by Jaclyn Weist
It was peaceful here. Jared could feel the quiet strength of the place. He pulled out his sword and found a flat area to practice. It had been too long.
MEGAN
The creature came toward the cave where Ethan and I hid. It thrashed about, causing destruction to the forest.
“What is that thing?” I repeated. My heart beat rapidly as I waited for it to pass.
“A Chimera. Exceedingly rare. Exceedingly deadly. And very hard to kill. It’s better just to let it go past and leave us alone.” Ethan pulled me back a little farther into the cave.
“Sounds good to me. I don’t even have my sword.”
“You have a sword?” he asked, eyebrows raised.
“Yeah, I’ve had to use it several times over the last year.” I actually missed fighting with it. After beating O’Malley in January, I’d been left alone.
“How strange.”
The thrashing got louder until it moved past us. The Chimera was much smaller than I’d expected from the sound it made. It was part lion and part goat, but it had a dragon’s tail. Ethan was right. I really didn’t want to run into it.
Once the noise had faded, Ethan inched forward. “Okay, I think we’re good. Just be really quiet as we run. Are you sure you don’t want me to carry you?”
“Positive.” I didn’t like being so dependent on Ethan. It just reminded me that Jared wasn’t there. I made my way through the trees, keeping watch for anything that could be a threat. I could see eyes looking out from behind tree branches, and heard rustling among the leaves, but otherwise, there was no other sign of life.
We passed a small stream, but I chose to ignore it. I remembered what had happened the last time I’d had anything to drink from a spring. I didn’t really want to try it again.
Ethan floated along beside me. “I’d forgotten how long it takes to travel the length of the kingdom.”
“Feel free to go ahead at any time. Or if you’re tired, take a nap. I just need to find my mom.” I pushed away some leaves, and jumped when a group of pixies flew up into my face. “Oh, hello. How are you?”
One of the pixies spat at me and screamed in a different language. By the sound of it, I was better off not knowing what it said.
“Stay away from those. They don’t like humans.” Ethan continued past me.
“Oh, you think?” I circled around the plant so I wouldn’t disturb any more pixies and ran to catch up. He could be evil, but he was the only companion I had at the time.
There was a sudden burst of rustling in the trees before I was slammed to the ground by something large and heavy. It knocked the air out of me, and it was a few seconds before I could breathe again. What wasn’t bruised from jumping off the carriage was bruised now.
Adrenaline and fear ran through me as I rolled over and found the Chimera standing above me. It roared before sniffing at my face. This came very close to the terror I’d felt when being chased by the grey man. Cursing my lack of sword yet again, I decided to try another tactic.
“Nice kitty. You don’t want to hurt me.” My heart pounded as I pulled my luck toward me. It had worked with the dragon—I needed to make it work this time. I reached out slowly, and it sat still for a second, then jumped back and hissed at me. “It’s okay, kitty.”
Ethan grabbed a stick and held it out in front of him like a sword. The Chimera growled at him and crouched down like it was about to pounce. Its tail lashed out and knocked over a couple of smaller trees.
“Um, Ethan? Right now might be a good time to show it you're the Far Darocha. I thought you said they were scared of you.”
“Oh, yeah.” He turned misty and flew at the Chimera. The creature yelped and backed up, but wouldn’t leave. It growled as it glanced between me and Ethan. I rolled over and searched the ground for a rock or branch I could use to keep it away.
Suddenly, something attacked the Chimera from the side. The Chimera growled and stood up, baring its teeth at whatever had attacked it.
“Get away from my sister!” A voice that sounded all too familiar—and heavenly—came from behind the creature.
“Wait—Adam?” I scrambled to my feet and ran around the Chimera. “What are you doing here?”
“Saving you. Now, please take the sword so I can get out my crossbow.” He slowly reached to hand it to me.
“No, wait. I’m trying something.” I took a step toward the Chimera with my hand out. It jumped back, but stopped, growling. I took another step toward it, and then another before I was almost touching it. If I was going to survive in this crazy world, I needed even the worst of the creatures to trust me. “That’s it. I’m okay. You can trust me.”
