JOURNEY INTO THE REALM: The Spell Master (Journey into the Realm Series) (21 page)

When we reunited with Kalani at the edge of the forest, I didn’t hesitate to tell her that I didn’t want to go home. She readily agreed, but Nathan was reluctant to the idea.

“You should rest after everything that’s happened today. Your sister is probably worried to the point of ripping her own hair out, and –”

“Zora’s leaving,” I blurted.

“Ah, so the crazy sister finally makes her dramatic exit?” he speculated.

“Yeah. She’s running away to Tarlore so she doesn’t have to face Stellan.” I sighed. “I can’t be around her. I know it’s probably selfish of me…but I need some time. Time to adjust to everything that’s changed these past few hours. New hair color. Passing out. Zora’s bombshell. Element fairy attacks….”

Nathan’s hand started for my head. “Wait – new hair color?”

“Don’t touch,” I said, taking a step back. “All will be explained.”

His hand dropped to his side. “Maybe you’re right. You need some time. And I need some answers,” he added.

“Sounds like a visit to the tree is in order,” I decided.

“As long as we stop for a meal on the way,” Nathan insisted. “We are both in definite need of nourishment.”

As if to prove his point, my stomach grumbled loudly on cue. “All right, sounds like a plan. And you need to get cleaned up. You’re a mess,” I reminded him. He was still covered in dirt.

He grinned. “I’m not a mess. I look like a hero,” he boasted proudly, his bright smile a huge contrast to the dirt smudging his cheeks.

“A hero who needs a bath,” I joked.

He sighed lightheartedly. “We’ll compromise. I’ll clean up, you’ll grab the food, and then we’ll head to the tree.”

Kalani growled, voicing her own agreement. We climbed onto her back and rode to Birchwood City, leaving the earth fairy behind.

I would definitely meet enemies like her in the future, but now I could count on Nathan to keep me safe. I could count on my Spell Master.

***

Our dinner consisted of bakery bread, strips of salted beef, and slices of cheese: the essential sandwich elements for the perfect meal in a tree. Kalani feasted on her own slab of meat nearby, keeping a lookout for Razi in case Zora sent her out to bring me home. Nathan and I ate before any serious discussions started. Nathan called it “nourishment first.” I called it “stalling before I finally gave him the answers he deserved.”

Our meal vanished far too quickly. As the spotlight (or rather, moonlight) rested on my shoulders, I was again at a loss for words. Where to begin? How far should I go back? With Finn’s note? My dreams? What did Nathan really want to hear?

“Start at the beginning,” he said…as if it were that simple.

I gave a long sigh of frustration. “I’m not supposed to start anywhere. Zora told me not to…made me promise…”

“Since when do you listen to your sister? If you did, we wouldn’t be so…” He gestured between us. “…close.”

I sighed. He was right. “Okay, but it’s a lot,” I warned him, still attempting to stall. “The beginning alone will probably take forever to explain….”

“Then you should start now,” he suggested, catching on to my game. “We’re wasting moonlight.”

“Promise you won’t run away from me because of all the danger I’m in?”

He shook his head. “I can’t believe your faith in me is that low.”

I sighed. “I’m sorry. I just – I need to be able to trust you with this. With Stellan away at war…and Addison in Tarlore…and Zora being…
difficult
…you are the only elf in my life I hope I can trust.”

His gaze focused on me, beautiful and unwavering. “You can trust me. Go ahead and tell me everything, and I won’t leave.” His hand grasped mine, and I wasn’t nervous any longer. After the first couple of reluctant sentences, it all came pouring out.

I realized throughout my storytelling that he knew most of what I was going through already. I just had to fill in the gaps. Like Finn’s note, my back pain, the bounty Vortigern had placed, my weird color-changing hair, and my dreams.

I thought I would feel relieved. I mean, giving away personal details of my life always felt right with Nathan. But the look on his face dampened my spirits.

“What you’re experiencing is far from normal stressful events, Ramsey,” he said, his mouth forming a hard line.

I tugged at an oak leaf until the stem broke, wishing his reaction would have been a bit more optimistic. “I
know
.”

