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Chapter 24
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2022-04-06 07:04:04The swirling vortex of the portal surrounded me and I was ejected out the other side, rolling in the dirt until something hard stopped my momentum.
I hurt. My arms screamed at me, the scars from my challenge weeks ago felt fresh on my skin and added to the painful wounds from the chains. I kept my eyes closed and tried to breathe. At first I couldn't hear anything, but then sounds started coming through. I heard bird song, frogs, and insects that weren't those of home or even from the grove close to Avery's house. I groaned. They sounded like I was somewhere much further away.
I shifted, putting my back against the trunk of the tree that had stopped my roll. I opened my eyes. We'd ended up in the Half-world.
The air was cooler than last time, but I still peeled off my hoodie to keep the humidity of the jungle from suffocating me. My vision blurred. As tired and exhausted as my Talent was, I wanted more than anything to focus on the back of my eyeli
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The old man, who introduced himself as Tamner, led John and me into the last hut on the edge of the village. It was bigger than the others, but still modest. Rough glass jars and vials filled shelves against the earthen walls. Woven rugs and furs lined every inch of the dirt floor not taken by the large fire pit in the center."Set him over there," Tamner said, pointing to a mound of furs built up into a bed. "Hasim, I will need you close. Please do not go far."I followed his directions, setting Poe on a bundle of furs as the Tamner hurried to search the shelves. He selected a few vials and one of the jars, and a bunch of things I couldn't recognize. Keeping my promise to the old man would be simple. I wouldn't leave until I knew Poe would be alright."You, friend of Hasim," Tamner called over to John. "Come. Hold."John stood inside the doorway looking awkward and out of place, before walking over to accept the handful of items the old man held out for
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I laid back and closed my eyes. I don't remember trying to sleep, but the next thing I knew, John was shaking me, roughly. "Ezra, wake up. Something's wrong."I shot up, instantly alert. Tamner knelt on the other side of Poe, trying to hold the bird down. Poe shrieked, the sound piercing."What's wrong?" I reached out, intending to help the old man hold him. As soon as I touched Poe, though, I could feel his power building."I don't know, Hasim," Tamner said, struggling."Let go," I said, stepping back. John stepped forward to help as well, but I grabbed his arm. "No, stay back." Poe continued to thrash about."Hasim, he'll hurt himself."I grabbed Tamner as well and pulled them both away, back towards the fire."Just wait. I think he's-" I didn't even get the words out of my mouth before feathers exploded across the room. Then there was a groan of pain.Poe's human form was very still against the furs he laid on, his clothes t
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John was asleep when I returned to the hut, which was probably a good thing since I didn't know what to say to him. I took an empty spot on the floor where the rugs and furs seemed thicker and lay down. As tired as I was, I still had trouble going to sleep. I was exhausted yet my mind kept running in circles. I kept trying to think of ways to get home, or ways to let Avery know I was still alive.Instinctively, I reached out, testing our new connection. Felt ghostly, like the impression furniture leaves on the carpet after you move it. I could sense where it should have been but that was all.Closing my eyes tightly, I took a deep breath and another, trying to keep my panicking emotions in check. What I was supposed to do now? There was so much going wrong, I needed to find something positive to focus on.I was still alive. Poe was still alive. Even if he was injured, he would recover eventually. And John was safe from his family.Those thoughts finally a
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John and I followed Suon back to the village. I stopped, briefly torn by wanting to check on Poe before we left. Suon notice and waved me off."Go, but we leave soon. Find us middle of huts."Suon continued on, but John lingered. "I'll make sure they wait for you."I nodded and ducked into Tamner's hut.Tamner himself was by the fire, mixing herbs and medicinal plants. He glanced up at me."You go with Suon, correct?" he asked, turning his eyes back to his work."Yeah," I said, stepping over to check on Poe. His color was looking better and his breathing was a little steadier."Do not worry about your teacher. I will keep a close eye on him until you return." Tamner said as he appeared at my side with two cloth bags. He raised the blue one, "Food," then the red one, "Medicine."I watched as he added them to my messenger bag. He handed it to me by the newly fixed strap."Thank you," I mumbled, his kindness continuing to s
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Struggling to catch my breath, I fought my way to my feet as the jungle fell silent. I turned to see not only John watching me, but most of the village warriors as well. I dismissed Kastem, not wanting to take any chances of losing control."So that just happened." John's eyes were wide. I couldn't tell if it was fear or awe.Cheers erupted from the men and women behind him as they rushed forward to surround me. Soun clapped me hard on the back, shaking my whole frame and bringing to my attention a whole set of bruises that I hadn't realized I'd gained."Well done," he exclaimed, his excitement almost overbearing. I managed a smile in response.John let the impromptu celebration engulf me, but I felt his eyes trailing us as the group began to pull me back into the covering of the woods. I managed to free myself from the singing and cheering group as they started towards their village. Waiting, I brought up the rear, not wanting to be the center of attention.
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I escaped from the festivities as soon as I could without drawing attention, which took a while since the head of the village kept introducing me to his daughters. Finally, after mentioning something to Tamner, the parade of eligible women stopped.I slipped past the front line of huts and walked around to Tamner's, my mind still full of what John had told me about the plants. I shivered despite the heat. To be able to feel my power, my talent, but not be able to use it. For most necromancers that would just be torture, but for me? To have it build and build -it would literally kill me.The fire was barely burning in Tamner's hut. Poe still lay on his pallet of furs. His skin didn't look as pale or sickly as when I last saw him in the early hours of the morning. His breathing was even and stronger as well.Poking the fire back to life, I added another log before pulling my bag closer to search through it. I was looking for the Reinhardt book I'd brought with me.
