“I’m getting my dagger back,” Hudson said. “It’s only a baby dragon.”
If he was afraid, Lil didn’t see fear in his eyes.
“Close the gap,” he said.
The group tightened around Bray and Willow as Hudson stepped toward the beast. It jumped and sputtered, attempting to fly but unable to do so. “I won’t hurt you,” Hudson said in a soothing tone.
Lil snorted. No, he wouldn’t hurt the dragon; he’d kill it. She watched, sword drawn. “Do you want my sword?” She momentarily forgot that it would be too heavy for him to lift on his own.
“No need.” Hudson methodically approached the dragon. Its eyes closed, and its head bent down. The dragon heaved and quietly squawked in protest. It was dying. With one gentle hand assuring the dragon he meant no harm, Hudson reached his other hand closer to the dagger. He withdrew the blade, hearing an ear-piercing screech. The dragon wasn’t happy, but it didn’t matter. The beast took three more breaths before it exhausted itself, dead.
Approaching the edge of the forest, the group saw a rainbow of sorts with lush, green grass and a pale pink sky. The trees were filled with leaves, and buds blossomed on their branches.
Rawlie groaned guiding Willow onto her back, lying her down on the grassy field. She hadn't woken up or shown any sign of consciousness. “Hudson, please if you can do anything . . . ” His voice trailed off, laced with concern.
“I can try,” Hudson said, bending down onto his knees as he rested a hand over Willow's head. “She's hurt pretty badly,” he said, concentrating as he touched her. “If I wake her up and this doesn't work, she's going to be in a lot of pain.” At least at the moment she was unconscious.
“We need to get her on her feet and back to the sanctuary,” Rawlie said. “Anything you can do would help.”
“I'm trying.” Hudson caressed her forehead and closed his eyes.
“What’s going on?” Bray asked, watching Hudson hover over Willow.
“He’s trying to heal Willow,” Rawlie said.
“Except it’s not my ability from the Mystics.” Hudson sighed and pulled the elixir from his pocket. “I still don’t know what my ability is.” He paused. “We have this.” He popped the tiny cork from the vial. Hudson tilted Willow's head back and the sparkling green liquid slid down her throat.
“You don't know what you've done.” Rawlie moved closer, pushing Hudson out of the way. He pulled open one of Willow's eyes to have a look. “It could have been cursed!”
Jamie's bottom lip quivered. “Cursed? My sister is cursed?” The same fear that was in his voice seemed to be creeping into all of them.
Hudson shook his head in denial. “It wasn't cursed. If Eilith wanted to curse Willow, she'd have already done it.”
Arianna didn’t say a word.
Willow, lying on the ground with her head still bandaged, stirred. She groaned in pain as she slowly regained consciousness. Her eyes opened, and she pushed Rawlie and Hudson away, feeling them both hover over her. They scooted back. She sat up, surveying the surrounding scene. “What happened?”
Jamie's voice choked up as he rushed over, throwing his arms around his sister's small frame. “We rescued you.”
Willow smiled, taking his hand to help herself stand. “Look who we have here.”
Lil stared at Willow, seeing her startling reflection. It was strange, and it wasn’t feeling any less weird.
Willow reached out and touched a strand of Lil's golden hair, highlighted from being in Orenda. “Thanks for coming.”
“Like I had a choice,” Lil said, faking a smile and sounding exactly like Willow. “I'm Lil.” She offered her hand, introducing herself.
“Can you walk?” Rawlie asked Willow. “We need to get out of here.”
“Yeah, I think so.” Willow seemed steady on her feet. “I’m glad you came,” she glanced at Lil and then at Bray. “And I’m glad you survived.”
They made it back to the sanctuary in record time. The forest had protected them from Eilith, and the seven of them had refused to let up for a moment as they raced through the expansive land toward the one safe place.
Reaching the entrance, Rawlie held up his hand, granting them all access inside the sanctuary.
They headed inside the building to the large study. “I didn’t know you were Eilith’s daughter.” Lil had only been in Orenda a little over a day.
Hudson smiled. “I knew.”
“So did I,” Rawlie said.
“Wait, what?” Willow asked and turned to Arianna. “You’re Eilith’s daughter?” Willow’s eyes narrowed as her eyes darted across at Rawlie. Had he ever planned on telling her the truth?
