Chapter VII

Keeping to the shadows so as not to be spotted by anybody who happened to peek through their window, Lilly and Eric moved through the streets of Wilham and in the direction of the boy’s house. They kept quiet, each keeping their attention focused on their surroundings. The monster might have retreated for the time being, but they knew there was no guarantee that it wouldn’t show back up at any given moment. The two of them were already exhausted to begin with so if it caught them by surprise then there was almost no chance that they would get away alive again. Luckily, Lilly didn’t see or hear any sign of it, and she prayed that meant that the terror of that night was over.

She winced, feeling another spasm of pain shoot through her arm. Now that the adrenaline had died down, the pain had increased quite a bit. She didn’t know how she was still able to move without crying out, but every time it threatened to overwhelm her, she just clenched her teeth together and forced herself to bear through it.

I’m fine. I can’t let this slow me down. We have to get somewhere safe. Once we’re at Eric’s, then I can deal with the pain!

However, as she told herself that, the boy’s words from just a few moments ago returned to her thoughts, once again throwing everything she thought she knew about him into disarray.

He said he could heal my arm. As she recalled the boy’s seemingly wild claim, she couldn’t help but to turn her head to stare at his back. Normally, I’d have laughed it off as a joke, but after everything I’ve seen tonight, there’s no doubt in my mind that he can actually do it. It’s painfully obvious to me now that the stone wasn’t the only magic he had.

He had asked her to trust him and had promised to explain it all when they reached his house, and she had resolved to keep her faith in him. Despite having hidden something so huge from her, she knew that Eric had always been there for her in the past. Whenever she needed somebody to rely on, he was there to help her, and so, she knew that he wouldn’t have hidden all his magic unless he had a really good reason. At the very least, Eric had more than earned the benefit of the doubt and she was prepared to listen to him with an open mind.

And my god…I also can’t deny that what I saw tonight was amazing.

The way he moved across the rooftops and through the streets at a speed faster than she could ever dream of going had been like something out of a dream. The terror of the creature had been at the forefront of her mind at the time, but now that she was calm enough to look back at it, she realized just how insane it all was. Eric Reiner had stood that thing down and had actually managed to buy enough time for them to get away. Every time Lilly thought they were doomed, he pulled out some trick and they were once again keeping their distance from it.

It really was…amazing. I just wish…it didn’t have to happen. She shook her head. I don’t understand what that creature was or what it wanted, but it was dead set on catching us. But why? Is it because we have the stone? I mean, that’s the only other magical thing in our lives that could ever attract something like that. Could it think…that we stole it or something?

The thought of potentially being the targets of some magical entity sent a shiver down her back, and she quickly pushed it from her mind, not wanting to go down that line of thought for the time being. She just wanted to find somewhere safe to lay down and sleep.

“Here we are,” Eric announced softly.

At his words, Lilly looked up and found herself looking at a one-story house at the end of a road. There wasn’t anything special to note. It looked exactly like all of the houses surrounding it and, had she walked past it, she never would have guessed it was Eric’s. Despite knowing it was silly to think, she had expected his place to stand out a bit more.

Eric proceeded up the driveway with Lilly in tow, pulling out a key from his pocket as he did so. Once he had the door open, the two of them stepped into the darkened entry hall. She couldn’t see any lights on further inside, but she did hear the faint sound of a TV, indicating that somebody else was, in fact, home. The two of them quickly slipped their shoes off at the door and Eric took the lead once again.

“Dad, I’m home,” he called out, though his face was dark, as if doing so was only out of obligation. “And…I brought a friend over.”

There was no response and Lilly wondered if maybe the man had fallen asleep watching TV, but Eric only looked more irritated as he led her further into the house. They turned right and came to a doorway, and when Lilly poked her head around Eric’s shoulder, she found that the man inside was awake, and was simply staring blankly at the flashing television ahead of him as he sat in a tattered leather recliner, a can of beer clutched in his hand.

She immediately furrowed her brow in confusion.

This guy…is Eric’s dad?

She had expected somebody more cheerful and fun like the boy next to her, but the man she was looking at seemed angry for some reason. His gray hair was messy and unkempt, as was his beard, and he had a large beer belly that mostly poked through the grimy old white tank top he was wearing. The man looked sickly, and she worried that something was wrong with him. Eric had never spoken to her about his father so for all she knew, he had some sort of terrible illness.

