Mad Woman Rambles

Anger darkened the hollow eyes reflected back at me in the mirror. Gone are the full cheeks and warm tan of my skin. Only the gaunt pale face of a stranger stares back as I try to quell the rage simmering below the surface. My knuckles pale as my grip on the marble sink intensifies. I don’t even recognize myself anymore. Fear creeps up as sorrow threatens to pull me under.

‘He tried to take everything from me,’ my thoughts slip through my mind. ‘He took my peace–my life–and replaced it with this… fear.’ My teeth grind against one another as a tear slips clear of the cage of my lashes. Rage begins to simmer in my belly. ‘All I wanted was to be left alone. To live my life in peace.’

My body begins to tremble as the events of the past month filter through my mind’s eye, reminding of what was tasked of me. My magic responds, my hands begin to glow as I think of how that golden retriever of a man hounded me and wormed his way past my defenses. Now if I don’t go after him, he could die and the world might end if I don’t bring that book back. A curse leaves my lips as my gaze snaps back to the mirror. ‘Frackin’ fae princes!’

“You were a badass! You, Minerva!” I point at my reflection. “Even without all of your powers you were a force to be reckoned with.” Even I could see the lie in my own eyes. Fear stripped that away from me. Dying has a way of humbling a person.

A sigh escapes my cracked lips as I hang my head down. “You could just go and not look back,” I whisper to myself, gripping the relic lying cold on my chest.

“But then how could you look at yourself again? Even with a new body you would know that you are a liar and a failure,” I hear my voice call me out. Knowing I am right, I couldn’t stomach eternity if I ran. I wouldn’t know peace if I gave up now. Peace is all I ever wanted.

I blow out a deep breath and look at the mirror again. Flashes of the visions my mother imparted to me while in the void flash before my eyes. I see where Craig is being held. I know who took him: Mallec. I have no choice but to run towards my future.

Taking courage from the warmth the memory of my mother gives me, I straighten my spine. “No other being is capable of doing this, Minerva.” I hype myself up. “You know it and they know it. Everyone knows it. So. Go. Get. It. Done.” With another deep breath I square my shoulders and turn as a portal forms in front of me.

Stepping through the swirls of color, I dive into a world of contrast. I feel myself flying with pressure lightly squeezing around me as if I am moving through gelatin. I look beyond the colors that surround me into the darkness beyond. But it isn’t completely dark; other portals open and close, streaks of colorful light, tubes and bridges fill the darkness with wonder. When I was younger, I loved traveling this way. It was a simpler time then. I would soar through these tunnels and skip across bridges for hours.

Now, I am grateful these trips are very short. ‘Get in and get out.’ I think as my feet step over a threshold into a dark room. Magic instantly coats my skin tingling and sizzling in warning that I am not supposed to be here. I get it but I don’t have time to disarm the magical trip wire because my heart stops beating.

“Craig,” I murmur as I take in the prince of quickly stealing my heart. His form is slumped forward in a chair. His arm wracked behind his back, his legs tied to the chair. Even in the low light I can see the blood dripping from a fresh wound on his face. The blood pools by his boot. Too much blood.

Quickly, I close the gap between us. Dropping to my knees in front of him, I cradle his face gently, my chest squeezing with unexpressed emotion. “What have they done to you?” I ask, taking in the cuts and bruises decorating his body and neck. His shirt discarded next to him, putting his injuries on full display.

“Hey beautiful,” he mumbles through swollen lips. “I knew you would show up. Dead or alive, I knew I would see you again.” He says trying to smile but wincing when his split lip protests. Rage burns away any fear that may have been lingering in my gut.

“Shhh, don’t speak. I am going to untie you and then we can get out of here,” I tell him as I circle around the back of the chair. The iron shackles glow faintly causing me to recoil.

“Fracking bastards!” I mutter as I stop. They put him in cold iron and infused it with dragon’s blood and something else. I pace behind the chair trying to rack my brain. I can’t use magic to release the shackles and every minute that passes I can feel him fading, like his essence is being removed. Craig’s groan pulls my attention and I move back in front of him.

“It’s okay, Minerva. Go, get the book and finish your quest,” his voice barely audible.

“They put you in cold iron. My magic won’t work on the shackles,” I say, my eyes searching his; for what I wasn’t sure. His head drops more, and panic fuels my being. My hands fly to his face again, feeling the heaviness of his head. “Stay with me,” I plead.

“I can feel the iron. It pulls on my magic,” he finally replies. His breath labored, as if it took way too much strength to say that much. “It’s okay, beautiful. I knew sticking with you would be the adventure of a lifetime,” he says; the last words barely audible. I watch as his chest struggles to rise and fall and a new fear douses me with the truth that I was about to lose a love that I never knew I wanted.

“Stay with me,” I say through gritted teeth. “All I need is a key, or something that could work on the lock…” Realization hits me like a ton of bricks. ‘Minerva, you can be so dense sometimes.’ I chastise myself as I grip the relic in my hand. ‘Duh, a key that can open rifts in time and space will open a damn magical lock.’

