Relics and Runes Anthology

by Heather Marie Adkins

  “It’s more than that, and I think you know what I mean.”

  Andrea walks into Wesley’s room and gets into bed with him. He rolls over and puts his arms around her. “Why did you ask Jonathan to stay here?”

  “Because he is impetuous like you. He scares me.”

  “If you’re going to make a habit out of this, I’m better off sleeping in your bed. It’s nicer.”

  Jonathan instructs Andrea on how to move. “Pretend that you are being chased by a monster. Who will save you?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “You. Don’t rely on your fictional knight in shining armor.”

  Wesley comes outside. “What is this?”

  “None of your business.”

  Wesley pretends to draw a sword. He runs in front of Andrea. “I shall save you, my princess.” He fights against the invisible monster. He stabs the ground. “There. It’s dead.”

  “I believe you have earned a kiss.” Andrea kisses Wesley on the lips.

  “Always a pleasure.”

  “Unbelievable.” Jonathan goes inside.

  “He is mad. Look at the sky,” Wesley says.

  It’s blue. Not a cloud.

  “I have envied such skies.”

  “You can only envy it for so long.”

  Her cell phone rings. “Oh, sweet lord, it’s Susan. How did she get my number?” She answers the call. “Susan. How did you get my number?” She makes funny faces at Wesley that are intended for Susan. “You want me to admit that I am in love with Wesley. Not a chance.”

  Wesley draws a heart over his heart.

  “I don’t know how to deny it or confirm it without helping you sell a paper. Tell your friends that I am not giving them any information on my love life.” She hangs up.

  “Why didn’t you give her a real answer?”

  “Why? Are you in love with me?”

  “I’d be absolutely mad if I was.”

  Jonathan comes back outside. “We need to talk business, Andrea.”

  Andrea hurries inside.

  “I am your publisher. I am your psychiatrist. I can’t be both. You said you want to give up writing. And you don’t think you need therapy anymore. If we can’t have a professional relationship, I hope that we can be friends.”

  “Of course.”

  “Want to go out and get dinner?”

  “Let me just tell Wesley.”

  She goes outside and Wesley is gone. She heads back inside.

  Jonathan pulls the chair out for Andrea. “This is a fancy place.”

  “I’m a fancy guy.”

  “Jonathan, I am not sleeping with you.”

  “Not yet.”

  “Not ever. I wonder where Wesley is.”

  “Is that all you can think about?”

  The waiter comes over. Jonathan orders some fancy stuff that Andrea doesn’t even understand. She checks her phone. She texts Wesley.

  “Do you think about Cornelius?”

  She drops her phone.

  “It’s okay to say his name.”

  “You said it wasn’t.” She reaches down to find her phone.

  “I think you should revisit your fantasies.”

  She goes under the table. She has a text message from Wesley. She sits back in the chair. Reads the message.

  Jonathan left something behind. You want to see what it is?

  “Wesley says that you left something behind at the house.”

  “I don’t think I did.”

  “Jonathan, why do you want me to think about Cornelius again?”

  “It’s just a suggestion.”

  “I have to go.”

  She leaves the restaurant. She calls Wesley. “Get in your car and come and get me. I’m at…” she reads the name on the building, “Dreamscape. What a stupid name. See you soon.”

  Cars pull up. People walk past her. She goes to scratch her nose. Her hand is moving in slow motion. As is everything and everyone around her. “What…the…hell?”

  Wesley pulls up. Andrea steps towards the car. Wesley gets out of the car. “Where’s…Jonathan?”

  Time speeds up. Wesley and Andrea are in the car and drive off.

  Wesley pulls into her driveway. “What happened?”

  “Jonathan is from there.”

  “There?”

  “We are going to my home now. I need to see the fountain.”

  “No. Andrea, please listen to me. You never did before but you have to now. He is tempting you with your desires. The darkness that waits for you there is not going to let you leave again.”

  She gets out of the car and goes inside. He follows her. She goes upstairs. She packs her stuff. Wesley comes in and stops her.

  “I swore that I’d never let you in the Vale again.”

  “My memories are so distorted. Wesley, I can’t remember things from there and then I can’t remember things from here. What is happening?” She’s in tears.

  “It’s the power of the Vale. It’s tearing you apart. You were supposed to go back when you turned twenty-one, but things changed.”

  “How do you know so much about the Vale?”

  “Because I’ve had to go in there and save you every time. I’m not going to save you this time if you go in there.”

  “Cornelius will.”

  “You’re going to see how inept he really is.”

  “Are you going to drive me or not?”

  “I’ll wait in the car.”

  Wesley pulls into the O’Kelly’s driveway. Andrea’s parents are waiting outside the front door. Andrea gets out of the car and drops off her bag in front of her parents. “I don’t want to hear about it. I’m going back.”

  “What?” Melanie says.

  “Wesley, you were supposed to stop her.”

  “What are you all keeping from me?”

  “Maybe we should go inside.”

  “No, Mother. You tell me right now.”

