After knocking and waiting for what felt like forever, a little old lady answered the door. Her greeting died on her lips as she took Joz and me in with wide, shocked eyes.
Since she seemed speechless for reasons unknown, I said, “Hello, ma’am. I’m looking for the owners of the orchard.”
“Th-that’s me and m-my husband,” she said quietly, sounding a little scared.
I frowned at her, but still said, “Ezryn, uh, that is Ezryndryll Blackthane sent us. We need to get to the bridge.”
Her eyes widened impossibly further before her head was bobbing up and down. “I-I can take you, s-sir.”
“Thank you.”
“L-let me grab a coat.”
I gave her a nod before she shut the door, and I turned to Joz. “Why was she scared of me?”
“I have no idea why she’d be scared of a shrimp like you.”
I snorted and punched his shoulder.
The little old lady came back out in a coat, and locked her door behind her before walking down the porch steps, saying, “This way, sirs.”
We followed behind silently as she led us through a maze of rows and rows of grapevines growing on trellises that felt like they went on forever. Eventually, we came to the edge of some trees, and the woman walked straight into them. It was another ten-minute walk through trees before she stopped at a small creek. When I took it in, I made an irritated noise in the back of my throat. This bridge we were led to was so small, I could probably cross it in three strides—if the dilapidated thing would even carry my weight. For fuck’s sake. When Ezryn had told me to get to the bridge, I’d been expecting something more spectacular. Not a tiny wooden bridge that was so old, it might not hold me, let alone Joz and me together.
“This is it? It’s so small,” Joz said, voicing my thoughts.
The woman cleared her throat. “It isn’t about the size. It’s about the location and the origin of the wood. It’ll work, I assure you. It’s in much better condition than it seems. Looks can be deceiving.” She offered a small smile. “Good luck, sirs. Have a safe journey.” She turned around and headed back the way we came.
“A safe journey? What, over that tiny-ass bridge?” Joz snorted.
“I don’t know. Ezryn gave me a spell, but he said we both have to be on the bridge, holding hands.”
Joz wrinkled his nose, but nodded and headed toward the thing that was probably going to collapse at any second. He hesitantly took one step onto the bridge, then seemed to sag in relief when it didn’t fall apart or even creak. Once he was fully in the middle, he turned to me with a grin. “Alright, your turn.”
With a deep breath, I followed suit, surprised by how sturdy it felt under my feet. I almost wanted to bounce on my toes, but I didn’t want to tempt fate. “Ready?” I asked him.
Joz nodded and held out his hands. “Let’s do this.” He snatched his hands back. “Uh, wait, I’m not gonna catch on fire, am I?”
I shook my head. “No. Ezryn said it’ll lead us to him.”
“The spell will?”
I nodded. “Yeah. I don’t really understand it any better than you do, but he hasn’t been wrong yet, and that woman recognized his name.”
“True.”
I offered my hands, and he placed his on top. With a nod, I began the chant Ezryn taught me last night. “Agra elo, lu mada et tuu, nacse eme lazen sa mein oso. Tralle se El Mirrel, nujo oso ibree.” I looked at Joz and said, “He told me what the words meant. Sacred magic, I call on you, break the binds that hold us. Release the Veil, set us free… or something like that. He said sometimes the spells don’t translate exactly.”
Joz’s eyebrows rose. “I’m not sure I like the sound of all that.”
I shrugged. “We’ve come this far.”
He nodded. “Alright, say it again, and I’ll join in.”
I repeated the chant, this time putting feeling behind it like Ezryn had said. “Agra elo, lu mada et tuu, nacse eme lazen sa mein oso. Tralle oso El Mirrel, nujo oso ibree.”
Joz joined in on the third pass, and I wasn’t sure who was more surprised by him picking it up so quickly; me or him.
When we repeated the words together, the trees, the creek, the ground around us and around the bridge started to spin. Faster and faster until it was making me dizzy to look at. Focusing on Joz, his wide eyes met my own, and a shiver of fear swept through me. What if this had been a trick? What if Ezryn wasn’t the good guy here? What if he was some sort of… creature? What if he was one of those… those creepy siren things? What if he’d used his magic to lure me in so he could suck out my soul and eat me? What if I’d led Joz right to a soul-sucking monster?
A picture of Ezryn’s smiling face, then one of his tears that very first time he’d come to me flashed in my mind’s eye, and I breathed. There was no way he was evil. No way. I didn’t know how I knew, but I could feel that he was good and pure. Everything inside of me felt it.
The world around us spun even faster and lights began flashing around us as wind swirled so hard, it was difficult to stay upright. I clung to Joz’s hands, not wanting to risk letting go and getting separated. He clung just as hard to me.
The light got brighter, a glow starting at the ground at our feet and slowly rising. Electricity charged the air as the magic grew around us and a deafening sound filled my ears to the point that I was sure they were bleeding.
And then we were spinning, too. Around and around and around, so fast I couldn’t keep track.
Squeezing my eyes shut and holding Joz even tighter, I tried to keep my stomach from releasing its bile. It wasn’t easy.
But then the sound boomed out loudly and stopped so abruptly that I was shocked my ears weren’t ringing. I took a breath, and the only sounds surrounding us were that of the spinning wind. The spinning slowed down until we came to an abrupt stop.
I opened my eyes, and blinked at the stark contrast of what I’d seen before I’d started the spell.
Where before it had seemed like a tiny, almost barren tree patch, now we were standing in a huge, luscious forest with trees higher than the eye could see and so many blooming flowers, I couldn’t take in all the colors at once.
My eyes darted over the area, seeing and hearing birds, seeing little rabbits hopping around, an otter floating in the river.
Wait. River?
I glanced down and a strangled sound came from my throat. That dilapidated wooden bridge we’d been standing on was now a beautiful brass contraption, a much larger bridge with intricate designs etched in the metal, and that tiny stream was now a large river.
My wide eyes met Joz’s shocked expression, and I choked out, “What the hell?”
He shook his head and glanced around. “Where are we?”
I shrugged my shoulders, then I remembered something Ezryn had said last night. “The spell requires a lot of energy, so anyone close by with mage magic will be able to feel it. You and Joz need to run. As soon as you catch your bearings, you run, you run as fast as you can.”
“What? It’s dangerous?”
He nodded. “Yes, Ry. It’s dangerous to linger. You don’t want to come across the wrong people, and I’m not sure how closely the bridge is being guarded. You run, and I promise you that I’ll find you.”