Chapter 19

CHAPTER NINETEEN

The vault slowly opened, and I held my breath. Icy air rushed out, biting my skin, but I barely noticed. I was too captivated by what lay before me.

"Oh my god," I whispered, my voice shaky with awe and trepidation.

The walls weren't steel like I'd expected. They were pure ice, like everything else on this forsaken Rimespire Isle. But this was different. The ice here pulsed with a faint blue glow that made my skin crawl. I wanted to reach out and touch it, but something held me back. Fear? Reverence? I couldn't tell.

My gaze darted around the vault, drinking in every detail. The ice formations in the corners looked like frozen flames, beautiful and terrifying. I couldn't shake the feeling that they might come alive at any moment.

Then I saw it. In the middle of the vault, a silver table stood against the overwhelming ice. And on it…

"The hourglass," I rasped, taking an unconscious step forward.

It was beautiful. Terrifying. Mesmerizing. About the size of a small lamp, its light blue form seemed to shimmer with an inner light. Was this really what I'd come all this way for? It looked so delicate, so innocuous. Yet I felt something emanating from it. Power, danger, or maybe both.

My fingers twitched at my sides, torn between the desire to snatch it and the instinct to turn and run. The rational part of my brain screamed that this was it, my goal, the culmination of my quest. Still, deep in my gut, a primal fear took root.

What would happen if I touched it? What forces would I unleash? Could this hourglass save my friends and possibly reverse what had happened?

I licked my dry lips, my excitement warring with an overwhelming sense of unease.

The face in the mirror said I was a champion. I guess it was time to start acting like one. I took several deep breaths, then stepped into the vault, focusing on the Sands of Yesteryear.

As I drew closer, my eyes widened in disbelief. The hourglass was changing before me, its soft blue glow intensifying, the color deepening to a rich, almost midnight blue. I frowned, confusion mixing with my anxiety. The air around me warmed, defying everything I thought I knew about this frozen realm.

"What the hell?" I muttered. "Blue is supposed to be cold, and red is hot. That's how it works, right?"

My hand trembled as I reached out, every instinct screaming at me to stop. I clenched my teeth, bracing for pain. A burn, a shock, anything. But as my fingers made contact with the rim, I gasped in surprise.

It was warm. Not scorching, but comfortably warm, like an electric blanket on a chilly night. The sensation was so unexpected, so out of place in this icy vault, that I almost jerked my hand away.

I drew a deep breath and lifted the hourglass off the table. Its weight felt significant in my hands as if it carried more than sand and glass. I stared at it, mesmerized, half expecting to wake up from a dream. But this was real. I had actually done it.

Suddenly, panic gripped me. What if the vault door closed, trapping me here with this mysterious artifact? I clutched the hourglass to my chest and bolted for the exit, my footsteps echoing off the icy walls.

As I cleared the threshold, a familiar shimmer caught my eye. The face in the mirror materialized once more, its ethereal voice filling the air.

"Your passage has opened for you, Champion. Step through the portal, and you will arrive back in the Unseelie realm. Use the Mirror of Aethereal to free your friends."

One of the panels swung open, revealing a swirling vortex of light and shadow. I didn't hesitate. Gripping the compass in one hand and the mirror in the other, with the hourglass tucked securely under my arm, I sprinted toward the portal.

Triumph and terror propelled me forward. But as the portal's energy enveloped me, I couldn't shake one nagging thought.

What price would I have to pay for this victory?

I plunged into the portal, and for a moment, everything ceased to exist. My body felt like it was being stretched and compressed at the same time. Colors swirled around me in impossible patterns, and a deafening silence pressed against my eardrums. I couldn't breathe, couldn't think?—

Then, as suddenly as it began, it was over.

I stumbled forward, gasping for air, my vision swimming as reality reasserted itself. The icy chill of Rimespire Isle was gone, replaced by the oppressive, humid air of the Unseelie realm. The acrid smell of smoke and something metallic—blood, I realized with a jolt—filled my nostrils.

A bone-chilling howl rang out.

As my eyes adjusted to the dim, otherworldly light, my stomach lurched. The bloody scene before me was pure chaos.

Justice's clothes were torn and stained as he moved with inhuman speed, fending off Garrick and Maggie with his bare hands. His usually warm eyes blazed with a primal fury that sent a shiver down my spine.

Garrick stood a few feet away, his hands glowing with barely contained magical energy as he hurled spell after spell at Justice and Maggie. And Maggie…oh god, Maggie.

She was a blur of fur and fangs, twice the size of a normal wolf. Her dark coat was matted with blood. Hers, Justice's, Garrick's, I couldn't tell. She snapped and snarled at Garrick, the love of her life.

This was bad. Nightmarish bad. Never-waking-up bad.

The chaos was escalating rapidly. If I didn't act fast, my friends would tear each other apart. Justice's vampire strength was on full display as he grappled with a snarling Maggie, her wolf form snapping dangerously close to his throat. Garrick's magic crackled in the air, barely controlled, threatening friend and foe alike.

How long could Justice keep this up? He must be working on pure adrenaline. This was a life-or-death situation. This combat would drain all his energy, inching him closer and closer to death.

"Stop!" I screamed, but the cacophony of growls, shouts, and the sizzle of wayward spells swallowed my voice.

