Starbeam became distraught about all the news that had just been given to him. “King? I’m a king?” After all she had told him, all he could focus on was learning he was a king. Sitting there, baffled, he stared at Yurika. She was lying on the ground asleep.
He did put her through what could only be seen as a form of torture. He felt bad, but then, a little relieved. He was finally getting somewhere, and it was time to spread the news to his friends. Starbeam took flight and headed for the mountain. He still couldn’t get the word king out of his mind. What did it mean? Had his sister known this whole time? He would get to the bottom of it the moment he arrived at the mountain.
CHAPTER 27
Tailya and Anna started to tremble. The roar was getting stronger. The ground moved and the walls shook. Rocks from the ceiling were crashing down all around them. “Stay close to me, Tay,” I said, not wanting her to get hit. She let me know she agreed by cutting the circulation off my arm with her tight grip.
“A…A…Are we almost there?” she chattered in my ear. I squeezed her hand. “A couple more steps and we’ll be face to face with him. Do you think he’ll recognize you?” She buried her face in my back. “I hope so,” she said, starting to sniffle.
I patted her head behind me. “Don’t worry. If he doesn’t, I’ll make him.” Tay shrugged. “I hope you can.”
We reached the end of the tunnel only to find a sound recorder. “That roar was recorded for us,” Tay stated the obvious, and I became flustered. “Duh…you think?” I sneered. “You don’t have to be so rude, Anna!” Tay shouted, and placed her hands on her hips. I sighed, “Come on, let’s go, your father isn’t here.”
Nightfall came as we walked out of the cave. “We’ll have to camp here tonight. It’s too dark to try and walk back to the tower.” “Anna, look!” Tay shouted. It was Starbeam flying above.
“Tailya! Anna!” Starbeam had news, serious news that he didn’t want to forget. He flew down and landed right between them. “Tailya, you’ll never in a million years guess what I found out! You too, Anna!” Starbeam sounded eager to spit the information out. I made a fire with bones that I’d found around the cave and Starbeam told us everything.
Tailya flipped out. “You’re my what?!” She was trying to make sense of what he was saying. She knew of her dad, but why couldn’t she remember her brother? Tay scratched her head. “Why can’t I remember you?” she asked. “You don’t remember anything at all?” Starbeam searched her eyes for some hint of recognition, but neither one could put anything together.
I was furious and getting more and more ready to end Fawn’s reign. Starbeam looked over at Anna. His eyes dropped and she knew it was something about her. Starbeam began to sob as he told them about the light and dark magic. The power that Fawn wanted from them, and that she would kill them if they didn’t give it to her willingly.
I had no idea that magic even existed until I’d met Tailya. I wondered if this was why my mother was so cruel to me. I was light and Mother was dark. That didn’t seem to mix well. I shook my head to focus back on the plan. The journey to save Tay’s father hadn’t quite worked out as we’d expected. Fawn had Tay’s dad hostage. It was time to come up with a new idea on how to defeat the evil witch.
Tay and I shifted toward Starbeam the moment we heard him let out a deep sigh. “What’s wrong?” Tay and I asked at the same time. Starbeam lowered his head and we could still see tears falling to the ground. “It’s my mother…” Tay and I gasped. “What about her?” we asked, worried the potion might have harmed her or something.
Starbeam sat up, his head still lowered. Shaking his head, he told us the horror that was pinching his heart. “Yurika’s not our mom?!” Tay yelled. Starbeam, Tailya and their father had all been taken from their world. Stolen from their reality. But why did Fawn need their father? I contemplated all the things I’d just been told, but something still wasn’t connecting. Something big was still missing from the puzzle.
Tailya narrowed her eyes at me. “Do you have something, Anna?” Tay had a sense of hopefulness beaming from her eyes. But I shook my head because what I’d come up with was a long shot at best.
“Come on, Anna.” Tay was still filled with a shimmer of light. My eyes locked on hers and I took a deep breath. “Do you think we could make another truth serum? I think we should go back to Yurika and find out what else she knows.”
Starbeam jerked up. “No! You can’t do that to her again. When she was digging down deep to expose to me what she knew, her body started to convulse and grow weak.” Tay and I looked at each other. We’d never heard Starbeam so upset before. He gritted his teeth. “If she’s part of light magic, then she’s good and we can’t put her through that torture again.”
