Garthia: The Forgotten King

Chapter Twelve

~Chapter Twelve

We're standing in front of a compact street-side apartment on the southeast side of the castle. Stone steps flanked by malnourished flower beds lead up to a peeling green door with a rusty knocker and the numbers 190 carved into it.

Eve mounts the steps, Cam and I following as usual, and, with some effort, lifts the knocker. She slams it down three times causing some of the rust to flake off.

I count the seconds. 1..2..3..4..5. Five seconds before there are footsteps behind the door.

The woman who greets us looks about in her thirties, but that could be because of the bags under her eyes. Her face is hardened and stiff and her icy eyes are piercing and calculating. Her brown hair is a tangled mass which she attempted to put into a braid. She's wearing a stained black tank top and silk cheetah pajama pants. She leans on the door jamb and casts Eve a sidelong glance. "It's been a long time, princess." Her voice is hoarse and rough as if she's been screaming too much. "What do you want?"

"I need you to take me and my friends in for the night, Fera." Fera looks at Cam and I as if noticing us for the first time. "This is-"

"I know who they are." She turns her gaze from me, to Cam, then back to Eve. "Cameron Arlington and Hayden Blakely, two of the four Elementals not including yourself, Lady Eveline." She says a-matter-of-factly.

"It doesn't surprise me that you of all people would be able to figure that out, what with your ability and all." Fera smiles proudly.

"I have a question," Cam says. "What is your ability?"

Eve is about to explain but Fera beats her to it. "I can look at a person then access my memories to find out all about them, from their favorite color to their darkest fear. I'm the only one in the world who can do this." She stands up straight and beams at us.

"Yeah, we know. You're amazing." Eve says sarcastically, "Now can we stay here or not?"

Fera frowns. "I guess that will be alright. Besides, it's not like I have company." She moves out of the doorway to let us pass through.

Inside the apartment is in as bad of shape as the outside of it. The striped wallpaper in the entry hall is peeling, the pictures are crooked and broken, the floor squeaks badly, and the roof leaks. And that's just the entry hall. The rest of the one-room apartment is in shambles. The bed in the corner of the room is unmade, clothes are strewn everywhere, the corner kitchen is messy with dishes pilling up on the counter and in the sink, and the couch is littered with crumbs and empty food packages. The only good attribute of this apartment is a crescent-shaped balcony that looks out onto the city.

Fera walks to the center of the room and gestures around her. "Welcome to my humble abode," she announces, then slumps on the couch. "Make yourselves at home."

I shed my backpack and throw it on the floor since every other surface is covered. Cam and Eve do the same.

After standing awkwardly for a second, Cam says "I'm gonna go outside." He walks to the screen door that leads to the balcony, slides it open, and walks out, sliding the door closed behind him.

Getting the feeling that Eve needs to talk to Fera alone, I follow after him.

Cam smiles at me when I go to stand beside him. "Hey, Hayden."

"Hey."

For a while we just sit in silence, staring out onto the city. "Beautiful, isn't it?" he says finally.

"Yeah." And I mean it. The night sky is filled with beautiful auroras of vivid blues and greens. The castle and the streets are lit up with the castle shining the brightest, giving the impression of the sun surrounded dozens of twinkling stars.

"You know it's not the first time I've seen this place."

I look at him, surprised. "You mean you've been here before?"

He shakes his head still looking out at the city with the shimmering light making his violet eyes sparkle. "I've seen pictures, and my grandpa has told me a lot of stories... I know what everyone thinks of him. Of our family. They hate us here all because we betrayed the king by siding against him. They never let that go, even after my ancestor was became one of the heroes of the Four-Year War." He sighs. "I guess I thought that they forgot, and that they wouldn't shut me out whenever I came here. But I was wrong. You probably didn't see it, but I kept getting dirty looks today. I don't think Eve likes me that much either... I don't really blame her. I would hate me too... Actually, I kind of do." His voice drifts off.

He looks so innocent, his black hair tipped with white and his purple eyes wide and forlorn. I can't help but feel bad for him. Everyone hates him here all because of a mistake that his family made. He had not control over that, but still, he pays the price.

He must have caught me staring because he turns to me. I avert my eyes, but when I turn back the corners of his mouth are turned up slightly. "Sorry that I'm dumping all of this on you." he says, "I guess I was sort of rambling."

"It's fine." I say automatically. I do that a lot when someone apologizes, even when I don't mean it. I guess it just do that to be nice. But in this case I do mean it. Cam seems like a pretty nice guy and I think we could be great friends, so I need to be kind to him.

I smile at him. "So," I search desperately for something to talk about. "Crazy day today, huh?"

He looks back out onto the city. "Yeah it was..." His eyes fix on something, and they widen even more. "And from the looks of it, it's about to get a whole lot crazier."

I follow his eyes, and when I find what he's looking at, my mouth drops open.

Moving shadows flow through the streets, blocking the light and terrorizing people. But they aren't just harmless shadows that follow you around all day. No, these shadows have shape and mass. They've taken on the form of people and animals, with a few that are unrecognizable.

"Let's go get Eve." I say, "We need to go kick some monster butt."