Magic Portal (Legends of Llenwald Book 1)
Page 24
Avalon grabbed one flailing arm and helped him to his feet. “I’m sorry.”
“No, no, I deserved that.” Nobody removed a few twigs from his natty hair. “I lost control and needed a dog slap.”
“Oh yeah!” Vimp exclaimed, jumping onto Avalon.
“I know, Vimp.” Nobody muttered. “I let grief get the best of me.”
Avalon’s heart melted as Nobody pretended to remove a plant from his hair, when clearly he was wiping away a string of tears. She flashbacked to hiding her own sorrow over her parents’ deaths: at school, at Fantasma, at the grocery store. She had faked blowing her nose to conceal tears so often, she became an expert at it.
“You have no reason to trust me,” Nobody said.
“I don’t have a reason to trust anyone, not even people like James whom I thought cared for me, much less you or the Guardians. Everyone’s got their own agenda.”
“You found out about the whole Desert Rose thing, huh?” A smile tugged at Nobody’s lips. “Yeah, that’s a doozy, going full mercenary with the enemy.”
Avalon glared at him. “You knew who she was the whole time, didn’t you? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Hey.” Nobody lifted his arms up in defense. “You were like a minnow thrown from a tiny pond into the ocean. How could I have possibly explained all of Llenwald to you?”
Avalon didn’t say it aloud, but he had a point. “You could have at least come clean about Ladybug. I would have understood the pain of losing someone close to you.”
“I tried direct with you once. Remember Fantasma? You attacked me, Winged Wonder attacked me, there was a lot of attacking going on.”
“You showed up in the middle of the night!”
“Okay, maybe that wasn’t my brightest move, but c’mon. What could I say? ‘Let’s use the Entelegen to extract my sister from inside your head?’”
Avalon flinched in surprise. “What do you mean ‘extract?’”
Nobody flung out his arms in exasperation. “I mean free Ladybug! You read those files like I did. The Entelegen can extract the Child of the Statue for Bedwyr to control. That’s the entire point of all the experiments: to gain access to Gaea’s Indulia, like Kryvalen.”
Avalon felt nauseated. “You think my father wanted that?”
“I don’t know!” Nobody said, nearly yelling. He took a few deep breaths and lowered his voice. “That’s the honest truth. There’s a lot of humans working for Saluzyme, and I can’t imagine they all know the truth. Most of them probably only know that Miasmis kills people and want to help. Maybe your father didn’t know what he was really building. Maybe Bedwyr played him too.”
She swallowed a lump in her throat. “So you don’t know for sure?”
Nobody engulfed his hands over hers. “No, I don’t. I have no guarantees for you, just like I have no guarantees that my sister is still alive. But I’m not giving up hope.” He lifted her drooping chin. “I have to believe we can extract the Child out of you, that you can be free of Miasmis and everything Bedwyr did to you, and that Ladybug can come home.”
Avalon squeezed his knobby fingers. She wanted to believe it too, so badly.
Suddenly, a shadow flitted across the moonlight over the creek. It slammed into the ground a few feet from them. Avalon barely turned around as the shadow leaped forward, colliding into Nobody. The pair flew backwards, a tangle of legs and arms.
Translucent wings fluttered on top of Nobody as the intruder pinned the shocked gremlin to the ground. Vimp sprang to defend his friend.
“Not this time,” the fairy said. He held up his metal gauntlet and sent a string of lightning straight into the demon’s belly. Vimp seized in shock before dropping face first into the mud.
“Kay?” Avalon whispered, trying to make sense of what she was seeing.
The knight ignored her, grabbing a communicator pinned to his uniform. “J.T. Halicia. I’ve got him. Autal Creek, south side.”
“We’re coming,” Halicia responded in the static.
Kay pointed his drawn sword straight at Nobody’s throat. “One false move from you, and I will behead you.”
Nobody, prone on his back, slowly bent forward. “Ah, Winged Wonder. You’re getting good with these entrances.”
“What are you doing?” Avalon demanded of the fairy, anger overwhelming her stupor.