Tailya grabbed the wand from my back pocket. She began twirling it around herself. Starbeam and I squeezed our eyes shut from the huge ray of light that surrounded her. The light started to dim a bit and Starbeam and I could see again. “What was that?” I asked, still blinking in order to stop seeing dots everywhere from Tay’s bright light.
Tay flew over to Starbeam and placed her little hand on his nose. “I don’t know, Anna. I don’t have time to understand this. Starbeam, I’m going to see Yurika, but I promise I won’t harm her.” He closed his eyes and nodded slowly. We watched Tailya flutter away from us. We looked at each other and our eyes met. It was like we could read each other’s thoughts. We wanted Tailya to come back in one piece.
“I don’t know how long she will take. Do you want to muster up a new plan with me? We could fill Tay in when she gets back.” Starbeam sat up slowly. He was scared and didn’t think we could pull off whatever we were about to come up with. Fawn was too powerful. She had stolen everything from him.
“I hope it’s something better than truth potion this time.” Starbeam was already feeling defeated. I crossed my arms and scowled. “That wasn’t my plan, that was Tay’s, and it worked, didn’t it? You now know you’re not really a unicorn.”
I walked over to him and touched his head. I was about to remind him of all he’d told Tay and me, but before I could get the words out, a flash of light came out of my hand. I jerked it back, wondering if I’d just done something to hurt my friend. But, I didn’t. Instead, I somehow changed him back to his human form.
CHAPTER 28
Tailya flew down in between the trees, making sure Yurika wouldn’t see her. “I hope I know what I’m doing,” she thought to herself before grabbing the wand and changing herself. Tay spotted Yurika and Fawn through a clearing between the leaves. They were arguing. “Fawn knows!” Tay gasped as she shimmied down the tree trunk. Her toes reached the grass and without hesitation, she waved the wand, transforming herself into a butterfly. She wanted to be sure she would not be recognized.
“This better be good enough,” she said as she fluttered over them. Fawn’s eyes drifted from Yurika’s to the butterfly fluttering over her head. She swatted her hand to push it away, but instead it landed on the tree branch above Yurika.
Tailya let out a couple of deep breaths, thankful she didn’t get swatted to death. Yurika’s eyes left Fawn’s glare. She needed to let Tailya know to stay there and not move. Yurika winked quickly at Tailya then focused back on her lecture from Fawn.
Tay gasped. “Does she know? But how could that be? I’m disguised!” she thought to herself. Fawn gazed sadly into Yurika’s eyes. “As long as I’m here dear friend, you’ll never get what you want. As long as I’m alive, you’ll never be free.”
White flames formed around Fawn and she disappeared. “You come down now, little one,” Yurika called. Tailya flew off the branch and landed on the ground. She changed quickly before Yurika’s eyes. “Well, you sure are learning quickly, aren’t you?”
Tay’s fingers weaved through Yurika’s beautifully colored tail. “Are you hurt?” Yurika had a small grin on her face. “Sorry we had to enchant you, but we needed some answers.” Yurika looked at Tay, puzzled. Did they know about her and Fawn? Did they
know how they’d become friends and what their plan was?
Yurika couldn’t put off any vibes of being worried that they all might know who they truly were and what they were here for. Instead, she’d play it off and make Tay think she remembered everything. “It’s ok, Tailya. I’m sure you meant no harm to me.” Tailya relaxed, dropping her shoulders. “So, what was that all about with Fawn?”
Yurika knelt her head down and Tay rubbed her chin. “Fawn came to check on me. She was looking for her wand. I told her I didn’t have it, so she rushed up to me and smelled my breath. She said she could smell magic, then started to remind me why I’m here. That’s when I saw you. You heard the rest.”
Tay slouched and lowered her eyes to the ground. She tried to come up with a plan to help everyone except Fawn. She wanted to destroy her for everything she’d done. Fawn was the root of all evil. She would have me believing I was a fairy the rest of my life and I would be stuck here forever, only to do her bidding.