  Michael takes both of Andrea’s hands into his own. “When we found out that he wanted you, we talked it over with Arianna and Thomas. And that’s when they said Wesley would protect you. He’s the only who can.”

  “No. Prince Cornelius can.”

  “You didn’t tell her, Wesley?” Melanie says.

  Andrea looks at Wesley. “Tell me what?”

  “Wesley, tell her,” Michael says.

  “It will complicate things further.”

  “Continue with what you were saying, Father.”

  “Jegorgon has always held a grudge against the fairies because they favored humans over goblins.”

  Andrea steps away from all three of them.

  “When we knew that you and Wesley liked each other enough, we thought we could unite the two kingdoms and be a stronger force against the goblin king. He commands many different beasts. You see, he is not a goblin. He’s a human.”

  “The goblin king is human and he got mad that the fairies favored humans over goblins.”

  “Fairies aren’t human. They’re humanlike, but they aren’t human like you and me. He felt that the fairies should be helping those that are not human.”

  “What did the fairies do for the humans?”

  “You’re special because the fairy elder gave an elixir to your mother to help her conceive. Fairy magic lives inside you. Jegorgon wants you because of that.”

  “It’s more than that,” Wesley says. “She can’t go back there. I can’t go back so no one will protect her.”

  Wesley comes into Andrea’s bedroom. She puts away her clothes.

  “Are you mad?”

  “What are you, Wesley?”

  “I’m the person you grew up with.”

  She tosses her bag into the closet. “I don’t think so. Is that why Cornelius and you look so alike? Because you are him?”

  She looks over his ears, feels around his back.

  “This is insane. You have seen me naked, you know that I don’t have wings.”

  “Fairies can conceal their wings and magic.�
�

  “Alright. I am from the Vale, as you are. But I am not the fairy prince.”

  “I don’t believe you. And I’m going to prove it.”

  “How?”

  She walks past him.

  She goes downstairs to her father’s office. She opens the drawer and takes out the key to the garden’s gates.

  “Andrea, what are you doing?”

  “Going to set this right.” She heads outside.

  “Shit.” He runs after her.

  She unlocks the gates. Wesley walks in.

  “Don’t go back there.”

  “It’s clear that we should all be back there.”

  “Just stay here until we can discover a way to defeat him.”

  “Jacob? Jonathan? They are all versions of the goblin king?”

  He nods. “I’m glad that you see it now.”

  “You put me in danger.”

  “I failed at being a protector.”

  “You’re right. You couldn’t be my Cornelius. He never fails at protecting me.” She stands on the base of the fountain.

  “I love you, Andrea. Stay here with me.”

  “I’m sorry, Wesley, but I have to do this.”

  Melanie and Michael go over the instructions they have written for the servants. “Is Thomas okay with this?”

  “Arianna suggested that we let this happen. They know now that we can’t sit by and let him win. Don’t worry. Wesley will go with her.”

  “He’s not allowed back in the Vale. The consequences will be severe. It will shatter the fountain. It will destroy the only portal that can’t be created again.”

  “We will build a new one.”

  “How? Stanley is dead. He knew the dangers in making that infernal thing.”

  “Wesley has already snuck into the Vale to save Andrea.”

  “And look what happened. It has increased Jegorgon’s influence over her.”

  A car pulls up. Thomas and Arianna come through the front door. “Where’s Wesley?” Arianna asks.

  “He went after Andrea.”

  Arianna goes to Melanie’s side. “I am so sorry that this all had to fall apart.”

  “Don’t blame yourself. That bastard found out where Andrea was and he found out how to break through.”

  “I thought we sealed the fountain up,” Thomas says.

  “He’s more powerful than you,” Michael says.

  Melanie grabs a backpack. “Everything essential is in here.”

  “How are we leaving?” Arianna asks.

  “We will use the quill. Once we sign our names, the door will open and we will back in our kingdoms. Are you ready, friend?” Michael says.

  “Ready,” Thomas says.

  The front door opens. Noah comes in. “Have some bad news. Where’s Wes?”

  “He’s with Andrea at the fountain,” Melanie says.

  “Heard from Drevil that if Wesley steps a foot in the Vale, he is going to be a wanted man. No protection from the fairies. No protection from any of the kingdoms.”

  “He’s my son. Who ruled on this?”

  “The fairy council. In the absence of the real king and queen, the council assumed control.”

  “This is why we always knew we couldn’t stay away too long,” Arianna says.

  “This is Jegorgon. He is turning everyone against each other. Noah, go and find Wesley. He’ll need you more than we will.”

  “Yes, your Majesty.” Noah runs outside to the back yard.

  “I was getting used to being just Thomas.”

  Wesley kneels before Andrea. “I can’t lose you. What if we get married?”

  “That won’t make me forget Cornelius.”

  “But he’s not real. He’s just…” He can’t say it.

  “I’m going.” She drops down into the water. The fountain glows brightly.

  Noah runs over to him. “We got to stop her.”

  The fountain starts crumbling. The statues tumble down into the water. The base breaks open and water gushes out.

