Contest entry. I call it "Birth of a Villain"

It was on my fifteenth birthday that I saw it.

My family picnics on the shores of Seneca Lake on our birthdays. This one was no different. I stormed away from the spread of sub sandwiches and cupcakes to take a walk down the lane where a hundred gigantic oak trees grew after my brother made fun of my acne. Again. The sun was setting and I barely heard my mom call after me not to wander too far.

My brother was such a jerk. My acne wasn’t so bad. Okay, yes it was, but why did he have to point it out to me so much? It wasn’t like I never looked in a mirror. I knew I wasn’t pretty (the cheerleaders at school reminded me of that fact more often than my brother did), and I knew Bobby McFarlane thought I was a pizza-faced wildebeest. My brother told me that too.

Tears ran down my face as I choked on my breath. I folded my arms to shut out the balmy summer breeze as though it too would call me ugly. Down the lane I walked, the lake a few yards to my left. Late afternoon mists were already creating a ghostly veil over the trees. The lane felt like a tunnel, a portal. Maybe to a parallel dimension—one where I was pretty and porcelain-faced and kissed by Bobby McFarlane.

            Splash.

            I jumped and looked around. I was alone. My family was hidden behind the rows of oaks. My brother was probably pigging out on cupcakes so I wouldn’t get one. Or maybe he was hiding behind one of the trees trying to scare me.

            I looked to the water. The surface was still rippling, as though a stupid, gangly, four-eyed someone had disturbed the water. I walked through the trees, searching.

            “I know you’re there, Gregory,” I said, stomping toward the wavering surface of Seneca Lake.

            Another splash. I looked for Greg, but I was alone. In the distance, now that I was out of the lane of trees, I could see my family. Gregory was among them in his red sweatshirt.

I looked back at the lake. Maybe a fish had jumped. I liked seeing them do it, so I stared, waiting, until something broke the surface. Something round and shiny, like a boulder the size of a cantaloupe.

I stepped closer. I squinted. I leaned over the water. The rock didn’t move. I waited.

Then I saw the eyes. Just as I recoiled and fell onto my butt, the head disappeared, followed by the flick of something silver and sinuous.

I stayed where I landed, my butt wet from the grass and my eyes glued to the mirrored surface of the lake, until my parents called me back. Then I ran.

If I saw what I thought I saw, it could only mean one thing:

Gregory, the cheerleaders, the jerks could all suck it. I had a secret. One that would change the world.

Pics of Places

Many of the places in Amaranth really exist. Lucy's house, the Heritage Creamery where Kalli works, the school, the old church in Taylor, the canyons north of Snowflake, even the water tower. Also, all the locations in Lacock are actually there too.

I made a video (those of you who know me know I'm a sucker for videos).
It's not long and it shows all the pictures of Snowflake and Lacock that I have, along with labels of what they are.
The song that goes with it is called Amaranth (inspiration for the title? Yes.) and it totally doesn't go with the pictures, but who cares. It's a cool song.

Hope you enjoy!

Cast List

Lots of writers cast actors for their characters. Some people fit the bill perfectly, some are a stretch.

But Lucy, to me, has always looked like Laura Ramsey.

I sincerely apologize that I don't have sources for these pictures. I got them a loooong time ago and have had them saved to files for so long, I have no idea where they come from.

Just know that they aren't mine.

And Merek? Well, he was tough. I'm sure there's someone out there that looks like him. Pretty sure I passed him once walking along at the ASU campus. 

 But Jonathan Bennett comes pretty close.

Here comes the smolder indeed.

For Addison, I thought Anna-Sophia Robb was super perfect. But of course, she's all grown up now and wouldn't fit for the ten-year-old character.

But in this older picture, she works.

Becky, Lucy's mom, would look great if Virginia Madsen were to be her.

Cute and vulnerable, but with a mama bear inside her.

For Kalli, I thought Amber Tamblyn fit. Again, this picture is a little dated. But I love her porcelain skin, dark eyes, and dark hair.

And even though I think Vanessa Hudgeons couldn't sing her way out of a cardboard box (sorry High School Musical Fans), she still fits as the cocoa-skinned, black-haired, fun-loving Camille.

Joan Bradley: Who else but the incredibly funny Kathy Bates?

And I can't remember this guy's name. Ugh. But he shore looks like Chet.

And our villain David (Draven) Belfast: Scott Patterson

And a few more fun things:

A "book cover" I made. Like, forever ago. 

This clock tower is just outside King's Cross station in London.

And here's a fun little picture I photoshopped of Lucy (Laura Ramsey) seeing Echo for the first time.

