“Uh, Greyson, we have a problem,” Ruby called from somewhere beyond the shrubbery.
I stopped pacing and peered around the corner to a worried look in her eyes. “What’s the problem?”
“It’s not what,” Ruby said. “It’s who.” She hitched a finger beside her to where I saw a few snow flurries where Luna must have stood. Ruby waved me closer, and instead of telling me what the problem was, she waited until no eyes were upon us and transported us back to Mortia’s throne room.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“Show him,” Ruby said to Luna.
And in a shimmer, Luna appeared with her wings extended up like she had made a saddle on her back.
And that’s when I heard a soft cough.
I took her wing and guided it down, causing Izzy to slide off Luna’s back and right into my arms. Her big brown eyes latched onto mine, and she flashed me an innocent Oops smile.
I wanted to be mad, but I couldn’t.
But that didn’t mean she could stay with me. Nobody stayed with me for more than a passing night. Not since—I stopped that thought. “Now that Luna broke who knows how many non-magical realm rules, what are your plans? Where will you be staying?”
“You’re not mad?” Izzy softly asked.
“I’m not mad, but I’m not caring for you. I told you that already.”
“I’m really no bother.” More batting of her eyes.
Ruby snickered.
“Like hell you’re no bother,” I said. “The best place for you is in your world. We have nothing here to help you. All it’ll take is one of your attacks and…you’ll be dead.” I slid her down onto the golden throne with the royal red velvet fabric. Its massiveness made Izzy look like a young child.
Izzy puckered her lips and narrowed her eyebrows, deep in concentration almost like she was trying to read my mind, and her look almost made me cave.
I took a step away, placing my hand on Luna’s cool shoulder scales. “Izzy, I am going to help you, but to do that, I need to be able to hunt down solutions to your problem.”
“And you can’t do that with a girl who needs a wheelchair.” Her voice and resolve softened. “And I’m a burden.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“Ya kinda did,” Ruby said, not helping my cause.
“You didn’t need to.” Izzy scooted back in Ruby’s throne. “I know I am, but I can’t go back to that hospital. Can I stay here with…” Izzy’s eyes fell on Ruby, and I realized they hadn’t been introduced.
“Izzy, this is my sister…or half-sister, Ruby. She’s the queen of Mortia.”
Ruby reached out a hand and gave Izzy’s a shake.
“Can I stay here with Ruby?”
Man, this lass didn’t give up. Ruby opened her mouth, but I interjected. “You can’t stay anywhere in this world. Where can we take you back in yours?”
“I don’t have anywhere good to go. The only place I have besides the hospital is home with my parents, but that’s not much better.”
“But that’s what we have right now. When you’re better, you will have more options, but until then, you need the comforts your world offers—like your medicine and access to a hospital if things get worse.”
Izzy’s lips parted, like she was formulating a better argument, but I didn’t give her time to speak. I turned to my sister. “Ruby, one more favor? I need help dropping Izzy off to her parents.” Ruby had one of the best magical abilities I had seen, the skill to transport herself wherever she wanted with only a thought. Some witches could open portals between worlds, but my magic wasn’t strong enough for that. I usually stuck to my healing abilities and functioned as a non-magical human the rest of the time, but if I needed it, I could do a bit of magic, as long as the sacrifice was right.
“Of course. Any excuse to pass between worlds.” She smiled. “As soon as you’re ready.” She motioned towards Izzy. Of course I’d have to carry her again.
Did I mind?
Honestly, not at all.
I scooped her up and when her arms wrapped around my neck, I fought the urge to hold her closer than needed. Ruby placed a hand on Izzy’s arm while laying her other hand on my back. Luna placed her chin on Izzy’s shoulder before making herself invisible. “Now Izzy, for my skill to work, I need to imagine your place in my head. Tell me as much as you can about your parents’ home.”
