Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7

T he scent of pine and damp earth surrounded us as we stood at the edge of the enchanted forest. The paths diverged before us. There were three distinct trails. When I tuned into my magical senses, each one promised to bring us closer to unraveling Lyra’s nefarious plans and finding Rosemary.

“We should split up,” Stella suggested. “We have to search them all.”

“We should send a witch with someone else,” Nana added. “I’ll go with Tseki and take the path to our right.”

I glanced at Aidon, feeling a mix of apprehension and resolve. He nodded in agreement. “We’ll meet back here in a couple of hours,” I said as I pulled out my cell phone and checked the signal. To my relief, I had one. “Stay safe and keep in touch.” I waved the device at them.

Nana’s eyes reflected the wisdom and strength of years. “Be careful but trust your instincts.”

Stella’s gaze was fierce. Her determination was a palpable force. “We’ll find her, Phoebe. And we’ll stop Lyra.” Murtagh and Layla flanked Stella. They knew Aidon was going to go with me. I felt better knowing they had fierce protectors as well.

With a final nod, we turned and set off on our respective paths. Aidon and I headed east. Within a few minutes the forest closed in around us again. The canopy above was dense, allowing only slivers of moonlight to pierce through. The air was cool, crisp, and filled with the sounds of rustling leaves and distant bird calls. I wanted to be relieved that the wolves seemed to have lost our trail, but I couldn’t relax.

As we walked, I couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched. Opening my senses further, I noted that the forest was alive with magic. Energy pulsated around us. It was ancient and a touch on the malevolent side. It was almost as if the forest had been fighting Lyra’s influence. The trees whispered secrets. Their branches swayed gently like they were trying to say something. Aidon was as alert as I was. Every rustle and movement heightened our awareness.

After a while, we came across a narrow path lined with wildflowers. The petals lifted off the flowers and floated gently in the air as if beckoning us to follow. Aidon and I shared a look. Both of us clearly thought the same thing. Following them would take us in the right direction. “I’m with you always,” Aidon promised as he squeezed my hand.

“I love you,” I told him simply as we took the path to a small clearing. It was bathed in the soft, golden light of dawn. In the center stood an ancient stone altar. We closed the distance and got a better look at the altar. It was covered in intricate carvings and runes.

We approached the altar cautiously. My heart was trying to pound out of my chest. The air around it was charged with magical energy. It made the runes glow faintly and felt on the dark end of the spectrum. I was about to reach for the altar when my phone vibrated. The screen lit up with Nana’s name. Answering the call, I pressed it to my ear. “Phoebe, I’ve found something,” Nana said excitedly. “A tree on this path is covered with markings similar to the ones in the scroll.”

I smiled, feeling a renewed sense of hope. “Great job, Nana. Keep investigating. I’ve found an altar with runes that I think is significant.”

Another call came in, and I added Stella to the conversation. “Hey, Stells. Nana found a tree with symbols, and I found an altar. You get anything?”

“I’m at a clearing with a circle of standing stones. There’s a powerful magical presence here. It’s got to be connected to Lyra’s magic,” she replied.

“We’re getting closer. Stay vigilant,” I told them. “We should regroup sooner than the two-hour mark.”

“Agreed. We already have more to investigate,” Nana interjected. “I’ll head back after another half an hour.” Stella and I promised to do the same and hung up.

With a deep breath, I turned my attention back to the altar. We needed to decipher the runes to uncover their meaning. The ancient language was complex and not familiar to me. I smiled at Aidon. “Do you know what this means?”

He pressed a kiss to my lips before returning his focus to the altar. He had thousands of years of knowledge and experience to draw from whereas I had just over four decades. Time passed in a blur as he worked. I conjured an ice cream cone and canteen so we had water. The babies had a sweet tooth and it was for the greater good that I feed it. At least that was how I reasoned it. I got cranky when my blood sugar dropped.

Aidon didn’t notice as he was wholly absorbed in the task at hand. Finally, he paused and looked over at me. “This points to the riddles we discovered on the scroll. It’s basically a similar version of it, except there is a little more detail here. ”

“Take pictures, and we can add it to what we know and anything the others find,” I told him with a smile before we turned back towards the forest.

The trees loomed tall and ancient around us. I glanced up and admired the way their branches intertwined to form a natural cathedral. Shafts of sunlight pierced through the canopy, making it look almost like stained glass. We took the path back much faster than we had on the way in. We were already familiar with what was around us.

When we finally emerged from the forest, some of the tightness eased from around my chest. Nana, Tseki, Murtagh, Stella, and Layla were there waiting. Despite having talked to them, I was still worried something might have happened to them. “What did you find?” I asked, stepping into the clearing.

Nana spoke first, her voice steady. “The markings on the tree I found are definitely linked to the sigils in the message. They’re protective runes. Whatever Lyra is hiding, she doesn’t want anyone to find it easily.”

