One wall of the small room was lined with a dark mahogany wood shelving unit filled with drawers of various sizes. It resembled an old pharmacist apothecary organizational unit. Evan sucked in a breath realizing the magnitude of the task of finding an unknown talisman that was a mystery to him. His mind raced with terror as he scanned the shelves and felt overwhelmed by his options. There had to be hundreds of small wooden boxes, none of them were labeled with a name. The surface of the drawers was smooth with a small symbol was carved on the outside, a symbol that meant nothing to Evan. He didn't know where to start or what to do.

He felt pressure in the base of his throat and couldn't swallow easily. He tried to take a deep breath to calm himself but it didn't work. It was the start of a panic attack. He recognized the signs because he'd had one before and felt alarm at the thought of losing control. He had to focus and find the talisman; it was his only option, he drilled the command into his brain. Sasha was depending on him.

Repeating the mantra was helpful and he focused on the boxes and how to organize his search. There were ten rows and twenty columns, around two hundred boxes. He could do this; he told himself and felt the suppression of his fear as he formulated a strategy. He would not let Sasha down. This was his only job. Do it. Do it.

Evan opened the first box and frowned when he saw dirty fingernails. The clippings weren't dainty and Evan had held Sasha's hands, the skin smooth and unblemished. These were not hers. The curse had been active for at least a few months and he was certain she'd never let her personal hygiene get this bad.

The next box had a locket of blond hair, clearly not Sasha's. For a minute Evan hesitated when he wondered if Sasha had blond hair as a baby. It seemed possible as he'd had blond hair and now his locks were more light brown than blond.

Evan shook away the panic that started to build again in the base of his throat. He couldn't second guess himself. Do it. He put the blond hair to the side to deal with later.

Gus said the talisman had to be biological, hair, an organ. Evan didn't want to think how the queen would get her hands on an organ and since Sasha had never had an operation, he was sure that wouldn't be her talisman.

Evan pulled open another box and found an orange cl.u.s.ter of hair. He paused and a.n.a.lyzed the symbol on the front of the box. It had a circle with an arrow much like the universal sign for a male except there was a second arrow piercing the center of the circle. What did it mean? Evan threw the box and the hair to the ground in frustration. The box bounced twice and splintered into dozens of wood fragments.

Evan sighed deeply and pulled open another box. He gasped and dropped the box when he realized it held a sausage-like severed finger. The digit was hairy and brutal and since Sasha wasn't missing any of her digits so he knew it wasn't hers.

Pressure was building in his head and he pressed his hands against his temple trying to force down his anxiety that threatened to take over and make him useless. He closed his eyes and willed the next box to be the one the needed. He pulled it slowly out of its fitting and pried open his eyes to look inside. It contained a locket of light brown hair delicately wrapped with a pink ribbon with a charm of a crown hanging from the silky material. It looked regal as if it was especially preserved and not a discarded piece of biological material like some of the other items he'd found.

Evan gripped the drawer until his knuckles turned white with the realization in his gut that this was Sasha's hair from when she was an infant. It had to be. Unlike the other boxes, the interior of this one was lined with dark purple velvet fabric and the symbol on the front was a crown and circle and cross, the universal sign for a female.

He wanted confirmation from Sasha if this could be her hair but when he glanced over his shoulder he saw she talking to Cady. He didn't want to disturb them knowing how upset Sasha had been at Cady's disappearance. It had crushed her and he didn't want to interrupt the reunion.

He was surprised to see Sasha's friend here but was too busy to ask questions and find out how she'd gotten into the tomb. He was surprised, although not really surprised if that made sense. Her disappearance seemed connected to the attacks on Sasha especially after the video showed the same men who came into the cafe were the ones who s.n.a.t.c.hed Cady. Why they took Cady was a mystery although he suspected it was another way to unnerve Sasha and set her off balance.

Evan took the oil lantern off the wall and held the bunch of hair over the flames. It ignited like it was dry kindling and a strange purple smoke rose from the burning bundle. Evan dropped the talisman when it burnt the tips of his fingers and watched the mysterious purple smoke rise into the air and vanish when it reached the ceiling.

