by Ioana Visan
“I’m ready.”
She nodded, and Rafe pulled the coral necklace string out of his pocket, the one that had nearly amputated her arm during the night. The difference was that now it was midday, and she knew what they had to do. It was the only way they would both be pulled inside.
With a quick glance at her face, searching for approval, Rafe tied their wrists together. They didn’t have to wait long. The fire appeared before the burn, and Alise bit her upper lip and stared straight ahead without flinching. When they landed on the other side, wherever that was, she would be ready, and so would Rafe. With a little luck, Gorem would be there, too. Hopefully, she had enough life left inside her to see him dead.
* * *
“Here we go,” Fabian murmured, putting Cassie on alert.
A pinpoint of light materialized in the middle of the room, right in between them. Cassie jumped out of her chair and, eyeing Fabian, moved a few steps closer to Vale. Not that the Guardian would have been able to defend her, but she felt better in his proximity. At least, he hadn’t tried to hurt her.
Silently, the source of light enlarged to the size of a human silhouette. Rafe! Cassie wanted to clap her hands in excitement. Rafe was going to save them. Then Alise walked through the opening behind him, and Cassie shook her head in panic. No! No! Her friend was not supposed to be there. It was too dangerous.
Rafe had both blades out, using one to cut the coral thread that held their wrists. “Catch!” Already on the move, he tossed Alise one of the blades with a short nod in Vale’s direction. He switched the remaining blade into his left hand and held his right hand up. Bright light poured out of his palm, momentarily blinding everyone. Fabian raised an arm to shield his eyes.
Under the cover of the white, burning light, Alise ran to Vale and kneeled by his side. She sliced through the chains, releasing him. While staggering to his feet, leaning against the wall for support, Vale also prepared to fight. A fierce smile lit up his face when Alise offered him the blade.
“I’ve got mine.” He grinned widely and produced his blades.
“I can’t hold him back much longer!” Rafe yelled.
Urged by Alise’s frantic gesture, Cassie joined them just as Alise yelled back, “Do it!”
With a fluid motion, Rafe fell to his knees and slammed his hand against the floor, palm open. Cassie’s skin prickled when the light from the blast washed over them. Fabian screamed and stumbled backwards.
Rafe looked up, his unforgiving eyes fixed on Fabian. He slammed his hand against the floor a second time before Fabian screamed again. The Guardian’s skin cracked along his arms, and blood spotted his shirt. Vale already had too much blood on him to see any change, but he turned even paler when Alise became as white as a sheet and collapsed to her knees.
Cassie idly thought that it would be ironic if she were the last one standing in the end because then she would be trapped there for eternity.
“We’re not gonna make it!” Vale’s shout confirmed her fears.
In front of them, Fabian was surrounding himself with purple-red flames, which didn’t seem to hurt him but gave him strength. He was switching from defense to attack.
“Yes. We. Will!” Rafe roared.
The third blast left them breathless, blinking in surprise that they hadn’t been blinded yet. Flames turned into ashes, and Fabian was blasted away in a cloud of smoke. Upon his disappearance, the walls began to shake, multiplying as the universes and timelines intermingled. Even for someone as naïve as Cassie, it became clear they couldn’t stay there. If they did, they would end up being crushed.
“How do we get out?” Vale yelled to overcome the rumble of the stone walls rubbing against each other.
“No idea!” Rafe answered.
Next to Cassie, Vale mumbled something about planning.
“Another blast?” Alise said. Her voice was shaking as she failed to find the strength to get up.
“We won’t survive it, not after all this…” Rafe shook his head, his eyes unfocused. “And we don’t know where it will take us if we break down the walls…” He stopped, breathing heavily.
He might have been out of ideas, but someone else wasn’t. The specter Cassie had been seeing on and off materialized close to them, his shape less defined in the daylight. The man smiled at her, gesturing for her to gather them all together. Unable to explain why, she decided to trust him.
“Come here, quickly!” Cassie waved her hand at Rafe, urging him to hurry.
