The first hurdle was finding electricity. They only needed enough to power their phones and a laptop. Shannon and Peter went about connecting the electronics to the house’s small generator, which they’d agreed only to use when absolutely necessary.
Having little to do until the cameras started rolling, Kat, Merek, Cedric, and Rafe went through their combined selection of silver weapons and sparred on the hot sand below the house. Liv sat down in the living room to start writing her script, her hand flowing over the notebook in her lap.
“Hey, Liv?” Shannon asked from her position on the floor, where she was examining her own dead phone.
“Hmm?” Liv asked, still writing.
“So once we get this movie all made and everything . . . how are we going to get anyone to see it?”
Liv’s hand stopped abruptly, and she looked up.
“Please tell me this isn’t the first time you’ve thought of this?” Shannon asked, voice sharp.
“There’s a lot on my mind!”
Shannon shook her head and crossed the room to sit by Liv on the couch. “Okay, well, where do you think we can put the movie where the most people will see it?”
“Um . . . YouTube?”
Shannon tilted her head and patted Liv on the shoulder. “Oh, Liv. Poor sweet, naive Liv. Do you know how many millions of videos are on YouTube?”
“She’s right,” Peter said. “Why would anyone watch ours? We have to direct people to it.”
“With . . . Twitter?”
“Now you’re just embarrassing yourself,” Shannon replied.
“What?” Liv asked. “You’re on Twitter.”
“Yeah, and I only have 548 followers. All painstakingly added over the course of two years, by the way. And if it took that long for someone who looks this good to get followers, we’re not going to be able to just add thousands more at the click of a button.”
Liv’s shoulders fell. Her brain whirred, trying to think up a solution. But it kept running up against dead ends.
“No need to look so depressed,” Shannon said. “We’ll think of something. And hey, we’ve got my 548 people, so that’s a start!”
“I can post it to the D&D message boards, though it might take a while to build traction,” Peter said.
“And I can start posting it to our school’s Facebook page, and there’s always Snapchat—” Shannon added.
“—I have access to the AFI film studies email list—”
“—can send it to all my cousins in Utah; there’s like eighty of them. . . .”
They trailed off, trying desperately to think of more ideas.
“This is crazy,” Shannon said. “I’ve been trying to be famous for, like, ever. If I knew a shortcut, I would have used it by now!”
“It’s too bad you don’t know any famous people who could help,” Peter cut in. His eyes were still glued to his laptop screen.
“I’ve been saying that my whole life,” Shannon said with a rueful shake of her head.
Peter shrugged. “A famous person would have a big following. A movie star would be ideal, since their fan base is already primed. . . .” He paused, looking up from the computer and around the room. “A movie star like . . . the ones that own this house.”
Liv and Shannon both looked around at the Oscar statue and the framed red carpet photos. Then, at the same time, they yelled out, “Daisy!”
Shannon’s eyes gleamed as she sat up straighter. “If she could just access her parents’ Twitter—oh my God, she could reach millions!”
“Millions of movie lovers.”
“We still need internet access,” Peter said, but he was smiling. “In order to upload the video. And contact Daisy.”
“Is there any way you could work a little magic . . . ?” Liv asked hopefully.
Peter shook his head. “If you’re talking about technological magic, no. From what I can tell, most of the city’s servers are down on the west side. And if you’re talking about the other kind of magic . . . that’s really more your department than mine.”
“Okay, well, if the internet’s down here, we’ll just have to go someplace it’s working again.”
“On my way back to LA, my phone worked most of the way here,” Shannon put in. “It was definitely working in the Valley, anyway.”
“All right, that’s not too far,” Liv said. “Now there’s nothing left to do but . . . start shooting.”
She picked up her phone to carry it over to Peter, hesitating only when she saw her own reflection in its dead, black screen. Her hair was still an ash-covered mess, and she had definite bags under her eyes. But she no longer looked like the shell-shocked victim she’d been just an hour before. Her eyes were clear and full of energy. After months of confusion and fear and doing things completely out of her element, she was finally back in her own domain. She didn’t have to wield a sword or tramp through woods or take protection during earthquakes. In order to save the world, she only had to do the one thing she loved best.
Direct.
“My name is Liv Phillips, and I know why the world is broken. I know, because it’s kind of, sort of, partially my fault.”
Liv once again stared at her phone, but this time it was on and running. She stood on the beach, and behind her the orange sky was spread out over the sea like an oppressive blanket.
Shannon held the phone, with Peter standing beside her. The others stood just off to the side, waiting for Liv to give them instructions. But for now, Liv just looked into the camera, ready to tell her story.
