Mirror Lake 2 The Journey to Save the Magic
Chapter 4 The Compass

Have you ever felt like your soul was just ripped from you? It’s not a pleasant feeling, and yet that is the closest I could get to describe what I am feeling. My sole purpose for living is moving farther and farther away from me and all I wanna do is yell at Ethan to turn the car around and never leave.

But I can’t.

Leaving Evanston, Wyoming was going to be the hardest thing I ever had to do. It was my home now, and the place where my woman was. I really didn't want to leave!

I sigh and pull out the map. Last night at dinner I looked at the map and put a charm on it. All I have to do is take my compass and place it on the map and it will point the way.

No time like the present. The sooner we finish this mission, the sooner I can go home to my butterfly.

I shake my head.

I can’t lose focus. I have a job to do and it is vital to save all those lost to time. I have this sinking feeling in the back of my head that we are running out of time… Almost as soon as Jack died, some universal timer started ticking. I just couldn’t figure out why.

If Jack was gone, there shouldn’t be a timer. It was over, they could be free. At least that was what I assumed… Did it have to do with the magic domes that tied to Jack? Hmmm… I’d have to think about that.

But at the present, I need to find the closest dome so I could free those unfortunate enough to be locked in the time bubble, just like I was.

I fish out the compass from my pocket and open it.

It looks something like an old pocket watch with gears and mechanisms, however it is powered by magic. It glows slightly green and the gears start to grind as I place it on the map.

The spindle whirrs and hums.

I watch it as it circles over and over again, trying to orient itself.

Suddenly it stops and glows blue.

I sigh in relief. It points to a nearby mountain range. It’s actually only and hour and a half away! Maybe they aren’t all too far and we can get home faster!

That thought put a smile on my face.

I look over at Ethan, who is watching me expectantly.

“So, which way, boss?” he chuckled.

“West, to the Cascade Mountain range. We are headed to Mt. Rainier!” I informed him.

“Awesome! I’ve always wanted to go there, but never had the opportunity. I was always busy with school and keeping Lissa out of jail,” he joked.

“Now, that’s something I’d love to hear about!” I laughed.

I wanted to learn all about Melissa, and since we had time on our hands, we may as well take advantage of it.

“Okay, so this one time, this guy named Kevin decided that even though we are stinkin’ rich kids, she needed to be made fun of. So he put out this rumor that she slept around with our teachers…”

Suddenly a tight feeling hits my gut. I know for a fact it’s a lie! She was pure. He was trying to hurt her reputation, and for what?

It’s a good thing I didn’t know who this “Kevin” was or I’d show him a thing or two…

“Cool down there, Romeo. Lissa took care of it!” he said it so carefree, that I believed him.

“What happened?” I asked.

He chuckled, but kept his eyes on the road.

“So, during lunch, in front of the whole cafeteria, she walks up to him and asked how he liked Ms. Shelly the night before! His face was so red. Then she goes and sucker punches the guy in the gut and says that's what he gets for spreading lies about her. Then she stocked off like she owned the whole school, and didn’t care what others thought about her,” he beams.

Relief filled my whole body. She can definitely take care of herself! But that doesn’t mean she should have to. Now that I am here, I am definitely going to take up the job.

“Then there was this time the “queen bees” of the school started making fun of the way she was dressing. Lissa always wore dark clothes. I think it was just a reflection of how she felt about our life at home… Anyway, she looked them up and down and just shook her head and said “at least I don’t look like I’m trying to make money off my body,” and then she dumped her latte on top of one of the girls and said “oops,” and trotted off to class.”

“And she didn’t get in trouble for that?” I was curious.

“Oh, she did! A week in detention, but she said it was worth it. The only problem she had was when the principal called our parents… Well, I guess it would be more accurate to say Jack’s minions. They went off on her. Told her they were disappointed in her and why couldn’t she be more like me. To be honest, I’m glad she’s not! She is way more fun when she is up to something!” he laughed.

“I wish I could have been there for her. Actually, I wish I could have been there for both of you. It was my job, but I was trapped,” I explained.

“Tell me about that! You never actually explained all this stuff to us,” he responded.

I thought about it and I guess he was right.

“As my Prince commands,” I smiled.

