Hidden Island Chapter 44, part 4 of 4

Hidden Island
Chapter 44, part 4 of 4

"I want you to know," Bella said. "Everything you've done to the people I love, I will do to Shae. You showed me how."

"I... won't..." Shade choked out.

Bella twisted the knife. Shade burst into the fog and faded from the dream. Bella sat down on the throne and looked around at the shimmering web.

"Tear it all down."

Jack sobbed in Quinn's arms.

"All this time..." she choked. "I could have..."

"Still can, you," Will said.

"What if we... what if I still can't!" she cried. "What if it isn't magic keeping us apart? What if it's... just me?"

"Then at least you'll have tried," Will said with a shrug.

The webs shuddered. Jack began to sink. Quinn looked around and stared in shock. Bella was now riding the massive black spider, and it was taking down its webs.

It took time. Jack barely noticed. Quinn held her and adjusted as the strands went slack, trying to keep her head turned away from whatever Bella was doing, just in case Jack seeing it could change it. As the spider pulled the ropes down, they faded to nothing, like they were never there. Eventually, Jack was suspended by only a few strands. She was stretched horizontally a few feet above the floor, cradled in a white cocoon. Quinn put his feet on the ground but never let go of her hands. He was afraid if he did, she would put them back into the strands and bind herself again.

Bella's spider crawled down the staircase and settled behind Jack. Bella used the monster's head like a stepping stone. It pulled its legs in and didn't move.

"She has to do the rest herself," Bella said. "It should be easy now. The enchantment is barely hanging on, but the parts of Jack's mind that still want to believe everything it made her feel are..." she gestured to the cocoon of webbing.

"What about that thing?" Quinn asked.

"It's the enchantment. Well, a metaphor for the enchantment, anyway," the witch explained. "I removed its focus nexus, so now it won't do anything alone."

"I do not understand," Quyinn said suspiciously.

Bella floundered a bit, trying to figure out how to describe what she'd done. "The enchantment was weaving thoughts and ideas about Jack's relationships with other people and that woman, Shae. She was the focus, and the spell was weaving Shae into everything Jack thought about everyone else. So, I destroyed the focus. Killed Shae metaphorically. The enchantment is still there but has no reason to do anything anymore."

"Then why is she still bound," Quinn asked, clearly frustrated.

"Remember how I said the longer the enchantment lasts, the more of the changes it makes become permanent?" Bella reminded him. She gestured to the cocoon. "That's the permanent stuff." She gestured to the few remaining strands suspending the cocoon. "The spell has become woven into something she believes, and she's completely wrapped herself in it. I was worried that if I pulled it all down, I might damage her mind."

"How?" Quinn asked.

Bella pointed up to the ceiling and the staircase, where, showing Quinn, reflective gossamer strands were anchored, suspending Jack's body. The closer the strands got to her, the more white and solid they became.

The difference was subtle. "These threads are all thoughts and feelings. The glittery, see-through ones are feelings created by the spell. The whiter ones are from Jack. In the middle there, it gets hard to tell which is which. All the spell threads I left behind are connected to things Jack believes to be unquestionably true.

Severing the spell threads might unravel whatever they're connected to. I don't know what that would do to her."

Quinn nodded. He didn't like it, but Bella's reasoning and care were sound. "Thank you."

"Jack, can you come down?" Will asked gently.

Jack shook her head.

"Why not?" Will asked.

"It's safe here. Warm. Feels good," Jack said, sounding like she was half asleep.

"What feels good?" Will asked.

"Being held up. Resting. I'm tired," Jack said with a small, sad smile.

"How can she be tired in a dream?" Quinn asked.

"She's not," Bella said with a confused shrug. "It's a metaphor."

Quinn was growing increasingly frustrated with how little he understood of the situation. "Of what?"

Bella shrugged. "No idea."

"Might not be a metaphor at all," Will said. "Might be, she's just exhausted."

"In a dream?" Bella asked incredulously.

"Emotionally," Will explained. "Even without the spell, she has been through much. She needs time to rest, she.

Time to reflect."

Bella nodded. "Makes sense."

"So what now? Do we leave her? Trapped?" Quinn asked, angry at the idea.

Bella put a reassuring hand on Quinn's thick shoulder. "This is all her now. She's not under the influence of the spell."

