These Lying Eyes (29 page)

“Max…” Mina whispered, clutching at where her locket hung.

“Mina,” Charlie’s ever kind voice was concerned, “What’s the problem?”

He glanced towards Hailey who looked a little harassed, but Mina guessed her fear was too clear for Charlie to ignore even with Hailey irritated.

Even still, Mina didn’t respond. She took her locket and rushed into the tent.

She threw her coat over the hoodie she wore.

She was through the hammocks and into the trees as Max yelled, “Give me two minutes!”

He ran for his things.

Mina paced as she waited. Hailey was speaking, but Mina couldn’t hear her over the thudding of blood in her ears.

Charlie and Hailey whispered together, and then Charlie ran after Max.

Mina saw Max, followed by Charlie, race back across the field. They were both carrying jackets, and Charlie had one for Hailey.

Max held a flashlight, but he didn’t turn it on as they stood in the maze of the orchard. Clouds covered the moon and darkness covered them like a cloak.

“What’s going on?” Hailey demanded. They were weaving through tents, avoiding fires and questions, seeing only the dark forms of the other campers.

Charlie and Hailey looked at Mina and Max as if they’d lost their minds. But Charlie was pulling a second flashlight from his pocket, while Hailey zipped up her coat and followed them into the woods.

Mina was controlled by an uncanny whisper. It pulled her towards the far path around the lake. The one that led deep into the National Forest and was rarely used.

“Mina,” Charlie called after her as she took on a slow jog, swerving only to avoid one of the adults checking the tents.

Mina didn’t pause for either of them. She whispered under her breath as she ran.
Please God, please God, please God, please God.
She ran past the fire where some aunts and uncles were murmuring.

“Where are you going?” one demanded.

“Snype hunting.” Max said when the others just waved.

“Idiots,” they scoffed, but no one protested.

Mina raced ahead, called on by that whisper and the way her heart beat Sa-rah, Sa-rah, Sa-rah. Yet, her certainty faded the deeper into the woods she went. She paused at the trailhead by the lake. The voice came again from deeper into the forest, farther down that path.

Mina.

The voice quivered, and her heart skipped a beat. Had she failed Sarah already? Was it for nothing?

Mina listened, muscles tense, ears reaching.

Nothing.

Mina’s stomach tightened.

“It’z time for the locket,” Hitch said.

“Erik is dancing on the beach with Felicity and her friends.” Zizi appeared out of the darkness from over the lake.

“What is going on?” Hailey demanded.

Mina looked up from the dirt, glanced around, and realized they were alone.

Four humans. Three sprites.

Alone against the witch who’d taken Sarah.

* * *

Mina opened her silver locket, tilted it towards the moonlight, took hold of her magic, Max handed her a pocket knife. She pricked her finger and spread it over the locket.

“Gross.” Hailey stepped away from Mina when she knelt down to focus.

Grasp your magic.

She searched for her fire, for the wind. Her practice hadn’t been for nothing, and she had it in a moment.

Focus your intent.

Mina focused hall of her will on the image of her sister. Mina had to find her sister.

Execute the spell.

Mina rubbed her blood into the locket again, just in case, and said her sister’s name clearly.

“Um, what are you doing?” Hailey looked from Charlie to Max to Mina, and her face was shocked and disgusted.

“I guess she doesn’t know,” Max said.

“We figured that out a long time ago. Back when Hailey wasn’t so evil.” Poppy said to him. Max grinned at the sprite. He’d only been able to see and hear them for a few days.

He held his hand towards Mina. She took hold, and he pulled her to her feet. Their fingers wove together as the spell took effect. Light was building around the locket. Slowly at first, but faster and faster until Sarah’s face—a transparent, brilliant image—glowed before them. The image curled in on itself until it was a ball about the size of a baseball. It bobbed before them, moving a few feet forward and then back.

“How did you do that?” Charlie demanded. He reached his hand towards the light, but Mina stopped him; she didn’t know what touching the spell would do, and they were
not
going to mess things up.

“Is this a trick?” Hailey moved towards them again. She didn’t try to touch the light, but her face was awed.

“Magic’s real. The sprites were always real. You’re a witch. Surprise,” Mina said quickly.