“Does she do this often?” Ethan asked Adam.
“Usually, she’s worse than this,” Adam whispered back. “She’s friends with dragons.”
I smiled and finally touched the creature’s nose. “There we go. See? I’m nice.” Its nose was wet like a cat’s. It leaned toward my hand and made a purring sound. “There we go. That’s a nice Chimera.”
“Yeah. Right. Because making friends is what I always want to do when I see a big monster creature attacking my sister.” Adam handed me the sword.
“It’s great to see you too.” Man, I was happy to have this back in my hand. And to see my brother again, of course. “How’d you get here?”
“Eoin. This is his first time helping anyone travel, so he’s wiped out.” Adam put his crossbow over his shoulder, then shook Ethan’s hand. “And you are?”
“Megan knows me as Ethan.”
Adam raised his eyebrows. “So, what’s your real name?”
I cleared my throat. “He’s a Far Dorocha. And he’s the reason Mom is in prison.”
Adam shoved me behind him and aimed his crossbow at Ethan. “Tell me why I shouldn’t kill you right now.”
Ethan’s eyes grew big, and he swallowed. “You have every reason.”
I jumped between them. “Whoa, no one is killing anyone. Mom is with the fairy queen, and yes Ethan handed her off, but he’s also trying to help. He seems to think that by helping me, I’ll release him from this ‘position.’”
Adam stood there for a moment longer before lowering his crossbow. “You so much as touch my sister, and I won’t hesitate. Got it?”
Ethan swallowed hard and nodded. “Got it.”
Eoin walked up, rubbing his eyes. “What’d I miss?”
“Megan keeps making friends with the enemy,” Adam grumbled, and started walking the direction we’d been going.
“Hey, it’s better than threatening to shoot people before I even know them,” I shouted.
Eoin looked over at Ethan. “I’ll never understand huma—wait. I know you! Adam, why didn’t you shoot him?”
Adam turned around. “Ask Megan. Apparently, she thinks he wants to be better.”
Eoin looked up at me. “After I tell you not to eat his food, and to avoid him, you make friends with him? Why?”
I shrugged. “I did the same thing with your dad. Now I’m helping you save him. Want me to change my mind?”
Eoin sighed. “No.”
“Didn’t think so.” I strapped my sword on. “So, you found Adam and my sword. Did you find Jared and Beth?”
Eoin nodded. “They’re on their way to Phantom Falls right now. They’ll be coming from the other direction.”
“You’re awesome for doing that. Thank you.” I kissed Eoin on the cheek and ran to catch up to Adam. I turned to see Eoin and Ethan standing there in shock.
I could tell Adam was still ticked. “Thanks for coming and for bringing my sword.”
“You’re welcome. I couldn’t just leave you stranded here. I about flipped when Eoin told me what happened.” He shook his head. “You can’t just stay out of trouble, can you?”
“No. But I appreciate you coming. I’m supposed to be on an airplane right now. Or at least, I think I am. I don’t even know what time it is right now.”
“It’s the evening of Midsummer’s Eve.�
� Adam stopped walking and turned to me. “Eoin told me Biddy Early was at Mrs. Lincoln’s house, along with a few other fairies.”
“Dang. What’s been happening while I was gone?” I felt like I’d missed out on so much., even though I was pretty sure I’d dealt with more on my trip. Or at least, I hoped so. Killer mermaids and revenants were bad enough.
“We only heard what Eoin came to tell us.” Adam looked back at Ethan. “So, you’re sure he’s okay?”
I sighed. “I honestly don’t know. You wouldn’t believe everyone I’ve met this week. He kept following me. In France, Eoin told me not to eat the food Ethan served me. But then it was a different waiter who came by. Ethan insists he gave the poisoned food to some guy who supposedly deserved it.”
“And you believe him?”
“I don’t have any reason not to. I didn’t see anyone fall over dead or disappear, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.” I continued to tell him about everything that had happened. Adam just kept shaking his head.
