“Rose! Do you see it? It’s around here somewhere. You’ve gotta help me find it.”

I poked the air forcefully with my fingertips. I was searching for a glimmer, streak, or anything else out of the ordinary that didn’t seem to quite fit in. I knew it was somewhere behind the produce shop. It had to be.

“Slow down, Amarilla. You’ll never find it that way. You have to try and feel it first; then you’ll see it. You already know it’s here. So, just feel it.”

I huffed in frustration. I didn’t have much patience for this, but I tried to slow my brain down to feel it.

My left hand began to tingle and then started buzzing. I moved in that direction slowly, one foot in front of the other. And then my whole body was buzzing. I could see it. I caught the subtle, but unmistakable, shift in the lighting.

Sparrow cocked her head to the side, studying me. I tried to see what she saw. I noticed my hair floating around my head, sparkling and shimmering, as if golden dust had been sprinkled over me. I gave her a look to stand beside me, and Rose flew back to her perch on my ear. I closed my eyes and walked through.

The bright sunshine nearly blinded me as I stepped through the portal and onto the edge of a walking street. A small red horseless carriage whizzed past me, nearly knocking me back. I grabbed the pole beside me and tried to orient myself.

A sign in the middle of the street read Peachtree Street and another said Marietta Street. Across the way was a field beginning to fill with people. A large red circle with the words Coca-Cola flashed at me. The time above it read 8:22. We’d jumped both place and time.

Somehow, we’d gone from the small magical town with brightly colored buildings and the Enchanted Inn to a large city with tall buildings and carriages that had magically packed in the power of what felt like a half dozen horses. I stood frozen on the corner with Sparrow and Rose.

A man with hard shoes and a rope around his neck dashed across the street, narrowly missing a carriage that blew a horn at him. A big flashing hand beeped from across the street as the carriages continued to race in front of us. I was trapped on a small triangular concrete island.

I took the small collar Lincoln had gifted me with the day before and placed it around Sparrow’s neck. I didn’t want to lose her in this crazy place - not that she’d willingly leave my side. I could hear Rose whispering again that I needed to move. She was right. We couldn’t stay in the deathtrap we’d jumped into.

Like the portal, I would have to feel my way to him, and I was already sensing something strong pulling at me.

The blinking hand transformed to a white figure and I watched a group of humans start to walk across the street. The carriages had stopped moving in the direction they had been going. They weren’t blocking me from going the way I felt the need to go. I put one toe down in the marked lines and looked to see if a carriage might start moving. It was clear. I held Sparrow’s collar and dashed across the street, surviving.

I let out the breath I’d been holding as soon as we made it to the other sidewalk. I could feel it again. It was pulling me and I followed that feeling across another small street towards the open field.

“Be careful, Amarilla. If you find him, know he is strong. His magic is dark and we know what he is capable of,” Rose squeaked in my ear.

“So am I, Rose. I carry his blood and my mother’s.”

My feet stopped on the grey of the sidewalk, along the low wall separating me and the park. I couldn’t see his face, but it was him. He was across the field and in that moment he was also watching me. Waiting for me, expectantly. He stood motionless like a mime waiting for an audience. I reached in my bag and brought the dagger to the top. My fingers wrapped around the handle as I began a calculated but slow walk towards him.

_______

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