And yet…if that were true, would Eric look at him with such disgust? she thought, briefly glancing up at the boy’s face.

“Dad!” he snapped.

The man scowled and angrily turned their way. “What? So you’ve got a fuckin friend! Why should I ca—?”

He stopped mid sentence as his attention focused on Lilly.

She hesitantly raised a hand in greeting, unsure of even how to speak to a man like him. “Um…nice to meet you, Mr. Reiner,” she forced herself to say. “I’m…uh, Lilly Harper.”

Eric’s father cocked an eyebrow and almost seemed like he was sizing her up, before turning his attention back to the TV with a snort.

“Well good for you, son. She’s cute,” he growled.

Eric narrowed his eyes, but still kept his tone calm as he spoke. “She’s staying the night, so I just wanted to let you know.”

The man shrugged. “Sure, whatever. Just keep it down in there so I can hear the game.”

Lilly’s cheeks immediately went red as she realized what he was implying, and she desperately wanted to protest, but Eric responded to the man before she could.

“Yeah, sure,” he replied softly. He then took her good hand in his and whispered, “let’s go, Lilly,” before leading her away from his father and further down the hall.

She glanced nervously back over her shoulder, but Eric’s dad made no move to follow them or even ask any follow up questions. It seemed he genuinely didn’t care that his son had brought a girl over this late and that was stunning to her. She knew that if she ever brought a boy to her place to stay the night, her father would probably explode.

“He isn’t the biggest fan of people visiting so, as nice as the thought is, it might be better for him to just give him some time to himself.”

“It’s not really my place to tell you. If you want to know, ask him when the time’s right.”

As Damien’s words from earlier came back to her, she frowned in consideration,

Is this…what he was talking about?

Eric led her to a room in the back of the house and she followed without a word, wanting to do him the respect of not prying into his family life. She already knew that he struggled with his mother’s disappearance and so, she couldn’t imagine what his apparent relationship with his father might have taken on him. He led her into a small bedroom and closed the door behind them before turning and leaning his back up against it.

“Sorry about him,” he muttered. “My father isn’t exactly what you would consider a welcoming type.”

Lilly quickly shook her head, wincing at the pain in her arm that the sudden movement caused. “No, it’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”

Eric forced a smile then sighed. “Well, at least his lack of interest in my life came in handy this time. Now, sit down on the bed and I’ll get to work healing that arm of yours.”

She glanced over her shoulder at the small bed in the corner of the room. A quick scan of the area showed nothing of particular interest. Despite Eric Reiner’s unique personality, it appeared like one would expect a teenage boy’s room to look. He had a desk in the corner across from his bed with some homework strewn about on top with the closet to Lilly’s left and a couple of posters from some popular TV shows placed on the walls. Realizing just how little she actually knew about Eric until that night, Lilly moved toward the bed and sat down on the edge while he moved to stand in front of her.

“Now, uh,” he began hesitantly. “Apologies if this is a bit awkward but…can you remove your shirt? Er, just your shirt, though!”

She looked up at him in surprise and she could once again feel the blush returning to her face.

“To heal your shoulder…I need to touch the skin,” he quickly explained.

Knowing he wasn’t the type to make things up like that just to see her in her bra, she wordlessly nodded, then began unbuttoning the blazer of her uniform. Normally, she’d have been far too embarrassed to take her clothes off in front of him. She had never been particularly happy with her body, and so, she tended to try and avoid getting undressed in front of anybody, girls included. However, even just setting aside the trust she had in him, he had also been in her body many times in the past. He knew her better than most, and that gave her a certain level of comfort as she undressed.

Her injured arm made it tougher than normal but Eric helped her where she needed it. Once she’d removed the blazer, she pulled off her tie and then undid her shirt so she could slide out of it. She shivered at the touch of the cold air against her bare skin as she tossed her clothes onto the ground at her feet. Despite the awkward situation, she couldn’t help but smile a bit at how embarrassed Eric looked as he moved to sit on the bed behind her.

“I’ve never seen you get flustered, Eric,” she teased. “Usually I’m the one getting embarrassed so it’s nice of you to finally join me.”

He laughed softly and shook his head. “Is this really the time for jokes?”

“Wow,” she said. “Never thought I’d hear those words come out of your mouth. I thought it was always time for jokes when it came to you. I guess that monster must have really shaken you up.”

