The Obsidian Crown, page 23
I replied, “Why don’t we go to your office first. We can discuss the plan in detail.”
“That sounds good,” she agreed and settled back in her seat.
Taylor drove to the backside of the building away from any peering eyes and parked the car. As soon as we got in the door, we closed the window shades and stood around the broken office table.
“What do you have in mind?” Hailey asked.
“I’ve been thinking about this, and the only way we can have access to my parents is basically to get caught again,” I said.
“You’re not thinking of storming the mansion?” Hailey said.
They have a lot of traps, and we barely know any magic,” Taylor said.
“I know, but I picked up a couple of things since then,” I offered. “What about I pretend to surrender and while they’re busy with me, you guys can find my parents. Once you have them out of there, I will figure out a way to escape. I will meet you at the front of the mansion.”
“Wait, what? That’s your plan? That’s a crazy plan. That’s a suicide plan!” said Taylor, alarmed.
“Unless you have a better one!” I said.
“What if you get caught, for real?” Taylor argued.
“That’s the idea.”
“No, I mean really caught! What happened to all that talk about trying to find a way to not sacrifice you?” Hailey said.
“I learned a couple of spells while I was at the Sanctuary the other night. One is a locator spell. I can teach you how to do it and you can find my parents. Don’t worry about me. That’s why we brought the Doctor here. She will help me escape while you and Hailey rescue my parents.”
“You know I don’t always side with Taylor, but, Abi, I’m with her on this one. It sounds like a suicide mission. What if she gets caught too? What if you can’t get away?”
I said, “I guess that’s a risk I’m just going to have to take. I’m sure both of you know I have to do this.”
Hailey shook her head and looked at Taylor. Then both asked the Doctor for support. Finally, Doctor McGrath shrugged and said, “Are you sure about this, Abi? It is a really dangerous plan.”
“Like I said, if anyone has a better one, I’m happy to listen.”
No one said anything.
“When?” Hailey asked.
“Tonight. We can’t wait any longer. Pretty soon they will discover we are gone from the hospital. Then they will be out hunting us down. We will not have another window,” I said.
Silence again.
“Ok, we need to let them know I am going to surrender. We should go to the Sanctuary. I know they have a way of listening in on conversations there. All we have to do is say it.”
“Hailey, Taylor, here is the book. I put markers on the spells you need to learn. Please go somewhere safe where the cops will not find you. Meet us back here later.”
“Why can’t we all go together—” Taylor began.
“Taylor, please I can’t explain everything this very second. I’m tired and I still have to figure out how I can escape. Please, just go. I’ll be ok, the Doc is with me,” I assured her.
The Doctor got up and put an arm around my shoulders. “Don’t worry. I’ll take good care of her.”
I looked at Taylor and Hailey, nodded, and said, “We should move. We don’t have much time.”
We all left the room, feeling the weight of the decision and the danger we are facing.
CHAPTER 30
Altered Identity
Doctor McGrath and I crossed the street to get close to the school gates. I saw students beginning to show up at the driveway. I looked at the time and realized it was almost four p.m. The gates will be closing soon. I was in such a hurry to do this that I didn’t realize the flaw in my plan until now. I pulled the doctor to the side of the road, far away from the school guardhouse so we wouldn’t be seen. “I don’t think they will let us in. I mean, I was just arrested earlier today. They will recognize me. And you have no business with the school, not to mention I think you still look like you need a hospital.”
“Don’t worry, I got this. Just stand still for a minute,” she told me.
The doctor closed her eyes and made a whirling circular motion of her hands while murmuring something in a low guttural sound. The wind vibrated around me, and then there was a sudden drop in temperature. I hugged myself and rubbed each arm for warmth. It was no use. I shivered at the chilly but soft and smooth gust of wind. I felt it surround us gently as a light feather would.
Doctor McGrath opened her eyes and said, “It’s glamour magic. To them, we will look like whatever it is we touched and focus on. Just stay close. My body has not fully recovered and I can only sustain this magic if I am close to the target. We just have to wait for the gate to open to let the school out. It should be any moment now.”
“No problem. I will stay right next to you,” I said, but in my mind, a nagging thought started to form once she said the words “close to the target”. I told myself I was just getting paranoid. I nodded and stayed next to her.
Soon enough, the gates opened, and the cars rolled into the school driveway to pick up their respective VIP student. Those who didn’t want to go home yet asked their drivers to wait at the curb outside the school while proceeding to their chosen after-school activities.
“C’mon. You see those two girls? Yes, the two blonde girls coming this way, As soon as they get close, we need to bump into them. Make sure you touch the one on the right. I will take the left. The glamour will pick up their image and apply it to us.
Let’s go behind the car so they don’t see us coming,” Doctor McGrath said.
