Believe

by Katie Holland

  “What do you mean inside it?” he asked.

  “There is a barrier around Stonehenge that protects its magic. Once a Nykara steps through that barrier they see the real Stonehenge as it was when it was built. What you’ve seen in pictures, is actually a false Stonehenge meant to look like it has been aged over time.”

  “Well, even at my age I can still be surprised by things in our world,” Major General Reid said. “So, Stonehenge it is. I’ll start spreading the word. Gordon, I suggest you get back to Fox Hollow and start coordinating things from there.”

  “Of course,” Gordon said. “I’ll take Merideth with me. Miss Alix, I’ll see you there. Please stay safe in the meantime.”

  “You too Gordon, call me if you need anything,” Alix told him.

  Alix watched as Gordon left with his escort, hoping it wasn’t the last time she was going to see him.

  “So, what happens now?” Alix asked the Major General.

  “You go tell your people what the plan is, and I start gathering an army,” he told her.

  “Do you really think we can get an army’s worth of people there without being detected by the Grynn?” Ben asked.

  “I think that as soon as François gets Alix’s message, they will be on the lookout for any Nykara activity. But I think until then we’ll go relatively unnoticed. From what I understand, François is arrogant, and I think that will be his downfall. What is the message you want to send to him?” Major General Reid asked her.

  Alix thought about it before responding. Finally, she had it and asked for a pen and paper.

  ****

  François,

  If you want me, you’ll have to come and get me. Meet me at Stonehenge at 2pm GMT Monday, Feb. 20. Bring my parents unharmed and you can have me.

  Alix (The Chosen One)

  ****

  “I think that will work,” Major General Reid said after reading it. “I’ll come and get you when it’s time to leave.”

  Alix hoped he was right. She and Ben left the office to go tell her group what was happening. They were driven back to the bunk house, but Ben stopped her before they went inside.

  “Alix,” he started, “I can feel you doubting yourself. But remember, no one on the planet can do this, but you have to believe in yourself. We all believe in you, even people that haven’t met you yet. I know you can make this happen. You are the Chosen One. You are brave, strong, fearless, and kind, all things needed in a leader. There’s no one I’d rather go into battle with than you.”

  She stood there for a moment, letting his words sink in. It was a lot to process. She could tell he meant every word he said, but one thing kept repeating over in her head, she was the only one who could do this.

  “What did I say wrong?” Ben asked her. “And don’t tell me nothing. I can see it on your face.”

  “You didn’t say anything wrong. What you said made me realize that yes, I’m the only one who can really defeat the Grynn. Everyone else with us will do their part and help fight, but in the end, I know it will be up to me. It’s just freaking me out a little.”

  Ben turned her to face him and put his hands on her shoulders. “Look at me, Alix. I understand this is a lot of pressure, but I know you can handle it. You’ve outsmarted both François and Victor more than once. No one else could have done that. You have a whole army at your back ready to support you in whatever you need. We are going to do this. Okay?”

  “Okay,” Alix said nodding. She just hoped his words were going to ring true.

  It was sometime around midnight when Ben and Alix started waking everyone up. They were all taken back to the Officer’s Club. Someone started the coffee since they knew it was going to be a long rest of the night. When everyone was ready Alix addressed them.

  “I know it’s really late, but we have a plan. We’re going to face the Grynn at Stonehenge. As some of you already know it’s a very special place to the Nykara and a place of extreme power for us. Major General Reid and Gordon are in the process of gathering as many people as they can and sending them to Stonehenge. The plan is to get us all there then deliver the message to François to meet me there. It’s going to have to look like I’m there alone. Everyone will stay hidden within the barrier of Stonehenge until it’s time to fight. I have no doubt that François will bring an army with him. We’re going to have to surprise them if we have any hope of ending this for good. You’ll have to be prepared for anything they will throw at you.

  “Once he hands over my parents, I’ll give the signal to attack. Natalie and Rick, it’s going to be your job to protect my parents at all costs since they can’t defend themselves and we don’t know what shape they’re going to be in.

  “I can’t stress enough how important you all are to me. Without you I would have never made it this far. Please don’t do anything that might cost you your lives. There’s going to be an army of soldiers behind us that have trained for years for this. Let them do their jobs, please.

  “I know you all made calls earlier to ask people to help us. Contact them, tell them our odds and if they still want to help tell them to get to Fox Hollow within the next twelve hours. Gordon will be there to get them to Stonehenge. Thank you.”

  Alix heard clapping coming from the door. It was Major General Reid.

  “I can see why you’re the Chosen One,” he said with a smile. “Anytime you want a job in the Airforce you let me know. I’ve had seasoned officers who couldn’t have done a better job with that speech.”

  Alix just shrugged. She just said what was on her mind. “Did you need something?” she asked.

  “I came to tell you we leave at 06:00. The messenger is on his way to Venezuela and will deliver the message when the time is right. You have the next few hours to prepare. I’ll see you then,” he said and left.