“I don’t think you understand.” He took a deep breath. “Elves don’t dream, Ramsey.”

I dropped the oak leaf and watched it flutter down until it was just a tiny speck in the grass. “I’ve always had dreams, Nathan. I don’t remember a time when I slept without dreaming.”

“See, that’s highly unusual. When elves sleep, they go into a kind of trance. Time passes instantly. Dreaming does not occur. It’s basically a recharging of your energy,” he explained.

I clasped my hands in my lap. “Then why do I dream?”

“I don’t know,” he admitted.

We sat in silence, and for the first time we both felt awkward. I recalled how many times I had been close to telling someone about my dreams since coming to the Elf Realm. What if I had mentioned it to someone like Zora or Stellan? Would they have understood, sat calmly and listened like Nathan had? I felt my hands begin to shake, noting the significance of this moment.

“What am I going to do?” I asked quietly.

Nathan put his hands over mine to stop them from quivering. “We’ll figure something out.”

“I’m scared, Nathan. I don’t know what’s happening to me.”

“I know.”

I shivered again, on the verge of tears. But I pushed down my fears as the perfect solution began to surface. “The trunk,” I whispered.

Nathan was completely perplexed. “What trunk?”

“I have a trunk in my room that was locked by a Spell Master, probably my father. I have reason to believe it has something to do with my secret. Maybe whatever’s inside will explain what’s going on.” I pictured the old wooden box resting next to my bed and couldn’t resist a smile. “It needs to be opened.”

“And you want my help?”

“If you’ll help me,” I said flatly.

“Of course I will,” he told me. “But we need a key.”

“Why? Can’t you just use a spell?”

He shook his head. “No, the spells elves use are more complicated than ones you’ve read about in fairy tales.”

“How so?”

“When performing a spell, a Spell Master must have something to represent the task he or she is trying to perform. So for an unlocking spell, a key is necessary. Then to make the task occur, you need to say a certain word while holding the object in your hands. For this particular brand of spell, it would simply be ‘unlock.’”

“That seems easy enough,” I said.

“Once you’ve had practice. It takes skill to have the right tone in your voice. You must be strong mentally to complete a spell.”

I nodded, understanding him now. “I get it. But how do we find a key in a city that has no keys?” I asked. “Elves don’t use locks.”

“That is a very good question,” he remarked.

I groaned and leaned back against the tree. I put my hands over my eyes and sighed. “Now what do we do?”

“Wait! Didn’t you say you dreamt of a key recently?”

“Yeah. A brass key that hung on an apple tree branch in Aaliyah’s orchard,” I recalled.

“Maybe that’s the key.”

I grimaced, not entirely convinced. “It was just a dream.”

“Maybe it wasn’t just a dream. Maybe that’s why you’re able to have dreams, and the key is supposed to be a sign.”

“I don’t know…”

“We don’t have any other plans.”

He was right. This was our only possible lead. Learning my secret could potentially keep me out of danger. Knowledge was power, as they said in the Human Realm. I needed power to combat any future Element fairy attacks.

“Tomorrow, then,” I decided. “After school, when there’s enough light to see the key…that is, if there even is a key.”

But there had to be, because I needed to figure out my secret in order to understand what was happening to me. This was a real chance to discover who I was…and what I had become.

***

I slept only for an hour or two, but there was still enough time for the meadow dream to squeeze its way into my subconscious. If the dream had anything to do with my secret, I would soon know why. Today the trunk would finally open.
Hopefully
.

Zora left for Tarlore with little more than a quick hug goodbye and the assurance that her leaving was for the best. I didn’t mention what had occurred the previous night. Nathan knew, and that was enough for me. He was ready to help me, while Zora hadn’t lifted one finger to help for months. Her final opportunity to confess the truth about my secret vanished as she closed the door behind her.

I was left standing alone in an empty house, praying that the trunk would be enough.

***

“Dehydrated? Really?” Ellie asked, totally unconvinced by the lie I had just told to cover up the reason I left school early yesterday.

“Uh, yeah, so Nathan took me home. I was really, um, out of it,” I said, barely managing to finish the sentence.