What do you think? Do the pictures match your vision? Do they not? Who do you picture? Spill.

The End

Well, heroes. We've come to the end of another story. Yes, Chapter Thirty of Amaranth was the final chapter in the story. I'm stewing up a sequel but it's nowhere near ready for putting on paper. There will of course be more Lucy and Merek, more Etian craziness, more mythical creatures, and I'm thinking a huge sacrifice on Lucy's part for the heir of the Etian throne.
And no, it's not Merek.

Amaranth isn't up to the standard I want it to be for publication. Not yet. It still needs a lot of work.

So would you care for some behind-the-scenes stuff?
Good, I thought you might.
If your answer was no, I have ignored it.

Autobiographical Background:


I like to put a bit of myself in every story I write. I always feel it's best to write what you know. And I know a lot about moving to Snowflake to teach dance. Unlike Lucy, I was 19 and out of high school, and I didn't move there with my family of seven kids and both parents. I was by myself! A marvelous adventure. Snowflake is a beautiful town and I had many incredible experiences and made wonderful friends.

I did not meet any English guys there.
And though I dated some really great guys, none of them turned out to be my soulmate. Merek is my own invention.

Joy Snow was based on my actual studio director. That woman is seriously a rock star. She can do anything. Starting a dance studio was only one of her many projects and accomplishments.

Whenever I was upset or lonely, like Lucy, I would sometimes go to the studio and dance out my frustrations. On a notable occasion, I was surprised by a visit from one of my guy friends. He actually scared me to death at the time. (You would have been too if you were dancing by yourself and all of a sudden saw a face at the window!)
I still have the key to the studio my director gave me. Still on my keychain after ten years. It doesn't work anymore.
What can I say, I'm sentimental like that.

Kalli and Camille are also based on real people, loosely. Kalli's name was taken from one of my best Snowflake friends Kalli Hamilton. She really did work at the Heritage Creamery at one time, I believe. But Kalli Hamilton, unlike Kalli McCray, actually does have a beautiful singing voice. Camille's personality, looks, and talent are based on a girl I lived with, Lisa Flake. She was the daughter of the people I lived with and became like another sister to me during my time in Snowflake.

Chet and his crazy mother Joan were invented characters. There were lots of cowboy-ish guys in Snowflake, but Chet's looks and personality are his own. (I won't lie, I did have some unwanted romantic attention a time or two, but not to the scale of Chet's cluelessness. The matter was settled in a more mature fashion and the gentleman in question remained a good friend of mine in years following.)

Next posts:
~Cast list and other character pics
~Pics of Places that actually exist
~Pre-writes and ideas that were cut from the final product.

Chapter Thirty

Chapter Thirty

           

            December blew in more cold weather and more heavy clouds, but it still refused to snow. In the aftermath of the “break-in,” I had a lot of unwelcome attention from curious people wanting to know what happened, and a detective wanting to obtain facts. Officer Mary, I found out from the papers, was going to be alright. Since the burglary suspect they had had in custody had been cleared of charges and was free of any criminal record, the shooting was attributed to gang activity. Though the supposed gang members had demanded to see Merek when Officer Mary was shot, Merek was implicated only as being another possible victim.

            Ryan settled in well, started school, and brought a terrific masculine energy of which our household had been in wanting. It no longer felt like there was something loose or missing even though we still (of course) missed Dad. Everyone in the family was happier with Ryan home, however it didn’t take long for squabbles about the mess in the bathroom to break out among us siblings; Ryan’s dirty socks left on the floor, Addison’s taking all the hot water, my hair-care products and assorted appliances strewn about the bathroom counter. But instead of getting angry, Mom would just laugh.

            Even the fights made me happy. It was wonderful to see Ryan’s sandy head at the breakfast table in the morning, hear his deepening voice even when he was calling me a Big-Ugly, and to see his face—so much like Dad’s it was almost scary.

            And though Ryan came home and the recent events were kept a secret, the pixies decided to stay. Sometimes it was difficult for them to stay hidden. Echo made mocking faces over his head when he and Addison were arguing over a television show to watch.

            “What’s so funny, Fattison?” he demanded as she continued to reel with laughter. He never did find out.

            Mostly Echo and Flix stayed in my room, while Blink took a liking to Addison, and Whisper stayed mostly in Mom’s room. They maintained a promise to protect the family and kept a watch on the town to make sure that the Sioris stayed gone.

            “If Draven Belfast ever shows his face again, I’ll turn his nose into a mushroom,” Echo had said with vengeance in her eyes. “A big, warty one. Or maybe I’ll turn him into a big, warty mushroom.”

