by Amber Lynn
“Your next issue will be making it so neither Sebby nor Alex tries to stick by my side. Even if everything else works out, one of them rushing to my side could ruin everything,” I point out.
“You are going to have to do some more of your transformation spells then because I have to be glued to her,” Sebastian claims. It is like we have broken our bond all over again. He isn't as touchy this time, but he is just as annoying.
“We can work something out. First, we have to get past dinner with Addie. I think we should all be ourselves for that joyous event. As soon as we escape the castle, I will put us all in order.”
“Just how much longer do we have before we get to this mound?” I ask ready to get this over with.
“I am telling you, she has some kind of brain damage. Is Sophia cutting off her oxygen?” Hilda says making me look up from the floor. I have been staring down there because looking out the window was making me a little nauseous. It wasn't like there was a lot to see out the windows anyway.
We are, of course, parked in a wooded area and I wouldn't doubt for a second that we have been in this position for more than a couple of minutes. Great. We have what I would guess is four hours left to meet up with Frank and the gang and we have been sitting around with our thumbs up our noses.
“How exactly do we travel over to this other land?” I ask as we start climbing out.
“It's pretty easy,” Walt says walking over to a pile of dirt that is covered with flowers. I am voting that they are daisies. “Queen Adeline gave me a passcode for us to use to get in.”
He walks around the mound and then finally stops to pick something up. It's a rock. Okay. He flips it over and fiddles with it until he removes a piece. He punches his pointer finger inside of it and I am beginning to believe that if I look at it I will find a number pad.
He stops fingering it and twists the removed portion back in place. When he puts it back on the ground, the earth starts to shake. As it is moving I feel an odd movement in my stomach. I am not sure what Sophia just did, but she has moved into a new position and it feels funny.
“No worries,” Alex says from beside me. “She is just getting comfortable.”
For some reason I don't believe him, but we can discuss that after Daddy is home with us. I finally get to visit him over the rainbow and you better believe that I am taking him back with me.
Chapter 7
It isn’t always brighter on the other side of the rainbow
The mound in front of us parts down the middle to reveal a set of stairs. That is not at all strange. Hilda takes off dragging Marcus straight into the pit. I am sure she has done this before, but I would still be taking a gander prior to just skipping down the steps. Using a stick to poke around a little would have been advisable in my book, too. There could have been snakes or something down there waiting for us.
“You ready?” Sebastian asks while at the same time moving me closer to the hole. I notice that Alex is on my other side and he is carrying the duffle bag. Where is my X-ray vision when I need it? I could come up with a lot of helpful uses for a power like that.
“I think it has been determined that I was born ready. Have you ever been to Faerie? I would think you were born before the lock down happened.” The hole in the ground isn't as dark as I thought it would be. Me having night vision may be part of the reason.
“It won't be my first trip, but I can hope it will be my last. I have never been extremely fond of the Fae. I think hanging out with your mom down in Hell would be more enjoyable than attending one of their parties.”
“Any previous friends of the girl persuasion that I should be worrying about? You told me once that they were all ancient history, but Candace proved to be not quite dead yet.”
I am focusing on the back of Hilda's head as she leads us around some really earthy smelling catacombs. I doubt anyone would admit to worms having a smell, but this is what I envision them smelling like.
“I know without a doubt there will be no old flames down here. Vampires are extremely incompatible with Fae. We find them to smell so atrocious that Clyde's breath would be akin to smelling the ocean air compared to what we get off of them. I am guessing since you aren't a full vampire you won't have to deal with that.”
Anything that smells bad compared to Clyde's breath has to be killer. I really hope that I get to bypass that pleasure. I would also really like to be out of this passage. Don't we just walk through a wall or something and magically get transported to a land full of rainbows and sunshine?
“Let's just say not exactly. Where we come out may very well be nice and green like Hilda mentioned, but Faerie was slowly dying before the gates were closed. The air that caused them problems in our world was leaking in and causing pockets of magicless land that nothing would grow on. I don't know if closing things off brought back the magic to those areas, but I highly doubt it. The things I saw looked pretty permanent.”
That makes me excited to see this wonderful, new land. Not. Ahead, I finally see a portal looking entrance like I was expecting. It is on the dirt wall and not in the ground, which scores points for me. I hate jumping into something when I cannot see the other side. Walking through it won't be too much fun, but I have to believe it is better than falling.
“When we walk through, I want you to keep in contact with me at all times,” Sebastian says. I won't fight him on that one. He wants to give a little support as we cross into the great unknown, I am all for that.
“This doesn't look right,” Hilda says in front of us. “I am afraid Sebastian isn't too far off with his thinking of how the land is going to look when we crossover. The entrances into Faerie used to be giant looking glasses. They showed the life thriving on the other side. This is nothing but death. I am surprised it will even work to let us pass through.”
“And my dad has been hanging out here? Couldn't you have found him a roach motel somewhere with a decent view?” The Collective found him anyway, so I don't know what the difference is.
