by Bryna Butler
Chapter 20: Ready
Colby was standing at the window when Nana returned. He watched her park and rush out of the car. She opened a huge red umbrella and balanced it against her shoulder to free her hands. She then pulled a worn duffel bag from the trunk, presumably full of weapons. The unrelenting thunderstorm harshly beat down on her the whole while.
Colby was about to head outside to help her when he noticed that she was not alone. A slender, woman wrapped in a white, hooded cloak stepped from the passenger side of the car. The rain didn’t seem to affect the odd stranger. The drops fell around her, but not on her. She moved quickly, her cloak flowing gracefully around her. She almost seemed to float. Colby found himself frozen at the window, mystified by the stranger. He moved to the hallway as the two entered the house and started to the second floor. Nana topped the stairs first. “Colby, dear, if you would,” she requested as she handed him the heavy bag. He took the bag and immediately dropped it.
“Colby Hayes, you’re the last person in the world that I’d expect to see caught up in this,” said the lady in white.
Colby froze.
Keira pushed past him. “Ann, I’m so glad you can help us.”
“Mogdocs suck. I’ll do what I can,” she replied.
“Traveler,” Keira replied to Colby’s unasked question. “Hey, don’t blame me. It wasn’t my secret to tell.”
“Traveler?”
“I can teleport myself at will to almost any place or time,” Ann explained as easily as if it were an afterschool job. “I can also open travel portals or in this case, re-open them.”
“…and Jumper?” he questioned.
“Jump’s kind of spirit…it’s super, but all natural,” Ann smiled. “And, btw, he doesn’t know about any of this yet, it’s a fairly recent development. So, let’s keep this under wraps for a bit longer until I figure out if I’m going to tell him.”
Colby nodded in agreement and a bit of disbelief. He moved back into the bedroom to hand off the duffel bag of weapons that Nana delivered.
August grabbed it from him with one hand and dumped the weapons onto the floor. Colby didn’t appreciate the gesture, as he had just finished picking them up from the floor in the hallway, but he felt it best not to protest. August strapped a sword to one side and a gun to the other. Colby picked up a crossbow and flung it over his back.
“Do you know how to use that thing?” August asked him.
“I spent six years in 4-H Shooting Sports. I’ve got it covered,” Colby replied.
“Humans!” August chuckled to himself. “And while we’re on the subject, there’s something that you’ll need for our trip.”
He beckoned Bianca to join them. As she approached, she slipped a silver bracelet off her wrist. She cupped Colby’s hand and carefully handed him the trinket. On the end of the chain was what looked to be a smashed penny. “The mogdocs created this threshold, so we can’t be sure of where it leads. If it passes through the barrier, you will need this. Hide it. If Gammen sees it, he’ll know that you’re human.”
Human, the word triggered an epiphany. “It was you,” he whispered.
Bianca knew immediately what he meant, but allowed him to talk his way through it.
“A long time ago, Ann told us a story, a scary story about a girl. This girl was the only one to escape the shadows and their master. I had already put it together that the master was one of the Gammens, but the girl was you, wasn’t it? That’s why you’re not going with us.”
She kissed him on the cheek and whispered “Just make sure that BOTH you and Brooke hold it when you come back. Good luck”. The dainty bracelet was much too small for his wrist. He finally fastened it around his belt, tucking the coin into his waistband.
Meanwhile, down the hall, Nana pulled Keira aside for some last minute advice. Nana’s face was sober. Keira could see that her mentor was carefully choosing her words in her head before her mouth even opened.
Nana began slowly, “Keira, your parents are optimistic, but as your teacher, I know that it is better to be prepared.”
“Sure.”
“I’ve been thinking about the prophecy and about what has transpired. Prophecies are not clear, precise statements. They are subject to interpretation. This one says ‘impart a human gift’. Your parents, they first assumed that the gift would be an action or heirloom given willfully by a member of the Hayes family. Now, of course, they believe that the human gift is actually a human, Colby’s friend.”
“You don’t?”
“Keira, gifts are given. The Banes girl was taken. There is a difference. In light of all that’s happened, I fear that it may be someone else.”
“Who else could it be?”
Nana’s words were slow, each syllable deliberate so that Keira could feel the full weight of what was being said. “Keira, my dearest Keira, the word ‘gift’ can also mean ‘sacrifice’.”
“That thought crossed my mind too. But Nana, you have to know that I won’t sacrifice Brooke or little Drew to defeat Gammen.”
