Minx

Minx

Minx watched the scene unfold before her - the entire Blackwood clan freezing the moment Sage fell through the portal with the Demon King. Only they had no idea he was the Demon King - the very man they were trying to sacrifice her to.

It made his death at Sage’s hands all the more poetic. She hadn’t heard all Sage said to him since most of it was low and threatening. But she got the gist of it. He’d done something to piss her off enough before she tossed him into this world to take his life.

She couldn’t help but feel relieved - it was so very Sage of her, and she was glad she’d been right to believe in her. Even if Sage had waited until literally the last second to do this.

It happened so fast, so quickly, that the Blackwoods were still standing around in shocked silence when Sage noticed them. For one, they’d just watched her tumble out of the portal with a strange man. Then they watched her strangle him to death.

She didn’t blame them for being shocked. This wasn’t the Sage they knew - the one they tried to kill during the summer.

So when Sage turned to see them, her hazel eyes going wide at the knife hovering over Minx’s chest, she knew things weren’t going to work out for the Blackwoods. She wasn’t sure how she knew. Sage had no magic here, so there wasn’t much she could do against a dozen of her family members. But something was going to go down.

“Hello, mother,” Sage said, and it sounded like a curse being thrown at her. Seraphina must have felt it too - her grip on the knife faltered.

“You,” Seraphina hissed, glaring at her daughter.

“Me.” Sage agreed, standing up. She held something in her hand, something shiny, and - Minx would have gasped if she hadn’t been gagged still. The Tear, she had the Tear, and it was pulsing with magic.

How? This world sucked the magic out of everything.

Sage stalked towards them, smirking.

“So nice to see you. How have you been?” She asked, and Seraphina dropped the knife until the point was pressed against Minx’s heart.

Sage paused but did not stop smiling. It was a cruel smile, full of the promise of violence.

“Stop right there,” Seraphina ordered.

Sage quirked a brow, glancing at Minx, who blinked slowly in return. She wasn’t sure what Sage had planned, but if she had magic, then she was confident she wasn’t about to be stabbed.

“Are you trying to sacrifice her?” Sage asked, then burst out laughing. Seraphina looked at her with a withering glare, unamused. “Go ahead,” Sage said, laughing. “Or better yet, go ask the Demon King yourself.” She jutted her thumb over her shoulder at his body.

“He’s right there. Though I don’t think he’s in the position to grant you any wishes right now.” She said darkly, her laughter hollow and cold.

Seraphina’s eyes widened, slipping to the dead man behind her.

“No, you’re lying. There’s no way-”

Sage rolled her eyes and held out the Tear, “Shut up,” she said, then smashed it into the cave wall. Magic poured out, lacing around her body and bringing her gift to life. Sage sucked it in, then let loose her power.

Webs of magic exploded from her, smashing into her family and throwing them against the walls. All but for her mother.

She left her mother untouched, gaping at her like a fish. Magic undid the bindings on her hands and legs. Minx sat up, ripping the gag from her mouth, and leaped off the table to untie Alec and Trent.

Magic or not, she could already feel it fleeing Sage’s body. They needed to act quickly if they were to go back through the portal that glowed behind Sage.

Sage approached her mother, who fell to her knees, her expression a mixture of awe and anger.

“You stole it,” Seraphina hissed. “You stole my power.”

Sage scoffed, “Yeah, I stole it just to piss you off. I went to the old world and learned how to use it just to spite you and the rest of the family.” She shook her head. “Everything is all about you, isn’t it?”

She bent forward, ripping the knife from Seraphina’s hand with her magic.

“I’ll tell you what - this part really is all about you. I could kill you, all of you, with a mere thought if I wanted. But I won’t.” she stood back up, glaring down at her while she tossed the knife to the side.

