by Jen L. Grey
"Okay, we'll meet you there as soon as possible." Brad turns to head back to the front of the island and then pauses. "Are you two going to be okay?"
"We aren't getting too close." Dax turns around and points a finger at me. "You can't be stupid. We need to spy only, so you can't get ahead of the plan."
Shit, he's right, but how can I sit still when I'm this close to Charlie? Still, if I did something that wound up jeopardizing him, I wouldn't be able to live with that. I hate that I'm put in this situation. I would trade spots with him in a minute if given the chance. He doesn't deserve this, and he's only there because of me. "I get it. We have to save him. I won't do anything stupid."
"All right, good." He heads back in the original direction. "Brad, we will meet you all back there in the next thirty minutes."
"Got it." Brad heads in the direction of where his men are waiting.
As much as I hate it, I do need to make sure I keep my emotions in check and my head on straight. The fortress is getting larger with every step we take.
It doesn't take long before Dax holds out a hand and lowers his voice. "This is as close as we can risk." We’ve stopped at the edge of a strip of houses, and he's peering through some beautiful teal flowers. They remind me of the ocean breeze orchids back home but larger. Its beautiful teal and blue flowers are long and reach the ground. This one is big enough to hide both Dax and me. The floral scent fills my nose and calms the earth power inside me.
But what's going on in front of the fortress makes my heart drop into my stomach. It was weird that we ran into no one on our way here, but now I know why. It's almost as if the entire city is standing in front of the building. It's funny because the house is bigger than the others, but nothing super grand from out here. The only notable thing is a huge balcony on the top floor that seems to be coming off of two other rooms. There are a few chairs and a table that overlook the ocean.
My eyes find Tide, who is on the ground out front, handing out guns.
Holy shit. It looks like we're going to be attacked by a mob. My chest tightens when I recognize some of the people in the crowd. They were people I hung around with in the market. How could they turn on me like this?
"Well, it looks like we'll be fighting a whole realm here." His jaw twitches, and he taps his fingers on his side.
That doesn't seem to be an understatement. "They even have guns." What the hell is going on? They try to appear peaceful, but this shows otherwise. "We better head back before someone sees us."
"Yeah, we're going to have to do a surprise attack with all that." He groans and turns back in the direction of the ocean. "We need to get a good game plan in place."
The last thing I want to do is go up against them, but they have Charlie. There is no other choice. I'll do whatever it takes to save him. I can't lose him.
As soon as we get some distance from the fortress, my breathing begins to level. We should be safe for now since everyone is over there.
Of course, that's when the sound of footsteps comes from behind us.
Dax grabs a knife from his belt and spins around. He rushes toward the person who is just now stepping out from behind a building.
No, it can't be. "Stop. Don't hurt her." I sure hope she's not here to hurt us.
Dax drops his arm right before the knife would have entered her chest.
Melody's eyes are wide, and she trembles in fear. "I'm not... I'm not here to hurt you." She throws her hands up in the air and stumbles as she takes a step behind her.
"Why the hell were you sneaking up on us?" Dax's tone is hard, and his breathing is ragged.
Shit, it seems as if we all scared one another. I don't blame Dax for being angry. He almost killed her, for God's sake.
"I'm sorry." She flattens down her shirt against her belly and licks her lips. "I didn't know whether I should call out or not. You guys seemed to be on a mission." She glances at the ground and takes a deep breath. "What are you doing?"
"We had to scope out the fortress." For some reason, I trust her, so I'm going with my intuition.
"Chris..." Dax hisses at me and steps in between her and me. "We might not be able to trust her."
"No, you can." She takes a few steps toward me, but Dax blocks her again. She bites her lip. "She saved me. I owe her.”
"Leave her alone." He's trying to be protective, but damn. The past few weeks, she and I have become friends. "I trust her."
"We can't be too careful." Dax tenses up and glares at her.
"I swear on the artifact itself you can trust me." She stays put and taps her foot.
This is ridiculous. I trust her, and that's all that matters. I step around Dax and frown. "Ria took Charlie. She told me I had to leave the island in order for her to release him."
"No." She closes her eyes, and her small fingers pinch the bridge of her nose. "This isn't good."
"I can't..." Tears fill my eyes, and my heart feels as if it's going to shatter. "I can't lose him."
"You're not going to." Dax places his hand on my arm and squeezes. "We're going to get him back and kick their asses."
"I hope you're right." Her voice is low, almost a whisper, and she glances back toward where all of the people are congregated. "You both have to understand that even though Tide acts like it, he's not the one who runs the show."
Wait... What does that mean? "He's the one who greeted us here and came to your aid that night with the ogre."
"It's because they knew you were there." Melody takes a deep breath and looks at her hands. She's quiet for a moment as if she's trying to decide whether to continue.
"Just come out with it." Dax's tone is so low it almost sounds like a growl. "You've already started."
She frowns at him but nods. "You're right." She focuses back on me. "It's all for appearances’ sake. They work together, but Ria, she's the powerful one. To outsiders, they want them to think it's Tide who is in charge so they underestimate what's going on."
