JOURNEY INTO THE REALM: The Spell Master (Journey into the Realm Series) (36 page)

***

I found him heading home, a bag of what I assumed were groceries in his arms; thankfully, the streets weren’t crowded as I approached him. I was out of breath, still frightened by the nymphs’ warning, so I could barely form the words I wanted to say.

“Ramsey, what’s wrong?” Nathan asked.

Finally I was able to mutter, “They’re here, Nathan. The nymphs said something about the Element fairies being closer than we thought. A few in particular have been…
watching me
for a long time, it seems.”

The words were spilling out so fast that I could barely control what I said.

“Now hold on a minute,” Nathan said. “Just take a deep breath and calm down. Element fairies have always been after you.”

“Not like this. Look, Nathan, if these certain fairies have been watching me, they might know my secret. Knowing can only make them want me more. I’m in danger here. I’m a sitting duck, and you are in danger just by associating with me,” I explained.

“
Sitting duck
…that’s a new one,” he commented.

“Nathan,” I said through gritted teeth.

“All right, that was inappropriate. I’m sorry. What do you want me to do? Leave you alone?” he asked.

“No, of course not,” I said hurriedly. “I need you, Nathan. Even though it’s wrong of me to put you in danger, I need you.”

He smiled. It was obvious that my statement made him pretty proud of himself. “Good,” he said, “because I wasn’t going to leave anyway.”

“Nathan,” I said seriously, “I can’t just let them come after me…but what can I do?”

“Maybe go to Queen Taryn for protection,” he suggested.

“What if she doesn’t accept my secret?” I asked.

“If she wants what is best for her elves, she will have to understand. Like it or not, your secret will benefit both the Elf Realm and the Element Fairy Realm if you use it to end the war. Maybe she can even help you decide your next step. But she needs you, Ramsey.”

I nodded. It was a better idea than waiting for another Element fairy to try to kill me. “Let’s leave tonight,” I decided, and for a moment I was taken back to last June, when Stellan and Addison planned my first trip to Tarlore. They weren’t with me this time, but I had Nathan, and he was more than enough company and support.

“You mean I can come?” Nathan asked.

“Yes,” I said. “I want you to, if that’s okay. Only if you want to….”

He dropped his groceries and reached for my hands. Clasping them tightly, he said, “Tell me what to pack.”

Just like that, my self-confidence returned. Nathan had a way of making me feel weightless, and because I didn’t have fairy wings yet, I very much appreciated the sensation.

***

I tried desperately to focus on packing when I returned home, but I couldn’t get the nymphs’ warnings out of my head – or the fact that Eder, my elusive elf protector, had sent me to meet them in the first place. He was more involved in this than I realized.

I was deathly afraid that even leaving tonight would be too late, that the Element fairies would arrive at any moment. I needed some kind of reassurance before I could pack without remaining so distracted. I decided the only thing that might help was a spell. I couldn’t resist.

I laid down on my bed, closed my eyes, thought of Nathan, placed my hands over my eyes, and said the magic words.

“Show me the future,” I commanded.

I was in the room again – the surroundings were still dark, still dirty, and the strange elfen was still sitting against the wall. Everything was the same…except for two things that I hadn’t noticed before: the shiny golden key hanging from my neck and the exact same clothes I was wearing today….

When the vision ended, I opened my eyes and screamed. Whatever the Element fairies had planned in order to put me in that room would happen tonight. Possibly earlier, before Nathan and I left for Tarlore.

I didn’t have much time, and I had a sinking feeling that I wouldn’t be able to prevent my capture even if I tried.

I ran to the trunk and slipped on my Golden Sun ring, in case I needed to perform a difficult spell. After eating a few pieces of fruit, I returned to my room and read as much of my mother’s journal as I could. I tried to memorize the commands I had a tendency to forget, and practiced those that I could already perform on my own.

When I was sure I had memorized all I could, I searched the room for anything I might need in order to defend myself. I had no idea what had happened to my showerhead; Nathan most likely disposed of it with the Element fairy. I needed a new weapon. My bow and bag of arrows were in the kitchen, but I wanted something with iron in it. I opened each vanity drawer, looking for useful tools.