            And each night, Echo and Flix spent time reminding me that Merek would come back. Though my tears wet my pillow often at night, I came to accept the fact that he was gone.

~

            “Oh, Lucy I forgot to tell you! The talent show’s coming up!” Camille said during lunch a few days after Ryan came home. “You should do a dance!”

            “Yeah, Lucy, you’d be great!” Kalli agreed. I knew they had been trying to be extra-sweet to me because of Merek’s sudden abandonment, but I appreciated it nonetheless.

            “When is it?”

            “The last day of school before winter break. I’m singing a duet with Michael. I wanted to do Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, but he wants to do Weird Al. Go figure.”

            “I’m so jealous of you two,” Kalli mourned. “You have such cool talents. It’s not like I can go onstage and make a hot fudge sundae.”

            “Sure you can!”

            “Right. I’m sure it’ll be a hit,” she said dryly. “So are you going to dance, Lucy?”

            “I don’t know. I don’t think there’s time to choreograph a dance.”

            “Just do an old one. No one would know.”

            “Hm. Maybe I will.”

            So I did. Taking the steps from an old performance number, it was easy to change around and fix so it would fit the song I chose to dance to: my dad’s old favorite. I tried to think of it as a tribute to my family; but in the back of my mind, the words fit so well how I felt about Merek that I found myself seeing his face in my mind while rehearsing and pretended he was watching.

            The night of the performance came. I wasn’t nervous. I’d practiced the dance enough times that I was doing it in my sleep. It was so good to get back into performance mode again; to wear the stage makeup, the tights, and the costume. I had chosen a white lyrical dress accented with rhinestones that, like the choreography, I had used in another performance. It suited the song well. In the darkness off stage, I stretched and warmed my muscles in preparation to go onstage. Waiting in the wings among other performers, the applause in the auditorium, the smell of the floor, the stage, and the anticipation…it was what the dancer in me lived for.

            The applause for the performers before me faded. The lights dimmed. The curtain closed. From the front of the stage, I could hear Zack Hansen, who was the emcee, announce me as the next act in the show. As he spoke, I walked onto the dark, empty stage behind the curtain and took my beginning pose.

            “Our next performer is someone we’ve all come to love. She single-handedly choreographed the school’s production Guys and Dolls, she teaches at our local dance studio, has won our hearts, and I’m pretty sure has climbed Everest. Isn’t that right, Jason?” he asked his co-host.

            “Twice, actually. Last week.”

            I giggled a little. There was a smattering of light laughter among the audience before Zack continued.

            “And now, without further ado, our favorite girl in tights… the lovely Miss Lucy Sherwood.”

            The curtains parted. The lights went on and the piano introduction began. The music filled my ears, my head, my core. With each step and turn, every note of the song seemed to flow in my veins. The words sang out of the speakers. I felt as if I was saying them without speaking. My thoughts were reflected on my face and in every movement. I was peaceful, pleading, hurting, and hoping. I caught a few of the smiling faces in the auditorium below. They were entertained but I wasn’t dancing for them. Like poison being leeched from my system, I danced to rid myself of every piece of my heart that had been broken from losing Dad, then losing Merek.

            Concentrate, I had to tell myself. I almost forgot the next step. But the audience was none the wiser. Every move was executed as I planned, all the way to the end when the music faded and I found my final stance. The audience erupted. Some of them, including Mom, Ryan, and Addison stood up.

            Out of breath, a thin sheen of sweat glimmering at my forehead, I smiled and took a bow. The curtain closed. I walked off the stage where there was a slight commotion. A few people were arguing in whispers at the water cooler.

            “What’s going on?” I asked the nearest stage hand.

            “Don’t know.”

            I walked over to the water cooler where Riley Fulkerson, another member of the stage crew, and a fellow performer were arguing.

            “It was you!” Riley hissed, pointing at me. She must have been really mad, her lips were puckering in sour anger.

            “She couldn’t have done it, Riley,” the stage hand said. “She was just on stage and the water was fine a second ago.”

            “What did I do?” I exclaimed as loud as one could exclaim while talking under their breath.

            “Someone put lemon juice in the water cooler again,” Riley’s friend said. My eyes widened. A small explosion arose in my chest. Was it who I thought it was? Was he here? Swallowing down a wave of emotion, I ran to the nearest exit, forgetting I was still in costume and that walking outside in my dance shoes was one of the surest ways to ruin them.

