Everyone was silent.
Finally my aunt spoke, “he is our father. He can be a coward, but he’s decent…much more than I thought.” It was clear by my aunt’s tone, she was beginning to trust Roger.
“I trust him,” Ben said.
“I do too,” I said.
We all looked at my mom. “I don’t know him enough to make that decision…but I trust the three of you. Sweetheart, you’re putting the life of your son in his hands,” she said.
“Mom, if we don’t take that risk,” I looked between her and my aunt, “the two of you will die…maybe before I even get through.”
My mom nodded her head. It was agreed. We would tell Roger.
After telling Melody, Laura and Sean everything we had learned, they eagerly agreed to help. Our next task was asking Roger for help. As my mom and aunt spent the day practicing the spell to open the portal, I made it my burden to ask Roger for help. I went to his room and knocked on the door.
When he answered, he looked pleased to see me, as I didn’t often stop by. I asked him if we could talk and he invited me in.
“Roger,” I said nervously, “I need to tell you something important…it’s life our death.”
“What’s wrong sweetheart?” he said looking concerned.
I told Roger about my son and the Queen’s sister. I explained everything to him—about the end of earth and how the Queen would try to kill my son. I finished the conversation by saying, “Roger, did you even know you had an aunt?”
“I didn’t know. I’ve never even been past the dungeon entrance. I have always been scared of the dungeon,” Roger looked embarrassed.
“It’s okay Roger,” I said, “The dungeon scared me too. Just being down there made me feel so…uncomfortable.” Then I decided I needed to tell Roger the truth, “Roger. Your aunt told me something about you.”
“What’s that?” he asked.
“She said…well…you were never vile, just superhuman.”
Roger’s eyes grew wide, then anger washed across his face, and he turned red. “Do you mean that? Do you really trust this woman? Why would my mom take my power away? Why would she do that to me?” he demanded.
“Roger…your mom is crazy.”
Roger wiped a tear from his eye and said, “I’ve done everything she asked—always. The only thing I refused to do was bring you and Allison here, and she had her minions do it for her.” He wiped another tear away and looked ashamed. “Why was I so hateful to Lauren? Why did I drink so much? Why did I try to kill myself, when all along, I didn’t have a single bit of vile in me? What is wrong with me Miranda?”
I didn’t know what to say. I had grown up with the most amazing, wonderful father a girl could ask for. My dad could be overprotective at times, but he never took away the person I was at heart. He never tried to change me, and he never lied to me. Although he kept Taylor a secret for eighteen years, he eventually told me the truth. I didn’t understand why the Queen was so horrible, especially to her own child.
I thought about everything for a moment and said, “Roger, maybe you did the things you did, because it’s all you knew. Maybe it was all a response to the way your mother treated you.”
“I guess,” he said. He was quiet for some time. I looked down at my lap not knowing what else to say. Finally he said, “I am happy for you Sweetheart. Now that I know the truth about everything, and I have you, Allison and Lexi…I’m ready to be a different man. I want to be a better man. I will do whatever it takes to save my great-grandson from my mother.”
It would be difficult, but with Roger’s help, we could save my son.
“Meet us at midnight…in my room,” I said, “We are going to free Desmorelda’s sister.”
Roger nodded his head.
Midnight came fast and it was time to execute our plan. We put Laura in charge of watching out for the Queen. The rest of us would take out the vampires who were guarding the dungeon. My mom and I predicted there would be eight vampires from the portal to the cell. We would have to take each one out quietly. Once we had control of the dungeon, we would use our magic to reverse the spell removing magic from the dungeon. It would be difficult, but with an abundance of potion and dust, we could make it happen. Once we returned magic to the dungeon, we could break out the Queen’s sister. Once she was free, we would have to quickly mute the magic to keep anyone else from escaping. Once the Queen’s sister was free, we could immediately return to my room to open the portal. It was a long shot, but it had to work.
