Fated Triad: Shadows of the Forbidden Moon

Ariel's POV

We staggered across the woodland, our assailants' noise getting louder as we went. Desperate to get away, my mind flew, but the trees appeared to be closing in all around us and providing no cover. Then, while I believed we were imprisoned, I noticed it a little hut tucked away in the forest, out of sight among the thick vegetation. Though abandoned and old, it was our only hope. "There!" Pointing at the cottage, I yelled. "We might hide in there."

Alan was not slow. With his half-carry, half-drag Lucas toward the cabin, his footfall matched those of our attackers getting steadily closer. We surged through the door, slamming it shut behind us. Inside, the cabin was dark and musty, just the faint glow of the moon peeking through wall crevices. Lucas's breathing was feeble and difficult, and we laid him down on an improvised bed of old blankets. Alan moved fast, looking about the cabin for some sort of defense mechanism. Except for some dilapidated furniture and a rusty old knife, the cabin was empty.

"This isn't going to hold them off for long," Alan replied, his voice tinged with bleak resolve. We need a plan.

But there was a loud crash at the door before we could devise one, and splintering wood followed. They'd located us.

Fear tore through my heart as the door opened and a man emerged from the cabin, his face lost in the darkness.

But I felt a shock go through me as the man entered the light. It was not among our targets. I never would have thought to see it once more.

"Marie? I gasped, incredulity in my voice.

Standing in the doorway, my sister had a cold, objective attitude. Her eyes darkened and deadly as she gazed down at Lucas, just clinging to life, then back at me.

"Ariel," she murmured, her voice laden with resentment. "We should finish this now."

As the truth sank in me, my heart dropped. Marie left here not to be of assistance. She was here to make sure we stayed put.

Marie's frigid look sliced across me like a dagger. I never imagined seeing her like this-so chilly, so remote, so... terrible. As I attempted to make sense of what was occurring, my head spun. My sister, my own flesh and blood, had found us- not to save us but to destroy us.

Marie, what are you doing here? My voice faltered as I asked. I could hardly identify her anymore. Gone was the sweet girl who used to run across in the fields and console me when I was afraid. She was here before me now, a stranger with terrible intentions.

"Isn't it clear, Ariel?" She said, her voice full of contempt. "I came to wrap up what I started. Lucas and you ought never to have crossed me."

Alan moved forward, his body stiff, poised to shield Lucas and me. With a low, dangerous voice, he asked Marie, "What have you done? "Why are you performing this?"

Marie laughed bitterly, the sound resonating in the little dark cabin. "Do you truly not get it? There was never anything about Lucas or you here. It is about power. It comes down to survival. And you, Ariel, always interfered with me.

Her words sank in me like a ton of bricks. Marie was driven, as I knew, but I never would have guessed she would go this far. How would she betray her own family? How could she turn from me?

I said, "You're lying," shaking my head in denial. Marie, this isn't you. We can correct whatever you have become involved with. We are sisters."

Marie's attitude, though, stayed frigid and relentless. "Don't let yourself be naive, Ariel. Right now, this is my self. Gone is the frail, powerless girl you recall. I had to make difficult decisions you would never grasp."

I passed over waves of nausea. It cannot be occurring this way. Not Marie either. Not my sister, though.

I begged, "I don't want to hurt you," approaching closely. "But there is no coming back if you go down this road. You have no need to do this. One can still be a family.

Marie's eyes flicked with something-maybe sorrow, maybe doubt-but it vanished as fast as it had first shown. She sneered, "Family?" "You are delusional, Ariel. Family cannot fit in this world. Only the strong survive, and the weak... well, they get left behind."

Alan's palm tightened around the old rusty knife he had discovered earlier, white knuckles. "If you come any closer, Marie, I won't hesitate."

"Alan, no!" With a cracked voice, I yelled. But it was too late. Marie's eyes sharpened as she quickly, fluidly pulled out a small, hidden knife, its blade glinting dangerously in the low light.

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The room was tense, every second lasting almost eternity. Trapped between the need to stop my sister from making an irreparable mistake and the need to guard Lucas, who was still just barely conscious, I stood paralyzed.

"Marie, please," I said once again, desperate in my voice. "This is not you. This is something we can correct. It is not worth it whatsoever they have promised you.

Marie's hand shook a little around the dagger, her voice wavered momentarily. She straightened then, her will stiffening. "You are incorrect, Ariel. This is the sole method.

She ran at me before I could respond; the sword pointed straight for my heart. I barely had time to avoid; the sharp edge grazed my arm as I staggered back, pain shooting through. Marie was faster than I could have imagined, her motions almost inhuman. Alan rushed quickly to intercept her before she could strike again.

They battled; the sound of their struggle permeated the little cottage. Watching, afraid for both of them, my heart hammered in my chest. This was not the way things should have finished. not like this.

Lucas drew my eye with a feeble sigh from his makeshift bed. Though I was hardly keeping it together myself, I hurried to his side and pressed a hand to his chest to soothe him.

"Stay with me, Lucas," I said, tears building in my eyes. "I am unable to lose you. Not right now."

Though his eyes clouded with pain, he glanced up at me and yet showed a spark of life. "Ariel..." he said, his voice hardly audible. "Don't let her win," said.

Though I had no notion how I could keep that pledge, "I won't," I said. "I won't let her."

But I felt the weight of that vow weighing down on me as I turned back at Marie and Alan, still caught in a lethal battle. How could I put this stop? How could I preserve any one of us?