by Amanda McGee
This had to be enough.
I tucked myself beside of him, resting my head on his chest, inhaling the intoxicating, and already familiar, scent of Tristan. The music had stopped but the sound of nature serenaded us now. Crickets and birds chirped and whistled their own unique tune for our special night. Life almost made sense. There were no more questions to ask or answers to be given. All was peaceful.
“Tristan?”
Well, maybe there was one question that needed an answer.
“Yes,” he breathed.
“What is your last name?”
“Cain.”
The two of us broke out into a silly laughing fit. We both knew it was absurd to love someone when you haven’t even had time to learn his last name. I could not believe I had ever tried to resist him. Regardless of the outcome, I knew that, in one way or the other, I would never be the same.
I couldn’t have cared less.
****
Chapter Nineteen
“You try it first,” I said.
“Chicken,” Blaze responded, placing two drops of the purple potion on his tongue.
We all awaited his reaction. I secretly anticipated awkward side effects.
This marked day four in Haliwick. We had awoken to find ourselves radically weakened. Originally, I blamed my condition on yesterday’s wrestling matches but this went far beyond physical fatigue.
Opening my eyes was exhausting. Pulling the covers back felt like lifting heavy dumbbells. Once I managed to get to my feet, I feared the weight of my body would crush my legs. My usual one hundred thirty pounds felt more like three hundred and I collapsed.
Tristan had carried my feeble, ineffective body into the living room. He had lingered in the hallway waiting for me to wake up since Sadie had had a similar predicament thirty minutes earlier.
Blaze was weak but his strength was far greater than ours, supernatural or not. He had slept on the couch and that was where I found him when I was placed in the chair across from him with great delicacy.
“How do you feel?” I asked Blaze. “Better? Worse? Poisoned?”
“Hey! I know how to mix a potion,” Tristan said. “Give me a little credit.”
I winked at him to let him know I was teasing. This time my flirting did not embarrass me.
“I feel better,” Blaze answered. “I can feel it recharging my body. Try it. It's…interesting. That’s for sure.”
Sadie took her two drops without further hesitation. Not to be outdone, when she tossed the bottle to me I immediately did the same. I tasted the drops as they touched my tongue. The mixture resembled a sour candy, tart and sweet. The liquid slid down my throat, somersaulted past my heart and lungs, and cartwheeled through my stomach, jolting me back to life.
By the time the effects reached my toes, Blaze was already facedown on the floor doing push-ups. Sadie twirled around the room like she’d inhaled fairy dust. Neither of which was that unusual for them.
“Now I remember why I never had a desire to try drugs,” I said.
My bobbing knees rattled the heavy wooden table on my right. The glass lampshade trembled and the cordless lamp itself wobbled across the table, dangerously close to the edge. Not sure how else to deal with my newfound burst of energy, I crossed my legs under me and knotted my fingers together in my lap. Sadie continued to spin around until she reached Blaze and stood on his back, which did not seem to slow his workout.
“We aren’t on drugs,” Sadie said. “This is lifesaving magic. Regardless, I’m just happy I can stand again.”
“So happy that standing on the plain old floor just isn’t enough,” I said.
“Exactly,” she said, reeling with excitement from being lifted up and down.
“I’m just glad it worked,” I said. “I feel so different. Stronger.”
Tristan's tonic had revived us. We hovered somewhere between life and death but with the potion we felt more alive than on most average days. Tristan entered the room carrying a tray of bagels and cream cheese.
“You have bagels here?” I asked.
“It’s a round piece of bread,” he said. “It’s not rocket science.”
“Oh, you’re so clever,” I said, reveling in our early morning banter.
We each grabbed a bagel and proceeded to eat in silence. If not for the high voltage magic jolting through my insides I might have believed we had all lost our strength again. We knew what came next. Each of us consumed our “round pieces of bread” as if they would be our last meal because it very well might. I suddenly wished he had made waffles.
After nearly an hour of silent contemplation and painfully slow chewing, our minds no longer had breakfast to dwell on.
“I guess it’s time,” Blaze said, ending the silence. “We can’t keep sitting here avoiding the obvious.”
“I know you’re right but it still doesn’t seem real,” I said. “I don’t suppose it is possible to truly get used to something like this.”
“I second that,” Sadie said.
“Does everyone understand the plan?” Tristan asked.
“It’s not that difficult,” Sadie said.
We had been over it a million times. The plan was practically tattooed on our brains.
"Escape, defeat, home," I said blandly.
Sounded simple but we knew it never would be. Life or death situations were never simple. We could walk out of the house and never make it past the barrier. We could make it to Katerina, only to be killed when we reached her. Some of us could make it. Some of us could die.
Or, we could win.
Winning for me was a catch-22. Winning meant leaving and leaving meant saying goodbye. Winning also meant Sadie and Blaze would survive, and that was all I could permit myself think about.
“It’s now or never,” I said. “Let’s go before this potion wears off or I lose my nerve.”
Everyone nodded in agreement and lingered together in a circle formation by the front door. Tristan opened the door and we all paused to take another look at the home that had become our safe haven.
