Calliope [Book 2]
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Mido watched, cross-legged on the ground, as Calliope experimented with her magic. She had been going for what felt like hours, but with no results. She grew furious with herself as each spell she cast seemed to be tainted with black magic. She knew the magic she once used was still in her, somewhere. It had to be; she wasn’t giving up on herself. She was not going to let her become one of those witches.

Growing tired, she sat on the ground, away from Mido. Mido did not dare approach her; he knew she needed time to herself to figure things out. He watched as she stared at the ground, mumbling under her breath. She pointed her finger at the space in front of her and the air pulsed with some invisible wave, but it wasn’t what she wanted.

Mido saw her slouching against the wall of Samus’s house. He watched the memory as she pointed at the crack in the floor, granting life to the empty plot of dirt. And then, she let flower petals fall upon amazed children and shot exploding balls of magic into the air. She pulled a single lily out of the air and handed it to him.

“The tree,” he said to her. “The tree you grew in Librona.”

Calliope met his gaze and pondered this for a moment. She turned back to the space she had focused on, pointed her finger, and closed her eyes. Her hand trembled as she tried to focus on the tree. She pictured the tree growing tall inside the house. She imagined it had grown through the cracks in the roof by now. She remembered going to the river after with Mido. She watched Lily graze nearby. She felt Mido’s lips against her. She smiled as her heart flipped in her chest as she relived that moment.

“Calli!”

Calliope opened her eyes and gawked as a sapling reached up before her. She peered at the sapling; around the little tree, she could see green grass and blue sky. She scrambled to her feet and circled the tree. She reached her hand through the white world and into the land just on the other side. Her hand felt surprisingly warm near the tree. She pulled back nervously. She waited for the white world to enclose around it once more, but the little sapling seemed to hold strongly against the fog. The magic she had summoned had to have been strong in the little tree for the white world to melt away and stay away like that.

Mido watched as a smile split her cold face. Her eyes seemed to light up, delighted at her discovery. She met Mido’s gaze and he smiled. He got to his feet as she hurried to him and he wrapped his arms around her.

“How’d you do it?” he asked.

“I don’t know. I just thought of the tree, and I remembered being at the river with you, and you kissing me.”

Mido smiled. “Maybe that’s the key. Try it again.”

Mido turned around and sucked in a breath. She remembered laying against Mido’s chest and feeling his arm around her in the dark of night. She remembered seeing him for the first time since the war began and felt the passion between them as they stopped their traveling to enjoy each other’s company. She threw her arm forward and watched as a glowing blue ball of magic shot into the air, revealing the other world around them as it traveled. Overjoyed, she shot another spell followed by another and than a third. She opened her arms above her, experimenting with her potential.

Mido watched as her magic grew and changed, each spell revealing their lost world, just out of reach. He watched as she summoned spell after spell, magic of all varieties. Magic that exploded in a colorful display and other’s that rumbled and shook the land. Calliope concentrated on each spell, trying something different each time until she finally found something she was happy with. She let the spell hover before him, revealing the world around them like a candle in the dark. The spell moved with her, revealing a new spot in the outside world as she walked. She closed her eyes in concentration as the spell grew larger, revealing more and more to them.

Mido approached her, watching in awe as he began to see grass and trees and distant mountains. He watched as she seemed to tremble under the weight of the spell. She bit her lip in concentration as she tried to will the spell to grow larger, but the spell disappeared in her exhaustion and she caught her breath.

“It’s okay,” he reassured her. “Just relax for a while.”

Calliope nodded. They sat together and Calliope leaned against Mido, closing her eyes.

“I feel better,” she said softly.

Mido kissed her head and let his fingers intertwine in her hair. “Good.”

“I think this could work.”

“Me too.”

“Thank you for coming to get me,” she mumbled.

“I will always replace you and bring you home.”

“Me too.”

“Get some rest. We’ll start our trip later.”

Mido leaned backwards, letting their bodies rest against the ground. He couldn’t remember the last time he was able to hold Calliope like this. He buried his face in her neck and pulled her closer to him. He felt her breathing steady as she drifted off to sleep.

#

Calliope shifted and Mido’s eyes fluttered open. He looked around their white, fogged world and yawned. Calliope turned over and met his gaze. She smiled.

“Good morning,” she said.

“Or good night,” he said.

“True.”

“How are you feeling?” Mido asked.

