“Shall we take a walk?” She asked trying to change the subject. “I do not seem to have any effects of being asleep for twenty years other than I am intolerably stiff.”
A gentle smile crossed his face before he nodded, “As you wish.”
The two got up and dressed alone before Kaedin took hold of her hand. They headed out of the cabin to wander the woods together.
Rin and Kaedin arrived back at the cabin when everyone else was beginning to wake up. When they walked inside, they saw Paige dash across the hallway in front of them as she ran into the room with her brother and Sara.
“Sara,” she said as she plopped down on her bed. Sara glanced at her before a small smile appeared on her face. “Are you feeling better?” Paige gave an exaggerated sigh when Sara only nodded and still did not say anything. Jake shook his head with a smile as he looked away from them. He was relieved that they were both all right. He glanced across the room and his smile slipped when he noticed Rin watching them from the doorway.
“Why does she still have a fever?” He asked, his voice taking a sharp edge. “Wasn’t that supposed to be gone now that you aren’t freeloading.”
Rin raised her eyebrow with an amused smile, “Interesting choice of words Jacob.” She crossed the room and held a hand out to Sara.
Sara hesitated as she just stared at her hand. Even though she knew this is the woman she had been hearing in her head, she did not feel like she really knew her. It took her a few moments before she reached out and put her hand in Rin’s. With piercing green eyes, Rin observed her for several minutes causing Sara to shift as she got more uncomfortable when it felt like Rin was looking through her.
“It appears that Sara has retained a small piece of my magic,” Rin said, letting go of her hand. “The fever shall go once her body accepts it.”
“You were supposed to get out of her,” Jake snapped, his voice started to rise, and he could not conceal all of his frustration.
“Yes, that would have been ideal,” Rin said with a tilt of her head. “However, things never go quite according to plan when magic is involved. It seems to have its own will at times.”
Jake stood up and moved around the bed so that he was right in front of her. “I want you out of Sara now.” He glowered at her, but she seemed unfazed.
“I am out of her, Jacob,” she said. “The magic that remains is hers. If I tried to remove it from her it would harm her.”
His expression did not change as he folded his arms across his chest.
“Okay, well now that that is settled, let’s figure out something to do!” Paige said, her voice filled with excitement. “We are on break!”
Jake glanced up to look at his sister but noticed Kaedin in the doorway. He was leaning casually against the door frame with his arms crossed. When he noticed Jake look at him, his eyebrow rose with disapproval. Jake frowned once he realized he had not noticed he was there.
“He has been there since you raised your voice,” Rin answered his unspoken question and Jake narrowed his eyes.
“I didn’t realize I raised my voice.”
“Hey! I wasn’t talking to myself,” Paige yelled.
Rin looked over at Paige with a smile, “Forgive me, Paige. I do not know what there is to do here. However, I do have a request for you and Sara.” Paige and Sara exchanged a quick glance. “Please do not worry. I only wish to, perhaps, borrow some of your clothes.” She paused and pulled the skirt of her dress forward. “You see I have been in this gown for twenty years and would love to get out of it.”
Paige’s eyes opened wide as more excitement washed over her face.
“You mean I can pick out clothes for you?” She asked, and Sara rolled her eyes at her friend’s enthusiasm.
“I suppose that would be all right, within reason,” Rin replied, her voice becoming wary. She knew Paige was prone to taking things way too far. “They must be functional.” Paige was not even listening to her as she bounded up next to her.
“Let’s see,” she said with a grin. “You look like you are about Sara’s height, but you look a little smaller than her. Oh! Do I get to do your hair too?”
“Uh, --.” Rin started to reply but Paige was already starting to shoo the men from the room.
“Out! Out!” Paige yelled. “We girls have things to do!” She pushed Jake toward the door and Kaedin was forced to step back. He was not impressed, and Jake could not keep from chuckling. It was nice to see his sister irritating someone other than him for a change. Kaedin expression darkened when he looked over at Jake. The two frowned at each other before they headed in different directions to wait for the girls.
