Chosen One

by Katie Holland

  “They should take your word for it but I get what you’re saying. Let me think about it and see what I can come up with. The bus is here, we’d better get our seats.”

  Alix was pretty quiet on the way back to Fox Hollow. She had lots of things on her mind and was trying to sort through them. How could she find a way to prove that Logan was being influenced by the Grynn? To everyone else he appeared to be a normal seventeen-year-old boy. Charming and cocky but still just a teenage Nykara. If Alix hadn’t seen the blue aura, she’d have never known he was dangerous either.

  When they arrived back at Fox Hollow everyone got off the bus and went their separate ways. Alix wanted to put her things away, so she went straight to her room. Ben was right behind her. After the little incident in London there was no way she was leaving his sight.

  After she put her London goodies away she turned to Ben. “I think we need to talk to Kris before dinner. I’m starting to get that urgent feeling like I did when I knew the hikers were in greater danger.”

  “Okay,” Ben said to her. “Do you want to go to his room?”

  “Do you mind finding him and bringing him here? I really don’t want to run into Logan right now.”

  “I’m happy to go find him. Will you be okay here for a bit?”

  “Yes, I should be. The protective shields are still in place, so I should be just fine. Thank you, Ben. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

  “Shay is my friend too so anything that might help her I’m good with. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

  Ben left, and Alix waited, not so patiently, for him to get back. He ended up only being gone a couple of minutes.

  “Kris was in his room, so it didn’t take me very long,” Ben said when he walked in the door.

  Alix quickly put up a sound barrier, so they could talk safely.

  “Alix,” Kris said as he entered, “what can I do for you?”

  She told him about her dream from last night, what she saw when Logan touched her and about having no tangible proof of what Logan was doing.

  “Do you think we should talk to Ruth or Shelley?” Ben asked when Alix was finished.

  “Yes, I think it’s time to talk to them,” Kris said. “Let me go tell them we have something to discuss with them and I’ll let you know what they say. Okay?”

  “Um … yeah sure. That sounds good,” Alix said.

  “I’ll see you two at dinner,” Kris said as he left the room.

  “I don’t know why I feel so nervous.”

  “Well, you care about Shay and it hurts you that something bad is happening to her. You’re nervous because you want to make sure she’s okay and involving other people is always scary.”

  “Once again you’re right. I just want Shay back to normal and figure out what to do with Logan.”

  “I have every faith that we’ll do that with you at our side. After all, you are the Chosen One,” Ben teased her.

  Alix had to smile at that. He was really good at making her feel better.

  They went down to dinner which was wonderful as always. Alix thought that Merideth should open up her own restaurant. Alix noticed that Shay and Logan weren’t at dinner and that worried her even more. She wasn’t having a panic feeling yet, so she let it go for now. Kris caught up with them after dinner and let them know that the Council could meet with them before breakfast the next morning. Apparently, Ruth and Shelley had some business outside the castle that evening. Alix didn’t really want to wait but it was out of her hands.

  The rest of the night was free time, but Alix just wanted to chill. She and Ben went to her parent’s room and spent some time with them. They talked about their shopping trip in London and Alix told them about learning to make the dessert with Merideth and Sara. She even told them about her crazy idea to open a bakery in Sunset Creek. Not surprisingly her parents didn’t think it was a crazy idea and were willing to support whatever she wanted to do.

  Alix started thinking back to how she felt before Ben and his parents moved into the “creepy” house. She’d wanted nothing more than to go to college far away from Sunset Creek. She was surprised at how much a couple of months had changed things for her. If her and Sara opened a bakery that would mean staying in Sunset Creek. In September that thought had her cringing but now she found it comforting.

  Alix and Ben left her parents room and went back to her room.

  “Do you need to get anything from your room?” Alix asked him.

  “No, I grabbed a few changes of clothes yesterday. Are you tired?” he asked.

  “A little but not tired enough to sleep.”

  “Okay, do you want to find a movie on?”

  “Sure.”

  Ben took the remote and started flipping through channels. They finally settled on one that had just started. Alix was watching the movie when she suddenly smacked Ben in the chest.

  “What was that for Alix?”

  “I just realized that you never told me how you got the secret fireplace door closed.”

  “And that was worth hitting me for?” Ben said, fighting a smile.

  “I didn’t hit you, I just got your attention.”

  “You could have said ‘hey Ben’ or maybe ‘by the way Ben’, I’m pretty sure you didn’t have to leave a handprint to get my attention.”

  “Oh, quit being a baby,” Alix told him. “And besides, I didn’t hit you that hard.”

  “Actually, I think it’s probably a big red mark in the shape of your hand. Let’s see," Ben said, and started to lift up his shirt.

  “Stop!” she yelled. “Stop, I don’t need to see.”

  Ben continued to lift his shirt up with a devious smile on his face.

  “Okay, okay, I’m sorry for hitting you.”

  Ben lowered his shirt. “Thank you, Alix, for that most gracious apology,” he said with a huge smile on his face.

  “You drive me crazy, you know that, right?”

  “Yep, it’s all part of my charm.”