She figured the best thing to do would be to show anyone watching that magic was real, and that it was here in Los Angeles. That’s why their group was standing so near to where Liv, Daisy, and Joe had opened their large portal in Malibu, the one that had caused the sky to turn orange in the first place. As soon as Liv made her quick introduction, she used Malquin’s words to open the portal once again.
That would get any viewer’s attention. Even if they thought it was all just special effects—which they probably would—hopefully some would be interested enough to keep watching. Interested enough to hear the rest of Liv’s story. Interested enough to maybe even believe in what she was saying, if only for a second.
The portal opened, a black hole in the middle of the sky. Liv turned back to the camera phone. “Magic is real. I know it’s crazy, but it’s true. But this isn’t where the story starts. It starts with him.”
That was Cedric’s cue to come before the camera screen. He looked nervous and unsure of where to look, even though they’d practiced this part three times. He had few enough lines, with Liv narrating most of how they met. Kat and Merek joined the screen to reenact their first trip through the portal. Kat’s line delivery was as stiff as her shoulders, while Merek scowled every time he forgot what he was supposed to say. Not the best actors in the world, but they got the job done.
Liv left the camera rolling as an earthquake started up, just minutes after the portal opened, and she kept on filming when the portal closed back up after no one went through it. The group went through the main points of their story, using various parts of the beach and Malibu house as backdrops. Shannon was the only one really eager to be in front of the camera, so Liv made sure to give her as big a role as possible.
Then came the most important part. Liv once again stood with her back to the ocean, directing the others to help her fix the sky with a spell to bring balanced magic back to the world. When she spoke, though, her words were for the camera alone—or rather, the people beyond it. The ones who would watch. Liv figured the actual words of the spell didn’t matter so much—Malquin had made his up, after all—but she didn’t want to get this part wrong.
“Accept the magic,” she said, over and over, asking the others to repeat after her. Their voices rose up higher and higher, and Peter swung the camera out to the roiling clouds in the sky. Liv and the others looked up at it, their faces filled with hope, their voices still mixing together in unison—
“Cut!” Liv said.
Peter hit a button on the camera screen, and everyone seemed to let out a collective breath. Peter had suggested using digital effects to make the sky turn blue again, but it had been Liv’s idea to have the movie cut to black, just as people would wonder whether or not the spell worked. It would hopefully make anyone watching lean forward, interested to see what happens next, maybe repeating the words of the spell in their own minds, imagining what it would look like if it worked . . .
Liv turned to the others and grinned. “That’s a wrap.”
They headed back to the house so Peter could get a start on editing the footage on his laptop and the others could start to load up the van with any supplies they might need for the trip to find working internet.
Liv was alone in the kitchen, loading up a canvas bag with some snacks, when Cedric entered. He had a half smile on his face as he leaned against the counter top, and his hip bumped up against hers.
“So how did I do?”
“Pretty good,” Liv said, smiling back. “I think you might have a future in this industry, kid,” she joked.
He raised one disbelieving eyebrow.
“Well, you’d make a hell of a stuntman, anyway. Maybe not as good as an action star, but . . .”
Cedric looked quickly at a picture on the fridge of Daisy’s parents—both of whom actually were action stars. “It is still difficult to believe that one could make a living playing pretend. Especially a living as nice as this.” He gestured around the large kitchen.
“I know.” Liv grinned. “Isn’t it awesome? There’s lots of ways you could make a living in this world . . . I mean, it would involve staying in this world . . .”
Cedric’s expression suddenly turned serious. He shifted his position—just an inch or so—but enough so they were no longer touching.
Liv cleared her throat. “If this works, Cedric . . . if we can make it so the portals don’t have to close forever . . .”
Cedric swallowed, and Liv continued in the heavy silence. “It’s just . . . maybe you don’t have to pick one place and stay in it forever. Maybe you could stay here just . . . for a while.”
She reached impulsively for his hand, and when her fingers landed on his, she half expected him to pull away. But instead, he squeezed her hand. He looked pained, and a line deepened between his eyes. Liv suddenly didn’t want to hear what he had to say. Why’d I have to bring this up at all? she wondered. Why not just enjoy the time we have left?
But she couldn’t keep avoiding it. She had to know what was coming around the corner if she could. Even if the only thing in her future was hurt. So she didn’t look away as Cedric moved closer once again, his face just inches from hers.
“It is so strange,” he said, his voice low and clear. “When I first came to this realm, I felt like I had made the biggest mistake of my life. All I wanted to do was reverse what I had done, to go home as quickly as possible. But as time passed, as I spent more time here, those feelings changed. Everything I encountered was terrifying . . . but it was exciting. There was so much to do, so much to see and learn. And then, just as I started to get a handle on things, I had to return to my reality.”
“To your home,” Liv whispered.