“So, a long time ago,” I started.

“Now it sounds like a fairytale… But go on! I love a good story!” he insisted.

“Your parents, King Glenn and Queen Brooke,” I started again.

“That was their names? Why didn’t I ever ask you this before? I feel like I should have known all this. It feels so familiar to me, and yet so foreign at the same time…” he mumbled to himself.

I smiled over at him. Of course I should have told him all this weeks ago, but we were just busy and it never came up.

“Well, they were looking for a new guardian, as the old one was starting to get old and wanted to retire, and for a fairy, that is getting up there! I had been training since I could walk. There was a tournament and all the eligible applicants showed up. We fought each other, showed off our magic, our hunting skills, and in the end, I came out on top,” I said somewhat sadly.

It was what I always wanted…

“I was their new Guardian. Then, there was a threat,” I stated.

“Jack!” Ethan growled.

It wasn’t a question. He knew what it was.

“Yeah, Jack had come up with some garbage about how Mother Earth was punishing all magical creatures and only he could save us from him. Everyone thought he was crazy, except his followers,” I sighed.

“Anyway, King Glen sent me out to neutralize the threat. He gave me a specail magic that connects me to him and his family. So, when I got trapped in the dome, I could still be connected to him. In fact, I felt the moment you and your sister were born. I was so happy! Contrast to that, I also felt the moment your parents disappeared from this earth. It was heart wrenching. It was my job to save them, but I couldn’t do anything because I was stuck in a blasted bubble!” I growled out my frustration.

“Don’t sweat it man! I believe that everything happens for a reason. If you had been with my parents and died with them back then, you wouldn’t be here now for Melissa and she would have probably ended with Ben!” he assured me.

Then I made a face and he amended his statement.

“Not of her own free will, but it was you that gave her that cuff to cut off his power over her… So if you hadn’t been here to do that…” he left it hanging.

I couldn’t even think!

If I wasn’t here my sweet butterfly would have….

My stomach wretched and Ethan pulled the car over.

I threw open the door and expelled all the food from my stomach just thinking about him touching her beautiful skin.

No man can touch her! She is mine!

“Sorry about that, man. I didn’t mean to make you so upset,” he said regretfully.

I shook my head. “No, you are right! If I hadn’t been here, Mel would be…” I couldn’t even finish the thought.

“Melissa is mine!” I stated.

Ethan just smiled and nodded his head, then we continued on our way.

“So, tell me. When we find this bubble, how do we free everyone? I know you were keeping all this from Lissa and Beck, but it’s just us now,” he smoothly changed the subject.

He just knew I couldn’t keep on the last topic. He does this with Melissa too. He just knows what to say to distract us from what’s bugging us.

“Well, each bubble, or dome, has a “warden.” The warden has a key to keep safe, just like Ben did,” I growled out his name, but I kept going. “Once we take down the warden and grab the key, we just need my compass to point us to the keyhole which unlocks the “bubble,” so to speak. It basically cracks the whole dome and more or less shatters into dust, releasing its occupants,” I explained the best I could.

I could tell Ethan was trying to remember that night weeks ago.

“There were lights, and a crack, and a kinda sucking sensation… Then everything righted itself. It’s all kinda blurry in my memory, but that’s what I remember,” he murmured.

“That’s right!” I nodded my head. “That crack was the dome breaking. The bright lights were the magic being released from the lake itself.”

We started chatting back and forth about what it was like growing up. I told him all about my training and he filled me in on some of his and Mel’s childhood shenanigans, some of which had me doubling over with laughter. I would have loved to watch those two grow up.

Finally, my magical compass started spinning again. We followed it until the Jeep couldn’t go any further.

We took our packs and hiked up the mountain. An hour later, we came to a cave covered by a forcefield.

Ethan burst out laughing.

I looked over at him confused. Sᴇaʀ*ᴄh the Find_Nøvel.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

He just pointed to the ground and shook his head.

It was exactly where my compass was pointing too.

On the ground were…

“Lissa’s Todd’s!” he laughed again. “I wonder if that’s why she called them her friends? Did she somehow know that they were important?”

That is a good question!

But not one we have time to explore at the moment. Right now, our main goal was to find the warden of the Mountain Dome.

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