Orenda

by Silver, Ruth

  She nodded at Bray and offered a weak smile. “I’ll see you later.”

  Everyone but Willow and Bray gathered in a circle, grabbing each other’s hands. Jamie held up the fairy wand and transported them back to Orenda.

  “Mom?” Willow couldn't stop herself. The moment she laid eyes on Lil's mother, looking exactly like her mother had, she rushed across the street in a daze. Lil would be back later, and she didn’t need her help now.

  “Lil?” Lil's mother dropped her keys on the grass, her arms wide as she rushed toward her missing daughter. “Lil, you're okay.”

  Willow buried her face in her mother's neck. She smelled sweet, like cherries and vanilla. It was different from how she remembered her own mother smelling, but it was familiar enough. Willow refused to loosen her grip. “I missed you so much.”

  Her mother’s hold relaxed and she pulled back, searching Willow’s eyes. She unlocked the front door, leading Willow inside and shut it forcefully behind her. “Where’s my daughter? Who are you?”

  “What?” Willow stammered. It wasn’t possible for Lil’s mother to be able to tell them apart. Sure there were tiny differences, but it could be explained away. At least Willow had hoped that was the case.

  “You're from Orenda.”

  “How did you know?” It wasn't possible.

  “I met your parents once, a long time ago. Your mother traveled to our world, looking for our help. It was after Eilith had begun destroying your world. It was a difficult time. I wouldn't put my children in danger, and I wouldn’t leave them motherless. Your mother came looking for my help; she wanted me to raise you and your brother. She hoped sending you here would protect you.” She sighed, staring down at her hands in her lap. “Your mother asked a lot of me. I couldn’t care for four children. I was struggling with just Lil and Jamey. I'm sorry you lost your mother.” She gently placed her hand over Willow's. “If I had any idea the type of life you would have had, I'd have agreed to take care of you and your brother. Your parents died saving the two of you.”

  She'd always considered her parents to be heroes, but she'd never heard the words from anyone else. “I miss them,” Willow said.

  “Thomas, Bray's father, built a window, the size of a mirror, between our world and Orenda. We watched the devastation take over your land. We saw Eilith murder your family and leave you both as orphans. Thomas and I tried to create a device to help us travel to Orenda and bring you back with us. We wanted to protect you, but we couldn't figure out the mechanics of it. I worked in secret for a decade before I returned full-time to it a few months ago.”

  “What about the device across the street?” Willow asked. “It works, but only in one direction.”

  “It didn’t work at the lab—it wouldn’t even power on. Thomas suggested moving the machine, after running a series of tests and discovering the space between worlds was malleable in our neighborhood. I honestly didn’t think it would work. There were some strange fluctuations in the data that still don’t make sense, but we decided to test the device in his basement. What was the worst thing that could happen?” She laughed softly. “We turned it on only a few weeks ago. Shortly after, Lil and Bray went missing. I feared that we made the doorway between worlds unstable. Thomas tried to power off the device, but it’s not running on any natural power source. We even unplugged it, yet the gateway in the forest is still open.”

  Willow nodded. “There has to be a way to turn it off. We need to do whatever we can to protect your world from destruction. I’m sorry,” Willow said, her voice barely audible. “Jamey was hurt.” It hurt to confess the truth, but it needed to be said. Her heart ached thinking about Jamey and Hudson. “Eilith attacked us when we were trying to disable the device. Lil can heal now . . . It’s a power she developed in my world, and it only works in Orenda. She left with Jamey to save her.” Willow paused, seeing the frightened look in Lil's mother’s eyes. “They'll both be back. We just have to give them time.”

  “How long?” she asked.

  “Hopefully it won't be more than a few hours.” There was no knowing for certain. “They’ll be back, but in the meantime, I need your help.”

  “I'm listening.”

  Elfinland appeared around them and Rawlie placed Jamey on the cold tiled floor. Lil bent down, and her hands cradled the wound on Jamey's head, trying to heal her sister.

  “Such a sad sight to see, your sister dying.” Morgan’s attention turned toward Hudson. Her fingers ran over his shirt. He grimaced in pain as she touched him.

  “They won't die!” Rawlie's fists bunched together as he approached Morgan. “Lil can help them both.”