“This man is a dangerous fugitive.” Kay warned Avalon. “Stay back.”
“I know who Nobody is,” Avalon yelled. “And so should you.”
Nobody looked from Avalon to Kay and back to Avalon again. “Wait,” Nobody said to Avalon. “Does he have amnesia again? Is this, like, his shtick?”
Kay scowled and pushed the sword closer to Nobody. “Don’t talk to her.”
“He can talk to me if he wants,” Avalon said. “He’s my friend.”
Kay gave Avalon a long, pleading glance. Nobody used that split-second distraction to kick Kay around his knees. He didn’t land a solid blow, but it staggered Kay backward.
Nobody’s hands became covered in a thick black goo. It dripped on the ground, causing the plants below to wither, a sickly gas emitting from their dead husks. He made a motion to throw the substance at Kay.
“Nobody!” Avalon yelled. “No!”
The black goo hurtled within an inch of Kay’s head, then stopped. The fairy jerked away from the floating substance in surprise.
Avalon continued to hold the goo there, her arms aching as she held the dark magic in check. She shivered as a void enveloped her chest. “What do you think you’re doing?” she screamed at Nobody.
“I wasn’t going to kill him, honest,” the gremlin said. He added with a whisper, “Maybe maim him a little.”
“Nobody!” J.T.’s booming voice took everyone by surprise. Nobody had zero time to react as the larger man punched him in the face. The gremlin crumpled to the ground, unconscious.
“I’ve got the beast,” Halicia said behind him. Vimp squealed and tried to run, but ice crystals quickly took him over from the waist down. He fell over, teeth chattering, next to Nobody’s inert body.
“Good work, Mar… What in Sadus!” J.T. yelled as he came within inches of the goo, still held in the air by a surprised Avalon. Avalon quickly released the void, the goo evaporating from both the air and her hands.
Halicia took a deep indrawn breath. “Avalon, did you just cast dark magic?”
“I’m afraid she did.” J.T. grabbed onto Avalon’s wrist. “You have some explaining to do, Miss Benton.”
CHAPTER 35
KAY ESCORTED AVALON to a high-backed wooden chair, facing all five Guardians on the other side of a long wooden table. Gone was the merriment of lunch, replaced by a courtroom gloom. Shivant sat in the middle directly across from her with the two couples flanking either side. The electrical bulb’s hum sounded ominous above her, the once-friendly light now a sickly glow.
Kay took sentry duty at the door behind Avalon. She squelched a protest in the back of her throat, but couldn’t think of any reasonable excuse for him not to be there.
“Miss Benton, it appears we need more honesty from you,” Shivant began, voice firm. “Are you a human who casts magic?”
She knew lying further would only get her into trouble. “It seems I am again.”
The Guardians shifted in their seats. “Explain,” Shivant said.
Avalon twisted her hands together. “I wasn’t always this way. I used to be a normal human, but then I became sick. The illness almost killed me, but I recovered, even if it never fully went away. During a recent relapse, I discovered I could wield magic.”
“The illness gave you magic?” Colin asked, confused.
“The illness is magic,” Avalon said. “I believe Bedwyr injected me with pieces of the Jaded Sprite Statue, hoping to create a new Child of the Statue.”
This caused a large indrawn breath at the table. Halicia addressed Avalon, “You hid your magic from us?”
“I didn’t hide it,” Avalon insisted. “It c
omes and goes. I swear that’s the truth,” she exclaimed when Halicia raised an eyebrow. “Scawale threatened to kill me if I didn’t prove I had magic, but I couldn’t wield it at the fortress. I would have died if you hadn’t arrived to save me.”
Symphony leaned forward on the table. “That is quite an unusual tale.”
“Why do you think I didn’t tell you about it before?” Avalon said. “It doesn’t even sound real to me.” And you don’t even know about the Earth part, she thought.
Halicia pursed her lips. “Even with his legendary light magic, Bedwyr cannot just ‘create’ another Child of the Statue.”
“And what about her dark magic?” J.T. said. “The Jaded Sprite Statue never delves outside of the five elements.”
