When Lily Kline takes possession of a Gothic estate with Ian Hawke, her co-heir and a stranger, she soon realizes there is more than meets the eye within the many corridors of the sequestered mansion.
Ian is aloof and even hostile at times, and thou...
Passing through the portal was like stepping through a door.
There was no swirling whirlwind of a tunnel, no colors. Just one moment they were climbing into the trunk, the next they were climbing out in Alvernia.
They stood on a plateau of a mountain overlooking the land.
The ground was parched and dry. The great forest should have filled the expanse as far as the eye could see, but was nothing but dead tree trunks sticking up out of a foul-smelling swamp.
The sky above was overcast and everything was cast in a gray hue.
The others around her who had not been to Alvernia in many years looked around them with sorrow. Mike was pale, a look of grave indecision on his face, probably wondering if he'd made the right choice after all. Varkis stood with furrowed brow and slumped shoulders.
Ian put his arm around Lily's waist and gave it a gentle squeeze. "We mustn't despair. One day it will be restored to its former glory. It just needs time to heal and be replenished."
"But even if the land heals, we're all that's left," Varkis cut in gruffly, his voice thick with emotion. "We can't repopulate the planet."
"Take heart," Lily said, both to Varkis and everyone else huddling on the platform with them. "We've come too far to give up now. Appearances can be deceiving." With that, she stepped away from them all and walked to the edge of the plateau. Lifting her arms up in the air, she closed her eyes and began to sing.
The notes at first sounded like a flute but they morphed and changed into a full-bodied instrument entirely her own. The music of her vocal chords wafted down into the valley below. It was as if she'd bottled joy, peace and hope and transformed them into a melody. As she sang her body transformed, glowing so bright it was soon only an outline. The song hit a high note and the light burst forth from her, expanding and filling the entire landscape as far as the eye could see.
The ground beneath their feet moved and the parched soil grew moist. Cracks sealed and like a time-lapse video, grass and sprouts burst through the dirt and flowers blossomed, releasing their fragrance. Down the mountain it spread, turning the swamp land into a shimmering lake surrounded by mature forest; the gray sky at first mottled with blue and then fully blue; clouds dissipating like rapidly melting snow.
When she finally put her arms down, the light faded from her body, leaving her tremulous in its wake. Ian approached and took her into his arms. She turned to look up at him, smiling peacefully.
He kissed her temple.
A cheer erupted around them and they laughed, breaking the embrace.
"Hey, listen everyone—" Mike cut in. "Do you hear that?"
Somewhere off in the forest was the sweet trill of a song bird.
Callamous stamped a hoof, snorting. "Look over there," he said, nodding in the direction of a distant meadow. "Unicorns!"
Sure enough, a group of unicorns appeared from behind boulders and trees; many other creatures and humans gathering with them as well.
There were survivors after all—hundreds, perhaps thousands of them, of all shapes and sizes, heading their way—coming out of their hiding.
Lily rested her head against Ian's shoulder.
Morack's reign had come to an end.
Forever.
It was time to begin a new life, with her true love, as a guardian of the beautiful planet of Alvernia.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
