He lowered it slowly as he realized who it was.
“You shouldn’t watch men sleep,” he chided me in a gruff voice.
“I’m sorry.” I gulped. “I just wanted to thank you for saving my life.”
“No, you didn’t—you came to syphon off me.”
Being caught out in the lie made me blush all the more, and I cursed myself for wasting precious moments staring at him when I could have done the job much faster and perhaps not been caught.
“Okay,” I replied, trying to match his even tone. “Maybe I did. But it’s because you’re still not talking to us. You’re not giving us the answers we need.”
“It’s because I don’t know a lot of them,” he replied acerbically.
“You know more than you’re telling us,” I insisted.
The Druid sighed, running his hands down his face in frustration. When he didn’t reply, my own frustration grew.
“Listen,” I snapped. “Our families will find us. We’ll get out of here one way or another, and you’ll have to answer to GASP. Maybe you don’t think that means much, maybe you think because you’re so far away it doesn’t count for anything, but trust me when I say they’ve brought down more powerful creatures than you—including the Ancients themselves—and they won’t stop until we’re safe at home.”
His expression changed from annoyance to pity, and his gray eyes met mine with a searching gaze.
“Turn around,” he replied.
“What?”
“Turn around,” he repeated. “I want to show you something—I need to get dressed.”
Oh.
“Okay,” I muttered, turning to face the door, feeling uncomfortable and exposed without him in my line of sight. I heard him rise off the bed and pull on clothing. A few seconds later, he was by my side, his broad frame brushing up against me as he leaned forward to push open the door.
“You’re not going to like it,” he muttered, leading me down the hallway.
Serena
[Hazel and Tejus’s daughter]
I followed the Druid down to the basement with a certain amount of trepidation. The house was so silent and felt even stranger at night-time than it did in the day. The lamp I had picked up again once we left his room threw shadows everywhere, making me feel like I was being watched—like something was about to jump out at me at any moment. I kept close to the Druid, not wanting to be left behind as he strode rapidly across the basement floor and over to the opposite wall.
To my eyes, it was completely bare, but he placed his hand on a set of bricks, pushing against them. I heard a click, followed by a mechanical whir, and the wall started to part, opening up into another room.
My eyes widened in amazement as I observed its contents. It was windowless, but lights hung from the walls, making it slightly brighter than anywhere else in the house. It appeared to be some kind of laboratory; copper tables were laid out, covered with beakers and old-fashioned scientific instruments. There were quite a few potted plants and jars of herbs and other unidentifiable objects lined up against the sides of the room. In the center was a pile of ordinary-looking rocks, with a single, high flame blazing out of them steadily. I couldn’t see how the flame was being maintained; it didn’t look like there was anything to burn, but the flame didn’t even flicker, remaining perfectly constant as if it had an unlimited supply of fuel.
“The moment you crossed into Eritopia, the protective mists that surround this galaxy caused you to cease to exist anywhere but here.”
I turned to the Druid, confused by his statement. It was the first time he’d spoken since we left his room.
“I don’t understand,” I replied. “What mists? What do you mean we ceased to exist?”
“This land, all of the stars and planets within the region of Eritopia, are guarded by the Daughters – a group of creatures born for the sole purpose of protecting the way of life here. It is they who create the illusion—or magic, whatever you wish to call it,” he replied. “It was once used to protect us all, to ensure that Eritopia remained hidden from others. Now it is used to protect others, to ensure they do not come seeking this land and the evil it holds.”
“But what do you mean we don’t exist anywhere else?” I asked, furrowing my brow and wondering which one of us was being dense. “Obviously we don’t exist anywhere else…we’re here.”
“Let me show you,” he replied.
He reached out his hand and waved it across the center of the flame. He didn’t wince as the fire engulfed his skin, and after a few moments he removed it, unharmed. The flame started to widen, and dark shapes danced about in its center. I peered more closely, watching the shapes take form.