The WishKeeper (The Paragonia Chronicles) (15 page)

Beren started off toward the park at a slow and tired pace. “If you’re going to help your friend, Thane, you’d better not just stand there.”

Beren’s Keepers followed their leader as Thane watched them march by. Since they weren’t going to put him in detention, he couldn’t help but smile, but the reality was that Shea was in trouble and this helpful little journey was going to be a lot different than he initially planned.

Avery approached him, wiping a final tear away, “I’m sorry. If I’d known…”

“It’s OK,” Thane said. “Shea would have figured out how to cross over without my help anyway. I’m glad you gave me that note.”

They nodded and followed The Forlorn Hope into the thick of the woods.

21

A Mother’s Curse

Elanor woke in a dark, brick-rimmed chamber. A constant drip from an unseen leak splashed into a puddle near her straw bed. The bouncing of a small candle’s flame danced across the walls as Elanor sat up. She was still wearing her black robe and a gash from Avery’s spell had ripped a hole in its thick material. Looking around the room, she didn’t know where she was for a moment, but dragged her feet over the side of the bed, remembering. Rubbing her eyes and temples, she took a deep breath.

Since Beren last visited her four years prior, on random nights Elanor would wake up in a cold, harsh sweat. The curse was weakening and though the release of the fog would be brief, it was occurring more and more. She couldn’t decide if it was a good thing or a bad thing - she would just as well forget it all than recall the horrors she had performed for her shadow king.

She popped her head up, quickly remembering the events of the night before.

“Shea…”

Searching through the darkness of the cave for her wand, she finally found it, put it in her sheath and approached her chamber door. Pausing for a moment with her hand on the handle, she wasn’t sure what to do. Her daughter was in the room next door. The daughter who thought she was dead. The daughter whose life was ruined when she destroyed Grayson and Miranda’s wish. “What would she think of me?” she thought. “This…this thing I’ve become.”

Her face fell from desperate to resolute and placing the hood over her head, she opened the door.

Rushing through a narrow cement hall, torches lined the walls as Elanor passed by guards. They saluted her and though Elanor was clear of the curse for the moment, she kept the allure of The Captain and did her best to walk upright, strong and confident. The curse gave Elanor a more powerful and taller stature, but when it cleared, she simply looked like another ex-Keeper with gnarled wings. She hoped the guards would overlook the slight physical transformation.

“Captain,” said one of the guards. “Your prisoner is waking up”. The tone and cadence of the guard’s voice was odd and jumbled, like a song was slightly skipping on its player.

Elanor halted. Shea’s chamber door was just behind her. She was terrified of entering and had the curse still been in affect, she would have ignored the comment and let the guards deal with it. Instead, she stopped and couldn’t bear the idea of her daughter, scared and alone, waking up in pain in a strange, dark place.

Hiding her face from the guard, she didn’t say a word and slowly walked to the door. A small barred window was eye level and the guard started to open the door, but Elanor quickly pushed it shut. She couldn’t go in. She couldn’t let her daughter see her like this.

Peering in through the bars, she watched Shea roll over in bed. Her daughter was still dazed from the blast, sick from whatever painful spell the Lost Fairies exploded on her. The room was much smaller than Elanor’s and much filthier. There she was. The little fairy that was so eager, and so hopeful. Elanor’s little aviator.

She couldn’t hold back the tears, but luckily her hood shaded any emotion from the nearby guards. Shea rolled over again and revealed her shredded wings. She was dirty and battered, and Elanor couldn’t take it. She looked away, took two steps back and told the guards through choked tears, “Leave her”. She rushed down the hall and into the darkness.

The door to Shea’s cell was left slightly open. Elanor had unlocked it without the guards noticing.

*       *       *       *

Even though the winter sun was shining, it did little to warm the small town as Elanor launched herself from tree to tree. She rushed as if leaving this place forever couldn’t happen soon enough. If she could just disappear and never be seen again...

She cried through her reckless and wild grappling, finally landing awkwardly in a tree just on the edge of the cul-du-sac. The cul-du-sac where it all started.

