"Mom! Dad. What are you doing here?" Rhychard just stood there, staring. He didn't need this right now."Your father thought I was crazy," Catherine Bartlett said. "He even made sure I didn't have any hidden wine bottles anywhere. Empty wine bottles, that is. I had to drag him here to see for himself.""You're alive," Rhychard's father said as he stood there and stared at Renny, his brows bunched in disbelief. "How is this even possible?"Rhychard sighed. "I've discovered just about anything is possible these days.""Hello, Mr. Bartlett," Renny said as she casually closed her purse, hiding the gnomes from sight for now. Catherine didn't handle them well last time, and Renny didn't know how Rhychard's father would react. "I'm sorry we didn't come over and tell you. We've just been…well, we've had our hands full."James Bartlett swooped in, wrapping his arms around Renny and giving her the tightest bear hug she ever had. "I can imagine you have," he told her, his voice filled with enthus
Tansy walked over to where Alex's backpack lay on the ground from where the gnome dropped it when they first entered the Summerlands, pulling out the container of salt that rolled halfway out. As she stood, she couldn't take her gaze off the dark pack, remembering its owner and how far he came since walking into the Murky Cauldron that first day. Her heart twisted, and she did her best to keep the tears at bay. She didn't know how much time they had, so she needed to make sure she completed the barrier spell before Renny arrived with Baltabek.Kayla and Wanda sat off to the side, Kayla with her arms wrapped around her knees as she stared at the last spot she saw Alex, and Wanda absorbing her surroundings. Since the demons had been cast out of the Summerlands, the dank grayish color slowly faded away, replaced once more by the lush greens and vibrant colors of the flowers that filled the Land of the Dead. They had even seen the return of some of those who had already passed on from the
Rhychard heard screams, but he couldn't tell whose or where they originated. They might have even been his for all he knew. Pieces of the broken table jabbed him in his back and legs, and he felt blood making a trail down his side. Groaning, he tried to sit up. He must get up. Renny needed his protection as did his parents.:Warrior, Baltabek is heading to your home,: Kree sent. Rhychard could hear the elven hound moving toward him through their connection. :He hid among the woods along the creek.:"Rhychard!" Renny shouted, and then he felt her hands on his arms along with someone else's on his other side.:Well, he knows how to make an entrance.: Rhychard sent.He could hear shouts of panic coming from the parking lot and other apartments, people screaming at the sudden explosion.Glancing up, he noticed the other set of hands helping him to his feet belonged to his father. His mother stood by the sofa, her face pinched with concern, and Tryna picked herself up off the floor from whe
Rhychard wasn't sure what he hit, but he found himself spinning backward, the Guardian Sword leaving his hand as he hit the ground with a hard thud, the air whooshing out of his lungs. Scrambling to his feet, a pain tugging at the back of his head from where he hit the ground, the first thing he noticed was Laci sprawled on top of Kree. Renny! He jerked his attention around until he saw her still gripping Jayden's arm as both women lay stretched out on the grass. However, he didn't see the wall he ran into, knocking him back on his ass. Another glance around, and he noticed the salt circle and the three witches sitting on the ground, eyes closed as they chanted. An older man he didn't recognize stood behind Wanda, his face a mask of admiration.A groan alerted Rhychard to Baltabek stirring, and Rhychard lunged for his sword. The demon moved faster, however, and shot a burst of his demonic power at the Warrior, knocking him back against the invisible barrier, the air he just managed to
While their mother piddled in the kitchen fixing them a plate of fajitas, the Valentine sisters sat on the living room sofa, legs folded under them. Maria Valentine put most of the house back in order after Baltabek's attack, but the destruction remained obvious to Laci. She held tight to her sister ever since the Summerlands, scared to let her go. Jayden, of course, fussed at her to stop being a mother hen.Once everyone arrived back at Rhychard's Thinking Rock, a place Renny decided would cause the least amount of sightseers, the witches and Famallumi returned to the Murky Cauldron while Rhychard placed a still-weak Jayden in the back of Laci's car. The eldest Valentine wasted no time or words as she headed straight for home."I almost lost you," Laci said. "I don't know what I would have done if that happened.""Probably moved into my room since it's the biggest," Jayden said with a shrug."That's not even funny," Laci snapped, shoving Jayden's hand away from her in disgust.Jayden
Rhychard Bartlett fell against the coarse stucco of the church column, the rough texture ripping into his back through his shirt as he oozed to the ground. Smoke floated through the morning air, carrying with it the scent of sulfur leftover from the burst of demonic power Vargas used against him, red flames of energy that exploded from the demon's fingers. Rhychard suddenly wished he had kept his duster on as the pain screamed in his mind and explosions of white dots burst behind his eyes like fireworks. He barely managed to maintain his grip on the Guardian Sword with the attack. The blade pulsed a violent blue as heat emanated from the bronze weapon. He could feel the power from the sword, but faintly, the voices of past Warriors a low murmur in his head, instead of their consistent howl. His arm hung limp at his side, blood trickling down as his chest suffered from three long claw marks that left his flesh layered open, revealing torn muscle and tissue beneath. His chest heaved with
The elven hound pressed his massive forehead against Rhychard's shoulder. A tingling sensation coursed through him as he felt Kree's magic knit muscle and tissue back together. Rhychard glanced down as his injuries seemed to shrink back in time, the open wounds finally becoming thin, pinkish lines of new flesh with blood coating the healed wounds the only evidence something had happened. The pain was still a dull ache, but he was no longer in danger.Tryna looked into Rhychard's eyes once Kree finished. "I knew you would be here, at this church, when I felt your pain." There was no accusation in her voice, only sadness. "This is not good, Warrior. This distraction almost killed you."Rhychard didn't answer. There wasn't really anything to say. He came here to remember; he came here, to this church, every day for the past three months because it was as close as he could get to the love he had lost, the love he had lost because of being at the right place at the wrong time. Vargas had be
Rhychard splashed cold water over his whisker-stubbled face, the chill shocking some life back into his mind. His arm and chest throbbed with pain even though Kree had successfully healed the gouges Vargas left. The skin was still pink, and even the elven hound couldn't take away the scars left behind.Rhychard glanced up into the bathroom mirror, water dripping from his face into the dirty sink below. A hollowness seemed to surround his pine bark-colored eyes, giving him a ghostly appearance. His high cheeks had a thinness to them he hadn't noticed before. He knew he hadn't been eating properly but didn't realize his lack of appetite had taken such a toll on him in so short an amount of time. He reached around and pulled his long, dark hair into a ponytail, tying it with a leather thong. He noticed how his biceps bulged and his chest rippled as he did, more than they had before and a contrast to the gauntness of his face. While he had never been buff, he had carried a few extra pounds