by J E Mueller
Getting up, I walked over to it and gave it a tentative tug. There was no budging.
“Any thoughts?” I asked Estella who was hovering near me. I was only mildly surprised I couldn’t see her in my physical form. I suppose it made sense that only something more ghost-like would be able to see her outside of her floor.
“Free her,” she supplied happily.
I tugged at it again, but there was no budging. “I can’t.”
Estella sighed. “I was hoping you’d know how. I am sad to see that’s not solved yet.”
“I’m not sure what you mean,” I admitted. I thought it was obvious that thing couldn’t just come out of a wall.
I held onto it as I tried to see if there was a possible was to wiggle it free.
That won’t work.
I heard a different voice fill my mind. Hearing someone other than Lydia in my head was confusing.
I go by Dani, the voice helpfully supplied. You found Lydia? Is she free?
I let the memories freely dance across my mind as I held onto the tiara. I gave up Lydia’s bracelet in an attempt to keep her safe.
Well, that is at least a start.
I couldn’t help but wonder if there was another way to get the tiara out of the wall.
There is, technically. If someone were holding me were to die I’d go somewhere else, though I can’t promise I wouldn’t be fixed to a different wall.
“I wish there was an easier way to track these respawn points…” I mumbled.
“There is,” I heard Estella state softly. “She’d end up on the third floor, near the library if not in it. I could find her in less than an hour.”
“If you can, I’ve got an idea then…” I looped my arm through the tiara as best as I could, hoping my half cooked idea would be good enough to trick the system.
I willed my body incorporeal once more and the tiara vanished.
Estella smirked. “Well done.”
“Yes!” I cheered, letting the joy of accomplishment run through me. “I really wasn’t sure if that would work.”
“Some rules are meant to be navigated around.” She smiled widely. “Let’s go. We have a tiara to find.”
An hour and a half later, I was trudging back down stairs to find Marella. I couldn’t do much in my physical form, still tired as I had been, but at least now I had the tiara on my head. With Estella’s guidance, I managed to make it back without having to fight anything.
Marella didn’t seem surprised to see me, or Estella, but her eyes were fixated to the tiara.
“You found someone?” Her question was hopeful, joy lingering on what answer I would give.
“Dani,” I replied simply. “I’m really tired though. I don’t know what to do next, but I can’t seem to keep this form without losing tons of energy, and if I lose this form, we’ll lose the tiara.”
Marella nodded and offered her hand. “I’ll hold it until the others return. You should rest, though I’d recommend staying here.”
I didn’t have to ask where here was, I knew the little library would be the safest option possible. “Can you take me back there?” I glanced around, not entirely sure where Estella was, but I could feel her presence. “Thank you again.”
“Of course…” I could hear her wispy voice whisper softly.
Before I could say anymore, Marella pulled me into the water. Mentally cursing her, I wished she had given me a moment to at least gather a proper breath. Not that I needed it, but it still felt better to have air.
Naturally, it was only a few quick moments, and I was back in the hidden library. The curse on Marella died in my thoughts as I saw the sofa and promptly made my way over to it.
“We should make a plan before you sleep…” Marella stated as if I wasn’t tired.
I grumbled and flopped onto the plush surface. “Like what? I thought the plan was to find all the artifacts to find the Creators.”
“What about your friends? Should they know you are alive?”
“Of course… though I suppose it would complicate things if Cane and Clove found out.” I glanced over to Marella. “What do you advise?”
“I say for the moment continue to work without them. I have another little mission for them. I’m certain I’ve found Emmyth…” She glanced at the water. “And here they are.”
Nodding I closed my eyes. “For now, I’ll agree.”
Marella vanished once again into the water, leaving me to sleep.
Like any good nap, I woke up not sure where I was, what day it was, and if it was night or day. There were no windows here, and this place in general lacked useful time markers. While I could figure out the time through magic, it did me little good if I was sleeping for three days straight. Sitting up, I couldn’t tell if anyone was there.
“Marella?” I called into the empty room.
A minute later she emerged from the water. “Ah, I see you’re finally awake and fully revived.”
I nodded. “Was I out for long?”
Marella gave a shrug. “No, maybe twelve hours. Enough time to truly rest and regain your strength.”
I nodded, not really liking the time, but I did feel more normal again. The normal feeling made me curious and I found I couldn’t become incorporeal anymore. “I guess being a spirit as a spirit was a bit much anyway…”
Marella smirked. “Are you ready for the next task then?”
I felt about as ready as I always did, which wasn’t any bit at all. “I suppose. What is it?”
“There’s been a few incidents, let me catch you up first.” Marella changed gears.
“What happened?” dread filled me as the possible answers danced through my brain.
“They needed another possible source…” Marella paced the room. “You see, the pawns the demons and angels had set weren’t working as well as they would like. They knew they needed someone like you with extra abilities. Since you weren’t cooperating, they-” Marella stopped her pacing. “Your sister has been brought to this world.”
