by Allison West
"We're here looking for information on fairy magic." Reluctantly, Orla showed her wand to the librarian. "We had a slight mishap, and I'd love to understand how it happened."
"I see." The librarian walked out from behind the counter and led them through the building until she paused before a tall shelf. "I believe the books you're looking for are here. Might I suggest The Four Wands."
Orla reached for the title, pulling it gently from the shelf. "Thank you." She took the book with her to an empty table. She leaned forward, and the others gathered around, waiting to find out what Orla uncovered.
Scouring the pages, her eyes stopped on a paragraph that made her stomach lurch.
The four most powerful devices of the fae reside in the magic of the wands. The combination of two wands in entirely different locations for unique purposes at the same time may result in a time displacement for the wand that was used last. A time displacement may result in a jump forward or backward in time. There is no known cure or spell that can undo such an event. Should it happen, do not use the wand until it has fully discharged all energy, or danger to yourself or others may occur.
"What just happened?" Willow spun around, her feet digging into the wet sand. "Where did they go?"
"Where's my sister?" Jamey's eyes widened. Willow could tell just by looking at her that she probably felt afraid. At least she was still in her world.
"You let go of Orla's hand," Rawlie said, running a hand through his unkempt hair. "We're stuck here."
"Stuck here?" Marco asked, clearing his throat. "I don't even know where here is," he whined. "Besides, I don't have a passport. How am I to get home?"
Willow wasn't going to succumb to being stuck in another world. No way. Even if this world was safer, it wasn't her home. "We're not stuck here. We can travel back to Orenda. You've done it before."
"Sure." Rawlie nodded toward the beach. "We've traveled within the confines of where we want to go. If we transport now, while we're on this island, we'll be marooned, or worse, buried under the sea in Orenda."
Willow picked at her fingernails, trying to conjure up another plan. He made a valid point. No one knew what existed outside of their land. Orenda had been scorched, the land burned and desolate. Willow had heard pockets of civilization existed; it had been the strength of other academies like Eldersburg in growing their numbers and finding refugees. No one knew how many humans still existed and where. They were an endangered species on the brink of extinction. Willow wasn't going to let that happen while she was alive. There had to be another way to get back to Orenda and stop Eilith from harnessing any more power.
Rawlie kept his gaze locked on Willow's face. "So, we just need to charter a boat in this world, get to where we need to go, then transport ourselves home. How hard could it be?"
"Impossible." Bray laughed under his breath. "Please tell me you're joking. I flew here, and I don't have enough money to get you all tickets home. Let alone the issues we'd have with security and passports." He glanced Willow over. "You don't have any other magic tricks up your sleeve?"
"No such luck," Willow said, letting out a heavy sigh, blowing her bangs out of her eyes. She would not give up. Though she only had half a plan, which happened to be to get back to Orenda. The other half still needed to be devised on how to stop Eilith and find their friends. Orla could have been anywhere. Willow knew they would be traveling to the Unseelie Court, but that didn't exactly narrow it down. The Unseelie Court had expanded over a continent in the past decade, when power shifted to Eilith. Finding where they needed to be, let alone getting there, would prove challenging without the fae wand.
"Maybe we should wait here," Jamey said, her voice sounding timid and filled with fear. Willow didn't blame her; not knowing what happened to her sister had to be agonizing. "Won't they come back for us?"
Willow knew better. Orla had an agenda and wouldn't return until the mission was a success. "Even if they could, it might be years."
Jamie cleared his throat. He'd been quiet the entire time. "What about a boat?"
Bray shook his head. "It won't work; there's not enough fuel in a small engine, which is the most we could get without attracting attention."
Jamie groaned. "No!" He let out a heavy sigh and crossed his arms, his eyes widening as he attempted to get his point across. "How about we take the boat with us when we cross over? That way, if the island is underwater, we won't drown. Besides, if it's too dangerous, Willow can always bring us all back."
"What about my sister?" Jamey asked. She stepped closer to Bray, reaching for his hand.
