Sell you a Bridge chapter 179

February 16th 2011 The OZ 10:00 AM EDT

We  made it past the longcoats easily enough. Took us a while because we  had to walk serpentine to slip past their ranks, but we didn't run into  any trouble. Once we got to the maze DG took off at a sprint, but the  rest of us kept up easily. She stopped in the middle of a dead forest,  sitting down on a swing hanging from a blackened tree. Without looking  up, she began to swing back and forth.

Glitch  stepped up behind her, looking over her shoulder. "You were right about  the magical waters DG, that's what Fenaqua means in the ancient's  language. Not sure the translation applies anymore though. It was one of  the first places Azkedelia scorched when she came to power." His eyes  roved over the burned out husk of what had once been a beautiful forest,  a sad gleam in his normally cheerful eyes. For a moment, he seemed to  be his old self again, the one we saw in the vision, his heart breaking  as he took in what was left of a place he'd loved.

DG's  voice was rough with emotion as she stared at the husk of the forest.  "This place used to be paradise." Left unspoken was the hurt and  confusion she was feeling. Her sister had done this, and she still  didn't know why. Seeing those memories of them being friends when they  were younger had opened a scar in DG that I don't think she even  realized was there. She wanted her family. Wanted her sister back. I  just wished I knew how to help.

DG's  head snapped up in confusion. She came to her feet. "Do you hear that?"  We didn't, but she hadn't really been asking anyway, she was lost in  the memories, her feet carrying her off into the forest. We tried to  follow but Todo insisted we let her do things on her own. Of course I  didn't actually do that. I let the dog shifter look away and then  replaced myself with a clone while I trailed behind her invisibly.

She  climbed through the trees and rocks almost on autopilot, humming a song  to herself as she went deeper and deeper into the woods. After a few  minutes we came to a cave that...just kind of reeked of evil. There was  rot and corruption baked into the stones there, but it seemed old. I was  pretty sure the thing that had been in here was gone, and based on the  familiarity of the aura I was also pretty sure I knew where it had ended  up. Inside a twelve year old girl who it brainwashed into killing her  own sister.

Staring  up at the design above the cave mouth I was also pretty sure that DG  was figuring that out herself. Her face was twisted in confusion and  fear, and I doubted she was going to enjoy this particular memory. I  resumed my visibility and stepped up next to her. I put a hand on her  shoulder for support as she stepped into the cave. I was pretty sure she  was living the memory in real time, because the fear in her aura was  getting stronger by the second as we stepped in deeper.

I  saw the change in her aura when she learned the truth, and the wail of  sorrow that came out of her mouth as she fell to her knees and started  crying broke my heart. I knelt down and patted her back as she wept,  sobbing onto the dirt floor of the cave. She looked up at me with tear  stained cheeks. "It was my fault. All of it. I was the one who wanted to  come in here to explore, Az wanted to go home, she was afraid, but she  loved me so she came in anyway. When we found that...thing, in the  crevice, she grabbed my hand, she said we would be safe if we were  together."

Her  sobs redoubled, her voice choking with grief as she forced the rest of  it out. "We would have been fine, but I got scared by the witch. I  pulled away and ran. I just left her there, and when I looked back it  had her. She looked so scared there, just a little girl being held by  that monster as it forced itself in through her mouth." She stared up at  me in abject horror. "Every single terrible thing that's happened. The  fall of the OZ, my death, my mother losing her powers. It was me. It was  all because of me."

She  dissolved back into sobs, falling against me, and the others stepped  into the cave. They had clearly decided not to listen to the dog shifter  and had come looking just a bit after we left. DG was just sobbing an  apology into my chest over and over. To me, to her mother, to her  sister, to Cain. I winced, patting her hair as she wailed. "DG you were a  little girl. You got attacked by an ancient witch. From what you said  there wasn't a lock or a door or anything, you just wandered down here."

She  looked up at me. "Being attacked is not your fault. Not being able to  stop an ancient monster as a small girl was not your fault, and coming  down here is not your fault. It lured you down here didn't it? Let me  guess, it called for help? Made itself sound like it was in trouble?  Primordial evil being able to trick small children is not a shock. The  idiots who locked this thing up apparently didn't see fit to bother with  bars. If your ancient super trap for unspeakable evil isn't child  proof, you probably fucked up."

DG  snorted, giggling wetly. "That's not..." She hiccuped. "I hadn't  thought of it that way." She frowned and shook her head. "I can't accept  it though. Not totally. You have...a slight point. I just can't  completely dismiss my responsibility for this though. I made a mistake.  If I had stuck it out we would have been ok. My running was the reason  Az got taken by that thing. So I have to be the one to help get her  free." She bit her lip, looking up at me with worry. "But...I don't know  if I can. Not alone. Will you still help? Even knowing it's all my  fault?"