Tay clenched her fists. “Don’t worry, Yurika. We’ll free you.” Yurika leapt off the ground, her beautiful rainbow hair flowing through the air. “Thank you! Oh, thank you!” Yurika smiled big at Tailya, then took off toward the meadow.
“I wonder where she’s going?” Tay thought as she changed back into her fairy form. She took flight, shaking her head trying to get rid of those thoughts. She needed to focus on getting back to Anna and Starbeam so they could come up with something to destroy Fawn for good.
Starbeam had his eyes glued to the sky. He was wondering what could be taking Tailya so long. He worried for her more now, because she wasn’t just his friend, she was his sister. He now felt a stronger need to protect her.
Tailya came into his view. His heart beat fast at the sight of her return. Knowing she was ok made his stomach unclench. Tay flew down to Anna and Starbeam. “You guys, you guys, we have to think of something quick! Fawn knows Yurika was dosed with magic!”
Tay changed back to human form. “Come on you two, think! We need a new plan.” All three sat down in a circle. “We could send Anna in first, while you and I search for books and potions to help free Yurika,” Starbeam said.
Tailya looked at Anna, and she couldn’t shake the look of terror that was radiating off of her. “No, that won’t work. I think we should all stay together. Starbeam, we need to turn you back to your original self so you can sneak around and look for dad.”
Starbeam nodded and Anna gave a small smile. “What is it you want me to do, Tay?” Anna asked as she twiddled her fingers nervously. Tay let out a sigh, not wanting to have to make her best friend into bait, but there was no other way she could see them coming out of this alive. She needed Anna to distract Fawn with questions, and she knew Fawn would tell her everything she wanted to know, because Anna was Fawn’s way to ultimate power.
All three friends stood up. Tailya grabbed the woven wand from Anna’s back pocket. “Hey, how did that get back there?” Anna was shocked. Tay had taken it with her when she went to find Yurika and she had never given it back.
Tay shrugged. “I don’t know. When I got back here, it left my pocket. I just assumed you had called it to you.” I scratched my head. I didn’t understand. Tailya’s wand was part of it also, so I couldn’t figure out why it always returned to only me. I didn’t want it. I was beginning to feel a little wigged out by its attachment to me, so I shoved it into Tay’s hands. “Here, you take it since you obviously know more about this magic stuff than I do. I think it’s better if you hold onto it.”
Tailya nodded. She took the wand, turned toward Starbeam, raised her hand and gently tapped his head. “What the…”
Anna’s eyes went wide. She thought there always had to be a chant, a spell, something. But Tay didn’t even have to speak. Starbeam changed back to the handsome boy she had trouble keeping her eyes off of. A giant grin formed across Anna’s face. She was staring at Starbeam running his fingers through is beautiful blonde hair. A fluttering feeling rose in her stomach. It left as fast as it came. Tailya caught her staring and shoved her in the shoulder. “Anna, snap out of it! He’s my brother, remember?”
Tay scowled and Anna came back to reality. “Sorry,” she said. Tailya’s stomach dropped when she looked at her brother. “Yuck, I can’t believe I made googly eyes at you.” Starbeam busted out laughing and Tailya glared at him. “Looks like there’s only enough of me for Anna,” he said, while winking at her.
Tay shoved her brother. “No, she’s over you and don’t you ever tell a soul about this,” she said pointing her wand dead in his eyes. Starbeam cowered down a little. He pushed her hand down calmly. “Ok, sis. I promise no one will ever find out.” He paused for a moment. “No one will ever find out that you think your brother’s hot.”
Starbeam started to snicker again and Tailya popped him in the back of the head. His pride left him quickly. He shook off the anger that was trying to build up and focused back on the task at hand. “Ok, now that I have both of your attention, we still need to complete this plan.” Tailya was eager to get this over with. She wanted to be able to remember everything about her life again.
She found out Starbeam was her brother, but she still only saw him as her unicorn friend whom she had changed into a human. Tailya’s mind was all jumbled. She wanted to learn everything, but at the same time, she was also scared that she’d be a stranger to her family. Tay couldn’t control all the thoughts racing through her mind.
“What if they don’t recognize me? What if mom is dead? What if dad is stuck as an ogre forever? What if we never get back home?”
