Dancing With Monsters

by M.M. Gavillet

Seth

  "Stand back," Ella said, pulling a small disk from her pocket.

  "Where did you get that?" Edan asked standing beside Ella and pointing at the disk.

  Ella cocked her head towards him, and smiled with a raise of her eyebrows as she swiped it across the lock. "They have Fae stuff all over this place and with no one watching or paying attention to me, well?no one is paying attention or watching so I helped myself." The locked clicked and the barred gate slightly swung open. "How were you planning on getting Seth out?" Edan's cheeks flared red.

  "Come on, we need to go outside to make a portal." Ella reached into her pocket and threw dust all over me.

  "What was that?" Edan asked as I brushed the grey dust off my sleeve wondering the same thing.

  "Don't you know about anything Faeish?" She shook her head. "It's unseeing dust-stole that too. Come on, we only have about five minutes before it wears off." Ella took off down the hallway as Edan and Nessa looked behind them at towards me with surprised looks on their faces. By their expressions, they couldn't see me.

  "Seth?" Nessa questioned.

  "The dust works, let's go before it wears off or one of the guards comes and finds me not in my cell." I placed one hand on Nessa's shoulder and one on Edan's, both flinched, and gently nudged them to move.

  I followed closely behind them as Ella led us to a secluded garden with a small fountain in the center. It was encircled by tall shrubs and grey stones covered the ground. Benches were scattered around the fountain that had water bubbling out of a slender column in the center of it.

  Ella knelt on the edge of the fountain and pulled out her etch. She dipped it in the water several times before a thin, clear line of water was attached to it like a thread in the eye of a needle. Slowly, and with a proud smile on her face, she lifted the thread of water into the air.

  "How do you know how to do this?" Nessa asked as we watched in awe.

  "Eveie and I have a house at The Isle of Stars and I picked up on a few Faeish things while I was there. Making a portal is the most elementary ability you need to know how to do." She flicked her eyes for just a second at Nessa. "It's how they travel to other realms."

  "And how are we to get April and Malachi back here? Eveie is a demon, and wanted by the archangels. She can't be just running around causing havoc for us," Edan said, as Ella finished the portal with a star shape in the center of portal that wasn't much taller than her.

  I wasn't too worried about Eveie right now; I was worried about getting through the portal.

  Ella turned, and glared at Edan. "Eveie doesn't want to cause havoc. She wants the archangels to leave her alone," she said firmly with eyes set on Edan.

  "We need to have a plan." Edan looked at me. "Where exactly are you taking us with this portal?" He shifted his attention back to Ella.

  "It will open up close to our house near Sothis which is in the southern part of The Isle of Stars." Ella looked over her shoulder at Edan with her etch still connected to the portal by a tiny thread of light. She smiled. "You worry too much archangel."

  "We have every right to be cautious." Edan looked back at me as Ella continued with her portal-making as Nessa stood beside her mesmerized by the structure.

  "I couldn't get your stone back. So what weapon will we use to contain this demon?" Edan asked in a low voice as he pulled me away from Ella. "I didn't plan on her doing this and was going to try one more time to get the stone so we could make our own portal, not have Eveie's daughter make it for us."

  Edan had every right to be suspicious and untrusting of Ella, but at the same time, I knew we could trust her. Since my connection with the stone, my intuition had grown. I had to get Edan to follow Ella and trust her.

  I grabbed onto Edan's arm, and locked my eyes with him. I was using persuasion on him, and I nearly knocked us both to the ground from the unexpected force. The lightstone, I felt, had left a little of its power in me each time I used it. It was kind of like taking sips out of a glass, and after each sip, the glass was getting closer to being empty. My ability to persuade was strong before, but now it was even stronger.

  I quickly steadied myself, and kept Edan's attention. He didn't question me or pull away. I had him.

  "Ella can be trusted, and is to be trusted by you. She will lead us to The Isle of Stars where you will be cautious, but not untrusting of her intentions." I held my gaze steady as I felt the power in me surge and fall like waves. I had to release him without a sudden break.

  "What are her intentions?" Unexpectedly, Edan asked. This took me by surprise.

  "To take us to Malachi and April," I said quickly and released my hold on him.

  I took a step away as Ella finished the portal with a final flick of her hand with the etch in it.

  She looked back at me as Nessa examined the portal. "It's ready, let's go," Ella said, as if we were simply getting on a bus and going downtown on an errand.

  She shoved the etch into her pocket, Looked back at me and smiled, and took Nessa by the hand. "You guys will love it there."

  Ella pulled on Nessa's hand, and into the portal they went. I took a step forward as Edan followed behind the two girls without hesitation. I had used my persuasion, but I didn't think it would be that strong. Edan entered the portal stone-faced as if he would follow Ella off a cliff is she went and suggested that he go too. I would have to re-persuade Edan so that didn't happen.

  Suddenly, the sound of footsteps and voices erupted through the cover of the tall shrubs. I could hear Isaiah's voice giving commands to his guards and coming closer.

  "If Edan is involved in this, bring him to me first-unharmed. I don't care about the others."

  Quickly, I leaped into the portal and hoped we could close it before Isaiah and his guards could follow us.