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WARM HANDS MASSAGE my back, leg, and arm, as voices whisper words of love and encouragement. My eyes open and then shut a few times before I can finally open them to look around. I’m laying on the floor of the dining room, half on my side. Orrin is rubbing my back, Puck my arm, and Warren my leg. I smile at them and slowly sit up.
“What happened?” I ask them, my voice hoarse. Puck quickly gets up and finds a cup of juice left on the table from breakfast. I greedily drink the warm liquid, soothing my sore throat.
“Other than that you were totally hot with that air magic, and kicked Loretta’s ass?” Orrin asks.
“Yeah, besides that.” I smile at him. “What was up with that weird speech?”
Warren cleared his throat, “I don’t know, but when you hit an S, you hissed it out. After you finished speaking, Loretta screamed, and she suddenly started to age drastically, as if time sped up. You can see what is left of her.” He pointed to a pile of clothes and dusty dirt and bone shards.
“Oh! I guess we don’t need to worry about her now.” I sat quietly, taking everything in and then jumped up. “We have to go save Lithius!”
“Who is Lithius? Orrin asked.
“Lithius was my warden, but he also helped me realize how to love myself and how to escape Loretta. He’s also one of her prisoners. I don’t know the full story, but she saved him from something and by saving him, imprisoned him in the water tunnels under the castle.”
“If he was responsible for keeping you captive, why would we want to help him escape?” Orrin frowned at her.
“Orrin, part of love is helping others just because it’s the right thing to do.” I go up to him and take his hands in mine. “Love is not just the romantic kind, there is the familial love- what you would hopefully feel towards Puck and Warren. But then there is also agape love. Sacrificial love that you would help your fellow man just because it’s the right thing to do.”
He nods and looks at the other guys, they all nod at him, and he sighs. “All right. This idea of loving someone without a return benefit is new to me, being part of a family is new. I will trust you three to teach me. Let’s go save your Lithius.” He pauses. “Wait, you never said what Lithius is.”
I smile, “I didn’t, did I?” I turn and lead them down the stairs to the dark tunnels below.
“Lithius,” I call. “It’s safe to come out. You’re free now.”
Lithius’ head pops up out of the water, and I hear a gasp behind me. “I know I am, little fairy. I wass the one who gave you the ssspell to break her magic. Now that her magic iss gone, the doorway to thesse tunnelsss iss open, and I can leave.”
“What do you mean you gave me the spell?” I ask. “Who, or should I ask what, are you?”
“Come, little fairiess. Ride on my back, and I will take you out of here and sshow you who I am.” He moves over to the edge of the platform that we stand on, and it seems as though he has tripled the width of his body, making it easy for us to sit on him.
I look at each of the guys and can see them struggling with the decision. I decide for them and step out, swinging my leg over his back. Orrin, Puck, and Warren follow my example. Once we are all settled, Lithius starts to slither through the water. As he carries us he tells us his story.
Once long ago, while you were just a sspeckle of moon dusst, I wass an arrogant ssea dragon. No one could tell me what to do, or how to do it. I was the sstrongesst and besst at everything I tried. In the air I was virtually invinccible, and in the water I was nearly asss sstrong. Over time, I became carelesss, ussed to defeating anything that came after me.
Three young magess came at me. Normally, they would have been no challenge at all, except they had a magic I had never sseen. They ussed air againsst me. I couldn’t ssee where it came from, what they were doing, until it hit me, added I wass in the water and not at my sstrongesst.
They had me tied into a knot, gassping for air asss they were drowning me. It wass then that sshe came upon me. Misstresss floated through the air, and in minutess, sshe had the three mages tied up in air, each finger bound to the next.
Sshe told me that her bindingss would only hold them for a sshort time, but sshe could hide me from them until they losst interesst. I agreed to go with her. Loretta led me to thesse cavess and locked me in. I have been captive ever ssince, weakening every year that I am not able to fly.”
“I don’t understand. If you were so powerful, how did she capture you?” Warren asks.
“I wass weak from the magess’ attack. Had I been able to fly, I would have recovered, but sshe quickly led me through the water to thesse tunnelss. Oncce sshe had me here, sshe locked the door, binding it with her air magic.
“Asss the door clanked sshut, sshe ssaid ‘The mighty Lithiuss, blinded by hiss own conceit and too sstupid to ssee through a frail female fairy.’
“Sshe took the ssky away, and kept me in the water. I have lived like thiss for one hundred yearss. You ssee, my power comess from the ssky.
“When you came, I ssenssed a change. I didn’t know what, but knew it wass coming. The way you would sstand up to Loretta, even though I could feel you sshaking in fear. Then, oncce I talked to you about love, and you realized how to love yoursself and your matess, I felt Lorett’ss power weaken. It further weakened when each of your men refussed her. I wass then able to sspeak through you and bind her.”
By now, we had reached the door to the tunnels. With a shove of his head, Lithius pushed it open, and we were out in the ocean. He held his head high, looking into the sun and sighed. “I will take you to the edge of the Brownies’ land. Then, I must take to the skies and regain my strength.”
I squeeze Lithius’ neck. “Thank you for everything.” It’s not long before we are to the river that separates the Selkie lands and Brownie lands at the ocean.
“Here you are, little fairiess. Remember that love will alwayss win.” We climb off his back and then watch as he swims out to the deep. He disappears for a moment and then springs from the water, jumping high in the air. Mid-jump, the air around him shimmers, and he changes into a long white and gold sinuous dragon. He has small arms with claws towards the front of his still serpentine body, and stronger reptilian-like legs in the back. Around his snout and up over his ears, a flowing mane of gold, silver, and white stream behind him in the wind. Just behind his arms, gossamer gold wings spring from his a back. He is magnificent.
“I thought they were a myth.” Warren says, awe filling his voice.
“No, not a myth.” I say, watching as my captor and savior cavorts in the sky.