Meaghan's Blog

I’ll probably end up changing/re-writing these two chapters, since they need a lot of work.

Prologue

A boy stood in a dense patch of forest, waiting. The sun was setting in the distance, and the last rays gave his handsome features a golden glow.
At last, he heard something move close by. An old man was approaching. He walked in to view and relief spread across the boys’ face.
‘Took you long enough,’ the boy said, ‘I could’ve been eaten out here, and you took your good old time anyway!’
The man rolled his eyes and sighed. ‘Forgive me. But you know this is urgent,’ he told the boy.
‘Yeah, yeah,’ the younger scoffed. ‘What are we doing, Julius, in the middle of Nickel forest?’
‘Well, I wanted to make sure we were not overheard. It’s about Miss Lovejoy. I need you to go to earth and gain her trust, and bring her back here. After that,’ Julius continued, ‘we tell her everything.’
‘And what if I don’t bring her back?’ the boy asked skeptically.
‘I think you’ll do quite well. You’re handsome enough she’ll want to go anywhere with you,’ said Julius, chuckling. The boy blushed.
‘Now remember. It might take a few days before she’ll be willing to come along. We don’t want another fiasco like when Joe tried to get her. The way he went about things …’ Julius shook his head and sighed. ‘Don’t come back until she’s with you. You’ll leave Tazier now, but you’ll wait a few hours before going to meet her in the park she always goes to. Don’t forget to wear the clothes i gave you. Just talk to her, let her take you around the city. Pretend you’re from out of town,’ he added, just to make sure the young boy would know exactly what to do.
The boy nodded, and walked off with a knapsack into the darkness.

