by Nova Nelson
The connection grew stronger in a heartbeat, and I knew I couldn’t wait anymore to release it, if for no other reason than that the hellhounds’ shock would wear off soon, and we’d end up their chew toys.
Insight told me what to do, and I crouched down, holding firmly onto Tanner and Landon. Though I kept my eyes closed, I could feel the rest of the circle kneel with me, and when I brought our clasped hands lower until they touched the earth, so did the rest. The result was immediate.
The ground rippled around us, a shockwave moving outward from us and sending each of the hellhounds flying backward.
A familiar yelp, a roar, and a hiss were not completely lost in the mix.
“Thanks for the heads up, jerk,” Grim hollered at me.
When I opened my eyes and saw the hellhounds sprinting off in all directions, tails tucked, I knew it was safe to break the circle.
I jogged over to my familiar, who was lying atop a prickly bush nestled between the thick trunks of two ancient trees. “Sorry,” I said. “I didn’t know exactly what would happen.” I helped him crawl out of the tangle and pulled a few twigs from his back.
Eva and Landon were similarly making up with their familiars, who’d also been launched through the air but, unlike the hellhounds, hadn’t gone sprinting with their tails between their legs, and unlike Grim, had landed on their feline feet.
While I was relieved to have escaped that particularly unappealing demise, there wasn’t time to celebrate.
“Thanks,” I said, nodding at the men. “But we gotta go.” I nodded to Grim who headed deeper into the forest again.
A part of me hoped Tanner didn’t follow. Saying goodbye when the time came would be too hard. If we left it like this, maybe I could pretend it wasn’t goodbye.
“Where are you going?” he asked, hurrying after us.
Fangs and claws.
“The portal,” I said, hoping that sufficed.
Landon jumped in. “Wait, we’re heading to a portal? Like, to another world?”
“Yes.”
“And then what?”
“Then I’m gonna close it.” Ah, so simple, wasn’t it?
If only.
As usual, the simplest act would have the most lasting complications.
And to top it all off, I wasn’t even 100% sure it would work. My hunch was that I would stroll through and nature would be satisfied and shut the door behind me. But what if that didn’t happen?
“You know how to do it?” Tanner asked.
“Yeah. I think I figured it out.”
Donovan said to Eva, “And why are you here? To help?” The two of them were a few paces behind me, and Eva must have given a non-verbal response, because I didn’t hear her reply, and Donovan didn’t ask again.
“How did you know to follow us?” I asked, though the answer wouldn’t help anything.
Landon responded. “I saw you two running away from the Emporium. And I knew you weren’t the kind to run away from danger. So whatever you were running toward was likely more dangerous. I grabbed Tanner and Donovan and we came after you.”
“It’s not dangerous,” I said, “but I’m hoping it’ll put an end to whatever the spell is going on in town.”
“Then count me in, whatever it takes,” Tanner said. “The sooner the better. When we left, half the Coven were joining together to take down what I can only describe as a giant snoterpiller.”
“Maybe I don’t want to leave this place,” Grim said. “It’s finally getting interesting.”
“Just keep going. And if you can pick up the pace, that would be great.”
With more wands now lighting the way, and knowing we had a complete circle among us in case anything else were to give us problems, we were able to do just that.
I knew we must be close when the Winds of Change blew so strongly that each step forward was a labor in and of itself.
And then I saw the glow.
A circle the size of a hula hoop hovered only a foot off the ground. All around it was the Deadwoods, but looking through it…
It wasn’t nighttime there, but I supposed I shouldn’t get hung up on that. Time might work a little differently between the worlds. Seconds might be longer here or shorter. Just because I died at night and arrived here at night didn’t mean the timelines always matched up.
Because it was day on the other side, I could see where this portal opened to.
If my suspicions were correct, it was the exact same place where I’d died.
Of course, at the time, I hadn’t been able to see much of anything in my surroundings, owing to the fact that it had been raining buckets and it was already dark. But now I could see a glimpse of a pasture, and beyond that, the tall conifers of East Texas.
I approached cautiously and inspected the space. When I stepped just to the side of it, I was out of the pathway of the Winds of Change, and when I moved behind it, I couldn’t see a thing… except for Tanner, Landon, Donovan, Eva, and three agitated familiars, each staring transfixed at the portal.
Of course, from my perspective, it just looked like they were staring with great interest at my crotch, and that wouldn’t do, so I moved back around to the front.
“What now?” Tanner asked. “How do we close it?”
I nodded to Eva, who did me the favor of pulling Donovan aside. They moved out of the path of the Winds, and Landon, perhaps sensing that he was once again the fifth wheel, gave both them and us some space… but not without wringing his hands nervously in the meantime.
Eva whispered something to Donovan, possibly filling him in and asking him not to do anything stupid, and I had my last horrible moment with the man I loved.
I pressed myself against him and put my hands on his face, warming them on his stubbly cheeks as I gazed into his hazel eyes. “I need you to understand that if I had any choice in this that I wouldn’t do it. But this town has taken me in and given me a life I didn’t know was possible. It awoke something in me that I’ll never lose. And it gave me you. I probably don’t deserve you.”