Once again, I fell for the illusion. I could have sworn she worked for Tide. "So how powerful is she?"
"Before you, she was the only one who could really connect with the Water Artifact, and she's practiced and harnessed that gift since she was a young child. She is very strong and has protected these lands since she was a teenager." She rubs her chin and purses her lips.
"Well, she may have, but I have the power of three artifacts on my side." I should be able to take her.
"But you care about people and try to do the right thing." She runs her hand through her hair and cringes. "Ria will do whatever it takes to protect this land. She won't hesitate to sacrifice one person if she believes it will protect many more."
That's the exact thing the angels taught me in their realm. Someone who is powerful should keep in mind the greater good for all instead of one individual. I get it now, but Charlie is too important to me to just let him die in vain.
"Well, she's going to have a big surprise." Dax stares off and balls his hands. "We've got to get in there."
He's more worried about the artifact, but I'm more concerned about my love. "He's right." I'm not sure if she was trying to talk me out of going, but there is no backing down. "We have to go. I have to save Charlie. He's the only one who understands, and I'm not sure if I could have survived this long without him."
She begins pacing back and forth, pulling at the ends of her hair. "Okay, fine." She stops and places her hands on her hips. "I'm in. I want to fight with you."
"No, you don't have to do that." I don't want her to get in trouble and have to deal with the fall out. I can always go back home, but this... This is her home.
"You saved me when I didn't deserve it." She snorts and glances down. "Hell, you've been the best friend I've had here. This is the least I can do, and I happen to know the layout inside."
"I'm sold." Dax points at her and nods. "Let's get moving. Brad and his group should be close to our meeting place if not already there." He takes off back in the direction of the beach.
>
"All right, let's go." Melody beams and heads after him.
Well, shit. I guess it's two against one, and I'm the freaking loser. I don't like this, but hell, what am I supposed to do? She's a grown-ass woman. I don't want to be the cause of anyone else getting harmed, and at the end of the day, we need to save Charlie sooner rather than later. I follow behind them, eager to get this thing done.
It doesn't take long to reach the beach. I'm surprised to find Brad and his little army there already. They are in a circle, and all but Brad are wearing matching clothes and bullet proof vests. They are dressed in all black with a gun on each hip. Each person there has to be between the ages of eighteen and twenty-five. I guess this is how everyone pays their dues and moves up?
Brad is in deep conversation with all of them, and the man on his left bends down and draws something in the sand. Huh, I wonder if you can draw in this sand.
The guy on his other side points at it and moves his hand higher, and Brad nods while rubbing his chin with him thumb.
So that answers my question. They are looking at something. We are now about five feet away from them, and there's a building etched in the sand that is very similar to the fortress we just saw.
"You guys have a plan?" Dax leans over and examines the drawing.
"We're trying, but we have limited information on the set up inside." Brad rubs his mouth so hard it opens half way. "It's kind of hard to form a plan if you don't know what's going on."
"That's where I come in." Melody grins and taps her foot as she takes in the drawing. "Okay, this section to the right," she says, as she motions toward the right side, "is Ria's room. There is a balcony right off her room that connects with Tide's."
That makes sense since there were two chairs and a table sitting out there. They must meet there at times. "I saw that. It overlooks the water."
"Yes." She bites her bottom lip and cringes. "Right across from their rooms are the entrances to the holding area."
"Holding area?" The guy on the left of Brad creases his forehead. "What do they keep there?"
"Here in our world, we don't have prisoners." She rolls her eyes and shakes her head. "Ria thinks that people might be afraid of coming to visit us if we have criminals here. So, we don't have a prison; we have a holding area."
That may be the dumbest thing I've ever heard. People still come to Earth even though we have jails and prisons.
"It doesn't matter what you call it, the intent is all the same." Dax pinches the bridge of his nose and groans. "But that's a good thing. We know where Charlie is inside the building."
"So we are going here." The man on his right points to a spot in between the areas where Tide’s and Ria's room are.
"Yeah." She points to about the second level of the building. "Here is an entrance only we citizens know about. We have to scan our fingertips in order to get in. If you can take down the scanner, you can sneak in that way."
"How would we take out the scanner?" Brad purses his lips and stares at it as if it's the real thing.
"Guns." Dax scratches his nose and glances out at the ocean. "That's the only option we have."
"Well, I can scan..." Melody rubs her hands together and squints.
"Nope, you're not scanning anything." There is no way in hell I would let her do that. "We’re going to hide your involvement. They never need to know you helped us."
"She's right." Brad crosses his arms and stares off into the ocean. "We don't want you to wind up in the holding area. The best advantage we have is that they don’t know you’re helping us, and they won't be expecting you to attack."
"Where do we go once we enter here?" Brad's comrade on the left draws an X on the building where Melody had indicated the door would be.
"Oh, it's not far at all." She closes her eyes and rubs her temple. "You turn right down the first hallway and take the first set of stairs. Once you get to the top, turn right, and it'll be the first door on the left."
"The biggest challenge we have is that half the town is standing outside armed with guns." I realize that Brad and his crew know nothing about my power. "But I'm going to cause some strong winds and earth tremors in order to disorient them so no harm comes to them."