            To my astonishment, when I pushed the door open, I saw white flurries of snow drifting in the darkness. It was cold. I ignored it. There was no wind and no moonlight, only curtains and swirls of snow. I ran into it, looked up, and scanned the sky. Who else would put lemon juice in the water cooler?

            “Merek?” I called, walking further into the parking lot and continuing my search. But I couldn’t see anything. The snow was getting thicker and the silence pressed upon me like blankets of icy wool on my ears.

            The maddening tendrils of despair curled back into my body. I shook my head, angry at myself and beginning to feel stupid that I had run outside in my costume and dance shoes. I walked back toward the door. I must look so ridiculous.

            “You look like an angel.”

            I stopped. I closed my eyes, hoping I hadn’t imagined it and fearing I had. The snow continued to fall, collecting around my feet. I remained motionless, listening hard for the voice to speak again. Oh, please, let it speak again. A pair of hands rested on the sides of my shoulders.

            I inhaled. He stood close behind me; I could feel his warmth. I could hear his breath close to my ear.

            “Why…?” I said, unable to suppress the bitterness that arose along with my elation.

            “I don’t expect you to forgive me right away,” he said. I stayed quiet, waging a losing war against crying like a baby. “But I hope you will soon.”

            For a long time, I didn’t move. And he didn’t ask me to. He stood behind, his hands on my shoulders, and let me cry into my hands. Finally, I reached up and placed my hand over one of his. He leaned closer to me, his cheek, his nose, his lips brushing against my jaw. The hands at my shoulders then pulled me around to face him and he enfolded me close. My own arms found their familiar way around his neck. His breathing sounded ragged in my ear. I could only hold him, every part of me warmed by him, every hurt brushed away as easily as a tear.

            I opened my eyes and looked into his. They reflected a heart that had been broken as bad as mine was.

            “Echo and Flix said you’d come back,” I said. “But you said—” my face crumpled at the hurtful memory.

            “Please, understand,” he gripped my arms, “I had to lie to them. I had to protect you. I’m so sorry. I’m sorry I left and I’m sorry I stayed away so long. But I’m never leaving again. I swear.”

            “But won’t they be looking for you?”

            He shook his head. “They’ll have to find me first.”

            “But they’ll just come back here.”

            “Not likely. They think I don’t love you.”

            I frowned.

            “So did I.”

            He let out a breath and pulled me back into his embrace. “Please. Forgive me. I love you. Please don’t doubt me, Lucy.”

            I let him hold me for a moment before I spoke. “If you had told them about me, what would have happened?”

            He moved his head to look me in the face. “I don’t know. But you’d probably never see me or your family again.”

            I swallowed. Snow was gathering in his hair and on his shoulders. I stood on my tip-toes and tightened my arms around his neck.

            “Thank you,” I whispered with my mouth close to his ear. Then I released him and remembered my clothing. “I’d better go change. I’ll be back. Don’t leave.”

            I hurried away, ran to the dressing room, acknowledged compliments and ignored the questions from my peers about why I was outside and wet to my ankles. I changed into my street clothes, refastened my emerald necklace around my neck, stuffed all my dance things into my bag, and ran back outside where Merek was still waiting in the falling snow.  As I approached him, he, like Addison, noticed my necklace. He pointed to it.

            “Is that…?”

            I looked down at the necklace and smiled. “You didn’t think I’d give the real stone to the Sioris did you? I had the pixies trade the stones. They made the emerald vibrate as if it were the Etian stone. I had to hide the real stone somewhere. Somewhere in plain sight, where they wouldn’t need to search for it.”

            “That was brilliant, Lucy.”

            “Not really. Just a crazy idea that actually worked.”

            “Those men will be sitting at the gate for the next fifty years; waiting for that stone to hum again.”

            I laughed. “Exactly. I just hope they don’t figure it out and come back.”

            “For right now, I don’t think it matters much.” He reached behind his back. With an accompanying sound of tinkling bells, which I could only assume was pixie laughter, he brought something out. I looked down. He was holding a white flower, so white it made the snow look dreary and gray. He placed in my fingers. It was the same kind of flower he had given me before.

            “These are so beautiful. I’ve never seen them before. What kind are they?”

            “They’re Etian. A flower that will bloom for twenty years after it’s cut. It’s called an Amaranth. The everlasting.”

            I looked down at the incredible flower with awe. Merek lifted my chin, leaned closer to me, and brushed his lips over mine; soft at first, then with more fervor, yet losing none of the purity and chivalry Merek always upheld. After a long, but-not-long-enough moment, he drew away and rested his forehead against mine.

            “I love you too,” I whispered, the sweet scent of the Amaranth flower floating around us.

