by D. N. Hoxa
“We won’t have time, Winter. Galladar must have already heard we went through a portal. He will be looking for us, and we need to get to him before he expects us,” Julian said reluctantly.
He was right about everything.
But Ms. Riley was alone. If she made it, she wouldn’t know where to even go. I was not going to just forget about her.
“We’ll pass by my office on the way to the Upper East. I’ll stop by her apartment.” The sound of my voice must have clarified that this wasn’t up for discussion, because Julian only nodded. “What’s the plan?”
“The plan?”
“To attack Galladar.” Everything worked better when you had a plan.
“I don’t have a plan to attack Galladar here on Earth. Unfortunately. I didn’t think he’d make it this far,” Julian said.
“He’s strong,” I whispered. “Very strong.” And in case he didn’t get the point: “I’m not going to be able to even touch a hair on his head.”
“Yes, you are.”
“Let’s be honest here, Julian. Look at what he’s done both here and in your realm. If the ECU and an entire state of paranormals couldn’t stop him, it’s ridiculous to even think that I’ve got what it takes—”
“I’ll stop you right there,” Julian cut me off. “You do have what it takes. Your magic is unique. If used properly, it’s going to kill him.” He sounded so damn sure, I was tempted to believe him.
“What if I can’t do it?” My voice was weak, my confidence weaker.
“Winter, you’re one of the strongest people I’ve ever met,” Julian said.
I could hear the smile in his voice, and I didn’t get why it was there.
“I’m not strong.”
“You know, when I asked for your help, you didn’t hesitate. Even before I’d told you everything, you’d already agreed. I saw it in your eyes. There was no fear. No second-guessing. Weak people can’t do that if they tried.”
Blood rushed to my cheeks. “Because you asked me.” And that made me feel even worse. If somebody else had asked me to go to the fairy realm, would I have said yes?
Julian grabbed my hand between his. Warmth spread through my entire body at the contact. As if hypnotized, I leaned to the side and rested my head on his shoulder. For a second, the world was right again.
“My birthday was three days before Galladar began his attacks. I made a cake and I put a candle on it,” he said, then planted a kiss on my hair and rested his cheek on the top of my head. “Fairies looked at me like I was crazy. It had been so long since they’d been on Earth, they forgot what birthdays here are like. They just didn’t get the concept of putting a candle on top of a cake. But I had a wish to make.”
I could almost see it all. A large banquet hall, the richest dinner my imagination could come up with, fairies, dressed impeccably, dancing to a song made of dreams…
“What did you wish for?”
Julian kissed my hair again. “For this.”
A wide smile stretched my lips and my chest heated up. Even my beads began to swirl around my hand, even though they were stuck together.
“In my wish, the world didn’t look the way it does now, but everything else is spot on,” Julian continued.
“Even the moon?”
“Especially the moon,” he said, chuckling.
“What did you say to me, in the wish?” I asked, almost disbelieving that he’d thought about me as much as I’d thought about him. I’d never been big on romance. My past relationships were fun while they lasted, but there was never depth to any of them. With Julian, everything was different, even when it wasn’t the way I would have liked it. Even when he or I did or said the wrong things, it was always right on some level, and it was always going to be.
“I told you about home. I told you how different it now looked to me. How empty. I tried to convince you to come with me again.”
“And what did I say?”
When he pressed his lips to my head again, I could feel the smile on his face. “Even in the wish, you were still as stubborn as the real you. You still said no.”
I bit my tongue to keep from laughing. “You could have made me say yes. It was your wish.”
“I never want to make you do anything, Winter. Not even in a daydream. Not just because you won’t let me, but because you’re a free spirit. That’s why I think you’ll figure this out and kill Galladar before he can cause any more damage.”
Reality check!
Suddenly, I was thrown back into the present. The moon no longer shone as bright and my body cooled down at top speed. This was beautiful. It was perfect. But we had no time for it.