Everyone met in my room and was ready for action. Laura made her way to the portal to keep lookout for the Queen as the remainder of us headed to the dungeon. As the portal took us deep below the castle, my heart was racing in terror for anything that could go wrong. Everything was happening much to fast.
The portal finally reached the dungeon, and the doors opened. My mother and I headed out of the portal and waved to the vampire’s on guard. They seemed confused by our late night visit, but they waved in return.
As we continued down the hall, I heard two quick howls from behind and saw blood splash onto the walls. I turned around and saw Ben and Sean holding the guards hearts in hand. Both of them were covered in blood. With both guards dead on the ground, Ben began licking blood off his hands. It was horrendous sight, and I felt ill, but I continued on.
We had to hurry and take out the other remaining guards before they discovered what we had done. As we continued through the horrendous dungeon, we suddenly heard a thundering of footsteps coming our way. The guards had heard our attack and were coming after us.
Six huge vampires were running straight towards us. They looked petrifying as they charged our way.
“RUN MIRANDA!” Ben screamed as he charged towards the guards.
As I ran in the opposite direction of the guards, I heard crashing and thuds from behind. I had to turn the magic back on, as it was the only way we would survive. As the others were taking on the vampires, I pushed my hands forward. I began shouting a fairy chant as I threw a handful of fairy dust above my head. The dust created a yellow glow in the damp air.
Just as the dust lit the air, I saw a vampire running straight my way. I panicked, but I couldn’t stop. If I couldn’t turn the magic on, my family would die. I chanted loud and louder, my heart racing as I shouted the words to the spell. The vampire was only inches away from taking me down.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, the vampire was thrown to the ground. Ben had taken him down, but the huge vampire jumped on top of Ben, punching his face over and over. Blood was splattering everywhere as the vampire’s fist drove into Ben’s flesh. It looked as if Ben was about to lose consciousness. I chanted louder, only hoping the magic would work faster. Suddenly there was a pop, and the dust fell to the ground. Magic was turned back on.
I rapidly drank a bottle of potion and threw green dust in the air; I chanted a sleeping spell as fast as I could. The dust danced through the air, landing on every individual in the room except me. Everyone suddenly froze and fell asleep. I quickly went to Ben, and carefully sprinkled red dust on him, making sure to avoid the vampire. I saw Ben begin to wake up, but I could tell he was in tremendous pain. As Ben began to sit up, I ran towards my mother.
As soon as I reached my mother, I sprinkled red dust on her. She was in bad shape and coughing up blood. I quickly left her, as I had to wake the rest. As soon as the others were awake, everyone did a healing chant, while I fed Ben my blood. We worked as quickly as we could to avoid getting caught. The sleeping dust would only last two hours and we didn’t want to take any more lives than necessary.
Everyone had been hurt badly, and not everyone was quickly restored from the healing chant. Melody was unable to walk, and blood was still dripping from Roger’s nose and mouth. Roger was unable to heal from the healing chant as his superhuman powers had been taken away. We left Melody and told her we would return for her soon. Ben lifted Roger and we carried on towards the cell. My mother was struggling to walk, so Sean and
I helped her along.
We never even reached the cell when the Queen’s sister came running towards us. With the magic turned back on, she was powerful enough to release herself.
“We need to turn the magic off before anyone else escapes!” I cried.
Ben and Sean kept watch, while the rest of us clasped hands. Roger threw dust in the air and the five of us began chanting the spell to turn of magic in the dungeon. The dust danced through the air and popped as magic was ripped from the dungeon once more. We all headed towards the portal. Ben grabbed Melody on the way.
Our group hobbled into the portal as quickly as we could. Melody was whining in pain, while Ben and Roger were wiping blood from their face. I was the only one not speckled with blood. I quickly pressed the button for our hall and the portal whizzed off. My heart was pounding as we raced against time. The moment the portal door opened, we staggered out. My heart stopped beating as I saw Laura running down the hall with her hands in the air.
