1.31 Silver Linings

L Faba opened the door into Morgyn’s room. Under normal circumstances, she would never come anywhere near here, but seeing as Morgyn was off motes know where, gallivanting with their little vampire pet project, or according to them, ‘handling the situation,’ it was perfectly fine for her to do so.

Dandelion was sat on the bed, not taking his eyes off of the girl. The sight alone filled L Faba with rage, but she managed to contain it. At least he would shut up about needing to save her now. Silver linings.

“Dandy, it’s time for you to go home,” she said as softly as she could manage.

He looked up at her, as if he hadn’t realised she’d entered the room up till now. “What? No, why would I do that? Cordie-“

“Is safe and sound.” L Faba finished his sentence. “So you can head home. There’s nothing you can do for her now anyway, she just needs rest.” She forced herself to add. Like she cared what Cordelia needed.

“Yeah but, if she wakes up and there’s no one here, she’ll be scared, after everything she’s been through…” Dandelion objected.

Curse the sprout’s kind heart, L Faba groaned inwardly.

“Look, Dandy, I’m not sure if we’re quite done with this mess Morgyn got us into.” She got serious. “If one vampire knows how to get to the magic realm, what’s to say more of them don’t? And if they do come here, I can’t imagine they’ll be thanking you or me for our visit. So I don’t want you anywhere near here if they do know how to find us.”

“But-“

“No buts. Sylvan Glade is the safest place you can be right now.” She re-affirmed in what she hoped was a soothing yet authoritative tone. “Only the pure of heart can see the tree passage, remember?”

“I can’t just leave her here!” Dandelion protested.

“You can, and you will!” L Faba lost her patience. “Enough about her! Think about yourself for once, and go home!”

“I don’t have to listen to you!” The tone of his voice matched hers. “You can’t tell me what to do!”

“Oh, can I not, now?” She asked icily, no longer yelling. “Do I need to remind you that me telling you what to do and you listening to me is the only reason you’re still alive, little sprout?”

He looked deflated. “Fine. I’ll go.” He said finally. “But you’re not always right, you know? All this talk of darkness in Cordie, saying she’s capable of terrible things… if that were true, and only the pure of heart can come into Sylvan Glade, then how did she get through the tree passage in the first place, back when I first met her?”

L Faba didn’t exactly have a good answer for that. But apparently, Dandelion wasn’t done speaking.

“I’m not sure if I like you anymore, Lulu. You’ve changed.”

His words pierced through her like a thousand knives.

***

“That’s enough!” Morgyn cried out, pushing Micah away. They were surprisingly strong, especially for someone who just lost a fair bit of blood.

The vampire struggled to return to the present moment. He wiped his lips, making a conscious effort to distract himself from the frenzy of bloodlust. Draw his fangs in. But how could he, after everything he’d just seen?

“Those memories…” Micah failed to articulate a full sentence. “Your childhood…”

“My childhood is not worth discussing.” Morgyn cut him short.

But there were so many things Micah wanted to discuss, wanted to know. “What was that pyramid?”

“A place of power.” The sage said curtly. “Walk with me… We don’t have much time till sunrise.”

There wasn’t time for more questions. Micah followed them out through the portal.

“So it would appear you are now covenless, and more pressingly, homeless.” Morgyn summarised as they emerged on the other side, on a woodsy path. The sky was still filled with stars, but Micah could tell the night was dying.

“I would love to extend an invitation for you to join me in the magic realm – it would be an ideal place for you, really, with the lack of sun – but as you may have noticed, the other sages may be a little… reluctant.” The spellcaster smirked. “That being said, I appreciate I have played a role in causing your current predicament.”

This couldn’t be for real. Micah risked everything – lost everything. “Played a role? Are you kidding me?”

“Hush now. I’m being nice.” The sage grinned. “You may not be able to stay in the magic realm, but I won’t leave you hanging. Not to mention, I’d love to have you close by… here we are.”

They stopped, even though the path hadn’t quite ended. Micah wasn’t too sure what they were looking at. There was a withered old tree, covered in all sorts of mushrooms and moss, a fire pit, and some kind of shed. He wasn’t planning on sleeping in a shed, but between that and burning to death, the former was preferable. Although the shack didn’t exactly look like it offered that much protection from the sun either…

“This pathetic little dwelling is Cordelia’s camp.” Morgyn explained. “It is of course completely unsuitable, don’t get me started. I’ve had words with her, but she was adamantly against major refurbishments. Luckily, she’s not here right now.”

What on earth were they talking about? None of what they said made sense to Micah. But things were about to make even less sense.

The vampire stared at what had been empty land just a moment ago and now… was far from empty. The shed was still there, though it looked a lot more dolled up than when they first arrived. More importantly, there was a house standing right next to it.

And somehow, the stream from the river was enveloping the house. Micah noticed the large pipes going out of it. And the sound of water. Seemed the house was water powered.

But how was it even there in the first place?

“What the hell? How did you do that?” He asked Morgyn.

“Practical magic, it pains me to say.” The spellcaster said, like that even began to explain any of it. “It bores me to no limit, but I must admit it has its uses. Well, what do you think of your new home?”

“My new home? Didn’t you say Cordelia lives here?” He tried to make sense of it.

“That she does.” The sage nodded, waiting for Micah to connect the dots.

“You’re suggesting that I live with Cordelia?” He asked incredulously. That had to be the stupidest idea anyone could come up with. “I doubt she’d want me as a roommate – she definitely didn’t enjoy it in the last two days.” He added with a smirk.

Morgyn didn’t seem deterred. “Every trial run comes with hiccups, doesn’t it? At least you’re well acquainted already.”

Micah didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “You can’t be serious…”

“Would you prefer to go hide in a dumpster during the day?” Morgyn frowned. “Or get scorched in the sun?”

“Obviously not.” The vampire sighed.

The spellcaster gave him a victorious smile. “Then don’t frown on my gift. Welcome home.”

Micah was far from convinced, but he could feel his skin starting to react to the sun creeping up on the horizon. Beggars couldn’t be choosers, he thought as he hurried through the front door.

As for Morgyn, it was time for them to finally return home, back to the magic realm.

The insane events of the night had finally caught up with Morgyn, exhaustion washing over them. They felt lightheaded. To be expected after losing blood, of course. Probably not the best state to conjure an elaborate house in, but the spellcaster couldn’t help themselves. Couldn’t have their loves living in a dump.

There was no sign of Dandelion in the room. Damn unreliable elves, Morgyn thought to themselves. But what else could one expect from L Faba’s kind…

It didn’t matter. Finally, Morgyn could crash, and the long night was over and done with.

Cordelia was still asleep. She looked peaceful, Morgyn thought, as they laid their head down beside her. Trust her to sleep through all the commotion she’d caused…

Naturally, it was then she decided to open her eyes.

“Morgyn?” She said sleepily, still in a haze. “What happened? How did… what?”

“Shh.” Morgyn tried to stop her from fully awaking. “I’m drained. I’m sure you are too. Just sleep. We’ll talk later.”

Mercifully, she obliged.