“Yeah, alright, why don’t you get the rest of your clan settled in, eh?” Craig muttered.
“The rest of them won’t fit.”
“How many of there are you?” Craig asked, glancing back toward the closed front door.
“About a hundred or so, but I only brought a handful. The others are in a hotel in town.”
“You took that many from Boshen?” Craig asked surprised. “How did father not find out?”
“Who said he didn’t?” Bear winked. “Not like I gave him much of a choice, I took the roughest of us, his best fighters. If he wanted them back, he’d have a fight on his hand.”
He patted Craig on the shoulder and waved his arm over his head, calling out to Keanu. The two shook hands heartily, and Craig and I were left watching in confused awe.
“Do you feel like we missed out on a hell of a lot?” I asked Craig.
“Just a bit,” he agreed. “Here we were back in the realms fighting between dragons and demons and those two are acting like old buddies.”
“There’s going to be a lot of catching up to do at some point.”
The doorbell rang again, and we both gave each other a look and turned, wondering who else it might be. I went to open the door this time and couldn’t lie that I was disappointed to find one man—just one man, by himself—in jeans, a flannel shirt, and sporting a thick beard looking back at me.
“Can I help you?” I asked politely.
“Yes, I believe you can, King Forrest,” the man said and bowed his head. “Harold. Sorcerer. I received the message. This is the meeting place, yes?”
Sorcerer. He looked nothing like the sorcerers I was used to seeing. “It is. How do I know you are what you say you are?” I eyed his street clothes suspiciously again.
“Allow me.” He waved his hand over his front, and I caught a glimpse of dark magenta and midnight blue robes, then they vanished out of sight again. “Hard to travel in robes and not draw attention.”
“Sorry, had to be certain. Are you alone?”
He glanced over his shoulder as he said, “For the moment. The others will be arriving as soon as they can, but I fear I don’t come with good news.”
“Meaning what?” I opened the door wider and let him inside, shutting it quickly behind him.
“Right after we saw your message, we were attacked here in the human world,” he explained, keeping his voice low. “A creature made of bone and shadow, one I have not seen in a very long time.”
One of Baladon’s minions? That’s what it had to be. “That is not good news.”
“We destroyed it. The others are covering our tracks to be certain we weren’t followed.”
“Won’t matter, I have no doubt Baladon knows where we are already.”
“Baladon? That is the enemy plaguing you?”
“All will be explained. The dining room is through there, those who have already arrived wait inside. You should join them
He walked away, his shoulders tense.
I sensed a bit of regret with his decision to answer our summons for help.
Mori slipped her hand into mine, and I relaxed to have her close. “Problems?”
“Just wondering how many are going to run for the door when we tell them what’s occurred in the realms, what—who—is coming.”
“I don’t know, this group seems the perfect ones to take into battle with us,” she mused.
I noticed Bear and Keanu chatting away then heading to the nearest table and engaging in an arm-wrestling match. “Yes, maybe you’re right.”
“We won’t know until we tell them.”
I walked with her to the dining room that no longer resembled a dining room by any stretch of the imagination. If Abby was able to use magic like this, we had hope for fighting against Baladon. Then I glanced at Keanu, Bear, the rest of the dragons and demons. Could any of them still shift or were their powers being drained away just like the rest of us? There was no use speculating, and I walked to the front of the room, waiting for everyone to take their seats. The doorbell rang again, and I readied myself the best I could for whoever had just arrived.
And to inform everyone that had joined us that what we faced was not just a simple enemy. Yes, this was going to be fun.
6
Forrest
“Wait, I’m sorry,” Keanu interrupted.
I’d just reached the point my retelling where everyone in the realms was placed under a sleeping curse.
Keanu shook his head. “Everyone? You mean everyone in all the realms, they’re just asleep?”
“As far as we know, yes,” I answered. “Everything happened quickly after that.”
Keanu looked about as great as I felt after delivering such terrible news. “And you six were sent here by Lucy and Greyson because of the prophecy of this seer?”
Sabella nodded. “That’s about it, yeah. We didn’t want to leave, but we had no choice.”
The six of us sat in front of the gathered crowd of dragons, witches, demons, Harold, and the handful of shifters who’d shown up late. All of us had the same defeated look on our faces, knowing those in the hall were most likely dead. Sacrificed to send us here on a fool’s errand that we’d be able to return, stronger. Return able to save them all and defeat Baladon. None of that made me feel that their deaths were worth it though, and I pinched the bridge of my nose, willing the throbbing headache that came on an hour ago to disappear.
Mori reached out and took my hand. The pain lessened but remained as a constant reminder of how badly Baladon had hurt us. We’d been unprepared; still were.
“You think he’s going to come here next?” Bear asked this time.
“Makes sense,” Mori responded. “Once he drains the magic from the realms, he’ll be strong enough to break through and essentially open up this world to his devastation.”
“If that happens, the humans will be defenseless,” Phoebe, the head of the shifters, spoke up.
“Which is why we can’t let that happen,” Mori added. “We need to repair the orb and use it to return to the realms and defeat Baladon, but we don’t exactly know how to do that yet. And, if the six of us return alone, our chances do not look good.”
