12. Chapter 12 #2
“We don’t know that.” Silas’s jaw was tight. “Not for certain.”
But that wasn’t true, and everyone in the room could feel it, including Silas. The tightness of his grip and the way his face had set in solid granite told me all I needed to know. Denial would only be a waste of time.
I shuffled more gingerly to the window, pushed back the gauzy curtain with one hand and peered outside.
I saw them, the spirits, rising from the river before the castle like an army of smoke and terror.
As if The Isle had been split in two, right down the river that separated the East side from the West side, but this tear wasn’t something visible.
It was a rip between realms that allowed spirits from the underworld to join the realm of the living in huge numbers.
I watched with trepidation to see their next move, but like before, it seemed the spirits still weren’t able to set foot on solid ground without disappearing.
They simply hovered above the water, some on horses, some on foot, some floating just above the surface of the water—waiting, as if for a command.
“There’s not going to be enough potion to stop a fleet of spirits this size,” Lily said, her face pale. “And that’s assuming this is all the Darkest Lord has, which I highly doubt. He’ll be breaching the island in multiple places, surely. What are we going to do?”
Several sets of eyes flicked toward me, but I was barely used to being in my own body again, let alone ready to command my powers at any great magnitude.
“I agree with Lily,” I said. “We need a solution that doesn’t involve potions—of which we have a finite amount. Not long term, and not with this volume. It’s too much.”
“Agreed,” Ranger X said. “We’ve properly equipped people with enough potions to get us through the night, to buy us some time, but as that runs out…
” The head Ranger paused, placing a hand on his wife’s shoulder.
“You did a good job. But we need something bigger. Something to stop this at the root, not annihilate the spirits after they’re already here. ”
“I’m with you,” Lily said. “We need something more.”
“What’s happened with the wards since I’ve been gone?
” I asked. “Something must be wrong with the wards to allow the spirits through in these numbers and so freely. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that I rejoined the island and suddenly the veil is ripping open.
Could I have broken something when I left for the underworld? ”
“Honey,” Lily said gently, “when you went to the underworld, we all felt it. The wards were faltering. Like we said, we thought it would be helpful to use Dr. Lewis to implement new wards, or fortify what remained of the ones you left behind. But it sounds like…maybe he broke them?”
“You said you saw Lewis?” Ranger X asked. “In the underworld?”
“Yes. He visited my cell while I was being held captive there.”
Silas’s hands were still on me, and at the words cell and captive , the grip of his fingers tightened so strongly I worried they’d leave marks. I gently rested my hand over his, and he flinched, relaxing his touch as if he hadn’t realized the strength behind it.
“Sorry,” Silas whispered. “I just…the thought of you there, captive, in the underworld…I tried to come to you, but I couldn’t—he blocked my passage to the underworld. Shut everything down once you were there.”
By he, I knew Silas meant the Darkest Lord. Of course the Darkest Lord would’ve known that Silas would try to enter the underworld at all costs to save my life, once he learned where I’d gone. And of course he would’ve enacted measure to prevent Silas from reaching me.
I squeezed one of his hands to mine, letting him know I understood the fear he’d felt.
If our positions had been reversed, I would’ve felt like death.
It wasn’t hard to put myself in his shoes; I’d felt a piece of it in the underworld myself.
But for me, that feeling had been somewhat fleeting.
I’d only thought I’d been gone for hours.
I couldn’t imagine feeling that way for six long, human-length days. It would’ve been pure torture.
“How was he in the underworld?” Ranger X asked. “If he is also able to be in the realm of the living?”
“I think he’s the Darkest Lord’s right-hand man.
Dr. Lewis was definitely involved in the flesh-weaving process,” I said.
“So either the Darkest Lord granted him special access to the underworld, or Dr. Lewis found a way to give himself a physical form here on the island. I’m not sure which, but I’m leaning toward the former. ”
“He must have been involved in the creation of the crimson lycanthropes and the kraken,” Silas said. “It all makes sense. The scientific background, the dedication to the Darkest Lord.”
“I should have known.” Ranger X shoved a hand through his hair. “When Lewis reached out to me to help, I should have researched deeper. I should have—”
Lily put a hand on his shoulder. “Nobody knew. Give yourself a break. We’re all doing the best we can.”
Ranger X shook his head, not convinced.
“Lily’s right,” Silas agreed. “It’s likely that it was impossible to tell anything suspicious about Lewis. The Harbinger for the Darkest Lord? He’d have been extremely well protected from scrutiny.”
“It’s not your fault,” I chimed in, meeting Ranger X’s eyes. “Absolutely not. He fooled me, too. I’m supposedly the Fae Queen. I trusted him to implement new wards. I helped by giving insight to my magic. This is just as much my fault as anyone else’s.”
“What happened to him?” Silas asked. “In the underworld, after you saw him. Did he return, too?”
He only asked a few simple questions, but I heard a hundred unspoken ones behind them. How did you get back? Did he hurt you? Is he still there? I felt the weight of them all, and I couldn’t answer everything. Not now. Not when the world was crumbling around us.
“While I was in the underworld, I opened a portal.” I began from the top, or mostly the top, trying to summarize quickly.
“The idea was to let out as many spirits as possible. Both so the spirits could find peace elsewhere, and also so that it would weaken the Darkest Lord’s army.
The less spirits under his command, the less attacking us. ”
“Did it work?” Liza asked. “The portal?”
“The portal itself worked. It just wasn’t enough.” I shrugged. “It didn’t last long enough, and I didn’t have enough access to the army. It didn’t make so much as a dent.”
