The Glass Wall (Return of the Ancients Book 1)

by Madison Adler

  “Yes, and by the Light Queen’s order, I gave up my illustrious position to become a nanny.” She obviously found the concept highly amusing.

  Rafael sent her an exasperated look. Selecting another stone, he placed it in front of the second bracelet. Another rainbow of lights arched through the mirror.

  “Rafael always was—” Harmony began but abruptly fell silent. Rolling her eyes, she removed her trion from her pocket and said, “I seem to have blundered with that human Al.”

  Hearing Al’s name, I sat up straighter.

  “What is it?” Rafael paused, turning toward her in curiosity.

  She fidgeted a little before answering. “I wanted to give the humans closure. I know they have bonded with Sydney … so I told Al that she came away with us for the weekend. I figured I could end it with a car crash or … something.” She winced at my outraged expression before shaking her trion in exasperation. “But this Al keeps calling her cell phone!”

  I felt nauseated. I really was going to die. Rafael could say what he wanted, but everyone else was convinced I only had a day left to live. I glanced over to find him watching me in the mirror.

  He beckoned me with a long finger.

  I blew my hair out of my eyes. I didn’t want to hear niceties. I wanted the truth. But I went over and joined him, anyway.

  He was prodding the bracelets with another silver toothpick but murmured, “Sydney, there is no cause to panic yet. Your fate line is still strong.”

  “He gave up,” Harmony muttered from behind us, tucking her trion away.

  Quietly, Rafael ordered, “Call him back, Harmony. Let him know that she’s safe.”

  “Can I talk to him?” My voice cracked as I held out my hand, as though she would hand me my phone.

  Harmony shook her head in a gesture of genuine sorrow. “It is impossible, Sydney. Your voice won’t carry through my trion.” Turning to Rafael, she drew her brows in a deep frown. “Calling him would be a mistake. The less contact we have, the better.”

  His lips thinned into a tight line. “Do it.”

  With an obvious lack of enthusiasm, she fished out her trion again and breathed a soft word. A threadlike beam of golden light shot up to the ceiling as she spoke. “Hi, Al! I just … like … found my phone, and I was going to, like, call you back sooner, but we were busy. You know how it is with girls!” She giggled.

  My mouth dropped open. She was speaking in my voice.

  “Yeah, I’m just chillin’ out with Harmony here on the beach,” she said.

  “Chillin’?” I muttered. “I don’t talk like that!”

  “We’re taking a nice little jaunt up the coast!” Harmony was saying, frowning at me. “Oh! The signal is breaking up now!”

  For a brief moment, I heard Al’s worried voice as he responded by speaking louder. I was overwhelmed by a sudden wave of emotion. “Why can’t I at least say my last good-bye?” I choked, asking no one in particular.

  “Have faith that it won’t be,” Rafael replied softly, focusing on the bracelets with grim determination.

  I wished I could, but I didn’t know how. Instead, I watched as Harmony grew visibly frustrated imitating me.

  Finally, she snapped, “Heaven’s Bells! That’s enough prattling about secret code words or whatever, Mr. MacKenzie! Don’t worry! I’m fine, and I’ll keep in touch. Give Betty all the best and Grace, tell her hugs and kisses. Bye!” With an annoyed flick of her wrist, she jammed the trion in her pocket.

  “He knows that isn’t me.” I scowled as she rejoined us. “You’ve only made him more suspicious, especially by not knowing the Mackenzie Secret Code Phrase.”

  “Secret Phrase?” Rafael arched a fine brow as his lips pulled up into a genuine smile. “Al has proven to be quite the crafty one.” Glancing up at Harmony, he added, “He’s had us under surveillance since the day we arrived.”

  It was Harmony’s turn to be astonished. She drew me away to the couch and we found some measure of distraction by talking about Al and his spying devices. But then it all became too much effort, and we lapsed into a silence.

  Finally, I had to face the fact that I could do nothing but wait for Rafael to finish whatever he was attempting to do. It was hard to only count the seconds slipping by, because I knew now the exact number of seconds I had left to live.