CHAPTER 29
They were all gearing up for the fight of their lives. “Stop!” Tay shouted. “We are all going to make it out, so stop your pacing.” Tay crossed her arms. “You two are making me nervous. I can’t think.” Tailya felt like she came up with a good plan. She walked over to Anna and Starbeam.
“Ok, I finally have it!” Tailya stared deep into Anna’s eyes. “I am going to make Starbeam and myself invisible.” Annalise’s mouth dropped open. “How do you suppose you’re going to manage that?” Tay grabbed for the woven wand. “With this, of course. I’ll show you. It’s really simple. I don’t know why I didn’t use it earlier. I guess fear took over and it made me forget.” Tailya raised her hand and pointed toward Starbeam. “Krymmeno se katharo vlemma.”
Starbeam slowly faded and before I could blink, he vanished. “Starbeam! Starbeam? Are you ok?” Starbeam chuckled. “I’m fine Anna. Whoa…this is incredible, Tailya.” Tay smiled wide at Anna. Turning the wand onto herself, she gave Anna a quick wink. “My turn!” Tay left my sight and I suddenly felt all alone. Not being able to see my friends’ faces made my stomach turn. I felt like I was heading to face the evil witch all by myself.
I jumped when Tay and Starbeam touched my shoulders. “Come on now, you two. Warn me before you do that.” Tailya and Starbeam burst into laughter, and my skin burned. “I can’t believe you two think this is funny. I can’t see either of you and I…I…” My mouth tried to force out the words to my friends that I felt alone and hearing them laugh at me created a fire in my belly. I caught myself becoming tetchy, so
I bit my tongue in order to keep from saying something offensive.
I took a hard swallow, forcing them back in. There was no time for feelings to get in the way. We all had a job to do, and I wasn’t going to be a scaredy cat about it. They both took deep breaths as they grabbed my hands and clasped their fingers through mine.
“Ready Anna?” I locked fingers through theirs and took my own deep inhale. “Ready.” Tay squeezed my right hand. “Remember, you are supposed to keep her busy with dark magic questions while we rescue our father and try to find a way to destroy her.” I couldn’t see Tailya, but I nodded my head in agreement anyway. I gripped both their hands and pulled them close to me.
After leaving the tower, I felt a chill rush through my body and then something spoke to me. “Don’t go through with it, Annalise.” I froze. “Did you guys hear
that?” We were in the meadow, not too far from Fawn’s hut. Both appeared before me on each side, still gripping my hands.
Starbeam’s eyes widened. “Hear what, Anna?” he asked. “Yeah, I didn’t hear anything either,” Tay said. Tailya proceeded to tell me it was my ears playing tricks on me because I was scared. But then I heard it again.
“Annalise, my child, turn back…turn back.” I gasped. “There it is again! Did you hear it?” I screeched. Starbeam and Tailya looked worried. They couldn’t comprehend the fact that I could really hear a voice talking to me.
We came to the end of the field and just when I thought the voice had left me, it spoke to me again. “You have been warned, my child.”
Crossing through the trees, I started to meditate on those last words. What did they mean? Were we going to die? My hands started to sweat as I pondered on the horrific possibility. Hair rose up on my arms and the back of my neck as my eyes viewed the place I might never escape.
Both of my friends let go of me at the same time. “Remember what I said, Anna. She mustn’t become skeptical,” Tay whispered. Starbeam leaned into my ear. “Here we go. You can do this, Anna.” His words were encouraging, but I was still dreading our mission.
Tailya and Starbeam stepped up to the door. “Ok, I’m going to slowly open the door while you knock. Starbeam and I will sneak in without our footsteps being heard.” “Stealthily Tay, I like it,” Starbeam whispered.
When I saw Tay turn the doorknob, I knew that was my cue. Right when they slid through, I knocked. Fawn appeared in a white light before my eyes. “Hello, Annalise. What brings you here, dear girl?” Her smile warmed my insides. “Dear girl, I know what’s troubling you.” I had forgotten Fawn could read minds. “Focus!” I shouted in my head.
“Focus on what, dear child?” Fawn answering my thought brought me back to what I was supposed to be doing. I looked down at my feet and twiddled my fingers. “I’m just not understanding some of these spells Tailya is trying to teach me,” I whined, hoping it would be enough to throw her off from reading my mind.
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