My Brother's Keeper

Pax drags Preston’s body down the hill and tosses it into the fire as I sit on the log, holding whatever scrap of clothing I can to my wound. I’m growing cold, and I can tell by the look on my brother’s face I don’t look so good either.

“Where do you think she is?” he asks me.

“I don’t know. Something tells me the beast was my mother. If Odile and I shift into swans, I’m sure our mother can become something bigger and scarier.” I laugh softly and then wince in pain. “Don’t forget the head.”

Pax nods and grabs the disembodied body part, tossing it into the fire. “You know it’s not over, right?”

“I won’t be around for round two, so I expect you to take my magic just in case.” I hold out my arm.

If Doctor Lawrence could siphon it out, then something tells me Pax will figure out how to absorb it.

“Stop! You’re going to make it.” His eyes are watering, but he’s trying to keep his composure.

“I spent so long trying to figure out who I was. I never thought I was an imposter.” I chuckle at what Odile had called me. I cough and try to stand. “Where’s my bag with the thermos? We must pour the blood into the basin and bury the hearts at the door.”

“Odette, please.” Pax grabs me and picks me up gently in his arms. “Just tell me where to go, and I will get us there.”

“It’s in the journal.” I close my eyes to hide my pain as Pax picks up the bag, and we move toward the largest rock on the island. “I lost it.”

Something pulls us there. Neither of us has any idea what we’re doing. From there, Pax gets us to the top, and there it stands in all its wonder. The final basin.

“What do I do?” Pax asks, placing me on the ground.

“Pour it into the basin. After that, I do not know.” I cough again and look at my wound in the dark.

Pax grabs the thermos and empties its contents into the basin. For the first time since the day had started, something happened. The rock shakes and cracks, and the island quivers and quakes. Trees fall, the ground breaks open, and a pool of water with five platforms appears below us. If I weren’t near death, I would have found it far more beautiful than it was.

“Place the hearts on the pedestals,” I instruct.

Pax races off and begins breaking open jars and placing the sacrificial hearts on the pedestals. One by one, they descend into the water, causing it to swirl. Once the water takes the fifth heart, it glows. Looking down, I know what to do to get into the kingdom.

“Pax!” I call for my brother, and he races back up the rock.

“What is it?” he asks, grabbing my hand and checking the wound.

“We jump.” I try to use him to pull myself up.

I should let him grab me, but something tells me I need to jump. I hold his hand, and together, we tumble through the swirling portal into another world.

Coscoroba is silent, the woods are vacant, and the sky is a dismal gray. Pax and I land on our butts. The impact sent a shock wave of pain through my body. It isn’t what I had been expecting. I had hoped for green grass and bright skies, not dead leaves and odd smells.

“Something tells me this isn’t how it’s supposed to look,” Pax remarks, helping me move from where we were dropped.

“No, but you can make it better.” I try to smile at him but cough. A bit of blood drips from my chin onto my shirt.

“We’re going to make it better.“ He sits me down with my back against a tree.

“My mother’s cottage is just over there. Can you take me there? Maybe she has some healing aids hidden among her black magic bottles.”

Pax scoops me up and takes off as fast as he can, moving toward the small cottage just on the other side of the swirling water. He kicks the door open and sits me down on the first seat he can find before searching the house for any sources of light. He’s happy seeing a box of matches and an old kerosene lamp.

He hurries around the small home, looking in every drawer and cabinet.

“There’s nothing here!” he yells from the back end of the house.

“She probably took it all when she vacated the kingdom.” I cough. A larger glob of blood comes out of my mouth and stains my shirt.

“I’m going to get Dad,” Pax tells me.

“Okay,” I agree, knowing I’ll be dead before they return.

“I won’t be gone long. I left my phone on the boat. I will call him to the island and bring him through the portal.” Pax grabs what clean rags he can find and a large blanket. He bandages my wound and covers me.

I’m freezing, but I don’t want him to know that time is minimal. I had accepted my death from the start. Pax kisses my forehead and walks to the door.

“I love you,” I choke out.

