I hold my breath as the chaos residues dive forward. Gisella steps up next to me with her blade hands held out. Vicky’s sword appears on my other side, the tip pointing down as the shreds of mist slither closer. I should’ve put something in the spell about keeping us safe.
As I conjure a lightning bolt, the cube rises farther and farther up, lifted by the flames. The chaos residues form into balls and launch themselves at the gap. I’m about to throw my first bolt when one of the creatures hits an invisible barrier.
I lower my hand. “They can’t reach us.”
Everyone relaxes again, and we watch in silence as the cube rises above our heads and starts to move away from us.
It grows to encompass all of the residues. I wait for the flames to lower it over them, but the cube keeps growing. Soon, it stretches so far I can’t see the back wall anymore. When it finally moves down, we’re standing in the only uncovered space. The cube has locked in everything around us.
The flames die, and the residues snake around us, hitting the glass on each side over and over. Eventually, they give up and slither out of sight.
“That didn’t go as planned,” I say when no one speaks.
“Maybe because you didn’t make a new circle,” Charlie offers.
I look down at the herbs. “Maybe. Or I should’ve been more specific.”
Gisella cracks her knuckles. “It doesn’t matter.” She points at the bland sky above us. “We’re no longer trapped. I’ll jump onto the glass ceiling and pull you up.”
I frown. “Are you sure? That’s pretty high. How will you reach us?”
Vicky’s hand slips into her endless pocket and she holds up a rope. “With this?”
Gisella nods approvingly and takes it from her. She wraps it around her waist and breaks into a run. After only a couple of paces, she leaps, hitting the glass and climbing the wall as if it’s not vertical.
We all cheer for her until she reaches the top. There, her head hits an unseen barrier. She cries out in pain and falls down.
She lands on her feet but falls onto her knees, cradling her head. We all hurry over. Charlie is the first to reach her. He lifts her head and forces her to look at him. “Are you okay? How many fingers am I holding up?”
“Three.”
“Can you move everything?”
She gently moves her head to both sides, then wriggles her shoulders. “Yes, but it hurts.”
I crouch down next to her. “Of course it hurts. You hit your head hard there.”
She leans against Charlie’s shoulder and rubs the top of her head. “I think this world ends there. We can’t get on top of the cube’s ceiling.”
Vicky takes her sword out again and holds it up. “Then we dig.”
She lifts the weapon and brings it down with force. It bounces off, sending a ripple through Vicky’s arms. She lets go with a pained cry and rubs her arms. “Ouch.”
While I step up to her to see if she’s okay, Jeep takes off his hat and throws it at the ceiling. It bounces off and returns to his hands. The glass is his next target, but there’s no getting through that either.
I screwed it up. Now we’re really stuck.
But I can’t think like that. We’ve been in difficult situations before. And we’ve been trapped in strange worlds before too. We always find a way out.
I let go of Vicky and gesture at the circle. “I’ll do another spell.”
Vicky shakes her head. “We barely have any ingredients left. And what if we really get into trouble? What if something attacks us here?” She gestures at the chaos residues that come circling back.
With a shrug, I shake her objections off. “What we have will have to do. And if we’re attacked, we’ll use our powers, like we always do.”
She doesn’t look convinced, but she starts to dig into her pocket anyway. “I’m not sure…” She pauses, her gaze locked on something behind me. “What is that?”
All eyes turn to the figure that makes its way through the giant cube, passing the residues without even glancing at them.
“Looks like a boy,” Vicky says.
Kessley sucks in air abruptly. “It’s Taylar!”
I recoil. “What? No way.”
The ghost in the leopard skin dress places a hand over her mouth in horror. “It is him. But something is wrong.”
I clench my fists. “Something must be wrong if he can walk past those creatures without getting hurt.”
Jeep strokes the rim of his hat. “Remember what happened in the Shadow World, when we were all in there?”
“When Taylar’s copy tried to trick us?” I ask. “You think this is something similar?”
“I’m not sure.”
Kessley uneasily shifts her weight from one foot to the other and back. “Maybe it’s his brother.”
“Lleyton? I don’t think so.”
“Why not? People come back as ghosts all the time. Look at us.”
“No, it is Taylar,” Maël interrupts. “He has the same hair, the same clothes and even the same walk.”
“But his eyes and his skin…” Kessley turns away from the glass. “I can’t look at it.”
I find it difficult myself, but I want to know what he’s going to do.
The closer he gets, the clearer it is to me that this is indeed Taylar. Maël is right, he looks exactly like him. Sure, this could be a copy sent here to torture us, but with all the luck we’ve had recently, I was expecting a setback. Taylar gave in to his hatred toward the gravity pixie in Shelton Banks’ house. We all saw him turn evil. He seemed okay after that, but deep inside, I knew the darkness never really left him. It was only a matter of time before his dark side would show up again. I was hoping for better timing though.
Taylar comes to a halt inches from the glass that separates us. From up close, I can see the evil swirling around his irises. His skin has that unnatural gray shade again, and his mouth is a thin line.
He raises his hands and bangs on the glass. Kessley backs up with a soft yelp while Vicky only moves closer. For a moment, she and Taylar stare at each other, unmoving.