Hudson cleared his throat. “I met Arianna at the sacred springs two days after the Scourge had ravaged most of Orenda. The Mystics had kept her safe. In the first few days, Eilith had gained enormous power and was draining the life from the land, killing innocent families and destroying everything in her path.”
Arianna sighed, sitting down on the floor. “I witnessed my mother open Pandora’s box. In that moment, she changed. I remember going to the sacred springs with her. She wanted even more power, but the Mystics denied her entrance. Once I stepped foot onto their land, she couldn’t see me, and I hid in the stream until she left. I don’t remember being there more than a few hours.”
“Mystics?” Bray asked. He grabbed a seat on the carpet beside the fire.
“They protect the springs, tend to the land, and from time to time the Mystics bring survivors to the sanctuary,” Hudson said.
“Think of the Mystics as monks,” Willow said, trying to explain it as best she could to Bray and Lil. “They protect what is important to them, but they don't use it to gain wealth or power. Eilith has power from the sacred springs. It was given to her when she was younger, but she also has power because she's a sorceress. She knows spells and magic of the old world from
The
Book of Incantations
.”
“Mystics are very—unique. They use their magic to protect the sacred springs and the land, instead of fighting Eilith,” Willow said. “For instance, if you encountered one and they didn't want you to go to the springs, they wouldn't let you. Perhaps they'd make it so you were unable to see the spring right in front of you, or instead would create a mirage of it behind you so that you wandered off away from it.”
“Why was Arianna at the sacred springs?” Lil asked.
“My mother took me there,” Arianna said. “I still don’t know why. Maybe she hoped I’d bring her some ability that she needed.”
“I found Arianna along the sacred springs. She was lying on the grass asleep,” Hudson said.
“I don’t remember much between the time my mother left and Hudson found me.”
“Why didn't Eilith come after Arianna sooner?” Jamie asked.
“Power went to her head. She probably forgot about me,” Arianna said.
Hudson disagreed. “I think today proved that isn’t true. She does care about you, even if she can’t show it. She let us go. She could have easily killed us, or held us all captive.”
“Whatever she wanted, she got from us.” Willow rubbed her hand over the injection mark on her arm, and winced.
“I don’t think we’ll be so lucky next time,” Arianna said.
Bray cleared his throat. “When do we go home? No offense, but I don’t want another encounter with Eilith.”
“I understand.” Willow reached out a hand and grazed her palm over Bray’s arm, thinking of his world. “Take it easy.” Bray disappeared before their eyes. A strange coldness spread through Willow’s veins, causing a shiver to course through her body and her heart to momentarily skip a beat. Willow winced and the sensation tingled down into her fingers, causing another slight tremor before it disappeared completely. Something wasn’t right. Hopefully, Bray made it home safely.
“I’d like to go home too,” Lil said.
“Thanks for holding down the fort while I was gone.” Willow smiled weakly. She reached forward, grazing Lil’s arm in the same way she had Bray's. This time, though, nothing happened. Willow put her hand down, frowning. Why hadn’t it worked? Willow rubbed her temples. This wasn’t good.
“Something’s wrong.” Willow stood and paced the length of the room.
“I . . . ” Lil stammered, glancing between each of them. She crossed her arms. Willow had just sent Bray back; why hadn’t it worked again? Did she need to recharge, like a battery? Maybe if they waited a few hours, then she could go home.
Willow stumbled forward, falling onto the sofa. “Oh that's bad.” She leaned forward, her head in her hands.
“What is it?” Rawlie asked.
“Something felt off after I sent Bray back and now I have an awful headache,” Willow said.
“It could be from hitting your head.” Hudson glanced at Rawlie. It was a wonder she was doing as well as she had been.
Rawlie eyed Hudson skeptically. “I was thinking the potion might have done it.”
“Potion?” Willow didn't remember taking any potion. “What are you talking about?” Her voice hitched.
“Forget it,” Rawlie said. The last thing he wanted was to worry her. So far she seemed like the Willow he always knew.
“I can’t just forget it. Tell me what happened. What’d I take?” Her head shot up, and she grimaced as she stared at Rawlie.
“You were unconscious,” Hudson said. “We were running out of time and gave you something to help you wake up.”
“Where’d you get the potion from, Hudson?” Willow asked.
He hung his head in shame. “Eilith.”