Nana grimaced, realizing that Keira did not comprehend the full extent of her words. “Keira, you have to realize that you may not have a choice.”
Keira glared at Nana.
“…and the human to be sacrificed may be the one that’s closest to you.”
“Everyone. Here. Now!”
August’s order vibrated in every corner of the mansion. Colby didn’t even see her at first, but Ann was standing at the window in Brooke’s bedroom. She had pulled t he hood of her cloak up to cover her curly, red hair. The long white cloak made her almost disappear in the white bedroom. Ann and August were holding their hands with palms forward and fingers spread, controlling a silver-bordered tear in reality that stretched from the white carpet to the white ceiling.
“Step in front of me,” Ann ordered.
As Keira and Colby moved in front of her, she touched her inner wrist to each of their foreheads. Her white cloak swirled around her. As she began to concentrate her eyes clouded over so that they were completely white. As she touched each forehead with her wrist, there was a flash of light followed by a loud pop.
“I’ve marked each of you so that I can move you if you need my help.”
Her voice was eerie. At least, that’s what Colby thought at first. Then he realized that it wasn’t different at all. The eerie part was that her voice was still Ann’s voice, even though she looked so other-worldly. He assumed that she would sound different; that she would be different. “Move us how?” he asked.
Keira stepped in. “Ann’s a traveler. She can travel through time and space. She’s placed her mark on us so that she can use it, kind of like a homing beacon, to locate us and move us to safety if we get in trouble.”
“That’s right,” she confirmed. “And I’ve marked your Dad since he’s going too. Plus, I’ve marked this.” She tossed a ring from Brooke’s jewelry box to Keira. “Just get close to Brooke and slip it to her. I’ll use it to bring her back safely too.”
“Have you ever done this before?” Keira asked. She had read about the mark during her training, but it was something that was only attempted by highly experienced travelers.
“Don’t get me wrong. It’s definitely a last resort, but it should work. I’ve covered all the basics.”
“How will you keep from pulling us out too early?” Colby asked.
Keira interjected. “Mom will know if something’s wrong.”
“That’s right. Her Mom and Dad’s bond is very strong. Bianca will know if something goes wrong. If she senses trouble, I will use the mark to pull you back immediately.”
Nana inspected the invisible mark on Keira’s forehead and took her position beside Ann. “Please be careful. I would very much like for you to join me for my birthday party next month,” she said to August.
“You old fox, I would never miss your 500th,” August smiled. He kissed her on the cheek and turned to the others.
“Here’s the pl
an. Ann and Nana will stay here and keep the threshold open for our return. Bianca, stay here and alert them if there’s trouble. Besides, Gammen would love nothing better than to get his claws on you. The rest of us will go through. I do all the talking. Play into the roles that they’ve given you. We’ll pretend to exchange Keira for Brooke. When Brooke is clear, Colby will escape back he way we came. Keira, they think you’re human, they won’t expect your speed and strength. Bov only keeps one or two guards, if even that many, with him. He’s so paranoid that he doesn’t even trust his own guards and so egotistical that he thinks he doesn’t need them. Let’s hope the Sect isn’t there, but just in case.” He pulled a new dagger from its sheath and presented it to Keira. “Be careful with this one. It’s tipped with a special poison, lethal to non-humans.”
“What about humans?” Colby asked.
“You could lick it like leftover cake batter on your mom’s wooden spoon.”
“August, this is much too dangerous.” Bianca pleaded.
Colby noticed a flash of excitement on August’s face and grinned back. It was evident that Keira inherited her love of adventure from her father. Colby couldn’t help but think that August probably enjoyed the excitement that this mission offered, a real deviation from his regular life.
August captured Colby’s returning grin and called him out. “Colby, don’t misunderstand. She’s right, this situation is grave. The mogdocs that you saw, the Sect of Low, they are lightning fast, vicious, and merciless. Emperor Gammen, himself, is one of the most formidable beings alive. When it’s time, don’t look back. Run straight through the tear. No matter what.”
“Yes, sir,” Colby replied with genuine admiration.
“Ready!” said August standing before the rest, facing the threshold.
“Ready!” Colby replied.
“Ready, Dad!” Keira returned.
The word ‘Dad’ flowed more easily from her tongue that it had before. Keira said it without even thinking and it didn’t go unnoticed. August took her hand in his. “Be smart and careful. Know that I will never leave you.”
He kissed her on the forehead. Then, the three stepped hand-in-hand through the ragged, silver tear in reality.