Rafe swayed back and forth on his knees then made an effort and crawled to them.
The specter tried to put his arms around them, but there were too many people, he couldn’t hold them all. He looked at her, his clouded face a silent plea. She shuffled closer and stretched her smaller arms around Alise and Rafe, who were already holding Vale. The end of her fingertips came in contact with the specter’s hands, and he grinned. Bright light surrounded them, and everything went black.
Chapter Twenty-Two
They should have gone straight to the blue room, but the Guardians had decided to stop and heal themselves first.
Alise laid her head back and let the warm breeze caress her face. The hot sun was shining brightly. She looked at the clear sky—not a cloud in sight—and at the trees in the distance. It was a beautiful day, perfect to spend in the park.
One would think the people sitting in the shade of the trees that surrounded their little clearing would pay some attention to the two bare-chested men covered in blood, but no one looked at them. It was as if a one-way glass wall separated them from the rest of the world. It had to be some kind of concealing spell. How the Guardians managed to keep it up was a miracle. They both had been through hell and showed it.
She had thought she was never going to see the sun again, but there they were. Inhaling deeply, she allowed herself a moment to enjoy the warmth, peace, and silence, and she ran her fingers through Cassie’s hair. The girl lay on the grass, her head resting on Alise’s lap. She had passed out the moment they had crossed back.
Beside them, the Guardians busily healed their wounds. She only felt light-headed and tired, while they were a mess. Fabian hadn’t held back during the confrontation, as if he wouldn’t have minded killing them at all.
“What the hell happened in there?” Vale asked.
“That’s what I would like to know, too,” Rafe muttered, focused on healing his wounds.
The healing stones worked fervently as they ran them over the same patches of skin multiple times until the skin remained clean underneath. It was a tedious process.
“Well, he obviously escaped, or we wouldn’t be here,” Vale said. “It’s not like we weren’t expecting it.” He made a sour face as he played with the stone.
“Yeah. It would have been too good to be true for him to stay put.” Rafe sighed and smoothed the skin on his forearm. The scars were almost gone.
Vale stopped to stare at his healing stone, a puzzled look on his face. “But how did he know when and where to show up?”
“For all we know, he’s so bored, he did nothing but time jump all over the place in the hopes of getting to us. Or stirring up some trouble to entertain himself,” Rafe grumbled. Then he made a face. “Only he missed the timeline.”
“We were in between timelines,” Vale said. “How could he be accurate, especially under that kind of pressure?”
Rafe shrugged. “Whatever. He’ll still be in trouble with the Council when he gets back … if he does.” He frowned. “And so will we.”
“Well, he saved us. We’ll deal with it,” Vale said.
“Of course,” Rafe hurried to say so there was no doubt about it, but he was still frowning. The prospect of facing the Council after the last stunt must not have been appealing to him, and for good reason. One did not turn against the powers above without suffering the consequences.
Vale twisted around, grimacing, to investigate a wide wound on the side of his torso. It oozed with blood. “It doesn’t explain why she�
��” He glanced at Cassie, “was able to see him while we couldn’t. I mean, we know him, but Cassie never met Nate,” he said, confused. “It makes no sense.”
“Who’s Nate?” Alise asked.
Rafe’s hand stopped moving, his fingers clenched on the healing stone. He looked at Vale.
“He’s a Guardian,” Vale said. “He can time jump.”
Alise had understood that much, but she couldn’t help feeling she was missing something important. Had she been right about the Triad? They had talked about him as if they knew him, which was unusual since Guardians rarely socialized outside their circles. There hadn’t been a war forcing them to do it in ages.
She caught Rafe’s eyes, and he took his time before getting the words out. “You were right. We’re a Triad.” He paused then forced a grin. “You’re not the only special one.”
Alise kept her annoyed grumble to herself. She didn’t want to be special. She refused to be special. But it wasn’t up to her anymore. There were no other Fairies without wings; therefore, she was special. She rolled her eyes.
