Hate radiated from the Warlord, and he grasped me around the neck once again. “I want you to know one thing before you die,” he whispered. “You are a failure—a stupid, incompetent, childish failure. You were destined to fail.”
All fell silent as they watched the scene unfold. The steady, thunderous roll of the Eye filled the chamber, and I stared in alarm as it drew near the open sill. Throwing out my arm, my hand began to glow. I concentrated on the Eye, the force of my will stopping it as it teetered on the edge.
Closing my eyes, I pushed the Warlord’s devastating words from my mind. Vasu would not have chosen me if I were destined to fail. The will to survive seized me, and grew in the pit of my stomach—building, sprouting, and extending up and out of my chest, and down through my legs and feet. I flicked my fingers and the Eye flew from the ledge toward my outstretched hand.
In astonishment, the Warlord cried out. He lunged for the Eye and grabbed for my pendant as the Eye sailed past into my hand. Lauren jumped forward, yanking the Warlord’s steel armor to pull him back, a scream tearing from her lips when the cold steel of his breastplate cut into her fingers.
A brilliant flash of light erupted around us, filling the room with a static explosion of blinding energy. The castle room shimmered, growing smaller and smaller as Lauren, the Warlord, and I rose into the air on a cloud of weightless white mist. We tumbled out of control, screaming.
“Lauren!” Dardanos cried out, sounding very far away.
Lauren reached for Dardanos, shrieking his name, but she was pulled farther and farther into the swirling, magical whirlwind of the Eye. Within seconds, the castle room was gone, and a swift breeze surged past my face, coming faster and faster until I couldn’t breathe. I tore the pendant from the Warlord’s grasp, and shoved him back, grabbing onto Lauren. The Warlord drifted, his arms outstretched, his cries of fury barely audible on the rushing current of air.
Within seconds, the cloud disappeared, and I experienced the stomach-churning sensation of falling. I flailed wildly, dragging Lauren behind me. We landed hard, the breath knocked from our lungs.
Stunned, we found ourselves sitting on the familiar denim comforter that covered my bed.
We were home.
I shrieked as though my heart had been ripped from my chest. My screams tore through the house as I rolled off Zach’s bed and hit the floor. In a panic, I jumped up, tears streaking down my face.
Zach lay against the wall as I pulled the heavy gold chain from him and placed it clumsily around my neck, commanding it to take me back to Dardanos. Over and over, I pleaded with the object of magic to give me back my dream, but when it didn’t work—and somehow I knew it wouldn’t—I fell to my knees, sobs racking my body.
My cries turned to whimpers as Zach enveloped me in his arms—which he never would have done in the past, and I let him, burying my face in his leather armor. We still wore the clothes of Terratir.
“Please,” I whispered. “Please take me back. I can’t live without him. I can’t. What must he be thinking right now—to watch the girl he loves ripped away? And Flitwicket? What about her? And Kirth. Is Kirth even still alive? He could be. Our friends!” I wailed. “We didn’t even get to say goodbye!”
The bedroom door crashed open with a loud bang. Both Zach and I jumped in surprise.
“What is going on!” our mother bellowed into the room. “Why are you two always fighting and—” she stopped, staring at me with my tears streaming down my cheeks. “What happened?”
I flew into my mother’s arms—something I’d wanted to do so many times while we were in Terratir—but I only remained in the comfort of her embrace for a moment before letting go and dashing to my room, slamming the door behind me.
My mom turned to me. “What is going on?”
I took a deep breath. “I don’t know, Mom. What day is it?”
“What day is it? What is wrong with you? It’s Saturday. You just ate pancakes! Are you sick?”
“Oh,” I nodded, realizing. I wiped tears from my cheeks with the back of my leather sleeve, my armor worn, bloody, and torn.
“You look awful and… so thin. Zach, you are sick.” She placed her hand over my brow. “Where did you get these ridiculous clothes?” She picked at the leather armor in disgust. “Never mind. I don’t want to know. Go shower.”
“Okay.” I stood, but before my mother could leave I reached for her, hugging her tight, soaking in the smell of her perfume. “I love you, Mom. It’s good to be home.”