“And you have a way to kill Baladon?” Keanu’s gaze locked on me.
I gulped.
He eyed me. “Forrest? You react just as Kadin used to when he left something out. What haven’t you told us yet?”
I looked to my right where the five who were in this mess with me all glanced at each other, too. We’d told them we were important, but we had not said how yet, or exactly why they sent us back. I wasn’t sure how to say that there was a chance three of our number, if not all six of us, were going to be killed, but then Mori spoke up.
“Sabella had a vision that shows us defeating Baladon, three warriors who have risen, three who are bound by love,” she said and reached out for my hand again. “But the vision did not show us killing Baladon, at least not outright and not without great loss.”
Keanu’s eyes narrowed as he looked from her to me. “You’re saying you’re going to what, all die? Is that it?”
“It’s possible, but if that’s what it takes, we’re ready for it,” I said firmly.
“I can’t believe I’m hearing this,” Keanu muttered. “You six want to waltz back into the realms and get yourselves killed. Do you even have a plan of attack?”
“Not yet,” I admitted, “and, honestly, we had no way to know if we would even have an army, but look around you, Uncle. Look at everyone gathered here. If you stand with us, we have a chance to do what must be done and finish the war Baladon started.”
Bear grunted as he pushed himself up from his chair. “I have to agree with the dragon.”
“We don’t have any other choice,” Mori said.
“And bringing him here, that won’t weaken him?”
“No, he’s already drained and killed too many of my kind,” Mori explained sadly. “His powers will only continue to grow the longe
r we’re away from the realms, not putting up a fight to stop him.”
Keanu rubbed his forehead as he and Bear whispered together quietly. “I can’t ask my dragons to risk their lives like this, not even to save the realms.”
“I understand, I do,” I told him, “but Uncle, when was the last time you shifted?”
“A few days ago, why?”
“Try it now, all of you who can shift, try, please.” I sat back and waited.
Keanu held out his hand in front of him, as Bear focused, and another shifter also appeared to be attempting to shift.
I counted the seconds as nothing happened and all three of them growled and snarled in confusion. “That’s what Baladon’s doing to us all. He’s taking the magic that makes us who we are, stealing it away. If we don’t stop him, we will be nothing. We have to do this, we have to destroy him before it’s too late.”
“Do you have any sort of plan, then?” Bear asked. “Anything at all?”
I rose and addressed the entire room of people who’d gathered together. “As we said, we have an idea which I promise we will explain in more detail.”
When this meeting started, I was nervous, but seeing my uncle looking back at me reminded me of Kadin. I felt Kadin’s spirit then, standing beside me as I breathed deeply to calm myself and resumed. “The realms are in danger. We don’t know how many are dead, we don’t know what havoc Baladon has wreaked since we left, but I will not stand by, while the rest of my clan and those of the shifters, the demons, the elves are left to suffer at his hands. The six of us are going back there, with or without you. I leave the choice up to you now. Will you hide away here in the human realm and wait for him to find the rest of us? Destroy us? Or will you stand and fight?”
At my final words, Mori, Craig and Kate, Tristan and Sabella all stood as well. The six fighters who had risen to stand against the darkness sprouting from the realms. I held my breath, waiting for them to begin to leave, but instead, Keanu bowed his head then sank to one knee.
“I will fight beside you, nephew, until whatever end comes for us.”
The dragons behind him all bowed their heads, too. Bear was the next to do so and the shifters. Abby and the witches all nodded in agreement.
Harold tugged at his beard. “Always wanted to fight a god,” he mused. “I am with you as well.”
Bear rose back to his feet with a boisterous yell that was echoed by all in the room. The walls shook with the noise, and I felt a wave of relief wash over me, followed by immense regret, wondering how many in this room would live to see the end of the war against Baladon. We did not share with them the other vision Sabella had, nor did I inform them that Harold had already been attacked by a bone minion. That news would wait for morning. Tonight, we had more important things to take care of. Like saying goodbye to Lucy.
As the noise settled down, Abby lifted her ancient body from her chair and walked to the front of the expanded room. She whispered to Kate. My gut clenched when I saw tears shimmering in her eyes at whatever the old witch told her.
“The coven must gather in the garden to say farewell to one we’ve lost,” Abby addressed the room. “The witch who once owned this house and died protecting a young girl she’d taken in and a made part of the family. Tonight, we will say goodbye to Lucy. Those of you who wish to join us, please, proceed outside when the moon is high.”
The conversation had taken most of the day, and the sun was only now setting. The ceremony would be in a few hours, and I had much I wanted to speak to Keanu about. And from the look he was giving me, I was not going to get very far without answering some of his questions.
“Go,” Mori told me as she kissed my cheek. “I’m going to see about getting the rest of the house expanded, so everyone has a place.”
I thought the house had been full when the whole coven came the first time. Now, I wasn’t sure the witches had enough magic in them to make room for all to stay, but that was not really my concern at the moment.
“Forrest, you look as though you’ve been punched in the gut,” Keanu said when I reached him.
