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“We found another stone,” I said.
“It is not possible. The other one is still living in the thirteen hundreds. You must’ve brought your youngling. I knew you were dimwitted, but to this extent?” The witch snickered.
I wanted to mop the floors with that blonde hair of hers, but I had more important matters to tend to. “I might be dimwitted, but the prophecy says otherwise,” I said.
The word ‘prophecy’ enraged her as she sprinted toward me like a bull seeing red. “Mei, the gong. Use the gong.”
Mei almost dropped the stick but succeeded in the end in producing three bangs. We returned to the time continuum, this time with a special guest. “I’m done with this child’s game. Only out of respect for Gabriel did I let you both live. But my kindness has expired. I’ll end you once and for all.” Vedoma unleashed some kind of spell that threatened to reach us fast. But we had to make sure we were closer to our time rather than hers.
“How much time we have left?” I asked Mei as we sprinted through the wind gusts.
“Oh no, the watch is out of whack,” said Mei. “It’s spinning nonstop.”
So much for military gear. Then again, it made sense for technology to break after prolonged exposure in the time continuum. “It’s okay. We have to make sure we are close to our time. Even if she catches up with me, run. The ropes should be long enough. And please, take care of Athena.”
“Will do,” Mei said.
And just when I thought I had escaped Vedoma’s spell, something clutched my heart. I fell to my knees, which scared Mei. “Run, don’t stop,” I yelled. To my relief, she listened.
When I turned around, Vedoma already hovered above me. Talk about the scare jump of my life.
“You humans always make it so easy to be killed,” Vedoma said as she grabbed my neck.
“Last time I checked, you are human too,” I said as she continued to choke me with one hand. Her strength reminded me of Lady Arany: cruel, vicious, and vengeful.
“I outgrew my human side many years ago,” Vedoma said.
“When the dragons killed your mother?” I asked.
My question astounded her and made her twenty times angrier.
“You will regret ever speaking about my mother,” she said as she flung me to the side. Good thing my fall got cushioned by gusts of wind. There was something comforting in this vortex bridge.
“We all have our tragedies. My sister disappeared long ago, and the pain of losing her still lives in my soul. But it doesn’t mean we have to spread our pain into the world,” I said before I lost my ability to speak.
“You truly are ignorant, Milady. Few things can help with that,” said Vedoma. “One of them is death.”
Apparently, my negotiation skills needed some honing since Vedoma didn’t let herself be swayed even an inch and gripped my throat once more.
I flailed to rip myself from her claws, but it was in vain. In the following seconds, I would lose consciousness and eventually meet death.
Chapter 17
Death approached fast in the form of a power-point presentation of our best memories appearing before my eyes. Similar to the ones I saw in Gabriel’s thoughts during his hardest times. The kisses, the hugs, and the joy of being with him permeated my mind. Those times deserved to exist. They deserved to survive. After so much suffering, we deserve to get our happily ever after. I couldn’t hurt Gabriel with my decisions, and I could never let the witch get her hands on Athena.
“I cannot wait to hear your last breath,” said Vedoma gloatingly.
The only thing letting me breathe was my hand trying to free my neck from her constricting claws. If I let go, I would lose consciousness. Unfortunately, it was the only way. I looked down and saw spectacular mountains underneath. It was time. I removed the high-frequency gong from my waist pocket. Three bangs followed, and we found ourselves freezing in the open air, falling to our guaranteed death. In shock from the sudden change in scenery, Vedoma released me, and surprisingly, I didn’t lose composure. Per Troy’s training, I focused on the most important and grabbed the pendant from Vedoma’s neck. But as always, things didn’t quite go as planned. Her braided hair made it harder to remove it. Vedoma noticed what I intended to do and kicked me in the stomach. Not the greatest feeling, I might add. But we didn’t have much time. I kicked her in the shin (a personal favorite), took my dagger, cut the chain, and yelled: “Done!”
But the gongs didn’t follow. When I looked at Mei, she had lost consciousness while Athena dangled above, only held by the cord. The lack of oxygen must’ve knocked her out. Pure fear ran through me like an electric bolt. Now I feared Athena, and I would follow soon after. This time, we would be indeed doomed.
“It looks like your friend didn’t take the new environment well. If we stay here longer, we will all lose consciousness. But do not worry. I can save you. Give me the pendant. I know the exact spell to get us out of here,” Vedoma spoke like a great diplomat as she grabbed my arm.
“Don’t worry, witch. I have a spell of my own,” I said and bit her hand.
“Magna stella cadens omnipotens
Largire munus tuum super servum tuum