Chapter one
The lost boy

Katie Lovejoy woke to her mother calling her name. Grudgingly, she sat up in bed. Mrs Lovejoy called again more urgently. Katie sighed.
‘Just give me a minute!’ she called down, slightly vexed. She ran a hand through her chocolate-colored wavy hair and made her way downstairs. Whatever her mother wanted, it was way too early for it.
When Katie entered the kitchen, she found Mrs Lovejoy running frantically around the kitchen, her cell phone pressed firmly to her ear.  But, it was a Saturday, Katie thought. My mother doesn’t work on a Saturday …
It took a moment for Mrs Lovejoy to notice Katie was there. She was a tall, slender woman, with the same dark hair as Katie, but it only reached her shoulders. She smiled and held up her index finger, mouthing the words ‘one second’.
Katie waited, listening to her mother talk to whoever it was on the phone. ‘Yeah. I’ll be there in ten minutes. I’m so sorry to hear this has happened. Don’t worry. I’ll see you soon.’ she snapped the phone shut and turned her attention towards Katie. ‘My friend Carla Sanders was in a car accident this morning. I’m going to go visit her then fill in for her at the office. Your father is at work already so you’ll be alone for the day. There’s plenty to eat in the refrigerator. I’ll see you later.’
With a kiss on the cheek to Katie, Mrs Lovejoy was out the door in the blink of an eye. Katie was left standing there, soaking it in. She’d be left alone for the whole day! Katie did a little happy dance then ran upstairs to get dressed. She slipped on a white sun dress and sandals before heading out the door.
It wasn’t often that she had the house to herself. When she did, she didn’t spend much time in the house at all. Mostly, she left the house to wander the streets of her neighborhood, without her parents to tell her not to.
When she got outside, she took a deep breathe. The air was fresh and clean, or as much so as it could be with all the pollutants in it.
Her feet took her to the park nearby, where people were playing with their dogs or jogging along the pathways. Katie wandered around slowly, until something caught her eye. Or rather, somebody.
Even from afar, he was the most gorgeous boy she had ever seen. But somehow, he seemed different. Katie couldn’t put her finger on it. He caught her looking and, smiling wryly, shook his head. Interested, Katie approached him.
‘Hey,’ she said. He looked even better closer up. His eyes were a beautiful shade of brown, his skin and dark hair looking well-cared for and soft. ‘Who are you?’
‘I’m Luke,’ Luke said shortly.
‘Nice to meet you. I’m Katie,’ she told him with a warm smile. ‘Are you from around here? I’ve never seen you here before.’
‘I’m … from out of town,’ he said slowly, putting his hands in his pockets.
‘From out of town? Do you … do you want me to show you around?’ Katie asked Luke, unsure if she was being too forward. But the thought was quickly brushed away; she felt completely safe with him.
‘Or,’ she continued, batting her eyelashes a little and dropping her smile, ‘if you already have plans …’ she trailed off, looking away as to what she hoped was uncertainly.
‘N-no. I’m not busy.’ he was obviously thrown by her additude.
Katie smiled. ‘Cool,’ she said, turning away from him, ‘we’d better get started.’
*
‘So,’ Katie said as Luke and herself settled into seats by the window of a little coffee shop, after a few hours of showing Luke around. Teenagers, recently let out from school for the summer, milled around, some staring at Luke in wild interest. ‘What do you do for fun?’
‘Oh. Um … I like exploring,’ he said simply.
‘Exploring,’ Katie repeated dumbly.
‘Yeah. Like looking through forests and stuff.’
‘So do I!’ she said excitedly. It wasn’t a lie. Exploring was her favorite thing to do, above everything else. In fact …
‘Maybe I’m being too friendly, but …’ Katie trailed off again. She’d better just go for it. ‘Do you want to go explore with me? I found this awesome forest that had this weird rock wall in the middle of it. It went on forever.’
He looked as though Christmas had come early. ‘Sure,’ he replied excitedly.
‘Well,’ Katie said cheerfully, in a better mood already, ‘we’d better get our drinks to go. I’d like to go as soon as possible, before it gets dark.’ she decided not to tell Luke it was really because her parents weren’t home, in case he was some sort of predator out to get her. You never knew.
He nodded. ‘Okay.’
Katie rose from her seat, and Luke followed. ‘What do you want to drink?’ she asked.
‘Just some water.’ maybe, Katie thought, he’s just a health nut. Probably, because most teenagers like coffee.
Katie walked over to the counter and ordered a chai tea and a bottle of water to go. Once they had their drinks in hand, Katie and Luke set off for their adventure.
She couldn’t see why not to trust the boy she just met. He was adorable and polite, so good to see in a world full of bad apples. She liked him a lot already.
Leading the way, Katie walked faster than normal in the direction of the forest. She passed street after street, Luke by her side. After a while, Katie slowed down. The forest was getting nearer. Soon they would be free. Free from parents, free from school, free from homework. At least for the moment.
Katie could see it now. She jumped the fence that ran around the field full of wild flowers waist-high grass, excitement coursing through her veins. She started to run, laughing gleefully. This was her one place to escape from the world. On the outskirts of a city, a whole new world awaited. You couldn’t hear any cars driving by on the nearby highway, nor any people. It was them and the calmness of a forest.
At last, the forest was before them. Katie sighed happily. ‘This is it,’ she said as she took the first step into the semi-darkness.
The two traveled through the trees, admiring everything around them. All of a sudden, after several minutes of walking, Katie pointed something out. ‘Look, over there! It’s the rock wall. We should check it out.’
He nodded and they made their way closer to the wall. With a closer view, Katie could see something written, some strange sort of symbols. But they didn’t look like any language she’d seen before.
The wall did seem to go on in all directions. To the left and to the right, you couldn’t see the end, and the top was as tall as the surrounding trees. ‘I want to see the other side sometime, but I’m not sure how to get there,’ she murmured. Luke seemed speechless with awe. They stood several feet from the wall, admiring it. Katie was the first to go close.
She reached out a palm and ran it over the smooth stone. Instantly, the rock began to change. Katie snatched her hand back, as if burned. The wall started to ripple, like water, and melted away into the ground to reveal a vast archway into the other side. On the other side, there was a forest, not unlike the one they were already in.
Katie and Luke just stood, frozen, and stared. Katie made the first move, stepping towards the gateway, but Luke stopped her. ‘Do you really think we should go in?’ he asked sternly. ‘I’d just rather not go into some archway that appeared out of a rock wall.’
‘Oh, come on. Where’s your sense of adventure?’  Katie teased, getting even closer. She touched the wall to no effect; the rock was solid.
She decided she might just do it, to prove Luke wrong. This archway was just that – an archway. There was nothing wrong with it, aside from the odd symbols and the water-like effects when the stone was touched. She’d step over the wall separating the forest, she’d look back and laugh at Luke.
Without hesitating a second longer, she stepped in through the gateway to a world unknown. She turned back to Luke. ‘See? No problem. Come on! Get over here!’ she urged. Nothing seemed strange or different here, so it was just the other side. Luke hesitated, then followed. But as soon as he was on her side of the forest, the archway began to closed. Katie was not worried, for she was sure they could easily get back by touching the wall again.
‘No worries. It should open up again when we want to go back. I’ll just check, to make sure.’ she reached out again, touching the wall, but it stayed solid. It was sealed.
‘Oh no …’ she whispered, horrified. ‘What if there’s no way back? What if we get lost here? Luke?’
Luke was looking sadly at Katie. He looked down, just as a voice spoke behind them.
‘Oh, there’s a way back. But I’m afraid you’ll have to stay here, for the time being.’