He blew on his fingers and returned his attention to talisman as it incinerated. The flames got smaller and smaller until there were just embers. Evan wanted to grind out the ashes but waited until they turned black and had lost all of their warmth. He was confident the curse was shattered when the purple smoke rose into the air. He felt the color of the smoke was somehow significant and connected to the color of the velvet lining in the small wood drawer. There was no air writing of Sasha's name or some screechy voice declaring the curse against Sasha broken, but he felt in his muscles a certainty that the curse was annihilated.

Evan felt a touch of disappointment that something so profound was destroyed so easily and with so little fanfare. Where were the trumpets, the screams of protests, the alarms alerting the queen to the curse being broken? Was that it?

Not wanting to be too overconfident, Evan decided to hedge his bets and destroy everything in the room just in case he miscalculated. If all the talismans were destroyed, then theoretically he was breaking all the curses the queen had set on the people trapped in these boxes.

Evan pulled a drawer from the unit and was aghast to see a b.l.o.o.d.y cloth covering something organic that stank of rot. He dumped it on the ground next to the other clumps of hair, some with white bits of scalp still attached to the roots, the fingernails and digits he'd located. It was as if the queen had cursed people after torturing them and took body parts as mementos. She was one sick monarchy.

He methodically pulled out all two hundred boxes and dumped the contents in a pile on the ground, tossing the empty boxes in a corner. Most of the contents were hair, fingers, toes or ears. He would occasionally find a b.l.o.o.d.y lump wrapped in rags and didn't get closer to inspect the contents. He had no curiosity as to what lay under the wrappings and just wished everything was gone, especially the body parts that reeked.

The pile wasn't that big because most of the items were small. With dread he realized the queen could do a lot of evil with the most insignificant item. While making the mound of horrors, Evan realized his mistake in throwing the drawers away. He didn't want the queen to know the curse had been broken so he scrambled to pick up the discarded boxes and put them back in any slot that fit. It was best for Sasha's safety that the queen remained ignorant of the spell damage he'd caused.

Once he'd emptied the boxes, he picked up the oil lantern. He blew out the light and poured the hot oil over the talismans. He took a pack of matches from his pocket and struck a match. It flared bright in the dark room. He lit the oil lamp wick and then dropped the match on the pile of talismans.

There was a small glow and then the whoosh of a fireball as all the talismans went up in flames. Each talisman leaked a colorful puff of smoke although none were purple like Sasha's. There was white, grey, green, yellow and blue. The smoke mixed together but the colors didn't change like they would have if they were paint. The yellow twirled around the grey but stayed yellow. The blue and green mingled together as they floated to the ceiling but remained the solid colors originally emitted.

Mesmerized Evan lost himself in the smoke, some of it swirling around his head. He felt like he was in a cloud and waved the air to get it out of his face. He was proud of his clever plan to sabotage the queen. It wasn't what he'd intended to do but now a lot of curses would fail, not just Sasha's.

He glanced over his shoulder to tell her what he'd done and froze when he saw her p.r.o.ne body on the ground. Evan darted over to Sasha's crumpled body on the stone floor. He crashed to the ground, knocking the air of out of his lungs as he gripped her upper arms and pulled her limp body into a hug. He shook her gently growing, his heart beating double time, when she didn't respond. His heart raced so fast he felt it in his throat and found it hard to swallow.

"Wake up," he murmured. "I did it. I burned the talisman. You're free from the curse."

Sasha was warm but Evan noticed a blue tinge on her lips. Alarmed, he shook her more vigorously.

"Wake up," he yelled. "Don't die on me."

He felt her neck for a pulse and couldn't detect one. He put his head on her chest and when it didn't rise or fall he realized she wasn't breathing. Evan laid her on her back, placed clasped hands on her upper left breast and heaved downward. He pumped vigorously and counted aloud.

"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight," he chanted as he did chest compressions. "C'mon I know I wasn't too late."

He shifted his weight so that he was directly overtop and pumped harder.

"Nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty."

He tilted her head back, plugged her nose, blew air into her mouth and then continued with chest compressions. "Sasha I did this all for you. Now wake up dammit."

He continued to perform CPR although Sasha didn't wake up.

