Whispers of Time

by Gwendolyn Ilimaris

  “I can do nothing for Sara,” Kaedin said, his voice frustrated as he stood back up.

  As soon as Jaeha released his arm, Jake rushed over to check on Paige and then Sara. When he reached Sara, his brows furrowed when he could feel she was burning before even laying a hand on her. Her hair was plastered to her face with sweat and her breathing was rapid and shallow. He scooped her up off the floor before turning to face Kaedin.

  “What is going on?”

  Kaedin just stared at him before he glanced at Jaeha.

  “It is time,” Jaeha said with a nod. “He has proven himself.”

  Kaedin did not appear convinced as he looked back at Jake. “I believe that he has proven nothing. He caused us to lose Londar and possibly valuable information.” Jake opened his mouth to retort.

  “Enough,” Jaeha said, his voice raising. “Kaedin act according to your station and Jacob if you wish to save Sara then listen.”

  Both Jake and Kaedin looked away from the other. They both felt like they had been chastised by an elder and it was several minutes before Kaedin broke the silence.

  “What do you wish to know?” He asked without making eye contact with Jake.

  “Everything,” Jake replied before he sat down on the couch still holding Sara. Kaedin glanced over at him and his eyes narrowed as he fought to keep his emotions under control. It was difficult for him to watch Jake holding Sara when he could sense Rin in the same place. He exhaled heavily as he closed his eyes and tried to collect his thoughts. When he still said nothing after several minutes, Jaeha tilted his head with a frown. He knew Kaedin was unaccustomed to taking the lead. It was usually Rin.

  “I shall begin,” Jaeha said taking over. “The first thing that you must be made aware of is that we are from a different world. We are from a place called Asaetara. There was, for now I shall call it an accident but it appears as if it may have been done on purpose, an accident a little over twenty years ago that caused all of this. Our princess, Lady Rilaeya, or Rin as you have heard Kaedin refer to her, was used to tear open a portal between our world and yours. We are uncertain of the over-all goal and have only recently discovered that it appears to be linked to the demon realm as well, but that is a topic for another time.” He paused for a moment and glanced at Kaedin. He was staring out one of the cabin windows. “Over the years we have searched for Lady Rin but were unable to locate her until recently. She began to wake up in Sara and since Kaedin is her bonded, he was able to sense her again.”

  “Bonded?” Jake interrupted. “What do you mean?”

  Jaeha frowned, “Bonding is a complicated process. For now, a simple explanation will have to do. Lady Rin and Kaedin share blood and it allows them to sense each other. They can feel the other’s emotions, pain, and it allows them to know where the other is at all times.” Jake opened his mouth to ask another question but Jaeha shook his head. “Now is not the time for these questions, there are more pressing matters at hand. As I was saying, Lady Rin started to wake up and Kaedin was able to sense her in Sara. This presents a rather large problem. We have not located Lady Rin’s body, and if we do not find it soon, they will both die. Sara’s body is not capable of dealing with the amount of magical power that Lady Rin possesses. The magic is burning her which is what is causing the fevers.”

  “Wait,” Jake said, unable to remain silent anymore. “Are you trying to tell me that there is another person inside of Sara?”

  “That is correct.”

  “No,” Jake said shaking his head. “No, there is no way, this is all crazy.” He glanced over when Paige sat down on the couch next to him and rested her head on his shoulder.

  “With all the other crazy stuff going on,” she whispered. “I think something like this is the only thing that makes sense.” She paused. “I mean Sara said someone was talking to her.”

  Jake’s eyes filled with worry when he could see the pain all over her face. “Are you okay?” She nodded even though she had a massive headache. Jake frowned as he watched her for a moment before he turned his attention out the nearest window. He was deep in thought before a look of realization and apprehension crossed his face.

  “What does she look like?” he asked. Kaedin glanced over at him with a look of disapproval but did not reply. “What does she look like?” Jake repeated when no one said anything.

