“We need more help in the barn. The horses are out, and we can’t get them all back.”
Alix recognized the voice as one of their Warriors. She knew that the two by the vehicles were also headed to the barn to help.
“Roger that,” said an unfamiliar Grynn voice.
A minute later, four more Grynn left and ran to the barn. Alix knew that was their sign to get into the house. They had the layout of the house and Alix, Ben, Kris, and their Warrior crept around to the back of the house. Kris opened the door very slowly and checked to see if the coast was clear. They entered into the kitchen and moved silently into the hallway and to the next room. They hadn’t seen Sara or the Grynn, but Alix knew they were there.
Their team moved as a unit into the main living room of the house. Alix saw Sara on one of the couches, still tied up and unmoving and the room looked empty. The second Kris touched Sara the room was suddenly swarmed with Grynn. They all had energy balls ready and aimed at Kris and Sara.
The instant the energy balls left the Grynn’s hands Alix yelled, “STOP.”
She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Everyone and everything in the room was frozen in place. It was like time had stopped for everyone but her. Even Ben and Kris were frozen in mid-motion.
She took a chance and dropped her cloak. No one moved. She walked to where Sara was and touched her. She felt warm and alive. Alix took a minute to figure out what to do. She wanted to talk to Kris, but didn’t know how to unfreeze him without doing it to everything. The instant she unfroze them, the energy balls would kill Kris and Sara. That wasn’t an option.
Taking a minute to feel what her magic was doing, she knew that some of it was being used to keep everything from moving, but she also knew she still had access to every other part of her magic. Her first thought was to get everyone out of there safe.
She touched Sara again and this time she put a protective shield around her that would also maintain her body heat and not let the cold in. Then she sent her energy around Sara and lifted her into the air. She floated her out of the house and to the spot on the other side of the wooden fence where she and the Warriors had climbed over earlier.
Once she knew Sara was safe, she went back to the house. It was exactly as she left it. She went over to Ben and did the same thing she did to Sara. Put a protective shield around him and floated him out to the fence.
During the next hour, Alix used the same method to get everyone in their group to safety. She was careful to maintain the magic that was keeping everyone suspended in time. Once her people were out of harm’s way, she moved all of the Grynn from the barn and by the vehicles into the house. She needed them all in one place for what she had in mind.
When she was done and back at her group, it was time to release the magic. She went to the place in her that had caused the world to freeze and let it go. Everyone was confused because suddenly they were in a different place from what they knew.
“Everyone,” she said, but they didn’t seem to hear her. “Everyone,” she said louder, and managed to get their attention. “I’ll explain what happened in a minute, but first we need to take care of the Grynn. I’ll be right back.”
She started back toward the house with Ben and Kris right behind her. They knew her well enough to trust what she was doing. Alix gathered up as much energy as she could. They heard yelling coming from the house and she knew it was time.
Just like in Paris, she used a series of very strong energy balls to destroy the house and all the Grynn inside. She wasn’t running away this time, so she made sure that no one would walk away from it. The energy ball caused an explosion that rocked the ground. Satisfied that no one could come after them Alix walked away from the ranch.
Ben and Kris were giving her strange looks. Not good or bad, but maybe a look of surprise.
“The Grynn were going to kill you and Sara,” she told Kris. “That wasn’t going to happen, so I took care of it. All the Grynn on this property were in that house so we don’t have to worry about them anymore. And Kris, you’ll probably need to get someone here to take care of the horses that are in the barn.”
Alix was surprised that her voice sounded so normal. She didn’t feel bad about what she’d just done. The Grynn were going to kill her friends so she stopped them. Now they wouldn’t hurt anyone ever again.
“What just happened Alix?” Ben asked, as they walked back to the others. She knew he didn’t mean the energy balls causing the house to explode.
“I’ll try to explain it when we get to the van. I don’t know if the police will be on the way. This is a pretty isolated place, but that was a pretty big explosion.”
Kris made a quick call. “Someone will be here to get the horses, but if the police are here, they will let them take care of it.”
Alix nodded and started walking back to where they’d left the van.
Chapter 10
Being the professionals they were, the Warriors didn’t ask any questions on the way back to the van. Two of them had volunteered to carry Sara, which Alix was grateful for. She would examine Sara when they got on the road and away from the ranch. She was hoping it was the Sleep of Death and not something more serious that she hadn’t encountered.
When they were in the van and driving Alix did her best to explain what had happened. She still wasn’t quite sure how she’d managed to freeze everything. When she was finished telling them what happened, Kris looked at his watch.
“Alix, by my estimation based on what you told us, accounting for the time it took you to move everyone out of the house, it should be almost 4:00 in the morning. But my watch is telling me it’s only 2:45am. That means you stopped time. I didn’t think that was possible.”
“I didn’t either and I still don’t know how I did it or if I could do it again. How could I do something that extreme and not even know how it happened?”
“Somewhere within you your magic knew you could do it, otherwise it never would have happened,” Ben told her.