"Twenty one, twenty two, twenty three, twenty four, twenty five, twenty six, twenty seven, twenty eight, twenty nine, thirty," Evan stopped. He tilted back Sasha's head, pulled open her mouth and plugged her nose. He breathed into her slightly less blue lips. He gave her two breaths and then went back to pumping her heart.

"Thirty one, thirty two, thirty three, thirty four," Evan quit counting out loud but continued pushing down on her heart to get it started.

After five minutes, Evan checked for signs of recovery and saw none. "Nooooooooooo," he screamed as he collapsed over her body, tears streaming down his face. He listened for a breath, heard none. He put his hand over her heart and felt no movement. He couldn't believe she was dead.

He gathered her in his arms. He tenderly traced the curve of her cheek and gently brushed hair behind her ear. She was so beautiful. He'd never kiss those rosy lips again. He wouldn't see her bright brown eyes twinkle with mischief. He'd never feel the warmth of her smile.

Tears ran down his face like a stream. One forearm wiped away the mess as he clutched Sasha to him, afraid to let go.

This was why he didn't want to get close to her or anyone. Never getting to know her would have hurt less than losing her after knowing how special she was. Everyone left him. He was always alone.

Evan heard a caustic laugh behind him. He didn't turn around because he knew who it was. The queen walked in front of him. She gloated at the very act that was causing him so much grief. Evan vowed he wouldn't talk to her but couldn't resist.

"Only an evil toad would be happy with her granddaughter's death," he said hoping it was insulting. "Only a soulless woman would kill her granddaughter."

Vania stopped laughing, but had a smirk on her lips.

"I don't take pleasure in Sasha's death," she said. "I actually liked the girl. She had s.p.u.n.k. It's her mother's pain that I'm after."

Vania turned, her long skirts flowed behind her like a red puddle.

"It's a long story-." Evan cut her off.

"That I don't want to hear because I'm going to kill you for what you did to Sasha," he said charging the queen. Before he could get near her she put up a hand and a blue ball of energy grew in her palm. She launched it at Evan and the energy formed a barrier around him. He was stopped in his tracks and locked in a blue energy cage. Evan couldn't move, turn or sit.

"I'm going to finish my story and then you'll go home and tell Willow what happened," the queen said. "It wasn't just that Willow left me alone. Abandoned our plans for building our empire. She worked against me.

"She went off and led a band of thieves and robbed all of the prominent households in the realm. It wasn't just that she defied me," the queen said stroking her neck. "She humiliated me and that I could not tolerate."

The queen walked to the curtained area in the corner.

"I will let you leave this realm unharmed so that you can report to Willow. I warn you do not return because you are not welcome."

When the queen left the room, the energy cage dissipated although a few twinkles of blue energy cells clung to his hand. Evan fell to his knees and clutched the energy cells in the palm of his hand. He felt like a failure. He'd come so far only to lose in the end.

Sasha appeared peaceful but Evan decided not to give up. Sasha wouldn't give up on him. He looked at his hands and stared at the few blue sparks clinging to him from the energy cage the queen had created and an idea formulated in his mind.

He leaned over her body and slammed a fist against her chest bone, pushing the blue sparks forcefully into Sasha's chest. He did this again and again until the sparks were gone and began compressions again. He hoped he'd jolted her heart into waking with the help of magic.

He continued chest compressions until Sasha's face flushed with color and she took a deep breath and started coughing. She turned on her side and retched.

Overjoyed Evan fell back and cried in earnest, tears streamed down his face in a vast waterfall. He didn't care if Sasha saw him crying, he was so relieved that she was alive.

He gathered her into his arms and squeezed her tightly. She was alive. She was alive. He let out a huge sigh and let her go slumping against the wall, exhausted from the physical effort and emotional drain of thinking he'd lost her. His eyes drooped and he felt like curling up in a ball and going to sleep.

"Evan, I'm ok," she sputtered.

"Only after you died," he sighed.

"I did?"

"Don't do it again. I don't think I could handle it again."

Sasha sat up gingerly and crawled to where he was sitting, curled up under his arm and hugged his chest. "Did it hurt losing me?"

"Like I lost a piece of my heart," he said thickly.

"I'm here now," she whispered. "I'm not going anywhere."

