“Strix, will you be joining us?” I called out mentally to him. I had left our link open so he could listen in since he hadn’t been around when Lorelle arrived.
“Yes, but I’ll need to be out of sight so the humans don’t notice me. Don’t worry, Kaliah, everything will be fine,” he responded confidently. “I have a few things to handle before I can leave, so I will meet you in Seattle.”
I gave him a mental nod and turned to follow Lucas from the room. Jordan and Kane left with us.
Strix hadn’t filled me in a ton about what he had been dealing with, but I knew it had something to do with one of his own going rogue and another missing. He had been spending hours with others like him trying to figure out if the two situations were related or not. Unfortunately, nothing had been resolved yet.
“Okay, see you guys at Lorelle’s in an hour. Don’t be late,” Lucas said with a pointed look to Jordan and Kane.
“Us, late? Never,” Jordan responded with a laugh as she and Kane walked out the door.
They were late everywhere we went. We had all learned that if we wanted Jordan and Kane to be anywhere on time, we always had to tell them to be there at least a half-hour before we really needed them there.
“You ready for another adventure, my love?” Lucas asked me.
“Well, at least this one doesn’t sound dangerous.” I shrugged. “I’m excited to go back and be near home, even if it’s just for a little while. Do you think we can use the gateway at Multnomah Falls to head there? It’s about three hours south of Seattle, but I would love for you to see where I grew up.”
“Let’s get packed and we can ask Lorelle. If she doesn’t think we have time, then we will do it on our way home,” he promised.
“Definitely. Helping Lorelle and finding these half-Guardians needs to come first.”
We ported back to our home. Lucas had lived on my parent’s property for many years while he was assigned to be their protector, but after we became Elders, my parents received a new protector and we moved into his childhood home.
The home was beautiful, just like everything else in Arvata. It had large windows that covered the whole front of the house. The bottom half was the living area and bedrooms, and the top half was an entertaining area, which gave an amazing view of Arvata Falls from the massive windows.
My favorite spot was upstairs next to the window in my large recliner, reading or watching the Falls. I was a sucker for a comfy place to rest and read.
It was time to pack for the unknown. Who knew what we would face in Seattle or where we’d be headed after that, but we had been training for this. We would be ready for whatever was thrown our way this time.
***
“Thank you all for coming so quickly,” Lorelle said as we gathered in her living room. “I believe the Fates wanted me to come back for you four because Kaliah and Jordan may be able to relate to the girl we’ll encounter. I’m unsure of how much she knows about herself, but hopefully she’ll be open to us and this won’t be difficult.”
“Do we know where she is in Seattle? It would be like searching for a needle in a haystack if not,” I said.
“I already have the address to her apartment and other Guardians were sent ahead of time to scout the area, so we have a general idea of her schedule. It shouldn’t be too trying as long as she hasn’t gone out of town,” Lorelle replied. “The sooner we get there the better, so we should be going.”
I was looking forward to spending more time with Lorelle during this trip. After all the good things I had heard about her, I hoped we would have some time to get to know each other better while searching for the half-Guardians. It seemed like the Fates kept a lot of information from her and if they didn’t start giving us more to go on, I’d have to pay them a visit.
Unfortunately, the Fates were stubborn and only answered our calls when they felt it was necessary. Something about how they couldn’t interfere unless it was absolutely vital.
“Can we use the gateway through Multnomah Falls to get to Seattle?” Lucas asked Lorelle for me.
“That’s not a problem, but we won’t be able to stay for long.”
It hadn’t sounded like any of these hybrids were in immediate danger, but Lorelle was in such a rush. I wondered if maybe she did know more than she was letting on. We shouldn’t be in this big of a hurry unless something else was going on.
“Do you think she’s keeping something from us?” I mentally asked Lucas.
“I think there may be more we don’t know, but she’ll tell us when it’s necessary. Try not to worry about it for now. I’ve known her my whole life. We can trust her.”
I gave him a mental nod. If Lucas trusted her completely then so would I. There was no reason we couldn’t wait for answers or press her for more information when the time came. If that didn’t work, I’d attempt to contact the Fates.
Being able to communicate telepathically with Lucas after our bonding ceremony had been the best gift. While it took some getting used to, it has definitely saved us in previous situations. Our mental communication worked just like the one I had with Strix, but Lucas and Strix couldn’t communicate with each other, unfortunately.
“Well, let’s get this show on the road! I’ve actually missed Earth since coming back to Arvata this time around,” Jordan said.
“I think you missed the shopping more than anything else,” I laughed.
We all went outside and ported to the gateway that would take us to Multnomah Falls. I hadn’t been through one since our honeymoon, so I was pretty excited about this trip. With the new Elder responsibilities and learning about my Arelia history, there hadn’t been time to go anywhere else since we returned.
“See you on the other side,” Jordan called out as she walked right through the gateway.
Poor Kane just shook his head and followed her. He’d come a long way since arriving in Arvata. He was almost as good of a protector as Lucas and he was the perfect match for Jordan. Watching my best friend have that connection with Kane and knowing how happy it made her was one of my highlights of this past year.