Again, I nodded. She touched the bumper of the car, and she shimmered and seemed to vanish into the bumper. I stepped towards the brick wall to make sure I was closest to the girl on the right. As the girls were walking by, I saw her hand stretch from the car’s bumper and brush the girl’s leg. Immediately the doctor’s image changed to the girl’s body, hair, eyes, everything. In a split second, the doctor moved to the other side of the car for cover. I gaped, and she motioned for me to be quick because my target was about to leave the area covered by the glamour magic. I took a couple of small skips to reach the girl almost out of the circle. As soon as my fingers touched the other girl, I, too, started to change. I darted behind another car.
They both looked back in surprise from the touch.
They were both looking straight at the cars we were using as camouflage. The Doctor made a very small movement with her head which I took to mean, ‘Do not move’. I froze on the spot. I let my eyes stray to where the girls were, still wondering what was happening. One girl looked right and stared at the brick walls, then down the walkway and the cars, and said, “Did you tap my shoulder? Stop playing with me!”
“I didn’t!” responded the other girl. “I thought it was you!” She looked at her leg and decided the idea was absurd.
“Oh whatever, let’s go!” her companion said as she stormed away.
The Doctor and I breathed in deeply once the two girls were far away from us to hear it.
We got up and started to walk towards the school grounds. In my mind, I was sure we would be found out. I mean, how can you not see these two girls walking and behaving oddly? If that didn’t give it away, I was sure the thumping in my chest was loud enough to alert even the Portland police. But to my utter surprise, in a few minutes, we found ourselves at the Triangle getting ready to enter the library.
We walked straight down the hallway and into the library amid “hi” and “hellos”.
When we got inside, the Doctor closed the door behind her right away. I swiftly checked for any other students in the library. Fortunately, there were none.
The Doctor said, “Open the portal while I stand guard at the door.”
I went to the proper fireplace and said, “Volvere sanctorium.” The fire turned green.
I stuck my head around the fireplace, waved at the Doctor, and said, “Let’s go!”
She ran towards me as I went into the fire. I looked back to make sure she was right behind me.
The ride through the River of Time seemed more ominous than it had ever been. My heart raced every time a green blob caused the Doctor to be out of my sight. But the strong scent of Sampaguita told me she was close by. I felt my shoulders tightening from the stress. Time seemed to have slowed down, and the ride was far longer than what it was in the past, but I knew it was just my anxiety getting the best of me. I chastised myself for being weak and told myself to pull it together. This was no time to have a panic attack. Finally, I saw the glow of normal sunlight coming from the opening of the next portal. I couldn’t get out fast enough. I jumped out of the portal, hyperventilating. I collapsed on the couch and made sure I was facing the fireplace when Doctor McGrath arrived.
The Doctor emerged from the fire after a few moments.
I took that opportunity to get closer to the fireplace. I was hoping the warmth of the fire would fight the fear that was beginning to paralyze me.
“Are you ok, Abi? You look terribly pale. Don’t worry. We are safe here; at least for the moment,” she told me when she saw me staring at the fire.
“Thank you, Doctor McGrath, for keeping me safe,” I said.
“Of course I will keep you safe. I promised your uncle and besides, you are my patient.” She sat next to me and took my hand into hers. “I’m glad you trusted me enough to let me come with you here. I wanted to talk to you about your plan—”
I needed to stop her before she could reveal our actual plan. We were just here to let the Sorceress know I am willing to do the exchange, nothing more. So I cut her off, “Let’s not do that. I’m not changing my mind. I’ve decided to give myself up.”
“But we must, Abi. This is a very dangerous plan.” Maybe sensing I was worried she would divulge too much, she became a little more vague. “The Sorceress doesn’t strike me as someone who will be forgiving.”
“But if I agree to the deal, my parents will be freed unharmed in exchange for my life; don’t you think she will agree?” I prodded. I needed to control this conversation.
“I can’t tell you what she will or will not do. I’m just saying that going over there for any reason will be extremely risky.”
“Yes, but I don’t have any choice. This is the only way I can think of to save them.” The knowledge that this was just a ploy to trick the Sorceress into releasing my parents didn’t give me any comfort because I couldn’t shake the feeling there was a probability I could die tonight. Correction; that there was a very real possibility that my parents, my friends, and I could all die tonight. My mind couldn’t comprehend the sacrifice I was willing to exact from friends to save my family. When did I decide that it was acceptable to risk their safety for my own personal gain? How could I have convinced myself it was okay to trade lives for that of another? What if they died and I survived? At that thought, I couldn’t stop the rolling waves of emotions that hit me. My body shook from the fear of the consequences. Yet the tears that used to arrive so quickly didn’t come this time.
Doctor McGrath pulled me towards her and stroked my back to quell the trembling. “There, there...don’t you worry. It will be okay...It will be over soon.”
I took what comfort I could garner from her touch and reminded myself that despite my grief, I was here on a mission That even though I knew that by now the message had been received by those listening in on this conversation, I must continue with the pretense. I straightened up and said, “I’m sorry. I am so sorry for everything Doctor, I need your help to send the message of my surrender to the Sorceress. I need to put a note in Kieran’s locker so he can get the word across. I don’t know how else I can communicate to them that they must not harm my parents. That I will take their place and that only I know the secret of the crown.”
