The WishKeeper (The Paragonia Chronicles) (21 page)

“Yes sir.”

“I have to go. This is…” Miranda pulled away from Grayson and headed to the front door. The lights were still out and even though Erebus’ fog was gone, the winter storm was continuing its assault.

“You’re not going out in this. And I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but there are fairies in our house!” Grayson rushed to the door and blocked her exit.

“This isn’t real. It’s a dream or nightmare or something! I have to go.”

“Miranda, just wait!”

“Don’t go out there. Please!” Thane yelled and flew into the faces of the WishMakers. “This is real. All of it. Believe me. I wish it wasn’t.”

“Just sit for a second. I’ll get more candles,” Grayson said as he walked a panicked Miranda to the couch.

Floating back down to Beren, Elanor was slowly and painfully waking up. “Is she OK?” asked Thane.

Carefully wrapping his arms around his wife, Beren helped Elanor sit up. He brushed the hair out of her face and wiped beads of sweat from her brow. Blinking awake and through the haze, Elanor’s eyes were completely clear of the fog. While slightly bloodshot, they were clear and white - a welcomed reprieve from the recent madness. Shea’s blast against her mother’s chest, mixed with the pure white light of the Keepers outside, cured her mother of whatever curse had befallen her. At least for now. Beren had sworn to never come back for her, but when she looked him in the eyes, he knew never returning was the true mistake.

“Ellie. Ellie, we have to go,” he whispered.

Elanor pulled her husband in close and wrapped a tight, desperate yet thankful hug around him. Deep down she always wished he would return and help her fight this curse, this disease. Quickly she remembered everything. “Shea. The gates! Oh Beren, she can’t leave and he knows!”

“Some of the gates may still be open. Come on,” Beren softly replied as he helped her up.

“What do you mean? Shea broke each rule. How are the gates…?” Thane asked, confused.

“Stay with the Makers, Thane. Debrief them on everything. The Gates are closing, but there may be a few that haven’t yet. We’re beyond repairing what Shea has done. The Makers might as well know what’s going on. We’ll bring Shea back. I promise.”

Thane watched his general help Elanor walk. Picking her up in his arms, Beren lifted off and flew out through the hole in the back door.

With a deep breath, Thane turned toward Grayson and Miranda. They stared back in confused wonder.

“Oh boy.”

30

Safe And Sound

Beren helped Elanor to the top of a tall pine. They surveyed the forest in front of them, looking for any sign of their daughter. A soft red glow pulsed from within the woods a few hundred yards to the north. Shea was close.

“There. That wasn’t a gate,” Elanor said, pointing.

“There are gates all over this area,” Beren said, studying the surrounding forest. “Right now, it’s like a mine field. We don’t know which ones will go off or when. We have to hurry. Can you make it that far without my help?

“My daughter is out there. Of course I can.”

Beren nodded and turned to go, but Elanor tugged on his arm. “How much time do I have?”

He looked in Elanor’s eyes and while they were still clear, a faint hint of blackness swirled in the corners.

“It was barely a half hour last time, but that blast was pretty strong,” he said, trying to stay confident.

“I’ve been waking up at night. Not knowing where I am or how I got there. It lasts for longer and longer each time.”

“It’s lifting. We may have more time then I thought,” Beren said with even more confidence.

“If I turn before we find her…“

“We’re going to beat this, Ellie.”

She pulled her husband’s face in close. “Every day I lose my family, even when I’m alone. I can’t go through it again.”

“We’ll find her.”

Unable to hold back, Beren kissed Elanor. It was their first kiss in a decade and Elanor didn’t want to let go. She had forgotten the flames of such a fire and how they burned so easily through any kind of fear or doubt. When he pulled away, she knew that this would be the last time she would ever allow the curse to affect her, even if it meant saying goodbye forever.

Elanor readied her wand and aimed it at a far off tree, preparing to grapple. They nodded and Beren took off. She swung and propelled herself through the air, staying close to her husband. About to swing and catch another branch, an explosion like a supernova went off a few feet to her right and her whole world was ablaze with a powerful golden light.

The light rippled through the forest and quickly vanished. The storm halted and for just a moment, all was quiet and still and then a brilliant white flash flooded Elanor’s vision.