“We need to go,” I whispered, and though I wanted to kiss him like it was the first time, I stopped myself. This was not how I wanted to remember our first second kiss.
“When this is over, we’ll come back. We’ll sit right here until the sun comes up,” Julian said. It was a promise, one I intended to make sure he would keep.
Twenty five
Ms. Riley’s apartment was empty. Nothing out of place or broken. A thousand thoughts crossed my head. Was she okay? Was she hurt? Did the fairies get to her, or did she run away before they could?
In the end, I chose to believe the latter. My landlady was a smart woman. She would have smelled the disaster from ten miles away. She knew where to hide and her husband had left her a lot of spell stones she could use to defend herself. Yes, she was definitely okay.
After checking her apartment, I stopped at my office again. Somebody had definitely been in there. My wardrobe was open, my things all over the floor. Most of my mother’s jewelry was gone. It stung, but I didn’t let myself think too much of it for now. I did find my knives and a gun I’d hidden behind the wardrobe. The other two I had in my room were gone. Getting rid of the mantle the fairies had given me, I put on my usually attire: a new shirt and my most comfortable pair of black pants. Even though it was summer, I put on my boots. Sneakers were fine, but boots were much better.
It took us a long time to get to the Upper East. I had no idea how many hours passed, but it was still night when we were across the street from Finn’s office.
Half the building was in ruins. My heart sank. I’d told Lynn to meet me there because I thought the old werewolf would have protected his territory better than most because he had the resources and the people. Now that I saw it like that, it was like a slap to my face. Where the hell was he?
“I’d rather do a perimeter check before we go in,” Julian whispered in my ear and I nodded my agreement. We’d come across four other fairies on our way there, and we had to hide until they left. If Galladar already knew we were here, we didn’t want to make it easier for him to find us by killing his fairies. The dead bodies would tell him all he needed to know.
We did a wide circle around Finn’s street. It was eerily quiet. I never thought I’d see any place in New York City so empty. So dead. So destroyed. At least there were no dead bodies.
But now, the more I saw, the angrier I got. That asshole Galladar thought he could come into our world and do with it as he pleased. If there was any justice in the universe, he wasn’t going to get away with it. Hell no.
Even if I couldn’t hurt him, somebody else would. Eventually, somebody always got stronger than the strongest. There was no escaping that fate.
When we were sure that there were no fairies on Finn’s street, we went to his office. Like I said, half the building was destroyed, but the door was still standing. It was broken, but it was closed. I took that as a good sign. With my gun in one hand and a knife in other, I pulled it open and stepped inside. It was too dangerous to stay outside for too long.
The place looked the same inside One side of the hallways stood, while the other was completely crumbled. The white tiles that covered the floor creaked when we walked through them slowly. When we made it to the wall that separated the hallway from the reception, we stopped to listen.
Nothing. Not one sound. Could it
be that Lynn wasn’t there?
The reception was empty. Half the desk was in ruins in a way that left no doubt that this was done by a blast of magic. Nothing else could destroy something so thoroughly. It wasn’t an explosion or fire. It was magic. Fairy magic.
Which meant Galladar had done this personally because no Earth fairy had that kind of magic.
Julian raised his finger to the ceiling then pointed at the stairs. They were completely intact. With a nod, I rushed to them. Impatience got the best of me. I no longer cared if fairies were going to find us. Let them find us. I was going to find Lynn one way or another.
The door to the second floor was blasted. Inside, desks, computers and pieces of paper were all over the floor. I used to work in there once. I’d enjoyed it. It was my sanctuary. But now when I looked at the place I’d spent so many hours in, I no longer felt connected to it. Julian was right—I’d changed. Maybe more than even I realized myself.
When we made it to Finn’s office and found it in ruins, too, I almost screamed in anger. The pool table, broken on the floor. The large TV on the wall, completely ruined. Even his desk was cut in half—these things definitely not by magic. I could see the bullet holes in the wall. But I could see no Lynn.