  Morgan approached Jamie, gliding her fingers along his arm as she took his gift that he had promised her. “Have you come to make another deal? I see you have Arianna and Lil with you, but no Willow. How interesting . . . ” She clasped her hands together and sat on her throne again.

  “Why can't I save Jamey?” Lil whispered, staring down at her sister. She felt helpless.

  Morgan smiled from atop her seat. “You're in Elfinland, dear. Your powers are mute within our realm. I can save her—for a price.”

  “Please. You can have the memory of my first love. Save them both.” She knew what Morgan was capable of and what making a deal meant. In that moment, she didn't care. She would do anything to save Jamey and Hudson.

  Morgan's eyes shined as she stepped down from her throne and waved a hand over Jamey's body. Glitter trailed a path down and across Jamey's body before her eyes fluttered open. Lil threw her arms around her sister, relieved she was alive.

  “Lil? Where are we?” Jamey asked, seeing the strangely beautiful creature looking down at her.

  “Don't stare at her,” Lil warned her sister. She took her hand, averting Jamey's eyes. Lil kissed the top of Jamey's head before standing up, facing Morgan. “I will give you what I promised.”

  Morgan smiled. “Done.”

  “No!” Hudson yelled. “Lil, what have you done?”

  Morgan's eyes flashed from Hudson back to Lil. “Interesting.” She laughed. “I should have seen it coming. Lovers from different worlds—oh the heartache you would have had apart. I'm doing you a favor, aren't I?” She pulled the memory and the emotion tangled with it from Lil. Perhaps it wasn't a full-blossomed romance yet, but Morgan was happy with what she was able to take.

  Lil's eyes flashed a quick shade of purple before reverting back to their natural blue. The memory and feeling of soaring like a balloon through the summer sky when she kissed Hudson for the first time vanished. Lil's eyes locked on Hudson, but the feelings that had once stirred within her were gone. Now they were nothing more than acquaintances.

  Morgan walked over to Hudson.

  He stood there, struggling to breathe, knowing what was next. “Do it,” he said, disgusted.

  Morgan brushed her fingers over his stomach, her touch sparkling with blue glitter as she healed him.

  He gasped, his fingers feeling over where the wound had been just moments earlier. The pain disappeared.

  “You got your gift. Now, it’s my turn.” She smiled and ran her hand over the warm skin of his arm.

  His eyes flashed a darker, richer brown and the emotions and memories of Lil ripped out of his mind. It burned at first—the pain excruciating as it tore through his head and pulsated down to his heart. Hudson fell to his knees, sweat dripping from his forehead as he gasped for breath.

  Lil watched, half-dazed to her surroundings and to what was going on with Hudson. “We should go home.” Lil helped Jamey stand.

  “What did you do to my sister?” Jamey asked.

  Morgan sat back down on her throne. “Speak of it to your sister, and I assure you, you'll find you've become a fairy servant.”

  Jamey's eyes widened, and she quickly studied the ground. “Can we go home?” Her voice squeaked.

  “Jamie, you may take them home,” Morgan said. “Then return here, at once. Bring Willow with you, and her powers will be restored, as
promised. I will uphold my end of our deal.”

  Rawlie cleared his throat. “What about the portal? We failed to turn it off.”

  The fairy queen smiled. “Not all battles can be won. You needn't worry. I've already sent a dozen fairies to destroy the device and shut down the portal.”

  “And Eilith?” Rawlie asked. “She retrieved The Book of Incantations and plans to open a permanent doorway between both worlds. Once she succeeds, the consequences of opening Pandora's box will spread to the other world.”

  “You’re wrong.” Morgan smiled. “Eilith doesn’t have The Book of Incantations. She has the cover, not the text. She’ll find that out soon enough. Hudson can see objects from Orenda, as they stand out amongst ordinary things. But his gift is limited. He cannot see a lie. The cover of the book stood out to him, and I presume Eilith took it without a second thought.”

  “If it wasn’t The Book of Incantations, what did Eilith take?” Rawlie asked.

  “I don’t know the word for it, but there were thousands of yellow and white pages stuffed together into a giant book filled with nonsensical numbers,” Morgan said.