*       *       *       *

Elanor knelt at Shea’s bedside. Barely seven years of age, Shea dangled her little legs over the edge of the feather bed, and Elanor was removing soft white socks from her delicate feet.

“Shea, you really must get used to being barefoot. Fairies don’t need to wear boots, honey.”

She tugged and pulled a sock away from her dancing toes and playfully said, “Ahh” as if to show how nice it feels to let them breathe.

“See? Feels good to let your feet get some air, doesn’t it?”

“Mom?”

Elanor did the same ‘Ahh’ with the second sock and smiled at Shea.

“Can I have a little brother? Please? Even a little sister would be OK.”

“We’ve been over this, honey. It’s not so easy,” Elanor said as she tucked Shea’s wings back and placed her head on the pillow.

“I just want someone to play with. That’s all.”

“I know, but listen,” Elanor pulled the feathered blanket up to Shea’s chin. “I don’t ever want you to feel alone. Your Dad and I will always be here. I promise. OK?”

“Mom?”

Before blowing out the bedside candle, Elanor turned with one last smile. Beren’s voice, filtered and frail, echoed through the room. She stared at Shea lying in bed, but her husband’s voice kept calling.

“Elanor!”

*       *       *       *

His voice was weak and distant as he crawled through the snow. The storm rolled back through and Beren couldn’t see Elanor, or much of anything else for that matter. Blood leaked from his forehead as he continued to search and call out his wife’s name. The wind trapped and vanquished his yells. Gripping the bark of a tree for support, he leaned, out of breath and desperate until finally he spotted her.

She was lying in the frozen snow, bleeding and having difficulty catching her breath. He fell to her, wrapping his arms around her.

“Hey. Hey! Stay with me.”

“Shea…you have to…“

“Easy. Relax. Just relax. You’re OK.”

“Do you remember…the last time…you found me?” she asked through struggled breaths.

“I remember every time,” he said.

“Don’t stop looking. Please.”

Her eyes swirled with a flicker of darkness. She could feel it and blinked, trying to ward off the impending curse.

“I’ll always find you. You understand?”

“Thank you for keeping her safe,” she said. Looking over his shoulder, she cracked a smile. “Looks like…you and Shea will have something…to talk about.”

He looked and noticed his wing. It wasn’t completely broken, though a noticeable, large chunk had been ripped out of it from the blast.

“Finally,” he replied with a smile. “Come on. This isn’t over yet.”

He lifted her up through the pain. They stood holding on to each other as the wind and snow whirled through the dark forest.

31

Shea’s Choice

The storm had grown into a whiteout blizzard. Shea could barely see through the thick, blowing flakes as she grappled from tree to tree. Stopping within an evergreen, she huddled against a thick branch with the True Love Wish secure in her arms - and cried. There had been plenty of tears through the years, mostly of the frustrated and angry kind, but these were different. There had been a deep, bottomless pit within which she had placed each thought of regret and sorrow she had ever had, and each revolved around the fear that somehow she was responsible for everything awful that had ever happened to her, to her father and to her lost mother. These tears were from that deepest part of her heart’s chasm and she felt that they may never stop. She couldn’t fight the feeling that maybe she shouldn’t stop crying. That maybe she deserved these tears and crying was a way to punish the broken-winged, handicapped fairy that would never become a Keeper.

The True Love Wish pushed itself against Shea and nestled its warmth firmly to her chest. Though it was a slow evolution of a feeling, Shea choked on her gasping tears and looked at the loving wish. It’s big, round eyes looked up at her as if to say it was OK to cry. That it was OK to have regret and that it was OK to feel a sense of loss. A soft red glow surrounded them as they sat along the branch and the wind blew icy snow through the surrounding forest. While whatever was waiting for her on the other side of the evergreen’s branches was danger personified, she felt a rising awareness of her mission. A mission that she needed to successfully complete.

BOOM! An explosion rocked the forest and trees around her, sending ripples of golden light throughout. The gates were exploding shut, one by one, and Shea quickly realized her time was running out.

“You’re with me now. We’re gonna be alright. Can you help me find a gate?” Shea said to the wish as she wiped the tears away. It beamed a bit brighter, sensing Shea’s growing confidence. “OK, little wish. It’s time to go home.”

