Mike watched as Marina wiped her hand over her cheek. Sweat glistened on her brow, but he knew the dampness she brushed away came from the stray tears that still escaped. Instinctively, he reached for her trembling fingers and squeezed them in encouragement.

“We’ll get him back,” Mike promised her in a low voice. “How much farther?”

“Not far,” she replied, giving him a thankful smile before she focused on walking the path.

Mike nodded and released her fingers. He looked at the thick forest on each side of the path. They had covered a lot of ground over the past two hours, moving steadily down the high mountain to the valley far below. He had been surprised when Marina veered off the main road and onto a narrow path that looked more like an animal trail. They hadn’t talked during their trip, instead conserving their energy to move deftly and silently along the difficult path. They had stopped twice to wait for some of the Sea Witch’s ogres riding Hellhounds, to pass by. Each time, Marina had whispered a spell to conceal their presence. She said it was one of the spells her father had taught her when he realized what the Sea Witch was doing.

“Here,” she murmured, stopping and looking to her left.

Mike frowned as he gazed in the same direction that Marina was looking. All he saw were thick trees and tall ferns. He was about to ask her if she was sure when she waved her right hand, as if pulling back a curtain. He knew his mouth was hanging open when the trees groaned and began to part.

“Holy…,” Mike’s voice died when he saw a manicured, pebble-covered path lined with a brilliant display of flowers. At the end of the path was a quaint little cottage straight out of a Thomas Kinkade painting. If the ‘walking’ trees weren’t enough to stun him, the cry of the plants as they greeted Marina made him feel like he had fallen down the White Rabbit’s hole, been swept up in a tornado, and deposited in the middle of an animated classic. “What next? The Giant from the beanstalk, along with his magic harp, and the goose that lays the golden eggs?” he muttered with a shake of his head.

“The Giants live on another Isle,” Marina remarked, glancing over her shoulder. “Come, Grandmother is waiting for us.”

“Your grandmother,” Mike repeated, startled as he quickly stepped onto the path. He stumbled as he glanced over his shoulder. The trees were once again moving, this time closing the gap they had created. “Are you serious about the Giants?”

Marina frowned and nodded. “Of course,” she replied. “I’ve never seen them in person, but Father and Mother have. They both said the giants are very nice, but rather rough around the edges.”

“Marina! Come, child. Come inside,” an elderly voice called out from the shadow of the doorway.

Mike stood frozen for a moment as he tried to wrap his head around Marina’s casual acceptance of giants. Maybe they weren’t the same as the fictional giants from back home. Maybe they were just really, really, really tall people, he thought with a grimace. With his luck, they were probably as real as this Drago the dragon and the Sea King merman!

“I am really going to need a drink by the time this adventure is over,” he muttered under his breath before following Marina into the shelter.

* * *

Marina blushed when her grandmother looked at her with clouded eyes. She hadn’t missed the inquisitive look or knowing smile when her grandmother tilted her head in Mike’s direction. For the millionth time, Marina wondered how her grandmother seemed to see everything even though she knew the other woman was blind.

In the past year, she had only been able to come here twice to make sure her grandmother was safe. Marina sighed in regret as she gazed around the beautiful, quaint garden and tiny cottage. While she would have loved to create something like this for the children, she did not have the magical power to hide it the way her grandmother did. There had also been no way to bring all the children here to hide. To create an area big enough for everyone would have been too much for the enchanted garden and the ability of her grandmother’s magic to conceal.

“Grandmother, this is Mike Hallbrook. He….” Marina started to say before stopping when her grandmother stepped up to Mike and gave him a kiss on both cheeks. Mike grinned and raised an eyebrow when her grandmother squeezed his arms.

“I know, I know. He is a stranger to our world. He’s a strong one, child, and cute too! You are a very lucky witch. Now, both of you come in. I was just about to have a bite to eat,” Ladonna Fae chuckled.

“Mike, may I present my grandmother, Ladonna. I have to caution you that she can be a bit blunt,” Marina added under her breath when Mike stepped up to enter the cottage behind her grandmother.

“Nonsense. I am very blunt. At my age, I don’t have to be socially polite anymore,” Ladonna retorted, leaning on her cane.

“Hello, Ms. Cane,” Mr. Bow greeted.

“Oh, no… You brought him back,” Ms. Cane groaned.

