Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8

P aige's hands skittered as she wiped her sweaty palms down her leather pants. She hated the things. It would have been so much better to wear cotton. But she'd have to lament her wardrobe choices later.

Ivy stalked toward the center of the room, looking far more comfortable in her leather outfit than Paige. She lifted her chin, offering Paige a haughty glance. "I'm ready."

Paige curled her fingers into fists, feeling anything but ready. "Me too," she blurted out anyway.

"Excellent," Dominic said. "Then step forward and enter the challenge realm."

He waved his hand toward a swirling bubble that appeared in the center of the room. Paige's heart ramped up as she spotted it. Mist covered a series of islands that led to a golden door. She swallowed hard, her knees turning to jelly.

"Good luck, Paige," Devon whispered. "We're all pulling for you."

"Yeah. I'll be here eating popcorn and hoping you win," Dewey said.

"Thanks, buddy. I appreciate that. "

"No problem. I'll eat some for you, too." He winked at her before she stepped forward.

Each step she took felt like a stride closer to her demise. Her heart pounded, blood rushing into her ears. At this pace, she wouldn't even reach the dreamscape realm; she'd black out before then.

Ivy looked cool as a cucumber as she awaited her fate. She smirked at Paige as they stood in front of the swirling entry point. "Good luck. You'll need it."

Paige wrinkled her nose at the woman's barb. "Yeah, well, good luck to you, too, because…I'm going to win."

"Are you really?" Her eyebrows shot up toward her hairline. "That's a bold statement from…you."

"What's that supposed to mean? Devon and I have a major connection. We're…in love. And so I'm going to win."

Ivy chuckled at the statement. "Devon wouldn't know what love is if Cupid shot him with a dozen arrows. And I happen to know you don't love him. That's going to be exposed soon enough. Good luck, darling. You're about to be shown as the fraud you really are."

"Ladies, step into the realm. The challenge begins now," Dominic said.

Before Paige could step forward, Ivy shoved her, knocking her to the floor before she dove into the dreamscape realm.

"Ow!" Paige shouted as she landed hard on her hip. "What the hell?"

"Cheating and poor sportsmanship are not only allowed but encouraged," Dominic answered.

Paige pushed up to stand as she shook her head. "Unbelievable. Fine. I'll have to remember that."

She dusted off her pants as her pulse began to race again. Before she could change her mind, she pushed herself forward into the dreamscape realm .

Blackness surrounded her for a few seconds before a blinding light. She squeezed her eyes closed before something tickled her cheek.

With one eye popped open, she slid her gaze sideways, finding a scroll floating in the air next to her. She snatched it and read the elaborate writing. "I am a memory that echoes in the silence of your heart, where secrets are kept and whispers are shared. What am I?"

Her forehead creased as she read it again silently. "How the hell should I know?"

She rubbed a finger against her lips before she shouted into the air. "Love!"

A lightning bolt shot from the sky, scorching the ground next to her and driving her back a few steps. "Whoa."

"Joy!" she tried, earning another jolt of lightning that she narrowly escaped.

"Okay, fine! I get it. I'm wrong. I'll stop guessing." She studied the landscape around her in search of another clue. Dewey said she'd relive memories acted out by phantoms. Where were they?

A massive, neon glowing sign appeared with an arrow pointing to a spot lit by some unknown source on the ground. "Oh, maybe I go there."

Paige rolled up the scroll and stuck it in the pocket of her leather jacket. As she crossed to the lit spot, she glanced sideways at the other set of floating islands next to her.

She wrinkled her nose as she spotted Ivy racing around the second one already.

"How the heck did she get through the first one? Come on."

Paige rolled her eyes and shook her head as she stepped on the spot. "Stupid Ivy and her stupid–OMG!"

Her words cut off, replaced with a scream of dismay as her stomach somersaulted. She pushed her feet onto the floor and clutched at the leather couch she found herself sitting on as the plane she rode dipped, rolled, and plummeted toward the earth.

"What is happening?" she screamed.

"We're crashing, Paige, duh," Dewey's voice said, though the little dragon was nowhere to be found. Instead, a jet-black shadowy figure in the shape of Dewey floated around near her. "Of course, I'll be fine, because I can fly."

Paige's lips tugged into a deep grimace as she struggled to stay seated when the plane pitched at a dangerous angle. "Good for you. I'm going to die."

"Yes, likely. We're all going to die," a phantom pilot said.

"This is awful. Why am I in this stupid memory? Wait," she said, her mind searching for a solution. "This is just a memory. I can't die. This is so stupid. This is all just a distraction from solving the riddle. Okay, think, Paige."

Before she could vet any other ideas, the plane slammed into the ground. The impact pushed the air from her lungs. Everything hurt. She lay in the crumpled heap of the plane gasping for breath as her eye twitched.

With a tremendous amount of pain, she let out her last shaky breath before the world turned black. A second later, she found herself plummeting through the air again.

"You've got to be kidding me. So, I can die and then resurrect to die again. This is horrible."

"I'll live because I can fly," Dewey said.

"Shut up, Dewey," she said as she raced to find a spot where she may survive the plane crash.

The plane slammed into the ground again. This time she suffered a broken arm, leg, and pelvis. She lay there for several minutes before she finally succumbed to all the pain and died only to wake up on the plane again.

