by Lola Kidd
“Can you get us back?” Rory asked hopeful. The hope in her voice killed him. If he knew magic, she wouldn’t feel this pressured. Maybe that was why she was being so nice to Sophia.
“No,” Beatrice said sadly, and then smiled quickly. “But that’s ok! The Cleary Coven will open a portal to get you guys back.”
Rory jumped up. “No way!”
“Yup.” Beatrice loved being the bearer of good news. Cross didn’t think a ghost could be this happy and not crossover. He would have kissed the ghost if he could have touched her. Rory wasn’t going to have to get them home herself. That was a huge weight off her shoulders and it meant they probably wouldn’t be ripped into a million little pieces trying to get home.
Rory threw her arms around his shoulders. “We’re going home!”
“Glad you’re finally excited about it,” Beatrice said. “You seemed pretty comfortable on the floor.”
“Shut it, ghost,” Cross told her. “Where’s the portal?”
“Oh, it won’t be for a bit,” Beatrice said. “Time doesn’t pass the same here as there. How long has it been here?”
“About a day.”
“Oh,” Beatrice said and bit her lip.
“Oh what?” Rory asked.
“I think I got the time difference messed up,” Beatrice hid her face in her hands. “It’s faster on the other side. You’ve already been missing for almost three weeks. Geez. I’m going to have to get back right away.”
She started to disappear again. “Oh! Don’t go anywhere. The portal is going to open here any minute. Just wait here!”
“She almost forgot to tell us where the portal would be,” Rory said incredulously.
“They really sent the A-team to locate us.” Cross shook his head. “At least we’ll be home soon.”
“Yeah. That was a lot easier than what I had in mind.”
“Hopefully. It’s not like your coven has ever opened a portal to this dimension before.”
“It’ll be fine,” Rory said confidently. “I know that with all of us working together it’ll go fine. I’m more worried about what’s going to happen after.”
Cross gave her a quizzical look.
She motioned between them. “Us. The claim. The vampires. Prescott.”
He nodded. “I guess it’s not going to be over just because we make it home. Plus, who’s to say they won’t try to snatch you again? I really think we should burn this dimension down on our way out.”
Rory looked horrified. “Cross! Some of these fae are innocent.”
“Everybody in jail is innocent, Rory. Nobody thinks they’re an evil shit.”
“I believe her. Maybe most of these people are guilty, but at least a few have to be innocent. We can’t kill them all.”
“Maybe not. But we should at least find a way to make it impossible to open another portal to our side. The Council should be able to do that.”
Rory was saying something in response to his suggestion, but he couldn’t hear her. His wolf started barking and growling. Loud.
“Something’s wrong,” he said, putting his hand up to make her stop talking. He went to the window near the front. Everything was dark outside. The fae orgy was still going on across the street and it all looked normal. His wolf was never wrong. Something was coming their way.
“I feel it too,” Rory said. She was casting. He could feel her magic layering around him. Protection spells. He looked around their dwelling. There was nowhere to hide or barricade themselves. He closed the doors to the other rooms and the bathroom. They would make their stand in the main room. It was the best he could do.
“I didn’t see anything out here, but there has to be something.”
“We can’t leave this room. The portal is going to open up right here. Whatever it is, we have to keep it out there and wait it out.”
He took Rory in his arms and kissed her. “I’m going to turn now. I can’t stay like this right now. Whatever happens get through that portal when it opens.”
Six
Rory had cast as many protections spells and jinxes around the room as she could. Since the fae had created their world out of magic, there was a lot of it for her to borrow. While the fae magic was different from her own, it gave her enough of a boost that she could both protect and defend herself and Cross. She never would have been able to do that in their dimension.
She went to the window to look out and Cross snapped at her ankles.
“I get that you want me to stay back, but that won’t work for me.” The twins and their friends across the street weren’t going at it anymore. They were all looking toward the beach. One of them broke from the group and ran toward the forest. Renn and Reno appeared to be arguing while the male fae watched the beach. She strained to hear, but they had made the glass in the window incredibly thick. She was about to magically enhance her hearing when the twins abruptly stopped arguing and looked to the beach again too. All three turned and ran for the forest.
Rory frowned. “Something is coming from the water I think. The orgy across the street just ran off.”
As she was speaking, more fae streamed by the window. They were all looking over their shoulder in horror. Rory was suddenly queasy.
“We need to head for the forest!” She went for the door, but Cross blocked her path. “Something is going on out there and I don’t think it’s about us!”
She took down all her spells and jinxes. It was pointless. If magic could do something to whatever was out there, the fae would have used theirs. Their magic was no less powerful than her own, likely even more so.
“Cross, we need to get out of here. I don’t think my magic is going to do us any good here.”
The wolf wouldn’t budge.
“I’ll use magic to move you if I have to. At least let’s go outside to see what it is.”
The wolf was like a statue. Rory was ready to rip her hair out. The portal from home should be opening any second, she knew it was a bad idea to move, but she couldn’t ignore her instincts. Every fiber of her being was telling her to run. She didn’t understand why the wolf wasn’t feeling it too.