  Most everyone in the room got out their phones and started making calls. Alix took a moment to think about her parents. She knew she had to make this work if she was going to get them back. This whole thing depended on the messenger getting to François. Major General Reid seemed like the kind of man to take his job very seriously, so she was positive he was sending his best people to Venezuela.

  “A penny for your thoughts?” Shay said, from beside her.

  “Huh?”

  “You look deep in thought. What’s going on in that head of yours?”

  “Just thinking about my parents and how important it is that every little detail of this goes right,” Alix said.

  “You know that everything isn’t going to go exactly as you planned right?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “People by their very nature are unpredictable and the Grynn are even more unpredictable than everyone else,” Shay told her.

  “That’s not exactly helpful Shay.”

  “Sorry, just trying to be realistic. But, I also know that if anyone can do this, it’s you.”

  “Ben said the same thing.”

  “That’s because it’s true,” Shay told her.

  Alix took her at her word. This was not the time to doubt herself. She spent the next few hours giving herself a whole lot of pep talks.

  Chapter 40

  At precisely 6:00am Major General Reid was there to escort their group to the room of rooms. No had gotten a lot of sleep but Alix could feel the energy buzzing around everyone. He opened the hidden door, and everyone started down the long hall to the room of rooms.

  “Are you coming with us?” she asked him.

  “No. I have to stay here and run this base, but rest assured I’ll be in constant communication with my men in England. They will have your back no matter what.”

  “Thank you, Owen. I hope we’ll see each other again,” Alix said.

  “You can count on it. I have a feeling there’s more to you than most people know. Good luck Kaelneth.” And with that he was gone.

  Alix went through the door and found Ben waiting for her. She took his hand and they walked the long distance to the room of rooms. They
went through the blue door and soon found themselves back in the familiar foyer of the old castle.

  There was so much activity Alix didn’t know which way to look. People, food, and weapons seemed to be everywhere. They made their way through the crowd and eventually found Gordon.

  “Hey Gordon,” Alix said.

  “Miss Alix, glad you are here.”

  “Is everything under control?” she asked, looking around.

  Gordon smiled at her. “Yes. It may look like chaos, but everyone here knows what they’re doing.”

  “Good. Has anyone left for Stonehenge yet?”

  “Of course. Multiple busloads of Nykara are already there. I think our only problem is going to be hiding everyone within the barrier of Stonehenge.”

  “What if we don’t?” Ben said.

  “What do you mean, Master Ben?” Gordon asked him.

  “There is no way François is really going to believe that Alix is there alone. I say there should be several soldiers set up around the perimeter of Stonehenge. Cloaked but only enough to not be seen. We want François to know they’re there, but make him believe we have them hidden.”

  “That’s brilliant Master Ben,” Gordon said with a huge smile. “I’ll go round up some volunteers for that.”

  “Good idea Ben,” Alix said.

  “Thanks, but you’re not going to like my next one. I think that Shay and I should be with you when you confront François.”

  “Are you crazy?” Alix practically yelled.

  “No and here’s why. I’m sure he’s figured out by now what I am to you and he knows I would never let you get anywhere near him without me. As for Shay, he knows she’s important to you, but no threat to him. I think he’ll see it as a sign of weakness that you brought her to face him.”

  Alix was about to argue with him but what he said actually made sense.

  “I’d listen to him if I were you,” Shay said coming up behind them. “He’s not right often but this time I think he’s actually got this one figured out.”

  “Thanks, I think,” he said, with a smile.

  “You’re welcome,” Shay said, returning his smile.

  “And you’re okay with this idea?” Alix asked Shay.

  “I can’t fight the Grynn so if this is the only way I can help you, I’m in.”

  “What if something happens to you?” Alix said.

  “I’ve already been locked in a box, lost my memory and been almost killed by a Grynn virus. What more could happen? And besides, I have you, there’s no better protection against the Grynn than you.”

  Looking at both Ben and Shay, Alix knew there was no use arguing with them.

  “Okay, I give in, that’s a good idea Ben. Now let’s find everyone and tell them our plan.”

  The three of them wandered through the crowd until they found everyone they were looking for. Not surprisingly, most of them thought it was a terrible idea until Ben explained the reasoning. After telling everyone they needed to there was nothing left to do but wait.

  Gordon was sending people out of the castle as fast as he could. In three hours, the castle was almost empty. The only people left were Alix, Shay, Ben, Gordon, and a few Warriors. Kris had left hours earlier to take care of something that only a Warrior with his extensive skills was able to do.

  “What happens now?” Alix asked Gordon.

  “We wait until the message is delivered to François and then we wait until we know he’s on the move. Our small group will not even attempt to move until we know that the Grynn will be looking for you. We need them to see you and we want them to see our Warriors hide themselves. They have to believe it’s just us there and that we have no idea they’re watching us.”

  “So, we want them to think I’m holding up my end of the bargain,” Alix said.

  “Exactly,” Gordon said.

  “What about my parents? I mean, what if François insists that everyone leave except me?”

  “Then we all leave. He’ll have no idea that inside Stonehenge hundreds of Nykara are waiting to defend you,” Gordon said.