Calliope nodded. “I feel okay. I’m ready whenever you are.”

“There’s no rush.”

Calliope got to her feet. “No, I’m ready. I don’t want to stick around here any longer than we need to.”

Mido stood and nodded. “Agreed. Shall we?”

Calliope concentrated and summoned the same spell she had summoned earlier. The orb revealed the other world to them once more and grew in size.

“Don’t push yourself,” Mido warned.

Calliope sucked in a breath. “I got this,” she said. The orb hovered above them and she pushed it forward, guiding their way. They followed the orb, peering into the world and taking in their surroundings. To their relief, the edge of the forest was behind them and they recognized Librona’s rolling hills. From there, they knew immediately where to turn to get to the port, and they made that their first destination. The land was bright and the sun seemed to be fairly high in the sky. Mido guessed it was around midday. A sense of relief and ease washed over him now that he was able to get a sense of the time of day and their location. They both felt a sense of happiness and peace knowing they were back in Librona.

“I’m going to miss it here,” Calliope said quietly, thinking of making their new home in Asmar.

Mido nodded in agreement. “But at least there will be peace between the kingdoms,” he said.

Calliope nodded. “And as long as you don’t piss your father off, I’m sure we’ll be able to visit.”

Mido winced. “Please don’t call him my father.”

Calliope peered at Mido. “You need to accept that, Mido.”

Mido shook his head. “I’m not ready to accept that yet, not until I know the truth.”

Calliope sighed but didn’t push the issue. They continued to follow the revealing orb through the kingdom and toward its western shore. They neared the beach just as the sun began to sent behind the horizon. The sailors and villagers of the nearby port village busied themselves around the boats before they returned to their homes for the night. Their voices sounded a little clearer when the orb focused on the speaker. Calliope moved the orb around the docks and examined the ships. She caught an unfamiliar flag waving lazily in the evening breeze on one of the ships. Mido recognized it right away.

“That’s one of In’audis’s ships,” he pointed out. “They must have just dropped off some of their resources. I’m sure they’ll make for Re’iam tomorrow morning.”

Mido followed Calliope as they made their way over the docks, passing eerily through the sailors as they left the boats for the night. They hurried up the ramp that connected the kingdom’s large ship to Librona’s dock. The ship was quiet except for the few sailors of In’audis that kept watch over the night. They drank happily and laughed with their fellow seamen as the night wore on. Mido and Calliope made themselves as comfortable as they could in the corner of the ship. Calliope felt her eyes grow heavy very quickly as Mido sat her down on the ship’s deck.

“That’s enough,” he said to her, pushing her hands down; the orb followed her hands as they went down and grew smaller. Mido kissed her forehead. “Give yourself some rest now.”

Calliope nodded, her eyes closed, and the orb disappeared, surrounding them in the white wasteland once more. Mido pulled her closer to him, suddenly overwhelmed by their white world. He felt safer with her near him. He kissed her forehead once more as she leaned against him. He closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

#

Mido awoke, unsure if it was morning or not. The shadows of the sailors milled about them, their voices buzzing and getting lost in the void. Mido nudged Calliope and she jumped. He let his hand rest on hers as she yawned and stretched.

“Is it morning?” she asked.

Mido shrugged. “Probably. The sailors seem to be up and about.”

Calliope nodded and willed the orb to return to them, bringing the outside world back to life. She moved her hands around in the air, adjusting the position of the orb so they could examine the ship and their surroundings. They seemed to be out of Librona’s port and traveling through the salty water. Calliope let the orb disappear and she leaned against Mido once more, still feeling tired from their travels the day before. Summoning the magic drained her quicker than the black magic she had grown to know.

“We’ll be sailing for quite a while,” Mido said. “We won’t need that orb around. Rest and relax. It’s going to be a long couple of weeks.”

Calliope nodded, yawning again and closing her eyes. She sighed, feeling at ease against Mido’s chest. Mido was quiet as she fell asleep against him once more. He wanted so much to know what had happened while she was gone, but he knew she didn’t want to talk about it. He worried about her, but she seemed to be coming around. In their own ways, they had saved each other, and continued to day after day. He couldn’t imagine his life without her, nor how he had lived before he met her. He thought about how simple life seemed to be in Esmon before Calliope’s attacks. He knew now that he was never truly happy there. He didn’t regret a single moment with Calliope and he realized he hadn’t looked back since. Not even when he found himself back there just after Calliope went missing.

