Finally late one night I shut my eyes and prepared to fall asleep. As my mind drifted to sleep, I wondered what direction my brain would take. As usual, I was back in the cell, and the Queen promptly tore out Ben’s heart. I screamed and called out for Ben until he pulled himself off the ground, and as blood dripped from the hole in his chest he dragged himself to my side. As the Queen stood in the corner of the cell laughing hysterically, Ben sat down on the ground next to broken body.
“Miranda,” Ben said underneath the Queen’s howl, “You need to go to our son. Go to our son.”
“Ben, please just tell me what is going on. Our son is okay. Why are you coming to me in my dreams and scaring me?”
“Miranda, go,” he said quietly.
The Queen’s laughter grew louder and her smile grew wide. My heart began to race as fear swept through my body.
Ben spoke again, this time much louder, “Miranda! Wake up! Wake up! Wake up now!” he screamed.
The Queen was growling and screaming in laughter as an evil look swept across her face. I tried to shake myself awake, but I was stuck in the dream.
“Wake up now!” Ben screamed again.
“I can’t Ben! I can’t wake up! Ben, help me! Help me!” I screamed as I trembled with fear.
He kept screaming, “Miranda, Wake up! Wake up! She is coming! She is coming! Please Miranda!”
I couldn’t wake up. I was stuck, and I was scared, and I couldn’t escape. “Damon!” I screamed, “Damon, help!” I screamed as loudly as I could.
Suddenly Ben began to shake me and I heard him yell once more, “Wake up! Miranda, Wake up!” But it wasn’t Ben’s voice; it was Damon.
My eyes shot open. I covered in sweat, and my stomach felt sick. I was shaking so hard I could hardly speak. Damon was holding me tight, and tears were falling down my eyes. The sickness from my stomach exploded from my mouth, and I was sick all over the bed.
“I’m going to get you help,” Damon said calmly as he rubbed my back and pulled the soiled blankets away.
I was so shaken I couldn’t speak, but I needed to check my son. I knew something was seriously wrong. Suddenly blood began to drip from my nose. I tried to wipe the blood away, but I was shaking so bad, I just wiped blood all over my face.
“Alexander!” Damon screamed from the bed, “Alexander!”
“Da-da-da-damon,” I tried to speak.
“Shhhh, settle down...settle down.” Damon said softly as he used the sheet to wipe the blood off my face. “We’re going to get help,” he said.
I needed to check Benny, but I was shaking so bad I couldn’t speak, and I couldn’t move. I took a deep breath in and slowly let it out as Damon continued wiping blood from my nose. As soon as the shaking slowed down, I climbed from the bed and headed towards the bedroom door. I was shaking so bad I could hardly stand, and soon Damon was standing by my side, trying to bring me back to bed.
I had to get to my son, so I pushed Damon away. I failed my attempt, and instead I fell to the floor. Damon instantly picked me up off the ground and carried me back to bed. Moments later my father was in the doorway. The moment he saw the vomit and blood, he ran to my side.
“We need to get her to the infirmary. Something is seriously wrong,” Damon cried.
My father nodded his head and lifted me from the bed. “Da-da-dad,” I said softly, “Pu-pu-lease check Buh-buh-enny.”
“We need to get you to the infirmary,” my father said as he bolted out of the bedroom.
“I’ll check on the boys,” Damon said from behind.
“Benny,” I whispered as my shaking was subsiding.
My father stood with me in the hallway for a moment as Damon opened Benny’s door. Damon stood in the doorway with a confused look on his face. Suddenly Damon went inside the room, and when he didn’t return, my father followed behind.
Once my father and I were in Benny’s room, I instantly saw that Benny wasn’t in his bed. My mind was immediately struck with terror.
My shaking had diminished, so I said, “Dad, please...put me down!
As soon as I hit the floor, I began searching the room for any sign of Benny. The three of us called his name, but he was nowhere to be found. With Benny not in his room, I immediately ran to Luke’s nursery and checked his crib. Luke was sound asleep, completely untouched.
