Juila could not believe her sister was even asking to do this. Ordinarily Jena was the sister who refused to take any risks and now it seemed as though she had thrown caution out the window. If it meant so much to her sister, then she supposed there could not be much harm in it. She rarely asked for much.
“Fine. Let’s go,” Juila said with a sigh of resignation.
“Okay!” She jumped down from the stool at the island and began heading toward the library, where the secret room was located.
Even as she neared the room, she could feel the pull of the samaras. It was one of the reasons they had selected the library in which to train Behn. The additional power created by the samaras made it easier for Behn to access the elemy to learn to use his birth crystal.
Jena hurried across the room to the far wall where she pressed the release mechanism under the shelf. The entire wall moved in on one end to allow the two girls to access the Tualan artifacts and samaras located in the room. They made a beeline for the shelf.
Before either one of them had a chance to touch their crystal skulls, they stood open-mouthed at the sight of the third samara. They had not heard about another one being found and they were intensely curious to know to whom it would eventually belong.
“Where did it come from?” Jena asked as she pointed and turned her head to see her sister’s expression matching her own.
“I don’t know. Maybe it had something to do with the day Mom stayed out so late and Dad had been so worried about her.”
“Why didn’t they tell us about it? Don’t you think it’s a bit strange?” Jena was actually more surprised since she had not noticed the extra power which had been emanating from the additional crystal.
“We have been rather busy lately with school, homework, and Behn’s lessons. Maybe they were waiting for something special before they planned to tell us.”
“I think we should take these into the library so we can sit down while we’re using them. This way we won’t have to worry about fainting or falling down,” Jena suggested.
“We shouldn’t touch them with our bare hands, then.” Juila paused for a moment as she accessed the elemy to retrieve two bath towels from her bathroom upstairs. She handed one of them to her sister with a grin.
“Good idea.” She unfolded the towel once so it would be less bulky when she reached into the niche to pull down the stone. When she had originally seen the first two samaras she had believed they were identical. Since the crystal had ‘claimed’ her, she could see it looked nothing like either of the other two. She had no trouble identifying her own stone and she could see Juila was equally as decisive.
They took their bundles into the library and each sat in her regular seat. As if they had rehearsed this, they each set the bundle down on her lap and unfolded the cloth from around it. They were so in tune with one another that they each touched the samara at the same time.
Jena’s vision of the library disappeared as she began to see scenes unfold inside her head. Since she knew what to expect this time, she purposely slowed the scenes down so she could understand what they were showing.
She sucked in a breath when she saw a woman who looked eerily like her own mother who was also holding a samara. This woman looked distinctly uncomfortable with the object in her hands so it was obviously not meant for her. Jena wondered whose crystal it would become.
The scene changed again so she saw her foster-mother, Barla. Jena clearly saw a bright blue birth crystal hanging from her neck. It was only then Jena realized she had never seen Barla wearing it before and she thought it was an odd sight to see now. There had to be some meaning behind it, she just had to wait until she had more information before she could fit all the pieces together.
Then she saw her cousins, Gravin and Rasa, instructing Barla on using her birth crystal. Jena frowned when she saw this scene. Why would Barla need lessons now? She paid closer attention to Rasa and realized she seemed happier than she had ever seen her before. There was something definitely going on with Rasa’s life. Hopefully, she would find out what had transpired. Rasa almost felt like a second, or maybe a third, mother to her. She wanted good things to happen for her.
Like before, there were many scenes which contained people she did not recognize. This time, however, she used her memorization skills to note each detail for future scrutiny. She saw a large group of people come together. It was hard to understand what they were all doing together, but Jena, Juila, and both of their parents were included in the group.
Juila had been having the identical visions of her sister. She was not sure if their minds were linked, their samaras, or both. In any event, they were going to have a lot to discuss when they were finished.
Neither sister had any concept of time as they communed with their crystals. Nor did they hear when their parents were calling their names. They only became aware of anything when the samaras suddenly stopped transmitting to their minds.
The girls looked up, stared in wonder at one another, and then noticed their parents frowning at them from the doorway. For some reason, they felt as though they had been caught doing something very bad and they hung their heads in shame. After a short moment, Jena remembered the other crystal and raised her head.
“Where did the other samara come from? Whose is it? Why weren’t we told about it?” Jena had done the asking, but Juila nodded her head at the same time.
Amanda could not be mad at her girls for wanting to explore what the samaras had to offer. She walked forward and sat down in a vacant chair. She motioned for Riccan to join them in the room and sit down across from her.
“We’ve been meaning to tell you about it, but the time never seemed right. I found the samara in the Cannon Memorial Asylum in North Carolina. You remember the time when I got home really late last week, right?”
The girls nodded.
“I brought it home and we discovered it belongs to your father,” Amanda announced happily.
Now the girls’ eyes grew wide and they exclaimed happily to their dad, “You got your own!”
