by Renee Greene
“But we are up against just as good of forces, and we can’t take the risk of Trina getting hurt,” his father explained. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine,” Dylan answered.
Vanessa looked over at him. He didn’t look so fine. “Where have you been?” she asked, suddenly noticing that she hadn’t seen him since fight practice. Instead, Rayne had hung around her all day.
“I’ve been with Pyria,” he answered with a vacant smile on his face.
“What happened?” Vanessa asked.
“Talk later,” Bryan insisted. “We must save Trina. Let’s get to the arch now.”
Bryan grabbed the book he’d taken from the library, and they all headed toward the arch. King Giles sent many men with them to protect them.
When they reached the arch, they expected for there to be a huge fight, but there was no one. That seemed really odd. Why wasn’t anyone there to threaten them or try to kill them?
Bryan looked around. “I guess we do this,” he suggested.
“Wait!” Nea called. She stepped up to him, and warned, “Be careful. I have a bad feeling about this. Be strong. Come back to me.” She held back the tears, but her panic was obvious as she almost cried, “I wish I could go with you.” She then gave him a kiss. Bryan didn’t object to it. Actually, it really helped. It didn’t entirely calm him, but her kiss gave him confidence and courage.
“I’ll be back,” he assured her. He again stepped up to the portal beside Vanessa and Dylan.
He didn’t get to say the words because Rayne called, “Wait!” He stepped over and gave Vanessa a quick kiss. “We’ll try to find your father,” he assured her.
Dylan eyed him and took Vanessa’s hand.
Finally, Bryan was able to say the magic words, “Earthain, entrare biblu ridd faeir ali iobairt.”
As soon as he said them, Rayne grabbed Vanessa’s arm. The blue light shone and they went through.
When they stepped into the library, Rayne exclaimed, “This is incredible!” but no one but Bryan could understand what he was saying.
“What are you doing here?” Bryan asked in Elvish.
“I wanted to see your world,” Rayne answered. “I have sacrificed to the shedding blood for Vanessa and my feelings for her are strong.” He looked at Vanessa and noted, “Obviously, you must have feelings for me.”
She said nothing, but stared at him in shock.
Agent White suddenly panicked, “Where’s Dylan?”
Bryan and Vanessa hadn’t realized he hadn’t come through.
“He was right here with us,” Vanessa explained. “Bryan, take us back through quickly. What’s wrong? We have to help Dylan!”
Bryan thought for a moment and said, “No… umm… Let’s save Trina.”
“But what about Dylan?” Vanessa asked.
“Umm…” Bryan stammered. “Umm… He’s with guards!”
She got the idea. Dylan was with King Giles’s men, so he’d be protected. They’d help him while she and her brother saved Trina.
Bryan then walked over to Rayne, and without a hint of hesitation in his speech, he scolded Rayne in Elvish.
No one else could understand what he and Rayne were saying.
“What are you doing here,” Bryan demanded in Elvish. “What did you do to keep Dylan from coming?”
“I just wanted to see your world,” Rayne defended. “I’m not doing anything wrong.”
“I don’t trust you,” Bryan warned. “You didn’t get approval, and I should have you cuffed and thrown in a cell.”
“You can’t do that to a prince,” Rayne argued. “I’ll stay with Vanessa. She can show me around and assure you that I’m not doing anything wrong. Honestly, I wasn’t even sure I would come through. Apparently her feelings for me are stronger than her feelings for Dylan.”
Bryan stared at him for a moment, then concluded, “That could play a factor, but it is not necessarily true. Now, we must figure out what to do with you. I will discuss it with Agent White.”
He turned around and explained in English, “Umm… Rayne shouldn’t be here. Umm… What do we do? I don’t trust him.”
There was some discussion. Finally, Agent White decided that he would allow Rayne to stay with Vanessa and Gail, as he and Bryan were needed to get Trina. It didn’t sound like a perfect plan, as Vanessa and Gail couldn’t stop Rayne if he wanted to do something bad. “I’ll put an agent I trust with them too,” Agent White added.
