A.N. So, I tried something different last chapter. I wanted to expand my point of view. Did you like it? Let me know. Maybe I'll do it again. I've got an idea of where I'm going with this now, so let's see how it works.
"If it weren't some kind of inter-dimensional incest, I could totally kiss you right now!" I said, and she laughed. Destin just shook his head.
"Come on. Mom said I needed to come with you. Let's go find the Witch a mushroom." She said, and I rolled my eyes.
"The mushroom isn't for the Witch. It's for a potion. The mushroom is almost pure magic, and it'll give us the power we need to rip a hole in the dimensions. Crap! We need water from the springs!" I said, cursing myself. But Sasha smiled.
"Got you covered!" She said, holding up a bottle of water. I tackled her in a hug. When we stood back up, we were both smiling.
"Let's do this!" I said, and we entered the forest.
"So, what exactly is special about this place?" Destin asked. "I've seen forests before, but most of my experiences are in the water." He said, and I thought about it for a second.
"I'm not sure. But feel the air. Listen to the wind. This place is filled with nature magic. The trees grow really fast, sometimes overnight. Something in this woods is very old, very powerful magic. Or maybe it's just the place. It might be a sacred forest. It's hard to be sure. Your mother might know, Sasha." I said, and she shrugged.
"I've never asked. It is pretty here, though. Hey, look over there!" She said, pointing. Growing under a tree was a small patch of purple mushrooms. They were about as big as a golf ball, and there were three of them. It was weird, because I'd never seen more than one at a time. I picked all three, and put them in a small bag, and packed them up nice and neat in my pack. We could use one for the potion, and use the other two later. I'm sure we'd need some magic.
"Awesome! Now we should be okay with potion ingredients. The spring water will force the dimensions apart, the mushroom should provide the magic to keep it open, and the Witch should be able to help us with anything else we'd need." I said, and smiled at them.
"Good. I'm nervous about this; let's get this over with before I change my mind." Destin said, and I nodded.
"I know. It's been hard for me, stuck in another dimension. I know that, whenever I want to, I can crush this pendant and go home, but I also know my father will be very disappointed in me if I do. So I'm going to see this through to the end." I said, and he nodded.
"What exactly are we doing?" Sasha asked, and I thought about it.
"You remember how the wizard told me that that god was squatting in me?" I said, and she nodded.
"I was eavesdropping, but yes. He said you can't use your magic, right?" She asked, and I nodded.
"Right. But the problem is, he can't wake up. He needs to be put back, but we don't know how. The hope is that somebody in this new place will know how, or at least more about him. Before he was the Devourer, he was a god of night, keeping the people safe from the monsters that lived in the lands. But now all of the monsters that are left are in this new world. Or at least have interactions with this world. Father said that they don't exist there, though, so our parents can't help us." I said, and she nodded.
"I knew there was something odd about the way she was acting. I've never been anywhere else… I've always been close to home. Close to father. Will he miss me?" She asked, looking at me, and I felt my heart melt. It was exactly the same thing I went through, when I left home. But I knew she would be fine, if she was anything like me. And she usually was.
"It'll be hard, but everything will be ok. He knows you love him, and just remember it isn't forever. We'll come back here someday. Come on, we need to find the Witch's hut." I said, and hurried ahead. Emotional stuff isn't really my thing. I don't know how to deal with it. She nodded, and followed.
The trees were really close together, and sometimes we had to cut down branches just to get through. It was slow going, but I knew we had to get there eventually. If you head in a straight line from the entrance, you'll eventually come across the Witch's hut. But today seemed to be taking a tad bit longer.
After a while, there was a steady thwapping noise. At first I couldn't place it, and signaled the Sasha and Destin to stop. I listened, frowning, and looked at the others. They shrugged.
"Hello?" I called out. The noise stopped.
"Who's there?" A familiar voice called. I looked at Sasha, and she looked confused for a second, then her face lit up in a smile.
