by Cherie Marks
She’d given him a reason to live. She’d added meaning to his meaningless life. How could he just let her go? He didn’t want to, but he had to.
He hadn’t been totally honest with her. He wasn’t only afraid of the consequences of what he’d done. He’d faced that time and time again. In reality, he was afraid of one thing that he would never be able to forgive himself for.
The thought of hurting Franny was a hard one to swallow, but the thought of losing Ivy was a devastating punch to the gut. He wouldn’t ever be able to forgive himself if he hurt Ivy. He couldn’t live with himself if anything happened to her and, especially, if he were the cause.
Here, he didn’t feel the constant pressure of the magic. He didn’t have to be vigilant here. And the living beings here didn’t have to worry about him wiping it out. Ivy wanted to go back, and he wanted to be with Ivy, but not if it meant taking her life.
He’d stay here and let her go. He had to. He wasn’t ready to admit the real reason why, but he knew he’d let her go if it meant keeping her safe.
Now, he meandered through the world that would be his new home. It’s where he would spend the rest of his days, so he might as well explore and make the best of it.
He breathed in the silky air and continued walking amongst the trees. He wasn’t happy about his decision, but at least he would be able to live with himself. And he would build an existence here with the life of Purple Sky, the name he’d taken to calling this place.
Of course, aside from the creature from the first day, he hadn’t really come across any other living being. Unless he considered the evening he sensed Grath. He hadn’t felt him nearby since, and he wasn’t entirely certain it hadn’t been his imagination.
It made no sense, considering Zayn had killed Grath. Franny had disposed of the remains. There was no way he could be alive.
Suddenly, a bright, red shower of sparks lit up the sky.
Ivy! She was in trouble.
And she was too far away.
He took off running in the direction of the flare. He had to get to her. She might believe she didn’t need his protection, but he would never abandon her when she asked for his help.
IVY STARED AT THE BARK in her hand. The creature had shown up once more, and once again, he was playacting taking a bite. She knew it was a bad idea, but she was tempted to just give it a try. Zayn and she had been walking the landscape for two weeks now, and they were nowhere closer to getting out of this place. She needed to try something they hadn’t tried yet. Thus, the long look at the piece of wood.
Maybe she would become this little being’s dinner, but then again, maybe it would lead to freedom and the answers she wanted.
“Okay. I’m going to eat it, but just so you know, if you eat me, I’m going to give you the worst case of indigestion.”
She raised the bark to her mouth, opened up and chewed on the earthy firm piece of wood. A small piece broke off, and she passed it to her back teeth and munched on the kernel of a plank until it was pulp. She swallowed when she could and waited to see what would happen.
“It’s about damn time. I thought you’d never eat it. The bark of the speak-so-good tree is hard to come by, and I went to a lot of trouble. Now, let’s get down to business.” His voice was a deep baritone, but she understood every word.
Ivy stared, dumbfounded. She could actually understand the words coming out of the bug-eyed creature’s mouth. That’s what the bark was for?
“You speak English?”
“Not exactly. You just understand and speak Freenish now.”
“Freenish? What’s that?”
“The language of the Freens, the people of the land of Freenia, of which I’m one.”
“Is that where I am? Freenia?”
“It ain’t so bad. At least, it didn’t used to be so bad.”
Ivy waited for an explanation, but when one didn’t come, she asked, “What changed?”
“The evil one came.”
“Evil one? That doesn’t sound good.” Understatement of the year.
“He skulks about the forest, snatching Freens when he can, and tries to force us to open the portal.”
Portal? There was a portal. This was fantastic news! But, she needed to proceed with caution. It sounded like asking for an opening of the portal could get you good and labeled.
“Is he truly dangerous?”
“Not to Freens. That old powerless warlock can’t do anything to us.”
“Could he hurt me?”
He puffed up his chest and said, “Not while you’re with Puth.”
“Puth? Is that your name?”
“Puther Breckinridge Nugmeister the third, to be exact.”
“That’s a respectable name. Well, Puth, at the risk of hurting our new friendship, I have to know about the portal.” So much for playing it slow.
“No damage to our friendship. I would be happy to take you to the portal. You don’t belong in Freenia, and eventually, it will kill you to stay here.”
“Wait. What?” Ivy straightened. “How would it kill me? Would it kill anyone who isn’t a Freen?”
“It would. Though the evil one has been barely hanging on for many, many years. He doesn’t have much longer, but he came to Freenia mostly dead already and somehow he’s managed to survive this long. But I think it’s pure piss and evil that’s keeping him alive.”
The reality of what Puth’s words meant for Zayn made Ivy nauseous. She didn’t care what he said. Zayn was coming back with her, and they’d face whatever was waiting for them together. Somehow, though, she had to get him to the portal, and she had to get them both through before this evil one showed up.
“Take me to the portal, Puth. Mr. Roarke and Tatoo say it’s time to leave Fantasy Island and get back to reality.”
As Puth led the way and Ivy followed, she slowed for a moment to adjust her makeshift pack. To her left, she thought she heard movement in the bushes nearby. Had Zayn come to find her already? Or was it someone a little more dangerous?
