“And I still am.”
“Then I just need to find a spell…” He flipped through the pages. “There it is.” He gestured them forward. “Ashwin, you need to say it with me. Jade, grab your book. You should have a similar spell in your book.”
Jade nodded, grabbing the book up off the floor, and flipping through the pages. “Okay. Got it. Micah?”
“Right here,” Micah said, walking up next to her. “Though, I think I need my eyes washed out after watching you and Ashwin make out… finally.”
“And something I plan to do again… very soon,” Ashwin said, winking at Jade.
Jade laughed, blushing, and grasping Micah’s hand. “There’s time for that later. Right now, we need to get to the wasteland.” She pointed to the page. “Micah, read with me. When light becomes dark…”
“When dark becomes light…” Ashwin and Elijah’s voices blended with theirs.
“A sliver of hope aims to break free…”
“A sliver of darkness aims to break free…”
“A sliver of hope aims to break free…”
“A sliver of darkness earns to break free…”
“Through time and space, show us the road to the afterlife…”
“Where all evil things go.”
A whirl of wind filled the room, and they gasped, bracing themselves as a portal opened in front of them.
“There it is!” Jade shouted, grabbing Ashwin by the arm and dragging him forward. “To the wasteland we go!”
“And here I was hoping I would never have to step foot in that place ever again,” Elijah said, sighing. “Let’s get this over with.” They raced through the portal, unaware of the danger lying on the other side, and the consequences of the spell they had just cast.
Chapter 38
“Aah!”
Jorja opened her mouth, letting out a loud scream., sound waves escaping her lip and flying through the air, striking Melina.
“Why the hell did you have to say that to her?” Jasmine asked, as she closed her eyes, her body glowing a bright pink, as her astral self appeared next to her.
“Need me so soon?” Astral Jasmine asked, glancing over her shoulder at Melina. “Oh. Guess you do.” They flung their hands up, white light spreading from their hands and striking Melina.
“Yes, I need you!” Jasmine snapped, gritting her teeth as Melina fought against the power. “And Jorja, one thing to know about Melina. She hates being called ugly! She’s been called that her whole life!”
“Like I knew that!” Jorja cried as she opened her mouth, another loud scream escaping her lips. “But then again, you guys kind of neglected to tell me about the other half of my family!”
“It’s in the book!” Josslyn shouted, slinging icicles at Melena. “I thought you read it!”
“You know, it would be really nice to have a little extra help right now!” Jasmine shouted. “Where the hell is Jade? Hasn’t she figured out how to get to us yet?”
“Did someone ask for me?”
A portal opened up behind them, Jade, Ashwin, Elijah racing through. Jade to a stop, staring at Melena. “And who the hell pissed of Melena?”
“That would be Jorja,” Josslyn said, gritting her teeth, and ducking as the icicles bounced back toward her. “But we’re having a little bit of trouble putting her down!”
“Ahh. Look who it is. The other witch!” Melena shouted, stomping her large foot on the ground. The ground shook, and they all teetered, struggling to keep their balance. “And you brought friends!”
“Yeah! What is he doing here?” Jorja asked, jabbing a finger at Elijah. “He’s evil!”
“Not evil. Just misguided,” Jade said, glancing over at Elijah. “He’s the one who helped me get here.”
“So you trust him?”
“Trust… no,” Jade said. “But I’m getting there. After all, he did save my life in the underworld.”
Jasmine narrowed her eyes. “Well, I guess we don’t really have a choice but to trust him right now, considering we need all the help we can get right now.”
“But we’re missing a power!” Jade cried, as she rolled her sleeves up, and thrust her hands forward. Purple electricity slung from her hands, hitting Melena. “Ours aren’t enough!”
“What power are you missing?” Ashwin asked as he turned, running around Melena at lightning, fast speed, creating a whirlwind around her.
“Fire!” Josslyn shouted. “We need firepower!”
“I can help with that,” Elijah said, thrusting his hands forward. Fire spewed from his hands, slamming against Melena.
“It’s still not enough!” Jasmine shouted. “We need more!”