He placed his hands on my cheeks, kissed me again, then led me along the sidewalk, around the corner, and into the snowy, hazy sky.

Chapter Twenty Nine

Chapter Twenty-Nine

            In the early morning, I awoke. The house was dark and still. The sun wasn’t even up yet. Even though Mom and Addison slept soundly, I couldn’t seem to keep my eyes closed. Perhaps Echo and Flix were true to their word that they wouldn’t cast any sleeping spells on me anymore. I tossed a few times, trying to get comfortable, but finally decided to get up so I wouldn’t wake the other two.

            Quietly, I tip-toed out of the bedroom and went to sit at the kitchen table. Though the sky was still dark, outside there was a slight wash of pale grey. I stared out the window, my head resting on one hand. Merek was out there somewhere, still under the tyranny of the Praesidium. To think that we once had a choice whether or not to see each other… now it seemed the choice was made for us. At least, I hoped it was the choice of someone else; Merek had acted so distant, so indifferent toward me when he left with Slayton and his followers.

            He did rescue me from Faegrid. I kept reminding myself. But like the rise and fall of a churning ocean, optimism came and went. He only looked at me after killing the demidragon. He might have even killed it under the direction of the Praesidium.

            A tear ran onto my hand. I folded my arms on the table and rested my head on top of them. None of this was supposed to happen. Merek had warned me. If only I’d listened. Perhaps then it wouldn’t hurt so bad.

            I didn’t realize I had fallen asleep until the doorbell jerked me awake. I sat up, my arms tingling from lack of circulation and my head spinning. I looked around in confusion, then stood up when I realized someone was at the door and I needed to answer it. Mom and Addison were still asleep. The clock on the microwave said 7:39.

            Who would come this early on a Saturday morning? Probably the Bradleys. Joan would want to know every detail about the alleged burglary. I peeked out the window. Just as I thought, it was Joan, waiting, bouncing on her toes. She leaned over and rang the doorbell again.

            I walked away.

            “Aren’t you going to get that?” Flix asked from her perch on the banister.

            “Good thing I didn’t or I’d have a hard time explaining you to her,” I whispered so Joan wouldn’t hear my voice. I wouldn’t put it past her to put her ear on the door to see if she could hear us inside.

            “Nah, I would have gotten out of the way first. Who was it?”

            “Just my neighbor. I don’t want to talk to her right now.” I walked back to the kitchen to get myself a bowl of cereal. Flix picked up a stray corn flake from my bowl before I poured milk over it. She settled next to me on the table. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the pixie nibbling on the cornflake and studying me.

            “Are you sad because Merek went with the Praesidium?” Flix asked. I chewed my food slowly. It felt like chewing gravel. I swallowed.

            “He said I was no one. Nothing to him.” The hurt and discouragement started burning in my chest again. Flix flew to my hand and sat down.

            “Maybe he acted like he didn’t care because he did. Those people he left with are really dangerous. I don’t think they’d like it if they thought he loved you. You know things about him, and you know about us pixies.”

            I sat back, the soreness in my chest clearing just a bit, giving way to a tingling hope. “Maybe you’re right.” Oh, I yearned for it to be possible. Just the thought of Merek not wanting me was too much to bear.

            “Of course I’m right,” Flix said with a smile, taking another bite of her cornflake. She made a face. “This is kind-of gross.”

            I gave a small laugh. “You don’t have to eat it if you don’t want to. I think I’ve had enough too.” I stood up and took my bowl of half-eaten cereal to the sink and dumped it down the drain. Flix followed me. I leaned against the counter and looked out the window. The sky was thick with clouds, making it darker than it should be at this time of day.

            “Are Blink and Whisper going to be okay?” I asked. “With Lorokin and all?”

            “It is a terrible thing to lose a friend.” Flix landed on my shoulder. “I suspect they’ll want to stay with your family. You know how they feel.”

            I nodded, hating that I knew how they felt. “Was it the Sioris or the Praesidium that killed Lorokin?”

            “Neither, my lady. His heart merely failed him. He was too old.” Her wings drooped in her sadness. I felt a strange relief. I hadn’t realized how much vengeance had begun to build up inside me little by little the second I had heard of Lorokin’s death. Now it felt like I could release from holding my breath.

            The door to Mom’s bedroom opened. Addison walked out, along with Blink and Echo.

            “Hi, Luce,” Addison said, her eyes half-closed. She came and sat next to me and leaned her head on my shoulder.

            “Did you sleep okay, Addy?”

            “Yeah, but you didn’t, did you?”

            “No.”