Evan kissed her forehead and pulled her to him tightly. He didn't have energy for anything more.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR.

Sasha knocked on Glenbury's front door not sure what she'd find in the shack. The queen might have destroyed the portal and Glenbury with it.

She let out a sigh of relief when the wrinkled old man opened the door. He seemed surprised to see them. That worried Sasha.

"Thought we'd be dead?" she said pushing into his hovel. The floor was still dirt. There were big cracks in the walls exposing the inside to the outdoors that she hadn't noticed before.

"Did something happen here?" she said moving around. The rocking chair was overturned and a lit candle was on its side. Evan followed her into the house quietly closing the door.

Glenbury ran around the room looking fl.u.s.tered.

"My child it's not safe," he said righting the lit candle. "The queen is coming."

Sasha glanced at Evan. He frowned but didn't say anything. She sighed and reached out to the boy who had saved her life. She clutched his hand afraid to let go. Was she ever going to get away from that wretched woman?

Now that the curse was broken, she guessed the queen would have to kill her the old fashioned way. At home that would be a gun. Here she a.s.sumed the queen would have to resort to a knife or maybe get one of her lackeys to shoot her.

Now that the spell has been disarmed Sasha could use magic to save herself. She worried she might become overwhelmed if the militia men shot at her from multiple directions. She could put up a shield she supposed. She was theorizing when Glenbury broke through her thoughts.

"We must hurry," he said struggling to push furniture into the same triangle shape that Dominic used. Evan dropped her hand and stepped forward to help the old man. Glenbury was panting from exertion. Sasha reached out and touched his arm.

"Shouldn't we do this outside?" she asked.

Glenbury shook his head. "We can't risk it. The queen isn't coming to kill you. She knows you are alive. She thinks you tricked her."

"How do you know?" she said.

"Don't ask stupid questions girl," Glenbury barked. "Just help me."

Sasha scrambled around the room aiding Glenbury in setting up the triangle and the candles.

"Will Queen Vania find out you helped us?" Sasha said.

"Maybe," he replied without elaborating.

"Queen Vania will be angry. Maybe she'll hurt you."

"Maybe," he said simply.

When it seemed Glenbury was ready, Sasha stepped into the void between the chairs tugging Evan with her. Glenbury sprinkled the stinky ashes around the perimeter. When he pa.s.sed in front of Sasha she reached out and touched the rough sleeve of his burlap shirt.

"Thank you," she said in such a small voice it sounded like a whisper. She clutched the inscribed stone in her left hand as Dominic had instructed. She slipped her free hand into Evan's. She needed his strength. She wondered if she'd ever to get to a point where she wouldn't.

Glenbury nodded curtly. Sasha heard horse hooves on the road. She felt panic tingling in her stomach and hoped Glenbury could get the spell done in time.

Glenbury walked around them mumbling the spell and Sasha caressed the stone thinking of her time and place. She closed her eyes and concentrated. Dominic's yard and stones. Images of the ceremony Dominic used to send them to Tysseland flashed.

Sasha could hear yelling outside the shack. She feared it was too late and they would have to stay in Tysseland forever. She turned to Evan one last time. What if they got lost in the portal? She had to tell him how she felt but she didn't know what to say.

"I don't want to lose you," she said softly gazing into the bright blue pools of his eyes. "You mean too much to me. I just want you to know," words stuck in her throat. The air in the shack swirled with dust and the candle's flame grew to a ridiculous height.

The front door of the shack blew open and crashed against the wall. Glenbury stumbled but didn't fall.

Evan squeezed her hand and she stared into his eyes br.i.m.m.i.n.g with tears. He raised her hand to his mouth and kissed her palm softly like the touch of a feather.

"I'm your--," he said and she couldn't hear the rest They were sucked into the portal just as Queen Vania stepped into the shack a blue energy ball in her hand. She threw it at them but it harmlessly hit the wall behind them because they were already gone.

Dominic was sitting on a lawn chair peeling an orange when Sasha stumbled out of the portal. She fell to her knees feeling nauseous. She was exhausted. She bent her head into her lap and covered her face with her hands. She should probably shed tears of joy but she was too tired.

Evan fell into the gra.s.s beside her. He lay on his side, eyes closed.