"I'll live because I can–"

"Shut up!" she screamed. "Think, Paige. "

She died three more times before her brain finally snapped into working mode. "Wait, Devon should be here. Where is Devon?"

A black cloud emerged when she mentioned his name. "I'm here, Paige."

"Devon. Oh, thank heavens. You can fly, too. I'll live. Come on, let's jump out of the plane."

She reached for his shadowy hand and tugged him toward the door, flinging it open. His arms wrapped around her before they dove from the plane. She sailed over the jungle as the plane smashed into the ground and exploded in a fireball.

"Ahhh, thank goodness. This time I lived." As she finished the statement, the arms around her disappeared. She fell through the air and smashed into the ground, breaking her neck and dying again.

When she woke up on the plummeting plane, she grimaced. "How did I die again? I…ohhh, I never solved the stupid riddle."

As the plane continued its dive toward the ground, she dug into her pocket and retrieved the scroll with her riddle. She read it aloud again. "I am a memory that echoes in the silence of your hearts, where secrets are kept and whispers are shared. What am I?"

Paige crinkled her brow. "I don't know. Uh…"

Before she could answer, the plane smashed into the ground, and she died again.

"This is getting old. Think, Paige. Where are secrets kept?" She pounded a fist against the couch's arm. "I got it. Heart!"

A blast of lightning jolted the plane, and she winced. "OMG, I can't do this. How did Ivy answer her first one already?"

"Secrets…wait…secrets and memories. A memory where I ha d to leap out of a plane and trust Devon to save me." She sat straighter. "That's it. Trust! It's trust!"

After she shouted the word, she found herself sitting on the lit spot again as a land bridge grew from the first island to the second. She rose, a celebratory laugh escaping her. "Haha! I did it!"

She glanced at the other set of islands. Ivy had made it to the third. "Dang it, I'm behind. I'm going to lose."

She scurried across the bridge to the next island and searched for the lit area. "Maybe not. Maybe I can win still. I just have to solve this one super-fast."

She located the scroll with her new riddle. "I am the joy that knows no bounds, the laughter that resonates through your soul. What am I when you are truly alive?"

"I don't know," she said with a shrug as she stepped onto the lit spot. The warmth of an autumn day surrounded her. She glanced at the orange and red trees surrounding the Shadow Harbor Library before she took a step forward and tumbled down the stairs.

As her body bounced across the stone steps, landing in a heap at the bottom, she glanced up at the phantom form of Devon.

"This is the day I got my job at the library. I was so happy."

Her stomach jumped. "That's it. Happiness. It's happiness."

Before she knew it, she was back out onto the island with a land bridge forming leading to her final test. She'd done it. She could still win this round. Ivy remained on the third island, and she'd just made up a tremendous amount of time.

She raced forward to find the next riddle. Her hands shook as she read it. She'd have to be fast solving this one. Ivy still had a head start on her.

She found the scroll and read it aloud. "I am a moment lost in time, a shadow that haunts your past. What could have been, but never was. What am I?"

"A pain in my a–" A bolt of lightning cut off her statement before she could finish it. "Sorry, sorry."

Paige furrowed her brow as she read it again before she stuffed it into her pocket and stepped onto the lit spot. She found herself surrounded by Devon's bedroom at Dominic's castle.

"What is this memory?"

Devon's shadowy form appeared in front of her. "I want you to marry me, Paige."

Paige crinkled her nose as he stood in front of her awaiting her answer. She recalled what she had said. She'd asked if she'd heard him right before laughing hysterically.

"Uhhh, why am I having this memory? What does this have to do with…" She pulled the paper from her pocket and read it again. "A moment lost in time that haunts my past."

"I want you to marry me, Paige," Devon repeated, still seeking an answer.

"Heard you the first time, thanks." She tapped her forehead as she sought the emotional response the riddle hinted at. "Shadow that haunts me. Uhhh, stupidity?"

A blast of lightning let her know she wasn't correct.

"I want you to marry me, Paige."

"Sure you do."

"You're hurting my feelings, Paige," the shadow said.

Paige rolled her eyes at the phantom figure. "How sad. Oh…sadness!"

A jolt of lightning made it clear she was wrong again. "Dang it. Okay, ummm…"

She paced back and forth in front of Shadow Devon. "You asked me to marry you. I laughed. That wasn't nice. Uhhh, kind–no." She stopped herself before making another incorrect guess. "Kindness doesn't haunt your past. What haunts your past? Things you wish you would or wouldn't have done. Things that you…"

She opened her mouth into a wide O. "Regret! It's things you regret!"

A second later, she found herself back on the last island with a land bridge forming to the doorway leading home.

As she climbed to her feet, she glanced over at Ivy's last island. Her land bridge was forming, too.

"Damn it," Paige said through clenched teeth. It would be a footrace and the long, lean Venompire would probably win. Despite making up the time to catch up on the riddles, she'd lose on the physical demands of the challenge.

She pushed her legs to move as fast as she could, racing for the door as Ivy did the same thing. They met on the narrow bridge on the final push toward the door. Ivy shoved at her, nearly knocking her down.

"Get off me, you jerk!" Paige said as she shoved her back.

Her feet pounded as she tried to get ahead of Ivy. The woman's long legs gave her the edge, and she pulled ahead.

Paige's heart pounded from effort and upset. If she didn't do something soon, she'd lose her first challenge. And possibly even her life.