Mido leaned his head back against the ship and imagined fluffy white clouds floating above them. He watched the shadows go about their business, guiding the ship back to their homeland. He listened to Calliope’s steady breathing and closed his eyes.

#

Mido and Calliope drifted through each day lazily, happy to be in each other’s arms once more. In a way, they enjoyed the eerie silence of the shadowy wasteland. It felt good to be alone with each other and catch up on the time they had missed with each other. They were perfectly content to waste the day together, talking about absolutely nothing in particular and share a laugh. They had almost forgotten that they were in a banished land of magical beings. Together, the circumstances became more bearable, but still they itched to return to the human world.

Calliope checked their surroundings periodically, orienting themselves with the time of day and to check to see how far they’ve traveled. The days dragged on slowly, but soon Re’iam’s shores came into view. They watched through the orb anxiously as the sailors prepared for their arrival, drawing closer and closer to the docks.

They finally arrived by midday; the ship pulled up and docked for the day and the sailors eagerly climbed off the boat and onto the beaches. Calliope led the way off the ship, across the beach, and into the large, prosperous city. She turned to Mido, anxious.

“This place looks huge,” she said, watching as horse drawn wagons moved along the crowded streets.

Mido nodded. “We’ll be able to get into the castle,” he said. “That will be our best bet, right where Queen Ryenna can see us.”

Calliope continued onward until the castle came into view. They walked through the city as it’s residents passed casually through them, unaware of their presence. They climbed up the steps and into the castle. Mido pointed the way through the castle as he recalled each room and hallway. He guided Calliope into the room where Queen Ryenna sent him to The Land of the Shadows.

“This is it,” he said. His heart raced in his chest as he grew aware of the next step in their plan. It seemed surreal that they had made it this far, and he was nervous. He couldn’t bear to see the plan fail now. He turned to Calliope as she let the orb disappear. She met his gaze, sharing the worry in his eyes.

“Well,” she said. “I guess there’s nothing left to do except kill me.” She forced a crooked smile.

Mido nodded slowly, biting his lower lip.

Calliope sucked in a breath. “I guess I’ll do what I can,” she said, readying herself.

“How long will it take?”

Calliope shook her head. “I don’t know.”

Mido pulled her face to his and kissed her. “You won’t die,” he promised her. “I love you.”

Calliope nodded. “I love you, too.”

Mido stepped back and looked away, pinching his lips together hard.

Calliope let her magic loose as quickly as she good. She gathered all her might to deliver the most powerful spells, forcing the energy to leave her body. Mido turned and watched in awe as she shot spell after spell into the nothingness of the world. Mido felt drawn to the magic but at the same time, he couldn’t bear to watch her slowly kill herself. He sat on the floor, his lips still pressed together, and stared at his feet as she carried out the plan.

Mido’s eyes grew heavy as the day ticked slowly on. Calliope continued to throw spell and spell an in attempt to train the magic from her body. Mido dared to peek at her; she was growing tired. Her spells grew weaker. She was slower and her face seemed pale. Mido got to his feet, his heart in his throat, as he watched Calliope push onward.

Her knees shook as she pushed on and she felt her head begin to spin. Calliope dropped to her knees, panting, and Mido hurried to her side. He pulled her chin to him and kissed her lips once more.

“Go,” she panted, feeling the magic drain out of her body. “I’ve got this.”

Mido shook his head. “No. I changed my mind. This is a bad idea.”

“Get... out...” Calliope panted. “Go.”

Tears stung Mido’s eyes as he tried to pull her towards him. “No. Don’t do this, Calli.”

“I said go!” Calliope shouted. An invisible wave launched Mido backwards. He looked up as Calliope got to her feet once more and shot another spell towards him. Mido winced, expecting to get hit, but nothing happened. He opened his eyes and watched as the air seemed to pulse, a clear shield around the witch, unlike anything he had seen before. He prayed that Calliope hadn’t snapped and used black magic. He watched as she stood for a moment behind the shield and then fall to her knees and onto the ground. Mido rushed forward, but the shield prevented him from getting any closer. He yelled to Calliope, but she did not answer. Suddenly, the shield disappeared and Mido stumbled forward to Calliope’s side. He rolled her over and let his hands run over her face. He called to her once more and searched for any sign of life.

A golden light began to glow and grow around her. Mido backed off and watched as the light consumed her body. When it subsided, Calliope was gone.