“So, did anyone feel the house shake?” Tabby asked the room and pulled me from my thoughts. I almost forgot about our encounter at Renee’s house.
“The house what?” Chris asked her.
Renee already knew what we had to tell them, so I decided to fill them in without her. I knew she wouldn’t mind. I could tell she contemplated what happened as well. We went over the details with everyone—minus the link—and explained that Derek, also from Ormshire, was in Cherry Valley but hadn’t received his memories as the women did.
“Maybe the curse was designed to take anyone with any type of powers… whether they knew about them or not,” Chase added when I spoke of the men who had powers of healing.
“Why do you say that?” Tabby asked.
“Because I knew Derek. He never said anything about being a healer. Maybe it’s a trace of power; a genetic attribute.”
I guessed it made sense, but what about John and Xander? I knew that question was also one that would eat at Renee, and I was determined to help her find the answers. Looking around the room, I felt what Renee must have felt when she was in the dark about everything. I couldn’t blame her for assuming her role as the heir to Pylira, but I was a little worried she pulled away from me when she had taken to that role. More than ever, we needed to unite as one.
“Maybe we should scout the town?” I asked my sister.
“I want to come with you.” Chris jumped from her seat beside Chase. “I can help.”
“Are you from Ormshire?” I asked her. “I don’t remember you.”
“No…” She looked to the rest of the room and settled on Tabby. “I lived in Regalis until I was thirteen, then I went to Hearthstone palace to work.”
“Regalis, huh?”
“Yes, maybe you’ve heard of my father. Lord Regginad?” She twisted her hands together as if she hadn’t really believed her story either.
Regginad was one of the four lords of Pylira. He and the other lords ruled each of the four realms. As lords of their own realms, they kept peace within Pylira. I knew that Lord Regginad had five children, but I didn’t remember ever meeting any of them.
“Why would a lord’s daughter go to work at the palace? Didn’t your family have need of you at home?”
Tabby must have known where my questions were leading and why, because she stepped between the girl and myself to come to her defense. “Her mother, Mariella, is a seer. She foresaw the day when Renella would need luce magia by her side.”
“Oh?”
“I spent most of my time with her and her family in Regalis. She’s telling you the truth,” Tabby finished.
“Okay, little sister, I’ll take your word for it.”
I looked at Chris again. She seemed more like a scared child than she had the first time I met her at the town line. I wondered why she recoiled when I spoke to her, thinking maybe it was because she thought I was like my father, as most people did.
“Fine. Tabby, Chris and Farlow will come with me. We’ll take an inventory of the rest of the town. If the curse broke, then there is bound to be an uproar soon.”
Chase looked mostly recovered from his encounter with Ourobus. “Do you think you and Nolan could scout at the border some more now that it’s daylight? You two have spent time there. Maybe you can tell if more buio have arrived.”
“Sure.” He rubbed the spot where the cut had been. “We’ll check it out and see if the bubble is still gone.”
“Yeah, we can take the car again, though. I wanna be able to get outta there fast if there’s gonna be trouble.” Nolan picked his keys off the mantle.
I pulled Tabby just outside the room. I wanted to ask her to go check on Renee, but before I could ask, she shook her head at me.
“Let her take the time she needs to process. We’ll be back soon. She’s safe here.” My sister looked at me, and I could see how much she truly had aged and matured since I had last seen her. Dying must do that to a person. “Besides, you’ll know if she needs you for anything,” she added so no one could hear her, speaking of the link between Renee and me.
Tabby had been our only witness to it back in Ormshire, when Oma told us of the revised prophecy. She had been the only other soul who knew about the link, and I thought it should stay that way.
As we headed out of the house, I tried to tell Renee through our link that I would be back, but I didn’t know if it worked. We never tried to communicate through the link like that before, but it was stronger, and it was worth a try. I thought I felt a response, and it was a much less angry response than I expected, but it could have been merely wishful thinking on my part.
We walked through the town thinking the best place to start would be the school and to work our way back. It was essentially the centermost location of Cherry Valley. My mind wandered to questions. Who designed this town? Why didn’t we know men were also moved? How did we miss the ones that were? My sister snapped me back to reality when she tripped over a rock in the road and landed on her hands and knees.
“Glad to see some things never change,” I said as Chris moved into action and helped Tabby up.
“Yeah, she’s a real bore that way. I don’t mind it anymore, though. I’ve gotten used to saving her skin,” Chris said with a small laugh.
“Great. Now there are two of you picking on my clumsiness.” Tabby wiped the blood smear from her knees where the road tore through.
“Here, let me.” I reached down, and as Renee did with Chase, I put a hand over her injured knee. When I removed my hand, the blood had stopped, but only to scab the small cuts.
“Huh,” I said, trying again, but the cut only got fractionally smaller.
“Maybe it only works when you’re close,” Tabby whispered, then looked back to make sure Chris hadn’t heard. No matter how much she trusts Chris, she would never divulge information that wasn’t solely hers to give.
Chris peered around Tabby and noticed the cut hadn’t healed completely.
“Remember, Renee has her stone ring. We little people have to wait for access to the actual stone.” She laughed and started walking again.
