Alina's Crossing: Guardians of Terrin (19 page)

Nothing else mattered. Not to
me, not to anyone.

Joe had holed up inside the
only building with four walls on the island with children as his ransom. We
reached the Hall and stopped short. Joe must have known we were coming because
he was standing casually outside the Hall, his back against the wall, arms
folded.

Jeb spoke first. “What are you
doing Joe? Why are you doing this?”

“I'm not here for you Jeb. We
can do this nicely. No one has to get hurt. All you have to do is comply and
the children will go free. I will leave and you will never have to see me
again. Just give me what I came for.” said Joe, looking my direction.

“You fought with us… to stop
all this.” Jeb gestured wildly around him. “Why are you undoing all of our
work?”

Jeb was getting mad. He was
going to lose his cool and I had to make sure the children were safe before he
did.

I stepped forward.

It was now or never.

“Bring the children out and I
will come with you Joe. I will not fight you. But the children must be released
first.” I said, my voice surprisingly forceful and remarkably steady.

Joe moved away from the wall,
his eyes weary. If his mission from Shael was to bring me, then I was sure he
would do anything to make sure his mission was completed successfully. He went
into the hall and few moments later he emerged, followed by several scared, but
unharmed children. They all ran away from Joe quickly. Gio, Jasser and Helix
wrangled them up and ran off with them, leaving just Jeb and myself alone with
Joe.

I turned to walk over to Jeb.

He must let this happen and I
knew he was still thinking of some way to get out of it.

“Don't.” I whispered, wrapping
my arms around him.

“You can’t-” Jeb started to
protest but I interrupted him.

“Jeb, I have to. That was the
deal. I will be ok. I will find the box and I will trap the Shadow. Just stay
here and take care of these people.” I said the last part loudly for Joe's
benefit.

We had already discussed Jeb
following me under cloak once I left with Joe.

“I can't let you do this
Alina.” Jeb said.

“Jeb, you said all along that I
was the one who was supposed to do this.” I said with a weak smile.

“Yes, but you aren't ready yet.
You have only been practicing your magic for a few days. You don't have enough
control to defend yourself against the Shadow...against Shael.” Jeb reminded
me.

“Well I'm a quick study and
when I get scared my magic is powerful. I will be ok Jeb.” I said
encouragingly.

I forced a bright smile for his
benefit.

Jeb grabbed my hands, yanking
me away from Joe. Joe started to run after us but Jeb turned around to stop
him.

“I need a moment alone with
Alina, Joe. We won't leave your sight.” Jeb said.

Much to our surprise, Joe
allowed it.

Jeb turned to face me,
intertwining his hands with mine. When he looked at me this time, I saw
something different in his eyes.

I knew he cared about me, as I
did him.

Unexpectedly, Jeb lowered his
face, touching my lips with his.

At first I was surprised by the
kiss. I thought he was pulling me over for a private but friendly goodbye. The
kiss, soft at first, turned quickly into a passionate embrace. My lips found
his eagerly and the longer the kiss, the more important it was to continue it.
Our embrace tightened, our breath quickened and for just a moment there was no
one else.

It was quiet.

It was just Jeb and I in our
little world of passion.

Joe broke us apart, not caring
that we just discovered each other and were now going to lose each other. The
kiss, while wonderful, was probably the worst thing that could have happened. I
was now dreading being torn away from Jeb and desperate to think of a way to
prevent leaving him.

I knew it could not be that way
though.

I had to do what I was born to
do.

I had to face my evil cousin
and stop the madness.

Joe forcefully grabbed me away
from Jeb without a word, dragging me with him. I could see that he was trying
to figure out a way to keep me with him, but he knew he had to let me go.

After several moments Joe
suddenly stopped and turned back to Jeb, his hand still tightly clutched on my
arm.

“Don't even think of following
us Jeb. I know the cloaks can't be destroyed but I hid them somewhere where you
will not be able to find them.” he turned quickly, yanking me after him again.

