by Pepper North
Brushing the documents that covered that glowing stone, Indigo celebrated the light that helped chase away the gloom. As she lifted the final sheet, her finger touched the cold stone sending a shiver through her body. A new circle of light illuminated the darkness. Her indigo light had been triggered.
Chapter 19
Indigo held her breath, not sure whether illuminating the stone was good or bad. She ran back to the door and pressed her ear against it. Only muffled sounds echoed through the thick barrier. Childishly crossing her fingers that her Pappa would be okay, Indigo tried to think about what she could do.
Gathering her courage, she tried to open the door using the key of drawing Stretch against it. Nothing. There was no sign that the door would open from this side. Turning around, Indigo leaned against the barrier and tried to think. She needed to help Hagan. She hadn’t just found him to lose him.
A shimmer appeared in front of her. She recognized it from the signal that Hagan had explained was like a doorbell. The silvery lights asked permission to connect a portal into that living space. She rushed forward to touch the light, trying desperately to answer it.
Nothing. Indigo couldn’t open the portal. Smacking her hand against the shimmer in frustration, Indigo noticed that her fingers left a flare of brighter light. The magic that Hagan had given her. The twinkling lights were responding to his magic.
Working on a hunch, Indigo rose to her tiptoes and drew Stretch—head, neck, back, and tail! The portal opened, and Garrick stepped through with Violet. The enormous sorcerer took one look around the darkened library and knew something was wrong.
“I will go to help your Pappa. Stay safe together, droblins. More reinforcements will be coming. Violet, teach Indigo how to recognize the signature of who’s trying to connect. Only let our 13 sorcerers through once. You will not know it’s us the second time when we’re arriving without our droblins,” he ordered before disappearing back into the portal.
Almost immediately, shimmers began to appear everywhere. Violet stopped Indigo from answering all the requests to enter. “You were lucky that the first portal request was us. It could have been the forces working against us,” she lectured. “Look here in the corner. Do you see the twelve dots with nine different colors?” she quickly asked. “That’s safe. It’s Sienna’s Pappa. Her color is the brightest.”
Again, Indigo rose on her toes to draw the magical Stretch. Jedrek also assessed the situation quickly and added Sienna to the growing group of droblins. With a quick hug, Sienna stepped back to allow Indigo to work her magic.
They were all glad to see Violet and Sienna cheered as Amber was the next one added to the group. Indigo cheered as well when Amber revealed the magic Kai had given her. The fiery display projected by her fingertips created a larger circle of light for the droblins to huddle inside.
“I have got to convince Garrick to give me some magic,” Violet muttered, half in jealousy and half in relief at the magic that Amber and Indigo at been given.
Several shimmering portals tried to gain access to the library. Each time, the droblins searched for the light display. Just like the symbol on the lamp holders in the hallway, Indigo discovered that the lights could be anywhere. When they didn’t find it, the droblins marked the assumedly evil requests by having one of the young women stand vigil next to it to ban Indigo from opening it by mistake.
The sounds outside their sheltering room came to a crashing crescendo soon after all nine droblins had arrived inside the library. Indigo flew to the barrier to press her ear once again against the door. Only silence could be heard. Horrified, she turned to face the others. Those distinctive blue eyes were now awash with the tears that threatened.
Swarming forward, all the droblins wrapped their arms around each other. Each one frightened beyond comprehension that the sorcerers had all been eliminated. Quietly, they stood together. No one making a sound so they could hear any indication that hope survived.
A clicking sound came from the other side of the door. The barrier wiggled slightly but held strong. Someone or something was out there.
“I can feel my Pappa. He’s okay!” Indigo shared excitedly. Her hands pressed against her heart as she sensed emotions, not words, forming in her mind. There was no doubt that her Pappa had sent the message. She could feel him in the mental touch.
When the excited cheer triggered by her words died down, she muttered, “Do it backward? What does that mean?”
Looking around at the other droblins, she hoped someone would have an idea. The magical properties protecting the library appeared to have muffled their communication as well as dampening the sound coming between the two areas. Indigo tried to understand what her Pappa was suggesting she do to help open the entryway.
“Maybe you need to stand with your back to the door? You always make the gesture the same way. Maybe the door is only wired to respond if you start from the left, and the tail is to the right,” Primrose suggested.
With a bright smile, Indigo spun around and gave it a try. On the third attempt, the droblins all tried to reassure her. That wasn’t it. What were they missing?
“A door is made of the same material on each side. It doesn’t know if you’re inside or outside. The doorknob is still on the same side, just reversed depending on which way you are facing it,” Hazel quietly shared. She didn’t know if she was correct, but they needed to try everything.
“So, if I’m facing it on the opposite side, I need to draw Stretch the opposite way as well?” Indigo said slowly, trying to decide if she had followed Hazel’s train of thought correctly.
“Try it!” Violet clapped her hands with excitement. “That’s brilliant, Hazel,” she complimented.
Indigo quickly rose to her tiptoes. Instead of starting the head at the left and drawing the tail flourish at the right, she reversed the process. Moving from right to left, she concentrated on preserving the form of her giraffe stuffie. She dropped to her heels as she drew the tail.
