He wrapped his arm through mine. “Ready for bed?”
“I can’t. I’m still on watch.”
Jay led me to his makeshift mattress. “We won’t sleep; we’ll just rest. I know you need it.”
We lay down, and Jay covered us with the hoodie and the blanket of leaves he’d made earlier. I leaned my head against his shoulder and stared up at the sky. A few lone stars were visible between the cover of the trees. The silence coming from nearby told me that Ava’s cuddling lesson must be going well. Jay’s fingers brushed mine, and I wound my hand through his. If it weren’t for the fact that I was hunting a murderous witch and trying to get back home to my brother, I would let myself feel happy.
Thoughts of Jay, my mom, and my brother swirled around in my head. The stars above blinked and twinkled, ignorant of my despair. The rhythmic breathing next to me told me that Jay had fallen asleep, his hand still twisted in mine. I tried to fight it for as long as I could, but in the end, I failed. I did the unthinkable.
I fell asleep.
10
I vomited onto the ground, my insides twisted in a violent knot. It wasn’t possible. Evan said he’d slept with his arm around her almost the entire night. I circled back to where Evan hunched over the empty sleeping roll.
He punched the ground. “I betrayed her,” he choked.
I wiped my mouth on my sleeve. “Tell me again what happened.” My stomach heaved again.
Evan ran his hand through his unkempt hair. “I had my arm around her when dawn broke. I thought we’d made it safely through the night … I must have drifted off. What have I done?”
“Then what?” My stomach turned again. Jay circled around an area in the woods near the sleeping roll.
“I … I woke … and she was just gone. I thought maybe she’d gone into the woods to … you know. But I couldn’t find her anywhere. That’s when I started calling out her name and you guys woke up.”
I knew Ava would never have gone into the woods, not even to pee, without having me go with her. And if someone had taken her, why hadn’t she screamed out or made a sound? I was a light sleeper and would have heard her. Tears leaked out of my eyes. Thoughts of Snow’s blood-drained body caused a fresh wave of nausea. We didn’t have much time to find her, or she’d be the next dead body in the woods.
“Did you find anything?” I asked Jay.
Jay didn’t respond and I noticed he was bent over something on the ground. Oh God. I ran toward him, and he looked up with an expression of shock on his face.
He looked almost as pale as Snow had been.
“What, what is it?” I pushed through a branch to where he hunched down.
He held up one of Ava’s bright green sneakers.
Sobs tore from my throat. How could I have let this happen? Ava was the last person who deserved this. She deserved sunshine and rainbows. Jay came over and put his arm around my shoulder. I cried even harder.
“Okay, we’re not going to lose her,” Evan said. He placed his hands on both my shoulders, looking me dead-on. “You’re Bree, warrior of Liralelle.”
I wiped my nose with my sleeve. I wasn’t a warrior; I wasn’t even a good friend. I sniffled. “How do we save her?”
“The shoe is the only clue we have, but at least it’s something. We’ll head in the direction where Jay found the shoe until we find her. We’ve got to move quickly though.”
He didn’t need to tell me that last part, but it got me motivated to do something other than cry. I secured my sword, and Jay grabbed his hoodie and we were off. We trailed behind Evan, who knew more about tracking than I did. He searched for broken twigs and breaks in the dense foliage where someone could have passed through, while I scanned the forest for possible clues.
“I don’t get it,” Evan muttered. “There should be some sign that someone came through here somewhere. It’s like she just disappeared.”
Chills ran through me. That’s how everyone described Muriel. I didn’t want to believe that she really had Ava, but it didn’t look like there was another answer.
“Keep going,” I said.
Jay put a reassuring hand on my arm. “We’ll find her.”
He sounded so sure that I almost believed him. I nodded and kept going.
The sun, having risen higher in the sky, warmed the air. The fragrance from the flowering trees wafted over me, but now smelled sickly sweet instead of lush and vibrant. The twigs pulled as I walked through, and my arms were covered with small scratches. It seemed like we’d been walking forever when we reached a small creek. Jay and Evan slurped up the fresh water. I drank a little, but my stomach remained in knots, which made it difficult. I sank on my knees by the creek bed, my fingers pushing into the soft ground.
