My heart raced, breath caught in my throat. My steps halted, eyes fixed on the crimson trail that split the path. That trail, like a red thread of fate, led to the Dwarf Altairs’ pavilion, shrouded behind the evening mist’s veil. There, amidst the dew-soaked grass, the splatters of blood spoke without words, narrating a silent tragedy.
“Mom,” I whispered, clutching Fae Aurora’s hand. “What’s happened?”
“Be careful, darling,” Fae Aurora murmured back. “Let’s settle everything now.”

“But, Mom, I’m afraid this might ruin everything,” I mumbled, my voice tinged with uncertainty.
“Barbara, it’s better you go now and check on Dwarf Altair in his pavilion,” she insisted, her tone leaving no room for argument.
The mist clung to the edges of the pavilion, casting an otherworldly glow upon the wooden door. I hesitated, my fingers trembling as I reached for the tarnished brass handle. The bloodstains had led me here, a macabre breadcrumb trail that defied reason. What tragedy had unfolded within these walls?
As the door creaked open, the scent of aged wood and damp earth enveloped me. The room was dimly lit, its corners shrouded in shadows. Dwarf Altair lay on a cot, his gnarled hands clutching a tattered journal. His eyes, once bright with curiosity, now held a weariness that spoke of lifetimes.
“Barbara,” he rasped, his voice like the rustle of fallen leaves. “You’ve come.”
I nodded, unable to tear my gaze from the crimson stains on the floor. “What happened here?”

Altair’s gaze shifted to the journal. “I sought forbidden knowledge,” he confessed. “Alchemy beyond mortal comprehension. The price was steep—a pact with the ancient spirits that guard the veil between worlds.”
My heart pounded. “And the blood?”
He gestured to the cot. “My sacrifice. To breach the veil, to glimpse the realm beyond.”
“But at what cost?” I whispered.

