The Final Link_The Gateway Saga

by Erin Thornton

  “You missed it she knocked him clean on his ass. It was epic!” Ren continued his way of thinking from earlier.

  “It was definitely a surprising course of action.” Xavier wasn’t upset and sulking anymore and Aggie got to hear his true thoughts given his time to think them over. “She was just there when she wasn’t moments before. Then when I thought I had the upper hand, she proved me wrong rather quickly.”

  “I’m not sure any of us were expecting her to get the hang of it as quickly as she did. It was like second nature to her.” Kyrel had leaned against the wall, singing her praises.

  “It was indeed a surprising turn of events. I expected the magic, just because we worked on control yesterday. What I didn’t expect was everything else that came along with it. You acted like you had been fighting your entire life.” Eldon sounded proud now that he had more time to consider the events at hand.

  “Are you saying you had a hand in the dirty trick she played on us?” Mitchell wasn’t upset but he was surprised that Eldon played a part.

  “In his defense I asked him to help me sort it out. I wanted to knock you on your ass, but that was a thousand times better as it got you out of my hair. Which seemed to be the best course of action since you had plotted against me as well. What was the big idea pitting all the guys against me at the same time? Were you hoping I would fail?” Aggie was a tad bothered again that they all had ganged up on her, even though it all came out ok in the end.

  “I wanted you to see that you still had to stay active in the moment. You struggled with that and I needed you to know why. None of the guys were actually attacking you or hitting you. It was just a training exercise.” Mitchell defended his actions to the letter and Aggie couldn’t fault him for that. She did learn some valuable lessons in all of it.

  “It’s a good thing she has taken to fighting so well because this trip to find the children isn’t going to be a walk in the park. There will likely be bloodshed.” Liel sounding a bit forlorn and Aggie was a bit startled by his tone. She had never heard him sound even a bit emotional.

  “I’m just glad we don’t have to worry about her as much. This is a day of great news. I would like to leave as soon as possible.” Mathius rose to his feet and started pacing the room showing how anxious he really was after all the news they had received.

  “I’m going to take a stab in the dark and say that Liel, Eldon and Kyrel would be the best choices to leave here. Then when we find the children they can either be here to help in case of attack or help get the children where they need to be. Mathius could even sift back here and bring them back to us if we need the extra manpower.” Aggie had watched them all interact that she was getting a pretty good idea as to what their strengths were.

  “In this case, Mitchell and Ren likely be best in their wolf forms. That would help the group blend in with a smaller group and they can run ahead and between their senses be able to get a feel for where they need to go. Gryson, had been scrying and that mixed with the visions he saw in Navian’s head would know if we were going the right way. Xavier could blend into the darkness better than anyone and give them more of the element of surprise. Even if the captors saw them coming, they wouldn’t necessarily see Xavier. Mathius knew the terrain better than any of them and would be needed to help guide them in the right direction for where this Wanderer should be.”

  “Let’s gear up and then we can head out. I’ll need you to set up a triage station somewhere here at the castle. While I hope it isn’t necessary, I’d rather be prepared.” Mathius directed this to Eldon and that piqued Aggie’s interest.

  “Tell me why Eldon is the one you asked to do that. I’m sure you have a reason and it wasn’t just a random choice.”

  “Eldon would you like to share that with her while the rest of us go gear up? You can bring her down to get ready afterward or go ahead and prep her with what she needs. We’ll meet in the common area.” Mathius and the rest of the guys made their way out of the room. Eldon came up and took Aggie’s hand and gently caressed it.

  “Care to fill me in there, earth boy?” Aggie smiled at him to show she meant that in the nicest way possible. Then she turned and sat cross-legged facing her Fae mate.

  “As a child, I was something of a legend. While most children struggled to master this skill or that, I was proficient in all of them within weeks of developing each new facet of my powers. That garnered a lot of attention and my parents were of the quiet sort. While they weren’t ashamed of me, it was too much for them to handle. I was sent away to live with the priests of our clan. While I was with them, I saw things kids weren’t usually subjected too. I saw sickness and death along with the shunned from one of our cities sent to ask for pity from the priests.” Aggie’s heart was breaking for him though she didn’t know what to say, but he continued with his story giving her more time to digest everything.

  “One day, the high priest noticed I didn’t shy away from the most gruesome of men. He was probably in his middle years, full of disease and writhing in pain. I was drawn to him for some reason I had an innate need to touch him. The priest tried to stop me and before he could, my fingers connected with the diseased man’s skin. It was like a calm came over me and I pushed my energy into him. When I opened my eyes, the man looked different. Not just was he healed, but his aged skin was repaired and his features were youthful once again. It was as though I had taken him back to his teenage years. I was so surprised, that I fell back onto my hands and scrambled to run away. I thought I would be in trouble.”

  “Why would you have been in trouble?” Aggie was confused because first he was just a child and he had just saved a dying man. Who would punish a child for any of those things?

