“We can’t hold them much longer!” roared Antares, creating a red lightning storm around all three of them.
When the molochs came swarming down the mountainside, Mira, Antares, Lula, and Orin ran for their lives. Then Orin had disappeared. He just flashed into thin air as Shawna had, and everyone became even more frantic. Where had they both gone? Would they all be next? All night they defended against the creatures but now, exhausted and pinned against ancient ruins, it seemed hopeless. Lula had nearly sneezed herself into a seizure over losing Shawna and Orin before Antares grabbed her with his big paws.
At first she stopped sneezing out of fear of being eaten, but he only sat back on his haunches, held her gently, and said, “Bless you.”
Lula smiled, patted him on the nose, and went back to fighting molochs. By the time dawn was approaching, they had at least created a protective barrier, but they were growing weaker by the minute. Mira kept her horn lowered at the ocean of darkness trying to break through their defenses.
Her circle of white flame was beginning to fade, yet she kept shouting encouragement to the others. “Keep fighting! Don’t give up!”
Her voice gave strength to Antares and Lula, who was darting everywhere trying to help as best she could. She had managed to create a tall circular wall of rose-stone beyond the fire, but it kept cracking and crumbling almost faster than she could repair it. They were completely surrounded on the hill. Only the moss-covered ruins of an old castle and their determination were all that protected them. The mountain top they had crossed from Zev’s realm stood directly in front of them. Millions of little red dots winked over the black landscape as far as they could see. It would have been beautiful, like a ruby strewn night sky, if not for the deadly reality of it. The entire mountain was blanketed with molochs and their human victims; the taken.
More frightening than the giant bearish beasts with crimson eyes, were the men, women, and children they had devoured from within. A creature, once a little boy, was clawing through cracks in the stone. Its red eyes were wide with the desire to create what it had become itself. Its little curled fingers were dripping a tarry liquid while more cuts oozed the thick substance all along its nearly naked skeletal body. Lula saw it scrabbling through before any of the others and stopped mid air, watching, horrified. The next moment, Mira was upon it.
“No!” squeaked Lula, flying towards her.
With a glaring flash, white flame sprang from her flailing hooves. The boy-monster screeched, held up its bony hands, and burst into ash.
“It was a child!” Lula shouted, using her magic to fill the hole.
“It is not!” One of Mira’s violet eyes reflected Lula’s stricken face. “Inside it was only a shadow of the darkness surrounding it. It was merely a husk of their creation.”
“It was a little boy,” Lula hissed.
Mira didn’t even flick an ear as she said in a flat tone, “It will come back.”
She then cantered off in a circle, reigniting her dying wall of flames while Antares continued to lash his lightning. Lula stared at the patched hole where the boy had been. A low rumble began to emerge under the deafening sound of millions of growls and screeches outside their tiny haven. Antares stopped his attack for a moment as the ground trembled beneath his paws. He roared and leapt to the other side of their circle. The castle ruin was tumbling. The large stones began to shift from their resting place but did not fall. Mira and Lula turned around with Antares to watch the ruins rising into the last of night’s cold breath.
Even the molochs on the other side quieted and did not move, aware of powerful magic vibrating through the emerging dawn. Every stone rose into the air, positioning themselves at certain points, then they hovered there, creating an outline of where a foundation and walls might have been. A low moan, like a roaring wind, swelled up. Suddenly, every moloch surrounded by the floating stones evaporated into dust. The molochs that remained untouched howled, roared, and tried to back away, but they were pressed into the danger from those behind them. Whenever a muzzle, paw, arm, or body crossed under the stones it disintegrated. The molochs were undulating like waves, trying frantically to get away.
Antares, Lula, and Mira backed as far against their own walls of protection as they could as new stones formed from thin air, filling in the gaps between the old ones. Where the mortar would have cemented them together, pure white light began to shine. An entire castle held together by light materialized on the hilltop as if it had never fallen.
The three of them did not notice, with their backs to the crescent wall of rose-stone, blazing fire, and crackling lightning, that their shields were failing. Part of Lula’s stone wall crumbled and fell. A moloch, joined by another, then another, stood right outside the diminishing flames and bars of lightning. Mira turned her neck to look behind. The whites of her eyes gleamed in the flickering fire as a moloch thrust its tusked head through and roared.
