Once Upon A Miracle

Chapter 23: Miracle to the rescue!

"Jack leaped over the gate, his sword aflame. To vanquish his foe and rescue his love."

~ Melissa de la Cruz (The Van Alen Legacy)

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Time to save the world then.

Blue might have easily come to that conclusion, a flood of confidence washing away any common sense. But when Evil ordered Warren to bring forth Love, it was only panic alarms that were ringing through her head. Forget strategic plans, she could scarcely think straight.

With her hands bound to a pole, all she could do was watch as Warren dragged Love towards the sarcophagus.

For some reason, Love seemed to have lost the fight in her. But she didn't seem defeated, if anything, her eyes were alight with a strange calmness. She went quietly when Warren tugged at her, unlike when that one-eyed man had dragged her from her cage. Maybe some sort of realisation had hit her because all she did was shoot a look at Blue, nodding. If that was supposed to be a stay-strong-I-know-you-can-save-us-all look, Blue wasn't assured.

If anything, the whole 'save the world' thing was really starting to stress her. And her Ma always said that stressing too much would make her black curls turn white and her skin wrinkly. Blue had no desire to grow old just yet.

But the thought of her Ma made some of her foolhardy courage return. Her eyes darted around, if only she could brainstorm an idea—

As it turned out, she didn't need to. Because Warren had paused halfway through his tracks, his hold on Love's wrists not loosening but neither was he approaching Evil.

"Did you keep your end of the deal?" Warren asked Evil, his tone mild and deferential enough but his eyes cold. This was the first time Blue had heard him utter any word at all since the...incident on the ship.

Evil arched an eyebrow, looking at Wrath like he was but a pesky insect. "You're not supposed to question my actions, boy. Do as you're told, get her inside the sarcophagus. You know the drill."

Warren fixed himself on his spot, stubbornly unmoving and Blue could see a flash of his old, annoying self. "I'm not your servant. I'm working with you because we had a deal. Did you return Good Luck or not?"

Those words might have had an effect if Warren weren't a pudgy little boy facing the towering, intimidating form of her papa. Evil wasn't amused, either. His face hardened, as he snapped his fingers and this time it was Warren who was flying towards Evil. But instead of being lowered into the ground, Evil wrapped his fingers on Warren's throat, making him cough and struggle.

"I do not repeat myself. But since you have been a faithful servant till now--," Evil put special emphasis on 'servant', "—I will tell you one more time. You will not question my orders. You will do as you're told."

Warren's face was turning red, his eyes bulging and, despite herself, Blue worried. Evil wouldn't kill him, would he?

"Because if you don't..." Evil trailed off, letting his hand loose. Warren crashed onto the floor, drawing a wince from both Love and Blue. Evil brushed the coat he was wearing, straightening it and said, smiling amicably, "Well, there's always some extra space in that sarcophagus."

Warren struggled to get into his feet but Evil was one step ahead. He put his boot over the boy's shoulder, mercilessly pressing the heel of it on Warren's already sore shoulder after he had landed on it. A strangled scream ripped out of his throat, as he vainly tried to crawl away from Evil. Blue gasped, trying to unsuccessfully untie herself. She needed to do something. She couldn't let Evil torture him into submission—

Abruptly, the orb beside Evil's throne started to glow, capturing his attention. Evil let go of Warren, making him cry out in relief. Love rushed towards him, gently trying to make him stand up. Blue almost smiled. Of course Love would help her own enemy. She couldn't let go of her nature which only yearned to love and be loved.

Meanwhile, the orb's glow was increasing and fluctuating, effectively making Blue curious. Evil strode towards it, peeking into its swirling clouds. Blue couldn't be sure what it was. But she had read enough books and seen enough movies to make an educated guess.

Whatever Evil saw in there, it stunned him momentarily before a wide smirk broke through his face, his eyes almost lighting up like a Christmas tree.

"Well, well, well," he said, his eyes turning to meet Blue's across the room. His form seemed to shimmer in the azure light of the orb, anything human about him melting away. "Looks like someone is hoping to pull a grand escape plan."

Blue stilled. Even Warren and Love looked over at Evil, their eyes inquiring. Blue could almost hear Goodness cursing inside her head.

What did he mean? A grand escape plan?

Evil clasped his hands in front of him almost eagerly. "Let them come. Little do they know we'll be prepared with a splendid welcome of our own."

~~~~~~~~

"This isn't gonna work!" whispered Sherry, crouching beside Miracle. The both of them, after stringing together a roughly hewn plan, had teleported to the beach. Miracle was still feeling a bit light-headed from teleporting, although he did his best to not reveal it. There was no time for weakness.

Although Sherry was continuously yapping at his ear with the various faults on their plan, Miracle was fairly confident that it would work.

But if it didn't...

No, he didn't dare go there.

It would have to work. Mostly because it was the only plan he had up his sleeve. And, currently, he was out of anymore ideas. He didn't even have a Plan B. And you should always have a Plan B. Always.

Miracle put a finger in his lips, gesturing at Sherry to be quiet. She did, although her eyes were talkative enough, in their own right.

The night was a cold one and the wind was blowing harshly from the sea, the waves crashing so violently on the rocks that Miracle could feel their spray even from a distance. The moon had disappeared altogether, hiding behind dark clouds. Although the sounds of the wind and water were creating a symphony of their own, a definitive quiet still lingered in the air. It unsettled him. The crickets had stopped singing too. There was no hoot of an owl from the dark foliage of trees surrounding them.

The calm before a storm.

Miracle shivered, trying to suppress the sense of foreboding. They were going to succeed, he told himself. They would defeat Evil. He would save Blue. Everything would be all right.

"It would work," Miracle whispered, fisting his hands.

"I wouldn't be so confident," Sherry mumbled quietly.

Miracle glared ahead at the ruins of the Lighthouse looming over them at the crest of the hill. When he concentrated hard, he could almost see the shimmer of the outline of a huge, new and definitely not ruined structure. He knew it was Evil's doing. The concentration of magic was high here; he could sense it, feel it in the air.

"It would work," Miracle repeated again, this time with even more confidence. "They would never even see us coming."