Tristan’s fingers intertwined with mine as we descended the stone steps that I had admired upon first arriving. So much had happened since then that it was hard to believe it was only four days ago. I came here in love with an illusion but I was leaving holding his hand.
I had yet to decide if that fact was empowering or daunting.
“Our moment is over,” I whispered to him.
“Any regrets?” Tristan asked.
“None.”
He kissed the back of my hand and gave an assured smile. I wondered if Tristan could really be as confident as he appeared. I knew that I wasn't.
Emotions were running deep—so deep, that I managed to erase every danger, person, or thought except Tristan. I closed my eyes and leaned onto the tips of my toes to kiss him. The moment was quick. Neither Blaze nor Sadie had time to notice, but to me it represented the lifetime of kisses we would miss.
“Stop walking like you’re heading to your execution,” Blaze said.
“We kind of are,” I whispered.
Tristan and I pulled ourselves together and resumed our march behind Blaze and Sadie. I focused on Sadie’s braids that extended from her temples, around each side, and were held in the back by several bobby pins. She had to be the only person capable of styling themselves before a duel.
“Well, well look who came back,” Sadie remarked.
The hoard of burly men stood guard outside of the barrier as if they anticipated our escape. Though we lacked an actual long-term strategy, I still felt that Katerina would always be a step ahead of us. No one could be certain of the powers she possessed. I assumed if she could travel between worlds and manipulate our powers, spying on us would have been easier than taking an afternoon nap.
The closer we inched to our enemies, the more agitated they became.
The bright blue sky hung above us, holding the sun in place as it beamed its light all around. Our mystical shield may have blo
cked our unwanted guests but the sun’s temperate rays penetrated with ease. It was hard to believe the hysteria that awaited us when we were surrounded by such splendor.
The first, and only actual, concrete part of our optimistic plan was to make it off the property without exhausting our strength in a brawl with the twenty or so diabolical men congregating around us. Everyone else seemed confident that an energy drain would be the problem. I was more concerned with the potential beating we might endure fighting twenty men. I kept that theory to myself.
“Remember once the barrier is compromised just run,” Tristan said. “If we get separated, make your way to the field and wait for the rest of the group.”
Blaze lifted his hand, a seemingly nonchalant motion that signaled to those on our team that it was game time. A tiny ball of glowing current generated in Blaze’s palm, which he concealed behind his back. Tristan’s grip grew tighter, our entwined fingers squeezing into each other so firmly it was painful. But there was no way I was letting go.
Blaze gave us all a nod and turned to face our gang of rivals.
“One dangerous diversion, coming up,” Blaze said with more confidence than I felt.
The once minuscule spark grew nearly ten times in diameter. Blaze hurled it at the invisible barrier that protected us from the dangers waiting on the other side. The current met the force field and the result was electrifying. The impact was severe and deafening. I was knocked to the ground and out of Tristan's grasp. The men positioned closest to the wall suffered the brunt of the resulting electrocution. They collapsed to the ground in a puff of smoke.
The barrier was a raging swirl of exciting shades of blue as the energy spread throughout. From the ground, I could see the formerly invisible dome surrounding us like a magical snow globe. Then it disappeared completely. The remaining men were caught off guard and couldn’t decode our escape plot.
Blaze scooped Sadie up with one arm and ran furiously toward the meadow as planned. By the time Tristan helped me to my feet, Blaze and Sadie were mere specks in the distance. Tristan and I sprinted before the remaining men could realize what had happened.
My days on the high school track team flooded back to me. To remain calm, I ran like I was in a race, not fleeing for my life.
Control your breathing.
“Is anyone following us?” I asked.
Tristan was right beside me and had not fallen behind once.
“I don’t think so. We are almost to the meadow, we need to regroup.”
The light between the trees grew brighter signaling a break in our marathon sprint. Within seconds, I found myself encircled by the familiar purple flowers. I stopped suddenly as the sight astounded me all over again. An invigorating scent of lavender and oranges enveloped me. The sun beamed down cleansing me with its vibrancy and purity.
“It's so hypnotically beautiful,” I said. “People like Katerina only dim its beauty.”
“I have been here my whole life and have yet to grow accustomed to the wonders of this place,” Tristan said. “Katerina is an unfortunate obstacle but the light inside every Haliwick resident shines much brighter than her darkness can dim.”
Tristan was one of those rare souls with the ability to see past the ugly parts of the world and appreciate the beauty that might otherwise hide in the shadows. Most of us chose focus on the bad allowing the wonderful to become veiled by our cynical blindness.
Tristan saw my flaws but loved me in spite of them...or, knowing Tristan, because of them. His open and always optimistic view changed my perception of the world. Regardless of what world that was, there was always beauty, even in sadness.
“Leave it to us to carry on an irrelevant conversation during a time like this,” I said, almost laughing.
Laugh all you want. Just please don’t panic!
Blaze and Sadie waved to us from across the field of purple wonder. Tristan and I opted to walk the distance to them, feigning exhaustion. Really, we selfishly wanted to enjoy each other’s company for a minute longer.