Everything was light; the world had been engulfed by the sun. Shawna could feel the arms of Orin, her mother, and her father around her, but she couldn’t open her eyes to see them. She thought they would all follow Lorna’s demise, reduced to scraps of paper-thin ash. She dared to raise her eyelashes a millimeter, then to raise them a bit more. She fully opened her eyes and looked around. The whole castle had changed. It was no longer the dark, dreary, disintegrating rubble from before. It had been remade into its former glory. She realized the light was glowing from between every stone, the ceiling, walls, and floor. Her parents opened their eyes. Orin then opened his and, before looking at anything else, looked straight at her.
“Are you all right? What happened?” he asked.
“The necklace, it—” but she didn’t have to finish.
He looked at the space where Lorna had stood moments before, torturing him. There was no remorse in his face when he rose and walked over to the nearest window. As he stood looking through the open wood and iron shutters, his expression quickly became the darkest thing in the room.
“Shawna.”
“You can call me Ava.”
He didn’t look around. “What?”
She walked towards him. “You can call me Ava. That’s my real name.”
Ava. It was time to shed the name John and Mary had given her, and instead embrace the one given by those that truly loved her. She felt like she was meeting someone new; someone who felt strong, determined, and yet frightening to set free. It was like ripping from a cocoon that had held her captive and half alive for years. Ava.
When she looked up at Orin, his eyes made nervous shadows fall over her own. She followed his gaze, and the morning sun revealed what lay below. The entire valley and surrounding mountain range, as far as she could see, was buried under molochs. Seething masses of their life-less armies covered the earth while far below the window’s ledge, on a tiny patch of grass, her friends were about to join those deadly ranks. Mira reared at the molochs that were stepping closer to the weakening wall of fire, Antares roared, and Lula threw what strength in her spells she had left. They wouldn’t last much longer.
As Ava turned to help her friends, though she had no idea what she could do, something flashed in the periphery of her vision. It was her necklace. It glowed upon a beautiful rug weaving a scene of white kayi-elk leaping through the seasons. As she walked over to it, she noticed that the castle was dimming, the light fading from the walls and turning back into solid mortar. The only things illuminating the room, besides the fire and faint sunshine, were the four sapphires.
Four? She slowly picked them up.
The leather strap had also changed into a bright silver chain running through all the stones. She picked it up and gasped.
“What is it?” her father asked, striding over, while her mother looked from the window to her daughter.
“The chain,” Ava said. “It’s not silver, it’s just…light, but it feels like metal, and it’s
warm.”
“Amazing,” he said, marveling at it. “Shall I?”
He took it from her, placed the shining necklace around her neck, and fastened it. The sapphires glowed faintly, and she drew her crystal blade. Without thinking about it, feeling nothing but the desire to protect those who had protected her for so long, she turned and walked to the window, then leapt onto its ledge. She saw Mira, Antares, and Lula backed against the wall, the flames almost gone, the molochs pushing towards them.
“Shaw…Ava!” Orin grabbed her arm. “What are you doing?!”
“Trust me,” she said, then jumped from the window to the island of grass a hundred feet below.
“Ava!” She heard him and her parents shout as she fell.
She didn’t know why she thought leaping from a window a hundred feet in the air was a good idea. She just felt it to the very depth of her being, the synapses of her mind, and fibers of her beating heart, that she would be okay. The sapphires flared to life, beams whirling around her as they had around Lorna, but they did not incinerate her, they guided her gently to the ground.
Lula squealed first, hovering the highest above everyone else, when she saw Ava slowly floating down with tendrils of light wrapped around her. Mira and Antares watched as she landed and the light faded back into the stones.
“What was that?” Lula said, flying over in front of Ava’s face. “You disappear, then the next morning float out a window of a hidden castle covered in magical light?!”
“I…uh.” She was unsure of what to say, or how to explain in three seconds what had happened since she’d left them all.