Jay came behind me and rubbed my shoulders. “You need water, Bree. It’ll give you strength.”
Something about his voice grounded me. He was right. I had to stay strong for Ava. I was me, no matter which world I was in, and if I could fight for a bunch of random princesses, I could fight for my best friend. I leaned over, washed my hands, and drank deeply from the cool water. After splashing more water on my face and neck, I sat back on my heels and looked around. There was a small rise on the other side of the creek, and beyond it, what looked like a narrow trail.
“Look!” I jumped up.
Evan looked up and down the length of the creek. “I don’t see a place to cross, so we’ll just have to go through.”
Evan filled his water container, and I remembered Rae’s flask and filled that as well. The creek wasn’t too deep, about knee height in the middle, as we waded across. A fish jumped out of the water by me, and I almost screamed. The only sound, aside from the soft splashing of water as we trudged through, was the occasional call of a bird. Maybe it was the circumstances, but the bird’s sounds seemed less like singing and more like a warning.
We climbed up the small hill on the other side of the creek and came to the narrow trail. And the word trail was an overstatement—it was barely more than a foot across of well-worn, trampled grass. It stretched out as far as we could see in both directions.
“Which way?” Jay asked.
Evan looked left, where the trail veered uphill, away from the creek. “Left. Hopefully we can see better from higher up.”
We were able to move faster on the trail, without having to fight the trees for every step. The only problem with going toward higher ground is that it meant constantly walking uphill. The sun was directly overhead now, and despite the cover of trees, sweat beaded on my face and body. My thighs burned by the time we were halfway up the hill. Horses would have made this so much easier, and I wished Majestic were with me. After what seemed like an eternity, we reached the top of the hill and stopped. Jay panted beside me.
The good news was that the trail grew slightly wider here. The bad news was that the only thing visible ahead was more trail. It dawned on me that if we didn’t find our way out of here, we might be in just as much danger from being lost as from Muriel.
I kicked at the dirt. “This sucks.”
Even Jay couldn’t find an encouraging comment.
Evan swallowed hard. “Guess we keep going this way and hope for the best.”
We walked onward, and after another hour or so, the trail dipped downward again. I thought of how quiet we were. Ava’s constant chatter was noticeably absent.
Evan waved his arms up ahead. I caught up to him and looked where he pointed downhill. A small cottage was tucked away in the trees, barely visible from the trail. My heart beat faster. Maybe we’d finally found Muriel’s place. Maybe Ava was there. I urged Jay to move faster.
The house was only several hundred feet away. Evan and I pulled our swords. We moved as quietly and quickly as possible. I told Jay to stay behind me in case we’d already been spotted. I don’t know how I could protect him if I couldn’t protect Ava, but I had to try. I couldn’t bear losing someone else I cared about.
We’d only made it about fifty feet when I he
ard a noise behind me. I whipped around and stared at the trail behind us. The sound grew louder and I realized it was the gallop of a horse. Evan pulled us back into the trees, but the horse broke into view before I was hidden. Majestic.
I stopped, confused. Riding Majestic was the Queen herself. Another horse followed, with a frantic-looking Rolph astride it.
“Rolph!” I yelled before I could stop myself.
Evan and Jay ran out beside me.
Her Highness stopped in front of me, staring first at Jay and then at Evan.
“Thank goodness you’re okay,” Rolph said, breathless as he stopped behind the Queen.
“Your Majesty, Ava, my friend, has been taken by Muriel,” I stammered. “We think she might be down there.” I pointed down the trail.
The Queen’s eyes widened as she took in the cottage. “Muriel. Finally.”
She reached to her side, and I thought she was going to pull out a sword, but instead, she pulled out her scepter. Her eyes went back to Evan before she addressed me. “Bree, you’ve found her. Good work.”