There was little time, so Agent White and Bryan went to the car to meet with Director Mahon. No, he hadn’t said his name, but Agent White knew who was behind it. He left protectors at the house with Vanessa, Gail, and Rayne, and he, Bryan, and several of his men went to try to rescue Trina.
*****
Rayne took Vanessa’s hand and pulled on her. He said something, and she was surprised that she didn’t understand him. Out of the three sentences he said, she had picked up enough Elvish in Elliad to get the word “home.”
“You want to see my home?” she asked.
He really didn’t understand more than the word “home” from her either. He really hadn’t thought of having a language barrier, as they understood each other perfectly in Elliad.
Since he couldn’t communicate with words, he shrank down small and offered her his hand. She got the idea. She shrank down and took his hand. The agents in the room gasped, as shrinking should be impossible. Yet, they acted very professionally and went around the house starting to secure any way that Rayne could escape from it.
He flew around with Vanessa, excitedly looking at all the things in her house. He jumped on the bed, stepped into the oven, climbed the bookcase, and looked out all the windows. Every time he looked out a window, his face became almost sad. The darkness was eerie. Elliad sparkled in the moonlight at night. Rayne had great night vision, but the trees were all green with brown trunks. The grass was green. Everything looked green.
He said something that Vanessa didn’t understand and then flew downstairs. He looked around the family room. The couch and all the pillows were soft. He flew to the door of the library and pointed at it.
“No,” Vanessa refused. “I won’t take you in there.”
His words sounded pleading, and his eyes looked more eager than a puppy wanting someone’s sandwich.
“No,” she refused again.
That time, he pulled her close to him and gave her a very nice kiss. He spun her around as he kissed her, and the magic of the moment sent sparkles all around them.
“No,” she still refused. “I won’t let you in.”
He kissed her again, but once again, she refused to take him into the library.
He gave up and they flew around again. He flew over to the lamp. Vanessa came with him. She felt very much as a bug should feel hovering and staring at a light. It was interesting to see her own house from six inches tall and flying. The lamp seemed huge. The TV seemed immense. Everything was so large.
Once he was done, Rayne flew upstairs. He made sure the agents could see them, but then he grabbed Vanessa and went invisible.
The agents gasped as Rayne and Vanessa suddenly disappeared. They searched the room, then searched the house. Finally, they opened the front door to see if they had gone outside.
As the door opened, Rayne flew with Vanessa though. He then began trying to find Bryan’s trail.
*****
Agent White and trusted agents took Bryan to the warehouse they were to meet at. Bryan noticed Agent White and the others fingering their guns.
“Should we draw them to go in?” an agent asked.
“No,” Agent White answered. “They’ll hold Trina at gunpoint, and if we have guns drawn, they’ll make us put them down or shoot her. If they aren’t drawn, perhaps they will ignore them. We can hope.”
They walked to the door of the warehouse past armed agents that worked for the Eccentics part of the department.
Only Agent White and Bryan were allowed inside. The other agents all
stood facing off. It was an odd situation, as many of the agents were friends with each other, and quite a few of Mahon’s men outside didn’t even know what was going on inside. They were only following orders.
When Bryan and Agent White went inside, Director Mahon was standing there with a gun and Trina. “Tell us how to get through the portal!” he demanded.
“Umm…” Bryan stammered, looking around at all the armed men. “You can’t.”
“How can we get through?” Mahon again demanded.
“By connecting with me, my sister, or my father,” Bryan answered. “You can’t love.”
Mahon pulled Trina closer and sneered, “How do I get through? It can’t just be love. Your mother and sister haven’t gone through.”
“They could,” Bryan defended. “Umm… dad didn’t know.”
“So, it’s just love?” Mahon asked curiously. “I think there is more.”
