Her Forbidden Threeway

Chapter 6

“What does this one do?”

“Put that one down. It’s safer for the dragons than it is us.”

In the safety of Clyde Duncan’s study, he and his daughter overlooked a few of the valuable items he kept well-hidden and out of sight. There were bottles and potions, crystals and gems, hearts and dissected animals. A few days ago, Reade would’ve been disgusted to of found such things in her father’s office, though now she was more curious than ever.

He was inspecting a crystal beneath a magnified glass, searching for the right pigment and right shape.

“I once mistook a paralyzing charm for a sun eraser. Two men died. This is serious work, Reade.” Clyde had said as she fidgeted and tried to hurry him along. “None of it can be taken lightly.”

There were more than a few occasions where Clyde had said that he would go in place of her, but she couldn’t risk him being hurt because of someone that she had gotten involved with. She felt like everything was her fault and it was her turn to sort it out, only she could do it. It surprised her when her father respected her decision but Reade couldn’t help but wonder if he knew it was something she needed to do in order to see her true path.

Clyde swapped a yellow crystal for another, this one slightly brighter.

“Why can I see them glow and others can’t?” She asked, perched on the side of his desk, inspecting a dagger from another collection.

“Because part of you is tied to that realm. That kingdom of impossibilities, it comes with some perks. You see things, hear things, and smell things others don’t. Everything is heightened, more-so than the average human.”

Reade wrinkled her nose, disappointed with the fact that her father hadn’t told her she secretly had superpowers. But hooray, at least she could smell things others couldn’t.

The thought amused her, and she stayed occupied for a while, listening to her father’s hums of approval and disdain.

“This is the only crystal I have that won’t hurt him completely.” The father said, setting it on the desk.

Reade eyed it from afar, it’s color peculiar and contrast strange. It was green, like certain parts of the sea where salt and sand would collide. Reade moved forwards to pick it up, but her father shook his head and moved her hand back.

“This isn’t an ordinary crystal,” he said. “This is a Sphynx crystal. It’s used in swords and daggers.”

The confusion that was written across Reade’s face was evident and it caused her father to slowly explain the technique as he followed his own instructions.

“Firstly, you pick a sword of choice. For you, I’d recommend something light and easy to swing, not too big, yet not too small. Thin and long.” He decided, pulling one from his collection and setting in on the desk. “Then, with precision, place the Sphynx Crystal into the sword.”

At the bottom of the long dagger, there was an empty compartment, waiting to be filled with the gem of choice. Clyde clicked it into place, and the silver lit up, shining a brilliant green color.

“One swipe of this, and he’ll be effected with the charm.”

Reade frowned. “Why not just use ordinary crystals? Why go through all of this?”

“Because if you haven’t noticed, ordinary crystals are impactful to those around. They’re a firework, and explosion. Like tonight in the kitchen, instead of protecting me and you, like you intended to do, it protected all of us.”

Reade wanted to correct him and say she wanted to protect Jackson more than herself, but she just nodded and smiled. Anything for an easy life.

Her father passed the sword over to his daughter, and for a moment, she just adjusted to the weight and feel of it in her grasp. It was heavy on her wrist, but with a few flicks and jabs, she found it twirled quite easily in the air.

Clyde looked pleased with the picture before him.

“I still don’t agree with what you do, dad.” She disapproved, jumping down from the desk and into the center of the study, where she practiced a few more swoops and shots. “How can I?”

“Your grandfather would be proud.” He said, and she wanted to stop at once and set the dagger down, but continued, with less enthusiasm than before. What if Jackson had been right? What if Grandad Duncan had tortured and enslaved dragons?

She thought of Scott, barricaded in a cell and being poked at like an animal, the embodiment of a science experiment. It was sickening to picture, but it was what drove her. If Jackson made the wrong move, exposing himself, he would not only reveal his true identity to the public, but to hunters and huntresses across the globe.

This couldn’t happen. Reade wouldn’t let it.

“Are you ready, sweetheart?” Her father asked.

She checked her phone one last time, no message from Scott, no phone call back.

“Yes.” She sighed. “Yes, I’m ready.”

* * * *

Reade placed the sword on the passenger seat, opting whether to buckle it in or not.

Her father handed over the keys and made sure she was settled in comfortably before smacking the bed of the truck. She gave the engine a pulse of life and it purred excitedly, pushing forth to drive down the road, and towards (hopefully) Jackson.

Reade contemplated his motive, and if he really despised hunters, or if it was because of her growing closeness to Scott. She remembered their first kiss, his hands roaming her fiery hair, her clutching to his upper body. She’d enjoyed it, she’d wanted more of it.

If only he didn’t hate her so much.

The truck neared the fraction of the desert where the fight had broken out, but she knew he wouldn’t stop there. He’d be closer to home, closer than she probably thought.

Nightfall enveloped Navada, and moments ran by before she found something worth searching for. Her phone finally vibrated and she reached into her jacket pocket and pulled the phone free with a struggle.

 “Reade? Reade?” Her father’s voice sounded panicked.

“Dad? Dad, what is it?”

“The crystal! It’s the wrong one!”

“I’m sure it will be fine dad.”

“You don’t understand… It—”

The phone slipped from her hands, and beneath the driver’s seat. She only turned away for a minute, but it was enough to lose track of the road.