“Yes, but we must hurry, she has Ava.” We needed to move.
“Rolph, her payment.”
Rolph nudged his horse toward me and handed me the hugest bag of gold I’d ever seen. I didn’t understand. I hadn’t killed Muriel yet, and I definitely hadn’t saved my best friend.
He thrust the bag into my hand. “Trust me, you’ve earned this, my dear. Be safe.”
“Yes, you certainly have.” Her Highness smiled at me. “You’ve led me to the worst witch this land has ever seen, and I’ll take it from here.” She raised the scepter. “I couldn’t bear for anything to happen to you, Bree. I hereby release you from your commendable service.”
She pointed the scepter at me and began chanting the spell to send me home.
“No! I need to get Ava first,” I yelled.
Her Highness ignored me and completed the chant. I tried to run for the cottage, but the black funnel veered at me. There was no way I’d be able to outrun it. Jay called out behind me. I stopped short, skidding on the path. I couldn’t leave Jay here either. The funnel pulled up large twigs and dirt from the path as it headed my way. I could barely make out Jay’s form on the other side as he ran toward me.
Pebbles and dust pelted my face, and I threw up my arm to shield myself. Tears streamed down my face as the tunnel bore down. I had failed—failed Ava, failed my murdered family, failed myself. Jay dove into the funnel as it engulfed me. The last thing I felt was his body slamming into mine.
11
My cheek pressed against the cold, grimy tile floor. Jay groaned on top of me.
I wanted to scream for Her Highness to take me back, not that she’d hear me. The funnel cloud was long gone, and I had no way back to Liralelle. I reached for Jay in the inky darkness. “Are you okay?”
“I think so, but only because you broke my fall.” He put a hand to my tear-stained cheek. “I’m more worried about you.”
“Physically, I’m fine. Otherwise, not so much.” I let Jay help me to my feet and the gold pieces shifted in my pocket. They clinked together and the sound echoed in the small space. I lowered my voice. “I can’t believe we’re back in Trevor’s bathroom.”
That was how it worked, of course, with the tornado putting me back the same place it found me, but up until the past week, that place had always been my bedroom.
Jay cracked the bathroom door, and I held my breath when it squeaked. With my luck, Trevor’s parents would think that people were breaking into the house and come after us. The whole house was dark and quiet. Only faint light from the moon outside lit up the hallway. Jay put a finger to his lips, and we tiptoed toward the stairs. The gold lay heavy in my pocket. I’d never gotten so much before, and the weight of it about tipped me over.
Loud, deep snoring came from one of the rooms. It had to be the middle of the night, which might or might not work in our favor. We needed to get out of the house before I could concentrate on how to get back to Ava. We moved past the room as quickly as possible and headed for the stairs. We’d gotten halfway down when I tugged on the back of Jay’s shirt.
He paused and then I knew he heard it too. More snoring, but this time coming from downstairs. It came from the direction of the living room, so I motioned toward the kitchen. We’d head out the back door instead. Jay nodded and we crept silently down the remaining stairs. I fought the urge to tear out of the house at full speed, and really hoped they didn’t have an alarm system in place.
Something crashed in the living room and I jumped.
Someone muttered in the dark. “Dude, watch it. Trevor will have your balls if you break anything.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Someone shifted on the couch and the snoring resumed.
We made it to the bottom and jetted toward the kitchen. Beer bottles littered the counters, and the cooler sat in the same part of the kitchen, water now pooled underneath it from the melted ice. The party was definitely over.
“No way,” Jay whispered. “It’s the same night.”
“Yeah, told you time works differently there. C’mon, let’s get out of here.” I needed to find a way to get back to Liralelle.
We slipped out the screen door in the back and hurried down the street. My car still sat on the side of the road, no longer surrounded by the multitude of other cars that had been there earlier. I was so happy to see Kermit that I didn’t even care what Jay might think about it.
“Hop in,” I said.
I turned on the ignition, and Kermit sputtered to life.