Despite the tense air in the room, Lilly found herself calming down a bit as they bantered back and forth. After the last two days, it was comforting to hear Eric laugh at all, even if it was only a soft one as opposed to his typical, more boisterous laughs.

“Alright, hold still,” he whispered. “This should only take a moment.”

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Right as he said that, she felt the warm touch of his hands against her back, finding it strangely soothing to feel him so close to her.

“Benedio,” he whispered.

The moment that word left his lips, a sudden surge of pleasurable warmth flowed from his fingertips and into her body, circulating around the shoulder that she had hurt. The feeling was unlike anything she had ever experienced. In addition to easing the pain in her shoulder, it sent a wave of calm throughout her body, putting her at an ease that she hadn’t felt since the first day of the festival. She had expected the sensation of her arm popping back into its socket to be painful, she barely felt it move and before she knew it, it was back in its proper position. Unfortunately, the sensation only lasted a minute, and once Eric pulled his hands away, it was gone, leaving her feeling cold and shaken once again.

“How’s that?” he asked. “Does your shoulder feel better?”

She went to move her right arm around, cringing in anticipation of the pain, but was surprised to find that it moved with ease, as if she’d never even hurt it. She stared down at it in surprise, before slowly nodding.

“Y-yeah,” she muttered. “It’s…much better, actually. Thanks, Eric.”

“Of course,” he replied. “Glad I was able to help. Feel free to get dressed now. Sorry you had to do that.”

The girl quickly got to her feet and began to put her shirt back on. Eric sat silently with his gaze lowered to the ground, and his brow furrowed in deep thought. She couldn’t even fathom what was going through his mind at the moment, since she wasn’t even sure how much of what happened surprised him. She had always been under the impression that the stone was the only magic he knew of, yet now she realized that was far from the case. Eric Reiner knew a lot more than he ever let on.

Deciding not to bother with the blazer and the tie, once she had finished buttoning her shirt up, Lilly sat back down on the bed and folded her legs as she stared at the boy expectantly. When he looked up to see her waiting, he sighed in apprehension. She knew that he could tell what she wanted without even speaking a word. However, she made no move to hurry him along. When he was ready, he would speak. Eric had already promised to explain everything to her, therefore he would. For what felt like a long time, the two of them just stared into each other’s eyes, so Lilly smiled at him, wanting to assure him that she wasn’t upset with him. She didn’t want him thinking that his sudden usage of magic was something she was angry about.

“Alright,” he muttered. “Ask away, dear Lilly. Though, I will preface this conversation by telling you that I don’t know a thing about that creature. I’ve never seen it in my life.”

Lilly nodded. “Yeah, I figured that much out.” She then took a deep breath to steady her beating heart, and continued. “Then, I guess I just want you to explain how you did what you did tonight. How did you move like that? How were you able to attack it from so far away? I always thought the stone was the only magic you had, so…”

“Well, I suppose that’s the most logical place to start,” Eric said. “But it’s not exactly an easy thing to explain. In order for it all to make sense, I’ll need to start at the beginning, with my mother.”

“Okay, I’m all ears,” she replied.

Once again, the boy took a second to gather his thoughts, then began his story. “When I was little, my mother would always tell me bedtime stories about this far off land…a world in a separate plane of existence from our own. She called it Ijiria and she said it was her home…where she came from before arriving in our world.”

Lilly sat up straighter, already finding herself quite intrigued. Just as he did with his father, Eric never spoke about his mother to her. All she knew was that the woman had left when Eric was seven and he hadn’t seen her since.

“Our world?” she parroted. “So you mean…you’re saying your mother was from another world?”

Eric nodded softly, seeming slightly amused by her surprised expression. “That’s always what she told me.” He chuckled before going on, his eyes growing distant, as if he were mentally returning to the past as he told the story. “This place…Ijiria…was a world full of magic. There were all different types of magic and there were even schools where it was taught to the younger generations. It always sounded like a fantasy lover’s dream. My mom actually attended one of these schools in a city called Erika, which she said is what my name was derived from. I always thought this place sounded like a paradise, but my mom chose to leave it behind and instead came here to be with my father. Now…she always told these stories like they were nothing more than just that…stories she made up to entertain her son.”

“But you believe them,” Lilly stated, having known that fact even before that moment. “You don’t think she was making it up. You think an entirely different world actually exists and that your mother is from there. You believe Ijiria exists.”

