by Amity Hope
“I’m so glad you all made it,” I said. They all dropped their traveling bags on the ground near my feet. I grimaced as Caleb’s crashed into the side of mine. The jar that held Tristan’s spirit was tucked safely inside. Magnolia had proved to me that the glass was shatterproof. Still, I didn’t want to take any unnecessary chances.
Riley and Daphne shared a smile. “We told our moms you were having a sleepover. If they call The Bella Luna, we might be in trouble.”
“I wasn’t sure anyone would show up,” I admitted. “This is clearly going against The Council’s wishes. We could get in trouble. Like, big, serious trouble.”
Caleb shrugged. “Did The Council specifically tell you not to travel by portal to Crescent City?”
I blinked at him. “Uh, no.”
“Then as far as I’m concerned, we’re not doing anything wrong,” he said with a shrug.
“That must be Fin and Alex,” Daphne said.
We listened for a moment. The sound of twigs breaking and tall grass swishing filled the evening air. A moment later Alex and Finola walked out of the woods.
“Great place,” Finola said as she glanced around.
There was a small clearing between the woods and the stream. The woods were so thick that the lights of The Bella Luna couldn’t be seen through the trees. That also meant that anyone driving by on the road wouldn’t be able to see us.
“Is this place okay?” I asked Caleb and Riley. They’d told me it would be best if I could find a quiet spot for them to create the portal. It shouldn’t be created where anyone might stumble upon it, for obvious reasons. As far as I knew, no one other than Tristan and I had ever come out here.
Caleb looked around. “Yeah. This should be good.”
“So now what?” Daphne asked.
“Now you stand back and let us get to work,” he answered. He turned to Alex. “Do you have what I need?”
Alex dropped his duffel bag to the ground. He knelt down beside it and began rummaging around in a side pocket. A few moments later he pulled out a map. He handed it to Caleb.
“The spot I picked should be good. As far as I can tell, it’s a field. It’s a little ways out of town. We’ll have to walk some,” he explained. “It was hard to pick a place when I’m not familiar with the area.”
Caleb studied the map for a moment. I realized it was a map of Crescent City and the surrounding area.
“Have you made a portal before?” I wondered.
“Nope.” He didn’t sound concerned. “But I have an aptitude for charming objects. And creating a portal isn’t so different than that. I just need this map to mark our point of entrance.” He held a dagger in his hand, ready to mark the spot.
“Wait, let me see that.” I took the map from him and carefully laid it on the ground. With a tiny bit of magic I duplicated it. I handed the original back to him and shrugged. “We might need this once we get there.”
“Good thinking,” he said.
I backed away and let him get back to work.
Riley gave my arm a reassuring squeeze before moving forward to join Caleb.
“I can’t believe we’re actually going to Crescent City!” Daphne exclaimed. “If my mom finds out, she’s going to kill me.” She grinned as if the thought didn’t bother her in the least.
Finola fidgeted. “I’ll be grounded until the end of eternity. But it’s worth it. We have to get to Jude and Tristan before Lebeau.”
“Do your parents think you’re at The Bella Luna?” I asked.
She nodded. “I just hope they don’t call.”
“No one is there to answer. Since I’m not there, Cecily decided to leave as well. She’s going to her sister’s for a few days. She thought that might make it a little harder for Lebeau to track her down,” I explained. “Hopefully Lebeau thinks this,” I lightly tapped the jar in my bag, “is with Cecily.”
It was a good thing that Mom was gone because she would hate this plan. She would also probably never trust Cecily to watch over me again. Or maybe Mom would understand how desperate Cecily was to get her surrogate grandson back. And she knew that we were the best chance Tristan had.
“If nothing else, Lebeau will have a fit when she comes back with a court order only to find The Bella Luna empty,” Finola said.
I cringed, not wanting to think about the consequences of that. I turned to Alex instead.
“Where do your parents think you’re going?” I asked.
