book not named yet
Chapter one
Onyx
I step out of the coffee shop, the warm breeze swishing my black hair into my face as I try to take a sip of my drink. It’s one of those perfect summer days, not so hot you have to stay in your cold basement, standing in front of a fan and eating popsicles to keep from dying, but not cold either. Just the right temperature to go into town to get coffee.
It’s a nice break from life, all the stressful, annoying adult things I’ve had to deal with since I moved out. And somehow on top of it all, not two weeks into my job working at a cafe, I was fired. Why? Well, I accidentally set the oven on fire. I don’t have much skill for the arts of baking.
My cat is waiting for me at home, so I start to head back in the direction of my house.
I’m just crossing the street when I see an unfamiliar girl a little ways away, waving me over. She’s about the same age as me, with purple hair and bracelets covering her arms.
She keeps waving.
“Hey!” She calls. Confused, I start walking over. I’m pretty sure I’ve never met this girl before, but maybe we went to school together years ago and I just don’t recognize her. The girl seems to know me.
I approach her, but just as I’m about to ask if we know each other, she starts walking away.
Weird.
Maybe she hadn’t actually been waving to me, maybe someone behind me. I’m about to add that to my list of embarrassing experiences that haunt me at night when the girl starts beckoning me over again. I look behind me but we’re on a more quiet street now and it’s just the two of us.
“Um, who are you–?” I start to ask but then I realize I can’t see the girl anywhere.
She’s vanished.
Ok, this is really weird now.
I start to look around, but then, so fast I hardly know what’s happening, my feet are kicked out from under me and I’m knocked to the ground, my face connecting with the grimy concrete with a painful noise. My heart is racing, my head hammering. Blood gushes from my nose, my hands are scraped and bleeding.
What is happening?
I attempt to get up, to see who knocked me down, but before I can do anything, I’m submerged into excruciating pain. I writhe against the hard cement, my bones, skin, nerves, everything is on fire, burning me alive.
I’m being ripped apart by huge, dull claws, pieced back together, and then shredded again.
I think I’m screaming, but I can’t be sure. I’m beginning to lose consciousness.
Then, the pain finally subsides, like it was never there.
But it was definitely there, my body aches like it has been stabbed a thousand times with red hot knives. Tears stream down my cheeks, my eyes are squeezed painfully shut, my hands clenched so tightly that my nails nearly pierce my skin.
But nothing compares to that violent pain. Not even close.
I think I hear someone apologize before I pass out completely.
I emerge back into consciousness with a gasp, like breaking through the surface of dark, suffocating water.
The first thing I notice is that I’m lying on something soft.
No more concrete.
It’s dark.
I’m dizzy, drenched in sweat, shaking.
I can still feel the remnants of that piercing agony.
What was that?
I crack open my eyes a little.
My hands are bandaged. I’m lying in a bed.
I try to breathe, but it’s difficult when you’ve just been kidnapped and brought who-knows-where.
Slowly, I try to push myself up to see more of my surroundings, leaning on my elbows.
My head feels like it’s being pierced through with a spear, and I collapse back down with a yelp.
“You’re awake.” Someone says and I would’ve startled if I didn’t feel like my limbs were filled with lead. I manage to lift my head enough to see that it’s a girl who’s talking. She has purple hair.
Then my memories come rushing back to me, hitting me like a brutal wave hits the shore.
This is the girl who was waving at me. Who got me to follow her to that deserted street. And then–
Did she bring me here? Did she–
“Um, sorry about the whole tripping you and kidnapping you thing.” The girl says as if it’s just something people do all the time. “I had to get you here and I didn’t want you to try to fight me.”
“Get me where? Who are you?”
“I’ll explain everything once you’re feeling better. For now, just rest.”
“What do you mean rest?” I am growing more and more confused by the moment, and my confusion is slowly changing to anger.
The girl is already leaving.
“Where are you going?” I yell after her. “Where am I? You can’t just bring me somewhere and leave! At least tell me who you are!”
“Cyra.” The girl tells me before she leaves me here in this bed, in this dark room, with no clue what is going on.
Like, who brutally kicks someone to the ground, brings them to some mysterious room, and then says, “Oh yeah, sorry about kidnapping you” like it’s fucking normal and they do it all the time.
I wouldn’t be surprised if she did.
My headache is worse now after all my yelling.
I lie here, unable to get up because of it, waiting for the girl to return so I can throttle her.
