Chaos

by Katie Holland

  “What are we doing here?” Shay asked Alix.

  “I was thinking about James and Lucie going missing and that got me thinking about Sonya. I was able to find her using my magic then get her location by using the Map room. I wondered if it would work to find James and Lucie.”

  “I guess it’s worth a try,” Ben said. “But we have no idea where to start. What are you going to do?”

  “I thought I’d just concentrate on James and see if I can feel him with my magic.”

  “Alright, let us know if you need anything,” Ben said stepping back from Alix.

  She nodded and closed her eyes. She pictured James in her mind, what he looked like, how he moved and what his voice sounded like. When she was confident, she had what she needed she released her magic and sent it searching for James. In her mind, she pictured Florida on the map since that’s where she knew he last was. As hard as she tried, she couldn’t get her magic to search that far. Sonya had only been a few hours away, but Florida was a few days away.

  “It’s not working,” Alix told them. “It’s too far away.”

  “Do you think the Power Stone, or the bird will help?” Ben asked.

  “I don’t know but I’ll try anything. But I’ll have to get them from my room.”

  “I can go,” Shay offered. “Just tell me where they are.”

  “In my desk in the middle drawer at the very back. They’re in the wooden box from Stonehenge.”

  “Okay, I’ll be right back,” she said and left the room.

  Alix pulled her phone out of her pocket to see if she’d missed any calls or texts. She frowned when she saw she hadn’t missed anything.

  “Everything okay?” Ben asked.

  “Yeah, I was just hoping I would have heard from Ruth by now. I want to know what’s going on.”

  “I’m sure she’ll call you when she can,” he said trying to reassure her.

  A few minutes later Shay was back and handed the box to Alix. “I couldn’t open it so I just brought the whole box.”

  “Huh,” Alix said, “I never thought about anyone else trying to open it. Thanks for getting it though.”

  Alix took the lid off the small box, removed the tiny metal bird and the bag with the Power Stone and handed it back to Shay. She decided to just try to search using the bird first. She tried to use the Stone as little as possible as she had a feeling it could become addictive.

  She put the little bird on her tattoo and closed her fingers around it. She concentrated on James again and sent out her magic. She focused as hard as she could, but Florida was still too far away. She added the Power Stone hoping that the combination was going to work. She repeated the process again, hoping that the third time was the charm.

  She was surprised when it started working. She focused on James and where he was before he was taken. She could feel other Nykara in the area but not James. She sent more feelers out but came back with nothing. She expanded her search as far as she could but with no luck. She pulled back her magic and opened her eyes.

  “Nothing,” she announced. “I could feel other Nykara that I wasn’t searching for but not James. I’m not sure if I’m too far away or if he’s not where I’m looking. Do you think we’d get in trouble if we went to one of the safe houses in Florida?”

  “By ourselves, probably,” Shay said.

  “I agree,” Ben said. “This isn’t the time to go running off trying to save the world. Who knows where the Grynn are and if they’re waiting for you.”

  “But it’s a Nykara safe house, Grynn can’t get in it,” Alix argued.

  “And they weren’t supposed to be able to kidnap a Council member either,” Ben said.

  “I just want to find James and Lucie before they hurt or kill them.”

  “I know you do Alix but getting yourself captured, hurt or killed isn’t going to solve anything,” Ben told her. “This time I think you need to let Ruth handle it.” Alix gave him a look. “Okay, at least for now.”

  “Fine. But if they take too long, I’m going to do something about it,” Alix said leaving the Map room.

  Alix spent the rest of the afternoon trying to distract herself with her book. Ben and Shay watched TV. Around 4:00 the doorbell rang. It was Karin.

  “Hey, Karin, what’s up?” Ben asked when he answered the door.

  “I have your schoolwork for the next few days,” she told him.

  “Oh. Come with me and I’ll show you to our classroom.”

  On the way, Ben passed the den and called to Alix and Shay to join them.