“What?” I was off the sofa in a moment. “Where is she? This is not a safe place for her. Is she a spirit here? A Dreamer?”
Marella motioned for me to sit but I refused. “She is a Dreamer and Kegan is unable to get to this world, but she is caring for her just the same. I know her location, and she is safe from those in the house.”
Good so Clove couldn’t do anything. That did mean though… “She’s with the Watch?” Outside? This couldn’t be a good thing.
Marella nodded. “She’ll be safe there. They will teach her all she needs to know and protect her. We must get you ready first. While you go to find her, we need that artifact that is flying around to be retrieved.”
“Of course.” I sighed. While this was about getting back to my sister and being free from here, it was still more than just me. “I don’t know how I can even begin to do that.”
“I have a plan, and one final gift for you to remember.” Marella emitted a smile that looked more evil than normal.
“Of course you do.” Sighing, I sat. “Well, what is it?”
“One Emmyth can explain better than myself.” She happily handed me a gauntlet I hadn’t seen her holding.
Ignoring how it was even possible for a water creature to produce such a slight of hand I reached for it. “Emmyth…” I said the name softly as I tried to remember all I could about him. How could he help me?
22
Mare
I was thrilled to be back in the house more than I thought would be possible. Benz held a coin tightly in his hands as we made our way back to Marella. No one knew how to make the coin work, but from the brief moment Benz had been possessed by Marella, he knew the coin would help us get around without a Tracker. It seemed a little much, but if that meant we could somehow cover more ground, I was all for it.
As we entered the room I was surprised to not see Marella waiting for us. In fact it took more than a few moments before she appeared before us.
“Ah, so you wer
e successful,” she declared happily.
“More or less,” I replied honestly. Clearing up the spiders acid effect hadn’t been my idea of success but no one had died so… “How do we make it work?”
Marella stared at me, confused. “It’s to see those creatures you cannot see, whether they be too far or hiding. That should be explanation enough.”
“But it’s a coin.” Benz flipped it between his fingers. “Coins don’t do much for seeing.”
We all waited for Marella’s reply. Which seemed to be to stare at Benz with her arms crossed and a frown covering her face.
“Have you considered putting it over your eyelid?” Marella finally suggested.
“A coin?” Benz scoffed.
“Yes, it’s a coin. I am glad they are teaching you so many things in your realm.” Marella waited for him to give in.
With a sigh, Benz closed his eyes and set the coin on his eyelid. He quickly stepped back and laughed as he looked around the room. “Should have guessed.” The sarcasm in his voice was nearly tangible. He removed the coin and pointed out three different spots. “The polycoy are just hanging out here.”
“This is where they live, so yes.” Marella wasn’t impressed with the commentary.
“How far can I see with this?” Benz asked excitedly.
“As far as you can see normally. You won’t be hindered from seeing them due to objects or invisibility magic,” Marella replied. “Now, for the next mission.”
“Check it out.” Benz laughed, tossing me the coin.
Marella sighed but didn’t say anything as I copied what Benz had done. With my eyes closed, I set the coin against my right eyelid and suddenly it was as if both eyes were open. I could see everyone normally but in the water, in three different puddles I could see the polycoy snoozing happily toward the bottom. Instead of being their normal looking selves however, they were in a red hue. Still, this was a one up on getting around.
Removing the coin, I passed it to Gretta who was standing next to me before turning to Marella. “So, what’s the mission?”
“With that coin this mission will not be difficult,” Marella began. “With the combined abilities of a Tracker and being able to see exactly where things are, you can move through the woods with little detection.”
“I was really hoping this would be inside.” I sighed, not trying to hide my disappointment.
Marella glared at me. “Are we done with the interruptions?” No one spoke as she continued. “There’s a large tree several miles into the woods. It has lighter than average bark and deep red leaves. No tree around it looks like it. To get to it you walk just past the hedge garden and continue straight.”
Benz nodded as she finished. “We’ll see you soon then.”
“One more thing.” Marella smirked, an evil smile crossing her watery features.
I wasn’t sure if I liked the expression on her face. “What would that be?”
“The bracelet you have helps you to see into minds,” she said to me.
I nodded. “I’ve never used it for that, but yes, I’m aware.”
“This helps give you extra strength to overcome any odds,” Marella stated as she reached down into the water and pulled out a tiara.
“Where did you get that from?” I asked, astonished.
I’m also wondering about that. Lydia’s voice echoed through my mind. I was surprised she hadn’t said anything before about it.
The water is considered connected to something else. I couldn’t sense it since it wasn’t actually part of this room. Lydia explained. But that is another Creator.
Marella was smirking as she handed it to Consta. “Someone brought it to me, however, for now they are resting.”
Consta handed the tiara to me. “I don’t want this responsibility.”
I held back a sigh as I put it on, not sure what abilities it would give me.
Hello there Dani, Lydia said with such joy I couldn’t process.
