Part 2 Chapter 52
Suddenly, something crashed into the wall directly behind me.
I let out a shriek and turned my back to shield Lilly from the debris that was now raining down on us.
Was that Vivian warning us that we had to leave?
No, she was supposed to hit the other side of the school, something else was up, but I couldn't see just what through the cloud of dust. I could hear though, and what I heard was a hissing sound and the sound of claws scrapping the ground.
I pressed my hand against the wall beside me ,desperate to get out of this room and away from what was making that noise. But then a voice joined in with the noise, a voice I recognized.
"Henry?" I called out and the cursing stopped.
Suddenly there was the sound of boots running across the room. In a second, Henry had appeared from the dust and was standing in front of me.
"Oh thank gods you made it out too!"
My eyes filled with tears of relief and I reached with him with my free hand, "Henry I-" I began, but he threw a finger in my face stopping me in my tracks.
"Hold on!" he said. "I have to go untangle my dragon from yours."
I let my hand fall to my side. Well I guess you are separated and reunited with your significant other over and over again, romantic part of being reunited kind of dies. But then something occurred to me, he had my and YOUR dragon.
I gasped knowing what those words might mean.
I quickly swatted his finger away from my face, "Here, you hold her," I said and all but tossed Lilly into his arms and I ran towards the sound of the scrapping claws.
I could hear Henry shouting after me along with the sounds of Lilly crying, but I those noses was unimportant to me at the moment.
The only sounds I cared about were the sounds that would lead me directly to Deception.
The second I broke through the dust cloud I began to cough. I pulled my shirt over my nose. It wasn't long before I could make out to struggling forms of two massive winged bodies. The closer I drew, the more of the predicament that Deception and Nessie were in I could see.
Deception was on his back in a sort of a J shape with his backside and tail pressed halfway up the wall.
Nessie was draped sideways over him. Nessie appeared to have one back leg pinned under Deception, which prevented her from getting off him.
Her front claws were scrapping frantically against the black stones while she struggled to pull herself free from Deception.
Deception was making no effort what so ever to try to pull himself free.
He just looked mildly annoyed to be laying there in such an un-noble position.
"Deception!" I cried and ran towards him.
Deceptions yellow cat eyes widen and he focused them on me. All at once he began to kick at Nessie trying to get her off him, to no doubt run towards me.
Nessie began to hiss loudly in pain and she snapped at Deception, biting his side. Before swinging her head towards me. I had to stop short a foot from reaching Deception in order to avoid Nessie's snapping jaws.
Nessie glared at me so furiously, that I took a couple of involuntary steps backward until I bumped into someone.
"I said stop!" suddenly, Henry's hand was turning me sideways.
The next thing I knew, Lilly was being forced back into my arms again.
Lilly stopped crying for a couple of seconds to stare up at me resentfully, before resuming her crying.
I guess she didn't appreciate being passed around like a rotten dragon egg.
With his other hand free he placed it on my other shoulder and turned me away from the dragons. "Go wait on the other side of the room and don't look at Deception. I need them calm so I can help them, and you are only going to end up exciting Deception.
"But-" I began, but he shook his head and pointed to the other side of the room towards the glass ball.
"Do you want our dragons to end up killing each other trying to get free?" even though Henry was blocking my view of Deception and Nessie, I could hear them fighting and hissing at each other.
"Alright," I agreed reluctantly.
I waited with my back turned while I heard Henry trying to navigate the dragons out of their entanglement. In the meantime, Lilly had finally quieted in my arms and now rested with her golden curled head up against my shoulder.
I kept facing away from them until I heard a noise of triumph from Henry, and the clicking of dragon claws approaching me fast. I turned to see that the little black dragon was bounding towards me.
He slowed right before he reached me, like he knew he had to be gentle with me since I had Lilly in my arms, and began to purr loudly.
I reached out my hand, not preoccupied with Lilly, and began to rub him under his chin. He closed his eyes and leaned into my outstretched hand.
By this point, the dust cloud had settled and I could see Henry across the room. He was petting Nessie too. He seemed to feel my eyes on him because he looked up.
He began to walk towards me, careful to avoid getting too close to the portal.
The sound of his boots echoed on the high ceilings.
Nessie began to follow him but changed her mind when her eyes landed on Deception.
She turned her nose up at him and shifted her blue head the other way, I guess she had yet to forgive him for fighting with her.
"So you did decide to go back for Deception?" I said once Henry reached me. He planted a quick kiss on my cheek and pulled away.
"I can lie and say that I did, but I was 't planning on finding him honestly.
Even though Deception was standing right in front of me, I felt a surge of resentment at the fact Henry was, in fact, going to leave Deception all alone in defenseless in the other world.
I was sure if Nessie was trapped we would have to go back for her for sure.
But I decided not to inform him of this fact out loud.
"I was forced to go back to where he was. Did you feel that we got hit with something right before we were about to go through the portal?" Henry asked.
"Yeah, what was that?"
"I think it was Arnold trying to make sure we didn't leave, at least not without him," Henry replied and continued when I gave him a look to tell him to explain further.
"He threw one of his clay men at us," Henry said scowling.
"And he didn't even try to get to the portal afterward, he escaped through the gates.
He used his clay men to push the soldiers out of the way and somehow made it.
The last time I saw him, he was escaping towards a forest on one of his creation's shoulders.
Probably going to live in those woods for the rest of his life making all kinds of horrible creatures. "
"Ohhh, so that's what hit us," I said, and I felt my worry grow at the fact Arnold was at large in the other world.
On top of sending my baby sister to live in a world with little magic, people that would probably want her dead, I was also going to send her to live in a world with Arnold who had the power to create monsters.