Looking down out of the tree, Miranda and Grayson’s quaint little home rested within mounds of plowed snow. It looked cold and lonely, like it was the only forgotten house on the street. She gasped through her tears and wiped them away, angry that her random grappling brought her here. Slowly descending out of the tree, she landed softly on the ground and walked toward the small home.

A cold winter fog rolled over the cul-du-sac as Elanor approached the front steps. She stopped and stared at the front door, wanting all of it to just go away. Casting a soft grappling spell around the porch beam, she pulled herself to a window and looked in.

Grayson was asleep on the couch. Elanor stared through the window and watched another loved one roll over in pain. The fog suddenly turned unnatural and crept around Elanor. She caught her breath, knowing what was approaching.

“There was once a WishMaker who sent powerful wishes to the fairies of Paragonia. So powerful he was thought to be a candidate for WishingKing. But what did the two most talented Keepers do?” Erebus taunted as he swirled around her. His shadowy form grew into shape, towering over Elanor. She didn’t bother to look at him, but kept staring at Grayson. “They destroyed him. Destroyed his love. And now look at him. Look at what you’ve done.”

Elanor whirled around, drew her wand, stomped it hard at her feet, and filled the front porch with a blast of bright white light. Erebus shaded his eyes and shrunk in form. The light faded and Erebus regrouped, unfazed.

“It looks like I may need to up your dosage, my Elanor. Years ago, that might have ruined me, but thanks to you and your lost ones, it’s not so terrible.” He flashed his evil smile as if to beg her to do it again.

“We did what we had to do!” Elanor yelled, trying to convince herself more than Erebus.

“But look at us now,” Erebus said. “So many magical years of promise-keeping we’ve had. How fitting it comes full circle with the famous WishMaker. We made a deal, Ellie, my dear.”

“This wasn’t part of the deal.”

“Oh but it was. I allow a certain number of wishes to transcend and you bring me the rest. And out of the kindness of my heart, one in particular would allow you and your friends to go home.”

Watching through the window, Elanor noticed Grayson wake, rub his sore, red eyes and walk to the window. Looking out, he didn’t notice the drama unfolding mere feet from him.

“And you can return to your precious, handicapped daughter.”

With a quick, enraged move, Elanor gripped her wand, but Erebus was ready this time. He whipped his darkness around her neck and raised her up, eye level with Grayson. “I win, Elanor! Accept it! Bring me the wish or our deal is off!”

He dropped her and she fell hard to the edge of the window, desperate for breath. Erebus morphed quickly into a thick black fog and revolved around Elanor. She suddenly stood upright, controlled by the curse. It whirled and whirled, waving Elanor’s red hair across her pained face and finally, her eyes swirled with blackness. The fog retreated, leaving a stiff Elanor at the base of the window. She turned her head, looked up at Grayson and reached out her palm. It touched the cold, frosty glass as her eyes were swept up completely by the curse, overcoming her. The Captain had returned. She dashed off the front porch and left Grayson staring out the window.

About to walk away, Grayson looked down at the window’s base. The warmth of a small handprint against the glass was slowly retreating and though he was sure he saw it, he rubbed his eyes and walked into the kitchen.

22

No Pixie

CLINK CLINK! Sweat dripped from Shea’s brow as she opened her eyes reacting to what sounded like copper falling on pavement. She looked at her cell door and through the barred window. A guard rushed away toward the source of the sound as a skinny shaft of light beamed in through the opened door. The opened door? Searching the darkness, Shea didn’t know where she was and the idea of an opened door wasn’t making sense.

“Thane?” Shea whispered. “Hello?”

She stood up and a wave of vertigo swept over her. She sat back down and held her head. A headache pounded at her temples and quickly, the memory of the night before rolled in. Searching for her wand in the darkness, she couldn’t find it and ran to the door. About to call out, she grabbed the handle and it creaked open at the slightest tug. An open door. The guards were going to get an earful, or worse, for leaving it open, but Shea didn’t have time or the care to worry about what might happen to her kidnappers. She crept out of her cell and into the open hall.

