Well, if there was a good note to any of this, we made fairly good time. Ariel shook me awake twelve hours later, after I'd fallen asleep in the middle of the huge explanation and already forgotten almost all of it.. I rolled over and arched my back, stretching my stiff muscles with a muted groan.
"We're almost there," she muttered distractedly.
I yawned. "Almost where? Where are we going? You never really made that clear last night."
She stared out of the window at the thickly clustered trees, her face set. "We're going to find Chris and warn him. Then we're going to Nar Zi to fulfill Jake's prophecy."
I lurched upright, alarmed. "Wait, what? We're going to Nar Zi? Come on, Ariel! We hardly know this guy, and we're already following him off the ends of the earth!"
"Morgan," she said pleadingly, "This is something we have to do! All my dreams pointed to this. I see that now. Jake and his people need us, and we need them."
I jutted out my chin stubbornly. "Why do we need them?"
"To help us find our destiny."
I flopped backward with a harsh laugh. "I can find my own destiny! I don't need to go traipsing off to some alternate reality just because your dream boy magically appears and says I have to."
She flushed angrily. "Morgan, please...please just do this. For me. You know I wouldn't do this unless I was completely convinced that it was something we needed to do."
I bit my lip. That was true. Ariel wasn't the kind of person to just go rushing off and do something incredibly stupid without thinking. She thought stuff through and went to great lengths to find the best solutions.
I opened my mouth to say something, then snapped it shut as the car sverved madly, almost running off the road. I flew backwards, smashing my head against the window.
"Oww..." I moaned softly. Then I yelped and grabbed the back of the seat for support as the car jerked to the side again, almost sending me flying through the back windshield. A loud crack shot through the air. Something loud and deadly flew past the car, almost taking out one of the tires. Out of the corner of my eye I spotted a large, black SUV sliding out of a secluded position in the trees.
"Hunters!" yelled Destiny urgently.
"Seekers!" corrected Jake.
"Whatever! Anybody have a pistol?"
We all shook our heads.
"Shotgun? Bomb? Bow and arrows? Throwing knives? Come on! We've gotta have at least some kind of long-distance weapons!"
Ariel scrabbled frantically for the zipper of her backpack. "Here!" she cried, thrusting a large, glowing ball of fire magic into my hands. "Take this!"
"Jake!" I shouted. "Open the window!"
"Why?"
"Just do it!" I screamed.
He flipped up the button. Nothing happened. He flipped it again. Nadda.
"It's broken!" he wailed.
I yelled in frustration, yanking my knife out of its sheath and stabbing through the thin sheet of glass. I leaned precariously out of the window, taking care not to cut myself on the remaining shards of glass. I squinted, taking careful aim before whipping back my hand and launching the fireball expertly. It was a perfect shot, landing square in the middle of the windshield and igniting with a fearful whoom! I whooped in exhilaration, shielding my eyes as the vehicle exploded into black fire, scattering bits and pieces of metal all over the roadside.
Someone grabbed the back of my denim jacket and yanked me back inside. An arrow whistled past my head.
I chanced a glance behind me. More darkly clad figures emerged on the scene of the wreck, some searching the wreckage for survivors, some gathering their weapons and shooting after us, most screaming obsceneties.
Destiny pounded the dashboard with her fist. "Step on it, Jake!"
"What do you think I'm trying to?" he demanded through clenched teeth.
I shrugged flippantly. "They can't catch us now, they don't have another-Ow!" I flinched as a sharp pain lanced through my ear. I clapped my
hand to the injured area. Yala emitted a shriek of outrage and protest and clamped down harder. I'd almost forgotten about him. He must've been asleep in my coat pocket the entire time, until the action woke him up cranky. "Ow!" I complained again. "Let me go, you little pest!"
Ariel's eyes widened. "Is that a dragonbird nestling?"