Then I found the letter.

Hidden under Zora’s parchment, it lay, already opened, and addressed to me. With shaky fingers I unfolded the note:

Ramsey,

I’ve been trying to reach you for some time now. What I told you last June is still true. I will tell you your secret if you ask. Please write me. I want to make sure you are safe. But if you don’t respond, I won’t write again. This will be my last letter.

Eder

Tears sprang to my eyes. Underneath were more letters, all of which contained much of the same information. Eder wanting me to write him, promising to talk to me, wondering if I was all right, if I needed anything from him…and Zora had hidden them all. She had read every single one and then hidden them from me. I cursed and stuffed the letters back into the drawer. How could she have done this?

That explained why Eder had resorted to fairy potions to contact me. And I had received his letter about the orchard only because Zora wasn’t here to intercept his attempts to reach me.

I was about to shut the vanity drawer when a loud knock sounded at my door. Frozen in fear, I dared not move. Would Element fairies bother to knock? I didn’t know, but I wasn’t taking any chances.

“Ramsey! Open this here door! ‘Tis be very important!” a familiar voice demanded.

“Mac!” I cried out in relief, my terror vanishing instantly.

“Yes! Open the door!” he cried. “Hurry, before it’s too late!”

I ran to the living room and let the gnome inside. His face was beet red, and sweat had formed a thin sheet over his skin.

“Mac, what’s wrong?”

“It’s the fairies, Ramsey. They’re coming for you, and very soon. There isn’t any time to waste! You must leave here now.”

“How do you know this?” I asked, my pulse racing.

“I heard them talking. A male fire fairy and a younger female fire fairy companion. The male said, ‘It is time for her to reveal her secret to us. You know what to do.’ I didn’t hear anymore. I ran to you as fast as I could. They could be here in minutes.”

“What can I do?” I cried, frantically trying to think of an escape plan, some way to prevent disaster from striking.

“Run, Ramsey. Run away from here.”

I nodded. “I’ll go to Nathan. I’ll leave for Tarlore now.” My pulse was racing but I was determined to stay focused. I grabbed my bag from my room and slipped on my boots. “Are you going to be all right?” I asked.

The gnome didn’t have time to answer; the door burst open and Mac cried out as a fire fairy stepped into the house. Red wings glistened in the sunlight shining through the open entryway. Dark fae hair shone with astonishing exquisiteness. Flames flickered and curled around the fairy’s body, eyes glowing red with a deep intensity.

The fairy who stepped through the doorway, although I could hardly believe it myself, was very familiar. In fact, she was more than familiar. And she was more comfortable entering my home than any Element fairy should be.

“Hello, Ramsey,” she addressed coolly, her voice the epitome of pure seduction, beckoning me forward, persuading me to give in to her tempting allure.

My bag slipped through my fingers and dropped to the floor. I struggled to resist her, to blot out her transformed image from my memory, but it was no good.

This image of Ellie would be forever burned in my mind, like the imprint of flames against my skin.

“Ellie,” I whispered, shock and disbelief overtaking me, preventing me from saying anything but her name.

“Yes, Ramsey, I am an Element fairy. It’s amazing what a simple fairy Glamour can do. Before you ask what that is, don’t. Where you’re going, you won’t need one,” she remarked numbly, without a trace of emotion in her tone.

Her hair, once lovely and thin, now framed her face in a fit of exotic, almost feral brown curls. She reminded me of a wild animal, unleashed and remarkably dangerous. Her fairy beauty only intensified my fear. I didn’t have a doubt that she could make me bend to her will using only her breathtaking appearance.

“You lied to me,” I said, dumbfounded, trying to remove my stare from her perfect features. “Brielle said there was something different about you. We thought it was harmless, but now.…”

“Ah, Ramsey, I didn’t lie. I never called myself an elfen; everyone just assumed I was. Fairies can’t lie; they only bend the truth. Didn’t you know that already? After all, you
are
one of us now.” She noticed my wide eyes and scoffed. “Come on, Ramsey. You left the trunk
unlocked
. Really, you made my job a lot easier for me in the end.”

“I’m nothing like you,” I bit back. “I don’t pretend to be someone I’m not.”