“There’s so much anger inside him,” Vicky whispers after a deafening silence.
“Do you think he’s working with the Horsemen?” Kessley asks, her voice barely audible. “Is that why he stayed behind?”
My heart almost breaks at the sadness in her voice. But there’s no time to comfort her. Taylar will make his move any second now.
CHAPTER 12
Taylar shows us a wide grin that makes my skin crawl, but still, I don’t move. If he has truly turned against us, he won’t be able to get through the glass. My spell made sure of that.
Taylar takes a burlap sack from his trouser pocket and shakes the contents into his hand.
“Are those…?” Charlie starts, but he doesn’t finish his question, because the answer is clear when Taylar throws a handful of sparks against the glass. The tiny lights form a rectangle. They burn even brighter than they already did, and I shield my eyes with my arm. When the light dies down, there’s a large hole in the glass. Taylar steps through, and the sparks close the hole again before disappearing.
As soon as Taylar sets one foot outside the giant cube, he starts to sway.
Instinctively, I reach out to catch him, but Vicky stops me. “Wait.”
Taylar places his hand against the glass for support and takes a couple of deep breaths. When he opens his eyes again, the swirling darkness inside them is gone. His skin slowly returns to its normal shade of see-through white. Color seeps back into his clothes.
He straightens up and shakes his upper body, as if to get rid of something that clings to him.
“That was intense,” he says. Then he smiles his normal smile, sincere but with a hint of sadness. “It’s good to see you all. I’m glad you’re─” His voice falters when he catches sight of D’Maeo. In a blur, he moves over to him and flings his arms around the old ghost’s neck. “You’r
e back!”
The surprise on D’Maeo’s face is replaced by tenderness when he holds Taylar close to him.
“It’s good to see you, Taylar,” he says. He pushes him away gently and holds him at arm’s length. “Are you okay?”
The young, white-haired ghost nods. “I’m fine now. I’m not sure what happened when I got here, but it got me past those mist creatures.”
“Chaos residues,” I explain.
“Really?” Taylar shakes his head as he stares at the swirling shreds outside. “I guess I got lucky.”
I wouldn’t call turning evil lucky, but I’m grateful that he’s okay.
“How did you get here? And what is the plan now?” I ask while Taylar and Kessley hold each other tightly.
Jeep mumbles something about keeping it short, and Taylar agrees. “I managed to hold on to a branch when the Black Horseman activated his trap. I called for Quinn when I was pulled back to Darkwood Manor. While Quinn searched for clues about your whereabouts, Mona and I came up with a plan. Quinn came back to tell us where you were, and Mona’s sparks brought me here.” He digs up another burlap sack from his pocket and holds it up. “I brought a bag full of sparks from Mona and her friends. They should be able to get us out of here, but Mona stayed behind in case it doesn’t work.”
“Sounds great,” Jeep says, louder this time. “Let’s give it a try.”
Taylar beckons us. “We need to stay close together and think about Darkwood Manor. Try to imagine traveling there, picture it in your head. Hold up your thumb when you’ve got it. I’ll count down from three when everyone is ready.”
I smile, content about the ease with which he takes the lead.
After a last look at the world around me, I close my eyes and picture Darkwood Manor.
The image of the old mansion pops into my head immediately: the three steps to the double front door, the large windows of the annex, the dark roof with the small windows, all covered in dirt. The blistering white paint I still need to fix. And then I’m in the kitchen, sitting at the table. The eleven chairs around me are empty, but when I concentrate, my friends appear in their seats one after the other.
I hold up my thumb and hold on to the image of the kitchen. I see Mona making breakfast while her sparks move plates and cutlery from the kitchen counter to the table. Through the window in the back door, I can see the protective circle. Behind that, more pine trees than I can count.
“Three, two, one.”
Something warm tickles my cheeks and neck. I’m lifted from the ground and hold out my arm to find Vicky’s hand. It’s not there, and when I open my eyes, she’s looking up at me. Gisella lands next to her. In front of me, Maël is floating, but the pink sparks that support her are losing their glow fast. The green ones that hold on to me are crawling across my arms like rabid ants. With every second, they grow more restless. Maël is already back on the ground when the green sparks start to lower me.
“It’s not working,” Jeep says with a sigh. “Something is blocking them.” He takes off his hat and watches with regret as the last of his red sparks extinguish.
As soon as they set me down, my green sparks vanish into thin air too.
Taylar peers into the burlap sack and shakes his head. “That was all I had.”
I straighten my back. “It’s fine. I can cast another spell.”
“What kind?” Vicky inquires.
“Our best option is to open a portal to Earth, I suppose.”
She lowers herself onto the ground. “I have no ingredients left for that.”
“What do you have then?”
She pulls out some thyme, a bunch of candles, an incense stick and a bottle of salt.
“That’s it?” I ask when she looks up at me.
She nods solemnly.
“That’s not enough to cast any kind of spell.”
“I know.” She sounds defeated, but I refuse to give up. We’ve come this far already. And if Taylar was able to join us, it means that there is a doorway somewhere.
