“Good afternoon,” His deep voice reverberated around the room. “Your normal professor is on leave for a few weeks and I will be taking her place. I am Lon Hildar.” He glanced around the room and his eyes stopped when he found Sara. A sly smile flashed across his face before he turned his attention back to the rest of the room. “Who can tell me where you left off on your music theory?”
A few students raised their hands to answer the question while Sara took the opportunity to snatch her things off the floor and bolt out of the classroom. She did not stop running until she was more than halfway back to the apartment. When she stopped, she bent over and rested her hands on her knees as she tried to catch her breath.
“Is something wrong?” A familiar voice asked. She looked up and found Kaedin standing next to her. His expression darkened when he noticed she was trembling from head to toe and her phone was clutched in her hand. “Sara?”
She jumped when he said her name and started backing away from him. Her hand tightened on the phone.
“I’m fine,” she mumbled.
“Are you certain?” He asked as he took an unconscious step toward her. She flinched away from him and he stopped moving while he struggled to keep his conflicted feelings hidden. She stared up at him for a moment before she turned and ran in the direction of the apartment. Kaedin watched her for a minute before he trailed her home at a distance. Once he saw her go inside the building he stopped and Raven and Hikaru appeared beside him.
“We need to find out who is trying to get to her and why,” Kaedin said without taking his eyes off the building. Raven and Hikaru started toward the campus but paused when Kaedin did not follow right away.
“Jaeha is near,” Raven said causing Kaedin to look back at him. He glanced back at the building once more before he sighed and followed them back to the campus.
Sara dashed into the apartment and locked the door behind her. She looked around and did not see Paige. Fear coursed through her when she realized she was alone, and she hurried into her room. She locked that door also before she sat huddled in the corner of her room. She pulled her knees to her chest and tried to figure out what to do. Her first instinct was to call Jake, but she knew he would not be off yet. She tightened her arms around her legs and rested her head on her knees. Struggling to remain calm she wracked her mind trying to come up with a plan, but nothing came to her.
A sudden, soft knock on the door to her room caused her jump. Her eyes flew to the door, but she remained quiet.
“Sara?” Paige’s voice asked from the other side of the door. “Are you in there?”
Sara stood up but did not approach the door right away. She could not figure out why, but Paige’s voice sounded a little off. It took her a couple minutes before she decided she was being paranoid. She unlocked the door and went to open it, but it was flung open and hit her. Staggering backwards, she struggled to remain on her feet when a look of terror became fixed on her face. It was not Paige at the door.
“Hello Sara,” Lon said, his voice sounded just like Paige.
Sara scrambled backwards to put more space between them when he stalked into the room.
“Where are you going?” He asked his voice back to normal. An amused smile crossed his face when he saw she was already shaking. Sara’s eyes did not leave him as he continued toward the back of the room. When he was only a couple of feet away from her, she tried to sprint for the door.
“Pevanas,” He said with a small wave of his hand. A sudden wind slammed into her and sent her sailing across the living room. She hit the wall with a loud thud and fell to the floor. Getting up on her knees she struggled to take a deep breath, the force of the impact knocked the wind out of her.
“No, no,” Lon mocked. “We do not want to run.” He crossed the room with unhurried steps while he acted like a cat playing with its prey. Sara managed to get back to her feet before he reached her.
“What do you want?” She stammered.
“I told you before I am looking for someone.” He leapt toward her. She jerked away and opened her mouth to scream. Moving so fast it was impossible for her to react, he grabbed her and had his right hand over her mouth in an instant.
“Now, now,” he chastised. “We do not need any unwanted guests.” He tightened his grip as she fought to get away from him. “Let us see if my inference is correct.”
“Kāepkara,” he said, his voice becoming icy as he held up his left hand above her.
Sara’s eyes widened with fear when his hand started to glow a strange pale green and as the glow grew brighter, she felt a strange burning sensation. It was like something was being torn inside of her. She started to scream when the pain intensified, but his hand muffled the sound.
“Fight him!”
She almost did not hear the voice speaking to her.
‘How?’ She thought just before she screamed again. The pain was becoming unbearable.
“Elbow, kick, hit, anything!” The voice sounded like she was also in pain.
“Interesting,” he muttered. “But it is not enough proof yet.” The glow started to dim as his attention turned from the spell. Sara took the chance when the pain lessened to slam her elbow into his stomach as hard as she could. He grunted more in shock than from pain, but his grip slipped enough that she could pull away. She fought to remain on her feet and scrambled toward the door of the apartment when it suddenly opened. Paige started to walk in but stopped when she saw Sara. She took about half a second to observe before she grabbed Sara’s hand and the two of them ran down the hall of the apartment building. They made it outside before Lon appeared on the path in front of them.
“Going somewhere?” he asked.
They skidded to a halt. Sara glanced around and shivered when she realized he had stopped them in a section of the path that was hidden from view of the building by large bushes. She looked down when she felt something hit her hand. Paige tried to hand her the phone she had behind her back. Sara took it and stepped to the left to keep the phone hidden from view.