“Mine know exactly where I’m going to be. My dad gave me his credit card and told me to call if there’s any trouble.” He shrugged and gave us a sheepish smile. “I think he’s proud that I’m slipping into the family business so well.”
“I can’t believe that woman just showed up at your house,” Daphne said. “She thought you would just hand Tristan over?”
“I think she did. She had no idea that Cecily was staying with me. She probably thought she could bully me into doing whatever she wanted,” I admitted.
“A little help here?” Caleb called.
“He means we’re ready for you,” Riley clarified.
The four of us, me, Daph, Finola, and Alex all spread out. We formed a loose circle around Riley and Caleb. I stepped back as far as the riverbank behind me would allow.
“Any time,” Caleb instructed.
The four of us raised our hands in the air. Magic shot out of our fingertips. My cobalt blue aura was entwined with my magic. It glowed stronger now than I’d ever seen it. In the days since Tristan had been missing, I’d been practicing. My magic had been growing stronger and it showed.
It was clear that I was not the only one that had been honing my skills. Daphne’s emerald green glowed brightly, as did Finola’s magenta. Alex’s magic glowed a strong, bright silver. The magic met in the air, creating a dome over Caleb and Riley.
The dome had been my idea. When Tristan and I were on the boat, he’d thrown up a shield to block the magic of our attackers. I realized that if Tristan could keep magic out, we could keep magic in. I’d spoken to Riley about it and we’d come up with this, a mutated cloaking spell.
The Council was watching for traces of Strigan magic. We hoped the messy conglomeration created by our Lamia foursome would be enough to block out the magic taking place below the dome we created.
The air crackled and sparkled as our shield melded together, our magic ebbed and flowed above us and around us.
Riley and Caleb were standing at the center of our circle. They were clasping hands and chanting. The map that Alex had given Caleb was lying on the ground between their feet. The location that Alex had decided on was punctured by the tip of a ceremonial dagger. The dagger stuck into the ground, holding the map in place.
The crimson stain of magic that oozed off of them glowed eerily in the shadows cast by the setting sun. It encircled them, flowed around them. Slick, oily tendrils lazily drifted through the darker red.
Behind them, the air shimmered and the crimson magic began to pool in the air. Though I’d never used one, had never actually even seen one, I knew it was the beginning of a portal.
I glanced at Daphne. Her nose was delicately scrunched. The scent of sulfur wafted our way. It was subtle, not nearly as overwhelming as the scent of Tristan’s magic on the boat. He’d let himself go, either unable to—or unaware of the ability to—tamp it down.
Finola sucked in a sharp breath as the glowing mass behind them intensified. It was a glowing kaleidoscope of their combined magic. It continued to grow until it was nearly as tall as Riley.
“That is so…wow. Just…I don’t even have words,” Daphne breathed from the opposite side of our circle.
Their chanting continued.
The four of us continued to stare in silence. I think we were all afraid to break the spell. Instead, we poured our concentration into our own magic. Instead of weakening, the protective shield we’d thrown up seemed to be growing stronger as our magic melded together.
We watched as the magic surrounding Riley a
nd Caleb continued to drift to their focal point, to the portal. In a matter of moments the magic that had been circling them was now concentrated into the mass behind them.
I jumped when the map at Caleb’s feet burst into flames.
“I’m glad you made a spare,” Alex mumbled.
Riley and Caleb fell silent. I heard her pull in a few breaths. Caleb had his back to me but I could see Riley. Her eyes were closed. Her face was scrunched in apprehension. She bounced on her toes a bit, a ball of nervous energy.
Caleb squeezed her hands. “We did it, Riley. You can open your eyes.”
She did so, one eye at a time. When she spotted the shimmering portal behind her she grinned triumphantly. She tossed her arms around him in an exuberant hug.
The four of us let go of our shield slowly. We peeled our magic away from its point of origin, but the shield remained in the air. None of us knew how long it would last, but any time that it bought us would be of help.
