by Katie Cherry
The door opens moments later and Zarafa walks in. “What are you doing? Nathan should be here any minute! Get in that cupboard!”
Bryce doesn’t move. “He already came and left, Zarafa,” he sighs.
“Wait… what?” she repeats, startled. “Seriously? I didn’t even notice him?”
“Neither did I,” he murmurs, standing and turning towards her. “How is that even possible?”
“I have no idea,” she admits, shock still evident on her face. Her perfect red lips dip into a frown. “There’s no way he could put up a cloaking spell around himself and kept it up so completely while he was walking around and talking with you… I am assuming you did talk to him?”
“Yeah… not much,” he admits. “He seemed pretty intent to get out of here before you caught us or anything.”
“Does he trust you again, then?” she inquires.
He sighs and shakes his head. “I don’t think so. He ‘saved’ me, then quickly left. He may trust me again, given time.”
Zarafa groans. “Time is the one thing you don’t have! You’re leaving tomorrow to join Patrick in Zilferia!”
<<
“Don’t worry, Nathan,” Angela consoles. “Auna can easily get into Zilferia- and Patrick’s castle- undetected. She can talk to Crystal.”
“That’s not what I’m worried about,” Nathan sighs, watching as his house comes into view. His parents should have left for work by now, so only Grandma Beryl should be in the house. He and Angela decided that that’s where they would hide out until the Dragon Hunter dilemma had been taken care of. “I’m worried that Crystal will be… well…”
“They shouldn’t be doing much to her,” Angela says as she tries to comfort him, parking the car on the street beside Nathan’s house. “They already took her dragon part and her Gifts, right? What else would they be doing to her?”
Nathan shakes his head. “I don’t dare imagine. Knowing what Patrick has already done… who’s to say he won’t do worse?”
“I’m sure she’s fine,” she smiles comfortingly at him. “Either way, we’ll know for sure how she is when Auna gets back. Just try and relax for now, alright?”
“…Right,” he sighs, smiling back at her. “Thanks.”
“It’s what I’m here for,” she laughs before opening the car door and stepping out. Nathan follows suit, then leads the way up to his front door. The door opens before he can even reach out a hand to it.
“Nathan!” Beryl gasps in relief. “You’re back!”
“Yeah, I’m back,” he smiles.
“How did it go?” she inquires, waving them both into the house.
“Fine… extremely well, actually. I was in and out pretty fast.”
“They didn’t notice you?”
“Nope… I got Bryce out really quickly, then just left him…” he sighs as he sits down on the couch. “I told him I don’t trust him yet.”
“Why is that a bad thing? You don’t trust him!” Beryl exclaims.
Angela sits beside Nathan on the couch. “Because he needs to have an excuse to be over there tomorrow when the portal to Zilferia appears.”
“I see… that could complicate things, then,” Beryl contemplates.
“It doesn’t matter,” Nathan growls, standing. “I will save her. I’ll find a way. I will always find a way.”
Beryl smiles at him. “I’m sure you will, sweetheart. Just promise me you’ll be careful.”
“I’ll take care of him,” Angela promises, steely determination in her eyes.
Beryl smiles at her. “Thank you, dear,” she says before sighing and standing. “Keep me updated, please.”
“I will, grandma,” Nathan says.
“We’re about to send Auna to check in on Crystal,” Angela offers.
“Oh, good. Tell me how that goes.”
“We will,” she smiles.
After Beryl walks off, Nathan turns to Angela. “Where is Auna?”
“She’s coming,” she promises, closing her eyes. “Auna, it’s time.”
“I’m on my way.”
“When will she…” Auna’s appearance cuts off his question. “Never mind.”
“Traveling down the street takes almost no effort, nor much time,” Auna laughs. “Now then, you wish for me to check on Crystal?”
“Yes. She’s in Patrick’s castle,” he says. She nods and vanishes. He turns to Angela. “That’s it?”
“Yes… but it will take her a while to get back. Come on, let’s go do something fun before your parents come home,” she smiles.