            Addison was silent for a minute. “Is Merek gone forever?”

            “I hope not.”

            “I hope not too. I like him. He’s nice.”

            “Yeah, he is.”

            “Do we have to stay in our house forever? Will that butt-hole Draven be able to get us again if we leave?”

            I snorted. “Um, I think the Sioris are going to be gone for a while.”

            “Shall one of us go check and make sure they’re gone?” Echo asked.

            “When it gets dark, not until then,” I replied. Echo folded her arms.

            “You sound just like him!”

            “You don’t want to get caught, do you?”

            Echo looked away.

            “Lucy…” Addison said, looking at the pendant around my neck, “what’s wrong with the emerald on your necklace? It looks all…weird and faded and stuff.”

            I looked at the pixies, who either winked or smiled. I brought my hand to the pendant and held it. The stone was still humming, but not enough for anyone not touching it to notice.

            “That’s because it’s not an emerald.”

            Some hours later, Addison and I decided to make lunch for ourselves, since Mom still hadn’t emerged from her room. Addison was opening a can of tuna fish and I was mixing the macaroni and cheese when the door to Mom’s room opened. She was looking pale, but pleased about something. She had the phone in her hand.

            “Mom, are you hungry?” I asked.

            “No, thank you. I just got off the phone with Grandpa Sherwood.”

            “Yeah?”

            Mom put the phone on its charger and turned with a smile. “After last night, I’ve decided that I’ve had enough. I want all of my family under one roof. We’re bringing Ryan home.”

~

            The happiness of the impending return of my brother, along with small daily doses of pixie water was enough to help my family heal from the frightening experiences of Friday night. In the week following, I noticed that Mom was more alert, quicker with a smile, and more eager to spend time with Addison and me. She looked brighter, but at the same time, was all the more over-protective and cautious. I didn’t mind though. Spending time with the family helped me to get my mind off of Merek. Despite Flix’s reassurances that he would come back and that he only left in order to protect me, I couldn’t help thinking that he would have no choice but to move on.

            Ryan was due to arrive in one week. When Joan Bradley heard about the arrival (over the dessert she and Chet brought to us Sunday night), she snapped her fingers as though an idea had popped into her fluffy head.

            “Hugh and I are going down to the valley next week!” she shouted with profusions of delight. “We can give him a ride. It’ll work out just perfectly, Becky. When did you say his plane would land?”

            “Uh, around 3:30 I think.”

            “Great! We’ll swing by the airport and head right home! Oh, I just can’t wait to meet your boy!”

            Mom, Addison, and I exchanged glances.

            “I don’t want to be a bother, Joan. The girls and I can go pick him up.”

            “It isn’t a bother. I’m more than happy to do it.”

            “Yes, but it might be difficult for him. He’s moving to a brand-new place after staying so long with my in-laws. I think it would be better for Ryan if he saw familiar faces.”

            “I see,” said Joan, looking put out. “Oh well. I’d hate to waste gas by having two cars go down to the valley when only one would do, but if that’s how you feel…”

            “Mom, please,” Chet said in between forkfuls of pumpkin pie. “Let her go get her boy on her own!”

            I smiled to myself. My feelings toward Chet hadn’t changed, but in all honesty… he was an alright guy.

Chapter Twenty Eight

Chapter Twenty-Eight

            The rumbling engine of Chet’s car faded away while the house of Draven Belfast loomed large in front of me. The silver car Johan had used, and Draven’s black Mercedes were both parked in the driveway. Faegrid the demidragon was nowhere to be seen, probably inside guarding the remaining prisoners. If they were still alive.

            I swallowed. My heart felt like it was trying to jump out of my throat.

            “You can do it, my lady,” Flix whispered from my jacket pocket, where the other pixies were also hiding. I felt a twinge of courage knowing the pixies were with me. So with a deep breath, I walked up the path, to the ominous oak front door, and rang the doorbell.

            Draven answered. His congenial smile immediately melted into shock, then to anger.

            “You’re supposed to be dead.” He grabbed me by the collar and pulled me into the house.

            “I have something you want,” I said quickly, trying to stick with the words the pixies and I had already planned out. He sneered at me and I saw the flash of a knife. I gasped and stiffened as he held the blade at my neck. I struggled to focus.

            “Something I want? Besides Doncaster’s death, I don’t think there’s anything else.” He dragged me into the main room of the house. The knife was cold on my skin.

