Something Wicked This Way Comes

Chapter 41

"I shouldn't have let him go," Jim said, sounding and looking incredibly guilty.

"Jim, there was nothing we could do," Claire said.

"He just had a seizure!" Jim said irately.

"Well," Archie said. "Unless you wanted to turn the entirety of Annwn into a real life Jurassic Park, there wasn't much else anyone could do. Besides, if Harley really did bring that dinosaur back from extinction, then he has the best chance out of any of us to deal with it."

Jim huffed. "Yeah, but he's still a thirteen year old kid with epilepsy. I'm supposed to be responsible for him!"

"If it helps," Arawn said. "I think this would be good for him. He lacks confidence, this could help him gain that."

"Yes, and you know how best to care for the well-being of an Arcane demigod how?" Douxie bit out, almost nastily.

Claire and Jim exchanged glances.

Arawn sighed. "As angry with me as you are—and have every right to be—is this constructive to our goal?"

Douxie pursed his lips. "No. Apologies, Your Majesty."

Arawn looked between the wizard and his king. "You... haven't told them yet?"

Jim blanched. "Told us what?"

Douxie drew in a breath, arms crossed. "So... you know how I'm... how I have...—"

"Yeah," Jim nodded. "Fae blood. Of course, how could I forget?"

Douxie picked at his spell bracelet. "Thing is... I hadn't considered that my fae relative might still be... alive."

Jim's eyes narrowed. "Douxie, you're being cryptic again."

Claire glanced between Douxie and Arawn, quickly putting the pieces together. Seeing them now, standing next to each other, she could see the clear resemblance. "Oh my gods."

Arawn smiled, albeit wanly. "Quick, isn't she?"

Douxie sighed. "Very, she's a better wizard than I am."

Jim shook his head. "Wait, I still don't—"

"Jim, it's Arawn." Claire said. "Arawn is Douxie's fae relative."

Jim's eyes widened. He stared at the wizard in shock. "You're fae royalty?"

"I guess, but that's not important." Douxie shook his head. "We need to be focusing on the quest."

"My grandson is goal oriented," Arawn said. "And he's right. While we do not know who is responsible for this wide-scaled necromancy, you called it, we do have an idea of where to find them."

Jim frowned, still unable to look away from his wizard brother. "They're on the island?"

"Yes," Arawn nodded. "The Hunt has tried to track them down, but whenever it seems as if they're getting close, they get turned around. Lost. It's as if there's some sort of illusion or hallucination spell inlaid where this foe is holed up."

"Like the Labyrinth," Douxie said. Claire shuddered in remembrance. It was probably her least favorite adventure she'd ever been on. At the very least, it was a close second on her "Things I Hated Doing" list—just below the time travel Camelot excursion. "It confuses anyone who gets near it."

"Precisely," Arawn agreed. "But with the aid of two beings familiar with the very magic this person is using to lay waste to our worlds, we might have a chance to get past this invisible border."