I felt his grip around me tighten as a deep crease cut between his brows. “What are you talking about?”
How much did I tell him? Eva knew most of it now, and I trusted her to tell him whatever he needed to know to move on.
“Your parents wanted me to restore balance in Eastwind. This has been a long time coming and I— I love you.”
“I love you, too. Nora what’s—”
I kissed him hard, half expecting Grim to tell us to get a room. But clearly my familiar did have some common decency somewhere in his dead heart, and he let me enjoy the moment.
Enjoy it as much as I could, at least, knowing it was the last time I’d get to feel Tanner’s soft lips on mine.
I pulled away, still staring at him, trying to etch his image into my mind. He might move on once I was gone, but could I?
Something over my shoulder caught his attention. His eyes went wide and he pushed me aside, shouting, “Eva! What are you doing?”
I whirled around and saw Zola leap into the portal. A half second later, Eva followed. I gasped and stumbled after Tanner.
Donovan called after his girlfriend and made straight for the portal himself, but Tanner intercepted him and shoved him to the ground, saying, “Don’t be an idiot.”
And then Tanner, too, jumped into the portal.
I pulled up short, blinking, feeling the numbness of shock about to set in. Then I shook myself free of it.
“Speaking of idiots,” I said, making for the glowing rip in the air. Of course Tanner would play the hero and chase after her. Now I’d have to save them both.
What was Eva thinking?
But the Wind picked up, blowing like a hurricane from the portal. I leaned into it, struggling with each step but determined to fight through. I had to get to them, to call them back, to herd them into Eastwind so I could shut the portal behind me.
Ahead I could see their sunlit backs, Eva and Zola running full-speed away, and Tan
ner in hot pursuit, undoubtedly determined to catch her and drag her back, kicking and screaming if need be.
How had this gone so terribly wrong so quickly?
When the Winds of Change stopped like someone had flipped a switch, I stumbled forward, instantly regretting that I was about to enter my old world in the clumsiest fashion possible.
Except, as I tumbled headfirst at the portal, I met nothing but more Deadwoods.
The portal had closed.
Eva and Tanner were gone.
And I was still here.
Chapter Eighteen
I’d never experienced silence like that. Once I lifted myself off of my face and fell back onto my butt, I simply stared at the air in front of me, unable to breathe, unable to think.
No, that’s not entirely true. I could think, but my thoughts were like a caveman’s.
Portal there.
Now portal gone.
No more Tanner.
Tanner gone.
Me here.
The disappearance of the roaring Winds of Change seemed to leave a negative space around me where no sound waves could travel.
It wasn’t silent; it was quieter than that.
Perhaps there were sounds around me, but I didn’t notice them.
My mind reeled. What was Eva thinking? Why did she run through?
Although, it’d worked hadn’t it?
I suspected that if I ever left the Deadwoods again, which I was seriously considering never doing, I would discover the portal in the Emporium closed too.
He’s not dead. As if that was any real comfort. The point was, he wasn’t here. He was gone. He was trapped in a world that wasn’t his, possibly forever.
Maybe I could use the Enochian book to open the portal, but then what? I would be messing with the balance of nature again, and we would be right back where we were with monsters terrorizing the town.
The crunching of leaves finally got through to me, and Grim came to lie next to me without saying a word. He put his head in my lap and let me pet him, and that was the moment I knew I was really in trouble. If Grim was reduced to a genuine, loving companion, something truly terrible had just happened. I probably couldn’t feel the full effect yet, but it was obvious to my familiar.
After a few more pets, he said, “I really would have gone with you.”
“I know.”
“You couldn’t have known she would do that. And that he would do that.”
“I know.”
“Nora?”
I turned with a start. I’d forgotten completely about Landon. “Nora, we should go,” he said timidly. “I don’t think it’s going to open up again.”
My chest felt like it was at the center of a rubber band ball. “Just give it a minute,” I managed breathlessly.
“We’ve been sitting here for almost an hour.”
I blinked. “Oh.”
With Grim’s help, I climbed to my feet. My legs resisted leaving, but I ordered them not to give out. And then I saw him sitting there, much the same way I’d been, except his familiar wasn’t there to comfort him.
Donovan was in exactly the same place where he’d landed when Tanner had thrown him out of the way. His mouth lulled open as he stared at where the portal had been. One hand clutched at the base of his neck while the other rested on his wand in his lap.
A few seconds earlier, I would have sworn I had nothing left to give, but seeing him like that, I found reserves. “Come on,” I said, offering him my hand. “We gotta go.”
Instead of taking the offering, he simply whispered, “She said it was her fault. She said she had to fix it.”
There would be plenty of time for guilt and recounting the events later. Landon was right—it was time to go.
“Come on,” I said again. “We’ll… we’ll figure it out.”
Man, was I a terrible liar. I had no reason to believe we’d ever figure this one out.
But Donovan took my hand, and I helped him up.
And then we headed out of the Deadwoods.