I could feel my palms begin to sweat. My excuses were always so lame. Why couldn’t Nathan be in my history class? He always thought of believable excuses.

“Are you sure you didn’t just want to spend some alone time with your Spell Master?” Ellie wondered, raising a slender eyebrow and grinning mischievously.

I could literally
feel
my face turning red. “No, of course not. Zora said I was probably right – about the dehydration. I never drink enough water,” I stuttered.

At the same time I was questioning myself as to whether or not elves could even be dehydrated. I didn’t know one thing about elfin health concerns. Maybe that should have been one of my electives. I could certainly use the knowledge for future excuses….

Pathetic. I was just
so
completely and utterly pathetic I could barely stand it.

“I see,” Ellie replied. She still didn’t believe me. I didn’t exactly blame her.

But Janie – sweet, good-natured Janie – simply hugged my shoulders and said, “I’m just glad you are all right, Ramsey.”

“Thanks,” I replied gratefully, loving her so much at that moment but also feeling horribly guilty for taking advantage of her kindness.

This day just had to end. Once the school day was over, everything would be
fine
.

Unless I didn’t find the key. In that case, nothing would be fine.

Either way, this was going to be a very long day.

Thankfully, no one had a chance to pursue the subject of my illness any further. Lady Celine began the day’s lecture. I was glad she didn’t ask me anything about my disappearance yesterday. Instead, she focused on the class lesson. We learned about elf characteristics that were not physical. Hearing about the “no dreams” part only confirmed what Nathan had told me.

Elves didn’t dream, and they didn’t sleep for more than four hours each night. I knew I had slept longer than that before, especially lately.

What did that have to do with my secret?

***

Lord Clark could see I had trouble focusing during ability class. I could hardly keep my wall up for more than a minute. I wanted to focus, but my mind kept slipping off to thoughts about the trunk and the key. Not even thinking of Nathan could make things better. Finally, he told me to take a break and rest for the remainder of class. Aimee wanted to sit with me to make sure I was all right, but Lord Clark said I needed time alone. I was surprised that he understood how I felt, even though he had no idea what kind of situation I was actually involved in. Elves and their intuition…it never ceased to amaze me.

When I walked into self-defense, I immediately sought out Nathan. I spotted him talking with Tavis and went over to join them.

“Have you been going crazy all day? I know I have,” I muttered, crossing my arms against my chest.

“I know what you mean. But we’ll leave for the orchard right after school, once we put away the horses,” he said.

“Sounds like a plan,” I agreed. I shuffled my feet anxiously and looked down.

“Hey.” Nathan lifted my chin up. “We
will
find the key.”

“I hope so.”

“We will.”

“I’m glad at least one of us has faith,” I said.

“You’ll see. I’m winning this one.”

“So this is a competition now?” I asked.

“It always is.” He winked.

I laughed. “You think you are so amazing.”

He pushed a strand of pale hair behind my pointy ear. “No, I just think this time – this time, you’re going to find what you’ve been looking for.”

I swallowed and had to remind myself that he was referring to my secret, not to himself.

***

My last class meant one more hour before I left with Nathan for the orchard. One more hour until our search could officially start. One more hour before the details of my secret could possibly begin to unravel.
One more hour.

Lord Asher began our lesson on mermaids as soon as class started. The topic was interesting but not enough to keep my full attention. I found myself drifting quite often into my own swarm of thoughts. I kept seeing the image of the key in my mind. I felt that it was implanted there forever.

I could see that Nathan sensed my impatience. Every now and then, he looked over at me and shook his head. I probably looked like a three year old about to pick out her first puppy. But I didn’t want a puppy. I wanted a key.

I couldn’t believe myself, but when the bell sounded, I said “finally” a little too loudly. Lord Asher looked at me and frowned.

“Boring class today, Ramsey?”

My eyes widened.
Oh crap
.

“No, no that’s not it at all,” I said. I saw Nathan cover his face with his hands. How would I get out of this one? “I’m just very excited to get home. You see, I’m going someplace with a friend. We’ve wanted to go for a while…and now we have the chance.”

“Who is this friend you speak of?” Lord Asher asked.

“Me, sir,” Nathan said.