A little while later, Jake was sitting in a chair in the living room tapping his thumb on the chair in impatience. He did not like leaving Paige and Sara alone with Rin. Sighing for the fifth time, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and noticed he had a missed call. He opened the menu to look and realized there were ten missed calls from the base. His eyes opened wide in shock and he immediately dialed the number.
“This is Captain Riverwood…,” he started but the operator cut him off.
“One moment, sir, while I transfer you.” Jake tapped on the arm of the chair while he waited several minutes before the phone started ringing again. It was picked up after one ring.
“Where have you been?” A firm voice asked on the other end of the line. Jake’s eyes narrowed with anger when he realized it was his father.
“I left the base after completing my duty, sir,” he snapped back. He heard a frustrated sigh on the other end of the line.
“Jak--.”
“What’s this about?” Jake asked. “You’ve never cared what has gone on with me until now.” There was another sigh.
“There have been multiple sightings of creatures that are immune to our weaponry. I’m still your father and want to know where you are.”
Jake bristled, and his face became unnaturally calm. “You gave up being my father the day you walked out on us. I will return in time for my scheduled shift tomorrow.” He snapped the phone closed, cutting off the call before the general could respond. Jake shook his head in confusion. He did not understand what was going on. Why in the world of all times did his dad want to try and be a dad now? He shook his head again. It made no sense. He glanced at the time on his phone again and hoped the girls would be finished soon.
Rin stood looking at the clothes Paige had picked out for her. She tilted her head with a frown when most of it was unfamiliar to her. Picking up the dark brown cargo pants, she put them on and the sports bra before Paige turned back around.
“I am not finished,” Rin said in surprise.
Paige shrugged, “I couldn’t wait to see how it looked! Hurry up!”
Rin raised an eyebrow in disapproval before she picked up the black tank top and pulled it over her head.
“Whoa, you have a ton of scars,” Paige said, her curiosity piqued. “How did you get all of those?”
Rin paused and looked down at the countless small and medium scars plus one or two big ones on her torso.
“Training and battles,” she replied before turning her attention to a black sweatshirt. Her brows furrowed when she had no idea what to do with the zipper. “I do have to say this sports bra is very nice. We do not have these in my world.” She continued fiddling with the zipper without looking back at Paige.
Paige tilted her head when she picked up on the fact that she was changing the subject and for once did not push the point. “All right ladies it’s time to do hair!” She said clapping her hands together with excitement.
Once Rin figured out the zipper and closed the sweatshirt, she and Sara sat down, side by side on the edge of the bed. Paige gathered all the supplies she needed before heading back over to them. She stopped when she got a closer look at Sara’s hair.
“When did you get silver highlights?” She asked in confusion. “And it's curly.” Sara looked back over her shoulder and Paige handed her a mirror.
&nb
sp; “Whoa,” Sara gasped. “That’s all new.”
Rin glanced at her out of the corner of her eye. She wondered if the changes could have been caused by the magic.
“Well, I think it looks great, so I won’t touch your hair but Rin, goodness girl, have you ever cut your hair?” Paige asked.
“No,” she said, her voice sharp. “And do not…” She trailed off when she realized Paige had just cut a large section of her hair. “What are you doing?” Her voice raised in agitation.
“It’ll look great, trust me,” Paige said as she continued to cut her hair. When she was finished Rin’s waist-length hair was now just above her shoulder blades.
“Your hair is straight now,” Sara said staring at Rin.
“What?” Rin gasped as she snatched the mirror out of Sara’s hand. Her mouth dropped open when she saw that her normally curly, frizzy hair was now completely straight and smooth. “It would appear that we are taking on a few characteristics of each other.” Rin paused as she looked back at Sara. “It looks as if your eyes have also changed Sara. They are now turquoise instead of blue.” Rin turned the mirror so that Sara could see. Her eyes widened in shock.