“What more could we possibly need?” Jorja asked, glancing at her sisters, then at Melena. “We’ve got so much power already.”
“I don’t know! She’s so big!” Josslyn cried, yelping and jumping back, as zinged down from above. “She’s throwing lightning at us!”
“It’s her anger,” Jorja said, once again staring up at Melena. “I have an idea. What if I go to the top?”
“You can’t, Jorja!” Josslyn cried, wincing, as Jorja let out a loud scream, soundwaves dancing underneath her feet. “She’ll kill you!”
“Actually, I think she’s right,” Elijah said. “She’s so big, that we’ll never be able to defeat her from down here. We need to get her from every angle!” He closed his eyes, his feet leaving the ground and floating upward.
“He can levitate?” Jade asked, glancing at Ashwin. “Since when?”
“He’s a demon, Jade. He can do lots of things.” He paused, gasping for breath. “Whoo! That’s taking a lot out of me.”
“I’m in position!”
“Me too!”
Ashwin glanced up at Elijah and Jorja, nodding, and turning, racing around Melina again.
“Okay. Jasmine, Jorja, now!”
They held their hands up, electricity, ice, and white like reigning from their hands, streaking toward Melena. Above them, they could see Elijah throwing fire, and a loud scream escaped Jorja’s lips, as she flung sound waves at her.
“It’s working!” Jade cried, gritting her teeth. “We just need a little more.”
“Roar!”
Micah let out a loud roar, his three-headed lion self appearing next to them.
“Ahh!”
Melena screeched, her body shrinking back to her normal-sized self, and she gasped, flicking her fingers, but no power came from them.
“You…. You witches. You will never understand me!” she cried, gesturing to the jellyfish. “Get them!”
“No!”
Elijah flew down from above, fire blasting from his hands, frying the jellyfish.
“No! My babies!” She lifted her hands, once again, trying to use her magic. “My powers…”
“Are gone,” Jade said, walking forward and crouching in front of her. “And you’re right, Melena, we can never understand you, or what you went through. We will never understand growing up with a man like Gary. We will never know what it’s like to feel unwanted or unloved. We’ll never know what it’s like to feel as if we don’t belong.” She wrapped her arms around Melena, as her body turned a bright red. “But you can let go of the pain now, Melena,” she whispered. “You can let go, and you can finally go home.”
“Really?” Melena asked, staring up at her.
“Yes. Just let go.”
Melena nodded, her body stiffening as her eyes shut.
“She’s gone?” Josslyn asked, stepping forward.
Jade nodded. “Yes. She’s gone.” She lay Melena’s body on the ground, rising to her feet. “Where she can no longer hurt herself, or anyone else.”
“I hope she finds peace,” Jorja whispered. “It’s so hard to believe that, that could have been one of us!”
“It could have been Julie,” Jasmine added.
“But we will never be like her,” Jade said, glancing at her sisters. “Because we’re together.”
“Speaking of
being together, what the hell happened to you?” Jorja asked, narrowing her eyes on Jade. “Why the sudden sympathy for a woman who’s tried to kill us? And a demon?”
“Because I’ve come to realize, that not everyone is born to be evil, that sometimes it’s just the path they choose,” Jade said, her eyes locking with Ashwin’s. “And that everyone deserves a second chance no matter what.”
“Ahh. Thanks, Jade!” Elijah cried.
“Just don’t make me regret it,” Jade said, narrowing her eyes on Elijah. “But we have to get going. Julie’s in trouble.”
“What do you mean? Liam said he’d take care of her!”
“And you just trusted him?” Elijah asked as they hurried through the forest. “You let him take her?”
“Because the baby’s killing her!”
“What?” Jade turned, staring at her sisters. “No! The baby’s not killing her, Liam is! He needs the baby for the last ingredient of his experiment, and it’s going to kill him!”
“Wait. Jade, did you just say what I think you did?” Elijah asked. “I’m having… a son?”
“Yup!”
“Wow.”
