Grief and Altitude

CHAPTER EIGHT

Grief and Altitude

VERITY

Humans are fragile. And sending one to a school filled with beings that despise the murderous kind is an enticing wish to die. Spike a human's temperature and they go ballistic; experiencing nausea, profound sweating, rapid heartbeat, and fainting spells. So imagine what a dragonling hybrid might do. A being with two natures entirely different from each other with no idea how to regulate his body. It's not like it would kill him. Though, the idea is never far from my sadist mind. It would solve my troubles instantaneously.

The fallout from the human's collapse is sensational. But with great elation, comes the withdrawals in depleting waves. Sasha and Piper haven't stopped pacing around, calling at the inconvenience of their toy since the human had his "episode". I've watched them walk around in their puddle of tears in our complex for a while now. By the time the two calm down from their panic, the infirmary requests Sasha's presence. Neither of them says a word as they slip out of the door. I would entertain their little scare. Maybe even comfort them if I didn't find such pleasure in the matter. But the voices are suffocating and I need silence. I crave it.

I suppose I should feel bad. Except for the fact that the human cost me everything I cherished. If I don't eliminate him soon, the Coven will succeed. And all of my efforts will be in vain. Now that the human has arrived, the Coven successfully completed their first of finals. The coven has everything they need to take things to the next level- all except substantial power. Which means the human has three hundred and sixty five days to train. Evolve into the last ingredient they need.

But I'll make sure the human doesn't make it.

The clock is ticking, and time is matching my patience. Thin, hollow, and forgotten. One wrong move and I'll join my brother in an endless slumber. He promised he'd come back, and he kept his word when the scarlet red tulip fell from my hands for his grave. A part of me went with him too. Tousled in the dirt as if we were back in our childhood home in a makeshift fort of duvet. Now all I have are memories that make my stomach turn violently. I'm homesick for someone I'm still learning to miss.

Cal got too close working within the Coven. He knew too much. Trusted the wrong people and ended up in a cold steel casket. That's how Cal was. Always saw the good in others no matter how deep their nails dug into his spine. He was always too forgiving even to the cruelest of souls. And with my brother's death, the Talc reign faltered. The family manor shattered like the glass house it was.

I tortured myself for months, threading through my memories of my beloved brother. The promises I made to keep his alliance with the Coven a secret from our Father. I thought it was my fault. I didn't warn Mr. Talc. I kept my promise so Cal could leave. The memory of my brother's decayed promise infringed into my brain. He was all I had left. I suffered alone with the grief. Asphyxiated in my own regret and guilt.

Until the coven claimed a human killed my brother.

The Covenheads didn't bother coming up with a convincing lie. I sat in my chamber, eating away my compassion and will to live. Only to discover there was a darker truth about my older brother. Someone I thought I knew every smidge of detail turned to be the hardest mystery wrapped in an endless slumber. Cal wasn't allied with the Coven, but rather, he discovered something so grotesque that he was the first to form a band of Rebellions.

But I had no clue who or what the rebellions called themselves. Cal didn't mention that in the note I found. The Coven sent out a messenger who bore the purple and golden embellishments on his attire to deliver the final nail. A scrawny, well-dressed elf stood before my Father and his wife with shaking fingers enveloped around a bounded scroll. I wasn't allowed to be in their company after all I was sworn to reside in my hostile chamber. But I managed to sneak down the glistening stairs and hide in a hall to listen to the Coven's parchment.

The elf cowered before my Father's stature and read haunting words of my brother's demise. When the elf handed the parchment to my father's claws, he vanished. Too afraid to stay in the Talc's presence a moment longer. At least the elf wasn't an entire fool. He didn't stay long enough to hear the curses my Father swore to his only son. I slipped through the halls, racing back to my confinement. And when I closed my bedroom door, anger consumed my senses.

In a rage of fit over the Coven's deceased letter, I tore my tower apart. Searching, ravaging, and hunting for any traces of my brother. And in the spell of my heartache, my mother's last gift fell from the rose gold dresser. The box tipped, spilling starlight of constellations across the floor while a note stuck out of its golden placement. I gazed at the embellishment of distant stars followed by my mother's lullaby escaping the box. Iridescent colors spilled into my bedroom floor as I lifted the beautiful arrangement into my hands. The silver goddess spun slowly with looming wings that reached for the stars at the dying melody making me round its wound up frantically. And my palm scraped against something sharp, leaving my palm with a tiny cut.