Lula threw up her hand before Shawna could continue stuttering. “Tell us later, as you can see we are in need of some help.” She glared at the molochs only feet away behind the shrinking wall of flame.
“I know, Lula. That’s why I—” but Lula zipped over, landed on her shoulder, and hugged her neck.
“That’s why you came to save us, right? That’s so sweet of you. Are we climbing the wall? Or is your magic light going to lift us up to the castle?”
Ava smiled at Lula’s unquenchable optimism, looked around at Mira, Antares, and said, “I have no idea.”
“Splendid,” Lula said enthusiastically, flying off Ava’s shoulder with her arms up as if she’d just won something. “Antares!” She pointed at him, and he scowled back. “New plan. Start eating monsters!”
His scowl deepened.
Ava couldn’t help a little laugh at how, even in the face of such imminent doom, Lula could joke and smile. Antares looked like he didn’t get the joke. A moloch tried to push its way through the fire, but Antares turned and threw a whip of lightning before it could even finish its menacing snarl. Mira, who had been engrossed in keeping the flames alive, stamped her hoof and new white fire ignited where the moloch had been. She hung her head, bent her legs, and with great effort pulled herself up again. Her horn kept flaring then dulling back to silver along with the rising then subsiding fire.
This brought Ava back to the gravity of the situation. She walked over and put her hand on Mira’s hot side. She was breathing heavily.
“Shawna?” she said, rolling an eye up at her. “You have changed.”
She said it like a fact she had been waiting for.
“Ava,” she corrected Mira.
Mira smiled with her eyes. “Ava.”
The white flames were flickering ever lower. She took her hand from Mira’s side and stepped towards the fire. The molochs went completely wild. She focused on creating a barrier between them, and as soon as she honed the thought, blue light crackled forth from the earth, entangling the legs of the nearest creatures. Both Ava and the molochs jumped back in surprise, and the snapping bolts of light vanished. Quickly she stepped forward and tried again. This time every moloch she could see was suddenly wrapped in whipping vines of light. They thrashed and howled, but she didn’t let her focus waver. Lula had nearly forgotten her part in upholding the shield upon seeing her friend’s new power.
Lula squeaked and sneezed when a grinding noise turned all their attention to the wall behind them. The stones were disintegrating from the inside, turning into a fine dust. A faint voice echoed from inside. Soon there was nothing but dust swirling where the solid rock had been. A hole large enough for all of them started to appear as the dust canopied over them like a dark cloud. Lula squeaked again when she saw who stood within the opening.
“Inside!” yelled Adhara, still keeping the sand storm high overhead.
Lula forgot to keep beating her iridescent little wings for a moment and dropped a foot before catching herself. She watched Ava run inside and beckon them all to follow.
“But, but,” Lula stammered, seeing the striking family resemblance. “But she’s…isn’t she?”
“No,” said Ava, waving her in. “I’ll explain. Hurry up!”
As soon as Lula flew through, blinking like her lashes would catch something that made sense, Mira’s fire vanished. Antares and Mira followed, and the first line of molochs saw their chance. They surged forward. Mira leapt through the opening and the swirling sand coalesced behind her, melting into hot magma. A moloch howled, caught in the wall of molten rock, before it burned and evaporated. Warwick rushed forward and turned the magma to rough opaque glass with a touch of his hands. Adhara immediately threw her arms around Ava.
Something smacked Antares on top of his head. He snarled, his dark red eyes crossed as he glared up between his ears at Lula.
“I don’t….get it,” she said, staring between Adhara, Ava, and Warwick.
Ava was about to reply, but Mira’s frantic voice cut her off, “Adhara’s not who you thought, and that’s all you need to know for now. No time to explain. Right now, we need to find the last realm. There isn’t much time! For all that is sacred, where is that old woman?”
Everyone raised their eyebrows, or whiskers, to stare at Mira.
“Yes?” Mira asked, like she hadn’t said anything at all strange.
“Did you eat some babble-weed?” said Lula. “Because you’re babbling.”
Mira just flicked an ear back and snorted. “Of course not. I’d never, I don’t, that’s an…that’s…irrelevant. The fourth realm has been opened.”
“The stone,” said Ava. “It became a sapphire! But where’s the fourth realm?”