I nodded, wincing. "Little fella hitched a ride home with me the other day and refused to go home." He settled on my shoulder again with a relaxed sigh, satisfied that justice had been served to whomever dared wake him from his nap. I stroked his back gently. "He's probably hungry. I'll find him something to eat later."
Ariel smiled. "He seems like a handful."
I nodded my heartfelt agreement. "He is. But he's my buddy."
"Even when he does that?" she asked, pointing to the blood dripping down my ear. I made a face.
"Well...except for that."
"Hey guys," interrupted Destiny, "you may not have noticed this very important detail, but the Hunters were obviously waiting for us. They had it all planned out. Somehow, they figured it out that we were going to get Chris. So, either the Hunters-excuse me, Seekers-" she corrected herself sarcastically, "-in New York sent word ahead to lay a hasty trap for us, or they already came down here, took Chris and now they're after us. Chances are we'll get there and he'll already be gone."
My heart plummeted. I hadn't thought about that. Stupid, stupid,
I berated myself. "What about the defenses?" I asked hoarsely. They wouldn't have had time to get there, fight past John's magical barriers and take Chris already."
Jake's lips tightened, his face set in a grimace. "It's a race, then," he murmured grimly. "A race to see who gets to the boy first."
My hand contracted around the knife handle. I don't know why I was so eager to help Chris. If you'd asked me two weeks back, I would've said I had no special attachment to him whatsoever. But ever since he called, I'd
started thinking...I shook my head, jolted back into reality by a harsh thrumming sound, coming closer and closer. My eyes widened. "That's gotta be the Seekers."
Jake nodded. "Apparently, they brought a helicopter as well as an SUV." He swerved, turning onto a smaller road branching off the main one. "We cannot lead them straight to the boy. I'll try to lose them around here. Then, come nightfall, they will hopefully have lost our trail and then we will find the boy, Fates willing."
I gazed up at the large window directly above my head, fifteen feet high. We'd done just that, going along with Jake's plan and managing to lost the Seekers at last, through use of a very, very clever escape spell and a headlong plunge into an icy lake. Now we were standing in the sparse undergrowth directly beneath Chris's window that looked out into the woods.
I tapped the wood experimentally. "Jake, give me a boost."
He grunted and complied, lacing his fingers together to form a small step. As soon as I was in position he lifted his hands high over his head (with me still standing on them), an impressive display of his supernatural strength. However, I still fell a couple feet short. I looked back at him and shook my head silently. He lowered me down.
"Okay," I whispered, "That's not going to work. What's Plan B?"
That was when Destiny surprised us all by reaching into her backpack and pulling out a long rope, complete with knots for handholds and a grappling hook at one end. I stared at her.
"Where did you get that?"
She grinned mischeviously. "I, erm, liberated it from John's tool shed, before we left. I thought we might need it, and hey, I was right. Although I don't think John's going to be real stoked."
I shrugged. "Doesn't matter now. Thanks."
I took it, testing the weight experimentally. "Nice," I said approvingly. I whirled it above my head a few times, then tossed. It caught on the open
window neatly. I tugged. It stayed put.
"Wish me luck," I said, grinning wolfishly. I tossed my hair back and swarmed up the rope like an expert, hauling myself in through the window in record time. I swung my legs inside, gazing around. Chris was asleep in his bed directly to my left. I tiptoed over.
"Chris!" No reaction. "Chris!" I said again, this time a little louder. He muttered something in his sleep and rolled over. I hissed with impatience, clamping my hand over his mouth and shaking him lightly. "Chris!" His eyes flew open. He sat up with a start and tried to say something. I removed my hand from his mouth, wiping in on my shirt.
"Morgan?" he whispered incredulously.
"No, it's the Easter Bunny!" I replied sarcastically. "Of course it's Morgan!"
He swung his legs over the side of the bed, looking up at me uneasily. "Um...what are you doing in my room?"
"Listen, Chris," I said quietly, "I know this is going to sound crazy. But we have to go right now."
