Colonel Gallway beamed, happy for his daughter as well.

  “I guess that’s all settled, then,” he said. “And now it’s time to go. The Marines will go first, just in case.” He turned to Kai. “It’d probably be good if you and Raj came next—again, just in case.”

  Kai nodded. “We will.”

  Colonel Gallway stepped into the portal, followed quickly by Sergeant Moss and then Jordy. Kai and Raj followed close behind. Radar and Doc went next, eager to join their boyfriends on the other side.

  Leah wanted to join Kai, too, but she wasn’t quite ready to leave yet. As the rest of the Miracles stepped into the portal one by one, Leah crossed to Leesa and wrapped her up in a big hug.

  “I’m going to miss you,” she said.

  Leesa returned her friend’s embrace. “Me, too.”

  Leah let go and stepped back. “I guess it’s time to go. Good-bye. And good luck.” She turned to Rave and then to Ariandre, bidding them both good-bye as well. With a final smile and a wave, she walked into the portal and disappeared from sight.

  Ariandre waved her hand once more, and the portal vanished. She looked back to Leesa and Rave.

  “Well, I guess it’s time to see what we can do about you two.”

  “Do you really think you can send us back?” Leesa asked.

  “I hope so. I may need a little help, though.” Ariandre motioned with her arm to the mass of faeries behind her. “Gather round, my friends. Surround us, please.”

  The faeries flitted quickly into a thick circle with Ariandre, Leesa and Rave in the center. Fiona landed on Rave’s shoulder.

  Ariandre smiled. “Are you thinking of going back with them, Fiona?”

  Fiona’s glow flashed brighter as she laughed. “If Rave was single, I definitely might. I don’t think I can compete with Leesa, though. She’s much more his size, and her magic is stronger than mine, besides.”

  “Hey, I understood that,” Leesa said, surprised. “How come?”

  “With my powers restored to full strength,” Ariandre explained, “the translation spell was extended.”

  “Cool,” Leesa said. She held out her hand, palm up, toward Fiona. The faerie flew over and landed lightly upon it.

  “It’s nice to be able to talk to you for real,” Leesa said.

  “I hope you didn’t mind all my flirting with Rave,” Fiona said. “It was all in good fun.”

  “Not at all,” Leesa replied. “Especially since you know that if it ever came to a contest between us, I’d turn you into faerie dust.” She grinned to make sure Fiona knew she was only joking.

  Fiona laughed, and the flashing glows of her fellow faeries showed they were enjoying the joke as well. When the laughter subsided, Fiona flitted away to join the other faeries.

  “I owe you two a great debt,” Ariandre said, “one I’m not sure I can ever fully repay.”

  “Just getting us home will be repayment enough, thank you,” Leesa assured her.

  “Not in my heart it isn’t. After all, I’m partially responsible for you being here in the first place. Without my calls for help, your son’s magic would never have sent you here.” Ariandre removed the starburst pendant from around her neck and slipped the silver chain over Leesa’s head. “Should you ever have need of my aid, simply wrap your hand around the pendant and call my name. I’ll come to you straightaway if I am able.” She grinned. “Who knows, if the need is great enough, I might even summon the Miracles.”

  Leesa smiled as she looked down at the beautiful pendant. “Thank you for this. I’ll treasure it always. I hope I never have to use it, though—not for that reason, anyhow. Maybe just for a quick visit.”

  Ariandre nodded, then pranced back a few steps. “Now let’s see about sending you two home. Faeries, are you ready?”

  Every light in the circle of glowing red spheres winked once.

  “When I begin,” Ariandre instructed the faeries, “pour your magic into mine.” She turned back to Leesa and Rave. “I want you two to close your eyes and picture the scene you left as clearly as you can. Do not open your eyes until you see a green flash behind your eyelids.”

  Holding hands, Leesa and Rave closed their eyes. Both pictured their backyard in their minds, watching with Dominic as a bright green cloud of magical energy floated from Ralin’s open mouth.