  Chapter Twenty-Two - The Stair

  I was jolted awake by Rafael’s strangled roar of frustration.

  Dazed, I staggered to my feet to witness him pounding the mirror with his fist as the room filled with a deep, throbbing vibration.

  A sharp pain lanced through my skull, and I fell to my knees, clutching my head.

  “Stop reflecting, Rafael!” Harmony screamed. “The mirror is hurting her!”

  Instantly, the vibration ceased, and the pain disappeared.

  Struggling to my feet, our current situation returned to me with a rush. Although I knew the worst must have happened, I wanted to know what is was.

  “What is it?” I croaked.

  Breathing heavily, Rafael leaned against the mirror with his head buried in one arm. He made a pounding motion with his other fist, but stopped short of striking the mirror’s surface.

  I didn’t think he was going to answer me, but then I heard him whisper, “We are in the last hour, and I can’t alter the cipher. I have failed, Sydney.”

  Pressing her lips together tightly, Harmony blinked rapidly and turned her face away.

  “So? We have a whole hour, right?” I finally broke the silence that followed his words. “You aren’t giving up, are you?”

  He didn’t respond.

  Panicking, I ran to his side and shook his arm. “You can’t just give up!”

  “What can I do?” he asked in turn, stepping back to face me, his voice filled with devastation and pain. “I must be wrong and … Jareth must be right.”

  “You can’t say that!” I shouted, tears sliding down my cheeks. “You have to be right, you have to!”

  He just stared at me, stricken with horror.

  I couldn’t believe it was happening. I didn’t want to think that I might actually die in an hour. I knew they would never change their minds and at least let me live the rest of my life in Avalon. Harmony’s pained expressions had pretty much confirmed my time here was short. To think otherwise would be dreaming. And then I recalled Rafael’s comment about how humans could dream their own reality, and the inspirational quote from the school bridge suddenly popped into my head: Man’s greatness lies in his power of thought. Collapsing against the mirror, I sobbed, “Why can’t I just think or dream us all out of here?”

  The silence in the closet was petrifying.

  Then Rafael slowly straightened, and a look of wonder crossed his face.

  “What is it?” Harmony sprang to her feet.

  He seemed unable to speak. He just stared at me in outright amazement.

  As the hair stood on the back of my neck, I found myself repeating her question, “What is it?”

  Grabbing my hand, he pulled me to the table where the bracelets still projected bands of light through the clear stones and into the mirror. “Touch this, Sydney,” he whispered hoarsely, pointing to the stones.

  Bewildered, but knowing we were out of time, I did as he asked.

  As my skin connected with the stone’s cool surface, a new color entered the rainbow. It was an incredibly deep shade of blue.

  Startled, I jerked my hand back.

  The strand of blue disappeared.

  Harmony gave a cry of utter astonishment as Rafael threw his head back and laughed.

  “Is … that what I think it is?” Harmony whispered in awe.

  With a gentle touch, Rafael guided my finger once more to the stone. Again, the blue strand joined the other colors of the rainbow in the mirror.

  “It’s exactly what you think, Harmony.” Rafael replied in a hushed voice. “The Fae can never alter these ciphers … not until they can dream.”

  “What is it?” I
asked, unable to bear the suspense a moment longer.

  Cupping my chin in his hand, Rafael leaned down and pressed his lips against my forehead. “You have saved our lives, little human. The blue strand lives in the Second World … a world I can never access … but you can.”

  I didn’t really understand, but I didn’t care at the moment. “Are we going to live now?” I asked in a garbled voice.

  “Well, you’ll live for a little while longer, anyway.” Harmony retorted sarcastically, but she was smiling. “At least you’ll be able to escape the tower now to carry on this mad scheme!”

  I knew she wouldn’t be treating the subject so lightly if she thought we weren’t going to succeed. Suddenly flooded with hope, I found myself grinning.

  “Then let us use our time wisely and finish this now,” Rafael said crisply. “Touch the stone and speak your name, Sydney.”

  With quivering fingers, I followed his orders. As I said my name, the deep blue strand of light rippled and pulsed to merge with the others before settling back to its original place.