            “Talk or be fed to Faegrid,” Draven growled as he held me before four other men who were sitting in the sparse family room. All had varying levels of muscle and peculiarity and were looking surly and dangerous. Despite my awful fear, I noticed one of them had a fairy on his shoulder. Echo and Flix were right; she was gorgeous. She was bigger and more willowy than the pixies were, with flowing hair, golden butterfly-like wings, and a soft aura glowing about her skin. The man whose shoulder she sat on had to be Etian. With braids in his beard and the mark of a star branded in the center of his forehead along with his broad and outlandish features, he looked far too mystifying to be human.

            “I-I’ll make a bargain with you,” I said, my throat dry. They laughed at my request. All of these men looked capable of murder…and if the paramedics didn’t make it to Officer Mary in time, they would be murderers.

            “I think I’d rather feed her to the dragon,” one of them said with a hearty guffaw.

            “Let’s just hear her out, maybe it’s good,” said the Etian.

            “Or maybe I should just cut her throat here and now!” Draven growled. He gave me a vicious shake. I felt a sting on my neck. The knife was digging into my flesh. “I had Doncaster in my hands, you little—”

            “I have the stone!” I cried. The room went silent.

            “The stone?” Draven shoved me away.

            I rubbed my neck. There was a small smear of blood on my fingertips, but nothing too serious. I looked at Draven, reached into my pocket, and drew out the green gem. I held it out, then closed my fist.

            “I’ll give it to you…if you let me and my family go.”

            “We could just kill you for it.”

            “Th-then you’ll never see it again.” I put it in my mouth.

            “No!” the men shouted, but Draven sneered again.

            “We could just dig it out of your stomach.” He tossed the knife hand to hand.

            “Okay,” I said, my words slurring around the gem in my mouth. “Who wants that job?”

            All of them were silent, even Draven. I took courage. Perhaps they weren’t complete savages after all. I spit the stone back into my hand.

            “Let us go and you can have it.”

            “Just like that?” asked Draven.

            “J-just like that.”

            “How do we know it’s the real thing? You could be giving us a vending machine prize and call it the Etian stone.”

            “I’ll show you. It’s vibrating now.” Still trembling, I knelt down in front of the coffee table and set the stone on top of the wood. The gem began to move with the gentle vibrations. The sound it made against the wood gave the humming stone a voice. The men in the room were staring transfixed. I saw the lust fill their eyes as I snatched the stone from the table, stood up, and stepped away.

            “I want my family. Then you can have the stone and…do what you want with it.”

            “What about Doncaster?” Draven barked.

            I tried to keep the pain from showing on my face, but I couldn’t. I didn’t want to cry in front of the awful men staring at me. I took an erratic breath, wiped my eyes, and sniffed hard. “Just give me my family.”

            There was a long pause. “Skellorn, go get the woman and the girl,” Draven said. One of the men stood and went downstairs. I heaved a sigh of relief. They were alive.

            “You sure know how to get what you want, Lucy. Fast talker. You ever considered becoming a lawyer?”

            I watched as Skellorn brought Mom and Addison up from the basement. They had been tied up again and looked terrified and worn out, but otherwise unhurt. I dropped the stone on the floor and looked Draven Belfast square in the face. “I think I’ve become a little averse to lawyers.”

            He laughed, so happy he had the stone that he forgot to threaten me. I saw Mom cast him a withering glare before she, along with me and Addison were pushed onto the porch. The door slammed.

            “Come on, we have to get out of here,” I said, removing their gags and beginning on their ropes.

            “How did you do it?” Mom asked, rubbing her red, rope-burned wrists.

            “Let’s go home. I’ll explain everything there.”

            “What if they try to get us again?”

            “Don’t worry, our house is protected,” I replied as I helped Addison to her feet.

            We hurried down the street, trying to stay out of the glow of the streetlights. I wanted to keep hidden. I was tempted to go back to Riley Fulkerson’s house and ask for another ride, but somehow I didn’t think she would be so accommodating again.

            Something didn’t feel right though. It was too easy. We had gotten away with our lives, but how long would that last? We needed to get home. Now.

            “Come on, let’s hurry,” I said, pulling Mom and Addison to a jog. Addison screamed.

            “Lucy, what is that?!” she shrieked, pointing above us. I looked up. My horror returned and redoubled. In the sky, circling not far above us, was something with bat-like, furry wings and glowing eyes. Faegrid had found us.

            “Run!” I shouted. Our feet pounded the pavement, but the demidragon followed, covered by darkness, weaving in an out of sight among the trees lining the street. The four pixies, throwing caution to the wind flew from my pocket and toward the haunting shadow overhead. Little flashes of light and aggravated roars issued from up above, but Faegrid wasn’t hindered.