"We'll have to trust that Orla is with her and she'll find her way home. You'll stay here with me, and I'll call your parents," Bray said. "They'll find a way to get your passport to you, along with a plane ticket home. I'm not leaving your side, okay?"
"Mind if I borrow your phone to call my parents too," Marco asked. "No offense, but I think I've done enough traveling for a lifetime. Lil is cute, but I'm so over her and the chaos that follows."
"Sure," Bray said, nodding slowly, staring at the strange boy with the accent.
Jamey wrapped her arms around Bray. "Thank you." She shoved her face against his chest. "My Aunt Rosa is going to kill me."
Willow glanced at Bray and nodded in silent agreement. Jamey didn't need to come along; it would only put her in more danger. If she could ask the same for her brother, she would. In fact, she had. However, seeing him in front of her, Willow knew it was selfish, but she didn't want to let him go again.
"Are you really going to steal a boat?" Bray asked. "I don't think I want to be around for it, in case you guys get caught."
"I have an idea," Orla said, pulling the wand from the dagger and handing it to Lil.
"What are you doing?" Lil asked, staring at the wand, refusing to take it from the fae's grasp. Had she lost her mind? Why was she handing it over? Lil had no idea how to use it. What if they wiped themselves from existence?
"It's summer of 1983, and I saw that newspaper. The date hasn't changed, just the year. My mother, Queen of the Seelie Court, is still alive." She paused, exhaling a heavy breath.
Lil imagined that the idea of seeing her mother again crossed her mind. Knowing the fae's lack of aging and mountable years, Morgan probably didn't look a day younger.
"Magic existed in the past. It's always been practiced. However, it hadn't been recognized as an art until this very summer."
"How come?" Lil asked.
Hudson's brow furrowed and he crossed his arms, letting Orla finish the story.
"The fae showed themselves for what they truly were," Arianna said. "There were always stories and whispers of people who had been dying of some unknown ailment and mysteriously healed. I might not have been born yet, but I remember reading about it in one of the books at the academy."
Orla smiled. "My mother introduced the world to the healing properties of our fae power. We need to stop her from taking that step."
"Why?" Lil asked, suspecting it had something to do with Eilith.
Orla pushed the fae wand at Lil once again. "Take this wand to my mother and explain the truth about where you're from, the future, and the destruction of my people."
Lil raised an eyebrow skeptical. "She won't believe me." Reluctantly, she took the wand from Orla's grasp. She had no idea how to use the wand, let alone find Morgan.
"She will when she sees that you have her wand. There are only four fae wands in existence, Lil. In order for you to have not only one, but hers, she must believe you."
It seemed Orla had been considering a way to save Orenda after all. Lil just didn't know how this would solve the problem of getting them home, to the future, and finding her friends. Hopefully, they were okay.
Lil studied the wand, gently flipping it over. It sparkled and glistened like a rainbow of diamonds. "Why aren't you coming with us?" Lil asked. How could she not want to see her mother again?
"Trust me, when I say that I can't." Orla didn't elaborate.
/> Lil shook her head. "That's it? We're stuck in the past, and you can't give us a single logical reason why you're ditching us. For what? What could possibly be so important… forget it." If Orla didn't intend on telling Lil what was really going on, there were other ways to find out. "Is anyone else staying back?"
Hudson cleared his throat and dropped his hands to his sides. "I will."
"You too?" Lil asked, not believing it. A small part of her felt dejected that he wasn't coming with her. She tried to hide her disappointment, but she was never great at pretending to be something that she wasn't. She had hoped they could spend more time together.
Hudson shrugged and averted his gaze to the ground. "I don't think anyone should be left alone."
Lil could tell he avoided her stare. Why? What did he have to hide? "What are you going to be doing while Arianna and I visit Morgan?"
Hudson glanced up at Orla, not saying a single word. They were definitely hiding something. Lil didn't like it one bit.
"I don't know." Orla threw her hands up in the air. "I can't see my mother. Not like this." She gestured toward her body. "I'm an infant to her, a child that's just been born. She can't see who I've become."
'Why not?" Arianna asked. "You have nothing to be ashamed of."