Everyone held their breath as a low grumbly sound began to grow inside the entryway. The droblins pulled Indigo back away from the door as they waited to see what happened. A crack appeared down the left-hand side of the entryway. The door was opening!
Large fingertips squeezed into the opening, and with a grunt of effort, Hagan ripped the door away. He was the first one through the opening to lift his droblin into his arms. Soon, all the droblins were nestled in their Pappa’s arms as the sorcerers’ large forms filled the library.
“You were very brave, blueness. I’m not sure that you followed my directions completely,” he complimented and warned in the same breath.
“I wanted you to be safe, too,” she said in a rush before quickly changing the subject. “Why couldn’t you get the door open?”
“His big ass whacked magic dust all over the entrance sealing it in place when he flew into the door as it closed,” Merrick supplied the explanation that they had all decided on while standing around trying to figure out how to get the barrier open.
Giggling, all the droblins collapsed against their sorcerer’s chest or in Marigold’s case, sorcerers’ chests. Neither of her Pappas was letting her out of their sight as they huddled together.
“What happened to that dark thing?” Indigo reminded everyone of what had really caused this.
Brodric and Bryson looked smugly at each other. “We were able to contain and transfer it to a confinement cell far away from all droblins. Now, we’ll have even more of the evil magic behind these attacks to study and trace. With each step, we gain knowledge about the source.”
“How did the darkness get into your home, Hagan?” Sky asked.
“I don’t know. I suspect that it came here with Indigo. Perhaps in her nightshirt? We’ll have to warn the other sorcerers to create a welcoming room where the arriving droblin’s clothing is destroyed, and she is scanned for any magical hitchhikers,” Hagan answered, shaking his head.
“That won’t be scary!” Sienna sarcastically observ
ed.
The other droblins nodded their heads immediately. They remembered how frightened they had been when arriving. To be stripped and scanned by a stranger, before even meeting the one who was her fated mate, would be horrifying.
“Could you all combine magic together to create a welcoming space? The last three sorcerers could all take their turn, receiving their droblins in the secured space. The destruction and scanning could occur while they are there without the threat of allowing something into each sorcerer’s living space. The process could occur over time instead of wham, bam, thank you, ma’am,” Hazel suggested.
Each of the sorcerers looked at each other to nod. They had never combined their powers together like this. If each magic bearer supplied their own wards and magical talents, it would be multiplied by thirteen strong.
Scheduling a meeting for the next day, they planned to gather with the last remaining sorcerers waiting to receive their droblins. For now, they all needed to return to their holdings to celebrate surviving the latest attack. The evil was strengthening. It would take all of them to defeat it.
Chapter 20
Once all the visitors had returned to their own households, Hagan methodically began to restore order. Going room by room, his magic straightened and repaired furniture that had been damaged or overturned. He shielded his droblin from the sight of the worst of the battle.
Once Indigo was sealed safely in the library, he had not held back. Already he could feel his magic growing stronger now that his droblin had arrived and the bonding was complete. Much to his consternation, Hagan had not, however, been able to defeat the shadow on his own. Prior to the door opening, the sorcerers had needed to work together to defeat the dark shape.
The combined power of the group should have extinguished any threat with ease. They had all been surprised that the darkness had rebounded repeatedly after what should have been a mortal blow. Now, Hagan wished to know what it was. He’d have to wait until the twin sorcerers, Brodric and Bryson finished examining the thing that they had contained.
Each sorcerer had noted different magical signatures. Hagan’s theory was that a group of magic-users had contributed their powers. When one was defeated in the battle, another took his place. Many had lost their lives during the skirmish when their powers were drained. Their individual powers were easily defeated, but the combined almost endless supply of participants had almost triumphed.
Hagan knew that he would have been eliminated had it not been for Indigo touching the stone. That new glowing circle had notified each sorcerer that she had activated it. When their congratulatory message had met an utterly blank response, the sorcerers had investigated immediately.
When they finally made it to the nursery, Indigo tugged backward at his hand. “I don’t want to go in there, Pappa. Can’t I just stay with you in your big room?” she pleaded.
“Yes, blueness. I want you with me as well. You need a nursery, too,” he tried to explain. Judging by the stubborn look on her face, the young woman was not going to change her mind anytime soon. “Come here, Indigo.”
Picking her up in his arms, Hagan kissed her sweet lips. “I’m going to be right here with you. There’s nothing left in this room that can hurt you. We sent the nightshirt you arrived in here with Bryson and Brodric. Other than yourself, nothing else came from your world into ours. Can you be brave for your Pappa?” he carefully asked.
“I don’t want to,” she answered as her blue eyes filled with tears. “Can’t we go in tomorrow?” She clung to his chest, ducking her head under his jaw to hide.
“Tomorrow will be even harder,” he answered, rubbing her back to reassure Indigo. He waited patiently for her to make the right decision.
Finally after several seconds had drawn out in excruciating silence, Indigo relented. “If we have to go back in, I’ll go once. That’s all I’m going to promise,” she sulkily stated.