"Go where?"
I sucked in a breath. "There's no time to explain. Please, just trust me on this one. Get out of bed, get dressed, pack and be ready to leave in five minutes."
He shook his head confusedly. "Why? Does this have to do with whatever you were talking about that day, when I called you and you said you
couldn't tell me anything?"
I nodded. "I'll explain everything as soon as we get out of here. Please, Chris. It's life and death."
He hesitated, then nodded his agreement. I exhaled in relief.
"Thank you." I ran to the window, leaning out.
"Well?" called Jake quietly. "How goes it?"
"He's coming," I called back. 'How much time do we have left?"
He looked down at the watch on his wrist, then shrugged eloquently. "I cannot say. The Seekers could be here any minute, though. They probably already know where he lives. Tell your boyfriend to hurry."
"He's not my boyfriend!"
He grinned up at me, white teeth flashing in the dark and blue eyes glowing. "Whatever you say."
I growled under my breath before turning back to Chris. He'd thrown on jeans, a dark gray t-shirt and boots. A black and green backpack was slung over one shoulder, the ever-present camouflage baseball cap set sideways over his short brown hair.
"I'm ready," he said. I nodded. I still couldn't believe I'd managed to convince him so easily.
He caught my arm in one hand just as I swung my legs over the windowsill. I glanced back at him.
"What is it?"
He looked me straight in the eye. "You know I wouldn't do this for anyone but you, Morgan."
I bit my lip and looked away. "Yeah."
We dropped silently to the ground. Chris stood up, squaring his shoulders determinedly and looked around slowly at my companions, taking in their battered appearance and weapons in hand. His eyes narrowed as his gaze rested briefly on Jake before flitting away.
"So. You going to tell me who this guy is, what you're all doing here, and where we're supposed to be going?"
"Well..." I said carefully.
"What would you say," chipped in Destiny, "If we told you, that our world is in danger, and we're the only ones who can save it?"
A small frown crossed his face. "Um...you mean like global warming or something?"
"What? No!" I broke in exasperatedly.
"Look," said Jake impatiently, "This is all very nice, but we have to leave now. The Seekers will be here any minute. Get in the car."
Chris looked him up and down, his jaw jutting out mulishly. "Who are you, and who put you in charge?"
Jake bared his teeth. "Wouldn't you like to know."
"Guys, come on!" insisted Ariel. "Jake, leave him alone."
"Chris," I added, "Listen to him. He knows what he's doing. I think."
"Uh-huh. You think. That's reassuring..."
Crack! Something rustled in the woods. I grabbed his arm and pulled him along with me as we broke into a run, heading for the small clearing around the bend where we'd parked.
Jake yanked open the car door and jammed the key into the ignition. Nothing happened.
"It won't start!"
"And look, all the tires are flat!" added Destiny.
"The Seekers got here before we did," said Ariel, despair raw in her voice.
"We could take my truck," suggested Chris. "It's right-"
His voice was abruptly cut off as I tackled him, knocking him to the ground. Something sharp flew above my head, narrowly missing us both, and impaled itself in a tree three feet away.
I leaped to my feet, still holding Chris's hand, and pulled him along with me as we made for the dark silver Chevy parked nearby. He opened the
driver's side door as Destiny, Ariel and Jake piled in the back.
"Oh, crap," he muttured. "Where's the key?"
I could have hit him.
"You usually leave your keys in the ignition in the middle of the night?" asked Jake curiously.
Chris flushed. "This isn't the city! It's not like someone's going to steal it."
"I bet four hours ago you would've said 'It's not like a bunch of bloodthirsty, power-hungry gangsters bent on world domination are going to appear out of nowhere and try to kill me!' "
"What is that even supposed to mean?"
"It means if you're not stupid you'll always be prepared for the unex-"
"It means SHUT UP AND FIND THE FRICKIN KEYS BEFORE WE ALL GET FRICKIN KILLED!" shouted Destiny.
