“The three of us will step through together,” Lachlan added.
Feeling a little better, I gripped both their hands in mine, probably squeezing a little too hard.
“On the count of three,” Bran said. “One…two…three.”
And then we stepped forward together. As the Obsidian Portal lit up again, the three of us passed through the black glass archway, leaving the human world behind and entering the Realm of the Fae.
I wondered if I would ever get home again.
75
Have you ever seen Disney’s Sleeping Beauty?
It was one of my favorite movies when I was a kid and I always thought the best part was where Princess Aurora was dancing in the forest with the handsome prince as they sang, “I know you, I danced with you once upon a dream…”
I mention that because the Realm—at least the part of it we stepped into—looked like the forest in Sleeping Beauty. Towering trees spread their branches over a smooth carpet of perfectly green grass, that would have been the envy of any golf course back home. The whole place looked landscaped—almost manicured—so that not a single branch or leaf or blade of grass was out of place.
There was no underbrush and no dead leaves beneath the trees—it really was as though someone had brought that ideal cartoon forest to life. I half expected to see sentient woodland creatures come out to greet me and then maybe break into a song and dance.
“Wow,” I murmured, looking around. “This is amazing. And the colors here are so intense.” Which was true. The sky, which I could see peeking at me through the high tree branches, was a brilliant azure blue and the leaves and grass were a startling emerald. Even the bark of the trees was a rich, chocolate brown that looked almost edible.
“Everything in the Realm is more intense than the human world,” Bran murmured. “Next to the realm, the human world seems washed out and grey.” He shrugged. “But you get used to it, after a time.”
“Some say that the human world is only a pale reflection of the Realm,” Lachlan added. He frowned as he looked around. “We seem to have come out near our old meeting place, Bran.”
“So we have.” Bran nodded as he looked around. “Tell me, are our weapons still intact?”
“Unless someone has disturbed them while I’ve been gone,” Lachlan answered. “But I doubt it. I put quite a strong ‘ignore me’ spell on the entrance after you and your family left, so I wouldn’t have visitors. Why? Do you want to get them now?”
“I think we should.” Bran nodded.
Lachlan frowned. “But to go into the Summer Court armed…it’s a sign of aggression.”
“It’s also a sign that we won’t allow our lady to be hurt,” Bran said fiercely. “They ought to know we mean business.” He turned to Chrisanther, who was still whizzing around our heads in agitation. “We wish to get ready to be introduced to the Summer Court. Can you spare us a moment?”
“A moment only,” the Nixie replied. “For we must get to Court soon, so I can make my report and deliver the prisoner for sentencing!”
“It will only take a moment,” Bran promised. “Come on,” he said to me and Lachlan.
The three of us trooped further into the forest, followed by Chrisanther, flying above us, until we came to a huge tree, as big as a redwood, growing in a clearing it had entirely to itself.
I wanted to examine the tree—which was big enough to drive a car through—but somehow my eyes kept sliding off of it and I found myself staring someplace else. It was the same effect the Suva had had on Bran’s face, back when he was taking it, I realized. It was extremely strong magic that was, in effect, saying, “Nothing to see here. Move along, move along.”
Must be the “ignore me” spell Lachlan said he put on it, I thought.
Determined not to let the spell stop me, I walked right up to the tree and put my hand on its massive trunk. When I touched it, a doorway suddenly appeared in the bark and I found I could look at it directly.
“So much for your ‘ignore me’ spell, friend,” Bran said to Lachlan, laughing. “Emma seems to have broken it with a single touch.”
“She shouldn’t have even been able to get near it!” Lachlan frowned.
“Sorry.” I shrugged uneasily. “Was it supposed to have a force field or something around it? Because I didn’t feel anything.”
“Not exactly—you just shouldn’t have been able to approach the tree,” he explained. “The minute you looked at it, your gaze should have slid away and your attention should have focused elsewhere.”
“The same way the Suva makes you want to look away from the person who’s taking it, right?” I asked. When Lachlan nodded, I said, “I figured it was something like that, which is why I went right up and touched it. And now I can see the door.” I nodded at the rounded door cut into the rough bark of the tree. “Can you open it so we can go in?”