Chapter two
Three days

Katie turned in fear. The man, with greying hair and matching beard, wore a white tunic with a leather waistcoat and trousers to match. It was he who spoke.

‘Where are we?’ she asked through gritted teeth. Luke was still staring at the ground.

‘I am sorry,’ he mumbled, raising his head. Did she see a tear in his eye? No, it must have been her imagination. But what did he ever do? It was she who got them in this mess, she who urged not only him but herself to come to this place. Maybe it was some sort of prison where you couldn’t escape?

‘Sorry for what?’ she demanded. ‘You didn’t do anything.’

Luke did not answer. ‘You didn’t have anything to do with this, right?’

If Katie had a fault, it was trusting people too much. Especially gorgeous boys.

‘Luke and I … I sent Luke in secret to bring you here. It was the only way,’ the man said to Katie. She folded her arms with her jaw shut tight, glaring at Luke and this seemingly senile old man.

‘Now,’ the man continued, looking at his pocket watch, ‘we must go. When we arrive at Earl Manor, i will tell you everything you want to know, Miss Lovejoy. Come now. We need to get going.’

Katie could see no way out of it, so she walked with the other two strangers through the wood. It was then that she began to notice this was no ordinary forest, and it was very unlike the one she had just left.

The trees were unusually tall, with vines creeping up the sides. There were no branches near the bottom, they were only at the top. Katie thought she saw things flying by, but whenever she took a second look nothing was in sight.

On the three traveled until they reached a pathway. It wound through the trees and out of sight. The other two continued on, so she followed still.

Katie was in shock. Luke seemed so nice! Yet he still turned out to be a bad apple. Everyone was! She should’ve just stayed at home, should have never even gotten out of bed. She was hardly aware of walking or seeing; her thoughts consumed her. Only did she break out of thought when Luke waved a hand in her face.

‘What?’ she snapped, looking at him coldly.

‘We’re here,’ he said, ignoring her. He stepped aside to reveal a castle in the distance. There they stood at the edge of the forest, stopping to rest and admire the view.

Katie just stared. They were on a hill at the edge of a great clearing, some way behind it the ocean. The air seemed cleaner, the grass greener. Where on earth were they?

They carried on without a word. The sooner we get there, Katie thought, the sooner they tell me what’s going on. and how long would she be here? Her best friend, Sandi Gates, was throwing a party the next night. Would she even see her again? What about school next year?

Katie barely had enough time to ponder these thoughts before the castle loomed in front of her. It was very handsome, but rather small. Otherwise, it was your typical medieval castle. By now, Luke was talking to the man in a hushed voice, and Katie couldn’t make out much. It seemed they were talking about an island in Tropica, wherever that was, and of fairies. Something was very wrong here.

They walked up the stone steps to a set of double doors. Katie could see a garden nearby, off towards the side. It was then that Katie noticed the sky. It was blue, like always, but when Luke and herself had entered the forest, it was overcast. Now the sky was cloudless and clear. Strange. She looked back to Luke, who held the door open for her. She walked into the darkness without another look back.