A while later, the girl–Cyra–enters the room again, and I sit up, ready to defend myself. My head is better now, I’m sure I can take her down.
She holds her hands up. “I just came to see how you were doing.
“How I was doing?” I ask. I would laugh if I wasn’t so mad.
“You literally kicked me to the ground and brought me here, and you want to know how I’m doing?”
She sighs. “I had reasons.”
“What?” This girl is insane. I need to get out of here “Tell me where I am, right now!”
“Are you sure you want to know already?” She asks. “You’ve just recovered from the portalling effects, maybe you should take some time–”
“Sorry, what?” I interrupt, throwing my hands into the air in exasperation. There’s clearly something wrong with this girl. Portalling?
“Listen,” I say, trying to speak calmly. “You’re going to tell me where I am right now. No more excuses.”
She looks down, biting her lip.
“You really want to know? You won’t like it.”
I groan in frustration. “Just tell me where the fuck I am–”
“You’re in another world.” She says, so quietly I almost don’t hear it, like she’s afraid of my reaction.
I pause for a moment, shocked. Shocked that she is this insane.
“Ok, I am leaving now.” I get up off the bed and reach for the door. I’ve never taken a martial arts class, but I’ll wing it. I’m not staying here with this psychopath any longer
“Wait.” Cyra grabs my arm. “This isn’t a joke,” she tells me, her face dead serious. “If you really want to know, you’ve been recruited to work for the Ruler.” She says it as if I’m supposed to know what the fuck that means.
“Excuse me?” A fucking ruler? What am I in, a fairytale with magical kings and unicorns?”
The girl nods gravely, as if I’m supposed to be shocked or something.
“Oh sure. You seriously expect me to believe we’re in another world?”
“Not at first, but you will.” She says.
“Ok, great, prove it. Prove we’re in another world.”
Cyra walks over to the window I hadn’t noticed until now, and draws aside the curtains.I’m unnerved by her confidence.
“Look.”
I hesitantly step over to the glass, looking at the strange scene beyond.
We’re high up, looking down at the gardens and paths below. It looks like a scene from a fantasy book.
But I’m not that gullible. I don’t believe it. It must be some kind of screen, illusion.
“I wasn’t born yesterday.” I inform her. “I know this is fake.”
“It’s not.” She opens the window.
There’s no screen or illusion, there’s real fresh air.
“This is a castle.” I tell her. “That doesn’t prove we’re in another world.”
“Look over there.” She points.
I draw in a breath.
Walking along a path in a garden is a strange creature with forest green skin, wings that look like transparent leaves, and long, plant-like hair.
But it can’t actually be real, right?
It’s just some person in a costume.
Though, as much as I try to seal them out, doubts are starting to crawl their way into my head. What the hell?
Why would I even consider believing her?
I ignore the stupid doubts, trying to push past Cyra.
“Onyx!” She calls as I’m about to go through the door.
I stop dead. Slowly turn around.
“How do you know my name? I never told you my name. I’ve never met you.”
“I–” Cyra starts. She looks like she isn’t sure whether to tell me or not.
“The Ruler told me before I recruited you–”
“What do you mean the Ruler? We don’t have fucking Rulers anymore!” The panic is starting to set in despite my best efforts to deny this is real.
“It’s okay, everything will be fine–”
“What do you mean everything will be fine?” I demand frantically. The doubts are needling their way deeper into my heart.
But I refuse to believe I’m actually in another world. That isn’t possible, she can’t convince me.
“I’ll give you some time to take in the information.” Cyra exits the room, leaving me alone, yelling at her, my thoughts a tangled, knotted mess I don’t even want to try to unravel.
My head is spinning, making me dizzy. I stumble backwards, onto the bed.
I’m not in another world.
I repeat that sentence in my head, over and over again.
Because it’s true.
I’m not in another world.
The next hours melt together in a dizzying fog of questions. All I remember is curling into the bed, and staying there, as time silently slipped by.
A while later, I get up.
I just need to leave.
Forget this ever happened.
Continue my normal life.
I stumble towards the door, about to open it when I notice a piece of paper lying on the dresser next to the bed. I pick it up, examining the quickly scrolled handwriting.
Dear Onyx, I’m really sorry about everything. I know this all must be very shocking and overwhelming. I know how you feel. The first few days are hard, but you’ll get used to everything after a while. And don’t worry, you’re not trapped here. The ruler lets us go back home after our missions, and we only have a few each week.
If you ever want to talk, if you have any questions, just come see me. I’m just down the hall, the door next to yours!
