Jade lowers his head. His eyes open. He looks at me and a dazzling smile spreads across his too-pale face. My heart thumps. It thuds against my ribcage like a thing possessed.
I tighten my grip on Jade’s hand and all but run deeper into the beautiful gardens. I babble about snowdrops and daffodils and everything and nothing.
Jade looks around in wonder. As if I’m showing him heaven instead of a garden in a country estate. He really has been locked up in the dark for far too long.
It would take a toil on anybody, and Jade is part fey. His heritage is tied to nature and the wild. Shutting him in a dungeon is like putting a sunflower in a basement and expecting it to survive.
The path we are on meanders up to a pretty sundial. It’s surrounded by a circle of white gravel, and three other paths lead away from it. It’s a centerpiece, and it really is quite charming.
Pink told me that lots of things around the house and grounds are imbued with ancient magic. It wouldn’t surprise me if this sundial was one of them.
Jade lets go of my hand and walks up to the weathered sundial with clear reverence. I watch him with a grin on my face and relief pounding through my veins. Jade hasn’t sunk so far that he cannot be found. He just needed some fresh air and a walk. A change of scenery to revitalize his spirits.
Once a day might be enough to keep him going. Just until my endless pestering of the Grand Master pays off. One day Silas will answer my calls or emails. I know it. Then the freaky necromancer will hurry up with finding a better way of keeping Jade safe.
Jade places his hands on the sundial and suddenly he jolts. His head snaps back as if he is looking up at the sky again, and his entire body goes rigid.
“Jade?”
I step towards him.
His eyes are milky white.
I run towards him, but I hit something solid and crash to the ground. I can’t breathe. Whatever invisible thing I ran into has knocked the wind right out of me.
Jade starts to chant. Strange, melodic and alluring words that make my skin tingle and burn.
Oh crap. Oh double and triple crap. My heart is racing so fast now I think I’m going to die. Even if I wasn’t winded, adrenaline is shaking my muscles so hard, I don’t think I could move.
The sound of running footsteps reaches my ears. I twist my neck to look. Everyone, and I mean everyone, is running out of the house towards us.
Thank fuck.
They will know what to do. They know all about magic. They figured out how to stop Jade last time he tried to open a portal.
Everything is going to be fine. The boys will stop this. Then everyone will be furious at my stupid ass. But everyone will be okay and that is the only thing that matters.
I heave myself up into a sitting position. I watch in bewilderment as Monty and Mal do things I have no chance of comprehending. The only thing I’m grasping is that Jade is behind a magic bubble, and no one can get to him.
Ned steps forward. He is clutching a large black umbrella to keep him out of the sunlight. He tries talking to Jade. He tries to get his attention.
But Jade’s head stays back. His face fixed skyward and his eyes unseeing.
He is chanting away. I don’t think he is aware of us at all. He can’t see us. Or hear us. I can’t even tell if he is still Jade.
Suddenly, someone dressed all in black is striding up to the invisible magic wall. It’s Silas, the Grand Master. Please let him be powerful enough to stop this.
“I’m going to have to kill him,” says Silas.
“No!” I cry as I scramble to my feet. “Give me five minutes, please!”
Silas gives me a deeply impatient look. Gulping down my terror, I run up to the magic wall, getting as close to Jade as I can. I place the palm of my hands on the tingling nothingness. It is as solid as glass. No wonder running into it at full speed knocked me on my ass.
Jade is inches away from me, but he might as well be on the other side of the universe. He seems utterly oblivious of my presence.
“Jadey, Baby?” I shout hoarsely. “Please don’t do this.”
Shouting seems like a good idea. I have no idea if the magic is keeping sound out, but turning up my volume can’t hurt.