My hand smacks my forehead as I race back to the shackles behind Craig’s back. Taking the relic in my hand my thoughts and magic wrap around it, forming and shaping it into what I need. I open my hands as a skeleton key sits in my palm and wasting no time I unlock the shackles. First, I unlock his legs and then gently move to his hands. With the final click, Craig falls forward and is able to catch himself before he can faceplant on the floor. Rushing to his side, I am not sure where to touch him as he was so badly beaten.

“Craig,” I say gingerly, laying a hand on his back. His body shudders under my hand and begins to glow faintly. Golden light washes over him and the worst of his visible injuries begin to heal. The light fades quickly as he grips my hand, using me as leverage to stand. Pulling me into his body, his breath flutters the hair on the top of my head. I allow myself a moment to snuggle closer to him as he leans into me.

“Delphine,” he breathes, pulling back and cupping my face. “Hi,” he smiles that dumb smile of his at me then winces from the pain of his injuries that now look less severe.

“We should go. We have to leave. I’m surprised they haven’t come to check on you,” I mention as I leave him to check the only door in the room. Pressing my ear to the door, I listen for any signs of life, hearing none. I quietly crack open the door and spare a glance down the hallway in both directions. Sensing nothing I close the door and turn, smacking face first into Craig’s chest.

“We have to get to the library,” he comments, now fully dressed. He reaches for the door leaning heavily on the door jamb before stumbling out the door.

“Craig,” I hiss, chasing after him. ‘This man will be the death of me… again.’ I think as I catch up to him. I slip under his arm that is leaning against the wall, taking his weight as we stagger forward. “Where are you going?”

“They aren’t here. We weren’t supposed to survive. They left me to die in that room,” he grits out through clenched teeth. “We’re alone and hopefully Mallec was dumb enough to leave the book for us to take.” He finished as we came up to a pair of doors made of dark wood.

“Who are they? Where is Mallec?” I ask as I jiggle the handle on one of the double doors causing it to swing open quietly. I move us into the large room covered in wall to wall books. A dark wood modern table stands in the middle of the room. Floor to ceiling windows peek from between the equally massive bookcases.

Craig falls into a seat closest to us, a sheen of sweat breaking out across his brow. He may have been able to heal some of his injuries but I could tell it took more energy from him than he wanted to let on. He sighs as his eyes meet mine.

“The twelve are they. Mallec has them somewhere in South America.” He takes a deep breath. “I overheard one of them talking about a temple or something and a missing key.” He finishes and I clutch the relic that is now back around my neck masked as the pendant from before.

‘He doesn’t know.’ The errant thought seizes me, halting my search for the book. Clearing my throat, “where would they have kept the book?” I ask, trying to not clutch my pendant.

“When I arrived, they had it in here. I think there is a panel behind that painting,” he says, clearly in need of medical attention. I rush over to the painting, ‘Très clinche. Do better, Mallec,’ I think as I remove the painting and start pressing on the wall. Nothing appears to be there until my magic flares to life once I press on the last section of the wall that was under the painting. I allow my magic to flow, causing the wall to glow faintly before we hear an audible click. Smiling to myself I watch as a small panel opens revealing the book, and wasting no time, I grab it and turn to slam into Craig’s chest once again.

“Damn it! Stop doing that,” I demand. He smiles down at me.

“Never,” he says, pulling me closer to him. He dips his head, his lips mere inches away from mine. “We should high tail it out of here,” he chuckles and then winces clutching his side.

“Oh no, don’t leave on my account. Mallec will be happy that you stayed,” a man with remarkable features, brown hair and glasses. We both turn to face him. Craig pushes me behind him, squaring off to the stranger.

“Sorry to disappoint but we have a meeting with destiny,” Craig replies trying to straighten to his full height, his expression tight with pain.

“Funny, I thought I killed you. You fae just don’t know when to die do you?” He replies before tilting his head and looks around Craig to me. “I assume you are Minerva. I will enjoy rubbing it in Mallec’s face that I will be the one to kill the djinn.” The stranger shifts his stance, gesturing with his hands. “Too bad he won’t be here to see my triumph.” He finishes as a fireball hurtles towards us. I touch the wall behind us as Craig has backed us up against the wall with nowhere left to run.

Time slows down as the heat from the fireball gets closer and I grasp the back of Craig’s shirt pulling him back with me as we plummet through the portal that appears behind us. We fall through the color-filled void only to tumble out on tflhe oor of Joanne’s kitchen. Seconds later a fireball slams into the kitchen cabinet catching it on fire.

Moments later, Joanne rushes in with a fire extinguisher in hand. I untangle myself from Craig, climbing to my feet and helping him up. He gives me a big dumb goofy grin as he holds up the book. “Success!” he exclaims.

“Next time son, have your success with a little less fire. I swear it’s like your childhood all over again,” Joanne responds shaking her head, causing me to laugh. I might just make it out of this adventure alive.