  Shaking his head in wonder, Rafael slid the bracelet onto my wrist. “Touch it, Sydney.”

  As I did, a beam of golden light shot out and up to the ceiling, much like the one that had come out of Harmony’s trion.

  By their overt sighs of relief, I knew it had been successful, but I didn’t have a clue of what it really meant. We quickly repeated the process for the other bracelet and shortly after, Rafael was sliding it onto his own wrist and producing a matching beam of light.

  “You have accomplished the impossible, Sydney,” Rafael murmured, executing a bow of the deepest respect. “We can now use Raven’s classification to exit the tower undetected.”

  “Then we are going to escape now?” I asked, excited but scared at the same time.

  “Absolutely!” Rafael’s face relaxed into a broad smile, but almost immediately his brows swept into a faint line of disapproval as his gaze raked me up and down. “However … you simply can’t escape attired in such a manner!”

  For a moment, I thought he was joking, but when it became apparent that he was serious, I glanced down at myself, puzzled. “Change clothes? Don’t we have less than an hour?”

  “There is enough time.” Rafael tilted his head thoughtfully to the side. “With your coloring, I would think a dark purple or silver would serve quite well.”

  Harmony joined him, pursing her lips. “We should also try a jade green,” she said, tapping her chin.

  I watched them, bewildered.

  “But not just any jade green ...” Rafael differed, narrowing his eyes a little. “Perhaps a dye from the Summer of 879—or Spring of 678 might be the right one.”

  Harmony sniffed, apparently insulted. “I’ll never understand the reputation that the Spring of 678 has. They hadn’t even discovered triviluthim back then! The shade is simply wrong, a travesty of fashion!”

  As Rafael’s gray eyes responded with a passionate flash, I cleared my throat and interrupted them in utter amazement. “Aren’t we trying to hurry? Who cares what color I’m wearing?”

  They both looked at me, shocked.

  “Simply because we are rushed doesn’t mean that we leave without proper grooming!” Rafael explained, a little coolly.

  “Huh?” I couldn’t believe my ears.

  “Harmony can start your mask while I locate the correct jade green.” He brushed my reaction aside with a wave of his hand and disappeared among the racks of clothing in his closet.

  I looked to Harmony for support, but she was obviously on Rafael’s side. Dragging one of the stools to the mirror, she touched its shiny surface. From the ceiling, some kind of complex shelving descended, composed of drawers and compartments of eye shadow, glitter, and brushes.

  “Take a seat, Sydney.” Harmony smiled in invitation. “It’s time to start your mask.”

  I hesitated, but figuring that we would waste even more time arguing, I climbed onto the stool. “Are you sure we have time for this … mask?” I couldn’t help muttering.

  “You can’t walk among the Fae without a mask.” Harmony frowned at me.

  “Oh! Is it a disguise?” I asked, thinking I was beginning to understand. “Would I stand out too much if I wasn’t dressed correctly?”

  “Most likely no one would notice as they are too concerned with their own appearance.” She rolled her eyes as she plucked a couple of containers out of a drawer.

  I hadn’t expected that and frowned impatiently. “Then why am I bothering? Who cares what I look like if I only have an hour to live? Actually, I’m sure it’s less than an hour now!”

  “It simply isn’t done, Sydney!” Harmony slammed several brushes on top of the containers and scowled at me.

  “But—” I protested, but stopped, startled, as she flicked me on the nose.

  “You’re worse than a child! Be quiet so I can paint your mask.” Drawing her lips into a tight circle of concentration, she picked up a brush, dipped it into one of the jars, and began to dust my face.

  I held still, certain I was going to drown in impatience. Behind me, I heard Rafael whistling at random intervals as he perused his closet. I simply couldn’t believe that we were wasting time on my clothing and makeup.

  Finally, Rafael appeared with an armful of green clothing, scarves, and silver feathers.

  “What do you think?” Harmony asked him, stepping back to survey her handiwork. When he didn’t reply, she rolled her eyes and handed him the brush. “Fine, you can do it.”