Max and Mina started after the light.

“What,” Hailey grabbed Mina’s arm, “is going on?”

“I don’t have time to explain. Come or don’t, but don’t hold me up.”

“What are you doing?” Charlie asked Max.

“I’m going with Mina,” Max said simply.

“Where?” Charlie persisted.

“We’re going to find Sarah.”

Mina didn’t wait for them to discuss it out. She took off.

“I’m gonna look for a trail,” Hitch said. “Maybe I can catch her, slow her up.”

Mina nodded, but she knew he wouldn’t find her. Something told her that Sarah would only be found in the hands of whoever took her. Mina only hoped that they’d be there soon enough. With that thought, she increased her speed.

“She’s probably at the camp,” Hailey said, but Mina could hear her following them.

“The light is leading us to where she is.” Mina said.

“What are we doing?” Hailey asked Charlie.

“We’re helping Mina and Max find Sarah.”

“Charlie, Mina’s crazy. I thought I…”

“What’s that ball of light then?” Charlie asked. “Hails, go back if you want. But I like Sarah, and this feels bad. So, I’m gonna follow the magic light into the woods too. We’ll rescue the damsel, come back, get her to make us some more treats.”

“It’s a trick,” Hailey said. “They’re probably pranking us.” But she didn’t turn back, and she quit arguing.

Maybe twenty minutes passed before the trail forked. They’d long since left behind the lake, and if they looked behind them, they wouldn’t see the light of all the campfires.

They stopped only when the light stopped.

“We did it,” Mina cried, excitement filling her voice, relief. And fear. They shouldn’t have caught up yet. Even still, the light of hope made the trees less ominous. The clouds were no longer spiting them with their cloud cover.

Mina let herself have that burst of speed, pushing to catch her sister.

Only Sarah wasn’t there.

Chapter 27

The light hovered directly in front of a steep cliff.

“Do you think we’re supposed to climb it?” Max leaned over, hands on his knees and fought for breath.

“Great,” Hailey said as they all stared up the cliff.

Mina struggled to breathe too, but it was secondary to the overwhelming worry. She didn’t remember much of the spell when it had gotten her. But, she could clearly recall the last bits, when it was fading. The feeling of being at the back of her mind, unable to react, no longer herself.

Her heart was a knot. Her brain could only stutter, “Sarah, Sarah, Sarah, Sarah.”

She’d told herself the locket was enough. She’d told herself she could save Sarah, but she couldn’t save anyone. Not herself. Not her sister.

“What am I supposed to do?” Mina wailed.

The light didn’t move. It stayed in front of the cliff, bobbing. Forward, back towards them. Forward again.

Wait.

Mina stepped closer, following the light and instead of climbing up the cliff to lead the way, it moved
into
the cliff face.

Max pulled Mina back by the hand that held the locket. He knelt in front of the rock and put his hand out. He laid one hand on the cliff face and the other on the ground. He closed his eyes, and Mina felt him reach for his magic. She took her own and fed it to him.

She could feel him focus on the cliff face. There were the murmurs of Hailey and Charlie. There was the sound of the sprite’s wings, but it was all secondary to the feel of the combined magic probing the stone in front of them.

He ran his hands over the edges of the stone. He’d caught something she hadn’t.

“This isn’t…” He said.

Mina felt a flare of their magic, pushed at the cliff, and it parted before them, showing only a few feet of path.

The rest was darkness.

“Thank you God.” Mina plunged into the dark, ignoring the objections of the others.

The sprites darted after her. She glanced back and found Max only steps behind her.

The others were holding hands, framed by the opening to the path. Their faces were shocked and terrified. But Charlie took a step forward.

Mina didn’t wait to see if Hailey would follow. All that mattered was Sarah.

“Light the fire, Mina.” Max said, and she paused long enough to flick her lighter, pull the fire into her hands spreading light around her.

She saw, out of the corner of her eye, that Charlie and Hailey had caught up with her. Their faces were white, but they came. Racing into the dark. Following a magic light.

Their flashlights were nearly useless, but the fire Mina sent racing up her arms was sufficient to set the cave alight.

