Mia
“Are you sure you are going to be okay, my love?” Mum asked as we pushed her luggage into the trunk of the car.
I nodded. “Of course, I don’t live here. I will be fine. I won’t come home so I don’t have to deal with the annoying change in weather.”
“Please be safe.” She urged me and I moved to give her a hug.
She sighed as she stepped back from the hug. “Be good. Okay, dear?”
“Yes.” I said, hoping that she would move soon.
I didn’t want her to stay here for too long. I was afraid the dark wizard might show up anytime and I had no doubt that she was going to be his target. (Yes, I had decided to start referring to him as a man instead of the woman I had kept on referring him to. It didn’t matter that he had shown himself as a woman to me, he was called a dark wizard and I should address him as such. I had embarrassed my high school English teacher enough. Mrs. Wells would have scowled at me for my usage of pronouns though she wouldn’t understand why I had to do that.)
I didn’t want my mum to die at the hands of the dark wizard. There was no better way to hurt Albert than killing his wife. I didn’t want him to kill him just as he had killed the boys’ mother.
She turned to the boys. “Are you sure you aren’t going to leave here? We can all go away from here.”
Albert smiled at her. “We have been living here all along and I don’t have where else we can go. It would be weird if we all went to your family house. Go, my love. We will be fine. Once the weather in this place is good, you will be back home.”
Mum didn’t seem convinced so he continued. “Don’t worry about us. We know how we have always lived here. I’m just worried about you.”
She sighed and walked into his embrace, with tears running down her face. “I will miss you all.”
“I will miss you too, my love.” Albert said. He pulled her over for a kiss and we all looked away, smiling as we acted as if we were shy.
Mum broke away from the kiss and smiled at him. She moved to embrace all of us, one after the other and went towards the car.
I watched as she stepped into the car, my heart heavy with loss. I was going to miss her a lot. I knew that she would be safe and that helped me feel better. I didn’t stop waving at her until the car was out of sight.
Albert cleared his throat and we all glanced at him. “Let’s go inside.”
We nodded and followed him to his study. I felt like we were operatives on a mission and that gave me a weird sense of adventure. I could imagine what the boys and Albert always felt when they were at work, going on field operations and knowing that they were going to come back alive.
It must be fun. I scowled as I remembered that this was no normal operation for the men. The dark wizard was a stronger and cunning opponent and I shouldn’t take him for granted. If it was that easy to get rid of him, Albert would have done that years ago instead of locking her in the dungeon.
I looked at the men and saw that they had a scowl on their faces, probably worried about the whole thing and yet here I was, thinking this was an adventure. I snorted at my childish heart. I needed to get my head in the game.
Albert sighed. “I must say I appreciate your efforts today, boys and I’m sorry that the party got disrupted.”
“It wasn’t your fault, dad.” Jack replied. “Maybe we shouldn’t have had a big party.”
He sighed before continuing. “Mia tried to warn us but I wouldn’t listen.”
Albert smiled. “You don’t have to feel bad. I had fun. Regardless of the party, the dark wizard was going to strike at us. That was an opportunity he couldn’t miss. He wanted attention and he knew it. He loves to see people running about in fear and I’m sure he had a blast watching as the guests ran away.”
Quinn sighed. “How are you going to explain to your friends what happened today? It is not all the guests who know your history with the dark wizard.”
“I will tell them what I told Veronica and apologize for putting them in harm’s way. I can’t have too many people knowing about this and living in fear. That is exactly what the dark wizard wants.”
“That would be hard.” John sighed. “You are going to have a lot of begging to do if you do that.”
Albert sighed. “Is there anything that isn’t hard?”
“What do we do now?” John asked.
“We find the dark wizard and get rid of her for good.” Albert growled, his voice brimming with determination.
I nodded. That was the right thing to do but I was certain how we were going to do that was what John was asking. After all, they hadn’t been able to kill him then.
“That is a good plan. I have had enough of being tormented by that monster.” Jack growled. “How are we going to do that?”
“I’ve made a lot of research over the years after locking him in the dungeon on how to kill him if there was a need to. That was why I had to resign so I could focus on it.”
“No wonder you have been busy travelling all those years even though you weren’t working.” Jack nodded.
Albert smiled at him. “The plan is dangerous and that is why I haven’t gotten rid of the dark wizard when I got back. I had thought that he wouldn’t escape and I wouldn’t have to use the plan.”
I blushed at his words. I was the reason he had escaped and why Albert was going to have to use the plan. I had brought them into danger and was reminded of the guilt I had felt when he had broken free. I felt bad about what I had done and wondered if I was ever going to stop feeling that way.
Albert noticed my expression and smiled at me. “You don’t have to feel guilty, my girl. It’s obvious the dark wizard has someone by his side or he wouldn’t have healed so quickly. I’m sure that person would have helped him escape even if you didn’t go to that dungeon.”
I nodded, showing him that I heard him but I didn’t feel better. I didn’t think I was going to until the dark wizard was killed.
“Yes, he has someone by his side.” I said.
“We have to find that person so we can find the dark wizard and know his weakness.” Albert said.
I sighed. That was hard. I would have loved to help but no one knew where Sasha was.
Albert continued. “From my research, I heard that the only way to kill the dark wizard is by getting the sap of the Aselia tree.”
“The Aselia tree?” Jack frowned. “I have never heard of that.”
Neither had I but Albert was willing to explain.
“It is an uncommon tree. I wouldn’t have known of it if I hadn’t gone on that research as well. It is the only tree that can weaken the powers of a dark wizard. Once we pour the sap on her and her powers are neutralized, then we can kill her.”
“Sounds easy.” Jack grinned.
“Not so easy, my boy.” Albert smiled while shaking his head. “The Aselia tree is on the island of Gayalluc and to get there, you have to go through the sea of death.”
Quinn choked on his breath, his eyes widening in horror. “The sea of death?”
I hadn’t heard of the sea of death but the name and Quinn’s reaction were enough to make me scared.
Albert nodded. “I believe you have heard of it. Can you see why I’m scared of the plan to get rid of the dark wizard and haven’t followed through on it?”
“What is the sea of death?” I asked.
“Nothing you have to know of, dear.”
I scowled. “I want to be in on this fight. Sasha wouldn’t have found the dark wizard if it is not for me.”
“And we don’t blame you for that, Mia. You need to know that.” John said. “You need to stop blaming yourself. Sasha was going to find her master, with or without your help.”
I scowled. They weren’t going to yield. “I would like to help.”
“You can help us by being safe, Mia.” Jack said. “Knowing that you are safe would put our minds at rest and help us do what we are meant to do.”
“Speaking of being safe, you have to quit your job and come here, Mia. We will feel more comfortable if we have you where we can protect you. The dark wizard can show up anytime at your work or where you live. I would hate for you to be hurt by this.”
“But…” I couldn’t just quit my job. I loved it. I had known what it took for me to get it. I was going to miss my friends and colleagues.
“There is no but here, Mia.” Albert shook his head. “You can get another job but you wouldn’t be getting another life if you die. The dark wizard has no empathy and wouldn’t be sparing you because you are human. As long as you are with us, he hates you.”
I sighed. He was right. “I will resign. Give me this week to get everything sorted.”
He nodded. “Good. Your life is important to me.”
I knew he meant it. “I will be home soon.”
“Tell the boys when you are packing so they can come to pick you up.”
“You can just send the driver.”
Albert snorted. “The driver can’t protect you from the dark wizard if he shows up around you. For all the boys’ fault, I know that they will protect you with their lives and I know you know that too.” He said with a directed gaze at me.
I gulped and nodded though I wasn’t ready to be jobless.