“I suspected as much. What do you need from me?”
“I have to go and help fight the problems as well as try to stop the Grynn and I need your permission for Shay to come with me. She has her ring and we’ll have Warriors with us.”
“Of course, Alix, whatever you need. It’s winter break so you’re not going to be missing school and I know you’ll take care of her.”
“Yes, I will. Thank you, Mrs. S.”
“You’re welcome, Alix. I’ll give the phone back to Shay now.”
“What’s going on Alix?” Shay asked.
“I have to go to California and find a way to put out the forest fires. Then I’ll be going somewhere else to help stop the Grynn. Everyone here but my parents are going, and I want you to come with us. Your mom said it was okay.”
“Oh, wow Alix, of course, I’ll go with you. What do you need from me?” Shay asked.
“I need you to pack, but keep it to one suitcase. This is strictly for fighting the Grynn so you won’t need anything but regular clothes. I don’t know how long we’ll be gone but if we need to, I’m hoping we can wash clothes. We’re going to have to drive to California. It’s fifteen hours so we need to leave as soon as possible. Do you think you can be here in thirty minutes?”
“Yes, I’ll take a super quick shower and get mom to help me pack.”
“Awesome. Text me when you leave the house.” Alix told her.
“Okay, see you in a bit.”
Alix hung up and went straight to her room. She was glad she’d already showered. She quickly packed a bunch of clothes and grabbed her journal and the Power Stone, she had a feeling she was going to need it. She was just about to leave her room when she remembered the box from Stonehenge. She remembered in the letter from Candar that she was supposed to carry the items in it with her when she was out of a safe area. She still had no idea what they were for, but she got the box out of her desk. She put the pearl, metal bird and smooth, white rock in the small bag with the Power Stone. She put it in her pocket and went back downstairs.
It looked like everyone was almost ready. There were several suitcases by the door waiting to go out to the vehicles. Alix left hers there and went to the kitchen. She was going to need another coffee for the road. She ran into Natalie who looked like she was making snacks.
“Food for the road?” Alix asked.
“Yep, that way we don’t have to stop so much. I know it’s important that we get there as soon as possible.”
Alix made her coffee in her go cup and went to the den. She was going to see if there was any new information on the news. As she passed the stairs, she got one of those feelings that she needed to follow. It led her to the entrance to the room of rooms. She created the door and went down the long stone stairway.
When she entered the room with the colored doors, she knew she was supposed to go to the blue door. She opened the door to find a short hallway with another door at the other end. She walked the few steps to the new door and opened it. She was confused by what she found on the other side. It was another room of rooms, but it wasn’t the one she’d just come out of because the stone staircase was missing. She jumped when her phone rang. It was Ben.
“Hello,” she answered.
“Where are you?” Ben said urgently.
“What do you mean?”
“Everything was normal then all of a sudden I could feel you were far away. What’s going on?” he said sounding a little panicked.
Alix explained about the room of rooms and the blue door.
“How do I tell where I am?” she asked. She knew she was somewhere other than Sunset Creek, but she had no clue where she was.
“Use your phone. Go to the map feature and it should tell you where you are.”
“Okay, hang on a sec and I’ll put you on speaker,” she told Ben.
She pressed the button to put him on speaker and then opened up the map feature. It took a minute for it to register her location, but she was shocked by what it told her.
“Ben, you’re never going to believe this. According to the location on my phone, I’m in Redding, California.”
“What? How is that possible?”
“I guess it’s the blue door. Maybe its function is to take the user where they most need to be. Do you know what this means Ben? We can be where we need to go almost instantly. This is going to save so much time.”
“Wow, that’s almost unbelievable. Well, get back here so we can figure out what to do about this, okay?”
“Sure, see you in a minute.” Alix hung up and went back through the blue door.
She was back in the safe house in Sunset Creek. Ben was waiting for her when she reached the top of the stairs.
“Are you okay?” he said pulling her into a hug. “You had me scared half to death.”
“I’m fine. Sorry for scaring you. I just got one of those feelings and followed it. I had no idea what was going to happen.”
“I’m just glad you’re safe. Let’s go find everyone and tell them what you found.”
On the way back to the main floor Shay texted that she was on her way. They gathered everyone in the den and waited on Shay. Kris and Sonya had arrived when she was learning about the blue door. A couple of minutes later Shay was at the door. When everyone was together Alix told them about what happened with the blue door.
“This is incredible Alix,” Natalie said. “It’s going to make things so much easier.”
“So you had no idea what the blue door did?”
“No,” Natalie answered. “We had no idea about the room of rooms until you found it that first time. I think it was a Council secret actually.”
“Huh. Well, I’m glad it’s something we all know about now. So, what do you think is our best plan of action?” Alix asked.
It was Kris that spoke. “I think it’s still wise to be cautious, so the Warriors still need to go with us. We’ll arrive in a safe house, but we have no idea what to expect when we set foot outside the safe zone. Everyone is to be continually aware of what is going on around them. When Alix has to focus on something else it’s our job to protect her above anything else.”