In surprise, she pulled back slightly, gazing at me, her eyes studying my face. She hugged me back, and said, “I love you, too, hun,” and kissed the top of my head—looking totally mystified—She left and closed my door with a soft click.
Two weeks passed where I didn’t want go anywhere or do anything. The surprise party my mother had planned turned out to be a flop. My friends hadn’t stayed long and I didn’t blame them. I wasn’t the girl they knew anymore. I’d changed, and my parents were beside themselves with worry. The only person who understood was Zach, and he spent every spare moment trying to understand the pendant, trying to make it send us back into the Warlord game, but nothing worked.
For the first time since we’d been home, Zach sat down at his computer to play his game, his shoulders slumped. I sat on his bed and watched—waiting, wondering, and hoping. With a heavy heart, I held my breath when the mouse hovered over the Warlord icon… and then he clicked it.
Zach’s list of toons flashed across the screen. There floated Dardanos and Flitwicket, standing in suspended animation. Kirth was conspicuously absent, but he hadn’t been one of Zach’s characters. A familiar yearning grew in my chest, making my throat tighten with grief.
Zach clicked on Dardanos and took his toon to the Cave of Wonder, which housed and protected the Eye of Tanúb. There it sat, in all its magical glory. Tanúb, the Eye’s ethereal guardian, was no longer floating at the entrance. I knew it was because the Warlord had killed her.
Zach searched every area in the game, but never found the Warlord. Even invading the Legion land and storming the Black Castle brought no sign of the evil man. I wondered if the Warlord—who had fallen through the misty cloud with Zach and me, had landed in this world also.
Was David just another human who had slipped through the cracks of time like we had? Was he really just a man from Earth who had resided in the game, acquiring knowledge and magical ability?
The questions plagued me. What if the Warlord came looking for us… for the pendant? Were we safe? If Zach was now an Ancient, why couldn’t he make the pendant work and take us back?
Zach shoved back from the computer and swiveled in the chair to face me. He walked over and plopped down next to me on the bed. Gazing out through the clear glass windows, he put his arm around me. “You okay?”
I sighed, still mystified about the whole thing. “What happened? Why did we come home?”
Zach leaned back against the wall, shaking his head slowly. “I’m not sure. Maybe it was meant to happen like this. Maybe it was all three of us touching the pendant and the Eye at the same time. Or maybe we just weren’t meant to be in that world, so the Eye sent us all home.”
“How do we go back? I have to go back,” I cried, my eyes red and puffy.
“I have a feeling it’s timing,” Zach answered, turning to face me, his expression earnest. “I still have the pendant, and I’m an Ancient now, so I know it’s not over.”
I grasped his hand, holding it tight, hope blossoming inside me. “He’s waiting for me. I can feel it.”
Zach’s face softened in understanding. “Yeah, he is. They all are… so don’t worry. We will go back… someday.”
First off, a great big thank you to Clean Teen Publishing who gives me everything I want! They spoil me rotten and will hopefully reap the rewards. A special thanks to Cynthia Shepp and Jason Whited for an excellent job of editing.
Thank you, Marya Heiman! Because of her I have a totally aweso
me cover that rocks! She has magic fingers and now we have a window into the mystical land of Terratir.
Also, a great, big hug of thanks to my oldest son, Jacob, who ran home from school every day, begging to read the next chapter I’d written of The Eye of Tanúb. He encouraged me to keep working and to never give up. If that wasn’t a shot in the arm, I don’t know what was!
Thank you to my family, friends, and critique group, who helped shape this story into one of wonderment. I love the characters in this book! They have become real to me. Thanks to all who helped turn this fantasy into a reality!
M.E. Cunningham came from a land, far, far away, and ended up on a little farm in northern Utah, living with numerous magical creatures: horses, chickens, dogs, cats, and a goat. She began writing quite by accident when she fell through the fabric of time and dropped into the mysterious land of Terratir.
Terratir is not the first magical realm Cunningham has discovered, but it is the only one to be written about so far. Her favorite topics include ghosts, monsters, dragons, and magic. She also likes TV, going to the movies, and camping in the mountains as long as there are no spiders, mosquitoes, or ticks.
Her first book, Reluctant Guardian, was published in August 2013. Cunningham is always in search of the strange and unexplainable, and will write each story as it is discovered. Be on the look out!
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