Hidden Worlds

by Kristie Cook

  “I expect you to be in the War room tomorrow morning by 9 o’clock,” Alberico addresses us all.

  “The War room? All of us? Why?” I ask Alberico, but it’s Jacoby who answers.

  “The Dark Elves are desperate. Now that they know what your weaknesses are, they aren’t going to just give up trying to get their hands on you.”

  “He is right. We are going to have to take offensive action as soon as possible. We need to form a plan of attack and end this once and for all,” Alberico declares solemnly.

  “But I can go back home, right?” I ask Alberico. He looks shocked that I would even consider such a thing, so I hurry to continue. “I just, well you know, I don’t know how my mom would feel about me dropping out of school during the last semester of my senior year...” It’s true. She would probably flip out to be honest. But mostly I am just homesick and scared. And when I am scared, I want my mom.

  “I can return with her and keep an eye on her for the rest of the school year. I’m already enrolled. She can transport back here for a couple of hours every day to check in and continue her training,” Grey suggests.

  “I can be there too. It couldn’t hurt to have the extra protection,” Jacoby says nonchalantly.

  “And what kind of protection are you capable of providing?” Grey snorts. “Shouldn’t you be worried about your own head?”

  Jacoby stares coolly at him. At first I think that maybe he is going to be the bigger person and ignore Grey’s snide remark. But then Greyson’s face distorts in pain, and he covers his ears with both hands.

  “Jacoby, stop!” I plead. He looks up at me, wide-eyed with mock innocence, and has a guilty grin on his face like a child who knows he is too cute to ever really be in trouble.

  “Just demonstrating, Lark.”

  “That’s not exactly the way to earn their trust,” I point out to him.

  He shrugs and throws his hands up in surrender.

  But then Greyson recovers, and the next second the earth starts to quake under Jacoby’s feet, making him lose his balance. As he steadies himself, all humor leaves Jacoby’s face and he focuses once more on Grey, who immediately falls to the ground, writhing in pain that is being manufactured inside his head.

  “Stop! Jacoby!”

  As soon as I say his name he releases Grey but he adds with a wink, “I have a few tricks up my sleeve.”

  “How do we know we can trust him?” demands Greyson. He has remained fairly calm up until this point, but the anger radiates off of him now. “How do we know where his loyalty lies? He was raised with them and on top of that, he’s a Spirit user! Don’t you find that suspicious?”

  I’ve never heard him yell at anyone before. It’s unsettling. He is usually so calm and collected. But what disturbs me more is the fact that he refers to Jacoby as a “Spirit user” like it’s a bad thing. It is as though, in Grey’s eyes, being a Spirit user is reason enough to distrust Jacoby.

  “Look, Mr. Intensity, calm down. My loyalty is with Mia. I will do anything to keep her safe, which includes putting myself at risk. Which I think I proved when I saved her.”

  His words warm me to my core. Nobody has ever looked at me with such reverence before. For a moment, I wonder if I’m suffering from Stockholm syndrome or something, because surely it’s not logical for me to have such fondness for someone who helped to kidnap me. But then I remind myself that he also helped me escape.

  And besides, he never exactly seemed willing to kidnap me or harm me in any way, so maybe I’m not completely out of my mind after all.

  “He did save me. He helped me escape. I couldn’t have done it on my own, and he didn’t have to help me,” I point out to Grey. “I believe him. I don’t think he is going to hurt me.”

  Alberico nods in agreement, trusting my instincts, but Grey does not look too happy.

  “Another Spirit user,” Alberico says more to himself than anybody else present. “Things just got a lot more complicated.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  I only have a few days left in Á lfheimr before my mom expects me to be home. Alberico has insisted that I remain on “bedrest” to rebuild my strength. Let me tell you, bedrest sucks. It’s only day two and I am already going crazy. Usually my stubborn self would throw a hissy fit over something like this, but since Alberico went out on a limb for me by releasing Jacoby, I figure I owe him this one.

  I call my mom to check in on Maddie. She doesn’t even remember calling me to tell me that Maddie was sick in the first place, so I play it off as a case of sisterly-instinct. I am so relieved that Maddie is perfectly fine now.