“I love you too. You’re going to make it,” Pax assures me as he disappears, leaving me inside the Kingdom of Coscoroba alone.

I lay on my mother’s couch, looking at the tattered ceiling surrounded by nothing.

The last week has been more adventurous than any other time of my life. I had known nothing about my mother or my sister, and now I knew they were evil, conniving witches who were using me to open the door to a kingdom they wanted to rule. We may have foiled her plans, but something tells me we’re not precise.

There will be plenty of fights in our future. Pax will take the throne. Maybe with Pax’s magic, he can protect himself, or he might find himself a magical advisor. Someone who would know my mother’s movements.

At least in death, I will finally be free from my mother’s episodes. I can eventually spread those swan wings she gave me and fly away from all the problems.

Yes, fly away.

Everything fades to black, and I am no longer cold.

Five people died to open the borders. Five hearts were placed on magical pedestals and given to the water as a sacrifice. Five families are without their loved ones—five years of a life outside the mirror.

I dream of a life in the kingdom with its lush green grass and tall enchanted trees. Every magical creature is there, from centaurs to elvish archers. The borders are open, and trade with the other realms is in full swing.

Karen returns to Merganser Castle to find her father is still alive and living a miserable life. However, as soon as he sees her, all his magnificence returns, and he vows to follow the new king’s laws. Pax is his grandson, after all.

The thing about dreams is they can be of anything. I am still determining what the kingdom had been like before it was vacated. I don’t know what caused the borders to close and the people to leave. I know I’ve opened the door to a new world. They come and go as they please, whether it’s city life or the magical kingdom life they want. It’s their choice. No more sitting back and pretending the world will not collapse on itself and cause a battle royale.

That’s one thing my mother had been betting on, placing each house against another until they wiped everyone out. She blamed them for the deaths that occurred all those moons ago. She blamed all of them for my great-aunt’s death. She accused Siegfried because if it had not been for him, the Swan Queen would never have been pulled into the dark world she had died trying to protect.

Odile and our mother had hatched a despicable plan to keep me confused and hidden inside a traumatic event. She never died, and as Odile had said, it was amazing what could be done with a living spirit while sacrificing the flesh. My mother was twisted, but so was my sister.

I worry about Soren, the magical man who tried to keep me safe. What had they done to him? Pax could find him and set him free. That would be something only a brave king could do.

My death will be the beginning of a bright future. Just as the five families had been forced to mourn for their loved ones, mine will rejoice that I had lived up to my purpose. The key has opened the gates of Coscoroba and saved the kingdom from ultimate destruction. Sure, there were a few casualties along the way, but it had to be done. There was no other way to get them home.

The skies open and shine a bright light upon me as I see Lenny standing at the gates, waiting. He has gone to the great beyond. He was not found guilty of what he had done. Maybe because the soul decides our fates, and since my mother had transposed hers, she never really died. All those years Lenny spent in prison for a murder he never truly helped commit.

Odile had ruined so many lives with her lies and bargains. Her alliances with the Stuart family were probably the worst of them all. I hope Pax will tell our father about the deceit and the plans against all kingdom citizens.

“You’re here,” Lenny says, opening his arms to me.

“Thanks for waiting,” I reply with a smile.

“You did well.” He mentioned as I went in for the hug.

“It’s all in Pax’s hands now,” I say with a shrug.

Lenny looks off into the distance and then back at me.

“About that,” he chuckles.

“What do you mean?” I raise an eyebrow.

“You aren’t done yet. As great as it is to see you, your job isn’t done. Pax lives; therefore, you must stay behind and protect him. It’s your duty.”

“What do you mean, duty?” I glance behind me as the bright light pulls me away from him.

“What I’m saying is, it’s not your time.” He grabs my hand as my feet are lifted from the ground.

“Lenny! What’s happening?”

“You have to go back, Odette. You will not share your great-aunt’s fate. The two of you are bound by sacred blood. I think she would be proud.” Lenny lets my hand go, and I’m pulled further away from him.

How funny can dreams be? Even when you’re dead, you can dream you live.