  A pained look crossed Kaedin’s face, “She has long curly silver hair with red and black streaks, bright green eyes.” He paused and swallowed hard. His voice filled with longing as he continued, “She is about the same height as Sara, perhaps an inch taller. The last time I saw her, she was wearing a green velvet dress cake--.”

  “Caked with mud along the bottom,” Jake finished for him as he shook his head. “I know where she is, but I have no idea how you are going to get to her.”

  Kaedin’s eyes opened wide with surprise and a faint glimmer of hope. “Where?”

  “She’s being kept on my base,” Jake replied. “I was just recently shown that she was there. She’s in a high-security area. They know she’s not human, but she has some kind of energy around her, so they haven’t been able to do anything with her.”

  “Do what?” Kaedin’s voice filled with suspicion causing Jake to clear his throat and obviously look away from him.

  “Well,” Jake began, his voice hesitant. “They probably would have done experiments on her and maybe dissected her if they could.”

  Kaedin’s eyebrow rose as he listened to him. “They would have harmed her?” His voice betrayed a hint of his anger at the thought of anyone harming his bonded.

  “Possibly,” Jake muttered.

  “Let us focus on getting her out of there before I do something I may come to regret,” Kaedin growled. Jake glanced up at him before he nodded.

  Several hours later, everyone was gathered in the living room. Jake was sitting on the floor beside the couch where he laid Sara. He was changing the rags on her neck and forehead. His expression darkened again with anger when he looked at the bruises on her neck.

  On the other side of the room, Paige was asleep laying on the floor on top of several blankets. She refused to go to another room. Raven sat beside her and was running his fingers lightly through her hair. Kaedin, Jaeha, and Hikaru sat on the floor in the middle of the room and all appeared to be deep in thought.

  “I wish to verify that I understand the facts,” Jaeha said breaking the silence. “This military installation is built into the side of a large mountain and the section that we need is six stories below the surface. There are multiple doors controlled by key cards, which I am still not certain that I understand, and doors with fingerprint scan, painting things.” He paused with a frown when he stumbled over the unfamiliar words. “Not to mention painting makers everywhere that shall paint us if they see us.”

  Jake nodded with a shrug. He was not sure how else to explain fingerprint scanners and cameras to them. It had become apparent to him very quickly that they did not know much about the technology on Earth.

  “Do you have one of these keycard, things?” Kaedin asked.

  “Yes, I do,” Jake replied, his voice hesitant. “Though I would appreciate not having to spend the rest of my life in prison for helping you.”

  “We shall not require anything from you that would jeopardize your standing,” Jaeha said. “We must be more clever.”

  Raven looked up from Paige. “We could easily slip inside with invisibility and short teleportation spells for the doors. Jake would only have to give us directions.”

  “We cannot cast that many spells,” Kaedin said. “There is no way to know for certain how many doors there will be.”

  “I can,” Raven said with a disapproving look. “I am an elf, not a dr--.” Kaedin cut him off with a sharp glance.

  Jake noticed, and his brows furrowed when he wondered what Kaedin was trying to keep him from finding out.

  “I believe Raven has presented a viable option,” Jaeha said. “We do not wish to cause more problem
s for Jacob.”

  “But we need a small group to avoid detection,” Kaedin said, his voice unhappy. “If Jacob must go then it should be you and me.”

  “Raven shall go in my place. It is his duty to see to Lady Rin.”

  “You are going to ignore Lord Wren’s wishes?” Kaedin asked, his eyebrow raising.

  Jaeha’s expression hardened in an instant. “Do not presume to know what my bonded brother wishes of me,” he said, his voice rising. “I shall fulfill my duty as I see fit and in this instance, Raven is needed more than me.”

  Kaedin shrank back from Jaeha before he bowed his head and looked down at the floor. “Apologies,” he muttered under his breath.

  “When are we going to go?” Jake asked, his full attention on Sara. “Her temperature is way too high and her body can’t take much more of this fever.”

