The Words of an Angel by Juliet Rose (read full novel txt) 📖

in the trees; this was my way out. I fixed my eyes on the light ahead. It was so close. I was almost there.

Determinedly, I quickened my pace, not caring whether toothed thorns stuck me or whether thick mud caked my legs. And before I knew it, I was running. I was running desperately towards the sliver of hope manifested in that light. I must escape this. I must find Jack. I must save us both.

..........

I ran for what seemed like hours. I should have been nearly out by now, that much I knew. But as I glided swiftly through the trees, something strange registered in my mind. I had seen that red shrub before. And that stream. But I brushed the thought away, not paying it much attention. Soon after, however, these happenings became much too noticeable to ignore. I found that the longer I ran, the farther away my exit seemed to become. I noticed that the light was no nearer than when I had started, and as I ran faster, the exit seemed to run with me. I stopped in my tracks, breathing heavily from exhaustion. I glanced around at my surroundings. The bright red shrub. The cluster of fallen trees. The flowing stream. Everything had remained unerringly the same. My mind and heart exploded with a hopeless devastation. It had all been an illusion. The exit was never moving closer; it had never even been there. I had been tricked. I was no closer to saving Jack than when I had entered this cursed forest. I began to sob uncontrollably into what fabric was left of my simple dress. The trees rustled above me, and I couldn’t help but feel that they were laughing.

How cruel the ways of this forest were, building up one's hopes, and then snatching them away within the same second. It was nearly unbearable. But the forest was smart. It knew. It knew without a doubt that the worst possible feeling a single person can feel is that of sheer hopelessness. That’s why hardly anybody ever ventured out. They had lost all hope.

With time, my torrential sobs turned into whimpers, and from whimpers to silent tears, and from silent tears to a dreamless, hopeless sleep.

When finally I awoke, the doors of the castle were before me.

I sat up, dazed and confused.

But I did not ask questions, I did not doubt, I simply ran. Up and up and up the hundreds of stairs that led to the tallest tower. No guards stopped me, for the hallways were empty. At the very top of the stairs, I was met with an gargantuan wooden door, left slightly ajar so that the room beyond could only be seen through a tiny crack. I peered through.

What I saw pierced my heart and sent me into a panic.

There was Jack. Unconscious and strapped to a stone table. Men with gloved hands were peering over him, studying him. One pair of gloves caught my eye; for it possessed the needle that would take away his life.

I must do something. It was almost too late. I must act now.


Before I came up here, I had made three simple rules with myself. These rules were all I had to follow to ensure success.

RULE #1: Stay silent.
RULE #2: Stay invisible.
RULE #3 (the most important rule of all): Stay alive.

But now, standing here in the midst of this misery, I realized I was about to break all three.

"Stop!" I cried out. My whole body was shaking without my consent. "You must stop this now!"

Every head turned in the direction of my voice, and the injection needle stopped in its tracks.

“Who let her in?!" I heard someone scream from across the room. "Seize her!"

At his command, the room was filled with terrible ripping sounds- not the ripping of clothing, but the ripping of flesh. The once human-like guards were changing into beasts made of coarse fur and snarling teeth. In a panic I searched desperately around me for any kind if weapon. In a thoughtless hope, I threw vials of strange liquids towards the incoming guards. Each exploded on contact. Some burned their victims, some suffocated, some killed instantly, leaving a lifeless lump of human flesh behind. I grabbed onto a bar above me and swung myself up, taking out an oncoming beast in the process. With another swing of my right leg I knocked a snarling black bear off its feet. These blows were obviously too strong for just any normal teenage girl. But I wasn’t normal, I knew I could take them.

I had just avoided a slew of fatal claws when I felt the sudden cold grasp of a hand over my nose and mouth. A human hand. I fought back, pounding his ears with my fists, searching desperately to find the openings of his eyes. But I was growing weary, and I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t breathe...

"SILENCE THIS MESS!” croaked a loud voice. At its command the violence stopped, and everything went deathly still. I heard the delicate tap of shoes headed slowly in my direction. "What have we here?" questioned the voice, circling around my trapped form. It wasn’t until he stood in front of me that I recognized who I was dealing with. It was his slicked, icy-white hair and coal-like eyes that gave him away; those were always mentioned in the stories. This was Sepphas, head of the Scabbers and of all things unpleasant. "You are a brave soul to venture here," he declared, "We hardly ever have visitors." This statement generated a low growling from the beasts that surrounded me. "Tell me, what is your purpose here?" His face was right in front of mine now, his black, bear-like eyes boring straight into mine for an answer.

"I am here to save a life, his life," I glanced over at Jack, "that has been wrongfully taken from the world below."

"Ah, I see," he said. The pale skin on his face seemed to glisten in the low lighting, it seemed almost... angelic. That's what was so deceiving. "You are a silly girl," he continued, “You could not possibly think that we would let him go so easily."

“No, of course not."

"No? Then what was your brilliant plan, Miss Wilder? I am curious to know." He knew my name.

"My plan, Lord Sepphas, is this: I am offering a sacrifice. My life, in exchange for the boy's." I glanced over at Jack, still lying motionless on the stone table. The corner of Sepphas' mouth rose ever so slightly into the frightful formation of a grin; he was pleasantly surprised.

"You would sacrifice yourself, for this?" He strode over to where Jack lay. "He is a worthless human, weak and vulnerable. Nothing compared to what I could..."

"No!" I cut in, louder and more urgent than I had intended. I brought my voice down, trying desperately to bottle the emotion that threatened to spill over. I gazed hopelessly at Jack. "He is not worthless." A single tear escaped from the corner of my left eye. I dared not wipe it away for fear that it would be acknowledged. But it was already too late.

“Ah,” began Sepphas, a dangerous smirk growing on his lips, “You feel for him.” He began to chuckle in my face. As if there was something that could possibly be funny. I remained stone cold.

"You have heard my offer," I began forcefully, "You must make your choice. His freedom for my life and service." Sepphas strode away from me now, turning his back to me. He began pacing. Back and forth. Back and forth. Even from this distance I could see his crackling skin and scarred hands. I could see his mind working in its terrible twists and turns, weighing the options that lie before him. It was almost unbearable to be witness to his sinister imaginings.

At last, he turned to face me. And in his floating, deceitful voice he spoke, "Very well, Miss Wilder, it will be as you wish."

Word count: 2,998

Imprint

Editing: Judy Colella
Publication Date: 07-26-2012

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