Everyone agreed.
“What about our suitcases?” Shay said. “Are we still taking them?”
“That’s a good question,” Alix said.
“I think we should,” Ben said. “We have no idea what we are walking into or how long it’s going to take. If we have our stuff with us it’ll save us time in the long run.”
“Okay,” Alix said, “are we ready to do this?”
There was a murmur of agreement.
Alix said goodbye to her dad. She called her mom and gave her the shortest explanation she could. She could tell her mom was worried, but they said their goodbyes and hung up.
Alix had been so busy trying to get ready to leave she hadn’t had time to think about what she was going to do when she got to California. How was it possible to put out hundreds of forest fires? She had to figure out a way.
Chapter 20
It took some effort, but they got themselves and the luggage down the stone staircase to the room of rooms. The spiral stairway was not meant for suitcases. Alix stood in front of the blue door and thought about what she had to do. She opened the door while everyone followed. This time the hallway was much longer, changing to accommodate the other nine people with her. The Warrior at the end closed the door and Alix opened the new one. She was happy to discover that she was in the same room as before.
They followed a hallway for a few minutes before coming to another door. Alix pushed it open and they found themselves in a study. The door they’d just come through was actually a bookcase. She loved hidden rooms and doors.
Alix found the front door. The luggage was left in the house and they all stepped outside. The first thing they noticed was the smoke. It hung in the air like a thick cloud.
“How do we find out where the fires are?” Alix asked.
“I have the National Forest
ry Service app on my phone. It should be able to tell us,” Kris said.
He pulled up the app and sure enough there was a forest fire locator. From the looks of it, all of northern California was on fire. Alix still didn’t know what she was going to do but she knew she had to be closer to the fires to do it.
“How are we going to get there?” she asked.
In their excitement of finding a quick way to get to California, they hadn’t thought about transportation when they arrived.
“We need to rent a van or something,” Ben said. “Mom, I know we lived here before, but I was a kid. Do you know where the safe house is compared to town?”
“Yes,” Natalie replied. “Like Sunset Creek it sits on a huge lot in town. I think there’s a car rental place we can walk to.”
Kris volunteered to go. “Tell me where it is and Sonya and I will go get a vehicle and come back to get the rest of you.”
“Do you think it’s a good idea to split up?” Alix asked.
“The most important thing is to keep you safe, and you’re safest here at the moment,” Kris told her. You three,” he said pointing to the Warriors, “you patrol the property while we’re gone. I suggest the rest of you stay in the house until we return.”
Everyone agreed it was the best plan. It would also give Alix a chance to figure out how she was going to deal with the huge number of fires. Back in the house they found the living room and turned on the news channel. With the fires being so close to where they were it was the main focus for the people reporting. They watched for a few minutes. The fires were getting bigger. California hadn’t seen a lot of rain over the last few years and was in a drought. The weather was also hot and dry with no rain predicted for the near future.
As Alix was listening one word caught her attention, rain. She’d never tried it before and wondered if it was possible for her to create rain.
“Guys, I need to go outside for a minute,” she said to the room.
“What’s up?” Shay asked.
“I have an idea and I need to test it.”
“Okay.”
Ben and Shay followed her to the front door. If it was possible the smoke seemed even thicker than before.
“What’s your idea?” Shay asked.
“I need to see if I can make it rain.”
“Um …okay?” Shay replied.
“Think about it. If I can find a way to make it rain the fires will go out by themselves. Ben, have you ever seen someone create rain?”
“No, but if you’re the one doing it then I’m sure it’s possible. How do you want to start?”
“I thought maybe I’d see if I could make a small cloud and make it rain,” she said.
“Okay, we’re here if you need anything,” Ben told her.
She thought back to her first day of training as a Nykara. Ben had her concentrate on what she wanted to grow. In that case, it was the flower from her tattoo, but she didn’t know how to make a cloud. So, she closed her eyes and focused on what a cloud looked like and what it felt like to be standing in the rain. In her head, she created a small cloud about the size of a football and imagined rain falling from it. When she opened her eyes, a smile formed on her lips when she saw a puddle on the ground from her little rain cloud. She’d done it.
“That is so cool,” Shay said putting her hand under the falling rain.
“That’s great Alix,” Ben said. “Now, do you think you can do that on a large enough scale to get to all the fires?”
“With the Power Stone I can amplify my energy, but I think it’s still going to take moving to several different places to get to all the fires. They cover a huge area. It’s still going to be a lot of work though.”
“Is there anything we can do to help?” Shay asked.
“I don’t think so. Just having you here helps. And since we don’t know what we’re really getting ourselves into who knows what I’ll need you for,” Alix said.
“True,” Ben said.
“Do we have any idea what we’ll be facing?” Shay asked.
“Nope,” Alix answered her.