“I’m going to get Sidney to stay with Luke,” Damon said, “Keep searching the house.”
My father nodded his head. My nose had stopped bleeding, and I was feeling better, but I was horrified, my mind full of fear. Ben had spoke with me more in my dream than he ever had before, and now Benny was missing. I knew something horrible happened.
My father and I searched the house high and low, and when Damon returned with Sydney, Benny was nowhere to be found.
“We need to get help. We need to search the entire castle until Benny is found!” I cried.
My father and Damon nodded their heads. They didn’t disagree.
“I’ll get Roger,” I said as I dashed from our suite with Damon and my father behind me.
I didn’t take the portal; instead I sprinted up the stairs at full speed. I knew I had to tell Roger what was going on. The moment I reached Roger’s door, I began to beat on it and call out Roger’s name.
“Roger!” I screamed as I beat against the door, with fear fueling my mind. “Roger!”
After several moments of banging and yelling, no one came to the door. Suddenly, my aunt opened the door to her room to see what was going on. Brandon was right behind her. The two of them stepped out of the door and came to my side.
“What is going on?” my aunt asked, as she looked me over. I forgot my face was smeared with blood.
“Benny is missing!” I cried. “Roger isn’t answering his door!”
“What’s wrong Miranda? You’re covered in blood,” she said.
“My nose was bleeding,” I said quickly as I continued to beat on the door.
“We can help you look for him,” my aunt said calmly, “Roger must be fast asleep.”
“You don’t understand,” I plead, “I need Roger. I need him now.”
My aunt looked concerned, but said, “Just use your magic to open the door. If your son is missing, he won’t be mad.”
Brandon nodded in agreement as I twisted my fingers around to magically unlock the door. The moment my magic touched the lock, I realized the door was already unlocked. I placed my hand on the doorknob and softly opened the door.
The moment the door was open, my heart began to thunder in my chest. Something terrible had happened in Roger’s room, as the room was in complete disarray. Blood was splattered against the walls; furniture was moved around and broken.
“My God!” Brandon cried as my aunt threw her hand across her mouth.
“Something is wrong!” I yelled, “Something is really wrong! Brandon, alert every vampire guard you can find, then go to Pine Lake and get my mom! Bring back anyone who is willing to help! Come back tonight!” I began looking around the room, “Aunt Allison, help me find Roger!”
Brandon quickly kissed my aunt’s cheek and sprinted from the room as the two of us began to search for Roger. We looked around the room, but he was nowhere to be found. Suddenly I noticed a trail of blood leading to the bathroom. I ran inside of the bathroom and flicked on the lights. I immediately saw Roger’s bloody body sprawled across the floor. I ran to his side with my aunt trailing behind.
I quickly shook him and tried to wake him, but he didn’t move. I gently moved his neck to find his pulse and noticed blood was pouring from his head.
“Aunt Allison!” I cried as I finally found a pulse, “Get the healing fairy. He’s bleeding from the head and alive.”
She ran from the room as I grabbed a towel and wrapped it around Roger’s head to control the bleeding. As I held the towel against his scalp, I gently tapped his shoulder and called his name. Roger wasn’t responding.
Finally after several minutes of calling his name, I could feel
Roger gently wiggle around. He opened his scared eyes and when he saw my face, he said in a haunting tone, “Miranda, she’s back.”
Chapter 5
“Roger! Who!” I screamed, but it was too late. Roger’s eyelids fell shut and he passed out. I reached my fingers across his neck and found he still had a faint pulse. I sighed in relief. My heart raced as I wondered who she was.
“Roger! Roger!” I cried out. “Stay with me!”
Not long after my aunt left, she returned with a healing fairy. The fairy quickly examined Roger and asked me to hold the towel over his head. As I kept the towel held against his scalp, she sprinkled dust over him and began softly chanting. After several moments of chanting, Roger began to wiggle again. The fairy pulled the towel away from his head and began to clean up his wound. She chanted another spell and began to stitch up the wound in his head.
