Chapter 3: The Barrier
Gisa
Her mother had refused to tell her what the matter was, sending her to the room she shared with Emma and locking them inside.
"Emma, do you know what this is about?" Gisa asked, cross-legged on the floor, her voice barely above a whisper.
Emma shook her head, her bruises indeed visible from where she too sat cross-legged across from Gisa. They were hideous awful things. Gisa shook her head as she beheld them. Mottled purple marks ringed with yellow. A few of them looked as if they might have bled at one point. "Em those are awful. Why didn't you tell me before? I would have come back earlier. The money doesn't matter as much as you do."
Emma shrugged, her hair falling over the sides of her face, pale in the dim light of their room. "Audenzitios does whatever she feels like. She could have done this for a hundred other reasons. I'm a disappointment child. She didn't want me. She hates me. You… while you have a strong will and oppose her… you're just that, strong. You're sharp and clever like she is. You inherited her magic, so strong and so powerful that even the wards and spells and magic keeping us all here can't contain all of it. You have that power. You're just like her. You're stubborn and determined and street smart. You keep your eyes on the prize and know what's important. Me? Gisa, I'm just the pretty one who only cares about the next chapter in her book and trying out a new skirt. I'm a failure to her Gisa. She would have found another excuse to beat me. Someday…" She drew a quiet, shaky breath. Gisa inched closer, grabbing her sister's chilly bone-thin hands. "Someday I'm afraid she'll kill me." Her voice cracked into a whisper. "Nobody cares about me, not really. I don't have anyone." Her voice wavered as tears rose to her eyes. "And I'm terrified. You may lead a gang that runs most of the everyday island, but she runs the underground. The criminals of the criminals. I cannot outrun her. Someday I'll do just the wrong thing and she'll kill me."
"Em no." Gisa felt her heart skip a beat as she rose to her knees. Emma did the same, a tear rolling down her cheek. She embraced her tightly. "No Emma. I will never let her hurt you." Her sister shook as a muffled sob came out. Gisa had no idea… Did her mother truly hate her? Sure, Emma wasn't quite the powerful cruel figure that her mother was, she was, in fact, nothing like her, but she shouldn't have to be… She was different. Sweeter, kinder, even if she was a total flirt. Gisa almost smiled at the thought. "It's going to be okay. Mother said we got two letters in the mail. Something that kept her from giving me bruises twin to yours. I'm completely clueless. Nobody would bat an eye if she gutted us and threw us on the streets. Something kept her from doing what she wanted. I can't tell if I made her more furious or if those letters did."
The morning broke, gray and cloudy, a weak light filtering into the room. Gisa and Emma were already awake, Gisa tying her sneakers, Emma fixing her hair in a little mirror.
Gisa offered a hand to Emma who took it reluctantly. They glanced around their room unceremoniously. It was just as bare as it had always been. The stone cold room sent shivers up Gisa's spine. Almost as much as her mother's footsteps clicking towards her room in the hallway.
Keys jangled in the door before she swung it open, dressed in a rare form of finery. "They're going to arrive tomorrow to get you." Her mother's tone was clipped. Angered.
"Who?" Emma said, her hand still gripping Gisa's. They were clammy.
"The prince's first royal proclamation… was to bring four kids from the island… to the mainland."
Gisa's heart started pounding. This was not what she expected. Those letters… Out of all the powers in the universe…
"The Prince ordered that you two, along with the son of Fahad-Khaled and the son of Lady Anwir… attend a prep school in the United Continent. The royal's prep school."
Gisa glanced at Emma. Her eyes had lit up. Her lips parted slightly. It took Gisa a moment to realize what this meant for Emma. This meant her freedom. This meant she could go to a university. This meant she no longer had to endure her mother's random and unjustified beatings. This sweet and creative and wonderful person who she could call a sister… She would be free.
"Emma, stay put." Audenzitios gripped Gisa's hand hard enough to bruise, enough to draw a droplet of blood from her wrist. Gisa frowned as her mother pulled her forcefully into the hall. "Gisa." she gripped her shoulder hard. "I know…" her features uncharacteristically softened. "I know I've been hard on you but… But I'm proud of you." Gisa almost choked. "I want you… to have this."
Her mother pulled a leather bound book out of her cloak. The ornately carved surface spelled in gold lettering spelled out… "The spells of Audenzitios." Gisa breathed. "Mom I—"
"I've seen my power in you. The magic muffling us here can't completely contain you either. I regret that I won't be able to train you but… you'll figure it out. Just like I did." She placed the heavy journal in Gisa's hands. "Listen carefully. You will steal the Mother Guardian's staff because the only thing that can destroy this magic barrier… is the magic that created it."
Gisa's heart fluttered. "I— I won't let you down, mother. I will bring down the barrier. Once and for all. You… you can rule the continent. You can finally show everyone your power. You can finally get revenge on those who put you here." Her mother… Her mother was proud of her.
Her mother smiled. "I'm putting my faith in you." Gisa turned towards Emma when her mother's smile disappeared. Phantom claws slid from her mother's fingertips. Power radiated from her. Gisa stiffened. "Don't fail me." the motherly voice was gone. "If you don't succeed, they drag you back; you and the three others going with you, your sister and those two boys. you know what I do to those who don't serve my purposes."
Audenzitios tugged her close for a moment before whispering strange words in the most hideous language she had ever encountered. Gisa's head pounded for a moment as her mother's threat became clear.
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