Chapter 13

Lucy

Lucy wakes up as Gullvi pulls up by Milady’s basement.

“We’re here", she says quietly.

Lucy glances at Milady. She’s been sitting silently the whole way home, only speaking when she’s talked to. Lucy doesn’t know what the Wizard did, only that Milady changed after that. She’s different, somehow. Milady stumbles out of the car without a word, and Gullvi looks at Lucy.

“You can come with me if you want.”

Lucy shakes her head.

“No.”

She steps out and takes Milady’s arm.

“I’ll help you.”

She’s not angry any longer. Not even with Milady. Gullvi told her what had happened to her. She had met Milady before she became a magician; when she was still called Jenna. And Gullvi had told Lucy that Milady hadn’t had any friends, and Rat had tricked her and some other street kids had tricked her too. Gullvi had found her huddling on the street one day with no money and a bruise. They had taken everything from her. Gullvi had taken her home, but Milady had gone angry and left. The next time Gullvi met her, she’d told her she wasn’t called Jenna any longer, she was called Milady.

Lucy didn’t want that to happen to anyone; she didn’t want people to be mean to each other.

She helps Milady through the window and sits her down on the sofa. She’s scared of touching the stove, but she wants to make tea for them, so she plucks up the courage and puts a kettle on. The stove doesn’t give her any electrical shocks and when the water is boiling, she hands Milady a cup. She still hasn’t said anything. Lucy pats her hand.

“It'll be okay.”

Milady bursts into tears. Lucy puts an arm around her.

“It’s okay, I’ll take care of you, Milady.”

“I'm… Jenna…”

She weeps quietly as Lucy holds her. After a long while, she quiets and leans back on the sofa. Her eyes are closed, and Lucy takes a blanket and wraps it around her, and then climbs into bed.

She wonders what her parents are doing now. Probably working, like they always did. They never had time for her. She wonders if they’ve even noticed that she’s gone. No one else will miss her either, she never had any friends. Only the books and the movies. Those were the only friends she ever had. But she wanted to find real ones, just like in the movies. So she’d run away. She wonders if she will find any...

She wakes up before Milady the next day, and she’s brave enough to make them another cup of tea. Milady stirs on the sofa and sits up. Or, she’s not Milady any longer. She’s Jenna, she said. She gets up and sits by the table.

“Thank you…", she whispers.

They drink the tea in silence until Jenna says, “We need to close the portal. Now we can do it; the deal with the Shadow Man is gone.”

“How do we close it?”

“The veil is still thin; we can do it from here.”

Jenna prepares the room and, in the evening, takes Lucy into it. It’s a magical room that Lucy hasn’t seen, but Milady has been in a lot. Lucy is a bit afraid, but Jenna is different from Milady. She doesn’t think she’ll hurt her.

This time, Lucy can see the Guardians. They stand so tall in front of them, but she remembers what the Wizard said. Jenna is trembling beside her, but Lucy takes her hand and says, “It’s okay.”

Jenna frowns, looking at them as if she saw them for the first time.

“You… You never had any power.”

The Guardians start to shift then, taking on new shapes, each one more horrifying than the last, but Jenna walks past them, and Lucy follows. They land on the same street as last time, and Jenna holds Lucy’s hand as they walk towards the house. The Shadow Man is there inside, waiting for them.

“So, you’re more powerful than I thought", he grins. "You found a way out of our little deal. I'm impressed.”

He smiles.

“But you know, I can teach you things no one else knows. I know the shadow world better than anyone. I can give you powers you never dreamt of. Just let this passage be open for me.”

“I’m finished making deals with cockroaches.”

He grins and steps back.

“So show me then, your new power. Show me how to close this portal. Maybe you are not as impressive as I thought.”

Jenna takes a deep breath, raises her arms and casts the spell. The portal doesn’t close. She glances at him, eyes wide with fear. She casts the spell again, but nothing. The Shadow Man laughs.

“Only I can tell you how to close it.”

She screws up her face, lifting her arm again.

“No, wait! “

Lucy takes hold of her arm. Lucy sees what the Shadow Man is doing. And she sees what the Wizard talked about. This portal isn’t natural. It’s a wound between the worlds. And Jenna is making it stronger each time she casts the spell. The unbalance grows, putting the roots deeper and deeper, connecting the two worlds.

“It’s a trap, don't you see it?”

Jenna lowers her arm and looks around, unsure.

“This new magic isn’t about spells and power", Lucy says.

“Then how? I don’t know any other way.”

“You do. Milady didn’t, but you do.”

She takes Jenna’s hand and holds up her own against the portal. She can feel the flow between them, and she hears the Shadow Man stop laughing. Jenna raises her hand, and she can feel the flow double, and the portal is shrinking. It becomes a whirlwind, and the wind is whipping through the small cabin. Something black flashes by, and Lucy realises the Shadow Man was sucked into it. The portal closes, and the wind dulls until they are standing in the quiet cabin.

Jenna's trembling. She stumbles and falls to the ground. Lucy lowers herself next to her.

“We did it", she smiles.

Jenna smiles weakly.

“I’m sorry for what I did. Thank you. “

She takes Lucy’s hand, and she helps her stand. The ground trembles and Jenna says, "We need to go.”

She runs out with Lucy, and the world, wherever they are, is coming apart. The sky is dissolving, and the ground has patches they need to leap over. A rumble runs through the street, and Lucy barely hears Jenna as she yells, “We’re almost there!”

The portal is still open, the air is shimmering as the world around it falls apart. Jenna squeezes Lucy’s hand as they jump through it, and everything goes black. She wakes up on the floor, and Jenna is still holding her hand. She stirs and slowly sits up.

“We… did it…”

Jenna smiles.

“We closed it… “

She throws her arms around Lucy and sobs into her neck.

“We did it…”

Lucy strokes her back until she’s calm enough to let go.

“What now…?" Jenna whispers into the room.

“I don’t know… “

Lucy understands it’s not a question of what they will do today but how they will go on from now. Lucy’s not sure what she wants to do, just that she wants to stay with Jenna.

“I’ve… always wanted to do something with flowers", Jenna whispers.

“We can start a flower shop!”

“A flower shop?”

"Yeah, sell flowers!”

Jenna laughs. It’s the first time Lucy has heard her laugh.

“Yeah, why not? We can start a flower shop."

You can listen to the Audiobook version on my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@maratellsstories