Aiming her wand through the branches, she charged it up, ready to connect a grappling spell to a neighboring tree. As she was about to fire, a rush of black fog swept beneath her and swirled through the woods. The wish wiggled in panic and Shea knew she wasn’t alone.

Trying to maintain balance, Shea crept to the edge of the branch and aimed her wand. Blasting a grapple to a nearby tree, she latched on and swung herself over. Landing on another branch, she lost her footing and slipped on the icy bark. Trying to grab on to whatever she could as she slipped, she dropped her wand, and fell.

Crashing to the snow below, it being harder than it looked, she somehow kept the wish tight in her arms, but her pack and goggles were lost somewhere in the blowing snow. Her head was throbbing from the fall, but she didn’t have time to feel any pain. She was out in the open and wandless. The True Love Wish beamed a soft glow to help navigate as she crawled.

A black wind rushed and circled around her, followed by a deep, foreboding laugh. Panic set in as she searched for her wand, clawing at the frozen snow. There! She lunged for it just as the fog thickened.

Behind Shea, Erebus slowly rose from the darkness and formed into a tall, black-hooded shadow. Shea spun on her knees and aimed her wand, but he only floated closer, daring her to fire.

KABOOM! Another gate exploded a few hundred feet away, sending ripples of golden light through the forest once again. Erebus wasn’t fazed and only smiled as he slightly bent over Shea. The True Love Wish wiggled and pushed itself as close to Shea as possible.

“Desperation. A hero’s worst enemy. And it looks like we have a new hero,” he said, taunting.

“Stay away!” Shea yelled, waving her little wand.

“But why would you want me to stay away? One who can give you all you’ve ever asked for. Grant all of your wishes.”

“I don’t want my wishes granted. I only want this wish…”

“Stop fooling yourself!” he yelled. “This isn’t about that wish, Shea Evenstar.”

Her red hair whipped in the wind as the wish cowered in her arms. She gripped it tighter.

“You’re an outcast. No one has ever accepted you as you expect to be. Your own mother doesn’t even believe in you.”

“Stop it!”

“And what about dear old Dad? Do you think he’ll grant your wishes? He gave up on you years ago. You’re what? Nothing more than a liability.”

“Go away!” she gasped through gushing tears and sprinted through the forest, pushing against the storm. It was useless as Erebus swirled a tornado of snow and ice around her, knocking her to the ground. The wind howled and Shea gave up, falling and hugging the little Wish in her arms.

“How did you expect to escape? Through a gate? Even if they weren’t being blown apart by your foolishness, you’re not a WishKeeper, Shea. And you never will be,” he said as he leaned closer.

“I am a WishKeeper! I can grant this!” she screamed.

“Then let me help you prove them wrong, Shea. You can be the WishKeeper you’ve always wished to be.”

Erebus pulled back and held out both of his hands, palms up. Images slowly materialized above them, flickering to life. Shea looked at the images, swiveling her head back and forth. What was this magic? What was he doing?

The visions formed and Shea suddenly knew what he was presenting her. Two options. Above one palm was a ghostly image of Grayson and Miranda hugging, kissing, as happy as she had ever seen two WishMakers. Above his other palm was a bright blue and pink image of Shea - flying. Her wings were perfect, beautiful. Wind rushed against her ecstatic face. Two separate versions of happiness - Grayson and Miranda on the left, and her own on the right.

“No,” Shea choked. “It’s not real and it’s not…”

“Oh, it’s possible,” Erebus cut in. “But both are not. It’s one or the other, my little Shea. Your mother made a choice once. And you remember how that turned out.”

   The image of Shea flying quickly changed to her as a little fairy crying in bed. She was lying on her stomach, both of her shredded wings protruding from her back, ugly, charred, skeletal. The little fairy girl crying uncontrollably in her bed, alone, hugging her pillow.

“Do you think everything will change, Shea? That suddenly you will be accepted by your worthless peers and allowed into the Keeper force? That Paragonia will be saved and all will be well again. Whose Paragonia are you saving? The world you live in will still be bereft of any hope to fly again. It won’t be the Paragonia you loved to see from above. Your one and only wish to fly will still never be granted and you will forever be chained to the ground.”