Shortly after Roger was stitched up, he opened his eyes once more. “Roger!” I cried, “Who’s back? What happened?”
The healing fairy interrupted before Roger had a chance to reply, “Miranda, he has a terrible concussion, and I need to run tests on him. We need to get him to the infirmary, and he needs rest.”
I looked at the fairy, “My son is missing and something bad happened. I need Roger to tell me what happened.”
“It’s okay,” Roger whispered, “I’m okay.”
I looked at the fairy again and began directing orders, “Go get a stretcher for Roger, and find my father and Damon on the way back. They can help us take Roger to the infirmary.”
The fairy nodded her head and left the room. My aunt stood nearby as I waited for Roger to speak.
Roger took a few deep breaths, and then quietly said, “She’s back. My mother. She’s back.”
My aunt and I gasped at the same time.
“How?” was all I could manage to say.
“I don’t know,” Roger whispered. “I had another very vivid dream about Ben, and suddenly I was knocked awake. She attacked me, slamming me into furniture and the wall. The last thing I remember...she dragged me into the bathroom and slammed me into the tub. That’s all I remember.” As Roger spoke, he looked petrified.
I shook my head as tears began to swell up my eyes. My aunt wrapped her arms around and said, “We’ll find him sweetie.”
I shook my head and began to tremble, “If the Queen has him...he’s…” I couldn’t finish my sentence as I began to choke up, but I quickly wiped my tears away and said, “Aunt Allison, can you stay with him. I need to gather the council. We need a plan.”
My aunt nodded her head, “Go on honey.”
“Please come to the throne room as soon as Roger makes it to the infirmary. Bring Damon and my father as well,” I said as I headed out of Roger’s room.
I continued to wipe tears away as I headed back to my suite. I still covered in my own blood, and now I was covered in Roger’s blood as well. I needed to change clothes and check on Luke before gathering the counsel.
Once I checked in on my son and changed, I headed to the dungeon. I needed to check on Taylor, and I wanted to send a guard to look after Luke. I quickly headed to the portal and traveled to the bottom of the castle.
The moment I stepped from the portal, I knew something was wrong. There was no one guarding the area immediately outside the portal, and blood was splashed all over the walls. My heart started to race and I began to panic as I continued on my way. I was terrified as I continued down the hall. Magic was useless throughout the dungeon, and I didn’t know how to fight. If I ran into the Queen, I could only hope to take her down.
I didn’t see another guard the entire way down the dungeon hall, only an occasional splatter of blood on the wall. I knew something bad happened not long before, as I could smell the fresh scent of blood looming through the musty air. I continued through the dungeon and down the stairs, and when I entered the main cellblock, I gasped at the sight.
There were dead guards in every direction with their hearts torn through their chests. Every single cell had been opened and the prisoner killed. The air reeked of blood and decaying bodies. As I gagged at the stench, I pulled my shirt up to cover my nose from the horrible smell.
I was almost to the end of the hall where Taylor resided. When I saw his cell door was wide open, I trembled with anxiety of what I would find. I turned the corner to enter his cell, and I cringed as I anticipated what would be on the other side. To my surprise, the cell was completely empty. There wasn’t a drop of blood or evidence of struggle. It was as if Taylor had walked away completely unharmed.
As I turned around and headed back to the portal, my mind twisted in confusion of the situation. I wondered why every being in the dungeon had been brutally murdered, but Taylor was missing. As I left the dungeon, I carefully searched for anyone left alive or Taylor’s body. I found neither.
The moment I entered the portal, tears began to fall from my eyes. Everything was happening too fast, and I was horrified by what the Queen had done. My son was gone, Roger had been attacked and left to die, and now Taylor was missing.
The moment the portal opened, I raced to the throne room. I was panicked and Sidhe needed a plan. When I entered the throne room, several members of Sidhe and Pine Lake were already gathered inside. The moment my mother saw me, she ran to me and wrapped her arms around me, holding me tight. Her eyes were bloodshot, and it was obvious she had been crying.