  “This is quite a setup,” Karin said entering their newly set up classroom.

  “Mom figured if we had a place to do our work, we’d be more likely to get it done,” Ben said.

  “I can’t argue with that,” Karin said. She handed a stack of books and papers to all three of them. “This is what your teachers gave me for each of you. I’ll be back on Monday to pick it up and get your next set of assignments. Included in the package is your username and password to access the Montana Home Schooling System. You’ll have access to online teachers for help as well as additional help for your specific classes. I don’t think it’s necessary to say this, but I’m required to. You each have to do your own work. Yes, you can help each other but no cheating. When a test is taken, I’ll be here to supervise and log you into a separate system. Any questions?”

  They all shook their heads.

  “Okay good. Any news on James or Lucie?” she asked.

  “No. We went to the Map room earlier to try and search for him but nothing. I couldn’t find a trace of him.”

  “I wish I knew what to tell you,” Karin said. “By the way, Mike and I were talking, and we’ve decided to temporarily become roommates until this Grynn problem is solved. Safety in numbers and all that.”

  Alix thought she saw a hint of a blush on Karin’s cheeks. Was it possible that she had a thing for Mike? Alix guessed he was a good-looking man, you know, for an old guy. She smiled to herself and tried to get her mind back on track.

  “So, how’d it go getting to and from school?” she asked Karin.

  “It was fine. A little strange being driven somewhere in my own car but alright. Have you heard anything from Kris about the patrols?”

  “No. I guess I should get in touch with him and also check on Sonya. I want her to understand that none of this is her fault.”

  Karin nodded. “I’d better get going. Since I live closer to the school, Mike is going to move into my spare room, and I said I’d help him when I was done here.”

  “Good luck with that,” Alix said and meant it. She knew what it was like moving into somewhere that wasn’t your home and living with someone you liked.

  Karin left and the three of them looked through the packages she’d brought them. Alix was less than thrilled about basically doing homework all day but if they could get it finished early, they’d have more free time during the week.

  “So, who wants to start on this now?” Alix asked already knowing the answer.

  Shay threw a pen at her and Ben gave her a disgusted look. She could only laugh at them.

  After dinner Alix called Ruth and Kris, leaving messages for both of them. Despite sleeping so late she was tired. They decided to start “school” at 8:00 am and get back into a routine. She was asleep in no time.

  Chapter 35

  Alix was surrounded by blue. She tried walking, but her legs weren’t moving like normal. She realized she was in the water. She started to panic but when she figured out, she could breathe underwater she knew it was just a dream. Knowing she was dreaming she started to swim. She swam and swam but saw nothing except more water. No fish, no plants and no other people. And no matter what direction she swam, up or down, she never reached the surface or the bottom. Since she wasn’t getting tired, she continued to swim hoping to find anything. Just as she changed direction something caught her eye. It sparkled in the deep blue color, so she moved toward it. When she got close enough, she s
aw it was a coin. She reached out for it and to her surprise, it didn’t disappear but felt heavy in her hand. When she actually looked at it, she was shocked. It was the Grynn coin she’d found at Yellowstone.

  Alix woke up to her alarm, half expecting to find the coin in her hand. It was one of her really real dreams but if it was a vision dream, she couldn’t make sense of it. She got ready for the day and went to the kitchen. Everyone was there except Shay.

  “Morning everyone,” she said getting her coffee.

  “Good morning beautiful,” Ben said.

  “Are you going to say that every morning?” she asked him.

  “Yep,” he said grinning.

  Alix just smiled and shook her head.

  “Morning honey,” her mom said.

  “Hey, mom. Is everything okay getting to and from work?”

  “Yeah, it’s a little strange having a shadow but if it makes you feel better, I can deal with it.”

  “Sorry mom, I’m just worried when you leave the house.”

  “I know honey. But I feel very safe with my escort,” her mom said with a smile. “I’m off now, see you later. Have fun learning.”