“Don’t forget, you also still have three daughters,” Josslyn said, eyeing Elijah. “Now that you’re trying to be good, just maybe, you’ll try to get to know them?”
“How about we take one thing at a time,” Micah said, as he ran with him.
“Hey, I know you!” Josslyn cried, staring at the man. “You’re that guy from London. Julie’s guy!”
“Can we stop calling her Julie’s guy?” Elijah asked, narrowing his eyes. “After all, she is still my wife.”
Chapter 39
“Help! Please, help us!”
“Look! There they are!” Josi shouted, sliding to a stop, swallowing as she stared below her at the rolling, red stream below her. “Ooh. Be careful!”
“Where are they going?” Jordyn asked, gingerly walking across the plank, staring at the mermaids in the capsules, as they rolled toward the opening above them.
“I think to the underworld,” Jessi said, pointing. “Look! I see flames.”
“Ugh. The underworld.” Jami wrinkled her nose in disgust. “I don’t like that place.”
“None of us do,” Josi said, narrowing her eyes and staring around her. “Or this place for that matter. Do any of you see a way of stopping that thing?”
“I think I see a gadget,” Jessi said, pointing to the far side of the room. “We just need to get there!”
“You’re not going anywhere, witch.”
Strong arms wrapped around her, and Jessi screamed. She jabbed her elbow back, staring into the pale, white face of a vampire. “Get off of me!”
“Get off of her!”
Jordyn and Jami rushed forward, shoving the vampire back. “Whoa…” They wavered, steadying themselves.
“What are vampires doing her?” Jordyn asked. “I thought vampires weren’t real!”
“You have a lot to learn about this world, Jordyn,” Josi said, grabbing her by the arm. “Come on! We gotta get to that button! We can’t let whoever wants the mermaids, get to them!”
“Get them!”
The beam under them shook, and Jordyn screamed. Her feet slid, and she gasped, wrapping her fingers around the plank. “Josi! Help!”
“I got you!” Josi cried, wrapping her arm around Jordyn’s hand, and pulling her up. They tiptoed across the beam, behind them, a large-bodied demon racing after them. “Oh no! He’s coming. Jordyn, we have to hurry!”
“I’m going as fast as I can!” Jordyn cried, dropping her hand from Josi’s, hurrying across the beam. “But this isn’t easy!”
“No one said it was going to be easy!” Jami cried, hurrying after them. “Jessi! Are you with us! Jessi?” She turned, stopping when she saw Jessi stop in the middle of the walkway. “Jessi!”
“I’m not just going to stand here and let them take the mermaids!” Jessi cried. “Not when I can do something about it!” She narrowed her eyes on the large-bodied demon, blood squirting from her nose, and she squinted her eye. “Explode, you demon!”
“Witch!”
The demon raced forward, wrapping his hands around her, and slamming her to the ground.
“Jessi!” Jami screamed, watching as Jessi’s body lay flat on the ground, not moving. “Oh no! No! No! No!” She raced forward. “You stupid demon! Leave my sister alone!”
“Jami!” Jordyn spun on the beam, hurrying back. “Josi, keep going!”
“Go save my sister!” Josi said, swallowing, but continuing along the beam. She lunged forward, pressing the red button on the wall. The beam holding the mermaids, stopping in mid-air, and the water underneath them turning from red to a clear blue. “Now that looks better!”
“Die you monster!” Jordyn shouted, raising her hand. Crystals flung from her hand, hitting the demon. He gasped, teetering on the beam, and falling into the water far below them.
“Jessi!” Jami rushed forward, reaching a hand to her sister’s neck. “She’s not breathing!” she cried, lowering her hand. “Jessi, don’t you dare die on me!” She shouted, placing her hand over her sister’s heart. “I can’t lose you!”
A gold hue illuminated from her hand, washing over Jessi’s body. A moment later, Jessi’s eyes snapped open. “Jami!” She gasped, sitting up, gasping for breath. “You… you saved me!”
“As if I would do anything else,” Jami said, wrapping her arms around her sister, and pulling her in for a hug. “Thank God you’re okay! I don’t know what I’d do if anything ever happened to you.”
