“She definitely knew.” We’re in a narrow hallway filled with fake foliage and runes. I point my wand at one and give it a little flick. The rune lights up and a tiny speaker beside it says, “You have found a secret rune. Two hundred points awarded!”
The kid in front of me stares, doe-eyed. “How’d you know how to do that?”
“My best friend taught me,” I say, winking at him.
When it’s our turn to stand on the mighty rock and begin our quest from the dragon, there’s a moment where all of the lights go out, and all that’s left is the tinny sound of a waterfall and the soft melody of an ancient Celtic tune piping in through the speakers. Elijah is standing next to me, our arms and hips touching in the cramped space, our fingers electric with the spark between us.
And even though we’re in a darkened room on the first floor of a multimillion-dollar resort in Dallas, Texas, right now all I can feel is the magic of this moment, the spirit of my best friend wrapped around my heart and the love Elijah and I both have for her linking us together forever.
***
“Whoever … invented … stairs …” I suck in a deep breath and heave my legs up another step, finally landing on the fourteenth floor. I pitch forward, resting my hands on my knees. “Sucks.”
Elijah laughs, but then it turns into an out-of-breath wheezing sound. “Come on, zap the rune so we can take a break.”
On the bottom of the fourteenth-floor stairwell, hidden in the intricate tile flooring, is a small rune. I zap it with my wand and then slump to the floor near Elijah. I’m panting so hard that I don’t even hear what the rune tells me. It was something congratulatory, to be sure.
It’s just after ten o’clock at night, and although Wizard’s Quest goes on all night long, most of the players are kids with parents who would rather head back to their rooms for a good night’s sleep. So it’s been just the two of us for the better part of an hour, roaming the hotel, zapping treasure chests and paintings and little fairies hidden in potted plants. My quest book is full of hastily scribbled answers to the riddles each obstacle gave us, and if we understood the tree fairy, Estelle, correctly, we have just one more task to complete until we’ve won our quest. The last task involved traipsing up the entire staircase, hitting runes in exactly the perfect order.
We screwed up twice.
So if I had to guess, I’d say w
e’ve been up and down two hundred flights of stairs today, and the burning in my thighs can confirm that this is more exercise than I’ve had all year.
I flatten my back against the cool concrete wall and look up at the ceiling, which is painted black like the night sky. Little twinkles of stars are probably LED lights hidden in the ceiling tiles. This place spares no freaking expense when it comes to ambiance.
“There’s only one more task left,” Elijah says, flipping through our quest book. “You want to go back to our room and finish this tomorrow?”
Completing a whole quest in one day is a difficult challenge, one even Sasha didn’t much care for. She liked to spread it out over the whole vacation to enjoy it every day.
I nod and push up from the wall, rising on weary legs. “I could use a hot shower.”
It isn’t until we’re stepping into an elevator that the magic of this day begins to fade away and reality settles in. Amazing how easily I can become a kid again, fighting evil sorcerers and gremlins, pretending Sasha is by my side.
But as soon as the elevator doors slide closed, wrapping Elijah and me in its mechanical embrace, I am once again hit with the reminder that she’s gone. This time, I look at Elijah, feeling a sense of gratitude to Sasha for bringing us together. Her last wish had been meant for Elijah, but I know it’s for me, too. She’s given me a mission, an adventure and a reason to move on.
The way he stands with his hands in his pockets. That little dimple in his cheek when he’s thinking about something. How he rocks back on his heels when he’s in a good mood, and how that’s probably why the bottoms of his jeans are so frayed.
The elevator descends. Elijah quirks an eyebrow, those blue eyes on me, a constant reminder that he’s always paying attention, always aware and living right here in the moment with me.
“I don’t want to go back to real life after this,” I mutter.
His eyes lock on to mine. I’m used to seeing reflections of Sasha when he looks at me, but this time, whatever is going on in his mind isn’t something she’s thought before. “I don’t want to lose you,” he says like it’s the truest thing he’s ever spoken. “It might not be easy being together, but I don’t want anything else.”
My pulse quickens. I think of the MAYBE_DELETE video, of the warning Sasha gave us in the cemetery. I don’t know why she told us to keep Elijah a secret, but I do know she wanted the best for us. But what if what’s best is to slip off her path and find our own way?
Overhead, the lights blink and a twinkling fairy sound surrounds us. The elevator lurches to a stop. The screen above the elevator buttons blinks on and an animated Queen Mab herself, the ruler of the fairy world, appears.
“I am impressed with your magical skills, young warlock. Before you go, I would like to grant you the stone of serenity. It is worth ten thousand points and will only be available for thirty seconds after the doors open. Farewell, young warlock. May your magic be as strong as the mighty oak from which your wand was forged.”
The screen goes dark and the music stops. The elevator doors slide open on the tenth floor, and Elijah and I share a quizzical look.
Then we run.
Sasha’s wand vibrates harder the closer we get to the glass pedestal at the end of the hallway. There’s a gemstone the size of a basketball perched on top, Queen Mab’s icicle symbol etched into it. I fling my wand at the stone and it lights up pink.
The queen appears on the screen on the wall. With a flourish of her staff, ten thousand points are awarded to PrincessSasha’s account. When the animation is over, another one appears in its place. The scoreboard. PrincessSasha has risen to first place.