“It’s 1634 Woodland Court. The house is a mobile home that was probably created forty years ago or more.” She laughed. “It’s the dumpiest trailer in the lot, but it’s kept the rain off our heads, and we’ve stayed warm in the winter.”
As Izzy spoke, Ruby closed her eyes and suddenly, she must have had the right imagery because in a flash, we had left our realm and returned to the non-magical one. We stood outside the door to a rusty home made out of metal that couldn’t have been any bigger than the intimate little room in the castle where Ruby locked away her crown when she traveled between realms.
“Is this it?” I asked the lass in my arms.
“Home sweet home,” Izzy said. She reached out and knocked on the metal door. “Please promise you’ll be back for me,” she whispered.
Before I could make that promise, the door swung open to a man with a beard longer than mine, only it was half-gray and looked like it hadn’t been washed or groomed in months. His hair was thinning to the point of nearly being bald…and he stunk like he hadn’t bathed in…well…forever.
“Hi, Dad,” Izzy said with an apprehensive smile. Once, I had thought that smile was manipulative, but seeing it here, I realized it was nothing more than insecurity.
“Izz, you’re home. Mona, Izzy’s home!” the man called over his shoulder.
A woman came up behind him with a cigarette dangling from her lips. No, not a cigarette, but some other herb, as the scent wasn’t the same as I had smelled outside the hospital. The tip glowed red before she pulled it out from between her lips. “Come in. I didn’t expect you back. I thought—aww, it doesn’t matter.” She looked outside around us, searching for something. “Did they pack your things? Where are your medications?”
“I don’t have any with me, but I’m sure if you call the hospital, they’ll prescribe some.”
“I’ll get right on that.” She then looked at Ruby and me for the first time. “Thanks for bringing her home. You can set her on the sofa.” The way she said it was filled with a coldness that clearly said we were unwelcomed. My body tensed. Perhaps I should take Izzy back with me?
But what would I do with her if she had an attack?
I didn’t want to be responsible for her death…even if it was eminent.
“Izzy, it’s probably best if we take off and let you get settled,” I said, as I set her down on a plaid couch with one cushion missing. “I’ll let you know as soon as I find something out. Are you going to be okay?”
She looked at her parents with a bit of apprehension in her eyes, but nodded. “I’ll survive.”
I wasn’t sure if it was commitment in her voice or her own promise to herself, but her mom was already on the phone with the hospital and her father had given up on us, plopping down into a worn green armchair in the living room and had turned up the volume on the TV.
“Then we’ll get going,” I said, giving Ruby a nod and looking through the doorway to figure out where Luna was. She was always near, so I knew she’d hear the verbal cue to latch on to Ruby so she didn’t miss her ride home. “I have someone to track down who will hopefully give me answers.” My stomach twisted. That was, if my real mother was alive, and my father hadn’t been lying to me about her…and if it was even true that witches had formed covens in the non-magical world. So many things were up in the air, but I’d help Izzy one way or another. Too much was at stake, and I couldn’t fail.
“Go,” Izzy said. “Hurry. Please.”
I smiled. “I will.”
And for a second, I stood there awkwardly. I wanted to hug her, bring her along, and stay with her all at the sa
me time. Instead of that, I reached my hand out in a handshake that was probably one of the dumbest ideas I had ever had.
The moment her dainty hand fell into mine, I realized how wrong it was. As easily as Luna had latched herself onto Izzy, I felt the same way. And maybe our bond was through Luna, but as I left the little house, I kicked myself for not giving her at least a hug goodbye.
How had she softened me like that?
I was Greyson the Healer…who had a reputation of also bringing pain, thanks to my father. Everywhere I went in my realm, people were a bit apprehensive, hearing stories of my past life. The life I kept trying to escape.
But this woman, Izzy, showed lots of emotions towards me, but fear was not one of them.
That would change when she heard the stories, but until then, I’d enjoy just being Greyson, a man trying his best to help her.