“What did Nate do to upset the Council?” she ventured to ask.
Rafe’s eyes flashed at her. “That’s none of your business.”
“Hey, what did I do to you?”
He held up both hands. “This one itches, and this one’s numb. Take your pick.” He glared at her.
The healing stone obviously hadn’t helped. Alise frowned. Sure, it had been a lot of concentrated magic, but it wasn’t supposed to behave like that. Perhaps Guardians’ bodies reacted differently? She doubted it. More than likely, the repeated blasts had set him off balance. It was one thing to act like a recipient for the magic, and another thing to blow it all up. The universe reacted to such events, and it usually reacted badly.
Without asking for his permission or even looking at him, Alise leaned forward and took Rafe’s hands in hers. She didn’t have to voluntarily do anything. She was the perfect medium. The void inside her called to it, drawing the magic in. The undercurrent ran through her, and she struggled to ignore its power and deceiving appeal. It was not hers to have. She had to struggle to give it back, but she did. As soon as the charges were balanced, Rafe’s body relaxed. When she dared to look up, his face was less tight, but the frown hadn’t completely disappeared.
“No need to thank me.” She released his hands, a small smirk pulling at the corners of her lips. She enjoyed being in control for a change. It reminded her of the days when she used to be free and able to do whatever she wanted. The moment passed, and she lowered her eyes to Cassie, who stirred in her lap.
“Nothing to be grateful about,” Rafe muttered. “You dragged me into this.” He refused to acknowledge her help, looking at his hands and flexing his fingers.
“I didn’t force you,” Alise said. She hadn’t, but she had known he would do it.
“I had no choice!” Rafe snapped.
They stared, daring each other to say more.
“What was that?” Vale broke the silence. “The thing you used…?”
“Ask Miss Magic Dealer over there.” Rafe nodded at Alise and returned to his healing.
Vale looked at her, waiting for an answer, so Alise said, “There are no natural sources of magic around here, so some people take advantage of the situation. It’s good business.”
“How do you know?” Vale asked. He was done with the healing, and she had his undivided attention. “Do you get a share of it? I don’t feel it on you.”
Alise didn’t bother answering that accusation. Vale had no idea how difficult the visits to the greenhouse were for her. Each time she left empty-handed, it felt like a small victory.
“No,” Rafe said, “she’s not using. We wouldn’t be in this mess if she was.”
She grimaced. Then she would have been dead, battling with Gorem, and they wouldn’t have had to get involved at all.
“Well, that’s a lot of magic coming from somewhere,” Vale said. “Someday, someone will notice, and we better not be associated with it.”
“We already are,” Rafe said. “Maybe we can pin it on Gorem. He’s meant to take the fall anyway. Apparently, he butted heads with the wrong Fairy.” He smirked.
“Will you two stop picking on her?” Cassie groaned and rolled to the side, making an attempt to get up.
Sneaky little human. Who knew for how long she had been awake? Still, Alise supported her, helping her sit up on the grass.
“Where are we?” Cassie ran a hand over her eyes and pushed the curly locks off her forehead. “Oh, we’re in Exhibition Park. What happened? How did we end up here?”
“And she’s up and speaking again.” Vale sighed. “Don’t humans have an off switch?”
“You passed out.”
“Nate brought us here,” Alise and Rafe said at the same time.
“Funny. This is the safest place that came to my mind when the specter took us away,” Cassie murmured, looking around. “Nate?”
The Guardians exchanged a glance. “Nate could never take other people with him when he time jumped. This is a first. Could she be a catalyst?” Rafe asked.
“Great. Now we’ll never get rid of her,” Vale grumbled, and Cassie shuffled closer to Alise.
“Alise?” she said in a little voice.
“Nate is their friend, but also a Guardian,” Alise said. “He’s your specter.”
“Oh…”
Rafe gave her a long look. “Was he all right?”
“I couldn’t clearly see him, but yeah. He looked fine,” Cassie said.
Rafe nodded.
“Are we going to meet him?” Cassie asked, a little too excited.
