Page 113 of Magic and Muffins

“On the count of three,” I said. “One…Two…Three!”

We hit the relic at the same time. The magic reverberations sent us flying backward. My ass hit the ground first, followed by my back and head. The impact knocked the wind out of me, and I wheezed through my poor, abused throat.

Grandpa and Grandpa Hunter groaned nearby.

“That was a doozy,” Grandma said. “Thank goodness we don’t age in here and that my bones are still in good shape.”

I sat up, tears flooding my eyes so much that I couldn’t see Grandma kneeling in front of me until she wiped my face with her warm hands.

“We’ll keep trying,” she said. “We’re not beat yet.”

That only made me cry harder until I was hiccuping. She rubbed my back, trying to comfort me, but the only thing I could think about was what would happen once Orphia arrived.

“You do not hold the responsibility for the fate of the whole world in your hands,” she said. “No one should have that power. Do not let this defeat you because, once the relic activates, we are going to need everyone. Do you understand? You have to be strong. Giving up isn’t an option, right?”

I nodded, knowing she was right, and wiped away my tears.

“She’s here,” Grandpa Hunter said, backing even farther from the portal.

Dread filled me. Standing, I hurried toward it and saw vampires flooding the area with Orphia and Vivian in their midst.

Shepard and Cross stood together in wide stances. Effora waited just behind them.

Orphia’s gaze swept over them and then me, stuck in the portal.

“Well done, Vivian,” she said. “I knew as soon as I saw you that you’d be perfect for my mission. I’m so glad you survived the conversion. I’m sure I could have done this without you, but with your twisted genius, it’s entertaining, too.”

Orphia missed Vivian’s hate-filled glare as she looked around the clearing and met my gaze.

“Be a dear and fetch the relic, Everly. I’ll need it soon.”

She drew back her hand and threw something. Neither Cross nor Shepard attempted to block Curran’s ring from entering the portal. It landed a distance behind me, near Effora’s stone in the grass.

A shuddering rumble shook the ground beneath my feet.

“We’re doomed,” Grandma said.

I looked at her, and she pointed at the fog near the stars. It thinned as I stared.

“Once it clears, the portal will be open.”

“If these four stones had the power to open the portal, maybe they can break the relic,” Grandpa suggested. “Like fighting magic with magic. Maybe both magics will cancel each other out, breaking the relic and closing the portal.”

Grandma was already scooping up Effora and Curran’s stones as my eyes went wide in realization, and I reached for the necklace Vivian had put on me.

It wasn’t there anymore. I frantically fell to my knees at the portal and combed through the grass and flowers there.

“Everly,” I heard Orphia call. “The relic is large. You won’t find it in the grass. Can she even hear me? You picked a useless blood bag, Cross.

“Kill them.”

I glanced back at the portal and saw a mass of vampires running for Cross, Shepard, and Effora. A second later, Shepard stood in front of the portal. I wasn’t sure if it was to block me from coming out or to block the vampires from getting in.

“What are you looking for?” Grandma asked.

“A necklace with a gem-studded penis on it. It’s not mine. It belonged to the vampire who shoved me in here. It cancels magic. It might work on the relic. I’m positive I was wearing it when he pushed me in, or Cross would have found me sooner. That means I lost it in here when I fell or—” I sprang to my feet. “I need to check near the fae portal.”

“Here,” Grandpa said, shoving a bag at Grandma. It looked like it weighed as much as she did. “Take it and the stones and go with her. I’ll stay here and hold them off as long as possible. If you can’t break the relic before the portal opens, go to the fae realm and hide.”

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