by Kay L. Ling
“I’ll ask Jules if he knows how to turn you back into boys.” It was the only comforting thing she could think to say. The rats nodded.
She put on her brown jacket with the fleece lining. The color blended well with the dead forest, she thought grimly. Her khaki pants and dirty, well-worn sneakers would blend in, too. The essentials she usually carried in her purse were in her backpack. Stop stalling. Say goodbye.
All week, while holding her gems, she’d had the same premonition—she’d leave tonight with Jules on a campaign to defeat Sheamathan. Greg and Jordy had sensed something was up, and they had fretted for days. It seemed only fair to be straight with them.
Kneeling, she looked the rats in the eye. “I have a feeling we’re saying goodbye for a few days.”
They nodded glumly.
“I’ll come back as soon as I can, but our world is in danger. I have to help.” She held out her hand. Jordy sat back on his haunches and stuck out a paw. She thought she’d feel silly shaking a rat’s paw, but she didn’t, and then she shook Greg’s. “I’m going now before we all start blubbering.”
“Goodbye,” Lana. “Be careful,” Greg said softly.
“We’ll miss you, but we’ll be okay.” Jordy’s whiskers twitched with emotion.
She walked out the door, sorry to leave them and yet anxious to go. This was it—no more days to cross off the calendar. She was going to the portal to meet the wolfhound.
* * *
As expected, the park was deserted. She decided to hang out near the Tree Home since it was close to the portal and a logical place to wait. Finding a stump to sit on, she sat and unsheathed the Challenger’s knife. She wasn’t expecting danger, but it couldn’t hurt to check. The blade glowed briefly and then went dark. Good. That meant she was safe. She sheathed the knife, tucked it into her belt, and took out six sapphires and an equal number of lapis. Holding them tightly, she opened her mind and drew the powers she needed—telepathy, clairvoyance, and heightened awareness. If Jules was near, he’d find her or she’d find him. She didn’t feel anyone’s presence, and she got no thoughts or images that didn’t feel like her own. He wasn’t here yet, she realized, disappointed.
Twenty minutes passed. She had been so certain that he would come the first chance he got. She chewed her lip and stared into the trees. Something could have prevented him. Maybe he couldn’t get here.
Finally, she felt a presence.
Branches snapped. Something moved in the underbrush. Her heart leapt and she jumped to her feet, shoving the gems into her pouch. It was probably the wolfhound, but she needed to be careful. She drew the Challenger’s knife and the blade began to glow.
Unlike the last time, it continued to glow. With growing alarm she stared at the blade and her fingers tightened around the hilt.
Close by, branches snapped and twigs crunched underfoot. She looked around, frantically scanning the woods. Then, a few yards ahead, the wolfhound emerged from the trees.
“It’s you,” she said, sagging with relief. “Why is my blade still glowing?”
The wolfhound thought into her mind: Someone is with me. Don’t be afraid.
An old man stepped from the trees. Lana stopped breathing. His mustache and beard didn’t completely hide the wart-like bumps on his face. His nose was broad and flat, and his lips were little more than a gash in his face. Thick gray hair reached to his shoulders. He wore a long-sleeved, green robe that fell loosely around him, but the garment hinted at a surprisingly muscular body. His eyes were the color of his robe, and when he looked at Lana, she felt she had been skewered in place. No one needed to tell her—this man was her great-great-grandfather Elias.
She stood a little taller. “Hello Folio,” she said icily, purposely using the name the gnomes had given him. She refused to dignify him with the name Elias. Why was he here? Was this some sort of trick?
He and the dog approached and he said, “You don’t need to say how much you despise me, Lana. I know everything you think and feel.”
“How convenient.” Feeling betrayed, she looked down at the dog. “Why did you bring him?”
The wolfhound said in her mind, I’m afraid we need him, in many ways.
Her eyes narrowed. “Name one.”
You and I can communicate, but I can’t speak out loud. At times it will be easier for Elias to speak on my behalf. My meaning must not be mistaken.