“Well, that won’t be soon enough.” I played it off and we kept walking.
The grounds around the school were bare. There wasn’t a single person anywhere. Since the school housed the entire population of students in Cherry Valley, there was a playground on the east side of the building for the elementary-aged kids. That usually had a few weekend players on the swings or riding bikes around the small track, but there were none.
“Is this odd for a cold day here?” Chris asked as we looked around. “To think of it, I haven’t seen anyone since we started walking,” she continued.
I looked around at the surrounding houses. The leaves had fallen more as the winds picked up over those last few days. The bright autumn colors that streaked the sky high in the trees were plastered in wet clumps on the ground.
“It’s chilly, but I don’t think this is normal for any Saturday afternoon.” I continued to scan the area. Finally, I saw a man in his mid-twenties looking out of his front window. As I started to wave, the curtain fell, and he was no longer visible.
“Now… that was odd.”
“Maybe we should get back,” Chris said as a roar of thunder bellowed above.
“You think?” Tabby asked sarcastically.
Chapter Ten
Cherry Valley: Present Day
“See anything?” Chase sat in the passenger seat playing with the radio controls.
“I’m not seeing anything. Are you seeing anything other than the stereo?” Nolan asked as he drummed the steering wheel.
“Sorry.”
Chase clicked the stereo off and scanned the neighborhood as they drove. The afternoon sky darkened, and the wind picked up. The heater in the old Buick spit and sputtered, making a noise that made both of their heads hurt.
“I don’t think I’d ever get used to this cold weather,” Chase said, breaking the silence.
“Hopefu
lly, we won’t have to. Renee has her memories; she and Tyson have been reunited. Once we get the passage open…” Nolan stopped talking and slowed the car to a halt.
They had made it to the border. The sky outside the town was still blue and cloudless.
“That’s strange.” Chase leaned forward to get a better look at where the border in the sky lined the town. It was as if someone had drawn a line up above, and one color couldn’t blend into the other.
“The bubble?” Chase asked, looking at Nolan.
“Probably. I just don’t get why someone would go to the trouble anymore.”
Nolan let the car move forward again and pulled next to the sign announcing the little town. In front of the sign, the earth was cold, and as the wind blew, it kicked up the fallen leaves. They flew over the sign and collided with an invisible barrier to the outside world, where they fell to the ground. Chase and Nolan watched as the leaves continued this pattern across the width of the street to the other side, where they stopped. Across the invisible line, nothing moved. Nolan looked farther up the hill, outside the town and to the line of trees, where a visible border encircled all of Cherry Valley.
“Look.” Nolan exclaimed, pointing to the trees.
There they saw hordes of people sitting around small fires with tents pitched.
“Friend or foe?” Chase asked solemnly.
“No idea…yet. I think we need to get back to Renee. She needs to see this.” Nolan switched the old Buick’s gears and turned them around.
“This is crazy. We should be home by now. Nobody ever said anything about facing off against buio and being disconnected from home this long,” Chase mumbled over the roar of the car’s engine and the wind from outside.
“Nobody foresaw Ourobus becoming king of the dark side either,” his friend pointed out.
“Well, Oma did, didn’t she?”
“Nobody but Queen Karen listens to that old bat. Even I just thought she was a crazy old coot.” Nolan pulled in front of the old house. “Sit tight. I’ll go get her.”
Just as he put his hand on the door handle, Chase stopped him. “I think she knew we were coming,” he said, pointing to the gate as Renee opened it and headed for the car.
She opened the back door and climbed in without a word. As the car pulled away from the curb, thunder started. Bolts of lightning threatened to tear open the sky as they pulled next to the sign once again.
“What do you two make of it?” she asked, looking at the line in the sky and the collection of people.
“I don’t know. We thought maybe you’d have an idea. Maybe you could use your magia and see if there is a power at work here still…you know…keeping them out.”
Renee got out of the car and walked to the sign. She held out her hand and touched it. As she held it there, she felt a small surge of power, but it wasn’t strong magia. She didn’t know if she would need Ty to do all magia, but she tried anyway. With the power she felt from her ring and the link with Ty, she hoped she would be able to accomplish something.
I looked to the horde of people in the horizon once more, but none of them seemed to know I was there. With both hands on the sign, I let my power flow through me. I felt the warmth of it start in my chest and extend to the farthest reaches of my being. Light sprang from my hands and I looked to the crowd once again, but they hadn’t made any sign that they knew I was there. Nor did I sense any magia from them.
I felt the stone guide me. Even though I was a novice, and my power was still new to me, I pushed on. It was as if my magia taught me how to be strong and what to do. I just needed to think of what I wanted to accomplish. The light subsided, and I reached around the large sign to the back. Nothing stopped me, but when I looked up, the invisible line was still there.
“Come on. We’re going for a drive.” I hopped into the back of the car again.
“What?” Nolan asked.
“Just follow the road up the hill. If we need to get away, it’ll be easier if we can drive away instead of run,” I told him.
“Are you sure? Shouldn’t we wait for the others to get back?” Chase asked with a quiver in his voice.