  “A phone book!” Jamey gasped.

  “Why send us for the book if it wasn’t there all along?” Arianna asked.

  “But it was.” Morgan nodded vigorously. “It still is. You must find it before Eilith returns.”

  “What about the portal?” Hudson asked.

  “The Fae will destroy the portal,” Morgan said. “Eilith is immortal. The only way to destroy her resides within the pages of The Book of Incantations. You should go,” Morgan said.

  Jamie took everyone's hand, held the wand, and transported them back to the other world.

  After an exhausting day, Willow had fallen asleep on the couch. The ground shifted with a slight quake, jarring her awake. She pushed the curtains aside to see out front. A smile lit up her face when she saw they'd all come back, alive.

  Willow climbed off the sofa, snatched a book from the table, and headed for the front door. She tried to be quiet. Lil's parents were asleep, and her father didn't know Willow wasn't Lil. The last thing she wanted was to complicate things further. He was told Jamey spent the night at a friend's. Both Willow and Lil's mother hoped Jamey would be home soon. They couldn't lie to Lil's father forever.

  “You're home!” Willow said as she walked outside.

  “We are.” Lil beamed, spinning around with her arms out and head thrown back. “Oh, how I've missed being home.”

  Willow smiled at Lil's excitement. She stepped toward the group, pulling her little brother Jamie into a hug. “I missed you.”

  “Missed you too, Willow,” Jamie said. “Can we stay here tonight? Just until the portal is destroyed for good?”

  Willow frowned. “How will we get home?”

  Arianna flashed her the wand from Morgan. “I can get us back to Orenda.”

  “No,” Willow said. “You can get us back to Elfinland. What then? What will Morgan want for this side trip that you've made?” She wasn't an idiot. There was always a price with Morgan.

  “She wants us to defeat Eilith using The Book of Incantations. Remember, she’s agreed to restore your power if we bring her back the book. We’ll figure out the rest later. One day at a time.”

  “This book?” Willow asked, showing them the text in her hands. The cover was missing, and in its place was a dark blue book. It wasn’t flashy or mysterious—in fact, it looked quite boring. “My parents brought it over to this world before they died. Lil’s mom told me about them.”

  “Where did you find it?” Arianna asked.

  “She gave it to me,” Willow said. “I’m sure she’ll tell you all about it tomorrow.”

  Lil couldn’t believe what Willow just said. “She knows you’re not me?”

  “Talk to her,” Willow insisted. “You’d be surprised what she knows.”

  Lil was dumbfounded. Could her mother really know anything about Orenda? All of those late nights and early mornings at work . . . Was this the project that kept her away from home?

  “I guess this is where we part ways,” Lil said to the group. She would miss them, but Orenda wasn’t her world. She didn’t belong there. She reached for her sister's hand, never wanting to worry about her again.

  Willow stepped forward to Lil. “I'm sure I'll see you again. Or maybe you'll see me. Believe it or not, I am going to miss you.”

  “I don't believe it,” Lil said. She smiled. “Can’t forget this.” She removed the sword and sheath, handing it back to Willow. “It belongs to you. So does the eternal suit.” Lil looked down at her armor.

  “Keep the suit as a souvenir. It’s not like I can use it again. Eilith’s seen what it can do.”

  “Thanks.” Lil walked over to Rawlie. “I'm sorry if I was hard on you when we first met.”

  “Don't be. I deserved it,” Rawlie said. “I did sort of kidnap you from school.”

  “Yes, you did.” Lil nodded, laughing. She gave Rawlie a hug. “Take care of Willow and Jamie, or so help me—”

  “I promise,” Rawlie said. “Seems you two aren’t so different after all.”

  Lil raised an eyebrow but said nothing. Certainly the journey to Orenda had changed her; being forced to confront a demon sorceress, a dragon, and a fairy queen would change anyone. There wasn’t much she feared in her world anymore.

  Lil pulled Jamie into her arms. “I don’t regret any of it, I hope you know that.”

  “I know. I bet you’ll miss Hudson most. Right?” Jamie asked.

