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Vanya came to me. She’d pulled back her light hair in a ponytail, and she wore fighting leathers, the same way Zita did. Hazel had dressed accordingly as well. They’d all come prepared for battle.
Vanya took my hand and led me to the couch on the far side of the room. I glanced at my mom and sister, who sat some distance away, in front of a crackling fire. She talked to them, and they were all smiles.
Zita stood close by, keeping watch.
“It’s going to be okay, Erol,” Vanya said. “I have faith.”
“It’s all you seem to have,” I snapped. Where had that come from? The Conjurite magic in me was already revolting.
Vanya’s eyes widened.
“Sorry,” I muttered.
She shook her head. “Don’t be.” She put her hand on my shoulder, the other still holding my hand, and closed her eyes. I didn’t know what to do or what to expect.
At first, nothing happened. What if nothing happened at all? What if I couldn’t be saved, and all these precautions were for nothing?
Vanya’s hand warmed, and when I looked at her, her skin glowed as if she had a fire burning within. Her hand became scalding hot, nearly burning my skin. I wanted to jerk away, but I fought it, gritting my teeth.
The magic that flowed from Vanya to me suddenly yanked me inward. I was caught in darkness, and I saw nothing. I was blinded. I looked around, searching for any sign of light or life in the pitch black, but there was nothing.
I couldn’t even feel Vanya’s hands on me anymore.
“Hello?” I called out, but the darkness swallowed the word so that I could barely be heard. “Hello?” I tried again.
“Erol,” an unfamiliar voice said, and I spun around, looking for the person who’d spoken.
I still couldn’t see anything.
“Where are you?” I called out.
“Erol,” the voice said again.
This time, a dim flicker broke the complete darkness. It was far in the distance, but it was there. I turned and instinctively moved toward it.
“That’s it, Erol. Come to me. All you need is to follow the light.”
I hesitated, suddenly unsure. The light was so attractive, I wanted nothing more than to go to it, to roll in it, tobathein it, but something didn’t feel quite right.
The darkness behind me was safe and familiar—it was what I’d known all this time.
“Erol, you have nothing to fear. You just have to choose what you want.”
I didn’t see her, but I instinctively knew who was talking.
Terra.
“Come, Erol,” she called. “Come to the light.”
I took a step forward. My feet were stuck in something, and when I looked down, the floor was like tar—shiny and black, and my feet sank into it. When I lifted my foot, the tar made it hard to come away.
I fought it and took another step, and then another. Vanya’s magic was around me, guiding me. It was hard at first, fighting the sticky blackness that insisted on keeping me back. I was determined—if a bit of tar was all I had to fight to get to Terra, I would march until my legs fell off.
Vanya’s magic made it easier and easier. Every step brought me a bit closer to the dim light in the distance, and my muscles kicked in. My thighs punched up and down as I marched through the thick sludge.
“It’s working!” I cried. After all this time, I’d thought I was doomed to live a life in darkness forever. It was right there! The light was within reach. I just had to—
“Oh, no, you don’t,” Cyrene’s voice sneered behind me, so loud in my ears, I screamed. “You’re not going anywhere.”
