“Do one at a time. Start with Beru. Let’s go.” Sade slapped her hands together and stood up. She pushed Iri and Astor back and nodded at Beru to take both of my hands.
‘But what . . .” I tried to protest.
Sade interrupted me. “One at a time. You’ll come back.”
Beru grabbed onto my hands and closed his eyes, not giving me much choice in the matter. I closed my eyes as well and focused on the Island. I sucked in his energy, and it overcame me. His energy was hot and seductive and showed me his soul. It was pure and sweet. Perspiration coated my body, but soon, we both lifted off the floor and were being teleported.
I could feel my feet touch the grass and my eyes flew open. Beru and I were in the forest, far enough away to be safe. I was shocked it had worked, and even more surprised I still felt like I had enough energy to travel back alone.
“You did it,” Beru yelled as he picked me up in his arms and swung me around in the air. “You have to go back now. I’ll scout the area and find a safe place to bunk down in.”
I nodded and quickly got back into my trance. The sooner I did, the easier it would be to teleport. I was back in the cave in no time.
“I knew it! Is it safe?” Sade jumped up and down, laughing.
“Yes. Let’s do this quickly. Who’s next?” I looked between the three of them. They would have to choose.
Sade looked at Iri, “Astor.”
Iri nodded in agreement. Astor grabbed my hands. He wanted to get out of there quickly.
“No, the shield will come down. He’s last.” The thought hadn’t occurred to me before. I grabbed Sade’s hands before she could reject my comment and stole her energy. We quickly transported to where Beru was.
“Aria. That was not the plan.” Sade pulled her hands away, clearly shocked at what had just happened.
“I’m going back for Iri.” I didn’t have time to argue, and I was losing energy each trip. I closed my eyes and was back in the cave.
“Astor this time.” Iri pushed Astor toward me, and he tried to grab my hands, but I refused.
“No. You will die, Iri. This way, we are all safe. Don’t waste any more time. I’m losing energy. I need to hurry to make it back to Astor.” I held my hands out to him as Astor looked back at Iri, panicked.
“I can’t stay here alone.” Astor stomped his feet on the cave floor and began to cry. “I can’t, Aria.”
“You can. I will only be gone a few minutes. You can do this. Iri, let’s go.” I walked over to him, and he reluctantly looked at my hands.
Astor rushed toward us, but I was able to teleport before he reached us.
We joined Sade and Beru, but I fell to the ground. My energy was almost depleted, and I wasn’t confident I could make a round trip again. They all rushed to my side.
“Take my energy.” Iri held out his hand. “Take it all.”
“That’s not how this works.” My eyes filled with tears.
“Can you go and come back safely?” Sade knelt beside me.
“I’m going to try.” I nodded to her, and she began to cry.
She knew how big of a risk it was.
I closed my eyes and dug my hands in Lynia’s soil as I tried to harness her energy. It was different than human, monster, or healer energy. It may be what saved the mission, but I could only touch rock in the cave, so I wasn’t sure how I would get back.
I felt myself come into cool darkness, and I knew I was back in that cave. I barely had time to open my eyes before Astor grabbed me. “Where were you?” he cried. “I thought you were never coming back.”
“I’d never leave you here, old friend.” I rubbed his back and looked over at the shield.
It was beginning to deteriorate.
One of the spiders had poked through, and his spindles were stuck. It was only a matter of time before he was able to rip through it, and it would get a lot smaller in there.
“Okay, last one.” I closed my eyes as I wrapped my arms around him. I tried to tap into his energy—his magic—but he was too scared and had closed himself up.
The spiders were making progress with the rip in the shield. They pushed and pulled on it as they tried to make it bigger. I tried to ignore it, but my fear set in. Not for me but for Astor. Widow would want them to bring me to her. She would do away with Astor.
I had to get us out of there.
I heard feet scurry on the cave floor. First, they had broken through. I opened my eyes as a giant spider was almost on top of us. I held up my hand and grabbed onto him. I closed my eyes and wished to be with Beru.
The sound changed. It made me almost dizzy. I wasn’t sure what was happening but knew neither one of us were hurt. I opened my eyes and saw we were in the middle of being teleported. It worked. I used the energy of the spider.
It took us longer to reach them, but when we did, there were lots of hugs and tears. We had all made it to safety, and I could finally relax and regain my strength.
I turned away from my friends for a moment to myself. My happiness plummeted as I noticed a plume of smoke far off in the forest.
Widow had set the village on fire because she couldn’t have me.
Chapter 19
I felt water on my cheek. I didn’t have the energy to find out where it was coming from. I stood motionless as I gazed at the rising smoke. I couldn’t hear the wind in the trees or my friends as they spoke not far behind me. The silence was deafening, as if I were swimming underwater.
I looked back at Iri, Astor, and Sade. They were celebrating their escape from a near-death experience. They hadn’t noticed what we left behind. I wanted to scream at them to stop celebrating. People were dead, possibly my family, but I couldn’t speak. I opened my mouth, and nothing came out.
Sade noticed first. She pointed at me to get their attention. She called to me, but I couldn’t hear what she was saying. I was still underwater.
