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“It’s not as popular as the treasure at the end of the rainbow, but us witches and warlocks are aware of it, too,” she said.
Something in her tone ticked his senses.
“You thought of it first. When you were looking for your source of power.”
“In passing,” she admitted. “But I’m fine with any source of power.”
“What does that stone do?”
They set aside the broken shards of glass and studied the stone together.
“It doesn’t look familiar,” she mumbled. “I don’t think it’s from Broom’s Isle.”
She hesitated, unsure what to do with it. Then she sat up, placed it under her foot, and stomped until it cracked. A sound of dismay came out when nothing happened.
“Maybe that was the wrong step,” he surmised.
“Or maybe it doesn’t do anything at all…”
Her words trailed into a gasp when a glow appeared, subtle at first before it grew brighter. Maddox snatched a blanket and ushered them under it, worried that the glow would attract unwanted attention. Then he gasped inwardly, too, when the images from earlier replayed in fast motion before stopping at that of the pirate ship. Seconds later, lines formed, starting from their little tree house to somewhere just at the edge of the barrier.
“It’s here,” she exclaimed, sucking in a harsh breath. “Inside. The barrier, it’s larger than we assumed.”
“Much larger,” he agreed, realizing the humans’ settlement was on one edge and the x-mark for the ship was on the opposite end. “Maybe a few hours' travel.”
The glow died and the lines faded, but it was already stuck in his head. Disbelief shone on her face.
“It can’t be that easy, can it?”
“Hmm. You did ask the portal to take you to a source of energy.”
“You are right, but…”
Maddox took her shoulder and waited for her to meet his gaze. When she did, he brushed her chin with his thumb.
“No buts. We are here, and we will look for it. But we have to wait.”
That eased her worries as her resolve visibly strengthened.
“Right. We need to keep up the farce of Brian’s departure. Make sure the three of us are out of trouble and trusted alone before we go looking for it. And Moon…”
“We protect him, too. As always,” he promised.
They lay back down, the darkness returning to blanket them. The energy sizzling in his body was still there, but it seemed like the images had done their job of making his mind tired enough that it couldn’t keep up. Maddox closed his eyes, willing them to rest.
A figure appeared, calling out his name. He approached it, unable to recognize it, but the urgency reached out to him like a plea aimed at his heart. He stopped when it drew closer, too, and the moonlight shone to reveal the image of Hilda in a white dress that suited her more than the maid’s outfit she often wore in the castle. Her smile was soft and relaxed, as if she had no worries in the world.
Maddox, come with me.
He took a step forward, then another. The scene switched before he could reach her, and he was bombarded with the sound of joyous laughter before he spotted Ruby jumping away from a bad pirate to save one of the creatures they had captured. The creature nuzzled her in gratitude while she grinned in his direction.
We did it, Mad.
It switched and switched, the images becoming muddled. It stopped at the sound of a moan, then two bodies intertwined with his on top. There was sweat on his back and a harsh breath on his lips while he drove in and out of a warm, writhing body…Ruby’s body. There were sparks of madness and her nails digging into his skin while she whispered sweet, dirty nothings in his ear.
Harder, Mad. Yes. Just like that. Please.
A scream sliced through the image, and he was standing alone. Then the fire started as it often did, swallowing a place he couldn’t reach in time and taking Hilda with it. He tried to run, but nothing moved, and he could only watch in horror as she turned into ashes and the scent of blood echoed in every corner—
