The earthquake came before I could ask Alice what she meant about our enemies. My gut feeling about the Gorum trying to burst through the portal had been correct. If they were trying to leave Riona, what did that mean for my home? For my people? Had we failed in our mission to bring Delia and the amulet together in time to save everyone?
Despite the distant crashing of what were probably priceless antiques, Alice continued to work. Nothing distracted her from her mission, not even the critical looks Orin was throwing her way. I had no idea how he was feeling, but it couldn’t have been easy to find out your wife had an entirely different life. I knew what she was doing must have been more important than I’d imagined, so I offered my assistance.
“Trust me, there’s nothing you can do to help with this unless you’ve been trained in the alchemical arts.”
I huffed out a sigh. “At least tell me what you’re doing.”
“I’m making another stone.”
“What? How?”
“All I need now is one more ingredient. Give me your hand.”
Without hesitation, I held my hand out, palm up. Alice pulled out a silver dagger and slid it across the tip of my index finger. Crimson blood pooled in the cut until it formed a droplet big enough for her purposes. She gently turned my hand until the blood dripped into the waiting vial. I didn’t flinch while she squeezed my finger until four more sizable drops joined the first.
“How will making another stone help?” Orin had watched in silence until then.
“One stone created your world and has kept it alive all these years. When that stone returns to Riona, it will restore your world, but you will still have to fight a war against powerful enemies. This stone will help you do that. This stone will give you the power to seal portals forever.”
“Any portal?” My brain was working to comprehend the implications of what she’d said.
Alice nodded as she combined the contents of each vial with careful concentration. When all that was left to add was the vial of my blood, she motioned for me to join her.
“You have to add your blood. In order for this to work, you must be the one who sacrifices a part of yourself to the stone. Are you prepared to take on the responsibility that will come with this burden?”
“Is this stone going to be tied to me and my children the way the other is tied to the descendants of Sophronia?”
“Yes; however, you won’t need to wear it to keep the portals sealed. Once they’re sealed, they will remain that way until you put on the amulet and decide to walk through a portal.”
“There’s no way to make this without tying it to my blood?”
I couldn’t help but think of the sacrifices made by the bloodline that came from the Great Alchemist. If she had known what adding her blood to the stone would do, would she have gone forward with it?
“No, I need someone’s blood to do this and since you’re the only one here who intends to return to Riona, you must comply.”
My blood ran cold. The phrasing was off, what she’d said made it sound as though she herself had been to Riona. I think she must have realized her slip because she grew impatient and reached for my hand. I stepped away and pulled my arm behind my back like a child.
“Have you been to Riona?”
Alice crossed her arms. “Why would you ask that?”
I stared at her, hard. While her hair was the opposite of Delia’s, I could see a small resemblance in her eyes. They were a soft shade of blue that reminded me of the sky on Earth. She looked away.
“Who are you, really?”
Her exasperated sigh told me everything I needed to know, but she told me anyway. “I told you I’ve been known by many names and I’ve lived many lives. Riona was supposed to be my world. I’d been working on the stone for so long, I hadn’t even noticed that the plague had swept through my village.”
My heart beat so fiercely I thought it might burst from my chest. “Sophronia?”
Alice bowed her head in acknowledgement. “I haven’t heard that name in many years. I knew the moment you arrived, you would need my help. But I couldn’t bring myself to seek you out. Leaving Riona behind was the worst betrayal possible.”
I had no idea what she meant by that, but I now knew why she was able to mix the ingredients together to easily. I wanted to ask her how she was still alive, when had she left Riona, did anyone know she was still alive. But I couldn’t form the words. Instead, I glanced at Orin. He looked as though he may be sick. He’d just discovered his wife was the ancient alchemist who’d been widely revered by our world.
I locked eyes with Alice and nodded firmly. “I am ready to serve my people and save my home, at any cost.”
“Pour the blood in.”
I did as instructed. The mixture swirled together, turning a brilliant blue. Alice quickly took the mixture and poured it into a mold before placing it in a strangely shaped oven.
“Now what?”
“Now we have to wait for it to harden. This is an exact art, if we don’t do it right, it won’t work at all.”
My phone rang in my pocket. It was Lonzo. “Hello?”
“Taeren, I have the princess.”
“What? How?”
“You know I started working as a janitor at the hospital where the other woman is employed.”
“How did that get you to Delia? Tell me you didn’t kidnap her.”
He chuckled on the other end of the call. “No, I saved her. When the earthquake hit I got her to safety and we helped get people out of what remained of the hospital.”
“You saved Delia or her friend?”