  She hugged her mom then went to get a muffin.

  “Hey Natalie, do we still have that Grynn coin from Yellowstone?”

  “Yes, we’ve never removed it from the safe. Why?”

  Alix told them about her dream.

  “What do you think it means?” Ben asked.

  “I have no idea,” Alix said. “I’ve never dreamed about being underwater before. Do you think you can show me where you keep it?”

  “Sure, but it’ll have to be after we get back. Rick and I have to head to the University to talk to the heads of our departments about the new term.”

  “Oh okay,” Alix said a little disappointed. She didn’t know why she dreamed about the coin, but she knew it was somehow important.

  After Shay joined them in the kitchen they went to their new classroom. They each logged into the new laptops and started their day. It wasn’t as bad as they thought. The lessons were well planned out and they were all finished by 1:30.

  Throughout the day Alix couldn’t get her dream out of her head. She was sure it meant something but for the life of her she couldn’t figure it out. She wondered if it was going to be like her dreams about Newgrange that didn’t make any sense until she had her real vision.

  They were in the den when Natalie and Rick got back.

  “Alix, give me a minute to put these papers away and I’ll take you to the coin,” Natalie said.

  “Sure,” Alix replied.

  A few minutes later Alix, Shay, and Ben joined Natalie and Rick in a room Alix hadn’t been in before. It was under the stairs and was only about the size of Alix’s old bathroom at home. All five of them barely fit in it. Natalie pressed one of the panels and a small door opened. They could see the safe that Natalie had mentioned. She opened it and took the coin out. It was still in the plastic bag that Alix had put it in when they first found it.

  “So,” Ben said, “is it the same one as in your dream?”

  “Yes,” Alix said with conviction. “Now we just need to know why it was in my dream, what it means, and why I was in the water.”

  “That’s not too much to ask,” Shay said laughing.

  “Do you still have all the pictures and stuff that was in my room with the coin?” Alix asked Natalie.

  “Yes, they’re locked in the file cabinet in our office.”

  “Okay,” Alix said putting the coin back. “Do you think we can see them?”

  “Of course.”

  Natalie locked the safe and closed the panel. Alix would have never found the safe if she hadn’t been shown where it was. Rick got the file out for Alix.

  “Can we take this?”

  “I don’t see why not,” Rick said.

  “Thanks,” Alix said.

  The three of them left Natalie and Rick in their office and took the folder up to Alix’s room. They spread the pictures out over the floor and spent the next thirty minutes studying them.

  “Well,” Shay said, “I don’t know about you guys, but this doesn’t make any more sense now than it did a few months ago.”

  “I’m with you Shay,” Ben said. “Alix?”

  “I was hoping now that I’m the Chosen One I would be able to figure it out, but I still don’t understand what the coin means. I hate to say this, but I think I’m going to have to wait for more dreams or visions.”

  They started picking up the pictures when Alix’s phone rang.

  “Hello?”

  “Alix, it’s Kris.”

  “Hey Kris, any news?”

  “All of the patrols have been checking in with me and as of yet there has been no sign of the Grynn.”

  “That’s good, right?”

  “Yes, but we’re not going to let up. It’s bugging me that they know your location and have done nothing about it. I have a feeling that they’re up to something so we’re going to continue to have the Warrior team patrolling and escorting people to and from work.”

  “Okay. How’s Sonya?”

  “Physically she’s fine, but I think she feels responsible for the Grynn learning about you.”

  “I wish she wouldn’t. I know she did everything she could to stop them, but I’ve seen what they can do, and I have a feeling she never stood a chance.”

  “That’s what I keep telling her. I hope with some time she’ll start to believe that.”

  “Well, thanks for keeping me updated. Tell Sonya we said hi. Bye Kris.”

  “Goodbye Alix.”

  “Everything okay?” Ben asked when Alix hung up.

  “Yes. Kris wanted to let me know that there’s been no sightings of the Grynn,” Alix told him.