  “Okay. I think we need to go over every possible scenario we can think of. I understand there’s no way we can cover everything that might happen, but it’ll make me feel better if we can at least have a few alternatives if things go sideways.”

  Over the next couple of hours, they talked about everything they could think of that the Grynn might try. Alix knew it was just to make her feel better and there were still a thousand other things that could go wrong, but still, it did help ease her mind a little.

  When Gordon’s cell rang, she knew it was time to go. She made sure she had the Power Stone, pearl, rock and metal bird. Putting on a jacket she held Ben’s hand and they walked out to a van that was waiting.

  The majority of the ride was very quiet. Everyone had a lot on their minds. Gordon let them know when the Grynn started following. Alix could feel the tension rise in the van and did her best to stay calm. She knew it was going to be up to her to set the mood for this. It was time to really embrace her role as the leader of the Nykara people.

  When they pulled into the parking lot of Stonehenge the driver parked and they all got out. She could tell most of them were prepared for anything.

  Ben took Alix’s hand. “You ready for this?” he asked her.

  “As ready as I’m going to be.”

  “How about you Shay?” he asked.

  “The Grynn are lucky I don’t have any magic, or they’d be really sorry,” Shay said fiercely.

  Alix had to smile at that. “I love you Shay. Whatever happens just make sure you don’t take off that ring.”

  “I won’t,” Shay assured her.

  “Gordon,” Alix said, “I need you to keep her safe.”

  “I’ll protect her with my life,” Gordon told her.

  Alix nodded and took a few deep breaths. “Let’s do this.”

  She took both Ben’s and Shay’s hands and started walking toward Stonehenge.

  Chapter 41

  The closer Alix got to Stonehenge, the more energy she could feel. She knew it was the hundreds of people contained in the barrier. It was almost like a beacon for her, she just hoped that François didn’t feel it too.

  They stopped when they were several hundred feet away from the monument. Just as they talked about, the Warriors cloaked and positioned themselves around the area. Gordon did the same thing but stayed closer than the rest of the Warriors. It was only Alix, Ben and Shay left.

  A few minutes later Shay said, “This is kinda creepy Alix. I don’t like being the only ones here. François scares me.”

  Shay was doing what they talked about, pretending they were actually there alone.

  “I know Shay, but if I want to get my parents back, I can’t have anyone here. My parents mean everything to me and I’m not going to take a chance with their lives.”

  “What do we do now?” Ben asked.

  “We wait for François,” Alix said.

  Not wanting to be surprised, Alix had already sent her magic out like an early warning system for detecting Grynn. Almost an hour later she felt something tug on her magic.

  “They’re here,” she whispered.

  Both Shay and Ben squeezed her hands. Alix fortified the shield she had around them, nothing was going to get through it. A few minutes later, she saw a group of Grynn walk down the path that led to Stonehenge. She felt her heart start racing at the sight of her parents being carried towards her. Seeing their limp forms caused her anger to rise to the point she knew her face was red.

  “You have to calm down,” Ben told her. “At least he actually brought them here.”

  “I know,” Alix managed to say. She took some more deep breaths and willed her anger to subside. As long as her parents weren’t dead, she had hope.

  She watched as the group of Grynn stopped and François continued to come towards her. He finally stopped walking when he was only a few feet from her.

  “At last we meet again
little girl,” he said, with a smile.

  “François,” she said, with all the confidence she could.

  “I thought I told you to come alone. I know you have several Warriors scattered around here.”

  “This is as alone as I could get. I can’t go anywhere by myself anymore,” she told him.

  “And what are these two doing with you,” he said gesturing to Shay and Ben.

  “I didn’t want to face you alone,” she said.

  He let out a loud belly laugh. “The Nykara’s great Chosen One is scared of me.”

  Alix didn’t reply to that. She wanted him to think she was too scared to even be there. The more he focused on himself, the less he was going to focus on the energy that was emanating from behind her.

  “I just want my parents back,” she told him.

  “The deal was you get your parents and I get you. I never said I’d actually let them go. If you want them to stay alive you will join me.”

  “You touch a hair on their heads and that will be the end of you,” Alix told him.

  He laughed at her. “You forget that I’ve seen what you’re capable of, or should I say not capable of. You can hide yourself, bid deal, that’s not going to help you. You can throw energy balls; I’m prepared for that. I think it was just luck that got you off the island in the first time. You’ve got nothing that can hurt me, so that means you have nothing to bargain with.”

  “Where is Victor?” Alix asked.

  Ben and Shay looked at her, wondering what she was doing.

  “What?” François asked.

  “Where is your son?”

  “That’s none of your business,” he told her.

  “I think it might be,” Alix said, with a small smile.

  “Not that it matters but I left him in Venezuela.”

  “Are you sure?” Alix said, raising her eyebrows.

  “Of course, I’m sure,” he said, starting to get angry.

  “Kris,” Alix yelled, “bring him now.”

  Several feet behind Alix Kris appeared with Victor. He was bound and looked almost dead.

  “What have you done you little witch? You will pay for this,” he said yelling.