Movement in my peripheral vision caught my attention. I whipped my head toward the trees surrounding the clearing, and my blood ran cold. Dozens of glowing red eyes peered out from the darkness, blinking in and out of existence like twisted Christmas lights.

"What the hell?" I muttered, squinting for a better look.

The eyes vanished as quickly as they appeared, leaving me to question if I'd imagined them. But a nagging feeling in my gut told me otherwise. Could they be the lust demons? The thought sent a shiver down my spine.

An image flashed in my mind. The flying monkeys from The Wizard of Oz but infinitely more sinister. These creatures, whatever they were, radiated a malevolence that made my skin crawl. They were watching, waiting…but for what?

To see who would fall and who would triumph?

I wouldn't give them the sick satisfaction. Was Maci lurking in the shadows, too, betting on who would win?

Time to put an end to this Game of Thrones fight.

I shook my head, forcing myself to focus on the immediate threat. My friends were still locked in combat, oblivious to the lurking danger in the woods. Justice had Maggie pinned, but she was writhing furiously, her powerful legs kicking up clods of bloodied earth. Garrick swayed on his feet, magical exhaustion evident in his pale face and trembling hands.

"I have to stop this," I murmured, gripping the Mirror of Aethereal tightly. "Before they kill each other. Before those things decide to join in."

The weight of the hourglass under my arm and the compass in my other hand reminded me how far I'd come. I couldn't falter now. Not when we were so close.

I replaced the artifacts in my backpack, inhaled deeply and stepped forward, trying to figure out whose attention to get first. The face in the ice palace had said to show the mirror to my friends. It was supposed to break the demons' spell. But how would I show them when they didn't even acknowledge me, let alone the mirror?

A twig cracked somewhere in the darkness, followed by the rustle of leaves. My arms broke out in gooseflesh. The lust demons had to still be here. The glowing red eyes were gone, but the feeling of being watched lingered, oppressive and unnerving.

The chaotic scene before me shifted suddenly. Maggie, caught in the crossfire between Justice and Garrick, took a powerful blow that sent her sprawling. She rolled across the ground, leaving streaks of red in her wake, her fur matted and bloody.

"Maggie!" I cried, my voice cracking with desperation.

At the sound of her name, Maggie's head snapped toward me. But the eyes that met mine weren't the warm, familiar ones I knew. These were feral, filled with a rage that didn't belong to my friend. She snarled, lips curling back to reveal sharp fangs. The fur along her spine stood straight up, making her already massive form seem even more imposing.

My heart raced as Maggie lowered herself, muscles bunching as if preparing to pounce. Time seemed to slow. Behind her, Justice and Garrick were still locked in fierce combat. Justice's vampire speed was a blur as he dodged Garrick's magical attacks, the air crackling with energy. Neither showed any sign of stopping or even noticing what was happening with Maggie.

In that moment, instinct took over. I thrust the Mirror of Aethereal forward, pointing it directly at Maggie. "Please work," I whispered, not even sure what I expected to happen.

For a terrifying second, nothing changed. Then, slowly, I saw a shift in Maggie's eyes. The feral rage faded, replaced by confusion. Her snarl softened, her jaw going slack. She tilted her head, looking at me with a bewilderment that was so characteristically Maggie that I almost cried in relief.

To my amazement, Maggie lowered her head in what could only be described as a bow. As she did, a strange, smoky substance seeped from her mouth like a noxious fog, dissipating into the blood-soaked ground at her feet.

"What the—" I started to say, but an ear-piercing shriek that seemed to come from everywhere at once cut me off.

The sound was like nothing I'd ever heard before. Part scream, part howl, with an undertone that made my bones vibrate. My mind flashed to the glowing red eyes in the trees.

"A lust demon?" I wondered aloud, my voice barely audible over the continuing shriek.

The smoky substance that had left Maggie was now completely gone, seemingly absorbed by the earth. As the shrieking faded, Maggie was coming back to herself. But when I turned to Justice and Garrick, my heart sank. They were still fighting, oblivious to what had happened with Maggie or the unearthly shriek that pierced the air.

"Guys?" I called desperately, still holding the mirror in front of me like a shield. "Justice! Garrick! Stop!"

My words were lost in the chaos of their battle. I realized with growing dread that freeing Maggie was only the first step. Somehow, I needed to use the mirror on Justice and Garrick before they tore each other apart.

Maggie shook herself as if clearing away the last vestiges of whatever had possessed her, and I steeled myself for what came next. The fight was far from over, and that shriek… I had a sinking feeling our troubles were about to get much, much worse.

Maci wouldn't like one of her precious demons getting hurt. She was all about revenge and would come at us with a vengeance.

I stepped forward, and my foot slid, nearly sending me sprawling. I glanced down and immediately wished I hadn't. The ground glistened wetly in the dim light, dark and slick. Tufts of fur clung to the earth, matted with thick crimson.

My stomach lurched as I took in the scene. I clamped a hand over my mouth, fighting the urge to retch.

"Focus, Sawyer," I hissed through clenched teeth, trying to ignore the squelch beneath my feet as I moved. Yet, as I pushed forward, I couldn't shake the image of the remnants of the brutal fight surrounding me like a grisly carpet.