Gideon couldn’t hide his surprise that I had entered his domain. His shadowy hand slashed the air, and darkness cascaded over me.
Shimmering images of fear and despair taunted me, wrapping their tentacles around me to bring me down.
But I clung to that bright tether to my dad and let it guide me out of the gloom.
As the images parted, I glimpsed that eerie fortress again behind the mansion, and a single door flickered in the blackness.
The entire realm cracked like a mirror struck by an ax as shards of the world I walked fractured around me.
The ground lurched, and I fell backward, out of Gideon’s domain, and away from the doom of his soul.
I gasped as pain tore through my body and mind.
Clutching my chest and trying to catch a breath, my eyes flew open to see the familiar surroundings unfold into the comforting glow of my cottage.
I was sprawled in the chalk circle with my right arm flung wide, the other clutching my chest.
My heart hammered so violently that I thought it might burst, but I saw Nova, Stella, Twobble, Miora, and Keegan standing in the circle with tension carved in their expressions.
I tried to speak, but all that came out was a harsh breath.
Stella knelt beside me, pressing a cool hand to my forehead.
“Maeve, are you all right?” she whispered.
I managed a slow nod, though I trembled from head to toe.
My chest felt tight.
“I…I saw him,” I croaked.
Keegan knelt, his hand wrapping around mine. “Frank?”
“Gideon,” I breathed, shutting my eyes against nausea. “He’s got my dad in some twisted fortress behind the sprawling mansion in Shadowick. I’ve seen the structure before in a dream. I… I connected with my dad for a moment, but Gideon blocked me. They know we’re coming.”
“It’s okay.”
“I know which building they’re holding him in.”
A grim hush fell over the group. Twobble’s typical sarcasm slipped, replaced by genuine concern.
“No one from Stonewick has set foot into Shadowick’s fog and come out the same,” Twobble said, shaking his head. “We can’t simply go in and get him.”
Nova nodded slowly.
“You were out for nearly thirty minutes. We heard you screaming, tried to end the spell, but… You wouldn’t let go,” Stella explained. “These spells…”
Nova knelt. “Are meant to last for seconds, maybe a few minutes at most.”
A dark surge of adrenaline still thrummed in my veins as I forced myself to sit up, letting Nova gently steady me.
“I couldn’t leave my dad.”
The memory of Gideon’s cruel and mocking voice still echoed in my mind. But more than that, the image of my dad’s flickering spirit lingered, forging an unbreakable promise in my chest.
But what scared me most was that I wanted to go back.
I craved answers and needed to know what Gideon wanted and why his actions were only getting more brazen.