“Thank you.” Immediately, Hagan walked into the nursery. It looked the same that it always had. He set Indigo on her feet and held her hand for reassurance.
“I was so scared, Pappa,” she whispered as she looked around the beautiful room. “I was soundly asleep when I heard you yell. I woke up to see that thing attacking you or you attacking that thing.
Shaking her head as if trying to wipe that vision out of her head, she rushed to say “There was nothing that I could do to help. I knew I had to get away so you could fight without worrying about me. I even threw Stretch to distract him.”
Indigo wiped away the tears that were suddenly pouring from her eyes. Hagan watched the danger of all the events finally register completely on her. She could have been killed. All the droblins and their sorcerers could have lost their lives.
As fast as the tears had appeared, they stopped falling. Her face hardened, and he could see her face flush with anger. Dashing away the damp residue, Indigo met Hagan’s gaze. “We need to get these guys,” she condemned them with steel in her tone.
“We will defeat them-just as we have defeated them eight previous times,” Hagan assured her.
“Do you promise?” she asked. Her face was etched with seriousness.
Hagan walked over to pick up the remnants of Stretch. He had been torn apart by a blast lobbied by the dark figure. Holding it in his hands, Hagan pulled on some magical reserves to pull Stretch back together and to erase any residue of evil from the stuffie. He left one singed mark on his long neck, a testament to the plush’s resiliency.
Holding the toy out to Indigo, he watched her eyes scan the giraffe’s body. She reached out to take Stretch from him. Immediately, she hugged his soft body close to her chest and dropped a kiss on his head. Her hard expression softened slightly as she looked back up at him.
“I promise,” he pledged.
Chapter 21
Hagan kept a close eye on his droblin. Her emotions had jumped all over the place since the attack. It was hard for anyone to adjust to a totally different life and to the demands that a sorcerer had for his droblin. He was very proud of her.
He had also been very willing to reassure her when she’d woken up in the darkness after nightmares. Now, the scary dreams seemed to be fading, but they both still enjoyed his distraction methods. Overjoyed that their bond continued to strengthen, Hagan wanted her to also be happy.
Today, the droblins were coming to visit. Hagan had allowed Indigo to choose the games that they would play, but he required them to take place in her nursery. His droblin was still uncomfortable in that room, and he hoped that the droblins’ high energy and private girl talk would replace the negative memories.
Acting on a hunch, Hagan had moved the low table and all the cushions into the nursery. Recalling a fun afternoon from Indigo’s childhood, he had created something like the tea parties she had enjoyed with her stuffed animals. Feather boas draped over the table, waiting to be thrown around a droblin’s throat while floppy hats laid on the cushions, ready to be worn. He’d loved seeing her all dressed up for the tea party. He’d even tried to recreate the delicacy known as cookies and tea as his blueness described them.
The chattering voices of the droblins multiplied as they arrived. Each greeted Indigo as if she’d been part of their group from the beginning. In their minds, she had or at least her colored circle on all their stones had been there since Violet illuminated hers. The first eight and now nine were simply waiting for the final droblins to arrive.
With great pomp and circumstance, the sorcerers escorted Indigo and her new best friends down the hallway to reveal all the preparations. Squeals of delight echoed through the room as each young woman chose her seat, donning her hat and wrapping the boa around her neck. The volume in the room rose as the droblins admired each other.
“Darlings, you look marvelous!” Sienna complimented from her cushion.
Peals of laughter followed this observation, and each droblin tried to outdo each other with compliments. The sorcerers stood clustered in the room, trying to understand the chatter in the
room but failing miserably. It was as if they were speaking another language.
“A spot of tea?” offered Indigo politely as she filled everyone’s delicate teacup.
“Cookies? No way!” exclaimed Marigold with a grin. She helped herself to one and passed the plate along.
Silence fell over the droblins as they each took a giant bite and froze. After several seconds where it seemed that they were all trying not to look at each other, Indigo mumbled around the cookie in her mouth. “We’re good here,” and made a shooing motion with her hands.
Smiling, Hagan relaxed a bit more. It appeared that his droblin was beginning to enjoy her nursery again. He had hoped having a fun event in that space would erase the negative feelings that still lingered inside.
Turning, he led the sorcerers from the room with a “Come to my library. I have a new passage to show you. It mentions the Magic of Twelve.”
“Don’t eat too many cookies, droblins!” he warned as he followed the group down the hallway.
Chapter 22
“Blech!”
“Eww!”
“Yuck!”
Sounds of disgust echoed around the table as the droblins spit out their bite of cookie onto their plates.
“I didn’t think there was a cookie out there that I wouldn’t like,” Hazel said sadly.
“You’d never tried those,” Sky laughed, pointing at the plate of cookies in front of them.
“I tried to explain what a cookie tasted like,” Indigo tried to explain. “Hagan had seen me eat them before. But, of course, he’s never tried one. I think he tried to make it healthy as well.”
“That’s the healthiest cookie I’ve ever eaten. It tastes like dried grass,” Pearl chimed in.
“Worse. Like dried grass from a cow’s pasture,” Marigold laughed. “Not that I’ve ever tried that.”