I took another big breath and letthe distant call of magic fill me. I may not have known exactly where to go,but at least I had a general direction to follow.

I looked around for cab drivers,but the smaller town wasn’t as convenient as the booming Western city of Timisoara.In fact, the town looked nearly deserted. The tourist shops were all closed andthe streets empty. I didn’t know how far the Citadel was from this small town,but it was too far to walk, the magic could at least assure me of that.

I had no choice for now however,and began to jog in the direction of where I felt like the magic was located.The city was very hilly and I found myself walking up a very steep incline whenI finally stumbled upon a cab driver taking a smoke and sitting on the hood ofhis run down Dacia.

“English?” I asked, not expectingmuch.

“Da. English,” he smiled, and Icould see rows of gold teeth behind dirty lips.

“Can you drive me?” I pointed inthe direction I wanted to go in.

“Not that way,” he shook his headrapidly and then spat on the ground.

“I will pay you,” I said clearlyand pulled out my stack of Lei again.

“Not enough to go that way,” helooked back in the direction with an expression of fear.

“Please,” I said plainly and whenhe shook his head no again, I resorted to begging. “Please, please,” I criedout.

“Why do you want to go that way?”he asked with a thick accent.

“I have to save my friend,” Ibegged, helplessly. “Please.”

“I will not take you all the way,but I will get you close enough, da?” his expression was full of pity and I wasso thankful that I rushed over and hugged the poor man. He spat his cigaretteout and choked on the smoke, completely surprised by the affection.

Before he could recover I hoppedinto the back seat, a near replica of the first taxi I was in. I exhaled, butwas unable to relax. Once the driver successfully started the stubborn car, mynerves only grew. I rehearsed again and again the case I intended to make forLilly, my stomach turning into knots.

The cab drove out of the city andinto the winding roads of the mountains. The countryside only became morebeautiful; millions of trees in all different fall shades blanketed thehorizon. Their loveliness stretched out across the rising hills and as the sunset lower in the sky, their reds and oranges melted into one extraordinarycanvas of color.

The center of magic grew strongerand stronger the deeper we found our way into the lush forest; its call becamemore clarified. At this point I could have given directions to the driver, buthe seemed perfectly able to find the way on his own. And as the magicintensified, the poor driver’s speed decreased. The pitiable man was clearlyterrified of a force I would not have expected him to be aware of.

I watched him become more and moreagitated, lighting thin cigarette after thin cigarette, never allowing hismouth to sit idle. I wondered what sparked his anxiety, unsure if he was evenconscious of exactly what he was afraid of.

Whether it was his nervousness thatrubbed off on me or my own sense of foreboding I couldn’t tell; but I didwonder if I shouldn’t be proceeding with a little more caution. I thought of mypurpose again though and my determination was renewed.

Lilly, who had done nothing wrong,who fought to save the very Prince who condemned her. Lilly, sweet Lilly, whohad never said a hurtful word about anyone and befriended me when no one elsewould. She wasn’t afraid of the consequences of her actions when she defendedKiran, why should I be?

As the sun took its lowest place onthe horizon before it dipped below the never ending peaks and valleys, thedriver finally slowed to a complete stop. He looked up towards the wildernesswith mouth open, eyes wide, his cigarette hanging precariously from his lips.

“Multumesc,” I mumbled quickly andthrew my remaining stack of Lei in the front seat. He didn’t respond to me, butas soon as the door was closed he performed a quick u-turn and sped off downthe hill.

At this point the magic was so strongI knew I was only steps from the Citadel. Completely unsure what to expectnext, I began my trek off the road and into the wooded wilderness. There was asteep hill I had to climb, I was hoping at the top I would be able to take inmy surroundings a bit better.

 Time was of the essence, so I did my best to hurry. Thankful for mydevotion to yoga and the sudden necessity of magic, I scaled the verticalincline. Despite the electricity rushing through my veins, and the flexibilityyoga had blessed me with, I fell several times and began to sweat despite thecoolness of the evening.

By the time I reached the top ofthe hill I was covered in dirt and my hair was soaked with sweat. I did,however, get a better perspective once I could see more of what was ahead ofme. I saw the low glow of lights in the distance, they encompassed a valley afew hills away from mine. The lights stretched out in a square of sorts and Itook this to be the Citadel. I also felt the magic swirling about, indicating alarge gathering of Immortals.

For a moment I was seized withanxiety and doubt. I forced myself to breathe, reminding myself for themillionth time my purpose. I picked up my pace; running down the next hill anddoing my best to hike quickly up the following one. I became more and moredirty and I smelled a distinct odor not at all pleasing.

Eventually, I stood above theCitadel on a surrounding hill. I paused for a moment to take in the sight. TheCitadel was huge, nestled into a valley surrounded by camouflaging hills. Itwas bordered by walls as if it was once a fort, or still was a fort of sometype. Buildings lined three of the inside walls, with more buildings built intothe center. The fourth wall was left as a type of entrance, only with largedoors that could be closed if needed.

The Citadel reminded me of sometype of medieval village, with a castle positioned towards the back and clearlythe most protected structure inside the walls. The spires of the castle woundtowards the sky, each window lighted by a soft yellow glow. The streets of thecity were littered with Immortals of every color and race. Several men stood atthe entrance gates stopping people as they came or went.

I hiked down the hill and thenaround the Eastern wall to the gates. I took my time so that I could observeothers enter through the wide doors, hoping to emulate their example. The Guardsat the gate reminded me of Talbott and had a strict, military way about them. Inoticed that they also carried both a gun and a sword attached at theirbelts.  The people entering the gateswere all stopped and asked to give their first and last name. They were thenasked to hold out their palms so that the guards could grasp their handsfirmly. The people were all clearly Immortal, I had no trouble reading that offof them, and it made me wonder if the guards were searching for something else.

I noticed one other fact about thepeople entering the gate, making my nerves skyrocket once again. All of thepeople, without exception were very well dressed. The women wore expensive ballgowns and the men were dressed in full tuxedos. Hair done, makeup done,expensive shoes, couture jewelry, it didn’t matter, these people went all out.

I looked down at my patheticshambles of clothing and took a sniff under my armpit; not pretty. I paused fora final moment to stop and reassemble my hair which was nearly impossible tounhinge from the hair tie. Eventually I succeeded, but not having a mirror around,I suspected I might have done more damage than good. I smoothed out my Nebraskahoodie and took a confident step forward. I’d made it this far….

“Name,” a gruff Guard demanded whenit was my turn. I could feel more than hear the Guards’ confusion with myappearance.

“Eden Matthews,” I said clearly.

The Guard looked over his list, andthen over it again, clearly not finding my name. I hadn’t realized there wouldbe a guest list. The Guard looked me over skeptically at first, but then hisexpression turned to disgust and for a moment I thought I might be in trouble.