It is early spring, there is still snow on the grounds of the estate. As I go about my daily tasks, I have a nagging feeling all day. It is not until after the sun goes down that I realize what has happened. My mentor and dear friend did not come to visit me as he has every day for the last twenty years. I quickly saddle my horse and fly there as fast as her hooves will take me. When I get to the home of my mentor, I can see the door has been torn off. I cautiously approach and make my way inside. I was expecting to see a terrible sight, but the only thing amiss is that he is not inside his house. With only one room, it does not take me long to discover this. I run to his stable, but his horse is still there. I cannot understand what has happened to my friend.
Suddenly, I’m struck with a feeling that is so strong it takes me to my knees. I had to get back to his house at once. When I arrive inside, the feeling is much stronger that I must sit down, or I will fall down. I focus on the feeling and learn that it is telling me to find something that is very personal to him. Something that he would use every day. I got up and started searching the room. I knew when I found his mother’s locket that it was the item I needed.
I held the locket in my hands and thought about my friend. It was as if I was transported to another place, but I saw him lying in the snow, slowly freezing to death. When I blinked, I was back in the room of his house, but I knew how to find him. I ran to my horse and we set off in the direction the magic was telling me to go.
It seemed as if I rode forever, but I finally found him just as I had seen him, lying on the frozen ground, huddled in a ball. It took all of my strength, but I got him on the horse with me and took him back to my estate. I built a roaring fire and laid him down in front of it. After many long minutes he opened his eyes. I was forever grateful to see his eyes open. I reached out to him and when I did, I woke up and found myself sitting on the porch on a hot summer day.
I had never had a vision that was so clear before, so I immediately wrote it all down knowing it was somehow important. It took me many years to understand that this vision was meant for you. And in that time, I was continually trying to decipher the magic that allowed me to see him and then locate him.
This is what you must learn, Kaelneth, the magic to find your friend is already in you. But you must connect with something of hers that was of great importance to her, like the locket of my mentor’s that belonged to his mother. It must be something that she touches all the time, something she would be lost without. When you find that object you must concentrate on everything you know about her. Access the Locator part of you and allow it to take over and fill up your body. When it feels like you are about to burst, let it go and you should be able to see your friend. I hope what I have learned can be of great use to you Kaelneth. Good luck.
William Greymore, Locator, June 1599
****
Alix was stunned. She closed the book and sat there for a minute. Ben noticed her and came over to join her.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
She handed him the little book and he started reading. While he was doing that, Alix tried to understand what she’d learned in the last few minutes. Her first thought was that he had the same last name as James who was her great, great, great, great grandfather. She had to assume that William Greymore was also a part of her lineage. That alone was a lot to process, but then there was the fact that that letter had been written specifically for her over four hundred years ago. That was crazy enough and then on top of that were instructions on how to find Sara. Her mind could hardly handle everything from the last five minutes.
There were so many thoughts going through her mind that she didn’t notice when Ben finished reading and closed the book.
“Melodie,” he called.
“I am here Master Ben,” she said, just suddenly appearing. “What can I do for you?”
He showed her the book with the letter to Alix. He didn’t need to say anything, she knew what he wanted.
“Yes, what you just read is true. Everything in this room has been verified as the truth before it was allowed to sit on these shelves.”
Alix didn’t want to even think about how that was possible, she was too focused on deciding what to do about finding Sara. Having Melodie appear had gotten the attention of Shay and Logan. Ben handed them the book to read. They sat down and read it together. Alix and Ben waited until they were done.
I think we’re done here for now,” Shay said. “Let’s go back to the main house and figure out what to do.”
They left their books on the table and said goodbye to Melodie. When they got back to the second floor, they headed straight to the kitchen.
Chapter 8
“I was just going to come look for you guys,” Natalie said, when the four of them walked into the kitchen. “Dinner is ready.”
“Great,” Ben said, “I’m starving, and we have some really interesting news for you.”
It was a good thing the kitchen was as big as it was because with so many people living there now, they’d had a get a bigger table. When Alix sat down, she noticed that Kris was still there. That was good because he needed to hear what they’d just learned as well. When everyone was seated Alix started talking.
“So, we have some really interesting news. I found a letter that gave me a way to find Sara. But first, I’m going to need something of hers that was really personal, something she might have touched every day.”
“Her cell phone,” Kris said. Everyone looked at him. “What? You kids are never very far from your phones and use them at least a hundred times a day.”
“That’s true,” Shay said. “I’d be lost without mine most of the time.”
“I guess I can try it with her phone,” Alix said. “But if that doesn’t work, we’ll have to find something else.”
“What do you have to do?” Rick asked.
“I’m supposed to hold the object and put all my focus on Sara using the Locator part of me. Then I should see where she is and be able to find her.”
“That’s it?”
“I know it sounds simple, but I haven’t tried it yet, so I don’t really know what’s actually involved.”
“How about after we finish here, we try it. That’ll give us all a little time to think about it,” Rick said.
