Chapter 18

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

The blue shimmering cage changed in an instant. The shimmering blue magic faded away, leaving nothing but a cage behind. A cage that didn’t even have a door on it. I guess the wizard was confident enough that his magic would keep his prisoner from escaping.

"Jaylyn," I said, relief flooding me as she rushed into my arms, her own shaking slightly.

"Thank you," she said, and I could hear the tears she was holding back.

"It’s okay. We’re just glad we found you."

She pulled back from me, tears streaking her dirt-stained face. "No, thank you. I never thought I’d see the outside of that cage again. I never thought I’d see a person again. I was so scared. I didn’t think anyone was coming. I–"

"Guys, not to be the bad guy, but we don’t have time for thank-yous. We have to get out of here." Robbie glanced nervously around the chaos left behind after the scattering of cricket men and the remnants of Zorand's nightmare.

"Right," I said. "We've got to move."

And just like that, we turned our backs on the cage that had held our friend and ran, not knowing what lay ahead, but certain it had to be better than the horrors we were leaving behind. Now, we just had to get out of here and somehow find a way home. That would be easy. Right?

When we left the main room, we heard a terrible sound and looked behind us. The entire pathway to the throne crumbled and fell away, and then the ceiling began to fall too in huge chunks. Was the Lizard Wizard’s magic keeping this place together? We didn’t need to stay to find out.

As we kept running, Robbie was in the lead, scouting the area, his eyes darting from one hallway after another as parts of the ceiling fell here and there. "We need to move faster," he said, his voice low but urgent. "This place is falling apart without Zorand."

Jessie nodded, her curls bouncing as she took in the scene. The cricket men were in disarray, scurrying about in panic, their spindly legs clicking against the floor in a cacophony of confusion. It would've been comical if it weren't for the danger they still posed.

"Right, let's get out of here while they're distracted," Jessie gestured toward a corridor that seemed less chaotic.

"Lead the way," I said, and we started off at a brisk pace, our footsteps muffled by the rubbery ground of this crazy world. We moved through the chaos, unseen and unbothered by the minions who were too busy fearing an imaginary avian intruder to notice us.

The corridors were a blur of pastel colors as we made our escape. Every now and then, a stray cricket man would cross our path, but they paid us no mind, too caught up in their own frenzy to see us sneaking past.

"Almost there," Robbie said as we turned a corner. The absurdity of the situation wasn't lost on me, a group of middle-aged Fairy Godmothers and a Sugar Daddy running from cricket men in a child's fantasy. But none of that mattered. Jaylyn was safe, and soon, we'd be back where we belonged.

We were a distance from the Lizard Wizard’s throne room when Jaylyn finally caught her breath enough to speak. "Zorand thought I was a realm jumper," she panted, glancing back over her shoulder as if worried he might still be listening. "He kept me in that cage while training me, trying to unlock... whatever he thought I had."

"Realm jumper?" I said, exchanging a look with Robbie and Jessie. "What’s that?"

"It’s a person who can jump between realms. It would explain why I went from our world to this one. Except, a realm jumper can jump between realms on purpose, instead of accidentally, when they’re properly trained."

Excitement filled me. If Jaylyn could jump between realms, she could get us all back home. I could be back, snuggled with my cats in a blanket, within the hour .

Yet, her answer doesn’t explain how the rest of us got here.

"Could one of us be a realm jumper too?" I wondered aloud. It was the only thing that made sense given how we ended up here. We weren't exactly your typical Doodle material, after all.

"Maybe," Jaylyn said. "But now that I'm not under his spell anymore, I think I can use what he taught me. We could go home."

"Really?" Jessie asked, her voice a mix of skepticism and desperation.

Jaylyn nodded. "I really think we could. We need to find a quiet place to do it."

"Home sounds perfect right about now," Robbie said, running a hand through his silvering hair.