Once Katie’s eyes adjusted, she felt less uneasy. It was surprisingly cozy inside, with a candle chandelier, a suit of armor, and a narrow staircase leading upstairs. Whoever built this castle took a great deal of effort to make it look authentic. Maybe the unnamed man had built it.

She was led into a large sitting room, where shelves of books lined the walls. There was another suit of armor, along with another chandelier, and narrow windows.

After settling herself into a cozier-than-it-looked armchair, Katie looked at both Luke and the old man expectantly.

‘Well?’ she demanded. ‘You said you would tell me everything, although I don’t know what you could possibly have to tell me. I’m waiting.’

‘We, Julius and I . . .’ Luke indicated both of them. Now the man had a name – Julius. ‘We went in secret to go find you. Nobody else knows you’re here.’

‘And where is “here,” exactly?’ she asked. If she wasn’t home soon, her parents would be back, and they would seriously freak out.

She should have left a note. She could’ve said she was helping Sandi with a party crisis. Although her mother had no idea she was going to it, Mrs Lovejoy would have understood if Sandi only needed help.

‘This is Earl manor. But . ..’ Luke trailed off, looking away.

‘We’re not on Earth anymore,’ Julius finished seriously. Everyone was silent for a moment, until Katie burst out laughing.

‘You’re joking!’ she said, still roaring with laughter, ‘All right! The joke’s over! I can go home!’ she made to get up, but Julius stopped her.
‘

We’re not joking!’ Luke said, making the smile drop off of Katie’s face. ‘Remember the archway? You can’t say we’re “just kidding”! You’re on another planet now. If you don’t help us, then it will be the end of Tazier and Earth.’

Katie was shocked into silence. Her, help them? What could she possibly help with? She was only somewhat smart, there was nothing special about her.

Now Katie could see Julius clearly. There were bags under his eyes from lost sleep; his hair was greying before it should have, and tiny wrinkles lined his face. The problem was, he didn’t appear to even be in his fifties yet. He must have been working overtime trying to find her.

‘How can I help you? I’m just a normal kid!’ she said quietly, now understanding all of the trouble he had gone through.

‘There’s . . . a man. His name is Liam Antares. He wants to destroy Earth and Tazier, bringing any chance of life here to an end,’ Julius said sadly.

‘Well, what am I here for?’ Katie asked, ‘What do I have to do with this?’

‘You must rid Earth and Tazier of Liam.’

‘You mean . . .’ Katie said in horror, ‘You want me to kill him?’

‘I’m afraid so. But that may not happen for a long time to come. It could be years before it happens. Of course, you will need to be taught about Liam’s past and about Tazier, preferably as soon as possible.’

This was a lot to take in. She would have to kill someone? That was just too much for her. What she really wanted to know was why. ‘Why me?’ she asked, on the verge of losing it completely.

‘We feel you possess the talent and skill it will take to destroy him,’ Julius explained while Luke was still silent, ‘You’re kind, brave and strong. The list goes on. You may not know it, but you will do great things.’

‘But I can’t kill someone!’ Katie said shrilly, ‘that’s not me! I’m just ordinary, and I don’t want to kill anyone, because that’s wrong!’

‘We don’t have a choice anymore,’ said Julius. ‘If nobody does, it wouldn’t matter if it was right or wrong, because we would all be dead!’

‘So basically, you’re saying it shouldn’t matter what I think?’

‘No. I’m saying you have a choice. You may go back to earth to think our offer over. Come stay here and help us destroy Liam, or stay at home and forget about us. You have three days. If, however, you decide not to help us, we will leave you alone and find someone else if possible.’
Katie thought it over. ‘Okay. I’ll consider it.’

Luke took her as far as the gateway; she knew the rest of the way home. They had traveled in awkward silence ever since leaving the castle, and finally Luke spoke.

‘I’m really sorry, Katie, about everything,’ Luke said apologetically. ‘I was just following orders–‘

‘It’s okay,’ said she, cutting him off. They were standing in front of the stone wall once more, and the sun was about to set behind them. Luke pressed his palm to the rock they watched it melt into an archway.