‘Great, I didn’t look like enough of a freak before,’ she thought, her shoulders dropping.
“You do not look like a freak. I believe that eye color on you is quite lovely,” Rin said.
Sara looked at her in panic, “I didn’t say that out loud.”
“Think something else,” Rin said as her eyes narrowed.
Sara looked at her like she was crazy before she started fidgeting with her sweatshirt sleeve.
‘Like what?’ She thought.
‘Anything,’ Rin thought.
“Well I don’t know what else to think about,” Sara said with an uncomfortable sigh. Rin raised an eyebrow.
“You heard me think anything?”
“No, I heard you say anything.”
“I said nothing.”
Sara looked up at Paige in a panic and noticed she was already on the other side of the room. She pulled the door open and stuck her head into the hallway.
“Jake!” She yelled.
Rin and Sara both stood up from the bed. Sara dropped her brush back into her bag that was sitting on the edge of the bed. A few seconds later Jake appeared in the doorway.
“Are you ladies finally finished?” he asked. His brows furrowed when he noticed Paige glance back and forth between him and Rin. “What?”
“It appears that Sara and I have maintained a bit of a connection, and we have shared some of our physical traits,” Rin said, her voice calm and level.
Jake’s mouth dropped open before he snapped it shut, “What do you mean a connection?”
“I can hear her thoughts and she can hear mine,” Sara whispered while she kept her eyes locked on the floor in front of her.
“Are you serious?” Jake spat at Rin. “This is your fault. Why can’t you just leave her alone?”
“Do you think for a moment that this is what I wished to have happen?” Rin’s voice raised as she looked up at Jake. “That I wished to disappear and be trapped for twenty years?”
Jake walked closer but kept the bed in between them. “I don’t care what you want or wanted. The only thing I care about is Sara and how you’re going to fix this for her.”
Rin took a step forward so that she and Jake could have been face to face if he did not tower over her.
“I cannot do anything. The magic is hers as I told you before.”
Jake clenched his jaw and glared at her. Sara took a hesitant step forward and moved to put her hand on Jake’s arm. When she did, she brushed against her bag and sent it tumbling to the floor. The three of them glanced down at the floor and Rin’s entire body went rigid. There was a small black book with a silver willow tree on the cover amongst the contents of the bag. Rin leapt back away from it before rounding on Sara.
“Where did you get that book?” She gasped, her voice laced with fear. Sara looked down in confusion before Rin pushed her into the wall beside them by the shoulder. “Where? I do not remember you getting that book.”
Jake made a move to get around the bed, but Rin threw her hand into the air, “Pevanas.” A strong wind slammed into Jake with a quick wave of her hand and in seconds he was pinned to the wall on the other side of the room.
“Leave her alone,” Jake yelled. He cursed when Rin ignored him. Her full attention was on Sara.
“I don’t know,” Sara stammered. “I’ve never seen it before.”
Rin took a quick step backwards and grabbed the book off the floor. She opened it and found an elven inscription in the front. This part of history cannot change. As soon as she finished reading that line a vision of her older self, writing in the book flashed through her mind. She gasped and dropped the book. Her entire body was trembling as she dashed out of the room. She made it outside the cabin before Kaedin caught up with her. He could sense her sudden panic and fear.
“What is wrong?” He asked as he grabbed her by the shoulder to stop her.
“What do you remember of that day?” She asked looking up at him, her face clouded with fear. Kaedin paled at the mention of the day she disappeared.
“Not much,” he admitted with a sudden shiver. “I remember coming to the cave to get you, but before I could help you, I was attacked.”
“You did not see who did it?”
“No, it was too dark.”
Rin’s look of fear shifted to one of shock, “It was Londar. He used that book. It contained the incantation.” She paused and started to tremble worse at the memory. “Now, the book shows me that I am the one who created it. How is that possible?”