There was a loud crack outside followed by a boom. Rory caught the glow just out the corner of her eye.
“Fire! One of the buildings has to be on fire.”
Not just any fire either. It was a green glow she saw, not the typical orangey-red of normal fires. How long would it be before that fire got to them? She wouldn’t be able to put it out if a fae started it. That kind of magic was beyond her understanding. The best she could do was cast a protection spell and hope for the best.
Cross finally perked up. He didn’t move from the door, but he got to his feet.
“Look, we don’t have time to discuss this right now seeing as how you’re a wolf and all. We need to move! I know we’ll miss the portal, but it won’t help us if we’re dead!”
He looked thoughtful. Rory could see the green light getting closer. She used her magic and pushed Cross away from the door. “I’m sorry, but I can’t wait for you to make up your mind. I’m going now, come if you want.”
She flung the door open and almost ran straight into a fleeing fae. The woman didn’t even slow down. The smell of fire was strong outside, but Rory couldn’t see anything in the night except for the bright green flames eating their way through the village. They could have stayed in the house another three or four minutes before things got dangerous, but she didn’t want to risk it. Another fae ran past her, only this one had a gash on his arm.
“What’s going on?” she asked, stepping into his path.
He knocked her down. “There’s no time! Get to the woods! They broke the wall and are headed this way. Gavin’s already dead.”
Cross was standing between her and the man growling. “What?! Who? Gavin’s dead?”
The man kept running but yelled back to her. “We knew this would happen. Sophia tried and some good that did!”
Cross’ ears perked up and he turned toward the beac
h too. Rory turned but didn’t see anything except the fire getting closer. She glanced into their dwelling, but there was still no portal. Beatrice was going to have to come find them again if the coven wanted to help them.
“Come on.” Rory joined the fleeing fae and ran for the woods too. They had found a wall on one side of the village and had guessed there would be more. Goddess willing, the fae were running to the woods because that was the only open side of the village. Cross was close at her heels as she ran. Once they were a few feet into the forest, she couldn’t see any fae. She had no idea where they were going, but she was going as far as the stream. They could stop there and talk about where to go next. Each step into the woods, she felt her anxiety seeping away. She had made the right choice. The village was in danger, not her and Cross.
“Oh, thank god!” Sophia was standing near the stream with Renn and Reno. As soon as Rory got closer, she looked relieved.
“Someone told me Gavin’s dead.” Rory said, panting.
“He is, but it’s his own fault,” Sophia said without any remorse. “I ran for the woods as soon as I felt the breech and told him to come with me. He insisted on staying and fighting.”
“Fighting what?”
“The ones we sealed out of Northlands' village,” Renn said.
“Our enemies,” Reno clarified.
***
Cross shifted back to human form. “Why the fuck would you bring Rory to this place if you’re in the middle of a war?!”
Sophia frowned at his nudity and cast him a pair of jeans. “Put these on. And we aren’t in the middle of a war. I would say more of an ongoing skirmish.”
Cross pulled on the jeans. “Call it what you want. What are you fighting?”
“We need to keep moving,” Renn said.
“They will come to the woods,” Reno warned.
“I suggest we walk and talk,” Sophia suggested. “If we walk now, we won’t have to run later.”
“Second,” Rory said, still bent over breathing hard. She was in great shape, but the adrenaline drop was getting to her. That was the only reason Cross didn’t object to going deeper into the woods.
“As I said earlier, there were fae on this side who were a part of the atrocity,” Sophia explained. “When we came over, us innocent sealed ourselves away from them. We wanted nothing to do with them. Once we did that, they considered us traitors and on the same level as all the other magical creatures.”
“They want a clean dimension to begin anew,” Renn said.
“Once we’re gone, they will have it,” Reno said. The twins had no emotion in their voice as they spoke. The only sign that they cared whether they lived or died was that they had run. The fae walking around them didn’t seem all that concerned either. Some had even stopped off in the woods to continue having sex.
“Why don’t you fight back?” Cross asked.
Sophia rolled her eyes. “What’s the point? It’s only more killing and that isn’t what we’re about. I don’t want that on any of my people’s conscience.”
“This is war, even if you don’t want to call it that.” Rory was finally able to breathe normally and join the conversation. Her face was slightly pink, but she didn’t look any worse for the wear. Lucky for Sophia.
“Gavin is dead,” Rory continued. “They’ll kill all of you it seems. What kind of plan do you have to protect your people? Hide in the woods until they go back to their side of the wall?”
“No. Once we reach the end of the woods we will construct a new wall and make a new village.”
“And this is what you offer to Northlands Fae on our side?” Cross asked. “Has anyone ever taken you up on that? Seriously, lady, you are fucked up. Nobody deserves to be brought to this place.”
“My thoughts exactly,” Sophia said. “We don’t want to be here any more than you do.”
“You want help to get back to our side?” Cross guessed.
Sophia stopped and looked at Rory. “He is right. We would like help to get out of this hell. I am truly sorry for bringing you here and we will stay if you don’t want to help. But we are innocent and don’t deserve to be here.”