Jay leaned his head back against the seat and ran his hand through his hair. “What now? How do we get back there?”
Tears sprang to my eyes again. “I don’t know.”
He cranked his head sideways to study me. “What do you mean? I thought you went there all the time.”
I shook my head. “Only when I’m summoned. I don’t know of any way to get there without being called back.”
“Well, no offense, but it didn’t sound like she was planning to call you back anytime soon.”
“I know. I don’t get it. I mean, I get that she wanted Muriel, but I don’t understand why she wouldn’t let me help Ava.”
Jay scratched his head. “She seemed a little preoccupied. Let’s just hope that she found Ava …”
He didn’t add “in time,” but I knew he thought it. He rushed on, “I mean, if she found Ava and defeated Muriel, then everything will be okay, right? She’ll just send Ava back here?”
That was too many ifs for my liking, but I relaxed slightly. I’d led Her Highness right to Muriel, and she had both Evan and Rolph to help her in battle—though I doubted Rolph had anything more lethal than a riding crop on him. Still, their odds were good, and Ava would be rescued … and returned to Trevor’s bathroom. Yikes.
“I guess. I just feel so useless. I wish I knew what was going on. The not knowing is so frustrating.” I started driving.
Jay gave me the cross-streets to his house and reached over to squeeze my hand. “At least we have the whole weekend, and don’t have to worry about school. Hopefully, we’ll hear something in the next few days.”
“Yeah.” The weekend also meant that I didn’t have to worry about Aidan or missing practice. Not that it mattered. Playing the lead part and getting into Juilliard no longer seemed important. Catelyn could have the lead for all I cared. It would be too weird not having Ava there.
It was funny. After Dad died, I threw myself into ballet as if nothing else mattered. I could lose myself in the music for hours without worrying about anybody else. But in the end, I couldn’t escape the fact that my friends and family meant everything to me.
I linked my hand through Jay’s and drove left-handed. My mom would have disapproved and lectured about safe driving habits, but this was the safest thing I’d done in the last twenty-four hours. After navigating through several subdivisions, we reached his house. I pulled up to the curb and left the motor idling.
Jay
didn’t move. “I really don’t want to let go of you. I’m afraid you could just disappear on me.”
I didn’t want to let go either as he rubbed my hand with his thumb. “That’s always a possibility with me.” I looked at our entwined hands and felt suddenly shy. “Maybe you could come over tomorrow? Help me think of a way to get back there.”
He smiled at me. “I was already planning on it. But technically, it already is tomorrow, so I thought I’d stop by this afternoon, after we both get some sleep.”
Sleep sounded awesome, but I thought of Ava again. She probably wasn’t sleeping. You had to be alive to be able to sleep.
“Stop.” Jay leaned over. “Stop worrying. I see it in your face. Get some sleep, and I’ll see you later.” He brushed his lips against mine, and they were warm and comforting. I wanted more. I wanted him to kiss me again so I could forget about everything else for a minute. It would be easy to escape for a while if only he’d touch me again. He didn’t.
He pulled slowly away from me, untangled his hand, and climbed out of the car. Before shutting the door, he leaned back down with a serious expression on his face. “Promise you’ll be home this afternoon?”
I didn’t want to make a promise I wasn’t sure I could keep, because it wasn’t entirely up to me.
I managed a weak smile. “That’s the plan.”
My house was dark, save for the front porch light, when I got home. My brother had to be sleeping soundly, hopefully dreaming of football or video games. I couldn’t wait to see his face. Then, maybe I could try to sleep. I unlocked the front door and snuck inside, slipping my shoes off so as not to be heard on the hardwood floors.
A lamp turned on in the family room next to me. “It’s 4am. We need to talk.”
Great. I sighed and sank into the chair opposite the couch where Mom sat. It was one of the few times I was jealous of the kids with parents who didn’t care where they went or how late they came home. “Sorry, Mom, the party went later than I thought. I’m fine though, you didn’t need to wait up.”
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