I felt no inclination to say anything, because there was simply nothing to say. I’d lost Tanner. Donovan had lost Eva. And I suspected as soon as Landon could pass us off, he would make a beeline for home to make sure Grace was okay.
As we reached the Outskirts, I listened for signs of continuing struggle and destruction in town but heard nothing.
Walking through the abandoned outer edges of Eastwind was like entering a graveyard. Dread filled me as we neared the faire grounds or what was left of it. It sounded like the battle had reached its conclusion, but had we stopped it in time? Had it ended before there were too many casualties?
When we crested the hill and the Emporium came into view, my heart sank. I hadn’t expected so much fire, but little flames danced here and there.
The portal in the center was gone, but a scattering of bodies littered the ground.
Sheriff Bloom swooped out of the air and sent a golden spear through the last remaining monster that dared to move.
I held my breath as I walked through the mess—splinters of wood from damaged buildings, cracked cobblestones around craters in the ground, piles of ashes, and of course, bodies.
But from what I saw, none of the lifeless ones were Eastwinders. Could we really have gotten so lucky? Or maybe it wasn’t luck. We had people like Bloom and Liberty and Ruby on our side.
Ghosts floated above the grisly tableau, but any desire to torment the living seemed to have dissipated. Instead, a few were helping find the injured and summoning aid for them. Maybe misery doesn’t always love company.
Brittle moans wafted from multiple directions, and through a cloud of smoke I glimpsed Kayleigh Lytefoot, hovering above someone.
I stepped over a large hairy dead thing and hurried over to her. The pixie was struggling to stay airborne as one of her wings was bent at a right angle. She was feeding some sort of potion to the man on the ground.
His face was so dirty, I almost didn’t recognize him. “Stu!” I ran the rest of the way and knelt down next to him.
He tried to lift his head but began coughing as he did and so he gave up on that. His casual clothes had blood on them, but I couldn’t tell whose it was. “Glad to see you, Ms. Ashcroft,” he said in a hoarse croak. He coughed again.
“You’re going to be fine, Deputy. I need you to toughen up, okay?”
I looked to Kayleigh who almost managed a smile. “I’m doing my best,” she said, “but I think a horn got him just below the ribs.”
So it was his blood. At least some of it.
“I’m fine,” Stu grunted. “But you might ask Bloom if I can have some of that vacation time I’ve been building up. I think I’m gonna need it. Tanner’s good enough to handle things by himself.”
Suddenly it felt like I’d just been pierced by a horn below my ribs.
I left Kayleigh to tend to Stu and stood to see where I could be of help. A few feet away, Donovan and Stella were attending to Kelley Sullivan who looked even worse off than Stu.
Those who had stayed to fight and weren’t too badly injured to stand wandered around like they’d just awoken from a strange dream.
A cheep-cheep on the ground my by right foot pulled my attention and I looked down to find a little red downy head pop out of the ashes. I picked it up and dusted it off, and it looked up at me with big orange-and-black eyes.
“Thank you, Nora! I’ll take her.” Ted shuffled up and held out his hands. Not sure what else to do, I handed the little thing over to the reaper. “I’m so proud of them,” he said. “Really rained down fire on the more flammable things crawling out of that hole. Of course, they went and got themselves killed, but all in a day’s work for a phoenix. Just gonna have to raise them up all over again.” His robes were already chirping in multiple places when he tucked the baby bird into one of the pockets. “Guess I’ll come clean with the sheriff about bringing them back to Eastwind. Heh. Hope she doesn’t mind.”
“I think she has more pressi
ng concerns right now,” I said.
“Ah, true, true.”
Just as Ted was about to shuffle off, his head bent low to look for more of his chicks, a thought occurred to me. “Hey, Ted.” He glanced back. “If you’re not too busy to look for your chicks, does that mean…”
He nodded. “Yep. No pressing matters for me at the moment. Well, sure there are a lot of dead things around here, but they came into my realm uninvited and terrorized all my friends. I’m in no hurry to clean up after them. All in good time.”
It was true, then. As impossible as it seemed, no Eastwinders had been killed.
I’d made it to the portal in time after all. My momentary selfishness hadn’t cost lives.
The relief almost lessened the crushing pain in my chest at losing Tanner. I wished there was a way to let him know that his stupidly heroic act had saved lives. Eva would like to know as well, I was sure.
But when I noticed Bloom carrying an injured woman in hunter green robes, I wondered if maybe I’d jumped too soon. No one was dead yet. But clearly some were gravely injured.
Bloom climbed a pile of rubble where a small stone wall had fallen. She set the High Priestess Springsong down against a large chunk of stone next to her and addressed the aimless masses. “Everyone who is able to should return home. We have a lot to discuss, even more to rebuild, but what everyone needs right now is rest. I know it’s Halloween, but I thank the spirits for your help in this unique situation and I ask that you please refrain from entering any homes for the remainder of the evening. If you wish to help, I’m sure we can find some way.” Then she scanned the crowd. “Deputy Culpepper?”
I clenched my teeth against the sting.
A hand pressed softly between my shoulder blades, and Donovan’s voice said, “You gonna tell her or am I?”