  “That’s a good thing but the tone of your voice makes me think there’s something more going on,” Ben said.

  “It’s just the same thing I’ve been thinking for a couple of days. Why haven’t the Grynn shown themselves in Sunset Creek? If I was in their position I would have acted as soon as I learned where I was. It’s just really strange.”

  “That’s true,” Ben agreed. “But think about this for a minute. I doubt the Grynn ever thought that we’d be able to figure out where they were keeping Sonya in Brazil. I mean it was so far away from where they grabbed her, we’d have never found her without your magic. And as far as I know, all of the Grynn keeping her captive were killed so there was no one to report back that we’d recovered her. So, who knows if the information even got back to someone like François or Victor?”

  “I hadn’t thought about that,” Alix said. “I hate that we don’t know more. We do know that they took James though and we’re assuming the same thing happened to Lucie. I wonder why I haven’t heard from Ruth?”

  “What was the last thing she said to you?” Shay asked.

  “That if the Grynn were going to harm me she thought they already would have and for everyone to protect their homes just in case,” Alix told her.

  “And that was Monday night and now it’s Wednesday afternoon,” Shay said thinking out loud. “I think you should try calling her again. And if you don’t get her then I’d try Shelley or Gordon.”

  “Okay, I’ll try her again.” Alix dialed Ruth’s number and got her voicemail again but didn’t leave another message. “What’s the time difference from here to South Africa?”

  “I think they’re around eight hours ahead of us,” Ben told her.

  “So, it’s not like it’s the middle of the night. I’m starting to worry that she’s not answering her phone. I’m going to call Gordon.” Alix said and dialed the main number for Fox Hollow.

  “You reached Fox Hollow, this is Logan.”

  “Oh hey Logan, it’s Alix.”

  “Hey, Alix, what’s up?”

  “I was trying to reach Gordon,” she told him.

  “He’s not here right now. I’m not sure what’s going on, but he left in a hurry about a day and a
half ago.”

  “So, you don’t know what happened?”

  “What happened where?” Logan asked.

  Alix decided to tell him everything about Sonya and the missing Council members.

  “No wonder he seemed all out of sorts. I wonder where he went? Are you guys okay?”

  “Yeah, so far. But we’re being homeschooled too now.”

  “Welcome to the club,” Logan chuckled. “Maybe the Nykara should just start a school like Hogwarts so we wouldn’t have to worry about humans and the Grynn finding out about us.”

  “That’s actually not a bad idea. I’ll have to think about it later,” Alix said. “So anyway, if you see Gordon can you have him call me?”

  “Sure.”

  “And if you hear about anything else just text me.”

  “Same goes for you guys, okay?”

  “No problem,” Alix said. “I should probably get off. I’m trying to find someone on the Council that will answer their phone.”

  “Good luck Alix and stay safe.”

  “Thanks, Logan, you too.” Alix hung up. “So, Gordon’s not at the castle and Logan had no idea what’s been going on. I guess I’ll try Shelley now.” She put it on speaker and dialed Shelley’s number.

  Alix was about to hang up when Shelley answered.

  “Hello?”

  “Shelley, it’s Alix. Are you okay?”

  “Yes, I’m fine.”

  “Have you heard from Ruth?”

  “Last I knew Gordon was taking the plane to South Africa to get her. Something about England being safer for her.”

  “Ahh, I guess that’s why I can’t get in touch with her.”

  “Is everything alright there?” Shelley asked.

  “Yes, I just hadn’t heard from anyone and I was getting a little worried. Do you know if the rest of the Council is all safe?”

  “As far as I know we’re all okay except Lucie and James.”

  “Have you heard anything into the investigation to find them?”

  “No. That’s kind of Ruth’s area.”

  “Okay, thanks, Shelley. I’m sure Ruth will call me when she gets my message. Take care and be safe.”

  “You too Alix.”

  Alix pressed the end button on her phone and put it back in her pocket.