Fatiha stood in the corner, face pale and eyes wide with worry. I moved for her and she seemed like she was about to fight, but instead held up both hands.

“You win,” Fatiha said. “For now. But when she—”

“Give me the tree,” I interrupted.

She clenched her teeth, glaring. Her hand shook as she indicated the far wall. Moving up to it, the wall gave way—the same wall I’d made an escape through during the fight with Irla! One more foot, maybe, and I would have found it. Unless there was some other magic to the hiding part that I wasn’t aware of.

The tree floated out to her, and she turned, letting it go to me.

“The Nine are out there, waiting…” she said. “When you meet Thiten in person, the real Thiten, you will die.”

“We’ll take our chances,” I said, frowning and mulling over the tree.

“How do we make it work?” Kordelia asked.

I had the answer, I hoped. Pricking my finger on the tree as I had seen Fatiha do, I let my blood drip into place, then willed my aunt to return.

“Come on,” I muttered.

When it didn’t respond, Ebrill stepped up next to me, hand on my arm, and arched an eyebrow. I knew immediately what she was thinking. Transmutation to make it respond to me. No sooner did the thought hit me than the tree started to glow as the blood changed, and the form of my aunt appeared.

“Hello, Jericho.” She stood before me, seemingly the real her—not even transparent as before.

“Aunt Gertrude,” I said, unable to believe she was standing there before me.

She glanced around, clenched her jaw, and moved close, her voice low. “This doesn’t look good.”

“We’re in the enemy’s hideout so, no, it’s not. We need to open the Liahona.”

My aunt turned to Ebrill, then Kordelia.

“It’s time,” Kordelia said with a reassuring nod. “He brought us back. He can find the others. Defeat the evil that once tried to take the power for itself.”

“Such faith in him, and… me.”

“Don’t tell me you’re betraying us, too,” I said.

Gertrude turned to me, very solemn. “Never.” Another moment, and she added, “So, you’re ready?”

“The forces of darkness are upon us,” Kordelia cut in. “We have no choice.”

“Jericho,” Gertrude stared, eyes never leaving me, “are you ready?”

“I am,” I replied.

“Very well. It’s a simple spell, really. Hold the Liahona and repeat after me.”

I did, and then together we chanted a long spell. As each word was muttered, small wisps of magical light escaped the Liahona, circling us, until at the end it was a burst of lights so that we saw nothing else but that magic and each other.

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“Good luck,” Gertrude said, fading into the light.

“You can’t leave us,” I said, a sudden anxiety taking over me at the sight of her going.

“I have no choice,” she replied, hand up in farewell. “I am the last of the spell—the final piece of the key.”

“Thank you,” I managed, watching as the last of her faded.

When she was gone, the light burst outward, causing us to shield our faces. Sensing that it was over, I looked, and then stared around us in amazement. What I saw wasn’t that rocky area beneath the Virginia soil, but a land of green waters receding from its borders, a bridge of light connecting it to a land far off. Avalon was reconnecting with our world.

More than the awe I felt at seeing this, though, was the immense power I sensed at my fingertips. Maybe it wouldn’t all be mine, or fully accessible, but it was there, and eventually I could learn how to harness it. The breeze from Avalon touched my cheek, warm and comforting. It pulled me into this land of magic and made me never want to leave.

And, there was something there. A figure, rising from a point in the distance, that turned to face us, smiling. I recognized her from my dreams—Rianne.

“The magic has been restored,” she said, voice carrying as if she were right next to us. “But the war has just begun.”

“I understand,” I said, nodding in a deferential bow. “We will do what is needed.”

“I have no doubts.”

Laughter sounded, distant but all too familiar. I turned to Ebrill, who was clearly aware of it as well.

“Fatiha,” Kordelia said, confirming my thought. She turned to Rianne. “And the others? Aerona?”

“Aerona will join you, shortly,” Rianne replied. “But I must stay here. The others are gone.”

“As in…?” I asked, horrified.

“Not dead. But… gone. As Gertrude managed to find Ebrill and Kordelia,” she paused to smile at each, “some of the others have been discovered. You may find them, wake them, and bring them to your side. However…”

“Irla?” Ebrill asked. “We are aware of her betrayal, and she has been dealt with.”

Rianne took the news with a mixture of relief and sorrow, nodding. “She may not be the only one you find that darkness has corrupted. Be careful out there. For now, go back to your business. I will be here, accessible, helping you along your journey.”

“Thank you,” I said as the light faded and we were pulled back to our underground room.

At first, I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me, but then I realized it was simply them adjusting to the darkness. And it wasn’t simply the darkness of the room, but dark, swirling shadows moving around Fatiha as she moved her hands, chanting.

“She wanted us to have the tree,” Steph said, voice full of awe. “Giving us our power, in exchange for hers.”

It made sense, in a twisted way. If she believed she could work to get the Nine Ladies back, to have the power to take us down even if we had access to Avalon, her move could work. Let us have our power, in exchange for hers.

Or maybe she was so twisted that she didn’t care what happened to the world, as long as she got hers.

Her dark eyes rose to mine, her cackling laughter echoing all around as she held up a hand, eyeing me as if about to cast a spell.

My hands rose, too, suddenly shaking at the amount of power I felt in them. So much power, ready to be cast upon her. Those dark eyes moved to my hands, her laughter and even her smile fading.

“Not today, then,” she said, and then waved her hands in a circle around herself so that the shadows swept up in a spiral that engulfed her, and then she was gone.

Teleported, I supposed.

A moment later, a flash of light appeared through the roof and then stone and earth crashed down, followed by a solid figure that landed with a thud, wings tucked back behind her head, ready for a fight. I instantly recognized her as Aerona.

She stood, looking exhausted but ready for a fight.

No words. The three gargoyles embraced, holding each other for a long beat, and then they charged back the way we came.

“That’s… Aerona?” Steph asked.

“Yup.”

“Not very talkative, I guess.” Steph frowned. “Like, where’s the ‘it’s been so long, how’re you doing?’ or any of that? Doesn’t even need a battle briefing. Shows up and just charges out?”

“I think maybe she shares a mental connection with one or both of the other two? I’m not sure, but—”

Shisa let out a whimper, interrupting us.

“How about instead of talking, you two hurry your asses!” Kordelia shouted back. “We have to get out of here by sunrise!”

Damn, she was right. And judging by the flashing red and blue I saw through the hole Aerona made when she arrived, there was a situation above that would be better avoided. So, we ran, Shisa taking the lead while my mind attempted to come to grips with the idea that my aunt was actually gone, and that our team hadn’t only grown by one more, but that we were going to keep growing.

We had a team to find, Fatiha and the Nine—or some of the Nine, anyway—to hunt down, and an army of evil to stop.

I couldn’t wait.