  Lil kissed Jamie's cheek before she let him go and moved closer to Hudson. Something felt strange. Peculiar. “So, this is goodbye.” She smiled, reaching toward him to give him a kiss on the cheek, but shying away. He deserved to be happy, and for some reason, she was foggy on the time they'd spent together. She hugged him instead. “Take care of yourself, Hudson.”

  “You too.” He let go, rubbing the back of his neck. He stared into her eyes and cleared his throat. “Are we ready?”

  Willow wrapped her arms around Jamie’s small frame, hugging him tightly to her chest. “I need you to stay here for a while.”

  “What?” Jamie croaked, a lump lodged in his throat. “I can't leave you, Willow.”

  “You have to.” Willow insisted. “Their parents will take care of you, and I will be back, as soon as we stop Eilith. I know you want to come along, but Eilith will hurt you the same way she hurt Jamey.” She glanced at the young girl. “I can’t let anything happen to you. Do you understand?”

  “I’m your weakness. Your kryptonite.” Jamie grinned, glancing at Lil. “Everyone can stay?”

  Rawlie stepped closer, hugging the young boy goodbye. “You know we can't. Willow's right, you'll be safe with the Porters.”

  “I'm going to miss you.” Tears threatened Jamie's vision. He blinked them away. “What about Morgan?”

  “She'll understand,” Hudson said. “She got what she wanted from you. This is the safest place for you to be. We'll be back for you, as soon as Eilith is stopped.”

  Jamie groaned. “Which means never.”

  Lil wrapped an arm around the young boy’s shoulders. “It won't be so bad here. I promise.”

  He reached for his sister one last time, hugging her goodbye. “I love you,” he whispered in her ear.

  “I love you, too,” Willow answered. She smiled sadly.

  “Ready?” Hudson asked.

  “As ready as we'll ever be, right?” Arianna said as they reached out and clasped hands.

  Lil, Jamie, and Jamey headed inside the house. They shut the door and locked it tightly. Jamey rushed to the window, peeking through the shades to watch them go home. Jamie stood in the living room, not wanting to see his sister and friends disappear back to his world.

  “Come on, Jamey,” Lil said. “It's time for bed. You'll crash with me tonight, and Jamie can have your room.”

  “I'm not tired.” Jamey whined.

  “Me either,” Jamie said.

&n
bsp; Great, there were two of them now. “It's late. Mom and Dad will freak out if they see us awake. Not to mention when they see Jamie.” She glanced at the clock. It was just after four. There’d be a lot of explaining to do tomorrow.

  Jamey threw her arms around Lil one last time. “I missed you, Lil. I really did.”

  “I missed you, too,” Lil said. Although she hadn't always been close with her little sister, she vowed to fix that. She led Jamie up to Jamey's room and tucked him into bed. She didn't have any extra clothes for him, but promised they could redecorate the room and make it more like home tomorrow.

  “Goodnight.” Lil kissed the top of Jamie's head and closed the door, letting him get to sleep. She grabbed a sleeping bag and threw it on her bedroom floor, giving her sister the bed for the night. Tomorrow they'd figure out more comfortable arrangements—assuming her parents didn't kill them first. Lil shut off the light and crawled into the sleeping bag. First thing in the morning, she'd call Bray. But for tonight, the adventure was over.

  Elfinland

  Orla

  Chapter 1

  Dawn would break soon, and they’d lose the cover of night. “We don’t have much time. My people need your help.” Orla gripped the sword in her hands. Her gaze darted across the barren forest. They were just outside Elfinland. The forest had been charred; smoke permeated the air. “Eilith discovered The Book of Incantations wasn’t in her possession. She threatened my mother. When she didn’t give her the book, Eilith set the castle on fire. I’m confident my mother escaped the flames, but she is still in Elfinland. I can sense her. Eilith will stop at nothing to find the book. She’ll torture my mother and the other Fae until she gets what she wants. We have to find my mother.”

  “I never knew Morgan had a daughter.” Willow stared curiously at the young fairy. She didn’t look much younger than Morgan Le Fay. Although, Morgan was likely hundreds, if not thousands, of years old. Orla looked to be fifteen, but age was just a number. Orla was gorgeous, a hypnotic beauty just like her mother. She wore a chamomile green dress, had hair the color of coffee, and her finger and toenails were painted a cool mint.