  “Wesley, the fountain is destroyed. Andrea can’t come back through there.”

  “That’s it.”

  “No, no. Wes, look at me. We can still get there. Your parents might not be gone yet. We can get through the portal they are opening.”

  “I was only allowed through the fountain because it wasn’t created by fairy magic.”

  Noah picks up pieces of the fountain. “I can’t accept defeat.”

  13

  If there are windows, they are blocked by the darkness. A candle flickers in the corner of the room like it’s on steroids.

  Suddenly there’s actual light. Andrea blinks a few times. A striking man stands in the burning light. “Who are you?”

  “I am King Jegorgon.” His hair is going in many directions at once. It’s dark with blonde streaks. His eyes are bright blue.

  “Where am I?”

  “My castle. I have wanted to meet you when you were an adult so that it would be easier to reason with you. Your Cornelius or Wesley, however you want to see him, has done all he can to keep you from me. He made a deal with me when he was eight years old. You were to be mine when you turned eighteen. I had you briefly in this land and then he took you back. Now you’re here again. He wants to take you back. I will not have my deal broken.”

  “Who is Wesley?”

  “Oh, you have no memory of the other land. How delightful.”

  Andrea gets to her feet. The burning light dissipates. The darkness around her falls apart. She is standing in a courtyard full of bones and swamp.

  “Depressing I know. I want to relocate but the goblins are finicky about their environment. Don’t worry, I have informed them that they are not to show their ugly faces while you are my guest.”

  She tries to prevent herself from banging into any of the bones as she walks around to get a better look.

  “Let us go to the throne room. This way.” He puts his arm out for her. She walks with him.

  He opens the large double doors and the throne room sparkles with gold coins and gems.

  “This is not what I thought the goblin city would look like.”

  “Goblins love their treasure. I don’t trust any of them so I keep all the treasure in the throne room. It’s protected by fairy magic and cannot be broken. The treasure cannot leave here unless I let it.”

  She walks over to the throne chair. It’s got a high back that curves into a V shape. It’s sturdy wood. She sits down in it. She looks at Jegorgon waiting for his objection. He instead stands by her side.

  “It’s not that uncomfortable.”

  “If you want one of your own I shall have the goblins make you one.”

  “You think I’ll marry you?”

  The double doors open and a horde of two foot furry people in silver armor come in dragging a person behind them. “We caught him,” the goblin general says. He is the tallest of the goblins. Two and half feet. He is also the least horrifying one with dark-brown skin and human sized eyes.

  Andrea takes one look at the goblins and screams.

  The other goblins are a mixture of green and brown with large pointy noses, razor teeth that are always grinning. Their ball sacks are always hanging out. They never wear pants. They only protect their upper body with armor. Their eyes glow amber.

  “You are making the princess upset with the sight of you. Get out.”

  “But we captured the fairy prince,” the general says.

  “Cornelius?” Andrea runs over to the captive. She takes the layers of rope off and finds Cornelius underneath. “You monsters!”

  “Leave him and get out!”

  “Yes, my king. You heard him you gutter rats.”

  The goblins leave and slam the double doors behind them.

  “Are you ever afraid that they will revolt against you?” She caresses Cornelius’s head.

  “First, goblins are not the rebelling kind. They need a leader. They can’t elect a goblin as king because goblins do not posses
s magic. Look around. Magic is what protects this place. Without magic, the goblins would be vulnerable.”

  She helps Cornelius to his feet. “King Jegorgon, I have allowed myself to be taken captive in hopes of making amends.”

  The goblin king laughs as he sits down on his throne. “The noble prince wants to save his kingdom by making amends with me. It isn’t me that you should worry about. It’s the Vale. You were warned to not come back. Sending this pitiful version of yourself still counts as breaking the rules.”

  Andrea brings Cornelius face to face with her. “What rule was broken?”

  “Tell her, Cornelius. Why can’t she remember Wesley?”

  Andrea looks down at her cell phone. It won’t turn on. “What is this?”

  “Those things don’t work here. I have an idea. You can leave with her, if you attend a party here in two weeks.”

  “You’re going to let us leave?”

  “Yes. I am in a good mood. Andrea impressed me. Two weeks to also remind her of what she has waiting for her in the other land.”

  “Okay. Thank you, goblin king.”

  The double doors open and in comes the general.

  “Escort them to the gates.”

  “Yes, sire. But we…” He signals to two goblins to come to him. “Escort them to the gates.”

  “And no following or trapping.”

  “You heard his majesty.”

  The goblins hop to it.

  The general steps inside the throne room and closes the double doors. “You let them leave. After we caught the fairy prince and you let him walk out of here.”

  “You will not do anything to jeopardize my plan.”

  “Of course not.”

  “And that is not the fairy prince. He is still in the other land. He isn’t allowed back and the fountain has been destroyed. Send your men to work on fixing it.”

  “We can’t. Not without the builder.”

  “Find another.”

  Cornelius and Andrea make it out of the dismal goblin city and onto the border village that separates the city from the main road.