“There is a lot I need to tell you, but Delia was locked away in a hospital for the insane.”
My heart leapt to my throat. “Is she alright?”
“She will be. They told her she was going crazy. They did something to her head to make her think our home was just a dream.”
I closed my eyes. No wonder she’d seemed so afraid when I saw her at the book signing. She thought I was just a character in her books; she wasn’t just telling people they were dreams, she truly believed it.
“We’re with the alchemist. She’s made something that will help us. The Gorum and Sideon are coming to Earth.”
“You were right. How do we stop them?”
“I don’t know yet, but we’re going to figure it out.”
I hung up with Lonzo and explained what happened. Orin shook his head sadly. Alice didn’t look the least bit surprised. I glared at her.
“Why didn’t you do something for her? You had to have known she’d arrived. You had to have felt her presence. She’s your granddaughter!”
Alice hung her head. “I was afraid. You don’t know the whole story, neither does she. I left my own daughter behind because I was selfish. I grew tired of ruling, and wanted to go home.”
“Well, Riona is home for me, for Delia. You left us, and now I don’t even know if there’s a home to return to.”
“If an apology would fix it, I would apologize. However, we both know that no matter how many times I say I’m sorry or that I wish I could take it back, it won’t make one ounce of difference.”
“Then tell me why you left. I don’t believe for a single moment that you missed your smelly hovel in your long-forgotten village.”
She flinched at my raised voice. In other circumstances, I would have been out of line, but we weren’t in Riona and she wasn’t my queen. She wasn’t even the “Great” Alchemist” anymore. She was nothing.
“Taeren, be fair. How was she to know that the Gorum would invade? How was she to know about the danger the Sideon would bring?” Orin seemed to have snapped out of his shock as he came to his wife’s defense.
“I knew.” The whisper was almost inaudible.
“I’m sorry, what was that?” I was begging for clarification.
“I said I knew. I saw it all. I knew what would become of Riona if I were to leave and I did it anyway. Other than my own daughter, I didn’t care about the fate of anyone. None of them cared for me, why should I worry about their fate?”
I was angry. I was ready to explode. The woman we’d all worshipped as the creator of our world had just admitted to the worst possible crime. She didn’t care if we lived or died.
“If you don’t care, why are you helping us now? If you knew who I was all along, why did you marry me? Did you ever love me?” Orin demanded.
“Of course I love you! I knew who you were, but I couldn’t tell you who I was. You wouldn’t have understood. People change. I changed. I came to realize Riona wasn’t just something I’d made, it had a life all its own. The day I returned to Earth, I set a chain of events in motion that was supposed to end it once and for all.”
“And yet, here we are,” I said through gritted teeth.
She nodded. A tear ran down her cheek. “I never would have guessed you’d find me. I made it nearly impossible. Yet you found me, and I am ready to help the next queen of Riona.”
I struggled to believe her words, but she was our only hope. The stone she had hardening in her oven was going to help us get rid of the Gorum and Sideon once and for all. I couldn’t ignore that she’d done that for us. Sophronia turned back to her wall of ingredients and continued to gather various items on the table. I couldn’t say how long we stood in silence when a “ding” tore me from my thoughts.
“It’s ready.”
I soon discovered that Sophronia’s idea of “ready” and mine were totally different. The newly molded stone had to cool, then it had to be set in the silver filigree she’d formed for the amulet. I waited, impatiently, until she finally turned around with the finished product nearly two hours later. The stone was breathtaking. It had veins of deep navy that streaked across the teal, and speckles of gray. It didn’t move like the amulet that belonged to the queen, but I could practically feel the weight of its power coursing through me as I hooked it around my neck.
“Now, you must return to the portal. Your enemies have already begun invading this world. I can only imagine what destruction they’ve brought down on us so far.” Sophronia practically shoved us up the stairs.
“Aren’t you coming with us, Alice? We’ll need all the help we can get,” Orin asked her as we neared the cupboard doors.
“Don’t worry about that, I’ll be along when you need me. For now, you must gather your men and reunite with the princess. There is no time to spare.” With a wave of her hand, the doors creaked open.
I turned to thank her, but she’d already closed and sealed the doors behind us. She must have more work to do. I shrugged at Orin. Neither of us understood what she could do, but we hoped she’d helped us by forging the new amulet.
Her store was in ruins. The coat racks had fallen through the front window during the quake, and shattered glass was everywhere. I couldn’t help but think it was a stupid place to put them. We had to climb over armoires and other furniture that now lay strewn across the only walkway. Once outside, I grabbed the phone and called Lonzo.