Alix just shrugged. She wanted to do it now, but was afraid to try without a couple of more experienced Nykara there with her. She ate dinner, but didn’t even taste it. She was thinking about the letter from William Greymore and how strange it was the in less than twenty-four hours she’d read a journal and a letter from two different ancestors. She wondered what else she’d find in the white room.
Eventually, everyone was finished eating and she was ready to see if she could find Sara. She’d decided that the Map room was the best place to go since she could locate any point on the world from there. Her mom and dad decided to stay in the kitchen and clean up. Sharon and Sean offered to help her parents. Alix would have thought they’d want to see what she could do, but wasn’t going to force her birth parents to do anything they didn’t want to.
The closer they got to the Map room; the more nervous Alix became. She really had no idea if this was going to work, but she was willing to try anything to get Sara back. It was an unfair world that allowed her to get kidnapped twice.
Once they were at their destination, Kris handed her Sara’s cell phone. She’d never tried to access one part of her abilities on purpose before and wasn’t sure how to do it, so she started the way she very first learned. She sat on the floor and closed her eyes.
In her mind, she thought about everything she knew about Sara. Her voice, her smile, and her laugh. She thought about their friendship and their shared love of baking. She let her whole body fill up with thoughts of Sara, gripping her cell phone the entire time. Just like the letter said she felt as if she would burst, so she let the magic go and suddenly she could see her.
Sara was being held in a building that looked like a cabin, but a big fancy o
ne. Alix could see that her hands and feet were tied together, and it looked like she was on a couch. She was scared for her, but had to maintain her focus in order to save her. While she was seeing this, she thought about the giant map in front of her and the location of Sara. When she opened her eyes, she saw a bright light on the map and knew that was where Sara was. She got up and zoomed in on the spot. It looked like it was in a rural area outside Sheridan, Wyoming. She could also see that there were a large number of Grynn there as well.
“This is where she is,” Alix announced, pointing at the spot that had appeared to her.
Kris came to get a better look. “Sheridan is about four hours away from here. I’ll get a team assembled and ready to go within the hour.”
“I’m going with you,” Alix told him. “And before you say no, this is one of those times that I have to be there. I can feel it.”
They’d all learned not to argue with the feelings that she got.
“Okay,” Kris said. “Be ready to go in thirty minutes.”
They left the Map room. Kris started making calls and Alix went to her room. Ben and Shay followed her.
“You know I’m going with you, right?” Ben said.
“I suspected as much and I understand why,” Alix said.
“And I’m pretty sure I have to stay here,” Shay added.
“Yep,” Alix said. “I need to know you’re safe.”
“Okay, I’m not even going to argue. This is about Sara and that’s more important than anything right now. At least, I have Logan to hang out with this time.”
“Thank you for understanding, Shay,” Alix told her. “Now, can you help me figure out what I need to wear?”
“You bet. Ben, you’d better get yourself ready,” Shay told him.
“See you in a few minutes,” he said, and left the room.
“Are you scared?” Shay asked Alix.
“Yes, but not about facing the Grynn. I’m scared that we won’t get to Sara before something terrible happens to her. Since we don’t know the reason, they took her, we don’t know what they’re going to do.”
“It’s too bad that teleportation wasn’t one of your abilities.”
“No kidding. That would make things so much simpler. And even if we could use the blue door to get to a safe house near Sheridan, we’d still need a vehicle or two, and this late on a Sunday night we’d never find anything.”
“Its too bad magic can’t fix everything,” Shay said. “Let’s figure out what you need for tonight.”
Alix and Ben were ready and waiting for Kris. They said their goodbyes to everyone and started to get into a rescue state of mind. This was starting to feel like it did on the island. Fifteen minutes later, the rest of the team was ready. They loaded up in the van and headed to Sheridan, Wyoming.
Chapter 9
They were hoping to arrive by midnight, but it was starting to snow. If Kris trusted the driver to get them there, then that was good enough for Alix. Kris and the team were planning everything as they drove. They had laptops and tablets showing the satellite images of the ranch in question. One guy was in charge of the weapons and he was checking all of them. Another Warrior had a paper map of the area and was looking at the best route in. Everyone had something to do except Alix and Ben.
“I kind of feel left out,” Ben said, with a hint of a smile.
“I was just thinking the same thing,” Alix told him.
“I’m pretty sure you’re going to have to be cloaked the whole time,” Ben said. “I don’t think we can risk anyone seeing you.”
“How will they know who I am?” she asked.
“We don’t know if they will, but we can’t take the chance. We have no idea if they have a picture of you or if they even know your real name. Nothing that puts you at risk is allowed.”
“Okay, I agree. Good thing I’m the queen of cloaking,” Alix said, and disappeared in front of Ben’s eyes.
“Have you been practicing that?”
“Yes, ever since the island when my life depended on it, I’ve made sure I can do it instantly and so thoroughly that no one could see me.”
