp green swarm writhing through the air like an eel through water. I heard a sigh of relief and saw the girls hiding in the shade of the ravine.
“We need to move, now!” I cried urgently. They followed my gaze to the cloud of demons and whimpered in terror. “Follow me.” I grabbed Hailee and cradled her in my arms. She was barely breathing and her heart beat slow and uneven. I reached out with my mind and called a small herd of centaurs for aid.
Within seconds we heard the centaur’s hoof beats echoing around the base of the ravine. “Come,” said a large male who seemed to be the leader. He grabbed Enna from me and a young male with a liver chestnut body and a blonde mane and tail lifted me onto his back.
A few female centaurs did the same with the girls. Then seeing the swarm in the sky the leader said, “You must really keep bad company if they’re after you.” I just stared at him solemnly.
Then they ran. I swear that they ran faster than a dragon flies and we were deep in the forest before the demons could even think about flying to the bottom of the ravine. I moved woodenly and robotically. My mind would not process what I saw. I willed some warm wool dresses into being and gave them to the girls. Then I set about taking care of Hailee. I took her to a private spot behind a large oak tree and cut her gown off of her wounds. There was a hot spring not five yards from wear I was sitting with Hailee. So I gathered her up and walked right into it.
The water hissed when it hit her wounds and I realized that Hailee was so cold that she should be dead. I put my hand on her shoulder and let heat seep through her body. Then she opened her eyes and gasped in pain. Hailee thrashed and writhed so I grabbed her and held her tight.
“Shhh,” I murmured over and over again as she fought with the little strength she had left. Then I started humming a lullaby. This seemed to pull her consciousness to the present, but before she could do any more than focus her eyes on my face she drifted off into unconsciousness once more. I submerged all of Hailee’s wounds and then I set her on the bank and healed her.
All I had to do to was barely brush my fingers over the deep cuts and bites then the tissue would knit together as though someone had taken a ripped gown and sewed it back together again. I replaced her torn (that’s a bit of an understatement the dress was in shreds barely hanging on to her small frame) dress with a warm cushy robe and laid her down to sleep on a bed of leaves.
I lay down close to her and it seemed like hours later fell asleep.


I woke up to the sun shining brightly on the horizon and thought how could the sun shine so happily and brightly when there are no reasons to smile? I sat up and checked on Hailee she was breathing normally and she didn’t have a fever but her scars stood out in stark relief against her pail skin. I wish that I could have acted sooner than I had because if I had Enna would be alive and neither of them would have had to go through so much pain. I finally let a few tears slip out of my eyes and down my face in the morning light.
“There’s nothing you could have done for Enna,” said an unfamiliar voice behind me.
I was too tired to turn and counter the person’s words so I just hung my head and asked,” How’d you know what I was thinking?” There was no answer other than the quiet steps of the person as he lowered himself the ground next to me. I finally mustered the energy to look up and when I saw him in normal circumstances I would have