Page 110 of The Iron Dagger
“But this is your realm, which means your memories and your past are here, even if you cannot access others’,” said Hara. She turned to Gideon. “Turnswallow does not have strong Sight either, but he was able to get out. I was thinking about the fae’s advice, and I wonder if it means we should go back to where the enchantment began.”
“Your beach?” he asked blankly.
“No. The pit,” said Hara. “When I looked into Turnswallow’s past, I kept Seeing him jumping into the pit over and over again. It kept coming up, and I did not understand what I was Seeing at the time. We all have memories of jumping into it. That is where the enchantment begins. What if we need to go back there and jump again?”
Gideon considered this. It sounded like it would lead them deeper into the stone, but he was quickly learning that his instincts were useless in this place. In a backwards way, Hara’s idea made sense. It explained why none of the other sorcerers had ever managed to escape. Even if they discovered they could make their memories real in this place, he doubted any would wish to go back to the moment they leapt into the pit. No one would want to relive that experience. “Maybe that would close the loop.”
Hara nodded fervently. “Retrace and do the hard thing. Complete the circle. We need to go into the past and do it again.”
“Let’s say that it works,” said Gideon. “Are we planning to come back here to get the others? How would we find them all?”
Alcmene and Desideria had been listening to their conversation. At this, Desideria spoke up. “Through my realm. I can find everyone who is in the stone.”
“How many are there?” asked Hara.
“I’ve felt fewer than a hundred,” said Desideria.
Hara nodded, thinking hard. “We should test it first. Mother, you would need to stay behind so that we can access every witch’s realm when we return.”
“I’ll test it,” said Alcmene resolutely. “Anything is better than being stuck here for all eternity.”
“Then I will go with you,” said Hara. “In case you get stuck, I can use my Sight to bring us back to my mother’s realm. Whose memory should we use?”
“Mine,” said Alcmene. “Let’s see if this is how Turnswallow did it.”
Hara nodded, and they all fell silent.
Alcmene closed her eyes, and it seemed to Gideon that the light dimmed slightly. The sky changed from blue to pearl gray, and the air became damp and chill. Then Gideon looked down, and realized that he was standing at the edge of a gaping, icy pit. The sand and the mirrors had disappeared, and they stood on the surface of the glacier. He looked up at Hara with disbelieving eyes. They were standing in Alcmene’s past.
With a start, Gideon realized that a Recruiter stood nearby, empty chains in his gloved hands. Gideon took a step towards him, but the man did not move a muscle. This must be the Recruiter who brought Alcmene to the glacier.
Alcmene opened her eyes, and they widened as she saw the pit yawning before her. Hara reached for her hand. “Ready?”
Alcmene nodded, and Gideon took hold of Hara’s other hand. Hara looked at him in surprise.
“Don’t think I’m letting you go anywhere without me,” he said.
She gave him an exasperated look, but the edges of her lips curved up slightly.
“Good luck,” said Desideria, her hands clasped nervously under her chin.
They turned to the pit, and Gideon experienced the familiar sense of gut-clenching fear. Do the hard thing, indeed. Even though he had done this before, his heart still galloped in his chest at the sight of the yawning black void. What if it did not work, and they were trapped down there, or worse, taken to some new limbo?
Trust Hara,he said firmly to himself.Her Sight will pull us out.
It was not any easier to lift his foot and take that step into nothingness for the second time. He clenched Hara’s hand in his fist and felt the swoop of his stomach, the cool wind and the sound of water roaring all around them. It was too late now.
The slab of stone loomed up out of the darkness, and Gideon felt his heart pound in terror as he braced himself.
When he opened his eyes, he found himself standing back at the edge of the pit. It was as though they had not jumped at all. Hara stood beside him looking equally confused, and Alcmene was there too. The only ones who were missing were Desideria and the Recruiter from Alcmene’s memory. They looked all around, but there was no sign of Hara’s mother or of the doorway they had used to enter Alcmene’s mind.
“Did it work?” asked Gideon.
“I can’t tell,” said Hara. “It’s possible we’ve just created a new loop instead of closing the other. Maybe we’re destined to jump into the pit over and over again. Unless I pull us into my mother’s present.”
“Wait,” said Alcmene, and she let go of Hara’s hand to take a few steps back from the edge. “I think this is real.”
She turned, gazing all around. “I’m thinking of my time before, in the palace. I’m remembering my room. Are you able to see anything?”
