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“Mom doesn’t believe that I didn’t know what Melia is or where she is.” His eyes shine with unshed tears, and I wrap my arms around him, pulling him in for the first hug I’ve been able to give him in years.
It takes a minute, but the sobs come. I hold him close to me, rubbing his back, showing him the first bit of comfort, he’s had in what probably feels like forever. I wish more than anything that I could sit with him and hold him in my arms like the child he is.
“If I could get us out of here, would you come with me?” I ask, and my ten-year-old son looks at me, his big brown eyes glassy and red from his tears.
“I…I…” He flounders, trying to think, but his eyes give him away. He’s terrified of the thought.
“Listen to me.” I place my hands on either side of his face. “If I had a way to keep us hidden from your mother and a safe place for us to go. Would you come with me?”
He pulls his head back, “There’s no way to keep us hidden from the coven, she’s too powerful.”
“Let’s say I did. Would you come?”
“When?”
“Now,” I tell him, and his eyes begin to shine with hope for the first time in what feels like forever.
He thinks about it for a minute before he nods slightly.
“Once I undo my mother's bindings, she will know.”
“Can you portal us somewhere quickly? It doesn’t have to be far. Just somewhere with access to a vehicle”
“I think so,” he says, standing up and beginning to pace.
“I need you to be sure.”
He nods. “I’m sure.”
“Okay, then. On the count of three, drop the binds and open the portal.”
He looks at me with wide eyes.
“One…” I begin, and he raises his hands, his smoky magic pooling around me.
“Two.” I feel his magic wrapping around the binds Antonia has around me, probing but not intruding.
“Three,” I say and close my eyes as Zach’s magic forcibly removes Antonia’s bindings from around my middle, and I slide away from the pole. He takes a single breath before turning toward an empty spot, focusing his magic, and creating a smoky portal.
Not caring where it takes us, I lift him gently under my arm and leap through the portal. The second our feet touch solid ground, I slip my hand into my pocket, pull out the two necklaces, slip one around Zach’s neck, and then my own. Once we are safe and the portal has closed behind us, I look around. We’re in the middle of a parking lot.
“We did it!” I exclaim.
“Now what?” Zach asks, looking around like he’s waiting for someone to jump out of the bushes.
“We take one of these cars to Parry Sound.” I walk over to the cars and test each handle as I go. Of course, it’s the last one in the row that opens, and, as if by some miracle, the keys are in the visor.
“Hop in,” I tell Zach. He races around the car, opening the passenger side door, and climbing in.
When I start the car, the screen on the dashboard lights up. After a moment, an image of a map appears. I try to punch in ”Parry Sound,” but it wants an actual address. I just start driving south, hoping that I can follow the signs as we get closer.
The drive is long, but it’s the best time I’ve had in such a long time. Just talking to Zach about his hopes, his dreams, and everything in between is incredible. I feel like he’s never had the opportunity to speak so freely, and there’s so much about him I’m ready to learn and know. We are in such a deep conversation that we almost miss the sign for Westwood Resort and Cottages. I slam on the brakes, making a fast right-hand turn on the long gravel driveway.
Zach gasps out.
“We just passed through a very powerful boundary.”
“Then I guess we’re in the right place,” I say with a smile, looking over at Zach. He is nervous. I grab his hand. “It will be okay, buddy. I promise.”