“Where the hell are we going to find her now?” I said, more to myself than to Julian. I already wanted to desperately get to Bloomsburg to find my aunt and Bender, but I couldn’t do that without finding Lynn first.
“You made it.”
The voice came from the doorway. My gun was ready, finger on the trigger, and thank God I didn’t pull it. Lynn was standing by the threshold, a dumbfounded smile on her face. Holy spell, she looked fine. She looked great!
With a loud sigh, I lowered my gun and fell against the wall behind me. Goddamn it. I thought something bad had happened to her.
“Where the hell were you?”
“Hiding,” Lynn said and stepped inside Finn’s office. “I found others. We need to get to them now.”
“Others?” My heart picked up the beating again. “What about my aunt? Your uncle?”
But Lynn shook her head. “I can’t contact them.”
“Lynn, where did you leave from when you first came to the fairy realm?” Julian asked her.
“Bloomsburg,” she whispered and narrowed her brows when Julian turned to look at me. “You can’t go to Bloomsburg.”
“We have to. My aunt is there,” I said halfheartedly.
“But the fairy is here!” she cried and walked over to me. “There are others here, hiding from the fairies. They will help us.”
“I know, but they aren’t going to be enough. We need to gather the covens, as many trained people as we can find. We can only do that if we find the coven leaders.” And we were going to start with the Bone coven and work from there.
“What if they’re gone?” Lynn’s voice broke. We were talking about her family, too. The urge to wrap my arms around her was almost overwhelming, but I stopped myself. If I showed any sign of weakness, she’d think we didn’t have a chance. For some reason, I wanted her to believe with all her heart that it was all going to be okay. She was just a kid. She deserved nothing less.
“They’re not gone. They’re all smart enough to hide and keep low.” My voice conveyed confidence, even if I didn’t feel it.
“Even if you do find them, people aren’t going to want to fight that fairy! They already think he can’t be defeated. They’re not going to change their minds because of a theory!” she shouted. I looked at the street through Finn’s window. Nobody seemed to be around to hear her voice. Still, it sucked to realize how little faith she apparently had.
“It might be a theory, but it’s going to work,” Julian said and nodded at me as if to tell me that now was the perfect time to get going.
“Lynn, go back to hiding and stay there until this is over,” I said. Putting her hands on her shoulder, I offered her a smile. “It’s going to be okay.”
“Don’t talk to me like I’m a kid,” she said and stepped way from my reach. “I’m coming with.”
“No, you’re not. It’s too dangerous.”
When I thought she was going to start shouting at me, she grinned instead. “The only way you can get this is if I come with.” Reaching behind her, she pulled out the black ravenstone.
Holy spell! The portal opener! But wait…
“Isn’t that only for portals between worlds?” Even trying to understand how portals work equaled a nasty headache, so I didn’t bother to try and figure it out myself.
“Not exactly,” Julian said, looking at the tear-shaped stone in Lynn’s hand. It could have been the darkness, but it didn’t seem to shine the way it did in the fairy realm. “If fused with the right magic, it can take you anywhere, just like dragon blood.”
“Fairy magic,” Lynn said. “I tried to get it to take me back home, but it wouldn’t work. When I came to the fairy realm, all I did was charge it with a spark of magic—as much as I have. But a Blood witch among the people I found hiding thinks that since it’s a fairy stone, it can be used properly only by fairies.” She looked at Julian. “I’m pretty sure you could make it work.”
Smiling, Julian reached out his hand for the stone, but Lynn stepped back again. “I’m coming with.”
A loud sigh escaped my lips. Fucking hell, she really was worse than me. I nodded reluctantly at Julian. If we could manage to open a portal, we’d be there in minutes. The dangers of the road would be gone, so Lynn would be safe.
“Okay. You’re coming with. Now, can I have it?” Julian said, and Lynn, with a wide grin on her face, put the stone on his waiting palm.
“I’ve never used a ravenstone before,” Julian mumbled.