Chapter 5
One full day had passed since I left Izzy with her parents, and it felt like much longer. Not only was I no closer to uncovering the cause behind her magical sickness, but I realized that I had no way to track someone down in the non-magical realm. In my world, everyone knew everyone else—or at least knew of someone who could help. All I had to do was ask.
In the non-magical world, nobody knew anyone—not even their neighbors. Sure, I knew my mother’s name, Liliana, but that was it. Completely useless in the mortal realm. I was left with going back to retrace my mother’s steps, which started in the kingdom of Onieth, where she had met my father.
Ruby had important kingdom business to take care of, as well as checking on Sonja—who, by some miracle named Greyson—was going home from the hospital today, but that was just fine. I didn’t need my sister to get around my home realm. I had Luna, and she could fly me anywhere in the seven kingdoms in a quarter of the time as the fastest horse—probably faster.
After an hour-long journey, I slid from Luna’s scaly back two kingdoms over in what used to be the greatest kingdom of the seven, but what was now recovering from father and Luciana’s wrath. They had sought revenge after they were banished from its walls eight years ago, but rumor had it, Luciana still had blood relatives living in that kingdom.
Luciana had told me that my mother was her twin sister, and my father said she lived in the non-magical world, but before I went on a wild phoenix chase, I needed to confirm their statements. A prisoner would say anything to get their freedom. Maybe someone here in Onieth would have answers.
Luna and I approached the kingdom’s gates where Frederick and Steven stood wearing their beige guard uniforms with black sashes that fell over their hearts—a reminder of the devastation Luciana had done to their kingdom. They bowed their heads to me.
“We weren’t expecting you so soon,” Frederick, the heavier of the two, said.
“I’m not here on official business. I’m looking to talk to someone about the witch Luciana.”
“I heard she’s been captured,” Steven said, adjusting his belt. “By the prince of Mortia and his future bride…who happens to be the Queen.” Steven laughed. “What a twisted tale.”
“I don’t think they’re getting married quite yet, but they are ruling a kingdom together.” They didn’t need to know much more than that. As far as I knew, Ty hadn’t asked Ruby to marry him quite yet. “Luciana is in their dungeon, but that’s not what this visit is about. Who here would know her the best?”
“Well, I would,” Frederick said. “She’s my sister.”
“Your sister? But you’re not a witch.”
“No, I’m not. I guess I got all the non-magical blood.”
“I had no idea.” I shook my head. “I’m…sorry?”
“Why?” Frederick asked. “We weren’t close and just because she’s evil doesn’t mean I am. She got what she deserved. Actually, she deserved much worse than an eternity in a dungeon.”
If Frederick didn’t have the magic blood, he was lucky to have avoided the familial darkness. “I’m looking for your other sister, Liliana. Luciana’s twin.”
“Liliana?” His face flattened and his voice softened. “She’s dead.”
“Dead?”
Frederick nodded. “Twenty-five years ago, or more.”
I ran my hands along the edge of my cloak and glanced at Luna for approval I didn’t need, but sometimes Luna seemed to know what I was thinking and stopped me before I divulged too much information. “I don’t think she’s dead.”
“She is dead.” Frederick hitched his thumb up the hill that was right inside Onieth’s gates. “Her gravestone’s up in our cemetery. I went to her funeral and saw her body.”
She was dead. My father had lied to me, but what did I expect? My stomach twisted. Not only was this a dead end for helping Izzy, but I had allowed myself to have a little hope I’d find my mother after all these years—if she even was my mother. I couldn’t believe anything I heard, from dear-ol’-dad”—never could. “Tell me about her.”
Frederick smiled. “When Luciana and Liliana were born, they were identical, but as they grew, their appearances changed. Sure, their high cheekbones, black hair, and brown eyes were the same, but their faces were completely different. Luciana’s wickedness was apparent in her perpetual scowl, where Lilliana’s was filled with love.”
