Chapter 12

Madison

" W ell, I think I'm ready." I adjusted the wide belt around my waist.

The belt had several sewn-on pockets and attached pouches that Avar filled with all the things he thought might come in handy in Nerifir. I had gold and precious gemstones to trade with, a tin of healing salve, and a brutal looking knife for "just in case." Apparently, werewolves weren't that easily killed. A gun wouldn't do much to them. A blade made from Nerifir iron was far more effective. I just hoped it would not come down to me needing to use it on this trip.

"I put a leftover sandwich in one of the pockets too. In case you get hungry," Avar fussed with getting me ready. "The water bag goes here." He attached a filled leather bag to my belt. "Oh, and take this one as well." He handed me something that looked like a length of black cord with purple markings.

"A snake?" I shrank back, realizing what it actually was.

"A Horned Harpy Viper," Avar explained. "A highly poisonous kind. This one is long dead, stuffed with sawdust and no longer dangerous, of course. But I read that werewolves are so terrified of Harpy Vipers, they run away at the mere sight of it, dead or alive."

"All right." I gingerly accepted the snake and rolled it into a coil, carefully trying to avoid the three pairs of sharp horns of various lengths on its head. "I'm kind of looking forward to running into some werewolves now." I smiled, stuffing the snake into a pouch on my belt. "It'd be a shame if I don't get to see at least one after all this preparation."

"Werewolves look very much like humans most of the time. They turn to beasts only on the full moon. But if it's a full moon or close to it when we arrive, we're turning around and going straight back through the portal, Maddy. Do you understand?"

"We can't leave Nerifir without the horologe. Without it, we won't come back to our time. Besides, you said the nuns lock themselves in the basement for the night of the full moon so as not to harm anyone. That'd be the best time to get the horologe."

He shook his head adamantly.

"No. I'm not risking you running into a beast, even if there is one in a million chances of that happening. If there's a full moon, please promise me you'll turn around and leave without even exiting the water. Otherwise, I won't let you go at all. Our deal is off."

At this point, I would be severely disappointed if he called off the whole thing. The plan was clear and seemed easy enough to execute. After getting to the Sarnala Kingdom in Nerifir, I'd go straight to the monastery and convince the nuns to give or sell the horologe to me. I even had a great story prepared about the horologe being a lost family heirloom that held sentimental value to me. According to Avar, the nuns didn't know the true value of what they were guarding, which made one of them the perfect "trusted keeper" as Evior put it in his book.

"If it's a full moon, we can try again later, at some other time," Avar insisted. "Once we get the horologe eventually, we can return to this time then." He heaved a sigh, holding my gaze. "I can't have you hurt, Maddy."

Well, I didn't want to get hurt either.

"Fine," I promised him. "If the moon is full, I'll turn around and leave. There will always be another chance, right?"

"Probably."

Using his massive bundle of keys, he opened one of the glass cabinets along the path around his mountain and got out a silver tray with a crystal carafe filled with burgundy liquid.

"A glass of wine before the road?" I quipped.

He smirked, pouring an equal amount of liquid in two crystal glasses that matched the carafe.

"It's the transcendence potion. We both need to drink some to travel to your world from here."

"Oh, should I bring it with me too? For you to come back here after you drop me off?" If I succeeded at getting the horologe, Avar would be returning to Purgatory alone, without me. My heart squeezed with an ache at the thought of parting from him.

"No. I don't need the potion to return home." He held up both glasses, not offering me one yet. "Are you sure this is what you want to do, Maddy?" he asked softly.

I didn't reply right away, considering his question very carefully. After only a short time in Purgatory, I already had a lot to lose when leaving it. My throat tightened as I took a long look around me, quietly saying goodbye to this place. It was hard. But I wasn't done with the living to spend the rest of my life among the dead .

I nodded, not trusting my voice to speak. At last, he offered me one of the glasses, not saying a word either. We drank the potion in silence. It tasted fruity and pleasantly sweet.

Avar took my empty glass from me, setting it down next to his. His tentacles circled me in the familiar embrace. He had to hold me so we wouldn't be separated upon arrival to the human world.

"It's a good thing you keep the potion under a lock," I said, looking for a distraction from my miserable parting thoughts. "It's so yummy, I would've drunk it long ago if you didn't hide it."

"You're not alone." He exhaled a humorless laugh. "Some of my brothers can't be trusted with it, either."

His last words reached me like an echo of a dream. The glass-covered space on the side of the mountain spun out of focus. The sunny sky blended with Avar's purple glow, both washed away by a bright white light that forced me to close my eyes.

I exhaled the warm, lilac-rich air of Purgatory and inhaled much cooler air that was saturated with far less pleasant fragrance. The smell of gasoline fumes and wet concrete was subtle. But it seemed pungent to me, unused to breathing it lately.

Pleasant or not, it smelled like home. Thoughts and worries from my past rushed me. My mom must've been devastated after getting my letter with half-baked explanations about my moving away, heartfelt goodbyes, and instructions to sell the restaurant. That was so out of character for me, I wondered if Mom had called the police. Avar had no idea what mess he had started by taking me away. But now, I had a chance to fix it all.

