“You never did listen. Always ignoring the wishes of your parents, but enough of this. You don’t belong, Shea.”
“Get away from her!” Thane winced as he tried to push back the strangling rope-like spell.
Shea stared at her mother, studying every inch of her face as if recalling a dream from her childhood. The vision she always held was of a youthful, strong and beautiful fairy. One that would tow the line between discipline and love and do it perfectly. She was always there, someone to run to and lean on and hug and be with in a state of wordless love for there wasn’t ever a need to define anything. It was simply in her eyes.
Her eyes. What happened? Wrinkles sagged under them, gray hairs curled over them, scarred skin stretched across a tired face.
“Mom. Where did you go? Please,” Shea begged and suddenly felt like her adolescent self again. The bright, hopeful little fairy that for so many years she tried desperately to shed and be rid of.
Elanor pulled back at the sound of her daughter’s desperate voice. Her eyes swirled once again - a storm retreating - but she quickly rubbed them and shook it off. Her little daughter’s voice rang between her ears and for a moment the shadow in her mind slipped away, but like a rush of a violent wave the darkness swept back in. She grabbed Shea by the arm, ready to pull her away.
“That wish needs to be granted, Mom! You know it!” Shea was desperate.
“How are you?” Miranda said from the couch. Elanor paused a moment, as did the rest of the fairies.
“How am I? My wife left me. Not so good. You?” Grayson returned. A pang of resentment was impossible to miss.
Miranda stood up from the couch and paced in front of Grayson as Elanor stopped tugging Shea and stared at nothing in particular, listening.
“We have problems, Gray. That’s obvious. But don’t you ever feel like there’s just something missing?”
“I always feel that way.”
“You do?”
“Of course. And when you left, it was obvious what it was,” Grayson said, folding his arms.
“Don’t put this on me. And I’m talking about something…else. I don’t know, but it’s weird. I know something is off, but I can’t figure out what it is.”
Tears were forming in Elanor’s eyes as her grip on Shea’s shoulder weakened. Leaning a bit closer, Shea noticed that the darkness in her mom’s eyes was softening. Even though the confusion was still there, Shea could tell that whatever it was that was haunting her mom wasn’t permanent. At least she hoped.
“I thought they made a True Love Wish? It sounds like…” Thane said, but the Lost Fairy tightened his wrangling spell’s grip.
Shea looked at her mother. “You still care. Don’t you?”
A gliding tear was quickly wiped as Elanor’s anger returned. She tightened her hold once again and pulled Shea along the base of the couch. Nearing the edge, a sudden violent winter wind rattled the house, flickering the lights. A winter storm was quickly brewing outside.
Getting up from the couch, Grayson headed to the kitchen. “Maybe we should stop trying to figure it out, Miranda. It’s like all we do is try to figure things out. Do we have any candles?”
“In the pantry. I can’t help it, Gray. There’s something else. Something deeper is just wrong.”
His voice trailed from around the corner as Grayson searched the pantry for a couple candles. “I know what’s wrong, Miranda. My wife, the only person I’ve ever truly loved, isn’t sure if she loves me anymore.”
“Grayson, I…”
“Why is the window open?” he asked, as he set two candles on the kitchen table and shut the window, cutting off a strong, cold breeze. Just before the window closed completely, he thought he noticed a flash of light fly in. Another blast of wind rattled the house, flickering the lights and finally the window clasped shut.
Hiding behind a teapot, thoroughly out of breath with rosy, wind-whipped cheeks, Beren and Avery landed and surveyed the small home. The Wish was hovering near Miranda’s shoulder. Jumping and crouching behind a ceramic bird salt shaker, they caught a glimpse of Elanor pulling Shea along the base of the couch.
Peeking around the corner of the sofa, Elanor spotted the floating Wish. She pulled Shea in close. “This isn’t a little fairy game. It ends now.” She whipped her wand from her sheath. It immediately charged up, sparking light from its end.
Shea knew her mom was in there somewhere, but what could she do? She had come this far only to have the wish stolen out from under her. A slow panic was building inside Thane as he watched the charging wand. He needed to do something, but what?
