Page 91 of Down from the Tower

Panting, I nod and untwist half my hair, curling around the horse to grab Legs and help her onto the creature. She adjusts immediately, and I walk beside them back to the house.

We’ve just gotten him into a narrow cot when Margo comes back through the door, eyes wide. “The Barrens are empty.”

“What?” I’m in disbelief at her words. Surely she doesn’t mean completely empty.

“That can’t be true,” Legs says with a frown. “The spirits cannot leave The Barrens. They are trapped.”

“Well, they’re gone,” Margo argues, and it still sounds surreal. “That could be what caused him to collapse. Too much spiritual energy at once could overwhelm a Reaper.”

That sort of makes sense, but in my world Zarev survives everything. Seeing him actually down and hurt is jarring, since he’s been fighting to keep me at his side since we left Tressa.

Light appears within the dark folds of his cloak, and my brow furrows. But Legs, with all her wisdom, has the answer. “Seeing stone.”

I dig through his cloak until I find the thing, glowing bright around the brown material. I tap the top like Zarev showed me, expecting to see Raymundo on the other side.

It’s not him. Elsie and Genevieve stare back at me, twin looks of panic plastered across their faces. The younger sister speaks first, her eyes full of dread. “Oh no. Is Zarev down as well?”

I wince. “Did Raymundo pass out?”

She nods, and Genevieve speaks. “We were all walking around Swan Lake when it happened. We’re only supposed to be out here for a day or two to check the castle now that the Flowerborne are gone. He just collapsed and this mad rush of spirits flew past.”

“That happened here too.”

“It’s not a good sign,” Genny continues. “I saw the direction they’re headed, but I’m not sure what it means.”

“Which direction?” I ask, trying to remember where Swan Lake is in Mystica. I jump back to the table for my bag, digging as we speak. “The Barrens are empty now too.”

“The dead are rising,” Elsie says, looking towards her sister. Genny shakes her head just as I find my map and start pulling it open. “That’s the only reason that the Reapers would collapse. If there’s too much unrest in the spirit world it can affect them here. They were headed back East.”

I’m barely listening as I stare at the map. “Not northeast?”

“Na,” Elsie replies. “Definitely southeast in a mad rush.”

The only place that’s labeled southeast of Swan Lake is Tressa. I stand, staring down at the map in front of me.

There are no dead in Tressa. Why would the spirits go there?

“Rapunzel,” Genny says, and I glance up at her. Elsie’s eyes go wide, and I’d almost forgotten she thought my name was Zelle. “The Knights from Camelot swept through here yesterday. For the most part they left people alone, but they were asking questions about the wall and gutting anyone who seemed to be hiding information.”

My face pales. “But no one leaves Tressa. We’re trapped behind the wall. The people in Sherwood shouldn’t be getting killed by association.”

“I agree,” she replies, eyes narrowing. “But they were everywhere one day and gone the next. You heard the rumors, didn’t you? If all those spirits are heading off towards Tressa-”

“Somethings going on,” I interrupt, thinking of the golden city I used to call home. The King and Queen might be evil, but the citizens there don’t deserve to be hurt for the King’s greed. “They’re going to attack Tressa.”

Elsie winces before nodding. “That’s what I’m thinking. Ray thought so too when we talked about it. I don’t know how long he’s going to be out. What do we do?”

I glance towards Zarev, but Legs and Margo are deep in conversation. They are as lost as I feel.

Zarev can’t help me. Not while he’s out and possibly suffocating under the weight of all the spirits. Who knows how long he will be unconscious, or if he’ll be ready to assist me when he’s awake.

“Try and pull your brother someplace safe until he wakes up,” I tell them, staring down at Zarev. “Wait it out. If the spirits already passed you and the soldiers already questioned you, you should be safe until he wakes.”

They both nod before Elsie speaks. “We’ll call Ma, too, and let her know.”

“Good. Watch him. Have him call Zarev once he’s up.”

Nodding once more, Genny swats Elsie’s hand away from the screen. “And Rapunzel? Don’t do anything stupid. Zarev likes you too much to welcome you to the afterlife.”

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