"Let's focus on getting out first, and if we find a quiet place, we can stop there," I said firmly. We needed to keep moving. But the flicker of hope in Jaylyn's eyes was contagious, and I felt it too, the possibility of going back to our world, to everything familiar and safe.

We didn't waste any time. "The cricket men will catch on soon," I glanced at the chaotic scatter of Zorand's minions. "They'll figure out their bird-brained leader is gone for good."

"Then we should hit the artifact room before we leave," Jessie said, her voice tinged with an excitement that felt oddly out of place. "We can load ourselves down now that we don’t have to worry about fighting the Lizard Wizard. It's not really stealing if it's from a bad guy, right? Plus, it might be a quiet enough place for Jaylyn to realm jump."

"Right," Robbie said, and we all nodded.

"Let's be quick about it," I added.

As we moved through the corridors toward the artifact room, dodging the last of the fleeing cricket men, I remembered something that had been nagging at me. Turning to Jaylyn, I asked, "Why did you write my name in the courtyard?"

"Your name?" she asked with a frown.

"That's how we got pulled into all of this, because you wrote my name in the courtyard and then disappeared. "

Jaylyn halted, her big brown eyes widened, and she shook her head. "I never wrote your name."

"Then why, " But before I could finish, Jessie let out an uneasy chuckle.

"I saw your name there," Jaylyn brushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "I was curious, trying to figure out why it was there. Next thing I knew, I tripped over something and poof, I ended up in this world."

"Tripped? Just like that?" I said, but Jaylyn only nodded, her expression as puzzled as mine felt.

"Let's keep moving," Jessie broke the brief silence that followed. We continued, the weight of unanswered questions heavy in the air between us.

"Jessie, hold up," I said, pausing in the middle of the chaotic hallway. The last of the cricket men scuttled past us, their spindly legs clicking against the floor. "Jaylyn, if you didn't mean to come here, why were you holding a potion that's supposed to enhance world hopping?"

She halted and gave me a blank look. "What are you talking about?"

"Back when we found you," Jessie prodded, her voice tinged with confusion.

Jaylyn glanced at Robbie, who was busy watching our backs, making sure no more cricket men were coming our way. She then leaned in close, lowering her voice as though she was sharing a secret meant only for us. "That potion I had. It wasn't for world hopping." Her cheeks turned a shade pinker. "I brewed it in the potions classroom, in secret. Didn't exactly want everyone knowing I needed help... um, going to the bathroom."

"Constipation?" I said before I could stop myself and couldn't help but let out an incredulous snort. Who would've thought?

"Exactly," Jaylyn whispered, looking relieved someone else understood.

"Wait a second," I said, putting together the pieces. "But I thought godmothers were selected randomly. How do you have a family potion for anything if it's all random?"

"That's the thing," Jaylyn said, straightening up. "Most of the time it's random, sure. But there are a few families where being a godmother, or godfather, runs in the blood. My family is one of those. Men and women, doesn't matter. We’ve all got the knack."

"Talk about keeping it in the family," I said, still struggling to wrap my head around the notion. Everything I knew about how this magical system worked was getting tossed on its head.

"Let's get moving," Robbie nodded toward the artifact room. "We can figure out the family tree later."

"Right," I said, motioning for them to follow. There was still plenty to uncover, but for now, we had bigger fish to fry, or, in this case, artifacts to snag.

The potion room was a treasure trove, with shelves lined with bottles that glinted under the flickering light. We stuffed our bags with everything we could grab - glowing vials, ancient scrolls, and odd trinkets that hummed with magic. When there was nowhere left to stuff anything, we turned to Jalyn.

"Ready to leave?" I asked.

She smiled. "I’ve been ready since I got here."

"How do we do this?" Robbie asked.

"I’ll show you," Jaylyn said, offering her hands to us.

Jessie and I told her hands, and Robbie took ours. All of us looked nervous, especially Jaylyn, which wasn’t exactly comforting.