Chris fumbled around in the truck frantically. "They've gotta be in here somewhere..."
I tensed as three shadowy figures emerged from the forest and sprinted towards us with lighting speed. I drew my baton and turned to fight.
The first figure lunged towards Chris. I stepped in front of him, parrying his first strike with my baton. He hardly had time to look surpised before I whipped out my knife and stabbed him in the neck. He crumpled to the ground. I whirled, kicking another Hunter in the chest. He flew backwards. The third one came up behind me, leaping on my back like a deranged spider monkey. I went down and rolled, using the same trick I'd used on the Seeker girl, back in New York. It worked against this guy too. I rolled again, breaking free of his weakened hold, and bounced to me feet, whirling the baton in front of me.
Two other Seekers emerged from the trees, but they looked like they were second-guessing their initial impulse-which was to attack-after they'd seen me take down their partners.
"Here they are!" I heard Chris say behind me. "I must've left 'em in my pocket the other day..."
They advanced then, seemingly decided. The first one, a woman, swung her sword experimentally at my head. I blocked her with my baton, pushed up, then stepped in and kicked the other guy between the legs. He went down. I stepped forward again and somehow got the now unarmed woman in a chokehold. Her face turned purple and I shoved her backwards almost contemptously.
By now, Chris had managed to find the keys, start the truck and turn it around into go position. The engine rumbled into life.
One of the Seekers struggled to rise, moaning. I knocked him over the head with the metal knob at the top of my baton. He fell again.
Chris held open the passenger side door with one hand and steered with the other.
"Morgan!" he cried urgently. "Get in! Quick!"
I bashed the one guy over the head one more time, just to be safe, then turned and leaped into the truck. Chris grabbed my hand and pulled me in safely. I slammed the door and we hauled freight.
For a while, we just drove in silence, too shaken to say anything. Chris appeared calm, but I could see his hands were gripping the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles turned white.
After a while, Jake said, "You should let me drive for a while. I'm older."
"It's my truck," Chris retorted instantly.
That was the only conversation we had for a while.
Finally, I said, "Chris, you really should let Jake drive now. You're exhausted."
His hands gripped the wheel even tighter, if at all possible. "I'm fine."
I shook my head stubbornly. "No you're not. None of us are. But Jake gets tired a lot slower because he's immortal."
He floored the brakes and shifted in his seat to rest his disbelieving gaze on me. "He's what?"
I sighed inwardly. "Immortal. He's an elf."
"And I suppose next you'll be telling me that the world is coming to an end, you're all superhumans and that pigs fly."
There was an awkward silence.
"Well...yes." said Ariel after a while.
"Not the flying pigs part," put in Destiny helpfully. "But Jake's like superhuman; I'm not sure about the rest of us, and the world is going to come to an end if we don't stop the Seekers."
Chris's lips tightened. "Uh-huh. And...are the Seekers the people that attacked us, sabotaged your car, chased Morgan back in the city and left me the threatening notes?"
"Yes. Chris, let Jake drive, and you can take a break while I give you the full story, okay?"
"Fine," he muttured, pulling over to the side of the road. He unbuckled the belt and climbed over the backseat. He stopped with one leg over the seat and jabbed a finger in Jake's direction. "But if he wrecks my truck..."
"He won't," said Ariel immediately.
We all looked at her. She flushed.
"I mean...you won't, will you, Jake?"
He shrugged. "Well, that was the original intent-"
"Jake!"
"-but since you do not want me to, I shall refrain."
Chris snorted quietly, unable to keep himself from having the last word. " 'I shall refrain'. Seriously, who talks like that anymore?"
"I do," said Jake, eyes flashing. "Want to make something of it?"
Chris balled his fists. "Why not?"
"Why don't the both of you shut up and try to do something constructive!" I yelled furiously. "We haven't even been on the road for a full day and I'm
already sick of you two arguing!"