A muscle in Quinn's jaw fluttered. He pointed to the ephemeral webbing suspending her. "That looks like an influence."

Bella sighed. "Yeah. They won't grow or spread anymore, though. They're just supporting things Jack refuses to let go of."

"So we do nothing?" Quinn asked angrily.

"Done what we can, yes?" Will said gently. "No medicine is instant. Wounds can be stitched but still need time to heal."

Quinn's stoic mask broke. He closed his eyes and looked defeated. "I cannot serve her until she is free of this."

Bella spread her hands in confusion. She had only known Quinn briefly and knew little about the Asura. Quinn's motivations baffled her. "Why not?"

"She is still enchanted," Quinn said. "I cannot be sure her will is her own. Anything she asks of me, I must doubt."

"That doesn't mean you can't still do what you think is best for her. It just means you don't have to do what she says." Bella countered. "Sometimes that's a good thing."

"Know little of your arrangement, I," Will added. "It seems, though, that this situation puts you on a more equal footing. Could be a blessing, that."

Quinn's brow twitched. "Explain."

"Among humans, relationships are less... transactional," Will continued. "Are free to say no to our partners at any time, not just when we think their agency is compromised. In that way, when we agree to something, our partners know it is because we want to, not out of obligation."

"For her, I do both," Quinn said firmly.

"Does she understand that?" Bella asked. "The Jack I know has a hard time understanding when people love her, even when it's shouted from a rooftop. She talks tough but second-guesses her worth and worth all the time."

Quinn's brow furrowed deeper. "That is my observation as well. My attempts to reassure her are consistently short-lived."

"What if, for a while, she knew you could say no to her?" Bella asked. "What if you did, sometimes, when it isn't important, just to try it out? So she knew you could?"

Quinn was quiet for a long moment. Then he nodded. "Serve still, but on my terms. I have never done such a thing. For her, I would like to."

Bella's face lit up with a wide grin. Her eyes were misty. "That's sweet."

Quinn turned his eyes back to Jack. "Is now when we do what we came for?"

"What?" Bella asked. "We already did."

"I have not," Quinn said.

"You have to start explaining yourself a bit more, big guy," Bella said wryly. "I'm not clever enough to keep up with all these cryptic answers."

Quinn moved closer to Jack, putting his big green hand on her sleepy face. "It was my understanding that we came to this... place... to put Mistress Jack at odds with the falsehoods of the enchantment by reminding her that she is loved in truth."

"Oh," Bella said with a nod. "Right. We did. I thought that's what you and Fri- uh, Will did when I was distracting the spider lady. After figuring out how the spell worked, I ripped out the middle and took it over to dismantle as much as possible. I improvised, but the result was better than I'd originally hoped. So I think we're done here."

"I am not," Quinn said.

Bella glanced at Will. He shrugged. "Alright," Bella said. "Go ahead."

"Mistress, can you hear me?" Quinn asked.

Jack smiled, barely awake. "Mmm. Quinn. Did I call you? I don't remember why."

"You do not need a reason," Quinn said softly. "I am always happy to be by your side."

"You have to rest sometimes," Jack murmured.

Quinn nodded. "I wish it were not so."

"S'alright," Jack smiled. "I have the ring. I can always feel you with me."

Quinn brought his lips to her forehead. "I am glad. I love you, Mistress."

Jack opened her eyes a bit more and smiled up at him. "I love you too."

Quinn brushed a stray hair out of her face. "I will wait to await you whenever you are ready to come out of your... bed,"

"Thank you," Jack said, closing her eyes again. "Don't wait on me, though. Get more rest. I'm fine here."

Quinn took a long breath, closed his eyes, and walked a few paces away. Bella gave him a sympathetic look.

"It did not work," he muttered.

"I think it did," Bella said.

"She is still bound," Quinn shook his head. "She chose this instead."

"That was always a risk," Bella nodded sadly. "She still heard you and believed."

"I am ready to leave now," he said solemnly.

"Would you like me to try?" Bella asked.

"Very much," Quinn admitted. "Perhaps you will succeed where I did not."

"You know you can ask. You don't have to wait for me to offer," Bella said.

"I cannot," Quinn shook his head. "It is not my place."

"Can I just... give you permission?" Bella asked.

Quinn shook his head. "You misunderstand. I cannot ask anything of humans unless it directly serves my
Mistress."

