Realms

by Kit Bladegrave

  Unlike Tristan and Sabella’s, though, our tattoos shifted and rolled over our skin, glowing still.

  “Mori?” Forrest asked curiously as we both tilted our arms to watch as the tattoos continued to move up our forearms.

  “I don’t know,” I replied. I’d never seen two gods wed, or a god to a dragon.

  But we were far from just a goddess, a star and a dragon. We were the final piece of the prophecy, and the tattoos continued on their journey until they slipped beneath the strap at my shoulder and up the sleeve of Forrest’s shirt. He gasped the same time I did, and with our hands still clasped together, we reached up, and each pulled aside our clothing enough to find the markings there on our chests, below our collarbones. The tattoos matched, forming a star with a dragon curled around it protectively, wings splayed and fire dripping from its mouth. I touched mine gently, amazed to find it warm. I reached out to touch his.

  “Well, that was certainly a new ending to this ceremony,” Harold mused. “I’d say it’s a good sign, yes?”

  “Yes,” Forrest and I agreed at the same time, then laughed.

  “Now then, may I suggest you kiss your new wife, King Forrest?”

  He had me in his arms a second later, and I wrapped mine around his neck. He lifted me off my feet as the guests, our friends and family, erupted in cheers and hollers, whistling as the music started again and the witches announced food and drink were served.

  There was no way to predict the future, not anymore, but I no longer gave a damn. This night was for us, and I was going to enjoy every last second I had as Forrest’s wife. Holding hands, we headed for the kitchen, ready to eat and drink the night away.

  Ale and wine flowed as music played on loud and boisterous. Forrest and I danced, holding tightly to each other and laughing as if the weight of the world was not pressing on our shoulders. I could see our future in these happy few hours. Could see us being together in Gregornath or back in my realm. See us being together with no other worries to bring us down, other than what we might decide to eat for dinner every night. Or where we would spend the seasons, his castle or my temple with its stone maze. I wanted to hear his laughter every day for the rest of my life no matter how long that might be.

  “Are you happy?” he whispered in my ear as he drew me in close.

  “More than you know,” I replied, standing on my toes to kiss him. “This night couldn’t be more perfect.”

  He lifted me off my feet, spinning around as he kissed me again, not letting my feet touch the ground for a second. Not until he asked if I needed more to drink and we danced our way inside to the kitchen. The house was filled with laughter and talking, and there wasn’t a dour face to be seen.

  I spied Kate and Sabella across the living room. I turned to tell Forrest that I’d be back in a moment—

  Suddenly, Sabella let out a scream, clutching at her head as she fell to her knees. Tristan’s growl sounded behind me, and suddenly he was at her side, asking her what was wrong as she shrieked again. He held her tightly in his arms, trying to calm her, but then the air dropped to an icy chill.

  Craig sought out Kate, holding her to him as Forrest did the same to me, looking around confused. Silence fell within the house and outside it as we all held our breaths, waiting.

  Even Sabella’s screaming finally cut off, but the words that fell from her lips sent an even deeper chill into my bones.

  “He’s coming.”

  Forrest growled, and a moment later, the ground gave a mighty tremble. It started, then stopped abruptly, then it started up again. It was like an earthquake was trying to tear apart the house. But it wasn’t an earthquake. No, it was Baladon. He’d come at last, and he was tearing a hole into this realm right in front of our eyes. The floor cracked and split down the center of the house from the front porch to the back door. Many rushed to get out of the way as the crack split wider and wider, and the shaking become one continuous rolling motion. It was like the ground itself had come alive and was ready to try and swallow us whole.

  There was one more rumble, and when the split opened wider, Tristan and Craig, Abby, Harold, Keanu, Phoebe, and Bear jumped into action. Weapons were collected, and clothes were stripped , revealing the armor everyone had been wearing underneath.