Chris scowled and looked away. Jake said nothing, a light of anger still gleaming in his eyes. Silence reigned for three whole minutes.
Finally, Jake grunted and pulled himself into the drivers seat. Chris flopped down next to me.
"So," he mumbled, "What's the deal with this guy Jake being 'immortal' and talking like someone from the sixteenth century and the Seeker people trying to destroy the world?"
"Well," I began slowly and carefully, "It all started like this..."
And I proceeded to tell him about how I had first discovered my power when I was seven years old, been apprenticed to John, grown up fighting Seekers, learning magic and speaking to creatures people thought only existed in fairy tales. I told him everything about the attacks and dreams in New York. Ariel chipped in and helped me explain the story on how she and Destiny had come to find me, and we all contributed to the details of the Nar Zi-prophecy-Stones of Hearts part.
He sat there throughout the story, leaning back against the seat with his arms crossed, one eyebrow raised and a funny little half-smile playing across his face. There was a long silence afterwards.
"Look," I said eventually, "Do you believe us or not?"
A small frown crossed his face. He scratched his head thoughtfully. "Well...Under normal circumstances I probably wouldn't, buuut then we got attacked, and there's all that stuff that happened and I guess it makes sense..."
I breathed a sigh of relief. "So you'll come with us to Nar Zi?"
He shrugged. "Sounds like fun. And even if I said no, I wouldn't really have a choice, now would I?"
"Um..." Ariel looked sheepish. "Well..."
Destiny tossed her head and grinned impishly. "Nope. We'd knock you out and drag you there."
He grinned too. "Figures."
I don't remember much after that. I think I must've dozed off. I think all of us did, except for Jake because he was driving. Fighting Seekers takes a lot out of you. Plus terror is physically exhausting along with being, well, terrifying.
Anyway, my eyes flickered open a couple hours later. Jake was still at the wheel, with Ariel sitting now shotgun. Destiny was still asleep in between them. I was stretched out in the back, taking up two seats and leaning against Chr-Whoa! Leaning against Chris? I jerked up, fully awake now, as I realized that was exactly what I'd been doing.
My ears burned. I looked around, hoping no one else had noticed. Ariel looked over the back seat and winked, mouthing, You're fine.
I relaxed. My face still felt like it was on fire, but I strove to ignore it and act like nothing had happened.
I stared out the window at the trees going by in a green blur.
"Where are we?"
"The mountains," replied Jake grimly.
"Why?" I wanted to know. Ariel answered this time.
"There's an entrance to Nar Zi hidden here somewhere. We would've taken the one Jake used to get here, except the Seekers found it. This one is pretty old and hasn't been used in forever, so hopefully they won't know about it."
"But," said Jake dishearteningly, "The trick is finding it."
"You don't know where it is?" I demanded incredulously.
"Well...no, not really."
I rolled my eyes. "Great. So now we're just going to...what? Stop on the side of the road and go traipsing off in the freezing cold mountains with no tent or blankets, minimal protection, and hardly any food or money for God knows how long, looking for a portal that might not even be there
anymore?"
"Yep."
I snorted mirthlessly. "Wonderful."
Silence. Then I asked, "What are we going to do with the truck?"
Jake shrugged. "It is of no great concern right now."
"You know Chris isn't going to just leave it. We'd have to knock him out and drag him like Destiny said."
"Not a problem," said Jake cheerfully, hefting my baton.
"Hey, give that back!" I said, snatching it from him.
"What kind of weapon is that, anyway?" he asked, not at all put out.
I fingered the handle. "A baton."
"Where did you get it? I've never seen anything like it before."
"I made it."
"All by yourself? How? What gave you the idea? Does it have any special fighting advantages?"
I shrugged. My baton was nothing special. A thick, round piece of wood with an iron core, about as long as my arm, with a knob of steel on one end and a hooklike shape on the other. A leather handhold, scarred by many battles, resided four-and-a-half inches up from the hook.