  “Whatever,” Alix scoffed. “Anyway, back to my original issue. How did you get that door closed?”

  “Since you asked so nicely I guess I’ll tell you.”

  Alix just rolled her eyes.

  “You know that tree with the tiny door on it?”

  She nodded.

  “Well there was a house beside it that had a very well-hidden door on it too. The actual door to the house was another secret button. When I pressed them both together the fireplace door closed.”

  “Huh. That’s cool. I still want to discover what’s on the other side of that door.”

  “Do you want to go now?”

  “No. We have to get up early to talk to the Council and I’m kinda tired from that dream last night.”

  “No problem. But we will explore it before we leave here.”

  “That’s for sure.”

  They got back to watching the movie. When it was done they both thought it was time to go to bed. Alix hoped she didn’t have any crazy dreams that night.

  Chapter 25

  Alix woke up screaming for the third night in a row. Ben was at her side as fast as he could get there. She was breathing hard and it took a moment for her to register where she was.

  “Alix …Alix … look at me,” Ben said urgently and grabbed her hands.

  Alix was finally able to focus on Ben’s face. “Shay … Shay’s in trouble. Logan has her somewhere … trapped in a box, like I saw yesterday. I need to call an emergency meeting. Let’s get dressed and gather everyone that’s here and have them meet us by the fireplace in the foyer.”

  Alix was frantic and had a hard time even getting dressed. She had no idea what time it was but that didn’t matter. Ben didn’t question what Alix said and was dressed in record time. He even had to help Alix find her shoes and get them on.

  They left her room and started knocking on doors. Alix went to her parent’s room while Ben went to his. After a brief explan
ation they were on to the next rooms. Alix knocked on Shay’s, not surprised that there was no answer. She opened the door and went in. It didn’t look like Shay had been there at all that night. Alix left the room and went to the next door.

  In a few minutes they had woken everyone up and were waiting in the main foyer. To say that Alix was anxious was an understatement. She was pacing when Ben stopped her.

  “It’s okay to be scared Alix. She’s your best friend and a huge part of your life. We’ll get her back.”

  Ben held her hand and that calmed her down a little. Once everyone was there Alix started talking.

  “I’m sorry for waking you all up in the middle of the night but there’s something going on that you all need to know about. I don’t have any physical proof but I’m hoping that what I have to say will be enough. Please look around and see who’s missing from our group.”

  “I don’t see Shay,” her mom said.

  “And my nephew, Logan, isn’t here either,” Jack said.

  “Yes,” Alix said. “This is what I need to talk to you about.”

  She then told them everything about Shay and Logan. The fight, the blue aura around Logan, Shay’s strange behavior, what they learned from Kris about the Grynn in WWII and the extra energy that was in Shay.

  Finally, she told them about what she saw when Logan bumped into her and the dreams over the last three nights.

  “The dream I had tonight was vision dream and that’s why we woke you all up for an emergency meeting in the middle of the night. Logan has Shay trapped in a box somewhere in this castle. And we need to find her before something truly bad happens to her. We also need to find Logan and see if we can fix him. As much as I don’t like him I don’t think he’s doing this of his own free will. I think the Grynn are controlling him and I want to be able to find a way to undo their influence on him,” Alix told them. “So, we need to think of a plan and fast. I have a feeling that we only have until sunrise to find Shay and fix Logan. Remember, the ultimate goal for the Grynn is to find a way to get their hands on me so we have to find a way to save Shay and Logan.”

  Everyone was silent for a moment then everyone started talking at once. She heard her mom talking about being worried about Shay. She heard Jack asking himself how he could have missed the signs that Logan was not his normal self. And a few other people were asking questions.

  “Hang on everyone,” Alix said loudly. “We can’t panic. We need a plan quickly and then find them. Worrying and arguing isn’t going to get us anywhere and we can figure out the why later. Since we can’t set up a shield like we do to keep the Grynn out we need to create one that will contain the Grynn/Nykara combination. Kris, Rick, Samantha, Connor, and James, you figure out how to do that in a hurry. If you need help let me know, we don’t want him leaving the castle.”

  They all agreed and moved a little bit away from the group to talk strategy.

  Alix continued. “Ruth, Shelley, Sara, June and Mike, you start figuring out how we might get the Grynn powers out of Logan. Karin, and Merideth, you two find a way to detain Logan until we can help him. Natalie, I need you to stay with my parents. They can’t defend themselves with magic and I need to know they’re safe. Jack, I’m sorry but given the circumstances we’re going to have to confine you to a room. We can’t take a chance that they’ve gotten to you as well.”

  “I understand,” he said.

  “Gordon, you’re going to come with me and Ben to find Shay and Logan. I have a feeling that you know this castle better than anyone.”

  “Anything you need Miss Alix and yes, I know every inch of this castle.”

  Alix, Ben, Gordon, and Natalie took Jack to the closest room. They talked for a minute about how to keep Jack in that room when it suddenly hit Alix that she already knew what to do.