She didn’t wait to find out. With a little pep in her step, she caught up to Puth. He didn’t seem worried at all, so after a moment of no attacks, she relaxed her guard.
Yet, something definitely felt off. They weren’t alone.
Chapter 21
PUTH AND SHE PASSED the cottage and made their way back to where Ivy and Zayn had first awakened in Freenia. Of course, Zayn and Ivy had come back to this spot and searched every inch of it, trying to see if there were some way to reverse what had brought them here in the first place. Clearly they’d missed something.
With a stick he’d picked up somewhere along the way, Puth drew a circle in the dirt. He walked around it three times and jumped into the middle. Out of nowhere, a glowing circle formed in the air with the dirt-drawn loop touching the bottom edge like a shadow on the ground.
“Amazing. That looked so easy.”
“It’s kind of a talent. Now, you better get through before the evil one shows up. No doubt he’s close.”
“Wait! I can’t go yet. I have to take Zayn with me or he’ll die.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. There’s no time.”
But she moved a few feet away and sent up a shower of sparks that lit up the sky with different shades of red. He might be upset with her that she’d used the flare spell to get him here to do something he’d said he wasn’t going to do, but he’d forgive her once he made it here. Yes, he’d probably worry that she was in trouble, but once she explained everything, he’d understand why she’d had to do it.
“Now I know you’re insane! The evil one is sure to know where to find us. I can’t stay here with you, so I’ll set the portal to close in five minutes. If you have any sense at all, you’ll go through the portal right now. Your friend will just have to eat the bark and talk to me when he’s ready.”
“But he won’t! Please, give me more time. He’ll be here.”
“Goodbye, strange creature. I’ve helped you as much as I can in this mome
nt. I hope you live!”
He’d called Ivy a strange creature. It was ironic, and she felt sad and scared as he took off running away from her again. So much for their friendship.
Ivy didn’t stop to worry about Puth’s abandonment. She had to stay vigilant. With hyper senses, she scanned the area, waiting for Zayn to appear and watching for the so-called evil one to attack. Just another day in paradise.
A sound behind her put her on alert, and she swiveled around to face whoever was trying to sneak up on her. But, no one was there.
Suddenly, an ice-cold hand wrapped around her ankle and yanked her leg out from under her. She went down to the ground and hit her head on a stone. The last thing she saw before losing consciousness was the creepiest ghost of a face sitting on top of a neck that bore a thick, angry scar like a knife had sliced it open long, long ago. It slithered along the ground and exuded malevolence as the evil one laughed a high-pitched, humorless cackle. And then, all was blackness.
ZAYN CRESTED THE HILL and nearly went to his knees. Ivy was lying on the ground, unmoving, and his heart stopped at the sight. Next to her in the dirt was a shell of a man, crawling around on his belly, lifting its head to look around. Yet, it looked right at him and didn’t seem to see him. Whatever it was, he didn’t think it could see very well.
This was why she’d sent up the flare spell.
Near the two figures, a circle of light spun, and he recognized a portal to another dimension. Had Ivy been about to go through? What had stopped her? It must have been the crawling creature.
Cautiously, Zayn began making his way through some nearby bushes, trying to get closer without detection, but as he drew nearer, the strange, snake-like man lifted his head and seemed to zone in on Zayn’s position.
“Ah, Zayn! Glad you could join us. Now, the real fun can begin.”
Zayn couldn’t believe it. Though it was at a higher pitch and slurred, he recognized the slithering figure’s voice. How was Grath still alive? And how had he ended up here?
“Come forward so I can see you. This isn’t going to be fun unless I can see the pain on your face.”
With no hesitation at all, Zayn stepped out of the bushes and faced his former teacher. “Let Ivy go, Grath. She isn’t a part of this. This is between you and me.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. I’ve been searching for Ivy for a long time now. She is very much a part of this, and now, no one is around to keep her from me.”
“But I was there. I saw you give her back to her grandmother. You could have easily refused to release her.”
“What you saw was me at a moment of weakness. I thought I had absorbed her parents’ powers and would use them just like all the others, but there was something different about them. Their magic was different. Once the magic was inside me, I became confused and disoriented. They found a way to bespell my mind from the inside out. I never meant for Ivy to go with her grandmother. It was her parents who forced that thought into my mind. From that day forward, whenever I thought about Ivy, the spell they’d cast would distract me from my mission to find her.
“Yet, once you took all the magic I had absorbed, I remembered why I needed her. Somehow, her grandmother hid her well from me though, and that busybody servant of mine, Franny, located me and banished me here. I never dreamed you two would come straight to me.”
“Doesn’t matter. We won’t help you.”
“Oh, you are so naïve. You always were. You thought you controlled the machine because I made you believe it. You thought you were killing those people, but you weren’t. It was just another way to control you.”
Rage turned Zayn’s vision red, and he started toward Grath.
“No, no, no, Zayn! That would be a grave mistake. You see, right now, she’s still alive but unconscious, but if you get too close, I’ll change that fact very quickly.”
Zayn stopped, but his breathing sawed in and out of his chest as he assessed the impossible situation. He couldn’t let Grath have Ivy, but he couldn’t let him hurt her either.