“Well I’m impressed,” Ben told her. “I know you’re there because I can hear you, but otherwise I’d have no clue.”
Alix dropped her cloak. “Good. That’s what I wanted to hear. I can also see people who are cloaked now without having to touch them.”
“Really? Wow, your powers are still getting stronger. That’s a really good thing, Alix.”
They spent the next couple of hours listening to the Warriors talk about what they were going to do.
“How many Grynn are we going to be facing?” Alix asked.
“From what we saw in the Map room, at least twenty,” Kris answered.
“Why would they need so many Grynn for one small teenage girl?”
“That’s the question of the night, Alix. It leads us to believe that it’s a trap. A trap for what we don’t know but we’re going to have to be extra cautious.”
Twenty or more Grynn against their eight Warriors and Alix and Ben. Why were the odds always in the favor of the bad guys?
Alix saw the sign that said, ‘Welcome to Wyoming.’ From what Kris said she knew that they were about thirty minutes from the city of Sheridan. The ranch they were looking for was east of the city. They knew that the hardest part of getting there was going to be on the ranch itself.
They drove through the city and everything looked closed. The city wasn’t very big, but it was bigger than Sunset Creek. When they were back in the country the darkness enveloped them. Alix looked out the window and couldn’t see any stars which made it seem even darker.
The team was quiet, everyone knew their roles and were ready to fulfil them. Alix and Ben were to stay with Kris and if they got separated Alix was to stay cloaked and hidden. She had agreed, but if she could do anything that was going to save Sara then she would do it, no matter what anyone said.
The van stopped. They were at the point where they would walk now. It was cold, but they were all bundled up, but still able to move freely. The Warriors were talking quietly to each other, making sure everyone had what they needed.
They were going to come in from the back side of the ranch. The hope was that the Grynn wouldn’t be expecting anyone from that direction since it was only fields and trees. They climbed through the barb-wire fence and started walking. A few minutes into it, they could see a problem. The snow was up to their knees and it was going to take forever to get there, never mind freezing their legs.
Thinking back to one of her first vision dreams where she froze the waterfall Alix had an idea.
“Let me in front of everyone,” she said to Kris.
“No,” he told her.
“We’re never going to get there walking like this. We need to move faster and undetected right?”
“Yes.”
“I can do that,” she told him. “Just give me a chance. You can stay right beside me if you’d like.”
Kris hesitated for a moment then led Alix to the front of the Warriors. She pulled some energy into her and almost instantly the snow in front of her hardened. Her magic worked faster than it ever had. She’d barely thought about what she wanted, and it happened.
Alix stepped out of deep snow and onto the snow that was now as hard as concrete. She kept walking and finally the others followed. The newer Warriors looked a little shocked. They hadn’t been around her long enough to know what she was capable of.
“The snow will be continually hard in approximately a twenty-foot circle around us,” she told them. “So, if you get too far from me, you’ll be back in the knee-deep snow.”
The group continued to walk toward the ranch. Alix was easily maintaining her cloak and the hard snow for them to walk on. What little energy she was using was immediately replenished from the very air around her.
When they got to the fence closest to the ranch house they stopped. Everyone made sure they were cloaked and shielded. They cli
mbed over the wooden fence as silently as they could. They hadn’t seen any Grynn yet, but they knew they were there. Alix could feel them.
The plan was to draw out as many Grynn from the house as they could, then Kris, Alix, Ben, and one other Warriors were going to go in and get Sara. They also weren’t going to leave any of the Grynn alive. They didn’t want word of this getting back to François or Victor.
Kris gave the signal. Everyone cloaked and team one went into action. They went to the barn and started getting the animals worked up, so they’d get the attention of the Grynn. Team two went over to the vehicles and started causing the alarms to go off. It was working. Three Grynn came out of the house and went to the barn. Another two were standing at the door of the house trying to get the alarms to stop. As soon as one would stop another one would start up again. Alix didn’t know how the Warriors were making it happen, but she could see the Grynn getting angry.
The Grynn from the barn hadn’t come back yet and two more went to see what they were doing. The two at the door with the car keys went over to the vehicles to see what the problem was. When they did, Alix saw them each grabbed by the cloaked Warriors. It was strange to see them being taken down by basically invisible people. The Grynn tried to struggle, but the Warriors were highly skilled and the two Grynn were down within seconds. The Warriors dragged the Grynn behind the vehicles so they couldn’t be seen from the house and set off the alarms again.
Seven of the Grynn were already taken care of, but that still left at least thirteen unaccounted for. It was time to move to phase two of their plan. It involved waiting. Kris knew that once their fellow Grynn didn’t come back, that more would be sent to see what happened to them. They were not to enter the house until the number of Grynn was down to about five or less.
They waited for a few minutes and sure enough, Kris was right. Six more Grynn left the house in search of the ones who hadn’t come back, four to the barn and two to the vehicles. Once again, the Warriors were able to take out the Grynn with hardly a sound. The crackling of the radio caused Alix to jump.
Believe Page 5