Shea closed her eyes, fighting the waterfall of tears, but suddenly felt a kick at the back of her leg. Thane was trying to tell her something, but if she tried to turn around - Dad!
Slowly landing on the windowsill behind Elanor, Beren crouched and nodded to her daughter. Thane’s smile couldn’t have been bigger as Avery joined him, but he quickly forced a frown as his captor gave him a strange look. He knew he had to keep the attention off of Beren.
“She does still care, Shea. I see it too,” Thane said, attempting a distraction.
Shea didn’t miss a beat. “The wish matters to you, Mom. It matters to you more than Erebus. Than Dad. Even me.”
“You’re catching on,” Elanor said as she raised her wand to her daughter’s throat.
“Dad!” Shea screamed and blasts of spells fired from the end of Beren and Avery’s wands, knocking Elanor and her Lost Fairies back. She dragged her daughter to the ground, but Shea wrestled to break free. Beren jumped, rolled across the floor and forced the Lost Fairies back with a defensive blast. Avery smashed The Lost Fairies against the wall and sprinted to Shea, helping her up.
“Thane! Behind me!” yelled Beren, and Thane quickly followed orders. He jumped behind Beren and the duo fired spells at the incoming blasts of the Lost Fairies. A firestorm of spells lit up the rear of the couch as Avery pulled Shea from Elanor.
“Go!” Avery yelled.
Shea fired a grappling spell at the light fixture in the center of the ceiling, swinging herself toward the wish.
The wish fluttered and buzzed as Shea chased it, firing wrangling spells at will. One spell crashed against a teapot, exploding it into pieces. Miranda screamed as the glass crashed against the walls.
Avery jumped on top of Elanor, trying to hold her down, but Elanor was stronger. She twisted Avery’s broken arm, and popped her shoulder out of its socket. She cried out, and Elanor easily pushed her off, immediately firing a spell at Beren. He met it head on with an equal spell, but was thrown back by its force. Elanor watched her daughter gain on the retreating wish and panic over losing it set in. She shot off in the same direction with a grappling spell of her own and swooped through the house.
Beren and Thane flew after her, but the Lost Fairies’ spells kept them from tailing too close and forced them to fire in defense. The cold, hard-hearted Avery suddenly returned. She popped her shoulder back into place with barely a cringe, and stood with a purpose watching Elanor flash spells at Shea. Avery could still fly, despite the pain. Floating slowly up into a ready position, she darted after Elanor.
The wish was masterful in alluding Shea as the little fairy swung from light fixtures, doorknobs, and curtain hooks and left a path of mini-destruction in her wake. Her wild grappling, while perfect in the open air, wasn’t suited for anything remotely domestic and Grayson’s house was quickly turning into a war zone.
The wish scurried out of the way of a powerful wrangling spell as it exploded a small lamp. Elanor was gaining on it. Shea knew deep down that she was a better flyer than her mom, but this wasn’t a contest. That wish needed to be wrangled by her and her alone.
The wish landed on the fireplace mantel and a race was on as Shea rallied her strength and followed her mom’s grappling pattern. A Lost Fairy lunged at Shea, but an explosion knocked him from the air. Shea landed on the mantel, looked back and saw Avery close behind with her deep, frustrated
eyes peeking out from her dark cloak. If Shea hadn’t noticed two healthy wings, she would have thought it was a Lost Fairy. Shea barely knew Avery, but she was happy for the help.
Thane suddenly grabbed her and woke her up. “Would you go, please?” He pushed her toward the wish and Shea lunged. Another explosion just missed Shea and the wish, knocking Shea back. Reacting to the explosion, the wish zoomed off the mantel just out of the reach of Elanor as she tried diving for it. Shea knew this was her chance. She knew the wish would circle back to the center of the room and she needed momentum to cut off her mom’s pursuit.
Hurling a grapple to the kitchen table, Shea flung herself and landed, getting a better angle on the fleeing wish. Taking aim, she fired a spell at the chandelier and careened toward it. Reaching her arm out, ready to meet the wish head on, a blast of light knocked her out of the air, flinging her to the floor. Crashing hard to the floor, she looked up through dizzy eyes and watched Elanor and Avery struggle for the wish. They both had it in their arms, falling fast.