“Sarah’s in here?” Hailey’s voice was…no longer objecting.

Mina nodded.

“All right then.” Hailey said, and her face changed from angry to something else…something Mina hadn’t seen in years.

The path wound among stalactites and stalagmites. It passed dark alcoves with mysterious rustling. It felt like they were going deeper and deeper into the earth.

Eventually, they had to rest, but Mina couldn’t sit. She could only pace and hold her side. Hailey whimpered, occasionally, before heading deeper into the dark. For, it was as if each step lead them into a deeper darkness than they’d just been in, until it was as if the dark was rubbing along their skin, formless but tangible.

“Who’s she talking to?” Charlie asked Max when Mina had stopped to listen to Hitch tell her to be careful and slow for the next bit.

“Her invisible friend, Hitch,” Max answered before taking a long swig from the water bottle.

“Hitch is an
imaginary
friend,” Hailey declared. “From when we were little. He’s not real.”

“Neither is that magic light ball or the sleeve of fire Mina is wearing.” Max’s voice was dry, and he wasn’t really paying attention to Hailey. His eyes, like Mina’s, were on the path ahead. The path had started to shadow drop offs so deep they couldn’t see the bottom.

The ball of light swirled around them before leading them across a narrow ledge. It was just wide enough for each person to follow the one ahead but it was covered in loose pebbles.

Mina went first. Followed by Max, Hailey and then Charlie. The sprites paced them, over the darkness.

All of them pressed their hands to the cliff as if it they could dig their fingers in. Mina’s breath quavered with each step. And with each step, pebbles shifted and fell.

And then it happened.

Mina only heard a scream and rush of pebbles. But she knew that voice, and it was Hailey’s. And Hailey had fallen.

They all screamed, but Hailey’s cry was soul piercing, echoing again and again in the abyss.

Charlie tried to grab her, but Zizi pushed him against the wall.

Only Hailey’s fingers held her, curling into the stone path. She would have been one slow slide from falling except that Poppy held her by the back of the shirt.

Those bat wings beat furiously. Hitch joined Poppy, taking hold of Hailey’s jeans.

Mina swallowed dryly.

“Hailey,” Charlie called. Trying to reach her, but unable to avoid Zizi.

“I…I…” The terror in Hailey’s voice would have melted the cruelest of hearts. For them, who loved her, it was terrible.

“Shut up.” Mina interjected. “Hitch and Poppy have you. You’re ok, Hailey.”

Hailey whimpered.

“You are not going to fall. They are going to lift you and fly you to the other side.”

“No, no, no.” Hailey begged, her terror seemed to feed the darkness until it almost pulled at them.

“Yes,” Mina commanded, then added, “You can’t struggle.”

“No,” Hailey wailed.

“Hailey,” Mina’s voice was soft now. “Do you remember when we climbed the pine trees by my house?”

Eerie, heavy silence was interrupted only by the terrible sound of Hailey’s crying.

“Yes,” she finally said.

“Do you remember how I fell?”

“Yes,” Hailey whispered.

“And I flew back up, didn’t I? Hitch grabbed me, and he saved me.”

“I remember.”

“You said it wasn’t fair that I got to fly, and you jumped from the tree. And then what happened?”

“Poppy caught me, and they flew both of us to the top of the tree.” Hailey’s fingers quivered. Pebbles fell.

“Hailey,” Charlie’s voice was agonized.

The ball of light swirled around them, showing Hailey’s feet hanging above nothing.

Mina was balanced like a gymnast on the edge of the cliff just above her cousin. Unlike the others, she didn’t press forward for Hailey. She trusted the sprites, and her voice was calm as she said, “And we were afraid to climb down from the top of the tree.”

“And what did we do Hailey?”

“L-let go?”

“We’re not going to risk this path anymore. The sprites are going to save us. Hitch, how far to the other side?”

“Maybe forty feet.”

“You could fly us that far.”

“Yez.” Hitch said. “We can do it, Mina,” Poppy said.

“It’s forty feet, Hailey. Less than that tree we climbed.”

And Mina pulled her sleeve of fire onto her palm, creating a large crackling ball of flame. She threw it towards the other side of the cavern where it lit up a wide cave.