I turn to the young ghost. “You said Mona stayed behind in case this didn’t work. Is there a back-up plan?”
He avoids my gaze. “There is… but if we execute it, even more lives will be at stake.”
“What lives?”
He twists a green ring around his finger. “The lives of Mona’s friends and their protégées.”
My heartrate speeds up. “You mean the fairy godmothers that helped us before?”
“Yes. We can summon them here with the rings they gave us.”
We all look at the rings around our fingers. The rings the fairy godmothers gave to us when they created our disguises to make sure Trevor and the Devil’s other helpers wouldn’t know we were still trying to stop them.
“If we call them to us, they might be trapped in here too,” Maël states the obvious.
I turn my attention back to Taylar. “How certain was Mona about them being able to transport us back?”
He tilts his head. “Pretty certain.”
D’Maeo rubs his beard. “You know, without a spell, it might be impossible to get out of here. Meanwhile, Satan is closing in on the next soul, if he hasn’t got her already. We might risk the lives of the fairy godmothers by bringing them here, but if we get stuck here, all lives on Earth will be lost.”
I press my temples hard, as if that will force out the right choice. Is there really no other way to get home? “What if we call the Black Horseman, capture him and force him to take us home?”
Vicky snorts. “Capture the Horseman in a world he controls? I believe in our strength, babe, but that does not sound like a good plan.”
I drop down next to Vicky and bury my head in my hands. “I know! But how can I risk the lives of seven fairy godmothers? If they die, I will never forgive myself.”
Maël squats down beside me and pulls my hands away from my face. “Listen to me. I know all about hard choices and regrets. The important thing is to remember that you can never control the actions of other people. Some will try to hurt us; some will try to help. We cannot stop either of those. If an offer of aid falls into your lap, it is wise not to decline it. Not many people have the courage to stand by the chosen one. The ones that do, understand the risks.”
I stare at her for a while. She smiles at me, and finally, I manage to smile back. “Well, if you put it like that…”
She holds out her hand, and when I take it, she helps me up.
“Okay, everyone,” I say. “I hope you all still have the ring your temporary fairy godmother gave to you?”
Everyone except Jeep and Kessley raises their hands, where the faded rings start to shine again.
Charlie frowns at his. “I forgot I was wearing it.”
“Me too,” I say. I focus on Taylar. “Now, you’re sure they want to help?”
“Positive.”
Charlie is still looking at his ring, which is blue. “I thought we only got these for the duration of the disguise spell?”
I hold up my hand to study mine. “True. But we never gave them back. They must still work.”
D’Maeo gives his yellow ring a longing look. I can guess what he is thinking. If we summon the fairy godmothers, he’ll finally see Mona again. It hasn’t been that long since he saw her, but it sure feels like it, and I can sympathize with his longing. I can’t imagine spending even one day without Vicky, let alone getting sucked into a box and fighting for my life for days on end, not knowing whether you’re going to see the love of your life ever again. Or the love of your afterlife, in his case.
“How did it work again?” Charlie asks, interrupting my thoughts.
“Turn the upper part of the ring left three times and right two times,” D’Maeo says without hesitation.
I lift my other hand and grab the upper part of the ring between my thumb and my index finger. “Okay, on one. Three, two… one.”
We all turn at the same time. The ring heats up under
my touch, and hope flows through my veins.
All around us, sparks in different colors appear. The residues approach curiously, restlessly moving as if they know something special is about to happen.
As if on cue, the sparks turn into beautiful women. They look like supermodels, but older and with normal weight. My heart jumps. The fairy godmothers answered our calls.
CHAPTER 14
While we all hug our fairy godmothers, Mona falls into D’Maeo’s arms with a sob. “When the box disappeared, I hoped it meant you had escaped. I was so afraid to lose you.”
He smothers her tears with kisses. They lose themselves in each other for so long that I turn away and introduce Jeep and Kessley to the other fairy godmothers.
When everyone is up to speed, I thank them for coming.
“Of course!” they say in unison.
Flora, the one whose ring I’m wearing, shrugs. “We were born to protect, so that’s what we’re here to do.”
“But not to protect us,” I object. “You all have your own protégées to take care of. We can’t ask you to protect us too.”
“Sure you can,” Bella and Donna say in unison.
“You just did,” Hanna adds with a wink. She spreads her hands. “And we came.”
“You’re actually our last hope,” Kessley confesses. “Dante cast a spell to get us out of the cube, but we’re still stuck, and we’re out of ingredients for more spells.”
Mona finally lets go of D’Maeo and squeezes my shoulder. “You did the right thing. Don’t worry, we’ll get everyone out of here.”
I gesture at the emptiness around us. “Do you have any idea where we are?”
Mona nods. “This is a corner of what is known as The Nothing.”
“Very appropriate,” Jeep mumbles.
Mona points at the chaos residues floating in and out of sight. “It is a world where nothing grows or lives. No sky, no ground, except for a thin layer you can move on. This whole world is empty. Or it was, until someone decided to use it as a place to hold creatures they can’t control. Entities that can be used as distractions, for instance.”
The Seventh Crow Page 7