I sighed in relief. Nathan had come to my rescue once again. Thank God!

Lord Asher gave him a sympathetic glance. Did he feel sorry for Nathan because he was spending time with obnoxiously loud me? My face burned. “Ah, well have a good time. Next time try to be a little quieter when class lets out, all right, Ramsey?”

“I will, sir, I promise,” I replied. I tried to sound sweet, but my voice came out all high-pitched and squeaky.

Nathan and I hurried out the door, leaving Lord Asher to shake his head and pack up his things.

“Great job back there,” Nathan said when we walked out the school doors.

I moaned. “Sorry! It just…slipped out.”

“Did you ever think of using an inside voice?” he asked with a chuckle.

I rolled my eyes. “I’ll remember that next time.”

“See that you do.”

We saddled our horses and sprinted back to Birchwood as fast as our mares could manage. It was reassuring to have beautiful fields surrounding us as we neared the city. Grass sparkled in the noon sunlight, and a slight breeze made the wildflowers ripple as though they were dancing. It seemed our horses were galloping to the beat of some kind of rhythm. Everything around us was alive and cheering us on, as if nature wanted me to finally learn my secret.

We quickly dismounted after reaching the city and traveled on foot to the orchard. On the way, Nathan kept my mind off things by telling me about his ability class. He explained how far ahead he was compared to most of the students, the spells he was learning, and the difficulty level and energy it took to complete accelerated spells. He knew exactly how to distract me. All he had to do was talk about school or just stare at me with those big emerald eyes….

He urged me to tell him about my ability class then, so I told him about my wall block and how it stopped my ability from starting every time I held both of someone’s hands. I also mentioned that we had to choose a thought to help us focus. When he asked me what I thought about, I chose not to answer. Obviously.

“Come on, you can tell me,” he urged.

“No, it’s embarrassing,” I muttered.

“It can’t be that bad!” he insisted.

“Oh, it is,” I assured him.

He frowned. “So now you’re keeping things from me? I thought we were friends.”

“Don’t play the friend card with me, Nathan. That isn’t fair. What I think about is my business and my business only.”

“Whatever you say. But I’ll find out eventually,” he vowed.

I smirked. “I’d like to see you try.”

He smiled and winked. I rolled my eyes. Our usual exchange.

“So what do you think your secret is?” he asked.

Sighing, I ran my hands through my hair to quell my rising frustration. “I honestly don’t know. All I know is that it has something to do with the war. I mean, I have a few theories, but none seem to make enough sense to me.”

“You know it has to be important, though; otherwise, no Element fairy would care.”

“I know that.”

“Is that why you’re so nervous?”

“Yep,” I replied.

Nathan knew how I thought most of the time, how my mind worked. Sometimes I admired this ability, but other times I found myself questioning whether Stellan knew me as well, and I would grow weary.

“Whatever it is, you need to be prepared to accept the changes that will come with it,” he remarked.

I agreed. I believed my secret would transform me completely. I wondered who I would be after all was revealed. Would I change for the better…or would I go downhill?

At last we stood in front of the orchard. My stomach dropped as it would on a roller coaster ride, and I started sweating from fear and nervousness. The key to my secret was only a few trees away.
Literally
.

“Ready?” Nathan asked.

“I…I…don’t know.”

Nathan took my hand in his. “You’re ready,” he assured me.

I smiled, grateful for his support. I nodded. I took a deep breath…and released.

“I’m ready.”

We stepped forward into the orchard. I remembered seeing the key resting on a Golden Delicious apple tree branch. We headed in the direction of the apple trees and then narrowed our search to strictly golden apples. We split up to cover more ground, but we were never more than a call away from each other, just in case someone found the key or came across an Element fairy.

We searched every Golden Delicious apple tree we could find but didn’t see a key. By the end of our hunt, we were tired, sweating, and our legs and feet ached. I lost hope. Now what would we do? How could we open the trunk without a key?

“It has to be here,” I said.

“It has to be,” Nathan agreed. “Let’s search again. Maybe we missed it.”