I opened my eyes. We stood on a riverbank with a highway running along it in the distance. It was evening, just before sunset. Other than the muffled sound of traffic, the place seemed deserted, which was a good thing, since the massive, glowing entity from another world held me in his arms, standing in the open.

There was a slight change in Avar's appearance. He no longer looked as tangible as he did back in Purgatory. The outline of his shape blurred. And there was far more give under my hand when I pushed into him. He felt like a dense cloud of light and warmth. And he looked very much like the apparition he'd warned me he'd be in Nerifir.

Only unlike in Nerifir, on Earth, he could still handle things. The sensation of his arms holding me was gentle but real.

"The portal is that way." He turned toward the river.

As we approached, I noticed a faint pink shimmer in one spot over the water. It looked like it could be a reflection of the starting sunset or...a gateway to another world.

"We'll have to dive," Avar explained.

He'd said the portal wouldn't be open for long. Apparently, the portals existed in many places on Earth where the River of Mists connected with our world. But they rarely remained open throughout the day, appearing and disappearing regularly.

"Once we're in the water, you'll have to hold on to me for as long as you can, and I'll hold on to you," he instructed. "We can't get separated, Maddy. If we do, we may end up in different time periods or even in different worlds."

I nodded. He'd gone through all that with me back in Purgatory already, but I didn't mind the recap. It was hard to grasp it all at once because of how different this experience was compared to anything I'd done before.

"Boots," Avar reminded me.

"Right." I took off my boots .

I didn't know exactly what part of the human world we were in, but this was not swimming weather.

The breeze seeped through my thin clothes. But since I had to go into the water to cross to Nerifir, it made sense not to wear many heavy layers that could drag me down when wet. I had a long skirt on, but only because it fit better with the fashion of Nerifir and would help me blend in and attract less attention if anyone spotted me.

The boots were necessary, as I'd have to hike through the woods from the portal to the monastery, but they'd make it hard to swim if I wore them. After taking them off, I tied them by the bootstraps to my belt.

Avar hugged me tighter.

"Now, hold on and listen to my voice."

He waded into the river. The water licked my feet, instantly drenching my socks. I shivered. It proved even colder than I'd anticipated.

"Maddy, say the word, and I'll turn back," Avar said firmly.

Back to Purgatory. Back to being stuck between two worlds, not truly belonging to one and unable to return to the other.

"No." I flexed my arms around him. "Let's keep going."

"Hold your breath," he said as we approached the pink shimmering cloud of mist.

I did as he said. And we dove. I clenched my jaw, my body going rigid in the cold water. But the sensation didn't last long. Warmth emitted from Avar, and I pressed myself into him.

"You can breathe now," Avar said suddenly.

Once again, I listened to him, and drew a lungful of air but kept my eyes closed. The darkness of the water was replaced by shimmering light dancing outside of my closed eyelids.

"Hold your breath again, sweetheart," Avar instructed softly. "Almost there now. Once you feel the water again, let go of me and swim. "

I nodded, keeping both my eyes and mouth closed.

The water felt warmer this time. I forgot about needing to let go of Avar, holding on to him for dear life. But suddenly, my arms felt empty. I flexed them tighter, hugging nothing but water.

Avar was gone.

Panic jolted me into moving my arms. My lungs strained, begging for another breath. I kicked my feet, hoping I swam up to the surface instead of in any other direction.

The water broke over my head. It sluiced down my face and splashed with waves. I treaded it, spitting the water out of my mouth and nose. It tasted briny with salt—not a river anymore but a sea or an ocean.

"Swim toward the light, Maddy," Avar's voice sounded nearby, easing my tension. He was here after all.

I opened my eyes, searching for the light he'd mentioned.

It was dark, it must be night. The only light came from the faint pink shimmer of the portal a short distance away, from the stars above, and from the crescent of the moon in the sky. It wasn't a full moon. We did good.

The light.

What light did he mean?

Kicking the water, I turned around, finally spotting a faint yellow dot of light in the long dark blot of the shore. It didn't appear to be too far, which was a relief, since I wasn't the strongest swimmer.

The surf pushed me closer. And after just a couple of strokes, I felt the bottom under my feet, then waded out of the water, glad to be on solid ground once again.

"Well, so far, so good." I wiped the water out of my face with my arm, catching my breath. "It's not a full moon. The monastery is right up the hill, isn't it? The light must be the lantern on its bell tower, like Evior wrote. The only difficulty I can foresee right now is that the nuns are asleep, and I'll have to wait until morning to speak to someone."

It was warmer here than back in my world, which was also a plus since my clothes were soaking wet now.

"Avar?" I turned around to look for him since I'd heard no response.

He wasn't there. No glow, no shape of an apparition, not even a hint of a ghost, only the dark forest edging the beach, the stars above, and the waves of the sea lazily rolling ashore.

I was alone in this dark, strange world.

Panic speared through me.