Mirror Lake 2 The Journey to Save the Magic

Nothing.

Absolutely nothing for miles around. Just wheat fields and grass. It is beautiful, if you like flat grasslands. It’s wide open here. Other than horses, cows and sheep, we haven’t seen another living soul for what seems like hours.

“Are we there yet?” grumbled Ethan.

I laughed.

He’s been staring straight out the window for the last 45 minutes and hasn’t said a word.

I looked over at Ethan.

“I really hope so!” I answered.

And just like that, a shimmer up ahead caught both our attention.

“Finally!” he shouted.

I don’t blame him. I’m right there with him! It felt like a colossal waste of our time being out here with nothing to show for it, except hours of driving farther away from the woman I love.

Sighing in relief, we pulled over and exited the small rental. I stretched out my sore muscles, trying to get my blood circulating again. I half expected to see Ethan drop and do push-ups.

Turning around, we surveyed the area.

There was a small ranch house right next to the dome.

I guessed no one had to hide it out here, since there was nothing to hide from. Just wide open spaces.

Overhead there were thunder clouds gathering. I remembered our last fight in Arizona, and was praying not to have a repeat event. Being drenched for hours on end is not fun! Everything chaffed. Even on the jet, when we were finally able to change, my skin had friction burns.

“Let’s hope this one is faster than the last time,” Ethan voiced my thoughts exactly.

He trotted up to the little ranch house and knocked.

I watched as he put on his brightest smile in an attempt to charm whoever it was we had to deal with. And, who knows? It might actually work! Ethan’s charm has a special pull that makes people want to please him.

He never had to use it on Becky, he fell for her naturally and she him. But I’ve seen him use it a time or two to get out of a tricky situation. I’ve often wondered if that’s what he did to face his parents, since I knew that Mel didn’t give a crap about pleasing them and she often got in trouble.

I don’t know if he actually didn’t get in trouble, or if he just charmed his way out of it. According to Mel, he was the “good child,” but even good children get in trouble every once in a while.

I looked over at him now, and wondered what he had planned for this one.

The door creaked open, and out sashayed Loren.

She eyed me and Ethan up.

“You know, long ago, this land was filled with natives,” her voice started to lilt as she began to tell a story.

I could feel the pull of her magic. Hers were words meant to charm, a lot like Ethans.

“Yes, but we are hoping not to fight today Loren. We’ve come a long way from the women we love and we’d love nothing better than to get back to them as soon as possible,” Ethan’s voice counters the effects of Loren’s voice.

She growled slightly.

“The woman you chose over me, she is young and naive. You need a real woman who can take care of you,” she whispered to me.

Normally I would have listened to her words. She does have a way of telling a good story; But not this time.

“Loren, you know it would have never worked between us. You were one of the decent councilors who didn’t actively try to harm the children, but your voice lulled them into a stupor,” I countered. “Not to mention, I’m in love with that woman you call young and naive. She stole my heart from the moment I laid my eyes on her, and she didn’t have to use her charm on me.”

“It should have been me! I should have been your mate! WE would have had strong children and we could have started our own kingdom! I didn’t care about Jack. We would have been the perfect couple.”

She stepped forward and laid her hand on my chest trying to pull me closer to her.

Repulsed by her I tried to push her away.

“Loren, let my brother in law go,” cooed Ethan as he came up behind her.

She looked over at Ethan and smirked.

“You haven’t been taken,” she purred as she switched her attention to Ethan. “You could still choose me.”

Ethan matched her smirk.

“Yeah, I could choose you,” he whispered. “I could choose anybody I want and they would fall at my feet because I’m the prince.”

“Once upon a time,” Ethan started “There was an orphan. She was abused by her family, then finally abandoned and left all alone in the world.”

Ethan placed his hands on her shoulders as he talked. Loren watched his eyes with great interest. His eyes are unique. Only he and his sister have that shade of seafoam green.

Loren slides her arms up his body and around his neck as she listened to him with rapt attention.

“One day, she was sent to a camp, called Mirror Lake. She was a shy girl and younger than all her cabin mates, but she was just trying to make it through her lonely life, in hopes that one day she could escape what fate had thrown her way.”

Ethan smiled down at Loren and slid his hands behind her neck.

“One day, an angsty teenager was brought in as her new cabin mate. She had a twin brother, and she came up with a devious plan. She would sacrifice this young girl to occupy her brother, while she snuck around and got into trouble on her own. Little did the twin know that her brother was more than okay with this plan, because the instant he laid his eyes on this innocent girl, her heart was his.”

Ethan suddenly grabbed the chain from around her neck and stepped away from her. He smirked at her again.

“I agree, I could have you, or anyone else. But someone already stole my heart, and I have no intention of taking it back,” he finished.

Loren gave us both a sour look.

“Why don’t I get to have one of the good ones? Why are you always taken?” she complained.

“You will have your own happy ending someday,” I promised her.

She shook her head bitterly. “No one wants me! And when I saw you, I was sure I could get you to love me… Or at least want me,” she whined.

“I’m sorry, Loren. But I never loved you. I was trapped in that blasted bubble with you for years and I never once thought we would have a future together,” I shared. I had to be honest with her. I couldn’t let her come after me and Mel for any hurt feelings she feels.

“I know this might be a strange concept for you, but have you even looked in the bubble and seen the other magical creatures? Maybe one will fall for you.”

Ethan and I walked out to the translucent prison, and much to my surprise, Loren followed us. And right there was a bright orange patch of mushrooms. For some reason that color just looked worse than any other I’d seen before!

Ethan knelt down and shoved the key into the hole and turned.

The wheat fields rolled and rumbled. Sparks of magic shot into the sky like fireworks. The thunderclouds boomed and the bubble cracked. Different colors of lightning shot across the plains. It was beautiful!

Suddenly the stampede of unicorns led the way to their freedom. They ran along the grassy plains and galloped off for the hills.

Next came the elves. They raised their voices in song and the wind and rain flowed with them. It was a bittersweet melody of loss and freedom that hummed through the land.

Then there were the sprites. They skipped along like they were dancing in the sky. They flew through the magic sparks and chased the lightning like they were playing a game.

Shadow shifters appeared in physical form, dancing around. Then they would shift back to shadows and chase anything that moved. They liked to sneak up and scare people. It was kinda funny to watch, as long as you weren’t the one getting scared.

I looked back at Loren, who had her eyes on one of the elves. And much to my joy, he was watching her and on his way to her.

I looked over at Ethan.

With a satisfied smile we both made it back to our car.

“Time for another ride!” joked Ethan.

“Yeah. Let’s hit the road.”