  This morning before we all got ready for the wedding, we’d discussed the chances of Baladon attacking during the ceremony. It was agreed we would have everything ready when it was needed, and those who could, would be dressed and ready for a fight. I had expected more of his minions to come for us, not Baladon himself to split open the ground. Black smoke flowed up and out of the crack steadily growing wider and wider as our small army made ready to face whatever was about to come through.

  “I’m sorry,” Forrest whispered to me.

  “For what?” I replied, tearing my gaze away from the crack to study his face. “Forrest?”

  “I don’t know if we’re going to make it out of this alive. And I… I’m just sorry we didn’t have more of a life together.” He leaned in and kissed me fiercely, crushing me to him. “It’s been one hell of a ride, love.”

  I kissed him as passionately as I could, needing him to feel all the love I had for him. But then the moment was over, and we made ourselves ready for the fight. I tore my dress right down the middle to reveal breeches and leather armor. Forrest didn’t even have to change, but he did grab a sword offered to him by Craig, who was already bearing the Executioner blade.

  Kate kept looking at her left arm, waiting for the shield to appear but it wasn’t there. I guessed it was too much to hope all our abilities would come roaring back the moment Forrest and I solidified our bond.

  I took another sword and gripped it tightly, waiting as the crack split the walls of the house and it started to collapse out into the front and back yards. I waited anxiously for Baladon to show his leering face, but something tugged at my center, forcing me to walk away from Forrest and through what was left of the kitchen.

  “Mori,” Forrest called to me, but I kept going.

  A roar issued out of the crevice, making my skin crawl and memories flash through my mind. Memories of Baladon throwing me in that cage. Of him hurting me over and over again. But still, I walked on, needed to get to what called to me. The ground rolled beneath my feet, and I fell forward, nearly tumbling into the crack that had opened up. I would have, if Forrest hadn’t grabbed hold of my arm and stopped me just in time.

  “What are you doing? We need to get out of here.”

  “No, we don’t. The orb—I can hear it.”

  “What do you mean? Mori, damn it.”

  I’d tugged free of his arm, sprinting now toward the front sitting room where we’d been working on the orb for the past few days. Even with all the shaking and quaking going on, it managed to keep itself firmly planted on the coffee table. As I neared, it sputtered with life, sparks shooting out of the crack that had broken in in the first place. I stepped even closer, and it happened again.

  “Get everyone together, as close as they can. Hold hands and get me, Sabella, and Kate. We need them all. Hurry.”

  Over the roaring coming from the crack, Forrest bellowed out my orders. I was just a foot away from the orb when Sabella, Tristan, Kate, and Craig all came to join us.

  Everyone else pushed in as close as they could, asking what was going on. Forrest relayed the instruction again, for them to hold onto each other.

  “What are we doing?” Kate asked. “The orb’s broken.”

  “No, it’s not,” I murmured and started to reach for it. “Forrest, touch my shoulder. Everyone, hold onto each other,” I yelled. I turned to Kate and Sabella. “Grab the orb with me, at the exact same moment.”

  “I don’t understand,” Sabella said, but did as I asked.

  Tristan held fast to her shoulder as another reached out and held onto his.

  Craig and Kate stood the same way, all staring at me, waiting.

  I took a deep breath, knowing we were running out of time,
and counted down from three. Kate, Sabella, and I gripped the orb at the exact same moment, and we all three gasped at the shock of power that burst forth. It shot up my arm.

  A collective gasp echoed down the line and all around us as it passed through every single soul gathered. The orb sparked and glowed so bright it was blinding. I tried to keep my eyes open the best I could, as the orb pulsed with power and repaired itself.

  “I’ve come for you all,” Baladon’s roar exploded through the house, taking out the remaining walls and the roof. The force of it nearly tore us all apart, but I screamed to hang on. Forrest’s hand gripped my shoulder harder as—with Sabella and Kate—I clung to the orb.

  A whirlwind of shadow swarmed around us, and at its center stood Baladon, red eyes flashing as he hefted his staff, making ready for the attack that would solidify his place in the mortal world. But we couldn’t let that happen. We had to shut it down, close it, before it was too late.