<<
“Oh, stop sulking,” Zarafa sighs. “That chicken is just going to get cold,” she adds, taking another bite of her own.
Bryce leans back, setting down his knife. He wipes his face wearily with his hand. “Zarafa…” She frowns and sets her fork down. “…What are we going to do now? We don’t have long.”
“Less than twenty-four hours, to be exact,” she sighs. Bryce glances at the clock. It’s true, Patrick said the portal would be placed by the back door at exactly four o’clock and would only remain open for five minutes. “So what’s your plan?”
“That’s what I was going to ask you,” he groans.
“You won’t like my idea,” Zarafa warns. “There are many things we could do, but very few that actually stand a chance at persuading Nathan that you are on his side. I can only think of one thing that’s likely to have a very great effect on the boy…”
Bryce sighs in resignation. “Fine, we’ll do it.”
Zarafa arches an eyebrow in surprise. “Really? But I thought…”
“It’s our last resort,” he says, looking up at her. She’s shocked by the deep fear in his eyes. “I have to do it. I’ve got no other options, and we both know what would happen should Patrick discover that I failed him. Again.”
<<
Nathan fidgets. “Why isn’t Auna back yet? She left hours ago!”
Angela smiles patiently at him and reaches out for his hand, pulling him down beside her on the bed. “When fairiye jump through realms, time passes differently for them. For Auna, it’s probably only been ten minutes or so since she arrived in Zilferia. She should be back soon. I bet she’s on her way right now,” she explains.
Nathan relaxes a little and smiles warmly at her. “Oh, what would I do without you?” he asks.
She grins back. “Probably find some other way to rescue Crystal yourself.”
“I don’t know if I could do it alone,” he sighs.
“I’m sure you could,” she assures him. “You’re amazing. Besides, the only thing I’m doing is keeping you from going crazy with worry,” she laughs.
“No, that’s not true,” Nathan insists, turning towards her and taking both of her hands in his. “You are amazing and very helpful. You found out about Crystal being in trouble in the first place, you helped confirm who’s on whose side here, you and Auna helped me find Greg… I really don’t know what I would do without you. …I love you.”
“I love you too,” she whispers, leaning in and softly kissing him. After a few moments, their kiss grows more demanding. She kisses him harder, pushing her right hand up into his hair and teasing the soft strands between her fingers. She feels him slip his hand onto her waist before sliding it onto the small of her back, pulling her closer to him.
“Okay, seriously, Angela? What do you think you’re doing? And Nathan- you should be focusing on saving Crystal!”
Angela pulls away from Nathan with a gasp, blushing. “Auna… you’re back.” The fairiye hovers in the air before the two of them, her tiny hands on her hips.
“Auna! I… um…” Nathan clears his throat, his face red for the first time that Angela had seen. “Uh… so, um, what news on Crystal? Is she okay?”
“Not really,” Auna sighs, letting her arms hang at her sides.
Nathan jumps up, worry and panic flashing onto his face. “What? What do you mean? What are they doing to her?!”
Angela pales.
Nathan’s frantic eyes dart between the two, anxious for an explanation. Angela draws a trembling breath and turns to face him. “I’m so sorry,” she starts. He stares hard at her face, waiting with bated breath to hear the news. “…Crystal’s brother Hunter… he’s using some form of mind control on her. He took away her memories and told her… well, he told her that she joined them willingly. She has no other memories, so she believes them. …They have her… not only physically, but also… also mentally,” she breathes, watching him carefully for his reaction.
His face is hard as stone. “Nathan…” she gently probes, unsure of what’s going through his mind.
He doesn’t reply. Walking over to where Greg had been sleeping for the past couple of hours and scooping him up, he grabs his backpack and heads to the door. “Whoa, wait!” Angela calls, scrambling to her feet. “Where are you going?”
“To talk to T,” he shortly says, opening his bedroom door.
“What… why?” she asks, feeling lost and confused.
“He restored your memories,” he explains as he leads the way down the stairs. “Maybe he can do the same for hers.”