‘Well, see you in three days,’ she said uncomfortably. She stepped through the gateway and looked back. Luke was almost blocked out completely as the stone began to melt back in place. She looked at Luke until she was staring at nothing but stone.

Katie sighed heavily. It was beginning to get dark and it was spooky all alone in the forest. It was a good thing she had taken the lantern Julius had offered her.

She hoped her parents weren’t home yet, or that she came up with a very good excuse if they were there. Having only a vague idea as to what time it was, she started the walk back home. Katie walked as fast as possible. She started whenever a twig snapped or an owl hooted. Luckily, the walk was not long. She put out the candle when she reached the edge of the forest, glad to get out. But she still had the walk home to worry about, even if there were street lights. She set down the lantern, in case she needed it on the return trip to Tazier.

Her house was not far, but Katie did not enjoy traveling in the near darkness. Katie had a lot to think about as she passed house after house; would it be the right thing to do, going on this journey in a place unknown? And what about the life she’d be leaving behind? It might not be there when she got back – if she got back.

Truth be told, her life was not the most exciting. She would normally hang out with Sandi all summer and during the school year. She had no other close friends, she was not a part of any after-school activities, and most of the time she was just plain bored. But would she trade that for hunting a man down and killing him? Maybe she would.

She walked without thinking about it. She was consumed by what she had just learned. When her house came in view, she snapped back to attention. No cars were in the driveway so Katie let out a sigh of relief. Her parents were not home yet!

This lifted her spirits slightly. She wanted to run, to yell, to dance; but she was so exhausted from the days’ events that she didn’t do any of them. Katie opened the garden gate, locking it behind her. She slowly walked into the house and headed for the stairs, but the phone rang. She groaned and went to answer it. ‘Hello?’ she said irritably.

‘Where have you been all day?’ Sandi Gates shrieked on the other end. ‘I’m having a major party crisis here and you can’t bother to be around to help me? Jason isn’t coming to my party!’

‘Oh,’ Katie said awkwardly. She felt a pang in her stomach. If she went to Tazier without telling anyone, they would think she had run away – or worse. She knew it would rip Sandi apart. ‘I met someone at the park and I lost track of time. He wanted – ‘

’It was a guy? Was he cute?’ Sandi interrupted, sounding interested.

‘He was the most gorgeous guy I have ever seen. You would agree,’ Katie half-smiled in spite of herself.

‘Did you get his number?’ Sandi asked eagerly. Sandi had a thing for good-looking guys, and Katie made a mental note to never let Sandi near Luke if he ever came to Earth and she was around.

‘Well, no. He only really told me he was from out of town.’

‘Why not?’ Sandi protested. ‘I would have enjoyed giving him a call.’

‘You don’t even know him, Sandi,’ Katie said tiredly, yawning.

‘Still. I bet his voice is hot, too. What did you guys do, anyway?’

‘I just showed him around town, that’s all,’ she said truthfully.

‘Of course you did,’ Sandi said in a voice that really meant she believed the exact opposite.
Katie changed the subject. ‘Can we wrap this up? I’m really tired. Just give me a quick version on why Jason isn’t coming. I need to go to bed.’

‘Okay. Well, according to a reliable source Jason was seen with Shannon Habini a few days ago, and Jason said he is sick so he can’t go which really means he just doesn’t want to and he’s seeing Shannon instead of going to my party. I can’t believe him. I mean, he could do better than Shannon Habini. She’s such a brat anyway,’ Sandi said.

‘Come on, Sandi. You can’t just trust someone’s word when you haven’t seen the truth for yourself. I’m sure Jason is really sick, because he was last night when i went to his place. If it really worries you so much if he’s seeing someone else, tell him how you feel. Boys are hard to read. He could like you, too.’

‘I don’t want to right now. The timing isn’t right. I thought you said you were tired?’

‘I am. See you tomorrow.’ she hung up and headed for the stairs again, slowly making her way to her room. She didn’t bother putting on her pajamas; she laid down on her bed and fell fast asleep.