Bryan eloquently explained, “It is more than love. It must be a philos or agape type love that is so selfless that the person is not only willing to sacrifice himself for one of us, but actually does make a selfless sacrifice to the point of shedding blood for us. Dylan has done that protecting Vanessa. He is truly selfless. He has put himself in mortal danger for her. You are selfish and do not even know what love is if you will do what you are now. Thus, it doesn’t matter if I tell you how to get through the portal. You cannot and never will be able to pass.”
He looked around, thinking he’d done a wonderful job explaining, but everyone was staring blankly at him.
“What language was that?” Mahon hissed. “Do not try to trick me.”
Agent White leaned over to Bryan and asked, “What language was that? It wasn’t English.”
“Sorry,” Bryan apologized. “Umm… Elvish is natural.” He then tried to explain to Mahon, “You can’t pass. It takes love and selfless sacrifice.”
“Explain,” Mahon demanded. “In English.”
“Help me!” Trina called out, and Mahon clasped his hand over her mouth.
Bryan looked at his little sister being held hostage. “I’ll help you,” he assured her. “They won’t hurt you.”
“How do I get through the portal?” Mahon screamed.
“You can’t!” Bryan yelled back.
Mahon pulled Trina’s arm back until she fell to her knees and screamed.
Bryan had seen enough. He pushed one hand forward and swept it to his side as he grabbed Agent White with the other and yelled out in a commanding voice, “Bruth fhir cadel!”
When he did, all the agents in the room flew back ten feet, fell on the ground, and didn’t move.
Bryan ran over to Trina and picked her up. “Hurry!” he called to Agent White, and they ran to the door.
When they reached the door, Agent White told him to act casually and walk out calmly.
Bryan tried. When they stepped out, Agent White announced, “Our business is complete. Negotiations are over. Everyone stand down and let’s go.”
He started to head through the agents to the car, but one of the agents stepped in front of them and called, “Stop! We didn’t get the signal.” He pulled his gun, and Agent White knocked it to the side and stripped it from him.
The two sides started to fight. Bryan wasn’t sure what to do. The same command he used inside would knock out his side as well as the other.
He heard a gunshot and started to panic. Fortunately, the agent hit was alive because of his bullet proof vest.
There was no way to get to the car with the agents fighting, and Bryan was panicked that Trina would be hurt. He saw an agent dive toward Agent White, trying to tackle him, so he called out, “Sgaith!” The magical shielding made the man stop short and bounce back.
Bryan looked around panicked as several of the enemy agents broke through to try to get him. His first thought was to protect Trina, but he wasn’t sure what to do. Sure, he knew some magical words, but what should he even use?
One of the enemy agents held a gun to him. Bryan froze in front of his sister.
Then suddenly, the man’s arm went to the side and the gun disappeared from it. He then jerked backward.
Rayne and Vanessa suddenly appeared. “Hold on!” Rayne ordered.
He grabbed Bryan and Vanessa grabbed Trina and they took off.
The agents on both sides stopped and stared at pixies flying in the air.
“Stand down!” Agent White called to all the agents. “We will deal with this at headquarters.”
An agent pulled off a helmet to show that she was not an agent, but Wilona, the girl who had affected Dylan’s mind before. She touched Agent White’s forehead and told him, “You will not fight against them. You will not even remember most of this.”
Chapter 8: Dylan Learns that he Should be Wary of Fighting Lessons
“What happened?” Dylan screamed when Vanessa and Rayne went through the portal and he didn’t. “I have to protect her!”
“Calm down,” Nea urged. “We’ll figure this out. What was wrong? Why didn’t you get through?”
“I don’t know,” Dylan answered. He rubbed his head for a moment. “Maybe Vanessa just has really fallen for Rayne, and the connection between us is broken. Notice he went through.”
“False,” Nea stated. “I don’t know what is true, but that is false.” She took his hand and started pulling him away from the arch as she said, “We need to figure out what is going on. Let’s get back to King Giles’s castle. I don’t know that we will be safe here.”