I  smacked her upside the back of the head as I got to my feet, pulling her  up with me. "Idiot. I literally just told you that it isn't your fault,  so obviously I'm not going to just abandon you halfway through this  mess. Plus we still have to find your mom if we want to get home. Might  as well save your sister while we're at it. I don't usually do the hero  thing but since this is a fairy tale world I think I can make an  exception. At least, as long as the others are still cool with it? What  do you say guys? We still doing this?"

I  didn't need to ask. I knew them, and I could see their auras anyway,  but as much as I didn't need to hear it, DG did. So I asked them if they  were with us, and not a single one of them disappointed. Dreamer and  Zee were the first to volunteer to help again, and I couldn't have been  more proud. Wally and Artemis were next, only beating Cain by a few  seconds, and Glitch by a few more. Raw nodded seriously, with Bear just  snorting in derision we would even ask, and even Vykin and Serifan were  clearly onboard. Todo nodded distractedly, but I could see he was  already in, he just had convince himself.

I  turned to the teary eyed princess, gesturing to the group. "See.  They're all in. So you're stuck with us for this whole thing. Good luck  getting a word in edgewise with all these back seat drivers." I lowered  my voice in a fake whisper. "Especially Artemis, she'd always so bossy."  That drew a yelp of annoyance as my best friend tried unsuccessfully to  brain me with a rock. My reflexes made dodging simple and I stuck out  my tongue petulantly.

She  rolled her eyes turning to DG. "Are you sure you want his help? Might  be a better idea to just wing it. He can be useful in a fight but it's  not worth all the lip." DG giggled again, obviously coming out of her  shame spiral. Artemis walked up to the girl and gave her a hug. "I know  what it's like to lose your sister to the dark. The difference is mine  jumped in on her own, yours was pulled down. We'll save her Deej. You  guys will be a family again and you'll go and get your mom together.  That's a promise."

I  nodded seriously. Worst case I would restrain Azkedelia until we could  purify her. The others chuckled along, and then caught us up on what  we'd missed then they stayed behind. Artemis had capped one of the  flying monkeys with a lightning bolt from her bow, and they all decided  moving would be prudent. It seemed like Queenie might be on out trail  sooner than expected, especially given the whole tattoo connection those  "mobats" had with her. I was betting she could at least track them, if  not feel their deaths.

We  headed out again. We still had to get to the lake palace. The maze had  been the clue to get us here, but DG was the one who knew the way from  that point. Wally had just found something from her memories to use as a  touchstone. Granted Fenaqua was still close, so we didn't have far to  go. When we got there we found a message from her mother to go to "the  realm" and look for a man named Ahamo. With our next lead we resumed our  journey. We walked for a while before we heard a sound off to one side  and everyone stopped. I counted our party and realized we were missing  two. A mystery that ceased to be a mystery when we stumbled on Cain  pointing a gun at Todo.

Ah,  so the little dog man hadn't had the change of heart I figured he had.  Cain was glaring at him as DG asked in a panic what the older man was  doing. He spat to one side. "This garbage was leaving breadcrumbs for  Azkedelia. He's been a spy the whole damn time!" His eyes were alight  with rage, and I couldn't say I blamed him.

DG  looked heartbroken. "Todo? But...you were family? All my memories of  when I was a girl have you in them. You taught us magic and showed us  how to use our powers. You even took care of us when mom had to go to  court? Why would you do this?"

The  old shifter looked like someone had stabbed him in he heart. "I still  AM family DG, I care more about you than anyone else in the whole wide  world. But...for the last FIFTEEN years, I've been locked up in a dark  hole. When Azkedelia came to me, she offered me my freedom if I tracked  you. I went along with it at first, but I stopped dropping the coins I  used to leave a trail a while back. I never wanted to betray you. But I  figured if I said yes I could stall her while I taught you magic. I  wanted to tell you, but I knew you were already wary about trusting me."

Cain  looked murderous, and he cocked his gun, clearly ready to kill the old  man. DG put a hand on his shoulder. "No. We're all looking for second  chances, Todo too." She looked to me. "Is he telling the truth? Did he  do this for me?" I glanced over his aura and then nodded. She swallowed  hard. "He can stay." The old man looked overjoyed, but the expression  fell when she gave him a cold look. "But if you meant what you said then  you can guide us in a way that you won't be able to do any more damage.  If you want to stay with us you'll have to travel in your dog form."

The  old shifter nodded sadly. "I swear DG. It was the only thing I could  think of. I knew she would jump us mid journey if she didn't have  someone reporting in. I just left those coins to buy time. But if this  is what I need to do to earn your trust again I'll do it. I'll take you  to Ahamo, I know what he looks like. I promise DG. I'm on your side."  And with that, he shifted into a dog. He walked up the girl who stared  at him numbly for a minute then held out her arms, and then he jumped  up. Once again we resumed our endless walking. If I had to pick one good  thing about the OZ. At least it was decent cardio.