The Violet Thread (Part One: Portal Rods)

Chapter Ten

The mist hung low over the tree studded cliffline. The sky's first light was just peeking over the horizon as a sharp crack split the silence and a blinding light flashed for just a moment before disappearing, leaving only three young travelers as evidence that anything out of the ordinary had even occurred. Wyeth and Sawyer began to look around, taking in the environment, but Violet did not move an inch. Something was wrong here. She did not know what, but she could feel that something was different...something was off. The air felt heavy and her nerves tingled. Something seemed to be pulling on her energy. She closed her eyes and listened. She heard a twig snap in the distance, possibly the movement of a small animal, the beating of the water against the cliff below, and...there was a pulse. She turned slowly, opening her eyes, and scanning her surroundings. The mist made it difficult to see in the distance, but she could just make out the ruins of a vast castle across the dark, choppy water. Sawyer stooped, pulled the rods from the ground, and put them into his satchel.

"We must be careful," Violet said, not raising her voice above a whisper. "I don't know if we're alone."

"Everything is going to be fine, Vi," Sawyer assured her. But still, he took a cautious step in her direction.

"The Oracle is close by. I'm sure that's all you're-" Wyeth's voice was cut off as his legs flew from underneath him and he hung suspended in air.

Sawyer was quick to action, but did not get more than two steps towards his brother before he too was dangling by his boots. Violet jumped, her shoulder blades tingling with an ice cold sensation, as she hovered above the ground. She could feel something thrashing below her, trying to grab hold of her feet. She pushed herself higher. She was straining with the power she was using to hold herself above the earth without the use of her wings. She looked at the boys who were being flipped through air as if being tied with invisible bonds. Suddenly, they crashed to the ground and were dragged, full speed towards the decaying trees. Without thinking, Violet threw her arms out in front of her and made sharp slashing motions with her hands, bolts of light like lightning struck all around. The dragging ceased but they still could not move. They thrashed about in pain. She could hear their soft whimpering as they struggled to free themselves to no avail. Full of fear and desperation, she spun in the air, her arms still outstretched, her palms out. A bright green light radiated out from her and spread across the cliffside. Then, just as suddenly as it had begun, all was still. Violet dropped to the ground, but did not give into to her weariness. She ran to her friends, who were not moving. She was unsure of what she had done. She could have easily have killed them along with whatever had ahold of them. She closed her eyes and put a hand on each of their chests. She held her own breath as she waited to feel the rise and fall of their rib cages. Sawyer opened his eyes, blinking rapidly as he tried to get his vision to stop spinning. He sat himself up carefully as Violet threw herself on top of him and smothered his cheeks with kisses.

"I thought you were dead you fool. Don't you ever do that to me again. Do you hear me?" she screamed at him through tears and kisses. Wyeth stirred and Violet slowly turned, eyeing his bloody and bruised body. She took a deep breath and her lip quivered as she quickly buried her face in his chest. "What would I have done without you? Don't you ever-"

"You do realize we didn't actually do anything...right?" Wyeth interrupted, petting the back of her hair as he held her.

She looked up at him with anger in her eyes. "You almost got yourself killed that's what you did."

She reached back and grabbed Sawyer's hand, pulling him into their embrace.

They eyed each other over her head and simultaneously whispered, "we're sorry."

They sat there for a few more minutes before Violet pulled herself together and helped the boys to their feet. They tried not to let her know how much pain they were in, but they couldn't help but let a few winces escape and both had a slight, but all too noticeable limp.