Brandon was sitting at the table looking worn out, as he had traveled through the portal twice in only a short time. Although we were not supposed to travel through the portal twice in one day, an exception was made for this emergency. Sophia, Virgo, Victor, Delia and Nathen were also sitting at the table; they had returned with Brandon to help Sidhe. Each had a look of concern strung across their face.
Sophia quickly came to my side and hugged me tight, “I’m sorry,” she said as she pointed to Victor and Virgo, “The three of us were all the town could spare. We needed the rest of the warriors back home...just in case.”
I nodded my head, “I understand.”
Along with the members of Pine Lake, the room was full of vampire guards, Emerlee and most of the council. Allison, Damon and my father were still missing, and I assumed the three of them were still helping Roger.
I quickly sent a vampire guard to my suite to look after my son, then I traveled to the head of the table to speak, “Thank you everyone for coming. As most of you know,” I felt a tear in the corner of my eye. I quickly wiped it away and continued, “my son was taken…just a few hours ago. After my son was taken, I went to Roger’s room. He was brutally attacked. He survived, but he is in rough shape. Before they took him to the infirmary, Roger was able to tell me it was the Queen who attacked him.”
I heard gasps from around the room, suddenly Vic yelled, “I thought she was dead! You killed her.”
“I know…I did. It doesn’t make sense to me either.”
“Maybe Roger just thought it was his mother. You said he was beat pretty bad,” Elizabeth said.
“You could be right.” I sighed. I had to tell everyone what happened in the dungeon, so I continued on, “My son and Roger aren’t the only problem.” I sighed again, “I went down to the dungeon...every prisoner...every guard was...dead—”
“My God!” someone cried as everyone gasped.
“Everyone please, let me finish,” I said. “The other thing is...Taylor was gone—”
“That bastard!” Brandon cried.
“He escaped!” someone yelled.
“Which fairy was with him?” Elona asked.
“Everyone settle down!” I yelled. “Roger said it was his mother and I believe him. I didn’t see any fairies dead. Everyone that was murdered was a vampire or a prisoner,” I sighed as I tried not to panic, “We need volunteers to clean up...the bodies.”
Everyone looked around at one another, not knowing what to say. Suddenly my father, aunt and Damon walked in. Delia ran to Damon and held him tight. Damon gave me a disappointed look
and shook his head.
As soon as Delia released her son, Damon came to my side and said, “We looked all over. We can’t find Benny anywhere.”
Allison spoke up next, “Roger is doing better. He said he’s sure it was his mother who attacked him.”
Everyone continued to quietly look around at one another. Then I spoke up, “I really believe it’s the Queen.” I went on to admit to everyone about the vivid dreams I had about Ben and the Queen. I told everyone that Roger had also experienced strange dreams, and I told everyone what Emerlee suspected about our dreams.
“It’s true,” Emerlee spoke up, “I believe Ben was reaching out to Miranda...and between the dreams and everything that happened tonight...I also believe this was the Queen.”
“How?” my father cried.
“How many supernaturals have we brought back from the dead?” Emerlee asked the crowd. “Desmorelda was the second original fairy—one of the most powerful fairies to ever live. Who’s to say she didn’t bring herself back?”
“You’re right!” I said. I looked at Emerlee, “You said another fairy was helping Ben send messages to Roger. What if Desmorelda had help as well?”
“But why is Taylor missing?” Damon interrupted.
Everyone looked at one another. No one had any answers, so I said, “Emerlee, there has to be a way for us to contact Ben.”
“I’m sorry Miranda, there is no way...the only way we could contact him...is if we brought him back.”
My heart started racing just by the thought of seeing Ben again.
“We have to bring him back!” I cried.
Damon spoke up, “Miranda, we can’t keep bringing people back from the dead.”
“But it’s our son!” I cried, feeling angry that Damon would refuse any help in finding out son. “Ben has been warning me for weeks...if anyone knew...anything, it would be him.”
The Portal to Sidhe: Book 2 Page 5