When they hit, the wish bounced out of their hands, dazed from the impact. It slid on the floor, momentarily slowed. Shea stood and ran for the wish, but Elanor, again, was too fast. She shoved Avery off of her and flashed a perfect wrangling spell around the wish, pulling it into her arms.
“No!” screamed Thane. He dived to Shea as he watched a Lost Fairy take aim and fire a spell square into Shea’s chest. Shea fell back, immediately unconscious, lying in the middle of the living room. Beren grabbed Thane, pulled him back, knowing what was to come next.
Elanor rushed behind a potted plant, holding the True Love Wish tight in her arms. Her Lost Fairies suddenly scattered and hid, and Avery rolled under the coffee table. The fairies were scattering, but what for? Elanor was about to escape as well, but quickly froze.
In the middle of the living room, Miranda and Grayson held each other, staring in fright. Their faces were pale white as they looked at something on the floor. Heaving breaths of confusion and panic, they didn’t know what they were looking at, but Beren knew as he hid with Thane near the base of the living room window. He wanted to rush in and pull Shea out of there, but he was just as frozen as his wife. What now?
Shea groaned and pulled herself up from the floor, standing in pain and holding her chest. She looked at her fellow fairies. They were all staring at her, wide-eyed. Why were they staring at her? Turning her gaze upward, she quickly realized. Miranda and Grayson were looking at a broken-winged fairy standing in the middle of their home.
27
Rules Are Meant To Be Broken
The sky’s dark clouds were swirling into a thick, black storm. Wind whipped through the frost bitten trees of the cul-du-sac as hail bombarded the streets. WishKeepers pushed through the powerful storm as they approached the house. Their dark green cloaks waved wildly, but they stood their ground as they hovered, wands at their side. One by one, they formed a perfect circle around the small cottage - valiant soldiers at attention about to bring light to the impending darkness.
Erebus and his thick black fog had all but covered the house creating a wall of shadow. The shadow king swam back and forth within the thick of the blackness like a demented shark awaiting its prey. The WishKeepers eyed each other in disgust and fright as sharp black hands ripped out of the fog, swiping at them, taunting them to come closer. In unison, the Keepers raised their wands, two-handed, above their heads.
The house shook and not just because of the powerful blasts of wind, but the earth itself beneath Shea rattled as she looked up into the eyes of her Makers. Explosions echoed across the neighborhood as blasts of golden light shimmered through the windows. Gates were exploding shut, closing forever. The little fairy fell to the floor, unable to hold herself up as Miranda grabbed Grayson trying to stay upright.
“Grayson!”
“I don’t know! Just hold on!” Grayson yelled back.
“Shea, get out of there!” Thane yelled. Beren held him back from diving for his friend. The WishMakers had already seen Shea, but revealing a host of fairies to them would only make matters worse. As long as Shea doesn’t -
“Miranda and Grayson! My name’s Shea.” One rule had been broken already and Shea was desperate. Shea looked at her Mom. Elanor was huddled behind the potted plant, holding the True Love Wish tight in her arms with a look of utter terror in her black eyes. Even The Captain didn’t expect this and when Shea looked at Thane, worried, hurt and fraught with his own desperation, she knew there was no turning back.
Beren, wide-eyed and trying to force any kind of idea to surface, stared at his naive yet heroic daughter standing in front of two painfully confused WishMakers. He looked out through the windows and spotted his Keepers forming along the edge of the property. Another rush of wind crashed through the cul-du-sac and screamed between the cracks of the weathered storm windows. The lights flickered and buzzed, and with another golden explosion ricocheting in the distance, the lights went out completely.
Beren took the sudden darkness as a chance to make a move. He called for Avery with a loud whisper as she scrambled to her feet, cradling her shattered arm. Bolting out from under the coffee table, she flew to her General’s side and looked out the window.