“You have officially made me happy I didn’t go with you. Not that I’d wanted to before. And Atlantis? Seriously?”
I laughed. “I know, right? I didn’t believe it either until a mermaid tried to kill me.”
“Trust you to find the crazy people.”
“It’s a gift.” I stopped suddenly. I could’ve sworn I’d heard something coming straight for us. “Um, Adam, we might want to move.”
“Too late.” He pulled out his crossbow, and I grabbed my sword. Whatever it was, it was big.
Suddenly, a giant broke through the trees in front of us. Like, a real giant. He was a good ten to twelve feet tall. The flowering trees were tall, but they were dwarfed as the giant swatted them away.
Ethan suddenly appeared above us and flew toward the giant, growing to be nearly the size of the giant as he went. He shouted in the same language the pixies had used, but it was different. Deeper, stronger, darker.
The giant stared at him for a minute and then swatted at him. Ethan wasn’t fast enough to get out of the way, and he was knocked to the ground. Okay, so this wasn’t a nice giant. And he definitely wasn’t afraid of Ethan.
Adam added a bolt to his crossbow and aimed it at the giant. “Any objections this time?”
“Um, no. I think I can handle it if he doesn’t want to be buddies.” I watched the giant closely for any weaknesses. He limped slightly on his left foot, so if I could pull on it … “Wait, Adam. I think I can do something first. But be ready.”
I stuck out my hand and pulled on the giant’s luck, concentrating on his leg. He kept coming, so I pulled harder until he finally stumbled and fell. I was breathing heavily by the time he was down. Giants were a lot harder to mess with than other creatures.
“Okay, now I feel bad getting him because he’s on the ground.” Adam lowered his crossbow—until the giant let out a roar and pushed himself up. “Never mind.”
I pulled in more luck and made his hand slip when he tried to stand. “Seriously, Adam, shoot him.”
Adam aimed and fired the bolt, hitting the giant between the eyes. The giant fell to the ground with a thud.
“Nice one.” I slid my sword back into my sheath.
“Don’t put away your sword!” Eoin ran up to us. “If there’s a giant here, that means Queen Oona knows we’re here. Keep … doing whatever it is you’re doing.”
Ethan still lay on the ground ahead. I ran up to him and rolled him over. “Are you okay?”
He groaned. “I was not expecting that. They’re not supposed to be able to hurt me.”
I helped him up. “Why did he, then?”
“I don’t know.” He brushed himself off and walked over to study the giant. “Wow, Queen Oona has outdone herself. I haven’t seen a giant this size for a hundred years.”
Adam coughed. “A hundred years? How old are you?”
“I’m two hundred and seventeen years old. Wait, no, it’s June. Two hundred eighteen.”
“That’s … old.” Adam walked past the giant. “Let’s go. I want to find Mom and get home. I don’t like knowing that giants can just show up whenever.”
“You do realize this happens a lot in our own neighborhood, right?” Maybe not giants, but we’d had dragons, golems, and all kinds of other excitement.
“Yes, which is why I look forward to you leaving for college. You can take your creatures with you.”
I slugged him. “Hey. You’ll miss me and you know it. What else are you going to do in your spare time?”
“Date. Get a job. Travel. Make a million dollars. Anything that doesn’t include fighting bad guys.” Adam grinned.
An imp darted out of the woods, and Adam had him down before he got anywhere near us. I took out the next one. Soon, we had a whole army of them coming at us.
“Come on. You have to admit this is fun.” I took out two with my luck by having them hit each other with their own clubs, and then got another two down with my sword.
“I don’t have to admit anything.” He was shooting off bolts like mad. I ducked away from an imp that leaped at me, and Adam hit it midair.
Soon there were none left, and we continued on, this time keeping our weapons out. I heard fluttering behind me and whipped around to find a group of fairies following us.
“Oh, hey, guys. You came back.” I relaxed, but kept my sword out.
A fairy in blue came forward. “We have come to help. Queen Oona must be stopped, and you’re the only one who can do it.”