She couldn’t be my mother. I hadn’t been loved since...I didn’t complete that thought because Luna bent down and nudged my hand to pet the top of her head. I was wrong. Luna loved me.
And perhaps Ruby did, too.
Maybe Liliana really could be my mother.
Maybe I wasn’t born of two evil parents after all, and there was hope for me.
Frederick brought me out of my daze. “Even though Liliana was as powerful as Luciana, Lily rarely ever used her powers. Not even when her sister stole her husband.”
“Her husband? She was married?”
“To Claude. Yes.”
My father had been married before? I hadn’t known…and what a mess to be married to two twin sisters. “Can I see her gravestone?”
Frederick stepped aside. “By all means. The cemetery is right inside the gate.”
With a nod, I led Luna through the stone archway and found the graveyard right where Frederick said it was. A bit down the cobblestone path and to the right, up on a hill for all to see the stones that marked the carnage from the black plague Luciana brought on to this village.
I walked the rows of gravestones, reading the names until I found it: Lilliana Warner. Beloved daughter and sister.
My fingers traced around the grooves in the stone.
Born: March 12, 1974
Died: October 15, 1995
How could that be? She died one day before I was born? Had she died during childbirth and the date was wrong?
Was she not my mother?
Or was she actually not buried here?
Not knowing felt like acid rising in my throat. I needed answers.
For my own sanity.
And to cure Izzy.
Soft grass blanketed the ground beneath my feet. I rocked back and forth. There was only one way to know if Liliana was buried here. I flexed my fingers and took a deep breath, thinking to my magical sacrifice—the woodpile back home. I sacrificed an entire row of wood in exchange for my magic to bring Liliana’s bones to the surface. I pulled at the magic surrounding me and sent it down my arms, concentrating it in my hands. I sprang open my fingers, sending bolts of electricity into the dirt.
The ground vibrated beneath my feet as the electrical charge left my body, zipping through the dirt like waves crashing to the shore. When the magic passed through the entire cemetery and left no pile of bones on the surface of the grass, I had my answer.
Liliana wasn’t buried here.
And if she wasn’t buried here, I bet, she wasn’t dead.
And if she wasn’t dead, that meant my father had told me the truth.
She was alive…and my mother.
But why did this entire kingdom believe she had passed?
Freder
ick insisted that he had seen the body.
My jaw clenched with that answer. There was only one witch I knew who had powers to steal and manipulate memories.
My father.
He had taken all the current memories of Liliana away from this world. Even the memories his current wife, Luciana, had of her own sister.
But why did he offer me the truth when I asked?
As much as I didn’t want to see him, I had to.
For me.
For my mother.
For Izzy.
“Luna, take me back to Mortia.”
I climbed up on her back, wrapping my legs around her torso and tightly gripping the makeshift harness around her chest. With a few flaps of her massive wings, we lifted us out of the cemetery and towards the Mortia castle.
Luna dropped me off right in the castle courtyard where a dozen children came running up to play with her. Luna loved the entertainment and was tolerant of the kids crawling up her back and sliding down her tail.
I usually watched a bit, but not today. I marched into the castle and headed straight for the dungeon.
“You owe me an explanation,” I demanded, as I moved the stool in front of my father’s cell.
“Greyson. No, ‘Hey dad, how have you been?’” The corners of his eyes crinkled when he laughed.
“Liliana isn’t dead.”
“I already told you she’s alive—living in the non-magical realm.”
I shook my head. “Why would you tell me that?”
“Because I missed you.”
“Like hell you missed me! For over a decade, you pretended not to know me. And now, all of a sudden, you want to have a father-son moment?” I laughed at the absurdity. “I doubt it. You just want your freedom.”
“I don’t deny that,” my father said. “But I do miss you.”
I dropped the hood of my cloak. “Liliana has a gravestone that says she’s dead. Why?”
“She was pregnant with you and we wanted to start a new life together. We slipped away to the other realm.”
Dragons and Mages: A Limited Edition Anthology Page 135