  “We can go now,” Raven said standing up and walking over to join them. He looked over at Kaedin.

  “Do you need anything before we leave?” Kaedin asked Jake. When Jake shook his head no, he got up and walked to the center of the room. “Both of you come over here.”

  Jake picked Sara up off the couch and moved so that he was next to Kaedin. Raven joined them with a smile. He was a little too excited for Jake and Kaedin’s liking.

  Kaedin looked between them before he put a hand on Jake and Raven’s shoulders. “I shall cast the invisibility spell before I port us using the description Jacob gave to us. Once we are there, Raven, you are in charge of all the ports and I shall keep the invisibility active. If we run into any serious trouble, Raven, you are to get Rin, Jacob, and Sara safely back here. I will do whatever is necessary to cover your escape.” Once they both nodded, he closed his eyes in concentration.

  “Arāesya,” he said, and they disappeared from view. Once he finished the invisibility spell, he pictured in his mind the description of the outside of the main base building. It would be too dangerous to teleport inside because they might run into someone.

  “Ēlipor ntāera,” he said, his voice becoming strained. The room started to become hazy and appeared to blur before it began to change. A few moments later they stood in front of the main building. Kaedin was breathing heavily when he opened his eyes and looked around. He was not used to having to teleport three other people.

  “Where now?” He asked Jake in a whisper.

  “Follow me,” Jake said, his voice low and quiet as he headed for the door into the building. He paused when they reached the door and two soldiers walked out. They walked right by them without a second glance. Jake exhaled the breath he did not realize he was holding. They really were invisible. Now that he was certain, he hurried forward and slipped through the door before it closed. Kaedin and Raven were right behind him. Without any hesitation, Jake made his way through the maze of hallways.

  When they reached the end of one hall, he paused by a door and listened before he opened it. There was a staircase leading down. They began to descend deeper into the mountain with each floor they passed. Reaching the sixth floor, Jake paused again by the door. He just managed to leap out of the way when it suddenly flew open. His eyes narrowed when he saw his father walk through the door followed by his aide.

  “I want to know what's going on with these creature sightings,” the general snapped. “And where is my son?”

  “I’m not sure, sir,” the aide replied. “His supervisor said he left the base after his duty was concluded for the day.”

  Jake looked confused as he watched them walk past where they were hiding. Why was his dad asking about him? He could not shake the feeling he was missing something.

  “Jacob,” Kaedin hissed and Jake was just able to slip through the door before it closed.

  “Stay close. This floor is always very busy,” Jake whispered as they watched three people walk past before they jumped into the flow of traffic. Being careful not to run into anyone, Jake turned down a side hall that led to a massive steel door. When Jake stopped in front of it Raven stepped forward. He put a hand on Jake and Kaedin’s shoulder and closed his eyes.

  “Ēlipor tūinkāe,” he whispered. A few seconds later they were on the other side of the door. Jake shook off the momentary wave of dizziness that came with the jump and continued forward. They made several more twists and turns before coming to another massive steel door. Raven repeated the process and they appeared on the other side of the door. They continued like this through three more doors before Raven exhaled a little too loud and caused both Kaedin and Jake look at him in alarm. He shrugged with a grimace as he wiped sweat off his forehead.

  Jake started walking again and they finally came to a steel door that was thicker and twice the width of the others. It had several other visible security features besides the key card. Raven once again ported them through the door but sagged against the wall after the jump as more sweat beaded on his forehead. Porting four people so many times was beginning to take its toll. Raven pushed off the wall with a shrug when he saw Kaedin’s concern.

  Jake hurried across the room to a small door off to the left side of the large room. He glanced around to be certain that no one was within earshot.

  “She’s in here,” he whispered.

  Taking a deep breath, Raven ported them one more time and they appeared in the room. Kaedin started to move toward the bed as soon as he saw that it really was Rin, but Jake grabbed his arm to stop him. He was looking around the room and appeared to be concerned. One entire wall that usually had coverings over the windows was open, and it looked like there was a group of scientists observing the room.