“This journey has been far from easy,” I muttered. “How about some ale?”
“From that look on your face, what you’re about to tell me requires something stronger than ale. Come, let us find a quiet place to catch up. And I would love to hear all about how you met this beautiful goddess of yours.”
By the time the moon was high overhead, the backyard was filled from one end to the other, all gathered around the garden where Abby had constructed a small altar with a pyre beyond it, ready to be lit. Kate stood near the front with Craig by her side. I was going to stay back in the crowd with Mori, but she urged me to go stand up there with her.
“She needs you both right now,” she whispered. “And you were close to Lucy, too.”
I walked through the gathered crowd, and when I reached Kate’s other side, she immediately reached out for my hand. Craig nodded at me over her head, his jaw clenched. I held Kate’s hand firmly in my grip and waited for Abby to begin.
“Lucy was a kind-hearted woman, but she was strong, so strong. She cared for those in her life with a fierce love,” Abby said passionately. “She took in those with no one, raised them as her own. And when the need arose, she turned into a true warrior of the light. She fought and died so that these proud warriors would have a chance to defeat the darkness once and for all. Lucy, may your spirit find peace amongst our sisters.” She placed her hand on her forehead. Then she snapped her fingers, lighting the pyre.
Tears streamed down Kate’s cheeks, and as the fire grew, she turned to Craig, clinging to his shoulders. The three of us stood in that embrace as the fire burned, cinders and ash rising up into the night sky. I felt wetness on my cheeks, too, but it wasn’t just for Lucy. It was for all those left behind and lost. And for all those who were still destined to fall.
I glanced behind me. Mori stood beside Sabella and Tristan. How many more of us would die?
How many did we have to lose before this was all over?
7
Mori
After the first day of everyone’s arrival, Lucy’s home was turned into what I could only call a fortress. The setting but it was underscored with the knowledge that at any moment, Baladon might attack. Weapons were brought in by some, while the witches and Harold went to work concocting potions to be used in defense against the darkness, that detonated or melted anything they touched.
After Forrest shared the update that Harold had already been attacked, guards were set up around the perimeter of the now magically expanded house. Though any human walking by would be oblivious to what went on behind these walls.
I continued my work with Abby, trying to repair the orb, but even with her expertise, nothing seemed to work. The orb remained cracked, sparking angrily each time we tried something new.
“Shit,” I yelped, yanking my hand back as the errant magic jolted me. I glared at the orb and considered picking it up and chucking it across the room. “This is hopeless. It’s never going to be fixed, and we’re going to be trapped here.”
“Patience, Mori, we will get it to work,” Abby mused quietly.
“How? Nothing we’ve tried has made a difference. Nothing. And without the orb, we cannot get back.”
That had been another newsflash we’d dropped on those at the house.
It had been taken about as well as the rest of them. If anything, it made everyone more eager to find a way to get back, now that there was a chance we might not ever be able to return to the realms. I was stressed, more tired than before, there was hardly time to eat, and I had no time with Forrest.
I never realized how much having him by my side soothed me and kept me calm until the very moment when I was ready to tear the greenhouse apart in a sudden flash of anger.
Why could nothing be simple and work out the way we wanted? We had gone through nearly every herb in this glass house, and though Abby told me to have patience, I saw the concern on her face.
A concern that she too, was running out of ideas. We could make all the plans we wanted, but unless the orb worked, we could do nothing but sit here and wait for Baladon.
I tapped my nails loudly on the wooden counter, willing the orb to just work for me like it always used to. But all it did was sit there and taunt me. My finger stung from where I’d been jolted, and I was considering taking a hammer to the orb—instead of throwing it—when the door to the greenhouse opened and a calming sensation hit me.
“You know if you keep glaring like that, your eyes are going to cross,” Forrest murmured as his arms wrapped around my waist and he rested his chin on my shoulder.
“I’m not glaring,” I muttered.
“Really? I can feel your anger all the way inside, love.”
“Sorry.”
“No need to apologize, but you can’t get so upset over it. The orb will work again.”
“How do you know that?” I snapped, then bit the inside of my cheek. He didn’t even bristle at my furious tone, and I leaned back into him, loving him all the more for it. “I just want one thing to go right, is that too much to ask?”
He moved, so he stood beside me and gently turned my head to face him. “The message in the stars? That went well, if you didn’t notice the house full of people, all ready and willing to go to war with us.”
“I did, but this right here? This is our way back.
“We’ll find a way,” Abby repeated Forrest’s sentiment, then hobbled toward us. “Harold received word today. The other sorcerers will be arriving soon. Between them and the coven, we’re going to attempt to reach out to the realms, see if we can contact anyone there, get a message through.”
“You can do that?” I asked, surprised. “Without Baladon knowing?”
“I believe, yes, so don’t worry so much right now. You need to rest and put something on that burn.”
“Burn? What burn?” Forrest took the hand I’d been trying to hide behind my back and clicked his tongue at the sight of blistered, reddened finger. “You’re not exactly yourself, you’re mortal, remember? You can be seriously hurt now.”
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