That's where I found my first message in this endless endeavor. The only treasure I had left from my departed mom became my brother's as well in this serpentine world. I almost cackled at the revelation, but all I could find were ragged sobs at the irony. The noise grows in my head, and I can't tune it out. I can't seem to let it go. The need eats away at my conscience. I vowed to make every single one of their pay. No matter how diminutive one played on Cal's end.

My fingers curled over his dying wish as I picked at his handwriting. The delicate curls over his penmanship were unique, and entirely my brother's. And the nickname he taunted me with throughout the years. There's no denying him. Even in death.

My Raven,

I wish I could explain this to you. Sit before you as we have before beneath the stars to explain Myself. It's the least I could do for what I'm about to ask of you. But I fEAR I'm out of time. I couldn't stand back knowing the Massacre the Covenheads were conspiring. The genocide that would come to be not only for huMans but Mythicals was too Much. And everlasting efforts it would bestow upon you was the last drive I needed. When the next King is crowned, the Coven will sacrifice a dragonling hybrid. They will kill everything with the boy.

Please know this isn't the kind of Message I wanted to leave behind, but it's too late. The Coven has found out about My treachery. I'm so sorry My little raven. The rrebellion I've formed with My partner holds the rest. Follow the path to Thirteen. My MeMbers will explain everything. Thirteen will explain everything. Finish what I started and when you do, flee far away. Don't let theM win or all will be in vain.

May the bells sing even in the harshest of weather.

Rise High Among Thy Trees,

Callum A. Talc

The letter glowed with simmering flames to ashes by my hands so that only my magic could reverse the deterioration. But the pain from Cal's disloyalty clawed at my heart entirely. Everything I knew of him changed with so few words. Denial gnawed at my flesh, ripping me to mere bones until anger burned deep within. It's a dangerous disease when you've wronged a woman who has nothing left to lose. I don't care how long it will take to see this through. I've waited three years for the human's arrival, and now that he's here, I'll strip him of everything he carries. Vengeance for my brother is on the horizon. I crave to see this exertion end gruesomely by my hands so that I can savor it. The taste is sweet until it turns- leaving a bitter and rotten flavor. But I'll gladly sit in my agony coated in its essence until the pain dissipates from me.

I don't care if I have blood on my hands from my own kind or a human's for that matter. I'll devour everything in my path until I watch the life drain from their eyes. I need it. I won't stop until they join him too. The coven killed my brother with the credence that their secrets were buried with him. But the truth is far more sour than it is sweet.

His secrets are alive with me.

…

FLINT

I feel clammy. A heaping pile of dogshit wrapped tightly in a blue bag.

I tried to sit up, but a pair of freshly polished hands pressed on my chest lightly. The crimson nails stuck out to me the most. A sweet voice followed, trickling in my ears. I don't recognize it, but I like the way she sounds. I didn't bother opening my eyes and listened to the click of the woman's heels depart moments later. This can't be how my first day went. Maybe it's a trick of some kind. Maybe when I open my eyes again, I'll be back home playing on the hockey team with my dad and Myers in the stand. Waving at me with their fists punching the air when I score.

"You gave us quite the scare, Mr. Anderson."

My eyelids ripped open like shattering glass. It might be my first day- a shitty one I'd like to add. But I would recognize that depraved hoarse growl anytime. The voice that scorched my ears belongs to the Headmaster. A cold sweat consumed me. I'm confined to a bed with no idea where I am or if anyone knows where I am. Alone. With a wendigo. A cannibalistic beast.

"Careful, boy." Grimm grunted, "I'm not going to snack on you. You can put the tray down."

I stared at him with my jaw clenched tightly. It takes a minute to register what he's saying. I'm holding what would've been my dinner tray in my hands. The thin metal wouldn't even tickle this guy. I lowered it before dropping the tray on the table conveniently placed by the bed. Grimm smiled, showing a row of jagged teeth. I think he smiled. Hard to tell when the man has no lips and sunken cheeks.

"Sorry."

"Good. You humans are always so skittish." He laughed.

I glance at my hands. Somehow expecting them to glow. When I'm satisfied by the lack of color, I watch Grimm. He's sitting in the chair next to me. The space is diminutive for his long thin legs. Grimm's yellow eyes glowed with curiosity, and the man slumped forward to my bedside. How fucking tall is this guy?