His grandma looks up from her book as they walk past the couch she’s sitting on. “Nathan? What’s going on?” She glances up at Auna.
“I’m going to go see if T can get me something to help rescue Crystal,” he says as he opens the front door. “I’ll be back soon. Tell mom and dad that Angela and I are practicing tennis or something.”
“Don’t worry, Beryl, I’ll take care of him,” Angela promises, pausing at the door.
She smiles kindly at her. “Thank you, dear. He needs someone like you.”
“…Thank you,” she responds, touched.
“Now go,” she laughs, waving her out the door. She quickly catches up to Nathan, who’s waiting for her on the sidewalk.
“Lead the way,” he says.
“Hmm… wh- what? What’s going on?” Greg mutters sleepily as he yawns and stretches, poking his head out of the pocket of Nathan’s sweatshirt. Nathan quickly fills him in as they walk. “Are you sure this will work?” the Familiar questions. “It’s not even close to what happened to Angela. It’s not because of some herb- this is because of a Gift- possibly even two. It may not even be reversible,” he warns.
“I know,” Nathan acknowledges, walking faster. “But it’s worth a shot. I will…”
“Save her. Yeah, we got it,” Angela interrupts with a sigh.
Nathan stops and spins to face her. “Alright, what is it?” he asks. “What’s wrong? Are you mad at me?” he questions, looking her seriously in the eye.
“No,” she frowns. “I’m not… mad at you.”
“Then what? What is it?” Angela shakes her head and continues walking. Nathan grabs her hand, stopping her. “Angela. Tell me what’s wrong.”
She lowers her gaze and lets out her breath in an annoyed huff. “It’s just… you’re obsessed! You go on and on about how you will save her, whatever the risks… and I… I just…”
“Just what?”
She shrugs and looks at him again. “I guess I… well, I get a little jealous.”
He frowns, looking genuinely confused. “But… why? I love you!”
“Yeah, you keep saying that,” she mutters, glaring at the ground sorrowfully.
“Hey. Angela.” His hands cup her face, lifting her chin until their eyes meet. “I do love you. Crystal is my friend, and she’s saved my life dozens of times. I can’t just stand by and do nothing when she’s in Patrick’s clutches. Hey, look at me!” he pleads as she starts to turn away. “Don’t you think for a second that I wouldn’t do the same for you.”
“Really?” she whispers, lifting her gaze as a tear falls from her eye.
He smiles gently at her. “Of course.”
She softly kisses him. “…Thank you.” Then, throwing back her hair, she smiles at him. “Well then. Let’s go see if T can help.”
******
Nathan knocks on the door of the bus, then turns to Angela. “T seriously lives in the bus?”
“Well… it’s not exactly a normal bus,” she smiles. “It holds many secrets… I don’t think even T knows them all. What I do know is that it can, like Auna, travel through the realms. There is also a magical door in the back that leads to a room that… changes.”
“…Changes?” Nathan questions.
“Yes… I’m not really sure how it works,” she admits. “Just another one of his secrets, I suppose.”
“Indeed, it is,” T says, opening the door for them. “I have more secrets than you youngsters can ever imagine,” he chuckles, waving them inside.
To Nathan, the inside of the bus looked completely ordinary- right down to the heart with A+J 4ever in it carved into the back of one of the seats. “…Wait a second!” he exclaims, turning to T. “You drive a magical bus to school? With a bunch of teenagers on it?! Aren’t you worried that someone would eventually find your ‘magic door’ and open it?”
The bus driver laughs. “Tell me, Nathan, even with your experience with magic on Zilferia, can you find the door?”
Nathan frowns. “…What?”
“Go ahead,” he says, waving towards the back of the bus. “Try and find it.”
Nathan turns with an exasperated sigh. There’s no door in sight. Walking along the aisle between the rows of seats, he peers at the walls, the floor, the ceiling, even under and between the seats. Finally, he turns and walks back to T and Angela. “There’s no door,” he declares.