Marina grimaced. She propped Mr. Bow up against the wall near the door. Turning, she saw Mike’s questioning expression.

“Same forest, different trees. Another gift from my father,” she quickly explained.

She closed the door and walked over to her grandmother who was placing a large pot of stew in the center of the table. There were three place settings already on the table. Her grandmother had known they were coming.

Marina retrieved the pitcher of water from the polished stone counter and placed it on the table. She looked up in surprise when Mike pulled out her chair. Murmuring her thanks, she slid onto the dark wooden seat. Her gaze followed him when he did the same for her grandmother.

Her grandmother’s pleased hum told Marina that her grandmother was impressed with Mike’s manners. He pulled out the chair to the right of her and sat down.

“We can talk about why you are here while we fill our bellies,” Ladonna said with a wave of her hand.

The bowls in front of them floated over to the pot of stew. Ladonna continued to chat about the new flowers coming up in her garden while the ladle filled their bowls with the delicious smelling stew. Marina sliced thick sections of bread as the filled bowls landed in front of each person.

“I really should have planted the flowers on that side of the yard sooner. I don’t know why I didn’t think of it earlier,” Ladonna sighed.

Marina waited until her grandmother finished speaking. She looked down at her bowl, suddenly not hungry. The thought of Geoff being in the Sea Witch’s hands made her sick to her stomach. Closing her eyes, she tried to push the image of Isha and the others frozen in the courtyard out of her mind.

She opened her eyes and lifted her gaze up to Mike. He squeezed her fingers under the table in support. She gave him a grateful smile before turning her attention back to her grandmother who had grown silent.

“Grandmother, one of the Sea Witch’s ogres took Geoff,” she quietly informed the older woman.

“Yes, I know, child,” Ladonna replied. “That is why you are here.”

“Yes.”

Marina blinked back the tears in her eyes. Her grandmother reached over and patted Marina’s hand. The older woman sighed and nodded to them to eat.

“Food first. You will need your strength on the journey you have ahead of you,” Ladonna instructed.

“I came to ask for your help. I created a portal between our world and Mike’s. I… I don’t know how I did it, but if there is a way to do it again—this time to the Isle of the Sea Serpent—we hoped to ask for the Sea King’s help,” Marina explained.

“Portals can be tricky. Lucky for you, I know a thing or two about them. Now, do not worry so, child. Everything will work out,” her grandmother said as she blew on the hot mixture.

“How can you be so sure?” Marina asked.

Ladonna turned her head toward Mike. “Your young man has powerful magic, but it will take the combined strength of the Sea King, the King of the Dragons, and Magna herself to defeat the evil that controls our kingdom,” she explained.

“What are you talking about? Why would Magna help defeat herself?” Marina asked in confusion.

“The Sea Witch either made one vital error when she cast her spell or she did it on purpose,” Ladonna said.

Marina frowned. “I know that she retreats to the palace each night because of the spell that drains us. I suspected that was why she disappeared each day before the sun sets,” Marina said with an impatient wave of her hand. “What use is that if we are too tired and weak to do anything? Even the Sea King and Drago will more than likely suffer from the effects!”

“Yes, Magna’s spell affects her just as much as it does the rest of us, except for your young man. Magna is just as much a product of the magic of our Isle as she is of the sea. She needs both to survive, but the creature that has possessed her can only survive inside her or inside someone else.”

Marina frowned and laid her spoon down. “What creature? What are you talking about?” she demanded.

“I see, though I am blind, Marina, many things that others do not. Isha came to visit me before he was turned to stone. My visions are oft times not as clear as I would wish. I told him the same thing that I tell you now. The Sea Witch is not all that she appears. There is something darker living inside her—something alien to our world. I still see the young girl she used to be locked inside. Magna fights the evil imprisoning her as best she can. Have you never wondered why Magna would create a spell that happens to weaken her as well as others? One that would force her, the Hellhounds, and the ogres back to the palace when darkness falls?” Ladonna asked.

“I—I thought it was just to protect her when she was at her weakest. I was just so grateful that it gave us some measure of relief from the constant threat of attack,” Marina admitted.

Ladonna shook her head. “The spell she cast upon the ogres fades, and she must lock them up so they cannot escape. The Hellhounds are unnatural beasts. They are made from the darker magic feeding on hers. They guard her at night when she is defenseless,” she explained.