I looked down at the sleeping girl in my arms. I would not call myself a good big sister in a million years.
"Anyways, it knocked Nessie sideways and by the time I had straightened her out, there were the other world's soldiers surrounding the portal, but the other Fifth Element users were beginning to fight back, and.
.." Henry grimaced, "I wouldn't be surprised if they killed all the soldiers and escaped. "
Okay sounded like the other Fifth Element users were just fine without us, didn't feel so bad anymore! But I was glad Henry hadn't elaborated just how they defended themselves and hoped he never did.
"I had no other choice but to retreat back to the other portal and try and come back through there.
We escaped through the broken ceiling, once in the sky, I realized we were just outside the town we had first come out.
I began to fly around hoping to find the portal, but I found Deception first. He met us midair.
It looked like someone had healed his wing enough so that he could fly at least a little bit.
I had no clue who it was, but whoever it was they have very advanced water healing.
Then suddenly, Deception began to fly upwards and I followed him, curious to see where he was going, and we were back here," he said and motioned to the rooms around us.
I felt hope rise in my chest while a thought occurred to me,"Maybe Amber did survive and it was her!" I said hopefully.
Henry shook his head, "She could use all the elements, but she never learned how to heal with water, and certainly not to that degree."
"Oh," I said sadly.
"I would like her to be with my parents. When everything has calmed down, I'll go back to where they are and give her a grave there."
"I'm sure she would love that, " I said and placed a hand on his shoulder. I shifted Lilly more onto my chest so I had more freedom to move around more without fear of dropping her.
Suddenly a black hole with crackling blue lighting appeared and Santana came staggering through it. Her cheeks were red and she was covered in sweat.
The portal closed behind her and her tired eyes locked on Henry, "Great, so you've been here this entire time!"
Henry didn't answer her.
"He just came through the portal," I explained. "Are you alright? Did something happen?"
"No I'm fine, it just took me a while to build up my energy to open the portal. I don't want to use any more of Greta's energy since we need it to seal the portals. Plus, we need a little left to escape once Greta's fortress begins to be attacked."
There was the sound of the wall opening up and a girl with long blonde hair and brown eyes stepped into the room. I recognized her as Savannah, Santana's sister. I noted that she was holding a small dagger in her hand. Behind her, several other worn out looking children stepped into the room.
They appeared to be of varying ages from seven all the way to around eighteen. These were dressed in an assortment of ripped and tattered looking clothes. I realized with a start, that there had been some of the children entangled in the vines connected to the orange glowing ball.
"I got your thought bubble thing and let the kids in, as you asked.
But we've been in this hallway for hours because all of us want to leave this hell hole.
Can we really go home now!?" Her eyes landed on Lilly and her face brightened.
"Oh, there's my little girl!" Savannah exclaimed and practically ripped Lilly out of my arms. She planted a large kiss on top of Lilly's blonde curly head, while I stared on in confusion.
Lilly squirmed uncomfortably in her arms, she appeared to be unhappy she had been woken up from her slumber.
"What do you mean by my little girl?" I asked Savannah, while I shot Santana a weighted look.
"Well she's my daughter," Savannah replied slowly, returning my look with a weary one.
I opened my mouth to tell Savannah that no Lilly wasn't her's, when Santana ran up to me quickly, brushing Henry aside, and cupped a hand around my ear and leaned in, "I had to make her believe that Lilly was her, otherwise, she was going to put Lilly in an orphanage.
I love her, but my sister is what you people call a real big witch. "
She pulled away and stared into my eyes.
"So you did mess with your sisters head and make her think that Lilly is her daughter?" I said slowly.
"Well, would you rather she grew up with strangers than because that was the only other option."
I looked at Lilly and shook my head.
"Now Savannah," she said and turned her full attention toward Savannah, "What did I tell you, you must do when you go home?"
"I will go over there and think about closing the portal while holding Lilly and making sure we are both holding this.
Savannah said, holding up a small channeling dagger that she had been holding in her right hand.
I will say that I don't remember the last year because I won't, just that Lilly is my baby, and to ask dad to forge a birth certificate for me at his work.
I have no clue where Santana is, but can you please raise my baby, Lilly.
Because I am incapable of keeping anything alive.
Remember that hamster I and Santana had when we were kids?
Santana didn't kill it, I did because I feed it too much. "
It was my turn to lean in and whisper into Santana's, "Make sure to add, to conceal that neither Lilly and she can use elemental magic. They don't take to that too kindly in your world, they kill over it in fact.
I watched while Santana's eyes rolled back in her head before they returned to normal.
Savannah's eyes became glazed looking and she mumbled, "I will keep the channeling weapon very well hidden, and make sure to hide the fact me and my daughter can use Elemental magic. I will also make sure to tell mom about who really killed Dribbles."
"Good girl!" Santana, said patting Savanna on the back, then she caught my eye.
"What, I've been holding that grudge about that hamster for a very long time. She killed it by overfeeding it and blamed me!"
She then moved her body to address the group of children standing directly behind her .
All their eyes had the same glassy look that Savannah had.
"Now step carefully through that portal.
If you run through it, you'll have a rough landing.
But before I let you all return, what do the rest of you remember? " she asked.
"We don't remember anything," they all said in unison.
It was clear she had messed with these children's heads, but I found I wasn't disgusted by this action. Forgetting a year or two of your life, was certainly better than remembering it, when that time involved being kidnapped by magic people and having your energy slowly drained by weird vines.
"Savannah stepped towards the portal first with Lilly," my eyes lingered on Lilly who was looking over Savannah's shoulder at me with her big violet eyes. I waved at her. My sister stared at me for a brief moment before smiling back, then she was gone.