Willow crossed her arms across her chest. “That’s what I felt, the discharge of energy when I sent Bray home. She wanted to make me vulnerable, so she could spread the Scourge to your world.”
Rawlie held up a hand, trying to calm her nerves. “Maybe it's just temporary? You did just send Bray back. It's possible you've overexerted yourself.”
“It’s more likely I used the remaining power that I had stored inside of me, and now I'm incapable of opening another gate between worlds,” Willow said.
“So, how do I get home?” Lil asked cautiously. “Rawlie can take me back, right? He brought me here.”
Rawlie frowned, glancing down at his lap. “Yeah, I'm sorry but it doesn't work like that, Lil.”
“What do you mean it doesn't work like that?” Lil asked. Her eyes widened, and she felt the air sucked from her lungs. She was so close to going home, and to have it taken from her was unacceptable.
“Rawlie was able to come find you because I sent him over as a last resort when Eilith attacked me,” Willow said. “What I can't understand is how you came over the first time, in your dream.” She glanced at Rawlie. “There's no other way is there?”
Hudson watched their exchange. “What are we talking about?”
Rawlie walked over to the shelf and retrieved a book. “The sacred springs.”
Hudson raised an eye. “You aren't serious? We don't know the ramifications of Willow being introduced after already having a gift. Even if it vanished or is dormant, you don't know what it could do to her.”
Rawlie shook his head. “That’s not what I’m thinking, Hudson. There's another idea, one no one has suggested,” he said and his eyes landed on Lil.
Hudson glanced from Lil to Rawlie. “No way. You're not subjecting Lil to an experiment that
might
work. It could cause irreversible damage—she’s not from our world! She can hold the sword without struggling, and she has powers within her. But she’s different, and we don’t understand what she can do yet.”
“What powers do I have?” Lil asked softly.
Rawlie glared at Hudson to shut up before turning to face Lil. “We don't know. You're the first—well you and Bray—to come through to Orenda. There were stories when we were children about others who would occasionally fall through, but no one's ever met any of them. Hudson's right; we have no idea what will happen if you're in the presence of the sacred springs. I don't see another way to get you home.”
“I'll do it.” Lil didn't care about the risk. She'd been through hell and back already. What was the worst that could happen?
“Before we all go on this journey, am I the only one concerned that this could be a trap?” Willow glanced from Rawlie to Hudson. “Eilith is cunning. She's not going to just strip me of my abilities without planning on us trying to get them back. Either it's an ambush at the spring, or she's going to breach the gate between worlds while we’re gone.”
“I don’t like it, but it’s up to Lil,” Hudson said.
“I can come too, right?” Jamie's face lit up with a smile. “I always wanted to visit the Mystics.”
Willow smiled. “Yes, you can come with us. You're old enough now, and it's time you learn to defend yourself. Are you sure you're up for this, Lil?”
“Yes. I want to go home.” Lil was adamant about returning to her world. She had no idea what awaited her at the springs, or what might happen should she touch the waters, but she knew she didn’t want to be trapped here indefinitely.
Hudson cleared his throat. “I suggest we all head to bed. The springs will be there tomorrow.” He stood up, gesturing for Lil to follow. “I want a word with you, alone.”
Lil nodded, offering a shrug. “Okay.” Was he going to talk her out of going to the springs? There were risks involved, but she wanted to see her family again—she
needed
to go home.
“I'm concerned about Bray.” His voice was soft and low so the others couldn't overhear their conversation.
“Worried?” That made her stomach somersault. “You don't think he made it home okay?” He was without money and could have been dropped back into their world miles from home. She hoped he'd have found a police station, somewhere that would offer him safety and shelter until his parents came for him.
“I'm worried Bray's going to come back when he finds you're not home. It could be even more dangerous for him crossing over again,” Hudson said.
“Oh.” Lil hadn't considered that Bray might return. “It was pretty awful for him here.”
“He's in love with you, Lil,” Hudson said.
Lil's cheeks flushed, and she glanced down at the ground. A hint of a smile played on her lips, embarrassed. “You're mistaken.” He had to be. Lil and Bray were best friends.
Hudson rested a hand on her back as he led her up the stairs to her bedroom. “Hopefully, you're right. If there was a girl I was in love with, I'd follow her into another world, if necessary.”