His eyes bore into mine. “The balance shattered. Reality unraveled. Now, the mist creeps through, consuming our world.”
I glanced outside—the mist had thickened, tendrils reaching for the moon. “Can it be undone?”
Altair’s laughter held no mirth. “Only one path remains. The heart of the labyrinth, where fate weaves its threads. There, you’ll find the forgotten key.”
I clenched my fists. “I’ll do whatever it takes.”
Fae Aurora appeared at the doorway, her eyes filled with sorrow. “Barbara, remember the red thread—the one that binds us all. Follow it, but beware the choices it offers.”
Confusion clouded my mind, a storm of unanswered questions. “I don’t understand what you’re talking about,” I raised my voice, a crescendo of frustration. “Why is it that every time I feel everything’s alright, trouble comes uninvited? What’s really going on behind this chaos?”
Dwarf Altairs let out a long, weary sigh, the weight of untold secrets bending his posture. “Someone wants to destroy you, Barbara. Someone who harbors a deep-seated hatred for you. They wish to see you crumble into nothingness. Yet, we’ve shielded you as best we can.”
My voice sharpened, pressing for clarity. “Then what does this attack have to do with it?”
I felt the air leave my lungs as Dwarf Altairs’ words washed over me. Someone wanted to destroy me? A hatred so poisonous it sought to reduce me to nothingness?
My hands trembled as a million fragmented memories flickered through my mind - the near misses, the close calls, all the times I’d chalked it up to chance or circumstance. But what if they’d been orchestrated? By someone I’d trusted, even?
“Who?” I demanded, my voice cracking with a desperation I could no longer contain. “Who could possibly hate me that much?”
Altairs watched me with ancient, mournful eyes. “That is something I cannot say, Barbara. The identity of your tormentor is a closely guarded secret, even from me.”
“Then how am I supposed to stop them?” I cried, anguish and fear bleeding into my words. “If I don’t know who’s after me, how can I protect myself? Protect my family?”
My thoughts snapped to Timothee, to the soul-deep love that bound us together. A love that could make me more vulnerable than I’d ever imagined. White-hot panic lanced through me at the thought of this mysterious enemy using him against me.
Altairs placed a gnarled hand on my arm, his touch startlingly gentle. “You mustn’t lose hope, child. Your powers are immense, but you are not alone in this fight.”
I opened my mouth, but he hushed me with a firm look. “The truth cannot be revealed, not yet. But take heart - there are those you can trust implicitly. Those who would guard you with their very lives.”
His gaze bored into me meaningfully. “Have faith, Barbara. And above all, protect your heart. For that is the source of your greatest power and your deepest vulnerability.”
As the dwarf turned and shuffled away, I could only stare after him, my mind spinning. Someone wanted me dead, but I didn’t know who or why. All I knew was a cold, clawing dread digging its icy tendrils into my soul.
Could I truly trust my instincts anymore? My love for Timothee - was it a strength or a weakness, to be exploited by my unknown enemy?
I pressed a shaking hand to my thundering heart as one horrifying thought echoed endlessly.
Dwarf Altairs’ breath turned labored, each inhale a struggle akin to an asthmatic gasp.
“Dwarf?” I approached, concern etching my features, but he swiftly batted my hand away.
“What’s wrong?” I inquired, my voice laced with worry.
“This is my time to depart,” Dwarf Altairs murmured, his gaze lifting to the pavilion’s ceiling, a silent farewell to the world he knew.
Dread coiled in my stomach like a venomous serpent as Dwarf Altairs’ words sank in. This couldn’t be happening - not now, not when so much was still uncertain.
“No...” I breathed, dropping to my knees beside him. “Altairs, you can’t leave. Not yet.”
His clouded eyes found mine, and I was struck by the profound weariness etched into his ancient face. How long had he carried this burden? This knowledge of the threat looming over me?
“My dear girl.” His voice was little more than a raspy whisper as he reached out with a trembling hand to cup my cheek. “I’m afraid...I have fought long enough.”
Tears burned hot in my eyes as I clutched his wizened fingers against my skin. “But I need you,” I choked out. “You’re the only one who truly understands...”
Altairs offered me a wan smile tinged with sorrow. “You are stronger than you know, Barbara. The answers you seek...” He coughed, a horrible wet rattle. “They lie within you.”
“I don’t understand!” I cried desperately. “Please, you have to tell me who’s doing this. Who wants me dead?”
His eyelids fluttered, and for a terrible moment I feared he’d slipped away. But then he fixed me with one last intense look.
“Keep...your loved ones...close,” he rasped urgently. “The threat...is twofold...”
A violent shudder wracked his frail body, and his eyes rolled back in his head. I clutched him tighter, screaming his name, but it was too late. The aged dwarf’s chest stilled, his work in this realm finally complete.
A strangled sob tore from my throat as I crumpled against Altairs’ still form, his final words ringing in my ears mockingly. The threat was twofold? What did that mean?
“Mom, please...” I begged, my voice breaking like fractured glass. “Tell me he’s not...”
I couldn’t bring myself to say the word. To give life to that unthinkable reality. Because if Dwarf Altairs was truly gone, it meant his ominous final warnings had been more than fevered ramblings. It meant his death was merely the opening salvo in whatever insidious plot was unfolding around us.
Fae Aurora seemed to cave in on herself, a tremulous hand rising to cover her mouth. “Oh Barbara...I’m so sorry, my dove.”
The endearment she hadn’t used since I was a child felt like a knife twisting in my heart. This was really happening. Our wise friend and mentor was dead, and a diverging path of darkness now unfurled at our feet.
“Who...” I rasped, blinking back burning tears. “Who could have done this?”
A violent shudder ran through me at the memory of those ominous last words. Twofold. What did it mean? Panic took root in my chest as possibilities bloomed like poisonous flowers in my mind’s eye.
Could this be the work of the shadow force intent on my destruction? Or was there something more at play here, another dark machination intertwined with the first?
I felt the warmth of my mother’s arms envelop me as she pulled me into a fierce embrace. “We will prevail, Barbara,” she murmured fiercely against my hair. “No matter what comes, we stand together.”