Lorelle went through the gateway next, and Lucas and I followed together. Going through it was what I would imagine floating in the night sky would be like. Once you were in the gateway, everything was black except some random lights that reminded me of stars. I felt like I was flying and I loved every second of it. Lucas held on tight to my hand and we came out the other side together a few moments later.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath of the air and smiled, while mentally taking in my surroundings. Oh, how I missed this place.
My senses had been heightened over the last year and I could feel energy all around me. The water ran deep here. There were waterfalls for miles around the area, and my skin tingled with the magic that called to me from the water.
I opened my eyes to find Lucas watching me with a grin on his face.
“We’ve only been here five seconds and you look more relaxed than I’ve seen you in a long time,” he said.
“This is home. I didn’t realize how much I missed it until the moment we got here. I can feel the water all around me. I wish we could stay longer.”
We would definitely be making time when this all was over to come back here. I couldn’t wait to explore the waterfalls now that I could feel their energy all around me, drawing me in.
Lucas gave me a look of understanding and a quick kiss before turning to Lorelle.
“Do we need to port straight to Seattle or can we stay for a bit?” he asked.
Lorelle seemed to think about it for a moment. “Kali, do you still have access to your parents’ house?”
“I do. It has electronic locks, so I just need to use the codes to get in.”
“It’s getting a little late, so let’s head to Kali’s and rest for the night. No sense in finding somewhere to stay in Seattle when we have a house here. I doubt we could wrap everything up with the girl tonight anyway,” Lorelle said.
There
was nothing she could have said to make me happier at that moment. I led them all to my parents’ house and got everyone settled with rooms and food. My parents made sure the house was checked on and stocked up once a month in case of times like this and I was grateful for it.
Once everyone was settled, I found Lucas in my old room where we would be staying. He was looking around at my photos and posters on the wall.
“You and Jordan were quite the pair growing up. Looks like you got into lots of mischief together from these pictures,” he said as I walked up behind him.
“We had lots of adventures together and I would do it all over again if I had the chance. We were like yin and yang, balancing each other perfectly.”
I took a photo off my dresser and remembered the day it was taken clearly. It was a photo of us when we were fourteen and my parents had taken us to Mount Hood for opening weekend of ski season.
“Jordan and I had been skiing with my parents and we were horrible at it. We fell so many times that by halfway through the day, my parents sent us back to the resort to relax in the common area until they were done. We didn’t end up relaxing at all, because Jordan decided we should go on an adventure. We ended up right back outside, hiding behind the trees and throwing snowballs at unsuspecting skiers before deciding to build a massive snowman. I was frozen solid by the time my parents returned.”
The picture I was holding was of us standing in front of our leaning snowman. It came out crooked, but we were still proud of our work and it was evident in our smiles.
“But you had fun by the looks of it. We’ll have to come back here in the winter and you can teach me how to build a snowman.”
“Would you like to go somewhere right now?” I asked. “There’s somewhere I’d like to show you.”
The sun would be setting soon and it’d be the perfect time to go to the top of Multnomah Falls.
“I’ll follow you,” he said while gesturing his hand toward the door.
We went outside and ported to the top of Multnomah Falls. There was a shallow creek surrounded by trees that ran above the waterfall with crystal clear water. We walked along the path of the creek and made it to the edge of the falls.
“This is one of my most favorite spots in the world, especially at this time of day. What do you think?” I asked Lucas as I snuggled into his side.
“It’s pretty amazing. I can see why it’s one of your favorites.” He pulled me into his arms and kissed me. “What are your other favorite places?”
“Well, that’s easy. The tree where I met Strix and any place I get to be alone with you. We haven’t had very many of those times lately,” I pouted.
Between becoming Elders and learning about my Arelia history, we hardly had any time together. Now we were going to be tracking down mysterious half-Guardians without truly understanding why. I cherished these times when we could sneak away.
“Just think, if we didn’t have all these distractions, you might be sick of me already. We wouldn’t want that.” Lucas smiled.
We stood there in each other’s arms watching the sun set behind the thousands of trees and listening to the water falling for a while longer. When the sun completely faded away, we ported back to the house to get some rest. We had no idea what we would be dealing with tomorrow or the days following.
CHAPTER TWO
The next morning, we ported to Seattle and gathered in an alley downtown, near the apartment building where Miah lived. Hopefully, we’d find her quickly and she wouldn’t completely freak out over what we were going to tell her. I wouldn’t blame her if she did, though.
“What’s the game plan for today?” Kane asked.
I glanced at Lorelle, assuming she had a plan of action that she was going to enlighten us with.
“Miah works for an animal clinic most days and lives about a block from here with a roommate named Lily. We’d prefer to catch her when she comes out of the apartment for the day,” Lorelle said.
“Do we know what she looks like?” I asked.
“Yes, Miah has bronze skin with short blonde hair. She has hazel eyes and is about five-and-a-half feet tall. She is one of the oldest half-Guardians and we believe she has some sort of power already, though we don’t know what.”