“These are both considerations.” Shivant rubbed his chin. “However, we cannot ignore how two powerful Aossi believe Miss Benton is a Child of the Statue.”
Avalon stiffened in her seat. “What does that mean for me?”
“You have no idea how dangerous being the Child of the Statue is,” Symphony said like a mother to a child.
“But we do,” Colin said. “If there is even a chance of you being the Child of the Statue, we have to guard you. Your powers make you a danger to everyone.”
“At least let me see Nobody,” she pleaded.
“Absolutely not.” J.T. scowled. “He’s locked in the Lightning Tower where he should be. He must answer for his crimes.”
“You think you can keep him and his magic contained in a prison cell?” Avalon asked.
“He is not going anywhere,” Halicia said emphatically. J.T. gave her a knowing glance and nodded in complete agreement.
“Miss Benton, you must trust us about the gremlin.” Shivant leaned forward. “Nobody is using you. He cares nothing for you and everything about his own self-interests.”
Despite Avalon’s fear, her anger won out. “You’re right. It would be terrible to be used by someone I barely know. Wait, isn’t that what you suggested earlier? That you could me as bait to track down Bedwyr?”
“We are nothing like our enemies,” J.T. yelled, slamming his large fists on the table. Everyone jolted, and Symphony gasped in surprise.
J.T.’s anger only increased Avalon’s. “You can’t keep me here! I have done nothing wrong!”
“We are protecting you,” Shivant said.
“And we’re protecting everyone from you,” Halicia said. “At least until we know what true magic you possess.”
Avalon fought back tears. “What will you do with me?”
Halicia straightened. “Well, one thing is certain. You cannot stay here in Emerged Falls.” She turned to Shivant. “If Nobody found her here, so will Bedwyr and other statue seekers lusting for power. She must be moved soon.”
J.T. nodded. “I will arrange a secret location as soon as possible.”
Shivant walked around the table. He leaned directly over Avalon.
“I know this is troubling,” he said softly, “but it is only a temporary situation. We will do everything in our power to resolve this issue in haste. But it is the middle of the night now.” He motioned toward his comrades. “Clearer heads will draft a concrete plan of action in the morning.”
The legs of chairs rubbed against the floor. The other four Guardians quietly exited the room.
“Sir Marcus,” Shivant called over Avalon’s shoulder. “Would you be so kind as to lead Miss Benton back to her room? Put a Covert K detail on her at all times.”
Shivant gave her one last pat. “Everything will be fine,” he said confidently. Then he too left the room.
Avalon slumped on the chair, defeated. It didn’t matter their intentions. The Guardians wanted to imprison her. She couldn’t return to Earth while under their “protection.”
Kay cleared his throat. “May I escort you to your room, Miss Benton?”
Avalon fought back tears. He wouldn’t even call her by her first name. “Do I have much choice?”
She ignored his pitying look as she stormed out of the room.
CHAPTER 36
AVALON AWOKE UNDERNEATH the snow-capped mountain in a field of heather. She blinked in the daylight, birds chirping merrily by.
“Long time no see,” a childish voice greeted.
Avalon sprang up. The Aossi from her Miasmis dreams stood behind her. She did not have a cloak, dressed instead in a bright green tunic over leggings.
“Hello, Ladybug,” Avalon said, a hint of sorrow in her voice.
“Oh, you know my name now.” The girl broke out into a grin so like Nobody’s that Avalon wondered how she hadn’t noticed the similarities before. “I didn’t think you’d ever figure it out.”
“You could have told me.”
“Where’s the fun in that?”
Avalon stifled the urge to scream. “You’re more infuriating than Nobody, and that’s saying something.”
The girl’s grin immediately vanished at the mention of her brother’s name. “I miss him.”
“He misses you too. He’s looking for you.”
“I know.” Ladybug startled Avalon by grabbing her arms. “You have to help him. He’s trapped.”
“He’s been taken prisoner.”
Ladybug shook her head. “Nay, he’s trapped. You have to get him out. Like you did before.”
Avalon furrowed her brow in confusion. “I’ve never rescued Nobody.”