It was then that I realized I
was definitely going to be on my own to face Shael.

**********************

JEB

'I can't believe I have to sit
here and watch her being taken away from me',
I said to myself as I helplessly watched Joe drag her away.

‘I cannot believe I kissed her.
What is wrong with me?
One
thing at a time Jeb. Rescue Alina first, then feelings for Alina next. Feelings
for Alina?
When did that happen?’

I got out of my head. There was nothing but a vicious circle
of repeated questions with no answers. Instead, I sprang into action.

“Gio, gather everyone and go to
the shelters. We don't know if Joe led Shael here and I want to be safe.
Jasser, Helix! Help Gio gather the children and take a head count!”
I barked orders as I ran back towards the
Great Hall.

“You are not to leave the
shelters unless I don't come back for more than four days. If I am not back
within four days, you are to institute the escape plan to the letter. Is that
understood? You do not wait for me.”
I
said.

I saw Gio nod.

I could trust Gio.

I knew that no matter what happened, whether he liked it or
not, Gio would put the safety of others before anything.

I knew my nephews wouldn't like to leave without me but they
would do as I asked also. The boys would push on with or without me.

I didn't have a plan nor did I have my cloak which meant I
had no advantage. I had no idea what I was going to do but I knew that I had to
do something.

I couldn't let Alina face Shael alone.

She wasn't ready for that and I was way more uncomfortable
with her being alone than I was willing to admit.

It wasn't just caring for someone, I realized. It was caring
for someone in
that
way. I hadn't felt, nor even thought about
feelings for another woman since my wife. I didn't know if I was capable of
caring for someone again or could even let my guard down enough to let another
person inside. My life consisted of protecting my children, family and the
others on this island. There wasn't room for anything else…until I met Alina.

Once inside the Great Hall, I looked around helplessly for anything
I could use to help me.

I roared in frustration, knocking over the table and
throwing the chairs around. I slid down the wall, hanging my head.
 
My soul was heavy, bearing the weight of
defeat and failure.

My choices were clear.

I was either going to have to stay safe on Jaffee Island or
go into the Kingdom unarmed and uncloaked.

Alina was on her own if I stayed.

Staying put was not an option.

CHAPTER
14

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT

Joe was dragging me towards the
part of the island that led to the sandy beach. I knew from experience that it
would take several hours to walk down the mountain to get there. I was grateful
for that time.

I wasn’t ready to face Shael
yet.
 

“You don't have to pull me so
roughly Joe. I said I would come with you. I won't try to run off. You are
hurting my arm.” I said.

Joe's handing of me was
beginning to become painful. I had considered not complaining at all but he was
getting rougher with me the further we got from the village. I didn't know if
Jeb was behind me or not.

As far as I knew, I was on my
own.

I really did plan on going with
him because what I needed to do was get to Shael.

I needed that box.

 
He grabbed me, harder this time, continuing to
roughly drag me along with him.

“Maybe you could just tie my
hands together?” I said, helpfully.

‘Was I really asking him to tie me up?’
I thought to myself.

I needed to think and the pace we
were keeping and the pain Joe was causing my arm was preventing me from doing
so.

“Here” I said, waving my free
hand.

I conjured a rope to tie my
hands together.

Maybe if I was tied up, he
would slow down a bit and I could begin to formulate a plan. I didn't like the
idea of having my hands tied together while trying to navigate through the
dense forest but I was willing to compromise if he was.

I was also secretly proud of myself
for being able to do something magical at the precise moment I needed to do it.
I was feeling more in control of my powers, gaining confidence in my abilities
with every passing moment.

Joe looked weary, but
eventually he grabbed the rope I conjured and reluctantly tied my hands
together.

“You created this thing, so
don't you think I know you can make it disappear at your will?” he said. “Yes,
but I am not going to do that because I want you to trust me. I will come with
you. I just need to slow down a bit. Agreed?” I said, raising my tied hands up
as a show of truce.

I was waving my white flag.