  I haven’t seen any sign of Grey yet today which, even though I am not entirely surprised, I do find to be a little weird. Before I was kidnapped, I saw him every day. I suppose he might be busy planning attack strategies with Alberico and the rest of the council. But I suspect the fact that Jacoby hasn’t left my room all day might have something to do with it.

  “So what do you do for fun back home, Lark?” he asks me on day two of my bed rest.

  “I don’t know. Normal things, I guess. Watch movies. Read books,” I shrug.

  “What is your favorite book?”

  “Why don’t we ever talk about you?” I ask, trying to avoid answering his question.

  “Because I’m not nearly as interesting as you,” Jacoby counters, but I’m inclined to disagree.

  “Well, what are your plans now?”

  “Besides baby-sitting you?” he smirks.

  “Ha, ha. Jerkface. Seriously, what are you going to do now? You know, besides baby-sitting me.”

  “I don’t know, I guess go to a normal high school, travel, whatever. Maybe I’ll try to find out more about my parents?” His face darkens and my heart aches as it always does when he talks about his parents. “But I don’t want to talk about that. I want to know what your favorite book is.”

  “Do you want to know the real answer or the answer I tell everyone?” I ask coyly.

  “Both. You have to tell me the truth anyway, I’d know if you were lying,” he responds with his toothy grin.

  “How?”

  “Your aura of course,” he says with a wink.

  Damn.

  “Well, I tell everyone that Pride and Prejudice is my favorite. And it is definitely one of them. I sorta have a thing for the brooding Mr. Darcy, but...” I pull the blanket up over my face not wanting to continue.

  “Go on,” he encourages as he pulls it down just enough to reveal my eyes.

  “You promise you won’t laugh?”

  “I’m not promising anything,” he says with a smile. I take a deep breath and ignore the fluttering in the pit of my stomach.

  “My actual favorite book is Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban,” I blurt quietly before quickly hiding my face beneath the blanket once again.

  He falls off the bed laughing uncontrollably, pulling the blanket down with him. The sound of his laugh is so buoyantly carefree that I can’t help but join in. It’s contagious and once I start, I find myself unable to stop. I am laughing so hard that tears are rolling down my cheeks and my ribs hurt. I throw one of my pillows at him.

  “Stop laughing! I’m supposed to be resting! And Harry Potter is freaking awesome!” I defend myself. He flings the pillow back at me before collapsing to the ground in another fit of laughter.

  “It looks like you are feeling much better.”

  I look up to see Isobel standing in my doorway. She smiles at me so warmly I am reminded of my mother.

  “Hi! Yes, I am feeling much better.”

  “Good. I am sorry for just letting myself in—I did knock,” she replies, looking a little embarrassed.

  “No worries. I am so glad you came to visit me,” I tell her earnestly. “This is Jacoby.” I gesture to the floor beside my bed where he is still sprawled out on the floor, chuckling at my expense.

  He sits up to greet Isobel properly and their gazes lock. Isobel’s mouth drops and the color drains from her face. S
he stares at Jacoby as if she has seen a ghost. I look back at him thinking that maybe something is wrong only to find him staring back at Isobel with a bewildered look on his face. I nudge, okay more like kick, his side to try to get his attention.

  “Sorry,” he says to me before turning back to Isobel. “Just sorta got a feeling of dÉjÀ vu. Have I ever met you? You look so familiar.”

  “No, I don’t think we have ever met before,” Isobel quietly responds. “I’m sorry Mia. I have to go. I just wanted to check on you. I will try to come back to see you again before you leave. I promise. It was nice meeting you, Jacoby.”

  Her eyes meet Jacoby’s one more time before she rushes out the door, obviously flustered.

  “Hmm...that was weird. I wonder what Isobel is so upset about?”

  “I don’t know. She does look awfully familiar though I can’t imagine why,” he says, shrugging it off.

  “Yeah, but she looked like she had seen a ghost or something. It was weird,” I counter.

  “Maybe she thought she saw a Dementor? Those things are terrifying,” he suggests mockingly.

