The crisp air whispered softly through the large barren trees and I kept a hold tight of my cloak as I walked through the forest. Snowing ash floated, falling to the cold hard ground and from a distance I could hear quaint footsteps and harsh whispers. I never turned around. I continued forward and started to run, I ziplined through the trees trying my hardest to lose them, but I wasn't fast enough. A dark figure from my left grabbed my ankle and slammed me to the ground. A dull ache began to form and as I laid there, I checked out my surroundings to see if there were any more of them…none, but that didn't mean they weren't hidden within the shadows. I repositioned my leg and loosened free of the demon's grasp. Leaping up from the ground I quickly ducked down as a blast of dark energy made its way toward my head. I quickly reached for my medallion around my neck and opened it as the figure made a running leap towards me. As the clasp opened a bright shining light lit up the sky and the demon were sucked into the medallion. The light faded back into purple darkness and I took a long sigh of relief.
"You haven't changed much Victoria? Still a little too slow in combat" a calm voice came from behind me.
"No and neither have you Reynolds. What are you doing here?" I said turning around to see a tall man in a black coat and hat with a scarf wrapped around his mouth.
"I have a job for you to do." He said
"Last time I remember specifically telling you that I don't work for you anymore" I said, planning my exit.
"This involves your own flesh and blood Victoria, the past shouldn't matter, this could change everything." He said calmly still, but with a hint of urgency.
"Reynolds, enough. I'm leaving, I don't want anything to do with him" I said clenching my fist.
"So, you would rather stay a prisoner in this realm forever?"
"I've been a prisoner since the day I was born, and if I recall you brought me here!"
"Victoria, I never meant for that to happen, you know that, but I can't change what's already been done. Whether you like it or not, Varen and Isobel are the only people who can stop her and save both our world and theirs. I wouldn't ask for your assistance if I could do it on my own. I can't help Isobel, and keep a watchful eye here, do you not wish to save the only brother you ever had" he said
"He's no brother of mine, he hates me, and I hate him too. Varen never cared about me or tried to save me? Why should I bother helping either of them?" I said falling to my knees. Why couldn't Reynolds just leave her alone.
"Victoria, if you won't help them for your brother's sake, then do it for yours. If you can help them defeat the plague that curses this land, then we will be free, you will be free."
Free? It was a word that I stopped caring about long ago, when I realized just how trapped in this dimension I really was. Sixteen years I'd been here, with no friends, no family, unless you counted Reynolds, and no hope. I assumed I would grow old and die here alone, she had been looking for me for a long time, so I've been accustomed to hiding and doing what little I could do to rid this realm of her demons. Knowing that there may be an actual opportunity for freedom, I didn't want to turn around, I didn't want to help Varen or Isobel, but I wanted to be free.
Reynolds came and kneeled to my side. "Victoria, we need your help and they are both counting on you." He said patting his hand on my shoulder.
"Alright, where do we begin?" I said, clenching my fist harder.
"Go to the human world and find Isobel. Tell her you know how to find and bring Varen back. Tell her you are his sister and that there is hope, but that you two must work together if you want to bring him back. Now I will open a portal to her world and if you need me just say the word Guarini." He leaned in and gave me a hug.
I gave him a reassuring nod and walked through the portal, could I really do this? Is there really a fighting chance to stop this nightmare, Reynolds believed so, and for now, that would have to be enough.