Lydia! Good. There is progress then.
Is there anyway not to have this meet and greet not in my head? I wondered. The voices stopped, so I assumed they figured something out.
Marella watched me with an amused smile. “We have two Creator artifacts down.”
Everyone looked surprised.
“Who gave it to you?” Benz asked Marella, shocked. “Someone couldn’t have just given it to you without a reason. They would have had to have known it was important.”
“The reason it was given to me was so it wouldn’t be lost again. We can discuss the minor details later.” Marella waved us away. “Be careful out there.” With that she vanished back into the water.
I wasn’t ready to be sent off just yet and was slightly irked Marella was holding back important details.
“Marella, a request.” There was nothing but silence. “I know you’re there still. Even with all these gifts, these creatures can still overpower us. The deeper into the woods we go, the more swarms there are. We may not be able to side step every last thing. Is there something additional you can suggest?”
There was silence for a moment.
Then another.
“Midge will assist you,” Marella finally stated, poking her head up above the water as a polycoy emerged from the water.
We all stared as this oversized otter thing with extra sharp claws and fangs scratched at its ear.
I considered out options for a moment before calling out once more. “Marella, I think you should keep the tiara.”
She tilted her head confused. “And why is that?”
“If anything happens to us, it’ll be one less artifact to find again.” I replied simply. “Maybe the two of you can come up with a plan on finding the rest?” I wasn’t sure if she could talk to Dani, but it was worth a try.
Marella gave a single nod. “It is hard for us to communicate, but I see your logic. Yet, I will decline. The tiara will bring you luck. That is the magic it carries.” With that, she vanished back under the surface of the water.
With nothing more to do about the matter, I shrugged. We could use more than a little luck anymore.
“Midge, ready for an adventure?” I called to the polycoy, not sure if it would really listen to me. With a delighted squeak, it happily ran to my side.
“Are we really sure about this?” Kip asked, staring at the thing.
“A Creator just gifted us this adorable, deadly terror. Why not see what she can do?” I shrugged and headed for the door. If I didn’t roll with it, I would lose my mind.
Benz gave a tired laugh, dark circles steadily becoming more noticeable under his eyes, as he followed, “I guess that is the best way to look at it.”
“At least it’s cute,” Ellyn agreed as the others broke into quiet conversation.
We were going to need all the help we could get.
Once more we found ourselves outside. No one looked excited, but it was obvious that the combination of the new artifact and the polycoy, Midge, made things a bit less tense. I wondered exactly what Midge could do. I knew they had a slow acting poison, claws, and teeth, but could they tear a creature apart? I suppose even if they just wounded something, it would save us some grief.
“Back toward the gardens then?” I mused aloud as I felt the magic of my Tracker ability swirl pleasantly around me.
“Ladies first.” Benz motioned ahead as he flipped his coin.
I rolled my eyes at him as I continued on ahead. My sword took half a second to summon to my side and with a small wave of energy, I could feel the others do the same.
“There’s several creatures ahead, though none look close enough to give trouble.” I quietly filled in the group.
“Must be the early evening they’re really flocking. They’re probably getting ready for the night while the really bad ones start to wake,” Gretta mused.
“Please don’t talk like that,” Season groaned a bit too loudly.
I didn’t know what to say. Grim humor was more my thing in these situations.
“It’ll be fine. We’re going at a good time. The really bad things won’t wake up until it’s actually dark and we’ll be almost back, if not back by then,” Benz replied reassuringly.
“Are you sure?” Consta didn’t seem convinced.
“It’s about three miles in,” I replied, doing the quick mental math. “At a leisurely rate it’ll take us about an hour to get there. Accounting for possible trouble, maybe an hour and a half. We have about two hours until dusk, so yeah. Time is just on our side.”
“We still could be walking back in the dark though,” Kip pointed out.
“Guess we’ll walk faster then.” I shrugged and picked up the pace.
“Now that’s a plan.” Gretta joined me to my left since Midge was happily keeping up on my right.
“Be ready for trouble.” I nodded at her.
Gretta summoned a handful of spikes. “Always.”
Turning my attention fully on the woods, I could feel the creatures going on about their days. Most were moving away from us, heading more eastward toward the great lake. I knew west was toward the Watch and could feel strong energies stirring that way. They were much too far for me to gather any information about, and for that I was thankful.
As we reached the edge of the trees, something hit my sensors.
“We’re being followed.” I mumbled just loud enough for the group to hear.
Benz was already on the coin, and I shook my head as he scanned the trees. “I don’t see anything.”
“That’s because it’s Canton. He’s hidden by the hedge garden now.” I pulsed my magic out. “He’s with that bobble head with the random staff.”
“Oh, Addison.” Benz sighed.
Addison wasn’t particularly clever, and her staff suited her. It would cast either a fireball, iceball, or waterball. She had no control over it. The only other person I had once known with that staff had no issues with choosing what to cast.