  “You know, you are such a butt-head.” I throw the pillow at his head with a smile.

  “Yeah but you know you love me,” he says using his ability to speak in my mind.

  I stare at him, shocked that he would make such an assumption, but also in awe that he did it again.

  “How do you do that?”

  “Do what? Speak inside your head, or make you blush so easily?”

  I almost tell him both, but I don’t want to admit that he has such an effect on me.

  “It’s really creepy,” I say instead.

  “Yes, I suppose it is if you aren’t used to it.”

  “Your affinity is with Spirit, isn’t it?” I ask him. Even though I know the answer already, I just need to hear him say it. “That’s what Alberico meant when he said ’another Spirit user’. And it’s how you know so much about it. You see auras and can talk in my head. You are a Spirit user.”

  “Yes,” he states simply.

  “Do you think I could do it? You know, speak inside your mind?” I wonder out loud.

  He rubs his chin with his hand like he is deep in thought.

  “Let’s try it. Say something to me inside your head and I’ll see if I can hear you,” he says, then he reaches out and gently strokes my cheek, causing my heart to spin in a fluttering fit.

  Holy smokes! When he touches me like that....Wow....Why do I want this boy I barely know to kiss me so badly? Am I a floozy or something? How is it possible to have feelings for two different boys at the same time? Oh crap. I really hope he can’t hear me. I totally did not mean to say that out loud. I mean, in my head, I mean, to him in my head. Crap. Now I am just blabbering on like an idiot. Can you hear me?

  Jacoby laughs and I feel the heat in my cheeks.

  Crap. He heard everything!

  “I have no idea what you said, but your facial expressions are killing me. What in the world could you be thinking about that would make you blush so red? It must be quite scandalous!” He wiggles his eyebrows up and down, reminding me of a cartoon villain.

  Thank God mind-speak is not one of my abilities.

  “Can all Spirit users do the whole mind-speak thing?” I ask in an effort to distract him from my ferociously beating heart and my blood-red face.

  “Honestly, I am not sure. Dugan can make people see their worst fears inside their heads, but I am not sure if he has ever tried just speaking normally to someone that way. Of course, Dugan doesn’t really just speak normally to anyone. He just commands, tortures, or kills to get his point across.”

  “Does Alberico know that you can do it?”

  “I don’t know, I didn’t exactly divulge that piece of information but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t figured it out for himself.”

  “Why didn’t you just tell him?” I ask curiously.

  “I don’t know. It just seems like the kind of thing I should just keep to myself, you know?”

  Well, no, I don’t know, but I guess since it’s not really my secret to tell.

  “Okay, I won’t tell anyone.”

  “Good. It can be our little secret then,” he winks. “Imagine how much fun we’ll have when you learn how to do it, too.”

  “That is, if I am able to do it. So far it seems like you are so much more powerful than me. Why is that?”

  “Maybe because I’m a man?”

  I punch him in his arm as hard as my girly hands can manage.

  “Shut up, I’m serious. I can barely do anything, and you can do pretty much everything.”

  “Well, for one, I can’t do everything. And two, I am not the one who was blessed by SÓ l and destined to be powerful enough to break the Dark Elves’ curse,” he reminds me, and I blush in embarrassment. I still feel sick to my stomach thinking about the Dark Elves. He must have realized that because he gently pulls me into his arms. “I don’t know, Lark. Maybe because I’ve been using the magic longer than you? I’m sure you will catch up to my awesomeness someday. If you are lucky, that is.” He tightens his arms around me comfortingly.

  “Ha. Ha. Ha.” I elbow him. “You really are awfully cocky.”

  “It’s all part of my charm, Lark. All part of my charm.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  It’s not until Friday that Alberico agrees I’ve rested up enough and “allows” me to venture out of my bedroom. It’s about time too. I’ve been feeling a little stir crazy. Most of my strength and energy has returned, and I just feel the need to do something. Anything. I’ve been trying to persuade Alberico to allow me to start training again. I want to learn to defend my mind against any future attacks from Dugan like Jacoby can. Jacoby seems to think it is possible since I am a Spirit user as well. But I still want to talk to my father about it. Alberico insists that I wait a few more days before starting any training. I think he’s being way too over-protective, but at least he let me off of bed rest today.