“Just charge it with all your magic. It should do the trick,” I mumbled impatiently.
“It’s not so simple,” he whispered, analyzing the stone as if he could actually see some invisible instructions on its smooth surface. It was driving me crazy to have to wait, but I held my tongue and let him figure it out. I just really wished we’d held onto some of that dragon blood before leaving.
“Do you know what happened to Finn?” I asked Lynn to distract myself.
“He took a stand here. Fought Galladar and lost. Then, he disappeared. Nobody knows where he is,” Lynn said. “That’s what the others tell me.”
“Who exactly are the others?”
“Twenty-one people. Vampires, werewolves, witches. All neighbors who hid underground the day the fairy began the destruction,” she muttered.
“Are they safe?”
She nodded. “I think so. Nobody’s been able to find them yet.”
“But you did?” If they were hidden well enough, Lynn wouldn’t have been able to find them.
“They actually found me.” She shrugged.
“I think I got it,” said Julian. “I’m going to connect to it the way I’m connected to my realm, then get it to open. I’m not sure if it’ll allow us to get to your aunt’s place, but if it takes us back to the fairy realm, I’ll be able to open another portal from there.”
Ugh. More waiting.
“Do it.” I stood on his left side and Lynn walked over to his right. We were as ready as it got.
With a nod, he wrapped both his hands around the stone and closed his eyes. For a long second, he didn’t even breathe.
“Grab my arm,” he then whispered. We both did.
“What ar—” But once again, my question was cut off.
In a blink of an eye—literally—Finn’s office disappeared.
Another blink, and we were in Amelia’s kitchen, right by the counter.
Twenty six
Throwing up in front of Julian was not something I ever thought I’d do, but I had no choice. Everything I’d eaten in the fairy realm came right back up as soon as there was solid ground beneath my feet again.
To make it all worse, neither Lynn nor Julian seemed affected by the journey in the least. They just watched me barf in front of them, an
d Lynn even took a step back, totally disgusted.
“I’m sorry,” I mumbled and rushed to the sink to clean my mouth. God, I hated throwing up.
I washed my mouth thoroughly three times before it dawned on me where I was.
The water continued to run, but I froze completely. Holy spell, we were in Amelia’s house. I looked back at Julian, who had his arms crossed and was waiting for me to finish. I turned the faucet off and slowly walked over to him, looking around the kitchen.
Nothing was out of place—except for the pool of vomit on the floor. I’d clean that. Later.
“It’s quiet,” Julian whispered. “Let’s check upstairs.”
With a nod, I moved to the hallway. The living room was also empty. Quiet. Everything in its place. The wood of the stairs cracked when we stepped on it, but no fairies with guns popped in front of us, so I didn’t stop.
Unfortunately, the upstairs was completely empty. Amelia’s bed was perfectly made. Her night lamp was on, which could only mean that she’d left the house at nighttime. When?
“Where is your house?” I asked Lynn in a whisper.
“A few streets up,” she mumbled. “Bloomsburg isn’t as bad as Manhattan. At least it wasn’t when I left.”
“Fairies?”
She nodded reluctantly. “Lots of them.”
“Can I hold onto this for the moment?” Julian asked her.
“Knock yourself out,” she said and made for the stairway.
“Just stick behind us, okay?” I said, and with a dramatic roll of her eyes, she waited for us to pass before following.
Julian hid the ravenstone portal opener somewhere under his mantle. In the fairy realm, the mantle hadn’t looked quite as strange as it did now that I was home. He looked like he’d come straight out of a history book, and I hated to say it, but it suited him.
The door was unlocked. Julian nodded for us to wait while he checked the outside. If there was anyone there, we couldn’t hear a thing. My gun was drawn and my knife ready, and I was surprised when Lynn drew out a gun of her own, too. I raised my brow in question, but she just shrugged me off. I was a bit relieved to see that she had a weapon with her, so I didn’t comment.