"Luke? Is that you?" She said, walking towards the voice. I looked at Destin, who shrugged, and we followed. Luke was a carpenter back home, but I'd never met him here.
When we entered the small clearing, Luke was standing towards the edge, axe in hand, and a tree half chopped down. He smiled at Sasha as she walked up.
"Hey Sasha, how are you? You're about Lucy's age, right? Look at you!" He said smiling. "I haven't seen you for a while. What's with the clothes?" He asked, frowning. Then he saw Destin and I, and his eyes settled on the swords. He frowned.
"Are those swords?" He asked, and Sasha blushed.
"Yes, they are. We're going to see the Witch." I said, standing up straight. At about 5'11, I was several inches shorter than the woodcutter.
"And what are you going to do to her?" He asked, puzzled. Sasha gasped.
"Luke! We're asking for her advice! We need to go to another world, and she's the only one we can ask for advice on the potion. The Wizard is better at magic." She said, and his frown deepened, then eased. He smiled.
"Oh, ok! Why didn't you just say so? I feel silly now." He said, smiling in embarrassment, and rubbing his neck.
"it's ok, Luke. Are we getting close?" She asked, and he nodded.
"It's just a little further. I try not to get much closer than this. She gets… Angry when I chop too close. Something about the noise." He said, shrugging. I rolled my eyes and almost laughed. Some things never change. "Who are you guys?" He asked, remembering us. I smiled.
"I'm Luca." I said, holding out my hand. It was odd to meet someone I already knew. But who didn't know me. This dimension thing really got confusing after a while.
"I'm Destin." Destin said, giving a small wave. He seemed uncomfortable. Luke shook my hand, and nodded at Destin.
"Where did you come from? You look familiar." He said, examining me, and I shrugged. I did kind of look like Sasha and Mark, but with different eyes and hair. Again, the whole inter-dimensional sibling thing.
"Luca's a cousin, on my dad's side. We take after our parents. They're twins." She said, and smiled at him. Her eyes seemed to glow a bit brighter, and she clasped her hands together, and blinked at him. It looked so… girlish. But then I felt the magic. I looked closer, unhooking my second sight, and almost gasped out loud.
Sasha was glowing with a brilliant blue aura. It looked like the Goddess', but… It was sort of pulsing. It was hard to describe. I let go of my sight, and the aura dissipated. Luke smiled, and nodded.
"Oh, of course. Molly's kid. How is she, by the way?" He asked, looking at me. I smiled.
"She's good, thanks." I said, and he nodded.
"Well, I should get back to work. The Witch's house is just that way." He said, pointing. Then he walked back over to the tree he'd been chopping. I frowned, but started to walk in the direction he had pointed.
When we were a safe distance away, I turned to Sasha.
"What was that?" I asked, and she frowned.
"I'm not sure. It was kind of like when I used to talk to the kids in town and wanted them to like me. But this time… It was different. Stronger. I hope I didn't hurt him." She said, upset. Destin shook his head.
"He's fine. I checked his aura when we left. He'll just be a bit confused for a while. You're very strong at compulsion. I'll have to teach you to control it. I was never able to control my visual compulsion, but vocal is easier. Try not to use it too much, though." He said, and she nodded.
"I'll try." She said, and we all nodded. I looked ahead, and saw the edge of the Witch's hut. We headed up, walking over the ramps. Faith zoomed forward, and slammed into the door with a thud. She giggled as she fell, and I sighed. I really wondered about her sometimes.
"What? I wanted her to hear me. It's not like I can knock." She said, flying drunkenly back to land hard on my shoulder. I grunted.
"Does anybody hear anything?" I asked, and Faith crossed her arms.
"If you pretend you can't see me, I bet you wouldn't feel it if I, say… bit your ear?" She said, smiling wickedly.
"Oh Faith! There you are!" I said, nervously. She would have done it, too.
"That's better." She said, sitting back and smiling. Just then, the door to the hut burst open.
"Who's there?" The Witch said, brandishing her broom. Ah, hell.