Ellie smirked, the first hint of emotion playing upon her lovely face. “Then I can assume you’ve told the elves of Birchwood your secret, correct? Because, if you haven’t, that would mean you pretend to be someone you’re not every day.”

I scowled, hating that she had caught me behaving like a hypocrite. But I refused to fuel her fire. Getting angry would only satisfy her. I had to try a different approach. Maybe, deep down amidst the flames of her tortured heart, Ellie had genuine feelings. I just had to access them. I looked at her with a composed expression. “Why?” I asked, adding a quiver to my tone for effect. “Why pretend for so long only to betray me?”

Ellie averted her gaze for a moment; I could have sworn that I saw misery in the depths of her fiery eyes. “I had to do what was necessary for my father. I couldn’t let him down,” she said plainly.

“Finn is your father,” I realized, a gut feeling I couldn’t ignore.

She hesitated, drawing her eyes back to me. “You could call him that.”

“I treated you like family, probably more than your father ever will. You were like a sister to me,” I said calmly to her.

Ellie sighed, placing her hands on her slender hips. She hovered slightly above ground, and my eyes were drawn to her boots. At first I thought they were the embodiment of flame, an exquisite design that only
appeared
to be made of fire. But as I looked closer, I realized that her boots
were
flames, crawling up her toned legs like fiery snakes. I shivered, afraid of what would happen to me if she decided to plant her foot on my face. What would it take for her to lash out at me?
Not much
, I figured. Ellie had a temper, and I guessed that temper was only amplified when she chose to embrace her true form.

“I’m sorry, Ramsey, I truly am. Believe it or not, I was actually beginning to like you
too
much. Finn noticed this and told me I had to finish the job before it was too late.” She flew closer to me, and I could feel the heat of the fire flickering from her palms, teasing me with its deathly glow. Her fingers brushed against my skin, lifting my chin until our gazes met. I winced from the painful burns, but I didn’t look away. “I didn’t want to do this, Ramsey. You have been a good friend, but I can’t let down my kind. I do apologize.”

“That doesn’t mean much coming from an Element fairy,” I snapped.

Ellie smiled indifferently. “Oh well, I tried.”

Mac shivered beside me. I desperately wished that he wasn’t here to witness all of this, but nothing could be done about it now.

Ellie turned her back to me, walking toward the fireplace. With swift precision, she shot a stream of flame toward the logs, causing them to catch fire quickly. The blaze crackled, continuing to rise. I wondered for a moment if her goal was to burn the house down – with Mac and I still inside.

But finally, as smoke began to filter through the room, Ellie reached her hand into the flames and extinguished them with the clenching of her fist. What was she trying to prove? That she was more powerful than I once believed? Mission accomplished…about
five minutes
ago. She was wasting her time.

Ellie spun around to face me once more, her eyes dancing with images of flames and burning. “It is high time that the elves lost this war. Selfish and full of misguided hate, they are the murderers of my kind. They started this fight and the Element fairies must end it. Once you are out of the way, my kind will win.”

She sounded like a polished speaker, repeating what others had instilled inside her mind. I almost felt pity for her. Almost.

“That’s where you’re wrong, Ellie,” I said. “I will be the one to end this war. I’ll make sure that no Realm gains a victory. No Realm
deserves
a victory.”

Ellie shook her head, smiling callously. “Ah, Ramsey, so full of hope and honor.” Her eyes narrowed, the irises a glossy blood red. “The Element fairies will triumph, and very soon.”

Fire shot from her opened palms and struck Mac with a brute force. His body hit the wall with a sickening
thud
and slumped to the floor.

I screamed as Ellie shot another stream of fire. This time she aimed for me but I jumped out of the way and watched as the flames burned a hole in one of my walls instead.

I made the mistake of running to Mac. I had to make sure that he was all right. I knew that I should have fought Ellie. I should have turned around and thrown a spell at her or shoved an arrow through her heart – my bag of arrows and my bow were only a few feet away, resting on the dining room table. Instead, I panicked.

As I crouched down to check Mac’s pulse, I didn’t notice the handle of Ellie’s dagger ready to strike my skull. I had no time to react.

I was out. I had lost.