“Yeah, it’s pretty cool. I know how you two felt since I have been claimed by my own,” Riccan said as he recalled the feeling of being completed when he held it in his hands. Recalling what they had walked into, he asked, “What happened with both of you just now?”
Jena spoke up and said, “I wanted us to try out the samaras again. We knew what to expect since the last time and I wanted to know if we could control the flow of information.”
“Were you right?” Amanda asked. She was so proud of her daughters and their willingness to try new things. Even though she had missed out on all of their childhood, she hoped she would continue to be a part of their futures.
“Yes, to an extent. It wasn’t nearly as confusing as it was the first time. While I wasn’t able to exactly direct the flow of information, I was, at least, able to make it slow down so I could take more of it in. There’s still a lot of it which doesn’t make sense, but at least now I’ll be able to put it all together when the pieces fall into place,” Jena replied with a confident smile.
“Is there anything you want to share about what you saw?” Riccan asked.
“Not just now, if you don’t mind. I’d like to think about it for a while before I say anything. Juila may have seen something she’d like to share.”
Everyone looked over at Juila with expectant stares.
Juila shrugged and said, “I think we saw the same things. I don’t really know how to explain any of it. I’m sorry.”
“That’s okay, honey. We can talk about it whenever you are ready. Besides, I think we have some time yet before we’ll be called into action,” Amanda said cryptically.
“What makes you think so, Amanda?” Riccan asked.
Amanda lifted her eyebrow and said, “Call it intuition.”
“Hmph,” Riccan replied with a small grin. “Well there’s something else I wanted to talk to Jena about.”
“What is it, Dad?”
; “First, I think you should both put your samaras away. This discussion might take a while.”
The girls looked at one another with puzzled expressions, but gathered their towels back around the crystals and walked them into the hidden room.
While they were gone, Amanda asked, “What did you want to talk about with Jena?”
“I think we should tell her about Willian’s letters and the steps we have taken with his father. If anything comes of it, I think it would be better for Jena to be prepared.”
“Of course. I hope she doesn’t get too upset.”
“I agree. It’s one of the reasons I asked them to put away their samaras. With the power those crystals contain, I would hate to see what she could unleash if she were angry while holding it.”
“Good call!”
The girls returned to the room and resumed their chairs. Jena asked, “Okay, what did you want to talk to me about?”
“I did something which I’m not sure you’ll approve, but as your father, I’m glad I did.”
“What did you do?”
“A few days ago, you and Juila were talking about your relationship with Willian and it got me thinking about how you would normally keep in touch with him. I contacted Rasa and got your access information for your personal account. I wanted to see if Willian had been trying to get in touch with you since you’ve been gone. I read through his correspondence to you and I must say I’m very concerned about the tone in which he addresses you.”
“What did he say? Did you read them while you were at work?”
“No, Jena. I have a patil here at the house. I have to be able to keep in touch with my father, after all.”
“You have a patil here? I would have asked to use it had I known. What did Willian say?”
“I figured as much. You’d been here long enough without asking about it that I thought maybe you wanted a break from Willian. When I read through his messages to you, I’d totally understand why. Anyway, he threatened to have you sanctioned because he feels as though you have abandoned their relationship by not responding to him.”
“What? Sanctioned! How dare him!” Jena’s mind was whirling with confusing thoughts. She could understand his position, but she also had no idea how he could go so far.
“What can we do about it, Dad?” Juila asked with concern for her sister. She hoped Willian had finally gone too far and finally Jena would see him for the controlling creep he actually was.
“I forwarded all of Willian’s messages to his father and told him that I’m concerned about Willian’s behavior. I asked him to look into the matter and get back to me. As of today, I haven’t heard anything, but I’m hoping we can have this resolved amicably.”
“Amicably? As in you think Jena should stay with him?” Juila was about to burst with anger.
“Not necessarily,” Riccan replied hastily. “We’ll see what Elder Debbon has to say about the matter and then we’ll take it from there.”
Jena felt sick to her stomach. She had never imagined Willian could be so cruel as to threaten her with such dire measures. She knew he could be mean, but not cruel, especially not to her.
“May I be excused? I’m not feeling too well,” Jena asked as she crossed her arms over her stomach.
“Sure, honey. Remember we’re here to help and protect you. Please don’t feel as though you’re alone in this matter,” Amanda said kindly to her daughter. She hated seeing how hurt she was in this and was at a loss for what to do for her. She stood up and walked over to Jena. Kneeling down, she reached out and held Jena in her arms.
The embrace was too much for Jena and she burst out in sobs. No longer did she feel as though the betrothal were her own burden to bear. She had parents who wanted her to be happy and wanted to protect her. This was what she had always dreamed for her life. After a few minutes, she kissed her mom’s cheek and said, “I’d like to be alone for a bit, if you don’t mind.”
“Absolutely. We love you,” Amanda said as she pulled her arms away from her daughter. She stood up and looked down at Jena with a concerned expression. “We’ll have to trust in Jehoban to make this all come right. Can you do that?”