“The castle is the fourth realm, of course.” Mira looked around at them all like they were a few flies short of a meadow muffin. “Lesath’s realm will be revealed again now that only one sapphire remains.”
Ava wasn’t the only one looking around with her mouth hanging open. “But, where’s the guardian?”
“You are the guardian.” Mira pointed her nose at her. “Every daughter born of your family, since the dawn of mankind, has always been chosen and stood guardian over your realm.”
Ava opened her mouth a few times before words finally came out. “I—I’m…the guardian?”
Lula raised a little hand. “Am I a, uh…a guardian as well?”
“There are guardians for every race,” said Mira, “but you are not one of them.” Lula looked disappointed then relieved as Mira went on. “The Fairie folk are a very ancient race, but it has been long ages since you have intervened in matters concerning the realms.” Then she muttered, “Even when one is on the brink of destruction.”
“Oh,” said Lula. “Well, then, since that’s established can I just go home now?”
“By all means,” growled Antares, rolling his eyes up at her still standing between his ears.
Lula stamped her foot on his head. “Don’t do that. You’re looking up my dress.”
Ava glanced at Orin. He hadn’t said a word all this time, but also hadn’t taken his eyes off her.
“Well,” croaked an old familiar voice from the doorway. “What’re you all standing around for? Isn’t there another realm to be found?”
“Capella!” said Ava, but then something else surpri
sed her even more than Capella’s sudden appearance.
“Sparkle?” squealed Lula as the pink bat flapped into the room and ungracefully flopped onto Ava’s shoulder.
“Don’t worry,” said Capella, seeing Ava’s concern. “It really is him. Found the useless powder-puff barely breathing in the forest not long after you all left. Looked like he’d been attacked.” She shook her dreads and Chester croaked from somewhere within. “Don’t know why I bother. At least you got the message even though it was by Gavan’s hand, or wing. Much good it did. I was afraid that boy”—she jerked a thumb at Orin—“would be a problem. But I guess you’ve worked things out.”
Orin looked like he’d just been slapped by Lula again. Ava shook her head at him and grinned when his face reddened with a suppressed retort. Lula flew up and patted the already drowsing bat on the head. Sparkle squeaked happily.
“Oh I see you’re still alive,” said Capella, looking at Lula with a smile.
It was wiped off her face a moment later as Lula flew at her neck and gave her a big hug. Ava could have sworn she almost saw tears in Capella’s eyes.
“Yes, yes, very touching. A bit too touching,” Capella said, looking awkward.
Lula let go and hovered in front of Capella’s face, smiling with her hands clasped under her chin.
Capella chuckled. “What’s wrong with you, you little mosquito? Acting like you’d never see me again.”
“But we did think we might never see you again,” said Ava. “How did you know where we were, or even get here?” She glanced at the dozing bat on her shoulder. “You’re sure this is Sparkle, right?”
Capella hobbled over to a chair Adhara had positioned for her. The two embraced like old friends before she sat down and peered at Ava. Everyone but Mira and Warwick was looking between Adhara and Capella, completely confused. Ava felt like her brain was twisting into knots and it must have shown on her face.
Capella snorted. “Why, I don’t think you’re the fourth guardian at all. You’re dumb as a grub. Honestly girl, if you can’t figure out who we are and how I knew where you were, we might as well put our feet up, and have a nice strong drink, because we won’t be going anywhere soon.”
Orin’s eyes narrowed, and his fingers curled like he was getting ready to defend Ava’s honor in a fist-fight against an old woman.
“You’re the three sisters!” Ava blurted out. “The ones from the Mirror of Acumen. The ones who—”
Capella threw her hands up. “Put away the drinks, she’s figured it out. Yes, your mother and I, and that brat of a sister, Lorna, are the ones that got us into this mess all that time ago. Sorry about that, by the way.”
“You knew. You’ve known all along,” Ava said.
“Of course we knew what Lorna was planning, and I don’t like that tone of look, miss prissy.”
“I almost killed her! My own mother because of you!”
“I wouldn’t say ‘almost.’ More like feebly, pathetically, attempted to.”