A loud banging reverberated across the field, shaking everything in Avalon’s vision. Her teeth felt like they would wriggle out of their sockets. Avalon grabbed onto Ladybug, and the two hugged each other.
“I can’t stay,” Ladybug yelled in Avalon’s ear. She tried to back away.
Avalon dug her fingers into the gremlin’s arm. “Wait! Why can’t you stay?”
“You should go!” Ladybug pushed Avalon, who lost her balance and fell backward.
The pounding intensified as she accelerated downward. Her body burst through the heather as if the ground had been made of water, plunging her into its depths. A darkness overtook Avalon’s vision, but a pinpoint of light emerged, forming two angry pupil-less eyes as she plummeted down, down, down.
Charlatan!
Flailing, the voice echoing in her skull, Avalon hit bottom.
And found herself back in her Emerged Fall’s bedroom.
“Ladybug?” she asked. “Was that you?”
But Avalon knew it was not. Those eyes. She shivered, rubbing her bare arms.
She had finally met Subject #1.
* * *
Dawn slowly crept into the room. Avalon finally gave up any pretense of sleep, donning a fresh pair of clothes from the wardrobe. She pulled back the curtain and stared at the waterfall spraying foam behind the castle.
Her mind continued to chew on this newest dilemma. Ladybug was right. She had to bust Nobody out of prison. He had the power to teleport her to Earth, at the very least. Maybe together they could find a way to get Ladybug out of her head, especially before Subject #1 became more prominent in her dreams. She shivered, thinking about those soulless eyes.
But how to rescue Nobody? She had no idea how to free him from a place literally teeming with magical legends, and the mere thought of approaching that awful Lightning Tower made her heart race.
A knock sounded, and the door cracked open with a telltale click, click, click. Wings protruded from the hallway.
“I hope I’m not interrupting.” Kay stuck half his body in the room.
Avalon bent over her itchy socks and pretended to adjust them. “Just brushing up a bit.”
“I brought breakfast.” He carried a covered tray into the room.
Avalon motioned to the table beside her. Kay dutifully placed it there. She waited for him to leave. He surprised her by removing the cover and retrieving a wobbling pouch from the tray. He sloshed it around, indicating it was waterproof and filled with liquid, and plopped in a couple pills. After shaking it around, he offered the pouch to Avalon, who stared at him blankly.
“Thanks.” She accepted the pouch, placing it on the bruise. It felt oddly soothing, numbing the spot even though the pouch did not feel particularly hot or cold.
An awkward silence settled between them. Kay shifted from right foot to left. Avalon coughed.
“Is there something…?” Avalon asked.
“Is there anything…?” Kay said at the same time.
He told her to speak first. She told him to speak. They interrupted each other until Avalon finally got the upper hand of the conversation.
“Is there something you wanted?” she asked.
“Do you need anything?” Kay genuinely seemed like he wanted to please her.
Avalon brightened. “Can I leave my room? Go for a walk?”
Kay shook his head. “I’m sorry, but you are to remain here for now.”
Avalon’s face fell. “That confirms it. I’m a prisoner.”
“The Guardians are concerned for the safety of everyone here, including you,” Kay said, a hint of irritation in his voice.
Avalon snorted. “Yeah, right. I’m sure Halicia and J.T. care about my safety and not how I might help them find Desert Rose.”
Kay’s face mottled bright red at the mercenary’s name. “She is their daughter.”
Avalon stiffened. “And what is she to you?”
Kay flinched. “Excuse me?”
Avalon wished she hadn’t said anything, but it was too late to stop now. “I’ve heard the rumors. They say you love her. Do you?” Avalon’s hands quivered, so she folded them underneath her armpits. “Sir Marcus?”
“I-I…” he stammered. “She is… my…”
Avalon tilted her head, waiting for him to finish.
“…my friend,” he finished lamely.
“Your friend?” Avalon repeated. A wind gust suddenly whipped through the room, causing the curtains to snap violently. “Your friend nearly killed me.”
“She is not herself,” Kay tried to explain.
“No one is who they say they are in this awful world.” She bit her lip to hold back the tears.