Stella wrung her hands together. Worry had etched deep lines into her face. We would find her mother, I just hoped we weren’t too late to save Rosemary from Lyra’s vile machinations. “The standing stones are a focal point for magical energy. It felt like it might be part of the network Lyra is using to channel power.”

I shared my findings about the altar and the runes, each piece of information slotting together like a puzzle. Aidon’s head bobbed up and down as we all spoke. When I finished, he lifted a hand and said, “We’re close. Let’s go back to the standing stones. If it is connected like Stella believes, it might take us to Lyra. Circles like that are often primed for portals.”

Stella’s expression brightened. “Maybe we will find my mom.” She was practically running down the path she had taken .

“At a minimum, it will get us one step closer,” I promised her. My heart twinged when she shot me a sad look. I know she wanted to hear that we were going to find her mom, but I never lied to her, and I wasn’t going to start now.

A trail of shimmering magical energy pulsed around us as we followed the path. The power weaved through the trees like a silvery thread. This time, I felt it pull me. It was a subtle but insistent tug that urged me onward. My heart pounded with anticipation, and a mixture of excitement and dread coursed through my veins. I wanted to rescue Rosemary. However, I wasn’t ready to face Lyra. I was five months pregnant with triplets, and the thought terrified me. Yes, my babies had an innate ability to protect themselves, but was it enough against a being as evil as Lyra? I had my doubts.

Before long, the forest began to change. The trees grew taller and more ancient, their gnarled branches forming a dense canopy that blocked out the sunlight. The trail changed again. It narrowed and became lined with wildflowers. Instead of floating like the last ones I encountered, these petals glowed faintly in the dim light. Our steps became careful and measured.

We turned several corners and ended up in a small clearing. Sunlight bathed the center where a circle of ancient stones stood. Nana slid off of Tseki’s back as we approached. I felt him shift as I examined the surfaces of what looked like Stone Henge. They were etched with intricate runes that glowed with a faint blue light. Magic hung heavy around us. It was like the altar. Not quite fully dark, but it definitely had a malevolent edge. Unlike what I had found, the energy there swirled around the stones like a living entity.

My heart hammered against my breastbone as I stepped in the middle. The runes weren’t like what we had seen on the scroll. This wasn’t Lyra’s doing. The complex and mesmerizing patterns were older and powerful enough that she couldn’t fully convert them to her control. I searched for why there was any of Lyra’s power there. My fingers grazed the surface of one of the stones, and I felt something that had been obscured from sight. It was a symbol, and I was betting it was one of Lyra’s.

I heard a rustling sound behind me while I was studying the runes. Alarmed, I swiveled around and had balls of witch fire ready to go. Aidon put his hand on my shoulder. “It’s okay. We just felt the energy surge. What did you do?”

I gestured to the stones. “This is definitely a focal point for Lyra's magic. I came across one of her hidden symbols. The magic of the stones is too powerful for her to overcome entirely, but she has surely tried.”

Aidon moved closer and examined the stones. “These are ancient sigils meant to amplify and channel magical energy. It’s why these circles are primed for portal travel. I bet Lyra is trying to use this place to strengthen her powers since she lost the island.”

Stella leaned forward and scrutinized the markings. “We need to get this magic going so we can find my mom.”

Standing in the heart of the ancient stone circle, there was a tangible, electric energy surrounding us. It leaped out at us with her words. “Our goal hasn’t changed,” I promised her.

We went back to figuring this out. The weathered stones pulsed under the sunlight. Each rune vibrated with life and emitted its own faint glow. Initially, I thought they were all the same color, but now I could see they weren’t. The mingling of ancient magic and Lyra's darker, malevolent power set my nerves on edge and had no doubt irrevocably changed the spot.

Stella moved closer to one of the stones, and her fingers gently traced the carved patterns. “Okay, this is so weird,” she said. Her voice was a mixture of awe and apprehension. “ There are concealed symbols. This has to be the shadows, hidden messages riddle. Which ones do we need to feed power into to open the portal to my mom?”

I joined her, squinting at the runes. “I told you they were here,” I murmured. “Lyra's magic is piggybacking on something older, something that was here long before she ever came but I couldn’t tell you which ones were important to opening a portal.” I almost told her that she shouldn’t expect us to open anything, but I felt the hum of a portal. I’d used enough of them to recognize the energy. Layla and Murtagh both shifted to their human forms but didn’t get dressed. I had to avert my gaze from the naked people. I loved my friends, but I was not as comfortable with nudity as they were.

Aidon thrust his hands on his hips as he scanned the entire circle. “We can activate the portal magic, but I will need to determine which ones to use in conjunction with the masked ones Lyra left,” he informed us.

