Chapter Forty-two: Dark Days

I held Rif back when Fayeth appeared in front of King Ozzim's throne of bones. A strange woman was with him, and on the floor beside her was a bloodied body.

"Hand over the boy, and Tark will live," Fayeth declared in a deep voice.

"Who the hell do you think you are?!" I growled. My heart fell to think that Tark was killed. I took a deep breath before Rif glanced at me.

"Is Unc Tark dead?" he whispered.

"Not if we can help it," I responded.

Fayeth signaled something to the woman, and a sharp, violet crystal protruded from her hand. She pointed it at Tark's head.

Mayzel dashed from behind the throne with her sword in hand and cut off her arm. "Don't you touch him!" She kicked the woman away as Noforl chased Fayeth with a deadly blade of his own.

I ran to Tark to see if he was still alive while Rif watched my back with the Dozen. His face was swollen and bruised; his hands had deep cuts that I tended to first. "Tark, can you hear me?" I started. "You're not in good shape right now. Penny Lee's here and she--"

"Penny Lee?" Tark blurted and sat up. His wounds reopened and splattered crimson blood on my face. "Where is she? Penny Lee's alive? She's here?"

"Shut up!" I blasted before I wiped my face. "You almost died! Why aren't you healing yourself?!"

"I just woke up," he answered before he glanced around. His form was looking better with every second. The deep cuts on his body closed, and the swelling regressed.

I glanced at Mayzel, and she was fighting off the strange woman. Swords of violet crystals flashed as she swung them at Mayzel, missing her by a hair's breadth.

"Jopp! Watch out!" Rif warned.

I turned around in time to see Fayeth charging towards us, Noforl on the ground behind her. Rif hesitated in shooting his arrow at her. What could I expect of puppy love from a kid? I waited until her footsteps pounded in my ears before I opened the portal with a device charged to the max with Elioh's energy. It vibrated in my hands, and the energy flowed into my body, giving me enough power to snag Fayeth as she tried to resist once she saw it. My vines erupted from the ground and pulled on her limbs to drag her inside. Tark punched her back, sending her into the portal with pitiful screams. He tackled the strange woman to the ground and threw her into the portal as well. Once he saw Mayzel, he puffed his chest and beamed.

I closed the portal to Efference and sighed with relief. Rif was wiping his tears beside me, and I kneeled to comfort him. "I'm sorry, Rif. I know you really liked Fayeth." He bit his lower lip as I held him close. "You're a really strong kid, Rif. Thanks for helping us." I lifted his chin and nodded. "Let's go find your mother." His eyes lit up at the prospect and he smiled the biggest smile I had ever seen.

Tark didn't leave Mayzel's side as they checked on Noforl. Tark healed his broken arm, glancing at Mayzel every chance he had. Noforl's brows furrowed when he noticed this, and a scowl formed on his face.

"Tark, tone it down," I warned. "That's her brother, you know."

"I'm not losing Mayzel again, ever!" Tark told Noforl. "I don't care if you don't like it and beat me to a pulp! I love her and I won't back down!"

I sighed as Rif tilted his head, confused. Mayzel's visage was flushed as she stood there, staring at them like a perplexed goose.

"Love makes people do crazy things," I muttered.

Noforl glared at him for a moment before getting to his feet. We all stared at him, wondering what he would do. Tark didn't blink as they sized each other up.

"I don't have time for this," I blurted. "Come on, Rif. Let's go find Alaris and your mother."

Noforl shifted his gaze to us, and he seemed as if he wanted to join us.

"How will you do that?" Tark started. "Aren't they dead?"

"They're gone from the world we came from," Mayzel explained. "There are other worlds where they can still be alive. It will be very difficult to find them, but it is possible."

"Will Mil be all right?" Tark queried. "She loves you, Jopp. If you look for Alaris . . ."

I closed my eyes as I realized Tark was right. Should I just let Alaris go to live her life elsewhere? I worked my jaw as I knew the world we lived in wasn't the best. Was I selfish enough to drag an Alaris to the world I knew? Would she even be the same Alaris? No, the Alaris I lost was the Alaris I loved. I made a promise to myself that should I ever sense an Alaris in danger, I would help her. The device kept my promise in its memories. It would awaken and alarm me whenever it sensed Alaris.

Rif touched the device and nodded. "Can I tell my Mom good-bye?"

I smiled as he seemed to have grown by a mile in maturity. The device whirred with activity before it summoned a portal.

"Rif! What are you doing over there?" a feminine voice called. Erzil had her hands on her hips. "I don't remember you being so tall! Come on! Let's go play hide-and-seek!"

I gulped when I figured Rif would want to stay, but he simply ran to her and hugged her tightly.

"I love you, Mom!" he cried. "I wish I could stay, but I know you're happy and safe here."

"What are you talking about?" she laughed. "You're so silly sometimes, Rif." She hugged him tightly and nuzzled his cheek. "I love you, too, pumpkin!"

As that world's Rif appeared from the bushes, our Rif returned and stepped through the portal. The tears in his eyes didn't stop flowing.

"I know it's hard," I told him as I held him close. "Come on. Let's go home. I'm sure everybody is probably worried by now."