“What do you want?” Zayn practically spit the words.
“I want my magic back. All of it.”
“Forget it! I destroyed the machine, and even if I had it, you’d have to kill me first to get to the magic.”
“Good news! For me anyway. I don’t need the machine now that I have Ivy, and I will gladly kill you to get what I want.”
Confusion assailed Zayn. Why did having Ivy mean Grath no longer needed the machine? Yet, in a second, he realized the reality of what Grath had just confessed. He wouldn’t kill Ivy as long as he needed her.
With a new determination, Zayn charged toward Grath, ready to pound what was left of the warlock into the ground.
“Yes! Come to me! With you so close, I can feel the magic even now.”
Zayn stopped and paced the periphery around the woman he loved—yes, he was ready to admit it now—he loved Ivy. But he couldn’t get between her and the monster who’d destroyed his life. It was breaking his heart that he couldn’t get to her. Somehow though, he had to save her. He wouldn’t let Grath do to Ivy what he’d done to Zayn.
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed another problem. The portal was beginning to close. He’d watched it shrink gradually, and he realized his time was running out to save Ivy and get her away from Grath and away from himself forever. He had to act fast.
Of course, Zayn could use magic to blast Grath away from Ivy, but he was still unsure about his control. What if he hit Ivy instead? He couldn’t chance it. But, then how did he defeat this enemy?
The portal was much smaller, and if it got any smaller, Zayn wasn’t sure he could get Ivy through it. He had to chance it. It was now or never.
Zayn shouted a spell and waved his hand at Grath. As Grath flew twenty feet away, Ivy’s body rolled and she moaned. It was magical music to Zayn’s ears. She was okay.
Scrambling down to his knees beside her, he cradled her head in his lap and smoothed the bright, coppery hair from her face. She was beautiful and everything he’d ever dreamed of having in a mate, but he knew he had to let her go.
He stood slowly and lifted her, cradled in his arms. She turned into his chest and her eyes fluttered open briefly.
She lifted her hand and stroked his cheek as she whispered, “Zayn...knew you’d come.”
“Of course. I’ll always come when you call.”
“Then, come back with me.”
He closed his eyes. So badly, he wanted to grant her request, but being with him would put her life in danger. He couldn’t do that.
“I can’t, sweetheart. I’m a ticking time-bomb.”
“No. Puth said you’ll die here. I don’t want you to die.” She began to cry and clung to his chest, but as he spied the portal shrinking even more, he knew he had to do something now or would forever lose his chance.
With determination, he lifted her and began to feed her through the portal, feet-first. She protested, but she was too weak to put up much of a fight. A new concern hit him hard. He hoped someone would be there on the other side to take care of her.
He had to trust that she’d be okay.
In an instant though, he and she both fell backwards down to the ground again. He took the brunt of the fall and looked at the beady, dark eyes of Grath who had crawled back to latch onto Zayn’s leg.
With an evil laugh, he held tightly to Zayn while wrapping his spindly fingers around Ivy. She screamed with the sudden power that began to flow out of Zayn and into her. Zayn couldn’t move a muscle.
His mouth barely moved as he shouted, “Noooo! Stop! You’re hurting her.”
But the transfer continued as Zayn felt helpless to do anything to stop it.
Out of nowhere, Grath dropped his hold on them, flew into the air, and stilled as if he’d been frozen in the space above the ground.
Zayn laid back, pure exhaustion hitting him hard in that moment. He wasn’t sure how it had happened, but Ivy and he were free of Grath’s hold. After
taking a few seconds to catch his breath, he looked to his right and saw an army of the strange creatures standing at the top of the hill. The one who Zayn recognized as the bark-giver, held his hand high in the air. Somehow, the little being had power over Grath, and Zayn waved gratefully.
He gathered enough energy to pick himself up and, once again, take Ivy into his arms to send her to safety for good.
Yet, as he began to push her through, he felt himself lifted and the next thing he knew, he was flying through the fabric of one dimension into the next one.
Nooooo! He hadn’t wanted it to end this way. He could only think one thing. He needed to protect Ivy.
Then, all of his thoughts faded as he lost consciousness and everything went black.
Chapter 22
“IVY. IVY, WAKE UP, dear. We need to talk.”
Ivy didn’t know the female voice. It wasn’t any of the ones that were familiar to her, but she was curious to see who had called her dear. She opened her eyes and looked around a completely white space. There was nothing here. And no one here either as far as she could tell.
Yet, from behind her, she heard the same soft voice say, “Turn around and let me see my daughter.”
Nothing could have stopped Ivy from turning in that moment. She scrambled to her knees and stood quickly, spotting the source of the voice.
We have the same hair.
Ivy had seen pictures of her mother, but she’d never realized just how many traits they shared. Their eyes were shaped the same and both had high cheekbones. It was hard not to just keep staring. Then, a taller figure stepped forward, and Ivy recognized her father from the pictures she cherished.
Same eyes.
She rushed at them and all three embraced in a tear-filled hug. It was the reunion Ivy never dared to hope she’d get, and it filled her chest with unimaginable joy.
After what felt like hours, Ivy pulled back and said, “Are you really here? How is this possible?”