“How do we determine that?” I asked as I joined him in the middle.

Stella turned to face us, determination in her eyes. “Do we just trace the symbols and find Lyra's trail? Shouldn’t it be her magic that will lead us to my mom?”

We all looked to Aidon. He shrugged his broad shoulders. “I’ve never done this before. I’m flying by the seat of my pants and acting on instinct.”

I patted his chest and smiled up at him. “Awe, we’re rubbing off on you. You’re officially one of us now. Let’s start poking things and see what happens.”

Nana rolled her eyes. “Don’t go that far. Look but don’t touch... yet.”

I saluted Nana and moved to examine the section closest to me. The others followed suit. I was most aware of Layla and Murtagh as they moved cautiously around the perimeter because I could see their naked bodies from the corner of my eye. “How do we know which runes might be important? They feel so different. Is there something in particular we need to search for?” Layla asked with a growl.

Murtagh nodded as his fingernails shifted into claws and back. “I don't like this place. It feels... wrong.”

Aidon shifted uncomfortably. “I'm... not entirely sure,” he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. “The only thing that comes to mind to describe the sensation is that it should feel like traveling in a car with your head stuck out the window, you know? Like everything was rushing by too fast, and you can't catch your breath.” He paused to gather his thoughts. “There should also be this... tugging feeling. As if you are being pulled toward something. Focus on the runes that seem to pull at you the most. It's not much to go on, but it's all I've got.”

Layla inclined her head. “That’s helpful. Magic is incredibly confusing.”

Aidon chuckled. “You’ve got that right. Let me see if my power can highlight anything.”

We watched Aidon do his thing. His wings unfurled from his back, and he shook them out before sending a wave of his power around the circle. The babies in my belly reacted and started kicking like crazy. “Aaaah!” I cried out as a vital organ was hit.

Aidon stopped, and everyone converged around me with concern on their faces. I shook my head and held out a hand. “Don’t worry about me. Your energy supercharged them, and the soccer player in there decided my kidney made a good ball. I’m okay.”

Aidon put his hand on my stomach and ran it over the bulge. “Don’t hurt your mother. She should always be treated like a queen.”

I laughed and smiled like a loon hearing him tell our babies that. I loved him more than anything. With a quick kiss, he returned to what he was doing. Something caught his attention, and he traced one particularly intricate symbol. He jerked suddenly and let out a curse. I watched as a sharp bolt of energy shot through him. His eyes widened as the ground began to vibrate. “I think I activated something,” he said as he brought me closer to his side.

The others closed the distance and surrounded us, at the same time, the stone circle started to glow more intensely. The runes lit up with an eerie, supernatural light. A swirling vortex of energy formed in the center of the circle. Its edges flickered with dark, ominous sparks. The feeling of being pulled was unmistakable. Aidon had activated a portal.

“That doesn't look very inviting,” Murtagh muttered as his eyes remained fixed on the energy.

“We don't have much choice but to go through,” I said, feeling more of the pull of the portal's energy. “Rosemary could be on the other side of that.”

Tseki's protective stance signaled his readiness to defend us if needed. “I agree with Murtagh. This energy feels dangerous,” he warned.

Layla stepped forward with her hands clenched into fists. “We came here to find Rosemary. We can't back down now.”

Aidon tilted his head to the side. “What if it's a trap? What if Lyra is waiting for us?"

Stella nodded, and her eyes met each of ours in turn. “I can't ask you guys to go through with me. I would appreciate the help, but I understand if you don’t want to.”

Nana gave Stella a stern look and then graced the rest of us with it. “Standing here debating isn't going to find Rosemary. We've faced worse, and it won’t get any better if we let fear stop us now. We’re going as a family.”

Her words struck a chord in me. “She's right. We have to move forward together. That’s where our power lies. ”

Taking a deep breath, I stepped closer to the portal, feeling its dark energy wrap around me like cold tendrils. The sensation was unsettling and made icy dread flow down my spine. One by one, my friends joined me, their resolve unwavering. Murtagh reached for Tseki. “We’ve got your backs. Always.”

Layla placed a reassuring hand on Stella's shoulder. “We'll find Rosemary. Never stop believing that.” She must understand what I did. There was a chance we wouldn’t come across her mother on the other side.

Tseki shifted into his dragon form and stood protectively over Nana. The energy from the portal swirled around us. My magic automatically reached for my loved ones and bound us together. Despite the malevolent aura, we were ready to face whatever lay ahead. We stepped up to the portal and braced ourselves for the unknown.

The darkness enveloped us, and a second later, the world shifted around me. My stomach lurched as I felt the ground vanish beneath my feet. The air grew colder and the energy more oppressive. The last thing I heard before everything went black was Nana's voice, laced with urgency. “Hold on to your butts, everyone!” Then, nothing.