Cyra
Not a chance. As if I would go see the girl who kidnapped me. I’m leaving. Now.
I walk out of the room and down the wide hall. The walls are made of jagged crystal, pale fire lighting them up.This really does look like a castle straight out of a book.
I walk faster.
Then I realize I have no idea where I’m going.
This is a castle. It’s probably huge. There’s no way I’ll find my way out.
I sigh, turning around.
I guess I have no choice now.
I stop at the door just down the hall from the room I just left. It’s made of crystal as well.
I raise my hand to knock, the rough points painfully hitting my knuckles.
It doesn’t take long for Cyra to open the door, her face lighting up when she sees me. “I knew you’d come around.”
“I’m just here for directions on how to get out of here.” I tell her.
“Come in.” She gestures for me to enter.
Cautiously, I step over the threshold. It’s kind of cozy looking.
There are pictures on the walls, a purple lamp, a few old books.
Cyra flops down onto the bed. I lower myself onto a plush dark purple chair.
“So.” Cyra says awkwardly. “Questions?”
“Yeah, how do I get out?”
She sighs.
“You can’t. You’ve been recruited.”
I decide to ask a different question. “How did I get here?”
“I portaled you.” Cyra replies as if it’s normal. “That’s what that pain was from. But it’s not always that bad, don’t worry. You get used to it”
“You expect me to believe that you portaled me to another world?”
“Onyx, I’m telling you. This is real!”
“Sure.”
“You may deny it at first, but after a couple of weeks you’ll believe me.”
“A couple of weeks? I’m not staying.”
“Yes, you are.” Cyra tells me. “You’re working for the Ruler, like me, and all the other humans here.”
“What ruler?” I shout.
“He rules over this part of the land. Like a king would, but less powerful.”
I groan loudly. This is ridiculous. Completely ridiculous.
There’s no way she’s telling the truth.
“I was just minding my business, drinking coffee, and all of a sudden I get kidnapped to work for a fucking ruler?”
This is not real, I remind myself again.
“I tried to pretend this was all fake when I first got recruited too.” Cyra says. “But it’s not, and it will only be harder if you pretend it is.”
No.
I refuse to believe it.
Cyra is talking, but I’m not listening.
My heart is a hammer in my chest, thump, thump, thumping against my ribs.
Please let this not be real.
I can’t be in another world.
I can’t be in another world.
Am I in another world?
The panic is seizing me as I realize Cyra might be telling the truth.
“I’m sorry.” She says. “This must be really shocking. I know how you feel.”
We’re both silent for a moment. I use the time to try to calm my breathing, my thoughts.
After a while, Cyra says, “our job is to catch the rebels who threaten the Ruler’s power, and bring them back here.”
“And?” I question. “Then what? What does the Ruler do with them?”
“Nothing.” Cyra says, looking down. “We kill them for him.”
“What?” I gasp, appalled.
This is too much.
No way.
No way no way no way.
“What do you mean? Why?”
“Because,” Cyra says. “They’re rebels. They’re disobeying him.”
“What do you mean rebels? What did they do?” I’m drowning in questions.
“All sorts of things,” Cyra replies.
“Like what?” I press. “What did they do?”
“That doesn’t matter right now.” Cyra sighs, impatient. I’m getting impatient too. I need more answers. Now.
“Why does the ruler have humans working for him?”
“Even though humans don’t have powers, there’s still things we can do that the creatures from this world can’t.” Cyra explains.
“Like what?” My head might spin off this time.
“Humans can kill.” Cyra says.
Spinning, spinning…
Getting dizzy…
“And the creatures can’t?” I ask.
“No. There’s some sort of ancient curse or something. I don’t know much more.”
What the hell?
This all sounds like a crazy story. There’s no way it could be real. Right? Exactly. This is just a story. Not real, just made up.
My head is swimming, a raging sea I’m drowning in.
I cling to the possibility that this is all just a dream.
I’ll wake up any second now…
But no.
Cyra is right.
I’m out of excuses.
This is real.
I clutch the wall, trying to calm down. I take a deep breath. It does little to calm the hurricane inside my head.
I take another deep breath.
It’s fine.
Everything will be fine.
“So, we catch the rebels.” I repeat, trying to get used to it, pretend it’s normal.
“Yeah.” Cyra nods. “And kill them.”
Not fine.
Not fine.
Not fine.
Dreads stabs its little knives into my heart.
This all barely feels real.
But it is.
This is real.
I’m in another world.