“Me neither!” Josslyn cried as she and the others raced into the room, staring above them at the capsules holding the mermaids. “What the hell happened? Why are the mermaids in capsules? And where the hell does that lead?”
“We’re guessing to the underworld,” Josi said, as she climbed the ladder and flung the first capsule open.
“Why?”
“Probably for the new evil that is about to rise,” Jade murmured.
“Great evil?” Jorja asked. “What great evil?”
“Something that’s being held in the tomb in the great room of the underworld,” Micah told her. “They’re feeding it enchanted beings from all over the magical community. Luck. My blood and I’m guessing scales from a dozen mermaids.” He pointed. “Look, there’s twelve of them.”
“He’s right,” a blonde-haired mermaid said, as the door to the capsule opened. “The underworld is using our fins, for the next great evil to rise, and Liam’s made a deal with them. That’s why he put us in the capsules.” She dove down into the water far below. She dove upward, breaking the surface. “But thank you for saving us! We’re beyond grateful!”
“It’s kind of what we do,” Jade said, smiling, as she glanced at her sisters. “But why are you here in the wasteland?”
“Because a long time ago, the Gods deemed us a harm to the human world,” a dark-haired mermaid said, as she dove into the water. “We have a bad reputation, or at least one of us a bad reputation.”
“Who?”
“The first mermaid, or siren if you prefer,” a red-haired mermaid said, as she rose from the water, staring up at them her bright, pink tail glistening in the water. “Madeline.”
“What happened?” Jami asked, sitting on the beam, and staring down at the mermaids.
“Her heart was turned to ice,” another blonde-haired mermaid said, as she swam, twirling in the water. “When the man she loved cheated on her, and she made a deal with the sea witch… Melena.”
“What kind of deal?”
“To kill any man, who reminded her of the man she lost, and in return, she would give her what she wanted. Complete freedom in the ocean.”
“So she turned her into a mermaid.”
“Precisely, and as Melena grew stronger, with each man that was killed, she made more deals with more women. Mermaids, until, one of us thawed our cold heart. Melena was furious, but she escaped and started her own group of
mermaids. Mermaids, that would fight against Madeline and Melena.”
“But even after getting rid of Madeline, the Gods still didn’t trust us,” another one of the mermaids said. “So they sentenced us here.”
“That is so wrong!” Jordyn cried as she stared at the twelve mermaids in the water. “You shouldn’t be punished for something someone else did!”
“It’s the way of the world, Jordyn,” Jorja said, wrapping her arm around her daughter.
“But we have to!”
“And we will,” Jorja told her. “Once we find Julie, and get that key.”
“The key we have yet to find,” Jami muttered, as she rose to her feet. “Stupid demon.”
“What demon?” Josslyn asked, raising a brow at her daughter.
“The trickster demon,” Josi told her. “He was waiting for us when we walked behind the waterfall. He said the key is neither here, nor there, or in plain sight.”
“Are you talking about Raphael?” Jasmine asked, staring at him. “He’s here?”
“Yup, except he’s not around to cause any more trouble now,” Jessi told her. “Jordyn vanquished him!”
“You what?” Jorja turned, staring at her daughter. “How?”
“I have a power now,” Jordyn said, holding her hand out, crystals spinning above her hand. “I can manipulate crystals!”
“Ooh! That’s so pretty!” Jasmine whispered. “Looks like you are definitely a Morgan.”
“Indeed she is,” Jorja said, laughing. “Now, how about we go find Liam and get this damn thing over with?”
“Sounds good to me,” Ashwin said, linking hands with Jade.
“Ah, Jade, did you two…”
“Yes. I gave in to the temptation,” Jade said, glancing over at Josslyn. “And not another word about it.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Josslyn said. “You deserve to be happy. So where are we going to find Liam?”
“In the most powerful of places,” Elijah told her, nodding in the distance as fire sparked high in the air, and the volcano spewing lava. “In the volcanic realm.”
Chapter 40
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