Page 28 of Last Hope
All the while, Ami listened, a blank expression on her darkened face. But as each second passed and the more Anya reopened the wounds of the past and the present and of what could likely happen in the future, it cut inch by inch deeper into Isis’s heart and she couldn’t help but feel violated as this stranger caught the secrets of her private life.
“I see,” Ami said with what sounded like disinterest. “Harboring her could put my family in danger. I cannot put them at risk for anyone. Not even her.”
The hairs on Isis’s body stood up defensively. She hadn’t traveled half way around the world to a Romanian forest in order to be rejected by her.
She narrowed her eyes angrily and snapped. “It’s a simple yes or no question; if you’re just going to say no anyway then stop wasting our time and say it. We have other things to do.”
“Isis—” Anya began in a panicked, warning voice. But it was too late. Ami’s eyes had narrowed into thin slits, the silver burning brightly like a shining star and then she feltit.A burning sensation blazing from her toes and shot through her entire body; it was like she was being struck by lightning. Her heart began to beat faster, her breath caught, and she doubled over, falling to the ground in spasms. She was aware of Anya screaming something out, but every other sense had turned numb, burned away by the power of the spell that Ami was casting on her.
She vaguely remembered the feeling when she had changed from human to vampire. It had been like swimming through a river of fire, a hot poker shoved down her mouth, burning at her throat. She fought to grasp control, to gain feeling, but she felt nothing. She felt absolutely nothing but white hot pain.
And then the feeling was gone.
She trembled on the ground, feeling the sticks and stones bury themselves onto her sides. She looked up through teary eyes and saw Ami staring down at her. Slowly, she stood from her spot, dusting herself off, too embarrassed to say anything.
“Learn to choose your words carefully, for they drip with arrogance. The next person you insult might not be as forgiving.” Ami said menacingly. “You’re arrogance will be your downfall, vampire.” And she turned on her heels and began walking to the doorway, but stopped just before the entrance. “I will hide you here.” She turned around, the silver in her eyes burning even more. There was threat dripping in her every word when she said, “But heed my warning. If you do anything that puts us at risk, I will make you regret it.”
Isis nodded.
And then Ami turned and stepped through the doorway, disappearing completely.
* * *
Isis heldher breath as she stepped through the darkness of the doorway-shaped tree. She couldn’t say why, couldn’t even imagine what it was she would feel, but she closed her eyes and held her breath, gripping Anya’s hand like a lifeline.
It was like touching the surface of a bubble. Smooth and she heard a pop, light in her ears, but she felt no different from before when she opened her eyes and saw the same darkness she had seen before, the same stars shining brightly above her and trees, forming an umbrella of protection around a huge portion of land with tall grass, as high as her knees. In the middle of the forest there was a small little cabin made out of logs, with tiny square windows.
Ami was before them, walking towards the house, her large hips swaying with confidence. They followed the trail set before them and this time Isis didn’t even want to speak, fearing the danger her own voice would bring. This Ami was powerful. She had managed to have Isis writhing on the ground in pain with a mere blink of the eye and she would take no more chances. Arrogant? If Ami thought so then Isis would remain silent, or she would surely be killed by the witch’s hand.
They stopped short by the front door of the cabin just behind Ami. Isis took the moment to look around and take in the objects surrounding her.
The outside of the cabin was particularly dull, she noted. It had no signs of individuality or anything unique about it. It was a simple structure, with vines and shrubbery growing on the outside walls, climbing up the side of the house and over the windows like green curtains. The wood was that of pine trees, the sap sticky, each pebble of it visible to her vampire eye. The only thing that stood out in the plain of their home was the wind chime that hung from a thick vine-like string on the front porch ceiling where the light bulb should have been, made out of small animal bones and brightly colored feathers braided with thick rope that swayed from side to side with the movement of the soft blowing wind.
“I must get a spell on you and quickly, so that you cannot be traced,” Ami said as she opened the door to her house and stepped through, Isis and Anya following them.
“I already put a protective spell on her,” Anya said.
Ami stopped short and turned her burning gaze on her supposed friend. “I shall putmyspells upon her, for I can take no chances. Understood?”
Isis felt her Soul Mate’s thoughts jumble and tense up but she merely nodded and didn’t state her true opinion aloud. Ami turned back around and Isis suddenly found herself within an enormous living room, heavily decorated with a big green couch in front of a fireplace, where a small flame calmly danced from side to side.
There was a small wooden coffee table that appeared to be handmade next to the couch, with a long purple candle in the middle of it that burned the scent of lavender throughout the large space. There was a vase of brightly colored flowers off to the side, in a corner; the vase was large, ceramic and obviously handmade, as was everything else in the house.
Handcrafted artisans and proof of solitude from the commercialized world was all around. The rug underneath of the coffee table appeared to be skinned off of a mountain lion or a cougar—Isis couldn’t tell which—as well as a bear skin covering one of the small couches, which appeared to be made out of tree branches and leaves.
The house was cozy, Isis finally decided with an internal smile. She had honestly been expecting the whole witch cliché of potions and crystal balls with posters of constellations and beaded curtains to be throughout the house. But then again, she thought, that was merely a stereotypical image the world—including herself—had of witches. Truth be told, she had never met a witch before Anya, and now she had the misfortune of meeting another witch who was less pleasant and bitchier.
The house was quiet, though Isis could hear breathing emanating from rooms other than the one she was standing in; there were three different sets of soft breaths, she noted. She wondered if the breathing she heard was the sound of Ami’s children, or who were they, but a sharp voice pulled her back to the conversation at hand.
“Bedrooms are off limits,” Ami was saying in a sharp schoolteacher tone. “The library will be available to you both if you respect the bindings and the literature that I’ve collected. Do not wander these halls out of boredom and your voice must be brought to a whisper during your waking hours, lest you awaken the children.” She turned a vicious eye towards Isis. “And regarding your eating habits…”
“Don’t worry,” Isis interrupted. “I won’t take a chomp out of your kids. I have pretty good self-control.” She smiled, as if to lighten the mood, although Ami didn’t return the expression.
“I hope that is true, vampire.” And she turned around and kept walking around her small home, making no gestures and moving as straight and as still as a soldier. “You will take your meals when I say, and you will take your meals far off into the forest, in my presence.”
Isis stared at her, hoping she was joking, but of course, she didn’t joke. It took a lot within her not to snap at the woman. This woman was putting her life on the line and her family’s lives in danger simply by having Isis there. It was a huge risk and Isis had no right to complain at the rules being set out before her, especially when Ami was already doing her a huge favor. So all she did was nod.
Ami continued setting her rules out on the table until they were all jumbled up in Isis’s mind. For a second she regretted following Anya to Romania when her thoughts were interrupted by large footsteps running straight towards her.