"That works." Dax glances at the men standing around us. "Let's go. The longer we take, the more time they have to get prepared."
"All right men, let's head out." Brad's tone is full of authority.
We all take off with Dax in front. He knows where we're going, and right now, I don't trust myself to be there. I fall in line at the back and stay close to Melody.
She takes my hand and squeezes it. "He'll be fine. Ria isn't a monster, she's just scared."
I sure hope so. Otherwise, there will be hell to pay.
We reach the end of the row of houses, and we all stop to see if anything has changed.
Tide is still with the citizens and breaking them up into teams. "You go search the market, and see if she's hiding there." He turns to the next group. "You go to Ria's, and the last group, you all head over to the beach area and see if anything turns up. Chris likes to go there pretty regularly."
The three groups break off and move toward the various directions, but there are about five armed citizens that hadn't been sent away.
"What about us, sir?" A woman close to my age trembles.
"You will all guard us here." Tide scans the area around him but fortunately doesn't see us. "She and her little bodyguard may try to attack."
"Now, let's go." Brad pulls out his gun and glances at his men. "They are scared and not prepared."
"Chris, do your thing." Dax jerks his head my direction and pulls out a knife.
I close my eyes to focus. I don't want to see the citizens’ terror. I dig deep into my core and tug on the vibrant blue and brown strands.
The wind picks up, blowing hard, and the ground begins to shake.
"No." The same girl calls out with panic lacing her words. "Not this again. We're going to die."
The fifteen people from Brad’s crew run out from the building and head straight to the door Melody told them about.
"You won't be able to get in there." Tide growls as he charges them.
Shit, I need more wind. I yank harder on my magic and divert a large rush of wind in Tide's direction. The wind begins to swirl, forming a tornado, and picks the citizens up into the air.
"Don't let them inside the building," Tide shouts as he appears in front of me right before he twists around again.
A gunshot is fired by one of the water people, and it lodges into the building near the balcony.
"Are they seriously shooting while in a tornado?" Why would anyone do that? It doesn't seem smart to me. At least no one got hurt, the freaking idiots.
The group of men get to the scanner and whack it with the butt of the gun. It cracks down the center and another guy shoots at the door handle. Within a minute, the door is yanked open, and they file into the building.
I push the wind harder, making sure not to injure them, but they aren't able to fight back.
"Oh, Christina." A voice that is way too familiar coos my name.
My heart pounds in my ears, and a cold chill rocks my body. I turn to find Ria standing on her balcony with Charlie in front of her. She has a gun to his head, and her eyes are right on me.
"I see you, so there is no reason to hide." She pushes Charlie, causing him to stumble.
"Stay here. Don’t do anything. I need you to stay safe." I glare at Melody and then take a step out, holding my hands up even though my tornado is still going strong. "Okay, here I am. Just don't hurt him."
Her face has a slight pink hue, and her hand quivers as she holds the gun to his head.
Charlie's eyes are wide, and he mouths the words I love you.
Dammit, I can't do this right now. He shouldn't be up there in this situation. It should be me.
"Tell those men to stand down, or I'll kill him." Her tone is stern, but there is panic in her lavender eyes.
>
No, she won't do it. She may be a pain, but she's not evil. No one can kill someone like that in cold blood. "I don't have a way to contact them. Just release Charlie, and we'll be on our way."
"You need to save yourself, Chris." Charlie jerks, trying to get away, but Ria hits him hard in the face with her gun. His face jerks to the left, and then he sags.
"So, you're saying you can't call them off?" Her voice is high pitched, and she holds Charlie up as he now slumps against her.
This has to be a bluff. There is no way she would do it, and the truth is there isn't a way for me to contact them. "No, I'm sorry."
"Then, so be it." Her eyes glare into mine as she pulls the trigger. The bullet enters Charlie's head, and then he falls to the ground.
19
This has to be a dream. There is no way Charlie is dead. I reach out and pinch myself hard to wake myself up from this nightmare.
It doesn't matter how hard I squeeze I can't seem to feel pain. His body is slumped over, and blood is splattered everywhere. How could this happen? He didn't deserve this.
My vision becomes blurry, but I can't stop staring. Something wet runs down my fingers, but I can't tear my eyes from him. The love of my life has to wake up. This has to be some kind of cruel joke to teach me a lesson. I can't lose him.
"Chris..." Melody's voice sounds far away.
She needs to leave me alone. How am I supposed to go on without him? He's my rock, my constant, the one who never judged me. I... I can't fathom...
Someone grabs my hand and pulls it away. "Stop, you're bleeding."
I glance down at my arm, and blood is dripping onto the ground from where I pinched myself. Why the hell is she bugging me about this when Charlie is up there? Doesn't she realize he needs us? "We’ve got to help him." I push past her to get to the door the others went through.
"No, Chris." Melody's tone is loud and frantic.
Like hell I'm stopping. Maybe I can heal him? It isn't his time, and I need him. I just have to get to him. I break into a run when I'm grabbed by the waist.