Book 2 of the Eternal series

Chapter 18

“So, you and Andrew, huh?” Roman asked as he raised an eyebrow at Keshmire, and she smiled shyly.

They stood in front of the old house and waited for Phabious and Andrew to get back from patrolling the outskirts of the forest. They decided that they would go out and patrol, and after an hour, they would return and report anything different.

Ray and Roman came out to the house to periodically check on Keshmire and the others. Keshmire looked up at her big cousin, and she giggled.

“Yes, me and Andrew. Do you have a problem with that?” she asked as she made a face at him, and he chuckled.

“No, not at all. I hope that you two are very happy together. Everyone deserves happiness,” he said with a dashing smile, and Keshmire grinned at him happily.

“Thank you. We are very happy,” she said with a clipped nod, and Roman nodded as he deeply sighed.

He couldn’t sleep right, and his appetite was slowly dwindling, and even his mother had noticed. Images of him and Ashta popped into his mind, and they reminded him how much he missed her. He hoped that she would be back in his arms very soon.

Her heart broke for her son. He finally got the girl that won his heart back, and now, she has been stolen from him. Keshmire looked up at her cousin with care, and she touched his arm gently.

“She will be home soon,” she said softly, and Roman looked at her as he creased his brow.

“I hope so. I miss her so much,” Roman breathed as he hung his head, and Keshmire rubbed his forearm.

“We will find her,” she said reassuringly, and Roman only nodded.

Ashta and Riah stopped for a moment, and they used the dirt of the forest floor to grow a few berry bushes. They picked off all of the berries, and then they continued their journey through the Forbidden Forest.

“So, if my memories serve me right, I used to love living out here. It’s so peaceful,” said Riah, as she popped a berry into her mouth, and Ashta nodded.

At that moment, memories of Destiny, Micheal, and the rest of her family popped into her head, making her heartache. Suddenly, Riah stopped walking, and she hit her knees as she began sobbing. Sadly, Ashta looked at her friend as she turned around and walked over to her.

“Oh, Riah,” she whispered as she knelt beside her and wrapped her arms around Riah’s shoulders.

“I couldn’t save them, and that place we were stuck in reminded me of that day that I lost them all,” Riah whispered through her tears.

Ashta rubbed her back.

“They are with you in spirit, and you were given Ray to live the rest of your life with,” said Ashta, and Riah only nodded.

“My family was there, too, and it’s taking me everything not to break,” said Ashta sadly, and Riah nodded.

After a moment, Riah suddenly pulled back and looked at Ashta with a concerned look on her face.

“Those people were not our family. They were empty shells just pieced together from our memories. They were designed to trick us,” she said, and Ashta only nodded as she rose to her feet.

“Come on. Let’s go home where our real family is waiting for us,” said Ashta, as she held out her hand.

Riah looked up at her as she wiped her face with the back of her hand, and she reached up and took her friend’s hand. Ashta pulled her to her feet, and they walked through the forest arm in arm, hoping that it wouldn’t be too much longer before they got home.

“I do not know where your mother is,” said the Goddess of the Air Realm.

Bestol and Mertheis had made it through each of the Realms of Passing, destroying everything in their path, and they had just made it to the Air Realm. Most of the gods knew they were coming, and they had fled before the two demons had gotten there.

Bestol had the Goddess of the Air Realm by her throat against the wall and glared at her.

“Oh, I think you know. You know, your precious guardians cannot save you now. Two of them may have gotten out of our trap, but I have destroyed any possible way for the other two to return. The Guardian of Fire and the Guardian of Water are stuck in a different dimension forever,” he snarled.

The Goddess looked at him angrily.

“You might have found a way to us, but you will never be able to stop the four guardians. They will figure out about you, and they will come for you,” she growled, and Bestol slammed her against the rock wall.

“Now!” yelled a fairy, and five fairies appeared.

The fairies started to glow a bright color, and then they grew into life-sized beings. They formed a barrier around the Goddess of the Air Realm, Bestol, and Mertheis. Suddenly, Mertheis fell to the ground, and he held his head in his hands as he screamed out in pain.

The Goddess of the Air Realm stared angrily at Bestol as her eyes began glowing a grayish color.

“You have broken the balance between the worlds, and you will pay for your crimes against us,” she said in a distorted voice, and Bestol snarled as he shook his head.