His reasoning made sense, but Folio’s presence was such a shock that all the things she had planned to say, the questions she had planned to ask, fled from her mind. After an awkward silence she said to Jules, “You said you needed my help to protect Shadow and the Fair Lands. Well, I read the letters and the ledger, and I have more questions than answers. I still don’t know how you can regain your human form, or how to drive Sheamathan out of our world and make her stay in Shadow.”
The wolfhound walked forward and sat down at her feet. His dark eyes looked trustingly into hers. We must go to Shadow where your powers are strongest. Then, there’s something I need you to do.”
“What?”
I must die and you must bring me back to life.
Chapter 27
Lana stood in stunned silence. Her first reaction was that Jules couldn’t be serious. Folio’s grim expression said otherwise.
“I wish you weren’t serious, but you are, aren’t you?” A weight had settled around her heart. It was hard to breathe. “I’m still developing my gem powers.” She let out a shaky breath. “What makes you think I can do this?”
“You’re stronger than you know,” Folio said firmly. “And there’s no one else capable of doing this.”
You’ll be successful, and I’ll be human again.
She looked down at the wolfhound. “I see what you mean about having no misunderstandings.”
With an expression that said she’d rather not speak to him, she asked Folio, “What happened between Jules and Sheamathan? In the woodspirit’s dungeon, Jules told me he’d been the Challenger. Considering his present form, that’s a disturbing revelation. He said Sheamathan did this to him.”
“It’s complicated, as you can well imagine,” Folio said. “When I had already missed my best chance to defeat Sheamathan, and we were in danger of losing the Fair Lands to her, Jules decided to confront her. Quite frankly, he had no chance of defeating her. His Fair Lands gem powers were still developing, and he had no experience with native gems.” Folio stroked his beard. His gaze grew distant. “We considered bluffing Sheamathan, trying to make her think Jules was more powerful than her, but she would soon learn the truth.”
Jules continued, After conferring with the gnomes, Elias and I came up with a plan. I would tell Sheamathan that I might not be able to defeat her, but my Fair Lands gem powers could disrupt hers and make a fool of her. I would be a continual thorn in her side. I proposed a bargain. To rule Shadow undisturbed, she must forever give up the Fair Lands. In exchange, I would allow her to enchant me so I couldn’t interfere with her.
Lana thought back to her visit with Jules in the dungeon and his comment about bluffs and bargains. It was all starting to make sense. “Sheamathan has a history of dealing with threats by turning people into rats, birds, and lizards, so I see where this story is headed. But if being turned into a dog was your side of the bargain, you got a raw deal.”
Folio looked at the dog sadly. When his eyes met Lana’s again, he looked defensive. “My relationship with Sheamathan at the time might be called an uneasy truce. She tolerated me mostly because I stayed out of her way. Right before Jules met with Sheamathan, I went to her with a warning: A gem master named Jules DeLauretin, my rival from the Fair Lands, was coming to set up permanent residence in Shadow. He intended to stop the blight in both worlds and end her conquest of the Fair Lands. I told her he had made my life miserable for years, and that the last thing either of us wanted was Jules DeLauretin living in Shadow.”
“Clever,” she said with a laugh, forced to admire Folio, at least this once. “And was
Sheamathan worried?”
He chuckled. “Yes. During my early days in Shadow, she had seen enough of my Fair Lands powers to know that I was a threat, and that my gem powers could interfere with her own. She realized, after she thought the matter through, that giving up the Fair Lands to rule Shadow undisturbed was a reasonable trade-off.” Folio’s expression darkened. “Jules came to the woodspirit wearing gems and fine clothing. He carried the knife and demonstrated a few of its powers. At the end of the interview he gave her an ultimatum. She had one day to agree to his bargain.”
“There was no other plan? One that didn’t result in this?” Lana asked coldly, gesturing at Jules. In Folio’s place, she would have tried to destroy the woodspirit, even if it cost her own life. How could he stand by and let Sheamathan turn Jules into a dog?
“Any other plan had, at best, a fifty-fifty chance of success,” he answered.
“People have gone to war on slimmer odds.”