“Hurry...HURRY! Open the portal now! She’s coming.” Laura screamed. We immediately stopped in the middle of the hall and as the four fairies stood in a circle around me and began the dangerous spell that would send me home.
Ben quickly kissed my stomach and began choking up as he said, “I love you, my son,” then he kissed me passionately and embraced me tight. His eyes were red and damp. “I love you Miranda...I love you, take care of our son.” Tears were now falling down his cheeks as he stepped away.
As I watched him walk away, I burst into tears. I knew this could be the last time I ever saw him. He nodded at me with tear stained eyes as I tried wiped the tears from my face.
Ben, Sean and Laura stood watch as the Fairies continued their spell. Opening a portal was extreme magic, powerful enough to kill my unborn son. I stood in the middle crying as I watched my family perform dangerous magic, waiting for the portal to drink me in.
The fairies threw dust in the air, which turned to a small circle. As they chanted, the circle began to glow and widen. I continued to cry, realizing I hadn’t had a chance to say goodbye to my family. I gazed at Ben; his face was red and his eyes were swollen. When he caught my glance, he tried to smile for encouragement, but it only brought him more tears.
The portal to Earth was almost open, when the portal at the end of the hall opened and the Queen marched out. As she walked towards us, she was dressed only in black lingerie and had an evil look upon her face. Two huge vampires were following immediately behind her.
“WHAT IS GOING ON!” She screamed.
“Don’t stop!” Ben yelled. “Don’t stop!”
Ben, Laura and Sean stood guard as the Queen and her guards marched straight towards us.
“Stop,” the Queen screamed, “I demand you to stop!
The fairies kept going. The Queen placed her hands forward and began chanting a spell.
“Keep going!” the Queen’s sister cried as she stepped away from the circle. She stepped towards her sister and threw her hands forward as she began chanting a spell. “It’s protection magic,” she cried, “I can only hold it for so long.”
The Queen began hurling balls of fire our way, and the vampires charged towards our circle. The moment the vampires hit the invisible protection, they smacked into the air as if they were hitting a wall.
As I looked around the circle, I could see my mom, aunt and Roger were barely able to continue the magic without the Desmorelda’s powerful sister. My mom and aunt were bleeding from the nose and Roger looked as if he would collapse.
As the Queen tried to take of us down with her balls of fire, I could see her sister was having a hard time keeping her protection magic alive. Ben and Sean stood on either side of her, keeping her upright as magic burst from her fingers, and blood poured to the floor. I felt sickened by the sight of my surroundings, but I could do nothing but wait.
The magic was too much for the few fairies left, and the Queen and her vampires were about to take us down. If the portal didn’t open soon, we wouldn’t make it. There was nothing I could do but stand and wait while the Queen destroyed my family.
The vampires kept charging the invisible wall, each time shaking the Queen’s sister as she struggled to keep them out. Desmorelda continued throwing fire and blasts of energy at her sister, trying to knock her out. Each time a blast of energy hit her, the Queen’s sister groaned as more blood gushed to the floor.
“She’s not going to make it!” Ben yelled.
“We almost have it!” My mother yelled as she coughed on her own blood as it sprayed across the air.
As the three continued their magic, blood poured down their faces. The magic was too much, and Roger collapsed. My mom and aunt were struggling to hang on and were about to fall over from the weight of the spell.
“Almost—” my mother cried softly as blood gurgled from her mouth. But right as she spoke, the Queen threw one final blast at her sister. The Queen’s sister lost consciousness and collapsed into a pool of her own blood.
My heart was racing, and I was shaking in fear as Ben, Laura and Sean charged the vampires and the Queen. Ben and Sean were immediately thrown into a wall by vampires as Laura ran towards the Queen. With a single thrust of her hand, the Queen used her magic to lift Laura from the ground and slam her into the wall. Laura didn’t move as Sean and Ben ran towards the Queen.
As I stood between my mom and aunt, I watched as my aunt lost consciousness and collapsed to the ground, and the Queen slammed Ben and Sean into the wall. As the men slammed into the wall I gasped and tears began to fall from my eyes. I knew it was all over.