  Ariandre raised her arms toward Leesa and Rave. Beams of pure white light shot from her palms, enveloping the couple in a glowing white halo. The faeries sent their magic as well, turning the halo pink.

  Ariandre let the magic bathe Leesa and Rave for ten or fifteen seconds, then moved her hands in an intricate pattern in front of her. The pink aura flashed bright green. When the flash ended, Leesa and Rave were gone.

  The black in front of Leesa’s eyelids suddenly turned bright green. She opened her eyes and saw Ralin and Dominic standing in front of her, watching curiously. Rave stood beside her, still holding her hand. There was no sign of green energy anywhere.

  She rushed forward and scooped Ralin up into her arms, hugging him tightly.

  “Well, this is a relief,” Dominic said. “I was beginning to get worried.”

  Leesa looked at the wizard in surprise. “Only BEGINNING to get worried?” she asked, puzzled by his seeming lack of concern.

  “Well, you were only gone for a few minutes. There really wasn’t much time to work up a real good worry.”

  “A few minutes?” Leesa asked in disbelief. “That’s not possible.”

  “Possible or not,” Dominic replied, “I assure you that it’s true.”

  Leesa didn’t know what to make of Dominic’s words. Was it possible she had simply been dreaming? She looked at Rave, who appeared as puzzled as she felt. She didn’t know if he was confused by Dominic’s reaction or by hers.

  She lowered Ralin to the ground. He scampered away to his swing and quickly hauled himself up the rope into the tree. He didn’t seem all that troubled by her absence, either.

  She turned back to Rave. “It all happened, didn’t it? Ariandre, Fiona, the Miracles? I didn’t imagine it, right?”

  Rave nodded. “If it didn’t happen, then you and I shared the same hallucination.”

  “What happened?” Dominic asked. “What hallucination? I promise you, you were only gone for a few minutes.”

  Leesa still wasn’t sure what to think. Could Ralin’s magic have somehow produced the same fantasy in her head and in Rave’s? After all, they had no idea of the things Ralin’s wild magic could do. Perhaps it all had merely been inside their heads. Maybe it was somehow related to the dream power. Maybe…

  “Where did you get that?” Dominic asked, interrupting Leesa’s thoughts. He was staring at her chest. “I don’t remember seeing that before.”

  Leesa glanced down. Ariandre’s starburst pendant glistened just above her breasts—all the proof she needed that everything had actually happened. She fingered the jewelry gently, making sure it was real. The gems felt warm to her touch. Whether time simply passed differently in Ariandre’s world or whether Ralin’s magic was the cause of the time distortion did not matter. To Dominic and Ralin, only a few seconds had passed, while she and Rave had spent days away. She was thankful Dominic and Ralin had been spared all that worry.

  She looked back up at Dominic. “It’s long story,” she said, smiling.

  As she remembered Ariandre’s promise, Leesa wondered whether the story was truly ended—but that was a worry for another day….

  THE END

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Scott Prussing was born in New Jersey, but was smart enough to move to beautiful San Diego as soon as he received his Master's degree in psychology from Yale University. In addition to the eight Blue Fire Saga books, Scott also wrote Blue Fire Heat, an erotic companion piece to the Blue Fire Saga, and Blue Fire Beginnings, a collection of short stories recounting the origins of some favorite Blue Fire characters. He is also the author of the mystery/suspense novels Unturned Stones and Tangled Webs, the post-apocalyptic dystopian fantasy Anomaly, the fantasy/adventure novel Dreams of the Last Born, and the teen romance Mine: A Love Story. For those who like their reading a bit steamier, Scott recently completed two XXX-rated erotica novels, Seduction and Surrender.

  Besides writing, Scott enjoys riding his bicycle near the beach, going to the movies, reading books of all sorts, hiking, and golf. He remains one of the few people in the United States without a cell phone.

  Scott enjoys interacting with his fans and has placed many of them in his books as characters. Follow Scott on Facebook and Twitter:

  http://www.facebook.com/scottprussingauthor

  https://twitter.com/BreathlessBook

 

 

  Scott Prussing, Timeless

 

 

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