“You don’t understand,” he said firmly, his eyes holding hers. “This way, we were guaranteed victory. Sheamathan would immediately withdraw from the Fair Lands, which is a critical point. So far, she knew little about Fair Lands gems. She hadn’t spent enough time on our side to know that many gemstones from her world behave differently in ours. We couldn’t allow her to discover that.”
Lana nodded reluctantly, seeing his point. In his letters he had written: She must not be allowed to study our world as I have studied hers. “I’m sorry, go on.”
“The next day she accepted the bargain. Jules would sacrifice himself, and she would relinquish the Fair Lands. I helped Jules devise the spell that bound Sheamathan to Shadow, and I helped Sheamathan construct Jules’s enchantment.”
“You created the spells?” she said in surprise.
Folio gave her a sly smile and a wink. “Naturally, since I could function as a disinterested third party.”
Once again, she laughed in spite of herself. “Not so disinterested. You lied to her about Jules.”
“Yes, but Sheamathan believed I was on her side as we worked out the details of the bargain.” He cleared his throat. “But that was not the case. Today, with your help, we will break Jules’s enchantment.”
“We break it by killing him?” she asked, still troubled by the idea.
Folio gestured at the wolfhound with an age-spotted hand. “In order to break the enchantment, the dog must die. I brought a specially made poison, which I will administer. Humans can withstand a larger dose than a dog, and that’s the key to my plan.” Folio stood taller and took a deep breath. “When the poison takes hold and the dog dies, the transformation will take place. Jules will return to his human form. We will have a small window of time when Jules, the human, is poisoned and barely alive.” His eyes held hers. She had the uncomfortable feeling he was probing her, weighing her skills one last time to make sure he could count on her. “You must use the knife and all your skills to heal him. I have the ability to slow the passage of time, so this, and protection while you work, will be my contribution.”
And although she doesn’t know it, Sheamathan will help us indirectly.
Lana raised a brow. “How is that?”
She built an alamaria stone obelisk near the portal. In Shadow, alamaria amplifies all gem powers, but it has two shortcomings: You need a great deal of it, and its range of influence is limited. Despite those limitations, it’s very effective.
“An alamaria obelisk near the portal,” she repeated thoughtfully. “Let me guess. That’s how Sheamathan managed to get through the portal after all these years.”
“Exactly,” Folio said. “Word reached me that the woodspirit had discovered a new stone. Naturally, I was curious. What was it? What did it do? When she began mining large quantities, I grew concerned. I secretly went to the mines and found a stone to study. As soon as I discovered its properties, I knew the Fair Lands were in danger again.”
“And you decided to get involved this time,” she said stiffly.
Folio sighed as he placed a hand on the wolfhound’s head. “You’ll have your chance to berate me later, and no doubt I deserve it. At the moment, our time would be better spent changing the future than reliving the past.”
You’ll help me, Lana?
She looked down at the wolfhound and shoved her hands into her jacket pockets so he wouldn’t see them shaking. “Yes, of course I’ll help.”
Folio took her arm. Together, she, Folio and Jules walked to the portal and crossed into Shadow. She immediately recognized the unusual forest with its huge trees and black moss. Instead of taking the narrow path that Raenihel had used, Folio led them through the underbrush in a different direction. Was this a shortcut? Or was he worried that someone might see them? As far as she knew, no one actually lived in this part of the forest.
In a few minutes they came to the broad path that led to the obelisk and it didn’t take long to reach it.
The obelisk stood around fifteen feet tall. Large stones formed the base and incrementally smaller stones rose to its peak. She stared in silent awe at the sheer magnificence of so many black, shimmering stones. When she unsheathed the Challenger’s blade and held it up, something unusual happened. It began to glow, and then it went dark. And then the blade began to glimmer with the same iridescent silver flecks as the alamaria. Jules’s voice in her head pulled her attention from the blade.
Let’s begin, before I lose my nerve.
Folio produced a vial from a hidden pocket inside his robe. He poured its contents into the dog’s mouth. Lana held her breath as the poison took effect.