Eric smiled sadly. “I always did. Now, of course, I’d be stupid to deny it’s existence, but I never once questioned it. In my mind, Ijiria was real and I always wanted to go there. When my mother left…there’s no doubt in my mind that it’s where she went.”

Eric slowly got to his feet, as if too antsy to stay sitting and Lilly watched patiently, content to allow him time while she, too, processed what she was being told.

Another world? If not for everything I’d experienced in the last year, I probably wouldn’t have even entertained that thought. It seems so preposterous, but… Thoughts of the body-swapping stone, and of what she had seen from both the monster and Eric on that very night caused her to bite her lip in thought. Can I really call any of this preposterous anymore? The bounds of what can exist and what can’t exist aren’t as clear as I thought they were. If a nightmare like that monster is real, why can’t another world? In fact, the existence of another world perfectly explains why we’ve never seen anything like this before. They don’t exist in our reality.

As if suddenly remembering something, Eric turned and approached his desk, his voice bringing her out of her contemplation. “The night my mother left, she gave me something—what she always referred to as her spellbook.”

“Spellbook?” Lilly parroted.

Eric pulled open one of the drawers and removed a small, leather-bound book. He gazed down at it for a moment, then walked toward her and held it out. Lilly hesitantly took it, then flipped it open to a random page. Sure enough, scribbled inside were various incantations describing what the spells would do and what movements were necessary to achieve them. If she hadn’t seen Eric pull off so many of them during their escape from the monster, she would have assumed it was nothing more than a really intricate creative writing exercise.

“That night, she told me that when she returned, she would teach me magic,” Eric said. “So, every night after that, right before bed, I would read pages of that book. I took in every detail, every spell, and every motion required to cast it. I wanted to be ready so that when she returned, I could be prepared for whatever she wanted to teach me. I’ve been doing that almost every night since I was seven years old…and I still do it. I’ve memorized every spell in there and I could recite them all. It became a routine that I couldn’t sleep without, and I always dreamed of being able to cast them. Yet, for a long time, no matter what I did, nothing happened.”

Lilly looked up from the book and frowned. “What do you mean? Why not?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know, to be honest.” The boy then moved to once again take his seat on the bed beside her. “I don’t want you to think that I’ve been lying since the moment we met, because I haven't. In fact, when I found that stone, I still hadn’t been able to cast anything.”

“Wait, really?” she muttered.

She had been convinced that he’d been using magic for years just based on how smooth his motions were and how quickly he reacted during his fight with the creature.

“But then…when did you start being able to use them?”

Eric let out a soft breath then looked right into her eyes. “The first time I ever casted a spell was the day Jay jumped from his balcony.”

“W-what?!” she exclaimed, having never expected that particular day to come up in the conversation. “What are you…? What does Jay have to do with that?”

“I know you all found it strange,” he went on, “that Jay jumped from the fourth floor of his apartment building right onto the concrete and still survived. Well, that wasn’t luck. Or…maybe it was…but not the kind of luck you guys assumed.”

Lilly straightened up as she tried to process what he was telling her. “So…you’re saying you saved him?”

Eric shrugged. “I wouldn’t say I saved him, seeing as he only barely survived, but yes, I suppose I did prevent him from dying.” Once again, the boy seemed to fade from the moment, and his mouth appeared as if moving on autopilot. “That day, I followed him to the diner to assure him that he had nothing to worry about. I could tell that what happened with Rina had been getting to him, so I wanted to comfort him. But when he rushed from the building all alone, I was scared. So, I went after him…and when I arrived, I realized that I was too late. I walked around the corner just in time to see him fall over the side.”

His voice was shaking, and Lilly could see that he was fighting back tears, so she reached out and placed her hand over his. He squeezed back and when he spoke again, his voice was steadier.

“I reacted purely on instinct,” he continued. “As I watched him fall, I knew I needed to try something, so I shouted out the incantation of a spell that I knew could slow somebody’s fall…and for the first time in my life, I felt power surge through me and Jay’s body slowed just enough to save his life. That…was the first time I ever used magic and…after that, everything seemed different—like I had passed a threshold to unlock that power. I could feel it coursing through me and I instinctively knew that I would be able to cast spells from then on out.”

“I wonder why it happened at that moment,” Lilly murmured. “Though, I’m glad it did.”

