Ashes to Ashes

After five minutes, still, nothing had changed with Max. I kept hoping that this just took time, that this was supposed to happen, but with each second that passed by, I became more and more paranoid that it hadn’t worked and that my chances to save Max were gone.

I looked around to question Masika, but she was no longer there with us. My eyes widened. Had she fled back to her own world when the spell failed or had she sabotaged it deliberately?

“No, no, no,” I uttered repeatedly in disbelief. I shake my head rapidly and fall to my knees. “Please, no,” I weep, tears already falling from my eyes. I can’t believe that I had been so foolish as to trust the phoenix! They would never have been so easy to persuade, I should have known!

As I knelt there in despair, I didn’t know what I should do now. Max was gone, and there was no way to bring him back to me. I couldn’t bring myself t