Lil glanced down at the wand. "Besides, she's going to find out about you when I show her the wand and explain who we are."
Orla didn't deny it to be true.
"So, you're hiding from her. Is that it?" Lil asked.
Orla's cheeks burned, and her eyes widened. "Can we drop it, please?" She clenched her jaw and glanced away.
Lil decided she would drop the questions but not the investigation. Something was going on, and soon enough, she'd find out what. "How do we use the wand?" Lil asked. "Aside from holding hands." She had gathered that much from the few trips they'd taken already with the fae wand.
"Close your eyes and visualize where you want to go or who you want to see. Be wary if you feel a cloud of blackness or intense heat surrounding the location."
"Why?" Lil asked.
"Danger is nearby, and you might not transport alive."
Lil wondered if that had been why they walked beneath the burning surface to find Morgan. Had Orla felt the heat and fire without seeing it? "Great. If Morgan believes me and stops the introduction of magic, how will we reconnect if she can set things right?"
Orla chewed her bottom lip. She looked to be considering how much to say, or perhaps she was constructing a lie. Lil could read people enough to know something was going on. "Morgan can find me. I'm her daughter. Once she knows where I am, Hudson will be with me, and it'll be no time until we're reunited."
Hudson smiled. "Or you could use the fae wand to return back to us?"
Lil wondered why he was so at ease with staying back. Though she didn't have a great interest in seeing Morgan again, the memories she had of the fae queen were foggy and confusing at best. She did, however, remember that Morgan always wanted something in return. Perhaps the wand would be enough of a prized possession. Having two identical wands seemed unheard of, according to Orla.
Lil gripped the wand tight in her fist. Her other hand latched onto Arianna. "Are you ready?"
"I'm never ready when it comes to Morgan," Arianna said.
Orla rested a hand on Lil's arm. "Not out here!" Her jaw clenched and her head darted around. "Good, no one saw. Get in that alley, and then be on your way."
"Right." Lil grabbed Arianna by the arm. She glanced at Hudson and gave him a faint smile. Her heart had missed him no doubt. Though she couldn't remember why, she felt it. Seeing him, it brought a warmth back, a happiness that even in the bleakest of times she felt. "See you around."
Lil walked silently alongside Arianna and into a nearby alley. She peeked around the corner, watching Orla and Hudson talking animatedly. What was going on? She felt left out of an important plan.
"What are we waiting for?" Arianna asked, resting a hand on Lil's arm. "What are you doing?"
"Those two are up to something. I say we follow them."
Orla and Hudson walked across the street and then headed in the opposite direction.
"Quick, come on!" Lil said, rushing down the street to catch up. She didn't want to be seen, but she couldn't lose them. "Where are they going?"
Chapter 16
The Jungle
Rawlie took Willow's hand, transporting her and Jamie back to Orenda. They didn't bother with stealing a boat. Not that they hadn't tried, but it had been a lot harder to find one unattended. They had agreed not to let go, and if necessary, Willow would bring them right back.
Willow took an anxious breath, deep enough in case she had to hold it on the other side. Who knew what would face them in Orenda where they were located?
The world around them faded and flickered, drawing them to Orenda. Finding solid ground beneath her feet, Willow let go of Rawlie's hand first and then her brother's. She kept him close beside her, worried for his safety. Nowhere in Orenda would he be protected. Not with Elfinland destroyed.
"What's the plan now?" Rawlie asked, turning around in a circle. "Are you sure we're in the same location in Orenda?"
The land around them had become overgrown with vegetation. The roads disappeared behind grass. Trees lined the sandy beach.
"Is this supposed to be a jungle?" Jamie asked.
Willow walked away from the shoreline; it would do them no good to stare at the ocean all day. She headed inward, hoping to find some remaining pockets of civilization. "It's overgrown because no one's lived here for decades."
"I thought the Scourge destroyed Orenda?" Jamie asked. "It's beautiful out here."
The land was lush and fertile from humanity and sorceresses staying away. Would this happen to the rest of Orenda when Eilith died? Perhaps not today but in ten or twenty years? Willow felt a newfound hope build in her chest. "It is beautiful."
