House of Forbiddens [COMPLETE NOVEL]

26: A Football Stadium Would Have Made a Much Better Battlefield

Audrey

I had seen plenty of empathy links established before, but never had I been a part of one.

As I closed my eyes, submerging myself into the dark oblivion of Christine's comatose mind, an eerie feeling crept into my spine, much like what I've experienced the few times I've tried to manipulate the mist (I'm not terribly good at it, I might add). Stomaching all nerves, I grasped out into the void, calling for Christine, hoping she might hear me.

In a flash of brilliant blue light, Christine appeared to me, shrouded in a cloak of darkness mingled with glowing constellations. I noticed Orion, my mom's ex (Yeah, awkward...). I also noticed the Big Dipper (classic), and my personal favorite, the princess Andromeda, whom I was named after (My full name is Andromeda, but my dad started calling me Audrey for short, and it kinda stuck.), even though, you know, Andromeda had to be saved by Perseus, and I would never be okay with being a damsel in distress.

Looking down, I noticed that I, too, was clothed in a strange kind of fog, only mine shone silver, and was cratered and rugged like the moon's surface.

"Audrey! What's happening? How did we both get here?"

"Listen," I tried to sound calm, but did not succeed in the slightest, "Christine, you are in a coma. I'm talking to you through an empathy link, which is kinda hard to explain, so just go with it. I need you to wake up."

"But-but how?"

I searched the disorganized mess of my brain for an answer, any answer. "Just think of all the reasons you need to wake up. You need to find your parents! You need to stop Trojan War 2.0! You need to save the world! You need to live to eat another oreo!"

Kaden

"Hey, kitty, kitty!" The singsong voice which was slowly fading into my realm of perception sounded oddly familiar. "Go on! Get the spider!"

I urged my eyes to open, and they were flooded with the comforting glow of the hearth. My hearth, I recognized the warmth of it immediately. I attempted to remember what had happened, why I was here, but the process was rather difficult with a screeching voice next to me. I looked up to see Riley crouched in a corner, persuading our skeletal cat to... kill a spider? ...while the cat remained lounged on the rug, licking itself satisfactorly.

"What happened?" I asked groggily, not having the strength to sit up.

"What happened," a voice behind me said, and I turned around to see Jack with his healing bag in hand, coming towards me, "Is you tried to make a portal much too far away, and passed out, but Ian brought you home safe, and you're going to be okay, with some rest."

"Ian..." I murmured to myself, the memories coming back. Thankfully, I saw my book was resting on the mantel atop the fireplace. And speak of the devil (or... the stepson of the devil?): Ian strode into the room, and stomped on the small spider, giving Riley a sarcastic look as he pet his skeletal cat.

Riley sighed and wiped sweat off his brow. "Thank you!"

"Yeah, yeah," Ian shrugged his friend's arachnophobia aside and turned to me, "How are you?"

"Amazing!" I beamed up at him. Finally, at least part of my family seemed to be coming back together. "Where's my dad?" I asked.

"In the attic, working," Riley responded quickly, easing my tensions. "He still has a job, you know, but he's agreed to let us all skip school until this whole quest thing is over with." I was relieved by this and yet simultaneously was already dreading the makeup work that would follow from saving the world.