Kaedin pulled her to him and wrapped both arms around her. His grip was firm as he held onto her, “I do not know but we shall figure it out.” He did not loosen his grip on her until she quit shaking. Once she did, he let go and stepped back.
“Spar with me,” he said. “It shall help you relax as always.”
Rin peeked up at him before she nodded and rocked back on her heels and waited. He made the first move and threw a controlled punch in her direction. She blocked it and returned with one of her own. They continued like this and just started to get into a rhythm when Jake burst out of the cabin. He stormed toward the two while Paige and Sara trailed behind him.
“You!” He spit out at Rin. She and Kaedin both stopped moving and watched him approach. She could tell he was furious and was not surprised. He had dealt with a lot of strange occurrences and had nearly lost both of the people he cared most for in the world. Her head tilted when she realized he could probably use a good sparing session as well.
“What?” She asked, her tone goading. She knew he would not agree to fight with her unless she provoked him. “Do you wish to go a round?”
“Hell yes, I do,” Jake snapped.
“Then come on,” she taunted. “I do not have all day.”
He glared at her as he fell into an easy fighting stance. Rin just stood with her hands at her sides, waiting for him to make the first move. He threw a punch with his right hand, which she easily avoided before she came up under his arm with a quick jab. Jumping back, he managed to avoid the blow. They continued in this manner for a while and it became apparent quickly that while Jake had the advantage of a much longer reach, Rin was much faster than him.
After a couple more minutes, Rin appeared to be getting bored. Jake threw another punch which she blocked, but instead of letting go, she jerked his arm backwards. Before he had a chance to react, she swept his feet and a second later she had him laying on his stomach, with his arm twisted behind his back. She was sitting on him with her knee in the small of his back.
“Have you had enough?” She taunted.
Jake ground his teeth in frustration. She was insanely fast, and he was not quite sure how to keep up without hurting her. Ignoring the pain in his shoulder he pushed up off the ground even with her on his back. She leapt off and landed on her feet. He paus
ed long enough to rub his shoulder for a few seconds as he attempted to keep the grimace off his face. She had gotten a hold of the one he bruised in the fight with Londar. He started to circle her again waiting for an opening. She mirrored his movements until she gasped and glanced at her hand. He took the momentary distraction to throw a punch her direction. A look of shock crossed his face when he connected with her shoulder, but before he had time to process, he found himself sitting on the ground a foot away. Kaedin stood between him and Rin.
“What is wrong?” Kaedin asked, not paying any attention to Jake.
Jake scrambled back to his feet and walked back over to the two just as Rin held out her hand to show an ugly burn that had appeared. Kaedin raised an eyebrow as he watched bruises slowly start showing on her face.
“Rin?” He asked, his concern spilling into his voice. “What is happening?”
She glanced up at him and it took her a moment to answer.
“I believe that my body is having to catch up with what my soul experienced inside of Sara,” she said before she sank to one knee with a quiet groan. Blood began soaking the back and front of her clothes. Kaedin’s eyes opened wide in shock.
“I have got it,” she gasped as she held her hands over the large wound in her stomach and back. “Rujhāe.” Her hands began to glow with a pale blue light. The wounds healed and quit bleeding.
“You allowed Sara to get this badly injured?” Kaedin snapped at Jake.
“This injury was my fault,” Rin interjected before Jake could reply.
“What?” Jake and Kaedin both exclaimed at the same time. They gave each other a dirty look when they realized they had said the same thing.
“I shall explain later,” Rin said with a grimace. Her hand was pressed against her stomach.
Jake stared at her for a few moments. “Looks like you’re getting what you deserve,” he said, his tone sarcastic, before he could stop himself. Kaedin spun in place and decked Jake right in the face. He staggered backwards and ended up sitting down hard on the ground again, his jaw and cheek starting to bruise. Paige and Sara hurried over to him before he could get up and Paige grabbed his arm.
Whispers of Time Page 20