Willow walked through overgrown bushes and trees, pushing her way over roots and under low hanging limbs.
"There are no tracks, no proof of anyone living here in a long time, Willow." Rawlie stopped walking and glanced back toward the beach. "I say we stay by the shore, cut down some wood, and build a boat. We can sail to the nearest coast and see where we get from there."
"You're crazy if you plan on building a boat. We could have just stolen one. It'd be a lot faster and easier." Willow rolled her eyes. "We're not alone." She pointed at the bare footprints in dry mud beneath stray branches. "It's been a while, but there are others on this island."
Willow kept walking, ignoring Rawlie's plea to turn around. Jamie kept in tow behind his sister. "How are we going to find our friends?"
Willow bit her bottom lip hard. She hadn't wanted to tell her brother that she couldn't find them. It wasn't possible. Orla would be the only one who, on some chance of a miracle, could find her way back to them. At least, she could have on the beach, back with Bray. Now, everything had changed. "We have to stop Eilith. Then we'll worry about our friends. Okay?" She didn't have a plan for stopping the demon sorceress. How could she? Getting off the island would prove challenging enough. Then, they'd have to find Eilith, make her mortal, and destroy her. Not an easy task in the slightest.
Rawlie met Willow's stare. "Even if we encounter a few lucky survivors, how are we going to find Eilith?"
An arrow whizzed through the air, piercing Jamie's heart.
The air left Willow's lungs, finding it impossible to breathe. "No!" Her hands shaking, she ducked in the foliage, feeling Rawlie's hand on her back keeping her down, trying to offer minimal protection.
She crawled over to her brother. Jamie gasped, his eyes scrunched and skin pale. Willow examined the wound. Pulling the arrow would only lead to him bleeding faster and a quicker death. She didn't know how to save him. This is why they'd brought Lil with them; they needed her abilities and strength. She was gone now. Would Jamie survive until they returned?
Willow's fingers were covered in Jamie's blood. Sh
e reached out to touch her brother's cheek and offer him a comforting embrace. "You're going to be fine." Her voice quivered, and she swallowed back the pain and memory of her mother dying in her arms. No. She would not let Jamie die. She had vowed to protect him. "Just hang in there, okay?"
Jamie's brow furrowed, and he nodded weakly. "It hurts, Willow. So bad." His eyes faded in and out, the world around him growing dark but not cold.
"We need to move," Rawlie said and lifted Jamie into his arms. Unconscious, Jamie didn't seem to be in any pain or suffering in any way.
Willow led the way, holding back tree branches as they skirted back toward the beach and then north along the coast, attempting to find shelter and a place for Jamie to rest.
"Who do you think they were?" Rawlie asked as they kept walking. Their pace slowed, but they refused to stop.
"Couldn't say. A resistance group fighting against Eilith?" Willow knew it had been a long shot. They could have also been under a spell and sent to kill anyone they encountered. Though, why would Eilith let anyone survive? She'd destroyed Willow's town, murdered an entire civilization in Elfinland. If this were a game of chess, what would be her next move? Willow couldn't see it, but she knew Eilith's pieces were moving into position.
Rawlie grunted under his breath as he hoisted Jamie from over one shoulder and moved him to the other.
"I can carry him," Willow said, meaning every word of her offer. She didn't want to slow them down or risk jeopardizing her best friend's life, either.
"They weren't using magic. If they were fighting for Eilith, they would have shot fire, ice, something other than an arrow."
Did this mean the people in the forest hunting them down were the good guys? It hardly seemed like it. Maybe they'd been abandoned for so long, they didn't know what had been happening in the world.
"We have to go back." Willow stopped walking.
"What?"
"I know, you're going to think I'm crazy. You should stay with Jamie. Make sure he's protected and safe, but I think our best bet is to go in and form an alliance." They had no way of knowing how many people lived on the island and banded together. Willow had only noticed the one arrow that had hit Jamie, but there had been tons more shot at the three of them. The longer she thought about it, she was certain it had come from multiple directions.