“Instead, I’m going to let you and the rest of the family live.” She glanced over, smiling at Trisha, who was trying to get out of the magical bindings that held her against the wall. “I’m going to let you live knowing I have the power you so desperately wanted. The power you would kill your own daughter for a chance to get. But I’m also going to leave you with this knowledge - the blood oath is gone. The Demon King is dead - I, your worthless, baseless daughter, killed him. So there’s no point in trying the sacrifices again. Once I go through that portal, that’s it. The gift goes with me, and whatever children I have will be granted the power.” She took a step back, her face cold as she looked each family member in the eye.

“You and your bloodline will live in this world forever. Without magic, but with the knowledge I have it.” She held up her hand, gathering a small amount of power in her palm.

“So, fuck you all, and I hope you have a lovely life here.” She said, then turned to the portal where Minx and the others waited. She paused, frowning at Trent.

“Trent?” she asked, incredulous.

Trent reached out, his fingertips dancing over her cheek. “Sage? Is this real?” he asked hoarsely.

A jumble of emotions passed over her eyes, but she smiled back at him.

“Trent, come with me?” She asked softly.

His eyes widened, then passed back to their family behind her.

“I- I am not worthy of that, Sage.” He said, shaking his head. “I was a part of this - unwilling, but still a part.”

Sage shook her head. “You saved me. More than once. You can come with us if you want, but I’m going to warn you - Neaviah is nothing like you’ve imagined.”

Trent glanced from her to Minx, and Minx gave him a small nod.

“Alright,” he said, nodding, “I will go.”

“Take me!” Trisha screamed from the wall, earning a few bewildered looks from the group and a withering glare from Seraphina. “Take me! I didn’t mean it, Sage! I only did what they asked!” She sobbed, fighting hard against the magical bindings.

Sage shook her head, “No. You’re getting everything you wanted, little sister.” Her smile widened when Seraphina’s eyes almost bulged from her head.

“You get the family business, the money, the manor. But you will not get to see this world.” Sage turned from her family and motioned for them to walk into the portal.

“The poison,” Alec started, but Sage shook her head.

“It will be gone.” She gave Minx a warm smile. “You have a choice now if you want to go back. This will be the last time, though. I’m breaking this portal once we leave. We won’t ever have the chance to come back.”

Minx took a look around the cave, and thought of the world outside, the one with television shows and indoor plumbing. Of movies and popcorn, of her favorite music bands, the makeup and the food, her car, and her bedroom. She thought of the new things - the internet and the computers and the possible potential they had here.

They were all things she would miss, but not enough to say no to magic.

Minx looked back at Sage and smiled.

“Let’s go home,” she said softly, taking Alec’s hand.

“Are you sure?” Alec asked, searching her face. It warmed her heart to know even now, after everything he’d experienced in her world, he’d be willing to stay if she wanted.

“I am,” she said.

“Thank the Goddess!” He sighed then chuckled, “Sorry Sage, but your food sucks here.” Sage gave them a quizzical look and Minx shook her head as if to say, ‘We’ll talk later’.

Alec squeezed her hand and went into the portal. Trent followed, refusing to look back as his sister screamed at them. Minx gave the cave one last look, casting her eyes over the body of her mother.

She felt a hitch in her chest and froze. Shouldn’t she be glad she was dead? Isn’t it what she deserved?

“It’s okay,” Sage said, giving her a knowing look. “It’s okay to mourn what they could have - what they should have been to us.”

Minx nodded, knowing exactly what Sage meant, and stepped into the portal. She heard the last screams of Trisha, followed by Seraphina as they slipped away from their birth world, from all that she’d grown up knowing and all the plans she’d had.

She could hear the crack of the portal behind them as Sage broke it with the last of her magic. She felt a lingering sense of sadness as they fell through, dropping to their new world, their new home. But it wasn’t a sadness for what was.

She was sad about what could have been. For the family she should have had there, and the life she should have lived. But that was all. She let herself feel it, then let it go, drifting into the darkness that filled the void between worlds.

And she embraced the newness of what was to come.