“It was a good idea,” Silas said. “But the Darkest Lord would have been alerted to a portal opening in his underworld. He has eyes everywhere. You didn’t stand a chance.”
“Likely true,” I said. “After that, I was brought to a prison cell where I was visited by Dr. Lewis. It was there that I was… removed from my body. The connection between my spirit and my body was severed.”
Liza looked down at her hands, her face somber but not surprised. I wondered if she’d felt something, if she’d known. She’d been connected to me in some way as a guide, and I wondered if that bond hadn’t fully faded until that final nail in the coffin.
“That’s impossible,” Silas said. “It’s impossible to come back if the spirit is torn from the body.”
“Typically, that’s correct,” I admitted. “I’m sorry I put myself in such a vulnerable position. I was warned many times by many people, and I know it was stupid of me. I just didn’t know what else to do. It was reckless and dangerous, I’ll admit that much.”
“It wasn’t stupid,” Liza said firmly. “It was brave.”
I gave her a weak smile. “While I was in that spirit form, a portal opened into The Glade. My ancestors heard my call for help, and I was pulled to be with them. That’s where I saw my mother. The Triune Queen.”
I glanced at Liza as I spoke the last part. Her eyes shimmered with tears. She smiled and gave me a reassuring nod. I could tell, even without uttering the words, that she knew how much this moment had meant to me.
“Oh, Alessia.” Lily was far more exuberant in her display of affection. She threw her arms around me and squeezed. “That must have been something. I’m so glad you got to connect with her, even for a second. I know when I saw my mom…”
She trailed off, and I hugged her back. There was nothing else to say or do but cling to her. Until even that wasn’t enough, and we were drawn back to the present need to keep things moving.
“The ancient Fae Queens are the ones who reconnected my spirit and my body,” I said.
“My mother told me they could only do it once; I surmised it took a great deal of magic, or some bending of the rules, or something of that nature because I was warned that if it happened again, there was no saving me.”
Silas licked his lip in thought, gave a gruff nod. Gratitude was scrawled on his features.
“Once they did that, they sent me back to the underworld. In turn, I sent Dr. Lewis through the portal. He landed in The Glade.”
Lily’s brows lifted. “Like, forever?”
I gave a little shrug. “I don’t think people belong there unless they’re Fae Queens. I was under the impression that my mother wanted…a word with him.”
The implication silenced the room.
“I think it’s safe to say he won’t be returning to the realm of the living,” I said.
“But I think it’s of the utmost importance that I review his work.
Can someone take me to the lab he was using?
Did he leave any notes behind? I need to see how badly he screwed up the wards and see if I can fix them before it’s too late. ”
“But you’ve only just returned.” Lily stroked my hair gently. “You’ve been through a lot. I’m sorry.”
“I just wish it had helped more,” I said. “All that risk, and I’m not sure it paid off.”
“It did,” Liza said softly. “It did, Alessia.”
I knew she meant that it had given the opportunity to meet my mother which, I agreed, had been worth it. But that was a very selfish reason to feel like it had been worth risking my life with a voyage to the underworld.
“I’m sure it helped,” Lily said. “For starters, you uncovered the truth behind Dr. Lewis before he could do any more damage.”
“Not to mention,” Ranger X added, “the spirits are here, but they’re waiting.
They’re not running free. I’m wondering if you prompted an attack earlier than planned.
Your breaching the underworld—and then living to tell the tale, not to mention banishing the Harbinger, could’ve caused him to panic.
Maybe he would’ve waited for the blood moon otherwise and then would have been too powerful to stop.
This, maybe, gives us a fighting chance. ”
“If the Darkest Lord launched an attack before he was ready,” Silas said, “that’s of great benefit to us. We’re not ready either, but we wouldn’t have been in four more days anyway. This puts us on a slightly more even playing field.”
I hoped they were right. We’d need every possible advantage.
“Either way, they’re here now,” I said. “How can I best help?”
Ranger X glanced at Silas. “Any word from your brother?”
Silas shook his head, then said for my benefit, “He’s been here. Atlas. He’s worried about you, of course. We sent him back to Olympus yesterday to see if they’d help in your absence. No word yet.”
I bit my lip. “I don’t think we can count on them.”
“I agree with you,” Ranger X said. “Which is why in your absence, I’ve also reached out to the Sixth Borough, Magic Inc.
, and other magical entities. They’ve been sending resources.
Dani DeMarco and a team from the Sixth Borough are handling investigations and security on the island.
Magic Inc. has people at Ranger HQ working on potions, defenses, logistics. ”
“What about the islanders?” I rested a hand on my chest.
I could still sense that jar of glowing, marble-like beads when I focused. A collection of what mattered most to me, the people I now lived to protect.
“We’ve issued evacuation orders,” Ranger X said. “Most of the elderly and children are gone. Some of the women too. Whoever’s left has chosen to stay here voluntarily.”
“There are a lot of people left,” Liza said softly. “Because they believe in The Isle. And they believe in you.”
My heart warmed. As I glanced down at the small child, I realized how much I’d missed her. That bond between us was growing, and this felt like only the start of something truly special that could bloom between us. If only given the time, something that felt like a precious commodity at this point.
“If nobody objects then,” I said, “I’d like to review the wards. Can someone take me to his lab?”
“I will bring you there now,” Ranger X said.
“As far as I know, he was planning to return. With any luck, he left his work behind. No one was suspicious when he went to the underworld, so it’s possible he wouldn’t have taken extreme precautions to destroy his work.
Follow me, Alessia—I need to return to HQ anyway.
We’ll need to update our plans now that the spirits have arrived. ”