  “Guys, I know what we need to do,” Alix told them. “Remember back when I was in the cave with Victor and he bound me, and I bound him back, well I think I can take that same magic and manipulate it for our needs. Give me a minute to figure it out.”

  Alix searched her mind for exactly what it had felt like to bind Victor. Once she had it she thought about taking that same energy and using it to fill an entire room. She was ready.

  “Okay I’m ready. Everyone but Jack needs to leave the room.”

  Ben, Natalie and Gordon left the room, but Ben stood watch at the door. Alix released the energy she was holding and let it fill the room. As it reached the walls she backed up toward the door. When she reached the opening, she let the rest of the energy go and the room was sealed.

  “Jack,” she said, “try and come out the door.”

  He walked to the door and stopped at the entrance. “I can’t go any further he said, it’s like I’m hitting a solid wall.”

  “Alright, that’s good. I’m sorry we have to do this Jack. I hope you understand why.”

  “I understand completely, and I apologize for all the trouble Logan is causing. I had no idea.”

  “We’ll be back to get you when this is over,” Alix told him.

  They went back to the foyer where everyone else was busy trying to figure out how to do the things Alix tasked them with.

  “Kris,” Alix said when they entered the room, “I know how to protect the castle, but it will take all of us to do it.”

  That had everyone’s attention. She explained to everyone how they had confined Jack and that they could use that same method to keep Logan from leaving the castle.

  “But I’ll need everyone here to help me. Even though I have access to a huge amount of energy this will take even more than I have,” she said. “I’m going to need you to allow me to combine all of our energies in order to do this.”

  “I don’t understand,” Ruth said. “How can we combine energies and how do you even know something like this will work?”

  “I know it’ll work because I’ve seen it done before. It’s a long story and you won’t remember it if I told you anyway. How it works is that everyone here will have to touch me, and I’ll pull your energy into me. It will basically magnify my natural energy and I can create the shield around the castle.”

  Ruth gave her a skeptical look. It was Natalie that addressed that look.

  “Ruth, you haven’t seen what Alix is capable of. If she says it’s possible then it is.”

  “Thank you, Natalie,” Alix said, then turned to Gordon. “Where can we go that is kind of a central point in the castle?”

  “On this floor?” he asked.

  Alix nodded.

  “Probably just down the hall from where we are now I believe Miss Alix.”

  “Great, thank you Gordon. Okay everyone, let’s go.”

  They all went down the hall and waited for Alix to give them further instructions.

  “So, all I really need you all to do is put one of your hands on me. It doesn’t matter if it’s my arm, back, leg or head, as long as you’re touching me.”

  Alix closed her eyes and concentrated. As each person touched her she felt her energy increasing. It was an amazing feeling. She was able to tell when the last person was connected. It was like a circuit had been completed. She took the same magic she’d just used on Jack’s room and expanded it to include the entire castle. With the combined energy of everyone she was able to put the shield around the castle just as easily as she’d done the room.

  “Okay everyone, it’s done,” Alix told them. “Thank you for trusting me.”

  “Will this same magic work for detaining Logan as well?” Merideth asked.

  “Yes, it will,” Alix responded. “Now, all we have to do is find Shay and Logan.”

  Chapter 25

  Alix flung her energy out and focused on Shay. She felt her almost instantly. It felt like she was underground, but to the best of Alix’s knowledge the castle didn’t have a basement.

  “Gordon, are there rooms underneath the castle?” Alix asked.

  “Yes Miss Alix. Like most
castles built back then this one has dungeons underneath it.”

  “Can you show me how to access them?”

  “Anything you need Miss Alix. Please follow me.”

  “Ben you need to come with us. Everyone else stay here and prepare for us to come back. I don’t know what Shay or Logan will be like when we find them.”

  Alix and Ben followed Gordon to the far northeast corner of the castle. Gordon opened a door that led to a set of stairs. He flicked a switch and the stairway was lit up. He started down the stairs with Alix and Ben right behind him. The further down they went the colder and damper it became. By the time they reached the bottom Alix was wishing she had an extra layer on.

  “It’s rather like a maze down here Miss Alix. Do you know where you want to go?”

  Alix concentrated for a second and could feel Shay so strongly that it was almost like a flashing neon sign that was pointing to her location. She started walking, following the strong tug she was feeling. They twisted and turned and seemed to be going every direction. If it wasn’t for the feeling she’d have no idea where she was supposed to go. That’s probably what Logan was counting on.

  Alix motioned for Ben and Gordon to be quiet. She quietly approached the door where her feeling was the strongest. She put both of her hands on the door and gently pushed her energy through the door. She was trying to “see” what was on the other side of the door. She could feel Shay’s presence, so she knew she was in that room. She tried to sense if Logan was in there too but all she could feel was Shay.

  Alix pushed on the door, but it didn’t budge. “Gordon how do you normally open these doors? I don’t see a keyhole or anything. Shay’s in there and we have to get her out.”

  “I’m sorry Miss Alix but I’ve never needed to try to open one of these doors before.”

  She turned around and held her tattoo up about an inch from the surface of the door. She moved her hand back and forth hoping to feel something different. Near the middle of the door she felt a change.