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I woke up the next morning with a blinding headache. Sitting, I found myself in the middle of the village. Others were scattered around as if they'd fallen asleep in the middle of the party..John was sprawled not ten feet away, his snores echoing in the quiet morning. I forced myself to my feet and walked down to the river. I sat on the river bank and splashed cool water on my face. It didn't ease the pain in my head completely, but it did help. The sun was glaringly bright off the water, so I closed my eyes against it. Sleep threatened to roll me under again, but I fought it. Instead, I sought comfort in meditation. My talent was restored from yesterday's fight, and it itched to be used.I calmed my thoughts, focusing on the exercises Poe taught me. Those days in the Vault felt like they were years ago-My eyes shot open.The Vault had brought me here the first time, not Poe. Could there be another place like it?I rushed back to Tamner's hut, ba
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I avoided Tamner's hut most of the day. Poe had made it clear that he wouldn't talk about trying John's way of getting home any further. Which made absolutely no sense to me at all. Wasn't getting home and warning the others of what the Witches were planning more important than some side effect that 'might' happen? What was he afraid of me seeing?The villagers were starting to clean up, some moving slower than others. I pitched in and helped, picking up abandoned rough-cut cups and lost items, before moving on to help pack supplies for the refugees that would be returning to their village over the next few days.Soun and I met with the other warriors in the training clearing late that afternoon, stretching and doing easy drills. John even joined us, surprising me when he easily tossed Suon into the dirt multiple times.By the time we'd eaten the evening meal with the rest of the village and made it back to Tamner's, the stars were well and bright above us. I fo
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JOHNMy power spread from one plant to the next as it wove its way through the connected root system. Then, like a wave of death, the plants shriveled and fell, decayed and useless, to the earth in a spreading circle around me."No!"My father's scream echoed through the plastic enclosure."John!" Hunter's voice was a relief to hear. In my rush to grab the plants, I hadn't cared about the roar or what had pulled my Dad off me. Now, I could clearly see as I sat up, Mai, Hunter's panther-like demon growling over my father."Are you hurt?" Hunter knelt down in the dirt next to me, reaching to help me up.Shaking my head, I took stock of myself. Besides the dirt on my hands and clothes, and the relative trauma of physically fighting my dad, I was fine. I still had the power Poe had given me. Still could feel the essence of the plants I'd killed.In the skin of my hands, the dark designs appeared, the swirling patterns tracing their way up
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EZRAThe portal opened exactly where I'd pictured John earlier. Unfortunately, it'd taken longer than I'd wanted to get everyone together. Hunter and Benji stepped through first, then Dad, Anissa, and Tessa. Once the six of us were through, I closed the portal down and looked around, trying to get a bearing of where we were and which way John had gone."It's too dark. I don't see anything," Benji commented.Hunter didn't waste time, summoning his demon there on the spot. Anissa and Tessa did the same. I focused first on which way John had gone, knowing he still had to be here, and sure enough, as soon as I'd opened up to my power, he was there on the web, easy enough to find now that I knew what to look for."He's east of here, not too far-"I felt my phone buzz in my pocket. I was tempted to leave it, but the thought of Avery home with our moms and as well as Thea and Kaylee had me pulling it out of my pocket. If there
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JOHNThe forest was dark as ink as I came through the portal. I'd opened it right on the edge of the camp I'd spent many summers at when I was younger. Camp Meadow Creek was a compound of over one hundred acres in the Cumberland mountains outside of Louisville.In front of me were the main entrance, the Community Hall, and the fifteen smaller cabins the earth witch trainees stayed in when they were here.The main area was lit up with outdoor lighting attached to the buildings, showing off the yard. Memories made me pause. The hot summers eating popsicles on the lake dock. That time I fell off the top bunk and sprained my wrist. The first time I made a tree grow from a pine cone to a full towering pine in a matter of minutes. The nostalgia rocked me hard, but it was all bittersweet now. The friendships, the lessons I'd learned. They all seemed tainted by what I knew now.A whisper of feeling brushed by, and I turned, expecting E
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EZRAThe house was quieter when we returned. Benji and the others had yet to come back, but I found Kaylee and Thea curled up together on the couch in a nest of blankets with the baby demon between them. Kaylee had offered to look after it while we investigated Lyssa's house and I'd let her.It chirped softly at me, flapping its wings in a way that could only be described as a 'pick me up' motion. I obliged, before the demon decided it was upset and screeched."Shh," I whispered to it, cradling it in my arms. There was no need to wake the entire house."William, is that you?" Mom's voice called softly from the kitchen. Avery and I followed Dad as he went to find Mom. Her eyes watered as soon as she set eyes on us, as if she already knew what we'd found."How bad is it?" Mom whispered."We think Nathan took her-""No, we're p
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JOHNThere was none of the dizzy vertigo like when I travelled through Ezra or Benji's portal. It was more like a long step through a doorway that led me right back where I was only weeks ago. The freshly cut grass left a thick scent in the air that brought back many memories of family barbecues and parties.I turned back to the portal. Cameron and the other Witches still appeared awestruck, but Hunter looked as though he wanted to jump through after me, the pain clear on his unhappy face."I'm sorry," I said, and shut down the portal.My chest throbbed. Part of me had wanted Hunter to come, because I didn't want to face this alone. What if we were caught? On my own, I would at least have a chance to escape again, but after what'd happened after they'd caught Ezra, they probably would kill Hunter on the spot.Facing the house, I distracted myself by focusing on the details. New cushions covered the patio furniture and ne