            “What’s that?” Mom asked, pointing to the pixies’ lights.

            “Don’t stop!”

            The dragon dived and landed right in front of us. It crouched low to the ground, stalking us with haunches raised and a growl resonating from its maw. The four pixies flew back to me, looking scared and livid.

            “His hide is too thick,” Echo said. “We can’t penetrate him!”

            “Just stay in my pocket!”

            Faegrid came closer. Mom, Addison, and I backed away.

            “Leave us alone,” I cried. The growls now came in short bursts…was it laughing at me? “Mom, Addison get out of here.”

            “You are not doing this by yourself!” Mom said.

            “This is my fault!” I shouted. “Just go!”

            Faegrid bounded forward. I screamed and held up my hands. Claws reaching, fangs open, eyes mad and rolling, the semidragon used its wings to hurl itself at me. In a whirl of fur and claws, the wolf-like creature pummeled into me, its jaws clamping onto my arm. As its teeth penetrated my flesh, I fell backwards. My head hit the pavement. I tried to kick Faegrid off of me, but he was too heavy and too strong. He let go of my arm. His teeth were stained red with my blood. With another evil, snarling laugh, the demidragon licked his lips.

            I tried to scoot back with one arm bleeding, cradled in front of me. Faegrid snapped again, but without warning, he was pulled back with so much force, he seemed to have vanished. I sat up. Mom and Addison fell on either side of me.

            A few feet away, someone was locked in a vicious wrestling match with the demidragon. He lifted the beast above his head and bent the furry, writhing dragon’s body until with a sickening crack, Faegrid stopped moving. The rescuer dropped the limp creature onto the ground and turned. The streetlight illuminated his face.

            “Merek?” I said in disbelief. He gazed at me for a moment, his eyes blazing and his face tense. Then he jumped into the sky and was gone. I stared after him with longing, my throbbing heart and shredded arm in anguish.

            “Are you alright?” Mom asked, her voice weak with worry. I nodded, but cringed. “We’re going to have to take you to a hospital,” she continued. “You might need a rabies shot and some stitches.”

            “No. I’ll be alright,” I said.

            “You can’t just leave this kind of thing to heal on its own, you need a doctor!”

            “No, Mom, it’ll be fine.” I looked into my pocket. “Echo, can you help me?”

            She came out and examined my arm. “It’s bad, my lady.”

            “Just try. Please.”

            She looked up at me. “What, you doubt my expertise? I only said it was bad, not that I couldn’t do it.” 

            It was a long walk home, but nothing more occurred. My arm felt fine. Echo had even healed my head from the many times it had been hit and soothed Mom and Addison’s raw wrists.

            At long last, footsore, faint, and emotionally spent, our house came into view. The police cars had gone. Even though all three of us were dragging our feet, the sight of our house gave us strength as we hurried over the last stretch of sidewalk.

            Once we were inside, the door was closed and locked, and everyone heaved a collective sigh. We retreated to the couch, where I explained everything to Mom and Addison. From the very first time I flew with Merek, to the moment he had rescued us from Faegrid, I related all the pressing details, including who the pixies were. It was heart-wrenching to talk about Merek leaving and Lorokin’s death, but to tell my mother and sister everything that had happened was a sweet relief.

            No more secrets. We could better understand what sort of things we had to deal with, for though both Mom and Addison admitted that Draven had given them little information, he had told them enough to make them wonder what kind of unearthly business he was involved in.           

            “You can come out now,” I said to my pockets. The four pixies emerged, smiling and glowing like sparklers. Mom and Addison stared at them, transfixed and enthralled.

            “Lucy,” Addison whispered. “I…I kind-of feel like I’ve seen them before. But it’s weird, like I had a dream about it or something.”

            “You weren’t dreaming. They had to make you forget,” I said. “But we don’t have to do that now.  Flix, do you think you could get us some water?”

            “Yes, of course, my lady,” she dashed away.

            “Can I talk to them too?” Addison asked.

            “Sure you can,” I stood up and spoke to the pixies. “Introduce yourselves to my mother and sister. I’m going to go get some cups.”

            I went to the kitchen while Mom and Addison got acquainted with the dancing, fluttery lights. I returned, happy to see that Echo, Blink, and Whisper were able to make them smile. I passed around the glasses that Flix had filled.

            “Pixie water helps you to gain strength. They can also help us sleep tonight. Nothing bad will happen.”

            After we each had a glass of pixie water, no one wanted to do anything but go to sleep, but no one wanted to sleep alone. So all of us went to bed in Mom’s room with the pixies acting as floating nightlights to lull us to sleep.