Four separate hallways broke off in opposing directions, torches lighting their way. She looked to her right and saw a large, open, circular cement-lined room. A mound of silver and copper coins covered every inch of the floor. Shea was at the bottom of the Lost Fairy’s hide out - a well.

Two guards, wands ready, were standing at the bottom of the well on top of the pile of coins looking up. With their backs to her and the sunlight beaming down, reflecting off the frozen coins, Shea noticed a small wooden table a few steps away and next to it, a wrangled wish tied by a spell to a metal hook. It was huddling against the base of the wall, eyes closed and crying. Lying untouched on top of the table was her wand and she knew that if she could just get her hands on it, she might be able to - CLINK CLINK!

A coin fell and crashed to the floor startling Shea, but as quickly as she was startled, a bright blue Athletic Wish popped out of the coin and buzzed, bounced and zoomed around the bottom of the well. Shea took a chance to lunge for her wand and as the Lost Fairies launched themselves up toward the retreating wish, Shea snatched it. Desperate to free the trapped wish, she started toward it, but quickly hid behind the table as the Lost Fairy wrestled the new Athlete to the ground. Being far from gentle and borderline abusive, he had a wrangling spell squeezed tight around the little wish. It squeaked as the guard pulled it to the wall and tied the spell around a different hook.

Shea looked at the struggling wish and how the Lost Fairies had no regard for the amount of pain it was in. They simply stepped to the center of the well again, ready and waiting for more.

“Took you long enough,” said one of the guards.

“Didn’t know I was being timed,” returned the other. “Ready yourself for the next.”

Staring at the Athlete, Shea couldn’t stand it. It was writhing in pain, trying to bounce out of the wrangling spell and escape. Finally it gave up and closed its eyes. It was as sad as Shea had ever seen a wish and anger flooded every inch of her. She wasn’t worried about being seen anymore. No, she wanted a fight and was ready for it.

CLINK CLINK!

Another coin crashed to the pile and just as a Money Wish exploded out of it, Shea yelled, “Hey!” The guards jumped at the scream, momentarily taking their eyes off the newly formed wish.

Shea exploded a wrangling spell around the wild Money Wish and attached to it. Using the momentum of the speedy wish, she swung herself up along the side of the well and ran sideways along the wall. The guards blasted spell after spell trying to knock Shea down, but she was too fast. Jumping out of the way of a close call, she tugged hard on the Money Wish, pulling it toward her. The guards continued blasting spells at her, missing by inches.

She released the wrangling spell and in a free fall, dove to the wish and wrapped her arms around it. Freeing her wand hand, she pointed it up and cast a grappling spell at an old wooden bucket dangling near the open mouth of the well. With a burst and grunting with all her strength, Shea pulled herself up toward the exit.

The guards looked at each other in momentary awe, and launched themselves up. They chased her up the well, climbing the well walls with expertise, gaining on her. Lunging for her feet, one of the guards grabbed Shea by the ankle and pulled. She screamed as she and the wish started to fall, but with a final blast of energy, the Money Wish hurled them forward, pulling Shea and the Lost Fairy along for the ride.

   Zipping up and out of the well, the wish carried Shea and her assailant into the cold winter sunlight. Running out of energy, the wish crashed to the snowy ground causing Shea to lose her grip. It bounced away, exhausted only to be caught once again in the Lost Fairy’s wrangling spell. He yanked it hard and whipped the wish into his arms.

“Stop! You’re hurting it!” Shea yelled as she quickly stood.

Treating her like just another rebellious wish, the other guard wrapped a wrangling spell around Shea, constraining her. “These wishes are for him, not your hopeless Keepers! Stop being a hero!”

“What do you mean, for him?” Shea said as she struggled to break free.

Barking through panting breath, the guard ordered his fellow soldier, “Get that wish underground. I’m right behind you.”

“Him. You don’t mean…”

“Captain ordered you to stay at base, so you’re staying at base!”

He pulled her toward the well and though her arms were wrapped in the spell, her legs were free. She powered a kick right between the legs of the guard - he went down hard and fast. The wrangling spell disappeared and she pointed her wand at his face as he writhed in pain.