Cedric squeezed Liv’s fingers again. “Yes, to my home. Which no longer felt quite the same as it had before. And when I came back here, it was like I was struck with this sort of clarity. I could not shake the feeling that this is where I was meant to be. Maybe just until I could help you fix things and save our worlds, or maybe . . .”
“Maybe longer?” Liv couldn’t keep the hope out of her voice. She held her breath, waiting on Cedric’s answer. But he turned away from her finally, looking toward the floor.
“If it were up to me, I think I would very much like to stay longer.”
Liv slowly nodded, her held breath escaping in a sigh. “But . . . it’s not up to you.”
Cedric shook his head. “If I were not a king—” He cut himself off, his eyebrows furrowing. Then his head tilted toward the window, and he straightened.
“Do you hear that?”
“What?” Liv asked, turning. She couldn’t hear anything. But the front door of the house slammed open, and Kat came running into the kitchen.
“Something is coming, from up the road,” she said.
Cedric and Liv both rushed outside, Kat close behind. Liv peered to the right, down the PCH toward Santa Monica. The road had been empty of everything but their own mopeds and vehicles for weeks. But now, in the distance, Liv heard something.
Engines. Lots of them.
Then she saw them, black dots moving down the roadway, growing bigger and bigger. An assortment of cars, trucks, and motorcycles.
Shannon skidded through the front door, her eyes going wide as she saw the train of vehicles moving closer.
“They found us,” Cedric said, his voice tight. “How did they find us?”
The answer came to Liv quickly—and painfully, as she smacked one hand against her forehead, unable to handle her own stupidity.
“Joe.”
Joe-as-wrath knew where they were, knew everything—how could she not have thought of that? Because deep down, she still thought of him as the Joe she knew, the one who would do anything to protect her. Not this version, who would do anything Malquin told him to—even if it hurt her.
“Um, they’re moving really fast,” Shannon said.
“How many are there?” Kat asked, peering into the distance.
Liv remembered the circle of wraths lining the edges of the giant soundstage. “Too many to fight. We have to go.”
Kat’s forehead crinkled in confusion. “Run?”
“Drive,” Liv said. She turned to Shannon. “Get the others. Tell Peter to bring his laptop, bring all our phones. We have to start this now.”
Shannon dove back into the house as Liv looked for the van keys. Cedric and Kat quickly gathered up their weapons and were back outside, followed by Merek and Rafe. Peter stumbled outside quickly, still dragging his right leg a bit. He held his laptop in both hands.
“I’m not finished yet!”
“Finish in the car!” Liv yelled back.
They climbed into the van just as the first car reached the end of the driveway. Liv slammed the driver’s side door shut and put her foot on the gas pedal. In the passenger seat, Cedric tightened his grip on his sword hilt and kept his eyes focused straight ahead.
“Can you get past them?” he asked Liv.
“I can try.”
The van lurched forward, moving up the driveway. A small black car came toward them, head-on. A motorcycle was next to it, and behind both was a familiar, worn-down, boxy vehicle. Joe’s Jeep.
Liv’s stomach lurched. She drove straight on, getting close enough to the oncoming car to see the black eyes of the wrath behind the driver’s wheel.
“Uh, Liv?” Shannon asked, leaning forward. “Please don’t crash my mom’s van and kill us all, okay?”
When the van was just feet away from the oncoming black car, Liv suddenly pulled hard on the steering wheel, whipping the van to the left side of the driveway and down onto the manicured lawn with a jolt, making everyone bounce in their seats. Liv kept her foot hard on the gas pedal, cutting a path across the grass, swerving around a pair of palm trees and coming out on the roadway.
The vehicles in pursuit on the driveway had to brake and swerve to try to follow Liv’s van. She’d only bought herself maybe a thirty-second head start.
Liv kept her foot on the gas, racing up the deserted roadway, one eye on the rearview mirror. She saw the cars gaining on her, counting at least four of them immediately behind her. She was going to have to figure out a way to either outpace them or lose them, and neither seemed a likely option on this long, winding strip of road with the ocean on one side and steep hills on the other.
“Oh my God, oh my God,” Shannon said, her head craned back to see the cars speeding up in pursuit. “They’re right behind us.”
“Don’t panic,” Liv said, trying hard to calm her own racing pulse. “I can still lose them.”
She pushed down again on the gas, as ocean and mountain alike sped by in a blur.
“Have you outdriven this many vehicles before?” Cedric asked, in a whisper only she could hear.
“Nope,” Liv responded, her voice just as low. “But no need to tell everyone.”
Cedric nodded, looking a bit green as the van hugged the side of a cliff.
“And, Cedric?”
“Yes?”
“Buckle up.”