Ashley's Confession

---Indigo---

"I'm sorry, Indigo." Ashley's eyes were swimming with tears. "I'm sorry I let you down. I'm sorry I let the entire group down."

"What are you talking about?" I nudged the magic barrier with my shoulder, but I was blocked out.

"That night in the forest, you did hear a second voice. It was Lord Victor. I was talking to him. He…he promised to bring Jason back if I worked with him." Ashley looked away, ashamed.

I stared at her. It felt like someone had poured a bucket of ice water over me. I wasn't hallucinating that night. Ashley was talking to Lord Victor. He tempted her with an offer, and I wasn't sure if I wanted to find out if she was able to resist temptation. The answer that my mind screamed was scaring me.

Ashley continued to speak. "He asked me to bring him one of the Rosewood Seven, but heavily implied that he wanted you. I told him I would try my best, but I couldn't bring myself to hand you over to Lord Victor. You were always so nice to me, Indigo, and such a good friend. I couldn't turn you in, not after you stayed up and talked with me that night. That's why I didn't want you going on the rescue mission with me. I brought Lord Victor Aaron instead." A single tear trailed down Ashley's cheek and fell onto the dirt floor. I thought I heard a small rumble.

"I'm a traitor, and I know it. I was blinded by grief—I genuinely believed that Lord Victor could bring Jason back. I didn't think he'd ask such a big favor; he told me I only had to do a small thing for him, so I agreed. I'm really sorry, Indigo. I really am." Her chin trembled as she tried to maintain eye contact with me.

"Ashley…why would you…" I was stunned speechless for a moment. "Then what about Aaron and Katherine? Tell me the truth!"

"They're both holed up in the same cell; that much is true. And Aaron was sedated. But after I found out that Lord Victor never intended to keep his end of the bargain, I turned my back on him. I pretended to still be loyal to him, but I eavesdropped on his plans and stole the keys from the head guard. I gave them to Katherine before I left, so she and Aaron could escape."

I let out a sigh of relief. "That's good, but I still don't understand why you can't come with us. If you're not working with him anymore, why not continue the mission with us? We can talk this over; you've realized that what you did was wrong, and I'm sure that Rachel and Lucian will forgive you as well—"

"Lord Victor is already suspicious of me after I got mad at him for not honoring his promise. He has no use for me after capturing Aaron. He's going to kill me along with the rest of you," Ashley explained. "So I decided—"

A low rumble interrupted her. I looked around in a panic. "What was that?"

"Lord Victor plans to kill us all by bombing the campsite. The bombs are already in place. But I'm going to conjure up illusions of the campsite and set off the bomb myself, so you, Lucian, and Rachel can escape." With a wave of her wand, I saw our campsite appear out of thin air, with Lucian and Rachel sitting on a log and me standing beside Ashley. Even our tents were back and neatly set up in a row. It was a bit shimmery, but from a distance it looked very real.

"Doesn't that mean—you're not thinking of staying here, are you?" I asked in alarm. "Can't you set off the bomb in a different way?"

Ashley shook her head. "I have to be here to maintain the illusions. Otherwise, Lord Victor will surely know that we escaped. He's probably using magic to watch the campsite this very moment."

"There has to be another way," I protested, trying to cross the purple line again. It was as if I was walking into a glass wall.

"Everything inside this purple circle will be obliterated, Indigo. I can only do so much to protect you and the rest of our team." Ashley conjured up a small flame with her wand and suspended it in the air. Her hair softly swayed with the breeze. "I'm sorry, Indigo. I'm sorry for betraying our team. When Aaron and Katherine meet up with you three, please tell them I'm sorry. I did all that I could to fix my mistakes. I hope…I hope that this act of sacrifice can make up for some of my selfishness."

"No, Ashley, there's got to be another way!" I shouted, banging my fists on the invisible barrier. "Ashley, we can figure something out! You don't have to do this!"

Ashley smiled a sad smile. "Good-bye, Indigo. It was my honor to call you my friend. I wish you the best of luck on the mission. I believe that you and the others will succeed."

She took a deep breath and looked at everything around her, taking in the blue sky and green trees and my panicked shouting. "If Jason and I can't be together in life, then at least we can be united in death." With determination in her eyes, Ashley flung the flame down towards the ground.

"Ashley, no!" I battered the invisible barrier with my fists, but the magic held fast. There was a loud boom as the campsite exploded, as Ashley disappeared in a flurry of flames and uprooted trees and blasted dirt. I saw the ripple of explosion travel outwards and hit the magical barrier that Ashley set up with her life.

The barrier shook, once, twice, and then shattered outwards. I was thrown back once more. The last thing I saw was orange flames dancing high into the sky before everything faded to black.