I laughed. “You want me to go up against the queen of the fairies? I don’t think so. I’m just getting my mom and going home.”
Adam pulled on my arm. “Don’t mind Megan. She forgets who she is and what she’s capable of. Come on, Megan. We need to go.”
I ran beside him, dodging plants and anything that got in our way, wondering what he meant. Getting a compliment from him was rather surprising—even when given in a rather insulting manner.
I pointed out the pixies and told him to avoid them. When one spit venom in our direction, Adam was more than happy to stay away.
Eoin and Ethan had disappeared. I didn’t know if that was a good or a bad thing, but I didn’t want to wait around to find out. Mom had been missing for hours now, and I didn’t think Queen Oona would be willing to treat her nicely for very long. Especially since we were fighting the queen’s minions.
When a group of centaurs came to fight us, the fairies joined together in one big group and swooped down on them, making them scatter.
“That’s one way to do it.” It was really nice to have a group of fairies on our side, instead of against us.
I only hoped we could get enough support to fight the queen—while I tried to find Mom and get her home safely.
JARED
Jared watched the sun slowly go down behind the mountains. It was almost time for the portal to open, and it couldn’t happen soon enough. While Beth slept, Jared had hiked around the hills, then climbed up to the top to keep watch. Nothing had come to bother them, but he’d caught sight of some deer running across another hill.
He climbed down the hill to where Beth sat looking through her bag of herbs. “We need to get going. The portal should be opening any time now.”
“Finally. Remind me why we came so early today?” She stood and put her backpack on her shoulders.
“We didn’t want to go home.”
“Ah. Yes. Good point. I tried texting Adam to let him know what was going on, but the text wouldn’t go through. I hope Eoin was able to talk to him.”
“I’m sure he did.” Jared motioned for Beth to go first so he could help her if she slipped. Uneasiness settled over him, so he pulled out his sword. He hadn’t felt this way since the grey man had threatened them, but he pushed it away, deciding that it was probably just nerves.
Beth stopped near the waterfall. “What if O’Malley is standing on the other side of the portal?”
“I really hope that’s not a possibility. The queen was supposed to
take care of him. Of course, now we have to go fight her. That doesn’t sound like a good omen to me.”
“You’re right. Maybe we shouldn’t just enter the second it opens.” Beth pulled an arrow out of her quiver and added a ball of herbs to it.
The last of the sun dropped below the mountain, and suddenly, the rock behind the waterfall began to change. A spot started spinning and growing wider until it was large enough for Beth and Jared to walk through.
Beth held up her bow, ready to shoot anything that attacked. “Okay, it’s now or never. Let’s get this over with.” She jumped through quickly, and Jared followed.
This wasn’t like the portal they’d gone through to Ireland earlier that year. Instead of the long hallway of emptiness, it was like walking through a door from one world to the other. Jared could feel the instant change in temperature. Where it was nighttime in Idaho, it was midday here.
A small line of creatures stood waiting to go through the portal for the Midsummer’s Eve celebration, and looked at Jared and Beth in surprise.
“We weren’t here, okay?” Jared said. He and Beth took off running to get as far away from the portal as they could.
Jared took in their surroundings. It was beautiful here, with flowers and a stream running down the path. It would have been the perfect romantic spot to stroll with Megan, but he was off to save her instead.
When Beth and Jared came to a forest, they searched until they found a clearing where there was little noise. Jared pulled out the map from Mrs. Lincoln and laid it on the ground. Its magic was supposed to show where Megan was compared to them. It looked like Megan had been able to escape the marsh okay.
“This is where Megan is, and we’re right here.” Jared pointed at the two marks. “Looks like it’s going to take a while to meet up.”
Beth studied the map. “What if we just head straight for the queen? Look.” She pointed at the queen’s location. “She’s almost the same distance from both of us. If we met there instead of going across to meet Megan, we can get there at the same time and help her out.”
She had a good point. They’d end up going that way later anyway, and it’d allow them to save Megan’s mom a lot sooner.