  “That’s not good,” he whispered. “I have no idea what they are doing.” As soon as the words were out of his mouth, ice cold air poured into the room.

  “What good is this going to do?” One of the scientists asked. “We have tried numerous times to wake the alien. How will freezing it help?”

  Jake’s face paled and he looked up at the vents. He was at a complete loss for what to do. Kaedin jerked his arm free and moved to Rin, but he could not get through her force wall.

  “We believe by freezing the body and then warming it slowly after a time, may be enough to shock it awake.” Jake shook his head. That made no sense, but he did not have time to dwell on it when Sara suddenly started to shake. Her breathing was coming in ragged gasps. Her body was almost to its limit. He just stared at her when she started to glow with a golden light that came off her in wisps.

  “Get her to Rin,” Kaedin whispered. “Hurry!”

  Jake glanced at the scientists through the windows before he approached the bed. When Sara was right beside her the force wall vanished. Kaedin took a quick step forward and grabbed Sara’s hand. He put her hand against Rin’s. As soon as they were brought into contact Rin’s body also began to glow. The golden wisps coming off Sara began to flow into her.

  “What’s going on in there? The strange energy field is gone. Turn off the cooling fans and get someone in there.” A scientist called from where he was sitting in front of several monitors.

  Kaedin and Raven exchanged glances before Raven nodded and raised his hands.

  “Humasa, Ksāetras,” he said. A thick fog spread through the room and a force wall appeared on the outside of the door.

  Sara’s body shuddered violently when the last of the golden light flowed out of her, but her breathing eased. It took several moments before Rin’s body lost the glow as it accepted the return of her magic and soul. When the glow was completely gone, Rin suddenly took a deep breath and her eyes fluttered open.

  “Rin.” Kaedin’s voice was laced with strong emotions when he grabbed her hand.

  “Kaedin?” Her voice was hoarse and rough when she whispered his name. She was disoriented as she searched for him in the fog.

  “We can’t get in the door. Something is blocking it!” Kaedin glanced at the door before he reached down and pulled Rin off the bed. Alarms started going off all around them as soon as he moved her.

  “We have to ge
t out of here!” Jake said. He could just make out the soldiers moving around the other side of the window. “They’ll break out the window to get in here.”

  Something large crashed into the window. Kaedin hurried over to Jake and Raven appeared beside them a second later.

  “Get us out of here,” Kaedin said, his full attention on the window behind them. Raven put his hands on their shoulders again and closed his eyes in concentration before he took multiple deep breaths.

  “Hurry Raven!”

  “Ēlipor ntāera,” he said with a heavy sigh. They heard the sound of the window shattering as they vanished. Moments later they arrived back in the living room of the cabin.

  Early the next morning, Rin woke long before anyone else. She stretched and smiled when she found that her body was responding again. When they first returned from the base, she could not move. A quiet sigh caused her to look beside her and she found Kaedin asleep next to her. Her hand started to tremble as she reached out and brushed several strands of hair out of his face. She just watched him sleep for a little while before she kissed his cheek and moved to get up. Before she could do more than turn around, a strong arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her backwards.

  “Do not leave my side,” he whispered, his voice taking a hollow tone. She moved so that she could look up at him.

  “Forgive me, I did not mean to make you suffer so.” She rested her hand on his cheek. He leaned into it and fought to keep his emotions under control while Rin ran her thumb along his cheekbone.

  “There is much you need to tell me,” he said. Rin froze before she shivered.

  “No, not yet,” she stammered. “I am not ready to relive all of that.” Kaedin pulled her against him and wrapped both arms around her when he saw the hint of fear on her face.

  “Please forgive me,” he said in a whisper, his voice filled with remorse.

  Rin rested her head on his chest. “There is nothing to forgive. What happened was not your fault, it was beyond either of our control.” He did not reply, and she frowned. She could sense that he still felt guilt over what happened to her.