“Of course. Anything you need,” she said solemnly.
“We should get the glamor back on so we don’t attract attention when we go to his locker.” I stood to face her. She stood without saying a word. She got up and stepped a few paces away from me. She closed her eyes and made a whirling circular motion of her hands while murmuring like she did before.
“Done!” she announced and pointed at the mirror hanging from one of the walls. I turned around and, for the first time, saw what I looked like under the glamor spell.
We went back to the school through the library, appearing to be just two students walking in silence across the school grounds.
“Why are we putting this note again? I thought you said the sanctuary was magically bugged?” Doctor McGrath asked.
“True, but I don’t want them to know that we know it. Plus, I want to make double sure that the message gets to the Sorceress,” I answered.
When we got to the hallway, I walked towards Kieran’s locker and pulled a blank notepad from my backpack.
“If you don’t mind, I’d like to use the ladies’ room while you do that. I’ve been on a lot of liquids at the hospital, you know,” the doctor asked.
“Sure, no worries.”
She went on ahead of me to use the facilities.
I took out a pen from my pack and wrote the note, then slipped it through Kieran’s locker door. The doctor was just coming back when I finished.
I gave her a thumbs up to show I was done. She joined me, and we walked straight out of the gate without even a glance from the guards. We crossed the street and entered her wrecked office.
Hailey and Taylor showed up at the office a few minutes later.
“How did you guys do?” I asked.
“We’re going to try our best, Abi, you know we will. But these are really advanced magic for us. It’s really hard.” She did a halfway whirl with both her hands and a small blue fire formed in between, which almost immediately fizzled out. She shook her head, and her face showed frustration and disappointment. “I’m trying. I just don’t know magic, is all,” Taylor said.
“Hailey?” I asked.
“I’m afraid I’m no better. So we decided to bring other weapons.” She opened her pack to show a baseball bat.
I looked at both of them with absolute dread in my heart, but I kept my voice steady and reassuring. Although in the back of my head, I wondered if I was exposing my friends to danger they were not prepared to face. “We got this. We just need one Xana and we have her.” I looked at the doctor proudly.
“I’m not fully recovered but I think I can help,” she said.
A small dust devil started to form in our midst. The whirlpool gained momentum, and as I now expected, its speed died away, leaving a near-opaque gray cloud suspended in the air. Once again, an invisible hand wrote a message over the gray smoke in the same ornate script Hailey, and I saw before.
Hailey didn’t take a chance this time, and pulled her phone, and took a picture of the message. For good measure, I went in close to make sure I read and memorized every detail of the message.
“Go to the Broken Mansion at 8:00 p.m. tonight. You can bring Doctor McGrath to take your parents home. She needs to stay outside and wait for them. She cannot come in with you. You need to come inside the cave alone.”
The group was still staring at the spot where the message was long after the smoke had dissipated entirely. I looked at each one, trying to discern from their faces what they were thinking. I felt the palpable sense of dread and fear in the room, but I also felt the strength of my own conviction. I will see this through; I will know the truth. I will save them even if it means dying.
CHAPTER 31
You Can’t Change Fate…
We all got out of the car and proceeded with the plan.
I reached the front of the Broken Mansion. I placed my hand on the rusted gated and stood there watching the evening sky start to cover the mansion in darkness. I thought it peculiar that silhouetted against the setting sun, the house truly outlined two halves of a broken heart. I don’t know why, but now more than any other moment we spent in this place, I felt the pang of betrayal. I knew that every step I took from that point forward would be an act of disloyalty. And every moment got me closer and closer to the inevitability I cannot allow myself to consider, much less accept.
I looked at the steps leading into the mansion’s interior, and retraced the footprints on the dust we made just a couple of days ago. The doctor is too far to see anymore, this vantage point was too steep, and the thicket obscured everything down below. I turned around and continued. The sitting room was exactly as I remembered, but I didn’t even bother to take in the details. I went straight to the middle of the room, where I know my fate would be waiting for me.
The glamour magic of the room gave way to the reality of the alternate dimension of the Netherworld. The darkness of the cave replaced the warmth of the seating room. The jagged edges of the chasm penetrated not just the mansion but the very fabric of this part of the Nether. Once again, I felt the piercing stab of ache in my chest. A sliver of light from the waxing moon sliced through the thick darkness of the cavern. I gazed and marveled at the gaping hole up above. I could not help but think what the owners must have felt to bear the weight of treachery and duplicity. I kept walking slowly into the void.
Despite the coldness of the cave, beads of perspiration started to form at the base of my neck, and cold sweat trickled down my back. My hands were trembling violently; I thought it best to put them inside my pockets. I kept walking forward even though my mind was screaming for me to run away. Run! Run! I swallowed hard and pushed it all down, and faced her.
“You are very brave to come in here alone.” The voice of the Sorceress rang melodically within the chamber.
“You said to come alone,” I said as defiantly as I could, but my voice faltered. “So I did,” I followed up meekly.
