The Point of A Dagger

Five

My horse ran through the night, a blur of deep chocolate in the forest. Nova and Erora rode behind me, the three of us bareback, riding as we were trained in the night by our mothers, teaching us to be huntresses, warriors, queens.

The ride from the castle to the Lake would be a little over an hour if we didn't stop. And we weren't going to stop. I could see the joy in my friend's faces as well, the same freedom that I had written across my own face.

I felt the life of the forest as we rode through the woods. I felt the sleeping animals, the ones hunting. I felt the pull of vines and trees, begging me to make them grow. As I breathed, they breathed. A living extension of my spirit. It was something our people never got used to; the constant tug of life. I would assume it's the same for the others: Omadrians immune to cold, Azorians as hard as stone, and people from Saunin with tempers of flame.

"What's our goal from this excursion, Cassie?" Nova asks as our horses slow, nearing the Lake. A blue hue fills the night air, the glow of the spirits from the Lake.

"I need answers," I breathe, moving off the horse and tying it to a tree. Nova and Erora follow silently as I follow the blue haze.

"Have you ever been here before?" Erora whispers.

"Once, with my mother." I don't elaborate and my mind and body become transfixed on the Lake before me.

Even in the dark, the water is crystal blue, glowing even, and clear enough to see the bottom covered in pebbles with small plants growing. The immaculateness of it is something one shouldn't be able to find in nature, yet here it is. My feet find their way to the edge of the water bank, my gaze transfixed. A small fish swims before me, hurrying away when it reaches my shadow.

And then the voices begin to fill my head. They are a whisper at first, something so soft it could be mistaken for the breeze flowing through the trees. But the air around me is flat and the voices grow louder. They beckon me without muttering a word, call me without knowing my name. They want me. The longer I stare, the clearer the voices become, soothing me. Come, they murmur. Come and we will tell you all that you desire. Come, and discover what your ancestors sought out.

"Cass?" I hear, the word distant, so far away from my body. I begin removing my clothes, sliding my cloak off my shoulders, followed by my blouse. "Cassandra?" The word is so faded I hardly hear it over my thoughts. Cassandra, the voices whisper again. Come, beautiful child. My trousers slide off my legs, followed by my undergarments while I unlace my corset. My body feels like it's glowing as I stand there, exposed to the Lake. The voices beckon me and I listen, stepping a foot into the water.

***

Water swallows me whole, wrapping around my body. It's a warm caress, holding me tight as I sink, floating, floating, floating to the bottom. My ears ring with voices, too hushed and low to discern what they are saying; just a hot buzzing in my ears. My lungs begin to ache, to burn, without the breath I forgot to take. I try to move, trying to find the surface, but the whole world has turned blue. The sight is blinding, like it's midday, sunlight shining through.

I begin choking, gasping for air that's not there. My mouth fills with water, the tang of magic, a saltiness with a hint of ash and candy, fill my senses. Black spots creep to the edges of my vision, getting closer and closer, threatening to take me. I thrash, but my body doesn't move. It only grows heavier.

The sensation is far away, like it's happening to another body, but I feel my feet touch the rocky ground, my body following in suit until I'm laying on the rocks. I stare into the endless blue water, trying to imagine the surface. The black spots continue engulfing my vision until I can no longer see anything, and my eyelids fall closed.