  “No one had shown signs of this power for thousands of years. I was also the youngest. Most who develop it are later in life and not still in their growing years. I had at that point developed every known power and then some. My parents thought I was distraction before. With this power the priests had to create a schedule and I wasn’t permitted to freely walk the grounds anymore. I became more of a hermit because it was less stressful. They brought me the worst of the worst that the doctors couldn’t heal organically. I spent my time indoors during the day and chose to go out at night to avoid human interaction.” That was probably why Eldon was so quiet when they first met. One thing they had in common, she didn’t handle people well either. If she didn’t piss them off by opening her mouth, then she was just inadvertently rude because she didn’t know what to say.

  “Over time I learned to control it and not take years away from them. Those early ones, while they were happy with their youthful appearance found integrating back into regular life with a younger look provoked jealousy and bickering amongst the townspeople. I was thankful when I was able to rein in that power.”

  “Do you think that is why I’m able to control my powers so well, since you are the one who gifted them to me?” Aggie hadn’t considered this because she didn’t have any reason to believe it was unheard of in his world. This sounded like it was more Eldon-related after all.

  “It is possible, I’d considered this myself. I’m not ruling anything out at this point with you. I’m beyond impressed by your abilities so far and can’t wait to see what else develops.” The look Eldon shot her made Aggie’s heart swoon. He didn’t even say anything particularly affectionate but he was proud of her and ready to see what else develops. Which could be something magical or their relationship developing either would be just as perfect.

  Chapter 19

  Eldon dressed Aggie in her leathers again, but this time with his signature mossy undertone. Her boots wrapped up her legs to her knees and a slight fold over them, Eldon said that was necessary for added protection. When she bent down she saw his iridescent coloring gleaming on the inside of the fabric from the inner stitching, along with a ring of tiny red roses stitched into the inside edging. That small touch made her happy to have a piece of him with her while they left him behind. She unde
rstood the need, but it was still hard to leave him while they stormed off to unknown danger.

  The guys were waiting in the common room for them when they arrived. It took a lot for Aggie not to drool over them each individually in their armor. While it wasn’t metal and rather leather like her own, with all the weapons strapped to them it made them look all the more manly and frightening all at once. The kind of guys you wouldn’t want to meet in a dark alley.

  Even Eldon, Liel and Kyrel had donned their battle gear. Eldon carried what looked like a walking stick, but Aggie assumed it was more like something used in hand-to-hand combat fighting. Liel’s long hair was tied back with a vine-like fastener. This gave his cheekbones a striking appearance leaving his face in a fierce expression. He wore a bow across his chest and a quiver over his shoulder. She thought he must have a keen eyesight and he did say he was the strongest Elven warrior in thousands of years. This just proves he has other skills as well that Aggie hasn’t figured out yet. Kyrel’s blonde hair curled loosely over his ears. He looked relaxed as he leaned against the wall with two large metal circles hanging from his sides. They looked oddly familiar to Aggie and she had to rack her brain to figure it out. Then she remembered in her history class in school, they had done a lesson on ancient weapons. Those looked a lot like the chakram in the textbook. Never having seen one in real life she wasn’t positive.

  Mathius had two large broad swords strapped to his back and Aggie only had to use a little imagination to envision him wielding them with precision. Gryson had a belt of daggers strapped on and Aggie wondered if there wasn’t a magical element to each of them given what looked like their specific placement around his waist. Xavier to her surprise wasn’t in a three-piece suit, but leathers like the rest. Though he didn’t seem to have any weapons on his person. Aggie was a little concerned for his safety, but tried to ignore it for a while.

  The twins only wore their leather pants, Aggie assumed it was because they wouldn’t be in their human forms the entire time. In the back of her mind, she wondered if anyone carried backup pants for them or perhaps she should be the one to do that. They didn’t have any additional weapons on them like the rest, given the fact that they were their own best weapon. That was when Aggie realized the weight of all of this.

  There hadn’t been a time yet, she had seen them all dressed in battle gear. The reality of it all was like getting smacked in the face. Even though she hoped they would likely come out of this unscathed, the opposite was also possible. The latter possibility made it difficult to just leave and not say or do anything. While she would be taking most of them with her some would remain and there was always a chance she wouldn’t see them again.

  Seeing that she had more time with the ones going with her, she approached each of the men who were staying individually.

  “Kyrel, this is stupid of me I know, but on the off chance we might not see each other again I needed to say goodbye a bit more than just a head nod and a wave. We don’t know each other well and after this I plan to spend more time with each of you if I’m given the chance. I know you each mean something different to me, I just haven’t figured out what yet.” With that she leaned up and kissed him softly, closing her eyes and enjoying the feel of him on her skin. Breaking the kiss after a moment she turned to Liel.

  She knew nearly nothing about him and hadn’t spent nearly enough time trying to figure him out. There was surely someone deep down that she could relate to. Either way, she was still going to be forced to leave him behind and run the risk of never knowing. “Liel, I know you least of anyone and for that I’m sorry. You were the first to trust me and bring me into this beautifully chaotic world. What would I have done without you? If we make it out of this alive, promise me you and I will set aside some time to figure each other out?” Liel nodded but didn’t say anything, though he wore a look of confusion. Aggie leaned up and kissed him on the cheek feeling like anything else was too familiar with their undefined relationship.