Cross threw his hands in the air. “And there it fucking is. There it is. That is why you brought her here. Not to ‘give her a chance to choose’ or because you wanted to give her time to think about the claim. No. You need a fucking favor.”
“You can say no and I will understand completely,” Sophia said ignoring Cross.
He forced himself between her and Rory and looked the fae queen in the eye. “We’re done here. We aren’t going a step further with you.”
“Aurora can decide for herself. You don’t own her, dog.”
“How can I help you?” Rory asked from behind Cross. “You’re much more powerful than I am. Why don’t you open a way back yourself? You were able to get me here.”
“We were able to get you across because Olaf had weakened the barrier between the dimensions. Even then, we could only open the portal for a short time.”
“If I could open a portal don’t you think I would have tried it as soon as Cross and I were pulled over?”
“I’m not asking you to do it alone,” Sophia pleaded. “You and I can do it together. You are much more powerful than you realize. None of my people would be able to keep a portal open for longer than a nanosecond and don’t have the energy to keep one open long enough to get us all over.”
“Send them back one at a time once you get your new wall built,” Cross told her cruelly. “You’ll have enough time before the ‘evil’ Northlands fae break through your defense. Good luck.”
Cross turned his back on the queen and shoved Rory back. He wasn’t taking no for an answer this time. They were going to go east instead of north. They would have no part in this fae drama. He still didn’t trust Sophia. She was hiding something. There was no reason she would need the help of a baby witch for a major cast like she was talking about. Cross didn’t know magic well, but he was pretty good at sniffing out liars and Sophia stunk to the high heavens. He wasn’t going to let Rory get caught up in her game.
“Don’t push me!” Rory shoved him back. Hard.
“I’m not letting you stay near her. We need to get home and she can’t help us with that.” He hadn’t meant to push her that hard. He just needed to get her away from Sophia.
“I can decide where…” Cross cut her off by picking her up. “Put me down, Cross. Right now. I’m only giving you one warning.”
He wasn’t sure what she was going to do, but he was willing to take whatever she threw at him.
“Dog, you will regret this,” Sophia said from behind him.
Rory kicked her way out of his arms. He had to let her go. He didn’t want to hurt her. “Rory...”
She put her hand up and looked around him to Sophia. “Don’t you threaten him!”
Sophia pulled her head back in surprise. “He was manhandling you. It didn’t sound like you liked him carrying you off. I was only trying to help you.”
“I’m getting sick of you saying that. If you were really trying to help me, why didn’t you tell me about this right away?”
Sophia gave Cross a look, but it did nothing to wipe the grin off his face. Sex and a reasonable Rory in the same night? Things were finally looking up for him.
Seven
Rory’s head was pounding. There was so much to process and that run had really taken a lot out of her. She had been afraid when the Sun Riders had attacked her, but this was different. There was no Cleary Coven here to run in at the last minute and save her. It was just her and Cross. And Sophia knew. She knew! Dinner was a great time to have spilled the beans on their situation. Now Gavin was dead, not that Sophia seemed to care, and the village was on fire and all the pressure was on Rory. Her choice was going to either save or doom a lot of fae. Possibly innocent fae.
Renn and Reno were looking at her expectantly, hopefully. Thankfully none of the other fae had taken time to stop their fleeing to watch
the drama.
“We need to start moving again,” Sophia said. “It doesn’t matter what you choose right now. We need to get to safety first.”
“I’m going with Cross,” Rory said quietly.
Sophia just looked at her and then walked away stiffly with the twins. She hadn’t said anything or tried to get Rory to go with her.
She shoved Cross again. “What the hell was that?”
“I’m sorry,” he said immediately. “I’m really, really sorry. I didn’t mean to push you so hard. Won’t happen again.”
Rory shoved him again. “Good. We should move, I guess.”
“I think we should head back to the village actually.”
“What?! We barely got out of there.”
“Actually, we had no problem getting out of there. Both of our alarm bells rang, but look,” Cross pointed to the village, “the fires have died down. There isn’t even any smoke anymore.”
“You’re hoping the portal is still there.”
Cross nodded. “It’s worth a try. If either of us feels anything is off, we head to the east and don’t look back.”
“What about Sophia?” Rory asked, uncertain. There were no flames, but that didn’t mean there was no one back there anymore. Cross looked incredibly frustrated with her question. “I know you don’t like her, but I’m just not convinced she’s evil yet.”
Cross gritted his teeth. “Then why did you say you were going with me?”
“It felt right.” And it had. She had gone with her gut because she had nothing else to trust. Her head and her heart were at war in this decision. Her head didn’t trust Sophia very much and was skeptical of everything the queen said. Her heart wanted to help. Some of these fae were probably innocent and they had been left to rot with the whole lot. She would want help if she was in their situation. She wasn’t around in the Middle Ages when it had happened. She just didn’t have all the facts. The worst part was she was going to have to make the decision without them.
“If it felt right, then why are you still asking questions about Sophia?”
“I think we should go back too.” Rory dodged his question. “It’s worth a try.”