"I got the idea from a book I read, a long time ago," I explained. "I found a branch in the forest, took it home, treated it, drilled a hole through the center and slipped a long piece of iron through the middle so it won't break. The steel knob I enchanted to merge with the wood so it never comes off, and the hook I carved myself. The handle is leather cord that I wrapped around the branch."
"How did you treat it?"
"With magic."
"Nice." He said approvingly. "You can do a lot of things with this. You could bash people on the head, block a sword stroke, use it as a staff, etcetera. Very nice."
"Thanks. But you're still not hitting Chris with it."
"Why not?" Now he was put out.
"You were supposed to bring us all back in one piece, remember?" said Ariel. "That was the point."
Jake grunted. "He would still be in one piece, just heavily concussed and possibly in a vegatative sta-"
He snapped his mouth shut when Chris sat up, blinking groggily. "Huh? Say what? What are we doing?" he slurred.
"Nothing, Chris." I said, managing to keep a straight face.
"Oh." He leaned back again. "Cool. Now what?"
Jake, Ariel and I exchanged glances. "Well..."
"We're going in the mountains," said Jake.
Chris looked confused. "Like...actually in the mounains?"
We all nodded.
"What about my truck?"
"You have to leave it," said Jake bluntly.
Boy, that got his attention. "What?" he demanded, outraged. "Are you kidding me? Do you have any idea how much I payed for this truck?"
Jake's hand drifted towards my baton again. Ariel slapped it away. He gave her a dirty look, then said, "Well we can't take it and we're not leaving you. So you'll have to-"
Chris was already shaking his head. He sat back in the seat, crossing his arms stubbornly. "Nope. Not leaving it."
"Chris," said Ariel pleadingly, "We have to. Look, we'll hide it somewhere and you can keep the keys, or we'll bury them, so no one will try and steal it. With luck, they'll never find it, and we can come back here as soon as possible and find a safe place for it to stay until the war is over."
His jaw was jutting out again. "No."
Jake glanced longingly at the baton. I glared at him until he looked away. Then I put a hand on Chris's shoulder. His gaze softened just a little.
"Then what else are we going to do with it?" I asked him, trying to be reasonable. "We can't take it with us, we certainly can't go back home, we can't just wander around here aimlessly until the Seekers find us and kill us. There's really nothing else we can do. Our best bet is to leave it hidden here somewhere, then as soon as we're done with the war or we come back to Earth for a mission or something, we'll go get it and put it somewhere safe."
He bit his lip. "Well..." he looked at Jake. "How long are we staying in Nar Zi?"
"Depends," Jake said loftily. "But not that long. We will have to come back here soon anyway, to find the other boy my mother spoke of in her dream."
He sighed, looking defeated. "Fine. But we have to hide it really well, and the very first thing I'm doing when we get back here will be to find it. And I'm not burying the keys either; I'm keeping them with me."
I sat back, relieved.
"Good," said Jake.
"So...when are we going?" Chris asked.
He pulled over to the side. "Right now's as good a time as any. I think I remember this place from a map, too."
Ariel shook Destiny awake. The rest of us gathered our things.
I pushed open the door and stepped out into the chilly morning air.
We pushed the truck as far in the woods as it would go, then covered it with leaves, dirt and tree branches.
The others stepped back to admire the camouflage, while I gazed up at the bleak terrain. The mountains were cold and desolate, with no other living thing in sight save for an eagle soaring high above. Its shrieking call echoed among the rocky crags. The thick pine forest thinned out near the top, baring snowy peaks over which the rising sun shone brilliantly.
Chris stood next to me, squaring his shoulders as he, too, examined our new surroundings (after casting several longing glances back towards his
truck).
"Show time," I murmured, half to myself.
Jake shouldered his backpack, looking determined. "Yep. Come on, you guys.
"Let's roll."
