Behind My Shadow - Book Three

46. I Can't Even Say Hello to You

"Darie?" Adisonia nearly squeaks with disbelief. "What the devil are you -" she breaks off in a gasp of shock at the sight of the hidden staircase behind me and Bishop. "What the bloody hell is going on?!"

"Adisonia!" I feel a wave of relief wash over me. "My god, I thought you were your mother!"

"No! What the devil -"

"Hey, close the door, Red!" Bishop barks. "And no more close calls, lady!" He shoots me a look. "I just about stained the carpet!"

Adisonia looks disgusted but I laugh with relief and shake my head. "OMG, I'm so happy you're here! Look," I seize the Princess' hand and drag her over to the fireplace. "Did you know your mother had a secret chamber down here?! She's been using it to keep my mom from me!"

"What?" She widens her eyes with alarm. "You're bloody mad! That's impossible!"

"It's true! C'mon, we gotta save her!" I attempt to bolt down the stairs, but Adisonia abruptly snatches my hand and yanks me to a halt.

"Darie, no! My mother is coming up here! She'll be here any moment! This is raving mad! You gotta go, if she sees you up here, she'll kill you! And I mean that literally," she hisses, looking around cagily.

I wrestle my arm free. "No! I've come this close! I gotta get to my mom!"

"Darie!" Adisonia frantically follows me as I bolt down the stairs. "Darie! I have no idea what's down here! It could be rigged -"

She no sooner says this and I suddenly sense danger through spirit.

"Get down!" I seize her hand and drag her to the ground with me as four arrows fire at the bottom of the stairs, they zip over our heads harmlessly and stake themselves into the adjacent walls.

"Darie," Adisonia hisses anxiously as she cautiously stands back up. "It's a kluppin' deathtrap down here! My mother's going to know you've been here!"

"I hate to say it," Bishop woofs from his spot on the stairs. He's trembling all over. "But Red's right. It's spooky down here, lady! This place is like a crypt!"

"Yeah, and we're the dead bodies," Adisonia insists. "We can come back later but right now my mother is -"

I don't pay either of them any attention though, I see a soft purple light emitting from around one of the columns farther ahead. Despite never being here before, this place is eerily familiar to me.

I think I've seen it in a vision...

I have seen it in a vision, I realize as I stare up at the cages and chains hanging from the vaulted ceilings. When I first came to Raetri, I was lost and scared and desperate to find my mom and I was overwhelmed with a vision of this place, and I saw her. She was right around this next pillar...

I gasp at the sight of her.

Mom is hovering off her feet, suspended as if in water, her hair floats around her face and her arms subtly bob at her sides. She's not in water though, she's actually in a cocoon of softly glowing purple light.

Amazingly, Mom doesn't look harmed. Unlike in that horrible mirror I had seen of her during my sixth Labor. She looks perfectly beautiful and peaceful, like she is asleep...

"Mom!" There's a sob in my voice. "Oh Mom!" I rush towards her but I smack into the purple force-field that surrounds her and stagger back. "Ow, what the hell?!" I rub my forehead as I frantically look the force shield over. "What is this?!"

"My gods..." Adisonia breathes with disbelief as she appears at my side. The only light source down here is my mom's bubble so our skin looks a sickly shade of lavender, Adisonia's dark eyes twinkle like stars in the light as she stares at my mom. "So this is my Aunt Mira...?"

"What is this thing around her?" I desperately demand, anxiously running my hands over the bubble. It's like a glass ball, impervious to my touch.

Adisonia swallows hard, attempting to get over her shock at seeing her imprisoned aunt and now anxiously looks over the bubble encasing her. "If this is what I think it is than we're in deep shick."

"What? What is it? Why won't it let me get to her?!"

"I think this is a mind-chamber," she whispers.

"What the hell is a mind-chamber?" I impatiently demand, sometimes I really hate not knowing as much about magic as everyone else does.

"Oh, um...how do I explain?" She shrugs helplessly. "It's basically a self-induced coma powerful magic users put themselves in when they're on the verge of a powerdrop or when they're under extreme duress. I mean, it basically freezes them in the exact moment before something terrible happens. It's kinda of like a trick to cheat death, I guess, but it can only be performed by someone with immense magic."

"So...so she did this to herself?"

"Yeah, and it's probably a good thing too. My mother probably would've killed her if she could," she glances at me apologetically.

I swallow hard, tears silently run down my face. "Can she sense me?"

"I don't think so, not through this protective barrier."

"You said this is like a coma, how can I wake her up?" I anxiously glance at the Princess.

She shakes her head. "I...I really have no idea. Mind-chambers are incredibly rare, not much is known about them."

"So how did she get here then if no one can touch her?"

"I don't know...the Phantoms, I guess?" She shrugs again. "They were technically undead creatures and typically anything or anyone with a strong connection to spirit is able to manipulate the space around others. I mean, you should know," she looks me over. "You're a spirit user!"

"Are you trying to say that I can move her? With spirit?" My heart skips a beat with hope. "OMG! Yes!" Just before I can experiment with my powers though, I hear Bishop anxiously yip from the top of the stairs.

"I hear someone comin'!"

"That's my mother!" Adisonia pales. "You gotta hide!"

"What the hell?! Hide where?!"

"Down here!" She insists, rushing for the stairs. "I'll seal it up and distract her so she won't come down here -"

I anxiously seize her wrist before she can run farther up the stairs. "Wait a damn minute! How am I supposed to trust that you'll come back and won't just leave me down for dead?" I frantically search her dark eyes.

"Darie, you're just gonna have to kluppin' trust me!" She puts her hand over mine still clasped to her wrist.

I hesitate a moment, but I can sense Regina's dauntingly close presence. I quickly release the Princess of Hearts. "I trust you," I say softly as I back up.

She hesitates a moment and I can sense her surprise, as if she genuinely didn't expect to hear me say that. "I will be back!" She promises and now swiftly races up the stairs.

"Do you really trust her?" Bishop whimpers beside me as he watches the stairs rise above us.

The ceiling overhead seals up with a soft creak and now we're completely imprisoned in this cellar with my mom.

"I do," I whisper.