  “Thank you.” Rafael bowed politely, dropping several outfits into my lap. “Change first, Sydney, and then I’ll finish your mask. I’ll return shortly, so you must be quick.”

  He didn’t have to warn me twice. I waited until he had disappeared out of the closet and then grabbed the first thing I could. Holding it up, I eyed it in confusion, not having the slightest clue of how it was worn.

  “I like the other one better.” Harmony clucked from the couch.

  Snorting, I retorted, “Right now, I’d go outside wearing a garbage bag! Just show me how to put this thing on!”

  “Humans are so dramatic,” she murmured, rolling her eyes a little but stepping forward to help, and in a few minutes I was wearing sparkly silver leggings, a flowing jade green tunic—of which year the dye was I didn’t have a clue—and a silver belt. The tunic obviously was meant for Rafael’s height; it fell past my calves, looking more like a dress.

  Glancing at the heap of scarves and feathers, I pushed Harmony’s hand away and said, “I’ll just go like this. I don’t need those.”

  “Don’t be absurd!” Rafael interrupted us, returning in time to hear my comment.

  Ignoring my protests, he set about clipping on feathers, artfully arranging scarves with intricate knots, and weaving strands of pearls into my hair. I half expected him to start dancing around me and to break out in song.

  Catching my expression, he paused and his eyes glinted with curiosity. “What is it?”

  I could hardly reveal my thoughts. Instead, I settled for repeating, “Aren’t we running out of time?”

  His lashes dropped in suspicion, but he gamely took my hand and led me back to the stool. We stared at each other in the mirror, and then he reached over and selected what looked like two round palettes of silver and gold-colored eye shadow.

  “These would go well, do you not agree?” he asked, holding them next to my skin while still watching my face in the mirror.

  “Whatever you say.” I folded my arms. “I just want out of here.”

  It didn’t matter. He wasn’t really listening to me, anyway. He held up several other selections against my skin before making his decision and began to dab paint on my face, applying more glitter, sequins, and even a circular disc of jewels and feathers.

  His touch was gentle and light, and in spite of our situation, he seemed to be enjoying himself immensely. Under any other circumstances, it would have been amusing to watch him paint my eyebrows, eyelids, and
lips with such complete concentration, but I found it hard to sit still.

  “Can’t you hurry?” I finally asked.

  “Patience, Sydney,” he murmured under his breath.

  “Why do you guys have to wear so much makeup, anyway?” I frowned, a bit petulantly.

  “Why do you not?” He shrugged, not bothering to answer further.

  “But—” I began.

  “Sydney, you must not talk!” He furrowed his brows. “You’re making the sequins shift.”

  I felt like slapping him, but then he stepped back, surveying his handiwork with a satisfied quirk of his lips.

  I jumped off the stool and grabbing his hand to pull him out of the closet, said, “Let’s go!”

  “Patience, Sydney!” He laughed a little as he spun me around by the shoulders to face the mirror. “Now you look like a proper Fae.”

  To appease him more than anything else, I glanced at the mirror. My mouth dropped open. I didn’t recognize myself. An intricate pattern of silver, black, and green covered the top half of my face, giving me the appearance of wearing a lacy, delicate mask. A row of sequins circled the outer edge, and several swirls of what looked like diamonds trailed down the side of my cheeks in mysterious patterns. The combination of the mask and the outfit, adorned with feathers and scarves, gave me a strangely fascinating, mystical appearance.

  “Are you pleased?” Rafael asked in a quiet voice.

  I glanced over to see him watching me in the mirror with an expression of admiration. I didn’t have time to get embarrassed because then he held out his hand and said, “It is time.”

  Harmony and Ajax were waiting for us by the door. She greeted us with the words, “You have seven minutes.”

  “Seven minutes?” I gulped.

  Rafael clasped Harmony into a warm hug. “Please, take care of yourself,” he murmured softly.

  Succumbing to tears, she couldn’t answer him and turned her head away.

  Next, he knelt next to Ajax. The Doberman stared into his eyes before pinning his ears back down, practically to his neck.

  “You must stay with Harmony now.” Rafael whispered.