  We had to return him—and all of us—to the realms.

  I attempted to speak, but the wind whipped the words away from me, so instead I focused on the realms, on the last place we’d all been in Torolf. I imagined it, even as I visualized the portal closing behind us, cutting off Baladon’s access to this world. I willed the image to spread from my mind to Sabella’s and Kate’s, then to Forrest’s, wondering if our connection was as strong as I hoped.

  The orb was hot against my hand, and I winced, but didn’t dare let go.

  Baladon’s eyes narrowed, and when he spied the orb, he bellowed in rage and came straight toward us. I waited for the blow that would send us flying and shatter the orb, but it never came.

  Instead, the white light crushed the swirling darkness around us,.

  I felt my feet leave the ground.

  Baladon roared furiously, but then we were soaring through the portal created by the orb. I heard panicked screams and more yells as we spun, end over end. I wanted to reach out for Forrest, but my hand was trapped against the orb. When my feet hit solid ground, I grunted and rolled through grass and mud, the orb falling from my grasp. My body finally came to a stop, and I shook out my hair, glancing wildly around the field we landed in, tall grasses as far as the eye could see.

  “Forrest,” I yelled, trying and failing to get to my feet. “Forrest.”

  “Here.”

  I took off in his direction. His tall form appeared in the grass, and I leapt into his arms, tackling him right back to the ground, kissing him.

  “What happened? Are you hurt?” He ran his hands over my arms and back, checking my face.

  “No, I’m fine. Did everyone make it? Kate! Sabella,” I called out as the two of us got back to our feet.

  “Over here.” Kate waved her arm over her head, and I saw Craig not too far from her, helping others up and out of the grass.

  Forrest and I did the same on our way toward them. I was surprised to see no one injured. Every last person who’d been at the house made it. I spied a swath of red hair through the crowd and rushed forward to Tristan and Sabella. Sabella had something clutched in her hands. When she moved, I saw the orb, and sighed with relief.

  “It’s whole again.” held it out to me, then gasped. “Mori. Your hair, your eyes. Your power’s back.”

  “What?”

  I held up a lock of hair and watched as stars winked into existence. I shook my hair out, and more stars flowed down and landed at my feet, only to be replaced by new ones immediately.

  Kate reached us, and when she saw me in all my starlit glory again, she lifted her left arm, and the Vindicar shield appeared while her eyes flared with her inner power. Sabella held out her right hand, and when she spread her fingers, white light flowed along her fingertips and palm.

  “We’re back… we’re all back. Can you shift?”

  Forrest, Tristan, and Craig all stepped back from us.

  I watched in awe as his dragon form released once again. Tristan turned into the great wolf he was next, and Craig’s face shifted with a snarl, revealing his true demon nature.

  I sighed in relief at the sight as they all shifted back again.

  So Baladon had not taken all the magic from the land just yet. Good, that was so very good.

  That meant we still had a fighting chance.

  We were definitely in Torolf, and far off in the distance the castle appeared to still be standing, but that wasn’t what had me frowning or giving the sudden urge to get out of the open spaces.

  Baladon. He’d been at the house when we came back through.

  So where the hell was he?

  “Baladon,” I whispered to Forrest.

  He growled in reply, but there was no sign of the beast anywhere.

  “Do you think he didn’t come back through with us?”

  “No. He had to, right?” he said.

  I wanted to believe him, but he should’ve been here then. I paused as I glanced around the field. I blinked, not even realizing none of us noticed it. “The darkness… it’s lifting. We can see,” I pointed out.

  Those of us who had only seen this realm in darkness for so many months looked around in awe at the sight. There wasn’t sunshine, no, but the darkness had indeed lessened. Thunder boomed, then lightning lit the sky overhead.

  I was more than ready to enjoy a nice thunderstorm and dance in the rain as we celebrated the fact that something had changed with Baladon’s hold over the realms, but this lightning wasn’t normal. It cracked and turned shades of violet and red, splitting open the sky overhead.

