The Immortal's Gamble

Chapter 25 Frustration

My plan to head to the Grand Palace was met by silence. I could almost hear crickets. Groaning in frustration I glared at Alex who cleared his throat.

"Uhm, Laura, honey. The Grand Palace isn't a place where you can waltz in as and when you like." Alex gently laid it out, his hand on mine. I pulled back my hands and let out a growl as I leaned back and stared at the ceiling with increasing frustration.

Just when I finally found out where my father could be, more obstacles appear. It's almost as if the fates were playing around. The more I find out, the more questions I have. It was driving me crazy.

"Keep your head high, the best thing to do now is wait it out and hone your powers. Lewis has handed us so many books and items, there might be something in there. A hint maybe." Alex encouraged and the rest of the room murmured in agreement. Except for me. Restlessness coursed through my veins like molten lava. I could feel myself getting warmer with each obstacle that gets in my way.

"I'm going home. I'll be fine. It's across the road you don't have to follow me." I muttered and stood up, heading for the exit I needed some time alone.

"Laura, wait up. Brown eyes, please." I heard Arden call out as I exited the house. I turned, shaking my head.

"For just one night, please, give me some alone time." I pleaded then carried on walking home. The crunch of gravel never followed as I walked on home alone.

Silence greeted me as I entered the house. Mum hasn't been back since Arden manipulated them. The manipulation's deadline has long past but still, there was neither hide nor hair of mum and Dale. And since I've spent most nights over at the brother's house, my own home has been vacant. It seemed almost like a haunted house, a ghost of my past.

I climbed up the stairs, feeling the banister that was now covered in an inch of dust. Standing on the last step I looked in my room and a feeling of nostalgia washed over me. It was the cleanest place in the entire house. Lifting my pillow, there in the middle was a family photo. My family photo. It was the one and only family photo I had when our family was intact when dad was still around. It was the only one I managed to salvage when we left Springsville. In the picture, we were all laughing and I was on dad's shoulders. Mum's eyes reflected the love she had for him.

Well, not anymore now.

Mum became an entirely different person. Moving to Davenport, she picked the house in the corner street where no one can hear your scream and soon the beatings started. Within months of moving to Alanta, Dale entered the picture and I became as withdrawn as ever. I kept to myself in school, getting picked on by bullies like Kara despite growing up with her, until Bri and Soren stepped in. 

Holding on to the photo, I looked around the room that was just so bare unlike other girls who have posters up on every inch of their walls. I didn't even bother turning on the lights, the moonlight was more than enough. My window overlooked the forest behind my house. It always brought me a sense of comfort. I imagined myself running in there where mum can never find me and I would set up a small cottage, meet a handsome trekker, fall in love and get married. On darker days I would imagine myself dying from hunger and haunting people.

Shaking I looked out to the serenity of the forest, sighing I was about to turn but a flash of light caught my eyes, stopping me from moving. Squinting, I looked further into the forest and there it was again, in the middle of the forest. A flurry of movement at the edge of the forest distracted me from the light, and as I stared longer I realised it was a hooded figure that looked suspiciously like Annalise did when she came into Level One. I watched as the figure looked left and right before scurrying into the forest.

Grabbing my jacket I stuffed the photo into one of the pockets, I flew down the living room and stop short of the door. Peering through the window that faced Arden's house, no one was leaving the house and the lights were still on. This was my chance, to uncover some secrets and contribute. Grabbing my sneakers, I ran to the back of the house and into the backyard. I have had enough of being the damsel in distress

The latch creaked with misuse and I was free, I was running towards the forest, a ball of nerves in the pit of my stomach. I had to do something on my own, I couldn't always rely on them to rescue me. First the wanderer, the puppeteer, and messenger, they were always coming to my rescue. I had to find out something or do something at the very least. I had to contribute.

The deeper I walked into the forest, the darker it got. The moonlight no longer shone through the trees. I had nothing. The smell of the damp air filled my nose, leaves and branches snapped beneath my feet despite taking the lightest steps I could. The chill in the air seemed to get colder the further I walked, but at the very least I am able to heat myself up without turning blue, the training helped that much.

"You idiot what do you think you're doing?" A sharp voice screamed, followed by the smashing of glass and then howling. The sound itself was enough to freeze me in my tracks. I had reached a clearing. A plot of land, not a tree in sight.

Except it wasn't very empty.

A pile of bodies lay in the middle of the land. Markings on the bodies almost similar to those I saw on the body before.

"Come on, let's get this party started." The man howled a dangerous grin on his face but was stopped short when a taller man stepped out of a portal.

The dirt on the ground crunched under his boot cladded feet. His coat flipped in the wind with every step he took. A scar on his hand, one I remember very clearly, one that was constantly delivering bruises on my skin. His face finally out under the moonlight and I couldn't suppress the gasp that escaped my lips. 

Dale.