“Arg, what are you doing?” he breathed as he lost his grip on her neck and grabbed his head.

“You shall not travel no further than the Realms of Passing. The gods are now protected, and so am I,” she said, and then she faded away.

“Noo!” screamed Bestol, and then the life-sized fairies disappeared.

The realm fell into silence at that moment, and Bestol and Mertheis looked at each other.

“What happened?” asked Mertheis as he got to his feet, and Bestol snarled.

“The gods have fled somewhere, and we will find them even if we have to tear apart every realm we encounter,” he snarled as he got to his feet, and Mertheis looked at him.

“I need to find my mother,” he said, and Bestol gave him a knowing look.

“I know, brother, we will,” he said, and Mertheis nodded.

Suddenly, the Goddess of the Air Realm opened her eyes, seeing Sebastian, Hellena, and the other gods. Relieved, she smiled as she ran to them, and they all welcomed her with open arms.

“Milla, you’re alive and alright,” said Hellena, relieved, and the Goddess of the Air Realm nodded.

“Your son is not a very nice creature,” she said, and Hellena hung her head as she sighed.

“We know that. That is why we are all here,” said Sebastian, and Milla looked around.

They were in a beautiful garden with vibrant-colored plants growing all around them. The land looked beautiful and peaceful as the sun shone brightly in a light pink-colored sky.

Milla had never seen a realm so beautiful, and she looked back at Sebastian.

“Where are we?” she asked, and Sebastian smiled.

“We are in the Spirit Garden, but we are deep within. This has been a sacred place for us when we needed to find sanctuary,” he said, and Milla smiled.

“Thank you,” she said.

Sebastian and Hellena nodded.

“I hope that those two don’t find this place. The other realms are destroyed, and they are going to continue to destroy everything in their path,” said Milla, with a worried look on her face, and Sebastian smiled at her.

“Bestol and Mertheis cannot find this place. Hellena and I have strengthened the protection of this sanctuary, and believe it or not, we are in a single flower among the many that are in the garden,” said Sebastian, and Milla looked at him with wide eyes.

Sebastian, Hellena, and the other gods laughed at her reaction, and Milla looked at them.

“It’s best if we hide in plain sight,” said Sebastian, and Milla only nodded with a confused and amazed look.

Slowly, Ashta and Riah approached the deadening part of the forest, and they looked at each other.

“Are you sure this is the way home?” asked Riah, and Ashta nodded.

“If I remember correctly, this is just a muddy part of the swamp. I have fallen in a few puddles before, so watch your step, and you will be fine,” said Ashta, and Riah only nodded.

Riah looked up at the deadening trees, and she shivered uncomfortably. She felt an eerie feeling creep up her spine, and she hugged herself.

“Come on,” said Ashta, and Riah only nodded.

Obediently, Riah followed Ashta, and she suddenly felt that pain in her heart again. Uncontrollably, tears began to roll down her cheeks as she heard whisperers in the wind.

“You couldn’t save your own family. What makes you think you are even wanted at home?”

“If you stay around your friends, you will watch them as they die, too.”

Disoriented, Riah shook her head and sniffed. Ashta turned around and looked at her friend with concern.

“Hey, are you okay?” she asked, and Riah looked sadly at her.

Ashta smiled gently.

“Come on, take my hand. We are almost home,” she said as she held out her hand.

Nervously, Riah nodded as she took her friend’s hand. Ashta smiled at her, and then they continued to walk into the muddy part of the forest.

“Listen. I know it might be a little hard for you to see your old house, but Ray is going to be there waiting for you when we come out on the other side,” said Ashta soothingly, and Riah only nodded sadly.

Suddenly, flashes of her family’s death invaded her mind, and Riah inhaled sharply.

“It’s all your fault, Riah. You killed them, and just like your friends, you will kill them, too,” whispered the eerie voice from before, and she looked at the ground in devastation.

She noticed that they were walking through puddles of mud and muck, and the slime seemed to be getting thicker and harder to walk through. Ashta had a firm grip on Riah’s hand, and she trudged through the mud the best she could. At that moment, she took a step, and as she pulled Riah with her, Riah didn’t move.