“That is not going to assist you,” Lon said with a dark chuckle. “Pevanas!” He waved his hand and another strong wind hit them. It knocked the phone out of Sara’s hand and with another wave of his hand it flew toward him. He snatched it out of the air, and before either girl could react, he crushed it and dropped the pieces on the ground. When his full attention returned to them, they started backing away. He raised his hand again as he stalked toward them but before he could say anything, Jaeha appeared in front of the girls. Lon stopped and his eyes widened for a split second.
“Here babysitting? That leaves someone important alone, does it not?” Lon asked, his normal smug demeanor returning.
“What are you doing here?” Jaeha asked, ignoring his question.
Lon chuckled with a cold smile but did not answer the question, “Cūdāe.” He disappeared a split second after saying the strange word but Jaeha did not lower his hand right away. After nothing happened for a few moments, he faced the girls. They were clinging to each other eyes wide with fear.
“Come,” Jaeha said, his voice calm. When they exchanged wary glances, he sighed. “I will not harm you. We need to go back inside. It is safer than out here.”
They hesitated, but after a few moments decided to follow him back inside. He led them back into the building and up to their apartment. When they were about to open the door, Jake walked around the corner and down the hall toward them. He was not paying attention until he was almost to their apartment. Once he saw them, he stopped and looked back and forth between them and Jaeha. His expression darkened as he took in their appearance.
“I believe this is where I take my leave,” Jaeha said with a small head bow to the girls. He gave Jake a small head nod as he passed him. Jake was confused but followed them into the apartment.
“What is going on?” he asked.
Neither of them answered right away. Paige just sat down on the floor where she was, and Sara walked over to Jake. He pulled
her into a hug and waited.
“I don’t know what happened,” Paige said, breaking the silence. “I got here, and some man was in here and Sara was running for the door. I grabbed her hand and we ran. The man caught us outside but Jaeha showed up and he left.”
Jake stiffened as soon as he heard there had been a man in the apartment. He looked down at Sara, “The same one?” She nodded but did not look up at him. “Tell me everything.”
Without letting go of him, Sara told them everything that had happened. When she was finished and glanced up at him, his face was blank. She knew now that meant he was suppressing his emotions. It took him a few moments before he made any kind of response.
“He touched you,” He asked, his voice taking a dangerous edge. When Sara nodded, she felt him clench and unclench the hand that was against her back several times. Paige watched him. She was a little unnerved by his tone since she had never heard him use it before. Sara looked up at him and he gave her a strained smile.
“I am going to need a minute,” he said in a controlled voice. “I think we should watch some TV for a little while and then we can discuss this further.” The girls did not make any comment as they all headed over to the couch and chair.
A short time later, Sara could tell that Jake had relaxed. He was absentmindedly brushing his fingertips across her back while they watched an outdoor survival show.
“So,” Paige said over the TV. Jake looked over at her and waited for her to continue. “What are we going to do?”
“I’ll go to class with Sara in the morning,” he said without even pausing to think. “I’d like to meet this man.”
“Don’t you have to work?” Paige asked.
“Nope, I have the day off tomorrow.”
The next day the girls went to their various classes for the day much to Paige’s displeasure. This was the first day since she started college that she attended all her classes. She found having her brother around to be annoying.
When it was time for Sara’s last class, she dragged her feet as they approached the music building.
“It’ll be fine,” Jake said. “I’m with you this time.”
She nodded before they entered the classroom and sat down. A few minutes passed and a kind looking older woman walked into the room.
“That’s my normal professor,” Sara said confused. She looked around the room and no one else seemed to notice. Turning to one of the other students she asked, “When did our usual professor come back?”
“What do you mean?” The student asked.
“We had a substitute last class.”
“I don’t know what class you were in, but we’ve never had a substitute,” the student replied before she turned back to her notebook.
“He was her--.”
“I’m sure he was,” Jake said cutting her off. “He made himself sound like Paige. Who knows what else he can do.”
She started tapping her thumb on the desk in agitation and Jake reached down and grabbed her hand.
“Do you want to leave?” He asked in a whisper. She nodded and the two left the room.
The next week passed without Lon showing up again much to Sara’s relief. Jake spent all the nights he had off at the girl’s apartment. He was unable to get off the night shift rotation, so when he could not be there, much to his displeasure, Raven would stay with them.
On Saturday afternoon, Sara stood looking at a couple of outfits laid out on her bed. She bit her lip when she just could not decide what to wear.
“Sara,” Paige said as she walked into her room. “Aren’t you ready to go yet? We’re going to be late for the homecoming game.”
“No,” Sara said with a nervous sigh. “I can’t pick what to wear.”
Paige rolled her eyes, “He’ll like anything! Just come on.”
“It’s our first real date,” Sara whispered, her face turning crimson.
“Oh, alright,” Paige said with a giggle. After looking over what Sara had laid out, she grabbed a layered blue and white tank top, a pair of brown jeans, a green military style jackets, and her normal navy shoes with daisies. “Hurry and put this on so I can help you with your hair.”