I wasn’t optimistic, but I agreed to Nathan’s idea. It was worth another shot. We started again, but this time we traded areas just in case one of us
had
missed the key the first time. I was ducking under branches and inspecting every tree closely, when I heard a whistling noise behind me. I whirled around to see Mac, my gnome friend, standing before me. I smiled bleakly through my exhaustion and hopelessness.

“Ramsey, what are you doin’ out here in that state?” he asked.

“I’m looking for something,” I told him, wiping the back of my hand across my forehead.

“What kind of something? Fruit?” He chuckled heartily, grabbing his plump stomach. “There be plenty of that all around you!” He gestured to the trees.

“No, not fruit!” I laughed, despite being so upset. The little gnome was quite a character. “I’m looking for a key that is supposed to be hanging on a Golden Delicious apple tree branch.”

“A key?” His eyes widened. “Well, you don’t say!”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“I have me a key! I found it earlier today on a tree branch! Shiny little thing, it is.”

“Where is it?” I asked. The fire of hope was now burning inside of me once again, strong and bright.

“Right here.” He took a black string from his pocket.

At the end hung the brass key from my dream.

“Oh my God! That’s it!” I cried, staring at it hungrily, hardly believing my eyes.

“Really?” He inspected it closely, his brow furrowed and his eyes narrowed. “This what you be lookin’ for?”

“Yes!” I cried. “Can I have it?”

“If you were lookin’ for it first, I guess I gotta give you it. I don’t have much use for keys anyhow. I just kept it ‘cuz I found it.” He handed me the key.

It felt warm and tingled slightly in my palm. I had the weird feeling that this key had found its rightful place. It sparkled in the sunlight and the bronze finish shone. I hugged the key to my chest and thanked God that I finally had the object within my grasp.

“Thank you so much, Mac. You don’t know how much this means to me.”

“Should I know?” he asked.

“I prefer to keep this under wraps for now,” I admitted.

Even though I knew I could trust Mac, I still didn’t want anyone else to know about the trunk and the key until I knew everything myself.

His voice fell to a whisper. “Does the elf you’re traveling with know?”

“Yeah, he’s a good friend of mine,” I explained.

“Good, because I was afraid he was followin’ you or somethin’ strange like that. You never know with magical folks. Always up to their tricks. Me, I prefer the underground where everything’s natural and earthy.”

Mac tended to go off on a tangent. I had to stop him before he trapped me in one of his long stories about his travels. Not that they weren’t enjoyable, but I had other plans. “Well, thank you again. I have to find my friend and get back home.” I waved and began to walk away.

“Wait!” he called.

I lingered near an apple tree until he caught up to me. His kind face had turned deadly serious. “There be fairy folk around this orchard for some time, Ramsey. Thought you should know.”

At that moment, every ounce of happiness gained by finding the key vanished, replaced with a cold sense of dread.

“I’ve seen ’em. More than once I’ve found sheet music and heard the flutter of their wings. Element fae, they be.”

Element fairies had invaded the orchard. Many of them, if Mac’s story was accurate. I felt my legs getting weaker as he spoke.

“How many Element fairies have you seen?” I asked, hoping one of them was the earth fairy Nathan killed last night.

“Two of them.”

“What color were they?” I asked. “What kind?”

“Both fire fairies,” he said.

I started to feel faint and grabbed a nearby branch to steady myself. Two Element fairies had come to the orchard more than once and could be here right now. I had to know my secret. It was now or never. I had to get away from the orchard before they came for me.

“I need to leave now, Mac. It’s not safe for me here.”

“I understand. Hurry along,” he instructed.

“You could come and stay with me. You would be safer,” I offered.

“Nah, don’t worry about me. The fairies don’t mind the gnomes or dwarves. Remember, we are neutral in this sorta thing.”

“Okay, but keep an eye out, all right?” I asked.

“Sure,” he agreed.

I nodded and walked off in search of Nathan. I called his name and started to worry when he didn’t respond, but then his form appeared between two apple trees. When he saw me waving, he ran over and smiled widely when he saw the key, but then he saw my expression and quickly asked why I wasn’t celebrating. I summarized Mac’s story and urged him to follow me out of the orchard. Key in hand, we hurried home to learn the secret that first took me from the Elf Realm and then brought me back again.