“Why do you think she has a power already, but you haven’t thought that about anyone else?” Lucas asked. I had been wondering the same thing.
“She has been present at several locations where accidents have almost happened. Those accidents would have all resulted in someone dying and each time when she was present, nobody was even injured. Leads us to believe she is able to stop the accident from happening somehow,” Lorelle replied.
“And by us, you mean the Fates?” I asked.
“Correct,” Lorelle said, but didn’t elaborate like I had hoped she would.
Regardless, that was interesting information. I wondered if Miah could manipulate time, see the future, or something completely different. We would have no idea what a half-Guardian was capable of until we came face to face with them.
“So, you’re telling us we’re about to meet a girl that may or may not be able to influence her surroundings and we’re just going to hope she is one of the good guys?” Jordan asked animatedly with her hands moving in the air as she talked. “Also, hope that she doesn’t freak out when we walk right up to her and say hey, come with us to a whole new world because you’re not human. Sounds like such a great plan,” Jordan finished with a roll of her eyes.
She had a point, but I didn’t know how else we were supposed to do it and Lorelle didn’t seem to have any other ideas.
“Kali and Jordan, you two will meet her in the street and try to get in her into some sort of conversation. See how she reacts to you two first. Kali, you can let Lucas know when we should join you,” Lorelle said.
“We can do that. Let’s head to her apartment area and figure out where we’re most likely to meet her,” I replied.
We headed out of the alleyway and I felt something heavy land on my shoulder, but I couldn’t see anything. I let out a small yelp and swiped at my shoulder, only to feel Strix’s soft feathers.
“What’s wrong?” Lucas was instantly on guard.
I let out a deep breath to calm my racing heart.
“I forgot Strix was going to make himself invisible so people didn’t see him and he scared the crap out of me,” I said with shaky a breath.
“Sorry Kaliah, I should have told you I was here before landing on your shoulder,” Strix said mentally and pressed his head against mine.
“No worries, little friend. I’ll remember for next time,” I replied with a smile.
Everyone else laughed and we kept walking down the street toward Miah’s apartment. It didn’t take us long to get there. Jordan and I walked across the street next to the apartments while the others sat at an outside table at a nearby café.
“You ready for this, bestie?” Jordan asked.
“No, but I’m better at thinking on my feet, so it’s now or never.”
We waited out on the street for twenty or so minutes before we finally saw a girl walking toward us that matched the description Lorelle had given. She was even wearing scrubs with animals on them, so I was pretty confident this was our girl.
“Excuse me, can you help us with something?” I asked her as she walked by.
Miah looked at us with wide eyes and ran. I glanced at Jordan and she just shrugged. What the hell was that about?
“What do we do, Lucas? She just took off,” I grumbled mentally.
“Lorelle said to go after her. She must have known we were coming and didn’t understand why,” he replied.
Jordan and I took off after her and caught up pretty quickly. Poor thing looked terrified. Her skin was a few shades lighter and her eyes were still wide in fear. Who does she think we are?
“Leave me alone!” she cried out.
We kept following her and she ended up getting turned around in an alley with a dead end. This was not go
ing well at all.
“We’re not going to hurt you. Why are you so afraid of us?” I asked when we got closer.
“I saw you! You were carrying me into this black hole and I was unconscious.”
I guessed that meant she could see the future, which explained how she could stop those accidents. I let Lucas know where we were and what she’d said. He and the others were on their way to us.
“I’m not sure what might happen to you that could cause you to be unconscious, but the black hole you’re talking about is a gateway. It’s safe and we would never hurt you. We only want to protect you,” I said softly trying to calm her down.
Jordan and I inched slowly toward Miah and tried to keep our stances inviting and friendly so we wouldn’t spook her again.
“A gateway? What are you talking about?” she asked while flicking her gaze back and forth between Jordan and me.
I could see the rapid rise and fall of her chest. She needed to calm down or this conversation would go nowhere.
“You can see the future, right?” Jordan asked her. “Do you know why you can do that?”
Miah’s eyebrows pinched together as she thought about that for a minute then she shook her head no.
“Do you know who your father is?” I asked and again she shook her head no.
“Your father is someone like us. We don’t know who he is exactly, just that he used to live where we’re from,” I explained. “The gateway you saw was probably taking us back to a place called Arvata. We believe your father is a Guardian that used to live there, but decided he wanted to live on Earth instead. It shouldn’t have been possible for him to get a human pregnant, but you’re living proof that it was possible.”
My gut was telling me to get as much information to Miah, sooner rather than later. She seemed to be processing the information and as she did, the others showed up and walked gradually to us. Miah noticed them and backed up further until she was pressed against the brick wall at the end of the alley.
“Miah, these are our friends. None of us mean you any harm. We only want to protect you,” I said urgently. “We think someone else might try to hurt you and we are here to make sure that doesn’t happen. I know you saw yourself unconscious, but maybe we can change that like you’ve changed other people’s futures.”
From The Falls (The Falls Trilogy Book 2) Page 2