“Light is bright and moons are plenty. Passage desired and granted,” Hilda says holding her left arm out, palm facing the black circle. The blackness clears and we can see the other side and it leaves a lot to be desired. It looks like the field before us has been caught on fire at one point and there is a lone charred tree amidst the landscape.
Looking at it brings an instant sadness over me. “It will be okay. We won't be in here more than a couple of hours, one for dinner and another to get your dad. Then we can get back home and wait for our daughter to be born,” Sebastian tells me trying to help settle the emotions swirling around me.
It doesn't really help, but we need to get this done. Hilda starts us off by walking through the veil. We can see her on the other side and she immediately puts her hands up. Great. I am guessing there is a welcoming committee. Marcus hurries through after her and we create a funnel to follow.
I don't feel anything as I step through, at least not physically. The sadness is still there and it gets stronger as I reach the other side. The blackened earth is literally crying out to me. I fall to my knees to try to soothe it by touching what I can.
Sebastian kneels down beside me and I forget all about the fact there may be a hostile force greeting us. I close my eyes and listen to what the ground is saying. There is a plea for help that is coming in loud and clear, but I don't know what to do. I am not aware of some special healing ability in my tool belt.
“Let us help,” Sebastian says laying his hand on top of mine. Alex presses one of his hands to my cheek and I feel a tingly sensation. “We haven't really investigated our ability to share power, even after we felt how strong it was in the early days. I think if we focus it into the ground, maybe it will jump start something.”
It is worth a try. I am not used to strong emotions and I can see myself becoming crippled by the ones I am picking up now. My eyes are still closed and I work to touch the place in my head that houses Sebastian. He can wall me off all he wants, but I am able
to access him. Alex is a little harder because we aren't fully mated.
He senses my dilemma and moves his hand to place it over my heart. When I feel its warmth a new section of my brain lights up and a burst of something springs from my hands. I hear a few gasps, but I keep focused on the call from the earth. It probably only takes a minute before the dark cloud over my head passes and peace washes over me.
I feel that my work is done, so I open my eyes to look at a vastly different landscape. Trees that were nowhere to be seen have erupted from the earth. The burnt ground is green again and the air just smells cleaner. I can still feel far off cries of help, but in my direct vicinity, things are looking brighter. I don't know what happened, what I did, and why it magically happened now, but I am pretty sure it was some kind of miracle.
“Not really. We all have the ability to bring forth life from the dead, when need be. The trick is knowing when to use it,” Gabe announces close behind me. I spin around to face him.
“You,” Alex and Sebastian say at the same time. No. That is all I can say or think right now. No.
“It is nice to see you both again. I am also happy that you both helped trigger Nyx's trials. She could have breathed life back into the land without the assist, but the fact that she accepted your offer of help scores bonus points. Most people that earn their angel powers let the influence of the gifts go to their heads. Being able to ask for help tends to be low on their priority scale. Because of that, they have a tendency to burn out in the long run. Carrying the world on your shoulders has that effect.”
“Got it. Step one has started and I am doing great. Let's back up to the part where Sebastian and Alex both recognize you. When did you pay them visits, Gabe?”
“This is your angel?” Alex asks in disbelief. “I guess that makes a little sense. I didn't know his name was Gabe, though. During a dark period in my life, obviously a long time ago, he showed up and stopped me from firing into what I believed was a Collective house. It was a Collective house like my intel said, but the only people in residence at the time were a woman and her child. That was a wakeup call for me and led me to seek your father out. I realized it was time for me to grow up.”
“And look how well things have turned out for you,” Gabe says smiling.
“For me, he showed up just when I was about to move back to Europe for a century or two. I had been here in the States for a while and I was getting bored with the scenery. He introduced me to Night Owl City before it was even called that and told me that the city was going to be key in the future of all paranorms. For some reason I believed him and opened up Sins that year.”
“You manipulated them into staying close to me.”
“Not really. In both cases, you weren't even born. I bet you were a twinkle in your mother's eyes because she loved to plan ahead, but their paths weren't necessarily leading to you. It is just a happy coincidence that you all ended up finding each other.”
“Back tracking just a little again, you mentioned her trials had officially started. The whole bringing the dead back to life seems to be the first step, but I am curious about the others. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that she isn't...um,” Sebastian says hesitating.
“He thinks I am a whale and will have problems with any physical challenges you have in store for me,” I finish paraphrasing what I am sure would have been a very eloquent speech about me being huge.
The remark causes Gabe to laugh. “Whale isn't at all what he was thinking, but the rest of your statement is on track. The issue is a very temporary one and I don't foresee any problems. Sophia will be kept safe.”
Knowing Sophia, she introduced herself to Gabe the second he showed up. She won't talk to her mother, but crazy angel that just pops in is fine. I am going to have to teach her early all about stranger danger.