Who cares at this point? Nothing makes sense anymore.
“Are you guys okay?” Blaze asked. “We were worried that you didn’t make it out.”
“I tripped and we got held up,” I said. “Not to mention the fact that you charged out of there like a lightning bolt.”
“I guess he kind of was,” Sadie joked.
“We should keep moving,” Tristan said.
Like a small group of escaped prisoners, we bobbed and weaved our way through the meadow then slinked through a countless more yards of forest. I should have felt at home considering all the time I had spent wandering through the woods next to my house, but all I felt was paranoid.
The four of us walked alone on our journey to defeat a powerful witch, which no one in all of Haliwick had attempted to confront since my mother did over two decades ago. But then again, why would they? She wasn’t threatening them.
The Elders of Haliwick, who I pictured as several old guys sitting at a large table acting high and mighty, stayed out of sight. From what I could gather—or, rather, embellish—Haliwick residents obeyed because most of them had no desire to step out of line and the others’ fear of the Elders seemed to keep them in check. Katerina feared no one but never gave anyone a reason to reprimand her. My mother had taken the initiative to leave before Katerina could cross any punishable lines.
Our incarceration within the real life snow globe surrounded by strongly built henchmen cancelled any hope at gathering any potential allies—other than James who I was relieved to know was out of harms way. There was no legitimate reason to endanger more lives. A town chockfull of magical beings and we were charging into the home of the wicked witch with a psychic, a hypnotist, a lightning bearer, and a magic stealer.
‘Every man for himself’ should have been Haliwick’s motto.
“Blaze, what are our chances?” I asked with my new mind communication trick.
“Huh? Oh! Man, this mind thing is freaking me out.”
“Tell me about it!”
“I think we can hold our own. Don’t second-guess yourself. Now get out of my head.”
“Fine! Thanks.”
Sadie faced us, eyes narrowed. She walked backwards, glaring at us both, without stumbling once. The feat impressed me greatly.
“Alex! Were you and Blaze mind-talking without me?”
“Is that what we are calling it? I’m sorry, it wasn’t anything major.”
“Well, since we’re talking, I have a question I have been dying to ask you.”
“Fine.”
“Did you kiss him?”
Sadie’s childlike giggles bounced around my head, echoing like there were twenty Sadie’s scrambling for my brain’s attention. Not even a serious situation such as this could deter Sadie’s curiosity but who was I to talk? I managed to work in a kiss and several embraces thus far into our march to potential execution.
“I’m not discussing this, especially right now.”
“Why not? Now is as good a time as any! It’ll distract me from being nervous.”
“I’ll tell you but you can’t bring it up again.”
“Agreed!”
“And don’t flip out. I don’t want them to catch on.”
“Agreed!”
“Yes, I kissed him. Yes, it was amazing. No, I’m not telling you anything else so get out of my head.”
“Anything else? Did you tell him you looooove him?”
“Sadie! I’m hanging up!”
The giggles returned and bore resemblance to a group of snickering teenagers gossiping about boys they had crushes on. I rolled my eyes, tuned her out, and, with flushed cheeks, focused on the road ahead.
I would need more time before I could be expected to chat about it. Sadie knew my dislike of discussing intimate details but resistance was truly hopeless. Sadie would break me the second the mission was complete and I no longer had a justifiable excuse to postpone it.
“Katerina stays just ahead,” T
ristan said. “There will be guards all around so stay alert.”
Through the trees rested another enormous house on a hill we had just hiked up that I had somehow managed not to notice. Her home was similar to James’s as far as size and vast acreage, but completely opposite in every other way.
James’ home sat in the middle of an open yard. It beckoned you to come for a visit. Traumatized trees and shrubbery surrounded Katerina’s fortress. The only message it conveyed was “Turn around, now.”
“The way back is the way here”—and we have to go in there to get it. Ugh.
“The witch lives in an ominous castle,” I said. “How cliché.”
“Clichéd maybe, but do not underestimate her,” Tristan said. “Forget what you think you know or what you think you can expect because this isn’t a fairytale. This is very real and very dangerous.”
“Okay,” I said. “I’m not a child.”
He had never used such a serious tone with me. I was instantly taken aback and slightly offended. My worries escalated. I knew Tristan probably meant his words as a way to prepare me but somewhere deep, deep inside of me the hidden girly-girl got her feelings hurt. I kept her hidden from the world because I wanted to appear strong and independent like my mother. She persevered without anyone by her side but me, so I could too.
I never wanted anyone to lean on—or, at least, never admitted to it—but I had one now, three to be exact. And they had no problem calling me out on my crap.
“Everyone ready?” Blaze asked, investigating our surroundings.
We all robotically nodded our heads. It was impossible to be ready.
****
Chapter Twenty
Despite, the hopelessness of forming a solid plan, Blaze had drawn maps and play-by-plays. At times I felt I was embarking on a quest for a Super Bowl win. Stick figures and arrows had educated and eventually carried us into the unnerving situation we were entering. Drawings that a child used to illustrate his family and daily activities became the ever-important “game plan” that would hopefully save our lives.