  Alberico’s private sitting room is one of my favorite rooms in the castle. Not only does it hold sentimental value to me since it is adorned with my mother’s painting, but it’s one of the few places that provide an escape from the constant whispers and stares that seem to follow me around the more public areas of the castle. Which have inevitably become more pronounced since the entire kingdom seems to be aware of my friendship with Jacoby. Whatever good impression I made on the elves at the ball has been overshadowed by their disapproval of my role in Alberico’s decision to offer Jacoby amnesty. Luckily, no one has gotten wind of my so-called ‘blessing’ by the Sun goddess. I would be viewed as even more of a freak if that had been the case.

  It’s just Alberico and me today. Grey has taken Jacoby to my school to enroll and get everything in place for Monday. I haven’t even begun to ponder how weird it will be to be back there, back where everything is still so ordinary and normal, now that my life is so completely immersed in the extraordinary.

  “Dad,” I begin hesitantly, the endearment is still a little foreign on my tongue. I always called Paul by his first name, but I considered him my father for the past several years. It just seems a little weird to call someone ’dad’ now. “I have to ask you something.”

  “Of course,” he says, eyes twinkling. I sense his pride at my acknowledgement of him as my father. It still feels a little unnatural, but I’m making the effort.

  “When I was in the Underworld, Jacoby told me about Spirit.” I wait to see how he reacts before I continue. “He was surprised that no one informed me about it earlier, especially since I haven’t been able to manipulate any of the other elements. In fact my only ability, so far, has been healing, and that is a Spirit aspect.”

  “You haven’t asked me a question yet.”

  “Did you know that was my affinity?” I finally ask.

  He leads me over to an elegantly ornate bench surrounded by a bed of pink stargazer lilies. Next to the yellow roses, these are a close second on my list of fav
orites. I inhale their sweet scent as I wait for him to answer me.

  “Yes,” he finally says. “We suspected as much after the car accident.”

  “So why didn’t anybody ever mention Spirit to me before?” I ask accusingly. I am starting to feel like everyone has been keeping a secret from me.

  “Honestly, we didn’t know how exactly the magic would manifest itself in a Half-blood, which is why Grey was testing your abilities when you first got here. We were trying to figure out if there was any chance Spirit wasn’t your affinity after all, and that the healing magic had been a fluke. I was hoping that you hadn’t specialized in any one particular element, but rather had bits and pieces from them all. Obviously, you are a Spirit user though.”

  “Why did you hope it wasn’t Spirit?”

  It seems odd to me that he would hope such a thing. As far as I could tell, Spirit magic seemed like a good thing. The ability to see auras and speak inside the mind seems harmless enough. And healing is definitely a handy ability.

  “I wanted the kingdom to accept you. Elves are generally terrified of Spirit wielders.”

  “But why? Why do they fear Spirit so much?” I think back to Grey saying he didn’t trust Jacoby because he is a ’Spirit user’. I wonder if he feels that way about me now. I’m not sure how I feel about that. It makes me a little sad, but I’m kind of offended at the same time.

  “As I am sure you have figured out, the most well-known Spirit user is Dugan. Surely you can see how that alone would instill a natural reaction of mistrust regarding that kind of power?”

  “Yes, but surely there are good Spirit users too?”

  “It’s more than just a fear of the Elves who use Spirit. Spirit in itself is frightening because it deals with the unknown. We derive our magic from nature so we are attuned to everything that occurs naturally in our world. Everything is connected in one never ending circle. Wood feeds Fire. Fire creates earth through ash. Earth bears metal. Metal collects Water. And Water nourishes the Wood. All of these elements serve a purpose in our everyday life. It’s tangible. We see it happening. Spirit, well, Spirit is the unseen, and people— humans and elves alike— are naturally fearful of the unknown,” he sighs. “I should have been honest with you from the beginning. I thought it would be too much for you to handle so soon. Learning about me and Á lfheimr had to be overwhelming enough. I had hoped we would have more time. I misjudged your strength, and I apologize.”