"What happened?" I asked, trying to mask the quiver in my words by clearing my throat.

"The altitude caught up with you, kid. Here at Mythicae, your abilities are heightened. Our barriers protect us so we can thrive in solidarity from mankind. The land we live on is connected to us in a way. Mythicae was built on this land for that purpose."

I nodded. I still don't understand, and I know he understood it too.

"Half of you is from your mother. She was once of this life, and that part of you resonated with the magic." He said slowly, almost sympathetic. "It takes time."

This time I do get it. At least I think I do. I nod again, and sit up. My muscles ache from the move. "Mr. Grimm, where's Sasha? Sasha Jasper."

Grimm stretched his hand out, patting my shoulder. I forced myself to not flinch at the sight of his murderous claws. He straightens himself revealing to be- if I had to guess- ten feet tall. The man's body held similarities to a dead pine emaciated with decay withering in harsh winds but never falling on its own. "Ms. Jasper is waiting to be aware of your condition. I'll inform her on my way out."

"Thank you, sir." I must've hit my head hard cause I just called someone sir. "What about dinner?"

"Well," he chuckled in amusement, "if you feel up to attending, no one will stop you. Humans tend to bounce back rather quickly. Resilient creatures to put it mildly. Get some rest, Flint Anderson. Tomorrow is a big day for you."

Grimm let himself out after that. My stomach is knotted in hunger pains like an open wound. I'd kill to sink my teeth into a juicy steak. For now though, I need to keep my head leveled until the "altitude sickness" subsides. I don't believe it though. I was fine when Sasha voodooed us into the mountains. I didn't feel an ounce of fatigue until I fucked around cracking a joke about teleporting my dumbass home. Everything after that is fuzzy. I figured I'd crashed for an hour or two before I attempted to find Hart's or its dining establishment. The silence is short-lived when the steel doors are thrust open. The silhouette of a fiery woman appears. I'd recognize my strong spirited cousin a mile away.

"I'm his family." Sasha's voice filled the room. A few disapproving grunts slipped from what I guess is the security before she closed the door behind her.

Her words resonate with me. She referred to herself as my family, and even though I've only known her for a short period of time- I believe her. It brought me a strange sense of comfort I can't fathom. She's probably mad at me that I ruined her first day back. Sasha made her way to my bedside, piercing me with an icy glare.

"What the hell was that Flint? You scared us to death!" Sasha stood before me with her arms crossed. "Did somebody do this to you?"

She's expecting an answer but I don't have one. There's no way I'm admitting I butchered a spell for my amusement. The sound of her fingers snapping against my ears makes me shift my attention to the sound. Then I remembered the pearly white smile of a girl I haven't met. Her blue hair was piled neatly in the back with curls that shaped her face. Verity must think I'm an asshat. There went my chances for a good introduction.

Verity snapped her fingers moments before I collapsed. She must've known the altitude ailment settled deep in my bones. The ache was nauseating and a living hell. I don't see why Sasha would ask me if someone would hurt me. Did I stick out that bad?

It was a mere coincidence that I lied to myself. I should tell Sasha about seeing Verity. The memory of her walking past us burns in my mind. But I don't want to hurt Sasha or accuse her friend. I have to be sure. Things aren't adding up. If Verity did try to hurt me, how'd she fool everyone but me?

Sasha snaps her fingers again, calling out to me. I look up to see her reach out for me. She holds my face with her hands. The touch is gentle and the warmth from her hands makes me realize how cold this room is. I expect her to chew me up with a lengthy lecture. She surprises me when her gaze melts with light tears. I froze at the sight. I didn't mean to make her cry. I'm at a loss on what to do or how to respond. Sasha wrapped her arms around my neck, squeezing me like I could vanish any minute.

"I was so worried." She breathed into my neck. "I thought we lost you."

Her words left me stunned. Sasha releases me, studying my face. A strange feeling bubbles in my chest. She isn't upset with me which is new. I usually find a way to inconvenience everyone even when I don't mean to. Maybe this feeling is called gratitude because I don't feel alone for the first time in ages.

"Please don't cry," I said, groaning as I wiped my face, "Grimm said it was altitude sickness. I'm fine. I'll go to the dance. Just stop crying."

Sasha watches me rendered speechless until a squeal slips from her. She turns to the door hollering, "did you hear that Pip? Grab his bag!"

I sink into the cool thin padding and groan into my hands. Why the hell do I keep doing this to myself?