They rushed around me with worried looks and I pointed to the smoke, watching as their expressions changed from happiness to remorse just like mine had.
Sade lifted her hand to her mouth while Iri and Astor stared at the smoke as if mesmerized. Beru looked away. I turned back as the cloud of smoke became darker and more widespread.
Sade wrapped her arms around me, and I buried my head in her shoulder and cried. We had seen much destruction since we’d begun working together, but it was so much harder when it was the village you’d lived and worked in. People you’d seen every day for years. Your family.
“We’ll stop her. I promise you that, Aria,” Sade whispered in my ear.
I held on to her.
Beru joined in with our hug, then Iri and Astor. We all rocked in the wind and took time to be in the moment and feel for the first time in a long time. We had just been moving from one disaster to another we hadn’t felt pain like this in a long time.
“Can I join?” A voice interrupted our protected hug.
We broke apart, and as Iri moved to the side, Mother Ofburg appeared.
I ran to her with open arms, and we embraced. I needed her more than anyone. She would know what to do and how to handle everything. I had made such a mess of it.
“Now, now. Widow would have done it anyway. This is not your fault.” Mother Ofburg rubbed the tears off my cheeks. “There’s no time for crying now.”
“Tell me what to do.” I pulled away from her and waited for all the right answers. I’d do whatever she wanted.
“I think you’re a better judge of what should be done.”
Mother Ofburg greeted everyone. I tried to gather myself while they spoke. She was right. I had to lead the group. I couldn’t fall apart. We’d just beat an impossible situation. I couldn’t let them down now by giving up.
We had to continue our mission.
“The town is lost, I’m afraid. I can’t say for sure who made it out and who was trapped. I only know who hid with me.” Mother Ofburg looked toward me with sad eyes.
I hoped she was talking about my family. V
insha was in the dome and certainly lost. I prayed my brother and their baby were safe, and that was the reason they were not caught with her.
“What happened? When Aria left, they seemed content with holding people hostage.” Sade probed, trying to get more information.
“I’m guessing it was because she had Aria then lost her. But I can’t say for sure.” Mother Ofburg waved her hands. It was clearly difficult for her to talk about.
“Did she know we were in the cave?” Iri took his turn with Mother Ofburg.
“I don’t know. When I got back from my visit with Runa, the fires had already started. It was chaotic. People were running everywhere. I took who I could, and we hid. I made a break for it when it got dark.” Mother Ofburg’s hands shook as she explained what she had seen.
“Widow won’t stop.” Beru stood off to the side, not quite close enough to partake in our conversation.
“He’s right. She won’t. She will move on to another town and do the same. And then there will be more monsters set free. Lynia will not be safe until the prison is fixed.”
I put my head down, I knew what we had to do. We had to leave the village behind and continue south. Beru needed to figure out that he was the key. I was ready to scream the news at him, but that would compromise his journey.
“Beru and Aria, you must continue on. You need to hurry.” Mother Ofburg reached for our hands.
I knew what she was going to do. As a healer, she was the best reader of people. She knew more in a touch than spending twenty years with someone. She could also give us some of her healing powers to use later if we needed. But that also meant she would lose some of her resources, and they may never come back.
“We need to go south.” I glanced at Beru, who was already looking at me.
“I agree. I still don’t know why, but I feel like that’s the answer.”
“Then you must go. All of you.” Mother Ofburg stood back and extended her hand to the rest of our group.
We joined hands and had a moment of silence. I felt Mother Ofburg’s energy as she dispersed it amongst us. I tried to pull away, but she held firm, and I gave in. I closed my eyes as tears fell.
She was giving us her gift and potentially her life.
I kissed her cheek as we broke apart. “Thank you.”
“You’re young and have much of your life. I’m old and used up, my dear. I see nothing but good things for you.” Mother Ofburg hugged me.
“So, south it is. I’ll gather up what little we have. We can find more along the way.” Sade called the boys together.
“I wanted to speak with you alone.” Mother Ofburg pulled me off for a walk into the woods, away from the others.
“I need all the advice you can give.”
“He’s a good man. I know you have had your doubts and so have I, but his energy is good. You will do well to trust him.” Mother Ofburg stopped at the water’s edge.
A wave of relief washed over me. I had fought hard with myself the past few months about Beru’s character and potential. “I’m afraid I’ve ruined any chance of that happening.” I hung my head low. There wasn't enough time to tell her why.
“Forgiveness. First with yourself, and in time, with him.” Mother Ofburg put her arm around my shoulder.
I noticed her healing touch was gone. She had given it all to us.
She smiled down on me. “I’ll be fine.”
I looked out onto the water. It was so peaceful. I wanted to remember the moment for as long as I had.
“I’ll give it all back when I return,” I promised her.
Mother Ofburg smiled knowingly, but she didn’t challenge my statement. “He’s the one for you. Don’t fight it, child. I have seen. You will be happy with no other.”
“I’ve felt it too. Tried not to.” I half-smiled. I didn’t feel worthy of him most of the time.
“Let down your wall. It’s important for this trip. Get to know him better,” Mother Ofburg urged.