T grins and winks at him. “Look again.”
When Nathan turns around, he’s shocked to find not only one door, but many different doors around the circumference of the bus. One door, larger and more splendid than the rest, stands in the center, touching nothing but the floor. Although it was made of what appeared to be plain, black wood, the door seemed to call to Nathan. Angela comes up behind him, also seemingly drawn to the magical door.
“How…” Nathan lets his question hang unfinished as he reaches his hand out to the door. Rather than grasp the shining golden doorknob, he trails his fingers along the smooth wood as he slowly walks around it. Angela follows him, her eyes dazed as well. T watches them carefully as they return from behind the door. “How…” Nathan can’t seem to complete his sentence, but his eyes convey his confusion as he stares at the mysterious bus driver.
“How else?” he smiles in response. “Magic.”
“…The door’s magic, or yours?”
“Or the bus’s?” Angela adds.
T’s grin widens. “I always knew you two were smart for your age. Very perceptive. …The door’s magic is actually the main source of the bus’s power, and I happen to have… a link to the door.”
“So… it’s the magic of all three?” Angela questions.
“Something like that,” he smiles, clapping his hands together. The doors promptly disappear. “Now then. To what do I owe the pleasure?”
Nathan snaps out of his stupor. “It… It’s Crystal,” he swallows.
T’s face loses its former lightheartedness. “What has befallen the Princess?”
“Hunter kidnapped her,” Angela gravely informs him, her gaze flicking over to Nathan. “…He used his new mindreading and ‘befriending animals’ Gifts to control Crystal… he wiped her memories-”
“Suppressed them,” Auna corrects.
“Suppressed her memories,” Angela corrects with a quick glare at the fairiye. “And replaced them. She thinks she willingly joined the Dragon Hunters.” T’s frown deepens and worry lines crease his forehead. “…We were hoping you had something that could help her,” Nathan adds.
T doesn’t respond at first, frowning and lost in thought. After a few minutes, he nods thoughtfully. “Gifts are tough to deal with… but I just might have the thing to help lift the f
og in Crystal’s mind.”
The relief that floods Nathan’s face causes a pang of envy to enter Angela’s heart once more. “Really?! Oh, T, you’re a life saver!!”
He chuckles. “Don’t thank me just yet. Thank me once we know it will work- and that you will be able to get it to her.”
“I can get it to her,” Nathan pledges. “…So, what is it?”
He smiles. “I need to make it, first. As well as make sure I have all the ingredients.”
“You make it sound like you’re cooking,” Nathan laughs.
“I am,” he winks. “Now then, I’ll just keep Auna here with me and send her with it when it’s done. Alright?”
“Alright, that’s fine,” Angela says, waving for Nathan to follow her off the bus.
“Thanks again,” he says to T as he passes him. “You don’t know how much this means to me.”
“Oh, I think I do,” he murmurs, a far-away look in his eyes.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Planning
“Thaddeus!” The call thunders through the Village as the King storms up to his castle. “Thaddeus!” He calls again, ripping his door open with his right hand. His left he holds tightly to his chest as it throbs in pain. He resists looking down at it. The white-hot pain emanating from it tells him it’s broken. He doesn’t need his eyes to support the fact.
Thaddeus races down the stairs. “Alexander! You’re alright!” He breathes a sigh of relief.
“Not exactly,” he grunts, gesturing to his injured arm. “Hunter’s blasted dragon broke my arm. I need you to fix it with magic.”
“Of course,” Thaddeus mutters, holding his hands over the arm, his eyes closed. Alexander takes deep breaths to keep from crying out as the pain intensifies, then fades away at last.
Panting, he nods to Thaddeus. “Thank you.”
“Of course,” he replies wearily. “While you were gone…” he begins before he’s cut off by the king.
“Tell me in a moment,” he sighs. “First, I must warn you- I have ordered that all those in the outskirts of the Village must be relocated in the center. We will make fortifications and prepare ourselves for the war that has been thrust upon us.”