Joe said nothing but he did
start walking, leaving me to walk on my own. I, in turn, started following
along behind him as promised.

We walked in silence for a long
time.

I knew that if I wanted to get
away from Joe, I could make a tree fall on him. Or I could open up the ground
and have him swallowed by it.

Instead of trying to hurt Joe,
I decided maybe it would be a better use of my time to try and get some
information from him. Maybe he had something I could use against Shael, a
weakness perhaps.

The location of the box would
have been nice to know.

“Why did you turn on Jeb?” I
asked after a long silence.

Joe continued walking without
answering my question.

“Were you in on it the whole
time? I mean, you knew the location of the island all along. Why now?” I asked,
still trying to get something from him.

“Did you go to Shael? Or did he
come to you?”

Silence prevailed.

 
But, I wasn't going to let that deter me.

“Ok, you don't want to talk, I
get it. I know this must be hard for you. Working for the bad guys after
working with the good guys must have been a rough transition but I know you
cared for Jeb and the others on this island at one time. What changed?” I
asked.

I was throwing questions at him
left and right, hoping he would answer at least one of them but he didn't
budge. I decided to cool it on the interrogation for a while and continue
working up some sort of plan against Shael.

After an hour or so the silence
became palpable.

My wrists were starting to hurt
from the burn the ropes were causing. I was tired and extremely thirsty.

Joe had no previsions with him.
No water or food of any sort so I decided now would be the time I would try
something harder in my magic practice. If I was able to manipulate the elements
in nature around me and conjure items out of the air, then surly I could
conjure up an element or two.

I stopped short.

Joe was several feet ahead and
not paying any attention to me. I had only a few seconds to do my thing before
he discovered I wasn't behind him, so I closed my eyes.

I pictured a tiny babbling
brook with water flowing freely over rocks. There was a small waterfall that
fed the pool and it trickled down with cool, clear water.

I concentrated, willing the
vision in my head to become reality.

I could feel the magic inside
me flowing. I could feel the sensation in my blood, as if light and magic and
nature were converging inside me and then I expelled it from my body.

“It worked!” I screamed with a
huge smile.

Joe stopped walking, having
just realized I wasn't behind him when he heard me yell.

“What?” asked Joe as he came
stomping back towards me.

“Um…can we stop for a moment?
There is some water here and I really need a drink.” I said quickly.

I saw Joe lick his parched
lips.

Conveniently there were two
large rocks, one on either side of my creation on which we could sit. I didn't
know if that was lucky or if I created those as well. Either way, the picture
looked inviting to both of us.

I held out my hands to Joe,
indicating that I would need my hands untied. Warily, he did, tucking the rope
in his pocket. I rubbed my sore wrists and bent down to the water, eagerly
anticipating taking a sip from my first real magic triumph.

The water was delicious and so
refreshing.

I had a huge smile on my face
and Joe had no idea why. He was eyeing me suspiciously as he sipped from the
water. I wasn't acting like someone who was basically being kidnapped.

Joe was sitting down facing me
so I decided to try something else, feeling confident in my magical abilities.

I was hungry, so I decided it
was time for some berries.

I closed my eyes and tilted my
head up towards the sky, pretending to bathe in the sun, when in actuality I
was trying my next magic trick. I felt the magic well up inside me again and I
forced it out of me, making it reality.

When I opened my eyes, there
was a berry bush behind Joe.

“Oh look, there are some
berries just there!” I said, pointing to the bush behind him.

“Can I?” I asked, innocently.

Joe nodded and I eagerly ran
over to the berries, picking them off the plant, shoving them in my mouth with
no shame. I had eaten several dozen and was feeling full. With water and a
snack, I felt refreshed and I was ready to continue on. In a show of good
faith, I put my wrists together in front of Joe, waiting for him to tie me up.

“Nah, it's ok. I'll let you go
like that. But if you try anything, it's back to the ties for you. You got me?”
said Joe sternly.