In question, Ashta turned towards her, and she looked at Riah. She noticed that Riah was standing in the puddle of muck that was up to her shins, and she was looking down at the pool sadly. Ashta looked at her with concern, and then she sighed.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, but Riah didn’t respond.

“Riah, come on,” said Ashta, as she pulled on her friend’s hand, but she still didn’t budge.

Ashta giggled, and then she thought maybe Riah was just stuck and needed a little help to move.

“Is it too difficult for you?” she asked, and then she saw a dry spot that was on the side of them.

“Come on, there is a dry spot to the right of you,” said Ashta, and she side-stepped into the puddle.

Unfortunately, Ashta didn’t realize the puddle was deeper on that side, and she sunk into it up to her waist. Ashta made a face, and then she looked at Riah as she chuckled.

“I guess we shouldn’t go that way,” she said as she stepped back out of the deeper part of the puddle.

She pulled on Riah’s hand again, and she still didn’t move. Ashta looked at her friend, and then she softly sighed.

“Riah, what’s wrong?” she asked, but Riah still stared at the ground.

Ashta looked at where Riah was looking, and that is when she noticed that Riah was sinking deeper into the puddle. Horrified, Ashta looked up at Riah, and she pulled on her hand a little harder this time. Riah still refused to move, and Ashta gave her a frustrated look. Urgently, she pulled on Riah’s hand again.

“Riah! You’re sinking! You have to move!” Ashta exclaimed, and she yanked on her friend’s hand.

Still, Riah would not budge. Aggravated, Ashta stepped into the deeper part of the puddle, and she yanked on Riah’s hand again.

“Come on, you have to move, or you will sink into the puddle. You have to move, or you are going to die. Please, Riah, move,” Ashta cried, and then she noticed that Riah began to sink faster the deeper she got.

Quickly, Ashta moved in front of Riah and grabbed her face. She made Riah look at her.

“You need to snap out of this. You are stronger than some magical swamp trying to get to you,” she yelled, but Riah still looked at the ground.

“I killed my family. They died because of me,” Riah whispered, and Ashta shook her head.

“No. That was Maya’s doing, not yours,” snarled Ashta, and Riah shrugged her shoulders.

They sank deeper into the muddy puddle, and Ashta looked at Riah with determination.

“You look at me, right now. None of this is your fault. Now, your ass better look at me, right now, because if you don’t, then we both are going to die,” said Ashta.

Suddenly, Riah looked at her.

“I don’t want you to die,” she said with tears, and Ashta searched her eyes.

“Then you need to snap out of this. We both are sinking and very fast,” she said, and Riah nodded as she sniffed back her tears.

At that moment, Ashta looked around, and she saw a dead tree branch that was reachable. She reached for the branch and grabbed it.

“Grab this so that we can pull ourselves out of this stuff,” she said, and Riah grabbed the branch.

“Ready? On three,” said Ashta, and Riah nodded.

They counted to three, and they pulled as hard as they could as they yelled. Suddenly, the branch snapped, and the girls looked at each other with wide eyes.

“Let’s try moving. Maybe we can inch our way out of this stuff,” suggested Riah, and Ashta smiled as she nodded.

That meant that she was finally snapping out of whatever trance she was in, and Ashta silently cheered in her mind.

“Welcome back,” said Ashta, and Riah smiled as she nodded.

They tried twisting their bodies, but they found it even harder to move in the muck, and now, they were up to their shoulders in the murky stuff.

“Ashta, I don’t think we are going to get out of this puddle,” said Riah frantically, and Ashta swallowed hard as she kept her arms out of the puddle.

A few moments later, soon, they were up to their necks, and they looked at each other sadly.

“I’m sorry, Ashta,” Riah said, and Ashta shook her head.

“If I am going to die, then I don’t want it to be with anyone else,” she said, as the muck was now up to their jawlines, and she had lost the fight to leave her arms out of the puddle.

“I’m sorry that we didn’t make it back home,” said Riah, as they both tilted their heads upward.

“Who said you didn’t make it back home?” asked a familiar voice, and at that moment, they both felt strong arms reach into the muck and under their arms.

Ashta and Riah felt the tug of the two men pulling them out, and they landed on their stomachs on the dry part of the forest floor. They both looked at each other, and then they looked up. Surprised, Ashta and Riah stared at the three Selvempt guards standing around them.