  I cursed and reached for Forrest’s hand.

  “We have to get out of here,” I whispered. “We have to run.”

  “What, why? It’s just a storm.”

  “No. It’s him. Run! Head to the trees.”

  We waved everyone else on, making sure we six were the last to take off for the shelter of the trees. Instinct told me to head for the castle in the distance, but there wasn’t enough time to get there and hide. The forest here stretched on for miles and led into Boshen territory. The darkness might not be as bad as it was before, but Baladon’s creatures could still be lurking about. We might have made it back to the realms, but we were coming home blind and unaware of what we’d face.

  Another sharp crack of lightning made me jump, and Baladon’s roar followed it, but none of us stopped running. We didn’t stop until his yells finally died away and all we heard was thunder as a storm moved in over the land.

  The line ahead came to a sudden stop, and we tripped over our feet trying not to take anyone down with us. “What’s going on? We need to keep going,” I insisted.

  Ahead, Abby was yelling our names and waving her arms over her head.

  I took off after Forrest, the other four right behind us, moving our way swiftly through the small army. When we reached the front, my feet dug in, and my jaw dropped.

  “Mori? What’s going on?” Sabella asked as she caught up with us.

  But then there was nothing left to say. She stared for another few beats then launched herself forward into the two shifters standing in front of us.

  Alive.

  Tristan growled and was right there with her, hugging the members of his pack he thought dead.

  Hank and Danielle. They’d survived after all.

  “How?” Tristan asked. “I don’t understand. What we saw… you should be dead.”

  “Should be,” Hank agreed. “You’ve missed a lot, and we’d love to tell you, but we need to get out of sight. Follow us and stay quiet.”

  “Giving me orders now?” Tristan clapped Hank on the back.

  Hank grinned right back at him. “Hey, if you’re back now, I will gladly hand back over the reins of leadership. They’re a bit heavy for me.”

  He led the way deeper into the woods with the rest of us following behind, wondering what happened in our time away from the realms.

  11

  Forrest

  I waited to be attacked as we followed Hank and Danielle deeper into the trees. Eventually
, we passed over the creek that marked the boundary of Torolf into Boshen, and yet we walked on.

  No one spoke except for Tristan, asking questions too quiet for me to hear.

  Hank answered, but he seemed hesitant to say too much.

  “Where do you think we’re headed?” Mori asked me, slipping her hand into mine.

  “Not sure yet. This is Craig’s territory, so I don’t know it as well as my own.”

  Why couldn’t Baladon have waited just a few more hours to attack? Or another day? I’d wanted our wedding to be perfect, now that we finally had one, but he had to interrupt the festivities. Mori gave my hand a firm squeeze as if she knew what I was thinking, telling me it was alright. We were bound now, and our strengths had returned. The orb was even healed, and it had all been part of the prophecy.

  But I was far from excited. Being back here meant we were also one step closer to the rest of that damned vision coming true.

  I had only glanced away for a moment, but when I looked up again, I frowned. “Where did they go?”

  “Huh?” Mori stopped, too, shaking her head. “Are they… there’s an invisible entrance in that mountain. Who created that?”

  “I don’t know.”

  Each person passed through the mountain as if there wasn’t even a mountain there.

  Keanu went in, followed by the dragons, then Bear and his demons. Phoebe and the shifters went next along with the witches and sorcerers. I didn’t even feel any magic emanating from this area. Once everyone else was through, it was Mori’s turn, with me right beside her.

  Tristan was still talking quietly with Hank, but he shook his head and said something about waiting until we were all safe inside.

  “Trust me, you’re going to need to sit down for this one. All of you,” he said, and his gaze shifted to Kate, then he waved us all inside. “Welcome to Sanctuary.”

  Mori walked through first followed by myself. “By the gods,” she whispered. “This is incredible. It’s a fortress inside the mountain. Was this always here?” She walked slowly forward, her head tilting back as far as it could go as she took in all the details.