Page 30 of Curse of Immortality
“Is murder the only choice? Can’t we try reasoning with him?” Maeve suggested.
“That’s what the last girl said too; she didn’t want immortality, so she went to talk to him.”
“What happened?” Maeve asked.
“He turned into a cobra and bit her.”
“Did she die?”
“No, it’s something much worse.” Zosia looked to the ground. “It’s a fate I wouldn’t wish on anyone, and I hope you will make better choices. The quest won’t be easy. Maeve, take some time to think about it before you accept,” Zosia said before all the leaves fell to the ground like snowflakes.
Maeve was left in silence but with a thousand questions.
Her mind was running fast while she slowly walked back to the cottage. Zosia had given her a chance to prove to herself that she was a good person, and a good person wouldn’t think twice about helping others. She felt that she had no choice but to accept Zosia’s plea for help. Yet her heart ached at the thought of leaving her sister and aunt and she was afraid that she might fail like the Earthen before her.
Althea was cutting up bread when she saw Maeve walking through the meadow around their cottage. Walking over to the window, she put down her knife and leaned down on the windowsill. “Where are the flowers?”
Maeve looked up at her sister and felt further conflicted. She had forgotten about the red flowers she had gone out to pick for Rose. “I didn’t make it that far,” she answered in a serious tone.
Sensing something was troubling her sister, Althea hurried outside, bringing with her a scent of baked bread. “What happened? Did you see James again?” Althea asked as she searched for answers on Maeve’s face.
Blinking a few times, Maeve stared at her sister. “No. I saw Zosia.”
Althea’s eyes grew to a size Maeve had never seen them before. “You saw Zosia? How is that possible? She is the earth we walk on and the air we breathe. Zosia isn’t a person, Maeve.”
“I know. But…” Maeve frowned and explained. “I was searching for the flowers, but then all these leaves from the ground rose and formed the shape of a woman. She spoke to me, Althea.”
“What did she say?”
“She gave me this.” Maeve lifted her hand and opened it to reveal the beautiful crystal that lay inside. “Zosia wants me… she wants us… to go on a quest,” Maeve spoke slowly. “To do that we’ll need the strength this will give us.” She looked down at the crystal again and knew that she was lying and going behind Zosia’s back. But unlike Zosia, Maeve didn’t fully comprehend that it had taken centuries for the crystal to form. She couldn’t bear the thought of leaving her sister again and that made her willing to take the chance of sharing the crystal with Althea. On her walk back to the cottage, Maeve had rationalized that she would be doing the world a huge favor, and so she was allowed one selfish decision and that was to go on this quest with Althea by her side.
Walking to the open window she picked up the knife and used it to break the crystal into two halves before giving a part to her sister. “Put it in your mouth and it will dissolve.”
“Are you sure this is safe?” Althea asked hesitantly.
“I trust Zosia, don’t you?”
“Yes, but I don’t understand why she wants us to go on a quest and I don’t understand what she wants us to do.”
“It’s a long story and I’ll explain it later.” Maeve was hesitant to tell her sister the truth because she knew in her heart that Althea was too much of a pacifist to ever take part in ending another’s life. She would tell her the gritty details later.
Nodding her head, Althea lifted her hand with the crystal inside and placed it on her tongue. Maeve did the same and for a moment they stood without speaking.
As the crystals dissolved in their mouths a strange sensation spread in their bodies. The magic seeped into their bloodstreams and gave them a hallucinogenic experience of being sucked down into the earth. Maeve reached out and clung to the windowsill, trying to steady herself as all her senses felt overstimulated and intensified. It was as if the reality around her transformed into a different version, much more vibrant. The thought that she could smell the colors around her was laughable, but Althea experienced the same symptoms and had sunk to sit on the ground, touching the grass with fascination.
For a while, they were consumed by their experience of being one with nature, but eventually, their heartbeats slowed down to normal speed.
“How do you feel?” Maeve asked her sister once she found her voice.
“Incredible. Does everything seem lusher and more colorful to you as well?” Althea asked, shaking her head with a smile and looking down at her body. “That’s strange. My scar is gone. How can that be?” Althea examined her hand where a thin scar had been since the age of sixteen.
Maeve was quick to pull up her shirt and see that the massive scar she’d had from being stabbed was healed and there was no trace left to show it was ever there.
“Zosia did say the crystal contained powerful magic, but I didn’t know it would heal our scars.” Maeve studied her fingers. “I feel strong and have this strange sensation that anything is possible.” The sisters beamed at each other with massive smiles, but those smiles quickly disappeared when Tobias the horse came running out of the forest towards them with frantic eyes.
“No!” Maeve breathed in horror as she picked up his message of Rose being in danger.
CHAPTER 11