He went down. Drool came from his mouth. His whole body twitched in violent spasms. His eyes glazed over and his breathing became labored. It was horrible to watch. She felt a mounting sense of panic. What if something went wrong? What if she couldn’t heal him? Perspiration covered her face. Her hands were damp and she couldn’t keep them from shaking. Folio interrupted her panicky thoughts, saying calmly but firmly, “The poison is powerful. This won’t take long. Be ready.”
She couldn’t let herself fall apart. She had a job to do and everything depended on her ability to think clearly and use her gem powers. Reaching into her travel pouch, she searched for gems that would help Jules survive the poison. She wanted to use several loose gems in addition to the Challenger’s blade. Lore said aquamarine reduced the effects of poison. She’d soon find out, she told herself grimly. She took out aquamarine, hematite, sugalite, topaz and jasper.
The wolfhound stopped thrashing and lay still. An instant later Jules, as he had looked the day he was enchanted, lay on the ground.
“Now!” Folio commanded.
Lana knelt beside Jules, opened his shirt, and placed the aquamarines on his chest. She didn’t think he was breathing. His lips were blue. Even with her help, could he overcome the poison? Could she really bring a man, who appeared to be dead, back to life? Arranging the rest of the healing stones on his chest, she watched his face, hoping for some sign of life.
Maybe it was because Elias was slowing time, but nothing seemed to be happening. Seconds felt like minutes. She concentrated on the gems, doing her best to draw and channel their power. This was no time to question her abilities, she told herself sternly. Jules and Elias trusted her and she had to trust herself. She swallowed hard and took a deep breath. Time to use the Challenger’s knife along with the loose gems. She lifted one of Jules’s lifeless hands and wrapped his fingers around the hilt. His hand was cold, so cold. She placed her warm hands around his, pressing firmly, maintaining his grip on the hilt.
“Good,” Folio encouraged. “Picture healing energy flowing from the knife into his hand.”
For an instant her mind flashed back to the day she had channeled energy into Theaffar, and she relived that moment. She felt the same burst of energy and the sense of flames enveloping her hand.
Her frantic need to restore Jules became her guide and she began to work without conscious thought. She pictured the poison weakening and diss
ipating from his body, and then strength and vitality coursing through the knife and flowing into him. She directed healing to heart, kidneys, liver, and other organs affected by the poison, including his brain. At the end, the dog had suffered convulsions. Could that cause problems after the transformation?
“Good!” Folio boomed.
She spared a brief glance at the blade. It continued to shimmer like alamaria. Now what? Now what? She was running out of new ways to focus the blade’s power and she wasn’t sure what to do. She looked at Jules’s pale face and cried in desperation, “Breathe! Open your eyes!”
His eyelids fluttered, and then opened. Blue eyes looked into hers. She gasped. With a strangled sob, she looked at him through a blur of tears, and her tears began to drop onto his face like rain.
“Oh dear,” I seldom have that effect on women,” he said weakly, giving her the ghost of a smile.
“Dear friend, it is good to see you in your real form,” Folio said. “Now lie very still, and mind you, no flirting with Lana.”
Jules gave a short laugh and then winced with pain. “Laughter may be the best medicine, but it hurts at the moment.” He studied Lana’s face and gave her a shaky smile that touched her deeply. “I’m in your debt. Thank you.”
She wiped away her tears, feeling awkward all of the sudden as she looked into his eyes. She became very aware of her hand holding his on the knife. She let go and stood on shaky legs. He could manage on his own now. After all, it was his knife and he was probably more skilled with it than she was. He maintained his grip on the hilt and seemed to be breathing easier, but now and then he winced. Lana and Folio watched him silently.
“It’s wonderful to be myself at last,” he said, his voice weak, but steadier now. “I’ll never look at a dog the same way again.”
Folio smiled. “The rules of your enchantment and the wolfhound form worked very well, I’d say.” In answer to Lana’s questioning look he explained, “As long as Sheamathan lived, Jules’s human mind returned to him during each full moon. This gave him an opportunity to check on her and make sure she hadn’t circumvented their bargain. Every month he inspected the Amulet for signs of blight. Usually he continued into the Fair Lands where he could pass as a normal dog.”