“I didn’t sense any magia from them. I don’t think they’ll be a problem. We need to know for sure who they are and what side they’re on,” I insisted.
“Fine, but if Ty rips me a new one…” Nolan started, but I stopped him.
“Ty is not in charge here. You may answer to the elders and Ty, but they answer to me… now drive.”
Nolan put the car into gear and steered it up the road, past the Welcome to Cherry Valley sign. Unlike before, the car was able to pass the border without a problem. Now that the car was on the other side, the crowd above them moved about. A group of nearly fifty people stood and stopped what they were doing.
When I got out of the car, I looked behind it and saw nothing. It was as if the town never existed beyond that point. I realized then that I had never stepped foot outside of the town border, and I wondered if it would have looked like that before I found out who I was.
The group gathered close together as Nolan crept uphill to meet them. None of them had looked very frightening, but they did look frightened until the car stopped, and I stepped out of the back.
When I moved around the car, I felt Ty before I saw him, Tabby, and Chris running to me.
“What are we doing out here?” he asked me.
“We need to know who these people are and why that is happening.” I pointed to where the sky was blue and cloudy side by side, but never overlapping.
“Wow.” Chris gasped.
Ty grabbed my hand, and when I tried to pull away, he protested.
“For strength,” he told me.
“I don’t think that’ll be necessary.”
“Okay but stay close.” He followed closely but let me take the lead.
Regardless of who they followed, I was their ruler in our made-up world. They needed to know that. Tabby stayed to Ty’s right side, letting Chris flank me on the left. If there was trouble, Tabby would get out of the way and let Chris and Ty protect me, if it came to that.
The group of strangers advanced, just as we had. A single person stood out amongst them, mimicking my movements. I stepped out slightly farther than the rest to address the crowd.
“Who are you all? Why have you come here?”
The girl in the front stepped closer to where I stood, but still yelled so her companions could hear her speak.
“I am Ferosa. We are here to find our way home. Who are you?” the girl asked.
“Are you crazy? You don’t know your princess?” Nolan spat at the girl.
I held up a hand to quiet Nolan and looked at Ferosa. She was near her thirties, I guessed. She had several scars on her face but showed absolutely no fear.
“Before I speak openly with you, I must know. Are you of luce or buio?” I asked the woman with a stern expression.
This the woman understood, but she looked back to her companions, as if she asked if it was okay to divulge which side they were on.
“I would not answer for fear we would be harmed. Since you are asking, you must be of Ormshire as well?” I could tell she really had no idea who I was.
“I am not of Ormshire. I am of Pylira.”
All at once, I heard a wave of sighs and saw faces light up with smiles. A small blonde girl—five or six years old—ran to Ferosa and tugged on her jacket sleeve. Ferosa bent so the young girl could speak quietly into her ear. When she stood upright, the small girl disappeared back into the crowd.
“Is it true? Are you the princess?” Ferosa asked in a quiet voice, seeming somewhat ashamed.
I gathered all my strength and addressed them then. “I am Princess Renella of Pylira and the four realms. I am here to inquire as to why you have gathered. Are you luce or buio? I’ll have an answer, now!”
“Forgive me.” The woman stepped forward and bowed with the formality of their home. “We are with you, Princess; luce maga. We are lost. We o
nly seek to go home.”
“Renella!”
I heard a scream from deep within the crowd and looked up as Ty moved closer to my side. A tall, brown-haired woman emerged from the group and her eyes landed on Ty and Tabby both.
“Mother?” Tabby screamed, and before anyone could say a thing, Sheree was embracing her children.
“What on earth are you doing here?” Ty asked his mother. “You were in Cherry Valley. Why have you come out here?”
As the hugs and tears flowed, more people walked forward. Some stopped to ask about their families; some simply wanted to wish Ty and I well. Nolan found his mother and sister amongst the group as well, but Chase stood alone by the car and didn’t look for anyone. I moved back to stand with him, since my family wasn’t there either.
“Everything okay?” I asked Chase, leaning back to rest on the Buick.
“Yeah, everything’s good.” He kicked a rock, and it rolled down the street towards the town they could no longer see. “What do you make of that?” he asked, pointing to the stretch of road that looked never ending.
“I don’t know, but we know what is there. Right now, I’m worried about you. Is nobody here from before?”
“No, I only ever had my father and my little brother. Mother died from flu when he was one.”
“Tucker?”
“Yup, that little shit in there is my baby brother turned buio. Father is heartbroken over it. That’s why I offered to help end this thing; to get my family back together—what we have left, anyway.” Chase watched as the rock disappeared with the town as it passed over the invisible line.
“Then let’s get to it.” I grabbed him by his shirt sleeve and pulled him towards the group.
“Okay,” I said to calm the noise from the crowd. “Now that we have all been introduced or re-introduced, I think we need to get us all back into Cherry Valley.”
“But how? The town is spelled by fae magic. We’ve been trying to get back in!” a woman from the back yelled.
“How did you all come to be out here anyway?” Ty asked.
The Curse of Ormshire (The Beast Within Book 2) Page 10