Mother Ofburg knew more than I did, that was for sure. Even if she had never loved a man before. Or perhaps she had. I narrowed my eyes, considering the air of calm certainty around her. “Any more advice I can take from your wisdom on this trip?”
“Don’t be so hard on yourself. You did what you thought had to be done. It didn’t come from a place of evil—it came from your heart.” She nodded as she looked off into the distance.
“I love you. I always have.” I fought back the tears. It had hurt so much to see her angry with me. She had been a second mother to me for so long. I had lost part of myself when she threw me out that day.
“We all make mistakes. Even me. That day was my mistake. Grief holds you hostage at times, and it’s impossible to see in front of you. Sometimes, it’s scary to think ahead in a different world. I trust you will forgive my lack of judgment in that moment of weakness.”
I hugged her hard. “Already forgotten.”
“Then, it’s time. You must gather your companions and head out. It will only get worse.”
I nodded and gave her one last hug. “Where will you go?”
“Don’t worry about me. I will find my place.”
I walked back to my crew and left her looking out into the distance by the water. They had already gathered what we had and were waiting for me to return to them.
“Is she coming?” Sade gestured to Mother Ofburg.
“No, I think she has a different journey ahead of her.” I gave her once last glance. “Let’s head out. We have a long walk to get where we need to go.”
We started out. Sade and Iri led, followed by Astor, and then Beru and I. No one spoke as we prepared ourselves for the next mission. The stakes had risen, and we’d just lost a huge battle. It would take time to get over, and time was something we didn’t have time. We needed to push all our insecurities aside now to seal the prison for good.
We walked until darkness set in then left the road and made a shelter deep in the woods, careful to keep our fire small in case of rogue ur’gels finding us. We didn’t know who was on our side anymore or how far the war had spread.
Sade and I settled in and gathered the remainder of the food into a soup so it would stretch a little further. The boys gathered wood for the night and set up a place to sleep. For the most part, we kept to our tasks and avoided speaking. I stirred the water in the pot while Sade dropped in vegetables and herbs.
“It won’t be the worst meal we’ve had.” Sade sighed as the last small carrot hit the water. “I hope to come across civilization tomorrow.”
“Maybe a farmer’s field. I’d rather not steal, but I don’t want to risk being seen.” I stirred the thin soup mournfully.
“Do you think you’ll see Mother Ofburg again?”
At first, I didn’t answer. I wanted to believe I would, but I knew I most likely would not. I settled on saying, “I hope so.”
“I’m glad, anyway, that you sorted things out with her. I know how important she is to you.” Sade sat back on the grass and arranged out our bowls, even though it would be a while before the soup was ready.
“Me too,” I muttered, not ready to talk about her.
“I know what she did.”
I knew what she meant, andwas happy not to be the only one to carry that burden. I nodded and turned back to the pot. I didn’t need to stir it constantly, but it gave me something to do, and I didn’t want to have to think about anything else.
Sade closed her eyes. “I’m dreaming about walking on the sand. Being back on the Island.”
“It was pretty special.” I was happy for the change of subject. I needed to be happy and think positively. It could save my life later.
“The food!” Sade groaned. “I’d live there just for the food.”
“You’d live there?” Her comment surprised me. She hated people.
“I would. I think I would. It’s the best place that I have been in a long time. I could get used to working for Captain Rose.”
“And have a normal life?” I
quizzed her. It wasn’t like her at all.
“Yeah, I’d like a normal life after this. I’m getting old I guess.” Sade laughed. “I’m about ready to retire.”
“Oh, come on.” I threw a small stick at her. “You wouldn’t know what to do with yourself if you retired.”
Her comment didn’t sit right with me. There was a chance she wouldn’t make it through the next mission. A chance none of us would make it through.
“I’d enjoy myself. You should think about it too. After all of this is done.” Sade waved her hand in a circle.
I smiled back. I wasn’t as optimistic about surviving as she was. I was just living day to day now. I wasn’t afraid to die anymore. It was a side effect of living life and not something to dwell on. But seeing Sade have a plan for the future made me think more cautiously. I wanted her to have that dream, but I knew the chances of her achieving it would be slim.
Chapter 20
As the others arrived back with wood and supplies for bedding, the conversation slowed. We were all exhausted from teleporting.
“Can I ask the obvious question? The one everyone is too scared to ask?” Astor pointed his spoon up in the air.
I rolled my eyes. He liked to stir the pot. I didn’t want to know his question, and I was pretty sure no one else wanted to either.
“No,” Sade replied almost immediately.
“Come on,” Astor begged.
“Go ahead. I’m guessing it’s about me.” Beru sat back from the circle into the darkness.
“He said it’s okay to ask.” Astor pointed to Beru. His comment was met with sighing and silence. No one wanted to waste energy arguing.
“Why are we going south when Beru doesn’t know why? It seems arrogant to me.” Astor placed his hand on his chest.
“Here we go,” Sade leaned over and whispered. “Don’t even bother to answer that one.”
“He has a right to ask it.” Beru brought his makeshift chair closer to the fire. “I’m blindly leading you all. It’s okay to say it.” Beru looked at each one of us. “I’m not afraid to talk about it.”
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