“Not any time soon,” Vale said. “If he knows what’s good for him, he went back home.” He sounded uncertain.
“He better have,” Rafe muttered. “Hey! Stop that!” He glared at Alise.
“What?” she snapped back.
“Are you trying to reveal our presence to everyone in the park?” he scolded her.
Flowers had bloomed all around them.
“Oh, how pretty…” Cassie picked up a sunny marigold.
“I’m sorry,” Alise mumbled. “I didn’t do it on purpose. It … just happened…” It came naturally to her. Most times, she did it without thinking.
“Well, just stop.” Rafe waved a hand.
Vale smirked. “He’s allergic to pollen.”
“Shut up.”
As Vale didn’t seem the type to make jokes often, it startled her a little, but Rafe had a point. They shouldn’t attract attention. Alise folded her hands in her lap. She doubted she would be able to do it again anyway. The residue left in her system from the magic was running out fast.
She wasn’t getting her hopes up. Soon, she was going to be in the same position as when they found her. Nothing won, nothing lost, her wings would still be gone, and Gorem would still be out there, making plans to capture her. At least they were free and, most importantly, alive … for the time being.
They couldn’t do anything about their clothes, so the Guardians put their blood-stained shirts back on. Cassie looked as disappointed as Alise felt to see them cover themselves up. The brand new clothes Alise had bought for Rafe that morning were ruined. It made her wonder why they bothered to wear clothes at all.
“Is Fabian gone?” Cassie asked, slowly standing up.
“For now,” Rafe said. He stretched his back and grinned, clearly pleased with the way his body reacted to the torsion. The blades had disappeared underneath his shirt.
“We hope for a long time,” Vale said.
That cheered Cassie up considerably. “Gorem can’t attack us now?”
“He still can, but he probably won’t,” Vale said. “Not until he finds another Wizard or gets his own back. He’s no fool.”
Cassie mused over it while playing with the marigold. “Well, that’s good, isn’t it?”
Alise wasn’t so sure, but she smiled as she stepped closer to her friend. “We survived, didn’t we?
” Cassie leaned in to hug her, and Alise returned the hug, disconcerted.
“What was that for?” she asked, the smile still on her face.
“I haven’t seen you smile in ages!”
There had been few reasons to smile lately. Ironic smirks didn’t count.
“Then you should thank us, ‘cause we saved your cute little asses,” Rafe teased
“Can I have a shirt instead of a hug?” Vale looked disgustedly at his clothes. “Sometimes I hate this job. It’s way too messy.”
“Yeah. I’d like one, too,” Rafe said. “Err…” He glanced at Alise. “I’ll pay for it.”
Alise didn’t hide her grin when she stepped off the grass into an alley that led to the exit of the park. She surely wasn’t going to buy him another one. The Guardians could use any door to get to their private stash.
As they passed by a fountain that happened to be working—something unusual since it wasn’t in plain sight and the city was cutting back on expenses—Rafe stopped to wash his face and cool down. Vale followed his example.
“Where to now?” Cassie asked. “Are we going home?”
“We need to get the car first. It’s at the university,” Alise told her. Luckily, they weren’t far from it. “And they need to change.” She nodded towards the Guardians. “They can’t show up looking like this.” Sarah and Mark, and possibly the dogs, would freak out.
“Actually…” Rafe ran a wet hand through his hair. “I’d rather not go back to the house. And tell Daddy to get you a new apartment, too.”
“Monster residue,” Vale explained. “It makes us edgy.”
“That, too.” Rafe rolled his eyes. “But it’s not just that. Monster residue is a bitch to remove, and once it’s there, other monsters can come, too.”
“Oh … well, Mark won’t sell his house,” Cassie said pensively, “but Sarah will definitely want to move if they get married.” The conviction was lacking in her voice.
“Yeah. Good luck with that.” Alise snorted. Mark was not going to get married any time soon. “We do have to take her home, though. They’re expecting her to return. We messed up her life bad enough.”