"Now, he had me practicing this inside that bubble, but he never actually allowed me to jump realms, so I’m not exactly sure how this will go, but I’ll try my best. Jaylyn's hand was warm in mine as we linked up, ready to leave this place behind.

"Ready?" I asked, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze.

"More than ready," she said, her eyes reflecting a mix of hope and exhaustion.

"Let's go home." With those words, I felt the familiar tug at my navel, the disorienting whirl of colors, and then, solid ground beneath our feet. We stood in the courtyard of Godmother Academy, the air filled with the scent of fresh parchment and wax crayons.

"Look," Robbie pointed as Mr. Vanderflit burst out of the main doors, his mismatched attire somehow looking perfect on him.

"Everyone, they're back," he boomed, and within moments, the courtyard swelled with the rest of the school .

There were gasps and cheers, and suddenly we were engulfed in a sea of hugs and pats on the back. Jaylyn, usually so quiet and reserved, was animated, gesturing excitedly as she recounted our adventure. Starting with things we didn’t even know yet, like what had happened when she’d fallen into Doodle. She kept going, with everyone seemingly holding their breaths, until she came to the end.

"Without Cendi and the others, I... I wouldn't have made it," she told everyone who would listen. "They saved me."

I just smiled, feeling a bit embarrassed by all the attention but warmed by their happiness. They didn't need to know about the near misses or the sheer panic that had gripped us. They just needed to know we were all safe, back where we belonged, and that was enough for them. It was enough for me too.

"We've looked everywhere for you," Ms. Ingow said. "The entire school and the surrounding lands have been combed."

"Sorry, we didn't mean to scare anyone," Robbie scratched his head, looking sheepish.

Jaylyn stepped forward, her voice stronger than I had heard it before. "It was an accident. Realm jumping is dangerous, and we never meant to..."

"Accident or not, you're back and safe, that's what matters," Ms. Ingow cut in, her eyes softening.

Then, the hunters squeezed through the crowd. "Is this the missing student?" the man asked

"It is," Ms. Ingow said. "But Jaylyn, tell them what you told me."

"Right. It was Cendi, Robbie, and Jessie who rescued me," Jaylyn said. "They came when I thought all hope was lost. They fought with magic and courage. They saved my life."

"Jaylyn, you don't need to, " I said, but she was on a roll, and there was no stopping her praise.

"Everyone should know what they did for me," she said.

"Okay, okay." Jessie laughed nervously, clearly uncomfortable with the spotlight.

The hunters exchanged a look, but it was the woman who spoke this time. "Who was responsible for your kidnapping? "

Jaylyn blushed.

"Initially, me. I learned I was a realm jumper when I accidentally jumped realms. But then, a Lizard Wizard kidnapped me in another realm. Except, he’s dead now."

The woman sighed. "So, there’s no one to arrest for this matter."

"No one," Jaylyn told them.

The man shook his head. "We’ll be leaving then, but we expect a full accounting on our desk, Mr. Vanderflit."

"Of course," Mr. Vanderflit said.

The hunters turned and disappeared, and the circle around us closed. No one seemed to care the least bit about the hunters, they just seemed happy to see us. Which I tried not to be annoyed about. They did seem to turn from hating me to liking me on a dime though.

Mr. Vanderflit stepped up next, his eyes twinkling with curiosity beneath his fiery-red hair. "One thing still puzzles me, Jaylyn. Cendi's name was found in the courtyard. Can you explain that?"

"Her name?" Jaylyn blinked in surprise. "I didn't write it. I saw it there and was curious about why it was written. When I went to look, I tripped, and suddenly I was in Doodle."

"Really?" Mr. Vanderflit said, stroking his chin thoughtfully.

"Strange as it sounds," I said. "None of us planned to end up in that world."

"Indeed," he nodded slowly. "Well, the important thing is you're all here now. Let's make sure such accidents are avoided in the future."

"Agreed," I said, breathing a sigh of relief. We were home.