“You lied to me.” Ava whirled around to Mira. “Both of you.”
Sparkle fell from her shoulder, plopped face-down to the floor, and continued snoring.
“Shut up, you twit!” Capella jumped out of the chair with surprising grace. “Your intention to kill the woman you believed to have betrayed you was the only way to break Lorna’s spell.” She waved a frail hand dismissively. “There’s no way to fake true intention.”
Ava glanced at Adhara, still expecting pain or loathing to be hiding behind her mother’s eyes, but all she saw was love and admiration. She was unable to keep her mother’s gaze, she was too ashamed.
“I could have tried to pretend that...that I wanted to hurt her.” She couldn’t say kill.
“Do words go in your ears and get lost in the void?” said Capella. “No, you could not have.”
Chester tried to make another futile leap to freedom. She caught him mid-leap and absent-mindedly shoved him in her hair. “Listen to me very carefully, if your ears are even capable.” She shuffled up to Ava. “Action following true feeling, true intention, is more powerful than false intention.”
Ava and Orin looked at each other then back at Capella with matching expressions of befuddlement.
Capella sighed, shuffled back to the chair to sit, and waved a hand at her younger looking sister. Looking confused herself, Adhara came over to her beckon.
“What is it?” she asked as Capella cleared her throat noisily.
“Any fire-mead around here?”
Adhara tried to hide a grin as she shook her head.
“Ah, well, I would have drunk it all too if I had been stuck here for sixteen years. Don’t blame you.”
Adhara laughed, and Ava felt herself relax a little from the pleasant sound. Her mother, after all she’d been through, had the most beautiful laugh.
“Hey,” Orin suddenly said, just as Capella was about to say something else. “Why are we talking about this right now?!” He swung his arm towards the window. “There are countless beasts out there trying to get in! We need to do something! We need to find the last realm!”
Ava swore she saw Mira roll her eyes. Antares huffed, but she wasn’t sure if that was an agreement or not on his part. Capella just raised a droopy eyebrow at Orin.
“All right,” she said, waving him away like an annoying pet. “Go on. We’re having a bit of girl-saving-the-world talk right now. Go flex your muscles or something.” She turned back to Ava as if Orin was not in the room at all.
He opted to stand there in confusion for a few minutes, then he strode over to a window-seat and slumped down with a sigh of exasperation. Ava thought that was probably a good move on his part.
“As I was trying to say,” said Capella. “Intention!” Ava jumped. “Intentions, or thoughts, are very powerful. The power you wield, that we all wield, stems from this. No matter what spell or action you take, it’s your intention behind it that matters. Are you following?” Ava nodded slowly. Capella looked skeptical. “At least you’re following at the pace of a legless lorlor.”
At the mention of ‘lorlor’ Ava remembered their little tree-spy from so long ago and wondered if the cute little guy was all right.
“Listen,” Capella said, snapping her fingers at Ava. “This is very important.” Ava looked into her aunt’s eyes and saw an unusual seriousness behind them. Capella leaned forward. “I think, at least I hope, you now can understand what I’m about to tell you. If you do something with dark intention, hatred, or anger, it will create exactly that in return.” Ava nodded, not averting her gaze. “If you do something with pure intention, something completely selfless, then that is most powerful of all.” Ava felt like there was no one else in the room for a moment as Capella stared deeply into her eyes. “Ava,” she whispered, “do you understand?”
“I think so.” She pursed her lips and nodded at Capella, but was unable to keep eye contact.
“You think so?” Capella threw her hands up, all seriousness gone. “The last thing you’re good at is thinking.” She shook her dreadlocks and Chester croaked within them as she stood up.
Clucking her tongue, she shuffled away and picked up a still snoring Sparkle from the floor, then turned back to Ava. “We’ve been waiting for this moment since the day Lorna betrayed us all. We could not tell you everything before it was time to tell you, otherwise you wouldn’t have understood, you wouldn’t be ready, and none of us were certain if you”—She nodded at Ava—“If you really were a guardian.”
Ava saw Mira staring at her. She noticed something strange in her gaze as Mira turned her head towards the window where the cursed awaited them.