“Well, you have appeared and told us I probably passed my first trial. How about you fly off, so we can get on with our mission,” I recommend. Having the angel around makes me feel a little edgy.
“I think I should almost certainly stick around. An angel hasn’t been allowed to set foot in Faerie before and we would like to get the lay of the land,” he replies.
“Just all of a sudden like you think the present is a good time for this visit?”
“As the saying goes, there is no time like the present. We have previously been banned from passing through the veil, so any visit for tea has been difficult. With you being allowed entrance, at least while you are here, we can come and go as we please. We angels have a buddy system of sorts that throws out all of the rules in case we need to sweep in to offer assistance. We might use it to our advantage every once in a while.”
“Glad I can assist,” I respond thinking there are a lot of angel rules I will need to learn.
Now that things are more or less in order, I turn to find out just what kind of welcome wagon we received. I hope they brought a band, maybe a few parade floats.
No band. In fact, there are no extra people at all. Weird. I see our full mini battalion all just waiting for word on what they should do next, but no threat. I look to Hilda for answers. Now that is a funny thought.
“Why would you raise your hands in surrender if there wasn't a person standing by you with a gun to your head?”
“What?” she responds clearly confused. If she is going to pretend to be me, it is good that we are already experiencing the same general emotions.
“After you went through, we saw you raise your hands up in the air and it sure looked like someone didn't like you much on this side of the veil. Being the way you are, I thought for sure there was someone over here who didn’t like one of the potions you sold them.”
“Oh, that. I was just trying to reach out and find some help for the destruction. The inherent Fae magic is so weak now that I wasn't getting enough of a current to do anything. You, on the other hand, kicked butt. The remodel job you pulled off is amazing. You might need to stick around for a week or so to get everything back in order here.”
I see that happening never. This is going to be a hit it and get it mission. As we navigate towards our destination, I won’t deny the land my energy, but I am not going to go seeking out the dead spots. I am pretty sure this world is comparable to at least the size of Asia. I don’t have the kind of time right now to take care of an entire continent.
“Don’t worry. I am the only one meeting you, but we snuck a few more angels in the doorway and they will take care of the destruction. Maybe the Fae will finally realize that keeping us out doesn’t work in their favor,” Gabe states.
“How exactly do they keep you out of here? I thought you guys could do anything you wanted,” I say.
“In certain planes that is true. This isn’t one of them.”
“So, Angel Boy, you think you can just pop over and grab the pregnant one’s dad real quick so we can get out of here?” Hilda asks. That is a brilliant idea. We could just turn right around and I wouldn’t have to meet any of the crazy Fae.
“Hilda, I am charmed as always,” he says bowing slightly to show respect. I am hoping it is just something he does. “You know things don’t work that way. We have to sit back and let things play out.”
“I can always dream that one of these days you will take the easy route. I guess her highness should be introduced to more of her loyal subjects. I still cannot believe they let this place turn to crap. I may not get along with the majority of the natives here, but I did enjoy walking the land. Do you guys Upstairs get any kind of reports from here? It would be nice to know what happened.”
Gabe studies the land spreading out in front of us. I follow his gaze and see a large group of butterflies collecting and heading our way. They are just butterflies, so I don’t worry too much about them drawing weapons on us.
“No, we do not have any open lines of communication with this world. I have heard stories from long ago, but nothing recent. To clarify your thought on the butterflies, Nyx, they aren’t butterflies. They are pixies
and I wouldn’t be too sure about them not having weapons. They aren’t known to be the friendliest of people.”
From the looks of things, there are at least fifty of the little buggers making their way to us. No matter what Gabe says, I cannot believe they are a threat. I bet Clyde would love to make chew toys out of a few of them. The pixies start making synchronized shapes, which are fairly amusing. It is like watching a marching band from the aerial blimp. I guess I kind of get the band I was requesting earlier. If I listen closely enough, their wings have a good beat.
One of the aerialists separates and flies closer and eventually lands on my shoulder. I don’t like the idea of one being that close, but it would probably be rude to just launch it across the field. Sebastian gets a bit tense, but keeps his cool.
“Are you the one that was sent to save us?” a small female sounding voice whispers into my ear. If I didn’t have super eardrums, I doubt I would have been able to pick it up.
“I have no idea what you mean,” I reply and watch as the rest of her group hovers about three feet away from us. They seem to be waiting for something, but I have no idea what.
“But you made the world green again, yes?”
“Me and my friends did. I hope that isn’t a problem for you. The land wanted to be healed,” I explain.
“She is the savior,” the pixie announces and spirals off my shoulder into the air. The rest of her little friends start cheering.
“Okay, you guys seem happy and that is nice, but I am not a savior, so you can wipe that idea right from your little melons.”
“Let them have their moment. I don’t think things have been happy for them in a long time. You will find when you go around performing miracles, people often think of you as a savior of sorts. Every once in a while it is actually true. It is all about perception and right this second, you are their knight in shining armor,” Gabe says.
