A Glimmer of Hope (The Avalon Chronicles #1)(27)

The blood elf stopped. “I’ll help you scream.”

Yes.

“Yes, then. Please help me. I accept.”

And Layla’s whole world vanished into darkness.





10

The second Layla accepted the offer she found herself looking down on her body, which was no longer under her control. She hated it.

She watched from afar as the metal shelves closest to her exploded toward the blood elf, impaling it with a dozen foot-long spikes. The elf dropped to its knees, blood pouring from multiple wounds. Layla’s body picked up the blade the blood elf had relinquished and examined it. The metal in the sword liquefied and traveled over her hand and forearm before solidifying into a gauntlet.

Her body retrieved the scroll at her feet, sliding it down the inside of her jeans against her outer thigh, and kicked the blood elf onto the ground. She stepped over its body and walked toward the door.

“The first time you accept the spirits in the scroll is always like this.” The female voice was all around Layla, and she couldn’t figure out who’d spoken. She could see no one other than her own body, which appeared to be moving of its own accord.

Layla’s body and the scroll room vanished, and she found herself in an old-fashioned carriage, like something out of a period movie. Blinds covered the windows and the seats were comfortable and soft. The sound of a horse galloping could be heard outside.

“Surreal, isn’t it?” a young woman asked. She was dressed in dark gray trousers, a green blouse, sturdy boots, and a long dark green coat.

“Who are you?” Layla asked. “And where am I?”

“You’re in your mind. Well, my memories, which are in your mind. It’s a bit strange.”

“Where am I?”

The woman smiled. She had long, dark, braided hair. A scar ran from one eye and across her nose, stopping just above her lip. Her skin was pale, and she wore little or no makeup. An emerald pendant sat around her slender neck, the chain made of silver. Rings adorned several of her fingers, except the wedding finger, and her fingernails were painted black.

“A knife,” she said with another smile, touching the scar. She had a nice smile; it was disarming, but it was at odds with the feeling of danger that emanated from her. “The woman who did it is no longer with us.”

“Please don’t make me ask a third time.” Layla was getting impatient, and her tone suggested that she did not appreciate what was happening. She wanted to lash out, but fought to remain calm.

“Well, right now, one of the other spirits is in control of your body. A woman. There are three of us in total, but it was decided that I was better suited to talking to you. I’m sure you’ll meet the other two later. The spirit in charge of your body at the moment is called Gyda. She’s going to get you out of the situation you’re in, and when you’re safe, put you back in your body. It’s all part of the service we provide. At least it is the first time; after that, none of us can take control. As for where we are, we’re in my time, 1873, London. My name is Rosalie Kendall. You may call me Rosa.”

“I’m Layla Cassidy. And I don’t understand any of this.”

“You will. You’ll come to understand a lot about your world and your life. A world you never knew existed, but has existed since the dawn of civilization, maybe even longer. But for now, you’re safe. Gyda won’t allow your body to be hurt. We are capable of using your new powers right now. Eventually, you too will be able to access them, but it will take time. Time we don’t have.”

Layla shook her head. “Scrolls, spirits, power. What power?”

“You bled on a spirit scroll, a scroll that contains the spirits of those who wielded it before you. Bleeding on it is the start of a binding contract between you and the inhabitants of the scrolls. In this case, us. You then accepted the offer of our gifts.”

“The power, is that what they did with the metal?”

Rosa nodded. “The spirits in the scroll grant a unique ability to whoever accepts our offering. We have no way of knowing what the ability will be until it’s bestowed. In your case, it appears that you have the power to manipulate metal.”

Layla’s first thought was that everything she was being told was insane. There was no way it could be anything else. It was quickly replaced by the realization that Rosa was telling the truth. “I could use my power to break free. I could use it to escape.” She felt elated that she finally had a means with which to fight back, and a means with which to stop more innocents from dying because of her.

Rosa shook her head. “As I mentioned before, you don’t have control over your powers yet. You’d get yourself killed.”

Layla rubbed her eyes as frustration began to set in. “But I can fight.”

“I know. But right now, you can’t fight these enemies. Your time will come, but you need to have patience. I promise you, you’ll get your turn to deliver any and all the retribution you can muster.”

Layla knew that Rosa was making sense, but that didn’t mean she had to be happy about it. After several seconds of silence, she decided to change the subject. “So, what was yours? Your power, I mean.”

“We’ll get to that. You’ll have more time to meet us all, to see how we lived and what we bring to the table. And then you have to pick one of us.”