I nodded, grateful that I
wouldn't have to have my wrists tied back together.

Maybe now he would talk to me.

We started out again, this time
at a much slower pace. I was walking next to him and I could tell he wanted to
say something but he just couldn't. I remained silent in hopes that he would
eventually decide to talk with me.

We still had an hour or two of
our journey left, when he broke the silence.

“Does Jeb hate me?” he asked
suddenly, his face filled with worry.

“No Joe, he doesn't hate you,
at least, I don't think he does. He is hurt by your betrayal, for sure, but
hate, no, I don't think so.” I said.

That seemed to make Joe relax a
bit.

So he did still care.

I was eager for him to
continue.

“I think, what his real
question is, why? Why did you do it?” I said, hoping that would prod him into
talking.

“I don't know why to be honest.
One day, the life here...just got to me. I was cut off from my family and
friends in the other realm, and had no way to get back. I never wanted to come
here. One day I was backpacking through Europe on summer break from college,
the next I was in a new world with no way to go back home. When I joined with
Jeb I didn't anticipate what it would mean or what I would have to do, I was
just lonely and needed friendship and a place to lay my head at night. All the
constant looking behind my back and the rescues and the never having enough to
eat or constantly doing whatever Jeb told me was wearing on me. I decided there
must be a better way. I just wanted to go home. So, I thought maybe if....well
I went to Shael and asked him if there was a way he could cross me back home. He
said he could but I had to do a few things for him. At first, it was just
little reconnaissance missions. There was no hint of it turning into what it
has become. I just want to go home and he is the only one that has the power to
do that. I didn't mean for it to go this way. I care about Jeb and everyone. I
hate Shael for what he is doing to these people. But I can't stand being alone.
Shael said that this was my last mission for him. I was to bring you to him and
then he would cross me back over and I could go home.”

“And you believe him?” I asked
skeptically.

“Yes. I do. He isn't as bad as
he seems. Sure his methods are radical, but we have talked. He is on some level
just a normal guy.” said Joe.

“Ha! Joe, are you kidding me?
Seriously? He is NOT a normal guy. He is a crazy guy with too much power and
too much evil! He is torturing innocent people, breaking up families, sending
out his weird freaky smoke blob thing, instilling fear and harassment wherever
it goes! How can you think that is anywhere close to being normal?” I said.

My blood was boiling hot and
furious.

Joe had stopped walking when I
blew up at him and I stalked off ahead of him, too mad to continue looking at
him. He quickly caught up with me and then he had words for me.

“You don't know what it's like
here! You have only been here for a few days! I have been here for years, so
many years that I don't know who or what I am going to find when I get back. I
have been unable to leave, a virtual prisoner in this place. I crossed
accidentally and can't ever get back on my own. My particular genetic mutation
allows me to cross here into this realm but doesn't allow me to ever cross
back.” Joe yelled back to me.

“Why didn't you just stay when
I crossed us over before?” I yelled.

“Believe me I thought about it!
But, Shael said that he would release the Shadow on my family if I didn't do
everything he said. I don't know if I have any family left but I wasn't willing
to risk it if they were still alive. He wanted you and I was to bring you. Then
he would send me back through a portal, the only way I could ever get back.
Tonight, I will be having dinner with my family and you will be with Shael, as
agreed!” he yelled.

Joe was very upset. He yanked
the rope out of his pocket, grabbing my hands roughly. He tied them back
together, effectively ending my short bout of freedom. He grabbed my arm and
started dragging me with him again, this time with more aggression.

We reached the shore line and
the boat that Joe had come over in a few hours later. I was physically and
mentally exhausted, having just ran the last two hours down the mountain. He
practically threw me into the boat and pushed it into the water. I was getting
pretty comfortable in boats now, so I knew the nerves I was feeling was not
from that and had everything to do with the fact that I was no longer on Jaffee
Island.

Joe didn’t see him, but I did.

Jeb was standing under my
hoopah, watching me as Joe rowed me to Terrin.