Goren and Foster were fighting the fierce storm, hovering with their wands held high. The one thing she had avoided with every bit of pained effort for the past ten years was the memory of Erebus and his torture, but there he was, in all his blackened glory. The demented WishingKing paced in front of the The Hope, daring them to try and enter. Begging them for a fight. She stared, terror-stricken, watching the inevitability of a battle. And somehow knowing she was watching, Erebus stopped pacing and quickly turned toward the window. His dark red eyes pierced her already fragile soul and a slow, black crease of a smile taunted her to join the fun. When she saw his face - that smile - every memory of her time with the traitor resurfaced like a blocked drain, bubbling up to the brink. But what she didn’t expect to come up with the sludge was sympathy. A sudden rush of pity flooded her veins and very quickly she simply wasn’t afraid anymore. She felt sorry for the old man who missed his wife. For the old man who dipped his hands too far into the jar of possibility and removed a black heart. Even Erebus could shatter his own heart if he let the pain consume him enough.
She looked at Beren, nodded and straightened her posture. After a salute above her brow - a salute that said ‘goodbye’ - she spun and whipped a spell at the window, breaking the glass. Without a second thought, she dove into the icy blackness and disappeared.
Miranda screamed again at the sudden broken window. Wind blew in through the small hole as Grayson scrambled to light a candle, flicking a lighter, flashing shadows across the living room. The candle finally lit and he swung it to the floor in front of Shea.
Beren watched as his daughter with her hands at her hips looked directly up at the curious Makers. There was no plan for this. There was nothing to do, but to wait. He was just a spectator now. There was a long, anxious pause as Grayson stared at Shea, remembering all of the strange happenings from the past day. The coincidences were clicking in his frantic brain, but he just couldn’t believe this.
“What…what is that?” Miranda asked with a quivering voice.
“Are you…alright?” he asked Shea. Seeing her broken wings, it was all he could come up with.
“Don’t talk to it!” Miranda gasped.
There was one other rule Shea had yet to break. She had already been spotted by a WishMaker as well as addressed them directly, but responding to and conversing with a Maker - she didn’t have a choice. Her mom, or whatever she had turned into, stood a few feet to her left, motionless with the most important wish that had ever been made. It was Shea’s chance to define herself as the Keeper she had always wished to be. The Keeper no one believed she could be. Disrupt the flow of momentum and turn it back around. She needed to be in control, even if it meant destroying the Gates and never returning home. She had to break the final rule - interact
with a WishMaker.
“I’m not alright, no,” she said, looking up into the eyes of Grayson and Miranda. In the far off distance, more Gates rattled the ground and exploded. Closer and closer, the explosions came. Gates were closing at a rapid, domino-like rate. “You made a wish, both of you, and it needs to be granted. There are powers, though, that want to destroy your wish and I…”
Before she could finish, the earth crashed with another quake and more explosions blew with even greater magnitude seemingly right outside the window. Miranda held on to Grayson as the house was flushed with golden light, but the Makers couldn’t stop staring at Shea. The trembling subsided and Shea was determined, unfazed by the quaking ground beneath her.
“Fairies?” It was all Grayson could manage to say. Earthquakes, explosions, and a winter storm were one thing, but fairies?
“Please, listen to me,” Shea tried to continue, but Grayson could barely make anything of his own thoughts, much less the words coming from the tiny broken-winged creature standing in front of him.
“A wish?” he said.
“Yes, a wish. And I need to grant it.”
“Shea, wait! Please,” Beren called out from the windowsill. Miranda and Grayson whipped their heads in the direction of the small voice. They spotted Thane on his knees and Beren standing over him. Through the window, everything was revealed. A black, thick fog crept along the glass and other fairies were hovering in the wind, raising wands above their heads.
“What is going on?” Miranda slowly approached the window, unsure of what to examine first.
“No, Dad. I can’t wait. I’ve waited all my life, but for what? To be told that I don’t belong. That I’m not good enough. To be lied to,” she looked again at Elanor. Her deep black eyes still swirled with the curse but were drenched in tears. “It’s time to show you that I do. I do belong.” Her knuckles drained to white as she gripped her wand.
The WishKeeper (The Paragonia Chronicles) Page 15