“But still,” she said. “That’s some crazy stuff. I mean, stopping time should be against the laws of nature or something, shouldn’t it?”
“Alix,” Ben said. “I’ve learned that when it comes to you to expect the impossible.”
She didn’t know what to say to that. She still couldn’t fathom how she could stop time. Next time she had a chance, she was going back to the white room and check if it had ever been done before.
Since there was nothing she could do about that now, it was time to check on Sara. Alix put one hand over Sara’s heart and the other on her head. Pushing some energy into her, she started to search for the Sleep of Death. With only a little effort she was able to find it and remove it. She took her hands-off Sara and sat back, waiting for her to wake up.
Sara started slowly opening her eyes. When they were fully open, she looked at Alix and smiled. The smile turned into a sneer and she launched herself at Alix. Sara’s hands were around Alix’s throat before anyone could react.
Alix couldn’t breathe and wasn’t able to use her magic because of that. Kris grabbed hold of Sara. Ben and another Warrior each grabbed one of Sara’s hands and pried her fingers away from Alix’s neck. She took a huge breath of air. By the time she got her breathing back to normal someone had bound Sara and rendered her unconscious.
“What just happened?” Alix said, in a raspy voice.
Everyone just shook their heads.
“Why would she attack me?”
“Alix,” Ben said. “I don’t think you should talk right now. We don’t know if your throat is damaged. I’m going to have Mike meet us at the house so he can heal your throat.”
Alix just nodded at him. She was still in shock.
It was Kris who spoke next. “Until we find out what they’ve done to her, we’re going to have to keep her like this, Alix. We don’t know what she’ll try and do.”
Again, Alix just nodded. They moved Sara’s unconscious body to the front of the van, as far away
from Alix as they could get her right now. It made Alix a little sad that Sara had attacked her, but she had to remember that it was something the Grynn had done to her.
Needing to say something to Ben she decided to text him.
Alix: You need to call Ruth right now and tell her everything that happened. I don’t think we should wait.
He smiled when he saw the text from her.
“Okay Alix, I’ll call her right now.”
Alix: Thank you. And tell her that if she needs to talk to me, I’ll call her after we get home and my throat is better.
Ben nodded and made the call. Alix could tell by the look on Ben’s face that Ruth didn’t have very good news for them either. Ben eventually ended the call.
Alix: I take it she didn’t have good news
“No, she didn’t have good news. After you had her check there have been reports worldwide of missing Nykara. So far, Sara is the only one that’s been found that they know of. She also doesn’t want you anywhere near Sara until she can be safely contained. She told us to take her to the black room in the room of rooms.”
Alix: What’s in the black room?
“I don’t know. But I guess we’ll find out when we get there.”
On the way back, Ben called Mike to have him come to the safe house. Then he called his dad to tell him what had happened and to expect Mike. Not long after Ben hung up Alix’s phone was ringing. It was Shay so Ben answered it. He told her Alix shouldn’t talk and to text her if she wanted to, but they would be home in the next couple of hours. Alix wasn’t surprised when her phone dinged with the text noise.
Shay: Are you ok???
Alix: Mostly. My throat really hurts. It’s too bad I can’t heal myself. Lol.
Shay: There’s nothing funny about this
Alix: Sorry. I guess I’m a little freaked out about everything.
Shay: What is everything???
Alix: Well the whole stopping time thing for starters. It was insane Shay! I mean, who am I to stop time. That’s just not right.
Shay: From what I understand you didn’t do it on purpose
Alix: That doesn’t matter. It’s just the fact that it happened. It should be against some kind of universal law or something.
Shay: Stop Alix. You can’t change it and it allowed you to save everyone’s lives.
Alix: How do you know so much about what happened?
Shay: Rick had Ben on speaker, so we all heard what happened
Alix: Ok
Shay: How are you feeling about Sara?
Alix: I don’t really know. I know in my head it wasn’t her, but she tried to kill me. I was so scared when I couldn’t breathe. Thank goodness everyone here was a quick thinker. Did Ben tell you about the black room?
Shay: Yes. I wonder what it could be.
Alix: I guess we’ll find out in a while. I know we’re close to home but I’m going to try to get a little bit of sleep.
Shay: K. See you soon.
In the last few minutes Alix had realized how tired she really was. She curled up next to Ben and put her head on his shoulder. He put his arm around her, and she closed her eyes. She knew that nothing would happen to her as long as he was around.
Chapter 11
Alix woke up when Ben shook her awake. They were back in Sunset Creek. She guessed she’d gotten to sleep for about an hour. By the time they were at the house, everyone was waiting outside for them. It was around 7:00am, still early but at least it wasn’t the middle of the night.
She was mobbed in a group hug by Shay and her parents when she got out of the van. She ushered everyone inside since it was freezing out there. Two of the Warriors carried Sara in the house and put her on the nearest couch. They would take her to the black room after Alix’s throat was healed.
“Alix,” Mike started. “Can I heal you now?”
She nodded. Mike gently put his hands on her neck and sent his healing magic into her. She immediately felt better.
“Thank you, Mike. You have no idea how good it feels to talk again.”