“Do you mind if I ask how you can be sure of this information?” Mike interjected when he saw Marina mulling over these details.

“Because I have one of the ogres. They are quite talkative beasts when you get to know them. I found him stuck in the tar pit and took pity on him once darkness fell and he turned back to his normal self,” Ladonna explained with a wry grin on her face. “I’ve always had a soft spot for the creatures. No one can grow mushrooms like they can.”

“Grandmother, you could have been captured or worse! Where is he now?” Marina asked in horror, leaning forward and placing her hand on her grandmother’s arm. “During the day he could still harm you.”

Ladonna shook her head, her clouded eyes swirling with color. “Magna is not the only powerful witch on this Isle,” she said with a shake of her head. “While I’m not as strong as I used to be, I can still protect my home and gardens.”

Marina sat back in her chair. “That is why we need your help. Only the King and Queen together would have been strong enough to defeat Magna. If she had not tricked the King and imprisoned the Queen with her deceit, none of this would have happened.”

“No, child, not even they could have stopped her. It will take more than magic to defeat her. You will be able to see the evil that is inside her. You must not let it escape. If it does, it will only move to another. There is one who is more powerful than even Magna. You must make sure that the evil inside Magna does not touch the Keeper of Lost Souls,” Ladonna whispered, staring straight ahead, as if she could see into the future.

“Lost souls?” Mike asked, leaning forward and resting his elbows on the table. “Marina mentioned the Sea King and Drago. Can they defeat Magna?”

“Defeat, no, but they can free her and the rest of the Seven Kingdoms with help from you and Marina,” Ladonna said.

“Then, we have to talk to them,” Marina insisted.

She pushed away from her half-eaten meal and rose to her feet. Her hands clenched in determination. She would do whatever it took to free her family and her people.

Ladonna sighed and nodded. With a wave of her wrinkled hand, the dishes on the table disappeared and a set of brilliant green and blue stones appeared. Ladonna slowly rose, the chair behind her quickly stepping backwards out of her way, and nodded for Marina to pick up the stones.

“I store some of my magic in the stones. Remember, you must convince the Sea King and Drago to attack before the dawn of a new day. Once Magna’s spell lifts, she will be too powerful and will have the armies of the ogres and Hellhounds to protect her. Be careful, though. If the creature inside her feels threatened, it may destroy the stone statues held prisoner. If that happens, the King and Queen will be lost forever. Take the stones and place them in a circle and repeat after me,” Ladonna instructed.

Marina nodded. She scooped the stones up into her hands. Carrying them, she quickly moved to stand in front of the hearth. Handing some of the stones to Mike, they carefully laid them on the worn rug in a circle and stepped inside. Marina held one hand out to Mike. He placed his hand on hers, and she grasped it firmly. Turning, she called to Mr. Bow to come to her. Once she had a grip on both Mike and her bow, she murmured to her grandmother that they were ready.

“Be safe, child, and remember, I will always be in your heart,” Ladonna whispered before she began chanting in a low voice.

Marina’s gaze jerked to her grandmother’s face. She parted her lips in protest, but no words would come. The serene look on her grandmother’s face etched into her memory as her grandmother began to weave her spell. Through the swirling colors of magic, she could see her grandmother begin to fade.

She trembled as the quaint cottage shimmered, growing old and crumbling before her eyes. The outside gardens became visible. Near the creek, the ogre that her grandmother had saved looked up from where he was tending a small bed of mushrooms. Deep sorrow darkened his eyes as his features began to change. The protection of her grandmother’s magic faded, and he was once again bewitched with the Sea Witch’s curse. Her grandmother gave the last of her magic to Marina.

“I love you, child. Save our kingdom and tell your father that I will miss him, but will always be there in his heart,” Ladonna whispered.

“Grandmother….”

Marina’s soft cry of protest faded with the last of the magical garden that her grandmother had created. She closed her eyes and focused on the magic swirling around Mike and herself. She felt his hand tighten on hers as the colors of the magic began to change to those of rich wood and stone.

A hoarse sob caught in her throat, and she forced herself to stand strong as the wave of grief swept through her. Silent tears coursed down her cheeks, and she had to blink to clear her vision. Her gaze swept around the room before returning to Mike when he swayed and bent forward to brace his hands on his knees. Resting her hand on his back, her gaze locked with a pair of brilliant light blue eyes.

“The Sea King,” she whispered.