“Yes,” she said as she stood up and hurried out of the room.
Juila stared after her sister. She tried to link with Jena’s mind, but found herself shut out completely. This was very bad. Her sister seldom shut her out unless she were thinking meaningful things about Willian. She hoped Jena would let her back in to help comfort her. She turned to her dad and asked, “What else did Willian say?”
“At first he was inquiring about Jena’s time away and when she would be back. Each letter was a bit more abrupt when the previous message went unanswered. By the end, you know what happened. What do you think about the relationship between the two of them? Do you think there’s any hope for making the betrothal work?”
“Willian has always thought I was the jealous sister, but I have to be honest and say I have always thought this was a bad idea. At first, Willian was really friendly with Jena. The more time we spent with him, the more I realized he was jealous of Jena’s powers.
“At some point I think he decided since he would never be as good as she with the elemy, then he would use her skills for his own advantage. After that point he began to treat her like property rather than as a potential partner. I really despise Willian, and Jena knows how I feel. She also knows it’s not because of jealousy on my part, but genuine concern for her happiness.
“Why do you think I’ve pushed her to date other guys here on Earth? I wanted her to see how real relationships should be. What Willian’s shown her is not love, it’s twisted.” Juila had vented all of her frustrations and she leaned back in her chair and waited to see how her parents would respond to her tirade.
“I see,” Riccan said simply. This situation went deeper than he had originally thought. To have Juila vehemently hate her sister’s betrothed was not a good sign. Hopefully he would hear something from Elder Debbon soon. He did not want this conversation to end on such a negative note so he said, “I brought home another telepod for your mother to learn to fly. It’s in the garage. Do you want to go see it? Your mother hasn’t even seen it yet.”
Juila knew what her father was trying to do by distracting her with something she enjoyed. She smiled at her father’s tactic and found she was interested in seeing the telepod. “Sure, I’d love to see it.”
The three of them trooped out of the library, down the hall, through the kitchen, and out into the far garage. They walked past Riccan’s usual telepod and stopped a few feet beyond it. Riccan reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a remote none of the girls had seen before. He clicked the single button on it and the cloaking mode turned off.
The girls both exclaimed about the size of the telepod. It was a small four-seater unit which would be perfect for Amanda’s mission. They all moved forward and walked around the unit inspecting the differences from the one they normally rode in.
“Can we go inside it?” Juila asked.
“Of course. Go ahead and hit the button on the side,” Riccan replied with a smile. He was glad to see Juila’s expression change from being so worried about her sister. Until they heard from Elder Debbon, there was little they could accomplish by worrying.
Juila went up to the side of the telepod and pressed the button to open the door. It descended silently and revealed the simple interior. This unit was not luxurious by any means nor was it a stripped down basic model either. Without asking for permission, she stepped up onto the ramp and went inside.
There were two things which interested Juila the most, the power unit, and the control panel. She turned to the back of the unit and uncovered the power unit first. Like the other telepod, this unit had a single crystal drive. The crystal for this one was considerably smaller, but still flawless. She saw there were some different connections and wondered what components were missing from this telepod.
She replaced the cover and moved to the front of
the telepod. After seating herself at the pilot’s seat, she looked over the controls. This one had a single glass panel rather than the double of the other one. It was positioned more centrally so each person in the front could easily access it. She was so engrossed in her inspection she failed to notice her father walking up behind her.
“Does it meet with your approval?” he asked as he sat down in the co-pilot’s seat.
She chuckled before answering, “Of course.”
“This unit isn’t as grand as my regular flyer. This was a prototype to the other one.”
“Prototype or not, this ‘pod is still nicer by far than the one Jena and I learned to fly. I’d love for you to teach me to fly this one someday.”
“Maybe because your mother’s had her first lesson she won’t be so scared to have you fly with us. You can hear me teach her so when it’s your turn, you’ll already know what do to. What do you think?”
“I think it sounds great. Hey, Mom?” she called out the side door where her mother was still standing.
Amanda came up the ramp and sat down in one of the two passenger seats and asked, “What do you think?”
“Dad said you might let me come fly with you while you’re training. What do you think?”
“If your dad thinks it’s safe, then I’ll defer to his opinion.”
“I’m positive it’s safe. I have the same software installed in this unit as in the other one. This version is slightly older, but the ideas are the same. The only thing I need to install is the anti-collision software. I’ll get that done tonight and take it for a test spin. We can go flying tomorrow after I get home from work.”
Juila smiled at her father’s enthusiasm. She was looking forward to getting up into the air and traveling again. Even though it had only been a couple of mesans, months, she reminded herself since she was on Earth after all, she really missed the feeling of independence which flying gave her. “I think you should take me up in your airplane, too, Dad.”
“I like the way you think, Juila! How about this? Once we get your mother ready to fly on her own, we can start teaching you how to fly the Cessna.” Riccan was beyond pleased to have his daughter express an interest in his hobby on Earth.
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