“Any time, Alix. Now, I need to get to school. I’ll check in with you later.”
Mike and his Warrior shadow left. Everyone turned to look at Alix. She looked at Sara.
“I guess we take her to the black room. Can you two carry her?” she asked the same two Warriors that had brought her into the house. They nodded and picked her up.
Everyone followed Alix up to the second floor to the closet that held the secret door.
“Hang on,” Ben said, just as Alix was about to create the door. “I forgot that you’re supposed to call Ruth before you go down there.
“Oh, okay.” Alix called Ruth.
“Hello Alix. I’m glad you can talk again.”
“Me too. So, what’s up?”
“Are you headed to the black room now?” Ruth asked.
“Yes, we’re just about to go down the stairs to the room of rooms.”
“Okay. I’ll meet you in a few minutes. Go ahead and go into the black room.”
Alix hung up a little confused. “She said she’d see us in a few minutes, but to go ahead and go to the black room.”
Ben just shrugged and Alix created the ancient looking door that led to the stone staircase. Alix didn’t envy the two Warriors that had to try and carry Sara down the twisty stairs. She hoped they didn’t drop her. Yes, she tried to attack her, but she was still her friend until she learned otherwise.
They stopped in front of the black door. Since Alix didn’t know what was behind it, she thought “open” and turned the handle. When she opened the door and stepped inside, she wasn’t sure what she was seeing. But what shocked her was that Ruth was waiting for them.
“Alix,” Ruth said. “Where is the girl?”
“Uh, Sara is right here,” Alix said confused.
“Bring her to me.”
The two Warriors stepped forward still carrying Sara.
“Follow me,” Ruth said to them.
Ruth turned around and went through a door that Alix hadn’t even noticed. When Alix stepped into the next room, she stopped dead in her tracks. It looked like a prison.
“What is this place?” Alix asked cautiously.
“This is where we keep Nykara that are not safe to be in the general public,” Ruth said.
“So, it’s a jail?” Ben asked.
“In a manner of speaking,” Ruth answered. “This is the room that in the past had held Nykara that were infected with the Grynn’s evil. It hasn’t been used in a very long time. It’s where Logan and the others would have gone if Alix hadn’t been able to cure them.”
“And we’re going to leave Sara here?” Alix said, slightly astonished.
“Yes,” Ruth said. “At least for now. We need to find out what’s happened to her and you need sleep. I understand she is your friend, but from what Ben told me she tried to kill you.”
Alix nodded.
“So, until we can determine what they’ve done to her, we need to keep her somewhere she won’t hurt anyone.”
Alix thought about it for a minute and had to agree that Ruth was right. She also knew that Sara would hate it if she did something that would cause harm to anyone.
“Okay. I see your point. But I don’t want this to be a long-term thing.”
“Understood. It was never meant for that.”
“Who will look after her?” Alix wanted to know.
“The staff at Fox Hollow will check on her and make sure she has everything she needs.”
“Fox Hollow? Where are we exactly?”
“This room is nowhere and everywhere at the same time,” Ruth said. “I came here from Fox Hollow and you entered from Sunset Creek. All safe house black doors lead to this room, just as every door to the white room leads to the same library.”
“So, if you left here with us would you go back to Sunset Creek or Fox Hollow?” Ben asked.
“I’m not sure. I don’t know anyone that has tested that theory.”
&nbs
p; “I think we should find out,” Ben told her.
“I agree,” Ruth said. “But first, let’s get your friend into a cell and wake her up. We need to see what will happen.”
Alix went to see what the cells were made of. They looked eerily similar to the Grynn cells that were underground on the island. She touched the metal and found that they were surrounded by Nykara magic. Only the front of the cell had the see-through bars, the other three walls were something solid. She put her hand on one of those walls and found it contained magic as well. She realized the magic was similar to the kind she used to bind the Grynn she’d encountered. Inside the cell was a bed, a sink, and a small enclosed room that held a toilet.
She left the cell and nodded at Ruth. The Warriors took Sara into the cell and put her on the bed.
“Are we going to wake her up now?” Alix asked.
“Yes,” Ruth said. “We need to see if she behaves the same way as in the van.”
“How are we going to do that?”
“Once the cell door is closed, the magic circuit will be complete and we can do magic from here that will affect the person on the inside,” Ruth told her.
“So, you mean that if I needed to bind or heal someone in there, I can just send the energy to the cell and it will do what I want to the person?”
“Yes. You just have to be touching part of the cell. It doesn’t even need to be the front where you can see them.”
“Wow, I wonder who came up with that idea?”
“No one is sure. It’s been this way as long as anyone alive today can remember.”
“Okay,” Alix said. “I guess I’ve stalled long enough. We can close the door now.”
Alix stepped back and watched Ruth close Sara in the cell. She could feel the instant the door was closed, the magic seemed to intensify around the cell. She was going to try to wake Sara up from where she was. Alix put her hand on one of the bars and sent her magic in that would release Sara from the magical binding she was in.
Believe Page 6
