Page 55 of Devils and the Dead
“I created a temporary pocket dimension to hold the portal,” Hades explained. “Just in case the queen sent more darts through it, or decided to attack. No one and nothing gets in or out until I bring the portal back.”
“So it’s not really here?” Cassie circled the encased portal. “I can see it, but it’s not here.”
“It’s like a window.” Hades wrinkled his nose and thought for a second. “Like when you Facetime someone on your cell phone. You can see them, but they’re not in the room with you.”
“That has got to be the most amazing bit of magic I’ve ever seen.” She sent Hades an admiring glance. “I like you. You can marry Babylon. I’m giving that union my approval.”
I choked a bit at her mention of marriage, glancing down at the rings that Hades had assured me only we could see.
“Thank you for your blessing of our future union.” Hades winked at me. “Are we prepared? Should I bring the portal back?”
“Here’s the gift for the queen.” Bronwyn stepped forward and handed me the beautiful enchanted bird.
“And I have the Everbloom.” I put the bird safely in my bag that held the box with the elven artifact.
“We’re ready to defend Accident if the queen attacks.” Cassie motioned toward my sisters and their demon mates, all of them encircling the portal. “The werewolves are our second line of defense, and I’ve warned the residents in town to be prepared, just in case.”
I took a deep breath and let it out before nodding at Hades. “Then I’m ready.”
He snapped his fingers and the shimmering air became just regular air. The portal expanded slightly, as if sensing I was about to enter. I took a step forward, but Hades halted me.
“Just one more thing.” He leaned in and kissed me. I was pretty sure my sisters, their boyfriends, and all the werewolves were hooting and whistling, but all I knew at that moment was Hades.
“By my side, always,” he whispered as his lips left mine.
“By my side, always,” I replied slightly louder, so that my family and the others could hear. No matter what happened, I wanted them to know that Hades was important to me—just as important as their mates were to them.
“I will see you soon.” Hades kissed me once more, then I stepped through the portal and into the elven lands.
The portal put me into a large chamber that reminded me of the church that Rita and Ralph had been married in. At the end opposite me, down a long grassy walkway, stood a dais. At the very top, on an ornate throne, sat the elf queen. There were three elves on either side of her, and both sides of the walkway to the dais were lined with crowds of elves.
They all had colorful hair, and huge eyes that sparkled like faceted gems. They wore silk robes, and all of them had long hair that was styled to reveal the pointed tips of their ears. Beams of colored light danced around the chamber, highlighting the trees, flowers, and grass that grew inside this strange place.
It was beautiful. They were beautiful. But with my first step along the grassy pathway, I knew something was wrong. Something about the place just felt off, and it wasn’t because I was unfamiliar with elf customs or worlds other than the one I inhabited. No, the place felt as if it were decaying, as if some renewing force was missing.
It was then that I realized Tinsel had lied. The Everbloom wasn’t some pretty bauble prized by the queen that she might not miss for a century or so if it went missing, it was the lifeblood of their land. Tinsel had stolen the very essence of this place and escaped with his friends to create a new land somewhere else, and in doing so, he’d sent his homeland and all the other elves into decline. His friends had to have known what he’d done.
How many centuries or millennium would it take before this place and the elves all died? I knew now why the queen was so harsh in her punishment—and why, in spite of her casual attitude toward the Everbloom, she was so desperate to have it back. Tinsel had been a traitor in her eyes, and probably in the eyes of the other elves here. I had no idea what events had led up to him stealing the Everbloom. I didn’t know enough about the situation to place blame. But I did know that the Everbloom needed to be returned, regardless of what had happened before.
“Do you have it?” The queen’s voice didn’t quite hide that note of desperation I’d overlooked before.
“Yes. I have the Everbloom.”
Voices erupted in exclamation and comment, but the queen didn’t quiet them. I passed by the gathered crowds, climbing the steps until I stood before her. With a respectful bow, I took the box from my bag and opened it. Taking the tiny glass orchid out of the box, I placed it by her feet and stepped down from the dais.
The Everbloom shook, then cracked in half. I had a second of panic, thinking that maybe I’d somehow broken it, then tendrils shot out from the pieces of glass. Vines crawled across the floor, climbed the walls, covered the ceiling overhead. Even with the thick canopy, the rays of colored lights shone through. Suddenly the vines burst into bloom and the crowd collectively gasped.
The lights were brighter. The elves glowed. The whole chamber appeared sharp and clear, as if I’d been wearing thick grime-covered glasses and removed them. Ifeltthe difference. Within seconds, the Everbloom had renewed every living thing, every structure, every blade of grass. It reminded me of when Maude had been resurrected.
The love of the living and the dead. Renewal. Rebirth. Resurrection. Maybe it hadn’t been coincidence that the cursed tree had come down across the road to the werewolf compound, and that Clinton had come to me. Maybe it wasn’t a coincidence that I was the one to find the Everbloom. Maybe it wasn’t a coincidence that I’d taken credit for Sylvie’s spell and bargained with the elf queen. The Everbloom bridged life and death. I bridged life and death. I was proud that I was the one to bring it home and bring renewal to these elves.
But there was one more item on my agenda for today. Tinsel may have been wrong to steal the Everbloom, but I’d vowed to free him, and I felt he’d suffered more than enough as his punishment.
“We agreed that if the Everbloom was brought back, that we would not attack you or your people or your town,” the queen said. “I will uphold that bargain.”
“We have a second bargain, your highness.” I reached into my bag and took out Bronwyn’s gift. “I have something to present to you, and we agreed that if this gift pleases you and you decide to accept it, you will consider Tinsel’s punishment to be over and free him from his curse, allowing his soul to journey to his afterlife.”
The crowd murmured, some clearly not pleased with this bargain, but the queen nodded. “I did make that bargain. Present your gift, and I will judge if it is worthy of a thief’s freedom or not.”