  She had saved Eldon for last, but not because he was any lesser, but because she had more to say to him. The words didn’t come easily, but she would do her best not to become a sappy mess. The last thing she needed was to full on ugly cry before she made her way off to battle. “El, I’m going to miss you most of all. I know you are needed here more in this case and I respect you for that, but leaving you is one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. Our connection is growing every day and I don’t know what I would ever do if I lost you. So, do me a favor,” she paused right there and waited, unsure if she wanted to finish her thought. “Don’t die!” With that she stood up high on her tiptoes to reach his height pulling with her hands on his shoulders causing him to bend down to meet her. Their lips connected in a passionate kiss and hotter than any one she had ever experienced in her life. What she would have done for this type of connection on Earth. She knew right then that she was the luckiest girl alive.

  *****

  “Don’t you think you got a bit sappy back there?” Ren asked still dying from laughter over her emotional overload at the castle. They had only been walking for a few minutes before Ren started in on her.

  “No, not at all this is my first mission with you guys. For all I know, I might be used as bait and this could go south very quickly.” Not that Aggie believed a word of what she said, though it was always possible since that bitch destroyed Aggie’s room and none of the guys’ inner sanctums.

  “I’d never use you as bait, Schnookums.” Ren used an overly lovey voice that Aggie couldn’t help but laugh at.

  “Of course, you would say that. Why would you want me to know I’m about to walk into a situation that would likely end in my death.” Aggie realized what she was saying and reconsidered. “Heck, why should I care, the goal is to get the kids out and if I’m the reason we get them out, then I’m not the bait I’m still their savior. Unfortunately, you will get all the credit for your plan to send me in first after all.” Aggie winked at him, but her thoughts were only tamed slightly. While she didn’t have a death wish, she would do anything it took to save those kids and bring them home alive.

  They were just getting through town and Aggie realized she was so distracted she didn’t really see any of it. Disappointment settled inside her, but she tried to shove it away. Glancing ahead, Gryson lead the group followed only closely by Mathius. They were having a conversation between the two of them that Aggie couldn’t hear at her distance.

  “Can you hear what they are talking about?” Her question directed at Ren who kept pace with her. She wasn’t used to this much exercise, and on Earth this trip would have been made by at least a car and only rarely on foot. The terrain wasn’t impossible but Aggie was very aware of how out of shape she really was. Closing her eyes, she slowed her pace and reached out for the elements around her and fed her own energy to make up for her lack of muscles.

  “They are deciding if the visions are better to follow now, or wait, until they are out farther past the map Gryson made with his scry notes.” Ren hadn’t even broken a sweat and for that Aggie was jealous. She was thankful she thought to put her long hair up in a bun before meeting up with the guys in the common area.

  “Do the map and the visions currently differ, I wonder?” Aggie didn’t know why that would be. “If they are the same it shouldn’t be an issue, but if they are different, I wonder why.” Instead of waiting for Ren to answer she jogged ahead, though her body cried with each bounce of her step. There were bigger and better things she needed to do and crying over pain in her body wasn’t one of them. When she got to Gryson and Mathius, it seemed they were in a debate about what to do.

  “I’m not sure how they could be different. Unless the boy was sent as a decoy and he didn’t escape.” Gryson seemed confident in his own magic and that made Aggie feel better. Everyone should know what they are capable of and trust was all they could be offered in return.

  “That child was malnourished and half dead when he arrived at his parents’ door. It is p
ossible his thoughts were askew and you didn’t see past the error in his mind.” Mathius’s voice was grumbling, as usual, but Aggie could hear the frustration as well.

  “Didn’t we bring our team with the exact purpose that each had a specific role to carry out?” Aggie startled them both and for that she was secretly proud of herself. They were so caught up in their own conversation they didn’t notice her approach.

  “What are you trying to say?” Mathius barked at her making her square her shoulders and stand up to him.

  “I’m saying we have at least three members of our team that can scout ahead on both paths. If you believe the boy’s mind to be inaccurate, then why don’t you send Xavier on that path. He can keep himself hidden from anyone that might have set a trap for us. Then when he reports back to us we will know for sure.” Aggie was frustrated that they were arguing about this when the solution seemed plain as day. Not to mention, she was still having trouble figuring out who made these decisions before she came along.

  “I don’t want them running around willy-nilly. I would rather us take a break so they know where to find us upon their return. Also, then we aren’t making any needless backtracking trips because we need to go the other direction.” Mathius puffed, adding his two cents, but didn’t shoot down her idea.

  “I would want the twins to scout ahead on Gryson’s scry path. That way we have a better idea of what we should expect to see along the way. We wouldn’t want any surprises in the other direction after all.” Gryson nodded his agreement and Mathius called for the rest of the team who weren’t far off.

  “Gryson care to show me your map, before we shift?” Mitchell proved they were all listening from afar and Aggie felt like the low man on the totem pole because she had to ask for assistance in her eavesdropping attempt. The two men scooted off to the side of the path to review what Gryson had decided was the best course.