Suddenly the portal began to grow and whoosh loudly above my head as I heard my mom say quietly, “Go Miranda...go!
My mom collapsed to the ground in a pile of blood just as the portal fell. I tried to look around to see if anyone was alive, but it was too late. The portal dropped over my body, devouring me whole. I felt tremendous pressure as the world turned dark.
Part Three
Chapter 18
Just as quickly as I had been sucked into the portal, I was dropped back to earth. I clutched my stomach as I slammed into the pavement. As I looked around, I realized the pavement was soaked and so was I. It was pouring down rain and lightening was illuminating the sky as thunder echoed from the mountains afar. From the scent of the earth, it seemed as if it had been raining for several days.
As I stood up, I feared by tiny son may have been injured from the fall, but I had to gather everyone to the safe house before anything else. When I was on my feet, I realized I was dropped not far from my father’s home. It was late in the midst of the night, as only the lightening illuminated the sky. I needed to find my father immediately, and I quickly took off running toward my father’s home.
When I reached my father’s home, I tried the doorknob, but it was locked. I started beating on the door and screaming my father’s name. Only moments later, the porch light came on and the door opened. My father was standing at the door in robe. He looked dazzled. He immediately reached out and embraced me as if he would never let go.
I quickly pulled away and said, “Dad, grab your phone, we need to go to the safe house, now!”
My Father looked concerned, but by the tone of my voice, he could tell something was seriously wrong. He ran to the kitchen and came back with his phone. As soon as I saw him, I took off towards the mansion. My father trailed behind.
As I ran, I shouted, “Call the warriors! Call the fairies! Call the whole town! We need to get to the safe house now!”
My dad began dialing on his phone as we ran towards the mansion. As soon as we entered, I began yelling for anyone who was there, “WAKE UP! EVERYONE TO THE SAFE HOUSE NOW!”
The two of us didn’t stop moving until we were in the mansion basement and in the safety of the safe house walls.
“The warriors and fairies are on their way. Sophia is calling the others. What is going on?” My dad demanded.
“Call Dr. Glinton!” I panted, feeling out of breath an
d exhausted. “Then I’ll tell you everything.”
My father did as I asked and called the doctor. When he hung up the phone, he glared at me, wanting to know what was going on. “What happened, where is your aunt and the others?”
“Dad, I’m pregnant...and Mom is alive.” Was all I could manage to say.
His eyes grew large, and confusion washed across his face but he embraced me tight once more.
“I’m going to be grandfather!” he cried “And your mom! My God! How? What is going on?” He threw his hand over his mouth in excitement.
“Dad things are bad...really bad!” I said as I began telling him everything that happened the last year.
Only minutes into the story, the door was thrown open, and Sophia and her family stepped in. Moments later, Maria, Brandon and their children entered the safe house, all wearing their pajamas. Ayden and Addison were not far behind. Once Ayden and Addison were in the safe house, I pulled the adults to the side and continued telling them all that happened. Town members continued piling into the safe house as I spoke to Brandon, Maria and the counsel.
When Dr. Glintin arrived, I immediately went to him and told him I needed to be examined. “Dr. Glintin,” I cried, “I am pregnant and just traveled through a portal from another world. I slammed into the concrete. I don’t know if he’s okay…or alive.”
Dr. Glintin calmly instructed me to lie on a bunk nearby, and he felt my stomach.
“I’m sorry Miranda,” he said, “It’s much too early. Without my equipment, I can’t tell if your baby is okay. I’ll head back to my office and get some equipment.”
“Be careful,” I said, “Take Virgo or Sophia. It isn’t safe out there.”
As the town members piled into the safe house, everyone looked terrified and confused. Most everyone was wearing their pajamas and had been woke from their sleep. As I sat up, I looked around the room, and I suddenly saw Damon and his family. The moment he saw me, he raced to me and wrapped his arms around me.
The Portal to Sidhe: Book 1 Page 19