The guards did hurry back with them to the castle. As soon as they arrived, they all went to King Giles. They quickly filled him in on what happened. King Giles really had little to go on, but decided that action needed to be taken immediately. Since Dylan was so easily recognized as he’d gone into the fight to the death, King Giles asked Nea to find someone to spy with her.
“I can’t just sit around!” Dylan insisted. “I have to do something. Vanessa needs protection.”
“True,” Nea agreed.
That didn’t make Dylan feel better. He rubbed his eyes and almost cried, “I need to help Vanessa.”
“False,” Nea stated. “She will be fine. Bryan and Rayne can help her.”
“I need to get through the arch!” he insisted.
“No,” Nea corrected. “We need to figure out why you couldn’t pass through the arch. You will need to get out. You don’t belong here.”
“That’s true,” Dylan stated, trying to hide how badly the comment hurt him. “I don’t belong here, and Vanessa does. Perhaps that is what broke our connection.” He again rubbed his head.
“What’s wrong?” Nea asked. “You keep rubbing your head.”
“I guess I took a hard hit in fight training,” he answered. “I haven’t been feeling right since. Vanessa healed me some, but Rayne insisted that he had important business with her.” He stiffened. “I know what business he’s interested in, and I did more practice with Heremon and Jaylond.” He rubbed his side and admitted, “I could have used more healing, but we got called away.”
“Maybe you need a break,” Nea suggested.
“No,” he countered. “Actually, I think I’m going to go do some sword fighting practice. I’m not sure what is about to happen, but I think I’ll need to know how to.”
“Likely,” Nea admitted.
“Not true or false?” Dylan noted.
“It true you think you will need to know it,” she pointed out. “Whether you do or not, we will see.”
Dylan clasped his hands together and then decided, “I’m going to go practice fighting, or at least work out. I need to release all this stress.” He then walked out of the room.
Nea started to go after him, but King Giles put his hand on her shoulder and suggested, “We do need information. I think you can get it, and this is the best time, as Bryan will not let you go while he’s here.”
“I’m on it,” Nea assured him. “I’ll get someone to go with me.”
“If you are
n’t back in a week, I’ll send in help,” King Giles assured her.
She shrugged and noted, “If I’m not back in a week, I am likely dead.”
*****
Dylan walked out to the courtyard. He didn’t have weights to work out with, but he started to do push-ups. He’d done fifty when he suddenly saw feminine leather boots right in front of him. He looked up and saw that Pyria was standing there.
“Do you need to get some stress out, or are you just doing that because you want to be stronger?” she asked.
“Both,” he answered.
“I can work with you more,” she offered.
He stood up and stared at her for a moment. “I could use the practice, but your paralyzing nails and stinging tail are a bit much for me right now. I may go find Heremon or Jaylond.”
“I’ll work with you,” she offered again. “I will not sting you. I promise.”
“I’m not in a mood to get paralyzed either,” Dylan admitted. “Honestly, I’m too stressed to even think straight.”
“Why?” Pyria asked. “Because you didn’t get through the arch with Bryan and Vanessa?”
“Partly,” he answered. “How do you know about that?”
“You’re here,” she pointed out. “They are in your world. I heard Rayne got through. Talk to me.”
“I don’t want to talk,” Dylan responded.
She smiled alluringly and offered, “Then let’s not talk. We could find other things to do.”
He stared into her eyes. “No,” he refused. “My job is to protect Vanessa. I cannot get distracted.”
“But you are a hero here,” Pyria pointed out. “You don’t need to go back. Why don’t I help you get some magical items, and then you could help me?”
He thought for a moment. That seemed an odd offer. “What do you want me to do to help you?” he asked.
She smiled coyly. “It would help me just to have an amazing man like you.”
Dylan really wished Nea was around to tell him if she was telling the truth. Logically, he didn’t think he should trust her, but there was something about her that drew him to her. She was beautiful, and a very skilled fighter, which was impressive. Other than that, he knew nothing of her. “You are a Tengai,” he noted. “Tell me about your people. Are they types of elves?”