"Wouldn't asking me to help Jack be in direct... wait. You can't ask anything for yourself? At all!? That's... horrible!" Bella said, shocked. "Who came up with that rule?"

"The gods," Quinn said.

Bella's eyebrows rose sharply. She shook her head, then exhaled. "Quinn, I will let you in on a secret my people
learned long ago. Anyone who says they know what the gods want is trying to control you. Whoever told you that is full of shit."

Quinn said nothing.

Bella sighed. "Alright. We can fight about it later. My turn."

The dark-haired witch approached Jack's cocoon cautiously. She had no idea what to say. She was good at affection and seduction but struggled with love. She felt it strongly, sometimes overwhelmingly, but she had difficulty expressing it. Every time she tried, she felt clumsy.

"Hey, Jack," Bella said quietly.

"Bella? What's wrong? Need something?" Jack asked with a yawn.

That stung. When Quinn spoke with Jack, Bella saw the warmth and joy on Jack's face as she woke up. Now,

Jack was confused and concerned.

"Nothing," Bella said. "I just wanted to see you."

"Not now, please? " Jack said. "I always want to see you, but it's... hard. I'm just too tired. I don't want to say something wrong."

Bella's chest hurt. "Alright, Jack. Sweet dreams. I love you."

Jack's eyes opened blearily. She focused on Bella, very confused. "You do?"

Bella smiled wistfully and enthusiastically nodded, "I do. I always have. I never stopped."

"Then why... Why did you tell me to leave?" Jack asked.

"I thought I couldn't trust you," Bella said sadly. "You know how hard trust is for me. I was furious. I wish I hadn't done it."

Jack just stared at her. Then she shook her head. "No. You were right."

"It doesn't matter," Bella said, taking another step forward. "I just want to make things better now."

"I don't know if we can," Jack said with a shuddering breath.

"Can we try?" Bella asked.

Jack gave her a weak nod. "I'd like that. I can't think about it now. I'm so tired."

"We can talk about it whenever you're ready," Bella said, taking Jack's hand through the white threads. "If you want to."

Jack nodded. "I do." With effort, she pulled against the webbing enough to bring Bella's hand to her lips. "I just need to rest here a while."

Bella's laugh was half a sob. Jack's eyes closed again, and Bella slipped her hand free.

Will met her as she turned away. Bella nearly collapsed in his arms and cried hard into his shoulder.

"Took your hand, she," Will said, stroking Bella's dark curls. "Pulled against the webs. A good sign, that."

Bella nodded. "I saw. We're so close."

"Like me to try as well, you?" Will asked.

Bella looked at Quinn. Quinn nodded once. Bella nodded more.

Will steadied Bella on her feet, squeezed her hands, and took a breath to prepare himself. "Never been much of an actor, I. Wish me luck."

Bella laughed through her tears and nodded.

Will approached the cocoon cautiously. "Jack?" he said quietly.

"Mmm. Will?" Jack said through groggy, squinted eyes. Her guarded confusion was plain on her face. "Why are you here?"

"Just wanted to..." Will stopped himself. "I... just wanted to see how you are doing."

She arched an eyebrow in confusion, then shut her eyes again. "I'm fine. Thanks for checking." She settled deeper into her cocoon.

Will glanced over his shoulder, looking a bit defeated. Bella motioned for him to keep going.

"Alright," Will said. "Let you... I will let you rest. I love you."

Jack's eyes snapped open in shock. Then suspicion. Then rage.

"You aren't, Will."

Behind her, the massive black spider lunged forward in the hollow of the balcony between the staircases. It ducked its head and scooped up Jack's body onto the throne. Its foreleg speared through Will's leg, pinning him to the ground as its fangs sank into his chest. Will screamed in pain.

"Fuck!" Bella yelped, scrambling back in shock and fear before she realized what she was doing. Quinn lunged forward, again reaching for a sword that wasn't there. He threw himself at the spider without a weapon and passed through it.

Jack's hands were free; She gripped the arms of the massive chair in powerful anger. The cocoon looked more like a form-fitting dress now. She looked from Will to Quinn and Bella, then back to Will.

"Who the hell are you?"

Bella closed her eyes tight and pressed both palms over them. "Wake."

With a gasp, all four of them woke up.


To be continued