“Thinks of him as a brother…right,” Daphne grumped as she slid into place beside me.
Ignoring her, I slowly moved forward. Riley had released Caleb. I noticed now that her hair fluttered gently in the breeze that the portal created.
“You did it.”
Caleb turned to me. “You don’t have to sound so surprised. I told you I could.”
Had I sounded surprised? I hadn’t meant to. Awed was more like it.
Daphne nudged her way in between Caleb and me. “So this is it? It’s ready to go?” Her eyes glimmered with excitement. She hefted the shoulder strap of her traveling bag a little higher up her shoulder.
“This is it,” Caleb confirmed. He stood back to look at his handiwork. “Now, hopefully no one stumbles across it.”
“Our magic should shield it for awhile,” Alex said. “With any luck, this is going to take less than twenty-four hours.”
“Worst case scenario, if someone stumbles across it, they’ll find themselves on the outskirts of Crescent City,” Finola said.
“And then they can just come back using the portal on the other side,” Riley said. “No harm done.”
I nodded, feeling better. The last thing I wanted was for some unwitting stranger to stumble through it. But at least this portal was headed somewhere safe.
I hurried over to my bag and carefully hefted it onto my shoulder.
“Ladies first,” Caleb said. He motioned to the portal, indicating Riley should go through.
I realized most of us were eyeing it warily.
Riley’s grip tightened on her duffel bag. “Okay.”
“No, Riley. I can test it out,” Alex said. He gave Caleb a disapproving look, as if he expected Caleb to go first to test it out.
“No can do,” Caleb interjected. “It’s best if there’s magic holding it open at both ends. Especially since so many people are going through. My end will be harder to hold. Either way, it’s too much for Lamia magic.”
Riley gently touched Alex’s arm. “It’s okay. I’ve got this.”
With a whoosh Riley disappeared into the swirling mass.
Caleb grinned as he looked around at the rest of us. “Next?”
“I’ll go.”
I lifted my entire bag to my chest, all too aware of the precious contents it held inside. I wrapped my arms securely around it. The closer I moved to the portal, the more I could feel its pull. Like a black hole, it drew me in.
I could feel the glass jar through the fabric. My fingers rubbed gently against it.
“We’re coming for you, Tristan,” I whispered.
I took the last step forward.
The portal did the rest, sucking me in. I blinked into the inky blackness. My body felt as though I were tumbling though I knew my muscles were held perfectly still. As the portal pushed me through different dimensions the air around me chilled. It felt cool and thick, like cold, slippery gelatin. I gasped for air and blinked into the blinding darkness.
And then I tumbled out between two trees.
Daphne toppled out of the portal and fell to her knees.
She groaned and clutched at her stomach.
“Come on, out of the way,” Riley coaxed.
I glanced at her and immediately tugged Daphne to the side. Riley was rigid, her expression pinched, as she carefully held her magic steady.
Finola stumbled but Alex caught her before she fell. He moved swiftly out of the way when he realized that’s what we’d all done.
Last came Caleb.
He stepped out of the portal as if stepping out of an elevator.
He grinned at all of us.
“Welcome to Crescent City!” he whooped.
Chapter 11
“Welcome to Crescent City? It’s more like welcome to nowhere.” Daphne spun in a circle, taking in the forest around us.
“I told you we’d have to walk some,” Alex said.
“You weren’t fooling around,” Daphne mumbled.
We all looked around, taking in our surroundings. The place Alex had chosen was heavily forested, not the field he’d thought. This was probably for the best. It was private. No chance of someone spotting half a dozen teens tumbling out of the air.
“Which way is out?” Riley wondered. “Do we even know? Can we get out of here?”
“Hey, no one else volunteered to pick a place,” Alex said in his own defense.
“No, this is good,” Finola assured. She scanned the woods, not looking that sure at all.
Caleb moved closer to Riley. Until that moment, I hadn’t realized how pale she was. “How are you doing? You okay?” he asked.