Eric nodded. “Yes, I’ve wondered about that, too. After that day, I tested out other spells and sure enough, they worked. My years of studying made it easy. I knew what to do and how to do them. It took only a few tries to get control of most spells, and as the weeks went on, I got better at them. I…” He shook his head. “I wish I could have told you guys, but I was so uncertain of everything, and I thought it best to figure it all out before bringing it to your attention. I promise that I fully intended to reveal it eventually…and I never meant for it to come to light like this.”

Lilly leaned in closer to him and moved her hand away from his, and instead wrapped it around his body, pulling him forward into a hug.

“I believe you,” she whispered. “And I’m thankful that you were able to save Jay…and me, today. Not like I didn’t already know this, but you’re incredible, Eric. That’s never been more clear to me than tonight.”

He embraced her back, but she could hear the self-deprecating tone in his voice when he replied. “I appreciate that, but I think you give me too much credit. If I saved Jay, as you claimed, then he wouldn't have lost four months of his life to a coma…nor would he have become that creature that pursued us tonight. No…I may have prevented him from dying…but did I really…truly save him?”

Without warning, Lilly released him and placed her palms on his face, directing his head toward her as she looked him in the eyes.

“Don’t say things like that,” she said sternly. “Because of you, Jay and Alice were able to truly understand each other. You gave Jay that chance to make things right with her…and even if he had passed in his sleep, I know as a fact that he appreciated that. You saved him…and regardless of whatever happened to him…we’re going to save him again. You saw it, didn’t you? When I brought up Alice, he hesitated for a split-second…and that’s all I need to know that he’s still in there. He can be saved again.”

Eric swallowed hesitantly and glanced away. “I…suppose. For the time being, I really don’t know what to do. But now, I’m fairly certain of one thing: there’s something supernatural lurking in this town and it’s behind everybody forgetting about Vinny…and the attacks on the diner and the hospital. I don’t know what it is…but it clearly wants me…and I’m determined to protect as many people as I can.”

Lilly smiled. “And I’ll be there at your side. Whatever’s after you…let’s kick it’s ass together.”

She held out her fist and Eric bumped it with his own.

“Of course,” he replied. “But…if your life is ever in danger, I want you to run. I have magic to defend myself, but you don’t. Can you promise me that much, Lilly? Promise that you will prioritize your life over everything else.”

She considered the question for a moment. As much as she wanted to be there with him throughout everything that she feared was going to happen to him, she knew from that night alone just how powerless she was in the face of the supernatural. Yet…

If it comes down to it…would I really be able to live with myself if I left Eric behind?

She wasn’t sure what the answer to that question was but, regardless, she looked him in the eye and nodded.

“I promise. If I think I could die, I’ll turn on my heel and run.”

“Thank you, Lilly.” He smiled. “Thank you.”

***

As the late hours of the night passed, Eric Reiner sat with his back up against the wall of his bedroom, his eyes lowered to the orange gemstone clutched in his hand. Lilly was asleep in his bed across the room. For the sake of her comfort, he had decided to have her take the bed while he curled up in the corner with a few blankets and a spare pillow. Yet, even setting the uncomfortable conditions aside, he wasn’t able to sleep. His mind was running far too fast for him to find any relaxation.

What am I supposed to do now? That creature was bold enough to go into the school and attack Lilly. How am I supposed to prevent that from happening again? And who’s to say it won’t go after Damien, Liz, or any of the other students. If it’s behind what happened at the diner then it clearly has no care for the safety of innocents. And now…it’s painfully obvious how little of a chance I have of beating that thing.

He slowly turned his attention away from the stone and on stead focussed on the blueish-green dagger clutched in his opposite hand. It was the weapon he had found the day the club came across the stone. He didn’t know what its significance was, but it reminded him of a blade his mother used to have, so holding it had been giving him a sense of comfort. However, as he had come to realize since, nobody else could see it. The other club members hadn’t, his father hadn’t, and now Lilly hadn’t. He didn’t understand why, but he guessed it must have been a charm put over it.

Mom… If you were here… What would you do? Is this what I was warned about? But no…she said last chances of last chances. I haven't tried anything else yet. For all I know, it won’t need to come to that. There’s a way… There has to be another way, I just…

He clutched the dagger tighter, as if speaking to his mother through it.

“Damn it,” he whispered through yet another wave of tears. “Mom…what am I supposed to do?”