“Well, that sucks,” Shay said in her typical way of looking at things.
Alix had to smile at that. “And that’s why you’re here Shay, comic relief.”
“Glad to be of service,” Shay said bowing. “How long do you think it’ll be before Kris is back?”
“Hopefully not too long,” Alix said. “I’m ready to go now that I’ve figured out a solution. I think I’ll practice making more rain clouds while we wait.”
By the time Kris and Sonya got back, Alix had the yard filled with various sizes of cloud creating puddles everywhere.
“What’s going on here?” Kris asked when he got out of the van.
“I’m practicing,” Alix said. “I learned how to create rain. That’s how we’re going to stop the fires. Of course, it’ll be on a much larger scale at the actual locations but now at least I know how to do it.”
“Are you telling me you just learned how to do this?” Kris asked her.
“Yep,” Alix told him about watching the news and the lack of rain.
“You still continue to amaze me, Alix. Where is everyone else?” he asked.
“Natalie and Rick are in the house and I guess the Warriors are still patrolling. Do you know where we have to go?”
“Yes. While we were waiting at the rental place, I got in touch with the Forestry Service. They gave me the locations of the biggest fires.”
“How far away are we from the closest one?” she asked.
“About forty-five minutes.”
“Okay. Let’s get everyone and get going.”
A few minutes later they were in the van on their way to battle the fires.
Chapter 21
They drove north to the Trinity-Shasta National Forest. The closer they got to the fire the thicker the smoke was getting. They drove as far as they could until the road was blocked off. They were turned around by the state police and drove back the way they came until they were out of sight. They pulled over and everyone got out of the van.
“Alix,” Ben said, “where do you need to go?”
Alix closed her eyes and concentrated on the fire. She could feel the heat in the air and the wind that the fire was creating. The smoke was making it hard to breathe.
“I think I can do it from here. I want to get this under control as quickly as possible. I don’t like breathing this air.”
“What do you need us to do?” Kris asked.
“Just keep watch for anything,” she told him.
Kris had everyone form a circle around Alix, their backs to her. Now it was time for Alix to do what she was here for.
She removed the Power Stone from the little bag in her pocket. As before, the instant it touched her tattoo she felt a tremendous amount of energy flood her body. She closed her eyes and felt the forest around her. She was searching for water, any type of water. She was able to locate a few creeks, three ponds, and a lake. It was the lake that was really going to help her. She thought about the water evaporating from the lake and forming clouds. When the first small cloud was created the rest started almost building on their own. In a few minutes, Alix had created a cloud the size of the lake.
Her next step was making it big enough to actually put out the fire. She closed her fist around the stone and visualized a huge rainstorm. When the first raindrops hit her face, she smiled but didn’t let up on the magic. The rain was getting stronger and within a couple of minutes, everyone standing with her was soaked. The cloud continued to get larger and she could feel the fire getting smaller. The air started to smell like rain instead of smoke.
Alix stayed right where she was until she felt the last of the fire die out where the rain could get to it. Only then did she stop gathering energy and put the Power Stone away. She didn’t stop the rain though as she had an idea.
“Hey,” she said.
All nine of them turned to look at her.
“The fire i
s out in approximately a hundred-mile radius,” she told them.
“Wow,” Shay said. “So why is it still raining?”
“I think it’ll be easier to move the rain as we go, rather than create it in each new location.”
“Why do you think that?” Ben asked.
“It took a lot of effort to create a storm that big and I just have a feeling it will be easier to move it. Besides, it will look more natural if the storm moves than if one forms, dies out, and forms again,” Alix told him.
“You’ve got a point there,” Kris said. “How do you want to do this?”
“Where is the next big fire?” Alix asked him.
“Let’s get out of the rain and I’ll show you on the map,” Kris told her.
Alix made an invisible link from her to the storm. They got back in the van and Natalie started handing out towels.
“These are great Natalie,” Alix said, “I would have never thought to bring towels.”
“Just the mom in me, I guess. I thought about the rain and figured we’d need them.”
After everyone took a minute to dry off the best they could, Kris got out the map and showed it to Alix.
“We’re right here,” he said pointing to a spot close to Redding. “The next closest fire is here.” He showed her a spot that was north of where they were.
“How long will it take to get there?” she asked.
“Normally about two hours but since the road is blocked, we have to find a way around.”
“Okay. Start driving and I’ll see if I can move the storm with us.”
Kris put the van in gear, turned on the wipers, and started driving. About ten minutes later they were out of Alix’s storm.
“Alix, how’s it going up there?” Ben asked. “You don’t look so hot.”
“I don’t feel so hot. I can’t seem to keep the storm moving as fast as we are. It’s too heavy. It feels like I’m dragging a huge tree behind me. I think I’m going to have to let it go and create another one when we get there. I can move it all the way, but it’ll take too long.”
“That’s okay,” Ben told her. “Just do whatever you can that’s the easiest on you.”
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