Sara took the clothes and changed as soon as Paige left the room. When she was finished, she left her room and found Paige waiting in the bathroom. She pulled up the sides of her hair and put it in a barrette. After leaving her bangs down she curled the rest of her hair.
“There,” she said with a grin when she was finished.
“Thanks,” Sara said with a smile. “You’re in a better mood.”
“Yeah, I know I was a real pain.” Paige frowned. “Jake and I talked the other day and he explained everything about dad. I never had any idea what really happened. I feel a lot better about it now.”
“I’m glad.”
“Yeah I’m sure you are,” she said with a laugh. “Let’s go!” She grabbed Sara and pulled her with her toward the door. They left the apartment and made their way to the stadium via the campus shuttle. When they arrived, Paige met up with Raven and they all headed into the stadium. Sara could not help but fidget with the sleeve of her jacket while she waited on Jake to arrive. It was only a couple of minutes before she spotted him making his way through the crowd of students. She smiled when she saw him. He was wearing his civilian clothes again.
“You look very nice,” he said with a smile when he reached her side.
“Thank you,” she whispered as she flushed bright red. “You look good to--.”
“Aww,” Paige’s voice interrupted. “How cute.” She laughed when her brother gave her a dirty look and turned her attention back to Raven.
The four of them watched the game before the students headed to a nearby field for a large bonfire. When they reached the field Paige and Raven drifted away from Jake and Sara. As they walked toward the fire Jake reached over and took hold of Sara’s hand. He interlaced their fingers and she glanced up at him with a shy smile. They stood watching the fire together while groups of students milled around.
“Are you enjoying yourself?” Jake asked.
“Yes, are you?”
“Yup, I wish we could do this more often.”
Sara nodded in agreement before she rested her head on his arm. Jake squeezed her hand in response. They continued to watch the flames as they extended higher into the sky as the students added more fuel. It was not long before Jake sighed, and Sara leaned away from him.
“We need to head back?”
“Yeah,” Jake said, his voice unhappy. “I have to work the early shift tomorrow.”
“It’s okay,” she said. “I understand.”
He squeezed her hand again, “I’m so lucky that you do.”
She gave him another shy smile before they headed toward the jeep hand in hand. They were almost back when Sara suddenly stopped dead in her tracks. Jake glanced down at her in confusion before he saw that she was not looking at him. He followed her gaze and found a figure standing in front of them. Pulling her back, he stepped forward to stand in front of her.
“Hello again, Sara,” Lon said.
Jake felt her start trembling the moment the man spoke, and he tightened his grip on her hand, “What do you want?”
“I would believe that would be obvious by this point,” Lon replied with a smirk. “I shall be taking the young lady.”
“You’ll have to get through me first.”
Lon laughed, “That shall not be a problem.” He moved so fast that it was almost impossible to see and appeared behind Sara as he reached out to grab her. Jake pulled her out of the way and blocked Lon’s hand with an open palm causing Lon’s eyes to narrow.
“You are quick,” he said, his tone unimpressed. “But let us see how good you are.” He stalked around the two of them. Jake analyzed the situation in an instant. He knew if he let Sara get too far from him that Lon would use that to his advantage. Wrapping his arm around Sara’s waist, he pulled her against his chest. Her feet were up off the ground so that he
could still move around. It would be harder to fight but he would not have to try and keep track of her this way.
Lon launched at him with a flurry of blows. Jake countered or dodged them as he waited for an opening. He twisted to the left and blocked a blow with his shoulder before he spun back and landed a solid blow to the center of Lon’s chest. Lon gasped and took a surprised step backwards. His eyes narrowed as he regarded him, and Jake took the opportunity to adjust his grip on Sara.
“I do not have time to play with you,” Lon snarled as he took a step forward and then disappeared. Jake glanced around before he lowered his head and closed his eyes. Sara felt his strong muscles tense a few seconds before he took a quick step to the left as Lon became visible again. He raised his right arm in front of his face and blocked Lon’s blow. A momentary look of shock crossed Lon’ face before he took a step back.
“It would appear as if I have underestimated you,” he said, his voice ice cold. “But it is time to end this game.” He pulled out a katana from its scabbard that was laced tight to his back. Jake did not hesitate to pull out the pistol he had concealed at his side. The two leveled their weapons at each other.
“Jake!” Paige’s voice carried from around the bushes behind them.
“Hey, Jake!” The sound of Raven’s voice joined hers.
Jake did not take his eyes off Lon as he shifted enough that he would be between Lon and Paige when she came around the bushes. Lon’s irritation at being interrupted again was palpable.
“Cūdāe,” he snapped before he disappeared. Paige and Raven came around the corner just after Lon was gone. Paige froze when she saw her brother and looked around in confusion when she did not see anyone else around them.
“What’s going on?” she asked.
Jake holstered his weapon while Raven eased closer to Paige. He had his hand resting on the hilt of a dagger he had hidden under his shirt.
Whispers of Time Page 17