“I’m fine. But that was…”
“Excruciatingly difficult?” he offered.
She nodded.
I took a step forward. “Was it really awful? Are the two of you okay?”
Though the experience hadn’t been pleasant for me, it hadn’t been terrible. I’d been naïve to forget that for the two holding it open, it was so much worse.
Riley took a few gulps of air. “We’re fine. It’s just that there are so many of us. It was hard to keep it open that long.”
“If all goes well there will be two more of us on the return trip,” Daphne cautiously pointed out. “Will you be able to handle that?” She looked from Caleb to Riley, her expression full of concern.
Caleb flung an arm around Riley’s shoulders. “Don’t worry about us.”
“Exactly how far do we have to walk?” Daphne asked.
“A couple of miles, is all,” Alex said.
“I could try to steal us a car,” Caleb offered.
Daphne sidled up to him and his arm slipped away from Riley. “You could do that?” she asked. She shook her head at herself. “Of course you can do that.”
“But he won’t,” Alex interjected. “We don’t want to do anything that draws The Council’s attention.”
Daphne ran a hand along Caleb’s arm. “Just how strong is that magic of yours? Could you manifest us a car?” She grinned at him hopefully.
He laughed at her.
“Fine,” Daphne pouted. “But we’re taking a taxi on the return trip.”
“Right, because a taxi full of kids being dropped off on the edge of a forest won’t draw any attention whatsoever,” Alex muttered.
“By that point,” Finola consoled, “it won’t matter. We’ll have Tristan and Jude with us.”
A shiver of excitement rippled up my spine. We had a long way to go but we were finally making some progress. We were close.
“The road is this way,” Alex said. “To the west. Good thing we gained two hours by traveling to a different time zone.”
He took off through the woods. We followed. There was no path but the trees blocked out a lot of the sun. Very little foliage was able to grow. We traipsed in a single line after Alex who seemed quite sure he knew where he was headed.
There was very little talk amongst us. I, for one, was concentrating on not tripping over roots and not banging my bag into anything.
To my
relief, we hit the edge of the woods in no time.
Alex grinned at us over his shoulder. “See? I told you all it wasn’t too far.”
We spilled out into a shallow ditch. The grass was long here. We waded through it and clambered onto the gravel road. I glanced back when I realized Finola wasn’t directly behind us. She untangled her periwinkle scarf from her neck. She discretely tied it to a tree a few rows in. It was obvious enough that we should spot it if we were looking for it, but otherwise it shouldn’t attract attention.
Especially out here.
“Smart move,” I said when she rejoined us.
“How far from here?” Daphne wondered.
I pulled the map out of my pocket.
Alex shrugged. “Should just be a mile or two.” He was right, as far as I could tell by the markings on the map. “I did some research on the area. There should be a small travel lodge on the edge of town. It’s nothing fancy but it’s cheap and it should serve our purpose.”
“How cheap is cheap?” Riley asked with a frown. “I have less than fifty dollars.”
“Don’t worry about it,” I said. “I’ve got it covered. Cecily made sure of that.”
The moment she’d insisted that we leave tonight, she’d hurried home. She returned with a handful of cash, her emergency stash. She told me to use what I needed. I assured her I would use the money wisely. Right now, a motel room and a pizza sounded like a wise investment.
“Let’s get to it then!” Finola said brightly.
She didn’t have to urge me along twice. I took off, my tennis shoes slapping against the pavement. By this time tomorrow, if all went well, Tristan and Jude should be home, safe and sound.
Riley skittered up to me, her feet grating against the gravel as she fell in step alongside me.
“How are you doing?” she asked.
“Honestly? I’m a bundle of nerves,” I confided. “But I’m excited too. I can’t wait to see Tristan again. I just hope we can find him. I hope they haven’t moved on. I hope that the potion Daphne came up with works. There are so many things that could go wrong.”
“Nothing is going to go wrong,” she assured.
“Don’t tempt fate!” I warned.
